India: individual versus the system

A commonly highlighted predicament faced by individuals from our society is that individuals are capable of achieving many positive accomplishments as well as scaling newer heights, but the ’system’ does not allow any such growth. The question to be asked is, how true is the supposition that this so called ’system’ is independent of the entity of the said individual.

A society as a whole has a different set of parameters with which it can be judged, measured and understood, compared to that of the individuals that comprises the system; something akin to the macroscopic and microscopic description of a statistical ensemble of physical particles. To state it more articulately, the society has its macrocosmic existential characteristics, which might differ considerably from any particular individual. It is the average value that determines the society, and any statistical parameter can not be applied to any individual member belonging to the collection. But, for any statistical system, it is very rare and difficult for any individual entity to go beyond the three sigma, a measure of divergence from the average value. Translated to the social system, this implies that an individual can at best accomplish a few times the average value of the accomplishments of his fellow beings, but the performance of society is determined by the overwhelming majority. The key here is the ‘overwhelming majority’, which is comprised of individuals! It is the microscopic property of the majority that determines the macroscopic features.

In a lifeless physical system, an external source is needed to add energy to the system, to lift the average value. For a living social ensemble also the dominant factor of social evolution is exposure to external cultures; but in addition there is the inherent urge of human beings to seek, learn and explore that causes the individuals to seek new goals, and slowly the rest catch up with the said individual who had that uncontrolled urge to break through the fetters of social conditioning. Every individual goes through this phase in certain phases of their lives when they have the urge to break the shackles and go beyond the average value, but in the case of ‘overwhelming majority’ the already prevalent conditions overwhelm the individuals and they cower back in to the shell of mediocrity and conservativeness. And this causes the ’system’ to curb the ambitions of the individuals. Effectively, it is the collection of individuals who had failed earlier to curve a path for themselves who effect the vicious circle of the ’system’.

Is there a way out to break free of this vicious circle? What effect does an individual have on the system? History teaches that all path-breaking evolution or revolution, be it social, philosophical or scientific, were brought about by single individuals who made the society slowly follow their path. As an example one may cite the Amul cooperative movement spearheaded by Verghese Kurien, or more recently, the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh created by Mohd. Yunus, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace last year. But this individualistic approach is a very inefficient mode to move forward and can very often lead to failure, as exemplified by the massively botched up revolt of 1857 against the British dominance which ended in dire failure as it constituted of a few individuals trying to fan the nationalistic fervour in vain, without any collective consciousness! The collective consciousness, if awakened will lead to fulfillment of life of the society as a whole, and a majority of individuals taking positive, even if small, steps will uplift the average value. The ’system’ will be working for the enterprising individual if the majority make small advances, then we will not depend on genius individuals to chart a path for the rest to follow. This, is the essence of democracy!

The realization of the fact that the ’system’ is built up of individuals and if the system is working against any positive individuals then we all have to bear the burden of our collective responsibility, needs to be instilled and cultivated. Each individual of our society, no matter how much reasonable or successful they may appear to be, have to make conscious efforts to change the approach to our lives, take small steps towards positivity, and that and only that will change the system. We are yet to understand the implications of democracy, the sooner we learn the better.

Our Identity - Part III

This article in Our Identity series is essentially in response to the following comment we received in one of our earlier posts.

Comment:”The reason why foreigner’s hate about India is still we have typical traditional image. Most of the foreigners complins about overcrowding and dirty places. There are hardly clean places over India. When you go metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi or Bengalore, first you come across with beggers and pollution. Even though we are progressing very fast these things still keep our ‘Typical Indian’ image. ”

Well, this was not the main focus of the topic our article was addressing. But the points raised in this comment are partially true and of great concern. First of all what is our traditional image? Dirty cities? Dirty people? Forget about image, what is our tradition? If you are considering dirty and crowded places as our tradition then it is wrong. So let us deal with them in two different accounts. First our traditional image and our traditions. If the outside people think our tradition is dirty places then it is not their fault, they simply do not know. But it will be our fault if we do not know our tradition. Let me give an example. No body has damaged English language more than Americans did. But we in our country consider speaking US English is being modern. Can you imagine an announcement in say, Delhi station in bhojpuri or Maithili (mind that they are dialects of Hindi not distortions). Most of us will say… ”Kis ganwaar ko laakar announcer bana diya”. Shall we say the same in Los Angles airport for an American English announcement. Traditions do not fall from sky. We make them. What we do today is the tradition tomorrow. And what the rest of the world accepts about us is what we are proud of and not just proud of but the things we practice. A person walking in to flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt wearing a dhoti will be looked upon as a clown by Indians more than foreigners. But at the same time a person walking in the same flight in Bermuda is considered ”Hep”. Ever thought why? Do we ever talk in Hindi or in any regional language when we go to shopping malls in India or places like Westside, Reebok, Nike? People working there, are all Indians and I am sure they talk to their , doodhwallas, sabji wallas, dhobi etc in Hindi or in their regional languages. No, we think if we talk in Hindi across the counter it will be sign of backwardness. We, the people of our beloved India talk to each other in a foreign language. Not because it is better than the Indian language just because we are worried about our image! But just imagine if most of the customers start talking in Indian languages, in few days all the toilets in these shops will have boards in Indian languages instead of ”Ladies” and ”Gents”. When our children see us using an Indian language they will consider it more important and have a affection for it. This is how traditions are formed.

