Tag: Politics

  • Image and identity

    “You can either be judged because you created something or ignored because you left your greatness inside of you. Your call.”

    James Clear

    In an earlier post – An impulsive path to freedom – I had identified my own self image as a barrier to the freedom I desire. I wonder if it’s because it’s something I constantly think about, but I saw interpretations of it across a couple of pop culture phenomena I consumed recently.

    (more…)

  • Aftermath…..

    ‘Intrigued’ might seem an insensitive word, but as the nation observed the first anniversary of 26/11 last week, I was intrigued by the reactions of different segments towards it. Bloggers, microbloggers, all forms of media, brands, everyone had a take on it, and their own ideas. Yes, nobody forgot, but this is year 1. Doesn’t count.

    I got few mails asking me for my opinions on everything from government apathy to the twitterverse on 26/11 – the POV of a blogger. I hardly had any, and whatever I had, I usually share here, like this. (my views haven’t changed) But I had been thinking about my feelings on the day, and what, to others, and perhaps even a part of me, might seem to be apathy, until I read this well written post. (thanks to Balu) And that set me thinking on standards and ‘Who decides?’, and then on to a tangent.

    Who decides what is to be done and how?

    A nation is formed. Its popular leaders, elected by the people, decide the way the country should be run. From sectors that should be open to private investment to tax slabs and from infrastructure to relationships with neighbouring countries, a few individuals, representative, some would argue, steer the fate of the country. In a few years, the policies and processes set up to aid the smooth functioning of the conduit – between the representatives and the represented- starts to work against this desired objective, because the balance of power between the objective and the processes have shifted. In a few more years, even the objectives which should have perhaps been reviewed, have been taken a step further, and promptly forgotten.

    Humans get together and aggregate, communities are formed, communities agglomerate, society is formed (in the original usage, not the housing kind :|) The society builds in conformation. Even with the non conforming kind, there is an understanding. Belief systems evolve, religions are formed, and rules are made. Do’s and don’t s are established in societies and sub societies. Popular culture is created and social ethos are formed. In a few years, the reasons for why things are done, and in the way they are, get forgotten, a mindless following ensues. Non conformists emerge, but then, we’ve been there before. Trading one system for another.

    A few people get together and form an organisation, knowing that they can create a better product/service than the places they have been working in. The founders have a vision for their work place, they set up systems and processes to achieve this, they hire more people, who can implement these. In a few years, a conglomerate is formed, the founders are at the top of the heap, there is a new breed that manages daily affairs, the process diktats are in place…. you know where I am going with this  🙂

    In all these cases, there would probably be a disruption at the end, and the start of a new cycle. It is what seems to be expected. In general, nations will sit up and take collective notice only when they are themselves under attack. The travails of another city, much less country are viewed only through the prism of how it would affect us. Society will take up cudgels when they feel a threat to the status quo. Those in power will want to retain it. Organisations collapse when they are unable to see macro changes and lack the foresight to adapt. When they begin to get affected, and they react, in many cases, its too little too late.

    The common factor is the LCD, no, not the screen kind, the kind you learned in primary school – lowest common denominator – the human. Recently, when taking some personal decisions, I tried watching my own mind work, drilling down from the seemingly obvious reasons to the unstated ones, and from there, down to the foundations of why i thought the way I did, and therefore did the things I did. Belief systems, created and maintained by experiences, peer metrics etc, and thought structures, the changes to which were only superficial with time (contrary to expectations), they were all there, with the reasons buried under multiple layers built over time. My experiences, my perspectives, so I decide, on hindsight, objectivity was perhaps impossible.  Autopilot. This is perhaps what gets reflected in everything that I am part of – organisations, society, nation.

    The realisation was pretty simple. Standards and decisions are on auto pilot, though they seem otherwise. Humans. Us. Living in bubbles, deciding objectives and setting up structures to get there, and then forgetting why.  Even when I think I am deciding, what is deciding for me is the baggage of the past.

    I thought of the poor souls in Leopold, Taj, Nariman House on that fateful day….who till then had built a structure and process to their life. Is that what it takes to get one out of autopilot? A cataclysmic moment – the moment when beliefs and structures scarily slip away, and the illusion of control becomes exactly that – an illusion. In the aftermath, calculated scenarios mostly don’t count.

