I received an interesting comment from a very close friend of mine…
“Today’s Times of India has 2 pieces of news, front-page - in big print: 4 out of 8 richest people in the world are Indian; not Israelis, not Arabs, not American, not British, not Sudanese, not Japanese, not Chinese, not Spanish, not German, not Italian, not Australian, not anything… INDIAN… In very small print: India '08 polio count is world's highest.
How can WE be a part of any change?”
This got me thinking about being a part of change...
In my view, being a part of a change depends a lot on understanding the problem that has to be fixed, the situation that has to be improved and then finding the appropriate path to do so. And once the path is known, it requires dedication and perseverance. Change isn’t easy, it is hard. Very, very hard!!
I did a Google search on “change” and came to know about Ronald Heifetz (Professor at Harvard University) and his view on leadership and transformation. You can read his interview here - A conversation with Ronald Heifetz: Leadership without Easy Answers. It is worth reading and understanding.
Professor Heifetz places problems into two categories - Adaptive & Technical. Technical problems are those that are more or less mechanical in nature and can be fixed by an expert or an authority. They require a fixed set of steps to achieve the desired change/results. Adaptive problems are those that require changes in behaviors, attitudes and views. It requires a rethinking of the approach, a change in the way of doing things and probably even thinking.
Replacing a light bulb is technical problem, removing the darkness from people’s lives is an adaptive one. India’s first war for Independence was fought in 1857; India gained Independence in 1947. I believe one of the reasons for this could be that, perhaps we were trying to solve an adaptive problem in a technical fashion. However, Mahatma Gandhi’s approach was an adaptive solution to an intrinsically adaptive problem. And that’s why it worked like a charm.
Let’s get back to the state of affairs.
India has been an interesting country in recent times. It is precariously perched on the precipice, with greatness on one side; and ignominy, despair, and perhaps disintegration on the other. This puzzle of India is a mixture of technical and adaptive problems with one dove-tailing into another. And this leads to the confusion that my friend has expressed above. I will try to breakdown his problem and deal with the parts one at a time.
4 out of 8 richest people in the world are Indian – The rise of modern India economically is a story of an adaptive solution followed by technical one. Lakshmi Mittal, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, and K. P. Singh all sensed a business opportunity, adapted to that situation (and at times changed the game itself) and profited from their ventures. Once their cart had hit the road, it was more or less a technical problem to keep it going. It is the same case with the IT Industry, where the opportunity was sensed, adaptations were made, technical changes were made, and billions were earned. But trust me on this; even then the changes were hard. I am sure that the ride for all these wealthy people wasn’t exactly a cake walk.
India '08 polio count is world’s highest – Although societal changes in India have been happening over the last few years. However, their occurrences have been more sporadic and random in nature rather than uniform. So comparing them to the economic growth pattern or assuming that societal changes would follow the economic pattern would be foolish. Unlike other countries in the world which are more or less uniform in their structure, India is cluster of different communities, religions, and classes all living under the same roof. With 18 official recognized languages, and scores which are not; with food habits and traditions being dictated by religion and region that an individual belongs to; it’s almost impossible to have a uniform change.
Societal changes in India are a purely adaptive problem. Maybe another decade down-the-road it could become a technical one, but still there is long way to go. Why do I say it’s an adaptive problem? Well, with the kind of social and economic disparity that exists in India, it’s virtually impossible to have a generalized rule to bring everybody to the same plane and then continue from there. The mindset, attitude, way of thinking of people has to change. Mark Twain said, “The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” Similarly, pockets of changes have to begin (and the good news is that they have). The task is huge but this need not be a time for despair and giving-up. It’s easy to sit-up, take notice, cry, and slump back; but what is difficult to stand-up and take action. Change isn’t easy, it never was.
I believe that India is in a state of ferment, which is good. I also believe that it’s only through this fermentation, that the true national ideas will crystallize.
