Legal Coup

Every five years, we drive down to a school, stain our index finger and overthrow the ruling authority. While the universal franchise is still a novel concept in some corners of the world, this act would be nothing short of a coup by the largest group (not essentially the absolute majority) in India less than a century ago. We call it democracy- a fiction that was fathomable for the non-monarchists post the French revolution. As Yuval Noah put it in Sapiens, the way you convince everyone to believe in imagined realities is by denying that it is imagined. Once you are invested in the idea, you start believing in it either by nurture or by nature of pure self preservation, depending upon which socio-politico-economic order you fit in.

We had that fiction play out in various corners of the country last month while the virus was launching its own coup on our healthcare system. The die was cast and the game culminated this weekend. I had the opportunity to play my part in this coup this time and am still second guessing if I played it right. The amount of thinking we do while choosing the button is very limited and is a combination of family, friends, caste, religion or admiration for the leader primarily and seldom is it based on the analysis of the performance of the individual member or the manifesto. Most of us take a decision faster than we would buy a timepiece, from a mind-space perspective.

While growing up, sitting through those civics classes, it felt like a huge responsibility to be a part of the democratic system. But alas, once we are out in the real world, the impact you can achieve is very less unless you are motivated enough to take it up as a vocation. Even if the system doesn't change you before you change it, the results aren't guaranteed.

As is with everyone of late, when I wonder how did we enable the powers that be to reach their positions, I am reminded that it is due to our own sheer lack of enthusiasm and complete indifference to the entire government apparatus. Having been fortunate enough to not be found in need of essentials, I never thought I should choose to cast based on someone who can ensure there is enough air for me, when the time comes. That is the stark reality as we struggle to smuggle oxygen cylinders for friends and family in different parts of the country. 

How did we let ourselves be fooled by fictions bigger than democracy- that of vision statements, yojanas, manifestos, clarion calls of patriotism? 

Is it because we were indifferent? 

Is it because we were ignorant?

Is it because we were too self centered in choosing our individual representative based on caste, creed, and so on?

Is it because of the lack of a viable alternative or hatred towards the available alternatives?

Is it because the dopamine hit of a tweet is much better than actually staining the finger?

Whatever the reasons be, the next time you get a chance to pull off a coup, think longer than your pizza delivery time!

Positivity amid scary positive rate

Anyone looking at the timestamp would be acutely aware of the context for 'positive rate'. As the virus rampages across the country bending the healthcare ecosystem to its will, there is an upsurge of citizen governance with private individuals pooling in resources to help each other. It is a lone graceful sequence of events amid this horrific toll on life and economy.

As always certain sections of the citizenry, companies and parties try to lever the story telling for their own benefit that runs counter to the larger good which are at the best parasitic and at worst pathetic. Unsurprisingly, majority catch the tail of such well spun narratives giving it the momentum to gain traction. One such event prompted me to put down my thoughts here after years!

A startup offered an opportunity for its users to cash in pseudo-currency held in its books against monthly payments to support its initiative in supplying oxygen to the hospitals. At the outset, it was a wonderful initiative, that prompted me to cash in all my chips that I haven't ever used before and share the initiative with a friend who has a similar utilitzation rate for the said app, who judiciously cashed in his too. It gave a sense of gratification that we did a small bit to solve for the ensuing pandemic. 

Only to wake up next day to see scrolls of social media feed of people showcasing their certificates, which wasn't wrong as it was also the very intent of the company to achieve brand traction and hopefully some goodwill- which again isn't bad or wrong as they do have a fiduciary responsibility. But here is where it gets interesting. As is with anything in the spotlight, it attracted lots of eyes and resultant envy, jealousy, resentment-call it what you want. Soon, there were analysis of the donation numbers which ridiculed the certificate and the people who shared them. 

Yes, the company wasn't transparent in its logic of calculating the actual oxygen supply or the timeline over which that would happen. Yes, people felt good by sharing about their contribution. Yes, the magnitude implied vs realized was  significantly different. And yes, the company received huge publicity by democratizing the spend across its users' dopamine and by directing it towards a good cause instead of spending it on a single cricketer or actor.

I believe the last piece gave those who either didn't use the app or those who just wanted to take down people a peg or two an ammunition. It makes me wonder, why? To what end? One of the estimates said, each donation was worth, no more than 50 bucks. So what? if 1 lac people did it, that's 50 lacs! - no measly amount either.

Needless to say, negativity attracts engagement and thanks to the minions of Zuckerberg, majority is tuned to achieve maximum engagement at least cost, sometimes ignoring the price

Why are we so sudden in our response? Is it the affordability due to ultra speed networks and super connected social media that amplifies the Shadow in us? (- couldn't avoid the Shadow & Bone reference ;)..)

Last couple of weeks have been abysmal, with the virus spreading its wings into everyone's inner circle giving the pain of helplessness in its wake. If anything, the martyrdom of front liners and the contributions of the well intended should humble the Shadow in us, rather than enrage it at the slightest trip. 

