A Dream....A Journey....A Break

Today, I embark on a journey that I have always dreamt of undertaking. This intention is turning into reality as I pack my bags and join a group of friends on our way to Kailash - Mansarovar.

Yes, friends.... I will be away for the next fifteen days exploring that "mysterious land" of Tibet enroute to Mt Kailash and the Mansarovar lake considered one of the holiest places by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

Eternal India - A Woman's Place in our Society

In India, "the female" is supposed to be worshipped as the "other half" necessary to make one complete. The "female element" is worshipped as "Shakti" and as "destroyer of evil".

All this in the realm of history and popular religious ritual. Let us now see the reality as potrayed, as experienced or probably as it exists.

We witness umpteen instances of women being abused in our country. These are events which have been reported. There are, probably, a million more cases which never get reported. Physical and sexual abuse is the most common and wide spread. Gender based discrimination, denial of education and dowry related abuse are also evils that have taken root deeply as part of our contemporary culture. Equally true, though vehemently denied, is the fact that many "educated" (read: westernised) women have strayed so far away from their roots that an alien culture is found more comforting.

We express disgust at such news reports but think nothing when we ourselves stoop to low levels and indulge in abuse on our own women. We profess great respect for "the female element" and worship "Devi Mata" and make countless trips to Vaishno Devi. Back home, no thought is spared before an angry hand whacks "the female element" and establishing an ephemeral male superiority.

I wondered what could cause this steady decline (if you could call that) in our personal standards and the situation that exists today.

• Is it our education system that makes us ashamed of our own roots?
• Are we exposed to a culture (movies, literature, arts, movies and others) that glorifies being licentious, at a very young age?
• Have we been influenced by our elders who probably behaved in an irresponsible fashion?
• Are we so stressed out that we just cannot behave in a civil manner with women and abuse is the only option?
  

As I was reading literature on Swami Vivekananda, I was curious to know his views on the state of women in India and how this should evolve...Read on and let us discover what this Divine Being had to say

"If you do not raise the women, who are the living embodiment of the Divine Mother, don't think that you have any other way to rise. That country and that nation which do not respect women have never become great, nor will ever be in the future."

On another occassion HE goes on to say..."Otherwise, how could the country come to such a fallen condition? How can there be any progress of the country without the spread of education, the dawning of knowledge?.......but know for certain that absolutely nothing can be done to improve the state of things, unless there is spread of education first among the women and the masses...."

Read further...."It is only in the homes of educated and pious mothers that great men are born and you have reduced your women to something like manufacturing machines; alas, for heaven's sake, is this the outcome of your education?"

"The uplift of women, the awakening of the masses must come first, and then only can any real good come about for the country, for India"


Amazing words and how true they ring today. We seem to have forgotten all these words of advice and caution. Our show of respect seems, in comparison, almost ritualistic and superficial. Have we lost our innate goodness or it is just covered by some garbage that needs to be removed. Is it possible for our society to move towards a more humane, more just and a balanced one?

I stand to be enlightened by your views.

I am a Voice without a Form

...so said Swami Vivekananda at the begining of his mission.

I want no name - I want to be a voice without form....Through the Lord's will, the desire for name and fame has not yet crept into my heart and I dare say never will. I am an instrument and HE is the operator. A brilliant life that lived to its fullest potential, Swamiji was and (I would say) still is a great inspiration to us Indians.

His was a life conveying complete surrender to the Divine and yet so rooted to the ground realities of India of those days. He represented limitless energy and tireless action with a serene mind devoid of any feverishness or sense of attachment.

His appeal crossed all boundaries but to us Indians he foresaw the rise of this giant more than a hundred and ten years back. He was a live wire and sought to awaken a mass which seemed to be in very deep slumber for over a millenia. He awakened Indian society to the new realities and inspired them to be strong and purposeful.

As I read more about this divine soul, I am awe struck by an amazing clarity of thought and an ability to pinpoint to where we as a society had gone astray. His advice to our society is so apt and relevant (even today).

We seem to have all the wisdom and knowledge within our culture and somewhere it is ingrained in our psyche. The question which keeps repeating in my mind is why inspite of all these treasures we seem to be constantly looking outside for inspiration and direction. Why is it that our society appears so fractured and where have we forgotten this noble way of living?

It is tempting to presume that our society has descended into a black-hole never to recover or are we just being too pessimistic?

I would like to share some examples of this "Eternal Wisdom" in the following posts and hope to reflect on our current state. I have liberally referred to various books and published material and would refer them in quotes with appropriate acknowledgements.

