Weekend Videos & Pix: Nikon Micro Pix, Inside Syria, & #MeToo

• Nikon Small World winners zoom in on microscopic marvels (108 images, New Atlas)
• Has #Metoo helped or harmed women? (video, 5 min 27 s, BBC Ideas)
• Inside Syria (13 min, SNI)

Did India exist as a political entity before 1947?

Continuation of yesterday's post.

The second speaker was Prof. Runa Sarkar, Dean and Professor of Economics at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC). She opened her remarks with a flourish: 

“I think the topic is about India’s rich legacy. But India as a political entity became a reality only in 1947. So, I think we should interpret the topic as ‘legacy of the Indian subcontinent’.”

This is the usual semantic gimmickry that the liberals often come up with. I wanted to confront her with one question: 

"So, did the British, in 1600, set up the East ‘Subcontinent of India’ Company or did they name it the East INDIA Company?"

But I was not allowed to ask a second question. The well-meaning moderator said that other folks in the audience should get a chance to ask questions.  Well, then came a great question from a gentleman: 

"I think the greatest legacy of India is her spiritual heritage. What do you think should the younger generation do to take it forward?"

Pat came the reply from Prof. Sarkar: 

"I do not think the spiritual legacy you mentioned is the exclusive preserve of India. There is no legacy that is only our own. It belongs to the world at large."

Living in denial comes so natural to the liberals. Is that how such an insightful and deeply relevant question should be answered? 

The Gap between India's Intelligentsia and Her Common People

On 1 October 2018, I was at St Xavier's College, Kolkata, as a member of the audience at a panel discussion, followed by the launch of their thirteenth annual publication named YOUTHINK (to which I had contributed an article as a guest author). The event was billed INTELLIGENTSIA 2018.

The topic for the panel discussion was ‘Hopes from Hindsight: Can India strategically capitalize on a rich legacy?’ The panelists were

• Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and former chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission;

• Dr Runa Sarkar, Dean (Academics) and Professor of Economics at IIM Calcutta, and

• Aarti Sharma, head of the eastern and northeastern operations at OYO Rooms.

The discussion was moderated by Dr Surendra Munshi, retired Professor of Sociology at IIM Calcutta. After spending close to two hours in his presence, I could sense his high learning, wisdom and great ability to navigate through contentious issues.

Justice Ganguly was the first speaker; his opening remarks were insightful, especially his rendering of a poem depicting Draupadi’s perspective on dharma and a woman’s place (in her context) in a man’s world. He was followed by the other speakers (more about them later in my next post). In this post, I will share the question that I asked Justice Ganguly.

In his second intervention, Justice Ganguly declared that the two prime reasons the British could conquer the world were: their liberal education and their sense of justice. He elaborated his argument by recalling the establishment of great institutions of learning in India (a reflection of their liberal education) and the application of equity in their legal system. He further quoted the names of some eminent freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru in this case.

I was stunned to hear this line of argument, especially as it came from an eminent man of learning with decades of experience in public life.

After about a 45-minute discussion came the Q&A.

Here’s what I asked after being freely allowed by the moderator (there were only three guys who wished to ask questions):

(verbatim)

“My name is Bharat C. Jain. I wish to ask Justice Ganguly about his remarks on the Britishers’ liberal education and sense of justice. I disagree with what your views.

“Sir, forgive me for what I am going to ask you for it is in direct contravention of what you mentioned earlier. I am not as learned as you are.

“The British established great institutions of learning in India not to educate Indians but to raise an army and a bureaucracy subservient to their British masters… to advance their political and commercial interests.  

“The British practice of law was based on inequity. They had two different sets of laws (and forms of punishment) for the British and for the Indians.”

What did Justice Ganguly say?

“Yes, the British did all that [what I mentioned] because they wanted to establish a colony in India.”

The highly learned man agreed with my stand but only when confronted. Why were such historical distortions peddled?

