Gestures worth emulating...

A nation is known best by the people it chooses to remember. Unfortunately in India, we choose to remember the wrong sort of people, or rather, we choose to avoid remembering the most eligible type of people. You have memorials, grandiose and opulent, dedicated to the memories of politicians, who admittedly did a lot for the country, but frankly, could have done a lot more, but chose not to, owing to political considerations, considerations for which this nation has had to pay a rather heavy price.

So, who do I fancy? Well, for one, members of the armed forces. I mean, besides India Gate and a few small cenotaphs scattered here and there, we don't have a single monument dedicated to the brave soldiers who stay awake at nights just so that we may live to see another day. Have we forgotten these men and their trials and tribulations in our zeal to progress? Have we found it fit to turn our back on the past that they represent, not comprehending that in the process, we condemn the present that they have given us? I hope not, and yet I am circumspect.

Another category of forgotten heroes and heroines is sportsmen. When I think of sportsmen, I am NOT referring to cricket. Frankly, I have nothing against it, but in comparison, we have more dignified sports which we could take pride in excelling rather than cricket. That a nation of 1 billion people finds it a matter of great exultation in winning a single silver medal at the Olympics serves to illustrate the level to which we have permitted sheer commercial gilt to overshadow real sportsmanship. In contrast, nations like China, Russia, the U.S., and others (which, perhaps coincidentally, don't happen to be cricket playing nations) simply hog the medal tallies. Perhaps, we could do with taking a little attention away from cricket and its shenanigans, and focusing the same on other disciplines such as athletics, swimming, gymnastics, weight-lifting, etc.

However, this is impossible, at least while companies view cricket as the only source of getting some publicity for themselves. That is where Sabeer Bhatia, the creator of Hotmail, is creating a new trend. His firm, Arzoo.com, has committed itself to sponsoring Mary Thom, three-time world women's pugilist champion and currently resident of rural Manipur, to the tune of Rs. 3 lakh (approx $6,800) for an extendable period of one year. The sum may seem peanuts, but considering the state of affairs in conventional Indian sports organizations, it would go a long way in ensuring that Thom can give competitive sports one more chance.

Another major development along the same lines is the decision of the Tatas to associate themselves with the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy as a financial partner that would cover all the infrastructure related expenditure of the Academy. This support is expected to help the Academy to revive all its major initiatives, including conducting tournaments and sending its wards for training abroad. Link to The Hindu's article. Thanks are due to Aditya for discussing this point.

It would be worthwhile to see whether Mr.Bhatia's and the Tatas' gesture is acknowledged and maybe even emulated by other corporates. The State may have failed to perform its duty in this regard towards society; let us see where the private sector stands in this arena.

This is not the time to turn back....

Terror has no name, no face, no religion, no creed, no commune, and no emotions. Those who are wont to inspire such horror in their fellow beings have no humanity, no civility, and no sense of propriety. Their mission is disadvantaged by their affiliation. Their fellows from their communes and religions are maligned because of their cowardice. And innocent blood lies on their heads, preventing them entry into the heavens, if there be something such as so.

The blasts on the Samjhauta Express on Monday are the most dastardly and horrendous of crimes that a people can have committed on them. When, despite all odds, they have resolved to forgo their differences, and come together to forge a new future, that such cowards should so try to delay and destroy the path to a peace that this subcontinent sorely needs is nothing short of a horror.

But this is not the time to sit in grief, to just mourn the dead with tears and floral tributes. This is the time to show the terrorists that we are not on this road to move back. That this is not a journey that we have undertaken just to give up when faced with a few boulders. That we will not be defeated by their tactics of hate, that we want to live a new day, a day of peace, a day of happiness. It is a moment to show that innocence has no nationality, that grief binds us even stronger than before, and that this grief, which they have wrought upon us, will see us through this and all other assaults that they may shower upon us.

Those who have conspired to such a horrendous act do not deserve even the most basic of human prerogatives, for by this act, they have abnegated their humanity. Only by punishing the guilty with the highest penalty that the law provides for, can we hope to lay the souls of the departed truly at rest.

The Korean Affair....

Finally North Korea has given up the ghost. I mean, a nation can be pushed to the limit only for so long as it can be pushed. The day it realizes that it is reaching the end of its tether, it is wise to cede victory for that day, conserve one's energies, and maybe live another life.

