Surya on Earth

2009-09-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

OSTENTATIOUS SPENDING vs AUSTERITY

Shashi Tharoor, by making the statement that he has been staying in a Five Star Hotel at his own expense and hence has not violated the proposition of practicing austerity by congressmen, showed that he has not understood the symbolism involved in Congress President making the appeal or directive. The primary ingredient of symbolism is adherence to the same, the explanation of ‘why deviation’ being only secondary. Having grasped the essence of the same, Nandan Nilekeni shifted to Karnataka House.

Much of the discussion in the media and commentaries have missed the symbolic element. Having missed it, the propositions or arguments were focused on the rationale, pluses and minuses, the miniscule saving by Government by this exhibition of nominal austerity related to the country’s requirements and availability of finances. The know-alls in the media ( and unfortunately some of the thinkers and intellectuals ) have derisively dismissed this move as gimmick, caricature of socialism, not in tune with the current ethos of the country, etc.,

· A flag is a symbol and is not merely a piece of cloth and hence reverence for the flag. So also was Swastika, for Germans 70 years back. There is no utility or cost aspect in this phenomenon. And that applies to all symbols. The Indian President has hardly any power. But the President is the symbolic head of the Republic.
· When India was at war with Pakistan and China, many Indians had vowed to forgo one meal a day till the war ends. A symbolic gesture. So also wearing Khadi and Nehru cap.
· Hence Sonia Gandhi traveling in economy class in airline, Nilekeni shifting to Kanataka house, Rahul Gandhi carrying a head-load of sand and bricks alongwith a village woman carrying same, Rahul Gandhi saying that politicians should be austere, his traveling by train, are all symbolic gestures. And they appeal not merely to masses but many others, such as, intelligentsia, doctors, film stars, etc., Rahul Gandhi carrying a load will bring in a large number of votes to Congress, contrary to the views of skeptics. Because symbols have such power.
· For a long long time Indian ethos was moored in austere living. Except for the Rajas, English Administers and a few others, all lived modestly. This included businessmen who could afford to live lavishly. Exhibitionism of wealth was shunned. It is only during the last six or seven decades and more correctly during the last two or three decades Indians in large numbers started veering round to living lavishly, some beyond their means, with the new trend of exhibitionism over-coming austerity.
· The know-all would call these activities as hypocrisy. Yes an element of hypocrisy is there. But only an element. Through a token action if the onward march to wanton show of wealth and waste, and lastly mindless imitation of West in such matters, could be restrained then the move has to be hailed.
· Then again contrary to the perception of those who ‘ claim to know the mind of the masses’ and assert that the voters in the villages would not be hood-winked by such pranks, the ground level reality is that such moves have mass appeal ( as Gandhi repeatedly showed ) not merely to village folk but also to a large number urban, educated, middle and upper class. Tokenism has its place in the human mind.
· Yes, there is wide spread corruption in the country, with politicians in the forefront of this queue. Yet, politicians, do generally live frugally or give the impression of living frugally. It is this impression which matters when it coming to votes.
· Perception of masses – Affluent will live extravagantly with no concern for the poor. Wealth is not the issue. Flaunting the same is. Mukesh Ambani building an expensive house when poor people are starving. Illogical comparison. May be. But for a large percentage of Indian people this type of comparison is relevant and hence made. The fact is that the value judgment of masses about the rich people is not at all positive.
· Business people – we spend our money ( not correct. It is often the company which takes the tab ), whereas politicians spend country’s money. Is there any difference.
· Politics is also a profession. Don’t look at the politicians from the prism of 50s when all politicians were expected to live frugally. And don’t forget the fact that during the last two decades or so the trend slowly started of all those who can afford from lower middle class to those who are filthy rich, according to their means flaunting their wealth and living lavishly. Then why not politicians? And when all other groups can grasp and exhibit symbols when they need, why not politicians?

*****

WHO MADE ME AS I AM TODAY

2009-08-14T04:17:00.001-07:00

1. I was ten years old when our country got Independence. I remember my father rejoicing at the momentous development. My father said that all injustice that we have been facing would be over. We will have two meals everyday. We will have home of our own. I will be educated and will become a clerk, instead of doing manual labour as my father and his forefathers did, and that too when only on those days when work could be found.
2. My father said that we will no more be treated as untouchable, as Gandhiji has promised. Since we were poor, I will get free education, according to Government assurance. Since the Government is our own, my father felt, that we would not be hauled to police station and beaten up whenever a crime takes place in the village. We will no more be forced to admit to crimes we did not commit and will not be put into prison.
3. My father was confident that our elected representative will voice our grievances before our own Government and get remedial measures without greasing the palms of authorities.
4. My father was thrilled at the ushering of Ram Rajya for us dalits.
5. Today I am seventy and thoroughly disillusioned. None of our hopes have been fulfilled. Most of the time we are starving. We have a thatched hut as our home. And that also is demolished when somebody claims the land on which our hut was there as his own. We make another thatched hut. This has been going on.
6. Untouchable – the position has not changed. My son goes to Government school. But there are hardly any teachers. Most of the teachers are doing all the time some other jobs. Even when they are there, my son and other untouchables were hardly taught anything.
7. In the Government hospital, we can hardly get admission for medical treatment because we are untouchable. Even if we once a while get admission, we have to pay to doctor, compounder, nurse and others for getting treatment, though Government says that we will get free treatment - because we are poor, illiterate and untouchable.
8. Quite often we are asked to do manual labour at the houses of Government officials, with only two meals as wages.
9. Once a girl in our community attains puberty, she has to freely satisfy all government officials and higher caste people. The position does not change even after her marriage and becoming a mother.
10. Some of our people had gone in search of work to other places. Once a while when they come back to the village, they also tell horror stories of how they are treated once it is known that they are untouchables.
11. We have no ration card, though we are told that such a card has been issued. To whom, we do not know.
12. Every five year or sometimes even earlier, big netas come to tell us to whom we should vote. On the election day we are taken to voting booths and we do as we are told.
13. In public places we have to ensure that we are not in the vicinity of higher caste people; otherwise we would be beaten up severely.
14. My son, who is now thirty years old, grew up with all these injustice. He used to cry often at the injustice. He has been in jail for crimes which he had not committed. He used to wail ‘ what has independence of the country given us.’ I had no answer.

And then our luck turned. We are able to eat twice a day. We have a small house. Harassment and beating by the Police have ceased. Whenever I or my wife works for some Government project, we are properly paid. In fact many in the village look upon us for help and justice.

YES, MY SON HAS BECOME A NAXALITE.

PS: Government says that Naxalite menace has to be dealt with a strong hand. And no mercy to be shown. And all MPs support Government. So also fourth estate.

*****

Newspaper reports with my comments:

2009-08-13T23:42:00.001-07:00

1. Spare the rod and spoil the child

So goes the old saying. By his judgment, in essence, a judge has questioned this old adage.

A metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi acquitted 33 young people, including five girls, who were caught cheating in an exam. saying that he did not want to ruin their future. The young people were accused of receiving answers on their mobile phones, while taking an exam. All the 33 youngsters submitted identical papers and scored the same marks. CBI was called to unearth the cheating. The Magistrate in his judgment noted that all of the students were still in their early twenties when their capacity for understanding is still developing. Pointing out that they had already been debarred by Delhi University, and were enrolled in courses at other institutions, the Magistrate stated there was no point in ruining their lives by sending them to jail. Instead, he pulled the young people’s parents for failing to instill the right values in them.

The judge has gone against the perceived wisdom of the past on how justice should be administered on such matters and punishing the guilty. There are a few angles to the issue, as below:

· Many experts in the recent past have opined that physical punishment of children for errant behaviour may not dissuade the children from repeating such behaviour. On the contrary it is likely that there would be hardening of the approach of such children and they may repeat such errant behaviour with a vengeance.
· Children are products of the society. When the society itself has over a period of time veered round to being amoral, can children escape from such demoralization.
· Increasingly parents are adopting double standards in the homes, i.e., one for grown ups ( who could deviate from accepted good behaviour ) and another for children ( no such deviation is allowed ). For many a child this dichotomy is confusing.
· Increasingly youngsters observe not only the falling moral standards of society, the guilty not being punished but also the society accepting such deviant behaviour. When those who committed white collar crimes go scot free, the message that children get is that one should be careful in not getting caught rather than afraid of doing a misdeed.
· Most middle & rich class people who read the story would decry the stand taken by the judge. I for one would like to differ.

2.Latest fad in USA: Living with just 100 things

Just 100 essential items. This idea has caught the imagination of a number of Americans, particularly Hollywood stars, who live with lots and lots of things. When you have movie stars, those icons of conspicuous consumption, advocating a minimalist life style, then it becomes a fad. David Bruno, a university computer executive devised the challenge as a response to the recession and his own unease about the unwanted junk filling his home. The objective is to reduce one’s material possessions to the mandated limit. Visitors to his site complain it is easier for men than women to discard what they have, even if the same is old and hardly used. A newspaper in India had commented: “Neither is the goal the philosophy aims to achieve necessarily a good one. These bouts of self-reflection and anti-consumerism emanate from western societies at monotonously regular intervals. It is only wealthy that have the leisure to debate the necessity of wealth. The basic premise that there is something inherently wrong with consumerism is mistaken. Consumerism is the inevitable byproduct of the free market system and development”. I would say that what has been said is pure crap, echoing the Hindu philosophy of living frugally and thinking richly. This quotation we Indians use only when convenient and quite often directed to others and not self. We Indians are now running fast to emulate American system of living, with waste all around and all the time.

But the above thesis is a trap. People are lured to consumerism. Ads. Packaging. Loans for purchases. All these which boost consumerism help business and at the same time convert those who have been living in simple style to buying and accumulating style. Fashions essentially make good things obsolete. Visits to ‘ Sale’ shops start with fun of seeing and watching the goods and ends with addition to buying. The pity is that more goods do not bring happiness. It only increases the craving for still more goods. Latest is Malls, which are becoming the ultimate heaven for unwanted or unrequired purchases. And then ads. In print media. In essence it is money + lure. And now the youngsters are lured to this trap. Look at India. The dictum ‘ low living and high thinking ‘ is being replaced by ‘ high living even by borrowing and no thinking.’ Hence the counter movements as in the subject need to be applauded.

Incidentally living frugally was not merely an age old wisdom preached in the bye gone era but was practiced. Except the kings and few others, most of the well to do people in this country practiced living simply. And they were quite happy with that way of living. And they continuously advised their children to imbibe their percept and habit.

But unfortunately in this generation, that teaching is being discarded, though it still has much relevance.

3. Number of 100 year olds are increasing in the world

By mid century, i.e., 2050, the number of centenarians in the world is expected to reach 6 million. That will push the median age in many developed countries to 50. According to current estimate there are over 3.4 lakh centenarians in the world, with highest concentration in US and Japan. Medical advances and improved diet ( reducing heart disease and stroke ) are quoted for the increase of centenarians. Genetics and life styles also play a part in prolonging lives.

In India neither at Government level nor by think tanks, this development has been given much consideration, though this phenomenon slowly becoming evident in this country also. Considering the huge population in this country which means a large number of old people also and the number of old people increasing with improvement in medical facilities, this problem is slowly creeping in. We cannot ignore it.

4. Innovative way of cops in Mumbai to catch peddlers and consumers of dope.

‘An 18 year old college student posted a message on the Party Goers community on Facebook saying he loves trance music and wants to be at rave parties. He can afford to buy drugs, he says, and asks other members to inform him of any rave party that may be happening. It is a message rave party organizers and drug peddlers would like to respond to. But then in reality the message is from an inspector from the Anti Narcotics Cell of Mumbai Police. Cops have also roped in youngsters to help them with modern lingo and code language ( a trance music party, for instance, means one where drugs would be available ).

5. IN HARYANA BRIDE BARTER IS BECOMING COMMON AMONG SMALL FARMERS

This is because of the skewed sex ratio of 861 females to 1000 males Haryana. On the other side there is Kerala where the position is just opposite, i.e., with 1058 females against 1000 males.

So there is shortage of brides for eligible bachelors in Haryana and the reverse in Kerala. As the problem is unlikely to go away, a few societies in Haryana are trying to find innovative solutions. A few years back some of the Haryanvis started getting married to girls in Kerala where the sex ratio is skewed the other way, as indicated in the earlier para. So in Kerala for some of the communities to find husbands for their daughters had become a major problem. The exodus of many an eligible bachelor to Gulf added to the shortage of eligible males for marriage. And lastly Haryana bride grooms only ask for a brides, with no demand for dowry. Though the number of such marriages has remained static and that too in small numbers, what is interesting is the innovative solutions being found to tackle the problem facing Haryana. If the grooms can go to Kerala, a far off place, with different language, cuisine, customs, then no wonder that the lads have started looking to adjacent States for brides, i.e., Punjab and other Northern States.

Now comes a new development. A family agrees to the marriage of a girl from the family to a young man but demands that when the young man’s sister grows up she should be married to the current bride’s brother or cousin. And this demand has been made in the presence of elders from the village, thus making it a promise.

One should salute Haryanvis. If a problem is there and which is likely to continue in the future, then innovative solutions have to be found, instead of bemoaning.

6..Religious symbols ( turban worn by Sikhs and veil by Muslim ) continue to be problem areas in some countries

‘ No burqas in France’ says French President. “ It is a symbol of subjugation rather than faith. We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity. That is not the idea that the French republic has of women’s dignity.’ Naturally this has invited the wrath of Mullahs. France, home to an estimated five million Muslims, passed a law in 2004 banning headscarves in public places including schools.

European Union had passed a law banning the wearing of turbans ( mainly by Sikhs ) and Sikhs there are protesting.

But there is a message here to one and all of this earth. And that is that each country can within limits decide on the dress code the people living in that country would have to follow in matters, such as, propagation of different faiths, behaviour in public places, adherence to local laws, following what has been prescribed either by Government or society as decent and adhering to public decorum. It is not easy to define what the conditions or limitations are. For one thing, it may differ from country to country. And then there could be changes from time to time. Those who are going to other countries must be prepared to not merely obey the rules of law of that country but also the expected public behaviour. Local customs vary. To what extent a foreigner need not follow the local custom would depend on the local people. If the locals are taking in their stride deviant behaviour, dress, customs, ceremonies, etc., of foreigners then it is alright. But if they express reservations then the immigrant has to follow the local custom. The immigrant cannot shelter on the ground that there is no law in the host country for adhering to this or that style of behaviour. Societies can demand such adherence to local customs and behaviour. Sometime back there were protests in India against nude swimming ( and resting in beaches ) by foreigners. We would object to some of the dresses worn by women in Western countries. Man and woman kissing in public would invite the wrath of onlookers in India, whereas it is not an unusual spectacle in West. Can a white woman dress and walk the streets in Arab countries as she does in the West. No. Ultimately it is for each country to decide the dress or behaviour code acceptable to that country. Indian Government would be wise in refraining to enter in to such controversies because of appeals of Indians in other countries.

Related to the subject is what happened in Australia recently. On this incident a perceptive observer had this to say:

“Indian students in Australia represent as good a microcosm of the nouveau riche Indian abroad as in any other country. Visible traits imported from home include a sullen unsmiling visage; disdain towards serving staff in restaurants ( viewed as servants ); lewdly ogling women; playing raucous Indian music in public transport; cooking pungent food without regard for neighbour’s sensitivities; littering, spitting, etc “

7..Wither BJP? And wither a credible opposition party to Congress.

Newspapers with their penchant for preposterous headlines, giving final verdict on a happening or development, after the last Parliament election, had screamed that the BJP has been decimated. Nothing of that kind has happened. The vote share of BJP and allied parties were only less than 3% its earlier vote share. Congress improved its vote share by 2% only. Then both parties cobbled up their allied. Congress was able to do a better job As democracy functions in India, that edge was enough for Congress to be called to form the Government, which it did. But the morale of members of BJP has been worst hit because of shattering of their hope to form Government.

Is there a lesson in this election result. In the post electoral analysis, some pundits had come to the conclusion that the voter is no more interested in the three main planks of BJP, i.e., building of temple for Ram at Ayodhya, Uniform Civil Code(thereby bringing Muslims under that Code rather than what that religion had set out as the conditions of marriage and related issues ) and abrogation of article 370 in the Constitution giving special status to Kashmir ( and make Kashmir just yet another State of Indian Union ).

Is the assessment correct. Maybe partly true. One should not forget that BJP and its allies had got a decent percentage of vote share. Could it be that the voter has found some of the development programmes initiated by Congress, such as, NAREGA, Mid Day Meal Scheme, etc., touching his life more profoundly than the main planks of BJP, as mentioned above, which do not directly bring any benefit to him.

Some pundits have opined that it is in the interest of democracy that there is credible and strong opposition. They have missed the point. Even after elections, in BJP there is such an opposition party.

But the real issue or problem is that BJP is in disarray. There is squabble at the top. It is all the time reacting to what Congress is doing, rather than coming up with its own agenda. To their chagrin, the Congress has virtually cornered all those issues which touch the common man. Hence BJP had to fall back on issues, such as, Indo-Pak conflict, unearthing black money hoarded abroad, etc., lively subjects for the city folks but not very intensive issues so far as most voters are concerned.

Comparison with USA and UK, the pet hobby of fourth estate, has been attempted. It is off the mark. BJP, though labeled as the right wing party, its ideology or approach is not right wing. The fact is that in India there is hardly any space for a right wing party.

So, the million dollar question is wither to BJP? They can wait for an opportune moment to wean away some of the allies of Congress, topple government and try to form a Government. Apart from such a strategy, there is precious little that BJP can do. They cannot take credit for various development schemes. Their own planks are not strong anymore. A right wing approach also would not bring large scale votes. That is the dilemma of BJP. And then BJP has to fall in line with the philosophy and edicts of RSS, irrespective of the fact whether the same would affect their popular support. They can gamble on one thing. Make the States where BJP alone or with other parties, to take firm and long strides on economic development and social change which would be lauded by the common man. Then the same would take shape of votes.

8. India should become a major world power – so said Mrs. Hillary Clinton

Since any utterance of an American VIP, is sacrosanct for the English print and visual media, this off the cuff remark has been played up. But should India aim to become a super power. No. India should aim to become an egalitarian society. India should focus on removing hunger and disease. Good school education for all children should be priority agenda for Indian government. The target should be two meals for all. GDP growth cannot be the be all. We have now to vigorously follow Gandhiji’s teachings. If at all this country has to emulate a model then it has to be that of Scandinavian countries. The tax rates in that country are high. Yet these countries can be considered as the most egalitarian. They are true welfare states where all, particularly the old are looked well. The goal has to be welfare state and not high GDP country.

ब्रवादो ऑफ़ प्राइवेट airlines

2009-08-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

PRIVATE AIRLINES THREATENING TO STRIKE FOR ONE DAY:

I get the nagging feeling that the whole thing has been orchestrated beautifully.

Media hype even on mundane matters is nothing new. Here high personalities are involved, And since it is about air travel, all middle class and rich people would not miss a programme on such a development. Hence higher TRP for TV reporting on the development.
As usual TV commentators sensationalized the whole matter making it as if a disaster is to happen. Actually a one day strike is not going to affect much traveling public. People would change the dates of traveling. Please remember the strike announced is only for a day. Meetings would be postponed. These happen when flights are cancelled or delayed unduly due to inclement weather or some other reason. It is pure hype to say that airlines are holding the traveling public to ransom as one TV channel did.
Air India losing money is due to inefficiency and mismanagement but private airlines losing money is on account of high taxation, that is the sum substance of the TV story.
As usual the Minister decried the proposed move. ( It looked like a repeat of unions threatening to strike, management and union leader privately coming to an understanding, Union leader telling the management that the understanding would be formally discussed and settled after the workers go for a strike for a day so that the Union can claim that it is the strike which forced the hand of management ).
Naturally Air India management and staff are gleefully watching the developments. If the private airlines get some relief, then Air India can easily get a bigger relief.
The Unions are going to holler hereafter that when managements can get what they wanted by threatening to go on strike then what is wrong with Unions adopting the same tactic. In particular the unions of Airlines are going to quote this incident whenever they want to go a strike.
Will the Government call the bluff of the airline managements. It can. But it would not. Is the reason that traveling public would be affected. That would be a laugh.

Women’s Quota in Parliament -

2009-06-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

For those emancipated Indian women it is a ‘life and death’ issue - Men shrug it off as a ‘ non issue’

· Yes, the Yadav chieftains are worried. If this happens then how can they find berths for sons, nephews, uncles, et all who had hoped to stand for elections and get elected. The family ties would take a knock. And so one of them said, a la Socrates style ‘ it is better to drink poison rather than………’
· For the sophisticated Indian ladies there is no issue more important than this. But as there is not much of evidence or supporting arguments for their demand, they have invoked the time honoured approach of being shrill in their arguments, which are:
(1) other countries have done it ( only scanty evidence available )
(2) it did not happen in India because we have a patriarchal society ( Yet India had women as Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, Judge of Supreme Court, Speaker of Lok Sabha and a number of Union Ministers all the time in the Union Cabinet ).
(3) Fifty percent Indian population is women whereas in Parliament they have only ten percent representation ( Same is the case with most of the religions other than Hindus ).
(4) This is a measure to emancipate Indian women from the traditional male dominated wretched life they are leading. ( It is farcical to think that by having more women MPs, the lot of Indian women would improve )
(5) In all areas and so also in Parliament, women can and will perform better than men ( almost all men openly and many women silently would disagree with this hypothesis ).
(6) Unless women have higher representation in Parliament, issues affecting women will not receive due importance in the deliberations in Parliament ( It is a most unfair statement, particularly in respect of those people, i.e., Ministers and MPs in the Parliament in the past who had strongly advocated causes of women ) .
(7) Because……….

Points to be noted:

· Women across the country have never agitated for quota for them in Parliament. The agitation now outside the Parliament and in the TV studios has been by the so called emancipated women consisting of writers, social activists, educated and well off and those consider themselves as emancipated and women libbers. During the last few days their decibel level has gone up a few notches.
· There has never been any discrimination in recruitment of women for Government jobs including the coveted IAS/IFS/IPS. Yet if their number has been small always compared to men, it is just because more women did not try to pass the exams. for entry.
· In IT segment, there is no discrimination and large number of women ( girls ) have entered the sector.
· One finds more and more women in other walks of lives also, such as doctors, lawyers, etc.,
· Since Congress, BJP and Communists ( and so also some of the other smaller parties ) have subscribed openly to this proposition, why not they agree to implement the same voluntarily without taking recourse to Constitutional arrangement ( then those parties which had not agreed to would have an edge is not a weighty argument considering that these three parties with some of their allies have captured a very high percentage of vote in the last elections ).
· Panchayats have 33% reservation for women, which is proposed to be increased to 50%. That gives more women to get elected to Panchayats. What this means is that more and more women would have an opportunity to function in the public space/place. And that would train women to successfully fight against men in polls ( for the post of MP). Then no quota would be required.
· Logically from Panchayats it is the State Assemblies. Without reservation in State Assemblies for women, why jump straightaway to Parliament.

For the above reasons, I find that I have no other option but to support the Yadavs, though their obscurantist views on many matters clearly indicate that they are out of step with the changes that are happening world over, including India.

Signing off: There was a TV debate on the subject. Two men who questioned the concept were virtually shouted down by the women speakers who were occupying various high positions in the country. My sympathies are with these two gentlemen who had a taste of wrath of women.

*****

GDP

2009-06-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

GDP GROWTH AND TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT

To businessmen, some of the economists, pundits in fourth estate and some of the Ministers and babus in Government, high GDP growth is the ‘be all and end all’ in economic development. All of them are pinning for +9% growth, if not this year, at least from next year onwards. And then they say with euphoria unmatched in respect of any other subject that such a development would take India to be the third country after USA and China with highest GDP level in 2020 or 2030.

To the awkward question as to what extent such continuous high growth in GDP would improve the living conditions of the poor, they all quote the ‘ trickle down ‘ theory.

But there is the uncomfortable fact that even after 60 years of planned economy, this country still have millions of people who are living in absolute misery, i.e., the GDP growth has bypassed them. They have not enough to eat for mere sustenance. They have no drinking water or medical facilities or a roof over their head or school facilities or assured work throughout the year. Then what is the guarantee that further growth would also not overlook them.

Out of the last twelve years, on an average there have been 10,000 suicides per year of farmers in this country in the first ten years, with last two years the figure going up to 13,000 and 15,000 respectively.

Simply put, developments plans of the past had virtually skipped a large mass of people in the rural areas. And hence migration of rural unemployed in large numbers to cities and also to other States.

‘ GDP yardstick is badly flawed as a guide to a nation’s economic well being. A nation’s well being depends on many factors ignored by GDP, such as leisure time, income inequality and the quality of the environment.’ - Economist, London

‘The way GDP is measured yields at best a very gross estimate of productive activity in the country. In spite of everyone knowing this, the slightest fluctuation in the estimated GDP becomes the basis for elaborate theses – for gloom or elation. The imperfections of measurement apart, what has grown in the reference period is almost never the object of scrutiny.’- Arun Shourie:

Aware of the limitations of GDP as a yardstick of growth, economists are often circumspect on the subject. World over, increasingly more and more ‘wise-men’ have started making contrary noise on high GDP growth, with its ill effects on ecology, fast depletion of natural resources, wastages, etc., They also point out that quite often the benefits of high GDP growth do not percolate to low income people, whereas the negative factors of such high growth will have to be borne by all people and possibly more by poor people.

( The large number of cases before the various courts in India would indicate that we are a litigant prone people. Related to the subject under discussion, processing such a large number of cases by courts, does add to the level of GDP growth, because income accrued by service rendered is included in GDP. Alcohol and cigarette consumption goes up. The same improves the level of GDP. More gossip magazines come into the market. That also adds to GDP ).

Developmental economists, foremost among them being Prof. Amartya Sen, has been emphasizing this aspect in their writings. It is in this context that the importance of various schemes announced by the Government to tackle the above mentioned problems have to be seen, though, sadly, except for lip sympathy, businessmen, educated and high salaried Indians, fourth estate, government babus have not evinced any interest in these schemes. But politicians have, primarily in their own interest ( poor people look at them for an assisting hand and also for claiming votes ). Suicide of a boy for failing in an exam. is repeatedly telecast in TV channels with lot of commentaries, whereas suicides of over thousand farmers get a few minutes of lip sympathy in both print and visual media. Hardly any of the papers / TV channels have done in depth stories on farmer suicides or come up with suggestions on how to arrest the repetition of such horrifying catastrophe. For both print and visual media, India by far means the megalopolis.

Only 2% o Indian population are involved in stock market one way or another. Yet as it is about real money, it occupies a lot of space in Indian politics and economics. GDP growth in India, particularly that area related to high tech and business growth touch 10% to 20% of the population. For another 50% or 60% of the population it is business as usual. Then there is the bottom of the pyramid consisting of the poor. 50 years of planned development had hardly touched them in the sense their lot has been as it was fifty years back. It is clear that ‘trickling down’ theory had not worked for them. If that be so, then the big ticket reforms proposed also would not touch them. So after a decade India may be counted in the big league in the comity of nations in GDP, but 10 to 20 crores of people in India would continue to live in miserable conditions.

It is in the above context one has to view the mega projects for improving the lot of those who are in the lower rung of pyramid now being undertaken by Government. There would be any number of economic arguments against the schemes. Be that it may. Such schemes are necessary to give succor to the poor.

What the Government should do is to enlist the support of all parties, State Governments and Civil Society in effectively implementing the following developmental projects announced by Government, primarily directed towards improving the lot of the poor in villages.

Agenda for/of the new Government:

A modern nation is defined by four non negotiable rights: equality of citizenship across origin and gender; secularism; liberty of speech; and economic equity ( M.J. Akbar, veteran journalist ). While in respect of the first three rights, there has been considerable advancement in the past, for a large number of people the last right has remained elusive. The projects mentioned below have to be considered in that background.

In other words, while the Governments ( including the period when BJP was in power ) in the past have been striving to achieve all the postulates on the count of economic inequity, we have yet to go far.

1. Bharat Nirman Project ( Rs. 1.74 lakh crore project )

Every village in India with over 1000 population to have an all-weather road, every habitation to have water supply, every village to have a telephone and every village to be electrified. Launched in 2005 – So far spent Rs. 1.14 crore )

2. National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) ( Rs. 44,480 crores )

Launched in 2006, the Scheme provides for 100 days of assured employment per year per person per household. ( or cash payment @ Rs. 100 per day for 100 days ). Panchayats to oversee the implementation of the Scheme. The scheme has been lauded world over. The implementation level varies from State to State.

The scheme would reduce the level of migration of poor landless unemployed persons from villages to cities/towns. It is said that the Scheme had brought in lot of votes to Congress. Some of the opposition ruled states have also tried to take credit for bringing out with such a scheme. But that is not the point. Nobody disputes that the scheme has given succor to a lot of unemployed people.
Inevitable that in respect of such a scheme, there would be leakages. Further, as had happened in respect of many such welfare schemes, vested interests ( including political ) would muscle into managing the scheme.
Many an economist may argue against the concept of the scheme. Since employment has to be provided under the scheme, even non-worthwhile projects may be taken up. It would be difficult to measure the return from investment. But there can be no two opinion that the scheme would to some extent mitigate the grinding poverty many unemployed in the villages are going through. ( As could be expected, World Bank had expressed reservations on the concept while ILO had welcomed the Scheme )

3. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan ( Rs. 60,000 crores )

Launched in 2001, the scheme is to provide elementary education to all children. While enrolment aspect has been quite successful, it was found that by far a large number of children drop out at the VIIIth standard level. In the rural areas the scheme has become extremely popular.

1. Mid Day Meal Scheme ( Rs. 33,000 crores )

Supreme Court had also directed Government to implement the scheme, which was originally started in 1990 but gained real momentum during the last few years. 11.74 crore school children have been benefitted under the scheme. In fact the scheme has given a major impetus for the really poor to send their children to schools.

2. National Rural Health Mission ( Rs. 31,000 crores )

Launched in 2005 to build a healthcare delivery system the entire rural population. What is lamentable is that the States have been able to spend so far only Rs. 20,000 crores under the scheme.

6. Total Sanitation Campaign ( Rs. 5,100 crores )

This is a scheme which has been in operation for long but not very successful. The Scheme was to build toilets in rural areas. Lack of water and habit of using open places as toilet have been cited as reasons for the lacklustre performance of this scheme. Civil society and social workers have a major role to play in successful implementation of the scheme.

7. Integrated Child Development Services – (Rs. 32,000 crores )

The Scheme provides nutiritional supplements, health check-ups and immunization coverae to children up to the age of 6 years to reduce mortality and disease. It also provides nbutritional supplements to pregnant and lactating mothers.

8. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission ( Rs.7500 crores )

The Scheme is to build basic infrastructure, improve governance and provide basic facilities to the urban poor in 63 cities over seven years.

9. Polio eradication ( Rs. 9000 crores )

A Scheme in respect of the above was launched in 1994 which helped in reducing polio cases and India was to become polio free. But a few pockets are now showing resistance to immunization. Hence this Project.

Concluding remarks:

· Yes, there would be leakages and project implementation could be delayed. Having seen that such schemes could work, Government of India is placing all out emphasis on the projects. In political circles also there is awareness on the need to efficiently managing these schemes.
· But where is the money to be found – naturally that would be the second question. From high GDP growth which would bring in more revenue to Government.
· Once the funds earmarked for the projects are spent, there would renewed demand from all quarters to further extend the schemes and also for bringing in more such schemes. And Governments ( whichever party is in power ) must accede to such demands.

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DYNASTY DEBATE IN RESPECT OF

2009-06-08T23:13:00.001-07:00

Hydra-headed, the subject matter gets propped up to debating area in respect of Indian intelligentsia and fourth estate, whenever occasion arises to bash up the Indian political system. Latest is the election of Ms. Meira Kumar, daughter of late Babu Jagjivan Ram, as the Speaker of Lok Sabha. Dynasty politics, in a derogatory manner is referred to in respect of Nehru family also. So also about Abdullas of Kashmir and Karunadhi of Tamil Nadu.

But consider the following:

1. Semi educated and management deficient progenies of businessmen could overnight assume high and important posts in the family managed ( which is euphemistically termed by the businessmen as ‘ family owned’ ) business organization, despite the fact that the entity has public money of shareholders and banks, besides employing a large number of people. This is accepted as a normal feature of business and hence taken for granted, despite the fact that inefficient running of the organization would affect banks and livelihood of employees.

2. The same, i.e., son inheriting and subsequently managing, applies to most of the small time commercial activities, be it chawl type tea shop, barber shop, cycle repair shop.

3. During the British times, it was the normal practice to give job to the son of Indian retiring from the service of the company.

4. For a long time in respect of Government jobs, unsaid preference was given to sons/daughters of people who are or have worked in Government.

5. Even in religious bodies, temple management more often than not is passed on from father to son.

6. Even in fourth estate this has been happening, despite print/visual media, making fun or chastising such development in the political arena. The son takes up the position of chief from father. And some times the son even changes the tilt of the entity.

7. Dynasty or no dynasty, the fact has to be noted that a person has to win an election to be eligible for the post of Minister. There may be immediate reaction that a person can partially circumvent this condition by coming through Rajya Sabha. Yet there is also election. Just because a person is son of a Minister he cannot claim entitlement for a ticket.

8. For a long long time India was ruled by kings. At one time there were over 500 kingdoms. The accepted principle was for the eldest son to occupy the throne or for any reason the king ( father ) is not favourably disposed off towards the eldest son, then may be the second or third son is made the king.

9. The above position was the case more or less in respect of most of the countries in the world. It still continues in Arab countries. Both England and Japan have kings as titular heads in whose case also the position is hereditary.

And lastly, what about House of Lords in U.K.

King’s father has to be king, but Minister’s father need not be Minister.

End note: Despite all these cogent arguments, the fourth estate may still say that this does not happen in America. For the fourth estate, mesmerized as it is by USA, all the wisdom can be found in what America is doing. Forget the meaningless war and resultant killings of thousands of Vietnamese or annihilating Japan by Atom bombs by Americans.

