The Right to Expression in India

Before I write about what the people of India are going through at this moment, let us first go through what is there in the constitution of India on our fundamental rights. 

This is picked straight from Wikipedia and the six fundamental rights recognised by the constitution are:

1. Right to equality, including equality before law, prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and equality of opportunity in matters of employment, abolition of untouchability and abolition of titles.
2. Right to freedom which includes speech and expression, assembly, association or union or cooperatives, movement, residence, and right to practice any profession or occupation (some of these rights are subject to security of the State, friendly relations with foreign countries, public order, decency or morality), right to life and liberty, right to education, protection in respect to conviction in offences and protection against arrest and detention in certain cases.
3. Right against exploitation, prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic in human beings;
4. Right to freedom of religion, including freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, freedom to manage religious affairs, freedom from certain taxes and freedom from religious instructions in certain educational institutes.
5. Cultural and Educational rights preserving Right of any section of citizens to conserve their culture, language or script, and right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
6. Right to constitutional remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. Fundamental rights for Indians have also been aimed at overturning the inequalities of pre-independence social practices. Specifically, they have also been used to abolish untouchability and hence prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. They also forbid trafficking of human beings and forced labour. They also protect cultural and educational rights of ethnic and religious minorities by allowing them to preserve their languages and also establish and administer their own education institutions.

The constitution says that every Indian has the right to express their feelings, in a peaceful way and have the right to assemble. Is this being allowed to happen in free India? I do not think so. 

Firstly in the capital city of India the women are not safe, and when the citizens go out and demand protection, those who should protect them become wolves. The police should be protecting the citizens and not become puppets of the ministers. 

I saw on TV today that the citizens of Delhi were being beaten with sticks, were fired at with tear gas and greeted with water cannons. Is this what the freedom we dreamt of? What kind of independence did we get then? 

After 65 years of independence the government's ministers have become richer & richer and the natural resources of the country have become the right of every minister but the common man. How is this different to what happened under the British East India Company or the British Raj? 

The government today is autocratic and allows you do only what it wants to see; it is not fair in any aspect. The people of India are now confident, educated and the middle class is growing. A confident and educated nation is very difficult to govern and the government should understand this. If 10% of middle class in India come out on the streets the government will then suffer, and suffer it must for they have brought this upon themselves. 

Corruption has crossed all boundaries. From fodder to 3G technology there isn't a single sector where a minister hasn't dug his teeth to suck money which belongs to the common man. The Fodder Scam guy became the Railway minister & the 2G-3G scam guy was in Jail for few months and then back dancing to "Apdi Podu!" The government is shameless and has taken everyone for a ride. 

The minister's have build bungalows bigger than the Lords and Viceroys of British Empire, have cars and gun men protecting them as if they are kings of their area. Where as people do not have land to plough in their constituency and sleep on footpaths. I would spit on the ministers everyday if I could. 

What are the next steps for a brighter India? Firstly the government needs to have a dialogue with the people's representatives right now, not tomorrow but right now. They must pull up their socks, need to implement new laws so that India is a safer, educated, healthier and transparent nation. The new laws which I can think of are: 

1. New Police Law - Change the way police works in India - they are there to protect and not rule.
2. New Safety Law - Safety of the people when we step out of our homes - when on the road and off the road. 
3. New Women's safety - Please do something about these rape cases. 
4. New Education Law - build a school in every village build 5 when the village is big
5. New Law so that the citizens have good Sanitation and Clean water everyday - it should not take 65 years to solve the water problem in a country like India. we are called the land of rivers for god-sake; use your head! 
6. Law which gives electricity to every home  - Why does it take half a decade to build Nuclear power plants after a law has been passed? 
7. Every administrator must be accountable to the people of India - No one, mister or administrator, is bigger than the common man. 
8. any other??? 

Another request I have is to the media (TV, Print and Internet) in India. When such a high profile issue is going on in the country can we give cricket a second thought please. A rape happens and the issue comes on TV, then the next day if we have a cricket match; why does cricket take precedence? Isn't it common sense to have a talk about the bigger issue here? So dear media, the issues which concern the common man and can change the country should come first! 

Hope that the government will serve the people first and their wallets later!  

