Anna Hazare: A new dawn in Indian democracy?

I attended my first “political rally” on Aug 16th 2011. Anna had announced his fast and the Electronics City software companies (Bangalore) had organized a gathering between 3-4pm. I did not know what to expect. We went around 2:40pm and waited. There were about a 100 people gathered. As time went by, the crowd grew to multiple thousands. It was an amazing feeling. One of the people who addressed us was Justice Santosh Hegde. He said, he was pleasantly surprised to see so many software guys. He said till now he believed that software guys just lived for themselves – being completely oblivious to everything around you. That is something that hit me hard. It was true. I worked hard and honestly. I took care of those who depended on me. I did my fair share of social contribution. However, I never got involved. Actually I didn’t even vote! I’m sure there are many like myself in this generation.

The last couple of weeks have seen history being created. A 74-year old man – with nothing but a deep conviction, impeccable integrity and unbelievable inner strength took up a crusade to challenge the status quo of corruption in this country. Many “elitist talkers” have raised concern around Anna’s methods. They have used words like blackmail, hostage etc for his tactics and have said he is killing democracy etc. I don’t think so. We have just allowed the nation to come to a state that it needed to be shaken up. If the politicians had done half of their job on corruption, Anna wouldn’t have been able to attract half the amount of support he got.

I have never seen Gandhiji but what Anna has done and what Gandhiji did, couldn’t be too divergent.

I believe this is a new dawn in Indian democracy – on many fronts.
For 60 years, we have allowed our legislators an absolutely free hand. We elect them once in 5 years and then after that they are a law unto themselves. For the first time, the entire country rose and said enough is enough and we want you to listen to us. This was met with different reactions. Starting with arrogance and contempt, to use of power to crush the protest by arresting and not giving permission, to slandering, to bait-n-switch, to trying divide and rule to not responding to making some big “game changing” promises to saying parliament is supreme. But finally the will of the people prevailed. A frail old man fighting for a cause that resonated with the entire nation brought the government to its senses. I would like to believe that these incidents have permanently changed the fabric of Indian politics. I don’t think, critical laws will ever be made in this country without public participation and scrutiny – as they have been for a long time now.

Usually, the government would work with a small segment of NGOs and others who they co-opted with to hear the voice of the people – this was the “co-opted civil society”. Over a period of time, this became a fairly closed circle and had a “snobbish” air to it. What this movement has done is that it has taken this to the masses. Bharat and India are one. I have a strong feeling that going forward, public participation will become very strong and legitimate channels to give and receive feedback will need to be set up with a wide base.

Witnessing the debate in parliament yesterday, I felt proud. I only wish most of our sessions are run that way. Pranab Mukherjee opened beautifully. Sushma’s Swaraj’s speech was one of the best I’ve ever heard. Sandeep Dikshit was balanced and good and above petty stuff. Varun Gandhi was fantastic. During this historic parliamentary debate, I was disappointed to not see one individual – someone whom I have liked a lot personally – Rahul Gandhi, missing. I just cannot understand why. I have a belief that going forward the quality of debates in parliament will certainly go up going forward. We don’t want sessions after sessions to go waste and no work done. And then dozens of bills get passed in minutes. I think this will change.

There is also another great wave coming. The Assam Chief Minister voluntarily announced that he would come under the Lok Ayukta. He did this without being asked/pushed. The Gujarat Governor overnight announced a Lok Ayukta after the position was empty for 8 years. People have started making proactive statements by these actions. With so much scrutiny happening, even for existing cases the Judiciary is a lot more stern. Yedyurrapa’s anticipatory bail was rejected – he faces more trouble. Kumaraswamy and his wife are very nervous around the case that a local advocate has put in. And I think, countrywide, this is just the start. One strong Lok Ayukta in one state, shook up an entire establishment – that too without suo-moto powers. The country deserves more – and is more likely than ever to get it.

In the rally that I attended, Mr Santosh Hegde asked us to take an oath. We will not take bribe. We will not give bribe. Today, on national TV, at the event of Anna breaking his fast, they asked the entire nation to take the same oath. It will be interesting to see what happens on the ground in transactions with lower beauraucracy on a day to day basis – starting tomorrow! I think all bribe-askers better be careful. The public sentiment is simply too hot. Expect fireworks!

