Chinese rubber stamps

What do you need to do in order to win Pakistan if you are not India? Easy. Just antagonize India and Pakistan government will bend over backwards to lick your boot. That is precisely how Pakistan behaves with China.

So when Pakistan toed the Chinese whip of not attending Liu Xiaobo's Nobel ceremony I was not surprised. This whip or bullying also showed the countries who quake at the prospect of differing with China. Below is my take on some of these countries:

Russia: A lot has been said about their own human rights record in west. It is quite natural for them to side with China. Who knows, a dissident from their country may be next Nobel laureate.

Pakistan: If you remember a highly tragic and unfortunate train accident happened in Pakistan few years ago. Three trains were involved and the loss of lives was immense. There were reports that one reason for high death toll was the quality of coaches which were purchased from China. Pakistan didn't even register a protest let alone ask for compensation. The rulers of Pakistan (read military) are so wretched that to keep themselves in power they don't hesitate to risk their own people's lives. What these leeches ensure is that they not only keep Pakistan poor but also hamper India's growth.

Saudi Arabia: Representative of greater evil pervading the pure land of Arabia. The land which disseminated so much knowledge in medieval times has now got bunch of clowns ruling it. The kings and their families, all short on IQ run their writ on unfortunate populace. If there is one thing on which I support Osama Bin Laden, it is his wish to get Saudi rid of its king. All the vices are committed by ruling families but they are the ones who preach morality most. They openly criticize Israel but have never taken a sensible step in resolving the conflict. The Wikileaks have now exposed their ambivalent policy on Iran. The moral science classes always warn about the demerits of wealth acquired without effort. Saudi is a good example of it.

Radiagate, barkhagate, mediamafia ...

The last few days have presented a very sorry state of Indian media. First the leak itself and then the deafening silence by leading media houses. It is debatable whether they have crossed the line or not. N. Ram (editor, The Hindu) thinks they have.

The Hindu was the only major media house which gave coverage to this murky affair. I thought very much on the issue and feel that the journalists in question have crossed the line although have done nothing criminal. I personally believe Barkha Dutt should step down but she has not done anything so wrong as to leave journalism. Just as sports persons can have poor form, error in judgement, complacency and disregard for public sentiments so are journalists prone to these fallibilities. Barkha Dutt has done very well as a journalist and this mistake of hers can be forgiven bearing in mind her contribution to field of journalism. It is quite obvious that she has been maliciously targeted on twitter not because of this case but for her stand on other issues.

It is high time that prominent media persons get together and root out this evil from amongst themselves. This is only tip of the iceberg considering that issue of 'paid news' cropped up not long ago. It will be great if people like Rajdeep Sardesai, Karan Thapar, N. Ram, Siddharth Varadarajan and Shekhar Gupta can come together and get India media out of this mess.

Judiciary and media are the only saving grace of our democracy and I hope media continues to bring justice to Indians as it has done in Manu Sharma case.

Final year at IIT Kanpur : first half

It all started with gloom of many hues. It ended on a positive note. While it was clear at the outset that it is going to be a very different year of my academic life, it turned out to be the best year. John Keats said, “Heard melodies are sweet. Those unheard are sweeter”. Clearly this melody was sweet. I wait for sweeter ones.

This year was preceded by departure of many of my friends with whom I relished talks ranging from topics as apart as economy, foreign policy, politics and cricket. Of course we discussed something about academics too. Dual degree programmes at IIT Kanpur have one drawback, though not necessarily of their own making. For four years we are put in a wing (a column of rooms) with inmates from different departments and different programmes. So it is quite natural that you make friends with students enrolled in 4 year programs. Sometimes they turn out to be your closest friends or cronies!!! One can't stop oneself from cursing this design of academic structure. But then, not all whines are for legitimate reasons.

