Books that Deserve More of our Attention

I am not a voracious reader or a literary critic, but there are a few books that I think should be more popular and discussed more often. These include fiction as well as non-fiction, have some interesting ideas, a different insight into what we thought we knew or is just a plain good read. Some of these are-

1) Zahir by Paulo Coelho - After reading 'The Alchemist', since it was suggested by everyone who I came across, I was slightly disappointed. But Zahir made me a Paulo Coelho fan in spite of the fact that his other works have been slightly over my head since I did not have the experience or maturity to understand them. This is a must read and told me how human experience, emotions, uncertainties and fear is the same everywhere and for everyone, just the direction, intensity or the issue varies. It was Zahir that convinced me that if we desire something strong enough and if we deserve it, we will get it.

2) The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor- Although a "work of fiction", it gives us a different perspective of history as the author has used the liberty afforded by a work of fiction to criticise and blend our freedom movement and post independence politics of India with the Mahabharata. Read it to know that history actually is not the stuff of legends but merely the decisions taken by individuals based on their own perceptions with all its imperfections, uncertainties and clouded by their egos.

3) Constitution of India- although the real document is too hard for us, books by D.D.Basu or Laxmikanth is good enough to give us an understanding of the enormous efforts taken in framing our constitution and how comprehensive a document it is. This is significant today since we are becoming more and more ignorant of our rights, freedoms and duties and all we care about is how to get a passport to 'Quit India'.

4) Hot, Flat and Crowded World by Thomas Friedman- Although the title suggests its a sequel to Friedman's highly acclaimed 'The World is Flat', this book is actually an independent work on the issues- economy, environment, education- the world is facing currently. Written during the Global Financial Crisis, this book initially talks about over utilisation of resources, out of control responses of both market forces and nature. It then goes on to how we need to wean away from fossil fuels, invest in renewable energy and improve the capacity of our people and pursue technological development. If 'The World is Flat' describes where the world is now, then 'Hot, Flat and Crowded World' talks about where the world should go and what it must do to get there.

5) Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani- The book is divided into ideas that have arrived, ideas that are becoming popular, ideas being debated and those ideas that have not received sufficient attention in spite of their imminent importance. By dividing the book in such a manner, Nandan Nilekani takes us through the past, present, future of India and what we should for a better future. He presents ideas that have arrived and their widespread positive impacts as strong arguments for embracing change, casting away our reticence towards new ideas and shows what are the areas where change is urgently required.

6) Everyone Loves a Good Drought by P. Sainath- published in 1996, it is based on the author's experience while documenting and studying the issues faced by the tribals in India. He covers the states of Bihar (mostly parts of present day Jharkhand), Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, the plight of tribals who have been neglected by the state and its bureaucratic machinery, or worse, exploited by those who should be protecting them. Although it does not talk at length about naxalism (currently called left-wing extremism), it hints at how and why the movement has struck a chord with those who have been left behind by the development band wagon.

Most of these are not easy reads since they require us to dwell upon the issues that have been mentioned. Perhaps that is what a book should do, stimulate our thoughts and make us ask questions about ourselves, the world and think about the truth without bias and preconceived notions. I found them enjoyable and was quite a learning experience and hope some of these books stimulate more thought, ideas and change.

My New Year's Resolution..Nay, Hope

I heard a remark that no one changed because they were given good advice. Even if the advice is exactly what they want to hear or need to hear, the chances of change are minimal. Young people are often the receivers of generous amounts wisdom from elders. But young people are also considered rebellious, hot-headed and lacking in respect of elders.

I take the case of disrespect while giving and taking advice. When given liberally, to cause a change, it rarely works with young and old. Both will resist the change, whether it is for good or bad. Rebellion is the name given when youngsters do this, whereas the excuse for the elderly to change their set ways is 'you can't teach an old dog, new tricks'.

We cannot be changed from outside, it has to be from within. We cannot force ourselves to change either without any real conviction, it has to be a natural process. But for our own benefit, we must change when needed and be flexible to accept changes. This will require an open. flexible and patient mind.

Why is it that we do not accept and embrace change even when the need for it is obvious? IT is so because any change will question our existence by challenging our present set of ideals and the world we have built around us and our beliefs. Adapting to a new world, ideals and beliefs is not the only hard step. Surviving the onslaught on these ideals itself takes a lot of courage and will, since our lives are built on and around these.

We all live in our own shells, built with our own ideas and beliefs, giving us a view of the world that we want to see- a view which hides more than it reveals and a view which shows makes us see many things that are not there instead of what is there. We react to any such change with hostility exactly because of the threats to this comfortable place that we have built for ourselves. Anyone who talks about a different part of the whole truth must be wrong, must be mad and has to be silenced. That person must be brought to conform with what the accepted view of the other individual or society is.

The truth has no place, especially the inconvenient kind since it will be met with  a level of hostility that will attack, insult and discredit (sometimes even threaten) the individual who speaks the truth. It is this hostile response that must change when someone or something questions our ideals and beliefs. An open mind that tries to understand and analyse, a flexible mindset which can change when necessary and respect the other person and their opinions can enable us to survive and adapt in an ever changing world. But more importantly, a knowledge of this fact will also enable us to appreciate the difficulties faced by others when confronted with change. We need to do this if we are not to become isolated systems that hold obsolete views to be drowned by the speed of our times and pulled down to the dark, irretrievable depths by the pressure of change.

