My Dream India:

Hi to all readers of my blog. I had purposely delayed this blog, waiting for the big occasion - to celebrate 60 years of our country’s independence. Now on this historic occasion, I felt like sharing my views on what future India should be like.
This year being the Diamond jubilee of Independence, I plan to take you to the Centenary year i.e. 2047, when our country will celebrate 100 years of Independence. So let us enter the time machine and set the dial to year 2047. Let us see how the country is, in the year 2047.
(Imagine that you have come to the future along with me & read on as I narrate the changes that have taken place. Sounds like science fiction na? Go on, read & enjoy)

SET YEAR: 2047
SET COUNTRY: INDIA

Whirl... whirl… zoommm…

INDIA@2047:

I’ve just landed. Where am I? This place is so strange. Then I realize my location. I spend some time searching for my future me- a 59 year old man. I expect this future me to be surprised & stunned to meet his own younger self. Instead he is cool & greets me in a familiar voice. I question him if he is not surprised to meet his past self. He calmly explains that the year is 2047 and time machines are not unfamiliar then. I’m totally surprised.
Then I ask him which city it was? (Looked so beautiful and strange that I thought it must be Singapore)
Its Coimbatore, was his reply.

I couldn’t believe it for everywhere I turned, I could only see huge skyscrapers, each atleast 500m tall. There were no individual houses, no apartments and no buildings infact. There were about 10-12 of these huge skyscrapers, each interconnected by bridges at certain regular heights & there were people traveling by vehicles across these bridges from one skyscraper to another. It looked like the entire city was confined within these 10-12 skyscrapers. I could also find the elevators travelling at very high speeds in these skyscrapers. Totally astonished by my future city, I approach my future self and I tell him the reason for my arrival into the future- to tell my blog readers about future India on the occasion of Diamond Jubilee of Independence. He listens to me calmly and being the History lover that he is(that I am), he recollects his thoughts of the year 2007 and then he starts to tell me about the changes that have taken place in these 40 years in different fields.

Politics
In 2007, you had a political system that simply ruined the country. There were more parties than the no. of constituencies. But in 2047, there is only a single party system.
Every constituency has a representative who is selected, not elected, by mutual conscience of two thirds majority of the people. The most qualified person for the job is selected, irrespective of their gender. This way the tremendous amount spent on elections is saved. These elected representatives select the most qualified among them as the Prime minister. They run the Government for a single term & then they hand over the responsibility to the next batch of qualified representatives selected by the people. Also there is an age limit of 60 years maximum for a representative.

Law & Order
There is an excellent security system in place. Also there is round the clock security made available for any citizen who requires it. But the crime rates have started decreasing steadily over the past ten years and it is almost negligible today. So the no. of courts in the country has reduced drastically and the judgement for any case is given within a month of its filing.

Social Strata
There are no castes or communities. All are treated equal and are given equal opportunities in all aspects. So there is no quota system in place in any field.
The reservation for the economically backward was in place from 2015 to 2031. 2031 census showed the population of country as 1.2 billion, constant over the past 20 years,
literacy as 100% & the no. of people falling under economically backward category as nil. Hence the quota system was completely removed.
People are free to enter any place of worship and pray any God without any restriction.

Economy
The country’s economy kept booming at break-neck pace for the past 40 years and defying earlier predictions, India is the richest country in the world now in terms of GDP, closely followed by China. USA is a distant third. The most heartening aspect of this growth is that it has reached the common man and the percentage of people below poverty line is zero. All Indian citizens are employed and lead a comfortable life.

Education
India provided the best education in every field today. Institutes of education in the calibre of IITs and IIMs were set up in every district and all students got the best education the country could offer. All private institutions were banished 30 years ago. Students from all over the world came to Indian universities for their Higher Studies.

Sports
India topped the meals tally in 2044 Olympic Games. Sporting talents are identified at the root level & are given world class training to shine in their respective fields. This system seems to be paying off as India made a steady rise in the field of sports and has made its presence felt in almost every sport. India is the defending champion in cricket, hockey, chess, football, etc. An Indian is the defending champion in major events in tennis, badminton, etc. A country that longed to find a place in the medals tally 40 years ago, now has the biggest presence in all medal tallies.

