Book review: India Development and Participation by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze

The book cover

The amazing growth story of India in the new millennium and the countless problems that we face have spawned a cottage industry of books about the opportunities and the challenges faced by the nation. It has become very difficult to get the right book that identifies the challenges in the right perspective and suggests constructive solutions.

One way to choose is by looking at the profile of the author(s). Hence the work by the renowned economists Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen, who also have a good field experience in India was an obvious choice when I came across it in a book fair. The book India: Development and Participation is one of the most comprehensive work on the challenges faced by the nation in the socio-economic front.

Citing statistics and making comparisons with other parts of the world, it talks about the challenges in education, healthcare, women emancipation, liberalisation and decentralisation. The authors expose the myth of the inclusiveness of our growth story by showing that we lag behind sub-Saharan Africa in most of the  health and nutritional indicators. The inter-state disparities is also brought into picture. Each chapter ends with a case study of the state in India that has been able to make definite progress on the subject when compared to the other states. A comparison with China, which has similar problems like us also help us in putting things in perspective.

Are we on the right track?

Even as they applaud China for its success in the socio-economic front, the authors are unambiguous in their disapproval for the authoritarian methods used by then to achieve the ends. By noting the achievements of Kerala which has better indicators than China, they call for local, community based approaches to the major issues.

The chapter on women emancipation talks about an issue that is conspicuous by its absence in other similar discourses: the problem posed by widowhood and prospective widowhood that leads to choices like male-child preference. As the life expectancy of females are higher than males and because of our patriarchal norm of large age gap between the wife and the husband, this is a very serious issue in India.

The current edition was published in 2001. Hence the statistics are old. Interested ones can dig up the latest statistics from the original source that is given under every table. Also having written in 2001, it doesn’t talk about Naxalism which has become a serious problem off late. Being a result of the socio-economic and governance problems in the rural hinterland, an additional chapter on Naxalism can be added in future editions.

Hence as a whole, this book is one of the best written books on the socio-economic challenges faced by India. Written by eminent authors with good field experience, backed by authentic statistics and put in the right perspective, the book is a must read not only for people interested in public service but for every Indian so that we are not blinded by the glitz of our ‘growth’ story and lose sight of the humongous challenges we face.

The Pseudo science

Few pseudo sciences enjoy the kind of popularity and belief as astrology. Although variants of this pseudo science is practiced in many parts of the world, the Indian brand would definitely

Image courtesy the universal press syndicate

outshine its competitors in terms of acceptability. That such a belief system which believes that the fate of a person and his character is determined by the position of celestial bodies at the time of his birth baffles reason. Even naming this brand of superstition as ‘astrology’ with close resemblance to ‘astronomy’ is itself a fraud on science.

From deciding on the compatibility of the bride and the groom to fixing the date to start a journey, from deciding on financial transactions to naming a newly born, it seems all past, present and the future are decided by a few celestial bodies hanging from the sky. Genes? they don’t exist. Which force is used by the bodies to set all these? a mystic force other than the four fundamental forces. BULLSHIT.

What bothers me is not the total absurdity of the subject but how it is accepted by the public including highly educated persons and the high decibel statements made by interest groups that ‘astrology is a science’. Astrology is not only restricted to the hindu community alone. Reliance on it by members of other major communities is also on the increase.

What made me write this post is that i came across a paper prepared by Jayant Narlikar (Founder director of IUCAA) and three others on a simple statistical test on astrology. The full paper is here:

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/mar102009/641.pdf

Its a basic principle of statistics is that only similar entities should be compared. The team rightly chose to compare whether astrology or tossing a coin has a better statistical chance in correctly predicting a particular event. Yes you guessed the result right. The study found tossing outperformed the sacred science of astrology.

Astrology is not a personal superstition but rather its harm is extended to innocent others also. Marriages cancelled after engagements, financial deals cancelled after finalizing the agreement etc are just a few cases. Giving a scientific look to this superstition was widely pursued by the BJP govt during their 1999-2004 term as a part of their divisive hindutva agenda. They went so far as trying to include ‘Vedic astrology’ in the university syllabus.

