Arundhati Roy Supports Separatist Youth in Kashmir
I am just trying to grab your attention with a catchy headline, but indeed she does that – supporting youth who hurl stones at police and armed forces. The reason it is not an appropriate headline is that she does a hell of a lot of other things, to wit:
• Sardar Sarovar Project
• United States foreign policy, the War in Afghanistan
• India's nuclear weaponisation
• Criticism of Israel
• 2001 Indian Parliament attack
• The Muthanga incident
• Comments on 2008 Mumbai attacks
• Criticism of Sri Lanka
• Views on the Naxals

Poor Medha Patkar has been stuck with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (against the Sardar Sarovar Project) for decades now, but Ms Roy has moved on quite a deal in all these years.

Ms Roy’s modus operandi is different: the Muthanga incident, for example went this way… After 48 days, a police force was sent into the area to evict the occupants—one participant of the movement and a policeman were killed, and the leaders of the movement were arrested. Arundhati Roy travelled to the area, visited the movement's leaders in jail, and wrote an open letter to the then Chief Minister of Kerala, A.K. Antony now India's Defence Minister, saying "You have blood on your hands." And moved on to pressing demands of the oppressed elsewhere.

More recently, earlier this month, at a seminar in Delhi named "Azadi – The only way", where Roy took part with Hurriyat Conference leader S.A.S.Geelani and Varavara Rao, Roy said that "Kashmir should get azadi from bhookhe-nange Hindustan". What does that mean? If Hindustan is rich, and not bhookha-nanga, Kashmiris will want to be a part of it? So now – with funds from Pakistan they will make Jannat out of Kashmir? What kind of sh** is this silly girl talking of?

Although it was widely speculated that she could potentially face sedition charges from the center for her remarks in Delhi, as of October 26, 2010, CNN-IBN reported that the Indian government is not likely to take action against her: which is the right approach. She would attract international attention and become the poster girl of free speech and stuff. She is already getting more attention than she deserves, mainly because of her bewitching looks (Beware beware her flashing eyes her floating hair, for she on royalties hath fed and drunk the milk of Booker prize…)

She should be left to be dealt with by the Bajrang Dal: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate Bajrang Dal has said it will do to writer Arundhati Roy what it has already done to painter Maqbool Fida Husain — teach a lesson. The warning was given by Delhi Bajrang Dal chief Vinod Bansal at a meeting in South Delhi on Wednesday to celebrate the accession of Kashmir to India. Mr. Bansal advised Ms. Roy “not to adopt the path of M. F. Husain misinterpreting the right to freedom of expression…our country has already taught a lesson to Mr. Husain…” I think the Indian state should let Ms Roy and the Bajrang Dal slug it out, and leave the matter there.

Your freedom ends where my nose begins (Anonymous): if separatist Kashmiri youth protest the ‘occupation’ of the valley through peaceful means, there is no issue. They are hurling stones at the armed forces; they are in open revolt with the Indian state; they need to be dealt with as such – enemies within. Does Arundhati Roy have the guts to tell the separatists not to throw stones and carry out their protests peacefully? They will clip her nose, nose ring and all…

The Indian state seems to be the only soft target. Her justification for saying what she said about Kashmir and azadi is ridiculous: she says that is what many Kashmiris are saying. Of course they would say that, but as G B Shaw said, if 50 000 people say something foolish, it is still foolish. In her own words: “I spoke about justice for the people of Kashmir who live under one of the most brutal military occupations in the world; for Kashmiri Pandits who live out the tragedy of having been driven out of their homeland..” Aha, she does care for the Kashmiri pundits; does Mr Geelani care too?

She wrote: “I met young stone pelters who had been shot through their eyes. I travelled with a young man who told me how three of his friends, teenagers in Anantnag district, had been taken into custody and had their finger-nails pulled out as punishment for throwing stones.” So what does she want the police/armed forces to do, when being stone-pelted? Show the other cheek? And finally: “Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds.” What kind of a writer and what mind is she talking about?

