The Kashmir Conundrum

The crisis in Kashmir is at a crucial stage. Our actions at this juncture will not only decide the fate of Kashmir and India but of entire South East Asia. In the last few days we have seen a sudden spate of views not just by left liberals but also by centrists like Vir Sanghvi and Swaminathan Aiyar suggesting secession of Kashmir from India. It is really baffling to see them suggesting this just because demand for secession has increased in the last few days.

Was the merger of Kashmir with India unjustified ?

Swaminathan Aiyar questions the merger of Kashmir with India by comparing the merger of  Junagarh with India. He conviniently forgets that India is a secular country wheras Pakistan is a theocratic state. A Hindu majority region could not have merged with Muslim Pakistan. Muslim majority region could merge with India because India is a secular state. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nahru, Sardar Patel and millions of Hindus and Muslims who stayed back in India, did not approve of Two Nation throry and that was the reason India remained secular. If Kashmir secedes from India just because it is a Muslim majority state, it will validate Two Nation theory and pave way for India to become a Hindu Rashtra. Besides, Two Nation Theory was debunked in 1971 with secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan and continuous illegal immigration of crores of Bangladeshis in India since then. Invoking Two nation theory to support secession today is devoid of any logic.

Is Kashmir a colony of India ?

Swami has went a step ahead and compared Kashmir to British India. This despite the fact that Kashmir is the only Indian state to recieve almost 100% funding from Central Government for its five year plans. The poverty level in Kashmir is lowest of all Indian states. A state like Bihar, which is one of the most backward state in the country, gets per capita central assistance of Rs 876 per year. Kashmir gets over ten times more: Rs 9,754 per year. It is the only Indian state to recieve special privileges under Article 370 that bars any non Kashmiri Indian from buying property in the state. Ofcourse, Kashmiris are free to buy property anywhere in the country. Now which “colony” in the history of the world was so pampered ? Vir Sanghvi rightly mentions that most elections held in Kashmir were not as free and fair as in rest of India. But how can this argument be used to merge Kashmir with Pakistan, which has been under dictatorship most of the time since its existence ? Even democratic Governments in Pakistan were always under the shadow of Army and no one can deny that even today Army and not the civilian Government is the most powerful establishment in Pakistan. So if Kashmir merges with Pakistan, would it get any special democratic right which is not enjoyed by the rest of Pakistan? Besides the status of Human Rights in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir should give an inkling to Kashmiris about the state of affairs in Pakistan. Compared to PoK, violation of Human Rights is far less in J&K as said by European Union, Human Rights Watch  and other agencies.

What if Kashmir secedes ?

Most probably we would see a repeat of communal violence that engulfed the nation in 1947, if Kashmir secedes. The only difference would be that now we do not have a Mahatma Gandhi who could soothe communal tensions.

Secession of Kashmir would open a pandora’s box and we would see similar demands from other regions in the country. When Raj Thackeray says that Maharashtrians have first right over any job created in the state, he is bashed by all and sundry (and rightly so), however we would see a Raj Thackeray in each state of India who would have some or the other grievance. Ironically, the same people who harshly criticise Raj Thackeray (and rightly so) do not find anything wrong with the seperatists of Kashmir !!!

As mentioned above, Kashmir’s economy is heavily dependent on Central Government’s aid. An independent Kashmir would be as successful as Pakistan or Bangladesh are today. Crores of Bangladeshis have already made India their home illegally. There is no strong reason to believe that the same story wont be repeated with Kashmir. Pakistan would obiviously try to annex Kashmir, which would be resisted by a strong section of Kashmiris and this will only make the entire South East Asia more unstable.

What is the solution ?

There is no quick fix. The Government needs to take all affected parties into confidence and resolve the Amarnath dispute, which triggered the current crisis. Even if Amarnath land transfer issue is resolved, we need to make a road map for a permanent solution. Pampering Kashmir with special status and a generous central financial assistance hasn’t worked. Financial assistance need not be stopped as the state is victim of terrorism, however Article 370 is part of the problem and not the solution. It is very important that Kashmiris mingle with people from rest of the country and Indians accept them as their own. But you need two hands to clap. Kashmir should be as open to rest of the country as is any other state. Abolishing Article 370 will bring Kashmir and India closer. This ofcourse is not the right time to abolish it but the Government should have a concrete road map to do so. Barring the two elections of 1977 & 2002, all elections in Kashmir are alleged to be rigged. We need to make sure that such mistakes are not repeated and Kashmiri participation in democratic processes is as good as any other state in the country. In short, Kashmiris should be encouraged to join mainstream India but not at the cost of injustice towards rest of India.

