Railway Budget

Everyone is talking about the rail budget benefitting the common man. But does it really? Who is this common man the newspapers and TV channels are talking about? Does the common man travel in AC class? Does the common man use freight railways? Then how does this budget benefit him?

Lalu Yadav has been thrown out of power and now he doesn't need to look after the interests of the poor man. Instead he is spending 22000 crore rupees on freight tracks. Who will these freight tracks benefit? Not the common man. Only big industrial houses and their rich owners.

What is this cut in prices of AC class? What is this garib rath? Does he think that poor people can afford to travel in AC? This is just a stunt to show that he is still trying to benefit the poor. But the poor can see through it.

The poor of this country don't need cuts in AC class tickets. They don't need the railway minister to waste money on freight trains. They need more general class compartments and faster engines. The rich people take only AC class. Why should they waste our national resource? We can remove the AC class and make them take flights. The trains should be used only by the poor.

I hope other people will cooperate in exposing this fraudulent railway budget.

Language

I have noticed that people are talking about the bad grammer on this blog. I feel angry as well as pityful. Can these people find nothing in our writings to criticise except grammer?

Yes, I know I have some problems with language. I was not in convents or english medium like some people. I have to try hard to write and speak english. It is not a natural language for me like my mother tongue. After every line I have to think about whether it is correct or wrong. But so what? Dont I have the right to blog? Why should I be perfect at english every time? Is any of my lines such that it cant be understood? If so show me at once.

I know that my english grammer is weak. It is due to it that i never blogged till now. I always had a complex growing up. But one day my professor said to me, "Sudhir, language is just a means of communicating thoughts. If your thoughts are communicated well, why worry about the small thing called grammer? Great men will look at your thoughts and not grammer". I got confidence. I started speaking english even though people might laugh. I let them laugh. But remembered that main thing is to speak thoughts.

Here also I will write thoughts. If you can argue with good thoughts, do it. I will answer. If you want to laugh about grammer, then okay fine, i am used to that also.

One more thing. Mr. Thennavan says this blog is fake? I request him to leave his phone number here so I can call him up in America to introduce myself. Anyone else who doubts our reality, please leave your phone numbers.

Just so rich folks can eat in peace

Dilip Dsouza as usual is very much observant about the real issues behind this whole bird flu mess. Only some chickens have died because of the disease. And a few people may be ill. And what happens? The Manmohan government pours crores and crores of rupees into fighting it. Only because rich countries with rich people have also done it. And so rich people can eat tandoori chicken and chicken burgers in peace.

In India, how many die due to malaria every year? How many die suffering TB? How many children die from diarhoea? I am sure the number would be a thousand times multiple of total humans dead by bird flu.

But the government does nothing.

And when bird flu comes, suddenly money is flowing. Why? So the rich can each chicken? So that people like Venkateshwara Hatcheries can keep making more money? What do the poor get from it I ask. Do the poor ever eat chicken? No. The poor drink water. Crores die due to water born diseases every year.

Are rich people not ill due to bad water? No. Why not? They have bisleri, they have zero b, they have aqua guard. At costs very cheap for them they can save themselves. But bird flu is different. Bird flu can kill you even if chicken is from Raslanbhai's poultry or from Venky's frozen. Bird flu can kill you even if chicken is eaten in taj mahal, or in a dhaba. So the rich are scared.

So to make the rich feel safe, the government pours money for fighting bird flu. Where was this money I ask when the poor wanted you to fight water born diseases?

I don't know how..

...I stand that insufferable prick Sudhir. Yeah, he is my "good friend" and all that, but given our class identities, what else did you expect? But Abey who are these two you ahve got to "co-blog"? Who's is this Monica? Who is this Mohit? And what are we supposed to do here? Whythefug should I spend one hour typing a post instead of browsing porn?

The revolution is not going to come from you people reading this blog. You have a vested interest in continuing this system.You are the ones who benefit from this whole scam. Why do you want to change it? Yes I am talking to all of you reading this blog. If you can read in English and, you have internet you are in upper middle class. Your dad was probably a bureaucrate, politician or industrialist. I know you are "compassionate" and all that. Your compassion makes you see that these rightwing nuts are only worried about their own interests. But your self interest blinds you from seeing that your interest is only to perpetuate the current system. Yeah I know you want to give it a "Human Face" and all, but only a face. Atleast those wingnuts are honest about being self-interested. You crypto-capitalists hide your class-interests deep under your false consciousness.

Take this as Exhibit A, if you will. Passion, not Pity, the guy says. "Pity implores the powerful to pay attention; passion warns them about what will happen if they don’t." This is the sentence he likes. Does he realise that as far as the bourgeois is concerned, the revolution is 150 years late? If you are going to scare them with "what will happen if they don't", you;ve got to show some credible threat okay? I'm sick of you "left wing" guys for whom the revolution is only a gabbar to scare little children with. "Jeb se paisa nikaal varna revolution aa jaayega". If you have the guts, make the f****** revolution happen okay? Are you ready for the complete overhaul of the exploitative sub-structure? If no, don't give me nonsense about sham reforms.

