The JNU Row: Freedom vs Responsibility

Imagine a young girl, who had just finished her Bachelors' from one of South India's premier Catholic, all-women's college run by nuns, entering the heart of the highly political, liberal campus South of India's capital, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

That girl was me. I was one of the chosen few who passed a rigorous all-India entrance exam followed by an interview, to get into this, one-of-a-kind central university. Why, a chosen few? Well, in a populous country like India, the fact that in the early 90s, we were 16 students in our graduating class from our Center in the School of Languages, goes to show just how exclusive the honor is.

What the nuns had taught me were the values of patience and politeness, of being graceful and yet powerful by being an instrument of social change, doing social service- not social work, but service and not letting your left hand know what your right hand did. There is a huge difference between those two words.

JNU was an entirely different world. The rules were about flouting any kind of possible "threat" of system or authority. You did not call your professors Sir or Madam, you called them by name. You would not "ask" for permission to use the restroom or enter a class "late". You came to class if you chose to do so, because you chose to have a lively debate with your professor or classmates. If society frowned upon women smoking, women would blow smoke in your face.

If the "oppressive" government of those times (we were moving towards liberalization then) and one of the outcomes of that policy was raising the monthly bus pass for using DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) for an entire month from Rs. 11 to about 14 or something (don't remember the actual numbers now), the campus would erupt in slogan shouting and buses getting stoned. I was a day-scholar, ie lived at home, outside campus, and took 615 towards Poorvanchal every day and I thought this was an issue that impacted me more than those living on campus as I had to take the bus. Coming from Chennai, where I had paid a lot more for the monthly student bus pass on PTC, that was around Rs. 18 (plus had to pay extra for a coupon book that let me travel on other routes), I found DTC to be already highly subsidized. That Rs. 11.50 monthly pass let me board any route under the jurisdiction of DTC. I had no qualms of paying more as my fee for an entire semester was next to nothing. Paying for a service to transport myself to and fro from home, I understood the ramifications of what that small hike did to the overall deficit budget of the beleaguered transport corporation.

The cloistered hostelites of JNU thought otherwise. Their rhetoric was that the government was swindling the public and had no right to even suggest a hike in bus pass rates.

Faced with this situation, the 615 drivers would drop us passengers off at Vasanth Vihar or Munirka itself and refuse to enter campus as it would involve getting stoned and windows getting smashed. That meant an extra 30 minute walk into campus as "Freedom of Speech" demanded that we support the cause of keeping the bus fares low, to facilitate low-cost transport for the "poor" student. It was another matter that those very "poor" students had the money to pay for their cigarettes and limitless cups of cheap tea.

I was "protected" by my "Freedom of Speech" too- I could give my counter argument as to why I was okay with the rate hike, but my voice was drowned out by the louder protests against the hike. My only "minor win" was when I supported our canteenwala who wanted to hike the rate of a cup of tea from 25 paisa to 35 that soon went up to 40 paisa a cup as the cost of LPG kept going up (remember the Iraq war- Desert Storm?) and that poor fellow could barely keep up with the "subsidy". The price of sugar was also going up. It was easy to just climb onto the top of a table and call for attention through the cigarette haze and tell the "chaiwala's" perspective as to why he needed to charge more for his cup of tea. Those days, we had small china cups and no plastic ones. That involved paying one guy to wash the cups too. Labor never is cheap, even when exploited.

The nuns taught me to look at the "downtrodden" in society and see how I could be of some service to them. Small was beautiful to them- one "soul' at a time. JNU taught me how to look at the "collective" and design policy that impacted the "big picture". The argument against the bus hike was not really about Rs.2, rather, it was about demanding more accountability from the government towards the crores already being spent ineffectively and inefficiently. However, the manner in which the protests were done, where the "poor" bus driver with recklessly thrown stones at his person and his vehicle, were argued away as "collateral damage".

What I learned during those years of my life was that Freedom is absolutely essential in a democracy. However, that very freedom needs to be tempered with responsibility. I remembered the story that my 10th grade Civics teacher had shared with us when she introduced the Fundamental Rights in our constitution along with the Duties of an Indian citizen: She told us the story of Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan who was a teacher par excellence, who would say that the freedom of an individual would end where the freedom of another began. He illustrated that by saying that he had the freedom to walk on the street swinging his cane, but he also had the responsibility to ensure that he never hurt anyone with his swinging cane.

