The Corporates and the Street Children

     There is a parable in the Bible told by Jesus about a rich man and a poor man called Lazurus who lived by his gate (Luke 16.19-31). Lazarus survived by eating the scraps falling from the rich man's table and his main company were the stray dogs who licked his sores. Even though nobody cared about Lazarus in his earthly life, God was watching from above and brought him to heaven when he died. The rich man however was condemned to Hell, not for murdering, stealing or being rich but because he did not give any regard to the poor man at his doorstep. In short he was apathetic the plight of his neighbor.

     I relate this story now because I am a sad witness and indirectly part of this story in real life in at my work place in Noida near Delhi. The various sectors of Noida house the offices of some of the biggest and reputable brands in Indian corporate scenario both Indian and foreign. Most young Indian graduates would be proud to work in the companies there with their fat pay cheques and even fatter fringe benefits, not to mention the affluent work environments.However when one steps outside the high rises and look around the scenario changes to one of poverty and squalor. Be  it the desperate cycle rickshaw drivers who implore passerby's to board them, or be it the poor family who sell rotis at the office entrances for a living or the sick and disabled beggars who line the pavement.

   But the fact that is most painful is the plight of street children who beg in the streets from people like me or pick rags. I have witnessed little girls squatting among the rags they picked up on the pavement and sometimes even fighting with each other over a little food. I have seen little boys with a big sacks of refuse on their backs walking without a care in the world. And everyday as I come out of the train station a boy and a girl stand at the entrance holding out their begging bowl.There is nobody to take care of them except themselves from the stray dogs and other manly predators that abound in the streets. I have found that smaller children tend to group around bigger children. Some of them do have families who live on the pavement and tend to use the children as a source of income. In the short visual survey I did during my walk to and from the station to my office I found no less than 15 boys and girls in the age group 5 to 15 living like this in just 3 streets. At this point of time I do not feel much optimism about their futures. Many of these children will probably die young on the streets, a lucky few might get rescued to an orphanage and the rest will probably end up in the hands of evil men who will exploit them inhumanely.

  I have seen beggars, rag pickers both child and adult before but never have I seen so many right at the doorstep of multi million dollar company offices. I know that companies are not charities and they have their own "Corporate social responsibility (CSR)" commitments in save the tiger, plant a tree and educate the girl child campaigns.But companies are still run by people. So I fail to understand how we manage to be blind to the 'Little Lazarus's' at our Gates. From what I have experienced in my own company, I am sure that the money they spend on tissue paper and coffee is probably enough to give a home to one of these street children. 

      I can only write about this insanity and prehaps give a few coins to the child beggars.  At the same time I weep for myself and the all the companies and their employees in Noida for we will most likely have to answer to God one day for what we pretended not to see, just like the rich man in Jesus's parable.

Folly of Premartial Romantic Relationships

    Romantic relationships between between unmarried young men and women are the trend these days in Indian society. Activities like dating, talking for hours on end on phone, couple dancing, and other things that were mostly confined to the movies have moved into real life. Many people young & old have no problem justifying what was considered a shameful thing a few years ago. The media of course highlights it as one of the barometers of "Indian progress". Here are some points that came up when I took a no bars held look at the nature of these relationships in real life. However the reader should note that I do not refer to ordinary and honorable friendships between men and women which may lead to marriage with the full and open consent of their families.

  Majority of the couples involved in premarital romantic relationships have one or more of the following things in common:

a) They did not get the love and care they felt they deserved from their families.

b) They have an overly romanticized view of the world and tend to think in the short term.

c) They tend to be self centered and over confident about their actions.

d) One or more of their friends are involved in these relationships ie they were influenced by their peers.

e) The are easily influenced by messages spewed out by the mainstream media ie they do not have a strong     moral centre.

 I am not saying romantic relationships are completely wrong. They are integral to a happy marriage after the couples take their vows and tie their knots.Trying to live like married couples before they take their solemn vows in front of their God, family, and society is contrary to reason and bound to end up in bitterness.

