How to simplify the information overload in our era - How to bring stability to the world

1/20/21

 We have instability in the world due to excess data. Initially everyone cheered how the arab spring revolutionaries across Tunisia, Libya, Syria pin pointed locations via Twitter for the allied jets to bomb and liberate them. How easy it is now to connect different peoples and share truths and rise up and fight for same liberty equality fraternity what nots.

That same energy to link up has flooded us with maximum information and has lead to confusion in the minds of people. The world is so polarized due to this data overload that our elected representatives feel incapacitated to take difficult decisions. They throw the questions out to the electorate to make a decision for them. Ideally, them reps should involve experts, analyze available information, debate and make legislation. We vote them to make decisions, not to keep throwing back opinion polls back to us. Examples abound.. like Brexit. Like when US leaders hesitated to take stand on Trump's claim of "stolen election" because of their electorate, their "base". And with people's viewpoints and opinions spread across the spectrum, it is hard for countries to take definite steps forward.

Trump's rise is in a way is a result of information overload. Too much data distracted people from forcing them to accept the truth (truths like millions of undoc immigrants are here to stay - there's no machinery available to remove them; or that the USA of 2016 was already as great as it could have been, or for America to become greater we need to take care of problems like economic growth, systemic racism and climate change. If climate changes significantly, America and the West will lose markets and will face more immigration from countries that sink under ocean or become barren, etc.. etc) 

If the police department is unbiased, for example, it generates less data. It is more predictable. We can assume blacks aren't racially profiled. We need to be assured that criminals are pursued irrespective of their race, people and property are secured, etc. Then people aren't swayed. 

If the justice department (courts and government), provides swift unbiased justice, there's such fewer news bites people won't be bothered whether a republican leaning justice is named or a democrat.

If solutions to climate change are all encompassing, if the leaders make sure everyone affected (by the problem or by the solution) are taken care of, there is less data again. People give up dogma and accept climate science.

Too much information makes people cling to some preferred position dogmatically. Not because they like that position, but they feel all other positions are equally arbitrary. How many people would like to trade their lottery tickets before the results are out? 

We need to see the current problems in this manner. People stick to inexplicable positions also because they are confused. Political leaders, business leaders, etc should work to make things simple. (Of course it doesn't help if they just work on marketing what is right/wrong, which is why we are in this situation to begin with. It is a very profound line of thinking. ) Trump indeed made it simple (for half the country) to understand and it worked. He curdled the country and ran away with the cheese. Democrats trip themselves trying to sugarcoat everything, which doesn't help. You have to call a spade a spade sometimes. Political correctness, romanticizing situations isn't a solution. One may sing praises to diversity all they want but if local people are losing jobs, it is dishonest and definitely not a solution. All bravado in the national anthem and no victory to show is useless. Simplicity results in less information. 

Trump president - 2016

Nov 9, 2016

Trump president elect today.
Who would have thought Americans would elect such a big lying, racist, foolish, stupid, etc person as president?!

I understand if people didn't like Hillary because of Bengazi, emails, DNC's partiality against Bernie, her being a woman, her policy to raise taxes against the rich, etc.
But voting Trump to power? - I don't understand one bit.

He wants to revert back everything.. Nato, trade alliances, nuclear agreements (doesn't mind Saudi getting nukes), his own statements, etc.
Never is clear - Wants to deport mexicans.. or loves "mexican".. Wants to imprison all black americans or 'I like my black-american'..

Anyway, in the next 4 years.. I hope these things don't happen..
- America back in recession. EU, China are still in recession and America is the only country doing well.
- Mr Trump doesn't exercise his nuclear options based on his whims.
- Russia invades a few baltic countries and China grows belligerent while Trump is distracted (distracted with what you ask? anything! To start with.. building a wall.. or demanding NATO members protection money, etc)
- America doesn't get stuck in another long-drawn war.. Iraq is an example. This could very much happen.

I'm sure he'll not deport mexicans or many other things he's promised. Its not practical and Mr Trump doesn't usually stick to his words or promises if his campaign speeches are anything to go by.
I feel Mike Pence will be the real face behind the president's mask. President post is probably just a crown for Trump. He may wear it and stay back in his 'presidential' suite in Trump tower running his business empire. He is the 'most powerful Vice President ever' - ;)
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/20/politics/john-kasich-donald-trump-vice-president/

Modi as PM - India 2014

A big surprise. BJP was expected to be the single largest party and would NDA as a whole would form  majority. But the worst fears were NDA falling short of that.. and third front emerging.. and re-election in 2 yrs, etc.

