Suti speaks

Opinion: London's new "Muslim" mayor is actually a great news!

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sat, 07 May 2016 09:04:00 +0000

The election of London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, is a cheerful news even for those who are not really affected or concerned about the city’s affairs. It’s inspiring when one of the greatest and a vibrantly multicultural cities of the world elects a mayor purely on merit, one based on positive campaign and not identity.

Clearly, the media is awash with headlines of London’s first “Muslim” and a “son of a bus driver” mayor – a narrative that strongly constructs the elected mayor’s identity. Such profiling with emphasis on religion is needless and using words like “Londonistan” is at best shallow. It often reinforces the issues that voters have chose to ignore at the first place.

In his victory speech, Mr. Khan has said that the campaign was not without controversy; he thanked voters for choosing “hope over fear” and “unity over division”.

Mr Khan’s mayoral victory also is the triumphant moment for the city of London and also Britain at large that has provided opportunities, created enabling environment for growth and prosperity for millions like his family that choose to settle in the city and had humble beginnings.

The victory symbolically is significant in the backdrop of the EU migrant crisis, and the Paris attacks earlier this year that fuelled fears that the foundations of multiculturalism in modern Europe is about to crumble. The election reaffirms the finer values of equality, diversity and democracy. Londoners have strongly uphold these universal values, and provided a model worthy of emulation in other places around the world. It is a great news for anyone that believes in these values.

Common Man and the JNU row

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 08:10:00 +0000

Since last week, Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi has been on a boil after its students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested on sedition charges for allegedly organising an event to mark the anniversary of the execution of Afzal Guru – convicted for attacking the Indian Parliament in 2001 by the Supreme Court of India.

This has now becoming a highly contentious issue notching up decibel debates in the public sphere and media. It has generated impassioned reaction about safeguarding ‘freedom of speech’, and the ‘right to dissent’, resisting the ‘forces of intolerance’ and upholding the ethos and sanctity of campus politics. The controversy reached new heights when political stalwarts like Rahul Gandhi joined the students to protest against the police action, alleging that there is a conspiracy to swamp campuses with right wing forces, that, they say, want to silent the critics of the government with coercion and intimidation. In the heart of all this, is the emotive and sparky issue of being ‘anti-national’ vs ‘state overreach’.

This week, there has been ugly scenes of furious lawyers assaulting journalists and roughing up students’ groups perceived by them as anti-nationals outside the court premises where Mr. Kumar, the arrested student leader, was to be produced. Meanwhile, in Kolkata the students of Jadavpur University atrociously chanted slogans eulogising Afzal Guru.

The highly disconcerting and appallingly thuggish behaviour of the lawyers in addition to the chain of events over issues, which by no means, warrant a crisis of this magnitude is highly condemnable, baffling and extremely sad for general public who are more concerned about proper functioning of the government, development and the economy. It was with this great hope that the majority of the people of India voted for a change and given a mandate to break the politics of coalition, and ushered in a stable government.

There are many narratives to the ongoing tensions, but let’s deal with a few factors just as a common observer.

Afzal Guru

We know he is a terrorist, who plotted the audacious attack on the Indian parliament. He was convicted by the highest court of the land, and had a fair trial. One fails to understand how can he be a celebrated at all.But then, Indian constitution guarantees Freedom of Speech, and by that virtue, it is accepted that a statement or a speech however distasteful it might be must be tolerated. And it is in line with this principle, this nation even tolerates people who idolise Mahatma Gandhi’s assassinator or even talk about building his statue. This is the greatness of India’s democracy. Try saying Hitler is great in Europe.

Anti –India sentiment

There are big reasons to be worried about it. Any sane government will be concerned and take palliative action to stop any activity which is deemed anti-national or is seen as a potential threat to peace and stability of the country. It is more imperative in a country like India which has been one of the worst victims of unimaginable terror.

In the UK, for example, government does appeal to the universities to keep eye of a number of students’ societies of universities suspected of indulging in activities that might be dangerous to public safety which includes potential act of terror. Same goes for JNU. If the government had credible information of ongoing anti- India activity in the campus and acted accordingly, that’s absolutely fine.

As a citizen of India, I would strongly criticise Umar Khalid’s action - the man who conceived the idea of a cultural evening to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and as per the the media reports had planned similar events across the country. To me his action is highly reprehensible, but as a lay man we have to tolerate him and let the government judge through its intelligence if actions amount to anti-national activity. The polity of India is highly susceptible to anti- India elements may be insurgent separatists’ groups in the north east or the militancy in Kashmir. And government cannot go soft on it.

The police

Again, based on media reports, and eye witness accounts circulating in the social media, it seems the police has picked up the wrong person. It is said that the student leader had gone to mediate between the organisers of the event and ABVP, the students body of the BJP, who opposed the event.

That was purely campus politics in action. Ideally, ABVP, could have done a counter rally. If the government and police had credible intelligence that event was anti-national, they should have been there before hand and arrested the organisers. But that is not how Indian system work. The police went in and made a mess of the situation leading to an explosion of the issue.

This is followed by irresponsible tweets by the Delhi police and the Home Ministry claiming that the event had was backed by Pakistani terror groups etc. Can there be any higher degree of immaturity as shown by the authorities? Where is the evidence?

The lawyers

They have shamed the nation, the judiciary and the legal fraternity. The anarchic situation that unfolded outside the court yesterday is shocking and despicable. If they don’t get the harshest of punishment, ordinary people have a lot of be concerned about

Media

In this case, they themselves have been attacked hence it is in their interest to blow the issue up. Unfortunately, if there is one thing that needs reform in this country, it is the media itself. Raging fire on the screen with the anchor and the handful of same faces across all channels and on all topics howling on the screen- this is what India media is. This privately owned, politically influenced, highly low paid industry thrives on a few faces and embody a character that undermines the cultural ethos of the country.

Government

Without getting in much details, it must be noted from a common man’s perspective that this government was voted to power with a lot of hope. But ever since it has been in power, there has been recurring incidents that threaten individual freedom and freedom of expression. Clearly, and very unfortunately everything India in has political angle and a motive and this incident is no different. The BJP government needs to rein in on unsavoury, radical leaders who make inflammatory remarks that potentially, could pose as a threat to the harmony and peace in the country. Is that then not an anti-national activity?

India will prosper as long it remains a liberal democracy. Coming back to politics, we hope that this issue will not stall the up coming session in the parliament and will see the passage of big ticket reforms including GST. The country cannot be held hostage by left leaning intellectuals and political groups or campus politics, just the way the right wing groups have no business in creating mayhem in the country.

Myanmar: first impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:16:00 +0000

AS Myanmar emerges from decades of international isolation, there is a new found optimism and hope amongst the citizens of Yangon for a better future.

Yangon city centre

Moe Kyaw, 37, reflects this optimism. Having lived in Singapore for almost 17 years, he returned to his country in 2012 shortly after Myanmar began the process of political reforms. He saved enough money to buy a tiny apartment in one of the decrepit residential buildings in a Yangon street and a car. He now works as a taxi driver earning $200 a month and attends a vocational school where he learns computer programming.

Kyaw is well informed about international affairs and politics, and his aspirations are strongly tied with the country’s future. He says, “it is beginning of a new era", he is hopeful that Myanmar will come into terms with its past and will move on the path of prosperity.

“Our country has been plundered and destroyed for six decades by the military, but now there is a lot of hope. It is full of opportunities and natural resources. We need to rebuild our country. We have full faith in our lady (Aung Sun Suu Kyi),” says Kyaw.

Though Myanmar began the political reforms in 2010, many are waiting to see how will the process eventually shape up. On 1st February, the new parliament convened for its opening session. Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) got a thumping majority in the elections held in November last year. The election process was seen as credible by international observers. Despite this, the country’s constitution debars Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president as her late husband and two sons have British passports. The military still retains 25% of the parliamentary seats and appoints the powerful home, defence and border- affairs ministers. The military also passed a bill which grants blanket immunity to ex- presidents from prosecution.

However, following the political reforms foreign investments have been soaring. In 2014, it touched a $8 billion, one of the highest in the ASEAN region. Japan particularly has been one of the biggest donor and also an investor in a range of sectors like manufacturing, insurance and infrastructure. According to Devex, a private group tracking development aid, Japan accounted for 35% of global Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans to Myanmar in 2013. In 2015, a major Japanese backed investment zone Thilawa special economic zone started its operation just outside Yangon.

In Yangon, the locals welcome the Japanese investment but remain wary of investments by Myanmar’s long term ally and influential neighbour China. There is general feeling that the China is draining the country’s natural resources. The popular public opposition has lead to suspension and cancellation of key projects notably the Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam in 2011 and Kyaukpyu-Yunnan railway project.

San Tung Khint, a director of a Yangon based company says, “the foreign investments are vital to our country’s growth. We need training on capacity building, our bureaucracy needs to be reformed and we need technology to leap frog in every sphere of development.”

He adds, “we need to carefully manage our resources and not get exploited over dependent on a country. We sit between two economic power houses India and China, and we need investment from both and others without compromising our national interest.”

Hindu deities at the Shwedagon Pagoda

The Burmese workforce is young and cheap and poised to be one of the hub for the garment manufacturing in years to come. However, despite the potential there is surprisingly low investment from the country’s eastern neighbour India.

India enjoys a strong historical, cultural and spiritual people – to - people ties with Myanmar. A guide at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda Temple in central Yangon shows the influence of Buddhism and also Hinduism in Myanmar’s cultural and religious life. The temple celebrates Buddha in all its formations and glory. There are deities of Hindu gods and goddesses and pictorial depiction of Asoka, a powerful emperor of ancient India.

Mr Win, the guide says, “almost 60 % of our cultural and religious life bear similarity with India, 30 % from Mongolia and 10 % from Tibet.” Most people that this writer met in the Pagoda talked about their desire to visit Bodh Gaya, the birth place of Buddha once in their lifetime.

There are historical reasons for the gap: in Myanmar, until 1947, the Indians especially Bengalis, Parsis and Tamils formed a sizeable community contributing to its economy and administration under the British Raj. A large scale migration began after the Japanese invasion during the World War II. In 1960s, when the military government pursued the policy of nationalization, a lot of Indian businesses were forced to leave.

