Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Friday 7 February 2014

Well Said , Yogendra !



Last evening , on ABP News , Yogendra Yadav said :



*  In the past , we ( AAP ) have made a few mistakes

*  In coming months / years , we may make some more mistakes

*  We are not ashamed to admit our mistakes

*  We are learning from our own mistakes - and from mistakes of others

*  We are not a monolithic party where everyone must speak with one voice

*  We come from diverse , social / political / economic background

*  We continue to differ in our views from one another

*  We believe such different views are essential to party democracy

*  We cannot influence one another without airing our differing views

*  We don't have answers to all the problems of Delhi- let alone of Country  !

*  We are in the process of framing our polices on National matters

*  Even when released , these policies will not be rigid but open to changes

*  It is unfortunate that in India , people have stopped asking questions

*  We need to create a strong culture of asking uncomfortable questions

*  There is nothing inconsistent between " Protesting" and " Governing "

*  Drama is an essential part of politics - Remember Gandhiji's fasts ?

*  Unjust laws must be politely broken -  ala , Salt Satyagraha of Dandi

*  Our struggle is not about changing rulers - it is about changing system

*  People vote for a candidate , not knowing whether he will win / lose

*  People vote for a party - whether it will rule or sit in opposition

*  People don't change their views / attitudes at once. Give them time

*  You cannot change a system by criticizing from outside

*  To influence others , you must become an " Insider "

*  Anna continues to inspire us , even when he criticizes us

*  People are the ultimate judge of whether we are right or wrong

*  Time has come to work for the  " Common Good "

*  Our critics should also ask BJP, how many promises they fulfilled


Yogendra said many more things ,

Many wise things ,

Very politely ,

Convincingly,

Disarmingly ,

Refreshingly,

Congrats !

Yogendra

ABP




*  hemen  parekh  ( 08 Feb 2014 / Mumbai )   

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Eternal Truisms ?

Parkinson's  Law ( 50 years ago ) :

"  Work expands to fill the time available for doing it  "


Peter's  Principle  ( 25 years ago  )  :

"  If something can go wrong , rest assured , it WILL go wrong "


My  Belief  (  Feb 2014  ) :

"  Even the most trivial matter can be turned into an emergency ,
  by postponing decision / action , long enough  "


Proof :

#  1

UPA-2 trying to pass 46 bills in Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha in the
next 7 days

#  2


Telengana  ?

Moral  of  the  Story  :

A fast and honest decision is any day better , even if proved to be less than perfect , at some later day

You can always make a " Course Correction " later , based on the lessons learned , but there is no way you can regain the time lost through indefinite postponement

Postponements , by themselves  , don't lead to better decisions !





*  hemen  parekh  (  06  Feb 2014  /  Mumbai  )

Friday 31 January 2014

Maya - Mamta - Mulayam



Apart from the fact that their names start with the same alphabet , what else is common between them  ?


They , all belong to Arvind Kejriwal's list of Be-Iman ( the Dishonest )


But the list is long


Also includes , Gandhi and Gadkari  !


The list cuts across party-lines , to include Be-Iman leaders from ,


>  Congress

>  BJP

>  National Conference

>  Nationalist Congress Party

>  Trinmool Congress

>  DMK

>  BSP

>  SP................etc


Members of AAP are invited to submit the names of their favorite Be-Imans !


Arvind wants the voters to defeat these Be-Imans in the forthcoming National Elections and vote for AAP candidates in their places


Gadkari has asked Arvind to apologize within 3 days or face a defamation suit


My take :


>  Arvind will not apologize

>  Gadkari will not file a suit

>  None of the others in the list will file defamation / libel suits



Reason  ?



>  If they do , AAP legal team will get to cross-examine these leaders


>  Many a skeletons will come tumbling out of dark closets  ! What horror !


>  With court-cases going on , these " tainted " leaders will get pre-occupied
     with the litigation for years , leaving little time for campaigning


>  They will find it very difficult to face voters in rallies


>  TV Anchors will invite them every evening for questioning- Media Trial !


>  Morning newspapers will carry " Screaming " headlines on court
     observations - " Objection Over-ruled "  !


>  Election officers may even reject their nomination papers  !


>  Unwittingly , they will confirm AAP as , " CHAMPION  OF  THE
    UNDERDOGS  "




Although , there is some undisputable proof against the CRIMINAL leaders , in the form of FIRs / court-cases / convictions / appeals etc , Arvind has very little SOLID PROOF re the corruption of the others named in his list


Then how can he get away with such base-less allegations ? Especially those in the list , who are " Clean / Honest " ?


