The FDI Retail Musings

FDI in Retail has been put on hold but it has triggered a fierce debate with wildly opposing claims. This is somewhat ironic given that every argument that is made for and against it can be tested against the current Indian Big Retails.

  

Argument 1: Have Big Retails Worked in India till date

When India’s first modern retail stores opened for starting business 15 years ago it triggered breathless headlines but today the organized retail is a tiny fragment of the Indian Retail Market. Most big players are struggling to break even. Reliance the biggest player in modern retail in India has posted a net loss of Rs. 44 crore. As for Big Bazaar, the next largest chain; its parent company has debt in their record books of around Rs 4352 crore. The Shoppers Stop chain of stores posted a net loss of Rs 1.5 crore this past year. Aditya Birla Retail with its chain of More grocery stores is still loss making and looking for investors. Some like Subhiksha which at one time had more than 1600 stores has  shut down all together. India’s oldest modern retail stores Spencer has posted a Rs 170 crore loss in this financial year. So India is one of the few countries in which Indian big retailers actually want their foreign rivals to come in. They claim, it will bring more funds. Experts say this is an indirect way of saying that the Global Big Boys will buyout few of the struggling Indian Retail companies. Now the question remains even if the Big Boys buyout or partner Indian retailers, can the WallMart and Carrefour do better. Some say they can because they are fully experienced in retail unlike Indian companies like Reliance, Birlas who don’t have that experience. But others argue that there are challenges unique to the Indian Market which will be applied to all players regardless of nationality and experience. The single biggest challenge for any retailer of any size or scale is how do they are going to find affordable real state for retailing operations. Most parts of India don’t have just enough space to start with and whatever limited space is available, the pricing of that land make it very difficult out of the retail business. So the Government's figure of Foreign Investors waiting to invest $ 600 billion becomes somewhat unrealistic. If we look at the record of the overall record of the FDI in India, whichever sector we opened to overseas investors the results aren’t success stories. Our infrastructure sector is opened for foreign investment from quite some time, so is our Power sector but we haven’t seen a stampede of investors coming into India because merely allowing them to invest in India is just a starting point.

Argument 2: Will small traders go out of Business?

The loudest most vocal opponents of FDI in retail are small traders who say they will go bust. They staged a violent protest when the first Indian retail chain opened. In reality, there is no comprehensive study so far that maps the impact on small retailers after the entry of big retails. In the first week of this very month NDTV conducted a straw poll. The team of correspondents in four metro cities talked to local shopkeepers to know if their business was impacted after the entry of big corporate retailers in their neighborhood. The result showed that most of the shopkeepers were unruffled. They say the impact on their business is so little that it is pretty marginal. Their loyal customers are still with them.

Quite apart from anecdotal evidence if any empirical proof is needed for the innovativeness and resilience of the small traders, it’s in the Government own figures which finds that the growth of organized retail has dipped from 27% in 2005 to 15% in 2009.

 While unorganized retail has maintained a steady growth of 15% from 2005 to 2009.

This calls into question of the logic of Government’s glowing prospect of the big retails in India as well as the logic of small traders who claim that they gonna be wiped out of the business. The bottom line is that Retail in India is a complex fragmented mosaic made up of pavement vendors, kirana stores, Government stores, Cooperative networks etc. Organized networks have so far remained just one small part of that mosaic.  

 