In a recent interview to mizzima, a Myanmar online news portal, the Indian ambassador to Myanmar, Gautam Mukhopadhaya said that lack of Indian investment is primarily due to three major factors: first there is a lack of information on both sides about each other’s economy and opportunities; second, there are no proper banking channels to facilitate trade and investment; third is poor air connectivity (there is no direct flight between New Delhi and Yangon). The ambassador points out that India has been slightly disengaged with Myanmar compared to its other neighbours but there will be steady rise of Indian investment in the next decade.

the colonial Yangon railway station

The ambassador underlines that Myanmar being an immediate and a big neighbour is strategically placed in the intersection of India’s two top foreign policy priorities: one is the neighbourhood first policy, which calls for a wider engagement between India and its neighbour. Second, for India’s Act East policy: Myanmar due to its strategic geographical location serves as a natural transit point to the rest of greater Mekong region.

Back in Yangon, it is quite evident that the process of rebuilding the country is going to a big challenge in a number of fronts. The key priorities are to end long – standing conflicts with ethnic armed insurgency groups, diversifying the economy, strengthening democratic institutions and capacity building.

Young people say the country’s higher education system is in a dismal state. Marisa Charles a social worker says, “Until very recently there were no private schools in the country and the quality of education wasn’t up to the mark. In the university some courses are in English because the books are in English but they are taught in Burmese. So students tend to memorise their lessons.”

In the rural areas Burmese language is not spoken by the ethnic minorities so they don’t understand what’s being taught. There is now a big push to teach the basic subjects the ethnic minority languages.

Post reforms a lot of INGOS and development agencies have started working in the country. UN agencies are putting a lot of resources in fighting human trafficking, addressing gaps in gender equality, improving reproductive health services responding to and preventing gender based violence and integrating gender equality and human right’s perspectives into national polices, development frameworks and laws. India is particular is helping in capacity building and political reforms.

In many ways, ordinary people in Myanmar are very positive about the wind of change that is sweeping through the country. In Yangon, one can notice the country's potential. They have got the basic civic sense right: traffic snarls are serpentine, yet no one honks, no lane jumping and it's largely clean. If they get the policies right and investment is properly directed, it's surely poised to be the next big thing in Asia.

on sheena bora case.......

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 15:31:00 +0000

The sensational Sheena Bora murder case has rocked the moral bedrock of India’s rapidly rising middle class. The story, as it unravels, has more than a powerful dose of elements that is apt for a classic murder mystery. The fact that a mother can allegedly kill her own daughter for possibly consolidating her powerful social life and beyond is shocking in any culture – for Indian society it’s spiteful, frightening and deeply unforgivable.

Now there is a faint personal connection here: the victim happens to be my wife’s classmate and the main suspect, the mother of the victim, Indrani Mukerjea technically was my boss way back in 2007, when as a trainee reporter I joined NewsX – the company she founded with her former mighty media CEO husband, Peter Mukherjea.

It send shivers down the spine to think such a morally unsound character and greatly undeserving person was made to run a news channel, that when launched, was suppose to set a new benchmark for television news reporting in India! Well, that never really happened, the channel spluttered in a pretty obnoxious manner literally shattering the dreams of hundreds of highly talented young people. It also speaks volumes about the vulgar nature of some of the Indian corporates and the notoriety of their operations.

There is another connection too, Indira and her family is from Guwahati, when I was born and raised until age 9 before being packed off to a boarding school.

It will be wrong to pass a moral judgement on a society or even question its eco system just because the people involved are Assamese, but to a great extent, it will also be not unfair to say that a section of Assamese middle class is hounded by a very distorted and narrow view of modernism and liberalism that has resulted in a generation that is arrogant, superfluous and intellectually hollow. The reason is simple: a large number of Assam’s pseudo- rich don’t make money from enterprise but from corruption. Insurgency and other political reasons and lack of ambition among youth has meant that people from the region despite being socially progressive and educated, when compared with rest of India, struggle to find their footprint at national or international level. Try looking at Assamese media: it’s shamefully rotten.

This is no to say that it doesn’t happen in other societies (it does in a much violent form but in a much more conservative set up).

Sheena’s life was very sad. Her murder mystery has turned India’s privately owned noisy television channels into a full-blown entertainment channels. We hear “expert “ commentary from the handful of India’s mouthpieces, who like parrots, speak virtually on every subject, and seems to have made television appearance their full time job. Their only qualification: they can speak good enough to create noise.

Let’s hope that no child ever has to go through what Sheena went through. She is a victim of moral ineptitude of our complex and myopic society. In the mist of all these I wonder why national media is not saying much about Peter Mukerjea. Is it because he is one of them? A former Star TV CEO and what not. Should he not be seen as a morally foul character. Read how he met her :(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150827/jsp/frontpage/story_39367.jsp#.VeRt-Ot9vdk). Is he also not one of the classic failures of the India Inc. – not just because of his personal life but the way he handled INX?

Is ban on Udwin's "India's Daughter" justified?

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 14:28:00 +0000

I haven’t seen Leslee Udwin’s documentary “India’s Daughter”, which now finds mired in a controversy, but I had a chance to see snippets of the documentary and meet Leslee at the TEDX talk last weekend.

In her talk, Leslee precisely highlighted the sensationalised part of her work. She shows the rapist Mukesh Singh saying without remorse: “You can’t clap with one hand – it takes two hands. A decent girl won't roam around at 9 o'clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy. Boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20% of girls are good.”

She also spoke about how daunting it was to make the documentary, the pain of parting from her young family for two years, and, how at one point when things just didn’t go right, she almost felt like giving up and return home, but her daughter (over phone) encouraged her to stay by saying “ I and my generation of girls are relying on you”.

Leslee spoke passionately about the issue of gender inequality, which she described as “cancer” and myriad of other very serious issues related to it like patriarchy, killing of girl child, honour killing, and acid attacks, trafficking. She said gender equality was the only solution.

There is unmistakably no doubt about the fact that Leslee stands for women’s right and equality, but what's problematic the way she went on to talk about her documentary.

Apart from the quote above, she also quoted the defence lawyer A. P Singh, who said, “If my daughter or sister engaged in pre-marital activities and disgraced herself and allowed herself to lose face and character by doing such things, I would most certainly take this sort of sister or daughter to my farmhouse, and in front of my entire family, I would put petrol on her and set her alight “

Clearly abhorring and sickening statements, but what do you expect a defence lawyer and a rape convict to say? There is no denying that there is a problem with men think in India but it is a section of the population not the entire country. Offenders, all over the world, tend not to show remorse about their horrifying actions.

Leslee’s over emphasis on the two quotes above to highlight her documentary coupled with excessive PR was another cause why the documentary stands banned by the court of law in India. It undermined the fact that her purpose was not entirely commercial. If it was being shown on NDTV and BBC, and that some international papers were already taking about it what was the need of press conferences and her obsession to get as many journalists as possible. This contributed in getting the attention of the home minister. Personally, I just disliked her ruthless campaign – it looked as if she was hell bent in getting some sort of mileage out of it.

The other issue is raking up the December 16, 2012 rape issue once again. For heaven’s sake leave the family of the victim alone.

It will also be wrong to assume that as if there was no concern about rape in India before December 2012. I have closely analysed two national Indian newspapers and Western newspapers to understand the narrative of rape going backwards two years before the unfortunate rape took place on 16 December 2012.

If you look at the The Hindu and The Times of India; there was already a momentum building up by activists and the Indian media since 2010 to recognise that there is a problem of rape- 16 December 2012 was the last straw.

On the other hand, many Western media simply went overboard in their reporting to vilify the “rape culture” in the country comparing it with Sati and other practices (The Times). I felt Jason Burke’s epicarticle in The Guardian was the only comprehensive piece that built up a picture to the problem for the foreign audience.

I personally work with the Western media, and I know that India is an open ground for journalists. Doing stories in India is far easier than any country in the world. Here we get what we want. People let us into their homes. Could Leslee have made a similar documentary in her own country? Questions must also be asked how she got access- the fault also lies with the Indian authorites.

There have been many horrifying instances of abuse in the world, like for example, an 80-year-old Austrian father man who wasaccused of locking up his daughters and raping them over a period of more than40 years a few years back. Could anyone interview him?

There is no denying that there is a problem in India the way women are treated but it not in all states. What about the northeast India? I support Leslee’s passion and her campaign. Since I have not seen the documentary, I cannot comment much, but if her documentary is about what she is highlighting, it is needless and not very tasteful.

Delhi verdict says development and liberal India

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 15:35:00 +0000

It is an interesting time in Indian politics: Aam Admi Party, formed barely over a year ago recorded a decisive victory in the Delhi state elections. So big has been the victory that it has spelled disaster of proportional scale for the two national parties the BJP and the Congress. Congress has been totally eliminated; BJP won just 3 seats in a seventy-member assembly.

This is at a time, when just eight months back, the BJP came to power with an overwhelming majority at the national elections. The party has been on a victory mode since in other bigger states. The face of the party and India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is seen to bring in dynamism and leadership not witnessed in Indian politics for long. He is also keen to promote economic growth and rapid development.

Delhi’s voters make up the urban poor and rich. They come from different parts of the country and are reasonably well informed. Delhi represents the pan Indian ethos: a class of voters that have aspirations. Those originally from the city want it to be a place of opportunity, those coming from outside want to rise here. They have migrated and opted for a new life. It is place, where for most people the issues of caste, race, language are even religion are irreverent. Delhi has a vast young population and it reflects how India is going to be in years to come.

This Delhi election saw 11 million new voters. The AAP party promised them free WiFi. In AAP they saw a renewed optimism. The party’s leader Arvind Kejriwal is an engineer from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology. He has worked with a big corporate firm and has been bureaucrat. In their highly effective campaign, they spoke about real issues confronting the voters like water, sanitation, women’s security, electricity, and jobs - issues that haunt India at large. It had a well-defined programme.

A BJP cadre who didn’t want to be identified said, “they did their homework well. It was a great campaign.”

Apart from the poor poll strategies there are other issues that may have been a factor for BJP’s defeat. These factors have also been a concern in the rest of the country. Modi’s overwhelming mandate hasn’t seen him cracking down on the Hindu fundamentalist forces that have asserting themselves lately. Religious intolerance in the country has on been rise with a renewed call to promote “Indianess” based on one language and Hindu religion.

On one hand, Modi has successfully projected himself to be globe tottering leader aligning and reinforcing India's founding values with other major democracies. He is seen taking selfies with world leaders and even charming the US president, at home young people fear of reprisals and humiliation by the Hindu fundamentalist groups if they are out to celebrate Valentines’ day.

