The hazards of A. Hazare (movement)

I acknowledge that corruption is an endemic crisis that plagues the institutions of India. That strong political activism and leadership are essential to rid this vicious problem. I also acknowledge that given the poor caliber of many politicians in India, strong consistent public pressure might be one of the most effective ways to instrument change rather than the futile efforts of electing better leaders. If you agreed with the previous statement then you don’t seem to hold much faith in a democracy, do you?

I see two hazards in the Hazare campaign. One is the bill itself. While certain provisions such as the inclusion of the Prime Minister and extended sentences are healthy, others I find are not. Chief amongst them is the Lokpals police powers and ability to register FIR’s. I can understand the need to give the Lokpal power to initiate proceedings in trial but to give it police power is to give it exemplary authority over individual freedom. Detainment and questioning are police powers that infringe on individual liberty. Also, it would be wise to remember that the Lokpal as the activists want it would be an organization that permeates deep into society. It would work at the grass roots. To involve the CBI directly with such an organization threatens to bring close government scrutiny into our personal lives. That might be ideal to stop corruption, but also opens a Pandoras box of problems.

The second pair of hazards that I worry about is the very manner in which the Lokpal might be brought to existence. In the early 1900’s we instituted protests similar to this against the British to demand independence. India is now a free sovereign democracy. To demand independence just as Mr. Hazare did or to threaten the government to either accept the bill or leave is unacceptable and a stain on our democracy. We elected this government to work with us the people, not to let individuals issue ultimatums to it. It would be also important to mention that a reason why the Indian protest has been largely non-disruptive, unlike the Arab spring is because of the democratic environment that exists. It allows a vent to social tensions. To undermine that democracy would be to threaten the existence of the Indian union. This is not a game to play who’ll blink first with. It would be wiser on the governments’ part to institute a referendum if one is possible. It would be wiser on Mr. Hazares’ part to stop making threats on my government and instead work with the parliament to get his version of the bill also introduced for a fair debate. Force to unilaterally accept the bill will ensure the failure of democracies safety mechanisms: deliberation with multiple views and addressing the threats I have mentioned in the prior paragraph.

It is amazing to see the vitality of activism in India. It is disheartening to see how many treat the constitution. The constitution was created by us the people and empowers our government to make laws, not individuals or civil society groups. They can maintain pressure but not so as much to undermine the functioning of democracy and working of the constitution. I realize the constraints in India, notably the lack of character in many politicians. I hope the civil society walks a tempered path realizing that their actions will have an impact on a whole generation who are beginning to treat the government as not their own. Crucially, play by the rules! The government is not a slave, it’s a servant. If you want to change it: Join it. Bring better blood in and destroy the hierarchy and political cloud that exists. In our efforts to get the best of both worlds (not being a political leader but demanding better politics), I hope we do not fall folly to the age old plagues of India. Seeking shortcuts, greed and hunger for power. It cost us in colonialism let it not cost us our democracy.

Commonwealth , a political entity.

When the President of the United States visited India on the fifth of November he inadvertently unleashed a flood of newsprint detailing every minute of his trip. Journalists in most parts of the world put their brightest brains to work theorizing, summarizing and critiquing his actions, speeches and message. A month later with much of the dust settled and with the new wiki-leaks revelation, I’ll foray into an aspect of the relationship between the world’s largest and oldest democracies. American strategic interests closely define the types of relationship the superpower decides to follow. At this they can be if you forgive the imperialistic overtones, be remembered as the British Empire; long back in a much simpler world than today. 

 

The Indian situation is very unique in the world. A colony 50 years ago, a developing country with millions below poverty and yet a dynamic global economy rushing headlong into the future. The economic prowess along with political stability of democracy makes it a much needed friend for those who seek a counter to red China. Then there is what India truly wants, a high place amongst the leading nations and to recapture its lost glory and power. It is with these intentions that the nation strives to become a member in organizations like the SCO and the UNSC and created organizations such as the SAARC and NAM. Another more healthy organization that India is a member of is the Commonwealth of Nations. Lets talk of this Commonwealth.

