Dr. Jagdish Pathak@Odette

Dr. Jagdish Pathak@Odette: Honour Killings In India: Is It Not A Plain Murder...

2010-10-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

http://jagdishpathak.blogspot.com/2010/07/honour-killings-in-india-is-it-not.html?spref=bl: "Every alternate day, I am shocked to read such headlined item in the Indian newspapers of repute that another 'honour killing' took place at..."

What Does it Mean to be a Corrupt Society?

2010-10-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

We Indians are a corrupt and depraved society. Someone asked me how do you describe a corrupt society for which my description is a corrupt, depraved Society is one in which the people en masse have lost their moral sense. It is not one in which people sin. It is one in which people have lost their bias against sin. It is not one in which people commit adultery. It is one in which people condone and accept adultery. It is not one in which people commit immoral acts. It is one in which people accept and condone immorality to a significant level. It is a loss of moral values, moral knowledge, moral sense.
How do you know such a society when you see it? You listen to people's opinions on matters of morals. You note their likes and dislikes, their tastes, their preferences, how they entertain themselves. You note their humour, what they joke about, what they think is funny. You note their fads as a people. You note their preferences in entertainment. Let us be more specific. Suppose you look through the newspaper listings of the dozens of movies that are showing around town and month after month, year after year, there is never a decent one to be found. They all lash forth advertisements revealing their themes of lust, illicit sex and violence. On your television you flip through the dozens of channels that are available and again there is not a decent program showing. Every picture that comes up is either a bedroom scene or a scene involving violence or becomes one or the other within a few seconds. And this same situation goes on year after year. You wonder how this society can live on a constant diet of dirt and filth year after year and never get tired of it. You try going to some plays. You find they are all interlaced with profanity, obscenity, and crude language. You find nothing of depth or worth or merit in any of them. You turn on your radio. You run through dozens of stations before you find one that is playing something decent. To find a decent novel to read you have to choose an author from some past century.
Rarely anything written in this century is worth anything. Art and painting? You have to go to the art of centuries past. How about the conversation at coffee break at work? Both women and men freely banter with one another in the risqué, the crude, and the obscene. It is obviously the type conversation in which they most delight. Anyone who is not comfortable with this kind of thing is regarded as Puritan, Victorian or prude. You see a debate on pornography. Two people are defending pornography and two are against it. A question is posed. What is pornography? They can't agree. Another question is asked. Is a picture of a nude woman pornography? They are all agreed on the answer to this question. They all agree that it is not.
Reporters covering candidates for public office openly state that they don't report on the sexual conduct of the candidates. They say they don't believe that information is important or relevant and feel it is none of the public's business. Court of laws have started deciding on the live-in relationship despite the existence of legally wedded wife. What have we become? Insensitivity to all that is immoral or accept that immorality, depravation, corruption is all part of the game played by all and sundry.
A corrupt society is a society ruled by immoral, wicked men; criminals elected by the populace, supported by the populace, and shielded from punishment by their political allies. Look what happened in Commonwealth games or Adarsh society in Mumbai, or the former Chief Minister robbing huge wealth of a newly created state? Do we have answer for these intrinsic maladies?

