DEFINING THE 20th CENTURY WORLD

The 20^th century was the founding stone of the modern world of information age. Undeniably, the early generations of this century had to give a lot of sacrifices to make a stable world rising with development and cooperation. From the great enduring generation to the baby boomers and finally to Gen X, many events as part of a longer process have taken place defining the global scenario as it is today and will be in future.

·         The Killing of Franz Ferdinand: the assassination of archduke of Austria resulted in an immediate chain of trigger happy events leading to the First World War. The globe was never the same after the massive war, millions lost their lives, and economies languished under recession and deplorable economic opportunities. Sanctions-embargos raised against belligerents further fomented resentment amongst imperial powers leading to the Second World War.

·         The October Revolution: Lenin and his Bolshevik party leading his men to overthrow the Tsarist autocracy in Russia and resulting in the establishment of the Soviet Union. The formation of the USSR resulted in the post-world war era partition of power in the globe, the cold war and its subsequent dissolution resulted in painful socio-economic and political transition of emerging nations. Overall the 20^th century’s latter part was dominated with aspects related to the USSR, communism and its policies.

·         Rise of Asia: The rapid growth and industrialization of Asian economies especially China and India shifted the power towards the eastern hemisphere of the globe. Former colonies and victims of imperialistic ambitions, many Asian economies rose in an unprecedented manner utilizing their vast natural resources, demographic dividend and enjoying the fruits of globalization and liberalization. The world no longer belonged solely to the policies and ideology of the western super powers.

·         Computers, telephone and the internet: the launch of the first satellite into space, landing of man on the moon, invention of computers, advancement in transport and communication technology made the world a smaller place to live in. Boundaries no longer seemed to exist as intercontinental distances were covered in fractions of seconds while communicating over e-mails and chats. Economies were integrated and interdependence increased to extraordinary levels across national boundaries.

·         Scourge of Terrorism: 9/11 attack on WTC towers, war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, rebels in Palestine and sporadic international terrorist activities gave way to a new threat to humanity. The threat of political usage of religious sentiments for vested interests or rather put simply, the scourge of terrorism. It has given rise to numerous politically motivated aggressive outfits which are shaping up the world of the 21^st century. Though the world is united in fighting this menace for the time being, things are looking far worse than before. There is a pressing requirement for highest levels of cooperation in all fronts and mobilization of societies to get rid of terrorism.

Though there were numerous other instances which had a profound impact upon the world. However, the above mentioned brings into light the most significant happenings as per my belief.

Life after Death?

Death is the ultimate truth which all of us pretend to be unaware of all the way till we are on the edge of the bridge, needless to say we have to cross it. But what lies beyond the bridge remains a mystery, generations have passed away but we are still clueless about this phenomenon. Does life really exist after death? However, putting it in other ways we can make out certain analogies which pretty much fit into the shoes of a significant transition taking place. Such a colossal transition that it matches up to the super cycle of life and death!

Philosophical: An absolute failure does not mean that we were destined to lose, instead we were meant to win in some other means or in some other way. A massive impediment in one’s life turns out to be the greatest coach god could offer, provided the student is taking serious notes. There seems to be a marked change in our perspective and our thinking, instead of seeing it as a dead end we tend to see it as a diversion. Resurrection from complete breakdown with a stronger conviction and a clear conscience is what is required to attain success.

Spiritual: Theologically all the major religions of the world have a predetermined life after death scenario. Religious piousness and humanitarian concern leads one to heaven. A person’s karma, acts like an account book to add and subtract values leading to myriad of roles after death. Pagan rituals and primitive beliefs might require sacrificing animals and even killing humans in name of religion to open up the doors of salvation. Undoubtedly these scripts act as a definitive map to dwell in affluence of pleasures or lament amidst misery and despair in the afterlife.

Economic: We have seen nations collapse during times of conflict, famines, revolutions and coup d'état. A total annihilation in the socio-economic and political scenario should be a fairly appropriate reason for it to remain in the dark for another century. However, we have witnessed them spring back and with a greater vigor and determination. An unstoppable force to be reckoned with, they surpass competition with their incredible will and vision. Stories of a battered China, Japan after Hiroshima, post-world war Singapore are some amongst the numerous examples in history.

