I highly appreciate. its true and all of us should think and act.

PRERNA HONEY NOT EVERY CANDIDATE IS TALKING THE SAME THING,
MULAYAM SINGH YADAV IS THE LEADER OF SAMAJWADI PARTY. HE HAS A FAIRLY GOOD CHANCE OF BECOMING THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA. IN HIS ELECTION MANIFESTO RELEASED ON THIS SATURDAY, HE HAS PROMISED THE FOLLOWING IF HE COMES TO POWER:
1]ENGLISH EDUCATION TO BE BANNED IN INDIA.
2]COMPUTERS WILL BE BANNED .
3]STOCK MARKETS AND STOCK TRADING WILL BE BANNED.
4]THE USE OF TRACTORS AND FARM MACHINERY WILL BE BANNED. BECAUSE USE OF TRACTORS HAS BROUGHT A DECREASE IN THE BOVINE POPULATION IN THE VILLAGES.
5]MULAYAM HAS ALSO PROMISED THAT HE WILL CRACK-DOWN ON THE MALL-CULTURE.
6]USE OF MACHINES AND TECHNOLOGY WILL BE REDUCED TO BARE MINIMUM.EMPHASIS ON DOING WORK BY HAND WILL BE LAID.
PRERNA MULAYAM WILL TAKE INDIA TO THE STONE AGE IF HE BECOMES PM. BUT COME ELECTION RESULTS ND U WILL SEE HIM WINNING HUGE NUMBER OF SEATS.BECAUSE DESPITE ALL THIS MUSLIMS AND YADAVAS WILL VOTE FOR HIM.PEOPLE IN INDIA VOTE FOR THEIR CASTE. TAKE CARE.LOVE ANKUR.

Dear Prerna,

Thanks again for a wonderful thought provoking article. India is the largest democracy in the world and the right to vote and exercise of voting by the educated citizens is at the heart of every democracy. We, the people of India, through this exercise of our right to vote have the ultimate power to shape the destiny of our country by electing our representatives who run the Government and take decisions for the growth, development and benefit of all the citizens.

Yes, its time for educated mass to vote, though not much options, but yeah, need to pick up better ones. But if you decide not to vote for someone who do not pass your criteria, I think, then you are going to vote nobody… because right now we are offered very limited options – choose one from worse or worst.

Hope together we elect a stable and progressive government this time by Voting.

Please Vote.

Jai Hind

प्रेरणा जी नेट स्पीड कम होने के कारण वीडियो देर से देख पाया । आपही बताईये कितने लोग इस वीडियो में कही गयी बात को अपनायेगें .एक रूपया कोई न खर्च करेगा ।

Naddu

What does it mean? Or Teach us German please.

CDNT EVADE REPLYIN 2 DIS ONE….I REMEMBER HVNG REQUESTED THE “MODERATE” MODERATOR TO SCRAP SOMETHING ABT THE IPL(imminent political lethargy)..[:)]
Although i am not much into the educated cadre,i do hv some views on this…which i wd like 2 share…i dont know weder dis reasoning will b accepted by alacricity but wd still POKE my nose….Most of the people, I come across(usually friends) don’t “FEEL LIKE” voting..The rational behind is dat “things wont change..and our counry will only get worse with the corrupt politicians”…aha…sounds (un)reasonable…look @ dis …frm dis direction….hv a succinct look @ d following analogy….suppose deir is a dire problem in ur house….wat will u do? Will u run away frm ur home saying”my contribution will b no good and I need 2 run away frm my home?” or do u hv a BALLS 2 FACE d HEAT and fight ur battle…..?? So when u say INDIA is my MOTHERLAND…wot d heck deters us 2do d same…and “kick d A***S” of the “lunatics” out dere????personally ,wenever
I go out 2 d polling booth I feel a sense of responsibility….and feel like a proud citizen.

And yes ..now an allusion 2 d “pre-requisites” 2 b satisfied…..A good succinct note has been written abt it…I myself wanted to try my luck @ d VOTES but am disheartened by the MODERAtor’s note.As per HER CRITERIA,SHE will NEVER-ever elect me as a SUITABLE CANDIDATE coz I don’t satisfy no 1,2,3,6 and 8…tough luck Abhishek..lol
Kidding…coming to d real thingiie…Well I am not sure how we plan 2 JUDGE aspect no 1,2,6 and 8.??But I guess…finding a candidate who will fulfill all dese criteria is a difficult task(perhaps impossible one)…I personally vote 4 candidates who USUALLy don’t shift allegiances(even dis is quite a difficult task…coz DIVORCES and RE-MARRIAGES hv crept in d environ of politics as well)…well, I leave it 2 d discretion of my frnds out here 2 choose deir candidates….BUT DO VOTE YAAR…magar aisa bhi nahi k “kuch bhi daaal na yaar..aur dafa kar…headache hain poora”
Remember,Its “jaagore.com” and not “bhagore.com” remember buddies…
Happy voting

@Ankur

Kaise hain?
Aap se phir mil kar bahut khushee huee. Aap ne kyaa kahaa?
Agle hafte milne kaa samay tay kar len

Aap se mil kar khushee huee,
chalo,
Naddu

A very very important topic. Thanks for raising this Prerna. I have to admit that I missed one opportunity to vote in my life and I regret it till date

I hope that we Indians turn up in large numbers and chose the most capable people. I also hope that the decisions are motivated by “whats good for all” and not “Whats good for my community”

Long term the second perspective should get us more happiness and prosperity

I wish all people would be aware of the little chance of democracy, once in a blue moon we have the choice to vote. But what choice is it?
A real democracy doesn´t exist as long as politicians announce laws people don´t really want. Before elections, promises look rosy, after elections, they vanish in the air.
I would welcome when politicians would have to take responsibility for their actions. When they perform well, they should get all the credit, when they fail, they should also get all credit.

Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.

Nothing is more disgusting than the crowing about liberty by slaves, as most men are, and the flippant mistaking for freedom of some paper preamble like a Declaration of Independence, or the statute right to vote, by those who have never dared to think or to act.

Naddu

Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber – Plato

@ Rahul,

“Those who are too smart to engage in medicine are punished by being treated by those who are dumber” – Rahul.

I beg to defer with you.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.

You would mean to say, the profession of a doctor is useless.
Do you listen to the qualified diagnosis of your doctor or do you cure yourself?

A doctor needs medical knowledge, a politician doesn´t need political knowledge, his qualities may be defined by benevolent sponsors or any lobby. His speeches may be written by a writer, his strategies may be worked out by a commitee.

Platos quote isn´t an excuse, wrong decisions made by careless politicians have always been a part of politics. To err is human –
To intentionally err is fraud!
The honest one is the dumb!

Warm regards,
Naddu

The criteria you have kept for voting is good. But with these criteria you can never vote in any constituency.

Tks/Rgds
Ramnath.E

thanks

Simply a rocking article.

Elite class must come forward to participate in the Indian politics.

Regarding candidacy of any person, we must make some criteria such as,

Minimum qualification ———– graduate in political science or Economics.

Character ————– Should not be involved in any criminal case. Should be bold enough to take right decision on right occasion.

Also for the portfolios of different ministries, education and experiences must be considered.

Our ex PM Mr. Narsimha Rao had set a perfect example when he selected Mr. Manmohan Singh as our Finance minister. Such criteria should also be

followed in future.

Thanks for your hard work
Naqi Haider

REALLY quite interesting

@ Naddu

Let me answer your queries line by line, your line first then my explanation, okay?
Naddu: You would mean to say, the profession of a doctor is useless.
Rahul: NO

N: Do you listen to the qualified diagnosis of your doctor or do you cure yourself?
R: I will definitely listen to the qualified diagnosis of my doctor and i will never try to cure myself.

N: A doctor needs medical knowledge, a politician doesn´t need political knowledge
R: A doctor needs medical knowledge, and politician NEEDS political as well as SOCIAL knowledge.

N: his qualities may be defined by benevolent sponsors or any lobby. His speeches may be written by a writer, his strategies may be worked out by a commitee.
R. Are you talking about A POLITICIAN or An ACTOR of a movie, whose dialogues, actions and everything has been defined collectively by the production team consisting of script writer, director, etc.
According to your definition of qualities, even mentally challenged person should be allowed to contest election and given a chance to become a Prime Minister or President of the country, say for example President of USA.

N: Platos quote isn´t an excuse, wrong decisions made by careless politicians have always been a part of politics. To err is human -
To intentionally err is fraud!
The honest one is the dumb!
R: Doctor is also a human, if we allow to err him it will cost a life of somebody, i hope you agree with me.
Similarly if we allow politicians to err it will cost lives of the people of that nation.

Conclusion:
Politicians should follow certain code of conducts, ethics and responsibilities, and they SHOULD BE made accountable for their actions and should be dragged to the court and severely punish if found guilty.
They are ANSWERABLE to the people of the nation who “elected” them as their representative.
AND I AM SAYING THIS AS A CITIZEN OF INDIA, NOT PLATO.

Warm Regards
Rahul

@ Naddu

Dear Naddu

What you are saying as a greatest difference between a doctor and a politician, should in reality be a greatest similarity.
Doctors treat people from all classes, with their ethics, medical and social responsibility, so should politicians. They should work on the same line as doctors.
Politicians SHOULD work with the grassroots, and i am sure they are NOT.
A doctor knows how the heart of an ordinary person beats, so SHOULD politicians, but they are NOT.
And dear Naddu, this is an irony today.

TIME HAS COME THAT WE SHOULD COMPEL POLITICIANS TO DO, WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.

Warm Regards
Rahul

A lot of bloggers r objecting to the criterion that Prerna has laid down for the candidates. I totally support Prerna. For two reasons-
1] First she has laid down the qualifications that a candidate should possess. Unfortunately in India most candidates dont possess those qualities. But hopefully, if we start choosing today in future we will get the chance to vote for candidates who possess such qualifications.
2]The goal of Parliamentary polls in India is to choose the Prime Ministers. When u vote for the candidate from ur constituency u r indirectly voting for the Prime Ministeral Candidate. In the present elections the respective candidates are:
a]L.K.Advani[ an educated man, well versed in economics ,intelligent than most of us ,impeccable public record nd no criminal record].
b] Rahul Gandhi[former drug addict.Has spent time in rehabilitation centre in Italy. Holds a Master's degree in Philosophy from St.Stephen's College.No criminal record.Is definitely less intelligent than most of us]
c]Mulayam Singh Yadav[ Former PT teacher. Had at one stage 32 criminal cases filed against him. Once dacoit, Shivpal yadav is his brother.Knowledge of economics-read his manifesto.
d]Mayawati[Graduate. Has corrupt record of public service.Low knowledge of economice nd international affairs]
So the aforesaid r the candidates for which Indians have to vote. So please dont crib that if they follow Prerna’s standards it would be impossible to vote. Look for substance over form.take care.love ankur.