As Muzaffar Razmi said, Yeh Jabr Bhi Dekha Hai Tareekh Ki Nazron Ne, Lamhon Ne Khata Ki Thi Sadiyon Ne Saza Payee (History is witness to incidents where mistakes were made during split seconds for which entire generations had to pay the price till centuries). The Indian sub continent is still paying the price for the khata (mistake) made in 1947. Let us learn something from that mistake rather than repeat it.

For more insight on the issue read All Talk and No Action, MJ Akbar, K Subrahmanyam, Arif Mohammed Khan & Mohammed Wajihuddin

The Lies Continue….

Now that it is clear, that the UPA Government will move ahead on the Nuclear deal after winning the confidence motion by spending crores of rupees, its time to expose some lies of the supporters of the deal in the light of some new revelations. This article is a follow up of an earlier article on the same issue.

Lie 1 : Nuclear Deal is necessary as India faces shortage of Uramium reserves.

We are told that we have sufficient Thorium reserves but we need to import Uranium if we want our existing and planned Nuclear Plants to run at full capacity. The truth is that since the last two years, hundreds of tonnes of Uranium have been discovered. These reserves are sufficient for all our existing and planned Nuclear Plants. So should we really import something that we already have ? According to the supporters of the deal, we should. Common sense says NO.

Lie 2 : Nuclear Energy is an alternative to Fossil Fuels.

Fossil Fuels are used for transportation. Nuclear Energy would be used to generate electricity. Now how many vehicles in India run on electricity? But if the rhetoric of deal supporters is to be believed, Nuclear Energy will somehow reduce our dependence on Fossil Fuels.

Now for the sake of argument, let us assume a futuristic scenario where a lot of vehicles will run on electricity. Still Nuclear Energy cannot be considered as an option as according to IAEA, Uranium reserves will completely deplete in next 70 years, just as fossil fuels would in the near future.

If Crude Oil price is determined by a cartel of countries, so is the price of Uranium. There is hardly any difference in Crude Oil and Uranium as far as availability and price volatility are concerned. Environmentally, Nuclear wastes are far more hazardous than fossil fuels and Nuclear Reactors are far more dangerous.

Pranab Mukherjee, while defenfing the trust vote in Lok Sabha, wanted us to believe that India cannot be self sufficient in Energy unless we sign the deal. But according to estimates of his own Government and Energy Information Agency (EIA) of the US Department of Energy, at any point of time, Nuclear Energy’s contribution would not exceed 6.7% of our Energy needs. How does Nuclear Energy then become central to our Energy needs? Infact Natural Gas and bio diesel have the potential to replace fossil fuels upto an extent. But the current Government which was ready to sacrifice itself on Nuclear Deal does not care to implement policies which facilitate production of Biodiesel and other renewables.

The Future

Let us hope that even if the deal is signed, future Governments are far sighted enough to invest in renewables and other sources, rather than constructing white elephants which will only benefit a small cartel.

The 3 mistakes of my life

Despite the fact that One Night At Call Center  was disappointing, I was eagerly awaiting for Chetan Bhagat’s third book as he is one of those rare Indian English writers who writes for Indian readers . In this book, Chetan has combined Cricket, Politics and Business, in trying to portray the aspirations of contemporay young India. It is the story of three young Indians from a middle class background who aspire to make it big. The book succeeds in touching a chord when it deals with the struggle of the three protagonists, Govind, Ishaan and Omi, in setting up their business. Cricket is omnipresent throughout the book but when it comes to Politics, the book is as clueless as its three main characters.

 

There are few similarities between this book and Five Point Someone. Both the books have three main characters and a leading lady for one of them so that situation for the mandatory sex scene can be created. But the similarity ends here. The humour is not as good as it was in Five Point Someone also the sex scene this time somewhat contributes to the storyline unlike his previous books. The book is fast paced and is obviously written with a potential block buster in mind. The prologue of the book succeeds in making this book unputdownable even in the first few chapters, when the book drags a little.

