Righteousness by Right

This is also a tale from my service days. In my flying squadron crew room, we were taking a break between two flying missions. We had just dropped the milk packets around forward posts in Arunachal, and were preparing to undertake a ration dropping mission in another area.

An argument developed between two of my colleagues, one an experienced pilot with a few thousand hours under his belt, and another a bright young pilot, lesser in terms of flying hours, but solid in terms of qualification (master green rating in flying skills).

The matter started innocuously enough. It was about what kind of decision to take if a cloud is blocking the valley in which an aircraft is passing for a mission further up the valley. There are umpteen consideration like weather prognosis, the hill range height, load in the aircraft, …and so on.

Soon the argument turned towards egocentric brawl of who is right. The conversation (…err would rather qualify as a shouting match) went like this,

Senior Pilot : I have taught many like you how to fly.

Junior Pilot : Sir, I don’t think any of your pupils has gone as far as green rating.

Senior Pilot : I have ten years experience flying each corner of Assam area.

Junior Pilot : Sir, I have done more missions in this area  in the last one year than you

                       have done in two.

Senior Pilot : I have learnt more nuances of flying from many able instructors than you.

Junior Pilot : Sir, in the last skill test, they gave me ‘Master Green’ rating, and gave you

                       ‘Green’ only

Senior Pilot : You are being impertinent. I am your senior.

Junior Pilot :  Hmmm……(Face expressions and unsaid thoughts not described)

I, the wise man, could not help interjecting. I addressed the senior pilot “ Sir, but that is not the issue. We were talking about the flying tactics, when there is a cloud……”

Senior Pilot : When two seniors are talking, who the hell are you to talk about issues.

…..Phew. I immediately shut my mouth so hard that my lips vanished into a thin line with the proverbial zero width.

I have learnt my lesson. But who has the gumption to tell History from repeating itself.

This once it is a nice person called Anna. The grandfatherly persona means well to all, but is specially seized with making India a great country.  Like the Squadron interaction mentioned above, it started with an innocuous thing called corruption. Now corruption is a thing that all empowered people in India practice and all the rest have learnt to suffer in silence.

I believe conversation (…err I don’t know what to call the kind of interaction that took place. In case of our crew room, there were no water cannons, police, Baba in funny clothing or any spokesmen involved)  went on like this (dramatized version, does not bear any resemblance to anyone living or dead.)

Anna : You must do something about corruption. You owe it to people.

GoI    : Who the hell are you?

Anna : I am the civil society. Peoples’ voice.

GoI    :  What ?  I am the elected representative.

Anna :  But the issue is ……..

GoI    :. Don’t talk about issues. Issues are not more important than

              the Democratic principle that says that issues should be

               tackled by elected representatives, manifested by the houses

               of the parliament as enshrined by the provisos of the constitution

                of India, that has come about after innumerable sacrifices by our

                forefathers, one of whom was………….

I have no idea how the conversation ended or whether it is still ongoing.

But the nagging doubt remains.

Is being Senior (or elected) some kind of metamorphosis of a human being into a superior being with the capability of being exclusively right and righteous?

Who is Anna? Please help me understand

We live in the Information age. So goes the belief. That means that we can seek any information from the net, from teachers, friends on telephone, TV and even (God forbid, you ever have the need or inspiration) call centers.

I am not too sure. Because I am totally confused about Anna Hazare after hearing many on TV, in newspapers and on the internet.

And that scares the hell out of me. Am I ‘Home Alone’ in the misinformation age, where everyone lives blissfully in ‘The Information Age’?

I, with folded hands, request you to listen to me and help me understand the burning question “who is Anna’.

To begin, let me tell you how I got confused with various views and counter views.

First Opinion:  I searched the net for an opinion from Tushar Gandhi, Mahatma’s great grandson. I had great hopes of a grand thought from this accomplished descendent of the greatest soul that walked this earth in recent times. He said “Anna struggle not Gandhian”. He added “a Gandhian movement gives means more importance than its ends, but today, the ends have become more important. To find a proper solution, both the parties have to be on the same ground. The other party should succumb to your determination and not to your obstinacy.”   (Source Times of India: Hyderabad; 11 Sep 2011)

Phew…..    Now even my history is getting mixed up. Were the English rulers and Indian subjects on the same ground?  Can one person’s determination be another man’s obstinacy? If Mahatma was with us today (How I wish), would his means (Dandi Yatra, fasts, non co-operation) even scratch the smug indifference of many who occupy the high posts in his name?

Second Opinion: Congress spokesman, no he has already apologized. Does that mean that the insinuation against Anna that he is corrupt was right or wrong?

