The world that was(2015)

Wonder how many of you remember ‘The World this week’ .That was some 25 years back. At least more than half of India was not even born then. Prannoy Roy (I am not sure if he was a ‘doctor’ , back then) was beginning to be a household name and probably one of the most suave journalists/reporters we had around. Nobody told us then, that paid media existed and how, all we saw and heard was not so true. Also we didn’t know that Prannoy was married, to whom he was married and that it mattered so much for the country! None of the Khans were a superstar then and India was still a ‘secular’ country with no ‘sickulars’!  Needless to say – Nobody ever heard of a word called corruption in the land of gods. Well, there were some murmurs about ‘Bofors’. But then who dare question the lords themselves!
Anyways, the reason to go so far back in the memory lane is – We are approaching yet another end of a year. One of the things I used to look forward during my growing up years was the WTW (you got it! World this week) finale- ‘The year that was ‘. The last Friday of the year whence you got a recap of the major events in the year. Well, the world was a small place then and major events could be summarized in a 30-60 minute time slot! It is incomprehensible in today’s world. Forget about covering the world in 60 minutes, you would be left stuck at where to begin first. Ok Let me take it back. 2015 is an exception. From an Indian perspective, the ‘World this year’ should be pretty easy to report.  You can start with Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka,  Maldives and Singapore moving to Australia, right across to Canada with stop overs in Germany, France, and Denmark ….you just covered half the globe with those visits and good visuals of the prime minister plucking the ears of kids across the globe! You won’t get enough time to cover the ‘strategic partnerships’ with USA or Russia and neither to cover the visits of these heads of states to India. But if you are an editor par excellence and manage to still get some room, you have enough material to cover from ISIS (this year its ISIS  ...Not Al Qaeda-Banner changed) or the gun shootings in US ( you don’t even have to change banners, you can show the same footage as last year including the comments from the President). If you don’t trust me, check this out –That was 25 years back!

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-world-this-week/the-world-this-week-the-pamela-bordes-effect-aired-march-1989/276724

But were it not for Modi the savior, it would be very difficult. If you don’t believe me, just -imagine how it would be to cover the year domestically. As I said, forget about deciding the priority events, you can’t even figure out how to report them. Again, I mean, it is relatively easy if you are on either side of the fence. But you know how difficult it is to sit on the fence. And to report sitting on the fence is too ‘painful’ at the very least! Sample this – Should we report ‘Modi Crushed in Delhi’ or BJP triumphs (yet again) in BBMP! Or for that matter, should we weigh in more on the ‘air’ pollution in Delhi or the ‘Noise’ pollution there, letting the viewer’s decide which one is more harmful?  Should one report “Parliament disrupted for two continuous sessions. Key Bills hanging.  A blot on the 60 year tradition of seamless parliament sessions wherein elected representatives conducted serious business all the while since Independence” or should the narrative be “ Opposition holds government accountable for key issues of national importance and demands sacking of ministers since they are convicted criminals “. Tough questions for someone who is 'unpaid'!
Then there is this paradoxical situation where one needs to decide whether to report “There is extreme intolerance in India- Sharukh Khan “or “There is no intolerance in India – Sharukh Khan”. Again it would be a challenge to determine and report the list of people Mr. Kejriwal calls as corrupt or the list of people from his government and party who are facing charges! The last time I was talking to a journalist friend, he had a tough time reporting this news -“Modi is running an autocratic government and party – Rahul Gandhi”!
  Well not all the events are that complicated. You could as well report that a host of luminaries returned their ‘awards’ to the government protesting ‘growing intolerance’ in the country. As a reporter you may be obviously faced with the question why the ‘Award Wapasi’ stopped after some time. Was it because the countrymen were so perturbed by the act of these luminaries that they decided to forego their culture of 5000 years and suddenly become tolerant? But then, you may want to skip these nuisances and move ahead! After all you got a limited slot of 60 minutes!  There is this question about the relative intelligence of Azam Khan vis-a-vis his buffaloes which shouldn’t be too difficult to crack. One should not forget to mention the ‘ongoing peace processes between India and Pakistan to ‘ensure peace and stability in the region’! Of course the year should not end till you report the huge defeat of Shah (– Well Amit Shah! If you thought Adil Shah or Nizam Shah, you are reading too much of history or influenced by Thackray!) in the Bihar elections. It was a momentous event which led to the resurgence of the ‘democrats’ after decades of fundamentalists rule in India! In case the narrative is turning out to be too serious, throw some ‘punches’ from Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Digvijay Singh , Yogi Adityanath and that should keep the audience in good humor.
On the entertain front, the news of the year is – “Bhai acquitted of all the false and malicious charges “. Nothing surpasses that! Of course, as an enthusiastic reporter, you may wonder, why it took so many years. But don’t even venture there! You are not supposed to question the judiciary in India! It’s only the judiciary who get to question everybody else. Incidentally, there is a movie by the name ‘Court’ which won the national awards and is India’s official entry to Oscars. You could make a passing mention to that. As for sports, it’s very easy. Look at all the milestones achieved by SRT (well you should know who he is!) and mention those dates as anniversary of those milestones. That should sell it. After all nobody sells better then SRT even today!

In the end, do remember to pose this question to the viewers as a ‘revenge’ for all you had to go through while editing this version of ‘World that was’!

“Why did Kattappa kill Bahubali"!

Happy New year!

The lost match

As a kid, I loved it when India won. Well who wouldn’t! And you don’t need to be a kid to like an Indian win, one would say! I am talking about cricket here, just to set the context correctly! Anyways during my childhood days cricket was the only thing you would hear India win. Occasionally hockey. So I would be pained to see India being defeated and at times by a huge margin. It didn’t matter who the opponents were, whether it was domestic or abroad, one day or test, day/night. Nothing mattered. What we wanted is an Indian win. To make us feel ‘proud’ and happy.  In those times, when India didn’t matter, Cricket was the only thing that mattered in India. When India lost, every Tom, Dick and Harry made it their national duty to do a post mortem. Sometimes the demand was to change the captain. On other occasions it were the openers or the bowlers.  Very rarely somebody talked about strategy.  Because strategy didn’t matter if you lost.
As I grew older, we could distinguish between different tournaments, opponents and the relative importance of those matches. So we were naturally less emotive for a league game in world cup vs somebody like Zimbabwe. Or say, we would digest a defeat vs SA if it were not one of those knock out ones.  Doesn’t mean that the love for the game was lost. Just that we began to understand that winning and losing were part of the ‘game’. As we grew further, other dimensions like the D/L system, match fixing, internal differences within the teams, occasional bad umpiring etc. came to the fore, making us realize that there were a lot of factors that go into winning a match. Not to mention the hard work the players put in, the strategies the team adopts etc. There was much more to the match than the eight hours we got to watch on television.
Eventually I realized that there are matches –always. World cup comes every four years. Bilateral series every 2-5 years. India wins some, loses some. There are reasons for the defeat every time. Some of them need to be (and are) acted on, some are not.  Irrespective of the action, India still wins some. Loses others. The one thing I regret is that it was much later that I started liking the ‘game’. The sheer beauty of it wherein both the teams get a level playing field and get to execute all the practice, hard work, strategy that they have in their kitty. Variables being randomly distributed (sometimes in your favor, other times against), after all each team gets to play potentially 11 batsmen, 11 bowlers and 11 fielders. It’s the team that plays better on the given day-wins. Over a period of time, it’s the team that plans better, works as unit, prepares harder, starts showing results and shows remarked statistics. I also learnt that the success of today is not necessarily the outcome of the current team but years of preparation that went in with the earlier generations involved.
Even today, I feel happy when India wins. A little sad when we lose. The one thing that I have hated all along is to blame your defeat on somebody else outside the team. I hate it the most when people think ill of the team that defeated you. Support their opponents just because they defeated you. That’s not cricket. That’s sick. Today, more than India winning or losing, I love cricket! And that makes me happier –longer!

