tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19310866311744392082024-03-14T14:09:27.332+05:30ApoliticalPolitics always is about two or more view points. With this blog, I aim to bring together these views and bridge them.Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-53962502472552880862017-01-16T10:51:00.001+05:302017-01-16T11:45:28.017+05:30Can we build powerful "Institutions"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recent developments on Jallikkattu indicate a few items.<br />
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Though a majority of Tamils and traditionalists support Jallikkattu, they have been ineffective in pushing their agenda. We got to this point because of the following reasons.<br />
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There are instances, in which the animals were in fact tortured. Whatever the supporters claim as love and respect to the animal, there is no denying we cannot enforce controls. If twisting the tail of the bull or spraying chilli powder on its face are considered as fouls, we do not have documented rules anywhere nor do we have officials appointed by a competent authority to enforce it like a qualified / trained football referee.<br />
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In the absence of such an authority , an institution like PETA can take it to another institution like the courts and get a ban on it. (I'm not getting into their intentions as it deviates from the subject.)<br />
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PETA has enough people think about the course of action, work towards it by appointing spokespersons, lobbying with politicians, appointment of lawyers etc.<br />
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On the side of the supporters of Jallikkattu, there is no organized activity towards defending it. The lawyers arguing the case were unknown till a small group of businessmen brought in Subramanyam Swami. Other activities like protests, social media frothing and petitions are just jokes.<br />
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A few years ago, <a href="http://www.countercurrents.org/bhargava140709.htm"> Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) created by the government of India fought a legal case against patents issued to the medicinal use of turmeric</a>. CSIR, with its people working towards the common goal, organizing their work and substantiating their case with proper documentation were critical in the success. In the absence of such institutions it is difficult to win such cases.<br />
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More and more traditional knowledge, activity and structures would come under pressure from institutions that may want to misuse, ban or destroy them. Well, even individuals can do it as we had seen in the turmeric patent case. There is nothing patriotic or unpatriotic about it. In the turmeric case, the patent was obtained by two scientists of Indian origin. In the Jallikkattu case, a sitting Prime Minister supported the ban along with scores of Indians who had no in-depth knowledge of it.<br />
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Without proper institutions we will have uncontrolled response. A culture of thousands of years of continuous history has enough intellectual property and customs that are vulnerable now. We don't even know what we need to protect. Let me attempt to list a few.<br />
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<li>Temple properties like land, jewelry can be usurped as source of unused wealth</li>
<li>Temple structures may be closed for access for lack of safety</li>
<li>Worship methods like animal sacrifice may be banned as cruelty (TN government did try it once and promptly withdrew as popular sentiment was against it. Nothing like that would control the Supreme Court.)</li>
<li>Congregation like Mahamaham or Kumbh Mela may be restricted as unsafe, unhealthy assembly of millions in a small area</li>
<li>Teaching of Carnatic or Hindustani music may be patented</li>
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Well, I'm stretching it a bit, but you get the idea.<br />
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It is clear that we are not prepared for it. But history also tells us that we haven't built great "institutions" in the modern terminology. To me, the prototype for a great institution is Christianity. It has its ideologies, foot soldiers wed to the ideology, a clear organization structure, plan for expansion by time, geography with well defined roles and responsibilities. It has survived for close to two millenniums. Every institution from the west worth its salt has borrowed heavily from Christianity.<br />
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In India, there are a few organizations like the defense forces that can be considered as well defined institutions. However, there are business houses that consider themselves as institutions - like the Tatas. Business houses have profit as the primary motive that can ensure building and strengthening of the institution. To some extent, Tata exhibit a certain value system - like social responsibility, employee welfare etc that can be treaty as worthy of an institution.<br />
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Some of our political parties and organizations like RSS may qualify as institutions. But they do lack the coherence required for a successful organization in India. I'd credit it to Gandhi for converting a simple political group called Congress to be a powerful institution across the country. The current state of the party is a good example of how well we take care of such institutions. Other political parties aren't in any better shape.<br />
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It is high time we create formal, legal institutions with proper structure to protect the traditions. Sadly, they can't be not-for-profit as an organization can not survive just on contributions. At the very least, they can be legally recognized firms funded by various self interest groups like the lobbying firms in the US.<br />
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-2113127627093136702015-06-06T11:44:00.000+05:302017-01-16T11:31:15.242+05:30Courtesy Crisis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Remember the essay "</span><a href="http://mptbc.nic.in/books/class9/engst9/ch17.pdf" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">On Saying Please</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">" by A.G.Gardiner. I think we had this essay in our 12th grade English and is worth remembering. For those who didn't have this in the syllabus or forgot, please take a few minutes to read it. It is a nicely written piece on saying please. Discourtesy exhibited about a hundred years ago in Britain, made A G Gardiner write that essay. </span><br />
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It has grown to an enormous proportion, here in India that it is obvious to a visitor, who has a balanced opinion of this country. Watch <a href="https://youtu.be/deIph-GH09w" style="color: #1155cc;">this video of Tarek Fatah</a> - a Canadian Journalist and broadcaster in which he describes the growing affluence and discourtesy in India.</div>
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I do not think we are a very courteous society that includes your truly. On top of it, there is an inherent hierarchy that gives everyone an impression that they are above ... a few. No, no, I'm not going to attribute this to the caste or varnas. Give the power to a few downtrodden and oppressed and see how they behave. Discourtesy and hierarchy are secular in this country.<br />
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I remember there was a buzzer at my father's desk in his office. He was a manager for a bank's branch in a remote village in Andra Pradeh. The buzzer was part of the office furniture. My father found it to be discourteous to call a colleague using that buzzer. I had never seen him using the buzzer and am sure his colleagues would agree. He preferred to sit with the rest of the staff in the main area. The point is, the system thinks it is ok to be discourteous if you are the boss. Babus (read - anyone with a guaranteed government job) believe they are a notch above the rest that even a bus conductor in a state run bus can be disrespectful to the passengers.<br />
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A few decades ago there were a few like my father who believed otherwise and their numbers are dwindling rapidly.</div>
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The development all around has raised the economic status of a few people that they can differentiate themselves as superior. Since they think they are superior, they exhibit their true colors. Enjoy the following video - starting from 3 minutes 20 seconds.</div>
