Queue

Queue is the way of life in our nation.Everywhere one goes,there is queue.For paying a bill,there is a queue.At the enquiry counter,there is a queue.At the bus stop ,there is a queue.At the ticket counter ,there is a queue.At the examination centre ,there is  a queue.Even at the toilets,there is  a queue.For passport ,there is  a queue For immigration, there is a queue.Even one goes to cast a vote at the elections,there si a queue.Queue includes the plural ....that is many queues.

Why ? Why a queue ? Simply, because of such a huge population.Thanks to continous breeding ,there are so many people out there that a queue is the only solution.Yet this solution leads to many more problems.

Lots of time is wasted in the queue.If someone thinks ,that he can join queue ,get work done & be on other tasks at hand ,he is absolutely wrong ! Most of the times,when a person almost reaches the servicing counter,it is lunch time or closing time.So next ,that person has to make a new beginning.Many times,when a person has almost reached the counter,he is told that he was standing in the wrong queue.At other times,he will be made to realise that he forgot to include some documents,cash is only accepted,cheque is accepted,draft is only accepted & so on.

Some people think nothing of jumping the queue.Corruption is another issue in  queue.So queue may seem to create more problems instead of solving any.

Since lots of people are in the queue,people do end up fighting as well.This raises tempers & sometimes there is  a war going on .At other times,there could be wars going on.I recall, that I had gone to register for Aadhar.Some people started a fight about who should be served first.That was enough reason for the servicing staff to close the counter for the day !

Many have to take  off from their offices  to stand in such serpentine queues.They are just praying that their work gets done.More often than not,it gets spilled over.This leads to lots of bitterness.

Nowadays,many people pay bills online.Phone enquiries have made some dent.As technology improves & becomes widespread,hopefully ,queues will lesson.For the queue to go away ,there has to be strict population control.Technology & public participation has to go  hand in hand, in eliminating  the  queue !

This is my blog post for "Q " in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.

Sharing blog posts of fellow bloggers :

Suzy Que

Morgan Dragonwillow

Book Review : Chanakya's New Manifesto

This review is a part of the biggest Book Reviews Program. for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books !

Pavan K Verma ,author of several books like Krishna :The Playful Divine,Ghalib: The man,The Great Indian Middle Class, has penned this manifesto so that all is set right in India.This is a book of 248 pages. There are seven chapters preceded by Prologue & succeeded by Epilogue,Notes & Acknowledgements.The language is great though more simple vocabulary would have made it an easy read.

The author has been inspired by Kautilya or Chankaya who managed to unite large parts of the erstwhile India into one State under Chandragupta Maurya.Kautilya wrote a treatise on Statecraft titled Arthashastra.Pavan Verma's manifesto is the new Arthashastra suited to the present day turmoil going on in India.

The book starts with the problems facing our nation today.It lists them as Governance,Democracy,Corruption,Defence, & Egalitarianism.There is a problem with this listing.Our nation has just witnessed  the horrific gang rape .Maybe this book was written before that crime.Still ,women & their problems are not the problem of India as no mention is made of the rising crimes faced by women- trafffiking,foeticide,rapes,molestation,bride burning ,etc.If we brush aside the sense of insecurity felt by nearly half of the population ,how can we expect to solve any which we refuse to even admit as troubles ?

All the five chapters dealing with the problems begin with a long quote from Kautilya's Artha shastra.
 In each chapter,the author lists the various facets of the problems stated.He then goes on to suggest solutions to the same, as per his Manifesto -the new Arthashastra.The solution is presented neatly in points.

Readers will agree that the Government of today, is only interested in survival - all others things can wait till the next election.All parties depend on money power to fund elections.Money is offered to buy off voters,candidates ,in fact ,anybody who is willing to name a price.Our nation has no security policy- terrorists & naxals are bleeding out nation.Our neighbour hood is teeming with nations who seize every opportunity to fish in our  troubled waters.Moreover ,all would like the world to believe that India is the big brother in South East Asia & must behave magnanimously. Corruption is the factor, which is all pervading - defence deals,coal gate,PDS ,etal. In our nation ,the haves turn away from the have nots.Many believe,that  this is the prime reason, which gave birth to naxalism.