People voted BJP based on its campaign for development and seems to have forgiven Modi's past.

Gandhi family's credibility wiped out in this election. Indian voters are maturing. They don't seem to cling on to nehru-gandhi names anymore. Congress should do some soul searching and start grooming and project a development oriented leader. At least by next election. And hope people get frustrated with Modi by then.

And the other big whammy is to AAP. Buoyed by Delhi success, Kejriwal dreamt he would become PM candidate or even a kingmaker. AAP got less than 3% vote share in whole of India. Thats a shame considering the how much of media spotlight he AK hogged.

But 3% still amounts to about 15 million ppl (500 million votes), which a very big number. Modi government should remember that the fire against corruption is still alive in the country.

Books I'm reading

I'm creating a new post to log about the books I'm reading or have read earlier.
Thanks to the iBooks application on my iPhone, and to hundreds of free books available to download, my reading habit has received a shot in the arm. (I still read very slow though.. ;)

I'm currently reading 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain.
I had enjoyed reading 'Adventures of Tom Sawyer' (by the same author) earlier. And it compelled me to download AOHF as well.
Though these books were written about 130 years ago, the sense of humour is still fresh.
People who love RK Narayanan's 'Swami and Friends' will love 'AOTS'. Both the authors' styles are somewhat similar.

Earlier I read 2 other books. Both are old and forgotten books. I attempted to read (in vain) just because they were freely available on iBooks.
First one is 'India: What it can teach us?' by Friedrich Max Muller. Published in 1900-1910 probably.
Its a collection of his lectures to the Indian Civil Service students in UK, who are about to embark on their job posting to India.
In several places he quotes and praises Indian scripture so much that the reader gets saturated. Its an ideal book for a fanatic to pick one statement here and one statement there and showcase Hindu greatness to the world.
But I didn't like it much. The tone in many places is like this - 'Ancient Indian scriptures are very valuable. People who created these must somehow be related to our (european) ancestors.'

Anyway the Europeans were very dominant at that time and went on claiming the whole world as their own. They looted countries and siphoned off riches to Europe, plundered new lands and wiped out natives, and even sold humans as slaves.
So, it shouldn't come as a surprise, if they claimed the valuable scriptures of another civilization as their own, especially when the people of that civilization themselves didn't know who created them.

Second book is 'A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar' by Robert Swell
This one is for the history buffs. The author reads historical accounts by travelers of those times like Ibn Batuta, Nuniz, etc, and portrays Vijayanagar. He shows some further analysis to determine which traveler's account is more accurate.
It begins with describing the conditions under which Vijayanagar kingdom arose.
Soon after Mohamed bin Tuglaq invaded south and went back, a hindu kingdom emerged to secure the South. Many hindu kingdoms united and made it stronger. A few years later the Hyderabad portion of Tuglaq's empire broke off and formed the Bahmani kingdom. They both remained rivals until about 2 centuries later the Bahmanis completely decimated the Vijayanagar empire.
The historical accounts are in great detail and describe the atrocities committed against the people. One can't simply read it and not get disturbed. This one is for people researching history.

Sensational headline in TOI

So eager is TOI to break news, sometimes it publishes headline and no article..!
See below.. its hours since this headline came up.. still no article.

Theist?

I was reading this enjoyable article from Ricky Gervais, and was thought-provoked.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/#

I wonder if people like Ricky Gervais themselves are thinking correctly or scientifically.

I used to debate with friends and relatives that Science is great and it proves that God doesn't exist.
That God, as portrayed in the holy books doesn't exist and Science (or logic) can prove that. That its impossible that there is one almighty - who oversees the world... who vanquishes all evil in the world... who can make miracles happen... who washes away people's sins at the instance of touching holy water or offering a prayer... etc etc.

Over years, I realized that there's something else, which is far more profound than debating the form or shape of God. It is also related to spirituality and can not be explained by my current understanding of science.

What do you call the fire inside a man, which drives him/her to overcome all hostilities and emerge a winner? What do you call that psychological condition that lets a batsman thwack a ball for a six in one match and lose form in another match? What is it that makes a person's heart swell when he/she sees the beauty of nature? What is it that makes a person make the right choice?
I'm not sure how to term it. People term it consciousness, determination, form, enthusiasm, realization, confidence, control, love, passion, etc etc etc.

