Electric Cars And Our Hopes Of Zooming Past The Climate Crisis

"Mainstream EVs will transform the automotive industry and help decarbonize the planet" read the headline of a insights piece by a prominent management consulting firm while another newspaper reported "we are at a critical crossroads where electric vehicles and the decisions taken by key players will shape the future of transportation either for better or for worse". Going by the favorable global reportage and outlook expressed by mainstream media and analysts it seems electric vehicles (EV) are at the cusp of solving climate change driven existential crisis faced by the human race without impacting its mobility and incessant drive for 'rapid growth'. The growing interest in EV can be best seen through the adjoining chart (Figure 1) that traces the growth around EV conversations over the past 2 decades.

Figure 1

As we dig deeper to trace the shape of these conversations we observe that the EV related conversations, especially in the context of climate change and sustainability, has been rather positive. Analysis of a large collection of data, from a variety of data sources, using AI indicates that whenever conversations ventured around EVs and Sustainability / Climate change they were overwhelmingly positive or neutral (95% of all data) (Figure 2). 

Figure 2

In fact the only thing that seems to be stopping this progress is prohibitive cost of EVs, unfavorable regulations, lack of innovation in battery technology and infrastructural challenges. 

Yet, such a biased narrative building around EVs is not only driving the human race towards complacency but also painting an unethical portrait of human exploitation. There is a grave need for us to start realising the reality of EVs and how the drive towards a EVfied mobility only shifts the problem from one place to another without necessarily solving it.

The Shame That Beckons Us Every New Year

2016, a year that sent us into a vertigo with its sphere of "Surprises", ironically ended in a "Predictable" whimper - At least for most Indians. Predictably, like every year, men and women of all hues gathered at a famous landmark, reveling like there's no tomorrow, in a famous cosmopolitan city, to conjure a new beginning. And quite predictably the new-beginning that these revelers had desired for never arrived. Rather, by the first-day break of 2017 they experienced déjà vu of the old-world order. Nothing! Absolutely Nothing ! had changed. Once again, a girl/ girls was/ were groped in a crowded place by "faceless" men, in the shadows of burly policemen. And even before most Indians could come to term with what had happened, politicians had descended with their abominable comments.

Prominent questions that popped up in everyone's mind, in the aftermath of the new-year incident, were - Why are people not sensitive to women? Why should women bear the brunt of unruly men? Why shouldn't there be a curfew on men lurking at late hours? Shouldn't such irresponsible politicians be put behind bars? etc...

While no one can doubt the validity of these questions, they still miss the reliability test. Assuming we found the answer to each of these questions and acted with alacrity on the solutions, would we still be reliably able to say that such incidents will not occur in the future? I bet, the answer is a big NO. Not because, the questions asked and solutions found were wrong per-se but because we were trying to find the right solution at the wrong place. And right solutions are those that remain reliable i.e. they pass the test of time. For instance, the utmost shameful incident of 31st Dec, 2016 was an exact repeat of incidents in other Indian cities ealier. After all such previous incidents as well many questions were raised and most of them were similar to those mentioned above. Rightful solutions were found too - new laws were enacted; administration was awakened and media became active. Unfortunately, none of these solutions were reliable enough to remove the curse of "unruly men", "gender insensitivity", "irresponsible politicians" etc.. Again, the post-haste solutions fail at another level as well and that is they get mired in quick fixes such as "teach women self-defense techniques", "place more CCTV cameras", "have women police in public spaces". All of these quick-fixes are indeed important without a debate. But a second look at the quick fix solutions exposes the mistrust we have on our own people and the lack of mechanisms that enable the correction of a society through greater trust building. A society where trust levels are low is a recipe for disaster.
The need of the hour, therefore, for all of us is to step back from the current incident and focus on the larger narrative. The larger narrative exposes our double-standards where certain problems are given priority over others, leaving behind a weak scaffolding that can collapse at the slightest nudge. The larger narrative is about how each of us is vulnerable to abuse and dishonor everyday - financially- where did our road tax go? why did the poor farmer get robbed of his property by the cunning politician; physically - why are our brethren in deep jungles not provided with basic healthcare? why does a senior citizen have to pay commission and stand in a long queue to get his hard-earned pension? emotionally - why does the long arm of justice not act against the woman who implicated her husband falsely?  what mechanism does a poor lady in a dark corner of the country have to register a complaint against her abuser? 

Unfortunately, the larger narrative manifests from the same key component - it is the feeling that "I can get away" and "nothing can happen to me". Such beliefs preclude us from exhibiting dignity and acting responsibly. The abuser thinks - the girl shall not complain and i can get away. The contractor thinks - I shall pay my commission and nothing shall happen to me. 

Thus, it behoves us to reflect on this matter and ask ourselves - what would make us behave in a dignified an responsible manner, every time?

The reliable answer to this poignant question lies in the simple construct of "Sensibility", which unfortunately is grossly missing from the belief-system of majority of Indians. Absence of sensibility and sensibility alone prevents most of us from behaving as dignified and responsible citizens. As our society opens up more, it seems as if lack of sensibility is giving way to abundant bigotry, in every sphere of life. Unless the weak scaffolding our society is strengthened from its roots we can await our vulnerable moments of exploitation.

To my mind, if we want to create a strong society that is devoid of bigotry and lush with sensible people we would require a two-pronged approach -

(1) A strong education system that promotes critical reasoning ability among children is a must-take first step. In the long-term such a system will bless these children with the power of Questioning. To grow up as sensible human-beings one must learn to Question. No simplicity of mind, no obscurity of station, should escape the universal duty of questioning all that we believe, our actions and our inactions. Ability to question before one acts shall not only prevent indecorous events but eventually lead to the blossoming of an otherwise stunted society.

(2) In the more near-term it must be the call-of-duty among honorable adults to protect the vulnerable most. We as adults must remember that while the 'death of one person is a tragedy, the death of millions becomes only a statistic'. And we must prevent that one-person from dying. Our great glory can be achieved by existence through purpose - live for a cause that leads to greater good; display of valor - start by picking small battles against minor actus-reus; and sharing and educating - share what little you have and educate the bourgeois.

