Parallels between Pakistan Taliban and Indian Maoists

- Their cause is the most fundamental part of constitutions of their respective countries. (Pakistan an Islamic Republic, India a socialist republic).
This gets them massive tacit support and also some vehement support among country's intellectuals.
"To quote Ayn Rand: Whenever there is a conflict between 2 parties sharing same basic premise(rational or irrational), the most consistent party wins."
Here, premises are economic equality and Islamic totalitarianism. Inconsistent parties are respective governments.

- Both started in respective tribal regions of their country.(Red districts of central-east India are India's Waziristan).
Former has spread to major Pakistani cities, the latter is spreading.

- For both, compromise talks were planned and with former it failed.
Philosophical implications: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/compromise.html

"A Wednesday" : Movie analysis

What is the nature of man? Not particular man, but essence of man as distinguished from animals.
There are mystical, social and individual philosophies that have different denotations. 'Bhagwad Geeta' depicts a being torn apart between soul and body. Soul seeking salvation after death, and body a materialistic heap of dust imprisoning the soul. For Karl Marx, man is a disposable cog in an eternal societal machine of class struggle. For Niezetche, he is power luster born to rule or be ruled. Kant will call for a being constantly doomed irreconcilably among Analytic-Synthetic, OR more commonly theory-practice. Ayn Rand and Aristotle define man as rational animal having free will, who consistently has to make a choice whether to seek life(and all that it stands for), or choose its anti-thesis(destructive policies included).


Pragmatism will arrive at a conclusion of eternal skeptic only capable of action without thought, for truth is unknowable. Never taking a principled stand or dealing with abstractions. Always concrete bound, perceptual and caught in ever changing anti-visionary now(kal ho na ho)..... A subjective emotional hedonist, having right to do whatever one pleases irrespective of the consequences to himself or others - most consistent liberterians and existentialists should conclude.(see "Kaminey")

Lets come to objectification of Philosophies(explicitly or implicitly), ART that is. Movies in this case.
For Madhur Bhandarkar, man seeks glory which turns out to be just a mirage. In showbiz to be a top model like Meghna Mathur or to seek a decent living in Chandini Bar. He is doomed to fail, as according to him there is no such thing as a non-contradictory state of happiness on achieving one's goals. Only narcissist escapes rich can engage in.

For Imtiaz Ali, emotions are sufficient guide to man's life. Whether Geet's marraige plan or Aditya running a corporation in JWM. Subjective emotional hedonism may lead to occasional setbacks, but as even Richard Boyle through Slumdog millionaire would agree; Mind is disposable, your emotions are sufficient guide to your life!

Well, Neeraj Pandey boldly differs in "A Wednesday".
Here is a man taking control of his life. Refusing to be pushed around. Here is a man capable of independent action, based on rational thought process and clearly defined goal.

Lets examine the virtues movie embodies and perceptualizes.

Rationality: You are free to evade reality, but not escape the consequences of evading it. Thats why rationality, a full, conscious state of awareness of surroundings and self is a virtue. Therefore, I applaud the meticulous planning with which the whole operation was carried out. Every detail was looked into. Whether its assembling untrackable cellular system, procuring bomb material, actions to dodge possibility of discovery, food during operation and life as usual after completion.

Assertion of Right to self-defence: Man has an inalienable right to Life, therefore he has a right to self-defence. But if the men are to peacefully co-exist in a society, initiation of physical force(includes frauds and breaches of legal contracts as well) ought to be barred. And in a civil society the self-defence mechanism too cannot be ruled by individual whims(as in tribal rules). Therefore, a citizen delegates the right of self-defence to the government, which then acquires the legal monopoly over the use of physical force(not initiation but appropriate retaliation). And therefore, to protect citizens from each other and also from government itself, there ought to be clearly demarcated laws. Laws that define force and how it should be used by the government. Upholding individual rights all the time..!
But when laws that are supposed to protect, end up becoming mechanism that hinders basic duty of the government, its right for man to take responsibility for self defence.(Though, this cannot be a long-term solution. Reforms based on the ethical code and principle of Individual rights is the only long-term solution).

