Bloodshed on a pale blue dot

A few days ago, I came across "A Pale Blue Dot", a profound thought, articulated by eminent physicist Prof. Carl Sagan [many audio/video renditions, like the one shared above,  are available on YouTube].  Addressing the entire humankind he says: ".. there is no hint that help will come  from elsewhere to save us from ourselves".

How true it sounds, when the disheartening news of terror attacks in Paris, reaches us. Nothing seems to have changed from the attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai and many attacks before and after.  In the middle of second decade of the 21st century, at a time when we making tremendous leaps in our understanding of the world and applying it make our lives better, we still can not find ways to reconcile our differences and collaborate. Instead humans choose to kill another in conflicts ranging from  skirmishes, wars, riots to terror attacks.

How do we react when such incidents occur ?  There are usual statements of condemnations and angry responses. Then the political blame games begin. For example, if you have followed the timeline of facebook posts - you will find many people using the occasion to score political points -- for example, in India,  the Hindu 'nationalists' are quick to point out that the terror attacks are due to Islamic ideology and  the 'secularists' are citing the dominating policies of powerful Christian nations and loss of lives in NATO led wars in the Arab world to underline that attacks are not one sided. The gun and anti-gun lobbies used this occasion to make their cases.  European and American groups are trying to justify their hatred against the Arab world and vice versa. These are only indicative. I am sure, you will see many more differences, debates and fights from groups and communities in different parts of the world being pushed into the public discourse,  in this backdrop. 

Each such concern, argument or narrative,  has an element of truth in it. But at the end of the day, are we addressing these problems ? Are we able to prevent these terror attacks ? Do we, as common people, have a better defense against such attacks ? If similar attack happens in Mumbai again, will we be able to prevent loss of lives. Will we be able to punish the guilty in a timely manner ? Can we avert conflicts and wars ? Our hardened positions maintain status quo for centuries ? Even after centuries we still fight over the same set of issues,  after few centuries will we be fighting over the same things ? Possibly, with more destructive weapons and weakened economies.

These debates and emotional responses, will die down in a couple of weeks - when the incident goes out of focus. Then these issues will be forgotten until next attack occurs. And then the same cycle repeats. This keeps on recurring over and over again - with the magnitude of the impacts getting larger and larger. The problem is that everyone is talking, no one is listening, and more importantly no one is taking steps to change the status quo.

In these battles, we as humans are knowingly or unknowingly, are working towards our own extinction. Humans do not require for extinction, an asteroid from space,  like the one which eliminated the mighty dinosaurs who once ruled the earth, much as we do today - for we are creating our own weapons of mass destruction.

Prof. Sagan has put it so eloquently, that we need to save us from ourselves !       

From science fiction to technological reality

Today got an opportunity to attend talk of Prof. Rajesh P N Rao at IIIT-Hyderabad.  Brain-to- machine and brain-to-brain communication technology developed by him and his collaborators and students brings to life, some of the ideas imagined in science fiction.  Surely, this research  is going to impact humankind in the near future. A direct impact will be to help people with disabilities and diseases, but there could be many non-medical applications too. These advances open up immense possibilities and new challenges for the human race.  It is difficult to predict the future, so I will not even attempt to do so, but surely it is going to be different than today.  Check out this video by Prof. Rao's team.

Change of governements without change in governance

A look at the post-poll situation in Maharashtra, with a slightly different perspective:

•  We have all forgotten that in democracy people directly or indirectly through their representatives administer the country. Do the elected MLAs represent people or their parties ? Is election merely about selecting between parties ? The battle between foot-soldiers and shatraps of the parties to be become 'rulers' is no different than battle for supremacy between hundreds of kings who ruled the masses, before independence.

• Since, independence the population has tripled, but the number of representatives, has not increased commensurately. The 'winner-takes-all' approach to government formation needs to be reworked out.

•  Most Indians study not for learning, but to score marks in exams, higher marks means greater job opportunities. Similarly, political parties don't care about governance, but only about the number of seats, more seats mean more power.

•  Lets compare the situation with, AAP in Delhi. When activists raised uncomfortable questions and made demands in public interests, they were not respected but rather challenged into electoral politics. Some of them formed a party and came second in the race. Despite not being in majority, citing moral victory and shying away from majority, they were pushed to enter government formation and show majority by BJP and Congress. But they came up with novel ideas like referendum and 16-point agenda for support. When it came to passing the reform for which they were pulled into politics, BJP and Congress teamed up to block them. If AAP had continued without passing their legislation - it would have been betrayal of trust of the people who voted for them, if they resign they (which they did), they would be labelled as running away from government. Elections were denied for eight months subsequently in the name of some sacrosanct letters and replies.

