Has Priyanka Gandhi Run Away From Varanasi?

Not amused over Grand Old Party's deciding against fielding Priyanka Gandhi in Varanasi vs Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There was never a fight in Varanasi, not even in 2014 when Modi contest from there first time.In 2014 Modi was  BJP candidate for prime ministerial post and faced Arvind Kejriwal, the then emerging national hero of corruption-free India. He won hands down from holy city of  Kashi, as the Varanasi is known world over. Then religious fervor reign won over the corruption-related rhetoric.

Much water have flow down the "Maa" Ganga since 2014. Modi is prime minister this time and it's, definately, an uphill task to defeat a prime minister. Hawks can cite Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister's  defeat in 1977. She was defeated by Janata Party candidate, Raj Narain. But 1977 was an exception. A strong current of anti-Congress, anti-Indira  wave was sweeping across India from Kashmir in cow belt save South. Congress could just win one seat in this belt. Anti-Congress wave was so intense at that time that a newly born Janata Party won all 85 seats in Uttar Pradesh( Uttarakhand and its 5 Lok Sabha seats were part of UP).

2019 is even distantly not near 1977. There is no  opposition unity. Congress is almost isolated and fighting alone in UP. It is not only involved in electoral battle with BJP-led strong alliance but also faces strog challenge from its assembly election ally Alkhilesh Yadav and powerful BJP-SP  alliance erected over social engineering. The election data show that whenever there is a triangular contest ruling party has a clear edge. In this situation, putting its star campaigner and "Brahmastra" (Priyanka Gandhi)  against Prime Minister would have tied her to more or less to Varanasi. Such a strategy would have been suicidal and falling in BJP trap.

Ultimately, despite hinting and teasing BJP that she would contest from Varanasi against PM Modi if her party wanted, Congress bailed her out. She is now free to campaign for party not only in UP but elsewhere as well.

There is another reason also. In politics, no body wants to start his or her political career with a defeat. Even Priyanka Gandhi and Congress top leadership, including her mother Sonia Gandhi knew that defeating Modi in Varanasi was next to impossible. Modi's ginormous roadshow in Varanasi proves this point.

 Starting political career even with a defeat against the Prime Minister would have given her entry into league of gritty fighter and earning the stripes of an aggressive leader not shy of a tough fight. And a victory would have given her national hero status. But then stakes were too high and a party almost in state of hibernation in India's largest state, where it once mattered supreme, could hardly afford Win-Win and Lose-Lose situation. She is quite young n politics  and age is on her side. She could preserve her energy and valour to 2024 Political valour pays in long run. 

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Wish, I Could Live In Denmark?

If wishes were horse, I would have flown to Denmark, the World happiest country. All of us love to be happy and if you happens to live in a happiest country, you are really God blessed. The 2018 World Happiness Report ranks Denmark among the happiest among 156 nations for seven consecutive  years. The U.S., on the other hand dropped 4 places and came in 18th.

In Denmark, people's biggest worries are covered by the government. They receive free education and health care. The pension system in Denmark is  one of the best in the world. Citizens have fewer things to worry about, it's easier to be happier. Despite, the country having one of the highest tax rates in the world, people are too happy to pay. 

In Contrast, India ranks 140 out of 156 countries. Even  Pakistan and Bangladesh scores better.Pakistan is ranked 67th, Bangladesh 125th and China is place at 93rd, according to the report.The report has noted that there has been an increase in negative emotions, anxiety, sadness, anger and worry among Indian people.

The happiness of the people are judged by six key variables — well-being, income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity. And India fails miserably in all the parameters. 

As India is voting for electing 543 members for lower house of parliament( LS strength is 545 and 2 nominated members of the Anglo-Indian Community by the President), voters need to voice such issues. They shouldn't be misled by rhetoric.

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“If You Want To Conquer Fear, Go Out And Get Busy"

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"Doosron Ko Naseehat, Khud Mian Fazeehat"

