d. We chose to

The Mint Quick Edit today (24th Feb) is titled The Slumdog in all of us. Quite topical I must say.

There are striking parallels between the story of Jamal— the slumdog who became a millionaire—and resurgent India. Both have faced ample adversity and yet strived to break out of the dark circle of poverty.

Well, with a statement like that, who can disagree? The economic liberalisation is bearing fruit and we are striving to break out of poverty. The current economic slowdown in India (read slowdown and not recession) is a minor blip in our story. We are here to stay. Yipee! Applause!

Now that we have established the feel good factor, Mint goes further ahead and makes a candy sweet statement to pander our egos.

Be it our technology companies or the neighbourhood chaiwallas, Indians can be as innovative and street-smart as Jamal.

Now, we know this too, don't we? The example of technology companies is something that no one would debate. (I would like to, but that is for later.)

And here comes the finale.

Ask yourself the question posed at the beginning of the film, though in the national context. The boy (country) wins because: (a) He cheated; (b) He is lucky; (c) He is a genius; (d) It is written.

The answer you pick will reveal a lot about how you view India.

Why not the option of (e) We chose to (f) Because We can (g) We did not mean to. Mint could have guided us on how we should view India by giving us the choice of (e) We chose to. But it lost a golden opportunity and wastefully pandered our already bloated egos.

I have mentioned my discomfort with 'the rightful place for us' in earlier post in 2007

Anyways, the point where I disagree is that we have a rightful place in this world which should be given to us. We do not have any rightful place. The only righful place is the place where we want to be and for that we need to work hard. Really hard.It will not be given to us on a platter.

The part which I fear is the fact that this new found self confidence should not turn in over confidence and arrogance. We have not even achieved the tip of the so called iceberg of development. There is a long long way to go and we need to keep going on. While pride in our achievements is required, smugness is an unwanted guest. It is in our interest to stay humble of our achievements and realistic about the long road ahead.

Let is be clear. It is not written anywhere. It is nice to be romantic, to talk about destiny but it would be only shooting ourselves in our foot. Our well-wishers and enemies are engaging in realpolitik for advancement of their national interest. If we do not get real, I am sure there will be no dearth of people to write-off the India story. To borrow a term from cricket - India flattered only to deceive.

To me Destiny is Plan B. We need a vision to create our own future and concrete ideas and plans to get there. While we work to advance our national interest and influence, the touchstone to our success should always be enduring human values of equality, freedom and integrity.

When someone looks back at Indian achievements and progress in 2025, I hope they arrive at the conclusion that it was (e) We chose to as the right answer. Jai Ho!

Republic Day

Happy Republic Day to all Indians, wherever they are in this world.

In its 60th year of the Indian republic, we are still a fledgling. There are corporations even in our own country that have been in existence for longer. We are young, dynamic and vibrant. A nation built on values of peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit.

It is an advantage to all narrow wisdom and narrow morals that their maxims have a plausible air; and, on a cursory view, appear equal to first principles. They are light and portable. They are as current as copper coin; and about as valuable. They serve equally the first capacities and the lowest; and they are, at least, as useful to the worst men as to the best. Of this stamp is the cant of not man, but measures; a sort of charm by which many people get loose from every honourable engagement.
- Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke argues that political maxims are often used as a substitute to truths and the two are often confused with each another. This is then used advance self interest, compromising on values. How true! An observation made over century ago, still holds good. Such little has the political class changed :) And I guess the apathy towards the political class has been institutionalised in our collective memory.

And it is precisely this apathy that we need to change. As JK Rowling puts it best in her stirring Harvard Commencement address (please don't miss the video..)

What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

In this 60th year of We need to shred our political apathy and become active citizens in the political process And especially when it comes to voting. we have 3 choices

a. Not Vote - Continue with our Apathy
b. Protest Vote - Section 49-0 (of no consequence but popular)
C. Vote

A. Not Vote
There is this campaign going on..NOT VOTING. I haven't heard of a more ridiculous idea. It is a propaganda which is completely misaligned to larger interests while being fashionable over lunch conversations that people like me who can afford daily basic luxuries can afford to have . It is lethargy and apathy and nothing more. Election day is more of a long weekend vs. a day when we exercise our fundamental right i.e. to vote. To make our voices heard.

The section that talks about not voting consists mainly of people who can afford private water tankers, security guards and own personal vehicles may not need government for major developmental issues. The majority of this country still needs government for roti kapda makaan bijli. So they will still come out in droves and vote, just like the Kashmir polls turnout ( which was a vote for development ). Imagine if the entire middle class votes, demanding better amenities, you think the political class won't listen? And with the constituencies redrawn and more urban votes, our votes can really make a difference.

Of course, the standard FAQs are thrown about, all politicians are corrupt and no one choice is better than the other. But that is because of our apathy so far. We did not vote. and we paid lip service to accountability. If candidates are bad, let us get together, put up a candidate of our choice, fund his election and demand accountability. Like the municipal elections in Bombay recently where local societies put up their candidates who infact won the election.

B. Protest Vote - Section 49-O.

Section 49-O has been labeled as a 'protest vote'. This is completely false. I would guide you to Mr. Uday Singh's article which does a brilliant job of dispelling the myth.

