दृष्टिकोण – Indra's Viewpoint

The situation in Bihar is deteriorating fast. It is worse than that in J&K and N-E states. In J&K and N-E states, at least it’s public knowledge that there are terrorists there and armed forces have accordingly been deployed. Bihar, on the other hand, is enjoying the patronage of the present UPA government as the party that rules is part of it. How can we forget the cold brutal murder of Dr. Agrawal, and the kidnapping of Dr. Nagendra merely for extorting money? And now the news of the kidnapping of NHPC engineers working on road projects only adds to the climate of utter lawlessness. The police has failed to find the culprits. Two political stalwarts are fighting like street dogs with each other while serving the same ministry at the centre. Some are shedding crocodile tears. The state government is announcing huge award to anyone who can provide clues leading to the arrest of the culprits. The central PSU unnecessarily undertook this project knowing fully well that this was not their area of expertise, perhaps because the chairman, who hails from Bihar, wanted to help out his home state. Now it has come forward with additional reward for finding and getting back his employees safe. The Central government is keeping quiet, as it does not want to annoy Laloo Yadav. Meanwhile, the kidnappers continue to have the audacity to call the houses of these kidnapped employees and demand Rs 50 million as ransom money. What disappoints and angers me the most is to see our Central government, which showed so much concern (and rightly so) at the kidnapping of Indian drivers in Iraq, seems unperturbed at these kidnappings inside our own country. Can the officers in Home Ministry imagine the nightmare of the family members of these Engineers?

Now what should be done? NHPC and the employees of Central government must stop working on any and “all” Bihar projects until the Law and Order situation of the state improves. The intellectuals of the country are also sitting quiet. I hate to say this, but there is a part of me which feels that these self-proclaimed intellectuals and pundits seem to take some sort of wierd pleasure in the deteriorating condition of Bihar. Here’s what I think ought to be done:

All Indians should boycott Bihar. No vehicle should feed them their requirements. No work of Bihar government should be entertained by the outsiders. We all know that the rest of India can provide for themselves just fine without inputs from Bihar. Do I like saying this? Do I think I am being too harsh? Yes. Lest you forget, I am a Bihari too and a proud one at that. And it pains me deeply that the State Administration for years have been fleecing the people of the state while the rest of the country continues to turn a blind eye to the problem. Let’s face it: All who can afford are fleeing Bihar. No one wants to settle down in Bihar. And the ruling party is mute watcher of the things. What right does the Bihar government have to be in power? I cannot put it any more succintly:

The state of Bihar is in trouble and needs our help!

Media must wake up and do the thing it does best. Expose the corruption and decay that seems to have permeated through the very fabric of the State. This chaos must end in Bihar. How can any responsible person continue to see this go on and pretend that everything is ok? All the shameless IAS and IPS officers of Bihar must resign or fight it out. The DGP concerned should follow the examples of Gill and Robeiro and get all the bad elements finished in encounters without bothering about their credentials and pedigree, or the relations with political parties. The army should be present in similar number and manner in Bihar as it is being done in other terrorist infested states. And let the message be sent loud and clear to everyone who engages in this lawlessness – Either you abide by law or prepare to be held accountable for your actions. And for God sake, let’s not put local Politics above the humane needs of the people of Bihar.

I still remember the time when the NDA government had putforth a Bill to impose President’s rule in Bihar. At that time I had written personal letters to all the Senior leaders of Congress party including Sonia Gandhi and Man Mohan Singh to support this Bill and save Bihar. But the Congress party chose to oppose the move at that time. As much as I would love to see them take some bold moves in the wake of this spurt of lawlessness in Bihar, I am too old to know that nothing will be done this time either. I guess it’s time for the “good” people of Bihar to stand up for their most fundamental rights – a right to live a dignified and decent life where there are honest State-run institutions for improving education and law and order, to say the least.

I request my readers to push this case more vehemently.

