Jodha-Akbar: Lessons for the US

The period film Jodha-Akbar has been much criticized for its historical incorrectness. Historians have correctly pointed out that there is little (if any) accuracy in the way the relationship between Akbar (real) and Jodha (maybe ficticious) has been portrayed. The fact is that Akbar had many wives and many love interests. Therefore, for historians and intellectuals alike there is not much to take away. To be fair, Ashutosh Gowariker has also been honest with the audience as he has claimed that his movie is 30% history and 70% imagination.

At this point, would you (the reader) laugh at me if I were to say that the movie has much more to offer to the politicians and the bureaucrats of US than to the average movie goers?

The movie claims that it was under the leadership of Akbar that for the first time Hindustan was viewed as a secular country. (Do not know the historical correctness of the same-would like to believe it) Also, Akbar’s stand on granting equal status to Hindus was a political stand, something that was necessitated by the fact that his predecessor had failed to rule Hindustan. A lesson in management perhaps that a true leader has to often take a populist decision and yet always do the right things and communicate the importance of his/her action. Perhaps the US needs to take a few lessons from this movie for it has been their mismanagement that has resulted in all the political and economic chaos in Iraq. The US has always tried to assert itself as the superpower that has won the cold war and believes that the rest of the world needs to fall in line with its definition of right/wrong. The US missions, whether it was Vietnam or Iraq, has always been the same as that of the Afghans and the Uzbeks that Akbar mentions in this movie; conquer, loot, and run! Akbar was magnanimous to let off the head of the state that was conquered irrespective of whether it was a political/humane decision. The US was barbaric to have hanged Saddam Hussain after they captured him and therefore has earned the wrath of the Islamic world.

History repeats itself! I wonder how the historians would depict US; like the Akbar’s Mughals or the Afghans and the Uzbeks?

P.S: I am not anti-US! My endeavor is to highlight the few political blunders that the US has made that has scarred the rest of the world. (Islamic and non-Islamic) The wounds inflicted may take ages to heal. The US needs to do a re-think and atone for its past misadventures in its best interest and in the best interest of World Peace.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 (I migrated from blog.co.in)

Inflation of food Prices - Cause and Solution

Faulty Monetary Policy of US The rapid increase in food prices {11% in large developing countries as against 4.5% in 2006} has been a direct result of faulty monetary policy of US and it’s counterparts in the other major economies. The rapid cut in interest rate has resulted in increased liquidity. The only exception has been the European Central Bank and their sanity has made the Euro stronger and has replaced the dollar in many international transactions. The policy of price control seems to have more political merit than economic merit. The increase in price encourages the producer to produce more and the consumer to consume less and thereby bring the prices down. Price controls will only encourage people to hoard resulting in artificial shortages and causing social and political unrest. The best way of stabilizing food prices is to waive off all the import taxes on food items.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 (I migrated from blog.co.in)

Is the worst over for the US Housing Market?

The answer is a firm ‘NO’! The root cause of the situation was that the entire premise on which the fragile house of securities was built by The Wall Street is faulty. The premise that the home prices will never fall is wrong and that resulted in a loss of billions of dollars. The Wall Street is unable to fix a value on the mortgage-linked securities until the worth of the houses underlying those securities is determined. Till the time a proper value is assigned to the mortgage linked securities, the credit crunch will spread and intensify. The Housing Industry in US is an important industry and employer. Houses are also American families’ single biggest financial asset. A persistent decline in their value will depress both their wealth and their spirits. Home builders have been cutting down on the new home construction rapidly to match the demand and supply. Yet the backlog of unsold houses seems to be increasing. It is indicative that the home prices needs to fall further and/or the home construction needs to be cut down even further. The key interest rate that has already fallen to 3% from 5.25% in September 2007 needs to be cut further. The Fed may even have to push the rate to as low as 2%. At this rate soon the US economy will be feeling short of the adrenalin from rate cuts and tax rebates. Once the worst is averted, Bernake needs to immediately make sure that he boosts the rates up as fast as he has cut them to avoid inflation.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 (I migrated from blog.co.in)

The Recession in US Economy

The Federal Reserve (US) chairman Ben Bernake has often resorted to monetary policy to combat recession or slowdown in the US Economy. The 75 basis point cut in interest rate is aimed at reviving the world’s largest economy and therefore to also make sure that the rest of the world’s economy stays on track. The equity investors in US have a blind faith in the ability of the Central Bank to bail out an economy in trouble. The cut in interest rate and therefore an increase in the money supply are aimed at reviving the credit market and the housing sector in the US. The assumption is that the individuals and companies will use the cheaper money to buy and invest. However, the US is still faced with a deflating asset bubble (mainly housing). The Banks are nursing billions of dollars worth of problem loans. The situation seems to be much worst than 2001 when the US economy reacted quickly to interest rate. The interest rate cuts do not augur well for the US economy if the existing examples are anything to go by. For example, the asset bubble of Japan in 1990 triggered off interest rate cuts by the Bank of Japan all the way down to zero but to no avail. Japan struggled with debt-deflation for more than a decade and there were no signs of economic growth. The 75 basis points reduction in the interest rates seems to be decision taken in panic; a panic that was caused by a market meltdown in US.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 (I migrated from blog.co.in)