silent crossfire

River My Life - 8

2012-01-18T03:42:00.000-08:00

In high school I was set on becoming a doctor or paramedic. However my high school scores and national college test/entrance exam results were not very good. So getting into medical school/college meant high tuition or sitting through the exams again. My parents were not too keen on me taking up paramedic courses. It was beneath them they said. I thought about taking up Arts or Literature or Humanities but I was told there was no future or career after that. So I was convinced to take up a degree in commerce. Apparently that meant careers that make a lot of money. My parents were good at persuasion and they knew how to dominate a conversation or send you on a guilt trip.

I went to college where my sister did, in Mangalore. It was a good escape, or so I thought. But I didn’t really fit into college life. I still carried baggage and depression from high school. So I became what they call, socially handicapped. I hated what I was studying except economics and languages. So I forced myself to do it. I became more miserable. And I kept blaming everyone – my parents, my past – wishing what if I had done this or that. I guess I never really tried to move on. I was stuck in the past.

At college it seemed like everyone was on a perpetual quest to be ‘cool’ or ‘cooler than the next person’. And of course, get the attention of the girls. I was done with all that in high school and didn’t want any drama anymore. So I sort of went into hiding and kept a low profile. I buried myself in books and transformed into a complete nerd. Became a recluse for three years.

However, I had some good roommates who eventually became friends. Two of them were from my high school and hometown. It was good to be around friends who made me laugh. I needed it. There were some hilarious episodes with them over the three years. Many I like to look back and remember.

In college I got my first guitar and started learning. A friend sold me a second hand beat-up guitar. But to me it was like gold. It became my escape from rest of the world.

River My Life - 7

2012-01-18T03:24:00.000-08:00

My sister left for college to another state, when I was in high school. So that left me alone with my parents and of course their fights. But I was glad she wasn’t around to see them fighting, at least for a few years. We wrote to each other but I never mentioned the fights.

I eventually grew out of the ‘weird old clothes’ phase. I was an average student. Usually people tend to pay attention to you if you were good at academics, sports or got into trouble. Everybody else in between was invisible. The teachers hardly noticed unless you were bright or popular. There was one English teacher though, who seemed to think I was worth something. She liked the way I wrote and some of my ideas in class and I started to like her class.

In high school I was drawn to music. Made new friends who were musicians, I joined choirs and we jammed. I was fascinated by the guitar and the keyboard. But I didn’t play any instruments. So I would sing along or spend a lot of time listening to music and watching my friends perform. I wasn’t trained in music but was told I was a decent singer when it came to pop or gospel music. It was the best thing that happened to me with everything else that was disappointing in my life at that time. Maybe it was because girls started noticing. I tried my hand at the keyboard by asking my uncle to teach me. However there was this one time in high school, when I was to play the keyboards with the choir for Christmas and I panicked and I didn’t play.

I had a few good friends but I decided to start hanging around with a few kids who were popular. The ‘cool’ ones. Thought it will help make me look cool. But I was always trying to catch up with what they did and talked about and what was cool. Always trying to fit in. It was exhausting. I was afraid to be myself as I had to do and like things ‘they’ did. And no matter how much I tried I was the outsider. I couldn’t afford the things they had or hang out at places they did. One of them was my patron and sort of took care of things. So I put up with everything because I felt I had to be grateful for being allowed in. I knew him since 2nd grade. But in high school I realised I was becoming a dead weight for him. Maybe even an embarrassment. He started to join the others when they mocked me. I started to become remembered as the ‘that guy who’s X’s friend.’ I became invisible again. By the time I realised it, it was too late. Fortunately I had other friends who didn’t make it hard for me to fit in.

I played basketball. It was one of the popular sports in school after volleyball and cricket. I liked volleyball too although I wasn’t very good. I was terrible at cricket but learned to play because everybody wanted to play cricket and I didn’t want to be left out. I always looked forward to basketball games in school. But I had the dubious distinction of being on the bench after being picked for every team since 6th grade. But I kept training till high school was over. After that I kind of lost interest. It felt pointless if I never got to play a real game.

Like all high school kids I had many crushes on girls in school. But I could never muster the courage to make a move. Towards the last year of high school, few of my ‘cool’ friends suggested I talk to a girl who apparently liked me. They set us up. And I started my first awkward teenage relationship. Since teenage relationships were not really encouraged in school or where we lived, we had to see each other or talk to each other without anyone knowing. We’d have strange codes to know the other was calling so your parents didn’t pick the telephone. We’d take a different route when I walked her home after school so that people wouldn’t notice. It was silly. Always hiding.

It didn’t last long though. A few months before school ended she explained that it was time to break-up and that she didn’t see it going any further. I didn’t take it that well. To me, it was the end of the world. I couldn’t deal with it. Went into months of depression and sulking. I guess I saw the relationship as an escape from my parents and something to compensate for something that was missing in my life. It felt nice to know that someone cared. Without that that it suddenly felt empty. She however tried to patch things up and end on good terms. I just couldn’t deal with it. I guess the fact that everyone in school knew made it worse. So after high school, I took the first opportunity to leave home and go to college. I just wanted to get away from everything. Everyone. Just disappear.

Since then, when I think of high school I can’t seem to remember the good times although I know there were some. It’s the things that I don’t want to remember that come up first. All the embarrassing moments. I wish I could remember the good times.

River my story - 6

2012-01-18T03:16:00.000-08:00

At some point my parent’s fights revolved around my father’s fidelity. My mother believed he was involved with other women. This seemed to come up now and then over the years. Sometimes he would be away from home for long and return late. Wouldn’t say where he was or where he was going. After a point my mother was paranoid about everything. It was hard to see your father as someone who cheated on your mother. But sometimes it seemed more and more likely that he would. They were so unhappy together. There was a lot of hate and anger between them. They lied to each other. They couldn’t have a real conversation without ending in a fight.

Despite all the fighting they would go about their business as usual. Go to church good Christians. Pretend everything was okay when around relatives and friends. It seemed so hypocritical. A lie. Their marriage was a disaster and they were in denial.

For some reason they believed none of it affected us, me and my sister. They never talked about it with us. Like it didn’t matter.

River My Story - 5

2012-01-15T23:38:00.000-08:00

Eventually we moved back to our home once the house-work and re-building got over. My grandparents lived with us. My mother didn’t get along with them. My grandfather was a difficult person to live with. He would not listen to anyone. And he believed women had to listen to the men of the house. He was stubborn and rude. My parents had to take care of them when they got sick, which happened a lot.

My mother didn’t appreciate too many guests at home all the time. It also meant stretching the household finances thin. So my parents fought about it.

Two of my cousins lived with us for many years to go to college.

Since my grandparents often fell ill and need to be looked after, my father often invited my aunt’s family to stay over. There were many visits to the hospital. I remember the hospital in the neighbourhood like it was an extension of our home. We were always at the hospital every month. My grandmother was diabetic and my grandfather had gastric illnesses.

I remember my aunts and cousins intervening and trying to break up the fights. But it didn’t stop. My parents continued to fight and my father continued to hit and beat my mother. My sister and I could do little to stop it. My grandparents tried not to get involved.

River My Story - 4

2012-01-15T23:36:00.000-08:00

When I was in my 6th grade, my father returned to India. He decided to start a small business venture selling photocopying machines, telephones and fax machines. We moved to a rented house as my parents decided to re-build our house in Kerala. It took 3 years.

And by then my parents were struggling with finances. They had spent most of the savings on re-building the house. My father’s business venture was not doing very well and we very having trouble with money. My parents would fight about money almost every day.

I remember wearing the same clothes to school for years. Sometimes patched up in threads with colours that didn’t match with the clothes. So you could really tell. My pants and shirts sleeves were short and faded. Some had holes in them. My mother said we would think about new clothes after a few years. There was no further arguing with her after that. At school, I remember kids laughed when they saw what I wore. I hated it.

But there were some good parts to those years. We found a pup and she became my favourite dog. We lived near a canal and paddy fields. And my dog and I could move around. It felt liberating. During the monsoons it would look like a lake in our backyard as the water rose and flooded the fields. It was a beautiful view.

River My Story -3

2012-01-14T04:27:00.000-08:00

My parents didn’t have a perfect marriage. It wasn’t a happy normal home. They argued and fought a lot. I didn’t really understand what it was about when I was little, but the intensity and frequency of the fights grew over the years.

They would be yelling at each other, throwing things, breaking things. And he hit her. He would beat her. Almost always.

My sister and I would be scared. They would lock their door when they fought. When we were little, we would bang on the door to try to make it stop and call out to them. But it never did. We could hear them shouting, my mother crying and getting beaten. It was hard to sleep on days like those.

Unfortunately, it happened again and again, over the years. I always thought this one would be the last fight.

River My Story -2

2012-01-14T04:26:00.000-08:00

Till I was in my late teens, my mother was quite the disciplinarian, like an Army General or a cross between a medieval warrior. She seemed ready for battle everyday. One wouldn't want to argue with her. I couldn't picture her as a warm and graceful person, however much I wanted to. She was loud and soemtimes rude. She would beat and scold me. I was afraid of her.

She was a nurse for many years in Saudi Arabia. She and her friends moved to Saudi Arabia before she got married to my father. She quit a few years after I was born.

My father was unpredictable. Some days he would try to be funny. Most days he was dis-interested in us and in his own world. Sometimes he was nice. To a lot of people he was a musician and seemed to known in my hometown and people we met in Saudi Arabia. He worked with a company that made spare parts for equipments used by oil companies.

My sister was the chirpy cheerful kind. She was into music and dance and was quite popular. We hated each other till my teens. We were at war with each other for some reason almost every day. Not really sure why. We started to get along after that.

River My Story

2012-01-14T04:24:00.001-08:00

I had to think very hard to try and answer this for myself. They were all waiting. For my story. I had to. Everyone had to. Only I didn’t want to.

The firm I work for organises experiential education camps for older kids and I have been a part of this particular activity, a few times. Everyone draws a picture of a river, representing their life and then shares their story. However, each time I found it extremely difficult and eventually skipped most of the details. I could definitely understand why kids found it hard despite all the persuading by the adults.

The past was something I avoided. When I talked about it, I left out some parts to avoid the many questions people may ask. So I thought maybe I should write it down to see if it will help.

**
“I’m 28 years old. I was born in a small town in Kerala in India. I now live in Bangalore. I moved here in search of work and have been living here for 8 years.

I don’t recall a lot from childhood. Just pieces that are not exactly in a continuous order.
We were in Saudi Arabia through my kindergarten years till second grade. My parents had worked there even before me and my sister was born.

I wasn’t happy. For some reason there was a lot of crying. I didn’t like waking up and going to school. In first grade there was a kid from the neighbourhood. We became friends and went to school on the same bus with me every day. Then I remember him punching me in front of his friends and breaking my teeth. They were laughing. I don’t really remember him after that.

In the second grade, I remember we left for India because there was a war starting in the region (Iraq- Kuwait). My parents were afraid the war would spread to Saudi Arabia. My father stayed back though. I joined a school in my hometown in Kerala. My grandparents and two older cousins who were in college, also lived with us. There were a lot of cousins and relatives around the house.

After the war, we went back to Saudi Arabia. I was in the fourth grade. Took me time to blend in. Was hard for a South-Indian to fit in when most kids around you were from the north. I couldn’t speak or understand Hindi at the time, which made it harder to follow join the conversations. It was a big school and I got shuffled to a different class every year with different set of kids. So you had to start making friends from scratch again. I didn’t like school. I hated studying. But my mother would push me every day and make sure I studied. She was paranoid about it. And pretty persuasive when she yelled real loud.

Somedays my father would have his friends at our home and they would be playing music or practicing for some event. He played the keyboards and the accordion. There was a network of Indians in different parts of Saudi Arabia who got together for underground cultural events. Since most entertainment and culture was restricted for Islamic reasons, these Indian gatherings would be secret or underground or within the areas where the American soldiers stationed in the country lived with their families. Saudi law did not have jurisdiction there.

I remember many trips to homes of friends of my parents, the jam sessions and the preparations, the stage, the many Indian faces...etc. It was nice to get out but I was always lost at these things as I didn’t know most people and it seemed like something meant more for the parents and I was just tagging along.

I rarely went out on my own. My parents didn’t think it was a safe neighbourhood. So we stayed indoors unless my parents took us out. I spent a lot of time watching TV or drawing.

There were many visits to the beach, the sea side and the parks. I guess anything was better than the apartment.

another review

2012-01-13T05:20:00.000-08:00

I was at project review meet hosted by one of the corporate donors. They fund a non-profit project for underprivileged children I work with. We were among many other projects there, talking about the outreach of the project and progress. I was very uncomfortable in the air conditioned conference room and office, although this should be familiar. Everyone tried their best to show how their projects were doing important work, which they truly were. Many good projects that I liked.

But it was sad that it had to be that way. To have to sell oneself so hard to get the donor’s/suits attention. I guess the donor has a right to know how responsibly its money is being used. The suits seemed busy checking their blackberries rather than listening to the presentations and understanding the challenges of the projects. They asked for more volunteering hours to be eligible for more financial support.

Apparently only those projects that can absorb more volunteers from the corporate and use the products (technology, as they said) sold by the corporate will henceforth be worthy of donor support. Never mind if there is an actual need for volunteers or an ability for the struggling projects to absorb them (entertain them) or if these volunteers can guarantee their availability when it’s needed or can really add value. Never mind the merit of the project and the need of the beneficiaries! Then it becomes a win-win, I recall one of the suits in the conference room saying. And I grimaced in pain knowing this is not the end, that there will be many more of these to come.