Coming back to movie, here we see a common man acting to destroy terrorists who have committed heinous crimes in his city. When all other institutions fail him, he acts as a reasonable man ought to act in face of threat(howsoever untangible).

Virtue of Selfishness: What propels a man into action. Whether its duty towards others, or concern for one's own values. Here too, the stand is definitive. The motif action is based on the will to create harmonious atmosphere for oneself, one's family and the loved ones(including valued acquaintances in day-to-day workings).

Justice: Right to self defence covers the social aspect of Justice. Here I confine myself to the concept of judging people in one's own mind and then acting based on the judgement one arrives at. The corresponding interaction should not amount to my compromising on my principles though.

To conclude, "A Wednesday" reaffirms my belief in man as a heroic being, capable of acting rationally, decisively and independently.

CRITIQUE OF VIOLENCE

Studying causes of surge in violence in India recently

Lalgargh seige, Punjab burns over Vienna shootout, Jammu/Kashmir Amarnath land row, Lawyers violence in Chennai court, Nandigram, B'lore mob-stoning over Rajkumar's death, JP cement factory in my village smashed after people had conflict with the management.
Issues are not new, response in the form of mob-violence is.
Whats the fundamental cause?

Liberalization: No doubt 1990 was a +ve turn of events. Congress is still reaping middle class votes. But how did it have the other side-effect and why?
In socialist India, state was the only provider. Of jobs, infrastructure, even bread and ration, education and so on. Inefficient,yes.
....and also it was the occasional oppressor. But coercive monopolies and limited exposure to the western world did not allow any substantial comparison. Therefore, common man was grateful for whatever little he was provided for. And ignored long term grudge of some spurts in state oppression like emergency. Then there was more subtle and brutal oppression in the form of huge taxes on businesses and license-kota raj.

What happened post 1990? Legacy PSUs remained, but were competing with more efficient private players.
So what was the interpretation by the contemporary intellectuals, of the prosperity private players brought....
Lack of state interference brings freedom, they said. Freedom equates to efficiency. Efficiency brings productivity and eventual prosperity.
Why a set of individuals with similar intelligence succeeded spectacularly in private enterprises, while government enterprises faded?
They never tried to answer basic question, what makes a free enterprise efficient?

As there was this doubt, that grew into uneasiness and further into the feeling of antagonism. Also, the intellectuals never answered another fundamental question, if private enterprise is efficient, why we need government?
Therefore, what we see today is increasingly violent culture that refuses to distinguish between state and statism. Infact, it refuses to recognize reason for laws and rules. These to them are arbitrary whims. And since ethical roots to political freedom(liberty that is) were never provided...
Lack of respect for even genuine rules in the name of freedom is now impacting private sector as well. Corporate scams like Satyam and breaches involving delay or suspension of payroll by mid-sized companies. Also there is a culture - from teenage to adolescence - that considers any attempt to penalize the irrational behavior(howsoever erratic) as an attack on his/ her freedom.
Therefore, lets try to understand why we need Government and Laws.

Man, unlike animals, to survive and excel requires long term planning.
At any given day, his current state is the condensation of what he has done in all preceding days. He may have spent energy in earning savings and investing it on property. Learning skills for the project he is doing now. Courtship of his current spouse. These achievements through years of industriousness, require unflinching mental and physical effort. Effort that identifies, creates and sustains value.
Therefore, physical force ought to be disallowed from his interactions with other people. Physical force leading into direct threat to life, liberty, property and pursuit of ones goals. And a single breach can ruin years of work he has put in. Naturally therefore, everybody has a right to self-defense.
But such right cannot be governed by individual's opinion(correct or mistaken). If it were so, anyone against whom injustice has been done, will acquire right to punish anybody and everybody he suspects, rightly or wrongly. Anarchy, as is seen these days, will be the consequence.

