I am losing faith in myself

Came across a recent news item (click here for link)about young children being used to plough the fields in Bihar. What was most astonishing about the heinous act was that it is being reported from the farm lands of Union Rural Development Minister, Raghubansh Prasad Singh. And our able politician has the grit and the courage to call it as a issue being given unnecessary propoganda just to defame him. I beg to differ with him, because it will be derogartory to the word "fame", if we thinks he can call himself famous ! And then someone intelligent would say - Oh, this is Bihar...that is how it is ! My question is...Aren't the people in that state also Indians ? Don't those children have the right to achieve basic education and food under mid day meal ? Isn't that state also responsible to contribute towards the Millenium Development Goals ?

This event mocks the entire India versus Bharat debate. When we have innumerous such Bharat's existing in our country, how can we even think of creading brand India. We need to get our house in order first, and the strength that it will give us, will then be acknowledged even by the world outside . This is a stark reality about an India different from the India we all know, we all live in, we all enjoy - a reality where still people are pressed with poverty and lack of resources, that they are ready to replace animals in the field, just to earn some food for them.

Although this sounds like a perfectly efficient solution- afterall this factor of production comes much cheaper than any animal, with only variable costs and no fixed investments ! Its an obnoxious point that I have just made, and what I need to ask myself - is it human ? After seeing this, I think I need to correct my understanding about the definition of humanity, and amend that humanity is totally context dependent. So in a place like Bihar, which has been plundered by many "able" politicians in near history, where a full stomach of meal has been distant dream of many, a sound sleep with a healthy body has been a fairy tale, I think what is being done by employing children in place of animals in indeed human. It is human, because it gives them the means to eat some food, to be able to support their living, and more than anything, to be able to survive against death ! However, what remains to be debated is the appropriability of this "context" based definition of humanity ? Is this the reason for which I decided to study public policy- just to tailor definitions that fit the reality- how so horrible that reality is. Is this what the policy makers are supposed to do - browse this news item on the internet while working on their latest configuration Sony laptop sitting cozily in the armchair, and write a sentimental blog about it..before they logout and move to check email ? If this is what policy making is, where inspite of producing noble prize winning developing economists from India, and emminent economists leading our nation, we face truth so bitter, I think I am losing faith in my decision of being able to contribute in the development of my nation as a policy maker. And if it so, I see myself as no one better than those people who are making the children plough the field. In fact they are an inch better than me, because they are atleast giving a chance to those kids for eraning their livelihood !

But then, I am comforted by Edmund Burke, who said - " All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing". At least I am not contributing to their triumph !

Click here to see the video of the children

And I love this truth !!

Watched the John Dahl directed hollywood classic The Great Raid, about the heroic act of US Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas raiding the Cabanatuan in the Philippines on 30 January 1945. This resulted in the liberation of 511 prisoners of war (POWs) from a Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan. The event has been acknowledged as a celebrated historic achievement involving Allied special forces during World War II.

It is one movie which shares a deep message about faith and hope - in one's country, in one's people, in those who love us, in god and more than anyone else- in oneself ! The courage with which the PoW survived the gruelling acts by the enemies for 3 years, and the bravery with which the US soldiers fought to get their men back, are few events that could make anyone emotional and patriotic. Such historic instances are few moments of glory that light the history of any nation as twinkling stars, and are visible as a ray of hope when any countrymen retrospects into the history of his nation. The grit, the determination and the courage needed to lead and make such missions a success are found only in men of exemplary will- be it Sardar Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, Rani Jhansi, Sir William Wallace or Capt. Robert Prince . Such people lead the country by example, and the world owes a lot to them, because they have the selfless courage to achieve glory for their nation and its men, often at the cost of their own lives !

With a knife in my hand

In one of the classes of a policy course , the course instructor brought an excellent self-baked cake for us. However, when it came to eating the cake, he gave us the knife and left an open question - Decide how you want to distribute the cake, and enjoy ! It was a serious policy question he raised in a subtle way - who gets what and how ? And when I look for answers, I struggle similarly as I struggled while deciding on how to distribute the cake, facing the internal conforntation that any policy maker across the world would face in such a scenario. The blog is my introspection on the exercise.