Argument 3: Will big retail modernize agriculture process

The Big Retailers have made farmer’s collection center near the farmlands in rural areas where they can purchase the produce directly from the farmers. In past the farmers used to bring their produce to Mandi and most Indian retailers would buy from there. But now Bharati, Big Baazar, Reliance Fresh, have setup centers to source directly from farmers after taking permissions from Mandis. The farmers say they have to travel less and get a price which is close to the Mandi price. The farmer may get a same price at Mandi as compared to say Big Bazaar but  he has to pay to commission agent and also for transport. In Delhi’s Azadpur’s Mandi for instance a kilo of Gobhi(Cauliflower) is priced Rs 6.75 per kilo and the farmers pays a commission of Rs 0.40 per kilo and transport cost of Rs 3 per kilo, So he only makes a Rs 3.35 per kilo. Many of the times the farmers produce get wasted due to lack of storage amenities. On other hand at the Big Bazaar collection center farmers get tips on how to save the produce from wastage. Big Retailers says they have killed the middleman by employing local villagers for the centers who contact farmers. But this is tough going baring a few states, India’s agricultural land holding are too fragmented to let the big retailers get contract of large supplies with individual farmers. [Average landholding in India is 0.67 acres ]. So the big retailers do informal agreements with large grouping of farmers. Overall even those who are wary of the entry of multinationals into sensitive areas like food say that the entry of organized retails might have some benefits with conditions.

Economist Sudha Narayan says “Wherever there is contestability where farmers have more alternatives that will empower them ultimately. On other hand the contestability not necessarily should come from FDI retailers; it can come from Mandis, domestic players, domestic processors. So there is nothing unique about the FDI which can make the market contestable.” [ In reference links at the bottom you can check a paper submitted at Cornell University by Sudha Narayan regarding Agro Retail in India]

Definitely agricultural reforms is the responsibility of the Government and by overstating the benefits of the big retails, the Government is trying to shift their responsibility of reforms to a third party. Of the 180 million tons of fruits and vegetables that India produces, almost a third of it is wasted because the Government says existing cold storage has only capacity of 20 million tons. This is where they believe the multinational retails can come and rescue with money and technology. But will Multinational retails will be able to bridge this gap ? Learning from past, we know when Government opened FDI in cold storage chains, nobody invested. Indian retailers say even if the MNCs are allowed to sell it is unlikely they build such a massive storage backend. Definitely they will either force the Government to build the storage backend or in worst possible scenario will get it done by some other body but they will try to make it happened. Technology isn’t a rocket science anybody can import it, it’s just there is no enough money. Even if they build cold storages it isn’t clear if the Indian consumers are ready to pay more. 

Argument 4 : Inflation control by Retail

Initially Government wanted to come up with FDI retail the focus was the benefits to the farmers but with the price rise turning up the political heat, the Government began to argue that  FDI Retail will check inflation. It’s true that stores like Big Bazaar will advertise cheaper prices for certain food and products but across the board if you do a quick test of prices of organized retailers vs street retailers, the difference is marginal. All of which questions the Government’s logic that Big Retails will control inflation. For that, most Retailer will have to become big enough what Economists called "Economies of Scale" to reduce prices but as far as we have seen, organized retail is tough, expensive and it will take a long while before we will have Wallmart like stores where everything is cheaper than rest of the market.

 Argument 5: Alternative to Retails

Reading through the reports by Government or by Corporate Chambers that sell the Retail story of India there is little mentioning of how the grass root networks have evolved through which Indians buy and sell as well as the success stories within those like that of AMUL which is an example of successful rural marketing from front-end to back-end with zero foreign investment or technology. AMUL collects milk twice in a day from over 3 million farmers with the help of 16,000 village cooperative societies. AMUL even argues that the model they have created is even better structured than any model in the West. Also, the India’s largest network of retailers, The Invisible Street Vendors who after years are finally getting organized by Nation Association of Street Vendors of India. A central law for Street Vendors is also going to be discussed in future parliamentary sessions to improve this model's growth.   

    

As the Government attempts a second round of building consensus on FDI in Retail, it should be well foreground not just for the top end of retail chain but for the bottom of the pyramid as well which will give greater legitimacy that it can act in the interest of majority of Indians. 