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ENGLISH PRINT/VISUAL MEDIA’S

2009-06-06T22:03:00.001-07:00

If the English media is to be believed that for all inactions of Government in the past, the blame squarely lies with communists. Forget the fact that Government could not go ahead with reservation of seats in Parliament for women mainly because of objection of two Yadav chieftains. Except in respect of Nuclear deal, closer relation with US and some of the fiscal reforms ( dilution of public sector holdings, more freer flow of FDI, disinvestment, pension reforms ), communists had whole-heartedly backed Government in respect of various welfare oriented schemes, which had not been the case with some other parties or the English media.

Now that Government has announced mega programmes, the qualifying statement of media has been that this or that programme can be implemented because communists cannot block the same or that the Left is out of the way.

The second prejudice or, say, confusion of the media is that they are echoing business class when giving all round importance to GDP growth. This is not to minimize the importance of GDP growth. But for a country with millions of people down and under, GDP cannot be the sole or most important criteria for development. Past GDP growth has left behind a large mass of people, i.e., their lives are not touched by GDP growth. For instance landless labourers in the rural area. But they have found some succor in the schemes of 100 days employment and supply of lower priced food-grains. The point is that even if the Government undertakes all the economic reforms, i.e., the agenda of the business and fourth estate, with trickle down theory not operational in respect of unemployed and destitute, their lot would remain the same as it has been in the past. Rural unemployed migrate in large numbers to cities and towns because there is nothing in villages for them to make a bare living.

The idyllic village life is largely a myth, contrary to what poets/story writers/ films say or depict. And hence the villagers in droves are turning to the cities for living. Some of the experts in such matters predict that the flow of village folk to cities for a living will become unmanageable in the times to come, unless they can be persuaded to stay put through some of the welfare measures. This is particularly true of landless unemployed in villages.

Hence the main focus of Government has to be to ensure that the big ticket social welfare measures are implemented effectively, with minimum leakage. If required the allocations for such programmes have to be enhanced. Making available drinking water, bare medical facilities, reasonably good education, assured income for two bare meals, etc., should absolutely take precedence over other activities. Yes, GDP is important and yet it is not an all important factor. Two meals, water, power and school/medical facilities are far more important.

It is said that the massive vote for Congress in the last election was caused primarily on account of the social welfare measures, particularly 100 days employment. It is also said that some of the opposition ruled States had tried to take credit for these measures. Be that as it may. Who gets the credit is not important. That the downtrodden are uplifted is to be ‘the be all.’

ENGLISH PRINT/VISUAL MEDIA’S

2009-06-04T23:52:00.000-07:00

बिज़र्रे - विथ instalment

2009-06-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

19. INNOVATIVE WAYS OF BAG LIFTERS

A lady Professor had gone for lunch with her friends to a posh hotel when a woman, in the garb of attending to her baby who was near the chair occupied by the Professor where the Professor’s bag was kept, bent down and walked away with the bag and child. Since the Prof. had no clue on where her bag had gone, she asked for the hotel’s CCTV footage. The Prof. said ‘ I had kept the bag under my chair. Two women alongwith a toddler were sitting behind us. In the CCTV footage I saw that the toddler came near my feet and one of the two women in the pretext of picking up the child, took away both the child and my bag also.’

My comments: In almost every walk of our lives we like and applaud innovation. It is innovation of electrical gadgets that have made our life easier and less tedious. Be it cell phone, TV. Air conditioner, car or aeroplane, it is innovation that has led to progress. But then why should we assume that innovation will be limited to pluses only. Thieves are also becoming innovative.

20. THIEF CAUGHT SLEEPING ON THE JOB

A stationary shop owner opened his shop to find that all the costly items were packed in cartons and cash was missing. Realising that a burglary had been attempted, he wondered why the thief had left without taking the booty, when he heard a sound from the rear of the shop and spotted the thief snoring under a cot, police officials said. The thief was woken up and was stunned to find the shopkeeper and the police surrounding him. Admitting that he had broken into the shop, he was, however, at a loss to explain how he fell asleep, police said.

My comments: It is not unusual for watchmen to sleep. That we take for granted. In the case of many a child, the movement in the early night when he opens the school book, he feels sleepy. There are many who are regular sleepers in the office. In the instant case, the thief after breaking into the shop and packing the stolen goods, would have been tired and thought of closing his eyes for a few minutes. But then his body needed longer rest and so the incident happened.

24: LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:

Recently this award was given to Machhli. Machhli is a tigress of 12 year age. She has given birth to nine cubs. She has given darshan to over 100 million people. And for all this, she has been given the life achievement award. Machhli was born in Ranthambore National Park. Julian Mathews, Chairman and Founder of the UK based non profit body Tour Operators for Tigers, on behalf of the Foundation while giving away the award stated ‘ Machhli was selected for the award on the basis of several factors. She has been spotted by over 100 million tourists. She has been captured on camera, allowing tens of millions more to watch her on television. And the revenue generated has greatly benefited the sanctuary.’

My comments: We human beings ( who should really be labeled as inhuman beings ) are always surprised to hear news like this. We think it is the prerogative of human beings to get awards. ‘ What can the tiger do with the award?’ that would be the comment. Some would sneer at the peccadilloes of the foreign guys. Our care, appreciation and recognition of animals never go beyond a line we have drawn up with this side the higher and glorious (!) human beings and on the other side the junglees. It is time that we change our attitudes.

25. GROOM AND RELATIVES THASHED FOR ASKING HIGHER DOWRY THAN SETTLED EARLIER

This happened in Haryana. The bride groom and his family had earlier agreed to a Maruti car as dowry from the side of the bride. This was agreed to as the bride’s father wanted his daughter to marry somebody educated and the groom was studying in Jamia Milia Islamia. Everything was fine and the nikaah was performed with all pomp and show. However, when the time came for ‘bidaai ‘ and bride’s father went to hand over the key of Maruti Alto to the bridegroom, the latter refused to take it. The Groom said that he would not accept anything less than a Scorpio and Rs. 15 lakh in cash.

Since this was going back on the understanding, a fact known to the villagers who were present at the nikaah, the bridegroom and his father were not only beaten black and blue by the villagers, but they also took 25 baraatis hostage and tonsured head of the groom and his father. Later in the night, a village panchayat was called and it pronounced the decision that the family of the groom would have to pay Rs. 8 lakh to the bride’s family, which according to the Panchayat was the money spent by the girl’s family since engagement, if the groom, his family and the baraatis wanted to get released. Left with no other option the groom’s family agreed to pay the money. Then they were released. The marriage was called off and the groom was forced to divorce his wife even before the ‘bidaai’ as he did not ‘ deserve her.’

Meanwhile, the police chose to keep away from the spot. A senior police officer defended the move saying that in cases like this, panchayat takes its own decision.

My comments: I applaud the action of the girl’s parents, the village folks and that of the Police. In many places in India, particularly in Kerala, this pernicious dowry system is vanishing. Yet in large parts of the country, mainly in rural areas, the custom is in tact. It is not that the parents of the girls happily give away dowry. They do it because it is the custom. Often they are forced to sell part of their land or give away part of their savings or borrow money, with the indebtedness making their subsequent living miserable. Yet individually parents of the girls cannot oppose the system, because that would result in the girls not getting married. Social workers have to take the initiative. Educated and employed boys and girls will have to stand up against the system. The Panchayat has to take the initiative, as in the instant case. But the Panchayat referred to in the instant case did not oppose payment of the dowry but only intervened when the groom’s parents showed their arm twisting methods to get more dowry than agreed to. And once such a movement starts, then there is no stopping.

Bullying / Ragging in colleges

2009-06-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Intense ragging resulting in deaths and high level of trauma in the case of some students were widely reported in the press and there was total condemnation of ragging by society. What was sadder is that the public conscience is outraged only now that the media has bombarded us relentlessly with this news. Did events like this not occur earlier? Were our schools and colleges safe havens prior to these incidents.

Ragging is more of an initiation rite practiced in colleges. In earlier times everybody could differentiate between ragging ( mild form of humiliation of new students ) and bullying ( physical/mental torture of the new students ), though many may not have been able to precisely define the difference. But now ragging is becoming synonymous with bullying.

Most colleges allow ragging in the name of tradition. Managements of most colleges are aware and so also parents of wards sending boys/girls to these institutions that slowly ragging has got converted to bullying and unless something is done the situation may worsen as times goes by. Over a period of time sadistic practices are shrugged off by teachers and parents, largely as an aberration and not a disease to be dealt with.

It is wrong to assume that most of the bullies come from unhappy homes. In fact many come from perfectly normal and happy home/family backgrounds. So how has the problem gone out of gear. One, over a period of time society and particularly youngsters in the society, started admiring macho behaviour, to some extent on account of depiction of such macho characters as heroes in Indian films. Secondly, we are quite simply a nation prone to bullying. Our caste system is perhaps the most sophisticated attempt at legitimizing bullying. Children learn to bully servants from a very early age and parents not only condone this behaviour but tacitly give their approval. If we happen to occupy position of authority or influence or wealth, we encourage our children to flout rules, and flaunting of our authority when they are caught in the act.

So the point is that can many parents claim honestly that they are the right role models for their children when it comes to behaviour towards people much below them, be it in the shape of caste or position of authority. Second point is that unless there is a complaint, most of the parents just close their eyes to the ragging/bullying indulged in by their wards in the Colleges. Teachers are not capable of dealing with such hooliganism. And if the police is to do the job, then they would not touch students who come from families of influence of position. This is applicable to teachers also. Hence unless parents change their behaviour in the homes, many a child would grow up with the perception that he could torment somebody who is weak.

Right to Information Act ( RTI ):

2009-06-01T22:35:00.001-07:00

RTI has become a craze in cities and towns. Yes, many of the cases filed are frivolous. However, the empowerment through this Act, one and all, even the lowly persons, to question the mighty Government, to make the Government squirm and sometimes to rectify an injustice done, et all are welcome developments. Yes, many of the retired Government people with a grouse against the erstwhile Departments in which they served, would be raising many a question, not always for redress of this or that grievance, but to assert their right. It is also a heady time passing activity for many who may have nothing much to do. Yes, their activity would occasionally lead to correcting a wrong. But only rarely. Because bureaucrats, even when their actions do injustice to somebody, are capable of covering their tracks smoothly.

RTI Act has been widely acclaimed as a right step, both from the points of view of rectifying some mistake done by Government, and also unmasking Government action / information, which were hitherto largely shrouded in secrecy.

But there is a down-side to this development. Increasingly time of babus in some of the Government Departments is spent in furnishing the information sought and more than that on obfuscating the truth by vague replies. This is similar to Parliament Questions, on which bureaucrats spend lot of time in preparing clever replies. In both cases, bureaucrats spend much time in determining what information should be given. Information has to be brief, truthful but at the same time revealing as little as can to get over the situation. The position can be succinctly explained by the following example. A Minister, traveling with the Secretary in car in a village lost the way. The Minister stopped the car and asked the villager walking on the road, ‘ where am I.’ The villager replied, ‘ You are in your car.’ The Minister turned to his Secretary and said that ‘the answer is in best Parliamentary tradition. It is truth, it is brief, and it is not giving away any information.’ Both in respect of Parliament questions and information to be given under RTI, alas, the above would be the approach of bureaucracy. But my point is that since giving information under these two routes would take precedence over any other activity of the bureaucrats, they would have still less time to attend to other matters of importance.
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बिज़र्रे - वि इन्स्ताल्मेंट

2009-05-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

19. UNITED AIRLINES OF USA DECIDES TO CHARGE OBESE FLYERS FOR 2 SEATS

The airlines wrote on its website: ‘ those deemed too fat to fly must either purchase a ticket for an additional seat, or purchase an upgrade to a cabin with seats that address the problem.’ Flight attendants will search for passengers who can’t buckle the seat belts or put their armrests down. In case no other seats are available on a flight, the overweight flyer will be grounded until two adjacent seats can be found on the next plane out.

My comments: Depending on how this new measure turns out in the case of United Airlines, other Airlines in due course would decide what they should do. But here is a genuine problem of Airlines. Capacity in airline is largely measured by weight. So if a fatty occupies a seat, apart from the fact of his making the person sitting next to him uncomfortable, the plane may have to offload some cargo to accommodate the fatty. Junk food, lack of exercise, etc., have resulted in more and more fattys inhabiting our wonderful mother earth. As it is on cards that there would be more and more fattys, at one time or another the problem of fat of an individual gets translated to the service provider, be it in bus or cinema hall. Fattys must unite and agitate against this discrimination but where will they find a place to sit down together and chalk out their strategy against the lean and mean people, who think they have inherited the earth.

20. SCAMSTERS DUPE AN EXECUTIVE OF Rs. 40 lAKH.

They lured him with promise of reward to the tune of Rs. 6 crore. The scamsters floated fake websites of banks and courier service providers to execute the fraud. The scamsters contacted the victim and told him that he had won an award from a software giant. Later a man claiming to be representative of an international legal firm contacted the victim and sought his personal details in order to put the process of handing him the prize money. The victim was directed to contact the forwarding agency which was supposed to help him transfer his winning booty. The forwarding agency first asked for Rs. 3.2 lakhs for the consignment delivery which was paid by the victim. He was then told that one person – a ‘ diplomat’ – had been deputed to remit the money to him in India. Then the scamsters sent an e-mail to victim from one of their fake website in the name of prestigious UK Bank informing the victim that for the transfer of funds they needed a non residential tax clearance as well as an order fee of Rs. 3.5 lakhs, since the victim was not a British citizen. The victim accordingly deposited the money. The so called diplomat and bank contacted the victim for more money. By this time, the victim had deposited a total of Rs. 22 lakhs to various accounts as advised by the scamsters. The scamsters again wrote to the victim demanding Rs. 2 lakhs for ‘anti money laundering certificate’ and ‘anti terrorist certificate’.

Meanwhile a woman contacted the victim posing as chief remittance officer from Mumbai and asked him to deposit Rs. 10 lakh as insurance in order to claim the money. Ultimately the scamsters demanded Rs. 50 lakhs more for the money to be remitted. By that time the victim had no more money available with him. He complained to the police.

The police have not been able to make any headway in the matter as the scamsters have been careful to ensure that there is no trail.

My comments: There is no limit to human greed and gullibility. I have no sympathy for the victim and in fact some lurking admiration for the scamsters. They would have meticulously planned the operation. They would not have picked up just anybody to be their victim. They would have studied the psychological profile of the victim. But the best part is their evaluation of the victim as a person who would not confide with others what he is doing. And they made the victim to cough up lot of money. They had taken risks. Will they be caught. I doubt it. If they can pull off with a tricky operation as this, it would be a child’s play for them to ‘ manage the police.’

21. TERMS USED THESE DAYS TO DENOTE BLACK MONEY TRANSFER:

Money launderers and plain crooks have changed the terms or nomenclature to denote the amount of money involved in undertaking a job or in betting or for giving to a politician. It was ‘ peti’ and khoka’ for along time. One would have heard the terms in Hindi fillums. But these terms have lost their shine because of their overuse and easily identifiable by law officers, who now tap phones. The new terms are ‘ kitab ‘ and ‘ copy.’ Given below are the terms for the level of money involved:

1 Copy - Rs. 10,000

1 Alphonso - Rs. 1 crore

1 Kitab - Rs. 1 crore

1 Rupiya - Rs. 1 crore

1 Khoka - Rs. 1 crore

1 Peti - Rs. 1 lakh

My comments: When you go to market next time and ask the vegetable seller ‘ two alphonso’ you could run into the risk of conveying the message that you want Rs. 2 crores of black money. If you send a message to a relative or friend that you are sending a box of alphonsos or some kitab and if perchance the authorities are checking your messages, you could be in trouble. While media and general public use the term of ‘ Black money, ‘ in the parlance of business people and politicians the same is termed as ‘ No.2 account.’ In these days when you can’t make out between a crook and decent guy, it is better to have some basic knowledge of these factors.

National election and Government formation

2009-05-24T23:22:00.000-07:00

Related to the subject matter, we seem to live with lot of amnesia, wishful thinking, incomparable comparisons, sweeping assessments and throwing unpalatable truths under the carpet. The media ( both print and visual ) is the biggest culprit of these tendencies.

· 30% to 40% of MPs were being replaced in the national elections in the past, which happened this time also. So what is there to hype about it.
· Media launched hyper campaign urging everybody to vote. Now is there any difference between one who votes negatively, i.e., to none of the candidates, as allowed by Election law and one who does not vote. In many countries the %age of voting is slightly above, equal or lower to the level of voting in this country. Since the number of voters for each constituency is far higher in India ( because of our huge population ) compared to almost all countries, in relation to the concept of election, does it matter if voting is 40% of voters population, which would be much higher than the votes polled in other countries.
· Caste was not the sole or even the most important criteria for voting in villages in the past as has been the case in this election also.
· There has been no youth wave this time, as media made it out to be. In fact the number of youth elected this time is lower than the number of youth elected to the first Parliament.
· Media hollered: ‘ this country must be now be run by youth, as in other countries.’ By far most of the countries are run by old people. And then again why make this principle only for running the Government. Going by the philosophy of media that youth will deliver, why not old people in all other professions and business and trade and particularly in the fourth estate retire.
· Media now comes out with lot of half hearted explanations on their predictions going wrong.
· There was call in media for American type presidential election debate in India also. Alas, there is no limit for ignorance. In America either of the two candidates is elected as President. In India the leader of the ruling party and/or the opposition leader could lose in elections and then again it is only after the election the party nomine for the post of Prime Minister is decided / nominated by the parties. So who will debate with whom before the verdict of the elections.
· Nepotism, corruption and inefficiency are parts of all walks of life in India. Then why think in terms of only politics to be above these negative attributes.
· To media America is the world or the country to emulated. But from a number of points of view that is wrong ideal. Take the recent financial scandal or the warming up of the earth or uninhibited consumption, then America is not at all the model. There are over 25,000 lobbyists in USA. Whoever can influence the elected and Government there, get the dividends. And in this process much money changes hands, illegally, apart from other allurements. Should we emulate that example.
· Dynasty in politics. This is also questioned by media and typically the media quotes the example of America. But societies of these two countries differ vastly. In India family ties are much more strong. Father to son in terms of bequeathing property is the norm. Son follows father’s profession or occupation, be it agriculture, business, profession, politics. So why only pick on politics.
· Caste politics is derogatively addressed as a major problem in India. But then world over the situation is not different. White man vs Black man, Catholic vs Protestant. In our personal lives we follow all the nuances of the castes to which we belong. Then how could it be separated in politics.
· The media is its full blast on the economic reform agenda for the new government and what media means reform agenda is only related to business. Yes, that has to be attended to. But the first priority has to be delivery to the masses provisions made by Government, be it providing drinking water, education, medical facilities, assured employment for a number of days, etc.

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Bizarre - Ivth instalment

2009-05-20T23:30:00.001-07:00

15. DENMARK DOCTORS HIRE CALL GIRLS FOR PATIENTS

The Danish Government made no objection to this development. There was a tendency earlier for some of the patients to seek company of female employees for honourable purposes! To cope up with this situation and not lose clientele, doctors came up with this innovative idea. This neat arrangement is bound to be followed by some other countries, because hospitals there may find exodus of male patients to Denmark.

My comments: This news may bring wariness, astonishment, shock, etc., among many of the Indian readers. But come to think of it and one may see plus points. Patients go to hospitals for treatment and occasionally for recuperation also. Treatment and recuperation could be through medicines, operations, rest, etc., This new development has to be viewed from this perspective. If the added activity (!) of the patients leads to curing their problems, then why not. Whatever puritans may say, this is the truth.

16. UK HIRED AN ASTROLOGER TO FIGHT HITLER

Desperate for a glimpse into Adolf Hitler's unpredictable mind, British spies hired an astrologer during World War II to write horoscopes of Hitler and other Nazi leaders.

My comments: Astrology is an enigma. It has no scientific approval. Yet even rational people are hooked into it. Most of the people at one time or other would have noticed that some of the predictions of astrologers had come true. And then onwards they are hooked, despite many other projections going wrong. The truth is overlooked that without any knowledge about the future one could do some guess-work and some such predictions could come true. If something goes wrong, i.e., against the prediction, then pundits advice the corrective measures, most often this or that puja. However irrational it may be, people who are believers in astrology, cannot shake it off. That is why still the mandatory horoscope matching before marriage among Hindus in India. And many people consult astrologers or look at their horoscopes before undertaking travel. It is because of this belief in astrology that so many TV channels and magazines thrive. There are daily columns in papers. Illogical. But beliefs are beliefs, such as, There is God/ there is no God, and it would be naive to look at the matter from the point of view of rationality. The beliefs have been carried on for ages. Our genes contain that belief transmitted from generation to generation. It is difficult to shake off that belief. Hence even after another century, astrology would in all likelihood would be as much sought as it is today.

17. WEIRDEST EXAM SUPERSTITIONS.

Wear blue and then you will pass the exam - so said a Pundit to a student. And that is exactly what the student did: blue shirts and blue pants to blue underwear. Some use only one lucky pen. Some don't shave during the period of exams. Some don't take bath on the day of exam. Some use only green pencils. Some have a peg of whisky before the exam. Some, being superstitious, start with the fourth question first for writing the answer.

My comments: Man by now have achieved many things. Yet, when it comes to superstitions he is still in the primitive age. It is there in his psyche. This has nothing to do with education. It must be a punishment of God. That is my reasoning or is it my superstition.

18. A husband too many

A 32 year old woman and her parents were arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly cheating city businessmen over the last 18 years.

The police said Bangalore based Kausar Begam cheated people by marrying them and fleeing with their money and valuables. Then, she would register complaints of dowry harassment against her husbands. Begam's parents Iqbal Pasha and Gulnaz, who had allegedly been assisting her, are in police custody.

The police said the trio targeted only businessmen and visited five star hotels to approach them. Begum would befriend the victim and propose marriage. After the wedding, she would flee with valuables and threaten to lodge a dowry harassment case.

My comments: I like crooks who do such operation. There is style. They are not uncouth. If there are suckers in the world, then there would also be tricksters. However, I cannot resist commenting that the tricksters as above are really people with verve, energy and courageous.

Bizarre - IVth instalment

2009-05-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

11. PRISON IS MY HOME AND INMATES MY KIN – JAIL IYER ENJOYS BEING BEHIND BARS

For about 40 years Chandrasekhar was in the Chennai prison. He was arrested for the first time for a crime when he was a kid. When the time came to release him, Iyer felt that prison life suited him better than life outside, with no relatives, friends, no education and no vocational training. Every time he was released he would make shoddy attempts to impersonate people and would be caught and sent back to prison.

Thanks to his long years of incarceration, Iyer has forged a fantastic spy network among the prison inmates. Fiercely loyal to the prison establishment, he has earned a reputation for being reliable informant. He was always the first to inform jail officers if any of the inmates are planning any jail break or other crimes within the prison. Iyer was so trustworthy that prison administration used to send him, with other staff to market to purchase vegetables for the prison. Iyer was also the most preferred orderly for top prison officials posted to Chennai Central Prison.

Iyer also mastered the provisions of Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Jail Manual. Aware of every bit of information that could be useful to inmates, he has given other inmates advice on how their cases should be handled and which lawyers to engage. When he was transferred to another jail, Iyer got a Court order to return back to his original prison.

After his release his whereabouts are not known.

My Comments: South Indian Brahmins ( Iyers) are by nature studious, hard working, honest, ritual oriented, who give a lot of importance to kinship. They are goal oriented. Rarely one comes across an Iyer who is a thief or pick-pocket or a goonda. This Iyer must be an exception. But I immensely like him. He has endeared himself both with prison authorities and jail-mates, despite his being an informer to the jail authorities on any plan of inmates for jail break. That this Iyer has become an icon must be due to the attribute of goal oriented I have mentioned above about Iyers. Readers who share my views join me in wishing this person luck and joyous life.

12. BILL BOARDS WITH ‘EYES’ TO FIND TARGET PRACTICE AUDIENCE

A new high Japanese electronic display can instantly identify people's sex or age range and target them with advertisements to suit them.

The 50 inch plasma display will appear at an annual festival in Tokyo run by Fuki Television network.

If the device finds viewers are predominantly female in the 20s, it will show cute miscellaneous items sold by Fuji Television for young women. Changing advertising products in accordance with the viewer would bring advertising closer to the purchaser, according to the Company.

My comments: All of us are fascinated with new innovations. It is only after some time that we find the negative outcomes. But there can be no two opinion that the Japanese are on the top in inventing such gadgets and that is the reason for their being the second richest country, after US of A.

13. THE CRAFTY BURGLAR, WHO TOOK TO BURGLARY TO SUPPORT HIS WIFE’S LUXURIOUS LIFE STYLE.

62 year old Balaraman, is a nimble fingered carpenter. He had atleast 60 burglaries to his credit. He is almost a permanent resident of Central Prison in Chennai where he has spent over 30 years.

More than the number of burglaries, Balaraman stands out for his style. He is not the kind who breaks into a house and snatches what he can. Lazy some may call it, but Balaraman likes to spend five to six hours inside the house being burgled. He does not call it quits, even after the job is done. He raids the kitchen for food.

Balaraman did the burglaries to enable his wife to a have luxurious lifestyle. And as a carpenter Balaraman could not earn enough to meet the wishes of his wife. According to Balaraman after doing two or three burglaries, which would enable his wife in style for some time, he is ready to enter prison.

Balaraman is an excellent carpenter and his talent has been used by prison officials when he was in prison.

My comments: We see such characters only in films. I wish I could meet this fellow in flesh and blood. Could there be any other woman in the earth who is luckier than this gutsy guy’s wife. Here is a character who is willing to go to jail time and again just to make his wife live comfortably ( and happily, I suppose). He has elegance and style. He is not every day burglar who would make haste in removing himself from the scene of crime. Here is a fellow with an attitude. After the burglary he settles down for a meal in the house which he has burgled. I think this guy is an excellent material for a psychological study

13. SPANISH PARLIAMENT TO GRANT SOME HUMAN RIGHTS TO APES

The Spanish Parliament has proposed to take the unprecedented step in according limited human rights to apes. ' The ape will not be arbitrarily deprived of its liberty and hence will not be confined to jail. No more use of apes in circuses, TV ads and experiments.’

Some argue against this proposal: It is a little surprising that Spain known for its bloody bullfights, would become the first country in the world to take such a measure. Then again, what rights do animals have in the wild.

On the other side many feel that apes / gorillas cannot be grouped absolutely with other animals. These creatures are in many respects a specie between human beings and animals and hence they need to be treated more benignly than other animals.

My comments: Man who is the descendant of monkeys/apes, progressed in the management of his life and requirement of food. Then learnt to speak and write. Then he made technological progress. The monkeys and apes are still there where they were when human beings took a different path. Then human beings grouped monkeys/ apes with other animals because they had not progressed and were living like animals. In other words, man had the amnesia of development and forgot his ancestors. Then as research of animals progressed, it was noted that monkeys/apes have certain characteristics which are different from other animals. The latest development is just one step for human beings to revisit his origin and show some kindness to our forefathers or to atone for the sin committed by human beings to their ancestors.

14. FREE ENTERPRISE OF THIEVES

Some time back in Bangladesh thieves had grouped themselves into an Association, one of the functions of which is to offer training courses to new entrants, particularly in picking pockets. The Association was able to enroll within a short time of its formation more than 10,000 members. How could India lag behind Bangladesh. Sometime back Delhi police arrested 11 members of a pick pocket gang, which had specialised in picking mobiles from parked vehicles. The gang was running in corporate style with members ( professionals ) working only on week days and getting wages for their weekly off. They also got paid holidays when they felt like taking a break. Even the work was highly organized and specialized. There was a fixed formula for 'profit sharing.'.

My comments: . Pickpockets and other thieves do wrong. But they now have the gumption to admit that they are doing so. Is that the case with other people who pilfer money from the government, form the people, etc., Common people have an aversion for politicians. Common people are exasperated with babus. Common people dread policemen. The avarice level of businessmen is a known fact. Doctors and lawyers squeeze their clients, irrespective of the fact whether the clients can afford. Collectively they do more harm to common man than the pick pockets. But all of the above groups have their respective associations. Then why not the pick pockets. Yes, their effort of forming an Association is not without merit.

Bizarre - 3rd instalment

2009-05-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

7. FAIR PLAY: MONKEYS, APES HAVE SENSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG.

Monkeys and apes have a sense of morality and the ability to tell right from wrong, according to new research.

In a series of studies scientists have found that monkeys and apes can make judgments about fairness, offer altruistic help and empathize when a fellow animal is ill or in difficulties. They even appear to have conscience and the ability to remember obligations.

The research implies that morality is not a uniquely human quality and may have arisen through evolution. It could mean the strength of our conscience is partly determined by genes.

The scientists say that the evidence is clear. ' I am not arguing that non-human primates are moral beings but there is enough evidence for the following of social rules to agree that some of the stepping stones towards human morality can be found in other animals.' said Frans de Waal, professor of psychology at Emory University in Georgia in the US.

De Wall described experiments on monkeys and apes to see if they understood the idea of fairness. The animals were asked to perform a set of simple tasks and then rewarded with food or affection. De Wall found the animals had an acute sense of fairness and objected strongly when others were rewarded more than themselves for the same task, often sulking and refusing to take part any further.

Another study looked at altruism in chimps - and found they were often willing to help others even when there was no obvious reward. ' Chimpanzees spontaneously help both humans and each other in controlled tests,' said de Waal.

Other researchers, said de Wall, have found the same qualities in capuchin monkeys, which also show ' spontaneous pro-social tendencies,' meaning they are keen to share food and other gifts with other monkeys,
for the pleasure of giving.

My comments: Among the living species, it is only the human beings which is not ashamed of the unfair practices indulged by them. They kill for pleasure ( hunting ), or based on their beliefs ( religious wars ) or their megalomania ( killing to conquer other countries ) or for other reasons, though such reasons do not affect them ( say, capitalism vs communism ). They have been spoiling the environment. And they have been depleting the resources of the earth at an incredible speed, unmindful of future havoc. No animal does so much wanton damage and killing and injury as human beings do.

8. A 21st CENTURY DRAUPADI - DURYODHANA GETS A BASHING

Those who have read their Mahabharata or watched the B R Chopra mega serial will always remember that climatic moment when Yudhishthira loses the wife in a game of dice and a weeping Draupadi is dragged to the gaming hall in the royal palace at Hastinapur where the disrobing of the Pandava’s wife is divinely pre-empted by Krishna.

There was an entirely different twist to the tale some time back on Diwali night in the Kundapura village in the Dhampur tehsil of UP’s Bijnor District when a drunken 28 year old Ram Singh gambled away first his money, then his ring and finally his watch before staking his wife for a sum of Rs. 5,000 and losing her too. When the winner went to Ram Singh’s house to claim the wife, what followed was completely contrary to what Vyasa had scripted. Instead of letting herself be dragged away, Ram Singh’s wife picked up a burning log of wood and used it to beat up the winner who fled in tears to the nearest police station.

The matter did not end even when the cops intervened and the loser borrowed Rs. 5,000 and paid off the winner in cash instead of kind. When Ram Singh returned home, he was severely beaten up by his wife. The thrashing stopped only when Ram Singh begged for forgiveness and wailed that he would never, ever gamble again his life!

Draupadi has come a long way since the Mahabharata! Today’s Draupadi obviously believes that God helps those who help themselves! So much so that today’s Duryodhana has to cower behind the law-enforcing Bhishma to escape retribution. And today’s Yudhishthira has to fall at Draupadi’s feet to be accepted by her. And if Ram Singh reforms, we could even see that traditional proverb being re-adapted to state that ‘ behind every successful man is a woman with a broomstick or a burning log in hand.’ And Kundapura village may have already left Kaliyuga behind and moved into golden age of its own!

My comments: The educated and ritual oriented Indians quote ad nauseum the teachings and actions in the ancient religious texts to justify many of his impious actions. The 20th century Draupadi as in the subject matter has set an example for women who are treated as property of men. The real liberation of this country would take place only when uneducated, non-earning women would oppose their being treated as door mats or property of men. In other words, male chauvinism has to be opposed by not only women but rational men also.

9. KIDS, AGED 6 & 7, TRY TO ELOPE FROM GERMANY TO AFRICA

The two childhood sweethearts eloped from Hanover determined to tie the knot under the African sun. They said that they are very much love and decided to get married in Africa where it is warm, taking with them as a witness another girl aged five. The idea for the romantic trip began when one of them told the other two about her holiday in Italy and how enjoyable the same was. These kids were picked up by police at the railway station and the police officers managed to convince the young lovers that they would struggle to get to Africa without money or a plane ticket.

My comments: With the passage of time, children in some respects are growing very fast, unrelated to calendar years or compared to the position obtained in the past. There are many reasons for this. One is the TV from which children learn what adults can do. Then they get the feeling why not they also imitate. In the instant case, all those read the write up would smile and wish well for the toddlers. Curtain.

10. BOYS BEWARE! SPY GIRLS ARE WATCHING

In Delhi parents of some of the college students are engaging spy girls to keep an eye on their wards. A large number of parents in Delhi are taking help of private detectives to track their children's movements. In most colleges of Delhi, there are girls who work as a campus detective on part-time basis. These girls are trained by the private detectives to carry out their operation secretly. These girl students or detectives get into the group with which their subject hangs around. Any undesirable relationship, drug abuse or alcohol, late night hanging out with friends is traced with the help of these amateur girl detectives. These girl detectives also undergo a training session on how to carry out the spying without revealing any detail.

My comments: Either I am a moron or the story is wrong. Most of the parents with college going sons and daughters are more worried about their daughters than sons. In fact even when the parents come to know about the peccadilloes of their sons, they would shrug it off or give a mild warning to the boy. In Indian society the current belief is that ‘ boys will always be boys’ and they will do things to imitate what grown up men are doing. Parents do not expect them to remain chaste. But when it comes to daughters the approach is quite different. Parents are all the time concerned. Late return to the home from college becomes a serious issue. So also going out or talking on phone with boys. So if not already started, I expect that there would be more boy spies to keep an eye on girls.

2009-05-11T21:54:00.001-07:00

DOES IT MATTER WHICH COALITION OF PARTIES COME TO POWER IN INDIA

Very little.

1. If it is a Congress led coalition, then the Government would continue with its current policies and the track set in, except some nuance change here and there to accommodate the wish lists of coalition partners.

