The assassination of Bhutto

I had just finished lunch while watching Cartman's antics on South Park when my phone rang. I was quite suspicious of the news my friend had to deliver and decided to check its truthfulness almost immediately. It was true. Benazir Bhutto had been assassinated an hour earlier.
With her public murder, Pakistan slips ino further turmoil and instability. The tentative and uncertain steps that it was taking towards another return to democracy has been cut short. While Bhutto's term as the premier of Pakistan was a highly controversial one (the dilettantish approach to the Kashmir issue, the corruption, the flirting with the Taliban), it must be said she was the face of a secular and moderate Islam. Islamist extremists have succesfully destroyed a symbol, as the Hindu rightly puts it while condemning the assasination, it is a "..despicable act by terrorists who made no secret of their loathing at the prospect of a progressive, secular woman emerging as Pakistan’s ruler".
New Delhi is shocked, but will still continue to sit on the fences. The political will, that is required to facilitate peace and stability in it's surroundings, is just lacking at the centre. Indians know what it means to lose a national leader and hence can understand the situation that the average Pakistani is in. We send you our condolences.

A video clip of one her last interviews.

Never small enough to make a change

In India, among the younger generations there are quite a few who wish to change the status quo, wish to bring an end to corrupt bureaucracy, wish to bring an end to poverty, wish to cleanse the filthy political landscape. But they remain as wishes. They voice their wishes to themselves, in conversations with friends, but doubt themselves and their environment when it comes to action. But action is key to change. No matter how small the action, it ushers in change. The video posted below conveys the message. The greatest tasks are not achieved by the superheroic efforts of a single individual, they are achieved by the combined efforts of a group of individuals sharing a common goal.

How India sees itself

An interesting survey carried out by Pew.

"The Pew poll asked people in 47 countries if they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others.” Indians topped the list, with a whopping 93 per cent agreeing that our culture was superior to others, with 64 per cent agreeing completely, without any reservations."

Continue reading here.

It should be noted that the respondents would have only been the educated classes, which begets the question, "Are these the views of a majority of the Indians?"

Crisis in Pakistan

When India celebrated its 60th year of independence with a renewed confidence in the light of its growing economy and an improved world status, neighbouring Pakistan marked its 60th year of independence as well. But dark clouds hovered around Pakistan and still continue to do so. Democracy still lay in the stranglehold of the military, the violence associated with religious fundamentalism was brought to Islamabad's doorstep as the nation watched the storming of Lal Masjid and a conceited world power continues to exercise its strong influence over the policies of Pakistan's government.

Democracy in Pakistan has always been overshadowed by its strongest institution, the army. Of the 60 years of independence only 27 have been under democratic rule. A cycle of democratic and military rule has consistently repeated itself in Pakistan. One of the regrets most Pakistanis harbour is the early demise of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who was definitely a great leader having played an important role in the freedom struggle. His death in 1948 left a vacuum in the political arena which no leader has ever been able to fill. A popular sense of disillusion with poor civilian leadership has always helped the army in its claim to power. The Pakistani army today has thus become a highly politicised institution, with democratic governments consulting with the army on key decisions. The army is deeply entrenched in the economy of the country as well. The military runs National Logistic Cell (the biggest freight transportation company in Pakistan), Frontier Works Organisation (the biggest contractor in the country for constructing roads and collecting tolls) and a number of subsidiaries/cooperatives that engages in a range of profit making activities. Some subsidiaries, for instance those in the real estate market, advertise their relationship with the army to project themselves as more efficient. The army is also said to control 12% of total state land, larger than any group or institution in Pakistan. Unless some radical changes take place, the army will continue to exercise a strong say in the political matters of the state.

This brings us to present situation in Pakistan. President Musharaff has effectively crippled the main institutions of democracy, the executive, the judiciary and the media. The judiciary and the executive are mere puppets. The emergency is supposed to be lifted in a little more than a week, free and fair elections are supposed to be conducted in January. However without an independent judiciary it will be hard to determine the fairness of the election process. A new general has been instated. General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, who has been overseeing the entire operation of the "war-on-terror" since October, will probably emerge as the most powerful man in Pakistan. It is hard to imagine for how long a civilian president will be able to exercise control over the country. Historically, the chief of the army has always been a powerful post in the establishment. Musharaff's relinquishing of that post could sound the death knell for him.

If the political instability weren't enough Pakistan's other woes include America's meddling of its internal affairs. The publicised return of Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan, the proposed partnership of Bhutto and Musharaff, the army's change of guard... all seem to indicate a secret hand giving a push. There have been several high profile visits by US state officials in the last few months, each visit having a strong message to convey to Musharaff. Most recently, the US ambassador Anne W Patterson made an open intervention in Pakistan's domestic affairs with a strong call to all political parties to participate in the upcoming elections. She is said to have personally met with Nawaz Sarif amid protests by him to boycott the elections. The US is losing the battle in Afghanistan and a resurgent Taliban is steadily occupying territory. In the continuing "war-on-terror", military/democratic, America would want a pliant government in Islamabad.

In these days of darkness however there shine a few beacons of light in Pakistan who continue to give its people hope. They include Imran Khan; whose most recent article Battle for Pakistan is a must read for those following the Pakistan situation, Justice Iftikhar Choudhary and the judges and lawyers who are seen as symbol against the dictatorship: as can be read here.

On a lighter note, a recent article in the Daily Times ran a story on how a few school children thought about the imposition of the emergency in Pakistan. A fictional character called Harry Potter seems to be the only hope of these school children. The story can be read here. The thoughts voiced by these children however echo the larger sentiments in Pakistan society, and that is the lack of strong, trustworthy civilian leadership.

Listen....

