Ali Sethi: He who has not seen India

This article irrititated me a lot. Not for pointing out Muslims in India are still a disadvantaged community, but for its selective highlighting, for its complete ignorance of the otherside of facts and the questions it would like to raise on identity in a society which has an idea of its own without a religious hyphen.

Alas, Mr. Ali Sethi has chosen an ignorant companion on his discovery of India. A more informed companion would have informed me how far India and Pakistan have diverged since the independence as very well articulated by Vir Sangvi here.

She would have told him a Muslim child in India at birth has a longer expectany at birth than her counter part in Pakistan , has higher chance of receiving education, will have better per capita income not speak of the freedom to live the way she chooses to. She would have pointed to Mr.Sethi the success stories in every field- business, sports, entertainment, politics where people succeeded by their enterprise, ingenuity, talent and hardwork irrespective of thier religion.

If Mr. Sethi was really keen to know the status of Muslims he would have spent time in the Library and learn some facts and he would have found the following showing in every way every citizen including Muslims in India will have a better chance of success.

Pakistan-2001 India - Muslims only difference

per capita GDP* 1834 2161 18%

source

1. Pakistan - Human development index report: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/completenew1.pdf

2. Indian Muslims: http://minorityaffairs.gov.in/newsite/sachar/sachar_comm.pdf

* For Muslims in India derived from GDP nos using same ratios as per capita expenditure for different religious groups.

Why IPL is so good

What a heart warming story this is.

18-year old Kamran Khan will play in IPL this season. Son of a wood cutter, kamran didn't have any first class experience. He slept on railway platforms and had only one pair of white flanels. He was picked because he could bowl fast - upwards of 140 kmph. He is a left arm slinger.

It's a wonderful story. I love IPL because of its nature to level the field for people like kamran. IPL is absolutely competive with very tangible results with timelines attached. Owners / coaches/managers are on the look out for talented players like kamran and grab them when they find them. The other domestic tournaments don't have similar incentives that feirce competition forces so they don't have to pick people like Kamran. They are happy to follow the established order and pick people with the right coaches and connections. It is hard for people like Kamran to break into the system. Here comes the IPL and ergo you see people like Kamran appear from no where.

In the last IPL again people like Ravindra Jadeja appeared from nowhere and he is playing for India now. That's why I think India will have good chances of keep winning at the highest level due to the steady suply of talent facilitated by IPL and the like, after all we have the largest pool of talent and what we need is right mechanism to tap into that.

That's has been the reason behind the success of IITs and the IIMs, again a feircely competetive system fairly administered leveling the field for people hungry for success to emerge from the backwaters.

That's why I welcome any system that breaks the existing order and allows the best to emerge- the beauty contests because they allow models and actresses ( and actors) to emerge from the small towns, comptetive entrance exams and all those reality shows on TV.

Ofcourse the biggest system that needs to be broken is the political system in India. Unless you are born in to a political family or filthy rich , there is virtually no chance to break into the political system. That's why ambitous people like NTR had to start their parties to break the old system. Obama showed how a first time senator with virtually no political backing could break the system to rise to the top. As I blogged earlier, it's virtually not possible for that to happen in India because the system is too closed. People with the right intentions like Jayaprakash Narayan of Lok satta have been finding it difficult to win. The existing parties are not democratic enough for people like JP to emerge within them and hence they have to start their parties and fight the whole system.

In the meanwhile, let's hope the best for Kamran. I will be chearing for him and the Rajastan Royals.

Morocco - Rabat

Morocco- a pleasant surprise

I spent  a pleasant one week in Rabat, Morocco. The weather was bright and sunny, people shy and friendly, the city quite and peaceful. It was a serendipitous trip for me.  Rabat had many pleasant surprises- decent infrastructure, cosmopolitan atmosphere and the freedoms enjoyed by the people.  No wonder Morocco has the highest rating in Economist quality of life index  among African countries.

 Morocco gained freedom from France in 1956. French remains the main language for commerce and governance.  Most people speak French but I could get by on the streets in English. English is becoming the second foriegn language behind French though Spanish is also spoken by some in the Northern part of the country.