2. If it is a BJP led coalition, then there would be symbolic gestures to appease hard core Hindutva supporters, be it trying to have Uniform Civil Code, relook at financial subsidy for Haj pilgrimage, building of Ram Mandir, early hanging of Afsal Guru and hesitant moves to have a fresh look at Nuclear treaty. Rhetoric against Pakistan may go up. There may be slight shift to have more friendly ties with Israel. To earn brownie points, BJP would alter the course adopted by Congress in this or that area or subject, i.e., matters which would not fall in the ambit of being contentious or momentous. Yes, the rhetoric on the course change would be strident to make the point that BJP is different from that of Congress. That is all. But to a large extent BJP would be hamstrung in making much head way in matters, which are labeled as Hindutva agenda, because of stiff opposition not only from Congress but also from major alliance partners of BJP, apart from the civil society. BJP would also be wary of world opinion in implementing Hindutva agenda too stridently, for example, the curricula in the schools and colleges.

3. Whichever group Communists support would have to function with partially accommodating some of the dictates coming from the left, such as, re-negotiation of Nuclear Treaty, fetters on business, not opening / increasing any more foreign private investment in equity of Indian entities, such as, Insurance, hard-line on America, not opening market for giant retail companies of the world, etc.,

4. But the important point to be noted is that on most of the policy matters, mainly in the economic realm, the course has already been set during the last ten years and deviating from the same would be difficult, whichever coalition is in power.

5. Whether it is the Congress or BJP led alliance which comes to power, demands of alliance partners would be for plum posts in the Government and more largesse from the Centre to the States where they are in power. Alliance partners would exploit the opportunity of being in power at the centre to consolidate their own position in the States where they have good following. The opportunity to improve personal financial position would not be lost sight of by the leaders of alliance partners.

End-note: The tragedy is that whichever group comes to power, the burning issues of the society would continue to receive largely lip sympathy followed by some half hearted measures but not concrete remedial action, though there would be high sounding rhetoric from whichever party in power of measures taken in that direction. And what are the serious issues:
· Naxalite / (internal) terrorist virtually ruling over 60 Districts in the country,
· the intended beneficiaries (poor / unemployed people ) not getting the benefits doled out by the Central Government,
· drinking water problem,
· abysmal medical facilities / most unsatisfactory position in the area of elementary education
· low agricultural yield
· pension for all old people,
· and more importantly, three meals a day for all.

Humour

2009-05-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

OK to slap spendthrift wife

“ Newspaper Report: A Saudi judge has told a seminar on domestic violence that it is okay for a man to slap his wife for lavish spending, a local newspaper in Saudi Arabia, reported. Juddah judge Hamad al-Razine gave the example of overspending to buy a high-end abaya, as justifying a smack for one’s wife . “

How naïve the judge could be? ‘ Over spending ‘ is not a term in the vocabulary of women. That has been the position since time immemorial or from the time Madame Cleopatra made Caesar and Anthony to dance to her tunes. A man is absolutely satisfied if his wardrobe consists of two dozen shirts / pants / a dozen coats. He would think twice before purchasing new shoes if he has ten good shoes. But in the case of women there is no limit. Affordability is a word applicable to men only. To women, begging/borrowing/stealing ( from husband’s purse ) is not a crime but a legitimate action if the same has been done for shopping. Poor women! They have to score above their best friends in having and also purchasing new dresses. That is not a point of issue for men folk. Fashion designers know well the logic and alchemy of women and that is why they come up with new designs every other day, unlike in the case of men, where a style remains in vogue for considerable time, sometimes even for a few decades. You don’t agree. What change has come to shirts/pants/coats in the matter of design during the last one decade. Zilch.

Silly man would wear the same dress which he likes for a dozen parties and every alternate day to office. But it would be mortifying for a women to be seen in the same dress in a party for atleast a month. For a man, friends and colleagues are not competitors in the matter of dress; contrary to the position applicable to a woman. Her main competition in this area is with her friends and colleagues.

The honourable judge appears to have no clue about the psyche of women. ‘ Sale’ attracts them like bees to honey, irrespective of the number of dresses they have. It is a must for them to keep up with the latest fashion. Man should appreciate, but he does not, that in the case of men fashion does not change eons, whereas it is a weekly, if not daily, occurrence in the case of women.

Women buy new dresses for various reasons: ‘ because others have it, because others do not have it, because it is the latest fashion, because it is affordable ( even if one has to take a loan for the same, i.e., if begging/borrowing/stealing, as mentioned above, are not options available for a number of reasons.’

The honourable judge also appears to have no clue on the psychology of women. If over-spending only invites a smack, many a women would gladly opt for such a minor punishment and go on with over-spending.

9th May 09 - News Items and my comments

2009-05-09T06:52:00.000-07:00

1. Gimmicks of leading English dailies: Both Times of India and Hindustan Times have claimed that each one of them is No.1 in Delhi. Both have broken the convention followed so far of going by the figures of circulation determined by the Audit Bureau of Circulation ( ABC). Neither of the newspapers have quoted ABC The claims made by these two papers are akin to fourth class students fighting for / claiming to be No. I in the class or athletics. These two newspapers have, vying with each other in publishing scandals, page 3 news items/gossip as matters of national interest, competing with each other in exhibiting Obama-love, reading too much in numbo-jumbo uttered by two bit politicians, etc., have been continuously going down in the esteem of readers. There is increasing yellow journalism in both the papers. And now the blatant claim of being No. in Delhi. Either there is fudging the numbers or the methodology adopted by one of them to determine the circulation position is circumspect.

2. Ragging bullies in colleges should see a shrink - that is the advice of the Supreme Court: The Court desired that colleges should take de-addiction measures for students hooked to alcohol and drugs. The directions of the Court were based on the recommendations of a panel of experts appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the matter. According to the Panel, alcoholism in the campus was the main reason behind serious ragging and violence. Yes, ragging is becoming a menace in campuses. Yet one wonders whether the recommendation made by the Panel/Court is practical. There has to be consent of the student, if he is major, and that of both the student and parents, if the student is minor, before the student is asked to under go de-addictional treatment or go to a shrink. Will the student and parents agree to the same. Then again the causes of ragging are varied, such as, fun, macho behaviour, one-upmanship among the other students, provocation of girls not properly attired, improper upbringing in the home, etc., Many of those who indulge in ragging may not be taking alcohol or drugs. From this perspective, the cure suggested does not take into account the totality of the problem.

3. British Hindus loses fight for open –air funeral pyre: The demand/request was considered by court. European Convention of Human rights was quoted. The petitioner stated that for a Hindu a pyre was essential to ‘ a good death and release of his spirit into the afterlife.’ Further, he felt that ‘natural cremation grounds would not offend public decency – as long as they were discreet, designated sites far from urban and residential areas.’ Justice Secretary of the UK Government took the position that ‘ people might get upset and offended by pyres and find it abhorrent that human remains were being burned in this way. It was a difficult and sensitive issue and the court must respect the conclusion of elected representatives.’

Occasionally one hears of such incidents, i.e., Indians who had gone and settled in other countries demanding that they perform religious rites or dress as if they were back in their homeland. Such an approach cannot be supported. For one thing, it alienates the people of the foreign country. More such incidents, then there would be demand to restrict inflow of such people. And lastly, how would Indians in the home land feel if nationals of another country settled/working in India want to conduct some rites according to the system they were following in their countries, which are not acceptable to Indians. And dress in the public as they please. Will we not make a hue and cry. The point is that since we are entering into a period of globalization with more and more people from this or that country living in other countries for long periods of time, none should try to upset the apple-cart of the host country, since we all want to follow the credo of ‘ live and let live.’

4. In China, pictures of executions of corrupt officials, leads to public call for more such executions : The pictures showed a corrupt official ( a woman ) is dragged from a lorry to the execution ground, made to kneel in the snow and then shot in the head. However, rather than eliciting sympathy, the 30 year old pictures have prompted calls for more executions of corrupt officials in modern China. The fact is that be it India or USA or China, the affected public would like to have the blood of corrupt officials spilled in the streets. Would the corrupt officials in India take note.

5. Germany bans very long names: Frieda Rosemarie Thalheim, the bride wanted to take the last name of her groom, Hans Peter Kunz-Hallstein, making her name probably one of the longest in the modern world. This happened in Germany. Germany takes a highly regimented approach to naming. Children’s names must be approved by local authorities, and there is a reference work, the International Handbook of Forenames, to guide them. Since names of many Germans and are long and with addition of the last name of the husbands make the names of ladies still long, in 1993 a rule was promulgated limiting the names of married people to a single hyphen and two last names. In the instant case the couple appealed to the higher court but lost in a split verdict.

The full names of people of some countries in this blessed world are very difficult for people of other countries to remember or pronounce. In India this is the case with some of the South Indian names. The position in North is quite O.K. Kamal Sharma or Kartar Singh is not difficult to remember or pronounce. But think of a Kerala name like Bhoothathan Kettil Thashevittil Kunhirama Panicker. To make the matters complicated, Government of India had long back stipulated that in certain documents pertaining to individual, full name should be mentioned. Let us copy Germany.

Bizarre - IInd instalment

2009-05-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

3. THE CHIMPANZEE REBELS AT HUMAN BEINGS.

“Stockholm: A canny chimpanzee who calmly collected a stash of rocks and then hurled them at zoo visitors in fits of rage has confirmed that apes can plan ahead just like humans. The male chimpanzee started building his weapons cache in the morning before the zoo opened, collecting the rocks and knocking out disks from concrete bounders inside his enclosure. He waited until around midday before he unleashed a ‘ hailstorm’ of rocks against visitors.”

My comments: ABOLISH ZOOS - who says so - me - loud and clear. I wish other animals in zoos would emulate this fine and laudatory example making it a hazardous for visitors to go to zoos and ape at apes and other animals. The lions could burst out roaring and gorillas could do menacing chest thumping and other animals could do what they can to really scare visitors to the zoo. In brief, humans should be scared of going to zoos.

Zoos are an anachronism in this era of better understanding of human beings on the planet not being just a fiefdom of humans alone. Flora and fauna are part of the mother earth. They have also a right on this earth. We humans have no business to put the animals in cages, especially so, as by nature animals like to wander. Zoo cannot be a habitat for these animals.

4. TELECASTING IN TV VOLUNTARY DEATH, i.e., IN A WAY EUTHENASIA.

Jade Goody was afflicted with incurable disease, probably cancer. Doctors said there is no cure. Hence Jade Goody wanted to die. So far O.K. There are millions like that. But then there is a strange twist. Jade Goody wanted to telecast her death and a TV channel agreed to do it.

My comments: ' Morality and decency of TV programmes have reached the level of utter nadir with this development. TV managements have all the arguments: Jade Goody wanted it. There is no proscribing such a programme. If violence and pornography can be shown in TV, why not euthenesia. Curiosity would have taken the viewership to exceedingly higher level with this programme. And TVs are all the time looking for viewership, i.e., TRP. In brief or coldly stated it is all commercial motive. TVs will argue that if you don't like it you are at liberty to change the channel. Most of the viewers are adults and they know what they should watch, so would be the argument of TV guys. Partly it is wrong. Children in large numbers watch TV. And in this particular case, curiosity would prompt many a youngster not to miss the programme. Even in the case of adults, watching programmes would affect their psyche, in the sense they would become less and less immune to violence and macabre.

In other words, what TV is saying that ' you leave everything to markets and let it decide. Ethical standards be damned. Censorship is an outmoded concept. There are other much worse corrupting influences in the world. Why only pick on this aspect.’

But is it civilized to telecast the same. Most people would say an emphatic NO. Should not the media respect that NO also.

5. HOUSEWIVES SEEK SALARY FOR MANAGING HOUSEHOLS:

A group of women in Wynad District of Kerala has floated a body to organise the ' voiceless and wageless women.' Its main demand is to introduce wages for women's toil in kitchen and other domestic chores. Kerala is noted for forming bizarre Associations. There is one for toddy drinkers. With football being a craze in Kerala, there are Argentenaian and Brazilian football Associations.

According to a member of the newly formed 'housewives' union ' while managing a household, on an average woman works at least five hours more than her male counterpart daily. Besides, her silent work helps men contribute more. His efficiency and production level is perked up. Some prominent women libbers in Kerala have given their support to this move. At the moment men-folk are looking at this development with derision. They think that it is a passing fancy.

My comments: These women are wrong. For one thing, while men spend lot of time in office, in actuality many do not work most of the time. Smoking, gossiping, visiting canteen, phoning buddies, ogling better looking female colleagues, doing some side business, etc., take an enormous amount of time during office hours. Of course when they go back home they put on a haggard and tired look, primarily to impress the wifies that they had a hard time. And to the wife they wail at the villainous character of the boss, double speaking colleagues, backstabbing associates in the office and then conclude by saying that they have to work under such extreme pressures. But then over a period of time, the stories have become stale and now most of the wifies are apt to find holes in the stories of bemoaning of hubbys.

At the same time wifies spend very little time in homely work. With packaged food, electronic gadgets making house hold chores somewhat comfortable and easy to perform, wifies spend most of the time in front of TVs or gossiping on cellphone with other wifies. But they also give a harassed look when the hubbies come back from office. Mutual charade!

6. PATHETIC CRY OF HUSBANDS HARASSED BY WIVES

If you are a husband or going to tie the knot soon, do not vote for Congress, comes the advice from 'Save Indian Family Foundation.' It is a group purportedly formed by husbands harassed by ' pro-women laws' like those against dowry and domestic violence. The Foundation even plans to field a candidate. Their slogan - 'Justice for Husbands.'

The group accuses the Congress party of creating rift between husbands and wives to increase its vote bank. ' Congress plays vote bank politics by dividing husbands and wives. In its regime, one lakh husbands were harassed by wives,' says Swarup Sarkar, Secretary of the Foundation, who claimed he got this data ' through RTI.'

Sarkar and his Foundation have already kicked of a full-fledged campaign, sending SMSes,e-mails, distributing pamphlets and pasting posters across the country to appeal to husbands to not vote for the Congress party. ' Do you know if your wife demands 1000 rupees for her kitty party and you give only 800 rupees, it is a crime by you as per law and who made such law? Congress,.' reads one of their pamphlets. But the Foundation has just one fear - according to its own research, 70% of the harassed men are associated with the party they are raising the war cry are actually against it. ' But I think it is out of personal compulsion, ' said Sarkar.

The Foundation alleges the government has overlooked its demand for a check on the misuse of dowry and domestic violence laws. Sarkar also claimed that over 56,000 suicide cases involving married men were because of harassment by wives.

My comments: My vote is to Sarkar. This is not for the reasons given by him but as a counter to the ascent of women lib movement, which is also making similar bewildering arguments against men. There is a role for man and another for women in the society. Now the feminists want women to encroach on the area for millennia reserved by convention for men. Feminists think that females by wearing pants and cutting hair will make them equal to men.

NATIONAL ELECTIONS – A CONTRARY PERSPECTIVE

2009-05-05T05:08:00.000-07:00

During the last few months the subject matter has been projected, discussed, debated, written about ad nausea. The print and visual media had gone hammer and tongs in analyzing, pontificating and interviewing experts and sundry on the matter. The fatigue level has been going up. Can we look at the subject from a differing perspective:

1. It would not make much difference to the citizens, various institutions, to the management of the economy or foreign policy, whether it is Congress or BJP led coalition comes to power. Over a period of time emphasis on governance is focused on detail, rather than on substance. The manifestos and rhetoric leading to election is in essence for the votes and not so much for governance. The country is in essence on auto pilot in the management of economy. The style of functioning a new Government, i.e., if an alliance other that led by Congress comes to power, may differ and so also the faces who would be in charge from the existing one.

2. Allies of BJP would not allow BJP to focus on Hindutva agenda in governance and hence BJP may have to do a balancing act. For example, BJP may, largely to satisfy its own constituents, make hesitant moves on Uniform Civil Code, largesse given to Muslim community by Government for pilgrimage to Mecca, building a new Ram Temple at the Babri Masjid cite, take some initiative on getting to India Black money stashed by Indians in other countries and give a new look at the Nuclear agreement to suggest minor alterations, so that the party keeps up its election promise. BJP will be on tenterhooks on acceding to the demands of RSS in backseat driving.

3. Communists will oppose any move of the new Government for allowing higher equity level to foreign investors or to further liberalise the economic management or privatizing Government controlled bodies. They will also push for abrogation of the Nuclear Treaty, though they know that nothing would come out of such objection.

4. Other parties aligning with either Congress or BJP would ask for their pound of flesh in terms of portfolios for their Ministers in the Union Government and seek more projects and funding for the States they essentially represent.

5. Need for alliance with other parties and pressure groups within the two major parties could result in some of the major Government Ministries being manned either by obscurantist persons ( as was the position in the last two Governments in the Human Resource Development Ministry ) or inefficient people ( as was the case in respect of Home Ministry in nHo Home H Home Ministry for a long time in the outgoing Government ) or corrupt persons.

6. Viewed in the above perspective, the antics of fourth estate, both print and visual, during the last few months on the subject matter is laughable and shows considerable immaturity. They have made the election a ‘do or die’ issue. To page 3 celebrities and cine artists, who thought that their exhortation to citizens to vote would fructify, the public gave a resounding reply ‘ you mind your business, we will do ours.’

7. 40 or 45% voting is equated with calamity. Convert this 40 or 45% in terms of numbers and compare the same with the number of votes cast in elections in many other countries. We have a huge population. 70 crore eligible voters for electing over 500 MPs. There are countries with 5 to 10 crore population. Even if the voting in those countries is 70% or 80%, in respect of numbers the same would be very small compared to the number of votes cast in India.

8. In some countries it is mandatory to vote. There are yet other countries where fine is imposed for not voting. So some wise guys have suggested that we should emulate such fine examples (!) without realizing that it is impractical and there is no need to consider such suggestions, whether the same have emanated from the Prime Minister in waiting or not.

9. Then there is the ludicrous suggestion that the leaders of the two major parties should debate publicly the stand of his party on various major issues – a la Americano. For quite some time both visual and print media ( English ) and page 3 people, have become unabashed admirers of American systems and suggestions are made to copy the same, with amnesia covering up their Indian-ness and also the ground level position in India.

10. The visual and print media ( English ) are out of tune with the realities of the country-side. Issues which the media thinks are of paramount importance to the country, are not the ones that agitate the village folk. To quote one example, for city fellows caste is skin deep only, whereas for villagers caste is a 24 hour reality in all aspects of their lives.

11. Ultimately, the point is not whether BJP has assured rice/wheat at Rs. 2 per kilo as against Congress’s promise of Rs. 3 per kilo to poor, but how far the party coming to power would really be able to implement at ground level programmes meant for eradicating poverty, assured number of days of employment, drinking water, schooling and medical attention to needy and that too actually at the ground level and not in paper.

********

2009-05-05T05:00:00.001-07:00

BIZARRE* & WEIRD+ - Instalment I

2009-05-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

OUR WORLD HAS ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT - AND IT CONTINUES TO BE SO

* eccentric, grotesque
+ strange, incomprehensible

(With the advent of newspapers/magazines/ TV/internet/websites, news of such behaviour and incidents reach everywhere, unlike in the earlier period when information spread was localized).

This write up is not confined to Bizarre & Weird incidents and behaviour of human beings. It looks at some of the present world tricksters. Unusual happenings, traditions colliding with modern concepts/beliefs, actions which go against established norms and twists in anecdotes, animal behaviour, etc., form part of it.

( I still vividly remember the central theme of some of the incidents in this genre ( unbelievable yet true ) which happened in the distant past, though my memory fails in recalling the details. A few of these are:

1. A clever guy sold Manhatten Island in USA to greedy estate agents. Of course the trickster had to spend months in planning his operation. He had to gain confidence of the estate agents. He had to ensure that the estate agents whom he approached would not tip off Government on the proposal. He had to visualize their questions and apprehensions and answer / clear the same.

2. There was yet another guy who sold to greedy rich people Eiffel Tower in Paris, and, presto, not once but twice, with an intervening period of ten years or so. It is his greediness and self confidence which made him to repeat the scam. He had to work for over two years in planning the details, gaining the confidence of buyers. The second time he was caught by authorities.

3. Two tricksters decided to hoodwink people of a county with the assurance that they have found diamond mines just 20 miles from the township. They came to a country, stayed in a lodge, kept aloof from local people, went out each morning on their horses with empty sacks and came back in the evening with half full sacks. In about a fortnight the curiosity level of the local folk on their activities reached the zenith. They tried to befriend the two guys. After a lot of persuasion, they reluctantly revealed the secret. They showed the people the rough diamonds they have been able to get after digging the area they had located. Now a number of people in the county wanted to partake in this venture. After a lot of persuasion two tricksters agreed to take them to the place where the diamond mine was located. After seeing the rough diamonds the people were convinced. The two people floated a company, the shares of which were bought by the people from the county. And one night both the tricksters fled with the money and rough diamonds.

After some time two geologists happened to visit the county and when they were told of the above episode they became skeptical as according to them there cannot any diamond mine in that place or its vicinity. The geologists were taken to the place where diamonds were found. Since the geologists were extremely skeptical they made a thorough search and then they found one diamond in the bush and another polished diamond. It later transpired that the two tricksters have been buying rough diamonds from various parts of the world for executing the scam. One of the investor from the county after a long search traced one of the tricksters and shot him dead. The other one was not found.

4. Spy catching is an extremely difficult task, since the spies are experts in their field and are extremely careful. Much more difficult is to extract from them admission that they are indeed spies. Two such real incidents happened in Britain during the Second World War are enumerated below:

· A young lady was brought to the spy-catcher by the police who thought that she was a spy. She had a story of fleeing from her place, which was likely to be taken over by the enemies, and walking over 100 miles to the safety of London. The spy catcher interrogated her for hours but could not find even an iota of flaw in her story to suspect her. Yet his sixth sense told him that she was a spy. After interrogation one day, fed up with lack of progress in the matter, the spy catcher walked out of the room in a terrible mood. In the verandah without his being fully aware, he kicked a concrete flower pot and cursed. For a moment he felt excruciating pain in the leg. Suddenly an idea occurred to him and he went back to the woman and asked her to remove her shoes and stockings. She complied. He found no blisters in the feet. The skin was extremely smooth. Then he confronted her with this evidence. How was it that there are no blisters in the feet when she had claimed that she walked over 100 miles. And then she admitted that she was a spy.

· A German was caught by the Police and interrogated him for hours and hours. But they could not break his story. The interrogator also tried his best without any success. Then he had an idea. He hung a picture of Adolph Hitler on the wall and the suspect was made to sit in a chair facing the photo. Then the interrogator picked up a few arrows and started throwing the arrows at the picture of Hitler. But whenever the arrow found the mark, he loudly cursed Hitler. He used various taunting expletives at Hitler, such as, ‘ Got you buster, next time it is the firing squad, your hangman is ready, etc., ‘ After some time the prisoner jumped from his seat and shouted, ‘ Hail Hitler. He will destroy England. All of you will be killed. You can only pierce his eyes in the photo. He is an Aryan. And so am I.’ End story.

5. Two thieves broke into a posh house in the night when the occupants were away. They packed all that they wanted to steal. Then their eyes fell on the bar of the owner of the house, full of expensive liquors. The thieves thought that they will have a peg or two of finest whisky and then scam with their loot. The whisky was so divine and one peg to another peg continued for too long that they fell asleep. And they were caught.

6. Two thieves wanted to break into a posh house for stealing valuables. They had earlier observed that the main door was made of thick wood. Breaking it was not possible. They were also not adept in picking door locks. So they attached a dynamite on the door knob and blew it. The sound brought the neighbours and police and the thieves were arrested. Then the police told the thieves that the owners of the house had forgotten to lock the door and if only they had twisted the handle and pushed the door, they would have got easy entry to the house.

End old incidents. Now let us look into the present day anecdotes and tricksters.

*******

1. IN A FIRST, A NUDIST-ONLY HOTEL TO OPEN IN GERMANY

In what is claimed to be probably the world's first, a nudist-only hotel is all set to open in Germany.

Yes, you have heard it right. All the hotel guests will be required to leave their clothes at the reception while checking in and must be naked at all times when on the premises - ' or they will be required to leave.' the Daily Telegraph reported.

' We hope to open as soon as possible. It will be the first comprehensively nudist hotel in Germany,' a staff member of the planned Hotel rosen-garten, Silvia Probsthain said.

The hotel rules state that all guests must put towels on chairs and lounges before using them, that there would be no sexual harassment and that all sexual activity in ' commonly accessible rooms' is strictly forbidden.

Nude hiking is proving increasingly popular in Germany and two villages plan to mark special forest hiking routes for naked ramblers. The practice is frowned on in neighbouring Switzerland, however, where authorities plan to fine such behaviour.

My comments: Eons back, i.e., for millions and millions of years human beings lived with their birthday suites. Then they started draping certain parts of the body, either out of shame or to exhibit modernity or for reasons we cannot fathom after all the time that has gone by. As time went by human beings started covering their body more and more. Then in some places started the reverse trend, i.e., discarding one by one garments or shortening the size of the garments. And then the next stage happened of having nudist colonies. The recent development is short of culmination of the last chapter, i.e., man back in his birth suite all the time. It is too early to say what is there in store out of the latest development. A wag said that ' neckline has been coming down with passage of time and hemline has been going up. The question is will they meet. ‘

2. MODEL-BOXER BANNED FROM RING OVER FAKE BREASTS

Model Sarah Blewden is the first Briton to be banned from competing as an amateur boxer because of her breast implants.

Boxing chiefs barred Sarah, 25, after being warned that repeated blows could damage breast tissue. The fighter, who hoped to compete in the 2012 Olympics, had a boob operation in 2003 taking her from a 32B to 32C.

Sarah, who runs a hair salon, only turned to boxing two years ago to keep fit. But she had talent and was stunned when the Amateur Boxing Association refused her permission to compete. Medics insisted her boobs were at risk of contraction or distortion if hit. Cells in tissue pushed forward by the implants could also be harmed.

Sarah, of Poole, Dorset, said: ' It is ridiculous. My surgeon said they make me no more vulnerable than any woman. They are not enormous and they are gel so won't burst.' She asked to wear a breast protector, but she was told it might not work.

ABA's Tony Atwood said: ' International rules forbid anyone with breast implants continuing to box.'

My comments: It started with Olympics and various athlete meets and probably in boxing, i.e., participants taking drugs and other substances to artificially enhance their performance. Agreed, the current story is not exactly in the same league. In the times to come various ingenious methods would be tried by sportsmen and women and artists to out perform others. There would be tricky situations. International agreements would have to be worked out.

2009-05-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

Death of two school children

2009-04-28T03:12:00.000-07:00

– theatre of the absurd followed the tragic incidents.

The death of one child was caused because of the punishment given by a teacher for unruly behaviour of the child. The death of girl student was allegedly caused because of the delay in treating her for Asthma.

These two tragic incidents happened very recently. People who read the story were horrified. The outrage was against the teachers. The teacher who gave the punishment to the child fled from the place to escape from arrest. If caught, people would cry for her blood and the same would be projected by media. Finally, if caught the teacher could face a jail term. There would be stern warning from the judge to errant teachers not to transgress the Laxman Reka in punishing children. Curtain to the episode. In the case of the unfortunate girl who succumbed to Asthma the jury is out.

Yet, there is another side to the story which we brush / shrug it off. And that is the ‘precocious child syndrome.’ Many would be regular readers of the cartoon ‘ Dennis the menace.’ Readers like him. The young rascal is full of activity, inquisitive, tormentor of the girl Margaret. To the old man in the cartoon, i.e., Wilson, Dennis is a nightmare. You see such devils in cinema halls, shopping malls, tourist places, etc., Those who are proximate to these creatures when the toddlers are in action, it is a nightmare, more so when they find the parents indulgently look at their wards. Some parents, aware of the fact that their children are first rate tormentors of those in their vicinity, hope that once they grow up they will change. Could be. But till that time it is those who happen to be near these creatures who have to go through hell. As a wag said ‘whether a child is precocious or naughty or terrifying or adorable, etc., depends on whether the child is yours or somebody else’s.’ Many a parent with a glint in his eye would watch his son or daughter tormenting a relative or a visitor. Parents tend to be indulgent. Then again many a parent assume that the child would outgrow from such behaviour with passage of time, i.e., when he/she grows up. It is also a fact that many parents enjoy naughty behaviour of their wards with others. Many would have noticed that the eyes of parents light up when they hear complaints about their wards from neighbours or teachers. Neighbours can avoid such children, but teachers cannot. Further, in the case of neighbours it is only a case of one or two children in the neighbourhood, whereas in the case of teachers there are too many and for too many hours in a day. Compare the despair of a mother in managing one child who is naughty to that of a teacher forced to manage a number of naughty children.

Because of the sad incident which is the topic of this write up, readers may tend to feel that I am espousing the wrong cause. But have you not come across such brats / devils in cinema halls, shopping centres, tourist places, etc., Many won’t like their behaviour. However, most of the onlookers or those tormented would put up with the errant behaviour of the children. Some would shrug it off. But not the teacher. It is her / his duty to contain and reform such errant behaviour. Unfortunately some time they over-step. The ability to withstand punishment varies from child to child. Parents know about it. But most of the teachers would not be aware of such differentiation.

To repeat, the teacher is at fault. Yet, one cannot overlook the other side. There was the other incidence of a girl who is an asthma patient. In the school the girl was not attended to properly when she had the attack. There was also probably delay in sending the girl back to her home. The girl died and the parents have put the blame on the school authorities.

Related to the above and such other incidents, there are two other angles, as below:

· Youngsters most often choose their future professions not necessarily related to their capabilities and aptitudes. There are a number of reasons for making wrong choices. Aspirations of parents. The belief of a youngster in his own ability in a particular field/area, though often erroneous. Examples are galore. A soldier/policeman, apart from having the required physical attributes, must be, more importantly courageous. Yet while recruitment the more important aspect is ignored. A good advocate should be an orator and should have the sixth sense to spot loopholes in the case of the opposite party. But those aspects are not scrutinized either by the parents or the youngster while opting for a career in the legal profession. Tunnel vision and high brow attitude are the anti-thesis for a bureaucrat. Yet there is no aptitude test before recruiting them in the bureaucracy. And they continue with these two attributes throughout their career. A nurse should have compassion. A teacher by nature should have love affection for children. The List is too long. But these examples would bring out the dichotomy. In the end what happens is that there is mismatch between requirement and attributes.

· Fourth estate has started adorning the robes of prosecutor and judge. In the TV programmes this is more evident, with viewers becoming the jury. Neither the complainant nor the defender is given required time to explain their respective cases. It is done by the know-alls in the programme. The whole debate is zeroed into the incident under discussion without exploring related angles and also whether such incidents are exceptions or wide spread phenomenon. In the instant case it is a wide spread phenomenon. But the TV debate did not bring out that aspect, making the current episodes having teachers as the villains.

Foot-note: ‘One of the widely read English newspaper has become pontificator in respect of the current subject. “ The teacher involved in this case ( child death ) must be charged with manslaughter – culpable homicide not amounting to murder…………it is about time that a strong message was sent out………………………’ This writer feels that it is about time that this newspaper stops publishing almost nude photos of cine stars and models and indulge in mudslinging of celebrities, because both have corrupting influence on the reader.

---------------------

DODDERING POLITICIANS

2009-04-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

ad. in a newspaper

" The great Indian neta. Allowed to tire but never retire.

Is not there something wrong? If a 60 year old man is not permitted to hold an ordinary job, how is he expected to run an economy that harbors millions of jobs like the one he is not good enough for? Today, 75% of our country is below 40 while only 7% of our parliament is. And there are many questions that need answering. Why is there no retirement age for MPs? Or reservations for youth in Parliament? Most importantly, where is the National Youth Policy for the world's youngest democracy? Let us raise it. Discuss it. Debate it: And push for it. Or at least, vote against it. “

Text:
Oldies! Vacate from Parliament and State Assemblies.’

Sub-text

You doddering oldies, vanish. You have made a mess of managing Parliament and State Assemblies, which means the country as a whole. Presto! We have found the mother of all solutions to the affliction that is eating into the vitals of our democracy. We the vibrant youth are ready and geared to take over from you.

This is the clarion call of educated youth, fully endorsed by middle aged educated people. Silence from the old elected representatives. They indulgently smile or shrug it off as the acrobatics of youth. Since both print and visual media have in their midst lot of oldies, this demand is under played by fourth estate, except publishing the message by way of ads. (‘How could fourth estate forgo ad. revenue!).

Yet, how can this happen unless Parliament itself passes a law for retiring people of 60 / 65 or above from contesting for becoming MPs or MLAs. 60 / 65 has been cited here as the retirement age because that is the position in respect of bureaucrats / judges and by and large employees of corporate sector, both private and public.

Even if the above utopian scenario becomes a reality, that would not take away the power of old politicians in various political parties. They will continue to decide the policies and programmes of the parties. And more especially the decision making on who should represent from their parties in the Parliament / State assemblies would be decided by the oldies. The youth elected would have to echo their wishes. In other words, unless the youth comes to power in political parties, situation at the ground level would not change, even if retirement age is prescribed for MPs/MLAs.

Then the question arises as to why single out politicians for fixing a retirement age. Businessmen continue to manage their companies up to 70 or 80 years. Doctors / lawyers and other professionals continue to practice their vocations much beyond 60or 65 years. So also retired Government employees. Many become consultants/lobbyists/ directors of various private sector companies or members of various Government set up Commissions and such other bodies. So is the case with various other occupations. Writers, cine stars, people manning NGOs and a host of others continue to be occupy / practice their vocations.

‘Look at US of A, (a country, according to our educated youth and middle class / upper class / professionals, has all the right practices,)which is ruled by young people.’ It is a myth. Many American Presidents / Secretaries and other senior Government people / Senators / Congressmen were and are old. US Supreme Court judges are appointed for life, despite the fact that in such an august office, some function with various stages of senility. The case is not any different in other Western countries. If one looks at Asia, the position is exactly similar to that of India.

It is the tradition of India and so also in many Asian countries for the old people in families to be the decision makers. Our concept is that with age, wisdom and maturity increases / expands.

