Saturday, October 30, 2021

Soft Targets for the Utopians

 

There used to be a time as a young boy, I wanted to be part of them. These people defined the public opinion-making in India through their columns, lectures, interviews controlled by very few. They were the English speaking as well as senior vernacular Intelligentsia. They were part and parcel of every prestigious event staring from school-level gatherings, to prestigious cultural events. They received various awards from Gulley to Delhi.  They defined public morality and consciousness. They claimed the empathy of the masses and championed causes of the downtrodden as they were well entrenched in their ivory towers and worldly comforts. They had access to the ruling class and policy-making. Then there was liberalization. Access to better lives was democratized. Eventually, there was the internet, and opinion-making was also democratized.  So this group went into oblivion and turned obsolete. Now this group is trying to remain relevant by selecting soft targets. They still remain in Utopia remaining silent of real perils for the society as well justifying the evil deeds. They ignore basic laws of data analytics to equate small outlier events as commonplace occurrences creating fear psychosis within the masses. Having seen this transformation for the last three decades, I no longer want to be a part of them.

I encountered one of the Utopians after I wrote a piece analyzing heroic deeds of Kargil heroes. Towards the conclusion of this article, I shared my feeling of being unworthy of the sacrifices of these young people.  The first objection was to the futility of war and why as a society we kind of celebrate war and glorify its outcomes like a sacrifice. Also, there was a dragged-in comment amount about how if we coexist and believe in something called secularism we won’t need wars.  Also, there was complaining that ‘new’ India has lost these values.  Utopians believe that so long as it doesn’t affect their own immediate self and those nearby all the worldly problems can be solved by idealism. But in the real world, there are conflicts. Though no one likes war or its outcome but they happen. And someone has to take upon the tasks to defend or maintain law and order. Just like someone has to enter the drainage to clean it.  And we should be thankful for our armed forces, Covid workers, sanitation workers and Police. But then these are soft targets.

Now that you must have realized the category of people I am referring to, another important attribute of these Utopians is to remain silent on issues conveniently or ignore the elephant in the room or even justifying the certain wrongdoings suitable to the causes they champion.

Do we remember the hue and cry they created when delta variant ravaged India? We were caught unprepared, and due to the sheer numbers, our system was overwhelmed.  Now the whole world is suffering and there is complete silence.  Some of the people justified post-election violence in Bengal with something as insensitive as the winner’s prerogative. Utopians were singing paeans about Kerala Government for Covid control and oxygen supply but when numbers started going haywire what do we get complete silence.    

Recently we saw the silence of Utopians on seizure of Afghanistan by the extremist elements. But then denouncing them would be dangerous. These elements hardly believe in freedom of expression. Now they don’t cry about feminism. But then they denounce every Indian tradition to be anti-feminist and patriarchal as they are soft targets. In fact, some of them even try to justify the Taliban with something as ludicrous as Taliban at least hold press conferences. They want the Taliban to be given second chance. They justify their extremism as a counter to US policies. Some Utopians are comparing them to Indian traditionalists. They know they can do that as they are the soft targets.

Utopians blame India’s stance on various matters ranging from Farm Laws, Kashmir, Economic Policies, Judicial reforms, laws approved democratically. The only and only reason for that is the inbuilt democratic nature of ‘Indian culture’. Please note secular values, constitutional beliefs are just jargon. But underlying religious traditions of coexistence make democracy and freedom and expression possible in India. But this has rendered whatever is considered to be called Indian as a soft target.  Thus they can speak out against anything under the sun against the state, culture, and religious traditions.  

Now I know here there will be swords drawn equipped with skew data analytics quoting sedition laws being used, the plight of so-called urban Naxalites, regulation of NGOs, journalists under attacks from states and so on.  But you cannot ignore a great underlying number of cases where people have expressed way they wanted to in a safe manner as compared to  incidences which are blown out of proportion by the Intelligentsia.

Here in the USA, Utopians have found their soft target in Global Hindutva. They questionably claim to have support from 41 universities as an entity for what they call it a Global online conclave titled Dismantling Hindutva. There they are trying to explain to people who have no affiliations to know the so-called perils of Hindutva. Hindutva is now widely accepted as the ‘Indian way of life’ as compared to a religious identity. This is accepted even by the courts of India. Indian Culture believes in coexistence. Live and let live has been our ethos. We know the demographics and as a widely multi-religious society as ours we have to do be inclusive in our lives. There have been assertions of aspirational India which has reflected positively in all walks of Life. Let this assertion be not branded as aggression or jingoism as maligned by these Utopians who seem to have missed the bus and lost favors with governance.  But again Utopians know their soft targets as they are trying to influence the mind space of second-generation Indians across universities and those who don’t have any initiation. These activities should be countered ideologically and counterpoints have to be put in democratically.