With this, I dedicate my fiftieth post to the blogging world.

Higher Education....A Royal Mess

In the previous two posts I recounted my nephew's experiences in trying to get through various hurdles so that he could pursue higher education in the engineering stream.

I have been interacting with many friends, parents of teens in similar age group, a few teachers and students who have just completed their engineering studies. The emerging picture is very confusing. I was aghast at the state of affairs and it will take more than a Kapil Sibal to even guage the extent of the problem before he can attempt to set it right.

Entire focus of the system is to eliminate and choose just a few with the requisite marks. The argument that is often made is the sheer number of students who aspire to be engineers. It is believed that neither can educational facilities be created to provide engineering education to say a million students nor are there adequate opportunities for so many engineers.


On reflection, many questions keep cropping up in my mind. I have no immediate answers but it is important that we collectively as a nation find the answers.

1. Expansion of top class education facilities to increase student intake by a multiple,
2. Facilitating the creation of professional faculty and sustained upgradation of the existing one,
3. Constantly updating syllabus and teaching methods,
4. Increasing industry - academia interaction (Probably happening in a few post-graduate streams),
5. Increasing focus on "frugal engineering" and "relevant low cost technologies"
6. Facilitate setting up of advanced engineering industries in India such that adequate opportunities are available for these students. A case in point is ISRO is facing an acute manpower crunch and we have not been able to create a steady supply line of engineers for this institution. Further, most IIT students seek opportunities outside India or take up consulting jobs.
   

It is not difficult to do this but we always seem to offer the same excuse that "resources are scarce. Just as we seem to find money for defence and other important areas, why can we not accord the same priority to education. After all this investment pays off by ensuring all round development in the country.

We have let matters remain unattended till the "dam has burst" and now resort to adhoc knee jerk reactions by setting up new IITs (which was prompted more as an answer to the reservation controversy) all of a sudden or trying to rush through the "Foreign Universities" bill facilitating their entry into India.

I believe this is a subject that needs serious and constant attention and resources. It is important that the chronic problems affecting higher education are identified and a clear roadmap set as to how these will be tackled. Only then will we have a vibrant education sector that will serve the requirements of the country.

Travails continued....

We left the previous post where the protagonist was undergoing training at a coaching class to appear for various entrance examinations. Objective: to gain admission to an engineering degree course at a "decent" college / institute. Normal ambition of a very normal Indian lad with stars in his eyes and with an above average intellect.

Mind you, all this is in addition to attending college + practicals for the State Board HSC examinations. Now you get an idea of "moving the mountain" phase in the life of a sixteen year old.

Let us see how the year progresses..

Coaching Class:

One thing I missed adding. Sixty students crammed on uncomfortable benches for six - seven hours at a stretch. Hey they are cattle but humans with simple goal in life. But commerce is supreme and an extra dozen students is obviously good for the bottom line.

Life is good. Anyway, there is no guarantee on results and it does not matter whether students pass or fail. Many of these institutes just pay obscene money and some students may be tempted to endorse them.


Examinations:

Mercifully exams are a one day affair but the filling up of examination forms, online / manual submission and getting the examination hall admit card is a trying affair. The whole process is meant to wear your patience thin.

You also have to be lucky to get an examination center near your place of residence or else a twenty - thirty kilometre trudge to the examination centre is guaranteed. The wretched may be allotted an examination centre at Pune / Nashik....and both are atleast 200 kms away.

The list of examinations is also impressively long....IIT-JEE, AIEEE, BITS, Maharashtra CET, Vellore, Coimbatore, Manipal, unaided colleges, and I do not know the rest...as the nephew did not bother about many of them.

Fortunately, there is enough time between two competitive entrance exams. BITS even gives you the flexibility of choosing a date of your choice and it is an online test. You actually leave the place knowing your marks and also, perhaps, whether your fate is sealed or whether there is still hope.


Results Stage:

Yipee....its results time and an end to a long year of hard work...or..is it just the begining of a new tense phase. The toppers and failures are the most peaceful, whilst the "in-betweens" are tossed around like veggies in a salad.

All results are online which means you save face if the results are poor. One can buy half a day by saying access to servers is very slow but not much beyond that.

This settles once for where you are in the rat race. Extended Merit Lists and scores beyond 10,000 means very little scope.


Admissions Stage:

Most likely a student would stand a good chance in multiple institutions and it would be unwise to close the doors on any opportunity just yet.

This means one has to keep track of all schedules running in parallel. This would put any Operation Research specialist to shame.