As the friend whom I shared the initiative learnt the logic behind the company's gimmick, he texted me, visibly irritated at the lack of transparency and what not. We chatted and it was a note to ourselves to rein in the Shadow!

Someone said, wisdom is worth sharing, so here it goes!

The fourth pillar

Couple of days back, a friend of mine asked 'How can we verify if a particular news article is true?', and it struck me Why should we have to verify in the first place? Isn't that the job of the journalist?. This led to a long conversation about the concept of news, the tv series  The Newsroom, discussions about recent political and other issues that were in the limelight. Post which I thought to myself I have got the subject for my next blog 😜. So here it goes.

Media is touted to be the fourth pillar of democracy that offers a medium for the three essentials (Legislature, Executive and Judiciary) to connect with the masses and balance out each other. Also it played a commendable role when any one of the branches of government tried to overplay its hand like in the case of The Emergency in India in the mid 1970s. Journalists reached far and wide to find the the truth often risking their life, not for the  monetary compensation but these were the people who believed in what they did. They were not confined to their studios bullying others in shout matches and did not use the opportunities that mass media offers to enforce their opinion on others. They were involved in a much bigger and nobler cause - finding the facts and reporting them just the way they were/are(some journalists are still doing amazing work). There was a place for established and experienced journalists to foist their opinions and it was labelled rightly as Opinion, Op-ed, or Editorials. The crazy thing is, of late these centre page (if you are a fan of reading The Hindu like me) articles have found their way on to the front page headlines or more importantly prime-time news.

Increasingly now, journalists are replaced by correspondents and content writers. And even worse, fanatics who have access to internet and know to type. While social networking and community platforms were good for what they were meant to do- stay connected and socialise, nowadays it has turned into a medium through which more and more people consume information (public and political). Indeed its good to know about a cyclone coming your way via social media but its not so much fun when a 16 year girl is trolled for taking a meeting with a Chief Minister (lets face it, how many of these trolls would have gotten such an invite and if they did, how many would've turned it down?). The worst part is that as and when such bizarre incidents gain traction on social media, the mainstream media feels obligated to debate about it in prime time for an HOUR (seriously??).

But still, I admire the profession of a journalist, thanks to The Newsroom. The show is based on research around several real-world cable news programs and I recommend it to everyone who is political, opinionated and moved by public issues. A couple of incidents wherein incorrect information was telecasted by ratings driven radio jockeys and twitter users were picked up by the news centres have been captured in these episodes in an amazing manner. The first episode talks about the essence of NEWS and also shows how an actual information is vetted and verified before bringing it to the public. That is what we need in this day and time- vetting and verifying. As the world is retracting to closed borders and ultra nationalism after a few decades of globalisation, I believe retracting to old ways of news consumption - buying newspapers and supporting the institutions that do credible journalism - wouldn't be so bad after all.

Even Facebook is spending resources on a third party fact checker in Germany after accusations of fake news influencing US elections found supporters in the German political landscape where elections are due this year. But is it imaginable to regulate posts by over a billion accounts (not people essentially) by a few hundred fact checkers? So next time you read a status update or a blog, treat it as what it is - a single person's expression of his/her opinion, and not as facts. Most importantly, before sharing a post next time, take a moment to ponder whether you actually believe that and think of the impact that information would have on those who consume it or those who are under the scrutiny in that post.

The fourth pillar is indeed required to hold the roof (country) but its essential to identify when it starts faltering and reinforce it as and when required.

Read more: The curious case of responsive journalism.

India's options post Uri - Common man's opinion

The attack by militants on the Indian military base in Uri has once again stroked public anger and vitriolic rhetoric in the political spectrum. While calls for military action and responsible restraint by India is being advocated for by different sides, this is a piece elucidating the understandings of a common man.

One, it is certain that the government has to react. Otherwise its inaction could fuel conspiracy theorists and worst of all, Pakistan's claims that this attack is a distraction from the recent unrest in Kashmir. While I don't (want) to believe in it, just words and no action from a government with absolute majority and that which had come to power chiding the previous establishment's restraint, raises questions.

Two, lets be honest that an all-out war is not in India's interest. Sure, Pakistan and the terrorist institutions within have to answer for the deaths of our soldiers but are we in a position to take home the victories even if we win the war? The war will never see the end with absolute surrender of either party. It is bound to invite third parties for mediation between the two nuclear-powered neighbours. India would have definitely put Pakistan in its place but the impact on our economic development would be huge right when India is trying to wield its influence in a multi-polar world. Also, the threat of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into extremist's hands ensures the survival of the arrogant Army-ISI power play in Islamabad. It doesn't help that China has huge vested interest in Pakistan's territories now which might draw it into battle. Also, its never good to be the first one to offend for our 'responsible power' status in the global standing. Cut them at the knees and goad Pakistan to mount an offensive that bars China from stating terms to india and instead negotiate with its side-kick.

