Unsafe Indians Roads: Personal Discipline + Stringent Laws Will Help

See this statistics: India, with just 1 per cent of the world’s vehicles, accounts for 10 per cent of the road fatalities worldwide and has the worst accident record.

Last week, Punjab's Cooperation Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh died in a road accident. The media reports that his driver was driving the car at 110 KMPH at a bend. A day later, two dozen pilgrims die in a road accident as they were returning from Naina Devi. You might remember the tragic deaths of politicians like Rajesh Pilot who also died in road accidents.

Just some common and day to day observations:

1. Indians roads have become congested with so much trafiic that there is all around noise, pollution and choas.

2. Getting a Driving License is pretty easy: bribe the babu and you get it sitting at home without ever taking a road-test. Little do we realize that I may kill others or the babu realizes that ineligible candidate whom I am issuing this DL (even though my pocket is becoming fatter) may kill someone else!

3. We feel proud when our teenager (for discussion purpose, age 14- 15 years here) brother or child is handed over a scooter or motor-cycle or even a car and he/she takes on the cruise with a beaming face. We feel enormously proud that we have provided to our child what ever as parents we could do to improve his/her life! That false sense of pride! We forget that a teenager without eligibility for DL is not only a danger to himself or herself, more importantly to others: frankly this thought does not come to our mind! We are so much in love with our own kids that basic sense gets lost sometime!

4. We are aping the West as far as life style is concerned, but have we ever thought that western countries have stringent rules regarding issuance of DLs, traffic rules and regulations, pollution control and parking places. When we see the haphazard traffic and ruly driving styles on Indian roads, the question arises in mind: Are we civilized enough? Do we need the government all the time to tell us to obey traffic rules? Do not we have any character?

5. When stopped on a red light for crossing the red-light, why do we always try to influence the cop with our status (like being doctor or bank officer) for waiver? I did that, let me admit that! To save the penalty, we use our status? Is that ethical enough?

6. When driving on roads, our scorn for fellow passengers with less luxuries is many a time very obvious. We yell and shout at cyclists and riksha- wallas ! What kind of respect for fellow individual are we observing!

7. When there is breach of traffic rules, the money collected does not go to the treasury, but goes in the private pockets of the police and their officers! Think about the money our treasury is losing!

8. Over-speeding is a habit with majority of people. Honk, honk: is an obsession with us!

9. On even the best of highways, people drive on wrong side. I vividly remember my personal incidence! I was driving with my family from Delhi to Jaipur in 1999. The Delhi-Jaipur highway was beautifully constructed (after seeing western countries, I still feel that highway was pretty good). We took a tea-break somewhere and as we got back on the highway, the road ahead was slightly curvy. In clear day light, on a national highway, there came a car dashing towards us from totally opposite direction (the highway was 4 lanes with a clear cemented divider) and in a blink of the eye, zoomed pass us. Since the road was curvy, both cars could not see each other from appreciable distance! It was just plain luck that the two cars were in different lanes! Otherwise there was no way to prevent the head -on collision! Nothing happened, of course but I still remember that incidence and shiver runs down my spine! Where does the government come in picture here? The craziness of people, I would say!

10. We construct roads and they are gone in next few months! Who siphons away the money? the public gets poor quality of roads as the money has gone to the govt officials, contractor and local MLA.

11. The traffic cop is standing on a busy intersection in a major metropolis-where the traffic has created a furnace of toxic gases. Does this traffic cop has any additional health safety measures granted by his employer? What additional insurance the govt has given to him for job-related health risks (occupational risks)?

This negative sounding critique does not mean that we can not improve upon! Our roads can be as safe, our traffic can be regulated. What is required: discipline, stringent laws, and a 'driving-character' that needs to be inculcated!

Stray Animals in India: Do We have any Policy?

Public concerns do not always refer to the issues of corruption, accountability, justice. Of course, these issues are very dear to Mission India foundation (MIF). Since my friend Krishnan - A GreenPeace corp- almost threatened that he would withdraw his support from MIF if MIF did not pay attention to environment ( Al Gore of Tamil Nadu!), my curious brain started roaming on Indian roads and I said to myself: "Got to take up a public issue, man!" And here we go: Apparently small and trivial issues sometime if paid attention look worth-discussing. Let us take this example of stray cattle.

