Why I think Swadeshi Push and Atmanirbhar Bharat Will be Largely Ineffective in Addressing the Problem

India is facing many crises today. One of the crises is that most of the great Indian companies are either being shutdown or being sold out to foreign firms. And it is not about profitability of business or value creation. Even innovative companies get sold and stakes in even large profitable companies get sold. The problem is serious and reflective of the problems our "economy" is facing. Be it Flipkart which got sold, or all Anil Ambani businesses which failed to take off, Jet Airways or any other airlines which shut down, or even Reliance Industries needing to sell stake in its profitable Jio business to reduce debt, the list is long. 

In the middle of the economic disaster of Lockdown and economy at near bottom, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a new slogan of "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India) and asked people to buy "Swadeshi". The great fan followers of PM Modi have lapped up the idea and started spreading the message. But many fans do not understand that the "version of Swadeshi" our Govt is promoting will by and large do not do any benefit to our economy. It is because in our Govt's version of "Swadeshi", even foreign companies' India units are treated at par with Indian companies. 

Therefore, except Chinese toys, there won't be much impact of Swadeshi push because most foreign companies are already manufacturing in India. Most of the items consumed in our household are already made in India. And I bet people will still buy Chinese phones, no matter what PM Modi or our govt says.

How many people are reading this and tweeting #atmanirbharbharat using their Chinese phones? Indians are cost conscious and have little real pride of their motherland. Remember, many Indians still take pride that their ancestors served in colonial era British army. Most Indians traveled or wanted to travel abroad for honeymoons after marriage - that is also how many brought Coronavirus to India and poor people are dying. If given a choice, most Indians will go settle down abroad. Just look at parents whose kids are settled abroad. Raising slogans is easy.

And Govt gets the share of blame too. After every big scheme launch from Govt, huge orders go to China. E.g. after International Yoga day was conceptualized, millions of yoga mats were bought from China. After Coronavirus outbreak too, testing kits were bought from China. Govt should first practice "Swadeshi" itself before preaching it to common people. 

As per our govt, buying a Toyota car, Unilever or P&G products are all "Swadeshi". One-by-one, all our Indian companies are getting sold out and our govt's version of "Swadeshi" will not stop it.

There is a good decision made by Govt that tenders below Rs 200 Crores won't be allowed to be global tenders. But this too is expected to be little impact since most of the MNCs which have India units will still take part in these tenders and can outbid Indian rivals. 

If our government is really serious about "Swadeshi", it should adopt it in its true and real version, not in this pseudo version where Indian units of Foreign companies are also treated at par with Indian companies. 

New Ordinance by Modi Govt to Protect Health Workers: Welcome Act But Caution Also Needs to be Applied to Prevent Misuse

Modi Govt has approved an Ordinance to make acts of violence against doctors and other medical staff a cognizable and non-bailable offence, with punishment up to 7 years in jail, as the government sought to assuage fears of the health workers amid increasing reports of attacks on them. The attackers will also have to pay double the cost of the property they damage. [News]

Briefing media after the decision was taken in a meeting, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said the Cabinet has approved the Ordinance to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

This is a good decision in itself since there has been many incidents of attacks on medical staff majorly by Muslim community members in their dominated areas. 

But at the same time, this is a stringent act and history has shown that any harsh law which is made by government soon starts getting misused. Even this act is not only for "doctors" who are well qualified people and hence expected to behave properly, but also for "health workers" who are not educated and sometimes come from doubtful background. In such cases they may use this law to settle old scores by labeling charges against their enemies or in order to harass anyone threatening to file a case under this harsh law. It can also lead to extortion like situations. 

The only safeguard I can see is that this ordinance has been passed as part of the Epidemic Diseases Act and after the current Chinese Virus (NCov19) crisis is passed, it should practically stop being in affect. But since a country like ours faces several disease outbreaks, it should be seen with caution that such extreme laws are not used every time. 

At the same time, it will remain up to the state Police department to impose this law or not. It can be argued that the Police were already empowered to arrest the culprits under existing laws and to prevent attack on health workers using standard means without this act. 