Founded at the dissolution of the British Empire, the Commonwealth of Nations has remained a very apolitical meeting of former colonies for the most obvious of reasons. Political conversations at anything connected to England were repugnant after centuries of colonial rule. So like a few of those rare international bodies, akin to the Olympics organization, UNESCO or UNICEF, the CoN has evolved with little disagreement or bitter conflicts amongst its members. You can almost picture it as an afternoon tea club of old timers who attend this social nicety to reflect and chitchat over their past. This almost allows us to forget that between its 35+ member nations, the Commonwealth contains a third of the world’s population and a 7.5 trillion dollar economy by parity. Overall relations between most commonwealth nations is very good and the shared cultural values and traditions especially in sports create sharp rivalries but even warmer bonds of camaraderie. This depth of mutual confidence was highlighted by the visit of the British Prime Minister David Cameroon to India. Cameroon’s stance towards many of India’s core interests is very heartening to the establishment at New Delhi. 

Another power block that seeks better relations without too much strategic interest is the European Community. The EU is possibly one of the few power blocks that has tried to do as little in terms of military and strategic gains as possible. Its core focus and very well needed it is, is the economy. Currently the EU and the USA remain India’s top trading partners. The EU however has two of India’s friends within its bloc in the form of the United Kingdom and France. Add the ally Russia into the equation and the European continent seems to become a very pro Indian zone. Free of the strategic commitments that tie up the US foreign policy in knots, the European community can engage in meaningful memorandums with India. Its commitment can be unalloyed to a far greater extent. 

As for the Indians, they find themselves in an online dating service with a bounty of choices as long as the GDP stays on the 9% growth rate. There were a generation of people way back in the 1880’s who were men of the British Empire. They realized far ahead of their time that the concept of Empire could bond people far away with common experiences and ideas even if they chose to maintain their own distinctive cultures. The old Indians died and with them their vision as the benevolent empire grew corrupted by the stench of power and greed. This created a new firebrand Indian who detested imperialism and all its derivatives thereof. Today, on the threshold of a future of boundless opportunities as India ascertains who its true allies are and where is its position amongst the group of nations, we can be led astray. False hopes or our own greed can blind us and reduce a strong asset, our prestige. I believe that it is time that we citizens of the commonwealth, consider taking the group of nations a step further. Most of the nations that matter in the commonwealth already convene together in other conventions of importance. Can the commonwealth be restructured to command more power than it now does? Or will we be forced to chose camps between the United States or the SCO (Russia, China) and forget friends with whom we have so much to share.

Thanksgiving , a taste of the Indian and American: Perspectives on Indo American community

source:http:\\www.wikipedia.org

Tonight I am at my aunts in Chicago. It’s a place that I can call home within a thousand mile radius of the university. A few hours ago we had a very good meal of turkey, potato, sauce and pies. Right now I’m watching the New York jets demolish the Cincinnati Bengals, albeit with some sorrow. That’s not what I am going to write this blog over, I rarely write on games. Today I will write about family, food and what I see as the identity of people of Indian origin in America. The family I met was my own; relatives who’ve been here for a rather long time. Some are American citizens, other are well on their way to being one. Given this context some might consider the meeting to be akin to meeting outsiders, alien to my usual way of life. That is certainly not the case.

After 2 months of university life, surrounded by my friends and work, meeting indirect family (Not my parents) in such a situation can be discomfiting. I mean where is my real home here? India is too far away and so is the answer Chicago or Columbus? That answer will still need some debating. So when an uncle I have not met in like 8 years picks you up on the 5.5 hour long drive to Chicago. When you move from the two month familiar university campus to somewhere else in an unfamiliar country it can be frightening. Yet they are family. See the paradox? Regardless of my fear or inhibitions the evening did turn out to be fine. We had a very Indian celebration in the afternoon called Raksha bandhan. Like thanksgiving it celebrates the unity of family. The dinner as I said was resplendent. At its end I was left with a very delectable impression. South Asian Indians in America are not very different from their counterparts back in the old world. If anything what makes them different is superfluous and frivolous. I attribute them to cultural differences over pop and movies and maybe the skill with the English language. The real difference lies in how they integrate the best values of the American society while retaining the timeless values that come with being a good Indian. 

