Self Freedom Evaluation

Yesterday, it was India's 62nd Independence Day.

World over, political independence from any foreign power is concerned to be of highest value and definitely it deserves that place. Having said that, I feel that there are phenomenal factors that impede us as human beings from time to time and its worth checking how free actually are we in a more expansive sense of the word

Self Freedom Evaluation

Am I free to live and interact in the company of people that I feel happy about?

Yes for sure

Am I able to live with complete freedom in terms of where i want to go, what i want to do etc- Yes to a good extent though when you are married, you can't take any decision in isolation. Also, the professional structure also limits you in certain ways. For example, i can't just take a break from work and spend a couple of months in the villages of Bengal. Economic freedom is a must for attaining freedom of this nature which I don't have today.

Am I free of all the conditioning of mind which i have developed over several years of societal influence and which also keep on developing in my day to day interactions?

No. Though I consciously make efforts to see how it affects my thought process. I think i should have the capacity of going beyond the normal state of my mind of acquiring a pattern of thinking and try to be as objective as I possibly can be

Is my personal philosophy of living in tune with my actual actions. Am I being honest to my own selves or am I trying to lead by someone else's world view?

I feel that i am free on this front to a large extent.

Am i free to decide the kind of people i want to work with?

Yes. To a large extent

Am i free to work with my belief in what i really like doing-

Yes for sure

Am I free to practice my religious faith the way i feel it appropriate-

Yes for sure

Am I free of societal notions which I don't believe in but which have been practiced from generations together and are supposed to be carried forward without much questioning? -

Yes for sure

Am i free to exercise my value system in my day to day interactions-

I would say yes but then whenever there are aspects which contradict those values, it causes difficulties in getting things done. This has got more to do with the regularly practiced values of the political and bureaucratic set up of which we are an integral part of.

Am I free of all the aspects which I consider negative-

Not completely

When i try to make a general summary, I realize that the degree of freedom that I have today is something that is higher than the freedom I had at any point in time in the near past. Probably thats the very reason I can feel more good about myself than at any time in the past.

But then, i realize that there are certain cobwebs that need to be cleared to make this journey even more joyous.

Adlous Huxley termed our inner self as 'Imprisoned Splendour'- The Atman of the Hindu Philosophy. I personally feel that my whole journey of life should actually be to unleash this splendour through various ways. For those who are able to do it completely, the world recognizes them as seers, saints, Mahatmas, Mandela, Baba Amte....

The rest like me, will keep on striving..

On thinking differently

If someone asks me the oldest example of "Thinking Differently" leading to success, I would say its Lord Buddha. Probably no example can surpass the impact his different thinking actually had on the world map.

Had this person not decided to take a different course in life, an entire religion which has influenced billions of people over several hundred years, would not have taken birth. He left his royal lineage to understand what the mystery of life was all about.

Can we ever gauge the quantum of value He created?

Where human weaknesses provide business opportunities

As per Indian philosophy, there are five doshas or weaknesses which mind can fall prey to-

• Moha (delusion)
• Kama (lust)
• Krodha (anger)
• Matsarya (envy) and
• Lobha (greed)

I realize that there are some business models which actually thrive on these fundamental weaknesses.

Moha - expensive art works sold at exorbitant prices;
Kama- Pornography, prostitution, a certain line of cinema for entertainment industry, certain kind of journalism that is gradually gaining vogue; dance bars etc
Matsarya- Luxury goods where an individual rests on the material to define his/her identity; can be jewellery for some, watches for some others;
Lobha- Individuals who enter into any commercial act with an attitude of gambling;

Thus if we look at it intently we realize that several of our businesses actually exist because human beings are imperfect on several lines. Its the human weakness that creates economic value for the society. Which surely implies that one kind of growth (economic terms) is causing damage in human terms which probably no existing system is really too keen to evaluate or is concerned about.

Vital skills for the internet age

Quick thought:

In the internet age, two of the most important skills whose presence and absence can make a phenomenal difference to our overall knowledge base and hence our overall role in this vast milieu of people are Reading habit and Communication.

If people don't have these two capacities in them, they would just see a huge stream flow in front of them and they won't understand how to make use of it to improve their own lives (initially) as professionals or as healthy social beings.

Amongst the top 10 capacities that I would want children to develop, expression (both verbal and written) and reading interest would surely find their place.

Great Speech

Came across this amazing speech this morning. There is just so much of inner glow, clarity and intellect in the speech that it can't fail to strike a chord.

Surely a great specimen of the way visionaries think and communicate

Social Entrepreneurship at Student phase

Yesterday I got an opportunity to judge one of the regional rounds of SIFE event for the second time.

I just love the concept. They encourage students to work in the direction of social entreneurship and encourage them to come out with solutions that can help alleviate the disparity that we see in our community. The winning project gets sponsorship to take it even further. Last year the Indian team stood third internationally.

The method of judging the event is quite scientific where the judges are taken through a video of around 18 mins and are given clear instructions on the parameters that they need to clearly examine such as Sustainability, understanding of the market based economics principles etc.

