The Propaganda of Indian Election Begins

The upcoming elections in India, which is scheduled to be held in the month of April May 2009 is very important in the context of the development and stability of the country. We already have a party which has completed its full term of 5 years, and has indeed done a lot what could be called as an all round development. Now, with the news of fresh elections gathering up, every party is pitching the candidates not only to win the seats in the Lok Sabha, but also help it win the mandate too.

With the election's nearing, the Third Front element is also becoming stronger and stronger, since the exit polls showing a hung parliament as no single party winning the majority.

We have on one side Mayawati putting pressure on the leaders of the Third Front to declare her as their leader and the future Prime Minister, and on the other hand, we have the BJP which is declaring that it is them who would be coming out with a Majority. The Congress Party who already bought the famous Jaya Ho song of Slumdog Millionaire fame is riding high on the success of all-round development which the party has made an important part in its manifesto of these general elections.

Moreover, media is also actively participating to encourage the people to cast their vote, as we can see Aamir Khan coming out with the Times of India initiative called Lead India 09 which tells us not to vote for the criminals but to vote for the right people and that each one of us should cast their vote.

But according to us, the ball as always is in the court of the common man now, to decide and elect what is right and wrong for the future of this country, and would surely take the correct decision in making the the right choice this time too.

Pray For Food, Not Fuel

I am so left bewildered by the actions and reactions of Indian Public and the government. Last week only, the government hiked the price of Petrol, diesel and cooking gas that created a furore throughout the nation. Every state had their own set of protests and dharnas against the price rise. The Left parties called for a nation wide bandh, which brought the life in states governed by left parties to a virtual standstill. So much are we all concerned about the fuel for our vehicles, we have completely ignored the dangerously poised condition of fuel for ourselves, food.
Still crying over increase in cooking gas prices; well, there would be nothing left to cook, if we don't break our slumber and wake up to the reality, that a prospective killer is knocking on our doorsteps.

May be that is because of the exact opposite nature of the two. When shortage of fuel hits the affluent sections of the society first, the shortage of food hits the deprived ones before. But who listens or even cares about the protests of the poor people? When we crib about the possibility of our new Mercedes rendered useless due to oil prices, people are submitting their lives to hunger in our own backyard. But believe me, when the crises of food reaches the top of the society ladder, not only will the jolt be gravely mighty, it would be too late to reverse the process or find a solution.

Oh yes, do you know what our government is doing in this context. They are now proposing to use the land that is under agriculture, for irrigation of Bio fuels. Man, that is some future planning. I mean, how much more ridiculous can it get? Instead, the government should look at improving the yield of food grains from and bridge the gap between demand and supply. But what to do; trips of our ministers to foreign countries by chartering a jet, seems to be of a higher priority to our government.

If something is to be done to contain the problem, this is the time. We all should do our bit to nip the problem in its bud. Well, we can all start from our homes by not wasting any food. Sometimes there are functions in our homes and we order food in bulk. And more often than not, a lot of food remains untouched. I accept that most of the times this is unavoidable. But what is avoidable, is the throwing away of the food. Whenever the food is in excess, call 1098, child helpline number (Applicable Only In India); they will come and collect the food from your homes.

Though this is more of a temporary solution; let this be a start to our combined efforts to a healthier and nutritious future.

The Neighborhood Rise

Another ‘Raja’ descends to the ranks of ‘Praja’. More noted description of King Gyanendra in history books would not be ‘The Legendary King of Nepal, rather, it would be ‘The Last King of Nepal’.
With constitutional Assembly of Nepal unanimously voting against the 240 year old Hindu Monarchy, Nepal declared itself a Republic. Nepal will now celebrate May 29 as its Republic Day. Out of 601 members of constitutional assembly, 560 voted against and the monarchy to 4 who were in favor of it. Rest of the members were absent.

Well, this was a result many had expected after the Maoists came to power a fortnight ago. Maoists were always fiercely republicans and for the past 10 years had tried their level best to throw out King Gyanendra, but to no avail. However, this time the Maoists controlled the power. King Gyanendra ascended to throne in 2001 after the drunken crown prince wiped out most of the Royal family and then turned the gun on self.

Gyanendra became the automatic choice to the thrown. Few Politicians and many in Public felt something fishy in the turn of events, they suspected Gyanendra to be behind the killings. But many who were close to him, stayed loyal and that helped him carry on for 7 years. The officials believe, King Gyanendra has himself to blame for his vote out. He assumed complete power of the state and declared emergency in 2005. The government was dismissed and many strong hold politicians found themselves locked up behind bars. The Repercussions were heavy and he had to back down following weeks of ruthless protests the following year. Public wanted freedom from his autocratic rule. And now he has 15 days to vacate the royal palace that will be turned into the National museum. Gyanendra will be allowed to stay in Nepal if he lives as a commoner and abides by the rules and regulations set by the government.

Of course, it is a great leap for People of Nepal, but what future is in store for this one of the world’s poorest countries. Nepal is going to be under the rule of Maoists who are considered as a terrorist outfit by US. How quickly it gets used to the presence of two economic giants’ India and China on its either side, will pave the future course for Nepal. The World is watching.

Education Spending in State – Showing Signs of Fatigue

Everyone is aware of the fact that quality education is important for creating a reservoir of human resources for subsequent absorption in jobs, and hitherto will help in combating poverty. This has made resource deployment for improving the output from education, a necessity. Though the government claims to be doing everything to upgrade the quality of education, but the effort does not seem fruitful enough. It has been found out by the preliminary estimates that the share of expenditure devoted to education and its allied activities has declined sharply in the past millennium.

It is coming in notice that the state governments continues to spend more on non merit subsidies rather than utilizing available funds for asset creation and maintenance of existing facilities in the areas of education. The cumulative expenditure of states on educational services as a percentage has dropped exponentially from 20% to 18% in the year 2005-06. There is also a significant deepening in the inter state difference in the spending of per capita education across states. This as a result is leading to the deterioration of educational infrastructure at the primary and secondary levels in the states.

There is another worrisome facet of this crunch as well. Many states that in the past have ranked to be the most literate states are also showing signs of fatigue. To explicate this fact, let's cite the example of Kerala. This state, that had always recorded the highest literacy levels is also showing a considerable decrease in the overall investments in education.

The secular decline in the human capital investment is a matter of concern. The state government should remember that increasing expenditure on education infrastructure on education as well as better utilisation of the apportioned funds is essential element of the developmental strategy of the state in order to fulfill its most important duty – bringing development.