Author Archive for Anil

From The Earth To The Moon

Published
by
Anil
on October 24, 2008
in india and technology
. 1 Comment

With the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1 ISRO has joined a select league of nations that have launched missions to the moon. While the spacecraft will take a few more days to attain lunar orbit the successful launch is in itself a great first step for ISRO in space exploration.

Inevitably, amidst the euphoria, there have been voices of dissent. There are some who argue that India cannot afford to waste precious money on what they see as a grandiloquent gesture to catch up with China’s far more advanced space program. They also argue that enough is known about the moon and this mission will not advance our scientific knowledge about our nearest neighbor enough to justify the mission.

Let us look at the ‘price tag’ first. Before the USA embarked on their Apollo missions they launched a series of lunar probes to do lunar imaging and impact studies. Total expense: a neat $1 billion. Japan’s Kayuga moon mission cost a whopping $480m! Even China’s lunar probe cost them a cool $180m. Compare these sums to what the cost is for India’s moon mission: $76m! An unmanned moon mission at that price can easily be termed dirt cheap. In terms of expenditure, the Indian mission is obviously the cheapest of all known global moon missions 1 2.

Coming to the scientific ‘worth’, Chandrayaan-1 is no slouch in this regard as well. The main mission objectives are to create a 3-D atlas of the Moon, study its chemical and mineral composition, look for Helium-3 (a potential future energy source) and search for the presence of water-ice. Towards fulfilling these objectives the moon craft carries a total of 11 scientific instruments of which 5 are Indian, 2 American (NASA), 3 European (ESA) and one Bulgarian (BAS).

Using these instruments ISRO will undertake a high resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared, low-energy and high-energy X-ray spectra. This will help create a high resolution 3-dimensional map of the near and far side regions of the moon. In addition, questions about the origins of the moon (whether it was created by a collision with earth of another heavenly body or was an alien body captured by earth’s gravity) might be answered through this mission. On top of this a chemical and mineralogical mapping of the moon’s surface will reveal the distribution of various elements (such as Titanium, Magnesium, Aluminum for example) on the lunar surface and help in determining the nature of the lunar crust. These data will lead to greater understanding of the moon’s evolutionary origin, mineral composition (for potential energy sources) as well as potential sites for a human moon base if water-ice is found on the moon 3 4.

After reading all this you might wonder how does this benefit the common man? How will these questions help anyone apart from satisfying the curiosity of a few scientists? These are valid questions especially from an Indian point of view where $76m might be used for schemes that benefit the common man more directly. But as I’ve argued in a post before when ISRO began taking tentative steps in starting a modest space program in the early 80s many termed it as a waste of valuable money. Now, the many satellites developed and launched by ISRO over the years have helped an average Indian in many ways, from early cyclone warning to something as mundane as satellite TV. With ISRO also becoming a small but important player in the lucrative global satellite launch business and high quality remote sensing it is earning valuable foreign exchange for the country.

When you look at the history of science it can be observed that the potential benefits from basic science research were not always immediately apparent. Bacteria were initially considered curious but useless creatures, flying a heavier than air object was considered a fool’s fancy while DNA was thought to be scaffold for the more important proteins. It is only when the fundamentals of basic science were properly understood and tested out did they result in applications that later helped humanity.

ISRO’s moon mission while not having immediate benefits for the common man might lead to many such ancillary benefits. Even now, the building of the Deep Space Network (necessary for monitoring the moon missions) is generating local employment. There will be an increased demand for science graduates to work for future missions. ISRO plans to launch another mission to the moon in the near future, Chandrayaan-2, which intends to land a rover on the moon to collect and test lunar samples. And ultimately, experience from these missions will benefit future planned missions such the project to put an Indian in space in the next decade as well as send a probe to Mars.

It is a pity that the enthusiasm there was for space exploration in the 60s has diminished over time. From looking out towards the universe and wanting to explore different worlds we have turned insular and limited ourselves to this planet. I hope the recent revival in interest for space exploration, in which Chandrayaan is playing its part, will spark a new space era with humans finally establishing a bridge head on the moon to serve as a base for an eventual manned mission to Mars.

