LOBBYING

                                                                         

      Lobbying   is a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by the government by individuals or more usually by lobby groups ,it includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials whether  by other legislators , constituents or organized groups. However there is a difference between advocacy and lobbying. Lobbying  is any attempt to influence specific legislation whereas advocacy involves identifying, embracing and promoting a cause. There is no limit to the amount of advocacy you can do. Advocacy is not lobbying. Hence there is a limitation in lobbying.

     In US there is the existence of lobbying in the Congress ,state levels ,municipal level and the city council through which legislation is influenced. The ability of individuals, groups, and corporations to lobby the government is protected by the “right to petition under the “First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Right to petition is a right which prohibits Congress from abridging “the right of the people…to..petition the government for a redress of grievances. However lobbying in US too comes with regulations such as “The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 “and “ Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 “which has increased regulation and transparency in the system of lobbying.                  

   In United Kingdom industrial lobbying has recently  grown with the name of “Public Affairs” where the  many  MPs and in particular Ministers are recruited by lobby firms and lobbyists have been recruited by ministers as 'special advisors.' Some there believed  that giving lobbying a statutory registry would bring about transparency while the government believed that lobbying would be the next big scandal and taint the politics. Apart form these there is lobbying in Brussels which started in the 1970’s and in European Union too.

      In these countries and in Union there is some sort of a rule or a law which gives lobbying a status ,but this is not the case in India. There is neither a law which legalises lobbying neither a law which repeals it. However  lobbying has been in practice in India for a long time now, within the chambers of commerce,lawyers, chartered accountants,retired bureaucrats,communications ,aviation and many more. It is being carried out in the disguise of public relations. Lobbyists use the title of Public relations for striking the best deals for the clients they have. In the pursuit of minting money the lobbyist go to any extent to influence various legislations to safeguard their clients interest. There has been various instances in the past which reveals this phenomenon. The very bubbling example is that of the Nira Radia tape controversy. She too owns a public relations firm and she too is being branded as lobbyist so one can clearly understand that these two terms are the two sides of the same coin.

    Lobbying in India has acquired new  dignities and sophistication but the entire business can be described as a thinly disguised corruption.Lobbying in a healthy manner is always good but now as our economy has become purely market driven its being misused. These days its an easier form of money minting .Moreover with global business looking to invest in India this phenomenon has further increased as the foreign firms find it easier to go through the lobbyists to start . Lobbyist or the Public relations personnels are individuals with tremendous  contacts ranging form politicians,bureaucrats ,legislators,media  etc . Hence lobbying has always been in practice in India under  public relations, as a way of advertising for clients and ultimately influencing policies and decisions. This is the reason why these professions are the largest paying profession  now. It has become such chronic now that it has seeped into all the fields in the pursuit of making money.

   Thus lobbying does not have a legal sanctity in India hence it is being misused largely.The government should take adequate measures to  legalise it fully or make it an offence which is punishable. As many believe that  the practice of lobbying in order to influence political decisions is a legitimate and necessary part of the democratic process. However this too will be effective if these are backed with well stimulated limitations so that the rights of the government are not  jeopardised in the name of lobbying. Its  time for the government  to give a thought and take appropriate  steps.

Governments Image Tarnishes

  

            Our government ,the UPA government  claims  to be s a government  for the  “Aam Admi.” All its election campaign focused on the fact that it’s a government for the normal  people ,but what is it doing when the normal people are dying due to spiraling high prices of various necessity.

         Sky touching  onion prices, milk prices, petrol prices ,gas cylinder prices  which are speculated to rise and then the increase of the electricity bills, what will the janta do? These are necessities one can’t do without. Milk is a basic necessity  for the babies and the children, now  with its increase in price what will their parents feed on? It’s a mere rise of 50 paisa which will hardly affect the affluent lot but what about the other lot of the population who is supposedly in majority in India. Why doesn’t the government understand that our country is a mixed economy not a capitalist economy.Where will the Aam admi go what will they do?

