Following the Bogus Austerity Drama of 2009, when ministers began flying “cattle-class” after S.M. Krishna and Shashi Tharoor were caught in five-star hotels, the Union food and consumer affairs minister K.V. Thomas has floated the latest UPA kite: a one-dish law at social gatherings to prevent wastage of food.
“We have received many suggestions to control food wastage at social functions. A member of National Advisory Council (NAC) has recommended imposition of Pakistan’s one-dish law. We will look into that law and similar legislations of other countries,” Thomas told reporters.
On paper, few will deny the logic behind the move. Our weddings and social occasions are exercises in ostentation. Enormous quantities are made, eaten and also wasted. In a country where huge numbers of people go without food—India stands at No. 63 on the hunger index—it provides a sharp contrast.
Yet, is a new law with all its attendant issues the way to go about creating social conscisouness? Should the Guest Control Order, which also limits the number of people who can be invited, be revived? Or is this just pressure tactics, NAC-style, after having failed to convince the UPA government on the right to food clauses?
Also read: The Top-10 austerity moves India really wants to hear
Is that tap water the austere madam is drinking?
CHURUMURI POLL: Should SUVs be banned?
Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch?
churumuri 
Who is the honorable member of NAC who has suggested such a brilliant measure?
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Excellent thought but it will never happen given the psyche of majority in our country.
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Cool idea.. next start levying fines on fat people.
What next a ^&*% police to check on people if they are doing it, to control population ?
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Ridiculous. Regardless, first Shri. Thomas should persuade his honorable cabinet colleague, Sharad Pawar, to fix the poorly managed Food Corporation of India godowns and silos, where agricultural produce worth more than $12 billion rots and has to be thrown away every year.
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@Abhi,
It is utterly moronic. It infringes upon the freedom and rights of people. Why do you think it is excellent?
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Instead of this they should stop excess electricity usage in IPL and route it to villages to run their pump sets.
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Ok, spirit behind the move is fine, but can this be implemented?
We will soon have policemen visiting weddings and functions and taking bribes is there are more than one dish. Ridiculous!!
BTW : What about the banquets hosted for visiting dignitaries, will that also be covered under the act? Will the Govt. send Pratibha Patil to jail for serving so many dishes??
Sheer nonsense.
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let them start the pilot in Delhi ( the most gluttonous of all cities)
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So, are we becoming a Soviet republic?
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This looks like another one of those hatchet job from the church, fronted by NAC, which any way has all the known dubious NGO’s to usurp on the majority community’s cultural heritage. I am curious if this rule can be applied to iftaar parties also ? When the country is in dire straits needing solutions to more serious problems we have a non-elected body headed by a Italian moron trying to act as supra constitutional body passing laws by proxy.
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Ok lets short list the Only dish we need to serve in functions.
Madhuve: kosumbri(aste austerity please)
Thithi: Vade(idh illde thithi ne illa)
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Probably no other country has so many laws, rules, regulations, acts etc. as we have. In spite of hundreds of such laws, our country is in a mess and we the Indians are the most law breakers and non-followers. Any reform or awareness starts silently and gradually within the society or group(s). Simply by enacting laws or imposing something, the government cannot expect people to follow. It is sheer waste of time, ridiculous and time pass.
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Frigging nut-heads in NAC should visit Dharmasthala and see whether the free food distribution model which is there can be scaled up to a national level free (or nominal charge to recover labor/logistics costs) soup kitchens in every village/town/city in this country. Name that as Rajiv Ghandhi Anna Santarpane Abhiyaan. Mysore Peshva has already pointed to the direction from where the raw material worth $ 12 billion can be sourced.
Yeddy can win a second term and 26 seats in Loksabha, if he can take help from Madhu Panditha Dasa & Virendra Hegde to implement a free food scheme in Karnataka. Akshya pathra & govt’s mid day meals are scalable, already there is infrastructure on the ground across the state.
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This is so ridiculous!! Weddings and other large functions generate a lot of employment. Flower decorators, tent houses, cooks, labourers, taxi walas, and so many other people find work. By curtailing the number of dishes, the govt seems to be trying to kill the fun and joy and more importantly the employment generation possibilities such occasions provide.
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Daily Bread,
It would indeed be a great thing in hoary patriarchal traditions to have a state wide anna santharpane- never mind the name of rajiv gandhi or Veer Savarkar. You say Yeddy would win 26 Lok Sabha seats if he does this in a reasonable way- I am curious about which are the 2 LS constituencies that wouldnt vote for the BJP even under these circumstances!!!
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@Kitapati, 1 IPL match might power a village for an year, but who will pay for power? IPL? Why will they pay when there is no match? Govt? Why should Govt spend your money on lighting up a village? Then who should?
If consumption of 1 urban house can power 5 village homes, will you volunteer & forgo electricity in your home? If you don’t, then why IPL must go without power?
BTW, What I think of this austerity design? Its a work of idle, short-sighted brain.
One more, MMS suggested austerity in 2009, but what we got was CWG in 2010 !!
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KH,
“What next a ^&*% police to check on people if they are doing it, to control population ?”
It is either that or death by starvation in the coming years.
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We can have one dish policy and we can eat more dishes in case we want to protest on something. We can call feasting protest as “Anna” santarpane.
Only one dish for Congress Party– Badam Halwa.
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@AG,
So you would prefer applying for a permit whenever you want to do it ? ;)
I would prefer starving to death instead …
But we dont have to worry .. global warming will save us :)
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Aaha
Now the debate is getting interesting… Democracy vs. Progress…
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Pagan –
I am sure it is an excellent thought.
And yes, I too believe in freedom and rights of people, free market, liberal western style democracy. But I believe that basic amenities (such as food, water, housing, healthcare, sanitation, roads) are more important. Freedom without these is futile. I would anyday prefer limited rights in Singapore/China/Dubai to India where I have the right (perhaps the onlny right?) eat 10 types of dishes. Freedom without basic needs is just empty talk.
You can not apply the same arguments that are made in developed countries regarding freedom and macro economy. Because the contexts are different.
Once everyone in the country have their basic needs covered (like in developed countries) then it does not look obscene if Ambani builds a 40k crore house next to one of world’s biggest slum. This is where the context is different in India (and in other third world coutries) and hence the treatment should also be.
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KH,
I am assuming you have two children or less. The permit is for people with more than that. It would be better you die rather than keep breeding like a rat.
BTW I am assuming you are a refugee in the US and dont have more than 2 children, so all this is does not apply to you. But hope you get my drift.
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See you can’t mess with free will.
If people want to be stupid, they will be stupid, you can’t outlaw stupidity cause then all of us would spend a good part of our lives doing illegal things..
An indirect approach is always better. Reverse psychology and that kind of stuff.
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ಅಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ ಹೊಡ್ಕೊಂಡು ತಿಂತಾ ಇದಾರೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಈವಯ್ಯ “ಮೀಡಿಯಾ ಸ್ಟಂಟ್” ಮಾಡ್ತವ್ನೆ.. ಮಾಡೋದೆಲ್ಲ ಅನಾಚಾರ ಮನೆ ಮುಂದೆ ಬೃಂದಾವನ ಅಂತ ಇಂಥಾದ್ದಕ್ಕೇ ಹೇಳೋದು..
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