The holy Kuran in Suad 38:26 says, “We have made you ruler in the land; so judge between men with justice and do not follow desire”. This is a statement that is relevant to every policy maker, and guides him to rise above his own preferences and definitions of what is best, towards what is beneficial for all, or socially optimal. If we closely examine the ‘cake-dividing’ exercise that was done in the class, there are innumerous policy making and policy analysis learnings that can be taken home. I see the exercise as a typical policy decision, which involves the distribution of some resource through a policy instrument.
The simple issue here is the disbursement of a resource (could be any public good, welfare scheme or subsidy) through a policy instrument, which involves a number of actors (policymaker, beneficiaries, administrators, other interest groups), and in this setting, the interpersonal (or group) dynamics determines the discourse of events and the interaction that follows. So, if we reconstruct the exercise that took place in the class, the issue was the distribution of the cake (if it can be called so!) amongst the beneficiaries/stakeholders or actors. However, since the rules of the game (how to distribute) were not defined in advance by the policymaker, what followed was a series of discussions and negotiations about what should be the right way to distribute the cake. This is where the interaction dynamics between different actors were interesting to observe. Initial part of the discussion was primarily due to the curiosity about the cake, i.e. the issue. None of the actors was aware about the reason for which the cake was being distributed. This was a cause of concern, and probably affected the behavior of the actors initially. Had the issue been clearly defined (like cake to welcome the guest or for the best-performers in the class), probably the dynamics between the actors would have evolved differently. Since the issue was not clearly defined at the first instance, it was left to the actors to interpret the background. Hence, how the actors participate is dependent on individual specific understanding of the issue, which governs how they participate in the process. For example, if someone is unaware about the background totally, he/she will be most passive participant in the process when the question about how to distribute will be discussed. Had the policy agenda been discussed in advance, probably people would have participated differently. Few things that need to be noted here are the context of negotiations and the discussions that followed. The exact reason for distributing the cake (policy issue) was unclear initially, which is typical for this situation. Once the actors were given a lead by the policymaker (the instructor told us that it was a cake he baked for us specially) about the agenda, they started negotiating on how the cake could or should be distributed. So, it was the clear disclosure of the policy agenda (or a lack of it in this case), that triggered the negotiation and actors started negotiating so as to govern the conditions of the distribution. This leeway was available, just because the policy design was not robust enough to tackle the issue of distribution. The actual negotiation that followed closely resembles the real life situations. Different stakeholders came up with their own way of distributing the cake equally- based on the numbers, based on performance, based on efforts, based on endowments, based on power, and many more so. However, what is interesting to note at times is the universal acceptance of few and the universal ignorance of few others (e.g. students who were absent in the class). This resembles a real life situation where people generally adjust for the available, but easily try to ignore what can be ignored, so as to corner maximum benefits!

And once we understand the philosophy behind this exercise and the discussion, I think we can easily relate it to the success or failure of any policy decision and the incidents that followed. It could be the uprising in Nandigram, or the Gujjar fiasco in Rajasthan, and many more such issues. Even if none of us has ever thought these big issues, we still appreciate the philosophy behind, when we distribute the slices of pizza at home, where the kids have the first right on slices loaded with cheese and the mom generally takes the one that is left after that ! Hence, there are such considerations in every walk of life, and it won't be an exaggeration to say that all of us are policy makers in some form or the other. So, next time when you take a decision that effects people other than you, do consider the implications of your decision, as if holding a knife in hand and a cake in front !

I hate this truth !

Just finished watching the recetly released bollywood movie 1971. The movie is about 6 Prisoners of War (POW), who were part of the many other such brave soldiers of Indian Army, held captive by Pakistan after the 1971 Bangladesh War. The movie tries to depict the glorious efforts of these men, who try to escape from Pakistan, so as to be able to reunite with their motherland- INDIA !

I was surprised by the fact that like all other Indian movies, this movie did not have a happy ending. An ending, like all other bollywood movies, where the hero after facing hundreds of bullets, lands safely in the arms of his fellow brethren and is able to live happily ever after with his beloved sibilings back in his motherland. Surprisingly, its one of the rare occasions where an Indian movie has presented truth, how so callous and horrendous it be. And beleive me, this time I hate this truth ! I wanted this to be framed like a perfect happy ending, but the fact is that I cannot change it, and I am feeling helpless about it. It makes my blood boil, when I absorb the fact that what the movies shows very emotionally and melodramatically is nothing but truth, or at least close to truth. Many such brave Indian soldiers who are rotting in Pakistani Jails, quite unforgotten by their own country, comes as a reality shock to me. And I am forced to ask the big question- WHY ???

