TRIUVANANTHAPURAM = TEMPLE TREASURES = BIGGEST TREASURE IS DEITY = DEAD ASSETS DON'T CREATE GREAT NATIONS = WORK FOR PROGRESS=

TRIUVANANTHAPURAM

TEMPLE TREASURES

HUMAN GREED  is boundless. It is proving itself again in respect of Tiruvananthapuram Temple treasures.

The Greatest treasure in the Temple is – the Deity himself. Very few are now bothered about the Deity and the sanctity of the temple.

Let us take his Blessings – not his treasures.

It is of course heartening to hear the Government of Kerala and leaders like Shashi Tharoor affirming that – the temple treasure must be with the Temple.

Let us understand certain realities.

Even now – crores of crores rupees worth of gold and precious stones are available with households in India in the form of Gold, Jewellery, precious stones etc. They are not contributing either to their own progress or to that of the country. They are of emotional value. At the Individual level – they can save them on a rainy day of their life – but  not on a daily basis.

They are no better than the best clothes that people wear. They cannot contribute to a Nation’s progress. Of course, they can contribute to HUGE Inflation, if money supply increases to buy them.

At the Nation’s level – Productive assets which can contribute to people’s welfare and Progress are not such dead assets.

What contributes to a Nation’s progress and people’s welfare is – Hard and intelligent work of the People – that creates real assets like – adequate food supplies, good housing, good roads, good clothing, cars, planes, computers, schools, good hospitals and so on. But – conscientious, hard working people, who care for the country and for each other are at the base of creation of all these assets. Gold, Jewellery, diamonds etc cannot add an iota to our welfare.

A silly argument is doing the rounds. All this treasure was given by people and should go back to them!! A highly spacious argument. Which people gave – let it go back to THEM. Fine. Do we know who gave the diamond worth Rs.1 crore in taxes? Do we know who gave precious stones in taxes? Was there ever a time – when such things were given in Taxes?

No. People, even today, submit to the Deity – their gold ornaments, precious stones, diamonds etc. It is happening every day at Tirupati Temple even now. It is happening at all Hindu temples. And, it should stay with the Temples – with the Deity – to whom they were submitted as offerings by the Devotees.

Buddha said – all our lives, we are madly after acquiring (different forms of) dust – and this thirst will persist, till we become dust our self.

Yearning for any UNEARNED WELATH OR INCOME is greed. Yearning for Temple Treasures is also the same.

USA did not become wealthy on account of Gold and diamonds. It is on account of Hard work, intelligence, innovations and encouragement – which resulted in IBM, Microsoft, Ford, Intel and most of the Fortune 500 corporations. Every Individual in USA has opportunity to Grow.

In India, this opportunity is in fact disappearing. The hurdles are too much – and they come from the most powerful sources. Even a established entrepreneur cannot survive and thrive in India – as recent events are unfolding. We need to create an environment – where the hardworking, honest man  can grow without these hurdles.

Just listen to what Barack Obama is talking every day – and contrast it with Indian Leaders. We must clearly - change our ways a lot. Even a good man like Manmohan singh is unable to push our people to perform – many of them are busy with other things.

Let this Nation be not greedy for Temple treasures. Our ancients were not greedy. They were hard working; sensible; and knew from where the joy of life comes. It is certainly not from the treasures – definitely not from Temple treasures. There is enough of it outside too – without contributing an iota to India’s progress.

Let us work a little more – Let us join together and create assets useful to all of us.

There lies our progress.

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DRAFT LOK PAL BILL OF GOVT AND TEAM ANNA = SUGGESTIONS TO TEAM ANNA AND GOVT = JURISDICTION OF LOK PAL

LOK PAL BILL

GOVT VS TEAM ANNA

Team Anna has placed an interesting Power Point presentation at www.kiranbedi.com  , giving brief comparison of the Government’s Lok Pal Bill Draft with the Jan Lok Bill Draft. 

For the sheer effort that Team Anna is taking in the matter – it needs to be saluted and supported by all people. 

There can be no doubt that India needs a strong Lok Pal, to combat the high level corruption. But, we all differ on how to make the Lok Pal strong enough to tackle the existing monumental levels of corruption.

Our Individual Perceptions are different and hence our prescriptions are bound to be slightly different. 

Let us look at a few key aspects on Jurisdictional Matters in this Post. Other matters will be dealt with, in next Post.

(i)                FIRST QN IS - WHO EXACTLY IS CORRUPT ?

It is only the Government and the Government only - which can be corrupt. Let us understand this very clearly.

It cannot be the shopwala, or the man on the street, or an NGO. They may indulge in adulteration, misuse of funds etc – but not corruption.

It is Government’s corruption only - that chokes the life of citizens. If that is curbed significantly – it does a lot of good for the citizens of India.

Our People will suffer much less. Our GDP will go up. Many private entrepreneurs will come up. India will be a much happier country to live in.

The term, Government must include whoever has state Power over citizens – from Prime minister to Panchayat officials, elected or appointed. So, there should be EFFECTIVE CHECK on all of them.

This means – we are talking of (i)Political Corruption and (ii) bureaucratic corruption both.

(ii)              Who should be the Effective Check on all of them?

If Lok Pal is given the charge of all Group A Government servants and all elected representatives – I think, his cup will be FULL. So, limiting Lok Pal’s jurisdiction to this group is both practical and sensible. Even CVC is not looking at all levels of Government servants presently.

(iii)          What about Present CVC?

Group A Government servants will get shifted from CVC to Lok Pal Jurisdiction. So, it is sensible to shift CVC also to Lok Pal Jurisdiction. Incidentally – CVC looks also at higher level officers of Banks and other PSUs. They also must come under CVC – under the Lok Pal.

