| From: | Antonio Rossin <rossin(at)tin.it> |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:55:45 +0100 |
| Subject: | Re: [WDDM] Will India Be saved |
Is India worth saving? Is democracy worth saving? These are the two
fundamental questions we must address now - before it is too late.
Indians values are disappearing rapidly as we lose our independence
and our sovereignty. The continuation of dynastic rule by Gandhi era
has consciously or unconsciously the foreign Rule. No one Single
handedly may elect the representative of the voter to the electoral
college. The concept of spirit inherently personal choice of the voter
to get their representatives in electoral college has been completely
vanished. Exercise of liberty vote is overburdened with !) to evaluate
expression less action performance at the behest of the people in
power2)to select the candidate as representatives from the limited
choice imposed upon the voters by party system 3) to express their
adult franchises like a illiterate voters amongst the limited cvhoice
between the rascals nominated by party god fathers mainly on the basis
of money power or by choosing an idiot, who may be ruled with remote
control even on the post of President and Prime Minister 4) Criminals
may be given free hand to take a political decision under the garb of
appeasement 5) Nehru- Gandhi nexus which remain responsible for
creation of Pakistan has again risen their heads to divide India ,
Pakistan and Bangla Desh in many Segmentations. This is virtually the
Concept of Rule of majority vote. The country is being dismantled
after more than a half century of nation building. On 26^th January,
1950, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar said that India will become Independent
Country. India has been lost by it’s infidelity and treachery by some
of our own people. The invasion of Sind by Invader Momd. Bin Kasim as
the Military commanders of King Dahar accepted the Bribes and they
refused to fight. It was Jai Chandra “Arjun”, who invited Mohammad
Ghori to invade Sri Prithivi Raj Chauhan and promised help of himself
and of the King Solanki. History has been repeated in case of Afzal
again. Their will be another hijacking of Plane to get him release.
The attackers on the Court premises are well protected by these
traitors living in our country and killing the so called infidels
under the banner of Jihad?. Our independence , after creation of
Pakistan is again in jeopardize and probably we may loose it forever
On 23^rd Feb. 2000 , Sri K.R. Narayanan, President of India
promulgated “ The National Commission to Review the Working of the
Constitution by a message:- Right of vote under universal adult
Franchise gives Right and opportunity to participate Every men in
Democratic process and select a Govt. However we all know that the
election system in India may not get the rid to the system of
Corruption, Crimilisation , money, nepotism , favoritism and Muscle
power. Home Minister of India accepts in 2002: - There are the defect
in election system, but it is difficult to blame for it to the
Government, it’s officers, and to the Political Parties. Sri Bimal
Jalan said that Common Citizen is concerned about Administrative
apathy, Corruption and failure to provide Promised benefit to the poor
Farmers. India is ranking Highest in the Global corruption level of
World. Here is dismal Ranking in Human Development. We may see poverty
as the caste to the people is placed above for elimination of poverty,
alleviation, hunger, Illiteracy and health. This problem is Systemic
and never projected like Episodic to the people. We are losing control
of our most important industries. As we give up domestic ownership of
our assets, we lose the most exciting and challenging jobs, which too
often move to the new corporate headquarters outside India- and young
people who want those jobs must follow. It's part of the brain drain.
In effect, India has become a victim of "Globalization". We are told
this process is both inevitable and good. It is only inevitable if we
let it happen. It is only good for twenty percent of the world's
richest and most powerful people. It is bad for the vast majority. We
need debate for participation of 1000 people for electoral college
candidates in future election process to come forward and eliminate
the monopoly of limited Choice for selecting the representatives by
the voters. There must be the implementation of systematic Solution ,
even at the cost of absurdity and obsessive- ness in the defective
system. We have to search the effect- cause and relationship in
reformative trends. There may be some strategy to represent majority
of farmers for making a proposal to provide them the cost of
International Market. There may be tortuous liability and lesser faire
policy of functioning be made accountable. Let criminals may know that
Crime is a bad Bargain to them. The license Quota System be abolished
and Religious activities be prohibited on public Premises as
secularity of nation in Multifarious religious country be Maintained
I should make a distinction between those areas where global
cooperation is both good and essential, and those areas where it is
harmful. We must cooperate globally to protect our oceans, the ozone
layer and prevent Global Warming. International cooperation is also
required to protect endangered species, fight international crime and
in other areas of mutual concern. What we have to stop is the
relentless drive on the part of multinational corporations and
international banks - centered largely in the five big powers - to
take over governance of the world for their own benefit.
