Thursday, June 26, 2008

SOCIAL SINO-SHOCKS

The recent earthquake in the Sichuan province of China has been very devastating. Thousands of people lost their lives and the terrain has been mauled beyond any recognition. Rivers have changed course and dams have burst. Chinese army is struggling with a war like situation in peaceful times with no conventional enemy in sight. In many places damaged dams are being exploded with ammunition for avoiding greater catastrophes. Thousands of people have been rendered homeless in a country that is considered one of the galloping nations in the global development race. Once again, natural warnings are addressed to those who tend to take Nature for granted while charting out fast track courses for development. And the more divorced one is from natural logic the more severe would be the punishment.

In the all pervading trauma that follows any earthquake there are so many subtle aftershocks that can miss our notice. The devastating earthquake has exposed many basic errors in the social development measures that Chinese had highlighted to the whole world as their own unique ones, impossible for any others to imitate. There is no doubt that China is a special country and they have tremendous advantages as a nation with predominantly one race, one language and one religion. Yet when it comes to translating developmental goals into action in terms of reforms in the society the straight jacket systems can develop chinks. Disciplined people too can come across totally unexpected obstacles while working towards goals set up by their masters. The earthquake scenario in China has thrown up many such situations and we should take note of them for avoiding the same mistakes.

Single Child

One of the sad and striking stories that have emerged from the earthquake scene is about the number of Chinese villages that will be ‘people-less’ after a few years. Several schools have been destroyed and with them the single child from most of the households. It is now too late for many of the couples to compensate for their losses. They are proud citizens who were earnestly participating in the fast track growth of their nation. But suddenly they are at crossroads with nothing to look forward to. Nobody will take care of them in their old age and all their sacrifices are in vain. They heeded to the dictates of a tough regime for accelerating national progress but now they themselves have no future. Raw logic of economics and development has ruined their lives forever. They do not have anything left in this life and many do not believe in rebirths either.

China’s single child policy has been lauded by many as something that only Chinese could decide and implement. Population control is a must for accelerating the progress of any country and it is all the more important for overloaded ones like China and India. Yet when an ‘over-democratic’ country like India attempted to implement their two-child family planning program it was cleverly sabotaged by the organized communities. External and internal agencies worked overtime to use it as an opportunity to cheat the majority and accelerate their own population growth. Enough is enough and now India must learn from catastrophe in their neighborhoods. India must say good-bye to its two-child norm and relieve the majority community from the state-induced inhibition towards larger families. The Indian majority must multiply at a higher rate for the betterment of India in every sense.

Ubiquitous Dams

Building dams anywhere and everywhere is an easy option for irrigating an ever increasing requirement of agricultural land. Unlike in India, where each dam-building project is preceded by reasonable & unreasonable objections and intimidating mass movements, it is a much easier exercise to construct dams wherever required in China which is disciplined and under a strict dictatorial regime. The umpteen number of small, medium and massive dams in every province of China is a proof of this. Environmental and ecological impact assessments are not an essential step in their decision making process. The one and only objective is development for the Chinese nation and for Chinese people. And now we know what happens when the natural terrain is mutilated without any consideration for the sake of development. The natural reaction can be much more devastating than any terrorist attack.

A damaged dam is a much greater threat to the nearby areas than any river in full flood. Chinese army is working in full steam to demolish such damaged dams in dozens. And each demolished dam will give rise to a whole lot of new problems. The flow of river will take newer paths that will call for more rehabilitation of affected people. Thus thousands of people have been rendered homeless by the careless logic of ubiquitous irrigation dams and the entire advantage has been wiped out by one earthquake. It is true that China could meet the food requirement of their massive population much easier than India, but the way they have chosen is now questionable. Natural flow of rivers cannot be hampered just for the sake of irrigating more and more lands for food.

The overall message is now loud and clear. Natural resources, natural patterns and natural logic cannot be tampered with merely for achieving material progress and development. Due consideration has to be given to everything that is related to a natural system or process while attempting to harness it for unintended purposes. Population growth and food production are just two of those natural processes that cannot be manipulated with limited objectives. Nature has its own ways to limit the population and provide food for them. Man-made governments must design their national objectives in line with the natural objectives. And not only the two objectives must match but also the government measures must be subservient to those of the all powerful Nature. No ‘undefinism’ (http://www.pseudodictionary.com/undefinism) can ever overtake the natural pace of development and progress. Any apparent acceleration will always get corrected and that too in very violent fashions. India’s planners must learn from the social aftershocks of Chinese earthquakes.