And then there is the role of the media. I must say I saw a lot of television over the last two weeks. Media did a brilliant job and kept the pressure up. Hats off to Arnab Goswami! He was relentless and direct. Others too did a great job. With the media scrutiny and the public scrutiny it is difficult for the politicians to not honor what they have promised in the house of the parliament. Everything that they do from here on will be under a microscope.
It is also interesting that Abhishek Manu Singh is the leader of the standing committee who has been charged with coming up with the draft of a strong Lokpal Bill. It was his late father who actually presented this idea to Nehruji and who actually coined the name Lokpal! I wish he does a terrific job and does it fast.

This is a journey. The RTI act was a very important piece of legislation. Arvind Kejriwal and Arun Roy and others, put in a lot of work to make this a reality. Many exposures that are happening are because of the RTI act. In his fast ending speech today, Anna mentioned this is just the start of a journey and that they will fight for a right to recall, right to reject, electoral reforms etc to push more cleanup. So this will be a long, long series of battles.

Perhaps all this will not get done during Anna’s life time, but he has certainly ushered a new dawn, a new awakening in the Indian democracy. I was never a part of the freedom struggle but we all are witnessing a fundamental shift in Indian democracy. This is important so that our children inherit a cleaner India.

Let’s do our bit.

Jai Hind!

Justice Mi Lord!

Ramakanth is a 62 year old man who has been fighting a case for his land for the last 17 years. The case is still on – but he is too weak to fight now. Too weak in body and too weak in spirit. He is seriously unwell and is not sure if the case will see closure during his lifetime. His family is also clueless of what will happen.

Ramakanth is not alone. Actually he is one of 3.5 crore Indians who have a case pending in court.

Consider this.

The average time to resolve a case in India is 15 years!

There is a backlog of 3.56 crore of cases – 50,000 in the Supreme Court itself – the highest in the history of our country. And increasing by the hour.

There are millions of under-trials languishing in our jails – just waiting for their case to come up to be heard – even though many maybe innocent. Many stay in jail much beyond what the maximum sentence for their crime would be (if convicted).

Our judicial system is creaky – just like the rest of our infrastructure.

Now consider this.

If you see the Supreme Court’s calendar for 2010 on their official website, there are 137 official holidays for 2010!!!! That amounts to 4.5 months of vacation in 2010 - even my 9 year old daughter seems to put in more hours at school than our esteemed courts!!! Unbelievable. And so what if crores of fellow Indians are languishing – waiting for our judicial system to show up.

Plus our courts work “court hours” – that means our country’s judicial infrastructure is idle for almost 2/3rd of the time – just a 33% utilization! What a gross under-utilization of precious national asset – specially with such a huge backlog which is increasing by the hour.

But wait, there is more.

Apparently, we have only around 14,000 appointed judges – as opposed to a sanctioned number of around 19,000 – so we are a whopping 5000 judges short – even though we have the budget to hire these! Forget about actually increasing the 19,000 number by another 10,000 to catch up with the backlog problem. Various state governments have brushed aside increasing this strength – citing paucity of funds! This is not on anyone’s priority. Wouldn’t it be good if our states and governments would compete to top on this front as much as they compete for financial investments.

I think if there was an Olympics gold medal – India would definitely be the undisputed leader in this category. Or a Nobel award. Or any award for that matter.

For an aspiring emerging super-power and the world’s largest democracy, our judicial system is in shambles and needs a serious re-haul – urgently. Our country definitely deserves better. Interestingly, our enterprising media does not report or push this stuff strongly – it does not seem to be on anyone’s agenda.

Our Law Minister Mr. Moily has certainly been making the right statements around judicial reforms recently and I sincerely hope he succeeds in doing whatever he says he is planning to do. But as always, there is always a slip between cup and lip – specially in politics – and very specially in our Indian politics.

Mr. Moily has been talking about reducing the pendency of cases from 15 years to 3 years.

He is talking about establishing 5000 additional courts and working in 3 shifts – which is a great idea. Of course, I hope he can find money from our esteemed Finance Minister to fund these. In India, we seem to have a very siloed approach to “planning” (anything) – like for example, the Bangalore airport got ready but our planners forgot about getting decent connectivity and roads in time! That is “another project” altogether! And of course, in our country, everyone can get away with this kind of stuff.

Mr. Moily is also talking about ramping up hiring of judges – not only back-filing the vacancies but hiring additional numbers.

And also mandating a time limit for judges to give verdicts – so cases cannot just drag along for the flimsiest of reasons.

He is also pushing the use of technology like laptops and video conferencing etc.