Three, war is not the only option. While special ops to take out leaders of extremist organisation is a great alternative, the feasibility of the same is beyond my understanding. Diplomatic offensive is necessary, not just to isolate Pakistan but also to try drive home the point that Pakistan is in the wrong and that India's non-military offensives (as I explain below) are justified. The latter is very much important given that India's is trying to project itself as a power centre for the 21st century. A (potential) growing superpower can't have the majority of the world thinking it is arrogant unless it has the economic and military might to continue to grow despite being aggressive - case in point China.

Four, lets start doing what is in our power instead of waiting for the opportune moment. For starters, take Pakistan out of the (one-sided) Most Favoured Nation status and end trade with the irritating western neighbour. The government must be motivated to take this step given that the traders in Punjab have offered support to such a shutoff. India shouldn't just boycott the upcoming Saarc summit in Islamabad but also get the other nation's in the 8 nation bloc to shun the meet. It helps that Pakistan has (probably) decided to skip the Saar anti-terrorist experts meet, Afghanistan has expressed interest to stand-by India to boycott the summit and Bangladesh has chipped in to the narrative by calling Islamabad out for its support to terrorist organisation. Remember how Modi was successful in chastise Pakistan in G20, ASEAN and East Asia summits recently without offering an opportunity for it to rebuke for the sheer lack of its membership in these groups. The same could not be said of the recent NAM session in Venezuela. India should leverage its geographical, economical and political advantage in its neighbours, convince them to express solidarity and ensure an absolute boycott of the Saarc summit in November. Finally, pull the straw by tearing up the Indus Water Treaty. Actually, India should have torn it off years ago just for the sake of spite & economic advantages but the current situation offers a (politically)justifiable reason. 

Five, its not enough to initiate action, the real power is in sustaining these actions. While the recent incidents and the honey-moon with the US has gained us enough leverage for most of the afore-mentioned actions, it is likely China (and even US) might be pushed to persuade(force) India to stay its hand. This is where the government's actual diplomatic weight will be gaged. The narrative in point Three above and the demography & market that India offers could be the game-changers in such a stand-off with the giants. Access to the Indian market (or lack there of) could be the carrot (or stick) in these negotiations. The huge trade deficit with China is India's brahmastra. Just like we raised import duties on metal to support India's manufacturing industries in the recent past, the threat of such a raise on electronics & other commodities would send cold chills down the Chinese business spines (and the Communist Party).

There will be economic repercussions, India will not have a sweet ride on this path either. But the effect on our economy will be minimal and the pressure on Pakistan will be significantly higher teaching it a lesson and potentially solve the Kashmir issue once and for all. We should have the restraint to avoid getting into another 'Shimla Agreement' at the end of this tunnel, otherwise all would have been for nothing. Whenever I read about the 1947 war ending in India approaching the UN or 1971 war ending in the Shimla Agreement, I question the logic behind such a move, probably external pressure. Let's be clear that despite being the good boy in this duel with Pakistan we haven't been able to gain much traction to our narrative or settle the score. So, lets be the pragmatic power for once and change the focus of our history books forever.

Legal Awareness! Did you ever think about it?

With the government pushing the Digital India initiative and shifting its focus from literacy to digital literacy, information dissemination has taken a huge leap in India. Successful implementation of these initiatives will lead to a well-connected populace that accesses millions of bytes of data every second and becomes more aware.

In this digital era, corporations & media houses have been able to push their ideologies and notions in a well-concealed manner than before through native advertising (or what you may call content marketing). But is this the objective behind digital literacy & digital India? I would like to believe not.

Actual empowerment happens when the citizens start availing the government services through this medium & leverage it to protect their rights (not just freedom of expression).

While on one hand our judiciary is overburdened with millions of pending cases, on the other hand seldom does a common man resort to a legal course of action when caught in a dispute. We have grown to be more adjustive to day-to-day unlawful activities. For instance, did you ever question a shopkeeper selling a water bottle for higher than the MRP? or did you ever question someone who was riding on the other side & caused an inconvenience? The answer is mostly 'No'.

You can't be blamed since the efforts required to initiate a legal action is more cumbersome than adjusting to the inconvenience. Or is it really so? Actually, we as citizens are not aware of the rights & systems in place to resolve disputes legally and hence presume it to be complicated & unwarranted.

We have definitely come a long way in at least consumer dispute redressals but a lot more needs to be done. 

As I once read somewhere: 

"Power comes not from the barrel of a gun, but from one's awareness of his or her own legal rights".

The adventures of Hate'ism

We can call it racism, casteism, and what not, but the root cause of all lies in the bedrock of hatred and insecurity against diverse cultures, traditions and customs. Seldom do we try to understand the second person's predicament and jump to judgements based on their appearance. Well, before I bore you with my interpretation of such hate'ism let me tell you why I was moved to do so. The attack on a Tanzanian student in Bengaluru-a city supposedly progressive and pluralistic. There was the Dadri, Hyderabad and million other incidents which sparked the Intolerance debate but this happened in a city admired for its acceptance of varied cultures & customs and surprisingly none of the moral police and political honchos raising alarms at the raising intolerance were visible anywhere around the Bengaluru incident - maybe because it is too small a vote bank with no voting rights here.

With all the hue and cry over Indians facing discrimination in the Australia, US and other countries, we ought to be a bit more accommodating when interacting with foreigners in our soil. Although I don't intend to justify the mob's reaction in either case, but the worst part was that they attacked a Tanzanian for an accident caused by a Sudanese. Would the crowd react in the same way if an American had crashed the car and a Canadian came by an hour later? Despite suffering colonialism for over two centuries, are we still not out of our school of thought based on colour?

The genesis of this hatred lies in the insecurity over one's own self. The fear of losing out opportunities, the fear of losing control over the system and the fear of losing a pseudo-social ranking wherein one ranks higher than the other person compound and transform into animosity and grudge.

It definitely gets TRP and attention when someone starts talking about intolerance but very rarely the debates address the root cause of the issue or appeal to the viewer's conscience but are leveraged for scoring political points or staying in the limelight with ludicrous statements. At the end of the discussion it fills the viewers with more prejudice against the other side of the story than before.

It is time viewers started holding the journalists accountable for their presentation of facts and reporting for these are the people offering a platform for the representatives to score political points rather than arrive at a solution.

Chennai Sinks! Will the State too, next summer?

The 'cyclone moment' is not new to chennaites. Almost once every year, the city receives Indra's blessings, albeit a bit more than it desires. But in 2015, Tamil Nadu faced the wrath of nature with the rainfall breaking a century-old record. Let's not forget that a century back, the city and nearby districts were not so densely populated with concrete carpets. So the effect would have been as cruel as in 1918 with less than 50% of then record rainfall and hence the calamity is incomprehensible.

Every chennaite is proud of the IT corridor and the manufacturing sector that has blossomed around the city but all that pride was washed away by the realisation of the city's bad planning, or should I say non-planned growth. The Winter of 2015 will live in our memories for longest. It will haunt us for years to come with every big investment taking a page out of this calamity to move to nearby Andhra Pradesh which saw the CM getting on the ground to monitor the relief and rehabilitation in the cities bordering its southern neighbour.

All the goodwill the current administration had garnered with the investor's summit earlier this year and a plethora of social welfare schemes launched in the last four years has been shattered in a week's time. Chennai is the neural center with arteries leading to every district in the state, so it would be naive for the ruling side to underestimate the effect of rains in other parts in May 2016. Less than a year away from the assembly polls, political bickering has already started with the opposition using the winter struggle to win the summer battle.

Social Media has turned out to be both a boon and bane when the downpour struck us. While it helped us look beyond ourselves and assist those in need, it also created a platform for the so-called philanthropes to play their vanity and false propaganda. The incorrectness of information had hampered the relief operations and reduced the efficiency. 

I will not shy away from confiding that I am a sympathiser of the current dispensation, although my conceptions have been shaken a bit by the irresponsiveness of the administration during the deluge. But is it cause enough to vote against it? Or vote in favour of a party neck deep with corruption charges and record of poor management (let's not forget the 20 hour power-cuts in 2010-11)? or empower a coalition of multiple small parties with no leader? My answer would be a definitive 'No'. Let's not forget the fact that the calamity was of disproportionate magnitude and no government could have solved the problem in a week's time although the current one could have been more pro-active. So, let us not jump to conclusions and pass decree on the administration today for the harder part comes tomorrow. Millions of lives have been jolted with thousands homeless and entire districts under the fear of epidemic in the days to come. The government's efforts in putting people back on their feet will have to be observed and give it a chance to prove its calibre.

There are some things in life, especially politically driven that one can't help but look at in despair when information dissemination is biased (TRP based) that could lead to the establishment of unsavoury and inefficient governments. Of course, my hate for the opposition supersedes my dislike for the government's ineffectiveness in the last month, so take this piece with a pinch of salt.

In the Game of St.George's, Summer is coming!

Intolerance.

The buzzword of the year that proved a costly affair at Bihar for the BJP. This should be the waking up call for the party to set its house in order at first. While Modi talks of development politics, his minions have expressed opinions that raise grave concerns for many who supported the party at the national games last year. Still many hang on to a glimmer of hope for nothing but this: if the current establishment loses political capital, whatever little hope there was for reforms will be lost.

Indeed the literates have gotten too much attention towards India at the international level by returning their laurels but this is a two edged sword. While it might nudge the leadership to take actions against those stepping out of line, it also erodes the diplomatic and social standing of the nation at the global stage. Again if we really are an intolerant nation, maybe we don't deserve that high ground but the  world of politics had little to do with the logic of deserving and ethics. So, the government has got its hands murkier than before the Bihar polls by jumping into the pit with Lalu and hurling communal statements. Earlier it just had to convince a part of minority to drop the communal tag it has been labelled with but now even Modi's international charisma might lose luster and his support base contract.

Even I have been hiding behind the logic that if Congress was forgiven for 1984 and other numerous atrocities over the decades under its watch, so should BJP for ayodhya and godhra, but the hard truth is citing precedents is not the best form of defence in a criminal case-it establishes your guilt before your acquittal. So the ruling party has to act more like a democratically elected government instead of a loud mouthed organisation on a mission to alter history and beliefs of the nation. In the end, the towering claims of reforms & developing the country will fall on deaf ears if social security is snatched away.