Third:  A Chief Minister of a North Indian State: “Anna Hazare is anti-Dalit, because SC/ST and backward classes are not represented in the drafting panel.”
(Source : Zee News : First Published: Saturday, August 27, 2011, 00:35)

Now this is even more confusing. The drafting panel consisted of eminent jurists and constitutional experts. I don’t think castes or religions were a factor. If I want a heart surgery, do I look for a surgeon with the same caste?  I go the person who has the best skills to save my soul. However maybe I don’t know enough.

Fourth:  a Different NGO, We agree with ……..   But we disagree with the method, issues and procedures. Do you agree with the Government” No. Do you have a bill draft? No we have suggestions. Is Anna right about the issue? Yes, but we will need more discussion. ………

            Now this is getting as straight as a Jalebi. Why are they having doubts only after Anna raised the issue?  If Anna with his qualified team is looking down the wrong end of the barrel of Governments gun, why are these NGOs receiving hugs? How is it that Government calls Anna Bill as issues and their suggestions as Bill?

Oh God, bring me to the information age, please.

Fifth:  Government of India: We are against corruption. We have always been against corruption. But we don’t agree with Anna because, he is against the corrupt.

We have to draw a line somewhere.

Firstly let us get a clear picture.

1. Corruption is everywhere. You cannot blame us for all of it.
2. It takes time. The bill was introduced forty years back; we will try to expedite it. Be reasonable, give us another forty years?
3. Anna is a RSS agent.
4. Anna is corrupt from head to toe, and also in between.
5. Anna’s team is corrupt. Last year they bought three shirts between four of them.
6. Parliament is supreme.
7. Parliament members are supreme.
8. Procedures are supreme.
9. When will you understand man? Let the things be what they are and let us build our resources for the next elections [Deleted from the official records. Retained for the purpose of understanding only]

But one fact remains. Anna is a trouble maker. Or maybe Anna is a nice man, but his advisors are trouble creators. Or maybe Anna and team are nice people; it is the public that is creating trouble. God No, public is nice, they voted for us. ….Hmmm   what the hell is going on man? Who do we hang for this? Delhi Police, where is that constable?

Sixth:  Prime Minister:      Hmmmm….

                                           Hmmmmm…

                                            Sir,     please say something.

                                             OK,    When is madam coming?

Seventh:  Indians (Living in Indian cities, towns, villages, other parts of the globe)

The  Slogan:

          Inqilab Ki Aandhi hai

          Yeh doosara Gandhi hai

(This is revolution. And Anna is the second Gandhi)

The Events:

• Candle marches, fasts, Millions rally to the call against corruption.
• Media and internet all full of support to Anna.
• Mothers with infants bringing them to Anna fast for showing them history in the making.
• The youth, middle class and the lay public looking at Anna as a saviour.

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Now that has me thoroughly confused,

Please Sir/Madam, can you please help me understand ,    

• Is Anna our second Gandhi?
• Is Anna a selfless saint or steeped in corruption?
• Is Anna a mischief maker?
• Is Anna a whiff of fresh air, thinking of our country and countrymen when the leaders have got into the ‘loot and scoot’ game?
• Will Anna be our savior?

It is not Cricket

Before I am misunderstood, let me clearly state that I have no intent of preaching about ‘fair play’ or ‘sportsmanship’ that was earlier attached to men wearing white flannels.  Nor I am talking about the oft repeated moan that one political party takes shelter under, after they have been outclassed in a battle of wits in the parliament.

I am talking about the new definition of the game of cricket. Even in that context, I am not talking about the variants, Six/five/one day or 20/20, 10/10 etc. I am talking about everything else that has become raison d’etre of being a cricketer.

In the context, let me mention that the recent fiasco on the English tour has caused anguish to Indian cricket fans. But I would entreat those fans to understand the ‘Game’ of cricket and underlying issue; and stop blaming players for not being able to field, bowl or bat. Everything else they did admirably. And that ‘everything else’ is a bigger part of cricket today.

For the uninitiated, let me explain.

To begin, let us rewind and get back to our lives ( if you are a couch potato like me, let us be in front of TV enjoying the commercials from minute number 15 to 19, and 23 to 25, and 28-29 for each of the half an hour episodes of any serial, ….oops, …talk about standardization)

In a days hard work (seeing 2 movies and four serials), you are likely to see cricketers slogging out for your benefit, e.g.

