Need for a new model for growth

Can't agree more with these thoughts. The author talks about the fundamental fallacy about trying to replicate the western intensive capitalistic model of so called 'growth' to economies like India and China which by their sheer strength of population base can catalyze the process of environment degradation.

The difficulty of being good

Dr Jayprakash Narayanan was manhandled yesterday in AP Assembly over the Telengana issue by MLAs from another party.

He has the wherewithal to state his opinion on the reason for not wanting the formation of Telengana despite the flood of opinion in the contrarian direction. A former distinguished bureaucrat and brilliant demagogue who has given opportunity to young people to join his party and provided them tickets to contest elections purely on the basis of merit. He is one of the rarest of the rare people in the country who has wanted to do something about Indian political scene and managed to make headway by winning a seat in the AP assembly elections in a context dominated by rowdy and milieu of corrupt politicians. There are plenty who have wanted but few who could actually prove their tenacity. Hats off to this person.

There is something terribly wrong about our democracy and if it doesn't get the requisite interest from people at large, we will continue to go on the downslide. Its manifestations are all over the press in the form of scams that are getting unravelled on a regular basis. Our insitutions meant to protect democracy are much sluggish than the people who know how to break laws. This can also be seen from the number of RTI activists who have given up their lives for wanting to make the government more accountable. Its so terrible.

Loksatta Party which he heads still will take years to mature as a sound political group for a variety of reasons but his efforts, commitment for a clean political culture and leadership is all in front of us. We need to figure out if we can also participate in some form and may be support him as well.

The end of third world- Speech

An illuminating speech.

Interview on working with Steve Jobs

Wonderful interview of Sculley on working with Steve Jobs

Organized brain drain?

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend of mine who works with an IT firm in Bangalore and he stated that most of the people from our batch of engineering 2002, are now working abroad.

The increasing debate about outsourcing needs to also look at another dimension of this business model which is the loss of qualified people from India to the western economy. It is understandable that with an unemployment level close to 9% in US, there is going to be strong political pressure on the government to use all possible ways to reduce loss of jobs but that cry doesn't imply that outsourcing has only given economic dividends to India. Its not that one party's loss has been the other party's game alone. The net result has been a mix of wins and losses for both the countries. It therefore depends upon what you see and what you don't want to see.

This is how it has worked in India so far. People complete their graduation from Indian universities. Once they are through with it with all their hard and soft work, they adopt two routes to enter the developed world:

1. Go for higher studies. Once they are there, they fall in love with the culture, work environment, opportunities, money and decide to trade it with the possibilities of coming back. Many a times the higher studies is in such a niche area that it may be difficult for the person to come back to the native country.
2. Work in an IT company. Wait for an 'on-site' opportunity. Seek a better opportunity and stay there
3. Seek a work opportunity in US directly. This is a difficult possibility considering that there are employable people out there in US looking for jobs

Personally speaking its a complex sentiment to have towards seeing people from your batch settling well at the same time you realize that for ones own country, its really not that great a news. We are free to make our choices whatever they are as long as we don't intend to do any conscious damage in the process. The point is this otherwise innocuous way of going to the western world- which is primarily 4 to 5 countries (US, UK, Canada, Germany majorly come to my mind ) has lead to phenomenal loss of trained and capable human resource which could have otherwise tempered employability debates that we read in our newspapers on a day to day basis. The fact that only 4% of our graduates are good enough for working in IT product based companies while Microsoft office of Redmond has a major chunk of people from India etc. Or for that matter the number of doctors from Indian origin in UK while our rural hinterlands languish due to dearth of health care facilities. Yes, government has a lot to be blamed for this too.

The reason it deserves significance is that the IT industry which has brought tremendous glory to the country is now going to be very much part and parcel of the way we live and move. Thus the silk route from India to the US is not a distant possibility or a matter of chance. Its an 'organized emmigration route' which is much lauded by one and all.

There can be few reasons for lack of concern on this front:

1. The boost in economy as a result of remittance of people settled abroad (though i am not sure what that value is)
2. Lack of efforts in the direction of research on this subject in the country. It is likely that someone in some foreign university may do a PhD in understanding the impact of outsourcing model of IT sector on brain drain.
3. The Indian economy is doing well and hence we don't mind this leakage of intellect. Thankfully this has lead to some reverse brain drain but I am still not sure to what extent has it been able to check the flow of talent.

Immigration into areas of better opportunity and living has been a trend since atleast past few centuries since transport across sea routes became easy. Which was around 17th century.

History has instances of Britishers getting enamoured by the excellent weather conditions and highly favourable land vs people ratio of US and bought huge tracks of land over there to settle down forever. Records state that around 175000 people migrated from British to Colonial US during 17th century. The rule of communism in Eastern Europe lead to a huge migration of people from these countries which has enriched US economy like anything. The US government realized the value in opening its doors to immigrants after seeing the value that they bring to the table. In fact poor governance in other third world countries has immensely helped US and its economy. Secondly the culture of the country which is based on the principle of individualism and libery gives ample space to whosoever wants to enjoy a comfortable life. The moment you move from a repressed culture or economy to an open one, you are bound to fall in love with it.