Online submissions, mock counselling, trial placements, merit lists, counselling lists, first list, second list and so on form part of an elaborate process. I understand this has been streamlined and tweaked over the last couple of years. It is not so much a problem now. Great use of technology...I must say.

Once your name appears in one or more lists, factors like stream allotted, institute and location become important. Ragging is another factor playing on minds and I was wily nily drawn into an animated discussion on this subject.

This phase is currently on and should play itself out in the next two weeks.

More on this as the days pass on. This whole drama that is being played out tends to get more complex every year. There are many questions that arise in my mind and I am disturbed that such an important area has been dealt with in a very lackadaisical way.

Travails of an Aspiring Engineer

This holds true of any student aspiring to a decent higher education in any field. Engineering is the subject matter of this post because I have a ring side view of the struggle my nephew and all those around him undergo to get admission to an engineering course in a decent college this season.

We, in India, accord a very high priority to education and millions view it as a passport to a better life. We have grown up in trying circumstances and frugality has been a way of life and this is a chance to break some ceilings. We have nearly a million plus students wanting to opt for specialised education

Now let us pan back to the life of a student who has opted for a science stream education with an intent to become an engineer.

After completing the FYJC (First Year Junior College - 11th standard to us old foggies) exams, life is lived in defined phases and I will attempt to recount this momentous journey.

Pre-Coaching Class Stage:

Ahh...comparing notes to see which class would be best. The early planners were relocating to Kota (Rajasthan) which seems to have acquired an awesome reputation to get you straight into IIT or so is all-round popular belief.

The others - nephew included - were left with the home choice. Discussions with some distant relative of a neighbour's office colleague's friend were carried out in right earnest. Cousins, family doctor, college professor and "The Uncle" added their two bits of sagely advice.

The net result was complete confusion and a sense of helplessness. "Which coaching class should I join?" was a loud cry of anguish. Everbody seemed so logical and convincing. Every coaching class seems to have mentored the top 50 students who cracked the IIT entrance exams only to be followed by the student refuting these claims.

Oh God!!!...is there anyone out there who can be trusted and whose advice I should follow....was a prayer on my nephew's lips and probably also on thousands of young aspirants'.


Coaching Class - Studying Phase:

Having successfully navigated the turbulence and survived the avalanche of information and advice in the pre-admission stage, it is time to begin a year long tryst with long hours of coaching and tomes of data-information-knowledge.

It is surprising that no one bothers about the quality of education dished out by these coaching classes. They have de-facto become the new "Temples of Knowledge" which have the secret keys to the open some tough locks of the various entrance exams.

The nephew wades through all this with a grim face and needs to be reminded to smile once in a while. You have online tests, simulated tests, special coaching sessions, intensive camps, refreshers, subscribing to independent test series, counselling, interactive sessions with senior faculty on "Tips and Tricks", sample papers and what not. There are a hundred websites which claim to give that additional edge to the diligent aspirant.

Phew...!!! My head is reeling and I guess it shows as the previous para seems completely jumbled and definitely not in an logical order.

We also have to contend with memory enhancing pills, stress relievers and meditation techniques tweaked to suit the tired and over burdened teenager.

I now understand that with all this around we forget to smile once in a while. After all, this struggle is to lay foundation for a brilliant future. I guess "Momentary Pain for Lifelong Success" philosophy comes to the rescue and we rationalise our paranoia during that period.


I am already exhausted (now I know why I was not cut out to be an Engineer in the first place) and hope to gather my wits and resume on another rainy day with bhajias and hot tea.

Swinging between Extremes

It has been an amazing month that has passed us and what strikes me is our tendency to embrace the extreme at every possible opportunity on every possible matter.

Let me list a few of these extremes:

Election results:

The results were a surprise to every one including those in the Congress Party. Anybody who claims that he had foreseen this would be lying.

- We went around town screaming about the decisive mandate. Decisive Mandate???? The government is in a precarious situation and depending on the support of a couple of allies.

- We shouted from the roof tops about the maturity of the Indian voter. Maturity???? The votes were divided as never before.

- An impressive showing in UP was touted as the master strategy of Rahul Gandhi and how he had arrived on the scene.

- The orchestrated chorus in which every one joined to plead with the PM to include RG in the cabinet
- That this was the demise of regional parties


Stock Market:

Post the election results, the stock market decided to join this celebration and achieved what no other stock exchange has achieved in the world. We saw exuberance in its wildest form as the indices hit, what is known in stock market parlance, the upper circuit and we saw a 30 - 40% jump in prices of almost every share. Some exceeded even this.