The episode lay bare the huge gap between the intelligentsia (persons of high learning) and the common people like me. For ages, the intelligentsia have set the tone for public discourse (on issues like the equity of the British justice system in colonial India) and the common people have accepted such factual distortions without even a hint of murmur.


(Second post tomorrow)

The Explainer: The Kim Family of North Korea

With today's post I am back to blogging. I intend to keep writing on a regular basis. 

In the last couple of months, North Korea tested a nuclear bomb and launched a slew of missiles that has rattled global capitals. Alarm bells have gone off in Seoul, Tokyo, Washington, and Beijing. Some of the North Korean missiles flew above North Japan while a couple of them landed within 200 miles off the Japanese coast. North Korea has even threatened to attack Guam, an overseas military base of the United States in the Pacific Ocean. 

This short piece will focus on the Kim Family that rules North Korea like a family enterprise.

An Orwellian State 
A great deal of secrecy shrouds the political regime in North Korea; little or no information flows out of the country – this is perhaps the precise reason for Pyongyang’s actions being so scary. Before we explore the past and the present, let me share a short note on the Kim family that controls North Korea like a family fiefdom.

As is the case with Orwellian States, there is very little information available in the public space about the Kim family. This should be seen in the light of the fact that all information and propaganda flow in an Orwellian State, especially of the communist type, is tightly controlled by the rulers.

Kim Il–sung, officially titled ‘The Great Leader’, ruled North Korea since the Korean peninsula was split in half by the Korean War (1950–53), till his death in 1994. He laid the foundation of the dictatorship of the Kim family, shaped the communist polity within the country (especially the ‘Juche’ philosophy; ‘Juche’ means self-reliance) while his outlook on the world became the country’s foreign policy.

Upon his death in 1994, Kim Il–sung was succeeded by his chosen heir, Kim Jong–il, officially called ‘The Dear Leader’. The son consolidated the military apparatus through his ‘military first’ policy and accelerated the pace of the country’s chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and missile development programme. During his regime, millions of his countrymen died due to starvation even as he spent considerable resources on building a formidable nuclear weapons and missile arsenal. He died in 2011. Kim Il–sung and Kim Jong–il are together called ‘Eternal Leaders of the Juche Korea’.  

Kim Jong–il was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong–un. The world saw hope for a time – the fact that Kim Jong–un was educated in the west, exposed to the ideas of democracy and individual freedoms – could turn to be positively different, that he would give up his country’s antagonistic foreign policy (especially against South Korea, Japan and the U.S.), roll back the weapons programme, including the nuclear weapons programme, and usher in greater freedoms in his country.

As events turned out, all hope crashed after Kim Jong–un revved up the development of nukes and intercontinental ballistic missiles (which could reach the U.S. west coast). Kim has proved to be a hard nut to crack; even China, which traditionally has been the only major ally of Pyongyang, is unable to moderate Kim’s behaviour.    

Today, North Korea is widely seen as an international pariah, a view that contrasts sharply with the global perception of the democratic South as a technologically and economically advanced nation. 

Sunday Reads: All about Brexit

Check out this Brexit omnibus edition.

• Brinsanity (FP)
• A Brexit Post-Mortem (FA)
• Why Brexit made sense to voters (CNN)
• 'I hope I don't live to regret this.' (Guardian)
• A British Tragedy in One Act. (PS)

BBC has an explanatory infographic on steps to UK leaving the EU.

Also read The Explainer: Interest Rates. 