Emotional: People though physically departed, their memories never perish in the hearts of those who remember them. We also have countless examples of legendary heroes, commanders, mathematicians, astronomers, spiritual leaders, revolutionaries, soldiers, and despots etc. who still remain alive due to deeds both good and evil but having a significant impact on the society. They are remembered for their deeds, so even after death they walk freely in our minds and some in our hearts, some attracting curses while others are being idolized, glorified and upheld to highest regards.

Needless to say, life and death are an eternal truth, a truth nobody can deny nor prove to be a fallacy. Sometimes it may even seem that the ultimate goal of an entire life is death but it is required to consider the cycle of life. So as far you are alive and kicking, enjoy the journey and make the best out of it .In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “in the end, it’s not the number of years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years!”

ABSOLUTE PRESENCE/ABSENCE OF PRIVATE SECTOR IN EDUCATION?

For a developing nation like India, which is poised to become one of the global superpowers, education remains one of the most important tools to empower people at large. There are both public and private players in this sector but due to globalization, liberalization and modernization, there has been a phenomenal change in the industry. Requirement of quality and affordable education being deployed by highly skilled teachers has put pressure upon the public infrastructure which has been unable to perform satisfactorily in many aspects. This has put forth a growing demand for an increasing intervention of private players; however a complete absence of government regulations and authority does not present a bright picture. This is primarily because of the marked difference in the motive or objectives of both sides.

Education not merely enables a person to earn his livelihood, but is also an important tool to develop his conscience enabling him to live with dignity and grow as an individual. The foundation remains very vital, which is a sound primary education, accessible and affordable to the masses. The private institutes, though enjoy an increasing presence in urban and sub-urban territories, their near to absence in rural mainland is a major point of concern. Public initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, tend to penetrate into the most remotest of regions providing the bare minimum necessities for education. It is unlikely that the private sector shall take such endeavors in such a large scale compromising heavily with their primary objective of obtaining profits and sustaining their business.

The right to education enables an Indian citizen of 6-14 years of age to attain free education. The central and state governments have established numerous institutions at village, district, state and national level to address the needs of the people. These offer highly subsidized education taking account of the economic and social depravity of the student. Private institutions though offering scholarships to the underprivileged have to maintain an upper limit, they cannot go beyond that limit of subsidizing expenditure lest they want to risk running their business. The high cost incurred while attaining private education covers the profits as well the development and expansion expenditure for the institution. It is through this money that the private sector is able to invest upon itself to grow and sustain business. Thus, private institutions will never be able to compromise on the cost of education.

The public institutes may win over the private ones on grounds of socialist and nationalist objectives of welfare and equanimity however it loses in terms of competitiveness, efficacy and development. The infrastructure of educational sector apart from IITs, IIMs and institutes of national repute is more or less in a miserable condition. The state run schools at village level do not have chairs, desks, blackboards, playgrounds and in some cases even toilets. According to a World Bank report, teacher absenteeism remains one of the most challenging problems to tackle within the Indian public education system. The inflexible structure and operation of this sector by the public office often hampers the quality giving way to the private players. Lack of accountability, widespread corruption, rerouting of finances and very weak implementation presents a very sorry state of affairs. No wonder a majority of parents who can afford costlier schools would prefer avoiding state run institutions, leaving them to use only by the most marginalized sections of the society.

In a country like India, where a large part of the population cannot afford basic needs a complete absence of public regulations in the educational sector will turn out to be catastrophic. It is required that a planned and well executed initiative is taken to provide quality and affordable education to the masses even in the most inaccessible of the regions. Private sector competition and their inclination towards modernizing educational aids will prove very fruitful for overall development of this sector. The public institutes should seek to collaborate on all fronts to improve the skills of its teachers, build up the infrastructure as per the latest trends in the global scenario and add value to the sector. Keeping in mind the flaws and benefits of both sides, it would be unwise to endorse the absolute presence or absence of any of these sides and it would be rather wise to seek a symbiotic relationship aiming to expand and develop the educational sector throughout India.

Is India facing a moral or an economic crisis?