I initially intended to post this blog on "Snapshots..", but then I decided that it's place was more deserved here. The LSE Anthropological Society screeened a movie today called "Shooting Dogs", which was based on the Rwandan genocide in 1994. This is not a movie review, but while the movie did suffer from the usual cliches, it did drive home a point. Close to a million Rwandans were slaughtered and killed in that year alone. There is a scene in the movie that continues to play on in my mind. Amidst the madness, a Tutsi woman gives birth to a child. At that moment a question arose in my mind. With what hope are we bringing new born children into this world? A world where greed, ignorance, intolerance forces man upon himself. A world where wars are brought upon by men and innocent women and children pay the price for being caught in the crossfire. Are we, who inhabit this world, doing justice to the newborn? As the question played itself out in my mind, the movie continued and soon gave me an answer. The baby was murdered a few minutes later. And what was depicted wasn't an exaggeration, I have heard stories like these from Gujarat, Iraq, Serbia,... One of the main characters in the movie, a young man from Britain finds himself incapable to alter the situation and finally finds himself choosing the safety of his own life in the face of the inescapable slaughter of 2500 Tutsi people. The director leaves the viewer with the helplessness, guilt and failure of this character. Cut!

I am a man of privilege, and if you can read this you are a man/woman of privilege too. I was brought up in safe, secure environments. I have had the joy of family and friends around me, and continue to do so. I was never helpless, I have always had the power of choice. To be honest I have never felt utterly powerless, never felt underprivileged, never felt that my existence was immaterial to the environment around me. I am a man of privilege.
But at times, through ways I could not have fathomed, the voice of the weak and the powerless travel to me and plead to be heard. They wish to be heard, they wish to be rescued from their lives devoid of hope, they wish the privileged will listen to their silent cries and come and save them. They wish..........for that is all that they can do.
We, the privileged, can effect change. We can give our children, the children of your street and the children in the orphanage close by, a better world. We can start by listening, listening to the unheard voices crying for help, and paying heed to them. It may not be the answer, but it will begin to take the world to a place better than it is today.

India at 60 in a Changing World: next 20 years

This post is a little late, it should have been up by the 15th. The event was one hosted by LSE which marked the launch of LSE's India observatory. The speakers were:
OP Bhatt - Chairman of the State Bank of India
Mervyn King - Governor of the Bank of England
Kamal Nath - Minister for commerce and industry for the Indian government
YV Reddy - Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Nicholas Stern - IG Patel Chair in Government and Economics and director of the India Observatory at LSE.

The event was an enjoyable one and unlike what I feared, there was a good mix of praise and concern when the speakers echoed their sentiments. I shall list some notable comments by Kamal Nath and OP Bhatt.

Kamal Nath:
"India's perception of itself is changing, not the world's alone."
"...India has more people living on $1 a day(300 million) than those in all the Least Developed Countries put together. "
"Indian agriculture is about subsistence and not about commerce."

OP Bhatt:
"Infrastructure is a concern and if not addresed will choke growth.......India will need $600 billion in the next five years for infrastructure development. "
"The scale and size of Indian banking is a concern.......market capitalization is very low."

In terms of the speeches OP Bhatt's was the most engrossing, he spoke more about the problems facing the country, and even as he did so, there was the unmistakeable spirit behind his words that none of these problems were indomitable. He dwelled on all the key sectors(education, public health, infrastructure, finance, labour) which have a direct/indirect bearing on the country's future. Reflecting his awareness that he was addressing a global audience, he brought his speech to an end with a sanskrit phrase - "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the world is one family) and stressed on the world's need to realise it soon. That alone made my day.

The future looks bright.

Being an Indian

I find myself in a time and place where almost everyday I am meeting someone new, someone from a different culture, someone who looks at the world in different ways than I do. Most often when I explain where I am from, I am mostly met with the response that I am in one of the most exciting places today. And yes, that is quite true. India is definitely an exciting place to be today, there is a lot happening in the country. Every industrial sector is writing new stories, be it IT, retail, media or telecom, to name a few. Educated Indian minds express themselves and their opinions quite eloquently over personal blogs. There are many questions being posed in the public space, over education, government, labour and there are quite a few intellectuals who nurture public debate over informed articles in the print media.
We are looking at a period when the reins of the future are slowly being handed over to a younger generation, a generation that is very ambitious, a generation that is increasingly questioning it's identity in a world that is more connected today than it ever has been. The whiff of change is ever present, but lest one gets carried away with optimism, there are serious problems (social and political) that are ever present too. It is upto this new, young, hot-blooded generation to find more imaginitive solutions to the issues that face the country. When independence was won in 1947, democracy in India was viewed by the west as an experiment whose chances of success were bleak. But 60 years later, democracy survives in this great nation, not once has it slipped into military rule. History will continue to be written here and it's implications will have a lot of meaning for the rest of the world. I shall bring this post to an end with an inspiring video commemorating 60 years of Indian independence.

John Berger

I met him for the first time today. The event was the completion of a new book he'd written, 'Letters from A to X' , parts of which he read out to a small audience. After the reading session the microphone was passed around the audience and questions were entertained, starting from his book and finally centring around the Palestine issue. At the end of the event I was fortunate to have a very brief conversation with him. This is the advice he gave to younger generations wishing to take up the cause of the oppressed-

• Listen
• The struggle is unending, and those wishing to enter the struggle must realise it.
  

Yatra Log

The yatra is over and a log of the entire journey is with me, but I am currently exploring alternative channels to publish it on the net. My apologies for the delay in posting my experiences, but keep watching this space for updates.

The journey thus begins....

A long cherished dream finally comes to fruition, in 4 hours from now I will embark on a trip across the nation, a Bharat-yatra one can say. The original plan encompassed a travel around all the 29 states across a span of 45 days. But rarely ever are idealistic visions translated into reality in their complete sense. Hence, the journey has been cut down to 21 days and the states intended to be covered, 17. I am always short of words when I am asked about the intent of this journey. I am not known among friends and family as an avid traveller and hence they seem the most surprised. The intent is simple, to know my nation better. I cannot pride myself on being an Indian(as I most often do), an Indian who knows his country well, if my only physical exposure to the country is restricted to a few cities and my native place. Hence the desire to journey around the country. The garbs that I don will be many, at times those of a tourist, at others those of a philosopher, an ascetic, a scholar, but they will all be driven by one single desire.....the pursuit of knowledge.
I shall try and post logs of my journey as often as I can, but a complete record of my journey in its exact chronology shall be posted on this blog by the end of next month.

