Maharaja

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sanatana Dharma

Swapan Dasgupta writes in his column in Sunday Times of 26th Septembar 2010, “The irony is that this New India is more religiously and assertively Hindu than ever before. Judging by the sharp increase in middle class pilgrimages, the exaggerated sindoor of the new bride, the frequency of car pujas in temples and the holy wallpaper in the laptops of the young and successful, the sharp rise in national self-confidence has come in the wake of a spectacular revival of the Sanatan Dharma”.
He is a regular columnist, and I presume is well informed of what he writes. Is sanatan Dharma all about this. My understanding of Dharma was about social, economic and political justice. I thought being good was Dharma.

Accidents

Our finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, according to Times of India ( Hyderabad Edition)of 20th July 2010, has said " Accidents are accidents. Nobody can predict, that is why it is an accident".

one of the following two conditions only result in accidents:
1) Unsafe condition.
2) Unsafe act.
This is what our safety manuels teach.

Kharij

Last night I saw Bengali film 'kharij'. Mrinal Sen made this film in 1982. It is about how middle class families exploit the poor and have 10-12 year old boys as as their domestic servants. The domestic servant dies of carbon monoxide while sleeping in the kitchen.
What struck me was a matter of fact statement by a senior advocate, who the family appraoches,that 'legal lie must prevail over moral truth'.

Budget 2010-11

Feb.27, 2010, a day after the union budget was presented, The Times of India proclaimed, “Time to shine” and also said “ investors richer by Rs. 70000 Cr”. But also contradicted by saying, “ No pay-offs for Mr. 10 per cent”. They did not go below Mr. 10%. The editorial ‘Going for feel-good budget’ was a crowning glory with ‘budget is a well-rounded effort at economic management'.

Deccan Chronicle was not far behind. It proclaimed, ‘ joy on the home front’, 'saving spree for tax payers’ and ’60 percent of tax payers sing FM tune’. The editorial said, ‘feel- good budget for growing India’.

Only Jayanti Ghosh in DC wrote, ‘FM has ignored 95% Indians’.

I have a few questions:
1) What percentage of Indians are investors?
2) What percentage of Indians has income enough for tax payment?
3) How did someone arrive at 60% of taxpayers being benefited?
4) How will the people who earn less than 1.6 lacs a year manage increase in excise duty? As Jayanti Ghosh says 95% are ignored.

Intentions of the government may be good so far as expenditure part is concerned. Ofcourse it is not done to talk of defence expenditure.

Minimum wages act is a state subject, but where Congress is in power minimum wages can be raised to the level of junior most worker of PSUs.

Only intentions are not enough, there must be justice as well.