References :

The Great Indian Retail Story - An Ernst & Young Report, 2007 

Paper submitted by Economist Sudha Narayan

2011 Retail Reform Commentary: Expected impact of FDI in Retail – Ernst & Young India Viewpoint 

The Economist December 2011 issue - Reform in India: Let Walmart in

An article from Hindu on FDI Retail

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छठ का त्योहार

 भारत में जलाशयों के किनारों का सरोकार कई त्योहारों से जुड़ा हुआ है | मुहूर्त स्नान, मूर्ति विसर्जन जैसे अवसरों पर इन जलाशयों ने धार्मिक क्रियाकलापों में अह्म भूमिका निभाई है | ऐसा ही पर्व है छठ का त्योहार जिससे इन जलाशयों की रौनक और बढ़ी है | पिछले कई सालों से इस रौनक में इजाफ़ा हुआ है | कल बीती हुई शाम और आज सुबह, उत्तर भारत में जहाँ भी जलाशय हैं ; छोटा सा तालाब, झील, पोखर, नदी हैं वहाँ बहुत बड़ी तादाद में सूरज को नमन करते हुए लोग दिखे | यह छठ का त्योहार है जिसे बिहार और भारत के पूर्वी प्रान्त में बड़ी धूम धाम के साथ मनाया जाता है |  दुनिया सिर्फ उगते हुए सूरज को सलाम करती है वहीँ छठ पूजा डूबते हुए सूरज और उगते हुए सूरज दोनों को सलाम करती है |  

दरअसल जिसे हम अक्टूबर और नवम्बर के नाम से पहचानने के आदि हैं, बरसात बाद के वो महीने मन और मौसम दोनों  लिहाज़ से उल्लास के होते हैं | गर्मी बीत चुकी होती है, सर्दी की खुनक आ रही होती है | घर आँगन खेत और खलिहान, धान, दाल और गन्ने से भरे होते हैं | ऐसे में ये अन्न का भी त्योहार है, जल का भी और रोशनी का भी | ऐसा त्योहार जो घर बैठ कर नहीं होता, मिल जुलकर सभ्यता के छोटे छोटे घाटों पे होता है | शुरुआत दो दिन पहले खड़ना से होती है, इस दिन घरों में खीर बनती है और पूरा महोल्ला बिना किसी न्यौते के इसमें हिस्सा बटाता है | फिर ठेकुए का ख़ास प्रसाद बनता है, जो छठ की अलग पहचान है | दूसरा दिन डूबते हुए सूरज का होता है और तीसरी सुबह सर्दियों का आगाज़ करती है, दिवाली के बचे हुए पटाखे जलाये जाते हैं और साफ़-समतल किये गए जलाशयों के जगमाते घाट रौनक बढ़ाते हैं |  इन सबको जोड़ते हैं, छठ के वो गीत जिनकी अपनी ही लय होती है |   

   बीस साल पहले तक यह त्योहार सिर्फ बिहार और झारखण्ड तक सिमटा हुआ था लेकिन अब दिल्ली, मुंबई और उत्तर प्रदेश में भी छठ मनाया जाता है | दरअसल इन बीस सालों में झारखण्ड और बिहार छोड़ कर लोगों ने देश के दूसरे हिस्सों में घर बनाये हैं, जहाँ गए वहाँ अपने तीज़-त्योहार ले गए और यह प्रक्रिया दोतरफ़ा रहीं है | गुजरात के नवरात्रों के गरबे अब भारत के दूसरे प्रान्तों में भी दिखने लगे हैं, करवा-चौथ सिर्फ दिल्ली और पंजाब का त्योहार नहीं रह गया है अब उसकी एक अखिल भारतीय पहचान है और गणेश चतुर्थी सिर्फ महाराष्ट्र तक सीमित नहीं है | छठ भी इसी सांस्कृतिक लेनदेन का हिस्सा है जिससे कभी कभार कुंठा की मारे, ठाकरे जैसे कुटुंब समझ नहीं पाते | सभी को इस पावन पर्व की शुभकामनाएं |    

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Saddest Dusherra Morning

As you have likely heard, computing genius and visionary tech pioneer Steve Jobs passes away today after a battle with cancer. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Everybody is heavily touched by the man who created the iMac, iTunes, iPhones and the iPad unsure how to honor his legacy. He will be always considered as an irascible and extraordinary impresario who led to the paradigm shift in computer industry. The transformation that took from metal box minicomputers and IBM PCs into sleek shaped Macintosh, iPhone and iPad. His vision was to use the power of complex computing to create extremely user friendly and fun to use devices for the planet. If he would have lived a decade more , no doubt you would have seen a device named as iWatch or iMirror redefining a whole experience what his “i” does to an ordinary thing. Steve Jobs was the man who will be remembered for putting the benchmarks. He was the initiators of several technologies and it drove the copycats to invent cheaper devices. He signifies the spirit of fighting back whether it was making presence felt in boardroom, captivating the ever competitive market or fighting with cancer. 

