BJP you need to change

As Dr. Manmohan Singh took oath of the prime minister for the second time, nothing could be better for the country today.
Political ideologies and fanaticism aside no one can say that there is anyone better equipped, better suited to be the PM of India.
The win for UPA (read congress) was unprecedented and gave a sigh of relief to millions. Did you see the stock markets the next day to election results? and ever since?
On one hand where congress did very well (unlike the pre poll results and even by party's estimates), there on the other hand BJP failed miserably.
Mr. L.K. Advani the wannabe PM could say no more after the results. Before the elections he was all words (bad) for Dr. Manmohan singh.
Why BJP lost is being calculated by many within and outside the party. But what strikes me is how BJP is able to win 160+ seats which it won. And then we look into the finer details of winning with allies and others, we can understand may be it can win 160.

But then BJP needs to change, it has been said many a times in the past by many people, proved many a times and this time the writing is on the Wall.
It would be unfortunate if BJP is still not able to read it.
The way BJP works is not that of a national party. The views its leaders keep in some matters is not nationalistic.
Where it still tries to bank on the Hindutva agenda, it is unwilling to embrace it fully.
People in its ranks keep anti secular views and gives anti secular speeches and it doesn't feel the need to distance itself from such people or put a stop to all such nonsense.

If Mr. Advani thought that he can get the voters on Hindutva, Progress, Nationalist sentiments all at the same time, then people around him are not brave enough to tell him that it can't happen. He needed to clear his stands on many issues.
BJP needs to clear its stand on many issues.

Instead of bashing the PM and putting stupid songs (Bhay ho a parody to Jai Ho) and endorsing anti secular speeches and people, BJP could have done much better had it really understood what the people of India want.
BJP still have the stand on some national issues that small regional political parties keep, it doesn't have a nationalistic approach, nationalist thinking and a national agenda.

BJP needs to come out of Sangh and RSS influence and prove the nation that it can be a good responsible national party which can give congress a run for its money in case it does any wrong.
The party owe this to the nation. In States party might be doing well but then does it only want to be a regional party?
Was a raise from 2 seats to 160 seats only a flash in the pan or did it become too much to handle?
People of this country want at least 2 good political parties with clear agenda and clear stand on national issues, much like the US.
I am happy to vote for Shiv Sena any day rather then BJP, at least their agenda is clear and they would try to do what they promise at election time.
But BJP has lost it completely, it wants to appease urban voters, minority voters and hindu voters and voters only looking for progress at the same time and many others. And now it has probably forgotten what it really stands for.

There needs to be drastic changes if it really wants to remain a national party and new faces should come out in its rank which changes the face of BJP in voters minds and it should clear its stand on many issues and need to set its agenda very clear.

If it cannot do that then probably we need another national party which can compete congress.

BING

Microsoft today launches its new search engine to compete with google, its named bing.
Needs to be seen how good or better match it would be for the people living their lives with google.

The Elephant, The Tiger, The Cell Phone, and The Indian Elections

If you want to sum up the Indian elections 2009 in one example it would be Shashi tharoor getting elected for Lok Sabha.
Shashi Tharoor the one time UN under-secretary general for communications and public information who came into light a few years back to the Indian public at large contested form the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
Dr. Shashi Tharoor as he is addressed has many degrees under his belt and has held many key positions at international level representing India.
When I heard about his candidature for the lok sabha I was surprised. Though he lost the election of UN secretary general for a bitter second position I was not sure if he was right in trying out his hands at the Indian Elections.
Also looking at his suave and international manners, it was hard to think that he would be able to think about running in an Indian election (forget winning).
A diplomat who has always strode along the skylines from New York to Geneva, will he be able to get into the dust and heat of Indian villages, coming in contact with people, trying to identify their problem and then hoping that people will be convinced that he can solve their problem and elect him lastly?
Last time I saw Mr. Tharoor was on "The Colbert Report" where he came to introduce his new book " THE elephant, THE tiger, and THE cellphone (also talking about caste system and outsourcing a bit).

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Shashi Tharoor
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Gay Marriage

The title of the book or perhaps the way he was explaining about the book (though I have not read it) gave me the impression of a person who has really known India through books and journals or through hearsay or may be at best by an experimental tour of India.

Can Mr. Thraoor who has known India mostly from a writer's perspective understand the real equations of Indian elections? In places where electricity, clean drinking water, good roads are still glaring election issues for public at large, where people often vote for their cast (and not candidates nor parties), where money and muscle power and criminal background often counts as your eligibility requirements, will Mr. Tharoor be able to tackle all of that or he would be in a state of shock? Those were the questions that were in my mind back then.
And most important of all "Will the Thiruvananthapuram voter recognize him as UN under secretary and will choose him ahead of any local candidate?