Meanwhile, we can just relax a little bit and read this positive story by humyum posted on 10th December: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/125412-unusual-funny-heartwarming-experiences-road-36.html#post4107342

Tale of Two Books

Recently, I concluded reading two books – The Lives Of Others and The Lowland – the former written by Neel Mukherjee, an Indian based out of England and the latter written by Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian-American. Both these books are a simulacrum of Charles Dickens’ famous composition – The Tale Of Two Cities and can best be captured in Dickens’ own words -

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way”

Like Dickens, who set in front of us a panorama of the raging fight during the French revolution between the bourgeois and the aristocrats in France and a parallel world set in London around late 1700s, Mukherjee and Lahiri captivate us with a similar tale of somebodies in Calcutta, Bengal, during the Naxal revolution and a parallel world set in the US, almost 200 years later.

Still, the two books beautifully bound by a saga of heart-wrenching love, death, a failed movement – a revolution, couldn’t have been more diverse at once. Lives Of Others is primarily set in Calcutta and the hinterlands of Bengal during the decades and those immediately succeeding the Indian independence when the Naxal revolution had erupted, while in contrast The Lowland mainly commences in the decades of the Naxal revolution stretching upto the early years of the current millennium.

Not just with their timeline of event presentation, the two authors contrast each other in their drama presentation as well. Mukherjee, more Rushdiesque in his style, lionizes his characters and expresses them through their action as much as their locution compared to Lahiri who distinctively adopts a blander but saucier approach to her characters.

The comparisons and contrasts in the two books continue beyond the two authors’ style of presentation, much into the lives and deaths and in the palisading of the characters. Lives Of Others ends with a contrived and tragic turn of events in the protagonist – Supratik Ghosh’s- life after he had hatched the plan along with his comrades from CPI (ML) to kill policemen so that they could loot their arsenal and take their revolution forward. Concomitant with Supratik Ghosh, Udayan Mitra’s, the protagonist in The Lowland, life also follows a similar sequence of events as if by design. The protagonists from two different books surreally come together, as if to plan and execute the same policemen, for the same purpose. At this juncture, the reader can easily be transported to an emplacement where Supratik and Udayan would meet daily to chart out their execution plans, discuss the road ahead for the party and their afterlives, as if they were one, as if a reflection of each other, comrades forever. Mukherjee and Lahiri’s characters meet only to diverge once again. Mukherjee limns his saga around the Ghoshes, Supratik being one of the grandsons, who are a rich and conservative business family and where lives revolve in and around Calcutta, but ends it with the youngest grandson ending up in the United States. Lahiri on the other hand chooses to depict her characters as a set of free-flowing strong willed agents from the Mitra family, who choose to stay in the United States for a better part of their lives but almost in bathos ends her saga in Calcutta.

The two authors brilliantly bring together, with their compelling, comparable but contrasting stories, an idea of Bengal and Bengalis who saw the spread of India’s first peasant revolution – a revolution that still continues but is much less understood today. Full marks to Mukherjee and Lahiri for their beautiful portrayal of events.

Purveyors of the Foreign Fear and the Neglected Cattle Class

Finally, after the hurly burly at the Indian parliament regarding FDI that tended to almost disrupt another of the “Brief” working sessions, the juggernaut finally came to an end in the Winter Session – 2012. Leaders from both the Ruling & Seemingly in coalition government as well as the Seemingly divided opposition had been having a carnival of sorts for an extended period over an issue that most of India seemed to have lost an idea of. Finally, when the debates took place on December 6, 2012, it just turned out to be a session wasted in rhetoric and in honor of the humble veggie – The Potato.

BJP, the only credible answer to Congress and popularly “Believed” to be a Right-wing nationalist party just till the other day, took a stance that the Left-wing must have been both proud and surprised of. Its opposition to FDI in retail circumvolved mainly around Fear – of the Big Retailers (especially the Beast of Bentonville) eating away the Kirana stores (our neighborhood puppies); of millions of job losses at the cost of no new additions; benefits of big retail value chain (from farmer to retail store) –being passed on neither to the end consumer nor to the farmer, thus, a loss-loss game for farmer and consumer.

Congress, meanwhile, which has gained notoriety in recent times because of its Con games, suddenly seems to have gained the wisdom found lacking for the past almost 4 years. The PM staked his pagdi in favour of FDI in retail while the congress’s rhetoric mostly mirror imaged BJP’s.

But in the conundrum of the big FDI retail fight, the moot point got lost. Most democratic governments work in a utilitarian mode – maximum good for the maximum number of people (technical details of utilitarianism can be avoided here). If utilitarianism is what governments must work for then does FDI really act utilitarian?

According to me, FDI in retail in India would be a big dampener and BJP needn’t have wasted the precious little scope of maneuvering – which has already been relegated to rank outsiders like AAP – and little time it had before the general elections home in. I shall throw light on some of the points that I think trivialize the debates held in our parliament.

To start with, typically Big retailers need Big space to park themselves and space / real estate comes at a premium in India. For big retailers to be able to provide goods to consumers at prices lower than the competition they need to keep their fixed costs (ex: Real estate) and variable costs (ex: employee salaries) at a minimum. Considering employee salaries can’t be done away with, there is very little option for Big retailers to situate themselves within the precincts of big cities where price of estate remains low. In cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, where there is hardly any real estate to negotiate, locating outside the city would for all pragmatic purpose remain the only option. And, to expect a person to traverse the city just to gain a few cents in discount can be a fool’s idea. +1 to Kirana shops here, who breach the width and depth of the cities and the city by-lanes to provide the right access to the goods that the consumers need.

Secondly, in countries like USA where 80% of the population owns personal vehicles, city traffic & roads permit quick transit time enabling residents to travel longer distances to avail big discounts. None of these are true for India, leaving little scope for residents to leverage the lower prices, that the retail giants have to offer, as people have to travel longer distances. -1 for Consumers & -1 for Big Retailers as they won’t have huge foot falls.