But Police is under control of the state governments and many states do not have BJP in power and hence do not implement Modi government's ideas in full spirits and hence this can be seen as an attempt by Modi government to further "centralize" powers with Center; which is not a good thing for our democracy. 

If this ordinance and the act is used only in exceptional cases, it can help the cause immensely. And hence we should welcome it. But since every stringent law is misused by many, the Police should see to it that this stringent law is not misused against innocent individuals.

Racism in Assam Must be Discouraged. Fear Against Citizenship Amendment Bill is not Entirely Rational

After Indian parliament passed "Citizenship Amendment Bill", widespread violence was seen in Assam. As explained by ET, the fear among people is that since now India allows citizenship to minority Hindus of Bangladesh, a large number of Bangladeshi Hindu migrants would arrive in Assam; which local people won't like to happen. Is the fear rational? 

It may be true that more Bangladeshi Hindu migrants would arrive in India after this bill. But the things to note are as following:

The Hindus in Bangladesh are living in far greater threat and are not able to express themselves as well as their religious sentiments freely. Their daughters are not safe and often women are abducted and forcibly converted into Islam. Indian parliament took up the initiative to protect them by facilitating Indian citizenship to them, if they choose to come to India. This was a noble gesture. And people of Assam must look at this noble angle, instead of their own petty interests. 

Today, lakhs of Assamese people are living in all Indian metro cities. In Delhi, they have even created ghettos where you would see more people from Assam and North East than you would see local Delhiites. And no one asks them to go back to their home state. People of Assam must think about it. 

But when it comes to allowing people from outside North East into North East, they react as if their local culture would get spoiled merely if 100 people from outside their state start living in their city or town. Local politicians playing the race card and regional card merely exploit their sentiments. If people did not support their racist policies, how would political parties exploit them?

People of Assam must stop being racists. They must stop being hypocritical where they themselves are living in very large numbers in all Indian cities but do not allow others to live in their state. Also, it is not reasonable to expect that lakhs of Bangladeshi Hindus will really arrive in India. Since not all people decide to migrate; there are always risks in migration. Plus, not all Bangladeshi people would choose to live in Assam, when they already know that local Assamese people are racists and hostile to others. So the fear of Assamese people may be true only to a less extent. 

Assamese people living outside Assam must call their folks in the state and ask them to calm down. They should stop burning buses and public infrastructure since it is a suicidal step. Once they will destroy all the railways and government infrastructure and later they will cry that no development happens in their city. The large participation of young students is also weird. After education, most of these students will head to Delhi and other India metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. How would they show their face to the outside world, if they do open violence against so called "outsiders" like this? And what will others think about them; does education bring no sense of civilized behavior in them? 

Let us hope Assam returns to normalcy soon and violence stops there as soon as possible. 

Rahul Gandhi and his Bad Mouthing Strategy To Win Votes

It seems Rahul Gandhi always suffered from spilt personality disorder. At one hand, he wanted people to take him seriously and hence wanted his public image to appear as of a dynamic mature leader. To get there, he visited colleges, conferences, reputed institutions including situated in several other countries. It is a different story that he always goofed up everywhere and his agents were busy explaining how this "goofing around" was his shrewd strategy to ensure coverage in "media" (no one bought it). On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi always wanted to appear as a dynamic angry young man. This mature Vs young; reliable Vs bubbly struggle got the better of him. In the end, he could prove only one thing about his consistent strategy - he has a "bad-mouthing strategy". And nothing else. Rahul Gandhi wants to win votes by bad-mouthing Modi. That is the bottom line of Con Party's war-room strategy. Kudos to the grand old party! 

Sometime back, Rahul Gandhi called PM Narendra Modi "a thief. "Hindustan ka chowkidar chor hai: Rahul Gandhi calls PM Modi a thief in Rajasthan" (Source: India Today)

This is just one sample. Everyday we can read permutations and combinations of his abuses at India's Prime Minister. And he is not doing this for any election. Rahul Gandhi was bad-mouthing PM Modi in 2015, he was abusing PM Modi in year 2016; year 2017 and in year 2018. It is evident that he has become nothing but a "Certified Abuser". But why does not anyone tell him how crass and third rate his speeches are and how uneducated and idiotic he appears while he is abusing India's Prime Minister? It is easy to understand. 