But that's the magic of India, it is so very welcoming that when you come back after a long stint abroad or even if you are coming for the first time as its own (many such NRI children) it will take you in its arm and will not let you feel that you are any way different or you were ever away from it.
Elections though are a different ball game altogether, nevertheless this election has been a remarkable turnaround in the manner election results were coming for past 20 years.
India this time rejected small regional parties, tried to find stable government, rejected many criminal background candidates and embraced progress and progressive candidates. And that is one of the reasons people of Thiruvananthapuram embraced Dr. Tharoor.
Not taking away any efforts that he must have put in, during his election campaigns but these elections have brought the radical change that was needed for past 20 years of elections.
Dr. Shashi Tharoor who voted for the first time, fought the lok sabha elections for the first time and also got elected in the first time is an excellent example of what these elections were all about.
India this time has chosen progress and stability in these tough economic times and if that means embracing highly talented, learned individuals of our country who were away from the motherland but can bring radical changes in the country then people can stand aside from the petty poll promises and caste politics and choose them.
Kudos to Dr. Tharoor and Indian democracy.
The land of elephant, tiger and cell phone can often create magic through the magic stick called The Elections.

David Frost

If you haven't heard of David Frost then you must watch the movie from last year Frost/Nixon.
David Frost is the talk show host who got American President Nixon to publicly concede his involvement in watergate scandal.
The movie is outstanding with Frank Langella playing Nixon.
Now Sir David Frost (who interviewed many of the great international leaders) is now working for al-jazeera english and was recently in India, where Prannoy Roy took his interview for NDTV.

David Frost also took Interview of Indian Prime Minister Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi

Startups and you

When I was in US, I was pretty much impressed by one aspect of there economy and that was more and more people were getting indulged in startup companies.
Entrepreneurial skills could be seen in many areas, from a guy who started a small business of auto-parts to people in the tech industries launching there new businesses every day.
The one good example is twitter which didn't start as a very big business but it caught the fancy of the users and today twitter's business model is being projected as an iconic model.

From a small website selling specialized products to websites which would crawl through other websites and display relevant data using other website information (mashups), the startups have been thronging up everywhere and of many types. The sad part has been the current economic situation where it became hard for startups to sustain and many of them perished and many of them were bought by the big fishes.

But the best part of this whole story is the easy process in US where anyone who has a bright idea can go and test the waters for himself. There are no limits to how far can a person progress with this model, it solely depends on does the idea 'Click' with the users and how much effort the entrepreneur is ready to put in, in his/her startup.
Also the risk taking tendency is more there as compared to India (the reasons can be many and they can be at advantage but that's not the point) and if a person has a good idea he/she goes forward with it without thinking much about can I pull it off? rather they start concentrating on how I can achieve this.
Statements like "I am thinking of opening a company after graduation as I have a bright idea which I think can sell" can be heard more in US then India (I never heard one in India).

Since last one month i have had many chances where i came in contact with stories of people who have started their own startups in India. Several stories came into light in and around Pune where many people are trying their hands with startups

Stories have been of couple of techies shunning their jobs and starting a food joint which instantly became a hit, to guys coming back from abroad and starting their own business to make an identity for themselves.

Some very bright ideas are now floating in the market and good thing is that businesses are being run on a few of those ideas.

There are now groups dedicated to startups where people are sharing information about how to begin with startups and how to get things done for your business, the logistics and other support that are needed.

It is so heartening to see people really taking the plunge rather than just sitting and thinking that I could do this and that.

It is true that this tech startup fire might be glowing in only a few cosmopolitan cities but in small cities also there are people who dare and try their hands with startups in other sectors. You would often hear stories in every city like that person was 10 years back selling wada pav and now he is a millionaire, these stories are nothing but a reflection that there has always been a trend of startups in every field and that is how big corporate houses were born. The good thing is this trend is catching up now.

The important feature of current startups is that mostly NRI are getting involved in it for some obvious reasons but in the end the good thing is that they are getting involved starting the ventures and ultimately being partner in progress of the country.
Technology has changed the world a lot and people have started to dream about a business of their own.

Businesses start and a lot of them fail and a few succeed nevertheless it is true that the heart of the matter is people are now trying their hands with business and not stopping at the thought that business can only be possible by the rich.
A CNN report was showing the phenomenal growth of Chinese economy in recent years and it clearly reflected that the most important reason for China's growth has been startups, new entrepreneurs in the market. There are many entrepreneurs in China in their late 20's and early 30's who are millionaires and that's how Chinese economy is way ahead today.

As I was once talking to a friend of mine that after college now its hard to even hear about a bright idea from people around us (forget implementing), shattering that myth comes stories of startups within the Country and its heartening to know that there are people who are standing up and doing something with their ideas rather than only cribbing about the situation they are in or lack of resources.

The question stares us in the face would you dare to run a startup?