Chetan did an excellent research for Cricket and it shows in the book. However if he had done half that research on Politics as well, the book would have been a must read. Or maybe dumbing down Politics in the book is not such a bad idea, considering the target audience for the book. But the book scores on the portrayal of small town India and its aspirations. When Govind aspires to own a chain of Sports Goods stores one day, he represents ambition and hope of millions of Indians. Through Ishaan, Chetan has taken a subtle dig at Indians for whom watching cricket is a substitute for patriotism. The characters of Govind and Ishaan has evolved really well. But the same cannot be said about Gopi. Infact none of the remaining characters has shaped well.

After IITs and Call Centers, Chetan has chosen communalism as the backdrop for this book. Such a serious issue demands much more research than done by Chetan. Looks like Chetan had just read some riots stories and made an opinion about the cliched communal psyche of the Gujarati society. However the book succeeds in portraying the entrepreneurial spirit of Gujaratis.

A much better book than One Night At Call Center but Five Point Someone is still Chetan’s best book.

The Polyester Prince

 

The Polyester Prince is not just a biography of Dhirubhai Ambani but also a very good reference book about the functioning of the Indian Polity and Media since independence. Hamish McDonald has done a great job in chronicling the life of Dhirubhai Ambani and the fact that the book is banned in India (as the Ambanis found it defaming and fought a court case to get the book banned) would only make it more authentic in the eyes of many. 

The book starts off with Dhirubhai’s adolescence and his participation in India’s Freedom struggle. Not many are aware that it was during the struggle against the Nawab of Junagadh, who was averse to integrating his state with India, Dhirubhai had his first brush with authority and realised the importance of maintaining good relations with the ruling class. The book then chronicles his journey from Yemen to Mumbai. The major part of the book deals with the legendary rivalry between Dhirubhai and Nusli Wadia for the Polyester market. Of course Dhirubhai with the help of his well wishers in Government and Media not only wins this war but makes Reliance Industries a force to reckon with in India Inc. The author compares their rivalry with the Mahabharata but rightly concurs with Blitz, a Mumbai based tabloid now defunct, that in this Mahabharata it is difficult to tell who is Pandav and who is Kaurav ? The purists may scoff at the means of Dhirubhai but for millions of shareholders and investors who grew along with Reliance, Dhirubhai was on the path of Dharma.

In most parts, the book holds your interest as you read about the murky details of corruption and the unholy nexus between Businessmen, Politicians, Bureaucrats and Media. However, the book gets slightly boring when the author writes in great detail about the technical aspects of  Polyester. Hamish has been able to do justice with most of the facts as he has mentioned in detail how Gurumurthy had the support of Ramnath Goenka of The Indian Express and how Dhirubhai had cultivated friendship in not just almost every other major newspaper but also with senior Govt officials and ministers including RBI Governor, CBI Director and senior Cabinet Ministers like Pranab Mukherjee who were always eager to circumvent or change rules to benefit Dhirubhai!! However Hamish fails to reasonably explain why Gurumurthy, convenor of Swadeshi Jagran Manch and an RSS idealogue crusades against Dhirubhai on behalf of Nusli Wadia. One reason could be the fact that Nusli was ideologically close to Sangh Parivaar. His friendship with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani is well known but what is not well known is the fact that his son Jeh Wadia has even worked as a volunteer for an organisation of Nanaji Deshmukh, an RSS idealougue, for an year in Chitrakoot. The book fails to investigate this aspect of Nusli’s life.

Apart from the legendary tales about Dhirubhai’s business acumen that is common folklore now what makes the book different from normal biographies is the excellent research and narration of behind the scenes activities of Businessmen, Politicians, Bureaucrats and Journalists. Hamish who had worked for The Washington Post, Financial Times and the Far Eastern Economic Review has done a great job in leveraging his experience and contacts to make this book a must read for any one who has interest in India’s business history since Independence.

Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics & Nuclear Deal

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, ruler of Delhi from 1325 to 1351, is known for changing his capital to Daulatabad from Delhi just because he believed that capital should be at the center of the kingdom. He not only moved government offices to Daulatabad, which was at a distance of 700 kms from Delhi, but also forcibly moved the entire population.  But due to inadequate water supply, the plan failed and the capital had to be shifted back again to Delhi.

The crusade of Manmohan Singh Government for the Indo-US Nuclear deal can lead us to a similar situation.  The modern day Tughlaqs need to be contained before it gets too late. Let us have a look at some of the Tughlaqi logic (lies) given to justify the nuclear deal:

 Myth 1 : Nuclear Energy will provide energy security.

