"The Empire of Corruption is striking back"

B.S.Raghavan has a simply not to be missed opinion piece in the Hindu Business Online-

There is a sudden streak of hawkish hot-headedness evident in the Government's postures and pronouncements.


In particular, one notices the Human Resources Development and Information Technology Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, and the Home Minister, Mr P.Chidambaram, adopting a conspicuously imperial tone and tenor, which is clearly hostile to ‘We, the People', to whom they are beholden for their transient positions of power and authority in the first place. Mr Sibal has the bravado to hold up as “a lesson for all” the sneaky and dastardly Ramlila maidan rampage by the police against sleeping, innocent men, women and children who had come from far-off places just to join the movement against corruption and black money.

Mr Chidambaram has the braggadocio to denounce a sovereign people's inherent basic right to protest as “destabilising the Government” and attack the media's brilliant performance in highlighting the people's anger and revulsion against the Government's black deeds as “competitive populist coverage of these movements” and an attempt at “undermining Parliamentary democracy”.

do you hear the music of fascism? -

With all the “behave or else!” hauteur that he is capable of, he imputes motives to the media's discharge of its mandatory duty to keep the people informed, basing his insinuations on “reasons which I can't spell out”.

No doubt, he is ominously hinting at some concocted intelligence and cooked-up cases the Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance are planning to foist to subjugate the media and silence the critics.

Have the new rulers of 'free' India turned out be worse than the British-

Our rulers should know, as from an authentic witness to the glorious age of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru whom I had seen from close quarters, that they are behaving contrary to the values of colossuses who won for us our precious freedom and taking the country back to the era of slavery and savage repression by even doing one better than the British colonial masters.

Actually, the British, with the background of a thousand years of democracy in their own country, were more tolerant and responsive. They dealt with freedom fighters fairly and justly after their own fashion, and never sought to crush them with the ruthlessness that is fast becoming the established mode in the so-called democratic India.

Why do we keep on electing monsters -

Parties and groups playing politics with the evil of corruption and black money eating into the vitals of the nation should also understand that it has become in the people's eyes the repulsive face of politicians of all parties without exception, no matter that some of them for the nonce are jumping on to the bandwagon in the manner of one set of thieves joining the chase given by the people to catch another set of thieves.

Both fire-eating apologists for the Government's callousness, and political opportunists in the Opposition who had not lifted their little finger while they were in power, now sitting in dust-proof, noise-proof, climate proof cavernous offices, with all the creature comfort at their beck and call and spending hundreds of crores of rupees on security and healthcare must cultivate some understanding of the excruciating torture hourly inflicted on the aam aadmi in villages, towns and cities by every public servant from the traffic policeman upwards to the Cabinet Minister.

The fact that they are not able to do so shows either that they are totally devoid of humanity, blinded by their cushy existence or that they have a vested interest in perpetuating the system.

Did I say "don't miss" the article?

Congress 'logic' akin to colonial and Soviet-style authoritarianiasm

Congress party's logo - This hand was made for looting and smacking

From an editorial in Hindu Business Online-

The main takeaway for the people is that this Government will go to any lengths to protect the corrupt. The mistakes have been well-chronicled, but it is the ingenuous arguments that now stand out. One is that groups of well-meaning citizens cannot be allowed to hijack the legislative agenda; the other is that the RSS is behind the anti-corruption movement. Taking the second argument first, one must ask: even if it is true that the RSS is behind the movement, does that somehow make it illegitimate? Why is the Government trying to shift attention from corruption to the RSS? If RSS volunteers helped out in an earthquake or a flood, would that help be rejected by the Government? So the point is not who is doing it but what it is sought to be done. And this clearly makes the Government nervous to the extent that it is even using phrases from the Emergency days, such as “an attempt to de-stabilise the Government.”

The first argument — that citizens should not drive the legislative agenda — is intellectually identical to what colonial and Soviet-style authoritarian governments tended to use: we know what's good for you. According to this view, people don't matter, only the rulers. That this is sheer effrontery in the 21st century has not occurred to the Congress party apparatchiks. But that is not all: it is the Congress party that created the National Advisory Council (NAC), chaired by its President. If it is fine for the NAC to recommend legislation, why is it not all right for Anna Hazare and Ramdev to do likewise? As Shakespeare said, it is surely a tangled web they weave when they seek to deceive. If the people now conclude that the Congress party is trying to protect some of its high-ups, it will have only itself to blame. And this impression will only be strengthened after the ham-handed attempt by the party to distance itself from the Government's action against Ramdev. The effort, clearly, is to minimise the negative fallout against the party. It is not likely to succeed. It is also remarkable that the party has learnt nothing from the Bofors years. Then also, faced with allegations of corruption, the party had tried to brazen and bulldoze its way out.