TO SNOOPY ANKUR,

how is it possible that people speak different languages? They have learned, they got taught or they are selftaught. Unfortunately, I didn´t have an indian Guru, hence I tried to teach myself Hindi. I confess I´m not yet much skilled in it, I know a few words only, however thought it would be better to be capable of speaking the language of the country I have a great favor for.
English isn´t my mother-tongue either, nor is it french or italian. I also learned Latin, but a dead language is pretty unpleasant to speak, further, translations of roman literature didn´t excite me much when I was a younger girl.
My identity is the same I have already mentioned, I´m an ordinary german woman.
My interest and love is India, I have a heart there!
Admittedly, the only reason that takes me to this blog is the maintenance of the english language.
I cherrish exchanges of thoughts with people from different cultures.(especially Indians) I´m learning with pleasure and have fun this way.
Regarding languages and life I´m a student, and I wish, I´ll always be.

Tschüß bis bald Ankur,
Naddu

well written !

dear prerna as iam hindu first i would like to tell u anyhow we have to save our religion so spread words like this thanks for ur inititive jai hind kiran

hi
this is wonderful
regards
ganesh

its a good 1 dear

One word: APATHY This is why India hasn’t reached world leader status earlier.

Dear Prerna,

According to my opinion, democracy slowely approaches to it’s lowest level. Now people select their leader on accordance of thier cast and forget that the candidate whom they are voting is loyal for them of not. Some times the leader whom we select and give our vote don’t know about his duties and responsibilities for country. He thinks that he got total power for his area and do any thing whatever he wantand also involves in unlawful activities. In such case how can we expect best from him or her. One more thing can be mentioned here that some times we have no option for our leader. so their must be an option on EVM of no selection.

From Satish Mishra

Hi Prerna

You have chosen a very interesting topic, as usual. I will give a slightly different perspective.

Part of what you say is true, i.e. the “educated elite” being rather uninterested in politics. India has a literacy rate of 54%/55%, suggeting that well over 500 million people cannot read or write. Literacy is measured on the basis of primary education. Of the balance who can read or write, a very large proportion will not meet international standards. That is why you see the service sector growth is suffering, as they cannot get people with high enough technical or English standard.

The service sector contributed just under 53% of GDP in 2007, 29.8% for industries and 17.2% for agriculture. Agriculture is where over 60% of Indians work, mostly manual unskilled labour, mostly not educated and the most exploited.

20% of Indians are effectively pulling India, the balance do not have much say anyway. You want to change India. Educate, educate, educate. History & empirical evidence tells us that education will forge the economy ahead, make the politicians more accountable. This will force the democracy into a pro-active state, as defined by its citizens, all its citizens. It will change from a one off event of casting a vote to something quite dynamic.

Education has been vital for economic growth in all models, except oil generated growth of a few middle eastern countries. But they have to import skilled labour as a consequence, as not much world class education there. For example, Saudi Arabia churns out lot of graduates, but 70% of these are in Quranic studies. Most are unemployable and most stay unemployed.

You want India to power ahead. Challenge the politicians to do something about population growth, lack of basic education, lack of clean water, lack of sewage systems, lack of primary healthcare. Increase the GDP, reduce fiscal deficits. Surely, this is in the interest of all Indians.

The question Ms Prerna: How do you get the message across to all concerned? How? That is what perplexes me.

The standard of debate conducted by the media in this election is absolutely awful. It is all about horse trading, and nobody therefore cares. It is about caste and minorities and more horse trading – all of these seem to switch the “elites” off, understandably so. The need is to move to a higher level, and that is not forthcoming.

Any ideas on how to push a different political agenda than the one being pushed down the throats of the electorate in 2009. Any brilliant sparks out there, ideas with you Ms Prerna? That spark is desperately required.

Jai Hind

Anil Joshi

I found some words over here which I dont like. So I dont want any mails from you. I am a BJPian and dont analyse the politics to me as we know politics than anybody in this world.

bye.

Great Job! Keep it up!

VJ

Ms. Prerna Gupta,
It was a Thought Provoking and Educating article.

Thanks and Regrads,
Prakash Karajagikar

Jai Sri guru Bhaghavan sac-sic-annanda vighraha

thanks

hello dear friend ,
thank you for your eamil…
AS YOUR NAMAE PRERNA YOU DO YOUR DUTY…
I WILL TRY TO FALLO AS YOU SAID… KEEP MAILING ME..MORE..
ARYA

I fully agree and I am greatful for all these words u shared with me

IT is a miracle that you could get your ‘ 8 Yes ‘ for your
prospective MP.You are really blessed.

N Bhashyam

Democracy and Capatalism were designed for Fair System. Is it fair.

1) Skills are replaced by “NETWORKING”

2) Political plateforms are changed just to get elected. It is FAMILY AFFAIR NOW(one member joins one part other join another) ENd of the day One of the family member get elected. Power stays within family.

carry on the good job hope we get a better lot . regards

GOOD THOUGHTS, BUT QUITE AWAY FROM REALITIES.

i am really looking for RSS OR VHP must come in politics so we hindu can really make our own parliment iam working here in dubai from last 4 yeras and i am spreading my hindu ideology here but i feel upset when i see my religion in danger u see here in gulf our hindu population is not countable so why we count them in our country ?. once upon a time hindustan was hindu nation but now u see 35% population is muslim and ther is no rules for them for family planning. but in 65% there are christian sikh buddhist and our many cast based hindus who they think less hindusm than other religion so who is in minority in india u think on this and spread my words in ur words we hindus r really in minority so politician looking and woowing bread of muslims to stay in power . but i fear for that day when all this minority will go to parliment and we r no wher but to struggle for our identity as hindus which is the greatest cultures oldest religion in world thanks and keep in touch with ur ideology ur words r sharper than sword keep it up dhanyavad. jai hind kiran

Hi,

Accha hai lage raho …..
Sayad India ka kuch bhala ho …
Aachi soch hai….

thanks
Kumar Suman

Dear madam

Its really good that all should have some feeling towards this. thanks for mailing me.

