Written on Sunday May 17, 2009

I’m so happy for India…I’d just begun to lose faith in India and the Indian system (especially since reservations on the basis of caste were increased to more than 50%)…when India as a whole bounced back to show what it is capable of…this is the power of India…this is the power of Indian democracy. These are some of the choices that the pan-Indian voter has made (at least for the next 5 years):

1) “No”, to those who opposed the forward-looking Indo-US nuclear deal
2) “No” to right-wing or left-wing politics
3) “Yes” to development and performance - whether on a regional basis (Bihar under Nitish Kumar, Orissa under Patnaik, Delhi under Sheila Dixit or Sikkim under Chamling) or a national basis (Right to Information Act, NREGS, Indo-US nuclear deal)
4) “No” to regional leaders who place class and caste before national interest and greater good (Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Mulayam’s SP, Lalu’s RJD) and wanted to extract a price for playing king-makers
5) “No” to all wannabe prime-ministers
6) “Yes” to stability and a centrist-policy
7) “Yes” to a greater role for the younger generation and a new mindset in Indian politics

I read about the killing of Benazir Bhutto 15 minutes ago (Thu 27 Dec, 10:30am New York Time, 9:30pm in India). I’m shocked and shuddering. My feet were cold and I was delaying wearing thick socks for a while. Not sure whether it was the temperature or the news - I actually shivered on reading about Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Somehow, it doesn’t feel like a news story on somebody’s passing which they cover in detail in the media - from the Nepal royals to Pramod Mahajan to Teji Bachchan.

I was shocked, angry and sad..it was as if I had some personal hope for Pakistan from Benazir that I hadn’t realized. I don’t remember a moment so personally shocking since the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. When Rajiv Gandhi was killed - there was this feeling..how can they do this…how can they kill the most charismatic leader of India…weren’t they satisfied having witnessed the deaths of Indira and Sanjay Gandhi…how can you make a single family suffer so much….what will happen to India..that was May 1991..

And now…end of 2007…I am overcome with the same thoughts…how can they make a particular family suffer so much…Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the sons Murtaza Bhutto, Shahnawaz Bhutto and now..Benazir herself…with all her imperfections….Pakistan was witnessing a change…what will happen to Pakistan…what will happen to the world…is there any hope? You might disagree with her..but how can you kill her?

Suddenly the moments when I read her autobiography ‘Daughter of the East’ during my school days in Gangtok all flashed before my eyes…the way her mother taught her to count a no. of times to make sure her teeth are brushed and clean…the recent interviews on ibnlive.com that I watched where Karan Thapar interviewed her on Devil’s Advocate…all the news of her intent to return to Pakistan…her return..assassination bid…threats to her life…flashes of names..her husband Asif Ali Zardari…her mother Nusrat Bhutto…her niece…Fatima Bhutto…Murtaza’s daughter…who hates Benazir..I think she’d be sad and crying too…sad for the Bhutto family, despite her disagreements with Benazir…

As the news is slowly sinking in, I think it’s a sad day for Pakistan..for India..for the world…it brings to the fore an ongoing war - between the fundamentalists and uncivilized people (who do not know how to disagree without violence)..and the normal world as we know it ..or think it is…Perhaps the world is not what it seems…it seems like a very dangerous world…anybody who wants to do something gets killed… Is there hope? There must be…images of Mahatma Gandhi lying dead flash….there can only be hope in non-violence…when people learn to disagree through non-violent means…

On Sep 22, the Society for South Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore organized a movie screening of "Rang De Basanti" at LT29. I was one of the participants who had to provide a critique based on the theme, "Do you support the actions taken by the lead actors?". The theme was given out before the movie started. The audio quality in the LT (Lecture Theatre) was excellent. Apart from the obvious young Indian crowd, a couple of local Chinese and Caucasian faces were also to be seen. Though watching it for the second time, I loved every moment of the movie, as I made my notes on what to speak. It was an excellent audience too, with a palpable vibrancy in the air that suggested each person watching was really proud of the movie (as if having a personal stake) and was enjoying every moment of it - something one rarely gets to see in a movie theatre. There were bits of verbal interaction as well. When a dejected DJ (with a stress on D..DDDDJ..Aamir Khan) says he doesn’t know what to do, I heard a voice behind me say "NUS mein aa kar research kar le" (come to NUS and pursue research). I laughed and cried with the movie. When DJ lights the funeral pyre of his pilot friend, I imagined my cousin Sanjay doing the same in Jalpaiguri that day, who lost his father (my mousaji - Bidya mousi’s husband) a day before. When the movie ended, it witnessed a standing ovation from all present. The organizers announced that refreshments would be served outside, but only after the critique competition was over. The students (mostly) sat back and watched. Each speaker was to be given 3 minutes to present the critique, followed by 2 minutes of Q&A. Two out of the first three speakers presented arguments saying they did not support the actions taken by the lead actors. One girl said when DJ and his friends reach the radio station, they should not have pointed guns against innocent people. On being questioned if they’d have been allowed to go and disrupt a large radio station without using guns, she said, perhaps they could have pointed guns to the security guard but not to the people inside. The response from the audience was lukewarm. One speaker said he was confused as to whether they did the right thing or not. Then came a fourth speaker, who went forth and declared, "I totally support the actions taken by the lead actors. I am no Gandhi fan…and this is the only way which actually works". He went on to say how non-violence didn’t work in the recent protests by medical students against reservations at premier Indian educational institutions. The audience clapped and cheered. I was the last speaker. Following is a gist of what I said:

My name is Naresh Kumar Agarwal and I am a Research Assistant and a 2nd year PhD Candidate at the Dept. of Information Systems, School of Computing. To answer whether I support the actions taken by the lead actors, I’d say that I totally support the actions taken by the lead actors in the movie, but to say whether you or I should do the same, I’d say "No". When I first watched the movie, and having been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi all along, I went through a dilemma whether the method advocated in the movie was correct. Mahatma Gandhi has said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". After much thought, I concluded that Rang de Basanti does not advocate the method, but rather, the courage to take on the responsibility for bringing about change, to take responsibility for the state of things in your country rather than simply blaming the other, to question and resist injustice, to follow the truth. Mahatma Gandhi has said that there are three possible responses to oppression and injustice: First is the coward’s way - to accept the wrong or to run away from it. Second possible response is to stand and fight by force of arms. Gandhi said this was better than acceptance or running away. So in the movie, given the option of not doing anything against injustice versus seeking redemption through the violent way, I’d say the violent way is preferable. But the third and the best method of all, and one which requires the most courage, is to stand and fight solely by non-violent means. In this non-violent method, violence is present, but it is not directed against the other person, only to yourself. The actors in RDB also went on a candle-light vigil to India Gate in a non-violent manner. Only when it didn’t work did they adopt violence. The lesson to imbibe from the movie is not voilence, but rather the responsibility to bring about change (instead of cowardly accepting or running away from the state of things). The following is inscribed on a tomb in Westminister Abbey "When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamt of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world." The biggest message of RDB is to be able to change youself. And for this, you don’t really require violence, but rather, compassion for those around you. HH the Dalai Lama has said, "To experience genuine compassion is to develop a feeling of closeness to others combined with a sense of responsibility for their welfare. This develops when we accept that other people are just like ourselves in wanting happiness and not wanting suffering." (I didn’t say the Dalai Lama quote in the actual speech). A previous speaker mentioned that the actors used a personal loss as pretext to rise up against injustice, which she said is not correct. I disagree. One spark is enough to bring about change in a person - "Aag hai mujhmein kahin". That spark could be anything, if a personal loss helps you bring out the fire in you, so be it. If watching this movie helps spark the fire within, why not! So while we go out and do what we do - pursue research, strive to rise in our jobs, whether we are in our country or outside it, when we spend lifetimes wanting to go and buy the next car, that condo out there, and worrying about me, myself, my spouse and my children, let us strive to do something worthwhile for our country. "Ab bhi jiska khoon na khoula, wo khoon nahin hai paani hai. Jo bhi desh ke kaam na aaye, wo bekar jawaani hai"! (Translation, not mentioned in speech: even now if someone’s blood does not boil, that is not blood but water. Anybody who does nothing for his/her country, that is a wasted youth).

During the Q&A session, somebody asked me, "So do you believe in Mahatma Gandhi or in Rang de Basanti". I replied,

"I believe in Mahatma Gandhi and I believe in Rang de Basanti. And I see no contradiction."

The first four consolation prizes announced didn’t include my name. I was declared the Winner.

I am angry. No, I am very angry. I don’t get angry easily. But this time, I really am. For the first time in my 11 years outside India, I question whether I am indeed fortunate to be outside? Whether it is at all worthwhile to go back to the muck and dirt? I am not referring to the dirt on the roads - which can be cleansed. I am talking about the dirty minds of power hungry leaders who are collaborating the sunset of all things good in India. With ALL political parties unopposed to reservations, with our economist prime minister silent/supportive of the issue, with our scientist president appealing Medical students to call off their strike - it appears to be death bed of all hope of India rising, of India actually shining. If such qualified people were not at the helm of affairs in our Parliament, there would have been a potential to blame. It is precisely the inability of good, qualified people to fight the murkiness of vote-bank politics that is seeing the death of meritocracy in India. The implementation of 50% reservation for the elite "OBC - other backward classes" section of Indian students in India’s premier educational institutions, while leaving deserving students from other sections to scramble for seats has the danger of: - Bringing down the quality of education and hence the name of these instituitions - Furthering the caste divide in India - Power hungry politicians dividing and ruling the masses - … Mourn…its time for condolences…for hope for a better India lies in the death-bed, betrayed by its best "Et tu Manmohan, then fall India"!