As usual, I can't stop badgering the media this time either. While they have done a great job in highlighting the shortcomings of the ruling party and hitting its achilles heel, it has performed dismally when it comes to informing the society's shortcomings. While the news of beating up a muslim for eating beef was plastered all over, little was heard about the plight of upper caste victims here. The intolerance is no longer the sole right of upper caste Hindus but the right of every immoral bully in the country (sic).

I would say that we have become too tolerant in a way. Yes, too tolerant to  politics of caste and communalism, too tolerant to the bullies around us and too tolerant to the public representatives who speak hatred. Unless the society acts against this tolerance towards the unreasonable and vindictive minds, the list of communal violence victims will never end. So, lets do more than writing about intolerance and tweeting about it.

If you know your boundaries definitively, there is no room for quarrel over encroachments, so lets start by pledging to respect the freedom and rights of others before pushing in with our beliefs and customs.

Washout.!

I haven't been able to do justice to the title like this ever before. I can relate the topic to the subject in more than one way. Everyone (edit,thanks to a friend:well not everyone but only everyone with an ounce of interest in politics) would be aware of the washout of the monsoon session in the parliament, owing to the Congress raining on BJP's parade. I have been contemplating about writing on the deadlock in the parliament and a chat with an office colleague today offered the added incentive to pen my thoughts.

It is clear as a sunny day that Congress is losing its relevance in the current political landscape and the current hullabaloo in the parliament is one of its numerous attempts to gain some lost ground. The situation is partly the government's own doing. If it was not for the arrogance and over-reaching ambitions of the ruling party to expand its horizons in regions where it has no base like Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal has left it isolated in the arena. Even its allies like SAD are worried of its behaviour like that with Shiv Sena in Maharastra. They seem to be realising their missteps sooner than I thought. The courting of Mamata in Bangladesh and Amma at her residence by none other than the PM should hint the Congress that BJP has learnt to accept its peripheries and is becoming more of a centrist instead of a right-wing organisation. Although it has got less to do with its rightist ideologies, for someone like me they very attempt to allow room for regional players is enough to convince that it is indeed making an effort to bring everyone along. The government made strides in cooperative federalism when it managed to bring around majority of states to agree with a reasonable draft of GST and the deal with Bangladesh (getting Mamata onboard is a remarkable feat) is and will remain one of the greatest achievements of the Modi government.

In one of the daaru pe charcha with colleagues after office, one of our wannabe political analyst colleagues brought in the arguments over the performance of the current central dispensation. Views were mostly similar. Is the government better than Congress? Yes. Is it the government we expected when we voted for a majority BJP government in April 2014? Definitely not. As much as I discredit Congress for its nuisance at the Parliament, I wouldn't blame it for accusing the PM as an excellent salesman, for he is one. I wish he is also the ops guy. If he were able to implement yojanas and schemes instead of campaigns and proclamations, it would do more good to the nation. Well, I am drifting again. Back to the focal point-monsoon session and the entwined politics.

If it was the audacity of the BJP that left it desolate, the scare of losing their relevance gathered the disjointed opposition. One conspiracy thought in me was that BJP is ready to give up the monsoon to serve it cold to the Congress in the winter. In case the phoenix like Congress miscalculates its interim relevance to its reincarnation and decides to overplay its hand in the Bihar polls, say press too much in the seat-sharing talks to wreck the grand alliance it has so meticulously built, it will not only make it easy for the BJP to win but will also be stranded in the winter session. Assuming politics to be like the dice-game of Sakuni, it would be a masterstroke if the Modi-Jaitley-Shah trio offered Sushma-Shivraj on a plate to embolden the Congress momentarily to win the Bihar polls and concurrently smear the credibility of Sushma, to write her off in the medium term. Again, these are quite a conspiracy theories.

Is it justified to raise state issues like Vyapam gate or a case of nepotism (whatever the BJP says, the Lalitgate is a simple case of nepotism.Sushma's husband is Lalit Modi's lawyer) to create a brouhaha in the house? Absolutely not. While the Congress leadership might have offered the much-needed energy boost to its cadre, it has lost its credibility to be a critical opposition amongst the middle-class by being a cynical and frivolous one. One might argue that the government is to be accountable for the misdeeds of its members but lets face it, if we are to implement accountability in the letter, we would be left with none in the executive or legislature of judiciary. The Congress could have gobbled the credit by demanding a debate in the assembly and presented its case with facts and forced the government to take action instead of demanding resignations before debate. It has presented the case when it was the ruling party and BJP created ruckus. That is the worst possible explanation they could give for squandering the country's time and resources by hampering the proceedings: tit-for-tat. I wonder why no one has questioned the Congress for its dubious ploy,not the journalists or the parties on the sidelines of this drama like ADMK or BJD or the NDA allies.