A parallel can be drawn between the India of today and the USA during the great depression. During the 1930s, America was almost falling apart. With rampant poverty and unemployment, the citizens of the United States were already thinking of radical changes – such as Marxism. There was an inferiority complex and feeling of futility building up. During the 1930s, America was in state of ferment. But, the great depression in its passing and hardship taught the American people the true meaning of economic security and need to endure, survive hardships. It taught them the true value of their democracy. And when the great depression ended it left the American people with a reaffirmation about their culture and tradition. There might have been countless unknown people working in the background in small pockets working these adaptive changes. I don’t know who they are and what their story is. But I do know for sure that it couldn’t have been just one (or a few) nation wide policy that would have brought that change.
I came across a book - Unsung by Mahesh Bhat & Anita Pratap – which tracks the life of nine extraordinary people who are devoted to improving the lives of the people around them. These are the people who toil away in the background with none or minimal resources. Their only driving force is their vision of a better tomorrow and the will to endure and to change against all odds. The book documents nine, but I am sure there are countless out there. Their beauty and achievement is in being nameless, their shunning of fame and glamour. These brave hearts are not only changing the light bulb, they are also removing the darkness from people’s mind.
How can WE be a part of any change? – Its simple, just look around, and be that change!!
To borrow the words from a fellow colleague - “Angels exist. I saw them in action. They wear pants, shirts, salwars, jeans, sneakers, and T-shirts. They are of both genders. They spread hope and cheer. They help out in chores. They teach. They make a difference.”
And so I believe, that let each man be for himself and yet let each man be entirely for others. Let’s strive to be that change. Let’s try to start out alone on our journey. The road is long and treacherous, and there are no directions. However, there are footprints of people who have tried, some have failed and some have not. Let’s have the fortitude to own up that the path taken was wrong and begin again. Let’s build that critical mass, when the change and the revolution is more like a fly wheel effect, picking speed from its own momentum. I know this is easier said than done, but hey what’s the loss in giving it shot? History is replete with many a people who have started with this attitude. We are not the first ones.
Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step - Martin Luther King Jr.
To read the complete post, click here...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Importance of being an Indian Communist
Right at the onset let me say that I have great respect for Bengalis and this article is in no way meant to ridicule or belittle West Bengal’s (WB) great cultural heritage and its proud yet polite “Bhadra Lok”. Gopalkrishna Gokhale said that “what Bengal thinks today, the rest of India thinks tomorrow”. So if West Bengal gets bird flu today, India will perhaps suffer from SARS tomorrow.
I am not a great political watcher – there are many talented pundits out there – but I do follow national politics. And, I am very intrigued by the communist (and its many different flavors) in India. I will from here onwards call them the communists.
It really surprises me how they continue to hold sway over WB for such a long time. No political outfit worth its salt has ever been able to dent this (perhaps) last communist bastion in the world. Why I say last? Well, even the Chinese have given up on communism (more or less). But, they are too proud and arrogant to own up.
I believe the communism in WB is not the original strain, but more of Bengalism in the garb of communist philosophy. However, it stays true to the original concept of Marx which is trying to be socialist at the expense of the masses. That’s the reason why, WB being one of the most illustrious state from ancient times is the one which is poorest and deprived. The state that produced one of the best known intellectual luminaries is the one that suffers from complete and utter lack of new ideas and thoughts. What the communists have done in WB is mix the Bengali ego with communist philosophy and created a deadly viral strain that now infects (and is killing) each and every cell of the state today. When WB votes, it votes for whom it feels defines a true “Bhadra Lok” irrespective of the party that he/she belongs to. So when a person looses an election, it doesn’t mean that his party or his election agenda was not good, it means that he doesn’t match up to the high “Bhadra Lok” standards of the electorate. To prove my point – Jyoti Basu is the best known Bengali (nay Communist) that ever was, and he ruled like forever.