Foot notes:

1. 30% to 40% of MPs and MLAs are not re-elected. Out of those not re-elected, some if not many would be old. But the moot question is whether political parties would allow more and more youngsters to contest elections.

2. To assume that if only young are elected maters would improve is to a large extent wishful thinking.

3. For an individual, essentially there are three categories of age, i.e., based on (i) calendar years, (ii)physical stamina, and (iii ) mental capability. Hence a person of 75 years of age in terms of calendar years, may be physically at the level of 60 years and mentally 40 years. This theory is applicable to youth also.

4. There was another ad. in newspapers stating ‘ if reservation is acceptable for Government jobs, thenwhy not reservation for youth in Parliament / Assemblies.’ This is to beg the question. Youth of this country are free to elect young people to Parliament / State Assemblies.

----------------

FLAUNTING RICHES

2009-04-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

Birthday present of a jet place to the wife. And yet by another a yacht. Building a home for Rs. 800 crores. Having palatial mansions in various cities of world and India. Companies buying jet planes for the exclusive use of their CEOs. Spending over 50 crores of rupees towards the marriage of the off spring. Buying a handbag costlier than that of a car. The list goes on. Some of the rich Indians have now got out of the inhibition of parading their wealth.

Naturally such incidents are widely reported in the English media. But then English media has only limited reach. But when these incidents are reported in the TV, particularly the vernacular channels, then reach becomes very high or widespread.

The reaction of viewers would be mixed. ‘ Why not, when these people can afford it ‘ - general reaction of upward mobile people. ‘ It is against the Indian culture ‘ - this is the view of by far the largest segment of Indians. ‘ They have earned it, so it is for them to do what they like, this has been the trend world-over, it is peanuts compared to the extremely lavish style in which kings lived just a hundred years back, spending leads to economic activity, etc., etc.,’ would be some other comments. Generally old people look askance at such exhibition of wealth, whereas youngsters tend to take the same in their stride.

However, it cannot be denied that such actions have social implications, particularly in country like India with extreme poverty, more so since TV is reaching every nook and corner of the country.

When kings ruled the country before merger of their kingdoms with India, people ( subjects ) looked at the kings with awe, fear and reverence. The kings had the power of life and death of their subjects. The courtiers of some of the kings even propagated the myth that the kings were progenies of this or that God, which many of the subjects believed also. Hence the term jealousy had no place in those times in the way of thinking of people towards their kings.

At that time even the courtiers, mofussil chiefs, and others including landlords and businessmen, while living in style far above the levels of ordinary people but much below that of the kings did hardly evoke any resentment among ordinary folks because the same was within the ambit of the expected and accepted.

Then came independence of the country. Politicians, instead of kings became rulers,. However, the subjects continued to hold their erstwhile kings with same awe as before. Over a period of time awe was replaced by respect.

Politicians of the immediate post independent era were of high integrity and lived simple lives.

Slowly business people started to live extravagantly which was looked at askance by politicians but ordinary people accepted the position in their stride but not with awe, as was the case in respect of kings.

The present scenario. Erstwhile kings are no more revered by their erstwhile subjects. Politicians became corrupt and amassed wealth but as most of them continued to live in simple style, jealousy was not in the psyche of people when they viewed the politicians.

Business people went on acquiring wealth. But it is only during the last decade or so that they started exhibiting wantonly their wealth. Palatial bunglows, luxury cars, frequent foreign jaunts, opulent marriages etc., are exhibited now with panache. This metamorphosis was quick and required time was not there for slow adjustment and take the same in their stride for people to the changes in the style of living of rich. It need to be noted that till a few years back ostentatious living and vulgar display of riches were frowned upon by most of the Indians, including those who had riches. There is no attempt to under play or hide the exhibitionist culture. And it is widely believed that this is done out of ill gotten lucre.

As the eminent writer Santosh Desai has written:

“Is anything vulgar any more. The idea of vulgarity has been appropriated as an epithet to be used by groups with extreme views on how other should behave.

To pronounce something vulgar was to banish it from the ranks of the civilized, by deeming things to be inappropriate rather than illicit.

Watching the IPL auctions and the media interviews thereafter, I was struck by the absence of that world from our active vocabulary today. Here we had a spectacle where the richest and the most glamourous body shopped the purest and the most talented by bidding on them. There was a television interview, with the owners all resplendent in designer glasses talking about their acquisitions. In the entire interaction, there was not a trace of self-consciousness about what was happening. After all, they were rich and beautiful and they had already bought Ferraris so why not sport stars now? The market in India is not content to be an invisible mechanism but wants to strut around dressed in gaudy finery. Wealth becomes real only when displayed. Money seems to create a vicarious thrall.

In the Television, unseemly squabbles between bit-has-beens and obscure never-will-bes, comedy routines based on cross-dressing jokes full of bawdy suggestiveness, high pitched melodramatic theatrics by reality show judges who are forever moving between tantrums, exploitive headlines in the name of investigative reporting on news channels, up-the-skirt camera angles used to cover a new sporting phenomenon called the cheerleader, the list is a long, long one.

The legitimacy of money and its ability to speak in a uniform voice, has blunted the sharp differences that existed earlier. The security once derived from one’s social class which made money secondary is no longer as much in evidence.

Television as a medium too hastens the move to privilege the quantitative over the qualitative. The TRP, which is a superficial measure of viewership, determines television content today; it is more important how many people watch rather than what kind influence a channel is able to exert.

In a world full of diverse people, there can be no uniform standard of good taste. One person’s aspiration can so easily be another person’s

vulgarity.”

It could be said that with the increase in the number of affluent people, level of affluence in the country going up and changing values, this trend is to be expected, as had happened in rich countries.

As is human nature, this change would also be taken in its stride in due course.

15. Yet one feels uneasy at this development, more so in a country like India with too many poor who are subsisting with unimaginable poverty. In that context the above mentioned change becomes an eye sore, which could have negative social implications. It is so and hence this emerging culture has to be deplored.

****

Pick-pockets

2009-04-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

The general refrain is that picking the pocket is like any other crime and hence pickpockets need to be punished. One can’t disagree with this supposition.

Yet at the same time pick-pocketing is in a different genre of crime. It is the most difficult and daring crime. It is invariably done in the public and the possibility of apprehending the culprit is much higher than in the case of other crimes, e.g., killing, robbery, stealing a vehicle, goondaism, confidence tricking, white collar crimes, etc.,

I have a soft corner for pick-pockets. It is a risky profession. There is every chance of being caught. They have only their nimble fingers for executing their job. They have to be extremely quick in conducting their operation and that too unobtrusively . It is invariably done in the open when there are other people around and hence higher chance of being caught. If caught they would be beaten by the people who are near, which is not the position in respect of most other crimes.

A pick-pocket has to appear to be as nobody, i.e., not conspicuous either in their looks or attire or body language or demeanour. Nobody in the crowd would give a second look at him. He has to dress also in such a manner that he does not stand out. When the people around have blue eyes, he would be noted if he has green eyes. So also hair and body colour. Suppose his hair is yellow or red or his body colour does not have an Indian look, then he would be spotted or remembered. So also if he is too fat, very tall or, say, has a bulbous nose.

A pickpocket has to carefully choose his victim, ideally a little absent minded or distraught and wait for the right opportunity and all the time keep an eye whether others are watching his actions. At the appropriate time, say, when there is a commotion in the bus/train/crowd or some other activity draws attention of all. When people are rushing out or getting into the train, when there is much jostling, he conducts his operation swiftly. That is the time when the attention of others are on getting in/getting out of the train or go ahead in the midst of jostling. His nimble fingers are the instrument for the operation. Once the operation is done he has to vanish quickly but without hurrying lest it attracts attention. On these counts it is an expert profession, whatever other value judgments one may make.

Then again the body risk factor in pick-pocketing is much higher than in the case of other crooked acts. If he is caught immediately at the act, then people all around pounce on him and beat him thoroughly. Invariably people derive vicarious pleasure in such an action, as if it makes them proper citizens, who should do a Samaritan act of catching the thief and punishing. And once police arrive, they also do the beating. And the downside of such happening for the pick-pocket is that immediately he has to shift his area of operation.

Pick-pockets are easy targets for Police. If caught. He would be subjected to beating by the Police, apart from Police taking money from him for not formally filing a case against him. When a person reports to Police about his being pick-pocketed, the Police would round up the pick-pockets who operate in the area where the incident had occurred and then subject all of them to sound beating to find the real culprit.

Apart from the risk involved as above, pick-pockets would have to live days without any income because they have not been able to zero in on proper victims.

Honourable thieves abound in this blessed country, most of them going around as proper and respected citizens. Many of them thieve Government money which is public money. Many vandalise public property. Many manufacture spurious goods. Corruption in this country is rampant. So also nepotism. So also vulgar display of ill gotten wealth. Many have deep prejudices, are sanctimonious, hypocritical and self-righteous This is only an illustrative list and not exhaustive. How is it different for a corrupt policeman to extract money from you and pocket the same for a doing his duty Does anybody think of these state of affairs when they beat or condemn a pick-pocket, labeling them as ‘anti social elements.’. So I look at pick-pockets not with the same eyes as most others do.

Foot-note: Some time back in Bangladesh thieves had grouped themselves into an association and one of the functions of which is to offer training courses to new entrants, particularly in picking pockets. The Association was able to enroll within a short time of its formation more than 10,000 members.

Signing off: As a nerd put it pithily ‘ a picket pocket must have steel balls.’

******

CARICATURES

2009-04-09T23:13:00.001-07:00

“A caricature is either a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness, or in literature, a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others. Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary drawn solely for entertainment. Thus, the word "caricature" essentially means a "loaded portrait".

PORTRAIT OF MALAYALIS (MALLU)
( Mallu is an affectionate term and not a pejorative one)

‘MALLU is individualistic in thought and expression and at the same time a social animal attracted to hordes of the same specie. To paraphrase the term coined by Amartya Sen, ‘ Mallu is argumentative but not destructive.’ To him mighty mountains and roaring rivers are not obstacles in his quench for reaching new areas for sustenance. His survival instinct is strong. He is not a warrior but a survivor, particularly when the odds are against him. Perfection is not his forte but sustenance is. Political genes transferred through heredity finds often expression, though often convoluted his justification for his thoughts may be. He is satisfied with achieving comfortable living, with not much attraction for scaling new heights. The specie of Mallu is found in all the nook and corners of this blessed earth.’

A full blooded Mallu does not subscribe to argumentum e silentio ( i.e., argument from silence ), but in argumentum ad ignorantium ( arguing based on ignorance ). Wearing a lungi ( dhoti ) with the portion touching the floor lifted and tied loosely at the waste ( which humourist Jug Suraiya called ‘half mast’), as is the Kerala style, with a baniyan and some times with head bandana of Kerala towel, with a beedi in his mouth, a Mallu, be he a barber or a cook, has an opinion which he would express firmly on all matters under the sky, some even tricky, and is cocksure of his views and metaphorically would be prepared to fight until his death to uphold the same. It is because of this trait that management of most companies dread the prospect of discussion or negotiation with unionists with a Mallu spokesman. The only place where Mallu does not exhibit his this unique talent is in his home because his wife, being a Mallu, would in no time demolish his arguments and his children would give a look as if he has gone bananas.

ORIGIN OF MALLU

Anthropologists aver that Indian continent was part of Africa very very long back. There is circumstantial evidence to subscribe to this finding when you observe the features of some of the Mallus. Curly, thick and jet black hair on the head and body, square / rectangular facial structure, thick, broad and pink coloured lips and tongue, strong face, stocky physical structure - Negroid features. Then there are Mallus with cat’s eye, extremely fair complexion, light blond hair on the head and body, thin/pursed lips, soft features - akin to that of Westerners and Arabs. And ancient history tells us that Westerners and Arabs came to India in the first to third centuries AD and a few settled/ stayed for a period ( and then probably went back ) in various parts of Kerala. During the period of their stay, they would have co-habited with the local population. Further, according to Modern history, large number of Brahmins from North had gone / fled to South a thousand and more years back. Obviously the genes of those people, i.e., Arabs, Westerners and Brahmins, who had come and settled/ stayed in Kerala for long periods, would have been transmuted while transmitting from generation to generation.

CARICATURE OF A MALLU ( By Jug Suraiya, Humourist )

‘ Passion, of course, is the core of the Malayali being. To the Malayali it does not seem to matter so much what you do or don’t do, just so long as you are passionate about it. So he is passionate about faith and he is passionate about skepticism; he is passionate about Communism and he is passionate about petro-dollar Capitalism; he is passionate about indulgence and he is passionate about abstinence. Which is why in Kerala you might see a lot of religion but not too much religiosity; ideology but not necessarily indoctrination, a lot of drinking but little drunkenness. Such cultural cross currents give the Malayali his innate dynamism.’
----

BENGALI BADRAPURUSH / BADRALOK ( BONGO )

When a Bongo converses with non-Bongos, there is no problem for Bongo but for non-Bongos there is one. Bongo pronounces often ‘ S ‘ as ‘SH’ ‘Bha’ as ‘Bh’ So when somebody wishes Bongo ‘Good morning ‘ or ‘Happy New Year,’ Bongo would respond by saying ‘ Shame to you ( meaning ‘Same to you’). Similarly, when a Bongo invites a non Bongo for ‘ Bhojan ‘ in his house, the friend who lands up at the house of the Bongo would realize that the invitation was to ‘ Bhajan.’

The second problem with Bongos is that they have been eating regularly large quantities fish for eons that most of them have started looking somewhat fishy.

In the somewhat distant past, the terms coined, such as, Bhadralok or Westernised Oriental Gentleman ( WOG ) or pucca Indian Saheb fitted the Bongos to the T. This happened by far because British had their first capital in the country in Kolkatta and stay put there for a long time. Many Bongos had to interact often with the British and the British style and manners rubbed on the pedigree of Bongo aristocrats. British looked with disdain all Indians including the ones imitating them as above. Many of the Bongos outdid British in being British. Taking a cue from British, Bongos, particularly, the Bhadralok there, started looking askance at people who were down and under. With the advent of Communism in West Bengal, Bongos had to reluctantly discard their westernized manners and appearance, because the same started inviting ridicule instead of earlier reverence.

Bongos are argumentative. And that probably put Amartya Sen in a predicament. Being a Bongo, he could not have put the title to his famous book ‘ Argumentative Bongo’ and hence the title of ‘ Argumentative Indian, ‘ though apart from Mallus, nobody else in India is as argumentative as a Bongo.

You broach up the subject of poor economic performance of Bengal, the Bongo would neatly side track the point by repeatedly, emphatically and proudly asserting how many great men were born in Bengal, Vivekananda, Satyajit Ray, Amartya Sen, et all. You repeat your point and the Bongo will repeat his reply/retort. The fact that most of the Bongos had not read Vivekananda or Amartya Sen or seen the films of Satyajit Ray, is neither here nor there.

Many Bongos wring their hands in despair at non Bongos alluding to Bongos innate talent / taste for fine arts, particularly music, both singing and playing various musical instruments. To keep up this image many of the Bongos spend hours and hours to learn these arts, though their hearts are not tuned to these fine arts. Yet another title which Bongos find it difficult to keep up with, is that of intellectual. They like the admirable label, but they know that they are not so. This forced generations of Bongos to memorise some of the things that the intellectual Bongos have said.

Confront a Bongo with the present day anachronism and inhuman system of West Bengal having human beings pulling rickshah or why snail’s pace moving trams are still there, he will have look of being cornered. With no proper explanation coming to his head, he will say that the case of rickshah is karma and that of tram, Bengalis like quaint and ancient vehicles, like Austin car. But he has more difficulty in explaining the incongruity of Bengal having both Mother Therasa and voluble Mamta Banerji.

Bongos will demur at the term that they are clannish, though in their hearts they take it as a compliment. Expression of this will be found in the Durga Puja functions celebrated by Bongos all over India. Just as in the case of Mallus, there is a contradiction in the case of Bongos also. Both are at the same time fiercely individualistic and yet prone to be unionists. Since Communism is supposed to bring in equality between all, Bongos will quote as proof that both Communists and the States which had Communist Governments have been consistently faring badly.

With their laid back culture for centuries, the best thing that Bongos enjoy doing is doing nothing. This virus had spread through out the State long back and become stay put, with the result that Bongos in the Secretariat do not even pretend to work, as is the position in Secretariats of other States. This ideal past-time is not confined to babus but et all with the result that business in Bengal is run by Marwaris, taxis are run by Sardis and low level work is done by Biharis. Bongos do not despair at this state of affairs. They are quite content to be in office between 11 and 4, with most of the time occupying in gossip, trivia of politics, tea/coffee drinking, smoking and just plain dozing. And during the Puja period everything in West Bengal comes to a standstill, as Bongos firmly believe that it is sacrilegious to do any work during the Puja period.

Football is in the blood of Bongos. When football matches are taking place anywhere in the world including India, all Bongos will sit before the idiot box, with tension and the general demeanour of ‘ office work – my foot.’ All Bongos are fierce in their lowyalty towards this or that Club. And a non Bongo risks physical assault from a Bongo if per chance the former expresses admiration to the Club to which the Bongo is opposed to.

Bengali language is musical, particularly when spoken by demure Bengali ladies with considerable grace and élan, who are also excellent hostesses. Since one cannot separate man from woman in analysis of this nature, Bongo men’s shortcomings are more than made up by the Bongo damsels.

TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE - THAT IS THE QUESTION

2009-04-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

After the interview held for the post of lady secretary, interviewers discussed pluses and minuses of various candidates. At the end the MD said: ‘ select the one with long legs, narrow hips and big boobs.
‘ If you are not voting, then you are sleeping ‘ so says Tata Tea ad.
Now all those who think that their words would have lot of weight on masses, including film stars, are exhorting everybody to vote.
It is our fundamental right to vote. Only through the exercise of vote can the people assert their democratic right. Wrong candidates can be thrown out through ballot box. No point in wallowing at the downfall of politics, when voters have the opportunity to send right people to form Government, etc., etc., are said ad nauseam – pontification of those who want to and are accustomed to preach.
But then consider the following:
By far, in our emancipated land, which is itching to catch up with world powers, voting is done largely based on religion / caste and / or party lines and rarely, if at all, based on the candidates’ qualifications, experience, honesty, belief in helping the needy, etc., ( Look at the past record. Veteran politicians with good past record, highly educated people, people who have been doing good service to the needy, etc., etc. have been roundly defeated in elections, largely because the various criteria quoted above ).
Once elected, politicians tend to forget the promises they made to electorate during the campaign. By far their focus shifts to making money, helping family and friends by bending this or that rule or through the route of favour from somebody higher up in the hierarchy, getting berth in Cabinet and if not then Head of some corporation, some foreign jaunts, favourable publicity in media, prepare for the next election, etc., Doing good for the people who elected him would be confined to making appropriate noises. In no time most of them become fixers for various jobs/contracts, and in the process enriching themselves. They, with plastic smile, occasionally meet their voters, and indulge in self eulogy. Their forte of oratory will be in full swing in castigating the opposition party. They will blame bureaucracy for all the ills that people of his constituency are suffering. If the opposition party is in Government, then all the blame for ills of his constituency are showered on the opposition party.
They go by the party whip, and not for what is good for the country or their constituencies. Nuclear Agreement is good / bad, reservation of jobs is good / bad, Uniform Civil code is good / bad, minorities should have an honourable place in the country or not, etc., etc., They may have some ideas on what is good for the country but if that is not in line with their party stand, they have to perforce follow the party line. They do not consult their voters on the stand point they should take; they merely adheres to party line.
A Brahmin would vote for a Brahmin and so also a Chamar for a Chamar. Has any Hindutva man voted for a Muslim or a Communist to a Congress man, though these two may be better candidates.
In party meetings they are told what the party line is on various issues and they are asked to follow the same. Any murmur, not to talk of protest, is firmly put down by the bosses.
Once elected, he is not sure whether he would be elected again. So the dictum followed is ‘ make hay when the sun shines.’ It would be hard to find an elected representative who is not much better off financially after his term ends, compared to his position at the time of election.
There are many elected people who have hardly uttered a single sentence in the Parliament / Assembly during the five year period of the House. Do they try to understand beyond a lay man’s understanding of various subjects under discussion in the Houses. Why should they do, that is the general refrain.
How many worthy representatives have got really involved in implementing various projects sanctioned by Government. Rajiv Gandhi said that out of one rupee sanctioned nearly 86 paise is pocketed by intermediaries and only 14 paise reaches the intended beneficiary. That was way back. Look at today’s 100 days assured work programme or subsidies for farmers. The story is the same. They will blame bureaucracy for this unfortunate state of affairs. But can they not step in and ensure that the intended beneficiaries of any scheme get the benefit. But then for them politiking is much more to their heart.
Have we at any time heard a politician saying that I have done this and that to the real needy in my constituency. He of course will never miss an opportunity to take credit for any Government scheme sanctioned which may help poor people. Otherwise, how can one explain the wretched life of Tribal people and the really down trodden.
I do not subscribe to any of the parties. So I would like to vote not on the basis of party. Then I should vote for independents. But I know that they can do precious little in improving the lot of their constituents, given the style of working of our legislature and Government.
11. I have never seen or heard various candidates of my constituency. In fact I won't even recognise them if I meet them or see their photos. I have no idea how good or bad they are. In such a situation it is quite possible that if I cast my vote it may be to the wrong person. Yes, it can be said that I should have taken more interest in such matters and ascertained the merits and defects of the candidates. But I have not done so. It is my fault. But if I blindly vote for this or that person, would I not be compounding my mistake.
AND SO I DECIDED NOT TO VOTE.
Foot-note - I: As everybody knows lot of gimmicks are part of elections. One I read recently is about parties putting up candidates with the same name of major candidate of another party. For instance already one Shashi Tharoor has filed papers against the real Shahi Tharoor. The ploy is to make some of the ignorant voters to cast vote for the dummy Tharoor.
Foot-note – II: Forget about the juvenile analysis of cub reporters / commentators in the media, particularly visual media, on the recent permutations and combinations. But strangely even the veterans appear to be off the mark. Consider the following:
Lallu goes on his own. He would have felt that strategy would ensure that his party gets more seats than a combine of Congress and his party. He may also think that by far his candidates are more winnable than the Congress candidates. And more winners, the better his chance to bargain. It is most unlikely that his party would align with BJP. So he will back Congress. But then he may ask for his pound of flesh, may be even a post of Deputy Prime Ministership.
The same, as above, goes for Mulayam Singh and Ram Vilas Paswan..
Remember, all the three of them are extremely comfortable with Man Mohan Singh, with his policy of accommodation and not ruffling feathers.
A Deputy Prime Ministership – that is what Sharad Power is looking for, knowing very well that Prime Ministership will be to Manmohan Singh. It is unlikely that BJP would offer him Deputy Prime Ministership.
Very little chance of Patnaik patching up with BJP. His party may join Congress Party in forming the Government or may give outside support.
DMK will continue to be with Congress. Ramadoss leaving won’t matter much as his party would get only a few seats. If DMK performs badly then the situation may change but it would appear that this is not likely to happen.
Communists may stay neutral but they would oppose any possibility of BJP coming into power. Their animosity level towards BJP is much higher than that of Congress. Then again within the Communist Party and particularly at the helm there are only two or three who are absolutely inimical to Congress / Man Mohan Singh. In a game of foreclosing any chance for BJP to climb the throne, Communists may come to the help of Congress.
Third front is only a chimera. There are too many contradictions with almost three or four of them wanting Prime Minister’s gaddi.
Mayawati is the only puzzle.
Hence the chance of Congress forming the Government with some of the other parties becoming part of the Government and some supporting from outside is what is there on the horizon.
---------

MATRIONIAL Ads. - yaa, hoo.

2009-04-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

‘ Innocent divorcee’
‘ Innocently divorced ‘
Hear from an old hand, and that is me. Don’t waste your time on a Sunday morning reading the newspaper, full of reports on mayhem or the shenanigans of two bit politicians. That only spoils your mood in the morning on a good holiday. Yes, ogling at the scantily dressed starlets in the third page or supplement would definitely cheer up the male reader/viewer. And for the females there is enough in the gossip column about the affairs of stars and also where ‘ Sale ‘ is taking place. But otherwise depression level goes up as you read more and more political stories. Instead, turn to the supplement on matrimonial ads. There is plenty to make you laugh till the lunch time.
Look up at the phrases in the beginning of this write up. You will first doubt whether anybody would write this in a matrimonial ad. You will think I have pulled a fast one. Believe me, not only these phrases are used in matrimonial ads. but there is plenty more in the same vein, as you would find out by the time you finish reading this write up. Doubting Thomases and those who wonder whether I am pulling a fast one could look into the supplement on matrimonial ads. to verify what I have stated, which is nothing but honest truth.

After studying the subject, pondering over the phrases mentioned in the beginning of this write up and applying my gray matter, I must say I have become an expert in deciphering what such phrases mean. If you want to enjoy reading matrimonial ads. then you have to develop the talent to decipher abbreviations and also what the advertiser wants to convey through certain phrases used. In fact I consider that this is a good subject for a Phd. thesis.
The fellow who had used the first phrase in the ad. wants to convey that he had an earlier marriage but that ended in a divorce. By adding innocently the word ‘ innocent ‘ he is crying out loud and clear that he was a victim in the earlier marriage and he is innocent in the break up of that marriage. He is seeking your ( reader’s ) sympathy and also making a clear and honest statement to those parents who are looking for suitable match for their daughters the fact that he is a decent guy and this is proved by his announcement of his innocence that ended the earlier marriage. Unsaid, he is reaching out to the prospective bride with a soul rending cry of ‘ here is an opportunity for you to put into practice the much adored Indian woman’s trait of giving solace to those who despair. I am a decent guy. I am an eligible bridegroom. But I have been taken for a ride. I am innocent. You could undo what fate has done to me.’ And there is an indirect proposition to the parents of girls looking for grooms. No big demand for dowry because he is divorced.
Mostly the ads. are from Indian males who had escapades in foreign countries forcing them in a moment of amnesia to marry white skinned women. Only a spoil sport would think of replyingto the effect ‘ O.K. you claim you are innocent. We want to verify the fact. Please send your ex-spouse’s address.’

There is something wrong with the phrase used in the second one, i.e., ‘innocently divorced.’
Does it mean that the person was sleeping when his wicked wife divorced him. Or did she drug him or hypnotize him and got his signature on the divorce paper and that he was not aware when the judge approved divorce. The above are only samples. More merrier is the ad. with the statement that the prospective bride is a ‘ virgin.’ But the hottest one is that which claims that the bride is ‘ absolute virgin.’ Now what is this business of being absolute virgin. I don’t know how the prospective bride grooms and their parents respond to these claims. But having nothing better to do I allow my imagination to run riot. Suppose the prospective bride groom replies to the ad. about the girl being virgin to the effect that to verify your claim, at the ‘ boy meets the girl ‘ ceremony, I am coming with my doctor for physical verification of the girl to confirm the statement made in the ad. In the case of ‘ absolute virgin, ‘ one fellow can tell the other fellow, ‘ Oh, you got a virgin girl. That is nothing. I got one who is absolutely virgin.’ But I am a bit puzzled. Either one is a virgin or not a virgin. What is this business of being absolute virgin. Would someone clarify. Sometime back there was a report in a newspaper that according to a survey conducted in Delhi ( quite often such surveys are limited to two or three persons or is a figment of imagination of the writer ) it was found that a large percentage of college girls have openly admitted that they had done it. Probably it is because of this development that some of the parents would have thought that in ads. inviting spouses for their daughters, they must convey, ‘ yes, some wicked girls in Delhi must have done it, but not my daughter, whose character is lily white.’

I am not a prude. But many of my friends are. There are others who are squeamish, abhor anything prurient and are or pretend to be unspoken members of the Moral Brigade. Some may be closet voyeurs. But that is neither here nor there. Sol let me change the gear. These ads. are veritable treasure troves. But one has to learn to decode the meaning of euphemisms used in these ads. So also one has to be adept in deciphering abbreviations used. For example, terms, such as ‘ high forehead ‘ or ‘ thinning hair.’ What is said euphemistically when decoded would mean that the prospective bride-groom is ‘ baldy.’ But don’t blame him. You don’t expect that in such ads. one would say truth only and the whole truth. On the contrary he has been truthful in admitting that his pate has only thin coverage. Same story goes for abbreviations. ‘V’b’ful’ in shorthand becomes ‘ Very Beautiful ‘ in long hand. Ads. are sold on the basis of space. Hence parents of brides and grooms have to use their ingenuity in cramming up in a very limited space all that they want to state. Then again one has to learn to understand hidden meanings in the ad. For example, if the ad. describes the edibles that the parents of the groom are fond of, you can take it that they are looking for a bride who is also a culinary expert. I can say unabashedly that I have become an expert in such decoding, though there is very little demand for my expertise. Letme become Sherlock Holmes because readers are more like ignoramus Watson and hence teach you the elementary methods of decoding, as below:
Ad. Write up Decoded message
High forehead: . Thinning hair Baldy
Not very : Shorty
Innocent divorcee" My former wife could not stand the sight of me
Innocently married did not know when I signed the deed before the magistrate
that my wicked wife has taken me for a ride
Virgin: Boldly stating this is on the assumption or hope that the bridegroom is ignoramus so
far as female biology and anatomy were concerned
Absolute virgin" Here is a modern and confident girl ( or her parents ) who is
sure that she would be able to convince the idiot of a groom that she is a virgin, even if she is not.
Age 50, but looks 35 (b) : The fellow regularly does make up, has a wig and false teeth.
Now what does (b) stand for. Is it bachelor or bastard.
Most handsome: The fellow has leukemia
Girl only consideration: ( What else could be ). So one must conclude that it is an indirect message for dowry.
All family members are This is to indicate that Income: Income Tax payers tax people have not yet caught any of the family members. Then again conceit can take any shape.
Highly educated with no airs : An MA in Hindi
Home educated " Flunked in eighth standard a number of times and hence his fprmal education was terminated at a tender age. After that he remained a permanent fixture in the
house doing nothing.
Modern but cultured : It is only a moron who would think that anybody who is
modern cannot be cultured. Or his meaning of modern is that of the Hindi fillum villain
Distant relative are settled abroad. I would like to join them. Will you help with a large
dowry.
Or., relatives abroad is a status symbol. But stating that they are distant relatives helps when the girl’s idiot of a brother wants to go abroad saying that they are
only distant relatives.
Alliance invited from a Sati, Savitri, Sita, , Laxmi and Saraswati -girl who is affectionate
broad minded, caring, honest, humble, loyal and prudent. = all in one piece.
Wanted a girl who will give high respect to the parents of the groom: I am fed up with them. The bride should be able to get them off my back.
Absolutely affluent : In the profession of smuggling
High status ( VIP ) - or politician, which often means the same
Groom’s parents like Makai ki roti: We required a non salaried cook. So for the
bride after the marriage it is straight journey to the kitchen
Issueless ( No fault ). Is the ‘ No fault ‘ adjective for lnability.
.
Sincerity and love is the Message: I am far above the loathsome fellows who
only consideration demand dowry in cash.
However, if the girl has not got the attributes mentioned then I may have to accept
dowry in cash.