Well said.
Read the whole thing, as they say.

Tunisian style revolution from Paypal users?

The relationship between the State and the citizen is one between a helpless, bound and gagged damsel and her rapist captors. And everyday the captor devises a new way to violate his victim. Thus while I was jolted, but not really surprised when a mail arrived from Paypal announcing new RBI 'guidelines' (Disclosure -this blog manages to make some nickels via Paypal). Notice the Orwellian use of the word 'guidelines' -as if the RBI is cajoling you to do something nice when in fact it is simply asking you prepare yourself for more screwing:

Here is the impact of amendment:

PayPal will not allow users in India to receive more than US$500.
Starting 1 March, 2011, PayPal customers in India will not be allowed to receive payments for any export-related goods or services for an amount exceeding US$500 per transaction. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.


PayPal will not allow Indian users to keep money in PayPal balance.

Starting 1 March, 2011, PayPal customers in India will not be able to keep money in their PayPal account balance. Instead, all money received into a PayPal account must be transferred to a customer’s India bank account within 7 days from the receipt of confirmation from the buyer in respect of the good or services. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.

Customers in India will NOT be able to complete their checkout with their PayPal account balance.

“We’re glad that you offer PayPal to your customers. Unfortunately, we will not allow customers in India to send money from their PayPal account balance starting 1 March, 2011. This means that your customers will need to link a credit card to their account in before sending you money with PayPal. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.

Overseas customers will not able to complete purchase or pay via PayPal for amounts above $500.

Starting 1 March, 2011, PayPal customers in India will not be allowed to receive payments for any export-related goods or services for an amount exceeding US$500 per transaction. If you are listing products greater than US$500 per transaction then you may need to seek alternative methods of payment. This change is to ensure that we continue to comply with the RBI Guidelines.

Is Indira Gandhi the prime minister again? Is Nehru still frolicking at the Teen Murti Bhavan with Edwina? Is Soviet style planning back in fashion?


The prospect of getting screwed in such creative ways has evoked some colorful comments(from the same link)(screenshots)-?

 

In particular, from Debasish-

RBI governer, PM, FM, President ki maa ki aakh.

 Indians may be oppressed but we are expressive!
Does anybody smell a Tunisian style revolution welling up from the Paypal users?

Even if all the CONgressis and other gangs politicians fled by planeloads with tonnes of gold(a la Tunisian President's wife), we would have got by cheaply. Free of the scum, we can then at least build a truly free India. Who prefers to live under Manmohan Singh's boot and Sonia Gandhi's jooti*? Not me.




Original Paypal announcement here.


* The colorful Indian language translator-
                Jooti or Jutti- a traditional Indian shoe.
 

Nehru-Gandhi household cutlery goes far

In India, chamchas(sycophants)* do well, especially if they belong to the de facto rulers the Nehru-Gandhi family. However so far Home Minister P Chidambaram has kept up a sober, sophisticated image and one supposes that any chamchagiri(sycophancy) on his part  is discreetly undertaken.

However, at the Congress Plenary Session(yes, the same event that took the life of an innocent Indian citizen so that the Prime Minister could have his way), the facade crumbled under the pressure of bubbling sycophancy.

Video

Perhaps Chidambaram couldn't help it. Or perhaps it was coldly calculated -

“Close your eyes, listen to Rahul, you will hear (former Prime Minister and Rahul's father)Rajiv’s echo!” Chidambaram thundered during his address on Monday, proving that he can when necessary outdo any ordinary or garden variety of Congressman when it comes to in-your-face sycophancy. While his words were greeted with cheers and applause from the hoi polloi, observers noted that both Sonia and Rahul sat in frozen silence. This is being widely interpreted among political observers as a sign that Chidambaram’s days in the Cabinet may be numbered.

Just some loyal congressmen. Which is Chidambaram? The one on the farthest right -the biggest spoon?

 
Whatever the motive, Chidambaram tinkled loud and clear, even among that much cutlery assembled. As for Rajiv's echos, they must be of a very soothing frequency as the Home Minister

fell asleep while Rahul Gandhi was delivering his speech. At least three senior Congress members seated on the podium next to Sonia Gandhi confirm that Chidambaram’s gentle baritone snores were clearly audible even over Rahul’s high-pitched voice.