It seems today rural development and prosperity of those living in rural areas has become the concerns of all. Even most of the columnists in pink papers have made it a popular subject for their write-ups. But most of these people are having only academic interest and have bookish knowledge of the rural conditions and difficulties. Most of them might have their roots in the villages, but they and their kids have come far away from the roots and they do not any more enjoy the rural living. If the situations force them to live in villages, perhaps they can no longer survive in that atmosphere and will run away. Look at the representatives of the rural mass coming to the legislatures. Today hardly they spend any night living in their villages. Either they are afraid of their life or they can’t live in that condition without electricity and all other fixtures, gadgets and facilities. How can a minister live in his ordinary village house when he spends a million or more on refurbishing of the bungalow allotted to him?

But then what can be done to improve the conditions of those living in villages? How can they be made to improve their earnings? I have been writing about it in my blog. I have also been suggesting some of the things to my uncle who still lives there with his youngest son and his wife to look after the agriculture. He was Mukhia for many years and has done a lot for the village. Unfortunately, he lost last election, as he couldn’t understand the undercurrent of opposition of his own people. To boost his morale, I keep on suggesting some or the other project. I do also ensure the financial support, but he does not show any interest. I wish I can find some one who can work on my suggestions.

I feel, the spread of the concept of outsourcing can only help the village economy. I am sure the villages will be connected by good roads and will have power in every household in next five years. The younger generations will take up some jobs that can be easily executed from the villages. After I came to know about the outsourcing story of Sasaram (see through archives my entry on October 20,2004), I am much more convinced that the outsourcing can be moved even to our villages if some entrepreneurs take initiative. The villages can provide the cheapest solutions for the business of call centres.

Another area of outsourcing is the apparel manufacturing and knitting based clothes-cardigans and sweaters. To start with, it may be for the domestic market but very soon the quality of produce can be improved for all markets, even exports. Can you think of some young men opening telephone booths, and internet café? Can you think of smaller food processing units, say an Atta Chaki that supplies a quality coarse healthy atta from a crop that used only organic manure to the health conscious urban elites? Can you think of commercial tree plantations and supply of standardized parts of fixtures and furniture for the building industry? Can you think of or promote an apparel making unit for the unemployed boys and girls or women? Can we imagine a cyber café financed by the business malls in the nearby city to expand its home delivery of customers’ orders right up to the village household? Can you think of a public school outsourcing its primary education through qualified housewives of a village, who prepare the rural kids to their standard at affordable fees? Business malls can also serve as buyers of the produce from the farmers. The malls are to decide what they want to buy from the farmers with what level of value additions.

I also think of outsourcing of different types that will improve the conditions of the villages. Today, in metro and towns, we find people conscious about their health attending gyms, yoga, naturopathy, meditation camps and religious discourses. Morning walking is getting more and more popular. Women are joining some or other groups from kitty parties to kirtans. For the older people there are many missionary institutions organizing religious discourses and functions. Unfortunately, the life style is changing fast in villages. They are blindly following their urban counterparts. But there is total lack of health consciousness. The old practices of morning exercises and wrestling in Akharas have disappeared. Even the evenings of group singing of Ramayana or folk songs or staging of Ramlilas are missing from the villagers activities. Rural values and cultural strength and uniqueness are getting badly polluted. Why can’t some institutions such as Chinmaya mission and gurus like RaviShankar and Ramdeo cover the villages in their activities? Certainly, financial gains for their institutions will not be the same as in the towns and cities. But after all they pretend to serve the mass. And by going to the villages they can do it better. The religious and cultural institutions must give preference for the rural areas. All these institutions must have at least one sanchalak in every village that can take care of the healthcare through yoga, exercises, or naturopathy. The same person may organize different cultural functions and festivals, periodic discourses on religious topics from Geeta or Ramayan.

The quality of life in village must be restored to a respectable level. The panchayats require exposures as well as empowerment. By doling out subsidies for food and fertilizers or fuels, we can bring in sustainable prosperity for all.

