RIGHT TO RECALL ?

5 Sep 2011

RIGHT  TO  RECALL  ?

Sure , voters must have right to recall their representative [ MP / MLA / Corporator etc ], if that representative ,

• has utterly failed in performing his duties

• has absented in most of the sessions without valid reason

• is suffering from a debilitating illness

• has engaged in corrupt practices

• has a police case [ of serious charges ] filed against him

• has amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income

• is found to practice nepotism / favoritism

• fails to give a written reply to any complaint or refuses to meet a voter from his constituency

• has engaged in malpractices in order to get elected

• has violated electoral “ Code of Conduct “

I am sure, readers would like to expand this list.

Irrespective of one or more of these wrong-doings, how can we let people suffer in silence for 5 years ?

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

From Childhood to Adulthood ?

It seems, for Indian girl child, there is no such phase of life called “ adolescent “.

For them, it is straight from childhood to adulthood.

That seems to be the logical conclusion of “ The World’s Women and Girls “ – a report released by Washington-based Population Reference Bureau.

According to this report, the %age of women aged 20-24, which got married by age 18, are as follows :

Ø  Sri Lanka  ……………………    12 %

Ø  Pakistan  ……………………..   24 %

>  India  ……………………………   47 %

Ø  Burkina Faso  ……………..    48 %

Ø  Nepal  …………………………..   51 %

( Source : Times of India / 10, May 2011 )

With this background, it is no wonder that nearly 1000 women are dying everyday in India due to maternity related complications.

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

Eastward ho !

Times of India ( 12 May 2011 ), reports that Singapore expects to hire over 300,000 professionals in 2011.

Of these, some 60,000 will be from India.

Jayanthi Y, Chairman of hiring firm AdAstra Consultants says,

“ Singapore today offers a never-before opportunity for Indian talent. Its proximity is an attractive element, while salary is the biggest attraction. Professionals receive 4 to 5 times what they are paid in India.”

With maximum personal income tax at 15 % in Singapore and a mere 3 hour flight, Indian recruiters seem to be saying,

“ Go East, Young Man ! “

With regards

Hemen Parekh

Bad News for Healthcare

Times of India [ 16 M1y 2011 ] provides following statistics of “ Doctor to people “ ratios :

Ø   Germany  ……………………..  1 :  296

Ø   USA  ………………………………. 1 :  350

Ø   UK  ………………………………..  1 :  469

Ø   Global Average ……………..  1 :  666

Ø   India  ……………………………… 1  : 1700

And it seems, Indian situation will get worse with the number of students appearing for All India Pre-Medical Test [ AIPMT ], dropping by almost 50 % over the last 5 years.

Reasons advanced :

Ø   Many more years of college / internship as compared to other professions

Ø   Too much rigorous training

Ø   Medical profession does not allow for making quick money

Ø   Biology involves mugging

Ø   A doctor can start earning a proper living when he is past 30 years of age as against an engineer / MBA earning a decent salary at 23

Ø   Longer working hours and less leisure hours

With regards

Hemen  Parekh

VOTE THEM OUT ?

30 Aug 2011

VOTE  THEM  OUT  ?

Who may India vote out in 2014 Lok Sabha elections ?

Possibly,

·          Manish  Tiwari  ?

·          Digvijay  Singh  ?

·          Laloo  Yadav  ?

·          Kapil Sibal  ?

·          P. Chidambaram  ?

But then who knows, they may not even wish to contest !

If you wish to expand this list, you have 3 years to do so. Then find a way to circulate amongst your friends. They may want to “ nominate “ some of their own favorites !

This is my concept of people giving “ Negative Tickets “, ahead of political parties giving “ Positive Tickets “ !

With malice towards none and goodwill for all,

HEMEN  PAREKH

ANNA’S ACHIEVEMENTS ARTICULATED

30 Aug 2011

ANNA’S  ACHIEVEMENTS  ARTICULATED  [  AAA + ]

This is not a comprehensive list of Anna’s achievements during the past 13 days, but some of these are :

• Revival of the concept of Satyagraha

• “ Fast “ as a potent means of persuasion

• Rejection of the concept of “ Bandh “

• Acceptance of Non–Violence as core principle for “ Change “

• Pursuit of Peace thru peaceful demonstrations

• Absolutely no damage to life or public property

• No forcible downing of shutters to cause public inconvenience

• No bringing life to halt by stopping traffic

• Not stopping production in factories, causing economic loss

• Restored people’s faith in parliamentary democracy

• Reestablished  purity of “ means “ to achieve noble “ ends “

On World Arena, Anna has raised India’s rating to A A A +  !

