"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
--Gandhi
Laugh is just an increased smile. For those(like me :P) who always keep a smiling face laughing is similar to smiling for those who keep a normal face.
The world is such a wonderful place that it always offers a reason to smile at any point of time. I find it odd that people laugh at incidents in so called comedy movies and if a similar event happened in real life, they find it not so funny. It just takes one to visualize the real life characters as funny as those in movies.
The easiest way to laugh at small things is by remembering a similar funniest incident in the past. It can be a movie scene, or own experience or someone else's experience.
The most valuable asset to acquire the art of laughing even to small things and even when nothing has happened is Imagination. There may not be any funny incidents in the past for some events. When there are no such incidents one has to create their own incidents to be able to laugh. Also when nothing happened, there obviously cannot be any funny incident in the past similar to nothing. Imagination is nothing different from what we see in movies. Movies are nothing but imagination of the director, depicted in such a way as to make the audience forget the fact that it is not real, while watching the movie. So if one could enjoy comedy in movies, it shouldn’t be hard to enjoy an imagined act. There could be a million examples for fun with imagination. Every event in the world can be extended by imagination to make it a funny incident. That is what I call imagining the funny side of the incident. One can imagine things according to his/her sense of humour, that is what makes him/her laugh. Also when you are free, may be while traveling in a bus, just think about weird things, such as what would have happened if man had brain in the foot, or how the shape of cycle would be if man had four legs.
Be your own Joker. You may not always find others who are ready to make you smile/laugh(I feel that, making others smile is one of the greatest things in this world). Just try to remember all the funny things you have done in the past, may be when you are a child. It is said that the most exciting story in the world is that of evolution of Man. But before that, the most interesting story for me is the story that is formed by accumulating all my experiences. When I was in my 8th class, I asked my schools principal that, which tree gives bombs(Before that a friend(as**le) of me told me that there is a tree from which one can get bombs just like mango tree gives mangoes and I believed that :( ). There are many many incidents like these for me and I am sure everyone will have some such things which make him/her smile no matter how much serious work he/she is involved in.
Of course in the end, the ability to laugh is not just an art that can be acquired by following some rules. It reflects one’s inner self. It is the result of one’s outlook towards events in the external world. It is very much influenced by his/her personal experiences, the kind of mentors/teachers/role-models he/she had. A serious man who always is worried about something, of course neither looks into past for fun nor is willing to imagine fun. One cannot laugh when he/she is not happy with the way things are going on in his/her life. The state of being happy or unhappy is a direct consequence of one’s personality. So in the end being able to smile or not able to smile is just another attribute for a bigger thing called as personality.
To be able to make others laugh is a completely different art at which I am not as good as laughing (at :D)myself. It is true that those who are in a prolonged contact with me automatically comes into tune with me and laugh just like me. I am lucky to have friends who laugh more than me :).
Some say that I laugh for small things. Some say that I laugh for no reason(which is not quite true :)). I must add that recent comments from my friends made me doubt myself on the assertion that there is nothing wrong in smiling/laughing a lot. They made me look into the past to trace the origins of the laughing Anil. The thing is that it is only in group(where I will have enough characters to be imagined as being funny. Of course I can imagine the characters also, but that is not so funny :D :D) that I laugh a lot. I spend most of my time alone, so people get a wrong impression that I laugh a lot, but the fact is that when alone I don't laugh much :D.
It is only from 11th class that I used to hear comments that I laugh a lot. There are many reasons for this. First of all there is an incident in my 10th class which changed me so much that I consider I entered into a new life after that. Another reason is the influence of our beloved UV Koteswara Rao Sir(though physically he left this world, he is still alive in the form of us). Another reason is that I spent two important years, the years in which everyone gets to form a opinion of the external world, of my life alone. I can undoubtedly say that my present sense of humour and way of looking at the events in the world in such a way to maximize the possibility to smile/laugh is inspired from the Koteswara Rao sir’s comments.
I never tried to laugh more. I only try to remain happy for longer durations of time. And being able to smile/laugh is a consequence of it. The level of expectation greatly affects the level of satisfaction which ultimately defines whether he/she is Happy.
Just imagine that the world is filled with funny characters, then you can have fun everywhere :D.
July 22, 2010
April 26, 2010
New States - Small States
Telangana has already opened the Pandora box of creation new states and criteria for organizing the nation into states. The states in United States of America are treated as independent indestructible units and USA is an indestructible union of indestructible units. That is, the federal legislature has no powers to alter the boundaries of states and states cannot leave the federation. The Soviet Union was a destructible union, i.e., the constituents can leave the union if they want. In this context, India is an indestructible union of destructible units. In India, the states have no separate identity from the nation, i.e., they are considered to be part of the union and there is no provision for separate citizenship for people living in a state other than national citizenship. There is only one type of citizenship, that is, citizen of India(In USA, every person has two types of citizenship one as a citizen of USA and other as a citizen of corresponding state). Most states of present day India were non-existent in their present form 60 years ago. They were all created in the second half of 20th century. The parliament can alter the boundaries of existing states, create new states, merge existing ones with simple majority(1/2 of present and voting). So practically it can play with state boundaries in whatever way it like, not even requiring a special majority as is required to make a constitutional amendment. But, the parliament has sparingly used this power since independence keeping in view the larger interests of the nation. Also since it requires only simple majority, the reorganization of states has practically become a business of executive rather than legislature.
Though Hindi speaking areas were divided into many states, it was widely accepted that linguistic reorganization has strengthened the federation rather than weaken it as was expected by many people including Nehru, just after Independence. The creation of three states in 2000 is different in the sense that it legitimized the creation of new states based on criteria other than language(namely underdevelopment).
Though language was assumed to be a rational choice in organizing the administrative divisions(the PCCs were organized on language basis way back in 1920s), the leaders of newly independent India feared it might give rise to linguistic chauvinism and regionalism. It is the fast unto death of Potti Sriramulu, that forced the govt. of India to reluctantly concede to the demand of new states based on language. Contrary to what many at that time expected, the linguistic reorganization strengthened the nation. Yes, it is better that there is at least one language that everyone in the state understands, but is it required that all the same language speaking people be put in same state no matter how big the state becomes? Why cannot we have more than one state speaking same language just like in the case of Hindi?. I understand that there are other complicated things involved in this but what I want to say is that there is nothing wrong in having more than one state speaking same language.
The development priorities of people living in different areas in a single largest state will be different. For example, the priorities of well-irrigated western areas of Uttar Pradesh, where green revolution succeeded are different from eastern areas which are still facing problems of irrigation, low yield, subsistence farming, primitive machinery etc. Similar is the case with telangana in Andhra Pradesh. The Telangana region is in Deccan Plateau area where as the Coastal andhra is part of eastern coastal plains. The unit cost of irrigation in Telangana is much higher than that in Coastal andhra. Also there was a well developed irrigation network in coastal andhra prior to independence. So it requires out of proportion investment in irrigation in telangana compared to irrigation in coastal andhra to bring the two areas at par with each other. In recent years the govt. of AP did spend more amount on irrigation in telangana, 55% of total funds allocated to irrigation sector even if population of telangana is only 40% of the state. Even after this out of proportion allocation telangana has under developed irrigation network. So, in the case of irrigation sector, the telangana region needs special focus which the influential politicians from coastal andhra region may not allow as it then becomes so many funds allocated, so much out of proportion to the population of telangana. This is only one example, there are many other sectors in which the difference in priorities of different regions require different policy making bodies. There is no logic in keeping a state united if it does not serve the purpose of keeping the people live a meaningful life. What has the larger states like UP, Bihar, Rajastan achieved other than producing an army of unemployed, impoverished, illiterate citizens. Is it not the inability and inefficiency of the governments of these states in providing employment and livelihood, that is forcing their own children to migrate to far-off areas. There are some who think that new states mean some more divisions in the country and hence is not a good sign for the unity of India. I can only say that they love the idea of India more than the people of India because when people are dying of hunger instead of searching for new ways to feed them, they are thinking of keeping everyone united. Note that the legitimacy and strength of Republic of India erodes day by day as it fails again and again in keeping its people away from dying of hunger.
The proponents of small states also give incorrect arguements. They say that the administration and governance becomes closer to people if the state is small. This is not true because, the collector's(DM's) office, the revenue office, the police station, the hospital, the school(and in case of telangana the capital also), the zilla parishad office, the mandal parishad office, the MLA/MP, all remain where they were, almost the whole government apparatus remain where it was even after creating a new state. So where is the case of governance becoming more closer or more efficient?. If we really want to bring government and administration closer to people we have to empower the local governmental institutions like panchayats, muncipalities, mandal parishads, zilla parishads and give more power and funds to them and thus encourage people to participate in democratic politics in a more fruitful way. Democracy will not deepen its penetration by merely creating a new state. However it is true that a small state means, the state becomes more responsive to the voices of people. An MLA's voice has more strength in a smaller state than in a bigger state. It is also true that vertical hierarchy in administration becomes shallow in a smaller state. But that does not help much for common man as what matters much to him is the man of his immediate contact. So the arguement that administration becomes closer to people by creating new state is not entirely correct.
It is true that by creating new states based on a criteria that is not clearly definable such as underdevelopment opens door for new states based more on political opportunism than any logical reason. But refraining from creating new states is not the solution to counter this . As I already said if local governmental institutions like panchayats and muncipalities are given more power and funds many people would not find a need for separate state for them. I don't understand why the tax collected is taken all the way from Kattavarigudem(my place :P) to Delhi and then brought back to same place where it was collected and spent in a developmental activity. When we accepted Universal Adult Franchise, it means that we accepted that every man/woman is intelligent enough to choose what is good for him/her irrespective of his/her education, status. So we must leave it to the people to decide what is good for them by giving more powers and funds to local governments than leave it to some bureaucrat/politician sitting in New Delhi or Hyderabad.
Though Hindi speaking areas were divided into many states, it was widely accepted that linguistic reorganization has strengthened the federation rather than weaken it as was expected by many people including Nehru, just after Independence. The creation of three states in 2000 is different in the sense that it legitimized the creation of new states based on criteria other than language(namely underdevelopment).