A Wave in the Sea

2012-01-13T05:19:00.000-08:00

A wave in the sea, a very large, huge sea, going on and on and on forever. Hitting the shores of many islands, lots and lots of islands, some big, some small and some tiny. It moves everyday among the waves, starting small and getting bigger by the minute, reaching the shores, touching the sand of beaches. Now what? This is a strange story. Why am I writing this? Okay. There’s a coconut tree and its got coconuts. Wait a minute. What about the wave and the sea? Oh it’s still there. It’s coming and going. And the coconut tree, its is not alone. There are others. Many others. And other trees too. And..and..and...now what do I write? God this is hard. He’s saying something. Nevermind. Back to the waves. Must be sad to have a short life. I mean the wave. Maybe its actually born again. Or maybe not. So the wave, it’s still in the sea. I don’t know which one though. There’s the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Dead Sea and Bay of Bengal. No that’s a bay, not a sea. What am I saying? So the wave and the sea. They must know each other quite well I guess. Maybe they hate each other. You seeing each other every day forever must be boring. Do waves get to move someplace else? I don’t know. Maybe it can.

I had this free flow creative writing activity at a training workshop I attended at work. This is what came out of that in 3 minutes after I picked ‘A wave in the sea’. Terrible writing. But was interesting to see what would come out in the end.

a year older

2011-08-27T04:25:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago I turned 28. It didn’t seem like an event that needed celebration. I wished I could ignore it and pretend it didn’t exist but people tend to notice and remind you. And you can’t hide. You are then to fit into what is an expected social norm of behaviour around birthdays. Looking happy and thanking those who remembered when you’re not either. Fortunately I managed to evade as many people as I could that day at work and avoid the awkwardness.

I did however reply to birthday wishes on Facebook. To not be impolite. I’m not very sure what to do with ‘wish you a great year ahead’ or ‘have a great day’. Its just a day. Not an intergalactic event that changed my life. I can’t know for sure what lies ahead. And I’m certainly not someone who did anything significant to be remembered. And I knew I would be forgotten the next day. And, I actually had a terrible day at work that day.

Time seems to be moving forward. Yet somehow I seem left behind, constantly in a state of trying to catch up. And not getting there. And strangely, not knowing where ‘there’ is supposed to be. It’s like you are constantly on a train and not sure where to get down or what the next stop is. Should I get down or should I keep moving or should I do neither? Did I miss it? Should I go back?

All I kept hearing was ‘happy birthday’. But I wasn’t listening. I was looking for something else. I don’t know what that is.

Feb 20

2011-02-25T04:09:00.001-08:00

I had always led myself to believe I could survive. I could wade myself through life on my own. I had managed to do it till now, for this long. I should be able to keep going. I realised a long time ago that there is a possibility of me floating through life alone. A root-less plant. Not sure where I belong. But I guess I was lying to myself when I said that I never let it bother me. The normal course of action was not really denial, but more of trying to accept that maybe this is who I am or what my life is. But a sense of uncertainty of where is this going did visit occasionally to shake me up. Maybe I just didn’t cared. However gravely pathetic that may seem, I think some of it must be true.

There are days when I find it hard to ignore the thought. For most of the years I grown up, living within a conversation- less four walled room never seemed impossible or abnormal. I try to fill my head with conversation or distract myself with music or television or the radio to drown out the sound-lessness. The silence. Its a part of who I am now. The silence did not really bother me. Sometimes I think perhaps I’m in a state of intermittent coma or slow death. The irony is that I know I am alive. I get up, go work. Yet it all feels unreal – quiet, empty. You feel alone. I’ve never said aloud before. Now that I did, it feels stupid, knowing it doesn’t make a difference.

Camp

2011-01-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

Jan 5, 2011

A week before Christmas, I spent four days at a camp in a village called Ramnagar with colleagues and forty children, just about 20 km away from Bangalore city. It was part of a series of training sessions from work on creative facilitation that I was part of along with other colleagues. The goal was to test our creative facilitating skills & learnings with a group of children we brought along with us from one of the slum communities in Bangalore where we operate some of our life skills projects. A place called Bismillanagar.

Ramnagar is a regular camping and trekking site used for outdoor adventure programs. One the projects my firm runs for children involves outdoor based adventure camps.

It was good to be away from the city after a long time. Hills, trees, open spaces, rocks, boulders and clear night sky. It was refreshing and a relief from the usual everyday stress.

There were some heart warming moments, insightful experiences and lots of fun. I was surprised to realise that I was actually having fun and smiling a lot more than I usually do. Working with forty children was tough though and I could see it was stressing everyone out else as well. But eventually the children warmed up to us and we managed to facilitate sessions without it turning into a complete disaster. The kids made everyone laugh. It was nice to get to know so many kids and spend time with them.

Have I become a better facilitator? I don’t know. I think the training workshop and camp were great learning experiences.

I think our trainer did a great job managing the various disagreements and dynamics within the group of colleagues in a positive manner and bringing the group back to the larger purpose every time we kind of de-railed or lost track or got stuck in individual blocks. Somehow she brought best out of all of us despite our shortcoming and all our individual baggage and dis-connects. And throughout not losing her cool or ever stop smiling. I’m glad I met her. An excellent facilitator and trainer, extremely compassionate and concerned about children. For an Canadian, she didn’t really mind roughing it out in the camp.

Unfortunately like always we did have some moments where it appeared a few colleagues add some exaggeration of outcome or results or throw around feelings for dramatic effect. There were moments where you witness some power struggles and dynamics among colleagues. I could be reading them wrong. And I guess everyone wants to sell the cause and demonstrate they believe in it and the projects we run. So maybe getting emotional and dramatic is normal. Or maybe its genuine compassion and bonding I witnessed. Perhaps I’m being too sceptical.

I just wish there was a little more planning in terms of scheduling of training sessions to allow more participation without affecting work. My work’s been piling up and its a mess.

home

2011-01-06T06:19:00.001-08:00

Dec 29

Its been four months since my last visit.

I realise, the warmth, nostalgia or longing for my hometown is not there anymore. But then again, I’ve not been around for the last 10 years except for a week in a year.

I know I like the place, the simple life, the trees, birds, the paddy fields, the open space. My parents and relatives still live here. I was born here, I went to school here. I have some history here for at least 18 years. All of that must mean something right?

But I can’t seem to feel I’m home. Shouldn’t I be glad I’m here?

One moment you are excited, it feels good, everything is familiar. And the next, you don’t recognize anything anymore; you feel you’re an outsider, a visitor just passing through. That you don’t belong here. You just want to leave. To get away.

Maybe it’s because I have to pack and leave in a few days anyway and so I feel there’s no point getting attached.

I’ve been away too long and it’s possible the attachment to a place tends to fade with time. Or I’ve gotten used to the city I live in now. Interestingly, the city I moved to 6 years ago for work doesn’t quite feel like home either.

So where is home? Not exactly a question you want to be left with.

back to the classroom

2010-07-28T03:53:00.000-07:00

It’s been an exhausting few weeks. Maybe I need to try and fit in more sleep somewhere. A few years back I didn’t mind staying awake all night and getting back to work in the morning. Things are very different now.

Sometime back I was volunteering with a non-profit. I started working with them again. They work with low income community/ non-profit run schools or learning centers in slums around Bangalore. The project I work with helps older kids/teenagers with career/higher education related counselling, life skill development courses and mentoring. Its a relatively new project that started sometime this year and right now works with just about 1-2 communities.

The project also has a Basic English course for kids who have trouble with English. (They come from schools with the medium of instruction in the regional language or have had poor training in the language.) Unfortunately English is still a factor that decides access to opportunities in higher education (medium of instruction is almost always in English in college) and a good job in India. It’s hard for these kids then, to compete with kids from mainstream high schools.

I’ve been filling in as a tutor/teacher till we hire someone or have enough volunteers to take over. Now, I’m not really a trained teacher, and I’m not known to be very good with kids, but strangely I seem to doing okay with the kids I teach. Or I would like to think I am. ...Maybe I’m not doing that okay as I think. Maybe its coz there’s been no disasters yet.

They are older kids (15-17) and it’s just twice a week for now and its been about 6 weeks. Maybe it’s just a temporary rush and I may not be excited after a while. But I’m kinda getting used to it. At least it keeps me busy and it feels like I’m doing something more than less exciting parts of my job.

Wonder if the kids like the classes. Perhaps I need to smile more often. Or maybe I should try to bring more fun to the class and engage in more conversation after class.

its been a while

2010-07-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

It’s been probably months since I last wrote. Since then, I’ve changed jobs; bought a laptop; become broke; ignored the IPL; was exhausted keeping up with the Modi-Tharoor fiasco, ran a 10k marathon ; lost track of the national news & commentary, Facebook/ Twitter updates ; watched some World Cup football matches at home; was sad about the court ruling on the Bhopal gas tragedy; added a few more inches to my waist; felt bad about the BP Oil spill, the proposed nuclear liability bill; started teaching 15-17 year olds; learned more friends from college and school became parents, had gotten married or engaged; learned that my nephew started to speak his first few words; failed attempts to start running again; watched the monsoon come and disappear; postponed attempts to find a new place to move into and I continue to be way behind schedule with my college assignments.

by the lake

2010-03-23T02:26:00.001-07:00

ulsoor lake, bangalore

concert

2010-03-23T02:20:00.000-07:00

Interesting performance by Ashutosh of Blue Frog (vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar), Monica Dogra Shaair n Func (vocals), Sonu Sangameswaran (bass), sanjay divecha (lead guitar)

empty bus ride

2010-03-19T23:25:00.001-07:00

another math exam

2010-03-01T01:53:00.000-08:00

today i wrote the 10 grade math exam after almost 10 years since graduating high school. it wasn't my exam though. it was M's. i met her today for the first time. i got a call a day back saying she needed help writing and reading questions for her exams. it was her preperatory exam prior to her 10 grade SSLC exams. M's blind. so i bunked work and headed to her school. The nuns insruct me on what i should do. how to make an impression of an image if I needed to explain a question involving geometry. how she took notes using her braille machine ( its called something else, i don't know yet).

i learned that someone always helps a blind child at the home for children for each exam. i had foolishly assumed that there were special exam sheets in Braille script for them. through the exam i realised how difficult it is. i could barely understand the questions myself. how does one learn geometry or understand space/dimensions or graphs or tables without vision? though i was tempted to help her out, i couldnt because i was terrible at math in high school.

its difficult for a blind child despite special schools for the blind doing their best. they still need to attempt the usual public board exams often without any braille script. i guess the public schooling system overlooks this aspect. hadn't realised how certain aspects of schooling is still a challenge for the visually disabled. wonder if the right to education bill that the indian government plans to bring in india is inclusive of needs/challenges of the disabled?

feel like shit

2010-02-05T23:35:00.000-08:00

There are times when I doubt if what I do is fuelled by real passion or just a mindless selfish desperation to succeed, to make something out of my life. To turn a page or a corner or whatever the phrase is. I turned away from the corporate life because I thought I could maybe find something that made a little more sense, to add a little more meaning to everyday. But it seems I’m not really changing things around as much as I thought I would.

You have this thought of jumping right in the center of it all when you start– poverty, health epidemics, education. You want to do it all. You’re over your head. The whole ‘save the world’ thing in your head sometimes makes you feel foolish in hindsight. You learn to settle with what you didn’t plan on. Unclear of what your doing. Dabbling in a bit of everything like when you were a volunteer. Writing proposals, fund raising is important, but guess may not be quite like the ‘super aid /humanitarian worker’ you read about in blogs. I guess I got it give it some time before I get there. But I keep asking myself if I can make it. If the non profit I work for will survive, if funding runs out tomorrow and the projects close down without adequate donor support. That I would be responsoble for part of that outcome.

Feel like shit sometimes, you want to help, but you're not doing enough. I wonder if I really am altruistic or just opportunistic ? Am I worried about the outcome because I'm worried about my job or the need of the projects? Why do I keep asking myself if its worth it, although you jump to defend yourself when someone asks you what YOU do. There's always this thing that makes you feel you're not really contributing enough to development on the ground.

Critics belong to teams, satirists are all alone

2009-11-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

The post header seems very true. Its a line from Santhosh Desai. He makes my day again with " What we don't mock anymore".(link)

"Have we lost our ability to mock people, to see through those who posture and preen and puncture these pretensions with a dose of sardonic irony? We seem to live in a time when we either glorify people or denounce them, when we are either filled indiscriminate awe and reverence or with disgust and anger. And yet, there is so much to mock as the short list below, which is by no means objective or complete, demonstrates.

Fashion designers who tell us about their views on Government policy. Politicians who foist their litter on an indifferent electorate. Politicians with suspiciously well groomed hair. Pretentious jargon that everyone suddenly starts spouting. Film stars calling themselves ‘actaurs’. Progeny of rich industrialists who cannot find their way out of an elevator suddenly talking of their vision for the company and the country. Rich people being mistaken for smart people. Journalists schmoozing with the rich on golf courses while ‘getting under their skin’. Vijay Mallya’s very believable claim that he interviews every flight attendant personally. Media houses that agonise about reality television on one channel while hawking them on another. Film stars talking about how they cooed and billed sweet nothings to each other under trees at a Leadership Summit. Celebrities buying sportsmen on national tv in a public auction. Judgmental TV hosts who declaim pompously about what they think while apparently asking others. Film stars giving exclusive interviews on television while actually selling us emulsion paint or hair colouring products. Billionaires who take salary cuts in a spirit of austerity. Lalit Modi. Twits on Tweeter. And yes, columnists who think that they have a free pass to write on any and everything."

It is getting harder these days to say anything without it being termed politically incorrect or upsetting someone, someone, who you're not sure exists, but you're worried you might rub the wrong way. So you're constantly looking around trying to be careful not to step on anyone's toe. Never mind if it is the truth, you just can't say it because you might end up with fewer friends these days. And we need friends everywhere to survive these days they say. So the trend seems to be moving towards neutrality ( like Switzerland I think) , absorbing all the nonsense politely with a smile. Of course we believe in free speech, but keep your opinions to yourselves they say. Show restraint. Be polite. Wonder what would happen if I said all the things that goes on inside my head. I do sometimes. But mostly I guess I don't. Damn Switzerland.