Superstitions challenge the foundations of our knowledge base and if let free has the potential to destabilize the basic tenets of our social life. While blind faith and irrational social compulsions will keep the believers hooked to it, various interest groups will fight tooth and nail to keep the status quo.

 

 

 

Andamans : The emerald Islands

The last family tour that we had was to the foot of the breathtaking Himalayas in Manali in the summer of 2008. My preparations for the civil services exams meant that we didn’t get time for planning another after that. We decided to plan for a getaway right after my mains. As it would be December, North India was out of the choice. Finally we decided to visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Planning the tour:

We had done all the hotel bookings and had completely planned the tour through Andaman Holidays, a tour agency i found in the internet.  As various ferries have to be booked for the journey to the other islands, it is advisable to book everything in advance through one of the many tour agencies based in Port Blair.

The Islands have a very interesting and an action filled history. A good idea about the island parallel histories, one starting when the first wave of humans moved out of Africa and the other starting with Lt. Blair of the British Navy surveying the island for setting up a penal settlement will enrich the experience of visiting this place. I found this book very helpful and informative in that regard. Our Plan was to base ourselves in Port Blair and visit small islands around it and one other major island for an over night stay. We chose havelock island to be our second destination.

Getting there :

Andaman is connected by sea and air to Chennai and Kolkata only. Both cities are almost equidistant from Port Blair. The sea journey would take around three days. No luxury ships are available and one has to book for cabins in one of the passenger ships catering to the needs of the local population. We had made a similar journey during our trip to Lakshadweep. The cabins were comparable to the coupe in railway coaches and the bathroom was so narrow that it was an ordeal doing your daily routines. Besides, three days would both bore and tire you. So we decided to go by air.

We started on 10th night from palakkad and reached Chennai station on the 11th morning. Forget about freshening up in Chennai central as there is only a small waiting room and a few bathrooms catering to one of the busiest station in India.  You can get volvo buses right at the front of the station. The plight of the bathrooms in the domestic departure terminal in Chennai International airport is also pathetic due to the construction work going on. Hope it will be solved once the construction work ends.

The flight just 2 hours and the Kingfisher flight was both economic and pleasant. As one approaches Port Blair, you can see the beautiful islands as emerald spots on the blue sea. Only a few island are inhabited. Beside, 80% of the land area is under forest cover. So the view is truly breathtaking. Try to get window seats in the flight. We were welcomed by a sudden burst of rain as we stepped out of the flight at the Port Blair airport. Though December is infact the best time to visit the islands and is the peak tourist season, the rains were totally out of schedule this year. The sudden rain did cast a shadow on our plans.

Port Blair

Being volcanic in origin, the topography is more like what you see in a hill station. Its more like you are on the top of a submerged mountain. One can do a few shopping. There are shops run by govt. cooperatives. Try to buy from those. A few museums run by various govt agencies gives you an idea about the marine life and the history of the islands.

The first image that comes to the mind of any Indian when thinking about Andamans is the Cellular jail. The imposing structure, standing on the highest point in the island has become the symbol of the resilience of our national movement. The ASI has done a commendable job in preserving the structure as such. One can still feel the chill of the pain borne by the political internees when walking through the corridors of the jail.

Havelock Island

The next stop for us was the Havelock island which was about 50 kms away from Port Blair. There is a govt operated ferry connecting the two islands. But we chose to go by the private ferry MV Makruzz which was faster and more comfortable.

Turtle shell at the marine museum run by the Indian Navy

Prisoners uniform shown in the museum

The Plaque in the memorial

Freedom fighters memorial

Kaala Pani : The view of the prison wings

The corridor in one of the wings

MV Makruzz

Radhanagar Beach

The beach from another view

Martians at play

Feeding deers at Ross

Lobster

The church at Ross

What remains of the beach

Officers quarters

The tree has almost swallowed the church’s tower

Havelock is a tourist island and is one of the favourite destination of foreign tourist. Being so, everything from the average biriyani to room rent in hotels is costlier than in Port Blair. The stay in Havelock was undoubtedly the best part of the tour. We stayed at the Barefoot resorts. The rates were quite high we went as the season was beginning, but it gives good value if one goes during off-season.