I found a letter credited in my name in Financial Express letter to the Editor column. http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=74610:
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Outsourcing manufacturing

The new concept of outsourcing and concentrating on business of core competence has to be extended by the bigger manufacturing companies of India including PSUs. Companies like Bhel and HMT must outsource as much as possible and create a manufacturing culture in the country as has been done by automobile companies. Big companies can also outsource the engineering and design of the products and production toolings, prototypes manufacturing, accessories manufacturing.
India has certain basic advantages in manufacturing such as raw materials and the required technical skill. With focus on the basics of manufacturing, many of Indian manufacturing companies are showing the way to becoming globally competitive in high end manufacturing. Let the thrust continue.
– Indra Roy Sharma

I wrote my entry “Manufacturing Sector- a road map” on November 10, 2004 in this blog. I had also emphasized on the outsourcing by the huge numbers of defense and railways manufacturing units that are managed or mismanaged by the government and ministries. A large scale outsourcing there will boost the manufacturing sector to a great extent by creating or strengthening a large number of manufacturing enterprises in the country and bring in better utilization of the constrained resources of the government too. I only wish this aspect is appreciated and some effective action is taken if the manufacturing sector is to be encouraged to come up in big way.

Diwali has just gone. We got in for Chhat Parva that is a Vedic puja where the milk is offered to Sun God after almost four days of fast. And that has also gone. Let us have some lessons from some of the symbols that we use.

Does a candle lose anything by lighting other candles? Apparently, it does. It is no longer the only torch in the neighbourhood. It seems to have lost its exclusivity. But this loss is temporary. Moreover this loss is minuscule in comparison to the gain that follows for this candle, by its being a part of a well-lit neighbourhood. Its solitude is now replaced by the camaraderie of torches around it. Its environs are now brightly illuminated. The loneliness is gone and it is light al over. And this candle has the satisfaction of having made all this possible. And the sun provides the example in infinitely bigger way. Perhaps that is the reason than Vedic seers gave so much of importance to it.

Neale Donald Walsch, in Conversations with God, says: “A true master is not the one with the most students, but one who creates the most masters. A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders. A true king is not the one with the most subjects, but the one who leads the most to royalty.” In fact you can’t receive without giving. Omanshu Sharma, a naturopath, tells me that you cannot inhale deeply unless you exhale strongly. This isn’t just a logic that applies to the process of respiration. It is almost a cosmic cyclical law which governs all our transactions. Wealth creators all over the world know that money grows with circulation. This law governs not only the field of wealth but also that of ideas. This thought finds its echo in Gurjief’s words when he says: “Whatever I shared is still mine, the rest I have lost.”

The only rider here is that one can’t share unless one has. And to have one needs to accumulate. So your accumulation and sharing should form a cycle. Accumulate-share-accumulate-share and so on.

I have heard a story about a corn farmer in Canada, who won all the quality awards, year after year. Researchers who went to study his methods and to check out what differentiated him from the other contestants were amazed by their findings. They found that he shared all his best practices with his neighbouring farmers. When asked, why did he do so? He answered, “Because corn is a cross-pollination product. So it is important that the pollen grain coming to me from the neighbouring farms should be of good quality. It is for this reason that I share all my secrets with my neighbours. See how much I benefit.

So let us SHARE.

Sumant Sinha- President, Finance, Aditya Birla Group recently participated in a panel discussion on ‘India vs China: is the tiger on the dragon’s tail?’ The topic intrigued him. He gives the reasons and writes to give his opinion:

The topic intrigued me for the following reasons. Is India really on the move? Does the same question occupy policymakers, or the public at large, in China as much as it is beginning to in India? And which is a better model in the long-term? While making forecasts to answer particularly the last question is hazardous business, I shall nevertheless risk my reputation and give it a shot.

