Ten Issues - 9

1- India's Telecom Scam: How Can a Corrupt System Be Cleaned? : The telecom scam that recently forced the resignation of telecom minister A. Raja defrauded the country to the tune of nearly US$40 billion. Since telecom is an industry that links backward and forward to several others, the total economic cost could well be hundreds of billions of dollars. This scandal shows that corruption has deep roots in Indian society, but informed voters and the democratic process can help eradicate it, argues Rajesh Jain, managing director of Mumbai-based Netcore Solutions, in this opinion piece.

2- Audre Lorde’s quote “anger is loaded with information” ; When you are at the wrong end of the unjust societies, many truths that are clear to you come out loaded with information. Read complete 6 page essay on Uses of Anger. Thanks to Anu.

3-The narcissism of the neurotic by P Sainath : The Commonwealth Games were no showcase, but a mirror of India 2010. If they presented anything, it was this — Indian crony, casino capitalism at its most vigorous.

4- This is not a panel discussion : Meet four Adivasi intellectuals whose lives have changed the politics and conversations about indigenous people, says G VISHNU

5-The Burden Of Knowing By Charles Hugh Smith: Knowing what lies ahead is a great emotional burden. The knowledge that the present is unsustainable is, for many of us, a great emotional burden. It troubles our sleep, our minds, and our basic emotional well-being. Knowledge, like memory, cannot be erased at will, and thus it runs in the background of our lives, unseen by others but deeply troubling to the knower.

6- Religious Excuse of barbarity by Johann Hari: If you are engaged in an act of cruelty, there is an easy, effective way to silence your critics and snatch some space to carry on. Tell us all that your religion requires you to do it, and you are "offended" by any critical response. Erect an electric wire fence around your nastiest actions and call it "respect".

7- Microfinance is under attack. Even the normally reticent pink newspapers have now begun to bring out the inherent flaws in the microfinance model.Check some facts here- MFIs: Profiteering from poverty and Five myths about microfinance.

8- When girls fear school by Kalpana Sharma: The reasons for the high drop-out rate of girls are simple: Fear of corporal punishment, sexual abuse and the lack of basic amenities like toilets in schools.

9- Valerie Plame, YES! Wikileaks, NO! : It is the American people who should be outraged that its government has transformed a nation with a reputation for freedom, justice, tolerance and respect for human rights into a backwater that revels in its criminality, cover-ups, injustices and hypocrisies.

So savor the Wikileaks documents while you can, because soon they'll be gone. And for the government criminals of the world, and for those who protect them, it will again be business as usual.

10- Meet Dr. Dani: One of the unsung heroes of our public service institutions : . Yet, there are people such as Dani in many of the small hospitals in the country, whose toils go unheard, and whose stories go unsaid.

Thought of the Day :
Julian Assange writes in his blog: “True belief is when a voice booms ‘the prisoner shall now rise’ and no one else in the room stands”.

Vichaar Shoonya + 1

From RGV's blog, a thought for the day---
Q: Can you give me an example to differentiate between knowledge, intelligence, genius and wisdom?
Ans: Knowledge is to know that a snake contains poison; intelligence is to figure out what the poison contains and how it can kill you. Genius is to create an anti venom. Wisdom is to know all this but yet not to fuck around with the snake just in case the first three go wrong.

Capital gains : A vivid, wide-ranging (and very scary) portrait of unbridled consumerism in the post-liberalisation years. [Thanks to Jai Arjun Singh]

Infamous List: To clarify, the people in these lists are/were good, honorable people. What is unpleasant/infamous about the lists are the circumstances in which these people found themselves.

Rabindranath Tagore in Conversation with H. G. Wells

Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view.

Free Hindi Ebooks Download.

Mentor Yourself: Five core strategies for developing a more satisfying and successful academic career.

End of an Argument. How ?

Agrippa's Trilemma :The trilemma is a breakdown of all possible proofs for a theory into three general types:

* The circular argument, in which theory and proof support each other.
* The regressive argument, in which each proof requires a further proof.
* The axiomatic argument, which rests on accepted precepts.

This Trilemma is just for giving you an idea about types of arguments and little bit of creating impression about me (:P).

