Yes to Lokpal, No to such protests

I am not a huge fan of Anna Hazare, but I respect his intentions and the way they have formulated and anti-corruption law and the extent to which they have gone to publicise it and generate awareness among the people and also to make sure they are also transparent as to their doings. But I cannot agree with the methods they have chosen. I am not siding with the government either, it is the most corrupt that we have ever known and then accusing someone of mismanaging 2lakh rupees when it took the government years to even try someone accused of causing a loss of 1.76lakh crores is simply too hilarious.

That there is a need for an anti-corruption is as clear is day-light, Howard Beal's screams of 'I am mad as hell and I cannot take this any more' come into my head, but let us hope we don't end up in his direction. The fact that government is still trying to discredit such an individual and bring about a toothless bill is mocking the 1.2billion that live in this country. It is thumping its chest and saying 'we can get away with what we can because we make the laws and we make it protect ourselves and everyone and everything in this country is just a means for us to exploit'.

We need not just an anti-corruption law but also accountability from the Parliament where more disruptions happen than in a rain soaked test series in the West Indies, where more bunking and strikes happen than in our college days. We need accountability from the Judiciary and civil servants, but Jan Lok Pal should focus only on issues and complaints of corruption and not on accountability. Otherwise it will become too diluted.

It also needs to give clear demarcation on from where its investigative wing will be drawn and conflicts between existing mechanisms of CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) and Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Departments. It also needs to be clear as to what and how the prosecution and punishments will be. The Jan Lokpal Bill will never root out corruption, it is not a silver bullet, but it it will put a fear in the minds of those, who take us for a ride each time they put pen to paper. It is not perfect either, but the joint drafting committee failed, thanks to the stubbornness of both sides- the civil activists to accept that theirs is not perfect and the governments hesitance to be accountable and to pass a strong law that will definitely put some of them under investigation.

I do not support the fast unto death Anna Hazare has embarked on right now, nor do I support the governments crackdown. The government should have adopted a stronger lok pal bill, it is a battle between the Government and Anna Hazare now, we the people are merely by standers and we have a lot to lose. Both are playing with the same cards, 1.2billion lives. One has pure intentions but not the right means always, the other has a false legitimacy to fall back on, but never good intentions and actions. We can only wait and watch who will blink first.

I wish the government would enact a strong lokpal bill, it makes political sense too, but the Government's refusal to do so will damage it irreparably and create uncertainty in the country, I do not see a happy ending,infact I do not see any end at all if the government does not back down. If it had merely agreed to a stronger bill, things would not have got this worse. Now its beyond everyone, things have been set in motion and we can only know what will happen once it happens.

The government should have agreed to a strong bill long ago, Anna Hazare should not have taken such an extreme step and should have made a few compromises on the dates, 2month period to fully discuss and formulate a law, that too with a government that is highly corrupt and indecisive, is too short. It should have been a slow struggle with protests and awareness campaigns, but such a flare up could have been avoided.

I do hope for a strong Lok Pal, I do hope corruption is curbed but I also hope that no one can hold the government to ransom like this. However corrupt they may be, they are a democratically elected bunch, crooks though most of them are and perhaps many of them sneaked in through the back doors of the house of state.

If someone says you have to be either with Anna or you have to be with the government, I say neither and both. The only legitimacy the government has is the constitution and democratic process that happened 2years ago and fortunately or unfortunately they are the only ones who can pass this law, but their actions have not been that of a responsible committed government and the recent actions of Anna Hazare haven't been perfect either.

Added on 17th-One could argue that only a just cause will be able to generate such amounts of support from the entire country and only then will any form of protest, hunger strike or satyagraha, be effective. But then we did have issues when Baba Ramdev's strike was forced out inspite of it being obvious that he was upto no good. In a country where people like Nityananda (I don't want to call him swami) can raise mass hysteria, I really do not think this argument will hold always. I am glad it is an Anna Hazare, not a violent madman at the helm, a man who is asking his supporters protest peacefully and court arrest without resisting.