CVC must be the chief Executive under Lok Pal for looking at the corruption charges against these officials presently dealt with by him.

(iv)           What about corruption at Lower levels?

There has to be EFFECTIVE CHECK on others too. Currently the CVC is not looking at less than Gr.A. These are under respective departmental Vigilance Officers.

One alternative is - Lok Pal must directly deal with Gr. A officers’ corruption, without CVC’s intervention.

CVC can directly and independently deal with Corruption cases of Grs. B, C & D – leaving irregularities not amounting to corruption to be dealt with by Departmental Vigilance systems.

(v)            The question is – why are the CVC and Vigilance Officers – not effective in curbing corruption?

If we don’t understand this – Lok Pal also will be as ineffective as CVC and Vigilance Officers.

CVC depends too much on Vigilance officers. He has no independent Investigative system to look into charges of corruption – except Vigilance Officers and CBI. CBI is used rarely. Vigilance officers system leaves much to be desired.

First, Vigilance Officers from same department /Ministry must not be heading the Vigilance System of that department and must not form the bulk of the officers in the vigilance wings. They tend to have too many friends and acquaintances among field officers -   and this familiarity itself is a negative point for combating corruption and irregularities.

Second, Only a small percentage of complaints are investigated. This implies that – most offenders get away with what they are doing.

This also implies that – Vigilance officers are free to drop complaints on persons they know / are friends with. There is too much of subjectiveness in selection of complaints for investigation.

Not all complaints go from Vigilance officers to CVC.

There are many such problem areas.

These must be taken care of, adequately – and Gr. B, C and D can be left to Vigilance system – which must come under the control of CVC – who must come under Lok Pal.

(vi)           What about NGOs,Trusts and Societies?

NGOs, Societies and Trusts belonging to ALL RELIGIONS and others must first be treated on par with companies – with compulsory Audit and declaration of Accounts. But then – Government should not differentiate this or that religion for this purpose. For them – Lok Pal is not needed. They can’t indulge in corruption.

(vii)         What about Lok Ayukta of State Governments?

This arrangement of Lok Ayuktha for state Governments must also be included in the Lok Pal Bill. It should be similar to Lok Pal. Let no Political Party escape with its Corrupt practices, by being a regional Party - simply on the ground of Federalism.

The Tahsildar’s office and the Police station are monuments of corruption in some places. But, the Party in Power is always unwilling to tackle them.

This is a Historic opportunity to introduce uniform, effective, anti-corruption systems throughout India – and should not be lost for any reason.

(viii)        Should Judiciary be under Lok Pal?

Definitely Not. Corruption in Judiciary must be looked into by an independent body consisting of Judges, Lok Pal, and CAG. The independence of Judiciary has been responsible for many reforms and should not be compromised.

Corruption in Judiciary must be looked at by not just Lok Pal, but a larger body including Judiciary itself and CAG.

(ix)          Should the Prime Minister be included under Lok Pal Jurisdiction?

Yes. But  - unless the matter directly involves corruption charge against the Prime Minister himself, with substantial proof, the PM should not himself be brought into interrogation by Lok Pal.

The office of Prime Minister must however, cooperate fully in unearthing the truth in charges against other cabinet colleagues and any others in the Ministries. This task may be delegated to Cabinet secretary. The sanctity of this highest office must be maintained – in the long term interests of the nation – unless strong corruption charges come up against the Prime Minister himself.

We will deal with other aspects –not relating to jurisdiction in future Posts.

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GREAT INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES = FROM PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA =

GREAT QUOTES OF OBAMA

Barack Obama, the President of USA, is obviously a man with a mission. His mission is constantly reflected in his words and actions. His speeches and his quotable quotes are a delight for any one, and are highly thought provoking and inspirational.

Here is a collection, that I like – for the benefit of readers :

Ø  In my heart I know you didn't come here just for me, you came here because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope. In the face of a politics that's shut you out, that's told you to settle, that's divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people, reaching for what's possible, building that more perfect union.

Ø  Americans... still believe in an America where anything's possible - they just don't think their leaders do.

Ø  Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

Ø  I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

Ø  I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody.

Ø  If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost.

Ø  In the absence of sound oversight, responsible businesses are forced to compete against unscrupulous and underhanded businesses, who are unencumbered by any restrictions on activities that might harm the environment, or take advantage of middle-class families, or threaten to bring down the entire financial system.

Ø  The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam.

Ø  Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.

Ø  There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

Ø  It was not a religion that attacked us that September day. It was al-Qaeda. We will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust.

Ø  The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable.

Ø  Now we're in the midst of not just advocating for change, not just calling for change - we're doing the grinding, sometimes frustrating work of delivering change - inch by inch, day by day.

Ø  There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America - there's the United States of America.

Ø  It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.

Ø  This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many.

Ø  We didn't become the most prosperous country in the world just by rewarding greed and recklessness. We didn't come this far by letting the special interests run wild. We didn't do it just by gambling and chasing paper profits on Wall Street. We built this country by making things, by producing goods we could sell.

Ø  This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands.

Ø  We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old - and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges.

Ø  We have an obligation and a responsibility to be investing in our students and our schools. We must make sure that people who have the grades, the desire and the will, but not the money, can still get the best education possible.

Ø  We reward people a lot for being rich, for being famous, for being cute, for being thin… one of the values I think we need to instill in our country, in our children, is a sense of ‘usefulness’, in other words, are we useful, are we making other peoples’ lives a little bit better?

Ø  We have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their healthcare.

Ø  We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don't want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.

Ø  We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

Ø  It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.

Ø  We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re not ready, or that we shouldn’t try, or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes we can.

Ø  My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.

Ø  We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.

Ø  You know, my faith is one that admits some doubt.

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