Even since there has been renewed talk of increased reservation for other backward classes in premier Indian educational institutions, there has been an intense debate going on. In my view, it is hardly a matter of debate - just a matter of populist measures trying to cure the symptoms rather than the disease, and garner more votes in the process. On the one hand, India is slowly but surely finding its rightful place in top league, with its economy doing well and people in general being able to afford more. This should be a catalyst for the political spectrum to try and change old mindsets - to make people take more responsibility for their lives and their country - and get away with the ‘chalta hai’ attitude. But no, the very man who has inititated economic reforms in India heads an executive that now wants to turn our educational institutions into symbols of mediocrity where you are judged not based on your merit but the surname that goes behind your name. If affirmative action is required to pull people along, provide them free training/coaching - help them to compete, instead of turning them into second-class citizens with a carrot of special privileges. Continue reading for a counter-argument as to why reservation should be supported (expressed by somebody in a Rediff message board):

"I think we should have job reservations in all the fields. I completely support the PM and all the politicians for promoting this. Let’s start the reservation with our cricket team. We should have 10 percent reservation for Muslims. 30 percent for OBC, SC/ST like that. Cricket rules should be modified accordingly. The boundary circle should be reduced for an SC/ST player. The four hit by an OBC player should be considered as a six and a six hit by a OBC player should be counted as 8 runs. An OBC player scoring 60 runs should be declared as a century. We should influence ICC and make rules so that the pace bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar should not bowl fast balls to our OBC player. Bowlers should bowl maximum speed of 80 kilometer per hour to an OBC player. Any delivery above this speed should be made illegal. Also we should have reservation in Olympics. In the 100 meters race, an OBC player should be given a gold medal if he runs 80 meters."

I’m sure most of us would agree on these recommendations for reservations The only ‘reservation’ I have is that the list could have been longer!

On Mar 3, 2006, President George Bush of America made a speech on the grounds of Purana Qila in Delhi (built by Sher Sha Suri and used by Humayun) - a day after signing a historic accord for civilian nuclear cooperation with India. Here, I quote parts of the speech which I thought were very well worded (source: The White House)

"Over the past two days we’ve been grateful for your kind reception, touched by your warm hospitality, and dazzled by this vibrant and exciting land. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the Indian people. I’m honored to bring the good wishes and the respect of the world’s oldest democracy to the world’s largest democracy. Tonight we stand on the ruins of an ancient city that was the capital of an Indian kingdom thousands of years ago. Today it is part of a modern Asian city that is the capital of one of the world’s great nations. At the heart of a civilization that helped give the world mathematics, cutting-edge businesses now give us the technology of tomorrow. In the birthplace of great religions, a billion souls of varied faiths now live side-by-side in freedom and peace. When you come to India in the 21st century, you’re inspired by the past, and you can see the future. India in the 21st century is a natural partner of the United States because we are brothers in the cause of human liberty. Yesterday, I visited a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, and read the peaceful words of a fearless man. His words are familiar in my country because they helped move a generation of Americans to overcome the injustice of racial segregation. When Martin Luther King arrived in Delhi in 1959, he said, ‘To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.’ I come to India as a friend." "The partnership between the United States and India has deep and sturdy roots in the values we share. Both our nations were founded on the conviction that all people are created equal and are endowed with certain fundamental rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. Those freedoms are enshrined in law through our written constitutions, and they are upheld daily by institutions common to both our democracies — an elected legislature, an independent judiciary, a loyal political opposition, and, as I know well here in India, a lively free press. " "your economy has more than doubled in size since you opened up your markets in 1991. You’ve dramatically raised the living standards of your citizens. India’s middle class now numbers 300 million people, more than the entire population of the United States." "When your Prime Minister addressed the United States Congress, he said this: ‘We must fight terrorism wherever it exists, because terrorism anywhere threatens democracy everywhere.’ He is right. And so America and India are allies in the war against terror." "India has a Hindu majority, and one of the world’s largest Muslim populations. India is also home to millions of Sikhs and Christians and other religious groups. All worship freely in temples and mosques and churches all across this great land. Indians of diverse backgrounds attend school together and work together and govern your nation together. As a multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy, India is showing the world that the best way to ensure fairness and tolerance is to establish the rule of law. The best way to counter resentment is to allow peaceful expression. The best way to honor human dignity is to protect human rights. For every nation divided by race, religion or culture, India offers a hopeful path: If justice is the goal, then democracy is the way." "The world has benefitted from the example of India’s democracy, and now the world needs India’s leadership in freedom’s cause. As a global power, India has an historic duty to support democracy around the world." "In a few days, I’ll return to America, and I will never forget my time here in India. America is proud to call your democracy a friend. We’re optimistic about your future. The great Indian poet Tagore once wrote, ‘There’s only one history — the history of man.’ The United States and India go forward with faith in those words. There’s only one history of man — and it leads to freedom. May God bless India. "

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