In this contest we get to see 20-21 yr olds coming and explaining how they managed to check out say a school for the visually challenged in Latur and realized that the training that was provided by the government was disjointed from the market and also that the government didn't put in any effort in terms of connecting the potential of these individuals to the opportunities that the market offered to them.

Similarly another group of students who are undergoing their post graduation course, explored the possibility of reviving the art form of Warli painting which is getting stiff competition from the more refined products made from machines etc. These students even got these painters to come all the way from their tribal areas and showcase their art in important outlets.

I guess introducing students to social entrepreneurship at an early stage can really help them in developing their outlook towards the disparities in the society and may be enough to light a small flame which we never know may have the potential to come out with great solution which might just transform the world of the not so blessed in unknown ways.

For Education to have true relevance, it needs to be rooted in the social, political, economic context of the times. In a country such as ours with such phenomenal challenges in all three dimensions, we just can't afford to adopt a singular goal as otherwise, a lot would remain unanswered.

Time for Self Introspection for a National Party

A candid and thoughtful expression of the challenges in front of BJP from Sudheendra Kulkarni as the party is made to get into an introspective mode and compelled to answer the question 'Where do we go from here?'

No wonder that this article raised major red flags within BJP as it comes from someone who has been an intrinsic part of the political group and also writes very regularly in support of the party in various dailies. 

Its rare to see such honest admission and calls for great character. 

Urgent need for Systems Thinking

Insightful interview of Peter Senge on the need for systems thinking and how its absence from our thought process has led us to these difficult times in terms of sustainable development. 

These lines are so true-  'We don’t see the system because we’re habituated not to see the system. We’re organized not to see the system and we’re intellectually organized not to see the system. So it starts there.'

Stand & Deliver

Some news headlines state that the electoral results herald a new dawn in Indian democracy. It somehow rings hollow in my ear as anyone with even basic study of progress of Indian politics would understand that we are not meeting a party which is as fresh and promising as a morning star.

If we try to understand the results in the larger context of time horizon and also try to observe which party has come to power, it throws some salient insights.

Congress is not an altogether fresh party. In fact wherever we stand today as a country with all its ills and strength, the credit goes to a large extent to this party. The only thing that is positive about this result is that its the best possible result amongst whatever choices we had. Its not the ideal government by any figment of imagination.

A party which has pathologically burdened into the nation's design, systems which reek of corruption, practices which allow terrorism to flourish in the name of secularism, clear interference with key bodies like CBI, Police machinery as clearly indicated by sudden withdrawal of case by CBI just 10 days before elections, should rather introspect and understand what does Rahul Gandhi imply when he says that that he wants to change the politics of the country.

What does it mean to change the politics of the country?

Identity politics is one key cancer and only a national party like Congress could have given a jolt to it and it has done that. Though we can't say that it ignored the caste and religion of its candidates when it fielded them from various constituencies. Obviously that mattered but important thing is that this aspect didn't weigh too much on the large issues of national significance which was beyond the comprehension or interest of stone age parties. 

The UPA gets a new term but it comes to power with some clear legacy of dark practices which have weakened the nation at several levels:

Complete comfort with policy of reservation. Will they replace Arjun Singh with someone who is really deserving and understands the issues that mark the important sphere of Education. How will this important sector be approached. Its just so vital as a growth engine of the nation.

Dynastic politics- a system which gets its strength from centralized decision making by a certain family and sees results arising out of this non democratic behaviour. Why would it want to change it?

Sychophancy- A party where people live by expressing their allegiance to the high command. Whether you talk about a 21 yr old karyakarta or you talk about the haggards like Arjun Singh. Would they want to change this culture of nepotism and favouritism? Is that a good example for the youth to emulate.

Corruption- The issue of multiple thousand crores being stashed in Swiss Banks. What is the debate all about? Who are the culprits? Where are they? Why is this party silent about all that? A party whose methods and policies since post independenced have only entrenched the present day ailing machinery of government systems. Manmohan Singh didn't show any interest to work in this direction. There are surely corpses which are stinking in their cupboards. And its time that the government takes this issue with vigour.

Aversion to Privatization- With a clear stand favouring more of government control, will they be able to sense their own limitations and allow the market to decide who produces what and at what rate? Obviously there are riders to it and needs to be looked at from sector to sector.

External Security- A party which has shown utter ignorance to terrorist attacks. What would its stand be now? Who will handle this portfolio and how will they want to define importance of security as against their favourite word 'secularism'. Will they take any effort to check open gate infiltration from the eastern part of the country. 

Insecurity with local governance- Will this party show interst in bringing about true democracy by devolving power to small units at the basic urban and rural level. Its larger national machinery doesn't believe in this style which is heart of democracy. Would they look at it differently now.

Agreed that Congress showed great strategic insight to carve out this electoral victory, but just stating that they want to thank the youth of this nation and clean its politics is not enough. 

