The “India Story” is a narrative in numbers.
GDP growth rates, profits after tax, auto sales spurts, price per square foot, cellphone penetration etc, are all coolly and conveniently flung around to show that India is growing, shining, booming.
Yes, but.
Is the DNA of India changing for the better in the process?
Are we adding to our civilisational wellspring, or are we getting too caught up with the here and now? In our thirst for the material and the superficial, have we squandered and sacrificed the intellectual and the spiritual?
Chintamani Nagesha Ramachandra Rao, the former director of the Indian Institute of Science, has not been afraid to puncture the hype and hyperbole surrounding IT in the past.
Now chairman of the scientific advisory council to the prime minister, Prof C.N.R. Rao said in Mysore yesterday:
“India’s contribution to the top one per cent of the intellectual and scientific output is negligible. Though the country is progressing economically, it is declining intellectually and spiritually.
“The 21 century may belong to Asia, but India’s contribution is not significant. China and South Korea have leapfrogged over us on various indices including education and science and technology.
“In India, mediocrity is a way of life and people have learnt to accept it as such.”
Photograph: courtesy The Hindu
Also read: ‘If IT takes away Bangalore’s values, burn IT’
‘Would India be heaven if we all went into IT?’
churumuri 
Close to zero institutions offer higher education in people’s language in India.
Could that be a major reason for India’s dismal performance in scientific community?
The countries CNR Rao has pointed out – South Korea and China – are known to offer higher education in people’s languages.
LikeLike
Till capitalism and greed prosperer’s like Manmohan Singhs are in power mediocrity and dalalisms will never decline. The bubble ought to bloom and burst just like IPL, CWG and 2G.
I really feel sorry that the 90’s kids are still getting prepared for the revolution. Optimistic that your words will be taken care of.
LikeLike
Murthy:
Yeah, we need more of the “golden good ooooold days” of the pre 1990s, when India was a complete shithole with absolutely no hope for the future – it was a ‘gone case’. There is no way we, the people of India, will allow a return to those “good old days” that leftist retards keep moaning about. You will have to return to the ‘days of socialism’ over our dead bodies, and let us see if you can do that. (you meaning, all the socialist fossils).
As far as the “mediocrity” business in this article is concerned, there is nothing to be unduly worried about. First, any nation needs to worry about the basics of food security, economic security and national security. Talking about “innovation and spirituality and intellectualism” without fulfilling these basic needs is simply stupid. For the first 5 decades after independence, we barely managed to get the basics right, so there is nothing surprising in the state we are in.
It is only in the preceding decade that things started falling into place for India, and all this “spiritual, intellectual and innovatory” stuff will begin to make its appearance in this decade – that’s how it has always been. How much was China’s contribution to science and technology in the decade of the 1990s? We are today, where China was in the mid-1990s, since we understood the right path only in 1991, something which China understood back in 1978. (and it looks like we have a retarded bunch who has still not understood).
LikeLike
@vinay “…. since we understood the right path only in
1991, something which China understood back in 1978” Keep the
waiting game on it’s a long show isn’t it? first it was 35+ years
and now it’s 10+ years. Keep waiting. your confidence and belief in
MMS is what is called mediocre. but sadly your statement “…
Talking about “innovation and spirituality and intellectualism”
without fulfilling these basic needs is simply stupid….” is
infact not embodying the wisdom of recent centuries. Germans used
holocaust to fulfill, Tamils used shivarasan to claim Rajiv and
parted with us in claiming classical status English and Americans
used atom bomb to fulfill – yes even that’s a way to fulfill basic
needs hence basic needs are subjective again “basic”ally CNR is
talking about the path taken and not being in rat race. if edison ,
newton, einstein (published his works only in German ) and marx
waited to fulfill their basic needs or if pampa, ranna , janna
wanted to fulfill basic needs then they should have waited for eons
and eons to atleast come out of their inferior births as per the
class hierarchy.
LikeLike
Vinay! You are purporting to know which came first – the
chicken or the egg! Poverty breeds ignorance and ignorance breeds
poverty. Mediocrity can be justified only if it is a collateral of
equal opportunity. Why should millions be squandered on a few only
for mediocrity? We are in a case of neither here nor there, my
friend. Neither are basic needs being fulfilled, nor is the
meritocracy doing anything spectacular.. Less is more. I’m getting
too abstruse…
LikeLike
Dr. Rao’s observations should be viewed in certain context.
