An Open Letter to Marathi Serials

Dear Marathi Serials,

Saprem Namaskar Vinanti Vishesh.

You do not know me, but let that not stop me from writing an opinion. We hardly interact. And whenever we do, I cringe. I cringe for the want to substance, I cringe for the want of plain simple entertainment, I cringe for the want of sense. Get creative should be the motto! Not lather-rinse-repeat.

Let me make my points without beating around the bush. Do you not grow old? Do you not care for TRP? Oh wait, you actually don't. Because no matter what happens, you have the TRP. The sixty-somethings are charming to you!

What about innovation and creativity? Does a story have to revolve around cheap revenge and gaudy makeup – if there is a story to begin with? Do you not get tired of doing the same boring stuff every day – sometimes even seven days a week?

Some of us are old-school when it comes to entertainment and number of TVs in the household. And incidentally, you do well when trying to drive a wedge between a devoted follower of yours (generally a mother), and a weary breadwinner of the home (generally me) when it comes to sharing the TV time.

Everyday I come home, and I am aghast to see one poor daughter in law trying to adjust with six mothers in law. As if this was not enough, the story now has accident induced dementia. No creativity there eh?

And then there is a young couple who has not consummated their marriage yet. And what do we get to see? Birthday parties, cookery show within a show, religious rituals and boring stuff. Oh my god! Come on now, go risque! Sex sells. Show on-screen consummation with full-frontal, and be a trendsetter in Indian television. Not ready to go overboard? That's fine...I understand. But learn something from CW's Gossip Girl, won't you?

And then there is another young couple who has not yet gotten the permission to get married (theoretically, that is). Frankly the story hasn't moved for years together now. At this rate, by the time they actually get married, no one will be interested even if you plan to show on-screen consummation.

But what do you care. If you cared for my generation's TRP, you would have dubbed Footballers' Wives or House of Cards for us.

Never mind though. You enjoy your run, till it continues.

KaLave loabh nasava hi vinanti.

Apala Namra,

Kaustubh

Does India Need Radical Constitutional Reforms?

All the leading candidates are making the right noises – NaMo about governance, RaGa about empowerment, and ArKe about corruption.

But none is talking about how this will happen. To be fair, NaMo has some credibility of having worked inside the system. And ArKe will soon get it, once he comes back to governing and stays away from the political gimmickry.

However, what India lacks today, in my opinion, is an unambiguous constitution. Even with NaMo having been anointed as the prime ministerial candidate of BJP, there are possibilities of that not happening. How so? Because, all NaMo is going to be is a Member of Parliament. There are no guarantees that he will be the prime minister. Consider a scenario where the NDA falls short of a few seats to the majority. And whoever decides to support them at that time, puts some conditions and there could be another 'consensus' prime ministerial candidate that emerges. NaMo can then go back to governing Gujarat, be a minister in the central government, or just be a (right honorable) Member of Parliament, with a lot of nuisance value.

Unlike the British or German precedence, the leader of the party does not necessarily become the prime minister (the current Sonia and MMS scenario). Also, unlike the convention, the MPs choosing the prime minister is just on paper – secret ballots and competition is unheard of in the past 65 years of the republic. And moreover, there is a precedence of a remote control, right from the Nehru vs. Patel choice.

Unlike the French, the President is just a titular head, doing any 'real' work only in the case of a hung parliament. There is no question of co-habitation (early age of the fifth republic), and no bifurcation in terms of the president managing the external affairs, where as the prime minister responsible for internal affairs.

So, what does it mean for India? Chaos and imbroglio is the order of the day! Just think of the instability the short term governments of Gujral and Deve Gowda caused. Without any mandate, popular sentiment, and logical reason, these went down in the history as the prime ministers. Unless you are preparing for a quiz, you would not remember these names; and perhaps the even shorter premierships of Charan Singh and Chandra Shekhar.

So, again, what does it mean for India?

I think a radical constitutional reform is really required. There are several way of doing this, and I will hazard an opinion on this....

First and foremost, there needs to be a better roles and responsibilities definition for the President and the Vice President. Keeping a 300 room lodge warm, should not be one of them (but we will pick up that topic some other time)!

Secondly, the Rajya Sabha really needs to function as a council of sates and not a backdoor entry for failed politicians. In the modern era, the sates have a more assertive role in the overall development, and their voice needs to be heard. Why not model Rajya Sabha on the American Senate – directly elected representatives, same number from each state.

Also, the Rajya Sabha will have a more active role in policy definition rather than only rubber stamping the bills that originate in Lok Sabha. And as this house cannot be dissolved, rather since one-third members retire every two years, it will contribute to policy formation better than Lok Sabha, which is more likely to give in to short term gains. In fact, the Rajya Sabha should be the final authority on the bills and legislation.

To protect the conflict of interest, a Rajya Sabha member cannot be a minister in the government. The council is in session 12 months a year (of course with reasonable breaks and vacations), and its sole job is to provide policy oversight.

The Lok Sabha can be as it is today (of course, no free meals or phone calls etc.). Let the government be only responsible to the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister can only be from the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha should also meet more often – at least fortnight long sessions every month.

Just as the Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved, it cannot pass no-confidence motions against the government. But Rajya Sabha can censure the government. This way, Rajya Sabha cannot have arbitrary dismissive powers on the government.

Separation of Legislation and Executive should also be better defined. While a Lok Sabha member can be a minister, s/he along with the chief secretary of the particular department, should be answerable to corresponding committee in the Rajya Sabha and the committee in turn answerable to the entire Rajya Sabha. The cabinet should be entirely constituted of the Lok Sabha. However, each cabinet decision should be ratified by both the houses, with each house having veto powers.

These are just some thoughts. As I said, there could be other better ways of doing this. But not doing this will only further push us in the abyss.