I entered the new Hall of Residence (that's what we call hostels in IITK ) which is at least a km away from academic area. This distance looked more arduous due to necessity of marking attendance everyday. However, things started getting better from second month onwards. The September last year had the best weather I have ever seen in my life. Add to it the rustic surroundings of Hall 9. The wing structure in Hall 9 suits smaller wings. And we were left in just that number in our final year. The bonds grew stronger. The stipend and quality of Hall 8 canteen meant that we were able to spend more on food. Four of us became frequent visitors to that place. My interaction with department also increased due to allocation of a workbench and duties of Teaching Assistant. So much so that the guy with whom I had only formal conversations for first four years, leg pulling and banter was part of every meet.

October brought with it some tension. Yes, the placements were approaching and even if you try to remain oblivious to the fact, your surroundings wont let you do so. The spate of PPTs and concomitant tests meant that the importance of the event dawned on us. Add to it the aftershocks of recession last year. November went off very quickly and perhaps it was the single largest month of the year in terms of tension. Luckily for us the placement of Computer Science department was very good. Overall placements also improved. Most of us got placed before our expected date. And some of us got their choicest sector. With this our first semester concluded on a happy note.

Any remembrance of life at IIT Kanpur should not end without mentioning the weather and beauty of the place. Early winter months are very pleasant in Kanpur. Hall 9 is very well placed with vast open space behind it. Few stunted trees dot it but more or less it is a grassland. The view is breathtaking at evenings and during cloudy days. Vacant backyard also means the wind speed is relatively high. The final year provided us with many spare hours to enjoy natural beauty and contemplate. And one thing which I can say with confidence after living there is that plains can be as beautiful as hills.

P.S. I plan to write about remaining months but I am pretty lazy in putting my thoughts in my blogs, so that may take some time.

First cricket test match in stadium

After missing 3-4 chances in Kanpur I finally got to watch cricket for the first time in a stadium. And as they say in Hindi 'Der aaye durust aaye', what a treat it was to watch.

The planning of this match started with one of my friends (who ironically didn't watch cricket even on TV in our first semester at IIT Kanpur). I was very disappointed that Wankhede missed out on test match against New Zealand and wanted to watch test cricket this year at any cost. Finally we both zeroed in on Bangalore test between India and Australia because, well you knew this, it was between India and Australia. We also factored in that this would be the last time Dravid would be playing on his home ground and that this is the last time Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and Ponting would be part of a test match in India.

The start of the day was very disappointing, not because India didn't win the toss (in fact with India fielding we got to see most players close-up), but due to inability of our bowlers to take a wicket in whole of first session. This meant that we had to put up with Mr. Watson who is as boring to watch as excitement while watching Ponting bat. Our torture ended in second session when Ponting came out to bat. And the elegance of his batting was clearly visible. To help the matters the view from our seat was very good for both ends. But like most Indians it becomes very difficult for me to appreciate opposition's good performance for long. Harbhajan was impressive in second session and Ojha in second and third but we felt much relieved when Raina trapped Ponting who it seemed was not going to be dismissed by Indian bowlers all day. All in all we got to wave Indian flag 5 times (five wickets fell that day).

I was very happy to see the turn out. The stadium was almost full. The din compounded by shrill music (or noise?) added to the excitement. That was one time when I would have agreed with Ravi Shastri's "The Atmosphere is electric" chirp. Was disappointed with Laxman not taking field but saw debut match of Pujara. Who knows he turns out to be next Laxman!!!

P.S. Was impressed by Ponting's conduct on and off the field. Esp. his thanksgiving to crowd in post match conference. My respect for him, both as a person and a batsman, has gone up by few notches.

Maoists are tough, we need to be tougher

Nitish Kumar has shown a lot of spine in resisting the pressure to yield to Maoists. The so called Swami Agnivesh's call of try to extend deadline and not using force is another instance where so called intellectuals with left leanings live in a surreal world and apply the logic which sounds good there to our world.

Yes we have lost one life and may be can lose more. This is very harsh on the families of martyrs. But if we don't yield this time we can save many more lives in future. Remember the Kandahar goof-up. Please don't repeat this. All political parties should rally behind Bihar government at the moment. It is not Nitish Kumar who is up against the Maoists, it is our state, the Republic of India which is fighting this battle.

