FDI IN WHAT?

Okay, there has been enough spoken, written and debated in the past few days on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

This raging debate has been in the FDI in retail sector, which the supporters have somehow converted it into a FDI in ALL sector debate, which it is not.

The opposition has been limited to the investment coming in the Retail Marketing Sector only according to me.

For a layman like me, the retail sector’s definition is that group of commodities that are needed on a day to day basis, recurrently. These could be food, clothing, toiletry and other such items, which we buy in traditional stores. Most of which are niche shops catering to a related group of products.

Today we have enough stores catering to these day to day needs. We also have multi brand and multi unbranded stuff available in each of the segments, including food items.

In fact today we have the luxury of buying fruits from Australia to South America with our local fruit vendor.

Having said this, let us understand what the limitations that are highlighted.

·         Wastage down the line, especially of food items (Perishable goods)

·         The middle man raking in profits, taking both the producer (farmers) and the consumer for a ride.

As we know, the movement goods for example in the agriculture happens something like this:-

Farmer         Sub dealer        Wholesaler         Retailer         Consumer          

Where would they build the storage facilities? Where would the land come from? 

Assuming they will bring in those large cold storage Trucks we see abroad, which roads will they ply them on?

Who will guarantee them uninterrupted power supply to run these storage facilities

  What guarantees are there that the profits will be passed on to the supposed beneficiaries? Who will monitor?

 Who takes the guarantee that whatever they sell will be bought from the Indian farmers /manufacturers?

 Government Ministries like Food & Agriculture, Roads, Railways, Power, etc… and their roles played remain the biggest hindrance to date in all the development. This inefficiency to say the least is what the Government is trying to hive off, washing it’s hand off from its responsibilities.

The activities of this whole chain as we know, happens largely in an unorganized sector.

Essentially the argument is that the combined role of the 3 marked red, now popularly termed as ‘middle men’, commonly known to us as “traders” are the reason for all the woes that are faced by the Farmer & Consumer.

Hence remove these ‘middle men’ with the Foreign Companies with their Direct Investment in this sector.

This is to be done with the assumption that :

1.   They will Directly Invest in building modern storage facilities, transport facilities etc… to reduce / remove wastages and make the system more efficient.

2.   The removal of profit margins of the ‘middle men’ will in turn benefit the farmers & the consumer as the companies are “expected” to pass on these profits to them.

This sounds fine, till the following few questions remain unanswered.

Many more questions would come to your minds as well.

Quite a few business enterprises have entered this sector of retail with good results. Many of them like Bharati (50:50 with Wal-Mart), already have Foreign companies as their partners. What infrastructures have they built?

If they have not done it with 50% equity & want to make it 51%, What assurance can the government give that adding another percentile will do that?

The percentile will only give the foreign companies to monopolize the trade and hive of profits to their respective countries.

A MONOLITHIC RELIGION

Yesterday’s violence in Mumbai, attacks in Pune & Andhra are as disturbing to me as they would be for many other countrymen.

These are supposed to be attacks in retaliation against the attacks on Muslims by Bodo’s in Assam and on Muslims in Myanmar.

That Myanmar   is a different Country and Assam is not ‘main land’ as somebody was saying the other day, holds no water when it comes for a cause of protest. That this protest was that of hooliganism & vandalism is terrifying. That tomorrow you can have a similar show of violence against something happening in Sudan or any other country against Muslims should not surprise any more. What is a bit surprising is that nothing of this kind has happened after the French and Australian incidents.

Is it only the Indian Muslims who are reacting this way to any ‘injustice’ to any Muslims anywhere in the world? Seems so except when it is a ethnic clash between Shia’s & Sunnis or any other sects that keeps on happening in all Muslim Countries. Are there no sects in India? Looking at the way the protests get organized, apparently no. Indian Muslims seem to be one monolithic entity which does not have any sects, region or culture of it’s own. How true is this?

The reasons are not farfetched as one can see. Muslims in this country have been slowly but surely been given a doctrine of speaking in Urdu, wearing their religion on their sleeves if you may say so to combine all the skull caps, beards, hennas & burkhas and are part  of the larger Muslim brotherhood.

It is becoming a rarity to see a local Muslim speaking in the local dialect which was a norm a generation back. The other day one was talking to a young Muslim, whose accent clearly told that he came from the Deccan plateau. So I asked him what language does he speak, he said Urdu. I had to explain to him that what he spoke was known as Dakkhani a few years back. This example I give to show that this kind of unification is not restricted to the north but is spreading rapidly to the south as well.

The so called promoters of Hindi have long given up the cause of Urdu which was usurped first by Pakistan.  Is this the language of Muslim brotherhood that has taken root? Somebody needs to answer this.