Though language was assumed to be a rational choice in organizing the administrative divisions(the PCCs were organized on language basis way back in 1920s), the leaders of newly independent India feared it might give rise to linguistic chauvinism and regionalism. It is the fast unto death of Potti Sriramulu, that forced the govt. of India to reluctantly concede to the demand of new states based on language. Contrary to what many at that time expected, the linguistic reorganization strengthened the nation. Yes, it is better that there is at least one language that everyone in the state understands, but is it required that all the same language speaking people be put in same state no matter how big the state becomes? Why cannot we have more than one state speaking same language just like in the case of Hindi?. I understand that there are other complicated things involved in this but what I want to say is that there is nothing wrong in having more than one state speaking same language.
The development priorities of people living in different areas in a single largest state will be different. For example, the priorities of well-irrigated western areas of Uttar Pradesh, where green revolution succeeded are different from eastern areas which are still facing problems of irrigation, low yield, subsistence farming, primitive machinery etc. Similar is the case with telangana in Andhra Pradesh. The Telangana region is in Deccan Plateau area where as the Coastal andhra is part of eastern coastal plains. The unit cost of irrigation in Telangana is much higher than that in Coastal andhra. Also there was a well developed irrigation network in coastal andhra prior to independence. So it requires out of proportion investment in irrigation in telangana compared to irrigation in coastal andhra to bring the two areas at par with each other. In recent years the govt. of AP did spend more amount on irrigation in telangana, 55% of total funds allocated to irrigation sector even if population of telangana is only 40% of the state. Even after this out of proportion allocation telangana has under developed irrigation network. So, in the case of irrigation sector, the telangana region needs special focus which the influential politicians from coastal andhra region may not allow as it then becomes so many funds allocated, so much out of proportion to the population of telangana. This is only one example, there are many other sectors in which the difference in priorities of different regions require different policy making bodies. There is no logic in keeping a state united if it does not serve the purpose of keeping the people live a meaningful life. What has the larger states like UP, Bihar, Rajastan achieved other than producing an army of unemployed, impoverished, illiterate citizens. Is it not the inability and inefficiency of the governments of these states in providing employment and livelihood, that is forcing their own children to migrate to far-off areas. There are some who think that new states mean some more divisions in the country and hence is not a good sign for the unity of India. I can only say that they love the idea of India more than the people of India because when people are dying of hunger instead of searching for new ways to feed them, they are thinking of keeping everyone united. Note that the legitimacy and strength of Republic of India erodes day by day as it fails again and again in keeping its people away from dying of hunger.
The proponents of small states also give incorrect arguements. They say that the administration and governance becomes closer to people if the state is small. This is not true because, the collector's(DM's) office, the revenue office, the police station, the hospital, the school(and in case of telangana the capital also), the zilla parishad office, the mandal parishad office, the MLA/MP, all remain where they were, almost the whole government apparatus remain where it was even after creating a new state. So where is the case of governance becoming more closer or more efficient?. If we really want to bring government and administration closer to people we have to empower the local governmental institutions like panchayats, muncipalities, mandal parishads, zilla parishads and give more power and funds to them and thus encourage people to participate in democratic politics in a more fruitful way. Democracy will not deepen its penetration by merely creating a new state. However it is true that a small state means, the state becomes more responsive to the voices of people. An MLA's voice has more strength in a smaller state than in a bigger state. It is also true that vertical hierarchy in administration becomes shallow in a smaller state. But that does not help much for common man as what matters much to him is the man of his immediate contact. So the arguement that administration becomes closer to people by creating new state is not entirely correct.
It is true that by creating new states based on a criteria that is not clearly definable such as underdevelopment opens door for new states based more on political opportunism than any logical reason. But refraining from creating new states is not the solution to counter this . As I already said if local governmental institutions like panchayats and muncipalities are given more power and funds many people would not find a need for separate state for them. I don't understand why the tax collected is taken all the way from Kattavarigudem(my place :P) to Delhi and then brought back to same place where it was collected and spent in a developmental activity. When we accepted Universal Adult Franchise, it means that we accepted that every man/woman is intelligent enough to choose what is good for him/her irrespective of his/her education, status. So we must leave it to the people to decide what is good for them by giving more powers and funds to local governments than leave it to some bureaucrat/politician sitting in New Delhi or Hyderabad.
April 3, 2010
Up in the Air
Last week I had the opportunity to attend New Hires Day at Microsoft, Hyderabad. As the name suggests it was basically a get-together of all the new FTEs(Full Time Employees) who are going to join Microsoft this summer with the key people at Microsoft. It was a two-day event scheduled on 26th and 27th.
We(five of us from IITK) took flight from Lucknow to Hyderabad. The flight experience is unique for me as it was the first time I was up in the air. In fact I was more excited towards boarding the plane than the New Hires Day itself :P. I got a window seat just beside the wing and I spent most of the time looking at that wing, the jet engine and the ground below. The ground appeared closer than what I expected it to be as I could clearly see the bigger things such as rivers, ponds, villages etc. It was more like google earth. The book was no match for that experience of just looking at the receding world(even in 24-hour train journey also I find it more exciting to just look at the world that the advancing train is leaving behind). I must add that the new Hyderabad Airport rocked.
After reaching Hyderabad airport we were taken to Serenity Inn along with other new hires from other colleges. I was surprised at the fact the number of people from IITs are hardly 30 out of a total of around 80. I still don't understand the reason whether it is the reducing gap between IITs and other colleges or the reluctance on the part of IITians to go for job after B.Tech(than MS, MBA etc). The sex ratio was simply awesome, especially for a person like me from an IIT(especially IIT Kanpur in that also). Food at serenity was excellent. After a long time I filled my stomach with Hyderabadi biryani. I had a certain amount of hidden joy looking at my friends from northern India who found the hyderabadi food bad(I even told them that my time has began :) ).
We were given a t-shirt which we were supposed to wear for next day's day-long presentations. Next day we were taken to Microsoft India Development Centre and were officially offered employment at Microsoft with an offer letter and some goodies(including a 2gb pen drive). At first everyone sat with their batch-mates from their respective colleges. Then the organizer shuffled us and I got a rare opportunity of sitting at a table with all other seats filled by girls. But, as usual I proved to be very bad at socializing with new people. There were back-to-back presentations of various groups within Microsoft IDC. The presentations were not as uninteresting as I thought. The most exciting part in that building was the visit to the Microsoft visitors centre(which has a model of each of the Microsoft's products, especially the high technology ones such as xbox, surface, windows phone etc) in the afternoon. Unfortunately I could not get a chance to play with Xbox, which was occupied before I entered.
In the evening there was a campus tour of all the three buildings. Then there was a small treasure hunt. That was great with people spending more time in trying to get the answers to the clues by asking others than solving them themselves. Some people even called their friends for help(Incidentally I was one of them :P). In the end we were not able to get to the treasure :(. Then there was DJ. When DJ was started no one got up from the stairs. The organizer had to forcefully unseat us, to the dance floor. I usually try to keep a low profile in such things, but this time I became, I should say, hyper active(for which I regretted later which is a different matter of course).
By 10:00pm we returned to Serenity, completely exhausted of course. Next day was the trip to Ramoji film City. The Asia's largest film city is one of those things which every hyderabadi can feel proud of. It is on the same route that goes to my home. I had a strange feeling while traveling on the same road with very different people than I usually do. We had a very nice trip inside film city. Especially the escort in the bus was very funny. I was a bit dissatisfied with some of my friends when they failed to appreciate the elegance at which things are done in southern India compared to the northern part. Sarika socialized with people so much that everyone started yelling her name when the escort asked for a volunteer for the role of basanti in a fictional movie. Unfortunately we could not stay for long there, due to flight timings.
It is a very good idea to organize events like these, especially for the fresh college graduates. Being used to so much freedom in the academic life, it is natural that one feel very tense besides being excited, about professional life.
But, even after all this I must add that I am not very comfortable with the thought of transition from academic life to professional life. As mentioned earlier, I proved to be very bad at socializing with new people.
I definitely felt the joy of returning home , atlast after 4 years.
We(five of us from IITK) took flight from Lucknow to Hyderabad. The flight experience is unique for me as it was the first time I was up in the air. In fact I was more excited towards boarding the plane than the New Hires Day itself :P. I got a window seat just beside the wing and I spent most of the time looking at that wing, the jet engine and the ground below. The ground appeared closer than what I expected it to be as I could clearly see the bigger things such as rivers, ponds, villages etc. It was more like google earth. The book was no match for that experience of just looking at the receding world(even in 24-hour train journey also I find it more exciting to just look at the world that the advancing train is leaving behind). I must add that the new Hyderabad Airport rocked.
After reaching Hyderabad airport we were taken to Serenity Inn along with other new hires from other colleges. I was surprised at the fact the number of people from IITs are hardly 30 out of a total of around 80. I still don't understand the reason whether it is the reducing gap between IITs and other colleges or the reluctance on the part of IITians to go for job after B.Tech(than MS, MBA etc). The sex ratio was simply awesome, especially for a person like me from an IIT(especially IIT Kanpur in that also). Food at serenity was excellent. After a long time I filled my stomach with Hyderabadi biryani. I had a certain amount of hidden joy looking at my friends from northern India who found the hyderabadi food bad(I even told them that my time has began :) ).
We were given a t-shirt which we were supposed to wear for next day's day-long presentations. Next day we were taken to Microsoft India Development Centre and were officially offered employment at Microsoft with an offer letter and some goodies(including a 2gb pen drive). At first everyone sat with their batch-mates from their respective colleges. Then the organizer shuffled us and I got a rare opportunity of sitting at a table with all other seats filled by girls. But, as usual I proved to be very bad at socializing with new people. There were back-to-back presentations of various groups within Microsoft IDC. The presentations were not as uninteresting as I thought. The most exciting part in that building was the visit to the Microsoft visitors centre(which has a model of each of the Microsoft's products, especially the high technology ones such as xbox, surface, windows phone etc) in the afternoon. Unfortunately I could not get a chance to play with Xbox, which was occupied before I entered.