Poly-tricky Politicians of India

Just a few days ago I was watching a debate on a news channel about the raise demanded by the Members of Parliament. Most of the reasons cited in support of this demand were related to them being public representative and that they have to take care of the visitors, pay their staffs, visit their constituency's nook and corner etc.

And every time they were criticized by media they retorted by flaunting their status of being 'representative' of common man. I want to suggest a very good way for testing the representation of these politicians.

Just have a referendum in every constituency for an MP. If the approval is more than 50%, the MP gets a 300% hike (as desired by them), otherwise he/she forfeits the seat and pays Rs. 10 lacs(or maybe more) as fine. Those MPs who do not desire a hike need not have referendum. I am sure very few MPs would dare to hold this referendum and thus a small amount would be spent in conducting referendum. However this will go a long way in taking the sting out of this 'representative' claim and also present true approval percentage of these worthless chaps. This would also go a long way in rewarding those MPs who are diligently discharging their duties.

Do our polity have guts to accept this challenge? No. Simply because most of them 'represent' us not because they are greater 'good' but because they are lesser 'evil'.

Once upon a time ...

Once upon a time there was a magic nation ... may be it still has some magic left. However, even at that time idiots were in considerable strength. To add to the woes of that nation the remaining population had a majority of zombies. They had myriads of communities but only 3 mattered at that time. Let us name them community A,B and C.

Community A was in majority. Community B was in minority but had significant presence in some pockets. Community C formed a tiny part but its interests were tied to both the communities and it too had a pocket of influence. One fine morning an intellectual (his 'direct' actions don't befit this reference though) came to conclusion that he had no future in political power because his rivals had greater say in masses overall. But he had an ace up his sleeve. He was from community B. So, he chose 'direct' path and was joined in hordes by people from not just community B but also A and C although indirectly. That magic nation gave way to 2 magic nations. However the other nation had less of magic.

A and C with half of B lived happily in the greater magic nation for sometime. Then some leaders from C decided to choose a more 'direct' path like that 'intellectual'. This time the stacks were heavily stacked against them though. They did not get that much support from their community but created equal ruckus. Well, foolhardy is something in which each of these communities likes to dominate. Community A now took lead in that by resorting to 'direct' actions against C and then B.

This community business is actually more complex than what I have presented. There are other communities (more properly groups) at different levels. These 3 were separated by religion but there are many separated by language, region, caste and God knows what more. All these communities resort to that 'direct' path to this date. The magic nation drags on.

Romanticizing violence

The Dantewada massacre by so-called 'fighters' for equality has once again highlighted the fact that these marauders will understand nothing but the language of guns. However, our 'intelligentsia' continues to romanticize these butchers.

Arundhati Roy's article Walking With The Comrades that appeared in March 29 issue of the Outlook is a case in point. She sees all evil in Indian authority. She writes "On one side is a massive paramilitary force armed with the money, the firepower, the media, and the hubris of an emerging Superpower. On the other, ordinary villagers armed with traditional weapons, backed by a superbly organised, hugely motivated Maoist guerrilla fighting force with an extraordinary and violent history of armed rebellion. The Maoists and the paramilitary are old adversaries and have fought older avatars of each other several times before: Telangana in the ’50s; West Bengal, Bihar, Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh in the late ’60s and ’70s; and then again in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra from the ’80s all the way through to the present. They are familiar with each other’s tactics, and have studied each other’s combat manuals closely. Each time, it seemed as though the Maoists (or their previous avatars) had been not just defeated, but literally, physically exterminated. Each time, they have re-emerged, more organised, more determined and more influential than ever. Today once again the insurrection has spread through the mineral-rich forests of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal—homeland to millions of India’s tribal people, dreamland to the corporate world." If this is not glorifying violence what else is.