 And speaking of certain spoons, while I was researching for the earlier post I came across this from November, 2009 -

VIP security must be more sensitive, says Chidambaram

VIP security must be sensitive to the “emergency needs” of the people, union Home Minister P.
Chidambaram said here Friday while describing as unfortunate the death of a patient outside a Chandigarh hospital when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was visiting. Chidambaram hoped that the Special Protection Group (SPG) and state police had learnt their lesson and that such incidents would not happen again.

“The SPG is under the control of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). I think the Prime Minister’s Office said what needs to said that VIP security must be sensitive to concerns of people and emergency needs of people.

And yet, over a year later another two citizens are dead.
So what happened to that 'sensitivity'?  It seems that neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister could impart it to the forces under their order. Or cared to.

That makes them useless and/or callous.

Japanese had an honorable custom for those officials who failed their country. I am not suggesting that our masters(let's not insult our intelligence by calling them 'public servants') take that route. They may however, in true and tested Indian tradition, look for some chullu bhar paani* and quietly slink away into obscurity.

Only they are too shameless to do the right thing.



*The colorful Indian language translator-

     chamcha-

       In Hindi, a sycophant is called a chamcha. Chamcha is also the Hindi word for spoon. Thus, a  common wordplay in India is to call a sycophant(often in the context of politics) a spoon, say- "X is Minister Y's spoon."

Thus, the wordplay in the title of this post. 

chullu bhar pani -
refers to the colorful Indian expression -'ja, chullu bhar pani mein doob mar' which "which essentially says that the concerned person who has incidentally done something shameful should go drown himself in a handful of water"

The cold, dead heart of the State

As the cold gets really biting and dangerous -especially at night - an old homeless man tries to cosy up in the stately corridors of the posh Connaught Place, Delhi.

 

The Indian state just went through a mad, drunken orgy of spending where it burned up (allegedly) 70000 crores (700,000 million!)of yours and mine hard earned rupees on Commonwealth Games(sure gives a poignant turn to the word 'Commonwealth'). A large part of it is supposed to have been wasted and looted. Actually for me all of it was wasted. And all looted.

But not a penny for this poor chap-

India is run by looters and thieves and there is not a thing a honest person can do except kill himself.

Declare hospitals 'Prime Minister-free' zones

Socialism kills, as does it's cousin -the welfare state.The huge state apparatus that allegedly exists for the common good inevitably becomes a supremely arrogant and brutal self-serving monster.Just visit any government office as an ordinary citizen -and you'll know(as if you didn't)how much the public 'servants' are really public 'masters'.

We are just chattel -we are forced to pay taxes to feed this monster, we must vote to legitimize the beast, we exist to bow before the powerful politicians and their goons, to grovel and bribe at the endless number of departments to get something done, we are there to serve...the public servants.

This monstrous reality is perfectly encapsulated in what is state murder in all but name-

A 32-yr-old patient lost his life outside the Post Graduate Institute for Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) hospital, Chandigarh, after he was stopped from entering the hospital due to security reasons. The Prime Minister was visiting the hospital. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has said that the Prime Minister is saddened by the incident and that it has demanded a full report on the incident.

Video from Times Now

(if the video does not play, here is the direct link)

The patient Sumit Prakash was reportedly shunted from gate to gate for almost two hours which allegedly led to his death. The deceased was from Ambala and was suffering from acute kidney problems that required him to visit the Inderjit hospital in Chandigarh on a monthly basis.

Today, he also developed respiratory problems which led Inderjit hospital to send him to the PGI in order to get oxygen. It was outside the PGI that he was refused entry as the Prime Minister was addressing a convocation there.

Did Manmohan Singh not know that his visit to the hospital would put patients' access to doctors in severe jeopardy? Is he so clueless? Or just plain vanilla callous like the rest of the political class to which he belongs?

Shouldn't he be prosecuted for knowingly putting patients at risk -finally killing one?(But which official has the balls to start such a line of inquiry -let alone a prosecution?)

At minimum, the hospitals need to be declared 'Prime Minister-free' zones.


Politics, they say, is a killer. For us chattel, it is.
But hey, he is 'saddened' .