Why on this earth does a nation like ours has to appeal diplomatically for 30 years to get our own brave sons? Why can't we simply barge-in with our entire armed force and tear every wall in pakistan apart to locate our countrymen ? Why do we have to keep quiet and wait for an affirmative action from the other side, and not make a violent and committed pursuasion from our end ? I don't have an answer, and neither do you have. And the big problem is that those who have an answer will never face this question ! This makes me even more outraged and frustrated, that being an Indian citizen none of us is able to do anything for such people. The insensitivity and patriotic character we have as a nation is probably depicted by the fact that this movie could not even manage a sustainable business in theatres across the country , and was wrapped up soon, probably to vacate the audi for a better entertaining movie. Please do appreciate the intended pun in the last line !

I am deeply moved by this heart rendering saga, and am unable to provide myself with a justification for this inaction from our government. All initiatives like the Lahore Bus, or the Samjhauta Express or innumerous social delegations that crossed border time and again, lose their meaning to me. Its simple hypocracy and nothing else, and I can not even think of calling it diplomacy. No parents can ever afford diplomacy at the cost of the lives of their children. Surprisingly over motherland is doing exactly that, or at least it seems so to my immature mind. Just to enhance our image as a peace loving nation, and to substantiate our efforts for mutual harmony with pakistan, we are trying to take such initiatives one after the other. Yes indeed, this will prove our commitment to peace and prosperity in south asia, and enhance our image in the eyes of the world community. However, no body has ever thought-where do we stand in the eyes of those old parents who took their last breath dreaming to be cremated by their loving son? How do we answer the craving eyes of that child who matured from his childhood to teenage to marriage, dreaming about his loving father to be back by his marriage day? And above all, where do we stand in the eyes of those brave men who have lost their vision trying to locate the shades of their tri-colour national flag amidst the four walls of some god forsaken jail in pakistan?
I guess we stand nowhere because this is what the truth is....and thats why I hate this truth !!!

What a Good Morning

I have been thinking of writing these thoughts from the last many days. Although I was intentionally delaying it , but every passing morning enforced by viewpoint, so much so that I could hold no longer, and thought of sharing my worry. "Worry" sounds like a contrasting word, if you match it with the topic of the blog "What a Good Morning"....but then the feeling of well being is the last thing that is communicated to me, or for that matter to all of us, by the newspapers early morning !

Since I don't have any charming kid or a beautiful wife as of now ( its not that I regret this!), its the sweet smell of the newspaper ink and lovely view of its masthead that wakes me up every morning. But frankly speaking, now I am fed up of getting up day after day with horredously regular news reporting of bizarre incidents of murder, fire, controversy, rape, adultery, scam and political mismanagement. There is a limit to everything, and I guess our national media is just on the brink of crossing that limit of public tolerance. I am surprised how positivism and factual reporting have very easliy been replaced by the news that sell, and help them in creating further panic so that the readers wait with bated breath for the next days edition....much like the sizzling "sansani" !

Suddenly I start getting a feel that its the national media that manages the mood and temperament of the nation. I have a specific example of a national daily in mind. Few months back, this national daily was going ga-ga over how "poised" India was ( is it now also ???), and in that "golden" era, one could read article after article on the positive developments in the country. Surprisingly, during that period, when the newspaper even launched a special website, everything was supposedly going great in the country, or at least it was being reported as being great, and even the biggest of unscruplous activities or greates of national developments got the least of attention. This was for the simple reason that majority of the article space was pre-assigned for the specially "poised" articles. However, as the launch got over and it was "regular" days for the newspaper, one suddenly noticed a storm of "spicy" reporting incidents that had the propensity to rock the nation, be it the dreaded "Nithari Kand" or the "Shilpa-Gere" imbroglio, or the relatively regionally concentrated "Kauserbi" episode from Gujarat. Was it just a coincidence that these events occured at this time, or is it a reality that any other incident would also have been equally reported, just to create the regular "spice" in the newspaper , on regular days!