The location of the resort could not have been better. Its located at the beautiful Radhanagar beach. The beach itself is a very long one and only the tourists come to one end of the beach. The resort is towards the other end. So its essentially like a private beach. You can have the whole beach almost for yourself. The beach is bordered by thick lining of trees. The resort is carefully huddled within these trees. The cottages were built with local wood but was highly luxurious. All parts of the resort was connected by stone payments alone and once darkness falls, you are guided only by the small torch kept inside the rooms. We got up early the next day and made it to the beach to find ourselves to be the only living souls in one of the most beautiful beach i have ever been to. I feel that alone justified the otherwise exorbitant rates charged by the resort.  We were bewildered to find the whole beach dotted by small clusters  of sand balls forming amazing patterns. It was as if the sea goddess had created ‘kolam’ with sand or martians had visited the beach in the night and left their ‘signs’. But the sight of the small crab-lings crawling out of the tiny holes at the middle of each pattern brought me back to reality. The pattern was created by thousands of crabs hatching.

Ross Island

Our next destination was the abandoned British capital of the islands, Ross Island. It is just 40 minutes away from Port Blair in normal ferry. The island was the administrative capital and the military HQ of the islands until the Japanese occupation in 1942. The island and its structures were heavily damaged by allied bombings during Japanese occupation. Although British forces reoccupied the islands after the surrender of Japan in WWII, the Island never regained its lost glory. Following independence, the new Indian administration shifted the capital to Port Blair.

The Ross island is today under the authority of the Indian navy. Navy divers competed with the ferries in crossing the channel. A portion of the island is cordoned off as naval area. The island is well maintained and a winding pavement connected all structures. The british structures have not been restored and is in a highly dilapidated situation. There was very little to be restores after the incessant bombing by the allied forces. Huge trees have grown on the walls and one wonders how long the walls would stand. There is a very small cafeteria in the middle of Ross. That was by far the smallest restaurant that we found offering lobster. So we ordered two for lunch. There is a small beach on side of the island. But it has been rendered unfit for swimming by the 2006 Tsunami.

Andaman lies at around 92 degree longitude but the time followed is IST measured at 82 degrees. Hence the day in the islands in between 5.30 in the morning and 5.30 in the evening. So dont jump out of the bed seeing the suns rays coming in through the windows. It might still be too early in the morning. Also prepare for pitch black by 5.30 pm and plan accordingly. As I noted in the beginning, Andamas is a must visit place both for its beauty and its unique identity and place in our history. The roads and tourist centres were well-kept and the people were nice. I rate the emerald islands as the third most beautiful place i have been to after Lakshadweep and Manali

The Miracle of Calcutta

Kolkata saw the worst of the communal riots before 1947 including the one on August 16, 1946, the infamous direct action day called by the Muslim League which sealed the fate on a united India. So when the date for the costliest amputation in the history of mankind was nearing, leaders feared that the flames of communal riots in Bengal would tear India apart. But Mountbatten didnt have forces to spare for Kolkata.

The whole of the Frontier force was deployed in Punjab and NWFA. When the Radcliffe line was announced, the relatively peaceful Punjab which hadnt seen any major communal clashes in the past went up in flames. As the Frontier force watched helplessly, around half a million were butchered. But Kolkata remained peaceful. Initial bursts of violence quickly died out. It was a one man army….a frail, half naked man in his late 70s, achieved through prayer meetings what battalions of armed soldiers couldn’t…..

Its said that its difficult to control a group a people, but when it becomes a mob its almost impossible. Gandhiji didnt give any elaborate talks or offer any rewards….He went into self penance of fasting and called prayer meetings. Acts as simple as that could change the mind of a murderous mob and caused them to go back. An incident of this scale would have never occurred in the history of mankind.

This might have been one of the many incidents that prompted Einstein to say, “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth”.