It means we have a responsibility too, for people like Anna Hazare to succeed, we need to support only the right people and the right kind of protests and paths and not be blinded by demagogues who are out to make their own gains. In this case, from the point of view of an activist, Anna Hazare is right, but a bit more of patience should have been shown by both sides and more discussions held to iron out the differences. The government has to walk more than halfway, civil society activists also have to walk a short distance to find a meeting point. I hope that happens soon without causing much damage. I must say that the way in which these protests have turned out is surprising, little or no untoward incidents. Especially after witnessing the riots in London, this is giving me hope.

Purpose

It is everything, all determining and having been endowed or perhaps cursed with thought, we try to attach meanings to our insignificant lives. The knowledge can be quite numbing because whatever we do, we will all end, with nothing remaining of us, except perhaps memories carved in stone, words on paper and now, rearranged latches on digital circuits and plastic discs.

What is the purpose of all life? The simplest answer is actually applicable to all life, however complex it is- to perpetuate more life. A romantic or an optimist might say it is an attempt towards perfection and balance as species evolve and achieve better adaptations to survive, but even then it is about survival.

Philosophy and religion says it is about freeing oneself from the cycle of birth and death and reaching salvation and enlightenment. I do not know what it means apart from a few bits and pieces. We have all the knowledge in the universe because we are part of the universe, once we die, perhaps, it is just the cloth that is worn out which is discarded and we move on to something until we attain perfect knowledge and reach peace and salvation. If each individual is able to do that, only then will the world be free of conflicts and violence and misery. It is to each of us to be free, to be peaceful, to be happy.

All the institutions that we have created are destined to fail for they focus only on now, only in this world, nothing about what life is and its meaning. We are never free because our lives are built around these institutions, we are bound to this cycle of birth and death never knowing the true meaning of life and the universe.

This is not an attempt at escaping my inabilities or to show the path, but merely questions and doubts. If I knew the answer, would I be asking the question!

We live on short term goals, the next exam, the next appraisal, the next sports season, in my case now the next quiz, end of college and the uncertainty of a career and ambitions and life to follow. I am not afraid, but I do not see where it all goes and why it was all built for. Is there a purpose? I need answers, desperately, but even if I get the answers, will I be able to accept them.

Do Not Wake Me Up

Dear Mr.Assange,

I must say that your organisation's expose on India has been a little disappointing. One of the first articles obtained from wikileaks and published by 'The Hindu' is actually common knowledge in this country. Money and Muscle power rule election results and luring voters with alcohol and sarees is just part of the democratic process. I think legitimising this will enable the election commission to keep watch on the actual expenses and it would be easy to keep accounts. Saves a lot of time and effort for both candidates and EC, atleast they won't have to go on a wild goose chase. There are MPs who have multiplied their assets over 500times, kins of Supreme Court Justice (the highest judicial authority in the country and the last refuge for an ordinary citizen) gathering assets worth crores in a few years.

We have known that US has arm-twisted India into accepting various demands and also India has toed the US line on many an issue (Iran vote was quite obvious). Indians are not dumb, but we choose to ignore these petty little things as long as the cricket team does well, there are engineering colleges to send our children so that they can do the back office work of MNCs for peanuts, there is a daily dose of soaps and item numbers and just a glimmer of hope to get out this misery and end this corruption which has already affected all our vital organs (yet still we limp on).

We know the government is only interested in us just before the elections and, on other days they are busy selling spectrum, real estate, minerals and the entire country to private companies and even foreign corporations. We know that the government is scuttling the working of Public Sector Enterprises to give advantage to private players and thus giving reasons to privatise them or liquidate them. Absolving themselves of all duties towards the people is the next logical step because government cannot do it properly. Healthcare, education, basic infrastructure like water, transport and electricity will soon be privatised under this excuse. We all know what is happening to Air India and BSNL. We know all this happens, but choose to feign ignorance, we know our media is simply a cheerleader for corporates and the corrupt, we know that and more and yet we would like to remain ignorant.

Please do not disturb the bliss that we have fought so hard to cover ourselves with. We don't want the red pill, we would like to be fed more and more blue pills for if we do not know all this, we do not have to worry. Please do not provide more evidence (red pills) to wake us up for there is no scope of widespread revolution like in Tunisia or Egypt, it will flicker out as long as there is a class of people who are kept happy and well fed and many others who are being given such an illusion. Let us live in this blissful ignorance and never wake up....