The Scarlette Saga

Published
by
Anil
on March 13, 2008
in india and politics
. 1 Comment

The case of Scarlette Keeling’s death in Goa is taking on epic proportions with accusations of cover-up and corruption leveled against the Goan police by Scarlette’s mother while the police seemingly shift from one position to another. First they said it was a case of death by drowning due to drug use in spite of the first autopsy detailing multiple signs of abuse on the girl’s body. After the second autopsy they changed the cause of death to rape and murder and then again flipped by falling back to their original position that it was actually death by drowning all along. Then they started claiming it was the fault of the girl’s mother to leave her alone in Goa while the former traveled elsewhere in India. And now, suddenly, the Goan police state that they have cracked the case with one of the prime suspects confessing to the rape and murder.

It is understandable why Fiona Mackeown, Scarlett’s mother, has no trust in the Goan police and wants a CBI probe. She alleges that the Goan police are in a criminal nexus with drug dealers and since the latter according to many reports are involved in the death of Scarlette she further claims that the police want to cover up the murder to protect the drug dealers. Another theory doing the rounds is that the Goan police wanted to hush up the murder as they did not want to damage Goa’s reputation as a prime tourist destination especially among Britons who comprise 60% of the foreigners visiting Goa.

Whichever way the case may finally turn what is undeniable is that it has completely tarnished the image of Goa and its police. In their bungled attempts to hush up the murder the Goan police have created a sordid news story that is going around the world. End result: Goa’s reputation as a ’safe’ tourist paradise is under threat. Going wider it also threatens to silence the buzz generated by the ‘Incredible India’ tourist campaign. It is only recently that tourism in India has been growing at a strong pace increasing employment and injecting much needed money into the local economies. This case will only add to India’s unfortunate reputation that the rule of law exists only in name in India leading to tourists feeing unsafe and unprotected. One potential method to correct this would be for the Indian government to develop a special section among the police (that is accountable and transparent) to deal with crimes committed against tourists.

Unless the Goan police and the state government act quickly and take steps to restore confidence by punishing those police personnel involved in the cover up (the suspension of the one of the inspectors involved in the alleged cover up is a good first step) and pursue the criminals involved it is safe to speculate that tourist arrivals into Goa will take a hit. And underneath all the allegations and cover ups let us not forget the tragedy of a 15 year old girl who got involved with drugs and was killed while on holiday. While Fiona Mackeown might indeed have been irresponsible to leave her young daughter in the care of a tourist guide the least the Goan police can now do is to ensure that swift justice is delivered to her and her grieving family.

The Shame of the Indian Male

Published
by
Anil
on January 20, 2008
in india
. 2 Comments

(Cross posted here.)

It is as if India is losing her humanity part by part. Coming close on the heels of the recent spate of reports on women molested in various parts of India is this horrific and tragic report from Surat about a brave man named Keshav Vishwakarma who tried to prevent a woman from being heckled. For being a good Samaritan, four hours later, he was doused with kerosene and put on fire. Incredibly, with 75% burn injuries he walked two kilometers to a police station to report the incident. Unfortunately, he later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

It is nothing new that women in India have a torrid time in public spaces. Even as a child I could not help but notice how careful my mother would be when she had to go out alone or with me as a child to any public space, be it to the market or to the cinema or to drop me off at school. She would carefully wrap her pallu around herself completely so that no bare skin was visible anywhere between her face and feet. In the bus she always made sure that she sat as much in the front as possible, away from the men’s seats and on the road she would ask me to walk on the outer side so that I’d be shielding her from passing traffic (meaning the sundry Indian male who would not think twice about grabbing or groping a woman in public).

