Whispers Forum

The shrewd have once again outsmarted the nationalists! An impending war has to be averted at any cost, is easier to win, only if the guards of internal security know the mind of the aggressors better than them. We need to show greatest (nothing less) knowledge of the ethnicity and psychology of our people, particularly all border areas, and deal with day to day problems successfully. The enemies know the chinks in these sensitive areas far better than those handling them without even visiting those places once in their life time. I have expressed my views on WIC in the past and repeat them once again: highest grade sociologists and psychologists must be asked to study issues on regional and other basis covered and reflected in the Tables of the Census Reports. Even the AIS officers shy away from posting in these areas, desert the difficult post, are not competent to serve these areas, are even chosen for awards like the Magsaysay. Every suggested expert shall draw salary at the apex level to attract and retain them on these dry jobs (no malaidar posting). There are Universities abroad and so called super speciality hospitals, which lack professionals, but have at least marked the need for specialisation in areas unheard of. Repair the hurt caused by the “chupchap” gang in Ladakh without losing another minute!
M L Gupta

The bureaucracy is designed for efficiency. Its peculiar behaviour reflected in personal quirks, predilections and unusual lifestyle, could impact co-workers. Let me share some interesting anecdotes. First, the Disclaimer. My motive is not to hurt anyone or denigrate any service. Details withheld for obvious reasons.
(a)An ICS officer known for his extreme honesty and no-nonsense approach, did not spare his wife. As chief secretary, he once asked the police to even challan her for driving without a licence.
(b)In another case, a union Secretary ( first batch IAS), a stickler for good English, could not stand grammatical mistakes and spelling errors in file notings. The acts of omissions and commissions were meticulously noted in his infamous “Red diary” detailing officer. The reprimand would then be recorded in officers’ APRs with documentary evidence. Appeals against adverse entries were meaningless. The officer curiously bicycled from his official bungalow (in Lutyens Delhi) to office and back to save on petrol. The official bicycle, gloriously parked alongside the official car, evoked derisive laughter by the one-man show !
(c) I recall the unresolved stand-off that existed between a Joint Secretary and an Addl Secretary(both IAS).Ego clash. The former refused to report to his senior. The altercation turned into a public spectacle as they did not see eye-to-eye. The impasse continued for weeks as the Secretary failed to bring about a “rapprochement” between the warring officers till the senior was unceremoniously transferred.
(d)In another curious case,a union secretary refused the officially allotted government bungalow and preferred to stay in his private flat in Delhi so that he and his spouse (also a govt employee) could claim house rent allowances. It was surprising to see him residing in the neighbourhood of marginalized workers. A noble initiative motivated by greed. Some felt it was unbecoming of a Secretary due to his failure to maintain the dignity of the high office he held.
(e)Going further, a dipsomaniac union Secretary,obsessed with week-end late-night dinners, drank like a fish.Post-dinner,he used to be physically escorted by the official driver back home as he could hardly walk under the effects of liquor.
The list of misdemeanours is illustrative, not exhaustive. I suppose, it still continues.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)

The Supreme Court and some High Courts have recently observed that the existing defamation laws are being misused and consume a lot of time of courts. SC has also directed that it should be decriminalised.
With so many means including social media available for any one to express his/her opinion on various issues , why cannot individual(s) . who feel DEFAMED, also use these means to reply to the accusation, rather filing a case in the court? It is a matter between two or more individuals and they should sort it out. However if there is an accusation against a Constitutional Office, it should be taken up.
Defamation should be examined under Law of Torts and a separate court should be set up and appeal only to High Court.
This will save time and effort of the High and Supreme Court.
S Gopal

Political dynasts are causing great harm to the polity. More often than not, born in the lap of luxury, they lack both education and experience. Their forefathers might have been educated, or at least possessed experience born out of struggle. However, these dynasts, lacking in both, often latch on to caste and religion and try to capture vote banks on the basis of such identity politics. One example is trying to increase reservations in services beyond 50%. What these dynasts do not realize is that the serious business of government cannot be conducted without efficiency of administration. In case their proposals are agreed to by the country, efficiency of administration will become so drastically reduced that all dreams of becoming a developed nation will evaporate. Utter chaos will reign. And these dynasts will fiddle while Rome burns.
V K Reddy