Hoping that you will not reply to this, hoping that there will be no more revelations how so ever important and potent,

Yours Sincerely,
A frustrated helpless Indian who will soon join the ranks of those working to sustain a growth story of Scams and 8% GDP growth rate and who would like to remain asleep


PS- I personally don't believe in escaping from reality and living in a dream world. But the recent plethora of scams has shaken everyone in this country and wikileaks is just confirming but at the same time, the reality that things are not changing is even more frustrating which lead me to this post

Back to square one

I never thought I would be back so soon and that too for an entire semester. A semester of PS-2 in Bangalore, my first experience living in a city, had driven some sense into me, although not much, it is definitely an improvement on the old self. Now that I am back, the place is the same but it does not feel so. I know I am stating the obvious here and yet I must say this- what made BITS-Pilani Goa Campus for me was the entire package of idling around until the tests, the mad rush during tests, cursing the system and sometimes the faculty, the relief after a test and the impending doom of answer paper distributions which we conveniently bunked just like most of our lectures, outings on the end of tests (wide grin here, w.e.f T-1, 4th year, Sem1) and the fests and ogling that ensued and waiting for release of TV series and Man Utd matches in the common room and the madness during cricket matches (Sachin's double century would count as one of the most unforgettable in my life) and also the nonsense and sense that happened in quizzes and infrequent yet raucous quiz club meetings. There is one thing I missed out for that, or rather they, were the most important factors in my life here- MIB or Mallus in BITS. Is it a coincidence that I am wearing the t-shirt now?

They were one ubiquitous aspect of life here- when we went to the mess, outings, 'Tharavadu Hub' and enjoying the festivities. As I walk along our old haunts, I feel incomplete, I miss those long walks after dinner, I miss singing songs and messing them up during these walks and after outings, I miss the random nonsense talks and all the bullshit that happened. It is like a piece of me is stuck somewhere and I cannot find it and I never thought coming back to campus will be this dull.

I have come back and found that it is all different, all has changed and also the unfortunate fact that it will never be the same and we will never get it back. I know these are obvious facts that everyone would experience, but then experiencing the entire campus life without its soul is something that very few would have gone through. I do not regret the decision to come back for thesis and nor do I feel sad, but as I said before, there is something missing and we will never get it back. It is called the past and it will remain only in our memories.

http://craziestme.blogspot.com/2009/12/days-of-our-lives.html

Congress Needs to Get its Act Together for the Nation

Passing the buck and hiding behind a clean image is all what our PM has been able to do for sometime. The uncertainty on the real power center and decision maker in this country means that no one knows who is really responsible- is it Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson or Mr.Manmohan Singh? Do they really have the freedom or are they in any position to take real decisions due to the so called 'coalition dharma'. Or is it simply a comfortable smoke screen for them to hide behind, with coalition partners being made scapegoats for long term political gains for the Congress?

Mamata Banerjee is a law unto herself as she is more focused in gaining West Bengal, so much so that Mr.E.Ahmed requested a move from the railway ministry citing difficulties in working with the minister. DMK too has been stubborn, but that game will be played in the TN assembly elections and A.Raja's resignation came about simply because it had to happen under the sheer weight of 1.76lakh crores which still threatens the government and even Parliament. NCP is stubborn as ever with Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel doing abysmally and yet only receiving an upgrade from MoS to cabinet rank. The recent cabinet reshuffle can be called nothing of 'spineless'.

Government needs to act decisively in the interest of the nation and put faith in the people who have already shown their intelligence by rewarding the performance UPA-1, NDA in Bihar. But this government's performance will surely invite the people's wrath. If the government act disregarding 'coalition dharma' and heed to real dharma, which is governing for the people by bringing to book the corrupt and guilty, ensure accountability and deliver performance by simply making the right calls on Food Security, MGNREGs, RTI etc it will surely be able to secure the people's trust. They simply have to implement these ideas that are already taking shape but they are unwilling to implement them citing lack of funds which, when read together with 1.76lakh crore from 2G scam, makes a mockery of democracy and governance itself.