Later, when I was older I’d listen in horror as my female friends recounted incident after incident about how disgusting and desperate the average Indian male is in public. I was ashamed and embarassed that the freedom I took for granted came with so many reservations for them. To think that every time they were out in public they had to deal with innumerable snide comments which would range from ‘kya potti hai re’ to men in cars slowing down to ask ‘ati kya?’ showed me how different a world it is for an Indian woman compared to her male counterpart. They had to be on constant guard to not let men get too close in public spaces. For if men got too close more often than not their body parts would be groped, grabbed or pawed in the most obscene way. My friends often would not take it laying down if they were in a group and always tried to fight back. But they also knew that it was safer to keep quiet especially if they were alone. They knew from practical experience how unsafe it is for an Indian woman to walk on the street alone even in big city like Hyderabad. And these were the so called elite upper middle class women who were confident, educated and unapologetic about what they wore or how they behaved and who therefore, according to some, are asking for such abuse by dressing or behaving unlike a ‘traditional Indian woman’. One friend of mine, upon listening to such incidents from my friends above, even had the gall to say that if they stopped wearing dresses befitting a whore they would be given more respect! Unfortunately, the truth is not so simple. Even women who wear ‘traditional’ Indian dresses are not spared such abuse. I recall a nonsensical dress code directive by Anna University along the very lines of such an argument about which I had blogged here.

So why do we Indian men behave like this? Many men would object perhaps saying that men are the same everywhere in the world. To a certain extent that is true. But I’ve observed how big a difference there is between the average European male and his Indian counterpart when it comes to women. Men defer to women here in public spaces. Although men do eye good looking women here it is limited to just that. There are no snide or obscene comments passed and in my four years here I’ve never ever seen a man behave obscenely towards a woman in public. Yes, there are occasionally teenagers who seem to tease women but they are more the exception than the rule.

Justice Prevails

Published
by
Anil
on November 6, 2007
in india
. 1 Comment

ICICI Bank has been fined Rs 50 lakh by the Delhi Consumer Commission for hiring goons to recover loans in a landmark ruling. Read more here.

The commission used strong language to condemn the flouting of rules by ICICI Bank by continuing to hire goons to recover a few thousand rupees. I hope this ruling will go a long way to reign these banks in who even after a Supreme Court ruling continue to employ these recovery agents who often use brutal and unlawful methods to recover the money. Until now the banks were washing their hands off by claiming that they were not responsible for the methods employed by the recovery agents. But the Consumer Commission categorically stated that it is the bank’s responsibility to make sure that the recovery agents do not resort to unlawful methods to recover loans.

This ruling should now prevent banks resorting to exploiting legal loopholes to get away with human rights abuses that often resulted in serious injury and tragically even drove some people at the receiving end of such forceful loan recovery tactics to suicide.

Private Banks and Loan Recovery Using Goons

Published
by
Anil
on June 26, 2007
in india
. 0 Comments

It looks as if some banks in India consider themselves above the law. In spite of a Supreme Court order to the contrary, banks such as the ICICI Bank continue to employ private agencies for debt recovery, which in turn employ goons and other anti-social elements to intimidate the defaulters and make them cough up the money. Recently, in Hyderabad, this has resulted in the tragic death of a government employee after he was allegedly held in confinement by debt recovery agents who worked for a loan recovery agency which had a tie up with ICICI Bank. The bank and the agency of course deny any wrong doing on their part.

Failure by the police to control these agencies has resulted in the banks blatantly ignoring the Supreme Court oder, which expressly forbids hiring goons and using force to recover defaulted loans. While the defaulter is at fault for not paying up on time the bank should not resort to illegal means to recover the money. Given India’s glacial judicial system where it takes years for a case to be resolved it is no wonder then that private banks are resorting to force and coercion to get back their money. However, this should be condemned and prevented as no bank can and should consider themselves above the law. If not anything this will lead to the strengthening of goons who might resort to other illegal activities given their patronage and protection by the banks.

