Barkha Dutt Episode : Not a surprise

Although very few newspapers are reporting the controversies of alleged lobbying by the celebrated journalists like Burkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi, people are slowly getting the feel of the reality. Media does not want to publicize or comment on the episode as it might lead to problems for them . "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones on other."

It was not at all surprising to find Burkha and Sanghvi involved in such practices. The whole media is like that Only the stories which are well paid are told by the media. Needless to say all controversies relating to page 3 people, linkages of actors and actresses just before a movie release, editorial with a biased stance are the profitable products of our media. We all know now why one of the leading newspaper of India was so critical about CWG scams just after loosing its bid to be the media partner of the event. Its all about conflict of interest and media have power to portray anything in the way they want.

Burkha dutt has always been a loud mouthed women, making big statements which catches public attention. I still remember her article , " Like Father , Like Son" she published after the son of Late Promod Mahajan was found involved in a drug overdose case. In her article she critiques Promod and tries to suggest that the son of Promod is so much like Promod Mahajan himself. It was a profound insult to a dead man. The lady leaves no one when it comes to publicity . Now if we just use the same analogy in case of Burkha, the character of whole Dutt family can be easily sketched , but will any sane person do it .

Its so easy to be the one, holding the mike and asking difficult question, making witty remark and commenting on the integrity of the person but its so difficult to be a real genuine person using your power responsibly.

Black Money : Making India Uncompetitive

 Indian economy is over a trillion dollar economy but lot of economist says that the parallel economy (in the form of black money or undisclosed transactions ) is as big as the real economy. Billions of rupees are never shown to the tax man to avoid tax . This black money is really bad for India. It is making India uncompetitive in business at a very fast pace . How ?

Black money usually goes into the investments where it is hard to detect. Usually people keep the black money in cash but it is hard to carry it every where and there is no return on it. Real Estate is the prime investment destination for it as the prices paid in white are abysmal and a very high amount to black money is involved to evade tax. Very high proportion of black money is chasing very few investment destination of real estate. The  real estate prices are shooting over the roof. Now when the land prices are abnormally high due to vested interest of people some of the speculators bring in even more money in the real estate market which increases the costs even further. In a nut shell the black money is creating a bubble in the real estate market.

Now land and real estate are essential part of the infrastructure required for industries. Due to soaring cost of infrastructure the industry is finding it tough to be profitable. The entry barriers for small size co-operations are even higher. If you want to have even a small office in rime locations the money which is charged to you is as high as one in developed economies like USA or Europe with the pricing of products and services nowhere close to it. How will the industry in India survive in long term if the real estate price goes on increasing.

A Passing thought: It is good that lot of Indian black money is parked in the Swiss Banks as it will only worsen the condition of property markets in India.

Indian Judiciary : Can't Get Worst !

Indian Judiciary might be seen as a important part of the Indian democratic system, but its very difficult to cope with it. Yes, as a citizen of the country I have my rights protected but the slowness of the judiciary makes life difficult .

Anyone can do anything here as one knows that the Judiciary is slow and nothing will happen. It is really painful to see likes of molester cop Rathore to again get a bail after years of struggle by the affected family. His smile is a tight slap on the face of the system which is giving no justice to people who are suffering.

In my lifetime I have not seen any powerful person to get the real taste of prison, be it the actors crushing laborers on road, be it the politicians involved in serious crimes, be it powerful people exploiting every little person for their individual gains or be it influential people inciting violence and hatred in the minds of people of the country. Anyone can do any thing here as long has one has muscle power, money power or influence on the system. Sanjay Dutt can be a lone exception to this case.

Even in so called consumer court it takes years to get a judgment.  In case you miss any of the hearing the case is rejected. In case the accused party misses the hearing the court is adjourned. Even if you get the decision in your favor after years of effort, the other party can move to the civil court which will again takes years for judgment.Thinking of all this a common man just drops the case and just feels cheated.

We are doing all kinds of reforms in India, how about reforming the judiciary. No Jessica Lal killers or Ruchika's molester should go out of the hands of our legal system. No person should be able to bypass the judiciary of the country.