Nuclear Storm

For all the success that was claimed by the government in negotiating a fair deal with Uncle Sam for the 123 agreement, the public didn't see themselves having to head to the polling booths. But if the political storm that has been raised at New Delhi doesn't blow over, the public could very well be headed there. It must be said that the situtaion is not all black and white. The left has raised some valid concerns and have had so since July 2005. It is a different story altogether that the media didn't pay much attention to communist cries, until the crescendo theatened to topple the government. One of the main concerns raised by the left is that the nuclear deal is much more than the deal alone, it involves a alignment of India's foreign policy alongside USA's geo-political strategy for Asia. Proof of this was seen when India voted against Iran at the IAEA both in 2005 and 2006. An independent foreign policy that is not subject to coercion, cannot be snuffed away as an idealist demand, the left cannot be chided for this demand. When the Prime Minister and the US ambassador, plead with the country to make the most of the opportunity that presents itself, the opportunity being that Bush is the friendliest US president that India has seen, they seem to miss the point. Bush could very well go down in world history as the worst US president ever. Does India wish to seek a strong association with a US president, who clearly is very unpopular in his home country. As of May 2007, Bush's approval ratings had dropped to 28% .
However as was stated earlier all is not black and white, while an independent foreign policy is definitely desired, our foreign policy has definitely to reflect the political strategy India has in place to keep a rising China in check. If China is to become the sole superpower in Asia, then it will affect our dealing with not Beijing alone, but with Islamabad as well. Negotiations, ranging from border disputes to criminal extradition will become more difficult. Backing out of the nuclear deal, will be a missed opportunity to join the club of countries that control nuclear trade and technology in the world. The nuclear deal could strengthen trade ties with many developed nations, not only in the nuclear arena but in others as well. This will indirectly help in giving the country a push towards becoming a developed nation faster. It bodes well for India to be seen as China's equal.
The situation is not such that a stand can be taken easily, both sides, the Congress as well as the left, have perfectly valid reasons for their particular stands. The BJP makes a fool of itself when it opposes the agreement for foreign policy reasons, for it was during their governance that the tone for greater coooperation with the United States was first set. Extended debates among the political community will be needed to decide which is the course best suited for the country. Just like any sovereign country, both America and China will put their interests first ahead of India's. In the same vein the sovereign state of India has to decide based on what serves it's interests the best.

India, 60......Bharat, 5000

For a civilisation whose recorded history dates back atleast 5000 years, of what prominence is a miniscule figure as 60. In modern history, it symbolises the triumph of our brave freedom fighters who delivered independence to the nation. (In an age where sport is war, the victory of our cricket team at England over our past colonisers, couldn't have come at a more apt time, it tastes sweet).
With due respect to the past, more time has to be spent dwelling upon the future and the course that India takes. The country is announcing it's presence in the global arena, and there is a tacit recognition of it's importance. However, back at home, in the villages and cities, in the plains and valleys of this beautiful country, where we define what being an Indian is, is where we need to introspect and build a stronger country.
The congratulatory tones("India rising", "The sleeping giant awakens..") that surround us, hide from us the fact that we still remain a country grappling with social issues which affects millions. The run up to Aug 15, has not been pleasant. Light was shed upon the huge prevalence of female foeticide and infanticide in many parts of the country. Secularism doesn't look threatened, but religious intolerance among the majority and the minorities seems to be on the rise. The rains that wreaked havoc across the country, left villages stranded for days on end. It is ironic that we lose lives both to drought and rain. Politicians were landing blows on each other at a meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, hardly a sign of a civilised democracy. Little children still try and make a living at traffic intersections of cities either through a display of acrobatics or by selling small items.
While the world begins to take notice of Indians and treat them with more respect than they commanded earlier, we should be reminded that our house is not in order yet. We still have a long way to go. Independence as an ideal is yet to be understood by a majority in the country, a majority that struggles to make a livelihood, a majority that is marginalised, a majority that lives without the hope of opportunity. Our celebrations of Independence will be even more joyous when we have saved every single child in the country from the clutches of hunger and child labour, when we have built an environment where the gender of the child will not affect her/his survival, when honest hard working individuals are suitably rewarded, when every Indian attains the right to a life of dignity and respect, irrespective of caste and creed.

The 12th President

The Congress and it's allies have created history by giving India her first lady president. This contribution will be trumpeted many a time in the years to come, however at all debates that would question the merit of the appointment ,we will most definitely see the trumpeteers slip into the shadows. Much has been written in the media against her as a nominee, the criminal culpability of both her husband and her brother, the siphoning of funds of the banks that she governed which were led to bankruptcy, her ability to have conversations with the departed.............The allegations are far too many and it does raise doubts about her credibility. But, for all that has been said, the nation has to accept her as the President. The media understands this, and acts in propriety. The public will compare her to her able predecessor, it is inescapable. But for all the compraisons that we would like to draw, a fine line should be drawn as to its limits. If it were to slip beyond comparison and into the realms of accusation, it would be unacceprtable. The Supreme Commander has to be respected, whether the bearer of the post deserves it or not.

A financial declaration

Here are the figures:

2004

Cash: Rs 1.50 lakh
Bank deposits: Rs 9.78 crore
Other investments: Rs 30.94 lakh
Buildings: Rs 1.25 crore

2007

Cash: Rs 50.27 lakh
Bank deposits: Rs 12.88 crore
Other investments: Rs 50.87 lakh
Property: Rs 36.84 crore

If these figures were the summary of the financial statement of a company, then this company would be doing well for itself. Within 3 years it's asset value has increased 400%. But this is no company we're talking about. This is the declaration of Mayawati in the mentioned years, declared prior to the general and council elections respectively.

