So what does Mulayam Singh and his Samajwadi Party have to say about India’s devel­op­ment, now that we’re close to a national vote?

(All quotes from the NDTV website)

Regarding computers:

“The use of computers in offices is creating unemploy­ment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines.”

Regarding use of agricul­tural machinery:

“A harvesting season brings employ­ment for the labour class for at least six months but these harvesters will snatch their earnings.”

Regarding educa­tion:

The party’s manifesto also mentions that it will work to abolish schools providing expen­sive educa­tion in English medium and provide free educa­tion for girls till graduation.

And this gem on terrorism, from the same party that wanted to field Sanjay Dutt, convicted of posses­sion of firearms that were linked to the terror­ists respon­sible for the 1993 Bombay blasts:

The basic cause of terrorism lies in regional differences…if a govern­ment comes to power with our support, we will ensure that action is taken against communal powers and attack terrorism at its roots.”

There is really no reason to comment on these state­ments; the sheer absur­dity of it all is obvious.

From a Reuters article related to the national elections in India:

Throwing a shoe at someone is consid­ered an insult in India.

Isn’t that strange? In other parts of the world, it is consid­ered a great honor to be showered with footwear.

Oh wait.

Newspa­pers and blogs have been saturated with articles about the United States Presi­den­tial election this year. I have always wondered why the country is so obsessed with who is to become Presi­dent two years hence, rather than worry about what the current Presi­dent is up to in his big white mansion. Imagine all the employees of a company lazing around towards the end of the week — except that the end of the week starts on Tuesday.

I am glad this drama is over for now. Lawmakers can go back to worrying about that wiggly line describing the stock market, without having to pretend that they’re actually doing something about it.

Oh, and in case you haven’t kept up with the news, Barack Obama is the guy who finally got elected.

Politics brings out the best in some people and the worst in some others. Wait…strike out the first part.

While I person­ally don’t care too much about the US elections, there are times when a little atten­tion cannot be avoided. For instance, when you idly open the Digg homepage and notice that half the stories are about Presi­den­tial candi­dates, you can’t help but start reading some of them.

My first obser­va­tion is this: every news site or forum discussing the election belongs to exactly one of the two camps. A forum that belongs to camp ‘A’ will post wonderful stories about candi­date ‘A’ and try its best in subtle and not-so-subtle ways to mock, deride and expose the mendacity of the other camp. This should not come as a surprise to anyone.

And here’s my next obser­va­tion: a supporter of candi­date ‘A’ will inevitably drift towards a forum that supports his candi­date. There, he will praise his idol and curse the opponent, and he will nod and murmur in agree­ment when others do the same. What is inter­esting is that not many of these people venture into the enemy camp to contra­dict their opponents lies, or clarify their own position. Why? Maybe because they know that few would be willing to change their opinions when provided with better infor­ma­tion — and so they sit with their mates and bask in the warm, fuzzy feeling they get when everyone agrees with them.

What is the point of an election in which a majority of the people stubbornly cling to their opinions without weighing the facts and coming to a conclu­sion ratio­nally? Perhaps the best solution would be to disen­fran­chise everyone having a fixed opinion, and ask the rest to vote.…