A postgraduate student of Jawaharlal Nehru University says (with anonymity) , “ as women I know what it means to vote for BJP. I will be humiliated if I hold the hand of by boyfriend. They are a patriarchal lot.”

Anna Vetticad a writer and a journalist says in her Facebook post “ I fear those whose stated ideology is to declare India a Hindu rashtra and relegate both women & minorities (religious minorities, linguistic minorities, sexual minorities) to a subordinate position in this country... people who say gay people are "abnormal", people who object to us holding hands in public, people who tell us it's "against our culture" to have silly fun like buying Valentine's Day cards and teddy bears for our partners/spouses. This is as much a vote against hate politics as it is a vote for development.”

By voting AAP to power the voters in Delhi have sent a clear message to all political parties. People in India want strong leadership, not a ruthless personality driven politics, they want development but not division in the society, they want policies based on reality and not ideology (replacing Sanskrit with German in 21^st century makes little sense). More importantly, they want a harmonious India that is liberal, multicultural, progressive and secular. This has been the verdict of the day.

Reinforce the values of modern India

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 08:38:00 +0000

India certainly feels endorsed as a emerging global power after Obama’s visit , but at home it needs to reinforce the values that are significant to the idea of India itself to sustain its global image.

Now the dust has settled after president Barak Obama’s much celebrated visit as a chief guest for India’s republic day parade, it is imperative to look at how the new found friendship between president Obama and prime minister Modi resonates amongst the ordinary Indians.

It is a little secret that despite India’s subdued relationship with the US during the Cold War era -which began with Nehru’s discomfort with the US’ capitalism; the subsequent tilt towards Soviet Union and disagreements over wide ranging issues from Nuclear Non –Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to CTBT – for ordinary Indians, however, the United States has always been a country of awe and land of opportunities. Throughout the last six decades millions of Indians have migrated to the US, and today it is a home to as Obama puts it: “3 million proud American Indians.” They make up the richest ethnic community in the US with a considerable political clout.

Whilst at political level USSR and now Russia have been India’s all weather friends, this relationship has fallen short of translating into people - to- people contact. The reasons for this are many: a communist USSR was not very welcoming to outsiders, nor their economy was commercially vibrant and diverse as the US. The fact that Indian’s readily integrated with the American way of life speak volumes about inherent value system of Indians that probably found a stronger expression in America’s identical but much advanced democratic ideals. Indian Americans naturally prospered and today playing an important role in warming up the US- Indo ties.

The word “natural” in the context of the US- Indo relationship has never found more symbolic expression then it did last week when the two leaders stressed that relationship between the two democracies can be a defining force in the 21^st century.

In many ways the visit by the US president was special: as a global hero with an inspiring background, Indians were happy to see him as country’s chief guest on the occasion of its republic day. Political deals apart, prime minster Modi did well to engage the popular leader with ordinary Indians on radio. Discussing common topics about their personal likes and dislikes and reinforcement of the democratic values surely touched the chord of ordinary Indians. Such things were never seen before but it largely underlined the encompassing significance of this relationship. Symbolically, it also indicated US’ courtship with India - something Indians love.

Equally significant was Obama’s speech in the Town Hall which reinforced the shared values of the two nations and an observation that “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along lines of religious faith, along lines of anything, and is unified as one nation.”

The shared values of the world’s oldest and largest democracies find the deepest roots in India. This country is not just multi-race, multi lingual and multi religious but in effect a civilisation of breath-taking contradictions that is moving forward with a sea of humanity.

Obama in his speech mentioned about his contradictions “right now, in crowded neighbourhoods not far from here, a man is driving an auto-rickshaw, or washing somebody else’s clothes, or doing the hard work no one else will do,” he told a crowd of about 1,500 people at Siri Fort Auditorium, a performance venue that hosts art and cultural events.

India is a country that is on the course of becoming a major global power, but and also there are regions in the country where a section of the population still cut off from the modern world and there are other divisions of caste, class and extreme overty. Clearly India’s challenges are unique and it requires great understanding of history to understand Indian society.

Does Indians need to be reminded of this? Clearly yes, many affluent Indians have no idea about these contradictions. A respected television news editor recently frowned on me for the stories I was covering for the international media. He said issues like human trafficking and modern –day slavery is not news. “We have internalised these issues”, he said.

For India to find a respected place in the world India will have to uplift its poor and change its attitude towards people who are not that privileged. For this to happen, a strong leadership is needed that can stand up and defend the supreme values of the country’s constitution premised on justice , equality , liberty and fraternity.

It is in safeguarding these values and promoting the fundamental rights can India ensure an all round development for its citizens and find its glory in the world.

Internships : does it offer a level playing field to everyone?

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 18:00:00 +0000

After completing my master’s degree from the Stirling University in Scotland in 2009, I applied for my first internship in some of the top public relations company in London. As an Indian graduate in the UK, I knew it was going to be difficult: the recession was at its peak, jobs were drying and it was very competitive.

Fortunately, I was given an opportunity by the UK’s top ranked PR Company, Bell Pottinger for a month - it was without pay. The only incentive I received was expenses for lunch and the fare for the London underground. For me it wasn’t that difficult: my aunt lived in London so I had a place to stay.

All I wanted from the internship was to gain exposure and knowledge of the UK’s highly professional PR and media industry. I was convinced that such experience in a foreign country, even if it’s for a month, will enable me learn a lot of new things.

The internship helped me in many ways: I was given interesting work from day one invited to the brainstorming and discussion sessions with the top managers and directors; I interacted with graduates from other universities and on Fridays, I met with other colleagues and MDs over drinks. Above all, I picked up valuable PR and creative writing skills something that you could possibly not learn in the university.

And what else, by the end of the month, as luck would have it, I was taken in paid in position for a few months. When I finished my tenure, I was immediately offered a full time job by an upcoming PR agency in Wiltshire in South of England.

So the risk I had taken had paid off. I was bit privilege in the sense that I had place to say and didn’t have to worry about food and other expenses – in short I could afford the internship, which made a huge difference.

This year, I had an opportunity to facilitate internships for four British students with India’s largest and very reputed NGO Sulabh International. The NGO had made all arrangements for the students including free stay. The International development students to my knowledge had an enriching experience. The students still had to pay for the airfare to come to India – they could once again afford it.

When it comes to internship and global exposure the balance is tilted more in favour of the students from the rich countries. It’s cheap for them to travel to the developing countries for work. For students from the developing world the scenario is way too different: it’s very expensive to go abroad; most students rely on bank loans or scholarships for their degrees. Getting an internship depends on ability to acquire work visa in additional to exceptional merit. The economic downturn has made it almost impossible for foreign students to get internship at least in the UK.

Doing internships can help in a number of ways: my exposure to the UK work culture helps me a lot while working for western media here in the subcontinent. I understand the expectations and am able to deliver accordingly. Also in an integrated global economy where the mobility of skilled labour is desired, exposure to global working environment can help in bringing fresh ideas, facilitate team work and help implement a more dynamic work culture.

The Economist this week in its in-depth report on internships says the trend is on the rise and has become “the first step to a white collar job”. The article mainly talks about the job market in the US, however refers that big companies even in India, China and Japan are coming up with innovative graduate internships schemes.

Internships, no doubt are valuable, but multinational companies and big corporates in countries that has a huge flow of foreign students could have a system so that talented graduates from all over the world gets an opportunity. After all, the world economy needs diversity.

It also mustn’t be only for those who can afford it- certainly it’s not a bad idea to offer at least the minimum wage.

KBC: more than becoming a millionaire ....

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 06:31:00 +0000

Kaun Bangea Coreorpati (KBC), the Indian version of the popular television show Who Wants to be a Millionaire is back this season with more money and added glamour.

The host of the show, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, is a towering icon in India who has mesmerised Indians for almost four decades as a Bollywood super star.

Mr Bachchan, however, appears in a different avatar on the small screen. His sense of humour, humility and appreciation of the contestants and the audience at large makes him stand out as a truly inspirational ambassador of Indian ethos and values.

But the programme itself is great in many ways: over the years it has evolved in its style and content so much so that each new season is eagerly awaited. It provides a wholesome family entertainment and projects briefly stories from the lives of ordinary Indians.

Many of the contestants who participate in the programme narrate social issues that continue to haunt India. Dowry, child foeticide and infanticide, and abysmal state of education are some of the issues that have been referred in first week of the game.

What is really commendable is the work and commitment of these unknown individuals who try to make a difference in their societies. Mr Bachchan’s empathy with the causes gives these individuals a greater leverage to carry their mission forward.

KBC also highlights the hardships of ordinary individuals for many of whom winning certain amount can make a huge difference to their lives. It also delves in the social fabric of the country knitting people from different regions and backgrounds.

The pulse of the programme is knowledge, but it also paints the essence of a multicultural society where it’s not the differences but the similarities of culture and value system that holds this massive nation together, and brings millions to watch this intelligent game show.

Indian television is often criticised for producing soaps that promote regressive values, KBC for once is a breather!

Resetting India - Nepal ties

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 11:45:00 +0000

You didn’t really need an expert to underline the special people –to- people relationship that India and Nepal enjoys.

Even as a kid, growing up in an Anglo Indian boarding school in picturesque hill station of Kalimpong in 1990s, the relationship between the two countries was apparent.

Majority of the students in the hostel in my school, and a big number of boys and girls in other boarding schools were from Nepal. We lived together, studied the same syllabus and shaped our goals based on a common value system.

This was further reinforced by a very liberal education that Victorian era schools of the region espoused. The Nepalese students who came to study were well off. They excelled academically and also in sports.

Apart from asserting supremacy of India and Nepal on each other over frivolous issues, which mostly stemmed from our immaturity in understanding international relations as children, there were no tensions as such.

Coming to study in that part of India, the Nepalese students felt at home. The language overwhelming spoken in the Darjeeling area and Sikkim is Nepali, and local cultural practices are akin to that in Nepal.

As Indian students, coming from other far-flung areas of India and abroad, we learnt to speak Nepali, lavished eating momos and Wai Wai, a popular Nepal made instant noodles. In 1990s momos (dimsums) were unheard in mainland India. Many of us fell in love with the pan – Nepali culture.

But we also understood there were some deep-rooted grievances against India – something systematically echoed by the Nepalese students.

