Reservation woes...

The Supreme Court has asked the Union Government to put on hold its ambitious and controversial program to increase affirmative action quotas in educational institutions. These quotas increases are mainly aimed at the Other Backward Castes section of Indian society, a section that slipped into the ambit of affirmative action after the Mandal Commission's report being implemented in 1990 by the then incumbent V.P. Singh Government. These communes were then deemed eligible for affirmative action benefits by virtue of them being socially and economically backward, as also because doing so would have been in conformity with the Directive Principles of State Policy. The percentage of seats which would be reserved for members of these communes has been fixed at 27 percent of the total, in keeping with their numeric strength as per the 1931 census.

And that is where the entire policy fell foul of the court. That a policy should be formulated keeping as its basis a census conducted more than 70 years prior has baffled the court, and not without reason. Does the Government wish to insinuate that the quantum of the population belonging to these communes has remained frozen at the same level for over a century? While it is very much possible that the communes might now comprise a reduced percentage of the total populace, and this prospect would be most attractive to those opposing these reservations, it is equally likely that they might now constitute a higher percentage.

This brings us to the main point of this blog. I have always maintained that affirmative action on the basis of commune or creed is largely self-defeating as it rarely if ever addresses the real issues, and risks being monopolized by the more affluent sections of the communes/creeds in question. The standard mode of implementation followed by the Indian state also doesn't allow for much reform on a continuous basis, something that is imperative for an affirmative action program to be deemed to be truly responsive to the needs of the communes whose troubles it wishes to alleviate.

The haste by which the Government was attempting to push this piece of legislation and its inability to answer queries on why the 1931 census and not the more recent 2001, or for that matter, even the 1991 census (in case the 2001 census' computations should still be ongoing) was employed to determine the exact percentage of seats to be reserved under the program proposed somehow suggests that the State was trying to subvert the process of natural justice in its pursuit to be seen as socially aware.

I don't wish to support such a view. The State was being its usual self: plain old incompetent. I mean, it's a cardinal rule that you base your calculations on the most recent data, data which would, logically, be the most accurate approximation to the current situation. Then how could the State mess up so badly?

This blog has always stated its support for affirmative action based on economic considerations. While economics alone cannot be deemed to be enough, by that record, even a communal identity should also not be enough. The case for economics as 'one' of the parameters, and perhaps this being already a part of the system by way of the 'creamy layer' proviso, is strengthened by the fact that while it is accepted that the designated communes do suffer from a systemic bias against them, once a member becomes sufficiently emancipated by way of his financial and social status, the member shouldn't then be able to claim the benefits of affirmative action. Should such a member's offspring, by some quirk of fate, again fall short of the emancipation definition, then the same would become eligible, but not if the same continues on the same level as the parent.

The problem doesn't lie so much with the intention behind the approach, as in the manner in which the issue is sought to be resolved. This is not an issue which can be resolved overnight; reservations or affirmative action cannot be seen as the panacea for the issue. At best, it is one manner of reaching the goal, but it needs to be supplemented with more concrete measures to remove or reduce the institutionalized biases which make coercive measures such as the one proposed by the Government necessary and required. Till such time, reservations are at best a piecemeal alternative, incapable of satiating the hunger of the designated classes for emancipation.

Be not silent now...

We claim the privilege of calling ourselves 'civilized', of being 'mature' individuals, of having the capability to reason between right and wrong. This claim is echoed even more so by those who blog, and I would like to believe that bloggers inherently are people who are more mature than the rest.

That is why the death threats issued to Ms. Kathy Sierra, a prominent blogger and technology writer, are distressing. The very act of abusing someone, to demean someone's identity, and to degrade his/her person is the worst that can be inflicted on an individual, and is worthy of nothing short of the highest penalty available to a civil society. Irrespective of the victim's gender, the act is as serious as things get, and becomes even more so when the abuse starts bordering on actually threatening to injure, maim or even kill the victim.

Ms. Sierra has understandably been shocked and shaken by this, especially since these threats were issued over public forums and on blogs which feature or are supported by some of the most respected names in the sphere of blogging. To be so betrayed by one's comrades is the highest grief that one can bear. Ms. Sierra writes that she is scared to move out of her house; she fears every moment that someone would come and perhaps try to kill her. A threat, a verbal threat possesses within it the capability of reducing a previously confident and assertive person to a wrecked and scared shell and that is deplorable, if anything.

Those who have made these statements might be apprehended eventually, and suitably punished, but the damage has been done to the psyche of a person whose only offense had been to express her opinions in a frank manner, being true to her heart and to reason. And this damage is not just limited to Ms. Sierra but transcends to all those who affirm by her creed of writing true to one's convictions and beliefs. Law enforcement agencies can do the most of apprehending a criminal once a crime has been committed, but that such a crime can occur is an abominable thought.