He is not belittling India’s progress otherwise. It has nothing to
do with leftism, socialism or any other -ism. He is not asking to
go back to the 90’s. You just speak to at least some of those who
work in governmental organizations. You will know how much
mediocrity and stupidity is prevailing in the country. It
percolates everywhere ultimately.
LikeLike
Murthy: What waiting game are you talking about? Every
person I know – EVERY SINGLE PERSON – is much much better off today
than he was 7-10 years back. From my classmates to the apartment
sweeper, from the bakery owner in the street to my neighbours. I
don’t know a single person who is worse off – and the important
thing here is, in the “good ooooold days” that you moan about,
achieving this much betterment in living standards would take an
entire lifetime, not just a decade. Had it been left to regressive
socialist retards, we would have still been in the glory days of 5
year waiting for telephone connection, 10 year waiting for
Ambassador, and so on. While the poor toiling masses in the rural
hinterland continue living the same lives as they did for millenia,
and dying much sooner than their counterparts elsewhere. This is
the kind of nation your kind of people want. And I’m ignoring all
your disoriented nonsense about atom bombs, Pampa, Ranna,
holocaust, Tamils and all that. It hardly makes sense. twistleton:
Of course basic needs are being fulfilled to a much greater extent
than they ever were in India’s history. As I said above, every
single person I know, across all strata of society, has improved
his lot dramatically. I see change around me, and at a much greater
level than ever before. The problem with socialist intellectual
retards in our country is that they are the most selfish scum that
ever existed on this planet. All they want is equal distribution of
poverty. And who’s justifying “mediocrity” here? See, another
problem with socialist scum is that they indulge in rhetoric
without giving concrete solutions or proposals. What to do about
“intellectual and spiritual” decline – what is the proposal and
solution? Its all very well when socialist scum talk about how
China has “leapfrogged” us – but the moment we follow China’s path
and develop industry to make cheap copies of Western goods, thereby
employing millions, these scum will come crawling out of the
woodwork and whine about how we are ‘making mediocre stuff’,
‘complete lack of intellectual and spiritual stuff’, and all
that!
LikeLike
Arey, what this CNR Rao is talking, I think we are not even
a mediocre country. We need to become mediocre first before
launching rockets like CNR Rao. “Though the country is progressing
economically, it is declining intellectually and spiritually.”
Illogical. What intellectual or “spiritual” (whatever that means)
capabilities India have before “economic progress” (assuming we
had, I see none) that we lost now. In fact, we can make a case that
he is just another academician who lives on Tax payers money who
never produces a service or goods that’s worth. Its just a fashion
to speak as if we were all Einsteins before the coming of
outsourced jobs. Stop feeling superior.
***
Though I do not know much abt the professor, in one of hist
lectures that he gave during my PU days, he came across as an
egoist and arrogant. He literally yelled at a lecturer of mine
since microphone did not work for a minute. And humiliated another
lecturer for supposedly a dumb question in front of entire student
community. Professors in India are generally not challenged and
never have to face competition. Perhaps that explains our lack of
intellectual capabilities and not some outsourced jobs.
LikeLike
Most of da developed nations are all knowledge based
economies. Their progress is largely due 2 a solid mother tongue
edu system which is creating an eco-system full of path breaking
inventions & leading the country’s progress into future.
India, with it’s suicidal attitude towards mother tongue edu is
going nowhere Mr.CNR Rao. Good quality education can never, never
ever be given in English in the rural areas. It has to be given in
the language of the people. It has to be given in Kannada in
Karnataka, in Tamil in Tamil Nadu, etc. Isn’t it already being
given in Indian languages? Yes, of course. Here again, the question
is not about the existence of education in Indian languages, but
the quality of that education. Currently, it is only the government
– the least capable and most corrupt set of human beings ever in
any time or clime – which is doing anything that’s being done on
education in Indian languages. And that is at the root of the whole
problem. It’s time for private parties – you and me – to realize
the inalienable link between good education and mother-tongue. It’s
time for you and me to innovate in mother-tongue education. There’s
a lot of cleaning up to be done, a lot of re-branding to be done.