It is safe to assume, everyone is in the game to save their own skin and not for the welfare of the state. I was becoming intolerant towards the Modi dispensation for non-performing till the monsoon session started but now my exasperation over Congress overrides my intolerance. With someone like RaGa as a replacement offer to Modi, I would say Congress is turning arrogant and over-reaching and in the process unwittingly strengthening the BJP's position. When will they learn? Or probably I am not smart enough to understand their masterplan. :P

Presence of mind

I recently read Mark Manson’s four stages of life piece. It was definitely an eye-opener. Often one gets into discussions with friends, colleagues and acquaintances on many a journey that revolves around the question of ‘purpose of life’. That piece helped me understand what I have perhaps always known. It is the legacy one leaves back and seldom is it driven my intelligence or pros and cons but rather passion decides the course of one’s legacy. One could say that our instincts are the actual masters in our decisions although most claim to base it on facts. Something that was reinstated in my beliefs after the latest episode 'The Jury Room' of the tv series by TVF.

In many an occasion we react to situations based on our instincts or should I say emotions. We have always been told to treat others the way we would like to be treated. One seldom recollects this piece of advice before responding especially under stress when it is vital. But my thoughts on this recently contradicted my intuition. Shouldn’t you treat someone the way they wish to be treated rather than how you would like to be handled. We all gain experiences and accumulate perceptions regarding various aspects in our life and these hardly match with the other person in a conversation. So it becomes increasingly arduous to conceal these prejudices, before expressing oneself. Even if we succeed that, the next task is to get a grasp over the other’s notions within the short span of conversation. Then comes the herculean task of doing these two thoughtfully and not completely emotionally. It might sound like advising ruthless pragmatism but even pragmatism involves emotions. Like someone retorted “Courage is nothing but dispelling fear” rising above the heat of the moment by understanding the feelings and preconceived ideas of the other person before reacting to a situation requires emotional intelligence or in simpler terms - presence of mind.

Of the three hurdles, two-not letting emotions prevail on our actions and discerning the notions of the other with respect to the topic of discussion-are accomplishable whereas when it comes to presumptions, it is not a walk in the park.For, of the former two, one is a control on self and the other is an experience gained in the course of interaction which can be fathomed. On the contrary, opinions are built over the years and are built upon the circumstances one has been through. Again, not all can be experts on all traits. So unless one gets off on the wrong foot, two out of three should help maintain the status quo in any plight.

Responsive Journalism.

^It is not a typing error and yes I didn't want to to say 'responsible' journalism. This piece has long been in the waiting. I have not always had a conspiracy theory behind everything that represents media. I remember the days at school I spent reading each and every article of The Hindu and believing most if not all of it, I still do read it but with the exposure and my own understandings about the system, politics and the role of media,I have indeed grown skeptical about it. It would be unfair to dismiss all that media reports as rubbish or as inspired by ulterior motives but even today after nearly 7 decades of Independence we have not evolved into a nation with responsible journalists, coming to think of it there are very few organisations in the world that do factual news. There are few in here too, but the majority is responsive, that responds to the pulse of the audience, the same way a screenplay writer or a director of a movie thinks and in some cases it is far worse- they become sellswords biasing reports for the highest bidder.

Indeed the journalists aren't prosecutors to just bring the facts to light but it is both their duty and prerogative to give an interpretation of the facts. The problem starts when the interpretation takes a turn with their prejudices and other interests. It is time for some course-correction, I believe. For long, the news agencies have hidden behind the veil of investor obligations and more recently TRP ratings too.! Goddamn it, you are not a reality show to attract more audience. It is not just with television journalism, of late even the print media have gone worse with a new jargon 'content marketing'. In short, the news pieces are edited to include the products and services of the sponsors and sell it to the customer's sub-conscience. You can get a detailed and funny view on it from this John Oliver episode. I am a big fan and do excuse me for native advertising here but hey, I ain't a journalist :P.

Before the advent of newspapers, bulletins, edicts, town criers and farman were released by the empires to inform the public of the proceedings of the court. Those were actually decrees by the rulers and it was just a means to disseminate information. Increasingly, the contemporary journalists are moving back centuries and just translating the information provided by the sponsors into news.!

Again, as always it would be false to ask the journalists to take all the blame. Ever wondered if you would read an article or watch a channel or click on a link if it didn't have a catchy title? I doubt it. Well, using creativity to write a headline is one thing but using it to create news is another thing. The journalists need to draw a line between the two.

I started off to write about another thorn in the flesh with journalism but a recent comment by a colleague on my last piece got me stuck on the independence of journalism from capitalism. May be I will start off again later and this time I hope not to get deviated from my course.

Systems of Governance

There was a recent development on the anniversary of 'The Emergency' proclaimed as the dark spots in our democracy when a patriarch of the ruling party released a salvo saying the system hasn't been modified enough to leave no room for such scenarios in the future. It made an easier job for the disjointed opposition to pounce over a government that is losing trust each passing day with its huge promises that have no real impact on the ground. Well, I will leave you to judge the performance of the administration. This is not a piece to adjudge the current government but rather my reflection on the system of governance. I am no political expert but I can definitely say I am not one without an opinion. So here it goes..