The person(s) who have issued the threats may have intended them to be read as criticism of Ms. Sierra's works. Perhaps. But no criticism warrants such use of language. No freedom is unrestricted. Even the most paramount freedom, that of expression, which is so very sacred to all bloggers, is not unrestricted in its sweep. One may express, but keeping in mind that such expressions not go to harm the society in which one lives, or to any specific individual without due and justifiable cause or reason (due and justifiable cause could be like criticizing Bush for the Iraq war etcetera) as also that one may never advocate the use of violence against an innocent soul in sheer spite.

Bloggers chafe at being asked to conform to a code of ethics, stating that such a code could restrict their expressiveness. I fear that if such expressions are needed and protected by the right to express, that blogging as a culture is doomed to be relegated to the sidelines. We need to comprehend the fact that bloggers have a responsibility to society akin to that borne by the writers and philosophers of yore. Their behaviour reflects even more starkly on the societies that they live in, and influences even more so the people in such societies. Their attitudes, their biases, and their prejudices can go a long way in determining how a society views a particular issue.

And so such unreasonable and intolerable behaviour needs to be condemned for what it is: sheer barbarity. I fear that if such comments and such threats are permitted to go unchecked, tomorrow bloggers would fear to express themselves even when they are in the right, merely because they could become potential targets for such deranged delinquents. The blogsphere cannot afford to be silent now; it has to be vocal, for if not now then when?

Ms. Sierra's blog

The clamour after the debacle....

Cricket. The love of the nation. The craze of the people. And to quote Marx (although I doubt he would have approved) opium of the masses. If there's one sport that every Indian child, at least every boy, is expected to know something of, that is cricket. He should know the difference between off-side and on-side, between balling round-the-wicket and balling over-the-wicket, the finer techniques of the game in short.

When India is playing, it is as if productivity MUST decrease, people MUST cease work and watch or listen to the match. With every time the ball is hit across the field boundary by an Indian batsman, the hearts of the onlookers/listeners leap up in joy. Every time an Indian wicket falls, they suffer a mini-stroke. And every time India wins a match, fireworks light up the skies as if it were Diwali that day.

In such a torrent of emotion, how can one expect one to be reasonable in the face of defeat? Mind you, it isn't that India never loses; after all, it too is a human team, not an outfit made of supermen. The only difference is while the others just lose and are seen to have just lost, India loses and is seen to have capitulated. The finer points of the English language are needed here to understand the difference. To have lost is to have tried hard and yet failed, but to have capitulated is to have never tried at all. An insinuation of a most serious nature, if you ask me.

India has exited the World Cup. We lost against Bangladesh, a team considered to be minnows, in a manner described by many as 'shameful'. Our victory against Bermuda was emphatic, but experts opined, "What's the use of performing now against an infant? Where was this spirit when it was needed?" And then we lost against Sri Lanka.

I saw neither match, so I don't know whether the Indian team played with the zeal to win, or was resigned to its loss, but in my heart, I find it hard to believe that any person or group of persons could ever actually WANT to lose. I mean, the way people are burning effigies of the players, the coach, and the BCCI authorities, one would think that these blokes actually had decided before going to the West Indies that they were going to lose these matches and come back empty-handed.

People have called this a shameful performance. I fail to see how India's performance at the World Cup is any different from its performance at the Olympics. Barely 16 countries play at the Cricket World Cup, so having won it doesn't signify anything great. In comparison, 202 countries participate at the Olympics. Nations barely one hundredth the size of India get more medals and accolades than we can muster.

And that is, in my opinion, more 'shameful', if one is to associate that with something, than this. If anything, we should realize that at this juncture, we are just showing that we are simply not good at any sport. If our sports administrators have any brains in their skulls, they would start introspecting about how we can improve on our chances the next time we enter into such competitive meets.

To our players: You have done a good job at what you could have done. That you lost implies that there is more that can be done. Learn from your mistakes and improve the next time, for there always is another chance. It may not be comparable, but a chance is a chance.

To the audience, the fans: To rephrase the Olympic creed, "the most important thing is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

So, learn from this debacle, if one may term it so, and avoid the mistakes that you have made now.

India In The Blues

An ode to blogging...

Blogging, for me, after 130 posts, has become more of a therapeutic device than just a means for expressing myself. I am a fiercely opinionated person, given to thinking and reminiscing about issues in a manner as if they were affecting me directly.

Before I blogged, the only outlet for my opinions would be either casual conversations with family and friends, or maybe the occasional debate or public speaking competitions. The problem with the former was that not all issues could be discussed, considering that people may or may be enthused about issues which I felt passionate about. The latter was maybe even worse. I had no freedom about what to speak most of the time, as the topics for the competition were pre-determined, and all one wished to hear was your take on the topic.