The term crisis signifies undesirable changes which are expected to lead to dangerous and unstable situations affecting individuals, groups or even a state. In a developing country like India there is no dearth of crises and they are manifested in many forms like social, political, economic, moral etc. It is a common observation that while other form of crises especially the economic form are frequented by the nation’s population significantly battering the democratic machinery and overall development, however a crisis of moral code of conduct poses a far more greater concern as it is bound to tear apart the delicate social fabric of the masses. The downfall of morality is undoubtedly a precursor and an indicator to insecurity, mistrust and poses as a colossal obstacle to the coherent effort of the masses towards national prosperity and well-being.

Undeniably there has been a steady onslaught of economic concerns in the recent time. We were witness to the dramatic depreciation of the rupee against dollar, a policy paralysis knocking down the growth of the nation’s key industries and the miserable decline of Indian positioning in the various global economic indices. However the shocking proceedings did escalate the issue and numerous counter measures were tabled out as a response to the daunting wake up call. The Pradhan mantra Jan Dhan Yojana to account for the unbanked population is helping to achieve goals of financial inclusion. The scheme tends to attract funds from transactions which were till date never accountable to banking sector. These funds obtained are to be used effectively used in infrastructure development of the rural sector. The Make in India Initiative brings the much awaited drive from the bureaucratic fronts to engage in fostering private-public relationships. The initiative is aimed at breaking away unwanted regulations for doing business in India, luring foreign investors to come and manufacture in the country. It is a fact that there is a definitely a huge demand of inexpensive but good quality products in the global market. Apart from these steps, steps have been taken for vigilance and disciplinary actions against corrupt practices, raising caps on FDI, oil/gas price regulations and the economic machinery seems to be poised for growth in the near future. In contrast to the economic scenario, the moral landscape, however, reflects poorly of both developments and initiatives.

Today the morality has been compromised on many fronts. On one hand, there is an ever increasing frequency of violence against women making it a national shame and on the other hand there has been unprecedented corruption in public offices. Moral understanding of an individual is being exploited in the name of religion by various fanatic outfits, winding and twisting the ethics held sacred to heart. The striking fact to these developments is that there has not been a national consensus and a strong stance taken against the deteriorated standards of morality. A high profile rape case gets highlighted in the newspapers, candle light vigils are offered by the sympathizers, debates ensue with heated aggression on national TV prime time but what happens next day is a total disgrace. The next day, the same guy standing amongst the candle light vigils starts taunting the girls nearby, the same officer praising Anna Hazare receives monetary benefits of his position in a non-hesitant manner, the women mocking fake god men attend a divine session shouting propaganda slogans and many such instances. This brings us back to square one, an infinite loop of despair. Instead of being on the track of higher state of consciousness in a modern state, we are nose diving into feudal mindsets with girls being seen as an object of pleasure and commodity, power as a tool of exploitation and corruption and religion as a means of duping people at a mass level. The outrageously insane level of exposure in corruption scams, rape incidents and fanaticism demands serious attention on our part as Indians to be proactive and deal with this degrading morality.

In a nutshell, one may say that though the economic and moral crisis are perpetual in nature but their impact on the national spirit and development is dissimilar in nature as well as magnitude. One knocks the bottom out of a stable growth of economic foundations whereas the other tears apart the social conduct of the individuals. The fact there is no other tool for gauging a morally degrading society apart from an individual’s willingness makes it a far more threatening problem. Today, when we live in a modern society of a rapidly developing democratic nation with aspirations to become a super power, a moral crisis seems carcinogenic and far more precarious.

GLOBAL ERA OF TERRORISM

Browsing news in the internet has become such an emotionally draining exercise. It is extremely hard to avoid news related to the loss of a large number of civilian life and property throughout the globe. Flipping across newspaper leaflets keeps on revealing more and more blood and gore, accompanied by the implicit raw human emotions of grief, helplessness and anger. Whether it is the mass executions being carried out by ISIS, abductions of children in Nigeria via Boko Haram, the recent killing of school children by the Taliban, incessant attacks on innocent masses in Kashmir and lone wolf attacks across the globe in U.S.A, Australia; one thing is for certain, there has been an unprecedented astronomical rise in terrorist activities across the globe. Are we a living witness to a new era of global history, the era of global terrorism?