Thirdly, the government expects retailers to not only invest in the front end but also in the back end and in the process build cold chains. The government’s argument: “We need cold chains to prevent rotting food grains and big retailers have the financial might to invest in cold-chains – investment in cold-chains would prevent gargantuan wastage of food – in turn leading to subsequent drop in food item prices.” Hardly ever an argument that can placate investors. Even if retailers managed to build the cold chains, would it necessarily translate into profits for them? Doesn’t look so from the experiences of the existing Indian bigwigs. Most Indians prefer purchasing food items from Mandis or local vegetable shops early in the morning, where they can get fresh stuff. Experiences from Indian retailers show that the Indian consumer is totally disinclined to purchase food produce from retail outlets since the items are stale. Therefore, to expect the Indian consumer to change his preferences overnight remains a huge challenge for big retailers. -1 for Big Retailers.

It’s also the government’s own duty to build national infrastructure & not the job of a private entity. Then, why does it expect the retailers to invest in cold-chains? Is there a case here for the government caught in dereliction of duty? Well, lesser said the better. -1 for People’s Representatives

Fourthly, the government argues that retailers can get into direct contracts with farmers ensuring higher prices for their unit output as the middlemen get eliminated. Today, most of the margins are distributed among the middlemen, leaving little scope for better profits for the farmers. Pretty much a valid argument except the fact that truth is bitter than fiction. Retailers have been found to push farmers to the limits where farmers become over dependent on the retailers. In the long run as farmers become dependent on a single retailer based on the contracts they entered, retailers command greater bargaining power than the farmer. Thus, while retailers make wind fall profits farmers gain very little in the bargain. -1 for Farmers

Till now a loss-loss for everyone – From Farmers to Retailers to Consumers. Therefore, the opposition, which projected a dooms-day scenario in the parliament, would have gained hands down if it had only ensured that it sensitized the people of the possible pitfalls the government’s over indulgence in Big Retail. As Big Retailers would have failed, the opposition parties especially BJP could have used it as a poll campaign – “We Told You So” or “See How Congress Tried to Cheat the Citizens”. Alas !!!!

At the same time, the advent of Big retail, IFF it is successful, might as well have the following advantages.

Retailers would have to ensure quality of food produced remains high for end consumers. To achieve the same they would provide the Farmers with greater access to better technology, best in class farming practices and enable better productivity from an unit cultivatable land. +1 for the Farmers; +1 to consumers

As Retailers start engaging the farmers directly by entering into contractual farming, middle men get marginalized, in the process leaving better margins for the Farmers which can significantly improve their dilapidated lives. +1 to Farmers. Simultaneously, Consumers would have gained as the cost to middlemen disappeared. +1 to Consumers; Middle Finger to Middle Men.

However, today, no evidence shows that Big retailers provide cheaper products than Kirana shops. Even though the Big Bazaars and Reliance Freshs exist, Kirana shops seem to be flowering and co-existing felicitously with Big Retailers. This co-existence of the Davids and the Goliaths cannot be more appropriate than in Kolkata where a small Paw-Bhaji shop runs just outside the South City Mall – which incidentally houses the CCDs, the KFCs and the Pizza Huts – and makes enormous profits at that. Talk of Indian sensibilities about street food and local tastes? Last heard, the Chief Minister of Bengal withdrew her support from center, arguably to lend voice to these small vendors, who incidentally seem happy in the shadows of big retail. -1 to People’s representatives.; +1 to Kirana; +1 to Consumers

Finally, amidst all the talk of benefits to the farmers, big retailers and small shop owners, where is the Middle Class Consumer? Did the People’s representative forget him or was he purposely neglected? IN all possibility the latter, since, he doesn’t form a credible vote bank beyond the cities and remains largely a mute spectator.

In our country most political parties which gain a huge support from small retailers who fund their political existence, have little reason to celebrate the middle class. For instance, if the BJP didn’t take up the issue of SMEs and small retailers (who incidentally never pay taxes) it would tend to lose a lot –in funding and in popular support. Meanwhile, Congress also, which has always pretended itself to be for the Aam Aadmi (its own activities barely representing what it preaches), has left no stone unturned to project the benefits of Big Retail that accrue to the Farmers – incidentally the easiest to dupe segment of the population. And as the Opposition and Government clamor for popular space, the middle class loses out.

Shouldn’t they be asking the Questions as to why none of the parties deem it important to explain the benefits to the middle class. Well, in a world where the irate Mani Shanker Iyer lives, benefits to the middle class shall remain a pipe-dream.

According to me if any party sincerely wished for the welfare of the society, farmers, middle class, small retailers included, it should have wasted no time in false grandiosities in the parliament. Instead, it could have done a world of good if it had focused on ensuring greater checks and balances in the FDI legislation to ensure no one lost out. Legislations that would have prevented the farmers from losing out in the long run –because of Big retailers’ predatory pricing mechanisms; Consumers – the MIDDLE Class - could have gained because of better cold-chains which would have trickled down into lower prices of end products; SMEs could have gained by actively engaging with retailers and legislations that prevented retailers from importing Chinese goods.

Sadly, in a country where the vote bank “arguably” still lives in villages, the middle class - just 400 million strong - doesn’t count and keeps losing out !!

Meanwhile, our biggest Foreign Direct Investment (from Italy) has already cost the nation a lot! We must wonder why the ruling party has been so hell bent upon supporting FDI.. it’s in their blood B-) !!

Let's all be a part of a better India !