Extracts from an acknowledged author on the subject are reproduced below:
"Many a parent knows that any attempt to find a match for his brat within his circle of acquaintances would be completely fruitless, he had no option but to put an ad. in the newspapers and hope that someone who did not know the brat would read it.
SM: Suitable Match ( and not sadomasochist )
PQM: Professionally Qualified Match ( and not pretty queer male )
SPQM B’ful Cltrd frm Stld fly: Suitable Professionally Qualified , beautiful, cultured from settled family
PQM for PB BR boy: ( Poor Bihari, Pauchy Bengali, Bloody Rude, Generally Bald or Good Boozer
NUDE: Nice, Understanding, Decent, and Elegant bride"
HOT: Handsome, Outstanding and Tall
BIKINI: Beautiful, Interesting, Knowledgeable, Independent, Nice Individual
Back to my writing. The messages in many ads. are not subtle. The attitude is ‘ could not care what you think. But this is what I want.’ The girl must be ‘ pure.’ This is just a variation of the girl being ‘virgin’ cited earlier. Wanted ‘ homely’ girl. Now this is pure fun. What is meant by the term ‘ homely’ is that the girl should ideally adjust to the family and should treat the new home as her home. But then none of those who wrote this ad. cared to look at the dictionary meaning of ‘ homely ‘ which is ‘ plain looking.’ In fact in the English language the phrase plain looking is meant to convey that the girl is not attractive. It is O.K. if the girl is only ‘ somewhat educated.’ After all she is going to be essentially servant in the new home. The girl atleast must be ‘ locally beautiful’ meaning that if she is not fit for national beauty contest atleast must stand out among the girls of the mohalla. It is not sufficient for the girl to be beautiful, she has to be ‘ really beautiful.’
In India still marriage is considered to be a one time affair in the life. So why should the boy or parents of the boy or girl takchance in advertising what type of specimen they are looking for.
This is not a matter to be coy or shy. Those attitudes are evident from the following ads.
" The girl ( wanted ) intellectually, culturally accomplished with or without professional education, willing to set up a happy, healthy home.’
( In other words, presently it is not a happy home. Then again for achieving the objective, would the girl being intellectually and culturally inclined to help. Don’t say why I should be a spoil sport and ask these stupid questions. )
" In search of Bold & Beautiful slim life partner to travel the life journey with care, love and respect." ( Unstated message: the girl should be as voluptuous as the girls in the Bold & Beautiful serial).
" If she is a real stunning beauty, professionally qualified, preferably medico, long hair, a rare combination of brain and beauty, understands humour, values relationship."
( All my life I have been miserable. So why can’t I have pleasant dream of getting a bride like that )
" Good person, loving, caring, honest good looking, good cook, own house, car."
( But why did he leave out his job or profession or that he is in business. The inference to be drawn is that he would like the would be bride to have all the attributes and ownership of what has been advertised but that he is a loafer. )
" I believe that there is no greater thing than for two human souls to feel that they are joined for life – to continuously create shared
joy, to strengthen each other in all labour, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting. I see marriage as the practice of becoming life-long passionate friends.’ ( The guy or girl is not normal. He or she is in for a great disappointment after marriage ).
‘Business turnover eight figures. Tea-totaller, strict vegetarian, ungiven to vices, hard thinker, possesses astute business acumen, studied intermediate English medium.’
( Here is a typical Hindi fillum hero. Only positive traits. Forgot to mention that he could fight also ).
‘ No issues whatsoever.’ ( meaning no children )
‘ Someone must prove that beauty and brain do exist. Looking for a sensational beauty with oodles of common sense, grace and no airs. Everything else is immaterial. The boy is petulant, aggressive, romantic, original, very successful industrialist with lots of foreign degrees. Please do me a favour and don’t send me Xeroxed bio-data’s.’ ( Nit wits abound this earth. Do I need to comment any more).
‘ Looking younger by decades ( He is seventy but looks fifty),

‘ Fair, smart, attractive, affectionate, soft spoken, cheerful with a high sense of humour yet sober, sophisticated, accomplished, caring and home loving with strong belief in family and human values.’ ( What has humour got to do with being sober )
‘ Divorcee with a very brief and notional spell of married life.’ ( ‘Brief’ I can understand. But what does ‘notional’ mean )
" Smart, gori, sweet nature, V. beautiful"
" Seek beautiful, educated and flexible girl."
( I am again foxed. What does ‘ flexible’ girl means)
" Divorcee ( Single again by Luck not by choice ) taking again an honest second chance." ( Meaning that in the second choice what the earlier one did to me I may do with you ).
‘ very independent ( no brothers )’
( This is from ad. for a bride. But what is the message in the words in brackets )
‘ We have only 2 sons and no daughter.’
( This is from an ad. for a bride. Message must be that there need be no apprehension of cat fight after the marriage )
‘ He is an all American with an Eastern Soul ‘ ( Looks like a bargain offer, i.e., two buys at one price )
Male chauvinism is amply evident in these ads. The groom may be 60. But he wants a bride under 30. The man may be divorcee

but he wants only virgin. The groom’s leg is amputated or has some other deformity but still he wants only beautiful girl as bride.
Some of the ads. devote most of the write up to describe parents and relatives, with hardly any mention about the girl or boy. It is like the cub reporter describing a wedding. He wrote elaborately about the bride and closed the write up stating that the bridegroom did not turn up.
Now I come to abbreviations:
LPA: Lakh per annum(salary)
Ed: Educated
Prof. Professional
Prof. Qlfd: Professionally qualified Fmly: Family
BHP: Bio-data, Horoscope, Photo
4: For
NI: North Indian
V’b’ful: Very beautiful
Dent: Decent
Ed: Educated
Many ads. are lyrical. In some, the copy is at once bold and beautiful. Sample these:
" Do U dare to speak the truth & hate liar? R u barren, healthy, gen’rous, skilled logician, deplined, jovial, strong princ’pd, with ethical values from v.honest, fin strong, edu. Fly, afraid of
infidelity, s’fishness, profligacy, betrayal, cruelty & hence aloof?
28 yrs exp. Clerical cat’gory, jobless 47 ( looks v. young )/5’
4"/55/12 std. xtreme honest, free from all diseases & addicts. Xtra
caring, God f’ring, greedless, idealist, s’nsitive, s’f ward, self-g’dian, ready to join gal’s house/buss, is ideal 4 amity turns happy married life. Kol based, Mumbt, homely, unempld fair, elgnt, slim, wheatish, EB, Sylhet, Br, 35-40, gd cook, reluctant to conceive, prfrd. Boaster, trifler, xcuse!"
" Transcending prejudices to all intents and purposes it seeks the zeal and woman grits committing at the out set to walk along leaving holistic footprints of womanhood behind. Reponsibly aiming at accomplishment than achievement. I have the cause and the means for such to go husbandly. Blessed as ordered and healthy physical being, complimented as witty, I am 40 on the way with my time tested conviction and hence tracing my complementing half. To keep self-negating ones at bay, I say no grudge to or even welcome if in your on right. I am none of so called big names of the day, more for purposive than any other reason. May we turn out loving our equally own world in agreement! Please facilitate!" ( Don’t newspaper people check before publishing to find out whether this one has come from a lunatic asylum ).
When I read the above ads. first I thought of calling Sherlock Holms to unravel for me the mystery of various abbreviations. Then I realized that the poor guy had conked long back. Then I thought of consulting a Prof. But I abandoned the idea because most of the Professors are half gone and reading the above ad. would make the fellow a completely gone case. What we need is a Government committee to look into the matter because Government committees would take up even the least trivial matters for their worthy consideration.
How about the following one:
" VERY H’some, Mid 30/6, Absolutely looks 20s MBA Under Grad. Ivy league & Boarding School. Very Fair, Athletic, Cheerful, good looking, optimistic personality"
Despite my brain making an honest effort to decipher what does ‘ MBA Under Grad.’ means, I must confess that my brain conceded defeat.
" Seeking a girl who is well educated but strives to learn more, is gainfully busy but takes time out to keep fit, dresses to make heads turn, is sweet, spirited, graceful and fun for a charming bachelor, almost zero maintenance, Mr. two square feet but makes up by his willingness to learn and understanding of girl’s need for space, dozens of shoes and handbags."
Despite being an expert on the subject, I must admit I have not been able to unravel the mystery on what the words in italics mean. Will one of my readers enlighten me.
" English gentleman ( Professional Engineer ) mid 50s/5.10, seeks Indian matrimonial match. He is caring, funny, generous at heart, sporty and fit. Enjoys nature and outdoors."
Is he tired of goris. Or is he thinking that unlike goris, Indian women would not demand equal rights.

" If she is a real stunning beauty professionally qualified preferably medico long hair a rare combination of brain and beauty, understanding humour, values relationship."
Despite becoming a Guru on the subject of matrimonial ads. I have not been able to decipher what the phrase ‘ A single Doctorate’ in an ad. means:
To those who doubt whether such ads. are being published, the reader of this write up has a choice of looking into matrimonial ad. pages or contacting me for a copy of any of the ads. mentioned above ( of course for a fee ). Since in this country a few hours of reading is passed on as research, I can justifiably claim that I have done research on the subject and my findings are:
Dowry is prohibited by law. Yet many ads. state that there would be no demand for dowry. The obvious conclusion is that dowry is still being demanded openly.
Increasing number of ads. from divorcees. Those who are keen to catch up with the West, here is one area where we are doing it.
Desis who are settled in foreign countries are increasingly seeking brides with a religious bent of mind.
All want slim girls. Good for slimming shops. All emphasise on girls being very fair.
Cash registers of newspapers are ringing loudly because of increase in number of ads. as well as long write ups, despite shortening many words.
What happens next. Let me do some more research.

WITHERTO KERALA

2009-03-23T21:29:00.001-07:00

(Clinging to old - vs – Status quo – vs – Old is passe )

For a long long time everywhere in the world change in the way of living and societal mores were very slow. Then in one place or other, the pace of change accelerated but at varying speeds. Then again while many embrace such changes willingly, though differing in perspective on the speed of change and also what needs to be changed, some are always status quoits everywhere. The churning out process is never ending.

This write up is about the societal changes in Kerala during the last seventy years or so. It only give some glimpses to have a feel the metamorphosis.

1. Landmarks – Unique features - Developments

· Going back in history, Kerala was probably the only place in the world where for considerable period of time the courtiers / ministers anointed a selected outsider ( from Tamil Nadu / Sri Lanka ) as the king for twelve years and then sent him back and selected another.
· It was in Kerala that the three foreign religions, i.e., Islam, Christianity & Judaism reached out for entry into India.
· Population based on religion: ( Hindus: 56%, Muslims: 24%, Christians: 19% and others: 1% )
· Current population: 2.9 crores, i.e., 2.7%of Indian population
· Population growth est. in the next two or three decades (1.3%) as against est. all India growth of 2.1 %
· Female population outnumbers male population
· Per capita income: Rs. 12,500 ( highest among all States in India )
· GDP: Rs. 95,000 crores
· Land reforms in India started first in Kerala
· It was in Kerala that temple entry to lower caste Hindus was initiated.
· In Asia, Kerala has the highest number of divorces
· The State with highest migration of people in % terms of the population of various States in India

II. Notable differentiating features of Kerala compared to other parts of the country:

· Increasing number of non-vegetarians
· State Government goes on alternating between Congress and Communism.
· ‘Live and let live’ religious culture for a long time, with some dents in the recent times
· Superficial politics is inculcated from child-hood onwards and hence part of the culture
· Equality between religions and castes and between poor and rich is stridently sought
· Leakage of Government funds earmarked under various welfare schemes much less than anywhere in the country, largely on account of the awareness of such schemes and also rights/entitlements of each person.
· Number of persons in the category of destitute lowest in the country.
· Most of the people could be categorised into three segments, poor, lower and upper middle class, and not large rich class. Highest percentage of people are in the middle class.
· Political awareness ( though to a large extent ‘superficial ’ ), education, habit of reading newspapers and inculcation of Communist philosophy of ‘ all are equal ‘ have led to lessening of the divide found elsewhere between rich and poor. The same characteristics have led to lessening of the differential levels of hierarchy of castes.
· Nuclear families
· Thrift has never been a high point. Live better than Joneses has been the spirit.
· Neatness is taken as a virtue.
· Love for yellow metal, which was there earlier also, but then not much affordable, continues unabated
· One-up-man-ship is part of the psyche of Mallus
· Marriage is an event in which spending beyond one’s means has become part of the psyche
· Business appears to be not in the blood of Malayali Hindus. Slightly better position in the case of Muslims and still better in the case of Christians. Even in the case of the latter groups also hardly any ambition to scale new heights and hence hardly any large industrial units of Malayali management.
· Once school or college education is over, most Mallus leave the State and go to cities of other States or other countries for jobs because of lack avenues for employment within Kerala. Propensity for such venture is high, largely because that has been happening for decades. .
· Earlier influx of Tamilians for jobs as servants and for manual jobs is being replaced by Biharis and Oriyas
· News papers and magazines – reading a must for Keralites
· Hypnotic influence of TV is on the ascendancy and at a fast pace
· In the last decade or so, Kerala has become a tourism spot for foreigners coming to India, though the number of Indians visiting Kerala as tourists has not been large.
· High level of drinking. Last year toppled Punjab from the first position among the States. Formation of All Kerala Liquor Consumers Association (the only such body in India )
· Considerable importance attached to education, both male and female, both higher and lower strata. And hence large number of schools and colleges. Christian Missionaries took the lead in establishing schools and colleges imparting quality education.
· Low level of industrialization, largely on account of the name earned for aggressive posturing of Unions and Communist Governments’ apathy to have any truck with businessmen
· Retirees, i.e., people who had gone from Kerala and worked for decades in other countries/ States of India, are coming back to Kerala for permanent settlement

III. Misunderstood and mis-labelled Mallus

Non Mallus have been generous in labeling Mallus as thinking persons and the label has struck, inflating the false pride of Mallus, though this assumption has no basis. Except for the rudimentary knowledge of politics, Mallus are as knowledgeable or ignorant on most of the matters and also have all the prejudices about people of other States, as is the case with people of other States. . But then as happens with human beings, positive labels, are worn with pride ( Punjabi – warrior class, bania – business oriented ). Yet another label of Mallus is that of being unionist. They have work discipline. They learn the jobs. But they are also prone to form unions, largely an outcome of ‘ workers’ rights ‘ propounded and actively supported by the first Communist Government in Kerala.

· With jobs being scarce in Kerala because of low pace of industrialization, Mallus have been going out of Kerala during the last few decades in large numbers to other parts of India and to Gulf countries. That other Mallus have gone out and made good being a positive factor encouraging such a step, many of the Mallus having kith and kin and friends in other places to accommodate and help in finding jobs, etc., are the other factors for this development.

· Once outside Kerala, the make up of trade union militancy is discarded, at least in the initial stages but the same often manifests in due course of time. Out of Kerala, in the initial stages, for many, the life was tough, with no knowledge of the local language, with meagre funds and no jobs. With nothing back home, Mallus stayed back with determination until found this or that job. Once settled they joined Mallus Associations formed for cultural activities and providing a platform for Mallus to meet. Such Associations splinter after some time, given the propensity of Mallus to be individualistic and less compromising or accommodating. Once life becomes comfortable, the keenness for upward mobility lessens. In earlier times, after retirement most of them went back to Kerala. But slowly the trend is increasing of being stay put after retirement at the place they lived for decades. With the passage of the older generation, for new generation brought up in places outside Kerala, conversing in local language and following customs and dress of the place, there is hardly the syndrome of Kerala beckoning. Increasingly, with the passage of time, the Mallu born boys and girls become less and less Mallu.

IV. Recent developments / changes:
.

1. Keralites returning from Gulf en masse:

This is happening now, with the Gulf countries also facing impact of Global financial melt-down. Most of the people coming back have been doing manual labour. They would find it difficult to find similar jobs in Kerala. And even when they find, most of them would be unhappy and hence unwilling to accept such jobs, because of the wide variation in what they were getting in Gulf countries and what is being offered to them. Since latter would be the position if they migrate to other States for jobs, they would be at their wits end on what they can do. They have no expertise on any field. Kerala Government, as expected of any Government, is making a lot sympathetic noise and giving vague promises of this and that action. Rs. 100 crores appeared to have been earmarked to tackle this situation.

What is most unfortunate is that such people have spent ( squandered ) their earnings in the past to build large houses in Kerala and for their families living in style. However, this was to be expected since, as is human nature, these migrants, who were largely poor, and their families wanted to announce ‘ they have arrived.’ Saving back for a rainy day was not a priority. Negative psychological impact on account of this development would be serious.

2. High rise residential flats

In India this happened two or three decades back in many cities. Now it is catching up in Kerala. Pros and cons: Since many had stayed in flats for decades in cities while working, when they resettle in Kerala, staying in flat not being new to them, the same becomes a favourable option. Easy to maintain, neat and clean, better security compared to independent houses, joint power back up, swimming pools and reception office ( which effectively screens unwanted visitors) , etc., are some of the plus factors of flat system. Retirees, coming back to the State to stay put permanently, being elderly, the flat system is a better option. On the other hand, those who lived for long years in houses will feel being constricted in staying in flats. The flats are impersonal, no architecture, no lawns or own trees, does not fulfill the need to exhibit to one and all of the fact that one has arrived and in some case of being affluent, little scope for altering and expanding, no stamp of personal style and whims and fancies and from existing local societal mores somewhat infra dig, etc.,

The recent trend in cities of having a high rise building of residential flats being constructed and let out on the basis of religion or people of one State ( mother tongue ) may also catch up in Kerala in due course. Similarly, construction of hostels, separately for men and women would increase with white collar workforce number of both sexes going up.

Related to the above subject is the demolition of old houses and building new houses, an activity which has accelerated pace in the recent times. For many reasons, people increasingly find that the old houses are not functional in today’s context. In the process the charm and architecture of old houses are permanently lost. Wood is being replaced by concrete in house construction.

3. Religions and rituals

There is comparative harmony in Kerala between members of the three faiths, i.e., Hindus, Muslims & Christians, except for once a while physical clash, both localized and involving few people, between Hindus and Muslims and in the recent past between Communists and Hindutva brigades. It is not that the living of members of the three faiths is harmonious but it is more like ‘ live and let live’ approach. Now there is wariness, which was not there earlier, between members of Hindu and Muslim faiths and this is increasing and not decreasing. In the recent times, entrenched religious beliefs and mistrust of Hindus and Muslims existing in North India are making inroads in to Kerala. Mainly in respect of Hindus, religious rituals are increasing, and this trend is erroneously explained by Hindus as a sign of increased religiosity. So far this trend has not caught on in respect of the other two major religions, though the competitive environment may lead to the other two religions following suit. Number of pilgrims to major temples is increasing, and chest thumping Hindu religionists proclaiming the same as evidence of increasing faith. Religion which should be inward looking is increasingly becoming outward apparances. The focus is to re-emphasise separation with other religions

Hindus and Muslims have drifted apart during the last two or three decades. No such wariness between Christians and Hindus/Muslims. Both superficial religious beliefs and accompanying rituals are on the ascendancy.

The so called spiritual leaders of Hindu faith are having a good time, with continuous increase in the number of their followers.

4. Government

Average performance compared to some of the States, which are efficient and some others poor in performance. Quality and integrity of Ministers on the whole have been on the decline. Political corruption is on the increase. People who have been on the wrong side of law, though not convicted, are also finding places in the Cabinet in the recent times, which was not the case earlier. Earlier there was hardly any muscle power in parties. But not any more. Squabbling between Ministers is on the increase, affecting the imperative need to have cohesive cabinet. For non performance in any area, the blame is placed at the door of the Union Government.

Bureaucracy continues to be corrupt, slow in action, file and meeting oriented, rule bound and not result oriented, apathetic to solving problems of the citizens, etc.,

5. Politics

Politics is in the blood of Mallus, largely due to the genes of one generation passing on to the next generation. But politics of Mallus is generally superficial or skin-deep only, with exceptions being the rule. In discussion very few are able to penetrate the outer layers and get into the crux of issues. The awareness is largely based on newspaper reading, which is a must for all Mallus. Here also Editorials and essays are rarely read or at best just scanned. Ask any Mallu to differentiate between the philosophies of different political parties and you get largely numbo jumbo. Yet it is the most favourable past time, i.e., discussing politics. Curiously the all consuming interest in politics is largely confined to men, with women finding all the time more interesting topics, i.e., cine stars, gold and sarees.

Oddly, though political awareness is only rudimentary, most, if not all, of the Mallus stick to this or that party and they seldom change party loyalty, while at the same time most of them may not be formal members of any party. Because of this position ‘ floating votes’ are not large in number in Kerala, unlike the case of other States. Their interest in political matters is viewed as being ‘thinking literate’ by themselves and by people of other States. While mentally and emotionally aligned to respective political parties, the egalitarian ethos dinned into the Mallus, had the outcome of political leaders being treated only with respect by their party-men and not given to adulation, as has been by far the case in the rest of India. Corruption level of politicians is unfortunately on the increase.

6. Family:

The era of joint family system, which was there earlier and mainly in respect of Hindus, is more or less over. All are opting for nuclear families. Family ties are becoming nebulous, as in other places, which has the result of reluctance to help a family member in distress. Family members located in far off places visit Kerala once a while, mainly at the time of marriage of one of the members. On such occasions, to put it in a lighter vein, the inter action between children coming from, say, Mumbai and Kolkata, occurs with language of conversation being a mix of Malayalam, English, Marathi and Bengali.

7. Print ( both newspapers and magazines & Visual media ( both cinemas and TV )

· Print media

Mallus are print media addict. In most other parts of the country reading newspapers is a vocation of middle and upper class people. Not so in Kerala. With almost 100% literacy, none, say, coolies to auto rickshah drivers miss the newspaper. With a cup of tea in the morning, vernacular newspaper, and in few cases English newspaper, is a must. The reading of the same in the case of retired men is extensive, from the mast head to ‘ printed and published ‘ at the bottom of the last page. This includes ‘obitury ‘ page, which many go through with avid interest, despite the fact that the reader would not know Adam from Apple who the dead was. And also ads for jobs. Neither ads. nor pontification of two bit politician is left out. Reporting of accidents with the causes for the same and detailed account of dead and injured are seldom missed though the persons involved in the accidents may be unknown to the reader. Unfortunately what is hardly read are the editorials and articles, which could have enhanced understanding of different subjects and also differing perspectives. Some read more than one daily and compare what has been written on the same matter. In the tea shops discussion veer round to what has been reported. Since most of the Mallus are opinionated, each one has a comment on all developments reported. Coming to magazines, which had proliferated in recent times, the most important ingredients and that too for womenfolk, are the serial novels and ads. for dress material and ornaments. Male Mallus by far feel that the magazines with the above material are not their cup of tea, the same is trivia fit for ladies and hence hardly men read magazines and if at all read, serious essays are given a go by. There is an inexplainable all consuming interest for womenfolk of fifteen to fifty in serial stories in magazines. These are avidly read. The arrival of the magazine is looked forward with baited breath and trepidation, emotions arising out of curiosity to know how the story unfolds. All kinds of magazines in Malayalam are published, from Tantra to sex to atheism.

· Visual media ( cinema & TV )

The influence of TV leading to spending much of the time before the idiot box has an unfortunate outcome. Reading of Malayalam books has considerably declined with the result in most cases even printing expenses / agents’ commissions are not earned through the sale of books, not to mention of any income to authors. Net result is the down trend in the publication of Malayalam books. And, alas, the number of people reading poetry is now insignificant.

Cinema: The perception outside Kerala is that Bengal alongwith Kerala produces quality films. This is largely a myth. Annually 4 or 5 outstanding films are produced. Yet another 8 to 10 films could be considered good. The rest, what is called formula/masala films, is just as bad as films produced in other languages. This is both irony and tragedy. There are good actors, directors, musicians, cinematographers, and other professionals needed for cinema production in Kerala. Malayalam formula films are in the same league as such films produced elsewhere. There is convoluted story, dishum-dishum, songs and in most films, at the end the boy gets the girl. The hero is charming, can sing /dance/ fight ten people with bare hands/virtue personified, etc., etc., In real life the actor who is the hero would in the age of grandfather to the heroine. Outstanding films never make any money to even cover the expenses but they may receive awards. Yet in one respect Kerala film industry differs from the industry in other States, more particularly the other three Southern States and Bollywood, is the lack of cult culture for hero. There are no cut outs of heroes. Yes, there are fan clubs for the leading actors. They are adored. But by far they lead a private life. It is doubtful whether they would be able to win any election to legislature. Even to get a ticket from any party is difficult, though some of the actors are identified with this or that party.

TV: Entry of visual media in the homes in Kerala is nothing short of a storm which had metamorphasised the living in the home. It is a boon particularly to elderly people who are stiff bored with nothing much to do. And to a lesser extent to house-wives who now have lot of spare time with cooking food and washing cloth are accomplished with less time than was the case earlier, because of various gadgets. Toddlers to young kids to youngsters find this medium extremely entertaining. With a number of channels and each one coming with more and more masala, TV watching time has been continuously on the increase. Serials ( both family dramas and religious stories ) and in the recent times ‘reality’ shows are the main programmes watched. Reality shows have become virtually overnight most popular, with an estimated 110 million households in the country viewing the programme Whenever serials are telecast, nobody stirs from the home and nobody expects ( welcomes ) visitors. To ladies particularly the melodrama is riveting. So there is a clear division of TV watching in homes. News for men and serials for ladies, with both groups watching religious serials. Thousands and thousands of artists and others have been able to earn and live on TV programmes with artists getting an opportunity to exhibit their talents, with the possibility of their ascendancy to film world. And to advertisers TV is a boon because ads. in paper one can skip but not ads. appearing alongwith TV programmes. Reality shows of youngsters enable them to exhibit their talents, remove their stage shyness and to focus on the area of their talents. TV shows are also becoming stepping stone to films for many artists. .

Apart from the negative aspects to eyes at watching TV and of to body on account of sitting for hours and hours, especially in the case of children, neglect of home work and reading other than school books, increasingly home made food being replaced by packaged foods from hotels, this phenomenon has led to lessening of social contact, lack of exercise, besides the danger of TV hooking on the viewer thereby becoming a TV addict. Since this is largely a recent development, it may take some time for experts to diagnose the ill effects ( and also the positive sides ) of TV programmes on the viewers.

8. Fads and changing trends

Gold ornaments: The avarice for gold continues unabated. Some would say that it has increased. This is despite Gold prices piercing the earlier ceilings continuously. General economic prosperity, Gulf money, Money orders from Mallus in other places and one-up-manship are some of the causes for this illogical all consuming attraction for gold. Consequently jewelary shops are expanding at a furious pace and new ones are coming up. There is competition between parents of brides on the amount of gold ornaments given to the bride and also exhibited ( some would say without any grace ) by wearing at the marriage ceremony. Aware of this all consuming desire of Mallu women to acquire and exhibit gold ornaments at functions, especially marriage ceremonies, enterprising jewelers have started the system of giving gold ornaments on rent for a day or two to the invitee women to such functions. Among Mallu women the ownership of gold ornaments is so intense that even when they are dire straits financially, selling their gold ornaments has become the last option. Husbands / fathers of these women have to do the reluctant job of accompanying the women to the banks for taking the ornaments from lockers and depositing the same back.

Old age homes. A few have come up in recent times. It is still considered infra dig for a family to send their elderly people to old age homes and the elderly people also do not want to go, largely because till now old age homes were essentially for poor destitute. With the number of ‘only old people’ in homes increasing and constraints in obtaining full time nurses ( whose salaries have gone up and still increasing, apart from shortage ) the number of old age homes would have to go up - and hence demand for both male and female nurses rather than servants.

Bacchus lovers increasing: The State Government of Kerala is going all the way to banks laughing at the continuous increase in revenue from liquor tax. There is both total condemnation ( by those who do not drink ) and near total support ( by those who drink ) to this trend of higher and higher alcohol consumption. In this trait there is no dividing line between rich and poor. Even among daily wage workers, daily drinking is becoming the norm. Further, unlike in other places of India, in Kerala, drinking means heavy drinking. Fortunately, by far Kerala women have not taken to drinking, except to some extent in the lower strata, and further women generally have been against their men drinking. Major cause for family quarrels and break up of marriages in Kerala is due to this factor.

Irreverence for the high and mighty: During the last few centuries before Independence, when in many other places of India, the high and mighty were looked with awe and terror by the plebeians, in Kerala the position of the plebeians was not that bad, largely because many of the then rulers ( kings ) were somewhat benevolent, and that style rubbed on the aristocracy. Since egalitarianism is the corner stone of Communist philosophy, when Communist Government came to power in Kerala, the relations between the high/mighty and the poor also underwent subtle changes. Land reforms ushered in Kerala which took away lands from the erstwhile landlords and vested the same on the tillers ( mostly poor and of lower castes ) also overnight reduced the equation of the powerful and poor. Added to that is the introduction of ‘temple entry ‘ to lower caste Hindus. With efflux of time, the initial shock of the upper castes and mighty has eroded and reluctantly accepted as a part of societal mores.

Servants: For a very long time it is only the very rich who retained permanent servants. Even though the upper middle class could afford a full time servant, that was not the in thing in Kerala. Situation a few decades back changed because of. financial ability of a large number of middle class people to retain servants and poor people willing to take up such jobs resulted in full time/part time servants in many a house. In the very recent times, the situation has further changed. Affordability has increased but not availability. Further, it is now considered infra dig to work as a domestic help. Yet another angle to the issue is that the mind set of those employing had not changed much. They want to treat servants in the same manner as was the position long back. All the time at the beck and call, eat what is left out, sleep in a corner, no holidays, etc., The salary demanded is also high according to those employing. Then came Tamil people to whom the conditions of employers were acceptable. Now with economic prosperity in Tamil Nadu the influx to Kerala of Tamils looking for jobs has drastically reduced. So now increasingly Oriyas and Biharis, with a smattering knowledge of Malayalam, are being engaged as servants. Since this is a recent development, the problems allied to this development are yet to come to the forefront. Yet, one thing is clear. Those who are employing servants have to change their attitudes towards servants. The servants would not be as servile as in the past. They may want to dress well. They may want to watch TV. They may ask for leave. If needed bemoan at these developments, but adjust to the same if one wants a servant.

Shortage of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc.,: So also for white washing or plucking fruits from mango or coconut trees: Many of those who used to do these jobs have migrated to Gulf. Many have taken up other vocations because the job work, which is only available off-and-on in houses was not remunerative enough to meet their expenses. Not envisaging this development, most people did not learn the rudimentary repair work in these and similar disciplines. So what is option. Pay more and learn rudimentary repair work. Many in the cities are doing it. So why not in mofussil areas.

Malayalis after working outside Kerala for decades coming back for settlement in Kerala after retirement: Till about fifties and sixties those who returned to Kerala after retirement were either from Armed Forces or Civil Servants including Railways or private companies. Most of them joined service at the lowest level and retired at the middle level of establishment. During the time of their service, they had remitted back to the family left behind in Kerala the surplus cash they had. What they have after retirement is mainly pension or PF, etc., In other words, they were reasonably O.K. but not affluent. That is not the case now by far in respect of Malayalis going back from cities and towns after retirement from service. They have retired at the middle or higher level. Their earnings and so also savings are much more. Many of them are able to get very good price for the houses/flats they have in their erstwhile work places. Their mental make up is ‘ I have done well. Spending the life in cities and towns, my outlook has broadened. I have lived in many places with people of all regions of India and hence my knowledge is wide. So I have a world view on all matters. I am cosmopolitan. I have a broad view on all matters. I find that you locals are petty minded. The fact that I had migrated and made good itself is an indication that I am superior to you local people. I have now a bunglow, a car, a servant, money to buy drinks, etc., And so you adjust to me and show some respect.’ The problem here is that the locals do not any more consider the so called above achievements of those returning to the home land as something great. ‘ You came back here. And so you adjust to my style of living if you want to have friendship. If you have a chip on your shoulder, you should have left it back before coming here ‘ is their refrain. The big building, the car, money, etc., do not impress much the locals. Here the problem is not with the locals but those who are returning to Kerala. In any case most of those who went and worked till retirement outside Kerala, were holding middle level positions, had spent their lives with social network of other Mallus with minimum social contact with non Mallus, never tried to understand the culture and ethos of people of other regions, reading confined to newspapers, etc., So how can they gloat about their own status and knowledge. This dichotomy is much more pronounced in respect of those returned from western countries and locals.

Superficial spirituality is on the ascendancy among Malayalis: This is more or less a phenomenon of the last one or two decades, probably as an off shoot of similar trend in North India. The number of religious gurus has gone up and so also the number of followers of most of the gurus. Attendance in discourses of gurus has been continuously on the rise, with a sprinkling of foreigners, which is also a recent phenomenon. There are now TV channels telecasting exhortations of gurus and also serials of religious stories, started first on Hindu mythology and then followed by Christian mythology. One channel is rather exclusively for a woman Guru. Subtle competition between the gurus has been on the ascendancy. These self styled religious leaders have mesmeric effect on followers. They preach peaceful and joyous living, helping the needy, eschewing violence, hatred, anger, etc., yet occasionally in a subtle manner put at higher pedestal the religion/sect to which the Guru belongs to. The preaching has a soothing effect on the audience but yet it does not penetrate to the soul; as otherwise followers should have been living on the basis of what the Guru had preached, say, helping the needy, which actually is not the case. In short, the teaching is good but the following falls short.

Slow growth in industrialization: With passage of time, many States are racing ahead of Kerala in the pace of industrialization. The epithet which got appended to Malayalis of Unionists, Communist Government, considered inimical to the interests of businessmen, capturing power in the State more or less after every five years, State Government not actively wooing businessmen, lack of industrial raw materials in the State, the State Government not being able to persuade the Central Government to establish public sector projects in Kerala, business not being the forte of Mallus, etc., are the reasons for this unfortunate development. What is dismaying is the fact that be it Congress or Communist Government, the importance of industrialization has not been keenly felt by the politicians, unlike the position obtained in some of the other States. e.g. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu generate revenue of Rs. 30000 / Rs. 20000 / Rs. 15000 crores annually from IT sector, whereas Kerala generates Rs. 3000 crores. Now Kerala Government has set up a techno-park. But then IT companies have found that the cost of establishing IT centres in Kerala is much higher than that of the other three states. And then Kerala Government sits with folded arms with the assumption ‘ we have now set IT park. So IT companies will come.’ There is no active wooing of IT companies. The tragedy is that Kerala is suited for IT sector, with lot of educated people being available. Two large tyre companies were set up in Kerala a few decades back. But when the managements of these companies wanted to set up new tyre companies, they opted for other States. Birlas had a factory there which had closed shutters long back. Birlas never invested further in the State and so also other major business houses. During the last few years many States have embarked on actively wooing businessmen for investment. Chattisgarh is the latest example. That State came up with much higher concessions than those being offered by other States. Scores of large factories are being set up in that State. The blame for this sordid state of affairs should fall on politicians, Government babus, fourth estate, et all. Any new investment announced would be followed by stories in papers accusing of corruption. Stay of business men in executive suits of five star hotels and their traveling in posh cars become front page news ( gossip ) rather than about the investment they came to discuss with Government. Opposition would allege corruption, often without any basis. Newspaper readers enjoy reading such gossip. In such an atmosphere it would be only a brave businessman who would venture to invest in Kerala.

The decline of traditional arts: With the passage of time and more importantly with the invention of cinema and then TV, worldover, the popularity of traditional arts has been on the decline. The audience is thinning steadily. The aficionado of such arts lament at this development. While people may not go for such programmes, they would all holler at the Government if Government patronage to such art forms are withdrawn because nobody likes to discard their heritage and say that these forms of art are neither popular nor entertaining as cinemas and TV programmes, though that is the reality.

Cuisine: There has not been much change in the cuisine prevalent in Kerala for a long time, which is rice based preparations. In the recent times, Punjabi cuisine and so also pizza, etc., have made some inroads. The number of people eating non vegetarian food is increasing continuously. Slowly home made food is being replaced by hotel made packaged food.

Marriage: The long established system of consulting astrologer and finding matching horoscope continues among Hindus. Added to it are the help obtained through media, i.e., newspaper ads. and websites for bride and groom. The system of dowry is almost extinct. Boys and girls have more say in their marriages. The rituals and functions related to marriages are on the increase. No effort is spared to enhance and exhibit the wealth and status of the families of bride and groom in the style of functions. More ornaments for the bride is a status statement. Despite more and more young men and women from Kerala are now working in various cities of the country and hence interact with each other, the

number of love marriages between different castes / religions / States has not gone up in the recent times

Kerala brides for grooms of other States: In recent times a new phenomenon has started. Female population in Kerala outnumbers male population. Further, migration of males to other countries / States of India has been much higher than such migration of females, resulting in the gap widening. One of the outcome of this development is shortage of bridegrooms in Kerala. On the other hand there are other States in India where the reverse is the fact. A recent development is Haryanvi males coming to Kerala for sourcing brides, despite the fact that Mallu girls do not know Haryanvi ( which is a localized Hindi ) and so also the reverse position. This is not in large number. Yet the development is worth noting.

Astrology: This archaic system – it would be incorrect to name it as a science – still continues to sway Hindus of Kerala. Alongwith this is palmistry and such other hocus-pocus. Apart from magazines on the subject, there are TV channels only broadcasting astrology and these are keenly watched by a large number of viewers of TV.