Just in case you are trivializing the analogy of cricket to real life, well there are differences and multiple other factors. But the ‘Game Theory’ works in all the cases. Always!
So when is the next match? Assam?

Happy Diwali!!!!!

An apple for the day !

Why do apples grow on trees? My seven year old tossed up the question during one of our ‘chat sessions’. He actually meant ‘why do plants bear fruits’. The chat sessions are a routine affair during bed time-when he is done with everything for the day, satisfied his hunger for cartoons, games, of course food and has no other reason left to stay awake. I pretend to get angry at him for staying awake, but kind of like our chat since that’s the only ‘quality’ time I get to spend with him! The question didn’t come as a surprise to me since I have been used to similar ones for some time now. I have successfully fielded the ‘Why’,’Where’,’When’,’How’ variants of the same problem for over a few years now. Also, it’s not just my kid who is expert at asking such questions. Most kids at his age will stump you with questions, if you are not used to them i.e.  In fact it’s my firm belief that as you grow, the complexity of one’s questions decreases and that of the answers increases!

Coming back to the apple- Now I must admit that I have been carrying a little grudge towards the red fruit. Irrespective of what the doctor says, I hate apples. Firstly because they are the reason for all the evil as described in the Garden of Eden story. So an apple was responsible for putting mankind into all that misery. No longer did man manage to come out of that, another ‘apple’ committed the cardinal sin of falling on to someone’s head. Children are still punished for that ‘sin’ of the apple. In my childhood days we often wondered why Newton could not take a vacation to the Caribbean and deal with a coconut instead! Even if I choose to forgive the apple for these misdemeanors in the past, I hate it every time I go to the market and have to part with a hefty sum to buy few of those. So it remains a ‘forbidden fruit’ for me!

But currently, I had to deal with the apple that was thrown at me by my kid. He was waiting for me to say ‘I don’t know’ so he could ask me to google for it. Well he loves doing that! I don’t know if it’s my inability to answer that excites him more or the fact that Google ‘answers’! .Irrespective, I didn’t want to give him a chance and told him ‘I am thinking’. The simplest answer was “Because God wished so”. I have been desisting from giving such ‘Godly’ answers to his questions so far. They are too simplistic for all the effort he takes into thinking about the questions (or at least it is my belief that he thinks over). Not to be misunderstood here, and theologically speaking “Because God wished so” may be a correct answer after all! But then, I fear that if the answer to all his questions were so simple and similar (actually the same), then the questions would stop! So God has been out of the equation between us, so far. Honestly, I did not know the answer! I mean I kind of figured out that it had to do ‘something’ with reproduction and all, but didn’t remember studying about it during my school days. Well, certainly not after that! So I sneaked into the bathroom with my cellphone and googled for it! I was able to answer him to the levels he could understand and finally put him to sleep. Not myself though!

For the novice (and I was one till a few days back) an apple basically carries the seed of the plant and nourishes it till the seed is good enough to reproduce. It also attracts other animals who eat the ripe apple (well the apple is not edible till it’s ripe!)  and deposit the waste (including the seed) at different places, thereby enabling the species of apple to spread far and wide!. Isn’t that fascinating? What a fantastic way to ensure the existence of one’s species! Millions (millions is easy when you don’t know the exact numbers) of species on the planet have their unique way of survival and growth. The uniqueness is not just in the way, how they reproduce, but also based on the habitat, survival rate, threats thereafter. So while the apple carries two or three seeds, a watermelon has hundreds of them. And I am sure every plant, every animal is changing itself to adapt to the habitat continuously .The changes may be too subtle for humans to recognize in their few thousand years of ‘intelligent’ existence! Many species predate humans by millions of years. So quite a few of them possibly might have seen the evolution of Dinosaurs and their extinction! Seems sea whales were land animals millions (again million!) of years earlier until the increasing water levels and dearth of food forced them to turn aquatic.

The human race (and their predecessors) too have evolved over time. However it’s different in case of human beings. While all other species have adapted to the habitat and the changes to it, humans have –by virtue of their intelligence, managed to alter the habitat-for better or worse. Human race has been largely successful in managing the evolution of other species to satisfy their needs (and much more). Farming, domestication of animals and similar activities were actually focused attempts at altering the evolution process of the other species and removing the randomness out of the equation. The problem is – Humans have taken it too far along. Not satisfied with taming other species around, they started (or at least intended to) control ‘other’ humans. All forms of fights, battles, wars since historic times have been with the intent of ‘controlling’ the existence and evolution of fellow beings for the benefit of others. Over years, humans have narrowed their identity by virtue of divisions by geography, color, creed and all possibly variants that their fertile brain can think of. The pinnacle of this idea is the concept of ‘individual evolution’ at the cost of everything (and everybody) else! We see that around everywhere and every day!

Before you begin to be peeved over the obviousness of these facts, let’s turn the tables a bit.  Given that apples predate humans, is it entirely not possible that the apple species, over time have evolved themselves into something that’s more ‘useful’ for the humans-thereby necessitating their cultivation? In other words, instead of humans driving the control, it might just be the apples who altered themselves to the human needs so as to have efficient evolution! What better means to survive and grow than ‘tame’ a human being! After all, who benefits from an orchard? The owner? NAY!! It’s the apples all the way :) !.

Well, we may have to wait till the next mass extinction on earth to determine if it’s the human genius that survives or the apple genes.  As of today, I would bet my money on the apples. After all, they have seen the dinosaurs. We haven’t!

Historical lessons

Choose the battles you want to fight- My ex-boss used to say. Implying, you have too many things to deal with on a given day and it’s for you to prioritize. It was a mere statement or quote for us. But I am pretty sure, she lives it every day! Being a working woman with husband, kids and all sorts of 'social expectations’, such things come to women easily. I am pretty sure she didn't invent that quote. I didn't care to look up google for the original source (else this para would have started with XXX said!!). For me the message is important than the source. Unfortunately that is not the case generally speaking. Now-a-days, 'who' said matters more than 'what' is said. Anyways, that’s a different theme.

History, as they say is a great teacher. This applies as much to individuals and organizations as to nations as a whole. While there is focus on 'correcting' the history of Bharat, one need not lose sight of the immediate past.

Year 2004.The only non-Congress government to have completed a full term, since Independence was gearing up for general elections. The economy was on growth path. Share markets were booming. GDP was soaring. Incidentally the monsoon was normal that year. Even at the foreign policy front, there were a lot of ‘achievements’, so to say, notwithstanding the Kargil war or the earlier fiasco of Kandahar hijack. At a high level, the ruling dispensation looked all set to return to power. Odds (and bets of course!!) were heavily in favor of NDA/BJP. Not surprisingly the think tank of the BJP coined the slogan 'India Shining'. Who would have imagined that this would result in the ultimate fall of the government! Results were shocking to most -particularly the urban educated and the elites. Subsequently, a lot of political analysts tried analyzing the loss and came up with various reasons- all, not necessarily false.

           A few of the reasons are noteworthy and need to be listed here

1. Corruption in the central and state ( BJP ruled) governments leading to the general disillusionment of people and making them believe that the NDA/BJP government were the other side of the Congress .

2. Disconnect with the people on ground. While NDA was relying on the GDP numbers, majority of the people, particularly in rural areas were suffering. Their condition had either not improved or had turned worse. So the slogan of 'India Shining' was a salt on the wounds for them.

3. Youth had contributed significantly to the rise of BJP in general and particularly to the change of government in 1999. With different voices coming from the Government, the party (BJP), the Sangh parivar and the associated institutions, the youth were in a dilemma which ultimately led to disillusionment.

4. The 'parivar-as they say’, was not very happy with the government 'achievements' in those 5 years since it did not cater to their agenda items. So, though there was official support, the enthusiasm on ground was meek.