Therefore, there is a need for a SINGLE AUTHORITY, to which individuals living in a geographical location delegate their right to self-defence.(Having no single authority in a given area will again cause mob-rule of "might is right" and anarchy). That authority needs to have an objective criteria for defining breaches to individual freedom, and a clear definition of actions to be taken(Including clauses limiting its own powers to breach individual rights by initiating force or unpropotional response). That authority is what we call government. And the objective criteria containing corresponding actions is constitution and laws. Integrated to this setup is the mechanism of review of non-objective legislations.

In the economic activities of the contemporary complex society like ours, often the individuals need to enter into a contract to protect their interests in mutual trade. In such a situation, its in individual's interest to get the contract enforced. Then in case of breach(or wrong interpretations) by one of the party, appropriate proceedings can be initiated. Government, for the reasons mentioned, is an institution that has legal monopoly over the use of force.(Not initiation, but its appropriate retaliatory use in case defined individual rights are violated). Therefore its the only agency that can enforce the contract legally. But since it CANNOT INITIATE FORCE, therefore it cannot force individuals to get the contract registered for enforcement. Hence, it should be left upto the individuals to get the contract enforced legally. Enforcement of contract is the only link between government and Economic activity in a lassie-faire Capitalist society.

Capitalism is a system that upholds reason, rationality and individual ability. Therefore fundamental elements of religion(faith and irrationalism) and socialism(altruistic ideal of using individual for collective good against his choice) are incompatible with such a society. But removing these elements, without providing a correct substitute has only resulted in a culture dominated by irrational emotionalism and anything goes subjectivist mentality.
Right is NOT ABSENCE OF wrong. Discovery of Right system required Huge intellectual effort through tri-millenia and bloody wars last century. So lets endeavor to identify, recognize, value, create, uphold and strengthen a political system that subordinates RIGHT TO MIGHT.

JUDICIAL REFORMS: WHY?

"Tariq pe Tariq, Tariq pe Tariq"(Postponement after Postponement, Postponement after Postponement). A stunning dialog from movie "Damini" that captures the essence of frustration. Frustration that starts with moral greyness of Judiciary, derived from the culture of non-commitment and resulting delays. Entering into the individual psyche, and eventually destroying his concept of justice itself. Justice not only at institutional level, but in day-to-day decision making. Deprecating the judgment one would otherwise have made with respect to character of persons, values, one's actions... Scoping upto all spheres open to choice.

Abysmal productivity leading to huge backlog, and latter further degrading the former. Ambiguity of laws is another factor. More pressing though is the lack of application on existing ones. Primary cause being the inability to enforce the timely punishment on breach.

As a consequence, primitive tribal rule has come back to haunt us. One gang against the other, more forceful taking the harvest. Shivsena to the Naxals to shoes flowing past, impact is for all of us to see.

Government(including Legislative, executive and Judiciary) is an institute to which an individual delegates his right to self-defense, for this cannot be directed by whim. Therefore, Government is an institute that holds "LEGAL MONOPOLY" over the use of "Physical force". And its nature demands that its used only against those who initiate the use of physical force(and most importantly used appropriately as delimited by objective laws). Physical force referring to violence, wrongful confiscation of property, frauds, or breach of legal contracts. Each in variety of degrees. If government defaults in this fundamental function, as is Judiciary today, anarchy thats creeping around is inevitable.

The nature of Life demands response, and concurrency demands effective use of technology. From Bill payments, to travel, to entertainment, all has gone online. So should the governance, not just in trivialities, but in essence.

With blogs in orkut community discussions, youtube and video-cons as template to be customized, and usage of encryption and passwords to protect accesses, lets take court cases to the virtual world. Both lawyers argue their case in blog(with adequate references to laws), affected parties having read permissions and judge as the moderator of the case. Scope rigorously defined therefore(in pre-hearing discussions), so that the decisions can be reached quickly when hearings do start. As a sidenote, same template can be used in executive decision making and legislative arguments.

