Irritated with the colossal influx of emails (particularly from his native state) finally Nobel laureate and winner of this year’s chemistry Nobel V. Ramakrishnan had to retort:

“We are all human beings and our nationality is simply an accident of birth”

No, I’m not going to examine how much Indian he is, like several others who have been doing since the announcement. National boundaries are of no value in intellectual sphere and if you do not come out of this trap you will never be able to appreciate the beauty of the wisdom prevalent around you.

Shift your focus from Ramakrishna and zero in on Ostrom and Williamson.                    

“Appreciation of Interdisciplinary Approach” exactly that is a buzz phrase around this year’s Nobel prizes. Ramakrishnan with background in physics got Nobel in chemistry and again with background in political science Ostrom got Nobel in economics sciences.

No doubt this appreciation will have ripple effect and our varsities will sooner or later start pondering over the importance of lateral thinking (a term coined by Edward de bono, the originator of Six Thinking Hats ) in solving creeping environmental problems of today’s world and several continuing obstinate problems related to inequality. Currently in Indian universities the rigid fortress of different streams of knowledge is almost impregnable despite an exhortation by Yashpal led knowledge commission.

Chauvinism let you nowhere dear and by focusing on “managing conflicts of interests” you can even win a Nobel, like Ostrom, despite peoples’ common notion that economics is a study of market dynamics and there is no direct relation between market and a research work on “polycentric governance” . At least Srikanth  Srinivas in the latest issue of Businessworld tried to put forward it, which I’m not going to buy.

In the paper under title “information for the people” Nobel-prize committee explains why economic science should extend beyond price theory and why an understanding of non-market institution, where considerable economic activity actually takes place, is must.

Ostrom’s works basically talks about “decentralization”, “common property management” and try to find out alternatives to privatization or imposed regulation where Williamson provides the answer to classic problem “why are there large firms?”

If you dig further into the matter, you will be surprised to find out how Ostron’s work is directly linked with prevalent traditional wisdom and common resource sharing traditions of several parts of India and is indirectly linked with Mahatma Gandhi’s decentralized proposal.

But Ostrom warns in one of her interview about the subtlety required in dealing with these decentralization initiatives.

 On the other hand Williamson’s explanations of the existence and life cycle of any firm are quite interesting. His analysis of “substantial haggling cost” as one of the substantial reason for the origin of any firm, talks about ‘outsourcing business’ too.

Implicit contracts between household members can be explained with the help of his general framework. I’m thinking about doing some mental exercise over the framework and its application in understanding the implicit contracts within my family. I hope it will be interesting…

 

“Decent work and fair wages are a fundamental objective for trade unions in Europe, and key to the European Social Model. Decent work makes a vital contribution to reducing poverty, both in Europe and beyond, and to achieving sustainable development and a just and inclusive society.”

source : European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

 

What is the Decent Work Check?

“The Decent Work Check makes the pretty abstract Conventions and legal texts tangible. Because in the end you want to know what your rights on the job mean in practice, what you may claim and what protection you are entitled to in case something unexpectedly does go wrong.”

source : Decentworkcheck 

 

Initially I was not a supporter of NREGA. Usually I don’t like any top-down approach, external fund based approach or any subsidy based approach to alleviate poverty.

When I first came across management guru C.K. Prahlad’s concept of market based/profit driven approach to target the BOP, I felt, someone had given words to my vague ideas. Mohammad Yunus’s successful experiment to show the world that poor are more credit worthy than any others actually reinforced my faith on them. Both these approaches see poor as consumer instead of merely a passive recipient of government schemes or any kind of benevolence.

More than three years ago when I came across Anil K Gupta’s Honeybee project and his painstaking work of reestablishing the forgotten wisdom of our villagers and his criticism to physical labour based approach of development initiatives; I became a big fan of the concept.

Apart from poverty alleviation, structuring live public sphere to make the governance more transparent and accountable have been my other major concern. I’ve always wanted to innovate any mechanism to break the feudally enforced silence that is prevalent all over the countryside.

I would accept the fact that right based approach to development of which I have always been an adamant supporter can only bring the tangible changes in the mindsets of the public.

So, these are few basic premises or unstructured notion on which, I judge any development intervention and in the process of building alternative approaches to bring a fairer world where every person can live a dignified life, I evaluate any of mine proposed endeavor.

BUT…

But after reading Aruna Roy’s article on the other sides of NREGA, I found that this single intervention actually encompassed all most all of my concerns and promises a brighter future.

Here are few exerpts from her article:

“Is the NREGA an administrator’s nightmare or a redistribution of income and power? A social safety net or a step towards the right to work, to prevent migration, and even boost local market economies? For those who cannot think beyond the pale of the free market economy and the business model manager, it is indeed a nightmare. For years, simplistic management solutions to poverty, with the poor as an input to be managed, have failed. We cannot see ordinary people as active participants and empowered citizens. That is why there is difficulty in understanding the practice and logic of democracy and difficult, therefore, to understand the realistic detailing and complexity of an Employment Guarantee initiative…

…The NREGA is an outstanding example of how the RTI Act can be woven into the fabric of the delivery system and the whole legal and governance paradigm…

Let us begin with the most persistent charges of endemic corruption. Notwithstanding negative propaganda and the prominent reportage of corruption, NREGA stands apart from employment and poverty alleviation programmes in significant ways. It is the first national programme of consequence which has woven transparency and accountability into the mundane fabric of daily interaction of people with government. The cases of reported corruption have shocked the intelligentsia. The rural worker might often be the victim but will still offer critical support, not only because it has provided wage income, but also for facilitating disclosure, which helps identify and fight pilferage. In fact, in many cases, scams have been exposed by the workers themselves. NREGA gives an opportunity to break the feudally enforced silence of its victims. Through transparency and social audit measures, it allows anyone, anywhere to be part of the monitoring of the delivery system. The other programmes appear to be clean only because no one knows what goes on! The NREGA gives a further opportunity to realise the Constitutional sovereignty, the power of the people. What the political establishment would do well to understand is that the vote was not a blind endorsement, but the expression of a fragile hope of a rational participatory relationship with the government.”

