Going Bonkers

India is Going Bonkers. Period.

The events of the last one week or so have left me completely disillusioned. Every single day I hear some news which confirms one fact - there is no dearth of people waiting to be climb the pedestal of stupidity.

Going Bonkers

Let me start with our Honorable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The railway budget was presented on 14th March by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. A bold man (or so he said) that he was raised the railway fares for the first time in 9 years.

His actions were appreciated both by the PM and FM. They lauded his "progressive budget".

However, his boss - Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress - saw red, and had the Railway Minister sacked in the next 10 days. Her appointee cancelled the fare hikes across majority of the travel classes.

And what did our PM and FM do? They kept mum. It is an absolute shame to see the minister presenting the budget not being responsible in the Parliament to answer questions on the budget. It's an absolute disgrace for the Government of India. 

As for Mamata Banerjee, she should be crowned as the alter ego of the communists.

And just a few days back, the GoI announced India had 5 crore less poor people. 

As per them, if you earn Rs. 28 per day, you are not poor. It means that if two people work in a family of 4, then Rs. 56 is sufficient to get you out of the poverty bracket. 

Rs. 56 for 4 people certainly means that the person is living in difficult conditions. Our Government thinks otherwise. 

All through our lives, we are taught to aim for the skies. However, our Government and its educated policy makers are setting an abysmal targets to show themselves in better light.

Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission had the guts to say "Whatever way you measure, poverty has come down." 

Mr. Ahluwalia :- "Whom are you comforting with such rosy words? If the poverty would have increased, you would be out of your job. And aren't you ashamed to say that in a nation of 125 crore people, with all the machinery and money at your disposal, all you can do is get 5 crore people out of poverty? And that too with a scale which appears to have been set in Athenian times?"

A couple of days later, another scam came to light. We, Indians, lost a whopping 10.67 lakh crores ( 10670000000000.00 INR or 209 Billion USD) thanks to the GoI (again) not auctioning coal blocks. "Coalgate" was born.

Coalgate

Now, I am completely flummoxed by these numbers. Is the coal really worth so much that we could have got 209 Billion USD? And if yes, why on this very earth didn't we try to earn this money, which could have solved a multitude of other problems?

Or is the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) exaggerating the figures? 10.67 lakh crores is too huge an amount to be true.

Consider this calculation. 

• India's population is 125 crores

• Number of poor people - 30% = 375000000 = 37.50 crores.

• Distribute 10.67 lakhs crore rupees among the 37.50 crore people. Each of them would get Rs. 28453. For a family of 4, it would mean Rs. 113812.

Wouldn't this be a very substantial security for someone who earns just Rs. 28 a day?

Only God knows the truth in this case. The stand of the GoI is standard, as it was in other scams. They comfort us by saying India hasn't lost so much of a money. 

If anyone can play agony aunt, its the Government of India.

And if such puzzling news was not sufficient, the Indian judiciary too decided to join the circus. In a verdict given in Delhi, non consummation of a marriage on the wedding night was cited as a reason for a divorce.

Now this is completely mind boggling. Will the courts decide what people do before or after marriage? For something which is a very personal and mutual choice?

Maybe you can't blame the courts and the judges. When everyone around is playing a joker, everyone else would also love to join the party.

And today, our distinguished Army Chief let the cat out of the bag by telling the world that he was offered a bribe of 14 crore rupees for purchasing sub standard vehicles. 

I was attempted to be Bribed  - Army Chief

For most practical purposes, this incident would have happened more than 6 months earlier (after all, the Chief was busy fighting with the Government over his age for the last 6 months or so). And our honorable Defence Minister sat on this matter for a long long time, without initiating any action.

And today, when the matter became public knowledge, the minister ordered an inquiry. Once again, this is a very shameful response. It seems that the Government of India needs to be rapped on the knuckles to get into any action.

Or they love Status Quo.

Or to say it in a very sarcastic way, I would quote my friend.

~~

We Indians work on the "Principle of rockets".
It doesn't mean we aim for the sky.
It means that we don't start working unless our tail is on fire.
~~

Be it Lokpal, Coalgate, the Army Chief Bribe, each of the instances would reflect such my-tail-is-on-fire action.