Nobody has been able to fathom what had changed between April and May. Economic indicators seem as buoyant or lacklustre as earlier. The clouds have vanished and investors feeling left out of this rally are furiously buying as if there is no tomorrow.

Our instant switch from irrational pessimism to exuberance has no explanations, but such extreme swings seem very normal.


Reservation Bill for Women:

This is classic. One section behaved as if this was manna from heaven and would have us believe that womenfolk was on the verge of deliverance. All the oppression, prejudice and age-old rigidities seemed to have vanished like clouds on a windy day. That this enabling platform would deliver us women confident of taking the bull by horns overnight.

The other extreme were the menfolk who felt threatened by this expected onslaught and were compelled to resort to theatrics.

Tokenism...zindabad!!! Tapping potential gene pool ...zindabad!!!


Sports:

Let us look at cricket. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the perfect cool headed captain who could do no wrong. He was the best in the world and the T-20 world cup was as good as bagged.

What a fall from grace in just two weeks....I understand his effigy was burnt today and the media lampooned him for his "mistakes".


It is plain that none of the positions we took or none of our reactions were based in reality nor were they representing a sense of proportion.

Are we a nation of "extremists". I am amazed at our continued tendency to take extreme positions. We seem to have forgotten that there exists a middle path. Irrationality takes over and we react emotionally to all matters of social and national importance. There is then no hope for a proper debate.

Is it a trick to throw the real issues off-balance? or are we just hard wired in this fashion?

Either way, I note this characteristic with a sense of amusement and just wave it away. Should I also adopt the maxim - "If you can't convince them, confuse them" and add to the chaos. A tempting thought......I must say.

The Rise of the Regional Political Animal

We started out with one all-India party and that was the Indian National Congress. The Communist Party of India was probably the next in terms of coverage, prominence and a fair bit of sympathy but no political power so to say.

In the first five Lok Sabhas, Congress was the single dominant party and the others were in low double digits. All other parties were below double figures. Similar pattern follows for the second, thru eighth Lok Sabha except for the sixth Lok Sabha which saw a Janata Party government. This position changed rapidly from 1989 onwards.

This indicated an all round preference for a national party.

This period also saw major reorganization of states on linguistic basis. As mentioned in my earlier post, this created space for large linguistic and culturally homogenous groups to be together. Though done with much reluctance, this eliminated all chances of culture, language and other similar emotive reasons from the political platform. This did not create any drift towards regional political parties.

What then contributed to the rise of regional political outfits and why did they get political legitimacy through the electoral process??

One of the first states to move away from national party system to state level entities was Tamil Nadu and the trigger was “imposition of Hindi”. There were widespread riots against the declaration of Hindi as a sole link language and emotions ran high. There was a speech made in Indian Parliament by C N Annadurai advocating the secession of the four southern states into a separate Union. When logic and good sense failed dramatic announcements like this shocked the nation and strongly polarized the electorate in TN. The 1965 deadline for change-over to Hindi was hurriedly kept aside and in the next elections TN was lost to a national party (read: Congress here) for ever.

Shiv Sena, in Maharashtra, was one of the earliest regional political outfits. They gained tremendous support and prominence fighting for Mumbai to be part of Maharashtra and not Gujarat. However, they gained political legitimacy much later than did the parties in TN and have been able to gain power only once. However, along with BJP, they now share almost 50% representation in the state.

Assam witnessed bloody and prolonged agitations during the late 1970s and early 80s. Their agitation was against outsiders – meaning massive influx of refugees mostly Bengali Hindus from the then East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and complete lack of development and opportunity locally. There was also the emotive issue of “You are stealing our oil”. This bloody agitation eventually culminated in the Assam accord which made several commitments to the rehabilitation and revival of Assam. Most of them were never met by the famous rigid bureaucracy in New Delhi. We have a disgruntled and divided state and the situation made worse after the Congress has blatantly allowed illegal migration of Bangladeshi Muslims in most border districts turning a blind eye to the wider ramifications of narrow political considerations. This gateway to the North-East, hemmed by hostile foreign forces, is on fire and the situation is precarious.

Andhra Pradesh – NTR with his Telgu Desam was essentially born to save the “Telgu pride”. This was the perceived humiliation of Telgu leaders in Congress and discrimination against the state. The result is TDP a powerful regional party where a national party reigned supreme. It now has to share this space with two regional parties in the state. The scales have tilted back in favour of Congress since 2004.

Punjab has been through hell and wounds are still healing. It all began with the propping up of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to pull down independent Congress leaders in the State namely Giani Zail Singh and others. What eventually happened and the cost that the state and the nation has had to bear is only too well known and fresh in mind.