Darwin only for animals

Free markets are full of flaws because they have been based on those human qualities which are the dark ones. Think of a philosophy based on cruelty, dishonesty and hate. Free marketers may not agree but they are the basis of the philosophy. I have seen that free market supporters are also strong Darwin supporters. I like Darwin also. But we need to remember that Darwin after all wrote about animals. And we are humans. Darwin could never spot the missing link. Even today no one can show how humans exactly evolved from monkeys. So until then we can not let Darwin's ideas of survival of fittest work in our world.

Darwin would say extinction of animals and killing of species is ok as long as it is natural. Many free marketers say that about victims of tsunami or earthquake or Katrina. Survival of the fittest? In animal kingdom, cruelty and hate do not exist because they are animals. So a lion eating up cows is not cruel. But if a strong man targets a weak man, it will be cruelty and hatred. And we as humans can not let it be so.

Free markets and reforms call for almost jungle raj. No regulation, no laws, no government, just anarchy and strongest one winning. Is that not cruel in human world? we need to stop the cruelty and hate. A humanly behaviour is possible only by humane ideals. And for that we need governments run by people who understand and are compassionate.

In India sadly governments have not been compassionate. we should ensure they are. But Darwin fans reformers would want government to go away so lions can feast on cows and goats and rabbits. That can not happen.

We recently saw a win for those who like the human face. The French government, shamed by protests, called back Clemenceau. Our brothers at Alang are safe from asbestosis. As it is I find ship breaking very undignified activity. I hope all these people can return to agriculture and the greedy exploiting ship breaking industry shuts down.

What are reforms?

First, thanks to Sudhir for this invite. The title of this blog, Sudhir told me, was inspired by the phrase “reforms with a human face.” I have a question here: is it possible to have reforms without a human face?

From this online dictionary, I find that ‘reform’ means “a change for the better as a result of correcting abuses” and “a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices” and “self-improvement in behavior or morals by abandoning some vice”. On seeing that a question comes to mind: is what has taken place since 1991 in India ‘reform’? Has it really been “a change for the better” when there are still so many poor people in India? Has it managed to “correct abuses or malpractices” when farmers still commit suicide because the government cannot look after them? And in this age of Page 3 and celebrity culture, has there really been any “self-improvement in behavior or morals”?

No. My answer is no. What we have been calling “reforms” for the last 15 years is not “reforms” at all, but just the opposite. The time has come now to think about what real reform means. That is what this blog is about. Reforms. That those reforms have a human face is understood. Isn’t it?

The Indian Blogworld

I have noticed some thing. The Indian blogworld is a nice place but not very intelligent. Most people keep writing about their personal life, novels, films etc, but very few bloggers care enough. Very few bloggers go deep. Mostly the bloggers keep on staying on the superficial level, saying whatever Times of India edits or Indian Express edits have to say. Sadly, most newspapers have become too capitalist, and are talking of that agenda.

It is refreshing to see attempts made by people like The Other India to make the common populace aware of the reality and the issues that need attention. Today's youth, too admiring of multiplexes and Nokia phones, have forgotten social responsibility. It really makes me wonder about the future of this country. Luckily, these people, under able leadership of the popular writer-columnist Dilip Dsouza, are spreading the good word.

Sadly, many people keep opposing this effort. In today's Page 3 world, maybe becoming libertarian is fashionable. So some people who call themselves a libertarian cartel keep trying to hijack debates. Everywhere they want to talk only free markets free markets free markets, as if there is no humanity left in the world. These cartel fellows need to ask themselves. has love ever been sold or bought in the market? Has a mother's love? Has patriotism? Can unity be there on market? And beauty... who buys beauty? Most great things can not be on the market. That shows that market is very limited.

A human face can show all. Love, patriotism, motherhood, unity, beauty, are all shown on human face. So it is human face which is superior to any markets. ANy two bit man can make a market. Trading is so simple. Human values are more complex. Libertarians need to understand that.

Then there are some folks who are just cruel and rude. TTG is one person who keeps abusing anyone who disagrees with his nonsense. And that psycho fellow Nilu also keeps attacking compassionate people. Where is your compassion, TTG and Nilu? Where is your human face?

So Indian blogworld needs people like me. And my friends who will shortly start blogging. I don't fully agree with all points of their because they are too idealistic. But their hearts are in their right place.

I hope Indian blogworld will embrace us and give us popularity. Fine sites like Desipundit are very helpful in this.

Shri Ganeshaya Namaha

With this post, paying utmost respect to Lord Ganesha I inaugurate this blog.

I have been reading blogs for a few months now and I find not many Indian blogs are saying the right things. The over-educated rich children of the middle class have become too infatuated with America and evils of materialism. They are forgeting the values of our culture. This blog will add its own voice to search for and sustain the human face in socio-economic issues. The blog name is obviously inspired from our respected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's promise to ensure reforms have human face.

Readers, we will try to remind you at every stage that we are all humans and should have a human face in all endeavours. Economic or social issues both should be dealt with an eye on the human face. Evil words like greed, profit, materialism, selfishness should be shunned. We must strive to make a better society.

I am Sudhir Bhatavdekar. I live in Mumbai. I will be joined on this blog by a few very good friends in a short while. Hope we receive patronage and blessings from one and all.