Let her tell her Hurriyat friends to invite Salman Rushdie to share a platform with them, and talk about free speech.

Political Andhrapology of the Telangana Issue

Language is the basis of nation formation in Europe, and state formation in India. Telugu is spoken in both Andhra and Telangana regions, and in fact in the Rayalaseema region. Why then are the leaders and people of the Telangana region clamoring for a separate state? One has to look at the history of Hyderabad/Andhra Pradesh after independence, and the political ‘andhrapology’ of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

History of Hyderabad/Andhra Pradesh

In December 1953, the States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was appointed to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. The SRC was not in favor of an immediate merger of Telangana region with Andhra state, despite the common language between the two. Here is a case of the bonding of language being overcome by historical difference.

Leaders of Telangana felt that merger with Andhra should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future. (However, the people of Telangana were never given a choice: indeed, in the most recent by-election to 12 assembly segments, they sent out a strong message for the formation of a separate Telangana state.) The people of Telangana had several concerns about the composite state of Andhra Pradesh. The region had a less developed economy than Andhra, but with a larger revenue base (mostly because it taxed rather than prohibited alcoholic beverages), which people of Telangana feared might be diverted for use in Andhra. They also feared that planned irrigation projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers would not benefit Telangana proportionately even though people of Telangana controlled the headwaters of the rivers. It was also feared that the people of Andhra, who had access to higher standards of education under the British Rule, would have an unfair advantage in seeking Government and Educational jobs. These concerns still cause worry to the people of Telangana.

Andhrapology of the Telangana issue
The people in the Telangana region are generally mild-mannered, accommodative, courteous, generous and genteel. On contrary, people of Andhra, although stylized in their speech and overly polite, are a bunch of pushy, greedy people. In saying this, I include myself in the pushy and greedy lot, being from the Andhra region myself. Over the decades, though (three decades, to be precise) I have learnt to cope with the Telangana dialect, which sounds rude, as I have learnt to appreciate the inherent nobility of the Hyderabadis.

A small example will illustrate the greed of the Andhra people and leaders the majority of water supply is from the Telangana region, yet canal irrigation disproportionately benefits the Coastal Andhra region with relative underdevelopment of Telangana.

Moreover, Telugu film makers, who are predominantly from the Andhra region, took to making fun of the Telangana dialect. One can understand the ire of the Telangana people when they hear comedians and villains in movies talking the Telangana dialect, and the heroes and heroines using the Andhra dialect.

Doctors, Lawyers, and English Teachers

There is the joke about a doctor who meets a lawyer at a party. He tells the lawyer that people ask him for medical advice for various problems at social gatherings and asks the lawyer if he (the doctor) could send them a bill for consultation. The lawyer answers in the affirmative, saying that a consultation is a consultation, whether they come to his (the doctor’s) surgery or outside it. The next day, the doctor receives a bill from the lawyer. The doctor is confused and calls up the lawyer: “what is this bill you sent me for?” he asks. “That is for the advice I gave you yesterday at the party,” says the lawyer.

This is a hazard attached to many professionals I am sure, other than doctors and lawyers. Maybe Amitabh Bachchan is buttonholed and asked for acting tips. I wonder what advice he can provide to them within the span of a few minutes. Maybe Sachin Tendulkar is asked for batting tips at social dos. I wonder if he resents it or welcomes it. Is there any other way to improve one’s batting than “practice, practice, and practice!’ Will people who look for a short cut to glory (and a position in the Indian Eleven) take that advice seriously?

For my part, as an English teacher, I get annoyed when people tell me: “Sir, my grammar (or vocabulary) is very week, please help me improve.” I teach English for a living, I don’t want to have anything to do with teaching English in my free time. Even if I do, as I tell my wannabe students, I need a class of at least 10, to get the inspiration to teach. And I want them to work on their English in their free time! Moreover, English cannot be taught over a cup of coffee or at the water cooler. I have mastered the language over two decades, studiously reading good literature and inculcating in my writing the good practices.