There are a couple of factors the congress must consider-
1) Under-performance of the government will lead to Congress, the leader of the UPA and hence morally responsible for all its actions
2)However clean the image of the top brass and the PM, since he leads the Cabinet, will be responsible for the cabinet's actions.

This will mean the people will vent their frustration on the congress rather their allies. This will mean a parliament in limbo in case of an election which must eventually happen with the congress having much lesser seats and smaller regional parties calling the shots perhaps. An administrative paralysis when the nation is at a cross road and staring at several important decision to make will surely stunt our growth.

That the BJP led NDA won't be able to bring in the numbers is a forgone conclusion and this means we might even see a Mayawati or Mamata or Karunanidhi becoming king-maker or even something more.

The Manmohan Singh lead government and Sonia Gandhi lead Congress must act against erring ministers, corrupt officials and lose their stubborn attitude. It needs to take the effort to come clean on corruption scandals, bring to light all the black money stashed abroad even if the means exposing those in the highest echelons of power. It needs to take steps to address the burning issues of the 'aam admi'-inflation, infrastructure development and preventing exploitation of the poor and landless and tribals. Multibillion dollar defence deals and FDI in retail and UNSC permanent seat will do nothing in that direction. They need to understand that bending our back to international treaties that means we cannot disclose the black money stashed abroad or laws that mean no returns for our farmers will only bring more shame to government. All this depends on one critical factor- the top brass actually wanting to bring the guilty to book and that they are not involved on this. A clean image for one person will surely not save the government.

Finite Planet

In his book 'Imagining India', Nandan Nilekani talks about the demographic dividend and how India is riding the crest of a demographic dividend in the south and how it will soon taper and then the next boom will come from the north if we take the effort to invest in education and health care and industry in the north.

I do not question the logic behind the dividend and on what should be done, but there is a larger question, unless there is a demographic dividend, is it not possible to achieve growth? Or rather, the real question should be, is it possible to have such population booms always? We are living in a finite planet with finite resources and so we need to take steps to make sure our population actually regulates itself. I do not want to get into all the social, political and perhaps even religious aspects of it.

There is a much more serious question at hand. A nation cannot always have more young people than old (unless something drastic kills of the older population) since we simply cannot have an ever increasing population. A nation as a whole itself can have two different growth patterns, like India's current situation. But still it will mean that several millions will have 4-2-1 structure, 4 Grandparents, 2 Parents and 1 Child. More dependents mean more strain on healthcare, pensions and working population.

China will soon fall into this trap (if it hasn't already), Japan is already facing issues and if we are to sustain this growth and to make sure we don't grow old before we get rich (i.e, we should not reach a situation where there is a huge population of dependents and were still a poor nation), we need rapid economic growth and this means not just GDP growth, but growth in education, job creation, agriculture, pension funds and welfare schemes. The government also needs to put in policies for this inevitable future even though it may come only 50 years later, but it will happen.

Another aspect that baffles me is the obsession with growth- this much growth and still we see so much poverty. Again, the fact that ours is not an infinite planet seems to have escaped everyone. If it is only normal inflation or things that are actually produced from the earth or food, why is it not affordable and sometimes not even accessible for many of our brethren? Food riots have happened in the recent and will occur again if this trend of global inflation is to continue and this price rise can never be sustained with higher wages simply because ours is not an infinite planet. There is also hoarding of resources by a few which means shortage for millions of others.

We need to consume less and change our obsession with growth and governments should understand that just numbers do not reflect how many people are still remaining poor or illiterate or exploited so that the rich can still have their luxuries. We need to learn to live within the constraints of a finite planet whether it be about consuming less, recycling, green energy, population control- unless the attitude change happens in individuals and individuals demand governments to draft policies keeping these facts in mind, the world will definitely collapse.

http://craziestme.blogspot.com/2007/05/ndividuals-environment-conservation.html

India and the Big 5

Is it just co-incidence? 4 of the big 5 nations Prime Ministers or Presidents would have visited India in a 5 month span by the end of the year. It started of with David Cameron barely months after he assumed office and then Barack Obama in his longest state visit to date and that too in his 2nd year as President, much earlier than any other US President (I must mention at a much better mood than the Nixon 22hr stopover- He hated Indira Gandhi to say the least). Now, we have French President Nicolas Sarkozy with a 60 member delegation and just before Christmas we will have Russian President Medveded coming to India.