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Also the service sector is expanding. There is probably more people serving the middle class as unorganized labour than those in organized sectors. Some of the jobs that are integral to our daily life didn't exist or employed very few, decades ago. There are security guards, drivers, housekeepers, caregivers, gardeners, salesmen, delivery boys for milk, food, newspaper, courier and what not. With so many people at our service, we can feel privileged. To earn their respect, respect them. To make it a bit easy for them, please be a bit courteous to them - even if they are not perfect.<br />
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-72484410719105506042015-03-02T20:01:00.000+05:302015-03-22T10:51:25.942+05:30India needs a new affirmative action system<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Like most forward community students, I detested the reservation system until I got to hear a different perspective from a hardcore RSS member. He was my brother's friend. It was so refreshing to hear it from another forward community member. It goes as follows:<br />
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<i>"We, as forward community members have ways of figuring out our future, even if we don't score well. The community supports you in finding out the right opportunities in other domains and geographies. A member of the scheduled caste or a tribe doesn't have the privilege. It takes generations of education and economic well being to ensure success, for someone belonging to the underprivileged communities. As privileged members of the society, we have a responsibility towards the less privileged."</i></blockquote>
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It altered my views on reservation for ever. I didn't do well in education, but that didn't stop me from getting ahead in skills or career. Had it been someone from scheduled castes, such a lackluster performance would have resulted in abrupt end to education with no hope of a better life compared to the earlier generation. So, that justified reservation on caste lines.<br />
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The complaint against reservation is, it is benefiting those who are already benefited. This may be true to some extent. So far, no political party had the courage to face this head on. There isn't even an acceptance that the current system of reservation may have flaws in it. I hope the current government has the strength and integrity to accept it. <br />
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The policy on reservation is sixty five years old. There have been patch work to include castes in every state, alter the percentage and so on. There has been no review on its effectiveness. The country's demographics have changed and are continuously changing. If we do not have a system that is open for review and correction, we will risk leaving a sizable chunk of our population in poverty and under-development. <br />
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The only major complaint about the current reservation is that is along caste lines and ignores economic conditions. There are these criteria that impact sections of society from progressing. Some of them are:<br />
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<li>Family Conditions: A family that has no educated members will be less serious to support the younger ones in education. Tamil Nadu government did something to address this, 25 years ago. My wife benefited from that action as she was the first one to go to college in her family. But for that, she'd have been forced to a dull course and may also be the end of her education. Now, she's a Ph.D, educating a few hundred engineers every year.</li>
<li>Regional Backwardness: Two students with identical marks but from different regions are to be treated differently. For example, all other things being equal, the student from a backward region like the Chattisgarh or Bihar will have to work harder than one from Mumbai to stay in competition.</li>
<li>Caste: We can't just wish away castes in this country, but can reduce its impact in policy decisions by keeping it as one of the factors to be considered.</li>
<li>Religion: Yes, religion too is a factor for the backwardness. This will help in preventing a section of population going to religious schools to stay away from the mainstream.</li>
<li>Economic Status: Visible factor in the current opposition to reservation.</li>
<li>There are other factors like family background. For example, a farmer's child must be given a preference over a government servant in an agriculture course. This may be limited to a few domains like medicine, agriculture, gemmology where the entire family may be in the field. </li>
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Considering the advances in technologies and the government's capability in pushing massive programs like Jan Dhan, it shouldn't be too difficult to build a system towards a new affirmative action system.</div>
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Every applicant should be able to register in such a system with his/her details that covers the above items. Each of these factors could be given a weightage and the total score could be made available to the institutions that conduct admissions. These weightage can be revised year on year by a constitutional authority.</div>
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Over 15-20 years, we should be able to alter the society for the better.</div>
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-58156241446575809302014-10-23T21:45:00.003+05:302014-10-24T10:37:00.098+05:30Why do intellectuals hate "Hindu"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hate may be a very strong word. But we see, historians, social scientists, learned journalists and analysts getting uncomfortable with the term "Hindu". Here is a pseudo scientific, pseudo spiritual explanation for it.</div>
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Before we proceed with the intellectuals, we need to understand a few fundamentals.</div>
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1. Mind: What I mean by mind is that the little program that keeps running in our heads from a very young age. This mind continuously learns, by organizing every piece of information it gets. When any piece of information is encountered, the mind tries to match it with what is already there. If the new piece matches an existing information or extends it without a conflict, the mind accepts it and add it to the existing information. Let's say a child is used to seeing cats and if he happens to see a tiger, his mind extends the cat to include the information about the tiger. If the new item is conflicting with existing information, it may add it to an exception bucket. When more similar exceptions are collected, they are moved to the main storage. A child which is used to seeing terrestrial animals may find the first bird it sees as an exception. Exposure to more birds will make the information about birds as normal as terrestrial animals. If the exceptional information is not reinforced with more such exceptions, the exception loses its importance and isn't considered for subsequent processing.</div>
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Over a period, the mind gains its strength with more learning and second hand information, a side effect of which is creation of opinions. A cow as it gives milk, is good. A cat that steals milk is bad. These opinions give rise to ideologies - including religions. </div>
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The mind works around any information that doesn't fit in the mind's way of working. Zen Buddhists contemplate on paradoxical questions to silence the mind. If the mind can't find answers by the way it learns, accepts and rejects information, it goes silent. </div>
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2. Hindu: The term is fairly new - just a few hundred years old. The term was originally used by those from the west to refer to the people of this region. If religion is defined as a collection of diktats, issued by a prophet, Hinduism isn't a religion. The people, who are referred as "Hindus", had diktats, that were very local and had no prophet as an authorized signatory. So, Hinduism is not a religion. Is it a culture or a set of values? Does anyone have a well defined answer? I don't. Every custom, every definition of God and even the absence of God, every mode of worship, every mode of relating to a God is so flexible. In effect, it is not an ideology that can be understood, but is a magnificent organism that continuously evolves itself. Any attempt to define it would be just as accurate a blind man describing an elephant. </div>
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An expert on various ideologies can compare two ideologies, can judge impartially with one as good and the other as bad, as long as the ideologies are well defined. Semitic religions fit in these category of ideologies. Hinduism doesn't fit in such definition.<br />
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For an intellectual, even if he manages to identify a part of this magnificent organism, he knows his knowledge is only partial. He knows that there exists a lot more aspects of this organism, that it would be impossible for him to understand it in his lifetime. It is impossible to classify it as good or bad, for every good that he can see, there would be something bad about it and vice versa.</div>