We all come to this world carrying nothing with us and we all go back from this world carrying nothing with us. But in each of these activities where we step into the world and leave it away we bring a lot of pain and tears.
Then why not recompense for the pains caused by us by bringing in a lot of happiness during the time we spend on the Earth? While each of us should share a lot of love and affection with the other, we should also make our fleck of effort to ensure that the world is a better place to live in after we have left it.
In the same vein, to give back to this world, I have always tried to contribute my two cents towards making it a corruption free place. Unlike a Cancer or an AIDS, Corruption is that dirt ball of our society that infects all of us, in whatever small way possible. In my life, I have paid bribe only once - a paltry sum of Rs200 to get some important documents released from the clutches of the police and get my passport issued. And I hate myself for even having done that. I always had a bit of an issue with people who fleece unsuspecting citizens.Recently, it came to my notice that retailers in Bangalore tend to charge an extra sum of Re1 over the MRP per bottle of cold-drink. The shopkeepers claimed that extra amount was for "Cooling"charges. While a Re.1 might not be that big a sum to be paid, it's about the illegality of the affair. I had tried my hand at correcting the practice a couple of times but ended up fighting my guts out, to the point of getting in to a scuffle publicly.
With my words falling into the deaf ears of the retailers again and again, it was time for me to get knotty. Hence, I got in touch with the Legal Metrology Department (LMD) which takes care of all food related activities. I shot off an Official Complaint to them, with my letter marked to the Controller - Legal Affairs, Dty Controller - Legal Affairs and all Divisional - Legal Departments. This way I ensured that I had a greater probability of my letter getting noticed by at least one person. I also ensured in my letter that I left no scope of the responsible people going scot free - by pulling them into Legal Acts like POCA - 1988, in case no action was taken within a stipulated time period of 10 days as stated under the Citizen's Charter.
I am not sure what portion of my action worked, but within just one day of my missive, I got an affirmative response from the LMD. They promised me of a quick punitive action against the retailer involved in the malpractice. Today, just after 5 days (including a weekend) of my first letter, I have got a confirmation from the Department that an inspector was sent to find more on the malpractice and a case has already been booked against the involved retailer.
While, I was really glad that my actions proved worthy I was also sad to think of the state of our nation - as it is today - where every citizen has to become an activist while the government moves listlessly - and I am not even getting into the Scams that have corroded our country and deprived millions of poor of a decent living.
I also shared the positive results, on the Bulletin Board of our organization, that my small action could bring in. I shared the event to create a more aware junta and encourage them into believing in affirmative actions rather than sitting and grousing while our land gets raped everyday.
For me the day ended on a Happy Note when quite a few employees wrote back to me commending me on my efforts and at the same time promising to take the cause ahead. I counted my success when some people even promised to try and make the country a better place next time onwards.

P.S: Now I fear my life as I have already been threatened for my actions. After all it has caused them a loss of a few Lakh Rupees. Never the less, even if I get hurt in the process I believe there are more people who can take similar causes forward !! Jai Hind !!

HIATUS

Finally after ages got the HEART to somehow get back to inditing my thoughts.. Completely lost it for a long time somewhere...
But once in LOVE Always in LOVE.. isn't it.?? and Writing .. Well !!!! Isn't it MY LOVE that I can claim to never loose !!
What better way to start with these words of LOVE only !!!
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Kaise kahein alvida, mehram ?
Kaise bane ajnabi, humdum ?
Bhool jaao jo tum, 
bhool jaayenge hum
Yeh junoon yeh pyaar ke lamhe nam
Kaise kahein alvida, mehram
Kaise kahein

Gesu resham, labh par shabnam
Woh behakta sa dil
Woh dehekta sa tan
Bhool jaao jo tum, 
bhool jaayenge hum
Yeh junoon yeh pyaar ke lamhe nam
Kaise kahein alvida, mehram ?
Kaise kahein ?

Woh raatein woh sehar
Woh sukoon ke pehar
Bhool jaayenge hum bhoole kyun hum magar
Jiye jaao jo tum, jee he jaayenge hum
Yaadon ke zakhm par, zindagi marham

Kaise kahein alvida, mehram ?
kaise bane ajnabi, humdum ?
Kaise kahein ??????????????????????

Prisoners of Life

Death scares a person who wants to live. But for someone who isn’t fearful of death, life exists, but, without any sensation and feeling and this makes it difficult to differentiate life from death. Even the news of the active, living and dying world outside his own has a certain dream like unreality for him. The inner objective time ceases to be, only the outer subjective sense remains. As the future ceases to exist, life finds sustenance in the encased emotions of the past. There is a stillness and ever lastingness about the past; it changes not, has a touch of eternity, like a painted picture or a statue in bronze or marble. The mind becomes a prisoner of time. It serves a life term, failing to find the vital links between itself and the present with all its conflicts and problems. The person remains a prisoner. The mind becomes a slave. What should life be then – amalgamation of past with the present and extend it to the future or to break from it where it cannot be so united? Aurobindo Ghose writes somewhere of the present as the pure and virgin moment, that razor’s age of time and existence which divides the past from the future and is yet, instantaneously is not. The virgin moment, the present, emerging from the veil of the future in all its naked purity, coming into contact with us and immediately becoming the soiled and stale past. If the past has a tendency to become the present, the present also sometimes recedes into the distant past and assumes its immobile statuesque appearance. In the midst of an intensity of action itself, there would suddenly come a feeling as if it was some past event and one was looking at it, as it were in retrospect. Past merges with present and the life becomes a reality tied up with sensations of pain. As the artist who fails to draw that frame on the canvas without the muse, life too looks sullen without the passion and the urge to action which make it an enjoyable journey. Without that passion and urge, there is a gradual oozing out of hope and vitality, a settling down on lower levels of existence, a slow merging into non-existence.

Insurance Policy

The INDIA Narrative

"The Reserve Bank has taken a proactive role in the development of financial markets, particularly over the past decade and a half of overall economic policy reforms" - Rakesh Mohan, RBI, 2007

"India insurance is a flourishing industry, with several national and international players competing and growing at rapid rates. Thanks to reforms and the easing of policy regulations, the Indian insurance sector been allowed to flourish, and as Indians become more familiar with different insurance products, this growth can only increase, with the period from 2010 - 2015 projected to be the 'Golden Age' for the Indian insurance industry" - Keith Timini, Economy Watch, 2010

The NEW YORK, USA Narrative

"According to the census, 56 percent of men age 18 to 24 and 48 percent of women in the same age group live under the same roof as their parents.... the portion of 18-to-29-year-olds who live alone declined to 7.3 percent in 2009 from 7.9 percent in 2007, according to the Current Population Survey"  - Sam Roberts, NY Times, 2010

"The Accordion Family: Why Are Young Americans Moving Back Home?" - Dylan Ratigan, 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two narratives provided above hitherto described in an incongruent fashion are actually part of the same story. Or should I say they are the two sides of the same coin. 

On the face of it weaving the two narratives into one seamless story seems a difficult proposition and may be asinine as well. But as I see it, they are connected by a thin common thread. In common parlance what is known as 'Family' and in Wall-street lingo known as 'Insurance'. 

Lets first try and see what the dictionary says about Insurance - It's defined as 'A protection against a future loss".