It is fine to say all this, but am I taking a 'holier than thou' stance by advising without doing anything about it in my own life? It is not advice since no one is going to really see this. These are the mad ramblings of someone who realised these facts from experience and is trying to make use of this realisation for a peaceful life. No one ever changes, it is only 'I' that can change. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, I have not been a good friend, I have pissed of a lot of my friends and room-mates and acquaintances. In fact, I am the opposite of Chandler from FRIENDS- at first this guy might seem the nice kind, but that is only a mirage. The real picture has been quite bad I am afraid. I wish to change, I want to and I hope I can know how to do it soon and implement it. It is not a New Year's Resolution, but part of the hope that I hold out- for a better year, for a better world for all.

One incident, one thousand opinions

There is a saying in Malayalam that 'even if the mother is slapped, there are two views'. There have been several opinions going around the rape that took place in Delhi and the protests it sparked off. The facts are that the woman deserves justice, I hope she recovers and the perpetrators are punished and all of these happen soon. It is also obvious that women in our world are treated as inferior to men and this attitude must change, which is not possible through legislation but can happen only through women empowerment, independence and respecting women- a change that all of us must embrace.

I would like to dwell on some of the views that have been expressed. Internet and avenues like blogs have meant that everyone has their own opinion and unique insight into every event and can express them, but I cannot fail to mention the fact that internet also gives vent to a large amount of passionate, one-sided and ill considered stupidity. The sort of comments that appear at the end of each newspaper article and the personal attacks on the author suggest a good measure of intellectual poverty that causes the individual to swear, insult or personally attack the author. Internet is only a medium- it can transmit good as well as bad, bigotry as well tolerance, stupidity as well as wisdom! I have tried to be free of these blinding emotions as I write this, but writing without passion could perhaps be like sex without love.

I noticed a view going round that it is because the victim of the rape hailed from the middle class in Delhi the protests have been so vocal and evident and that such crimes occur all over the country without any attention and fail to evince any amount of protest. I must admit this is true- Soni Suri, Women in Manipur and J&K, incidents in Rajasthan etc have not lead to any protests of the same scale. But does it mean the protests were unfair and illegal? Does it mean they were fighting only for the urban middle-class woman? I do not think so. This incident woke them up and brought them together, just like the death of one man brought together thousands to demand for regime change in Tunisia.

It is true that they did not specifically mention or call for justice to victims of alleged state sponsored rape that occur in many places and victims in remote parts of the country. But this is an opportunity to fight for stricter enforcement of laws, stricter legislation ("Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill" is still in the doldrums), faster trials and to sensitise police personnel to the mental trauma undergone by a victim and to treat them with respect rather than viewing them as the culprit. This is also an opportunity for us to combat not just rape, but the unequal status that women are subjected to in the country and to make it our priority to treat them with respect and even admiration, for all of us are the result of the pain, anxieties and sacrifices of a woman.

I also read this and since I cannot reply to the author directly, I am posting my reply here-

The protests of Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and the current one at Delhi came about not because citizens wanted the government to make concessions, but merely wanted an honest, responsive and effective government that could protect its citizens without robbing them. There was and still is corruption of mind-boggling proportions in our country, women are still treated unfairly and rapes do happen- these are facts, not allegations leveled to pull down the government. True, some amount of political self-serving happened at some of the protests, but if the government had acted before letting the situation deteriorate, we would not have had Baba Ramdev protesting on stage, we would not have had citizens digging in for over 2 days at Vijay Chowk and policemen and protestors injured unnecessarily. If protesting against a government that is failing in its duty is chaos and anarchy, it should be welcomed and it is the duty of a citizen as much as their right.

Mr.Khare also fails to understand that any protest that has a legitimate reason behind it will gather more support and if not addressed by the government in a civilised manner, it could grow violent and stronger. But it should definitely not be allowed to grow in a violent direction. But there is a difference between doing this by engaging with the protestors and just beating them off. But the crowd in Delhi were not just about castration or death penalty for rapists(there were definitely calls for this form of punishment) and definitely not about bringing down the government, but was a protest against a government that has failed half the population of our country. The people are smart enough to know it cannot be fixed quickly, but they also know not doing anything or mere tokenism will simply not do anymore.

Therefore, it is upto the government to do its job and to the people to protest and mobilise themselves if their government is failing the nation. It is then upto the government to rectify itself and talk to the people and protestors to tell them what they are going to do about it and earnestly go ahead with changing itself and working for the nation. But merely resorting to the power of the state against legitimate demands of the people and then lecturing about the need for order and rule of law is just a lame excuse to evade and escape true culpability.

In this current instance, the protestors were first met with water cannons, teargas and lathi charges. This only hardened their resolve to get an answer from the government and a cursory statement would not pacify a crowd that was punished for demanding justice. Along with a statement on what it was doing in the current case, government's stand and measures to improve safety for women, the government should have also explained the harsh steps it took to disperse the crowd rather than labelling the protest as a harbinger of anarchy and chaos.