Passing the test of democracy should not be inferred as a step to absolve oneself of all the sin. Its no 'Ganga Snan' as the leading opposition party would like to put its faith in. Its simply that with our present day parliamentary form of governance, we as a polity were left with no better option and we still are optimists and feel that UPA can bring about a change.

The country needs to develop on several thousand accounts and its only through good governance, healthy politics backed by strong ethics that it can be made possible. 

The country as a whole has given this opportunity. Its time for the party to now STAND AND DELIVER

The Nation's clear Mandate

With the UPA getting a clear mandate to form the government, the result has laid to rest the turbidity created by the political creatures like the various wannabe PMs in the waiting. 

As rightly stated by a number of groups, its basically cutting such parties to their size. It would have been a nightmarish thing to imagine BSP asking for PM's post to put up more elephants in Delhi in the name of governance. Remember her slogan after winning the UP elections 'UP hamari hai ab Dilli ki bari hai'. The kind of aspirations these moral and ethical midgets and incompetents have, completely gets dwarfed in front of the grand ideal of national level governance but unfortunately somehow the political equations had given them the importance far larger than their proportion. Not that their game is over, but the important thing is the jolt. What happens after this needs to be seen.

Agreed that no emerging parties with promise of clean governance could make a major dent, but the very fact that the formulaic way of reading people's mind and taking them for granted was unacceptable to an extent, is clearly indicated by the loss of people like Chiranjeevi, Mulayam Singh (reduced to 24 seats from 36), Paswan (wiped off), Lalu (reduced to 4 seats from 24) and the debacle of the Left. 

The hopelessness of their thought process can be understood from the fact that when Lalu was asked that question on losing out, he mentioned that it was an error to go to the electoral grounds all by themselves. As if everything else about their ideology was brilliant.People who are only their for power broking and are literal termites of parliament like Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh have been clearly shown the mirror.

If we get into individual results, there are some very interesting revelations but the key aspect is that, this is the best possible that the country could have expected given the nature of electoral politics that we have been carrying and experiencing through the years and the possible permutation and combinations that could have been possible. Its not that all people who have been elected are part of any galaxy but simply that its much easier now for them to correct their wrongs and see that they deliver on their promises.  

More than anything else the country at this stage needs clear minded people at the top who have the leeway to take vital decisions on financial issues, security aspects, poverty alleviation and education along with others. This can only be possible if we have people who can think well and are not tied to people who can only think narrow and ill. Probably i am repeating this point since this is the biggest reason of the simple satisfaction that i carry. 

Now the government should be well set to chart its course and see that whatever it left undone or didn't do well needs to be taken up with utmost priority. There are enough lapses on various accounts and getting a clear majority at this juncture makes its task easier. 

I expressed my thoughts in one of my blog posts last year in the direction of when our true nature actually emerges.  This day reminded me of it. 

Insights on 15th LS Elections

This article from The Hindu newspaper, neatly captures some of the important facts which underline the 15th Lok Sabha elections.

National issues deserve their due: Will the result of 15th LS elections reflect that?

The recent case of CBI giving a clean chit to Quattrochhi around the time of elections, raises suspicion on the way Congress has been known to interfere in statutory bodies like CBI who are meant to be away from political interference.

In this editorial by Pratap Bhanu Mehta he points out a very significant quality of any leader and also a political group of setting up institutions which would cater to the needs of the society without falling prey to partisan politics. He points out to a very serious threat the society faces on account of such irresponsible and self centered behaviour at the expense of loss of trust of the society at large on institutions which are meant to uphold truth and justice.

Thus the moot question is, whether there is any value in the public raising its cry over police reform as represented by mandates given to politicians prior to elections during citizen group meetings asking them to work towards it. Aren't we fooling ourselves when we try to ask lone MPs from one or two constituencies to work towards such key national level problems where probably as individuals they are powerless since the overall framework of these parties has clear stakes in allowing those issues to persist.

The only way in which the electorate can arm twist and make the govt act on such lines is by bringing to fore such issues as a collective during General elections. Unfortunately this is not to be seen in India since the electorate rarely votes on national issues. Despite the fact that Congress has shown utter ineptitude in responding to the menace of Naxalism and Terrorism, there is hardly any nation wide concern to be seen. And the reflection of the same can be seen when go through the political manifestos of the national parites wherein we realize that none of the manifestos talks about fundamental reforms in depoliticising institutions meant for social welfare like IIMs, CBI, Govt Hospitals etc. Moreover the birth of Coalition politics will only cause problems in fixing such vital bottlenecks.

Sitaram Yechury CPI(M) leader while answering to one of the questions related to fragmentation of our electorate, marks that 'I think it is a process of maturation. You cannot have a social plurality that is as wide as we have in India and have a political monolith. Your social diversity has to reflect in your politics. '

The point is that if this be the India of tomorrow, with regional parties coming up with their local issues during General elections, how are we going to decide the course of the country at a larger level. These regional groups will give rise to Coalition as an inevitable option but this is only going to relegate the national issues to the margins and whether we get a Maharashtrian PM or a Dalit PM at the top would be the sole subject of debate.