DP's Blog

New Year Greetings

2006-12-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

May you find success, prosperity and happiness in this new year.

Tourism Potential

2006-12-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has an interesting statistic- New York City attracted close to 7 million foreign tourists while 4 million foreign tourists visited India in 2005. Every Indian knows the huge potential for tourism in India. If we can attract 30 million tourists to India and assuming a per person spending of $2500 (which I believe is very modest), that works out to a $75 billion earning opportunity! And thats not even counting domestic tourism, which is very huge.

There seems to be very little initiative from the government in realizing this tremendous opportunity. There are several things which I can think of that the government can do-

-Promote India as a great place to travel abroad; the Indian consulates at various countries that have been identified as having potential should advertise in the media; they should ensure that applying for a tourist visa is hassle free and obtaining information about India is easy
-Encourage setting up budget hotels in India; many travelers prefer a place that provides a clean bed and bathroom instead of anything more fancy; govt. should lease the huge land holding the railways have to hotel developers and provide tax breaks for them
-It will be a huge help if the staff at the airports, railway stations and other places where tourists need to deal with govt. agencies are trained to be customer friendly

Many more suggestions can be added to this list. I believe we have many advantages built into our democratic way of life that if we can take care of a few important factors such as those mentioned above, India will be a natural tourist destination even without heavy advertising and promotion. I am sure it is not difficult for the govt. to realize that tourism has the potential of increasing the quality of life for millions of Indians.

Public Broadcasting

2006-12-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

I do not have cable TV at home. I have access to only one channel and that is the local public television channel, which I watch once in a while. Some of the programs on this channel are extremely entertaining and educational; especially the science programs (Nova, Nature and some others) and the news analysis programs (Frontline and some others). Most of this TV stations's programs have very little or no advertising. It is mostly supported by contributions from viewers, other donors and may be some funding from the government.

I am beginning to realize the importance of good public television for strengthening democracy. The vast terrestrial network Doordarshan in India has is such an asset if used effectively. The Indian government should loosen its grip on public TV, make it truly autonomous and guarantee funding to it and also allow it to accept donations from viewers and others. It should ensure that public TV becomes a forum for independent film makers and also promote investigative journalism as a check on both government and corporate activities. Perhaps it could invite documentary film makers to produce high quality educational content for national broadcast.

Television can be made a little interactive by allowing viewers to choose what programs they want to watch from a list of options. Previews of these programs can be put up on the internet or in the near future on cell phones. Viewers can then vote for which programs they want and the one which gets the highest votes can be aired. Surely this isn't too difficult to do and all the technology needed already exists.

Operating the terrestrial television network on a no-profit no-loss basis ensures that the medium is financially sustainable and at the same time not altogether at the mercy of market forces. This will provide it with some leeway in its choice of content. The same could be done with All India Radio too.

Land Reforms

2006-12-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Very often we read in the news about some state government or the other promising some private corporation that land will be made available to them for setting up their business operations. Most recently the Andhra Pradesh govt. promising land for a semi-conductor fab plant and a car manufacturer, West Bengal for Tata Motors, Orrisa for mining companies and land for the special economic zones are several examples. I always thought it curious that it was the various governments that were trying to come up with land; shouldn't the corporations be buying land themselves?

Ravikiran Rao's article points out that farmers are not allowed to sell land for non-agricultural purposes. Now that makes everything clear. It is this utterly insane law that prevents corporations from directly buying land and makes them go to the state governments. It isn't difficult to imagine all the corruption this law causes. It also isn't very difficult to imagine the negative consequences of such a law, several of which are pointed out in the article mentioned above.

Do take the time to read the article. Awareness of the basic problem brings about understanding of the issues. Gaurav Sabnis has a related article on land reforms. The fundamental right to property was abolished by the infamous 44th amendment made during the emergency years. That right should be brought back.

The Damage A Simple Beedi Can Do

2006-11-29T14:33:00.000-08:00

A couple of years back, Parliament passed a bill making it mandatory for beedi wrappers to have a danger mark on atleast 50% of the area. The danger mark included a skull and two cross-bones. The bill was to come into affect during February 2007. Nothing wrong in having a health warning on something that is genuinely a health hazard. But that was until a by-election was to come up in Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh.

It happens that a significant percentage of voters in the karimnagar constituency are poor beedi workers, more than half of them women. They feel putting a large warning on their beedi packets will leave no place for their brand logo and might also dissuade people from buying their products; a potential threat to their already poor livelihoods.

The three way political battle for the Karimnagar seat between the ruling Congress, the TDP and TRS parties has turned the whole issue on its head and allowed it to acquire several dimensions. All three political parties are scrambling to assure the voters that they are not responsible for the law and are desperately trying to stand up as the saviors of the voters' livelihoods! But then, there is also the issue of very bad health affects from smoking beedis. To me the whole thing is a classic problem in politics, policy and economics.

The God Hypothesis

2006-11-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

It is quite a surprise as well as a pleasure that Richard Dawkins' new book The God Delusion is turning out to be a best seller. May be there are many who are trusting their common sense and discarding this unnecessary body of belief we call religion. I wonder how long it will take for all of humanity to realize that they don't need the concept of a god anymore.

Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in physics, says- "the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief". Indeed, it truly is a long nightmare! Dawkins has a superb description of god (as described in the old testament of christianity)..."arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully".

The sooner we understand and accept the fact that our lives and perhaps the entire universe itself is pointless, the more happier we will be and our lives will be so much more productive.

Child Labor In India

2006-11-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

Everywhere in India, it is a fairly common to see children-sometimes very small children-working in a variety of places; road side eateries, tea stalls, dhabas, construction sites, domestic help in cities and towns and as agricultural help among other places in rural areas. Then there are the homeless children everyone sees most commonly in railway stations among other places.

Last month legislation banning employment of children less than 14 years as domestic help and in eateries came into effect. While it is important to provide the problem of child labor with a strong legal basis, I believe this latest ban is futile. In the conditions prevalent in India, simply banning child labor without sorting out many other related issues isn't going to work. The government must ensure that there is a practical alternative for children who are going to be displaced from work because of this ban. There must be free and compulsory schooling, nutritious meals must be provided for them, health care services must be provided, they must be given access to vocational courses, even sporting activities. Simply preventing children from working and then giving them nothing useful to do is retrogressive.

Surely all that involves a huge financial expenditure; but what better investment can we make than in our own children? Finding the money needed for financing these projects won't be a huge challenge for the government. The current issue of Frontline discusses the issue of child labor in India and the legislation in question in great detail.

Further Observations on US Elections

2006-11-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

The dust kicked up by election issues seems to have finally settled. The Republican party was routed while the Democratic party has gained majority control of both the houses of congress. There were two principal issues over which the elections were fought; the war in Iraq and corruption/scandals.

The former issue forced the defence secretary Rumsfeld to resign while the latter caused many incumbents to loose re-election bids. The average turnout at the polls was around 40%. For a nation that takes pride in being the most progressive democracy, that is a very low level of participation in the election process.

Not one of my American friends and colleagues voted. Some of them were unaware that there was an election(!) while many others had no idea who the candidates in the fray were or what the issues being debated were. Many told me, they don't vote because their vote cannot change anything and so doesn't count. I disagree with them. I believe the US and its politicians and others involved should make an effort bringing many more to the polls, starting with college students first.

Critical Thinking

2006-11-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

Best piece I read today...

"Criticism is the examination and test of propositions of any kind which are offered for acceptance, in order to find out whether they correspond to reality or not. The critical faculty is a product of education and training. It is a mental habit and power. It is a prime condition of human welfare that men and women should be trained in it. It is our only guarantee against delusion, deception, superstition, and misapprehension of ourselves and our earthly circumstances. Education is good just so far as it produces well-developed critical faculty. ...A teacher of any subject who insists on accuracy and a rational control of all processes and methods, and who holds everything open to unlimited verification and revision is cultivating that method as a habit in the pupils. Men educated in it cannot be stampeded...They are slow to believe. They can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain. They can wait for evidence and weigh evidence...They can resist appeals to their dearest prejudices...Education in the critical faculty is the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes good citizens." -William Graham Sumner

The Domestic Violence Act

2006-11-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

Indian women have been empowered with a new act-The Domestic Violence (Prevention) Act. The law has a broad definition of domestic violence and includes not only married women, but also mothers facing abuse from children, widows from relatives, sisters from brothers and even women in live in relationships. It essentially tries to ensure that women are free from domestic violence of all forms.

I believe that is an important piece of legislation. Used together with anti-dowry laws and the recent reforms to the Hindu inheritance act, this new law, atleast legally protects and empowers Indian women in a very broad based way. However, as with any other legislation and policy, implementation is the key. The act is rich in detail about how it will be implemented and how victims of domestic violence can seek assistance, but until there is awareness in every strata of society, it may be of little use.

Womens' organizations in India and NGO's working in the area of women's rights and empowerment are doing a great job of putting some pressure on the government in getting such laws enacted; I hope they are doing an equally good job spreading awareness about these laws, especially to rural women.

I wonder if laws trying to ensure social justice and equality can be gender free. I mean, while it is all very nice to have laws protecting the women, what about the men? Surely, we don't have to look very far to find men at the receiving end of their wives' tantrums!

Note:
More info about this is available in this interview at Rediff

Election Time In The US

2006-11-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

Next week is election time here in the US, and unless you turn on the TV, you barely notice that important elections are round the corner. There is no noise on the streets, no public open meetings, and absolutely no involvement of college students in the entire process. Elections in India are so much more fun.

The fun part aside, to me there are several surprising elements about the electoral process here. Election day is not a public holiday! I believe election day must be a holiday, so that it is convenient for everybody to go out and vote. The elections are conducted by the local county. There is no central authority like the Election Commission we have in India. I think our system of having a constitutionally mandated central election authority conduct all elections is much more efficient and better. An independent organization that specializes in conducting elections ensures that there is very little or no bias in the process and also that local government resources are not strained.

It is possible that the above reasons explain the abysymally low turnout at the polls here compared to the very high turnouts (typically >60%) we have in India. I get the feeling that the so called 'world's greatest democracy' does very little to motivate its citizens to vote. This may be one area where our system is far superior.