      They say there  is such a rise in price as there is large amount of hoarding in various regions of our country .Why can’t our government take firm steps and try and curb this? It’s an important issue which demands extensive attention which our government is failing to address. In such a situation of crisis too they are still battling about  the Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC)  and the Public Accounts Commission (PAC).They are only concerned to retain their power but they fail to understand that if they don’t address these issues fast they will never be able to come to power .Since   Democracy stands “for the people, by the people and to the people,” and the million voters who vote are not fools.

     Government is struggling to retain power and opposition is trying to come to power .No one is really concerned about addressing issues. What happened in the BJP rally today they were busy accussing one another no one addressed the issue though it was claimed to be a protest against the price rise. Why can’t they act constructively. Now tomorrow the UPA government will come with a reply to all the accusations that were made but not much will be done about the important issue of price rise.

        Its really a sad state of affair to witness in the largest Democracy of the world. Why cant more transparency be brought in? Why cannot there be more vigilance? its time now for us to to voice for “CHANGE and bring someone who can really say the “Change is here.”

Ignorance or Discrimination

  

   China thinks Kashmir is not a part of India and so is with  Arunachal Pradesh. Such a thing being ascertained by a neighbour is alas a point of concern for our nation. This creates a sense of panic and hysteria in the entire country. Whatever may be their reason for us this will always be  a point of ignorance on the part of our Chinese counterparts.

  However their ignorance doesn’t seem as grave, as the ignorance reflected by our Indian brothers and sisters. Their ignorance is reflected to the way they think, that the people living in the far regions of the North east are equally a part of India as they are. A slight difference in their features and their appearance makes them someone who has come from an alien land of South Asia and are a tourists to India. May be, their ancestors were from Mongolia but the ones living there right now are no longer Mongolians. Whatever may be their point of origin the simple truth  is that, they are now legally and ethically a part of our country India and its high time people accept this truth.

  India being a pluralistic country has wide variety of community, religion, customs and traditions and the people from the North East are too an integral part of this diversity. Until the native from these states aren’t given an identity the conflict will ever remain in India.  Its time for the fellow citizens to avoid derogatory connotations and accept every citizen the way they are.

    The people from the far flung areas of the north east were born to the same mother land as they were and they serve the same mother as they do. Its just a matter of adopting a broader perspective , washing away pre judices and accepting the far east fraternity as ones own.   

        I understand that it may be due to the ignorance of the illiterate lot,but what about the so called educated and the intellectual world. Are they ignorant or is it an instance of discrimination? I have failed to understand what has lead to this factor and have been trying to answer this since time immemorial,but ultimately I am unsuccessful again.

Changing Trends of Sports in India

       Everything in this world now revolves around making money, money is above all.Irrespective of what your genre of work ones final destination is minting money.Its one such powerful weapon which no human being can resist.This trend of minting money has seeped in greatly in the sports field especially cricket.Its now purely a market driven sport.
       In India cricket is one sport which is literally worshipped and the players are treated as idols.There are many other sports which are played in India but why is this phenomenon only with cricket?This is the result of large amount of sponsorship phenomenon prevalent and highly active.Its a phenomenon due to which sports has become a mere spectacle and nothing else.The increasing trend of 20/20 matches are all examples of sponsorship.The T 20 matches, Airtel league matches and many more are tools used by big brands to promote their companies and also a way for the sports personality to earn. Why is it that our players perform very poorly in the world cup? This can be largely atttributed to the fact ,that as the world cups approach our sports personalities are busy endorsing products than showing their hardwork in the field.I think this trend has largely hampered the performance of our players.
       The greatest example of sponsorship and the changing trend are the IPL matches.Players getting auctioned and companies fighting for players.Its purely business there.Leave alone the business,the scandals which accompany them ,but why is such trend thriving.For instance the Lalit Modi Scam, which shook not only the ground of the sports fraternity but reached the politics too resulting in resignation, political upheavel. The removal of teams and then bringing them back ,whats the need for taking steps .when one can ultimately come back if one has the money power.
    It has now  evolved as one of the biggest booming industry and transformed itself from being a field which brought home pride and honour. Its such a sad development to witness for now cricket is not a mere sport but its one of the lucrative industry one can venture into.