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Dil Mange More

 

Many of us liked the movie Shershah: a Biopic on Late Capt. Vikram Batra.  It was good storytelling overall. Thanks to the valor and sacrifice by men like Capt. Batra, we could recover lost ground in Kargil and very recently at Galvan.  Nation has been always proud of and thankful to its armed forces since Independence. It was an Independence Day weekend followed by victory at Lords over our past Lords that made the mood more patriotic. ‘Yuddhasya Vartaha Ramya” as they say in Sanskrit meaning the war stories are always engaging, but at the same time, they can be tragic as well to those who lose their lives or are injured and more those around the martyrs and injured. But maybe crying over their losses is a bit disrespectful to their valor and sacrifice.

Right during the Kargil conflict and many years following the war, I had a chance to interact with those who fought on the front. I also experienced the first-hand feedback of personal losses to our armed forces due to my involvement with the activities of defense family support/ defense entrance causes for the Trust in the memory of my closest friend: Late Flt Cdt Parag Chandrakant Limaye. Parag laid down his life for the country during his instructor-led flight training mishap of MIG plane in 1995. Some Kargil Stories are simply unbelievable highlighting the difficulty levels for our forces. Hats off to their indomitable spirit!

While listening to these stories, I was intrigued by how people are capable sometimes of the strangest of transactions: they pay with their own lives for the sake of the country.  Normally we can imagine people ready to give their lives for their families. For these martyrs, I think they have a broader vision. They feel nation as their extended family and feel any harm to their nation as harm to their own family. That can be one of the ways to rationalize this strange transaction to the mind of civilian life. But do these army men confront death for any ideological or for that matter even for popularly attributed patriotic reasons?

I had read a statement from a soldier returning to the US from Iraq. He said, “While civilians can postpone their intellectual confrontation with death, a soldier doesn’t have this luxury. On the battlefield, you better sort out your relationship with “Joe Black” quickly, before it’s too late. Thoughts of death will occupy your mind. However, every soldier has another way to deal with it and none of them like to talk about it. Therefore, I can only speak about my own thoughts: The first thing that I had to do when I entered a war zone was to make peace with myself. This means nothing else than to reconcile your ego with the fact that your life is probably over. You always wanted to see the beaches of Thailand? Only one more time see a loved one, a person that is special to you? Forget it, you are going nowhere! The prospect of death has ruined all your life plans and you better deal with it. Of course, when I realized this truth, I became very sad. Many people say that they are not afraid of death itself, but they fear the process of dying, but I wholeheartedly disagree. We fear the great unknown. To get rid of this fear, we have to explore this unknown. We have to take a deep look into the black hole and explore death’s true nature. The moment you have found satisfying answers, something wonderful will happen: Death has become familiar to you, almost like a person. You think more about death than about your family than about anything else. It’s not the great unknown anymore and some soldiers even start to embrace it. Death is an unavoidable certitude you can’t run away from, so why not make it your friend?”

A general gave a firsthand account: “There is no one single emotion that motivates all soldiers to risk death. What are these death-defying emotions?  

Kill the enemy, destroy him at any cost, and if we don’t kill them they will kill us. In the heat of battle saving your own/ life of your buddies by killing the enemy first is a strong emotion and sometimes this results in your death/ injury.

The job we are tasked with is very important for our Unit /Army/country; we have to do it at any cost even at the risk of death or injury.

A strong bond with the team:  I must follow my team and do what they are doing including risking their own life.

A strong attachment and devotion to and along with a conviction of the martial achievements / traditions of their Regiment/unit/nation which compels the soldier to do the job even facing almost sure death to keep the honor of his Regiment/unit/nation.

 A deeply rooted self-image of a brave warrior and to maintain this image in the eyes of all around him, he is ready to risk his own life.

Lastly but most importantly, the excitement of battle prevents his mind to think of death or injury or their consequences at that moment. The task in hand suppresses all other emotions including fear”.

This thought process is something which can explain such heroic feats well symbolized by this famous reply on the television history in India: “Dil Mange More”. As the jingoism set in as an aftereffect of this movie, worldwide Independence Day’s celebrations, and Lord's victory mellowed down there were few questions that started troubling me. Do we as a society deserve the sacrifices made by these real heroes? Do we ourselves think our nation to be our own extended family? Do we follow rules and regulations of the land during our daily lives, occupation, and as a part of civic society?  I know this might sound cliché and cynical but it’s a real honest feeling especially in context of the sacrifices made by someone whose heart wanted more.