The police should make sure that the guilty parties are brought to justice in the above case and make sure that the said bank/agency and others do not resort to using the same tactics again. Bank customers should also put pressure on their bank when they hear about such cases to desist from using such unlawful means. After all, the one thing these banks fear is bad publicity and that is a power bank customers can use to influence their banks to mend their ways.

(Indian) Man on the Moon

Published
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Anil
on November 24, 2006
in india and technology
. 0 Comments

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently held a meeting of major Indian scientists in Bangalore to discuss the feasibility and economics of sending an Indian astronaut into space and then later landing him/her on the moon. This has given rise to the usual arguments both in favor of and against such a venture. There are those who argue that India, with her many social and economic problems, should not waste money on something that has already been done before and will yield nothing new. That instead, the money should be used to help the poor and the downtrodden. Simply put, India should not dare to dream that big and be constantly aware of her limits.

I firmly disagree. I think India should seriously plan on putting a man into space and then later on the moon. Yes, it will be expensive. However, what no one realizes is how much of a kick start it will give to the science and technology fields in India and ultimately benefit society. The space race between the erstwhile U.S.S.R. and the U.S. in the 1950s and 60s led to the development of many new technologies that later found widespread applications in many different areas, ranging from health to housing.

Now, a Ban on Orkut?

Published
by
Anil
on November 23, 2006
in india and technology
. 9 Comments

A petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court for banning the social networking site, Orkut, which is owned by Google, according to this report. Apparently, the petitioner, a certain Subodh Balsaraf of Thane, found that ‘Orkut’ used “slang, rude and vulgar language” about the Maratha king Shivaji. Disturbingly, Orkut has already been banned in Pune by the police after the occurrence of a few violent incidents there.

I’m surprised. Does Mr. Balsaraf or for the matter the police even know how Orkut works? Orkut by itself does not post any inflammatory remarks. It is some people who are bent on stirring things up that start these ‘hate’ communities. I even know of a few ‘Hate India’ communities started by some Pakistanis on Orkut.

There is a feature on Orkut to report about such communities to the people who run Orkut. Apparently, if enough complaints are received, steps are taken to remove that community. Now, I’m not very sure how effective this report back feature is but if you have a problem about certain people posting defamatory remarks about your idol you should first write to the people who run the site. Banning the complete site won’t help. It will only cause inconvenience to thousands of others. Orkut is actually very popular among Indians and is used by many, including myself, to keep in touch with friends and people sharing similar interests from around the world.

The Kherlanji Incident

Published
by
Anil
on November 6, 2006
in india and politics
. 2 Comments

Where is the humanity in this? Is this the very land where apparently tolerance is ingrained in our very blood? Is this happening in the same country where the government is bending over backwards to build nuclear bombs and lobby for a permanent seat in the Security Council when the police cannot be depended upon to protect those who need it the most? This is human nature at its darkest.

To read that the whole village, including women, stood by and watched as Surekha (45 yrs old) and her daughter Priyanka (17 years old) were beaten, mutilated, disfigured, tortured and gang-raped to death. To read that her two sons, Roshan (23 years old and blind) and Sudhir (21 years old), were beaten to death and their genitals mutilated makes me frightened to think about what is happening in the ‘other’ India. An India, where being born into a lower caste is like being cursed for life, where justice and human rights are words without any meaning, and where police and other public officials are puppets in the hands of a powerful few. This is not the ‘news’ the rest of India is fed. This is not the ‘democracy’ the high and mighty of the political elite want the world to see. This is not the ‘equality under law’ the politicians preach.

So speak out my dear friends. Talk about this on/in your blogs, phones, drawing rooms, offices, street corners, restaurants, pubs, clubs, discos, coffee joints and spread the word. Tell everyone you know about how the dreams of three youngsters and their mother were brutally erased. Talk about how the police even now ignore basic procedures and protect the perpetrators. Talk about how justice is only the preserve of a select few in today’s India. For even talking is better than being silent. For perhaps someone somewhere in the corridors of power will listen and take action.