In a nut shell, according to her NREGA:

1. Has enhanced or have the potential to improve the rational participatory relation between the people and the government
2. With the requirement that all wage payments be made through banks and post offices, It has pushed the financial inclusion never than before
3. It has made bureaucracy more accountable and fixed responsibility at every level
4. Minimum wages have, for the first time, become a real factor in determining the lower limit for market wages

————————————————————————

Two Concepts of Equality

“In general, quotas for women represent a shift from one concept of equality to another. The classic liberal notion of equality was a notion of “equal opportunity” or “competitive equality”. Removing the formal barriers, for example, giving women voting rights, was considered sufficient. The rest was up to the individual women.

Following strong feminist pressure in the last few decades, as expressed for instance in the Beijing “Platform for Action” of 1995, a second concept of equality is gaining increasing relevance and support: the notion of “equality of result”. The argument is that real equal opportunity does not exist just because formal barriers are removed. Direct discrimination and a complex pattern of hidden barriers prevent women from getting their share of political influence. Quotas and other forms of positive measures are thus a means towards equality of result. The argument is based on the experience that equality as a goal cannot be reached by formal equal treatment as a means. If barriers exist, it is argued, compensatory measures must be introduced as a means to reach equality of result. From this perspective, quotas are not discrimination (against men), but compensation for structural barriers that women meet in the electoral process.”

source: http://www.quotaproject.org/aboutQuotas.cfm

The cacophony over women’s reservation bill is not going to settle in the days to come. For me the whole exercise from HD Deve Gowda’s government to recent one is nothing more than a hilarious drama and there is nothing in it to feel awful about …it is interesting, how progressive women’s right activists have been ensnared in the finely-knit web of rhetoric.

Recently, to get a clearer picture of the WR issue I skimmed several websites and reports and became shocked at the narrowness of the debate. I came across an article on The Indian Express’ portal with around 150 acrimonious comments but not a single one had any valid argument. The article was on Mr. Sharad Yadav’s suicidal threat. All most all articles on various portals have almost disappointed me except one that I found on CPI (M)’s website which ultimately transported me to the writings of Danish Feminist and Political Scientist, Drude Dahlesip, where I could dig up something profound.

In India the whole discussion is centric on legal quotas while no one talks about voluntary party quotas. It is amusing, isn’t it? that if any single party big or small which is in favor of ‘equality of result’ and wants to see a certain proportion of women in legislature, why can’t voluntarily accept it.

Those Nordic countries, which have higher women’s parliamentary representation, have reached to the position without any legal interventions.

“In some countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden, a number of political parties have some type of quota. In many others, though, only one or two parties have opted to use quotas. However, if the leading party in a country uses a quota, such as the ANC in South Africa, this may have a significant impact on the overall rate of female representation. Yet most of the world’s political parties do not employ any kind of quota at all.”

We are mired in bashing our politicians and have forgotten our duty to strengthen the civil society, which can only be erected by indentifying our argumentative Indian-ness.

so, do quotas work?…

“The problem is that over the last fifty years the world has changed at a considerable speed, disrupting the context in which the international institutions were founded, and without a trauma of global proportions leading to a new momentum equivalent to that of fifty years ago…

…We have forgotten that it was the inability of European societies to establish a political order adapted to economic development that precipitated Europe and the world into two world wars…

Humankind is entering a new era, but ideas, institutions and methods of governance haven’t followed, in particular at the global level. A feeling of belonging to one human race has not yet led to the birth of a real global community, conscious of itself and capable of creating the institutions and rules that it requires for its well-being, for peace or simply for its survival.”

: Remodeling global governance to meet the challenges of the 21^st century, Pierre Calame, Alliance21.org

Do we really need to start thinking about finding new architecture for global governance?

The current global economic meltdown has severely damaged the economic supremacy of US and exposed the hollowness of financial institutions. Meanwhile the emerging markets have been more or less immune to the inclement economic weather. BRIC countries with 40 percent share in Global GDP are now meeting in Russia and showing strong gesture to express their willingness to revert the current unfair economic order and unjust power structure in international financial institution.

So, has the time come for a sea change in global governance?? If yes, start thinking about the alternate structure…

Some say destroying WHO, WTO, IMF and even UN to create new politico-economic order would be insanity…some only do advocacy for re-modeling and seek new philosophy of global governance… I’ve not yet come to any solution…let’s try to find out…

What are SAPs ( Structural Adjustment Policies) ??

Although the problem of child labour in India is just a symptom of the perennial and prevailing disease of poverty, we can’t sideline it or undermine its severity. While we concentrate our efforts on obliterating mass-poverty, we just can’t dump those who are the victims of poverty.

Government of India (GOI) has been vigorously involved in making frameworks to tackle the problem of child labour for a long time. When yesterday I stared reading some government documents and reports on child labour, I became surprised to be aware of them.

The most surprising was the NCPCR recommendations to 11th five year plan, its categorization of child labour, its emphasis on rehabilitation programmers and its brilliantly handling common worries like:

• What will happen to the families of these children if child labour is stopped?
• How will poor families survive without the additional income of the children?
• How will poor parents pay for the double burden of hidden costs of education?

and its appeal to bring synergy between different departments.