All in all, the events of the recent past have made me realize that remaining sane in such insane times would be extremely difficult. Possibly one principle would work - Blinkers On.

P.S. I need some Ice Gate keep myself cool. Is Ice Gate in the offing?

Flying Elephants

A friend told me something yesterday, and it goes as below :-

"If you want 'quality', 'low cost', and 'shorter time to deliver'... I can give you only Two".

I would like to add the below.

The person who made the demand (which prompted the above response) can be sometimes (or many a times) unreasonable. Maybe, the person is bound by his internal unreasonable compulsions. 

In such a case, you can reply back to him, "Tell me a way to make a baby in less than 9 months, and I will give you Quality, and Low Cost, all in a Short Time".

If a stunned silence doesn't follow, then the sun will not rise in the east tomorrow morning.

Unreasonable Demands - Flying Elephants

P.S. Flying Elephants exist only in cartoons.

The World Crisis 2012

The world has become a giant inter tangled mess. The Mayans, some ages ago, had predicted that the world will end in 2012. By God's grace, I hope, the Mayans are wrong. However, the current custodians of dear earth - you, me, and our fellow earthlings - are not making things easy.

Every single day, we are living under the threat of war. Every single day, we are living under the threat of a collapsed world economic system.

The World Crisis 2012

Let us have a look at the United States of America. In 2008, Obama said - "Yes,  We Can." He held a promise to transform America. Surprisingly, he was also awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2009.

And as Obama comes towards the end of his tenor in 2012, the world is anything but a peaceful place. Obama did not remain true to the promise he showed 5 years back.  

Obama was served a tough hand at the beginning of his Presidency. He exhausted a major part of his energy and resources in dealing with the most terrible recession in the last 80 years. The wars in Iraq, and Afghanistan, the war on terror in sovereign Pakistan, and military missions in Libya did not help the cause.

Afghanistan is still a dangerous place. It looks like Taliban can be back in Afghanistan, this time as official rulers, with the blessings of the USA. 

Some elements in the US Senate also wants Baluchistan to be a separate nation. And who does America think will rule them? Will it be the Pakistan Taliban? Pakistan, too, is offended by this attack on their sovereignty.

As if the pressure of war was not sufficient, the world is also cornered by an boiling economic crisis. Greece is on the verge of a collapse. Greece has been granted loans exceeding 100 Billion USD. Such numbers are mind numbing.

The Euro Zone also risks being disintegrated. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said that the existence of the Euro Zone is important to avoid the risk of war.

Merkel said, “Nobody should believe that another half century of peace in Europe is a given - it’s not. So I say again: if the Euro collapses, Europe collapses. That can’t happen.”

These comments paint a grime picture of the future in Europe.

Hungary's debt ratings have been cut to "Junk". Spain, Italy and Ireland owe foreign debt which runs into Trillions of Dollars. Have a look at this chart to understand more details.

The worst part is that the major economies - the USA, the UK, France, Germany, along with the relatively smaller but significant European nations - have lent to each other, thereby creating a web. A collapse of any of these economies will trigger a domino effect and cause an unbearable strain on the world economy.

Civil wars were the order of the day on 2011. Across Africa - from Libya to Egypt - ordinary people have overthrown leaders who had ruled their countries for decades.

The situation for Russia is slightly similar. Vladimir Putin, who has been the President for 8 years, and the current Prime Minister for 4 years, is once standing for the Presidential elections in March 2012. People are not happy with this action from Putin.

The victory of his party in the state Duma elections resulted in several protests in Russia. In my opinion, Putin will come back to power in 2012. If this triggers another round of protests in Russia, it may snow ball into a conflict between the rulers and the ordinary citizens.

And any turmoil in Russia will have a far reaching impact in Eastern and Western Europe.

In this big economical and political maze, war is once again raising its dirty head. The tensions are rising in the Middle East.

The oil rich Middle East countries provide fodder for the energy hungry nations of the world. From America to Japan, from India to the UK, most nations rely of the oil from the Middle East to keep their world going.

