Punishment For Corruption Should Be Same As That For Treason Against The State!

In the light of the recent events concerning the Common Wealth Games, Delhi about the misappropriation of public money and rampant mismanagement, the punishment for corruption should be reconsidered. According to the current law of the state (IPC), the only punishment for corruption is dismissal from the services! This is true irrespective of the amount of money involved.
While this leveling of punishment has been adopted to make sure that cases where smaller amount of money is involved are not treated lightly, this law largely overlooks the cases where a lifetime of wealth is created and a dismissal of service is not only a weak punishment but it in fact encourages the crime!
Especially in cases like the CWG, where National pride has paid a price, the punishment should be similar to that given for cases of treason. The punishment for treason can be life imprisonment or more! And if a leveling is necessary then all cases of corruption should be treated the same.
The fact of the matter is that corruption is actually an act against the Nation and her pride. Corruption pushes India backwards and chains down her aspirations of becoming one of the greatest of lands. When the Nation is paying such a huge price for the acts of corruption then it is but natural and sensible to equate it to treason. The fact remains that almost all people in positions of power are corrupt to a certain degree and the framing and imposition of such a law would be a rather tough job. However, India still has a lot of people (mostly those who do not don any such position of power which can be corrupted) who are not corrupt and a mass opinion formation is the first thing towards this noble step.
Personally, I would like to see every corrupt official who brings shame to the Nation stripped down and flogged in full public view so that each and every power wielding citizen of India thinks a million times before taking a single rupee to which they do not have a right! Imagine what a sight it would be to see the house of Kalmadi flooded with common people with lathis and chappals in hand asking for an explanation and showing no mercy for the shame that India has to bear. Imagine the golden sight when the likes of Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Mulayam, Lalu, would be treated with similar dose of Indian anger. If we can get angry with our sport persons for failing in cricket or hockey why do we not close in on these corrupt officials and politicians with the most fierce attack and bring them down?

Will Jugaad Work For CWG?

Will Jugaad work for CWG?

India is known to run on 'jugaad'. Never has a lack of perfection been glorified more than in the case of this classic Indian way of doing things - come up with an ad-hoc fix and complete the task!
Jugaad has been such a huge force for India that people have nothing against a movie which depicts a baby being delivered by a vacuum cleaner (3 Idiots?). A student who lazies around for the whole semester and happens to pass 'magically' by jugaad is not just never questioned but rather appreciated by friends, family and the teachers! Jugaad is never a word that people frown at, it is a wonder way of fixing almost any problem in the least of resources possible. And with such a huge population and so less resources (less because they have been jugaad'ed up the corrupt asses!) jugaad is often needed to make things run from day to day.
CWG is in a mess. Anyone who has visited the site or seen it on TV or newspapers will tell you that CWG 2010 needs God's blessings more than anything else now! Had it been any other country, the hope would have died long back but not in India. The hope for a successful CWG lives on because we have a massive belief in jugaad. Deep down inside each of us is a feeling that tells us that it would all be fine ("ज़िन्दगी में भी हमारी हिंदी फिल्मों की तरह last में सब ठीक हो जाता है"), CWG 2010 will be an event which will be remembered not for its folly and corruption but for its grandeur and excellent show of our athletes.

For the first time, I do not want things to work for India! I want CWG to be scrapped off!

I want all this to fail so that we start appending our beliefs and theories of jugaad. We know that many people have amassed huge proportions of money, destinies have been made, responsibilities insulted and a whole Nation let down by power and money hungry individuals who have teamed up against their own Nation! And even after this blatant insult of values, if the CWG show runs well, the belief of people in jugaad will forever live and haunt the generations that come after us. I don't want things to run in less than perfect way when the reputation of a Nation is at stake. I want things to fail so that the moles are routed out and taught a lesson which instills a fear in the minds and hearts of the corrupt and hungry!
The foot-bridge collapse, the report of the team from NZ, the terrorist attack, the rains, dengu, all are conspiring against CWG and rightly so. Indians need to understand that there is no substitute for hardwork and honesty. Jugaad can run a machine but it will never be able to run a Nation.

Corruption is an act of treason against the Nation and should be punished accordingly!

As far as the already built infrastructure is concerned, it should undergo a thorough testing and if found safe according to any standards it should be donated to the Nation in all good spirit so that it can become the breeding grounds for Golds and Silvers in International competitions!

Is every moment a moment of pride for us ?

A day's diary in Bangalore (but it could be just another city in India for just another person like me (or you)!)

Morning 10:00 AM :
I get on an auto, minutes later I realize that the metre is faulty. He charges Rs. 90 for a distance which is usually some Rs. 60. I argue and close the deal at some 70 bucks. He is happy, I'm relatively happy.
Afternoon 2:00 PM :
I need to get a couple of certificates attested. I go to a local hospital. There is a board which says, "No attestations would be entertained." Just below that sign board sits a man on a desk. His desk is full of many certificates that have come for attestations. His rate to get it done by the hospital authorities is just Rs.500 to Rs. 1000 depending on the number of certificates and your urgency.
Afternoon 3:00 PM :
I board a government bus. The bus conductor asks me Rs. 10 for a distance which costs Rs. 15. I am surprised. He takes the money but refuses to give me a ticket and with a sly smile says that he gave me a discount.
Evening 5:00 PM :
An office colleague is getting posted to another city. He cheats his landlord with Rs.4,000 and sneaks his way out of his apartment to the airport.
Evening 7:00 PM :
Another auto driver gets into a trouble with me. This time I make sure he gets to a traffic police guy. I'm off after paying the usual, legitimate amount. Out comes a Rs.100 bill, goes into the traffic policeman's pocket and everything else starts to run normal.
Night 9:00 PM :
I want to cool the day off with a can of beer. The shopkeeper refuses to sell the beer at MRP (maximum retail price). I go to another shop, here the rate is a little less but exceeds the MRP again. Another shop, same result. I refuse to buy. I am pissed (its not always about Rs.5 extra for the beer can right?).

I'm so proud of everything around me. I'm proud of slumdog's success. I'm proud of Sachin Tendulkar. I'm proud of myself, my family and my friends!

MAYA-wati starts glittering b4 her state does..

Mayawati is bringing in lot of hope and goodwill amongst all people of Uttar Pradesh. But while she was busy was the election campaign and as the leader of opposition, she simultaneously increased her assets by 400 %. While filling a nomination for Lok Sabha elections in 2004, she declared her assets at a little over Rs 11 crore. And now according to TOI’s latest report, she declared her current assets to exceed Rs. 52..5 crore..
But then the boom is real estate is a crime factor behind this.. She invested at some prime properties in Delhi – one at Sardar Patel Marg is worth Rs 18 crores (though the real estate agents quote a much higher rate).. Commercial properties – 2 at Connaught Place worth 3.3 crores and 1 at Okhla worth Rs 15.5 crores.
But at the same time she added jewellery and diamonds worth ove Rs 70 lakh and money in banks and other financial institutes have grown from Rs 9 crore to around Rs 13 crore.
Now she is getting busy to pay a penalty and settle the I-T demand.
Before I end listen to this interesting fact: she doesn’t own a car, agricultural or non-agricultural land.