His style will remain iconic representing a guy who used to come year after year in his trademark turtle neck black t-shirt and denims with eye catching gadgets to redefine what user experience was before that and setting high bars for the peers to work harder if you want to come close to him. His presentation style in keynotes became a learning lesson for management graduates and industry veterans of delivering a presentation. Most presenters convey information while Steve used to inspire in his presentations. He not used to sell gadgets but he sold experiences to user which separates him from the other inventors. He quoted “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” and he meant it. This can be seen in his innovations or in his presentations. India never achieved the status of being the territory of the Apple’s Empire but his mere presence at US induced similar Asian products in Indian market. So, he had a strong impact. From now on he will be missed in Apple Conference’s Keynotes. He will be missed for being there as a person leading the technological transition of this era. Leaving you with few of the quotes and his legendary speech at the Stanford in 2005. May his soul rest in peace.

"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

“My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”

“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.”

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and everyone should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Youtube clip of Steve's speech at Stanford in 2005

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Save Indian Hockey

There is a little confusion regarding the earning of sportsmen in different Indian Sports. Everybody points at the money received by Cricketers but they ignore the fact the Indian Government never rewards Cricketers but they are rewarded by BCCI. BCCI never takes money from the Government, rather arranges the money by its own. So, yesterday when Hockey players were upset regarding the prize money of 25000 there shouldn’t be any surprise. Wouldn’t it be better if Hockey players and lovers give more emphasis and demanding for structural changes on the Hockey Federation so that it becomes functionally independent like BCCI and is able to promote Hockey to such level that eventually the mass viewership doesn’t remain concentrated with Cricket because Cricket is not our National Game, Hockey is.

Dhanraj Pillay who left Hockey long ago still has a heart which beats for Hockey. He became upset when Indian Hockey Team which arrived yesterday from China after defeating Pakistan to lift the Asian Champions Trophy was rewarded with prize money of 25 thousand rupees.  Well, everybody is upset. Sports Minister Ajay Makhan tweeted first about the prize money. He also mentioned Government spent 7.81 crore rupees on Hockey Team in last 6 months alone,5.97crore rupees for National Coaching camps, 1.75 crore rupees for  Foreign Visits and 8.75 lakh rupees on foreign experts. He wanted to mention that Government is spending a huge amount on Hockey. The Upset environment led to media questioning about the prize money which looks more like a charity donation. Checking this scenario, Punjab Government announced a prize amount of 25 lakh rupees. It is also not a large amount of money. Hockey players and other team members will receive an amount of around 1 lakh rupees and this decision not seems to be taken for rectification but rather politically inspired. It is true that if Cricket Team wins then Rewards starts raining from all sides. The rewards are so large that it becomes unmanageable. But it is also the fact the Cricketers are never awarded by Sports Ministry but by BCCI. Rewards are given to them different levels: National, State, District. Public and Private sectors start competing for being a bigger reward giver to Indian Cricket Team. Yuvraj Singh received 6 crore rupees for hitting 6 sixers in an over while same day a BSF soldier died while fighting terrorists and was given few lakhs of rupees which states a shameful truth that playing Cricket for India does make more money than dying to save this country. In a similar manner Hockey has also become a victim of negligence which happens to be our National Game. Hockey Players are not wage paid mercenaries who will not play for the country if they aren’t rewarded but when it comes to the pride of nation then keeping Hockey is lime light and when it comes to Money then pushing Cricket miles forward somewhere frustrates the sportsmen of other games. This frustration is genuine because Hockey Players are employed at lower ranks in Railways or Banks. Small rewards are given to them but at least they should be rewarded with honor. Cricket is undoubtedly more popular than Hockey; greater spectators support, greater number of sponsors and greater revenue. The same is not true with Hockey. Neither is it blessed with houseful stadiums nor handsome revenue. How can then Hockey players are rewarded with the rewards they really deserve.  Government should make the Hockey Federation more responsible and professional and powerful so that the Federation can arrange sponsors by their own and definitely money will come. Hockey is our National Game and has graced the nation with multiple Olympic Gold Medals in past. It is not enough to just display Hockey as a prestigious trophy of past. Whether it is Cricket or Hockey or any other sports, all players are young, are of similar age group, all want to earn respect and money so that they can afford better life.  A small effort of honest professionalism and we might see the state of Hockey in no miserable condition. I hope we can expect at least such will from the Government if we really want to save it. Hoping my wish will come true.  

