India and the US ... updates galore ...

India recently cut its key interest rate to offset a slowdown due to a global recession. The Reserve Bank of India (Indian Fed) announced that it didn't see any signs of a quick turnaround. This seems to make the over 20% rise in the BSE Sensex, from 9000 to 11000, over the last few weeks seem a little premature.

Meanwhile, while Krishna Byre Gowda seems like a case for a genuine Obama-like figure in India, Mayawati is also laying claim to the fame. I read recently that she says her status as a lower caste person rising to the top makes her the Obama of India. Here's the Times of India drawing a similar comparison. Clearly being like Obama is a badge that everyone is going to claim, but this seems a little far fetched.

Finally, I was in a discussion recently about the excessive nature of US debt. As of 2008, US public debt was ~US$ 10.7 trillion, i.e. 74.6% of GDP. India's public debt is 78% of its GDP. Japan's public debt is now 170.4% of its GDP.

What does this mean for the US?

Satyam Shivam ... oh nevermind!

The irony in a name. Per Satyam's chairman ... they've been massively inflating earnings for years.
Read more about it here.

Zardari a peacnik?

In this article by Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, he makes some interesting assertions. First, he basically declares the terrorists enemies of Pakistan as well as India. Second he makes overtures to India. Thirdly, he draws parallels with his own loss and those of India's. Finally, he acknowledges the presence of terrorists in Pakistan and acknowledges that this is a vestige of the cold war.


Benazir Bhutto's commitment to democracy was questionable. Her commitment to peace with India was even more questionable. Benazir Bhutto often came across as having a deep seated resentment for India.


Having said that, Mr. Zardari's comments do resonate. Benazir's death was as much an offshoot of the terrorists in Pakistan as the attacks on India. They have arrested the Lshkar-e-Taiba members, Let's see how this plays out.

PS: Pakistan has reportedly refused to extradite the terrorists to India. While Indians may be shocked, few countries agree to extradite people, notwithstanding treaties. The UK, for instance, is notorious for dargging its feet on extraditions despite extradition treaties. For instance, the UK is on record as saying no extraditions to the US for death penalty cases (i.e. terrorists included).

Why no outrage?

A very good article by Thomas Friedman who points out that there has been little outrage in Pakistan to the attacks in Mumbai, in complete contrast to, say the outrage and riots in Pakistan over the Danish cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed which resulted in the deaths of several people.

Uncomfortable facts

In this article, Asra Nomani criticizes the conditions of Muslims in India and points out that this is a disaster waiting to happen. While it may be tempting to dismiss criticism of the Indian government policy towards Muslims as being ill conceived and insensitive, coming as it does just after a horrific terrorist attack, the data on this is pretty damning. Over the last twenty years (i.e. roughly since the mid-1980s), Muslims have fallen behind even the scheduled castes and tribes in terms of socio-economic progress. This report as part of the Sachhar Committee report shows some of this data. At minimum, this shows that while India is progressing, for one reason or the other, Muslims in India are being left behind. For the Muslim community to fall off so dramatically, there really has to be widespread disengagement. This is particularly evidenced by the fact that unlike Dalits and other minorities, and despite being the largest minority in India, there is no effective political advocacy on behalf of Muslims in the political process. This is not to validate the demands of Muslims, but more to highlight the lack of effective democratic outlet for Muslims.

This is a great article by Fareed Zarkaria where he, among other things, points out that these issues need to be resolved not just by India but by the whole region, as the problems bleed from one country to another.

One of the readers comments in the Fareed Zarkaria article alleges that the Indian Army and R&AW routinely engineer these incidents within India and then blame Pakistan. Searches for reports on the Sabarmati Express, Godhra incident, Malegaon blasts, etc. reveals a pot pourri of allegations of this kind emanating from news organizations from Pakistan and India. As with all news, people selectively remember the reports that supports their view of the world.

The underlying problem for people like the commenter though is that there is no credible trustworthy impartial arbiter of truth in the sub-continent. Even in horrific cases such as the Godhra incident, there are contrary opinions issued by different commissions. These commissions are often designed to make political hay out of lamentable situations, and as a result, people are left with doubts. Even to this day the facts in most of these cases are unclear.

Adding to confusion are the often wild and baseless accusations and claims made by the Indian media and politicians, which never get rescinded and are then absorbed into the ongoing memes in the Indian consciousness. How many terrorists were there in the latest attacks? How did they get there? Where are they from? All sorts of facts and speculation have been bandied about.

Some of these are harmless. But often, these factoids, despite being blatently false, feed and justify the views of extremists.

India launches moon mission

India just launched Chandrayan 1, a two year unmanned moon mission. The orbiter carries two NASA equipment and is supposed to conduct scientific tests. Here is a more detailed story.

Nuclear deal approved ...

The India and US nuclear deal has been approved by India and the nuclear suppliers. Now it requires the ratification of Congress. Let's see where Obama and co. stand on this. There is a risk, albeit small, that Congress will delay the matter till next year, not wanting to yoke the new President to a deal like this.

A stutter in India ...

Recently, there has been much talk about how India is going to become dominant in the world. This report on the issues facing Tata Nano production in West Bengal is an example of why that growth will not be easy. Quick summary, strikes and protests have stopped the construction of the Nano production facility in West Bengal.

Knowing West Bengal, they would have protested the construction no matter how much cause they had. A gut reaction would be to blame the intransigence of undereducated farmers, the hold of the communists and pandering by politicians. However, a closer look reveals that it may not be as simple as that. Government heavy handedness and a willingness by Indian companies to use government influence to strong arm people and not be fair were also to blame.

In this case, the West Bengal government literally took away hundreds of acres of farmland to give to the Tatas and paid the farmers "adequate compensation". Since there was no auction, the compensation is the government's estimate of the land's value, and not the market value it might have fetched. So, financially, its unclear how fair the deal is.

Also, imagine being a farmer and then having the only thing you know how to do being taken away from you, without your consent. It would be like someone giving me a packet of money and saying you can never work in a company again.

The Chinese by contrast do this relatively easily, for example in the relocation of 2 MM people during the construction of the 3 Gorges Dam. The question is, should India emulate the Chinese? Are the pains of the few less relevant than the gains of the many?

Progress or regress

What is a sign of a nation headed toward a greater destiny?

One of the thinkers I admire wrote recently about the difference in attitudes in the 60s or 70s.

When the English factory worker sees the boss drive out in his Rolls Royce, he says, “I’d like to put a bomb under that car.” But when the American worker sees the boss drive out in his Cadillac, he says, “I’m going to own a car like that some day.”

I trust we haven't lost out on the positive attitude - the hallmark of the American Dream and the state of the 'optimism economies' of India and China.