Sunday Reads

General Reads

• How British let One Million Indians die in Famine (BBC)
• India's Central Bank Chief is an Economic Asset (Bloomberg) Hat tip: Mohan Ramiah

Controversial Read

• India's Deadly Entrance Exams, by Shashi Tharoor (Project Syndicate)

Video

• Inside the world of China's Super Rich (AlJazeera) 

Indiana Joneses & Other Reads

General Reads

• Calling all Indiana Joneses: Clue to Undiscovered Asokan Inscriptions (Telegraph India)
• What you need to know about India's missile defence shield. Read the comments also. (Dawn - yes, its a Pakistani newspaper)
• China's Cultural Revolution: No desire to dwell on the past (BBC)

Photo Gallery

• Inspire (NatGeo)

Controversial Read

• Reconciling three narratives about global growth (Bloomberg)

Anecdote

In a test match between Australia and West Indies, Ramnaresh Sarwan scored a superb century. In that innings, Glenn McGrath bowled an unplayable bouncer that zoomed past Sarwan’s face. McGrath went up to Sarwan and said, "How does Lara’s d%ck taste, mate?”. Sharp came the reply from Sarwan: ”Go and ask your wife.” 

Sunday Reads

• Tipu Sultan: Noble or Savage? (Open Magazine) Hat tip: Mohan Ramiah.

• Return of a topless model. (BBC)

• Dark matter and the dinosaurs. (Brain Pickings)

Sunday Reads - How Indian cricketers should be treated if they were seen as having a bad day in office

• Why Singapore banned chewing gum. (BBC)

• How Indian cricketers should be treated if they were seen as having a bad day in office. (ET)

• The scene of the crime. (New Yorker)

• Creationists have questions. I have answers. (Slate)

Book Excerpt: The Discovery of India

Jawaharlal Nehru wore many hats: freedom fighter, Fabian socialist, politician, chronicler of India's past and present, and prime minister.

Of his many works, two stand out: The Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History. 

The Discovery of India detailed a sweeping look at India's hoary past and an uncertain future under the British. While chronicling the story of India, Nehru dwells on an assortment of subjects - religion and its evolution over the centuries, culture and sub-cultures, development of science over the centuries, political philosophies, especially under British rule.

Glimpses of World History is actually built through letters that Nehru wrote to his daughter, Indira Priyadarshini (later Gandhi). The work lends a panoramic view of major global events—from Greek and other ancient civilisations to the turn of the 20th century—that have shaped the story of mankind. 

While Nehru was not a professional historian, his vast knowledge and mastery of the English language makes reading these two works a great joy.

The Discovery of India was also made into a popular television series, Bharat Ek Khoj.

Kindly ignore the pen markings (like underlines); these scans are taken from my personal copy, which I bought and read in 1990.

Title: The Discovery of India

Author: Jawaharlal Nehru
Publisher: OUP
Pages featured here: 74-76

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here.

Book Excerpt: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness is a deeply philosophical novel about the complexities that layer human nature. Joseph Conrad explores the prejudices, especially of the racial kind, of the Whites/Europeans that 'coloured' their attitude and behaviour toward the Blacks/Africans throughout the age of colonization of the Dark Continent.

Though a short novel (109 pages in this edition), Heart of Darkness raises profound and disturbing questions about colonialism, imperialism and a false sense of racial superiority.

Title: Heart of Darkness 

Author: Joseph Conrad
Publisher: UBSPD
Pages featured here: 18-20

First read: 1997
Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here.

Sunday Read - The Death of Subhash Chandra Bose

Today's edition of Sunday Reads will feature only one terrific read: The New Indian Express has this super interesting piece on the mystery surrounding the death of Subhash Chandra Bose. 

Go ahead, read. 

Sunday Reads + Infographic - Hidden History of the Owaisis

• Hidden history of the Owaisis: what the AIMIM doesn't want you to know. (FirstPost)

• Google's Larry Page: The most ambitious CEO in the universe. (Fortune)

• The Hummingbird Effect: How Galileo invented time and gave rise to the modern tyranny of the clock. (Brain Pickings)

• Uber co-founder is always on the warpath. (Vanity Fair)

Check out the below infographic, from Reuters, on women's land rights.

Book Excerpt: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Today was the second and final day of the CAT. I was told by a student that there was an RC on Genghis Khan. I am pretty sure it must have come from the brilliant work titled Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

I have often recommended this work in my classes; its sweep is wide and Weatherford's storytelling is riveting. I think this is a book everyone should read, just to understand the way Genghis Khan shaped and in fact, continues to shape, our world.