India is home to approximately 60 million stray cattle. That sounds astounding!

What are the implication of stray animals:

1. They destroy the aesthetic beauty of the surroundings (without getting the wrath of animal lovers!).

2. They cause accidents on the roads, they may cause injuries to kids, elderly people.

3. They contribute to environmental uncleanliness, filthiness (think of pigs, dogs).

4. Monkeys play havoc with life, material and resources.

5. More importantly, they cause diseases like tetanus; dog bite can cause rabies / hydrophobia. Pregnant ladies in contact with cats can acquire Toxoplasmosis (the disease can affect the growing fetus adversely). Monkey bites have resulted in grievous facial injuries and even deaths. similarly, other zoonotic diseases are well known.

We are so immune to seeing the pigs, cattle, dogs roaming around that we think this is a part and parcel of Indian life! I had the same impressions until I came out to USA. Very different: No dogs, no pets roaming around without the chains! You do not see cows, buffaloes anywhere (of course, here also we get milk! But the animals remain where they are supposed to be: in the custody of the owner! Very basic Principal: "You own the animal, you got to keep it!" Hence, whereas baby-sitters are available here to take care of your kids, you can also find pet-sitters to take care of your pets when you are away from your home! Funny! Is not it!

Now I know that the American model of cattle-rearing is not possible to be emulated over India, but there must be some solutions that we need to find to check the menace of stray cattle. Any takers!

Two Party System: India is NOT Ready for That Yet

Mr. Kulbir Singh Chadha from Rajpura has urged in The Tribune that India should adopt a two-party political system. He writes:
"The time has come when we should wake up and vote for a candidate with a clean image. The impending political instability may hamper development. Past experience has shown that regional parties have not played a constructive role, rather they have time and again brought the nation on the brink of disintegration. We too should adopt a two-party system. The countries with a similar system have done well."

I am not against two-party system. Ok, here is my take on this: India is not ready for this as yet. The way our system works, if a 2 party system is introduced, it will open the flood gates for politicians and political parties to loot the country even more. Political parties operate without accountability, the governments continue to function without keeping their promises, they are not able to curb the corruption. Infact, 2 party system is, for practical purpose, already in existence in many states. Examples include of Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, etc.

The corridors of power in such states have amply demonstrated that people frustated with the incumbent government vote (say, DMK) them out to replace opposition party (say AIDMK). Over next 5 years, AIDMK's rule will be characterized by blatant corruption, muscle-tactics, nepotism, and non-development and shameless promotion of family rule. Frustrated, the voters will bring in DMK again after 5 years and DMK will do no different as far development is concerned. Haryana has seen this time and again; Uttar Pradesh since last decade has been held captive by the 2 political corporations: Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav. All this can be summed up by one term: "Revolving Door Democracy (ROD)"

Why people do it? Why voters vote in the same party after 5 years which had been thrashed out in previous elections? Why voters indulge in this The answer is very simple: voters do not have a choice.

Now think about applying this concept of 2 party rule over the Center. Let us assume, India opts for 2 pol parties, hence Congress or UPA and BJP or NDA. The country will see the political doors revolving around these 2 parties and they will give a hoot to the masses! Each party knows now that chances of winning the next Parliamentary elections are well 50 %, hence a culture of indifference to the issues will grow. The 2 parties will become political dynasties!

Yes, two party system is good if these reforms are put in action before. Some of the examples are:

1. The 2 major political parties must have a mechanism of intra-party democracy in place. Think about it: If Congress has become a family -rule, is there anything that I-the voter- can do about it? Nothing, whether I support Congress or not, I have no control over this! I am a helpless spectator watching this hype and hoopla. Similarly, do I know what are the financial assets of Congress or BJP? No, I do not because there is no mechanisms in place that show the things clearly.

2. The 2 political parties must evolve mechanisms how candidates are chosen for the elections. Since such mechanisms are not in plcae, what we see is that come elections and all of a sudden, strangers appear on the stage: Sanjay Dutt, sitting Member of Parliament Menka Gandhi handing over the rein to her son Varun Gandhi ( Is Pilibhit a Lok Sabha constituency or Menka's personal fiefdom?), or the public is made to gulp outsiders down their neck ( Sashi Tharoor). Or criminals re given tickets: I heard Sajjan Kumar and Tytler are being nominated by Congress from Delhi. Recollect Delhi Sikh riots!