I found this to be constrictive. I mean, there were so many things I wanted to talk about, but could not, for the lack of opportunity to do so, or rather because of the lack of an appropriate forum.

And then, I must thank Sunil for his advice. I know this bloke for the last 18 years of my 22 years, and somewhere down the line, this companionship has made us think somewhat alike on most issues. Sunil was perhaps the first among my batch mates who started blogging. There may have been someone else, but then Sunil was the first I knew of.

And from there started this journey; this voyage of expressions, of reactions, of counter-reactions, and so on. I have come to realize that the simple act of blogging has made me more expressive, more vocal and perhaps is working to making me more open about my emotions. I don’t need to drown my feelings in the depths of my heart anymore for want of some place to speak them out; I have my blog now.

The journey is still a long way from over; it has barely started. Over time, I have been joined by many friends in this blogsphere, and needless to say, good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. There are many more subjects to be written about, many more issues to be raised and many more fonts of knowledge to be unearthed for all to see. This blog has just become a little more mature; a transition akin to that of an infant to a toddler. Let us see whether this road takes us.

Words of the Wise...

“To have joy, one must share it. Happiness was born a twin.” - Lord Byron

“We cannot control the evil tongues of others; but a good life enables us to disregard them.” - Cato the Elder

“It is no profit to have learned well, if you neglect to do well.” - Publilius Syrus

“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that works.” - John Gaule

“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.” - G.K. Chesterton

“After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been removed.” - De La Lastra’s Law

“Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.” - Mickey Spillane

“The doors of heaven and hell are adjacent and identical.” - Nikos Kazantzakis

Rocking the boat....

The bureaucracy strikes again! I mean, do these people revel in making such inane decisions or is it just their innate incompetence peeking through the just-working superstructure of the system? Time and again, they have never failed to amaze onlookers with their ‘wisdom’ and their sheer ‘sanguinity’ about how things could be better if we just leave things to them.

The Election Commission of India, one of the most respected institutions in today’s turbulent times and more so because it has remained as a sole guardian of reason in the cesspool that is India’s bureaucracy. Its impartial and exemplary work in the area of conducting free and fair elections sans mishaps and misdemeanours has been appreciated all around, not only in India but also abroad. Its reluctance to tolerate the whims and fancies of blundering politicians has earned it the respect of the electorate.

And that is why the decision by the Commission to order the removal of all advertisements in the state of Uttar Pradesh pertaining to the polio immunization drives featuring Amitabh Bachchan is puzzling. The drive is part of a government initiative to reduce the occurrence of polio, and has been amongst the few successful initiatives coming out of the establishment’s stable. And the sole reason why these advertisements are on the radar are because Mr. Bachchan has often expressed support for the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state.

I find it an implausible notion that an advertisement for polio immunization should ever be construed as an appeal for votes. I mean, the drive isn’t a state government initiative; it’s governed by the central and the state government together. And Mr. Bachchan isn’t just any model; he’s an officially accredited UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. By the EC’s logic, then I don’t think that any advertisements issued by any State or Central Government ministry should pass the EC’s barrier. Let’s make it a level playing field, while we are at it, shall we?

Meanwhile, the move is being seen as one that could become a major blow to the campaign per se. While the EC is happy to allow the campaign itself to continue and just wants the endorsing celebrity to be changed, it is hard to imagine what impact any other celebrity would have in comparison to Mr. Bachchan. A study by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry in collaboration with UNICEF had identified Uttar Pradesh as the epicentre of polio occurrences. The study found that 73.6 per cent guardians with children under the age of five in lower socio-economic categories could recall the television advertisement featuring Bachchan. The study also determined that the campaign had a positive impact. The percentage of “caregivers” who reported taking their children to polio booths was higher among those who were exposed to the TV campaign (73 per cent) than those had not seen it (55 per cent). At this juncture, to replace Mr. Bachchan with any other celebrity would not have the same impact as desirable. And we cannot afford slackening on this assault against polio.

While I don’t support canvassing for parties at the public exchequer’s cost, this hardly qualifies as the same. It should be noted that this campaign associates Mr. Bachchan with the polio campaign. Targeting Mr. Bachchan per se smacks of stupidity. Rather, the EC would do well to target those specific advertisements wherein some political figure is also mentioned. The campaign needs Mr. Bachchan; let’s not disturb the waters now!

Are we playing dice with the economy....?

Politics and wise economics are never quite the same. Please note, I am not saying that politicians don’t look at practical solutions; just that they rarely if ever look at the right solution. And as and when they do happen to get hold of such a solution, they manage to make a mess of things by their opportunism and their sheer incompetence. I mean, why is it so difficult to convince people about the practical benefits of a scheme when it is so ‘easy’ to persuade them of the efficacy of one’s political outfit and how it is better than the opposition?