Our languages have to be re-girded as vehicles fit for carrying
secular knowledge, not just leisurature (yeah, leisure-literature)
and folk songs and folk dances and spiritual texts. I believe the
time has come for private philanthropists to take this seriously.
The Murthys, the Nilekani’s, the Mallyas, the Gopinaths, the who’s
who – it’s time to focus on innovation in mother-tongue education,
sirs.
LikeLike
this seems like “Let them eat Cake when they dont have
breads” by a french queen.These Raos speaking abt mediocrity where
crores of people suffering for food,shelter and clothes.First
provide all the basic needs and speak about mediocrity
stupidity.absolutely a creamy layer mindset.
LikeLike
In India whoever cares about: physics, mathematics,
economics, social science, history, geology, anthropology,
archaeology and so on. At best, some people study some text books
on these and become teachers. How many people are engaged in
advancing these fields? We have built a situation where becoming a
call centre worker for an American company is better (and more
preferred) compared to doing fundamental research in Mathematics!!
Becoming a real-estate agent has more fame than doing research in
particle physics. Instead of having astronomers (our legacy has
Aryabhata, Bhaskara etc.) people are happy to see worthless
astrologers on TV every morning. Doing MBA is always more
attractive in India than doing a PhD in India (it is not the same
in the US, both MBA and PhD have their own value and more people
pursue PhD than MBA there). I cannot agree more with CNR Rao, in
India mediocrity is the way of life.
LikeLike
So we have an argument of “less people in India are interested in PhD” and pursuing research.
WRONG.
US and other Phoren universities are jam packed with Indians doing MS, PhD and such stuff – all of them want to then join the GEs and Lockheeds and Boeings of Amreeka and get a green card.
And why not – who would blame them, when the only option they had till the recent past was to get into some DRDO/HAL type of “research” and screw their entire life. Who would want to get into that kind of stuff? Now, I’m seeing a phenomenon where researchers in PSUs are recruited by the GE JFWTC (John F Welch Technology Center) in Bangalore. And then I hear the CNR Rao types moaning about how Indians are not interested in doing research for the nation, but choose to join GE for fat pay.
So, instead of pushing for comparable institutions to come up in India, leftards rage that people should get into our existing “research labs”. Incompetent agencies like the DRDO are given complete monopoly, even after they have not been able to perfect a copy of the AK-47 in 50 years. God forbid, if someone were to suggest that people like the TATAs and Ambanis and Bhartis should be allowed to set up industries to bid for defence contracts – if someone so much as suggests that, we hear loud cries about how we are developing military industrial complexes inspired by the evil imperialist West and how we are giving rise to “unbridled capitalism”. Well paying jobs in research for the PhD types will come up only if you take steps in that direction.
Else, we can keep hearing the groans about brain drain and how the “youth of India is so selfish” for not joining our research PSUs and running away to Amreeka instead.
Sanjeeva:
Dr. Rao generally is against the sort of development that we have in India these days – there have been several other of his statements in the past moaning the current events. And the person whom I replied to (Murthy) believes that liberalization was the worst thing to have happened to India. I never cease to be amazed at how these socialist anti-liberalization people have the guts to still stand before us and talk – do they think the entire country is full of gullible assholes? We can see and judge for ourselves!
LikeLike
Vinay: Liberalization is not a panacea for the development. Secondly, what exactly is liberalization? Could you pl elaborate! Your question – Do they think the entire country is full of gullible assholes? Is there any doubt about it! Yessir. Our country is full of gullible people. At least a majority of us. Otherwise, would you keep on electing the very same people election after election, scam after scam and suffer them perpetually! Look at the legislature, Look at the judiciary, look at the bureaucracy, look at the fourth estate. Everywhere you see nothing but mediocrity, Men of straw. Yes, economically we have progressed. But is it alone enough. This needs a loud thinking.
LikeLike
It is wonderful to see blind nostalgia arguing with mindless expectance. The truthn as it seems to me is that we have exchanged masters after 1992. From the corrupt licence raj to the corrupt corporates with the middle man bureaucracy the only constant.