Erstwhile centuries had their own issues which captured the minds and bodies of the billions across the globe through their massive collateral impact. The ill-fated world Wars, propagation of imperialism, exploitative exploration and subsequent colonization, princely wars and now it seems this is the onset of a new phenomenon “terrorism” affecting the masses at large. Question is “what is terrorism?” Though the standard oxford dictionary defines it simply as “the unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims”, I find it very difficult to properly define it in clear terms. Undoubtedly the definition has been extremely controversial because the inclination towards violence may definitely differ from political pursuits and may be inclined towards religious, ideological, racial as well as ethnic factors. Its association with Jihad and fanatic Islam has also been a reason for controversy amongst the Islamic nations. The fact that one’s perception plays a major role in the underlying definition cannot be denied, for example freedom fighters and social activists like Bhagat Singh, S.C. Bose and even Nelson Mandela were labeled as terrorists by the ruling side making it tricky to generalize definitive intentions. In similar fashion terrorists exploiting religion for vested interest helps them justify their heinous acts to the receptive masses. Nevertheless the UN did come out with one definition encompassing all of them yet having fissures which might never get filled because of the complexity involved.

The word terrorism takes its roots in the latin word “terrore” meaning “I frighten” and first came into practice by the French government. It was the French revolution which saw indiscriminate killings of more than 40000 civilians at hands of the ruling government. Started as a state sponsored act of forced control, it has now grown into a full-fledged multi headed monster like HYDRA with appalling objectives. Today the perpetrators of terrorism can be anyone from a mentally deranged fanatic to a group of persons and even a nation. However the most common amongst these are secretive cells of highly motivated men and women who carry out horrific incidents like the 9/11, Mumbai attack, London underground bombing and now the recent attack at Peshawar. In contrast to this, there is a recent entry of the IS, a highly public sophisticated institution, which now occupies huge territory in Iraq and Syria and has a fully organized operational machinery. Whether discreet or conspicuous, these motivated hooligans have disrupted the social harmony and peace in their respective regions displacing millions of people. The motivation behind these activities varies greatly from getting international attention for selfish demands to the undermining of authority of the existing state; from the persecution of minorities like Yazhidis and kurds to the political ambitions like the liberation of Kashmir. It is but difficult to comprehend how people are willing to participate rigorously in these campaigns of war and hatred. Such is the determination to cause bodily harm to innocent civilians that people have turned into suicide bombers. I believe it takes the extreme resolve and sense of purpose to sacrifice one’s life, and when one hears such things related to terrorism, one can hardly wonder the venomous rhetoric pumped into these minds.

The aftermath of terrorist activities has resulted in the people becoming very cautious, highest levels of restraints are being practiced in volatile regions across the world. It does not take more than 5 minutes to evacuate a large international airport at the news of an impending explosion. 10 minutes for highly skilled special weapons and tactics team to arrive at the spot and 15 minutes for the international media to swarm around the target. Annual budgets worth billions of dollars are spent on developing intelligence, counter terrorism cells and carry out precision strikes against terrorist hideouts. The U.S. drone strikes, NATO operations in the Middle East, Pakistan attacks at Khyber are a constant phenomenon these days. The Indian military has to remain vigilant and in a ferociously aggressive stance 24/7 along the L.O.C. as well in the interior states protecting the civilians from both external threats and internal anti- social elements, thus upholding the flag of democracy. Such tremendous amount of energy and resource is being invested in this sphere of world affairs that terrorism seems to dominate the priority list of all the nations across the world.

Figuring my nation at the 6^th place in the Global terrorism index (just behind Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq), does send jitters down my body. So much has to be done in order to create a sense of security and peace for the people. Undeniably the peaceful resolution of this issue requires highest level of cooperation from all the stakeholders. However political interests have to be abolished to fight a bigger demon, the recent release of terrorist master chief Lakhvi by Pakistani anti-terrorism court shows their resolve in poor light in contrast to the recent killings in Peshawar. Though it got averted and he got subsequently booked for other case, it still highlights the gross neglect in dealing with the evidence provided by India. Though jailed, he still enjoys VIP treatment as the most coveted prisoner in the premises. This ostensible act of acting harsh on perpetrators of terrorism won’t help in the greater cause. It is required that all nations work constructively to root out the weeds of terrorism with iron will and a firm resolve, to instill faith amongst the masses and maintain peace. These are hard times, where there is more of an internal conflict with numerous sporadic attacks rather than large scale wars. Let’s come together for a more secure and peaceful existence in this new chapter of global history, the era of global terrorism.