What has prompted these world leaders to visit our humble abode? Is it their recognition that India is now a superpower ready to take its position on the world's high table? Is it our increasing influence in International politics or financial institutions or our military might(3rd largest standing army) or the United Nations security council 2 year slot that is being considered a prelude to a permanent seat?

I say bullshit to all that. Time for a reality check- India is playing the international politics game quite badly since it is not able to decide its allies and decisions are still dictated to us by the big powers inspite of the so called NAM or independent foreign policy that we follow. We are the only big nation that has no military hardware and technology worth being proud of apart from a joint venture with Russia on Brahmos. If I want to look at it through the half full glass, it would mean we are doing a really good job keeping our strength a secret, but that is not what we should be doing. We should be sabre rattling, albeit carefully to make others take notice but the glass is definitely not half full as we have to depend on the french to upgrade our ageing fighter craft fleet. The two year stint in the UNSC will only give us powers to move resolutions and any participation other than a permanent membership with veto power would be meaningless and unjustified for a nation that has 1/6th of the world's population. Our participation in WTO, IMF and World Bank, Global meetings like the Climate Change summit has been good, but no real fruits have been borne of those seeds. India's opportunity to act as the third world's advocate is also now in jeopardy as we side against Iran on the nuclear issue and the small nations on the climate change issue.

There is only one reason for World Leaders to be here- they want the money. With a consumer base (Indian middle class is bigger than whole of Europe and US) and growth statistics that is far ahead of US and Europe, they need our money. France wants to sell us their reactors, US wants to sell us fighter crafts (thats why they give 2billion USD worth of free hardware to Pakistan and make profit on the 10bln USD deal with India) and need Indian investment, Britain wants Indian companies to invest there but will enforce stringent immigration laws. Russia is perhaps independent in this aspect, but they too are looking at military and energy deals with India.

France just passed a law raising retirement age by 2 years which sparked wide protests throughout the country. Britain is cutting down drastically on spending with austerity measures threatening healthcare and even education, US is still feeling the bite of the recession for it has been a jobless recovery from the recession as it has not lead to job creation but only a growth figure not in the negative(proved by the fact that Citibank paid back 57 bln USD, giving the government 12bln profit on its 45bln bailout).

"Everything is about “give and take”; it’s a “two-way street,” said the French minister of Economy and Finance as he asks India to open up its retail and insurance markets. France wants us to buy the untested, unproven, over-priced reactors and if possible the highly over-priced Rafale fighter jets too. Our PSU insurance companies have a general policy of allowing most of the claims whereas the participation of private insurers in the health insurance has not been satisfactory. Hospitals are refusing to offer cashless treatment and are asking the patients to settle the bills with insurance companies after paying the hopsitals. We survived the recession thanks to FDI norms or else TATA-AIG (AIG was given a 150bln USD bailout) would have been in some bother. Walmart is known for driving out small scale retailers and converting self-employed small shop owners into workers.

What India must do is understand these leaders are not here because the have any soft-corner for India, but they are here for the money. When we make deals, we need to understand that we should keep the well-being of our people in mind and not some international agreement or commitment, we should have an independent foreign policy unaffected by the whims of the big guns, we should have the spine to speak our mind on world issues, we should be smart enough to chose our allies and not act against our old friends who have stood by us. We should not be like an elephant unaware of its strengths, but we should wake up and realise that the world needs us and we can also dictate terms when we need to.

I do not say go and be arrogant for all I hope is that the big countries stop dictating terms to us and deal with us as equals. Right now, they are giving us a false sense of acceptance but are arm-wrestling us and using the carrot-on-the-stick policy to make us take stands against other old allies and neighbours. We are not a signatory to NPT and yet we are forced to abide by its rules, major nations are supporting our UNSC permanent seat bid but are not clear on a timeline or whether it will come with veto powers.