Long back, Congress Party was taken over by one family - Nehru family/dynasty. Anyone who tried to become a better leader than what the dynasty could offer, was cut down to size. This is why the recent decision to bring in Priyanka Gandhi into politics should be seen as a means to give a continued support to this dynasty since Rahul Gandhi does not seem to be marrying and producing any kids in the long future any soon. Rahul Gandhi is always surrounded by cronies and 'chamchas' who hail him no matter how foolish he appears to "outsiders". This is why, he is never given true or honest feedback and he keeps making better mockery of himself. 

Sometime back, Rahul Gandhi "winked" in Lok Sabha while a serious debate was going on. Whom did he wink at? His cronies - who else? "Rahul Gandhi ‘winks’ again in Lok Sabha, faces BJP ire" (Source: TOI). No matter how stupid Rahul Gandhi appears to the common Indians, his cronies keep reminding him how naturally superior he has because of his genes coming from the "dynasty". 

Every time Rahul Gandhi abuses India's popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he proves how stupid and unqualified he is. Yet, no one tells him this in his face. And hence he continues. 

If we look at Rahul Gandhi's "best" attacks on PM Modi, it is clear that he is driven by his own personal history. 

Back then, VP Singh had given this slogan, "Gali Gali me shor hai; Rajiv Gandhi chor hai" and hence today Rahul Gandhi shouts "chaukidar chor hai". 

Back then, opposition parties had deflated his father's political career by accusing scam in "Bofors deal" which was a military procurement deal. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi today accuses government in a fictitious "Rafale deal" which is again a military procurement deal. 

Rahul Gandhi is so incompetent that he can't even come up with new accusations and new attacks. All he can do is to copy his own father's scandals and try to throw it on Narendra Modi. 

Only if mainstream media could stand up to this incompetent abusive man called Rahul Gandhi; that this menace could stop. As an Indian, I am anguished every time Rahul Gandhi throws abuses at our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He might not have learnt decency from his mother, since she has a history of saying abusive things about Narendra Modi herself; "Sonia Gandhi called Modi 'Maut ka Saudagar' (Source: India Today); but he can at least try to learn modesty from other great men outside his family. After all, in all these years when he has lived in India (when he is not holidaying abroad); if he does not pick up even a single Indian value; it would be a huge disappointment. 

Let us hope after his Con Party loses General Election of year 2019, hopefully Rahul Gandhi would abandon his "Bad Mouthing Strategy" to win votes. 

Vijay Mallya's Extradition Proves Modi's Anti-Corruption Stance; Did We Really Need Proof?

"In a major diplomatic win for the Narendra Modi government, the United Kingdom Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, on Monday signed the order for fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya's extradition to India. The extradition request was approved to allow Mallya to return to India to face trial for alleged fraud and money laundering cases, amounting to Rs 9,000 crores." Source: Times Now

The same news piece tells that people are hailing this extradition as a proof of Narendra Modi's anti-corruption commitment. But the question arises if we really needed such a proof?

Narendra Modi government has from the beginning of its term taken all steps to curb black money and corruption in all spheres. Its Digital India initiative is built as a backbone infrastructure to bring transparency. Its Jan Dhan program was made to facilitate direct benefit transfer and hence avoid middlemen eating into the poor people's benefits and subsidies. The government took a bold step of demonetization as a desperate measure to shake up the existing order in order to create a new order based on transparency and honesty. 

Newspapers are filled with stories of anti-corruption raids on businessmen and politicians. Even if corruption was done by a BJP leader, the government has not stopped in taking action against such a person. 