In current scenario of our democracy, at least people have the option to vent their anger by selecting from many parties. Though multi-party democracy has its own ill- consequences (hung verdicts), but the pol parties remian under some restraint.

Implement 2 party system once we have placed sound check and balances in place. Without that, the pol parties will grow into political monsters!

PS: By the way, I was checking the official website of Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana for some data about the previous assembly and LS elections and strangely, no information was there . The icon 'Election Statistics' when clicked shows this message: page under construction. Babus are sleeping! Crappy ways are maintained the government websites in India and that speaks volumes of their commitment to further the cause of transparency and accountability!).

Indian Army

Every year a big slice of whole budget goes for Defence sector, millions of taxpayers money is spent on the modernization of security forces but on Sunday, 29th March 09 in Hindustan Times Delhi edition reported that only 850 pouches of a bleeding control medicine has been purchased for soldiers fighting in Jammu & Kashmir. To read this news go to www.hindustantimes.com and check e-paper of 29th March 09.

As per the news approximately 100000 (one lac) soldiers are involved in counter-terrorism operations and soldiers are purchasing the medicine out of their own pocket or by making a fund in their unit/battalions. This medicine is readily carried by every soldiers of US forces working in Iraq and Afghanistan, then why not by Indian soldiers.

It is a matter of shame for the army, it should take care of its man-power in serious ways. Army is already facing a crunch of junior level officers and if this type of incident happens it will lower the morals of our fighting soldiers which will create a big problem.

Important point is that we should not forget that all the good/modern equipments are operated / used by humans only, if we have less number of soldiers and if we lost many of them in war due to non availability of medical facilities it is a matter of shame. Where that all millions of rupees of defence budget is going. Is the incident another indicator of corruption involved in Army. Few years back on TV, I listened the view of MP in Parliament that for getting the job of soldier/hawaldar/other ranks in army you need to pay bribe as per the rates slab decided according to ranks, and the common peoples pay that bribe by selling their lands/assets/home or by taking money from others. If the soldier fighting for the nation has these problem how he will concentrate on his ultimate aim (fight against enemies of our nation), in this scenario he will do all wrong works to repay loans or save his home, so the corruption system must be ended.

I am not much aware about the procedures of army/defence sector but i can say that some steps must be taken to remove this problem (corruption) so that our nation remains always safe from external enemies.

Medical facilities must be provided to soldiers on urgent/immediate basis to save their precious life and save the moral of security forces.

Vote is the Crucial Weapon to Establish Democracy

In upcoming LS elections, each and every vote will count. This is the single most potent weapon to demand national security, guys! Everyone of us is not a soldier that we shall go and protect our borders. Let us fight with the weapon we all have: our vote.

I strongly feel that for nation's stability, weed out regional parties. Vote for a national party. The regional parties came into existence for local aspirations, good enough: no grudge against them. But what the heck they are doing here on the national scene: trying to extract their pound of flesh! They will just spoil our future in terms of national stability and progress.

I reproduce below sentiments expressed from two different sources ((These excerpts were taken from The Tribune) in this regard:

1. Voting Mantra:
WG-CDR CL SEHGAL (retd), Jalandhar writes: "It would be a far better proposition to have a coalition of two or three bigger parties than having a conglomeration of two-dozen smaller parties, each pulling the country in a different direction. The way certain regional parties are ditching both the UPA and the NDA, the duo should stop being at each other’s throat on every issue and leave some room for reconciliation after the elections.

I would advise the voters to choose any of the mainstream national parties and reject the small regional parties. Here is a voting mantra. Vote for a national party, vote for stability, vote out smaller regional parties, vote out instability."

2. Jurists Appeal to the Voters:

Harbhagwan Singh, former Advocate-General of Punjab and Haryana; Justice P.K. Palli, former Judge of the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh High Courts; and Jagmohan Singh, former member of the Punjab State Law Commission, in a joint statement have urged voters to elect “innovative, dedicated and transparently honest public men” to the Lok Sabha in the ensuing elections. They also exhorted the electorate to shun and oust corrupt and criminal elements from the body politic of the country.

