Saturday, April 30, 2011

३६ no more!

On this election eve in Canada, voters are faced with a strange choice. Actually there does not seem to be much of a choice. Taken in a good sense it boils down to the fact that all the players in the field have the state of the Canadian economy as their central focus. What makes them different from each others is how they plan to go about it. Traditionally ruling conservatives have had a top down approach and main opposition the liberals professed a bottoms up. Over the years that distinction has blurred to a large extant. Corporate sector's love affair with the conservatives and working class/ immigrant's honeymoon with the liberals is over for all practical purposes. If you think "big money" has no takers in the liberal party; well think again! Conservatives have been in power for the last couple of years and despite what liberals say they have made a conscious effort to reach out to voters at the opposite end of "big money".

No where is it more true than in Ontario, where a majority of the seats are held by liberals. Conservatives today need the immigrant vote more than at any  other time in the past. That is if they wish to come back and lead a majority government. Like all political parties everywhere in the world they have been tugging at the emotional cords by raising issues like  reducing family reunion wait times;increasing immigration numbers etc. etc. That is not why they deserve the voter support. All this is pure rhetoric. This issue has importance but what is critical for people is the economy. Actually Jason Kenney ,Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism lovingly called minister of curry in a hurry  has been on the ethnic media day in and day out answering questions on these emotional issues. This choice of spokesperson smartly has prevented people from asking other more pressing queries. Ask If you do not have a job yourself , what good will bringing a family member from your home country do? If one is finding housing prices  unaffordable and  wait times for services like health care simply impossible; what good is increasing the number of immigrants ? Isn't that going to be counter productive? And not only to the existing population , think of how much more difficult it would be for a newly arrived person. Can't find a job, can't find a house he can afford to rent......why should he be brought to Canada?  What on earth are we looking for here? Total chaos perhaps! Believe me if economy does not work ,nothing else will work.

One would imagine Liberals to have a better understanding of their traditional vote bank. They might have known that their support base is struggling with pay cuts, job losses and spiraling prices .  Immigrants they have taken for granted need to have their credentials recognized , no government has done anything to alleviate this . Doctors are sitting at home. MBA's are driving cabs. Whole generation  of immigrants  have  had their careers evaporate in thin air as soon as they landed in Canada.  However all they have for solace is  liberal rhetoric again. And then there is this creating of an irrational fear psychosis  in the immigrant minds against conservatives.  Firstly questions should be asked as to what have liberals done in all the previous decades when they were in power except make right noises. Immigrants ;  visible minorities and other socially aware groups have given extended support to them but these very groups have received very little in return. Reportedly liberals are against war in Iraq and all such things ..... In reality what one has to realize that all  of that is just posturing. They are looking for Muslim votes and such veiled references are made to please that  vote bank.  If you ask me  they should not be pleased !  It is just an emotional issue .Canada's largest trading partner is.......you guessed it. The USA! Apart from a joint  history and shared world view there are several different kind of treaties  that bind the two. How practical do you think it would be for any Canadian government to run counter to US ? Remember it is not an issue of sovereignty, it is one of self interest.  If  poll survey's are any indication voters in Canada are already giving Liberals a big thumbs down. And the big question to ask would be; did we need this 7th election in 4 years. Who is picking the $ 300 million tab?

There is a a third force in fray. What my friend called "orange revolution", the other day. Entirely based on a single personality ; NDP to my simplistic mind is just a different shade of liberal. Personally I am also wary of an organization that looks and feels like a one man show. Sooner rather than  later it all unravels. There is not a lot of history behind them and luckily for them they have not had a chance to screw up nationally so far. Based on recent poll survey's a lot more Canadians are putting their weight behind them although their track record of running provinces has been a mixed bag . Did they roll out their socialist program in the provinces they ran?  What kind of economic disaster it was? You have to ask ; please ! This time round they seem to be within sniffing distance of the leader of the pack. The thing to remember is that running Federal government is a different ball game and freezing interest rates on credit cards to 5% + prime is not much of a poll plank. Apart from it being impractical it is meant to reward people who mismanage their finances and abuse their credit. That proposal is bound to have a negative impact on most others who are prudent. Trust me credit card companies are simply going to pass on the added cost of providing credit to rest of us. Much in the same way as we have to  pay an exorbitant  car insurance premium just because one lives in a postal code that has a high number of insurance claims. You may never have made a claim in your entire life  yet you must pay for fraudsters  and careless drivers every single month ! How smart is that?

