Government Wins Manmohan Singh Loses

D_M,

".... a man of utmost integrity, such as Manmohan Singh, had to stoop to levels of Amar Singhs and Laloos in order to succeed ...."

Aah Manmohan the angel stooping to the level of the shuddar Amar Singh!

India should be thankful to all the three above. They are brilliant, shrewd, cut-throat and great facilitators. That is why we elect them to rule on our behalf. It is because of people like them we are different from the great burmese republic.

D_M:

1. V.P. Singh did nothing either. IMF had better access to Rajiv's govt. compared to previous govts. Montek, Shankar etc. were mouth-pieces then and were used .... just like Montek had used Rajan now. Anyway, in the broader scheme, all of them are pawns ... of course bigger pawns than me.

2. "But it is Manmohan Singh who is generally credited with ending the license-quota raj." Given what you said previous to this sentence, have you asked why? And are you convinced?

3. "But unlike you, I do not celebrate it as a "gift" but a "curse" of democracy..."

Why? What is wrong with buying or selling your vote as long as you are not forcing the other party? Indira Gandhi never bought votes from MPs .... it makes her more moral than Manmohan?

4. "... handed down to a people who were not ready for the responsibility that this system of government relies upon."

I agree, bring the Brits back to rule over these brown, uncivilized masses. Better still, get an enlightened dictator like Mushy baba. Did Mushy have to buy votes? Just asking.

GT:

I am not creating myths. I have been on record that economic reforms in India were started by none other than the dye-in-the-wool leftist, V.P. Singh when he became Finance Minister under Rajiv Gandhi. He was the one who cut income tax rates in a dramatic way and showed that they increased rather than reduced total government intake, thus proving the bankruptcy of earlier policies. And people like Shankar Acharya and Montek Ahluwalia imported from the World Bank. But it is Manmohan Singh who is generally credited with ending the license-quota raj.

It is not my contention that politicians are more corrupt than other sections of the Indian society. But unlike you, I do not celebrate it as a "gift" but a "curse" of democracy handed down to a people who were not ready for the responsibility that this system of government relies upon.

anil#37:

I agree with you re. Advani and the BJP. There is no doubt in my mind that Mandir and other communal issues will be brought to the forefront in the next election, either directly or in the coded language of fighting terrorism.

I am not so much critical of Manmohan Singh as the sad state of politics in India that even a man of utmost integrity, such as Manmohan Singh, had to stoop to levels of Amar Singhs and Laloos in order to succeed.

pmishra#36:

The lament is not about the degeneration of Indian democracy but of the personal devaluation of Manmohan Singh. At the same time, I do admire his courage of conviction which made him take on the Left and, more importantly his own Congress colleagues, for something that he believed in.

As for IPI pipeline, I really do not know what the impact will be. No less a person than the head of the India caucus in the US Congress, Gary Ackerman, has warned that there will be price to pay for India if it goes ahead with the pipeline project.

iron:

"But who are Mr Dasgupta, Mr Phelps and Mr Bhatia and mr Walker? Are these the high members of the Borg Collective?"

That is the point. I do not know them too. But I do not call this club of lobbyists (brokers or dallals) - "Mr. Manmohan Singh".

Re: # 38 GT as usual straight to the bone. Come on you need to add "excuse me DM sahib", "by your leave Sir" etc etc and tug a few fore locks etc etc

Yes youdo have a point there. But who are Mr Dasgupta, Mr Phelps and Mr Bhatia and mr Walker? Are these the high members of the Borg Collective?

D_M:

1. Not only you, but even the Economist is into creating myths. We know why the Economist does so. I do not know why you do so. Manmohan did not liberalize the Indian Economy then, neither is he the "only one" single-handedly getting the deal through. The deal got through because of behind the scene brokers (we used to call them dallals earlier) like, Mr. Dasgupta, Mr. Phelps, Mr. Bhatia, Mr. Walker etc. etc. If you do not know them, then just call them brokers. Do not call the collective "Mr. Manmohan Singh".

2. If the Congress bought votes, it is OK. In every democracy you buy votes through money, favors or promises. Voluntary, buying and selling leads to Pareto improvements. If constituents do not like their "netas" selling out on the deal then "democracy" will ensure that the neta will loose. If on the other hand the neta is able to "buy" constituents for Rs.100 each, that means that the constituent does not give a rat's ass to the deal. And you and I got to respect that.

3. I simply do not understand why we hold our netas to such high degrees of "morality" when we ourselves cheat without blinking an eye-lid. We forget that "elections" etc. are costly and money is needed. Plus, WE have given our netas "power" to fight "bad-people" on our behalf. We need to provide them with material needs at par with the power. I do not understand why we need to take moral high grounds, and make heroes out of unwilling average people, while living in "reality" 24/7/360 ourselves.

Dost sahib:

I do not understand your "Manmohan Loses" stand. As I see, this leftist economist made transition to market economist guided Indian reforms very successfully, and he even took politicians, played their game and won the crucial vote.

Looser has been Advani, his blind ambition for PM ship, really showed with as the worst opportunist in the current parliament. He may have problem getting dalit, vote, muslim votes and even upper class hindu votes. BJP will need more substantial "riot" to polarize votes nationwide all over again.

I am surprised at the negative tone of this article. You would think that before this vote indian democracy was completely free of corruption or vote buying !

I think this is a small but important decision for india. There is a need for diverse sources of energy - nuclear is one component - creating a gas pipeline from iran is another component. I hope the govt will take that forward as well.

Re: # 30 It is now even more incumbent on India to follow the non-proliferation rules - irrespective of who is in power... so India has to vote along with the US and others on this.

Re: # 32 that goes without saying harimau (T). WE should do it the chinese way....

Full text of Manmohans speech - he wasnt allowed to deliver it by our netas...

http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/23/stories/2008072356391100.htm

Ever y day that I have been Prime Minister of India I have tried to remember that the first 10 years of my life were spent in a village with no drinking water supply, no electricity, no hospital, no roads and nothing that we today associate with modern living. I had to walk miles to school, I had to study in the dim light of a kerosene oil lamp. This nation gave me the opportunity to ensure that such would not be the life of our children in the foreseeable future.

Ref Dash_Dot #16

[....interesting and lovely...Pakistan wins friend..it is the unravelling of the united indian consensus on foreign policy!]

The united Indian consensus on foreign policy has been one of standing at the edge of a precipice on an icy mountain and pissing against the wind and getting a warm feeling from the experience!

Good thing someone dumped this sh!t. The next thing that should go is the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and any association with creeps like Robert Mugabe and other Presidents-for-Life in African countries. The only deal we should have with Mugabe is the right to exploit Zambia's copper mines no matter who comes to power there.

Ref zeemax #15

[What's this news about Shiv Senaks barging into Taj Mahal to do puja? Have they made a new God/dess out of Shah Jehan/ Mumtaz Mahal now?

But what about passages from the Qur'an all over the walls?]

Well, are Delhi's Muslims about to perform namaz at the mosque near Qutb Minar?

What are they going to do about all those figures of celestial nymphs on the pillars of that mosque?

Are they the 72 virgins promised the shahids? Will they then make love to the pillars? Does the lack of foreskin improve the act of intercourse with figures carved in granite?

Zeemax, we all have questions but the answers are short in supply!

Dash#29:

Indians have to make that choice anyway, don't they? Whether or not India signs the nuclear deal, it will have to decide how to vote on the Iran issue. Whatever understanding Singh may have given to Bush is of not much significance; for all we know, neither of them may be in power a year from now.