*The No to Free Trade Agreement *
The "Globalization" process got a rocket-assisted boost with the no to
Free Trade Agreement. Indians were led to believe that this was a
trade agreement. When I read it, I found, to my dismay, that it was
primarily an investment agreement. Sure it called for reductions in
tariffs, but this was already happening under the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The most important parts of the FTA were
about investment. The Americans wanted our industries and resources -
especially energy and water. They also wanted our land. Instead of
Indians being open for business again, as Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney proudly boasted, it was up for sale.
Mr. Mulroney allowed the Americans to insert a "national treatment"
clause which was a new concept in international law that gave U.S.
investors the same rights in citizens. I think this is wrong in
principle! Where is the value of citizenship if foreign investors have
the same rights? In fact, the "national treatment" clause gave
American investors the right to invest in Canada without conditions
and without limits. We can no longer say "You can't buy more than 50%
of our forest industry or oil and gas reserves" - because the treaty
says they can own all our reserves. The same rule applies to our best
farmland.. The conquest is still tentative, perhaps, for about two
more years. Then we will reach the point of no return after which
annexation by the United States will become inevitable. I am concerned
that several hundred years of experiment in popular democracy is
coming to an end because globalization is really a code word for
corporate rule and colonization.
*The WTO is Anti-Democratic *
The World Trade Organization is another threat to our democratic
traditions. It has ruled that the auto pact with the U.S. is illegal.
It has ruled that the European Union has to accept U.S. beef that has
been raised on bovine growth hormones. It said that the U.S. could not
ban tuna caught in nets that drown sea turtles. (In every case
involving an environmental issue, the WTO has ruled against the
environment). Now the WTO has ruled that our drug patents are too
short and that, in effect, we have to change our laws to correspond
with U.S. laws. In addition to this affront to our sovereignty, this
ruling, if it stands, means that we will have to pay untold millions
more for drugs at a time when our health care system is already in
crisis from inadequate funding.
*What Kind of Democracy? *
The decline of democracy. has reached the point where editor of a
Magazine, says the Indian has two governments - the permanent
government and the provisional government. The permanent government
comprises: (a) the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations, (b)
the largest law firms in India that do their legal work for them, (c)
the largest public relation firms in India that do their advertising
and public relations and (d) the top public servants both civil and
military. These groups make up the permanent government that really
runs the country. Then there is the provisional government -
"politicians for hire". Every few years there is a charade called an
election which picks a political actor to go on stage and read the
scripts written by the permanent government. As some actors read
scripts with less improvisation than others, the permanent government
checks them out in advance and decides who they want. Then they put up
the money to get them elected. George Bush is the perfect stereotype.
Listen to him on "Free Trade" and foreign policy and you will know he
is the actor of choice. Why did Elizabeth Dole drop out of the
Republican race? Because she was not the choice of the permanent
government and didn't have the funds to continue.
*There are Strings Attached *
The evolution of the system has led to a government that is little
more than a big bully enforcer for giant corporations. The Indian
government goes to the WTO and gets a ruling forcing us to accept
whatever big corporations want. Their giant corporations want to
dominate world markets. In a "Globalized" society, people don't matter
- only corporations do. Small independent operators and family farms
are doomed by globalization.
*Aggressive Agri-Business *
One of the coziest arrangements has been between the government and
Corporation - now in the process of changing its name due to a bad
image. The company that gave us Agent, the allegedly safe defoliant
used in the War which has now claimed thousands of casualties.
Monsanto is also one of the companies developing terminator seeds,
seeds that cannot be replanted because they are genetically altered to
be sterile. This is one of the most frightening developments in modern
history. Attempts to corner world seed markets and sell only
genetically altered seed would impoverish millions of people. When I
learned that the Department of Agriculture had assisted Monsanto in
the development of such a patently evil product I wondered how this
could be possible in a democracy. Then I learned that one of
Monsanto's key directors was one of President Clinton's key
fundraisers. It is a matter of national shame that the government has
been aiding and abetting the in promoting the interests of this
destructive company including its increased control of agriculture.
Ottawa is helping to drive farmers out of business. Globalization in
agriculture means three or four giant agribusinesses are determined to
monopolize the world food supply with their genetically-altered
species and make us all dependent on them for our food. As we
capitulate, and let our farmers go under, these aggressive
corporations are buying up some of our best agricultural land.
*National Fire Sale *
At the same time, many of our best companies are being bought out.
Thirteen thousand companies have been sold to foreigners in the last
decade or so - more than 10,000 to Americans. In a stunning admission
to the National Post in early March, Industry Minister predicted the
end of federal restrictions that prevent foreigners from buying
Canadian airlines, communications companies and even banks. There will
be nothing left of Indian but an empty shell. And the kind of
corporate-controlled government that allows this to happen is a cruel
joke. India and the world are being re-engineered without the consent
of the citizens who are having their birthright sold out from under
their feet.