Okay, you may say that these are only recommendations…yes, they are… but despite that government of India under National Child Labour Project (NCLP) has done some excellent and pathbreaking work (I really don’t know the ground reality, but as far the papers says…)

'There are lies, damn lies - and statistics.' - Mark Twain

First, targeting the most critical 9 districts in different parts of India where children were involved in hazardous work and allocating funds in different five year plan and continuously expanding the coverage area are incredible.

Here are my personal notes on child labor…

  

Story starts from
“Gurupadaswamy Committee Recommendation” 1979
&
Sanat Mehta Committee (1984).

 | 

Based on these recommendations
In 1986
The Child Labour Act
(Prohibition and Regulation)
was enacted

 |

 In consonance with the above approach
In 1987
NPCL
(National Policy on Child Labour)
was formed

 |

pursuant to this
In 1988
NCLP
(National Child Labour Project)
Scheme was launched in 9 districts of high child labour endemicity in the country

|

In 1992
ILO-IPEC Programme in India
(International Programme On The Elimination Of Child Labour)
The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour is a global programme launched by the International Labour Organization in December, 1991. India was the first country to join it in 1992 when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ILO. 

|

In 1994
NAECL
( National Authority for the Elimination of Child Labor)
was constituted under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Labor, Government of India.

 |

In 2000
INDO – US DOL (INDUS PROJECT)
jointly funded by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India and the Department of Labour, United States of America (USDOL) and is implemented in ten hazardous sectors in 21 districts across five state

 |

86th Amendment Act (2002)

In passing the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India, education is a fundamental right.

|

In March 2007
NCPCR
(National Commission for Protection of Child Rights)
was set up under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, an Act of Parliament (December 2005).

Shanta sinha, NCPCR, MV Foundation

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND CHILD RIGHT
Articles	What it says
Article 21- A	The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6-14 years in such manner as the State may by law determine.
Article 23 (1)	Traffic in human beings, begging and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
Article 24	Prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.

——————————————

Important Links

-From NCPCR Archive (NCPCR Research Reports)

Abolition of Child Labour in India Strategies for 11th 5 Year Plan
(Submitted to The Planning Commission, India, September, 2007)

…

 

Things that pulled me some months ago to come back and live in Delhi again, were its lush greeneries, superb libraries and its openness. I sometimes visualize its wide asphalted road as stretched open arms of a lady who is eager to accept you in her bosom.

As you must have got hints from the title, today I’m going to tell you about some amazing thing which I witnessed recently…

I often try to go for walk to nearby reserved forest, Sanjay Van which is a few minutes’ walk away from my place. As usual, my offer for a walk was accepted by my flat mate and soon we set out. At ground floor, need for some snacks were felt and I got packed some samosas to have during walk from the hotel sited just opposite the road.

When we got in there I unpacked the stuffs and started having it and then only realized that we didn’t have water and this realization was enough to spoil my further excitement as I can’t bear pieces of peppers in samosas. In Sanjay Van as far as I knew water was not available but in a positive gesture I expressed my wish to set looking for water which was very soon forgotten by both as we moved forward listening unusual the coo-hoo of peacocks and the loud chirping of crickets.

We accidentally found our self in a different path and due to curious nature I persuaded my partner to follow the unexplored path. One after another amazing scenes were witnessed; from deserted and ruined walls of fortress to striking rock formations to cheerful herds of Nilgaay (black deer). Very soon we discovered a Dargah inside that forest and found our self among hordes of devotees. By my persuasion the reluctant partner undone his foot wares and with bared foot we entered into the Dargah. When we were to leave the place, to my surprise, I suddenly saw people supplying potable water near the well to visitors within that premises. So, ultimately I got water and thanked to the Hazrat.

With satisfied smile on face when we were returning we were requested for some help by some faqirs. We avoided those demand but the lambent glow on the faces of these faqirs attracted my attention. I missed the opportunity to capture that…despite our indifferent behavior to them they not only provided a visual satisfaction, a character for further sketch but also at last enthusiastically suggested the way to safe return…

Forest Right Act (FRA), Wild Life Act and their overlapping, livelihood of tribles, worries of conservationists and corporate interests; this gamut is quite interesting to explore…isn’t it?

to be continued…

 

As we all know today is WEDay… and from now I’ve decided not to waste this space on bashing others. I think there are lots of other interesting activities to do…

So, on the occasion of World Environment Day I would like to share some of my recently acquired information/concepts on climate change…

Climate ‘Mitigation’ and ‘Adaptation’ are two important strategies in the current discussion worldwide. Let’s try to understand it…

What is mitigation?

As we know climate is changing at an alarming rate. We need some strategies to cope up with the changing situation. Under mitigation strategies we take proactive steps to reduce the further damage to the environment in other word mitigation tackles the causes of climate change.

What is adaptation?

 Adaptation strategy tackles the effects of the climate change and focuses on strengthening the system. It refers to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected change. It can be further subdivided in two parts:

a)    To moderate potential damage by reducing vulnerability to climate change example: making Sea defences

b)    To take advantage of opportunities

 —

“The idea that less mitigation means greater climatic change, and consequently requiring more adaptation is the basis for the urgency surrounding reductions in greenhouse gases. Climate mitigation and adaptation should not be seen as alternatives to each other, as they are not discrete activities but rather a combined set of actions in an overall strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Source : global-greenhouse-warming.com

 

———————————–

                          I think I can’t persuade myself to not to criticize those who dominate the arena of public discourse. I mulled it over and came to the conclusion that criticism can be a tool to bring about change. In the book “Our Iceberg Is Melting” (no, this is not a book on climate change dear… … Kotter is a Change Guru at HBS…) John Kotter provides ‘The Eight Step Process of Successful Change’ and according to it “Creating a Sense of Urgency” and “Developing the Change Vision and Strategy” are two initial steps. If we take benefit from Kotter’s experience in helping others to see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately and in creating vision and strategy for the change; criticizing Them can be constructive intermediary process.