5. While the government was busy projecting ‘India Shining’, they were losing their NDA partners one by one (some for genuine reasons, other were opportunists). The task for opposition (in this case congress) was simple- Just manage a coalition of ‘non BJP’ parties! Which as history shows, they successfully managed.  

Year 2014- NDA Government again! A quarter of those who elected Modi in 2014 were busy watching cartoons back in 2004. A little less than a quarter were either busy with their studies or enjoying their newly found financial sufficiency arising out of economic liberalization. Effectively, there is a whole (and significant) class of electorate that has played defining role in election of Modi government. Not to mention, ‘the parivar’ and the loyalists who played an important role as well. Then there are always the ‘uncertain layer’ which was swayed towards Modi due to the prospects demonstrated and promises made.

The reason for digging up the past is – It should be a lesson to the present day government .Things that they ought to do and particularly the ones they should certainly avoid. If you look at the current day situation closely, it is – or fast turning out to be the way it has been listed above. Having said that, the government still has close to four years to complete its term and that is good enough to reverse the tide.

Functioning of parliament was never going to be easy for the government, even with a majority in Loksabha. Firstly, they were a minority in Rajya Sabha- which was known even before the Loksabha elections. No way would any new government have changed that! Secondly, with the way BJP transacted during 2004-2009, it was only a matter of time Congress and/or other parties reciprocated. So there is no point in ‘projecting’ congress as the culprit. BJP started it. And they cannot wash their hands saying it was ‘Not Modi’!  Floor managers of the government ought to do a better job than crying foul. At the end of the day, as they very well know, it’s about negotiations. If the government took credit of some ‘115%’ business done by Parliament in the winter session, it has to take the blame of the wash away. There is no easy way out!

There are a thousand spokespersons of the government and another thousands of Modi and a thousand more of the “Sangh -but not Modi” and a thousand more of  “Hindutva but not Sangh” and a few hundred left of ‘ BJP but not Modi’. So net net there are far too many voices that an average human can hear and bear! While during the elections, they all had a single agenda – To make Modi the Prime Minister. So these multitude of layers actually helped the cause. But the same are turning out to be nuisance now.  You see different (or differential) versions of stories emanating from these groups that adds to the confusion about the government stance on matters. Plausible deniability does not help in these matters because on social media or otherwise, people have been used to accept these voices as the BJP/Modi stance since the “Modi as PM” days. It is hard to shrug off now. And government stance (or no stance) makes matters worse. This leads to confusion among people, particularly some of the youth who do not necessarily adhere to the ideology and also to those who have ‘shifted’ their loyalty in hope of a better future.

Then there are those issues that the government need to bother at this time. Actually never at all!. FTII issue being a case in point. No amount of justification is going to lead students (and since it’s a national issue now, people at large) to accept the decision! There are a few thousand (a few hundred I myself know) better qualified people to take the job.  Why the government is making this a prestige issue is beyond my understanding. The other day I heard somebody saying (not sure if it was an official spokesman or one of those “unofficial” tout) that students in their youth are inclined towards “Left”. The same youth that brought you to power! Are you nuts? Accusing the FTII students of being leftist is public.  Well, how does it matter even if they are? And if the government had appointed somebody of impeccable credentials, that justification would have made sense. In current situation the government are making a mockery of themselves.  Similar was the case with some issue at IIT Madras and few others.

Use of social media is another scourge.  As mentioned above, there are far too many ‘Well Wishers” who actually rot the web. The problem is compounded by the fact that the party or government has not effectively dissociated from, or accepted their views publicly! So there is a load of scum published by these jokers which passes on as the party or government position –and trust me – it makes the government position weaker, if not better. A case in point – The recent trend to blame MSM (Main Stream media for those who are new). Well, the media is commercial – it ought to be! A bit (or more than bit) left leaning – for whatsoever reasons. Agreed! But to project that they are the reason for everything bad happening today! Well that’s stretching the imagination too far! Similarly, everybody who takes a stance contrary to the government (read Modi, BJP, Sangh –any one) is anti-national or anti Hindu! These kinds of things provide a ready platter to the opposition to create issues out of something that’s too trivial even for a local body government! There is filth in the social media even on the other side. But here is the thing- You have to run and maintain the government, they don’t!! .

To their credit, the government indeed has done good work on a number of fronts. It has been adequately highlighted as well. But then, nobody remembers good things forever do they? And can’t blame the social media or MSM here. You create those news more often than not. And those things linger. The government, party – in general the ruling dispensation would be faced with numerous challenges every day. It is for you do decide which ones to address and where to withdraw /ignore.

Learn from History - Choose your own battles!

Jain Hind!

Test of Results !

Scorching heat of May is a test of endurance in heartland of India. While the country is busy dealing with this test, kids have to deal with another ‘test’. Rather a test after the tests! Come May and it’s time for the final exam results. In my school days, more often than not we had the results on 2nd of May. So early May was generally the time you would take a break from vacation. Some would be back in town while others planned it after the ‘results’. And most of the ‘out of town’ sojourns were to the native place to meet grandparents with a few lucky ones getting the trip of their lifetime to Mahabaleshwar or Matheran- or Kashmir if the gods were too happy to be crazy that year. Kashmir was still a paradise then, and very much part of India.
Day of the result was filled with the usual emotions of excitement, anxiety, (to an extent) fear followed by happiness, disbelief, grief, discontent etc. based on the outcome. In an era where your academic achievements were the sole criteria for success, exam results were bound to generate excitement among parents and others concerned –rather the ones appearing to be concerned. So one single result sheet went through intense scrutiny from various stakeholders obviously with varied outcomes. Some congratulated us on the ‘good’ performance and the ‘better’ prospects while others pointing to the lower scores in math, science, languages, art, and history as per the marks ‘scored’ that year. Not to mention parents of most were swayed by the varying responses and gave ‘appropriate’ feedback to the kids. The entire journey of attending school for 250 odd days, learning things, ‘growing up’, dealing with situations day in and day out, extracurricular achievements and more importantly physical, intellectual and emotional growth , seem to be confined to and judged by a single piece of paper. It was the order of the day and nobody thought beyond the obvious. The evening was filled with felicitation of the ‘rankers’ with the majority others watching their peers rewarded for a feat they dreamt to achieve some day, or may be never thought they would !.
As kid, I went through all the oddities involving school results. I was lucky to be amongst the ‘better performers’. However, that did not prevent me from being subjected to the scrutiny with some ‘advising’ better math skills while others declaring that I did not have good prospects due to my poor ‘art’ skills!  Some other ‘uncles’ and ‘aunts’ also thought that  my achievements were ‘overrated’ and that I scored marks due to favors by teachers, while a very large number commenting on my ‘not so good’ handwriting ! . I always wondered how they got to know of it, particularly since it did not reflect on my mark sheet! A few others were more forthright in comparison with their kids and would provide ‘feedback’ to either of the kids. Over years, I began to realize that the ‘feedback’ was not a result of my achievements or lack of them, rather that of the perceptions the observers had and the state of our ‘family’ relationships then, besides the other obvious factors like the relative performance of their children! Sadly but surely the triviality of the ‘analysis’ began to sink into me as years progressed. I began to be less and less worried about what ‘others’ said except possibly for my parents (and that too if it were an unbiased feedback) and close friends.
I realized that my final exam results were about me, my class and our teachers. It was time to evaluate if I had performed better than I THOUGHT I COULD! To introspect on my improvement areas. To admire others who performed better. To connect with my classmates and celebrate the successful year, irrespective of how we performed -because we were classmates! To show gratitude to the teachers, parents and to prepare for the upcoming school year. But most importantly it was for my own introspection. Nobody else mattered. I had to be the only person who could and should analyze the results and chart the course ahead. Of course, there would be times in my life when my ‘results’ would be subject to a wider scrutiny and would result in some ‘life altering’ decisions. But that was for future. What mattered now was ME and the piece of paper that lay in my hand. Alas! This realization came to me much later in my school years. But when it did come, I put myself into a habit of ignoring the noises around me and introspecting my shortcomings while I took pride on the areas I thought I did well.
Eventually as a ‘grown up’, I did realize that your ‘results’ – professionally or academically were not meant to be an isolated phenomenon and that perceptions did matter. However, it hardly helped in genuine introspection or course correction since the frame of reference was never static. As like the school days, the ‘journey’ was never discussed while dealing with the ‘results’.  I have still carried on with the habit of self-introspection in solitude. For those moments in my life, the world ceases to exist.