The S.E.Z. (Special Economic Zone) issue is raging now, and politics is overshadowing economics again, although I am sceptical about whether one can truly call it a wise economic decision in the first place. I happened to read Nitin Desai’s article on whether the zones per se were a good idea, and I feel everyone should at least go through the piece, if not to understand the whole gamut of the SEZ issue, but just to understand why there is so much opposition to the scheme.

What may be touted by politicians to be beneficial to the people is rarely ever so; they aren’t where they are to serve the people; they have many more benefactors whose benedictions they have to repay, and in the short period that their tenure lasts, it is all the more the urgent that they do something substantial. Nitin makes a fine point when he makes a distinction between a business-friendly government and a market-friendly government as that between a hegemonic gatekeeper and a benign, albeit powerful, guardian. The Indian State, and its bureaucratic institutions love the role of a despotic tyrant when it comes to imposing rules and regulations on industry, and cannot be expected to be amenable to a role wherein their role would require them to be sympathetic towards everyone sine prejudice.

I never quite understood the idea as to why the zones are focussing mainly on export-related production alone. I mean, if you want to promote exports alone, why not improve the general infrastructure? It would also promote domestic growth, and in turn your capability to export also would be augmented.

I believe PC, our dear ‘beloved’ Finance Minister, is not that enthusiastic about the whole affair, considering that his Ministry will bear the biggest brunt of the concessions that are expected to be rolled out to those investing in creating such zones. Tax concessions and the expected reductions in domestic tariffs once industries shift to these zones are expected to set back revenue collections by a mind-boggling 1,75,000 crores or Rs. 1.75 trillion, and this is simply not an affordable scenario, not while our fiscal deficit is still at a worrying level.

The debate over the zones has mainly emerged over land-acquisition issues and the matter of inadequate compensation being given to land-holders. The Indian State is notorious for its high-handed and absolutely deplorable approach in similar situations, and needless to say, they have done no better in this case as well. That the so-called proletariat government of West Bengal indulged in the act perhaps illustrates that nothing is sacrosanct in politics.

Nitin has made a very valid point when he states that the absolute carte blanche that the State is wont to give to the SEZ developers is absolutely deplorable. Where the State, the protector of the weak, has failed in its duties, it is futile to expect the SEZ developers to be concerned about the rights of landholders, and yet there are cases, very heartening ones at that, wherein developers have made the landholders as stakeholders in the project, and have ensured jobs and means of livelihood for the displaced people.

Nitin says, and I quote, “If the policy regimes that are to apply to the SEZs are a good idea, they should be made applicable throughout.” That they are not suggests that we aren’t sure of whether the scheme will work, i.e. we are experimenting with the notion. The point remains as to whether this is an experiment we can afford doing.

Double standards...

Today marks the 39th anniversary of an incident that perhaps changed the course of the Vietnam War, and firmly established the duplicity that has come to characterize the American stand toward many issues, terrorism included.

The My Lai massacre, committed on March 16, 1968 by U.S. soldiers on hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, remains to date a shameful blot on the U.S.'s claim to being a nation founded on liberty and freedom. U.S. soldiers had killed more than 300 Vietnamese, which comprised mainly of aged people, women and children, purportedly in a search operation aiming at rooting out Vietcong guerrillas and their supporters.

The search operation found no insurgents in the village. On questioning the villagers present there, the U.S. soldiers found them either pleading ignorance, or showing reluctance to provide any information, a logical stance, considering that the U.S. weren't exactly very popular at this stage in the war. Fearing, or so they claim, that these villagers were in truth Vietcong supporters, the U.S. soldiers herded them into ditches and mercilessly executed them with automatic firearms. The commanding officer, at the height of this killing frenzy, even expressed the desire to throw hand grenades into trenches harbouring villagers.

From an account gathered by the Peers Inquiry from one of the participants who described using a baby for target practice during the massacre:

He fired at it with a .45. He missed. We all laughed. He got up three or four feet closer and missed again. We laughed. Then he got up right on top and plugged him.

Convinced beyond doubt that any and all villagers of My Lai were a threat, the soldiers decimated the entire village, killing innocents in the age group of one to eight-five. If a one-year old can be a threat to the U.S., God save them!

The military then shamelessly attempted to camouflage the carnage as a military victory with the death of over 100 'enemies'. Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and then investigating officer, simply white-washed all allegations of brutality on the part of the U.S. and the South Vietnamese forces towards innocent civilians. It was only when returning soldiers echoed stories of such horror in the U.S. to the media that the incident was brought to light, and the offenders prosecuted.