Coming back to recent times, the communist are making such a hue and cry about the nuclear deal with the USA. There stand is more ideological rather than practical. They are programmed to despise anything which is related to the US, which is obvious. However, not one communist has come out in the open and pointed out the facts on practical grounds as to why this deal should not go through. The USA is not India’s fairy god mother, and so it has its interest in mind when it wants this deal. It wants India to counter the global presence of China, and so it wants India to get equipped with such capacity.
Not one communist has come out in the open and condemned the encroachment that china has made on Indian territories. Not one communist has lambasted the Chinese regime when it says that Arunanchal Pradesh is an integral part of china and refused to give a visa to an official elected representative of the people. Not one communist has tried to the stall the proceedings of the Indian Parliament on these issues. The communists don’t want to do that, which makes me wonder, do they listen to the India people or are they getting their orders straight from Beijing.
Unlike their other comrades across the world, the Bengali communist is stuck in a time warp. He still thinks that the cold war is not over. He believes that the ideals of Marx and Lenin are the word of god. But I feel that the Bengali communist is smart, he knows that he is facing extinction, he knows that the last place on the planet where he can rule and live his pipe dream is WB. And he is arrogant enough to not let it go easily, not silently pass away into the night. He will fight tooth and nail for what he believes is right. Let India, let WB and its people be damned. So he will hold the government and the Indian people’s shot at a better tomorrow at ransom, just to ensure that his lifeline can be extended. He will slaughter with an iron hand the people who rise-up against his dictates, like in Nandigram. So much for socialism!!
But the communist are essential for India, because only they can show how archaic, rigid, and time-warped policies can bring a rich and vibrant society to its knees. How fertile and imaginative minds can be subjugated to despair and stagnation. How the ever industrious and intellectual Bengalis that once stood up, took action, and showed the way to the rest of the country, can be made so listless and mentally blunt. That’s the importance of being a communist.
To read the complete post, click here...
I am not a great political watcher – there are many talented pundits out there – but I do follow national politics. And, I am very intrigued by the communist (and its many different flavors) in India. I will from here onwards call them the communists.
It really surprises me how they continue to hold sway over WB for such a long time. No political outfit worth its salt has ever been able to dent this (perhaps) last communist bastion in the world. Why I say last? Well, even the Chinese have given up on communism (more or less). But, they are too proud and arrogant to own up.
I believe the communism in WB is not the original strain, but more of Bengalism in the garb of communist philosophy. However, it stays true to the original concept of Marx which is trying to be socialist at the expense of the masses. That’s the reason why, WB being one of the most illustrious state from ancient times is the one which is poorest and deprived. The state that produced one of the best known intellectual luminaries is the one that suffers from complete and utter lack of new ideas and thoughts. What the communists have done in WB is mix the Bengali ego with communist philosophy and created a deadly viral strain that now infects (and is killing) each and every cell of the state today. When WB votes, it votes for whom it feels defines a true “Bhadra Lok” irrespective of the party that he/she belongs to. So when a person looses an election, it doesn’t mean that his party or his election agenda was not good, it means that he doesn’t match up to the high “Bhadra Lok” standards of the electorate. To prove my point – Jyoti Basu is the best known Bengali (nay Communist) that ever was, and he ruled like forever.
Coming back to recent times, the communist are making such a hue and cry about the nuclear deal with the USA. There stand is more ideological rather than practical. They are programmed to despise anything which is related to the US, which is obvious. However, not one communist has come out in the open and pointed out the facts on practical grounds as to why this deal should not go through. The USA is not India’s fairy god mother, and so it has its interest in mind when it wants this deal. It wants India to counter the global presence of China, and so it wants India to get equipped with such capacity.
Not one communist has come out in the open and condemned the encroachment that china has made on Indian territories. Not one communist has lambasted the Chinese regime when it says that Arunanchal Pradesh is an integral part of china and refused to give a visa to an official elected representative of the people. Not one communist has tried to the stall the proceedings of the Indian Parliament on these issues. The communists don’t want to do that, which makes me wonder, do they listen to the India people or are they getting their orders straight from Beijing.