A life time of examinations

2009-11-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Came across an article that took me back to the paranioa for extra classes I remember we've had in schools to complete portions just before the exams. Some I guess was simply to finish the classes that were delayed. Then again there were the rare few teachers who pushed the classes to ensure students learned a little more and took an inetrest in the subject, regardless of the examination timetable around the corner. But there were many who did give in eventually to the pressure of having to complete classes or rush through. Come to think of it, everything about school and college seemed to revolve around exams. A series of exams and in between them there was a little learning because we were in a rush to complete classes before the NEXT exam. We lose interest in the subject we like, because we're only trying to rush through. And because others were more important from the examination perspective. I always wondered, I pass those examinations and yet have no depth of understanding of what the subject really is. I hated the subject, never got to understand it, but was glad it was over. It didn't matter they said. You passed.

The Long Road to Examination Reforms (link)- Krishna Kumar -The Hindu

"The principal ensures that teachers exercise no agency or autonomy in deciding the number of periods they will take to complete a topic. The number ordained by the Board is religiously complied with. I cannot think of a principal who exercises leadership to encourage teachers to take howsoever long they want in order to sustain children’s interest in a topic. Teachers who want, or actually try, to do such a thing, end up being told by either the principal or the parents that children’s time is being wasted. The message is simple: “Focus on the final Board examinations.” Children begin to feel its power as soon as they enter Class I in the primary school or even earlier, in the nursery. By the time they come to the higher secondary level, the students themselves become convinced that marks, and marks alone, matter. Colleges and universities do not consider it necessary to apply their mind to assess the student’s potential. They go by the student’s Board marks. Not surprisingly, parents push children to work for the highest possible aggregate, rather than to pursue individual interest. This kind of pushing destroys the student’s awareness of his or her own special yearning."

chaos in the classroom...

2009-11-10T04:15:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I'm not a very good teacher. Probably because I've never done it before. When I first thought about spending time with an arts programme run by an non profit at a school, I knew I wasn't quite prepared for it. I'm not known to be the kind who can keep a group of kids entertained for long. But I had some extra time so thought I'd give it a try.

Its a difficult thing to run a school in a low income community such a this, a predominantly Urdu speaking Muslim community some unable to afford mainstream schooling or reluctant to send their kids too far. Its near a place called Bismillanagar in Bangalore. Usually, the boys are encouraged to start work when they reach 16-17 and seldom complete 12th std or attempt college. The girls on the other hand are married early, cutting off the possibility of going to college or pursuing a career. But things seem to be slowly changing here with schooling becoming available ( there's one more school close by) and possibilities for a college education seeming within reach. Its a community that is rapidly changing and yet clinging on to some traditional norms. I see on most days a bunch of teenage burqa clad girls texting away on their cellphones.

My job at hand seemed even more daunting as art isn't really considered a regular subject when you stack them against the ones that fetch you employment - science, math, languages or social studies. So parents aren't too keen on sending them. Tuition classes after school seem more practical to them. The art programme is designed by a non-profit to impart simple life and add a little fun to a day at school. I'm told there are regular assessments and session plans to nurture these life skills. So far the instructors and volunteers have been introducing colours and basic concepts. I'm guessing it will take a while till we reach serious life skills modules.

The immediate task however has been to keep kids in classrooms interested and find the pencils, crayons, colour pencils, and erasers that seem to mysteriously disappear at the end of the class.Kids are paired in order to share materials but the concept of sharing is yet to sink in. I learned that schooling is not something they really enjoy. It must be usual to expect chaos in the classroom when you don't use a cane. That seems to be the norm here to keep order in the classroom. Teachers do look at me thinking I've lost my mind when I refuse to use the cane. Maybe they're skeptical of a bunch of young men handling a class without any corporal punishment. Guess my ponytail doesn't help with my image either.

Classes have been tough, especially when you have to decipher what's being said when 30 kids are talking to you at the same time, break up a fight in the corner, reassure someone complaining they don't have colours or a pencil or getting hold of a few running around the class or fooling around. But I guess its not a complete disaster, its been getting better.Its not a bad day when a few kids come at the end of the class and help clean up or a show me a nice drawing or share their ideas. It' s been a short stint here but I'm hoping I'll eventually get better at this and return. Wonder if the kids would remember me.

Reading

2009-11-10T00:23:00.000-08:00

Afghan election roundup - Harryrud (link)

"The whole process has had all the ‘legitimacy’ of a celebrity UNHCR ambassador caught killing refugees, boiling them down to make glue and sniffing it. All that money and all those people who died – including some of those in last week’s attack on the UN in Kabul, plus many more foreign soldiers and many more Afghan civilians and civil servants – were for what exactly?"

No BS Communication - Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (link)

"Now that the word ‘groundswell’ is truly possible in real life thanks to social media, its time to cut the BS in communication and talk straight and simple. How difficult is that?

Turns out that its indeed really very difficult. I was in a press interaction for a client which was bent on announcing something rather insignificant, on a grand scale. I felt completely helpless since it was beyond my mandate to change things – it was much bigger compared to my minor protest. So, I went with it."

We Mean Business -Tales from the Hood (link)

"Maybe we’ve allowed ourselves to believe, wrongly, that because the proposal formats, approval processes and reporting requirements for corporate funds seem almost endearingly simple in comparison to government grants, that corporate grant-making is somehow less calculated towards end goals. Donors fund aid work based on what they believe will advance their own interests. Period."

Crossing the line...

2009-10-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

"There's no doubt about, I'm hot. In fact, I'm so hot after this case there's no place for me to go but down. Every client will expect this, the same magic, nothing less. And I could probably give it to them if it didn't matter how I did it. And then one morning I'd wake up and find that I'd become Leo Drummand.

Every lawyer at least once in every case feels himself crossing a line he doesn't really mean to cross. It just happens. And if you cross it enough times it disappears forever. And then your nothing but another lawyer's joke but another shark in dirty water." - Rudy Baylor in the movie based on the book,The Rainmaker.

Now I'm not a lawyer, never been one. But somehow I can relate and agree. I guess I've been there. But not sure if I've moved on.

Reading

2009-10-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

Corporate lobbying and democracy (link) – The Hindu

“The economic stimulus packages initiated in several countries have given fresh momentum to corporate lobbying, in which powerful companies spend tens of millions of dollars ensuring that legislation and policy are drafted to favour their area of business. Enormous sums are spent on this and on contributions to campaign funds….. In India, corporate lobbying, in the form of intensive briefings and presentations to ministers and senior civil servants, is expanding; the current political climate also makes ministers, officials, and legislators more receptive to it….For big business, lobbying works. Published research shows a significant positive correlation between lobbying and financial performance, and lobbying by firms or by lobbying agencies often produces policies tailored to their own requirements.."

Cry for India (link) - Economic & Political Weekly

"Pity our bomb makers. They have the difficult job of deciding if one of the devices they tested under the sands of Pokhran in 1998 could be good enough for a thermonuclear bomb that has the power to murder a few million people or if it can murder only a few hundred thousands. (To “murder” is surely the appropriate word to describe the use of a nuclear weapon.)The squabble, in which our bomb makers have descended to calling each other names, could have been dismissed as a ridiculous turf war if only it had not been about something as horrific as the potency of a nuclear bomb. Everyone from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh onwards has deemed it important enough to have a say on the “yield” of the thermonuclear device tested on 11 May 1998."

A modest proposal for climate change and immigration (link) - Aid Thoughts

"There is a general consensus that, however severe the eventual impact will be, it is much of the developing world that stands to lose the most from climate change. Increasing temperatures result in more unpredictable and volatile weather as well as greater levels of desertification and disease. Many believe that Africans will be the worst sufferers, despite the fact that they contribute the least to global emissions..I am currently not optimistic about suggestions that we should pay developing countries to adapt to their worsened environments or to transition their economies into ones that are less carbon-intensive (read: slower-growing). When it comes to adaptation funds, given the extremely low level of government capacity in some of these countries and the general lack of aid effectiveness,what are the chances that these transfers will actually be used for their intended purpose? It’s far more likely that the funds will just act as a payout: reparations for making the lives of the poor worse off."

Please let Us Drive (link)- Saudiwoman’s blog

“I have cousins who sit at home after college because they don’t have a driver and their brothers and fathers are unwilling to drive them around. Others have one driver that they have to share with two or three other sisters. These are adults who have jobs and are responsible as teachers and bankers and yet they have to bear the huge inconvenience of scheduling their trips around each other plus taking into consideration breaks for the driver. And they can’t just hire another driver because it’s a lot more complicated than a few job interviews. They have to pay for a visa (about 2000$) and literally adopt a grown man by ensuring his accommodations, food and everything else.”

Found Why Do Mothers Breastfeed Girls Less Than Boys? Evidence and Implications for Child Health in India(link), a study by Seema Jayachandran and Ilyana Kuziemko at Chris Blattman's post (link). Quite disturbing and startling, despite the math which I obviously couldn't make sense of.

First, we find that breastfeeding increases with birth order,since mothers near or beyond their desired total fertility are more likely to make use of the contraceptive properties of nursing. Second, given a preference for having sons, mothers with no or few sons want to conceive again and thus limit their breastfeeding. We indeed find that daughters are weaned sooner than sons, and, moreover, for both sons and daughters, having few or no older brothers results in earlier weaning. Third, these gender eects peak as mothers approach their target family size, when their decision about future childbearing (and therefore breastfeeding) is highly marginal and most sensitive to considerations such as ideal sex composition. Because breastfeeding protects against water- and food-borne disease, our model also makes predictions regarding health outcomes. We find that child-mortality patterns mirror those of breastfeeding with respect to gender and its interactions with birth order and ideal family size. Our results suggest that the gender gap in breast-feeding explains 14 percent of excess female child mortality in India, or about 22,000missing girls" each year.

Of suicide, poor crops and elections (link) –The Hindu

Sheikh Abdul, who owns one acre of land, sees little hope for his cotton crop. "Yes, the fields are green and the crops are tall but the rain was too late. The last bit of heavy rain was like a saline drip to dying person. It is of no use," he says. First the delayed rains meant the sowing was late. After some straggly growth the crops were revived at the fag end of the monsoon. "Don't be taken in by all the lushness," warn the villagers. The cotton bolls are few and much of it is dying due to lack of water. Most of the farmers have incurred heavy debts to plant cotton and now they have little hope of repaying them. it. ..Rural credit is a major issue and most of the farmers rely on the moneylender as banks do not extend loans to them. There are plenty of complaints about the classification of people under BPL (below poverty line). People said many complaints went right up to the district Collector but nothing had changed. There are around 264 BPL families but the reality is different. So many people from nomadic tribes do not figure on that list, they don't even have a proper house. The farmers raised so many issues — right from lack of credit, lack of power, water scarcity, the BPL list, down to the horror of their crops not yielding much this year.

Reading today

2009-09-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

The dream of OLPC and the aid bubble (link) - Road to Horizon

"Anyone trying to make a difference, and is not afraid to put words into deeds, especially if it is innovative, provocative and controversial, deserves my respect. Especially if it is well thought through. OLPC has my respect. Proper education is one of the principal ways to eradicate poverty. There are different means to boost education in the developing world. Rendering technology more affordable and accessible is one....But it is not the only solution. Cheap laptops can not feed hungry children, that is for sure. But neither can "feeding children teach them how to read. Boosting education in the developing world has many challenges.....as the cynical aidworker I sometimes am, I have to say that wholesome solutions to complex development goals are virtually non-existent. It is simply not built into the humanitarian system. It is very very very difficult to have different organisations work together for a common goal. Even if it would be as simple as "address the problems of this ONE school in all of its aspects". Leave alone all schools in a country. Beh.. Different organisations have different means and goals. But most of all, they compete. They compete for the same donor-dollar. In the end, why would I, as organisation X, work with organisation Y, if I know that in the end, we will be approaching the same donors for the same money? X and Y are competitors in a competitive world. And that will remain forever."

Kicking people until they have a conscience (link) - Road to Horizon

"...You have to kick people until they have a conscience": You have to repeat ethical values to people, slam their face with it, until they understand. Head-on. That sentence remained within me, lingering..."

Employment guarantee or slave labour? (link)- Jean Dreze in The Hindu

"Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, workers must be paid within 15 days. Failing that, they are entitled to compensation under the Payment of Wages Act — up to Rs. 3,000 per aggrieved worker. However, except in one isolated instance in Jharkhand, compensation has never been paid....Even small delays often cause enormous hardship to workers who live on the margins of subsistence. How are they supposed to feed their families as they wait day after day for their wages, clueless on how long it will take and powerless to do anything about it? A recent investigation of hunger deaths in Baran district, Rajasthan, found that delays in NREGA wage payments were partly responsible for the tragedy. Timely payment is, literally, a matter of life and death — all the more so in a drought year.....It is often argued, especially by government officials, that the main reason for the delays is the inability of banks and post offices to handle mass payments of NREGA wages. There is a grain of truth in this, but as a diagnosis of the problem, it is quite misleading."

Meeting India's tree planting guru (link) - BBC

"An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a novel way of providing employment to millions of poor in the eastern state of Bihar.His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.Evidence of Mr Raju's success could clearly be seen on 30 August, when he organised 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.In doing so the agriculture graduate from Bangalore has provided "sustainable employment" to people living below the poverty line in Bihar."

Reading today

2009-09-14T07:08:00.000-07:00

and no religion, too? (link) - Tales from the Hood

"...if we insist on the language of science but fail in our ability to understand the language of religion (regardless of our own individual faith-status or the philosophical underpinnings of our employers), we will also fail to understand a very central part of the lives of those communities where we work and our aid will be less effective and sustainable as a result..."

Welcome to Machine (link) - Tales from the Hood

"....But if you look with any kind of objectivity at the aid industry you see very quickly that the majority of the architecture is around essentially logistics and compliance: leveraging and moving resources – cash, GIK, “technical assistance”, people – from developed countries to developing countries, tracking and analyzing and reporting on that movement, and ensuring compliance and accountability at various steps along the way...."