As I speak of an independent foreign policy, we do not have a think tank initiative to guide our decisions. We do not have world class indigenous military hardware and these deals with other countries will only discourage indigenous research. Even in nuclear energy field, we should carry out our own research and try out our own reactors for only then will we be able to pursue truly independent policies inspite of the fact that these countries offer service and fuel supplies for the entire lifetime of the reactor. The creativity, commitment and ingenuity that enabled us to test our own Nuclear Devices, send crafts that confirmed the presence of water in the moon will all be lost if we over rely on foreign products and we will be seen only as a dumping ground for products-consumer, military and sometimes even lower quality ones unfit for use in their home countries.

It is time we look upon ourselves with some sense of pride, promise to work hard, think intelligently and smartly and also with the desire to take our place in the global high table but with the understanding that it will never be a round one, but one balanced in favour of those who can play their cards smartly.

All the world's a home, And all the men and women merely guests

Suppose you have a few guests over at your house, they stay for a couple of days and leave and once they leave, what you see is that they have slowly but completely messed up your home and left it in a condition unfit for habitation. This is exactly what is happening to our planet. We did not own anything in this planet, money and power are our creations and so is everything that we have acquired in this planet and we all must leave this planet once. But we, like the unpleasant guests, do as much damage as we can making this planet less suitable for habitation.

Long before humans arrived, this planet was alive and by the looks of it we will bring about its end. Is this right? What right do we have other than selfishness, greed and self-assumed power to destroy this world. Those who endanger this planet are those with asbolutely no morals, sacrificing planets survival for making it big until we can suck this planet dry. It is not going to be an alien invasion that raises the threat of annihilation, but our own actions. We are not enjoying the fruits of our efforts but the fruits born from seeds sown by our forefathers and so we have the moral obligation to preserve for our children what we inherited. If we cannot sow the seeds of prosperity and a better world for them, atleast lets not leave a barren wasteland filled with seeds of death for them.

Microfinance Institutions

SKS Microfinance, started by Vikram Akula in 1997 definitely pioneered the concept of Microfinance in India. But recently, his company went public and after a highly succesful, there is some confusion as to what exactly is happening as their CEU Suresh Gurumani was asked to leave on Oct4 and the reply to SEBI's query on this issue has received an unsatisfactory reply.

Microfinance helps because the requirement is not need lakhs of rupees for long term, but merely few thousands of rupees for less than a year, mostly for purchase of inventory for retailers and for buying seeds, fertilizers etc for farmers or for an emergency. What trapped them were the moneylenders who charged exorbitant rates and ultimately ended up taking over the collateral land or property, not to mention the harassment that preceded. Microfinance was a revolutionary concept (Mohammed Yunus and his Grameen Bank was given the Nobel Peace Prize) and it provided loans to women who were seen as more responsible towards the family and society and also spend the money wisely. The return rates for these loans were 99% and Vikram Akula had aworked with Yunus, but Yunus himself has criticised Akula for going public because the debate arises between preserving the interests of the people who have taken loans and the investors and shareholders.

Microfinance is a tool for social change, rural development, self employment and fight against poverty. It is a social need and so any business that engages in this activity must also be aware of the social impact it has and also must keep in mind the interest of the customers. By going public, this aspect is getting diluted. One might argue that the purpose of an enterprise is to create profit, but a microfinance institution is different for its purpose is not profit but all those social needs I mentioned at the beginning of this para. But if the intention of the organisation was infact profit, there is nothing to differentiate it from any other financier, except perhaps in the scale of money given, but it is fast becoming just that- another moneylender.

Instances of harassment for money recovery (payments are to be made within a week), exploitation of the self help group as the other members of the group are also harassed who in turn have staged dharnas infront of the defaulters home and boycotting this individual has also happened along with extremely high interest rates on loan. Vikram Akula claims that 24% interest rate just about breaks even for them, but then how has SKS registered its high growth rates just by breaking even. He is also opposing a cap on interest rates but this is an important way of regulating a system which could revolutionise our rural areas, but one which is losing direction now.

