Lokpal Bill has gathered dust for over past 8-9 lok sabha sessions. The basic premise is that there ought to be an accountability in the system as an ombudsman to overlook any complaints. The past three months have been stormy for some because the biggies have been caught in the vortex of corruption. However, there is much more than this that meets the eye.

I usually refrain from making any political posts here because this is not the right platform. However, I do assume that readers have some basic iota of knowledge about polity and make genuine efforts to seek out information. Admittedly, the blog roll has been trimmed down over the past few months but is an enough indication to seek news from alternative sources. Hence, I also rely heavily on different opinions to balance out the events as they unfold or else the media, in cahoots with the powers, is able to pull wool over the eyes.

As I have mentioned earlier, one of the major limitations of blogs is it’s discovery of content. Unless, it is spread far and wide, it would remain hidden. A vast legion and an army of morons descends on Twitter and Facebook which makes an engaging discussion, nearly impossible. I do miss the earlier interaction with like minded folks on the forums but right now it is swamped with idiots; the same ones who shouldn’t have populated the earth in the first place.

Nevertheless, first the 2G scam. It was actually “unleashed” by Congress as a careful calculated move to deflect attention from Commonwealth Games fiasco and overt attention from Gandhis who have actually benefitted from the windfall. It is not possible to point in the exact figure but we can be assured that it is a tidy sum stashed away in havens and far from the public scrutiny. Another calculated move was to discredit the ruling DMK regime and force them on the backfoot for poll understandings and fine tune CBI to extract maximum political mileage. When it was clear that this has not ensured the required “effect” i.e. people rising in revolt, Raja was held and packed away to Tihar Jail.

Although, it sounds like a conspiracy theory, any political observer worth his/her salt would not deny the way events unfolded. In a place like Tamil Nadu, where Congress by itself would not have been able to make any dent (given it’s near absence and lack of charisma in Southern States), DMK is still the best bet. So after wresting the key seat sharing agreement, DMK and Congress are still in the alliance and would face the electorate together. It’s surprising, that despite the “North Indian’s face” in North, it is aligning itself with a party that has steadfastly kept “anti north indian” stance. In short, regional chauvinism reigns surpreme and no one questions them.

This was later followed by a stalled parliament with a constitution of a PAC and a JPC; statuatory bodies under Parliament of India which is oddly making some news off and on and was agreed to after supposedly considerable lobbying efforts by the opposition. It’s wisdom may well be questioned; as far as I am aware of, it is a fact finding mission but does not prosecute. This again has ensured that public attention is deflected away from the massive commonwealth games fiasco; there is no iota of doubt that Kalmadi and his team are mere fronts for people in power to siphon off public money.

Now comes the “lokpal bill” and the balding gandhian asshole called as Hazare. The timing of his plank as “anti-corruption” is a huge suspect. But first, a reality check on the lokpal bill or what has been offered to the Government:

Jan Lokpal Bill is open ended and confers unlimited powers. So it goes without saying that selecting the Lok Pal Members is the single most important task.  There are no checks and balances at all in the bill that would make it idiot member proof.   In other words, if the mainstream institutions have been compromised, there is NOTHING in the bill that would prevent the Lokpal from being compromised too.  It gets worse because of two reasons.

1. The mainstream institutions (CVC, CBI, CAG, etc) can be turned around by people power every 5 years. That it doesnt seem to happen is due to there not being enough free agent voters in the system.  We can hope for a 20-25% increase in free agent voters which will straighten these institutions in short time.
2. A compromised Lokpal will wreak havoc and lay to waste the other institutions. There is no chance of getting them voted out.

The timing is circumspect.

Sandhya Jain hits the nail right on the head: (emphasis mine throughout).

Anna Hazare’s so-called fast-unto-death is questionable for its anti-democratic disdain for elected government and people’s representatives. The timing is equally suspect – right after the adjournment of Parliament after passing the Union Budget. It may be recalled that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to gift Rs. 40,000/- crores to the leaky MREGA project favoured by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her unelected friends in the National Advisory Council; his attempts to curtail this hole in the exchequer enraged her.

As if on cue, Hazare, NAC cronies, Rockefeller Foundation-funded Magsaysay Award winners, and other usual suspects, ganged up against the besieged prime minister…..If laws are to be adopted and enacted in this manner, do we need either government or Parliament?

My point is that he is instigating the middle class intelligentsia that comes to hear him at Jantar Mantar – and neither he nor any of his allies is a grassroots mass leader ……..he moots an unelected oligarchy. This does not bode well for the nation or the society.

Sandhya Jain goes on to write:
…..the idea that Magsaysay Award-winning Indians should figure in the Lokpal selection panel. This stinks of an American hand….. we shall never know what kind of private networking could take place in government and bureaucracy via its favoured persons, to further Rockefeller interests.

India’s high profile elites derive status from the international NGO cocktail circuit. Their insatiable quest for funds and glory makes them adopt ideas and concepts without examining their validity in an Indian context. As they are very conscious of their elite status, they have unacceptable contempt for the people and their elected representatives.

We cannot endorse these non-accountable and glittering Western satellites.

Compare and contrast with what Times of India’s Shalini Singh has to write about it.

Although she rallies against the CBI for filing improper chargesheet, she praises Hazare for his stand.

The CBI’s latest chargesheet in the 2G scam investigation…… Timid and short on detail,it serves more as a lesson for students of law and police academies on how not to make a chargesheet.