So, 3…2…1 and here it restarts…

Yesterday in a talk show an environmentalist anchor was while dominating the guest journalist trying to put forward a silly agenda. According to him by reducing fossil fuel consumptions and other domestic and personal austerity in energy consumption can mitigate the environmental depletion.

The idea is silly because by adopting it we are actually diverting our concentration from the main issue. Personal consumption of energy only contributes a trivial amount of total consumption and so we should more focus on commercial uses mainly.

Let’s adjust the focal point to zoom in the real environmental culprit dear…

I’m not a prolific writer but I find me writing when something has just pissed me off. Neither I much care about public opinion nor do I try to worship it to hide personal incompetence like in predicting the outcome of any election some psephologist do. These psephologists seldom believe in individual’s potential but talk at length about the amazing collective wisdom of “Aam Aadmi”[common people]. So, when a layman says anything he just expresses his opinion but when a person directly responsible for any work, shrugs his responsibilities or try to use gobbledygook, it really hurts.  It really worries me when I listen to person in authority talking nonsense.

Sorry for the deviation, I actually wanted to talk on the current results of class Xth and XIIth examination. Recently, I was listening a radio talk show in which both the guests had no immediate solution or plan to solve a puzzling issue. They were very well aware about the repercussions of the absence of the percentage or the grading system of evaluating a student’s abilities and their limitation. One of the guests was very vocal about the hype of the percentage system and its social outcomes. I do appreciate those concerns of his but how lazy you are that despite awareness about the ‘multiple intelligence’ you can’t understand the crux of the problem that…

Padaung

Padaung

Foot binding :The Chinese custom

Bound feet

Brainchild

Modern indian practice… :)

  That your entire education system needs a sea change which in its current condition absolutely unable to evaluate the abilities or true potential of your young and by following its present path actually nipping the young in the bud…

 

First of all, we need to accept that the current evaluation system is ‘rusted beyond repair’. Then, we need to understand that we need a whole new set of dynamic structure to map the creative and divergent potential of each of our pupil.

 

As a student I’m still struggling with the current inadequate evaluation system but can’t see the next generation to be suffered from the same.

 

Let’s change it. You know…change is possible and another world is possible…

 

*image source : diana-ho.com

Yesterday was Sunday and on that day every newspaper pours a lot of stuffs to pander their readers. After surfing through different stuffs in the paper I land up at an article “A time for real men” in The Hindu. The opening with three starling quotes, at first captures my attention and it appears that the article is very promising. As I start forth and step into next paragraph I become so disappointed to discover the hollowness of ideas that ultimately it forces me to express my feeling here.

I, as others human-being destined to classify peoples in different categories and further subcategories. For this author I have a category but I don’t have any proper tag for it. This class of people inspired by academic jargons at any point of time thinks that now they are ready enough to produce something readable. The most ridiculous thing is that they don’t even know what they are writing. Some clichés, some quotes from here and there, some data from UN agencies, some bashing of media and some international reports, that’s enough to fill the pages of any academic journal or national newspaper. The most important gradients they always miss is the original and creative thinking.

The article says in its opening paragraph, “we need men who can dream of things that never were” and “cliché dominated intellectual space as the print media” and in the next you find the writer using the same that it criticizes.

Problem is that, this kind of writing actually represents the void in our intellectual arena with a wider and deeper western influence. The legacy of paraphrasing and plagiarism of ideas will escort us nowhere.

To serve the bottom of the pyramid we need innovative people and with stolen and stale ideas it is impossible to solve the human sufferings.

Let stale ideas die out…

The need for educational reforms in India is blatant, but wait, before decorticating it one must know what has triggered off that urgency. Why there is so hue and cry over lack of infrastructure and why there is consonance among intellectuals?

Today after reading K.N.Pannikar’s article I became very upset with the void of imagination and the lack of urgency in it. It is no wonder why there is a bright future for radical forces in India. If you do not dump the luxury of wasting your rationality just to fill the Open-Ed pages of elite newspapers, dear sir, you will have to face the weirdest things in your life time.

A delay of just one year may wipe out the hope for forever of a youth to change his life through education. When cost of one day to survive is unbearable for a major population any delay in such policies can have unprecedented outcomes. I have no doubt on it.

I do appreciate some of your concerns. Yes, you are aware of filtration theory of the island of excellence. But sir does it matter where they exist?

I tell you a real story of the struggle of a desperate learner and his journey to douse his intellectual curiosity. This journey starts from a government high school of the most backward region of India and it encompasses all levels of stratification of current education structure. His struggle to get a platform to make his voice to be listened, in a so called  just and fair society of ours unveil the ugly faces of the persons in authorities.

He calls himself “inarticulate” and I hope one day you will listen his story from his own words. I’m trying   to synthesize my own exposure with his vivid experiences to produce a real scenario of the education system which is either misplaced from the memory of our policy makers or deliberately forgotten by them. But in both cases it is unfortunate.

Uncountable steps and layers of the stratified education system have created such a complexity that for commoners it is always a losing game. A loss in the battle of education further bifurcates in different public spaces and the shadow of humiliation chases all along until one’s death or may be after that.

Thanks to technological changes that there is a hope that things can be changed. Dear Sir, are you listening, things can be changed!