1. The first cricketer tells you which tyre to use in your car. I have been changing tyres for the last thirty years, but now I know better. Because this feller, rather than practicing cricket, has been burning the rubber from Mumbai to Goa. That too after drinking milk with a supplement that gives your tyres an extra zip.
2. Another cricketer tells you to take a capsule off some shiny bottle if you want to live your life to your heart’s content. Somehow I am hesitant to believe this one. If I can do half the partying and experimenting with fluids that he is known to be doing, my life would be much more than just contentment. On the down side I might develop a little paunch and may have problem in seeing even a football on the cricket ground.
3. A couple of them are promoting Sodas, tantamount to advertisement of alcohols by proxy. This once I will accept their guidance. After all, they have garnered more experience on these products in three years than I did in thirty. The only thing that I did not understand was why he was saying ‘Make it large’. Maybe he was talking about the size of cricket ball, because they are not able to see it after the ingestion of soda and the normal add-ons the previous evening.
4. There are many others telling you what education you should give your kids or which bank you should go to. What holds me back from taking their advice is their less than admirable records in schools (and colleges, if they ever went that far). And if I have ‘easy pick’ millions to be stowed in banks, I am sure I will get the service that I can rave about on TV, on glossy pages of magazines or bill boards.

There are many things that stand in the way of our cricketers staying on the crease.

You should understand their constraint.

1. You can not stay whole day long in sun and still advertise for the fairness cream.
2. If a catch comes your way before 1200 hrs, the last night’s party makes the ball wobble in the air.
3. Australian and English bowlers bowl too fast at Indians. Even Pakistani and West     Indians have started following their footsteps. I believe they don’t like our advertisements.
4. Duckworth Lewis is an unfortunate system. Most of the Indian players are trying to ensure that their makeup does not spoil in rain than count ‘overs’ left in case of a rain shortened game.
5.  You can bat only till you don’t sweat. Otherwise logos on the shirt will be spoilt and the sponsor won’t pay you.

On top of all these constraints, now there is another big problem. There is someone proposing additional checks on cricketers. He is some relation to an old cricketer called Hazare, He wants,

1. The cricketers should lead a life of dedication, without greed and grease.
2. If they lose matches (especially like brown wash in England), their assets (including the girl friends), should be confiscated.
3. The players and others should be recalled from the field/offices if they don’t perform.

There is a huge hue and cry from the Cricket board and players on this. They say,

1. Para 1 will disqualify the whole cricket team (and also IPL, Ranji, Dilip  and other trophy appointments). How can someone question the Supremacy of the cricket board, selectors, senior players, recent superstars and new upstarts, in that order.
2. All players and other cricket officials have been (s)elected on the basis of zonal quotas, relation to higher authorities, capability to handle financials etc. It is wrong to say that they are not capable.
3. Who is this feller telling us to perform? He is only related to a cricketer. Most of us are not related to cricketers. In fact most of us are not related to even cricket game.

I guess this brilliant analysis will cool your temper (like a soft drink that a cricketer tells you to drink). And don’t worry about their losing all matches miserably in England, as our cricketer (in yet another Ad) says “ Haar Ke aage Jeet Hai”

Marketing : My first lesson

The biggest challenge in any industry is to determine ‘what the customers want’. Many spend their lives fashioning the market models that can give us a clue.

However, I got my first important lesson on the topic in my own home. 

My son, a toddler, saw a red car model in a shop window one day. He wanted THAT car. I had a good look. It was a crude tin stuff. The paint was specky and you could make out that it was a ‘left over’ materials stuff.

Not for my child this low level stuff. I went to some more shops and bought him a ‘safe’ toy car, made of food grade plastics, no sharp edges and ‘Leo” brand, who design all their toys in the most ergonomic ways for the pleasure of the children. And it was a beautiful, cool, nice yellow color.

Reaching home, the fellow looked at the car as if it was about to bite him, let off a sob that came right from the depth of stomach like ‘Baba Ramdev’s’ ‘Pranasana’ , and simply said “ I want that ‘led’ (red) car”.

All my advice, cajoling, threatening that chit of a boy was a waste. Finally, I thought ‘What the hell, if the child is happy with that crude stuff, so be it’. So I took another trip to the market for getting THAT LED car.

Lesson learnt.

The newly gained knowledge will come in handy on many occasions during the growing up of son (and more importantly, the synchronous growing up of us two, the proud parents)

It just dawned on me. Is this not what marketing Gurus have been saying all along?

It is not about what you think the customers should have. It is all about what they think they want and they need.

Maybe it is an oversimplification. But this is the thread I am going to weave my marketing strategy on.

India Shining : Are we or Are we Not

It is impossible not to see the irony.

In an election some seven years back, there was an electoral upset.

All that the ruling party said was “India is shining”

Is there anything wrong in feeling good about our country making rapid strides in economy and political arena?

Or should one be more appreciated for saying “India is hazy” or anything like that.

So what happened?

To be fair to competitors, they may have a point or two.

One could say that China has done better. Or Mumbai is yet not like Shanghai or London. We have missed opportunities, squandered resources, sustained many white elephants, but have still made appreciable progress.   

So what did the new government offer in return to that reasonably good performance by the previous government?

Did they say they will do better than the incumbents?  No.

Did they say they will bring in new policies and practices?  No.

Did they say they will get rid of white elephants or other political peccadilloes?  No.