She talks of class divisions and caste inequalities. Were the jawans who were ambushed by these 'Robin Hoods' very rich? Most of them were sole bread winners of their families. These writers see everything wrong with development projects in India. Everything is evil with corporates. How do you want tribal to live? You want them to live in same cultures which have no significance in this age. Of course the environmental issues must be addressed. The habitats should not be destroyed. But is it not being done by J. Ramesh, our minister for this same job. He has recently objected to Adani's project in Maharashtra and is at loggerheads with Mr. Kamalnath, another minister for highway project land. And what your 'Robin Hoods' do? They charge 'protection fee' from corporates. Most corporates don't have problem giving that. Now you decide who is better?

Now if you think Maoists have people support, why don't they contest elections? Some of these 'intellectuals' doubt about fairness in elections. Was the election in Bihar, which had been under Lalu rule, not fair? I don't have to go too far. I am a resident of Uttar Pradesh and last elections were very fair. But the reality is something else. The support for Maoists is thin (and it is forced in some cases) and after this massacre, they will lose further support. This article points out the questions raised by sister of a tribal jawan killed by 'Maoists' and clearly points to the fact that time for romanticizing violence is over. Like most insurgencies even this will subside.

Open Source in Drug Discovery

The title of this post is pretty unusual. Just as you are pleasantly surprised even I was pleasantly surprised after knowing of such an initiative through this report. Leading the research in drug discovery are corporate giants who are more interested in developing vaccines or drugs for curing a select set of diseases and in the process they churn out high margin drugs. So this CSIR led initiative is a whiff of fresh air. I am not an expert on patenting and those in pharmaceutical industry would know better if this model will work or not but going by success of Mozilla, Linux and Wikipedia in the areas of open source software and crowd sourcing, I believe with some effort on legal and patent issues this initiative can be made successful.

The scientists at the OSDD have started with neglected diseases like TB and malaria and they say that despite deaths of 1.7 mn people throughout world due to TB there has been no new drug discovery in last 4-5 decades. That just goes on to show how much we can bank on current state of drug development. The CSIR chief Samir Bramhachari is pretty hopeful of this initiative's success and that is important. When Richard Stallman started free software movement it had many doubters but it has contributed to a large extent in present success of open source softwares. And if OSDD succeeds, it will have much bigger impact and on a much larger population.

Newspaper Dilemma

These days I am riding on the horns of dilemma as far as choosing a newspaper is concerned. Till last month I had an 'intermittent' (courtesy IITK vendors) supply of The Hindu. Before subscribing to The Hindu I had 4 months of exposure to Indian Express. I still believe that The Hindu is the best newspaper currently in India. Here I proclaim it to be the best in terms of the quality of articles, veracity of reporting and yes, an important parameter is absence of those obtrusive ads which adore our populist circulations of Hindustan Times and Times of India. By now you might be thinking where the problem is?

The problem is that The Hindu seems unduly sympathetic to left ideology. In fact a regular columnist is M K Bhadrakumar, a former Indian diplomat whose loyalty it seems (and it is my personal opinion, forgive me if you disagree) lies with China. I shudder to think of what he would have done when he was in his service to the 'nation'. You can search for his articles and look how baseless claims he makes. I once commented on his article citing his earlier baseless allegations but to my surprise The Hindu did not even publish it. But just as one swallow does not makes a summer, the rest of The Hindu is a fine example of quality journalism. Indian Express, to me is a nationalist newspaper and comes hard on bigotry, but the problem with it is that it seems anti-Congress to me at times. I am open to fair criticism of Congress but having columnist like Tavleen Singh who are known to spew venom against Congress deters me. A ray of hope is the medium which connects me to you. The online edition of The Hindu is very good but the same cannot be said of Indian Express. Subscribing to Indian Express and reading The Hindu online seems to be an idea worth looking.

Pune blasts : Lessons to be learnt

Once again a blast strikes an Indian city. Once again the blame game begins. Once again media frenzy comes to fore. Once again we do nothing. Please rise to the occasion. Get out of this mess. It is very disappointing to see the same pattern one after the other. If the speculations presented in newspaper reports are true, it becomes very difficult to have faith in our internal security.