The latest declaration comes at a time when she has a CBI case of disproportionate assets against her, involving just half the declared figure(Rs. 28 crore). When seen in that light the audacity of the declaration seems more pronounced. However do not rush to assume that Mayawati is inviting trouble home. She is a seasoned politician(read corrupt, manipulative individual), she has played her cards well. The Congress at the centre needs her now, her support was crucial for the success of the UNPA candidate at the presidential elections. And to retain that support, the Congress will keep the CBI on a leash.

As of now the people have no option but to helplessly watch the swindling of public money and the temerity of our politicians to declare it.

India, the last 30 days

Settling down in the country after a long trip away from home has taken it's time and the blog thus has seen no new entries for a while. A lot has happened in the past one month, a quick round up follows:

• Most recently, the search for a presidential candidate seems to have ended with no political consensus between the NDA, UPA and the so-called Third Front. Not that a consensus is any indication of a positive democracy, but rather it only brings to the fore a pitiable statistic, the absolute poverty of strong political leadership in the country. As names were floated, Indians were reminded that there existed no single leader today who could capture the imagination of the country. Not one leader of stature whom the country could look up to.
• Caste related reservation woes continue to haunt the country. The Gurjar, Meena clashes with the state of Rajasthan not only paralysed the state for a few days, it was brought to the doorstep of Delhi. Unimaginative politicians promise more reservations, instead of addressing the root concerns of these communities, which is plainly put an assurance of a rise in their economic status.
  
• VS Achutanandan's demolition drive in Munnar, Kerala seems to hit rough waters with his decision to overlook religious institutions and political party offices that have encroached upon government land. The popular CM is now subject to public suspicion.
• Cyclone Gonu seems to have stolen some of the thunder from the monsoons. Weather forecasters wait with bated breath for any signs of an improvement. A drought will definitely affect the economy, which has posted a commendable 9.2% growth over last year.
• Mayawati has broken the 15 year spell of coalition politics in UP. The BSP rode to power as the largest party capable of forming a government. The rest of the country can now only pray that this time around she does not sell the Taj Mahal.
  

US and yoga

Being the most powerful country in the world is easy, becoming one is the hard part. And hence the American ignorance of world culture and it's related obsession with absurdity continues. The latest in the line is it's patenting of certain poses in yoga. Under what moral/legal/intellectual/spiritual authority can the US patent yoga, a system that is India's gift to the world. A system of exercises that aims to promote greater control over the mind and body, yoga dates back to at least 5000 years in Indian tradition. The philosophy of yoga embodies the Indian culture's understanding of the human mind and body, through centuries of wisdom.
But in the 21st century a country whose history is a fraction of the entire lifetime of yoga, who has in no means contributed to the development of yoga's philosophy, issues copyrights on the practice of yoga. Ludicrous indeed!

Congress and dynasty

India's oldest political party, the Congress, still continues to function as a monarchy. Regretful indeed was the moment, when the Prime Minister of the country while campaigning for a scion of the Nehru family, called him the "future of UP". That an individual whose accomplishments in life are based solely on merit would fall prey to the archaic ideology of dynasty politics is hard to swallow. Most definitely while the words were spoken by Dr. Manmohan Singh, they would have been ideated by the Nehru family itself. Rahul Gandhi, the "future" so to speak, has delivered only one address(from a prepared text) in the parliament, after being elected 3 years ago. Newsweek further insults India's functioning democracy, by addressing Mr. Gandhi as "India's Crown Prince". It would do well for the top leaders of Congress to rethink it's ideas about the leadership it constantly bestows upon the Nehru family. The message it sends out to it's party men is anything but democratic.

The Indo-US nuclear deal

India continues to negotiate with the US on the much publicized deal on civilian nuclear cooperation. India's energy needs are real and keeping in mind that our energy requirements are going to increase more than 10-fold in the next four decades we have to develop reliable sources of energy. Nuclear energy is relatively cleaner than other modes of power generation, and with global-warming-related-climate-change already announcing it's arrival, it is imperative on our part to keep in mind environmental factors when we chart out our path towards progress.

If India is to secure the deal, and it has to while maintaining it's autonomy, it will become the first country to secure nuclear cooperation with the US while being a non-signatory to the NPT. The negotiations are however fraught with political land mines, and if we aren't careful enough we may end up sacrificing more than we bargained for. Out of the many, a single case in question would be the "right-of return" policy being dictated by the US, which claims that :
"....the U.S. draft states cooperation will cease if either country feels a situation has arisen which jeopardizes its supreme national interest. In such a situation, there will be a period of consultation between the two sides, followed by the termination of ongoing cooperation. Finally, India will be required to return imported equipment and material — including its nuclear fuel stockpile."

This clause is nothing short of a leash, India could jeopardize US interests by an action as significant as conducting nuclear tests to something as extraneous as forging stronger ties with China. America loves controlling the foreign policies of other countries, especially those with strategic importance. It's records in the middle east and in eastern Europe confirm the same.

The current deal necessitates India's cooperation in "containing and constraining" Iran. Much against our will we were forced to vote against Iran in the UN when sanctions were declared against it, we should not put ourselves in the same position again. India's relations with Iran or any other country should be based on our past history (through 5000 years of civilization many people have migrated from the middle east into our country to call it home) and on our national interests. We should make sure we do not leave our foreign policy open to influence by a hegemonistic America, that would weaken India's claim to being a true global leader in the near future.