I would like to add that the crowd did follow its emotions and the anger was definitely evident as some of the demands were not fully reasonable and well thought out. Calling for capital punishment and castration is clearly one step too far since none of these act as deterrents but will only serve as revenge- this is different from justice. We need to understand that in almost 90% of the rape cases, the perpetrators are known to the victim. What this means is that there will be tremendous pressure on the victim by family or friends to not file charges since a person they know will be send to the gallows. There is also the argument that since the perpetrator knows he will be sentenced to death anyway, it might be better to silence the victim- both are strong arguments against the death sentence.

But that does not negate the fact that the protestors did ask for timely justice- faster investigation, speedy trials and convictions. Promptly registering cases and investigations involving scientific methods and concluding the trials on time will mean not only that there is justice but also will change the feeling of impunity that men can get away with rape since the conviction rate is an abysmal 3%. This step will reduce rapes as well as provide justice to the victim. But this is a radical step and will require police reform and judicial reform, needed not only in rape cases, but also in our entire police force and judiciary.

The protestors should have also asked for more sensitive handling of the victim by the police as well as the medical staff, trained policewomen to register rape cases and meet the victim, treating the victim with respect and compassion and a rapid cure to the misconception held by many that women invite rape and their dressing has a lot to do with it. But what if rape is a state sponsored weapon used against its own people as in the red-corridor, north-east and J&K? Here too justice must be delivered if our nation must justify itself as the world's biggest democracy. More policing is required in certain areas, not in numbers but in their ability to respond to citizen who are under threat.

They also sought social change by questioning the way we view women as mere objects to be controlled and used. They asserted the independence of women and men did come out in support of these ideas- conveying a message that there are honest, decent men and we are with you- something the government failed to convey. If discrimination and threats women face right from the womb to the grave is to end, more than anything, it is our attitude that must change. Parents, teachers and society must teach our children that boys and girls are all equal and must respect each other.But before we can do that, we grown-ups must learn that lesson first and practice it in our lives.

Far off from the People

A little over two years ago, a street vendor in Tunisia named Mohamed Bouazizi protested against the municipal official and her aides who seized his wares, in the only way he could in a land that was being ruled by an autocrat for 23 years- he set himself on fire. The wave of protests that it sparked off lead to what has been dubbed as the 'Arab Spring'. In spite of the fact that it has not been fully successful in establishing democracies and answerable governments in the region, that single incident sparked off a series of protests and were met with heavy government force injuring and killing many- to be expected in an area filled with dictators who had been ruling these nations with an iron first for decades.

No one in their right minds would consider these protests as only about demanding a 'judicial inquiry' into the death of Mohamed Bouazizi or about punishing those responsible for his death. These protests were about justice for the entire society, Bouazizi became a symbol for the entire nation and especially for the youth who were struggling in Tunisia under the autocratic regime of Abidine Ben Ali. The protests were about freedom, against tyranny and the heavy hand of the state that could not be tolerated any more.

Last week, India too witnessed protests that were compared to the 'Tahrir Square' protests in Egypt. These protests held near the President's residence and close to the buildings of various Ministries and also the Parliament building demanded justice for not just one person, but for all women. Just like the protests in the Arab world, it was about changing the status quo and not just about one incident. It was not about capturing the criminals who assaulted a woman, but about justice for all our sisters, mothers, wives and daughters. The government failed to realise these truths and reacted in a manner that suggested it was out of touch with the people.

What was the need of a judicial enquiry when the police had already apprehended all the suspects? Why did the government not make any movement for two days and treat it as just a law and order problem when there is a fundamental right to protest? Why could not the President or the Prime Minister defuse the situation by making a clear and bold statement as soon as possible rather than the emotionless statement and banal appeals for calm that it released only two days after the protests? In fact, it beats common sense that at a time when the nation was united in outrage against a heinous crime (quite unlike previous protests which were against corruption in the government), the government did not seize the opportunity to stand with the people and understand their anger.

Even now,attempts are on in certain sections of the media to project that policemen were attacked killed by a violent mob. The protests were highly peaceful with only a few incidents of vandalism and stone-throwing, but most of these too were instigated by police lathi charges and teargas firing. Anyone questioning the protests, their intentions and political motivation has got a highly perverted moral compass since they were only asking for justice and not for resignation or arrest of any political figure. But just like in an autocracy, we have a government out of touch with the people that saw their genuine grievance as just a law and order threat which had to be quashed. Hence the teargas firing, lathi charges and closing down of metro stations. What we saw was the heavy hand of a state repressing an honest, sincere and people driven protest and the protests turned violent only because of the government's refusal to leave their ivory towers and engage with the people.

If the government was sincere and smart, it would have realised crowds that do not have a political affiliation and created by spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment, do not have a well-defined set of rules, demands and a clear leader. They protest not just about one specific incident, but about the horrors plaguing our country. The best way to deal with it, or rather face the situation is to actually listen to the people and understand what they are trying to say. Then come out and make a statement, not read out from a prepared script, that says I understand you, your grievances and we will work together to solve this issue and then putting those words into practice. But to do this, the government must be able to understand the people, not stay away from them while going to them only once in five years. I do not think we have such a government of the people, by the people and for the people, the government response to these protests prove just that.