There have been millions who have been lifted out of desperate poverty but try telling that to the millions with no hopes at all- the tribals and the slum dwellers of our raped forests and exploding cities.
The brain drain tho’ has been happening from a long time- my father came to the United Kingdom- from citizenship of a republic to being a favored subject of a sovereign- from Jayalakshmipuram via a poor suburb of Durban. He was a victim of the nepotism that supports mediocrity in the public sector of pre-1990s India and now possibly has invaded every other aspect of public life.
I dont seem to make sense at all on reading this, but what the hell- my two penny bit to the debate.
LikeLike
Sanjeeva:
Liberalization is the termination of the licence-permit raj, which almost turned our country into a failed state in the early 1990s. It is the removal of protectionism and a gradual withdrawal of the state from spheres of the economy where it has no business being in, and limiting itself to regulatory functions. Our current telecom industry, with TRAI functioning as an efficient and impartial state regulator, is a good example of how all sectors of the liberalized economy should look like.
Sure, something needs to be done so that our judiciary, fourth estate, bureaucracy, etc. gets out of the mediocre mold. But what makes some people blame liberalization, capitalism, “imperialism” and all that stuff for the problems here?
Gaby:
Millions have been lifted out of poverty only after liberalization of the economy. The remaining millions will be lifted out through more capitalism and more liberalization, with gradual trimming of the government sectors and bureaucracy.
LikeLike
Truer words ever spoken, Gaby! The nepotism that is
prevailing among our corporates is unbelievable.
LikeLike
Vinay
Being as you are a staunch supporter of LPG, the least you could do is to learn more on the subject and have a greater understanding of it.
Right now you sound like you merely scanned the pages of a particularly mediocre First Year B.A. Economics guidebook you bought off the pavement. That is not a bad thing in itself, but it is only the starting point. And if it is all you can afford then I welcome your views for the valuable perspective they bring.
However, if you CAN afford greater access to knowledge, then you have no excuse for coming up with such a uni-dimensional argument and furthermore claiming it to be the gospel truth. Atleast accept that there can be alternate explanations and do desist from abusing others in a public forum. It reflects poorly on you.
***
BTW where is this Land of Milk and Honey? If you don’t mind sharing what place do you live in that is so bereft of poverty.
LikeLike
Vinay,
I suggest you read the book, “Bad Samaritans” before you gloat too much about liberalization.
LikeLike
twistleton: Sure, enough “alternate explanations” might
exist, you might be the next Amartya Sen, you might be a great
economist, and all that – all that might be true, no way to verify
it, but it could very well be true. Personally, I haven’t picked up
any books from any pavement – I am a Technical Architect in an IT
firm and as such, I don’t claim to be an economist – it’s not my
field of expertise. That said, my reading list w.r.t. economics is
not totally blank either. My point is simple: I put forward the
point that the license-permit Raj almost made India a failed state
and whatever progress and economic freedom we enjoy today is a
direct result of LPG. Apart from my reading lists w.r.t. economics
and the discussions I have had on this topic, I have experienced
what life is for a middle class Indian, both pre LPG and post LPG.
I have also seen dozens and dozens of acquaintances from all strata
of society get on with their lives, both pre-LPG and post-LPG. LPG
has worked in India. Simple question: do you agree with this, or
not? Frankly, people who talk of socialism and the good oooooold
days of the pre LPG hardly have any answers as to what new stuff
they propose so that India does not become a doddering near-failed
state again. To me, that kind of rhetoric smacks of elitism and
incredible selfishness. For any points you bring up on what we have
still not achieved, you will also have to prove to me that the
particular subject being discussed was better off in the pre-LPG
era. BTW where is this Land of Milk and Honey? If you don’t mind
sharing what place do you live in that is so bereft of poverty. I
live in Bangalore. I travel abroad frequently on trips, but I live
here. Not a question of “land of milk and honey”, but what I have
seen here in Namma Bengaluru over the years bears out every word of
what I have written above. I repeat, among all my dozens of
acquaintances in Bangalore, from my classmates to the building
sweeper, from the bakery owner to the “dhobi” of the area – every
single person is much better off than he was around 5 years back.