So today got me thinking about home and I decided to write a bit more about it. About what it is like back there and what makes Indian people despite their sordid condition, inheritors of a brighter future. India today, as the villages go, is poor hungry and populous. Child mortality and the development index in five states are as low as in Sub Saharan Africa. A simplistic reasoning would be that things from here can only go up. A more logical explanation would be that this harsh world creates a strong drive for improvement in its people. People often argue that Dharavi, one of the world’s largest slums is also a tremendous school in entrepreneurship and resilience. So the engine of the Indian economy runs on the intense competition and the sheer bulk of a billion people. I go to college in America and the relative lack of competitiveness is very perceptible. Advantages present here however are tremendous, such as better infrastructures and superior experience based teaching.

So let me tie up the previous paragraph with the rest of the blog. People of Indian origin in the United States play a vital role for both India and the relationship between our two countries. With time and India’s rising status differences in American strategic interests over Indian ones might become irksome. It will be the responsibility to a large extent of the expatriate community to soothe the nerves. It will also be important for them to build bridges of understanding between the two cultures. One such understanding would be individual competition and strive to succeed (Rationalize the reality of outsourcing and compete to survive). American corporate success has been driven by its fierce competition. This competition among individuals died down soon enough in view of the economic boom that swept the country. This complacency is why fewer Americans went to college and the American economy lost the edge of its strong asset; its people. That is the same asset which for so long was India’s burden and that is now being put to good use. The global economy is changing and the isolation of individual competition from America is coming to a close. It will be more important now than ever for those who never stopped competing to seize opportunities and reinvigorate this trait back into the American ethos. Hard work is respected and always pays.

Of Ohio State, Columbus and Chennai

I’m living a countdown. With every night I come one day closer to leaving for college. The college isn’t a hundred or even thousand miles away, but ten thousand; a different country. Right now the full enormity hasn’t sunk in. It’s exciting, fun even with the shopping and all, but its also a bit confusing. I don’t have many qualms about traveling or moving on. I have changed more schools than most people change cell phones during their entire lives. I’m a Hindu but I love chili (ground beef) just as any Texan or bacon as any English. I guess my problem comes more from the fear or uncertainty after leaving the country than anything else.

This time next month I’ll be in my dorm at Ohio State. I would have met more than a hundred new people. The prospects exciting but there are so many nuances that keep on bothering me. I’ll be taking an AT&T connection with a hi-fi LG Smart-phone, which apparently won’t have wireless. To get a wireless in the US I need to take a separate data plan, despite the fact that I can use the free wireless network on campus. Another thing is the way prices keep changing from one day to another; they just won’t keep still!
The good things are well obvious. Cheap food at good ol’ MacDonald’s and excellent infrastructure (high speed internet, transport the works). The people are obviously the biggest cause of worry. What are mid western Americans like? The internet tells me that they have the best of both east and west coasters but seeing is believing, right?

Finally there is the fear of a patriot that my feelings towards this country might change. I am a modernist and I favor Globalism over nationalism and yet as a person there can be but one home. India has lots to grow, a long way to go and lot of work to get there. I want to be a part of this journey, granted as I am a privileged position by birth. Maybe the beginning of a strong overture to globalism will be amongst co operation between nations like the United States and India. The research, innovation in the states can help the poor of India. India with its technical skill, large market and innovation to serve the masses might be a valuable target for the US industries. To close at the last point, about innovation to serve the masses, it always has been India’s challenge to produce at high quantity and low cost. America can derive tremendous benefit should it chose to work with India on this.
As for me (includes other people who bother reading more than text books), I wonder if I can be the middle man. An Indian, I will be educated in the west to become a global human being. I become global not through the degree at Ohio state but by remembering all that I have seen and heard here (India) and all that I will learn there. I know the problems of the world, I have the know how to fix them. Let’s work!