Identity politics in India

I wrote this for the college magazine. Its my views of identity politics which though highly dangerous are universal

Fear is one of the most powerful weapons to control humans. Of all the countless fears and phobias that humans are susceptible to, the most powerful are the ones that can be classified under the category ‘fear of the other’. It has its genesis from the survival instinct of humans to form groups or clans among people with similar interests. The earliest of the groups were formed for improving efficiency in hunting. The groups gave them safety in the highly hostile surroundings in which they lived then. Any potential disruption to these groupings was viewed with scepticism and later with outright hostility. Thus the sense of identity and hostility towards the other is as old as humans themselves. But we have come a long way from the hunter/gatherers we were. Moving out of Africa, the modern man moved far and out and in the process developed new traits, survival skills and looks. Only the hidden messages coded in our genetic makeup links all of us to the small group in Africa that diversified to become what we are now. From that initial identity, we created new identities: on the way we talked, the way social norms were set, the way we bowed in front of the all powerful, the way we dressed etc. These identities, some as old as humans themselves or some just a few decades old have become major rallying points for politicians to pursue their ends.

The Indian Identity

As a civilization we have never ceased to grow. Whether it be invaders or refugees fleeing persecution in far off lands, we have always made it a point absorb the good things they brought in and thus renew our cultural gene pool. The result was the creation of multifarious identities of being Indian. The question ‘what makes you an indian’ will get you answers numerous as pollens in an orchard and as varied as flowers in a garden.  So what exactly makes us Indians? Rather than answering that question, It will be easier to jot down points as to what does not completely define us as a nation.

We are not a single geographical entity. The geograpjical entity is the Indian sub-continent. But large parts of it are currently not part of our country and some others never were. Even when Burma was integrated as a part of British India in 1886, it held on to its individual identity. The Indian National Congress in its Poorna Swaraj declaration in 1929 had made it clear that Burma will not be part of free India. Afghanistan maintained its tribal identity throughout history and is still living up to its image as ‘the graveyard of empires’.

Contrary to popular belief, we have never completely come under a single administration either. The Guptas, Mauryas and the Mughals integrated and ruled over large swathes of territory that would become India later. But none of them could rule over the entire land. Large parts of south and north east India remained outside their rule. Even when India was politically unified under the raj, the British only ruled less than 60% of the land. The remaining was ruled by princes under the suzerainty of the British crown. When we won independence in 1947, we didn’t inherit a single india, but 14 provinces which were directly ruled by the British and 535 princely states. Also contrary to popular beliefs, the national movement didn’t give us a single identity either. The Indian national Congress was active in the provinces alone. Although the congress had some of the most illustrious leaders like U.N Dhebar and others coming from princely states, it was the congress policy until 1939 not to organize any mass movements in the princely states. But they took memberships from the princely states who were active in movements throughout the country. These people spread the modern ideas of freedom and equality in the princely states. The beacon of reform and freedom was carried by regional parties that were independent of the major national parties.

Given the way in which India was inherited from the british, a reorganization for admistrative convenience was one of the foremost priorities. After a lot of debates and commissions, it was decided in 1956 to reorganize the nation on linguistic basis. So can language compartmentalize us into rigid identities? We had 14 states based on 14 official languages then. But the number of languages that are in the eight schedule of the constitution now is 22. Besides these 22, there are innumerable languages spoken on regional basis. Even in areas in which the same language is spoken, the regional diversities can be mind boggling. The pace, the style and the vocabulary can be so varied that one may fail to comprehend a person from the same linguistic region but speaking a different regional variety. But on a broader scale these thousands of languages can be classified into 5 root categories.

Identity politics in India

Given these factors, identity is a fluid concept in India. There are no clear cut definitions or boundaries. Every person belongs to a minority in his own way. Still inspite of the fact that we have so many identities and inspite of the fact that theses identities are not always water tight, politics of identity have found its roots in the country and flourished, sometimes leading to disastrous consequences. Even the momentous event of the birth of free India was marred by violence and a refugee crisis that has few parallels in recorded human history.  Thousands of riots small and big has happened in our country ever since. There are even political parties thriving exclusively on the concept of a particular identity.

