Monday, September 22, 2008

From 'Divide and Rule' to..........

We read in history that under the British rule, the policy of governance was 'Divide and Rule'. When I contemplate over the progress of the way society in India is governed today, I don't find much of a difference.

Today, with whatever differences we see in the society, politicians in general try to understand that and make best use of it to their advantage. So the political mantra now is 'Understand the divides, leverage them and rule'.

When someone would say curb SIMI movements, the other party would accuse it of being communal. Then another one from some quarter would shout about reservation for the deprived class and then another great artist would be seen relishing the Iftaar party.

When and how will all this change?

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Syria: State regulation on dissent

Despite the mess that we see out here in our politics there are still certain things which are really precious and which we all should feel happy to enjoy with respect to non-interference of the State

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Age isn't a virtue....all by itself

Answering to a question on impact of John McCain's age on election results, Jack Welch answers that there are three essential aspects which would decide his success just as for anyone else. The attributes he emphasizes are

Curiousity about the age
Willingness to change and
Wisdom that comes with age

I think these points make a lot of sense . Read on>>

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Are you biased? I surely am..

Would it be wrong to say that we all are biased? Or let me put it in a positive light. Is it possible for anyone not to be biased.

I guess understanding our biases can help us understand ourselves better. Please have a look at these different categories of biases in case you are interested in knowing yourself better. It would surely help you in your tough arguments.;) I never knew there were so many psychological traps lying within our minds. :)

Whats the colour of your lens???

Our thoughts, actions, reactions to situations around us are always coloured and influenced to a large extent by our past experiences, our values, principles, culture, education, aspirations etc.

Unless we become cognizant of this 'lens', it is likely that we may not be able to understand or interpret the situation at areas where it actually deserves to be noticed. Or rather I should say that it may prevent us from having a holistic view to situation at hand.

To substantiate my point, recently I floated the idea about coming up with a model orphanage as part of our initiative in Anupam Kher Foundation, and I sought opinion from two experienced persons to begin with. One of them who is a counsellor told me about the things to be kept in mind in an orphanage, challenges of adoloscent kids, the caretakers and their qualification, possibility of volunteers etc. She didn't think too much on the location of the orphanage or the process of building an orphanage in that area and the constraints that it would give birth to.

The other gentleman is VP projects from a major multinational company and he only suggested me on the duration of completion of construction, the cost of inputs, how the existing scarcity of labour and high price of steel and cement would lead to a certain cost etc. He didn't give even a single idea on what should be our approach towards children of different backgrounds, age groups, their education etc.

What I want to say over here is that even after all our experience and qualification we always tend to be driven by what we have experienced in life. Which implies that since our experience would always be restricted and narrow, our analysis more often than not is going to be far from complete. Its scary since it might even be faulty many a times. You can take any decision in the society. On the contrary the reality is always futuristic and it needs to be understood in entirety to do justice to solving the problem at hand.

In the above case both the persons gave very useful insights, but still coloured and limited.

The lesson for me over here is that we should always be aware or conscious of how our thoughts are getting driven at any point in time without actually attaching ourselves to those thoughts completely. Which implies that we should always be open to new thoughts, ideas, directions, people etc. That might help us in thinking systemically and possibly the final answer would be better.

What do you think?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Potential Vs Limits

Really liked this answer by Mr Mark Parker, the CEO of Nike in the company's annual report for the year 2006-07.

What is the core of NIKE’s philosophy?

We believe in potential, not limits. The 4-minute mile was safe, until Roger Bannister. Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 straight games was safe, until Cal Ripken. No one would ever clear 29 feet in the long jump, until Bob Beamon. Nobody would ever beat Bob Beamon, until Michael Powell. That’s how it is with NIKE. We believe.


The concept of believing in potential and not limits is a very deep one. If you look at the way the human civilization has progressed since ages, all of it can be attributed only to one factor-the human potential. The indomitable spirit about which Victor Frankl speaks in his book 'Man's Search for Meaning'.

If organizations and goverments recognize the untapped potential of their employees and citizens, imagine the direction they can give as they try to lead them. Its worth giving a serious thought.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Recruitment ad by Sir Earnest Shackleton



Came across this interesting piece of advertisement that was posted by Sir Earnest Shackleton in the year 1915, when he was preparing for his famous expedition to Antarctica in his ship named 'Endurance'.

He wanted to deter people from applying since there were more than 5000 applicants for the 30 member crew that he was looking for. The greatness of his leadership is evident from the fact that such a huge number of people were wanting to go with him for that challenging an assignment.Mark that the beginning till the end of this add has a pessimistic connotation and thats not because the Leader was pessimistic but more because he wanted to give a clear picture about the nature of assignment. The last line just says it all- honour and recognition in case of success. I guess any major attainment in the national or international area would fit this bill. No?