9. Agriculture:

Rice is the main product. Neither its productivity nor the return has gone up commensurate with increase in cost of cultivation. Hence Kerala has become a net importer of rice. There are a number of cash crops in Kerala, such as, tea, coffee, spices, cashew nut, etc., fortunes of which have been fluctuating widely. Agriculture has been in the dumps for years now, be it in Kerala or other States. Babudom and not experts prescribing remedies has been cited by many as the reason for this tragic state.

10. Tribal people:

The number of Tribal people in Kerala is small compared to many other States. Successive Governments of Kerala have tried to improve their lot. Yet the results have been patchy. There are a number of experts in this area in India. But in this area also, as in the case of agriculture, it is the politicians and babus who prescribe the solutions and not the experts.

11. Other points to be noted

· Nurses: Aware of the fact that the requirement of nurses in the Western countries would go on increasing with the life expectancy of old people increasing, a number of Colleges for teaching Nursing has come up, which is a good thing.
· Tourism: The number of tourists to Kerala from other countries has been going up steadily. Number of Indian tourists is also increasing. There is yet lot of untapped potential. Required actions are wanting to attract tourists, largely on account of the fact that promotional activities are done by babudom, with not much concept on what tourists look for.
· Problems arising out of people living longer: Neither Government nor the public has given enough attention to this impending development.
· Generation gap: As elsewhere in Kerala also this gap is widening, a problem which has not received the desired level of attention from any quarter.
· Governments just muddle through. No different between congress and communist governments Politicians – no personality cult as in other states.
· Vigilant fourth estate: Despite various short comings, such. --as, often getting mired in trivia, this plus point cannot be ignored

WITHERTO KERALA

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Migration of Indians from one State to the

2009-03-11T06:04:00.001-07:00

Emigrate: Leave one country to settle in another
Immigrate: Come as a permanent resident into the foreign country
Migrate: Move from one place (country, town, college, house ) to another

Past history
Migration of people from one country / region to another has been happening since dawn of human evolution. Humans have migrated across the continents in search of food, shelter, safety and hospitable weather.

In the recent past, added to the above are persecution of one kind of another, i.e., by rulers, religions, castes. War is yet another reason. Soldiers traveling wide and far and for long periods, at times, do not go back to their original regions but settle down in the conquered regions. For example, Mughals settling down in India.

Present position
While some of the above mentioned causes still persist, e.g., floods, famine, inflow/outflow of refugees, by far migration to another country/region in the present is largely happening in search of work. Urbanisation of cities/towns and establishment of large industrial plants are also an invitation for people to migrate. Increase in population without comparable increase in job opportunities in the place of birth, those migrated beckoning kith and kin from back home, to some extent wariness of living and working with strangers withering away, etc., are other factors. Brain drain on account of migration of people from one country to another, fear of local people at migrants taking away their jobs / job opportunities and the attendant agitations, stringent laws of some countries curtailing the number of people from other countries who could immigrate, etc., are some of the problem areas, which could be expected to exacerbate the development of large scale migration. To cite a few examples:
· North Indians ( particularly from Bihar ) migrating to Mumbai
· Oriyas now coming in large numbers to Kerala for manual labour
· USA & UK in recent times stipulating lower number of new migrants from India to those countries
· Restrictions announced by US Government on the inflow of female nurses to USA from other countries
· US Government more or less stipulating that American companies receiving financial help from Government cannot out-source jobs from outside

Exracts from the Book ‘ Imagining India ‘ by Nandan Nilekani:

“ In 2020 India is projected to have an additional fortyseven million workers, almost equal to the total world shortfall. The average Indian would be only twenty-nine years old, compared with the average age of thirty-seven in China and United States, fortyfive in Western Europe and fortyeight in Japan.
Over the next decade, job growth in India – one million new jobs every year – is going to be far lower than what we need, considering the fourteen million people who will enter the workforce every year.”

1. In the times ahead it is on cards that more and more such actions ( which are within the sovereign powers of the countries ) and within a country ( which are not legal ) would be imposed by countries and Indian States. The ramifications of the actions would get complicated. There would be both pro and con arguments. Arguments, however justified some of them may be, would not alter what is bound to happen. To understand what is going to happen and getting prepared for the impending phenomenon would be a more pragmatic response.
2. Till the eighties, migration of Indians to other countries was sporadic. Then the number surged. And all indications are that the number would go on increasing in the years ahead, with the increase in the number of qualified personnel in India, shortage of such people in some countries influencing corporate sector in such countries persuading their governments to allow such migration. One would have to wait and watch how other countries, i.e., both Governments and people, would respond to such a development.
3. Countries till recent times decided the level of immigration from other countries on the basis of various pulls and pressures. But probably it is the first time that any Government, as USA did, had stipulated that companies are expected to show positive discrimination in giving employment to Americans vis-à-vis people from other countries. Within India, migration of low income people from one State to another is on the increase. This would get further momentum. While some States perceive that this is bound to happen because of shortage of ‘nil’ skilled/ semi skilled people from their own flock, some States, particularly political parties, do not view this development with equanimity. In fact some of the political parties would capitalize on this issue because it has direct link to local vote bank.
4. The number of Indians going abroad for jobs has been continuously increasing during the last four or five decades. The largest contingent was low skilled workers to Gulf States, followed by of nurses. In both cases a high percentage was from Kerala. In the recent times migration of IT literates has also been on the increase. Yet another point to be noted is that, apart from the migration to Gulf countries, over 80% of the migration is to USA and UK.
5. In the times to come Western countries are going to face a Hobson’s choice. For various reasons the Governments there would like to stem the tide but at the same time from availability and cost effective angles, those countries have no other option but to grudgingly allow inflow of large of number of people from other countries. That a large number of Indians have been going abroad in the past for long duration stay ( often leading to marriage and permanent settlement in those countries ), the number of Indians having English writing and communicating skills, IT literacy, many Indians having relatives in those countries, going abroad for work becoming part of Indian culture, better emoluments, etc, are factors which predict such exodus. Yes, many other developing countries are following the footsteps of India in this area but non Indians reaching competitive edge vis-a-vis Indians is not in the immediate horizon.
6. It is assessed that most of the Western countries would face in the days ahead serious shortage of nurses. The statistics given out on this subject has given boost to setting up of large number of Nursing schools/colleges in India in the recent past.
7. At present the area of concern is about the migrants to Gulf States. The economic slowdown which world is facing, and Gulf States are not immune to the shock of the same, is leading to retrenchment of workers there ( mostly Keralites ) forcing them to come back to Kerala. On the one hand these people have got accustomed to higher income ( in Indian rupee terms ) while on the other there are no jobs waiting form them back home. A large percentage of them are unskilled or semi-skilled. But given the fact mentioned above about the low skills of those who are returning, it would be a terrifying prospect for such people to look for manual jobs in Kerala because jobs are rare and further the income would be much small compared to what they were getting in rupee terms. Inevitably it would become a social problem.
8. In the times to come, the phenomenon mentioned in the point above, could be repeated in the case of people from India of other vocations also, i.e., their being forced by Governments of various countries to return to India permanently.
9. So far the number of non-Indians coming to India for work has been very low in number. This position is likely to continue in the near future. But not necessarily in the long term. If Bangladeshi workers can come to India for work, then could not the same be followed up by people of other vocations coming to India. Over three or four decades back a large number of Tamils came to India from Sri Lanka and they were settled in Tamil Nadu tea plantations by the Tamil Nadu Government. It cannot be ruled out that once Sri Lankan Governments takes over areas which in the past had been virtually ruled by Sri Lankan Tamils, many Tamils would come to India, more so as they are confident of a helping hand by the Tamil Nadu Government.
10. In respect of the second point, i.e., migration of Indian people from one State to another in search of jobs, the following points may be noted:
· The requirement for servants in Delhi and other cities and towns has grown up tremendously during the last two or three decades because of (1) higher income of middle class people and hence affordability to retain servant, (2) the phenomenon of both husband and working, and (3) slow withering of the concept of joint family. Earlier, a large percentage of maid servants used to be Tamils. But with rapid industrialization of Tamil Nadu and spread effect of the prosperity on a large number of people, this migration is dying up. UPites and Biharis constitute largest number of servants in cities, with recent phenomenon of Bangladeshis coming and taking such jobs ( many of whom change their names from Muslim to Hindu, since Muslims have difficulty to get jobs of servants in Hindu households). Here also shortages are being felt mainly because of increasing construction activities in cities, where such unskilled people could get jobs with better wages and due to the fact that generally house-maid job is the last preference.
· In Kerala during the last few decades, shortage of Malayali house-workers has been continuously going up. Then this shortage started filling up by but because of the development mentioned above, i.e., fast industrialization of Tamil Nadu, this source is drying up, which is being filled in by Oriyas followed by Biharis ( for the first time I noticed that some of the buses plying in Kerala have Hindi sign-boards for the benefit of these migrants ).
· It can be safely predicted that servant shortage in Kerala would spread to towns and even villages, with the attendant demand for higher wages ( which is a good development as wages of servants in India for decades and centuries have been very low).
· Despite Mumbai experience, more and more Biharis/UPites/Oriyas would migrate to cities and towns in search of jobs, because making such a venture will not be taken as a risk prone activity, similar to large scale migration of Keralites to Gulf countries.

Issues which are likely to prop up

1. Migrant work-force tend to bring down the existing emoluments or atleast put a check to any strong move by local workers for increasing emoluments. While employers may profit from such a development, the same would result in creation of ill-will on the part of local workers against migrants.
2. Too many migrants in a small area may upset the social mores of the place.
3. Local people may turn against migrants, as happened recently in Mumbai.
4. Many a Government would tighten their entry visas.
5. Many a Government would face Hobson’s choice: shortage of skilled people and hence the need to allow such people to come from other countries and at the same time societies / political parties opposing such a development.
6. While Indians have generally accepted, and that too gladly, large scale migration of Indians to other countries, how would they react to large scale immigration of people of other countries to India.
7. While there was alround condemnation of violence against Bihari/Upite migrants in Mumbai recently, the fact that the agitation has been perceived by many Maharashtrians as protecting their interests leading to increase in the number of followers for Raj Thackeray’s party, would not be lost sight of by other political parties and hence some of the parties capitalizing similar situations in other places in the future cannot be ruled out.
8. Migration of large number of people from on State to others would lead to better understanding of other cultures and to the extent of people in the host State take an approach of ‘ live and let live,’ the same would be good for the country.
***

What is Culture

2009-03-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

What is Culture?

I. The term Culture encompasses various aspects of human life, such as:
1. Religion ( practicing / non practicing, conversion ), concept of God, caste beliefs, rituals, festivals,
2. Society, marriage, family values, sex, bringing up children,
3. Customs, cuisine, literature, arts ( music, dance, architecture ), values, ethos, etc.,
4. Even the above listing is only a little more than illustrative and not exhaustive, much less complete. e.g. it is often said that ‘ it is American culture, it is military culture, it is Punjabi culture, it is Tata Group culture,’ and so on so forth.
5. It is important to note that National culture in a manner of speaking is a chimera because identity gets fragmented by separate religious beliefs and practices and societal values.
6. What is the culture of an individual, his family, his religion, his country? To understand the same, one would have to approach the issue negatively, i.e., by looking at the beliefs, rituals, societal mores, family functioning, etc., of those who are of another religion, region & country and then compare the same with one’s own set of facts.
7. In a country or region, if there is one culture, particularly in the matter of religion, then culture becomes a somewhat binding force for the people. But when a country/region has multi-cultures, as India is, then by far culture becomes a dividing factor.
8. Cultural changes have taken place in almost all places of the globe in the past and the process is a never ending one. Some changes are evolved and some changes are thrust on people by the rulers.
9. Segregation and rituals formed the essence of all cultures, then and now.
10. In a manner of speaking ‘ culture ‘ and ‘ cultural changes’ are in essence akin to the concept of jungle law applicable to animals because it is the strong and powerful who decided / changed what is culture.
11. ‘Compassion for others ‘ enunciated by all cultures was only a concept and seldom practiced, then and now.
12. Members of each culture look down on other cultures, then and now.
13. ‘We have a rich culture now and in the olden days we had a glorious culture’ - so claims proponents of all cultures. But the facts are:

· Culture at any time was only a set of beliefs most of which were against those who were ‘ down and under’ and they continue to be so, i.e., the downtrodden continue to be in the pits.
· Prejudices and rituals were the essential parts of culture then and now.
· Then and now everybody looked askance at other cultures.

II. Salient points to be noted:
· Culture in respect of many areas of life of same religious group would have variations from country to country and even region to region.
· Most of the areas encompassed by the term culture goes on changing with the passage of time, though in a few areas and so also in the case some groups of people no change / hardly any change situation would be there even if one takes a long span of time ( e.g., tribal communities) .
· Copying culture of one set of people/society by another is also universal.
· In respect of many areas of culture, it is a mindset, which is not susceptible to logical reasoning.
· One’s culture is defined more in terms of the differences with the culture of another.
· Cultural changes within one society / family are not viewed with equanimity by members of the same society / family.
· By far elders in family wish to stick to the culture under which they have been living whereas youngsters may want ( and actually do ) to stray from the same.
· What is considered culturally reprehensible at any time may become totally acceptable culturally with the passage of time.
· Cultural changes suo moto from within may be welcomed / accepted / tolerated by a religion /society/
· Cultural changes brought by family would largely be embraced by members of the family, but not thrust on an individual or done through an edict of rulers.
· Culture and cultural change of a religion / society / family influences culture of another, though this would hardly be admitted by those who had effected the changes.
· ‘ What is Indian culture.’ The replies would vary from religion to religion, caste to caste, educated and not educated, villager and cityite, etc.,
· It is far more easier to identify what is not Indian culture rather than spell out Indian culture. With people of different religions, castes, compounded by regional differences in living, it is not easy to define Indian culture. Further, as is universal, perceptions of the culture would vary between young and old generations.
· Unlike India, with cultural differences between religions, castes and regions, many countries can be labeled as homogenous with only one culture. Take Israel. Yes, Jews had flocked from different parts of the world to Israel. There are Arabs and Christians also in Israel. Yet by far Israel has one culture. So is the position in respect of Arab countries.
· Though said somewhat in humourous vein that ‘Indian culture is agriculture,’ there is more than modicum of truth in the saying, for, hundreds and thousands of years individual/family/society living was more or less wholly anchored to agriculture. Of course, that is not the position now.
· Taliban – their members want to go back to the culture prevalent a few centuries back. For them what is written in the holy scripture is the only law of God and cannot be compromised on the ground of ‘change of time.’ Further, they want to implement this perceived culture by persuasion, failing which by force. They are not prepared to accept the adage of ‘ live and let live ‘ with other cultures.
· In the case of each individual, culture of his family gets imbedded in the psyche from childhood onwards. As one grows up the culture takes root and it is not easy to change the same. Those who grasp the cultural differences may take an approach of ‘ let them have their culture and let me have mine, with no value judgement’ but then some would grow up with the conviction or get indoctrinated later that ‘ my culture is better / higher than the culture of others.’ And then the trouble starts.
· The trouble becomes more dangerous when an individual or the society he belongs to, in the belief that his/their culture is superior, wants to change the culture of others ( partly a la Hitler syndrome ).
· It is the young who can and are bringing cultural changes. In the case of old people, the culture they have lived has become part of their psyche and hence change is resisted.
· In the matter of culture, all countries need to emulate American example. While largely a country of Protestant ( Christian ), America has various cultures, i.e., Catholic and other denominations of Christianity, large population of Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, etc., Each of these groups are allowed to function with their culture. Indian culture is a melting pot of different cultures. It cannot be imprisoned by the label of Hindu culture.
· Both protagonists and adherents to change are off the mark. When the time comes, changes will happen. Resistance would in the course of time wither away.

III. Explanatory notes and examples
· Take the example of dress. During the last fifty years the mode of dress of Indians have vastly changed. Western dress of pants had made inroads to Indian male dress, in cities, towns, offices, colleges, etc., Salwar Kameez dress of North India is fast replacing saree in all parts of the country. Increasingly young women, particularly those working in offices and going to colleges, are opting for pants and skirts.
· Visiting temples daily for praying was a must in yester years for Hindus. Now it is an occasional visit, with homes having an area for praying with pictures of Hindu Gods.
· Having six to ten children was part of Indian culture in yester years whereas increasingly the option is to have one to three children.
· Except in the case of poor, women working in offices was an alien concept till a few decades back; but not any more.
· Higher caste Hindus were by far vegetarians till recent times but now more and more higher caste Hindus eat non vegetarian food.
· Till a few decades back, marriage with a person of different caste not to talk of different religion, was extremely unusual. But this is changing.
· The attacks against the girls in the pubs - While those who have a more world-wide view may condemn such attacks and allude to abominable chauvinism, those who are moored to the societal culture and parents, while disagreeing with personal attacks, would at the same time find it difficult to view with equanimity the pub culture development. Antagonists would label this act as Hindutva Talibanisation because Taliban prescribes dress and behaviour codes for women in the name of protecting their culture and tradition.

Post-script: What is the need for a Ministry for ‘ Culture’ in the Government. What can it do. Codify Indian Culture? That would be like opening a Pandora’s Box. Administer Indian Culture? That obviously is not the job of Government. The moment the Government tries to weed out what Government perceives as bad influences of each culture, there would be strident furor from adherents of various cultures.
Signing off: Whoever coined the term ‘ culture vulture ‘ has to be complemented for capturing in one phrase the charlatan who poses as guardian of any culture.

IV Reading material

1. Sivarama Karanth, Kannada writer:

“ It was impossible to talk of Indian culture as if it is a monolithic object. Indian culture today is so varied as to be called ‘cultures.’ The roots of this culture go back to ancient times; and it has developed through contact with many races and peoples. Hence, among its many ingredients, it is impossible to say surely what is native and what is alien, what is borrowed out of love and what has been imposed by force. If we view Indian culture thus, we realize that there is no place for chauvinism.”

2. Extracts from the Book titled ‘ THE INDIANS’ by Sudhir Kakar & Katharina Kakar.

“ It is about ‘Indian-ness.’ The cultural part of the mind that informs the activities and concerns of the daily life of a vast number of Indians as it guides them through then journey of life. The attitude towards superiors and subordinates, the choice of food conducive to health and vitality, the web of duties and obligations in family life are all as much influenced by the cultural part of the mind as are ideas on the proper relationship between the sexes, or on the ideal relationship with god. Of course, in an individual Indian the civilizational heritage may be modified and overlaid by the specific cultures of his family, caste, class or ethnic group. Yet an underlying sense of Indian identity continues to persist, even into the third or fourth generation of Indian diasporas around the world.

Identity is not a role, or a succession of roles, with which it is often confused. It is not a garment that can be put on or taken off according to the weather outside; it is not ‘ fluid’ but marked by a sense of continuity and sameness irrespective of where the person finds himself during the course of his life. A man’s identity – of which the culture that he has grown up in is a vital part – is what makes him to recognize himself and be recognized by the people who constitute his world. It is not something he has chosen, but something that has seized him. It can hurt, be cursed or bemoaned but cannot be discarded, though it can always be concealed from others or, more tragic, from one’s own self.
And once someone has grown up in a particular culture and, let us say, is twenty years old, he will never acquire a full understanding of other cultures since the brain has passed through the narrow bottleneck of ‘ culturalization.’ In other words, the possibilities of ‘ fluid’ and changing identities in adulthood are rather limited and, moreover, rarely touch the deeper layers of the psyche.
In spite of rapid social changes in the last decades, an Indian continues to be part of a hierarchically ordered and, above all., stable network of relationships throughout the course of his life. This complex, relationship based pattern of behaviour also manifests itself in work situation. Although intellectually the Indian professional or bureaucrat may agree with this Western counterpart that, for instance, the criterion for appointment or promotion to a particular job must be objective, a decision based solely on the demands of the task and merits of the case, emotionally he must still struggle against cultural conviction that his relationship to the individual under consideration is single most important factor in his decision. And among the vast majority of traditional minded countrymen, whether it be a trader bending the law to facilitate the business transaction of a fellow caste member, or an industrialist employing an insufficiently qualified but distantly related job applicant as a manager, or the clerk in the municipal office accepting bribes in order to put an orphaned niece through school - dishonesty, nepotism and corruption are merely abstract concepts. These negative constructions are irrelevant to the Indian experience, which, from childhood on, nurtures one, and only one, standard of responsible adult conduct – namely, an individual’s lifelong obligation to his kith and kin.
A person’s closest friendships too are with members of his own caste. His relations with members of other castes are more formal, governed as they are by unwritten codes prescribing and proscribing relationships between castes.
A person’s violent outrage provoked by an ostensibly minor slight may not only be the result of an individual problem in ‘ managing aggression,’ it may also have its source in a historical resentment shared by his caste as a whole and passed down from generation to generation as part of his caste identity.
Indian society is made up of men ‘ who bow their heads to the kicks from above and who simultaneously give a kick below, never thinking to resist one or refrain from the other.

3. From the website:

The word culture has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food. For a biologist, it is likely to be a colony of bacteria or other microorganisms growing in a nutrient medium in a laboratory Petri dish. However, for anthropologists and other behavioral scientists, culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns. ‘ Culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
Culture is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason, archaeologists can not dig up culture directly in their excavations. The broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that they uncover are only material remains that reflect cultural patterns--they are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and skills.
Layers of Culture

There are very likely three layers or levels of culture that are part of your learned behavior patterns and perceptions. Most obviously is the body of cultural traditions that distinguish your specific society. When people speak of Italian, Samoan, or Japanese culture, they are referring to the shared language, traditions, and beliefs that set each of these peoples apart from others. In most cases, those who share your culture do so because they acquired it as they were raised by parents and other family members who have it.

_

_

_The second layer of culture that may be part of your identity is a subculture. In complex, diverse societies in which people have come from many different parts of the world, they often retain much of their original cultural traditions. As a result, they are likely to be part of an identifiable subculture in their new society. The shared cultural traits of subcultures set them apart from the rest of their society. Examples of easily identifiable subcultures in the United States include ethnic groups such as Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. Members of each of these subcultures share a common identity, food tradition, dialect or language, and other cultural traits that come from their common ancestral background and experience. As the cultural differences between members of a subculture and the dominant national culture blur and eventually disappear, the subculture ceases to exist except as a group of people who claim a common ancestry. That is generally the case with German Americans and Irish Americans in the United States today. Most of them identify themselves as Americans first. They also see themselves as being part of the cultural mainstream of the nation.

Culture and Society

Culture and society are not the same thing. While cultures are complexes of learned behavior patterns and perceptions, societies are groups of interacting organisms. People are not the only animals that have societies. Schools of fish, flocks of birds, and hives of bees are societies. In the case of humans, however, societies are groups of people who directly or indirectly interact with each other. People in human societies also generally perceive that their society is distinct from other societies in terms of shared traditions and expectations.
While human societies and cultures are not the same thing, they are inextricably connected because culture is created and transmitted to others in a society. Cultures are not the product of lone individuals. They are the continuously evolving products of people interacting with each other. Cultural patterns such as language and politics make no sense except in terms of the interaction of people. If you were the only human on earth, there would be no need for language or government.

FLAUNTING RICHES

2009-02-22T23:49:00.000-08:00

1. Birthday present of a jet plane to the wife. And yet by another a yacht. Building a home for Rs. 800 crores. Having palatial mansions in various cities of world and India. Companies buying jet planes for the exclusive use of their CEOs. Spending over 50 crores of rupees towards the marriage of the off spring. Buying a handbag costlier than that of a car. The list goes on. Some of the rich Indians have now got out of the inhibition of parading their wealth.

2. Naturally such incidents are widely reported in the English media. But then English media has only limited reach. But when these incidents are reported in the TV, particularly the vernacular channels, then reach becomes very high or widespread.
3. The reaction of viewers would be mixed. ‘ Why not, when these people can afford it ‘ - general reaction of upward mobile people. ‘ It is against the Indian culture ‘ - this is the view of by far the largest segment of Indians. ‘ They have earned it, so it is for them to do what they like, this has been the trend world-over, it is peanuts compared to the extremely lavish style in which kings lived just a hundred years back, spending leads to economic activity, etc., etc.,’ would be some other comments. Generally old people look askance at such exhibition of wealth, whereas youngsters tend to take the same in their stride.

4. However, it cannot be denied that such actions have social implications, particularly in country like India with extreme poverty, more so since TV is reaching every nook and corner of the country.

5. When kings ruled the country before merger of their kingdoms with India, people ( subjects ) looked at the kings with awe, fear and reverence. The kings had the power of life and death of their subjects. The courtiers of some of the kings even propagated the myth that the kings were progenies of this or that God, which many of the subjects believed also. Hence the term jealousy had no place in those times in the way of thinking of people towards their kings.

6. At that time even the courtiers, mofussil chiefs, and others including landlords and businessmen, while living in style far above the levels of ordinary people but much below that of the kings did hardly evoke any resentment among ordinary folks because the same was within the ambit of the expected and accepted.

7. Then came independence of the country. Politicians, instead of kings became rulers,. However, the subjects continued to hold their erstwhile kings with same awe as before. Over a period of time awe was replaced by respect.

8. Politicians of the immediate post independent era were of high integrity and lived simple lives.

9. Slowly business people started to live extravagantly which was looked at askance by politicians but ordinary people accepted the position in their stride but not with awe, as was the case in respect of kings.

10. The present scenario. Erstwhile kings are no more revered by their erstwhile subjects. Politicians became corrupt and amassed wealth but as most of them continued to live in simple style, jealousy was not in the psyche of people when they viewed the politicians.

11. Business people went on acquiring wealth. But it is only during the last decade or so that they started exhibiting wantonly their wealth. Palatial bunglows, luxury cars, frequent foreign jaunts, opulent marriages etc., are exhibited now with panache. This metamorphosis was quick and required time was not there for slow adjustment and take the same in their stride for people to the changes in the style of living of rich. It need to be noted that till a few years back ostentatious living and vulgar display of riches were frowned upon by most of the Indians, including those who had riches. There is no attempt to under play or hide the exhibitionist culture. And it is widely believed that this is done out of ill gotten lucre.

As the eminent writer Santosh Desai has written:

· “Is anything vulgar any more. The idea of vulgarity has been appropriated as an epithet to be used by groups with extreme views on how other should behave.

· To pronounce something vulgar was to banish it from the ranks of the civilized, by deeming things to be inappropriate rather than illicit.

· Watching the IPL auctions and the media interviews thereafter, I was struck by the absence of that world from our active vocabulary today. Here we had a spectacle where the richest and the most glamourous body shopped the purest and the most talented by bidding on them. There was a television interview, with the owners all resplendent in designer glasses talking about their acquisitions. In the entire interaction, there was not a trace of self-consciousness about what was happening. After all, they were rich and beautiful and they had already bought Ferraris so why not sport stars now? The market in India is not content to be an invisible mechanism but wants to strut around dressed in gaudy finery. Wealth becomes real only when displayed. Money seems to create a vicarious thrall.

· In the Television, unseemly squabbles between bit-has-beens and obscure never-will-bes, comedy routines based on cross-dressing jokes full of bawdy suggestiveness, high pitched melodramatic theatrics by reality show judges who are forever moving between tantrums, exploitive headlines in the name of investigative reporting on news channels, up-the-skirt camera angles used to cover a new sporting phenomenon called the cheerleader, the list is a long, long one.

· The legitimacy of money and its ability to speak in a uniform voice, has blunted the sharp differences that existed earlier. The security once derived from one’s social class which made money secondary is no longer as much in evidence.

· Television as a medium too hastens the move to privilege the quantitative over the qualitative. The TRP, which is a superficial measure of viewership, determines television content today; it is more important how many people watch rather than what kind influence a channel is able to exert.

· In a world full of diverse people, there can be no uniform standard of good taste. One person’s aspiration can so easily be another person’s vulgarity.”

12. It could be said that with the increase in the number of affluent people, level of affluence in the country going up and changing values, this trend is to be expected, as had happened in rich countries.

13. As is human nature, this change would also be taken in its stride in due course.

14. Yet one feels uneasy at this development, more so in a country like India with too many poor who are subsisting with unimaginable poverty. In that context the above mentioned change becomes an eye sore, which could have negative social implications. It is so and hence this emerging culture has to be deplored.

****

What is Culture?

2009-02-16T03:28:00.000-08:00

I. The term Culture encompasses various aspects of human life, such as:
1. Religion ( practicing / non practicing, conversion ), concept of God, caste beliefs, rituals, festivals,
2. Society, marriage, family values, sex, bringing up children,
3. Customs, cuisine, literature, arts ( music, dance, architecture ), values, ethos, etc.,
4. Even the above listing is only a little more than illustrative and not exhaustive, much less complete. e.g. it is often said that ‘ it is American culture, it is military culture, it is Punjabi culture, it is Tata Group culture,’ and so on so forth.
5. It is important to note that National culture in a manner of speaking is a chimera because identity gets fragmented by separate religious beliefs and practices and societal values.
6. What is the culture of an individual, his family, his religion, his country? To understand the same, one would have to approach the issue negatively, i.e., by looking at the beliefs, rituals, societal mores, family functioning, etc., of those who are of another religion, region & country and then compare the same with one’s own set of facts.
7. In a country or region, if there is one culture, particularly in the matter of religion, then culture becomes a somewhat binding force for the people. But when a country/region has multi-cultures, as India is, then by far culture becomes a dividing factor.
8. Cultural changes have taken place in almost all places of the globe in the past and the process is a never ending one. Some changes are evolved and some changes are thrust on people by the rulers.
9. Segregation and rituals formed the essence of all cultures, then and now.
10. In a manner of speaking ‘ culture ‘ and ‘ cultural changes’ are in essence akin to the concept of jungle law applicable to animals because it is the strong and powerful who decided / changed what is culture.
11. ‘Compassion for others ‘ enunciated by all cultures was only a concept and seldom practiced, then and now.
12. Members of each culture looked down on other cultures, then and now.
13. ‘We have a rich culture now and in the olden days we had a glorious culture’ - so claims proponents of all cultures. But the facts are:

· Culture at any time were only a set of beliefs most of which were against those who were ‘ down and under’ and they continue to be so, i.e., the downtrodden continue to be in the pits.
· Prejudices and rituals were the essential parts of culture then and now.
· Then and now everybody looked askance at other cultures.

II. Salient points to be noted:
· Culture in respect of many areas of life of same religious group would have variations from country to country and even region to region.
· Most of the areas encompassed by the term culture goes on changing with the passage of time, though in a few areas and so also in the case some groups of people no change / hardly any change situation would be there even if one takes a long span of time ( e.g., tribal communities) .
· Copying culture of one set of people/society by another is also universal.
· In respect of many areas of culture, it is a mindset, which is not susceptible to logical reasoning.
· One’s culture is defined more in terms of the differences with the culture of another.
· Cultural changes within one society / family are not viewed with equanimity by members of the same society / family.
· By far elders in family wish to stick to the culture under which they have been living whereas youngsters may want ( and actually do ) to stray from the same.
· What is considered culturally reprehensible at any time may become totally acceptable culturally with the passage of time.
· Cultural changes suo moto from within may be welcomed / accepted / tolerated by a religion /society/
· Cultural changes brought by family would largely be embraced by members of the family, but not thrust on an individual or done through an edict of rulers.
· Culture and cultural change of a religion / society / family influences culture of another, though this would hardly be admitted by those who had effected the changes.
· ‘ What is Indian culture.’ The replies would vary from religion to religion, caste to caste, educated and not educated, villager and cityite, etc.,
· It is far more easier to identify what is not Indian culture rather than spell out Indian culture. With people of different religions, castes, compounded by regional differences in living, it is not easy to define Indian culture. Further, as is universal, perceptions of the culture would vary between young and old generations.
· Unlike India, with cultural differences between religions, castes and regions, many countries can be labeled as homogenous with only one culture. Take Israel. Yes, Jews had flocked from different parts of the world to Israel. There are Arabs and Christians also in Israel. Yet by far Israel has one culture. So is the position in respect of Arab countries.
· Though said somewhat in humourous vein that ‘Indian culture is agriculture,’ there is more than modicum of truth in the saying, for, hundreds and thousands of years individual/family/society living was more or less wholly anchored to agriculture. Of course, that is not the position now.
· Taliban – their members want to go back to the culture prevalent a few centuries back. For them what is written in the holy scripture is the only law of God and cannot be compromised on the ground of ‘change of time.’ Further, they want to implement this perceived culture by persuasion, failing which by force. They are not prepared to accept the adage of ‘ live and let live ‘ with other cultures.
· In the case of each individual, culture of his family gets imbedded in the psyche from childhood onwards. As one grows up the culture takes root and it is not easy to change the same. Those who grasp the cultural differences may take an approach of ‘ let them have their culture and let me have mine, with no value judgement’ but then some would grow up with the conviction or get indoctrinated later that ‘ my culture is better / higher than the culture of others.’ And then the trouble starts.
· The trouble becomes more dangerous when an individual or the society he belongs to, in the belief that his/their culture is superior, wants to change the culture of others ( partly a la Hitler syndrome ).
· It is the young who can and are bringing cultural changes. In the case of old people, the culture they have lived has become part of their psyche and hence change is resisted.
· In the matter of culture, all countries need to emulate American example. While largely a country of Protestant ( Christian ), America has various cultures, i.e., Catholic and other denominations of Christianity, large population of Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, etc., Each of these groups are allowed to function with their culture. Indian culture is a melting pot of different cultures. It cannot be imprisoned by the label of Hindu culture.
· Both protagonists and adherents to change are off the mark. When the time comes, changes will happen. Resistance would in the course of time wither away.