Update:
Here is a AP/Yahoo News story on Why do so few people vote in the US?. As far as I know, the article just doesn't seems to get it! Also read this interesting article...Prof Greg Mankiw explains why some people shouldn't vote

Congratulations to Muhammad Yunus

2006-10-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank for winning the 2006 Nobel Peace prize. One of the better deserved recipient of the peace prize in the recent past. With all the attention he and his bank will now get, I hope the concept of micro-credit becomes much more well known and finds a lot more takers. Especially in India, where it has the potential of revolutionizing the rural areas.

On another note, there was an interview in The Hindu with the chairman of the Peace Prize committee, in which he deliberates on Gandhi not receiving the prize although he was nominated several times. My view is that, Gandhi was far above these prizes and awards that it is much better he was not awarded the Peace Prize or the Bharat Ratna. There are a few extraordinarily great men who happen to this planet once in a while and for them there can be no prizes.

Sightings On The Road

2006-10-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

I drove to Bozeman, MT on the I-90; here are some signs I saw along the way...

Testicle Festival- Come Have a Ball!

I was told it was about a food festival, where the 'delicacy' is bull's testicles! Who ever got the idea of eating something like that...

Spinal Adjustment for just $ 27

I saw that sign when driving through the Nez-Perce native American reservation. I thought it was best to stay away from it.

Jesus is lord of this Valley

I am not sure how it's like across other parts of this country, but along this drive someone made sure that we just cannot get Jesus out of our heads!

North Korea's Nuclear Test

2006-10-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

The claim by North Korea that it tested a nuclear device is a most dramatic development. I say claim because there still seems to be disagreement and inconsistencies about the test. First, many have concluded that the device was around 0.5 Kilotons, which is too small for a nuclear device. India's was ~ 500 KT. So, it is not yet clear if the test failed or if it was an elaborately staged ruse. Even if it was a failed nuclear test, it is still a dangerous development because it implies they are getting close.

Some years back, the US president called Iraq, Iran and North Korea "the axis of evil". While the US was quick to attack Iraq with the most dubious claim of possesing or trying to posses "weapons of mass destruction", the other two alleged members have quitely gone ahead with their nuclear programs! So much so that the test by north Korea is like it showing the middle finger to the US.

The US is currently embroiled in the conflict in Iraq, which it cannot get out of any time soon; it seems to have little leverage with Iran and cannot do anything about Iran's defiance and now they have to deal with North Korea's nuclear test. Challenging times for US foreign policy.

PBS Documentary on The Return Of The Taliban

2006-10-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

PBS broadcast a program titled "The Return of the Taliban" on its Frontline series which air at 9 pm on tuesdays. The program was informative, somewhat gruesome, very interesting and above all such a damning indiction of Pakistan's role in sustaining the terror apparatus.

You can watch the full program online. Seen in the context of the Mumbai's Police's revelation, that the ISI planned the entire operation that resulted in the bombing of the sub-urban trains in Mumbai, the PBS documentary is very insightful.

It Is The Problem!

2006-09-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

Musharaff has certainly had a very eventful 18 days of travel to Havana, various places in the US and London. The best time he seems to have had is at the NAM summit in Havana. After that he has either been on the offensive or defensive.

Whatever we have against him, I think we have got to admit that the guy is a genius in his line and a true survivor. He plays India, the US and the radical Islamic parties in Pakistan simultaneouly. He also has the savvy of a marketing executive, which was in full display when he was promoting the book he wrote.

Just one statement from him as soon as he landed in the US, that he was threatened about his country being bombed back to the stone age if he did not co-operate, was enough for the entire media to take notice. The timing of such a statement was perfect. I can only speculate that in his anaysis, he must have determined that with Bush at his lowest popularity ratings ever, he could not only get away with such a statement but also profit from it by portraying himself and his country as the victim!

In one of his interviews, what he said of A.Q. Khan might as well be a very good description of his own country. His country is not a part of the problem, it is the problem.

Women in Science

2006-09-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Recently there were reports (e.g. here) in the news about bias against women in science in the US. That was somewhat surprising to me; I thought the social conditions here were so much better that something like that would be unheard of. May be that partly explains why there is just one women professor in my department. I assume the situation for women in India, not only in science, but in all other careers is surely worse.

Many suggest that women may lack the ability to undertake careers such as science. I believe that may not be the case; afterall, we are all human and there is no reason to think that the genders are differently endowed. Also, we simply lack any evidence to support the argument about the lack of ability in women. Women have never been evaluated in the same social conditions as men.

Social realities for women are drastically different for women in India compared to men. As far as I know the most important reason for this is child birth and rearing. Women usually become mothers in the beginning stages of their career and it is not hard to imagine how incredibly difficult the simultaneous tasks of both managing their careers and their homes must be. Even more so when their careers are demanding like the sciences and engineering.

For rural women and women from the poorer classes in India, the challenges are much more complex. Much more complex for me to even begin to understand what the issues are.

The Agrarian Crisis

2006-09-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

For the past three to four years, much of the economic news in India has been very positive. Each quarter seems to be better than the previous one in terms of growth, there surely is a lot of visible growth in the cities and the foreign media is all agog about the India growth story.

I believe all this economic growth is driven by growth in the major urban areas such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai etc. Take a drive out of any of these cities and the rural scene is almost the same as a decade ago or may be worse.

A few publications such as the Hindu (through its rural affairs editor, P.Sainath), the Frontline and some regional news papers have been highlighting the plight of the farmers in several regions in south India. Farmers in Vidharbha, Telangana, Wayanad and central Tamil Nadu are committing suicide because they are unable to repay their crushing debts. I think we should, at the least, stay informed about the situation and what is being done if any about it.

This fortnight's Frontline has a cover page story about this agrarian crisis. There is a different point of view expressed at the Indian Economy Blog. Do read the articles at those links.

The Next Industrial Giant Is...India?

2006-09-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

So says the headline in yesterday's New York Times. An excerpt,

For decades, India had followed a route to economic development strikingly different from that of countries like Japan, South Korea or China. While its Asian rivals placed their bets on manufacturing and exports, India focused on its domestic economy and grew more slowly with an emphasis on services.

But all that is starting to change.

Read the full article; very interesting. India was and is still said to base it's economic growth on IT and other services. This article tells us that is begining to change. A very welcome development as far as my understanding goes. I believe manufacturing is important not only because of it export potential but also for strengthening the domestic economy.

Best Sentence of The Day

2006-09-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

Best sentence I read today...

"Losing a lover is better than loving a loser".

But here is a better one...

"You talk to god, you are religious. God talk's to you, you are psychotic." (from www.randi.org)

What Will The Astrologers Do?

2006-08-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

These are very frustrating and confusing times for the astrologers worldwide. They must be seething with the most venomous anger at a group of people who call themselves astronomers; all their calculations have been thrown into a disarray because of that group.

First they had the audacity to increase the number of planets in the solar system by three, then all of a sudden they decided that Pluto, the ninth planet uptil now, doesn't deserve to be a planet anymore. That brings down the number of planets to eight. The astronomers seem to be changing the rules of the game as quickly as elementary school kids playing cricket do!

So what will the astrologers do now? After all, if planetary positions have a decisive influence on the activities of individuals, the methods of calculating those influences must all be recast because of the vanishing act of that damned Pluto. Won't all of this affect the horoscopes of men and women? I shudder to think what will happen to all those boys and girls who match themselves up for marriage based on their horoscopes. Will Pluto be a part of their lives or won't it?

Autorickshaw Endurance

2006-08-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

The one thousand kilometer long autorickshaw race is currently in progress in India now. Surely in Indian conditions, the hot or rainy weather at this time of the year, the condition of many of India's roads, the traffic and enduring all that in an autorickshaw makes this race totally insane or really interesting. That depends on your sense of adventure.

The BBC reports that there are many takers for this race and plenty of them from outside India! Personally, I think this a great idea. Almost everybody knows an autorickshaw or has taken a ride in one. There should be no problem associating with a race like this. I hope many more such ideas come up with regular frequency; peps up ordinary life in India!

The Epicurean Riddle

2006-08-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

The Miracles Of Our Times!

2006-08-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

This so called god seems to be a little bored these days. He is amusing himself turning sea water "sweet" in one place and making his (or rather her) idol 'drink' milk at another!

Some fishermen in Mahim, Mumbai observed that the normally salty sea water there appeared to have lost it saltiness. Before you know it there are now thousands thronging the beach and some even taking away this now 'holy' water in bottles! Ofcourse, it is not much long before the claim is made and believed that it was all "Allah's Karishma"!! I wonder why some don't simply stop and think of what's happening? Could it be that the water from the river Mithi was flowing into the sea near Mahim Bay; with recent heavy rains the water flowing into the sea from this river might have been excessive and caused dilution of some of the saltiness near the bay.

Then there is the lady in Bareilly who deludes herself into thinking the Durga idol she worships is actually drinking milk! Perhaps the milkmen in heaven are on strike? Or worse, I am beginning to suspect there are no cows in heaven, given the regularity with which these 'idol drinking milk' incidents happen.

Now if you think all this happens only in India...You should know that workers at a certain candy factory in California believe a real miracle occurred when a glob of chocolate molded itself into a miniature statue of the Virgin Mary! Among the throngs that gathered, some became emotional, some began their spiritual journeys at that moment, some bought in candles and flowers and some more just could not believe that they should be so blessed! The wonders chocolate can do!

A Throne For An Idol?

2006-08-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

The so called "devotees" of Shiridi Sai want to build a throne made of gold for him. It is estimated to cost Rs. 22 crore! This is a relacement for the current silver throne upon which the idol sits.

Mr Bal Thackeray of the Shiv Sena calls it a sheer waste of money and calls for using the money for welfare purposes. His is quoted as saying "What kind of devotion is this? This amount can be used to help people affected by calamities like recent floods, farmers suicides and serial blasts,". I cannot agree more with him.

