About: Democracy (Part 3) & a bit of religion

Further to my earlier post, where I argued about how the fate of a country is ultimately decided by a few individuals. And that ultimately it's just luck whether we have someone at the top who has the right ideas or flawed ideas.

As a result of the above realization, I have to conclude and comment that in our lifetimes, it is extremely important and almost imperative that we come to the front of the class and speak up when we oppose existing ideas or have new ones which we believe in with unwavering conviction. This is the bedrock of a democracy and especially that of India. We are fortunate to live in a country and I am fortunate to live in a city where endless debates are encouraged. Where ideas and innovations are aplenty and the good ones get refined through soundboarding and numerous discussions. Therefore if you believe in something, you better come up to the front and speak up.

In the past one year I have become a great believer in Hinduism [let me state here that I have equal respect for all religions] and I really hope that sometime during my life I am able to study it. In my view, Hinduism is a religion which is now so old and has gone through so much churning and revision that as of today, it seems to have the answers to all the human dilemmas, new and old. In the same vein I believe that the model of democracy and governance in India will be constantly renewed and refined and the final product will be something which the world will behold and strive to emulate. The Chinese model is a flash in the pan in comparison. This will happen of course over an extended period of time and we might not live to see it. Hinduism is a religion in which even atheism is acknowledged and given its due place and respect. That itself sold me out. It is perhaps unfortunate that its very flexibility and all encompassing nature threatens to make it irrelevant.

Moving on.

I would again like to clarify that when I do not oppose democracy per se but oppose the process of electing the leaders of it. I do not advocate any other form of governance. The debate about democracy vs autocracy or theocracy is long dead and is very 20^th century. We have to now refine the idea of democracy further to make sense to the modern times and lead humanity to a more peaceful world with capable leaders.

 

[Standard disclaimers apply]

 

 

Calcutta and its love for strikes

I once commented on how much Calcuttans (no not kolkatans) love to go on strike. This struck me in no less measure than a notice in the Calcutta airport 6 months back over the proposed strike over the Bangalore and Hyderabad airport. I failed to take a snap of that incredulous notice but the undying love for strikes for every cause and everyone's cause was underscored for me.

So why not outsource all strikes to Calcutta? Seriously, they love doing it so much that anyone in the country or the world could just outsource the strike to them. They could go one step further and take footage for the tv and even have them stage the protests in movie sets made to look like the city or country being "protested" for. This would save potential revenue losses for the organization originally planning to go on strike and let calcuttans do what they love the most. Efficient division of labour and everyone is happy!

 

Olympics, India and Scope for private participation

Vivek and I were discussing yesterday about the sad state of affairs relating to sports in India.

Bindra's gold medal was due to his own volition and support from his family in the form of finances and moral support. It was no was thanks to the government (although they shamelessly bask in Bindra's glory) or any of the sports bodies sponsored by the government. This is widely known. The sports bodies in India are riddled with politics and cannot rise above the petty self-serving interests of its officials. The government doesn't have the vision to provide our athletes with world class facilities nor does it have the gumption to set right the corrupt sports officials of India.

However, we predicted that a few things might happen in the next 8 years. Since India is now reckoned an economic powerhouse and is constantly compared with China, it is but inevitable that comparisons will start between our medal tallies too. Once a large number of our citizens are able to lead a healthy normal life and can afford to devote their time to other issues, they will start questioning the incompetence of our athletes and therefore of the sports officials. At the international level too we will made "fun" of (Yes, I use the word fun because the situation there is nothing different from that of a 6^th standard classroom – refer my earlier post on this). So ultimately the government will be shamed and pressured into creating world class athletes from hamara bharat.

It is funny that all the reforms in our country are done either when the government has been pressured to the extreme and has its back against the wall or it is plain shamed into doing it. And I think this attitude percolates down to its citizens in general (or perhaps it is because of the same citizens).

Anyway, moving on.

However, the above is not in our control and can only be speculated upon. What about private participation – the seeming panacea* for all the country's ills. We discussed about how the corrupt sports officials could be sidestepped. If corporations would come forward and sponsor select athletes, wouldn't that benefit the whole situation? A company could sponsor and train an athlete and reap all the rewards after a couple of Olympics have passed? But this is not attractive for a private player as the upfront investments are too high, the returns long term and very uncertain. Let's not treat this from a charity point of view (I personally hate charity, I think it ruins people and nations).