Friday, June 20, 2008

MYTH OF COMPASSIONATE GOD

Concept of God is the very basis of every religion but it differs vastly between religions. As an integral part of our journey towards salvation, the different religions have defined God to be of different type and kind. There must be a concept of God in every religion and without it, everything about its beliefs and rituals would be meaningless. In all religions God is omnipotent and omnipresent. The difference lies in its other features. In some religions it is feminine and in some others it is masculine. In some it resembles humans and in some others it is quite unlike. In some it is of a particular form and in some others it is formless. And more interestingly, and of more consequence, God has definite characteristics in some that contradicts completely with those in others.

In today’s world, if one is religious it means that one is a follower of an existing established religion. And to be irreligious means that one does not believe in any of the existing religions. But this is not correct. Each one of those who are termed as irreligious may still have their own versions about God, unless of course one is an atheist. An ideal atheist must be one like Bertrand Russell who did not see any reason to believe in any form of God at any stage in his adult life (at least he said so). In a way atheism must also be considered a religion just like zero being considered a number. Perhaps Indian is the only civilization in the whole world which also accommodates true atheism as one of the means to realize God i.e. about its non-existence.

Proactive God

In many of the organized religions of the world, the concept of God is a proactive one. This is very clear from the well known expressions in everyday use among its followers. Most Compassionate God and Most Merciful God obviously refer to someone like us but with unlimited compassion and mercy towards the followers. And that our actions are always under the surveillance of God. Our goodness is rewarded and wrongness punished. But the questionable feature lies in the possibility of compassion or mercy for those who look for it following their ill deeds. To err is human but to look for an escape without any punishment is also equally human. It is this unfairness of humans that is most effectively and efficiently (mis)used by the designers of organised religions. And most people fall for such attractive gimmicks even when it relates to God.

In organized religions, God is considered an ever vigilant and efficient monitoring agency. Any form of monitoring leads to control and it is this remote control that is believed to keep Man in the right path. But what can happen if the control mechanism accommodates failures and adjusts for mistakes? The system will ultimately fail. The analogy of God with a vigilant but accommodative control system is an apt one. An ideal control system should severely punish deviations and reward compliance. And it should never allow any compromise with detected deviations lest wrong models become possible and wrong precedents would get set. The whole mechanism would collapse one day under the weight of accumulated wrongness. Unfortunately this is what happens in the case of followers of such wrong concepts of God.

Reactive God

In sharp contrast to the concept of a proactive God is the one with reactive features. This clearly means that either a reward or a punishment follows each one of our actions. A reactive God is normally dormant and becomes active only when an action takes place. It does not act of its own initiative but will only react to our actions. The concept of a reactive God fits in well with those of an independent fate or destiny. Each and every object in this universe has a purpose and follows a course of action. In the case of the animate we call this course as fate or destiny which they are born with. A reactive God will not have much role in the current status of any being but will only monitor and control the incremental effect negatively or positively based on the value of their actions.

The most rational way to explain fate and destiny as something we are born with is the theory of rebirths. Fate and destiny of anything animate at any point of time is on account of its accumulated karma from its earlier lives and deeds so far in the current life. The clear advantage in this concept of a reactive God is its unambiguous positive encouragement for anything good and punishment for any wrongdoings. If we can easily get away with our misdeeds by fooling an omnipotent & omnipresent God by playing on its compassion, it may be better not to have any God at all. God must be an all knowing and powerful yet impartial judge for all our doings at each and every moment in our lives. Eye for an eye must form the basis of natural justice dispensed by God.

As a rational being I consider it the solemn duty of each human being to think his or her own way through the concepts of God available in front of us. The concept of a compassionate or merciful God looks abhorrent to me personally. If I knowingly make a mistake I must be prepared for its punishment too. Those who think that the most benevolent, most merciful and most compassionate God would pardon or lower the punishment just because they are smart enough to repent in time and offer a confession are too ridiculous and cruel. Such a God could not have sustained life for so long in this world of struggle and competition. A purely reactive form of God that is tough, fair and just is the best one that appeals to me. Sinning must never go unpunished and if it is possible to escape the consequences of sin, then there is no God at all.