Different Prices

2006-08-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

Blatant discrimination by the Indian government is clealry visible in this picture of the entrance fee board at Humayun's Tomb, Delhi. There is a similar difference in entrance fees for Indian citizens and Foriegn visitors at almost every such place all across India.

Foreign visitors are required to pay twenty five times the amount Indian visitors pay! By comparision entry to US government insitutions is either free or the price is the same for everyone.

I think the goverment should end this practice of price discrimination.

Fifty Nine

2006-08-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

In a couple of days our nation turns a healthy 59 years as a democratic republic. What is one single greatest achievement in all those years that we should all be proud of?

Once the great physicist Richard Feynman was asked...If in some catastrophe all of science was lost, what one piece of knowledge that if preserved, would help mankind regain its scientific achievement? His answer was simple...that everything was made of atoms!

Similarly, if our country was heading toward a catastrophe, the one thing worth preserving would be democracy. Despite all the problems we face, I think it is our preservation of a democratic way of life within a highly diverse and pluralistic society that stands out as our single greatest achievement.

Gandhi in Beliaghata

2006-08-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

Ramachandra Guha's articles in the Sunday Magazine edition of The Hindu are always refreshing. In particular I enjoy his articles which recount some interesting factoid from Gandhi's life. This week he recounts Gandhi's stay at Haidari Mansion in Calcutta from August 13th to September 7th ,1947. Gandhi was there in Calcutta striving for peace among the muslims and hindus in the riot torn city, even on the momentous day of Independence.

Dinesh Beedi?

2006-08-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

I had no idea until now that the communist folks in Kerala ran a company called Dinesh Beedi. Beedi's are so much in the interest of the proletariat, aren't they?

This and more interesting stuff over at Varnam's post on Where Do The Pesticides Come From?

An Idea for Historical Research

2006-08-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Several historical documentaries on Discovery, National Geographic and PBS show American historians intensively studying the histories of societies and cultures based in South America, Africa, Central Asia and many other regions of the world. There are archaeologists, anthropologists and others with different areas of expertise doing their digging and exploration in those parts of the world. Almost all of them are typically based in universities.

I think it may be a very good idea to invite these men and women who have such a passion for what they are doing to come to India. There is no lack of areas with archeological and historical interest in India and I don't think it will be very difficult to convince anyone to come conduct their research in India.

The government should encourage and fund collaboration between Indian universities and universities in the US, Europe and perhaps with universities in other countries in conducting historical research. This will surely be a mutually advantageous collaboration, one that has the potential of educating us about our own history in a way that many will find interesting instead of boring.

Temples Of the Gupta Dynasty

2006-08-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

When I was in India during the month of May, I visited Delhi. Among the many places I visited there, the Qutub Minar and surrounding structures were one of them. We all have read about the Qutub Minar in our history classes in school, but those history classes did not teach us about the beautiful structures that are now almost in ruins, that lay beside the Minar.

Beside the Qutub Minar was this beautiful courtyard of a Hindu temple; only the courtyard with it sculpted columns remain now. The remaining part was destroyed by the muslim invaders or have other structures built over them and evidence of this is quite clearly present at the site. In the courtyard is an iron pillar with an inscription that praises Chandragupta I; this provides direct evidence that this temple was built during the time of the gupta dynasty, probably in the 4th century AD.

What I found very striking and surprising was that all the faces of the idols were defaced. Each pillar had a rectangular shape and each of its faces were intricately carved. The top of each pillar had Hindu gods on each side, and without exception each of these idols was defaced as the picture above shows.

The Grind

2006-08-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

When we were school kids, most of us very likely have had the experience of going to the mill to get rice, wheat, chillies etc finely ground. Back in those days we either could not readily buy flour and chilli powder from the retail store or our moms preferred the freshly ground stuff. I particularly liked to visit the mill and always looked forward to it; and this was for many reasons. First of all, the grinding machines were impressive and it was wondrous to see how they could turn such huge quantities of wheat and rice into fine powder so quickly. Then the variety of smells; the smell of freshly ground wheat was bland while the smell of chilli powder tingled the nose.

And when we triumphantly carried the ground stuff home, I am sure we all had similar experiences regarding our mothers' response. She would feel the texture and be very happy, so much so that it made us feel we practically ground all that stuff ourselves; or she would be somewhat annoyed and complain about the mill owner not doing a good job inspite of the exorbitant price paid! Then ofcourse there would be the familiar admonishments about being careful not to have the rice or wheat ground just after some chill has been put through the machine.

But there was much more to these mills. I wondered for long how the actual grinding was done. Then there was the mystery of the twisted belt. If you had paid close attention to detail when you were at the mill, you might have noticed that the belt which carried the drive of the motor to the grinder had a twist to it and was not straight. While changing belts, the mill owner and whoever was doing it would always twist the belt and never install it straight. This practice was a big mystery to me. In those days I wasn't bold enough to ask someone there about it, and when I could well up enough courage to ask, none seemed to know! This remained a mystery until my undergrad days, when finally I realised that the belt was in the shape of a mobius strip. But why would you want the belt to be a mobius strip? Find out here.

Right to Education

2006-07-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Eighty Sixth Amendment to the constitution inserted in 2002 made the Right to Education a fundamental right. It states specifically that- "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the state may, by law, determine."

However, now the government has decided to drop the Right to Education Bill altogether. This bill when enacted would have made it mandatory for the government to invest money in primary and secondary education. The government now makes the outrageous claim that the cost, estimated at Rs 36000 crores, is too high an expenditure.

I believe that is one of the best investment the government can ever make. There is no way illiteracy can be abolished if the government doesn't spend on primary and secondary education. The director of the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) Krishna Kumar expresses his views on this issue here.

Something to Consider

2006-07-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

When you read the history of India, it becomes very clear that there were certain times when every creative effort such as the sciences, mathematics, literature and fine arts, architecture, administration and social sciences all flourished. This was mostly during the first millennium AD when such greats as Aryabhatta, Kalidas, Shankaracharya, Samudragupta, Chandragupta Vikramaditya, Vatsyayana, Bhaskara and so many more lived and created their great works. For some reason many of us are unfamiliar with these great individuals and their extraordinary works and achievements.

My schooling was mostly in English and as a result I seem to know more about western systems of thought, their great personalities and their works, the history of their civilizations etc. By and by I realized that I absolutely lacked any kind of knowledge about the great achievments in science, literature and the arts, the history and so much more that originated in my own society and country. I had read, analyzed and written exams on Shakespearean plays, Russian, French, English and American novelists; studied and scrutinized the Irish, English and American poets, learnt the theorems and the laws of mathematics and physics bearing the names of English, French and American scientists. I am now considered by society to be highly educated. In reality, I believe I am almost illiterate.

I have barely read anything in my own native language, Telugu. I haven't read a single book or article in Hindi, except what was necessary for passing examinations in school. Although I was taught a little Sanskrit, I have no working knowledge of the language. All the great works of India are in that language and so for all practical purposes, my access to them is cut off. I have ofcourse read works translated into English, but the number of such works barely scratches the surface.

It isn't any surprise then, that my knowledge of my own country is cursory and patchy at best. So, dear reader, please take my opinions I express here with a pinch of salt. Please do recommend to me any books, resources and other works of interest that may help me improve my skills in those languages mentioned above.

A Dawkins Lecture

2006-07-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

Please read this fantastic lecture by Richard Dawkins titled, "Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder". It is a wonderful lecture on the wonders of science, what science is and what it isn't and many more interesting things.

I wont say anymore and waste your time here...click on the link above and read it.

If you like it, as I am sure you will, you must consider reading Richard Dawkins' other interesting and very readable books such as 'The Blind Watchmaker' and 'The Selfish Gene'.

Another Assault On Freedom

2006-07-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

In October 2005, our Parliament enacted one of the most progressive laws ever since Independence. It was the Right to Information Act (RTI). This law enables every Indian citizen to ask for information about government functioning and made a serious attempt to bring transparency to governance in India.

Now, just eight months after the RTI was enacted, the government has taken the outrageous decision to dilute it by barring the disclosure of the so called 'file notings'.

What are file notings and what impact does a lack of access to these for the average citizen have on the RTI? The Central Information Commissioner was quoted as saying that "Information minus the file notings amounts to taking the life out of the RTI Act". To understand more about this important law, its background and related issues read the RTI section of the India Together website. Yesterday's editorial in The Hindu minces no words about the governments decision to dilute the law. An op-ed article in the same paper discusses the issue in sufficient detail. The official website of the RTI law is here

Floundering Indian Intelligence Agencies

2006-07-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Some time back we heard about a certain Rabindra Singh of the Research and Analaysis Wing (RAW) who was (almost) caught spying for the US and managed to defect with sensitive information. Then there was the report of the arrest of an individual in the National Security Council who was copying sensitive information into a USB memory device. A couple of days back a RAW director was arrested for providing intelligence information to an American woman. We also heard about the Navy War room leak which is currently being investigated by the CBI.

Even a lay individual can guess that the recent train blasts in Mumbai required co-ordination, planning and certainly team work to pull off. Surely one would then expect the intelligence agencies to have atleast some kind of information about it. But we know, with absolute clarity, from what the home minister said..."We knew something like this would happen, but we did not know when and where"...that they had no idea of the whole operation. To make matters worse, the perpetrators of the attack are still at large after two weeks.

Yesterday, the press reported the arrest of a certain Abdul Karim 'Tunda', in Mombassa Kenya, who is accused of being the head of the pan-India operations of the L-e-T and possibly the mastermind behind the Mumbai attacks. The Hindu even had a front page article yesterday profiling this individual and speculating on the outcome of his arrest. The arrest was described as an achievement of Indian counter-terrorism. However, today, there is a complete turn around. It is now reported that the man arrested in Mombassa is infact a Nigerian!

All of this begs a singular question...What are the various Indian Intelligence agencies doing? Does any one have any idea whats' going on?

Bans Don't Work

2006-07-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Common sense tells us that bans simply don't work. Ban something and it makes everyone more curious about it and results in someone or the other finding a way to circumvent the ban. Its even worse if there is a huge demand for the item or service banned. The Andhra Pradesh government once banned liquor; the liquor trade simply transferred 'underground', made the liquor traders much richer and the government lost millions in revenue.