III. Explanatory notes and examples
· Take the example of dress. During the last fifty years the mode of dress of Indians have vastly changed. Western dress of pants had made inroads to Indian male dress, in cities, towns, offices, colleges, etc., Salwar Kameez dress of North India is fast replacing saree in all parts of the country. Increasingly young women, particularly those working in offices and going to colleges, are opting for pants and skirts.
· Visiting temples daily for praying was a must in yester years for Hindus. Now it is an occasional visit, with homes having an area for praying with pictures of Hindu Gods.
· Having six to ten children was part of Indian culture in yester years whereas increasingly the option is to have one to three children.
· Except in the case of poor, women working in offices was an alien concept till a few decades back; but not any more.
· Higher caste Hindus were by far vegetarians till recent times but now more and more higher caste Hindus eat non vegetarian food.
· Till a few decades back, marriage with a person of different caste not to talk of different religion, was extremely unusual. But this is changing.
· The attacks against the girls in the pubs - While those who have a more world-wide view may condemn such attacks and allude to abominable chauvinism, those who are moored to the societal culture and parents, while disagreeing with personal attacks, would at the same time find it difficult to view with equanimity the pub culture development. Antagonists would label this act as Hindutva Talibanisation because Taliban prescribes dress and behaviour codes for women in the name of protecting their culture and tradition.

Post-script: What is the need for a Ministry for ‘ Culture’ in the Government. What can it do. Codify Indian Culture? That would be like opening a Pandora’s Box. Administer Indian Culture? That obviously is not the job of Government. The moment the Government tries to weed out what Government perceives as bad influences of each culture, there would be strident furor from adherents of various cultures.
Signing off: Whoever coined the term ‘ culture vulture ‘ has to be complemented for capturing in one phrase the charlatan who poses as guardian of any culture.

IV Reading material

1. Sivarama Karanth, Kannada writer:

“ It was impossible to talk of Indian culture as if it is a monolithic object. Indian culture today is so varied as to be called ‘cultures.’ The roots of this culture go back to ancient times; and it has developed through contact with many races and peoples. Hence, among its many ingredients, it is impossible to say surely what is native and what is alien, what is borrowed out of love and what has been imposed by force. If we view Indian culture thus, we realize that there is no place for chauvinism.”

2. Extracts from the Book titled ‘ THE INDIANS’ by Sudhir Kakar & Katharina Kakar.

“ It is about ‘Indian-ness.’ The cultural part of the mind that informs the activities and concerns of the daily life of a vast number of Indians as it guides them through then journey of life. The attitude towards superiors and subordinates, the choice of food conducive to health and vitality, the web of duties and obligations in family life are all as much influenced by the cultural part of the mind as are ideas on the proper relationship between the sexes, or on the ideal relationship with god. Of course, in an individual Indian the civilizational heritage may be modified and overlaid by the specific cultures of his family, caste, class or ethnic group. Yet an underlying sense of Indian identity continues to persist, even into the third or fourth generation of Indian diasporas around the world.

Identity is not a role, or a succession of roles, with which it is often confused. It is not a garment that can be put on or taken off according to the weather outside; it is not ‘ fluid’ but marked by a sense of continuity and sameness irrespective of where the person finds himself during the course of his life. A man’s identity – of which the culture that he has grown up in is a vital part – is what makes him to recognize himself and be recognized by the people who constitute his world. It is not something he has chosen, but something that has seized him. It can hurt, be cursed or bemoaned but cannot be discarded, though it can always be concealed from others or, more tragic, from one’s own self.
And once someone has grown up in a particular culture and, let us say, is twenty years old, he will never acquire a full understanding of other cultures since the brain has passed through the narrow bottleneck of ‘ culturalization.’ In other words, the possibilities of ‘ fluid’ and changing identities in adulthood are rather limited and, moreover, rarely touch the deeper layers of the psyche.
In spite of rapid social changes in the last decades, an Indian continues to be part of a hierarchically ordered and, above all., stable network of relationships throughout the course of his life. This complex, relationship based pattern of behaviour also manifests itself in work situation. Although intellectually the Indian professional or bureaucrat may agree with this Western counterpart that, for instance, the criterion for appointment or promotion to a particular job must be objective, a decision based solely on the demands of the task and merits of the case, emotionally he must still struggle against cultural conviction that his relationship to the individual under consideration is single most important factor in his decision. And among the vast majority of traditional minded countrymen, whether it be a trader bending the law to facilitate the business transaction of a fellow caste member, or an industrialist employing an insufficiently qualified but distantly related job applicant as a manager, or the clerk in the municipal office accepting bribes in order to put an orphaned niece through school - dishonesty, nepotism and corruption are merely abstract concepts. These negative constructions are irrelevant to the Indian experience, which, from childhood on, nurtures one, and only one, standard of responsible adult conduct – namely, an individual’s lifelong obligation to his kith and kin.
A person’s closest friendships too are with members of his own caste. His relations with members of other castes are more formal, governed as they are by unwritten codes prescribing and proscribing relationships between castes.
A person’s violent outrage provoked by an ostensibly minor slight may not only be the result of an individual problem in ‘ managing aggression,’ it may also have its source in a historical resentment shared by his caste as a whole and passed down from generation to generation as part of his caste identity.
Indian society is made up of men ‘ who bow their heads to the kicks from above and who simultaneously give a kick below, never thinking to resist one or refrain from the other.

3. From the website:

The word culture has many different meanings. For some it refers to an appreciation of good literature, music, art, and food. For a biologist, it is likely to be a colony of bacteria or other microorganisms growing in a nutrient medium in a laboratory Petri dish. However, for anthropologists and other behavioral scientists, culture is the full range of learned human behavior patterns. ‘ Culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society
Culture is constantly changing and easily lost because it exists only in our minds. Our written languages, governments, buildings, and other man-made things are merely the products of culture. They are not culture in themselves. For this reason, archaeologists can not dig up culture directly in their excavations. The broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that they uncover are only material remains that reflect cultural patterns--they are things that were made and used through cultural knowledge and skills.
Layers of Culture

There are very likely three layers or levels of culture that are part of your learned behavior patterns and perceptions. Most obviously is the body of cultural traditions that distinguish your specific society. When people speak of Italian, Samoan, or Japanese culture, they are referring to the shared language, traditions, and beliefs that set each of these peoples apart from others. In most cases, those who share your culture do so because they acquired it as they were raised by parents and other family members who have it.

_

_

_The second layer of culture that may be part of your identity is a subculture. In complex, diverse societies in which people have come from many different parts of the world, they often retain much of their original cultural traditions. As a result, they are likely to be part of an identifiable subculture in their new society. The shared cultural traits of subcultures set them apart from the rest of their society. Examples of easily identifiable subcultures in the United States include ethnic groups such as Vietnamese Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. Members of each of these subcultures share a common identity, food tradition, dialect or language, and other cultural traits that come from their common ancestral background and experience. As the cultural differences between members of a subculture and the dominant national culture blur and eventually disappear, the subculture ceases to exist except as a group of people who claim a common ancestry. That is generally the case with German Americans and Irish Americans in the United States today. Most of them identify themselves as Americans first. They also see themselves as being part of the cultural mainstream of the nation.

Culture and Society

Culture and society are not the same thing. While cultures are complexes of learned behavior patterns and perceptions, societies are groups of interacting organisms. People are not the only animals that have societies. Schools of fish, flocks of birds, and hives of bees are societies. In the case of humans, however, societies are groups of people who directly or indirectly interact with each other. People in human societies also generally perceive that their society is distinct from other societies in terms of shared traditions and expectations.
While human societies and cultures are not the same thing, they are inextricably connected because culture is created and transmitted to others in a society. Cultures are not the product of lone individuals. They are the continuously evolving products of people interacting with each other. Cultural patterns such as language and politics make no sense except in terms of the interaction of people. If you were the only human on earth, there would be no need for language or government.

*****

Supercilious ( assuming an air of superiority ) &

2009-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

Supercilious ( assuming an air of superiority ) &
Janus-faced ( facing both ways at once, hypocritical ) attitude of many of us Indians

1 ) Muslims practicing Yoga

Islamic Council, Malaysia, issued last year an edict prohibiting Muslims from practicing of yoga that included chanting ( the latter, i.e., chanting, had historically a connotation with Hindu religion ). Recently Indonesian Ulema Council also issued such a verdict. It is a Muslim theological stand and since the same had no adverse effect on Hindus, the matter should have been left at that by Hindus. But no. Some Hindus who have the entrenched belief that Hinduism is better and higher religion than others, have joined issues with the above edict. One Hindu expert went even to the extent of stating ‘ The mistake is in thinking that the chanting – the repetition of Om, for instance – is with religious intent. Rather, it is a tool to aid breathing techniques, an integral aspect of yoga. Yoga is not akin to practicing in gym…..it is a holistic, all-encompassing view of health and well-being, focusing on the mental as much as it does on the physical.’ And since for this type of people, the final verdict on any such matter is given by ‘ Mecca of wisdom, ‘ i.e., US of A, the author cites the fact that many Americans have taken to yoga there ( indirectly saying that if Christians can chant ‘Om’ why can’t you Muslims ). Wittingly or unwittingly the proponent of this thesis has erred. Yoga is a form of exercise of the body. It removes blocks in the free flow of blood. For those who are lazy or averse to do physical exercise on a regular basis or walking daily, yoga is an alternative way of keeping the body energized. Yes it was conceived by a Hindu. However, it had no religious connotation. Meditation results in the mind becoming quiet. Meditation can be done silently or by repeating a word. It is not easy to make the mind quiet. Hence alternative process of repeating a word was made part of meditation. It could be any word. Since meditation was also invented by Hindu, the suggested word was ‘ Om ‘ or ‘ Rama’. But it could be any word, say ‘ Ravi.’ Subsequently, some of the advocates of yoga and meditation combined both these so that body is kept in good condition and the mind becomes quiet, whereas some others taught these as separate sciences. Put it simply, neither yoga nor meditation has anything to do with Hindu religion.

‘Ours is the best religion ‘ - many hard believers of various religions think so. More rational and sensible people take the stand of ‘ you and your faith - me and my faith – let us not cross swords – let us have an approach of live and let live.’

When divisions between various religions are getting more and more entrenched, was it necessary for these Hindu fundamentalists to join the above issue. And why the craving of the Hindu zealots for acceptance by other religionists on the practices of Hindu religionists. Each of the religions other than Hinduism have one God. And they can’t understand how could there be a religion with a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. Hindus can’t give any rational explanation for this. They will say it is a fact, we are proud of it, etc., But then why expect other religionists to agree with Hindus.

2 ) Girls going to pubs and drinking/ dancing / holding hands with boys.

My vote is to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan for openly going against the above culture developing in metro cities. The attack on the pub has to be condemned. But I would like to join issues with the press, socialites, page three people, etc., who see nothing wrong with girls going to bar and drinking in the company of girls and boys.

Today in metropolitan cities, affluent / well to do parents have sleepless nights on their wards ( largely daughters ) taking to modernity at a furious pace. Be it dressing, coming late to the house, bohemian approach to life, parents find it difficult to adjust. Most of them realize that the above mentioned way of living of their wards could lead to the youngsters ( girls ) smoking, drinking, taking drugs and having sex with boys. This is not an imaginary fear. It is happening.

Agreed, there is human tendency to resist changes. Thirty years back, girls wearing jeans and exposing midriff were frowned upon. But today in cities this has become common. The divorce rate is going up. Couples postpone having children and then limit the number of one, two or at the most three. Both husband and wife work. They have opted for nuclear families. The live in system is taking off in cities, etc., etc., Elders find the pace of change too fast to their liking. Yet knowing well that these developments cannot be checked ( and some of them being welcome changes ) many a parent accept the same with equanimity. But not the pub culture, which is of recent origin.

The point is contrary to the depiction by the fourth estate of ‘ assault against personal liberty, ‘ by far people are against the pub culture development, though at the same time they would genuinely condemn the hooliganism.

P.S. The fourth estate is getting increasingly alienated from the mores of Indian family culture. It is pandering to the style of West. It has taken upon itself the role of moral guardian for the society, a task to which it is ill equipped.

More P.S: I am increasingly disillusioned with some of the antics of fourth estate. Mahesh ( Bhupati ) has been rechristianed by one leading daily as ‘ Hesh ‘ ( a la American style ). Another paper has shown Mahesh Bhupati and Sania mildly hugging each other after the doubles’ victory ( that is enough for Muslim fundamentalists to make a hue and cry).

RELIGIONS

2009-01-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

RELIGIONS -
THE OPIUM THAT DIVIDE PEOPLE
AND COUNTRIES

India was the cradle for various religions, such as, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

1. Census Report ( India ) – 2001

Religion Population 10 years
( in crores ) growth %

Hindus 83 20.3
Muslims 14 29.5
Christians 2.40 22.6
Sikhs 1.90 18.2
Buddhists 0.80 25.5
Jains 0.40 26.0
Others 0.60* 103.1
Religion not
specified 0.72**

Total: 103 crores ***

Notes

*6 million belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ which are not part of the six main religions stated above.

**About 7 million persons have not stated their religion

***The total being 103, the percentage of people of different religions is only a shade lower than the figures given indicating the population.

Comments:

*‘Other religious persuasions: This could be tribals and nomads. Yet the number indicated would appear to be on the higher side

** In a country like India, where people would loathe not to indicate their religious persuasion, it is difficult to accept that over 7 million people had not indicated their religion.

Hindus and Sikhs have the lowest population growth in terms of %age, while Muslims are having the highest growth in %age.

2. Number of adherents to various faiths in the world

Christianity .. 1.9 billion
Islam .. 1.1 “

Hinduism .. 781 million
Buddhism .. 324 “
Sikhism .. 19 “
Judaism .. 14 “
Bahai faith .. 6.1 “
Confusionism .. 5.3 “
Jainism .. 4.1 “

3. Brief description of various religions in India

· Hinduism

There is no clear cut evidence, either anthropological or historical as to when Hinduism as a religion started in India. Hindu religionists have taken the stand that Hinduism is 5000 years old, though some of the experts on the subject are of the view that Hinduism is 2500 to 3000 years old. It is not a practicing religion as Islam or Christianity, in the sense one can claim to be Hindu because he or she is born in a Hindu family, but not practice any of its rituals. In that sense it is an amorphous religion. Secondly, as against one God each in other religions, Hindu religion has got pantheon of Gods, with people of the faith following any one or more Gods. It is probably the only religion with Goddesses also. Often considered a "way of life" rather than a religion, Hinduism differs from many religions in not having a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization.

Islam

Islam in India is the second-most practiced religion after Hinduism. India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world ( after Pakistan and Indonesia ). Islam is a practising religion and members of the faith have to strictly adhere to the various rituals prescribed.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam came to South Asia long before Muslim invasions of India. Islamic influence first came to be felt in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Arab traders used to visit the Malabar region in Kerala, became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went. The first Indian mosque was built in 629 A.D in Kerala. In Malabar the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam.Sufis (Islamic mystics) played an important role in the spread of Islam in India. They were very successful in spreading Islam, as many aspects of Sufi belief systems and practices had their parallels in Indian philosophical literature, in particular nonviolence.
Islam has two major sects, i.e., Sunni and Shia.

Though Muslim rulers for a few centuries ruled India, mainly from Delhi, the spread of Muslim population was not so much in Central India as was the case with Western India (Pakistan ) and Eastern India ( subsequently Bangladesh ) and to a lesser extent in Kerala. Had Islam in India been converting local population by sword during their reign in India, then there should have been more Muslims in the Central India than in other places indicated above.

· Christianity

The first Christian religious person arrived in India in Kerala in 52 AD. Spread of Christians in India started in earnest around 5the century. Areas in India which have large number of Christian population are: Kerala, Goa and Nagaland

Most of the adherents of Christianity follow two sects, i.e., Catholics and Protestants. There are also other sects, but not very significant in terms of followers.

Christianity is also a practicing religion.

· Jainism

Jainism as a religion started in India in 5th BC. In many respects Jainism is akin to Hinduism. Whether and to what extent Jainism is a practicing religion, the answer can be that it falls in between Hinduism ( non practicing ) and Muslim / Christianity (practicing ) religions.

· Sikhism

Sikhism was established in India in 1500 AD. It was established in the North-West of India ( before partition ). Even now it cannot be said to be a pan India religion, as is the position of other religions, though small numbers of Sikhs have settled down in various parts of the country. Sikhism is by far a practicing religion. There is wide spread belief among non Sikhs that Sikhs tend to be more brawns ( and hence easily get into brawls ) than brains. This is not true at all, though Sikhs themselves like the term of their being full of brawn.

· Buddhism

Buddhism as a religion started in India in 3rd BC. There are no precise estimates of the Buddhist population in the world. 250 to 350 million people follow Buddhism. 89% and 70% of the people of Mymmar and Sri Lanka respectively are Buddhists. Other countries having large population of Buddhists are: India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Cambodia. In the recent times the number of people from Western countries who are opting to Buddhism is increasing. Buddhism by far is not a practicing religion. By nature Buddhists are peaceful in nature.

· Zoroastrianism (Parsis )

Parsis came to India around 1000 AD and initially settled in Gujarat. In the subsequent period, a large number of Parsis migrated to Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai. Zoroastrianism is a practicing religion, though not as strict as in the case of Islam. Parsis tend to mind their own business of religion and seldom cross swords with other religionists in the matter of faith and religious practices.

· Judaism (Jews)

Jews started coming to India 2500 years back. They mainly settled in Manipur and Mizoram. This was followed by their settlements in Mumbai and Kochi. The number of Jews in India is quite small. It also in a way practicing religion, though not as strict as in the case of Islam.

4. Non institutionalized religions

All the above are institutionalized forms of religion. But there are a bewildering array of communities both outside and within the faith with varied cultural and religious practices. Those outside the faith have their own deities and religious practices. This is more so in the case of tribals. They have their own Gods. They never think of themselves as part of Hinduism or any other religion.

5 Points to be noted

* Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are the religions which originated from India.
* However, in view of the long period of existence of the other religions in India, i.e., it cannot be said that these are religions of other countries. They are as much Indian religions as Hinduism or Sikhism is.
* There is caste system in all the major religions, i.e., Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. To some extent this is the case with some of the other religions also.

* Large scale conversion of people of one faith to another had happened in the bye gone era, but not in the recent history. Off and
on conversions from one faith to another take place on a small scale. Some of those who got converted to major religions are those who are not adherents of any of the major religions, e.g., some of adivasi tribes. Hence conversion charge against Muslims and Christians by Hindus is by and large off the mark.
* Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism are akin to Hinduism in many respects ( some would even term these as co-religions )
* In the recent history there have been no conflicts between various religions, except between Hindus and Muslims and occasionally some minor strife between Hindus and Christians.
* There have been religious wars between Christianity and Islam for hundreds of years in Europe starting from 7th century.
* There were wars between various other religions also but largely in the bye gone era, i.e., Judaism, Zoroastrians, etc.,
* Though Buddhism originated in India, in the subsequent period, it is some of the other countries, such as, Mymmar, Sri Lanka, etc., which had large %age of Buddhists among their population.
* The number of Jews in India has been continuously going down.

6. The United Religions Initiative, USA

This organisation was founded in 1996 inspired to bring people of diverse faith into cooperation for peace by the example of the work of nations of the world through United Nations working to bring peace. It established United Religions Initiative Charter in 2000. The URI is composed of 400 Cooperation Circles (member groups) in 70 countries worldwide as of November 2008. "The purpose of the URI is to promote enduring daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings."

7. Metamorphosis of religions

Each of the religions took birth / started by an emancipated person to show the people the right way of living. Some of the religions were also started to depart from the degeneration of human beings or because the then existing religions had been essentially converted to rituals. All religions preached brotherhood, good way of living and search of God However, tragically, over a period of time all religions degenerated in varying degrees. Goodness was slowly replaced with rituals. Brotherhood was replaced by alienation and enmity. Followers of each religion slowly got convinced that their religions are far better than other religions. Peace ( with the neighbour / brother ) advocated by all religions was replaced by disfavour, suspicion and enmity of other religions. And the so called spiritual leaders by and large departed from the original teachings of the religions. Instead they preached rituals, separatist feelings and suspicion of other faiths. There is a Catch 22 syndrome here. Disciples want to hear the good things about their religions and not interested to hear the plus points of other religions. Aware of this position, religious leaders cater to the demands of disciples, lest they lose the disciples. And disciples’ belief that their religions are better than other religions gets confirmed again and again whenever the spiritual leaders speak.

Tragically the above mentioned indoctrination has reached such an extent that adherents of most religions co-exist with members of other religions largely on the basis of ‘when needed’. Followers of one religion hardly ever take interest in understanding other religions.

8. Related points and issues ( disjointed comments )

· Main charges of Hindus against Muslims: .Muslims oppose uniform Civil Code ( in respect of marriage and property inheritance by daughters ), do not practice Family planning ( and hence their number may overtake Hindus!!!!), kill cows which is venerated by Hindus, their loyalty is to Pakistan rather than to India, they start communal strife, many of them are terrorists, they are violent, etc.,.

· Counter of Muslims: Why should we all the time try to prove our patriotism and nationalism in respect of India. Hindus destroyed Babri Masjid. Our religious tenets are opposed to Uniform Civil Code. Growth in our population in India is only a shade higher than that of Hindus and why should they make it an issue. We have repeatedly said that terrorists have no religion. Many Hindus consider us ( and occasionally treat us also ) as not being Indians.

· As per original communist ideology, religion should not have any place in the lives of human beings. However, while proclaiming adherence to this ideology, communists have been as religious as other believers are, though outwardly they take the stand of being irreligious.

· Revival of Hindutva movement and demolition of the Babri Masjid led to hardening of the position of many of the Hindus against Muslims particularly and to some extent against Christians also. This has led to increasing polarization of these communities, occasional violence between the communities, increasing distrust between the religionists, etc.,

· Unfortunately, instead of counter acting this development, religious leaders started backing such divisive tendencies. This has led to more emphasis being given by followers of different religions in celebrating rituals, construction of temples, etc.,

· There are not many agnostics and atheists in India.

· That many of the protagonists of Hindu religion, make all out efforts to get admission for their wards in Christian Missionary educational institutions, is not an irony but a double standard.

· Religiosity is being inculcated from childhood – this is one of the unfortunate outcomes of the communal strife or widening of the gulf between various religionists occurred in the recent past.

· Increased organization of rituals is being unwittingly advertised as becoming more religious.

· Religious strife has in the recent past been largely confined between Hindus and Muslims. Should not followers of these two religions look into the reasons for the lack of strife between other religions and also between other religions on the one side and Hindus or Muslims on the other side.

5. Religious intolerance

There are two main forms that intolerance takes. The first is when people who have not gone deeply into the real meaning of their religion and hence don’t practice it in an authentic way, use it as a rallying flag to arouse sectarian, ethnic or nationalist passions. The second is when people who practice their religion sincerely are so deeply, though incorrectly, convinced of the truth of their beliefs that they think any means are justified to impose them on others, since by so doing they are helping them. Their conviction in their faith is admirable, but it is what follows that is so wrong. They don’t know how respect other people’s religious traditions and the diversity of human being.

Dialogue need to start between religious experts and leaders of different faiths on how to achieve ‘ live and let live ‘ between followers of different faiths. The participants in the dialogue should not be politicians or Government, because they have all the time their own agendas.

Why there is a Ministry for Minority Affairs in the Union Government. More so in the charged atmosphere that has been created in the country during the last few decades by the leaders of various major religions. In such a situation, if the Ministry does anything which is perceived to be helping followers of one religion or the other, however justified the action may be, the same is bound to be condemned by other religions. For example, financial assistance for Haj pilgrimage was being give by Government immediately after formation of the Government of India. It is O.K. till the recent times. But now Hindutva leaders have started questioning the action.

According to Anil Thakkar:

‘Cultural myths that is more the norm than an exception today.
The societal penchant for myths is introduced at an early age through fables and fairy tales that form an integral part of a child’s education. Unfortunately, they may be inculcating biases and prejudices instead of the positive life lessons they are supposed to engender. A recent study conducted by at Western Illinois University highlighted the role of physical attractiveness in fairy tales. And along with that, they teach that unattractive people are more likely to be evil. That is as false a lesson for a child to learn as it is pernicious.”

The role of myths in society can expand to fill a much larger space for adults, linked with religion as it often is. There is a twin danger here; that it undermines the tradition of rational and scientific thought and that it can be used as a tool in societal conflicts in a way that exacerbates religious or racial divides. In a country such as India with a multiplicity of communities, this myth making can get out of hand. The results may be mundane – such as an excess of public holidays, many of them based on obscure events of dubious historical and religious relevance – but no less harmful for that. ‘

Concluding remarks

1. Initiative has to be taken by leaders/spokes-persons of different religions, intellectuals, writers, sociologists and persons of repute (and not Government ) to form a loosely knit body comprising of representatives of all religions, like the United Religious Initiative (URI ) formed in USA in 1996 ( Please see ‘ Points to be noted above ) . URI is composed of 400 Co-operation circles ( member groups ) in 70 countries. Alternatively, the Indian chapter of URI could be energised to formulate guidelines to be followed by all religions in ensuring peaceful ‘live and let live’ between followers of different faiths.

2. Governments should maintain strictly equi-distance policy on matters relating to different religions.

3. Changes in law relating to any religion should be based on advice / recommendations of that religion, which should be discussed in URI before Government stepping in with legislation.

4. Activities, such as, demonstrations, violence, denigrating a religion, propaganda against another religion, etc., should be firmly dealt with by Government.

5. Fourth estate should play a crucial role in improving relations between religions. It should be cautious in covering religious activities, inter-religion strife, etc., to ensure that involvement of fourth estate goes to improve inter and intra religious problems.

6. Those who want to avoid religious strife and hatred, should play a positive role in counseling their own Godmen, when the pronouncements of the latter do not help in harmony between religions.

7. School and college text books should be vetted and if required amended to ensure that wittingly or unwittingly the written words go against religious harmony.

8. Community groups should be formed consisting of elders of different faiths whose members are part of the community to ensure that minor differences between members of different faiths do not widen the gap between people and more importantly such differences do not escalate to physical violence or vandalism.

9.Parents / elders in the families should make efforts to educate their wards to follow a path of ‘ live and let live.’

*********

RELIGIONS -

2009-01-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

India was the cradle for various religions, such as, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

1. Census Report ( India ) – 2001

Religion Population 10 years growth %
( in crores )

Hindus 83 20.3
Muslims 14 29.5
Christians 2.40 22.6
Sikhs 1.90 18.2
Buddhists 0.80 25.5
Jains 0.40 26.0
Others 0.60* 103.1
Religion not
specified 0.72**

Total: 103 crores ***

Notes

*6 million belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ which are not part of the six main religions stated above.

**About 7 million persons have not stated their religion

***The total being 103, the percentage of people of different religions is only a shade lower than the figures given indicating the population.

Comments:

*‘Other religious persuasions: This could be tribals and nomads. Yet the number indicated would appear to be on the higher side

** In a country like India, where people would loathe not to indicate their religious persuasion, it is difficult to accept that over 7 million people had not indicated their religion.

Hindus and Sikhs have the lowest population growth in terms of %age, while Muslims are having the highest growth in %age.

2. Number of adherents to various faiths in the world

Christianity .. 1.9 billion
Islam .. 1.1 “

Hinduism .. 781 million
Buddhism .. 324 “
Sikhism .. 19 “
Judaism .. 14 “
Bahai faith .. 6.1 “
Confusionism .. 5.3 “
Jainism .. 4.1 “

3. Brief description of various religions in India

· Hinduism

There is no clear cut evidence, either anthropological or historical as to when Hinduism as a religion started in India. Hindu religionists have taken the stand that Hinduism is 5000 years old, though some of the experts on the subject are of the view that Hinduism is 2500 to 3000 years old. It is not a practicing religion as Islam or Christianity, in the sense one can claim to be Hindu because he or she is born in a Hindu family, but not practice any of its rituals. In that sense it is an amorphous religion. Secondly, as against one God each in other religions, Hindu religion has got pantheon of Gods, with people of the faith following any one or more Gods. It is probably the only religion with Goddesses also. Often considered a "way of life" rather than a religion, Hinduism differs from many religions in not having a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization.

Islam

Islam in India is the second-most practiced religion after Hinduism. India has the third largest population of Muslims in the world ( after Pakistan and Indonesia ). Islam is a practising religion and members of the faith have to strictly adhere to the various rituals prescribed.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam came to South Asia long before Muslim invasions of India. Islamic influence first came to be felt in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Arab traders used to visit the Malabar region in Kerala, became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went. The first Indian mosque was built in 629 A.D in Kerala. In Malabar the Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam.Sufis (Islamic mystics) played an important role in the spread of Islam in India. They were very successful in spreading Islam, as many aspects of Sufi belief systems and practices had their parallels in Indian philosophical literature, in particular nonviolence.
Islam has two major sects, i.e., Sunni and Shia.

Though Muslim rulers for a few centuries ruled India, mainly from Delhi, the spread of Muslim population was not so much in Central India as was the case with Western India (Pakistan ) and Eastern India ( subsequently Bangladesh ) and to a lesser extent in Kerala. Had Islam in India been converting local population by sword during their reign in India, then there should have been more Muslims in the Central India than in other places indicated above.

· Christianity

The first Christian religious person arrived in India in Kerala in 52 AD. Spread of Christians in India started in earnest around 5the century. Areas in India which have large number of Christian population are: Kerala, Goa and Nagaland

Most of the adherents of Christianity follow two sects, i.e., Catholics and Protestants. There are also other sects, but not very significant in terms of followers.

Christianity is also a practicing religion.

· Jainism

Jainism as a religion started in India in 5th BC. In many respects Jainism is akin to Hinduism. Whether and to what extent Jainism is a practicing religion, the answer can be that it falls in between Hinduism ( non practicing ) and Muslim / Christianity (practicing ) religions.

· Sikhism

Sikhism was established in India in 1500 AD. It was established in the North-West of India ( before partition ). Even now it cannot be said to be a pan India religion, as is the position of other religions, though small numbers of Sikhs have settled down in various parts of the country. Sikhism is by far a practicing religion. There is wide spread belief among non Sikhs that Sikhs tend to be more brawns ( and hence easily get into brawls ) than brains. This is not true at all, though Sikhs themselves like the term of their being full of brawn.

· Buddhism

Buddhism as a religion started in India in 3rd BC. There are no precise estimates of the Buddhist population in the world. 250 to 350 million people follow Buddhism. 89% and 70% of the people of Mymmar and Sri Lanka respectively are Buddhists. Other countries having large population of Buddhists are: India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Cambodia. In the recent times the number of people from Western countries who are opting to Buddhism is increasing. Buddhism by far is not a practicing religion. By nature Buddhists are peaceful in nature.

· Zoroastrianism (Parsis )

Parsis came to India around 1000 AD and initially settled in Gujarat. In the subsequent period, a large number of Parsis migrated to Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai. Zoroastrianism is a practicing religion, though not as strict as in the case of Islam. Parsis tend to mind their own business of religion and seldom cross swords with other religionists in the matter of faith and religious practices.

· Judaism (Jews)

Jews started coming to India 2500 years back. They mainly settled in Manipur and Mizoram. This was followed by their settlements in Mumbai and Kochi. The number of Jews in India is quite small. It also in a way practicing religion, though not as strict as in the case of Islam.

4. Non institutionalized religions

All the above are institutionalized forms of religion. But there are a bewildering array of communities both outside and within the faith with varied cultural and religious practices. Those outside the faith have their own deities and religious practices. This is more so in the case of tribals. They have their own Gods. They never think of themselves as part of Hinduism or any other religion.

5 Points to be noted

* Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are the religions which originated from India.
* However, in view of the long period of existence of the other religions in India, i.e., it cannot be said that these are religions of other countries. They are as much Indian religions as Hinduism or Sikhism is.
* There is caste system in all the major religions, i.e., Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. To some extent this is the case with some of the other religions also.

* Large scale conversion of people of one faith to another had happened in the bye gone era, but not in the recent history. Off and
on conversions from one faith to another take place on a small scale. Some of those who got converted to major religions are those who are not adherents of any of the major religions, e.g., some of adivasi tribes. Hence conversion charge against Muslims and Christians by Hindus is by and large off the mark.
* Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism are akin to Hinduism in many respects ( some would even term these as co-religions )
* In the recent history there have been no conflicts between various religions, except between Hindus and Muslims and occasionally some minor strife between Hindus and Christians.
* There have been religious wars between Christianity and Islam for hundreds of years in Europe starting from 7th century.
* There were wars between various other religions also but largely in the bye gone era, i.e., Judaism, Zoroastrians, etc.,
* Though Buddhism originated in India, in the subsequent period, it is some of the other countries, such as, Mymmar, Sri Lanka, etc., which had large %age of Buddhists among their population.
* The number of Jews in India has been continuously going down.

6. The United Religions Initiative, USA

This organisation was founded in 1996 inspired to bring people of diverse faith into cooperation for peace by the example of the work of nations of the world through United Nations working to bring peace. It established United Religions Initiative Charter in 2000. The URI is composed of 400 Cooperation Circles (member groups) in 70 countries worldwide as of November 2008. "The purpose of the URI is to promote enduring daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings."

7. Metamorphosis of religions

Each of the religions took birth / started by an emancipated person to show the people the right way of living. Some of the religions were also started to depart from the degeneration of human beings or because the then existing religions had been essentially converted to rituals. All religions preached brotherhood, good way of living and search of God However, tragically, over a period of time all religions degenerated in varying degrees. Goodness was slowly replaced with rituals. Brotherhood was replaced by alienation and enmity. Followers of each religion slowly got convinced that their religions are far better than other religions. Peace ( with the neighbour / brother ) advocated by all religions was replaced by disfavour, suspicion and enmity of other religions. And the so called spiritual leaders by and large departed from the original teachings of the religions. Instead they preached rituals, separatist feelings and suspicion of other faiths. There is a Catch 22 syndrome here. Disciples want to hear the good things about their religions and not interested to hear the plus points of other religions. Aware of this position, religious leaders cater to the demands of disciples, lest they lose the disciples. And disciples’ belief that their religions are better than other religions gets confirmed again and again whenever the spiritual leaders speak.

Tragically the above mentioned indoctrination has reached such an extent that adherents of most religions co-exist with members of other religions largely on the basis of ‘when needed’. Followers of one religion hardly ever take interest in understanding other religions.

8. Related points and issues ( disjointed comments )

· Main charges of Hindus against Muslims: .Muslims oppose uniform Civil Code ( in respect of marriage and property inheritance by daughters ), do not practice Family planning ( and hence their number may overtake Hindus!!!!), kill cows which is venerated by Hindus, their loyalty is to Pakistan rather than to India, they start communal strife, many of them are terrorists, they are violent, etc.,.