In the evening there was a campus tour of all the three buildings. Then there was a small treasure hunt. That was great with people spending more time in trying to get the answers to the clues by asking others than solving them themselves. Some people even called their friends for help(Incidentally I was one of them :P). In the end we were not able to get to the treasure :(. Then there was DJ. When DJ was started no one got up from the stairs. The organizer had to forcefully unseat us, to the dance floor. I usually try to keep a low profile in such things, but this time I became, I should say, hyper active(for which I regretted later which is a different matter of course).
By 10:00pm we returned to Serenity, completely exhausted of course. Next day was the trip to Ramoji film City. The Asia's largest film city is one of those things which every hyderabadi can feel proud of. It is on the same route that goes to my home. I had a strange feeling while traveling on the same road with very different people than I usually do. We had a very nice trip inside film city. Especially the escort in the bus was very funny. I was a bit dissatisfied with some of my friends when they failed to appreciate the elegance at which things are done in southern India compared to the northern part. Sarika socialized with people so much that everyone started yelling her name when the escort asked for a volunteer for the role of basanti in a fictional movie. Unfortunately we could not stay for long there, due to flight timings.
It is a very good idea to organize events like these, especially for the fresh college graduates. Being used to so much freedom in the academic life, it is natural that one feel very tense besides being excited, about professional life.
But, even after all this I must add that I am not very comfortable with the thought of transition from academic life to professional life. As mentioned earlier, I proved to be very bad at socializing with new people.
I definitely felt the joy of returning home , atlast after 4 years.
March 11, 2010
Tales from My Home
My last week visit to home was somewhat different from others. Though a very brief one, I have some special experiences. My home is not located in village as there are only 9 other houses near it. We always identify ourselves with a village named Kattavari Gudem(which itself is a small one and does not even have a gram panchayat) that is a kilometer away from our houses.
Most of the people in my village do not know what an IIT is. In many cases I will be forced to say my study in terms of classes(like 15th class, 16th class etc). Many think that I am studying this far in Kanpur because I could not get a seat in the near by college(and since IITs also charge fees, it becomes clear to them that it is a payment seat which means that I am not intelligent enough to get a free seat!!). It is interesting that whenever I say I study in kanpur, they nod their head as if they know this place just to make sure not to reveal that the place is actually unfamiliar(My brother calls it Delhi to give them a feel of what Kanpur is like. Delhi is something that everyone knows). This time I had something special to tell them. I have a job.
The thing that surprised and amused me is the array of pucca houses near my house all identical to each other clearly signifying that they were built by a community effort. There is a semi-nomad community of people living near my home. Their traditional occupation is playing the ox(it is gangireddulata in telugu) at funerals. But they are better known for begging in rural areas. They are migratory people. The adult members of the families migrate to drier areas during rainy season and winter and come back in the summer(I really don't know the reason for migration. The reason is rather obscure). They live in makeshift settlements and way of living is far from a civilized life. In fact their settlements can be called as rural slums. We can see all the characteristics of a typical BPL family like malnutrition, low life expectancy, high birth rate, illiteracy, lack of facilities of sanitation, drinking water, prevalence of unhygienic conditions etc in them. Literacy is absolute zero till 7-8 years ago. Thanks to the Mid day meals programme now some of them are sending their children to nearby primary school(which incidentally is the same one I studied till 5th class. The school was more lively then. Now it was almost deserted with only around 50 students. Now everyone is sending their children to private schools in the nearby towns). It is for them that the Govt. of AP had built pucca houses under Indira Awaas Yojana(popularly known as indiramma illu in AP). Though it is no way best in implementing govt. schemes I always feel proud of my state as many of the govt. schemes like PDS, PMGSY, NREGA were better implemented in my state. I still remember how the all weather road built under PMGSY transformed my village.
My village is relatively prosperous compared to many villages of India in the sense the we have assured irrigation source from Nagarjuna Sagar Multipurpose Project. My grandmother still tells me stories of impoverishment before the water came. The farmers are enterprising enough to produce some of the largest yields in the country. In fact the largest yield reported was around 69 quintolls/hectare which is one of the highest in the world(Average yield in India is around 20.5quintoll/hectare(2003-04)). Last 3-4 years have witnessed large scale mechanization mainly due to labour unavailability. Satellite TV is spreading rapidly(The way the users of DTH services are increasing everyday makes me feel that a revolution similar to telecom revolution is not far in India). It was only Doordarshan till 2 years ago in my home(the near by village was slightly better that it had dish network with 3-4 private channels). Though there are traces of caste inequality, the social atmosphere is more or less equal. The more extreme forms caste discrimination like untouchability are completely absent. This time we have an ST sarpanch. My village and the surrounding villages were actively involved in anti-nizam peasant struggles during 1940s and were staunch supporters of Communists till recent times(Miryalaguda, the only assembly seat held by CPI(M) now, our village was part of it before 2009 delimitation). Another new thing this time is the piped water facility constructed by gram panchayat. Before this the two hand pumps were the only sources of water which used put especially children and women under great physical stress.
Though we advanced a lot towards gender equality, gender inequality is still widely prevalent. Child marriages have completely disappeared, but still the average age of girl at marriage is around 18. Many of my schoolmates were already married and I am sure more than 90% of them will be married in an year. The importance given to education of girl child up to secondary school level is more or less same as that given to boy. But girls are clearly discriminated when it comes to higher education. Amount of wealth demanded as dowry is only growing with growth of literacy. Parents are anxious to somehow free themselves of girl child after completion of intermediate education(17 years). Marriage is generally seen as the end for education. Hence there are hardly 3 or 4 girls in the village who completed post-graduation.
More painful situation is that concerned with migration. Rural areas are gradually losing life. The younger generation is no longer interested in spending the rest of their life in the village. Even though agriculture has become more profitable(especially last year the returns on produce doubled in the span of just one year) in recent years due to scarcity of food grains in the world market, agriculture is generally seen as a low status job. Nowadays every parent is searching for a groom with a job and groom involved in agriculture is less favoured. I have a friend who refused to marry a person involved in agriculture, though he commands a large tract of land in the village. People are migrating in large numbers to nearby towns. The life of the migrants in towns are painful beyond explanation. They feel socially isolated, since the relations in urban areas tend to be formal compared to intimate relations in rural areas. They tend to live in unhygienic conditions due to the disappearance of natural sources of drinking water and sanitation in urban areas. Their social status suddenly falls down in urban areas where the economic inequality is markedly reflected in the social life. The thing is that though there is inequality in rural areas also, the relation between upper and lower sections are mostly patriarchal.
The story of migration is not just limited to my village. It is more or less the same story in every village of India. It is part of the social friction that India is undergoing in these years in its transformation from a traditional and underdeveloped society into a modern and developed society. I always feel my village as a mini India. There is optimism everywhere. Though the present conditions are poor, there are dreams of a secure of and prosperous future. Cellphone and plough exists at the same place. There is an urge to prove ourselves that we are second to none.
February 19, 2010
No Projects, No Assignments, No Term papers
Last semester in IITK is much different from other semesters. Most people got a job. Few are waiting for reply from some foreign universities. Some, especially those who are not satisfied with the job(or package I should say) are waiting for CAT results. There is no academic pressure on anyone since this semester's SPI is nowhere going to matter. Now they are playing phatta in front of my room(IITK lingo for cricket with tennis ball) almost whole day. The dual degree people seems to be a little jealous on B.Techs. Those who got job are dreaming of how the professional life is going to be(especially the package part of it, like how much they are going to get in-hand etcetera etcetera...). Most companies are already giving a taste of it by arranging a get-together in the coming mid-semester break.
For me this is the best semester. The best part is that there are no projects, no assignments, no term papers to continuously harass me. One thing that scares me the most in IITK is project(Assignments and term papers occupy the next scary positions). It is from 5th semester that I got this allergy for projects. I got C in 3 courses in that semester, just because my projects were not good(eventually I was 6 point something in that semester). They put me under enormous pressure, especially during the last two months of the semester, that I just started avoiding taking courses that has a project. In fact, my priorities in taking a course have been, first to see if it has a project or not, then to see if the course content is interesting, and finally to see if the instructor is interesting.
My department is very liberal in attendance policy, but almost all courses have assignments. Assignments also become a burden if somehow the course become uninteresting after sometime. In fact I hate this continuous evaluation criteria, for I prefer to study in blocks of days than everyday studying every course.
I am one of those who always saves the best for the end. I accumulated all my open electives for the last year. So in the last semester, I had complete freedom to choose any course in the whole institute. I took two BTP type courses this semester, because of the satisfaction the last BTP gave to me. The HSS course "Sociology of Development", and Economics course "Development Economics" are cool. The other course "Algebra", makes me remember the first year with >200 students in a mini-theater type lecture hall. Contact hours are hardly 3 hours per day. Although the contact hours for BTP are slightly more in my case compared to others, I love that time. So, I am spending most of the time on other things
BTP(B.Tech Project) is my most enjoyed course in IITK. My BTP being in theory, it was just thinking(and sometimes reading a few papers) and nothing else.
For me this is the best semester. The best part is that there are no projects, no assignments, no term papers to continuously harass me. One thing that scares me the most in IITK is project(Assignments and term papers occupy the next scary positions). It is from 5th semester that I got this allergy for projects. I got C in 3 courses in that semester, just because my projects were not good(eventually I was 6 point something in that semester). They put me under enormous pressure, especially during the last two months of the semester, that I just started avoiding taking courses that has a project. In fact, my priorities in taking a course have been, first to see if it has a project or not, then to see if the course content is interesting, and finally to see if the instructor is interesting.
My department is very liberal in attendance policy, but almost all courses have assignments. Assignments also become a burden if somehow the course become uninteresting after sometime. In fact I hate this continuous evaluation criteria, for I prefer to study in blocks of days than everyday studying every course.
