Girish's Blog

I have been reading and watching with deep consternation the repeated assaults on the innocent public by terrorists who are out to kill for whatever cause they support. Terrorists basically are brain-washed robots who have been suckered into an ideology and are used by their controllers to achieve their so called ambitions. That may be a bit simplistic as some of the terrorists are in it for the money and the adrenaline high it gives, but killing people randomly is too cowardly an act to be justified or condoned. Where is the connection between terror and corruption you may well ask! After Mumbai was held spell bound by the antics of the half dozen terrorists from across the border that attacked VT and the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the Maharashtra Government immediately ordered 28 high speed patrol boats for the coast guard at a cost of Rs. 250 crores over and above 20 boats allotted by the Central Government of a total sanction for 58 boats. Of these boats as of date only 8 boats are o...

Post the unprecedented people support to crusader Anna Hazare where the yuppies, puppies, rich, poor, middle class and the entire spectrum of Indian society came together to give a resounding “NO” to corruption, we slowly and surely have the political class and so called opinion makers trying to queer the pitch on the necessity of the Jan Lokpal bill. First, we have politicians and so called intellectuals trying to read too much into the statement made by Anna on the development in Gujarat and Bihar. We have the Sarabhai’s shouting about how human rights have been trampled and there is no development in Gujarat. Looks like the big industry houses are stupid to commit Rs. 15 lakh crore in the vibrant Gujarat summit held this January. This caused so much concern that the UPA Government has let the income tax goons loose on the Gujarat government asking for details of proposed investments. Is the income tax department within its rights to ask for such information? That is a separate ques...

If you happened to view the above two BBC TV serials, I am sure most of you would remember these rib-tickling serials of yore. The mention of these serials is necessitated by the fact that these were a commentary on the British bureaucracy whose Westminster model we inherited. The bureaucrats used to confuse the ministers with their bureaucratese to perpetuate their perks and control over Government, with the assumption that it is not politicians who run Government but the bureaucrats. In a large part it is true, as the bureaucrats form the crucial backbone of the Government to ensure the policies and program of the Government of the day are executed in a silent and efficient manner. In theory this is all fine – but with reference to India – what does happen in reality? In view of the various scandals which have seen the light of day recently from the CWG scams, Adarsh Housing scandal, Karnataka land scams, Maharashtra mining scandals, and the list could prove endless – someone needs t...