Minimum Government, Maximum Governance

I have been visiting Dubai once or twice every year since 2016. I highly regard the efficiency of the police, the doctors, the event managers and the RTA. Obviously, the system here works so well because of the dedication and sincerity of the people at the helm of affairs. However, the magnanimity of the Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, surpasses my imagination. It leaves me spellbound.

It is natural to dislike one's critics. People in power and their sycophants are often found shouting down voices of dissent. They beat up protestors, put them behind bars, murder them, and even pass laws to ensure that all cries of dissent are maimed. Sycophancy and instinct for survival propel people to eulogise those in power and silence the detractors.

But when a radio show host recently mocked Al Mazrouei, a 57-year old Emirati finding it difficult to survive, the host would not have thought in his wildest dreams that he would be suspended for his act. In most countries his punishment would have been considered sufficient to close the chapter and sweep the matter under the carpet. But things work differently in Dubai. Not only the grievances of this ailing father of nine children have been attended to within a week, but he has been appointed as a social researcher at the Ministry of Community Development to continue being the voice of the ignored segments. Al Mazrouei was also honoured as an invitee to the cabinet meeting. He walked next to Shaikh Mohammad at the Presidential Palace for the meeting, at which a total of Dh11b for social assistance was approved without dilly-dallying. If the catchphrase, 'minimum government and maximum governance' proves true anywhere, it is here, at Dubai!

Affluent in English

Are you affluent in English? No? What if I offered you a job and made it your role and responsibility to become affluent in English? Will you consider it as a kind of a joke? No, I am serious. A company continues to display this vacancy on its website even after being informed. Perhaps the difference between 'affluent' and 'fluent' is not clear; perhaps a similar confusion exists between qualifications & skill set and role & responsibility; or something else is wrong.  

Obsession with the English language sometimes exposes the pathetic discomfort of the advertiser with it. It also leads to some unintended funny interpretations. Sample the following:

Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.

The manager has personally passed all the water served here.

The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.

Teeth extracted by the latest methodists.

For restrooms go back toward your behind.

Please be careful to traffic.

Please do not drop butt in the toilet bowl.

Nothing last's forever.

Please do not empty your dog here.

You must be having some examples to add. Please feel free and go ahead!

Intellectual Paralysis?

Sick of wrongly attributed motivational messages, today morning I posted one for my close relatives on the social media application WhatsApp. My message had the photograph of Abraham Lincoln with a mobile phone in his hand, stating "The problem with quotes on the internet is that no one can confirm their authenticity." Considering that the recipients included some very active contributors to the group, I had hoped for some reaction. No one reacted.

My brother, then a big shot in a petroleum behemoth, wrote a thriller four years ago. The modestly priced English novel was available for sale on Amazon. He ran campaigns on social media about it. Counting on his colleagues, friends and relatives, I assumed at least a hundred copies to be sold. I was wrong in my assumption – very few copies were sold. His other novel, a social drama in Hindi, suffered a similar fate.

Last year I compiled a collection of short stories written by my father, an award winning author. My friends and close relatives were very excited about it, some being "unable to wait for the release" of the anthology. Moving with the times, I got a soft version of the book published, available for download at Rs.200. In the six months since its publication, three friends have downloaded it; relatives have stopped talking about it.

My stories and poems are regularly published on internet magazines and newspapers. A year back I used to share the links with all my relatives and friends. Not any more, after I realised that most do not share their views even if they read the piece.

I can understand reluctance in shelling out money to buy a literary work, but what I fail to crack is the secret behind the silence on material made available without any expense. What is it that propagates a barrage of dubious forwarded messages but stems the expression of one's personal opinion? Are we becoming too lethargic to think on our own? Can we think but are no longer able to express ourselves in words? Are we witnessing the onset of intellectual paralysis?

Where Does Urban India Get Educated?

Those days are becoming rarer when I am not left aghast, shamefaced, or repulsed at the demeanour of my fellow countrymen in surroundings demanding civilised behaviour. These countrymen (and women) are dressed in expensive attire, generally with a cellular phone clutched in their hand, and look educated.

