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Nutrition before ID Cards

If I have learned one thing from long years of covering politics and government in India it is that one reason why we are among the world’s poorest, most backward countries is because we usually chase the wrong dreams. We expend huge resources of time and money on things that do not matter and ....Read more

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Reality Check need of the hour!By: Gopi Prasad | Monday , 20 Jul '09 6:48:44 AM Reply | Forward Thanks Tavleen for raking up imp and critical issues concerning aam admi. I have been reading your columns for years, in which you make a valid and candid reality check of Indian state of affairs. Tragedy being, falling on deaf ears of successive govts. How can we have a solution for this? When will the govt realise it is Health, Education and basics needs of population, which they need to address first?

FollowersBy: Gambhir | Tuesday , 7 Jul '09 20:16:56 PM Reply | Forward You missed one more point about people who go to schools in India and they learn to read, write as well they high profile degrees what is the use most of them become high class chamchas, followers no leadership qualities. This is what lacking in our entire national education system.

Wonderful ArticleBy: Hiren | Tuesday , 7 Jul '09 2:35:55 AM Reply | Forward I agree with Tavleen that we have bigger problem like Nutrition, Infrastructure, Education, Calemity like Tsunami and Kutch Earthquake. Not sure, if silicon card would even touch it let alone provide an efficient solution to this mega problems. I wish Tavleen and Nandan work in a same team, may be we have better chance of reaching somewhere.

of the uneducated by the uneducated for the uneducated By: Dr.G.Srinivasan | Monday , 6 Jul '09 7:22:11 AM Reply | Forward I think this is a better place to debate issues like this -- of national importance -- anyway our opinions do not matter. The politicians -illiterate and uneducated with a jumbo ego in various permutations and combinations do not heed to the points made by citizens.This started the minute we got independence.The people were not asked whether they wanted democracy and if so what kind of democracy in that they chose the worst form the Westminster type of representative democracy which has landed us in a democracy of no democracy.The important issues concenring the public should be put for a public debate / referendum before anything is being done.To set the priorities as Tavleen Sing has rightly pointed out there are issues more important than ID cards. Of the few by the few for the few is not democracy in as much as of the uneducated by the uneducated for the uneducated does not constitute democracy.To cap it all we have an appointed PM flouting all norms of democratic behaviour.Democracy starts with people right to choose and does not end there.It is a dynamic exercise.

Dead ideas, dead conclusionsBy: abhas | Monday , 6 Jul '09 5:15:32 AM Reply | Forward The editor disdains the government projects in the column

Why this ID card project will be different tthis time?By: Jay | Monday , 6 Jul '09 5:12:45 AM Reply | Forward Is there any reason to believe that this ID card project will not end up with same fate, same corruption as many previous identification certificates/documents, including passports. Ration card, voter ID card, birth certificate, and passport – any of these documents were sufficient to prove Indian nationality and identity. But we all know anyone from any country can get any of those documents without much problem, although genuine Indian people surely face huge problem to get their own legitimate documents. At certain level, success of any policy depends on personal integrity and honesty of those people who are planning and executing that. In India it’s becoming rarer to have people with personal honesty and strong moral character. Our society, our education simply cannot produce and sustain such people any more. Any sane person can easily forecast the fate of this costly scheme. Sorry, I could not be more positive.

Nutrition before ID CardsBy: DR.KANDAHAR CHOR | Monday , 6 Jul '09 3:13:12 AM Reply | Forward I agree with the writer, but the id card is one of the most wonderful scheme, because with this many things will become easier, and many resources will be saved.

prioritiesBy: avinash mulye | Sunday , 5 Jul '09 22:44:32 PM Reply | Forward Fred Hayek once said - the question is not whether individual should do the planning, it is also not how the individual should plan. The question is who should do the planning.The politicians and bureaucrats tend to think that they know how to plan for each and every individual. That is where the problem lies.This article is very similar to what William Easterly wrote about World Bank's poverty elimination schemes. Tavleenji thank you so much. You are so realistic. You make us think.

Tavleen is a rare example, But does it mattter?By: jay | Sunday , 5 Jul '09 19:21:08 PM Reply | Forward The whole system of governance is crumbling in India. The leaders are either too dumb to understand that or are too dishonest to make a change. Today there is an article in Bengali News daily, Anandabazar Patrika. About 5 years ago many people died out of hunger in a village named, Amlasol (near Lalgarh area). West Bengal state Govt denied that those people died out of hunger. But admitted that they are living under abject poverty. As usual Govt initiated many projects. After five years and many hundred corers rupees, the article in Anandabazr tells that almost nothing has changed there. We always need violent movements to make a point to our own govt., be it Kashmir or NE states or Maoist movement in many parts of India. Development of few people must not be advertised as development of India. Does our policy makers care? Majority of our journalists are in the payroll of big corporate houses and/or Govt. Thanks we still have few Tavleens remaining. Does it matter? I hope it does!

GOVT. PRIORITIESBy: NIRANJAN | Sunday , 5 Jul '09 18:02:36 PM Reply | Forward IT IS VERY TRUE THAT WHILE WE HAVE NOT COME OUT OF 18TH OR 19TH CENTURIES IN CERTAIN CASES, WE ARE TRYING TO RUSH INTO 21ST CENTURY. WHAT GUARANTEE IS THERE THAT THESE ID CARDS CANNOT BE DUPLICATED OR FAKED. TODAY PAN CARDS ARE BEING DUPLICATED OR OBTAINED USING FAKE IDs. SO, WHERE THERE IS A BASIC NEED FOR HONESTY AND CIVIC SENSE YOU CAN HAVE THE STATE OF THE ART IDs, BUT THEY WILL BE MISUSED. TODAY WE HAVE LAKHS OF PEOPLE HAVING IDs OF SOME KIND WHICH ARE NOT LEGAL OR OBTAINED FRAUDULENTLY. WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT? BUT AGAIN, THE RIGHT THOUGHT IS THAT WHEN WE HAVE PEOPLE STRUGGLING FOR ROTI, KAPDA, MAKAN AND BIJLI, SADAK PANI AND WE GO AND SPEND MILLIONS ON ID CARDS WHICH WILL NOT IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE.

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