For any individual, family is the biggest source of  Insurance that one can get. It provides us the much needed protection against most forms of losses including the biggest loss one can have - an emotional one. And it all starts from a human beings birth. A baby before birth is insured in a mother's womb, after birth in her affection.As and when a person grows into a full fledged adult, the insurance comes from parents, spouses, kids, relatives, friends so on and so forth. 

But as the world progresses, ever more quickly than Moore could have imagined, families are disintegrating, giving way to a human kind that is more individualistic and self-reliant. How does this self-reliant individual then protect himself when the family's enshroud remains no more? He goes to the financial market seeking protection for himself - heINSUREShimself. And he pays a premium too for the same. A heavy one at that.

Thus, a fast growing Insurance market is a sure symbol of a society which is certainly more self reliant and individuals find more space at the cost of an integrated family.

The premise laid above can be briefly laid down in the form of the following conjecture:

 - A place that is more family oriented and less individualistic should have smaller insurance market and vice-versa.

Mathematics should come to our rescue if the conjecture holds any truth. To test the conjecture let us do some number crunching. I shall try and do it in a step-wise manner:

1) Compare Developed economies with Emerging economies:

The reason for doing so is that most Developed countries are assumed to be highly Individualistic societies while Emerging countries are considered to be highly collectivist societies. 

The Developed countries in my subset are : Germany, Japan, US and UK

The Emerging countries in my subset are : China, India, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

2) Score these countries on the level of their Individualism (IDV):

The score for IDV can be got from Hofstede's cultural dimensions where Prof. Hofstede has ranked many countries of the world based on how much individualistic they are.

The average score on IDV for Developed countries is: 73.25 and Emerging countries is: 29.2. 

Higher IDV means more individualistic society. Thus our 1st assumption laid down in point 1 that Developed countries are more individualistic vis-a-vis Emergine countries holds true.

3) Penetration of the Insurance market w.r.t each country's GDP was considered: 

Total paid-out premiums were not considered since countries such as China may have a bigger US$ Insurance market compared to UK because of the sheer size of GDP , even though the penetration remain minimal.

The following Insurance market penetration figures were found: Germany - 7.2%, Japan - 10.2%, US- 8%, UK - 13.8%, China - 3.7%, India - 5.1%, Malaysia - 4.9%, Philippines - 1.1% and Thailand - 4.3%. (Source - World Bank Insurance Review, 2011)

4) A correlation was drawn between the Insurance penetration figure and IDV score for all countries:

A correlation of ~ 75% was obtained. A high correlation of 75% between IDV score and Insurance penetration indicates that the IDV scores are indeed related to greater Insurance markets. 

This proves our initial conjecture to be "POTENTIALLY TRUE".

5) DIVE Deeper:

I further considered the average IDV scores for the 2 sets of countries - Developed (73.25) and Emerging (29.2) and correlated them with the average Insurance Penetration figure - Developed (9.8%) and Emerging (3.82%). The correlation, hence, obtained was = 1. 

A perfect correlation figure (1) further says that on an average Developed countries are more Individualistic and garner a bigger Insurance market, providing further credence to my initial argument.

Going back to the Narratives once again, we must therefore contemplate whether we as a country should mindlessly be bothered about the size of our Financial might and chasing numbers or should we be focusing more on Social security ? The situation in NY must provide us a platform to reconsider the path to our future. 

Governments should focus on "Reforms" not aimed at "easing policy regulations", rather on "stronger social security regulations for a happier family".

Subject to Alternate Paradigms

Everyone is in a HURRY these days!!

The Society is in a hurry to claim the world's biggest GDP,

Organisations in the society are in a hurry to claim every pound from this GDP and may be add some fat to it,

Someone in that organisation is in a hurry to become the next CEO,

the CEO is in a hurry to launch the next Product before the competition did,

the Product manager is in a hurry to meet the dead-line of the product launch lest he may be found dead,

the Manager of the Product-Manager's house (his wife) is in a hurry for his promotion so that they can shift into a new Condo,

their Child is in a hurry to have the latest 4 wheel toy so that he can be a part of the cool-gang in school.

But in this mad rush of ours, no one seems to be in a hurry to save the Body that gave birth to the society in the first place, that Body - our Mother Earth. Isn't it our job, the elements of the society to take care of the Earth that gave us so much ? Today a sneak-peek into any major territorial division across India would throw a picture of gargantuan layers of bricks, steel frames and glass panes. And people occupying the spaces in these structures in mindless rush for Greater Comfort !!

Swanky vehicles with engines producing 10000W sound whiz past these massive artifacts, giving a rhythmic tenor to our achievements. While the minutiae on 2 wheels and the still smaller ones are  generally the underbelly that are better kept hidden and not talked about.

But where did we get these materialistic values of ours from, where success is a function of the ability to generate wealth ?

Did these dawn upon us from the Western world and, with an ever greater integration of Peoples in today's age, have become deeply ingrained? Or are they just manifestations of basic human frailties - Greed, Ego & Jealousy - which we have come to blame on shared & adopted values ??

Certainly, the Mind & Soul, the spectacle & the rich Cultural history of this magnificent country - India - didn't give it to us. Wasn't this a country where Values were more pervasive and Material-Wealth was only for sustenance and Knowledge was Sovereign ? Where the Head was supposed to be held high and Mind without fear?

Rather than Wealth to be held high and Mind in consternation ?

In this frenzy to reach the zenith we all are leaving behind a part of us that wants to remain calm & peaceful and are carrying along another part that remains ever dissatisfied - that Bloated Ego of ours !!

It's time for all of us to think Once-Again.

To Subject ourselves to Alternate Paradigms. Or Must I say Subject ourselves to Paradigms we have Un-Followed !!

Why can't we make India, at least, a place which is unique from any other existing territory?

Where Paradigms are established for the rest of the world to follow?

Where GDP doesn't stand for Gross Domestic Product { $$ } but for Glad Domestic People { :-) :-) }.

Can we have a

Society 

Which competes on Strong Value systems where respect and love reign supreme.. where the minutiae are treated at par with the conspicuous... where human beings are not objects to be compared on a scale of material wealth, swanky cars and GDPs rather than the Soul & Mind..Where Happiness comes FIRST??