Diplomacy
Every country envied India’s meteoric rise. But no one really hated India like they hated US 40 years ago. Though India is now the supreme power in every field, it never imposed its authority on others like the US did 40 years ago. Countries like US and China are competing against each other to strengthen their ties with India. Pakistan is a close ally of India now. The LoC between the two countries was declared as an International border 30 years ago, and the two countries together wiped out terrorism from their borders.

Science
India is also a global super power in the field of Science now. Indians excelled in almost every discipline of Science from computers to chemistry. Also an Indian is winning a Nobel Prize almost every year.

Urban Development
Every city in the country now has a Sky city system, a project first proposed to be implemented in Tokyo 40 years ago. Since the entire city is confined to a few sky scrapers, there was no need for vehicles and the pollution decreased and a lot of trees were planted at the places where concrete structures stood once upon a time. This way the country’s resources improved and the country became energy independent 25 years ago.

I’m proud to be an Indian today, yesterday & forever.

Saying so, my future self finished his narration.

I was transfixed & stood there listening to him in complete awe.
Is this how my country will be in 2047?
I felt very proud. I waved my future self goodbye and got into the time machine.

SET YEAR: 2007

SET COUNTRY: INDIA

Whirl…whirl… zoommm...

Back to the present, where I belonged.

Now back to reality. I hope you readers enjoyed my adventure along with me. Now the gist of this blog is about the dream India that every patriotic Indian wishes to see and live in. Though some of the things which appear in my adventure may not happen even in 2047, there is a good chance that the other things will happen. For this, every patriotic citizen must execute their duties sincerely and hope that one day their dreams turn into a reality.
I request you readers to suggest some ideas in order to realize our dream India atleast by 2047. I have only mentioned a few fields that came to my mind. There are a lot of other fields. Lets hope that my/our dream India turns into a reality in 40 or less years time.

Oh, Mother India!

Let this dream turn into a reality!
May you celebrate your 100th year of Independence from the top position (in all aspects)!!
Glory to you!

JAI HIND!!

Flouting Rules & Future Ideas

Hi to all readers of my blog. Its been a month since my first blog. I got a positive response for it. Now for my second blog I shall deal with a very different topic. I initially thought of dealing with Politics and Sports but another important issue- Flouting Rules, has led me to drop them. You will certainly find them in my future blog posts.

Flouting Rules:

The thing that led me to choose to comment on this topic is that this topic, often discussed but seldom paid attention to, has kept me thinking for the past few weeks. Our country being a Democracy, the people here enjoy all sorts of freedom one could vie for. But it is the misuse of this freedom that pains me.
Let me begin with the topic that I should’ve commented on in my previous blog itself- the Helmet rule fiasco in Tamil Nadu. Let me tell you that I was probably one of the happiest persons around when I strapped my helmet & went for a ride on the first of June this year. The reason for my happiness? Yes you guessed it right- people all around me in their vehicles (pillion riders included) had strapped up just like me. For once I was very happy about the fact that people have responded positively to the new rule imposed upon all riders. It led me to believe that people have become more disciplined & have started following the rules. But my joy was short lived for the rule which had been mandatory for all riders was relaxed the very next day itself. This time the villain was our CM, whose government had imposed the rule earlier. It was alleged earlier that the CM, due to shortage of funds in Treasury- heavily drained due to the freebies given away, had entered into a secret pact with the Helmet companies to impose such a rule & the resulting profit be shared. I ignored such allegations for I felt the rule was one of the rare good deeds of this Government. But very soon after the rule was relaxed, the allegation made sense to me. Since 95% of the people bought helmets, the Treasury might have filled & the CM, in order to regain the support of the people, relaxed the rule. Now its consequences have become more severe. Even people who were in the habit of wearing helmets are not wearing it now. The result? Increasing deaths due to road accidents & head injuries. Over the past week alone I heard about 5 accidents costing 4 lives in my city, all due to head injuries. Now what can I say about this? Had the rule stayed on for over a month, people would’ve naturally become accustomed to it despite complaining. These politicians will not allow people become good even if they are willing to do so. Also I’d criticize the media for being silent on this issue. In my opinion, this issue warranted an Editorial criticism of the Government. But I found none. Why did they keep mum on this issue?