This is for your kind information,

Thanking you,

dear prerna
i agree with u and like to suggest the following to be implemented for the welfare of our country

1. There should be retirement age for the polticians
2. There should be a basic qualification for contesting polls
3. convicted and persons having criminal cases pending should not be allowed to contest and vote also
4. there should be only one identiy card( includes all details) and once the person swipes the card all the details should be displayed and he should be able to vote via internet.
5. One person one bank account and one company one bank account
6. identiy card should be issued by central govt.

Azeez Ahamed

hi prerna, that is the nice article,and article before that u have good knowledge about Democracy and relationship…..

Dear PRERNA,
THANKS FOR YOUR E-MAIL. YOU HAVE PRERNA FOR OTHERS . LOVELY.

JAI HO!

good thought

It is hard to equalize people and equality is not a justice itself. We do wrong and so we do right, so how two can be equal, however, who is wrong or right is impossible to find. An obviously wrong can also sometimes is not wrong and right is not right. “TIME” is the only factor. IT makes kings and beggers at the same time. Raised in a conservative Pakistan and lived a long in USA now, make me believe that religion and humans that come out of that thought process can be a dynamic force in creating who we are. Then how we apply it is extremely philosophical not just knowledge application.

good one prerna, but you missed the vital point.just voting isnot enough, because you will end up casting it for the same crook, only difference being that this one is smooth talking and appears GOOD.
IF GOOD MEN ARENOT READY TO JOIN POLITICS, THEY SHOULD BE READY TO BE RULED BY FOOLS.
this was said by a gentleman born a few thousand years before me.
our educated ones are too busy discussing the next mobile they are going to buy….and their kids and spouses are too busy discussing aamir khan’s hairstyle and biceps in ghajini……so who is going to bell the cat????????????
liked your innocence though….keep it up.

The vibrant state of India’s democracy is currently being highlighted by general election—the world’s largest democratic exercise. But is India a full democracy? The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2008 Democracy index—based on 60 indicators which measure electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture—ranks India 35th out of 167 countries, putting it among the 50 countries considered “flawed democracies”. This designation includes neighbouring states such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as another of the so-called BRIC emerging market giants—Brazil. However, India is well placed within this category, ranking above all of these nations. With an overall score of 7.8 out of 10, it is just shy of the score needed to be categorised as a full democracy.
“While India’s democracy, in technical terms, is flawed, the country is very close to joining the elite club of full democracies. India’s young citizenry needs to engage with politics more actively and constructively in order to create a favourable democratic culture in the country,” says Manoj Vohra, Director of Research with the Economist Intelligence Unit. “India is already well ahead of most emerging economies.”
India’s relatively strong position owes much to its extremely high scores in the electoral process and pluralism and civil liberties categories; its status as the world’s largest democracy, and the country’s vibrant free press and pluralistic society have long been justifiably celebrated. In these areas India outscores even some long-established democracies that fall into the designation of “full democracies”, including the US and the UK.

Democracy index

Overall score Overall rank Electoral process Government functioning Political participation Political culture Civil liberties
Sweden 9.88 1 10.00 10.00 10.00 9.38 10.00
India 7.80 35 9.58 8.21 5.5 6.25 9.41
Brazil 7.38 41 9.58 7.86 4.44 5.63 9.41
Russia 4.48 107 5.25 2.86 5.56 3.75 5.00
China 3.04 136 0.00 5.00 2.78 6.25 1.18
Note: Overall and component scores are on a scale of 1 to 10; overall rank is out of 167 countries.

Political culture is still relatively weak

However, India fares much worse in the political participation and political culture categories. The existence of the “argumentative Indian” may facilitate public debate, but this does not necessarily translate into a high level of political participation. Voter turnout in the most recent general election, in May 2004, was 58%, but this figure masks extremely wide interstate variations, ranging from 35% in Jammu and Kashmir to 92% in the small north-eastern state of Nagaland. Within political culture, the increasing reliance on unwieldy and sometimes uncooperative coalitions often hinders rather than advances economic reforms, and this works against the country’s overall score. India’s government functioning score is relatively strong, but it is brought down by lingering issues about corruption and government accountability.

The economic downturn will have a negligible impact on democracy

India is currently experiencing an economic slowdown, but the global economic crisis has had a much smaller effect on India than on most other countries. As a result, there is unlikely to be any direct impact on the functioning of democracy. Given that large swathes of the population, mostly in rural areas, derived relatively little benefit from the economic boom of the past few years, they are now also unlikely to feel much pain as a result of the downturn.
“Other issues, such as consumer price inflation and national security, would have been far more likely to prompt an increase in social unrest than a broad-based cyclical economic downturn,” says Vohra.

A brief note on defining and measuring democracy

There is no consensus on how to measure democracy, and definitions of democracy are contested. Having free and fair competitive elections, and satisfying related aspects of political freedom, are the sine qua non of all definitions. However, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s index is based on the view that measures of democracy that reflect the state of political freedoms and civil liberties are not “thick” enough: they do not encompass sufficiently some crucial features that determine the quality and substance of democracy. Thus, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index also includes measures of political participation, political culture and functioning of government, which are, at best, marginalised by other measures.

The index of democracy covers 167 countries and territories. The index, on a 0-10 scale, is based on the ratings for 60 indicators grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. The five categories are interrelated, and form a coherent conceptual whole. Each category has a rating on a 0-10 scale, and the overall index of democracy is the simple average of the five category indices.

The category indices are based on the sum of the indicator scores in the category, converted to a 0 to 10 scale.