Where we live in a

House

That is not a map of self-indulgence.. (with the number of square feet and per sqr-foot price..) rather than a heavenly abode ! A place that may just manage to physically accommodate members of a family but still feel extremely big with warmth within !! Where the Mother is the greatest caretaker and everyone Loves her !!!

Where our 

Organisations

Care for the Earth.. and frame Greener buildings.. invest in architectures that are naturally fed rather than fed-up with power guzzling Air-conditioners.. where the money thus saved by not constructing green-house buildings with glass panes all around, is invested back into people..where employees are not just salaried people and instead sensitive stakeholders of the society at large...

And

Children

Hold the mantle of the future by becoming the fore-bearers of a Society that is Proud of itself rather than fore-bearers of Pride where everything comes at the cost of Society !!

And where

We All

Are in a HURRY to set a different path for the rest of the world to follow & re-reap the SOUL we have forgotten somewhere !!

Inscriptions on a Blank Sheet

Please let me live the life I want;

I have got my acts together ||

It’s okay I dint get that game for me;

Not all games are to be won ||||

Through your wonderla’s silhouettes;

I saw pieces of broken dreams ||

And if you fly through these corridors;

I won’t trace your paths ||||

---- I won’t ever do, won’t ever do, won’t ever----

While my life lists with a broken mast;

I try to inscribe with my blank heart ||

I can’t keep those mid night tantrums anymore;

I am trying my level best to reach the shore ||||

Shit Happens !!

The government fought tooth and nail against the “I am Anna” motion and in the process turned it into a commotion. I say MMS (beloved Man Mohan Singh) could have instead asked his cabinet colleagues to come out and sing “I am Anna” and wear the “Anna topi” in unison with the rest of the country. MMS can be pardoned for not being able to wear the “Anna topi” for technical reasons beyond his control ! :-)

Playing to the tune of “I am Anna” had so many benefits that CONgress failed to see... at least it could have obliterated its past sins and a few current ones like promoting Rahul Baba as the next PM in making. 

Never the less CONgress by saying “I am Anna” could have seen the other benefits of supporting the cause, beyond the of course feel good factor of supporting a genuinely National sentiment. The following are the benefits that CCC failed to C ( Congress Core Committee failed to See).

(1)    Let’s say Congress supported the cause and requested the countrymen to show solidarity with Anna by skipping at least 1 meal for a day.

Now if we do the elementary maths this is where we stand with basic assumptions that a person has only “dal” and “chawal” i.e lentils and rice for food.

If we assume:

100 gms of rice and 50 gms of lentils for 1 meal / person

Population of India = 1.2 billion (1.2B)

(-)

 People who don’t have access to 2 meals a day = 50% of 1.2 billion = 600 million (600M)

Therefore, the people who can skip a meal a day = 600 million (600M)

So the total food saved = 600M * (100gms rice + 50gms lentils)
                                    = 60M Kg rice & 30M Kg lentils

                                    = 60000 tons of rice & 30000tons of lentils

Assuming India produced around 100M tons of rice in 2010-11 and expects a similar production this year, per quarter rice production translates into 25M tons.

Similarly, considering chana dal’s (assuming that is the cheapest dal) production in India is around 6M tons per year, per quarter production translates into 1.5M tons.

Thus, 60000tons of rice saved by skipping a single meal = 0.24% quarterly production.

Similarly 30000 tons of lentils saved by skipping a single meal = 2% quarterly dal production.

Now, assuming agricultural growth to be around 4%, 0.24% = 6% extra rice in a single quarter. On the same token, 2% = 50% extra lentils in a single quarter.

With 8% sudden increase in rice production and 50% in lentil production there will be a sudden spike in supply in the markets. With people not changing their fooding habits overnight, demand for these two items shall remain constant. This will lead to a huge demand – supply mismatch, with supply more than demand. As market forces come into play, suddenly prices of rice and dal would reduce leading to a dip in inflationary pressures. Now, hoarders who typically play a huge role in increasing inflation will be forced to book profits before prices dip further. So, they will offload a lot of rice and dal saved in there go-downs. This offloading will further add to extra supply of the two items in the market, leading to further reduction in prices and thus causing a further dip in inflation. This has the potential of bringing down inflation by at least 2% points to around the 6% figure. Congress could have then used this sudden reduction in inflation as a marketing tactic and proclaimed Sharad Pawar was doing enough to save the country and not just busy looting it. Reduced inflation would have attracted FIIs and FDIs into the country promoting overall growth, taking India towards achieving 9% annual growth and leaving Prabab Babu a happy and gay man. Rahul Baba who already feels gay all the time would have been gay-er by finding an old-fidget by his side.

(2) Beyond the financial reasons, CONgress could have promoted peace, harmony and secularity among the countrymen. With Ramzan round the corner it could have b(r)ought the muslim populace’s vote as promoting the idea of skipping meals which would have attracted Bukari to make some amiable comments.

(3) Simultaneously, it could have also used the occasion to promote good health. Yogi’s have since ages said skipping a meal sometimes is good for health. That would have been some challenge to the www.DesiBaba.Ramdev

(4)  Finally and most importantly it could have saved some embarrassment from its DKBose coterie (D – Digvijay Singh and K – Kapil Sibal). If Bose seems like an appendix then it can be read as D(ic)K as well. 

In the meantime Pranab Babu has come out strongly in support of the “I am Anna” campaign and declared his assets as the effect of inflation can be seen on his depreciating wealth – from over Rs2crores couple of years ago to just over Rs12 lakh now.  While he seems to be going through emotions of deep loss a different motion seems to have got a privilege in the parliament. And my bowel says “offer open for a limited period only” – Apply Soon. SHIT Happens..

What a coinincidence !!

Sometime in early 2005 while I was working with Infosys in Bangalore, I had an interesting conversation with an auto-rickshaw driver. After the conversation got over I realised the august "company" I was with. Talk of inclusive growth these days ? Infosys had cracked the code much before Dan Brown decoded Monalisa's enigma !!

Here is a snippet of the conversation I had had (recaptured as much as I can fairly) with him !!