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And I started reading Newspaper again

Of Course I never left reading newspaper as it marks the beginning of my day's ritual. During my School days I had a habit of reading English and a Hindi Newspaper in daily routine. Later College Life started and together came the vendors of DSL Broadband Connections which flooded the information flow. Unlimited High Speed Internet was new to all the Dialup users in which we used to limit our Internet usage so as to use the Internet time judiciously. Probably it was restricting the information flood that was to come. As Broadband connections started penetrating Indian Homes, a new media setup started to gear up in India which already had matured in West. This media platform was none other than the world wide web. Previously Indian News Websites existed, but the rate at which they were being updated was not so impressive if it is being compared to today’s date.  A fundamental shift started as people started substituting their Daily Newspaper with Internet Websites. It was cheap and it had lots of data which makes you feel that you are at advantage end. I also plugged in. Before this I was in habit of reading, skimming, scanning 2 to 3 newspapers but after joining the club of online news readers, I gradually realized that now I wasn’t reading even a single complete newspaper. I was getting mired in the Internet Matrix thinking that I am reading all the news all I can handle but somewhere the traditional complete and balanced diet supplied by the daily newspaper was missing in from the online nutrition. I switched back to traditional newspapers. Meanwhile this issue also struck the Media Mughals in west and soon arrived a range of display technology which was designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper which led to creation of e-Paper and the standard newspaper hit the browser. As we use tested technologies of West, Indian Media pretty soon adapted the new technology and went for e-Papers. Majority of the e-Paper offerings are free and it was fascinating to visualize your daily newspaper on your computer screen. The best part was not that they were free but the fact they were put online hours before your newspaper boy delivers your newspaper. So, you have the privilege of reading the newspaper of the day even before the strike of first light of the day. I tried but even the first reader’s privilege didn’t diverted by fondness of real newspaper because I reading an e-Paper felt me in the servitude of constant clicking and the hectic need to scroll, to bounce between links of opening popups for individual article. 

When I shifted to Pune, I subscribed The Indian Express, TOI and ET simultaneously. I was enjoying the feel of reading physical Newspaper and was feeling privileged. The bulk of paper that was getting collected was finding innovative ideas to contribute to the household needs.  Later I shifted to a better flat but there was no Indian Express there. The newspaper vendor changed and he doesn’t seem to change his supplies due to one person. Frustrated and sad, I was scrolling through Indian Express Website and checked the new E-Paper mode. The new version was better, glossier, without popups and had smooth page switching options. It also caches each page so once you are done with turning all the pages for skimming, the pages are cached and you can switch back to any page of your choice without the use of Internet pretty fast.  Its 4:30am right now and I have already gone through today’s edition of Indian Express. Wherever you have Internet, you can go through the paper throughout the day. The Indian Express e-paper led me to investigate other newspaper. I realized TOI, ET, HT all didn’t have the interface which Indian Express accomplished. I went on to check the e-paper of International Newspapers which I found paid in majority but their interface was a little improved version of Indian Express. Finally I found a website that has evolved the online newspaper to its extremes. It is NY Times which uses the Chrome Web App and it is probably has heightened the standard and users expectations of reading their morning ritual. So, Finally I am reading my newspaper again in yet another format. I accept that nothing can substitute the sound of turning newspaper pages and the curiosity to identify celebs on Page 3. The significance of traditional ways will never go down but the newer interfaces will attract readers because of their anytime-anywhere availability and curiosity drawing interfaces.