The Cricket India Deserves

It does not matter whether Sachin retires or not, It does not matter whether we turn out pitches where the ball turns square or rectangle or rhombus or trapezoid! All I know is that the team suffered two white-wash series defeats away and then won an insignificant test series at home against New Zealand, which is not the world's best squad, and now the revenge series against England is level. Sachin or Sehwag or Dhoni, if you do not perform, you should not be playing- it is as simple as that. I guess it is only in Indian politics and in Indian cricket that poor performance is rewarded with more opportunities to play poorly, based poorly on market conditions or lack of options.

So, is there a lack of options? In a nation of one billion people where Cricket is the only sport that gets any media coverage and adulation worth mentioning, we do not have a replacement for one player, we worship that player like a god and believe he has to play on forever. If not us, then those with an interest in keeping him in the team have a free hand to do that. Let us bury the retirement issue there since he is not the only one not performing, it is just that he is the most important player not performing. It is pathetic that we do not give new players a chance and develop them, but instead throw them on to the T20 field through the IPL and turn them into slog-hitters and artillery operators rather talented snipers. It is high time we consider having different squads for different versions of the game and pay all of them well enough so that they don't have to discard one for the other.

The difference between the a 9 wicket victory and a 10 wicket loss is much less than believable-Cheteshwar Pujara, Virender Sehwag, Monty Panesar and Kevin Pietersen. Sehwag fired in the first innings of the first test and his quota for the series is done- he is unreliable, if he fires, he fires. If he doesn't, he doesn't. Call it the natural game or obduracy, this guy is good for one thing and one thing only- hit the ball. Whether it works or not is irrelevant. Pujara failed only in the second innings of the second test and the Indian innings collapsed like a pack of cards. Alistair Cook is not being mentioned here because he played really well in all the opportunities he got. Only a fool would call Panesar the best spinner in world cricket, let alone a legend. He comes nowhere near Warne, Muralitharan or Kumble and yet he was able to make the Indian batsmen walk to the pavilion to his tunes. Pietersen definitely is a talented batsman and he has proved his worth time and again even against an Australian squad at its strength.

What this means is that calling our spinners a failure is mere escapism and silly because the only thing that changed in the England batting is one player and if one player- Kevin Pietersen- can have such an impact on the game, then they deserve it and we do not deserve to play the game. But in our look for excuses to hide our ineptitude, we blame our bowlers who did not do well in spite of a designer pitch. Only two English batsmen bucked the trend, but we could find only one in the first innings and only a half in the second innings of the second test. That is where we failed- our batsmen capitulated against a spin attack that cannot be called deadly and nowhere near the best that has visited these shores. Batting is the strength of our team and yet they have suffered repeated failures and have given nothing for our bowlers to defend, it is here that change must happen immediately. Relying on batting alone does not make a great side, but changes in the bowling department must start at the foundations- identifying talent and encouraging it is being done at the MRF pace foundation. But the pitches in India for Ranji Trophy and normal games are as flat as they can come or just turners, where our fast bowlers die a silent, exhausting death.

The unbridled proliferation of T20 is definitely killing of our best talents too. But then, isn't the money more in T20? Is it because we watch T20 more than test matches (a cursory look at the stands will tell the story) that we are being provided with more of what we want and less of what we deserve? If the death knell of test matches and ODI comes, it is not because people are lacking interest across the world- nothing could have matched the intensity and emotion of the Australia- South Africa series with some stubborn and inspirational defiance by South Africa in the 2nd Test and an emotional farewell to Ricky Ponting in a test dominated by the Proteas- it would come in India first because the administrators think we want T20 more than test matches and ODIs. It is partly true, but we do check the scores (quite regularly) even if we do not watch each and every ball, we do flood to the gates when there is something exciting and would do so more if prices were not so steep and facilities better- who would want to sit in the hot sun for 6 hours and have to look at the electronic scoreboard, if there is one, to know what is happening- and we do appreciate and admire valiant efforts and we do keep the cricinfo tab open even when our managers are lurking in the vicinity.


We like test cricket, especially when guts is on display and does not matter whether it is an Indian team or another one showing its character and teach us how to save a test match from the brink of disaster. We would like to watch T20 when we need some excitement but life is not all about excitement and blind slogging as it also has to do with perseverance, pure quality and leadership. We would like to watch our stalwarts retire with dignity, when they have a fight left in them, not go out silently because there is no other alternative. We want our greats to be replaced by those with better talents and skills, those with a hunger for success and the right attitude for the game. We hope a situation arises where a player who has given his all to the team over two decades is not blamed for the entire team's failure.The team should not have to resort to tricks and manipulating the ground conditions for a victory and we don't want to watch the visiting team beat us in spite of these home advantages. We want quality cricket, not quality entertainment and hair gel or shaving creams, we want pitches where bowlers have a chance and batsmen with skill can meet the challenge fairly, we want a team that can hold its head high even in defeat and players who can face the conditions in any part of the world.

Here is the 1.76lakh crore Mr.Sibal

The government and the relevant political parties have attacked only the financial impact part of the report (Chapter 5) while ignoring other parts like how advice of Minister of Law and Justice and suggestions of Prime Minister to reconsider pricing was ignored, how licenses were issued to ineligible entities, undue advantages given to Swan telecom and non fulfillment of roll out obligations by the new telecom companies (Chapter 4 of the report). Therefore, this post explains only the Financial Impact part of the report.