The Americans did not find it a tad difficult to execute leading military personnel of Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany for having issued the orders to commit crimes against innocent people. But when it came to punishing Americans guilty of the same crimes, the U.S. showed a strange reluctance. Of the 26 men charged with the crime, only one, the commanding officer, would be convicted, and he too would serve barely 4 years in prison before being pardoned, purportedly because an officer cannot be prosecuted for following orders.

Whatever may have been the justification for the Vietnam War, the conduct of the U.S. soldiers sorely fell foul of the principles of jus in bello. The acts of war should have been directed against those who have wronged the U.S., and not towards innocents caught in situations not of their making.

That the My Lai massacre was barbaric goes without saying. Comparing this with the Holocaust would be presumptuous, and yet the sheer abandon of reason is the same, whether it was by the Nazis or by the Americans. My Lai would strengthen the anti-war movement in the United States, and eventually, after 7 years, the U.S. would withdraw, in what would be the only military defeat they had suffered till then.

The Americans choose to depict the Nazis and the Japanese as the ultimate symbols of evil. But I wish to state that for their reluctance to prosecute, for their desire to subvert justice under the garb of command responsibility, they have done the world greater wrong than the twain could ever have done. Those who claim a moral high ground are obliged to maintain those heights. Even Caesar's wife must be above suspicion, for Caesar to be venerated.

The Ides of March...

The day would seem as ordinary as any other. And perhaps not without reason. For no great event has taken place so far today. And yet, history has been witness to two of the most important events in the annals of mankind, events which occurred on this very day, the Ides of March.

44 BC. The Roman Republic is hobbling back to normalcy. Julius Caesar, the greatest general to have lived so far, had emerged victorious in a civil war that had threatened to bleed the Republic. The land was finally enjoying peace after troublesome years of strife and bloodshed. Caesar was being seen as just the leader that the Republic had needed, although he would associate with himself the title of Dictator for life, certainly not a republican nomenclature.
And then would be struck the blow of betrayal. When men whom Caesar had trusted stabbed him, purportedly to save the Republic from his machinations, from his designs to re-establish a monarchy with him at the helm. They feared him, because he was popular, because he was a powerful general, beloved by the military, a member of the aristocracy, but most of all, because he was ambitious.
And ironically, the blow to save the Republic would wound not just Caesar, but also the Republic the most. Caesar's death and the consequent civil wars, first between the forces of the assassins and those of Octavian and Mark Anthony, and then between Octavian and Anthony, would render the Republic redundant. Never again would the Senate emerge as powerful as it was during Caesar's lifetime. Octavian would become the first Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar. The Republic was dead, long live the Empire!

Nearer to our times, in 1917, another man abdicated from his throne, a king forced to renounce his kingship, because his majesty was no longer acknowledged by his people. He bore the name of Caesar; only in his tongue it was called Tsar. His abdication would cause civil war in Russia, war that would parallel the First World War, and eventually result in his and his family's assassination at the hands of Bolsheviks.

This abdication effectively sealed the fate of the Russian Empire, as the world had known it then, but heralded the dawn of a new force: Communism and the Soviet Republic. A force that would define the way we see our world for the remnant of the 20th century and beyond.

One man was killed to prevent a republic from becoming a monarchy, but in vain, for the process had already begun. Another abdicated to prevent a monarchy from becoming a republic, which again was something predestined. Two men, Gaius Julius Caesar and Tsar Nicholas II, separated by ages and yet the twain joined by a date in time. A date that would change their worlds. A date that would cause great violence and bloodshed. Not for nothing did the seer say, "Beware the Ides of March".

A (power)house of dreams......

The Union Minister for Power (boy, he sure must be a powerful dude...) had stated in the Rajya Sabha yesterday that India would go from its current power-deficit status to a electricity-surplus status within five years. Mind you, he has said five YEARS, and not five DECADES. This surely calls for some celebration, and I am sure that Aditya and Maya would be ecstatic, to say the least.

Now, let's get back to reality, and investigate how the Hon'ble Minister proposes to achieve this great task, that too within such a short time frame. Statistics quoted by the Minister reveal that as of date, India suffers a mind-boggling 70,000 MW deficit. I am surprised. I mean, considering that we have had such hair-brain proposals, politicization of the state electricity boards, rampant corruption, large-scale distribution losses, this would seem to be an achievement in itself that we haven't crossed the 1 lakh mark yet. Felicitations!

So now, what does this 'Five Year Plan' have in store for the nation? Well, ultra mega power projects with single generation unit of 4000 MW would be launched. I wonder: if this is what an ultra mega power project can muster, how would we describe an initiative generating 10,000 MW? Super Ultra Mega, perhaps? Suggestions are most welcome...