Banning something on the internet is absolutely futile. It's all the more easier to find a way out; the recent ban on blogs clearly demonstrated that. People found a way to access the banned sites and even told others how to go about doing it. It's consoling to know that the ban was a result of misunderstanding and the intention was clearly not to gag every form of communication on blogs. Its also interesting to note how all the ISP's so readily accepted the governments' orders without a slight murmur of a question.

Blogs, among many other things promote citizen journalism. I strongly believe that citizen journalism will become more important and more influential in the days to come. Most (if not every) bloggers report on incidents and events, spread useful information, provide advice and opinion because of a sense of personal duty, to help others or for the fun and enjoyment they get from doing what they are doing. Therefore, they are more likely to be unbiased in their reporting; they tell it as they see it. This is very different from main stream media, which has to make money from its operations to be sustainable.

Nothing can be better for democracy to flourish in India than educated and empowered individuals who have the tools to express themselves.

Blocking Blogs In India

2006-07-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of days back, the Mumbai blogger Amit Varma reported that many were unable to access blogs from blogger and he speculated that the government (of India) might have instructed ISP's to block them. Rediff reports today that the government has indeed asked ISP's to block blogs in India.

I remember reading somewhere that one reason why the government chose to block blogs was because of the suspicion (or perhaps on evidence) that terrorist organizations were using them as a means of communication and the blockade was only temporary. I hope that is true.

By the way, I had no idea until now that we had something like the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) in India.

There is more of the story here.

Update 1: The Hindu has a story on the blocking of blogs by the goverment. Many sources mention that the reason for the gag may be to cut of lines of communication of extremists; however, no one seems to provide real evidence that this is infact so.

Update 2: The BBC too has a report on this ban and writes about what the bloggers are doing about it. Rediff reports today that the ban will be lifted in 48 hours.

Update 3: The Hindu has a strongly worded editorial today (07/21/06) on this issue. A notable sentence in the editorial says "In general, though, free speech must remain unfettered and protected vigorously as one of the most prized of freedoms". Absolutely true! I think thats the bottom line of this whole thing.

Economics 101

2006-07-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

An understanding of the basic principles of economics is absolutely essential for all. Almost everybody I know personally are very highly instructed, but poorly educated. They know the features of the latest electronic device on the market, the actors in the latest hit movie, up to the minute scores of their cricket teams and favorite football teams. But when it comes to awareness of the current economic and monetary policies, consequences of certain actions by the government and such, many are totally in the dark. Given the fact that economic policies and their consequences have an affect on the quality of life and prosperity of our country and thus directly on the the quality of life of us individually, shouldn't we invest some of our time understanding the basic issues and principles involved?

For example, does the recently launched National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme make real economic sense? Should the state control the price of petrol and petroleum products? Is disinvestment in profit making PSU's good or bad? Should the labor laws be liberalized? Why is the growth in agriculture stagnant? What should be done to increase manufacturing activity in our country?

These and a host of other economic issues are too important to be ignored by us and left totally to the politicians and administrators if the well being and prosperity of our country are too be improved. I venture to provide some suggestions about books to read to gain a basic understanding of economic principles. I have taken care to include only such books that make interesting reading and do not bore you with too much technical details.

One of the best books to start with is Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell, which is almost like a novel. India Unbound by Gurucharan Das surveys the Indian economic scenario from Independence to about 2002; it is very well written with plenty of anecdotes. One the best text books on the subject that has been recommended to me is Principles of Economics by Greg Mankiw, who is also a prolific blogger. Then there is the classic by Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom. You might want to read the articles at The Indian Economy Blog and a daily perusal of the stories in Business Line or Economic Times will surely be useful and instructive.

The Mumbai Attacks

2006-07-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

After the Mumbai serial attacks on trains and railway stations, there were a few (who should have known better) who expressed shock at the incident. I am shocked by their expression of shock! This was clearly something that was waiting to happen given the threat perception, security situation and the ease of attacking these targets.

Now ofcourse, the media jumps onto the scene as if this was just what they were waiting for. Till recently they had a fascination for a certain Rahul Mahajan, a non-descripit individual whose sole claim to fame was the reputation of his Dad. Now they question what the administration and intelligence services are doing...may be they should have spent all the time wasted on Rahul Mahajan investigating the security situation and pointing out loop holes. Its very easy to point something out after an incident has occurred. Much of the media should not be taken seriously.

However, there are a few exceptions. They have been relentlessly investigating and covering the prevailing threat scenario and security situation and making suggestions about what needs to be done. Praveen Swami has been covering and analyzing these issues for quite sometime now in the Hindu and Frontline and has an excellent analysis of the Mumbai incident. Nitin Pai has been continuously expressing his opinion and thoughts at his blog The Acorn. The Counterterrorism Blog reports and analyzes issues related to terrorism across the globe and has some interesting articles on the Mumbai incidents. Indian Express has this article which I thought was profoundly disturbing.

The most interesting report, and in a way amusing, I read was one quoting the Home Minister Mr. Shivraj Patil saying...We had information that something like this would occur, but we did not know when and where. (!!!)

The Rise of Insanity

2006-06-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

CNN has this story of a Roman Catholic priest (who else can make such stupid statements) comparing Warren Buffet to the Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele, of all people. And what's Mr Buffets' crime for attracting so harsh a comparision?...donating more than $30 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation which funds organizations (apart from many others) working with contraceptive use, safe sex, teenage pregnancies and related issues. Ofcourse this priest, in all his learned wisdom (which I guess comes from one single book) is anti-abortion, anti contraceptive use.

The same article also quotes the president of the Population Research Institute..."Some of the wealthiest men in the world descend like avenging angels on the populations of the developing world,"..."They seek to decimate their numbers, to foist upon vulnerable people abortion, sterilization and contraception."

As far as I know, Gates and Buffet have both directly and indirectly improved the lives of so many in developing countries like ours, India. By comparision, these arrogant christian missionaries are the ones who descend like flocks of vultures and ruin the life of the poor, ignorant and vulnerable. They create unnecessary trouble...distributing their bibles outside temples, making so much noise about some mystery thriller that it has to be banned and come sunday your peace and quiet are shattered if you are unlucky enough to be living someplace close to where they conduct their wailing.

The Intelligent Investor

2006-06-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

I am reading Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor" and I believe it should be made mandatory reading for everyone...on second thoughts, may be not. I heard much about the book and its greatness but none of the reviews actually did full justice to the book. It explains such a complicated (atleast to me) and confusing subject like investing in the stock market very lucidly and plainly. Makes you wonder many times why you didn't think about it all before.

This is the 2003 edition I am talking about. This edition is an updated version and also has an excellent commentary after every chapter as well as interesting footnootes by Jason Zwieg. The first edition of this book was published in 1949.

The Rise of India?

2006-06-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

India seems to be becoming the flavor of the world of late. This week's Time magazine cover features the Rise of India. One sentence I read in that story in Time is something like this..." If some one were to put a gun to my head and asked me to choose investing all my money in the US or in India, I would choose India". Phew! that's heady stuff.

Also check out the Foreign Affairs Journal , published by the reputed Council on Foreign Relations. Their cover story is titled "The Rise of India" and has very interesting articles by Gurcharan Das (His article has little new for those who have read his India Unbound), C. Raja Mohan and Sumit Ganguly. Not all articles are available online, but I am sure you will find the journal in any good library. I think the articles are worth reading, much better than the Time magazine articles.

We all know India very intimately, atleast we think we do. I wonder what you make of all this attention India is getting recently.

Farmer's Markets

2006-06-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

I was in Seattle during the middle of February and could not help noticing that almost every tourist guide book and pamphlet mentioned a farmers market in downtown Seattle. Farmer's markets are very interesting places for me and so I visited the place. It was a nice market with a lot of fresh produce, fruits and fish among many other items as well as a large number of people wandering about the place. But it was amusing that such a big deal was made for a simple market. Here where I live in Moscow, Idaho we have a farmers market which is open from May to the end of September. Here too there is much fanfare about this market, it is advertised everywhere as a place to visit.

Such farmers markets are so common place in India that it is amusing that so much is made out of them here. To me, the farmers markets I have been to here in the US simply do not compare to the ones we have in India. Ours are much bigger, have more colorful people, so many more varieties of vegetable and fruits are sold, they have very creative vendors trying everything they can to attract you to their stall, the aromas are much more pleasant and everything is much cheaper.

With better marketing of these farmers markets we could probably attract more tourists to our country than all the tourists visiting now. I hope the new and swanky retail stores popping up everywhere in India don't drive these markets out of business like they have here in the US.

Update

2006-06-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

Some time back I tinkered with the html code in the template of this blog and managed to mess up the links to previous posts in the side bar to the right. I have corrected that now and I believe all the links to the previous posts work properly now.

The Gandhi National Museum

2006-06-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Just a little further away across the street from the Raj Ghat in Delhi is the Gandhi National museum. It is tucked away behind huge trees with thick foliage and is housed in a typical Public Works Department style building. My parents and I were the only visitors to the museum on that very hot morning.

I walked into the museum with a know-it-all attitude believing there could be nothing inside that I did not already know of. The entire first floor had an exhibit on Gandhi and Einstein, mostly pictures, news paper clippings and copies of letters. This exhibit only reinforced my belief that there was going to be nothing new to learn. I had seen all those pictures and read all those letters before. So I climbed up the stairs to the second floor to confirm my belief.

I was very surprised and even shocked by what I saw there. Surprised because of the artifacts on exhibit; items that I had no idea were preserved. There was Gandhi's walking stick he used during the long Dandi march in 1930. Two or three of his waist clocks he used to maintain his legendry punctuality, his khadi dhotis and shawls, his bedding, his razor, his footwear and many other personal items. I thought the highlight of all the exhibits was the blood-stained shawl he wore the on the day he was shot and killed. I was shocked because of the way these items were on display. All his personal clothing and bedding were folded and put inside a glass box! There was no method or order in which items were put on display, there was no climate controlled atmosphere inside the museum. Only old rickety ceiling fans trying in vain to keep visitors cool. The day I visited was so unsparingly hot that it was difficult to focus on the large number of items on display.