In the glorious pre-LPG era, achieving this amount of improvement
in their living standards would have taken an entire
lifetime/generation. Actually no one even needs to pick up books
from the pavement or read the books that I have read on economics
to make a statement that LPG has worked in India, and it appears to
continue working. I am yet to hear anyone propose any convincing
alternative apart from the usual socialist
farting/rhetoric.
LikeLike
Vinay
You are not entirely wrong. The trickle down-effect in other words. But not without evaporative (read corruption) losses. In a country burdened by numbers, waiting for the tirckle-down effect is akin to waiting till Thy Kingdom Come. Wait, we tell the poor, your turn will come.
Equitable distribution is a dream socialists nurture- but it is an ideal state. So is the idea of a free-market economy. Don’t fool yourself that the capitalists want a free and fair competition. No, an oligarchy suits them just fine. Communist countries used the blood of communist revolutions to prop up capitalistic and dictatorial governments. But that argument is for another day.
My only question to you is this: how many generations will it take for the road-sweeper’s son or daughter to compete with you in the IT field? And when that does happen, who will sweep the roads?
LikeLike
What is this lost golden age the scientist is talking about, when Indian made great contributions to science – is he referring to Vedic/Mughal/British rule?
Okay we are mediocre and dont compare to South Korea or China, but what decline is he talking about?
Some data from the Dr. would help, otherwise it is just empty rhetoric no better than what our politicians and talking heads deliver to us mediocre masses.
LikeLike
Twistle,
>My only question to you is this: how many generations will it take for the road-sweeper’s son or daughter to compete with you in the IT field?
Be my guest, walk into my office and I will show you how many of them are competing with Vinay in the IT field.
>And when that does happen, who will sweep the roads?”
Oh, we can have our own versions of h1bs and get people from countries where folks like you will be still ruling ;-)
LikeLike
twistleton:
Yes, of course nothing is free of “evaporative losses”. The question is, again, can it be proved that the pre-LPG era would have been better suited to handle such losses? On the other hand, the scope for such losses is much higher under a non-LPG setup.
And it’s not just “trickle down” that LPG brings out. Most people talk about a bunch of rich kids in metro cities spending money in malls and multiplexes, and call it the “trickle down effect”, and lament about the time it will take for the trickling to complete. What about export driven factories like the Suzukis and Hyundais, the new ports that are being built, the massive infrastructure and construction projects which provide, and will provide, employment to millions more? Are all these not a function of LPG? Why do we talk only of “trickle down”? Will the socialist rhetoric of the pre-LPG era bring us all this, and generate this kind of employment? Nope – we will perennially be famous for our poverty, Gandhi and the Taj Mahal, with absolutely no hope for improvement.
When did I claim that capitalists want free competition? Only an insane capitalist will want free and fair competition. If I set up an industry tomorrow, I will want a monopoly for myself. Which is why we need a regulatory mechanism, the courts, etc. i.e. “stuff that the government ought to limit itself to”. The anti-liberalization leftards want the whole show to be run by the “Gourment”, keeping evil capitalists out.
How many generations will it take for his kids to compete? It all depends. My apartment cleaner was almost in penury around 11 years back. As the apartment owners began buying cars with loans, this guy began washing cars part-time, and earned a good 5-6000 extra per month, and also got one of the drivers to teach him driving. Today he does not sweep anymore, he has “outsourced” the task to a couple of his cousins whom he has brought over from their village. He cleans cars and works as a part time driver for two families in the apartment. His son is going to finish PUC now, and he can afford to admit his son to degree college. Later the son might get a job as a hardware guy in a computer store (assembling PCs and all), and the next generation will certainly be able to “compete in the IT field”. This is called classic “trickle down”, which is only a part of the LPG advantage.
People who moan about the “immense harm” that liberalization has done to the country must keep their trap shut, because we know, and can see, that things have improved, and are improving daily – and not deteriorating. But if someone says that this is not the ideal/fastest way, he needs to come up with something new and concrete instead of simply cribbing about how bad liberalization is.