Did they swear off their earlier mistakes?  No.

Did they specify their targets?  No.

So what did they say?

They said that it is wrong to say “India Shining”

It is wrong to say “We have done well”

They said there is something wrong that incumbents are hiding.

And we believed.

Looking backwards, was not India shining?

Are we not better off today because of the start the incumbents gave India ten years back.

May be.  May be not.

We have no way of finding out. We have no system to measure or calibrate performance. It is a matter of who carries the rhetoric on a particular day.

As far as I am concerned, the two governments are more or less alike, plus or minus some nuances. One party gets carried away by loyalty to culture and the other by loyalty to a dynasty. One party has a special feeling for traders and the other to sugar lobby. One party tries to cultivate one religion, the other cultivates another. Both are lukewarm to real administrative reforms or reducing unnecessary government spending. Both have entrenched politicians who have a lot of stake in status quo. All are risk averse and would always put parochial interests before the national imperatives.

So not much of a choice we made. And we have no clue on what basis we made that choice.

Will we graduate to a stage when we can really elect/appoint our leaders on the basis of measured capability?  Are we, the majority of Indian public, capable of developing the collective wisdom that is the cornerstone of democracy?

The test that we have graduated to that level is will be,

1. When real issues get discussed rather than divisive issues
2. Our leaders talk more of future than of past.
3. Our leaders are ready to say sorry for wrongs of the past
4. Our leaders are less obese and the populace less emaciated.
5. Our leaders learn to appreciate and criticize constructively rather than running each other down.
6. WE CAN DISCERN THESE LEADERS FROM THE ROWDY CROWD AND ELECT THEM.

Hota Hai : The current Bend of Indian Thought

There are some who question whatever happens around them. They are called the cynics.

There are some who are busy most time. But will sometimes raise hell, when something happens or does not happen according to their most cherished beliefs. They fancy themselves as intelligentsia.

The rest are reconciled to the way the world is. Acceptance of fate is their dictum, letting others tell them what they should do or determining what should be done to them; is their way of life.  These persons are collectively called majority.

Now that in a ‘vibrant’ democracy, that India is (sarcasm intended), majority elects the government, it follows that the government thinking is likely to be attuned to that of its benefactor, the silent majority.

That brings us to the strategic concept of “HOTA HAI”, the much distilled and honed form of the “passive acceptance” philosophy practiced by the acquiescent majority. The polity uses this concept to justify their omissions and commissions and anoint themselves as the true representative of the apathetic populace.

The strategy runs like this,

1. Use a “Totem Pole”, a Symbolic pedestal for the “majority” to look up to, effective on a long term basis.
2. Make sure that you build a “firewall” around this symbol, so that the others cannot use this.  Effective symbols are dynastic superiority, Race, religion, comparative superiority, Comparative inferiority or any innovative motif that lends itself to your exclusive usage.
3. Paint everyone else black. Build a TINA, There Is No Alternative logic.
4. Having secured the whole playfield for yourself, go ahead and perpetuate your control of power and enrich yourself.
5. WHATEVER WRONG YOU DO AND IS OBJECTED TO, USE THE UNIVERSALLY APPLICABLE RESPONSE,

HOTA HAI.

Personal Honesty and Corruption

“The World is a dangerous place. Not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don’t do anything about it”.

  - Albert Einstein

In India, we are now in the middle of an animated debate on what need be done to tackle the rampant corruption that has permeated all facets of Indian life. Anna Hazare, seen as a selfless saint by majority of Indians, is leading a non-violent movement for institution of laws (Jan Lokpal Bill) and structures to take on the perpetrators with an iron fist. On the other hand government seems to be in favor of status quo, trying hard to hide its ineptitude in doing anything about corruption, by talking about constitutional provisions, procedures or plain stonewalling. The ruling party’s dirty tricks department has even tried to discredit Anna (the famous quip about the Gandhian being engulfed in corruption from ‘head to toe’, and insinuating that he is an army deserter, which turned out to be blatant falsehoods) and muddying the waters by talking about the supremacy of the parliament, sanctity of democratic processes and also by bringing in many other inheritors to the discourse with alternate bills and thoughts.

All this for making sure that Anna Hazare does not walk away with the sobriquet of a ‘The second’ Gandhi.  And of course to make sure that the ruling party keeps enjoying all the trappings of power without having to worry about someone asking them any uncomfortable questions.

The Indian populace has been more or less a mute spectator to this continuing spectacle of arrogant misrule and self aggrandizement, having no leverage to alter the intent or actions of the ruling elite, i.e. politicians and the bureaucracy.  Indians as an aggregate have faired badly in electing good representatives. We have voted for caste, religion, reservations, but never for higher rate of economic growth, investments in social sector and/or good governance.