Rulers of India and China.

A democracy is not ruled by the people. It is ruled by a Prime Minister or the strongest member of the ruling party. This definition might be expanded to include a few other senior and powerful members of government. A communist country is not ruled by the premier (North Korea does not count). It is ruled by a council consisting of the premier and other top brass of the party. India and China have very similar forms of government.
Think of it again, see the scenes at the Lok sabha(Lower House of India) when a bill is being passed; and you realize that it isn’t always true. The fact that the incumbent party in power does not always get its way, at least easily, is the only major difference between the system in India and China. Why then, is there a difference in what our government can deliver and theirs? Why a difference that has led us from being close competitors to underachievers in economy and international influence. Why is it that by 2073, we would be the third largest economy, and not the first like the Chinese?

There are many reasons and I’ll take one. To me the cause of the problem lies in the unwillingness of people to consider a career in politics. I could wager that no one from my graduating class or from the ones that were before or after me ever desired to really become a politician. A career in politics is something that is seen in a very poor light in India. Then too very few youth choose to become politicians. Those who do tend to come from an exclusive and not necessarily bright, class of people. The concept of dynastic succession is also very strong particularly in the Congress party. With so little fresh talent seeping in it is no surprise why we lag behind the Chinese in government delivery.

For all its ills the Communist party in China have got some things right. To control dissent, they have a very active system of recruiting new members for the communist party. This they do by establishing two feeder services. One exists in the cities. They recruit the crème de la crème of society. The middle class is involved but generally does not get too active in politics. The other feeder service exists in the rural hinterland of China. From here the brighter part of the population is taken in to get an education in Shanghai or Beijing. These people who understand the situation of the majority of Chinese people join their compatriots who represent the majority of the Chinese economy. The Party takes measures to ensure at least a handful of these chosen few get some exposure to the Council or domestic/ foreign politics.

It struck me as amazing when I realize that despite its communist status, the Chinese government takes a more pro active step to induct newer and quality members. There are incentives too, how else do you get a bunch of bright people to dedicate their lives to service. The biggest feature that makes the Communist party a better employer than those in India is its brand. For while corruption is rampant in the country, there is a great deal of prestige that surrounds the higher echelon of leaders. As long as the government provides a way to fast track the young up that high, the talent pool is secure. As the economy soars and the Chinese people see their nation re assert its age old position of dominance; the trust, faith and pride they have on those people in the Great Hall grows ever larger. More people flock to be a part of the venture and he cycle begins anew.

Getting around on a flat world

This blog is based on the book, The World is Flat, written by Thomas L. Friedman. I’m going to write on his ideas and what it means for people like me; young college going students of India.
The first question I had when I came across this topic was pretty obvious. What does someone mean by, “The World is flat”. I still remember my first grade teacher showing us a globe. She wouldn’t have been bluffing, would she? So that’s how Mr. Friedman hooked me to read the book. I read it because the title made me curious.

The world is flat, as Friedman explains, because “Globalization today empowers, enables and enjoins individuals and small groups to go global so easily and seamlessly”. Thing about it! How many things can you do today, which only major corporations could do a decade or so ago? Building a website, sharing information through voice and text with millions, interacting and communicating across the world are some. You can do all this today because they are essentially free, thanks to the internet. The playing field has been leveled and the global world; flattened.

One of the few new effects of this is outsourcing. India has benefited tremendously from this courtesy the new jobs flowing in. It doesn’t end here. Remember I said in the previous paragraph how individuals are being empowered. This has led to dynamic new ideas and innovations being born and put into business. On both worlds, both new and old (America and Eurasia) individuals are cutting into the growing pie of the global economy.