Long Live Anna

With regards

HEMEN  PAREKH

Anna’s Achievements Articulated [ AAA + ]

This is not a comprehensive list of Anna’s achievements during the past 13 days, but some of these are :
 Revival of the concept of Satyagraha
 “ Fast “ as a potent means of persuasion
 Rejection of the concept of “ Bandh “
 Acceptance of Non–Violence as core principle for “ Change “
 Pursuit of Peace thru peaceful demonstrations
 Absolutely no damage to life or public property
 No forcible downing of shutters to cause public inconvenience
 No bringing life to halt by stopping traffic
 Not stopping production in factories, causing economic loss
 Restored people’s faith in parliamentary democracy
 Reestablished purity of “ means “ to achieve noble “ ends “
On World Arena, Anna has raised India’s rating to A A A + !
Long Live Anna

With regards

Hemen Parekh

A Face – Saving Formula on Aug 26 ?

All political parties have agreed to discuss in Lok Sabha today , 3 issues raised by Anna
Hopefully, at the end of the day, consensus on all these points will get formalized in the form of a resolution
If there is no “ unanimous consensus “, then, I suppose, resolution will be passed by majority vote and forwarded to the Standing Committee along with full record of the proceedings.
Standing Committee will incorporate these 3 points in the draft Lokpal Bill and send it back to the Lok Sabha
Then Lok Sabha will debate entire Draft Bill, all over again
If some members introduce “ amendments “ at that stage, same would need to be debated – and voted upon !
Bill itself would need to be voted upon
A tortuous process no doubt
But if all this “ duplication “ serves as a face – saving formula for the Govt, it is certainly welcome. Must save Anna’s life.
As long as there is no “ duplicity “ !
With regards
hemen parekh

Drink this poison [ on 10th Day of fast ]

When Gandhiji was leaving for London to attend the last-ditch “ Round-Table Conference “ to demand India’s independence from Britain, poet Meghani wrote to Mahatmaji :
“ Even as you know the futility of your mission
O Bapu
Drink this last cup of hemlock ( poison ).
You , who have drank oceans of poison served by the British,
Do not throw away this spoonful “
( free translation from original Gujarati poem )
Poor people of India are telling Anna Hazare , on the 10th day of his fast :
Even if your talks fail
Even if your mission seems doomed
Do not shrink
Do not despair.
To save millions dying from hunger,
Like Neelkantha of old
Drink the poison that the Government
Will, no doubt , serve to you.
[ Adding, what Gurudev Tagore sang:]
Even if no one hears your call
Even if no one joins your march thru the dark night
Keep going alone.

With regards
Hemen Parekh

The Art of Making Babies

In Mint [ April 02,2011 ], Priya Ramani talks about two documentary films, viz;

Ø   Google  Baby

Ø   Made in India

Both dwell on surrogacy and ART [ Assisted Reproductive Technology ]

Here are some observations :

Ø   In USA, it costs nearly Rs.45 lakhs ( 4,500,000 ) to get a baby thru surrogacy ( $ 100,000 )

Ø   In Anand ( Gujarat – India ), a surrogate mother gets paid, Rs.350.000 per pregnancy ( $ 8,000 )

Ø   Indian doctors in the forefront of this trend are

·        Dr. Nayna Patel  ( Anand – Gujarat )

·        Dr. Hrikesh Pai   (  Mumbai  )

·        Dr. Shivani Sachdev Gour  ( Delhi  )

Ø   Surrogate mothers use the money to buy a house, to educate their children etc.

Ø   In India, the laws that govern adoption are much stricter than the rules for surrogacy

Ø   Surrogacy is now a $ 450 million business in India, as per some experts

In number of babies born, India already tops all the countries of the world, with 51 babies born every minute ( - the time it took you to read this ! )

With only 3 babies born per minute in Russia, president Medvedev wants to introduce incentives to boost the population.

This is his opportunity to increase bilateral trade with India !

With regards

hemen  parekh