Anti-corruption movement was the reason why Modi won election against dynasty based Con. Party which was deep into corruption from head to toe. Therefore, it is definitely surprising if this extradition should be taken as a proof of Narendra Modi's Government's anti-corruption stance. Everything that this government has done, has been done to prevent large scale corruption. This is also one reason why activists and common people equally want Narendra Modi to come back to power in 2019 General Election.

- Rahul

Modi Govt Passes amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act

In a very welcome move, Modi Government has passed an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act; ensuring death penalty in case of children's abuse. 

This was long due and we all thank the BJP government and PM Narendra Modi for this act: 

Union Cabinet on Friday approved an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, seeking to ensure death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse of children. The amendment further levies heavy fine for not deleting, reporting and destroying child pornographic material. The POCSO Act, which was originally enacted in 2012, was later modified to make it as foolproof as possible.

Briefing the media, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Our children should be protected from sexual offences. Now, those taking advantage of children in heinous ways will be severely punished".

https://www.newsnation.in/india-news/death-penalty-for-aggravated-assault-under-law-on-sexual-crimes-against-children-ravi-shankar-prasad-article-210077.html

Modi Govt Passes The Muslim Women Bill 2018 Against Triple Talaq

In a very welcome move, the BJP Government has passed The Muslim Women Bill 2018 which criminalizes so called "Triple Talaq". 

The Muslim Women Bill 2018, which criminalises triple talaq, was on Thursday passed in the Lok Sabha. The bill was passed despite opposition parties, including the Congress, the AIADMK and the Samajwadi Party, staging a walkout before the voting on the bill began.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad replied to the debate on behalf of the government, asserting that the bill was not aimed at targeting any particular community or religion. He accused the Congress and other opposition parties of opposition the bill with the intention of protecting their votebanks.

http://zeenews.india.com/india/triple-talaq-bill-passed-in-lok-sabha-after-walkout-by-congress-led-opposition-2166312.html

This is a very welcome step and this will improve the life of millions of potentially impacted women in future. Triple Talaq was considered a shame by most people who care for women's rights and it is surprising how long this practice sustained itself, thanks largely to the minority vote bank politics of the Congress Party which has been in power in India most part of its post-independent history. 

With Triple Talaq gone, we can hope for more such moves being made for the Muslim Women's rights. India must serve as a good example for other nations in the neighborhood who are still plagued by archaic laws of a gone era. 

Thank you Mr. Modi and government for passing this bill. 

Modi Govt Passes Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 Banning Commercial Surrogacy

In a very welcome move, Lok Sabha has passed a bill which bans commercial surrogacy:

A bill that bars commercial surrogacy and allows only close relatives to act as surrogates to needy infertile couples for altruistic reasons was passed by the Lok Sabha Wednesday with Health Minister J P Nadda terming the proposed legislation historic. The 'Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016' was passed after an hour-long debate amid noisy protests by Congress and AIADMK members over various issues.

Nadda said different sections of society, political parties, the Supreme Court and the Law Commission have spoken against commercial surrogacy and that the bill addresses these concerns. India had become a hub of commercial surrogacy and surrogate mothers also suffered from exploitation, he told the House. "The bill protects women from exploitation and ensures the rights of the child born through surrogacy. It has been a demand from all sections of society," he said.

The bill proposes complete ban on commercial surrogacy, but altruistic surrogacy will be permitted for needy infertile couple under strict regulation. The bill entitles only Indian citizens to avail surrogacy. Foreigners, NRIs and PIOs are not allowed to seek surrogacy in the country. 

https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/policy/lok-sabha-passes-bill-which-bans-commercial-surrogacy/67170854

This is a very good step by our government. India had become a hub for global population seeking to exploit poor Indian women by making them act like surrogates while they went on with their life. This practice not only degraded women and made them appear like a vessel or a machine, but was also a disgrace on humanity. It is no surprise that this practice is already banned in so many advance or developed countries in the world.

It is also surprising how long it took for Indian government to wake up to the menace. Vested interests from the hospital business would have liked this practice to continue - after all they earn dollars from foreigners through this business. But turning motherhood and child bearing process into money-making business is something which intellectuals must think about.