I wonder, our ‘poised’ nation has so much bandwidth to let, so many channels to pander commoners but hardly any signal containing useful information swoops into the poorly thatched abodes of the deprived.

Dear Sir, I’m busy with some other work. I will definitely keep my promise to present the true picture…meanwhile you enjoy this poem of Sumitra Nandan Pant in vernacular to soothe yourself -

द्रुत झरो जगत के जीर्ण पत्र!
हे स्त्रस्त ध्वस्त! हे शुष्क शीर्ण!
हिम ताप पीत, मधुमात भीत,
तुम वीतराग, जड़, पुराचीन!!

निष्प्राण विगत युग! मृत विहंग!
जग-नीड़, शब्द औ’ श्वास-हीन,
च्युत, अस्त-व्यस्त पंखों से तुम
झर-झर अनन्त में हो विलीन!

कंकाल जाल जग में फैले
फिर नवल रुधिर,-पल्लव लाली!
प्राणों की मर्मर से मुखरित
जीव की मांसल हरियाली!

मंजरित विश्व में यौवन के
जगकर जग का पिक, मतवाली
निज अमर प्रणय स्वर मदिरा से
भर दे फिर नव-युग की प्याली!

 

Recently I got an email and its first few lines goes like this “all s fine.. today is voting day for my constituency.. did u vote??” Although, I didn’t answer that particular question, it finally made me to write this.

I do not believe in current electoral politics. Thank God, I don’t own TV now but you can’t escape from these omnipresent voting activists. I immediately do change the radio station when I come across any ad related to that on it. I never ponder over this behavior of mine… why do I do this? When every ‘pappu’ is being embarrassed by these overenthusiastic activists, when imported voting activism [we are a great importer, from TV shows to activism…we are not going to leave anything] is a fad, why I’m so reluctant? Did ‘Rang De Vasati’ bring no changes in me? Why?

There are several questions to answer, not for others but for me it is important… let’s try to solve these baffling issues…

 Before writing anything about recent activism I tried to have a look at their websites and those inspirational websites of their uncles. I came across an interesting quote of some minority voting activist before US election “If you don’t vote, then you don’t exist; and if you don’t exist, then you’re not going to get the services that you need,”. Quite interesting na?  Yes, definitely these lines can make uncomfortable any purist procrastinator… but what’s wrong with me?

Harishankar Persai’s colorful satire, which I read during my early childhood, on an electoral process of a Jungle where animals think they have got the level of development at which they must adopt the democratic processes, still plays a critical role in my unconsciousness. Recently a reading of Animal Farm must have augmented some more insights in it.

Definitely, any sustainable activism with a mature thought like ‘Velvet Revolution’ if emerges from this fad, then only it can be beneficial for a nation like us. But, a country where a major population denies to identify alphabets, eke out a living in a vulnerable socio-economic environment, these metro centric fad will certainly widen the existing gap. The gap which is quite palpable, can be felt if you have spend time in the rural or by reading Adiga you may get a vague idea of it.

So, preachers/teachers of ‘pappu’ don’t be a ‘pappu’ and do something concrete before it is too late.

I’ve just completed reading this book and can’t wheedle myself into not writing a review of it. Usually, before start reading a book, I collect all sorts of information about its author, sometimes socio-cultural background of the author, his philosophical bend and plot of the story. It helps me to understand the text in different contexts. The same thing I did in the case of reading Adiga’s white tiger.

After reading its review in The Hindu by Amitav kumar, I thwarted the plan of reading it. I tell you, it could be my biggest mistake and from now I’m not going to believe any such reviews. I read other reviews too, but no one impressed me, so here I’m writing not only for myself but for those who are still waiting to read or have buried the plan to do so.

The White Tiger is a great satire on the face of modern India…err…a poised India. I’m really amazed at the author’s insight. Author belongs to the elite class and despite this he is completely aware about the complexities, wishes, anxieties and equations that linger in the other India. I do not know what circumstances made the author to become acquaintances of the dark realities of modern India, but merely by compiling it in a beautiful book he has successfully put all the marginalized debates at the center. From Naxalist ideology and its vague acknowledgements by its characters to rapid urbanization and failed tax regime to politics of opportunism & language, and looting of opportunities made available by neo-liberal policies, Adiga has left nothing that is relevant in the present context in India.

I think it is a great breakthrough in the modern Indian literature…sooner or later it was bound to happen. One can also trace a changed attitude of Man Booker panels. Last year it was awarded to Desai for her work the loss of inheritance, a fiction on love and violence in Himalayan region. Now this year this has been awarded to a fiction which reveals the true picture of the unbridgeable gap.

 

to be continued…

Ragging exists and it has serious consequences, at least recent developments in anti-ragging coverage in the media and the judicial activism has been successful in establishing it.  But things are not as superficial as it appears. I think merely its existence in our society raises several serious questions on the structure of our society and it is quite interesting to undergo a surgery of our society in the name of it.  

As a victim of more or less the same kind of humiliation during a post graduate professional course and as an inquisitive student of post modern society I have some different stand on the whole issue. I have lots of questions and some of grievances against the whole social structure and particularly educational system.

First, how come a freshman, an innocent target of ragging becomes an offender of the same in his sophomore years? What happens within this one year that brings so many changes in an individual’s behavior? Why despite its severe consequences ragging is outside the purview of our society? Is stratification is favorable for higher education? If seniors are seniors with only one year’s academic insight then the faculties must be unquestionable.  