More preparation needed (link) -The Hindu

"strangely, more than the schools and teachers, students seem to resist this change. They would like their performance to be assessed at the State or national level through a public examination, rather than be evaluated at the school level. Internal assessment, tried out in the past, has thrown up questions of credibility, objectivity, and uniformity in standards.....Further, CBSE students do not generally terminate their studies at Class X level. Since Education is a concurrent subject under the Constitution, States are free to have their own system. Not many States appear inclined to fall in line with the CBSE initiative."

3 R's for grown-ups: Revise, Reassess, Rethink(link) -The Times of India

"Accepting the proposition necessitates a change in mindset. This is not a misguided attempt to devalue knowledge and content or take them out of the assessment process. Assessment for learning recognizes the need for a greater command of knowledge and a deeper understanding. Reforms in assessment necessitate reforms in learning and teaching. One cannot simply shift from marks to grades, from compulsory examinations to optional ones without educating stakeholders along the route, principally students, teachers and parents. Assessment has a symbiotic relationship with curriculum and pedagogy. Change one and the relationship with the other two also changes."

My Guardian Knows What’s Best for Me (link) - Saudiwoman's blog

"They do not see anything strange in that the women of their country cannot make the smallest move without their guardian’s permission. They have no right to leave their houses, to study, to go to a clinic…without their guardian’s permission. And the guardian is a woman’s father, brother or any related male until she marries. And then her guardian becomes her husband until either one of them dies. Her guardian may marry her off at ten, hit her, abuse her or may be kind to her, it’s all up to luck. Her life like a watermelon, it might open up to be red and sweet or bitter and rotten."

No reason to stay the Ishrat probe (link) -The Hindu

"All deaths in custody, and not merely those in admitted or legal custody, have to be inquired into. If the police version of an encounter is false, it is evident that the deceased must have been in police custody sometime prior to her or his death. In which case, it is death in custody. Only an inquiry will establish whether it was, in fact, a genuine encounter or a death in custody as Magistrate Tamang’s inquiry has found the case of Ishrat and the others to be. Therefore, Gujarat’s argument that an encounter death is ruled out of the operation of Section 176(1)(A) of the Code really begs the question. It is like an accused saying that he must not be put on trial because he is innocent, when only the trial will prove him guilty or innocent. If encounter killings are ruled out of the pale of such inquiry, all that needs to be done (and has often been done) to avoid scrutiny is to kill someone in custody and fake it off as an encounter."

Reading today

2009-09-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Hurriyat’s moment of decision - Prawin Swami, The Hindu (link)

"Will New Delhi’s latest attempt at an engagement with Kashmir’s secessionists prove more fortunate than its four earlier attempts?"

Political Feudalism (link)

"At a time of irreparable loss, the family of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy needs sympathy and support from the Congress party and the people of Andhra Pradesh. But what middle-level State leaders of the party have put on display in the hours following confirmation of the death of YSR is not emotional support but political feudalism, an unseemly display of calculated and self-serving fealty to the First Family of the State. Even before YSR got his hero’s burial, pre-emptive efforts were on to have his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy accepted as the next Chief Minister..."

MSF UK – Your Silence Is Deafening -Aid Worker Daily (link)

"I’ve seen enough wounded, sick and dying kids that I really don’t need my own organization fabricating suffering just to charm a few bucks out of me. Clearly others haven’t and they are obviously MSF’s intended audience. How is this approach any different than the beggar on the street who shows you his deformity so that you’ll give him more money? He may need to do so but we don’t. We are aid workers – we don’t go there."

Are local NGOs altruistic and sustainable? - Chris Blattman and others (link)

"Development donors grant billions to local organization to implement their development programs, and often prefer local NGOs to potentially corrupt or ineffective governments. Does this make sense? And what’s the implication?"

The main problem with living on $2 a day…- Chris Blattman (link)

"The central finding: cash management is even more important for the poor than it is for you and me. Every household had both savings and debt, and often those savings and debt were scattered about 4 or 5 or 10 different people and places. They spread out their risk. This built a portfolio of the poor....Unfortunately, they’re miserable about it. Informal financial obligations are unpleasant and insecure, but the poor don’t have any alternative.....This raises an important point: people value microfinance even if it doesn’t lead to rising incomes and development (like some recent evidence might suggest). They like it because microfinance helps them manage their day to day cash problems without the messy social obligations or discomfit. They want their financial intermediation to be impersonal."

Let Our People Go - (link)

"The roads are good. They’re digging new drains. There seems to be enough medicine. People are growing vegetables and sewing clothes. Behind that, however, there is a weariness in people’s eyes and a constant refrain on their lips. These people don’t want charity anymore. They want to be free...."

Context Africa: Wazungu Exposed - Glenna Gordan & Alex Halperin at Scarlett Lion (link)

"The safer parts of Africa have become a workshop for high-concept philanthropy, wrapping adventurism in a veneer of charity. Young Americans bring yarn to a small Ugandan town, where they teach women to crochet hats to sell back in the States. Two British girls on a gap-year teach kids photography in Nairobi slums. They plan on selling the kids’ work from a London gallery and, if the plan works out, somehow reinvesting the profit in the kids. A fitness-oriented charity attempted to organize “an endurance running challenge: 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 weeks in 2010. This Guinness World Record-breaking endeavor will push our team members to their personal limits with the goal of bringing fundraising and awareness to the AIDS orphans of East Africa.” Running the Antarctica Marathon for the sheer idiocy of it no longer registers on the self-satisfaction meter."

view out the window

2009-09-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

The sermons from the mosque in the neighborhood...seem louder and longer than usual these days...now that its ramzan.

lost in communication...

2009-09-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've sometimes been troubled by the the way we tend to view and practice marketing or communication strategy in the development sector without keeping in mind the distinction from a corporate/business strategy . Your natural instinct is to play by the rules you've followed or broken in corporate/brand related communication or campaigns, what worked for you there. Its ironical that that something you've tried to move away from keeps re-visiting you. I'm sure I will be told there is very little difference.

There is. Development/social communication I guess relies a lot more on trust and credibility as compared to the usual bang, jazz, incentive/product based or text book marketing/communication strategies that argue their way through and most importantly, the clever con acts that we've come to accept in corporate/brand campaigns (and that I've been a part of). You aren't selling a product or service here...your making an appeal or call to action..to support a cause or an area of development work. The question "whats in it for me?" shouldn't really arise in the mind of the public...rather its " Is my support going to really make an impact?/or are you capable of carrying out this work? "..."Can I trust you to do the right thing?"...

Do you need an incentive to do an act of kindness or external motivation? Is it too much of an effort ? I don't quite think there should be...if there is, then there's something not right about it. This may not be the ideal situation in reality though. Sometimes you think..."how does it matter how I do it as long as I know the result will go towards the cause... so lets jazz things up in the campaign and break all rules...it could work like it did in the market place right?" ..... But it does matter. I guess it determines whether a person can trust you to lend his/her support.

Here's bit from ...yes..wikepdia (link)

"....when we try to change behavior of the recipients and in the process bring in many types of media / persuasive skills; and when the ground realities do not allow results to reach the target audience, ie there is disconnect between the ground realities and messages. Cultural factors including local rituals and mores, nuances of language, gender perceptions, affect the reception of messages and their impact. The success of dev-comm will, therefore, depend on the credibility of the messenger, the simplicity and directness of the message, and its location-specificity. This aspect assumes more significance when we communicate in complex societies."

Sometimes I do come across reports of bad advocacy campaigns, ineffective/unnecessary celebrity inventory in social /development campaigns or over-the-board/loud/dramatic fundraising campaigns.. in attempts to garner support for genuine issues , that caused serious loss in credibility,trust and public goodwill towards organizations that do important development work... I worry if I would find myself repeating the same mistakes.

More interesting discussions around a recent campaign by Médecins Sans Frontières

MSF video: An ad too far? - Road to Horizon (link)
In Which MSF Follows Our Fake Principles from Our Satirical Advocacy Video Guide - Aid Watch (link)

Came across this sometime back in Texas in Africa on campaigns Save Darfur , Invisible Children (link)

"...advocacy needs to be intelligent. When you present information that isn't accurately descriptive of the dynamics of the situation, advocacy groups can sometimes do more harm than good (See: Save Darfur, Invisible Children).....Well-intentioned but off-base advocacy tends to lead to bad policy (and to celebrities traipsing around regions pontificating on issues they don't really understand). If advocacy doesn't help to solve crises and if it does little or nothing to improve the lives of those who are suffering, then, no, I don't think it's better than nothing."

Reading today

2009-09-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Now go for the real thing - The Hindu Editorial (link)

"Although major political parties such as the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Left have voiced support for the Women’s Reservation Bill, a small group of noisy diehard opponents have formed an impenetrable wall. The two major parties must accept a major share of the blame for the non-passage of the Bill. In the name of an elusive political consensus, the Congress and the BJP let matters drift, pretending virtuously to be for the big change but going along with the no-changers. This stance suits their MPs and MLAs, many of whom, quite hypocritically, have opposed the Bill in private while toeing the party line in public."

The flu and a few other priorities - Thomas Chandy (link)

"The government should be commended for taking quick action on the flu epidemic. The media too must be applauded for taking the government machinery to task for not doing enough initially when it broke out. By the same token, should not infant mortality and malnutrition be a political, indeed a national, priority?"

Travails of an Indian Movie Goer by Nita Kulkarni (link).

Santhosh Desai produces another brilliant post The Irrevelance of Truth (link)

"Truth is now very clearly an account delivered from a vantage point.... Thanks to technology, nothing carries absolute sanctity. Neither the written word nor the eye of the camera produce irrefutable evidence........ We have increasingly become users of the truth; our interest in it is that of a consumer. Hence when the truth does not fit into our scheme of things, we massage it till it does. In doing so, over a period of time we destabilize the very notion of truth. From becoming misused, truth becomes impossible to arrive at. What we are left with is a cacophony of competing voices hawking their own favourite story, their own manufactured version, secure in the belief that the opposite of the truth is not a lie but another wannabe truth."

Life a series of enaction and role play?

2009-08-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

Santosh Desai writes in Enacting Our Lives (link)in The Times of India,

"The underlying fault line in our mind is clear- there is the real world with real events where we behave in a particular way and then there is pretend world where we act out our responses and play a role........in any number of arena is in our lives, we find ourselves enacting our roles in ways not far removed from theatre. We deliberately distance ourselves from real life and act as actors do, donning costumes and speaking in prescribed ways.......

The same is true for most professions ........Outside the uniform too, be it in an office or at home, we find ourselves acting deliberately in a way that is not quite ourselves, using words we do not normally use and doing things that are not scripted by us...... In social functions like marriages too, we are mounting an elaborate production with its own set of events, decorations, music and little speeches.....

Our life consists of little theatres of performance as we move from one arena to another. The difference between the real and the staged is a problematic one, for we are required to play roles of many different kinds and we need a way to mark the transition from the person to the role. ... We need to become the role we play and we use theatrical devices to mark the transition. Which is why the language used to describe the real and the fictional has become so blurred. We 'play' our part in things, we 'perform' our roles, we 'act' in our best interest. The word 'act' itself describes both the real and the staged.

In a certain sense the only time we are truly ourselves is when we act reflexively, without trying to conform to any role that we might need to be playing. Any act of culture involves some form of role play. One way to understand our current fascination with reality television is that it allows us to enact ourselves in the epic story of our lives. We are used to playing many different roles- what if we were to play ourselves, what would we find then? Maybe, sometimes we need to stage a performance to figure out what is real."

Strange how things we do appear when we take a step away from a day in our lives and look at it... really look at it...Its hard I guess to tell what's real or 'an act' ...whats okay not to conform to or whats not acceptable...in a certain context or another...when we subscribe to a certain set of norms or 'a role'. unaware of why we do it...despite the explanations in sociology/psychology/anthropology as culture, tradition, religion, moral values, professional/workplace conduct, parental/societal/community roles (including the nonsense that passes off as any of these)...

So are we ever really ourselves.. .can we ever just be... is life really a stage ....and all of us actors ... was Shakespeare right? (link) maybe it shouldn't be so.

Healthcare in India - lessons amidst the anxiety from swine flu?

2009-08-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Its probably been a couple of months since the first few cases of swine flu were detected in India. Since then the amount of reports in the media about the spread of the disease in India, the risks and questions of government's ability to handle large scale health crises following the swine flu experience have been mounting. Its hard not to be worried about the fact that it took so long for the government to issue advisories and hospitals to equip themselves with testing and treatment. But the panic that came along with this has been I guess even more dangerous. Perhaps people needed more information and guidelines much earlier, maybe when the WHO declared it was a pandemic. I'm glad though that the government eventually started to act , tried to restore calm, issued guidelines to hospitals and released funds to procure medicine and testing equipment and is now seeking support from private hospitals. ( link) There clearly are constraints for the Indian government and hospitals at the moment with minimum number of testing centers so I guess we need to rely on information we have for prevention and common sense till things are under control.

It does seem a little strange and sad though that we notice these gaps in the health care system now when we've always had to battle the same with malaria, dengue, tuberculosis, cholera, HIV, cancer, infant and pregnancy related mortality, malnutrition related and other respiratory diseases. Similar constraints we now see in mobilizing resources for swine flu could possibly have existed in healthcare in India for a long time without drawing as much attention.

Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar writes in Swine flu: Learn from ’94 plague (link) in The Times of India:

"In 2001-03, the Registrar General conducted a survey to gauge the main causes of deaths in India. Heart disease came first (19%), followed by respiratory diseases like asthma (9%), diarrhea (8%), respiratory infections like pneumonia (6.2%), tuberculosis (6%), and cancer (5.7%).