We came across several heated debates on the online community, forums and blogs about any topic. In a typical argument, each person tries to prove themselves right and the other person wrong. Instead of synthesis or refining of ideas, our focus shifts to stick to our owns idea as prime and supreme one. In the end, each person only ends up either more entrenched in their views or influenced by dominant juggling of words, regardless of who seems to deliver the most rational argument. Arguments are done for the sake of progress than victory. An argument can't be won by resistance. It will only increase the stubbornness of others and a little communication of importance will be achieved. Trying to prove yourself right and the other person wrong is like making a frontal assault on an entrenched enemy position. The goal of your argument is attempting to raise the other person’s awareness while maintaining your own sense of inner peace and identity with the idea.

I wanted to know why so brilliant individuals can't agree on a small point for evolving into next level of discussion. Its major reason which I can catch was that our education system fosters competitive excellence rather than intellectual curiosity or cooperation . Also, I want to know how to conclude these arguments as per seen similar situations in much popular fish market like Group discussions (GD). Any suggestions ??????????????

For good reading purpose,

1- Tagore and his India --- Amartya Sen.

2- Leszek Kołakowski (1927- 2009)

3- Who killed the Indian University ?

4- An interview with Fatima Bhutto.

5- Recession: How Risk Models Failed Wall St. and Washington?

Vichaar Shoonya - 0

1- The Taliban have taken advantage of the vacuum of governance by carrying out spectacular suicide bombings in major cities across the country. They are generating fear, rumor, and also support from countless unemployed youth, some of whom are willing to kill themselves to advance the Taliban cause. The mean age for a suicide bomber is now just sixteen. It is a brilliant strategy of evacuation of opposition by suicide bombing and then fill the place with Talibs as a voice of people. They also utilize high illiteracy rate in Pakistan. All the crux of the above blabbering was to introduce you to these two articles describing mindset of our neighbouring nation elite society: Why is Pakistan Half Illiterate? and Causality of war.

2- Faith of Einstein.

3- Econ Sense: Equality vs. Efficiency, the Case of Universal Health Care..

4- Bloggers, Media and Science Reporting & Indian Scientists and Science Blogging

5- On black literature in America

Quote of the day:
Logic and reason are the naphthalene balls we use to pack our hopes, dreams and desires away into a SANDOOK called "Someday". But when that day comes we are too old, too poor , too tired or too lazy to do anything.--- Rashmi Bansal.

Inspirational Seniors

There were only 3 inspirational seniors for me down these years in ITBHU : Sripati Sah, Varun Grover and Animesh Pathak. Its irony of my fate that they even don't my name. Sripati sir has met with me few times. I talked to Varun sir once on gtalk. I have been encouraged by Animesh sir for one good post on blog. They are more like virtual inspirational source with their qualities in front of me.

Sripati Sah:
I have talked with Sripathi Sah 2 or 3 times during 1st year by giving infeasible idea in model making in Technex-05. After that never, that mighty guy left us for further study to Amherst. I am sure that he cannot even recognize me now. I adore him not for his short attendance (28% excluding B.T.P. in last semester) but for his infinite passion and zeal for ever TAC. Now, I have myself seen all the seasons at ITBHU. Loss of passion and self motivation for improvement is major disease prevailing in this institute. I am also doomed deeply in it. But he was like God between us humans, ever inspiring and full of enthusiasm.

Varun Grover:
Engineering background of an artist always puzzled me. He is role model for me for his literal, theatrical and now cinematic journey. One person perrfectly quoted about him: "He is one of the very few people around me who is so sure of what he wants from life!"
He was the person giving me inspiration to become original and creative. There is a blind race and mob psychology in most of ITians for future career. They do not want to stand alone and make their own way. He has shown me the enlightened way to be original and creative.

Animesh Pathak:
There is no heart more strong than a heart of volunteer. Animesh sir have got that heart. He is very energetic person. To do a commentary as an audience on the problems is always easier than to really get to the ground and solving them. He chooses to solve the problems of his Alma matar. Many of us laments in their whole career about status quo of ITBHU and IIT. None of them volunteer or participate in solving problem at grass root level. He is one of the most easily reached alumni for students. His unending energy gives me inspiration to achieve goals for things we love most.....

This post is not written to drew attention but to pay my respect to seniors whom I admire most.

HALLA BOL !!!