Adjustments to the category scores are made if countries fall short in the following critical areas for democracy:

 whether national elections are free and fair
 the security of voters
 the influence of foreign powers on government
 the capability of the civil service to implement policies

The index values are used to place countries within one of four types of regime:

1. Full democracies—scores of 8-10
2. Flawed democracies—score of 6-7.9
3. Hybrid regimes—scores of 4-5.9
4 Authoritarian regimes—scores below 4

@ prerna

Dear Prerna,
Who are you to laid out guidelines for “educated” voters in India?
Educated voters in India have their own brains and thinking power to take their own decisions. Otherwise they are disqualified to be called as “Educated”.
It is useless preposition to demand for better candidates in rural areas, when i know, there are no such candidates.
Sorry, i can’t run, because i don’t have required political and social qualities to run.
Prerna, i consider you as my “peer”, and hereby encourage YOU to run.
Please go ahead.
Again, let the “educated” voters decide what they want to do, you and me can’t dictate our terms on them.
Last but not least, “educated” person in one field is considered as “uneducated” in other field.
Example, Doctor or Finance professional will be considered as “Uneducated” in the field of Agriculture or Defence.
So, rethink about your definition of being “Educated”.

Thanks and Regards
Rahul

@ Naddu

Agreed!
But what do you want to convey?
Topic of discussion here is “Rock The Vote”.
Do you want people like Mozart to contest the election and run the country?
Anyway, your quote “as it is” is good.
But i don’t take such quotes “as it is”.

Regards
Rahul

FELLOW INDIANS ,LICK SOMEBODY ELSE’S ASS THIS TIME
Naddu the article on the ranking of democracies is highly informative. I was unaware that EIU has done such a study on democracies.
One of the reasons that India is a flawed democracy is because of a virtual dynasty rule. In the form of gandhi family. The Congress upholds this dynastic rule.And thus weakens the democracy of India. Rahul Gandhi doesn’t give interviews.This is to cover his ignorance on key issues. The only interview he ever gave was to Tehelka newspaper a few years back. In that he boasted that if HE wanted he could have become Prime Minister of India at 25.Just look at this arrogance of Rahul Gandhi.Just because he has come out of the cunt of Sonia Gandhi he is taking the position of Prime Minister for granted.
As Indians we can give him a hard slap on his face by routing out the Congress Party.Let RAHUL GANDHI earn the position of PM.And not serveD him on a platter.
Just because as Indians one of our inherent traits is to lick the ass of every member of Gandhi family. I would urge my fellow country men to try licking somebody else’s ass this time.Other than the Gnadhi family. It may taste better.

@ Naddu

ACTION MAN, ACTION!, does not mean that everybody should jump in to the political bandwagon and do what ever they feel like doing.
Every individual is different than other in all respects especially temperament, attitude, intellect, tolerance capacity, reflexes towards certain situations, etc.
Everybody should join or pursue profession or carrier according to one’s own liking and aptitude.
You can serve your country in different ways, as you said by creating compositions like Mozart or by pursuing medicine and serving health of the people or by becoming a businessman and help to make economy of your country stronger.
Bottom line is that, it is not necessary for everybody to join active politics to serve the country. This is my opinion.
I am sorry to say that Naddu, i don’t take “anything” personally, your observation is weak.
You may be having lot’s of PERSONAL problems, but I am not taking it PERSONALLY.
Nevermind.:-)

Regards
Rahul

DEAR ANKUR,

WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED QUALITIES OF A GOOD POLITICIAN:

When I began to think about it, it became a much more difficult question to answer. After all, there have not been many candidates in my lifetime who I would label as “good” politicians. So I started thinking about the qualities an ideal politician would possess in order for me to actually endorse them:

Honesty – Insert your politician jokes here, because dishonesty is what has become expected of today’s politicians. Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody followed through on their campaign promises (or even attempted to follow through)?

Integrity – I’m less interested in finding a candidate who is trying to ride the waves of public opinion than I am in finding a candidate who will stand up for what they believe in. Don’t appease me by telling me what you think I want to hear, but have your own opinions and stick to them. If I wanted someone in office who was just going to do what I asked, I’d vote for myself.

Patriotism – Is is so hard to ask for a politician who puts the best interests of the community, state or country ahead of their own political careers or legacy? My ideal politician would make an unpopular decision that benefited their constituents, even if it ruined their career.

Intelligence – While our last several Chancellors have had the educational pedigree, it seems pretty clear that none have been anything close to a “scholar”. Ideally, a good politician will have excelled in their schooling and used it to help them make their decisions instead of having to rely so heavily on “advisors”, “advocates” and “lobbyists”.

Fiscal Experience – The ideal politician should manage money well, because fiscal matters are very central to much of today’s politics, especially in terms of debt management. If they can’t keep their own credit score above 700, they probably aren’t fit to manage millions (or billions) of public money.

Reasonable – Nobody can change the world overnight, and a good politician should realize that. In the long run, there’s very little that a President can accomplish in a 4, 5 or 8-year term, let alone only four years. They should still have high goals, but be realistic about what can be accomplished in the time they have, and be open with the public about how their plans are coming. Even if some changes may not be seen until long after their terms (like energy changes for the future), they should at least get the ball rolling.

Charismatic – A good politician should make you want to follow them, and deliver the great speeches that many of us yearn for. However, this is at the bottom of my list because I will not sacrifice any of the above for someone who is simply a good speaker.
I admit, it’s a difficult list to live up to, but shouldn’t politicians be striving to do just that? Unfortunately, the current candidates clearly don’t fit the bill, and I’d be hard-pressed to say that any of the candidates (we are looking forward to elections in September) possess even half these qualities…but that doesn’t mean we have to leave the bar low.

Are their any other traits you’d like to see in your ideal politician?

Warm regards,
Naddu

@Rahul,

it´s not about “movement by repressed section of society against the dictatorship of the rulers”.
Are the people from Greenpeace a repressed section?
People who demonstrate for peace, are they a repressed section? People who express their disliking for any matter in a state are not always repressed, but they fight for the right of the weaker, or their own better rights.