Its not that the media has always been like that. In fact, historically speaking, some of the regional and vernacular newspapers and magazines have been instrumental in the freedom struggle of our country, acting as a mouthpiece for the patriotic writers to instill the feeling for nationalism in everyone. This has been the history of mass media in our country, where truth has prevailed, and has been made to reach the people, even if "flour chapatis" were used instead of paper ( dont be surprised...its true about freedom struggle !) or blood had to replace the ink at times.

This is a surprising shift in national reporting from nationalism towards commercialism, where almost everyone think of writing, editing and publishing something that sells. I am indeed surprised to notice how national media is managing what people read, and thus how they feel. They need to understand that they have a bigger responsibilty bestowed in them, and it is the media which is a true harbinger of the "Right to Information" for majority of the nation. How they have to do it, is still a question that looms in front of it. But, they need to do it soon is something that I find undebatable. And sooner the shift to maturity comes, better it is for the nation as a whole............after all media is the mouthpiece and spokesperson of a nation, and none of us would like our nation to be so frivolous !

To Sir with love

Let me take you back to my engineering college days, when I was studying at the Mechanical Engineering Department at IT-BHU. Our department was (in)famous for very strict and disciplinarian teachers, and their high academic expectations from the students. They were known to be very serious and grim instructors in the institute, who expected utmost discipline and academic rigor from the students. However, during my initial years, I always heard the name of Professor B B Bansal, as one of the most responsive and expert Professors. It was a dream we all cherished for 3 years, to be able to attend the course being offered by him. The anticipation was largely created by seniors, who would go all out to appreciate his style of teaching and also his humane attitude.

The long wait did come to an end, when we were in our B Tech 3rd year and he was supposed to take our course on IC engines. I forgot to mention that apart from his appreciation as an excellent Professor in class, we also were warned about his unrelenting expectation on commitment from the students, in attending classes and being punctual about their learning. The seniors clearly warned us that any trial on testing his patience for an irresponsible student would expose us to his other side, where he could go to any extreme to make us behave well as students. But the solace was that all that would happen only after class and the students were never reprimanded for anything academic participation they made in class, no matter how “foolish” they were. Yes, I am using a word as strong as “foolish”, since that is the level to which some of us pushed our point in the class, when grilled/enquired by the Professor.

When I reflect about his classes, I feel like appreciating all my seniors for the exact feedback they gave, and the pen picture they sketched before us. Professor Bansal, who always seemed very snobbish and haughty in his appearances, was actually very empathetic at heart. The way he conducted the class was a strange enjoyable experience to all of us. Let me share it how.

He had a unique pedagogy of putting forth questions open to the class. The questions could be concerning any remotely unknown topic from his course content, which probably all of us may be experienced, but never explored technically for sure. The course was intellectually so complex, that had someone tried to memorize all the possible technicalities in engines, it would have been a temporary nightmare and an easily forgotten knowledge in the long term. Instead, he made us think hard on the reasons of all practical problems, through his participative teaching style. He was never a typical lecturer, but more a facilitator and an instructor. He defined his job very well; that it was to make us think, and further assured us that all of us had the answers, some right and some wrong. He believed that his motive was to channelize our thinking in approaching the right answers from within, and to even explore them practically from outside the books or in the books itself. This was an experience none of us ever had. We were all used to the absorption-assimilation-reproduction methodology of teaching that most professors usually adopted. This participative style of teaching that made us learn by correlation and exploration of facts was indeed very interesting and simulated interest in even the most “not-interested” type students. He never mentioned attendance as his priority, but still the attendance in his class was always 100 %, since everyone had a take home at the end of the class, and so nobody wanted to miss the learning. He was highly responsive to our learning difficulties, and expected us to participate in class by providing our analysis informally. At times, none of us was even remotely correct, but then that’s how we learnt what was wrong, and so it made looking for the right very easy. He never mocked any of our answers and would simply reject it and move forward to look for better answers from amongst us. That gave all of us the courage to think and express our thoughts, even if they were incorrect. And soon most of us realized that majority of times, we are nearly close to the facts, it’s only because of our inhibition that we would not express it, and thus suffer. He attached this inhibition, and got rid of it from all of us very soon. Once we were in the participative learning mode, a lot of interaction and churning of thoughts followed. This was the beginning of building confidence in all of us, and we never looked back.
Even when I sit today to think about any problem, specially on the subject of engines, I feel to proud to say that I do not give up easily, even if its totally new topic. The continuous treatment to thinking in the class has made me to explore the logic behind the problem/phenomenon, and then try and educate myself with the actual reasons. I attribute this paradigm shift in my approach towards academics, and maybe in a broader sense towards life, to Professor Bansal. If I ever get a chance to imitate anyone as an instructor, maybe I would like him to be my idol in life. We always loved to hate the way he scolded us for insincerity, but cherished the way he nurtured us for imperfections. He is one Professor who is a “performer” in the class, and used to mesmerize us all, always. And as I always say about him, not everyone is as lucky to be able to attend lectures by him - We mechanical engineers were!