Friedman’s book fails to mention a recession because it occurred much later. No matter. The recession is a bump, a speed breaker to check the progress we are so rapidly making. The zenith of IT for example was after the DOT COM bubble (more info) burst.

The point that is coming to a clear focus is this. In the new age, there will be two ways to succeed. A mass of people mostly in the developing nations will start doing the work the developed nations had assigned to their workforce. These people will start working for a better standard of life. The other way will be occupied by those in the developed economies,(or even quick growers in the developing sphere) who learn to be more than a professional. They would require being great adapters, explainers, collaborators, leveragers, passionate and good networkers. They will need to create new ideas and make them marketable or offer something that makes them indispensable to a global supply chain. They have the power to do this, thanks to the internet.

Right now no one is completely certain where the developed world is heading next. We are at the brink of a revolution in industry and business, akin to the industrial revolution. Remember all those workers who were left jobless when the machines came to work? That’s kind of where we are right now. The workers starved initially and then as they accepted the machines, they changed their skill set to become operators. In the economic boom that followed, new companies bought more machines, needed more workers and prosperity ensued.

This is what we should be heading for. A world where an individual will have the power to affect his economic destiny; through collaboration with others like him.

Why study in the United States?

This question has become a cliche and so have the answers. The truth is that many people are irresistibly drawn to the US without grasping how the that helps them to achieve their end. The States is one amongst the many rich and developed English speaking nations. Why is it the preferred hub for students?

Earlier it was common to complete the undergrad in India and get the Masters done from the US. While with time the brain drain has decreased, with increased affluence and wealth a surprising new trend is emerging. In 2009 the rate of growth of international undergraduate students in the US surpassed that of graduate students. This is accentuated by a slow decline of students from India intending to get a masters but not undergrad courses.

Analysis

The prediction is of course closely related to the financial crisis. As the US job market takes a hit, students who intended to go to America to earn big bucks and live a good life move elsewhere. As that happens we find that new answers are being given to the old cliched question, "Why the USA?".

Answers like, "For great research opportunities" or "to become better entrepreneurs" or even "to get a global exposure" are on the rise and this is a good sign; both for the USA and India. Different students have different aims and outlooks. One is to earn good money and get stability. Others might prefer to lead an easy and fun life within means. Finally there are those who are inclined towards creativity and entrepreneurship . We are seeing a resurgence of the second and third category of students.

I think I belong to the third class and I will support their cause in my blog. A country as large and economically connected as the United States of America cannot go under. In fact this void of economic stability provides a chance for new opportunities. Research done now can create products which will gain enormous market value as the economy recharges itself. The third breed of students are essentially pioneers. Rather than simply follow an established system, they should try to better it.

There are few places in the world where technical education is so closely tied with industry demands. The United States' hands on or practically oriented education is compatible to the needs of the incoming students. This ensures that ideas are created and find a hope of sustenance as long as they provide a use. The success of an idea is the success of the student. Isn't it?

Situation Afghanistan

THIS IS A REPORT MADE BY THE SOUTH ASIAN ANALYSIS GROUP

The US has maintained its relentless Drone (pilotless plane) strikes on the suspected hide-outs and vehicular movements of the Afghan and Pakistani Talibans (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan—TTP) in the North and South Waziristan areas of Pakistan. According to an estimate of the British Broadcasting Corporation mentioned in a report on its web site on June 11, 2010, there have been about 70 Drone strikes since the beginning of this year resulting in more than 200 fatalities. The BBC estimate does not mention how many of these fatalities were of the leaders and other cadres of the two Talibans and how many were of civilians.

Reports from reliable sources in the area indicate that while there have been civilian fatalities they are not as large as made out to be by anti-US elements in the Af-Pak area. Many of the civilians killed would not come under the category of “innocents” in the sense that they had nothing to do with the Talibans. While many of them might not have been activists of the Talibans, they were providing them logistic help at the time they got killed. If one excludes their number, the number of innocent civilians killed due to poor intelligence or wrong targeting is quite small, the sources say.



