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10/04/09

of Amreekaa and of Indiaaa

I was reading some online news about protests in the US against steel made in India and advocating using "only" those things which are American.

I could not help but laugh at the thought of this... if overnight something of this sort happens, then most people in the US would run around "almost" naked, with "almost" no software to use, with "almost" no customer care, with "almost" no electronics and huge reduction in the number of vehicles... oh but where would they get the fuel to run the vehicles? well.. sorry about that !!! Add vehicles that do not have any gas to run...

While I agree to the thought that a nation's and its people's interest should be kept in mind when you are outsourcing or buying, I feel the "barter" system is something that we have lived with for ages... someone somewhere has a different skill and someone here has a different one.. both utilize it for a mutual benefit !!!

I have also been thinking that people who went on spending money like crazy, when they did not have any to pay up their credit card bills, must be the people who have played an important role in companies going bankrupt by purchasing dieing financial firms and dead assets... (Correct me someone if I am wrong here) and who gets thrown out first? The people who come from outside and save like crazy (another extreme, and I fail to understand why suddenly most desi's talk about how much they are able to save when they are in US; sorry digressing from the topic)

umm.. but that was it, I guess about the "America use only American" point of view...

Our second point on today's discussion is the Lok Sabha Elections... I am hoping and wishing and sincerely hoping and wishing that the people who had stood up for a cause after the Bombay Incident make a difference in these Lok Sabha Elections !!! AMEN to that ! this is a wonderful opportunity to bring the change a lot of us started to talk about !

I hope we elect people who

- can make a difference in the country like Shiela Dikshit made to Delhi in the last few years (I personally feel that Delhi has changed from what it was 10 years ago, for both good and bad, but mostly good)

- can make a difference in the country like Lalu did to Indian Railways (I can see and feel the difference in IR which has happened in recent past, mostly because of improved audit mechanisms and accountability and privatization playing and important role)

- can lead the nation and bring it on top like Mayawati did to her party in the last assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh (The BSP won the elections single handedly in UP, with Mayawati leading the pack and playing her cards very carefully. While she has always and continues to advocate the lower casts fiercely, she made sure that her candidates were a right mix from all communities)

- focus on what is the USP of the country like governments did in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttaranchal (These three states I feel have understood that tourism is the key for them when it comes to revenue and the efforts to promote tourism are more than obvious... The lovely roads in these states, the availability of information, and a slight change in the attitude is something that you can notice if you have been visiting for a while)

I feel we have to move ahead of the manifestos that focus more on luring people to vote for a party instead of value they add to the country, move ahead of religion and see the country as one unit, focus on sustainability and .................... sorry... enough of this...

Oh and I just recalled... there were two major campaigns the Lead India and Teach India... can someone help me know what happened to them... I am not aware of the current status... I know a few friends did register in the Teach India campaign but not sure what happened from there...

10 comments:

  1. Oye hoye, kinaa sochta hai tu puttar!
    Abhi, abhi to paeda hua aur desh ke baare main sonchne laga...:D Humare desh ko bhawish ujjwal hai :)

    But puttarji, aaj lo 'thandi goli' yaani 'chill pill' kyonki aaj to aap ka BAHUT VADIYA WALA, VADDA WALA AUR ED DUM MAST WALA HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAI!

    Yeh lo...aap ke liye yeh song hai ji. Enjoy karo..dance karo...aur welcome to 30's club ji:P

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEc8rGonrQw

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  2. hey hey hey, did i read something in rhapsody's comment???

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY,om bhai:))many many happy returns of the day....hope u keep on working in this "chai ki dukaan" and spreading smiles.....
    now i,no longer, will make the mistake of calling a '30+' a "boy" hehehe....

    enjoy the day!!!!!

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  3. Yeah, that's what I also thought about the whole "buy american" idea. Kuch buy karne hoga tab na buy karenge. Saara kuch to china se aata hai.

    I am VERY disappointed that NOTHING came out of the post 26/11 furore. As expected sab thanda ho gaya aur ram sene ka naya babaal khada ho gaya. Hope to hum bhi kar rahe hain, but i think its all in vain :(

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  4. Happy budday vada waala first of all!!

    yeah and as far as that Teach India Campign is concerned..uska pata nahin kya hua..ek meeting hui thi,where everyone was told that they would be allotted schools and stuff, but pata nahin uske baad koi correspondence nahin hua..may be they got all their seats filled,or something..

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  5. You've heard of protests from people against things that are not American, I've been hearing of political as well as the businesses' sentiment in America being that way for quite a while now. Thoda bahut change hoga but like you said... US depends a lot on other countries of the world now.

    Yes, your crazy people were at the core of the recession because the sub-prime crisis which initiated all this was due to policies where those people were made customers who anyway did not have the money/purchasing power.

    I'm hoping to see something productive out of the Lok Sabha elections too, but the way right now every party wants a PM out of its camp, I don't know what the near future will be like. I just know I will vote.
    Slight disagreement with you on one thing. About Mayawati. Without a doubt she's super-intelligent, but I quite hate her existence in politics today. She's got votes from people who need some upliftment, I am still to see what she is doing for them.

    And about Teach India - all I know is that it won an advertising award last week at the Goafest. Haven't heard much else about it.

    And of course, happy birthday!! :)

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  6. Never heard of Lead India or Teach India. I just know that my mom and your mom teach indians.

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  7. Nice post Om bhai.. lots of points to ponder upon ..

    Happy Birthday :)

    The more I do not hear about Lead India / Teach India campaigns .. the more I feel that its individuals and their initiatives who make a difference... like ur 30on30.

    God Bless and Warm Wishes for happier days ahead!

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  8. happy belated bday bhai.......
    hope it was fun :)

    was travelling thats why belated :(

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  9. @ Swati...
    birthday se sochne ka kya lena dena :P

    thank you so much :)

    @ Wishes Galore
    :) thank you so much... yea, no more boy talk I guess :P

    @ Kashmira
    you bet...

    I had a feeling that it was the intial outburst and not a sustainable thought process that started out of that incident, however I am hoping some are still taking it the way it started...

    @ Vaishali
    thank you hai ji..

    I think it just fell flat on its face...

    @ Richa
    I was not questioning what she has done for the strata of the society she piggy backs on, I was just trying to make a point that she won the UP elections without an external support and on her own !!! that's some achievement !

    rest I can question :)

    Advertising award? for what?

    and thanks :)

    @ Sharanya
    thanks

    @ FighterJet
    I was thinking on those lines too, what if tomorrow Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, India decide to STOP exporting anything to US... I wonder what will happen to this place...

    @ Abhi
    thanks ok bro :) they were Times of India Campaigns :)

    yea our parents do teach indians :)

    @ Kshitiz
    yea bro...

    it sure is the individuals who make a difference... I am glad you feel that 30on30 will.. I am sure it will, in its own small way, but will...

    @ Deepu
    thanks bro... it sure was fun !

    no worries about not being able to wish, I am not really hung up on remembering birthdays :) Can't remember them myself you see :P

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