One cannot forget large scale insurgency in Nagaland and Mizoram, essentially Christian majority states whose emotional, cultural and social integration in the Indian main stream has never happened. Whilst these two states live an uneasy peace, Manipur is on the boil now.

The latest headache now confronting many state governments is the armed rebellion by Naxalites.

What we have is a multi-linguistic, multi-cultural, multi-religious social structure coming together for the first time in a political union. This diverse structure is made more complex by a rigid caste system, deep prejudices, wide spread backwardness, lack of healthcare, education, opportunity and so on.

In such a milieu, what was needed was a fair and inclusive governance and emphasis on rapid development.

When one analyses each of these state crises, it is easy to discern

- a sense of callousness and high handedness,

- inability to empathise with local needs and sentiments,

- a political process that is arbitrary, favouring certain groups to the exclusion of all others,

- perpetuating deep rooted economic and social inequalities,

- perception of favaouritism / appeasement towards certain groups (favourite whipping boy of regional parties)

- attempts to initiate hegemony of thoughts, culture and language,

- government machinery perceived as brutal, biased and openly unfair,

- Existence of corruption at every level in society and the administrative set-up.

Against, this backdrop when you have a powerful voice addressing a limited regional group and promising fairness, equality of opportunity or opportunity for locals, resources for development, access to basics of life, value for minerals / raw materials, becomes an instant hero. These regional outfits gain prominence and legitimacy in eventual course. Over a period of time, these groups become political powerhouses.

What we see today is a very fragmented social structure and a fractured political class is only a reflection of the society it seeks to represent.

Post elections scenario

This post was written before the elections and the current wisdom might make this problem small. I earnestly hope this is so but the problems shall not disappear unless the root causes are attacked.

The open unashamed wrangling for seats should have given rise to immense revulsion but I see the gigantic state machinery involved in making the problem less severe than it really is.

There are many serious gaps in Centre – State relations and at the state level the problems are more severe. It will not be wise to say that regional parties have been shown their place. Infact, Elections – 2009 has shown many of them increase their vote share. The quirky nature of electoral arithmetic however, has ensured that they have lost seats.

Far-sighted thinkers and seasoned political figures from both major political groupings should seize this opportunity and, work towards expansion and consolidation of national political parties.

What a week this has been...

First the long break or rather an enforced one due to our broadband connection being down for more than two weeks. The link was restored after some persistent follow-up.

The interim has been virtually a roller coaster ride. The election results threw up surprises. The point, however, not to be missed out is - our expectations have sunk so low that we believe 206 seats for Congress and 261 for the UPA as a decisive mandate. The poor performance of and the role that regional parties will play be a point of much discussion in the coming days. I hope my series of posts on regionalism can add a different perspective.

The results seem to be giving way to euphoria and this has built up hopes sky-high and when this happens they are normally dashed (I hope not this time around). The ghosts of the past will come back to haunt Dr. Singh. We have been profligate and very imprudent in our national finance management and course correction will be a difficult and a painful exercise.

The stock market felt that it cannot be left behind and decided to defy laws of gravity and did an upward triple sommersault to register a classic "Black Swan" event. (To know more about Black Swan please read my post Hope Springs Eternal...). A never-before event of an "upward circuit" as traditional marketmen call it had many investors rubbing their hands in glee and many more sad at being left out.

I now look forward to commencing my journey after a longish pit stop.

One Year since....

...I took my first tentative steps in this vast and fascinating e-universe. It has been a great experience to say the least. A modest output and the fact that I lasted a year gives me a renewed lease of life.


Let me try and jot down a few things that come to mind when I look back at theyear that has gone by and ponder on "What has this one year in blogging given me?...."

The realisation that it takes tremendous discipline to write meaningful posts and, importantly at regular intervals and, further, more importantly be able to sustain the level of passion and interest. I am continually amazed at the output of some of our illustrious bloggers.

That, there are many people who are more intelligent, articulate and better thinkers and writers than me and this humbling experience has shown me my place....Thank God for puncturing my big ego balloon.

That, writing which emerges out of inner reflection is far more satisfying than that done for the sake of filling that post.

That, human creation is awe inspiring and never fails to amaze. Every blog that I have read (and that does add up to a significant number) has some message that touches you in some way or the other. So many million streams of thought all flowing independently and in a creative fashion, but the underlying and unifying thread is the same.

That, so many people are so creative, albeit many behind the cloak of anonymity, it makes me wonder whether we should applaud a few for their creative juices. Amazing stories, experiences, travelogues, political and social commentary, art, photography, health and cooking, personal blogs and what have you...The sheer breadth and depth never fails to leave you breathless.