(emphasis mine)

Earth Hours attack Delhi

Earth Hours, aka power cuts, have been attacking Delhi these last few days. There is something karmic about it –when the weather is at it’s sweltering, humid worst, then as sure as the demon Rahu was killed by the Sudarshana Chakra of Lord Vishnu(who was in the form of a beautiful woman, Mohini), the lights will go out. Often for several hours, just to twist the knife.

The authorities, as usual, are at their accountable best-

Delhi suffers but discoms deny outages

Only in a post-modern, relativistic world can one deny that which is right in front of one’s eyes.

But Sheila Dixit is smiling somewhere in the 24/7 air-conditioned comfort of the wunderland where the lights never dim. She loves Earth Hours, you know –good for our moral uplift.

I have a few ideas for her moral uplift –but they are unprintable.

Somebody arrest someone! -or Is India a free country anymore?

Hard to call ours a free country when things like this happen with a depressing regularity-

Editor arrested for 'outraging Muslims'

------------------------------
The editor and publisher of a major Indian newspaper have been arrested for "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims after they reprinted an article from The Independent. Ravindra Kumar and Anand Sinha, the editor and publisher of the Kolkata-based English daily The Statesman, appeared in court yesterday charged under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code which forbids "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings".

Sections of central Kolkata have been paralysed by protests for much of the past week after The Statesman republished an article by The Independent's columnist Johann Hari. Titled "Why should I respect oppressive religions?", the piece was originally printed in The Independent on 28 January. In it, Hari said he believed the right to criticise any religion was being eroded around the world.

The Statesman, a highly respected liberal English-language daily, reprinted the article on 5 February, causing a major backlash among a small group of Muslims who felt that the piece slighted the Prophet Mohamed and insulted their religion. Peaceful protests were held outside The Statesman's offices at the weekend but by Monday, demonstrations had turned violent. Angry crowds began blocking roads, attacking police and calling for the arrest of the article's author and the newspaper's publisher and editor. On Monday and Tuesday police used baton charges to try to disperse crowds and more than 70 protesters were arrested.

I am deeply offended by what has been done to my country by our political looter class and the religious fundamentalists, both feeding off each other.

Did you hear - I am offended! My sensibilities are offended! My deepest convictions have been disrespected!

Therefore I demand that someone be arrested immediately!

Or does that require violent mob on the streets -peaceful people(freedom loving liberals like myself and I suppose millions others) can have their sensibilities offended all day long without a peep from our rulers.

Some sensibilities, it is obvious, are more equal than others.


Update - there is an excellent post on this at dancewithshadows

There is a reason why this site - dancewithshadows - does not publish very many articles about religion. Any religion. Because if I do that, I am left with two options. Get thrashed by some group, or get thrown behind bars. And as this is a simple news and features site, and we do not make enough money to afford a lawyer to get me out, it is a losing battle which would just see me spending weeks or months taking a crap in a dirty crapper while my cell-mates watch.

In a way, it is hilarious that the protests by Muslim groups in Kolkata actually prove the point Johann Hari made - that you can’t criticise religions now, and freedom to do so have been eroded.

Read the whole thing.

(emphasis mine)

In India politicians commit murder in all but name

This is as good as murder-

Ambala : The nationwide protests by the VHP over the Amarnath land row have claimed the lives of innocent civilians who were denied crucial medical aid due to the disruption of normal life by the protestors. Shocking apathy displayed by VHP Protestors in cities like Ambala and Kanpur claimed the life of more than one.

A 60 year old heart patient in Ambala suffered a massive attack early this morning - but as his son's efforts to take him to a hospital were in vain- crucial time lost as he couldn't get his father urgent medical help due to the protests. Similar is the case in Kanpur- where a 22 year old boy who got accidentally electrocuted died after his family could not rush him to a hospital. Protestors refused to allow the family to pass the blockade- resulting in the death of the youth.

At around 9:00 am 60 year old Gaindaram complained of chest pain. Immediately, his son rushed him out of the house- hoping to get him to a hospital. However, it was not to be. At about 10 km from Ambala, on the Mullana-Ambala road the vehicle in which they were travelling was stopped by protestors. The heart patient’s son pleaded with the VHP protestors to let their auto go but his pleadings went unheard. Gaindaram's condition worsens, but the protestors refuse to let son cross the blockade. Finally, Gaindaram dies in his son's arm and he was declared dead upon arrival at Saket hospital in Ambala.