I am one of those who always saves the best for the end. I accumulated all my open electives for the last year. So in the last semester, I had complete freedom to choose any course in the whole institute. I took two BTP type courses this semester, because of the satisfaction the last BTP gave to me. The HSS course "Sociology of Development", and Economics course "Development Economics" are cool. The other course "Algebra", makes me remember the first year with >200 students in a mini-theater type lecture hall. Contact hours are hardly 3 hours per day. Although the contact hours for BTP are slightly more in my case compared to others, I love that time. So, I am spending most of the time on other things
BTP(B.Tech Project) is my most enjoyed course in IITK. My BTP being in theory, it was just thinking(and sometimes reading a few papers) and nothing else.
February 17, 2010
Reservations: What I feel.
For the sake of maintaining some amount of homogeneity in the issues I am going to talk about, I confine myself to reservations to SC/STs and OBCs.
Reservations are part of affirmative action by the State to ensure equal opportunities for growth and to protect the citizens from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Constitution of India has clear provisions empowering the state to take affirmative action. Articles on fundamental rights were amended repeatedly to make sure they do not come in the way of affirmative action by state. The whole Part IV having Directive Principles of State Policy, though not justiciable and enforceable in courts, nevertheless reflects the responsibility the constitutional makers have put on the State. Articles 15(4), 15(5), 16(4) and 46(not justiciable) have explicit provisions for reservations.
However constitution identifies only Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes as the ones eligible for reservations. After Champakam Dorairajan Case(1950) and subsequent 1st amendment to constitution, reservations to SC/STs was never contested. It was reservations to backward classes that had increasingly became central to the politics of Independent India.
Rise of backward castes by the end of 1980s marked a watershed in the Indian political scene. Reservations were first implemented in govt. jobs after Supreme Court approval in the famous Indira sawhney case(1992) (popularly known as Mandal case). Later it was only in 2008, after Ashok Kumar Thakur v. Union of India case(2008) that they were extended to educational institutions.
The policy of reservations is a great idea designed to create an equal society out of the hugely stratified traditional Indian society. But, as opposed to many pro-reservationists, it is not a solution. It can never be a solution. One cannot hope for an equal society while repeatedly treating the people as unequals.
The problem with the policy of reservations is the way they are implemented. They were supposed to be reviewed every 10 years(for SC/STs , constitution need to be amended every 10 years, and every 5 years for OBCs as per Supreme Court's order in Mandal commission case(1992) and in Ashok Kumar Thakur case(2008) ). But no such thing is done till now. Every time, after 10 years they were extended like a holy ritual. It is undeniable that most of those who enjoyed the benefits reservation in these 60 years are relatively well off both socially and educationally in their own communities and by any standards, can not be classified as Socially and educationally backward. Due to lack of review of the policy of reservation, there arose an elite group within each community to which reservations are available, which is cornering most of the benefits of reservations. So the benefits of reservations are not truly going to socially and educationally backward. Today, as far as I have seen, almost 80% of those entering into IIT under reserved category are the ones who do not deserve the benefits of reservation under the criteria of backwardness.
Another controversial issue was the use of castes as basis to identify backward classes. Here also, reservations to SCs on the basis of caste were never contested. In the case of backward classes, the constitution only said socially and educationally backward classes, it never talked about castes(in fact Articles 15(1) and 16(1) prohibit discrimination of citizens on the basis of caste). But India's peculiar conditions of caste system gives sufficient ground for using castes to decide backward classes. Even Supreme Court repeatedly changed its stance on this issue. In Balaji v. State of Mysore(1963) case, it rejected specification of backward classes on the basis of caste, commenting that though the caste of a group may be relevant in identifying the backward class status, the importance of caste should not be exaggerated. Same court in Rajindran case(1968) said "a caste is also a class of citizens", and then in Periakaruppan case(1973) said that "a caste has always been recognized as a class". In the subsequent cases, though it expressed concerns about inherent drawbacks in using caste for the classification of citizens into classes, nevertheless accepted it with some modifications. Anti-reservationists argue that, caste based reservations are dividing the society and only furthering the evils of caste system. This argument is not exactly true, because the very aim of reservations involve dividing citizens and give emphasis to certain divisions. It is true to a large extent, thought there are some distortions in some cases, that a large portion of population in castes classified as backward castes indeed are backward. Practically, there is no other way to classify citizens to better reflect the social backwardness.
Most anti-reservationists talk about emphasizing economic backwardness than social or educational backwardness. But they fail to understand that social backwardness is not always synonymous to economic backwardness. Though it may be that the social discrimination(based on caste) has almost disappeared in urban areas, in rural areas, caste discrimination still exists.
Another argument of anti-reservationists is regarding merit. It should be noted that merit is an outcome of socio-cultural and educational environment one experiences since birth. Merit need not be the sole criteria for admissions into educational institutions and appointments to jobs. The criteria should be something that will benefit the society at large in the long run, and not just increasing the efficiency or productivity. Tamilnadu, the only state in which reservations for appointments are more than 50%(exact figure is around 67% if I am not wrong), is one of the best administered states in the country.
Creamy layer must be excluded from benefits of reservations in the case of OBCs. In the case of SC/STs it may not be a good idea to use the criteria of creamy layer, without conducting a detailed study of effect of reservations on SC/STs . The case of ST/STs is different because, as the Supreme Court puts it, historically they faced social exclusion in contrast to social deprivation faced by OBCs.
As I already said, reservations alone can never be a solution. Mandal commission's other recommendations such as progressive land reforms, special educational facilities to upgrade the cultural environment of students such as special emphasis on vocational training and separate coaching facilities for students aspiring to enter technical and professional institutions, creation of adequate facilities for improving and upgrading the skills of village artisans, subsidized loans for setting up small scale industries, setting up a separate chain of financial and technical bodies to assist entrepreneurs were practically ignored by successive governments.
Reservations are a temporary arrangement to correct the historical mistakes of Indian society. In the long run, at some point of time, we have to remove things such as reservations which emphasize divisions among society. Otherwise it becomes difficult to develop a sense of commonness and nationhood. State must treat all its citizens equally. Moreover reservations as they are already, are increasingly becoming a cause of social unrest. The lower sections of forward classes and certain sections of Minorities are already discontent with policy of reservations. The number of castes in reserved categories are only increasing, which again questions the efficacy of reservations as a tool for social upliftment.
New classes are demanding reservations and governments are increasingly under pressure to extend reservations to them. Yesterday it was for SC/STs and OBCs, today it is for Minorities, tomorrow it will be for economically backward in forward classes and day after tomorrow it will be something else. On the whole population to which benefits of reservations are available is only increasing. Politically it is very hard to remove castes/classes from the quota of reservations.
93rd amendment empowering the state to extend reservations to private educational institutions is already raising questions regarding fate of competence of Indian institutions in this era of Globalization.
So, it is time to review the policy of reservations and look for better alternatives that would suit the fast changing socio-economic conditions of citizens of India.
Reservations are part of affirmative action by the State to ensure equal opportunities for growth and to protect the citizens from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Constitution of India has clear provisions empowering the state to take affirmative action. Articles on fundamental rights were amended repeatedly to make sure they do not come in the way of affirmative action by state. The whole Part IV having Directive Principles of State Policy, though not justiciable and enforceable in courts, nevertheless reflects the responsibility the constitutional makers have put on the State. Articles 15(4), 15(5), 16(4) and 46(not justiciable) have explicit provisions for reservations.
However constitution identifies only Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and socially and educationally backward classes as the ones eligible for reservations. After Champakam Dorairajan Case(1950) and subsequent 1st amendment to constitution, reservations to SC/STs was never contested. It was reservations to backward classes that had increasingly became central to the politics of Independent India.
Rise of backward castes by the end of 1980s marked a watershed in the Indian political scene. Reservations were first implemented in govt. jobs after Supreme Court approval in the famous Indira sawhney case(1992) (popularly known as Mandal case). Later it was only in 2008, after Ashok Kumar Thakur v. Union of India case(2008) that they were extended to educational institutions.
The policy of reservations is a great idea designed to create an equal society out of the hugely stratified traditional Indian society. But, as opposed to many pro-reservationists, it is not a solution. It can never be a solution. One cannot hope for an equal society while repeatedly treating the people as unequals.
The problem with the policy of reservations is the way they are implemented. They were supposed to be reviewed every 10 years(for SC/STs , constitution need to be amended every 10 years, and every 5 years for OBCs as per Supreme Court's order in Mandal commission case(1992) and in Ashok Kumar Thakur case(2008) ). But no such thing is done till now. Every time, after 10 years they were extended like a holy ritual. It is undeniable that most of those who enjoyed the benefits reservation in these 60 years are relatively well off both socially and educationally in their own communities and by any standards, can not be classified as Socially and educationally backward. Due to lack of review of the policy of reservation, there arose an elite group within each community to which reservations are available, which is cornering most of the benefits of reservations. So the benefits of reservations are not truly going to socially and educationally backward. Today, as far as I have seen, almost 80% of those entering into IIT under reserved category are the ones who do not deserve the benefits of reservation under the criteria of backwardness.
Another controversial issue was the use of castes as basis to identify backward classes. Here also, reservations to SCs on the basis of caste were never contested. In the case of backward classes, the constitution only said socially and educationally backward classes, it never talked about castes(in fact Articles 15(1) and 16(1) prohibit discrimination of citizens on the basis of caste). But India's peculiar conditions of caste system gives sufficient ground for using castes to decide backward classes. Even Supreme Court repeatedly changed its stance on this issue. In Balaji v. State of Mysore(1963) case, it rejected specification of backward classes on the basis of caste, commenting that though the caste of a group may be relevant in identifying the backward class status, the importance of caste should not be exaggerated. Same court in Rajindran case(1968) said "a caste is also a class of citizens", and then in Periakaruppan case(1973) said that "a caste has always been recognized as a class". In the subsequent cases, though it expressed concerns about inherent drawbacks in using caste for the classification of citizens into classes, nevertheless accepted it with some modifications. Anti-reservationists argue that, caste based reservations are dividing the society and only furthering the evils of caste system. This argument is not exactly true, because the very aim of reservations involve dividing citizens and give emphasis to certain divisions. It is true to a large extent, thought there are some distortions in some cases, that a large portion of population in castes classified as backward castes indeed are backward. Practically, there is no other way to classify citizens to better reflect the social backwardness.