An ending tolerance level isn´t a reason for people to go on the streets, people who protest, people who demonstrate try to simply achieve their basic rights or better conditions by gaining public attention. They know what a right means.

Every ruler should know the basic rule that he has to serve the nation, not a corrupt minority.

You forgot the same movement was carried by people in East of Germany for the fall of the wall!! I hope you didn´t miss this great part of German and world history. Since that time people in the East have a better life too. The fall of the wall to the East opened the trading markets.

Your neighbour ruler Hu Jintao is not better than Hitler, he hunts and kills innocent people, or people who don´t follow his politics. I hope your theory regarding Hitler would finish all criminal politicians who trample on human rights…the same way they treat their folk they should end their political career. Absolutely!

What I wanted to proof is, you don´t need to be a politician to work for a political change. Every single brave citizen has the power to achieve something for the country.

Movements never occur, they are mostly initiated, of course not by apple polishers or theoreticians.

Regards,
Naddu

@ Rahul,

wrong assumption, I do actively take part in demonstrations. Started already with it when I was a child. It was a demo against nuclear power. I remember, I fixed a sticker on my bycicle and joined the group, was a great feeling.

I also initiated a demonstration regarding a stinking Biomass powerstation in our town. It´s closed now, because people couldn´t open their windows anymore without enjoying a great smell.
Was a big loss for the operator, but a win situation for all people in town and nearer villages.

Greetings,
Naddu

@Rahul — why does active demonstration include physical demonstration only? aren’t we demonstrating right here on this blog?

@Rahul — i laid out these guidelines because I received multiple personal requests from educated voters for guidelines on politicians.

@ Naddu

Since i agree with prerna’s opinion that active demonstration does not necessarily include physical demonstration only, and we are indeed demonstrating right here on this blog, i hereby take my previous statement back that “i neither initiated or took active part in any demonstration or movement, nor i am planning to do so in near future”.
So dear Naddu, i fulfill one more most important quality of a GOOD POLITICIAN, which is not laid down in your post.
AND THAT QUALITY IS DIPLOMACY.

Warm Regards
Rahul

Prena Good Yaar thanks.

how dare u say jackass to those insulting muslims. in our own mother land the oldest surviving relegion hinduism is bashed in the name of so called secularism u shit of a person.

Dear Prerna,

Thanks for sharing nice information.

Regards.

Yours

Dear prerana In my point of view these all election candidate shuld be well experience in law like they must be either IAS or civil service candidate who can handle this country in well .can judge but not allowed to criminal background

Greetings !

Thanks for your wonderfull writing in our country of deaf and dumb where all peoples have the ” Chalta Hai ” attitude if fees of the school were being hiked one keeps quite waiting for other to speak and like wise it all runs .you have written a good questionaire but What if they doesnt qualify ? What other option do you recommend.?

Thanks & Regards

Rajesh Walia

Hi Prerna,

I agree and disagree with you on the thoughts below for the following reasons:

it might be that the politician you decide to vote might qualify in all the criteria one prescribes but at the same time same candidate might have a leader for himself/herself who fails in the qualification test—-net result -one has voted for a leader(thorugh a candidate) whom you don’t see as a good person. e.g candiadates floated by Mulayam Singh, MNS(Raj Thackerey), Mayawati, Lalu Yadav etc.

In another instance you might vote for a clean candidate having a clean leader but the party is being run by a group of goons, or corrupt persons(Congress and BJP ) or being funded by foregeners for their vested interests (communists-funded by china, Russia etc. ).

net result, we still form a government which is working for some powerhouses and goons only.

Taking a critical view of the system , need of the hour for educated beings is to join hands and create awareness, build resistance against this decomposing system (in which every party has openely floated criminals )—either to provide an alternate to people of India or to make it clear to these flounderes that not a single criminal (or support to any )in the system will be tolerated.

Also we can bring together all organization like Youth for Equality, Professional Party of India and others who think likewise to achieve these goals.

rgds,
Ashok Kinha.

JAY HIND …

Sorry Prerna Gupta,
This Election i don’t vote and elect the person.Because every body’s cheating in India,Indian Money,Me and you.And I said one thing wright person not born in India. Supose any one Select for Me defenently i will CHANGE the India. Would you like and give the oppertunity………………….

Thanks & Regards

Kathir

thanks for this

Hi Prerna!!!
You really justify your name. I must appreciate your parents whohave named you so aptly and imbibed such values in you!!! Kudos to them. I am, alonwith my family members going to definitely participate very sensibly in this electoral process.

Warm regards

Vikas

How many those here on this forum “WILL REALLY VOTE”. I want to see the percentage.

Hi,

Its really an informative writing. As you sujject if we really want to vote for the perfect YES Man or Woman we cannot vote as there is no one stands separately. All are having criminal back grounds and doent have a national agenda; only personal goal are their main politcal agenda in these days. As far regeional parties rules it will end up in a hung parliament and will have 100 decisions istead of a proper ‘one’. You may be knowing that many elected representatives to the lok sabha not even attend it for even 10% of the toatal assembly days. Not even single question they have raised on behalf of the nation or for the people plight. Once if any on ewatched the DD for the Lok Sabha procedings they will never vote intheir life time as the those are the ugly pictures of our own netas in the house. Some are sleeping some are just being there and many are abscent. I feel that is the reason for the low poling percentages in many portions of the country for this World’s Largest Democracy; especially in the urban areas. I think there should not be any value for the election if the polling turn out is less than 50%. As you I am also hope to see a clean process of election with proper politics and not Politrics.

