Exile the SP to North Korea

What a shocker this is - the Samajwadi Party (SP) has announced in it poll manifesto that it wants to ban computers, English, mechanised farming and stock trading among other things. This has been covered prominently on news channels like NDTV as well as in the print media.

How ridiculous, horrifying and pathetic!

Does the SP do what it preaches? There are a lot of inherent contradictions in what these people are saying.

A few pointers:

1. 
   
   The SP has a jazzy website, in English, yes that's right - they are using computers and the net, that too in English.


2. 
   
   Mulayam's supporter, Big B, a net freak who passionately blogs every day, would perhaps have to revert to his father's passion - Hindi poetry. Arrey baba, no English, vinglish!


3. 
   
   Aishwarya, another SP supporter, would have to stop all movies in English, stop her jaunts to Cannes and above all no western clothes - that's a logical consequence of SP's policies, right?


4. 
   
   Anil Ambani, another Mulayam supporter, runs a clutch of companies that invest in the markets. If the SP comes to power, would all these companies go bankrupt?


5. 
   
   The son of a prominent SP candidate from Mumbai would have to shut down his upmarket eatery in Bandra, because it serves Italian khaana peena, corrupting Indian minds. And his wife, a Bollywood starlet, would have to stop wearing western dresses, and no make-up, shake-up!


6. 
   
   Last but the least, the ever grinning Amar Singh, would have to stop all his Page 3 party hopping - that's simply not Indian culture.

If the SP is serious about what it says, shouldn't their prominent supporters do all that I have suggested above?

It is indeed stupid, if I may so, for a national party to say all this. Computers and the net are now being used by farmers to find out new techniques of cultivation. Mobiles come in handy for them to get the best price in the markets. Even rickshaw wallahs and household maids use cellphones to optimise their operations! Every small town has computer and English institutes to coach youngsters, helping them get jobs in BPOs, etc.

And now the SP wants to take us back to the middle ages. Or is it mere vote-bank politics, where politicians are mere demagogues inciting people to get to power? Perhaps they have a vested interest in keeping people backward so that continue to hold positions of prominence in society.

Sometimes I feel that India might do well with a benign dictatorship like the way Turkey had in the early part of the 20th century, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk imposed a modernisation on the country - equality of women, separation of religion from the state, adoption of English script for the Turkish language, etc. That is something which is debatable.

For now, let's exile the SP leadership to North Korea, where they will feel at home with Kim Il Jong.

Respect the Soldier

One news report I heard last night is haunting me.

NDTV carried a story last night saying that there was a great deal of frustration in the armed forces on the huge disparity between the salaries of the armed forces and other wings of the government. Though the recent Pay Commission has tried to increase the payout to the armed forces, it is still peanuts. Fortunately the service chiefs recognised this and rejected the revised pay-package to bargain for more.

And if you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys. But national security is no monkey business.

It's sad, really really sad. These brave men lay down their lives defending our borders for us and yet we fail to give them sufficient dignity and respect. The corrupt bureaucrat takes a fatter paycheck than the average army officer. Is this how the honesty and bravery of our soldiers is rewarded? This is probably why the armed forces are not able to attract talent.

Today we dream of becoming a world power, a superpower - of having an economic might, exceeding some G8 countries. But we forget that economic power and military might go hand in hand. To defend our economic interests, we need a blue water navy patrolling the key shipping lanes. We need a air force that allows us to reach the Atlantic, Europe, Australia-Pacific, Africa, etc. And we need a land force to guard against our deceptive northern neighbour, whom we should not trust at any cost.

To do all this we need strategic minds -- minds that can plan not for today but for the next 30-50 years -- minds that can craft a viable military doctrine. In short, we need sharp minds. And we need a lot more officers and soldiers who are able to implement the crafted military doctrine. But today, why would any sane mind join the armed forces today, when a peer who is not so bright can join, say a BPO, earn more and enjoy life?

It's sad that the government is living in a state of denial -- it is shocking. They did show some foresight in enabling acquisition of the required military hardware -- Phalcon AWACS, IL78 mid-air refuellers that enable our Sukhoi Su30s to reach Alaska without halts, but that is simply not enough. But where is the talent to run these machines?

Respect is not only about the pay-package. It is also about honour. Not very long ago, we fought the Kargil war with Pakistan, came out victorious, thanks to some heroes, some of whom laid down their lives. These brave men were honoured - Vir Chakras, Ashok Chakras, etc. But their families did face a lot of harassment at the hands of greedy bureaucrats when it came to handing out the compensation -- this was well documented in the media and cinema also highlighted this issue. Is this how we respect our soldier? We all remember how the government recently Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw "honoured" in death.

Dr. Manmohan Singh had the foresight to craft the nuclear deal for energy security. Dr. Singh yesterday mentioned that India loves Bush, for whatever he did for India.

But Dr. Singh, India also loves their brave soldiers and so you better show some respect to them. Don't test the soldier's patience anymore.