India First

To DeMo or Not to DeMo – An Ordinary Indian’s Perspective 08 November 2016 will be remembered in independant India’s history for a long time. It was the day when a few hours before midnight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the Indian rupee’s two largest denomination notes – 500 and 1000 – to be made invalid at midnight, with the 500 rupee note replaced with a new one and the 1000 rupee note to be discontinued altogether. Possibly intended for an international audience, it was the Prime Minister’s first address in English on Indian TV channels. This demonetisation of commonly used, high denomination notes would’ve sent shock waves to the sections of India’s business community preferring to conduct most of their transactions with unaccounted for cash. Not just them, the least well off sections of society were also put under great stress in subsequent months because their daily wages and day to day expenses were dependant entirely on cash. No survey had been carried out...

So, What’s So Great About Ahmad Patel? Congress MP Ahmad Patel has made it to the Indian Parliament as its member an impressive number of times – thrice in Lok Sabha and four times in Rajya Sabha (excluding his victory earlier this week). By this parameter itself, he could be considered a successful politician. Extended innings in the Indian Parliament would typically earn a Member of Parliament a Cabinet berth. However, Ahmad Patel has never been a minister and has kept away from media, even during the ten years of rule by Congress-led United Progressive Alliance. Besides his not having occupied any ministerial berth, when one hears the name ‘Ahmad Patel’, one strains to identify typical memories associated with successful politicians in a democracy  – memorable speeches in or outside Parliament, their views on matters of national importance, conviction, clarity of thought, leadership. And one draws a blank! So, what’s so very special about Ahmad Patel that the recen...

The Potential of combining Aadhaar and Periodic Labour Survey Since about 45 years, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation under the Government of India has been conducting quinquennial Employment and Unemployment Surveys . These surveys are the primary data input to the government on labour force-related attributes, which in turn can guide the government in its employment-related decision-making. India is the largest democracy and the second most populated country in the world. It also has the largest population of young citizens. The government of any democracy is duty-bound to enable realisation of the aspirations of its population. And the pressure on the government is considerable when a huge percentage of the population is under 25 years of age. By having access to sample-based employment and unemployment data no more frequently than once every five years, a government in inherently heavily disadvantaged in assuming its role as an effective generator of ...

‘Lynchistan’ Protests – The New Award Vapsi Mob violence in the past During the morning of 31-Oct 1984, while I was in school in Delhi, one of my classmates mentioned that the there had been an attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister, but she was unharmed. My response was that of disbelief at the assassination attempt but as the day progressed in school, it was confirmed that the Prime Minister had indeed been shot at, and that she was in hospital. In spite of the conservative reporting by Doordarshan in those days, before evening it was known that the Prime Minister had breathed her last in the morning itself. The following morning newspapers reported that the car of the then President of India (a Sikh) was stoned as he returned from a foreign trip and his motorcade headed out of the airport. May be well worth asking how commoners wanting to express their anger against Sikhs in general, became aware of the President’s confidential itinerary. Or perhaps the report wa...

My Memories of the Emergency Originally written: 25-Jun-15 Updated: 25-Jun-24 Looking back over the last few decades, there are a few significant political developments in India which are hard to erase from my memory – the Lok Sabha election results of 1977 and 1989, the Babri Masjid demolition, the Kargil War, and of course, the election result of 2014. But perhaps the most unforgettable of the memories – and also the oldest – is of the Emergency. So, on the 40 th  anniversary of the unprecedented savagery of Indian democracy, I’m noting down my memories as a child. Emergency was declared during school summer holidays in Delhi. I was 8 years old and indifferent towards politics. As young children, my sister and I did know Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and that my father used to write against her.  Some weeks, or perhaps days before the declaration of Emergency, Indira’s speech was being telecast on TV. My sister and I just happened to tell my father,  K ...

Social impacts of technological advancements, and what governments could do about them Technology has transformed our lives irreversibly. Be it trains, automobiles, aeroplanes, computers and so much more, for much of the world’s population surviving without technology is literally unimaginable. The last few decades have made transformative technology available to large percentages of populations across the world. What were fascinating concepts a few decades ago have been commercialised and are available today, not necessarily expensively. Much as technologies that surround us amaze and delight us, creating desires and demands where none may have existed some years ago, several comforts offered by technology come at prices we are paying and will pay more individually and collectively as societies and nations. Ordering books online reduces the need for bookshops and their sales people, even as it creates a few new professions. Driverless car technology, once it becomes more rob...