Return of the marines

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We are a people known for our hospitality. We pour the essence of our spirit, not in our systems but in the warmth we display to our guests and visitors. The essence of Europe however is reflected in the systems of most of its developed countries. Things are orderly and functional. There is an emphasis on abiding by the law, and tough punitive measures await those who break it. Our systems, on the other hand and for the most part, are chaotic, arbitrary and dysfunctional. They are difficult to work within and create much of the head banging frustration we feel as a nation. An example: A friend, also a lawyer practising at the Supreme Court of India, pointed out just one of many instances of how provisions of law work against each other. He cited the example of a building site in Delhi.....

Death of a rapist

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Ram Singh, 33, the oldest of the six accused in the gang-rape of a 23-year-old medical intern on December 16, 2012, was found dead in his Tihar Jail cell on March 11, 2013, at 5 AM. Jail authorities say he was given to violence, mood swings and was reported as suicidal. His parents claim he was being tortured in jail. His lawyer however says, "He was not mentally stressed. He was very happy. Everything was going very well, there was no need for him to commit suicide; this must be murder." Who was Ram Singh? Ram Singh was amongst the six accused of brutally gang-raping the victim. He was the driver of the bus in which the crime happened and is a prime accused for pre-meditating a plot to rape any women they could find. It was through him that the police....

Women in policing: plugging the gaps

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Under a barrage of criticism and suggestions for police reform, the government has announced an increase in the presence of women constables and officers in each police station in Delhi. The aim is to have one-third women police personnel present at police stations so that complainants, especially women, girls and children find the police more approachable. As a step towards urgent positive reform, this is heartening, though as a first step alone. Much more needs to be done in an institutionalised, structured and holistic manner to make such reform meaningful. Changing attitudes: Consider this. A woman walks in to register sexual molestation. First, she encounters the duty officer at the front desk. She must first get past him (it is usually a man) to record her statement. Two things are likely to happen by now according to past and current trends - first, he has decided this....

"Aane do": a letter to MSD

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Dear Captain, Through the whirlwind of your matches and several back-to-back series, you and your boys might recall shooting for a promotional spot of about a minute for a mainstream television channel on cricket. It showed several of your boys, in close up, over the announcement of the (recently concluded) 2012-2013 India-Pakistan cricket series, hosted by India. The boys all looked rather tough in the ad; the kind of mug-shot all advertisers/promoters like best, where players wear an expression quite like superheroes on their way to steady an impending apocalypse. I suppose the India-Pakistan series was quite akin to one such great event, especially since the Pakistanis haven't really been playing too much cricket; and certainly not with us. As a result, many were looking forward to this one - viewers, promoters, advertisers, organisers - basically, half the country. The promoters didn't have to really generate....

A deterrent to rape: an Indian example abroad

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(In the wake of the outrage over the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi, several changes have been recommended to improve safety and security for women. These include changes in the law for stronger, more severe punitive action against perpetrators of sexual assault; accelerating the course of justice by making the legal system and process more responsive; and urgent police reforms. This article is a case for more women in policing). In 2004, UN Peacekeepers in three African countries were accused of sexual misconduct. They gave local teenage girls food and money in exchange for sex. In 2005, 47 peacekeepers were accused of such misconduct in Liberia alone, a West African country of about 4 million, adjoining Ivory Coast. Liberia was pulling out of a 14-year conflict that was characterised by sexual violence. Rape, according to the United Nations, was the foremost crime reported....

A dark patch for India's Test cricket

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My first real experience of Test Cricket was at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the early 80s. I was about ten. India was playing England, and the stadium was packed. I can't remember the outcome of the match (I think we lost!), but after that, my dad could count on me to root for cricket on TV, much to my mum's angst, whenever he sat to watch a match being telecast. Later, even while preparing for examinations, my carefully scheduled breaks of 15 minutes between chapters would go watching TV if cricket was on. And while I didn't remember all series and all scores, I was hooked, even though I didn't know it then. How consistent is our team? Over the years, however, my enthusiasm has waned. If there is one thing that the Indian team in any format is consistent about, it is their inconsistency. Their....

Direct Cash Transfer: the cart before the horse?

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In the early 80s, there was a scramble for Video Cassette Recorders or VCRs in India as more and more people watched films at home at their own convenience. One VCR that was much sought after was the Akai VS-2. It was a high quality product and the first to have an Interactive Monitor System or an on-screen display. But the Akai recorders were also the most troublesome often demanding more service and repair, for a reason. They were sensitive instruments, and they weren't built for a dusty country such as ours. In effect, while there was nothing wrong with the product, the environment in India didn't quite work for it; quite like trying to plant a high-quality seed in inappropriate ground. This might be a somewhat long-shot analogy, but the Direct Cash Transfer scheme announced by the Government last week conjures up such images. Are....

Aung San Suu Kyi: a mind in flow

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Every meditative discipline across traditions has one singular aim - to help focus the mind on its true nature - open, vast and inclusive. For the mind to know focus and flow, it must have the time and space to reflect preferably in solitude, to cut through layers of confusion and noise; noise created by the mind chattering out instructions; or by a mind that judges, blames, condemns, warns, threatens and punishes others and one's own self under the weight of its aspirations, fear and insecurity. Above all, noise created by anger - deep and unresolved anger from a sense of injustice, real or perceived. Anger is a difficult one to move away from, mostly because it makes one feel justified and right about being angry. It is addictive in this feeling of righteousness, and before one can understand the implications of allowing anger to....

FDI in retail: global biggies must brace for the wondrous contingencies that make India

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India is unique. Elements of the Space Age on one hand and elements from the Stone Age on the other can be seen on the same road at the same time - 2000 CE and 2000 BCE; a Bentley and a bullock cart; great wealth and unimaginable poverty; both extremes of a spectrum and everything in between, co-existing on the same street at the same time. That which emerges from the co-existence of both extremes is something unique, something indescribable, and something, that quite often, defies logic. Take the doctor for instance, in Hindi films, through the 60's, 70's, 80's and even the 90's. He'd be summoned when the young heroine (or a relative in the joint family) would suddenly be given to fainting spells. The doctor would arrive, with a black bag and a stethoscope around his neck, to denote his definite training in modern medicine.....

Decoding the good, and the bad

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For those born in the 70s, 'Knowledge is power' was a well known axiom. And 'knowledge' was often interchangeable with 'information'. Well, that's changed. We now live in the Age of Information. It comes to us from everywhere, 24X7, blasting its way into our faces, quite like a fission reaction gone wrong. Information, loads of it, some of it useful; most of it junk. There's information from the Net, from TV, from radio, from hoardings, and from print that is now mostly going out of print. It's everywhere, and it's all pervasive. Amongst these, the Internet is the most powerful tool invented by humankind. And like all such tools, it can be used or abused, or both. A few mouse clicks for a student today opens up a wealth of knowledge to source from, whether it's seeking information on a subject, or on....