I was also very disappointed that there were no audio-visual exhibits. The museum would be so much more interesting with original movie of Gandhi and his recorded voice.

Rise Of The Indian Economy

2006-06-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a very general and brief but very interesting article about the rise of the Indian Economy. I really hope things stay on course in India and the growth continues.

(I saw that link at The Indian Economy Blog)

The Idea Of A Nation

2006-06-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

I came across this statement: "Elite institutions in India are providing cheap labor for American corporations." That strikes me as very true. Some may argue that India doesn't provide the conditions and opportunities for very skilled and talented individuals to remain there and therefore they seek greener pastures elsewhere. But, India being a democratic country, is it not our reponsibility to improve our own country's living conditions and opportunities for self-growth. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

On the other hand, is it wrong or irresponsible to seek better opportunities and a better life elsewhere when we have the freedom to do that? Isn't it natural for an individual to want to improve his lot?

This makes me think about the very idea of a nation and patriotism. Is the concept/idea of belonging to a country relevant and will it still be relevant in the future? Will we become mature enough one day to discard the idea of nationhood? Will that be good or bad?Right now, how important is it to be responsible for our country?

Lions Are Atheists!

2006-06-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Have you read about the guy who lowered himself into a lion's cage at the zoo believing god will protect him? The lion wasn't very amused...it promptly struck and killed this guy.

Any guesses what the lions' religious persuasion is?

Hyderabad Airport

2006-06-11T04:03:00.000-07:00

Nothing can be more cruel and without feeling than the international departures lounge at the Hyderabad (Begumpet) airport. Visitors are required to purchase a ticket costing Rs 60 to merely enter the lounge to see off their family and friends. As if that ticket price itself isn't robbery, once they enter the departures lounge, they are in for a most cruel shock. There is a 4ft wall over which is a steel fence which runs right across the length of the lounge separating the visitors from those departing.

This set up gives one the feeling of being in a jail, although it is difficult to say who feels more like the vicitms, the visitors or those departing. This feeling is all the more stronger when you witness the poignant scenes playing near that fence. There are husbands and wives holding onto each other's hands through openings in the fence, there are parents seeing off their children who do not have the simple joy of hugging and embracing each other once last time for who knows how long.

It was actually difficult for me to decide if I was feeling heavy hearted because of the scenes I was witnessing or because I was departing from home.

The Da Vinci Code

2006-06-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

I saw the "The Da Vinci" code in San Jose tonight; there is nothing in the movie that merits banning it. Yet, some states including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa etc have done that. I wonder if they have even seen the movie before taking a decision about banning it. And the Christian groups that have been making so much noise and clamouring for its ban...their faith in their religion seems to be so precarious that a mere murder thriller upsets it!

It's interesting that just 2% of the population was able to make enough noise that the movie had to be banned in so many states. I wonder why the rest of the population did not make an equal amount of noise about protecting their right to watch it?

It should also be remembered that the book the movie was based on is freely avaliable in India, including pirated copies. Nothing should ever be banned in our country.

Couriers Wont Accept Electronic Items

2006-06-05T01:23:00.000-07:00

The courier agencies, atleast in Hyderabad, seem to be acting strangely. I wanted to send a cordless telephone piece to someone in Mumbai and three couriers I visited, DTDC, Blue Dart and Professional, all told me they dont carry electronic items anymore. So now how can you ship electronic items within the country? Is it possible for anyone to buy electronic items on the net if there is no way to ship them.

I am not sure why they wont carry electronic items, they did not give any good reason except saying that their policy has changed. I guess it may be because of the percieved danger of terrorists exploiting this service for implanting explosives. If that is the case, how are UPS and FedEx in the US able to carry electronic items?

There might be a business opportunity here. I am sure the demand for shipping electronic items will only increase in the near future.

The Hyderabad MMTS

2006-06-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Hyderabad Multi-modal transit system (MMTS) really makes travelling around the city much easier. The train route is from Lingampalli to Falaknuma, via Hi-Tech city, Begumpet, Secunderabad railway station, vidyanagar and several other places. A second route goes to Hyderabad railway station. The ticket from one end of the line to another costs less than Rs 10.

I used this train service everytime I needed to travel to places on the route. No wading through traffic congestions, cheap tickets, clean stations and clean trains and faster commute to the destination. Despite all these advantages, the trains don't seem to be used as much as they should be. I believe the principal reason for this is the lack of co-ordination with the bus service. If bus services are provided to these stations and the timings of the buses and the trains are co-ordinated, the usage of the MMTS service will increase by leaps and bounds.

I really appreciate the railways and other service providers for keeping the railway stations, platforms, toilets and the trains relatively clean. The stations are well designed and provide for ample parking. I think more routes should be opened up on this service before the proposed Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) is built.

Wise Words

2006-05-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

Many articles in this blog provide an opinion, take a stand on some issue and some challenge current beliefs and practices. The following piece of advice from Will Durant will help in keeping me firmly in my place...

"No one man, however brilliant or well informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs and institutions of his society, for those are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history."

No Ban!

2006-05-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

Well, better sense seems to have prevailed and the movie "The Da Vinci" code is not being banned!

One Catholic Bishop is being quoted in the news media saying "there should be a sustained and lingering disclaimer saying that this movie is fiction and has no bearing with the historical truth or corresponding truth" [emphasis mine]. Nothing can be more hilarious than that...as if everything is the bible is not fiction. Does that guy really believe the world was created sometime about 8000 years ago??

I think we should launch a campaign demanding that a law be passed that makes it madatory for all to mention that the bible is "only a hypothesis"!

Street Slogans

2006-05-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

At a traffic stop in Dilshuknagar, Hyderabad...

"After Drinking Whisky, Driving Risky!"

On the back of a lorry...

"Follow me, I Take You Home"

On a huge billboard...

"There is a killer in your pocket..."

Will India Ban 'The Da Vinci Code'

2006-05-18T05:26:00.000-07:00

It will be an absolutely preposterous move if the movie "The Da-Vinci" code is banned in India. That the goverment is entertaining such a suggestion is frustrasting. If it is banned it should definitely be challenged in court! I hope that the point that the movie was made and acted by christians is not lost on the government.

The pressure the christian lobby is putting on the government gives an indication of how strong they are; inspite of their small population. Everywhere I see, they seem to be hell bent on increasing their numbers by any means. As long as they are singing their prayers and practicing their faith, no one should have any problem...it's only when they try to deny me my right to watch what movie I want that the issue becomes serious.

As far as I am concerned, all religions are an affront to our common sense, but christianity in particular is an outstanding example of what tomfoolery is passed away as religious faith!

Getting High on Democracy

2006-05-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

One thing we all Indians can be very proud of is our vibrant and flourishing democracy. I believe democracy is getting stronger and much more well entrenched than it ever has been. Look at the the voter turnout in all five states where elections were held these past few weeks; the turnout was 70% or higher! The election commision is doing such a fantastic job that it can surely be called the world best election commission! No one dares come and tell us now how to conduct an election.

Earlier one of my major concerns was how timid our journalists were...they seemed not to have lost their colonial attitudes. Now, even that seems to be a thing of the past. It is such a pleasure to watch the reporters and anchors on eTV and NDTV ask aggressive questions and hold politicans accountable.

Ofcourse so much more needs to be done, but beginings are being made. The people of so many countries around the world are fighting for liberty, fundamental rights and democracy while all these are getting stronger in India. It is not much of an exxageration to say that now India and Indians are addicted to democracy!

Will Indian Airlines Learn?

2006-05-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

I flew from San Francisco to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Bankgok, both on Cathay Pacific. While the SFO to Hong Kong flight was 14 hours long and there was good reason to use a Boeing 747, I thought it strange that a B 747 would be used for the Hong Kong to Bangkok part; a flight only 2 hours long. I counted that in all only 7-8 persons turned around the plane...it was fuelled, cleaned, food carts were loaded and the baggage was loaded.

My flight from Bangkok to Hyderabad via Nagpur was by Indian Airlines. We had a 40 minute halt in Nagpur during which, almost 17 persons serviced the plane which was a Airbus 320; much smaller than a 747. I thought there was a serious security issue being overlooked. Almost 8-9 persons came into the plane to clean things and I believe it is very simple for some guy to plant an explosive devise or something, especially since they were under very little or no supervision. More interesting was a police constable who came into the plane and checked baggages in the over head storage bins. He went about asking each passenger if the peice of baggage belonged to him or not. Why is there any need for that? Already all baggage is passed through multiple security checks at the aiport. Was the constable suspicious that some one must have smuggled in something in mid-air?!

While almost 17 persons serviced the plane, only 8 passengers boarded in Nagpur and the total number of passengers was about 35!!! I think Indian Airlines should seriously consider all this, both the inefficiencies involved and the possible security issues. From our past experiences, I am sure this just cannot be overlooked.

Ramblings...

2006-05-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

I think I am already used to the heat...I feel it is not much more hot than it was some years ago. Anyway, I like summers very much...so it is great for me. There are so many things you can relish only in the Indian summers...mangoes, refreshing cool drinks, cold water baths and the simple shade of a tree when out on the streets or country side.

It 's actually great to see the depth of cell phone penetration and also the range of services available on the cell phone...like checking your bank balance, something which I could not do in the US.

Another thing that is interesting is Indian elections...such a joy to see all the analyses on the TV networks about the five states where elections are being held and counting began this morning about two hours ago. NDTV and ETV are projecting a DMK victory in Tamil Nadu...but there is going to be a sizeable opposition this time. The final results will be known by this afternoon.

I apologize for so many topics in one post...guess I am getting carried away by all the excitement of simply being back at home.

In India

2006-05-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

I reached Hyderabad last night at 7:30pm after more than 23 hours flying time. Temperature outside was 37 C! The moment I came out of the airport, it felt like stepping into one of my lab's drying ovens. I am hoping I get used to it with time.
Before the flight I was concerned that 14 hours of non-stop flying was going to be dreadful on a Boeing 747; but I have to appreciate the Cathay Pacific crew for making it such a nice and comfortable experience.
I observed some interesting differences between the operations of Cathay Pacific and Indian Airlines. I'll write more about that later.