We Indians should really stick to the tiger analogy as the perceptual connotations are more favourable. Moving on to the second question of whether India is on the move, I think the answer to that question has to be an unequivocal ‘Yes.’ India has averaged growth of over 6% for the last two decades and the future looks bright. Anything less than 6% is simply unacceptable and any government that does not target and deliver at least 8% should voluntarily step down. Reforms have taken root across the political spectrum and the consensus behind the whole process is quite strong. The momentum is on India’s side now.

Other evidence is available in the way the world is waking up to India’s potential. Ten years ago, India figured in the western press only in terms of what I would call “disaster” reporting-earthquakes, riots, gas leaks, etc. However, a remarkable change has occurred over the last three to four years. Given its market potential and increasing role in services exports, India has increasingly begun to be mentioned along with China as two potential economic powerhouses. Now it is everywhere “China and India” where earlier it was only China.

Is this newly-acquired confidence and the new-found global interest in India beginning to perturb the mandarins in China? From all accounts, as yet the answer is ‘No.’ The reality is that China is miles ahead of India and we are only now showing up as a speck on the competition horizon. Unless we sustain this momentum and even increase it substantially, we will not worry the Chinese unduly. The Chinese are also a somewhat arrogant people – they will never formally acknowledge any worry about India as an economic competitor.

Now, is the Chinese model of top-down growth a more viable one than the more bottom-up Indian model? If you examine the situation, Indian growth is taking place in sectors that the government is either vacating or is somehow able to create a conducive regulatory environment in. In India, therefore, growth is taking place almost despite the government, than because of it. In fact, over the last 50 years the government has proven to be an extremely inefficient allocator and user of capital.

In China, on the other hand, it is the government which has been making the major capital allocation decisions. Whether in the long-term Chinese policymakers prove to be more efficient capital allocators and capital users is difficult to say, but the fact is that almost no other country in history has been able to pull this off over the very long-term. It will be surprising if the Chinese can emerge as the sole exception. Already, the first signs of weaknesses are being seen with vast infrastructure development having taken place but the financial sector being stuck with large amounts of non-performing assets. Whether China is able to manage the difficult task of keeping its financial sector in good shape, while at the same time developing a functioning private sector, removing government subsidies, and managing the aspirations of its people is really the question of the decade.

However, the reality is that China has taken such a large lead over India in terms of economic advancement that we are unlikely to overtake it. Having said that, our growth path, though slower, is less risky with less potential for large-scale disruption. In the context of another analogy, maybe in times to come India might end up being the tortoise to China’s hare! (This was used in one of my earlier entry too).

However, I firmly believe that India must learn from China as its many entrepreneurs in auto components industry have learnt some good lessons from Japanese are today reaping the benefits. I only wish that India must come up well in infrastructure sector with all its villages connected through roads, electricity and telecom. It must learn lessons from Chinese at least in building of huge nuclear, hydel and thermal power plants and roads if in no other things. It should also learn lessons if any from the rural sector that can provide employment there. It must learn how to control the population from the Chinese. There is no justification of allowing unabated population growth in below poverty class and providing incentive for that.

Every Indian- here and abroad is concerned about the lack of quality education at primary level. What has gone wrong? Who are to get up and start working for it? Why had the same schools and the teachers with a salary of Rs 15 per month produced brilliant students? Why is it not happening today when the overall income of the households has increased manifolds and the salary of teachers 100 to 500 times? And then the teacher absenteeism in primary school is a dismal story. We all know that. Why should an International body report is required to understand the condition? The 2005 Education For All Global Monitoring Report focuses on the theme of “quality of education”. As per report, in 2003, investigators in a World Bank study who made random visits to 200 primary schools here found no teaching activity in about half of them.

All the rural villages or most of them do have a primary school. A solution can be found to establish school, if it is not there, in every village with a population of 1000. But the critical issue today is about ensuring and improving the integrity of the primary teachers. Today these teachers can’t and should not talk of low salary. A system of motivating them to carry out their duty is necessary. But what is more needed is incorporating of some accountability factors with measurable parameters. Those who fail to give the necessary results through dedicated teaching should be fired. A fear of loss of the cozy job must be a part of the primary education system. Simultaneously, the teachers must not be involved in all the unnecessary tasks such as census or electoral rolls except for the period when the school are on long vacations.