Corruption in India is No Exception: It is Intrinsic to Our Life Style

2010-08-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to read someone calling India a hub or epicentre of corruption. The truth is that no economy of the size of India or bigger is free from this global menace. I sympathise with the author and his examples of IPL and CWG. He could have gone even further by adding almost all the defence procurements and others. Look at some of the places like Congo, Seara Leone etc where entire national economy is run by the despots supported by the powerful oil and gold/diamond lobbies. What would you call those countries? Corruption has become part of routine life in all the major developing nations including India. Look at our eastern and western neighbours. The political, military and civil people literally milk these economies every day. Yes, the corruption is highly restricted in developed World not because people here have aversion for money but purely population in general is reluctant to encourage it here. Indian corruption is manifold. Foreign suppliers of goods and services provide corruption money to seek business from the top politicians. Indian business houses pay similarly to get hand on money making projects. Government servants from a peon onwards collect corruption money to provide you service which you rightfully deserve without it. This class of corruption is all pervasive in every developing nation like India. General public gets affected by such corruption and very few even dare go to anti corruption people for help as anti corruption establishments are simply populated by very people who used to take this ill-gotten money prior to postings anti corruption departments. I have very personal exposure with the happenings for more than two decades working in Indian establishments. Many a times, postings in such areas like CVC or anti corruption units of states are meant to punish an officer (so that s/he can not get plum positions with lot of money. But, these very corrupt officers know how to collect money from other corrupt executives using anti corruption laws. In North America, average citizen gets available state services without such corruption issues for the reasons of efficiency and effectiveness of the system. For example, obtaining a driving licence is almost impossible using corrupt means in Canada or US but matter of just a phone call from anyone away in India. People do not encourage corruption in West whereas in India mostly it is general public who make system corrupt. People do not like to stand in line to buy tickets, getting ration cards made without proper documents, expecting VIP treatment are some of the serious personality and life style issues with average Indian. These very people make the entire system corrupt. Should we still blame others for corruption? My answer is emphatic 'NO'.

Look at the scenario at CWG, suddenly everyone started showing interest in corrupt practices at Commonwealth games jobs. CVC and even CBI became active when all is over or almost over. Where were these bodies when payments were made to all and sundry? Was it not sports minister taking special interest in setting all these sports body in order and facing flake from these well entrenched folks?? Sports minister knows well to deal with all such people. He was an IAS himself and very close to the political establishment of today. People have very short memory that the incumbent sports minister was instrumental in making life miserable of the then CEC Sheshan who went all out against corrupt practices in elections of India. This is all about playing games!! People change overnight when this change benefits them or the party. IPL and Modi corruption would never have seen the day, had Modi not played spoilsport. He went all out against Mr. Tharoor and result is obvious for all to see. No party in power would dump its very strong member like this. Now, govt has gone all out to see how Modi and his supporters are shown their places. It is called 'witch-hunt' in Indian politics and nobody calls it corruption per se!!!

Remember that even minor indiscretions of public servants are viewed seriously in US and other developed nations. Media is very strong but it does not mean corruption is almost always reported. No, as media too has its vested interests and would support only its well wishers. Law enforcement agencies like India, are equally responsible for drug and prostitution trade in every country. It is a dream of every politician to hold 'home' or its equal portfolio as it controls the law enforcement agencies. Look at our very own CBI functioning and see, how selective are these in cases for investigation. Let the opposition come to power and these very cases in public domain would disappear overnight!! Where is the independence granted to these agencies? What happened when CEC Sheshan started flexing his musceles, everyone went against him but at the end of the day, electoral system improved and very rarely we hear of 'booth capturing' during elections in India.

India is an example of corruption but should not be called an epicentre as almost all the developing nations are corrupt courtesy the developed world business interests, and lack of individual character and moral value system. Our society at large has no mechanism to imbibe values and ethical conduct which leads to the exponential growth of corrupt minds copying corrupt role models.

Dr. Jagdish Pathak@Odette: Honour Killings In India: Is It Not A Plain Murder...

2010-07-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Honour Killings In India: Is It Not A Plain Murder ?

2010-07-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Every alternate day, I am shocked to read such headlined item in the Indian newspapers of repute that another 'honour killing' took place at such and such town. Indian media has grown over the years but using such phrases like 'honour killing' do not fit the incidents reported by them. There is no such thing called 'honour killing' and one should not start thinking that such killings are different from plain murders. These are just murders and nothing else. Media in its zeal to coin a new term has given us a false understanding on these kind of murders by family people.