Happy anniversary Mr. Modi!!!

Cyber Poisoning

This completes the trilogy of  " Cyber Scenario"

There were a lot of celebrations when the 'draconian' 66A was repealed. While freedom of expression is enshrined in the constitution, the fact often missed is - It comes with its own share of responsibilities as well. In cyberworld, everybody is a reporter and journalist. Not that the professionals (journalist or reporters) were doing a great job either. But this new medium has taken things beyond limits. It just takes one click or a share or retweet and you are a reporter! There is no legal way to prevent this and moral etiquettes have so far failed to prevent spread of malicious information.

The other scary thing is - You may still have ways to legal recourse if the source or target is an influential person or an entity. But what about those unclaimed posts that make their way on our timelines which target a section of our society albeit indirectly or use them as means to drive an agenda? There are lots of 'unofficial' handlers which enable plausible deniability.  There are many out there which target groups (religions, castes or professions) in general. Nobody is answerable for the authenticity of the information.  Unfortunately people fall prey to the propaganda.  Devious means are often used to make the information look authentic. So a synonymous account to a known entity, color of the profile picture (e.g. saffron) easily trick people into believing that the source is authentic.

Also, at times the protagonist of the information (individual or group) is nowhere to be heard or seen. It’s the self-proclaimed cyber lawyers who play the plaintiff, the lawyer and the judge! All in the name of “Freedom of speech “! And we cry about MSM! If MSM were a bullet that kills people, this is arsenic dissolved in air and water-Far more deadly and poisonous.

An argument often presented is, well you don’t read it or ‘like’ it if you don’t want to. If this were true, the same argument should apply for pornography. Why do we ban online pornography when we allow the unabashed rape of our social fabric to be openly exhibited and at times even glorified?

If a survey were to be conducted in future about causes leading to deterioration of humans as a ‘society’ , I would say this ‘cyber poisoning’ would score much above other reasons like religion, politics  and materialism – essentially because all these and other vices combined  tend to use cyber poisoning!.

Having said that, I have an undeterred belief in the intrinsic goodness of humanity as a race. Trust that would win over these momentary aberrations .It always has…….

Act Responsibly 

Boring - Understanding of Cyber political scenario in India II - Political classification of Cybers

In the last chapter we discussed the various layers of political cybers and the food chain. In this chapter we will discuss the political classification in cyber India. While all the political sects follow the same food chain, they are divided in their ideology and political orientation, often aligned with the political entities that exist in the real world. Needless to say that the creators and second order are the strongest proponents of the respective political ideologies, followed by the transporters and passives respectively. Let us look at the various classifications and their traits

Nationalists- Also known as ‘Bhakts’, ‘Chelas’ and other derogatory names by their political detractors. This is currently the largest and most dominant cyber group among political cybers. Aided by knowledge (as the world knows it) and economic stability, this group has found it easier to migrate –partially or wholly to the cyber world. This group undoubtedly enjoys numerical (if not any other) superiority in the cyber world. 

Some of the characteristics/principles of this group are

1. Undivided loyalty to Modi, Government, BJP, RSS (and affiliated groups), Hindutva and to an extent India( as they perceive)  in the order of precedence. These elements of loyalty are known as the core.
2. Everything that is supposedly said or done against the core is definitely anti-national and is either a domestic or international conspiracy
3. The country as they understand, ceased to exist somewhere around 11th century AD and was re-born again in May 2014. Consequently, even a new born smiling is due to the present government’s achievements.
4. Every single problem of the country India is because of Muslim and British invasion and rule of India. If not for these invasions, Bharat would have been one huge country. Rather there would have been fewer countries in the world since their version of Bharat would have encompassed at least 25-30 of these countries!
5. Counter every argument possible. If it cannot be countered by data in the land, go to Somalia, Yemen, wherever possible and provide examples all to showcase how the current situation (of whosoever concerned) is better in current rule.
6. A group of paradox wherein professionals and intellectuals who display unparalleled rationality in their professions, exhibit utter lack of it when it comes to political wisdom.
7. A strong belief that all other groups in the cyber world are dishonest, strategically inferior, anti-national or all of these.

As mentioned above, this is one of the largest and powerful groups in cyber world and a significant amount of cyber traffic (and money) is attributed to this group.

Liberals – Also known as ‘Sick’ulars and many other names (latest being Adarsh Liberals)

Though, this group is not a numerical match to the nationalists, they have very strong backing from the institutions in physical world which are a legacy of past 67 or more years. 

Some characteristics are

1. They believe that they are the only intelligent beings on the planet.  
2. Everything that starts with Or(ange) or Sa (ffron)  or Hi (ndu) is communal. This group is color blind. It can recognize only these 2 colors.So red, green, blue or any other color is viewed as black or white. 
3. Even fart of a Hindu child is communal in nature and he or she needs to be banned.
4. Year 2002 is an integral part of any discussion, no matter what the topic is. India faced communal tensions and riots only once in its entire history. That is in year 2002.
5. This group has the special jurisdiction to decide on cases. Consequently, Modi has been declared as a criminal.To hell with the official courts and their rulings.
6. Everything is politically fair and justified under the banner of ‘defeating communal forces’.
7. This group has a significant presence and backing of the real world media (MSM as they call it). 

The ‘Mr Clean’ – Also known lovingly as the ‘Aapstards’. 

This is a relatively new cult but shot into prominence since its growth in physical world coincided with the expansion of cyber India. This group may have quite a few similarities with the Liberals. But maintains a separate cyber political identity. It has seen a lot of ups and downs in the real world. But Aapstards as they have called, have mastered the art of cyber political battles and are a strong entity in cyber world. Much to the disdain of the nationalists. 

Some of the characteristics are

1. Everything in AAP is clean. The rest of the political world is dirty.So horse trading becomes ‘meaningful negotiations’ when it comes to AAP.
2. There is only one non corrupt part in India – AAP and Mr AK is its chief. Everything else is un-true.
3. Every single problem in this world (but outside AAP) has to be solved through agitation. That is the only path for truth.
4. Corruption is the only problem being faced by the country and AAP is the only party (rather a Lokpal) that can get rid of corruption.
5. Oppose every government at the centre (any party), state, local bodies. Oppose anything and everything. ( This strategy had to be revisited in Delhi )
6. Welcome anybody and everybody to the fold. The only criteria is that the person should exhibit anarchist tendencies. 
7. Go to people for judgments when it is politically convenient. Ignore them when it causes inconvenience to AAP(rather its political leadership).

These three are the main players when it comes to cyber India. There are many other fringe groups that operate in liaison or independent of these. To name a few

Aborigines – They claim themselves as the original inhabitants of the land.  ‘Original’ to whom and since when is not answered so far. This cyber group has been known to politically side with all the above as per convenience. However, contrary to the other big groups, there is a vast difference between the actions of political groups in real world and cyber aborigines. 

Traits of Cyber aborigines-

1. Everything is foreign
2. Oppose everything
3. Follow 1 and 2.

The Media – Main Stream Media (MSM) as they are fondly called. 

This is a parasite group which derives its fodder from the dirt arising from other groups. In recent times this group has been known to manufacture dirt to stay alive. This group mostly lives in a different world more aligned with the physical world and not a significant entity in the cyber world. However it does wield some degree of influence.