And in this case, it will be a much better life for sure, as in its winter of discontent, North Koreans have suffered immensely, either through the belligerence of its leadership or through the apathy of the world. Maybe I am being harsh on the world, but then I never quite understood the rationale behind imposing economic sanctions and near-total blockades on nations, supposedly to cause tyrants to back down. That really never works that way, does it? I mean, if it were true, then Saddam would have capitulated long before now, and we wouldn't be seeing Iraq in such a mess. In the end, the tyrant always manages to find the loopholes and emerges unscathed, but the common folk are the ones worst affected by these sanctions, and maybe even become more fanatical in their devotion to their 'Leader'.

The important fact is that in this withdrawal, North Korea perhaps has emerged as the biggest winner as more than anyone else, it will be benefited by the peace in the Korean Peninsula. The assurance that its right to the peaceful usage of nuclear energy would be respected, as also that the U.S. would endeavor to normalize relations with North Korea, as also that North Korea would be eligible for vital economic aid, as also major infrastructure assistance, goes a long way in showing why the North Koreans must have chosen to act the way they have acted so far. After all, it is better to have lost the struggle on one's own terms than to have won the battle on someone else's.

And perhaps this has even larger ramifications when it comes to global politics, larger than the Koreas. The U.S. could perhaps seek to learn on how to deal with its problems in a similar manner, in a calm and composed way, led by conversing with the parties concerned, and arriving at a mutually beneficial consensus. The best example of where such an approach could work wonders would be in Iran, where the U.S. is keen to get the ruling government to desist from continuing its nuclear weapons program. Although I am not in any way saying that the U.S. is perhaps justified in stopping others from acquiring nuclear weapons whilst keeping stocks of its own, the rationale behind the mission should be comprehended.

Russia, in its own way, is pushing Iran towards complying with international law. Russia, at last count, was a major supplier of arms and ammunition to Iran; it is investing in key infrastructure areas, and is assisting Iran in improving its domestic facilities. Any decision by Moscow to pull out over Iran's belligerence would be viewed more seriously by the Iranians than all the huffing and puffing from Washington D.C.

So, can we expect some change in the Bushes? I sure do hope so.

Strike while the iron is still hot...

For a nation that holds the separation of powers as sacred, supposedly to ensure the impartiality in making decisions, the continued insistence of political control over the police and other law and order machinery is perplexing. I mean, one can imagine it being justified if this were a gun-happy state where coups were as commonplace as the sun rising in the east, and hence it becomes necessary to maintain such a strong agency under the purview of the Executive.

But the Executive in India has a rather poor record of maintaining impartiality, especially when it comes to law and order. The handling of the many riots and conflicts that are so wont to happen in Indian civil society by the law and order machinery and implicitly by the political class leaves much to be desired. It is a given fact that the police are hampered in effectively doing their duties by the overreaching political atmosphere, wherein ministers are reluctant to prosecute offenders on the basis of the offender's communal identity or otherwise. Honest officers, the joke goes, can at best hope to retire alive, whereas a dishonest officer can, at most, fear for getting caught.
In such an environment, the fear of the law is bound to be absent, as the public will take it for granted that whilst the police are under the control of politicos, they are condemned to being incompetent and incapable of meting out justice. And this is where the recommendations of the Police Reforms Commission assumes particular importance.

The Commission has recommended that the police machinery be delinked from the Executive, and the police be granted functional autonomy to the highest degree possible. It has also recommended that there be a central agency, a sort of nodal body, which coordinates investigations being conducted across various state jurisdictions. And most importantly, it has urged for a speedy look at the pitiful living conditions of the police officers, who are expected to make a honest life whilst being giving a pittance. While it is true that being in the police means fulfilling an onerous social responsibility that being of being dedicated to the service of the people, it shouldn't mean that one be completely altruistic.

The political class, and to some extent even the bureaucracy, have characteristically objected on several trivial and technical points, bordering on regional autonomy and such. What rot! I mean, regional aspirations must always be subservient to the interests of the nation. And we aren't looting the states for God's sake; one is only suggesting a nodal body, which would facilitate their own functioning! Opponents of the reform scheme also oppose it, saying that by removing or even diluting Executive control over the police machinery, its accountability to the public would be reduced. I fail to see where it is accountable today. At most, it is accountable to the Executive, which may be accountable to the Legislature, which becomes accountable only every five years or during elections, and not otherwise.