Ok lets move on. Helmets aren’t the only issue on my mind when it comes to flouting rules. Being a resident of Coimbatore, I shall tell you about the severe indiscipline in traffic in the city. Often at signals, people take little note of signs like NO FREE LEFT TURN in the absence of a policeman and take the left turn. But in some cases the policemen hide themselves and immediately catch the offender & takes action on the rule flouter. Though I’m not a saddist, it gives me a great pleasure to see these people punished for they deserve to be punished. Given a chance a majority of the riders will flout rules & the authorities concerned would willingly forego their duties in the face of money. Though rule flouting exists in all fields, I’ve dealt only with some specific traffic rule flouting for these are the ones that I come across in my daily life and it certainly pains me to the helm. Also sometimes even riders who play by the rules are forced to flout them. In such cases it is the traffic congestion in the city which has to be blamed. On my part, let me bring to light some of the measures that need to be taken to ease the traffic congestion in the city (since I’m only very familiar with the roads that I traverse regularly, I shall deal with them alone. If you have any other suggestions about other roads that you travel on, you are welcome to comment on them):
1) A traffic signal should be put in place at the Edayarpalayam junction, where minor or major accidents happen almost everyday.
2) Underground parking lots should come up at NSR road and parking on the sides of the road should be stopped even though alternate side parking is followed every month. The road should be re-laid, expanded & a divider must be put up.
3) Encroachments should be removed from Thadagam road & the road should be expanded with a divider in the middle.
4) Underground parking lots should come up at DB road & the road must be expanded with a divider.
5) The older Coimbatore- the area near Town Hall and the surrounding areas, is probably the most congested part of the city. I’m unable to find a solution for this part of the city. I welcome you to come with your suggestions, if you’ve any, for this part of the city.
6) Lane driving should be strictly enforced in Avanashi road & also in Trichy road, Sathy road, Mettupalayam road, Pallakad Main road & Dr.Nanjappa road, if possible.
7) A flyover is an absolute necessity at Hope college junction.
8) Greater Coimbatore Development Authority should be formed.
9) Plans for new public transport system like Sky Bus should be mooted and works should begin sooner rather than later. Metro rail may not suit Coimbatore city; that’s why I’ve suggested the Sky Bus.
Well these are some of my suggestions for some roads that I regularly traverse. You may agree or disagree with me. You are welcome to comment either way.
As a normal citizen, I can only voice my views knowing well that my suggestions would fall on deaf ears. Although impossible, a character like Anniyan from the Tamil movie ANNIYAN is what is required to realize these dreams turn into a reality.
My only appeal to all citizens of this country is to try & follow the rules most of the time in all fields possible. Again like in the movie ANNIYAN, if 90% of the people start following 90% of the rules, 90% of the time, then one day I can proudly say that I’m from a country where people are disciplined and play by the rules most of the time. Though I doubt if that day will come, if it does then I will surely be one of the happiest guys around.

Oh, Mother India, Let that glorious day dawn upon you!! Jai Hind!!

Casteism & Media Mayhem

Note: The views expressed in this blog are just the blogger’s opinion and are not meant to hurt the sentiments of any person.

Welcome to my blog. Here you can read about my views on various topics like Politics, Sports, Social Issues, Media, etc. I will post a blog atleast once in a month.

In my very first blog let me express my opinion on the various happenings in the recent weeks and related topics.