I see a lot of spiritual gurus in India explain this consciousness. That understanding does help the average person overcome his/her own limitation. I believe in that. But often, the same gurus rely on a deity to get their message across. I'm not clear why. Chanting a mantra most definitely won't bring your favourite deity in front of you. But I acknowledge that sometimes, it helps slipping in to meditation.

The confusion or the argument continues in my mind. And I don't have the clarity yet.

A doctor can inspect a brain and declare if its working fine. But he/she can't say if its feeling fine.

Nobel for Obama?!

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html

On what basis did Obama deserve a Nobel prize?!
He's barely nine months into the presidency and did he already achieve world peace?
He did speak pro-arabs in Egypt (not saying its wrong) and did ask the world to renounce nuclear weapons.
How will it help in spreading peace? Bill Clinton hosted a few meetings between arabs and israelis. And even came closer to peace. Why didn't he get the Nobel prize?
I've heard several world leaders asking the world to renounce nuclear weapons, including Vajpayee.
Seems crazy. I can't believe that they could compare what Obama has done in the last nine months to what Dalai Lama has done in a life time. Or even to Al Gore's :(

Coming to Obama's argument on nuclear weapons.
Will US zero out its own nuclear arsenal? Totally? Can it convince China to do so? Nuclear arms taken out, China will be left with enough muscle to claim an edge only over India, not even Russia. It will be reduced from a soon-to-be super power to a regional power. Hopefully the self righteous person he is, Obama won't empty out US arsenal before China does!
Leave alone China, can even India accept it? With China claiming chunks of Indian territory as its own and dragging its feet to resolve the issues as per old records, can you trust that it will not occupy those parts when assured that India has no nuclear weapons to defend itself?

Nuclear weapons is indeed a scourge but I don't think we can ever get rid of them. (Unless they come up with more potent WMDs)
Every country would want such weapons to either project power or to defend itself against such aggressive countries.

Anyway I would have appreciated if they had waited until Obama completed his term and awarded the same prize after he actually achieved peace in Middle east by reining in Israel and disarming Iran.. apart from achieving a stable Iraq and Afghanistan.

Further.. awarding peace prize to Obama, when he is engaged in a war with Al Qaida in Af-Pak, is ironic.

Chandrayaan - 1 Ends - Congratulations to ISRO

Read BBC's article
summarizing Chandrayaan-1 project and trying to clarify whether its a success or a failure.

Despite the project ending prematurely, it has achieved significant results. Great never-seen-before images of the moon, placing Indian flag over the moon, etc.. and achieving a 100% successful launch to the moon. Imagine how it would have been if our launch itself had failed! ISRO did it perfectly at the first attempt itself and as the article points, it launched it with the "un-Indian trait" of "no cost or time overrun"!!

Its saddening to read in some sites that this project is a waste of money and that the government should stop ISRO from spending on such fantasies and invest it to resolve starvation. How narrow could people think :(

Does anybody spare a thought for our LCA, Dhruv copter, Arjun MBT, Trishul missile project, Gorshkov carrier, etc?
All of these have been dogged by perennial delays and cost overruns.
The government has been spending millions and millions on some of them for decades with nearly no results.
LCA is still under trial. Dhruv has complaints from the armed forces. We've not reached a stage where we can say HAL will take care of at least most of our helicopter needs. The main battle tank Arjun is a fiasco. The army has to get back to Russia for its proven T90 tanks. Trishul was scrapped after it was found outdated. That they found after 2 decades. Gorshkov is still in the pipeline. No one knows how long the russians will take to deliver or the cost of it.

Compared to any government company or department, ISRO is doing a far superior and stupendous job. Its fetching us foreign exchange by launching satellites for other countries. What should stop it from investing its hard earned money for its own future research?

Whatever be it, Congratulations to ISRO's scientists and the visionaries.
All the best for their Mars mission, manned space mission and other future projects.
They surely will keep our flag flying, literally, sky high.

Coorg-Kabini

Last weekend, Manju and I took time off from our hectic schedule and went to visit Coorg. While returning we stayed for a day in the Kabini Jungle lodge.

In Coorg, we stayed in a homestay by name 'The Nest'. Our room overlooked the scenic paddy fields and coffee plantations. The hosts (Asha and Sagar) are very hospitable and serve great food!
And they have 5 wonderful dogs. Each of a different breed and absolutely friendly. Asha's stories about them are totally entertaining. :)
Sagar helped us plan our sight seeing. He would draw a map of all the places we can visit on that day and tell us how much time we can spend in each place.

