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 20 September 2013

Reach - Out Time ?



Narendra Modi claims that the Muslims of Gujarat have buried the ghost of Godhra and a great majority of them voted for BJP in the recent State election

There have been many communal ( anti-minority or anti-majority ) riots in most of the States of India since independence

It does not serve any purpose to keep doing post-mortem , again and again

It is obvious that the new generation ( including the descendents of the victims ) want to close the chapter and move on to a better / peaceful life

If , development of Muslims brought about a harmonious communal relations in Gujarat , surely it could be replicated on a national scale , all over the country

Narendra Modi has a fantastic opportunity to drive across this message by incorporating the following ACTIONS in BJP’s 2014 Election Manifesto :


Ø  Resettling of riot victims ( belonging to any community and residing in any state ) , in Government-built houses , within one year of coming to power

Ø  Simultaneous dismantling of , so-called “ Minority Ghettos “ , thru dispersal of minorities throughout the cities , for better integration within a city’s majority population

Ø  Granting Cabinet Minister status to the Chiefs of Minority Commission / Women’s Commission / Human Rights Commission

Ø  Providing for greater representation in the Central Cabinet to the people of the North-Eastern States and the Naxal affected areas
Ø   
Ø  Up gradation of the educational institutions belonging to the minorities

Ø  Greater representation to Minority Youth in “ Skills Development Program “ under NSDC

Ø  At the disputed Ayodhya site , creation of a “ World Peace Complex “ comprising of :

·         Ram Temple    ( for Hindus )

·         Mosque          ( for Muslims )

·         Church          ( for Christians )

·         Temple          ( for Buddhists )

·         Synagogue     ( for Jews  )

·         Akshar-Dham  ( for Jains )

*         Gurudwara     (  for  Shikhs  )

·         University for Comparative Studies of World Religions

·         Hospitals ( like Netralaya / Hridayalaya )

·         India Heritage / History Museum

·         Business Convention-cum-Industry Exhibition Centre

·       *        Tourist Complex
      


·              And right in the center of the complex , a giant statue of the “ Father of the Nation

I invite readers to add to this list

Even if for all the wrong reasons [ viz; 2014 Elections ], let BJP not miss this opportunity to initiate steps for integration of the minorities into the mainstream of political / economical / social development of our country

It is about time to exhibit , BJP’s  truly “ Secular “ nature ( non-UPA  variety ? )

It is time to stop mere Congress-bashing ( with which , people are fed-up ) and promise some genuine positive actions to the minorities

And of all the leaders of BJP , who is better placed for such “ Pro-Activism “ than Narendrabhai ?

Carpe Diem ( Seize the Day ! )



·         hemen  parekh ( 21  Sept  2013 )

Thursday 19 September 2013

Needed - your Declaration of Intent - NOW !



A few months back , Planning Commission had prepared a scheme to distribute free smart phones to 71 million poor families

Recently , Kapil Sibal has submitted a scheme to distribute ( of course , free ) to children studying in Government schools ,

Ø  25 million smart phones

Ø  9  million tablets ( computers )

That would cost , somewhere between Rs 7,000 Crores to Rs 10,000 Crores

Earlier this week , a group called Smartnamo , has announced two models ( Safron 1 / Safron 2 ), of smart phones in honor of Narendra Modi

I believe top brass of BJP are considering to distribute 20 crore of these phones to youth between the age of 18 to 25 – free of cost , of course !

At Rs 1,000 per phone , BJP would need to raise Rs 20,000 Crore for this project

No problem !

India’s “ Businesses / Industry “ would oblige , since 75 % of industry-leaders want Narendra Modi to become the next PM

And these phones are believed to come pre-installed with a mobile app , ( called , VotesApp ? ) which will enable the young owner/voters to vote in 2014 National Elections , by simply touching the VOTE button , having finger-print recognition ( ala , Apple’s iPhone 5C )

Now , here is the most likely “ political specification “ of these phones :

Irrespective of , whether the owner / voter is residing and registered in Kashmir or Kanyakumari or anywhere else , the vote will get cast in favor of the local BJP candidate !

That would be one way to garner 275 seats in the Lok Sabha !

More seriously speaking , BJP will miserably fail to deliver on its corruption-free , Good-Governance promise , if it gets voted to power with less than 275 seats .

Secret behind NaMo’s  success story in Gujarat , is BJP majority in local assembly. No relying on corrupt coalition partners to carry out any reform !