Delhi: Capital city or Crony capital

       I have been away from here for a long time. Now I find myself living and working in Delhi, the Capital India. This is an attempt by me to give a few glimpses of the real Delhi I saw with my own eyes. If any Delhiite is reading this let me ask their pardon for what may be some of the offensive things I say about it. But when I see something rotten in front of  myself, I can only call it that. Anyway our central government and the mainstream media has so deviously managed to instill the image of a shining capital for Delhi.

  Where do I start describing the sights in Delhi. Should it be the slums just beside the Highway where children fight for a water, the overcrowded housing colonies with sewage running through the streets, the straydogs who hunt in packs, the people who live on the footpaths(literally) or the street children who beg for an existence in the scorching summers and bone chilling winters. The above things may be there in many cities but never have I seen it take such a form in any other cities (Bombay, Chennai, Pune, Cochin, Bhubhaneswar, or Hyderabad) that I have visited. What is even more unnerving is how cold hearted people can become here to the suffering around them. I have been a witness to Dogs, cows and monkeys getting better treatment than human beings in this city.

  A few days ago an actress who claims to have spend her childhood in Delhi was elaborating to the newspapers how wonderful it was with its wide spaces, and friendly people. Sure the rich here have bungalows and their segregated paths right on the main road. Unfortunately for the poor who are the vast majority even one room comes at a premium price. Sometimes they even lose that when some official decides the road should be wider.

  

  Despite its capital importance I found the Infrastructure here pathetic even when compared to Cochin. It is as if the officials decided that they need only pave the roads and build drainages just a few kilometres around the parliment building which are frequently used by the political class. The common man can use the dirty and broken  streets which also has the additional property of turning into canals when the monsoon deluge hits the city. However I will sing praises for one thing and that is the Delhi metro. It is one piece of infrastructure that Delhi that its planning people can be proud off.

However do the people care? From what I have witnessed the young people are either obsessed with their respective girl/boy friends (couples are one of the most familiar sights in Delhi), their ridiculously oversized shopping malls, their culture destroying rock music concerts by sly foreign bands, excessively extravagant sports reality shows like IPL and now the F1. The older people on the other hand are too busy and exhausted with their buisness of making ends meet which seem to only get harder every day.

  I will sum up by repeating what one of my cousin in law who has lived here for the better part of his adult life as a paramilitary man serving the government said. Delhi has a lot of corrupt and thuggish men and the most notorious of them are right at the top i.e in the parliament, and in the ministerial and other houses of power.

Continuing the current way the current Delhi will only follow the other cities that have fallen into decay and oblivion.

Unjustifying the Income tax

        Government Taxes and tax policies have become a important part of an individual's life in this age of big governments. Of course a government has the right to an income because of the services it provides ie it is only fair and just for governments to demand their dues in the form of taxes.

         But is the government justified in demanding  from the common citizen a portion of his wages/salaries/incomes which he made through his own work. For example tax on land can be easily justifiable by the fact that it is the government which protects the individuals right of ownership (using civil laws and military forces). 

        In case of a persons income what protection does the government offer to its income tax paying citizens. Does the government provide job or income security except in case of the public sector. Also does the government help him find a job when he is unemployed or provide for his family if something were to happen to him. The fact remains that the government does not provide any of these services to the vast majority of its tax paying citizens.

It is a shameful injustice that while hardworking citizens with dependent families are taxed any where from 10 to 50% while the companies and corporations run by the rich and powerful get away with paying meagre amounts. 

One more fact about the income tax is that it is a recent phenomenon starting about 80 years ago. During the many centuries before that, the governments run by kings and despots managed quite comfortably by just taxing land and commerce.

 

 

Defending the Libyan Intervention

    In the past few days there has been a lot of opinions voice about the NATO interventions in Libya. As usual the so called eastern bloc (China and Russia) including India  is against it. There are many who say that what happened in Iraq will be repeated in Libya. The anti-interventionists always cite the age old theme of sovereign rights of nations to do act as they please inside their countries to defend their stand.

However a closer look at history will reveal the double standards of the eastern bloc as well as justify the actions take by the west especially Britain and France.