Next, the Hydroelectric Policy is to be amended to tap the 150,000 MW potential in the North-East. That's simply amazing! I mean, we have had this entire potential all this while, and we were what, sitting on our backsides suffering a deficit? Either we are the world's biggest idiots, or this potential has arisen suddenly from the depths of the earth or come down from the lofty heights of the Himalayas.

The private sector also is being 'encouraged' to set up captive generating capacities. Let me understand this: the government actually wants competition? And that too competition which will definitely show them in a worse light? (Not that they are any better off now, but heck they still have some standing, non?)

The Tatas have been in this business for over a century now, and they still cannot sell their electricity to non-industrial consumers. This was a restriction laid down by the then incumbent British establishment to prevent an indigenous private sector power utility to become too strong. Of course, the Tatas didn't leave with the backs to the Taj at Colaba, did they? And our thick-headed politicos and babus never quite realized that this was a restriction that should have gone out along with the Union Jack over the Red Fort. So the Tatas, a genuine private sector entity, suffer from the 'encouragement' that the State has provided so far.

Reliance is comparatively better off, but then it enjoys a monopoly in a sense, and I figure it was obvious that they would, considering that they have so much political muscle to flex for them. And its record on consumer relations doesn't exactly endear one to the idea of private sector entities in power generation and distribution.

One more pointer, maybe to the Left parties: We are getting foreign companies as well, but only from Russia and China. The rest may not bother applying. So, you needn’t cry yourself hoarse about selling out the nation. I say, Mao and Stalin would have been pleased with this state of affairs.

All said and done, this is a ‘powerful’ speech, meant to ‘electrify’ the nation, and ‘brighten’ up the darkest enclaves of the country. I just hope no one turns the switch off.

P.S. Although I may seem all sarcastic, in my heart, I pray that the Minister's initiatives bear fruit, and the troubles afflicting us go away. It will not be easy, but then Rome was not built in a day, was it?

Right to do one's duty or one's duty to do right...?

Of late, one hears a lot about how the focus is shifting from a strict emphasis on citizen's rights to a middle path approach looking at both rights as also the responsibilities of citizens. And very rightly so. I mean, it is ridiculous for a populace to keep harping on what is due to them, and never ponder over what they are due to do. JFK perhaps put it in the most succinct manner possible: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

The rights of a people, those granted by their government as also those inherent to them by virtue of their being citizens of a nation, are inalienable and irrevocable. Any assault on them, any attempt to reduce them, or to reduce their efficacy in the face of tyranny, would be tantamount to assaulting the very foundations of society.

And yet they are not infinite, because even they are not infallible. And that is where the duties and responsibilities of the citizenry play an important role. The citizenry is obligated to ensure that it uses the rights it enjoys in a responsible manner, befitting a civilized society. Just because these rights are near sacrosanct doesn't imply that these rights can be used to justify any deed sine prejudicio. The people are bound by their affiliation to a State to maintain due respect for its laws, so long as they are just and fair. The right to liberty is not a license for anarchism.

The decision of the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) to resort to the means of community service to penalize individuals breaking cleanliness rules is a welcome sign. I mean, this would make a man more likely to follow the rule than merely paying a fine. True, a fine is also rather heavy for the offender, but the embarrassment in this case more than ever ensures that the chap will never repeat the offence again. Moreover, this step uses the local populace to monitor the situation, an extension of the Area Local Management (ALM) scheme, which in turn is a step forward in empowering the citizenry. Maybe, down the lane, we could see community service becoming an important means of punishing petty offenders.

It remains to be seen how successful the scheme will ultimately turn out to be, given that we generally have a problem with implementation. But, I feel that this is a step in the right direction, a direction that we should have taken a long time back, but nonetheless, better late than never.

Ode to Minerva...

Today is International Women's Day. And it is indeed a moment to celebrate a little. I mean, society has come a long way since its rigid paternalism which denied women the right to earn their own living, to support themselves, and to live their lives in a manner of their liking. Agreed, there are still areas where a lot of improvement, a lot of progress is desirable, but the journey has begun, and I feel that it is acquiring a pace that does not allow for any reversal of direction.

Empowerment is a mild term for a process which is so revolutionary, so liberating in its stride. Merely venerating female divinities does not make a society sensitive to female aspirations. Making women capable of taking their own decisions, of being independent of the pressures of their male relations and other male components of society, is an important step towards empowering the entire society wherein these women play just as important a role as the men.

The adage that an educated lady means an educated family cannot ever be denied; it is a given fact that someone who is literate will always be able to appreciate the subtle benefits that education confers upon an individual in the daily routine of life, and will therefore be more amenable to encouraging others within his/her circle of contacts to acquire some basic level of education, so as to improve their manner of eking their living.