Over the next two days in Coorg, we visited the Namdroling Monastery, Talacauvery, Bhagamandala, Abbi falls and Raja seat.

While returning from the monastery, it was late in the night and we had to drive through the forest. It was pitch dark and there were no vehicles on either side. Suddenly ahead we saw and screeched halt to a giant tusker grazing in the middle of the road. It was barely 50 feet ahead of us. We switched off the engine and kept the lights on.. and patiently waited for his majesty to pass across the path. Wild elephants can get crazy and getting so close can be dangerous.
Soon after it crossed, we sped. We saw two more herds after that on our way.. but they weren't in the middle of the road and we didn't stop again. :)

Talacauvery is on a high hill and it was raining as we started driving up. The top half of the hill was covered by the clouds. Visibility was very poor. Barely 10-20 feet.
It being a week day, there wasn't a big crowd at the temple and we could enjoy the calm.

On the third day we left for Kabini. We had booked a tent in the govt run Jungle lodges and resorts. For a govt run place, its very clean, green and its people are friendly and on time.
The resort itself is on the banks of the Kabini. For the safari, they take you in jeeps deep into the Nagarhole jungles. We spotted a leopard from far, a pack of wild dogs, a serpent eagle, racket tailed drongos, gaurs, elephants, chitals, sambhars, a crocodile, langurs, wild boars, peacocks and jungle fowl. Except for the deer and the elephants, it was difficult to spot the animals.
We couldn't spot a tiger. Though the rangers said there are about 50 tigers in Nagarhole, they themselves spot tigers rarely. Its very disturbing. Are there really 50 tigers out there? :(
Also just 50 tigers in 640 sq km of forest?! The jungle can easily accommodate a hundred more tigers. Looks like there are enough deer too. If only poachers are caught and punished. The ranger informed that each tiger can fetch Rs 10,00,000.00 for the poachers. Everything goes to China.

Left Kabini the next day and reached home in the evening on June 10. End of a wonderful vacation. It was one of the best trips we've had. Comparable to the trip to Mount Shashta in Northern California with Soumi and Prasenjit.

Some photos here.

Sunfeast 10K run

Participated in the Sunfeast 10K run. Took about 1 hr 40 minutes to complete.
I was faster last time. Check here.
Still I'm happy for even completing the distance. What more can you expect with rock bottom fitness levels.
Prasad and I participated together. Long time since we spent some good time together.

The event was nicely organized. Some 45000 people had registered, I heard. Wonder how many turned up actually. Still you could see thousands. It was pretty crowded.
The running circuit was clearly marked. Didn't confuse the runners. Water, glucose were provided at several places. Some stalls had ice too. Some high calorie snacks were provided upon completing the race. Took care of participants well. Ah, they even provided a bag of goodies full of complimentary biscuits, shampoo, medicines, etc.
There wasn't much info available on boards though. I had a parking pass in UB city. But there was no way I could locate the building, with most roads closed for this event.
There were not enough restrooms. There were long queues in front of the very few that existed. If one stood in the queue, he/she could easily lose 15 minutes. :)

Overall its a nice feeling attending the event. Wish to regain fitness and finish faster next time.
Link to photos here.

Prachanda or Prabhakaran?

TOI gaffe.. Mentioning Prachanda in place of Prabhakaran..
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/South-Asia/Sri-Lanka-says-no-sign-of-Prachandas-body/articleshow/4543175.cms

About the open letter from Col. Harish Puri

You have to read this. It came in the Pakistan news dailies recently.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=172290

I read in Chidanand Rajghatta's column, TOI, that the letter stung the pakistanis so much that the newspaper had to issue an apology for publishing it. :)

Then you have to proceed to the reactions to the letter and to the reactions themselves.
http://ishaal.instablogs.com/entry/you-asked-for-it-col-harish-puri/

I think its foolish to believe Pakistan will vanquish Taliban and walk towards world peace. Even it means its good for the pakistanis themselves first. It works against their establishment.
As long as they have Taliban, they can keep getting funds and military aid from America. As long as they can manage that, they can keep challenging Indian forces and inciting unrest in India.
As it appears, the average pakistani serves the country better by joining Taliban than by working in the fields or industries. Cool proposition!