 

Weblinks : i) http://epaper.indianexpress.com/ ii) http://www.nytimes.com/skimmer/

                 iii) http://epaper.timesofindia.com/index.asp

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Yet Another Wednesday

It’s now a tradition that right after bomb blasts in Mumbai or Delhi, News Channels start shouting फिर दहली मुंबई  or फिर  दहली दिल्ली . In reality life goes on, candles are lit and politicians get busy in visiting hospitals and making sympathy speeches. In today’s date how much rage has been accumulated for politicians was clearly visible when Rahul Gandhi faced wrath of angry victims' kin at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital when he went to meet the victims of the Delhi high court bomb blast. Undoubtedly the patients faced trouble due to his visit. On what account did Mr. Rahul Gandhi go to visit the victims? Because he is Congress General Secretary and Member of Parliament. Undoubtedly being son of Sonia Gandhi he possesses great political power but he doesn’t possess a representation from Government. Nowadays it’s been a fashion that just after such incidents, politicians and ministers start rushing to the hospitals for their attendance. They are accompanied by their party workers and supporters. Media also rushes to these hospitals as a part of their duty. By seeing the cameras, a lot of statements are addressed. L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari and V K Malhotra also performed this sympathy ritual together with their troupe. These people have definitely enhanced the troubles of hospital workers not eased by them. This is moreover a political tradition that is being followed from a long time.

My Question is why this can’t happens

•  Politicians without giving any statement silently visit the victim’s home or those who are injured. 
•  Politicians donate blood on this occasion and motivate their party workers and supporters for it.
•  Politicians ask their party workers not to come to follow them rather serve as volunteers to help the victims and hospital facility.
• Politicians come forward for financial aid on party level without waiting for official government financial aid.

But such things never happen. This is not true that each politician reach at these spot to cry crocodile tears and such incidents do not made them grief stricken but this can be said most of the politicians try to seek "political gain in public pain".   

There is nothing to say because the Home Minister himself has spoken that Delhi Police was on High Alert. Why not Delhi Police High Alert is made little more Higher, a little more active and agile.3 months 13 days ago on 25^th May there was a similar blast outside Delhi High Court whose investigation is going on and today another blast piled up. Both were similar and moreover Police never try to differentiate these blasts.

The things which happen every time and now can be called "bomb blast rituals" :

•   Initially off the record and then on the record the blast is declared to be Terrorist attack.
• After few hours some terrorist group’s name is declared stating their involvement.
• Next explosive chemical is told. Almost every time it is declared that it is Ammonium Nitrate later it is rectified with some other explosive chemical.
• Nails and bearings are retrieved from the spot.
• The explosive is either packaged inside a bag or suitcase.
• Security Agencies claim that they knew it was coming.

But in spite of all these stuff no one knows who were involved in the blasts and no one gets caught. The carelessness of Government Machinery gets exposed every-time but it gets buried with the passage of time. After 25^th May blast there was an order for installing CCTV camera but unfortunately those cameras got stuck in government files and red tapes.

 

Usually Delhi or Mumbai are on top lists of terrorist groups because a blast in these cities reaches across the world via New Channels because Delhi/Mumbai blasts are not like Kashmir or North East blasts where people are dying but attention is never given. Terrorist know that they can never beat Government with their tactics but can spread terror and for that bomb blast in a city like Delhi is the easiest medium.

We understand that Government can’t keep vigilance after each and every region but a little honest effort and terrorist themselves be terrorized. We don’t want to hear two words today: Condemnation and Resilience. They have become excuses for apathy and numbness. We just want an honest effort and nothing else.

Hope this wish come true.