Iran has been ambitiously trying to explore nuclear energy. Maybe it estimates that it needs to have the wherewithal for survival once it runs out of oil. Maybe it is trying to build a deterrent against the super powers who can behave like vultures for its oil.

Their public position has been that the nuclear know how is for developing nuclear energy. This has not gone down well with America and Israel, and their buddies.

In the last few years, 4 of Iran's nuclear scientists have been killed. They have been assassinated. The fingers of suspicion are pointed towards Israel.

Last week, some anti-Israel supporters got together and triggered blasts in Delhi, India and Bangkok, Thailand. A similar bomb attack was foiled in  Tbilisi, Georgia. The perpetrators of the crime are not known. However, Israel has pointed fingers towards Iran.

This blame game can blow up into a war. If Israel looses its cool and bombs Iran, and Iran retaliates, it will be pure mayhem.

World politics is looking like a fight between some kids, where nations are being asked to take sides. The USA has been breathing down India's neck to cut all ties with Iran. India is not showing the inclination to do so, putting its national interests first.

Japan and China do not want Iran to go to war. They are dependent on its oil. The UK, too, has told Israel to avoid war. America says that war is not the only option currently. Well, even if it's one of the options, it still spells doom.

Iran too has been flexing its military muscle. It threatens to close the Hormuz Strait, the narrow piece of sea through which 20% of the world's oil makes its way to the nations across the world. And just yesterday, Iran sent a warship into the Mediterranean.

If Israel puts its prestige first, only God can save us from a war. A war which will send the price of crude oil through the roof. A war which will create an  unbearable pressure on the already stretched world economy. A war where nations would have to takes sides and prove their allegiance.

Well, the last thing that we want today is a war.

History teaches us many lessons. And in these difficult and dangerous times, it would be important to recollect the reason for start of World War 1. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Yugoslav nationalist triggered the World War 1. 

A small match stick can light a fireball. And we can all hope that the leaders of our great nations possesses a calm head to douse the match stick.

After all, we can live in peace. And their is no greater victory than peace. 

A war is a dark blot in the annals of history. Peace is an eraser which can prevent the creation of these dark blots.

On a side note, at the end of 2012, when we welcome the new year 2013, we can take the pride that we have proved the Mayan's wrong.

Shame Shame Puppy Shame

Well, it's Thursday evening. Thoughts about lack of common sense are bubbling in the mind. To crown it, I came across a few instances which made me shout "Shame Shame, Puppy Shame" as I caught on with the news on today's newspaper and the 9 PM news.

Shame Shame Puppy Shame

News1

The talking point these days is about Iran going nuclear. Iran says that it intends to develop nuclear know how for peaceful and energy purposes. The world - led by America and its allies - are convinced that Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons.

As Iran demonstrated its progress in nuclear technology, the news set off panic reaction across the world. 

Isn't it shameful of America, UK, France, and Israel to demonize Iran when they themselves have 1950, 160, 290, and 200 odd nuclear war heads in their own backyards respectively?

Nuclear Energy

News2

In the light of the same nuclear developments in Iran, the European Union plans to stop import of oil from Iran from July 2012.

Why does the EU plan to stop import starting July? Why not today? Isn't is shameful that they trying to serve their own interests by getting oil for the next six months, while they build contingency plans?

News3

The Finance Ministry of India has written to certain Public Sector banks in India indicating that they are wrong in overstating profits and that they should make appropriate provisions for bad loans.

The first thought that came to my mind is - "Why didn't the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India's Central Bank, make this observation?". The later part of the article said that RBI wrote to the Finance Ministry and they in turn wrote to the banks.

Isn't it shameful that the regulator does not do its regulatory and observatory work? Why do they need the Finance Ministry to do the work it has been assigned? 

What's worse is that the overstating of the profits has been happening for the last 3 years. Isn't the regulator at a failure of identifying such gross errors? If such a overstatement of profit (can it be called cooking of books?) was done by a corporate organisation, it would have been pulled up.

News4

A hopeless Arnab Goswami anchors the news hour on Times Now - day in and day out - at 9 PM IST. His job is to bore news watchers. He has made watching news a sad experience. He sets a wrong impression of the techniques of debating on young impressionable minds.