Sunday, October 17, 2021

No Medals for Trying

 

Gold is the color of this season. Nation of 130 crores is celebrating the success of an Individual athlete apart from a couple of silvers and 4 bronze medals across various sports. This is the highest achievement for India at the Olympics. Apart from Hockey medals and the sole individual wrestling medal by Khashaba Jadhav, we had to wait for the whole 20th century till the Leander bronze in 96. In this millennium there have been medals but nothing like 2021. This Olympics was also was the most controversial after the early 80s boycotts during the cold war, thanks to the pandemic. Kudos to all the organizers and participants for organizing this successful event.  And special thanks to all Indian athletes to make the nation proud especially after all the negative reporting of our country during the Pandemic. Finally seems like we have moved on from the bureaucratic stronghold over sports. We have realized that there are no medals for trying. It’s all about winning

But then there is one school of thought which cynically discounts all the hype around these medals. These medals don’t count till we remove poverty and hunger out. The taxpayer's money spent on the gold quest can feed many people. The Olympics are for developed countries that have social security for people. Look at the medal tally, discount Russia (OC) and China for their autocratic ways; all other top 10 nations are first world countries. But then for a country like India Olympics are the affirmations to be part of world hegemony and part of our quest to be counted in the mainstream of world politics and economics.  Though there is no tangible correlation between medals won and clout in hegemony, the very fact that you compete against the best and win has the indirect impact that rubs of in other fields as well. Again this is a highly contentious issue. But then as a Nation, we have no choice but to try and create systems to create winners and fight poverty as well. And there are no medals for trying.  

But we have a long way to go to achieve levels for excellence in sport. We lack the system and attitude needed. Our kids are more focused on academics. The main reason is the lack of fall back system for people who focus their golden years on sports. This binary nature of success has its own pitfall. There are no medals for trying. Unless you succeed you have no guarantee of a better life. With the advent of leagues and money pouring in in certain sports we are seeing tangible results as we saw in Hockey.  Gold was a result of Army support. Can we provide such support in civilian lives example can universities provide such world-class facilities as they do in the top 10 medal-winning countries? We need answers and solutions with a note that there are no medals for trying.

Also, we need to democratize Olympics as such. Sports like Athletics, Swimming, and Gymnastics have proportionally higher count than other sports and team events.  There is no representation of sports like Cricket which is the first choice for one-fourth of the world population.  The rules within a sport are also manipulated to suit western countries as seen in sports like Hockey, Wrestling, and so on. We have some of the best business, tech, and political brains in the world. We should definitely have more say in the organizational decisions through lobbying. We need to win battles beyond the arena and again there are no medals for trying.

Buzz Aldrin the second man to reach the moon had interestingly quoted that nobody cares about bronze or silver medals summarizing his own story. Maybe both Ravi Dahiya and Chanu will disagree. So will the Hockey team, Punia, Lovelina, and Sindhu. But this quote merely highlights the binary nature of winning. The winner takes it all.

Traditionally we have had misunderstood the teachings of Bhagwad Gita. Bhagwad Gita doesn’t advise people to keep on doing their job without worrying about results. It asks us to be proficient in our work, focus and persevere like Neeraj Chopra. Medals will follow. They are the outcome. Dan Gable has said Gold Medals aren’t really made of Gold, they are made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called Guts. Those who lost by a whisker or missed the medallist should improve on things that went wrong and do the ‘karm’ ie strive till you get a medal.  This is a road that doesn’t end till you win the medal. There are no medals for Trying.  After you discount the romanticism in her books, even Ayn Rand’s Objectivism confirms that what matters is your uncompromised dedication towards excellence.

But the downside to the binary nature of life is the big black hole of unsung and uncelebrated heroics of many who failed to win. Be it sports or in profession or life in general. Many promised to deliver and failed. They went into oblivion. Some didn’t even try. But the most common thread of such stories is that their journey ended mid-way before they won. Some may attribute it to destiny thanks to external factors or due to internal weaknesses. And life never offers equal footing to everyone to start the race. Life offers different challenges for different competitors.  But the only choice for us is to fight. As Gold winner like Jesse Owens had said, “the battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself: the invisible battles within all of us”.  And we have to win these battles. Only those who win are remembered and there are no medals for trying.

But despite this, all of us who don’t have Gold medals have a small consolatory thought that is invaluable as we grow older in our lives:  Our wrinkles are our medals of the passage of life. They are what we have been through and who we want to be. You have won them.