Briefly, the system in India is designed towards number of votes for a candidate vs. number against or absenteeism. For. e.g. in a constituency of 1000 voters, even if 999 decide to opt for sectio 49-O and one person votes for candidate A then candidate A wins. We do not have a minimum percentage any such criteria. So by exercising 49-O we are infact not utilising our vote properly. And not just that. As it is our voting percentage is 60% and today the winner gets at maximum 15-20% of the total votes of the constituency he is representing. If you do not vote, he or she is likely to get at maximum 5-10% of votes and still represent us. And if a candidate with 5-10% of votes wins then he is more likely than not have predilection towards a community or caste as he would have got their backing.

C. Let us VOTE!
So let us all understand the importance of our vote and cast our vote in this coming election. Lets take our voting percentage upto 70%. And once we have exercised our vote and elected our leaders, let us be active citizens and demand accountability. Let us use RTI act, let us monitor funds usage, track and measure progress in our constituency. Let us get involved and seek answers.

I would like to leave you with this thought. Its time to stand up and be counted.

The Republic was not established by cowards;
and cowards will not preserve it …
This will remain the land of the free
only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~Elmer Davis

Linked from Pragmatic

India's Titanic???

On Slumdog Millionaire ‘phenomenon’, I read an article few days ago paper that how we react to SM will define how mature we are as a society. Yeah right! And especially when I read reviews of SM which say 'A peep into soul of India' I cringe. And this is what Nirpal Dhaliwal from Guardian says

“so many Indians will be upset about a westerner having a better understanding of their country than they do.

The bitter truth is, Slumdog Millionaire could only have been made by westerners.

As an outsider, he saw the truth that middle-class Indians are too often inured to: that countless people exist in conditions close to hell yet maintain a breath-taking exuberance, dignity and decency. These people embody the tremendous spirit and strength of India and its civilisation. They deserve the attention of its film-makers. I have no doubt that Slumdog Millionaire will encourage many more honest films to be produced in India. But they should be ashamed that it took a white man to show India how to do it.”

Am I allowed to pass judgment on this loser? Look at this. SM could have been made by Westerners. Or ‘ they should be ashamed that it took a white man to show India how to do it’. Mr. Dhaliwal, stop sucking up to your bosses at the Guardian. I mean really! Of course, white men know India better. And it took you SM to figure that out. Rigggghttt!

I saw the movie yesterday and it is nothing but a masala movie. It is slickly made with great editing but no way it is the real India. It is as real India as Paris Hilton or Britney Spears is real America. Let me make it clear here that I don't think I alone represent the soul of this country and neither do my experiences. But I represent one aspect of this country, just like people in slums or I-bankers of Nariman point. Also I am aware of the fact that close to 70% of this country live below the poverty line or just above it. But what enrages me is calling ‘poverty and depravity and the spirit of these Slumdogs the soul of this country time and again and again and again while conveniently glossing over the other aspects. If Mr. Dhaliwal says that Indian movies gloss over the ‘underbelly’ then be assured that movies about India in the west pander the ‘underbelly’ glossing over the rest. How sad!

Now, I am sure that there are people who would blame me for being jingoistic simply because the ‘poor India’ is portrayed here. I do not feel any shame or embarrassment, anger or resentment or any such thing. It’s a movie that could have been set in ghettos of Brazil or shanties of Mexico City or in any urban squalor. But what enrages me is the epithets this movie is getting in spite of the ‘glossing’ over.

And here is an example. Interview Mr. Naseeruddin Shan on A Wednesday from HT.

Why wasn’t the film taken to festivals and pitched for international awards?
Neeraj: Ours is not a festival film, it’s only for private consumption. (Smiles)
Naseer: Our producers are lazy chaps. They didn’t want to move their butts from their offices to take the film to international festivals. (Smiles) Jokes apart, A Wednesday should have gone to the festivals but it didn’t because the goras have their own preconceived notions. (Making a face) According to the guys at the Toronto Film Festival, our movie didn’t conform to their ideas about India.

Well, even if Mr. Naseeruddin Shah is exaggerating the ‘Gora’ effect, what does Mr. Dhaliwal, what do you have to say about this?

But you know what, there are so many positives from the movie. If an Indian had made the movie, it would at best be in one category – best foreign movie. But now its in 10 categories. Look at the publicity the movie is garnering. AR Rehman is good in the movie, but it isn’t his best by any count. Roja, Dil Se, Kaanathil Mutham Vittal, Dil Se, Bombay and of course Thiruda Thiruda are one or even two notches higher. But he is getting all the global attention which he rightly deserves and the western audiences will now listen to his other compositions. The other thing that I am happy about is that this is a great business opportunity for India with 10 Oscar nominations. As ARR, put it very nicely, ‘It is a great energy booster for the creative folks in India’. I expect more India based movies, more Indian actors, technicians and musicians getting more opportunities on a larger stage. So let us just enjoy this moment, revel in our awards and move on, glossing over these discussions :P

Edited to Add: Khalid Mohammed who writes in HT has always been one of my favourite movie writers/ critics. His reviews of most Hindi movies were spot on. But after awarding 5 stars to SM, I have just one question for him. If, SM were made in India, by one of the Indian directors, then would you Mr. Khalid Mohammed view it through the same forgiving eyes?

‘Inevitably, that classic forgiveness factor is involved in overlooking several implausible points like the reunion with blinded child beggar. Then there are omissions .. and allowance of a clipped British accent … more co incidences than you could catch in a TV soap.’ Hah! So will you now allow the ‘forgiveness factor’ in all your reviews of Hindi movies?

Edited to add again: Waiting for the media to call SM India’s Titanic soon. Given our history of India’s 9/11 etc.