LikeLike
“becoming”???? Sorry, about mediocrity is and always has been a way of life, barring a few notable exceptions. Out of a billion people, what % can we truly say are *not* mediocre. Some people like to live in ivory towers. Hogli bidi.
LikeLike
Vinay- font of wisdom
Do enlighten us – what are your views on Agriculture, WTO, IMF, Healthcare, Scientific Innovation, PDS, Environment (or is it not worth bothering about).
We have not diversified our development – we cannot think beyond roads, flyovers, IT, telecom and of course cars – see someone has to create traffic jams on all those roads and flyovers. We have no idea what the word HOLISTIC means.
Our market economy is devoid of creativity, innovation and chutzpah. Let the government go bankrupt from buying oil. Let our fields go barren and our wells run dry, or better yet, choked with plastic bags.
If by becoming outsourcees we have reached the zenith of development, then we are infinitely depressing and spectacularly mediocre.
It was the civil services and the banks before, it is IT now. Nothing has changed. We are still in the License-permit Raj. Only the players have changed.
LikeLike
@Gyabakka:
benne dose thindangaaythu. keep up the crispy writeups.
@Ezhil:
“…..These Raos speaking abt mediocrity where crores of people suffering for food,shelter and clothes .First provide all the basic needs and speak about mediocrity stupidity…..”.
The creamy layer was provided all these and then they asked for sex,
and then they wanted a corruption – pornography
(I sometimes wonder if the cheap fabric worn by them and the ac conditions tend to heat up the glands and hormones which leads to this)
That was , is and will remain the real problem with capitalists. They always have a tendency to corrupt their mothers and foster heavenly realm of greed – the concept of swarga.
LikeLike
Murthy
Did you read what you have written before posting it?
I can’t make head or tail of it -is it encrypted?
The bit about the “ac and glands” and how is it linked to pornography exactly? :D :D It was entertaining but totally incomprehensible.
LikeLike
Twistle,
>Do enlighten us – what are your views on Agriculture, WTO, IMF, Healthcare, Scientific Innovation, PDS, Environment
>roads, cars, oil, barren fields, dry wells, plastic bags, traffic jams, bankrupt govt, innovation, chutzpah, blah, blah
Man, you have thrown the entire jholawala style guide at him. I did not know that poor IT Architects are answerable for all this.
LikeLike
twistleton: Man, this is getting tiring. What’s this – a
draft to present in the WTO? No need to make it overly complex and
get into all kinds of diversions. Coming back to this article, my
point is very simple. This Rao chap talks as if India has lost some
glorious intellectual past, and this loss of “spiritual and
intellectual temper” is going to cost India hard. I say: India
never had any glorious past in the 60 years of existence. No, I
don’t want to hear about the “Vedic age” and all that. Better stick
to the present instead of daydreaming. I say, India’s current
situation is the best in our history. The
purchasing power of an average Indian, the literacy rate, the
health conditions – everything – is the best in our history. Yes, I
know it’s still crap, but it is better than ever before. Please let
us not talk of the glorious intellectual and spiritual past –
nonsense. When did I say the becoming outsourcees is the “zenith of
our development”? This is the third time you have put words in my
mouth. But tell me something, what do you intend to do about “lack
of innovation”? Do you propose to point a gun at the heads of the
public and tell them, “Innovate, or you’ll go into a labour camp”!!
Innovation, scientific achievements, patents, and all that will
come with time. In any case it is not something that you can
“direct” or execute with “centralized planning”. That has been the
case throughout history, with all nations. You want the country to
jump before it can walk. And we have learnt to walk only in this
decade. We will learn to run and jump too, if we continue on the
same path. But I notice that finally, you have come back to
environmental degradation and sustainable development. Fact of the
matter is, we have no choice, China had no choice. Anyhow, this
environment business is a completely different topic. Why did you
bring it up here? As to your final comment on “nothing has
changed”, that has got to be the stupidest comment on this thread.
The things that really matter have changed, and have changed for
the better. The number of Indians who live a better life than they
could ever have hoped for, runs into the dozens of millions. Every
statistic, every indicator points to that. Forget statistics and
indicators, if one opens his eyes and looks around, it will bear
this out.
LikeLike
Vinay
You are right, it is getting tiresome. I express myself poorly.