Unlike their other comrades across the world, the Bengali communist is stuck in a time warp. He still thinks that the cold war is not over. He believes that the ideals of Marx and Lenin are the word of god. But I feel that the Bengali communist is smart, he knows that he is facing extinction, he knows that the last place on the planet where he can rule and live his pipe dream is WB. And he is arrogant enough to not let it go easily, not silently pass away into the night. He will fight tooth and nail for what he believes is right. Let India, let WB and its people be damned. So he will hold the government and the Indian people’s shot at a better tomorrow at ransom, just to ensure that his lifeline can be extended. He will slaughter with an iron hand the people who rise-up against his dictates, like in Nandigram. So much for socialism!!
But the communist are essential for India, because only they can show how archaic, rigid, and time-warped policies can bring a rich and vibrant society to its knees. How fertile and imaginative minds can be subjugated to despair and stagnation. How the ever industrious and intellectual Bengalis that once stood up, took action, and showed the way to the rest of the country, can be made so listless and mentally blunt. That’s the importance of being a communist.
To read the complete post, click here...
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Principles & Ideals in Summer
Teenage can be impressionable and interesting part of one’s life. Especially, if growing up in dynamic and continually changing country like India. I was 15-ish in the summer of 1990...
That year saw one of the most serious upheavals in India’s political history in recent times. A bill had been passed that allowed the reservation of jobs in public service divisions of the government for people from the disadvantaged classes of India’s much fragmented society. This law came to be known in popular terminology as the Mandal Commission recommendations. With all the noble intent that the recommendations had, the manner and the time it was being enforced was something that couldn’t exactly be called noble. And therefore, the fragile Indian society was further fragmented with people on both sides of the divide fighting furiously.
The Mandal Commission recommendations sparked a series of protests across the length and breadth of the country. And the student community was the single largest group that spear headed these protests everywhere. These public demonstrations against the implementation of the recommendation reached to such intensity that most of India came to a stand-still with roads, transportation, educational institutions, and offices being closed indefinitely. The student protests were openly planned well in advance, and generally escalated into violence. With extreme acts of self-immolations and the consequent violence across the country, the situation was just short of imposition of a state of emergency –wherein the army would have to be called to bring things under control. In sensitive places where the protests had reached feverish pitch the police would use brute force to curb the demonstrations and protests. One such sensitive place was the city where I was doing my high school.
The student body from the local university had organized a protest and had requested the public to join and support their cause. The university gate where this protest was to be held was on a road which was a T-Junction, the high boundary wall of the university forming one long side while the other sides had equally high walls demarcating the various departments of the sprawling university campus.
At the age of 15, one doesn’t have political leanings, but one does have a whole lot of curiosity and excitement. And so I along with a childhood pal decided to slip away from home and join the protest. We stood there in crowd listening to the student leaders come one by one and make speeches about why the reservations were wrong and why the law which recommended the reservation should be repealed. In hindsight, all this was because each of these student leaders wanted to gain political mileage from these protests and show the political big-wigs their capacity and clout and hence be inducted into one of the many parties that adorn the Indian democracy. In short it was their time to flaunt their resume to prospective employers.
One such person – a guy who looked too old to be a student leader – came onto the dais and began his diatribe. I didn’t pay too much attention to his speech as I was too busy looking at the crowd and enjoying the feeling of being part of such a big movement. However, the one line that did catch my attention was – “We don’t protest for ourselves, sooner or later we will fade away into the background. We protest for the future students. In our hardship and pain today, lies a better tomorrow”.
As the speeches continued, I noticed that the local police was preparing barricades on the all the three sides of the T-Junction. I could feel the unease in the crowd as the students looked furtively at the police. My friend told me that it would be best that we stood in the crowd, rather than try to move away. We would be much safer there, should anything happen. I agreed to his idea, but I felt the excitement giving way to panic.
