Inner Metamorphosis

Shashi Tharoor was in news recently when he opined that Gandhi Jayanthi need not be declared a national holiday, & instead suggested, following the example of Japan, we all should work more on that day in tribute to Gandhiji. (That around same time he asked media to shut up following allegations of his Five star hotel stay (Gandhian austerity eh?) while involved in Govt work claiming that he was spending money out of his pocket need not concern us :-)) I've just got an answer to his suggestion yesterday. I was casually asking my friends ( all MBA graduates, mind you! ) whether they know why India is called a Republic ? Besides some casual references that its a national holiday, India effectively began to rule themselves, we parade our military might etc, none were able to quite answer my basic question. Why is India called Republic ? ( again I was inspired to ask this question when a blogger claimed that he didn't receive satisfactory answers from his friends, I d...

Telangana problem is the symptom of a much deeper root - underdevelopment . People keep asking why not attack the root instead of concentrating on the symptom.(people tell this as if they were superb analysts & must be lauded for such an unimaginably intelligent deduction!). But again, such development is possible only when politicians are made accountable for their actions which usually goes missing in large area. (Actually speaking, there is also a cultural-emotional aspect of Telangana, people would argue that they were systematically discriminated against, which is quite a valid point..Within the present system, since they're minority they can never get justice within united AP is what they say). They also point out that they need self-rule. (Infact one put it all rhetorically very well "Would you join Germany just because its more efficient?") Anyway a major argument that I haven't discussed so far is about the distribution of water resources. This iss...

(to be read in continuation of the 1st part written below) I would like to discuss each of the 4 possible scenarios & try to argue from the perspective of Middle-class on both sides. Its impossible to take into account every section, as any change of any dimension is bound to create problems for those who've enjoyed the status-quo. Due to the very dimension of this problem its bound to affect many! But I've restricted myself to middle-classes on both sides.(For eg. few telangana people near Hyd suburbs don't like this idea as it might cause slump in their real estate business, does this make this movement any less authentic?) Initially I argued that since common man in AP is the scapegoat, people of Telangana must not ask for separate state as they will eventually be misled by politicians. For precisely the same argument that common man is usually made bakra I have changed my stance now. In huge states, prominent politicians are not answerable to every part o...

" If a stone which has been projected through the air, had consciousness, it would believe that it was moving of its own free will ." - Spinoza. Many people are shocked by the recent Telangana issue without being sufficiently aware of the ground situation nor being able to examine the reason behind their emotions. If one tries to understand the reason for their emotions & why they feel the particular emotion it might help them to view the same situation with more objectivity. Unfortunately for us, most of us are programmed into a particular way and to unlearn is often more troublesome than to learn. Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world . Most Indians feel that Subhash Chandra Bose was a adorable person (sometimes even bettering Gandhiji) while Hitler was the most horrible demon that lived. Will one not be shaken to know that Bose wanted to fight British through help from this very Hitler? Most people believe ...

{ In renewed context of Telangana issue } " If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail ." - Abraham Maslow The 2nd part of my trilogy was mainly to convince both sides that history is subject to interpretation & no amount of facts/evidence can really influence a person who's not open to change. We must accept a level of maturity while dealing with problems. I think Telangana people have built up a formidable case for their separate statehood & they do have proper explanation to most of doubts that one might cast on their aspirations. Nonetheless if Telangana politicians continue to threaten settlers, they are weakening their own cause. The problem is this, both sides want to convince & persuade Central Govt rather than convincing one-another. We win justice quickest by rendering justice to the other party. ( in words of Mahatma Gandhi ) . I think both sides would do well to name the obvious instead of masking ...

{ In renewed context of Telangana issue } "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Frederich Nietzsche. " History is mostly guessing; the rest is prejudice." - Will Durant I think anyone who's well-versed with Statistics would be well-aware of the fact that any given facts could be interpreted & twisted into whichever way one wishes to.(Provided one does possess the necessary intellect). Thats the reason why all of us who are born into the same world think vastly different from one another. However we have no control over most things that we're born into & have to accept the world through the prism of one's upbringing. Some things in life assume significance only when one identifies oneself with certain tag without ever being able to question them. The unity of Telangana people appears to be unbelievable, yet when one looks for real life situations, at times of crises we usually do associate ourselves with one identity when ...

{ In renewed context of Telangana issue } Many people are quite appalled at the present political crises in AP & quite a few no. of other states are against it, as any lenience in this aspect might soon crumble their own states wherein the demand for separation have freshly arisen. First & foremost before taking any particular stand I feel that political stability is doesn't necessarily translate into development. Development doesn't necessarily imply skyscrapers, concrete forests & hi-tech roads with sophisticated gadgetry. On the contrary, political stability is not of any value if the fruits of development don't reach the majority of population. Furthermore, if its not based on a foundation of social & economic justice, stability infact sharpens the lines between haves & have-nots. Also the needs of majority (who're poor/middle class) are to prioritized adequately for continual peace and any complacence in this regard is the road to st...