I would like to thank each one of you fellow bloggers who have come in my orbit and left your indelible mark here. I gratefully acknowledge the value of our interaction and the positive effect it has had.

Regionalism – Spilling over to Politics

In my previous post, I argued that –

“The existence of regionalism is a logical corollary to the idea of India. One cannot imagine a uniform and homogenous country like India. Regional vibrancy and its expression have a crucial role to play in this day and age.”

This was all fine till regionalism was restricted to all matters outside the sphere of politics. The leadership of the day after independence had to give a direction to this young new-born nation and set a broad framework to facilitate this.

The consensus that formed was to give to ourselves a written constitution. A group of political statesmen and men of colossal intellect and integrity came together to put on a piece of paper the hows and the why’s of governing this vast sub-continent.

It is interesting to note that even before states were formed on linguistic basis and regionalism was recognized as existing, these wise men thought that a “Federal” structure of government structure would suit India the best. Unknowingly, were sowed seeds of regionalism and partial autonomy in governance for different regions, whilst the Centre would play a strong and decisive role in matters more national in nature.

Politically, regionalism did not surface till about twenty years after independence. Infact, though there were many political parties, it always seemed as a single party rule in almost all the States of India. The carving of states on linguistic basis had been largely completed by the early sixties.

The Indian National Congress was the prime political party with a pan-India identity and presence. All other parties were small bit groups with little political support. The Communists were the first to capture power in Kerala in 1959 but the government was dismissed before completing its term.

What then contributed to the slow and steady rise of regional political parties? The States were definitely giving enough scope for regional groups to do their own thing within the ambit of the Constitution. Then what was triggering this need for a separate political group that would have done better than the INC in that state.

An analysis reveals that

Inner party democracy became one of the first casualties within the Congress and the Central High Command became very powerful. The irony of the situation was probably never appreciated. We prided ourselves on being the largest democracy in the world but our main political party showed scant respect to the concept and practice of inner party democracy.

This in many ways led to much disgruntlement at the ground level. Leaders were hauled to Delhi for flimsy reasons and were replaced arbitrarily. Much of the newer crop of politicians learned fast and focused on money and muscle power as the means to get the High Command attention. This was a great way to attract all lumpen elements to politics. After all, the perks of power and position far outweighed any possible punishment.

Genuine regional aspirations seem to have been brutally brushed aside. Regional fears were never dealt with to generate confidence, instead we had attempts to divide the people and create problems that ultimately became Frankenstein monsters. Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Assam are mute witnesses to this game.

This has been one long story of endless mis-management, men of straw and doubtful integrity at the helm of affairs, blatant abuse of power, instituionalised corruption, open prejudice, devious games, politics being kept as an exclusive preserve of a few classes to the exclusion of the vast majority, over centralisation, politics of appeasement, imposing social hegemony through language…etc., crony capitalism are just some of the reasons.

The Congress, being the major organized all-India political party has to take much of the blame for this. That is not all. We as a nation also have been mute witnesses to the wanton destruction of our cultural ethos and its utter degradation. Indian society – and that means all of us – has also to be blamed for keeping quiet and worse still conniving in this social downfall.

In my next post, I hope to examine a few such instances and policies which have suddenly made regional political parties appear as saviours.

The Rise of Regionalism – Logical or an Aberration

In my two previous posts, I first spoke of India being at crossroads and followed it by examining our concept of nationhood, more in a political form than as a cultural union of sorts that existed for multitude of centuries before that.

This young nation came into being with plenty of trauma associated with childbirth and seemed to be in a state of turmoil for a considerable period of time after that. A union of states was fused together into India. Things like a common constitution, rule of law, currency and a federal structure to follow, were right ideas to pass the common unifying thread through diverse lands, people, languages, cultures and religions.

Through this exquisite and colourful collage, what we witness is large homogenous groups coming together to constitute a great idea called India. The best part of this is this formation of a common platform was envisaged and came about not by surrendering individual cultures but by strengthening one’s own leanings.

Regionalism was and is the life of this collage. The existence of regionalism is a logical corollary to the idea of India. One cannot imagine a uniform and homogenous country like India. Regional vibrancy and its expression have a crucial role to play in this day and age.

This was, to my mind, further aided by the formation of states on a linguistic basis. This, of course, was not a smooth process and there was much violence and ill will at that time. Many experts also questioned the wisdom of forming states on a linguistic basis. Doomsday prophets were quick to dub this as a divisive move which would eventually disintegrate India.