The current situation at JNU clearly shows enjoyment of freedom with absolutely no responsibility. What the students, the media and all the academics who are writing blogs and articles are forgetting is that the very basis of Freedom needs to have the temperance of social responsibility. Just because you take an "anti-government" stance does not mean that you take an "anti-national" stand. Nor does it behoove anyone to denigrate other people's personal beliefs or their religious symbols/ gods. In the current context, there was absolutely no cause for even starting a "debate" on Afsal Guru. It was clearly a politically motivated drama with absolutely no basis for a "need" to support any wrongdoing in a "democracy". No one in media or the opposition is asking the basic question why Afsal Guru is even an issue today when he was hanged years back and by an entirely different government that had followed the steps of due process.

Some time back, when someone had done a controversial documentary on Prophet Mohammad and put it up on youtube, I thought that was wrong. American media was debating the value of "freedom of speech" (it is our favorite past time here) and thought it was fine to have it up. But the government was clear in its position on the said freedom and convinced youtube to take down the video. It was taking Freedom of Speech to a level where you denigrate a faith's core beliefs and that is not acceptable. It goes back to Dr. Radhakrishnan's definition of freedom. Same argument against the denigration of Durga. Same against the support of a hanged terrorist. Same argument against the support of Azad Kashmir- Article 370, for even a rudimentary student of History was a temporary provision that is long overdue it's removal from the constitution.

So, readers, critical thinking is something we all need to do, more so in a democracy than anywhere else. And just because some groups make a lot of "noise", it doesn't mean that they are right. Any freedom we enjoy has to be balanced with responsibility. Anyone who argues to the contrary is being fascist in nature and has no room for a fair debate in democracy.

I am reminded of Pathanjali's first verse in the yoga sutra: Athah yogaanushasanam"- the "self-discipline" of Yoga. Democracy works when the "self discipline" is imposed by ourselves, not because someone is shouting a slogan for a "perceived right" or a "perceived wrong". That self-discipline comes with greater understanding of the bus driver's point of view before stoning his vehicle. Until then, it is a true case empty vessels making much noise.

2016- restarting my writing

This will be a series of posts on one topic- Love. It expresses as gratitude for all the beautiful beings who have contributed to my becoming aware of my own spiritual self while being integrated with each others' souls- intrinsically connected.

My sister recently posted on facebook, an adorable picture of my eldest sitting in his toy car and smiling at the power he wielded at the wheel. Millions of such snapshopts are enshrined in my heart as the cells in my body are born, grown and destroyed, while transferring these "memories" in a silent but unbroken sequence.

Will these memories become jumbled and incoherent in the future? I do not know. But for now, they are crystal and shimmering. I remember the moment that photo was taken. The presence of my sister in the room in her yellow dress. The pale peach carpet on the rented floor. The green and yellow plastic car, a gift from Vinay Kumar uncle for Krishnan's 1st birthday.

That glowing child in that shiny car blessed us by making us parents. He was a big baby, heavy but easy to handle as we weren't worried about crushing him or dislocating a bone. He made my parents, grandparents; my sister, an aunt (she would debate that saying -little mom :)!); my brother, an uncle; my sister-in-law, a proud aunt (she was waiting to pass on her daughter's crib and clothes and toys for the wee one she was awaiting for 8 years- from the birth of her child, hoping that her brother would get married and have a child soon!).

Today, when I see him come home from university, a young man sure about what he wants to do, with shadows of that smile shining forth once in a while, brightening his world and ours when it breaks past his studious gravity, I know this precious being came into our lives to make even a dreary winter day, a warm, beautiful day of love.

The PM's Experiment on Teacher's Day

There was a huge furore in the Indian media with regards to Mr. Modi's speech telecasted live to millions of school children across the nation- was there choice in viewing or not viewing it? Why the afternoon time? Why not during school hours? (Had he done it during school hours, the critics would have raised yet another brouhaha over "Modi over Math"!)

Then came the actual speech/ interaction- a Q & A unseen before on Indian Television. Then the debates started- how well did it go down with the kids, the parents and the teachers?