Consequences are fairly tangible. Numerous cases can be petitioned upon and most arguments made within a timespan that would otherwise have allowed legal machinery only in few cases. Productivity boosted exponentially therefore. Maybe smaller burglary like cases to start with (where almost every time justice delayed becomes justice denied) to civil cases and eventually criminal.

Streamlining system and software for such an enterprise would no doubt be a huge effort. It will require herculean political will power, close co-operation with Best Legal minds, and quite alot of executive database convergence.
Still the step is small compared to the Giant leap in "Justice for All" it promises.

Man is NOT a social but a CONTRACTUAL BEING. From smallest daily trade(through money a contracted entity) to jobs through appointment letter, marriage, property leases.... or even promises made verbally, through email or SMS. Every action of his requires long term planning and complex thought process involving many entities. And therefore concept of Justice has a negative and a positive connotation. To protect plunge into insanity from an arbitrary breach, and enable an enterprise of towering proportions.

SOFTWARE INDUSTRY: MANAGING RECRUITMENTS 21ST CENTURY WAY

Two minutes flat. This was the time my niece took from switching on the PC to starting an online game "Barbie".Thats one of the many eye-openers I encountered. On the last trip back home, the velocity of technological undercurrents changing societal habits was deafening.

At his age, I was struggling with fundamentals of C and Java. Sachin at 20 years has started contributing to topcoder.com. And this is what brings me to central theme - "Software Industry: Managing Recruitments 21st century way."

So are we integrated enough to leverage latest technology when it comes to hiring. On the surface of it, the answer seems obviously affirmative. Forums like Monster and Naukri are used for screening. We have telephonic interviews and Video-con setup is also in place. Recently I heard of the term called Video resumes.
But lets for a moment step back, and look at it Objectively.
Does current process help us to clearly evaluate the suitability for job?
Candidate's comfort level with technology and tools?
More importantly, does it enable us to know how easily he is going to adapt into the company culture?

Situation is still worse in Campus interviews. It all boils down to Luck-By-Chance. Whats the guarantee that the best people are recruited to where they belong. Absurd factors such as the order of arrival, cliche driven impressions(often false), and these days mostly unreliable academic records(considering the subjective nature of papers and evaluation).

From the corporate standpoint, there is cost involved in integrating and training the individual. Coping with the arrival of wrong people; or worse, right people at wrong place. Of course, management focus is on getting the work done - as it ought to be. But then, can we ignore the foundations of technology - Priceless people with Objective outlook, Reality orientation and Free thought.

Coming back to current scenario. Clearly its an employer's market. IT boom and subsequent slowdown has led to supply overrun. But then, overabundance brings its own challenges.
Shrinking markets mean that the employees, for justifying their value, should be able to do variety of tasks. Criteria for selection complicates further therefore. So essentially, though we have the larger pool to choose from, the skill set needed is also greater than ever. Therefore, any random recruitment becomes even more risky.
Whats the solution?

Definitely, I am not qualified enough to give immediate answers. And I leave the study on handling crisis to more mature years. But here I analyze feasibility and prospects of integrating hiring strategy with the contribution to open source.

Clearly its flavor of the day. And the businesses are thriving on it. But as an individual I ask, why should I spend my creative energies in doing the work that has no instant returns.(I am sure you would have heard of few people making fortunes by contributing to the particular product. But as on today, primary reason for contributing is mainly to learn and corresponding creative satisfaction). Even if I have passion and find time, where is the mindspace to deal with similar problems outside office. Cost involved is simply too high, and value returns fickling.

Now here is the possibility of integrating haves and have-nots.

They enter with Enthusiasm and willingness. At least most of them. Coming out of their limited horizons into a bigger and prospectively brighter world, offering infinite possibilities to uncover their potentialities. Well, thats until they encounter lethargic system, obsolete syllabi, and lukewarm professors. The first year in college is sufficient to extinguish the spark of many. And allow unscrupulous and trivial elements to take over.