*Let, Corporations Rule the World *
The substitution of corporate rule for democracy is being imposed
around the world. Countries have to sign treaties that give
transnational corporations the right to cherry-pick their industries
and assets. If a country has a business that begins to cut into market
share, the transnational can buy it, make it part of their empire,
shut it down or move it to Malaysia, for example. Under the rules of
"Globalization", no country - other than the big five (or six) - can
hope to achieve anything like self-sufficiency.
*Neo-Classical Economics - Bad economic theory and bad economic
management *
All of this change is justified in the name of laissez-faire
economics, which insists that governments are bad and markets are
good. Government-owned services must be privatized. Even basic
services like health and education are on the block. This is all in
accord with the ideas of Nobel laureate Milton Friedman and his
colleagues at the University of Chicago. At first, the Friedman system
(ideology) was called monetarism, but when that wasn't technically
accurate, it was renamed neo-classical monetarism - and, more recently
- just neo-classical economics. It should have been called
retro-classical rather than neo-classical because it is not new. It is
the same old pre-depression boom-bust system. Mainline economists
won't admit it, but their 25-year experiment with neo-classical
economics has been a monumental flop and resulted in a monumental
2,289% increase in federal debt. The increase in debt was not
primarily due to overspending as the right insists. It was primarily
due to the slow growth of the economy and debt compounding at high
interest rates due to monetarist policies. Compound interest was the
real culprit.
*People are the Victims *
The cold statistics can be translated into the heart-wrenching
experiences of many Indians . If you are a doctor or a nurse, you are
likely to find yourself so overworked and stressed out that you are
unable to provide the quality of care you want to give. The same can
be said for many teachers whose workload has been increased to the
point where they have felt obliged to reduce or eliminate
participation in extra-curricular activities like drama or sports. If
you are a student, you may graduate with as much or more debt as the
mortgage on your parents' first house. And, no matter who you are, if
you lack skills, you may be unemployed from time-to-time because a
"Globalized" market system is not designed for full employment (four
percent). Demand management, as practiced in the early post-war years
is a neo-classical "no no". Your company may be bought and downsized
leaving you with few options after long years of faithful service.
This is just part of the price of "Globalization".
*Is there any hope? *
There is hope but it will require a revolution of the intellect
followed by a revolution at the ballot box. First, and immediately, we
have to abrogate to get rid of the "national treatment" clause that is
killing India . This does not mean turning the clock back ten years on
trade! India can compete in trade. But we cannot compete in investment
- we just don't have money on the same scale. So, we must try to
replace old trades agreements with new fair trade agreements and, if
that is not possible, rely on the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade which served us so well for so long. Once we are rid of the
"national treatment" clause, we must start screening foreign
investment again and stop the sale of our best industries and with it
stop much of the brain drain. Then, we must refuse to sign any more
treaties, such as the that will extend the "national treatment" clause
to the tip of other nation. And, at the same time, we must take health
care, education, agriculture and intellectual property off the table
for the WTO negotiations. To give up our sovereignty in these
important areas would reduce all Canadian governments to a state of
impotence. This must not be allowed to happen! Canada should say "No!"
to any extension of WTO jurisdiction and influence until we can gauge
the damage already done.
*The Monopoly to Print Money *
There is insufficient space to discuss monetary theory here but anyone
who is interested can read books on the subject including one or two
of mine such as 'Surviving the Global Financial Crisis', or 'Stop:
Think', the latest one. A system where private banks print nearly all
of the money is not a stable system (44 recessions and depressions in
200 years) and is not one that will provide full employment . There is
simply not enough money in the hands of rank and file consumers. So,
we have to learn the lessons of history and revert to the system we
had in effect from 1939 to 1974. Access to significant amounts of
publicly-created, zero cost (debt free) money is the only way
governments can meet the conflicting demands of increased expenditures
for health care, education, environmental concerns, research and
development, the arts and other legitimate areas of public concern
while permitting lower taxes at the same time. There is no other way
to reconcile the claims of left and right.
*The War [Electoral] for **Independence** *
The next election will decide Indians fate. If any party - or
combination of parties - that supports the next government, India is
dead. Our only hope is a genuine alliance of patriotic Liberals,
Conservatives, Reformers, , and even people too cheesed-off to vote,
getting together in one powerful movement to turn the ship of state
around before it is too late. An independent India is best for the
other States, the world and us. If we really believe that, we all have
to enlist in Indian’s war for independence and make it happen.
y.k.saxena
Shaadi Partner