Friday, June 06, 2008

American ‘GOOD’s

US-bashing is the favourite pastime of almost half the world population now. Irrespective of their nationality, there are no exceptions among Mullahs and Moulavis as to their opinion about who is responsible for the evils of this world. It is undoubtedly USA and George Bush. Leftists have always insisted on their inherited conviction that USA represents capitalism and hence the most evil nation in the world. Then we have the increasing varied collection of moralists and activists of innumerous shades who are dead against USA, each for their own reasons and most such reasons contradicting between themselves. It is easy to understand the growing dislike for George Bush but very difficult to comprehend the reasons for hating a country like United States of America. True that their military strategy on war-on-terror and Middle East policy have gone pathetically wrong, but is there nothing good about America?

It is quite enlightening when we try to study the kind of people who enjoy hating USA for their own reasons and sometimes for reasons they are unaware. Ask any Islamic activist about where his close relative went or would go for a brain surgery? Ask any hardcore Leftist about where his bright son or daughter is studying or would like to study? Ask any US-bashing intellectual about where he would like his brightest theories to be presented? And ask any confirmed US-basher about from where he collected the materials for making a case against America. The most probable answer to all these questions is USA. Our next question would be on the obvious contradiction – of desiring a country about which you are spitting venom? None of these US-bashers would have an answer. Most of them are making the simple mistake of identifying a nation with a leader. USA is definitely not the worst country in the world today. It is in fact one of the best and brightest. It is still the best bet for the entire world to prevent World War III. Let us see some of the undeniable ‘good’s about America.

Paradise for Merit

In the world today, there can be no contest about the most encouraging environment for the meritorious. USA presents the best option for those with merit in any field. Be it science or technology or social sciences the best facilities and peer group are available in USA. It has not developed in a short span but has taken decades of accumulative efforts in attracting talent and nurturing them. Freedom for unhindered thought, resources for unlimited research and generous recognition for achievements are some of the key factors that have taken USA to where it is now. India had very similar setup during the Vedic period and we are aware of what it can achieve. In any society where merit is recognized the overall achievement of the whole will be disproportionately higher. What Indians knew well Americans put into practice and that has taken USA to the very top. The only comfort for India is the good number of Indians that have taken part in this journey.

Equal Opportunity for Unequals

The concept of Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) is one of the best contributions of USA to the corporate world. It is a reflection of the sense of fairness and justice that prevails in American society that evolved the concept of EOE in a society of unequals. In sharp contrast, India is still struggling and getting more entangled in the reservation knots for addressing the same issue. We proudly categorise our reservation system as one of positive discrimination but in effect it is ending up as negative and degenerative. India has already earned the dubious distinction of the only country in the world where communities agitate to be counted as backward. Providing educational incentives to those who deserve it, followed by equal employment opportunity is the only plausible method for bringing about fairness and social justice. The sooner we realise and accept this axiom for social justice the better for our country too.

Firm Action for Results

Firm and resolute action befitting a world leader (often criticized as world policeman) is yet another goodness of USA. While many other oldies participate very vocally in passing resolutions at UN Security Council, USA is the only country that proceeds to implement the same with equal firmness. Unlike lip service, any action on the ground requires guts, involves expenditure and determination to act. All other big players like UK, Russia, France, China, Japan and even India have been found wanting when it comes to action. Each of them will have their own reason not to participate in any world action. But for the karmic intervention of USA many of the occasional rogue states and leaders would have made a mess of this world by now. We definitely need a world policeman and the best option that fulfils everyone’s interest is a democratic USA.

India missed a unique opportunity immediately after its liberation from British by not aligning with the United States of America wholeheartedly. USA and India of 40s’ were perfect natural partners in so many aspects. Both had democratic principles encrypted in the DNA of majority of their citizens. The noble intentions of creating a truly secular nation amidst multi-religious population provided India the vital need for such an alignment. Yet the short-sighted and ambitious romantic in Nehru drag India into a non-aligned ‘eunuch’ism. Our enemies gained from our mistake and our so-called big brother USSR which was built on an unnatural ism met its natural end prematurely. The rest is history. USA and India are so very different now. Yet we still have the common faith in democracy and have formidable common enemies. We should definitely be looking for co-operation wherever our national interests looks identical.