As the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi travels to Nepal for a state visit – first bilateral visit by an Indian leader in seventeen years - the spectrum of issues defining the relationship between the two countries have come to the forefront. Experts on Indo–Nepal relations have pointed out what have gone wrong in the past, but also talk about the unbelievable potential of the bilateral ties between two countries if taken to a new trajectory.

Writing in The Hindu, Rakesh Sood, a former Indian Ambassador to Nepal says the 1950 India- Nepal treaty of Peace and Friendship, which allows Nepalese citizens to work in India and own property among many other things, has a clause, which required Nepal to consult India on its defence requirements. The author says Nepalese see (this) as unfair and is “used by politicians to whip up anti-India sentiment.”

There is also a bitter resentment in Nepal about India’s meddling in its domestic affairs, though Indian has played a role in ending the a decade old Maoist insurgency by signing a 12 point agreement in 2005. A Joint Commission set up by two governments to review the relationship between the two nations remained defunct for 23 years.

As India’s economy took off recording impressive growth rates in the first decade of the 21^st century, Nepal as a nation spluttered. The Royal massacre in 2000, the coup by King Ganendra, the end of Maoist insurgency, restoration of what looks like a fragile and unstable democracy, and lack of consensus by Nepal’s political leaders to draft a constitution have brought the country to a standstill. But despite much lower per capita income than India, Nepal has done better than India on several Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including infant mortality, maternal health, and child malnutrition and poverty reduction rates.

Experts comment on the range of areas that India and Nepal can benefit if the relationship is put on the right track. Tourism and linking pilgrimages sites between the two countries is one of them, but what is striking is Nepal’s hydropower potential, which if harnessed to an optimum level can make Nepal one of the richest countries in the region.

Another former India ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad says, “if half of Nepal’s hydro potential was to be harnessed, annual revenues could top $40 billion, over $100 million a day.”

The stakes in India- Nepal is much higher than any strategic relationship that governs bilateral ties between nations. Indo-Nepal ties is all about common people : with open borders, cross-linking history, traditions and culture, a mutually beneficial relationship can have a direct impact on ordinary citizens.

India, on its part must educate the citizens of Nepal a lot of good things that it’s doing through its public diplomacy tools, and at the same time address the genuine grievances of the Nepalese people on day to day matters like paying in USD for healthcare and education in India, or bringing down the mobile phone tariff between the two countries. Both countries must explore trade facilitation for boosting growth and improving livelihoods at a local level.

India and Nepal are going to talk on host of issues like trade, hydropower, infrastructure and even building a cricket stadium at Pokhra, but one core issue that is missing or being not talked about is human trafficking. Thousands of Nepali women are trafficked into Indian cities and forced into sexual slavery on a systematic manner.

A concerted effort is required to address the issues of human rights, trafficking and cross border local trade. It’s only then the open border between the two countries can act as bridge in fostering a robust relationship based on mutual trust and economic gain – something that is strongly desired for the harmony, peace, prosperity and stability of two South Asian neighbours.

Gift toilets ... from Badaun

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 08:20:00 +0000

Badaun shows many problems that rural India faces- lack of toilets is one of them.

Katra Shadat Ganj in Badaun district in Uttar Pradesh is approximately 293 kilometres from New Delhi.

The remote village sits in between sprawling green and yellow agricultural land. The area is known for its mangoes. It is here, a couple of months back two teenage girls were raped and hanged to a tree, when they went out to relieve themselves in the open.

54% households (408 out of 750 households) have never had toilets in this village. According to the government census 2011, half of India’s population (around 600 million) don’t have toilets at home.

The incident had lead to a renewed global outcry over the growing incidents of rape in India. Two months down the line, the sleepy and poverty-ridden village is witnessing a flurry of construction work. The village is getting toilets – thanks to Sulabh international that has decided to build toilets for every household following the horrific incident.

The toilets could soon act as one of the vital life-changing agent for the villagers. Rushina Begum, 35 years, is a mother of three daughters. The eldest daughter, Chandi is 14 years old. For Rushina, the biggest worry is the safety of her three daughters. “There is a fear in my heart following the incident; I personally take my daughters to the field”, she says.

The new toilet in their courtyard is going to change their lives. “We are vey happy, we can’t wait to use the toilet”, says Chandi.

The Sulabh toilets are sleek, concrete structures, finished with ceramic tiles, has waterproofing cement paints and aluminium doors.

The project engineer, Ramesh Misra explains that the $ 700 toilets that Sulabh is building suit the local conditions. “The soil is sandy and has high moisture”, he says.

Sulabh International is India’s largest NGO that has been working in the field of sanitation for over four decades. Its founder Dr Bindeshwar Pathak pioneered a two- pit technology that is affordable, culturally acceptable and can be easily built under any conditions. The technology can be further used to harness biogas and produce fertilizer from human excreta.

Sulabh expanded the concept of public toilets in India. Today, it maintains 8000 public toilets and constructed over1.3 million household toilets. Its ground-breaking innovation is seen as one of the biggest social movements in contemporary India.

Sulabh, under the leadership of Dr Bindesheswar Pathak has a vision to provide toilets for every household by 2019, something shared by the newly elected prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, who during the election campaign echoed “ toilets first, temples later.”

However, dealing with India’s sanitation problem will require challenging the mind-set and changing social habits.

Dr Pathak says, “not having toilets in not directly linked with poverty. Lack of education for a vast majority of population means that people don’t have basic sense of sanitation, healthcare and hygiene.”

It’s true: across north India, where the problem of open defecation is rampant, some villagers have concrete and even big houses but the men running the household don’t feel that toilet is necessary.

Getting every household to use toilets will require motivation at one level, but more importantly this shameful habit speaks volumes how miserably India has failed to educate its population.

Obituary: My Grand Mother (1922-2014)

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Mon, 21 Jul 2014 07:20:00 +0000

Gauri Bhattacharjee, my grand mother was my hero. She was healthy, still going about doing her daily chores when I saw her two months back. At the age of 92, her self-discipline was uncompromising and very inspiring.

She was a strict vegetarian, cooked her own meals and spent the afternoon reading newspapers, books and magazines. Her life was governed by a strong sense of moral values, but she embraced modernity with joy and respect.

She once told me, “If you don’t learn to live with time, you suffer the most”. She appreciated technology: she was fascinated to see my Kindle e-book reader and called it a great device and was also curious to know from my aunt what Facebook is all about.

For me, she was a testimony of history. As a child and teenager, I used to spend a lot of time with her whenever I got back home for vacations from my boarding school. I literally grew up listening to a lot of stories from her childhood, notable accounts of India’s great freedom struggle, and the looming horrors of the Second World War over Calcutta.

From her I learnt about the tales of Indian mythologies of Ramayana and Mahabharata, and also about the great scholarly saints and reformers of India like Mahatma Gandhi, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda and Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The oral lessons she provided made me take strong interest in history and world affairs later in life.

She was born in an educated family in 1922. Her father was a headmaster and the director of education in erstwhile princely state of Rewa (now in Madhya Pradesh in Central India). She had a comfortable upbringing. In those days women didn’t go to school, my great grand father educated her at home in Bengali.

Her marital life wasn’t full of bliss. She lost her two sons during their youth and her husband died battling cancer. She, however, didn’t allow her grief to weaken her but rather took charge of her affairs more resolutely. She once told me, “my father always taught me to pray to God to give enough strength to cope with any challenge that life might throw at you.”

As per Hinduism’s rigid caste system, she was a Brahmin: a class of people considered learned, priest worthy and even superior. As per her religious beliefs she renounced colourful attire and chose to clad herself in white saree after her husband’s death in 1981.

Despite her education she wasn’t an absolute non – believer in the caste system. She vehemently opposed when my mother decided to marry my father- it was a mixed marriage in every sense, something not very common in the society she was accustomed to, but later, she not only accepted their marriage but also lived with my parents for the rest of her life.

With time she refuted everything that was not reasonable about religion or society in general, and became extremely liberal and secular in her outlook. My non- religious attitude didn’t bother her; when I decided to practice Nichiren’s Buddhism, she strongly encouraged me and advised me stick to it. “Have faith in something”, she advised me.

Once, jokingly when I asked her if it was a problem if I fell in love with a girl from some other religion, she remarked, “is religion written on the skin of a person?”

She was non- political and was angry at the state of affairs in India. She mourned that the dream of India as envisaged by the freedom fighters have been squashed by people’s greed.

The concept of “motherland” was supreme to her. She was very patriotic but equally well read about the cultures of other countries. Despite our family’s strong connection with Britain, she never wanted to visit the country, but cherished my academic achievements in that country.

She didn’t want to die ailing. She didn’t want others to suffer – that was her biggest concern. Even during her last days she despised my aunt for crying. She said it was time to let her go.

She died hours after I took the flight to Delhi from Assam after seeing her for the last time. She was in pain the previous night and it felt as if she waiting to see me.

Personally for me, it’s an end of an era. It’s also time to look forward and take charge of our own lives and world in the very spirit she lived her life.

She taught us to remain determined , never to be defeated in the face of challenges, to respect others, to be always honest and very tolerant – universal values that we need to make the world a happier and better place.

May her soul rest in peace.

What does Hitler mean in India?

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 17:01:00 +0000

A week before the recently concluded Indian election, I travelled to Varanasi, an ancient and a holly city for Hindus in north India.

The political temperature was peeping in this multi- religious and chaotic city. Narendra Modi, the new prime minister of India was contesting from here, thus making it a ground zero of the world’s largest democratic contest.

I was with my correspondent to gauge the mood of the public in the city. On the banks of the Ganges on which the ancient city stands providing spiritual solace and mukti (liberation of souls) to millions of pious Hindus, we met two first time voters.

The two young boys, who are students talked freely about their choice of candidates. Modi, they said, was their hero; he was like Hitler and India needs a figure like him!

They knew about Modi’s track record in his home state of Gujarat. They said that the state was prospering under his leadership and hoped that he will replicate the same model of development for the rest of the country. It all sounded great, but I wondered what was actually the connection with Hitler here?!

“Well India needs a strong administrator you see. There is too much corruption and we need a strong leader,” said one of the boys.

I said that’s all fine but Hitler wasn’t a great man. “ Hitler killed millions, are you aware of that?” – I asked.

They looked confused. Perplexed I asked them if they have studied about Hitler in school. They said they did in brief but the message they had from it was that he was a strong leader.

It was just not the two young school graduates. People attending a Modi’s rally just outside the capital New Delhi echoed similar sentiment. The people we spoke with were mesmerised by Modi, yet they said he will rule the country like Hitler!