Not only does Pakistan sustain the battle with Taliban to drive bigger margins from US, it also pushes the wealthy nations to think that they will be worse off, if Taliban gets hold of any of its nuclear weapons. More money then.
Taliban quietly evacuating Buner as quietly as they came and 'seized' control, is one such example.
The world media's reaction swayed from pole to pole, something like, 'oh, Taliban is now just 100km from Islamabad and they're going to takeover Pakistan like they took over Afghanistan' to 'ah, the Taliban retreated. The Army's in control. The nukes are in safe custody.'

Wonder if the Indian and American govts are even sighting an end to this problem.

Kasab's trial

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was caught massacring Mumbai public on 26th Nov, 2008.
Its established that he's a terrorist and Pakistani and caught while committing the act.
What is the need to try him in the court? Why give him a chance to hoodwink justice?

I have read that the cop who helped disarming him lost his life. So many lost fighting Kasab and his accomplices. Isn't there no value for these peoples lives? What is the need to accord a foreigner-terrorist with the privileges of our judicial system? He conspired with his accomplices and together massacred more than 150 people.
Is he same as a Pakistani who just overstayed his welcome in India? or is he a Bangladeshi labourer working in Rajasthan without proper documents? Or even as terrorist, is he Indian?

I think Kasab should be handed over to the army as a prisoner-of-war.
I think some of Indian laws may not hold good for all situations. That is where the elected representatives come into picture. They should discuss/brainstorm/debate in the parliament oh how to convict terrorists and make necessary amendments to such laws.
If it doesn't happen soon, we may even see Dawood/Prabhakaran in Indian courts getting anticipatory bail and delaying conviction by decades.

Wishlist to the new government

I'm listing out my expectations from the next Indian central government.
After all what can a humble taxpaying voter do but expect..

1. Crush terrorism and all its forms - ISI supported, Naxalites, Goondas/Rowdies/Underworld, ULFA, etc.
2. Resolution of Kashmir issue for ever. India should be one country, one flag, one anthem.
3. All weather roads connecting all the towns in India.
Completion of the Golden quadrilateral as visualized by Vajpayee and embarking on more ambitious road building projects on the lines of the US freeway system.
Building roads provides massive employment and promotes industrialization in remote areas.
It increases domestic trade and allows businessmen from far corners to sell their wares in the markets
4. Minimum of 5 Gold medals in the next Olympics.
5. The courts to deliver justice faster.
6. Higher quality educations in all public schools.
7. Stop reservations in schools/colleges/companies for people based on caste system.
Go ahead and help out people who can't afford education. Offer people with weak financial background, subsidies or loans. Make the schools better so that every child comes out self confident. But don't offer jobs/college-seats to less meritorious candidates.

More to come

Mahatma Mallya

So.. Vijay Mallya wins Gandhi's belongings in a bidding game. He paid a whopping 1.8 million dollars for them!
The Mahatma would be turning in his grave if he heard that a liquor baron values him so much!
:)
Also, it looks like Mallya isn't bothered by the alcohol restriction imposed on the Gandhi Jayanti!

Going green

Lots of friends commented on the pink colour of the blog. :)
Here's the new look!

Oscars for Slumdog millionnaire

Hearty congrats on winning a slew of oscar awards for the rags-to-riches story, Slumdog millionnaire.

What can you call AR Rahman's leap to Oscars and world-fame as?
- Ragas to riches story :)

Aero India

I had been to the airshow on Feb 14... What a way to spend the popular day..!
True to its spirit, I loved the experience. :)

I took my camera and clicked a gazillion photos. Here is one of the best. :)

From Aero India

Will update the average ones soon. Check these links
http://picasaweb.google.com/sundarhk/AeroIndia
http://picasaweb.google.com/sundarhk/Mig35

Kambojas, Madras, Gandharas

While I was digging the web for images of the Khyber and Bolan passes, Swat valley etc.. I came across a reference to the ancient tribe/kingdom of Kamboja. I had heard about references to it in the Mahabharata and other scriptures. We know Cambodia got its name from a Kamboja king. So, expecting some link between the central asian region and them.. and that our Sanskrit scriptures have recorded the association in history, I tried finding more info on them.

Kambojas were tribesman from the current Afghan-Iran-Pakistan border which includes the present day NWFP, Kabul, Punjab, etc regions. There were other tribes too from around that region like Madras (plural of Madra), Gandharas, Sakas, Rishikas, Tusharas, etc.
In some places they say Kambojas were Indo-Iranian and in some places they say they were Central Asian... I think its not pin pointed to that extent.
The wiki says they were particularly, good horsemen and warriors. They lent their services to any country which wanted to wage wars. Duryodhana, they say, hired their services against the Pandavas.
They are also referred to as Ashvakas in the ancient Sanskrit literature. There are Sanskrit scripts mentioning their horses to be of the finest breed and courage.
In some places they are also referred to as barbarians and that even when emperor Ashoka annexed those regions, he had granted them autonomy.
Doesn't the case of FATA in Pakistan sound familiar now? The people have been like that for ages I think!