Indian brains migrated to America for jobs; it is high time Indian brains provide employment to American workers. In your absence also India developed, but not at the desired speed. There are currently enormous opportunities for you to earn better than your American jobs only if you work as lawfully as in America. Brains are the strength of a nation. It is time for all Indian brains to break the spell of America and build India which shall provide thousands of jobs to American workers. Because of lack of high grade brain power, the quality of all public works and services deteriorated so much that it was summed up by a single word: corruption. Our highways, cities, housing projects, health, education, media, creative industry- to name a few offer enormous opportunities . What a single dedicated public servant can deliver to a city or state & nation can be summed up by Sridharan delivering the Delhi Metro. We need dedication at that level and in 5 years we will create more jobs for Americans than H1B Visa Trump sells.
M L Gupta

US President Donald Trump’s sudden new $100000 H-1B visa fee announcement followed by American companies snipping off the holidays and calling back the employees on leave to India on a short notice was a shocker. In fact it seems that the move was purposefully done at a time when most Indians are back home for festivities and pre-wedding season preparation. But what is even more pathetic is that our so called ‘Influential American Indians’ like the Google & Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Thomas Kurian who leads Google Cloud, CEO Adobe Shantanu Narayen and many others succumbed to the dictate and sent emails to their employees urging them to return immediately. Couldn’t these and similar influential Indian personalities including former Vice President Kamala Harris, members of the U.S. House of Representatives-Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, and Shri Thanedar utter a single word leave alone raise their voice.
Tyaga Roy

The changes brought in by Mr. Donald Trump are likely to impact India in a very major way. Lots of scientists and engineers who would go on visas to the USA and send back remittances to India are unlikely to do so now. More Indians are likely to come home or stay in India looking for domestic jobs. Coupled with high tariffs that make our exports uncompetitive, Mr. Trump is trying to hurt the Indian economy in a major way. In addition, he is giving hints that the USA is likely to shift strategically to Pakistan. However, Mr. Trump is underestimating Mr. Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi is a very astute politician. He has already started redefining India's strategic alliances. He is looking for alternative markets. The GST cuts are likely to give domestic consumption a boost. Now, there is a need for improving employment and growth. One way is to resurrect the public sector. However, management control will have to be flexible and not subordinated to Ministries. Another way is to improve medical tourism. Let India become a hub for medical tourism. Hospital care is good and affordable in India. Set up hospitals catering to foreign nationals in SEZs. Land can be provided cheaply to these hospitals without EWS beds. Let these hospitals pay income tax on their profits at a higher rate and let there be no exemption from Income Tax to them. Government can also allow those who were working on visas in the USA to rent infrastructure in SEZs. They can run their own companies that can be given single window clearances for their companies in 24 hours. Extra infrastructure can be constructed in SEZs for both offices/ factories and residential units for such eligible persons. What Mr. Trump is trying to do to India may just backfire and boost India's way to becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Vijay Kumar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday, discussing the upcoming GST 2.0 reforms set to take effect on September 22, 2025. Following points were highlight
- GST Reforms: The new system simplifies the tax structure into two main slabs: 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate reserved for luxury goods. This will reduce taxes on approximately 375 goods and services.
- Savings: The combined effect of income tax exemptions and GST rate cuts is expected to save citizens over ₹2.5 lakh crore in a year.
- Atmanirbhar Bharat: PM Modi emphasized the importance of self-reliance and urged citizens to buy "Made in India" products, promoting domestic manufacturing and industries.
- GST Bachat Utsav: The Prime Minister announced a "GST Bachat Utsav" (GST Savings Festival) starting from September 22, which coincides with Navratri celebrations. This initiative aims to boost consumer spending and economic growth.
- Benefits: The reforms will make daily essentials cheaper, benefiting the poor, neo-middle class, and middle class. The reduced GST rates will apply to various products, including food items, medicines, and electronics.
NN

In his independence day address to the nation this year, PM Modi flagged the issue of ‘obesity as a major health challenge for India and appealed to reducing cooking oil consumption by 10%’. The observation went largely un-noticed by the media. It is time to pause and ponder over PM’s appeal that merits serious consideration.
Statistically, as per WHO, one out of eight people in the world is living with obesity. Worse, worldwide, adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990 and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. An alarming trend especially in India, where people are avid foodies. In India, the edible oil import of palm,soyabean and sunflower oils from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina and Brazil come to 16 million tonnes per annum for meeting domestic demand.The import needs to be reduced to save on foreign exchange. This would, no doubt, hit the importing firms. But, the health of the people cannot be ignored.
Also, for public well-being, medical advice needs to be meticulously followed. The cardiologists advise against consuming high- calorie, deep-fried snacks to combat the rising obesity that raises blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other parameters beyond permissible limits.So, let us avoid consuming deep-fried samosas and the sugar-loaded jalebis. If we do not correct ourselves now, then we are complicit.
A K Saxena (Former civil servant)