Fantasies of an Indian politician.

"With tectonic changes, 21st century is India's," wrote NK Singh. A former IAS officer, Singh is now a Rajya Sabha MP for the BJP. Members of the Rajya Sabha are not elected by the people, but are there as a gift from the leader of the party. He gives reasons for his optimism. "First, 67 years ago, we gave ourselves a unique Constitution, not just to create a Republic but put in place basic laws and institutions. A robust parliamentary democracy with periodic elections ensures accountability," he wrote. No, it most certainly does not. Indian politicians believe that winning an election puts them above the law to enrich themselves and their families. So lucrative is politics in India that it has attracted assorted criminals who have the money and the goons to get elected. Why do people vote for criminals? Because they can provide services that 50% of Indians had to pay a bribe for last year, and 75% of people do not report crimes because police are unfriendly. In fact, Singh's own party selected criminal candidates in UP election early this year, and at 64% the BJP had the largest number of criminals in the Bihar election, in 2015. "Today, India is a young nation. For the next few decades, India will have a youthful and productive labour force." The same old chestnut about 'demographic dividend'. People are of no use if there are no jobs and economic growth is merely a number, wrote N Anand. Jobs cannot be created in manufacturing because land is too expensive, wages are too high because of MGNREGA, and industrial electricity is too expensive, wrote SA Aiyar. And then, there are taxes. Per capita consumption of electricity in India is 1,100 Kwh, while in Iran it is 2,500 Kwh and in South Africa it is 4,000 Kwh. 60% of our power generation capacity depend on coal but taxes add 65% to Coal India's basic price. Apparently, Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises contribute over 10% of India's output, 40% of exports and 111 million workers, wrote J Rodrigues. Most of these enterprises employ less than 5 workers each, pay no taxes and survive on cash. There is great joy that these will now have to pay GST which will apparently allow them to borrow from banks to expand. These enterprises have survived on keeping prices low, which will surely rise, and depress exports further. The "new middle-class" will "usher in fundamental changes in India and around the world", wrote Singh. What is this vaunted middle class? They consist of people earning between $2 and $10 per day, considered poor in the rest of the world. Do Indians really believe in Singh's fantasies? 85% of Indians trust the government, the rest do not matter. Enough to win elections.