Isn't it shameful that a poor, incompetent anchor is made to host prime time shows?

Just one thought can summarize these four instances - Shame Shame, Puppy Shame.

The Right To Reject

India is a democratic nation. It practices electoral democracy. Under electoral democracy, the citizens of India choose their elected representatives at the local, state and the national level.

Elections are held every 5 years. Representatives from different political parties are nominated in the elections. At the same time, independent individuals (like you and me) too can stand in such elections.

Great Indian Leaders

The voters can vote for their preferred choice of candidates, among the available options. The candidate who gets the maximum number of valid votes is considered as an elected representative of the people. This is called as the First Past The Post principle.

What is expected from the Elected Representative?

This elected candidate is expected to do due justice to the aspirations of constituency - irrespective of the manner in which the underlying people in that constituency would have cast their vote.

It is his responsibility to ensure an all round development of the constituency. It is his duty to give voice to the people in the corridors of power. It is his obligation to discharge his duties with due fairness. 

What actually happens?

However, the world is not fair. Such elected representatives do not meet the peoples expectations once they are elected to power. They do not discharge the duties expected out of them. 

Instead of focusing on the development of their folks, they are more focused on their own personal development. Improvement of their constituency takes a back seat. Aspirations of the people are not met. Personal aspirations often take center stage. 

Disappointing Political Leadership

The worst part? You are saddled with an incompetent representative for 5 years, or till the next elections - whatever is earlier. The system does not offer any mechanism to the people for changing the elected representative in the midst of his tenure.

The After Effects

All such things make the people disoriented from the electoral process. Next time they cast their vote, they decide not to vote against the previously elected candidate. Instead they vote for some other candidate. However, when the new elected representative performs as poorly as the previous one (if not poorer), the people lose faith in this democratic process called election.

What do they do next time? They simply do not cast their votes. Instead of choosing between the devil and the deep sea, they decide to remain oblivious. They do not turn up for the elections. They do not voice their opinions.

Why Should I Vote?

It would be worthwhile to note that in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009, the average voter turn out was only 59.7%. Net in Net, out of the total electorate of 714 Million people, 287 Million men and women (including me) didn't vote.

On a side note, the total money spent in executing the elections was approximately 1200 crores Rupees (260 Million USD). Now, that's not a small amount of money for a poor nation like India. 

What happens in this case? The winning candidates care less. 

As long as he has been voted, it does not matter (to him) how we won. We end up with brash representatives. If the entire electorate would have voted, maybe he would not have been voted to power. If the entire section of the population would have participated in the voting process, he would have been an "also-ran". Only If.

In this growing decadence, there is one voice which is gaining ground. It is - The Right to Reject.

What is the Right to Reject? 

Right to Reject is a facility where a voter says that he does not want to vote for any candidate listed in the election. He rejects all the candidates.

It's an excellent way of showing his displeasure on the candidates on offer. It's a mechanism of having his voice heard.

The Right To Reject

Does the Indian electoral process offer any way to reject any candidates? Yes, it does. I was unaware of this facility till now. And maybe, there are many more like me. 

Under Rule 49-O of The Conduct of Election Rules of India, a voter can decide on not casting his vote and make a record of this fact.

The Rule goes as below :-

~~

49-O. Elector deciding not to vote. If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.

~~

In simple words, the person is telling - He is voting for None Of The Above (NOTA).

How did the people exercise this option in the pre EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) era? Well, they simply cast their ballot by marking their vote against multiple candidates. In this case, the vote was considered as Invalid.

What happened with the advent of the EVM's? The EVM lists only the set of valid candidates. A vote can be cast only once. As a result, it is not possible for the people to mark the vote against multiple candidates. 

If he indeed has to reject all the candidates, he would have to make this fact known to the Election Officer. However, by doing so, he is violating the principle of secrecy of his ballot. Sometimes, technological advances do have their demerits too.

Well, this concept gives an opportunity to the people to make their displeasure about lack of suitable candidates known.