THE UNIVERSAL GHOST

The cycle of life and birth is an inevitable chain of natural law and order, this absolute law of nature is followed with unyielding sincerity and rigorous discipline by the entire living species on this planet. As human beings, the intelligent thinking creatures, were not contended with the modest concept of birth and death; they kept arguing, ferociously asserting that there ought to be a vital life force which takes into account the billions of emotions and experiences that people face each day throughout their lifetimes. With the dawn of civilization, blooming of religious philosophy and spiritualism along with an outrageous outpour of superstition, we developed the concept of ghosts. Enduring centuries of scientific development, religious transformations, colossal societal reforms and an absolute disdain for superstitions by the public at large, the undead still survived. So engrossing is their tale of eternal damnation, they roam freely across the minds and hearts of all ages alike, creating an aura of fear and mystery.  

“I can see dead people” said the cold voice of the young boy in the movie sixth sense. It is an unwanted gift I am sure you would agree. Who would want them to be visible to our senses anyways.  Once I asked my college friend from the hills, if he believed in ghosts, he replied convincingly that he didn’t believe in them but was still scared of those beings. These supernatural beings have undeniably endured the cultural imagination of the masses and have fed on the legitimate fears of the people. So what are these creatures? A ghost, may refer to the soul of a dead person which manifests itself visually (transparent or the omg life like appearances), physically (that pen which fell from the desk) or audibly (the laughing baby at midnight). Theosophical and orthodox religious institutions maintain that these souls are damned for eternity, bound by heavy chains of guilt, shock and regret. So heavy are these divine chains, they condemn these souls to wander on earth in between heaven and hell. Although there isn’t any perfect recipe for the creation of a ghost, basically these three reasons are considered unanimously to be the perfect ingredients. For example the guilt of murdering someone or even the shock of getting iced at a tender age. There are things incomplete, unfulfilled and something denied which generates a force so powerful which tends to deviate from the absolute law of nature. This however is no generalization, it is just a myth and a commonly accepted notion related to this legend.

The universal nature of the ghost is evident from the fact that different cultures scattered across different continents have their own version of the dark spirits. From the bhoot-pisaach of India to the gothic European specters haunting the lush green lands, the Japanese yurei to the Mexican catrinas, you will enjoy the footprints of these supernatural travellers across the length and breadth of the globe. A sizeable minority of people claim to have encountered these beings in person. Though most of these claims like those associated with Amityville horror house and the castle in Transylvania are hoaxes but some of them are indisputably honest and sincere. These may arise due to an honest misinterpretation of naturally occurring phenomena (wind blowing out candle, rats messing around in the library, sounds of animals) or simply due to accidental exposure to anomalous experiences. Scientists, psychologists and modern neuro science are quick to disapprove ghosts, providing explanations for things paranormal in nature. If you remember Scooby Doo, the mystery van keeps on explaining the vested interest of people pretending to be ghosts. Regardless of that hard work, people are still scared and job never runs out for mystery inc.

In my opinion, humans don’t like surprises, especially when the surprise has a lot to do with their survival and mortality. Things which we cannot control, anticipate and perceive are placed under our mind’s subconscious “AVOID IN TOTAL” list. So when the lights turn out and you can’t see a thing, there is a sense of losing control over your senses, a sense of insecurity as you are unable to perceive a possible threat to your life and protect yourself. People in many religious beliefs have faith in after life, that is a life after death and this phenomenon of ghosts seems to support this notion. Also the idea of ghosts keep on getting renovated across ages, like the techno savvy ghosts in the RING series which prefers to use video tapes to propagate through the masses. This proves the fact that though we progress technologically, this superstition also gets overhauled accordingly. Also to mention, the new property map in Japan; where you can look for cheap houses as they have been a witness to gruesome murders and are thus stigmatized. Have a look: http://www.oshimaland.co.jp/

We may not know whether they exist or not, we do know that they are universal in appeal. A sexy curvaceous ghost, a malign clown or an innocent bloodless child, as far as you don’t encounter them, it would suffice to sing:

“GUMNAAM HAI KOI, BADNAAM HAI KOI….”