And then it happened. I heard the shout of the commanding officer in the police team, and from all three sides hundreds of constables’ descended onto the gathered crowd. It was the dreaded baton-charge. A technique which is taught to all Indian Police personnel and is designed to cause a lot of injury especially to the upper body areas.
I saw the crowd quickly disintegrate into individuals trying to flee from the scene in order to avoid the cops. I saw the people who had been hit lying on the road holding their shoulders or their heads crying out in pain. For a few seconds I stood there, frozen in time, watching all this happen in slow motion. And then I realized that I too should run for cover. I saw some people scaling the walls to jump into the university campus. I ran towards the wall, but it was too high and I wasn’t that physically enabled to claw my way up. From the corner of my eye, I saw a cop running towards me. With no where to run I cowered in fear trying to cover my head with my hands. Waiting for the blow I just stood there, when I heard a slap of the baton and a painful grunt.
I looked up and saw this burly guy, pinning me to the wall, and the cop behind mercilessly beating him. The few moments that I stood there shielded by him seemed like an eternity. All I could do was look at him bleeding, and think of ways to escape.
And then, just as suddenly as that baton-charge had started, it stopped. Getting this reprieve, I ran with all my might, too afraid and too selfish to even look back at my protector. The regret of not looking back and not expressing my gratitude is something that I guess I will have to live with all my life. But what I gained from this experience is immense.
I still remember those idyllic school days and that fateful summer afternoon. I can’t comment whether the reservations and the ensuing protests and demonstrations were good or bad. I believe, good and bad are very referential terms and can change their color and meaning depending on the context. I can however, comment on principles and ideals. These in comparison to “good and bad” are far more time and context resistant.
In that crowd of hundreds of students that afternoon, there was one who actually believed in ideal of self-sacrifice. Who believed that he had to let go of his security so that he could ensure the security of another less fortunate. The future is not in the years ahead but right now, and we have the power and the responsibility to protect it from harm at all costs. Social and political responsibility is not only the caring of one’s country and its policies but also the people in it. That unknown guy believed in these principles and ideals and he out of the hundreds stood up for his belief, alone!!
“...sooner or later we will fade away into the background... In our hardship and pain today, lies a better tomorrow”
Great ideas and grandiose thoughts are just that - great and grandiose. Like plastic they are attractive and smooth. However, just like plastic they melt in the heat if they are not backed with principles and ideals. Principles and Ideals on the other hand are rough, at times unattractive and difficult to handle. But like gold, their true value can only be ascertained when they are tried through fire.
That year saw one of the most serious upheavals in India’s political history in recent times. A bill had been passed that allowed the reservation of jobs in public service divisions of the government for people from the disadvantaged classes of India’s much fragmented society. This law came to be known in popular terminology as the Mandal Commission recommendations. With all the noble intent that the recommendations had, the manner and the time it was being enforced was something that couldn’t exactly be called noble. And therefore, the fragile Indian society was further fragmented with people on both sides of the divide fighting furiously.
The Mandal Commission recommendations sparked a series of protests across the length and breadth of the country. And the student community was the single largest group that spear headed these protests everywhere. These public demonstrations against the implementation of the recommendation reached to such intensity that most of India came to a stand-still with roads, transportation, educational institutions, and offices being closed indefinitely. The student protests were openly planned well in advance, and generally escalated into violence. With extreme acts of self-immolations and the consequent violence across the country, the situation was just short of imposition of a state of emergency –wherein the army would have to be called to bring things under control. In sensitive places where the protests had reached feverish pitch the police would use brute force to curb the demonstrations and protests. One such sensitive place was the city where I was doing my high school.
The student body from the local university had organized a protest and had requested the public to join and support their cause. The university gate where this protest was to be held was on a road which was a T-Junction, the high boundary wall of the university forming one long side while the other sides had equally high walls demarcating the various departments of the sprawling university campus.