Title: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Author: Jack Weatherford
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Pages featured here: 3-9

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here.

Book Excerpt: Land of the Seven Rivers

History and geography have always fascinated me. It is my firm belief that geography is the greatest determinant of history. 

Land of the Seven Rivers - A Brief History of India's Geography is one of the best history (and geography) books I have read in the last two decades. I strongly urge you to read this brilliant work by Sanjeev Sanyal, the chief global strategist for Deutsche Bank. The book offers great insight into the Indians' sense of history and civilizational continuities in almost walks of life. 

Title: Land of the Seven Rivers - A Brief History of India's Geography

Author: Sanjeev Sanyal
Publisher: Penguin
Pages featured here: 44-51

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here.

Book Excerpt: A Problem from Hell

Some books leave a lasting impact on us; they shape or alter our world view. One such book is 'A Problem from Hell' by Samantha Power. This book is easily of the ten most important books I have read. I strongly urge you to read this masterly work.

'A Problem from Hell' focuses on the evil of genocide and how various terrorist regimes, including those in the government (like Khmer Rouge in Cambodia), clinically murdered tens of thousands of their countrymen. These mass killings happened with impunity even while the U.S. Government either stayed silent, more as a matter of convenience when it suited their political interests, or simply turned a blind eye to the machinations of the perpetrator regimes supported by it.

  

The excerpt below captures the evil doings of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, one of the most dreaded terror groups that ever existed. The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. In its relentless pursuit of ushering in an agrarian utopia, it systematically killed anyone who stood in its path. Conservative estimates put the number of dead during this period at about 3 million.

Title: A Problem from Hell - America and the Age of Genocide

Author: Samantha Power
Publisher: Perennial
Pages featured here: 115-119

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here. 

Book Excerpt - Lust & Betrayal, from The Age of Wrath

This week's Book Excerpt features The Age of Wrath, a magnificent work on the history of the Delhi Sultanate, which existed between AD 1206-1526. This period was one of great turbulence and chaos, which Abraham Eraly captures in great detail. 

Title: The Age of Wrath
Author: Abraham Eraly
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Pages featured here: 134-137

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here. 

Book Excerpt: The Cold War: A New History

This book excerpt should have appeared in this space yesterday. I am a short vacation, so I could not post it yesterday.

This week's excerpt is from The Cold War: A New History, by John Lewis Gaddis. I have read a lot of stuff on the history of the Cold War. But this is by far the best work on the turbulent history of the war of nerves between the two major power blocs of the United States and the Soviet Union. 

Title: The Cold War: A New History
Author: John Lewis Gaddis
Publisher: Penguin
Pages featured here: 66-69

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here. 

Book Excerpt: Nizam of Hyderabad, from Freedom at Midnight

Starting this Friday, this space will feature an excerpt from a book. The idea is to share knowledge and of course, spread the idea of reading. 

Note: All copyrights/trademarks belong to the owners of the publication/author(s). It is not my intention to profit from their work. In fact, I just wish that the readers of this blog are encouraged to buy/read the works represented here. 

I start with an excerpt from Freedom at Midnight, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. This brilliant book relates the story of India's struggle for freedom and more importantly, what led to the partition of India. 

In a chapter titled, Palaces and Tigers, Elephants and Jewels, the two terrific authors mesmerize the reader with their tales of the eccentricities of the Rajas and Nawabs of India's numerous princely states.

Here's an excerpt that relates a story about the Nizam of Hyderabad.

I request you to not buy pirated versions of any book, including Freedom at Midnight. Buy original titles and keep learning!

Sunday Reads - Intimacy kills + The burden of being Messi

• Intimacy that kills. (FP; registration required - its free!)
• 70 years after WWII, companies WWII roles become clearer. (Reuters) 
• The burden of being Messi. (NYT; registration may  be required)
• Springtime in Tiananmen Square, 1989 (The Atlantic)