VOX POPULI
                                                         by  
                                                   S Kamat
                                                         as
                                                  Aam Admi
                             Issue: 228                    Date: 20.11.2017
              skamatblog.blogspot.com or aamadmivoices.blogspot.com

Contents:   

1. How To Keep The Gears of Coalition Well Oiled

2. Vegetable Prices Shoot Up Too Often These Days

3. The Padmavati Imbroglio

4. Ratings, Reports Do Not Make An Economy Tick, Hard Decisions Do

                         How To Keep The Gears of Coalition Well Oiled

The compulsions of coalition politics is forcing Manohar Parrikar, the Goa Chief Minister, to chalk out alternate strategies to keep his present flock in the Assembly together. A couple of days ago he was waxing eloquently on how the salaries of the MLA's need be raised for reasons of their having to perform their duties on a 24/7 basis leading them to be unable to attend to their business interests. He also added that the raised salaries would result in lesser corruption not that it was a necessary condition. Then in today's papers we have news that each MLA would be given Rs. 25 crores for doing developmental work in his constituency. This 'spreading the moolah' strategy by dispersing the spending of government will surely help in keeping the MLA's happy and where we have the legislator with the good intentions of the people at heart we can also look forward to much needed development. 

                Vegetable Prices Shoot Up Too Often These Days

The cyclical variations in the availability of vegetables and their prices is moving away from the defined seasonality and the twice or thrice pattern that we see in a year because of weather extremes be it related to drought or floods. Nowadays at the drop of a hat you find the prices of vegetables shooting up more so that of onions. Clearly there is something wrong with no intervention on the part of the government to regulate prices through their buying agencies like NAFED or the APMC's that run the mandis where the produce arrives for distribution to the retail markets. The talk of introducing cold chains for perishable produce seems to be up in the air since we continue to waste more than 30% of our agricultural production by way of spoilage. If this was available then there would also be a 'cooling' effect on the prices of produce by way of improved availability. Concluding, one must say that most consumers would not mind paying higher prices for the produce as long as there is a commensurate increase in the quality and packaging of the items. Apart from the big departmental stores & malls where you see this consciousness to some extent, this is one area that is sadly lacking in our general produce markets today. 

                                                           The Padmavati Imbroglio

The Padmavati issue is being carried to comical proportions. The matter is not about history at all since legends as we all know that emerge from the hoary mists of ancient times are embellished for maximum impact, what we call TRP, in today's age. Thus artistic licence has been an accepted fact even to our lore more so because these were passed on through the verbal tradition which allowed enough leeway for a change in the content to appeal most to the target audience. Thus the Karni Sena need to first establish the authenticity of the Padmini or Padmavati story before they can claim offence. Just because the Karni Sena claim a derivative lineage from their ancestors that includes the legendary beautiful queen does not mean that all that they assume is God's own truth. The militant position that the Karni Sena has taken on this matter is rather unfortunate which was aptly highlighted by a cartoon in one of the national newspapers which said that the Sena to protect an imaginary figure of a woman in history who lived in the medieval age is willing to offer bounties to cut off Deepika Padukone's nose and on her life also. Thus a living woman who is but a tool in the making of the film and who did not deliberately slight Padmavati is targeted to be attacked. So where is the respect for women that the Karni Sena claim?

On the other hand we all need to realise that films are films and are quite removed from reality. They are made purely for entertainment and for someone to take offence from the content shown in films reflects the naïveté and immaturity of these people. One must however say that S L Bhansali courts controversy for most of  his films that have been released lately. Skirting controversy can be a strategy to get publicity for the films which will bring in viewers into the theatres to verify the 'truth' if one may call it. But this may boomerang as in the case of Padmavati where the issue reaches unanticipated proportions. This is not desirable which Bhansali should realise and factor in remedial measures.

Concluding the Padmavati controversy is nothing to do with freedom of speech or cultural fundamentalism but simply a matter of jousting being ween the film maker and the Karni Sena to see who blinks first. It is rather unfortunate that the government has been drawn into the controversy. To resolve the issue what needs to be done is that Bhansali and the Karni Sena need to sit down together and thrash out the matter through mutual discussion. 

                       Ratings, Reports Do Not Make An Economy Tick, Hard Decisions Do

Narendra Modi and his government has been cherry pickin' when it comes to international reports about India. One of the reports has been that Sulphur Oxide emissions from India over the last decade have increased by 50% while in the same period China has reduced these kind of emissions by 70% since 2007. With this China is on track to meet its global commitments while as usual India has failed. Why has the BJP government thought it wise not to comment on this report? If you now ask the government in Delhi about this you will get yet another convoluted explanation that defies all reason and logic. With the environmental pollution in Delhi and adjoining States of Punjab & Haryana hitting the headlines over the last week, should it not have been imperative for India to focus on meeting its environmental commitments. In that event maybe the situation in the Delhi skies would have been different. 

The World Bank after releasing its Ease of Doing Business Report commented that India by 2055 should become a leader of the 'higher middle income' countries. Now this is a new category indeed! It seems the World Bank is differentiating categories to death, so that each country is a leader in its very own category. And the question to ask is was not India supposed to achieve superpower status by 2020 that if one recalls was later revised to 2050. Now why has the World Bank degraded India further as a 'higher middle income' country! The same applies to the upgradation of India in the Moody's rating which is being made into a big thing where the change is from BAAA to BAAA+ or some such which actually makes no earthly difference. Continuing in a tone of levity, one thinks that Moody gets into the mood only once every decade for each country since India's rating revision came after some 13 years, it is said. In a down to earth perspective none of these ratings or reports matter since a country like India should know where it stands, where it is going and what it hopes to achieve. We need not be told by foreign agencies what is good or bad for us. This was the position that the BJP used to take at the turn of this century and it is unfortunate that they have now to be reminded about it. 

In any case, the IIP figures have come out confirming the trend line put out by the PMI in the previous week that India manufacturing is slowing down. The WPI also has shown an uncomfortable increase with vegetables and fuel prices leading the upsurge. Though the India statistical figures lack credibility, let us take them for what they are worth at face value and recognise that the economy is stuttering and serious measures to revive it are in order by this time. However, Narendra Modi and his government seem to be in denial mode when it comes to any negative news on the Indian economy. This is rather unfortunate since when you have a problem, the first thing to do is to recognise that you have a problem. Only then you can find a solution. Will someone explain this to our economic policy czars in Delhi.

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