Double talk and deceptive appearance are the hallmark of Indian politics.Our leaders make full-throated noises over "dynastic politics" but when it come to their turn, the only and foremost choice is to hand over the baton to sons and daughters. Whether, Congress or  saffron party  BJP, so called socialist outfit like Samajwadi Party or religion driven Akalis, all are chips of the same block. BJP leaders in Himachal, these days, are all out to dub nonagenarian  Pandit Sukh Ram a symbol of "dynastic politics" but in Haryana party have fallen in line with  Union Steel Minister, Birender Singh to promote his family into politics. Saffron party has given party ticket to Birender Singh's IAS officer son,  Brijendra Singh. The 46-year-old bureaucrat will make his poll debut from Hisar Lok Sabha comnstituency. BJP leadership have found more merits in Bireder Singh's son than party committed workers. Minister's wife, Prem Lata is a BJP MLA in Haryana from the Uchana Kalan assembly constituency. Unashamedly, Birender Singh has sought to cover his "dynastic political ambitions" by offering to resign from the cabinet and from the Rajya Sabha as his son has got a Lok Sabha ticket "to send across a message against dynasty politics". Earlier, Birender Singh, had sought ticket to his son and wife while in Congress, the party he stayed put for long time. He was party (Congress) incharge for Himachal during 2012 assembly elections. So its a matter of convenience not only for our leaders but  to all political outfits to promote 'daynastic politics' as per their convenience. Its a shame that even after more than seven decades of "aazadi", contemporary  politicians are "men of convenient conscious". Sukh Ram's "dynastic politics" suited BJP conveniently as long as he was with them but the moment he switched  sides, he has become a symbol of  "dynastic politics", no matter another ex-Congressman Birender Singh is toeing the same line in BJP. Indeed, "Doosron Ko Naseehat, Khud Mian Fazeehat". 

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The Plight Of Indian Cane Growers

How friendly and concerned are the govts of the day in India to farmers? Here is a proof. Indian sugar mills have run up a whopping more than thirty trillion ($4.38 billion) in arrears to over 50 million cane farmers, who have gone unpaid for their produce for more than a year.Of the $4.38 billion  unpaid dues, mills in Uttar Pradesh owe 108 billion rupees to the cane growers. 

UP is country largest cane growing state. Besides UP, the unpaid dues have affected the cane growers in  key cane-producing states of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. The unpaid due is the prime reason behind farmers' suicide. The situation is so alarming that three to four farmers commit suicide in Karnataka every day.More than 200 sugarcane farmers committed suicide in Karnataka in just two month n 2015.

Over 30 million farmers and 10 million labourers are engaged in the sugarcane production in India.The total acreage under sugarcane in the country was estimated to be around 54.35 lakh hectares in 2018-19, about 8 per cent higher than 2017-18 sugar season. More than Rs 90,000 crore has been invested by banks, other financial institutions and individuals in this sector. But even after such a huge investment, farmers have been reeling under debt for not receiving payments from the factories in time.

NCP leader and former agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar had recently pointed in a letter to PM Modi that sugarcane growers in the country are committing suicide due to "financial desperation". He wanted immediate steps to prevent any "mass-scale revolt" by farmers. The  "unrest and depression" among small and marginal cane growers should be a big concern to the govt. 

Tragedy is that while our farmers toil hard for growing bumper crops, but most of the time they get cheated. The plight of Indian cane growers is a case in point. Years of bumper harvests and record sugar production have only hammered the growers as domestic prices fall and  hit sugar mills’ financial health. The situation is now so grave that monies owed to farmers have ballooned to an all-time high.

Despite farmers forming an influential voting bloc, Modi’s government has not done enough to help cane growers to get their unpaid dues . Modi ad publicly promised farmers to help them get their payments within 15 days of selling their produce to sugar mills,” Despite the promise, government has done little to ensure timely payments.

Most of the Indian cane growers are barely able to scrape through. Is not it unfortunate that neither the state governments nor the union govt have done anything.

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Rahul's Guaranteed Monthly Income Scheme More Attractive Than Others

Congress president Rahul Gandhi's guaranteed monthly income of Rs. 6000 to India's 50 million families appears more vote-catching populist scheme than BJP's promise of pension to elderly farmers and small businessmen. 

Rahul plan has quite resemblance to US  businessman Andrew Yang's $1,000-a-month universal basic income, Yang is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president election.Yang vows to provide every American with a $1,000 ( Rahul $1,038 annually is better than this) guaranteed monthly income. Yang says, the guaranteed monthly income is there in Alaska, for almost 40 years. Everyone in the Alaska state gets between $1,000 and $2,000 a year from oil money," Yang explained. "And because it's oil money, there's no stigma attached, it's not a rich to poor transfer, and it's wildly popular in a conservative state."

Rahul Gandhi would have done better had he extended the guaranteed monthly income to  lower middle class that includes farmers and small businessmen, who are deprived of social security and live by their meagre savings. It is estimated that out of  104 million elderly (60+) in India, more than 70 percent are deprived of social security like pension. 