Most anti-reservationists talk about emphasizing economic backwardness than social or educational backwardness. But they fail to understand that social backwardness is not always synonymous to economic backwardness. Though it may be that the social discrimination(based on caste) has almost disappeared in urban areas, in rural areas, caste discrimination still exists.
Another argument of anti-reservationists is regarding merit. It should be noted that merit is an outcome of socio-cultural and educational environment one experiences since birth. Merit need not be the sole criteria for admissions into educational institutions and appointments to jobs. The criteria should be something that will benefit the society at large in the long run, and not just increasing the efficiency or productivity. Tamilnadu, the only state in which reservations for appointments are more than 50%(exact figure is around 67% if I am not wrong), is one of the best administered states in the country.
Creamy layer must be excluded from benefits of reservations in the case of OBCs. In the case of SC/STs it may not be a good idea to use the criteria of creamy layer, without conducting a detailed study of effect of reservations on SC/STs . The case of ST/STs is different because, as the Supreme Court puts it, historically they faced social exclusion in contrast to social deprivation faced by OBCs.
As I already said, reservations alone can never be a solution. Mandal commission's other recommendations such as progressive land reforms, special educational facilities to upgrade the cultural environment of students such as special emphasis on vocational training and separate coaching facilities for students aspiring to enter technical and professional institutions, creation of adequate facilities for improving and upgrading the skills of village artisans, subsidized loans for setting up small scale industries, setting up a separate chain of financial and technical bodies to assist entrepreneurs were practically ignored by successive governments.
Reservations are a temporary arrangement to correct the historical mistakes of Indian society. In the long run, at some point of time, we have to remove things such as reservations which emphasize divisions among society. Otherwise it becomes difficult to develop a sense of commonness and nationhood. State must treat all its citizens equally. Moreover reservations as they are already, are increasingly becoming a cause of social unrest. The lower sections of forward classes and certain sections of Minorities are already discontent with policy of reservations. The number of castes in reserved categories are only increasing, which again questions the efficacy of reservations as a tool for social upliftment.
New classes are demanding reservations and governments are increasingly under pressure to extend reservations to them. Yesterday it was for SC/STs and OBCs, today it is for Minorities, tomorrow it will be for economically backward in forward classes and day after tomorrow it will be something else. On the whole population to which benefits of reservations are available is only increasing. Politically it is very hard to remove castes/classes from the quota of reservations.
93rd amendment empowering the state to extend reservations to private educational institutions is already raising questions regarding fate of competence of Indian institutions in this era of Globalization.
So, it is time to review the policy of reservations and look for better alternatives that would suit the fast changing socio-economic conditions of citizens of India.
February 14, 2010
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas: Bridging the gap between Rural and Urban education
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are the premier schools established by Govt. of India to provide modern education to the talented children predominantly from the rural areas, without regard to their family's socio-economic conditions. Usually each district in the country(except in Tamilnadu) has one JNV. They were supposed to serve as focal points for improvements in quality of school education in each district. There are around 500 JNVs in the country. The first JNV was established in 1986.
I myself is an alumnus of JNV Nalgonda.
Unlike many other government schemes that went into the pages of history without making any significant impact on the society, Navodaya system was considered to be one of the most successful efforts of Govt. of India towards the promotion of quality education among the poor and underprivileged.
The remarkable feature of JNVs is their rural character. Almost all the campuses of JNVs (which are essentially residential) are located in rural areas, often away from any human habitation. Every year 80 students are taken into 6th class through an aptitude test that is composed of questions related to mental ability, elementary mathematics and some verbal ability. 75 % of the seats are reserved for students from rural areas. Seats are reserved for SCs/STs according to the proportion of their population in the district. Also admission procedure ensures that 1/3rd of the students are girls. They provide everything that is required to the student to be able to unleash all her/his creative energies. There is no need for any general store/stationary shop as everything from pens, refills, soaps, towel, toothpaste, shoes, bathroom slippers, uniform to mess, library, play-kits are provided by the school free of cost. They even provide traveling charges to go home during vacations. Note that all these facilities are essential to provide education at par with urban public schools since the students with rural background simply cannot afford them on their own.
The schools aim at all round development of students. Every student till 10th class has to attend compulsory classes in drawing, music and other cultural activities. Everyday 2-3 hours are completely dedicated to games and sports.
They are noted for the freedom they give to students which ultimately makes the student self-motivated and self sustaining.
The most important feature of navodaya system is the program of Migration. Under this 30% of students in 9th class are mutually exchanged between two different schools(usually the two schools belong to a hindi state and a non-hindi state). The aim of this is national integration(The tamil-lovers opposed this and hence no JNV is established in Tamilnadu). The students spends an year in a school different from that of his home district and in a different state from his home state. I myself spent an year in the remote Panna district in Bundhelkhand region. That is how I came across the vastness, diversity and a fundamental unity of people and cultures across my country.
The importance of navodaya lies in the fact that they produce not just the students of high intellectual quality but an army of citizens conscious of their responsibility and duty and dedicated towards building a prosperous India.
Reservations for girls and SC/STs also worked more positively in case of navodayas. Unlike many other educational institutions, where most of the benefits of reservations are cornered by well-off individuals or the urban middle class in respective groups, it did not happen in case navodayas. This is because of the reservation to rural areas. 90% of the reserved category students are really from economically weak background. In fact it often happens that the students from SC/STs are more than what are reserved to them.
Like every other govt institution, JNVs are also plagued with many problems. Maladministration , corruption, lack of discipline among students, deteriorating quality of teachers are some of them. Though there is excellent education up to 10th class, often 11th and 12th classes are neglected by both students and teachers. Students, though intelligent, coming out of relatively shielded and isolated environment of school, are finding it hard to survive in this world of cut-throat competition.
What I liked most in navodaya is not these facilities and not even the quality education they provided. It is the atmosphere of creativity and innovation that generally prevails in the campus in contract to many other schools(infact the whole schooling system in India). We made mathematical models out of wood, built small houses out of earth, made instruments to measure height of a water tank from the ground. I myself being from a rural area would not have been here in IIT if it is not Navodaya.
I myself is an alumnus of JNV Nalgonda.
Unlike many other government schemes that went into the pages of history without making any significant impact on the society, Navodaya system was considered to be one of the most successful efforts of Govt. of India towards the promotion of quality education among the poor and underprivileged.
The remarkable feature of JNVs is their rural character. Almost all the campuses of JNVs (which are essentially residential) are located in rural areas, often away from any human habitation. Every year 80 students are taken into 6th class through an aptitude test that is composed of questions related to mental ability, elementary mathematics and some verbal ability. 75 % of the seats are reserved for students from rural areas. Seats are reserved for SCs/STs according to the proportion of their population in the district. Also admission procedure ensures that 1/3rd of the students are girls. They provide everything that is required to the student to be able to unleash all her/his creative energies. There is no need for any general store/stationary shop as everything from pens, refills, soaps, towel, toothpaste, shoes, bathroom slippers, uniform to mess, library, play-kits are provided by the school free of cost. They even provide traveling charges to go home during vacations. Note that all these facilities are essential to provide education at par with urban public schools since the students with rural background simply cannot afford them on their own.
The schools aim at all round development of students. Every student till 10th class has to attend compulsory classes in drawing, music and other cultural activities. Everyday 2-3 hours are completely dedicated to games and sports.
They are noted for the freedom they give to students which ultimately makes the student self-motivated and self sustaining.
The most important feature of navodaya system is the program of Migration. Under this 30% of students in 9th class are mutually exchanged between two different schools(usually the two schools belong to a hindi state and a non-hindi state). The aim of this is national integration(The tamil-lovers opposed this and hence no JNV is established in Tamilnadu). The students spends an year in a school different from that of his home district and in a different state from his home state. I myself spent an year in the remote Panna district in Bundhelkhand region. That is how I came across the vastness, diversity and a fundamental unity of people and cultures across my country.
The importance of navodaya lies in the fact that they produce not just the students of high intellectual quality but an army of citizens conscious of their responsibility and duty and dedicated towards building a prosperous India.
Reservations for girls and SC/STs also worked more positively in case of navodayas. Unlike many other educational institutions, where most of the benefits of reservations are cornered by well-off individuals or the urban middle class in respective groups, it did not happen in case navodayas. This is because of the reservation to rural areas. 90% of the reserved category students are really from economically weak background. In fact it often happens that the students from SC/STs are more than what are reserved to them.
Like every other govt institution, JNVs are also plagued with many problems. Maladministration , corruption, lack of discipline among students, deteriorating quality of teachers are some of them. Though there is excellent education up to 10th class, often 11th and 12th classes are neglected by both students and teachers. Students, though intelligent, coming out of relatively shielded and isolated environment of school, are finding it hard to survive in this world of cut-throat competition.
What I liked most in navodaya is not these facilities and not even the quality education they provided. It is the atmosphere of creativity and innovation that generally prevails in the campus in contract to many other schools(infact the whole schooling system in India). We made mathematical models out of wood, built small houses out of earth, made instruments to measure height of a water tank from the ground. I myself being from a rural area would not have been here in IIT if it is not Navodaya.
February 13, 2010
Political Party in India: Undemocratic institution talking of Democracy
"In a democratic society all roads lead to politics"
--JP
Political parties are essential in democratic polity. Political party in a conventional sense plays the role of executive when in power(also legislative functions in a parliamentary system) and act as a constructive opponent (often raising issues that the ruling parties fail to take notice of) when in opposition. Most people believe these are the only or the primary functions of a political party. But the functions of political parties are much broader. They act as bridge between the change and status quo. They act as motives force behind social change in otherwise traditional society. They act as the agents of achieving consensus among divergent opinions in a democracy. Democracy without political parties is not self-sustaining. Organized institutions espousing particular political values are essential for the survival of liberal democracy.