Indians only knew that our soldiers on the border kill enemy combatants for keeping honour of motherland and for which Indian panel code section 302 is not applicable. We knew that it is the killing for honour of our country. Surely, we never knew in our wildest dreams that a brother, father, uncle, mother and other close blood relations would also kill very own blood in the name of keeping false honour. We also did not know that media which has better sense of looking through the lines would start calling these plain murders as 'honour killings'.

Indian society though claims to have undergone change is infact failing to accept the truth that education helps in removing old dogmas, biases and prejudices amongst its members. It is different that a politician whose survival is based upon maintaining such irrationalities would prefer status quo. Indian legal system has truely accepted such killings as plain murders but unfortunately, our political leaders are still unchanged, intentionally or unintentionally. My hats off to all those legal and judicial members of Indian establishment who have refused to succumb to such petty people pressure but you never know!!

My request to the Indian media people is to call these killings as pure murders without using such coinages like 'honour killing' etc.

I hope someone is listening to me.

Mining Company Ownership Rights to The Tribals of India

2010-07-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

The GoM of Indian government are at last thinking about providing economic rights to the agitating tribals of central India. My congratulations to all those involved in decisionmaking. Tribals can be empowered in one very interesting and successful manner which has been practical in Goa since Portugese days. It is called communidades. The entire land of individual communidades in Goa is distributed amongst the gaokars. This right passes in proportion to the next generation and the income generated by the communidad is distributed amongst the gaokars proportionately. These rights were non-transferable to anyone non-gaokar (now, ofcourse builder lobby has found a way to buy these rights.).

Govt of India can provide the proportion of equity decided in the form of communidades to entire population of tribals in concerned states. These communidades may be geographically earmarked so that tribals living in that area become member of that communidade and get benefits from the rights. Every mining company will have to distribute profits to these communidades and these communidades will in turn issue part of proceeds in cash to its members and rest would be used for various social developmental works to be managed by these communidades and its membership.

I am sure such mode of help would go a long way in helping agitating tribals and solve many of theirs problems. Here rights of communidades are not saleable by tribals to any non-tribal or anyone. These rights are non identifiable in the property or assets of the communidades.

The proposed bill may be crafted in such a way that ultimately these tribals only get benefits and no one else.

What this dossier of evidences can do?

2009-01-03T17:58:00.001-08:00

Mr. Home Minister of India:

I am of firm belief that in international politics, evidences are acceptable only if I accept it. Govt. of India knows it that evidences are needed to build a case in front of a judge who accepts such evidences within the law of evidence and torts. In case of international politics, diplomatic pressures work and particularly if the opposing party has nuclear bombs!!!!!

Public in general has a short memory. When JeM guy Azhar Mahmood was shifted from India to Kandhar in Afghanistan, our prosecution withdrew charges against him and his allies. Does it mean that a guy against whom charges are withdrawn (otherwise, no one can be taken out of prison or judicial remand) is really not a criminal? He is and will always remain a criminal but for international politics.

US and other friends of India found it hard to support India when passenger plane was hijacked from Kathmandu and when it landed in middle east nation for refueling, nobody was ready to support India. Indian politicians wanted help from US but got refusal. It happens in international politics, Mr. Home Minister.

India was told that it is your internal, indo-pak issue. Now, what has changed is international political scenario. Now, India and US has become strategic partners. Pakistan is allied with US and NATO in war on terror (at least, US knows the depth of this alliance by now). Pakistan, for time being, also permits US supplies albeit erratically through Khyber pass. ISI is a dragon and in giving its current shape many other nations than US is responsible. US has a strong leverage in ISI of Pakistan because the jihad concept was nicely used by nations opposing USSR existence in Afghan land. Muslims in general and Afghans in particular are very emotional lot. These poor but highly emotional guys were made to oppose anything of USSR. It was interesting but a serious development. Pakistan and General Haq used this advantage to the hilt. US money poured and ISI picked.