The point is, whose problem is it? Is it India's? What is India if not its people? Which implies when both government and citizens are happy, would anyone want to even consider it in the light of an issue worth reflection?

Towards inclusive growth

There is a remarkable organized effort in the direction of enhancing the prospects of an inclusive India. Do check out the grand scheme in this article

While on one hand Sam Pitroda is leading efforts to connect the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats through broad band, the UID scheme lead by Nandan Nilekani is geared to provided the much needed identity so that people who should be getting services under various schemes of the government rightly get so. It is very difficult today for an urban youth to understand how UID would change his/her life. Probably the benefit is going to be secondary or tertiary since today he is not the person whom the government is much concerned about.

The challenge lies in terms of bridging the yawning gap that has arisen as a result of globalization making inroads into the length and breadth of a nation where the majority was not in a position to take advantage of the opportunities. Thus when millions of people who are mobile are short of public services simply because they don't have the requisite proof of identity important for that particular state, they may miss out on that important service which could be of value to them.

Moreover in the absence of a consolidated reliable single database of people whom the government wants to reach out to, the possibility of leakage of funds is higher particularly when we talk about a situation where values hold no importance in the eyes of people delivering these vital services.

Thus as internet penetration increases, telecom infra along with the unique identity would have the capacity to ensure that the person is able to get access to funds directly into his bank account without him having to reach out to the evil offical out there waiting with bated breath for his cut in the deal. Schemes like NREGA may be able to make a much better mark in that scenario.

Thus in short these are interesting times for the nation and we should all hope that the effort and vision behind these initiatives actually brings about the change that the country has been waiting for so long a time.

Leave Analysis

I feel HR professionals in organizations should try to do leave analysis. I mean what do people take leave from work for and try to link it to their performance, it may provide interesting insights on how individuals balance their lives and also what matters to them beyond work. Be it health, recreation, ailing parents, kids, open house in schools that their kids attend etc etc.

May be it would serve to understand employees better. To know the deeper motivations of the person. I don't know if any organization actually does it.

 The underlying essential should be: employees should be fearless and transparent in expressing the reason for leave.

On consumerism

The advent of impact of an economy driven by consumerism has captured my attention lately. The more i try to see, read about it and understand its interlinkages, it doesn't bring a very pleasant feeling.

This subject becomes all the more important because India's growth story is going to be written on this slate of consumerism since thanks to globalization, it is being chisseled as a consumption driven economy. If this slate has such sordid linkages, then what does the cumulative economic growth mean at an aggregated level?

Do read out this abstract of a book on this subject to get a peep into the complexity

Disability?

On aesthetics

Thoughtful essay on aesthetics and its increasing role in education.

Celebrating our 2nd July's- Time to go beyond

I start with the disclaimer that this topic actually calls for an elaborate essay than a blog post. 

Lets try to see how an individual's progress is typically understood in our society-

• Birth
• Education resulting in Physical, Social, Psychological and Intellectual development
• Employment- Economic success
• Marriage
• Family expansion
• Material milestones- home, vehicle etc
• Professional growth
• Children's education
• Children's marriage
• Retirement from service
• Demise/Voyage

A nation's growth would look like this I guess considering that a nation is more of a concept, a continuum.

• Freedom from any external political hegemony (this is not equivalent to birth since no one one knows when a nation took birth since then we have to go back to development of civilization (not talking in political context here)- One time
• Journey towards Democracy - One time
• Development of Governance machinery- Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature - One time
• Development of institutions of public service- education, healthcare, water, sanitation, infrastructure etc- Continuous
• Design of the economic engine- Continuous
• Constant striving for improvement of public life- Continual
• Protection of rights of people- Continual
• Propagation of peace and amity through cultural discourse with the help of religion- Continual
• Creation of environment that fosters economic and cultural richness for all- Continual
• Establishing the nation in a global context- Continual
• Inclusive growth- Continual
• Establishing an environment that characterises nurturing human enterprise, balance of economic growth and protection of nature, protection of rights, political vigilance on the part of citizens, religious pursuits, cultural development through nurturing art- Continual

 I may have surely missed out on a lot of other aspects in this list but the point is that the birth and growth of a nation is far more complex and also painful than the progress of an individual. The latter becomes complex when the person is economically marginalized or else when the state fails to deliver on several accounts. Also, the journey of individual's growth is characterized by a lot of struggles on account psychological issues, social complexities, at times physical challenges, knowledge gap etc. The other difficulty about the latter is the fact that mostly it is a very lonely journey unlike a nation's journey which entails the commitment and energy of millions of people over a period of time.

At the outset it is difficult to understand how nation's progress can be ensured if you merely look at the individual's growth journey. So how do you map the progress of the complexities of nation building with the conventional line of growth of individuals as expressed above. Probably thats the very reason it calls for countless experiments and human efforts for hundreds of years to reach a mark where it is looked at respectfully by its own citizens first and then by other nations. 

