BJP is Cashing in on the Scared Sentiments of a Nation Facing Difficult Times

Reading this piece of news today made me realize just how political parties use rhetoric and populist statements to win popularity when the common man is down and out in the face of everyday problems.

BJP’s newest President Gadkari (their answer to Congress’ Rahul Gandhi if I may say so) is criticizing the UPA government on two fronts that are sore points with the public right now. Terrorism and inflation. His rhetoric offers no solutions and focuses instead on blame and a suggestion to do nothing. In essence he is giving the people a dummy to burn and someone on who to thrust the blame.

I am no expert in International relations but what common sense tells me is that at times of conflict it is most important to keep the lines of communication open. If the Indian PM has decided that the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan should re-open the lines of communication, it should not be taken as a sign of weakness on the part of our country. After all it is only the strong who can afford to be generous. Also we must realize that when an attack and its evidence are fresh, discussing it is more likely to have a result.

Regarding inflation- there are multiple reasons why prices are rising. Not the least of which is the relaxed credit environment to help the economy deal with the global economic crisis. BJP might say that the “aam admi” is not the beneficiary of these measures since he is not really running factories or looking for huge loans. But it’s the industry that is creating wealth in the nation that is trickling down to the same aam aadmi. So the interest of the industry needs to be protected.

No political party should usurp the debate on what is wrong with the state of the nation for the sake of their own political gains. Over-simplifying larger issues creates a biased public opinion, which, in a democracy and multi-party governments can stymie genuine measures to correct those same ills.

Does our childhood ever really leave us?

Like most people I have my small collection of devotional music. An eclectic mix of bhajans, chants and even a CD that my husband’s friend recorded for us of a Colorado based American singing the Hanuman Chalisa. But each morning as I look for what to put on and get my dose of bhajans, my hands will instinctively go for the CD that has bhajans I grew up listening to. It is a collection called ”Premanjali Pushpanjali”.

If it is playing in the background and I close my eyes, I am instantly transferred back to my parents’ bedroom in the small town in Punjab where I grew up. The Digital sounds of the CD change to the small sound that my mother’s prized Sanyo two-in-one used to play. I can hear her pottering around her room on a Sunday morning cleaning up and the soulful strains of the singer floating in the air.

The same is true of food. Carrot halwa is a favorite of North Indians in the winter months when the delicious red carrots are in season. Many people cook this universal favorite to almost a crisp consistency till the carrots are a deep brownish-red. My grandmother’s version was a more milky concoction where the carrots were soft and you could taste the thickened milk as the flavour burst in your mouth. She embellished it with a few almonds. That was it. Simple and clean. And surprise surprise, till date I will pick my granny’s version over any other. If someone serves the dish with cashews, raisins etc. I will unknowingly pick out all other embellishments save the almonds and enjoy the dish only if it is milky.

All this makes me wonder- if the hold of our childhood is so strong in simple choices like bhajans and dessert, surely it must have a serious and lasting impact on more significant things like value systems, morality and the way we handle our relationships. I know a lot has been written about this subject and the link is well known. But when I you think about it this way, you realize that the hold goes down to such a deep level that many of us are not even aware of it. Many a times we may be making choices and not even realizing it because we are unable to avoid that course of action. And it also means that if needed, weeding out the influence of childhood is a very tough thing to do. You can change what you are aware of. How do you begin to correct something you don’t even realize is wrong?

So as parents it only increases our responsibility that we are wise with our child’s childhood. Not to be paranoid, but parenting can not be an unplanned activity because when we choose to give that apple to them instead of a bag of chips or are rude to someone in public, we are pretty much ensuring this what they will do when we are not around

Should you lend money to someone who cannot pay Rs.1500?

Strange as it may sound to the average Indian, but now you can actually buy a pair of jeans on installments- and yes they will even give you the whole garment at the time of the purchase (ha ha) !

Read an article this morning that talks of a partnership between Levi Strauss and a leading bank in India offering a plan whereby you can buy jeans over Rs.1500 and pay only one third upfront and the rest in equal monthly installments. My first reaction was “These Americans- here they come barging into our economy and infecting it with their ideas!” I was irked, but not sure why I was irked. After all if some young bloke out there can now dress well, improve his self-esteem and eventually become a better person for it then why not?

But after thinking through this I realize what bothers me about this. There is nothing wrong with borrowing money per se (because that is what this scheme really is (they are lending you the money you don’t have and will take it from you later). But when it is for non-essential purchases it straddles the dangerous line between consumption to up your standard of living and pure indulgence. Once acquired, the habit of spending before you earn, is a hard one to break.

Having lived in the US for sometime I have seen such schemes. People will pay deceptively small sums of money to stores to “hold” garments for them till such a time as they can buy the garment. Many will never purchase the garment and simply have sunk money to feel like something is within their reach and those who will eventually buy will land up paying much more than they should have and then too when they obviously have a shortage of money.

Ironically, the smaller the ticket price of the item being purchased on an EMI basis the more the danger of the default and of it being a bad financial choice for the individual. After all if you can not afford to shell out Rs.1500 at one time how sound is your cash flow situation? And also the seller is not likely to do a real credit check on you for such a small amount. A car or a home loan is another matter altogether.

So my grouse with EMIs for a pair of Rs.1500 jeans is that it is obviously a scheme to cash in on the desires of the young and the restless who are not yet mature enough to fully plan their finances and are at a risk of becoming a new population of defaulters.