Further reading :
Article on The Hindu
Hyde Act analysis

The Indian MP - Master of Perjury

I am filled with an absolute disgust for the political class that currently occupy the seats of power in the country. The word "politician" is today synonymous with scams, scandal, abuse of power and every other immoral activity possible. It is not surprising that a recent nation wide survey by Outlook, revealed that 76% of the respondents felt that Indian politicians had given democracy a bad name.
This popular sentiment was further reinforced when a Member of Parliament(MP), a BJP legislator called Babubhai Katara, was arrested on Wednesday, Apr 18 while trying to smuggle a lady and a boy to Canada, on the passports of his wife and son. The lady is supposed to have paid Rs. 30 lakh to the legislator. Even worse, he has a past history of smuggling people out of the country, it's just that his luck ran out this time. It is a blatant abuse of the diplomatic passports that have been issued to him and his family. The BJP has dropped him like a hot potato, an expulsion seems guaranteed. But don't be mistaken, the party's actions have more to do with saving it's face, than with a high moral standing. If they had to expel him, they should have done so much earlier, when cases of loot, murder and election fraud were filed against him.
When legislators take their seat for the first time they are required to take an oath, which goes:
"I, .., having been elected (or nominated) a member of the Council of States do swear in the name of God, I solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter."
Either our MPs have realized the truth about God or they have no respect for the nation's constitution and her people, for the oath that they take is null and void.

Why Americans think India is important

I found this article on the American Foreign Policy Research Institute(www.fpri.org) website. Its an excellent article exploring Indo-American relations. But what struck me was the the author's explanation of six terms in our preamble, 'We, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC ....................'

Its slightly lengthy, but fills one with pride, in the vision of our nation founders to safeguard the interests of our people, and consequently in our potential to become a great nation.

http://www.fpri.org/footnotes/113.200606.embree.indiaimportant.html

Reservation woes

The Supreme Court has stayed the the government's bill providing OBC sections with 27% reservation in premier institutions like the IITs and IIMs. The union government in response has declared it's commitment to social justice and that there will be no compromise. The words ring hollow. Karunanidhi cries that the verdict is shocking, and goes on to declare a state wide bundh. He declared it a success as well, most definitely succeeded in affecting the state's economy for a day, not to mention the undue trouble caused to over 10 lakh commuters using the public transport.
The Supreme Court decision is apt and does indeed question the government's standing on this issue. Some notable quotes from the verdict which slam the government:

"Nowhere else in the world is there competition to assert backwardness and then to claim we are more backward than you. This truth was recognised as an unhappy and disturbing situation and such situation was noted by this court as a stark reality in Indra Sawhney's case [Mandal case]."

"It has also to be noted that nowhere else in the world do castes, classes or communities queue up for the sake of gaining backward status."

"the reservation policy cannot be and should not be intended to be permanent or perpetuate backwardness."

"Equality of opportunity depends not only on absence of disabilities but on presence of abilities"

It is true that we have a serious issue at hand, and that being the backward classes(SC/ST and OBCs) are yet to become an integral part of our society, and in fact still continue to be marginalised. It's a shame that our HRD minister, Arjun Singh, comes up with further reservation policies to address this issue. The government has no clear solution, and the reservation card is just a move in the game of vote-bank politics. What is the point in reserving an IIT seat for an individual, when the government has ignored his basic education? The quality of education provided at government schools throughout the country is outright pathetic, students remain ill-equipped to compete with their counterparts studying in private schools. The students for whom these seats are reserved for will never seat them, instead the financially affluent among the backward classes(being able to send their children to private schools) will remain the sole benefactors.
The solution is 2-pronged, we first need to improve our government schools. The issue of improving the conditions of lower castes is invariably linked to their poverty. The government has to ensure quality primary and secondary education to the poor. That itself will put them on par with the general category of students. Second, reservation at educational institutes should be based on the financial situation of applicants. A visible time-limit will have to be set, to discontinue the reservation mechanism.
But our politicians remain more bothered about retaining power than inking innovative solutions to the problems that the country faces. So this may not be the last that we hear of the reservation issue, I am sure it will be dragged into the nation's view again, and our shameless politicians will milk the issue to the very last drop.

Gujarat

Frontline calls it the hit list, a list of individuals and organsations under threat from forces within Gujarat.

"MEDHA PATKAR, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader, is attacked every time she enters Gujarat. The last time this happened was at a peace meeting in Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad, during the communal riots in 2002. The NBA office in Vadodara has been ransacked several times.

Mrinalini Sarabhai, dancer, was forced to withdraw her signature from an NBA petition. Her daughter, Mallika Sarabhai, dancer, has been harassed for speaking out against the communal violence.

Ramdhan, Scheduled Caste/Schedule Tribe Commission chairperson, was attacked when he visited the Narmada dam site some years ago.

Painter M.F. Husain's gallery, in a cave in Ahmedabad, has been attacked twice and his works have been destroyed.

Citizen's Initiative, an alliance of organisations that was involved in relief and rehabilitation after the communal violence in 2002, was threatened, had its phones tapped and its offices raided, and some of its camp organisers were even arrested.

Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), a collective of unorganised women workers, was harassed and government aid was cut because a large number of its members were Muslim.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a human rights organisation supporting witnesses in court, receives constant threats. Acid bottles were flung into the house of the project coordinator in Vadodara, and later it was broken into and all legal papers were stolen. Yet, the police have done nothing and refuse to provide protection.

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's films Rang De Basanti and Fanaa were not screened in Gujarat because the Bajrang Dal threatened violence. Khan incurred the wrath of the Sangh Parivar because he supported the NBA. Students who went to Mumbai to see Fanaa were beaten up when they returned to Gujarat.

Dia Mirza, Bollywood actor, was hurriedly rushed out of Rajkot because she supported Aamir Khan's stand on the Narmada issue."

Do we have a fascist state within our nation?