Nothing can be farther from truth. Over dependence on nuclear energy will actually lead to energy insecurity. We will have to import Uranium, technology and reactors from countries like US, Russia, France, Australia etc. We will be dependent on other countries for energy despite the fact that we have coal reserves which can last for more than 100 years.

Myth 2 : Nuclear Energy is one of the cheapest options available.

Again, a false propaganda. The report of the Working Group on Power, which was set up by the Govt to make a case in favour of nuclear energy places the cost at Rs 4 crore per megawatt for coal based projects; Rs 3 crore per megawatt for gas based projects; Rs 4.50 crore to Rs 5 crore per megawatt for run-of-the-river hydro projects; Rs 5.50 crore to Rs 6 crore for storage hydro projects. And for nuclear power projects? Rs 6.50 crore per megawatt. Turns out, nuclear energy is the costliest option !!

Myth 3: Nuclear Energy is one of the cleanest source of energy.

Actually, a minor accident can totally clean the surroundings of a nuclear reactor (pun intended). Chernobyl accident is a perfect example. Besides Nuclear Wastes will remain a constant threat to environment. Nuclear Energy is anything but clean. In US alone there have been 51 Nuclear outages in the last 41 years. In future, Nuclear Energy is expected to increase Greenhouse Gas Emissions, as high grade Uranium is getting depleted. Even the current nuclear reactors in India and several other parts of world are vulnerable to deterioration of feeder pipes.

Myth 4: Signing the Nuclear Deal would not affect our Nuclear Sovereignty

If sovereignty means independence in taking our own decision then by signing the deal in its current from, we would be severely compromising with it. Once the deal is signed, we would not be free to do any nuclear test under any circumstances if we want fuel supplies for the nuclear reactor to be unhindered. Despite the fact that there are enough provisions in the 123 agreement and Hyde act which allow US to stop all supplies in the event of a nuclear test by India, the Government wants us to believe that US would not exercise this option for the sake of Indo-US relations!!!

Now this fairy tale would have been believable only if in 1978 US had not stopped fuel supplies to Tarapur Nuclear Reactor despite the fact that India had not violated the 123 agreement signed in 1963 !!! US wanted India to sign NPT and hence they changed their domestic law in 1978 which superseded the agreement signed with India in 1963. The 123 agreement signed in 1963 was better for India than the current 123 agreement but still that could not stop US from halting fuel supplies in 1978. This time if they want to stop fuel supplies, they wouldn’t have to amend any law as there are enough provisions in Hyde Act and 123 agreement to do so but still the Govt feels we need not worry as US will not do something like this with India.

This blind infatuation is reminiscent of Nehru’s policy towards China which was guided more by emotions than realpolitik. Looks like after the debacle of Nehru’s Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai in 1962, its time to sing Hindi Yankee Bhai Bhai !!!

Myth 5: If the deal is not signed in George Bush’s tenure, it would not be signed at all.

Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and John Mc Cain, the front runners in the US Presidential elections have expressed their support to the Nuclear Deal. They have a different opinion on every other issue like Healthcare, Iraq War, Foreign Relations, Outsourcing etc but on the Nuclear deal there is a rare unanimity. There is no reason to believe that a new US President would not support the deal. Any US President would love this deal in which US has nothing to loose and the deal will actually  benefit the nuclear industry in US.

Even the US Senate had passed the deal with a big majority of 85-12 with huge support from both the Republicans and Democrats. There is no reason to believe that this huge support for the deal in the US Parliament is going to change. If at all the deal is facing any serious opposition, it is from the opposition parties in India. Actually, the deal is in serious trouble if it is not passed in the tenure of the current Indian Govt. and there is a change of guard in the central Govt. as the opposition parties have left no doubt that they are against the deal.

Some other facts to ponder with:

• US, which is so keen to help India in attaining energy security through Nuclear energy, has not produced a single nuclear reactor in last 30 years !! Now if Nuclear energy is so good why has the US not increased the production of Nuclear Energy despite rising oil prices and a growing energy crisis ? 
•  Australia, which has 24% of total Uranium reserves of the world, does not have a single Nuclear reactor !! It exports all its uranium to countries producing nuclear energy. Now Australia is not some African country which is being exploited for its Uranium reserves. It is a developed country which will not face the problem of raw material once it decides to make nuclear energy. But still it has no plans yet to do so and recent news suggest it is very keen to sell Uranium to India, once the deal with US goes through and of course we are supposed to be happy and grateful to US and Australia for doing us this favour !!

