Shantha Kumar's Blog

Let us not get emotional on the issue. Let us get the facts right! 1. Jaitley is talking of 'threats' to collect tax. Coming from the Finance minister, this is unbecoming. 2. If harsh and harsher punishments could make people obey, then we will not be seeing any murders today. Punishment, yes, is a deterrent. But not a cure. It is a post-mortem and not an execution plan. Can death penalty bring back the murdered child or the raped girl? What is required are not threats, but pro-active taxation systems. 3. Pro-active taxation is what is followed in all Western countries. Why is India not doing it? Taxation should be reviewed when the event happens and not after three years or four years. Once the return is filed and tax is taken by the Government, no more reviews are to be done. No post-mortem! Stop it before it happens. Not cry over spilt milk. 4. Is your aim to punish people or is your aim to get the tax? What is your aim? If your aim is to get tax, then it should hap

நம் வேலை என்ன? நம் மாமன்ற, சட்ட மன்ற, பாராளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர்களின் வேலை என்ன? இதையெல்லாம் புரிந்த கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்றால், நாம் நமது குடியரசு பற்றி தெரிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். இந்த குடியரசு ஒரு மாபெரும் இயந்திரம்! மக்களாலும் சட்டங்களாலும் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஒரு மாபெரும் இயந்திரம். இது மக்களால் உபயோகப்படுத்தப்படும், சட்டங்களுக்கு உட்பட்டு. சட்டங்கள் இந்த இயந்திரம் எப்படி வேலை செய்ய வேண்டும் என்பதை சொல்லும். இதில் வேலை செய்ய மூன்று பகுதிகள் அல்லது பாகங்கள் உண்டு. முதலாவது, சட்ட பாகம், இரண்டாவதாக, செயல் பாகம். மூன்றாவதாக, நீதி பாகம். ஞாபகம் வைத்துக் கொள்ளுங்கள், மக்கள் தான் இந்த குடியரசு இயந்திரத்தை இயக்குபவர்கள். மக்களுக்கு தேவையான சட்டங்களை செய்வது சட்ட பாகம். இந்த சட்டங்கள் முக்கியமானவை. இந்த சட்டங்கள் என்ன சொல்லுகின்றனவோ, அதைத்தான் மற்ற இரு பாகங்களும் செய்யும். ஆரம்பக்காலத்தில் என்ன சட்டங்கள் எல்லாம் தேவையோ அதை மக்கள் சொன்னார்கள். இந்த சட்டபாகம் அதை செய்து கொடுத்தது. அதை நாம் அரசியல் சாசனம் என்கிறோம். மக்களுக்கு புதிய தேவைகள் வரும் பொழுது புதிய சட்டங்களை உருவாக்க, இந்த சட்டப

மாபெரும் கேள்வி இது. யாருக்கு நம் ஓட்டு? இன்று நடந்து கொண்டு இருக்கும், இந்த கூத்தை நாம் டிவியில் பார்க்கிறோம்; சாலைகளில் பார்க்கிறோம்; பேப்பர்களில் படிக்கிறோம். உண்மையில் இவர்களில் யாருக்கு நாம் ஓட்டு போடுவது என்கின்ற குழப்பம் என் மனதிலும் நிறைய தோன்றுகிறது. ஒரு கட்சி காரர் சாலைகள் போடுகிறேன் என்கிறார்; இன்னொருவர் வீடு கட்டி கொடுக்கிறேன் என்கிறார்; இலவசங்களை அள்ளி தருகிறேன் என்கிறார். என்ன செய்கிறார்கள் இவர்கள்? என்ன செய்ய போகிறார்கள் இவர்கள்? இதை பார்க்க பார்க்க, எனக்கு ஒன்று மட்டும் நன்றாக தெரிகிறது. இவர்கள் யாருக்கும், ஒரு சட்ட மன்ற உறுப்பினரின் வேலை என்ன என்றே தெரியவில்லை என்பது தான் அது! இவர்களுக்கு தான் தெரியவில்லை; ஓட்டு போடும் மக்களுக்கு தெரிகிறதா என்று பலரிடம் கேட்டுப் பார்த்தேன். அவர்கள் என்ன கூறுகிறார்கள் என்றால்: 1. அரசியல் வாதிகளுக்கு ஆட்சி நடத்த தெரியவில்லை. 2. எந்த ஒரு அரசியல் கட்சியிலும் சிறப்பான ஒரு தலைவர் இல்லை. அதனால், ஒரு சிறப்பான ஆட்சியை அமைக்காமல் இருக்கிறார்கள். 3. நல்லவர்கள் இல்லை. எல்லோரும் கொள்ளை அடிப்பவர்கள்! 4. சாலைகள் சரியாக இல்லை. தண்ண