As you walk towards the exit after the end of the performance at a theatre, they push you. If you look back, they order you to move ahead. They get irritated at the slow movement of a wheel chair. They violate the yellow line and the zebra crossing. They honk in the middle of the night on an empty road. They play loud music in their car and home. They scratch their genitals and pick their nose in full public view, and have the audacity to offer the same hand for a handshake. They speak loudly in a public area, train and aircraft, disturbing others. They expect you to clear the way for them when you are stuck in a traffic jam. They jump the queue. They shower spit as they speak. They encroach. They abuse. They demand to be served first. They ...

Once it was proudly declared that though we Indians behaved in an uncivilised manner in 'Hamaaraa Pyaara Hindustaan'; we were the most law abiding people abroad. Sadly, it is not true. We clutter streets, bypass fire alarms, spit when not likely to be apprehended, speak loudly, ogle at women, and display such poor social etiquettes abroad that finding a house in upmarket neighbourhoods is a challenge for us in many countries. Indians have formed ghettos in such countries, which the natives are wary of entering.

Why is it so that in spite of attending some very good schools and paying through our nose for that coveted degree, educated urban Indians practise pathetic civic sense, circumvent the law rather than follow it, dominate and exploit the weak, change colours like a chameleon and pay obeisance even to their sworn enemies in return for a favour?

The fact is, these 'Indians' were children some years back. Their parents, their first teachers, taught them to come first in class. And of course, the parents expected them to come out tops if they played a sport or danced or sang or played some musical instrument. Coming first became a way of life. You can come first only if the others are behind. You can either race ahead or push others behind. The lesson was learnt.

Most children took the school bus or some other conveyance to reach the school. The driver became their next teacher. The driver, who announced his arrival through continuous honking while still some hundred meters away from the pick up spot in the still dark wintry morning. The driver who showered profanities on anyone who dared to share the road ahead. The driver who took pride in scaring rickshaws and small cars away and snatched the right of way from them. The driver who was smart and adventurous enough to risk his life by driving on the wrong side. The driver who never cared for the zebra crossing and the traffic signals. The driver, who, in spite of treating the police with contempt, managed them well if caught! The situation was not much different if the child was dropped by the parents or a relative. The children spent the most formative ten years of their lives under this teacher, and became street smart. Being selfish became a second nature.

I wonder if any parent discusses the routine travel of the child to and from the school. I wish we start doing it. If we wish to inculcate values. Otherwise, we should be prepared to raise another generation of Indians who may know coding, but may not know how to earn respect in a civilised society.

Misplaced Patriotism

“Be proud that you are an Indian,” we hear often. Nothing wrong with that, but what next? Should I, in my pride, start judging, berating and punishing people who appear to be less proud than I am? Does patriotism end with badmouthing others, sharing jingoistic messages over social network, buying national flag on independence day, claiming that we are superior to citizens from other countries - specially Pakistan? I am afraid, these acts have little to do with patriotism. Patriotism is not window-dressing. It is not superficial.

It is said that we should feel proud because we were born in India. For those who were born elsewhere, a sub-clause is added – such people should feel proud because they are of Indian origin, which means that at least one of their ancestors was born in India. Fine! By that logic, one should also be proud of the state, the city, the street and the house in which one was born. For example, a person born, say in jhopadpatti 333/44, Dharavi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, should feel superior to his neighbour born in, say, jhopadpatti 333A/44; and vice versa! What a flawed logic that would be! Unfortunately, that logic has been applied a number of times on the regional level, causing rifts and divisions amongst innocent citizens. It has also been applied on locality basis, leading to bloodshed.

I do feel proud on being an Indian when I learn that India launched the South Asia satellite, funding it entirely, to provide communications services to its neighbouring countries. But I don’t feel proud when I learn that we have made the Mumbai coast among the dirtiest coasts in the world by flowing 20,000 L of muck into it every day.

I do feel proud about the absolute impartiality of Lord Ram. But I do not feel proud when I  read about judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court releasing orders against each-other.

I do feel proud when I consider how an average automobile maker Suzuki became strong in India as Maruti Suzuki. But I do not feel proud when I see fellow road users being put to danger with road rage and irresponsible driving.

I do feel proud when I see Indians climbing the ladder of success all over the world. But I don’t feel proud when I realise that Africans hesitate to visit India due to crimes against them in the country, and even Indian citizens from the North East are forced to brave racism.