Did CIA or ISI inform anyone when they took Dawood and company in its embarrass??? Dawood is a trapped guy who can not do anything what is not suggested by his masters. He is a real prisoner without any time limit. Today, if his masters tell him to bomb his place in Ratnagiri, it is he who will have to do the bidding of his masters. He is nothing but a pawn in this game of international politics. Two years back, it was almost fixed that Dawood will be made available for India to be picked, by General Musharraf but someone came and the plan stopped!!! I don't know who was that someone but surely bigger than Musharraf.

Contd....

Strong Policing Measures Needed Against Terrorism---contd.2

2008-12-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

contd.

There is a need of drastic overhaul of police organization which include recruitment policies, training, retirement etc. Government should stop recruitment of Indian Police Service (IPS) as a part of common civil services exam. Mostly our IPS officers are very talented folks. They are in IPS only because for some reason they could not get into IAS or IFS. Working in police had not been a priority but a sheer compulsion. Many such candidates leave even during the basic training for good. What kind of policing can one expect from these bureaucratic mindsets? I will suggest a drastic change by removing policing from civil system. Young people with an aptitude and mind for policing should be chosen when they are in their under graduate final years. It should be on the line of placement followed by professional programs of education. Such chosen people need to be physically and arm trained with army attachment program. Subsequently, a training in criminal procedures and police act can be provided to them.
We need devoted police officers from the lowest constable to the highest ranks. Present police force is heavily dependent on the political administration. And, they are often used/abused by them for personal gains. We should find out a modus operandi to see how this change can be incorporated in our police act.

contd..

Strong Policing Measures Needed Against Terrorism

2008-12-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

contd.

Now, the all important question is about what should the governments in the provinces do? Here are some suggestions to be implemented at state level because policing has been part of our concurrent list of the constitution.

1. Remove all security measures provided for the personal security of politicians who are found to have been involved in mob or gangs related crimes. Their gangs may be able to secure these crime-tainted assets. It will release a good number of police force.
2. Create special honorary constables in every nook and corner under strict vigilance of the nearby police station. These people may be paid some basic honorarium and chosen based upon their antecedents and criminal records. I will suggest that such positions should be given to apolitical people of the area.
3. Create a volunteer force of young 'crime stoppers' on the line of Canada. These people will inform to a toll free number in every sub division about any crime likely to be committed or the presence of an unknown, stranger or suspicious looking person in the locality. These volunteers will never co and face or interfere in the crime but work from distance. It will be a volunteer work useful for getting jobs and admissions in higher education.
4. Personal vehicles allotted to the people below the DG ranks MUST be withdrawn. These vehicles must go to police stations equipped with needed instruments to be used as patrol cars. Every police officer must be provided with a loan to buy a vehicle for personal use, if desired. These officers normally do not get involved in routine policing hence, police marked cars are wastage of limited resources, if used by them.
5. This method can be applied to rest of the civilian employees to reduce the establishment cost and mileage allowance can be provided instead for business travel if needed.
6.. States must provide patrol cars equipped with emergency call handling capacity to all the police stations. These petrol cars may be centrally controlled using tracking system and two armed constables in each. One car may be allotted for every segment of 5000 population. This process may make these emergency cars available within minutes of the call received for help.
7. Police force needs retooling now. We need strongly built constables regularly kept physically fit and equipped with AK series guns and protection gears. There should not be difference in commando and civil police in look and strength of fire power.

Contd.