Erasing the Lines

Published
by
Anil
on October 29, 2006
in india and politics
. 1 Comment

Reading this made me realize how deep-seated the belief is, especially in India, that homosexuality is an “undesirable, unhealthy, unnatural and abnormal behaviour increasing without control” to quote the words of the author of the above article. An article in which he rails against the open letter written by many eminent writers, artists, human rights activists and others calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality in India by overturning Article 377 of the Indian constitution. What I find even more disquieting is that the writer is apparently a qualified paramedical professional. Here we have a person connected to the medical field who argues that homosexuality should not be decriminalized because, and I quote here,

“…it is an altogether socially, ethically and medically unacceptable idea to treat them as normal. There are no homosexuals among any species of animals. Such practice is fundamentally against nature. With all our sympathy, we have to treat them as abnormal.”

In closing, he wants this to be “a wake-up call for the guardians of traditional morality and ethics”. I utterly disagree with this oft-argued but blinkered view of homosexuality, especially from a scientific point of view. To counter the major argument that it is unnatural here is a link to a seminal book available on Amazon.

Impact of Globalization on Indian Agriculture

Published
by
Anil
on September 22, 2006
in india and politics
. 31 Comments

(Note: Reproduced below with kind permission, in its entirety, is an essay written by my friend Dipanjali Rao as a research project for her Master’s course. It is long but it makes a very interesting as well as a sad read.)

Introduction

The liberalisation of India’s economy was adopted by India in 1991. Facing a severe economic crisis, India approached the IMF for a loan, and the IMF granted what is called a ‘structural adjustment’ loan, which is a loan with certain conditions attached which relate to a structural change in the economy. The government ushered in a new era of economic reforms based on these conditions. These reforms (broadly called Liberalisation by the Indian media) can be broadly classified into three areas: Liberalisation, privatization and globalization. Essentially, the reforms sought to gradually phase out government control of the market (liberalisation), privatize public sector organizations (privatization), and reduce export subsidies and import barriers to enable free trade (globalization). There was a considerable amount of debate in India at the time of the introduction of the reforms, it being a dramatic departure from the protectionist, socialist nature of the Indian economy up until then. However, reforms in the agricultural sector in particular came under severe criticism in the late 1990s, when 221 farmers in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh committed suicide. (The damage done, 2005) The trend was noticed in several other states, and the figure today, according to a leading journalist and activist, P. Sainath1, stands at 100,000 across the country. (Sainath, 2006) Coupled with this was a sharp drop in agricultural growth from 4.69% in 1991 to 2.06% in 1997. (Agriculture Statistics at a Glance, 2006) This paper seeks to look into these and other similar negative trends in Indian agriculture today, and in analyzing the causes, will look at the extent to which liberalisation reforms have contributed to its current condition. It will look at supporting data from three Indian states which have been badly affected by the crisis: Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala. Andhra Pradesh’s (AP’s) experience is particularly critical in this debate because it was headed by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who pursued liberalization with enthusiasm. Hence liberalization in AP has been faster than other states, and the extent of its impact has been wider and deeper. (Sainath, 2005)

Vande Mataram

Published
by
Anil
on September 3, 2006
in india and politics
. 2 Comments

Vir Sanghvi writes in Hindustan Times on the controversy surrounding the singing of the national song Vande Mataram. I agree with every point he has raised. It is unfortunate that the question of singing a song has snowballed into an issue of patriotism and religion. The level to which politicians will stoop to garner a few brownie points with disenchanted elements of society is pathetic. In the end, a song is neither a test for forced patriotism nor is it an important enough issue to deliver a religious decree against it. As Vir Sanghvi rightly points out there are more important issues such as access to good education and proper health care that need to be dealt with first.

I’ll let the man do the rest of the talking. You can read the very well-written article here.