Annoying things people do on the underground

1. Hold the doors - It makes your journey 30 seconds quicker but makes 400 other people late. Annoys the driver and he pees off every passenger on the train.
2. Open the newspaper in the middle of a crowded coach - What's with the newspaper? It gossip - they open it on my face and carry on reading as if I am invisible! Flipping jokers...
3. Sleep on my shoulder - No this is not your bed dear, this is a train coach! And this is my shoulder and not your pillow, so why don't you go back home if you want to have a nap; I love working and I am going to the office!
4. Listen to music at maximum volume - Doesn't give me a lot of trouble but I keep thinking and feel bad for the guy's ears all day. The probability of he turning deaf in couple of years in quite high.
5. Enjoy the music a bit too much and make the drummer moves and the guitar moves! Why do you feel that listening to  music has turned you into a professional musician?
6. Walk around the coach - Some people think this is a supermarket and they walk around just to see "What's there? Where am I? How far am I from my stop?" Sit there! Keep your ears open. And they go - "Excuse me! Excuse me!" shhhh, sit Tommy!
7. Walk slowly down the stairs when I am trying to get into an early morning train. Some of them watch films on their smart phones and keep bumping into others. Don't understand what great film was released recently!
8. Folding bike on the train - This guy must have left home on a bike and jumped into the train... Trying to impress his new girlfriend? Or may be he injured himself while riding the bike?
9. Tourists that carry huge suitcases in the early morning rush hour - As soon as I see these guys in front of me, I try to move to a different queue. (No generalisation but it looks like they speak good Spanish or Italian! Never seen a Japanese with a huge suitcase - they might have big cameras! )
10. Passionate gamers - They are smart to carry an iPad (can watch films or read books and newspaper on those things) but stupid to play angry birds on it. They move around the iPad, playing the game passionately and you feel as if this thing might hit my face at the next opportunity.

Nice things people do

1. Give up seats for those who need it
2. Go that extra to give back a forgotten wallet or oyster card
3. Help the senior citizens
4. Always give you advise on the shortest route to your destination

Growth in the Western Economies....

Once upon a time there were 10 friends. They all thought it would be good if we all started a business together. They started a factory and in the beginning it was all supposedly good.

But slowly everyone realised that although 7 friends were very hard working; 3 of them were not exactly good for the group. One of them lied a lot; the second wasn't very hard working and kept partying all day with under-age girls and the third was just lazy. One day all the other seven decided that for them to keep the business afloat the other 3 would have to leave the group. And so it was decided that Greece, Portugal and Ireland would leave the Euro Zone on 1st of January 2013!

• For the West to remain an economic power I think that the Euro Zone must break and only the stronger economies should remain within the Euro Zone. The countries I think should be in Eurozone are Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria & Sweden. That will make it a stronger economic area and will surely bring stability to the region & the world. With the stronger economic area we get a stronger currency and ultimately growth.
• But then there should be growth in every sector. I believe for any economic sector to progress, there should be strong financial fundamentals, good manufacturing, efficient transportation, healthcare and housing for all. I strongly believe that with all the manufacturing moving to India and China, the West has found a huge hole in its pockets. The Euro Zone must try to innovate and manufacture high quality items in this area. Things like smart phones, Integrated Circuit chips, Satellite, Air-planes, etc should be the main focus and this can help in the growth of manufacturing in this zone.
• Also, with Rising Inflation in Asia I think that the growth in that economic zone will slow down  in future. There are two ways to move ahead faster than others; first is you run fast and leave others behind and the second is that the others slow down. So, it comes to such a situation that for the West to grow faster, they need to pray that India and China slow down a bit!
• We can only hope that the West doesn't manufacture everything in China. This weekend when my wife and I went to the supermarket to do some shopping for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee; we found that the commemorative mugs for this occasion were "Made in China!" - This is an absolute joke. For the West to have growth we need some - COMMON SENSE! And may be some good luck.
• And lastly, when countries like India and China change from "Developing Countries" to "Newly Developed Countries" I think the salaries will go up, the cost of living will go up, the good manufactured in India and China would not be as cheap as they were 10-15 years ago and the companies that outsourced manufacturing to India and China would have to bring back the manufacturing and that will bring growth back in the West.