1) The clashes in Rajasthan: This incident really brought shame to the whole country. Casteism is a shame for a country like India boasting a population of over a billion. Among the bigger economies of the world , only in India will you find people rioting and killing each other for the supremacy of the castes and communities they represent. Politicians from all walks of life talk endlessly of creating a casteless society but only end up with increasing the number of castes with their activities. The chief among them is a man who is highly respected in the political circles- The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is seen as a man who has worked tirelessly for the upliftment of the needy and the abolishment of castes. But in reality his work has only increased the number of castes. He speaks of creating a casteless society, then why there is a column with the caption-Caste & Community, in all application forms in the state – ranging from an LKG application form to an IAS form. If enquired about this the obvious reply would be Reservations. Here too a failure on their part is exposed. You provide the needy with reservation, allright, but why do you need the caste of the person to provide reservation. You only need the person’s community- whether he is an OC or BC or MBC or SC or ST. Here too Tamil Nadu stands exposed as the rest of the country provides reservation on the basis of only 2 communities- OC or SC/ST (3 if u take OBCs into account). Like in the Tamil movie MUDHALVAN, if u start asking for Community alone in Application forms, people will no longer need to remember their castes as it would serve no purpose (provided people stop looking into the caste of a person for the purpose of a marriage) and eventually the number of castes will start to decline generation after generation till there is only one caste left-Human Beings. I don’t see any such move to curb casteism happening, atleast in the next 10-20 years. Now that our Honourable yet detestable HRD Minister has sparked off another debate with his malicious intent on vote bank politics, there is no end in sight for this problem. In my view reservation should be made available only to the economically backward and not to the socially backward. Bravo to Ms.Mayawati for giving a voice to the need for reservation for the poor among the upper castes and to the Supreme Court for making a proposal to exclude the creamy layer from enjoying the benefits of reservation. Shame on you Col.Kirori Singh for bringing the country to shame. And for the CM of TN and the founder of the PMK, who both called for the inclusion of the creamy layer in the list for reservation, let them know who really needs reservation and who are unworthily enjoying the benefits of it. Thanks to you gentlemen that TN is a 69% reserved state. Let not the whole country suffer a similar fate. Jai Hind!!

2) Media Mayhem: I felt that there is a need to discuss the state of media in our country- especially the digital media. Ever since NDTV launched its private news channel- 24x7, there has been a spurt in the no. of news channels and the competition for news is now hotter than ever. But in their pursuit for hot news, do these news channels maintain the degree of decorum that is required for high class journalism? The answer is a definite NO. Recently when Indian cricket team toured Bangladesh, there was a hot discussion as to whether Dav Whatmore could be the next Indian coach. One news channel- Times Now, in its breaking news stated that Mr.Whatmore has been appointed as the coach with a one year contract quoting some sources within the BCCI. While all other news channels kept mum by only stating that he is a frontrunner, Times Now went a step ahead in order to sell its news assuming that Mr.Whatmore would surely be appointed the coach. But now that Mr.Whatmore is out of the race, what does Times Now has, to say to its viewers? An apology? Nay, they never do that. Such cheap tricks, to sell news, are not good for journalism itself. Now another channel too has resorted to such cheap tricks. I’m talking about CNN-IBN. This channel headed by the eminent journalist, Mr.Rajdeep Sardesai, has so far been an example of good journalism, but not anymore. Two days ago, when the BCCI officials met to decide on the next coach, it was stated by an official itself that a second person, apart from Graham Ford, will be invited for further talks and his name could not be revealed. The news channels immediately went on a rampage stating that Arjuna Ranatunga was the unnamed person quoting some sources. While all news channels stated that he could be the man, CNN-IBN, in its headlines of the morning news bulletin stated that “Arjuna Ranatunga is the next Indian Coach, the BCCI’s man under the covers”. The very same day it was revealed that the X-man was John Emburey. Another news channel that I would like to talk about is Headlines Today. It is going from bad to worse. Recently I learnt from a friend’s blog that they had invited Sania Mirza to be an expert in a panel to discuss India’s chances at the World Cup. Now today morning I wake up to find that the breaking news in this channel is Smriti Irani leaving the serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Ti. Very important news for the whole country, isn’t it? And worse, they air that same news for half an hour. TV Today network can’t get any worse. Their magazine- India Today sells only because of the glamour pics strewn across the pages & not because of the news it offers. That leaves me with only NDTV as a respectable channel. But over a period of time even NDTV has started resorting to cheap tricks to sell its news. News will sell if a high degree of professional journalism is maintained and not by resorting to cheap tricks. All news channels must realize this.

That would do for my first blog. I will come out with my views on a different topic in my next blog.