Safder Hashmi(b. April 12, 1954 - January 2, 1989)

Many youths of our generation do not even know this name.I was also accused of forgetting him in old memories.This name was invoked in me by the movie "Halla bol".The movie left me with little impression but the legacy of "Halla bol" was in my consciousness.I am telling you a story of a martyr.He died not for a noble cause in making world a better place for us.
Today , belonging to a ideology is consider just a time pass. Mostly people are either too liberal or too restricted and highly influenced by dirty politics. Membership of club or resort is more credible than a joining a library .You don’t belong to schools of thought such as liberal communists or liberal capitalist or right of center .I doubt if today’s average college student either knows or bothers about this.It is lack of thinking or more self centered approach in life is responsible for this.
Then why i am speaking on behalf of a dead man?Today development in society is highly selfish.Its all about losing your soul to gain material value.But in end ,you look in your heart and feel sorry for your whole life.

Safdar Hashmi was a Communist playwright, actor, director, lyricist, and theorist, chiefly associated with Street theater in India, and is still considered an important voice in political theater in India.
He graduated from St Stephen's College Delhi in English Literature, and did M.A. English from Delhi University.It was here that he became a associated with the cultural unit of 'Student Federation of India', the youth wing of the CPI-M.
Jana Natya Manch, People's Theater Front or JANAM (Rebirth), as an acronym, in 1973, which grew out of the Indian People's Theater Association (IPTA) and was associated with Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1970 . When Indira Gandhi was blamed with rigging the elections , he produced a street play, 'Kursi, Kursi, Kursi' (Chair, Chair, Chair)[, wherein, when a king tries to leave his throne for an elected public representative, the throne lifts along with him. This play proved to be a turning point for the group .Till 1975, Janam performed open-air proscenium and street plays for mass audiences, then during the Emergency years (1975-77), he worked as a lecturer in English literature in universities in Garhwal, Kashmir and Delhi.

Post Emergency he returned to political activism, and in 1978 Janam took to street theater in a big way, with Machine which was performed for a trade union meeting of over 200,000 workers on 20 November 1978 . This was followed by plays on the distress of small peasants (Gaon Se Shahar Tak), on clerical fascism (Hatyare & Apharan Bhaichare Ke), on unemployment (Teen Crore), on violence against women (Aurat) and on inflation (DTC ki Dhandhli). He also produced several documentaries and a TV serial for Doordarshan “Khilti Kaliyan” (Flowers in Bloom) on rural empowerment. He also wrote books for children and criticism of the Indian stage.
He was the de-facto director of Janam, and till his death, 'Janam' gave about 4,000 performances of 24 street plays, performed mostly working-class neighborhoods, factories and workshops.
The death of Safder hashmi was a brutual murder of free voice in this democratic country.
On January 1, 1989, Safdar and his associates set out to perform a play called “Halla Bol” at Jhandapur village in Sahibabad, on the outskirts of Delhi. The play was a part of their campaign for Ramanand Jha, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)-supported candidate in the Ghaziabad municipal elections. Mukesh Sharma, the Congress(I)-backed “independent” candidate, apparently unnerved by the impact the play was making on the workers of the area, went with a horde of armed goons and attacked Safdar’s group. Safdar suffered multiple fractures in the skull and there was brain haemorrhage. He succumbed to his injuries the next day. Even while facing the goons, he made sure that the women folk with the team safely escaped as he fought with the goons.

Fifteen thousand marched at his funeral on January 3, the largest funeral ever for a theatre artist in Delhi. Protest demonstrations swept the country, and several hundred thousand marched in dozens of cities and towns. Thousand voices screamed in unison - “Hamare Safdar Ko Lal salam”as they paid homage to their real life hero

The death of Safdar Hashmi has been covered briefly but effectively by many journalists in the media, after the conviction of nine men by the Delhi High Court recently, including Mukul Sharma, the primary accused, 14 years after his death. This in itself is one of the few cases, where justice has actually been dispensed with, though the delay in itself is a punishment of another kind for the victims – the martyr and those whom he left behind.
The judgment brought some pale consolation to those of us who had followed his career, his work or watched his highly effective tool to create public awareness and opinion.

Hashmi had been enacting street plays regularly to raise public consciousness regarding the misrule by the ruling party, to a fairly appreciative and growing applause. The street theatre format had been adopted and used very efficiently by him to raise public awareness to the issues raised by him, so creatively and in an interactive format Given his socialist leanings, naturally, politics was a significant part of his death as in his life.
And,indeed who remembers him now??Its question for us to look inside our soul.