Why India should begin selling its Citizenship

Recently, I've come across several articles which talk about various countries around the world offering their citizenships for the right price. This includes small Caribbean nations like St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda, as well as EU member states like  Bulgaria and Malta.

This got me thinking as to why a country like India can't do the same thing. There are several arguments that immediately come to mind when one begins to ponder over this idea. Firstly, why would anyone want to buy the citizenship of India, which is arguably a poor third world country? Secondly, wouldn't this put increasing pressure on an already overcrowded country? Thirdly, wouldn't a step like this essentially mean putting a price tag on Indian Nationality?

Let me answer each one of these arguments with sound facts and reasoning. First of all, even though India is still a poor third world country, over the past few decades, there has been a very positive overall economic trend which suggests that over the next few years India could transition from a low income to a middle income country. India is richer than most of its other big neighbors like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Burma, and it is due to this reason that millions of Bangladeshis have been migrating to India's North-East and East for so many years.

Also, it is a commonly known fact that India's neighbors are increasingly suffering from inter-religious, inter-ethnic and inter-sect violence. A case in point is Pakistan where hardline Sunni groups have been butchering the Shia minority by their hundreds, and furthermore, this violence is only likely to get worse as there is going to be a spillover effect from Afghanistan once NATO withdraws. India, on the other hand, is relatively more peaceful and calm and thus it can be a refuge for minorities trying to flee violence from countries like Paksitan. Many of these refugees would be willing to pay handsomely for Indian Citizenship which would guarantee them much greater security, and also, much better Economic opportunities.

Another contention that one might raise against this idea is that India is already an extremely overcrowded country so what is the point of essentially inviting more people to come to this country? The answer to that question has been discussed in a previous post. If one were to read it one would realize that India is no longer a country that is experiencing some sort of a population explosion, in fact, fertility rates and population growth rates have gone down throughout the country and soon we will begin experiencing Population Stagnation and a few short years after that we'll experience Population decline. In such a scenario, there is no need to worry about a few hundred thousand new citizens every year turning out to be a massive problem.

Finally, the question of Nationalism arises. Many would think that a move to put Indian citizenship for sale would be tantamount to some sort of an insult to the spirit of Indian Nationalism. The answer to that is simple: We have to deal with out problems in a rational manner, not a sentimental one. If dozens of countries across the world can sell their citizenships without hesitation, then why cant India follow suit? What good would it do to the countless millions of people in abject poverty in India if we refuse to take up a great Economic opportunity which would provide the government with more revenue with which to help uplift its Citizens.

Thus, in conclusion, it is my view that India should begin selling its citizenship as soon as possible and that this move will result in tremendous revenues for the Government with which to better develop the country.

The End of India's Old Population Woes

Since Independence in 1947, India and Indians have been the butt of Jokes regarding their large family sizes and high Fertility. Indians themselves have for generations recognized the fact that one of the few things the country was good at was making babies and a much touted proof of this was the statement that India had the second largest population in the world(soon to be the largest).

 But things have changed drastically over the past twenty years or so. As of 2014, 23 Indian States and Union Territories have achieved fertility rates of 2.1 or below. Only a minority of States and UTs now remain above the 2.1 mark. And why, you may ask, is this 2.1 mark so important? The answer is simple. A fertility rate of 2.1 is generally considered to be the rate at which a population will essentially just replace itself and remain stagnant; thus 2.1 is called the replacement level Fertility rate. A fertility rate lower than 2.1 has traditionally lead to a trend towards declining population, while a fertility rate above 2.1 has done the opposite.

The Overall fertility rate for India according to recent estimates is around 2.4, but this number is likely to shrink in the coming years. If past trends are any indicator, by 2020, India's overall fertility rate could be at replacement level or below, and that would signal the end of the era of Population explosion in India and even though that wouldn't obviously mean an immediate end to the growth of India's population, it would entail that we will gradually have a turnaround in our population growth in the coming decades.

Hitting replacement level fertility will mean that we will begin to see a much lesser proportion of dependents as people have less and less kids; we'd also see an enormous youth bulge which will continue for several decades and hopefully provide India's Economy with a significant Demographic dividend. But India must also prepare for what will inevitably come after that, that is, a period of Population decline, during which we'd see a swift rise in the number of aged people and a sharp decline in the working age population. If India is not careful, the boon of Demographic dividend could then soon turn into the bane of Demographic doom.

Consequences of India's Gender Imbalance

It is pretty commonly known, at least within India, that due to decades of Sex-selective abortions and Female Infanticide, India's Sex ratio has been quite low, especially among the younger segments of the population. As of 2011, the Sex Ratio was 940 for the whole of India, that is 940 females for every 1000 males.