On the other hand, there are one breed of professionals who I think will be very happy to provide and exchange tips and tricks: software developers. They love to talk shop, and get into discussion of multiple threads and memory stacks at the drop of a hat. I am sure investment bankers too would love to share their business savvy with people – of course with a view to pushing stocks in which they have a vested interest, and by way of attracting customers to their bank or financial institution.

Jackie Coogan, the Kid
Today in history, in 1914, Jackie Coogan was born. He was the first child artist to act in a full-length movie, “The Kid”, along with Charlie Chaplin. The Kid is one of the most poignant movies, with Chaplin’s characteristic, sardonic humor. The Kid is notable as being the first feature length comedy film to combine comedy and drama, as one of the opening titles says: "A picture with a smile, and perhaps a tear..."

Act Two Of Kar’natakam’ On 14th October… Gimme An Empty!

Governors are increasingly getting ‘active’ – the latest in the league being the Karnataka governor Mr H R Bharadwaj, who told Mr B S Yeddyurappa to prove his strength once again on the floor of the assembly. The high court, meantime, has to deal with the petition of the suspended MLAs. The die is cast: it maybe curtains down for B S Y in the Kar’natakam’. Unless, of course, the Gali brothers can work some magic with their moneybags. The Congress party reacted that the vote of confidence after the disqualification of the opposing MLAs is a mockery of democracy. It demanded that the B S Y government should be dismissed.

However, the governor has given another chance to B S Y to prove his strength: like I said earlier, I don’t speculate about affairs other than Andhra politics; let’s wait and see. For its part the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is asking for the recall of the governor. Legal opinion is divided on whether the governor has the right to ask for a ‘re-vote’ of confidence.

As the drama unfolds in the neighboring state, the cabinet reshuffle in Andhra is getting delayed. Although ex Minister J C Diwakar Reddy said that the two are not related, it is clear that the high command wants to deal with one issue at a time. If B S Y is dethroned in Karnataka, the Congress will have an upper hand over the the Gali – Y S Jaganmohan Reddy axis. That gives the party in Andhra Pradesh an edge in dealing with dissidents.

Big B turns 68

At the age of 68, when most Indians sit at home and read the papers and watch day TV, Big B is making waves once again on the small screen – on Kaun Banega Karorpati (KBC), the celebrated game show which was at the heart of the Oscar-winning Slum dog millionaire. May he live long and enchant his viewers for many more years. As always, Bottomline is late in wishing him a happy birthday. I think I will watch KBC this season. And belated happy birthday, Big B (who should be called Busy Bee).

‘Unemployment’ economists get the Nobel

Three economists who theorized on unemployment have got the Nobel Prize for economics this year: one of them (Dale Mortenson) interestingly theorized about the unemployment related to people who are ‘between jobs’ (a euphemism for people who just lost his or her job and is looking for a new job.) I have been between jobs for two years now, although I do have a day job – it pays me a pittance; what I want is a ‘big job’. Well, anyway, it is quite a coincidence that I am in the thick of applying for jobs, when ‘unemployment’ gets the economics Nobel!

Marketing and Manufacuring; The Age of Entertainment

The model followed by the developed nations should not be followed by developing nations, said the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The advanced countries essentially looted the third world countries and became rich. They have taken natural resources from the developing countries, and sold ‘processed and packaged’ products back to these countries, and thereby got rich. This model cannot be replicated on a large scale. Japan is the only exception to this; China tried it but we don’t know how successful it would be.

‘China-made’ has the same ring to it as had the Made in Japan label, before it became a symbol of prestige. Like the guy in Inscrutable Americans (Satish), the strange thing about America is that is has so many Japanese goods. But for other third world countries Japan is a hard act to emulate.

One thing that goes with the assimilation of Indian economy into the world economy is that there is excess baggage in the form of the consumerist culture. If you look at any ‘modern’ product, there more money is spent on packaging and marketing than on production. The product not only meets a demand, but also aims to entertain. Consider the glue sticks – they are modeled on lip stick dispensers: the amount of plastic can produce 4 bottles of glue: it takes a bit of time to use the glue bottles with a brush in them (and you can reuse them).

