MPs Salary Hike - Govt Salaries - My take

The adage goes, "If you throw peanuts, you only get monkeys" and no wonder then that the adage aptly applies to Indian Parliamentarians and can (more or less) be extended to the entire gamut of Indian Government employees. Government jobs (Teachers, Police, Judges and Bureaucrats etc.) including Parliamentarians are not seeking the same level of talent equipped to handle the job responsibilities to perfection. There have been exceptions but bluntly put the Government jobs in India today are means to get into a cozy permanent position without any accountability over lifetime. Add to that highly responsible jobs do generate nonparallel amount of extra income through corruption leading extravagent life styles, killing the social conscious attached to the job in the process. It's no surprise then that the most talented and highly self-conscious Indian youth is allergic to the Government Jobs and is looking for an alternative. Illustrious, lucrative and more meritocratic private sector careers then beacon leaving government jobs in hands of ill-equipped (I wish not to call mediocre) youth.

Members of Parliamentarians (MP) carry the most coveted and the most responsible position as policy/law makers in the Indian constitution and sadly many of our politicians are most ill-equipped and lackluster to justify their respective positions. Most of the younger generation - Supriya Sule, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora, Naveen Jindal and even Rahul Gandhi - that come readily to my mind should ideally fill the chest of all Indians with pride but given their family legacy, Indian politics scene appears to be a family run business. Veterans are no different as they are known to sleep on their chairs and most of them neither demonstrate excellence nor deliver performance/governance. One wonders what our MPs would do if they would not have been MPs? Are they equipped to run alternative administration or policy making management jobs with aplomb? Will anybody else other than their parties hire them? Why then these soles are demanding salary hike? Are they really worthy of it? Alternatively put, Will the Indian state reap the benefits of the amount of money it would be shelling on its policy/law makers?

Answers to these questions are not that black and white as any Politics but I do understand one thing "If you throw peanuts, you only get monkeys" and according to that rule, as a policy maker I would vehemently support the Salary hike for MPs and other Government officials. I prefer to increase the salary package of all the government officials including MPs to their private industry counterparts. I would prefer to do it with a trade-off though. The extra perks - car cavalcade, house and other fringe benefits - should be slashed vehemently and brought under control. Their social status should stay similar to that of a private sector employee. All Government organizations should be run competitively vis-a-vis their private counterparts ensuring good and timely governance with robust processes in place. In the process, government officials should be applauded for their good work and given the stick whenever they err as is the rule in private Industry. The good and honest work should be recognized and promotions and higher responsibilities should be conferred sooner in order to eliminate the otherwise sluggish government careers. All these reforms should be aimed at alluring the promising youth to take up and thrive in the governmental careers, be it a school teacher, a policeman, a Judge, a bureaucrat or be it a MP.

Imagine if India develops a school system as good as Singapore where a school teacher is paid handsomely and can enjoy the social status of a doctor or a lawyer. The talented youth with passion for teaching would never hesitate to take up such a huge job nation building responsibility ensuring good quality education fostering vibrant younger minds. Imagine a Policeman who would never take a bribe to offer a license (will not give license only because he expects a bribe). A traffic policeman who would honestly charge you without taking a bribe and then you would never speed up, break the traffic signal and will obey all legal traffic rules leading to reduced accidents on roads. Non corrupt policemen carrying all their duties with pride without succumbing to pressure from the rich, powerful and influential. Imagine a Judge who would always deliver impartial judgment without being allured to corruption. Imagine every district collector treating his district as his own project -a baby and delivers with par excellence improving thousands of lives. And above all imagine a brigade of young politicians - the status men delivering governance par excellence enticing the youth to actively join politics, more as a reformist...

All these are certainly possible with the beaming economy providing unimaginable opportunities. The need of the hour is to seize these opportunities and what we need is a right person for the right job. That will happen only if we recognize and reward the talented and honest workforce to realize their their true potential so that they fulfill others' dreams. But, one thing is a certain If continue to throw peanuts, we will only get monkeys...

Tryst with Taekwondo

"Hey dude! Can you be a little higher. You are right at my balls and trust me I dream to make a lot of kids", seven and a half feet Wim was paranoid to say the least, as I was alive and kicking during my first ever Taekwondo practice session. With no control over me -- my legs -- my body I was marshaling the art like a headless warrior and a while later it was my turn to yell "Hey Wim! Can you be a little lower or else I won't be able to see them." I was scared to death as Wim's forceful kick approached my face making me see the stars for the real. "What?" Wim did not understand. "I mean you are right in front of my eyes and if you make me blind how will I see your kids?", I responded and both of us gushed into laughter. "Ok! See, listen!...Take it easy, very easy and very very slowly" followed another piece of advice as we started practicing again.

It was my first ever session to learn Taekwondo -- the marshal art I chose to learn just because its name appear longest with the hope that once I learn it I will be strongest and mightiest. As I reached the hall for the first session of the semester expecting a lot of beginners I was surprized to find myself -- a solo tyro amongst an Uniformed group with a variety of colorful belts. Wondering if at all it was the session for beginners like me I inquired a Korean standing next to me. "Yeah! This is the Taekwondo practice session. You wanna fight with us?" beamed an enthusiastic Sam wavering his boxing fists to me. Looking at his black belt I started to take into account my fighting skills. As I started to list my accomplishments as a fighter, my illustrious resume flashed. All I have fought and tamed in my life are a large number of mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and at times mice. Nevertheless, I used to dissect earthworms exploring its digestive, nervous and reproductive systems with aplomb during class XII biology labs. Cherry on the cake has been that I had also been a bemused spectator during a frog cutting session before I bid my adieu to the noblest disciplines called biology. So fighting with a black belt or for that matter anybody has always been out of question. "Are you crazy. This is my first ever time. I only wish if I can learn some tricks, get a bit fitter in a process and that's it. Fight and all. No way boss. I have never done it, may be this is not a place for me." , I was about to pack my bags thinking if at all I will reach home one piece if I stay over. "No, No. Do not worry. Just practice with us and you will be an awesome fighter. You can demonstrate to your friends and others the skills and they will be amazed. Who knows you may go to Bollywood as a fighter.", Sam was unstoppable. May be it was the lure of Bollywood that made me to stay and practice first session of Taekwondo.

After the warm-up session involving jogging and running, it was time to perform some stretching and kick practice, I was paired with another Korean girl - Ema. Somehow over the years I have always harbored an illusion that my body is not that unfit and certainly a lot more flexible than an average person, definitely worthy of surprising a bystander. But this girl was treating my stretching skills with contempt -- if not a disgrace. She looked at me the same way a F1 driver would tame a lame driver trying to pass a driving test and gestured to offer help as I was trying to stretch beyond my capacity. I only stopped because my pants would have teared off if I had gone an inch further. As I offered to aid her during her stretching she offered another disgraceful look. This was the look of a GM to an amateur chess player; of an expert to a novice as she stretched full 180 degrees to both left and right sides. My jaws were wide open spontaneously. She did not spare up and down stretches as well and she was equally good. It was as good as watching Nadia Comaneci's gymnastic performance. That too for free. To Say the least I was literally humbled. The kicking session saw another ordeal as many times I fall down thumping on my ass only trying to raise my kick -- high, high up to the sky. "Unless you are steady and in full control, never try to hit others", quipped the gymnast. I have also learnt, I remembered Rajkumer saying in his beaming voice: जिनके खुदके घर शीशे के हो वोह दूसरों पर पत्थर नाही फेका करते.