US claims of having killed a number of senior and middle-level leaders of the Talibans and Al Qaeda are not exaggerated. Some of its claims have been subsequently corroborated by independent sources and even admitted by these organizations themselves. While the US has thus reason to be gratified by the success rate of its Drone strikes, it should be seriously worried by the failure of these strikes to have an impact on the ground situation, either in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

4. The loss of many leaders of the older vintage has not demoralized the Talibans. They have been able to find new leaders as motivated and as capable as the old. There has been no dent on the flow of new volunteers to join the ranks of the Talibans and there has been no weakening of capability and of the ability to take the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistani security forces even in the non-tribal areas by surprise.

This became evident earlier this week when the Afghan Taliban managed to kill seven Americans, two Australians and one French soldier on June 7 followed by the deaths of three more NATO troops the next day. The deaths of 10 NATO soldiers made June 7 the deadliest day for foreign troops in Afghanistan since 14 Americans, including 11 US soldiers, died in two helicopter crashes on October 26, 2009. This has been further followed by the deaths of four more NATO troops on June 9 when their helicopter was brought down by suspected Taliban fire.



The same day ( June 9 ), upto 12 gunmen suspected to be from the Pakistani Taliban attacked a convoy of private trucks carrying logistic supplies for the NATO troops in Afghanistan from the Karachi port. The attack took place at Tarnol, 10 kms from Islamabad on the road to Peshawar. Seven persons believed to be drivers and cleaners of the private trucks in the convoy were killed and 70 lorries transporting fuel and other non-classified material were destroyed. The terrorists launched the attack when the trucks carrying the supplies had stopped for rest and refueling.

In January, the Pakistani Taliban had twice attacked trucks carrying supplies for the NATO near Karachi and now they have attacked a convoy at a place close to Islamabad without being prevented by the Pakistani security forces. Their ability to organize successful strikes----- though still sporadic---- in the non-tribal areas shows that the claimed successes of the Pakistan Army in re-establishing control over areas under the sway of the TTP in the Swat Valley and South Waziristan have not dented the capability of the TTP to divert its operations to the non-tribal areas. While the Afghan Taliban continues to seek territorial dominance, the Pakistani Taliban no longer does so. Instead, it has sought to maintain its tactical mobility and flexibility and ability to provide back-up support to the operations of the Afghan Taliban. The two Talibans are working in tandem effectively.

According to a spokesperson of the US Transportation Command in Washington DC, about 60 per cent of the supplies----food, fuel and some equipment--- is still moved from Karachi by road, 30 per cent by train across Russia and the Central Asian Republics and the remaining 20 per cent consisting of ammunition and other classified items is flown by air directly to Afghanistan. The spokesperson claimed that attacks such as the one near Islamabad----though serious---- have not had any significant impact on the NATO’s ability to replenish itself.



The revamped US strategy in the Ad-Pak area consisting essentially of attempts at ground dominance in the Afghan territory and stepped-up Drone strikes in the Pakistani territory is nowhere near bringing about a turning point in the US battle against the Afghan Taliban. The efforts of President Hamid Karzai to identify and wean away the inadequately motivated elements in the Afghan Taliban through offers of money, perks and a share of power under his continuing leadership are not making headway despite reported secret contacts with claimed Taliban elements in places such as the Maldives and the recent jirga, which was a spectacular event, but nothing more. There have been no substantive political results and there are unlikely to be any.

The ideological solidarity in the two Talibans remains strong. Their bases of support in the Pashtun communities on both sides are intact. Mr.Karzai has no significant support from the Pakistani Pashtun community except from the followers of the Awami National Party now in power in the province of Khyber Pakhtoonkwa ( the old North-West Frontier Province). His support in the Afghan Pashtun community is more, but not sufficient to slow down the flow of volunteers to the Afghan Taliban. The Afghan Taliban, headed by Mulla Mohammad Omar, has been able to draw volunteers from the Pashtun communities in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. The recent successes of the two Talibans show that their ability to plan and carry out operations at a time and place of their choice remains strong.