What is happening in the west is that nobody wants to study hardcore science and technology: more and more people go for marketing, management, economy, and law. More and more third world countries and people from third world countries are doing fundamental research. The agenda for fundamental research, however, is set forth by moneybags in the advanced countries. As Peter Drucker remarked, the relation between basic and applied science has turned upside down; instead of applied science (technology) leveraging the findings of fundamental research, now the direction of fundamental research programs is decided by technology.

That means, more money goes into wireless communication projects than into newer, safer varieties of seeds (in the field of agriculture).

The Age of Entertainment
There was this book called Age of Entertainment: I am unable to find it on the web now and I don’t remember the author. The main spoint made by the book is that, with the machines taking over the work of humans, basic questions like food security and health and so on no longer require human attention. That leaves humans with a lot of time on their hands and we need means to keep ourselves engaged. Unfortunately, according to www.thehungersite.com, we have a long way to go to food security and basic health.

Today is the D-day for Yeddy
The Karnataka high court postponed the verdict on the disqualified MLAs to Thursday. More tension for Mr B S Yeddyurappa. We don’t know anything about the other hearing – in the Andhra Pradesh high court pertaining to in-house entertainment.
Bottomline: Marketing is just liquor and guessing – Dilbert.

Machilipatnam Express – Secunderabad (Sunday) Special

Machilipatnam is slowly getting on to the South Central Railway map. It has a long history and a glorious future. The first ever train in the country (the first ever track laid) was between Machilipatnam and Margaon (Goa). But in the recent past, there was a time when some 4 compartments were lugged with the Narsapur express and were detached at Gudivada; from there on, these were attached to a passenger train to Machilipatnam. Now we have our own Machilipatnam Express. (And two return trains to Secunderabad on Sundays!

On the way to Machilipatnam, it was terrible: my ticket didn’t get confirmed, so got a half of the side birth; most uncomfortable. But it was something one had to do – damn the discomfort but get there and do the deed, somehow. With all the brothers and sisters, it was not a gloomy affair but a rather sumptuous – if hectic, for the women folk, ‘do’. Most of the folks left by evening; thank goodness, there weren’t enough cots and mattresses for more than the few of us left for the night. This is the annual jamboree – my father’s death ceremony, rich in ritualistic agnihotram and the fumes. Looking at the fire was thrilling; you keep it going with small sticks and ghee.

There was once a question on a mailing list of Indians in Finland: why is that we use ghee instead of petrol for our rituals. I said that we haven’t updated our rituals in thousands of years – when people used ghee because there was no petrol (I am not sure when petrol was discovered, but these rituals obviously belong to an era before that.) I am reminded of a story of Satya Sai Baba. Here it goes…

The new Swamiji and his new Cat

There was once a swamiji, with sishyas (disciples) under his tutelage. He was living in an ashram, and one day a cat came there and took shelter in the ashram. Everyday, when the swamiji was performing his puja, the cat would jump around and spill something or topple something else. So, the swamiji started to find the cat, put it in a basket and put a lid on top, before starting the puja. After the puja, he would let the cat out of the basket. Time went on, and the swamiji passed away: the senior most desciple took over the ashram. They continued to find the cat, put it in a basket and put a lid, before puja; and releasing it – after the puja. In due season, the cat also died.

Now, the new ‘swamiji’ sent his disciples to find a new cat. Before the daily puja, he would bring the new cat and put it in a basket and put a lid on top of it. And release it after the puja!

The moral of the story is: try to understand the meaning of rituals. If ghee costs more than petrol (indeed it does), it is time to move on the petrol. I don’t believe in the whole ragmatazz associated with the death anniversary (‘shraadha karma’) but I sit there and go through the motions. I am not unlike the new swamiji – in that I follow what the pundit says, without questioning; the only difference is that I at least entertain the questions in my mind as to why ghee should be used when petrol is available, and so on.
Return by Secunderabad (Sunday) Special

The Secunderabad (Sunday) Special train is commissioned to take back the crowds that land up in Machilipatnam on Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, that is in addition to the regular train. As luck would have it, I had a decent night’s sleep on the train (with a confirmed ticket and an upper berth). The train got delayed by 2 hours, which meant I had an extra two hours of sleep on the train. Well, it is back to the salt mines now, at the college.