Consequently, challenges facing the nation are multiplying but the political leadership continues playing petty politics. Also, we are at an epoch in history that can catapult us into the developed country league. The alternate scenario (not progressing at a fast pace) could lead to India falling back to the third world status again. We need to get economy to the next level of growth for the sake of our future generations.

But is our political leadership capable of leading us to our destiny?

The Jan Lokpal bill is a test case for the efficacy and thought process of governance. So far, it does not inspire confidence. But more than the inability or ‘lack of will’, it is the justifications that are a cause for concern.

The biggest bloomer being heard these days is that the people at the helm of affairs are personally honest. So is the personal integrity sufficient even if you fail in all your duties?

Was Nero right in playing his flute, when Rome was afire?

Or should the Prime Minister’s desk have a tablet announcing “The buck stops here”.

Do we just let the ogre of corruption roam free?

Do we let inefficiencies, bad governance, horrible policies continue unabated, because some people are personally honest?

I guess, I will prefer my leaders to wear courage/sagacity/responsibilities as their

 ‘Medals on the chest’,  rather than personal integrity and dereliction. 

AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT CORRUPTION AND ROADBLOCKS THWARTING THE PROGRESS OF INDIA

For motivation, I look up to Edmund Burke and Teddy Roosevelt.

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All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

                                                              Edmund Burke

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"I would rather try and fail than be with those cold and timid folks that

know neither victory nor defeat" paraphrased                      

Teddy Roosevelt

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God, the Merciful Giver

This is a story from my flying days in Indian Air Force, a transport squadron folklore.

A set of aircrew was flying a tiring transport routine popularly known as the ‘milk run’. You go from one place to another, loading and unloading small loads of cargo. You return after flying many mission segments during the day. The task is boring and you spend much time waiting on the tarmac, under the shadows of aircraft wings waiting for ground crew to do the needful for cargo and fuel. In summers, it could be a killing tour.

One such crew landed at a remote airfield on a Sunday, where everyone else seemed to be on a weekend. They were at the end of their tether and rather baleful about the world in general. Cursing their fate for living such a life, said one “Even the Lord cannot do anything to change our luck”

Suddenly, there was soft music, a whiff of cold air and they heard “Yes I can”

There was a circle of light and in the midst, Lord Vishnu appeared in all His glory; and said “Make three wishes and you shall have them”

Immediately the most harried of them blurted out “Hang the ‘ bloo..’ flight commander. He is the cause of all our troubles”

And there the ‘flight commander’ was, right in the middle of the tarmac, hanging on a stake, wriggling and begging with the crew to understand his constraints. Said he ‘Please don’t blame me for your travails, it is the ‘local commander’, who should be blamed for this situation today”

The crew immediately seized on the cue and cursed, “Hang the local commander too”

And now there were two stakes side by side.

Soon the crew was aware of follies of their thoughts and actions.

Unable to bear the pain of their comrades, who had just been trying to do their jobs, they invoked the third wish. “O Lord, let these gentlemen go”

And gone they were in a jiffy. And so were the three wishes.

Moral of the Story: The almighty always gives without fail.

But do we know what to ask”

There is the transport crew in all of us. Would you agree?

Let me just look up a few recent demands

1. We want candidates from our community to be our leaders. The almighty grants that. But it so turns out that they are not the ones who knows how to bring in prosperity or improve administration.
2. We pray to God for more money. We seldom ask for happiness. We get loads of money and much more unhappiness.
3. We seek the blessings of the almighty for getting ahead of others and not being with others.
4. We seek hegemony over others for boosting our egos. The rebound aggression causes conflicts that go on between nations, societies or individuals for generations.

How about asking for,

Peace

Happiness

Wisdom

Brotherhood

Kindness

Stereotypes

Stereotypes, the dictionary meaning is something or someone, who is like or is akin to something/someone already known. Or it conforms to an oft believed description.

The term evokes negative connotations first. It means something/someone who has no original content or personality or style…usw.

However, you ask a software developer, the person would talk of stereotypes with respect, sometimes reverence, if she/he is an expert on ‘Object Oriented’ programming.

But my thoughts today are not on whether stereotypes are good or bad. I am only looking at the possibility of stereotypes outnumbering the normal (original) people or (to be cruel) people with original thought.

When a child, I believed that my parents were the best people in the world; that the police (or any uniform of similar hues) are to be feared because they catch people and Bapu Gandhi’s dictum to speak the truth is truthfully followed by all human beings.

As a adolescent, I believed that cramming school books was the only way to grow into an adult and that after graduation in commerce (B Com preferably), a bank job was the ultimate salvation for any human being. Becoming a doctor was a pious achievement in the service of mankind and if you become an engineer, you will finally land up doing nuclear research.

Nearing ‘settling down’ after I had spent about five years as an air force officer (that by the way is a strong stereotype showing that I am patriotic), I expected the most accomplished girls to line up in front of our main door as the astrologer predicted. When I finally got married (thank God for that girl, who came over), I was not sure whether I was accomplished enough.