The accountability issue could be resolved by setting up a State Police Commission, and district tribunals, which could entertain complaints made by citizens against police officers. The tribunals could investigate the matter independent of political considerations, and in turn, make the police truly responsive to the needs of the people, unlike now, when they have to dance to the tunes of elected representatives, who may not really represent the true face of the people.

The main grudge that the opponents of the proposals have against them is that they would ensure that they, the politicos, lose their hold over the police by way of the power to decide on transfers, postings and promotions. A suggested mandatory minimum tenure clause also puts paid to their plans, as it makes it impossible for them to shunt out inconvenient officers within two-three months of their being posted someplace.

True, law and order is a State subject as per the Constitution of India. But surely our founding fathers were such hopeless optimists, that they never thought that their successors would so wreck the system to the disadvantage of the nation as such. The Constitution must not be viewed as a static document; it is a living organ of the State, and should be treated as such. Its tenets need to be evaluated as per the process of time, and any redundancies treated in the best possible manner.

If this opportunity to wash away the Aegean Stables of the police machinery throughout the country is lost, I fear it would be a long time before we should ever get it again. A rotting machinery may just collapse, and God forbid such a day!

The Modern Thinking Indian (blog-link)

"Black" mail...

I often find the gullibility of my colleagues and friends to be amusing, and yet at times, alarming. Because, like every other thing, there are two sides to the matter.

Hoaxes and rumors feed on our gullibility, on our desire to believe in them, either for want of something worthwhile to do, or because they really seem to affect us in a manner we would rather they not, or they are plain fantastic. Not a single day passes without me getting some mail exhorting people to keep the chain going, else bad luck fall on them, or some mail about some really fantastic new thing or happening. I don't really mind the latter type, I really don't. I get a laugh once in a while, thanks to that category of forwards. (Although I do wish people wouldn't send so many of them. I can't laugh that much, can I?)

The former category, the blackmail variety, is something which I find to be the most irritating and offensive of mails. I mean, you want me to forward the mail to as many people as possible, fine, say so! What is the meaning of relating to me the story of this lady who didn't maintain the flow of the chain and lost her boyfriend as a result? Or of the man who lost his entire family because he ignored the call of the mail? Heck, if this were true, there are so many mails that I haven't forwarded, that I should be virtually drowning in a sea of misfortune. And yet I am not, am I? Not that I wish to be seen to tempt the Fates, but I do think they are being insulted here.

If there is something that people fear more than body odor, it is bad luck. You may be a rational man to the world, wedded to Reason, but when a black cat crosses your path, you will be sure to take seven steps backwards and then alone move onwards. People still have the habit of having some or the other good-luck charm with them; they have lucky pens, shirts, even underwear (Don't look at me, I don't care which underwear I am wearing, so long as it's clean!)! The point being, even in this age, we fear nothing as much as the wrath of misfortune, and especially when it concerns our near and dear ones.
And when I get such mails, trying to capitalize on fears, I am offended. I mean, does my friend think I am as big an idiot as he/she is? You feel that by sending a few bytes of data here and there, you can avoid something? Hell no! If it's going to happen, even if you send a million mails per day, it ain't gonna change, baby!

So, don't send me any mail that borders on such shameless blackmail! I don't want your senseless junk clogging my accounts!

Looking within...

When a society gives in to wanton pressure from a fringe group, and denies itself the right to introspect on the more horrific incidents of its past, it stands the risk of repeating them again. The right to introspect, the right to know and to realize the horrors of the past, is perhaps one of the most fundamental rights and duties of a civilized society, and that which should perhaps be defended to the best of its capacity.

An integral part of this right is the right to evaluate events in the past in the media, both print and celluloid. The celluloid media is perhaps the most effective one of the two, because of the immediate nature of its impact on the minds of viewers. The print media still remains a tad limited by its insistence that you be literate enough to comprehend the language of the presentation, a problem that celluloid rarely faces, as it is more in the lingua populi.
Over time, Indian cinema has evolved from a purely entertainment outlet to a combination of education and entertainment. While the latter genre is still woefully inadequate, and unlike Hollywood, indie films are still a rarity here, the situation is improving for the better, at the least. Films are being made on social topics, on topics that serve more to awaken the people, to make them aware of issues facing the nation etc. This isn't a new phenomenon; only, the habit had been discarded in between.