Verma suggests sweeping changes to solve all problems.He suggests making changes like pre-declaration of the aims of the political parties.Anti defection law must be changed as in its present form ,it has hardly any teeth.No supporting party can withdraw during lock in period etc.The Election Commission must be made stronger than what it is now.His suggestion that the President must exercise more powers is bound to raise eyebrows as it would be seen to be against the tenets of parliamentary democracy. He suggests that DRDO must be overhauled as it has failed miserably to deliver anything.Private -Public partnership in defence production is a valuable suggestion.The Lokpal bill recently passed has many shortcomings. Goverment ought to make it more stringent if it believes in tacking corruption.NGOs & government must partner to make our society egalitarian. Aadhar cards would go a long way in delivering cash incentives to the needy.UID scheme is in its infancy & we have to wait till any comments can be made.

Pavan Verma has done extensive research .He had access to many people & statistics which other writers may not have as he had worked  with the Government in various capacities.He suggests that many committees be formed to oversee & supervise working of many institutions.This would lead to lot of red tape.He has made no mention of some other problems like rapid urabanization which is leading to choked cities with teeming population,rising crimes,traffic snarls etc.

Still ,his listing makes a beginning .If a start can be made ,then perhaps ,we could start  looking for solutions as well.This could lead to next steps & surprisingly ,we may be a  Nation State as envisaged by Chanakya.

Manifesto for change.

This post is a part of Weekend contest at BlogAdda.com in association with 
Chanakya's new manifesto.

Our country has a huge population which makes it very difficult to govern & even administer.Whatever facilities are provided,they  hardly reach anybody as the ever burgeoning populace makes every thing insufficient & wanting.Hence,one area of utmost concern, is to  curb  population growth.There can be only two kids per couple-Hum do ,hamare do should be revitalised. All who have more than two kids must be bereft of any government benefit schemes be it employment ,subsidies, accessibility etal. Quick ,easy & safe birth control methods available in all places will assist in keeping population steady.Sex education is a must, in schools so as to curb unwanted pregnancies.Condom usage  will be a two pronged weapon-check population growth as well as prevent AIDs which is spreading alarmingly in India.


The recent horrific gang rape in Delhi has shown how unsafe our nation is for women.This ought to  be set right.The Justice Verma Committee report must be implemented at the earliest .Fast track courts to try offenders & certainty of punishment for the accused, will go a long way, in curbing rising crimes against women be it stalking , voyeurism,molestation,rape etc.A data base of criminals involved in crimes against women will  go a long way in making them social outcasts .This in turn, will act as a deterrent for wannabe offenders.Moreover gender sensitivity must begin at home .More women at police stations & in courts will assure female victims that the State means business.

Our disputes are clogging the courts.Courts have a paucity of judges.At lower levels of judiciary ,many women can be appointed as judges - this will help immensely.Women are better at listening & will be able to amicably bring about settlement.There are many women who are law graduates & they can be appointed as judicial officers at the lower rungs.Double shifts in such instances , will mean faster disposal of cases.Double shifts means more women can be employed.This will curb unemployment of women to certain extent.As disputes get disposed off at lower levels ,many will not appeal & so less disputes will go for appeal to higher courts.This will eventually lead to de clogging of higher judiciary.Many man hours will have been saved .Hence justice will have been served by delivering it in time.

Vehicular traffic in our country is terrible.All seem to believe, that they have arrived only if they can flaunt their cars.Roads are terrible & yet people are buying cars not just one but in huge numbers.Rising fuel costs is not dampening this thirst of buying cars which guzzle petrol & diesel.Moreover ,we have no social conscience- so drunk driving is rampant .So are accidents which maim & kill thousands .Vehicular traffic jams lead to delays which can be avoided.Moreover crude imports are draining away our foreign exchange.One way out is to auction cars  as it is done in Singapore.So very few will be able to afford cars.Public transport must be made more accessible  & safe.This in turn will reduce air pollution as also noise pollution.Even commuting woes will come down. Insurance costs will stabilise. So easing vehicles out of roads, is a win win situation for all  !