If someone has the patience and brains to understand the report, it would be easy to realise that it does not state Rs.1.76lakh crore IS THE LOSS. Under Chapter 5 of the Performance Audit Report on the "Issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G spectrum" ( http://cag.gov.in/html/reports/civil/2010-11_19PA/Telecommunication%20Report.pdf ), the financial impact is assessed. It says the following points-

1) The price of Rs.1659 crore was fixed in 2001 at a time when teledensity was low and cost to consumers was high. So a low price would increase accessibility and reduce prices. But in 2008, the situation had changed- the prices were low, there was a steadily increasing demand from consumers and penetration was increasing. Under this situation, the price should have been revised.

2)S TEL voluntarily agreed to pay Rs.6,000 crore to Rs.13,752 crore for 6.2MHz spectrum and increase the amount in case of others offering a higher price. This alone works out to more than Rs.65,000crore and a loss of Rs.53,000crore (the government collected a grand total of Rs.12,386crore based on 2001 price)

3) By comparing the prices obtained in 3G spectrum, considering the demand for spectrum, its scarcity during 2007-2008 and opportunity, the price should have been Rs.1.52lakh crore against Rs.12,386crore obtained. A loss of 1.39lakh crore

4) Swan got license for INR1,537 crore (US$279.73 million) and then it sold 45% stake to UAE based company Etisalat for INR4,200 crore (US$764.4 million). Unitech Wireless, a subsidiary of the Unitech Group, got license for INR1,661 crore (US$302.3 million) and later sold 60% stake for INR6,200 crore (US$1.13 billion) to Norway based company Telenor. Calculation based on sale by Unitech gives a loss of 69,000crore or and that by Swan gives 57,000crore.

The government also allotted to existing operators, additional 3.6MHz (1.8MHz+1.8HMHz) spectrum based on usage, justification and availability at no cost(operator reaching subscriber base of 5lakh or more in a service are - page 24 of the report). To each of the above loss figures, the CAG added price of this additional spectrum. The amount of this loss was based on the recommendation of the Technical Committee appointed by Ministry for Communication and Information Technology for "Allocation of Access spectrum and pricing" that additional spectrum assigned beyond contracted 6.2MHz+6.2MHz should attract upfront charge equivalent to 3G auction price. TRAI also recommended in May2010 for charging the additional spectrum held by operators beyond the licensed quantity. This loss amount is 36,993 crore and is then added to 3. For the 2 and 4, the price of this additional spectrum is calculate at the same rate as that of the contracted 6.2MHz.

 

The loss calculations have been shown above and is taken from the CAG report.

These companies did not invest in setting up infrastructure and marketing, but still got extremely high prices while selling off shares and this was because of the only asset they possessed- spectrum. For companies like Telenor, they have trained manpower and technical know-how to establish a mobile telecom service provider, if they have the spectrum and they paid Unitech dearly for it.

"Audit reiterates that specific value of 2G spectrum could have been discovered only through an efficient market drawn process and in its absence, these are indicators available which give the hints towards the loss Government could have suffered. The revenue realised through auction of 3G at the rate fetched through a market process is highlighted in this report to project the benefits of resorting to an open price discovery process and the value that spectrum could command without compromising with the policy of open competition. The fact also remains that the Government got 1.03lakh crore from the auction of 3G and BWA spectrum against their own estimate of Rs.35,000crore"

This is from the report and what this means is that the auditor is not saying the loss is this much, but is indicating the magnitude of the loss the government suffered when it did not use market forces, which it had infact used in sale of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access spectrum(BWA). This is all the more important since the price fetched at 3G+BWA was almost the three times the estimated price.

So the CAG has not said the government lost 1.76lakh crore and has provided three different estimates of losses. Report also says that for better price discovery, market forces could have been used and when it was used in 3G spectrum auction, the government received an amount greater than its own estimate. It also says that the price received by the government by selling spectrum at 2001 rates is much lower than the real price of spectrum in 2007-2008 and such mistakes should be avoided in the future. It is high time the government ends this charade as it turns a blind eye to what is being said in the report and obfuscates the facts, attacks small parts of the report, denies it in spite of clear and simple evidence along with attacking the credibility of a constitutional authority using high-end rhetoric and puppets fueled by nothing but a lot of hot air.

Shoot the Messenger

Along with the Coal scam, the 2G spectrum allocation had put the government in a tight spot but it is fighting back. First it announced a slew of "reform" to distract people's attention, it is now trying to change the composition of the CAG inspite of the constitution not even envisaging a multi-member body as it had suggested for the Election Commission. The government has also tried to destroy the credibility of the CAG since it cannot remove him from service (his process of removal is same as that of impeachment of a judge of the supreme court) and so cannot punish or coerce him. A JPC had been convened, but by sheer strength of numbers, the government has derailing the process and JPC has done little or no work.