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For an intellectual, his mind is his strength. He identifies himself with his mastery of information. The term "Hindu", challenges the mind and knows that the mind can't comprehend Hindu completely. This organism by its very existence undermines the intellectual's strength and identity. No wonder the intellectual would be uncomfortable with such a monster.</div>
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-39561316103906295832014-10-22T21:39:00.001+05:302018-02-04T20:21:19.018+05:30Whose Blood?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Translation of writer <a href="http://www.jeyamohan.in/?p=3834">Jeyamohan's speech in Bloomington Tamil Sangam on 22-Aug-2009</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">There was this inspiring novel Barabbas by Pär Lagerkvist. Many renowned writers worldwide were inspired by it The story goes like this.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"Jesus is brought to Mount Golgotha to crucify. The crowd teases and throws stones at Jesus. Pilate is responsible for carrying out the punishment to Jesus. </span><br />
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But Pilate knows that Jesus was righteous. He asks the crowd on why should a righteous man be killed. He requests them to let go of Jesus. But they insist on killing Jesus.<br />
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There were already three criminals waiting to be crucified. Barabbas is one of them. Pilate claims that he has the right to release one of the four. He offers to free Jesus if the crowd agrees. The people demand that Barabbas be freed instead of Jesus and Jesus be killed. Barabbas gets released and surrenders Jesus to their will saying "I am innocent of this man's blood."<br />
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Freed Barabbas looks at the frail man responsible for his freedom and his sorrowful eyes. He realizes that Jesus is sorry for the crowd. He watches the Romans crucifying Jesus.<br />
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Later Barabbas returns to his ways of robbery and killing. He feels guilty of the life got in return for the life of a righteous man. He wanders, has a change of heart and becomes a Christian. He gets crucified for being a Christian. Barabbas dies having paid the debt of his life."<br />
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Friends, when I was in school, I had a teacher by name Thangiaya Nadar. He once said, 'My father knew ways to elongate and shrink time and narrated his childhood. His father was a farmer. Every day he used to go to the fields with his father and younger brother. They would take turns to work on the patch. The father would speed up the time, by going first. He would do all he can before sending the kids for their turns. But when he eats, he would slow down time. He would be eating so slow that even the younger boy would have finished with his food. The younger boy would have had four refills of gruel before the father eats one. "He made us who we are now. He worked for thirty hours a day. Our growth was built on his sweat and blood. We are indebted to our father for all that we have got", said Thangaiya Nadar with tears in his eyes.<br />
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Friends, have you ever wondered whose blood and sweat brought us here? Have we thought about who gave their lives for us to live here?<br />
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For most of us, the first educated person in the family must have been our fathers. Our grandfathers would have toiled in fields and starved. We are here because of them.<br />
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During my childhood, I have seen a scarcity of food. After the planting of the crops in June and July, people used to roam around to dig out tubers. Rice, even gruel was a rarity then. That was our nation - a nation that was swindled by foreigners and ravaged by great famines. A nation no one wanted to invest in.<br />
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Our forefathers worked hard, saved every penny for the next generation. They carried their next generations on their shoulders.<br />
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After coming here, I heard a few comments about the family system of our people. They said that the family binds and constrains people and members of the family poke their noses in others' matters. They compare the family structure of our country with the one here. They said people are happy here without the burden of a family. Maybe so. This is the life that people here have created. But the lives that we had created had helped us raise up after great falls. It had saved us from multiple failures.<br />
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Our families have made us who we are. Often we see cases of entire families starving for one member's education. The system believed in one-for-all and all-for-one. And it is a time-tested system, tested over thousands of years. If you are thinking of an alternate, I request you to look at our history.<br />
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I request you to see our values, see them in the right perspective. See how these values have contributed to our history. Think about how these values turn a starving nation to be an economic powerhouse in just 50 years.<br />
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These are the values that we must pass on to our children. If we don't, the losses are high. They are there for us to see. About three hundred years ago, our people - Tamils, Indians emigrated to other countries as refugees or slaves. How are they? They have lost their heritage and values. In effect, they are scattered all over the world with no identity and are incapable of any achievement in any field. They are the most significant warnings for us.<br />
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I see a number of our people, who are first-generation American Tamils, trying to bring up their children as Americans. I saw a lot of Indian teens. Their parents have managed to create an inferior picture of India to them. Everyday conversations center around degrading India and Indians. Isn't it true that children may look down upon their own parents as they do with India?<br />
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The child thinks himself as an American. Does the nature change by just association? Will he be an American? Blacks who are here for three hundred years are still Africans. Jews living in the US for over hundred years are Jews. Indians will always be Indians. These children will learn it one day. When they learn it, what happens to them without an identity? How will they conquer their sense of inferiority? What will they achieve if they spend every living moment to establish their non-Indianness?<br />
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Every society needs confidence in its structure, its values. It may even brag about its greatness. But rejecting itself would be suicidal. Why is it so?<br />
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Do we give the best of Indianness to our children? What opinion will the young mind create if we share the cheap cinema, TV programs and comedy show that we enjoy? If we are ignorant of the greatness of Indian cultures and their success, how can we give it to the next generation?<br />
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How can you create anything but a sense of inferiority with our poor taste of entertainment? There are world-class writers and researchers in every language in India. Most of you don't even know their names. All that we see are cheap entertainers, speakers who lie and politicians. What impression can we create with such a lot?<br />
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Let's first learn to be proud of ourselves. Let us learn our heritage and its achievements. Let us learn to preserve the best of our cultures. Let us leave the best to our children. Let us make them proud of themselves.<br />
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I would like to end with an event in the life of the Tamil writer Rangarajan (Sujatha). He narrates how his father was responsible for his life. The father was in death bed. The frail old man was confidence personified when he was young. The writer wonders if it was the man who tested his confidence by walking on the wall of Mettur dam. The father never accepted anything from his son. When the father realizes it, he asks his son to get him a shirt.<br />
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Ranga sat beside his father, held his hand and asked. "What can I do to repay everything that you did for me?" The father replied - "Do that to your son. That would do.".</div>