To know more about Shackleton and his leadership traits check out Endurance

Hats off!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Reservation... Perpetuation of injustice?

Is reservation a solution to caste based discrimination and injustice. Read this news item.

I feel the greatest leveller in society after death is market. Rapid urbanization is reducing the significance of archaic notions such as caste system and merit is getting recognized and rewarded to a large extent atleast in the private sector.

For any individual who has the requisite talent today, there are plenty of opportunities for growth and development. Companies dont hire for caste, creed etc; they need quality workforce for meeting their business ends. This is one of the greatest plus points of the private sector and the market theory. It just cant afford to take a hit on its profitability and hence it has to rise above these parochial modes of classification. This is one of the critical forces which is levelling the Indian society on both economic as well as social grounds.

Do you bother whether the software that you use for accessing your account in a particular bank has been designed by a Dalit or a Brahmin. Of course not!!!

In the midst of global forces challenging the hollowness of such concepts, the reservation system only entrenches it further and says loudly that this difference is here to stay. The government will ensure it perpetuates as thats how the government can predict its chunk of votes from the beneficiary community. Also, at urban areas where caste and all discussions are reducing on account of increase in education, this policy keeps on reminding people that there are layers in the society and there is a section which needs the crutch of reservation.

The crime of some other individuals is being compensated by the hardworking students who want to excel in their studies and have nothing to do with caste system. Its another social injustice.

Alternative measures towards social justice

The quality of the government run primary schools is such that it reduces the learning abilities of the child rather than gifting him with anything concrete.You need to go and check the performance of these schools to understand the pathetic state of affairs. Naturally when underpriviledged kids would study in such hopeless learning centers, they would become totally blunt intellectually (for most of the cases, not all). Now instead of improving its responsibility of providing good quality education at low cost, the government struggles to find a good solution and creates the concept of reservation.

Ideally if the quality of delivery of education at the primary and secondary level is enhanced, the problem of incompetitiveness amongst students would be minimized as they would get education at par with the more well off people.

The government can ensure that all candidates (irrespective of economic background) who have proved their potential in primary and secondary education would get a chance to continue their studies and rise in life. This would be a true reward and an incentive for students to do well at all levels and they would also feel honestly supported by the government.

There are several ways of establishing social justice including the education sector.

Strengthening the norms of justice for people who are victimized by the upper castes through fast track courts with speedy and stringent punishment for the guilty, is one step where government has failed miserably.
Secondly the plight of dalits who are involved in cleaning of our cities leaves much to be desired. Check this out.... Why is government shying away from its responsibilities and passing it on to hardworking students who are trying to raise their head in this highly competitive world.

We need leaders who can do more than just come out with elephant statues through hard earned salaries of the public.

That would serve as a much stronger affirmative action than merely securing seats for a certain class and depriving better performing students from getting admission becuase they are not from the reserved category.

The population of this nation doesnt need crutches in the form of reservation- it needs capable administrators- who understand how to kill social evils rather than perpetuating them.

Jai Hind !

Lets earn our faith

Significance of religion in our nation

The importance that religion has in the Indian way of life is something that warrants serious deliberation. Its sensitivity many a times keeps people away from discussing it openly. Sethu Samudram being one of the interesting examples. But that doesnt clear the confusion that surrounds the understanding of religion in our heterogeneous society. Some of the most tragic riots have got triggered on communal lines. At the same time religion generates phenomenal positive energy during festivals. Its such a strong unifying force !

I take liberty in proposing an idealistic view of acquiring ones religion.

Considering the fact that something so critical to our social fabric lies misunderstood or misinterpreted by majority, is a real tragedy. The very fact that the same concept has provided center of gravity to giants such as Vivekananda, Shankaracharya, Rumi, Mohammad Younus on one hand and Osama and the likes on the other hand, pushes me to reflect on its potential. The power of this force to create people of diagonally opposite view points of life, has been a subject of much fascination and intrigue.

The interesting part about religion is that it becomes part of our life the moment we take birth in it. A baby becomes a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Sikh before he or she learns to spell A. Its strange. All religions are deep and require introspection and years of study to understand it completely. Thats why different sages and peers have spent years just diving deep within their own selves. Strangely the understanding of such a subtle and deep concept remains elusive throughout lifetime to majority as our society confers a religion the moment you take birth in a family.You may be from a particular faith without having ever opened the most sacred text of that religion; forget about internalizing its values. I find it dangerously absurd. People develop their understanding around practices at their home- e.g. worshipping on a periodic basis, adhering to certain values, practices etc. Many a times people misidentify ritualism with being religious and thats where it gets dangerous.