Better late than never. It is a good news that the current government which is lead by our popular PM Narendra Modi is taking care of so many social issues which have been ignored for decades. At the same time, it looks like shame that the principal opposition party Congress even opposed this bill since it has gotten itself into a trance like situation where it ends up opposing whatever the Modi Government does. The opposition party should apply some mind before opposing such moves. 

Once again, thank you PM Modi and BJP government at the center for this good decision taken for our country.

Modi Government and Mainstream Media

Someone commented that the current India PM Mr. Narendra Modi does not appear to face mainstream media much and does not directly face questions thrown by TV journalists. The feeling was that the current government focuses too much on social media platforms and seem to be not relying on the mainstream media.

First, when you say that PM is "not facing the press"; you have to be more specific. Our PM does give interviews to the press as well as to TV channels. Then what specifically do you mean by "not facing"? I believe you are expecting him to hold press conferences where mainstream journalists could ask him a variety of questions about government policies and he would try to "conquer" them. In a nutshell, you expect some "drama" from him.

But alas, government works in a certain way for the benefit of all. Govt has specific spokespersons for that role. And hence PM does not have to hold a press conference after every policy move. Also, individual Ministers do hold press conferences explaining decisions of their ministries. In India we do not have USA type presidential rule; hence Mr. Modi does not hold press conferences like Mr. Trump does. 

Previous PM Manmohan Singh had also held only 3 press conferences during his tenure of about "10 years". But one can say that his tenure was marred by scandals and scams, and that would have made it necessary. Currently govt is running very smooth and hence there is not much need for press conference by PM.

I think the perception that Modi Government is not depending on mainstream media to some extent is true. Out of all India PMs, current PM Mr. Modi seems the best when it comes to be being directly in touch with people. And there is a history and reason behind it. After post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, he was ostracized and demonized both by opponents outside and within his party. There was a strong media campaign demonizing him both inside India and among NRIs (since Gujaratis have strong NRI presence). E.g. we constantly got news from media about Modi being denied Visa by US even though he never applied for the same! And we had seen what mainstream media had done to him with the famous "puppy remark" by Mr. Modi in an "interview". Hence, in order to survive; and in order to "turn stones thrown to him into a stepping stone"; Modi took "social media" by storm and got into direct contact with people. Media initially was baffled - why does not he talk to the media? Why does not he gave media interviews? Crooked media could not believe there initially that there could be such a Strong Willed Lion among Men who would "bypass" them totally!

After becoming PM, of course he had to give interviews to media and interact with media. Keeping aside media's hateful and funded campaign against him, he started loosening up. But it is important to know the history.

I think it is a mistake to think that PM Modi is out of touch with people and does not know our feedback. He is on Twitter and posts his events, thoughts and works several times every day and would also get people's reactions. He has this NaMo App for mobile phones through which he gets feedback. He does Mann Ki Baat on Radio and TV regularly on weekends. He goes to visit all across the country in election rallies as well as to inaugurate government projects. He regularly visits Temples and places of religious and cultural importance wherever he goes. When he sees children, he goes and plays with them. We never had such "human" PM in the recent times... This is why his supporters adore him like this... 

Plus, most of Big Indian Media Houses have been Left Leaning or Anti-Right Wing philosophy. E.g. The Hindu is a certified communist leaning paper. Hindustan Times Group from the Birla ownership who funded Congress. India Today and Rajdeep Sardesai are anti-BJP. NDTV is certified pro-Congress and anti-BJP channel. CNN-IBN and Sagarika Ghose are clearly Left leaning.

I accept that a few media / TV news houses are pro-BJP too; but all these are only recent upstarts. All old and biggest media houses are anti-BJP, pro-Congress/Left. Hence, if Modi Govt takes mainstream media too seriously, they will only bite it in the ear while standing on its shoulders. Hence Modi Govt still focuses on direct access to people through social media channels.

- Rahul Tiwary

Modi Sarkar Report Card - June 2015

Modi Sarkar Report Card - May 2015

Modi Sarkar Report Card - April 2015

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