They said the young and newly enfranchised electorate should see that the self-serving people with parochial outlook did not enter the august house of Parliament. To keep the unity and integrity of the country, it was necessary that candidates sponsored only by national parties and parties having wider representation in the country were preferred so that the tendencies leading to Balkanisation of the country were nipped in the bud.

My Neighbors

In the big scenario of metropolitan advance cities of today we are losing our social contacts/ apsi bhaichara/padoswad. Even many of us not known to the family/person living next door to us or if known then it is totally a formal relation means saying hello when we are leaving for office or meeting once a while when meets by chance. In some posh localities of big metropolitan cities peoples are not aware about the problems of their neighbors. Even if someone is in hospital or some is going out of station neither we care to inform our neighbors nor the neighbors try to inquire. Sometimes in case of deaths neighbors do not think about the arrangement of basic facilities (food, water, activities related to crimination) for the affected family. In case of some functions like marriage peoples do not participate like a neighbors but like a guest who comes at last moment shakes hands, eats dinners and goes back.

In small village peoples lives like a family, every neighbors is like a family member. Peoples works in functions like marriage and stand together in tough times.

Here lines of Ms. Jahnvi (a lead role in movie Lago Raho Munnabhai') comes to mind that we are connected to Internet, knows latest news about the world but do not knows about the neighbour. We get the time to do every work in this world but we forget to call our elder family members in village. It is reality of metropolitan life.

The main reason behind end of social contacts is too much busyness, stress on every individual, and self cornered heart. TV is another big cause behind this problem as all small children, housewives, elders members stick to it instead of meeting to each other.

Please suggest the ideas which could solve this problem.

Retrogressive Education Policies!

Today, I read a news that says that individuals with age more than 30 years can not enroll for LLB studies. Bar Council of India (BCI) has asked Ravi Shankar University in Chattisgarh to follow this directive.

If the news item is correct, what a retrogressive step it would be! What an irony!
According to the news item, BCI has further added that the age restriction would be 30 years for general category of the applicants and 35 years for SC ST category. It is so ludicrous that depending upon what caste I was born, the State would decide my fate about my educational achievements in my life! There can not be a more destructive step for the society that this.
Following is the news item that appeared in Adaalat Blog (courtsey Mr. Lokesh):

30 साल से अधिक आयु वाले अब एलएलबी में प्रवेश नहीं ले सकेंगे। बार काउंसिल इंडिया ने छत्तीसगढ़ के पंडित रविशंकर शुक्ल विश्वविद्यालय को एक फरमान जारी कर यह बंदिश लगा दी है। एलएलबी की पढ़ाई के लिए अब तक आयु सीमा की पाबंदी नहीं थी। शैक्षणिक सत्र 2009-10 से इसे अमलीजामा पहनाया जाएगा। बार काउंसिल ऑफ इंडिया ने एक पत्र भेजकर प्रवेश में आयु सीमा का सख्ती से पालन करने कहा है। पत्र के मुताबिक सामान्य वर्ग के लिए 30 एवं अनुसूचित जाति एवं जनजाति वर्ग के लिए 35 साल आयु तय की गई है।

बार काउंसिल ऑफ इंडिया ने अन्य कक्षाओं के लिए भी आयु सीमा में संशोधन किया है। पहले बीए एलएलबी में प्रवेश में सामान्य वर्ग के लिए 22 तथा अन्य वर्गों के लिए 25 साल की आयु सीमा निर्धारित थी। अब इसे 20 तथा 22 साल की गई है।

इस फरमान से कानून की पढ़ाई करने वाले सरकारी अधिकारियों के अरमानों पर पानी फिरने की संभावना है। क्योंकि एलएलबी की पढ़ाई के इच्छुक सरकारी अधिकारियों को प्रवेश नहीं मिल पाएगा। दरअसल कई आईएएस अफसर विधि की पढ़ाई करते हैं। कई अफसर आयु सीमा पार करने के बाद विधि की पढ़ाई करते हैं। ऐसे अधिकारी सेवानिवृत्ति के बाद किसी कंपनी, फर्म या सरकार के विधि सलाहकार बनने में भी कामयाब हो जाते हैं। अब तक लगभग सभी कॉलेजों में आयु सीमा की अनदेखी की जाती रही है। सरकारी अधिकारी को भी प्रवेश देने में आयु सीमा को दरकिनार किया जाता रहा है।