There are several reports claiming that Headley had surveyed the German bakery. If true this implies that the administration of the bakery had advance knowledge of the gravity of the situation and also the government should have been more active. The trigger for the blast is highly disappointing. A waiter opened an unclaimed object. This is ridiculous. After so much awareness campaigns we Indians can't even follow simple rules for security. As far as I remember these campaigns have been since Khalistan militancy days. But how many of us are serious about it?
This is the time that we learn our lesson although a very tragic way to learn it. I would suggest that we plan an awareness campaign with the friends of that waiter exhorting people to follow security norms. Please do not miss this opportunity.

In the defence of Thackerays

The title is perhaps highly unlikely to be found elsewhere as Thackeray bashing seems to be the in-thing these days. Although it is justified to some extent but our media has this tendency to overdo things whether it is the case of Chinese incursions or of Indian team losing a match. What I am talking about here is castigation of Bal Thackeray for criticising Shahrukh Khan for his remarks on Pakistani players' participation in the IPL. I do not approve of hooliganism associated with Shiv Sainiks but there is no doubt that Shahrukh Khan's statement on IPL was a highly irresponsible statement. Yes, I agree that in a democracy everyone has right to express his/her opinion but then is it not true that a hypocrite should deserve flak for what he/she is ? Mr. Chidambaram also expressed his opinion on the matter saying that Pakistan has very good Twenty20 players and they should have been brought out. But then he has no control over who is picked in the tournament. He is not a franchisee but Shahrukh Khan is. What Mr. Khan offers is a pretty lame excuse. He says they wanted Razzaq in the team but didn't pick him because he was injured. How does he know that same problem was not with other owners? That's a true charlatan for you. Oh! can a charlatan be true?

Language Barrier

At times I wonder how foolish we can be. Just because someone speaks a different language we see that person as alien. Of course as I have posted earlier, language can be a barrier as far as administration is concerned but how is it that it can be used as tool to alienate a section of society. Why do you feel slighted if someone else speaks some other language? I agree we all should be proud of our mother tongue but that does not implies we look down upon other languages. Still you can see a lot of instances in history where language was used as a tool to create divide in society. Forcing your language on others can lead to a lot of trouble. Pakistan forced Urdu on Bengali speakers and eventually had to part with them. India was engulfed in language movement in 1960's when they tried to force Hindi on southern states. One of the reasons for unrest in Punjab was Hindi/Punjabi divide. Now language is being used as a political tool in Maharashtra. There are several parties who are opposed to the English education terming English as a foreign language. Should we abandon a good thing just because it is foreign? They raise trivial issues such as changing 'India that is Bharat' to 'Bharat, that is India' in constitution. What good this change is going to bring? But as usual these parties have no logic to defend their statements. Be proud of your mother tongue but respect other languages. The language in usage should be the language that is convenient. I will talk to a farmer in Uttar Pradesh in Hindi and a foreigner in English. Just imagine what will happen if I do the other way round?

Realization of Regression in Science

Today, Dr. Manmohan Singh has accepted existence of red tapism and need of urgent reforms in order to move Indian Science forward and take it to greater heights. Brain drain is a severe problem now. But it is not that only those who leave our shores are responsible. The onus also lies with our establishment which has made it difficult to carry out research in India. Even premier institutions have not been spared. Despite all this there are some who stay here and work for country. But you cannot expect everyone to work just because of patriotism. At the time when the US is thinking of attracting entrepreneurs to their country we are not even able to stem the rot which plagues our educational establishments. The fellowships given to our research scholars are peanuts compared to those given in West and this is even if you take PPP into account.

Dr. Singh has announced revision in funding schemes which bodes well for Indian Science. The number of Phds is very less in India. More so in science. Currently, IITs pay only 14000 p.m. This should be hiked to at least 25,000-30,000 p.m. The admission process to Phd should be reformed in order to attract best talent. This will surely enhance the quality of our research and because the number of Phd scholars is so small, it is not going to be a burden on government also. If industry interface is improved, the burden on government can be lightened even more.