Politics and Governance in India – Freedom Team India (FTI)

FTI Draft Policies on Jan Lokpal and Electoral Reforms

November 25, 2012 Board FTICampaign Financing, Corruption, Debates & Discussions, Draft Policy, Electoral Reforms, Freedom Team of India, FTI Draft Policy, FTI Member Blogs, Jan Lokpal, LokPal, Manifesto, Personal, Political Ideology, Politics and Governance in India

Dear All: I am posting below 2 recent draft policies by Freedom Team of India for discussion and comment. The first one if on the Jan Lokpal Bill and the second on Electoral Reforms. Pl do read, share and comment. Thanks.
The position of the Freedom Team of India on the Jan Lokpal Bill

FTI has agreed to the following draft position on the Lokpal Bill (all FTI documents are draft documents, subject to ongoing improvement).
1. What is the Freedom Team of India?
The Freedom Team of India (FTI) is a team of leaders who will, with …

Humdrum, boring and so very unsexy..

November 16, 2012November 21, 2012 Board FTIDevelopment Related, Enviroment Related, Factoids, FTI Member Blogs, Geo-Strategic Issues (incl. Nuclear, Oil, Energy), Politics and Governance in India, ToI Columns, Water, Water Footprints

When I think about water, I wonder why this topic does not get more attention. But I guess I should not be surprised.
Water is humdrum; so very unsexy. There is nothing titillating about it. It hardly arouses passion – or gets someone in frenzy. It has zero glamour. Frankly, it is quite boring. […]

4 Lakh illegal rickshaws, 6 Lakh illegal vendors and Why Politics Matters – even to Entrepreneurs

November 2, 2012 Board FTIDevelopment Related, Entrepreneurship, FTI Member Blogs, Illegal Rickshaws, Indian Economy, Licenses, Parth Shah, Permits, Politics and Governance in India, ToI Blogs, ToI Columns

In an earlier post on entrepreneurship, I mentioned how “the “burden” of government can be very heavy – which is why it takes 11 steps on an average, to start a business in India. Not just that, these 11 steps take about 89 days on an average! In that same post, I also wrote: “I have nothing against the government trying to help entrepreneurs. It should; it must”. What exactly did I mean by that?
Did I mean that the government should give handouts to entrepreneurs – or somehow select potential …

Kerela’s development has nothing to do with Communism or Socialist Policies..

November 1, 2012 Board FTICommunist rule in India, Dakshina Kannada, Debates & Discussions, Development and Governance, Development Models, Development Related, FTI Member Blogs, Indian Economy, Kerala, Political Ideology, Politics and Governance in India, socialism

..so it would seem. Excerpts from “The Dakshina Kannada Model” (written almost five years ago; emphasis added):
Everyone talks of the Kerala model, but to the north of Kerala lie two districts called Dakshina Kannada (headquarters: Mangalore) and Udupi, which, if I am not wrong, are doing just as well as, if not better than, Kerala.
…The state and the district have a lot in common.
…More importantly, the socio-economic profile is similar. People have similar attitudes towards education. The schools in Mangalore are supposed to be the best in Karnataka…Education of women …

Of “Rights”, Parliamentary Committees, Sh Raja & Sh Kalmadi..

October 28, 2012 Board FTI2G Spectrum Scam, Corruption, Corruption in India, CWG, FTI Member Blogs, Kalmadi, Kanimozhi, Politics and Governance in India, Raja

This is a very hurried post..but something I felt must be recorded and highlighted..I am practically seething with anger as I write this..These thoughts were triggered by this caustic tweet from Darshak Hathi:
Public memory is very short. No wonder Kalmadi, Raja in parliamentary Committe…
This prompted me to dig a bit more. I had not heard of Raja and Kalmadi being part of this expansion. I an not sure how many of you realised when this happened..It was almost a month ago – in a bit of news that I had …

“Clean Politics” in India – Guest Post by Dipinder Sekhon

October 24, 2012 Board FTIClean Politics, Clean Politics in India, Dipinder Sekhon, FTI Member Blogs, Hope Summit, New Age Political Movements, new Age Politics in India, New Political Initiatives in India, New Political Movements in India, Politics and Governance in India

Dear All: It is my pleasure to publish this guest post by friend and FTI colleague, Dipinder Sekhon. In this post, Dipinder has identified a number of ‘clean politics’ initiatives and compiled them in a list. He has also compiled a list of candidates with “clean” credentials who have been successful in electoral politics (mostly against massive odds).
I am grateful to Dipinder for this list – and making this a placeholder for all initiatives connected with “clean politics” and “clean candidates” in India.
*** “Clean Politics” in India – Guest Post by …

Darkness at Noon* – Is there a way out of this mess?

October 21, 2012 Board FTIFTI Member Blogs, Long War, Politics and Governance in India, Systemic Change, The Hard Way

Amidst the tales of corruption, of crony-ism, deals for favours – or favours for deals, most thinking Indian have probably given up getting angry; they are exasperated. But don’t give up hope. There is a way out of this mess.
But it is a road less taken – and it is very hard. It is not the activist road. It is not the “all politicians are crooks” road. Neither is it the romanticised, dramatic road of “Ekla Chalo Re!” (If anything “Ekla Chalo Re!” is probably the surest guarantee that nothing will change).
The …