And to get that kind of “ Absolute Majority “ , BJP must stop promising freebies and publish its  ACTION PLAN  for the first 100 days in power

TV opinion polls notwithstanding , even NaMo  euphoria  will fade away , if BJP continues to shy away from publishing , before October-end , its  “ Declaration of Intent


·          Hemen  parekh [ 19 Sept 2013 ]




Friday 13 September 2013

What exactly / precisely , will you do ?



Expected has come to pass


Narendrabhai Modi has been declared as the PM candidate of BJP

On TV channels , experts are offering advice to BJP / NaMo , on how they should conduct themselves  PRIOR  to 2014 national elections

For the voters , what matters is :

“ If BJP were to be voted to power , how will it conduct itself ,  AFTER  the elections ? After NaMo becomes PM ? “

All that we have been hearing from NaMo and other BJP leaders , over the last one year is :

Ø  Congress is corrupt

Ø  UPA 2 is incompetent

Ø  All of their policies are wrong , leading to price-rise , inflation , economic downturn etc

Ø  They failed to do THIS and THAT

But not a word so far of what exactly / precisely , BJP / NaMo would do , if voted to power !

I certainly don’t mean distribution of free laptops , tablets , mobiles , cycles ! Forget the manifesto !

As a citizen , I would like them to declare  NOW , their unambiguous stand on :

Ø  Dis-allowing “ convicted “ persons from contesting elections

Ø  Bringing political parties within the ambit of RTI

Ø  Appointment of a Lok Ayukt in Gujarat and passing of Jan Lok Pal Bill within 100 days of coming to power

Ø  Make CBI independent of Government

Ø  Passing Women’s Equal Representation Bill, pending for 40 years

Ø  Electoral Reforms incorporating , “ Negative Voting / Right to Recall “


Ø  Passing of Delivery of Services Act

Ø  Bringing out Black Money ( both , foreign and local ) for investment in Infrastructure / Health Services / Education / Housing for the poor  etc , thru suitable “ No Questions Asked “ Amnesty Schemes

Ø  Above all , creating 15 million jobs every year


These are , just a few of the people’s expections

Are BJP / NaMo willing to treat these as voters’  “  Charter of Demands “ ?

We have had enough of rhetoric oratory

People are asking :

“ Forget what UPA failed to do . We know that.

  What will YOU do , and WHEN ?



·          hemen  parekh [ 14 Sept 2013 ]

Saturday 7 September 2013

UPA 3 or NDA 2 ? What is your Choice ?




Our country is facing a long list of Economic and Social problems
Many of these require enacting new legislation
Equal number require strict implementation of existing laws
Solutions of quite a few problems , need bold / innovative and often , unpopular steps demanding deep sacrifices from different sections of our society

All of these need,

Ø    A heightened  sense of co-operation ( National interest comes first )

Ø    Willingness to reach compromises ( win some  / lose some )

Ø    An acute sense of urgency ( get going now / improve along the way )

Unfortunately , during the past few years , hardly any progress could be made towards Political / Social / Economic reforms , since no single political party got an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha
And , unless the Indian voters understand the shortcomings of the Coalition Government and decide to give one party ( it does not matter  which ) , an absolute majority in the forthcoming 2014 national elections , we can expect repetition of the history !
No Government which has to hopelessly depend upon its coalition partners , can carry out the desired reforms
I believe , any major national party ( only Congress and BJP ? ) , which gets less than 275 seats in Lok Sabha , will continue to be blackmailed by its coalition partners
And it would make absolutely no difference whether Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi heads UPA 3 or NDA 2 , as the Prime Minister !
Either would be an impotent puppet of “ Coalition Dharma “ where corrupt partners dictate the shape of reforms !
It is simple
Either we give 300 seats to a single party or we continue to suffer for another 5 years !
Remember , an imperfect decision is any day better than No Decision !

·         hemen  parekh


Wednesday 4 September 2013

Let the Sleeping Dogs lie !



I think it was Oliver Cromwell who said these famous words – may be in a different context , at a different time , in a different country

But right now , in our beloved India , our very own ( not so beloved ? ) political leaders seem to be telling the Supreme Court , the same thing !

Yesterday , Supreme Court dismissed a Central Government appeal to review its earlier ruling , which held ;

“ An elected representative stands disqualified from the date of his conviction in a criminal offence . The mere fact that the convicted politician has appealed against his conviction does not imply that he would continue to hold office  “

So , what will the Government do now ?

