Perhaps the biggest change in India since I have been born has been what we have seen in the last 4 days. It’s not the change that amazes me… It’s the ferocity with which it has happened. For years and decades, cynics like me have been calling for an almost dictatorship like rule in India […]
Its been an amazing last 36 hours. The world has changed more in the last 36 hours than it does over decades. 9/11 and 11/9 are 2 dates that the world will remember for a very very long time to come. If you are Indian, its even more special for you. More on that in a separate […]
I wrote this piece right after the first Delhi Odd-Even experiment but never published it since I thought its problem over. But considering this is coming back in April, I wanna publish my thoughts. Let me preface this article: I am not an environment unfriendly person. I do my bit. I may not be an […]
As the digital world continues to expand, brands world-wide are left with one daunting task: to integrate digital and traditional medium with no compromise on the success of marketing.
This was more worrisome for marketers and advertisers in the Indian market considering various reasons such as internet penetration, digital education and awareness and digital as the first preference or choice of people to consume the content.
While firms, brands and agencies had a difficult time in figuring out and deriving the rightmix of media pie, it was the white khadi kurta-payjama clad clan that showed us the way.
Yes, I am indeed talking about our politicians.Continue Reading
It is the first time that a party other than Congress reached a vote share of 30% in Indian elections in the last 67 years. It’s the first time that a party has secured a majority after the 1984 elections (and the first time in the history that a party to secure majority is not Congress). It is the first time that the number of seats of the Congress Party has been reduced to 2 digits. It is the first time that BJP has won all 25 seats in Rajasthan and has also won a majority of seats in Uttar Pradesh diminishing the once-upon-a-time regional giants. There are so many firsts in these election results that it’s nearly impossible to list.
Even with all the firsts, the election results did not come as a surprise. The comprehensive marketing strategy followed by BJP and its flawless execution has been visible for months now and has helped them get out of their worst fear – coalition compulsions. BJP had hit the bullseye with its communication strategy of mission 272+.Continue Reading
In my post about ‘All that is wrong with Arvind Kejriwal’ (https://www.kapilgupta.in/blog/all-that-is-wrong-with-arvind-kejriwal/), I had talked about what he is missing. That was done with a conscious assumption that he has the right intentions. Today, I want to not constraint myself with that assumption.
A closer look at the events of the last few months somehow tells me that Kejriwal is self-centred, power hungry and not afraid to misuse people’s trust. Please note by no means am I claiming that’s where he started, I am suggesting that’s where he seems to be now. If someone had asked me in October, I would have given him a thumbs-up on honesty and integrity.Continue Reading
I had written in December about the power of common man and had very categorically mentioned that this isn’t about Kejriwal. This was the rise of the common man. And 60 days from then, I am sad to say I was right.
When AAP came to power in Dec 2013, there was anxiousness all around. No one (including his best supporters and best detractors). Nobody knew how they will perform. Nobody knew what all they will be able to do.
It wasn’t only because this was very different that all governments we had seen before. It was partly because of their lack of governance experience. It was partly because of their reliance on other parties in formulating the government.
Lets look more deeply to see what is actually wrong (For the purposes of this I will assume that Kejriwal has the right intentions and is looking for positive changes).
The entire government machinery works through 4 pillars – elected representatives who create laws (ministers), bureaucrats who run the system using those laws (government department), police who identifies anomalies (law and order) and judiciary who reprimands the anomalies. My fundamental problem with Kejriwal is that he has convinced all of us and still maintains that all 4 in this country are corrupt. By no means am I saying this inference is wrong. But that can only work if you remain an activity forever and continue to challenge the system.Continue Reading
On 11-12-13, India witnessed a sudden upsurge in millions of criminals as the Supreme Court’s decision reversed the landmark order of Delhi High Court which had decriminalised homosexual acts in 2009. The court declared that two citizens of the same gender expressing love in the privacy of their own homes are criminals. Before I could […]
So, we have become a democracy now. Let me put things in perspective. Indian democracy has so far been elected and influenced by people who don’t know any better. As I mentioned in my last piece, only people who voted were: Very poor – Who are always occupied in the fight to earn a basic […]
Decoding Demonetization: The Balanced View
In the last blog I talked about how demonetization looks like a TRUE socialist movement or policy created in independent India. The last 3 weeks has indeed been a rollercoaster ride for all of us. As politicians, activists, common people discussed, debated, criticized and accepted the move, memes, conspiracy theories and obnoxious WhatsApp messages and Facebook statuses spread like wildfire.
Even today the nation stands polarized and the good, bad and ugly about the move has rented our peace of mind.
After much conversation, coffee and analysis, my point of view now has some fineprints*. No, I am not releasing videos revolting against and abusing nor am I stupidly relating it to being anti-islamic (yes, high-end functioning brains have called it so), I am simply making amendments to it. The move is first in the line of some major changes we will see soon but for it to be truly impactful it needs to be followed up with some major reforms.
Before I jump to plausible reforms, let’s first look at demonetization at the base level followed by the effect it will bring around in various aspects.
DEMONETIZATION AT THE BASE LEVEL
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