Traits –

1. Basic premise–People are inherently stupid and it’s our sacred duty to keep them so.
2. Create news (everything bad is breaking).
3. The more stupid the news, the better.
4. Distort news and rule.
5. If given a choice between good and bad news, go for the worst.
6. ‘Be hated’. Hate thrives interest (and business)

The ‘Invisibles’-

This group, rightfully called the invisibles, is made of some of the richest businessmen and individuals in the real world. It doesn't have a significant cyber presence i.e politically but is known to influence all the other political entities in real and cyber worlds. It is still being debated whether the Invisibles control the other entities in entirety or partially.

Traits –

1. Don’t be known or seen.
2. Anything that doesn't suit us, change.
3. Money is a positive and only tool for change.

We have covered most of the political groups that play a role in the day to day business of political India in cyber world. Apart from these, there used to be a group called the ‘Rationalists’ or ‘Logicals’ that , spanning across their political orientations was known to think and act in the overall interests of society and the nation. This group is now declared as an endangered spices. Some say that it has become extinct. However, we believe that there may be traces of DNA remaining which would enable resurrection of the group in future. 

 

The hunt is still on……

Boring - Understanding of Cyber political scenario in India Part I

Evolution of planet internet resulted in creation of a new species known as the ‘cybers’ or the internet people,fondly known as 'netizens'. In the evolutionary stage, this species was known to co-exist in both the physical (earth) world as well as the cyber world. Gradually, with the advancement in technology, the environment on planet internet became more and more conducive for habitation. Consequently, more and more humans mutated and transformed as cybers. While a majority of cybers still continue to co-exist in both the worlds, the trend is heavily towards getting acknowledged as cyber citizens. With this mass exodus, cyber world started witnessing creation of colonies and eventually kingdoms which loosely resembled the physical worlds, the mutants subscribed to. Today there are thousands of kingdoms and colonies all across. The interesting factor being, the activism and power in cyber world does not bear a direct correlation to the physical manifest. One of the most affluent, active and powerful cyber kingdoms is the kingdom of cyber republic of India, also known as Cyber India.

Cyber India is abuzz with activities as never before. With more and more cybers added to the count every day, it has become one of the most dominant and active cyber kingdoms. This kingdom is physically scattered over the entire globe, but centered in and around India in a ‘Cyber’ sense. The political animals in particular are the most active ones. Especially in the election season in the geography, which is almost a perennial feature.  The food chain among the political animals is a top down feature with the ones on the top responsible for gathering, dissecting, analyzing the events in real world and (mis) representing them in the cyber world. Occasionally the top order is also responsible for creating new events. Since many in the first order co-exist in the physical and cyber worlds and there are no laws that span across both the universes, it gives an opportunity for the top order to act as miscreants with plausible deniability. The first order actively utilizes this shortcoming to derive food and power from the lower rungs.

The second order feeds on this information and is actively engaged in dissemination of the same while forcefully advocating the rationale. Second order typically seems to have physical correlation to the first order in the real world. Quite a few in the second order aspire to move up to the top. Others have strong ‘cyber genetic’ links to the top layers. This layer increases gradually and is not known to exhibit cross genetic tendencies.  These two combined are the core layers with the second order exhibiting a strong and faithful cohesion to the creators.

The third layer is the transporter layer. These species can be found all around in vast numbers. They act as messengers for almost everything in the cyber world. However, in political sense, they act as political messengers. Although they exhibit affiliation to the second layer, they are at times known to change affiliations or act independently. But in either case this layer is politically ‘cyber active’. The core layers rely on the transporters to disseminate information and fetch cyber food in large numbers. The success of the core layer depends on the continued loyalty of the transporters. Although there is no incentive in the cyber world for the messengers, because it is assumed that passing information is their cyber genetic trait, studies have shown that an incentive based structure may soon be evolved as a means of cohesion between the transporters and the core layers.

The fourth is known as the ‘quasi passive’ layer. This is numerically the largest layer in the kingdom. Animals in this layer are largely passive on the internet. In the cyber world, they are primarily responsible for ‘consuming’ the cyber information generated and passing back acknowledgements which are a key means of survival for the layers on the top. However, this layer has important functions to perform. This layer transcends both the world in two ways. For one, this layer is required to and responsible for transformation of the ‘cyber food’ generated by top layers onto the physical world, particularly in times of elections. Secondly this layer is also responsible for conversion of the cyber food into a state that ‘non cybers’ can consume in real world. ‘Cybers’ in this layer may belong to different strata of society in the real manifest. While a significantly large number are non-affluent actors, some of them can be big players in the real world. Although, belonging to the lowest realm in the cyber world, this is by far the most important and volatile layer that connects and correlates both the worlds. As a result, they are extremely important in the cyber food chain. In a way this layer is the cyber manifest of bacteria, consuming the cyber food, translating it into physical world which in turn feeds the top orders in the physical world who in turn provide energy to the creators in cyber world. So quasi passives actually complete the cyber food chain.  However, as mentioned above, this layer is highly volatile and has been known to switch sides frequently. This layer has also shown disturbing signs of transgressing across different layers in the cyber food chain at times, before returning to the quasi passive state.

To be continued …

Next – Study of political classifications among cybers.

Track-ing Diplomacy

      I have a confession to make, which will make my cricket loving friends laugh at me. I have been watching a ‘delayed’ telecast of the world cup matches! So it’s like I get to see the progress 5 minutes after the event. Meanwhile I continue to get live scores. So although I know what’s going to happen next, the result of the match as a whole is not known. It is disappointing for sure. But I take solace in the fact that many of us, at some point, would have missed matches or switched off anticipating a loss only to know later that it was a match you would never have missed and have to be content with the highlights.

      News regarding politics, and foreign affairs in particular is like a ‘delayed’ telecast -especially now a days, when media is used as a powerful tool in foreign affairs. You get to hear of ‘events’ that are already scripted and the ‘match’ has progressed a bit more than that. The end result is not known. There are however differences between Cricket and Foreign affairs. For one, in diplomacy, it is rarely a case that one party wins and other loses. It needs to be a win-win situation or at least perceived so. The other difference being, both the ‘teams’ have the ability to re-shoot (project) the outcome of the match as they wish. So a party may show the team celebrating or the match washed away!

      Series of events related to Pakistan, especially in the new world (which began on 26-May-2014) have certainly intrigued me. First we have (to-be) PM Modi inviting the Pakistani counterpart for the swearing-in which the latter readily agrees, notwithstanding the domestic opposition. While there is lot of talk about the diplomatic ‘coup’ by Modi, the supposed display of diplomatic maturity by both the leaders is lost. Then there is lot of bonhomie about the ‘Sari’ diplomacy. The episode is well crafted and ends with a message of ‘All is well’. This is followed by revelation of a certain Ved Pratap Vaidik meeting one of the ‘most wanted terrorists’ for India, Hafiz Saeed.  Although, we are being told that the visit was in an individual capacity, what interests me is, how can an Indian citizen plan for such an important meeting, in Pakistan without the knowledge of intelligence agencies and/or the powers be. How did Pakistan even allow such a meet? Also, is there no such law amongst the thousands we have, which will book Vaidik for such an act? He is still out in open. Something is missing.

So far, so good.

      Now we have the Indian side suddenly cancelling the foreign secretary level talks at a short notice, for a reason that could very well have been anticipated or known in advance with modest intelligence. This is followed by usual bickering in the UN General Assembly, but nothing alarming.  Come winter and there are reports of ‘heavy’ gun fire from across the border. Both sides claim to be the victim. As an Indian, I am told that this is so because this time we have responded adequately to the adventures of the Pakistani side.  There is no red flag or alarm at an international level. So much so that the USA merely ‘advises’ both the sides to maintain calm and solve disputes bilaterally (usual sermons).  Then the firing stops or lessens and there are elections in Kashmir, which pass of relatively peacefully. Hurriyat, for a change doesn’t oppose it.  There is a suspected ‘terrorist’ boat downed by India after the elections. There are other important political events happening on either side during this entire period. Elections in India, ‘Azadi’ march in Pakistan etc.  Interested readers can correlate the domestic events with the diplomatic ones, looking at the timelines! I personally won’t read too much into it J.