 The non- interventionist have interfered militarily whenever their intrests were at stake in their neighboring countries.For eg: Russia in Afghanistan, Georgia etc; China in Korea, Vietnam etc, and even India in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Applying the same reason France and other European nations have all right to interfere in their neighboring country.

The Europeans are intimately affected by what happens in the middle east and Mediterranean. They have been invaded multiple time in the past 1400 years from that area. The crusades were primarily a humanitarian intervention to help Christians in the middle east

As with everything else the European interventions have caused more harm than good in several places. Only history will tell the after effects of this intervention. However the stories coming from Libya presently show that France and Great Britain may have finally interfered in the right country.

The Menace in Modern Governments

 Most of us probably hold the view that despite the corruption and inefficiencies plaguing modern governments, we at least have a democratic government answerable to the people at some point rather than the despotic monarchies of earlier days. However a closer look at the role of modern governments in our day today lifes will paint a less rosier picture. 

  While it is true that many monarchial governments in earlier days were repressive, despotic and didn't care what people thought, they had one interesting feature. Their involvement in the citizens personal life was limited. For eg they did not generally  force their will on citizens in the following areas.

1) Specifying the size of families
2) The persons freedom on what he should do with his land or money.
3) Report the total income they made by their own effort.

  The Democratic governments of today force (directly or implicitly) its citizens to follow its directives on all the things listed above and more. Also they have no problem in committing most of the repressive actions that are being accused on the Monarchical governments like:

1) Forcible detention of a citizen for any reason.
2) Censoring newspapers and media.
3) Forcible displacement of citizens from their property.

 A reasonable and fair analysis of today's democratic governments with monarchical governments can no doubt show that we have traded away some of our important personal freedoms for an illusion of representation in the halls of power.

Note: The term monarchical governments  does not include military dictatorships or constitutional monarchies.

Radicalization of the Middle East Dissent

  As I look at the events that have been unfolding in the middle east over the past many weeks, I am frustrated at the fact that horrific parts of world's history are repeating again. A decadent and ruthless regime is killing its own citizens and destroying its cities using tanks, air craft and mercenaries. A determined yet disunited opposition tries to  hold ground. In the back ground the European nations, who have the power to help the oppressed bicker among themselves on what to do. The sole super power makes idealistic statements but lacks the moral courage to lift a finger.

   However the dissent that has erupted in the the middle east is not something that can be snuffed out but superior fire power or organized crackdown. Even if the decadent middle east regimes succeed in putting out the flame of dissent for now, the embers will remain waiting for the right time to flare up. Only next time they will not be showing dissent using peaceful protests and they may not much care about democratic means of changing a government. Also they would have found new allies in the form of Islamic extremists.

 A brief glance at the French and Russian revolution gives ample pointers on how dissent suppressed re-emerges as dissent violent.

There are natural disasters and man made disasters- A revolution wrought in blood is a man made disaster and it leaves a scar on humanity more horrible than a natural disaster.

Revolution or Counter Revolution

  Looking at the protests happening in Libya, Egypt and Yemen today one would think a revolution is happening or in the process of happening. But in my opinion what is happening is a counter revolution. This is since all the incumbent governments in these three countries came about through revolutions. 

The protesters/rebels are trying to overthrow revolutionary governments. This would seem paradoxical but a brief look at the contemporary histories of these countries would prove this as true. Why would people try to overthrow revolutionary governments which they themselves helped put into place in the first place?

 Thas to do fundamentally with the way revolutions work- those who worked, fought and bled for it need not necessary be the ones in power at the end of it. This is since revolutions are essentially chaotic struggle for power and what emerges on top cannot be predicted easily. A rule of thumb that can be applied is that usually the most organized group active in a revolution may gain the upper hand. 

   Hence the grand ideals and moral objectives that sparked the revolution may not be there when it all ends. This is roughly what happened to the incumbent revolutionary governments presently in power in many countries. Examples like China, North Korea, Vietnam, Libya, Egypt come immediately to mind as examples of misguided revolutions.

  For all its apparent faults the US revolution seems to be the only one which preserved its original ideals.