…..clean chit to the Prime Minister (4 pages), the attorney general (2 pages) and the Tatas (7 pages).

The 60-page final report does not have a single line to prove corruption nor does it even remotely mention the evidence….

Shalini writes further:

…. it is not keen on fulfilling its own mandate of a statutory investigating agency, the CBI has assumed the role of an auditor instead. This is an important move, which helps create a mid-point of Rs 30,984.55 crore between the CAG’s Rs 1.76 lakh crore revenue loss figure, which is accurately based on TRAI recommendations equating 2G spectrum with 3G spectrum, and telecom minister Kapil Sibal’s irreverent and indeed outright frivolous “zero loss” premise.

Anna Hazare’s agitation is timely, appropriate and critical. The CBI making a joke of the 2G scam investigation despite the Supreme Court’s best efforts shows how desperately India needs anti-corruption laws and institutions like the Lokpal to bring in the changes that Hazare and others in civil society seek.

I haven’t seen the chargesheet (and neither I am a legal expert in these matters) so it’s hard to express solidiarity with Shalini’s assertions. It is also pertinent to note that she has been writing about the 2G scam over the period of time, so it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. I don’t want to write anything else about TOI because they have a history of suing independent bloggers and I don’t want a lame dick dingbat to send me a legal notice.

Jokes apart, the present course of events is muddy. No one can claim authority but everything is weighed and calculated to make matters worse for spirited and ordinary citizens. It is difficult to separate the chaff from the grain and interestingly, some of the mainstream publications in English Language Media have been critical of this balding asshole. However, its not really surprsing because the ELM (English Language Media); specifically the newspapers tend to toe the press releases issued by the Government of India.

With these limitations (of the blogging platform) and the din of thousands of idiots collectively crowing as representative of the civil society, it’s impossible to break through the logjam. Still, I seriously hope that sane people in this country get enough ejection velocity to get out of this nation for good because we have turned into a banana republic. It’s bad enough. Really.

Tags: 3G, API, author, Corruption, EDGE, Idiots, India, Indians, Media, Piracy, Prime Minister, scam, Spectrum, Tata, Tatas, Telecommunications India, Tihar Jail, Times of India, TRAI, Twitter

This is response to one of the readers who has very kindly consented to write about it. Building and owning community networks is a fascinating idea but the major reason why they work or fail is the participation of the people around in the project.

There have been some attempts in the past (this post beautifully highlights what has been covered in India) However, practical suggestions apart, barring a mention in the media for the same, I have no clue about their present status.

One of the biggest obstacle in community funding is the funds. It’s impossible to get people excited about a shiny new broadband because of huge capital expenditure. One easy way out of this mess is to involve the Government to invest after negotiating long term rates with suppliers. This would make it easier and technically, BSNL and MTNL are public owned entities in their own right. It is a separate matter that their decision making is isolated from what is required to what is actually provided.

Hence, I don’t remain convinced about the community networks. There are ownership issues; we know in Indian model of “board membership” means a permanent way to swindle funds. Indians unfortunately, have lost touch with community participation and has remained in the hands of few well meaning NGO’s; some of them might get a mention in main stream media but no one talks about their failures.

However, running an Internet cafe on community lines is different from owning the actual line. Barring a nominal amount of capital expenditure (one needs funds for everything!), there is no other way any such model could sustain itself.

Tags: API, Broadband, BSNL, India, Indians, Internet, main stream media, Media, MTNL, Telecommunications India

Truly an idea whose time has come.

I have these feelings that Indians have a “trap mentality”. They tend to whine, cry themselves hoarse and generally straighten themselves out in front of people who are deemed to be “charismatic”. In short, they lack self confidence.

Hence, for the past 15+ years, they have been roughshod by the telecom operators because as a collective mass, Indians are bunch of idiots. Exceptions to the rule always apply (the so called outliers in economic parlance) but by and large they would cower and roll on the ground. This ingrained slave mentality is exploited by smart people; those who rise above the scum so as to say. They become “leaders” (or politicians), media managers, CEO’s etc while rest of them become cogs in the system.

This background is essential because it is collective clusterfuck of assholism is the reason why these telecom companies have not been held ransom for better customer care. No wonder, they are content to outsource their core competencies to army of morons sitting on the switchboards. Neither there is dedicated institutional mechanism to hold them accountable. Given the huge volume of mail to TRAI (regulator), about “complaints” from the customers, they are unable to act on them. Or even if they wish to, the confusion about who the real boss really is sucks the whole issue into vortex. Would it be wise to leave let go of the regulation and leave the sector open to “market forces” hoping that competition would ensure correction?

Mobile Number Portability launched nationwide is a step perhaps in that direction. For the first time in years, I have a reason to cheer. And croon about optimism. It is not that the winds of change have started “flowing” in the system; rather a belated first step towards some degree of customer empowerment.

However, the low end customers paying a pittance would not really benefit. If you rake up huge bills on post paid, thats where it’s going to matter. The most. Seriously. No one wants to leave a cash cow; so thats where the its going to affect.

The impact of mobile number portability is going to be felt slowly over the months. Whether or not it affects you as a customer would be clear. For the time being, I am holding my cynicism back. For once.

Tags: CEO, Idiots, India, Indians, Media, Mobile, Mobile Number Portability, Opera, Telecommunications India, Telecommunications India, TRAI