The second most disturbing fact is that these protests & violence is happening in Maharashtra which is quite far away from the reasons of this anarchy. One could have still rationalised if it was in West Bengal, Bihar or other Eastern states. But one has heard none of such hooliganism from this area.

The third and the most disturbing one is the patronising tone being used by some of the intelligentsia  in a way justifying what is happening or worse, clubbing the ongoing anarchy clearly in the name of religion with the protests against corruption etc.., which by any farfetched imagination are not the same.

This ‘Monolithization’ won’t last long is one thing, which is assured, looking into the Indian Psyche.  But the damage it can cause in the mean time is something the thinkers of this Country need to ponder upon.

Mahadev - The Serial

Lately I have been an avid watcher of the serial Mahadev which comes on Life OK. One hears this is quite popular these days.

 Watching it, a thought keeps coming to mind repeatedly. Was this the society which we come from? Where the girls had their independence of choice? Where the appointed ruler of humans, Daksha had 8 daughters. A powerful man, who could be opposed by his own people, on matters of principle.  Lastly was beheaded because he becomes the reason for the death of his own daughter.

A similar unfolding is happening on the events of Parvati, whose single minded pursuit to marry Mahadev is unquestioningly allowed / supported by her father, keeping aside his own promises and his wifes reservations.

When one heard of organizations that came up with Hinduism as a cause, initially one thought here are the people who would take Hinduism out of the clutches of the Victorian mind set and hundreds of years of subjugation. Bring it back to its glorious past of a thinking debating free willed society, which Mahadev the serial shows.

Alas, instead these groups are bent upon converting the society into an intolerant, hate mongering one, where morality definition is getting worst than the extremist doctrines currently in vogue.

The liberals are at the other end of the pendulum, espousing the western ways and unabashed imitators of that culture. This is as bad as the aforesaid groups.

One truly wonders when Hinduism as a culture will as propagated in the serial will really return back to our shores.

Marathi & Kannada, The Common Bonds

The inspiration for this blog came fro this : http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/bal-thackeray-takes-potshot-at-raj-for-opposing-bihar-cms-mumbai-visit-276237.html 

In the last para, there is a statement attributed to Balsaheb Thackeray, speaking on the issue of Marathi pride, he said “no one was more aggressive than Shiv Sena in opposing “atrocities” on Marathi-speakers in Belgaum by the Kannada people." 

For starters, I am from Belgaum. Born in a village in that district, had my major education there, including the cultural types. I read, write & speak both Kannada & Marathi. That gave me the advantage of watching & enjoying Kannada movies & Marathi Dramas. Reading Kannada books in Devnagari & vice-versa. Reading PuLa who spent some years in Belgaum. One should listen to his ‘Raosaheb’ which reflects the uniqueness of this region  & D.R. Bendre the great poet Kannada was a Marathi . 

The common thread that runs in this region, That starts from the Kolhapur Distirct to Dharwad & runs up to Solhapur are many, recounting a few here:

1.   The 'Adhidivata' of Maharashtra i.e Vithoba of Pandharpur happens to be form Karnataka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vithoba. Vitthala was the Kuladivata of the Hoysala Kings & the Vijaya Vitthala Temple symbolizes this. It was these rulers who also built the Pandharpur Temple.

2.   The man who brought Vithoba to Pandharpur, Pundalika was also a Karnataka. Remember the abhang 'Kanadau Vitthalu karanataki' & ‘Kanada Raja Pandharicha”... & many others that confirm this?

3.   ShahajiRaje Bhonsle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahaji was in Bijapur & his son Venkoji from his 2nd wife was in Bengalore...

4.   Worshipping of the Datta Sampradaya, Renuka (Yellamma), Jamadagni, Parahuram in his various forms are unique to this region, till date.

The region has given enormous talent in the field of Art & Culture, names that have not been restricted to one language or the other. To name a few:

5.   The Man who revolutionised Marathi Theater  Annasaheb Kirloskar was from Gurlhosur a village in Karnatakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annasaheb_Kirloskar

6.   Savai Gandharva of Kundgol, Bhimsen Joshi of Gadag, Kumar Gandharva of Sulebhavi are a few more names that can be spoken of

Words like Appa, Anna, Mai & many more things from Karnataka contributed to what Maharashtra & Marathi is. 

A unique coexistence happens here. Krisna & Bhima's shores are the joining points. Please let it leave that way.. If possible try to contribute positively. 

This region represents composite culture - a meeting of minds, of music, of harmony of co-existence for centuries. let us not politicise our composite culture and divide people held together by centuries of culture & sanskriti