I feel this was an erroneous and short sighted view taken by people. I remember even Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had once remarked that linguistic division of states was a mistake. I believe that states formed on linguistic basis has given each group in the country a social and cultural platform to express themselves, evolve and develop in a way they want. Further, some contentious and emotive areas were not the cause of prickly Centre – State relations.

When I reflect on all this and the current reality of a fractured polity referred to in my earlier post – The Concept of Nationhood, some pertinent questions arise in my mind

- Was social and cultural autonomy fuelling larger ambitions of people?

- Were the spill over of these ambitions into the political field inevitable?

- Is the desire for social, cultural and political hegemony responsible for the aggressive expression of regionalism?

- Have these attitudes of certain groups contributed to strident regionalism in other groups?

- Could there be other reasons which have contributed to regional insecurity and instigated those people to become extremist in thought, word and deed?

- Can economics reasons fuel an aggressive regional approach?

- Why do people feel safe with their own political dispensations in place?

I will try and examine some of these issues in my following posts. I believe that the rise of regional political aspirations, are an extension of our social and cultural evolution and, perhaps, aided by some other factors like mis-management, prejudice and short-sightedness which seem to have compounded matters.

The Concept of Nationhood

India has been, is presently and will continue to be at crossroads…so said somebody. Well, we have to constantly make choices for our collective journey through time. As we stand today, pausing and wondering on which path to take, I would like to discuss in this post the concept of nationhood that confronted us and our struggle to grapple with this new idea. Read on…..

An ancient civilization donned robes of a new-born nation at the stroke of midnight of 14-15^th August 1947 hoping to wake up from its long slumber and make its “Tryst with Destiny”.

An ancient race that was spread over a vast multitude of kingdoms and jagirs woke up a new reality of a vast nation – India or Bharat desh or Hindustan to many more. This, probably, was an abstract and a scary concept as against the cocoon like security of one’s small kingdom.

A population that owed allegiance to a central figure – the King and his family suddenly came alive to the vague concept of State and distant rulers.

People used to a certain form of governance for ages had to suddenly learn an alien concept of “Democracy” and come to terms with the niceties of debate and consensus building.

A rigid and feudal structure and a society divided along caste lines were confronted with the frightening possibility of having to live the rest of their lives practicing “Justice - Liberty – Equality and Fraternity”. This value was sought to be transplanted by those who had access to modern education and had a dream of how this young nation should shape up in the decades to come by.

Till we attained our Independence, the sole focus of our people was to attain Independence from the British. Naively, people believed that all our ills were just due to colonial rule and once independent, they would just vanish into thin air as wisps of smoke, if you will. No thinker, probably, recognized the many inherent contradictions existing and simmering just below the surface.

A pan-Indian identity was as alien as sharing the same bench in a school with an “untouchable”. We grew up and limited our identity to our jagir - Kingdom or Province.

These and many contradictions came to the surface and in fact still keep doing so at repeatedly at regular intervals severely testing our faith and patience. Many wring their hands in despair and are convinced about the futility of our experiment with newer ideas and in some extreme elements the idea of nationhood.

Are we close to writing the final verdict? Where and how do we go? Is the political process over-shadowing everything else? Is there hope at all for us? These and similar questions arise in our minds and torture us as we stand almost decade in this new millennium.

I am more sanguine.

What we see today and what depresses and disturbs us should be seen in the light of what I have discussed above. The last sixty two years have been a process of overcoming these inherent contradictions, assimilating newer concepts, learning a new way of life.

We began as a group of nations and commenced the journey to meld together as a cohesive whole. Our society is grappling with many known and unknown currents and evolve it will. This belief is not based on foolish hope but on a study of human behaviour. Given the diverse background, a sense of identity and reconciliation will emerge in due course and all divisive and disruptive elements would quieten down and merge into the mainstream.

After all sixty years is just a small patch across a canvas stretching over tens of millennia or more.

Give India time…..we will sort ourselves out.

Edited to add:

Priyank made a very pertinent observation. We began an experiment six decades back that EU has just started a decade back and the complexity, religious and social diversity is much more that what EU can imagine. Let me add here - all this has been done without two world wars and tens of millions of human casualties. This is amazing and very creditable and we should be proud of ourselves.

India – At Crossroads

India is an ancient civilization tracing its origin back deep into the past well beyond five - six thousand years. In fact, there is no definite date or period to which its origin can be pegged to.

India, as a political entity, is a young nation in its sixty second year of existence, a toddler compared to the civilization it seeks to represent.