It is a question of :


" Whenever there is a fire , along with the dry grass , some green grass too burns "


The entire political system has got so corrupt and criminalized that no leader is perceived to be clean / honest  !


People are so  ANGRY  that they want to dump the present lot of leaders and find some honest leaders - no matter , how inexperienced  !


In fact , in the forthcoming elections , a " PAST EXPERIENCE " ( as an MP ) , will be a BIG LIABILITY  !


By itself , that will be a proof that you have been part of a corrupt system !


That is Arvind's TRUMP CARD  !



*   hemen  parekh  (  01  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai  )
 


Thursday 30 January 2014

Crimes of Commissions - and Omissions



Our politicians are obsessed with  following " CRIMES OF COMMISSIONS  " :


>   1984  Delhi  Genocide


>   2002  Godhra riots


>   2013  Muzzafarnagar riots


>   Sundry terrorist attacks


>   Killings by Naxalites / Maoists


>   Police encounters ( genuine or otherwise )


>   Political murders


>   Crimes committed by celebrities ( Sports / Films / Media  etc  )



Politicians are vying with each other to fix blame on opposition / ruling parties .  TV anchors are facilitating the acrimonious mud-slinging  !


They are demanding apologies from those who were in power when these crimes happened ( or from those whose parties were in power at that time )


They want the culprits / criminals responsible for these crimes , to be tried and punished by the courts expeditiously


They want the riot victims to get justice - of course , no axe to grind  !


Why this sudden hue and cry about what happened long time back  ?


Why this obsession with the past  ?


Why this sharp focus on the " ACTS  OF  COMMISSION "  ?


Why is no one talking about the present  ?


About the " ACTS  OF  OMISSIONS "  ?


Who is responsible for following deaths , EVERY YEAR , year - after - year  ? 



>   Malaria.............................. 10,98,000


>   Cancer...............................   7,32,000


>   HIV..................................     6,83,200


>   Suicide .............................    4,88,000


>   Road Accidents  .................    3,66,000


>   Snake bites  ........................  7,32,000


>   Malnutrition of Children.......... 16,00,000



What about millions of Indians dying  PREMATURE DEATH every year , due to :



>  Water and Air Pollution


>  Dowry ( Bride burning )


>  Child Labour


>  Occupational Hazards ( Chemical / Coal / Cement industries )


>  Miscarriage / Abortions / Pregnancy deaths


>  Smoking / Tobacco chewing


>  Junk Food / Adulterated Food


>  Daru ( liquor ) laced with ethyl alcohol


>  Fake Medicines............................etc



And who are responsible for keeping 28.7 Crores of Indians illiterate ( 37 % of World's illiterate ) , 66 years after independence  ?



Is that because ,



>   " ACTS  OF  OMISSIONS " are taken for granted  ?


>   Deaths due to such Acts are treated as " NATURAL " ( not preventable ) ?

 
>   Politicians don't think talking about these , will get votes  ?


>   Media could not care less ! TRP is all that matters for getting Ad revenue




>   Cursing others is easier than persevering  for the possible  ?





*   hemen  parekh  (  30  Jan 2014 / Gandhi Nirvan Day  ) 

Monday 27 January 2014

Congratulations !



Arvind Kejriwal and Team


Congratulations ,  on completing one month in office


As expected :


> You did not have answers to every question


> You did not have solution to every problem


> You made honest mistakes , branded " Bad Decisions " by opponents


> Occasionally , made a laughing stock of yourself  !


> Continued to be targeted by BJP and Congress


> Ridiculed by pseudo-experts and TV anchors


> Rattled by Centre and the Judiciary


> Revolted against by one of your own MLA


> Shamed by two of your own Ministers


> At times , lost your cool and used abusive language


> Tried to pass-off your arrogance as Holier-than-thou attitude




But, You



> Stood your ground


> Remained un-nerved


> Walked alone


> Laughed at the destiny


> Never compromised on principles


> Learned from your mistakes


> Spurned power



 That is why , despite all of your antics and shortcomings , C-VOTER Survey ( last evening IndiaTV episode ) found :


Most of the Delhi-ites believe ,



> Corruption in Delhi has drastically come down in past 30 days


> You have , by and large , delivered on your promises



> If there is a re-poll , they will vote for you and give you 43 seats


This is an achievement that no past government , either in the States or at the Center , has managed , even after a full 5 year term  !