All the four concerns listed above will come to naught, if corruption continues unabated.The Lokpal bill must be made into law as fast as it can.The officers of the State as also the politicians, must be brought to book if found guilty of corruption.No one must escape, if found to be indulging in corrupt practices due to gender,caste, religion etc.The law  must apply equally, to all offenders.A data base of those found guilty of corruption must be available on all government sites.The property of such offenders must be attached & used by the State to provide relief to the victims of corruption ,in building infrastructure ,etc.All offenders must be awarded a mandatory minimum sentence in jail .This will prevent others from becoming corrupt.

All the aforesaid concerns are interconnected.Tackling one will lead to curbing the next one & so on.There are many other concerns like cleanliness,environment degradation,female foeticide,honour killings etc to name a few.Yet if we can address the aforesaid five problems,we would have made a honest & humble beginning in making our nation a better State.

The trust of the Tatas.

I have been watching the TATA tea advertisement for quite some time & have come to the conclusion that Tatas inspire trust in all of us.

The new advertisement by TATA tea is against corruption & so catchy- I am sure,it has caught your fancy as well ! Their earlier advertisement was for registering voters- actually encouraging people to register as voters & they had an online campaign as well.I am certain that many did vote because of the advertisement.The advertisement ran like this "Agar election ke din aap vote nahi kar rahe to aap so rahein hain."

The TATAS are also running SCIP( Second Career Internship Program for women ) for those who left their jobs after marriage,child birth et al.This is the second year for them.I had also applied but as they had got better candidates who fitted the bill,I lost.But mind you,TATAS mailed me their book" The creation of wealth -THE TATA STORY " by R.M.Lala about how TATAS created wealth for a nation.It is a real eye opener -at least it was for me.This year also,I did apply for the said program but again,they got better candidates but they were so nice that they sent me a letter informing about it. I was overwhelmed !


I have learnt that TATAS have been instrumental in reviving the silk weaving industry of Benares & now all staff at their hotels wear benares silk sarees.They started many indusrties & Universities ,etc-in fact, you name it & they were pioneers.The Indian Institute of population Sciences,The Tata Institute of social Welfare,the Tata memorial Hospital,are just a few of the institutions they started & nurtured over the years till the Government took over them.Moreover,they never boast about the wealth they possess as everything is held in the form of trusts.The TATAS truly believe in practicing the trusteeship system advocated by the Mahatma.

So many corporate houses have tried to pretend that they stand for trust but few have succceeeded like the TATAS.

Copter crash.

Suddenly this thought of writing on YSR's death came to me.Maybe, it was not so sudden- it became more concrete on reading an article about his "contributions "to so many "c"s- corruption,conversion, collection of funds for the party,cohabitation with Naxals,etal.

YSR had been warned about the copter that it was in no good condition as also about the weather that was not too conducive for flight but he just went ahead endangering himself as well as others who died with him.But then being a politician,endangering other's lives is just a daily or maybe a perennial pastime for the likes of YSR.But the moot question is, what sin/s had the others committed that they also died in the copter crash with YSR ?

There is no need to state the endless list of crimes committed by YSR for obvious reasons.About the unfortunate people who died because they were accompanying him,there was not even an obituary in the media.Then, why did they have to meet such a gory death ?

I recall a story shown on the idiot box -I forget the name of the serial-Katha or Ek Kahani.The story is about a group of persons stranded on a stormy rainy night under a shelter.The group consists of some four to five men,a child & a woman.The men are abusing the woman as they allege that she is an unwed mother.The lightning keeps striking the ground near the shelter just missing the shelter many times.The men keep screaming at the woman telling her to leave the shelter as they feel that the lightning will next strike the shelter & they will all die.They keep telling her that her sin is responsible for the lightning striking so close . The woman keeps clinging to her child -now the child just breaks free from the mother & goes out to get drenched.The mother shouts & also runs behind the child under the open sky.Just at that moment,a stroke of lightning strikes the shelter burning the shelter to ashes.All are dead, except, the woman & the child.


Almighty has conveyed a message -that the death of so many persons along with with YSR was justified because of the severity & the enormity of the crimes committed. Even Jesus appears to have approved.