On close perusal it can be seen that all these political parties follow similar strategies to gain foothold. In the first stage, the identity is glorified citing examples from our rich history and our heritage. Together with this, mild skirmishes are made at other parallel identities to reinforce the supremacy of the particular identity. The next phase is the fear psychosis part when people are constantly reminded that all parallel identities pose a continuous challenge to our identity and hence must be resisted. Both the Hindu Maha Sabha(1915) and Muslim league(1906) gave possible hostile takeover by the other religion as the reason for their formation and existence. The final phase is the phase of outright hostility in which the party consolidates its base and calls for the complete extermination of the ‘other’.

Its not so difficult to find the hollowness in the arguments of the political parties. Its more so true in the case of India. But that doesn’t give us any room to lower our defenses. The fact that mass hysteria can be imposed even in a modern developed society was brutally demonstrated in the case of Nazi Germany. With further cultural assimilation and ‘flattening’ of the world, questions of identity can easily be converted into powerful weapons. The first step towards preventing identity blowing out into serious scales is to understand our unique history and accept our differences.

The diversity of the country is a constant reminder of the richness of our civilization. It is undoubtedly our greatest strength. Sixty years of democracy have taken us to a point from which regaining past glory and richness is a goal that is within our reach. In the process, our greatest strength will be the collective energies of our people. The lessons learnt from the pitfalls and blemishes should never be forgotten. India is more than the sum of its parts. We should accept and celebrate the multifarious identities that we simultaneously possess and the unique thread of being Indian running through those seemingly conflicting identities. If we can show the resolve to do this, the future is undoubtedly ours.

 

Delhi metro: a world class engineering feat

The first thing that you notice as you enter the national capital, either from hazrat nizzamudin or from the Indira Gandhi airport is the elevated and electrified tracks of the delhi metro. The former chairman of the konkan railway corporation has worked magic again by completing this infrastructure challenge right in the heart of the capital ahead of schedule. The work of phase 3 and 4 are progressing at steady rates and when the mammoth project is completed in 2011 it will be larger than the London metro in size.

Quite contrary to the Indian stereotype, the whole network is world class and can be considered one of the best. As i was staying in karol bagh one of the busiest markets in delhi a short walk from my place of stay with guidelines by locals took me to the karol bagh station of the metro. It is an elevated portion of the track. Multiple escalators take you to the elevated station. Ticket system is token or card and you have to show it to a card reader which will open an automated gate which gives you access to the platforms. This system virtually eliminates ticket less travel or traveling with expired passes which is so ubiquitous in the mumbai metro. The most striking thing is a customer care center in each station. It was the good mannered person in that office who recommended me to take a ticket to indraprastha, which was five stations away and which would take me through both underground and elevated sections of the track, when i told him that i was a tourist and i just wanted to get the feel of the metro. Al though the ticket reader is a bit of a headache for the novice, the platforms are quite easy to interpret as each of them took you in different directions. The train came smoothly into the station. Contrary to Mumbai metro which has cabs protruding into the platform, there is a small gap between the cab and the platform.

I went in through the automated doors. The doors closed and the train started moving in a few seconds. The cab was completely air conditioned. As it went in a straight route it had no pilot or any other railway staff. The cabins were spacious and quite comfortable. A voice announcement system gave warnings and information regarding the approaching stations. The night view of the city from the elevated track was beautiful. Opposite to this the underground section offered no view but it was a good experience traveling for the first time. With no interesting view outside i looked inside the cabin to see the home going people after a days tiring work. How much better and relieving would it be for them to travel so fast home without the noise and smell of the busy city. In the Indian scenario it is always the journey back home that is the most tiring thanks to our outdated transport network. It would be so better for the city folk to tarvel so comfortably in ac cabs, something that an ordinary citizen would not have dreamt 10 years back. In less than 15 minutes i reached indraprastha. The automated system warned me to take care of the gap between the cab and the platform. As I got out and headed towards the escalator to reach the ticketing counter to get my ticket back to the original station, i looked back at the train which had already started to accelerate back to its original station thinking of the change that was spreading through our cities. The metro is just one of the many edifices of the new, changing India which is riding on the strength of its masses and the hopes of the emerging new generation. We need more projects of similar nature across the nation, cutting across political opposition, government red tape with the people in charge showing character and shrewd will if we have to make an everlasting mark in this competitive world.