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Batches of Destiny

 

There is a placement ad circulating on social media that says 2021 Graduates are not eligible for a particular Job. I am not sure about the authenticity if it’s happening actually. There was an overall doubt on the quality of online education especially in STEM which needs access to equipment and labs. Some sectors will be more affected than others. But these graduates have their task cut out to minimize disruption caused by the pandemic on their career due to the socio-economic impact apart from online learning challenges.

Destiny plays important role in our lives but it is interesting to note how historic and economic events define the collective destiny of a group of people born in a certain decade (generation) or a certain year (batch). It is observed that people graduating during economic depression have a large economic impact on their lives as compared to others. During the coronavirus pandemic, students were sent home to do remote schooling, internships were canceled and for those graduating into the pandemic, getting a job felt impossible.  Your first job isn’t usually your best job, but it’s the way you make connections and learn what it means to be in the labor force. It’s the thing that provides the springboard to your future success. The class of 2020 entered one of the most hostile labor markets in recent history. Now as the class of 2021 graduates, conditions are difficult for young workers.  According to a study, 2020 graduates saw a bigger decrease in labor force participation than those who graduated during the Great Recession in 2008-10 and added debts.

The study states:  Graduating in a recession leads to large initial earnings losses. These losses, which amount to about 9 percent of annual earnings in the initial stage, eventually, recede, but slowly -- halving within five years but not disappearing until about ten years after graduation. Graduating in a recession leads workers to start at smaller and lower-paying firms, and they catch up by switching jobs more frequently than those who graduate in better times. Some workers are more affected by luck than others. For example, those with few years of experience suffer less than those entering labor markets, bottom people in class suffer more than toppers.

Another research shows impacts on outcomes and mortality when recession graduates reach midlife. Their first finding is that high school graduates and dropouts suffered even stronger income losses than college graduates when entering the labor market during a recession. Second, they found that negative impacts on socioeconomic outcomes persist in the long run. In midlife, recession graduates earned less, while working more. And they were less likely to be married and more likely to be childless. The third finding is that recession graduates had higher death rates when they reached middle age. These mortality increases stemmed mainly from diseases linked to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and eating poorly.  

Thus it is advised to the batches to accept this as a part of human history and don’t take hard on yourself helping you stay away from mental depression, and work on three aspects to increase employability: acquiring advanced and rare skills, improve soft skills and network extensively to help bridge the gap. Finally, be proud of yourself for facing challenges that many people will never experience.  

Looking from a decade perspective each generation has a certain destiny.  Here I will stick to the global terminology of generations. The generation born from 1900 to the great depression is called Greatest Generation. This generation survived pandemic, wars, and depression.   The generation born during 30 till the end of the war is called Silent Generation as this set of people were few in numbers and felt unwise to speak out to legendary fathers and boomers to follow. Baby boomer refers to a member of the demographically large generation born between the end of WWII and the mid-1960s.  In the Indian context, this generation was the first batch born in Independent India. They saw visions of modern India but were deterred by economic deprivation. Jobs were hard to come by and entrepreneurs were not trusted by society.

GenX followed Boomers. The generation was born between the mid-60s and mid-80s. This is the batch that saw the transformation of India from depravity to the consumer market thanks to liberalization. They rode on IT wave and moved toward higher economic strata and enjoyed the benefits of Globalization. Gen Xers are self-sufficient, resourceful, and individualistic since they have been accustomed to caring for themselves at young age.   Because they lived through difficult economic times in the 1980s, they are less committed to employers than their baby boomer parents. They tend to have a strong entrepreneurial spirit. This generation also saw new world order.

Millennials — those born from the mid-1980s to early 2000s — were more flexible and want control of their lives. They also seek work-life balance. This generation is generally marked by elevated usage of and familiarity with the Internet, mobile devices, and social media. And thus are called digital natives. They are highly educated, a factor that boosted economic growth for them. Millennials across the world have suffered significant economic disruption since starting their working lives in the wake of the Great Recession and COVID-19.

Gen Z is the generation born in the new millennium till 2010. They are the first social generation to have grown up with access to the Internet and portable digital technology from a young age. This access has impacted their attention span, their vocabulary, and thus their school grades, as well as their future in the modern economy.  The generation born after 2010 is called Generation alpha. In between these generations there lies something dreaded as the Generation Gap.

We are a part of human history. Each one of us represents a Generation or a batch and has to suffer or benefit from being a part of that time continuum.  If we accept this, it is easier to accept and contextualize the situation we are in now.