Now about out external image…. dirty and polluted cities. Just try to imagine what we are attempting. Have you seen how the crowded European cities are? Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Brussels…..go on… Where on this earth do you have suburban train system taking more than 6 million people every day from one place to another? That to above ground meaning dealing with people encroaching, crossing tracks etc. Paris metro does less than 4 million per day though most of it is under ground. We have problem, nobody denies. Look at Paris metro station they are as dirty as any of the Mumbai suburban station, why? just because number of people. Go to about 200 km north in France place called Caen it is so beautiful, neat and clean, you will hate Paris. I have been to many European cities and the kind of crowd they handle, Indian system is doing much much better. Pollution, it is the price paid by all the big cities around the world. Question is what are we doing about it? Aren‘t we the one who first take a holiday on the election day and then just shout against the government for not doing anything (Or choose an inexperienced film actor or actress over and experienced politician?)? Aren‘t we the one who throw the garbage anywhere we want? Aren’t we the one who, while traveling in the trains throw garbage in the train? We have problems, many problems but we have one most serious problem. Do you know which one? We sit on the problem and shout about it! How many of us will shout anti government slogans if an extra tax is imposed on the private vehicle owners of the city or say the toll rate for the city flyovers is increased. Have you ever thought how much amount of tax the so called developed country population pays?

Development comes at its cost, we should be ready to pay it. Again I must stress, that what Indian is attempting is near impossible, no country attempted this and more importantly with in 60 years of autonomy. Which developed country have a history like us, with over 150 years of exploitation, torture, oppression and then so called freedom garnished with partition, injection of the poison of the religious hatred in the society, poverty for a huge population and the famous and the most potent slow poison of bureaucracy as icing on the cake? Now to make it happen we all have to push from all the fronts. We have enough people crying over the spilt milk, way too many to actually push the cart. What we need is more and more people being positive about things, because this attitude just gives us a reason and encouragement to fight, fight for a good future. For us and for our next generation. At this moment I can’t see better example than this years Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus who opted to fight rather than sit in the sofa in front of a 29 inch televisions and shout about poverty in Bangladesh. Finally, we are up to making history or I can say we are going to be history of the far future and to achieve this we need all hands. And as the President says we can and we will.

Our Identity - Part II

Continued from Our Identity - Part I…

But then the obvious question is “When so much is happening in India, why are you still reminiscencing the ancient glory at ‘Vande Mataram’? Talk of today’s times”. The answer to this question is, however, in another query. When can you call somebody an Indian? Come on, it’s not a tough question. A man named Fakirchand who is a resident of Kolkata drives a cycle-rickshaw to earn a living. On what basis will you determine whether he is an Indian or not? Will you check his passport (which, incidentally, he doesnt have!) or will you look at the fact that he was born in India? The answer is neither. For Indianness runs in the veins, it is in the heart and mind. Our hero of today, Fakirchand, eats roti and speaks Bengali. If required, he attempts Hindi too. He works very hard to make ends meet as he has a family to support. He works tirelessly throughout the year to collect money for Durgapuja. He even makes Goddess Durga’s idol with his own hands. He likes ‘Machcher-jhol‘ and rice. Now, imagine the same Fakirchand working in a renowned software firm in Kolkata. He spends six months of the year abroad, goes for a vacation every weekend with his wife and kids, and eats in Pizza Hut or McDonalds. Well, his explanation is ‘You see, the kids these days love pizzas and burgers!’ He doesn’t have time for Durgapuja or Kalipuja, everybody converses in English at home and all that the kids know of Bengali is ‘kichchu kichchu’. And not to mention the Pepsis and Colas which form an integral part of their meals. And so the saga continues. Now, dear reader, you decide. Which of these two Fakirchands can be called an Indian?

We must recollect that neither Fakirchand nor his kids are at fault. They are just moving with the times. The progress of India should be accompanied by progressive Indianness. I must stress, that all the products of foreign brands or identities are not bad. However, the decision of what we accept and what we don’t should be ours. I also like pizza. But under no circumstance can it be compared to the ‘khichdi’ and ‘methi ka saag’ (along with Desi ghee) made by my Mother.

Today the term ‘Brand India’ is becoming increasingly common. I feel hurt. For, this country is our Mother. The faith and devotion to her should spring from within. We need to decorate India with the same faith as that we do towards Mother Durga. We needn’t advertise to get the attention of other countries. India has been and is great. And this is because of the respect, that we, her children accord to her. We needn’t put up advertisements and hoardings. We need to clearly comprehend the role of our past glory as well as our present times. If we were prosperous earlier, why is it not so now? What have we done? What mistakes have we committed on the lanes of time?

