The Golden 80s

Real estate: According to real estate honchos, India should grow at 8% (including environmental clearances), to grow economically and to create jobs. But for whom is this real estate growing? Not for the middle class or the poor. Definitely not. But a big yes for the filthy rich. Just see the apartments, duplexes, and penthouses on offer. They are just five-star luxury suites packaged for the rich in India. These are not the typical Indian homes that we all grew up and would want to live in. These Rs 6-10 cr luxury suites can be bought by the rich and those with black money. Or those who are willing to pawn their entire life to the bank and the real estate company. In the early 90s, it was alleged that the IMF and World Bank would enslave all Indians and herald the second colonization of India after the British. Even the World Bank miscalculated the potential of Indian businessmen. And in the 90s, we said so many things. We don't remember most of them. Youth : As a youth I als...

It is quite some time that the news channels based in Delhi and Mumbai keep mumbling on how the "youth" will usher in a new India in 2014 by casting their votes for the same old politicians. Huh! In an article on Mint , Sanjay Kumar, a professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, debunks the untested hypothesis unleashed by the media.  Excerpts from his article: "... Banking too much on the youth vote or the votes of the first-time voters may ultimately backfire, the reason being the Indian youth hardly votes as the “youth” or the “young”...Studies indicate the youth have never voted en bloc for any political party, at least not in the last five Lok Sabha elections (1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009). They have remained divided between various political parties like voters of any other age group are divided between various parties ..." "... It will be a gross misjudgement if someone believes the youth will determine the outcome of the 2014...

Nobody questioned the real nonsense that happened: the fact that the ordinance to save the convicted elected representatives went to the President without much opposition from all the “clean” parties. In a democracy like India, all opposition parties are “clean”. When these opposition parties become the rulers, the then opposition become clean. That exactly is how an average Indian understands Indian politics. The media just propagates this theory. So, the same democratic, objective media did not vehemently question why the bill was created in the first place and why the ordinance was rushed through. No media questioned or even wondered why we did not see live telecast of thousands holding candles near India Gate unlike some time in the past. We also did not see the “saviours of Indian democracy” performing a satyagraha stunt or wage another televised version of freedom struggle. We did not see anyone waving the Indian flag, or music concerts to save India. And when Rahul Gandhi ...