In all the various aspects that were shared and dissected, nobody commented on a very telling point during the Prime Minister's response to a question as to why he was doing this- He said that it was to do a beta test to check if elearning could be done in a mass scale across the nation.

As an educator, I found the interaction to be extremely interesting. As a scientist, I found this huge exercise to be a big experiment set up in real time to see just how India can leverage the power of the digital age to bring students and teachers to interact across distances against a horde of infrastructure issues such as lack of electricity, appropriate equipment etc.

In a country that has an alarming number of children to be educated and a diminishing number of good teachers, access to digital technology is the most sensible way of solving the problem of scale. In that front, the Prime Minister's "speech" on Teacher's Day shall certainly serve as a "foundation Stone" laid down in the right direction.

Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan would be pleased to see that students actually got to know the reason behind celebrating Teacher's Day on his birthday. I still remember the story my Civics teacher shared with us when teaching us about civic freedom and responsibillty. She told us about how Dr. Radhakrishnan explained to his students the fundamental connection between freedom and responsibility with the following illustration: A man has the freedom to swing his cane and walk down a street, but his freedom stops where the next person's freedom on the street is affected. His responsibility kicks in when he ensures that his swinging of the cane does not harm or damage anyone or property on the street.

I have shared this story in my turn with some of my students in some classes, when the demands for freedom outweighed those of responsibility! Mr. modi has taken a step towards his freedom of speech while keeping in mind his responsibility towards the nation. What more can we ask for on this special day dedicated to the teachers of India?

Espanol: an experience

So, what was I doing aside from being a little more active on Facebook grace a Sr. Modi? I was "teaching" or should I say "learning" Espanol- Spanish (in English)!

These past 6 weeks saw me as a substitute in a Spanish class and it was incredible to see my brain adapting itself to a new set of sounds (not all that new as I do live in California!) and coming out of it, making complete sentences with the verb conjugated the right way- yoohoo! So far, it had been using the infinitive for like saying yo hablar transmuting to yo hablo!

The thrill of speaking a new language is something to be experienced. I have lived in California for almost two decades to have been exposed to the odd Spanish word here and there and everywhere. But, I could never grasp the structure of the sentence. My sister, who has a Masters in that language had given up on my pretensions of knowing the language.

Now, I feel empowered to actually speak in sentences with her and all the other 36 plus% of my ciuadad that speaks this as their primary language.

Go, get empowered. Learn a new language. It is said that the brain "grows" when it learns a new language. My next language on my list is Mandarin. Xia Xia. Gracias.

From Global to Local Elections: California General Elections 2014 June 3rd

Just got my mail in ballot for the upcoming June 3rd elections, here, in California. Starting from Governor, many public posts are up for elections and I hope Californians take some time to research and cast a strong vote. After seeing the incredible voting percents from India, I want to see a vibrant voter turn out here too!

Two of my friends are also standing for public office- to represent our District in San Jose. Both are good people (read uncorrupt). When both of them reached out to me in early November to support them, it was a very difficult choice to make. But after I sat down with my "grid of parameters" I ended up choosing one over the other. Susan, here is my vote for you. (I must confess that I have a strong propensity to support women in public posts, provided they have a solid track record or I know them personally enough to have seen their capability.) Women tend to problem-solve in very different ways from men. All the more if she happens to be a mother!

That said, I am concerned about the state of my city- roads that haven't seen fresh layer of tarmac laid over and potholes smoothed over in several sections of town; improved police coverage for a city that officially crossed the million mark last month (as we do not count un/official "immigrants"); bringing the budget to a surplus condition; improved land use and attracting more businesses to the city.

The state has finally learned to balance the books thanks to Mr. Brown's effort and just for that, he is getting my vote. Any person who deals with a whining opposition and balances the books will get my vote. Yes, sometimes when the going gets tough, the tough get going and all this political pandering that allows budgets to get off kilter do not sit well with me. I don't know why public office immediately reverses all common sense. We teach our kids and we learn to live within our budgets (ok, I am not the "average" American household with a truckload of debt- I was brought up in a middle class Indian milieu where being in debt was considered a "sin" and so I was cautioned all along to live within my means). So, why can't cities and states and countries?