A year that was ....

The first year at at IIM Ahmedabad (or WIMWI, as we lovingly call it is about to end, and the progression from the least form of life on campus i.e. fachchadom to to the highest form i.e. tuchchadom is almost on the anvil !

If I look back at the last one year spend at WIMWI, the journey has been full of learnings’. Every single day made incremental additions to my wisdom, knowledge and skills, but lacked terribly in the number of hours it had. I still get surprised when I think how it happened because the last year has been full of days packed with assignments and cases, when the workload for every next day felt impossible and the number of hours in a day never added to twenty-four! But then this is how it has been designed to be, every minute spent in the classes and every day at the campus is compressed with learnings’. I feel proud to say the kind of support we get from the faculty and the collective learning we experience with the peers is indeed commendable, and makes the stay at campus more valuable and enjoyable. I find myself substantially enriched in the last one year, and surprisingly the best is yet to come in this journey towards intellect!

A Holy Holi - Time for retrospection !

Just came back from the Holi Celebrations @ IIM Ahmedabad. Thought about penning my feelings down, before they are washed away like the colour of Holi !

Being born,brought up, educated and worked in Uttar Pradesh before coming to WIMWI ( Thats whats IIM A is lovingly known as amongst us - Well Known Institute of Management in Western India ). UP has always been known for the most horrendously innovative ways of playing Holi - be it using "colourful" chemicals, "long lasting" paints, "darkest" warnish, "incensed" glue or even Mud ! However, having being belonged to the so called affluent class, and thereon educated in a good university, I preferred staying away for all such ways of playing Holi for the last many years. I always commented that "this is not a festival worth celebrating by the educated".

As Holi was approaching in WIMWI, the same thought engulfed me- How to avoid playing holi here also. But then I thought that this is Asia'a best B School, and the chances of the sophisticated "would be" managers and I Bankers playing are very very minimal. And even if they do it, the maximum they would resort to is Dry colours ( Gulal, for those who know it).
Few days back, as the festival approached and the declarations started coming from second year-ites and Cultural Committee members, I realized that some action is bound to happen....but, obviously can not be close to what I have already seenn in my home state !

However, as I reached the central place today, I realized that this is the most charged and energetic crowd I have ever seen. There were all our "managers- to - be " , geared up in dozens and scores, lovingly putting person after other in a central water tank with a capacity to host at least 3 people at a time ! I beleive the capacity planning was excellently done by some expert on operations . And this was not the end of it, in the corner we had the lawns converted into a mud swimming pool, where everybody was being dropped one after the after, with utmost care, so that the roughness of macadam would not hit the person. And this was being done with utmost sincerity and regularity for everyone who was coming, just like a typical assignment at IIM A.

So, now that I have been able to survive the "Mud Bath", I feel it was great fun. However, more than this, what is most pronounced is the spirit of celebrating a festival with enthusiasm in the company of people I love the most- my fellow WIMWI'ans. Never realized this how much one could miss college days when I was doing my engineering. However, when I joined my first company, it felt that I missed every small moment of college - the welcome party, those days of ragging ("introduction" to be precise), the numerous evening Chai, mugging for exams and quizzes that never ended, Valentine's Day celebrations, and a lot of other big and small things. Coming back to WIMWI and this day of Holi is a revisit to the memory lane. to the nostalgia of college days, and I am thankful to god for giving me this oppurtunity, to live for the last time before I finally die in the corporate world !