Driver : Saar ! Aaap Bangalore me kya karta !!
Me: Kaam karta hoon !!
Driver : Kidhar kaam karta hai aap ?
Me : Electronic City mein !
Driver : Oh ! Saar kaoon sa company me kaam karta hai aap ?
Me ( quite hesitantly and pretty much not interested to talk anymore ) : Infosys !
Driver ( almost jumps up with excitement & looks back at me ) : Saar.. mera bibi bhi udhar ich kaam karta hai !
Me : Kidhar ???????? Infosys mein ?????? ( I can add fairly large number of Q marks actually)
Driver : Haan Saar !
Me : ( by now pretty much bemused... and thinking about the driver's virtue.. 'didn't stop the talented wife from working while he drove a rick..'. )
Driver ( on finding no response from me for a few seconds comes up with a statement himself ) : Saar ! Mera bibi ko bahut kaam hota hai...
Me ( with a smirk and sense of amusement ) : Haaan !! Sahi bol rahe ho aap ! Bahut kaam karati hai Infosys..

(with a pause and about to say 'ekdum faaltu company hai' when the driver responds )

Driver : Lekin Saaar baahuut accha company hai Infosys..
continues...
Mera bibi ne uske bhaai ko bhi kaam me laga diya Infosys me...
Me ( pretty much vacillating between petulance and amusement by now) :

( 'I haven't been able to get a reference interview call for my friends and here is this rick - driver's wife merrily getting the entire family into the company'...)

.....

('but have to concede Infosys provides equal opportunity to everyone')

When the driver interrupted my thoughts
Driver : Saaar !! Wo Jaynagar me kaaam karti hai.. itna ich maloom mere ko...
Me (shocked to find that Infosys had an office in Jaynagar ): Kyaaa ??? Jaynagar me ????

Driver: Haan saar.. mera bibi udhar ich kaam karti hai.. Ghar ke pass hai to jyada time bhi nahi lagta usko jaane ko..
Me (tottalllly confused by now ): Aaapki bibi wo Narayan Murthy wale Infosys me hi kaam karti hai na ?????????
Driver : Haaan Saar.. woich.. udhar Electronic City me bhi uska office hai... 
Me : To aapki biwi kis department me kaam karti hai aapko malooom hai ?
Driver : Saaar.. !! Utna kaha se maloom mere ko.. accha paaise deti hai.. utna ich ...
Me : I was like ( What the hell is the guy talking about.. '..Infosys is a good company' ! '...it pays well....'  !!! 
This was tottallly against Infosys culture... 'From when did Infosys start paying well ???'  !! 'May be the pittance that we are paid is good for the driver's family but it didn't certainly last a day more than 1st of every month for me' )

As  I contemplated and got confused more and more... a coincidence happened (somewhere close to a junction near Kanakpura road).. when the driver prompted me to something...

Driver : Wo dekho Saaar Infosys .. ???
Me : Kidhar ??? Idhar to koi Infosys ka office nahi dikh raha.... ??

The only board that was displayed nearby read  - Nirmal Sauchalay - or in other words - Pristine Lavatory

Driver : Sahab ye ich to hai Infosys .. pointing towards the Nirmal Sauchalay board !!!
Me : ( 'When did Infosys start exporting 'shit' ) .. I thought 
( 'I exported sophisticated codes after all' ) or (' at least that was 'sophisticated shit' )
 Still confused very much with whatever was in front of me
Driver : Mera bibi idhar ich kaam karta hai... and then pointing me towards the Infosys I was looking for

Just below Nirmala Sauchalay was written in an innocuous manner - Supported by Infosys Foundation.

Me : Thankfully it didn't read - An Infosys Foundation Product...
Couldn't speak much after.. kept mum to escape the delirium... Infosys tag coudln't have sucked anymore!!

Rethinking Our Democracy !!

Debates around what form of governance is best suited for the peoples have been in existence since eons and still present enough fodder for contention as the world’s two biggest countries (economically) represent absolutely divergent forms of governance. The United States remains the oldest democracy in the world and China remains the only major functioning authoritarian communist state. While there is still no conclusive evidence regarding which form of governance leads to greater economic development, general climate of opinion considers democracy as a Universal value as it leads to better overall development of the people.

Democracy as a means of governance was first postulated around 2 millennia ago in Greece before it collapsed and was replaced by more authoritarian and asymmetric forms of governments. The triumphant emergence of modern day democracy happened around the 18^th century in the French and American Revolutions. The rise, death and rise of democracy has often attracted proclamations around its vitality by great thinkers such as Winston Churchill, George Orwell and William Durant. Succinctly democracy has often been argued as: “It is not the best form of governance, but the best one we know of”.

Democracy and the Indian State

India today represents a very unique and successful experiment of a democratic set up. Her monolithic structure presented a source of skepticism and pessimism about her success as a democracy. During its formation as a democratic country in 1947, the British expressed anxiety over the Indians' ability to govern themselves. The anxieties had been re-expressed by John Stuart Mill’s hypothesis (1958) that democracy is completely impossible in multi-ethnic societies especially in linguistically divided societies.  However, the collective wisdom and clairvoyance of the then Parliamentarians headed by JL Nehru paved the way for what we today call as the Biggest democracy in the world – India.

In 1950, the constitution or the supreme Law of free India was laid down with its basic tenets significantly borrowed from the liberal democratic societies of the west, esp. British democracy and in parts the American constitution. The Indian constitution provided its peoples with Fundamental rights and their duties towards the nation. It also defined the political principles, powers and duties of government institutions. The basic framework of the Indian constitution provided for the three pillars to support the functioning of the democracy: Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary. The creation of the constitution involved strategic debates that characterize normal politics and had reasoned deliberations to define public interest where individuals are treated equally and fairly.

Questioning the Indian democracy

Having succeeded in carrying forward a democracy that was deemed to be a failure more than half a century ago, is it time for India to have a renewed look at it once again? I strongly believe so.

The moot question for us today should not be whether we have succeeded in our quest for creating institutions where the heads are simply democratically elected representatives. According to me, we should now question whether the quality of the very institutions the representatives were elected for has depleted. This becomes significantly more important considering the dire times we are living in India. Mismanagement by the governments both at the state and the federal level and rearing corruption in the legislative, judiciary and executive, have significantly degenerated the sanctity of public service.