Life has rolled along for many years. We have seen many a changes of Governments in power at the Center and state. It was believed that the people who make up these governments are called ‘Leaders’, that means that they know more than us, the lay people and they ‘lead’ us to whatever the right place for us to be in. We also knew that when you wear a ‘Gandhi’ cap. That means that they will live frugal life like ‘Mahatma’ and follow his tenets too.

I could have gone on. But I am already struggling with reconciling the above-said beliefs to reality I see today.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. Not the world. I am talking about my beliefs in the stereotypes.

So why would I be handed over wrong beliefs by all those well meaning people like grandparents and parents.

Let me try a hypothesis. Initially, a child learns by copying. The child copies parents or other family members, then peers and teachers at school. So it is useful to be handed over readymade well defined models (our stereotypes) to copy. This is the necessary first easy step before graduating to the more sophisticated though tedious learning by written or spoken word.

However, most of us refuse to grow up beyond stereotypes. It is easy and does not require intellectual effort of logical thought for each situation and endeavor.

Unfortunately, in the topsy-turvy world that we live in, stereotypes do not suffice. The problems and challenges are not like what they were 25 or 50 years back. I don’t want myself to limit myself to any behavioral ‘recipe’ books or standard political ointments. I want me and my country to be progressive and innovative.

I refuse to be led up the garden path any more. No stereotypes political, economic and social patterns or beliefs for me. Innovation, free thinking, effective education, economic freedom and social support are what I recommend for all my fellow countrymen or countrywomen.

Are we Rich and Stupid?

No don’t take out your stilettos, guns or barbs. I am not the one saying so. I intend to be the one who will discuss the insinuation with you and we will reach a cool headed logical inference.

Do you mind if I respond to this first? Come along and let us see how it develops.

Rich is a person who has more that her/his needs and some moolah to spare.

Stupid is a person who always makes bad choices and fritters away whatever she/he has.

we in India qualify as both?

Are we Rich?

India has a surfeit of resources. There are so many jokes about someone from another country asking the almighty about his munificence for India, while many others are starved of natural resources. (We will leave out the second part of the joke where God says “don’t worry I will compensate……..)

So let us take a stock of the situation. India has,

1. Natural resources in abundance
2. Rich ecological diversity
3. Abundant water resources (pure too, before we started polluting each one)
4. Awesome weather pattern, both from viewpoint of agriculture and also for human life-experience, till we denuded all forests and started other forms of ecological hara-kiri in gay abandon.
5. Sunlight, divine rivers (for hydro power, irrigation, fish and other river produce) till we have silted away each of these.
6. Exceptional people, till we devised the effective instrument of ‘divide and rule’ and made them exchange some human attributes with some belonging to animal kingdom (referring to ‘dog eat dog’, instant gratification without worrying about Maslow’s upper hierarchy of needs etc)
7. Land of Riches. Indians were a quarter of the world’s monetary assets in the year 1600. ‘Sone ki Chidiya’ was the description of India those days. It was looted by outsiders till it was left with 2% of the world’s riches. It is growing again to its former glory, but this time, the danger is being looted by insiders.

A very clear inference is that India is indeed rich, despite the plunder and loot by humans, invaders or natives alike.

Are we Stupid:

Well, a country cannot be stupid, but its inhabitants can be. So the issue to be examined is, Are Indians stupid (With deference to a lot of sons of soil who are torch bearers for humanity, we examine whether Indians as a group are intelligent or stupid. The scientific purists would call it examining the ‘stochastic behavior’ of Indians).

1. Though we as a society are weaned on ‘peace and kindness’ philosophy, we conduct ourselves in exactly the opposite manner. We are in general discourteous (downright obnoxious if you hold a position of power), we practice one-upmanship, and disregard others rights and conveniences scrupulously. We have no awareness that this results in lowering the quality of life for everybody.

2. We have a great appetite for ‘instant gratification’. We prefer ‘short term’ to ‘long term’. There are no takers for becoming ‘better’ or ‘respected’. There is a mad race for becoming ‘richer’. The scramble has spawned ‘Yen, Ken Prakenen’ (by hook or by crook) mindset, and has vitiated the character of many a generations. ‘To be there’, or ‘To have arrived’ has become the sole aim many a bright minds. Their acumen and brilliance is employed not in making great waves, but to make big money. So we have every kind of corruption (moral, monetary) and a whole plethora of institutions to contain it (though CBI, IT and others are themselves becoming the carriers of the disease). In the long term, it is the snake eating its own tail. Are we intelligent if we are subverting our own future and that of our children?