Everybody is making every kind of promise. In a way they have realized that they will need to accommodate  various groups in their policy making.  At least until the ballots are cast. Conservatives know they can not be Enoch Powell and Liberals know they can not be Lenin. Voters know they need to go beyond their usual and have crossed the floor in large numbers this time round mostly ditching Liberals.  Even so all you may end up is another hung parliament.  

36 in Devanagari is written ३६ . A figure that represents two entities completely inimical to each other.  In this election no side is completely opposite of each other. Voters are open to being wooed by all. Parties are ready to form alliances across ideological divide even before the ballots have been cast. Maybe  NDP is getting ready to form  the government with Bloc Quebecois . Conservatives are possibly sounding Green party for a  post poll alliance. Liberals are most likely reviewing resume's of possible candidates to replace Michael Ignatieff and I am glad I do not have to vote . You see I am not a citizen! If you are , please do so tomorrow and remember it is " The Economy", nothing else matters !

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Biggest Party on earth!


As M S Dhoni smashed that ball  out of the park for a six to lift the world cup for India ; he set up unarguably the biggest mass celebrations on earth. It became a very special weekend.  Indians partied like they have never before in living memory. Not only in India but in every corner of the world ; where ever they live they erupted with joy and pride. Everyone was united in mind and spirit at least on that historical day. In my  North American city Indian fans blocked a major road when hundreds of cars with Indian flags fluttering on top took out an impromptu procession. Sports shops simply ran out of Indian flags to sell. People forced the vendors  to reorder instantly and waited  for hours till they got a flag. Price be damned. Frenzied fans were shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs all night and most arrived at work next day with hoarse voices and red eyes. They danced to bhangra beats on the roads and inside malls and  strip plaza's. People called up even long lost friends and relations to share this good news! India of course made all news channels for all the right reasons and even non cricketing world now knows that India has won The world cup!


I got my share of congratulatory calls from unexpected quarters too. And I was invited to a party that evening as well. It was not planned as a world cup celebration but hey  the host happened to be a sophisticated cricket fan from Bangladesh; so there!! On top of this another guest originally from Pakistan started distributing sweets to congratulate and stir Indians in the gathering and before you know we were having our own league matches  . From game statistics, comparative strengths of individual players, team strategies to cricket politics; all kinds of arguments kept flying around. Nobody was willing to give an inch. Food and drinks were forgotten till our better halves started bowling verbal short pitch deliveries. They as virtually unplayable as you all know.  Pakistani group being masters of  the conspiracy theory was keen to show that this win is hollow since some invisible force had "fixed" the result before hand. Specially the semi final in Mohali. Indian side was firm that the cup is theirs because they are simply the "best" ;period! The final verdict by general agreement was that India played well and deserved this huge win. Dissent duly noted.


Anything that impacts one hundred and twenty one million people is going to be huge indeed. So what does it all mean to the pavement bangle seller who sold me a little trinket for my daughter the other week? Her only complaint was that she has to pay Rs. 200 everyday to police  and even after fleecing me ( she admitted she is outrageously overcharging) she is barely making ends meet. What kind of cup can we win for her? She gets out everyday to the swinging yorker of deep seated corruption that does not allow her to build her innings at all. Can we win the world cup of honesty and ethical behavior for her? What does it mean for that teen boy who is eking  out a living by selling music CD's on the street corner, instead of going to school? He has no hopes of making the India A team. How can we win the world cup of education for him so he can better his lot? When are we going to mount a campaign to win a world cup of life for those farm laborers who are forced to commit suicide fifty kilometers from state capitals? How can we win the world cup of justice and equitable distribution for our dispossessed ; forced to become Maoist by an unjust system. We have tamed Brett lee's bouncers but where are we going to find a coach  that teaches us to negotiate the rising delivery of food prices?

The world cup win is a testament to a young , dynamic and resourceful India. India that in a commentators word "does not know defeat". Celebrate this new found strength ; enjoy the fruits of your victory  today but remember there are many many other more important world cups out there . We must win them all. If we want them they are ours. If you partied this last Saturday with friends and in your neighborhoods ; just imagine what kind of  magnificently super party it would be if all 121 million Indians are happy enough to party together. It will definitely be biggest party ever on earth!

I will raise a toast to the day; because I truly believe we can do it !
Congratulations India!