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Oct 27, 2023Liked by KBS Sidhu

During eightees, I purchased a book from Childern Book Trust, New Delhi on Computer fiction. I was written in the book that in coming years, Computers will take over most of the official work and poeple will be able to finish their work within 2-3 hours and can spend rest of the time on leisure and entertainment. But in fact work has never finished without any leisure time and prophecy proved a real fiction.

In fact, exploitation of working class is not yet over especially in unorganised sector.

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Oct 27, 2023Liked by KBS Sidhu

Very cogent piece! This is one of the dumbest suggestions he has made from a position of exalted influence. He seems to be motivated by PM’s speech where he wanted to give primacy to Fundamental Duty over Fundamental Rights. These are emotional blackmailing tactics for the benefit of vested groups.

My random additional thoughts are the following:

1. Karl Marx had studied to find that it took only 6 hours of work for workers to produce enough for society to lead a decent life. Any extra hour of work would only go for disproportionate accumulation of wealth by capitalists. This was in the days when brute & longer hours were the tools of production. Today, the dynamics is altogether different. Probably 3 hours work would be enough to achieve similar result.

2. Even if I ignore Marx & assume that extra hours will lead to enrichment of workers for better future of their progenies, why Mr. Murthy has forgotten the concept of inter-generational equity & Justice? Every generation must enjoy the fruits of its labour for itself.

3. When youth unemployment in our country is 23% which will look still more when factored for disguised unemployment then thought of additional working hours sounds crazy. Need of the hour is to improve the human qualities rather than using them as robots.

4. What will happen to women work force who are supposed to shoulder family responsibilities in considerable measure? They will simply be priced out. Apparently Mr. Murthy is comfortable with this idea. His wife, though equally educated, had reconciled to sitting at home which Mr. Murthy considers as her sacrifice.

Mr. Murthy seems to be overripe now.

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author

Very insightful! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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