Travelling

2006-05-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

I will be travelling to India tomorrow and will blog based on the quality of the internet connection I have access to. I am sure there will be many interesting things to write about.

The Guy Who Chased a Cop

2006-05-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a very interesting incident by the guy who actually chased an assistant commisioner of police in Bangalore and managed to send a little chill down his spine!!

The story is interesting not only because it shows what a pro-active person can do but also how the internet can arouse people from their apathy. Imagine if a larger and larger number of people in every rural corner of India had an internet connection and spread their ideas and opinions and can communicate easily to a large number of others...the transformation it can bring would be truly revolutionary.

That's the kind of democracy we should strive for in India.

Afghan Incident Update

2006-05-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

We now know that the Indian engineer who was kidnapped in Afghanistan has been killed. All the proper quarters have issued their respective condemnations and the state of Andhra Pradesh has awarded ex-gratia payment to the bereaved family and also promised a job to a member of the family.

However, there are some who have an interesting point of view about this whole issue. It was pointed out the the engineer in question was employed with a private organization and he went to work at the place fully aware of the risks and dangers involved. Therefore, it is really unnecessary for the goverment to provide monetary and other forms of compensation. If he was deputed there by the goverment of India, the compensations, which come from tax-payers' money can be justified. It was also pointed out that there have been many who have been killed by naxalites when they were deputed in such regions and their cases do no cause the hue and cry that was stirred by the Afghan incident.

That point of view, although harsh, seems to me to have some merit. I wonder what others think about this?

Know Your God

2006-04-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

When I mention I am an atheist, some respond saying I have never experienced any extreme difficulties or trying situations in my life. That I'll know god when I go through some inextricable situation. While I have had my fair share of difficulties and challenging times, I always recall asking some close friend or family member for help.

I believe that is the case with everyone. Our close friends and family members are whom we turn to for help and guidance in trying circumstances. They are always a phone call, an email or a letter away. We give too little or no credit to them but instead thank some non-existent god for seeing us through our difficulties. We should acknowledge and have more faith in the people around us.

When you turn to "god" for help usually what happens is some version of the following. Because no one has really seen, heard or knows anything about this so called god, they go to the oppurtunists who claim to be the conduits to god. These are usually the local priests or some clever "god-men/women", who know how to play on our ignorance. They will prescribe a twelve year penance, six years of which you have to stand on the left leg and the other six on the right leg. While you are going through all these 'tests of faith', as they would like to call it, a sexy nude woman is sent your way and ofcourse being what we are, we fall for her. The moment we do so, we fail the test and so god can no more come forth to help us with our problems!

So next time life seems rough call a human being, not god!

Horrorscopes

2006-04-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

In almost all Hindu marriages in India, the parents of the prospective bride and groom exchange horoscopes. These horoscopes, which I believe should be called horrorscopes, are based on astrology which is the purest kind of bullshit ever conjured up by the human mind. Ofcourse since the boy, girl and their parents cannot make much sense of this trash they leave it to the brahmin priest to interpret it and decide if the prospective couple are compatible.

How the positions of planets and stars can have any bearing on the success of a marriage is beyond my understanding. That educated boys and girls put up with this rather than question it and abandon such useless practices is disturbing. If something needs to be checked about your prospective spouse, checking health and fitness makes so much more sense because of the huge affect they have on the quality of life you live.

All that is done by default if you go about finding your own spouse rather than have this so called arranged married.

Afghan Kidnappings

2006-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Observe the Taliban rise it's ugly and persistent head. Earlier it was the killing of an Indian worker with the Border Roads organization and now it is the kidnapping of a telecom engineer. In between there were other kidnappings of Indian workers in Afghanistan.

We already had a disturbing experience with the Taliban in 1999 during the Indian Airlines hijacking episode. I hope the Indian agencies involved deal with the Taliban decisively and ruthlessly.

The Taliban's pro-activity in the region is very surprising. With the US forces in the region for some years now, one would think they have been completely crushed. But that doesn't seem so; with the US kept fully occupied in Iraq and Pakistan stretched by the low intensity conflict in Balochistan, the Taliban seems to be, as they say, making hay when the sun shines!

Is the US Planning to Attack Iran?

2006-04-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

The press seems to be hot with news about the possibility of a US attack on Iran to nuetralize its impending nuclear capability. Reuters reports US President Bush saying all options including the nuclear strike option are open.

B.Raman has a very lucid analysis of the situation and possible outcomes in Outlook news magazine. The article by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker everybody is talking about is surely worth reading.

Arranged Marriages Are Bad For India

2006-04-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

Many young boys and girls take their marriages for granted. Ofcourse, why can't they? After all Mom and Dad are going to look up some one for you and they know all about you and what's good for you and everything else! It is this 'taking it for granted' attitude that is sapping the creativity of boys and girls in India and making life dull and even dangerous.

If every boy and girl knew that no one is going to "arrange" a bride or groom for them, I am sure they will make serious efforts at wooing someone they are attracted to. As everyone knows, wooing the love of your life isn't a very simple thing. It involves much creativity. You need to find out about the other person, come up with great pick up lines, be bold enough to ask him/her out ...and I am sure this needs no more elaboration. How much more imaginative and interesting we would all be.

I am convinced that finding your own life partner would be a panacea for many social ills that afflict India today. It will strike a death blow to this degrading concept of dowry for how can you demand dowry from someone who is supposedly the love of your life. It may even reduce the importance that is currently attached to caste. The likelihood of someone you are truly attracted to being the same caste as you are is not very high.

Almost every movie released in India is a romantic one, though curiously, they don't seem to be having much of an affect on the psyche of our youth.

Reservations

2006-04-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

The proposal to provide reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBC's) in IIt's and IIM's seems to be generating a lot of heat. That shouldn't be very surprising. The professed intent is to make these quality institutions more accessible to people belonging to these communities and thereby improve their quality of life within society. Like many other intents, this is a very laudable one.

However, do reservations for socially backward communities in educational institutions really do anything for them? Are there any studies that provide evidence that such reservation schemes actually achieve what they intend to? Or are they just an easy way out for our politicians.

I wonder what the OBC, SC/ST representation is in our national cricket team. If it is really low, will reservations be enforced to increase the representation of these communities in the team? That's totally ridiculous! And I believe it is just as ridiculous to have a similar scheme for educational institutions. Not just IIT's and IIM's, but all educational institutions admission into which requires a competitive exam.

What about the laudable goal of eliminating or reducing social inequity? Have other methods been tried? The government can create a fund that provides scholarships and loans to socially backward and financially backward communities. That will be a huge incentive for everybody to go to college and pursue what they want, because they are sure they will be able to afford it. I have a feeling this will be more effective than reservations in the long run.

Mookkusali Samiyar

2006-03-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe this when I read the story in Outlook magazine. The title, which is in Tamil, translates to Snot Swami. The name of the swami seems curious and somewhat disgusting. Did it mean that this guy actually "blesses" his "devotees" with his snot? People can't be that gullible and senseless, can they?

When the story confirmed that this guy really snots and spits on his "devotees"...man(!!) , I just don't know what to say. How can people allow themselves to be snotted on and spit on and think they are being blessed?? I doubt I'll ever understand.

Somewhere in that story is an interesting sentence..."If Arumugam was just another agricultural laborer, people would have refused water from him. Now, they welcome his snot on their faces."

Salwa Zudum Again...

2006-03-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

The Hindu reports that Salwa Zudum men are pursuing maoist sympthisers in the Chattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border with the tacit approval of the police. Extremely interesting to know that. When I recently wrote about the organization's founder, I was not very sure about how strong they were and how serious they were. I guess this news puts those doubts to rest.

Twenty -six of their men were killed recently by the naxals in a land mine explosion. It is encouraging to know that there is some kind of retaliation to that.

Meanwhile, the Indian government still seems to be underestimating the menace of the naxals and their outdated, regressive ideology.

Rare Gandhi Documentary

2006-03-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

Frontline magazine reports the "discovery" of a documentary on Gandhi. The documentary was made by Mr. A.K.Chettiar, who spent three years collecting film on Gandhi, and made the documentary when he was in his twenties!

The report states that the documentary has film showing Gokhale meeting with Gandhi in South Africa in 1912. That makes it very interesting. However, the original, which was 81 minutes and in Tamil is still missing. I wish they find it as well as the Telugu and Hindi versions and restore all of them.

Whats Wrong With the BJP?

2006-03-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

What's wrong with these guys?! It was during the BJP's time in power that their external affairs minister Mr Jaswant Singh had the dubious "honor" of escorting three terrorists captured at huge cost by the army, and meekly handing them over to the Taliban in Kandahar, Afghanistan. After such an experience you would expect them to work with the goverment in defeating these terrorists.

I am sure the people are not going to get carried away by Mr Advani's rath yatra or his party's efforts are trying to lay the blame on the govt. both in UP and the center.

The Blank Noise Project

2006-03-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Just came to know that there is what is called the Blank Noise Project that's raising awareness about "eve-teasing " and other forms of street sexual harassment.

The link above points to their blog. Do visit.

Female Sexuality and Men

2006-02-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

It's a common experience that many guys (atleast Indian guys; I am not sure of the others) feel extremely uncomfortable watching sexually explicit scenes in movies in the presence of girls. Also, its not "proper" for most to discuss anything remotely related to sex in the presence of the "fairer sex". I wonder why its like that?

Does the average Indian male have a deep seated fear of female sexuality? Is it this fear that makes him uncomfortable when women openly express their sexuality? May be this is what makes Indian guys come up with some very medieval "rules" for female behaviour and what can be considered proper and improper for women.

A greater acceptance of female sexuality will surely make India a more fun place to live in! And the girls can surely do something about that.

Feminism

2006-02-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

I once saw a sticker on a girl's backpack on campus, which had the following caption on it...

"Feminism : The idea that women are human too! "

By that definition, I consider myself a thorough feminist!

