Everything in the American press today is about China and China's economy and people of Chinese origin in the US and all of that.
So why is it that India is being ignored in all of it? Are we not big enough or growing fast enough or we simply not publicizing ourselves properly?
Answer: None of the above. Indians abroad are simply not working hard to change its worldwide image. Most foreigners still imagine India to be a mystic land that is ruled by kings, a land full of snake-charmers and uneducated people.
Patriotism is at such a low that even when people insult our national heroes, it elicits very few reactions. We need to change. Something needs to be done. Indian politicians really need to get started:
1. Everyone should have a state-issued, swipable photo ID card. It should contain his/her full name, date and place of birth, current address, a thumb imprint and a photo that has been taken there and then. It should also have a unique number (similar to USA's Social Security Number) or alphanumeric code assigned to it.
No one should be able to work or get on the bus or buy anything without such an ID. The government should set up ID-card offices at all post offices because every part of the country has post offices (Note: China has done this and it works). These ID card offices should be run by private companies so that there is no scope of corruption, otherwise the whole process will be flawed.
If within a month, a person has not been able to secure an ID card, he or she must get it immediately else risk going to jail. Also, every time a person moves between cities or states, he or she must get a new, updated ID card. Without this, he or she must not be allowed to do anything.
This will make many things simpler. Voter registration, which is a mess right now, will become faster and possibly electronic. Also, the introduction of biometric technology will make it harder for people to assume someone else's identity.
2. All salaries for IAS / IPS / IFS / IRS officers must be doubled. Immediately. Corruption is very very high because government officials believe that they are not being well-compensated for their services.
Along with that, an independent body must be created at the national level, that conducts constant corruption surveillance. It will be very hard to keep this body separate from the government, and thus unbiased, but all efforts must be made to do so. Without a watchdog agency, we will never know whether corruption is going up or down. The independent media would be supporters of such a body and would certainly provide tips (as seen of Tehelka and AajTak).
3. Each village must be provided with 5 basic things: electricity, water, connectivity to rest of the nation (post office + telephone + internet), education up till 5th grade, basic health infrastructure within a 30 km radius.
Again, this will be very expensive, but there are ways to get it done. Double tax on certain items: foreign cars, perfumes, designer label clothes, alcohol, cigarettes. Increase taxes for all foreign-owned companies, MNCs and force them to channel their funds into building hospitals, schools and roads. Thank God that we do not have lobbyists in our country and these plans are actually practical to implement.
4. Immigration from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka must stop. Illiterate labourers from these nations bring us nothing but more problems. Furthermore, they also bring into India the threat of terrorism (as shown by ULFA in Assam, the war in Kargil and LTTE in Tamil Nadu). While it is true that India has been a great symbol of democracy over tyrnanny (especially in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), we have been greeted with nothing but guns and bombs.
It is hard to remove those that have already entered, so nothing can be done about that. They will get our IDs and officially become Indian citizens, but those that are not here yet should be stopped. All of our economic power and military might (a relative term) should be used to stop these people from coming into our country and taking jobs in cities that poor people from the villages should be getting.
For all of these things to happen, we need the BJP and not the Congress. The Congress is a bunch of old liars, cheats and thieves. They are the most corrupt bunch of people ever to rule our country and must never win another election again.
1. Everyone should have a state-issued, swipable photo ID card. It should contain his/her full name, date and place of birth, current address, a thumb imprint and a photo that has been taken there and then. It should also have a unique number (similar to USA's Social Security Number) or alphanumeric code assigned to it.
No one should be able to work or get on the bus or buy anything without such an ID. The government should set up ID-card offices at all post offices because every part of the country has post offices (Note: China has done this and it works). These ID card offices should be run by private companies so that there is no scope of corruption, otherwise the whole process will be flawed.
If within a month, a person has not been able to secure an ID card, he or she must get it immediately else risk going to jail. Also, every time a person moves between cities or states, he or she must get a new, updated ID card. Without this, he or she must not be allowed to do anything.
This will make many things simpler. Voter registration, which is a mess right now, will become faster and possibly electronic. Also, the introduction of biometric technology will make it harder for people to assume someone else's identity.
2. All salaries for IAS / IPS / IFS / IRS officers must be doubled. Immediately. Corruption is very very high because government officials believe that they are not being well-compensated for their services.
Along with that, an independent body must be created at the national level, that conducts constant corruption surveillance. It will be very hard to keep this body separate from the government, and thus unbiased, but all efforts must be made to do so. Without a watchdog agency, we will never know whether corruption is going up or down. The independent media would be supporters of such a body and would certainly provide tips (as seen of Tehelka and AajTak).
3. Each village must be provided with 5 basic things: electricity, water, connectivity to rest of the nation (post office + telephone + internet), education up till 5th grade, basic health infrastructure within a 30 km radius.
Again, this will be very expensive, but there are ways to get it done. Double tax on certain items: foreign cars, perfumes, designer label clothes, alcohol, cigarettes. Increase taxes for all foreign-owned companies, MNCs and force them to channel their funds into building hospitals, schools and roads. Thank God that we do not have lobbyists in our country and these plans are actually practical to implement.
4. Immigration from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka must stop. Illiterate labourers from these nations bring us nothing but more problems. Furthermore, they also bring into India the threat of terrorism (as shown by ULFA in Assam, the war in Kargil and LTTE in Tamil Nadu). While it is true that India has been a great symbol of democracy over tyrnanny (especially in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), we have been greeted with nothing but guns and bombs.
It is hard to remove those that have already entered, so nothing can be done about that. They will get our IDs and officially become Indian citizens, but those that are not here yet should be stopped. All of our economic power and military might (a relative term) should be used to stop these people from coming into our country and taking jobs in cities that poor people from the villages should be getting.
For all of these things to happen, we need the BJP and not the Congress. The Congress is a bunch of old liars, cheats and thieves. They are the most corrupt bunch of people ever to rule our country and must never win another election again.