    until next time, deciding the questions

  • Democrassy

    When an Italian born Roman Catholic asks a Muslim president to make a (now) Pakistan born Sikh, the Prime Minister, in a country thats predominantly hindu, and still a vast section of the world that considers it a xenophobic, ‘prone to fanaticism’ country, i started wishing Induism were a little more aggressive. Induism, because it can never go back to what the original way of life stood for, it has evolved due to internal and external reasons…..
    When a buffoon like Bush unleashes savagery on whatever country he deems fit for having WMDs, supporting terrorism and a whole range of blah blah that only he understands, the world turns a blind eye, and then regains sight when a Best Bakery happens. “Hindu fanaticism at its worst!!”.
    The only political party that at least makes a semblance (in its own ways) of being Hindu friendly gets chucked out of power for (supposedly) India not having shined for the poor. and pray, what shine did the country get during the first 50 years of independence, when the congress was a virtual monopoly?
    are we talking about an existence, that has created a north-south divide that is perhaps impossible to erase,
    an era which boasted of the ’emergency’?, sure that must be something of a trophy for democracy in india,
    a rule which created poster boys like laloo yadav, ram vilas paswan etc whose sole claim to fame is the caste vote
    and a rule in which the Left stood watching while china screwed us, hell, they even applauded!!
    in today’s context , the same rule which is cosying to the Left,( who still think USSR exists.)
    the secular coalition, which has a party called Muslim League in it, with ministerial berths!!
    If this country is so secular, what is its problem with a hindu party. only because hindus are a majority. and are not aggressive enough!! because muslims are a minority and they need a party to get their rights, of which they already have more than enough!!
    nobody talks of hindusim getting diluted, coz its a mature enogh religion to absorb. tomorrow if i launched a party called the hindu nationalist party, i would get a stay order from the supreme court, and the US would talk about fanaticism and immaturity and barbarism. but hey, would they let a mohammed or ram rule capitol hill? hell, they havent been able to get an african american in, that should happen in the next millenium…….
    manuscrypts trivia
    speaking of capitol hill, heard of the latest ‘washingtonienne’ sex scandal, read about it here, and then read some rare excerpts here or here.
    and a good fwd i got
    Special High Intensity Training
    In order to assure the highest levels of quality work and productivity from our employees, it will be our policy to keep all employees well trained through our one program of Special High Intensity Training. (S.H.I.T.) We are striving to give our employees more S.H.I.T. than any other company. If you feel that you do not receive your fair share of S.H.I.T., please see your manager. you will immediately be placed at the top of the S.H.I.T. list. Our managers are especially skilled in seeing that you get all the S.H.I.T. you can handle. Employees who don’t take S.H.I.T. will be placed in the Department of Employee Evaluation Program. (D.E.E.P.S.H.I.T.) Those who
    fail to take S.H.I.T. will have to go to Employees Attitude Training. (E.A.T.S.H.I.T.)
    Since our managers took. S.H.I.T. They dont have to do S.H.I.T. any more because they are full of S.H.I.T. already. If you are full of S.H.I.T., you may be qualified to train others. We can add your name to our Basic Understanding Lecture List(B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.). Those who are full of B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T. will get S.H.I.T. jobs and can apply for a Promotion to Director of Intensity Programming(D.I.P.S.H.I.T) If you have any questions,please direct them to our Head Of Training(H.O.T S.H.I.T.)
    Thank you,

    Boss in General
    (B.I.G.S.H.I.T)

  • Polls Apart

    is generally what i am from exercising my franchise, and this time is no exception. not exactly proud of it, but still haven’t figured out the chicken and egg situation – me making a difference to the polls and the polls making a difference to me….
    but am still socially conscious enough to be closely following the results, have sometimes even wondered whether there is a totally different form of rigging (from what we see) going on in the background. someone has said that “politics is the last refuge of the scoundrel” and in these times, it holds true in india.
    it is very difficult for the common public to get anything done from any politician, especially when he is in power, which is why i was kinda happy about some things that a certain mr.naidu was doing in hyderabad. not that that he was getting milk and honey to flow(even water was dicey), but somewhere he was making a difference. given time, he might have got the entire state to be like hyderabad. …..but the junta felt otherwise, which in my mind raises the question whether the junta deserves the politicians they get. the junta who may/do not see the bigger picture and the junta who dont want to make a difference…hehe..we have been trying to get rid of poverty since 1947, and no one has succeeded…sanjay gandhi did get rid of some poor , and therefore poverty but dunno if that can be a legal count…what has been happening is roughly like this
    “What is Politics?”
    A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is politics?”
    Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I’m the breadwinner of the family, so let’s call me capitalism. Your Mom, she’s the administrator of the money, so we’ll call her the Government. We’re here to take care of your needs, so we’ll call you the people. The nanny, we’ll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we’ll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,”
    So, the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents’ room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.
    The next morning, the little boy says to his father, “Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.” The father says, “Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.” The little boy replies, “Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.”
    and now, onto
    manuscrypts trivia
    “Write a wise saying and your name will live forever” ~ Anonymous
    “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” ~ Steven Wright