• Like AAP many political parties, including BJP, in India rose with some specific regional / ideological demands. Initial volunteers of such new born parties are idealistic but this race for the majority leads them to paths on which principles are compromised. The emphatic "naahi-naahi-naahi" of dynamic Devendra Fadnavis to alliance with NCP or PM Modi's criticism of NCP on the corruption charges against them, (before the elections) raise peoples hopes and when they compromise principles to remain in power (after the elections), hopes crash even faster. Vajpayee's clean image, had raised people's expectations, but when they saw mediocre performance, "feel-good-factor" was nowhere to be seen and UPA came to power. Anger against UPA's corruption scams, brought BJP back in power. Such flip-flops are seen at state and district level as well. So are we addressing the real problems ? Are we asking the right questions ? Our political analysts always concentrate on political battles, vote-banks and vote-shares based on religion, castes and communities and number of seats, but not the fundamental problems with the electoral system in India. I wish, we are more serious about change in governance, rather than a mere change in government. 

Political Inertia

I have been following Indian politics for close to 20 years now, and one thing that irks me the most is the inertia that exists in the system.  In the first quarter of the 21st century, we are witnessing exciting things - technology is becoming affordable, autocratic regimes are falling,  new economies are emerging, bipolar or unipolar superpower regimes are falling apart,  as people across cultures are getting connected  interdependence between nations is increasing. In times like this, a country whose median age group falls in the 20s has unparalleled advantage. Yet political system in India is struggling to tap the potential which is waiting to explode.

Youth have taken to the street - demanding justice, laws, opportunities. The protests for Janlokpal, Delhi gang rape and many others are manifestation of the desire to bring about a change in the system. However,  our so called leaders executive,  judicial, bureaucratic and political class are procrastinating on the decisions they need to take.  They will wait until things dampen out and subside.  A leader, by definition is one who can inspire people to follow his path or ideas.  Where are the leaders who can mobilize masses ? A leader in a democracy certainly does not hide in a fortress behind barricades and police force or struggle to read scripted speeches addressing orchestrated crowds.  In 2014 elections, these people must be overthrown from their seats of power.

Many of these so called leaders are octogenarian, either in their age or ideologies.  Their priority is satisfy their greed for money, power, luxuries -- they have no interest in welfare of the society. Consequently, overall result is a status quo.  Take the case of hanging terrorists. The decisions were delayed to the point beyond which they could not be delayed further. The fall out reactions were also exactly as predicted. The pseudo secularists or communal nationalists, leftists, regional parties have shown their usual reactions, aimed at appeasing their respective vote-banks. The so-called human rights activists, were conveniently hibernating when innocent citizens died in blasts and attacks occurring every year, in some part of the country. When a deterrent punishment was pronounced, as expected, these lobbies they become vociferous, as if terrorists are the only humans in this country.  The media and particularly journalists pretended to be independent and liberal - but as they are bound by their commercial or political affiliations or government jobs -- they launched veiled attacks on the other side.  The judicial system worked at its own pace - their is no concept of time for them - if you get justice in your lifetime, you must be lucky. Bureaucracy, well known for red-tapism, sycophancy and corrupt practices, only helped to make matters worse in this case. Ironically, the separatists / terrorists are also becoming predicatable;  a locality in Mumbai has been targeted thrice since 1993.

We need great force, to bring a change in the momentum of the system which will continue to be in a state otherwise.  Fundamental changes need to be brought in electoral, judicial processes. We need laws to be reworked, systems to be made more participative.  Democracy is not just about casting your vote; it is about a society which can think, and act in a collective and timely manner for welfare of everyone.  We are fortunate that we are entering an era where communication is getting faster and better with research in science and technology.  A truly participative governance is certainly feasible, if we embrace technology.  If India aspires to be progressive and successful, she needs to overcome the inertia and unleash the latent potential. We need to believe in ourselves more than we believe our ancestors and their beliefs about god and the world. Dynasties and caste systems need to be broken. Existing orders need to be challenged. The only thing constant in life is change !

आज की राजनीति

आज राजनीति में महात्मा की ज़रुरत हैं, या कुटिल चाणाक्य की ?
रावण अनेक हों तो, राम की आवश्यकता हैं, या परशुराम की ?

Kabeer Vacanaavali

Some dohas (couplets) of Kabeer that I learnt in school:

तिनका कबहुँ ना निंदये, जो पाँव तले होय ।
कबहुँ उड़ आँखो पड़े, पीर घानेरी होय ॥

बडा हुआ तो क्या हुआ जैसे पेड़ खजूर।
पंथी को छाया नही फल लागे अति दूर ॥

कबीरा गर्व न कीजिये काल गहे कर केस
ना जाने कित मारे हैं क्या घर क्या परदेस

जाति न पूछो साधु की, पूछ लीजिये ज्ञान।
मोल करो तलवार का, पड़ा रहने दो म्यान।।

Rangeele

A beautiful composition by Naresh, Paresh and Kailash! I always wonder how they manage to capture myriad emotions like joy, sorrow, anxiety, agony, aspirations, desires, love, anger of ordinary people. There are many musicians who have mastered all ragas and genres, yet, unlike Kailasa, very few can manage to stir your soul, perhaps because their life is devoid of experiences of struggle, hardships and failures.