@Aussie,

as far as efficiency is concerned, it is the most efficient source, but not the cleanest technology.
It seems to be clean, as you don´t perceive the danger with your eyes. Nuclear radiation is invisible, but the drama and effects of the “little nuclear accidents” are visible for more than a lifetime. (also consider nuclear device, Hiroshima and Nagasaki)

Lack of money or safety defects are not really a thread, the thread is the human who abuses nuclear power!

Where do you store all the nuclear trash? At home? In your neighbourhood? I hope the company that is responsible for the permanent disposal is aware about its responsibility for the human life and our planet.

I don´t think about short term effects, I think about the future of my children.

Could all our energy be supplied by nuclear power?

Before considering alternative sources, it is necessary to understand the size of the problem by examining current global energy consumption. Energy units exhibit little uniformity, but the joule can be used as a universally acceptable basis for analysis. Big numbers have to be employed to express global energy parameters, i.e., the exajoule (joule x 1018) and the petajoule (joule x 1015), abbreviated as EJ and PJ respectively. The world’s primary energy consumption in 2006 was 457 EJ, of which 88% was provided by fossil fuels. Of this 68.5 EJ was in the form of electrical energy (19,028 TWh), with 9.6 EJ (2,658 TWh) which is 14.0% of it provided by nuclear generation.

If not restrained by uranium supply problems, nuclear power could in theory substitute for gas and coal for all the world’s electricity generation, but electricity is not readily adaptable for mobile transport.

Transport constrained to fixed guide systems, such as rail and tramways can use electrical energy directly from current collectors, but mobile transport able to move on roads or rough terrain uses mostly liquid fuels derived from oil. As oil reserves deplete, liquid fuels will be synthesised increasingly from natural gas and then coal, until all fossil fuels able to be economically extracted are exhausted.

To use electrical energy as an alternative to conventional liquid fuels for mobile transport requires the production of hydrogen from electrolysis and its subsequent cryogenic liquefaction for on-vehicle storage. This has an inherent energy penalty over the derivatives of primary fuels and of course, unless the electricity used to produce the hydrogen fuel is from a renewable and “clean” source, offers no panacea to global warming. Assuming mobile transport requires 40% of global energy and taking into account the energy loss in conversion, the primary energy requirement for global electrical generation rises from 457 EJ to 790 EJ. The problem is that electrical energy of whatever means of generation is a poor substitute for the adaptable primary energy obtained from fossil fuels.

Assuming world economic growth of 3%/annum, with growth in energy requirements 1% less, extrapolating from 2006 to 2020, increases the energy requirement to 980 EJ.

A typical 1200 MW nuclear power plant produces 32 PJ per annum, so to provide for 790 EJ around 24,700 nuclear power stations would have to be built. To provide for 980 EJ would require 30,000 stations, each requiring 200 tonnes/annum of uranium fuel. To fuel this number of stations, around 6 million tonnes/annum of uranium production would be required.

In 2006 world annual mine production totalled only 39,600 tonnes of uranium, of which Canada produced 9,860 tonnes and Australia 7,590 tonnes resp. Only Canada has reserves of high grade ore, while the grade of the ores remaining in Australia progressively lowers. The balance of 26,900 tonnes required to meet the 2006 nuclear generators’ demand for 66,500 tonnes came from inventories, ex-weapons material, MOX and re-worked mine tailings. This secondary uranium supply is due to run out within a decade, so primary production would have to be increased 150-fold to match the anticipated global energy needs exclusively from nuclear power in 2020.

From the above projections it is clear that nuclear power has no chance of matching the coming energy deficit by supplying the needs of an equivalent hydrogen economy to that currently sustained by fossil fuels. Even if there was sufficient uranium to fuel it, the building of a parc of 30,000 nuclear power stations would be an impossible prospect. The processing and sequestering of the consequential enormous volume of radioactive waste would be also be an impossible task.

Is nuclear power “clean”?

Then the claim for the carbon-free status of nuclear power proves to be false. Carbon dioxide is released in every component of the nuclear fuel cycle except the actual fission in the reactor. Fossil fuels are involved in the mining, milling, conversion and enrichment of the ore, in the handling of the mill tailings, in the fuel can preparation, in the construction of the station and in its de-commissioning and demolition, in the handling of the spent waste, in its processing and vitrification and in digging the hole in rock for its deposition.

The lower the ore grade, the more energy is consumed in the fuel processing, so that the amount of the carbon dioxide released in the overall fuel cycle depends on the ore grade. Only Canada has ores of a sufficiently high grade to avoid excessive carbon releases and to provide an adequate energy gain. At ore grades below 0.01% for ‘soft’ ores and 0.02% for ‘hard’ ores more CO2 than an equivalent gas-fired station is released and more energy is absorbed in the cycle that is gained in it. Ores of a grade approaching the “crossover” point such as those in India of 0.03%, if used, risk going into negative energy gain if there are a few “hiccups” in the cycle.

The Olympic Dam mine in Australia, described as potentially the world’s largest uranium producer, survives as a co-producer of copper, silver and gold, but even so the uranium ore grade averaging 0.04% is below the current industry “cut-off” point of 0.08% for economic viability. The future of the mine is the subject of a feasibility study into its conversion from an underground to an open pit 3km x 3km x 1km deep, but the owners have stated that without the copper the expansion would not be considered. As the price of diesel rises, the incentive for Australians to import expensive oil to provide others with nuclear energy reduces and with it a large potential for emissions of carbon dioxide.

The industry points to the presence of uranium in phosphates and seawater, but the concentrations are so low that the energy required to extract it would exceed many times the energy obtained from any nuclear power resulting and the resulting carbon emissions would be massive.