Applying these percentages to India’s annual deaths of around 9 million, we find that 1.37 million people die annually of respiratory diseases and infections, 7,20,000 of diarrhea, and 5,40,000 of tuberculosis. These are staggering numbers. They imply that on an average day, 3,753 people die of respiratory diseases and infections, 1,973 of diarrhea, and 1,479 of tuberculosis.

Seen in this light, 20-odd swine flu deaths are almost laughably trivial. I do not laugh, because every death is a tragedy. But i am infinitely sadder for the millions whose plight has been swept out of public view, and is actually being worsened by upper-class panic.

Make no mistake, swine flu panic is substantially an upper class worry. Why do the media overflow with news of swine flu while ignoring other diseases that kill thousands every day? Because those everyday diseases are the problems of the poorer half of India, and the media target the upper half. Some upper class folk do get asthma or TB, but they are quickly treated and rarely die of these diseases. The millions who die come from the bottom half, lacking access to doctors and medicines. They die so regularly in millions that their deaths are no longer considered news. "

Maybe there are lessons to be learned from the swine flu episode for the Indian government about the need for clear guidelines or advisories to the general public during pandemics and more importantly a serious re-look at the health care system in totality - access to affordable health care, and revisit all major diseases( since any disease could be fatal if the poor - urban or rural - have no access to health care) and increasing budgetary allocations for health care. Its hard to resist frustration from a single health crisis like we do now from swine flu. But maybe it offers an opportunity to fix things, to refocus government policy on healthcare. Perhaps it comes down to prioritizing long term budgetory allocations - maybe move away from defence spending when we compete for scarce resources for health and education as mentioned by Micheal Keizer at change.org Why We Can't Have It All (link).

More stinging commentary at Swine flu: India's unhealthy obsession in The Guardian (link):

"For over a decade now, well-heeled Indians, and those joining their ranks, have built walls around themselves, excluding the poor – those most likely to suffer from malaria and TB, diseases all but extinct in first-world India's imagination – with a brutality unmatched in any part of the democratic world. The malls and multiplexes and schools and colleges that have been shut down define this class of Indians: apathetic, callous and, as we now know, cowardly. Remarkably, the virus that has shaken their world is named after swine."

Reading

2009-08-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

"Supreme Court overturns Nov 3rd Emergency by Musharraf"(link) -Teeth Maestro
"US Warms Up to India. What Should Pakistan’s Reaction Be?" (link)- Pak Tea House
"Cambodia's AIDS Colony" (link) - Global Health at Change.org
"Rise of Child Soldiers" (link)- CHUP
"Clarity emerging on assisted suicide in U.K"(link)- The gaurdian reports the ongoing debate on assisted suicide in the UK. Wonder if India would be ready for this discussion .
"Revisiting the death penalty" (link)- The Hindu
"Courtroom Drama: Trial By Error" ( link) - The Times of India

Reading

2009-07-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

“The big lie of Afghanistan” (link)– Malalai Joya believes it’s a very long way for an end to oppression of women and real democracy in Afghanistan. Maybe there is a false impression of liberation of women after the fall of the Taliban and during the Hamid Karzai’s rule with NATO/US military presence.

“The bottom line behind India-U.S. 3.0”(link)- Are US interests really congruent with India’s interests? Siddarth Vardarajan offers some insight into the recent visit of Hillary Clinton to India and what the strategic relationship with India could mean.

“Israeli Arabs struggle for land”(link) - BBC's Katya Adler reports on the continued struggle for land and housing for Palestinians.

"Where's The Teacher?"(link) - Dev Lahiri, a high school principal reflects on the sad state of the teaching profession and school education in India.

“Learning to Think About Systems”(link)- Alanna Sheikh shares a simple way to understand systems - mind maps, vested interests, cause and effects.

"The volcano need not erupt"(link)Kalpana Sharma revisits the "population volcano" remarks of Indian Health Minister and emphasises access to healthcare to combat the population growth.

Reading

2009-07-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

“A dam and some critical questions” (link) – Environment first, economics second? V.R. Krishna Iyer talks about the Mullaperiyar dam (a matter dispute between the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu) and the need for application of the precautionary principle as per the Rio de Janeiro Declaration (1992).Not sure how this works with India's stand on future climate change agreements being 'no legally binding treaties & development before environment'. Maybe past treaties are ok.

“Rebuttal to a mullah of another kind” (link) - What’s starts of as a Pak Tea House post on the ‘Real Left’ and the ‘not so real Left’ in Pakistan ,eventually leads to some interesting commentary on Jawaharlal Nehru, MA Jinnah.

“Predator Drones: The Best Worst Option?” (link)- Kasloom offers a discussion on US military strategy/other reports that justify the use of drones in Pakistan as the best option vs. if it can ever be acceptable to Pakistan considering the civilians casualties.

“The RAW dossier” – Dawn editorial (link)
“No one expects India — or Pakistan for that matter — to accept charges of state-sponsored interference in a neighbouring country. It will suffice if the evidence is examined with honesty of purpose with due follow-up, even if it takes place behind closed doors…Stopping the meddling is more important than the manner in which it is brought to an end. It is the final result that counts. If they are rogue elements within RAW who are acting independently, they must be taken to task forthwith. Pakistan also needs to put its own intelligence agencies under the microscope and determine whether a similar cull is needed here.”

Reading

2009-07-23T04:02:00.000-07:00

“No happy ending for Saudi film festival “(link) - The organizers of the festival that was to be held in Jeddah were told by the local authorities to cancel it. Despite attempts by Saudi liberals to encourage cinema, religious conservatives continue to have their way and ban cinema.

“End in sight to Aids drug treks?” (link) - Villagers in Africa still walk miles to get life-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

“Sun energy empowers Ethiopian village” (link) – A solar power project funded by international aid groups help a village in northern Ethiopia. Perhaps similar projects can be replicated in India. I do remember there was a campaign by TERI raising funds for something similar in India? I’m not sure how it’s doing …need to find out.

“Grading Obama’s Africa speech”– Bill Easterly (link), Chris Blattman (link), Elizabeth Dickenson (link) comment on Barack Obama’s speech in Ghana two weeks back.

“The Question of Return” (link) – According to the Pakistani government the military operations seem to be over in parts of SWAT and Buner, but many problems persist for the displaced writes Kasloom.

Television News

2009-07-21T04:04:00.000-07:00

At the risk of being lost in my cynicism, I sometimes wonder if a US/UK television or tabloid like transformation of the Indian media has already happened. In the race to claim the mantle of the ‘most viewed/followed/trusted’ news channel or ‘the first to be on the scene’ or provide ‘exclusive coverage’ it seems anything goes as long as its ‘great television’ or coverage. As the television anchor abruptly interrupts a public debate you are engrossed in and promises to be back after a short break, you wonder if you are being taken for a ride, if your emotions and views are being abused to simply keep you hooked on long enough to watch a commercial. Dramatic background scores (sometimes so obviously lifted from popular movies) to match the ‘mood’ of the ‘story’. Anchors or journalists visibly emotional or jaws dropped in awe of (almost to the extent of forgetting their questions) or in contempt/disdain of their interviewees. And ‘balanced’ reporters looking for ‘reactions’. Where does the line start and end between news, reality show or soaps? This probably will invite the wrath of media persons and ‘celebrity anchors’ who would say it’s unfair and not all do the same. The usual ‘we have a reputation and track record of balanced ethical journalism’ and the ‘public has a right to know’ defenses follow but is soon forgotten when the next ‘top story’ of the day arrives. So you wonder if the viewer or the public really can ever be free to form their own opinion if the media, especially television news channels are unable to draw the line between vigilantism and reporting, news analysis and personal opinion of ‘expert panel members’. If the viewer is subtly coerced into taking a side or view that is not contrary to what a television news reporter/anchor or ‘experts’ say or what news channels claim to be ‘public opinion’ or what invites criticism or is contrary to statistics thrown up by SMS/text polls. The more controversial, the better. The more air time ‘exclusive footage’ is repeatedly replayed throughout the day, the better. If newspapers are forced to reproduce or report news based on what television news decides is top story of the previous day. You’d think you can just change the news channel, but is there an alternative? I hope I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just getting carried away here. Because I do more than often agree and am grateful for some brilliant line of discussions,reporting,analysis and determined pursual of public/social/national issues by Television news channels. But then...on other days(which are increasing these days), you just can't stand the excess use of adjectives and theatrics/drama.

Reading

2009-07-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

“Driving Saudi”(link) – Saudiwoman writes about repressive Islamic rules for women in Saudi Arabia and the resistance to change or engage in a dialogue.
“Breaking silence on Gaza abuses”(link) –Israeli human rights group collects more testimonies from Israeli soldiers and as they did in the past following a similar report from Amnesty, this one’s rejected by the Israeli government and army .The report (link)
“Crime and Punishment”(link) and “Russia: Defying the autocrats”(link) – The Guardian and The Times editorials on the abduction and murder of human rights activist Natasha Estemirova. More from The Guardian (link) and BBC(link) on the alleged role of the Russian and Chechnyan authorities.
“Naxal violence has claimed 3,800 lives since 2004” (link) – something’s seems terribly wrong with India’s tough approach to the problem?
“Tamils look for leadership after Tigers”(link) – can Tamil parties now fill the vacuum created with the removal of LTTE?
“Iran: Words to heed”(link)- Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani’s call for release of protesters seems to have strengthened the criticism of the brutal suppression by the state but may not lead to change.
“ Right to Education Act - A comment”(link)- Vimala Ramchandran makes some interesting comments on the divertion of attention to higher education and proposals for public private partnerships in school education in India.
“Kashmir after Shopian”(link)- Amitabh Matoo discusses the Kashmiris’ continued lack of trust in the state, excess triumphalism over last year’s assembly elections Kashmir and the need for autonomy, political and administrative reforms to address the more pressing demands of peace, dignity and security.

Reading

2009-07-16T05:14:00.000-07:00

“The burqa debate splits France” (link) – Vaiju Naravane revisits the burqa debate in France in The Hindu.
“Iranian consumers boycott Nokia for 'collaboration'”(link)- The Guardian reports.
“After violence in Xinjiang, Chinese government faces challenge to maintain stability” (link) – Ananth Krishnan in The Hindu.
“We really need some intensive care” (link)– Hindustan Times on the state of rural health care in India.
"Dignity and death”(link) – The Times editorial on the need for mercy killing/euthanasia.
“Disaster averted”(link) – The Guardian editorial on the Swat operations and internally displaced.

Reading

2009-07-14T07:15:00.000-07:00

"A silent revolution"(link) -Kalpana Sharma in The Hindu on Iranian womens rights movements.
"Iran learns from past to crush dissent " (link) - BBC correspondent Jon Leyne on the crackdown on Iranian protests.
Found some more on Iran thanks to Transitionland(link). "Iran: a green wave for life and liberty " (link)- Asef Bayat offers his analysis of the current situation in Iran at opendemocracy.
"The Tragedy of the Millennium Development Goals" (link)- very interesting discussion at Aidwatch.
Another one from Bill Easterly- "The Pope, the G8, and the “Man in Charge” Fallacy" (link) at Aid Watch.
"Things That Are Awesome: de Waal, on "Listening" (link)- Wrongingrights
Thanks to Wrongingrights , "On Listening" (link) -Alex de Waal at ssrc.
Dynasty politics across the border aswell? "Bakhtawar Bhutto to Enter Politics"(link)- Kasloom at CHUP.
"Why I am Gay for India’s Gays"(link)- Pak Tea House

rains

2009-07-09T05:03:00.000-07:00

stream

2009-07-09T05:01:00.000-07:00

tree

2009-07-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

Reading

2009-07-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

A quick-fix solution? - The Hindu (here)- it talks about the short-sightedness of school education reforms in India.
Excuse You? - saudijeans(link) press freedom seems a distant dream in Saudi Arabia.
Love in KSA- saudiwoman(link) - another sad story about oppression of women
Asia’s giant leap - (link) pak tea house - nice to find an intelligent conversation on gay rights.
Sarkozy is Right! Burqah is NOT an Islamic Requirement!- pak tea house(link) - some more brilliant conversation and debate from across the border.
Cost of Flouting Principles - pak tea house(link)
Judicial Taliban - teethmaestro(link) - insight into the challenges for the judiciary in Pakistan
A Road Map to Nowhere - foreign policy (link) - sadly the Palestinian road map still lies unattended despite new resisitance to the Israeli lobby in the US.
Failed States index - foreign policy(link) - interesting report but wonder if the index will help overcome the challenges for these countries.

conversation deficit

2009-07-05T02:12:00.000-07:00

I’m not known as a very warm person in certain circles. Descriptions most often could range between – “cold” to “insensitive” to “indifferent” to “mean” or “distant”. These aren’t entirely incorrect. Usually I stay true to character and remain “indifferent” so as not to disappoint them & ignore well intentioned advice to be more social or human, which might imply that I’m not. However, I do hope I’m somehow able to work on the social thing without stepping out of character. A large portion of the blame I guess should go to my poor conversation skills, which if at all exists is believed to border somewhere between sarcasm or cynical one-liners or yes/no’s. It just happens to be what usually what drops out of my mouth if at all I do plan to contribute something to the conversation. So generally most relatives find it extremely uncomfortable (or maybe I do), to have a typical relative –to- relative conversation and be nice and say nice things about the other and stuff or dish out compliments. They’d make a joke and I won’t laugh and they’d be pissed. They’d say something expecting me to agree and I’d look disinterested or give them a stare or just say no without elaborating why and leave them in agony. Or I’d make a joke and then they would stay away from me for a very long time. I guess there may have been similar situations at work or elsewhere.