None Of The Above

Does it influence the results in any way? No, it doesn't. The candidate who has secured the highest number of valid votes polled is declared elected. Read more here.

Once again, we have a problem (of incompetent candidates participating in the elections) at hand. The solution on offer does not solve the problem. All it does is give an opportunity to someone to be vocal about his opinion. However, it's just an empty voice. It doesn't help anyone.

What are the different options suggested for handling such situations? There are quite a few. If the NOTA gets the maximum number of votes among the candidates, it could be possible to hold the elections again. However, that would be a costly process. 

It could be possible to have a nominated representative instead of an elected representative. However, the fairness of this nomination can itself be questioned.

The alternatives are indeed limited. But there is a strong need for such a concept at this hour. 

How do we improve the Right to Reject?

What are my suggestions? Well, a couple of them. 

QnA 1 - How do we punish the poor candidates? 

I propose that if the total number of NOTA votes are exceeding 49% of the valid votes polled by a candidate, he should be disqualified from the election process and should not be allowed to stand in any elections, at any level, for the next 10 years. His security deposit should also be forfeited.

What's the reasoning behind this idea? 

Why 50%? Well, if a candidate has 100 people voting in his favor, but 50 people indicating that he is not worthwhile, his credentials and representational skills are being seriously questioned. 

Why 10 years? Well, commonly, this is the time interval between 2 elections, and it would offer a chance to the candidate to improve on his credentials, and be a part of the electoral process again.

QnA 2 - How do we choose the winning candidate?

This is a tough question. I propose that the candidate who has polled maximum number of valid votes, with the total NOTA votes being less than 50% of his polled votes, be considered as a winner.

If choosing such a candidate is not possible, it means all candidates have been disqualified (as explained in QnA 1). In such a case, the election must be re held.

However, the elections are predominantly expensive. To avoid unnecessary expenditure of state funds, such elections must be funded by the security deposits of the failed candidates in the previous elections. 

Candidates from recognized political parties must be made a pay a heftier security deposit (since they have access to fund raising facilities). Independents should have nominal security deposits.

Summary

In my opinion, Right To Reject is a good option. 

It would give a facility to the people to make their voice heard. It is necessary to back up this concept with adequate mechanisms, so that the people do have their elected representatives at different level of the Government. It would also be important to ensure that the State does not end up expending funds due to lack of skilled political representatives.

Democracy is a Challenge

Some harsh and strict actions against rejected politicians may also help in cleansing up the field.

All of this is in hope of a better and a stronger democracy, and a stronger voice for the people. Long Live Democracy!!

Classy Advertisements Build Brands

Giant organisations are known to spend a lot of money on building their brands. And is there a better way than a 30 second commercial showcased on prime time TV to build your brand?

If you watch any average TV program spanning 30 minutes, you would see a myriad of ads. But only a very few break ice with your heart. And this blog post is aimed to look at those few ads who caught my attention in the last one year or so.

Classy Advertisement Build Brands 

The contribution of these ads to build the brand is phenomenal.

Each of these ads are classy and stylish. Needless to say, each of them is brimming with a message. Let's take a look, possibly in the order they were released.

The first one is from Airtel - Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai. 


With a foot tapping number and a raw college environment as a backup, this ad made a connect with the student community. As for those who had passed out of college, this ad reminded them of the carefree college days. And for the youngsters who are still in school, it set their dreams alight about the joyous days to look ahead.

This advertisement was a big hit. Airtel always manages to come up with one great ad after another.

The next one was from Idea promoting it's 3G services. Once again, it had an interesting voice over and some nice realistic video.

This ad seemed to be inspired from this particular section from the book SuperFreakonomics.

~~

Rural Indian families who got cable TV began to have a lower birthrate than families without TV. (In a country like India, a lower birthrate generally means more autonomy for women and fewer health risks.) 

Families with TV were also more likely to keep their daughters in school, which suggests that girls were seen as more valuable, or at least deserving of equal treatment. (The enrollment rate for boys, notably, didn’t change.).

It appears that cable TV really did empower the women of rural India, even to the point of no longer tolerating domestic abuse. Or maybe their husbands were just too busy watching cricket.