With solid , unanimous backing from ALL political parties , it will amend the Representation of People Act , to nullify the Court verdict !

Of Course , retrospectively from 15 Aug 1947 !

I am not surprised , given the following statistics compiled by Association for Democratic Reforms :----

----------------------------------------------------------

Party ………% age of MPs/MLAs with criminal charges

----------------------------------------------------------

BJP………………………. 31

Congress…………….. 22

NCP……………………….30

Shiv Sena……………. 75

RJD…………………………46

JD(U)…………………..  44

SP……………………….   43

Rest …………………….. 32-36

----------------------------------------------------------

Not having voted for past 30 years , I have a satisfaction of not having chosen myself , which party will torment / torture / murder me for next 5 years !

But of course , I will vote when I am allowed to cast “ Negative Votes “ !

When will India’s youth rise in revolt ?



·         hemen  parekh

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Rejoice You Jobless !



In Aug 2013 , India’s Finance Minister announced a scheme called ,

National Skills Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme

Here are the highlights of the schame :

Ø   To impart skills to 500 million youth by 2022 ( i.e. 50 million / year )

Ø  Of these,

·         Private Sector to train 150 million

·         18 Central Ministries to train 350 million

Ø  Scheme will provide employment as well as post-placement hand-holding for 1-2 years

Ø  A youth trained by an accredited institution will be required to appear for a national skill test before getting a certificate and reward of Rs 10,000 from the Government . Towards this , Govt has set aside Rs 1,000 Crores / year for 1 million trainees

Now , could the Minister be ignorant of the following ?

Ø  For some 62 years , we have a Apprentice Act ( 1951 )

Ø  Under this Act , private / public sector companies are required to train apprentices in different trades / crafts , for periods of 1 /2 / 3 years

Ø  At the end of such training , trainees are required to appear for their NCTVT exams and pass , to get certificates

Ø  Already thousands of Central / State Govt Industrial Training Institutions ( ITI ) are also imparting such skills training to youths who may or may not have passed 10th standard

Ø  Most companies are using this Act/Scheme to engage such “ Trainees “ in place of permanent workers , to reduce labor costs

But the Minister does admit that , notwithstanding past efforts on such a massive scale , country as a whole , created only 20 million jobs in 5 years ( 2004-2009 ) !  A meager 4 million / year !

May be the Minister hopes that this time around , the Magic Wand of a reward of Rs 10,000 , will create  a miracle  !
Only his arithmetic does not seem to add-up !
Every year , 50 million trainees will add-up to a reward of Rs 50,000 Crores !
Hopefully , the arithmetic will get corrected in time for 2014 National Elections !

   hemen  parekh


Monday 2 September 2013

Boosting Economy : Reducing CAD

Times of India ( 25 Aug 2013 ) presented following facts about USA prisons :


>    In 2010 , USA prison cost (  $ 80 billion as per Bureau of Justice Statistics )

>    Total Prisoners ...............  1.57 million

>    Average Cost / taxpayer ......................................    $  31,286

>    Ave Cost / prisoner ( in New York / 2010 )................$  60,000

>    Ave Cost / prisoner ( in New York / 2012 )............... $   167,731 ( Rs 115 lakhs / year )

>    Prisoner to Guard Ratio ..............................................2  :  1

>    No of prisoners in NY jails  .......................................12,287

>    Waiting time for case disposal  ...................................95  days


With these kinds of costs , our Commerce Minister should be able to persuade US of A , to " Outsource " their prison system to India , for an annual fee  of $ 40 billion and save 50 % of the cost ! Obama Administration will simply love this idea of cutting back on Government spending !

Here are a few benefits to India :

>   Construction of 10,00 prisons will give a huge boost to construction industry and generate employment for 10 million MNREGA beneficiaries ( creation of permanent capital assets )

>   1.57 million retired Jawans will get employment as prison guards ( personalized service ! )

>   CCTV / Electronic Surveilance industry will get a boost

>   Employment of millions of cooks / clerks / sweepers etc

>   A boom to " Prison-Supplies " industry

>   A huge foreign-exchange earning

>   If FDI in " Prison Industry " is allowed upto 100 % , that would make Foreign Institutional Investors to rush to India !

Clearly a win - win situation for both the countries !     



----  hemen