And while this is actually an improvement over the previous Sex ratio of 933 in 2001, the Child Sex ratio has in fact fallen, which essentially means that the problem of Female Infanticide and Foeticide have not been properly addressed. It seems, rather, that the increase in overall Sex ratio has primarily been due to better medical facilities being available to Indian Women.

Thus, the situation remains quite unpleasant for many Indian Men. In recent years, many stories have come to light from women-deficient North Indian States such as Punjab and Haryana where many men have resorted to 'importing' brides from other parts of the country, especially the women-heavy south. But this is only a limited solution which is only available to some relatively affluent segments of society. Thus, one significant consequence of the Gender Imbalance has been the inability of young men to find wives, especially among the lower strata of society, and this problem is only likely to get worse.

The other issue is Women's safety; as younger men are becoming more sexually aware, yet in effect becoming more sexually deprived due to continuing social taboos regarding Sex and also of course due to the imbalance in the Gender Ratio among the youth, many young men are increasingly taking the law into their hands and attacking women sexually in rapidly rising cases of sexual violence.

Furthermore, there is a rise in overall violence and antagonism in society as Testosterone charged young men look for whatever release they can find, and thus, many turn to violent crimes and general Anti-Social behavior. As time passes by, this problem will also get increasingly worse if the State does not do anything to stop or control it.

Furthermore, the Gender Imbalance is leading to an overall lack of happiness among young men in the country as they find it more and more difficult to find a suitable mate, whether through marriage or some non--marital partnership. This lack of happiness translates to lesser productivity and a greater sense of directionless and hopelessness among the country's young men.

In Conclusion, the State needs to act immediately to counter these multiple adverse consequences of the Gender Imbalance in India; they can take steps like increasing support to people who have daughters, opening more Orphanages for Girls, legislating harsher penalties for killing female foetuses/infants, legalizing Prostitution and making it easier for young men to migrate Abroad. 

Why India should legalize Prostitution

India is the land of the Kamasutra. Yes, it is the same country where Kings and Emperors kept hundreds-strong Harems. It is the country which produces the most kids every single year. Yet, Sex is a taboo word here. Pre-marital Sex is largely frowned upon. Women still do not leave their homes without covering their heads in much of the rural part of the country. And of course, Prostitution, though technically legal, is for all practical purposes, a Criminal activity.

Let me explain that better. As per Indian laws, actual exchange of money for sex between consenting adults is legal but almost all associated acts are Illegal. For example, it is illegal to own or run a Brothel and it is also illegal to solicit clients in Public. Thus, practically, Prostitution is banned. In my opinion, this has had a lot of negative consequences for India.

Due to the criminalization that we talked about earlier, India's Prostitution Industry is unregulated and informal. Thus, great numbers of minor girls are trafficked, both from within and outside India and many end up getting STDs and/or Pregnant. Many of them also suffer violent torture. Furthermore, Millions of these Indian Prostitutes face social stigma and ridicule and also face nightmarish working conditions.

India also has a large excess male population and most of these males are young men who are generally quite sexually frustrated. It is fact that due to years of Female Foeticide/ Infanticide, a large proportion of the current male population is never going to get married and never going to be in any sort of conventional sexual relationship. But even these men want sex. Almost all men absolutely love sex, especially young men who are most deprived of sex in India.

If they do not get the required release, they will likely respond with aggression and violence(in fact, this has already happened to some extent), at least some of them. That would give us another big headache; the last thing we need is more violence. A lot of this would likely be directed against women, and it would be very difficult for the Government to stop this without addressing the root of the problem.

Thus, if we legalize Prostitution we can tackle two major problems at once. Firstly, we can ensure that trafficking of Girls/Women is reduced substantially and that that the Sex Workers of India can lead a more dignified and safe life with less Harassment and more benefits. Secondly, we can tackle the Sexual Frustration of the young Indian male population and turn many men away from Anti-Social behavior to positive contribution to the Society.

Lastly, the Government can also gain immensely because if they legalize Prostitution they can actually make a lot of money taxing the activity and earn tens of billions of dollars in revenue each year.

India's growing Army of Herbivore Males

India's Economy has been growing at breathtaking speed for more than two decades now. There have been comments and articles on the different aspects of India's Economic Development, as well as the Social Revolution that it has entailed. But an often overlooked consequence of these two revolutions in India is the impact that they have had on the Indian Upper Classes.

In this post I wish to deal with a particular change that is taking place rapidly in India. This change is the emergence of the 'Herbivore Male' on the Indian Scene. So what is a Herbivore male, you might ask. The answer to that is pretty simple. A Herbivore male is characterized by a lack of interest in interacting with the society at large and a tendency to stay put in their own rooms/homes while enjoying videogames or some online activities. 