Really!! “ What do you mean when you say that sir?” I asked. The answer was similar: a strong leader who can fight corruption and put India in its rightful path of growth and development.

It was heartening to see the aspirations of ordinary people: how much they urged for progress and good life and their expectation from charismatic Narendra Modi.

But comparison with Hitler astounded me every time I heard it.

It was not just the people who admired him. Many who didn’t support him or was wary of him also compared him with Hitler.

Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, and Modi’s main rival in one of his political rallies went on to compare two types of leader: Gandhi and Hitler. Without naming Modi directly, he said whilst Gandhi believed in the knowledge of the people, Hitler believed that entire knowledge of the world is in his mind.

Clearly, such statement in the West would have opened a whole new serious debate or the politician would have been chided for invoking the name of Hitler , but in India it such clumsly reference sounded like an understatement for history's greatest mass murderer.

Anuradha, a teacher of history tells me that Hitler is not really taught in schools. There is a reference to second world war, but due to India’s own political development and fight against the British rule during the rein of Hitler, that part of the world history doesn’t get much attention.

She says: "socially in India people have heard the name of Hitler and many see him as a short man who took on the world and was a strong leader. Many not so educated people are ignorant that he is one of the deadliest murders ever to be born in the history of the world."

A few years back a café in Mumbai was named after Hitler! They changed the name after severe criticism. The owner was quoted telling the media “"We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people's minds ... we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different."

Different indeed…. The history is not the same for everyone after all!

Modi and South Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Wed, 28 May 2014 09:16:00 +0000

Engaging with South Asia should be one of the key objectives of India's new foreign policy

Narendra Modi, India’s new prime minister, has assumed office in style. Those who have been following him through the election campaign know that he is great in raising expectations. His speeches were powerful: loaded with cliches of dynamism, development and growth that sparked the excitement of the crowd wherever he went. It gave them hope for change that India desperately needs. This created the ‘Modi wave’, and it has successfully propelled the 63 year old to become India’s most powerful man.

The ‘Modi wave’ didn't stop there. No one really expected that he would fire his first salvo at India’s foreign policy by inviting the leaders of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) - India’s immediate neighbours- on his oath taking ceremony in New Delhi. This well thought out plan took the entire south Asian region and the world by surprise. From Kabul to Dhaka, people were jerked to take notice of the man who is going to take charge of the region’s most dynamic economy. With the presence of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, at this historic moment, Mr Modi turned his swearing in ceremony into a grand international event.

The Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif must also be appreciated for seizing this opportunity to come down to India and give a fresh momentum to the stalled Indo- Pakistan peace process. It was under his and then India’s then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s leadership (also from Modi’s BJP party) in 1999 that concrete efforts were made to improve the ties between the two countries, and a bus service was started between Delhi and Lahore. The efforts were later thwarted by the Kargil war. Mr Sharif now promises ‘to pick up the threads’.

The invitation of rest of the south Asian leaders sends out an important signal. The countries that make up SAARC(India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) are historically and culturally connected to India. But over the years, due to a combination of factors that includes India’s neglect of the region coupled with high –handed attitude meant that India’s relationship with some of its neighbours, particularly Bangladesh, have been patchy. India’s lukewarm engagement with its neighbours has made these countries to turn to China for economic help. The Chinese have been generous in dolling out millions for infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. There is growing Chinese expats in Nepal, and not to mention about China’s ‘all weather’ friendship with Pakistan. New Delhi has been nervous about Chinese presence in India’s backward . Strategic experts warn of India being surrounded by the ‘string of pearls’.

India’s long term security and economic stability largely depends on the prosperity of its neighbours. As India’s economy grows, the region as a whole must benefit from it. It is also important the countries must work together to fight the scourge of extreme poverty, climate change, human trafficking, drugs, insurgency, terrorism, migration, HIV and other diseases. These are shared problems and have a knock on effect on each other. The solutions have to found locally as they have a direct bearing on a common man.

Narendra Modi has demonstrated great statesmanship by inviting the SAARC leaders on the first day of his term. How will this translate in to action is difficult to say but it’s a great start. South Asia needs vision and a leadership and above all an environment of trust. India as a powerful and big country under leadership of Modi might want to show magnanimity by engaging constructively with its neighbours, and hopefully other countries will respond. This should be in the interest of the people that make up one fifth of the world’s population, majority of which lives with an income of less than $2 a day.

India's north-east and racism

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 11:08:00 +0000

The death of a student from India’s north –east in Delhi raises disturbing questions about regional integration and racial profiling.

Nido Taniam has been killed. He was beaten mercilessly by the “locals’ in South Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, a popular residential area for students and migrants from India’s north-east.

Was his death an act of racism? Or, an altercation that went out of control leading to his death?

The mainstream and the social media are swarming with messages of protest over the death of young student from Arunachal Pradesh. Many see it purely a racist attack and are organizing rallies to demand swift police investigation. The unfortunate incident has ratcheted the thorny issues of racism in regard to India’s oriental looking citizens living in other parts of the country.

Let’s step aside from bigger issues of policy, politics and militancy that always forms the core of debate whenever north-east is discussed, and focus for while what brews tensions when people from the north-east and “locals” live side by side.

Apart from the students, Delhi has seen a huge influx of people from the north- east, Darjeeling and Nepal over the last decade. Many of them with basic education have found jobs in the retail sector and the call centers. Many more are now employed with restaurants and work as security guards.

Almost unseen to an outsider and sandwiched between posh neighborhoods of South Delhi is Munirka village. It provides affordable accommodation to thousands of students, young professionals and other migrants from the north-east. It's crowded, cosmopolitan and is bustling with small businesses. Many of them have opened small businesses here. Small rooms have been turned into chapels.

Raju, one the local landlords, who is a Jat, tells me how Munirka village has transformed in last 15 years. He says when the oriental looking people first arrived, the locals thought they were from Korea or Japan. 'We had no idea such people existed in India’! He admits that landlords have benefited because of people from the north- east house rent has gone spiraling.

Raju says, “ I have no problem in renting out rooms to them as long as they don’t create trouble and are well behaved.” But there are issues: there is a cultural clash and some locals feel their lifestyles are ‘immoral’ and they bring in foreign (western) culture. “We don’t want our children to be influenced by them”, says another landlord who has stopped renting rooms to people from Manipur. She assumes all people from the region to be Manipuris!

It is also true that many from northeast promote cultural values that they might not necessary practice back home. Deepak is from Darjeeling works in a retail shop. He tells me about the deliberate and arrogant attempt by the some young people from the north-east to show that they are different. He says, “many keep to themselves, and that creates a problem.”

For those who understand the north-east would know that there is not much cultural assimilation in the region, but when students travel to other parts of the country, they unite under one banner and assert themselves as “north eastern”.

Once in Delhi, they increasingly find difficult to get along with the local mainstream cultures. Regional sentiments run high. They complain of racism when referred as ‘chinkis’.

Group fights are a regular phenomenon amongst those who resort to hooliganism in university hostels and in residential areas, and in many instances they are more about personal issues, which can have fatal fallout.

But why this alienation amongst students who are young and have an opportunity to do well?

First of all not much have been done to facilitate the acceptance of people from the northeast in the local societies. It’s not easy given the conservatism that already hounds the local communities. The government has to educate the people through community building programmes and tell that people from the north-east are also Indians.

Universities and boarding schools must adopt programmes to integrate students from different states. It has to be a part of induction and fresher’s day parties, and any regionalism mustn’t be tolerated. A robust mechanism involving students from various backgrounds needs to be put in place to fight any sort of racial abuse in educational institutions. Police should be sensitized.

Also, students from the north -east should try to develop broader national outlook and get over with petty regional issues and divisive ideologies. North-east also has a lot of successful people, they need to serve as ambassadors to promote harmony and talk to students from the region.

Finally, the media mustn’t act responsibly and not prematurely see the attack on Nido Taniam as a hate crime. Whist his killers must be brought to justice, but raking the issue as a hate crime will only create further rift and mistrust between communities which is not desired.

The Khobragade episode vs India's honour

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 16:53:00 +0000

Khobragade’s episode shows that misplaced notions of pride guide Indian public sentiment.

Let’s step away from a the debate about who is right and wrong in this unexpected diplomatic tussle between India and the US over the treatment meted out to an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade.

Mrs Khobragade has been indicted in the US for visa fraud and for making false statements about the compensation given to her housekeeper, who is also an Indian. The row has strained the relations between the two countries. India has acted swiftly to withdraw a series of petty privileges enjoyed by the US diplomatic staff. It also expelled one of the US diplomats.

But look at this: the diplomat’s father went on record to thank Indians who ‘stood with me like rock’ and ludicrously said that his daughter is so popular now that political parties have approached both her and him to run in parliamentary elections, and he might consider!

Clearly, Mr Khobragade must know that his daughter has not done any heroic act. The fact of the matter is that she has been indicted on serious charges. She has merely been made a ‘hero’ by the Indian foreign ministry.

New Delhi’s retaliatory responses and stringent condemnation in the name of India’s honour is something that is can be easily sold to India’s not very well informed population. They see that the manner in which the diplomat was arrested is detestable, which is true, but miss the bigger picture. It also must be remembered that the complainant is one of us: an Indian. The ill treatment meted out to her (not proven) is something that many Indians systematically face everyday in some form or the other. Clearly,if they really understand the issue purely on humane terms, they would be able to relate more to Mrs Richards, the maid rather than the diplomat.

So, if political parties have approached the Khobragades, it’s a national shame and speaks volumes about the rickety nature of politics in this country.

Strangely India is fighting on the ‘immunity’ issue, and hasn’t condemned the crime committed by the diplomat. The MEA as a powerful lobby, and given the nature of their jobs considers itself as a cut above the rest and is trying the save its own skin.

It is now an open secret that diplomats from all countries have been abusing their privileges. What is difficult to understand is why a maid is needed when posted in developed countries, when millions of ordinary Indians living abroad can do without one.

And, taking about national pride and honour, let’s not forget that the diplomat in question is married to a US citizen, her children- until this issue erupted -would have presumably been brought up like Americans rather than Indians. She has used her position to make her life comfortable for herself and her family. There is nothing wrong in it. But when her husband is an American why could she not pay the legal minimum wage to the maid? And, now when she is in trouble for offences committed against someone who is also an Indian, why should ordinary Indians show solidarity with her?