Perhaps it is lack of government jobs that has dissuaded the parents in rural areas from sending their wards to school. This could have been overcome by extensive and even compulsory adult education in night in the same school by the same teachers with extra payment as incentives. Education is necessary for any work even for agriculture.

Unfortunately, the affluent ones in society have gone on building temples and other charitable institutions but shown hardly any interest in building schools and arranging good educations at primary level. I was surprised to know that the number of religious constructions in the country is more than the residential dwellings. As it appears, the primary education must be taken up by small entrepreneurs both as charitable missions as well as investment in future. Let the rich people building temples understand that the educational centres are better temples of knowledge

The country requires some 600,000 local managers or entrepreneurs to upgrade the standard of primary education in rural areas to acceptable high standard. The user-parents must shake off their indifference and show interest in educating their children and those who themselves are illiterate must be made to join the same school in night and upgrade themselves to educated group. Simultaneously, the industrial houses or associations such as CII must also come forward in big way to help the government to improve the standard of education in government primary schools. Ultimately, it will benefit them.

As another thought, the high schools may go out of primary education, outsource that to the primary schools of the area and keep a watch on the quality of teaching. It will help them too, as their prospective students will come from those schools.

Perhaps one way out may be to remove the anomaly regarding the gender distribution in the teaching profession pointed out in the report mentioned above. While female teachers constitute a huge 90% at the pre-primary level, this ratio is only 36% at the primary level. In contrast this ratio is 80 in Western Europe and 54% even in China. At the secondary and tertiary levels as well, female teachers constitute just 34% and 37% respectively of India’s teacher population. We must have more rather if possible hundred percent female teachers up to class VI level. It will certainly improve the quality of education. The qualified and willing daughter-in-laws of the villages may work as better teacher than the outsider male teachers who absent frequently to go back to their villages to look after their family responsibility or farm.

Interestingly the student-teacher ration in India is also pretty high and may be one of the causes of poor quality. India has a student teacher ratio of 40:1. Though there is no standard available for this ratio, the lower is the better. The global average at the primary level is 22:1, while developing countries average 28:1. Here I feel the best ratio for a quality teaching should be 10. I wish more and more of housewives take up this task. The educationist and government must come out some means to remunerate them.

But the whole education system particularly up to class VI requires a change of mindset and must come out of the clutches of political interference. It is unfortunate but true that most of the teachers today in West Bengal and Bihar are ruling party’s active member. I was told in one of my visits to a village in West Bengal that the primary school teacher has employed another boy to substitute his work at a salary of Rs1000 per month, as he has to remain busy in political activities. And it is quite a normal practice in many schools. How can you think of a good education with this short of thing going on?

PS: As I was writing this entry, I came across a news item in Business standard that really was pleasant:

More private players planning to start schools in Andhra: Vijayawada November 18, 2004. Private institutions in the state are going in for the next big thing in education – schools. These institutions, some of which have already opened over 100 schools, are planning to open thousands of schools all over the state in the next 10 years.

• I see a third lane being added to a road, a tree plantation coming up on sides of the roads or a well-planned dividing zone getting built on a road.
• I see a consistent increase in vehicular traffic – trailers with loaded containers, tankers, buses, and cars of all new models on the nearby road. It gives me hope and confidencein the growth of Indian economy in general, and the local economy in particular.
• I see a house, a hospital or a multi-storied housing or entertainment complex coming up somewhere, which will fulfill the dreams and aspirations of many common people.
• I see a large number of vendors in the nearby weekly bazaar, who have come from distant villages and may very well become successful entrepreneurs or business men some day.
• I read a news item – Sardar Sarovar Nigam invests Rs.170 crores for creating tourist facilities. Why can’t other similar projects come up with such a plan?
• I hear Big B adopting two draught affected villages and providing all necessary services to overcome the crisis.
• I attend a function of Child and Vidya – an NGO run by some young educated housewives that provide education to under-privileged children in best public schools with honour.
• I come to know of Mr. Dubey who selflessly sacrificed himself for a cause that he truly believed in. We need many more of his type for this nation to truly realize it’s potential
• I find someone treating the boy at home to help his wife as his own and arrange for educating him by keeping a tutor.
• Ramayan tells me that his son got admission in an engineering college. Ramayan is an employee in an engineering company where I had served and makes less than Rs.5000 or so per month. What amazes me most is that it was his son who arranged the money (around Rs. 3,00,000.00) as an Educational loan from a bank.