In India(and in many other developing countries), political parties became more or less organized mobs. They just made it look like if autocracy is loot by one(the autocrat) then democracy is loot by many. Democracy became Mob-o-cracy. In a normal party in India, one person ascends to top position having the advantage of starting the party or by some other means(often not through public support), and stays there forever. He decides what will be the policies of the party, who will be the members of the party, and expels members whoever threatens his position. After him, some other member in his family takes his position. The top leadership of every major political party in India today is consisted of this kind of persons.
There is no internal Democracy. Very few political parties have constitutions. Manifestos are not prepared on a scientific basis. There is no accountability either to the people or to the grassroots party workers from the top leadership.
In these circumstances it is money and muscle that act as prerequisites for ascent in the party hierarchy. For these parties the people became mere sources of votes. Forget about bringing about change in the society, in many cases they acted as hindrance to initiatives of good citizens. Choice of candidates to contest in elections is arbitrary, often based on the will of a few persons at the top. They leave little choice for voter and in which case voter also looks in a rational way for short term gains and votes according to primordial loyalties of caste, language, region, religion, tribe etc. This kind of political parties at best can bring change out of compulsion(like Economic Reforms of 1991, only when there is no other alternative). These have no regard for democratic procedure. All they want is power and do anything for it. A system of raw justice prevails. Honesty and survival in the party becomes incompatible. And the few honest individuals in the party are caught in a vicious circle.
Important thing is that the political parties create so much noise that any other voice from either individuals or the civil society becomes weak in front of it. It is very hard to influence the policies of the state on a large scale from outside a political party. They dominate newspaper space, television time, discussions in cyber space. So on the one hand, for any positive change they become indispensable. On the other hand their structure is so rotten that the honest and innovative citizens find it hard to enter them.
New political parties that are founded on sound principles by good citizens find it hard to survive due to the First-Past-Post System.
The only solution solution lies in the reforms in the constitution of political parties. Our constitution, which is the most extensive constitution in the world, surprisingly has no provision for controlling the internal organization of the political party. It only empowered the parliament to make laws in that regard. Accordingly parliament enacted Representation of the People act, 1951. This is the only law(as far as I know) that defines what constitutes a political party and gave some guidelines for the organization of the party. Even this is limited to funding. There is no reference either to internal democracy or to qualifications for membership. Election Commission has some powers in this regard by the powers vested on it by Article 324. But, without legislative or constitutional backing, its powers are limited.
In this context, Article 21 of the German Constitution is worth reproducing here.
Article 21 (Political Parties)--JP
Political parties are essential in democratic polity. Political party in a conventional sense plays the role of executive when in power(also legislative functions in a parliamentary system) and act as a constructive opponent (often raising issues that the ruling parties fail to take notice of) when in opposition. Most people believe these are the only or the primary functions of a political party. But the functions of political parties are much broader. They act as bridge between the change and status quo. They act as motives force behind social change in otherwise traditional society. They act as the agents of achieving consensus among divergent opinions in a democracy. Democracy without political parties is not self-sustaining. Organized institutions espousing particular political values are essential for the survival of liberal democracy.
In India(and in many other developing countries), political parties became more or less organized mobs. They just made it look like if autocracy is loot by one(the autocrat) then democracy is loot by many. Democracy became Mob-o-cracy. In a normal party in India, one person ascends to top position having the advantage of starting the party or by some other means(often not through public support), and stays there forever. He decides what will be the policies of the party, who will be the members of the party, and expels members whoever threatens his position. After him, some other member in his family takes his position. The top leadership of every major political party in India today is consisted of this kind of persons.
There is no internal Democracy. Very few political parties have constitutions. Manifestos are not prepared on a scientific basis. There is no accountability either to the people or to the grassroots party workers from the top leadership.
In these circumstances it is money and muscle that act as prerequisites for ascent in the party hierarchy. For these parties the people became mere sources of votes. Forget about bringing about change in the society, in many cases they acted as hindrance to initiatives of good citizens. Choice of candidates to contest in elections is arbitrary, often based on the will of a few persons at the top. They leave little choice for voter and in which case voter also looks in a rational way for short term gains and votes according to primordial loyalties of caste, language, region, religion, tribe etc. This kind of political parties at best can bring change out of compulsion(like Economic Reforms of 1991, only when there is no other alternative). These have no regard for democratic procedure. All they want is power and do anything for it. A system of raw justice prevails. Honesty and survival in the party becomes incompatible. And the few honest individuals in the party are caught in a vicious circle.
Important thing is that the political parties create so much noise that any other voice from either individuals or the civil society becomes weak in front of it. It is very hard to influence the policies of the state on a large scale from outside a political party. They dominate newspaper space, television time, discussions in cyber space. So on the one hand, for any positive change they become indispensable. On the other hand their structure is so rotten that the honest and innovative citizens find it hard to enter them.
New political parties that are founded on sound principles by good citizens find it hard to survive due to the First-Past-Post System.
The only solution solution lies in the reforms in the constitution of political parties. Our constitution, which is the most extensive constitution in the world, surprisingly has no provision for controlling the internal organization of the political party. It only empowered the parliament to make laws in that regard. Accordingly parliament enacted Representation of the People act, 1951. This is the only law(as far as I know) that defines what constitutes a political party and gave some guidelines for the organization of the party. Even this is limited to funding. There is no reference either to internal democracy or to qualifications for membership. Election Commission has some powers in this regard by the powers vested on it by Article 324. But, without legislative or constitutional backing, its powers are limited.
In this context, Article 21 of the German Constitution is worth reproducing here.
(amended 21 December 1983)
(1) The political parties participate in the forming of the political will of
the people. They may be freely established. Their internal organization shall
conform to democratic principles. They shall publicly account for the sources
of their funds and for their assets.
(2) Parties which, by reason of their aims or the behavior of their adherents,
seek or impair or destroy the free democratic basic order or to endanger the
existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional. The
Federal Constitutional Court decides on the question of unconstitutionality.
(3) Details will be regulated by Federal legislation.
Internal democracy is the most essential thing required in a party. Clause 2 in the above article is of special significance to India. In a traditional society like that of India, many parties are still professing loyalties to their caste, region, language, faith etc often against the provisions of the constitution. The first thing every citizen, every association in this country must do is to abide by the Constitution. Unconstitutional elements have no place in a liberal democracy. Parties preaching hatred against people of certain regions, spreading communal mistrust and disharmony, indulging in anti-national activities, violating the fundamental rights of the citizens have no place in the Republic of India.
Political parties, media and civil society must wake up to bring about necessary legislation and constitutional amendments. To build a formidable India, we need progressive political parties functioning according to the principles of democracy.
Also it is time to shift to Proportional Representation system. Stability is of no use if it fails to bring about desired social change and dynamism in the political space.
January 26, 2010
Movie: మహాత్మ
శ్రీకాంత్ కు ఇది వందవ చిత్రం. సమకాలీన రాజకీయ పరిస్తితులకు అద్దం పడుతూ కృష్ణవంశీ దర్శకత్వంలో శ్రీకాంత్ ప్రధాన పాత్రలో విడుదలైన ఈ చిత్రం గత రెండు మూడు సంవత్సరాలలో విడుదలిన చిత్రాలలో అత్యంత ఆలోచింప చేసేదిగా చెప్పుకోవచ్చు. వ్యాపారమే లక్ష్యంగా సూపర్ మాన్ లా ఫైట్లు చేసే హీరో, చాలీ చాలని బట్టలతో గంతులేసే హీరోయిన్, పాత చింతకాయ పచ్చడి లాంటి ప్రేమ కథలతో నిండి ఉన్న నేటి తెలుగు సినిమాలన్నింటిలో ఈ సినిమా ఒక ప్రత్యేక స్థానాన్ని సొంతం చేసుకుంది.
కథ విషయానికి వస్తే, దాస్(శ్రీకాంత్) ఒక వీధి రౌడి. ఇతడు చేసే పాడు పనులన్నింటికి ఒక మహాత్ముని విగ్రహం మూగ సాక్షిగా ఉంటుంది. సినిమాలో చాల సన్నివేశాలకు ఈ మహాత్ముని విగ్రహం ప్రధాన భూమిక పోషిస్తుంది. చిన్న చిన్న సెటిల్ మెంట్లు చేసే దాస్ ఉండే వీధిలో ఒకరోజు సినిమా షూటింగ్ జరుగుతుంది. రంగుల ప్రపంచంలోని విలసవంతమైన జీవితాన్ని కళ్ళతో చూసిన దాస్, తను కూడా ఒక హీరో ఐపోదామని ఒక స్టూడియోకి వెళ్లి హీరోతో గొడవ పెట్టుకుంటాడు. సినిరంగంలో బంధువులు కాని, సరిపోయేంత డబ్బు కాని లేకపోతె హీరో కావటం కష్టం అని గ్రహించి, MLA అయిన దాదా దగ్గర పార్టీ కార్యకర్తగా చేరిపోతాడు. అంటే దాదా రాజకీయ అండతో హీరో ఐపోదామని దాస్ ఆలోచన. కొన్ని రోజుల్లోనే దాదాకు, దాస్ ఒక నమ్మకస్తుడైన కార్యకర్తగా మారతాడు. దాదా అండతో కార్పొరేటర్ కూడా అవుతాడు. కాని చివరికి తన కొడుకుని హత్యకేసు నుంచి తప్పించటానికి దాస్ ను తానే ఆ హత్య చేసినట్లు ఒప్పుకోమని చెప్తాడు దాదా. ఇప్పుడే దాదా అసలు రాజకీయ రంగు దాస్ కు భోధ పడుతుంది. ఇంక చివరికి తానే స్వయంగా దాదా మీద ఎన్నికల్లో పోటి చేద్దామని నిర్ణయించుకుంటాడు దాస్. దాస్ కు ధన బలం కానీ, బంధు బలం కానీ లేదని ఏ పార్టీ కూడా టికెట్ ఇవ్వదు. కాబట్టి తనే సొంతంగా "మహాత్మ పార్టీ" ని స్తాపించి ఎన్నికల ప్రచారం మొదలు పెడతాడు. ఈలోపు దాదా చనిపోతే ఆ సెంటిమెంట్ వోట్ తో తను గెలవచ్చని దాదా కొడుకు పైడమ్మ దాదాని చంపటానికి ప్రయత్నిస్తాడు. అప్పుడు దాదా చివరికి తన వాళ్ళంటూ ఎవరు లేరని గ్రహించి ఒక్క దాస్ మాత్రమే తనను కాపాడగలదని దాస్ కు ఫోన్ చేసి సహాయం అర్దిస్తాడు. దాస్ వచ్చి దాదాను కాపాడతాడు. చివరికి నామినేషన్ వేసే సమయంలో దాస్ తన మనసు మార్చుకుని నామినేషన్ వేసే ఛాన్స్ వేరే సామాజిక కార్యకర్తకు ఇస్తాడు.