Now, it has brought out a new guy R.P.Singh, retired official to rake up an issue and even he doesn't really know what he is talking about. But by creating a controversy and confusion over the issue, the government can bury it and defend itself. The statements coming through are incoherent (some statements say he is only questioning the notional loss figure, some say the CAG mainpulated the figure, some say he was influenced by Murali Manohar Joshi). Even Sonia Gandhi has made a statement- seems the government is fast when trying to cover up its trail of corruption.


The question is only about the magnitude of the loss and the method of its estimation. There are no doubts about the fact that there was a loss and this is important. The CAG is constitutionally the protector of the public funds and so has to point out even the most minute cases of misuse or loss of funds to the public. CAG report is not a fault finding mission nor is it a fact finding mission alone, it is a report meant to correct previous errors and take adequate action to ensure it is not repeated. It is not the responsibility of the CAG to investigate criminal wrongdoings or corruption and to say the CAG has exceeded his constitutional mandate is tantamount to saying that the use of public money shall not be made public and shall not be scrutinised.

The government is behaving as if the CAG report has only mentioned one thing- there was a loss of 1.76lakh crore. While this forms only a small part of the Chapter 5 of the report dealing with financial impact, the government has highlighted ONLY this part of the report and has been attacking it and is pretending to have destroyed the report's credibility. The media has also given enough attention and airtime for the government's brainless banter. The government has also been mum on the other observations of the report. The report speaks about how advice of Minister of Law and Justice and suggestions of Prime Minister to reconsider pricing was ignored. The report also speaks about  issue of licenses to ineligible entities, undue advantage to Swan telecom and non fulfillment of roll out obligations by the new telecom companies (Chapter 4 of the report)

A government that has been reluctant to make any probes into the really serious allegations and obvious cases of its own misconduct, corruption and mistakes is now going to constitute a probe against the CAG. This is blatant misuse of power, arrogance and clear attempt to fool and misguide the people. In spite of all the clear evidence, the government is sticking to one aspect of the report- the notional loss figure presented in the report. Rather than investigating the fact that there was a loss, rather than analysing why the recent round of auctions went awry, rather than cleaning its own house, the government is simply trying to defend itself and throw mud on constitutional authorities that are meant to point out the government's flaws and ensure accountability.

These attempts by the government are a loud declaration that we will not abide by the rules, we are not accountable to anyone and we will do as we please. We will do whatever we can to hold on to power, we will try to fool the people, will never admit our mistakes and will not make any effort to serve the public. We can wake up someone who is sleep, but never wake up someone pretending to be asleep. The government knew what it was doing while throwing away scarce natural resources, we all ought to know why it happened and how it happened too.

But what is beyond doubt is the fact that there was a loss and only the amount of the loss is being questioned. This issue is never highlighted by the parties or by media eager to report on issues (sometimes in a biased manner) and sensationalise them. The loss amount estimate would definitely vary but a 2,700 crore loss estimate is stupid and too low. In the next post, I have explained the CAGs calculation of losses and one glance at it would enable all of us to given an answer to Kapil Sibal's question 'Where is the 1.76lakh crore?'

The details on the CAG report, myths about it, some important info about and government onslaught on the constitutional authority are given in these links-

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/cag-six-answers-to-clear-doubts-and-misperceptions/article2647710.ece

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2568360.ece

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/continuing-onslaught-on-the-cag/article3929560.ece

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3836708.ece?homepage=true

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-government-is-on-the-wrong-wavelength/article4116401.ece?homepage=true

Intelligent Honesty

In the Season 5, Episode5 of TV Sitcom Big Bang Theory, when Howard asks Raj and Sheldon whether it is true that they were sick of him always mentioning his trip to space, Sheldon says yes and Raj says no. Sheldon then goes on to say that they had different approaches as he was going for helpful honesty. Perhaps the world needs a bit more of Sheldon's honesty, perhaps that might solve a lot of communication gaps and arguments and pretence.

I do agree that it cannot happen all of a sudden- certain areas like international politics and diplomacy, our own politics, offices etc might remain so. But what is the need of dropping hints, snide and nagging remarks among friends and in close relationships? This is where honesty should come in first, not to give people a rude awakening and question their own self, but to be better friends and to build stronger relationships based on openness and honesty where each one helps the other and stays with the other.

But it must spread beyond that, not to give others a piece of our minds or to destroy their worlds, but to tell the cold, hard truth for mutual benefit. The obstacle sometimes is our belief in not making a person feel bad and being nice to them. Even a Malayalam proverb says that inconvenient and uncomfortable truths are best avoided. The mother of a friend of mine asked me whether I was good at being tactful and diplomatic since I was preparing for the civil service. She said it would be prudent to be so when handling politicians. This is when I remembered having read that the duty of a civil servant is to give unbiased, objective and fact-based views and opinions to the political executive. But this was thrown away by many and the genuflection and pusillanimity of such civil servants have been severely criticised.


Civil servants need to give honest, straightforward and objective advise. Their opinion must not be circumscribed by values (does not mean it should be completely neglected since the fact-value dichotomy is practical only in theory) since it is upto the political executive to give more weightage to values. But the benefits arising from giving advise that would be considered good or pleasing and the resultant entry into the good books have meant several civil servants become humble servants and sycophants. The really smart ones would give the advice, clothe it in sweet words and would express their views without having to sacrifice their morals and principles and yet not invite grudge or enmity. This type of disguise should be accepted perhaps. So would the disguise needed to correct and convince a team-member/team-mate until the work is done since resentment and ill-will can hamper the work. A threadbare evaluation could perhaps be done after the work has been completed.