                                                                                                                                                                               

IS KNOWLEDGE GENERAL???

Who is the deputy speaker of Lok Sabha? I quizzed one of my friends over Facebook messenger. “Dude! You crazy or what?” came a quick but well anticipated answer from the other side. Though I knew it was specific, I capitalized this opportunity to highlight my quizzing competence and mock my friend for his pitiable “general knowledge”. My friend gave a very logical reply asserting that the question can’t be termed as one being attributed to general knowledge, pressing on the fact that it was way beyond the reasonable domain of being general and deep into the territory of being specific. No matter what, millions of websites, magazines, coaching classes and you tube videos are dedicated in dealing with questions like these which test your specific or rather general knowledge about anything from an ant hill infrastructure to latest findings about the god particle at CERN. No wonder, we are often perplexed at this point, what is general knowledge?

According to my common sense (you might definitely disagree), general knowledge is the knowledge which can be acquired by any individual without undergoing extensive training and specialization in a particular field of study. It is nothing but a lifetime of priceless treasure hunting; things keep getting added and deleted in a very meticulous manner. Semblance holds to the “mind temple” as portrayed in the popular TV series Sherlock Holmes. This colossal archive of knowledge can be neatly segregated into broad streams as static knowledge and the dynamic ones. The static domain being flooded with eternal facts like capitals, rivers, mountain ranges, historic people/events and the dynamic domain referring to important positions, current affairs and recent undertakings by organizations/governments. People are usually expected to know a minimal amount of facts (though many may be trivial) about their surroundings, culture, environment and opportunities. So, things turn out to be particularly nasty when you stumble across a person who does not know the prime minister of India or the capital of the state he is living in. We often brand that person as dumb and find a very good reason to ridicule him every time we meet him by propping a similarly styled question (sadistic isn’t it?)

Though many people would still argue brazenly, “how has your knowing about the capital of Mongolia helped you in your struggle with life?” True, not at all except at extremely rare occasions where I am being quizzed and this question on Ulan Bator props up out of the blue. Quiz! Quiz and quiz! It haunts many of us. So who started this quiz and stuff? Legend has it that in Dublin, a theatre owner entered into a bet to introduce a new word in the English language within 24 hours, he hired the locals and painted the word “quiz” across the length and breadth of all the street walls. Since it was a total nonsensical word that time, people took it as being some sort of test for recruitment of industrial workers and sailors. Today after centuries, that very word has made sense and a very proper one; transforming into one of the most popular means of entertainment, leisure and modes of testing. So if you watch Kaun Banega Crorepati? You have indirectly participated in a quiz and that to enthusiastically, protected in your sofa from public humiliation of not knowing giveaway questions.

So, why does this quiz need to test general knowledge? Well, to test an individual. How does general knowledge make relevance to popular quizzes? Again because, this knowledge can be acquired by anyone and thus appeals to everybody. Then you might raise your hand again, shouting out that this knowledge still isn’t general! This brings us back to square one. The bottom line is, that if some organization or an institution is hunting for a top notch executive, it will definitely be looking for a candidate who is open to diverse experiences and is also having a keen interest about his environment (city, country, even the globe). At this juncture the intelligence of an individual also comes into picture, not in direct terms but certainly in an indirect manner. An individual’s ability to stack data meticulously into his mind shows a strong correlation between his experiences and the neuro-physical reactions taking place inside his/her mind temple. Thus, taking into account the precise purpose of the quiz, it won’t be wrong to call the questions being asked to be classified as general because these specific questions are general in nature to the profession/institution/organization and their employees/students as well. Still confused? It means you are bound to be quizzed for what you desire or even more what the organizations desire in their candidates.So next time, when somebody in the interviewing panel of ISRO props up the question about the percentage methane content in the atmosphere of Mars, please don’t be confused whether they were testing your general or specific knowledge!