Babudom

The confrontation between the Army Chief VK Singh and the Government ..

One really does not know what is the truth behind the age of the Army Chief, whether the year of birth is 1950 or 1951. It is also important to see that the army chiefs in the 2 neighboring nations of India and Pakistan are having a skirmish with their civilian superior agencies. However, as of now, the comparison between the 2 countries is not much of a comparison, since in Pakistan, the army chief is having a skirmish with the civilian authorities over their attempt to challenge the hegemony of the army in Pakistani affairs; in India, the army is much more controlled, with no visible action by the army to resent the control of civilians as part of the defence establishment setup.
One is pretty sure that the relationship between the army (or the other defense services) and the Government will not change, with overall civilian control remaining high. The Indian Army continues to be a disciplined force, serving under the control of the Indian Government, and no one envisages a position like what happens in Pakistan. However, there is something seriously wrong here. It has been known for some time that there has been disagreement in terms of the age of the Army Chief, and that the Army Chief remains dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.
I am no legal expert, but that does not stop people in this country from airing their opinion on an issue, so here goes. In the absence of birth certificates in the year of birth, the standard proof of age of birth is the School certificate (typically the 10th standard one). That certificate mentions the year of birth as 1951, and then there is a lot of confusion about the year of birth marked in later records. Apparently, the Government has sought legal advice from the Attorney General of India, and the AG agrees that the year of birth can be treated as 1950.
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Economic condition of India going downhill, with the Government sitting by and letting it happen ..

Major economies such as countries in Europe and the United States are going through a major upheaval, with a strange combination of low rates of economic growth, low interest rates, as well as high deficits. These high deficits have prompted pushes for austerity measures and other means of reducing the debts; which is contrary to the conventional wisdom whereby Governments pump in huge sums of money for schemes so that they can try to force employment, and thus try to kick-start growth. However, with huge debts, Governments are not able to do such measures, and consequently, global economic growth is slow, with few exceptions – China and India are the notable exceptions, with China having the larger growth rate, but India also having a decent 8%+ growth rate. Well, make that 7%+ now.
And this is the main problem. The current Government has, over the past couple of decades, inherited an economy that just needs more decontrol and it will keep on growing. However, for all those who say that India is fast ahead on the path to a high degree of liberalization, a review of the past 2 years shows the extent of the impact that Government policies have on the market.
Inflation is a terrifying word, having a huge impact on politicians as well as the citizenry of the country. For normal citizens, or the ‘aam admi’ in Congress speak, a high rate of inflation means that items they have taken for granted suddenly become more difficult to get. This could mean that driving a car gets difficult for those who have to travel long distances because of higher fuel prices, or families have to suddenly start thinking whether they can afford to take the holiday (either domestic or international), or families have to start wondering whether they can still afford to enjoy fruit or meat to the same extent that they used to, and so on. Inflation, when you consider the high levels of inflation that have been ongoing for the past several years, wreak a tremendous impact on families, sending those on the edge right into the poverty line.
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The Lokpal Bill – Current status of the discussion by the Parliamentary committee

Twice this year, there has been a lot of controversy over the Lokpal Bill. In April, the issue burst onto the limelight when Anna Hazare sat on a dharna at the Jantar Mantar in the capital, Delhi, protesting against the Government wanting to have a watered down version of the Lokpal. The move generated an enthusiastic support with people coming to the site; the media and various online fora were all abuzz with enthusiasm about the campaign. This forced the Government to come to a settlement where 5 citizens nominated by Anna Hazare were part of a committee (with 5 members of the Government as well) that setout to create a strong Lokpal institution. As expected, the Government soon went back on the basic intention, tossed aside the suggestions of the non-Government committee members on the most important issues, and decided to send a Bill.
Anna Hazare took on this issue again, promising to go on an indefinite fast to get a Bill passed by Parliament. There was some condemnation of this move, with protests of this being about subverting Parliament, and so on, but the mass support that Anna Hazare received from all sections of society forced the Government to admit that the measures it had taken were incorrect, and finally the Government decided to have a Sense of the house in Parliament, where they agreed to the most contentious issues, and sent this off to the standing committee. There was a sense of feeling that the Government will not so easily agree, since the most contentious demands arguably refer to the inclusion of the lower bureaucracy and inclusion of a citizen’s charter, since it is the lower bureaucracy that is the one used by all the political parties to generate the money through corruption that these parties need for their survival.
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