I do feel proud when I think about our heritage of treating guests as gods. But I don’t feel proud when I read that even as their plane was crash-landing, rather than evacuating the aircraft at the earliest, Indians chose to collect their baggage from overhead bins, thus exposing the passengers behind to great risk.

I do feel proud when I read about efforts to keep our surroundings clean. But I don’t feel proud when I notice Indian dominated areas littered in otherwise squeaky clean cities in the world, and the Indians subjecting all to risk by switching off the fire alarm in their kitchens.

I do feel proud about the priority placed on education by Indians. But I do not feel proud about the quality of education in India.

I do feel proud about the sophisticated fine arts in India. But I do not feel proud about the lack of etiquettes and basic civic sense in India.

The list can continue. You would have got the point. Pride in our origin is necessary to accept us as we are, without getting intimidated by those who appear to be better off. This pride is necessary to ensure that we do not begin with an inferiority complex. But it does not mean that we close our eyes, declare others as inferior, and make no attempts for spiritual and physical growth. It does not mean that we do not conduct a sincere introspection, increase our strengths and reduce our weaknesses. The need of the hour is to stop believing in false patriotism and to behave sincerely. The need of the hour is to re-master the Indian arts and science which the foreigners have started teaching us. The need of the hour is to adapt suitable technology and practices for our growth. The need of the hour is to stop blind imitation. Can we do it? 

Religion and Punctuality

The meeting was scheduled from 6:00 AM. The venue was the parking lot of our building. Eight more residents were invited to the meeting. I reached the venue and found it deserted. Even the host had failed to make it.

I checked the place again after twenty minutes. Still vacant. There was no communication about a postponement or cancellation of the meeting.

I came back without a protest. I didn’t expect anyone to be there. It was just the sheer force of habit that had propelled me to the venue.

Over the years I have accepted that punctuality is treated differently by different people. I remember meetings being scheduled from 9:58 AM at the multi-national Ingersoll Rand. The intent was clear. A delay of even one minute was not acceptable. Mail was responded to in time, projects were finished in time, and customers were served in time. It is not that Ingersoll Rand did not commit mistakes. It did, but solutions were provided efficiently and quickly.

At the other extreme lies my experience with some Indian companies catering to the domestic market. Reminders were common, whether for a response to mail or for participation in an event. All these companies were dominant players in the Indian market, but had negligible presence elsewhere.

Religion is a weak spot with us. We sacrifice our life for its sake. We can make it our strength and empower our life by delving deeper into religion and practising it in its true sense. The Sanatan Hindu Dharma, Islam, Christianity or other prominent religions do not recommend procrastination. Still, generations after generations grown with an overdose of religion find nothing wrong if the completion of a bridge gets delayed by years, if the transfer of a provident fund file takes months, if the correction of a government bill takes weeks, if a long distance train runs behind schedule by a day, or if an across-the-counter transaction takes hours instead of minutes!

We get hurt if we suspect that a particular animal is being harmed or a place of worship is being desecrated; but we find it absolutely alright to waste time and subject other humans to inconvenience due to inaction or delayed action on our part.

Aren’t our priorities misplaced? Isn’t that a larger contributor to our sluggish progress than the oft-maligned political parties?

Film Star Politicians

Manoj Tiwari is a rising star today in Delhi politics. I am not so sure about the future.

I have not been able to crack the secret behind the failure of Hindi, Bengali and Bhojpuri film stars to grab the coveted chair. They pull crowds, orchestrate wins, fall behind, and ultimately get lost in obscurity.  Someone told me that the stool examination parameters for South Indians are different from those for ordinary Indians. I do not know whether the information is correct, but the parameters in case of the chair seem to be definitely different.

I feel that more often than not, materialistic success is obtained and sustained with crookedness and manipulative people skills. Whether one is a scientist, a teacher, an artist, a lawyer, a sportsperson, a journalist, a film star, an industrialist, a politician or a commercially successful Guru – whether one reaches and remains at the top depends upon the presence of these two elements in progressive order. I fear that Hindi, Bengali and Bhojpuri film stars fall short somewhere when the time comes to grab the chair.   

Talking of film star politicians, the death of Vinod Khanna shocked me. This hugely admired and envied star looked pathetic in his last days. Everyone must die, but this way? Though I neither liked nor disliked him, his departure left me sad. Life need not be devoid of grace, even for film stars and politicians.