Herbivore Males generally don't have any real life friends. They also do not seem to be interested in the Opposite Sex. They generally suffer from some sort of Videogame addiction and very often, live with their parents. In India, the rise of the Herbivore Male is but a few short years old. If one lives among the Indian Upper classes, it becomes obvious that there is something very wrong with a major section of our young population. The prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder has skyrocketed, many kids are becoming obese and refuse to go out and play, and many young men do not wish to, or seem to be afraid of, socializing with the opposite Gender.

And the numbers are not declining; with Government workers getting massive pay hikes every few years and the Private Sector providing millions of high paying jobs, the Upper Classes have grown like never before. People have so much disposable income that they can essentially live almost the same lifestyle as their Counterparts in the West, while still being in a third World country. Furthermore, the traditional Indian Family is taking a hit and this is having a lot of negative consequences for kids as they develop low self esteem, Social Anxiety and other psychological issues due to a lack of attention from their parents.

All in all, I believe that this downward trend for Upper Class Indian kids will continue and we'll probably have a million strong army of Instant-noodle sustained Social Zombies very soon, unless that figure has already been breached.

Why the turmoil in Iraq affects us all

It has been a few weeks since the group known as the Islamic state of Iraq and Al-Shaam(ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL; now known simply as the Islamic State) captured Iraq's second largest city of Mosul. That was just the beginning of their Blitzkrieg which saw multiple towns and areas in both Iraq and Syria fall to them in the coming weeks, including Saddam Hussein's birthplace of Tikrit.

The Indian media began to aggressively pick up this story when it was realized that dozens of Indian nurses had been held in Tikrit when the Insurgents took the city. Since then there has been a lot of effort put in by the establishment to locate and somehow secure the release of these nurses in Iraq. But compared to what I believe is coming our way, this is a very trivial matter.

Since all of this took place, the group has transformed and is now refered to as the Islamic State or simply, the Caliphate, under the leadership of 'Caliph Ibrahim'(previously known as Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi). This is a very significant development as there hasn't really been any de facto State claiming to be a Caliphate for almost a century now. This Caliphate or Islamic State has hundreds of square kilometers of territory under its writ and is steadily expanding; according to some estimates it also has tens of thousands of fighters, both from the middle east and from elsewhere, who are armed to the teeth and have also received extensive training.

This group has been extremely effective in destroying/demoralizing the forces of the Iraqi State, and now effectively controls more territory than the Iraqi government. It has billions of dollars in funds and now has control over Oil wells, Refineries, Air bases, Markets, Factories etc. It provides Judicial Services, Educational Services, Welfare Services and much much more. Thus, in short, it has truly come to resemble a real State, rather than a rag-tag Insurgent group.

Now let me get straight to how our lives in India and the rest of South Asia might dramatically be affected in the coming months and years. It is my calculation that in the coming few weeks and months, the Caliphate will continue to steadily advance and grow its support base and Military strength. Deir ez zour province in Syria and probably all of the Sunni parts of Iraq will have almost no resistance to the Caliphate left. Soon enough, if there is no major Iranian or US intervention, Baghdad will itself fall to the Islamic State. Thus will begin collapse of States across the middle east one by one on a steady basis(again, assuming that there is no major Iranian or US intervention soon). This will likely make oil prices skyrocket. India will face a lot of problems. Our currency will depreciate. Gold will rise. Inflation will rise. The common man will suffer. The Economy will stall. But that could just be the beginning.

If the Iranians or the Americans let Baghdad fall, sooner or later, the government of Bashar al Assad might also begin facing massive blitz-style attacks by the Caliphate. Jordan will also see encroachments upon its territory. And if things continue this way, several Middle Eastern states would soon be ruled by the Caliphate within a few short years. Israel would not be able to defeat such a Caliphate. The Iranians would face a full-scale Salafist-Jihadist invasion. In fact, Iran would be the only real barrier between the Caliphate and India; the Pakistanis would not be able to offer much resistance and many of their Generals could actually defect to the Caliphate. And then, if Iran and Pakistan fall, we could have the Caliphate on our doorstep here in India.

Thus the Islamic State that is currently fighting in Syria and Iraq could actually one day be at our borders, especially if its growing power is not checked by those who can actually truly challenge it. India could one day face a much larger, vibrant, stronger and relentless Caliphate. It would be a very very difficult thing to defeat such a Violent Mammoth entity. Our State could collapse. The project of the Indian republic could crash even before completing a Century. Our Freedoms and Liberty would vanish. The Populace would be at the mercy of the Invaders. But this is all Hypothetical. We can actually do our bit in this situation. Instead of limiting our role to just trying to rescue Indian citizens from Iraq, we must do whatever we can to prop up the Iraqi Government. We must provide whatever help we can so that the Jihadists do not overrun Baghdad. In conclusion, we must be brave and Protect the future of our Country and its people.