Is Indian Prime Minister accountable like the U.S. President?

It has been learnt during Barack Obama’s India visit (Nov.-2010) that when the U.S. exports 10 Billion Dollars worth of goods, 50000 jobs will be created in America. But when Indian exporters export, perhaps no additional jobs are created in India. Rather exporters want Indian currency to remain down and weak for their own vested interest. Developed countries of the world have stronger currencies such as British Pound, Euro, Dollars of USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, etc. If India wants to be in the list of developed countries as is projected in the coming decade, Indian Rupee (INR) has to grow stronger. Perhaps the Indian government including the RBI does not intend INR to grow stronger. In 1980’s, US$ 1 was equivalent to INR 8, while in 1960’s, it was less than INR 5 per US$. Soon after independence in 1948, INR 1 was equal to USD 1 and Pound 1. The steep rise in exchange rate began in 1991 onwards during Reformed Economy of Liberalized India. The INR started losing its value since 1952 when the political leaders borrowed money for the first time from the World Bank and other developed nations. By 2010, our own currency Indian Rupee has become so weak and devalued that it has lost its purchaing power even within the country. It is quite common to witness Indians comment, “Even a beggar does not accept 1-Rupee these days”. It is a very shameful situation for us. No one in any developed country dares to think or comment like this about his nation’s currency. India has zero value for all its coins (in the eight denominations of less than a rupee) – which is the recent development in 21^st century. Days are not far when our 1 & 2-Rupee coins will also have zero value and become extinct – just like ‘Paise’ coins. Indians are shown fictitious figures about inflation to represent it low. Being an Indian, I realize as India’s share market grows, Indians are shown higher GDP growth rates while the inflation levels are sneakily made lower by our government and officials. The food grains and other food items are traded in Commodity Exchange (MCX). This results in exorbitant rise in prices of edible oil and food grains making them out of common man’s reach – whereas India is designated as an ‘Agriculture Country’. In reality Indians observe that prices of everything – whether food items (agricultural produce), FMCG products, automobiles, or real estates (including rented properties) are constantly rising by leaps and bounds. In 1970’s, one Kg. common salt was available in 10-20 paise (one-tenth to one-fifth of a Rupee)!! Today the common salt (of course iodized version) is costing INR 10-12 per Kg. In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi had challenged the British government and shaken it with his historic “Dandi March” when the British imposed a salt tax on salt. But today, we have no Mahatma Gandhi to protest against Indian government’s taxing policies – especially on essential commodities that torture us and particularly forcing the lower strata of Indian population to remain below the poverty line, starve and suffer the most. In this way, one day Indians will find that the inflation level is declared at ‘zero level’ but in reality they will have sky-high prices of everything. Possibly on that day, a 10-Rupee currency-note will have a purchasing power of today’s 1-Rupee coin. No wonder Indian government would blatantly declare India’s GDP growth rate as 14 to 15% and inflation rate at 0.00%. No public protest, no voice – despite being the world’s largest democracy. In developed nations as well as in a nearby progressive  country, UAE, the commodity prices remain standstill for a long time and rarely fluctuate so frequently as they rise in India.

Indian government is trying to create an illusive image to show the world that India has progressed much by showing exaggerated GDP growth rate and high ‘Sensex’ figures generated by foreign investments (in its share market). This growth does not mean that most of the country’s population is satisfied or at least getting employment for minimum survival level. The U.S. President Obama is just trying to lift India eulogistically by calling it a ‘super power’ for meeting his and his country’s vested interests. This is an irony that a beggar, who borrows money from the World Bank and other rich countries, is giving alms to the ‘Rich and Famous’!! Unless India repays its borrowed debt with accumulated interests, it cannot be a developed nation. The litmus test will prove this when INR will be equal to the USD in the ratio of 1:1.

American President is ‘accountable’ towards American people. He has come to India to generate jobs. But is Indian PM or any minister in government accountable towards educated Indians who are passing through the ordeal of joblessness? Leave aside the uneducated and illiterates. Indian media and government are trying to portray that we have excess jobs in India which we have probably snatched from the Americans (at least they believe so in the U.S.). Now by helping the U.S.A., India could possibly return those excess jobs to the Americans. Do we have 100% employment and 0% unemployment rates? Certainly not. India’s ‘power-hungry’ political leaders who thrive and prosper on corruption, are not at all the Statesmen. They accumulate wealth for their next 7 generations but are never bothered for India’s present generation. Half of India’s population lives below poverty line. They hardly manage to get a meal a day or not even that. This is all related to unemployment issue. Indian government has failed to resolve this significant problem in 63 years of independence and is not likely to resolve in the next 2, 3 or 4 decades. But on paper with the help of false media publicity, India is keen to declare it a ‘developed nation’ by 2020 by concealing its burning issues like poverty, unemployment and corruption. I only wish if an Indian minister or the Prime Minister would have done something like the U.S. President to seek jobs or to generate employments for the India’s unemployed to help eliminate at least unemployment and poverty.

~Gunjan Gupta, Esq.