~~

And yes, if TV can play the role as mentioned above, why not 3G? On a side note, if you are interested in behavioral economics, you should read Freakonomics and top it up later with SuperFreakonomics

 

Next one is Hum Main Hai Hero from Hero. 

Hero Honda had changed its brand name and was rechristened as Hero Motors. And this ad reminded people of the brand. And with AR Rahman giving excellent music, this ad promised a lot of brand recall value.

 

And today, I saw a song on TV wherein people across India sing a part of this ad. This reemphasized the connect established by the ad. It was this song which prompted me to write this blog post.

Finally, you have Umeedon Vali Dhoop Sunshine Vali Asha from Coca Cola. This wonderful ad was released to mark the beginning of the new year 2012. 

Featuring young innocent kids, a lovely song, and some interesting real data, this ad is a mark of hope and success.

 

All these wonderful ads have made for an interesting experience while watching TV, be it during the boring news or the crunch time during the Cricket World Cup. 

The organisations would be spending millions of rupees each time the commercial is aired. However, they can be contended with the fact that their ads have paid off. And paid off in style. 

Lastly, it would be most important to recognise the creativity of the people involved in the creation of these ads. Hats off to you guys. Keep up with the good work.

Freedom In Moderation?

We all love freedom. We all love liberty. All that I wish to be is a free bird. 

However strong may be our wishes, or however right may be our opinions, there are people out there who try to keep us in shackles. People who try to keep us in bound, while trying to be free themselves. People who love freedom, but don't wish to share the freedom. 

The concept of freedom was beautifully explained by the following scene from the movie The Duchess. The movie stars Keira Knightley in the lead role, in and as The Duchess.

Keira Knightley in The Duchess

The background is a meeting of a political party - The Whig Party - from  England, set in the 18th century. A leader of the party - Mr. Fox - gives a speech explaining the views and opinions of the party. At the conclusion of the speech, the party seeks feedback from The Duchess. And the scene goes as below.

~~~~

The Duchess : I must confess, I am not yet at ease with political speeches. Their very form tends to obstruct my view of their actual meaning, if such there be.

..

..

The Duchess : I fail to fully comprehend how far we, the Whig Party, that is, are fully committed to the concept of freedom.

Mr. Fox : We intend to extend the vote.

The Duchess : To all men?

Mr. Fox : Heavens, no. But certainly to more men. Freedom in moderation.

The Duchess : "Freedom in moderation"?

Mr. Fox : Precisely.

The Duchess : I'm sure you are full of the best intentions, Mr. Fox, but I dare say I would not spend my vote, if I had it, of course, on so vague a statement. One is either free or one is not. The concept of freedom is an absolute. After all, one cannot be moderately dead or moderately loved or moderately free. It must always remain a matter of either or.

~~~~

And yes, if you are interested in checking out the video, you can down it right here.

Undoubtedly, the proponent of "Freedom in Moderation" was stunned when the Duchess spoke out her mind. And the next time someone tries to hand out such Freedom in Moderation, I trust this clip would play back in our mind and motivate us to speak out.

Well, we may have moved from the 18th century to the 21st century? But has the mindset changed? No, It has not changed and our politicians and leaders still indulge in such shameful behavior.

Isn't this what the Government of India is doing right now by trying to ban Google+, Facebook, and similar websites? Isn't this what China is trying to do by blocking Google and similar social content from its 1 Billion + population?

Isn't this what Saudi Arabia is doing by preventing it's women from driving? And can you believe the reasons behind such justifications? As per this news article, I quote - "Academics at the Majlis al-Ifta' al-A'ala, which is Saudi Arabia's highest religious council, said the relaxation of the rules would inevitably lead to “no more virgins”."

Can it get more nonsensical than this?

Isn't this what France tried to do by banning the Burka being worn in public by women?
 
We do not want Totalitarian regimes. We want Total Freedom!!

Freedom Without Moderation

I think the scene in the movie is a tight slap on the political classes who try to hold back people and their development in different spheres of their life. All that we deserve is - Freedom Without Moderation.