What if independent sports bodies run by private players were to come up? These sports bodies would just own facilities for some/various sports and offer these services to the willing athletes. This offering would obviously have to subsidized in the beginning because most athletes would not be able to afford them. In return the private bodies can sign in a substantial portion of the winnings of the athlete and also own the rights to any subsequent sponsorship deals or any other revenue mechanism arising from the victories. After investing in say, 20 athletes even if 1 athlete begins to perform at the world stage, it will pay off for the private body. Such victories will prove to be publicity for the private body and it will be able to attract more quality athletes. In essence the private body can viewed as a VC (venture capitalist) who is undertaking a huge risk by investing in these athletes. He knows most of them won't perform, but even if 1 person clicks, their day is made. And they don't have to wait for 4 years to start seeing returns. There are enough international competitions besides the Olympics and Olympics will be the Big Cahuna.

Assuming several such firms, the firms will actually be competing to sponsor athletes and athletes will have the luxury of choosing a firm which will train them for free! Observing a huge supply of quality training more people will be inspired to come forward and slowly the firms too can be choosy about the athletes they take in for training. It will turn into a virtuous cycle and hopefully generate world class athletes who can bring glory to our nation.

Amen to that. And Jai Hind !

Credit: Vivek for part of the idea process.

About: Democracy (Contd..)

Further to my post earlier on this topic, some further conclusions I have made:

1. Democracy is not such a bad thing when it comes to not letting things get worse.

Our professor in finance was giving us an example of the wonderfulness (pardon the word) of democracy. He said if there is famine anywhere in the country today, the incumbent party and the opposition party will fight tooth and nail to ensure that that show concern and sympathy for the victims. This will highlight the issue and make sure that the victims are taken care of. And therefore hurray for democracy.

No.

The flaw with this story is that the famine shouldn't have taken place at all. There should have been enough systems in place to ensure that such a situation doesn't arise at all. In fact the politicians probably let the situation worsen so that they could get some photo ops.

Ok, lets assume for time-being that they are "kind hearted". Be sure I am saying that they are kind-hearted only and no other noble attributes.

The above situation is a case where democracy made sure that things didn't get worse off than they already were. But will democracy help to forsee such situations and make sure they never occur?

Vivek and I were having an intense discussion about a similar issue and were astonished at how just single persons who had the vision and the grit to see that vision implemented were the ones who influenced the course of a country, an organization and that of a people. Beware that this "vision" need not be the right one and something which will bring prosperity upon people who have to live through its consequence. A case in example is of course Nehru and to the contrary are the people who founded modern America. Nehru had a vision, a deeply flawed one, of a social country which would survive just on its goodiness. He went about implementing it with zeal and look where we are now because of him. Because of one single person.

The founders of USA too had a vision. Fortunately the right one. A country based on basic fundamentals and rights. And look where they are now.

So ultimately democracy or no democracy, the long-term and even the short term fate of a country/organization/people are determined solely by strong individuals who stand up and dare to say what they believe in, be it wrong or right.

Therefore democracy or a democratic institution can in no way effect the right vision being envisioned by its elected representatives. Nor compulsorily induce actions by its elected representatives which will lead to long term progress and betterment of a people.

So finally it is our luck as a collective people which determines whether the people we have elected will act in the best interest of the nation as a whole, its people current and future.

Funny isn't it. It all comes down to luck. Best of luck then to all of us.

Quotes:

A article in the Aug 2nd issue of The Economist title "Turning Sour" somewhat confirms my thinking.

"But India also benefits from what financial types might call the "democracy put"' its politics forestalls the worst outcomes, even if they squander the best. India's policy makers only seem to be able to reform under duress."

"..as recent events show, the India story often resembles a comedy as much as an epic. Its policymakers run around in circles, swapping partners and scandalising onlookers, but with luck pull it all together in the end."


A Note: I unfortunately post the above based on plain armchair thinking and my current base of knowledge. I have not done any research and therefore there can be a lot of nitty gritties which I might miss out on. But I stand by the core idea and thought which I espouse here unless and otherwise proven reliably wrong.

Bindra and Mint

"New Delhi/Beijing: Abhinav Bindra won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a come-from-behind victory in the men’s 10m air rifle, but sports agents are divided on whether this will translate into lucrative brand endorsements in a country where cricket and movie stars remain favourites with advertisers and audiences."




http://www.livemint.com/2008/08/12011400/Bindra-wins-India8217s-firs.html?h=A1

I love mint as a newspaper. But this article just caught me off guard. Especially after first being bombarded by every little detail of Bindra's life in ToI on every other page with gaudy photos, the concise looking article seemed a bit of a relief. What caught me off guard was that within the first sentence itself they launched into the debate of whether he will make a good "brand endorser". Lol. Is this acute professionalism by mint and a bit over the top? Also, I can just imagine all the agents around India perking up on hearing the gold medal announcement and salivating and debating over the possibilities of commercial exploitation of this event rather than feeling, even for a moment, a bit proud of this achievement.