But there is silver lining that keeps the rusted machinery going. The need for placements to keep the reputation. And this is what offers the window of opportunity, along with Corporations opening up to open-source.

Lets start engaging students from the fresher year of college. Internet has penetrated into the hostels. Orkut, youtube and torrent have ensured that it gets into the psyche of young. So why not use this for making them more employable. Well documented integral web platform will definitely give a headstart. But more than that, we need Engineers willing to delegate prototyping of their pet-projects to students. (And few hours per week for support and queries). Colleges willing to accordingly streamline their assignments and projects, so that there is an added incentive without any burden on academics.This should also bring down the cost of experimenting in companies.

What more can be done so that it goes beyond Lip-service?
Have a tracking mechanism so that all the bug-fixes, queries, prototypes and features delivered by students in the course of their degree are tracked. An assurance that the records will be considered during placements. In regular interviews also this can be taken as an input for cross examination.

The mutual advantage such arrangement offers is tremendous. Companies can have fresh graduates already accustomed to their technology, processes, and certain degree of rapport developed. Absorbing time drastically reduced therefore. Also both the candidate and the Business unit would be aware of the exact skill set and improvement on person's part particular job requires. Screening process will drastically improve. Candidates can make an informed decision. Even if eventually the person does not make it, the communication channel developed can serve as a lifelong asset.

The problems we face, may be sometimes driven by factors beyond our control. But our response to them is not. Therefore all firms, big or small, have an obligation to promote best among us. Not out of any altruistic motive, but for their own sake. A selfish reason to survive and excel.

PLATONIC LOVE, ADITYA CHOPRA..... AND ME

Its been described as attraction purely spiritual in nature. Cut off from bodily pleasures you may derive from consolidation of values we call Lover.
To aspire for Love thats beyond you. Beyond not just your current context, but beyond your potentialities,capabilities, abilities. Looking upto the unearned, to put more bluntly.
Always in the realm of longing, never to be achieved.

Before we delve into the details of Platonic Love in culture, lets look into the core of Plato's Philosophy.
Motivated by his Master Socrates, Plato began seeking answers into questions regarding nature of reality, concepts, and their response in man. Traveling across continents for 12 years, he came up with a Philosophical system.
Essentially, it was a monument comprising of what all religions preach.

"This world is but a pale shadow of an other, supernatural world.
The imperfect replication of those things is what we observe.
But in order to understand the nature of observable things, man somehow needs to communicate with the other world.
E.g. there can be several things with attribute of circle(rings,rolls, wheels etc. ).
But in order to know what circle as such is, he has to connect to that world."

There has always been a duel between Plato`s 'other worldly' and Aristotle's Philosophy emphasizing Life and things on Earth.
Fought across spectrum, most notably in the institution of pre-renaissance Church.Augustine deriving original sin, city of Satan and God etc. from Plato. St. Thomas Acquinas' interpretation of Aristotle, transforming Western world through Renaissance. Among medieval Arabs also, signs of Platonic influence are there. Deriving formless Allah, plus strict prohibition of portrayal.(Remember cartoon of Mohammad controversy).

Platonic love is similar in essence. Always looking up to unreachable. Pushing people into the domain where the earthly stands as synonym for unworthy, miserable.

Lets see how it has played out in Indian Cinema.
For most part, the lack of Physical connection, attributed to Platonics, has been ambiguous at Best. Mainly due to the culture of restraint and policy of censorship. I don't think there was any conscious attempt to promote Platonism.
Not until this man arrived at the scene.

The movie was "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge".
Setup of Love Story amidst practices of arranged Indian marriage.
But for me, Simran's poem on "Andekha Anjana Chehra" epitomized the ideology.
Somewhat more subtle variation came later. Farida Jalal reaching out to the daughter, telling her she has come to snatch away her happiness.Proclaiming rather boldly the inevitability of sacrifice Simran's Love demands.

The situation resonated brilliantly with the Indian psyche, where most girls spend their childhood and adolescence in dreams of Prince Charming. Only to end up with carefully chosen guy next door.