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Freedom Day : Fasts and Curious

Today is the 65^th Independence Day and we are ahead of watching the implications of our freedom fighters especially Gandhi but Gandhi seems to dominate for more reasons than these days. In his name there are old manner of protests. The most recent and current of course being the protest of Anna Hazare who this week is calling his protest the second’s freedom struggle. Time was when Mahatma Gandhi was the only leader visionary enough to call his fast as Satyagrah, all of our histories and our understanding of history is shaped and formed by Gandhi’s famous fast unto death. He undertook 15 of them in his lifetime but they were almost always not for individuals but for causes, for specific issues which played watershed part in India’s Freedom Struggle. Now of course fast unto death is almost synonymously associated these days with the clash between Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev with the UPA. As we look at Anna Hazare, we seem to forget the protests in other parts of our country as well. The longest running fast unto death has been infact has been in one corner of India North East portion of India by Irome Sharmila, a young woman who has been asking for the repeal of the armed forces special power act in Manipur. Why does she never gather the proper headlines which Anna Hazare does, Is the media culpable? Has fasting now become something which occupies urban headlines because current issue relates middle class. Is there a class bias in how we response to fast? 

We need to ponder whether fast have become the Indian method of protest or whether they are in danger of becoming theatrical.   

     Taking the Government perspective, Team Anna certainly can’t force a law whose efficacy we are not sure of and in some sense many thinks it’s the wrong way to do it because laws should not be made on Jantar Mantar Road but in Parliament. Unfortunately, the campaign has made Indian into finger pointers, everybody who is standing with Anna is pointing fingers towards politicians but there is element of corruption within us. The corruption when we bribe to make our life easier. This the society has to look into by introspecting themselves before pointing fingers on the khaki clad.

         On other perspective, we can see Government is ready with a toothless bill. In School we are taught Parliament is good and outside Parliament protesting is bad but it is lazy thinking in today’s scenario because we have to take a perspective what is right and what is wrong. If what is happened in the last session of Parliament is wrong where taxpayer’s money was wasted by consistent adjournment of the sessions then a non-violent protest to cleanse the system is not bad at all as nobody is taking arms like Naxalites. 

I am ambivalent about this protest as I support the cause but cannot understand how we can subvert our institutions. We are probably a nation at puberty, at a stage that will separate youth from responsible citizens and to reach that it will be our institutions, it will be the rule of law. As a consequentialist, one can say that the old guy fasted in April and that’s why we have come across so far; we have cabinet ministers in jail and isn’t that is achievement. At the same time, we cannot get always from the fact that we are not during Gandhi’s time, when we were there was no constitutional democracy. The best thing we can do to fight corruption is to uplift the campaign to strengthen our institutions so that the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the police all become accountable by protesting before Government to make a strong and sensible Bill rather than finger pointing parliamentarians.  

 Swami Vivekananda advocated “Aggressive Good”. This movement has a potential for aggressive good, so if there was something we haven’t achieved in the last 65 years atleast now we can gain some momentum because how many times the country come together and debate for good cause which is gonna heard by entire society.  But for God’s sake don’t call it a freedom struggle because we undermining the fact that we are a free country and that’s why Anna Hazare can write to the Prime Minister and say that he don’t have the right to unfurl the flag and is not being jailed for expressing such aggression .

There is a more important subject than history and that is the future. With my limited experience I can say there are people who are cribbers and there are others who are doers. Even with a criticized style but Team Anna is atleast doing something otherwise we surely would have a committee of Anti-Corruption headed by people like Sharad Pawar and none of the debate would have been going like what is happening now. But the doers must be with thoughtful because Hitler was also a doer but insensible.

As per Gandhian principle, idea of fast was for arousing the sense of empathy. Today the context has certainly changed or you may called distorted so we should not compare it with a Gandhian movement. Also a matter of fact, every note that is being steal in the name of corruption has a Gandhi picture on it and this thing should not be forgotten.

There are several issues to fast for that goes beyond what we are looking at but the consensus of masses is that today is 15^th August and there is a need of a potential dialogue not a collapse of the relationships between the institutions which make democracy, so that we still have reason to be proud of.

A very Happy Independence Day to all.

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