He is also focused on more transparency and accountability of the judiciary – more disclosures and clearer impeachment procedures in case of taints.

All great thoughts and ideas – simple and potent.

20 years ago, Dr Manmohan Singh unleashed our economic reforms in 1991 – and that changed our country forever. 20 years later, Mr. Moily has a chance to do an encore on the judicial front!

Our country definitely deserves much better than what we have today.

We need you to make this happen Mr. Moily Sir!

“Aaal is not well”.

The Decade of the Khans

Last week, I was on my way to Denver for a client meeting. I would have to travel about 60 hours for a single 60 minutes meeting! But that's life.

Due to the short notice, I was booked on Emirates (not on my customary Lufthansa:-)). This was the first time I was flying Emirates and also flying via Dubai. As I settled in my business class seat it was very apparent that this was best in class. The entertainment options were the best that I have ever seen. Plus food was also great. Service was great. There were a plethora of Indian newspapers and Indian magazines as well. I saw one which had Amir Khan's picture on the cover and said he was the greatest star - his last 5 movies grossing more than 500 crores - which is unprecedented.

We landed in Dubai at very odd hours and I started walking groggily to find my way to my next flight. Dubai airport is a very interesting airport - I had heard quite a bit about it before I saw it. I could not see my flight listed and it directed me to go to some other gates for all other flights (mine being one of the "all other flights"). As I walked from one screen to another I found my flight and my gate. Then I dragged myself to that and had to cross security.

I stood half sleepy in the security line and there was a guy right next to me in another line - just about 2-3 foot away - a guy who strangely seemed very familiar. I loooked at him - half sleepily and couldnt place him. He was a little shorter than me, wore a cap and had a jacket on - very fair and good looking. Suddenly I found that I was just looking at him and and he kept looking back - it was becoming awkward but my eyes were locked and my mind was trying to debug. Then enlightenment stuck. I just smiled sheepishly at the guy and said "Hi". Amir Khan smiled back and said "Hi". That was it. We stood side by side for about 10 minutes or so. No words exchanged. No glance exchanged. And then we went our way.

And I thought about the 500 cr guy. What a story! Being an avid movie guy, I wondered what is it about the Khans that made them dominate the movie industry -the last decade is clearly the decade of the Khans. But who is my Khan of the decade? A very difficult choice to make given the classy stuff that these guys have dished out to die-hard movie buffs like me.

Lets start with Amir. Dil Chahta hai (2001) was a cult movie. I have seen it a zillion times and it still has class and freshness that is umparalled. One of the all time best movies that I have seen. Then came Fanaa (2006) which was also racy and crisp. Kajol was fabulous. And also Rang De Basanti (2006) which was fabulous - great star cast and great music and crsiply done. Tare Zameen Par (2007) got everyone raving - and while I liked the movie, there was something that I didn't like. Don't know what - but there is. Ghanjni (2008) was interesting and a huge hit - but I didn;t quite like it - not my kind. Of course 3 Idiots (2009) is an all time great. No words can describe it.

Amir has a golden touch recently in picking his movies. Everything is meaningful. And he has had unprecedented sucess at the box office. But I cannot help but think that Amir cannot carry off a movie all on his own. He needs a supporting cast which is fabulous. Dil Chahta hai had the classy Akshay Khanna and Saif. Taare Zameen Par really belonged to the little boy. Rang De Basanti had a great star cast - and Amir was one of them - not even necessarily the best. Ditto with 3 Idiots - all other performances were equally strong. Fanna had Kajol coming out much better than Amir. So to me, Amir's success is more about choosing great scripts but he needs a lot of support to pull it through. Think about the last solo Amir Khan movie which was a huge draw. Its always a team effort. Nothing wrong with it. Just an observation.

Then Saif Ali Khan - a very interesting decade for him too. He has clearly cast himself a niche - which nobody else can occupy. Hum Tum (2004) was a cult movie - one of the all time bests and Saif was fantastic in it. He was also very impressive in Omkara (2006) in a role which was very contra to what he normally does - but he carried it off very well. And then Race (2008) was fantastic as well - but more of a director's movie than anyone elses. And I simply loved Love Aaj Kal (2009) - and I know most people don't find too many takers for it. Don;t forget he was one of the three in Dil Chahta hai as well. Kurbaan tanked - but Saif was very restrained and cool. To me Saif will only become better as time goes on. He has found himself and seems to be a lot more sure about himself now than he ever was. Plus he has also turned producer. I personally like him a lot.