I personally did not believe this news till I saw it on TV. Perhaps I need to see the medal and bite it to test its gold component to be doubly sure that this is not some cruel joke by China in their usual style.

Congratulations to him nonetheless. May this set off a meaningful debate and progress on this front in the media which has been sadly missing till now contrary to their usual zeal.

My Analogies - A Sticky

I have discovered in the past one year that I have somewhat of a talent for analogies. And since I spend a lot of time driving, a lot of analogies I am going to put down here will be related to that. This is going to be a sticky post, because as when these analogies come to my mind, I will put them down in this post. Maybe when I have enough posts, I will make a book out of it and of course it will become a best seller ;).


1. The roads, vehicles and the government. (Draft)
I tend to drive fast. I know this is wrong but something I just have to do. My philosophy in driving greatly reflects my philosophy in life. But that's for another
post.

So, I tend to drive fast. When I am going to office in the morning, my foot will be like rocks on the accelerator and I will be overtaking cars, bikes, trucks, buses by the dozen. I will of course be slowed down by some people who do not have basic driving sense but that does not deter me. After a few minutes, when I look around, I will realize that the same vehicles puttering along at 30 km/hr have caught up with me and in some cases are even ahead of me again. I am bamboozled. What happened? How did they catch up with me? When I reflect I realize that all the slowing down, and waiting at traffic signals gave them a chance to catch up with me without putting in any extra effort. They were able to just amble along and the traffic system ensured that everyone traveled in more or less the same time frame.

Do you see what I am driving (no pun intended) at? Our government (at least till date) has created an environment where speed and efficiency is not rewarded. Where, even the slow are able to catch up simply because the government puts in so many roadblocks and red signals to slow the fast ones down. The government's philosophy of governance is directly reflected in the roads and the traffic. The government does not ensure a level playing field but believes in bringing everyone to the same level. This is done through quotas and reservations and other such instruments.

Imagine if the roads were all converted to expressways with no traffic signals. Just signs and guidelines of how to drive and at what maximum speeds. Who would win? The fast ones will get to their destination the fastest and the slow ones at their own appointed time. The system will be just an observer making sure nobody breaks laws and observes the guidelines. This is of course happening slowly. There are expressways being built in tandem with the economy being deregulated and a leveler playing field being created.

2. 6th Std Classrooms and People (Draft)
I find that a majority of the ways in which corporations, governments and people in general behave can be directly matched to how kids behave in 6th standard classrooms.

Life: Update

Dear All,

I do not post frequently not because there is nothing to write but because those moments of inspiration which drive me to write come at the very times when it's not possible for me to get to a computer. Other times its sheer laziness.

In any case, a life changing event has forced me to put put to paper (sheesh!) and tell you whats been happening since my last update.

Firstly, the life changing event that I talk about is that I bought a car ! yes yes yes ! I bought a car. It's 1995 Geo Prizm with all the works and I got it only for $1500. Of course it's definitely not a car to boast about but who cares! it's my first car with my own money and surviving without a car in Wilsonville for 3 months, where the public transportation sucks like hell, has been no mean feat. Plus downgrading from the glory days of driving in Bangalore hasn't been easy either. But nonetheless, I have a CAR now ! Feast your eyes :D









Ahhh! Bliss it is I say!

Anyway, on to more trivial things. Since my last post my internship got extended to December. Initially I wasn't too happy about it but now it seems like I did the right thing. Winter semester will be the perfect time to take good courses and be done with my Masters. Plus staying on means I have a bit of wiggle room to take my trips to The Netherlands and India (and with my own money).

[These are posts which I started writing but never could finish and do not have the immediate interest in finishing. I am posting it nonetheless]

India's unending journey - Mark Tully

I have been reading a lot about India recently. For some yet unknown reason, I have had this strong desire to get to know India better. Maybe, business interests compel me to understand this country at a better level so that I can profit out of it or maybe my brief stint outside India has made me appreciate more, India's infinite beauty and uniqueness.

I was in the midst of reading Richard Dawkins' "God Delusion", when I decided to pick up "India's Unending Journey" - Mark Tully (IUJ). "God Delusion" was very "dry", lacking any human touch, lacking any spirituality. Although his reasoning is impressive, the world cannot be explained through reason alone. If the world ran on reason alone, we would all be ultra-materialistic loners.

Anyway, I don't even feel like discussing that book.

IUJ came to me at the right time. I have been grappling a lot with internal conflicts about

[These are posts which I started writing but never could finish and do not have the immediate interest in finishing. I am posting it nonetheless]