And the 100 lakh ( 10 Million ) Indians who became AAP members within the past 10 days , are telling you ,


> Fight Lok Sabha elections


> Defeat the " Devils of Corruptions "


No wonder , vested interests - with their money power and Goonda power - will try their worst to keep you out


760 million voters will teach them a lesson !


Bravo  !



*  hemen  parekh  ( 28  Jan  2014  /  Mumbai  )  

Thursday 23 January 2014

Delighted at Davos ?



P Chidambaram is delighted at Davos


All the foreign industrialists and businessmen he met , told him,



"  We have confidence in India's growth story


    We are bullish on India


    We plan to invest in India , in a big way  "



For fear of offending , what they did not tell him , is :


"  Everything depends upon who becomes your Prime Minister in April 2014


   We hope , he is Narendra Modi , who has promised to build,


  >   100 brand new Smart Cities in 5 years,


       =  20  new cities  EVERY  YEAR


       =   1  new city every  18  DAYS  



  We can imagine the inputs that India will need to build these cities


  For building same 20 cities per year , the Chinese are consuming 50 % of ALL  the steel produced in the entire World , EVERY  YEAR  !


And constructing a 5,000 MW coal-fired power plant  EVERY  WEEK 


And building 500 Km of new rail-roads  EVERY  MONTH 



Apart from steel , you will need millions of tons of



>  Aluminium / Copper / Cement / Ready Mix Concrete / Wood / Glass


>  Paint / Varnish / Chemicals / Tiles / Marble / Wires / Cables


>  Light fittings  /  Bulbs / Switch-boards / Towers / Pumps .. etc




And those millions of people who will occupy these Smart Cities , will need,



>  TV / Fridge / Washing Machine / Water Filter / Micro-wave Oven / Mixer


>  Fans / Air Conditioners / Cars / Scooters / Computers / Tablets / Mobiles


>  Furniture / Food / Garments / Clocks / Watches / Music System / Books



The lists can go on and on


Every year , you will need 10,000 additional factories to produce all of these


That is the only way you can raise contribution of Manufacturing to overall GDP , from current 16 % to 25 %


Which will create 10 million new jobs , year after year


Still short of population growth of 15 million every year  !


But to create just ONE new job , you will require a Capital Investment of Rs 1 million


So , every year , you will need capital investment of Rs 10 Million Million  !


We are ready with the money  !


Since UPA - 2 could not give us a Green Signal , we are now waiting for the
Saffron Signal  !



Mr Chidambaram ,


You said ,


> India's economy can certainly return to 8 % growth rate if mistakes of the
   past are not repeated



No doubt about that  !


People of India have decided NOT to repeat their mistake in April 2014  !


Verdict of the people of Delhi , was only a " Curtain Raiser "  !


Defeated in Delhi  /  Delighted in Davos  ?



*   hemen   parekh  (  24  Jan  2014  /  Mumbai  )


Wednesday 22 January 2014

Selling Rainbows ?



On the last day of the recently concluded BJP session in Delhi , Narendra Modi announced ,


" If voted to power in April 2014 elections , BJP will build 100 new SMART cities , in 5 years "


That is 20 new cities to be built EVERY YEAR  !


By sheer coincidence ( no doubt ) , China's current target is also 20 cities / year


But then China has an enviable track record of having actually built , 500 brand NEW cities since 1978


That is approx 14 new cities per year


Non - stop , year after year , for the last 34 years  !


Capable of accommodating 700 million citizens


Is Narendra Modi being audacious  ?


Not at all


Earlier , in Dec 2012 ( before Assembly elections in Gujarat ) , BJP manifesto said ,



" If voted to power , we will build 50 Lakh houses ( of course , for the poor ) in next 5 years  "


That is 2,739 houses per day


Or , 10,68,210 new houses in the last 390 days , since BJP came to power  !


Cannot find these  ?


Silly  !


How can you build houses , unless you first build a brand NEW city , once every 18 days  ?


Can't you see , how we are building city of Dholera , for the last 3 years ?


Why don't you go ask AAP ,


" Where are those brand new  6  schools that you promised to build in the last 24 days , since coming to power ( @ one school every 4 days )  "


A cynic once said ,


"  Like Laddoos , promises are meant to be broken ! "


And rainbows exist in the sky - for a very brief period , before elections  !





*   hemen  parekh  (  23  Jan  2014  /  Mumbai  )