      Very recently, we have the newly elected CM of J&K thanking Pakistan and separatists for peaceful elections in the state on the first day of assuming office.  I wonder if Mr Sayeed is so diplomatically naïve as not to anticipate the fallout of such a statement. We have the foreign secretary visiting Pakistan in spite of all the supposedly unfavorable events in past 6 months. I am told that talks with Pakistan was a precondition that PDP set for the alliance. Well, was BJP so desperate to form the government? Didn't they have other options? Certainly not a convincing theory. Latest in the episode, we have Masarat Alam Bhat being released by the J&K government, which the centre claims was done without its consultation (well if that’s really the case, I pity our intelligence  J ). To add some spice to the story we haven’t had any terrorist attacks since past 9 months, as would have been widely anticipated, except for some instances in Kashmir and the ‘boat’ episode.  I don’t think this is because Pakistan suddenly lost the capability or the Indian intelligence turned stronger overnight (the same intelligence that failed to predict the release of Masarat Alam Bhat!). Also, if the supposed ‘peace’ is due to fear of Modi, how come the Pakistanis dared to openly violate the ceasefire on LOC and even international border? And what made them stop?

      There may have been some intricate details missed out from the story above, but I believe that all these and other events are not necessarily unrelated. There is a script in place, which is being advanced and we get to see the ‘delayed’ telecast. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle which a commoner cannot put together because we will never get the ‘missing’ pieces! And rightfully so. But somebody is solving the puzzle for sure, as we speak.  And that is good. Track 2 (3, 4, 5 whatever you call it) diplomacy is essential particularly in Indo-Pak relations. And the incumbent government is well placed to take the mantle forward. Imagine a congress government taking these steps!

It will be interesting to see if the telecast finally shows both teams celebrating or a washed out match!

Keeping fingers XXX!

Jai Hind.

Masala and Wok - The great Asian game

Interesting times! – Both on the domestic front and international as well. Let’s park the domestic politics for a bit and look at the geopolitical scenario internationally. Typically international relations and diplomacy are a reflection of the long term geo-strategic and economic interests of a nation. India is no exception. So we usually see continuation of our policies vis-à-vis other nations independent of the party that leads the government. Of course each government is entitled to change or tweak them as per the need of the day and the domestic political compulsions. However the long term strategies are still in place. A classic example here is our diplomatic relations with Israel. Although, it was the previous NDA government that openly acknowledged the relations and helped them grow, it is naïve to believe that the previous Narsimha Rao government didn’t take any steps in that regard. Similarly, it has to be understood that the 10 years of UPA regime did continue to nourish the relationship albeit covertly at times. Similarly our overall approach towards other nations –be it Pakistan China, USA or our other neighbors continues to be driven by our interests.
So, one may ask- If it is such a seamless process largely driven by the ‘strategists’ and bureaucracy, what role does the government play?  Well apart from the ability and power to alter the ‘set’ principles, the executive government has a major role to play in terms of publicly defining the course of things and setting the pace of change aligned with the geo-political realities of times. The incumbent government certainly seems to have accelerated the pace of things. It ruffled many a feathers when George Fernandes publicly declared in 1998 that China was India’s biggest threat. However, he was merely stating the fact, acknowledged publicly and otherwise by many a strategists in India and across the globe. Today it seems to be a matter of fact. And why not? After all, the two most populous countries, growing at a fast pace and aiming to be the biggest economies in a couple of decades, are destined to lock horns on various fronts. We have seen this for centuries earlier. So net net, China continues to be our biggest threat in geopolitical and economic sense. Not necessarily because China thinks ill of India (as like Pakistan) but because India is and will pose a formidable threat to Chinese interests in the future.
As far as strategy is concerned, China took the head start by envisioning (or rather excavating) the silk route and taking effective steps to ensure its success. The ‘string of pearls’ was a part of the plan to facilitate the silk route thereby establishing Chinese economic supremacy in the region at the same time curtailing the Indian dominance. Indian problems were threefold. One, to ‘break’ the string of pearls. Second to establish a counter strategy and third to initiate /revitalize (for it would be naïve to think India doesn’t have one) its own growth plan. As mentioned, the Indian government seems to have taken effective steps to counter the first two. All the initiatives and foreign trips in past 7-8 months seem to be been taken with this in mind.  Prime Minister Modi’s first stop was Bhutan which seemed leaning towards China in the recent times. We presume that the visit would have enabled India to get specific assurances from the north east nation in terms of protecting Indian interests. Ditto with Nepal which is/was witnessing increased Chinese influence. The rapidity of help to Maldives in ‘water crisis’ ( apart from the humanitarian angle of course ) and the invisible ‘Indian’ hand in the change of  a ‘less friendly’ regime in Sri Lanka can be viewed in the same context. India is also seen to be taking rapid steps towards nurturing and growing its relations with Myanmar and Vietnam. With all other frontiers ‘contained’, the last one that remains is Pakistan. That’s a difficult one to deal with due to the history of our relations. However, I believe there is a strategy in place and the current plan is to ‘ignore and ignore’.
The next phase was to establish a counter to the ‘string of pearls’. India’s aggressive diplomacy with the US, Japan, Australia and other Southeast countries is aimed in this context. The rapidity with which the PMs Visits were organized to the US, Japan, Australia certainly lends credibility to this assumption. The visit of POTUS on republic day was more a part of this arrangement with the nuclear deal and other ‘economic’ aspects being a façade! You certainly don’t need head of states to visit each other to sign economic agreements and deals. No matter what the value is! Also, India has, and had more trade relations with the EU and Great Britain than say Japan or Australia. So, clearly the PMs Visits were organized with other geo-strategic interests in mind, apart from the economic ones. The net effect is –we see a possibility of an axis being formed with US, Japan, Australia and India –supported by other nations in the South China Sea, to contain the hegemony of China. This certainly is an important step for it gives the Chinese the taste of their own medicine and also for once, proves that India can be assertive in countering the threat.
With all cards being played well, India clearly seems to have an advantage. The US, Japan, Australia, India axis clearly is a more potent threat than the string of pearls-which is beginning to be countered by Indians. The pace of development would certainly have made the Chinese re-think some of their plans! For traditionally they are not used to such rapid and aggressive posturing from the Indian side. Net net, kudos to the Modi government for attempting to change the rules of engagement and being assertive. Having said that, the battle is not won. The Chinese are not going to be laid down permanently. It is a matter of time that they would come up with a strategy to counter. Besides, they always have their ‘all weather’ friend Pakistan to cause necessary trouble. Also, one must understand that there are no permanent friends here. Each nation including us is going to weigh in the economic impacts of countering China and it is a matter of time that China manages to break the ‘axis’ as they have done in the past. As far as India is concerned, we are not at ‘war’ with China. But trying to protect our current and future interests.  Also, Asia (Indian Ocean and South China Sea) is one of the regions where this battle of supremacy is fought. China has been beating us comfortably, strategically and (consequently) financially in other regions such as Africa, Eastern Europe and rest of Asia. Combined with the scale of Chinese economic might, it is a tough battle ahead.
This is precisely where the third strategy comes in place. India needs to have a plan for its economic revival/growth independent of China, US or any other power. The key to our future is to execute this plan and align our geo-strategic interests towards this plan and not necessarily to contain China, favor US or threaten Pakistan. That would be the true measure of our willingness to attain the economic ‘might’ we all dream of!
Lastly, China and India are both ancient civilizations who have been at the zenith of power and glory multiple times in the past. However never together! Even if that were the case, there was no direct confrontation due to geographical limitations. So this is really the first time in history that they may collide. It would be interesting to see if they take the path of confrontation or establish ways to ‘co-exist’. After all, both are part of the shared ‘Eastern’ culture .