This, in an essence, holds a clue to this “Grand Puzzle” called India. In this apparent dis-similarity lies the clue to this current chaos that reigns supreme. The sense of despair and helplessness that drives us up the wall and makes us exclaim in frustration, “India….What is your future?...Where are you hurtling?”

In my very first post, I had this to say about India

This is that ancient land which claims to have the answers to the deepest riddles that have foxed mankind eons on end and yet it struggles to find answers to various issues that seem to keep it chained to the dark ages.

India has been an unending mystery where the ancient co-exists with the modern, where a fledgling democracy wages a valiant battle with feudalistic mores, where modern values attempt to heal deep societal divisions.

Yet, India is fascinating and deep.

India presents the picture of a modern fledgling “avatar” struggling against an ancient social structure. At the same time one can clearly discern ancient mores and a traditional way of life at significant variance with a more permissive and egalitarian segment of society.

This gives rise to a pertinent question….”Is India at Crossroads?” and how and where do we go from here?

I now hope to embark on a completely different journey. I will attempt to study this complex juxtaposition of the ancient and the youthful and try to make sense of it.

This will be a new series and I also hope to continue with my series of posts on Financial Literacy and Financial Planning.

To Pre-pay or not…….Make your choice

I have been writing posts which shall eventually lead to a broader discussion on financial literacy and the approach to take to manage one’s finances.

In my last post, I had reasoned that everything boils down to a simple equation (Incomes less Expenses = Resultant surplus). One of the uses that this surplus can be put to is the pre-payment of past loans taken.

I thought it might help if there is further discussion on this, exploring different perspectives.

There are two divergent approaches towards personal debt. Thereafter, there are many factors which influence our decision when to pre-pay an outstanding loan.

Classical economics:

This theory believes that we should never pre-pay loans.

India is in a growth phase (never mind a temporary blip) and a necessary by-product of this is inflation. With continuous inflation over a period (assumed to moderate and high in phases), the value of the rupee will keep falling over the life of a loan. You therefore end up paying back the loan with a cheaper rupee. The value of the rupee continuously erodes over this period due to inflation.

Let us look what inflation has done to the rupee in the last five years. At an average inflation of 6.5% in the last five years, the value of a rupee has fallen 27%. Rs. 100/- (in 2004) is now worth Rs. 73 only. Conversely, due to inflation, you would need Rs. 138/- to buy what cost us only Rs, 100/- in 2004. As the rupee becomes cheaper due to inflation, the burden of repaying debt will progressively reduce.

Traditional economics:

This theory belongs to that school of thought which believes that loans are an unnecessary burden and if we have surplus cash which has no immediate use, then you must utilize it to prepay outstanding loans and reduce your indebtedness.

The rationale is to be debt free and not to live on borrowed money.

Let me now discuss some of the factors that we take into account whilst taking a decision to prepay a loan.

Income Tax incentives.

Our Income Tax rules allow us to pay lower tax if we have a housing loan outstanding. The amount of interest that we pay on our loan can be reduced from our total income for calculation of our tax liability. This results in our income tax being lower.

For every Rs. 100/- paid as interest, we save income tax of Rs. 33.99. The net interest that we actually end up paying is Rs. 66.01. Logically this should be an incentive not to pre-pay the loan.

Surplus cash flows

The borrower may, a few years down the road, have surplus cash flows. This may happen due to increase in income levels, large receipts as bonus, incentives, large business deals / orders, lucrative assignments or gifts / legacy receipts.

The idea is if alternative investment options do not give return more the interest we pay (as in the current scenario), it makes ample sense to pre-pay the loan out of the surplus that we have. If the surplus is not significant, it makes sense to continue with the loan. Remember the old maxim (modified slightly) – A penny in liability reduced is a penny earned.

This will result in reduction in liability and increase in money-at-hand.

The second factor seems to contradict the rationale of utilizing tax incentives. There is some point at which tax incentives stop being material. If you look at that point closely, you have to spend Rs. 100/- to get a tax incentive of Rs.33.99. The day we start asking the question – Why don’t I pay Rs.33.99 and have surplus cash of Rs. 66.01 in hand, we must start prepaying our loans.

From the above arguments, there is no standard solution applicable to every borrower. Each situation is unique and has to be dealt with accordingly. Other factors like, levels of income, flow and sustainability of incomes, impact of commitments in terms of expenses apply and the decision could be not to prepay.

If you were to turn around and ask me what would I do? – I would probably prepay a fifteen year loan within seven – eight years and free my cash flows. Free cash flow also gives me flexibility and the ability to grab good opportunities that may present themselves from time to time. I must also confess that I am a bit of a traditionalist at heart.