Travel whenever you get the opportunity inside your own country -preferably to the countryside.
Until you think differently, lets’ agree to disagree. :)
***
Daily, my friend
It’s not your fault. You have suffered the Great Indian Education System. No matter, things are improving. Just take a look at the new NCERT textbooks, primary level. I’m not that much off the mark.
PS – No ostrich behaviour please. :D
***
Daily and Vinay
A brief foray into Ecological Economics wouldn’t hurt as well. Cheers!
LikeLike
Twistle,
>You have suffered the Great Indian Education System.
Sir, I am doing well, thank you for the compliments, fortunately the education system did not interfere in my education. Whatever little education I’ ve got, it pays my EMIs, utility bills, ration bills, kids school fees, insurance premiums, etc. etc. , I think you know the dues a family man has to pay, month after month and on top of this Mahangayi dayan khaye jat hai
>Just take a look at the new NCERT textbooks, primary level.I’m not that much off the mark.
Now I am concerned, don’t tell me that jholawalas with the help of Arjun Singh are back in business with their dirty tricks to contaminate a whole new generation.
>A brief foray into Ecological Economics wouldn’t hurt as well.
OK, will try to foray :)
LikeLike
Vinay – Agree. Makes me wonder about mindless nostalgic people.
One thing not enough people understand is – great civilizations are made of a society which is capable of critical thinking. Its not about how many scientists you have or how many rockets you launch. Not how many calculations you can do in a minute or how many English words one mugs up. Communism or socialism or capitalism or anarchism, systems evolve. What matters is a population capable of critical thinking.
No matter how many IIMs, IITians, or CNR Raoans come, unless the culture changes, nothing is going to change. A population hardwired not to question, take it up their arse. All the time.
LikeLike
@twistleton:
thanks for the curiosity. Most of the mundane capitalists in india are so rich but are miserable curmudgeons that they don’t know how important is to choose a fabric/textile to wear and which actually should be worn for indian climate and their skin type.
they will be running around farting with heavy fabrics and coats and what nots to impress on foren outsourced galleries powerfully surveilling the slaves. and in practicing this they get heated up everywhere and since sex glands and organs are the most complex nervous systems after brain they feel the greed of tranquility at both ends but due to lack of freedom flows so many mail forwards full of corruptions and manifests into porn.
This flows into their decisions quite well and we have all the stories coming from media with churumuri. this was the gist of it. hope you understood.
LikeLike
@Daily
QED, self-interest overrides national interest. :).
NOTHING wrong with that.
But won’t you atleast agree that the market dictates how you live, what you study? What if you had had a choice?
LikeLike
Most of the communities in India (such as Bengali), are succumbed in ‘Culture of Poverty'(a theory introduced by an American anthropologist Oscar Lewis), irrespective of class or economic strata, lives in pavement or apartment. Nobody is at all ashamed of the deep-rooted corruption, decaying general quality of life, worst Politico-administrative system, weak mother language, continuous absorption of common space (mental as well as physical, both). We are becoming fathers & mothers only by self-procreation, mindlessly & blindfold. Simply depriving their(the children) fundamental rights of a decent, caring society, fearless & dignified living. Do not ever look for any other positive alternative behaviour (values) to perform human way of parenthood, i.e. deliberately co-parenting of those children those are born out of ignorance, real poverty. All of us are being driven only by the very animal instinct. If the Bengali people ever be able to bring that genuine freedom (from vicious cycle of ‘poverty’) in their own life/attitude, involve themselves in ‘Production of Space’(Henri Lefebvre), at least initiate a movement by heart, decent & dedicated Politics will definitely come up.
– Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, 16/4, Girish Banerjee Lane, Howrah-711101.
LikeLike
We are trying ti change India from being a mediocrity ridden society to one that builds the best technology products in the world. I am Prasad Seshadri, Indian citizen living in San Jose, CA. I along with a small team of other Indian citizens have developed the best lecture capture product in the world. This product can be installed in every colassroom to record the lecture synchronizing Video, Audio and Slides. Please check out http://www2.eduspotinc.com.
LikeLike
A great mathematician. Without the inventions the world would be different.
LikeLike