Shouldn’t therefore, the putrefaction of the democratic framework of the constitution lead us into questioning the relevance of the three pillars of the constitution? Do we still need to abide by the wisdom of the great leaders who framed our constitution in 1950? Is our constitution so sacrosanct that we can’t question its relevance today? What if we added more pillars to the constitution, after all dire situations call for extreme actions?

I am strongly of the opinion that no text is sacrosanct, the constitution more so. After all it was only framed by a set of individuals. Today, we not only should feel the importance of the Legislative, Judiciary and the Executive but also add two more dimensions – a free & fair Press and the People of the country. Occurrences of the recent past suggest many of the people or the civil-society issues have been taken up by the press first – the 4^th pillar – before the legislature acted upon it. It is a complete reversal of the ideas of 1950. During the formation of the Indian constitution the legislature was supposed to take up people issues and press simply express them. Hence, why not consider providing controlled powers in the hands of the people directly such as formation of legislations through referendum, especially when legislative fails to perform its duties proactively? While the press in India has remained fairly vocal and free for quite some time, the people have lost cogency. Considering, the legislature who is an elected representative significantly forgets the people who he is supposed to take care of but for every 5^th year, the people should be assigned more powers to control the representatives. Especially in the 21^st century technology should play a significant role in controlling the one up-manship of the existing arms of democracy.

Rethinking the Democracy

Can we rethink our democratic government system in terms of a private ltd. organization?

In such a system the people of the country can be considered as shareholders of the organization and public office bearers of the government as the board members of the organization. While the board members act as agents of the shareholders to perform smooth functioning of the organization, their failure to deliver proper returns leads them to be shunted out even before their contract is over. There are multiple checks and balances that prevent board members or agents of the shareholders to benefit their own coffers. These occur through quarterly reporting by organizations, reporting standards set by statutory bodies and external audits which together bring in greater transparency.

Like private organizations therefore, can’t democratic governments bring in greater transparency in their operational efficacy? Can’t our governments provide a much more fair distribution of power to its people such as those with the shareholders of an organization?

Some of the simplest and easiest solutions for bringing in greater transparency in government functioning can be quarterly reporting of targets achieved and not achieved in the projects implemented. These reports can be made available on the government websites for all to view. Similarly, comprehensive ratings about the performance of the ministers in their constituencies can be obtained on a bi-annual / yearly basis from the electorate. Most importantly instilling greater ethical standards in public office functioning should always be paramount for engendering greater public faith.

A lot of work still remains to be done to take the nation ahead. May be rethinking our democracy is just the right antidote. After all, we are still a “Flawed Democracy” according to the Democracy Index.

Catharsis of Cognition !!

Recently, I had an interesting debate / discussion with a friend of mine. The discussion started after she described an incident that she noticed while returning from office which seemingly had stirred her up from within. The incident was something that many of us would have heard of or may have even experienced firsthand.

“A thief while trying to break into a car was caught red handed. All the people around got their act together and beat the thief black-and-blue, short of having reduced him to a pulp, till the cops arrived and the just-about-alive thief was handed over”. Perfect example of mob-justice.

She was baffled with the fact that none intervened to stop the treatment meted to the person (okay – the thief) by all and sundry. She was more vexed by the inhuman, almost fiendish, nature of humans especially the way everyone enjoyed reducing the accused into a pulp. Her contestation was simple. Have we all become cathartic of cognition? Wasn’t there a single upright “human being” in the crowd who could have prevented the mob-justice and did the right thing of handing over the culprit to the police? Who gave us the right to provide justice the way it was done?

I tried to disceptate that while the incident in itself was sordid and despicable when viewed from a noetic standpoint, for the layperson the means appointed was the best and easiest form of justice. My argument was that in a country where getting access to the law(through the police) is as difficult as its execution(70% of the prisoners in India are under trials), citizens vent out their frustration time and again by applying means that are legally untenable at best and socially abominable at worst. According to me the manifestation of pent up anger occurs in the form of mob-justice which is the worst form of justice and the best form of liberation. Everyone is partner in the crime but no one is guilty.

(The discussion between me and my friend ensued into a debate by then)

 My friend argued, the mob may have been unjust and unapologetic of its actions but wasn’t there a single sane mind in the huge crowd who could bristle up to the occasion and do the right thing of letting the appropriate institutions (the police in this case) decide the future course of actions. I contested that in a nation where the institutions are incapacitated by the filth of corruption and incompetence people lose trust on the justice system. (The single best example of such a trust deficit and the ensuing action was the formation of a civil society team to draft the Lok-Pal bill). The actions of the lynch mob are certainly not what “nyaya- comprehensive concept of realized justice that affects the world that emerges out of the actions pursued” should be but can certainly be justified as a course correction “neeti – organizational propriety and behavioural correctness”- although devoid of propriety.  As Prhalad Kakkar reckoned in a recent chat show “the action of the lynch-mob is a signaling mechanism for the failure of democratic institutions”. In a fractured democracy like ours where all the three pillars – legislature, executive and judiciary – are found shaking, the lynch mob –justice forms an appealing proposition to the masses while it certainly forces the lumpen institutions to be proactive.  

But coming back to the heart of the issue – Is Creating Justice by perpetrating Injustice the right way? If we zoom out of the current example and pan our focus on the broader context of bail being denied to the multiple accused in cases such as 2G scam, CWG scam etc., we shall realize that even the Supreme Court of India has failed to deliver “nyaya”. After all, as the law stipulates “for offences upto 7years bail is a rule unless there are alarming facts such as someone perpetrates terror”. Shouldn’t therefore, reasonably, the accused not be let free as personal liberty and presumption of innocence are foundation stones of our constitution?

Notable philosophes from Voltaire to Immanuel Kant to AmartyaSen have argued upon the importance of Reasoning as they noted that “bringing reason to the world raises hope of humanity”. However, I would like to dig deep into my vault of courage and beg to disagree with the eminent scholars and so with my friend, who was disgruntled with the unreasonability and cruelty of mob-justice. My line of reasoning toes the fact that we emphasize a lot on rationality and reasoning at the expense of other considerations such as humans’ non-rational and emotional sides, variations in thinking and valuing across cultures and individual freedom of choice.

According to me the fabric of our society shouldn’t just be about a well ironed reasoning, rather it should also encompass crumpled individual volition and emotions.

(The debate continues!!)