3. We don’t mean what we say even in political context. And it applies equally to elected and the electorate. The leaders will promise 20 Kms road built everyday and after five years have nothing to show for it. The electorate will bitterly complain for lack of infrastructure, education, jobs and security…and then go and vote for the sorriest candidate because he is of a particular caste or son of someone or sometimes because he is as backward as they are. How can a country which considers itself a cradle of human civilization (and recently a knowledge power) foist upon itself such a sorry bunch as their reps election after election?

4. We have to be stupid to have monumental patience. Americans even recall their inefficient leaders. We reelect them. We accept exploitation by government servants, village thugs, even bus conductors. We do not even appreciate the ones who stand up for citizens rights. We let thugs molest women, beat unarmed citizens and loot public property and we keep standing there watching the fun, till it is our own turn. ‘Menu Ki’ till you are victimized and then shout hoarse about nobody supporting you. Can you be wise if you are ready to be exploited and still want to worship the exploiters?

Phew….. Doesn’t speak too well of us Indians. We indeed are hurtling down the path of being looted like earlier centuries. It is no consolation that perpetrators are of our own ilk.

Pretty rich but stupid, aren’t we?

1. We need to build our national character.

2. We need to weed out corruption

3. We need to elect good leaders

4. We need to recreate ethos of mutual respect and consideration as enshrined in our culture and religion.

If we don’t get rid of our stupidities and elevate ourselves to the ethos of a good society soon enough, we will indeed deserve to be labeled ‘Rich and stupid’.

Aah, A little bit of moral Adjustment

I have had the good fortune of having some very able Gurus at appropriate junctures in life. Their guidance to tide over moral dilemmas from time to time has been worth its weight in gold. The dilemmas sometimes present themselves as deceptively simple alternatives, when all other right choices seem Himalayan climbs. Sometimes the lure of immediate gains (with the clever thought that nobody is looking at you) becomes an overpowering desire under the garb of being practical.

But a Guru of mine (a senior officer in the Air Force, whose many one liners are my treasured possession), would say about these matters, ‘Well, one always has to decide one way or the other. You cannot be partly immoral, like you cannot be a little bit pregnant. Either ‘you are’ or ‘you are not’.

Indian society has come a long way since those times, when people were simple and steadfast in the way of thinking and living. The definition of morality has received many amendments (very much like the Indian constitution, and with the similar purpose, that is instant gratification rather than long term benefit of the society).

Politics:

A little bit of ‘adjustment’ is the order of the day. It is not considered amoral by the politicians to lie ‘a little bit’ during elections and still anoint yourselves as the sole inheritors of Gandhian virtues. A couple of other adjustments in the political lifestyle of today,

1. No need to resign on minor issues. Wait ‘a little bit’ till everyone knows what you did. (You may get intervening years or decades to continue enjoying spoils of war…er.. power.
2. In fact no resigning as long there is a ‘little bit of leeway’. (Considering resigning on issues an old fashioned stupidity, last heard of in Lal Bahadur Shastri days).
3. OK to reserve ‘a little bit’ out of public assets for sons, daughters, in laws or even far relations. (It should not exceed 90% of the whole). Even if, the scheme is called Adarsh (Ideal) society and is meant for war widows, don’t let that come in the way. After all, politicians are fighting a war every day and come from the same species as ‘widow spider’.

The other sections of the society are faithfully “following the leader”, our politicians. Be it business, government servants, general public, households, “adjustment” is the order of the day. No one wants to live by ‘rule of law’, social responsibility or moral obligations. Convenience rather than conviction is the new guideline. Wherever we look around, the examples abound.

Business:

The Indian business have honed the skill of ‘managing’ the legislative and administrative machinery to let them have unfettered monopolies in most areas of business and fleeced the hapless denizens for a long time. Last twenty years of ‘opening up’ have given India more economic growth than the previous forty. The business is finally becoming ‘customer friendly’. But old habits die hard. The ‘QoQ’ profit growth still rules the business strategy. Bending the rules ‘a little bit’, preferring ‘personal gains ‘a little bit’ over the interests of many, seeking political patronage ‘a little bit’ to get ahead of others rather than employ fair competition, ‘a little bit’ laundering of accounts and assets are still the norm rather than the exception. Long term excellence and social responsibility is still a distant dream. Narayana Murthys and Ratan Tatas are outnumbered by Rajus of many hues.

Public Servants:

The most potent group of people holding India back from being ‘Sone Ki Chidiya’ (the golden sparrow) again is the entrenched power brokers, called bureaucracy, who will like to have ‘a little bit’ out of your progress every time. (Sometimes it may be 90%, reminiscent of the 90% income tax levied in earlier days.) These people are supposed to earn their living by practicing ‘facilitation’. Instead they have mastered the art of ‘getting in the way’. Out of the 10 barricades that the society or businesses face in development, 9 are erected by these functionaries. Thankfully, public opinion is now modifying the way these people work. But the nuisance value of Indian bureaucracy remains high and their facilitation value remains abysmal.