Salman Khan - the less said the better. Stuff like Partner and Wanted are beyond me. All the other movies that he does are totally mind boggling and further beyond me. But he has a tremendous fan following which is again beyond me.

That brings me to SRK. He was cool in Devdas (2002) and was spectacular in Swades (2004) - in my opinion one of his best efforts. He totally rocked for me in Don (2006) - although Don was more of a Farhan Akhtar movie than anybody elses. Kabhi alvida Na Kehna (2006) - love it or hate it - I would simply pass it. Om shanthi Om (2007) is hard core bollywood and I just loved it. One of my all time favorites. Of course it was as much the other Khan;'s movie as well - Farah Khan. That was followed by Chak De (2007) - a cult movie and to me Shah Rukh's best. Totally awesome. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was a big hit in India and I cannot understand why - to me its one of the worst movies that SRK has done. I am looking forward to My Name is Khan.

All said and done, this has been the decade of the Khans. From a pure numbers perspective, Amir Khan is king but then as Farhan Akhtar says in Luck By Chance, "Numbers are for accounts, I am an actor". So Numbers are for accounts, I am a diehard movie fan - and for me the Khan of the Decade, in the decade of the Khans is Shah Rukh. He tugs at our hearts in a way that nobody else does (in my opinion).

And the number two for me is actually Saif!

2009 - The year that was for Bollywood Movies

2009 was a very eventful year for Bollywood movies. Lets look at some of the most memorable movies of the year – in the sequence in which they were released.

Jan: Luck by Chance
This has quickly become one of my all time favorite movies. Very subtle and very classy. Farhan Akhtar is fabulous and so is Konkana Sen Sharma. And then cameos by Hrithik, Shah Rukh and Karan Johar. The music is the best music I’ve heard in years. But the most amazing thing is that the music is almost "invisible" in the way it is picturized in the movie. Some moments are very cool. Farhan dancing to the Rishi Kapoor song “Bachna ae haseeno…” was total bollywood. I have watched this movie a number of times – specially on flights. It has a very nice feel to it.

Feb: Delhi-6
I keenly waited for this movie but it turned out to be an absolutely total disaster. Kaala Bandar!!! Music was nice. Very nice. Abhishek and Sonam Kapoor were both nice. But the movie –that was horrible!!! Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra better do much better next time.

Mar: Aa Dekhen Zara
Another lovely movie! Neil Nitin Mukesh has been very impressive in every movie that I have seen of his. I have become a fan of this guy – from Johnny Gaddar. The story is very different and interesting, the pace is great and the ending I thought was very interesting. A very nice movie to watch. Didn’t do too well at the box office though

Apr: 8x10 Tasveer
An interesting movie which I though could have been fantastic but turned out to be mediocre – not bad. Some moments in the movie are fabulous. Akshay Kumar does very well – specially as the bad guy. Ayesha Takia’s transformation from cute to vicious, I thought, was very impressive. Overall a missed opportunity I thought.

May: No releases – strike?!

Jun: New York
Another cool movie. Fantastic music. Beautiful visuals. And a great star cast. Again that guy Neil Nitin Mukesh is great. So is John Abhraham and Katrina Kaif. One of the best movies made around terrorism. Keeps you engaged all through and has some exceptional moments. Nice watch.

Jul: Love Aaj Kal
For me, the best Hindi movie of the year. And I know many will not agree. To follow up “Jab we met” (one of the greatest hindi movies of all times) was not easy – but very well done Imitiaz Ali. The story was a weirdish love story – again, but beautifully rendered – again! I have always been a huge fan of Rishi Kapoor and this movie reinforces that class is permanent. He is magical in this movie. Saif is good as always. Deepika Pudokone is great. One of the highlights of the movie is the taxi driver (the “OK” guy from Jab we met). Fabulous. And then there is Harleen Kaur. What a performance without speaking almost a single word! And the last minute of the movie – enter Neetu Singh – what an end. Uplifting and light. For me, movie of the year – undoubtedly.

Aug: Kaminey
A lot of hype around the movie – made by a very hyped up director – Vishal Bharadwaj. I think the movie was very well made – but somehow it does not seem “complete” – I don’t know how to say this. Shahid Kapoor was excellent. Priyanka Chopra was fantastic. But the shot of the year was the “Tope and Bhope” shot – piece of art. Very comparable to the Gabbar Singh shot – “kitney aadmi the”. The music was fantastic. The pace was good enough – but there is still something that was missing. Maybe its just my perception of Vishal Bharadwaj’s movies – including Omkara which I didn’t find as fabulous as most others seem to have done!