Now I’ve never been a kid or baby person. I don’t recollect a single time I had a decent conversation with kids or young relatives. They somehow knew I was the boring zone like there was a sign on my forehead. They’d say something very kid like and instead of the usual kid stuff I’d say something totally unrelated or serious. And so they move onto the next person. Maybe I was busy thinking of the things not to say. Those kids probably hadn’t experienced a silent moment or pause in their life until they met me. Moving on to babies. He/she’d be expecting a “cooctchie coo” conversation and all they’ll be getting from me is a stare and “ok…so...eh…hmm”. However I’ve been getting some lessons over the last 6 months since the arrival (birth) of my nephew (my sister’s kid). For various reasons I’ve been around the kid longer than usual. And it wasn’t that bad as I thought it’d be. Yes...I was terrified and I’m still clueless about most baby things. For a long time he thought I was an extension of the furniture. But over time he kinda figured out that I was a living organism. There are times when he doesn’t mind the lack of conversation as long as he could chew on my t-shirt, drip his saliva, rest on my shoulder or pull my hair. I wonder if it would be the same when he grows up a little bigger.

2009-07-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

for some reason this song keeps ringing in my head."spies"- coldplay.

"I awake to find no peace of mind.
I said how do you live
As a fugitive?
Down here, where I cannot see so clear
I said what do I know?
Show me the right way to go.
And the spies came out of the water,
But you're feeling so bad 'coz you know
And the spies hide out in every corner.
But you can't touch them no,
'Coz they're all spies.
They're all spies.
I awake to see that no one is free.
We're all fugitives - look at the way we live
Down here, I cannot sleep from fear. no
I said which way do I turn?
Oh I forget everything I learn.
And the spies came out of the water.
But you're feeling so bad 'coz you know
And the spies hide out in every corner.
But you can't touch them no,
'Coz they're all spies.
They're all spies.....

MJ dies

2009-06-25T23:41:00.000-07:00

Micheal Jackson died of a cardiac arrest early this morning. link. Fans and the music and entertaintment industry around the world pay tributes today, the media is splashed with tributes, obituaries and pictures. A sad end to I guess to one of the most memorable music icons and probably the most recongnizable to those outside the US. It was pretty dissappointing to see the way things turned for MJ , his wierd/dark side, the child molestation scandals. But for some reason its hard not to like him. Thanks for the music MJ.

Wide awake

2009-06-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

"So come pull the sheet over my eyes
So I can sleep tonight
Despite what I've seen today
I find you guilty of a crime of sleeping at a time
When you should have been wide awake" - audioslave

Kashmir- what we see and choose not to

2009-06-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

Praveen Swami of The Hindu had an today article on the rise of hate in Kashmir and anti-Indian sentiments being stoked by Islamists and political parties after the Shopian tragedy.

Early this month, Nigeena Awan was dragged out of her home at Kellar, Kashmir, beaten up and executed with an assault weapon from point blank range. Her father, Mohammad Sharif Awan, was ordered to bury his daughter without ceremony; the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, which carried out the execution, also warned neighbours against dignifying her death with last rites.Hours after Awan’s death on June 3, People’s Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti visited Shopian to stage a protest against the alleged rape and murder of two local women — one of them, like Awan, a high school student. She said nothing about Awan’s execution, though. Nor did Islamist cleric Tariq Ahmad, who has emerged as the key leader of the Shopian protests, say anything; nor, for that matter, did the local leadership of the National Conference. No one has called for the men who killed Awan to be found and prosecuted. No one even bothered to visit her family, even though the hamlet of Pahlipora at Kellar is just a 10-km drive from Shopian.Ever since last month’s rape-murders, the urban heartlands of Jammu and Kashmir’s Islamist movement have been torn apart by violence: the consequence, some claim, of widespread popular rage against the Indian state.

Insightful political analysis instead of the usual terrorism and militancy and encounter over kill. Its sad to see how well Kashmiri politicians have adopted the ugly Indian political parties like model of communal scavenging of tragedies for hate politics. But there's something missing here and I don't mean in the article. I don't think it should merit sweeping away the legitimacy or credibility of these protests. Or diversion of scrutiny of the incompetence of the State government in handling the issue. It needs to be resolved now. The resentment, anguish and injustice is real regardless of it being mis-used by certain elements in Kashmiri politics. I'm afraid each time a tragedy or issue of injustice occurs, our efforts to dilute or wade through the hate politics also ends up diluting the attention that is worthy to the injustice inflicted. For some reason, we seem reluctant to subject the State or Union government to scrutiny. Nor do we ever see Kashmir being raised in Parliament unless the discussion involves seperatism or independence or Kashmiri Pandits. And even this is limited to the standard position on sovereignty, integral part of India and flaring up. Our understanding of Kashmir is litttle and mostly in terms of the army encounters with militants or incursions or in relation to Pakistan. Little blips or numbers is our diet of news on Kashmir. We have a great tradition of protesting against injustice in other parts of the country or raising it in Parliament. But no serious protests are seen in the rest of India for injustice or development issues in Kashmir. Nor do Indian MPs talk about it in the Parliament. (Sajjad Lone may have been right about his idea) I wonder if the new MPs from Kashmir are ever really heard. It seems like the Indian leaders are saying "its best left to the state government, its really not our problem. Call me when your talking about security or independence or cession to Pakistan or Amarnath. until then i really don't care what happens to the people". So is Indian solidarity with Kashmiris superficial? We look the other way and then argue that its India's right to decide on issues of Kashmir -independence/autonomy/governance - since "it is an integral part of india". Are Indians connected to the land in Kashmir or its people? There is a disconnect with Kashmiris that continues to be denied and we keep looking the other way, driving a wedge between them and us everytime we do.

reading

2009-06-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

Wrongingrights interviews Iranians on protests in Iran - Ask an Iranian
Bill Easterly arguement against Amnesty's contention that poverty is a human right and an interesting string of comments that followed- Poverty is not a humna rights violation.
Alanna Sheikh on global pandamics as systems failure - here.
Shah Waseem Yousuf on the Shopian tragedy in Kashmir - here.
Thin Lei Win writes on unconditional aid undermining democracy - here. But quite a difficult proposition I think. Adding accountability is good idea but conditional aid is likely to be resisted by authoritarian regimes who barter for diplomatic brownies /economic aid to let in humanitarian aid and in such a situation, I guess some aid is better than no aid. Maybe there's another way, maybe. I hope.
Saudijeans writes on the come back of cinema in Riyadh - Let them protest.
Yaser Latif Hamdani -Pakistan is here to stay. I've found quite a bit of interesting posts, conversations and debates on Pak Tea House.
Link to Boston Globe photographs of displaced Pakistani children at Chup.
CNN vs Twitter and compilation of Iranian protests updates on twitter- Road to horizon - here.

Rain

2009-05-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

"Ferocious thunder. Lightning. Strong winds. Unexpected power failures (a fallen electric pole perhaps). Darkness. Candlelight. Deafening thunder storm followed by absolute silence. Stillness. The music of the insect kingdom. Puddles of water everywhere. New leaves. fresh air. Green everywhere. Mud. Slushy mud. A trickle of sunshine lights up the droplets left on trees." The monsoon rains arrived a week early in Kerala. At the risk of sounding like a silly chirpy girly character out of a musical or a cartoon, I made an unusual attempt at random articulation when I looked around and tried to describe things. I soon realized this may have been an extremely deviant behaviour for the stoic, sober, dark, cynical me. But a mutant gene lost control. Or I may have done this before.... Though now I do have moments of regret. Must remember to edit. But if youthink about it.."someone dances in the rain. someones cries in a home flooded. someone is awed by the fury and colors of nature. someones harvest is saved. someone drowns. someones saved from the scorching sun, drought, starvation. someones home, cattle, lifelihood swept away. someones offered an umbrella, a helping hand, a lift. someones left homeless, alone, wet and cold. someone curses the potholes and traffic. someone finds a new means to live. someones forgotten an umbrella. someone splashes water on your clothes. someones late. someone decides life is cruel. someone decides life is beautiful. someone prays for it to end. someone prays for it to stay. "

Media frenzy, prejudice?

2009-05-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've been reading quite a lot of critiques of media reporting lately(a previous post). Another stinging critique of the election coverage by the media in India by Sevanti Ninan in The Hindu.

They chase newsmakers and personalities, and they chase controversies with breathless tenacity. This year, there were more than a dozen to live off, beginning with Varun Gandhi and ending with Jayapradha in suicide mode. In between you had shoe throwing, the PM and Advani’s slanging match, Quattrochi, the issue of black money in Swiss banks, Karunanidhi versus Jayalalitha on Sri Lanka, and much else… Reporters talk to candidates much more than voters, so how would they know the voters’ mind? The two mantras of this election were that there would be no clear winner, and that it was an issue-less election. There were quality of life issues. Ask a voter, and he or she will tell you.…For all the airtime given to the young Gandhis, Rahul Gandhi got much less during these elections than cousin Varun or sister Priyanka. But once he had proved his credentials, the sound byte brigade went straight from zero to hundred. Would he now be made Prime Minister? If you ask that question 10 times over to 10 different people, you keep up the pitch on TV for an entire day. Because, one of those 10 will stray from the party line and prompt another feeding frenzy.

An editorial in The Economic and Political Weekly made some disturbing observations regarding reporting of rape incidents :-

Whether it is the Arushi-Hemraj murder case, the Scarlett Keeling murder case, or the tens of others that capture the headlines, prejudiced and insensitive reporting is the order of the day...It is argued that in many cases, it is the media’s attention that has forced the police to nab the rapists and that it is not possible to build up a public outcry against the crime without also indirectly exposing the victim’s identity. However, the media hardly has a consistent record as far as coverage of this crime is concerned. Often, cases of rape of slum children and rural, tribal and dalit women merit no more than a few paragraphs in the inside pages and not even a mention on television channels, no matter how heinous the circumstances. However, if the victim belongs to a socio-economic background that readers and viewers identify with, the media shows much greater interest. Here too, there is a difference in the manner in which such cases are covered. If the victim is perceived as having been a “good girl” caught in a helpless situation and the perpetrator comes from a background that the middle class traditionally distrusts, the media virtually ensures that the criminal is convicted.In the cases that it takes up, the media tends to follow the socio-cultural norms that begin by first questioning the victim’s moral character and thus her actions leading up to the assault.

Moral dilemmas – no place in work life

2009-05-21T02:37:00.000-07:00

In a recent conversation, a friend described her ordeal with a misleading offer in an ad. She got a call from beauty salon inviting her for a free consultation. When she was through, she was asked to pay up! My furious friend is now considering legal action possible in a consumer court. I’m sure there are numerous cases where we’ve had our brushes with ads that make unbelievable offers (always with conditions applied or clauses in extremely small caps, almost invisible) and realize we’ve been conned. My cynical cowardly response to my friend was that it’s probably because they ‘can’ get away with it. Ad firms agree to make cleverly deceiving ads. Media execs agree to sell air-time/space for them. And PR guys do use masterly organisation of words to say very little of the bad stuff. Everybody makes a living. Morals don’t usually stand a chance when lined up against bottom line/market share/ growth. Understandably she argued my outlook was precisely why evil scheming corporates can afford to get away. And she’s probably right. So I’m glad my friend resolved to do something about it.

Its kind of strange how we recognize the ‘evil’ in the corporate world only when get conned or deceived, but often overlook traces of them when we are actually involved in similar transactions and evade the moral dilemma in those cases. Most often the rationale is “hey we are just doing our jobs ok"…"I just do x and I’m not actually involved directly in y”…”we didn’t say x…we said y and the two are different things”… “its not my fault he didn’t read the x carefully or the conditions, its all there”…“Maybe its not the entire truth but its definitely not a lie”…“he didn’t ask x, he asked y and we answered that truthfully”. Clever use of words and the art of deception (common terminology is persuasion/communication skills) without getting caught are unfortunately desirable traits high up there along with ‘competitiveness’ (ruthlessness/whatever it takes), ‘people skills’( screwing people without their knowledge) . It’s considered necessary to survive in the ‘real world’. The argument that what we leave out or not reveal in entirety could amount to deception won’t find any ear. I often took the easy way out by rationalizing its what the job expects me to and draw a line between my professional opinion and personal opinion which constantly conflicted. I hope not anymore.

maybe all's not well as we'd like to think

2009-05-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

There are some disturbing questions that remain after the elections in India.

1) The number of MPs with criminal records or pending criminal cases has increased according a report released by National Election Watch says The Hindu today.

Looking at the affidavits of 533 declared winners, National Election Watch (NEW) has found that there are 150 new MPs with criminal cases pending against them. Out of these, 73 MPs face serious charges. Compared to 2004, the number of MPs with criminal records has gone up. There were 128 MPs with criminal cases in the 2004 Lok Sabha — 55 had serious criminal records. There is an increase of about 17.2 per cent in MPs with criminal records and 30.9 per cent increase in the number of MPs with serious criminal records. It said the BJP had the maximum MPs with criminal cases — 42 MPs have criminal cases against them; 17 face serious criminal cases. The Congress closely follows with 41 MPs having criminal cases; 12 facing serious charges. The Samajwadi Party has eight MPs with criminal cases, seven battling serious charges.

Its possible their court cases can now be manipulated unless the Government ensures non-interference with the judicial system.

2) Leading BJP member and accused perpetrator/ instigator of communal violence against the Christian communities in Orissa, Manoj Pradhan, gets elected to the state assembly in Orissa despite being in jail under judicial custody. The Hindu report.

3) Sajjad Ghani Lone the separatist leader who defied the election boycott call by separatist Hurriyat leadership to contest, lost in his constituency in Kashmir to the National Conference candidate. Where do things go on from here for Lone and the separatist movement in Kashmir? Does it mean seperatists are unable to win elections? Or was it because a lack of unity among the seperatists? Maybe he didn't do so bad for a first attempt. It would be too easy for the Indian establishment to now write the seperatists off. Times of India report.