On the contrary, Mrs Khobragade has done irreparable damage to the reputation of Indians at large by her reckless and insensitive behaviour, and this could have serious repercussions on a number of issues related to foreign affairs where US support is needed.

India's fight against corruption

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 13:52:00 +0000

A systematic reform of work culture is required to fight India’s tough battle against corruption

2014 seems to usher a new hope for Indian politics and governance. The debutant Aam Admi Party(AAP) that stormed into power in Delhi promising to wipe out corruption has jolted political equations in India. Its brilliant performance in Delhi polls and popularity elsewhere in the country makes it a force to reckon with. Its leader Arvind Kejriwal is already been compared with the India’s two other political stalwarts touted as future prime minsters: Rahul Gandhi of the ruling Congress led UPA and Narendra Modi of the BJP.

Let’s talk about the corruption issue that the AAP promises to tackle head on. It has set up an anti graft helpline that received 3904 calls on its first day of operation. The helpline will offer ‘government advice’ to the callers to set up sting operations on corrupt officials. This is seen as an unprecedented step in India’s fight against corruption.

Will it work? First of all given the depth of corruption in India where everyone seems to be affected, the very presence and the publicity of the helpline will make a difference. The results may be far more dramatic if a few officials are named and shamed for taking bribes, and are persecuted. What is really laudable is that it gives helpless citizens to resort to something immediately to redress their grievances against a corrupt official. The helpline will have pons and cons, but if handled properly it can at least be the beginning of a battle against a deeply rooted problem in India.

In India corruption is not just about paying bribes to get things done but it interlinked with deeply prejudiced social practices of class and caste.. The entrenched class based bureaucracy, which is a fall out of colonialism, emphasizes on safe guarding the status and power of those on the top. The culture of hierarchy is such that it not only needs to be preserved but must function in a manner so that it commands worship, respect and inflicts fear on ordinary citizens. In rural areas this is further reinforced by the caste system.

The beacon lights on cars, the need to address someone as ‘sir’ or ‘madam’, personal subservience to superiors at work, the indifference to others, the need to assert one’s identity to get things done, the power of might, abuse of domestic workers and people who are less privileged are some of the many visible cultural practices that directly or indirectly breeds and promotes corruption.

Such system of arrogance that essentially abuse human rights and dignity of others must be eliminated. Fortunately, there is a growing consensus that such things are wrong : the Supreme Court of India has banned the use of beacon lights, the AAP has vowed to bring in a culture of simplicity and transparency by shunning excess facilities that surrounds VIP. These again might look symbolic and small measures but again it’s at least a start of a big process to change the mindset of the people.

The behaviour outlined above is propelled by greed and mad rush for wealth, something that has been a characteristic of all developing economies. But in the 21^st century, the answer to solve many of these problems lies in technology. It is the only way in a country like India to leap frog the human barriers to get access to something. Technology brings in accountability and transparency. Only a few years back, getting a passport in India was a nightmare, thanks to technology and the state –of – the- art passport offices, the process is much simpler and easier now.

At institutional level fighting corruption in India will require multiple approaches. It will require systematic reform of work culture. This must include providing better infrastructure at work places (look at India’s police stations, hospitals and government schools you don’t want there to be again!), it will require installing a very sense of professionalism and a reward system based on performance. Such reforms and measures of checks and balances are equally needed along side a mechanism for vigilance to win the battle against corruption in India.

Voters in India want their country to be a land of dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 17:55:00 +0000

The election results of four major Indian states Chattishgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi spelt a major blow for the Congress –led UPA government at the Centre. The ruling Congress party has been bogged by a series of huge corruption scandals, poor governance and mismanagement of the economy.

The results couldn’t have been better for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 national elections, Narendra Modi has become a new hero in Indian politics. It’s mainly because of his government’s ability to deliver good governance and a steady economic growth in the western Indian state of Gujrat. It’s believed that if the rest of India could match Gujarat’s economic model and growth, India could easily outstrip France’s economy.

What is remarkable about the election results in Delhi is the spectacular performance of the Aam Admi Party(AAP) which literally means a common man party. The debutant party campaigned in style promising to clean up Indian politics and led a very aggressive door-to-door campaign. Their strategic campaign caught up the imagination of many of India’s young and first time voters- and it paid off.

The election results and manner in which people voted reflects a changing dynamics in the fast changing Indian society. Delhi, for example, is made up of urban voters, whose living standard and access to public facilities are better compared to other states that went to polls earlier this week. There is also a vibrant media and people are well informed. The divisive politics of caste and religion that characterized Indian political landscape in 1990s doesn’t really hold ground in Delhi.

For the rest of India too, the 2014 national elections are going to be very different, again because a big chunk of first time voters are young and have aspirations for a better life.

When India voted in earlier elections, the country was still at the early stages of economic growth, and many of the first time voters were growing up. These new voters have seen what it means to be prosperous, rich, and modern – partly due to the media and globalization. Unlike their parents, who had a different mindset and really didn’t have access to a lot of new things like the media, the internet, mobile phones and a view of the larger world. The new generation, on the other hand, has role models within the society. There are rich and well to do families in the neighborhood that have had the privilege of good education and other basic things in life. They are increasingly aware that development and corruption free governance is what eventually counts. In this aspect, Modi’s development model in Gujrat and his charisma makes him popular.

Indian society is like the waves in the sea - the ones that come later are more powerful and larger. Earlier, being a product of public school, foreign educated and coming from a dynastic background did matter, not just in politics but also in the society at large. Thanks to India’s educated middle class, IT boom and economic growth millions joined what was earlier an exclusive growth.

Now millions more have joined in on the first rung in that ladder, from living in a state of absolute ignorance to be able to see the light at the end of tunnel. Millions more are waiting in the wings. They are aware of their rights, want to grow and have a say.

It’s with this belief they have voted in Delhi and else where, and this might also echo in the national elections: they want India to be a land of dreams.

SachinTendulkar: an ode to India

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 10:02:00 +0000

Finally, the moment arrived and ended with one of the finest speeches that sent India rolling into tears. Sachin Tendulkar in his final words thanked everyone as a cricketer, father, son, husband, brother, student and a disciple.

His sense of gratitude was pervasive and touched the chord of everyone who heard him. So far he entertained people with his bat, but today when he spoke, he stood higher than any of his records, and his words were far sweeter than any of his centuries.

No living human being has been celebrated in modern India the way he has been. For the world a great sportsperson was retiring but for Indians the country’s greatest inspirational figure was calling his day.

Like a God’s idol or a picture that occupied a space in every Indian household, Sachin remained in the heart of every Indian during the last 24 years. In Dharavi, one of Mumbai’s largest slums where humans put up with extreme odds in their grueling battle for survival, Sachin’s name brings about a smile in the face of children and adults alike. Prakash Jodgankan, an elderly Dharavi resident tells me: “ Sachin gave me joy and hope. He has made a name for himself in the world and represented the country with so much dignity. If he is not God who else is? ”

Aziz Menon, a Mumbai based journalist tells how Sachin rallied the entire nation behind him whenever he would walk into the pitch to bat. Cricket united India more than anything else, he says, and Sachin was the unifying force of around 1.2 billion Indians.

When Tendulkar arrived at the world stage, India as a nation was going through a turbulent phase. The economy was in tatters, communal violence had plagued the nation, ethnic and regional tensions were on a rise. The country was loosing direction in every sense. Tendulkar through his magical batting on other hand was simply on a rampage and pitchforked himself as an international star– it mesmerized Indians and gave us a sense of hope. Here was someone from a country that was making its way up with a massive burden of history, suffering and struggling to provide a better life for its teeming millions.

Sachin’s career also coincided with India’s story of economic liberalization. He heralded that era of brand endorsements and he practically endorsed everything. Prahlad Kakkar, a man behind most of Tendulkar’s ads since 1992 tells that Tendulkar stood for courage, hope and confidence, and he brought out those values in the brands he represented. He said: “ Tendulkar didn’t represent a brand but brands represented him. He showed Indians that you don’t have to be corrupt to be successful and he was very sincere in everything he did.”

Tendulkar’s ads almost act as a timeline of India’s recent history. People can simply relate to a point in their life in the last two decades by simply looking at those ads.

The tales of Tendulkar’s hero-worship are uncountable. By his own account he says he has met many people who fasted for him whenever he went to bat. His sister fasted every time he went to bat.

What Tendulkar leaves behind: it is just not records that he made in the cricketing arena but more importantly for Indians he leaves behind a legacy that is rooted in a character built on a strong foundation of great Indian values.

His farewell speech was a reminder that not everything of our values and traditions are nonsense, and great things can be achieved if you are true to yourself, your family the people around you. He taught Indians to believe in themselves.

Sachin Tendulkar is a cricket legend but his career is also an ode to India at large.

India needs a pink revolution to help its women

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 19:30:00 +0000

Whatever may be the verdict on the Delhi gang-rape case, India needs an all out war to end the social malaises that subjugates and oppresses its women.

Death penalty is justified

By any definition, the brutal manner in which the victim of 16 Delhi gang- rape was tortured and killed by the rapists is a rarest of rare crime. Whatever the court decides on the quantum of punishment either death penalty- which most people demand and is likely- or life imprisonment, it will send a strong signal in the society.

Let’s give the credit where it's due: the trail was carried out quite swiftly, laws have been amended to widen the definition of rape and there is growing public awareness and consensus that violence against women should be dealt with toughness and without mercy. This itself will act as deterrence to some extent.

The huge outburst of protests following the Delhi rape was lead largely by India’s young and the middle class. The anger of this empowered section matters in India because of their growing influence and role in the society. It’s precisely because of the anger of the civic society, the activism of NGOS and the role of media that the government buckled, and this case was expeditiously carried out without any delay- dallying tactics.

So it's not a question of whether death penalty is going to serve as a deterrence. It is the continuous vigilance of the empowered that will matter. The death penalty is justified in a society like India, which is still evolving and is at crossroads. India cannot overnight arrive at the same notions of justice that developed world practices. India rarely sends people to gallows. Violence against women is a deeply rooted social malaise that has gone out of control; so to deal with this, draconian measures are the need of time.

India needs a pink revolution

The verdict in the Delhi gang- rape will be historical, if in the long term, it is seen as the moment that heralded the process to improve the lives of majority of Indian women after centuries of subjugation and oppression, and this is where the real battle lies.

Jason Burke in The Guardian quotes veteran journalist M. J Akbar. He says : “It is a few weeks of outrage against hundreds of years of tradition."