If the company cannot find a commercial solution that works, it better not function. It is as simple as that, but simply to protect investor's interest, the government cannot and should not turn a blind eye to unrestricted working of this institution. Reducing operating costs by going local and hiring local, decentralisation of operations and inspite of claims to the opposite by Vikram Akula- small scale institutions with deep roots in the local area can operate better. This is the path that Microfinance institutions should follow. There should also be relaxation of loan acquiring procedures and restrictions and also a much stronger relation between the bank and the customer which will promote healthier loans. Ensuring that the loan is given to the right and not siphoned off from that individual and false documentations do not happen is also essential.

Around 33 people have committed suicide as microfinance institutions, for collection of money, have resorted to strongarm tactics which is exactly why there must be regulation.

The government must introduce an interest cap, introduce legislation on these institutions like those that exist for banks, start its own microfinance programme through post offices- we have the worlds biggest postal network and there are plans to promote postal banking in an even bigger way and microfinance should surely be a part of that. There is immense investor excitement in this field and also this is a tool for rural empowerment and powerty alleviation which makes it essential this budding idea is allowed to developed in the right way and not go wayward and collapse under its own greed.

Edit on December 10,2010
In light of the recent issues surrounding microfinance, which aim only at completely discrediting the concept rather focus on the actual problems in implementation, I would like to justify the concept.

The poor need start-up money for their work just like Google or Yahoo needed initial start-up money. They used to get that from money-lenders who imposed sky-high rates of interest, there were no extensions of deadlines and their property were seized without any sympathy. The other options are co-operative societies or government bank loans but recently, more agricultural loans have been given in Urban areas than in Rural areas (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article566888.ece).

Farmers and small scale traders do not need huge investments, but money in a few thousands. Microfinance is a concept which can work if implemented properly and in a regulated market. The current imbroglio clearly shows what happens when greed and market forces are allowed to interfere with social change and upliftment.

Choice

We cant walk on two different paths at the same time, we cant follow the spiritual and the material at the same time and not expect some conflict and confusion for they are parallel tracks that will never meet. There is a constant conflict between idealism and reality too- about what we can implement in our lives and all that we can only follow only if we are break away from everything that we know, consider normal, everything that holds us down to this earth.

There is a conflict between freedom and earthly commitments, idealism and reality, what we believe and what we can do about it. There is no right or wrong choice and even if it exists, I do not know how to choose and how to measure the success in each of them for success in one might mean total disaster on the other front.

Byron, Wilde, Che Guevera and even our own Changampuzha- all were social misfits and viewed as rebels and at times irresponsible to their family. To an extent even Siddhartha before he came Budha, was also irresponsible towards his family as he left them in the middle of the night after he realised the truth about disease, death and grief and he discovered a path that very few others have been able to follow.

I do not say they should have shackled themselves to their families or even society's perception of right and wrong for if everyone had done that we would still have believed that the earth was flat and the sun and other planets revolved around the earth which is at the centre of the universe.

I do not know what to do and I am confused. Man is born free and yet everywhere he is in chains, although Rousseu was talking about the chains of the ruling class, I am talking about the chains of relations and society, of obligations and commitments and also of the favour bank (in simple words-if someone does you a favor, you owe them a favor in return that must be repaid whenever the favor is called in).

School, College, Job, Marriage, Family, Sustain the family and then cycle repeats for your progeny. That is the end of one story and also the beginning of another and although one could ask what is wrong in it, I do not think that is the right question. I do not see anything in this life although I do admit that life in itself is a challenge when we do something different, it is frowned upon. When we choose to stay away from the normal, it is criticised. I do not have much experience in the defiance going away from norms thingy but whenever I have tried it, it has been difficult, fraught with uncertainty and also vehement opposition from all sides.

I can barely imagine the sort of opposition that those who really went against popular opinion faced in their time. Swimming upstream if it is the right path is made easy by the knowledge that it is the right way but what if there is no right way or we do not know which is the right way or perhaps lack confidence?

If it was to me, I would follow my heart and do what I want to do although this might just be wishful thinking and when it comes to the fork in the road, I may very well take the easy, safe road that is used by the crowd. All I hope is that when I reach that place, I have the courage to take the road that will lead me to happiness and fulfillment.