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-83561649114821360852014-10-18T21:49:00.003+05:302014-10-18T21:49:39.601+05:30Organizations killing natural trust<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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"She's good.", said my wife. The "She" was our domestic help. Having noticed that we are running out of stock of vegetables, she stocked it up without waiting for our order or confirmation.</div>
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As I was about leave for work, I saw the helper entering the house. "You had bought vegetables yesterday. How much did you pay?", I reached out to my wallet. "I'll get it later from Madam. You must be getting late." Without waiting for my acknowledgement, she got on to the work.</div>
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H<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">appens to us all the time. The flower vendor usually delivers flowers for the advance we had paid. Someone remembers the account - either us or the vendor. Even if both forget, the transactions go on month on month.</span></div>
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I'm digressing. Yes, it was getting late for me. Got a meeting to discuss the compensatory time-off for engineers who come over the weekends for conducting interviews.</div>
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"There is a small issue here. The extra time they log is against interviews and the compensatory off we give may be used against the actual work time - affecting the engineering tasks that are assigned to them.", said the engineering team manager.</div>
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"So?" I asked.</div>
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"We can't give compensatory off for the time spent on interviews." said the manager.</div>
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"And so, we have no one to do the interviews", said the recruitment manager.</div>
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"Has anyone of your engineers used the compensatory off during critical project schedule?" I asked.</div>
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"No"</div>
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"Do you think any of your engineers would do so in future?"</div>
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"No"</div>
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"Then what is the problem. Why don't you trust your people and give them what they want?"</div>
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"Boss, you have a habit of simplifying every issue. It is not as simple as that..." started another executive.</div>
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I agree. I think it is very simple, People can simply trust each other. That's why life goes on. Small vendors could give credit without a security, People with less income could trust others irrespective of their income. When we think that we are part of an organization - an organization creates an "us-vs-them" attitude that simply discards this trust factor. Wouldn't it be great if organizations - big or small - government or otherwise trust individuals?</div>
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-87594162886784972152014-09-06T10:41:00.000+05:302014-09-06T21:36:37.955+05:30Jan Dhan Yojana <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I come across people in different economic strata. The ones that are relevant for this topic are the lower income group - consisting of street vendors, maid servants, gardeners, auto rickshaw drivers etc. The ones I come across are fairly responsible, want to save some money, create assets as they age to support them in older age and so on. Banks - that too nationalized ones do not figure in their idea of savings. They park their money in gold, often buying at unreliable places, losing some money in the jewelry making charges and other expenses. And they pledge it with pawn brokers losing either the jewel or money as interest. To summarize, they haven't proven their savings potential to reasonable lenders like banks.<br>
<div>
<br></div>
<div>
I think Jan Dhan Yojana is a good attempt for financial inclusiveness and expects some amount of fiscal responsibility. I haven't seen a positive comment about it in popular media so far. The Tamil magazine Kalki, in its editorial says it is the same as the Loan Melas of Indira Gandhi days and manages to quote an unknown Chief Minister from Bihar - of all the places.</div>
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<br></div>
<div>
Here is my understanding of the program (quoted from http://jandhanyojana.net/jan-dhan-yojana-benefits/ - even if it not the government authorized site, it appears to be correct).</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Every person opening an account under this scheme will be getting a <strong>new zero balance account</strong>. This account is a special account and hence you would not be required to keep a minimum balance in your account.</li>
<li>The second benefit that one will be gaining is a <strong>life cover insurance</strong> which every account holder under this scheme is liable to it. Every account holder will get a life cover of worth <strong>Rs. 30,000</strong>.</li>
<li>Every account holder will be given a new <strong>RuPay debit card</strong>. This debit card comes along with a special <strong>accidental cover</strong> of 1 lakh rupees. Under this scheme by the PM of India there are two kinds of debit card that is named as the RuPay card and the RuPay kisaan card designed especially for the farmers.</li>
<li>After a period of 6 months the people opening an account under this scheme will be eligible for taking an <strong>overdraft of five thousand</strong>. Thus this will allow the common man of India to take a credit of five thousand rupees from the government of India. His can only be done if the account holder keeps the account active for a period of 6 months.</li>
<li>Later under this scheme some areas will also get a pension scheme for the elderlies.</li>
<li>Under this scheme the government of India is changing the face of India as many more ATMs are planned to be built as more number of debit card users are being made. It is a step of taking bank to every village.</li>
<li>The few changing steps include the evolution of mobile banking. Under this scheme the mobile banking will be available on Symbian phones as well. This facility was only available for smart phone users.</li>
<li>The credit amount of 5000 will be increased to 15,000 once the <strong>repayment of the loan</strong> is done on time. This will be a great help for the people of India to prosper as the money will be available for them</li>
</ul>
The liability of banks is very limited and it clearly encourages the low income group to save. So far, our systems are built on distrust with enormous documentation, leading to workarounds and corruption. Jan Dhan Yojana lets people cross the simple hurdle of opening the bank account. After that, their action, that of saving money builds that trust - not a piece of paper. Banks will have confidence with these account holders to offer them loans.<br>
<br>
<u>What can we - the middle class - do to contribute to this?</u><br>
<u><br></u>
Start paying salaries to the maid servants, security guards, gardeners etc through their bank accounts. Better still, pay about 10% of the salary through their bank accounts and rest as cash. Pay it through online banking and send a message to their mobile (oh yes - they do have at least one) about the credit. This will go a long way in helping them save and be part of the growth.</div>
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Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-38450938509912456092013-08-03T10:48:00.001+05:302013-08-03T10:48:12.426+05:30An open letter to vehicle users in India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dear Vehicle User,<br />
<br />
I wanted to talk to you for a long time. As usual I begin the conversation. I hope you would find this medium engaging, for whenever I try to communicate when we meet on the road, you were in a hurry and I was short of words; only abuses came to my mind.<br />
<br />
Let's get to the point. Congratulations on your new vehicle. I would like to remind you that our governments haven't started selling roads in retail (only wholesale), most probably because of the people with powers prefer bulk payments and not EMIs - which is why you could buy that vehicle. This means roads are still common to all. You are taking more than a fair share of it - amounting to stealing. Let's come back to this later.<br />
<br />
If you think it is YOUR achievement that you got to drive the vehicle, please check your perception. There are hundreds of factors, beyond your control or comprehension that have resulted in your ability to purchase a car (on EMI I must repeat) and drive it. There are factors like liberalization, global economy, crony capitalism and plain greed that have made this possible.<br />
<br />
But I have to give you some credit for you have achieved something. You are able to control, well, almost control a vehicle that is at least 10 times more powerful than you and just as smart as you are. In honor of this achievement, the RTO must have given you a license. Congrats. <br />
<br />