To understand the root of the problem we need to analyze the basic structure of the society. Yes, the study of family and power structure within it is sufficient enough to provide the insight. Still we Indian are failed in bringing democracy within the realm of our family. Society if bigger than the groups of families nevertheless it doesn’t undermine the importance of the nature and structure of its basic elements. External democracy will never be brought unless we are democratic in our thought. The first experimental ground of individual tolerance should be its own family. If you can’t respect the altogether different view within your family and if can’t provide the plane ground to exchange opinion about unquestionable things, certainly you will never be able to bring real democracy in any society.

Why we have been failed in bringing democratic discourse in our family? The answer to this question can open the doors and allow fresh air in the closed stinky rooms of our mind which is full of prejudices and complaints. From ordinary petty shop to academic seminars we are talkative about political parties and malfunctioning of bureaucratic system and seldom bother about our action in the institution of family. Nuclear families are the modern realities of our society and which is perhaps failed in nurturing the young or in a better way it has been failed in providing the stamina to face or resist against the dark realities of life.

Here I’m not trying to condemn the materialistic life of modern society. I just want to underline the failure of the family to provide the basic resilient capacity to face the realities and acumen to handle the traps to live a life without compromising one’s values and integrity. It has been unsuccessful in supplying who can demand space to keep intact its freedom and individuality and demand for a change.

Let us come to the topic and understand its different aspects and where does it get supports and why? Yesterday, I was listening a radio talk show on the same and one guest with a leftist bent was trying to label it as an organized crime in which professional institution are involved to discourage potential democratic demands. I don’t understand why these leftist in a post-cold war era like Orwell’s character always try to erect and establish a demon which seldom exist. Although these leftist views help one by providing a different perspective and is creative to some extent but they fail in solving the issue.

It would be better if I take my case, which I first wanted to avoid but to elaborate things I think I have to personalize here. I was doing a development management program and all my seniors were very much familiar with me and even someone had requested to start blogging jointly. But when I entered into the campus things changed and in a ragging session I was asked to introduce myself in a sitting format which was quite irritating. I left the place very soon but later in a different format I had to interact with them. When I questioned their deeds after listening their hypocritical comments on a documentary on water conservation I was threaten to death. I had to face a panel and was questioned why I had been not able to mingle with other students. Then there was this preaching that to be a development professional one needs to be social. My parents followed suit and that was more painful. I left the institute to keep my values and freedom intact when another attack of moral policing was trying to surface there because I had several others options to survive and had enough resources to bear the cost. But if I had not that support and I had to bear the unbearable pain of humiliation and I had to sacrifice my self-esteem.

In Gulaal, any bollywood director in my knowledge first time has been able to capture the pain of ragging and we need more and more discussion. Self-reflection is must and we need to start thinking by putting our self on different situations. The future of humankind largely depends upon the space and environment we are providing to our youth.

I hope together someday we will be able to solve the puzzle why and how a victim becomes an offender and defenders become silent spectator and will come out of this labyrinth of ragging.

 

 

sharing some of my creations…

 

I belong to a generation that was brought up listening your radio. From Indira Gandhi’s assassination to Babri Masjid demolition, I’m a witness of its professionalism; every critical issue was handled with subtle delicacy. When I look back to see making of me, I can’t ignore the fact that it made me an independent thinker and crumbled all the shackles of prejudices.

After graduation when I had to choose a career, the lasting impact of BBC was then working in the background. I applied for a journalism career and decided to equip myself with all professional skills required for the field. This zeal followed by acquiring skills of functioning of the latest information technologies and mass-communication practices. Advanced Diploma in Interactive Multimedia & Web Engineering and then PG Diploma in Journalism from a reputed journalism school made me familiar with all the technicalities.

To get the real exposure of the media industry I applied for an internship in ZEE News and after a rigorous session I was selected for that. There I realized that to be a professional journalist I need some more time. I worked for a short period as designer to help my self-study financially. I started eclectic reading and read several academic and non-academic pieces of writing. I developed a lasting habit of reading, as a result my vocabulary became stronger and it also enhanced my writing skills in English and provided sufficient context to fuel my writing in Hindi.

To get specialized in one of the verticals of knowledge I decided to do Masters in Management, so that I could do justice with my profession. I joined the PGD in Development Management but I was very soon disenchanted by the institute and last January I left it to keep intact my values and freedom. During my first semester in that institution I got exposed to Indian grassroots realities. Several visit to rural villages of south India to study the livelihood situation and rigorous case-based classroom discussion helped to build the right perspective of the other India.

Now with an array of skills and experiences I am ready to provide high quality content to the ever enthusiastic reader and listener of BBC Hindi. No doubt diversity brings lateral thinking and which is must for creativity. Thus, with an enriched world view I can contribute more effectively, make a positive impact in the creative field of Hindi journalism and meet the standards of your organisation.

 

 Finally, my flexibility in reaching the goal, toughness in pursuing values, and nimbleness in identifying the change can certainly add value to your organization and the team I which I’ll have to work with.

Sibling rivalry and Schooling

Usually people write it at the dusk of their life to elaborate or sometimes summarize their achievements or analyze their failures or to attribute thanks to their soul mates or to bash the troublers in their life, but in my case it’s a bit different. I am neither an achiever nor at the dusk of my life, definitely I too have something to say, something to share and it is just my interaction with the people I have got chance to interact with and about building of myself and my vision.

First thing first, I start it from my birth. I was born in a village Madanpur where my father was working in the government revenue department. I was second child in the family and when I came in it my sister had already completed her first year. Although there never been any gender discrimination in my family from my parents, I was welcomed because my birth actually brought gender diversity. (I will use the word diversity time and again as it is one of my favorite words.)