Let us first get into our heads, that there is something called as right and wrong. I do not think there will be much of an argument on that! Second, in a family of two, comprising of a man and his wife, there are thousands (at least, hundreds) of things that the man considers right is considered wrong by the wife. Yes or no? I am sure you will nod in acceptance here too! Third, when it comes to the extended family, comprising of your children, siblings, parents, in-laws and the rest of this circle of people, tell me how many rights and wrongs exist between all of us. Don't you think that there are thousands and laks of points that you consider right is considered wrong by others. Check the society! This huge mass of people in a city and then in a state of India and India as a country and as a part of this entire world, full of human beings devoured by their own thoughts and perceptions. Thoughts that are not accepted by one another is quite common. Leaders like Ga

India is sweeping the South Asia athletic meet in 2016. More medals won by India than all other teams put together! Are you not proud? What is the point India is trying to make to the world of South Asia? That India has become a sports power house? We need to reconsider the situation. India is a large country. Compared to Sri Lanka or Maldives or even Pakistan, it is like an adult playing in kids tournaments. I think, India should try to enter more than one team. May be, India - North and India - South. May be, even four teams. India - North, South, East and West. This should happen in World cup Cricket too! For instance, if the UK can nominate England, Ireland and Scotland as separate teams, with hardly populations as big as our Mumbai or New Delhi, why should not India have four teams for World Cup Cricket? Leave aside patriotism humbug. Look at what it would mean to the sport as a whole. At least in the case of South Asia Games, Common Wealth Games, World Cup Cricket

More than once today, I have heard 'powerful' people remark that there is no problem in evacuating wind power or solar power or for that matter any power in Tamil Nadu. I was present at the Confederation of Indian Industry - TN Renewable Energy Conference 2016. In the inaugural session, the Minister for Power in Tamil Nadu remarked that the problem in power evacuation of wind has nothing to do with grid or transmission systems. He asserted, it is a problem connected with infirm nature of wind. 'Make it firm, Gentlemen'. 'Use your minds. Do some research. Find some way to make it firm'. If only the solution is so easy! Later after the inaugural session, we had more techie talk. We had the Director Operations of none other than the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation declaring vehemently, that there is no short fall of evacuation capacity. 'We can evacuate all of your wind power; all of your solar power. We have the capacity. We have augmented it'

Edit Blog I was referring to how history is really a sequence of social changes and wars are really driven by such social changes. Not just wars, kings are made and un-made by those actions of the society.  India had a major social change wrought by the influx of Hindu thought overruling the thoughts of Jains and Buddhists who ruled the roost then. This thought introduced into the country, some good things and some bad things. Two important concepts stand out for critical review. One, the thought of Karma. Two, the thought on Education. They said and accepted that Karma decides how you are born and how you lived in this world. As per Hindu doctrine brought in by the then priest class, four different varnas existed and the birth into the varna was because of your earlier karma. Any reference to something which can never be proved is so easy to hold. So what happened was, any disease was thought of as a karma. If you had leprosy it was because of your karma. If your v

British East India Company did not have anything to sell in India except Opium that they obtained on the way to India. After more than six hundred years, after the Roman sea-trade withered, Europeans were again trading with India over the sea. Romans found the sea route long time back. But then, we cannot discount the huge service East India Company did to this world. They created the first real MNC. And what an MNC it was! They acquired wealth within a matter of fifty years! From 1600 to 1650, the company grew by more than 10000 times in asset worth and value! The East India Company was not only the richest company in the world by 1650 but also it was richer than Britain! And when the British Government decided to dissolve the company in 1857-8, after the first war of Indian Independence, Britain grew richer to an unbelievable extent. Nobody talks of why the company that was so successful, created Singapore and Hongkong for the world, should be dissolved in one stroke by the

I was reading a book titled '1857'. Every Indian would know the significance of the year. It was a detailed presentation of what transpired that year over a period of six to seven months and how the Indian princes and princesses, literally committed harakiri by fighting not in unison.  But what it reinforced was my understanding of the Indian History that the fall of India was not due to technological superiority as many historians would portray nor is it due to any grand strategy that the British had. History as we read in our books is mostly wars, kings and generals. Unfortunately, history is made not by any of them but by the social circumstances that are in vogue then. These social changes happen gradually over decades; sometimes over centuries and millenniums. Unseen and unsung. These changes bring about wars, kings and generals who are noted in history as the change makers. But in reality, they are the outcome of these social changes. British came to India to t