The Other India

2006-02-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

There were a few posts on this blog that touched upon the subject of the "the other India"; these are the people who are outside the 250-300 million middle class and affluent. The maid servants and domestic help many employ, street vendors and hawkers, washermen, cobblers, rural agricultural workers, rural artisans etc make up the other half (or actually more than half) of India.

A group of bloggers have got together and started The Other India , a website/blog that seeks to document how the other half of India lives. This is a timely and much needed initiative. Much of the mainstream media focuses on the middle class. Only once in a while, such as during elections, do they try to report on the issues facing the poor and the abjectly poor populations. I believe this is what causes the media debacle such as the one after the last general elections in 2004, when almost none could correctly predict the electoral outcome.

One supreme exception I know of is P.Sainath, the rural affairs editor of The Hindu. He has relentlessly and painstakingly reported on the agricultural crisis facing the Telangana, Vidharbha and Wayanad regions in south and central India. His reports on this can be found at the India Together website. Frontline magazine, another Hindu group publication, is another exception to this and covers a large number of issues facing the "the other half".

Salwa Zudum

2006-02-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

I came across this very interesting interview in The Hindu with a certain Mahendra Karma, who the article mentions is the key figure behind the "anti-maoist civilian initiative"! The fact that such an initiative exists itself is extremely interesting. It shows that the naxals and their outdated and unworkable ideology have opposition not only from the goverment but also from organized tribals.

Mr Karma says "people are now realizing that they have lost freedom because of their association with the naxals. They now know what they have lost and what they have regained."

He says that the parts of the Bastar region in Chattisgarh have not been surveyed so far! One would assume that after almost sixty years of independence the entire territory of India would have been thoroughly surveyed; but that does not seem to be the case. That region also happens to be the headquarters of the Communist Party of India(Maoist) in central India.

The title to this post means "Peace Rallies". Although I am not sure in which language! My best guess in that it is a language spoken by the tribals in that region of Chattisgarh.

Winter in Moscow

2006-01-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

This beautiful town of Moscow, Idaho is really growing upon me. It presents to you nature's four seasons in a breathtaking way. Each with its own beauty, feel and ambience.

It 's been winter here for about the last two months, during which it snowed about three times and was bitterly cold for two weeks. Apart from those two weeks of deep freeze, winter has really been great, so much that I have actually begun to like winters! I like the way nature presents it full range of colours during fall, and then during winter almost turns black & white! Nature seems intent on showing us that beauty can be created with limited colors too! Even the evergreen trees with green leaves turn white on snowy days, when their leaves become frosted.

I still have to try my hand at winter sports. The mountains around the town seem to constantly beckon!

The Girl Factor!

2006-01-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

I frequent the local night club here, which is very close to my house. There is great music, there are beautiful people and much revelry. I also keenly observe people all around me and I find it very interesting to watch how girls and boys hook up with each other. I still haven't figured that out but it still remains a very interesting subject!

There are some people who after I see them for the first time give me the impression that they are the kind of guys no one would want to have anything to do with. So imagine my frustration when they are the ones who seem to have all the attention of the girls! I have never understood why so many girls seem to dance with and like precisely those guys I think wouldn't stand a chance. So I have temoporarily given up trying to understand this and I am now only a silent observer.

There was one particular guy who was African and who seemed to have a lot of female company if not attention around him. I was shocked to find out recently that he was arrested. The shock factor was because of the crime for which he was arrested...he was a HIV positive guy and was accused of having unprotected sex with atleast seven girls/women! Atleast Seven!! I guess I never will understand why so many girls actually had sex with that guy!

"The Desi-Attitude"

2005-11-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

One of my friend, Murthy, has some reflections on the "desi-attitude"...

Firstly I should thank DP for telling me about an Eye-opener called India Unbound.
I guess am Completely Over the book now and am trying to savor each and every Line of the Book.
Recently I joined a New Project in Minneapolis with United Health Care. The Place Seemed to be good and I liked my office much better than what it used to be in my previous Project.
Making a Root Cause of Analysis of this feeling Lead me to an Interesting Observation.

So why did I like my new Office Place?
Near by to my Apartment & Lot easier to Commute. Apart from that it’s because, the moment I stepped in I started looking around for any Indians and since I Could not Find any I was kind of happy that there weren’t any. Later saw two to three guys in Cafeteria. Still was Happy but later on when I started seeing Desi’s in my Project Work I was not that Happy. Perhaps I got the same questions from Some of my friends.

( Friend: So are there any Desi’s in your Project
Me: no not that I am aware of
Friend: Good for you. You should be having Fun)

Incidents like these with me and People around, Led to question myself?
Why am I so Concerned and uneasy with any Other Indian at work
Why am not Comfortable with presence of Desi at work.
Again at the same time we want Our Friends to help us in performing our Duties at work.
I tried to find answers for this and have it like this
I am uneasy because I don’t like he / she being very Inquisitive about my details.
I am concerned because the person might actually be a potential threat to my
work.
I am uneasy because I don’t like his Odd Out behavior in the Office.( Equally applies to me )

And this is the same case with some of my Friends too.

Me and Some of My Friend’s: We tend to Safeguard ourselves and be very apprehensive about the Other Colleague at work. At The same Time we like to have him / her around for any kind of need.
So why is there no such openness among us?
Why don’t we feel really happy about another Desi’s Presence?

Another blogger also has some observations and opinions about this same phenomenon.

Dress Code For Women?

2005-10-29T15:50:00.000-07:00

A "pro-active" vice-chancellor of a University in Chennai decided to impose a dress code for women in his university as well as all the colleges that come within the jurisdiction of his university. Not surprisingly, that has generated a debate on the issue in many places, one of them being in The Hindu's Open Page published on sundays.

Of all the articles related to this issue that have been coming up in the past couple of weeks, I think the best one was this week by a nineteen year old girl, Poorvi Hattikudur. I thought it explained what the issue was all about most clearly and simply and, as they say, calls a spade a spade! At one point she asks "Why is there such a fear of woman's freedom and empowerment?"

From my own personal obervation, I feel there is indeed a fear and some insecurity among us men about the free and empowered woman( atleast in India). I find this fear mysterious! Should it not be very natural that women be just as free and empowered as men are? There is also this perception that women are to blame for the abuse and violence that they face from some men. To me nothing could be more preposterous than that. As far as I am concerned, if a woman wants to run about in the nude its upto her. If someone has a problem with that, well, simply don't look!

"The Argumentative Indian"

2005-10-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

Every once in while you come across a book which does to the mind what chocolate does to the mouth. Amartya Sen's "The Argumentative Indian" is one such book. I have barely completed the first chapter and my apetite for it has been whetted.

The book quotes the Pundit Javali from the Ramayana, who says...

"There is no afterworld, nor any religious practice for attaining that. The injunctions about
the worship of of gods, sacrifice, gifts and penance have been laid down in shastras by
clever people, just to rule over other people."

And all that is in the preface to the book! There are excellent reviews of the book by Ramachandra Guha and Sabyasachi Battacharya in the Economic and Political Weekly .

IIPM Update

2005-10-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Just could not help providing a link to this piece from Thallasa Mikra. Excellent investigative journalism and from whom? A grad student with an internet connection! Her piece raises serious questions about IIPM's alliances and therefore about IIPM itself. There is so much going on about this IIPM issue and, as I remarked earlier, all of this is because of ordinary people like any of us!

There is some hilarious stuff on this from India Corporate Watch, another blog! All this has made Michael Higgins contemplate the possibilities of "Google Journalism" .

What's History?

2005-10-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

Last night, while having dinner, I watched a program on PBS Idaho about a certain battle during the VietNam war. Essentially what had happened was, a US battalion of about 150 soldiers was ambushed by a vietnamese battalion of about 1500; that resulted in a literal decimation of the US battalion with half of them killed and almost everyone else injured.

One of the surviving US soldiers being interviewed said that he was surprised no one called it an ambush and infact the media put a spin on it and called it a fight back against the vietnamese! And then he said, if this is the way history is written then you have no idea what actually happened down the ages. That was a profound observation!

Do we really know what happened in the past? Is it worth studying history or are we wasting our time reading made up stuff? It is said that it is important to study history so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. How valid is that statement?

The Indian Blog Wars

2005-10-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Indian Blogosphere has been agog for a couple of weeks and for a very interesting reason. What the mainstream media in India is really supposed to do is being done by our bloggers : investigative journalism!

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) and its founders have been exposed! Read all about it in Indian Blog Wars Redux at the DesiPundit and A Question of Principles by Amit Varma at India Uncut

It is truly interesting stuff. It shows what ordinary guys like us can do with what we think is wrong in India. There seem to be so many competing to take us for a ride!

A Ban on Bans!

2005-09-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

It is really high time the state and Central Government(s) realise that banning anything is futile. It just isn't compatible with human nature. Ban something and you can be assured that everybody wants to find some means to get around it and everybody becomes curious about it. After all the experience we have with banning one thing or the another, it should be really clear that enforcing a ban is next to impossible.

We seem to be in the midst of a spate of bans all across India. They are banning dance bars and plastic bags in Maharashtra. Students are being banned from wearing certain kinds of dress and playing certain kinds of music in Tamil Nadu. And in Karnataka they are restricting the timings of pubs, dance bars and the like. To me none of them make sense. All these bans do is transfer our focus from the essentials to the non-essentials.

Why don't the goverments focus on fostering better governance, improving the quality of their service, enforcing law and order and the other endless list of things they should be doing? I believe this culture of banning one thing or the other doesn't help in creating a truly free and open society. What we urgently need is a ban on bans!

The Hindu has an editorial on the dress code in Tamil Nadu. You can find an interesting piece on the ban on plastic bags in Maharashtra here .

Fatwa on Sania

2005-09-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

It is outrageous that those bunch of clerics should be issuing fatwas against the dress Sania Mirza wears on court. Do they expect her to play tennis in sarees and salwar kameeze!? The law in India is derived from our constitution and those clerics should be strongly reminded about that. If they insist on living by their sharia law, they should be asked to go live in Pakistan.

I was very surprised that no government authority has made a statement condemning the issuance of such fatwas, which has become something of a pastime for the clerics. And this once again raises the question of the importance of a unifrom civil law. I cannot understand why such an importance piece of legislation is not even being considered by the goverment at this time.