Jai Hind!

Another Letter to the CM

To
Chief Minister
Maharashtra State

Dear Sir,
Firstly, congratulations on your trip to Davos to participate in the world economic forum as ‘chosen’ by the Prime Minister of India. I understand that you are trying hard to woo businessmen and investors to invest in Maharashtra. The task is not a mean one. Apart from other states who are spreading a red carpet for businesses, you have to compete with Gujarat which is backed by ‘High Command’. (Understanding that you have soft corner for Vidharbha, the fight is three cornered depending on the way one looks at it).  I thought of writing this letter, with the intention of helping you bring (back) business to Maharashtra.
There are number of compelling reasons why businesses should invest in Maharashtra. More particularly, vis-à-vis Gujarat. Allow me to list a few of them along with a few suggestions that would help you to woo investors.

1. The most notable and visible opposition in the state is now part of government and hence there is no threat from them. 
2. The second most influential political party has offered ‘unconditional’ support to the government and even otherwise can be ‘managed’. Hence no threat from them as well.
3. Since ‘you’ are closer to the command and control center at Nagpur, any possible threat emanating can be neutralized.
4. Maharashtra has the highest number of engineering graduates who are not willing to leave the comfort of their homes. So you get extra-qualified talent at lower cost.
5. Maharashtrians are brave and known for their ‘fighting spirit’. They carry a legacy of 700 years (well, at least 400). This will help businesses when they have to fight (and I mean literally) competitors for market share and closing their units etc.  Though Maharashtra has tough competition in this regard from Haryana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu etc.; it’s comparatively much better than Gujarat. Additionally, Maharashtra still has strong unions which will come handy in ‘crisis’ situations for businesses when they have to sabotage competitors. 
6. Maharashtra is not a ‘dry state’ unlike Gujarat. So businessmen and executives can party hard, besides helping the laborers and the work force.  Please highlight this as the most important distinction.
7. Unlike Gujarat, Maharashtra has a large population (and legacy) of non-vegetarians. Please invite businessmen to try ‘tambda rassa’, ‘pandhra rassa’ and other delicious recipes to prove a point. I am sure you would have to woo no more! 
8. There are a lot of businesses who have left the state in recent past (well, to Gujarat). The talent and infrastructure they left behind can be used effectively. 
9. Maharashtrians, by nature are not good businessmen. Gujarathis are. So businesses do not run a risk of creating competitors over period of time as unlike Gujarat. 
10. Industrial progress in Maharashtra has happened in spite of political patronage, unlike Gujarat. So the fundamentals are strong and political push will help it grow. 
11. Lastly, Mumbai is (still) in Maharashtra!

I hope, these and other points will help you bring more businesses to the state. The only dilemma I have is – If you genuinely play your cards, will you continue to remain the CM? :). Especially when it looks to be a ‘fixed’ match!

Jai Maharashtra.

Je suis Sakharam

Reprinted as is. Spelling mistakes intentional.
To,
Chip Minishter Maharashtra and Vidharbha
Near Fulora phountan, Mumbai Maharashtra
Copy:
Prime Minishter India, Gujrat and some other countries
Near Sonia Gandhi house
New Delhi, India
Copy: 
Sharad Pawar Saheb
Baramati

Regarding taking back police cases against me and Pharmer sucide in our Vidharbha and discussing with Mister Obama about the cost of BT cotton sheeds.

Dear Sir,
I am Sakharam Devidas Malgunde, residing Tondgaon, Amravati district, Vidharbha. I am living here with my wife Lata and my son and daughter.  As you know, our Vidharbha is facing drought for many years. Every year pharmer do sucide. This year it was my turn.  What happen is - My phader die in 1994 when I was 12 year old. That time pharmer sucide was not famous. So nobody come to our house to ask us. My mai (mother) grow us by washing utensils at other people houses and doing some pharming in half acer land we have. She die 5 year back. I promised her I will not shell the land. So I grow crop and go for Dam work after that. The Dam work going on for 10 years still no water.No rain in my village for 3 years. So my crop dry and my loan from Bhima Shet grow to 1 lac. He ask for my land. But I promise my mother not to shell it. Also, the dam work stop because Ajit ji Pawar not the minishter.  I have no option other than sucide.
  But my friend Ganya tell me that sucide not fashionable. Not much money. I believe him because I did not get money for my phader sucide till now. Ganya tell that you need to be phamous to get more money. So I was thinking. I read in Dainik Bhadaka (our village paper) that somebody kill in France. So I got the idea. I write dirty about Mohammad at our village bus stand. I wrote my name below so that people know who write.  Next Day Mohammad Kaskar – khatik came to my house and beat me black and blue. He thought I write about him.I thought, his jamaat will kill me. But they file police case on me. I spend 250 rupee on doctor and 2000 to get bail.  I decide Muslim in my village not good to kill.
I also read in Bhadaka about PK picture.  So next day, I write good about PK at the bus stand. Nobody come to my house because everybody busy blaming me on facebook. But police file case on me. So I now get cases on 308,398,420,481 and many other kalam.  I angry with Ganya. If I had done sucide, Lata would have given money to Bhima shet. But now, no money and I go to court at the taluka place. I cannot do sucide because police not call it pharmer sucide now. They say, I fed up of police case.I feel bad. That France guy became phamous by writing about Mohammad. I am beaten black and blue and also police case. I know that is because I am poor and from village.
Saheb, I know you are from Vidharbha. So I request you to take away police cases against me. I will once again try sucide and try to give money to Bhima shet.  Also request you to start work on the Dam so that Lata can work.
Prime Minishter Saheb – I read that Mister Obama come to talk with you.  Please request him to reduce cost of BT cotton seeds and phartilizer.  If you request now, my son doesnot need to do sucide later.

Your Sincerely
Sakharam Devidas Malgunde.
Tondgaon, Amravati

Note – Please send this letter via Ahmadabad to Mumbai. I hear, it reach faster.