Why is there a strong approval for the deal in the Indian Middle Class?

Manmohan Singh has compromised on several issues since he has been the Prime Minister of India, for the sake of stability of his Government. It is an open secret that on issues like Reservation, FDI in Retail & Insurance and on many other policies he had to bend under pressure from his allies. The reformist Finance Minister of 1991 has not initiated any new financial reform after he became Prime Minister because of the lack of support from his political master and stiff opposition from his allies. But the only time when we have heard him speaking his mind is on the Nuclear Deal. He once even dared CPI-M to withdraw support on this issue. This I believe is the main reason why there is a general approval for the Nuclear Deal in the Indian Middle Class.

When we see that our PM who has been altering his policies under pressure has taken a firm stand on Nuclear Deal, we feel that the deal should be really very good to India or else why would the PM risk the survival of his Govt? And this is not just the reasoning of common people. Even Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi have accepted that they are not aware of the details of the detail but have full faith in our PM and hence they support the Nuclear Deal. Now it is one thing for common people to believe their leaders blindly but isn’t the fourth estate supposed to be objective ? And this lack of objectivity in the coverage of nuclear deal by the media has given a totally wrong picture to the Indian masses.

We are also told that this deal is very important for Indo-US relations and if the deal fails,  our relations will spoil. Never before in the history of an independent country, a deal was made a cornerstone of bilateral relations. I believe we need to have some confidence in us to believe that we need not be subjugated to such a biased agreement just for “betterment” of ties with a country. It does not really speak well for a rising superpower like India.

Let us not outsource our objectivity to Media and believe something blindly. It is not very difficult to analyze the facts about Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Deal to find the truth. The decission that India takes now will have a huge impact on its Energy Security, Environment, National Security and Sovereignity and any wrong move will not only affect the current generation but our future generations as well.

The Asian Age – R. I. P.

On 2nd March 2008, India witnessed the death of a fearless Newspaper. M J Akbar was unceremoniously ousted by the Newspaper which he had nurtured for about 13 years. MJ had to pay the price for being on the wrong side of the establishment. The Asian Age was one of the rare voices in Indian media which was not really impressed by the propaganda of the Government on the Nuclear Deal with United States. Through his columns in the paper, MJ had exposed several drawbacks in the deal. The Newspaper was also critical of the Government on several other issues.

Instead of responding to questions raised by him, the Government chose an easy way out and ousted him from the newspaper. Vijay Mallya, owner of the paper and a Member of Parliament, was too happy to oblige his political allies. MJ learnt of his sacking, while he was on his way to his office. He was informed by one of his colleagues on SMS that his name was missing from the masthead of the paper. This incident is reminiscent of the dark days of emergency when the Government used to deal with defiant editors in a similar fashion.

But what is so surprising is that this important event went unnoticed in the mainstream media. None of the major newspapers found this incident worth covering.  This points to a deeper malaise in our media. In the 1980’s, I am told the editor of The Times Of India  was considered to be the second most important person in the country after the Prime Minister. The Fourth Estate was the conscience keeper of the society. Editors like Kuldip Nayyar, Arun Shourie, Prem Shankar Jha commanded respect because of their integrity and fearless attitude towards the Government of the day. Today, how many of us know the names of the editors of The Times Of India or Hindustan Times, the top two newspapers of the country ?

It is because editorial content or editors have little contribution towards the circulation of the Newspapers that Editors have become irrelevant. Today, it is the marketing department and not the editorial board which runs the show in most of the Newspapers. It is a fact that glossy supplements and sensational news determine the circulation of any News paper. How many of us really care about the unbiasness of any News paper? All we care about is the entertainment value, the newspaper has to offer. We are happy to read about the details of Sanjay-Manyata marriage or some new antic of Rakhi Sawant. The owners of these newspapers are aware of this and are too happy to play to the gallery. Why spend time and money researching on an important issue like the growing agrarian crisis in the country when readers are content to read about the latest development in Kareena Kapoor’s  love life ?

A free and responsible media is the watch dog of the society. MJ Akbar’s exit is a wake up call for all those who believe that we deserve a free and better News Media.

