It seems as if no one in the government has any "practical knowledge" of the economy. They know one thing - GOVERNMENT CREATES JOBS. That is why they have been busy creating ditch digging NREGA style jobs, which pay pittance and end up creating nothing of value.
But such economic & political illiteracy is not confined only to the government circles, it runs through the so-called "civil society" also. They keep entangling the common man in a web of ludicrous “budget proposals” that carry billion-dollar deficits out to infinity, and at the same time they keep expressing worries over the high budget deficit.
In today's The Indian Express, Tavleen Singh has written an interesting article - Anna Hazare, politician. Here is an interesting excerpt from Tavleen Singh's article:
What mystifies me about Anna’s followers, considering that they are mostly urban, educated and middle-class, is their political illiteracy. In a television debate last week, I heard a famous author, and dedicated Annaite, recommend ‘political correctness’ as something India should learn to practice. He had no idea that political correctness was not some new fangled modern ideology. No idea at all that what it means is that you pull your punches when discussing certain ethnic, gender and religious issues because it is not ‘politically correct’ to offend the underprivileged.
This is only one example of political illiteracy that I have detected in Anna’s flock. The list is a long one. But, the most important is their seeming inability to understand that the strength of democracy lies in its institutions and in the rule of law. You cannot fast unto death to demand a special investigation into ‘fifteen corrupt ministers’ but you can certainly go to court and file a PIL.
When Prashant Bhushan was asked about this on Nidhi Razdan’s show last week, he said the legal process took too long. This from a supposedly eminent lawyer! Then he put forward the bizarre proposition that when ‘democracy deepens’ (whatever that means), laws will be made by ordinary people, in village councils and town halls, making Parliament extraneous. Which world do these people live in? Which schools did they go to? And, when he was in law school did nobody tell Mr Bhushan about the rule of law?
But such economic & political illiteracy is not confined only to the government circles, it runs through the so-called "civil society" also. They keep entangling the common man in a web of ludicrous “budget proposals” that carry billion-dollar deficits out to infinity, and at the same time they keep expressing worries over the high budget deficit.
In today's The Indian Express, Tavleen Singh has written an interesting article - Anna Hazare, politician. Here is an interesting excerpt from Tavleen Singh's article:
What mystifies me about Anna’s followers, considering that they are mostly urban, educated and middle-class, is their political illiteracy. In a television debate last week, I heard a famous author, and dedicated Annaite, recommend ‘political correctness’ as something India should learn to practice. He had no idea that political correctness was not some new fangled modern ideology. No idea at all that what it means is that you pull your punches when discussing certain ethnic, gender and religious issues because it is not ‘politically correct’ to offend the underprivileged.
This is only one example of political illiteracy that I have detected in Anna’s flock. The list is a long one. But, the most important is their seeming inability to understand that the strength of democracy lies in its institutions and in the rule of law. You cannot fast unto death to demand a special investigation into ‘fifteen corrupt ministers’ but you can certainly go to court and file a PIL.
When Prashant Bhushan was asked about this on Nidhi Razdan’s show last week, he said the legal process took too long. This from a supposedly eminent lawyer! Then he put forward the bizarre proposition that when ‘democracy deepens’ (whatever that means), laws will be made by ordinary people, in village councils and town halls, making Parliament extraneous. Which world do these people live in? Which schools did they go to? And, when he was in law school did nobody tell Mr Bhushan about the rule of law?
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