Please note that I have nothing personal against you and do not want to downplay your achievements. It is the power of that vehicle that you seem to control, scares me. I would prefer the powerful to be more responsible. I'm sure the vehicle, if it ever had a mind would behave responsibly as demonstrated by Google Car. When you start controlling the vehicle, it goes for a toss. It has to obey you - you are the master until it gets a mind on its own. So, I have no option but to complain about your irresponsibility.<br />
<br />
A person is allowed to exhibit a bit of swagger when he walks, especially if he has achieved something. You, on the other hand is wrong on couple of counts - there is no achievement and you exhibit swagger when driving. That's just not right, but a sign of insanity..<br />
<br />
I hope you appreciate the fact that a powerful machine controlled by an insane is lethal. Talking of lethal items, if I carry a sickle or a sword publicly, I will be arrested. Sickles and swords are weapons and can be lethal if I chose to use them to harm others. I would need a lot of hatred and energy to be really lethal even with such weapons. You, on the other hand, is insane, appear to control a more lethal machine but won't get arrested. In fact, bigger the machine, bigger is the insanity and bigger is the respect they get from the traffic police. I can't understand this... ever.<br />
<br />
Now I come to the point that you are using more than a fair share of the road. An average motor powered two wheeler takes at least as much space as two bicycles or three pedestrians. A small ugly car like the one you have, occupies the space equivalent to five or six bicycles or about 10 pedestrians. It may be justified that if more people use the car, it isn't as unfair as a single occupancy car. But you chose to have one car per person in your family. You could afford a car (on EMI again) but couldn't afford a parking space. So, you usurp the road.<br />
<br />
Next time, when you pass by a truck carrying illegally quarried sand or when you gossip about a politician accused of land / water / spectrum grab, please be nice to him. He is one of you!<br />
<br />
Yours truly,<br />
Anonymous<br />
<br />
P.S: I hope you understand on why I chose to be anonymous. Even as a harmless pedestrian, I am so hated by vehicle owners like you. It would be suicidal if I don't stay anonymous.</div>
Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-42480707361268960882012-07-29T17:50:00.002+05:302012-07-29T17:50:57.769+05:30Anna Hazare and the new Untouchables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was watching the movie <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Untouchables_(film)">Untouchables </a>yesterday. Elliot Ness, Malone and Stone had a serious problem at hand. It was not just Al Capone or bootlegging. The entire society was used to consuming liquor, which was made unavailable due to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States">prohibition</a>. It was hard to get support when the whole society was so used to consuming liquor. There were moles in the police department who didn't care much for the law.<br />
<br />
Aren't we in a nearly same situation? We are so used to corruption that getting anything done without paying bribes is impossible in this country.<br />
<br />
I would compare the current state to that of emergency. Right now, common man doesn't know what it means to have a clean administration. He is so used to the corruption that the law of the land is only namesake. During emergency, common man probably had no clue about what it meant to lose his freedom of expression. In fact, prominent citizens like Vinobha Bhave and JRD Tata had even supported it. <span style="background-color: white;">But for JP's effort to bring together the old Congress, the socialists and the right with the alliance of communists, the general public may have voted Indira Gandhi to power, as an approval of emergency. It would have been even easier with the then notional office of the election commission.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Anna should have attempted JP's way. JP was a Gandhian and had understood the power of conversations with ideologies.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Instead of running a one man show (yes, it is a one man show and I do not want to consider others in the campaign) Anna should have used his clout as a simple and popular local leader. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Anna is the only individual in the group, who had the integrity that could have influenced the politicians. </span><span style="background-color: white;">There are decent people across political spectrum who are sensible enough to see the intensity of the problem. </span><span style="background-color: white;">Their experience and exposure to the system would have given more direction to Anna.</span><br />
<br />
It is as if Anna and team have branded all the politicians as the new untouchables. Even if Anna wanted to be balanced, his team of advisers are averse to right wing politicians who might be of some help. RSS supported him and may have helped in mobilizing support from parties like BJP or Shiv Sena. His team brands RSS as untouchables and do not want to go with them. In the process of fight against corruption, they have been actively converting friends to foes. He and his team trusted media to do the support mobilization work. <span style="background-color: white;">The media that is just as corrupt as the rest of the systems. They would walk away when there is no tamasha.</span><br />
<br />
This surely wasn't Gandhi's way. <span style="background-color: white;">Mahatma Gandhi </span><span style="background-color: white;">continuously</span><span style="background-color: white;"> engaged people from different ideologies in his fight for the freedom. He continued to correct the course of action after discussions with others. </span><br />
<br />
In order to claim to be a leader with Gandhian values, Anna should understand Gandhi's ways; Gandhi's ways are a lot more than just wearing a cap.</div>Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-19435696227641523222011-12-10T18:19:00.001+05:302011-12-10T19:27:34.252+05:30Aadhaar, Information Security and Optimism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few events prompted me to start on this blog post. <br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A division of the organization I work for, cleared an information security audit recently.</li>
<li>The government is to ditch the UID (Aadhaar) program.</li>
<li>Some of my folks were upset about the politicians killing a what-appears-to-be-a-well-intended-program.</li>
</ul>
<div>
This post is about information security and why it is fine to kill the Aadhaar program. (An earlier one is <a href="http://the-apolitical.blogspot.com/2011/03/forgery-kotak-and-warnings-on-aadhaar.html">here</a>.) </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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It took us close to two months to set up enough systems and processes to secure trivial pieces of information. The systems were physically secured, and a very small number of users will have network access to the systems that we secured. The security is to the best of our knowledge and we got it verified using an external agency. The auditors were convinced that our processes were sufficient, primarily because we dealt with no critical data, only code that would eventually move out of our network to the client's network. It is equivalent to locking the vault that contained nothing precious. Our effort to secure it would have been manifold if we had to protect important data or serious intellectual property.</div>
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<br /></div>
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What I learnt in the preparation for the audit and from the auditors is - information security and optimism don't go together. You have to be extremely paranoid when it comes to protecting information.</div>
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<div>
Having said that, I have serious doubts about the Aadhaar program.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Let me take one aspect of it, namely the API - that is, the programming interface to retrieve information from Aadhaar.</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>As per the most recent <a href="http://uidai.gov.in/images/FrontPageUpdates/aadhaar_authentication_api_1_5_rev1_1.pdf">API documentation</a>, the legal framework to use the API is yet to be done. So, we do not have even a draft definition of compliance by organizations to make use of this API. There are already a handful of organizations like the domestic gas suppliers at Chennai who insist on having a UID if you want a gas connection. Looked like UID will be another card that we would be forced to have.</li>
<li>Some of the compliance requirements I'd be interested in are:</li>
<ul>
<li>What is the physical security that the client organizations must enforce in order to protect customer data? </li>
<li>Can the client organization hold onto the bio-metric information?