4) Very little change in Gujarat post the election. The number of still BJP seats have increased to 15. Its easy to take solace in the fact that there are also equal number of Congress MPs that possibly halted the BJP run. The consequences of the Gujarat riots, the flak the State government and the BJP received for its inaction, poor rehabilitation programs for the displaced and inefficient investigations / trials of the accused. None of it seemed to really sway the voters away from the BJP. So I guess everything can be overlooked or excused for development that the BJP claims to have ensured. Explanations? Voter apathy among the Muslim community? General voter apathy? Lack of sufficient listing of Muslims in the electoral rolls? Or though hard swallow - continued endorsement & acceptance by the electorate of the BJP’s Hindutva agenda and the persecution of Muslims in 2002. Something’s terribly wrong in Gujarat or I've got this wrong.

5) BJP leaders Menaka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi elected in their constituencies in UP despite Varun Gandhi’s arrest, pending trial and evidence for his communal speeches. How do you rationalize this? Maybe they did good work for their constituencies. So they didn’t care about communal overtones to the campaign. Maybe it’s the Gandhi legacy. Or maybe an acceptance of the communal overtone?

Links to whats been insightul today

2009-05-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of things thats been insightful reading today:-

1) I guess the usual exaltation of India’s young growing population as a form of economic power by politicians and corporate honchos kind of sometimes overlooks the growing sea of despair that really exists for these billion young lives. An interesting perspective in The Hindu by Shailaja Chandra of the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK), National Population Stabilisation Fund.

Raise the topic of population and expect the following reactions: India will have the last laugh because its population is youthful and would continue to be so for decades more. Or, there is the Nandan Nilekeni idea which is fast becoming popular with optimistic urbanites — that a second hump of opportunity might miraculously emerge from the laggard Hindi belt States.This oversimplification can cost us dearly. The demographic dividend argument is used in the West to signify the proportion of working people compared to retirees. In India, the so called dividend is actually represented by a disproportionately high number of young people who for the most part would be incapable of staying rooted to the school system and thereby end up uneducated and unemployable. Among them, girls will continue to have early pregnancies and their underweight infants will have poor chances of survival. For those that live, the cycle of malnutrition, stunting and wasting will be perpetrated and inequities will grow. Across the country, the regional and intra-State disparity would widen and resources for health and education would get sucked up or scattered before they can get to those in the greatest need. This is a recipe for disaster.

2) There’s probably more needed into understanding the cause, its aftermath and the inaction of the state machinery in communal incidents. The deeper issues of how to bring about rehabilitation or reconciliation of different communities or the role of political outfits are lost in efforts of the State in getting a quick fix solution through trials ( most often delayed and after the serious damage has been done) leading to disproportionate justice and continued resentment / hostility. Marad in Kerala is one such case. Harsh Mander in The Hindu:-

There was a time when the people of Marad saw themselves only as a community of fisher folk. They were governed by multi-religious sea courts, which arbitrated their access to sea, parking of boats, auction rates and wages of labour. Today, they are still indigent fisher folk, their livelihoods threatened and risky, and their earnings meagre. But now they do not any longer stand shoulder to shoulder as a dispossessed fishing community; instead they are only Hindus and Muslims, divided — some fear terminally — by identity: sullen, suspicious and fearful. They dread today not the rigours of life and work in the sea; above all, they live with the trepidation of when the flame of hate will next be lit, scorching further their community, their livelihoods, their families, their trust and hope.

Election blues

2009-05-15T21:05:00.001-07:00

After months of the rhetoric, chest beating, mud-slinging, deal making, violations of the code of conduct , allegations , counter allegations, denials or defence of past wrong doings or mistakes or scams or corruption, and a million painful panel discussions, analyses & poll projections by the media, the Indian elections decide its outcome today. Counting of votes are on and TV news channels continue their exit poll comparisons hoping to outdo the other. And I continue to be cynical and apprehemsive of the various permuatations and combinations of possible outcomes leading to real improvements in governance. An outcome that could be more about or lead to a clamber for power and extension of political careers rather than governance, long-term policies, principles of democarcy or the national interest. An outcome that could also be more out of a lack of clear alternatives and not because a majority of people really want a particular candidate or party. An outcome that will give one alliance of parties the right to rule and over-rule others and violate democracy by being non-inclusive about decisions. To justify they were right about things they said or did about x, y z...etc. An opportunity for all genuine policy/governance mistakes or failings to be swept under the carpet and court cases or criminal investigations manipulated. Fingers pointing at the losers and the election outcome becoming the defence and counter for everything they do wrong leaving no room for debate or crtiticism. I guess a lots been said about voter turnouts being low and the people are to blame for the outcome, quite a few people who do not belong to political parties have suggested the option of including a 'none of the above' category in the ballet. Interesting idea, but wishful thinking i guess. I just hope there's some positive outcome from whoever forms the government in the form of sensible policies and continuation of some that were in existence instead of wiping things clean; maybe attempt to acknowledge and correct mistakes if any and be inclusive about forming policies through debate in the Parliament, instead of blind opposition of the other.

Is Kashmir more bound by its politics than militancy

2009-05-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

Its hard not to get lost in the endless debates and rhetoric from all sides on Kashmir. Militants, Pakistani politicians, Indian politicians, the Armies of Pakistan and India and the Kashmiri seperatist leaders.

A few weeks back Sajjad Ghani Lone, a Kashmiri seperatist and Hurriyat member recently broke away from the seperatists' policy of poll boycott. Separatist groups condemned his participation in the election. Lone rejects claims that he is a traitor to the cause saying its time for a new approach despite acknowledging his displeasure over having to take an oath under the Indian constitution to take his seat in Indian parliament. The Indian media goes crazy calling him a realist and 'lone ranger'...

But then Lone makes an interesting comment. He said Mirwaiz Farooq and possibly others in the Hurriyat are actually in cahouts with or under coercion are helping the Indian and Pakistani establishments in maintaining the status quo in Kashmir. Does India and Pakistan depend on the seperatists' continued boycott of elections to claim legitimacy of their role in Kashmir.

Or is Lone in cahouts with the Indian political establishment to end the role of The Hurriyat seperatists? I guess these are just wild theories in my head. I'd like to believe Lone is for real. Maybe he really intends to bring change and turn public opinion in India against the usual Indian government stand on Kashmir and finally bring about peace.

What doesn't make sense is why many seperatist leaders continue to remain in detention or house arrest on x charges, although the Indian establishment believes seperatists should contest elections. If seperatists wish to protest against elections it should be within their rights. I doubt they will come forward in future if they are detained/arrested/gagged for every protest. Maybe that is the idea.

Some serious political debate anyone?

2009-04-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

The election coverage on television this year in India is something else. You patiently wait and fight the urge to switch to a movie channel hoping to find real issues being discussed somewhere in between all the personal jabs and mud-slinging contests between political parties and continued focus on a few personalities.

Sevanti Ninan explains more on the 'Media Firewall' in Invisible Issues in The Hindu today.

The election coverage of the electronic media tends to give disproportionate prominence to a just a few top
candidates... Where are the issues? .......Media firewalls are spectacularly discernable at election time, two of them in particular. One, the propensity of television to not look beyond the top candidates in apportioning coverage. And two, the tendency to compartmentalise stories which are interconnected, or not look beyond a story to where its causes lie.

Most media however would resist this line of thought and counter in the manner Dipankar Gupta did in Foam Without Substance in The Times of India.

Over the past weeks, election-related discussions have become increasingly passionate, but lacking in substance. One might fault the media for this as it allows so much fluff and spittle to dominate talk shows, but that might be a trifle unfair. The media can justifiably argue that it is constrained by what is on the ground. ....Such a defence could be legitimised by taking a look at the manifestos of the two major parties, the Congress and the BJP. Interestingly, both documents have a similar structure. What they propose to do once in power comes much later. Their opening salvos, their best lines, are about their very own telling of past gloriesto score points against each other...So passion not only takes the front page but runs through large sections of it. History-telling and terrorist threats are a good way of getting temperatures up...

Don't panic I'm not a terrorist

2009-04-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

British Muslims and students of Pakistani origin continue to be frustrated over the Police in most cases presuming them to be linked to terrorism. Sarfraz Manzoor's How to Tell I'm not a Terrorist though hilarious, highlights disturbing prejudce Muslims have to deal with. I'm sure its not just in UK but in other countries as well.

So here are a few suggestions for how to help the police, airport immigration and anyone else who finds it hard to differentiate between liberal and extremist Muslims. All Muslims who consider themselves liberal and tolerant could apply for a special card which when presented would show the holder was a "pre-approved Muslim", thus saving time at airports. Sure, some may say that such a card would represent a gross violation of human rights but I think it could be marketed like a credit card: membership has its privileges – in this case not being indiscriminately arrested or held up when travelling. Those who feel uncomfortable carrying a card could be offered an alternative – a white girlfriend perhaps, someone to vouch for the fact that they have successfully integrated into society and have no immediate plans for a holy war. Perhaps I could carry a sandwichboard with the slogan "I love John Stuart Mill". That may prove too subtle, maybe something more permanent is needed to convince the sceptics. How about all moderate Muslims having "Don't panic – I'm Islamic" inked on their forearms by a government-approved tattoo artist. That way, the next time extremists march in Luton against returning British soldiers, the moderate Muslims would only have to walk around in a T-shirt and everyone could breathe easy knowing they were not the bad guys. There is one other possibility: that Muslims are presumed innocent, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

walk back in time

2009-04-22T04:27:00.000-07:00

I guess I had always taken this place for granted when I grew up. My family moved away from Kumarakom to townships in Kottayam before I was born. But I remember the many reluctant visits with my folks to see relatives and the ancestoral church here. It didnt feel that special then though. It doesn't seem like a lots changed, tucked away from the chaos of urban life. I always thought one day this place would be bulldozed away for concrete buildings. I'm glad it hasn't changed much yet.

Code of misconduct

2009-04-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from today's The Hindu editorial

The first stage of the 2009 campaign has set new lows by featuring hate speech, flagrant appeals to communal sentiment, intemperate personal attacks, incitement to violence, and tit-for-tat threats, all in defiance of the code, which came into effect on March 2, and most in violation of the criminal law as well. The worst hate speech offender has been the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Varun Gandhi followed by the party’s candidate for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat. Swift condemnation by the Commission and strong action by the Uttar Pradesh government have produced a mildly positive outcome: Mr. Varun Gandhi has given an undertaking to the judiciary not to make any more communal speeches. Other notable violators of the code and, in several cases, the law are Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who declared he would have crushed Mr. Gandhi under a road roller had he been Home Minister; his wife Rabri Devi, who made derogatory personal remarks against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar; the Shiv Sena’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray, whose observations about the Prime Minister were unprintable; and D. Srinivas, the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president who promised to cut off the fingers of those who threatened minorities. Hearteningly, in each instance, the Election Commission has acted swiftly, without fear or favour. But the necessary limitations on its role and powers must be appreciated. A candidate cannot be disqualified from contesting elections unless he or she is convicted and sentenced by a court to a term of imprisonment for a minimum of two years or for certain specified offences. It cannot be otherwise under the rule of law. But what public opinion can do here and now is to provide strong support to the Election Commission in its efforts to persuade the offending political parties, their leaders, and candidates to clean up their act and, at least from now on, ensure “the integrity and purity” of the 15th general election.

Public opinion alone is ineffective in checking violations by politicians, as evident in election campaigns in India since independence. The limitations to the role and power of the Election Commission though necessary ( because parties accuse it of bias), will still allow political parties to continue to indulge in every act mentioned above except in cases where criminal law deters a repeat. But where the law cannot contain them, political parties will blatently resort to every possible unethical campaign. Unless punitive measures are in place either by legalising the code of conduct by an act of the Parliament to deter candidates and political parties, the same chirade will continue every election. Apparently politicans need policing to find their conscience.

You make a hate speech- go to jail. You make personal attacks - go to jail. You incite violence - go to jail and stay there. You use government property for campiagns - go to jail...etc. What I'd really like to see becoming a law besides command responsibility is if You make lofty campaign promises and fail to deliver on it during your term in office - go to jail and get disbarred from contesting again.

Yeah....all these are probably sound like foolish suggestions since those who sit in the Parliament are unlikely to want the code of conduct for elections in law. Its probably one thing they all will agree to oppose or ignore or evade. Here is where probably public opinion and judicial activism should come to pressure members of Parliament to act.

Links to what's botherin me today

2009-04-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

More background on Jagdish Tytler and the sequence of events till today that I found in an editorial in The Hindu.
Terror plots or conspiracy theories? Are law enforcement agencies in UK guilty of abusing Pakistani immigrants ? Here's more from Hasan Suroor
President Zardari signs bill for Sharia law in Pakistan. Here and Here.
Is India aware of its role to Pakistan's stability? A perspective from Gaurdian columnist Peter Preston.
A recent poll among scientists by The Gaurdian says climate change road map targets could be lost in policies and politics?

Nuclear free world : Really?

2009-04-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

Last week during his visit to Prague, Barack Obama said he dreams of a world without nuclear weapons but its unlikely that this would happen in his lifetime. He said all nations must strive to rid the world of nuclear arms and that the U.S. had a "moral responsibility" to lead as the only country ever to use one. And he pledged to try to get the US Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty and taje steps to cut nuclear arsenal. Read more here and here.

"This fatalism is a deadly adversary. For if we believe that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable, then we are admitting to ourselves that the use of nuclear weapons is inevitable."

Then he added,

"Make no mistake: As long as these weapons exist, we will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies"

So if anyone else's got nukes, we get to keep ours. Meaning the onus is now on the rest of the world to dump their nukes? Yeah, we get it. Its likely to remain a dream. How can a country claim moral responsibility to LEAD non-proliferation efforts if it does not demonstrate its commitment to international law, the United Nations or existing non-proliferation treaties? Why would any country feel safe to part away with its nuclear arms if the US policy of aggression or pre-emptive strikes or it so called efforts for democracy ( meaning invasions -Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan) continue?

