22 October, 2008

When will Indians start being proud of themselves

The answer to Monsieur Francois Gautier’s question, “When will Indians start being proud of themselves and their own culture and stop looking down on their own society?” is, we will do so only when people of other countries start looking at us in admiration.

For this to happen, to name a few, we must have six lane express ways crisscrossing the length and breadth of our country, Bullet trains speeding from one end to the other, hop in and out of flights and trains at everybody’s convenience, have uninterrupted supply of cheap electricity, petrol and diesel at one tenth of today’s prices, and last but not the least, get fifty US dollars for every single Indian Rupee! (By that time the drinking water, health care and education of the under privileged which are our perennial problems would have ceased to exist.)

If ever someday it happens then we will hold our heads high.

11 October, 2008

Indian Administrative Service and their penchant for Flags

Recently travelling along the state highway a VIP car with beacon light passed by flying not the national flag but a new and hitherto unseen flag. The car did not have any stars denoting the high ranks of the police and military personal that usually fly flags. After a few weeks when I saw the same flag being displayed on the official car of the District Collector it became evident that the IAS cadre was getting even with their IPS counterparts. It seems the IAS cadre which considers God, IAS and the rest of the world in that order, couldn't digest the IPS officers above the rank of DIGs flying flags on their official vehicles, so they invented one for themselves, since even the chief secretary doesn’t have an official flag to show about.
Flags are better left to uniformed personals. Are the IAS officers planning to don uniforms too to stand out in the crowd. Pray what will they do for the stars, use stripes instead?