General Public:

General public remain mired in low education levels and outdated religious and social dogmas. Indian public is still swayed by caste and religion and is apathetic to development issues. The result is a pin-pong voting in/out of two major parties who do not have any need/desire to move away from playing ‘who will be the next PM’ roulette. ‘A little bit’ of incremental improvement in the lot of populace and ‘a lot bit more’ gain for the politicos continues.

Some Adjustments that the general public lives by,

1. ‘A little bit’ of reservations, by caste, ‘son of the soil’ preference, political connections, or plain threatening the decision makers.
2. ‘A little bit’ of encroachment of land, public utilities, public money or positions of power by other than fair means.
3. ‘A little bit’ of evasion of responsibilities by avoiding taxes, not declaring obligations and/or surreptitiously transferring obligations to others.
4. ‘A little bit’ of ……………

Indian Family:

The home scenario is no different. Parents routinely tell their kids to answer the telephone call, and tell inconvenient callers “Papa/Mama is not at home”. Thinking that a little bit of ‘smartness’ can save them the inconvenience of having to answer the callers’ queries. The lessons learnt are practiced by children to use this ‘smartness’ for bunking schools, and sowing wild oats, while parents blissfully dream about their children being ‘pure honey’. Most social problems have their genesis in skewed upbringing by these ‘worldly wise’ parents. A little bit of ‘moral adjustment’ turns into a ruinous social debasement.

I guess, to turn the tide against present day ruinous social depravation, we need to go back to the old-time values of truth, compassion, mutual respect and service. Mahatma said it in so many words.

Are we listening?

The civil Society Conundrum

[Statutory warning. This write up is ‘Tongue in cheek’. Please spare the brickbats. I have neither any political agenda nor any capability to articulate points of view]

In the recent past, I have been keenly questioned about ‘Civil Society’. Actually it is my mother. She would want to know about what ‘society’ the TV channel fellows are talking and arguing about. And with the latest crackdown (and numerous climb downs thereafter) , her curiosity has only increased bringing more insistence that I answer the question.

Now that really gets my goat….er, please pardons my semantics that have been rendered ‘beyond repair’ during the practice of abbreviated natter of flying operations during my air force days. But you see, I am a true blooded Indian. I want to work hard during the working hours (as long as these are a sub-set of 9 to 5 routine), and then come back home and sprawl on the sofa with a nice cup of tea (green label added for flavor) and watch TV. I love those Hindi soaps where someone or the other bangs her/his head against something and loses memory. Wow, then you keep wondering whether the memory will come back or the person will keep making a fool of herself/himself for the benefit of your entertainment. Isn’t losing memory an Indian specialty? Maybe much reviled separation during ‘Kumbh ka Mela’ is our DNA trademark. Personally, I have nothing against it, rather I will like to forget ‘office’ after 5 PM, and when in office (and with my jovial colleagues) I don’t let the thoughts of family back home spoil fun and frolic.

Getting back to the topic, I told my mother that our society is divided into two parts, rather three. One is called civil society, the second uncivil society (popularly called Government for ease of addressing), and the normal society (which is also the majority). The whole political drama consists of the normal society intelligently voting to choose the government, which then assiduously gets down to getting the country on the path of progress. The civil society is supposed to a bunch of practicing intellectuals who infrequently write philosophical matters that the normal society can not understand and the government does not care to read.

These forces are supposed to be at equilibrium in the bliss of democratic environment and supposed to keep doing what they are supposed to do. The problem arises when they don’t.

Firstly the normal society is supposed to vote intelligently. (Even the politicians proclaim that ‘Janata’ is the wise). However looking at the kind of politicians that we have been choosing for the last fifty years or so, that intelligence is as much sure as the existence of the unicorn.

Government is supposed to enable India to take her rightful place in the comity of nations. Going by recent performance, the various political ensembles look more like the Hindi film villain trying to punch holes in the hull of the boat.

The civil society has kept busy with issuing high sounding rebukes from time to time, from the air conditioned confines of their drawing rooms.

But that was till Anna Saheb came along.

All of a sudden every one is inconvenienced. The government is not being allowed to work, the PM is supposed to be cornered so much that he is not be able to perform (????), the parliament is not able to pass any bills (including the recently tabled ‘Thuggery Protection bill’ that said that MPs and higher ups are exempt from even oversight, not to talk of prosecution). And biggest of it all, I cannot enjoy my TV serials and have to explain the civil society and its genesis to my mother.

The next question from my mother, “ Why cant Indian society be all civil”. Now that is a rather obnoxious query and I am not going to answer that on behalf of PMs, CMs, Ministers, spokesmen, SDOs, JEs, IASs and many worthies, who decide what is good for us, the society.