---------------------------------------------

The protestors of various organizations, including VHP and BJP, did not allow the ambulance to move ahead despite requests from those accompanying the victim in the vehicle; the sources said adding that lack of timely medical aid resulted in the old man's death.

---------------------------------------------

This of course not the first time politics over a crisis has claimed innocent lives. In August last year (2007) - a traffic jam stood between a 4 yr old boy Rahul and life saving medical treatment. It was two political parties Congress and the BJP in Shimla blocked roads in a spat of their own. The child's mother made desperate pleas to let her son’s ambulance pass. But they fell on deaf ears. She lost her son to political posturing.

Read the whole thing.

A question -what is the state going to do about it
answer -nothing
Another question -will anybody be arrested and punished?
answer -don't be stupid

The same venal set of people who care not a fig about the life of innocents run the Indian state also. A change of government in India simply means one gang of goons in place of another.

Here political fortunes are made on the blood of the common people. Remember this when the ugly mug of some political hack or minister appears on TV preening about his/her concern for the common man.

What shall happen to the atheists in the Hindu Rashtra*?

Will they be shot?




Or sent to some reeducation camp?
Or simply beaten up and their faces blackened?

This is what happened to a professor and a poet-

Bharatiya Janshakti Party workers on Friday blackened the face of a professor in Raipur Medical College for reciting a poem at an Independence Day function in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks against the goddess Lakshmi.

According to the party’s state general secretary Rajiv Lochan Shrivastava, some party office-bearers learnt about the “derogatory” poem recited by BK Jain on Thursday and confronted the professor at the medical college to seek an apology from him.

But when neither Dr Jain or the college administration came forward to apologise, furious party workers took out a protest rally on Friday, confronted Jain and blackened his face. They also forced him to apologise in public for his “offensive” act, said Shrivastava.

Despite the public apology from Jain, party activists have demanded that the doctor be suspended immediately. They have threatened to intensify their agitation if their demand is not met.

We in India are losing our freedom to examine religion critically. It is inevitable that the religious mafia will find another person to beat up because of some 'insult' to some god, just as it is inevitable that the Indian state will take no more than a token step to counter this naked fascism, if at all.

So when that long awaited Hindu Rashtra* finally arrives, what will happen to the atheists (of which I am one)? After all, one of worst 'insults' to the gods is to deny that they exist at all.

I suggest that atheists gang up to form a sena*, perhaps Bharatiya Nastik Sangh Sena (Indian Atheist's Association Army) and then we can create our own hugamas*.



*The colorful Indian language translator-

rashtra - nation
sena -army
hungama -ruckus

(emphasis mine)


Note -it is widely believed that fascism is an ideology of the 'right'. In practice(and in theory too), fascism is very much like communist totalitarianism , with suppression of the individual to the collective an important characteristic. The photo above is taken from a site that catalog's communist repression in Cuba, that paradise of the left.

It's the government's job to dig holes and yours to fall in

He said what?!!!!

From the Hindustan Times (it appears in the Delhi print edition, Live section,Thursday, but does not seem to be there on their main site. However it can be accessed from here, registration required) -

----- an open drain in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Delhi government, in Nandnagri is a death trap for passersby as well as school-going children.

Utter negligence by the authorities is witnessed in front of
the DC office. A 400-m stretch has been covered with only
a few cemented slabs, which are not sufficient as there
are three-four ft gaps in between.


----------------------------

"Our children have no choice. To go to the nearby school, they have to either walk on the main road amid heavy traffic or cross through the manholes. In both the circumstances they run a risk to their life, especially in the rainy season," says Ramvir Singh, a resident.

A makeshift DTC bus stop is also there on the narrow pavement. "If anybody slips and falls into the 10-12 ft drain he/she will not manage to come out of it and it will turn into a death trap for him/her," says Ramanath, a nearby resident.

---------------------------------

"MCD does not have any plan to cover the drain. If people are scared to pass by, they can take their own precautions," said A. K. Singh, Deputy Commissioner of MCD Shahdara (North).

Assuming that the Hindustan Times has quoted him accurately, just re-read what this public servant said-
"MCD does not have any plan to cover the drain. If people are scared to pass by, they can take their own precautions"

Hey, it is the government's job to dig holes, and if anybody falls in, that's his/her fault.


It's as if the minister(s) responsible for water supply said-

"We do not have any plans to provide clean, germ-free, dirt-free water.In fact we do not have any plan to supply water in sufficient quantity at all. If people are thirsty, they can make their own arrangements."

