Lokpal Bill - Some Questions

While all of us love indulging in bashing the Govt (and I agree this is not a government known for its squeaky clean reputation) before we start with the brickbats, maybe we must put aside the media hoopla, and listen to both the sides.

While I have a great deal of respect for Anna Hazare, I strongly believe that a parallel structure to the govt would be susceptible to the same weaknesses that plague bureaucracy and the current political structure. There was a very strong justification for separating the judiciary, the legislative and the executive. Decentralization of power was important and central to the constitution, and holds true even today. A simple hark back to the days of the emergency will remind us that it is essential in a democracy that absolute power be held by no one.

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"

As the saying goes, who will guard the guards. Where do you get these super-honest people from? How does a body like that get elected? What incentive is there for a Lokayukta to not accept bribes, especially when he isn't accountable to anyone? How can we assume that quid pro quos and power broking would not affect this institution. And if it does, should we be creating such a supra-national body with such far and wide reaching powers but no checks on itself?

What do you do if the Lokpal and Lokayukta office itself is plagued by corruption? Who takes charge then?

Another valid question raised by Mr Sibal, and I agree with him on this point, is, should a Lokpal be investigating corruption charges against, say a postman, or a telecom engineer who doesn't clear files for an applicant form a distant village? Should that really be under the purview of a Lokayukta? Shouldn't we look at structural and technological reforms in how government departments work? Shouldn't there be an effective ombudsman at the district level for each government department? The reason someone has to pay a bribe to get a file moved to the next table is bureaucratic inefficiencies. If this process was done online, would it not be more transparent and efficient? This Ombudsman office has already been instituted in Banking and Insurance sectors. Pardon my limited knowledge, I still think technology can be a big enabler in removing these inefficiencies.

While all these points are open to debate and criticism, all I am saying is, listen to both the sides before you jump to conclusions. No newspaper carried the details behind the reasons for the drafting panel's objections, while Barkha Dutt's interview( http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-buck-stops-here/pm-can-be-probed-after-he-quits-kapil-sibal/202945 ) has been in the public domain for 2 days now. Maybe coz its not as sensational as a yogi escaping a police lathi charge in women's attire.

RE : The Other India

Well, this post started off more as a comment on a friends blog post. but then it grew so long, I though I might as well post it up here. Its been pretty long since I blogged, and the cobwebs are yet to be dusted, but here goes.

This is my friends post http://tan-wanderlust.blogspot.com/2009/10/other-india.html

Tanmay, A pretty nice question. And you could see the frustration of having gone through the grind of a non IIT college there.

And Nadu... wise words as always.

Having recently joined the corporate world, let me put my two cents are in. Firstly, there's a reason why something is called a brand - It has proved itself repeatedly over time. So, probably therein lies a part of the answer.

And while you do feel the angst right now, always remember, life does not end at JEE, at your engg placements, at CAT. There always an opportunity to make up. At the end of it all, you will probably realise that the people who succeed, do so not because they graduated from IIT, but because they had spirit in them to go a step further than the rest of the crowd.

Like Nadu said, if you have it in you, you will make it. The industry does not care where you are from , as long as you perform, In a sense, its survival of the fittest.

Vikramaditya posted

"In India , the competition compels the junta to believe that "admission tests" measure ur mettle ....
at other places, it is what you do after getting "admitted" and passing out that matters...."

Well, not true. You feel that right now, coz thats where you are and thats what you can see. Your parents' friends probably compare their kids who went to IIT to you, and you fell its all wrong.

But what really matters is "what you do after getting "admitted" and passing out"

Yup, it does. even in India. It really really does.

And its sad if parents cant see beyond JEE, if they dont have enough faith in their child's ability that they have to measure success in life through the reference of an entrance exam at an age that's probably one fifth of the rest of your life. Its sad if poeple conclude your ability to succeed in life even before you have started that life.

Another thing I would like to say to all my juniors and friends. You may probably think a friend of yours is doing better than you if he is earning more than you. But do remember, this is just the start of your career. If you are doing the right things, even if they are for lesser money, if you are focussed and know what you want and how to go about it, in 10 years from now, you would probably look back and laugh. Coz then is when people will actually measure your success. And then is when you will prove your point.

To go off on a tangent, the other day I was looking to buy some sport shoes.

So I headed off to one of the swankier malls among the many that jostle for space in Mumbai, and I realised something. There were some pretty good shoes in a Bata there, and none of them cost more than 1-1.5k. Next to the shop was adidas, reebok and nike. And well, you know the story. same stuff for 3-4k. I was just chatting along with my friends about this that even though Bata won the Superbrand of India award, still the price difference existed, while I dont think the quality had much difference.

And my friend said, BATA is Indian dude...And we Indians have this syndrome. I mean who would want to wear Bata when u can wear Adidas...Thats way cooler, right?

That sums up quite a lot of the attitude people have. And, to tell you the truth, for most times I am no exception to that.

Sometimes I wonder where, as a country we went wrong.

Engineers....

Understanding Engineers - Take One

Two engineering students were walking across a university campus when one
said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied,
"Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own business, when a
beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all
her clothes and said, "Take what you want." The second engineer nodded
approvingly and said, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit
you anyway.

Understanding Engineers - Take Two

To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is
half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Understanding Engineers - Take Three

Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Engineers believe that if it ain't broke,
it doesn't have enough features yet.

Understanding Engineers - Take Four

What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?
Mechanical engineers build weapons and civil engineers build targets.


Understanding Engineers - Take Five

The graduate with a science degree asks, "Why does it work?" The graduate
with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?" The graduate with an
accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?" The graduate with an arts
degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"


Understanding Engineers - Take Six

Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible
designers of the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just
look at all the joints. "Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer.
The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections. " The
last one said, "No,
actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic
waste pipeline through a recreational area?"


Understanding Engineers - Take Seven

An engineer was crossing a road one day, when a frog called out to him and
said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over,
picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and
said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will
stay with you for one
week." The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and
returned it to the pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and
turn me back into a Princess, I'll stay with you for one week and do
ANYTHING you want." Again, the engineer took the
frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket. Finally, the frog
asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess and
that I'll stay with you for one week and do anything you want. Why won't
you kiss me?" The engineer said, "Look, I'm an
engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now
that's cool."

When you're in love, your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your self-respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out - your friends, everyone you used to know. and it's still not enough. The lifeboat is still sinking and YOU KNOW it's going to take you down with it,but still u'll follow it...

- From Shantaram

You Are Fortunate If, Your Mom Is 'Mean'

Some day when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:

I loved you enough... to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken me just 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children: Parents aren't perfect, you know.

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsi-bility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, i loved you enough... to say "NO" when i knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad i won them, because in the end you won, too.

And some day when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world!

While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.

When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.

And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison.

She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them.

She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labour Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.

I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head.

Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.

While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalising others'property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today.

It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

---

The idea for this post isnt mine. It was taken from here. Thank You Lioness. For telling me why my mom was mean.. :)