I do appreciate democratic rule but as the evolution and centuries if not millennia of history have thought us, every system is to crumble and resurrect into a new one as time progresses. The best one can hope is that the next version is better than its predecessor and not worse. Romans had democracy centuries earlier before the american war of independence and french revolution that reaffirmed the belief of this millennium in the parliamentary system established after the English Civil War. It is quite ironical to observe that the pioneers of parliamentary system, the English still have a monarch with significant powers. This could be attributed to the fact that the change in Britain was driven by the then rulers, starting with William The Conqueror(real life Jon Snow :P) who laid the foundations for the 'Great Council' which would later become the Parliament in the 13th century. Also the slow and consistent reforms executed by the English crowns demand respect for their diplomacy and adaptation of change, albeit slow.

This slow process is a proof to the fact that every system has to undergo a series of tests before it is professed and adapted across countries. The improvements in transit industry enabled the movement of goods, interlinked markets and offered routes for missionaries of religion and culture but the revolution of communication that linked citizens of the world led to the spread of ideas of politics and democracy. One of the main reasons for the success of democracy is the accomplishments of the countries under democracy and their power in world order. Being the superpowers, these nations try to influence the developing and 3rd world powers with their monetary aids, ideologies and cultures. A government can easily empathise with another similar system easily unless the other party offers something that none other can, like the Chinese in the 1980s-a huge market and cheap labour with a government that can get shit done unlike their Indian counterpart which was mired in political cobwebs.

One might say that we have had successful democratic systems for centuries without changing the system but the fact remains that it took centuries before Universal Suffrage could be adopted in the United States(1965) after India(1950) did. Still there are nations with no voting rights for sections of the populace based on sex, race and ethnicity. So it would be foolish to say that there is no change. With the growth of civilisations across the world, each region had a leader and there existed a system in which the leader passed on his/her baton to their offsprings.  This kind of system later evolved into a structured monarchist model of governance. When the chinks in this system's armour started showing, it crumbled. While some rose up again as democracies, some chose communism and others dictatorship. There are always two sides to any model but it is our obligation to keep questioning and evolving.

I do admit seldom has these changes affected the common public, so it might not be everyone's obligation. These changes are mostly adopted for the benefit of the rulers, one way or the other. When the Tudor dynasty empowered the parliament of England, it was to raise taxes with the consent of the parliament to avoid discontent amongst the subjects. But seldom the changes could go wrong like it did with the Germans post the World War I. Here is where the influence of the people plays a huge role in correcting the course of the change. Lucky for us, we have elections in India so we can correct it once in 5 years. Wouldn't you fancy the right to correct it whenever you feel it is wrong instead of waiting for half a decade? If that's the case, do read up on 'Recall Referendums' in the Swiss. It is not full-fledged, but hey, its a start.!

As Winston Churchill once stated, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time", we will have to keep testing and reforming us for fear of being obsolete.

The Return of the Expats

Many have spoken about the return of the NRIs to start businesses in India but few have shown interest in the return of expats from the middle-east who have been in blue-collar jobs for years over there. It was just another usual day and I had booked a cab using an app and the driver was very courteous. I struck a conversation with him to understand the perks offered by these online cab aggregators to the drivers. He started by saying he had joined the company only a day before and I was his first customer.

He has been in the arabs as a driver for over a decade and he had come home for an extended vacation. He was planning to return in a couple of months when a friend recommended the new-age cab aggregators in India. Within a day, he had his police verification done and joined the fleet of one such operator. The chat with him was an eye-opener to me. For decades, many young Indians who couldn’t find a job here have sailed away to the middle east and other countries to work as drivers, electricians, plumbers and in a variety of similar professions on contractual basis. The pay is good although the living conditions, contractual obligations like the requirements to stay abroad for a couple of years before they could return have been a pain-point for many who sailed away with the hope of providing to their families. Add to this the political crisis in the arabs in the last few years like the recent Yemen crisis, very few want to sail now.

The boom of startups couldn’t have come at a better time. With the millions of VC money, startups are splurging on drivers, delivery boys, etc to get them on their platform. The salaries have seen a huge rise due to the high attrition caused by many alternate opportunities. Not just the expats, but also the prospective sailors are preferring to stay back home.

After all, the change observed at the ground is what gives every entrepreneur the ‘high’ of being an entrepreneur. The change couldn’t be explained better than the rise of livelihoods of many a blue-collar worker.

Indian 'Game of Thrones'

We are in the middle of another season of the american fantasy drama Game of Thrones,that has gained attraction from across the globe with its raw depiction of power and politics. Many have likened it to the great Indian epic ‘Mahabharata’ but few have thought about the ‘Delhi Sultanate’ in a similar way, that saw five dynasties before the Persian dragon dynasty ‘Mughals’ overtook them all. Mostly because all the five kingdoms weren’t contemporaries and there was no ‘Iron Throne’ or the ‘Throne of Hastinapur’ at the Delhi Sultanate before the Mughals who had ‘Peacock Throne’ to ornate their durbar. But one interesting factor is that it is a true story recorded by historians and proved by hard evidence and not a fantasy fiction or epic.