But simply educating them will not suffice, as women need to be able to find opportunities wherein they can apply the knowledge that they have acquired. I am not so much in favour of the idea of reservations based on gender, as I feel they would be counter-productive, and may even alienate the genders from each other, when we should be looking at how the divide can be bridged in a most amicable manner. If an institutionalized bias does exist, then it is imperative that the State provide women with a weapon formidable enough to expose the deviants, and adequately penalize them. Anti-discrimination laws would therefore be more practical, although it must be understood that they need to be better in their manner of implementation than the current anti-dowry laws, which confer unreasonable powers on women, ignoring the fact that there are women, wont to be the black sheep amongst the herd, who would misuse the statute.

One may say that crime per se is not specifically directed against any particular gender, and yet I am not so stupid as to deny the fact that anti-woman crimes are perhaps a truth that society has to live with. Rape, abuse, domestic violence et al are crimes against women; abuse does transcend genders, but in the most general case, women suffer the most from it. And in my view, crimes of this nature are not just crimes against the individual concerned; rather they are crimes against the entire society of which the individual is a part. We need to strengthen our laws to deal with these reprehensible offences, so much as to deter further delinquents from ever even thinking about committing them. Women need to be assured that if they have been genuinely troubled, then the law shall be at its worst against their harassers.

Again, we could investigate the feasibility of how the State can encourage and support entrepreneurial initiatives by women, especially when such initiatives aim at providing a means of employing women and making them self-sufficient. Initiatives like SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association) and the Grameen Bank need to be replicated across the country. In the end, it is well established that irrespective of all other factors, financial independence or at least financial autonomy can sufficiently empower women to be able to fend for themselves in a most effective manner.

This has been a long blog, and I am tired now. But the point is this: sure, celebrate this day, but also ponder on what all must be achieved here on. This is not the end of the journey, just one milestone amongst millions to come. Once Minerva and Athena were venerated as goddesses controlling major portfolios like War and the Intellect. I pray that today's Minervas also achieve the same glories.

Susan B. Anthony once said, and I quote, "The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race." Amen to that...

Image Courtesy: The Free Dictionary

Where be reason....?

It is often the habit of governments to accuse their opponents or those who criticize them, or simply are disagreeable, of partaking in crimes against the nation. How much the charge relates to the truth is anyone's guess, but the fact remains that in many parts of the world, including so-called democratic and civilized nations, this practice of silencing voices by gagging them goes on unchecked and unchallenged.

A Turkish court yesterday has sentenced a senior official of an opposition party to six months of imprisonment and that too because he used the title of 'Mr.' to address a certain Kurdish rebel leader whom the Turkish government has accused and convicted of treason against the Turkish nation. The same official was also imprisoned previously for distributing his party material in the Kurdish language, an act frowned upon by the ruling Turkish elite.

Now, I am convinced that the world is coming to an end. I mean, when a man is sentenced to be imprisoned for appending a title, which would seem so very commonplace, to another man, there seems to be no reason left at all. Purportedly, the usage of the said title insinuates a sense of respect or camaraderie for the 'traitor'. Balderdash! It is a part of polite speech, and politeness has nothing to do with respect; you can be disrespectful and yet be polite.

So is this really about using the 'wrong' part of speech? I don't think so. Turkey has a dark history, and has tried to deny its Kurdish citizens the right to a civilized existence, the right to self-determination. Their culture, their language, their customs are being denigrated and condemned, and all this because the Turkish government wants to instil a sense of unity in the people of Turkey (mind you, not just the Turkish people, but also the Kurdish populace in Turkey) by fostering a Turkish culture. A Kurdish culture would seem to compete for the attentions of the Kurds when they should ideally be focusing on imbibing the Turkish spirit.

And in this lies the dilemma. On one hand, one cannot deny Turkey and its government the right to ensure that its people remain united. And yet, one cannot simply stand by while it attempts to suppress the right of a people, notwithstanding whether they constitute a minority or not, to identify themselves by a culture that has been theirs for millenniums.

It remains to be seen whether conscientious governments, which cherish, or at least claim to cherish, liberty and freedom, will intervene. Till then, it will remain a long winter of discontent in the Turkish peninsula.

Link to the article.

Escape from reality....?

There comes a time when one begins to doubt whether one’s fellow beings, one’s species is deserving of the appellation of ‘civilized’ in contrast with wild beings in the forests and the seas. A time when one’s empathy for one’s compatriots, for one’s comrades, is shaken because they somehow seem unworthy of such compassion, of such generosity.

The news that nearly 300 individuals, including students and IT professionals, were apprehended while indulging in a rave party, is shocking, to say the least. The word ‘rave’, if one was to check the dictionary, means to speak in a loud or angry way suggestive of lack of rationality or loss of self-control. And this rings true in the behaviour that these people were indulging in during this debauchery of theirs, what with the quanta of drugs that were reportedly consumed, and the amount awaiting consumption. And all this in such clandestine manner, so cloak-and-dagger, as if the perpetrators wished to acknowledge that they are seeking to partake of forbidden fruits, that they are guilty of a heinous crime.

