Illness

Poverty

When I was a child, the sight of poor children used to make me very sad. Actually not only poor children but even their poor parents . Rather I should say poor families . It used to be a really regular phenomena for me . Of course , in India we dont need to wait to see poverty, even if you are in Delhi or Mumbai, leave aside the other interior parts . We have pockets of prosperity but as a whole we are a poor country .

Ya, so I used to compare myself with them . I used to think how priviledged I am, and I used to think what would these poor people be thinking when they would be looking at me . Very frequently I used to harbour a certain guilt conscience because of this . I used to think: Is it that I have snatched from them resources of which they were rightful owners ? Am I the reason for the state they are in! And is this what they think about when I am in front of them.

My mind replied in the affirmative and I convicted myself of this crime. The next question I had to answer is how do I exonerate myself of this . I found an answer to this too . I decided that when I grow up and will start earning I will donate 20% of my income to poor people . The figure of 20 had no basis, just some reasonable figure the child in me came up with .

When I look back at those days of contemplation , the erroneous analysis amuses me . What amuses me is how improper understanding of economics leads a child to become a communist .

Carl Marx talks about two classes in the society , the owners of capital and the sellers of labour .
This differentiation of society in two groups is what his theory of Communism is based on . He tries to explain economics on the basis of interaction of these two groups .

Few questions we need to answer before proceeding:

1) Are these two sets of people really disjoint ?
2) Are these two sets of people really in-interconvertible ?

An individual can be fighting the perpetual 'communist' war only from one side isn't it !!
If these two sets are not disjoint , does Marx want me to believe that there are people who are participating in this war from both sides !
If these two sets are interconvertible , does Marx want me to believe that there are people who are switching sides in this war !

Take me as an example . I am a labourer who sells my labour for money . This money which I earn is convertible in all kinds of things which Marx would want to call 'capital' . I can buy land , houses , shares in companies , using which I can make profits . So now, am I an exploited labourer or a capitalist who exploits ? Marx needs to answer this question !

I think for communism i mut say the proverb "HEAVEN On Earth"

#sarcasmisonhigh

What WE KNOW and WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW!!!!

Whenever we discuss India-Pakistan relationship, Kashmir is a central issue .

A bit of history:
The Indian independence Act, as passed in the British Parliament, posited the partition of British ruled India into Hindu and Muslim majority regions namely India and Pakistan . The princely states, and this is the important part , were given the freedom to join either India or Pakistan or remain independent . Raja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir chose to remain independent .

Pakistan meanwhile attacked Jammu and Kashmir . Raja Hari Singh approached India for help . India agreed to help on the condition that Jammu and Kashmir accede to India. Raja Hari Singh signed the document of accession and J&K legally became a part of India. The Indian army was in the process of evicting the Pakistani invaders when our leadership commited the historial blunder of involving the United Nations and agreeing on a cease fire . The marks of that blunder are now etched on the ground as the LoC , the positions of the army at the time of the ceasefire .

So much for history , India's claim on J&K are based on the document of accession , whereas Pakistan's claims stem from J&K being a muslim majority state. We can get into this discussion about whose claim is more legitimate, one based on rules and laws and the other based on religious separatism . But that is a separate issue . Since then Pakistan has been spreading terrorism in J&K, using all means possible.

Till a few weeks ago, India's official, international stand was that Pakistan is involved in spreading terrorism in J&K . A counterattack Pakistan has been using for years was accusing India of spreading discontent in Balochistan, which India has summarily denied .

Then came the NAM summit and Dr. Manmohan Singh , by virtue of being the 'elected' Prime Minister, represented India. What came out of the summit was a joint statement by India and Pakistan which stated that India will look into information which Pakistan has on threats in Balochistan . In a moment , India wasted the efforts it has been making for so long, to divert the Pakistani accusation . If this would have come unilaterally from Pakistani , it would have been worth just as any baseless allegation . But now it has a seal of authenticity from India. It is ununderstandable what forced India to agree to this mention in the joint statement .

Serious as the matter was , the issue reached the Parliament of India . The explanation given by the government was as ludicrous as it can be .
"We have nothing to hide on Balochistan". - I know we have nothing to hide on Balochistan , thats the precise reason why there should not have been any mention of Balochistan . Are we going to include things in the joint statement , on which we have nothing to hide ?
" We have not agreed to Indian hand in Balochistan, we will merely look into the issue " - Will Pakistan look into the information, India might provide it on Maoist infested areas ? If not , why will we look into the Balochistan issue ?

