SUDHEER KUMAR

#rationalist

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

" Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."

That was the tribute of Albert Einstein in 1939 on Mahatma Gandhi's 70th birthday.
Gandhiji was wrong on occasion, but he was a saint among men, fusing thought, word and deed in a manner few mortals did in history.

His greatest contribution to us is to build a nation out of disparate groups. His greatest contributions to humanity are the universality of human spirit, oneness with nature and fusion of public good and private gain.

Many of tendency to imitate Gandhiji's style, often ignoring the substance. He passionately believed in limited government, decentralisation, empowerment of citizens, and politics as a noble endeavour.

Accomplishing these goals and putting the citizen at the centre of our politics and governance would be the greatest tribute to the Mahatma.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Our school education has been in deep crisis for decades. More public expenditure and better infrastructure are welcome, but not sufficient to educate our children. Despite massive government programs, qualified teachers and very healthy pupil-teacher ratios, school outcomes have declined considerably in the past twenty years. This, after RTE Act, and making school education a fundamental right! Our children are smart and hard-working, parents sacrifice a lot to give the children a headstart, and society values education. Rote learning, meaningless evaluation, perfunctory examinations, and mass copying are producing marks, grades and ranks which are deceptive and irrelevant. We need to focus on sensible examinations honestly conducted based on concepts, application, problem solving and critical thinking. Then the strong demand for education will be translated into outcomes, and children will be empowered with basic skills and knowledge that will fulfil their potential, and will make them productive members of society and good citizens. Our school outcomes are at the bottom of G-20 nations. Poor education undermines prosperity, stability and harmony.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Larval control by proper drainage, elimination of stagnant water pools, application of surface oils, biological control by Bacillus thuringenisis, introducing surface feeding fish, and other measures are the only sure way of mosquito control.

Adult mosquitoes temporarily leave places of fogging, only to reappear soon after. Insecticides will only poison us, humans, and mosquitoes will eventually develop resistance.

All of us are struggling to control mosquitoes at home by insect repellents and other methods; a whole market has developed to meet the demand from households.

But household control has severe limitations. No matter how much we struggle, the mosquito will always enter our homes, bite us, and transmit parasites or viruses to us. After all mosquitoes are truly socialist; they treat all humans equally, irrespective of wealth, power and status! We have no substitute to collective goods and services; in other words, competent and effective governance. Short cuts and quick fixes will not do.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

These are perilous times for our energy security, trade balance and fiscal health. But it is not enough to manage the crisis; we need to work for alternative energy routes from the Gulf region, and even more important, for electrification of our transport and efficient, integrated public transport. That will simultaneously address energy security, trade balance, fiscal deficits and industrial promotion. A win-win solution.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Union government's fiscal discipline, improvement in the health of banks, infrastructure delivery, balance between welfare and growth, focus on investment promotion, prompt action in facing global headwinds - all are impressive and necessary. We need to do more to ensure inclusive growth, job creation, energy independence, fiscal prudence at all levels of government, in situ urbanisation, quality of life in our cities, local government empowerment, rule of law and political and governance reforms. The tasks are too big for any single party or leader to accomplish; we need national consensus and energetic collaboration between parties and across tiers of government - Union, State and Local.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

80th Independence Day Message | Be a Good Ancestor

https://t.co/LSaPHSvKyj

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Happy Independence Day!
Against all odds,we have strengthened our unity, preserved our freedoms, deepened harmony in society in the face of unmatched diversity, built a truly federal polity, and achieved modest, sustained progress.
We missed many opportunities and there is a lot more to do to make life better for the next generations, and to overcome our governance deficits. Our most important role is to be good ancestors, and prove that democracy works even in a large, incredibly diverse, relativity poor nation.
We live in a world of endless possibilities and breathlessly rapid technological progress. May we build an India that lives upto our history and civilization, gives every citizen dignity and opportunity, and honours the sacrifice and struggle of our founding fathers.
Happy Independence Day!

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Politics needs far-reaching reforms, not whimsical fixes | 10th August 2026 | The Road Ahead | Free Press Journal

Read the online version here - https://t.co/2eU4KF41QD

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Democratization of political parties is vital for a healthy democracy. If parties become private fiefdoms and family heirlooms, and yet have the power to control the vote and speech of legislators, if party bosses arbitrarily decide who will be candidates for elective office, and members and elected legislaties are mere slaves of party bosses, then democracy becomes perfunctory without substance. If parliamentary debate is irrelevant, and there is no possibility of persuasion by logic and evidence, and members' vote is preordained based on party loyalty irrespective public good, then democracy dies slowly. We need far-reaching political and governance reforms; but preserving the autocracy of party bosses is not the way.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Our resources can provide the solutions to our eco problems | 15th June 2026 | The Road Ahead | Free Press Journal

Read the online version here - https://t.co/9pSyGSFJ6r

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Congratulations to the team at @rtilibrary_in for encouraging the most valuable contributor to RTI Library (https://t.co/h0uS4VQCsu)

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Sustainable energy needed to prosper and protect nature | 4th july 2026 | The Road Ahead | Free Press Journal

Read the online version here - https://t.co/HHcLGlkQNw

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Grid management and energy security key to more power | 13th July 2026 | The Road Ahead | Free Press Journal

Read the online version here - https://t.co/EcGI0YwBKT

[Arvind Subramanian @arvindsubraman]

In the 2nd piece, Devesh Kapur & I discuss the step-child of governance-the third tier-which also gets overlooked in discussions of federalism

Why does PM Nehru’s lament about Allahabad which he headed 100 years ago echo today across all cities with similar sad salience?

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

A perceptive piece that needs to be taken seriously. Our real unfinished task of federalism is empowerment of local governments. The states have emerged as real power centres with the ability to shape their own destiny. The states' share of public expenditure is 60%, while the Union spends about 37%, and the local governments a paltry 3%! In contrast, authoritarian China's local governments control 51% of public expenditure!
Democracy works best when there is a close link in the minds of voters between taxes and services, vote and collective good, and authority and accountability. These links are forged at the local level as close to people as possible. By resisting and denying local empowerment, we reduced our democracy to voting and shouting. We need real local empowerment, participation and accountability. Only then can we fulfill our potential and make democracy real, meaningful and effective in the service of the people.

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

Trying to Decode the Cockroach Janta Party | Explained in English
https://t.co/4qboG1bKxK

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

India must unlock hidden capital to turn the crisis into an opportunity | 18th May 2026 | The Road Ahead | Free Press Journal

Read the online version here - https://t.co/4qBWyr844b

[Jayaprakash Narayan @JP_LOKSATTA]

'757' was a typo; inadvertently the word count got included in the title!
Iran war has the most far-reaching consequences to global economy, shipping lanes and long-term energy transition.

[Loksatta Party @Loksatta_Party]

Vote Chori & the West Bengal Elections 2026 | Are Indian Elections Rigged? https://t.co/168oOrMRU3

@JP_LOKSATTA

[Loksatta Party @Loksatta_Party]

No Gold, Work From Home, Save Fuel | Did India Fail? Explained in Telugu https://t.co/TYUGw9Vutq

@JP_LOKSATTA