In a vast part of India, women are disadvantaged at birth. The dowry concerns make them a liability for their parents and women are treated as commodities. This is a reality that plays into a man’s psyche. Dowry is one of the root causes for much of the evils surrounding a woman’s position in the society. Since woman is a commodity that is “bought”, it gives a license to a sex starved man to do what he wants to do with her.

Despite anti-dowry laws, the greed for dowry is so huge even amongst the ‘modern’, ‘educated’ boys and their parents that the practice remains rampant.

India needs an all out war against this social malaise that has over the years encouraged child infanticide and feticides to an alarmingly levels in some northern Indian states.

If the government is serious and there are holistic polices aimed at empowering women, the evils of dowry can be eliminated in a generation. It will require a strong leadership and huge social movement to ensure that every single girl is given education so that they can be financially independent and socially liberated. This will allow them to challenge the notions of patriarchy and male chauvinism in their societies. It is not going to be easy but if every family refuses to give out dowry, things will change.

Sexuality and the new media

We spoke to school students in an upmarket locality to find out if they are given sex education at school. All of them said ‘no’, and said their the teachers and parents don’t think that it is an appropriate subject to be discussed. Everyone said they rely on the internet to find answers to matters related to sexuality and relationship.

In India, modernity clashes with traditional values in an environment that is at best hypocritical. India cinema and media is general is ultra-modern. Glorification of sex in songs and movies are normal, but society refuses to discuss sexuality openly.

In rural India, the consumption of content that promotes debauchery and glorifies a woman as an object of sex is particularly high. India has what is called ‘B’ grade movies, where sex and extreme violence dominates the content. This plays into men fantasy in a culture where even courting a girl is considered a sin. The internet and the mobile phones have made it easier to consume such content in privacy.

With lack of even basic education, heavy consumption of such content coupled with alcohol and drugs at the backdrop of strict social barriers, poverty and even abuse can have fallouts. The manner in which the Delhi gang rape victim was raped, mauled and then destroyed speaks volumes about their animalistic tendencies, which could have been influenced by a combination of above-mentioned factors.

Rape and violence against women happens across all sections of society and all over the world. But if girls are raped every twenty minutes, trafficked and sold for marriages and prostitution, killed at birth, exploited, burnt to death for not brining dowry, there is a serious problem in our society that requires immediate attention.

At the very basic level, there is one more thing that government needs to set right. It is to get the basic transport infrastructure and facilities in place. Creating a world -class transport system with trained staff can greatly reduce many sexual crimes in urban areas.

Mobile internet revolution in India

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 15:47:00 +0000

a long flyover at electronic city in Bangalore

Cheap data internet mobile services and affordable smart phones are bridging the digital divide in India.

The way to Bangalore’s swanky electronic city tells the story of India. You have to go past massive potholed roads before you are suddenly transformed into a super-highway that leaps over what is described as India’s Silicon Valley.

The taxi driver jokingly tells me, “the potholes remind us that we are still in India!”

Whist everyone say that potholes are a result of India’s endemic corruption, which contributes to the country’s inequitable growth and development; in the digital sphere, however, the story is different.

Affordable smart phones and very cheap mobile internet packages are giving millions of Indians the first taste of the internet by simply bypassing the era of personal computers.

young people showing their smart phones

In the streets of Banglaore, we interview people from all walks of life. Rajnath a auto rickshaw (tuk tuk) driver tells us, "personally for me the internet is of not much use, but my customers often use GPS maps to give me directions. Sometimes, it helps me to discover routes I wouldn’t know about. ” Mohammad Sultan, a tomoato vendor, tells us that he uses Google to look out for jobs and keep in touch with friends on Facebook.

We visit a low-income group market, where the shopkeepers are mostly middle aged. They tell us they don’t use the internet on phones, but say that their children own smart phones. Salim, a street garment retailer, shows us his Indian made smart phone. He proudly shows us his music collection and tells us that he is very active on whatsapp and Facebook.

India’s mobile market is growing rapidly. There are more than billion mobile phones used by over 600 million people in a country where the average age is just 25. The smart phone market, which occupies 20 % of India’s mobile market share is expected to double by 2014.

Sudhir Hasija

We meet up with Sudhir Hasija, chairman of Karbonn mobile phones- an Indian start-up manufacturing affordable mobile phones. Karbonn has a market share of 4.5% in India. It sold 35 million handsets in just over three and half years.

The smiling chairman shows us the range of his products. His high-end smartphone is priced at Rs 11,000 ($165) and boasts all the functions of any other popular smartphones. His low -end internet enabled feature phone cost Rs 3000 ($45). The tablets made by the company are just for Rs 6000($90) and have been given out to rural school children in various government sponsored schemes aimed at educating the less -privileged rural children.

Mr Hasija says: “our strength lies in anticipating what people want, we know where India is growing and we have different phones for different markets.”

He says: “In India 80% of the population use low -end phones but they want a good camera; they want the radio. The 3G services don’t even exist in rural India hence they need to be given a product that look big, but also has the basic functions and can run on 2G. In urban India the demand is different. The young population is trendy, fashionable and Facebook savvy. They prefer cheap smart phones.”

India’s home grown smart phone companies control 30 % of the domestic market and are giving tough competition to the likes of Nokia and Samsung in the low segment category of mobile phones.

Along side cheap mobile handsets, the mobile service providers are offering data internet at a very nominal cost.

Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecom service provider active in 20 countries in Asia and Africa say the internet data consumption has grown by 117% compared to the corresponding figure last year. It says 2G & 3G continue to lead the mobile segment growth through deeper penetration and consumption. The company attributes its success to the smart marketing campaign: it rolled out Re 1(0.02 cents) video downloads for its mobile customers across India to give them a taste of mobile internet experience.

Following the success, the company has more recently launched email and Facebook access services at Re 1. Bharti Airtel has also collaborated with Google to provide Free Zone, which gives Airtel mobile customers access to mobile web search and feature-phone-friendly versions of Gmail and Google+ in India. The first page of a website linked from search results is provided at no data cost.

Rajan Anandan, VP and Managing Director, Google India says, “the mobile Internet user base is growing really fast in India. Working with Airtel on this exciting trial means that we can offer Internet services at no cost to anyone with a phone.”

We caught up with Pieters Marten, head of Vodafone in India. He said the Internet enabled mobile phones have given a sense of privacy for the first time to many Indians. People can watch, listen and chat freely. In many Indian households such freedom doesn’t exist or is restricted.

The potential of the fast growing developing markets hasn’t gone unnoticed in the developed world. On the other side of the globe, Facebook has announced plans to drastically cut the cost of delivering basic Internet services on mobile phones, particularly in developing countries. It is an interesting example of how in the era of globalisation the rich and the developing world are connected in terms of policy and business sense!

A report by The International Herald Tribune says that Facebook is working with major mobile manufactures to simplify phone applications so they run more efficiently on phones and networks so that they transmit more data while using less battery power.

It is hoped that in the years to come, with the efforts of global community, the internet and new technologies will greatly empower millions of people in the developing world and help them to leap on a digital information highway much like the motorway over Bangalore’s electronic city!

Freedom in the hills of Darjeeling

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:48:00 +0000

The fanfare and enthusiasm with which the people of Darjeeling district celebrated Independence Day surprised visitors from other parts of India. Will that legacy survive on the backdrop of current political problems?

school children participating on I-day celebrations

Nostalgic past

The Independence day in Kalimpong (Darjeeling district) wasn’t just a national holiday but a festival that everyone awaited for. As a school student growing up in one of the Anglo – Indian boarding schools in Kalimpong, my friends and I eagerly looked forward to that day.

The preparation to celebrate the Independence Day began almost a month before with the school band rehearsing the melodious tunes celebrating valour, victory and patriotism. Alongside the band, the school football team trained hard for the coveted Independence Day inter-school championship – the finals were played on the 15^th August.

On the eventful day, the boarders got a daylong outing to the town with an extra pocket money! Soon after the special breakfast, the principal would hoist the national flag and distribute sweets, and we then were allowed to go the town centre to be a part of the celebrations.

In the town, thousands of people would pour into the high street to witness the grand march -past by the students of the school, their bands, police and the military. The town stadium, know as Mela gound, would be packed with people to watch the national flag hoisting, the speech by a local politician, cultural programmes and the much awaited football final.

The atmosphere in the town was like a village fair: local families would even buy new dresses to be worn on that. Hundreds of street food stalls would spring up for a day selling tea and hot meals. The weather often played a spoilsport with incessant drizzle but the people got used to it. Everything about it was grand, majestic and people felt proud to be an Indian.

Gurkha agitation

The memories of the Independence Day in the hills during my school days came rolling back when a friend lamented about the on-going political situation. He said the boycott of the Independence Day by the local politicians is unfortunate, and he was deeply worried about his family.

The Darjeeling district is on an indefinite strike; the Nepali speaking population is demanding a new state- Gorkhaland (to be carved out from the east Indian state of West Bengal).

The demand, which has been on since 1980s, intensified after the recent creation of a new state: Telengana, in south of India.

The strike has already crippled the local economy. A local tour operator in Darjeeling told me that there have been thousands of cancellations on bookings by tourists for the upcoming festival season.

Darjeeling town deserted

Tourism, Victorian-era schools and the world famous tea gardens should have made this tiny Himalayan district one of the richest in the country, but in the last 20 years, when India’s economic growth soared , the people in the hills became poorer.

Lack of unemployment, the closure of tea gardens and poor government policies have forced the people to live on the edge. Many migrated to the bigger cities to look for jobs. (Read previous post: http://www.sutispeaks.blogspot.in/2013/03/make-strong-foundation-for-brics_27.html)

Thousands of girls are directly or indirectly have fallen prey to the nuisance of human trafficking and are directly or indirectly into prostitution in bigger Indian cities.

A broker in Delhi told me that the business is highly profitable; the girls have no choice. Maya(name changed), who was trafficked to Delhi three years back, tells me that it’s very difficult to get out of prostitution business once you are in. “I earn over Rs 80,000($1200) a month without any qualifications. I am able to take care of my mom. No other job can pay me so much. I don’t care about the future.” says Maya.

The girls are in demand in bigger Indian cities because of their oriental looks, fair skin colour and tender nature.

Many other young boys and girls have taken up jobs in India’s booming retail sector. “They are fashionable, got looks, and speak English, hence are perfect for the jobs”, says a Bangalore based corporate professional.

