Globalisation: What it has brought to us and us to?

Globalisation was a term much dreaded by the middle class folks and was introduced by our current PM and then FM Manmohan Singh in the early 1990's.

He is credited with opening up the economy and is regularly lauded by Congressie sycophants. Although it brought about a huge change in the way India was seen as a market by the world, it was more of a compulsion than a choice.

India did not have enough Foreign Exchange to survive for another 15 days and ONGC had famously not bid for a contract in the Far-East since the government could not lend $7000/- as the bidding fees.

Under these circumstances the IMF had put conditions for India to open up before asking for any loans. India got loans and then had to open up.

It brought a change and change is always uncomfortable for humans.

Globalisation has definitely opened up more avenues than our earlier generations had. The feeling is summed up in the statement that 'I am doing what my father would not even had dreamt of'. This is more or less applicable to every successful person in India today.

What our earlier generation did at the age we are today, is quite different from what we are doing and quite possibly, they may not even had dreamt of a lifestyle like ours.

But then we are counting upon a little percentage of been-there-done-that's. There is a heap of talent unsourced. A good 25% of India which is below the age of 25 years and has its own aspirations. Oppurtunities for all of those is very important or we are sitting on a time-bomb of criminalisation of society.

The trickle down effect, that was so widely believed would happen, has just been busted. The wealth from the top just does not seep until the bottom.

It was advocated that the market economy would make rich people gain wealth, which would be distributed locally which would make prosperity reach the rural part of India.

But when we think of this, another event is reminded when Mukesh Ambani led Reliance had made huge profits owing to the high oil price which had driven profits to the petroleum products made by his group.

Mukesh Ambani had visited the PM and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in relation to a constitutionally valid tax that he was supposed to pay. It was called a Windfall Profit Tax which a businessman has to pay in lieu of a humongous profit acquired by his organisation. Ambani had made a request to relax that tax.

What happened to his request, the media did not highlight nor was reported anywhere. But if we are allowing businessmen to pay lesser tax, then what is the use of the whole trickle down theory?

We are breeding terrorists in the form of Naxalites and Maoists. The have-nots in India are far more in percentage than the 'have's'.

No wonder we had 28% people below poverty line in 1991, now we have 38%

Praful Patel takes over as AIFF President

OK, first the news...

Poor Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, the multi-time Congress MP suffered a heart attack and is recuperating in a hospital in Delhi. My thoughts are with his family and I pray for his fast recovery. Praful Patel, ex-vicepresident and the current acting-president has taken over the responsibility of taking 'care' of football in India.

Now the issue to be discussed.

Priyaranjan Dasmunshi presided over All India Football Federation as President since 1988. That is before none of the under-19 footballers were born. Although, I feel bad for his family concerning his health, but what did he achieve in the past two decades on the helm of affairs of AIFF? Did he not feel ashamed in any way in his tenure for sad state of the sport? My take is if he had really loved the sport he would have quit long ago.

A change in guard is always a refreshing breather. But Praful Patel has presided as acting President and was Vice-president since long enough. Praful Patel for the sake of football in India should come out with his 'master plan' to make the popular sport a successful venture in India.

Give a guy a roll of paper and some space and few moments alone. Next thing you would see that
he has rolled the paper into a ball and is kicking it and dodging imaginary players and is smiling about kicking the ball in an imaginary goal post. The sport needs no introduction or need not be popularised. What needs to be popularised is that it is being managed well enough for people to take it as a career option.

Considering the 'good work' that Praful Patel has done with Air India, one can only hope that the breather that Praful Patel brings does not turn out to be a case of bad breath.