ఇంచుమించు "ఆపరేషన్ దుర్యోధన" లాగానే ఈ సినిమాకు కూడా ప్రధాన అంశం సమకాలీన రాజకీయాలే. కాని దీంట్లో మనం చరిత్ర లో భారతావనిని కోసం పోరాడిన గొప్ప గొప్ప నాయకులూ, ఇంక వారి ఆదర్శాలను గురించి కూడా చూడొచ్చు. ఇంకా అహింసకు కూడా ఒక ప్రత్యేక స్తానాన్ని కల్పిస్తుంది ఈ సినిమా. అప్పుడప్పుడు, మర్చిపోయిన అమరవీరులను మనకు గుర్తు చేస్తూ బళ్ళారి చెప్పే విమర్శనాత్మక డైలాగులు ఈ సినిమా మొత్తానికే హైలైట్. బడా రాజకీయ నాయకులు కార్యకర్తలను తమ రాజకీయ చదరంగంలో ఎలా విలువ లేని పావులుగా ఉపయోగించుకుంటారో మనకు కళ్ళకు కట్టినట్లు చూపిస్తాడు. రంగుల ప్రపంచంలో తెరవెనుక జరిగే విషయాలను కూడా చూపించాడు. రాజకీయ నాయకులూ చేసే ప్రజా ఉద్యమాల వెనక స్వంత ప్రయోజనాల్ని కూడా కొంత వరకు చూపిస్తాడు. సామాన్య ప్రజలు ఎలా రాజకీయ నాయకుల చేతిలో మోసపోతున్నారో విమర్శనాత్మంగా చూపించిన వైనం చాలా బాగుంది.
ఆధునిక భారతదేశంలో గాంధీ ఎలా కరెన్సీ నోటుపై బొమ్మలా, ఒక సెలవులా మారిపోయాడో చాల చక్కగా విమర్శిస్తాడు. అహింసకు ఒక ప్రత్యేక స్తానం కల్పించినప్పటికీ, దాన్ని ఒక గొప్ప ఆయుధంగా చూపించటంలో మాత్రం దర్శకుడు విఫలం అయ్యాడు. సినిమాలో ఉండే హింసే దీనికి సాక్షి. చాలా ఇతర సినిమాల లాగానే అహింసను ఒక గొప్ప సిద్ధాంతంగా చూపించాడే తప్ప, అది నిజంగా, మహాత్మునిలా ప్రజా జీవితం లో అన్నింటికన్నా గొప్ప ఆయుధం అని చూపించలేకపోయాడు.
ఇంకా ఈ మద్య వస్తున్న అన్ని సినిమాల లాగానే, పోలీసు వ్యవస్థను కొంచెం పాజిటివ్ గానే చూపించాడు. ముఖ్యంగా దాదా కొడుకు హత్యకేసు లో ఇరుక్కున్నప్పుడు, దాస్ దాదా ను తనకు తెలిసిన విషయాలన్నీ పోలీసులకు చెప్తా అని అన్నప్పుడు, పెద్ద పెద్ద రాజకీయ నాయకులు కూడా ఇంకా పోలీసులకు, చట్టానికి బయపదతారని చూపించాడు.
ఈ సినిమా లో కొన్ని ఆసక్తి కరమైన అంశాలు కూడా ఉన్నాయి. ముఖ్యంగా, గాంధీ మిగత సినిమాల్లా కేవలం భారత్ కు మాత్రమే కాకుండా కాకుండా ఉపఖండానికి మొత్తానికి స్వాతంత్ర్యం తెచ్చాడని చూపిస్తాడు. ఇంకా మనం 800 వందల సంవత్సరాల నుంచి బానిసత్వంలో బతికామని అనటం చరిత్రను వక్రీకరించడమే. చివరికి MLA పోటీ చెయ్యటానికి ఒక సామాన్య మనిషికి అవకాశం ఇచ్చి ఏ మాత్రం పదవి వ్యామోహం లేని గాంధీని గుర్తుకు తెస్తాడు.
శ్రీకాంత్ నట జీవితం లో ఇదొక కలికితురాయిలా మిగిలిపోతుంది. ముఖ్యంగా కోపాన్ని ప్రదర్శిస్తూ, ఎలా ఒక్కో విషయం తను రియలైస్ అవుతూ, ప్రేక్షకులను కూడా రియలైస్ ఐయ్యేట్లు శ్రీకాంత్ చేసిన నటన తిరుగులేనిది. కృష్ణ వంశీ స్క్రీన్ ప్లే కూడా చాలా బాగుంది.
నేను మాములుగా తెలుగు సినిమాలు హాస్యం ఉంటే తప్పించి ఎక్కువగా చూడను. కానీ ఈ సినిమా కొంచెం డిఫరెంట్ అని మాత్రం చెప్పగలను.
కథ విషయానికి వస్తే, దాస్(శ్రీకాంత్) ఒక వీధి రౌడి. ఇతడు చేసే పాడు పనులన్నింటికి ఒక మహాత్ముని విగ్రహం మూగ సాక్షిగా ఉంటుంది. సినిమాలో చాల సన్నివేశాలకు ఈ మహాత్ముని విగ్రహం ప్రధాన భూమిక పోషిస్తుంది. చిన్న చిన్న సెటిల్ మెంట్లు చేసే దాస్ ఉండే వీధిలో ఒకరోజు సినిమా షూటింగ్ జరుగుతుంది. రంగుల ప్రపంచంలోని విలసవంతమైన జీవితాన్ని కళ్ళతో చూసిన దాస్, తను కూడా ఒక హీరో ఐపోదామని ఒక స్టూడియోకి వెళ్లి హీరోతో గొడవ పెట్టుకుంటాడు. సినిరంగంలో బంధువులు కాని, సరిపోయేంత డబ్బు కాని లేకపోతె హీరో కావటం కష్టం అని గ్రహించి, MLA అయిన దాదా దగ్గర పార్టీ కార్యకర్తగా చేరిపోతాడు. అంటే దాదా రాజకీయ అండతో హీరో ఐపోదామని దాస్ ఆలోచన. కొన్ని రోజుల్లోనే దాదాకు, దాస్ ఒక నమ్మకస్తుడైన కార్యకర్తగా మారతాడు. దాదా అండతో కార్పొరేటర్ కూడా అవుతాడు. కాని చివరికి తన కొడుకుని హత్యకేసు నుంచి తప్పించటానికి దాస్ ను తానే ఆ హత్య చేసినట్లు ఒప్పుకోమని చెప్తాడు దాదా. ఇప్పుడే దాదా అసలు రాజకీయ రంగు దాస్ కు భోధ పడుతుంది. ఇంక చివరికి తానే స్వయంగా దాదా మీద ఎన్నికల్లో పోటి చేద్దామని నిర్ణయించుకుంటాడు దాస్. దాస్ కు ధన బలం కానీ, బంధు బలం కానీ లేదని ఏ పార్టీ కూడా టికెట్ ఇవ్వదు. కాబట్టి తనే సొంతంగా "మహాత్మ పార్టీ" ని స్తాపించి ఎన్నికల ప్రచారం మొదలు పెడతాడు. ఈలోపు దాదా చనిపోతే ఆ సెంటిమెంట్ వోట్ తో తను గెలవచ్చని దాదా కొడుకు పైడమ్మ దాదాని చంపటానికి ప్రయత్నిస్తాడు. అప్పుడు దాదా చివరికి తన వాళ్ళంటూ ఎవరు లేరని గ్రహించి ఒక్క దాస్ మాత్రమే తనను కాపాడగలదని దాస్ కు ఫోన్ చేసి సహాయం అర్దిస్తాడు. దాస్ వచ్చి దాదాను కాపాడతాడు. చివరికి నామినేషన్ వేసే సమయంలో దాస్ తన మనసు మార్చుకుని నామినేషన్ వేసే ఛాన్స్ వేరే సామాజిక కార్యకర్తకు ఇస్తాడు.
ఇంచుమించు "ఆపరేషన్ దుర్యోధన" లాగానే ఈ సినిమాకు కూడా ప్రధాన అంశం సమకాలీన రాజకీయాలే. కాని దీంట్లో మనం చరిత్ర లో భారతావనిని కోసం పోరాడిన గొప్ప గొప్ప నాయకులూ, ఇంక వారి ఆదర్శాలను గురించి కూడా చూడొచ్చు. ఇంకా అహింసకు కూడా ఒక ప్రత్యేక స్తానాన్ని కల్పిస్తుంది ఈ సినిమా. అప్పుడప్పుడు, మర్చిపోయిన అమరవీరులను మనకు గుర్తు చేస్తూ బళ్ళారి చెప్పే విమర్శనాత్మక డైలాగులు ఈ సినిమా మొత్తానికే హైలైట్. బడా రాజకీయ నాయకులు కార్యకర్తలను తమ రాజకీయ చదరంగంలో ఎలా విలువ లేని పావులుగా ఉపయోగించుకుంటారో మనకు కళ్ళకు కట్టినట్లు చూపిస్తాడు. రంగుల ప్రపంచంలో తెరవెనుక జరిగే విషయాలను కూడా చూపించాడు. రాజకీయ నాయకులూ చేసే ప్రజా ఉద్యమాల వెనక స్వంత ప్రయోజనాల్ని కూడా కొంత వరకు చూపిస్తాడు. సామాన్య ప్రజలు ఎలా రాజకీయ నాయకుల చేతిలో మోసపోతున్నారో విమర్శనాత్మంగా చూపించిన వైనం చాలా బాగుంది.