That said, Mr. Ro Khanna, an American of Indian descent is challenging long-reigning Mike Honda for the Congress seat in District 17. Personally, I like Mr. Honda, he has been a true friend to the diverse population of the Bay Area and has served us well. Of course, I cannot vote for him as my rep will be Anna Eshoo, an incumbent thanks to that rezoning of constituencies a few years ago that made my borough (or rather precinct as we call it here in the US) part of the "richer, Palo Alto, Los Gatos zone", getting cut out of the middle class San Jose neighborhood zone which will be voting for District 17. Ms. Eshoo's office took care of us at our last year's DC trip.

My appeal to all my fellow Californians, please do not give up your right to vote by staying home- the date is June 3rd and as it is we have only 69.51% of eligible voters registered- that is almost the percent of eligible voters in India who voted last month! Whatever your personal choice of candidates, please read up on them and their background and cast your vote.

The Lotus Blooms in Bharat

The wait is over. India chose to say "Namo NaMo". Now, what does this massive mandate mean to the BJP, Mr. Modi and every Indian who has voted for Modi? Here are some of my pet issues that I hope Mr. Modi with his government will address and make India take pride of place amongst the League of Nations as an economic power to be reckoned with.

1. Agriculture: An organic revolution unseen in the world before. If any country can do it, it is India with its historically agrarian tradition.
       a. The artisan "know how" is only one generation away from non chemical farming. This knowledge can easily be transfered and improved with modern research inputs.
       b. The Indian cow, a part of the organic cycle of the farm, can easily be made part of this movement- the cow dung and urine have proven to be very effective for manure as well as pesticide use. The milk will also provided much needed protein for the children in the rural as well as urban areas.
       c. The biodiversity of the nation needs to be maintained by ensuring the shift away from water guzzling monocrop models to drought resistant millets and other varieties of heirlooms that will ensure food security in the most remote areas of the country.

Role of the government: Improved infrastructure and an "agri" market to ensure the best prices for the farmer and access to farm products in the cities. State funded research in agriculture and public seeds to ensure viability of the smallest farmer. Cutting out the international price fixing for food by 6 international food companies. From what Mr. Modi has indicated in his interviews, he certainly is all for reaching agricultural produce to its markets asap.

2. Energy: Self sufficiency in the increasing appetite for power for a rapidly growing population. Mr. Modi has shown great interest in this area- be it solar or nuclear (his interest with the Japanese shows an inclination in that direction). Hopefully, his government works on this quickly and brings about an energy surplus in a nation that has historically dealt with power cuts.

3. Education, employment: A competent work force for a very young country is a must. If a "chaiwala" (tea seller) can become India's PM, the youth should be excited about engaging in all kinds of profession and do justice to their work by being exceptionally great at it. While literacy rates are certainly moving up, state-of-the-art educational institutions to serve the growing masses appear to be few and far between. However, the "education" sector of "apprenticeship" and artisanship should make a come back with an interest in providing quality products for the local and global markets.

4. Environment: Protection of land, water and air. Stringent measures taken against pollutors. Solid waste management through a decentralized model that makes use of trash in ingenious ways to generate money as well as employ millions in safer conditions with honor of work. Mr. Modi's promise of a "clean Ganga" should become a reality.

4. Finance: Eliminating coffer-draining social schemes and investing on self-reliance/ self-empowerment amongst the unemployed or unemployable- this would certainly demand a close watch of how funds are spent through social upliftment programs. Strong banks with governmental oversight need to help rebuild languishing areas of the economy. A more decentralized approach to business growth will bring more players across the nation into a vibrant democracy. At the same time, established big biz can provide services and support to the small guys to help move the country forward together. Restructuring tax laws and making them pro business has certainly shown their effect on Dalal Street already as Mr. Modi stands for a market economy.

5. Defense and Foreign Policy: These two areas have a lot of overlap. While a part of defense needs to ensure domestic safety, after seeing the work done by Mr. Modi to eradicate riots from Gujarat, hopefully, that model should rout out politically motivated riots and get rabble rousers employed more prudently in the building of the nation, establishing a calmer, harmonious scene internally.