 

Reference Articles:

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main38.asp?filename=hub150308goodbye.asp

http://www.dawn.com/2008/03/15/op.htm

http://www.realpolitik.in/2008/March%2008/Seema%20Mustafa.htm

Veggies Only Please…

Mumbai is a cosmopolitian city. People of different regions, race, religion live here and this is what truly makes it the melting pot of India. However since the last few years, formation of vegetarian housing societies has increased. These Housing Societies are exclusively for vegetarians and meat eaters are strictly not allowed.

The Veggies claim that they are sensitive to the mere sight of meat and bones. And it is not just the sight but also the smell which is unbearable for them and this has forced them to exclude meat eaters.

The meat eaters are obiviously not amused and want an end to this system of Veggie Housing Societies as this reduces the number of options to them when they go house hunting.

The veggies claim that since they have the constitutional right to do so, there is nothing wrong with such exclusive housing societies.

I believe that Veggies have a valid point. If they are so sensitive towards animals then they do have a right to live with like minded people and avoid the sight and smell of meat.

 What do you think ?

Reference Articles :

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1127432

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/may/26/india.foodanddrink

If God was a Banker

I usually buy a book only if some friend recommends it or if it had good reviews. This may not sound a very good way to select books but given the fact that I don’t get much time to read, I wish to spend my time on good books. So the above mentioned criteria has by and large worked for me.However, the book, If God was a Banker was not recommended by any friend and nor do I remember reading any review for this book. I picked this book because it had “Banker” in its tittle and the synopsis at the back of the book was promising enough to force me to buy it.

The author Ravi Subramanian, is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and works in a retail banking unit of a foreign bank. This book promised to be an insider’s account of an International Bank through the journey of two IIM graduates at the top.However, the book failed to impress much. There are a lot of good points though. Ethical Swami beats unethical Sundeep in the long run just as it happens in a Hindi Movie. The narration is also not bad and the author has obiviously used his experience in the banking industry to give a realistic picture of behind the scene scenarios of important decisions and appointments. However a person not from the banking industry, could end up assuming that sleeping with the boss is the only way by which women get promotion, after reading this book.  Also, the way by which their love lives have been dealt is not very convincing. The author obiviously wanted to settle them as early as possible so that he can focus on the ethics battle between the two, which is the central theme of this book. The book is obiviously one of the best work in its genre. It is much better than Chetan Bhagat’s One Night at the Call Centre and Abhijit Bhaduri’s Mediocre But Arrogant.  The book, obviously written for an Indian audience, would have been much better if the sex scenes were less descriptive. Chetan Bhagat dealt with them in a better way in his books.

 To conclude, this book can be read if you have nothing else to read. For those, who liked ON@CC , you will definitely love this book. And the wait for an Indian Monkey Business just got longer.

Custodian of Culture?

Raj Thackeray, as we all know is upset about the current situation of Marathi language in Maharashtra. He wants all the people living in Mumbai to speak in Marathi. Nothing much wrong with this attitude. But before preaching others, I think Raj should himself speak in a decent version of Marathi. This video that I came across on Youtube tells a lot about his not so very good oration in his mother tongue. For those who do not understand Marathi, this is what he said in that video :  I am ignoring the incidents of past but from now onwards I will break the hands and feet of anyone who touches my party workers and that because I am “being calm” doesn’t mean that I am son of an a***hole.

     Again, I would say that if Raj is seriously worried about Marathi language, he should start speaking in a decent version of that language which I believe should not be difficult for him.

Is Tata’s Model T, a recipe for disaster?

Tata’s One lakh car, Nano was launched today. This is supposed to be Model T of India and fulfill the aspirations of the masses to own a car just as Ford’s Model T did in the US in 1908. But this is 2008 and this yet to hit the roads car is already giving nightmares to motorists in  metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore. Today when oil prices are rising daily, a one lakh car is the last thing that we need. According to some estimates, we will have to shell out Rs 164 crore  annually to subsidise the fuel bills of this car. This is a subsidy that we  can definitely do without. The environmental costs have not been factored yet but there is no doubt that it is going to increase pollution in a big way.    

 This car may end up doing more harm than good but then it also has the potential to challenge us to think out of the box and find a solution to many of our problems. I have a feeling that this car will trigger a lot of debate about various problems that we are facing and could give way to many solutions. More on that in my next post.