As a legitimate client I can have a use-case where I may have to store customer personal information. It should not be allowed, but this is a country were rules are easily bent and twisted beyond recognition. </li>
<li>What are the credentials for a client to get access to UID data? Who can decide this? RBI? Nandan Nilkeni?</li>
<li>Who has the authority to ensure that the client organization doesn't store the end customer's personal information?</li>
<li>If we create such an authority, what will be the frequency of audit or will there be a certification process for the software created by client organization?</li>
</ul>
<li>Aadhaar allows for public devices (devices not registered with Aadhaar) to communicate with the system. How can Aadhaar ensure that these devices are secured and no unwanted software is on those devices?</li>
<li>The API document assumes that by encryption, all communication can be secured. In real life, we have key-loggers, worms, trojans, virus and screen grabbers for regular computers, more advanced card skimming hardware for ATMs and so on. The document appears to ignore all of them.</li>
</ul>
<div>
There could be other issues with the implementation of Aadhaar on legal front as well.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
For once, I like the politicians who opposed the program, cutting across party lines. UIDAI doesn't have a legal status to hold people's personal data. I do believe that UID is not the way to address the problems of this country. I am fine with ration card, PAN, voter's card, driving license etc, that were issued for specific purposes. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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Right from the idea during NDA regime, this program had enough justified opposition. A very important one is that, no democratic country, has so far had given numbers to all its citizens. If others haven't done it, there is probably a very good reason. Ignoring the reason means - there is probably a different motive for this program. </div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-16480363643794288602011-11-12T11:16:00.001+05:302011-11-12T12:07:08.449+05:30Nurturing the goose that lays golden eggs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
There is enough and more articles about what ails US and its economy. Here is my noise.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Every society has its share of skilled, less-skilled and unskilled people. The split up usually forms a pyramid with unskilled at the bottom and skilled at the top. US is no exception. The pyramid may be steep or a gentle slope, but it is a pyramid.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The lower levels of the pyramid is fed by the higher levels. People at the higher level generate more wealth with their skills, entrepreneurship etc and pay the lesser skilled people for using their less valued skills. This is well understood and many capitalists do agree on this.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
What isn't obvious is, the presence of the base ensures that the people at the top stay where they are. That is, the lower levels must exist and be strong so that they can support people at higher level. The lower levels are not just service providers but are also consumers to keep a number of businesses alive. In other words, businesses must use their services so that they can stay as consumers.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here is a small digression here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<i>Have you heard of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Choupal">ITC's Choupal</a> story? It is a simple one, where ITC reached out millions of farmers and purchased the produce directly. Couple of things didn't get the attention they deserved.</i><div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i>Through the Choupal, ITC is able to push its products to the farmers just as they sold their produce to ITC.</i></li>
<li><i>In the process ITC ensured the low income group is taken care and is part of its market.</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
When businesses in US focused too much on markets and profits, the less skilled were left out. </div>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>When everyone drove a car, public transportation was killed and there are no jobs for the drivers, cleaners and mechanics. Car services and maintenance doesn't create jobs for unskilled people.</li>
<li>Though car manufacturing created jobs, shutting down and lay-offs have left a large workforce out there in the cold. </li>
<li>With washing machines, dishwashers, lawn movers and with every item at Home Depot, more jobs like domestic help, gardener and small time carpenters and masons went away.</li>
<li>When manufacturing moved to China and other cheaper locations, jobs at assembly lines were gone.</li>
<li>Low technology jobs at call centers moved too, taking away another chunk of jobs.</li>
</ul>
<div>
While all of these made perfect sense for the businesses and the bottom-line, over a period, it eroded the number of jobs of unskilled and semi-skilled.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here is my less than 2 cents worth wisdom for a turn around:</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Opportunities must be created at less skilled service oriented industries.</li>
<li>Any concession on taxes must be given to sustainable service industries.</li>
<li>Funding on public transportation can create jobs and might even work out during these days of high fuel costs.</li>
<li>Tax benefits for payments toward domestic services may encourage the middle class to outsource work to local unskilled workforce.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-8507587587601473332011-04-26T15:00:00.001+05:302011-04-26T15:06:13.029+05:30In defense of private schoolsYesterday my son brought a note from school, a petition of protest against some of the items in the RTE act. A half-truth report of it can be found <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-school-urges-parents-to-protest-against-RTE/articleshow/8085252.cms">here</a>. I chose to sign it though I have a slightly different opinion on some of the items in the note.<br />
<br />
The key areas where I agreed and decided to sign the petition are as follows:<br />
<br />
- <i>"The government (read politicians and bureaucrats) can push an ineligible (in terms of discipline, brain development) student to a school"</i>. I am so sure that the politicians will make a killing with this clause. In many schools, the school management used to gain in admitting such students. That's taken away and creates a channel in the guise of legality for people to make money. My son's school doesn't come under this category. So, I agree with their point.<br />
<br />
- <i>"The school doesn't have the right to take action against a student."</i> In a healthy system, action against indiscipline must be allowed, more so in schools where discipline is important. If this clause is true with RTE, then RTE will prevent creation of any respectable organizations. <br />
<br />
- <i>"The local education officers can decide on the curriculum and academic programs."</i> This is one of the dangerous clause. We do not have a system where reasonable, honest and non-dogmatic persons are appointed as local education officers. Again, if this is true about RTE, we will have many warped minds dictating the curriculum.<br />
<br />
I am all for education for all, equal opportunity and all nice things. But RTE appears to be a half-baked attempt that will be available only on paper.<br />
<br />
On the points I disagree are:<br />
<br />
- <i>"The teachers may have to spend extra time with a few kids who aren't real up to the standard."</i> This is the case even now, where some kids need extra attention. <br />
<br />
- <i>"The cost of education will go up if the school admits students from poorer background."</i> I believe wealthier people have a responsibility towards not so well-off people. I sponsor 3-5 kids' education every year for over 6 years now. Sponsoring a few more kids is good, will be glad to do so.<br />
<br />
But the question is - why doesn't the governments that have been around for over 60 years, collecting education cess for the past 6 years aren't able to give quality education? What happens to the 2% you pay on top of your service tax, income tax and other taxes? I haven't found an answer yet. <br />
<br />