Maoist threat

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently declared that "the greatest single threat to 'India's security' were the Maoist-led guerrilla armies and mass movements in the poorest parts of the country". The statement did not generate any discussion in popular media and I would assume most of the populace wouldn't have considered the statement worthy of dissection.
A separate statistic would help to understand the gravity of the situation better. The total number of districts in the country is 602. In the 1990s, the number of districts affected by Maoist violence stood at 15. In 15 years the number has risen exponentially, today the number of districts under some kind of Maoist influence stands at 170. Previously Indians could afford to ignore the Maoist issue as a remote problem, but with over one-fourth of the country experiencing Maoist influences it is about time the average Indian sat up and took notice.
The reason Maoist rebels have been able to grow so rapidly is directly related to India's failure in addressing the widespread poverty that afflicts the country. Mass movements that threaten to overthrow the existing establishment will always appeal to those who have been neglected by it. It should be noted that people would enroll within the cadres of these guerrilla armies, not essentially because they would subscribe to the ideologies of these nihilistic organizations, but only with the hope that such a cause may bring a better tomorrow.
The government's knee-jerk response to incidents of Maoist violence, like the recent attack on a police outpost in Chhattisgarh killing 55 people; the assasination of an MP Sunil Mahato, has been has been to deploy security forces to contain the violence. If only successive governments had done a better job, this issue wouldn't have crossed the seas and arrive at our doorstep. To combat violence with violence, is only a temporary solution and does not address deeper issues. Policies which address the economic inequality of the population will take us a longer way in resolving the Maoist violence.

The Indian cricketer, unworthy of high regard!

The world cup is here, and India plays its first game this Saturday. The whole nation flips back and forth pondering over the chances of India's success. Thoughts abound on game strategies, cricket is religion and the players are gods. Speaking of which the question arises, do these cricketers truly deserve their demi-god status?
Being a great player on a field is one thing, but true greatness is measured by one's actions off the field. The players that I hold great respect for include-

• Imran Khan, lost his mother to cancer in 1984. Cancer was known as a rich-man's disease in Pakistan. During that time, Imran was witness to the lack of specialist treatment available to the poor. 10 years later, he founded the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, a charitable institution that serves the poor.
  
• Steve Waugh, his association with Udayan, a home for children who come from Calcutta's leprosy colonies. Since 1998 he holds a special relationship with the kids at Udayan, known as Steveda among them.

Now these players weren't merely leaders of men on the field, they exemplified this skill in their personal lives as well.

In stark contrast, I am yet to hear of an Indian player who has lent his name to a social cause. The "god" Tendulkar is more famous for his evasion of a 120% duty on his Ferrari. Aren't men like him supposed to be guided by principle? I am yet to hear of Sachin's donations to society, oh yes! I have heard of him donating bats, pads and the like. But could anyone bring to my notice any mention in the media about Sachin parting with generous amounts of his wealth for charitable causes? The same goes for every other popular player in the country. There is no shortage for social issues in India, from killer diseases like AIDS to female infanticide, issues which could be addressed more effectively through awareness. Has any cricketer stepped forward with dedicated and prolonged commitment to a single social cause? The popular Indian cricketer has one ready formula, he'll play charity matches, it's easy and baggage free.

All our successes hold a greater value because they are bestowed upon us by society, especially in the case of social figures(politicians and players alike). It is every successful man's moral responsibility to return to the people, by virtue of sharing his wealth or by lending his voice to social causes. It is an obligation, payback for the rewards society confers upon them.

While a hollow sense of satisfaction would be achieved by saving Rs 1.13 crore, the legitimate joy that one would experience with the knowledge that despite all their patriotism 300 children in Calcutta would be cheering for you when on the field,....immeasurable.

Patriotism

In my interactions with new friends, colleagues, acquaintances, I have, with increasing incidence, been referred to as a patriot. Since the occasion had never arisen for me to declare my patriotism, I had never spent too much time brooding over the matter. The last half an hour I have spent watching a short documentary on TV, called "Painted Nation". It gives an account of the Indian billboard painter, the fast demise of an industry as it loses out to computer generated images. Most painters will be out of jobs soon, and while India continues to write it's growth story, these painters will be trampled upon and forgotten.
It pulls a chord of pathos within me, and it is a feeling I cannot escape. And it has been something I haven't been able to escape from for as far as I can remember. Be it watching a child trying to sell ear-buds at a traffic signal, poor children singing on the train for a couple of coins, families of impoverished farmers resorting to beggary after a complete loss of self-esteem(imagine the emotion of a man having to watch his wife and children beg for a meal), ...the situations are many and have always involved suffering people. Every time, it has induced a certain amount of grief in me, because these are my people and I cannot turn a blind eye to their plights.
The answers, the solutions to all the problems my countrymen face, I have none. The monetary acts of charity, help an individual or two, but I am not in a position of power to address the issues of the population as a whole. But of the one thing that I am sure, is that I will not desert my country and her people. Many of her sons and daughters have left her shores, in search of a better life in more developed countries. I do not blame them, the choices one makes in life are sometimes personal and no one has the right to question them. But, for me as an individual, I cannot stand from the comfort of a villa in USA, and watch my nation bleed. I cannot take a passive interest in my country and her people. I am driven to attend to her, to alleviate her condition, to try and stop the suicides of her farmers, to try and get her children into schools and not on the streets of metropolitan cities begging for food.
If this implies patriotism, then a staunch patriot I am.

Savage attack

You know you've come a full circle when the animals we protect end up killing our own children. In the last 2 months, Bangalore has witnessed the deaths of two small kids, both under the age of 10, bitten by packs of stray dogs. Plainly put, it is appalling. We have a law in place which does not permit the "putting-to-sleep" of stray dogs. That is fair enough, the whole matter of taking the life of a lesser creature, is controversial and involves many facets such as animal rights. However, such a law, for a lack of an alternative that can be implemented more easily, has resulted in a steady increase in stray dog numbers. Consequently, you have stray dog packs in every locality.
Similar reports have surfaced in other parts of the country as well, and the victim has always been a young child. These attacks should not be viewed as stray behaviour, they rather indicate pack mentality, which should come as no surprise as dogs come from the wolf family.
While I definitely support a more humane way of treating the stray dog menace, such as sterilizing and providing shelter in state/NGO run dog-homes, it is a well-known fact that with all our budget restraints matters such as providing shelters to stray dogs will always take last priority (This means it will never be implemented). In which case we are left with two choices, put the stray dogs to sleep or watch our children savagely attacked by packs. Between the two, despite all the legitimate cries of animal rights activists, I would prefer the former.