The China Syndrome

Published
by
Anil
on July 19, 2006
in india and politics
. 0 Comments

The Indian government is obsessed with comparing itself to China for most economic issues. But the recent blanket ban on popular blogging services like Blogger.com and its blogging arm blogspot makes one wonder whether the Indian government is seeking to emulate the Chinese when it comes to net censorship as well. It is always a dangerous ploy to restrict access to information, especially in an open democracy like India. And this time the Indian government, with its ill thought out and badly implemented blanket ban, risks losing face. Most bloggers are up in arms and the story has already done the rounds in the Western media. If the government doesn’t move fast and limit the damage already done they will have another headache to deal with.

Although one can understand the reason behind the government’s order to block access to certain blogs in the wake of the Mumbai blasts, Indian babudom moved in its typically inefficient way and made a mess of the whole issue. In my opinion, they need to do three things immediately. First, the government must move fast and give a clear explanation about what happened. Second, it should take the necessary steps to resolve the issue. And finally, they should have a mechanism in place to see that this is not repeated. Even though blogging is still a niche activity for Indians, the number of Indians blogging (or blogs dealing with India) will continue to increase. So it is imperative the Indian government recognizes that blogs are a legitimate way to express one’s opinions and allows unrestricted access to them.

The Great Appeasement

Published
by
Anil
on June 23, 2006
in films, india and politics
. 0 Comments

Reading a recent news report about the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu ordering officials to stop the screening of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in theaters makes me wonder if religious appeasement is not scaling new heights in India. Apparently, some Christian and other minority group’s religious sentiments are hurt by the film. This is strange considering that predominantly Catholic countries such as Italy, Brazil etc. have not banned the film. And even the Vatican did not call for a ban but has only asked Catholics to avoid the film. So I wonder if Christians in India have stronger feelings or do not agree with the Vatican over this issue? Or is it a perfect excuse to gain some political mileage by both the Catholic organizations and political parties rushing to please the former’s demands. After all, the book has been in print, has sold like hot cakes, and has been discussed to death for more than a year now. Why didn’t these people protest so strongly then?

I think these government orders set a dangerous precedent. Now the door is open for any group to demand a ban on anything based on the highly ambiguous argument that it hurts/offends their sentiments.

This also raises the issue of free expression. If we stifle dissenting views then how can new ideas arise? Whatever happened to freedom of speech enshrined in our constitution?

As I write this there have been fresh protests in Hyderabad by a Christian organization outside a movie theater, which was showing the film after a High Court judge quashed the government order banning the film, terming the order “as extravagant, arbitrary and wholly irrational.” Need I say more?

The Greater Common Good Redux

Published
by
Anil
on May 2, 2006
in india and politics
. 0 Comments

It has become rather fashionable of late to criticize the likes of Arundhati Roy as people who are bent on stopping ‘development’ of India. On the contrary, I think she makes a lot of sense. If not anything she brings up many points which no one, as far as I know, has effectively countered. The whole media circus over the recent NBA protest hides some very real issues that are being ignored.

For example, the promise of rehabilitation to the people displaced or being displaced by the dam that has not been delivered. The question of whether big dams, which result in changing the face of the surrounding environment and displacing communities are really beneficial when the world over everyone is moving away from such mega projects with even the World Bank, once a big supporter of such projects, agreeing that big dams are not what they are touted to be-the panacea for water troubles. The growing disconnect between the haves and have-nots, especially in rural India, with the have-nots being relegated to the margins of Indian society without a voice, ignored in the shiny image-making of a new India galloping to join the ranks of the developed world.

You can read her interview in The Hindu where she updates her older essay on the Narmada issue, The Greater Common Good published in 1999 in Frontline, in an interview with Shoma Chaudhuri here.

Noam Chomsky On Hegemony and Disarmament

Published
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Anil
on April 12, 2006
in india and politics
. 0 Comments

An interview with one of the few prominent Americans with, what I’d like to call as, a global conscience. The interview seems to end abruptly but it is still very interesting. In this age of corporatised media and selective reporting it is necessary that we have people like Noam Chomsky questioning the established view and offering a different, perhaps more realistic take on current affairs. You can read the interview here.