Like the beautiful bird in flight, all that you and me wish to do is  - Set Alight.

Is There An Alternative?

A human being is known to resist change. In such cases, he or she is reminded - Change is the only thing which is  constant in life. There are other times when he craves for change. In this case, he or she urges for a change but often does not find any alternatives for change. 

The question that plagues his mind is - Is there an alternative??

Is There An Alternative

This is the question that has been on the top of my mind since "the so called cricket experts" are pushing for a separate captain for the Indian cricket team for Test's and One Dayer's.  

MS Dhoni, the incumbent captain in both forms of the game, and the toast of the nation just 8 months back is facing a flak for his lackluster leadership in the recent 2 Test loss against the Aussies. He is considered to be unimaginative in Test Cricket. He is thought to be a safe player in Test Cricket.

And with just a two Test match loss behind his back in the current Australian tour, the "experts" have started gunning for his neck and are insisting for a change.

My question is - Is there an alternative? 

Alternative Ideas

Is there one player in the current Indian cricket team to be a Test captain? No. 

There isn't a single player in the Indian cricket team who can become a leader. Be it Virender Sehwag, or Gautam Gambhir, they do not have the persona and the demeanor to lead India. The other guys who were vice captains earlier - Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh - are not even a part of the team.

All in all, no alternatives. So what's the point yelling for a change?

Same is the case with the Indian voters. The current spate of scams, the lackluster leadership, the Lokpal fiasco, the decision paralysis make them crave for change.

But once again - Is there an alternative?

Is there a single party on India's political horizon - apart from the Congress - who can provide stable governance for the next five years. The answer is No.

The BJP is leaderless. The people will not be interested in voting for an ageing LK Advani. Neither do Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, or Nitin Gadkari do not have any national following. Go to Tamil Nadu and ask what is Sushma Swaraj's claim to fame, the Janata will ask - Sushma Who?? 

The same is the case with "the Third Front". Once again, they do not have any national leader. Why would anyone from Jammu Kashmir want Nitish Kumar to be the PM? Why would anyone from Maharashtra want "Ms. West Bengal" Mamta to be the PM?

The summary once again - No Alternatives.

No Alternatives Either

And if the Indian citizens are clueless about the leadership in the political circles, they need not fear - they are not alone. The same question is troubling the American citizens.

After all the promise that Barack Obama had shown prior to his 2009 elections, he has, at best, put in an average performance. He had to deal with a massive depression in the early part of his tenor, and a "depression-like" situation at the current moment. 

His only standout point in the last 3 years has been the assassination of dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden in May 2011. He has faced criticism on the Afghan war and the Libyan war. The unemployment rate in USA is also on the rise for the past 3 years. 

Amazing Alternatives

Even if the American people may feel let down after the promise shown by Obama, they may desire for a change. But is there an alternative?

All in all, he may face Mitt Romney in the presidential elections later next year. And for all probabilities, the people are expected to favor Obama again. 

The reason is once again evident - There is No Alternative.

Lets take a look at the global currency market. The Chinese have made the Yuan freely trade-able. The Euro was going strong 8 months back. The Indian Rupee was also hovering around 43 INR for every USD. The USA was [is] staring at a possible recession.

In this entire situation, you could expect the American Dollar to weaken. But then Greece had a big problem with its sovereign debt. The Euro took a huge hit. The Japanese Yen took a beating due to the massive tsunami last year. Uncertainty was the order of the day. 

No Alternatives

Where did the financial whizkid's take solace? In the American Dollar. The reason - There Is No Alternative.

In all these circumstances, it is best to be reminded of Henry Kissinger who is known to have said - "Moderation is a virtue only in those who are thought to have an alternative." 

But No, I am not an opponent of change. I do believe in this quote by Dr. Carl Sagan - “We are prodding, challenging, seeking contradictions or small, persistent residual errors, proposing alternative explanations, encouraging heresy. We give our highest rewards to those who convincingly disprove established beliefs.”

There Are Many Alternatives

Let's all hope that in all the situations mentioned above, there are adequate alternative options available. This would allow the incumbent to be on his toes, and would open up the options for the general people. And may the best man win.