Coming to foreign policy and India's relationship with Pakistan and China, it is imperative that border incursions are dealt with firmly and the message be heard strong and clearly that India will not negotiate an inch of its land when threatened with violence. Our common cultural histories with both these countries should help build a 21st century model towards better cooperation and improved trade. A strong India and improved relationship with our neighbors would mean a stable region that would rival Europe.

6. Tourism: From what Mr. Modi has showcased in Gujarat by putting it on the tourism map after Rajasthan, if that can be replicated across India with improved transportation facilities and infrastructure like hotels etc., India is certainly awaiting to be rediscovered. Indian food, clothes and a wealth of handmade goods that are unique to every region make for a tourism mecca that has not been tapped yet. Mr. Modi, please create a "Mango tourism" segment where people can come to India and taste a variety of mangoes in season- when foreign tourists rarely dare the Indian summer. I am sure the stronger tourist with a "head" for the sun, would love to explore the "king of all fruits" in its indigenous setting! (Ok that last bit was my own yearning for the fruit in season!)

Now the Wait Begins

The long drawn Indian General Elections for the 16th Lok Sabha finally drew to a close today. The nail biting wait for the final results starts today to end on Friday. In the meantime, every news channel in India is happily belting out their combinations of numbers and guessing out loud which set of parties will win. Strangely, many western media including the CNN and the BBC insist that these numbers are extremely arbitrary and rarely accurate.

So, I did some background reading on exit polls and when people did get it closely accurate enough. Several poll pundits did a decent job of sampling the polls during the 90s and then a strange phenomenon happened. These fairly accurate polls started to become very strangely off kilter and the blame was laid at the door of lack of better sampling populations. Actually, with increased prevalence of cell phones, I would think that (intuitively of course) it should be the other way- there needs to be greater accuracy in predicting results as more data samples can be collected effortlessly.

Then I looked at what other parameters changed from the 90s to the 2000s when every poll indicated a BJP led victory only to be smashed by a "surprising" Congress led victory- and the margins of error were considerable but not so considerable to be questioned of fraud. This is an interesting website that has some clear data on the past 4 major survey conducted. Read the paragraph right after the 2009 polls that states how the Congress knew they would win.

So what changed? Electronic voting machines were introduced in India for the 2004 elections. Suddenly, the polls did not reflect the survey numbers but more widespread sampling occurred with widespread cell phone and computer use. This brings us to the question of what other parameters effect poll results. This is an interesting wiki with lots of info on EVMs in India and their vulnerability towards fraud. Dr. Subramaniam Swamy went to court to demand greater transparency, getting the courts to recommend the VVPAT system ie the Voter Verification Paper Audit Trail. In this election, only 8 of the 543 constituencies will have it in place. I wonder why sensitive constituencies like the Amethi seat contested by Rahul Gandhi and Varanasi contested by Modi and Kejriwal did not get this VVPAT system put in place to ensure fair polling.

Another interesting factor is the polling percentage: Here is the Election Commission of India's figures, charts for the same. 2009 saw less than 60% cast their votes. The elections of the first decade of the 21st century saw lower voter turn out than this year's elections. From my rudimentary understanding of the EVMs, fraud is reduced when more number of people show up and actually cast their ballot. In several urban areas, including my own brother and his wife, they, who live in a proper house, paying property taxes and their electricity and water bills for over a decade, still do not have their votes as their address does not "exist" on the electoral lists!

Now, these machines are "in storage" for 3 whole days. Wonder how many polls will be proved "wrong" yet again and a "surprising" win to an unexpected party be announced on Friday. Until yesterday, AAP was almost "written off"- many impromptu interviews with the common man on the streets in and around Varanasi showed a disdain towards Kejriwal as a person who abdicated his responsibilities in Delhi and came there to contest a seat. Then today, there is a "surge" in reports that AAP may actually win the seat in Varanasi- just media reports with no "common man" interviewed off the streets. It will be very interesting to not just see what the "pattern" of votes casted in Varanasi was, but also see "when" they were cast in each machine and if the number of votes tally with the number of people entering the booth to cast their votes. Of course if it was the case like this Simpson's video, we are doomed to more false predictions! Given the highly partisan attitude exhibited by the ECI during the past few weeks, they have certainly lost my vote of confidence.