The ramifications of this blunder did not take much time to manifest . Just a few days ago , the Pakistani Foreign Minister was showing off the joint statement, as a confession by India of its hand in meddling in internal affairs of Pak . Who do we blame now ? Do we blame Pakistan , or do we blame the India leadership ?

What will we do when the international community asks us " Dear India ! What actions have you taken on the information provided to you by Pakistan about the Balochistan unrest ? " . Then we will be able to do nothing except show a red face .
What if Pakistan tells us that they will stop terrorism in Kashmir only after India stops terrorism in Balochistan .
India has been suffering for more than 60 years on the hands of Pakistan , but we still fail to learn from our mistakes . Today we remember Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru as the one who created the J&K problem for India by agreeing on a cease fire at a totally inappropriate time . Maybe 50 years down the line, we will remember Dr. Manmohan Singh as the architect of the Balochistan headache . A glimpse of that dreamy vision has already been given to us . Remember that India Pakistan joint anti-terror mechanism!

Now maybe , Ill be accused as one of those who does not want cordial relations between the two countries . Lets defeat the designs of the terrorists by not showing any reactions and by talking even more vigorously with Pakistan . That innocent Indians keep getting killed 'during' this peace process , is a totally different issue .

As a student of the scientific disciplines and engineering, I am deeply influenced by conservation laws . Conservation laws help us solve many problems . Law of conservation of mass and energy , Law of conservation of momentum , Law of conservation of angular momentum and what not .

The idea which regularly came to my mind is does a Law of conservation of Wealth!! hold !! Wierd idea, but yes it did come to my mind . As long back as 4 years ago , I used to include conservation of wealth in my neat set of conservation laws . Come on lets try to test it .

For this purpose we will assume the theory of supply and demand . If u dont agree with this theory do let me know .

So , once upon a time there was an isolated village with three inhabitants , villager A , villager B and villager C . The village used the currency Foo . Villager A loved mangoes , B was indifferent towards mangoes and C used to grow mangoes . All three villagers owned 100 Foos .

C had 2 mangoes which he was ready to sell . A being the avid mango lover agreed to buy . He was ready to pay 5 Foos for a mango .

Now what is the total wealth of the village :
A's wealth =100 Foos .
B's wealth = 100 Foos.
C's wealth = 100 + 2* 5 Foos = 110 Foos .
Total = 310 Foos .

Suddenly B develops an intense desire to eat mangoes . He starts to meet C and finds him in negotiation with A regarding the mangoes . B really wants to have the mangoes and rates the mangoes at 6 Foos per piece .

Now what is the total wealth of the village :
A's wealth =100 Foos .
B's wealth = 100 Foos.
C's wealth = 100 + 2* 6 Foos = 112 Foos .
Total = 312 Foos .


Wow, the total wealth of the isolated village has changed . Our law of conservation of Wealth has failed!!

Physicists earlier used to follow a law of conservation of Mass , which was found to be inaccurate and came up with a law of conservation of Mass and Energy .

Maybe we need to forget the Law of conservation of Wealth , and start following a law of Conservation of Wealth and Demand , the exact formulation will need more investigation .

Wealth can be created and destroyed, It is not that it can only be transferred from one hand to another .

I hope communists understand this and end their opposition to creation of wealth and subdue their love for transfer of wealth .

Corruption we KNOW

What is corruption ?

Corruption is one of the most talked about but the least understood issue in modern India. Understanding the root cause of corruption is necessary before embarking on any venture to reduce it. It will serve us well if we delve into some generic patterns of corruption and understand how it is so deeply related to economic policy whereas generally it is attributed to mere greed motives. This is one of the prime reasons why efforts based only on intentions have always failed to reduce corruption in any long term sustainable manner.

"THE" Mentaliy

Why we Indians don't like queues ?

It’s a very common scene in India . People trying to skip queues and get in front of you until nudged. Seen all over the country. Its become a second nature for us.

The same Indians change their behavior when out of India . They will not only stay in queues but even maintain enough distance from those in front of them .

What is it that has, in a sense evolved us Indians into this kind of behavior ? Lets step back a moment to understand what is  going on here.