ఆధునిక భారతదేశంలో గాంధీ ఎలా కరెన్సీ నోటుపై బొమ్మలా, ఒక సెలవులా మారిపోయాడో చాల చక్కగా విమర్శిస్తాడు. అహింసకు ఒక ప్రత్యేక స్తానం కల్పించినప్పటికీ, దాన్ని ఒక గొప్ప ఆయుధంగా చూపించటంలో మాత్రం దర్శకుడు విఫలం అయ్యాడు. సినిమాలో ఉండే హింసే దీనికి సాక్షి. చాలా ఇతర సినిమాల లాగానే అహింసను ఒక గొప్ప సిద్ధాంతంగా చూపించాడే తప్ప, అది నిజంగా, మహాత్మునిలా ప్రజా జీవితం లో అన్నింటికన్నా గొప్ప ఆయుధం అని చూపించలేకపోయాడు.
ఇంకా ఈ మద్య వస్తున్న అన్ని సినిమాల లాగానే, పోలీసు వ్యవస్థను కొంచెం పాజిటివ్ గానే చూపించాడు. ముఖ్యంగా దాదా కొడుకు హత్యకేసు లో ఇరుక్కున్నప్పుడు, దాస్ దాదా ను తనకు తెలిసిన విషయాలన్నీ పోలీసులకు చెప్తా అని అన్నప్పుడు, పెద్ద పెద్ద రాజకీయ నాయకులు కూడా ఇంకా పోలీసులకు, చట్టానికి బయపదతారని చూపించాడు.
ఈ సినిమా లో కొన్ని ఆసక్తి కరమైన అంశాలు కూడా ఉన్నాయి. ముఖ్యంగా, గాంధీ మిగత సినిమాల్లా కేవలం భారత్ కు మాత్రమే కాకుండా కాకుండా ఉపఖండానికి మొత్తానికి స్వాతంత్ర్యం తెచ్చాడని చూపిస్తాడు. ఇంకా మనం 800 వందల సంవత్సరాల నుంచి బానిసత్వంలో బతికామని అనటం చరిత్రను వక్రీకరించడమే. చివరికి MLA పోటీ చెయ్యటానికి ఒక సామాన్య మనిషికి అవకాశం ఇచ్చి ఏ మాత్రం పదవి వ్యామోహం లేని గాంధీని గుర్తుకు తెస్తాడు.
శ్రీకాంత్ నట జీవితం లో ఇదొక కలికితురాయిలా మిగిలిపోతుంది. ముఖ్యంగా కోపాన్ని ప్రదర్శిస్తూ, ఎలా ఒక్కో విషయం తను రియలైస్ అవుతూ, ప్రేక్షకులను కూడా రియలైస్ ఐయ్యేట్లు శ్రీకాంత్ చేసిన నటన తిరుగులేనిది. కృష్ణ వంశీ స్క్రీన్ ప్లే కూడా చాలా బాగుంది.
నేను మాములుగా తెలుగు సినిమాలు హాస్యం ఉంటే తప్పించి ఎక్కువగా చూడను. కానీ ఈ సినిమా కొంచెం డిఫరెంట్ అని మాత్రం చెప్పగలను.
January 25, 2010
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January 11, 2010
Corruption: A Crime against Humanity
"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it"
--Mark Twain
--Mark Twain
A few days ago I found myself arguing with one of my friends who says corruption is essential. This is new. I heard people say that corruption is inevitable and necessary to deal with certain circumstances in a more rational way. These are statements that come out of desperation. But, to say it is essential only show how deep the notion of corruption became a part of our daily life. People, as they found how they can never get away from corruption, started thinking of ways to rationalize the use of corruption through their experience and wisdom.
It is said that corruption in Independent India first came as political corruption. Then political corruption paved the way for administrative corruption. Politics in India is one of the most profitable profession. The truth is that there is no limit to the profits in this profession. A young MP from Andhra Pradesh showed Income tax of around 70 crores this year and the same thing last year was a few lakhs. From where does he got so much wealth in one year? Recent Madhu Koda affair did not shock many of us. We all know that he is not the only one among his cult (Note that he is not part of any established political party and that may be the reason why he is caught . In fact corruption charges are never laid against a politician when his party is in power and the rare cases of trial and conviction always happen when his opponents are in power) It is said that black economy in India accounts for more than 20% of GDP. This is the amount of wealth of the nation that is going into the secrete swiss bank accounts of corrupt politicians, administrators, businessmen.
For the rich and affluent corruption may be a nuisance. For the middle class it is a burden. But, for the lower classes it is a curse. A rickshaw-puller in Kanpur has to pay on an average 1/6 of his earnings to policemen. Poor families who lost their bread earner in some accident or a terrorist attack has to wait for years, has to wet the hands of many government officers to finally get govt compensation. Corruption that affects those who lost everything in a natural disaster, pensions of aged old men, widows, children, daily wage earners is really a crime against humanity.
Corruption forms the core of India's underdevelopment besides the historical backwardness. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi once lamented that only 16 paise of every rupee spent by the government reaches the intended beneficiary.
Centralized administration has created more and more middle men. Decentralization of governance must be our first step towards corruption-free administration. Today , even after more than 15 years after local bodies(panchayats and municipalities) were constitutionally recognised(Note that there bodies are in existence in India since time immemorial ) , we still find state governments reluctant to divulge some of their powers to them. Use of Information and Communication technology in governance will also removes middlemen. It is interesting to note that the goodlooking and well-informative websites of government departments are those of Union Territories which are practically governed by bureaucrats. Who will educate our politicians about the benefits of IT ??
It is widely accepted that it is the duty of the educated especially the intelligentsia to take the society forward. But, in India unfortunately, it is the educated who indulge more in corruption. Surely, it is the problem of our education system that it is not able to make a person aware of what is good for society in which he/she lives. Our examination system has almost made learning a mechanical process.
Corrupt must be socially boycotted.
No political propaganda can succeed if people do not feel its seriousness. People must be made aware of the seriousness of the problem of corruption. There is a lot of publicity and public uproar on multi crore scandals, but no one say a word on the Rs .100 that citizen has to pay to get drivers license, to get passport, to a ration shop dealer, to escape the wrath of a policeman etc. In fact it is these Rs.100 bribes that affect more lives than multi-crore scandals. Corruption is corruption whether it is Rs.100 or Rs. 10000.
The laws must be made more stringent. The vigilance and law enforcement agencies still have to take permission from government to start investigations. In fact there are very few provisions for recovery of money lost due to corruption.
Abdul Kalam once said that if a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
As for the political corruption, people get what they deserve. Corrupt politicians win elections as long as we vote them. In fact many in India do not even consider vote to be a potential weapon.
It is said that corruption in Independent India first came as political corruption. Then political corruption paved the way for administrative corruption. Politics in India is one of the most profitable profession. The truth is that there is no limit to the profits in this profession. A young MP from Andhra Pradesh showed Income tax of around 70 crores this year and the same thing last year was a few lakhs. From where does he got so much wealth in one year? Recent Madhu Koda affair did not shock many of us. We all know that he is not the only one among his cult (Note that he is not part of any established political party and that may be the reason why he is caught . In fact corruption charges are never laid against a politician when his party is in power and the rare cases of trial and conviction always happen when his opponents are in power) It is said that black economy in India accounts for more than 20% of GDP. This is the amount of wealth of the nation that is going into the secrete swiss bank accounts of corrupt politicians, administrators, businessmen.
For the rich and affluent corruption may be a nuisance. For the middle class it is a burden. But, for the lower classes it is a curse. A rickshaw-puller in Kanpur has to pay on an average 1/6 of his earnings to policemen. Poor families who lost their bread earner in some accident or a terrorist attack has to wait for years, has to wet the hands of many government officers to finally get govt compensation. Corruption that affects those who lost everything in a natural disaster, pensions of aged old men, widows, children, daily wage earners is really a crime against humanity.
Corruption forms the core of India's underdevelopment besides the historical backwardness. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi once lamented that only 16 paise of every rupee spent by the government reaches the intended beneficiary.
Centralized administration has created more and more middle men. Decentralization of governance must be our first step towards corruption-free administration. Today , even after more than 15 years after local bodies(panchayats and municipalities) were constitutionally recognised(Note that there bodies are in existence in India since time immemorial ) , we still find state governments reluctant to divulge some of their powers to them. Use of Information and Communication technology in governance will also removes middlemen. It is interesting to note that the goodlooking and well-informative websites of government departments are those of Union Territories which are practically governed by bureaucrats. Who will educate our politicians about the benefits of IT ??
It is widely accepted that it is the duty of the educated especially the intelligentsia to take the society forward. But, in India unfortunately, it is the educated who indulge more in corruption. Surely, it is the problem of our education system that it is not able to make a person aware of what is good for society in which he/she lives. Our examination system has almost made learning a mechanical process.
Corrupt must be socially boycotted.
No political propaganda can succeed if people do not feel its seriousness. People must be made aware of the seriousness of the problem of corruption. There is a lot of publicity and public uproar on multi crore scandals, but no one say a word on the Rs .100 that citizen has to pay to get drivers license, to get passport, to a ration shop dealer, to escape the wrath of a policeman etc. In fact it is these Rs.100 bribes that affect more lives than multi-crore scandals. Corruption is corruption whether it is Rs.100 or Rs. 10000.
The laws must be made more stringent. The vigilance and law enforcement agencies still have to take permission from government to start investigations. In fact there are very few provisions for recovery of money lost due to corruption.
Abdul Kalam once said that if a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
As for the political corruption, people get what they deserve. Corrupt politicians win elections as long as we vote them. In fact many in India do not even consider vote to be a potential weapon.
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