Bullet and Ballot

    While the world seems to be grappled in the news of terrorist acts from Australia to Pakistan to France –well not to exclude India, for it has always been an ‘integral’ part! , couple of events in the past one month certainly deserve mention – and applause. I am talking about the elections in Jammu & Kashmir, and Sri Lanka. While they are seemingly unrelated outwardly, they communicate a message together, if you look closely.  The dissimilarities being –one is a state under the Indian Federation (well, it is!!!) and other is a sovereign nation. So otherwise, there could have been no comparison, but for the overwhelming similarities. For one, both have been affected by one of the most violent conflicts in the world. Both have significant minority population, the origin of conflicts in both the places is the failure of ballot and lastly, both are of significant geo-strategic importance to India.
    Let’s look at each of them.
    Jammu & Kashmir recorded one of the highest voter turnout in its history (and I am sure it must be in the top 10 of all the states in India) for the assembly polls. It was almost twice the numbers in last elections.  In fact, J&K polling percentage is significantly higher than Maharashtra, the most ‘advanced’ state in the country!  The reasons are varied. Some voted for development, some for Modi. Some to bring the ‘Hindu’ BJP in power, while some to keep the same ‘Hindu’ BJP out of power! Irrespective of the reasons, it is significant that the people of a state that was marred in conflicts and violence have chosen the path of ‘ballot’ to convey their message.  The Hurriyat or other separatist groups, though opposing the election process outwardly, encouraged people to vote in numbers, just to keep the BJP out of power! Well unknowingly (or out of compulsion of the Modi juggernaut) they have accepted the validity of the electoral process in J&K! There is no going back on that, for sure! Incidentally it was the failure of the same ‘ballot’ that led to the bullet culture in J&K, apart from the instrumental role played by Pakistan. The results have been even more interesting. The BJP which wanted to form a government on its own, cannot do so without the support of one of the regional parties. PDP possibly can. But is toothless without the central ‘cooperation’, which obviously will depend on BJP’s inclusion in the government. Irrespective of ‘how’ the government is formed, there are 2 takeaways. One, the minority (Kashmiri Pundits here) have spoken – and spoken in a manner that not only has made their representation in the government necessary, but forced the valley to accept the validity of the electoral process! Second – Pakistan has been left with a role of a mere ‘observer’ in this process! Irrespective of the ‘government’ that is formed, the voices of the majority and the minority are heard and define the way they are governed. Conclusively, for its own reasons, Ballot has won over bullets.
    Sri Lankan elections are a little different. It was the first election after the fall of LTTE and the end to the violent conflict. Summarily speaking, the power has transferred from one party to another, both ‘pro Sinhalese’. But the statistics show that the Tamil votes have been a significant game changer. So the ethnic minority that has been at loggerheads with the government has facilitated a political change. The new government and all subsequent ones will have to take the ‘minority’ factor into consideration going forward. Incidentally it was the LTTE call for boycott that enabled Rajapaksa to win by slender margin in the last elections. How this positively affects the Tamil population, remains to be seen. But a change has been affected for sure, again underlining the importance of ballot over bullet. And of course, the elements that supported bullet, have been left to the fringe as mere ‘observers’.
    Not to mention, India is ‘positively’ affected by both the developments. While J&K was an Indian territory that was being troubled by pro-Pakistan elements, Sri Lanka holds geo-strategic importance. Peace and stability at both the places is of pivotal importance to India. The outcome in Kashmir can help contain the ‘Pakistani’ influence in the state ,while that in Sri Lanka can help us limit the Chinese ( and to an extent Pakistani) involvement. But irrespective of these, the most important outcome is the realization by the populace that they can positively affect change without the need of ‘bullets’.
    This is a message to all those involved in violent conflicts around the world- the separatists in Kashmir, Palestinians, the Jihadist, and ISIS, IRS, Maoists in India and others across the globe. Ballots can make a difference-sooner or later. The question is – Do you really want the change.

Legacy

    One of my forefathers nine generations ago was a great holy man. Well this is not a belief but documented fact by conventional standards. I do believe it, sans the ‘miracles’ that he did! Seems he mesmerized even the Islamic rulers of the region in his times. I am certainly proud of the lineage, to the extent I believe is true and not the exaggeration as is usually associated with great men and saints. But the question really is – What does it mean for me?  I am a product of the positive and/or negative influences on the subsequent generations which were either the result of the society/times they lived in or their own creation. Most importantly, I am result of my own karma! So really speaking, apart from being ‘proud’ of the lineage, I have no right to derive any further benefits from a great lineage.  I can probably tread a path to propagate the ‘teachings’ of my forefather. But again that would be my karma. Essentially there is nothing that I should morally proclaim as my ‘greatness’ based on my forefather’s achievements. If at all, it belonged certainly to him, his parents probably, his family and the society at large, in those times which enabled him to be what he was.
    I am overwhelmed by the ‘new’ discoveries that we have come to realize since past few years and prominently since past few weeks. Seems ‘our’ (and we will deal with ‘our’ later) forefathers had invented and discovered everything from the most advanced weapons, nuclear technologies, aircraft, surgical procedures and advanced medical practices, economics, interplanetary motions and what not !. You speak of it and seems, you supposedly have got the answer in the ancient history of Bharat! The references given in most of the cases are ancient documents written in Sanskrit, the original versions of which most of us are not privy to read or incapable of doing so.  So the source of all the information for common man (who is not illiterate but ‘ill’ literate) really is the statements given by some ‘scholars’ or the posts in social media. Given the ‘credibility’ of both, a layman like me would certainly have questions. Is all that true? If yes, why is all the information lost? Is it something that can stand the test of today’s times? And most importantly, what does it mean for me today? Interestingly the outcome of this discussion is not a function of any one of the questions, but a sum average of all of them combined.
    Let’s start with the first one. Is it true? Well it certainly has not been proved false! But does that mean everything is true? Going by the hypothesis that humans were like, what they are today (well not everyone was god!)  , would somebody have written about the ‘fascinating’ things unless they existed? Or had a reason to imagine so?  Unless it’s a recent interpretation that intends to map modern inventions/discoveries to co-related mention of events in ancient history (some prefer to call it mythology…either ways). But even if you assume that to be mythology, the authors were indeed real figures. So either they had fertile brains which could imagine of things thousands of years before time or those things existed. However, assuming, or knowing that there have been some specific mention about events/ machines the question is – Do I believe that it all existed to be true based on what is mentioned?  Also –And this is more interesting, if couple of claims are indeed proven to be true, does it mean that all of them are?   Hard to tell.  The other obvious question would be where is the information lost? We hear that it was lost during the ‘foreign rule’ for almost thousand years. But then India has a fairly documented history of around 1000-1500 years before that. Don’t see mention of many of these things then. Was the information encoded and hidden? What may have been the objective? We need to find this Holy Grail to conclusively say anything further.
    The other question is more relevant. What does it mean to the present and future generations? For one, if true, it certainly gives you the sense of pride in being Indian/Hindu (whichever way you look at it). But what beyond that? Does it, in current state materially help change the direction of our scientific journey?  Probably not, since that would have been already taken care of, by now. The obvious answer is the ‘softer ‘aspect of this information which is of more value to the creators of this information. Few objectives that I can think of are
    1.    Help branding of ‘Bharat’ internationally. This is less likely in absence of concrete proof since there     are/would be similar claims by different cultures and civilizations worldwide which have to go through the scrutiny     of the scientific community. Besides, by the same analogy that we reject western claims, why would we expect them     to accept ours in absence of a documentary proof and chain of evidence which is their method of evaluation?
    2.    Internal Branding – This certainly seems to be the case. Already, Indians (and by that I mean resident,     NRI, PIO etc. etc.) are exuberant with the idea. As I said, it always feels great to cherish the accomplishment of one’s forefathers.
    3.    Promoting the idea to future generations- That seems to be the next step.
    4.    The ultimate goal being the socio-political leverage arising out of the mass hysteria.
   
    We have to tread very carefully on these matters. While a sense of elated national/religious pride may help us to some extent in terms generating positivity, it definitely will not solve our long term problems. Kids are the most vulnerable. I still remember being proud in my school days, knowing the fact that Aryabhata invented zero. I still am. However, the experience of realizing what you studied earlier to be untrue (or not an established and acceptable fact- I am being technically correct here!) is a difficult one. I have been there, when quite a few of my school concepts where changed later on. I am sure many of us have been there too. In the process of undoing Macaulayism, we need to be careful that we are not replacing it with an indigenous version! Because the impact would be equally bad in either case.
    So what you may ask? Should we just disregard all the historic /mythological information as junk? Certainly not.  That information is certainly invaluable from historic and scientific perspective.  We should certainly not be disregarding it because it’s not proven. There have to be efforts made in the right direction to unearth more facts. However, claiming these as facts should be avoided unless they go through the right tests of reasoning and science.  And there is no harm in telling kids that XYZ is mentioned in our ancient scriptures and we are still ascertaining the facts. So yes, bringing forth ‘facts’ about the past which are hitherto not known- yes we need to do that. But glorifying the past based on untenable information- to be avoided.
    Lastly, do we need all these things to be ‘more’ proud of? Speaking for me, I am proud of being a Bharatiya/ Indian/Hindu irrespective of these steroids. One doesn’t love his or her parents any more based on their achievements! Throughout human history, there have been multiple cultures that have reached the zenith of glory at different times. We are one of them. And they have achieved the glory based on their hard work and perseverance.  We have no claim on what is rightfully theirs. Neither do we need their crutches to build a strong and glorious India. We can!

    A nation that forgets its past doesn’t have a future. Well, a nation that distorts its past is called Pakistan.

Jai Hind