Barack Obama has said quite a lot during his first few months as President of the United States, selling bailouts and stimulus packages in his country, wooing the international community with " change has come to America", "we need to go back to the values we stand for", "a new strategy" for Afghanistan, "America does not torture"...etc etc. For a lot of people around the world, the change of the US President by itself is not likely to change US policy or erase decades of US actions or inactions. Its going to take a lot more than just the word of the US President or his oratory skills to believe change has really come to America.

(Pic courtsey : Sky News)

Did they actually say that?

2009-03-31T12:56:00.001-07:00

“We call for an end to the expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. India favoured a negotiated solution of the Palestinian issue resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel." More.

That was Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed at the 21st Summit of the League of Arab States in Doha. Very measured, but quite refreshing to hear the Indian government actually say something about world issues besides its need for nuclear supplies from the US or terrorism or Pakistan or its boring confused stand on Srilanka or the global recession. But would have been nice if they were a little more timely and it came from the Prime Minister. There seems to be little critisicm or concern over Israel's actions in Gaza or any protest over the continued detention of Aung Sang Sui Kyi in neigbouring Myanmar.

Justice, are we getting there yet?

2009-03-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

Its unfortunate that justice takes its own time. Seven years is long time. But it apparently seems to offer some hope. Here's some of The Hindu editorial :

The resignation from Narendra Modi’s Ministry in Gujarat of Mayaben Kodnani and her surrender before the Special Investigation Team investigating the most gruesome cases in the post-Godhra communal pogrom of 2002 is a signal to citizens of this country that the principles of equal justice for all and the rule of law are not just abstract concepts but can and will be implemented. That seven years after the blood curdling massacres of February 28, 2002 in the localities of Naroda Patiya and Gulberg Society, both Ms Kodnani and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jaideep Patel were forced to surrender after the cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to them is a victory for the ongoing campaign by human rights activists to bring the perpetrators to justice. The meticulous and professional manner in which the SIT is proceeding with these investigations offers hope to the riot victims that the long-awaited justice and accountability for the horrific violence let loose on them is in sight.

It may be a bit too early to commend the investigationg team until it leads to convictions and more perpetrators, the ones higher up in the Gujarat government and the Gujarat police force, are brought to justice. The police force, the CBI and courts in India have a history of incompetency in prosecuting and convicting politicans for instigating mob violence, be it the Mumbai riots, Anti Sikh riots or the Babri Masjid Demolition. There is also the dubious amount of delay in court rulings for cases involing politicians.

Here's a more cynical yet realistic take from The Times of India:
The record of India's law-enforcement agencies in punishing perpetrators of communal violence is shockingly poor. Riots, as successive judicial inquiries have found, are rarely spontaneous acts of mobs. They are most often planned and executed by organised groups. However, only foot soldiers of these groups are brought to book. The masterminds almost always get away with little or no punishment. Gujarat riots cases, like the
anti-Sikh riots of 1984, seemed headed nowhere after police investigations failed to fix charges on rioters.

In the company of ...

2009-03-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

From as far back as I can remember there's always been cats at my home, sometimes two or three generations living together. Its not that we don't have dogs around. Its just that the cats always outnumbered them.

You are all the same

2009-03-18T04:57:00.001-07:00

More frequently than necessary there is a lot said about the greatness of the scale and existence of real democracy in India. Voter apathy or disillusionment with the concept is less reported, although attempts were made by people over the years in Kashmir and the North East. Came across this article today in the Times of India about a village in Uttar Pradesh in India, boycotting the polls over non fullfilment of earlier promises. Wonder what would happen if more people boycotted elections in a constituency for want of qualified or a truely deserving candidate. Its not something we see everyday, Yes, it would defeat the purpose and real change may not happen. Pro voter mobilisation campaigns..etc would be up in arms. But still, it would be interesting.

Phew!

2009-03-17T04:04:00.000-07:00

Its over. For the time being at least. Phew!

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has agreed to reinstate sacked supreme court judges by the end of this month, lifts ban on rallies, releases protesters, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif calls off the 'long march' to Islamabad and army chief Ashfaq Kayani does not stage a coup. Things seem to normalising but have a feeling it does not end here. If court cases against President Zardari are re-opened more problems could follow. There are also calls to change the constitution to back as it was in 1973 to allow more independence to the judiciary.

(Pic courtsy: Associated Press)

More than a legal tie

2009-03-13T19:47:00.001-07:00

The Law Commission in India says it will submit a report to the government recommending ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ be incorporated as an additional ground for grant of divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955. At present the Hindu Marriage Act allows divorce by mutual consent only. So if one party does not cooperate things get stuck.

Here's what the report said in The Hindu:
The foundation of a sound marriage is tolerance, adjustment and respecting each other. Tolerance of each other’s fault to a certain extent has to be inherent in every marriage. The court does not have to deal with ideal husbands and ideal wives. It has to deal with the particular man and woman before it. Once the marriage has broken down beyond repair, it would be unrealistic for the law not to take notice of that fact, and it would be harmful to society and injurious to the interest of the parties. Where there has been a long period of continuous separation, it may fairly be surmised that the matrimonial bond is beyond repair. The marriage becomes a fiction, though supported by a legal tie; by refusing to sever that tie, the law in such cases does not serve the sanctity of marriage; on the contrary, it shows scant regard for the feelings and emotions of the parties. Read More

This could possibly help a lot of men or women who are stuck in a wrecked marriage and many victims of domestic abuse. Would be great if its applicable universally to all religious communities where there is need for reform in laws of marriage.There was talk of a possible introduction of a universal civil code some time back. But the issue died in between other "issues of greater priority" of Indian politicans (male dominated legislatures at the centre and state level )

But it may take while before divorce becomes really accessible for some people,especially among lower middle class and the poor in India. Even today, divorce is avoided by many Indian men and women for other reasons. For them there are other obstacles that come with seperation - settling property issues or child custody, finding an another place to live ( usually its owned by one spouse/family members unable to take you in), loss of access to children or workplace or a familiar neighbourhood, sometimes loss of social ties with own family members or neighbours who disapprove of divorce, the additional burden on a single parent to raise children, needing to find another job...etc. Its a little more complicated for older or middle aged people dependent on adult children. So many prefer to live in denial although they know there is a breakdown in marriage-even if there is adultery by spouse or domestic abuse.

Maybe things would change in time and society will be more supportive to a potential divorcee.

Everybody wants a piece

2009-03-04T22:54:00.000-08:00

We Indians do love to overtly celebrate success don't we? Hyper hyped display of nationlism and drama on television and elsewhere is perfectly normal following AR Rahman's Oscar win. Yes, it was a historic win. Maybe not necesarily his best work. But who cares right? So its now its time to move on? I guess not. Politicans believe there's still plenty more for everyone to milk from this.

The BBC:
India's governing Congress party has acquired the rights to Jai Ho - the Oscar-winning song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Party officials say the song will be used as part of the election campaign to publicise Congress achievements. Congress Party spokesman Manish Tiwari told the BBC the achievements of the government deserved to be saluted and the song best explained that. "Our party has performed well, be it in governance or in its pro-poor policies," Mr Tiwari said.

But a senior leader of the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prakash Javdekar, told Reuters news agency. "This song will ensure their defeat because it will remind every Indian that millions of people still have to stay in slums because of faulty Congress policies." Congress officials and T-Series - which holds the song's copyright - are tight-lipped about the amount of money that has been paid for the song. Read

More guns for locals may not be the answer

2009-03-03T02:01:00.000-08:00

It doesn't seem like the US government alone can change the situation in Afghanistan. It maybe time to have a larger UN mandate for a larger peacekeeping force, besides NATO contributions, to allow reconstruction efforts. The longer US troops form the majority of the peacekeeping force, the more chances of it being seen as another occupation. Now it looks like the US plans to arm the locals to counter the Taliban. Not sure if its a good idea for a country that's still divided among various feuding ethnic factions.

The Hindu :-
Building civilian and military institutions to recreate a unified, stable Afghanistan out of the ashes of three decades of war is not easy. But the shortcuts Mr. Obama is seeking are likely to impose enduring costs. Just because Afghan security forces are not yet sufficiently large or adequately groomed to take over the fight cannot justify the setting up of more militias in a country already swarming with armed militiamen. When the United Nations-sponsored programme to disarm and demobilise existing militias is in limbo, the move to create new militia units in the name of an “Afghan Public Protection Force” risks seriously undermining the secular Afghan national army and triggering more ethnic and sectarian bloodletting.

The real threat today is from the disparate militias that have been at loggerheads in the past but now oppose foreign intervention. The insurgency is made up of the ragtag Taliban — oiled by drug money and petrodollars — and a number of private armies, including Jalaluddin Haqqani’s militia force, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. To create more armed militiamen is to play with fire. Read More

Maybe more financial and military aid to Afghan police and army would be a better alternative. Presence of more public institutions could create some kind of feeling of nationhood for the Afghan people and instill faith in a national government and the democratic process. I know its not as easy as it sounds ( Pakistan has a powerful army but it has always threatened democracy there) but I hope there's a way out. What's more a troubling thought is after the next elections, in the eventuality of Hamid Karzai not returing, what's the alternative? Somebody needs to think of a way to encourage more political parties.

2009-02-24T21:59:00.000-08:00

I believe I can see the future
cause I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
But then again, that must have been a dream
I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I've been told
I really don't want them to come around

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I can feel their eyes are watching
incase I lose myself again
sometimes I think I'm happy here
sometimes, yet still I pretend
I cant remember how this started
but I can tell you how it will end

I'm writing on a little piece of paper
I'm hoping someday you might find
well I'll hide it behind something they won't look behind
I'm still inside here
a little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have been any other way
but i just don't know, I don't know what else to do.

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and no pain
Every day is exactly the same

Don't really know what was going on in their head when Nine Inch Nails wrote this song. But if you step back and look at your life, you sometimes see it playing over and over again and you keep wishing something different happens today, that you could get away from it all or that you shouldn't be there in the first place. And yet you can't work up the nerve to change your circumstances. We like to believe we have a grip on everything in life and we have a plan and answer for everything. And if you didn't, that must mean you weren't living right. For some of us, the rationalisation for life and everyday is ' its probably all for the best', 'thats life.. you can't have everything', ' I got all of this, what more do I need', ' this is how everybody else does it'.or ' ligthen up, at least you're a lot better off than that guy or those people' And then the killer counter arguement," So if things are so bad, why don't you change it or fix it?"

Exit Polls: Time to Exit?

2009-02-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

The Election Commission yesterday issued fresh guidelines banning telecast/publication of the results of opinion or exit polls 48 hours prior to the date of Assembly or Lok Sabha elections. Most political parties seem to agree that it would impair free and fair conduct of elections. ( yeah right...like all would be fair if it weren't for this one thing). Anyway, what does this mean for websites, newspapers and TV news channels who had been planning various TV packages for election coverage? Its seems not much. They seem to have already started surveys much in advance to complete the exit polls prior to the the set deadline by the Election Commission. (dutifully following the law to the letter ) Its very unlikely this will deter the media from covering the election drama. Which means everything other than exit polls will be attempted in those 48 hours all packaged in the form of mini soap opera or blockbuster thriller movie. Apparently it is the next best thing after terrorism, cricket and bollywood for eye balls. Adevrtsiers must be licking their lips off their face already. I wonder what background score TV channels would be using this time...

Cheap Medicine for the Poor: Really?

2009-02-15T02:20:00.000-08:00

On Friday, the head of leading pharma company, GlaxoSmithKline, Andrew Witty announced that he will slash prices on all medicines in poor and developing countries and encourage pooling of patents or share knowledge with other researchers for neglected diseases ( not defined) that are currently protected by their own patents. He hopes that other pharma companies would come forward as well. Now this seems like a nice thing to do and a very magnanimous thing for any pharma company to do. But being the cynic that I am, something seems strange. after the years they've spent fighting for patent laws in developing countries and small local generic pharma companies...something doesn't seem to fit. It will be interesting to know which drugs they intend to bring into this pool and how relevant they are to these poor countries and how other pharma companies and governments react to this.

So what is moral of the story

2009-02-15T00:59:00.000-08:00

When the current protests by Sri Ram Sena, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal and others over "pub culture" and their quest to reclaim the true Indian culture began, I told myself, "here they go again....this probably isn't the last time."
But then, the events that unfolded and the amount of popular support against these groups and the hilarious "Pink Chaddi Campaign" and "Pub Hopping Campaign" made me think, maybe we can actually turn the heat on the these guys even though its not quite as much in measure as we want to. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined to be confronted by chaddis.

Interestingly though, it doesn't quite lead to the law and order taking its course.Come Valentine's Day and its party time for Sri Ram Sena, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal. It's probably something they look forward to more than holy festivals. I mean its not everyday you can get to marry someone off to a donkey or humilate or beat them up and not go to jail...things have been especially difficult after Gujarat you see. So I guess they need to find special occasions to liberate themselves and reclaim their duty to Indian cutlure. The police seem to have something to show and tell with well-publicised law and order measures they've taken. Unfortunately, it just wasn't good enough. I'm glad noone suggested they need to build larger jails to accomodate more in preventive custody. Then all would have turned to another POTA 2 and Desi Guantanamo debate and forgotten the chaddis.

Wonder if school history books years from now will record this as a significant event for women's liberation or would educationists say then " Chi Chi...such dirty things we should not show our children".

Lately, I've been carefully reading stories hoping there won't be a ban on chaddis saying it was were never a part of Indian culture.

What If

2009-02-14T01:53:00.001-08:00

Hindsight, most say is counter productive. "You can't change the past man...its best you move on. Life is short. So Chill". Somehow rationalisation doesn't quite give you a very satisfying answer. You suddenly counter this with what you remembered someone said," you can't move forward unless you learn from your past. History is life's best teacher." So how does one stop from thinking, "what if I didn't do X..or that..or maybe if I did more of that...and less of this...or this instead of that...things could have been different..or maybe... " How do I deal with this...simple....procrastination. "We'll figure it tomorrow."