Sep: Wanted
Absolute rubbish! But a great treat for Salman Khan fans who just loved it. One of the top grosser of the year – and I am totally dumbfounded. Keep your brains at home and watch the movie if you must. But one highlight of the movie – the villain (Prakash Raj?). He was very weird and gets your attention although he comes in pretty late.

Oct: Blue
The director must be really blue-skying when he made this movie. It is easily the worst movie of the year. It was supposed to be the most expensive movie of the year – but he ended up making a documentary. Great star cast – but an absolute waste. Sanjay Dutt was very disappointing with his paunch. I have always been a fan of Sanjay Dutt and I hope he gets his act together. The worst possible movie that could ever have been made with that kind of resources.

Nov: Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani
This was a nice and light one. Ranbir Kapoor is very cool in these light flaky roles. He has a charm which is great – but doesn’t come anywhere close to Rishi Kapoor of course. Katrina Kaif was very cool and together they looked fantastic. Overall an ok movie I thought - could have been fabulous - but the guy missed it.
Note: I did not see Paa and hence I have not written anything about it.

Dec: Three Idiots
A fabulous movie!! Totally outstanding. Aamir Khan is great – as always. But Sharman Joshi and Madhavan are not too far behind. The movie does get carried off on a tangent for a short while but comes back quickly. The “studious guy” – I don’t know his name – is an absolute star in the movie. Some really nice and genuine comedy. The credit of course goes to Rajkumar Hirani. He has found a niche of making very feel good movies with strong messages – and his rendering is unparalled I think. Great music too. "Lage Raho Munnabhai" was a very tough act to follow - but hats off Mr Hirani!

Overall Aal is well with our movies J! And looking forward to a great 2010 as well!!!

Having said this, I want to cover 2 Hollywood movies from 2009.
2012: A lot of special effects but the movie lacked a soul. You don’t feel for the characters – you are just watching them. I was extremely disappointed by this one.

Avatar: I must admit that going by the promos, I DID NOT want to watch this movie. But what a movie! Probably an all time classic! The movie has the perfect blend of technological wizardary and emotional quotient. Loved each and every moment of it. This one is a movie to own. Don’t miss it if you have not seen it already!!!

Have a great 2010!

My All Time Dream World XI - Test Cricket

Here is my list of the all time Cricket Test XI - comprising of only people that I have seen play.

1. Mathew Hayden: One of the most solid yet intimidating opening batsmen of all time. His presence on the crease is like that of a heavy weight boxer - and you knew you were going to be hit around

2. Virendra Sehwag: Yea, that's correct. I have picked Sehwag over Gavaskar. Here is one man who can change a game in just 60 minutes. A maverick to the core.

3. Brian Lara: The Magician when on song!

4. Sachin Tendulkar: The God of Indian cricket.

5. Viv Richards: In my opinion, the greatest batsman to have played cricket - that I have watched. His swagger and his contempt for bowlers was like none before him and none after him. He would also be my choice of captain of this World XI

6. M. S. Dhoni: Yes I pick him over Adam Gilchrist and Sangakara. Dhoni will break all records by the time he is done. He has the flair, class and the temparament that will be the benchmark for all future wicket-keeper batsmen. He would also be my vice-captain for this World-XI

7. Wasim Akram: The sultan of swing and reverse swing. Perhaps the best left-arm pacer of all times

8. Shane Warne: The absolute master of leg-spin - and a fabulous match winner

9. Muttiah Muralidharan: The absoulte master of the off-spin and the doosra.

10. Glen McGrath: What can I say!

11. Alan Donald: Mr Express - white lightening. Grace and hostility combined

12. Steve Waugh: One of the greatest batsmen to play the game of cricket. His talent was limited as compared to the other greats of the game but his tenacity is unmatched. Unfortunately I cannot place him above Sachin, Lara and Viv

13. Rahul Dravid: Another great of the game. One of my favorite all time greats. But won't find a place in my playing eleven

14. Malcolm Marshal: One of the most hostile pace bowlers the world has ever seen

15. Imran Khan: A great fast bowler and a greater captain! If he made my playing XI he would walk in and be the captain of the side. But I will have to choose Akram, McGrath and Alan Donald over him

That's my Dream Test Team !