Anyway, as somwhat of an optimist, I keep on looking for ways and means to smile and feel good about things. If every single indidual of the billion or so that inhabit this great nation decided to contribute 10% more than they normally do (or would do), the whole scenario will become different and may even bring the dream of India shining nearer.

Our respected political leaders or Members of Parliament (MP) are already busy creating more reasons for us to feel bad or at least let down. This is not the time for us to get bogged down. Let’s not forget that our nation is bigger than any individual (or set of individuals) and let us refocus and rededicate ourselves in working towards the greater good of the country as a whole.

One of the priorities for the new government as per Mr. Jagdish Khattar, Managing director, Maruti Udyog Ltd. (MUL) must be “education, particularly in developing technically skilled workforce”. Mr. Khattar must be having the present standard of the students that are graduating out of the technical schools in his mind. I agree with him whole-heartedly. Somehow along the way, we seem to have dropped the ball when it came to imparting good quality technical skills attained and knowledge in our schools.

I can certainly relate this in the fields of Mechanical and Manufacturing engineers. I used to interview fresh graduates quite often during my professional career. Don’t get me wrong. These boys and girls were and are extremely sharp in computer-related skills. But their exposure to fundamentals of the subjects they are presumably majoring in is very limited. Perhaps it’s lack of interaction between the teachers and the industry that employs these students. Many a times, we see instances of course materials being woefully outdated. An increased exposure of the new technology in use in a high-tech industry is essential. Teachers must regularly update and refresh their knowledge to provide the knowledge of technology as well as management techniques used on shop floor. Moreover, the workshop facilities in workshops in some of these colleges are really limited. The way I see it, every manufacturing engineering student must have a practical and hands-on knowledge of at least five types of machine tools.

Here are a few ideas:

• An engineering course – Manufacturing engineering and management must be encouraged. This graduate level course must include design and manufacture of tooling, tool engineering, and quality control techniques as well as inter-personal skills. I tried to propose the course with some of the institutes during my professional life, but with little success.
• We have a large number of technical schools in every state that teaches different trades and offers diplomas in the trades. These students become the first level operatives and the junior supervisors in a manufacturing company such as MUL. As a rule, the students are given some theoretical lessons in trade schools followed by practical training and exposure in a sponsoring company. Unfortunately, none of the curricula as well as training is taken seriously either by the teachers or the sponsoring companies. The onus is completely on the student to learn and earn the skills of the trade. I propose that some of these trade schools, if not all, be attached to better staffed and equipped engineering colleges of the state such as IITs, Regional engineering colleges or other similar institutions. The parent institutes should keep a watch on the quality of education being provided to students. I feel this model might work.
• Along similar lines, various states have State funded tool rooms – some Indo-German, Indo- Danish, and Indo-Swiss. These tool rooms train students in tool making and tool design. The engineering college can go in collaborations with these tool rooms and use its workshops that are pretty-well equipped. While the tool rooms will be provide better practical working skills to the graduates, the teachers of these engineering colleges can give better theoretical knowledge of the subjects. A lot of duplication of investment in machine tools and equipment can also be eliminated.