When the energy inputs, past, present and future are totalled up and set against the actual energy derived from the entire nuclear power programme and its waste handling, it may well be that the overall energy gain has been negative. This has been masked by the availability of cheap fossil fuels, but as that era passes it behoves energy professionals to make an honest assessment of the energy and monetary economics of proceeding further with a failed technology.

In the UK in 2006 the government’s Energy Review concluded that nuclear power can only be economic if its claimed low carbon status allows it to sell its “carbon credits” to carbon-emitting generators requiring an off-set. As fossil fuels will be considerably depleted before the operational cycles of the proposed new fleet of nuclear stations end, the generators are asking for guaranteed carbon credits for a 100 years to justify their investment, in effect demanding a subsidy.

Can the world’s electrical energy be supplied by nuclear power?

The MIT team have produced a more modest plan for the building of power stations to provide 1,500 GWe of nuclear generation capacity by 2050, which would provide 13,140 terawatthours per annum (TWh), about a third of the anticipated global total electricity consumption of 39,000 TWh in 2050. The uranium requirement for their programme over the 45 years from 2005 to then amounts to 9.5 million tonnes. In 2050, the uranium demand would be 306,000 tonnes/annum, which would require a 7-fold increase in current mining production rates. But they assume a total uranium consumption for their scenario of 17 million tonnes, because the average remaining life of the parc after 2050 would require a further 7.5 million tonnes.

Uranium reserves of ore of a sufficiently high grade are estimated at only 4,500,000 tonnes. So to get round this difficulty, MIT compute that the reserves can be expanded to suit the requirement by progressive increases in the uranium price. They consider that ore deposits of grades between 0.001% and 0.03% would hold 22 million tonnes of uranium and would be viable at increased uranium prices without unacceptable consequent rises in the electricity price. However, with the processing of these low ore grades there is a yield loss and larger energy inputs, leading to a negative energy gain in the overall nuclear fuel cycle.

In 2050 when reactors of 1500 GWe generation are in service, if the required 306,000 tonnes/annum of uranium were to be extracted from the best of the low grade ores, i.e., 0.03%, with an optimistic yield of 50%, the mining of 2 billion tonnes of rock, plus the removal of the over-burden, would be needed every year. Assuming that by 2050 the best of the ores has been taken, to extract the same from the lowest remaining, i.e. 0.001%, the yield would be even lower at say 10% and the production of 306,000 tonnes of uranium would require the mining of 300 billion tonnes of ore, plus the overburden.

World phosphate mining results in 150 million tonnes of phosphogypsum accumulating every year in diverse locations as a waste product containing 10-20 ppm of uranium. If the uranium was extracted it would only produce 1,500 to 3,000 tonnes of uranium, so its production as a co-product does not seem a viable possibility.

The scale of such inconceivable operations and the commensurate input energy provided largely by fossil fuels is totally non-viable. MIT has failed to give the location of the low grade deposits of uranium ore on which their programme depends or to examine the methods of extraction and the energy consumption related to the ore grades assumed.

There is no chance that a parc of 1500 GWe of nuclear power plants, providing only one third of the projected electrical energy consumption in 2050, can be fuelled.

greetings,
Naddu

Hey naddu its can not tan honey

Thanks Prerna

I will also think on ur suggession before vote

Regards

Hi Prerna,
Read your blog and glad you presented a good picture of our democracy.but still population hinders the development process.literacy and lack of will amongst leaders and mass is another big issue.

Regards.

hi i appreciate your writing talent and keep it up and write more and more articles on various social issues

thank you

prema it was a real nice article. how old are you to be so wise?

Hi Ms.Prerna Gupta, I appreciate your interests and efforts to make a real meaning to your name – Prerna.

I was equally effected of the thick (would not say dark) clouds of polls around. I made up my mind that this time I will vote? I wanted to be serious. I searched the candidates profiles and tried to learn the best part of it. But, somehow, none of these candidates satisfied my expectations of them.

We know we have two or three major ediots to choose and some alternative likely ediots. I feel that we need to have people who are socially conscious as candidates. We never have social activists as candidates, or if they join the politics, their social activism vanishes somewhere. I see politicians with a long standing political existence and not social existence. I cannot really judge as to what extent they are socially motivated or committed to make a change.

So, the real need now is to have better candidates to choose and not just voting to one of the ediots whom we feel to be a lesser criminal or softer ediot. We have police verifications for the government posts like peon onwards? All our bureaucracy is built upon mistrust and verifications and checks and cross checks. We have a good testing system to test the leadership abilities for Defence Officers or IAS and IPS. Can we have some similar system like Indian Political services?

So, tell me if I need to vote, I need to vote a right candidate. I feel none of the candidates worthy. By a rare chance if one makes it to the list, be sure – he/she loses the deposit itself.
What do we do? I am sure this is not pessimism but a call for some action. May be by next elections we may have something to choose rightly?

hi,
I ROCKED THE VOTE……..
Regards,
Shivakumar

Dear Perma Gupta,
We agree with you. Jai Hind.
I look forward to hear from you.
Kindest Regards

Aamir Mehboob

Dear ,
Thank for it……………………….

Thanks & regards,
Virendra sharma,
Jaipur.

jai hind

thanks and well done

ali

yes i vote for the best

Man needs to be controlled in all aspects of his life. Even a small child needs to be occasionally threatened from doing mischiefs. That is why we have constitutions, laws, government. But man made laws are with many flaws. That is why constantly amendments are being made to the national constitutions. Above all these, the best control for man is his own self control. How to achieve this? It is thru religion and the fear of God. You need to be spiritual on some basis. And that basis is religion. U have to identify the right religion. Religion means path of life. If he is not following the right religion, then he will end up in terrorism, HIV-AIDs, Climatic Change, Environmental damage, Swine Flu Spread etc.