Clearly from the rhetoric coming form the hills, the issues of livelihood and systemic degradation of the society are hardy being debated.

Mr Gurung, a school teacher and an author from Darjeeling tells me over phone: “the public sentiment is high but it does not mean that they understand everything. It is more about misguided ethnic pride. The initial enthusiasm by the youth whenever a strike is called is high but how long can you sustain it?”

Many question how are the poor people going to benefit even if the statehood is granted. “Those half –educated politicians will become super -rich but my life will still be the same” says Rohan a migrant from Darjeeling in Delhi. I am sure when the Gorkha Territorial Authority was signed, they ( the politicians) received a lot of money. What happened to that?”

United we stand, divided we fall

Dividing India on ethnic lines and for vested political interests can be dangerous and can set a wrong precedence.

The people of Darjeeling need to consolidate their economy and need a model of development that can bring prosperity by optimizing the resources. The local people need to benefit from the tea and tourism industry: a sincere policy to that effect by the government should be a welcome step.

A long -run political agitation can be self- defeating as it will destroy the economy. The entire region will slide back by at least 10 years. Recovering from that point, even if the statehood is granted, will be an uphill task. The people of the hills including their political leaders needs to exercise wisdom and take measures that will bring equitable economic and social benefits to the people.

The Gurkhas have made tremendous sacrifice for India. Their bravery is India’s pride; the welfare and the prosperity of the hills should be a concern for all.

The people need to ensure that the din of freedom is heard once again from the Queen of the Hills on the Independence Day.

India: a divided and a racist society?

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 17:28:00 +0000

A change of social attitude and mindset is required for inclusive growth in India

Sick children in Patna hospital

From a PR point of view, the release of Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen’s new book An Uncertain Glory couldn’t have been timelier. With Indian elections less than a year away, and a gloomy economic climate looming over, the book is going to stimulate intellectual debates and a‘reasoned public engagement’ on India’s socio –economic policies.

The book is already being invoked: last week Meghnad Desai writing for The Sunday Express cited the authors, and endorsed (from what I gather from reading the first couple of chapters of the book) that the story of Indian growth has been elitist and the vast majority of the population hasn’t benefited from India’s 20 years of economic growth.

Meghnad Desai also makes a very valid point: the Indian society has no sense of “equality of respect”, and asserts that social equality is needed for inclusive growth.

How do you achieve social equality in India? Can concerted government policies alone bring in social equality? The answer is 'no'. There has to be first a social acceptance for social equality. Whilst it is true that one of the primary reasons for India’s lack of social and physical infrastructure, and high levels of poverty is bad governance and corruption, but on the other hand, India’s highly conscious caste and class based society, i.e. we the people of India are equally responsible for the gross deprivation of a vast majority of India’s population.

Class and caste divisions

Let’s consider the following:

Since centuries, casteism and economic inequality have created a master- slave relation in India, with the poor serving the rich and the middle class. By and large most Indians don’t want this social status quo to change. How many urban educated Indians actually allow their maids and domestic help to eat with them on same table and sit on the same sofa? What do we do for the welfare of the families of our maids, gardeners, security guards and drivers? Should this sector not be formalized to give them a sense of dignity and some rights for their professions?

Upward mobility in India is a race. Even when people from the economically weak section make it to the ranks of middle class and above, in most cases, they themselves become indifferent to he plight of others. The attitude of indifference coupled with extreme arrogance of the novae-rich reinforces social inequality with much more vengeance and force.

We lack the dignity of labour. Since most upper class Indians grow up believing that some types of work are for people who are poor and illiterate, when someone from that background makes it big, we immediately question their social credentials.

In terms of education, compare a student from a rural government school and a well to do private school. The difference in quality of education and even the very basic facilities are so huge that the race is decided even before it is run. It is not that the government is not spending on education, but again the people running the show don’t want that the schools of the poor are at par with the well to do.

In Bihar, where the death of 20 children after eating mid-day meal could have been averted if the people in charge had systematically monitored the meals or even a simplest protocol in regard to the management of food by headmistress was followed.

Finally, there is always a structural relation between poverty, illiteracy and politics. Keeping people poor and illiterate serves the purpose of the politicians, as it is easy to fool the poor.

The list could go on, but the point is that social inclusion in India requires a change of mindset of the people, and unless we ourselves open up and take ownership of our duties, any efforts for inclusive growth will be an illusion.

For the harsh reality is that believe it or not we are one of the most racist society on the planet in more than one ways. This is unfortunate and is against the spirit of the constitution of the world's largest democracy.

Why Facebook 'likes' matter to politicians?

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 15:01:00 +0000

Social media seems to be have caught up the imagination of political leaders in India, and, like everything else in Indian politics, it has sparked a new controversy.

Indian media reports say that Indian politicians are ‘faking’ it online. A news report on NDTV- an English national news channel- says that number of ‘likes’ on the Facebook page of the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has suddenly doubled in just a month (216049 likes). Interestingly, the report says the most number of ‘likes’ have been clicked not in his home state, or in India, but in Istanbul! India’s opposition party the BJP has accused the Congress chief minster of buying the ‘likes’.

The use of social media by political parties and governments are increasingly becoming popular across the world. The Chilean government was one of the first to broadcast press releases on Twitter. The US State Department, for example, actively engages with its audience by organizing a series on events on its Facebook page. It allows the audience to directly interact with key figures in the US political circle.

Following Mr. Kerry’s visit to India, the US Department of State organized a Facebook event titled “India and America: A Defining Partnership of the 21^st Century”, where Ambassador Robert O Blake directly took questions from the audience all over the world. It was an example of reaching out and directly engaging with the most important stakeholder “the people”. This is probably one of the major advantages of using social media: to be able to interact directly with the audience.

In India, the Gujarat’s chief minister, Narendra Modi has been on the forefront of integrating various digital media tools. His dynamic website www.narendamodi.in is rich in content, and his social engagements and agendas are actively posted on Facebook and Twitter. His public speeches are instantly put on YouTube.

Social media tools are a great way of communicating with the public. It obviates the traditional modes of communication, and the public, in turn, can directly interact with their leader.

If a person’s query is responded to on social media platform, it can help create a favorable image for the party and of the politician. The follower feels acknowledged and derives satisfaction.

Managing digital reputation

Imagine a situation where a, voter is undecided whom to vote for. He might simply Google the name of the leader to make up his mind based on the content the search result generates. It can simply influence his decision. However, in absolute terms more Facebook 'like' doesn't mean more votes!

Can the search result be managed, manipulated or controlled? Yes, to a certain degree by putting a massive content on the website, blog and on other social media platforms. Google is more likely to toss up information on the top of a page if the ‘subject’ or the ‘topic’ is invariably linked to social media sites.

The manner in which Google optimization works, it is likely that the content on Facebook, Twitter, blog or website will show up on the top of a page. In public relations, the strategy adopted for maintaining such an outcome is called digital reputation management.

Many politicians and corporates hire PR firms both in India and abroad to manage their digital reputation. Flooding the internet with positive information on a topic or a person and then maximizing it with ‘hits’ can push existing negative reports on the back pages of a Google search.

For example, if you type ‘Narendra Modi’, you are likely to notice that his website will appear above a popular news website that carries his name on that day. His Twitter, Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube will also be ranked amongst the top ten pages. A general search on Modi will not show anything that is negative about him. It is precisely for this reason the politicians like to have more followers on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Sometimes, smart PR companies dispatch hundreds of not very relevant press releases to smaller targeted news organizations. Once these smaller organizations publish the release online, it can be used as a reference to make a Wikipedia entry- another website that Google loves. (In Wikipedia every sentence requires reference.)

In India, the use of the Internet and smart phones are growing phenomenally. Creative digital videos and smart management of social media tools will soon become an important tool for campaigning. If done wisely, it will have a decisive say in the over outcome of elections results in the years to come. Let the cyber war begin!

Above 90% to study journalism - you must be joking!

noreply@blogger.com (Suti Speaks...) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 08:10:00 +0000

Colleges under Delhi University are asking astronomical grades for journalism courses. Does scoring high grades in school make someone a good journalist?

My friend George Holland -Hill served as a sub –editor for almost all the major UK national newspapers. He once told me that he had to hide the fact that he had a degree in English while hunting for a job in the newspaper industry.

"I always kept low- profile, careful enough not to let anyone know that I had a degree. No one really cared about a degree, because in those days no one had one,” said George.

He said: “ If you walked up to someone in the Fleet Street in 1970s and said I have a degree and want a journalism job, people would frown at you. They would rather hire someone who had some sort of practical experience like working for the village newspaper.”

He narrated an incident about a bloke on a look out for a reporter's job in Manchester. It was a Christmas day and a young lad died in an accident because of excessive drinking. The editor asked the young boy who was looking for a job, if he could go out early in the morning, knock at the family’s door, who lost their son on the pervious day and request them for their son’s photograph. That was a real test!

Journalism is not about learning theory. It is about deploying real –life skills and acquiring practical knowledge either at work, through internship or doing a short-term professional course. But, at the end, journalism is all about passion.

I find it extremely strange, when I read in newspapers that one needs above 95% to study journalism in Delhi University. I wondered if anyone has to be that intelligent to study journalism. Moreover, does one really need three years and then an additional postgraduate degree (five years in total) to be a journalist?

A person who wants to be a journalist must have a strong nose for news. He (or She) must love cultures and be adventurous. The person must be an inborn leader, possess strong management skills and be able to work in a team. It is also important to be a strong negotiator, a great listener and a very good salesman. Above all, the person has to be a very tolerant and liberal.

These are the inherent skills of a journalist, other than acquiring and perfecting the practical skills like ability to write well, and in case of a television and radio journalist ability to speak and edit well.

Whilst the find product of a journalist reveals the person’s great writing and speaking skills, the inherent qualities mentioned above are mostly required at the production stage. For example, it requires a great craftsmanship to convince someone to give an interview. Remember in journalism, you are asking someone’s time without giving something in return.

I discovered my talent in journalism while writing a letter to the editor following 9/11. I then realized that I am more inclined towards international affairs- something that couldn’t have occurred to me when I was at school.

School level grades are not enough to access someone’s journalist abilities. The maturity to understand social and global issues at large comes with time, and not on someone’s ability to score high grades at school leaving exams. The decision of some colleges of Delhi University to scrap entrance exams for the journalism course in not a prudent step, and it spells disaster for the next generation of Indian journalists, as they are likely be too driven by the market and not by passion.