Aamir Khan on the Indian Media

Published
by
Anil
on April 1, 2006
in india and media
. 1 Comment

At last, one actor from the Indian mainstream film industry who has the guts and the brains to speak out against the current state of the Indian media. Read the interview where he rips Indian media to shreds here.

Reading it felt like as if he was speaking some of the words in my head. I wonder why more people do not talk about this or is that a stupid question in itself as which mainstream media will permit such a frank criticism of itself?

Doing Business With Bush

Published
by
Anil
on March 5, 2006
in india, politics and technology
. 4 Comments

India is rapidly growing and needs loads of energy soon to fuel that growth. We cannot (and should not) depend on the unstable Middle-East for our oil, not just because they are repressive and thus unstable regimes but also because of the spiraling cost and long-term environmental problems. Wind, solar and tidal energies are still at a nascent stage and need more time before they can be widespread. And there is stiff resistance in India to large scale hydro electric plants. So the only reliable alternative left is nuclear power. The Indian nuclear establishment for all its talent of working under adverse conditions is still using unstable cold-war era technologies. Added to this is the fact that India has very low reserves of Uranium. We do have huge reserves of Thorium but lack the technology to use it as a nuclear fuel as of yet. So we urgently need access to safe and reliable nuclear technologies and fuel. And who controls this? The US (and other Western powers) of course. So if not today tomorrow we would need this deal. And that I think is the raison d’etre for this agreement. Remember, this deal was asked for by the Indians and not the Americans.

Now with this little setting of context out of the way let us come to Mr. Bush. I do not like him and I think he is perhaps the worst US president in history. He is a war mongerer and I seriously think he is in the pocket of big business. But I do give him certain credit. He has had the courage to change decades of anti-India policies by the US. I know he is not doing this out of love for India, he is doing it from a purely strategic and business point of view but he did something which even Clinton was not willing to do.

So it is a purely pragmatic decision on India’s part to deal with him. When we can directly deal with war mongerers and repressive dictators like Musharraf of Pakistan and Wen Jiabao of China what is wrong in dealing with Bush? Musharraf is even worse than Bush I think. He was directly responsible for the killing of hundreds of Indian soldiers during the Kargil episode and indirectly responsible for the thousands of deaths due to terrorism in Kashmir and beyond. For god’s sake, he blatantly ignores terrorists acting from his own soil! And I doubt if even you will support a totalitarian state like China and the immense human rights abuses it’s ruling government has been party to. So why didn’t anyone (apart from perhaps the far right parties) protest their visit to India? Why didn’t the Left come out in full force and protest the Chinese leadership’s visit sometime back or Musharraf’s continuing support for terrorism? Do you really believe that the Indian left cares for the issues on hand? They are making such a noise only because they have elections coming up in key states where they hold power or have influence. So I don’t see anything really wrong in India doing business with Bush.

Finally, that brings us to the question, what is it that the Indian left wants? Do they even have a vision for India’s future or does it change every time they taste power? Do they want to turn India into a totalitarian communist regime like China? I mean these were the very people who apparently opposed nuclear weapons of any kind when India embarked on a such a program first. Now, it is hilarious to see them getting concerned for the military nuclear program!

Even though my politics lie left of center I’ve never been in favor of the Indian Left parties. They have never done anything that has benefited the poor and have only bothered themselves about staying in power as long as possible.

Let not the above words give you the impression that I support nuclear weapons. Far from it, I wish they had never been invented in the first place. But they exist and will continue to do so. I was disappointed to see India soften its long held stand for the complete eradication of nuclear weapons in the world. However, that is a also a shift based on current reality. India is surrounded by hostile and unstable regimes. From Pakistan to Burma, from China to Bangladesh, we have neighbors who refuse to see reason and are willing to continue on the path of violence and/or brutal suppression of human rights. So we do need a credible deterrent, something that will make them think twice before threatening our national and territorial integrity. In spite of this obvious security fear, India is perhaps the only nuclear power in the world who has imposed on herself a no first-strike policy. Did any of the other other nuclear powers follow India’s example? The answer is a resounding no. And this is where India’s need for nuclear weapons comes from.