· Counter of Muslims: Why should we all the time try to prove our patriotism and nationalism in respect of India. Hindus destroyed Babri Masjid. Our religious tenets are opposed to Uniform Civil Code. Growth in our population in India is only a shade higher than that of Hindus and why should they make it an issue. We have repeatedly said that terrorists have no religion. Many Hindus consider us ( and occasionally treat us also ) as not being Indians.

· As per original communist ideology, religion should not have any place in the lives of human beings. However, while proclaiming adherence to this ideology, communists have been as religious as other believers are, though outwardly they take the stand of being irreligious.

· Revival of Hindutva movement and demolition of the Babri Masjid led to hardening of the position of many of the Hindus against Muslims particularly and to some extent against Christians also. This has led to increasing polarization of these communities, occasional violence between the communities, increasing distrust between the religionists, etc.,

· Unfortunately, instead of counter acting this development, religious leaders started backing such divisive tendencies. This has led to more emphasis being given by followers of different religions in celebrating rituals, construction of temples, etc.,

· There are not many agnostics and atheists in India.

· That many of the protagonists of Hindu religion, make all out efforts to get admission for their wards in Christian Missionary educational institutions, is not an irony but a double standard.

· Religiosity is being inculcated from childhood – this is one of the unfortunate outcomes of the communal strife or widening of the gulf between various religionists occurred in the recent past.

· Increased organization of rituals is being unwittingly advertised as becoming more religious.

· Religious strife has in the recent past been largely confined between Hindus and Muslims. Should not followers of these two religions look into the reasons for the lack of strife between other religions and also between other religions on the one side and Hindus or Muslims on the other side.

5. Religious intolerance

There are two main forms that intolerance takes. The first is when people who have not gone deeply into the real meaning of their religion and hence don’t practice it in an authentic way, use it as a rallying flag to arouse sectarian, ethnic or nationalist passions. The second is when people who practice their religion sincerely are so deeply, though incorrectly, convinced of the truth of their beliefs that they think any means are justified to impose them on others, since by so doing they are helping them. Their conviction in their faith is admirable, but it is what follows that is so wrong. They don’t know how respect other people’s religious traditions and the diversity of human being.

Dialogue need to start between religious experts and leaders of different faiths on how to achieve ‘ live and let live ‘ between followers of different faiths. The participants in the dialogue should not be politicians or Government, because they have all the time their own agendas.

Why there is a Ministry for Minority Affairs in the Union Government. More so in the charged atmosphere that has been created in the country during the last few decades by the leaders of various major religions. In such a situation, if the Ministry does anything which is perceived to be helping followers of one religion or the other, however justified the action may be, the same is bound to be condemned by other religions. For example, financial assistance for Haj pilgrimage was being give by Government immediately after formation of the Government of India. It is O.K. till the recent times. But now Hindutva leaders have started questioning the action.

According to Anil Thakkar:

‘Cultural myths that is more the norm than an exception today.
The societal penchant for myths is introduced at an early age through fables and fairy tales that form an integral part of a child’s education. Unfortunately, they may be inculcating biases and prejudices instead of the positive life lessons they are supposed to engender. A recent study conducted by at Western Illinois University highlighted the role of physical attractiveness in fairy tales. And along with that, they teach that unattractive people are more likely to be evil. That is as false a lesson for a child to learn as it is pernicious.”

The role of myths in society can expand to fill a much larger space for adults, linked with religion as it often is. There is a twin danger here; that it undermines the tradition of rational and scientific thought and that it can be used as a tool in societal conflicts in a way that exacerbates religious or racial divides. In a country such as India with a multiplicity of communities, this myth making can get out of hand. The results may be mundane – such as an excess of public holidays, many of them based on obscure events of dubious historical and religious relevance – but no less harmful for that. ‘

Concluding remarks

1. Initiative has to be taken by leaders/spokes-persons of different religions, intellectuals, writers, sociologists and persons of repute (and not Government ) to form a loosely knit body comprising of representatives of all religions, like the United Religious Initiative (URI ) formed in USA in 1996 ( Please see ‘ Points to be noted above ) . URI is composed of 400 Co-operation circles ( member groups ) in 70 countries. Alternatively, the Indian chapter of URI could be energised to formulate guidelines to be followed by all religions in ensuring peaceful ‘live and let live’ between followers of different faiths.

2. Governments should maintain strictly equi-distance policy on matters relating to different religions.

3. Changes in law relating to any religion should be based on advice / recommendations of that religion, which should be discussed in URI before Government stepping in with legislation.

4. Activities, such as, demonstrations, violence, denigrating a religion, propaganda against another religion, etc., should be firmly dealt with by Government.

5. Fourth estate should play a crucial role in improving relations between religions. It should be cautious in covering religious activities, inter-religion strife, etc., to ensure that involvement of fourth estate goes to improve inter and intra religious problems.

6. Those who want to avoid religious strife and hatred, should play a positive role in counseling their own Godmen, when the pronouncements of the latter do not help in harmony between religions.

7. School and college text books should be vetted and if required amended to ensure that wittingly or unwittingly the written words go against religious harmony.

8. Community groups should be formed consisting of elders of different faiths whose members are part of the community to ensure that minor differences between members of different faiths do not widen the gap between people and more importantly such differences do not escalate to physical violence or vandalism.

9.Parents / elders in the families should make efforts to educate their wards to follow a path of ‘ live and let live.’

*********

HISTORY TELLS US THAT WE ARE LILY WHITE

2009-01-18T20:47:00.000-08:00

(But, according to most people in the world including Indians, that is not the case with other countries, particularly in respect of adversaries. But then their history books say the same. The background for inculcating this belief is because History (books) taught in schools/colleges of each country has to be approved by its Government. And no Government is going to admit easily that it was wrong in the past. Further, Governments wittingly or unwittingly eulogize Governments’ actions in the past whereas history of adversaries is depicted in none too positively).

It is reported in the newspapers that among other things history taught in Pakistan school contain the following:

‘ The British began….in conjunction with Hindus, to greatly suppress Muslims.’ Muhammad Ali ( Jinnah ) felt Hindus wanted to make Muslims slaves. As he hated slavery, he left Congress…………….. India, with the help of Hindus living in East Pakistan, instigated people living there, and in Dec. 1971 invaded ….. All of us should receive military training and be prepared to fight the enemy……….In the 1971 India-Pakistan war, the Pakistan armed forces created new records of bravery and the Indian forces were defeated everywhere.

The British had the objective to takeover India and to achieve this, they made Hindus join them and Hindus were very glad to side with the British. After capturing the sub-continent, the British began on the one hand loot of all the things produced in this area, and on the other in conjunction with Hindus, to greatly suppress the Muslims.

Their ( Muslim saints ) teachings dispelled many superstitions of the Hindus and reformed their bad practices. Thereby Hindu religion of the olden times came to an end.

And so on and so forth.

Long back, when countries were ruled by kings, courtiers had no other choice ( the king could behead them ) but to laud their kings and even when this or that king was defeated in a war, cover up the defeat. On to modern history. Kings continued to rule some countries. Some were ruled by Governments of various hues. Courtiers were replaced by Government machinery. Paeans of praise were replaced by cover ups and justifications.

The above position has to be expected. German History books ( As said above, history books in most, if not all, countries have to be approved by the respective governments ) cannot state that it started a mindless war. American history writing cannot question the justification of why the atom bomb was dropped on Japan instead of on Germany which was the main villain for the holocaust or that it was foolhardy for America to go to war in Korea or Vietnam. Objective writing by Historians of any country ran the risk of creating animosity with the Government and readers, the latter group also wanting to see their history from the prism of partisanship. It is only during the last five or six decades that books with somewhat objective enumeration of history by independent historians are available for the public. But Government has to stick to the position taken on any matter.

The matter is further complicated by the fact that Governments usually put out only their versions on the stand taken by Government and the supporting arguments for that stand. Counter views of other countries are not highlighted. Unfortunately fourth estate, either because of lethargy to ascertain facts from the other side or to be on the right side of Government or taking the view that ‘ our country ‘ must be right, do not publish contrarians views.

The somewhat elaborate preface as above was required for the reader to have better understanding of what is explained below.

Major events in the Indian history in the 20th century

1. Our independence from British yoke

British was forced to leave India by the agitation started by the people of India. That is our claim and history. But there is another theory and that is that British had decided to leave India at some stage of our starting the agitation. Had the British wanted, it could have recruited more people to the Army and repressed the agitation. But the folklore of our agitation winning freedom from British is ear soothing and gladdening our hearts, that we would not like to dwell too deeply on such matters.

2. Partition

For agreeing to have a united India ( including Pakistan ), Jinnah bargained for the post of the first Prime Minister of United India and further demanded a few of his Muslim friends being given important portfolios in the Cabinet. Gandhiji was fully aware of the unreasonableness of the demand. Yet to ensure that the country remains a single unit, Gandhiji was inclined to accept the proposal, though the Congress was strongly opposed to the demand. To be fair to Congress, it was an unreasonable demand. And further nobody at that time envisaged that bifurcation of the country would lead to such a large scale carnage immediately in the after math of partition of the unified country. It spawned mistrust between the two countries and populace of the same and culminating in military skirmishes and wars. Yet another offshoot of the carnage was the polarization of Muslims and Hindus in India.

3. Annexation of the erstwhile independent countries as States of India and Pakistan

Under the Indian Independence Act each princely State had the choice of joining either India or Pakistan. Obviously the choice of each princely State would be spelt out by the Government of the state, which meant the ruler ( king ) of the state.

But what actually happened was as below:

Kashmir: The ruler of Kashmir indicated that it wanted to join India. So India sent troops to Kashmir to thwart the move by Pakistan ( through liberation forces ) to annex Kashmir with Pakistan. India succeeded in this, though a small part got occupied by Pakistan. Subsequently the issue came up before the UN and India agreed to hold a plebiscite. However, the plebiscite was never held.

(After 60 years of Kashmir being part of India, holding elections there as in other parts of the country, spending much more money there than any where else in the country, giving a special status to that State ( No Indian can own property there ), posting a large contingent of military there for the protection of Kashmiris, Government of India is wary of holding a plebiscite in Kashmir on whether the people there want to opt to be part of India or Pakistan or an independent country, though the last option was not part of Indian Independence Act. It is difficult for Kashmir to exist, much less progress, if it becomes an independent country, given its geography, infra structure, economic development, etc., Yet, Government of India is not confident whether Kashmiris would vote for continuing to be part of India, should a plebiscite is held ).

Junagarh: The Nawab of Junagarh ( a Muslim ) declared that his State would join Pakistan. Majority of the people of Junagarh were Hindus. Indian forces moved to Junagarh and occupied the state. Then, to confirm the legitimacy of India’s action, India held a plebiscite in which overwhelming majority of people voted for joining India. ( Note he difference in the approach of India between Kashmir on the one hand and Junagarh on the other )

Hyderabad: The Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to continue Hyderabad as an independent country. The Nizam also started some dialogue with Pakistan. Indian Government through police action annexed Hyderabad on the ground that there cannot be an independent country surrounded by Indian regions.

Goa: Goa was ruled by Portugal for a long time. Portugal was not in favour of Goa joining India. In the 60s, people of Goa started agitation for Goa joining India. On the ground (pretext) of ensuring peace, India marched police forces to Goa. Government of Portugal, probably felt that with Indian police force in Goa and indications of Indian Army marching to Goa, it may be better to allow Goa to join India. And this happened.

Pondichery and Mahe: These were French colonies within India. French voluntarily decided to allow these regions becoming part of India.

Summation: Strategically all actions taken by India, as above, were in the interests of India. Morality was not the issue. These were pragmatic actions. The will of the rulers or wishes of people were not the prime criteria. It is all history now. Yet, the fact remains that India cannot take a ‘ holier than thou attitude ‘ on such matters.

4. Arunachal Pradesh
Before British annexation in 1858, most of the region of now christiand Arunachal Pradesh was more or less under the loose control of Tibet and Bhutan.
In 1913-1914 representatives of China, Tibet and Britain ( meaning British Goernment ruling India ) negotiated a treaty in India: the Simla Convention.. British administrator, Sir Henry McMahon, drew up the 550 mile (890 km) McMahon Line as the border between British India and Outer Tibet during the Simla Conference. The Tibetan and British representatives at the conference agreed to the line, which ceded Tawang and other Tibetan areas to the imperial British Empire.The Chinese representative had no problems with the border between British India and Outer Tibet. However on the issue of the boder between Outer Tibet and Inner Tibet the talks broke down. Thus, the Chinese representative refused to accept the agreement and walked out. The Tibetan Government and British Government went ahead with the Simla Agreement and declared that the benefits of other articles of this treaty would not be bestowed on China as long as it stays out of the purview. The Chinese position since then has been that since China had suzerainty over Tibet, the line was invalid without Chinese agreement. Furthermore, by refusing to sign the Simla documents, the Chinese Government had escaped according any recognition to the validity of the McMahon Line.
The situation developed further as India became independent and the People's Republic of China was established in the late 1940s. With the China poised to take over Tibet, India unilaterally declared the McMahon Line to be the boundary in November 1950, However, China never recognized the McMahon Line which meant that China did not accept the position of the whole of present Arunachal Pradesh being part of India.
In a nutshell, the stand of Indian Government is that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and that has been the position for long. However, China disputes this position.

5. Creation of Bangladesh

After the creation of Pakistan, with two segments, one in the West and another in the East ( which later became Bangladesh ), East Pakistanis noticed that whenever one of them was elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, he was swiftly deposed by the Pakistan Government ( essentially establishment manned by West Pakistanis ). Secondly, East Pakistan received a step motherly treatment on various matters from the Government of Pakistan.

The situation reached a climax in 1970 when the Awami League, the largest East Pakistani political party, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in the national elections. The party won 167 of the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan, and thus a majority of the 313 seats in the National Assembly. This gave the Awami League the constitutional right to form a government. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (a Sindhi), the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, refused to allow Rahman to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Instead, he proposed the idea of having two Prime Ministers, one for each wing.
Repression of the people, particularly Hindus, of East Pakistan started by the Armed forces of West Pakistan stationed in East Pakistan. Refugees started pouring into India, creating a major problem for India.
India also started indirect assistance to liberation movement of East Pakistan. Apprehending further involvement of India in the affairs of East Pakistan, Government of Pakistan attacked India on the Western side. India declared war with Pakistan and liberated East Pakistan from the rulers of West Pakistan.
Hence essentially the reasons for India attacking Pakistan were two: (1) Influx of large number of refugees from East Pakistan to India, and (2) Pakistan’s attack of India on the Western side. ( However, many of the observers of the developments on this subject were of the view that India wanted to vivesect Pakistan and also weaken Pakistan.) By going to war and winning the same, the then Government of India ( which meant the Congress Party ) also received encomiums from the people of India.
Pakistan never forgot and never forgave India for the creation of Bangladesh.

6. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ), Sri Lanka

· Sri Lanka became an independent country in 1948.
· Population: 70% Budhists, 15% Hindus, 8% Muslims & 7% Christians
· Tamil population in Sri Lanka: 5% ( 8.55 lakhs )
· Historically Sri Lankan monarchs had used the services of South Indian labour since centuries BC. Further, Tamils in large numbers came to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries essentially to work in plantations. In 1964 a large percentage were expatriated back to India most of whom were then absorbed as workers in Tamil Nadu Tea plantions.
· The socio economic indicators of the Tamil community was amongst the worst in the country. The community in general was isolated with little contact with Sinhalese, which consistituted the major ethnic people of Sri Lanka.
· LTTE was formed in the 70s to carve out an independent Tamil State ( country ).
· 31 countries ( India among them ) have currently proscribed LTTE on the ground of it being a terrorist organisation.
· In 1987, faced with growing anger amongst its ( India’s ) own Tamils, and a flood of refugees to India, India intervened directly in the conflict for the first time by initially airdropping food parcels into Jaffna ( by way of helping Tamils).
· After subsequent negotiations, India and Sri Lanka entered into an agreement. The peace accord assigned a certain degree of regional autonomy in the Tamil areas with Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) controlling the regional council and called for the Tamil militant groups to lay down their arms.
· Furthermore, India was to send a peacekeeping force, named the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka to enforce the disarmament of Tamils and to watch over the regional council.
· That led to LTTE getting itself engaged in military conflict with the Indian Army. Indian Army launched number of assaults on the LTTE. The ruthlessness of this campaign, and the Indian army's subsequent anti-LTTE operations made it extremely unpopular amongst many Tamils in Sri Lanka.
· The Indian intervention was also unpopular amongst the Sinhalese majority, and the IPKF became bogged down in the fighting with the Tamil Tigers for over 2 years, experiencing heavy losses. IPKF left Sri Lanka in 1990 on request of the Sri Lankan government.
· Fighting continued throughout the 1990s, and was marked by two key assassinations carried out by the LTTE, that of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993.
· In 2001 the LTTE dropped its demand for a separate state. Instead, they stated that a form of regional autonomy would meet their demands In March 2002 both sides signed an official Ceasefire Agreement. As part of the agreement, Norway and the other Nordic countries agreed to jointly monitor the ceasefire through the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.
· Even though LTTE was formed as a military group, it later transformed itself to a de facto Government. LTTE controls sections in the north of the island,. LTTE has implemented a judicial system and has also established a police force Another state function of the LTTE administration is social welfare. This humanitarian assistance arm is funded by tax collection internally . LTTE has also established an education and health sector that offers services to the people under their control. They have also created a human rights organization, called Northeast Secretariat on Human Rights, that functions to advocate the rights of Tamils.
· In 1984, LTTE created a unit of female squad called the Freedom Birds. This unit was the first group of women to be given military training in India ( Tamil Nadu ).
Summing up
· Present position is that Sinhalese and Tamils as well as Srilankan Government and LTTE are wary of Indian Government.
· People and Government of Tamil Nadu are sympathetic to the cause of LTTE and have been influencing Government of India to take pro active approach in protecting the intersts of Tamilians in Sri Lanka and also LTTE.
· In Tamil Nadu politics, particularly in respect of vote banks, LTTE issue is an extremely sensitive one.
· It has been said ( though not confirmed ) that financial assistance to LTTE is being provided by Tamil Nadu political parties.
· Similarly, earlier it was said that LTTE soldiers were being trained in Tamil Nadu.

Conclusion:
Actions taken by Government of India in this vexatious issue had boomranged on the Government of India. If the Government of India does not help Tamils / LTTE, then both Tamil Nadu Government and a large number of Tamils in India would be alianated. On the other hand if the Government helps then it would create further tension between the Governments of India and Sri Lanka.
In other words, Government of India has only a Hobson’s choice.

7. Dalai Lama’s agitation against China

Yes, the agitation against Chinese rule in Tibet so far has been peaceful. And considering Buddhist ideology, it can be expected to continue peaceful. Yet one cannot close our eyes to facts, such as, India is providing financial help to Dali Lama and his disciples and while accepting the fact of Tibet being part of China, from Indian soil Dalai Lama is allowed to peacefully agitate seeking special status for Tibet as compared to other provinces of China.

Hardly anybody would oppose Government of India giving more or less asylum to Buddhist people in Dharmasala and financially helping them. But how will Chinese view this development. Obviously with considerable disfavour. After Tibet becoming a part of China and this position willingly or unwillingly having been accepted by other countries in the world, Indian Government is not on firm footing in giving a helping hand to Dalai Lama in his efforts to get some sort of autonomy or special status for Tibet within the larger Chinese frame.

8. Malaysia:

Malays, Indians ( mainly Tamils ) and Chinese constitute the population of Malaysia. Both Indians and Chinese have been there for long. Chinese, who came later, are mainly into business and Indians in various professions. Malays are not able to compete with either of the ethnic groups with the result that while Chinese and Indians have prospered, Malays have been not doing well. Inevitably the heart of the Malaysian Government and politicians is with Malays. So the Government started reserving Government jobs for Malays ( a la ‘ people of the soil’ syndrome in India ). Since Malays are hardly into business, Chinese were not affected by this policy, whereas it affected Indians there, who were in the service class. Tamils mounted some agitation and sought help of Indian Government. Of course, whenever and wherever Tamils are involved, the State Government of Tamil Nadu starts exercising pressure on Government of India to do something. Now in this case, Government of India can do precious little, except to suggest to Malaysian Government to be sympathetic to the wishes of Tamils there. And that precisely is what Government of India did.

9. Indians living in other countries

Large numbers of Indians have been living in other countries for a long time, i.e., Gulf countries, USA, UK, and Malaysia. The trend during the last two or three decades indicate that the number of Indians migrating to those countries for work would continue. Many of the Indians now in those countries are second ( and a few third ) generation Indians. Increasingly the number of Indians settling down permanently in those countries is going up. While assimilating partly with the country of their stay, most of them have naturally affinity towards India. But what becomes tricky is how far the Government of India should go in supporting those Indians settled in those countries when they oppose some policy changes made by the Governments in those countries which are inimical to the interests of Indians there. .

The point to be noted is that in such matters there is no straight line and no uniform approach can also be taken. Fairness will have to be tempered with pragmatism.

10. India producing nuclear weapon

Had Pakistan produced nuclear bomb before India did the same, the Government and people of India would have castigated Pakistan for starting a race with India on the matter with no option for India but to produce similar weapon, converting this area into a nuclear war zone, etc., And Indian Government would have sought intervention of major world powers to restrain Pakistan from such a venture. Indian stand would be as follows. Unlike India, Pakistan is not a peace loving nation, past record of Pakistan shows that it can behave in an extremely irresponsible manner related to relations with India, Pakistan is essentially ruled by military and a nuclear weapon in the hands of military is a dangerous development and now that Pakistan has a nuclear weapon, India has no other alternative but to produce a similar weapon and India being a peace loving country it would desist from ‘ first use’ of the nuclear bomb to be produced.

India produced the bomb first. Pakistan felt that it has no alternative but to produce nuclear weapon. How else would Pakistan react, especially when the military there has a strong grip on the political leadership.

11. Pakistan a failed State

That has been glib statement emanating from fourth estate and many of the politicians and experts in India during the recent times, i.e., after the terror strikes on Mumbai. It is also repeatedly stated that Pakistan has hardly any control on its Military, particularly its ISI wing and no control on terrorists. The conclusion drawn is that Pakistan Government cannot contain either its military or the terrorists. There is lot of truth in these statements and appraisal of ground reality.

But then consider the following two facts in respect of India

1 ) It is said by many experts that in respect of over 60 districts in the country, the writ of Moaists runs and that local administration is powerless in implementing law and order and administration.

2 ) According to Sainath’s wonderful book ‘ Everybody likes a draught ‘
whatever economic development India has achieved during the last 60 years, has bye-passed millions people, including Adivasis. Sainath has described in detail the harrowing conditions under which these people live.

When this is the position, how can we do finger pointing at Pakistan as a failed State.

Conclusions

· Churchill said ‘ We have no permanent enemies or friends but only permanent interests.’ That is true for all countries.

· There is frequent diplomatic pressure on all Governments when it comes to actions taken by the Governments which have ramifications on other countries. What is put out for public consumption would not be the whole truth. That is how diplomacy works. And Governments have to give due consideration to such pressures.

· Intelligence inputs. Government approaches are sometimes influenced, and it should be so, by intelligence inputs, which it cannot share with public. Sometimes this leads to people being baffled by Government actions.

· Quite often Governments are faced with Hobson’s choice. Act, and it will be condemned. Not act, then also it will be condemned.

· Finger pointing by public is easy. While appreciating the sentiments of people, Governments have to be pragmatic and more importantly Governments have to weigh between public approbation and long term interest of the country.

· Uniform policies or approaches cannot be taken by Governments in respect of problems with other countries. Certain adhocism is bound to be there and rarely though there could also be contradictions.

Foot-note:

The trouble with history in such matters is the changing scenario. The position as obtained thousand years back might have been changed five hundred years back and then further changed 300 years back, with one country or another dissenting with the position obtained at any stage. A country may repudiate covenants signed by its erstwhile rulers. Ethnicity, contiguous areas, etc., would be brought up to back the claim. There is no right and wrong in such matters. Expediency, self interest, etc., cannot be brushed aside. Solutions can be found only through discussions, at times with involvement of third countries.

Hitler felt that other countries had given a raw deal to West Germany and hence the attack against other countries was justified.

USA, the self appointed guardian of world, righteously attacked Iraq on the premise that a rogue state like Iraq should not be allowed to proceed with nuclear ( weapon ) research.

USSR wanted to ensure that the world does not come under the hegemony of USA and built a mighty military state, to repel Western World from any attack on USSR or its allies.

The above examples could be multiplied.

In short, each country justifies its actions, though many of which are inimical to the interests of other countries.

It is the same in societies. ‘Yes, there may be a few blemishes in us. But on the whole we are O.K, but not our neighbours. Look at what they did on this or that issue ‘ - that is the generally held view of all. It is the same with societies, countries, religions. In brief, ‘ the other guy is at a fault.’ Nobody thinks of grey areas or that both could be right from their own perspectives.

LTTE has been seeking separate Tamil Elam. Dalai Lama is seeking special status for Tibet. While the two demands are not the same, is there not similarity.

Signing off

A wag said something like the following:

‘ Why not exchange the history books of various countries to find out how the same facts / developments related to history are told differently by each country.’

***

Reading of Books and Book shelves in homes

2009-01-15T22:20:00.001-08:00

Occasionally TVs telecast interviews with authors, thinkers, VIPs, etc., Invariably the interviewed would have in the background his bookshelves, containing innumerable number of books, many voluminous and bound. Such interviews could be given anywhere, in the studio, in the lawn, in the sitting room, etc., But if the person interviewed is the reading type, then presto, the background of book shelf becomes a must. These people would have achieved higher positions in different walks of life. They may talk humbly. Yet the background is a give away. They want the viewers to know that they are the cerebral type and from there to thinking type. If that is not vanity, then what else is.

I am yet to find a book-shelf in a house which did not have glass doors, i.e., not covered doors obliterating the view of books. And then again most people would have book-shelves in the sitting room. Otherwise, how will the visitors know that the host is a reading type. Forget the fact that most of the books would be fictions. Chances are that few of the serious books on the shelf would not have been read by the owner ( nor any intention of reading). Such books would have been gifted to the owner or he would have purchased the same with the intention of reading at a later date. But hardly that later date materializes. I say that the serious books, particularly religious books, are for advertisement of the host’s tastes in reading and religious bent of mind. Many of the books would have been borrowed ones. People are notorious in not returning borrowed books.

This exhibitionism started long back. There were only few people then with knowledge of English. Those who learnt English wanted people to know that they know English, which at that time set them apart from the ordinary folks. So they started the (book) exhibition business in earnest. At that time even an old Railway Time Table was kept in the bookshelf since it was in English. So also old English magazines. Then paper back novels.

Then there is the human tendency to accumulate. The novels may never be read again. But people are chary of lending books, not to talk of parting with books ( even though some of them may be borrowed ones).

I have been purchasing regularly books and also lending them to friends. In fact I often insist my friends to take some of the books from me. I never ask them to return the books, except a few ones which I may think of reading again later. But I have never felt the loss of the books.

Let me end this write up with a quote from Christopher Morley:

“ I give humble and hearty thanks for the safe return of this book, which having endured the perils of my friend’s book case, and the book cases of my friend’s friends, now returns in reasonably good condition.

I give my humble and hearty thanks that my friend did not see fit to give this book to his young son to scribble what he liked or to exhibit the youngster’s mastery in tearing.

When I lent this book I deemed it to be lost. I was resigned to the bitterness of parting. I never thought to look upon its pages again.

But now that my book has come back to me I rejoice and I am exceedingly glad. I am going to bind it and sit it on the shelf of honour, for the book was lent, and yet returned.
Presently, therefore, I may return some of the books that I myself have borrowed.’

POPULAION GROWTH IN INDIA

2009-01-10T23:15:00.000-08:00

Both Government and people have become somewhat deaf to the ticking of this time bomb because we have become accustomed to the noise created by the ticking

This is the most important and serious fault-line of the Indian Government in governance since independence

Mind boggling facts

Population of India as on July 2008: 114 crores*
*As estimated by Government.

Population as per 1951 census: 36 crores

Population as per 1991 Census: 84.6 crores
Population as per 2001 Census: 102.8 crores,
i.e., 21.3% increase in a period of 10 years

Population growth rate: 1.38% per annum

Population projected:
2010: 117.5 crores
2015: 125.6 “
2020: 133.1 “

Population of Mumbai: 1.3 crores. Delhi: 1.1 crores

One out of six people of world live in India

We all know that we have a huge population and further that the same is increasing at a fast pace. Yet, for a better perception of the magnitude of the issue, some comparisons are required, as below:

· Uttar Pradesh with a population of 16.6 cr. is the fifth largest ( country/State ) when compared with countries having large population, i.e., China ( 131 cr. ), USA (29.8 cr. ), Indonesia ( 24.5 cr. ), and Brazil (18.8 cr. ) and Pakistan (16.5 cr. ).

· Maharashtra ( 9.67 cr.) and Bihar ( 8.28 cr. ) each have higher population than Germany ( 8.20 cr. )

· West Bengal ( 8.02 cr. ) is ahead of Egypt ( 7.8 cr. )

· Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh with population of 6.2 cr. and 6 cr. respectively have more or less have population equal to that of UK ( 6 cr. ), France ( 6 cr.) and would be rushing ahead to overtake Iran ( 6.8 cr. )

· The small State of Kerala with a population of 3.18 cr. will be rushing to be ahead of Canada ( 3.3 cr.)

· Population of Bangla Desh: 14.7 cr. Russia: 14.2 cr. and Japan: 12.7 cr. ( With our propensity to produce children, one would not be surprised if some of the Indian States overtake these countries in a few years in comparison to their population ).

· Both Mumbai and Delhi cities have already crossed one crore of population which is higher than the population of

many countries. e.g., Sweden ( 90 lakhs ), Switzerland
( 75 lakhs ), Israel ( 63 lakhs ) and Finland ( 52 lakhs ).

· At our current level of growth in population, figuratively we are adding each year another Australia ( 2 cr. ) to India in terms of population.

Note:

Population growth level in the last two few decades in the developed countries has been minimal. In fact some of the countries have reached stagnant population levels, with birth and death almost equaling. On the other hand there has been significant population growth in developing countries. And in the near future this trend would continue.

What are the implications of the above dichotomy?

1. Average standard of living of developed countries would go on increasing whereas the reverse would happen in the case of developing countries, i.e., the average standard of living.

2. More and more people from developing countries would try to migrate to developed countries. Since such a development would have socio economic problems in the developed countries, developed countries may impose checks and balances.

3. Influx of people from villages to cities in India would go on increasing.

4. The gap in terms of income of rich / middle class and the poor people in India would go on widening, creating social unrest.

Comments:

1. All other problems which faced India since Independence are not as gigantic as the population problem. What is worse is that not only the problem would continue in the future but would nullify to a large extent and in respect of a large number of people the benefits of economic growth.

2. The problem has been with us for so long that we have largely become immune to the same.

3. In the 50s, when the new Government of India started looking into various major problems afflicting the country, it had some inkling of the problem ahead on this front and had attached considerable importance to family planning. Yet, at the level of implementation, the record has been even less than patchy.

4. Unfortunately political parties from the beginning were lackadaisical in their getting involved in this issue.

5. The role of civil society and NGOs were only peripheral.

6. Sanjay Gandhi’s experiment on this front backfiring, there was less enthusiasm in getting involved in this subject.

7. Even a dictatorial regime like China had to soften the policy of ‘ one child per couple ‘ since abortions and forced sterilization had become thoroughly unpopular.

8. The truism has to be realized and accepted that it is too serious a matter left to the Government alone.

9. States which achieved high female literacy have witnessed significant reduction in the growth rate of population ( e.g., Female Literacy in Kerala: 88%. Bihar: 33.6% ).

10. Already States which have not been able to achieve lowering the rate of growth of population in any significant manner are being left out by States which have achieved moderate success on this front. This gap would widen further with its own ramifications, e.g., migration of people from more populous States to others.

11. Population growth in the cities, coupled with the problem cited in Point No. 10 above, would create new problems in managing cities.

Conclusions:

· Central / State Governments have to accord top priority to this mind boggling problem.
· Apart from allocating vast resources for containing unbridled growth of population, Governments have to take up steps for effective and imaginative programmes to reduce population growth.

· Civil societies have to involve in the implementation of Government programmes.
· Panchayats have the capability to play a major role in the matter. But it would appear that Government has not empowered them fully to involve in this gigantic problem.
· Fourth estate can play a significant role by continuously highlighting the enormity of the problem and also pointing out lacunae in the implementation of Government programmes.
· The focus of action should be on the illiterate and poor because in the recent past the growth in child birth in these segments had not come down drastically, unlike in the case of middle and upper income segments which had voluntarily opted for ‘two child’ policy.
· It should be noted that the middle and upper income segments have opted for ‘one child or two child’ policy largely due to their realization that for the well being of the family that is the right choice. It is hardly due to Government programmes on Family Planning.
· Hoardings in cities and towns on family planning with a boy and girl in the hoarding, ads. on family planning in the print media, particularly English media ( read by people most of whom had already opted for one child or two children), organizing seminars and workshops on the subject, mouthing platitudes on the subject by powers that be, et all, are waste of money and energy. Role of Government should be minimal. Panchayats and Civil societies have to take the lead. Instead of the babus deciding the course of action, it is the social scientists who should mould the action plan.

Signing off:

Any Government paper on population issues invariably has a comparison of the number of people and the land mass in the country. e.g.,

India: 2.4% of land area of the world
17.5% of the population of world

With vast changes that have occurred in technology, production and distribution of goods and world becoming one in trading of goods, this comparison is inapt. Probably this started long back when agriculture was the prime activity and countries were insular in the matter of world trade. At that time the focus was on how much land is needed for production in the land to meet the requirements of a particular number of people. That is not the case now. e.g., Japan and Israel. Land mass is not large. Yet because of high productivity from their land and their high GDP enabling them to import agricultural goods, they are able to meet the requirement of their people. On the other hand, many of the Arab and African countries have large land mass and yet their agricultural production level is not high resulting in those countries forced to import agricultural goods to meet the requirements of their people.
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