Dear Vidhyadhar, To further nationalise essential services in a country where there is no political or bureaucratic accountabilty will spell disaster for India.
To cite an example, until a few years ago telecommuncations was nationalised and the the scenario in this sector in India was comparable to remotest Africa. This was not due to any lack of funds or technology or expertise, but rather a delibrate attempt by Politicians and Babus to keep the masses ignorant and backward while providing limited service to the "classes". This has long been a tactic of successive governments (mostly Congress) to keep themselves in power and postion themselves as the saviours of the poor. Fast forward a few years(since privatisation) and one can now get a Phone, Mobile and Broadband connection from the same BSNL in a day or two. I would genuinely like to know your explantion for this. The state of electricity, roads, and water in India remains very backward and I'm not sure why you are thankful for that. The primary reason for KTC's pathetic state is political interference in appointments and day-to-day activities. The primary reason for the below par service from private operators in Goa is a completely inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy(RTO and Traffic Police). The pathetic state of the PWD and Electricity Department begs privatisation in these sectors. The government has wasted decades by interfering in the industrial and commercial sector while ignoring education. While many people see this as a failure in the policy of post Independence government, I see this as a calculated and deliberate attempt by those in power to ensure that succesive generations of the underprivilleged would remain ignorant and they could keep portraying themselves as champions of the poor with gimmicks such as free electricity, public sector jobs and ensuring development "one tap/streetlight" at a time. Even today, no government in India will focus on education because they realise with education comes awareness. And an intellectually aware electorate will spell doom for the current crop of politicians, Yechury, Karat and friends included. By education, I do not mean literacy alone. Regards Sunith Vidhyadhar writes: Etc. Etc. All public services should be nationalised, starting with transport, followed by education. Fortunately, in India, energy and water are still entirely nationalised, though if lapdogs-of-the-IMF Manmohan and Chidambaram have their way, they soon won't be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goanet supports BMX, the alumni network of Britto's, St Mary's and Xavier's -- three prominent institutions in Mapusa, Goa. Events scheduled from Dec 16 to 21, 2006 For more details visit http://www.bmxgoa.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------