Although, the image of Bihar in popular media has been a culturally backward state, I enjoyed the unparallel freedom and secure environment during my childhood. My grandpa was a moderate person while grandma a generous but a very religious one. At the age of two I was shifted to the southern part of the state which is now become a separate one, Jharkhand. My childhood memories don’t go beyond that. I think the place where I spend all of my childhood and bit adolescence has made a major impact on the building of me. I’ll always be indebted to the place Chakulia, a block head quarter, a semi industrial town. Actually the socio-economic features of this place were so complex that I just can’t define it or classified it under any category.

Chakulia was like a cosmopolitan suburb. Due to its proximity with Kolkata and several other industrial towns the social chromosome of the place was very complex and favorable. Sometimes I compare this place with American open and diverse society and I’m not exaggerating. Its location had perhaps made it like that. There were tremendous opportunities for all. When I came here there were a series of small industries running profitably. The wealth was not in the hands of a few communities. People from all most all part of the India were residing there and there were no extreme dislikes among them. People of the place were in complete communal harmony and prosperity. So, I brought up in a secure society where there were trust, respect and belongingness in the air. My father was also an open minded person and thus for a long period I had never been encountered with hatred and discrimination. The school where I studied up to sixth standard was although a semi religious one but it could never made any lasting impact on me as I was very rational in my childhood. We used to make fun of the text books that were taught to us. It was then only one reputed school, therefore, children from all strata of society came to it. In this way, I could attend the class of diversity at the very beginning of my life.

My father was a teacher in the government high school. There were three high schools, and all were owned by the government. He was an intelligent, smart and laborious teacher. Very soon he became one of the famous teachers. The salary was sufficient for a subsistence life, but my father had strong self imposed obligation to help his family financially, very soon he stared giving tuition to add some more money to the income. I heard that he had sent all of his salary to his brothers for their higher studies for several years. Finally, my uncles got jobs and they are now living good life. If I take you one generation back then you will better understand the actual reason of the paucity. My grandpa was a head clerk in District commissioner office. It seemed to be a post where you got bribes without any efforts, but my grandpa was a very honest one and to run a family of twelve (my father had got four brothers and five sisters) was not an easy task. So, my father has always been a symbol of sacrifice. Thus I was born and brought up in a family with strong value system and openness surrounded by secure environment. This upbringing made me a person who wants to trust others and to be trusted.

 

Nishi, my elder sister and I now when sit together remember our childhood rivalry and enjoy talking over it at length. We both were good wrestler and you can’t believe because of our regular practice I once won a silver medal in wrestling in school. She was very good at studies and I was never serious those days. She was a hard worker and I; I can identify myself with the protagonist of Tare Jamin Per. I don’t know how I often managed to stand first in my class despite tough competition and my non-seriousness. My mother had a very crucial role in shaping our childhood. She always wanted to provide us the best educational facilities and she did. Father usually didn’t have time for us as he would be very busy those days. So, our primary education was provided in the strict supervision of softy mom (she is very generous and soft spoken).
I was not very choosey when it came to have something while Nishi was very particular about her food. My mom always gave importance to her and you can say I was a victim of reverse discrimination. Due to her behavior or study she was dear to all, nevertheless, it never disturbed me partially because I would live in other world and whatever I liked I got it sometimes forcefully or by other means. I was obstinate but not in a bad sense. I was never bullied. Usually I didn’t inter into other’s matter I was happy with my own world.

Until class 10th nothing changed. Lots of tuitions daily, sometimes one for each subject, Urdu and Drawing classes in weekends, I had no time to think about other than my studies. Some trivial changes occurred, I got a bicycle and Nishi shifted to Baripada for her intermediate studies. Before school now I had to attain three tuitions which stated from 6 o’clock, and after school sometimes one.

A sudden departmental transfer of my father to a naxalite area brought turbulence in my quiet world. I had no option but to join a residential school in Daltonganj. I had never been in any residential school before that. I had very painful experiences in it and after a long effort my father became ready to take me back from it but he imposed some conditions on me. The condition was that he would never teach me. I accepted it and start self- study. From then I stared enjoying self-study which became an important part in my further life.

Nishi after some trouble adapted herself in the changed environment and again started giving her best performances. She stood first in the college and took admission in Economics degree course.

Living in Palamu was actually living in a fairy world. All short of goodies and bad things were mixed in a strange manner. Everything was cheap. All vegetables, fish, grains and milk were available at least prices and it was also true with human life. Human life was also very cheap; it had no value. Genocide or single incidents of murder all didn’t merit any attention those days.

After nine month my father succeeded in getting his transfer to other location. When our vehicle was leaving Palamu, I still couldn’t believe that finally I was going out of this strange place. All experiences were not so bad. I had got some good friends in that residential school and I could meet some nice people there. Finally, it enriched my database and at a very early age exposed me to a totally different world. I‘ll indebt to you, Palamu!

The place was Sonua, again a block headquarter, in Kolhan belt of Jharkhand. I really enjoyed each day living here. No it was not a hill station, it was actually a high place surrounded by small hills. Each day and especially during rainy season I would enjoy seeing the nature doing painting with full of bright colors on the broad canvas of open blue sky. Driving scooter over the serene hill was really amazing. The house where we used to reside was surrounded by mangroves with water logged land. Watching different birds, fishes and other strange creature of that vivid ecosystem was always enjoyable in leisure. This was the very place, Sonua, which transformed me from an ordinary one to a nature lover. The tribal peoples and my interactions with them were really memorable. Their innocence and simplicity can attract any person who has any interest in anthropology. I’m a great fan of their clean homes and carefree nature. At a point of time in my life I had a plan to leave the so called modern world and to shift in the jungle to reside with them.