What this means is that pure honesty and the blunt truth is more a mark of poverty in creative thinking whereas complete disguise and cover-up signifies lack of moral courage. We need morality and courage which is aided by wisdom and creativity to achieve the full and proper effect. There is no point in using disguises all the time, the truth has to come out. So when all tact, hints and snide remarks fail, I think it is better to just go with the blunt facts. But when it is brought out is as important as the how- when the person is in a good mood, when the work is done and it is time to analyse, when personal safety is assured and the other person's situation is also considered.

But currently, the interest in saving a person's face, fear of retribution along with greed means that honesty takes a back seat. Add to it our general lazyness and reluctance to exert our brains, it is difficult to get honest opinions and analysis. Suppose a person actually gives honest opinions and airs views and criticism independently, contempt and even hostility follows. This not only prevents the person from being honest, but the fear generated also drives others into submission and they easily conform to societal norms. So along with wisdom, courage and creativity, handling society and its criticisms also is essential to honesty.

'Satyameva Jayate' should become more than just our national motto, but also the basis of our government's functioning. It is hard to stay honest, it is even more difficult to begin to be honest and straightforward (I say again, not the naive or blunt honesty, but the sensible and intelligent honesty that I have described above). Still, a beginning has to be made and the best place to do it is with people close to us, they should be able to accept us for what we are and stand our newly found sense of honesty. If this can spread and the world becomes a little bit more honest with itself, inspite of the difficulties, I believe it would well worth the effort because in the end, truth always wins.

High Impact Exams- Analysis and Recovery

For the last 3weeks, there has been little along the productive side except 10days of working out, lot of sleep and most importantly chill out and then freak out about what would happen in the future. I would be lying if I said the exam has not had an impact on me and for sometime, I thought it was just me, that it was just my usual habit of being apprehensive and nervous about everything, but realised that almost everyone who takes this exam is just as scared and apprehensive. It has been difficult to do anything that requires brain work, not because there are no motivations since I have done a lot of things without any motivation. It is only because UPSC civil service exam was high impact and I would like to figure out how and why the hangover is still not wearing off.

I have faced tougher exams with averages around 20%, highest score was near 50% and everyone was swearing at the person who set the paper. We felt they were trying to prove a point, it was almost a vendetta. This has happened a lot of times too. I have also faced exams where I have been downright pathetic (10 out of 75) but there were people who were disappointed they would get only 70  out of 75. There have been exams where the syllabus was simply too vast to cover for a normal human being and yet in none of these situations have I experienced the sort of fear or apprehension that I currently feel.

I have written exams that have determined my future- AIEEE, JEE, BITSAT and I have been pathetic in some, decent in a few and been depressed due to my own failure. I have faced the uncertainty too since results were out only after a couple of months. I had spend two years preparing for these entrance tests and yet nothing compares with the impact that the civil service exams have had. In fact, the dedicated preparation for civil service exams lasted for just 7months. Even though the gap between each stage is only 3months, it adds up to a process that takes well over a year and that nearly exhausts our patience.

Over 4.5lakh people apply for civil service and only 2.5lakh take the prelims and then only around twelve thousand qualify for mains. So the number of people applying wasn't highly significant. One could say that those who qualified for the mains exam were highly competitive and I have not competed with such high numbers. The only similar experience being the battle against 600 batchmates during the first two years in college and a large majority of them were extremely competitive.

Chemistry was a subject that I was very used to and perhaps the only time in college I put my heart and brains into a subject. It did bring a lot of success and happiness to me and so preparing for Chemistry optional paper wasn't a colossal task. The essay paper too was not totally new to me thanks to my habit of blogging, pointless free writing and rambling on about even insignificant issues. But there was preparation practice required for these too, adding to the over all impact.

This how the impact took shape, not on their own or all of a sudden- they added up to form one huge complex force- a huge syllabus, long gestation period, competition, life altering experience and the difficulty in syllabus have not come together at the same time ever before. However, the major impacts came from a few issues that I have not faced before.

The syllabus covered was definitely vast, with General Studies alone enough to drive a person into insanity. The mere fact that it has no specific syllabus except vague statements like issues of current national and international importance, science and technology meant that one had to swallow a lot of information and analyse them. Public Administration was entirely new to me and had to start from scratch here. I was then informed that rbrn those who have been teaching public administration for over 30 years haven't become experts in the field and cannot comprehend it fully. Add to it the issues of Indian public administration, its evolution and the challenging times we live in, the labyrinth made me lose my mind at times. Another challenge was about writing 2 exams of three hours each every day and that too on consecutive days. It was physically draining, but the scheduling made it a bit easier. After GS on the first day, non-evaluative language papers on the next day meant little pressure and the essay paper as the lone exam on the third day gave a little breathing space for public administration two days. Chemistry was a good 10days later and this meant even though the schedule was challenging, it was not a harrowing experience.