Dhritarashtra married Gandhari from Gandhara (Kandahar, Afghanistan).
The Sakas, Rishikas, etc were other such tribesmen.. and they were all conquered by Arjuna.
The puranas have so many references to the people from Central Asia.

And about Madras... they were from the region closer to the British Punjab. They were horsemen and warriors too. Madra women were beautiful and they served their husbands till their death. They would immolate themselves on their husband's funeral pyre.
Madri, wife of Pandu in Mahabharata, was a princess from the Madra kingdom. And if one can remember from the story, she laid down her life when Pandu died. And the children born to her - Nakul and Sahadev were good horsemen! If its a coincidence or is if its a true relation I don't know.

Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madra#cite_ref-16
"....The caste observances were so slack in the frontiers that the Brahmanical literature began to look upon the Madra, Gandhara and Kamboja peoples as loose-lived and barbaric. As compared to the rigid four-class social system of Madhyadesa, these tribes of the frontiers followed two social classes and further there was permissible vertical mobility.... The women were treated equal to men and there was no taboo of social mixing among the two sexes. Both sexes ate meat, drank strong liquor and there would be mixed public dancing in a state of undress. Such way of life was positively obscene to the eastern Brahmin eyes. The custom of bride price among the Madras (instead of dowry) appeared degrading to the easterners. Nevertheless, the beauty, the loving nature and utter fidelity of the women of the north-west including Madra, Bahlika remained proverbial (e.g: Immortal Love Legend of Savitri & Satyavan. Savitri was the daughter of Asvapati, king of Madra tribe). A warrior's widow in these regions would even immolate herself with her husband's corpse.
endQuote

Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambojas_in_Kautiliya%27s_Arthashastra
Dr A. H. Dani also notes: "Kautiliya‘s Arthashastra mentions the Kamboja horse as one of the best breeds for war and also speaks of Kambojas’ military organization and their warlike way of life" ^[13].
endQuote

People of the current era from the same region bear resemblance to these characteristics.
They are fierce warriors and have never allowed the ruling governments to settle. The regions, be it Afghanistan, North West Frontier province of Pakistan continue to be unstable. And they are good source mercenaries for all wars in the region.

Links I was going through
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambojas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madra
http://www.indiandance.ru/En/Mahabharata.htm

Vote do.. vote do.. kisko vote de?!

I don't know whom to vote in the LokSabha elections this time.
Practically, there are only two parties to vote for - BJP and the Congress(I). Rest all are satellite parties who have no macro agenda and just align themselves with either of these two. Even the Left parties will most necessarily tag along with the Congress(I) after the next election. After pulling out of the UPA because of the nuclear deal, they will join back saying they want to defeat communal parties from forming govt.

So.. is it going to the NDA or the UPA for the next term?
NDA made India nuclear capable and brought India closer to US by the end of their term. UPA took it further and made India the closest ally of US in the region.
If you vote for NDA, you run a risk of the BJP abetting anti-muslim, anti-liberal Hindu groups. We have a BJP govt in Karnataka and all of a sudden we see some radical Hindu groups springing up everywhere and harassing people, especially women who go to pubs or who celebrate Valentines day. So, I am not too comfortable about NDA.
If you look at development alone, I think NDA is much better than the UPA. Ahmedabad/Gujarat for instance. Some of their ministries were very good. George Fernandes is regarded by the armed forces themselves as one the best Defence minister. Foreign affairs was handled excellently by NDA during their previous term. etc etc

In contrast, the UPA governance will usually witness lesser communal violence, moral policing, etc. Though there is low/slow development, there is a bit more security for the minority commnunities. No wonder they always vote for Congress.
Not only does the UPA governance keep the minorities safe, they even appease them. Sometimes I feel the majority gets neglected.

Voting is a gamble now. Neither of the two parties guarantee more jobs, more roads, more trade, more security from terror, more security from the neighbours.
You can't even decide by reading their election manifestos. It will always be full of lies, propaganda and promises that will never be kept.
I seriously don't know whom to vote in the LokSabha elections this time.