At the age of 15, one doesn’t have political leanings, but one does have a whole lot of curiosity and excitement. And so I along with a childhood pal decided to slip away from home and join the protest. We stood there in crowd listening to the student leaders come one by one and make speeches about why the reservations were wrong and why the law which recommended the reservation should be repealed. In hindsight, all this was because each of these student leaders wanted to gain political mileage from these protests and show the political big-wigs their capacity and clout and hence be inducted into one of the many parties that adorn the Indian democracy. In short it was their time to flaunt their resume to prospective employers.
One such person – a guy who looked too old to be a student leader – came onto the dais and began his diatribe. I didn’t pay too much attention to his speech as I was too busy looking at the crowd and enjoying the feeling of being part of such a big movement. However, the one line that did catch my attention was – “We don’t protest for ourselves, sooner or later we will fade away into the background. We protest for the future students. In our hardship and pain today, lies a better tomorrow”.
As the speeches continued, I noticed that the local police was preparing barricades on the all the three sides of the T-Junction. I could feel the unease in the crowd as the students looked furtively at the police. My friend told me that it would be best that we stood in the crowd, rather than try to move away. We would be much safer there, should anything happen. I agreed to his idea, but I felt the excitement giving way to panic.
And then it happened. I heard the shout of the commanding officer in the police team, and from all three sides hundreds of constables’ descended onto the gathered crowd. It was the dreaded baton-charge. A technique which is taught to all Indian Police personnel and is designed to cause a lot of injury especially to the upper body areas.
I saw the crowd quickly disintegrate into individuals trying to flee from the scene in order to avoid the cops. I saw the people who had been hit lying on the road holding their shoulders or their heads crying out in pain. For a few seconds I stood there, frozen in time, watching all this happen in slow motion. And then I realized that I too should run for cover. I saw some people scaling the walls to jump into the university campus. I ran towards the wall, but it was too high and I wasn’t that physically enabled to claw my way up. From the corner of my eye, I saw a cop running towards me. With no where to run I cowered in fear trying to cover my head with my hands. Waiting for the blow I just stood there, when I heard a slap of the baton and a painful grunt.
I looked up and saw this burly guy, pinning me to the wall, and the cop behind mercilessly beating him. The few moments that I stood there shielded by him seemed like an eternity. All I could do was look at him bleeding, and think of ways to escape.
And then, just as suddenly as that baton-charge had started, it stopped. Getting this reprieve, I ran with all my might, too afraid and too selfish to even look back at my protector. The regret of not looking back and not expressing my gratitude is something that I guess I will have to live with all my life. But what I gained from this experience is immense.
I still remember those idyllic school days and that fateful summer afternoon. I can’t comment whether the reservations and the ensuing protests and demonstrations were good or bad. I believe, good and bad are very referential terms and can change their color and meaning depending on the context. I can however, comment on principles and ideals. These in comparison to “good and bad” are far more time and context resistant.
In that crowd of hundreds of students that afternoon, there was one who actually believed in ideal of self-sacrifice. Who believed that he had to let go of his security so that he could ensure the security of another less fortunate. The future is not in the years ahead but right now, and we have the power and the responsibility to protect it from harm at all costs. Social and political responsibility is not only the caring of one’s country and its policies but also the people in it. That unknown guy believed in these principles and ideals and he out of the hundreds stood up for his belief, alone!!
“...sooner or later we will fade away into the background... In our hardship and pain today, lies a better tomorrow”
Great ideas and grandiose thoughts are just that - great and grandiose. Like plastic they are attractive and smooth. However, just like plastic they melt in the heat if they are not backed with principles and ideals. Principles and Ideals on the other hand are rough, at times unattractive and difficult to handle. But like gold, their true value can only be ascertained when they are tried through fire.
This world famous photograph was taken during the Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent massacre in June of 1989. It poignantly shows the indomitable spirit of human courage, staring oppression in the eye, and standing up for one’s cherished principles & ideals.
Photographer: Stuart Franklin Magnum
Source: life.com
Photographer: Stuart Franklin Magnum
Source: life.com
To read the complete post, click here...
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