I look forward to watching what happens to the West in the next 2-3 years and hope for the best...

What Indian Parents Say...

Indian parents, when going out:

1. They want you to get ready at 7 am even if we are leaving at 12 noon
2. They will start making food for the journey at 5:00 am. As if there are no restaurants or dhabas or train food available. I now have to eat cold paronthe from aluminium foil.
3. Don't talk to strangers in the train.
4. Dad won't use the map and knows all the directions. My dad gets lost on the second left turn.

In general

1. Don't go out in the sun you will become dark. Mom I am brown already can't become darker!
2. Study every evening from 6 to 9 or else you won't get into IIT. If you won't get into IIT, you are a loser in life!
3. Don't leave food in your plate. Eat it! Eat eat eat it! Don't let me get up from my chair. You want thappad?
4. Are our neighbours from Africa? I - Dad he is Michael & works for JP Morgan in Canary Wharf, lived in London for 25 years! Don't teach me you dog, I know he is kaala from Africa, no need to get close to him.
5. If you won't study you will become a builder. I don't want you to be a builder; you must become a doctor or accountant! Go go go to your room and study. I - Dad I like civil engineering I would like to become a builder! Get out of this house. I- Dad I like cooking, would like to do some hotel management & hosputality degree! Out comes the gun! Shoots my ear off!
6. Switch off the TV! Switch it off now! Go Study! Remember IIT...
7. How come you got 85%? How much did Ravi get? 87%. You have brought shame to my family! Out comes the gun, shoots my other ear off!
8. Its cheaper in the other shop
9. When there is a 5 second kissing scene on TV, the parents go - Why are you watching this? What are you learning? Do you want to do this? Do you have a girl friend? Are you virgin? Poor kid - What??? How is the kissing scene on TV related to my virginity?
10. Where is the respect? Show some respect! Why won't you say Sat Sri Akal Uncle ji? Go and say now! Go! Go! Go! Don't let me get up, you want thappad?
11. Give me the TV remote. Only I can change the channel. I am watching it even when I am sleeping!
    
    

Patents love saying to newly wedded couples

1. Beta you must respect her & her family now. "oh I didn't know that, thanks for reminding, as if I curse my folks everyday!"
2. Beta I want to see the grand child before I die. "Mom last month you were 50, you didn't speak about dying; this month you are still 50, why are you talking about dying?"
3. Start saving you will be 3 very soon

Facebook is like marriage?

Facebook is like marriage, you can't live without it. Here it is:

1. The first thing you see after the wife moves in with you "Now I don't know where is the sugar jar, she's completely changed the place where I kept it before. It was always under the table or on the chair in the dining room, now I need to look in the cupboards in the kitchen to find the sugar jar!" Facebook keeps changing the way you add photos, tag photos, comment on photos, link photos, I get very confused every time I need to upload photos or albums.
2. As soon as you get married you realise that every time you step out of the house you need to tell the lady where you are going. “I am going out” is unacceptable. "Now I have to tell my wife where am I going at 7pm in the evening? I am not a kid I can find my way back!" but the wife needs to where you are and needs to track each and every movement of yours. On Facebook whenever you write a comment or post a photos or write on your wall, you need to tell the location. In fact if you are posting using your smart phone, the location is automatically uploaded. Facebook is my wife’s invention?
3. Sometimes your wife comes and asks “who is this lady in the photo”, you reply “my aunt!”, the next questions is “oh really, I thought she is your uncle, can you please elaborate how is she your aunt?” then you need to explain her, blah di blah di blah di blah.... I now need to tell Facebook what is my relationship with each person on my friends list; mum, dad, uncle, cousin, blah! Why? Why? Again is Facebook my wife’s invention?
4. I need to tell my wife if I like her cooking or dress or hair or shoes. On Facebook you have to LIKE or comment or hate a photo posted by a friend whom you spoke to once in 4 years at the university.
5. I now need to welcome my wife's cousin whom she's spoken to once in last 5 years, to our new home. We can ignore that cousin after the dinner for next 5 years. On Facebook once a long lost friend adds you, you need to speak to them for next 7 days, after that you both ignore each other for next 5 years.
6. In marriage you can have a fight and poke your wife/husband in the eye, on Facebook you can poke your friend too.
7. My wife needs to know my entire friends list. Friends who are from my office, from my university or from my club. I need to give all the details about my friends to my wife, so that if I am going out with “a friend” she knows, will I come home drunk or dead drunk or lying in the gutter! Where my wife picks me up from depends on the kind of friends. On your Facebook, your friends must have surely checked out all your friends and must have surely seen your friends from University. Check out friends of friends and comment "ah this girl is his friend from university. Bhav had some awesome girls in his university!" Marriage categorises your friends and so does Facebook!
8. In married life if a man has a problem he has to "be a man & fight the problem!", if the lady has a problem we need to "be a man & support her!" Check this on Facebook; a man says "I lost my job today" - you get only 1 comment - "be a man, you should be out there looking for a job & not posting status on your wall". A girl says "my cat is sick" - the girl gets 1000 comments comforting her. Mark Zuckerburg is a woman?
9. Marriage sucks the energy out of a conversation; you keep thinking "is this why I got married?" Facebook keeps you awake all day & night. You leave a message on your crush's wall at 12 in the night, wake up 3 times in the night to check for a reply, wake up in the morning & start pressing refresh 10 times to update your notification. You keep thinking is this why I messaged on her Facebook page.
11. Once you get married you start showing off in front of your in-laws. You make sure your in laws know that you have bought a new car and it's bigger & better than what they have. In the Facebook world the first thing you do after buying a car is “post photos on Facebook!" Comments you get from your in-laws - "What a loser, that's a shit car at a shit price. You were robbed. I could have got you a better deal. Don’t you recall your father in law telling you everything about everything you have bought, even if he does all his shopping from Argos!
12. Once you get married, you like sleeping next to the girl whom you have loved for the last so many years. And Facebook is addictive, we all know that!

How to solve the sovereign debt crisis? And the future

There should be a plan how the sovereign crisis can be solved and I think to do that the big economies must stop borrowing from the other economies of the world and start developing their own industries to improve the government's balance sheets.

Currently the countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and even France, Germany, UK & USA only pay the interest on the loans they have taken from the other economies of the world. When the times comes for the next instalment, the payment amount increases and this leads the governments to cut in local spending. We then see tax increases, decrease in pensions, decreases in free services given by the governments, etc etc etc. So the best thing to have done in the first case was to borrow less, but now we need to increase your country's manufacturing and try to create more jobs. Easier said than done though.

I think Europe should do this:

1. Increase manufacturing in Germany, France & United Kingdom. Chip manufacturing? Electric cars? electric batteries for cars? Some new innovation? Finland was the home of mobile phone manufacturing; a country again has to become the trend setter.
2. Bring the call centres back. The basic simple jobs should go to the local people.
3. Improve rail network, add 4 carriages to every train that runs in Britain; and please give contracts to local firms, where local banks fund the projects.
4. European Union has to break away from very weak economies like Greece & Ireland. I think Italy & Spain are too big to fail and they can be part of European Union with some new rules. The following countries should be part of EU - UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg. Rest can join later.
5. We have the ISA in UK where people can save up to £5300 every year. FSA must increase ISA limit from £5300 to £10000. This will change the mentality of people in UK, from spend spend spend to save save save and the banks will see their cash reserves increase. This money can then be given to the businesses and this will help boost the economy.
6. Ask people to spend where it is necessary & not spend on useless items - we actually don't need 2 laptops, iPads, 2 iPhones, XBOX & 3 holidays every year.
7. Above all the governments should believe in themselves and bring the manufacturing back to Europe, especially Britain (because I live here). I cannot believe the country that started the industrial revolution is now not manufacturing enough and believes that the service industry can help it survive. How can the government be happy to see that the manufacturing has been moved to Asia and all we do here is buy gadgets.

Our government must invest in innovation (which cannot be bloody copied) and must help to develop the entrepreneurial mentality of the youngsters. Enough of everyone wanting to become Accountants, Doctors and Bankers. We need people to become Engineers and develop this country's industries.

The future of Europe & America doesn't look great if they think that only services can help support the economy. Asia will be a big competitor for the next few decades; the West needs to find ways (and not just a way) to make themselves stronger manufacturing and innovation bases.