We must remember our identities, lest we lose the battle after winning. It is possible that McDonalds will be taken over by some Indian company, one day. Nevertheless, it would not become Indian till it served ‘Sarson da saag’ and ‘Makke di roti’ alongwith fancy burgers. The day this happens, my friends, I’ll take a dip in the holy Ganges. And if this doesn’t, damn! I shall give up drinking ‘chai’.

(To be continuted… with inputs motivated by comments on our Hindi and English blogs.)

Our Identity - Part I

I have complaints, complaints against this whole world. What did you say? ”why?” Have you ever stepped outside India and been to another developed country? No? Then you’re saved from notoriety. For these are the developed countried where children, after a certain age, need to take an appointment to meet their parents. And yes, its not considered necessary to meet parents. These are the countries where children, if scolded by parents, file law-suits against them. Yes, so where was I? I have complaints. Complaints that many people of these developed countries do not respect India. Although they do call India ‘A unique country, a colourful country, a country of numerous languages’, yet if you spend some time with them you realise what they truely think of you. At this stage, I’d like to divide the readers into two categories. One, of those who believe that whatever those people (from developed countries) think, we follow our own paths without paying heed to them. To such good people, my sincere request is to kindly stop reading this article. The other category is of those people who have similar complaints as I have been mentioning. So come along, my complaining brethren! Let us probe some of these things in detail. Let us start with a few questions and answers, shall we?

So, the first question. Why,at the first place, should the whole world respect us? Some people would respond with, ‘what do you mean, why? Look at our cultural wealth, look at our temples, look at our unity in diversity! Did you know that the concept of zero was first founded in India? Did you know that the famed Pythagoras theorem was discovered 250 years earlier by Bodhayan? Did you know that the iron pillar of Delhi is standing tall for 1200 years weathering the rain, wind and sun without getting rusted? Scientists around the world have exhausted themselves trying to find this unique metallic mixture. Have you heard of Bhaskara, Aryabhatta, Panini and Sushrut? Centuries ago, Sushrut carried out the first plastic surgery! The rishi Kanaad talks of the ‘anu’ (atom) thousands of years earlier than people from other lands. The Vedas and Gita were written here. The first Universities were founded in the Indian sub-continent.’ Alright, we get the point, but these are ancient things. What is happening now? What are we today? Now, we again divide our readers into two categories. One category of those who say, ‘You are right. The present condition in India is deplorable and it is all owing to our greedy politicians. That is the reason why we have left India to settle here.’ or ‘This is the reason why we are trying our level best to send our son to America so that one day, we’ll be fortunate enough to leave this terrible place. Of course, once we reach there, we’ll begin a blog praising India and highlighting its greatness.’ Such people are requested not to waste their precious time by reading further. Their time would be better utilised standing in the long queues outside the American consulate. If you go rightaway, there is a chance that you might get a visa. Goodbye and good luck. So, are there any folks left in the other category? Yes, there are a few. Thank you. For, you are our country’s hope. Lets move ahead and talk of the present times.

There was a time when I too was quite disappointed with India. But now, things are looking up. In 1991, under the leadership of the prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, the then finance minsister, Dr. Manmohan Singh started the economic reforms. The people then, were sceptical and believed that we were headed towards slavery again. It was thought that every Indian company would be bought by a foreign company. And this did happen. Look at the examples of brands like, Kelvinator, Limca, Goldspot. But what is happening now, 15 years later? To answer this, let us look at the results of a survey carried out, not so long ago, on 5th Sept 2006. Within a span of 6 months, from Jan-Jun 2006, 255 foreign companies were either taken over or majority of shares were bought by Indian companies. And most of these foreign companies belong to the developed nations. The total cost of this shopping was around 17 billion dollars. Last year, around the same time, Indian companies had shopped for 6 billion dollars. This is a whopping 175% increase in one year. Today, India is ranks third fastest in buying out foreign companies. What does this signify? To understand this let us look at the following instance. When we buy a cold-drink manufactured in India by some foreign brand, the profiting amount doesnt go to India, but into the pocket of the owner situated outside India. Similarly, the profit earned by the Indian companies through the (’taken-over’) foreign companies will be invested in India and will contribute towards India’s prosperity. Some of India’s biggest problems are turning out to be advantages. Foremost problem: population. Today, the average age of an Indian is less than that of many countries. This means that in the coming 20-25 years, India would have relative younger and more-active hands, whereas in other countries, the old people would outnumber the young. Second problem: doing business in India is a risky proposition. But precisely for this reason, the Indian businessmen can face challenges more easily than their foreign counterparts. For example, in France today in the field of business management, it is considered a plus-point if one has had a work experience from India. Many large companies are managed by Indians. Today, India’s economy is increasing at the rate of 8 to 9%. Not only companies like Tata, Reliance and Videocon but even smaller companies are becoming multinational. Apart from the private companies, the public sector enterprises like ONGC are also spreading out in the world. Of course, one cannot forget the fields of information technology and pharmaceuticals where India is renowned world-wide.

Continued…