Karnataka imbroglio

Act one of the drama in Karnataka has ended with the score 1-0 in favour of Mr Yeddyurappa. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is celebrating but it is early days now: the opposition is unhappy and says the vote of confidence was illegal. The BJP says that the 11 BJP MLAs have been bought. This kind of trading of charges is common and the one with more money wins the vote: it appears that round one is in favour of Mr Yeddyurappa and the Gali brothers. When there was a vote on the bill regarding civilian nuclear establishments, the Congress won it with money power. Now, let us see what Mr H D Kumara Swamy Gowda has up his sleeve.

Does it mean the Congress high command is going to go slow with regard to Mr Y S Jaganmohan Reddy for the time being? Watch this space…

Two State Separated By One Language

George Bernard Shaw said that England and America are two nations separated by one language (namely, English). So also, Andhra and Telangana will be, when the separate state is formed, two states separated by one language (Telugu). In the past, the sons of the soil, that is, Telangana people, used to speak in a rather unnatural (to them) language, out of deference to the people from Andhra. Andhra Telugu is full of polite expressions: for instance, if you don’t know a person well, and he is about your age, it is customary in Andhra to use the expression ‘meeru’ (plural of ‘you’), whereas, the people of Hyderabad and Telangana in general say ‘nuvvu’ (singular ‘you’). For long, in interactions with the people of Andhra, the Telangana people would use ‘meeru’ and such polite words.

Of late, however, the Telangana people have started asserting their language – or their dialect, irrespective of who they are talking to. I had a shock when I went to the grocer where we used to by our monthly supplies. I was away from Hyderabad for several years and the store owner had seen me after a long time. He asked me, without thinking twice, “Eppudochinav?” (When did (singular) you come?) I was awfully hurt and told him off. I said I use the plural you always, and what do you mean by using the singular. He obviously did not realize that he had taken to speaking in his ‘native dialect’ to an Andhra person. I could not reconcile with the insulting tone, although I do realize it was only a part of a new wave of awareness and assertiveness in the communication of the Telangana people: I took my custom to another grocer. I want to make amends one of these days and go back to my old grocer, one day, but right now the insult rankles.

Then there was the steward in a bar I used to frequent: one day he came round to take my order and casually said, “Order ichinava” (again, the use of a singular). It should have been: “Order ichinara?” I let it pass, but never visited that bar again. (In time to come, I stopped drinking altogether, not because I was insulted in a bar by the steward but for medical reasons.) The funniest part is, I know that these people are speaking what comes to them naturally. For long they have ‘risen’ above their singular use to the more polite plural use; now they have decided that enough is enough. And yet, I cannot deal with this kind of impolite use of Telugu. That too, when I am using the plural all the time.

What riled me most was a friend of mine, of twenty years, who is a linguist – aware of the nuances of language and culture – addressed me as ‘nuvvu’. I tried my best to get him back to used the plural ‘meeru’ by using it several times in my speech. He was at least responsive and during the course of a 15 minute talk, came back to the good old days when we used to address each other as “meeru”. I don’t have the enthusiasm to meet him again or continue our friendship. Of all the people he should have been aware of the subtleties of language – being an Assistant Professor at the English and Foreing Languages University. (This was earlier called the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, where Prof. Jayashankar, the TRS ideologue was a registrar.)

What are the Andhra people to do in this situation? Do as the Telangana people, use ‘impolite’ expressions (like the singular you - nuvvu) – like, pay back in the same coin and thereby give up the niceties of their dialect. Or keep using the polite, plurals in the face of ‘insulting’ speech, and somehow try to win over the local people?

Needless to say, this is only a symptom of an accommodating Telangana culture becoming partisan. There are hard core issues to be sorted out, but the heart of the matter is that Telangana people have become more aggressive and unduly impolite.