College and higher studies

 

After matriculation I had to leave the place to get admission in any big city. I was sent to Patna where I took admission in RMR seminary, Khazanchi Road. Again I could not bear the pain of the detachment from home. The residence was not good or the educational environment or perhaps due to homesickness I couldn’t coax myself to stay there. I didn’t have any good experience of this place but surely it made me aware about the life of a city and what it meant in living in an unhygienic and crowded place. I hadn’t seen any city more dirtily than Patna and if you entered here in a rainy season you could actually understand what I wanted to say. Things haven’t changed yet.

So, again I was at home. It was not an easy task. For my father this step of mine meant the end of my academic life. After several trial and errors finally he became calm. I did my intermediate in science and degree in history hons from home by commuting to Chakradharpur, a sub divisional headquarter. Travelling in packed buses and trains were then my routine. During last year of graduation my family had to shift to Jamshedpur for my sister’s study.

Now father stated commuting from Jamshedpur to his office at Sonua. We were shifted to a small house in Jamshedpur. Nishi stared taking coaching for MBA entrance examination and I joined a multimedia short term course. Next year she got admission in XISS, Ranchi and I continued my course. After one year I got a job in multimedia industry. Jamshedpur was a nice place, clean and wide roads, good market, excellent schoolings and beautiful parks and so it had got some ISO certificate. I enjoyed working and studying simultaneously one year and then i was selected for PG course in IIMC, New Delhi. I swiftly grabbed the opportunity and shifted to New Delhi.

Disillusionment@ IIMC

 

I was much exited after I got a call from IIMC. I thought it would be a turning point in my life. Alas! It never happened. Very soon the real picture of mass-media industry was clear to me. The drama of political discourse over Television was now making fun out of me. The body languages of big anchors were all false. Their helplessness was just a deception. The new endeavor to change my occupation was a total fiasco…

Actually what happened in IIMC deserves a long piece of writing…and I’ll definitely share it after some time.
Then Noam Chomsky and Habermas came into the scene. I could understand the realities in a better light. This was the phase in my life which inspired me to attach myself with philosophy and literature. I started reading all sort of books including Fictions, Non-fictions, biographies and other genre. I joined some of the best libraries of Delhi and started eclectic reading meanwhile I worked on my academic vocabularies. It paid well and I could feel a different life by recognizing pleasure in reading…

I am sharing some of my writing:

 

 

 

Statement of purpose-1 (HRM/MBA)

 

It was my first encounter with the word ‘resource’ during the participation in a debate competition at the age of 11. It was a challenging task not only to acquire a sound understanding but also to make the idea acceptable. My habitual practice to make and break things in its simplest form worked and eventually it led towards success. Since then I see the vast population of our country as an untapped resource with vast potential. Moreover it had rooted the idea in my belief that each and every person has tremendous potential and so every one is worth respecting.

 

“When God closes a door against you, it opens others at the same time.” This cliché has proved its worthiness throughout my life.

 

During matriculation I had to settle down in a naxalite affected provincial of palamu due to a sudden departmental transfer of my father’s job. As a result I had to stop schooling. This deprivation from schooling and socialization led towards serendipity. Now I had more time for my self and self- study that further brought a deep relationship with written text and understanding my self.

 

From cosmopolitan suburbs of Tatanagar, to naxalite affected Palamu, to “Kolhan” the tribal belt of deprivation and mass diseases in Jharkhand, when I juxtapose this experience of my adolescence with the gain from family values like deep adherence with truth, austerity and precisely honesty, I see why there is a genuine respect of diversity and values are an integral part of my day to day thinking process.

 

Degree in social science with major in history was not only useful after intermediate science, as it deepened the scientific point of view and helped me to develop interdisciplinary approach but it made me more self aware, “who am I ?” and “where do I stand on the scale of time and civilization?”. This awareness followed by acquiring skills of functioning of latest information technologies and mass-communication practices.

 

Approximately two years of work experience in the field of interactive media and a little bit of broadcasting media as content developer and journalist respectively, was definitely helpful in understanding the functioning of organizations and real problems that as am employee one has to face.

 

Now I come to the point, why MBA and why your institute?

 

I want to acquire professional work experience in the field of corporate human resource management and further want this expertise with general management skills and corporate efficiency in serving the people who had knowingly or unknowingly made a major of me. I want to help them in decision making by being a people’s consultant.

 

Since I have a greater respect of values and deep eagerness to acquire best available skills in the field of management therefore Tiss is the ultimate choice.

 

 

***

 

Statement of purpose-2(Development Management)

 “The Bigger the challenge the better the fun”. I have always been driven and motivated by this idea. I found the perennial and prevailing poverty in human society more challenging than any mystery of science or many sky-high mountains cliff. At the very young I accepted that challenge and determined; to obliterate poverty, would be my purpose of life. It is co-incident that at the same era the UN’s millennium goal has echoed it and the spearhead of microfinance Muhammad Yunus made the idea ubiquitous.

 

That adolescent vow has always been repeated silently at every sight of human suffering. To make others self-dependent I had to make myself the same; I developed a disposition to embrace the change. This followed by acquiring skills of functioning of latest information technologies and mass-communication practices.

 

It was in my plan to acquire all the necessary skills and to develop a clear vision before starting any field work. I believe social entrepreneurship driven by microfinance institutions can bring desirable changes. For an entrepreneur to understand and manage calculated risk managerial skills would be needed.

 

As an aspirant, to become a people’s consultant, in developing social enterprises, where can I get and harness that skill other than your institute. I understand this Development Management training will enable me, in erecting self-sufficient economic structures and in producing viable technical solutions.