We have had films like Amu (on the 1984 Sikh massacres) and Black Friday (on the 1993 Mumbai blasts), which have attempted to investigate all angles of the issue concerned, and present a very disinterested view of the whole matter, a thing which is helpful as it encourages people to make their own conclusions. There will be elements within society who would rather not have so unprejudiced a viewpoint in the open, for it exposes their duplicity, their crazed intentions. They will threaten to destroy all those avenues that a honest film-maker may want to take to showcase his work, to showcase the truth.
And will we stand silent while truth is being so murdered? Will we watch while our society is being denied her chance to improve herself for the better by some worthless delinquents? I pray not, and yet I fear that is what is so very expedient for most of us. Time and again, what could have been an eye-opener was itself snuffed out, leaving us blinded to our faults, rendering us incapable of avoiding repeating the same mistakes again and again.

Parzania is possibly one such eye-opener, something that Indian civil society sorely needs. In the end, in the quarrels of creed, of race, and of community, the identity of the dead is not determined by his creed, race or community; the victim is sans identity; he is merely a victim of a devilish frenzy. We need to acknowledge this once and for all, and stop this maniacal charade of communalism, of parading one's religion as superior by denigrating the others. Don't those who indulge in the denigration of others realize that by pushing others in the mud, they aren't lifted to the skies; they stay where they were.
Let the State Government of Gujarat offer security and credible security to all those who are fearful for the safety of their theaters, should they display Parzania. Let it show for once that it is capable of upholding the rule of law. Let it show its resolve to combat the demon of Time by its horns, and help society to improve itself for the better.

Happy tidings...

Today seems to be a very nice day. I mean, not everyday does a nation suddenly receive such an infusion of confidence, such a recognition of its innate skills and capabilities, and such appreciation of the reforms that it has undertaken for the benefit of its people. Sure, the process has been long and arduous; sure, the road is still a long way away from the end, but the journey is made more worthwhile if the traveler knows that his efforts to undertake the journey will be, in the end, applauded, or at least credited to his name.

India started out her journey of economics on a slightly shaky foot, but the world was patient with her teething troubles. After all, it isn't always easy to emerge unscathed from nearly two centuries of subjugation. Statistics show that when the British came in India in 1600, India controlled 27% of global trade, but in 1947, she controlled barely 3%. The 1970's were disastrous, what with their focus on unbridled socialism and the license-system choking what little fluidity the economy possessed. For nearly 20 years, India bore the brunt of misplaced idealism, until the early 1990's when the deficit became too large to bear, and drastic steps needed to be taken.

To be fair, the Rajiv Gandhi government did start the process of economic liberalization, but there wasn't the same urgency which existed in 1990. So, in a flash, 20 years of hegemonic State control over every aspect of civic, industrial, and commercial activity were swept aside, and a new regime began its course. Fifteen years later, we see a new India, maybe not that developed, but definitely an improvement. The road is being traversed, slowly, but steadily, and in a definite direction.

And so, the upgradation of India's sovereign rating to investment grade by Standard & Poor is a major display of confidence of India's ability to sustain her pace of growth, and of her resolve to better the lot of her people. Now, Indian companies can grow better and more effectively, and conversely help the overall Indian economy to sustain, if not exceed, its current pattern.

The second piece of good news is the acclamation by the governmental regulator in the UK of Tata Steel's superior bid for the steel major Corus over it's rival, CSN's bid. Of course, this, per se, has nothing to do with showing confidence in India, because the sole considerations for evaluating the bids were monetary, not ideological. But it goes a long way to show that India Inc. has achieved in a big way the ability to challenge global giants, and actually attempt to swallow them up whole.

I don't count Mittal's takeover of Arcelor as an achievement for India Inc., because Mittal Steel was never based in India, as in it was neither headquartered in India nor had any operations here. So, Tata Steel's gambit is a truly Indian maneuver. Sure, we have had plenty of major takeovers by Indian firms, e.g. Tetley by Tata Tea, Daewoo Motors' truck division by Tata Motors, and others. But this is perhaps the first time in history that a company ranked as 56th in its industry actually dared to and succeeded in acquiring control over another company ranked at no. 9. And that the Tatas did it, adds more sparkle to the celebration.

What can I say, but 'Viva L'Inde'!