Terror and Terrorist Control Mechanism Needed

2008-11-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

After watching for day and night for three days, any sensible person can understand what might have been possible cause(s) behind attacks on Mumbai landmarks/public. Governments at federal and provincial levels need to make radically robust changes in its organization and manpower related to the security mechanism. The present security mechanism of having a civil police organization for 'law and order' issues has become irrelevant in modern India. This was functional during Raj days when issues, politics, and international relations were not as complex as those are today. The arms and ammunition were exclusively restricted to defence and police with rarely general public carrying fire power except some of those feudal lords whose states merged in Indian republic. I can vividly recall that our internal security was so lax or almost non existent when the prime minister Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her own bodyguards in 1984. In a knee jerk reaction, we created NSG and afterwards SSG for the security of politicians and non state actors. However, our civil police forces remained mostly unarmed in the provinces. The changes in the provinces in the police forces remained cosmetic and mostly newness was limited to rename the positions already in existence. The worst of all, these capable and not-so-capable police officers with a limited training became 'anti terrorist squad' in their provinces!!!
We saw it in the Mumbai the merciless killing of our talented police officers at the hands of AK-56 totting renegades. Our officers went with Kevlar single layer jackets capable to stop small arm fire with very least body cover!!! Can any one dream for such carelessness in 21st century??

Contd....

Mumbai Bloodbath

2008-11-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

Terror has no boundaries and terrorists have no justification. They hit at the vulnerable spots to manage easy escape. This become much easier if the country happens to be India. Tonight, whatever has happened in Indian financial hub reminds us of 9/11 incidents in US. It is nothing less than 9/11 for India where democracy flourished and perhaps reached its crescendo now under the leadership of lalus and paswans. Plato must be in pain in heaven after seeing the aberrations in India as a republic. The gangs terrorising Indians in last more than ten years follow a faith which its leaders often prescribe as a faith of peace.
Tonight, India has lost some of the best trained people because India like any other nation has a soft underbelly. Terrorising armed forces is difficult if you happen to be a coward but even a coward can easily kill a child nursing in hospital bed or a mother in maternity ward or some arms-less people on the roads.

These renegades have killed innocents in cafe, hospitals, hotels and even on the road and railway station. They deserve what can be the worst of the punishment but more of all, their Godfathers deserve to be brought out in open.

Will it ever happen in a nation like India with a rule like Sharia for its minority?????

US Economy & Controls

2008-11-25T16:18:00.000-08:00

contd.

Greenspan being a free market conservative may have to take the blame with several others who did not bother to look beyond the mandates. Credit derivatives were questioned by investing people like Warren Buffet. Derivatives needed extreme controls as people and particularly the auditors were reluctant to ask these big and bullying clients to provide for reasonable bad debts. No financial service and mortgage business client wanted to accept that a huge amount of credit is extended to the sub-prime public who are not capable of paying these huge mortgages. There were politicians to blame too who liked to arm twist financial service firms to fund the mortgages to these sub prime clients.

If auditing firms would have paid due attention to such 'dirty assets' of these financial firms in time, perhaps none of us would have seen this day.

Milton Friedman Will be Turning in His Grave These Days!!

2008-11-21T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today, there was a guest lecture organized in the Odette School of Business and some of us enjoyed it more for its philosophy behind the premise of the thesis rather than the thesis and its validation which had left many questions unanswered but attempted to give answers which was never been part of the study. We were three (Me, Jack and Allan) left at the end after every one disappeared from the lecture and it was me who observed to my colleague Jack Freeman that present day scenario in the economic order of the US and by implication of the entire global order is in acute need of money supply. Liquidity contraction is killing several otherwise robust industries. This became a real long and serious interactive and interesting discussion for next three hours or so.

Friedman was a unique economist of his genre for his views which were very much against the Keynesian views. Though he was known to be a quantitative monetarist for many but he was the one who was a leading public policy philosopher true to the name of political economy. US economy is in turmoil because there is no liquidity. Corporates find it difficult to remain solvent in pragmatic sense. Where has that money disappeared? Was that money at all existed in first place? Friedman argued all through his life time that state should not interfere in the autonomic function of economy by introducing controls or increasing participation through regulatory regime. He was a true laissez faire brand of economist though he was an advocate of taxing people income at source. Of course, he regretted it later on.