May be, I should look for RTI to know more about RTE.Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-27950807080238543072011-03-25T10:35:00.000+05:302011-03-25T10:35:28.247+05:30Forgery, Kotak and warnings on Aadhaar (UIDAI)Here is a blog to state my experience with one of the large insurance companies - <a href="http://insurance.kotak.com">Kotak</a> and what it means to all of us, when you sign up for Aadhar.<br />
<br />
Last December, some of my relatives and I signed up for a few insurance products with Kotak through a common agent. One of my relatives found out that his signature was forged in the illustration acknowledgement form. On review, we found out that it was not a single account, but almost all our accounts had forged signatures. A short digression to explain what this illustration acknowledgement is.<br />
<br />
When you sign up for an insurance with returns, the insurance company gives an illustrative return that gives an approximate gains / losses you would get. Typically this form is prepared, sent to you for signature and added as the last section in your insurance document (a big book). At Kotak, someone decided to take a shorter route, signed for all of us and prepared the book.<br />
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In January 2011, when we took it to the notice of Kotak's branch manager at Chennai Cenatoph Road branch, he accepted the problem and said that the employee who did that had been fired already. We decided to limit our next set of actions to lodging a complaint with Kotak, get an acknowledgement with details on the issue, inquiry and resolution. Our aim is to ensure that the system takes corrective action, penalize the wrong-doers and record it so that such things do not recur.<br />
<br />
So, I promptly emailed their Client service desk (clientservicedesk@kotak.com) for which I got no response till now. I waited for over a month and escalated it to the <a href="https://customer.kotaklifeinsurance.com/policymanager/grievance/GrievanceRedressalMain.aspx">grievance redressal system</a>. I promptly got an automatic response that assured a real response in two weeks. Three, four weeks have elapsed and no one at Kotak seems to take a note of emails published on their web-sites.<br />
<br />
Now, this shakes my trust on our financial institutions in general and Kotak in particular. I would try to close my accounts at Kotak, but doing so without incurring any penalty could be difficult.<br />
<br />
<b>What does it got to do with Aadhar (UIDAI)?</b><br />
With Aadhaar, your financial institutions get access to your information - your UID number, signatures, finger-prints etc. Criminals and ambitious executives can make use of this information to sign up for services that you were not aware of and may just stop short of stealing money from your bank account. In effect, they can put you in a lot of discomfort and score a few points within their organization, get a promotion, leave and what not.<br />
<br />
The problem is not with the criminals or the ambitious executives, for they always existed, but the organizations that do not give enough importance to security and customer grievance redressel. In effect, you as an individual will have to run from pillar to post to get your problem fixed, while it becomes relatively easy for someone to misuse your information.<br />
<br />
You, the customer do not have a lot of options when financial institutions insist on UID for opening an account. You can at least inquire if the organization has enough checks and balances to prevent misuse of your information.<br />
<br />
To add to the risks, Aadhaar publishes API - that is a programming interface for accessing your data. Who knows who will get hold of your information and what will they do with it!<br />
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Feel free to add your comments on such problems and your opinions on Aadhaar.Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-74219188035249327502011-01-09T21:25:00.002+05:302011-01-09T21:25:39.500+05:30Ayodhya Court Verdict - A step in the right direction[From my other blog]<br />
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I'm not an expert on legal matters, nor do I understand the existing facts and figures on Ayodhya. It is beyond my ability to comprehend complex language and history.<br />
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But I believe the judgement is a step in the right direction. The problem is not as much that of the ownership of the land, as much a conflict of perceptions. Whatever we have as documented evidence are perceptions of the Hindu, Muslim or the left. Our history, archeology and even evolution are in a way perceptions in their own ways. There is no such thing as truth for everyone sees the history the way he or she wants to.<br />
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Don't underestimate the power of these perceptions. It can be so powerful that we might end up with a totally divided society if these perceptions are left to themselves or allowed to strengthen. I'm saddened by the lack of wisdom on the part of neutral parties in understanding the importance of perception. It is a challenge for any administration to maintain normalcy when people hold on to their perceptions. In a way, banning of bulk SMS at the time of verdict was a right step.<br />
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There are two or more parties (I'll include the so-called neutral people who want to go by the documented information) who hold their own perceptions. It hasn't been easy for anyone to get these parties closer to resolve the issue as they carried their baggage of perceptions. The warring parties did not have a bigger heart, the political leadership lacked the integrity to find a solution. <br />
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The judges took it upon themselves to resolve the crisis. They may not have the authority, but they have shown wisdom to understand the situation and come up a solution that will pave the way for a total solution. They have acted a lot more mature than the armchair analysts and activists.<br />
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The division of the property may not be perfect or to the satisfaction of the BMAC, but the court allows for appeal. It is still possible that BMAC and the Hindu parties may get a more sensible and resolve it by the time the supreme court decides.<br />
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It is important that all parties unload the ghosts of the past - from the days of Rama to Babar to 1949, 87 or 92 in seeking a solution. With perceptions coming closer there is a possibility of an extraordinary exhibition of Muslim brotherhood or Hindu acceptance.<br />
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If there is an appeal and the supreme court goes purely by books and reject this verdict, that'll be very unfortunate. A decision based on "hard" facts may sound right legally, but can't be so for the country.Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-77815567420498505592011-01-09T21:24:00.000+05:302011-01-09T21:24:41.782+05:30Corruption in recent times: A psycho-somatic explanation[From my other blog]<br />
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Why do we see the powerful as the most corrupt? Here is an attempt to explain it in a neutral, pseudo-psychological way:<br />
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For the sake of ease of reading, I am using a masculine gender, no respect or disrespect intended. I start with three basic premises:<br />
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As a social animal, everyone holds onto an identity naturally. This identity can be that of caste, race, ethnicity, belief system or even ideology. This is what binds individuals to the rest. Some of these are fixed and some are not-so-fixed, allowing for new identities to be used for binding.<br />
Man is programmed to protect this identity. Wars - ethnic, racial or ideological are effects of this urge to protect this identity. <br />
The most insecure tend to become the most powerful. The reason is simple. With their paranoia, they are better suited to protect this identity. They get the ideas and energy to strengthen this identity because of their paranoia.<br />
Now, let's see how this insecurity manifests in physiological and psychological spheres. In physiological space, insecurity reflects as lust - an urge to leave more copies of the individual before he gets destroyed. This explains why kings had wives and maintained harems. In psychological space, this reflects as greed for wealth, territory and power. This greed usually resulted in benefits for that society. (The neighboring kingdoms may be destroyed, enemies with different ethnicity or religion were butchered and so on.)<br />
