tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.comments2023-10-02T14:33:30.079+05:30Democracy and IndiaVipul Shahahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16304336580858176863noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-21373583337483568122021-09-06T16:28:30.560+05:302021-09-06T16:28:30.560+05:30Poignant & insightful! Vipul thanks for sharin...Poignant & insightful! Vipul thanks for sharing your experience.Anupamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08492431592793662448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-28202541017660420492020-06-15T14:06:09.253+05:302020-06-15T14:06:09.253+05:30SAVE WEAVERS: GRAVITY GRAVE
Pandemic created Pande...SAVE WEAVERS: GRAVITY GRAVE<br />Pandemic created Pandemonium in the poverty-stricken pathetic lives of #Weavers #Handlooms & #Powerlooms in my native #Telangana and all across #India.<br /><br />Besides Health Hazard, Weavers Economy devastated.<br /><br /> SOURCE LINK : https://www.molitics.in/article/692/save-weavers-gravity-graveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-71717998193793719402017-06-06T17:52:19.738+05:302017-06-06T17:52:19.738+05:30A brilliant piece written with much feeling and em...A brilliant piece written with much feeling and empathy if not with great insights.Hareshwar P Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04679375349797050332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-33353149449591408632013-06-10T18:10:48.714+05:302013-06-10T18:10:48.714+05:30Unless radical electoral reforms are made, real de...Unless radical electoral reforms are made, real democracy will be a mirage in India. See http://thinkerspad.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/think-twice-before-you-vote/raghuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15576323967119860242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-24698902109443543392012-04-30T18:58:08.928+05:302012-04-30T18:58:08.928+05:30And all this is very hypothetical. What about hack...And all this is very hypothetical. What about hackers? Can't they hack into the EVM system?Identity Resolutionhttp://www.infoglide.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-39628185682655743092012-02-16T07:17:08.577+05:302012-02-16T07:17:08.577+05:30Great piece... it's pretty amazing and i think...Great piece... it's pretty amazing and i think it's easy to do it. Thanks for this nice sharing.cheap san jose hotelshttp://www.sanjose-hotels-ca.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-90097321341540864662010-02-13T01:51:04.120+05:302010-02-13T01:51:04.120+05:30All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens...All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Mumbai, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words, " Me ahe Mumbaikar"<br /><br />Amit Kshirsagar<br /><br />An adaptation of US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's famous speech "Ich bin Ein Berliner"Amit Kshirsagarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-52305092072260199982009-12-19T01:55:18.092+05:302009-12-19T01:55:18.092+05:30aaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-561629319301422512009-11-01T15:21:24.938+05:302009-11-01T15:21:24.938+05:30Nice Idea ...will definitely love to see this happ...Nice Idea ...will definitely love to see this happening...however if I am getting my numbers correct then right now probably only 7% of the Indian Population are internet users so I guess it will take some time to get the process going.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152536482384776525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-53396089709764237472009-05-17T14:49:00.000+05:302009-05-17T14:49:00.000+05:30@ Anirbit : In response to your comments, point-wi...@ Anirbit : In response to your comments, point-wise -<br />1. Yes, that's right. That's the source.<br />2. Astute observation. Why, in spite of being near perfect, do their exist exploitable loopholes in the Constitution?<br />3. Firstly, it's 714 and not 741. Anyways, it could also be looked upon as the strength of India. The problem lies not so much in the humongous population of India but the lack of it's effective utilization. <br />4. I think I know what you're talking about : Dynasty politics. I agree. But in the given situation, I think it is the lesser of the two evils.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-68340750639554958362009-05-17T13:53:00.000+05:302009-05-17T13:53:00.000+05:30Some points:
1. The place from where you got your...Some points:<br /><br />1. The place from where you got your numbers about this election's expenditure and GDP hike is probably this:<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/global/15rupee.html?fta=y<br /><br />2. Definitely The Indian Constitution is a marvellous piece of critical thinking and it has been called the "Lawyer's Paradise". It definitely has this precision about it needed to keep such a diverse nation from falling apart.<br /><br />But then again one needs to think although a very precise document it has given rise to a million loop holes which get exploited badly.<br /><br />Further the Indian Constitution hasn't been able to enfore an Uniform Civil Code and most importantly the marriage acts are still religion based and that is shameful for India.<br /><br />The Indian Constitution definitely needs a thorough revision and updating.<br /><br />3. The fact that there are some 741 million voters in India today is only a blotch on the image of India. It only shows how terribly we have failed to control population and how terribly our education system has failed. <br /><br />4. I strongly oppose that democracy is deeply etched in the Indian psyche. Far from it! Given how often Indians indulge in idolatry and how often someone gets socially hailed as the "king" or the "queen" or something and political leaders go around sitting on thrones in rallies India is far from internalization of such a subtle philosophy as democracy.<br /><br />It is only 60 years since India came out of the British Rule and we are yet to get out of the psyche of "malik" (owner) and "naukar" (slave) mentality. We think along these lines ever so often! So many employees in so many officies think of their boss as "sahab"! <br /><br />We have a long long way to go.<br /><br />But yes this time the Indian electorate has been significantly intelligent in killing parties working along local and religional divisive lines and corrupt people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-60038040589923939902009-04-18T18:07:00.000+05:302009-04-18T18:07:00.000+05:30Outrageous..JMM = 100% ??..well, the silver lining...Outrageous..JMM = 100% ??..well, the silver lining is the two so-called national parties Congress an BJP are at least at the bottom of the list. This should serve as an indication to the other parties [like SP, BSP etc.] to stop proclaiming themselves as national-level parties. First clean up the mess within before stirring up national passion!Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-3443739373064481062009-03-17T21:34:00.000+05:302009-03-17T21:34:00.000+05:30@PratishAs I had said..one needs enough relevant a...@Pratish<BR/>As I had said..one needs enough relevant and correct information to think about something even if she/he has enough intelligence. A person who knows Quantum Theory well probably has enough intelligence and if she/he wants can easily educate him/herself with the required things to lead the people.<BR/><BR/>Science education doesn't train you just Quantum Theory, it trains you how to think logically and precisely. Now if you want you can use this training either to do science well or lead the country well.<BR/><BR/>About Laloo..which one applies?..ahem..ahem..<BR/><BR/>@Vipul<BR/>If you interpret correctly you will realize that I have never said that the "illiterate, poor, and uneducated people" are not politically aware.<BR/><BR/>I said that people in the above situations have to think within severe constraints (I have pointed out the various constraints) unlike you and me.Hence their decision is hugely likely to be affected by immediate things like you said "free rice and TVs" rather than by large scale or broader considerations.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Its a question of longer debate as to how individual perfectionism and professional excellence can contribute to better government.Anirbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00257290158956552196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-72772967290058202292009-03-17T21:21:00.000+05:302009-03-17T21:21:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.Anirbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00257290158956552196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-52228703973794295752009-03-17T19:51:00.000+05:302009-03-17T19:51:00.000+05:30Anirbit, you seem to have mixed too many things to...Anirbit, you seem to have mixed too many things together. How can you expect a Quantum Mechanics expert to lead the people? Each field has it's own uniqueness and each field's expert should try sticking to that area only. Imagine a situation the other way round - a Lalu Yadav teaching Algebra in some college. Your ideas are just as weird as this one, if not more. True, things like minimum level of education ('minimum' is highly debatable here, I agree) and crime record etc. are important, but you seem to be suggesting lofty impractical goals for our 'elections', a concept which is a 'compromise' (as you rightly pointed out). Too much of extremes in either direction will be harmful for India.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-67950888420196418782009-03-17T19:49:00.000+05:302009-03-17T19:49:00.000+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-73831255996106097222009-03-17T02:00:00.000+05:302009-03-17T02:00:00.000+05:30Secondarily, there is a difference between contrib...Secondarily, there is a difference between contributing to world happiness, productivity, knowledge, and in particular, the happiness, productivity, and knowledge of India, and between contributing to the growth of Indian democracy. By studying physics, you probably increased the total amount of knowledge that you have, and thus contributed to the country. That doesn't necessarily strengthen Indian democracy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-46523627912597109672009-03-17T01:56:00.000+05:302009-03-17T01:56:00.000+05:30Hi,Let's "continue" the "conversation" on how we c...Hi,<BR/><BR/>Let's "continue" the "conversation" on how we can "reform" "democracy".<BR/><BR/>To begin with, I challenge your assumption/assertion that illiterate, poor, and uneducated people are less aware about the intricacies of politics than the educated elite.<BR/><BR/>I think this varies from place to place, but urban poor (not the poor people in remote areas that don't get to vote) are affected positively and negatively by a lot of government decisions, and many of them are aware of the power of their voting rights. Whether they have the "broader national interest" at heart may be moot (who does, anyway?) but they're likely to keep tabs on issues such as which political party has slum demolition on the agenda, which political party plans to dole out free rice and TVs, which political party plans to upgrade public transport and set price ceilings, and so on.<BR/><BR/>I've seen poor people do pretty elaborate math on maximizing their personal benefits, not unlike the now-broke college student or the smart investment banker. In general, avoid confusing lack of literacy with lack of resourcefulness or lack of desire to tailor outcomes.<BR/><BR/>As such, people who are most affected by an event are likely to be the ones who put in the most effort to control it to their liking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-19816789751031815882009-01-13T21:50:00.000+05:302009-01-13T21:50:00.000+05:30Nice..Keep up the good work! [:)]Nice..Keep up the good work! [:)]Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-29013194771219798162009-01-13T21:38:00.000+05:302009-01-13T21:38:00.000+05:30Out of Part 1,2 and 3, Part 3 was the best. Really...Out of Part 1,2 and 3, Part 3 was the best. Really well-thought. I hardly have anything to argue with you after reading the almost-flawless posts. Just one thing keeps haunting me no matter what - statements like "Unity in Diversity" are shallow statements, specially in cases like India where there is simply just too much difference of color,culture and religion.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-35371950477385979782008-12-20T01:06:00.000+05:302008-12-20T01:06:00.000+05:30You are absolutely right. There are MANY oustandi...You are absolutely right. There are MANY oustanding qualifications to the American Democratic system, and dependent on the locale there is assuredly some piece of it that can be emulated.BaronVonAuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06456092163588560067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7283629093397593562.post-90548919174184025072008-12-19T23:40:00.000+05:302008-12-19T23:40:00.000+05:30Superb article..Well, I ought to say that it is a ...Superb article..Well, I ought to say that it is a wonderful thing that we are getting the viewpoint of an American on the this issue. When I, an Indian write about something which which I don't actually experience, my views will be slightly twisted and biased. They will be based on what I read in the papers or on the web. But when BaronVonAu writes about it, he knows exactly what problems Americans are facing and it gives a completely new dimension to the article. I did not know that Independents are banished from Presidential debates. At the same time, I still feel that American democracy is far more mature than the Indian set-up and we should learn a few things from their set-up.Pratish Gandhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17876525534775276371noreply@blogger.com