Now where does 2nd July stand in all this? 

Last year 2009, July the 2nd, Justice Shah delivered a landmark judgement to decriminalize homosexuality and to uphold the rights of people people who are different on a specific level. If means a lot for someone who on account of having a different sexual orientation has lead a life of shame and ignominy for long. Gautam Bhan has taken a wonderful perspective on this by bringing to light the importance of upholding Constitutional morality in matters which should be considered purely personal in any civilized society. He has rightly pointed out that our examination of these judgements becomes all the more critical in the light of growing intolerance as being seen through Khap Panchayat idiosyncracies of Haryana and 'honour' killings.

The importance of these days has to be seen in the light of the fact that it takes several years of struggle to bring about a legal change and then probably another several decades to translate that change onto the social reality. Its just like dowry. It may be illegal but still there are instances of dowry related violence that one gets to read on a day to day basis.

Thus if we want to examine the progress of our society, we need to celebrate those moments which can be construed as inflexion points or milestones in the progress of a nation. Such episodes of important judgements or government policies should be included in the curriculum of schools and discussed thoroughly by students if one wants to create a community of people to gauge how one should position one's private growth pursuit amidst the larger pursuit of nation building which would call for several thousands of such changes spread over probably few centuries to see that dawn that makes one feel proud of one's country.

Has talking about 2nd October or 14th November really lead us anywhere?

Violence Works!

We generally don't like to debate on violence per se as most liberals would denounce it as uncivilized, illegal or whatever you want to call it. Irrespective of what our attitude towards violence is, the fact is -" IT WORKS".

Living in a high pressure society like Mumbai its easy for me get reminded on what makes people get violent. In fact I feel that it is only because people in the country are tolerant that these acts are of sporadic nature and have still not become norms despite the pressure that exists all around.

There are various levels on which nature of violence can be examined but here i take the opportunity of understanding when does violence actually create the necessary impact at a political level.
War against nation is the biggest demonstration of violence at political level but other than that if we try to understand mass violence within the democratic structure and violence outside the democratic structure it gives us some useful insights on when violence is able to attain immediate ends. I am not talking about any deep spiritual ends here. Only political ends.

In a city where there are over 15m individuals residing and where lakhs of people find their lives getting difficult on account of immigration, anyone who experiences this kind of a life for a few months would get to sense what living at the bottom with limited means can actually mean. With 50% of the society living in slums with extremely sordid living conditions, poor sanitation,  constant stench, with no sunshine, the mind is already in a stressed state. On top of it the daily travel under horrendous commute systems where few people lose lives on a daily basis by slipping off the footboard or from the roof of the train, will it really take too much for people to lose control? What has been written in the Consitution can be debated in rose wood built conference rooms and probably on internet groups. What it means to experience this kind of a life is beyond comprehension unless one really is intending to understand the very nature of this constant stress which is part of everyday existence for millions in the city.

When people are seething with stress, political parties strategically use violence as a means for establishing their own muscular identity and dividends are seen in no time. Its primarily because the party did what the individual couldn't. The native wanted to kick the butt of that person who took away his railway job but could not garner the wherewithal to do it. No wonder Raj Thackeray became a local hero in no time.

 MNS which used violence as a communication tool really well against North Indian immigrants was able to win 13 Assembly Seats in the first elections that they contested. This is no mean feat though there was a legacy involved here as well. Similar was the case of Narendra Modi during the Gujrat carnage. He made a point very clearly but followed the same with strong administrative acumen and now the same person is being touted as a Prime Ministerial candidate from the largest opposition.

On the other hand lets look at what the Maoists are trying to do across hundreds of district which bear the testimony of several decades of government misrule. They are using violence as a strategic tool but since they are doing it outside the ambit of democratic structure and since it is directed against the State itself, there is only going to be loss of people on a long term basis but no transition of power. I don't understand how anyone can imagine that such a war can ever be won. Considering that this war is not driven by agendas possible within the democratic framework, it is foolhardy to imagine that a new Constitution would be drafted by underfed gun weilding Naxalites. But yes, this is the biggest concern of the PM and the Home Ministry at this stage. Why did it take this long for the government to understand that people can't be taken for granted. That speeches in international forums on the journey to become a major international power can't be made unless one keeps the picture of over 70% population also in view.

But if you ask whether its completely futuile to act thus, the answer is probably No. If we take a closer look at it, we realize that the common theme of violence in both these instances is the fact that the parties were able to make their point loud and clear. Its only because of the Maoist struggle that there has been a seperate report by the Planning Commission trying to understand the issues it entails and the reason why the same is being factored in while trying to study India's business attractiveness.

Thus wherever we see mass unrests leading to violence, we can consider it to have a clear rationale (though not necessarily overt) and unfortunately in an imperfect world such as ours, this channel of communication works really well and probably real fast too!