I will answer the first question as best as I can do. Liquidity is not all the time liquid. Today's scenario is most compelling evidence of this assertion. Corporates in the first place used to park funds in securities which had highest liquidity in the first place. Mostly these were the short term investments in Wall street. bankers used to be highly liquid because earnings were abnormal accruing from sub prime mortgage financing. Excess were finding theirs way into Wall street. Every one was happy because DOW and S&P were spiralling to troposphere. Big institutional and individual investors were ga-ga over the vibrancy of the economy. Money was every where to see. Money was easily available through placing stocks as collatoral.

Contd.

Management Education Graduates in Dillema

2008-11-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

With the breakdown in economic order, the worst hit individual, other than the stock investor, is the potential management graduate in 2008 and onward. The stories of not honoring the offers given to fresh graduates are spreading like wild fire. I am not too sure about the veracity of such stories but feel that such actions on the part of employers can be a valid knee jerk reactions to the current imbroglio. On positive front, I have read it with interest that fresh international students are coming in flocks to US despite all this economic meltdown and all. I know that international education plays a significant role in shaping one's career even when far superior institutions might exist in students' own country. Many of these international students are, possibly (emphasis added) those who could not manage to get into those elite institutions for any reason. There are some who are children of high and mighty, neo rich and like wise.

I was told by a colleague of mine that a kid of top IT tycoon in India could not get into Indian Institute of Technology admission process, got ultimately into the top private school in US (Stanford in particular.). I do not doubt the truth behind this story as entrance exams have been made such that getting into these Institutes will not be easy for any average student.
People often ask me whether finance is still a viable option for an MBA after knowing this all in USA. My answer to every one is very simple and it is that finance people who made this mess and it will be finance people only will help it to clear up. Finance is not a function which should be preferred all the time like all other functional specializations. It was the high paying and cozy life style of finance executives working with hedge funds and other investment bankers made every one to get attracted to this speciality. There are several other choices to opt for like manufacturing and operations, quality, assurance, marketing, human resources etc.

Now, its my lecture time. Bye

Jagdish

What is Going On Around Us, These Days?

2008-11-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

The economic scenario all over the North America is gloomy. I do not see any beacon of hope, at least for near future. All the three auto giants from Motown are camping at the hub of power with a begging bowl! AIG feels relieved as tax payers money will go to them so as to take some extra risk to make extra bucks. They have not yet stopped living in luxury despite getting stick from every where. I do not know what is lacking in these modern day executives which stops them from learning.
European union too is not better off. Japan has entered into recession without much ado. India is struggling hard to stave off the global impact. We all know that Indian economic system is relatively new entrant to the global capital markets and therefore, possibly the impact will not be so severe. Pakistan is worst hit not because its economy was deeply into global financial system but because the mandarins in Islamabad (should I say, in Rawalpindi army camp) never placed US$s received for terror policing in the place where it should have gone. Now, major chunk of that foreign currency is already out of Pakistan courtesy, local 'hawala' (an illegal way of siphoning off money from one place to another.) and foreign exchange dealers. Alas! Pakistan is on road with a begging bowl to pay loans taken against sovereign guarantee.
Employment (unemployment rate) is expected to hover to double digit in next couple of months if GM brand is made to collapse under its own load. People will become unsettled with such changes fast entering into their life style. Obama, the President elect will be cradled with challenges, one after another. He is to set right the allegedly done wrongs by his predecessor. It will be a test of his Adrenalin.

I hope that tomorrow's news on CNN will not be further depressing than what it is today.

Jagdish

The Mission of This Blog

2008-11-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

Hello and Good afternoon from Windsor, the Canadian auto city in Ontario. It is snowing lightly outside with temperature hovering around -3 degree centigrade.
I want you all to post your blog messages which are of common interest but very much apolitical in content and context. We can talk on umpteen economic, environmental, employment and other related issues facing the city of Windsor in particular but Ontario, canada, North America and the World in general.

I will have to edit/remove any offensive language or foul comments.

I hope that you will enjoy reading and writing on this blog.

Thanks aand have a good day

Jagdish