Budget 2007

The Finance Minister's budget speech is probably one of the biggest political events in the country. It is in many ways similar to the State of the Union address in the USA, as far the media hoopla involved goes. I have a long way to go in terms of understanding the terms that determine how good a budget is, such as fiscal consolidation, revenue buoyancy, gap funding. However, here's a brief list of some straightforward aspects of the budget:

• The threshold limit of tax exemption has been increased by Rs. 10000.
• Defence spending has been increased by around 7%.
• There's a reduction in duty on certain imported goods such as pet foods!!!! So if you were importing your dog's dinner, well it has gotten cheaper.
  
• IT companies are not very happy as the tax holiday that they currently enjoy and which expires in 2009, has not been extended.
• Nothing commendable on the infrastructure front, the Golden Quadrilateral is scheduled for completion by 2009.
• Nothing worth mentioning on the education front either.
• A few populist schemes have been announced such as "Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana", which provides death and disability insurance cover to rural landless households, through LIC. The government proposes to pay 50% of the premium. But as with many populist schemes that are announced every year, don't be surprised if it is not impemented to fruition.
  

Death on the Samjhauta

The Pakistanis killed in the terrorist attack on the Samjhauta Express were buried today near Panipat. The Hindu, referred to the Pakistanis as our brothers, and I couldn't agree more. The partition was one of the most traumatic experiences in the history of both countries. Traumatic, because the division of the country by the British, into Pakistan and India, uprooted families and friends.While a political line split a country, since we share a common history, I think it fair to call them our brothers.
Trivia: The train on which the bombs went off, was actually the Delhi-Attari Special and not the Samjhauta.The Samjhauta in reality runs only between Attari, on the Indian side, and Wagah(Pakistan), a meagre distance of 3 km. Passengers travelling between Delhi and Lahore board the Delhi-Attari special, and alight at Attari for customs and immigration. They then board the Samjhauta to take them to Wagah. After the formalities at Wagah, they board another train to Lahore. The Samjhauta returns to Attari the same day.

A blog's direction

While most of the posts here, have a common thread running through them, it was never intentional. This blog initially started out as just another place for me to express my thoughts, abstract as well as the converse. In the past few months however, this blog's message has attained a lot more clarity, it has steered itself towards a socio-political realm. Moving forward, this blog will focus on -

• Current affairs, and their ramifications, discernible and obscure
• Social issues
  
• Philosophy, related to society, governance

Abstract thoughts will make their way into the other blog I maintain.

Taking the easy route

I am guilty of optimism, probably over-optimism, as this article proved. It does keep me grounded to reality, that while certain figures look good on the blackboard, they may not convey the real picture. And the real picture is....

• The poor do not get justice, the Nithari killings just prove that point. And yes, most of the country carried on with their daily activities once the initial debate was over. The Nithari killings are just the tip of the iceberg, convicting the murderers does not solve the underlying problems with our judicial system. Every citizen of the country, rich or poor, has a right to justice. Do we provide it? No. Guilty!
• Our children's right to education. All the developed countries and a few developing countries, mandate free and compulsory education for their children for a minimum number of years(UK-12, China-9, Venezuela - 9, Germany -10, Sweden -9). Our constitution too had mandated compulsory education for every child up to the age of 14, which had to be achieved by 1960. But successive governments have failed to uphold their constitutional responsibilities, and coupled with poor population planning, securing this right for our children remains a distant dream. Around 50% of our country's children-of- schooling-age are out of school. Have we failed them? Yes. Guilty on second count!
• Poverty. 30% of our people live below the poverty line, as per the World Bank, that's every individual who earns less than a dollar a day. An offshoot, India has more undernourished children than Africa. Since Africa's plight gets more attention on global media and the failure of Indian media to highlight this statistic, it largely goes unnoticed. Is the rest of the country to blame? Yes. Guilty again!

The well-to-do remain mostly numbed when faced with the plights of the poor. Pictures of poverty, uncommon deaths are no longer new to us, and doesn't evince the sympathy it ideally should.We cannot ignore the plights of large sections of our populace, in our rush to view India as an increasingly successful nation. Those marginalised cannot and should not be marginalised further, as we plod ahead. A nation is not built by governments, armies or bureaucrats, the fabric of a nation is it's people, a people tightly woven together. It is our responsibility to alleviate the the conditions of the underprivileged, it is our responsibility to bring the lower sections of our society on par with the rest of the nation.

As much as we fail to realize it, each one of us is indebted to the nation, indebted to our countrymen/women, an exposition of which I shall reserve for my next blog.

The Indian Juggernaut

There is no stopping the country, nothing. After the plundering of our wealth by the West in the last two centuries, the subjugation of our peace-loving people(once thought of as barbaric by our illegitimate rulers), the atrocities committed upon us in the name of the empire..........it brings a smile to my face to see my countrymen making our presence known in the world. Be it the Tata acquisition of a British company, the Mittal steel empire, the software engineer developing applications for American corporations or the customer care representative handling Microsoft's support calls in Bangalore......the truth is clear, we will persist. India is poised to overtake UK's economy in a decade(article in The Independent) and possibly America' s in another 40 years.
It should be noted that India and China have dominated the world economy in the last 2000 years. Europe and America started controlling the world economy only in the last 300 years, credit going to Britain for pioneering the industrial revolution. But the shift of economic power back to India and China is bound to happen in the first half of this century itself.
These positive outcomes for India are not an excuse to cover up for it's corrupt bureaucracy nor it's debased politicians. This is a vindication of it's people, my people. It speaks of the spirit of it's common man, his ability to rise above his despair and move forward. We have a lot to achieve in terms of governing ourselves and it will take patience and sacrifice. But for now the juggernaut moves ahead slowly and steadily.