The point is that the emotional aspect of being from a religion is so high that it has capacity to rob an individual off his reason. More so if the individual is uneducated or lacks the capacity to think. Most of the violence in the society in the name of religion are committed by people who have totally incorrect understanding of religion.
Imperfect understanding of no other concept in the world has had such severe impact as incomplete or incorrect understanding of religion. Most of the terrorist activities in the world stem out of political and religious forces. You may not know Heisenbergs uncertainty principle yet you may become a great marketing professional. But if you dont have an understanding of religion and someone takes charge of your emotional afflictions towards your religion, you may become a weapon in the hands of that person. If you belong to the fanatic school of thought, probably people might brain wash you and turn you into a suicide bomber.

Proposed idealistic solution

Why cant individuals take birth in no religion and then acquire their entry into a certain religion through due understanding and appreciation of the religious tenets of a particular religion. This may take around 15-18 yrs if needed (in parallel with academic pursuits) but at the end of it we will have people who understand their faiths in and out and know its value in civilized world. This will atleast ensure that only those people take religious sides who have correct understanding of it. And when they have correct understanding, they would never get violent as no religion favours violence. Thus people who dont develop an inclination towards a particular religion remain away from influence of the self styled religious leaders and they would have no reason to harm individuals of any faith. Sometimes not to belong to any faith is a safer situation.

When practicalism leads to blood bath, idealism is worth taking a shot at. The world would definitely be safer in that scenario.

Jai Hind !

'Chalta Hai' nahin chalega

The day my nation adopted or rather accepted the vice of chalta hai, we opened our windows to all kinds of debilitating practices.

We started spitting on the road, pissing by the side walls. Getting away by paying a fraction of the penalty for unlawful activities, became a subject of jest. Coming late to meetings got converted to the stale joke of Indian Stretchable Time. Using deceit in competition became a mark of ambition. Holidaying at the nearest picnic spot on the day of election, littering on the streets by taking our hand out of a Honda City, started sharing e-mails on how the select section of our brethren speak English and everything and anything.

The danger with this attitude is that it allows us to accept anything and everything which a more advanced nation would frown at. Gradually it reduces the shock value of things and acts as a nice tranquilizer and we stop getting angry at the above mentioned things. This attitude of chalta hai has done more harm to this nation than perhaps anything else. How can we assume a Shanghai out of Mumbai or any other transformation of sorts unless we start checking these things within and without!!!

The belief (which I have found in a lot of people) that we have rights and government has duties is a statement smacking of sheer arrogance and is to a large extent suicidal for overall development. As responsible citizens we have to settle for nothing but excellence in our day to day activities. Be it turning to the polling booth in largest number or mainting our nation clean.

We, as a nation have immense potential- we just cant allow it degenerate into mediocrity If we want our corporates to compete with the Apples and Googles of the world or want our government to match our infrastructure to Shanghai or for that matter see our atheletes match up to the mettle of their western counterparts, only excellence in attitude would be the key. Chalta hai nahin chalega.

Identity Politics: Lets derecognize it!

Trend: Drivers of voting being anything other than merit

We as a nation have tradionally believed in dividing ourselves on frivolous lines of religion, caste, creed, language etc. In fact our micro identity has given us more comfort than our larger identity of being Indian. We saw these being taken advantage of during the British rule, but still we are not prepared to give that up. In fact it is part of our social fabric now.

In that kind of a context, we take the same sentiment to the poll grounds (uneducated people necessarily) and nominate the person who most closely resembles our own identity. Now a days the other identity card that our parties enjoy playing is the card of secularism.

In fact people are not totally wrong in thinking so. A lot of our politicians have proved their merit or rather lack of it in living upto these expecations. The philosophies of equity, equality, justice, governance dont mean anything to them. Vote ke liye sala kuch bhi karega !!!

It is funny to see how a certain family in our society has displayed natural churning of party heads despite an obvious and glaring decline in leadership quality of its successive generations. Looking at the trend, this appears to be a logarithmic curve which may never touch the x-axis.

The Moot Question

In that kind of a situation who is to be blamed. The man who believes in these petty identities or the person who sees in these divisive tendencies, a natural plank that would spring board him into authority?

The Alternate Approach:

For us to become a truly healthy democracy, we have to rise beyond narrow confines that our birth grants us and reward merit and merit alone. The complex tasks of governance and public administration can only be assured through individual qualities of intellect, honesty, leadership etc. Caste, religion, location etc pale into insignificance. Its a dis-service we do, when we vote giving consideration to the above identities.

There are excellent examples in the form of Gandhiji, Patel, Vivekandanda who outgrew their birth identities and displayed leadership at national levels. We can learn several lessons from their lives.This is one of the vital ones.

Jai Hind !