Its not difficult to pull up resources for implementing the scheme. Rahul Gandhi's guaranteed monthly income  scheme is likely to cost 2 percent of current GDP. According to Congress party's head of data analytics, sustained double-digit nominal GDP expansion will have lowered the program's cost to no more than 1.2 percent to 1.5 percent of GDP. Congress strategists believe that government can  recouped some of the cost by taxing increased sales of goods and services and higher corporate profit. It will also need to curb other subsidies and expenditure. 

There is an increasing clamour  for putting govt subsidies and incentives directly into the pockets of citizens as India is transitioning from being a development state to a compensatory state. As was in the west, the long slide in workers' bargaining power and a decline in their share of national income,  have occurred in India too. According to an International Labor Organization working paper, 32 percent of the value added was going to labor as compensation before 1991. Less than 21 percent accrued to shareholders as profit.

However, the situation was reversed after economic liberalization in 90s. Import duties were slashed  and  license restrictions were relaxed. Resultantly. ,the price of imported machines dropped. Though labour was  still cheap, but as globalization gathered pace, Workers became more expensive to  to capital goo. ds. This discouraged labor-heavy businesses and encouraged more capital-intensive enterprises. Between 2001 and 2013, labor's share of India's value-added dropped to 23 percent and profit's share zoomed to almost 50 percent.

working class the world over is never comfortable with a shrinking portion of a growing pie. India's economy is producing goods and services for just 100 million better-off people. The remaining billion-plus population is unable to participate meaningfully as either producers or consumers. Over the years this billion plus is getting restless and asserting itself. Now political parties are now being forced to compensate those who were left out.

Its not only Congress party or BJP, even regional parties are now devising new slogans to attract the the billion of Indians still deprived of  guaranteed income despite more than seven decades of independence. Not  surprising , in the coming days, we can hope for more and more populist slogans.   

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The Plight Of Hill Women Hasn't Stopped Despite Economic Development

Recently, I happened to visit Kandbari, a beautiful place in the midst of Dhauldhar ranges. Four decades earlier in eighties, it was a virgin hamlet untouched by the glamour of outside world. Then, it was part of Indo-German collaboration for saving the vast Dhauldhar ranges from ecological fragility. The prime concerns were: preventing the excessive use of forest wood as fuel, saving the regeneration from grazing, especially from sheep's and goats, as were being reared by local population and uplifting the living standard of the people by creating alternative avenues of employment. I have no idea as to how effective, this collaboration turned out to be but nearly 40 years later, it was amazing to find Kandbari grown into a hub of commercial activities. It is located around 27 kilometer away from Dharamasala and around 10 km from Palampur.

As you enter the Kandbari from Dharman-the bifurcation point on Mandi-Pathankot NH- the narrow road is lined up with shops, stay homes and beautiful house. They weren't there in eighties.Some NGOs have also opened their shops. There is a cafe. being run by two school girls from Delhi- daughter of a social activists. It was a surprise to me to find Delhites working in mountainous terrain. My daughter, Preeti was too impressed with their enterprising spirit and was a regular visitor to this cafe as long as she was there in Landwari. They were earning for family as well studying through open schooling.The narrow road leading right up to Langha is a busy road. Vehicles with loads of visitors keeps on running, often dusting the stay homes along the road. Langha. is a beautiful spot up the mountains, close to Dhauladhar ranges, above Kandwari. The 4 km trek gets tougher and tougher as it steeps up. Vigya Nand Giri, a Himalayan Yogi practices Kriya Yoga here and he has been living there for 7 years. There are two small temples dedicated to Shiva and Durga.

Everything has changed in Kandbari, but what hasn't changed is the plight of womenfolk. Women in hills still have to toil much more harder than menfolk, They look after children and other member of the family, cook food for the, wash utensils, cloths, sweep houses and toil in the field, carrying loads on their heads. In Kandbari, the wife of the owner of home stay, where my daughter and her team were staying, used to cook food- breakfast, lunch, dinner plus tea- for more than 10 guests, besides her own family. And she was doing all this with the assistance of her sister-in-law. What's more, she had to look after fields and other works. Its too strenuous.If we calculate the sum total of labour, a hill woman puts in. it is almost equal to eight hands. In other words, she contributes 80 percent of the domestic gross output. In return, she hardly gets paid. Worse, this hard labour tells on health, By the time she reaches 40, she looks much older than her age. Its an untold story of our mothers ans sisters in hills. Whether, its Kandbari, Lakha Mandal- a panchayat in Nagrota Bagwan or any village, the plight of womenfolk remains same. Economic and Social development has no meaning if it doesn't ensure all-round progress.

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