After the exam, it is the fear and apprehension that remains and the extremely scary worst case scenarios. These too add to the impact through regular aftershocks. Thus, the coming together of a lot of small incremental factors and a few major factors mean that the exam has an impact that does not easily wear off. In fact, I am glad that there is a 3month break before the next stage because for the last few months, it has just been about me- me wanting to do the exam well, me wanting to study a lot, me spending most of my time reading and writing, me being aloof from everything, me giving up a lot of things that I like, me, me and me. I even lost focus of why I want join the civil service in the first and it too was infiltrated by the "me, exam" obsession.

It is time to get back to shape, literally and figuratively, since I have gained not just a few extra kilos. Need to get back to quizzing, novels, movies, but most importantly if I am to get what I want or rather be what I want and do what I can because I deserve it, I have to gain back why I want to do this and only that can make all this effort and hardship worthwhile.

Optionals, Fear and Madness

I have no tales to tell and the tales I want to tell do not want to jump out on to a screen, but they want to appear on paper. It wants to be struck off, over written, torn off and thrown away and then take shape- a poetic way of saying I want to write and not type.But do indulge me for what is to come is far worse than what has been said.

I would like to talk about Public Administration and Chemistry, to be more specifics, the similarities between the two subjects apart from the fact that they were my optional papers for civil service exam. Do not fear a tirade about how my exam went, it is not significant but the level of madness and even stupidity that was the entire venture would be clear if you read on.

Firstly, Chemistry and Public Administration are about developing theories to suit observations. Then, theories explain these observations which were made on the basis of the very same observations. For example, quantum mechanics and its postulates like nodes (areas where probability of finding electron), spin quantum number are theoretical concepts and have little or even no physical equivalents. But they were developed to explain wave functions and phenomenon like paramagnetism. In Pub Ad, ideas like New Public Management, New Public Administration evolved according to needs and aspirations of the people, it was influenced by the situation on the ground and to address these situations, new ideas came forth.

As the observations change, theory keeps changing too and even going back to old ideas- initially administration was about minimal state involvement but this involvement should be organised and formal. But NPA and NPM concentrated on greater government involvement to address concerns of the time and now, it is back to minimalist government that empowers people and reduces the power and discretion in the hands of government. This is true of any science and in chemistry, the formation of a bond is a theory that has undergone "radical" changes- from the simple dot structure to wave functions of valence shells overlapping to now the entire atomic orbitals interacting with each other. This is an example of not just the evolution of the fields and its rapid evolution, but also theory suiting to fit ground realities. Even the concept of formation of activated complexes in the transition state theory was used to explain observations and where later proved
right (similar to the Higgs-Boson hypothesis)

Wilson and Weber wanted to give a proper structure to government administration and initial theorists like Fayol, Taylor, Follett were the first to propose ideas and build fundamentals. They were then discredited as mere proverbs and were then substituted with a more humanitarian view of the field of administration by Simon, Bernard, Argyris and Maslow. In chemistry too theories were built, discredited and then new ones established- right from the valence bond theory to formation of molecular orbitals.

Another one is about organic chemistry where very few reactions follow a general pattern set for compounds of a particular, the reactions are unique and exceptional and depend on the temperature, pressure, concentration of reactants and products, their stability- in short, the environment. This is what F.W.Riggs said about administration too- one must consider the ecology in which the administration works to get a proper understanding of the administration. As the conditions change, the administration also changes.

This is also an example of inaccuracy in predicting the outcome of reactions using theory. Predicting outcomes based on theories is not an accurate process. This leads us to is the bounded rationality theory developed Herbert Simon- we make decisions based on information available to us about conditions, influences, resources, restrictions and also needs and requirements. But the entire information is not available to us which circumscribes our ability to make decisions or predictions in the case of chemistry. This is very true about organic chemistry and public policy making- we do not know how people will react to a policy, we do not know how the markets, industries, agriculture and common man will be affected by allowing FDI in retail and we are not sure whether it is a positive or negative chance. In chemistry too, what factors influence a reaction or even how exactly a reaction proceeds is unknown to us and the best we can do is make predictions. We can accurately solve wave function for only 4systems since it is almost impossible for us to consider the various electron-electron repulsions and electron-nucleus attractions.

Thus, inability to predict outcome based on theory and so having to use trial and error to fix up a particular theory or decision, incomplete knowledge and inability to comprehend influences and events, making theory based on observations and then proving them (which is of course what science is all about), the evolution of this theory (creation, acceptance, destruction and then new theories), importance of environment and very few possibilities of a general cover it all concept are some of the aspects similar to both Chemistry and Public Administration.

I do not say that this is a sane idea, there will be similarities between all fields however insignificant, narrow and far apart they are. But these are the two subjects that I opted for a mind-numbing series of exams and for which I did prepare. This one is more like an answer to a straightforward question- "You have studied these two subjects. Are there any similarities and if there are, what are they?"

As for my assessment about my exam, it keeps shifting each day. Some days I feel I am in with chance, quite reasonable one too. Some days, for no apparent reason I feel insecure, scared and hopeless. This keeps shifting and I feel hopeless about different papers each day- one day it is GS, another day Chemistry. A week later it is Malayalam and then it is Pub Ad. So the next three months are going to be a cycle of this- incessant mood swings, uncertainty and sometimes even fear and depression.