The Delhi Sultanate witnessed the rise and fall of five kingdoms within a span of 300 years, the shortest of them being the ‘Khilji’ and ‘Sayyid’ dynasties that lasted for less than half a century. But within the three centuries, the demography of the sub-continent changed drastically that many have called the ‘Biggest Holocaust in Human history’ that hadn’t changed much in the previous millennium.

Also the 3 centuries saw the pivot of power move to Delhi and many a monuments today owe their existence to these five dynasties. Similar to Game of Thrones, the history of Delhi Sultanate is filled with assassinations within family for power and people without lineage or wealth raise to the corridors of power with mere force and playing the right chords to the right people.

Another similarity is that like the ‘King of Seven Kingdoms’ couldn’t exist in power without the support of the seven powerful families and their large list ofvassals, the course of Delhi Sultanate was channelled by the Turkic, Afghan and Persian amirs.

Maybe 1 or 2 seasons later, we can draw similarity between their ends too. Till then, go and catch up with the latest episode ‘Kill the Boy’-like you need to mention a death in the title, isn’t that a practice in every episode..:P

India's Daughter..

It has been a while since it was all the rage about India’s Daughter in the media. Although it incited the interest in me to watch it, I only got around to viewing it today.  It was an eye-opener. No doubt the statements from the convicted affected me but the defence lawyers were inhumane. The circumstances and surroundings of the culprits’ childhood explains their ignorance and unapologetic behaviour towards women whereas the lawyers who are supposed to be the defences of our legal system and constitution going berserk and sounding like morons appalls me. Their professional ethic is understandable that they are bound to defend the accused and give them a chance at fair trial by pleading on humanitarian grounds (one might argue against that due to their beastly behaviour on December 16) but accusing the victim and proclaiming it to be the right of men to take women for granted is intolerable. 

For one, the loss of a soul instigated the activist within every modern Indian and brought the hitherto undiscussed topics of sexual abuse and violence into the dining table conversations of every household. The documentary helped me understand the genesis of such acts by men. Not everyone is fortunate to avail education, global exposure and understand gender equality when the majority is exposed to gender inequality from childhood within the family. It is time people started looking within their laundry before airing others in the public. I do not claim such acts are defendable but raising slogans and going on marches won’t stop people from committing such crimes in the future. It is just a first step in the right direction. Charity begins at home, so does Change. The day when every man & woman treat their son and daughter equally, the thought of male dominance over women is eradicated from the society, this journey would end at its destination. Otherwise, we will keep taking the wrong turns from the right course.

Net Neutrality

Of late the newsfeed in facebook is full of petitions and posts supporting net neutrality. It was less than a fortnight back that I saw an episode on net neutrality by John Oliver on Last Week Tonight show in HBO. I was just amazed by the way he connects such serious issues with humour while he also successfully creates an empathy amongst his viewers for the issues he brings to limelight. For those of you who missed the show or have been lazy till now to read and grasp what exactly 'net neutrality' means, let me give a synopsis.

Till now, we have been using the internet by paying for the amount used, say 1gb, 2gb, etc at flat rates. That is the net rates are neutral to all domains. If it were to be abolished as many data carriers like airtel and vodafone seek, your data pack will change the same way your erstwhile TV cable connections gave way for DTH services.

Remember the days when you used to pay a minimum of 100 bucks or so and you could watch the boring soap-opera channels as well as the world cup finals? Slowly, the DTH operators entered the fray, started by offering good quality streaming at competitive prices and lured the market their way. Just the predatory pricing strategies are adopted by e-commerce players to acquire customers, the DTH acquired customers and eliminated the small cable operators from the game. Once they got rid of them, they started milking the cash by increasing the prices. That was just the tip of the iceberg until someone came up with the idea of DTH channel packs. You pay a minimum of 200 odd bucks to get a handful of channels and then subscribe to additional packs by shelling out more coins.

If the data carriers had their way, you would pay base price for one gb data and pay extra to use different domains. For instance, 120 for 1gb + 50 for facebook + 30 for watsapp + free for hike. Before you rejoice over the free service for 'hike' it might not be applicable to you if you are an unfortunate vodafone customer since hike has its links with airtel only.

The case that these carriers set forth is that if you pay extra,you will be able to use these websites at ultra-high speeds whereas without these also you can use them at the existing speeds. Sorry airtel, we are not stupid enough buy this bullshit!

For all of you who were over the moon when supreme court repealed section 66, anti-net neutrality is a fix at this by those in power. The next time you post something against the autocrats, the website will not be accessible at normal speeds, thanks to the back channel links between the government that ends net neutrality and the corporates that reap the billions.

Although you might be happy to not to come across my writing if net neutrality ends, let me also tell you that you probably won't be able to access any website at your private time either. If you know what I mean, you better sign the petition.

https://www.change.org/p/trai-take-an-action-to-preserve-net-neutrality-in-india

It might not be all that the fight needs, but am sure as hell that it is not nothing.!