Impact of the movie was hard to sense. It planted Platonic version into the sub-conscious. Urging and pushing, only thing desirable can be unrealizable.

"Mohabattein" got more audacious.
Here was Raj Aryan, talking with deceased Ash. Deriving each little action, infact injecting her Ghost into his life stream.

No surprises then in "Rab ne Bana Di Jodi".
Lady is completely indifferent to her "this worldly" husband;Drowning instead in spunky fellow, and his savvy moves.
Even father Yash could not resist son's influence. For normally sensuality driven direction created Rahul and his Maya.(DTPH)

Extent of the influence is hard to measure.
On the personal sidenote, writer has been the victim.
Mirage chasing and falling for unrealizable. At times, the only qualification for the object of affection being that it is beyond achievement. Degrading most important choices to the realm of whimsical.
Have I gotten over it completely, I don't think so. But the self-discovery has been done, and the optimism persists that cleansing shall follow.

ERASING MY PLATONIC SELF

Now that I start deleting Platonism from my "Cupidity", there is a dilemma.
Does it mean that I erase concept of ideal itself, and confine myself to the status-quo?
Certainly I cannot do that. For the Hero, a vision of perfection, forms my Life Force.
Pushing us to greatness.
Therefore I hold back; further introspection is needed.

The mind-body integration still eludes me. When I reject Adi's Platonism, there is this danger of disposing ambition itself.
The LOVE has to be analyzed further. NOT by being blind, but with most perceptive of all visions. NOT through heart or any kind of intangible emotion.But with highest of conceptual faculties.(Though the emotions and feelings I get will serve as clues to the accuracy of direction I am going into.Still, the fact remains, emotions are secondary to volition and conceptions. And cannot be considered as fundamental).

So how is "Platonic Love" different from the "vision of perfection"?
Desire for Hero emulation comes from our values.The values are chosen by individual based on his Life's requirements.(To survive and excel).
So essentially Heroes are very much integrated into our life and actions.(That is if we don't actually betray them, as many do).
Therefore, if I keep my vision of perfection, I will aspire for a girl who actually makes me happy. For she will embody a being who is reflection of my deepest convictions.
Here I also need to consider the complete sensibilities and sum of that person, rather than few isolated attributes. I have to map each attribute of hers to the sensibilities she possesses. From trivial tasks like how she carries herself, her dressing sense, to the most complex choices one makes with regards to career, work ethics, hobbies, friends etc.

It is possible though, that the person in question has seemingly contradictory value system. But here we need to check hierarchy of values and the root cause of these "apparent contradictions".
For e.g, You may think that the lady is not sincere in her tasks, yet you feel irresistibly attracted to her. But on the other hand you hold sincerity dear.
Here comes context into the picture. Does conceit arise from actual dishonesty(conscious or sub-conscious in nature). Or is it because she thinks that sacrificing and slogging in a mediocer system is not sensible. And therefore, conceit is a way of protecting her integrity and sanity.
(Attraction to wrong person can also be due to your own hypocrisies).
Of course, errors in judgement are possible. But I think as long as I hold my sense of life and values as benchmark criteria, self-correction will lead me to my soul-mate.
Rejecting Platonism also gives opportunity to actually apply abstract principles into real life. So I can stylize my proposal, work out a course of relationship; And actually snap when it is found that there are irreconcilable differences in our value system.

Accepting Platonism instead will lead to evasions. Looking into one quality, ignoring other vices. Evading also how her character maps to mine. And most importantly, it shuts me to facts - Can I create reasonable circumstances for courtship? How shall I be appealing to her?(Without sacrificing my Egoism and values that attracted me to her in first place). Surely I do not want to be closed from the possibility of reciprocation. For after spending tireless efforts in wooing her, I do not want to be eluded from the happiness my effort deserves.

Rejecting Platonism will always keep me aware to the probability of positive outcome. I wont be ambiguous to earthly concerns anymore. And therefore my Love will be selfish in the true sense of word....
...As it ought to be!