(A post that was in response to Tushar’s argument that Bush is a war criminal and therefore it was an insult for him to offer respects at Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi and that India should not do business with him.)

Gay Rights and Section 377

Published
by
Anil
on February 3, 2006
in india
. 2 Comments

Finally, there is a subtle hint of change in the legal air! Gays and homosexuals who have long been fighting a lone battle for recognition in India have something to cheer about. The Supreme Court of India sent back a plea concerning the reappeal of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, originally struck down by the Delhi High Court as not being in “public interest”.

In India, homosexuality is an offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Gay rights organisations and human rights activists have long been fighting to abolish that section under the grounds that it is unconstitutional and discriminatory. Until now, Indian courts had refused to budge and change the law. But this might be the start of something new.

I firmly believe that homosexuals should have equal rights as everybody else. It is inhuman to deny them the very rights we take for granted. I hope this forward-looking decision by the Supreme Court will usher in a much needed change and abolish what, in my opinion, is an archaic law.

Read more here.

The Indian Air Story

Published
by
Anil
on December 28, 2005
in india
. 2 Comments

The civil aviation sector in India is currently very upbeat and bullish about the future. And they have enough reason for that. Low cost airlines have grabbed a 25 percent market share by the end of 2005 and are poised to increase it to 40 percent in the next one year according to this report. In addition to the existing budget airlines many more are in the pipeline, ready to take off in the next year.

This is of course good news for millions of middle-class Indians as air travel will be within their reach for the first time. No longer will they have to rely on slow or unreliable trains and long journey times. And, of course, this rise of the budget airlines will lead to better connectivity between smaller cities and towns which were hitherto ignored by the state carriers. Not to mention increased employment opportunities.

But lost within these good tidings is an ignored reality. Increased air travel means greater air and noise pollution. With the rapid increase in air travel globally it is estimated that tourism accounts for fully 7 percent of carbon emissions worldwide as can be read here. Therefore, the need to travel must be balanced with a concern for the environment. One way to do this would be to ensure that proper environmental regulations dealing with emissions are set in place. India is in a unique position. As the civil aviation sector is just beginning to take off this is the right time to ensure that pollution laws are beefed up and airlines are made to take steps to keep their aircraft emissions within set limits. Air travel should not just be about the joy of traveling to new places, it must and should be balanced by a concern for our fragile environment.

AIDS in India

Published
by
Anil
on December 3, 2005
in india
. 0 Comments

Another World AIDS day has come and gone and the epidemic shows no sign of abating. On the contrary more and more people are turning out to be HIV positive. In Africa, the problem is almost getting out of hand. While in India, inspite of having the second largest number of HIV infected cases in the world the government is not pursuing an aggressive enough strategy to spread more awareness about the disease. The government claims that the infection rates have fallen sharply this year compared to last year but many counter this claim saying that the government is relying on faulty numbers. Whatever the actual numbers maybe the truth is that AIDS is spreading throughout India. What is more worrying is that HIV infections are going up in the rural areas, regions where the rates of infection are lower compared to the urban areas.

The main problem in India is the lack of awareness about the disease and the resultant stigma society has attached to it. AIDS patients are literally ostracized by the community and even their family members. Since sex is not talked about openly and attempts to do so are frowned upon taking the message to the masses has had limited success. What we need is a more proactive approach from the government, a firm commitment both in terms of money and resources to educate the general public about use of condoms, high risk behavior and the need for precautions.

Time is fast running out. The number of AIDS patients is set to double by the end of this decade if the present infection rates continue. With more than half of India’s population set to be below thirty years of age in the next decade it is imperative that the government, NGOs and people come together to fight this debilitating menace.

(Go here for a more detailed article on the history, current situation and possible outcomes of the AIDS problem in India).