Moroccans uses a lot of spice in their cooking.  It was close to the Indian cuisine that I am used to with sizzling dishes cooked in fruits and raisins.

The Moroccan search

I was thoroughly searched at the airport to make sure no moroccan dirhams were taken out of Morocco.  My shoes were searched inside out to see if they had any dirhams. I wondered why would need to monitor dirhams, it is probably due to the difference between the real and official excange rates.

Slumdog millionaire

I read Q&A by Vikas Swaroop a long time ago. I instantly liked the plot and the characters.

The movie is a little different. It is some what melodramatic but in essence captured the spirit of the book. Hope, the spirit of survival against all odds, adventure, seeking new opportunities and making most of what the world throws at you.

I read two types of reviews of the movie. Usually I like the reviews in outlook by Namrata but this time I thought she was harsh. Yes there was a lot of filth, poverty and disgusting scenes like young jalal malik emerging from human excreta, but isn't that real? We have any number of bollywood movies shot in exquisite locations and we need the odd movie to wake us from that slumber and take a look at the reality. The other review was by Shoba De in times of india which I thought was on the mark. I think in the end the movie is a tribute to the individual spirit and the triump of the underdog. Here is wishing all success to Slumdog at the Oscars! Hope AR Rehman wins an Oscar!

Search for Indian Obama

Two days to go for the inaugaration of Barrack Obama. What are the chances of an Obama emerging from the indian political system? Our polotical structure makes it difficult for new people to emerge from the existing parties as they are not directly elected by the people. So if you want to reach the top you have to form your party and win the elections. A few did. NT Ramarao becoming chief minister of Andhra pradesh in 3 months is an example. Mayavati, chief of minister of Uttar Pradesh is another. She rode on the BSP on her way to power though BSP itself was started to give power to the disadvantaged. My hypothesis is that unless the mainstream political parties decentralize themselves and let individuals who want to change the system lead their parties, these individuals have to go their own way. Chiranjeevi, a popular cinema actor, again in AP is an example and Mamata Banerji in West Bengal is another. Again ambitous individuals who want to reach the top but the mainstream parties wouldn't let them. The mainstream parties have a top down decision making with top leadership slots mostly fixed so strong individuals can't enter and lead them. They have to prove them selves in the "street" by winning elections on their own. Perhaps the mainstream parties at some point will decentralize themselves and let leaders be directly elected by the party members. It will throw their parties open to winds of change and let strong individuals enter their parties and lead them.


So till such time we have to hope that an individual emerges from the existing political familes. For my vote, Omar Abdullah, the current chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir is a strong candidate.


Omar Abdullah being elected as the chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir is one of the most positive developments in recent times from the indian political establishment.

He is young, liberal, moderate, articulate and connects with his people. His party people's conference didn't win a decisive vote. He was not anounced as the chief ministerial candidate ahead of the elections. However he still has the potential to be the face of modern india.


His speach in the parliament on the nuclear bill showed his promise. It was well articulated, passionate and above all showed the kind of leaders muslims yearned for in this country. It was above sectarian interests, placed indian strategic interests above all else and presented the best defence for the treaty with the US and that came a muslim leader! The indian state was founded as a secular democracy with equal rights to all religions. A part of pre-independence India didn't believe in that promise. Jinnah lead muslim league wanted a separate state that protects muslim interests. The indian constitution guaranteed equal rights to all religions. J&K is the only state with a muslim majority and thats why the test for idea of india and the indian constitution occurs in kashmir. Can people believe in the indian ideal? can people rise to the highest office of the land based on their merit?


Now election of Omar doesn't prove much for the merit argument. He comes from a privileged family. His grand father was a venerated figure in kashmir, was a chief minister, his father was a chief minister as well and he has connections at the highest with the ruling congress party. Still, that doesn't take away his character, ideals and the promise he presents for the indian democracy. The only realistic chance of his growing upto a national leader lies in Congress party adopting him as one of their young and promising leaders with a prime ministerial potential , a unifying figure for the nation. That can happen only if congress itself is democratized and elects its leaders on the basis of direct elections just like the selection of presidential candidates in the US but in our way. The chances don't seem to be high, but I hope internal democracy in the major parties returns if only for their own survival.