And an occasion too to resort to such depravity! A day when the entire nation celebrates the victory of good over evil, of noble intentions over base instincts. What a way to celebrate, I say?

To resort to the usage of drugs as a source of recreation is a sign of a deranged mind, incapable of reason, which would accept walking down a path of sure death as a means of entertaining oneself. The attitude of ‘one has but one life; one may as well live it well’ often gets misquoted here. I mean, how can being in an intoxicated state, in a state of mental inebriation, mean living a pleasurable life? I am no moralist; on the contrary, I accept the right of an individual to do what pleases him, but surely, we, as members of a responsible civil society, bear the duty of preventing an individual from indulging in acts that would appear to be suicidal. Just because a person possesses the right to liberty doesn’t preempt or prevent society from stopping the person concerned from committing acts which would in the long run lead to his own ruin. (Disclaimer: I am using the masculine pronoun only for convenience. I do not wish to state that women are any less prone to such acts.)

Those who would defend their participation in this act by pointing fingers at their peers are even bigger fools than their peers. I mean, resorting to drug usage just because of peer pressure would mean that you are amenable to cutting your wrists merely because your peers also seem to love doing it. Don’t you have brains of your own?

Drugs are perhaps the worst that an individual can resort to for merely escaping the stress and tensions of his daily routine. There are surely much better ways in which one can escape from the troubles of reality for a while, ways which would enrich your life to a greater extent, ways which wouldn't culminate in your ending up dead. You would ask me then, are not cigarettes and alcohol also equally harmful? True and I wouldn’t want to be seen as supporting them. But in the liturgy of damnable substances, drugs are the most condemnable.

I am not a fatalist, nor a pessimist. But what I see saddens me. That people should so gamble away their future for the sake of a few moments of ecstasy (and what a rotten ecstasy at that too) is distressing. That the efforts of one’s forebears in raising us in a manner befitting a civilized species are so nullified by our resorting to such animal instincts is a shame.

And yet, we cannot abandon them, can we? We need to assist them in controlling their urges, to find means to relieve their pains which are less demonic. We need to make them realize that their lives are too precious to be whittled away in a puff of smoke, or in a pinprick of a needle. Escape from reality, but let us not escape from reason, shall we?

Miracles...

In this world of science, of rationalism, and of cold mathematical conclusions, miracles have no place, no raison de etre, because frankly no one finds them worthy of attention, of belief. And yet that they should persist in happening, that they should so mock the determination of Man to ignore their presence, to become more practical rather then believe in figments of imagination, to believe in what can be explained intelligibly rather than try to associate events with some far-away divinity, is a testament to their tenacity, to their propensity to persevere in their zeal to be a part of our lives.

Medical practitioners and scientists oft say that miracles rob them of most of their glory. People thank God and His angels with more emotion than the hapless doctor who might have slaved over the patient for nearly 6 hours in a sweaty operation hall. Scientists work like beasts of burden in dark, smelly laboratories for weeks, forgetting that a world exists beyond the walls of the edifice, and when they come up with some great invention or discovery, the adjective most likely to be associated with it would be "miraculous".

And yet, there is somewhere in our hearts an emotion that even when we feel and somehow come to believe that a particular task is unachievable, it invariably is achieved successfully. Miracles aren't just acts of divinity; they are the small things that make our existence worthwhile. So when someone just averts an accident because a friend called out to him, that is a miracle. The smile of a baby, gurgling away to glory, with its beautiful eyes watching you, is a miracle.

Motherhood is a miracle, the very act exemplified in those nine months when life is created within another life, the twain joined together for life in a bond unbreakable even by God. And to see a baby walk, to clutch its tiny fingers, to hold it in your arms, and watch it go to sleep, slowly and sure in the fact that it is safe in your arms, is a miracle.

I can imagine how Millie McDonaugh's parents must feel now. Millie was born after a 22-week pregnancy, that is around 4 months premature. Her doctor gave her a 1 pc chance of recovery, and one doesn't have to be a PhD. in mathematics and statistics to know that it's a chance as slim as nothing at all. But Millie survived; she fought the odds, and now is much better. And that is a miracle, if not anything else.

Baby beats 100 to 1 survival odds

Epigram for Wall Street - Edgar Allen Poe

I'll tell you a plan for gaining wealth,
Better than banking, trade or leases —
Take a bank note and fold it up,
And then you will find your money in creases!
This wonderful plan, without danger or loss,
Keeps your cash in your hands, where nothing can trouble it;
And every time that you fold it across,
'Tis as plain as the light of the day that you double it!

Reference: Wikisource