A Good Rule of Thumb

2005-08-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am convinced that a very good rule of thumb to determine whats going to work in India is-If the idea/proposal/policy has the backing of the Left, it surely is not good for us; if on the other hand it is vehemently opposed by the Left, then we should be very excited about it!

The recent National Rural Employement Guarantee Scheme is another example of something that has the backing of the Left and which on the surface seems to be very good for rural India. To me it is no different from all the "Garibhi Hatao" policies we followed or were supposed to have followed for quite a while, all of which only resulted in more numbers of poor people.

Learning to Fish

2005-08-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for one day, teach a man to fish and you feed him everyday."

I had come across that chinese proverb earlier, but it never made better sense to me as it does now. Our constitution proclaims that the goal of the state will be to create a welfare state. The socialist policies that we followed for almost forty years were trying to achieve just that and we all know how miserably they failed. The communist parties in India still want to do just that. All they are involved with is doling out fish to everyone and trying to figure out how to distribute the fish among everyone!

I don't understand why it is difficult for them to grasp that it is so much more easier to teach everyone to fish! Among all the constitutional amendments that are made, one of the better amendments will be to abolish that goal of creating a welfare state.

The Haldia Fertilizer Plant

2005-08-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

The fertilizer plant that never was! It is one of the extreme examples of how our socialist policies went horribily wrong. A fertilzer manufacturing plant was biult in Haldia; an employees' township was built, schools and hospitals were built for the employees, even recreational facilities were built. The employees and management came to work everyday and they were paid their salaries. There was only one thing that was not happening. No fertilizer was being produced!

It so happened that after the whole plant and everything was built, it was then discovered that the plant was unviable and would have lost a lot more money than what was used to pay salaries! So much for our centralized planning and planning commissions.

I came across the story of that fertilizer plant in Gurcharan Das' India Unbound; I also came across that story in Thomas Sowell's book Applied Economics. Seems like quite an infamous incident!

The Map Room

2005-08-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

I am somewhat passionate about maps, all kinds of maps, even maps of the ocean floor! I sometimes spend an entire afternoon or evening poring over the map of the world or the map of India! I don't completely understand why I like maps so much but I do get some kind of pleasure just looking at them!

And what better way to keep up with maps and know all about the developments in the field of mapping than to read the blog of someone who is so much more passionate about maps than I am? I regularly read The Map Room blog and I have linked to in the links section, just in case you too have some similar curiousity about maps.

Is it Capitalism?

2005-08-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Recently there was wide coverage of the clashes between the police and workers of the Honda plant at Gurgaon. Amidst the high tension on the streets of Gurgaon, there were reports of the Japanese ambassador to India saying that the clashes might adversely affect Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to India.

Then there was the deluge in Mumbai, which brought India's commercial capital to a standstill. Rediff reports that the Mumbai rains batter India's image. Both the above appear quite striking to me.

Regarding the Japanese ambassador's comment, TVR Shenoy wrote an article in Rediff asking the ambassador to mind his own business. Essentially, he says that FDI goes to where-ever it generates the highest returns and FDI is not charity or some kind of a grant. I am in complete agreement with him. Rediff's article makes us look like we are trying to create some kind of a favorable image of what we are not. It is much like a girl who is just about to presented to a prospective groom, is dressed in her finest and asked to put up her best appearance!

Unbridled capitalism clearly isn't very healthy. We clearly don't have to fawn at the feet of the people who have the money. They bring in their money only because it makes commercial sense for them, not for anything else. The govertments' duty should be to create better opportunities for the people and uphold their interests above everything else. P Sainath has more on the Gurgaon incident in this article from the Hindu .

Dispatch From Moscow, Idaho

2005-07-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

From about the last week of June it has been full and real summer here. Very warm and long days, with warm winds blowing upon your face, clear azure blue skies and beads of sweat dripping when you take a walk outside. It is one of the driest summers I have ever personally experienced; you can literally feel the dryness in the air! There has been negligible or no rainfall uptill now.

Whereas once we had to tightly shut our bedroom windows and turn up the heater knob quite liberally, now we cannot sleep without a fan by the bed side. All this I am thoroughly enjoying, with only a tinge of despair that this will not last for ever!

I got to pick straight from the trees and eat red juicy cherries and fleshy berries. It was quite an experience. But while doing so, came across the humming bird, a bird which I have seen only on those National Geographic or Nature programs on TV. It was amazing to watch those birds hover in mid air!

National Security Threat to India

2005-07-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) manifesto has for long claimed that its goal is the islamization of entire India. That goal is very far fecthed and can be safely put in the trash can. But it gives you an idea of the kind of mischief they want to do.

Let me digress here...way back in the 1760's just before the 3rd battle of Panipat between the Marathas and Ahmed Shah Abdali, Suraj Mal advised the Marathas to adopt the tactics of assymetric warfare (or guerilla warfare) but they did not and I often wonder how different our histrory would have been if his advice was taken! But, I guess, whats happened has happened!

Anyway....Why is Pakistan so interested in Kashmir? Kashmir really has nothing much apart from great scenic beauty and a little strategic importance (for them ) but not of such importance to wage wars. There surely are many political reasons, but I am sure the most important economic reason is that Kashmir is the very life line of the Pakistan military. It is only by keeping the Kashmir issue alive they can justify huge spending on defence by projecting a great threat from India, play a disproportionately large role in Pakistani Society that they do now and obviously make money for themselves. They also know they cannot win a conventional war with us and thus they employ the tactics of assymetric warfare to harm us economically.

And thus the attacks in Kashmir, attack on the Parliament , Akshardam and so on and now Ayodhya. Their choice of places to attack makes their intent very clear. K. Subrahmanyam (the foremost Indian Intellligence analyst) states that in the present day, national security threats should not be perceived in the tradional way. The threat of territorial disintegration or external aggression is quite remote today...the greater threat is communal tensions.

Fomenting cummunal tensions is the clear aim of all these militant outfits. For it is continuous communal tensions which will break down our economy. Just when we are begining to get somewhat economically prosperous and developed, all this surely is very disconcerting.

At some point when the US decides it can no longer operate in iraq, some of the islamic militants , highly trained and experienced, will fan out to India. For India (apart from the US and Israel )is one of their sworn enemies. It surely is extremely difficult to fight suicide bombers and they will be soon lining up to come attack us. There was a suicide bomber today at Ayodhya. That is a very clear threat to our security.

The Iraq War and Threat to India

2005-07-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

B.Raman (Intelligence Analyst , former Addl. cabinet secretary, GoI) has said that increased terorist attacks in India (other than Kashmir) were only to be expected because of the growing economic and defence ties between the US and India.

Everybody knows that the US attack on Iraq was not motivated by weapons of mass destruction or the ties between Iraq and Al Qaida as claimed. Many other reasons are constantly given; hold on the oil, securing a foothold in the middle east for protecting Israel and so on. However, to me the more practical reason seems to be that, a war in iraq will attract all the islamic militants there and keep them away from the american homeland. They can be fought there rather than here. But ofcourse there surely may be other reasons too...lucrative military contracts, the dominance of the american military-industrial complex etc. (Is it a co-incidence that the american economy began to grow quite rapidly from approximately the start of the war?).

But is Bin Laden and his deputies so dumb as to not see this? They surely are very smart too. They know very well that they cannot fight the US might militarily; as Bin Laden once said, they have to fight it economically. The current insurgency in iraq, very clearly kept going by a steady inflow of islamic fighters, is doing just that. American expenditure on the war is already in excess of $400 billion and still counting. They havent obtained a single penny from oil sales to this day, which they hoped will more that pay for the war.(Clauswitz: "Always make the enemy pay for your war") During the first gulf war, the US actually made a slight profit; they forced Saudi Arabia to pay the bill, something of the order of $50 billion.

At what point will war expenditure stop helping the US economy and begin to hurt it? I don't know, but surely there must be some point where that is bound to happen. But anyway, in the mean time whats happening is that Iraq is becoming a haven for foreign militants. The Pentagon recently admitted this and also stated that militant training in Iraq is now much more sophisticated than it was in Afghanistan during the Russian War there. I am amazed by the rate of suicide bombings occuring in Iraq....where do they get so many guys to blow themselves up?

This is where the bad news for the security situation in India comes.

Rediscovering Bhagat Singh

2005-07-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

I just spent a very fulfilling afternoon reading about Bhagat Singh and some of his written works. I say fulfilling because I am in total agreement with so many of his views and all of them were developed during the same age.

The most interesting thing, which I was unware until I read his scathing attack on religion, was that he was an atheist! This article in which he criticises religion, communalism and superstition was written just a couple of days before he was hanged. More interesting from my point of view was that I went through quite similar process of reasoning in arriving at my conclusion about the non existence and absolute futility of god.

Bhagat Singh was also a voracious reader and spent a "disproportionate amount of his time in the library". He was known to contantly lend his books to his friends and urge them to read. "The sword of Revolution is whetted upon the stone of ideas"; and ideas come from reading.

I wondered then how could someone so well read and intelligent be so careless as to be a reactionary? Bhagat Singh reveals his reasons for some of his actions and also states emphatically that he is convinced that violent methods will not and cannot work in the given situation and also that the reason for the change is his thinking was not prompted by the death sentence he was serving. I urge you to read his written works.

Anyway, I was profoundly saddened that he was hanged. That set in motion so many "what if?" scenarios. What if he had lived to be 70 or 80? There would have been tough competition for Nehru.I really wish he and many of his friends had. They were all consumed by the temperaments of their youth. How badly we miss independent thinkers willing to challenge "established tradition".

Buster Keaton

2005-06-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of him or seen his movies, you truly have missed great art and great cinema apart from the classic comedy.

Buster Keaton was an American who was Charlie Chaplin's contemporary. I really dont know why he doesn't share the fame of Chaplin although his movies are of such high calibre. Some of his movies you just cannot miss are "The General" and "The Camera Man". Both silent movies made in the 1920's and both the works of an artisitic genius.

See the movies; I have nothing more to say!