It's as if the police commissioner said-

The police department does not have any plans to provide adequate security to the citizens. If anybody is scared, they can take their own precautions."

It's as if the transport minister said-

I do not have any plans to provide a decent, hassle free system of public transport so that the public could commute in relative comfort without getting fleeced or getting crushed under the wheels of over-speeding monster. If people don't like what we give them they can make do on their own."

It's as if railway secretary said-

"The ministry has no plans to provide a comfortable, harassment-free system of railways where the tickets are easy to buy without long waits and waiting lists or going through the touts, no maram-maari* for the seats and berths, no bribing the TC*, where one doesn't have the fear of goondas* who have no fear of the few railway police guards that might be lazing off somewhere on the same train, where........Oh, for, godsake! Why don't you take a plane!"

It's as if the top civil aviation official said-

"We have no plan to clean up the mess that are our airports, to remove corrupt customs officers or make the staff helpful and polite. If anyone has any complains, he can take the train."

It's as if all the chief ministers and the prime minister said in a chorus-

"We have no plans to provide a government where there are no ministers with criminal backgrounds, where each and every department is honest, where there is no corruption, where the public servants behave as if they are one and not as masters, where police torture is not the norm, where buses, trains and things run smoothly and the sun shines brightly. No, sir, we have no such plans at all. And if people are tired of this system, they can take their precautions -they can emigrate! In fact, we don't care if they go to hell!"

Perhaps, no one has said any these things . But the country is run as if they had. It sure feels that the our government at all levels is full of A.K. Singhs.



*The colorful Indian Language Translator-

maram-maari - the dog-eat-dog, desperate struggle and conflict over something. A very common feature of an average Indian's life.

goonda -Gangster, lout, unsocial element. A species that thrives in the Indian political culture.

TC - Ticket Checker.

What lies beneath -beneath that bright blue turban? Why, another electric idea!

Note -an important update below the fold:
When conservative columnist Joshua Livestro was confronted with censorship at the Dutch public broadcasting corporation, he didn’t get mad – he got even.





Another bolt from
under that blue.
Caricature from
Cox & Forkum.

What exactly goes on beneath that turban? What sparks fly in that head that belongs to Manmohan Singh? How many powerful thought-bombs keep going ka-boom! in that hyperactive brain -since he and his government keep coming out with one electric idea after the other?

If it's not Arjun Singh who thought of the super-original idea of ever more quotas then it is Priya Praneshwari Das Munshi "who has said he sometimes stays up late to monitor television content", so that he could find 'objectionable' content and, presumably, ban channels. (via Great Bong)

Now, out of the blue (pun intended!), this - You may now need licence to own TV !

You may now need licence to own TV

You do not watch Doordarshan but may soon have to pay a one-time licence fee for the TV you own and an additional tax on any new TV you buy in the future. Why? To support Prasar Bharati Corporation and its employees.

On Wednesday, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Prasar Bharati (PB) is likely to decide on a new tax on each television set sold in the country. The GoM has two options: a 5 per cent tax or a 10 per cent one. A 10 per cent levy will fetch Prasar Bharati Corporation Rs 890 crore every year.

----------------------------------------
The GoM will also decide on a proposal to levy a licence fee on broadcast receivers — television and radio set owners.

Television channels will have to pay a ‘public service broadcast fee’ to PB. This will be 5 per cent of their gross revenue generated. Officials said the measures would help end PB’s financial woes. The corporation requires Rs 3,000(crore) every year for operations but its annual revenue has been about Rs 1,600 crore over the past few years. An official said the measures would make PB financially independent of the government.

Sometimes it seems that it is always (Orwell's) 1984. When a government propaganda tool is called a public service broadcaster. When Rs 3,000 crore(30,000 million) are wasted on ---- on what exactly? What good does Prasar Bharati do, really?


Sevanti Ninan asked in 2004 -

What do mature democracies with a burgeoning private sector media need an information and broadcasting ministry for? You could argue that a largely rural, poor society could have media needs which the private sector will not find profitable to meet. But how well is Prasar Bharati, which costs Rs. 5 crore a day, meeting these needs? We have a satellite kisan channel, a terrestrial kisan channel, and Krishi Darshan. Have they revolutionised Indian agriculture?

How many hospitals would that 3000 crores every year (and growing) build and thus save more lives? How many schools? How many buses for better public transport? How many extremely poor could survive if that money was spent just on their basic meals?