PS: It is not without reason that the word "Juggernaut" forms a part of this blog's title. This word found its way into the English language through India. It derives from "Jagganatha", an incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu. Further, from Wiki"..........One of the most famous of Indian temples is the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, which has the Ratha Yatra (chariot procession), an annual procession of chariots carrying the murtis/statues of Jagannâth (Lord Krishna), Subhadra and Baladeva (Krishna's elder brother). During the British colonial era, Christian missionaries promulgated a myth that Hindu devotees of Krishna were lunatic fanatics who threw themselves under the wheels of these chariots in order to attain salvation. Such a description can also be found in the popular fourteenth-century work "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville." The fact is that devotees have sometimes been crushed accidentally in the past as the massive 45 foot tall, multi-ton chariot slipped out of control. Many have also been killed in the resulting stampedes. The sight led the Britons to use the word "Juggernaut" to refer to other instances of unstoppable, crushing forces."

At the edge

A lone voice drifts through the woods......drum beats in the dark skies...........a black stallion paces restively in the valley below......an old lady among the tribes continues her chants.....the gentle breeze brings with it the smell of the earth....a clutter of leaves dance in a circle.......the mountains paint a picture of stubborn resolve against the backdrop of the night sky......

Pursuit of happiness

I saw this video of Dan Gilbert, who's a "social psychologist" and holds a job at Harvard as a professor in psychology. It explores happiness, rather "synthetic happiness" as he calls it, an investigation into how human beings can convince themselves of happiness even in seemingly dire situations. Watch it here.

The great source of both misery and disorders of human life seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another. Some of those situations may no doubt deserve to be prefered to others but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardor which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice, or to corrupt the future tranquility of our minds either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly or by remorse from the horror of our own injustice - Adam Smith

Justice

Two separate events bring focus to our country,

• The appointment of KG Balakrishnan as the new Chief justice, the first ever lower caste individual to hold the prestigious post. (I hate the term "dalit" as espoused in the media and likewise, it only serves to further divide us by giving a group of individuals a distinct name). Many people tell me that the mere appointment of a few SC/ST individuals to high government posts takes attention away from the ground realities, that the lower sections of society still continue to be marginalized, and that only when we are able to make a difference to them can we be righteously joyful. While they definitely have a point, we still have a long distance to travel in terms of social equality, but an appointment like this(considering the media attention it grabs) sends out a message to the population. A message that has the power to change the mindsets of people.
  
• The Noida killings, a case that gets more gruesome as the days proceed and more details are unravelled. As per a NDTV report this morning, the count of the mass murdering of children lies at 70. With a population of 1.1 billion it is hard for many to fathom the proportions of these grisly killings. Picture a loved one among these 70 and it will become more clear. I can't help but imagine the bestiality of the murderer(s) who has/have committed these crimes. Why? Why were these innocent children killed? Is it part of a bigger plot such as a kidney racket? If so, are we to hear similar cases in different parts of the country(Bhopal has 400 children missing on record today)? Or are these the actuations of a socio-pathic mass-murderer? Whatever be the case, the initial verdict in this case is clear, the police have failed us. These crimes were committed across 2 years, couldn't the police have noticed something sinister as the number of missing children began increasing? Which brings us to the question, were FIRs registered for all these missing children? The CBI has taken over the case, and I will only be too pleased to see the police be held answerable for their lapses. To all the families that have lost their children, I understand your pain and my sympathies reach out to you.
  

Proteus Burns......

The planet Proteus had hurtled aimlessly through space for a long time, never following an orbit, never conforming to a trajectory. The characteristic darkness of infinite black emptiness resounded within him. In a different part of the galaxy, a star called Atalante grieved in her loneliness, at events that seemed to change the course of her peaceful gratified existence.
It would come to pass that their paths would collide.

By the time wanderlust Proteus realized that he had been restricting his journeys to a certain part of the galaxy, he had already begun to gravitate towards Atalante. The galaxy would be witness to the anchoring of Proteus, an orbit hitherto unknown to him now created itself around the nova. Meanwhile Atalante, oblivious to the radical change in Proteus, accepted him and thereby entered a new stage in her ontogeny.

As time passed Atalante began to shine more bright, more beautiful, as Proteus gave her reason for existence. The light that she shone reached out into his depths and soon Proteus came of age and life emerged on him, the drifting planet now felt alive. Even though Atalante secretly feared for their insecure future in a volatile galaxy, the bonds that tied them together grew stronger and thus began an age of peace, hitherto unknown to Proteus. But while Proteus and Atalante smiled, the overlooking cosmos wasn't. Little did Proteus know that one day elements within him would be held against.

One cosmic summer, echelons of dark clouds began sweeping across Proteus and soon Atalante was obscured from his vision. The time that Atalante feared had arrived upon them, the galaxy had conspired against Proteus. A set of events were placed in motion that would change their paths for life. Atalante was forced to succumb to the greater powers of the galaxy that began to chart out a separate course for her. A blinded and benighted Proteus was left disoriented as he slowly began to feel Atalante's drift. Proteus tugged as mightily as his planetary mass would permit, but Atalante's weakness crippled him. Afraid to resist the reverential powers, Atalante began the journey dictated to her, bereft with grief, thereby making the final move in an intergalactic alliance.

Proteus, continued to hover, unable to fathom the consequences. The galaxy had done him wrong, his guiding star had been whisked away and he no longer had a raison d'etre. Besieged with rage, his terrain began to split in fiery eruptions, volcanoes spewing fire and ash into his anguished atmosphere. Oceans raged, lightning razed, which soon saw the termination of life on his surface. He glowed with the fires that swept across his plains vanquishing all that came in its path.

The cosmos watches as severed of all his bonds, a burning Proteus plunges back into the depths of darkness............