The US is far from prevailing over the Afghan Taliban and being able to bring about a turning point on the ground which would facilitate a down-sizing of the US presence in time for it to make a favourable impact on Mr.Barack Obama’s bid for re-election in 2012. It looks as if the final outcome in the Af-Pak area will be determined by who has the better battle stamina and staying power. The stamina and staying power of the US-led NATO forces do not seem to be strong enough to bring about a turning point favourable to them. The success of the Indian policy in Afghanistan would depend on the final success of the US-led NATO forces and the Afghan National Army on the ground. That success is not yet in sight. Is it time to have a second look at India’s policy? What should be India’s objective in the present circumstances? Continuing to expand India’s role in the hope that the NATO and the ANA would finally prevail? Consolidating its present role without further expanding it till the ground situation starts improving----if at all it does? Is there scope for a compatibility between the interests and roles of India and Pakistan in Afghanistan? Should India diversify its contacts in the Pashtun communities of Afghanistan and Pakistan? What role can the generally India-friendly ANP play in this regard? These are questions which need serious examination by our policy-makers.

India’s Afghan policy has passed through three phases. Between 1947 and September 1996, when the Taliban captured power in Kabul, it was Pashtun-centric. Between September 1996 and the defeat of the Taliban by the US in 2001-end, it became Tajik-centric with India, Russia and Iran jointly supporting the Northern Alliance. Since the assumption of power by Mr.Karzai in Kabul, India has been re-cultivating the Pashtuns of Afghanistan while seeking to keep intact the goodwill earned by it among the non-Pashtuns. The six years of rule by the National Democratic Alliance Government under Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee saw an erosion of the goodwill of the Pakistani Pashtun community loyal to the ANP towards India. The present Government of Dr.Manmohan Singh has not attempted to re-establish our traditional contacts with sections of the Pakistani Pashtun community. Our traditional friends in the Pashtun community have not played an adequate role in the evolution of our Afghan policy. Our policy is influenced more by strategic calculations than by historic affinities. It is time for a course correction

Information beyond IT

How valuable is Information?

Information is power. The IT industry for example is one of the prime reasons why India can claim to be a fast growing global economic power. Yet the lack of proper dissemination of this information can lead to great loss and waste of resources. Take the town of Pondicherry, where I grew up as a kid. Many of my friends there are persevering and successful students. Yet they will not leave their town because of their prejudiced ideas of what lies outside. This inhibition is a barrier to their progress. Looking around I realize how ubiquitous this problem really is.

A large number of students choose to become engineers and doctors. Partly thanks to the IT success there seems to be no shortage of people willing to choose the former career. India does however have a shortage of nearly ten million workers in teaching, medical and allied fields. We have a shortage of trained and experienced faculty to teach the budding engineers. We have a shortage of nurses to protect us from the rising health risks. We have a shortage of scientists, researchers to further development. We have few capable administrators to run this country. The opportunities available in these fields do not make it through to the masses drowned in the race to become engineers and the lucrative offers of the IT industry.
If even a small percentage of these bright people could choose careers beyond the precedent fields then they would register a phenomenal change on the country.

Getting this to happen will not be easy in a nation as massive as India. The government alone cannot take all the necessary steps. Firstly the concept of choice should be made clear to the people. That is, one need not choose between merely two professions to succeed in life. There are whole arrays of careers just waiting to be explored. As people we need to cast off the suspicions and nervousness that envelopes career choice. We need to widen our minds and guess how we do that? By getting and spreading more information! And so the cycle continues.

I strongly believe that as long as humanity remains a dynamic species there will be no break from this cycle. In the second world the absence of this cycle in certain areas is a sign of stagnation or hangover from the third world experiences. I strongly believe in the intellectual vitality of the people of India. As the scars of past sufferings slowly heal away we will build a new society with broader mindsets and ensure better information is available to the people. That is how we will grow.