I am a libertarian. I don't believe that the state should be doing any of these things. But there are many, many who do, including almost everyone in the government itself. So shouldn't that 3000 crores(and counting) be put to better, much better use ? Why are the employees of Prasar Bharati, the I&B bureaucrats , the ministry officials and toadies and hanger-ons and middlemen, the politicians and their chamchas* - why are they more important than the hundreds of thousands of people in extreme poverty who could survive with some decency if that 3000 crores could be used to help them.

Back of the envelope calculation -at Rs100 to feed one person for one day, Rs 3000 crores would feed about 821,917 persons for one year!

But I suppose Doordarshan must be doing something reaaaally important -just can't figure it out now. And in the meanwhile, we live in dread of another bolt(and jolt) from under that blue.

(all emphasis mine)

*The colorful Indian language translator-
Chamcha - literally, a spoon. A derisive word for toadies, hanger-ons and boot-lickers, with whom every Indian politician is surrounded. Indian politics is replete with such cutlery.In fact, there is a hierarchy in chamchadom, as the politician surrounded by chamchas is himself the chamcha of a bigger politician.It's a whole and complex ecosystem. Someday the scientists who specialize in parasites will pay more attention to it.


Update -is it true that the so-called public service broadcasters are almost always toadies of the government(Doordarshan in India, Channel 1 and Channel Rossiya in Russia and Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in Iran for example) or, if they are truly autonomous, they come under the sway (control, rather) of a politically correct, left leaning orthodoxy (BBC in UK, National Public Radio (NPR) in USA andNetherlands Programme Service(NPS) in Holland, for example)?

Here is an interesting tale of what happened when a 'right-wing' journalist unexpectedly became part of the cozy leftists club at the NPS, Holland -

Some excerpts-

When conservative columnist Joshua Livestro was confronted with censorship at the Dutch public broadcasting corporation, he didn’t get mad – he got even.
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Late on Saturday evening, I received a phone call from Van Friesland. He said he thought it was a good column, but he warned me to tread carefully: “With a program like ours, with its left-wing audience, you’ve got to remember: leftist columnists will be praised even for third-rate efforts. Right-leaning columnists have to be much more conspicuous in the way they operate.” Right now, he suggested, reading out this column just wouldn’t be a good idea. Better switch to a safer option. I gladly jotted all of this down in my notebook.

Based on the flood of complaints the program routinely received in the hours after the show, by the way, I wonder whether the editors really know what makes their own audience tick. The e-mails all complain of similar issues: biased, leftwing presenters, and a biased, leftwing editorial policy, with a clear preference for guests and issues on the left.

Looking at the statistics for the four months I was involved with the program, I can only say the e-mails understate the extent of the problems. I looked at the period between the beginning of March (when I was first hired) and the end of June (when my contract was terminated). In that period, the editors invited nearly twice as many liberal guests as conservative ones – 23 versus 14. Among government ministers, the bias was even more obvious. Five different ministers from the governing left-of-center Social Democrat party appeared on the show. And from their coalition partners, the right-of-center Christian Democrats? Not a single one.

(all emphasis mine)

Go read the whole thing -it's worth it.

Just another day in the life of the compassionate state

Aren't we told that Capitalism is dog-eat-dog, kill the poor to get rich, fat cats getting fatter and everyone else exploited and getting a bad deal for life? That is why, we are told, we need Socialism, a welfare state that would toil for the welfare of the poor, the common people, a state that would be compassionate, kind and just, not like...like...America!

But as we all know, there isn't much compassion in the compassionate state. And if you don't know this(if by some quirky misfortune, you are blind, deaf and have no powers of cognition then it is possible that you don't know), just try getting some legitimate business done in a government office, any government office. I am sure you would be overwhelmed by their compassion.

Here's your welfare state at work-
Seven inmates of Tihar jail die of overcrowding, torture, heat and no water.



According to HT-

"A ward for 40-50 prisoners in Jail No. 3 reportedly has only five to six fans. Many inmates are weakened by police torture and others suffer from a variety of ailments. Medical attention is scarce and when available often rudimentary. This is not surprising considering that there are some 90 doctors for the 13,750 inmates in Tihar — a downward spiral from the 100:7,000 doctor-prisoner ratio in 1995."

(emphasis mine)
It's okay, they were just prisoners, scum of the earth, really.
Don't fret.It's just another day in the life of the compassionate state.