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Things were clear black and white until democracy and pluralistic societies arrived. The ancient societies accepted warfare and amorous behavior of the rulers. It is like giving them the room to be their natural self.<br />
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With the advent of democracy, the insecurity itch of the ruling class remained, but there is no way to scratch it with laws against polygamy and no-war pacts. There is more set back to the identity - they can't be extreme right wingers to be rulers. They have to work out healthy co-existence with ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities living in their territories. So, identifying with one group will be counter productive when it comes to elections. (We also see non-democratic countries continue to start wars on the basis of religion, ethnicity or ideology.)<br />
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The lust and greed remain as they are the results of a more basic insecurity. The lust gets some avenues with changing social conditions that allowed for divorces, casual flirting etc. The greed remains. The greed that once served the society stops at the individual as the identities that he were once part of, have weakened. The individual tries to address the high insecurity with wealth accumulation. He strengthens his position by sharing this wealth with his nears and dears. The identity has shrunk from a big society to his family. If the avenues for the lust are shut (because of age, physical and social conditions), the greed fills in that space.<br />
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I've refrained from naming any powerful person - Indian or otherwise and would like the readers to correlate this article to their favorite ones.Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-88109386237567631272010-06-16T13:00:00.000+05:302010-06-16T13:00:46.261+05:30Social Justice: Misplaced importance on educationWhen B.R. Ambedkar was insulted time and again for his caste, he figured out that the only way to get respect is by education. With his experience, it sounds just fine. Over the years, the importance of education continued to grow. To be fair to the system, it has given enough opportunities for the oppressed classes to be educated. But the story doesn't end here. There are millions who can't do well in education in its current state. We continue to see school drop-outs and kids reaching 10th grade without an ability to read in their mother tongue.<br />
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My interaction with such school drop-outs and poor performers showed one thing. (Not all of them belong to the oppressed classes.) They are fine without education. They know their interest is not in education. They have a good understanding of what they want to do in their lives. They can take up a profession that doesn't demand much skills. With their hard-work and some luck and support, they can lead a reasonably comfortable life. They are fine being drivers, delivery boys and maid servants. They are happy doing what they do; the good thing is, some are proud of their quality of work too. This has nothing to do with the education they attempted earlier in their lives. Had the education system been a bit sensible, they would be able to lead a better life. They would do better had there been some mentoring on areas like management of their money, basic sanitation and healthcare and human interaction. <br />
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I see the approach on education and reservation as two fold. The oppressed class must take to education, the better off class must let this happen. Nowhere we have tried to fix the primary problem that Ambedkar faced. It is that of disrespect to fellow humans for they belong to a different class or earn their living by physical activity. Nowhere in our education we stressed enough on a healthy human interaction. Being a doctor, engineer or a lawyer had been glorified; being rich is accepted; but being kind to all is never stressed. Though I am not for cultivated virtue, stressing the dependence within the society would have ensured some amount of courtesy to fellow humans. And nowhere we've talked about self-respect in its true sense. <br />
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We continue to see this disrespect shown to maid servants, laborers and anyone without equal or more power. And the power varies from situation to situation but discourtesy is the norm. The person driving a car is more powerful to the one driving a bike to a one riding a bicycle to a one walking. Disrespect flows throughout. We have created a situation where discourtesy is a way of life for all - irrespective of education, caste or religion. Now is the time to fix it.Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931086631174439208.post-57955599778112578512010-06-09T20:47:00.001+05:302010-06-09T21:25:36.743+05:30Government - Is it relevant?When I was a kid, the Government had factories, sold milk, bread and other essentials, in addition to the basic responsibilities of policing, transportation, sanitation, healthcare and education. Some cities had private transportation, private medical practitioners etc. There weren't private policing or sanitation. There were very few private schools - most schools were Government aided. Private engineering colleges started when I entered college. It looked reasonable as the government couldn't handle the demand for professional education. This was in late 1980s. <br />
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As time progressed, the government began slowly withdrawing from its basic responsibilities. More private engineering and medical colleges came up in the 90s and 2000s. Still fine as the demand for professional education continuing to raise. <br />
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In healthcare, Apollo and other chain hospitals established themselves all over the state. The quality of service in government hospitals steadily deteriorated to a level that anyone who can afford to spend for quality healthcare wouldn't visit government hospital.<br />
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Transportation got privatized like crazy. In healthcare and education private institutions took over the service from the government. In transportation, individuals took it upon themselves. Two and four wheeler are all over the place. As with other services, government provided services deteriorated.<br />
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When it comes to sanitation, Tamil Nadu government started to offload the responsibility to NGO like Exnora and then to private operators like Onyx and Neel Metal Fanalca. The government washed off its responsibility without establishing checks and balances for the basic services. <br />
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The sorry state of government shying away from responsibility showed up in policing. Unable to provide basic order, it let the people take care of themselves. There were private security agencies for low level policing. More influential people took to the mafia to resolve conflicts. Now, the difference between police and mafia has disappeared.<br />
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Around 2002-2003, there were instances where people funded drainage systems, arranged for their own water supply etc. I believed that it is natural that people have to take care of themselves. How wrong I was?<br />
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As people get richer, they would pay for these services. What about those who can't? What about conflicts that private service providers can't resolve? What about the impact on environment when business interests take precedence over service? The government continues to accept taxes in many forms, those in power accept bribes to hand over the tax payer's money to businesses and businesses focus on their margins.<br />
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We are at a stage, where we can't question on why the garbage isn't cleared, why the doctor doesn't show up at Government hospitals, traffic goes uncontrolled or schools not providing quality education. We elect a government that would accept taxes to siphon it to business. Sickening... isn't it?Sridharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08903225715273678219noreply@blogger.com2