Knowledge in India, Past and Present

Lets start simple. What is knowledge? I prefer Oxford and this is what they’ve got to say: “knowledge is expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education”. The reader might question this definition but I doubt he would question the need to obtain knowledge.

The debate on whether one should obtain knowledge is clearly one sided. Not so for a debate that questions the motive behind the arduous venture. The truth behind an individual’s desire to seek knowledge is a question that provokes different answer at different stages of one’s life and no two people has the same thing to say. When this question is applied to the cohesive whole such as humanity, it is possible to give abstruse replies such as, “to find the light” or “to seek the truth”. For an individual to answer so would make him in the eyes of a common man, either a pompous ass or a man in league with the greatest philosophers of the world.

I chose India specifically for two reasons. Firstly it’s my home, and my own native curiosity just gets the better of me. Secondly and more importantly the country has a society that has valued education continuously for thousands of years.

The earliest example of knowledge being passed comes to us from the Vedas. An ancient work dated to 1000 BC. The Vedas mention ashrams, where the students lived a simple hard life in the teacher’s house. Instruction was often given through spoken word or activity. The important feature of this knowledge is that it was aimed at sharpening basic skills and eventually enlightens the mind. Knowledge was a mean to transcend into a higher state of mental being. Students were taught the use of weapons, scriptures, philosophy, science and morals. The greater purpose was to make the student a better human.

As of the year 2000 AD, a vast majority of India’s student population chose engineering as their profession. India has more engineers than the Unite States by a factor of four. Despite this two interlinked issues emerged. Firstly there is a large pool of low quality of engineers and secondly, the low research output and efficiency. While there are many factors that can be attributed to the issue if they were to occur separately, their simultaneous nature reduces the range of probabilities. The final reason is simple yet alarming. A sizeable number of these engineers lacked the will or the aptitude to do engineering. The root of the problem lies not in policy but in the fallout of colonialism.

As a colony India had been brutally exploited and economically ruined. From the time of the company till the 1990s the shattered economy made Indian education a feeder system. Education was used to enter the workforce get paid and build a stable life. Education became the biggest profit making investment for an individual. Pay the least tuition by going to the smaller college and you can still take home many times more the money you spent. From the 1970s technical schools of various nature and quality sprouted unchecked providing innumerable degrees. Anyone could be an engineer and for that moment everyone wanted to be. The shock and fear of destitution caused people to choose either by will or by pressure the established professions as a safe route. Eventually this became tradition and deeply integrated itself in the conservative south of the country.

Moving to the issue of research. Unusually research was segregated from university education from the very start in India. Universities were used to produce manpower for industries and research was carried out in separate government sponsored units. Even today, despite numerous home grown companies’ research is given a low priority in the Indian education system, generally even by students. Teaching the theory rather than the practical application of it is the aim of the university. The two reasons for this I have already mentioned, namely lack of talented or motivated manpower or lack of suitable monetary remuneration.

The third reason is shunning the influence of the liberal arts and dampening of the spirit of enterprise. In the attempt to provide efficient and low cost education to students to work in a profession, that is minimum input for maximum gain, we have forgotten the powers of the liberal arts. As the source of our most ancient knowledge, the arts can widen minds and allow the spawning of fantastic new ideas. This view of education is strictly taboo in a middle class family. This is no more due to the hardship they face as thinks have got much better. The reason is because of the hardships they had faced which ingrained within them the conservative ideas.

The new generation however is changing these ways. Gradually through change or youth’s rebelling against career choices new inroads are being made to hitherto untapped fields of work and study. With the liberalizing of the economy greater opportunities, both in quantity and variety are being made available in India. It is ironical that the form of education one’s espoused by the west, namely the strict roman system is the one that modern India has adopted. Instead the ancient Indian way of learning, with its diversity, choices and continuous search of enlightenment (research) has made western education system stronger, though not without its own fallacies.