  Some of these tool rooms are already manufacturing for industry. These tool rooms can easily become the nuclei for setting up a larger tool room and die making companies for catering to different industries. If necessary, these tool rooms should even be privatized. I think it’s inline with my desire of making India a manufacturing hub of world-class tooling manufacturers.

• By tooling I mean, all jigs, fixtures and dies for all metal-forming industry. India is way behind in this area. Even countries such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand are having many world class tool-making companies. Thanks to the growing auto industry (more than a million per year of passenger cars), auto-component industry, other white goods and brown goods consumer industry, the business scope will be very high. Potential for export is always there. For an example, for any new model of a car, a company invests about Rs. 600 -1000 crore in new dies and tooling. Because of the nature of the industry, the employment potential is also high. Its profit margins are also high. With flexible machine tools available for manufacturers of the dies and tooling items, the investment will be justifiable. Like almost everything else around us, Tool manufacturing today is highly computer-based with CAD and CAM applications and India’s IT superiority will put us in good stead.

I dream of at least 10 more IITs and IIMs for a country of the size of India. I also dream that one day our manufacturing sector will grow and become the best in the world in cost, quality and delivery. Our manufacturing engineering sector’s contribution must be at least 100 billion dollars in our export. It’s a tall order, but then, I think it’s worth aiming for.

I propose to continue writing on India’s Manufacturing sector. If you’ve something to add, I would more than happy to listen

Dear Lalooji – the De facto King of Bihar,

Congratulations on your victory in Madhepura. And also for the almost guaranteed win in the upcoming countermanded election of Chhapra in advance, which is now only of academic interest. You are really great with no one to challenge your political ability and foresight in at least in Bihar. But Bihar remains poor. I am sure you must not be very happy about the state of affairs there.

I was watching your reactions to the TV anchor who wanted to have your comments on EC’s decision countermanding the election of Chhapra held on 26.4.2004. You looked terribly irritated and upset. It is not good for you and for your health You still owe certain debt to Bihar. You must pay it back before you move out of Bihar. I am one of the well wishers of Bihar. I do also appreciate greatly, the way you have gone up from nowhere to the throne of Chandra Gupta Maurya and Ashoka. You have become a role model for anyone aspiring to be politician, and a case study for the students of political management for years to come.

Now with Rabriji as chief minister in Bihar and Soniaji as PM of India (probably), you can devote yourself to the cause of Bihar and make a permanent mark for yourself in history. Please have a changed mission and style now, as Ashoka did after the battle of Kalinga. It will be good for you as well as for Bihar. Forget Delhi, concentrate on Bihar. You indeed have great leadership quality that will help you in getting all these plans implemented without any trouble through your people, who almost worship you. Please concentrate for just two years on the growth and development of Bihar. All Biharis outside Bihar feel ashamed after hearing and reading all types of stories about Bihar’s backwardness, its poverty, its flourishing kidnapping industry, day light murders, law and order situations (all because of unemployment), extremely poor condition of roads, and lack of any modern industry or facilities of education and healthcare.

Please allow this humble servant of this great nation and a son of Bihar himself to offer a few suggestions:

• Please base your programmes with local resources. Once you make a beginning there will be many to help.
• Please get a dairy built in every block as a co-operative venture with collection centres at maximum number of villages. In essence, Bring a white revolution in Bihar. With your rural background it is possible to involve the right people. The programme will give extra earning to each and every family. Dr. Kurien of Gujarat fame is still alive. You might want to meet with him and seek his help. Your celebrity status (for good or bad reasons) will attract anyone. He can certainly depute some dedicated manager /technocrat for the project and to get it successfully implemented.
• Please motivate the farmers to switch over to the cultivation of vegetables and maybe even fruits. Arrange transportation and cold-storage facilities, marketing or even export. It will be most suited with gradually reducing land holding in villages. It will bring prosperity to the farmers and keep them engaged for more time in a year. Also go for plantation of commercial trees in every village in a big way.
• Please encourage your men to invest their energy in a big way in animal husbandry – good breed of cows, buffalos, goats and sheep. It is one of the many areas areas which has been neglected for some time now leading to the unfortunate reduction in the population of cattle. Also, encourage the establishment of big hatchery and piggery. Again, it will give employment to the villagers, will sustain the leather industry and provide proteinaceous food to the non-vegetarian population. Encourage the village heads to renovate the existing water tanks in every village. That can serve to store rain water for irrigation and can be farmed out for fishery.
• Please use the funds at your disposal for building good quality roads thereby helping every villages to be interconnected in more ways than has ever been possible. I need not enumerate the many advantages such a development would bring. Suffice it to say that It will bring buyers of village produce to the villages. Entrust the maintenance and responsibility of the condition of these roads to the village heads; otherwise they will be the first to damage them.
• Encourage panchayats to have a weekly bazaar in every 2-3 village clusters that will provide market for under privileged class for their produce.
• Develop local art and artisans such as, Madhubani printing and Bhagalpur silk. There is a tremendous untapped potential here in my opinion.
• Improve the places of tourist importance – Sasaram, Gaya, Bodha Gaya, Vaishali to name a few. It is fairly obvious that if tourism is properly developed and managed, it can provide a lot of employment as well prosperity to the region.
• Encourage entrepreneurs to establish good schools of Management and Technology and other institutes for higher studies in Bihar, as other states have done.
• Get a public toilet built in every village. It is a must today. Establish facilities to manufacture organic manure and encourage its use.

Oh, and a few more things…

• Let the people of Bihar stop identifying them by caste. If Hindutava is breaking the nation, the caste-based politics is poisoning the social fabric of Bihar. Only you can do it and provide the required leadership. Let us work towards changing the mindset of people who live in Bihar so that instead of starting their discussion with a stranger with a question like – ‘Kaun ashrein haein’ (Which caste you belong to?), they start by asking their first name. Let’s follow some youngsters who are dropping their surnames.
• And lastly, please propagate the benefit of smaller family of maximum two, preferably one. Be the first in BIMARU states to do that and achieve a figure of Kerala and Tamilnadu. I know it will be difficult for you. But one of your daughters can take up this task on your behalf.

I can add many things in this list. But you are very intelligent and innovative to come out with many more ideas to solve the problem of unemployment, particularly in villages. Please change the face of Bihar in next two years. Many will rush to assist you in this task, once you initiate with the zeal of the Mahatma to root out the biggest curse of life for any family – poverty.

I sincerely hope that you will see the wisdom in embarking upon some of things that I attempted to lay out in this letter. I wish you the very best and may God be with you.

~ A humble son of Bihar

Indian roads are getting wider and better every day, 4-laned with clear cut dividing zone. Road surface quality has improved thereby making the drive smoother thanks to well done repair and lesser annoying pot holes. Cars with latest technology are in plenty. You can even find teenagers driving cars (perhaps one of the few places where they’re using their knowledge of industrial engineering) with the cell phone stuck to their ears and at speeds beyond your imagination. As the cars are quieter and road smoother, sound level of car coming nearer is very low and is hardly heard.

This brings me to my little story. It is a bright and pleasant morning with almost no vehicles on the road. An old man is on his morning schedule of 5 km. walk. He is returning, so he is tired and perhaps slow. He wants to cross the road to go to the other side. He does this every day. Suddenly, he sees a big car stop within inches behind him with an annoying screeching sound. The driver looks upset. He (or perhaps she) express their feelings using some real foul language. The old man has nothing to protest. The old man was lucky and possibly escaped from what could have been a disaster.

Many things, such as the one mentioned above, happen before our eyes. Who is at fault? How do you avoid such incidents in the future? How do you inculcate patience and a sense of respect for senior citizens in our youngsters? How do you ensure that old people don’t risk their (and other) lives when they go out on such morning walks?

May be there is an engineering solution to this problem as well: Can we not design our roads with clear signs marked for pedestrians where the pedestrian has the right of way? I am sure we can. I sure hope we do.