13 November 2012, 03:26 PM IST
For those who may recall Diwali as it was celebrated four or five decades ago, an important ingredient was a box of good matches, and it was always the same brand:- SHIP. Made by the Western India Match Company (WIMCO), a part of Swedish Match Company then, this British linked tobacco product company had a near monopoly on manufacturing and selling matchsticks in pre-Independence India which carried forward for almost 30-40 years by virtue of some really complicated laws which enabled this and other companies to continue with their dominant positions even in a free India.
So, if it was condensed milk for good home made sweets in an era when Amul had still not arrived, it had to be Nestle's. Likewise, for vanaspati in an era when the benefits of desi ghee (if available) were being frowned on, then it was Dalda.
In short, Diwali in those days, whichever way you looked, was not so much about shopping with choice, but more about taking what was available and doing the best with them. Something like Indian politics.
Sure, things appear to have changed now, but for the real things in life, do we really have a choice in India, or is it all so much of an illusion? And not just politics or consumer goods as well as other beads and baubles, but the realities of life in a free and democratic India?
One thing we learnt over the last few decades of India's independence was this - fair and free competition always provided a benefit to the people, unmatched by any kind of regulation or mandate.
Take, for instance, Diwali greetings.
Those of you who are lucky enough to be on the PMO twitter distribution, would have got these two Diwali messages from Shri Manmohan Singh, "GREETINGS: I hope that the festival of lights this year will mark the beginning of a new phase of optimism for each one of our people," and "GREETINGS: I wish the people peace, prosperity and a very happy Deepawali on this auspicious day."
Sounds more like an order, an edict, a declaration from way above. Not realising that the people of India are optimistic about India, it's the present government that most of them have serious worries about.
However, if you checked out a column by Shri Narinder Modi, who is most likely the strongest contendor for the post of next Prime Minister, you get a much longer post, spelling out some serious action points. Just this sentence spells out the difference:- "Let us pray that our country be blessed with enough brightness to keep our nation away from the menace of corruption and price rise. It is then that we can free the poorest of the poor from the clutches of poverty and make each and every individual an integral part of our development journey."
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/narendra-modis-blog/entry/diwali-a-move-from-darkness-to-light-the-ultimate-triumph-of-good-over-evil
So one view is this:- MMS or Modi, the man who issues orders saying "be happy or else" or the man who spells out what he wants to see and do?
On this Diwali, truth is that many of us are more positive about the country than ever before, but the only thing that can mess up matters are the monopolies (in the name of governmen, liberalisation and reform) sought to be thrust on us from above. There are so many positive things happening in India - renewable energy is catching on bottom up thanks to higher fuel prices on a grey market basis that reminds us of the infotech revolution, a new and younger breed of civil servants appears to be emerging quietly all over the country involved in anecdotal and systematic change processes, the communication and transport revolution especially with micro trucks and mobile phones is reducing the go to market gap for lakhs of micro mini products and services, a reliable cash management system is emerging out of the rapidly spreading ATM and POS network, and most of all, primary and secondary education was never cheaper thanks to the internet.
In the midst of all this positive good news, the only fly in the ointment is the capability of our legacy mai-baap sarkar to snatch defeat from the hands of victory, and that's why Diwali and the reference to defeat of monopolies of all sorts is so important.
On this Diwali, most importantly, we would like to see the symbols of a monopoly sarkar be taken down. Either voluntarily, or by way of process, but they need to go. Red beacons on VIP cars, exemptions from tolls, special quotas on trains, big bungalows, special privileges, nepotism and similar. Feel free to add to this list.
Just like we can buy matchsticks of any brand for Diwali. Or milk. Or cooking mediums.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
A Diwali (mango) wish-list
Dengan url
http://osteoporosista.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-diwali-mango-wish-list.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
A Diwali (mango) wish-list
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar