India

There are 4 posts tagged India (this is page 1 of 1).

The Great Indian Independence Day Tamasha

What does Independence Day mean to you?

I was about to say it’s that day when wife allows me to keep things at a place chosen by me and not where she believes it should be. When I control the remote and decide what to eat and… But wait. Have I missed something? Questions like these are normally not asked in official meetings. ‘The well informed’ colleague whom I have ignored all over office and replied in monosyllables, helped with his expert opinion. It was THE Independence Day. August 15.

But is it not a day off? What is there is to discuss about it? Wife and kids have already made lots of plans like which mall to raid for the Independence Day sale. I adopted a wait and watch policy to see what others had to say. May be they will say what I was thinking and I will nod in agreement (that was a smart strategy in my mind). But I was not the only smart one. People just gave the impression they were taking notes. Nobody said a word and so it was decided to submit our opinion in writing.

What??? Now write about it?

Now questions like these are very dangerous, as they tend to bring in many sensitive issues like marriage and/or age into picture. Suddenly it strikes you it was such a long time ago because you last celebrated the Independence Day when you were in school. When was that? Let’s see – when Doordarshan had only one channel to entertain us and the day was hijacked by movies like Gandhi or Pukar or Kranti or Purab aur Paschim and lots of Manoj Kumar songs (before Mr Caneda Kumar arrived on the scene). That sounds/looks and is definitely pretty long ago! The picture above is just ro remind you about the delicious ladoo that is also traditionally associated with I-Day celebrations. What we got to eat? Read on.

Even that celebration was forced because it was compulsory (yes in bold) and the school management came up with innovative ways to ensure we attended the day without fail. Like, linking attendance to something as exciting as hot samosa snack from the canteen! Full attendance ensured. Though I am still paying the price for falling for the samosa bait but I tell you they were just so yummy! Hey Alexa can you order some from Swiggy?

It wasn’t that I got married immediately after school or there were no Independence Day celebrations. But things were \’different\’ in college. Our gang would hardly attend any lectures so the question of shocking our professors by showing our face on Independence Day was completely ruled out. We definitely had our hearts at the right place. And also there were no samosas on offer. So we gave the event a miss. Alexa, did you order the Samosa or not.

Years later when I started working as a journalist it was one of the only four official holidays we would mark from the beginning of the year. So essentially it has become just another holiday for me too. Thanks to more channels available I no longer watch Mr Bharat but can opt for a certain Mr D K Bose or now Mr Tiger. That is if I get the remote.

As for the holiday mood, things have become more organized now. Even if I miss the long weekend in the leave chart, there are reminders from travel websites. If I miss that too, the channels keep bombarding with ads of special long weekend reruns of reruns. Newspapers are not far behind with stories and pages dedicated to help plan – what else but the long weekend.

Is that all our Independence Day has been reduced to? A long weekend? People fought, gave away their lives 75 years ago so that we could plan a long weekend? Or that Samosa party, Alexa can you hear me?

(This piece was written looong before covid and lockdowns. But not much has changed. Or may be a lot has. There are three new malls in my area which means more shops to raid. India is where it was.)

Covid-19: Did India miss the bus or did it \’miss\’ the bus

When Covid crisis was still in its very early stage and so was lockdown, I was very optimistic India will ride this one too and not only that, India will come out as a better country. After nearly 70 days my optimism has not gone into negative but it has hit a new low.

The initial optimism got a major boost when within days a Pune-based company developed low costing test kits. For me that was a good sign of what future had in store. But there has been little development on that front. Yes we are making lots of PPE suits everyday but that\’s no innovation. Thats a result of facilities lying idle and they being used for making PPE suits. There were tweets that Mahindra group has worked on a desi ventilator and also supplying the same to the government. I hope the company is doing that.

Coming back to first good news to come within days of Covid crisis hitting India. The lady who was part of this testing kit was all over news as she delivered a child only after the kit was launched. But that was the last of that affordable kit I heard. The company executives were on channels discussing their capacity and how it can be ramped up. But there is nothing about the company that is making news these days – specially about affordable test kits when states are demanding more test kits and some like Delhi and Mumbai have suspended tests. The initial estimate of Rs 1,200 per test is not a reality. The tests cost between Rs 2,200 to Rs 4,500.

Secret Data

As media student, I do try to understand whats happening in other parts of the world. One thing that struck me was availability of data. For example in United States, worst affected by coronavirus, the data was very transparent and available at: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Similarly, Singapore also had a very open policy on sharing the data with public. All the information about the patients, where they came from and how many more persons caught the virus was available on internet on their website https://covidsitrep.moh.gov.sg/. In the early days there was a website which followed the Singapore model but not to the T. Sadly the website went off the net following some issues with the server and now its gone.

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There is this government website https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ which gets updated every 24 hours with fresh data at 8 AM. Again its very basic, pathetic representation of data. Please don\’t get me wrong. But everyday you share the numbers without any more info as to how many new cases reported, how many cured etc etc. What I see on the screen is what you see in the pic above.

Data and stories

As a journalist I have found data to be great tool to tell stories but only if its presented in a simple form for the readers to understand. I would be lying if I say that I would not expect a kick ass, transparent, great UI website from the The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Why? Because we have the expertise and so much has been said about digital India that I would be wasting my and your time too to talk about it.

Now all the states have different ways of collecting data and presenting. There is no uniformity which is not surprising. But remember my optimism in the early days – I was hoping we will have a uniform data representation. But with different parties in power in different states, it becomes a big ego issue for all. Kerala perhaps has the best dashboard. Very informative and easy navigation. If you haven\’t do checkout their website: https://dashboard.kerala.gov.in/index.php

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Kerala state Covid-19 dashboard is most informative dashboards giving out all the necessary data and information.

Maharashtra has copied the Johns Hopkins UI and has only made it data centric. Check out their website here.

Madhya Pradesh government had to face a rather embarassing situation after a hacker exposed flaws in the dashboard. The Shivraj Singh Chauhan government went back to the drawing board and there is no update available as I write this. May be it is available and I need to work on my search skills.

This piece is not about comparing the dashboards or choose the best. My point is crisis is the best opportunity to learn. What have we learnt? States were fudging data, some hospitals were delaying the data. Why can\’t we have a centralised template which is shared with all the states and all the data collection is uniform. This not only applies to health but to any field where data is collected.

If I am living in Mumbai or Kolkata my driving licence from either of the state transport department should be identical. Just like a passport or (many wont agree) an Aadhaar card. Sometimes I feel this difference actually allows people to fudge the documents and not get caught. But each state during covid-19 collected data as per their local laid down guidelines.

As I was writing this post came the news that West Bengal has come up with guidelines for covid victims. The state allowed families to pay their last respects to the departed soul and many other provisions. Shouldn\’t all states follow the same guidelines? How come a covid victim dying in West Bengal is any different from one dying in Tamil Nadu? Should MoHFW frame these guidelines? If yes, will all the states follow it?

Late Comers

The initial lockdown days were spent trying to order the essentials. The tried and tested and trusted apps suddenly stopped taking orders. If anyone came across any site taking orders it was shared on various groups. Reliance Smart was one such website taking orders. But what a shock when I finally managed to find the site. So the company which has stores all across India had a pathetic site. There was no mobile version of the site and this I realised after I struggled on the mobile device.

The website from a company which had all the money, resources in the world to launch the either an app or a better version of the website within days of Lockdown 1. But the company took its sweet time and the new avatar of Reliance Smart which not takes you to Jio Mart was launched sometime in May.

The second company was not a disaster but again took time to realise online is where they were going to get their business from. D-Mart had a not so great UI but the company did not waste too much time in upgrading the website and now its much better version of the website I first visited in April 2020.

Am I still hopeful or has hope given way to despair? Yes because I still believe it was the one big chance to set things in order. I know these are big changes and will take time and may be I am proved wrong. It was the time to think out of the box and come up with solutions to various problems in the country. Two most important systems in the life of any citizen anywhere in world – health and education – both need immediate overhaul. But barring digital classroom which again had very limited access, there was nothing big bang that happened. Wait there was one – digital payments and it was wonderful to see making payments without any human touch was a reality. Will the changes I was expecting reflect in coming years? I would like to hope so.

एक और रेप? चलिये रोष व्यक्त करते हैं

एक और बलात्कार? हे प्रभु! हैवानों ने उसके बाद पीड़िता को जला दिया? बहुत गंभीर। चलिये रोष व्यक्त करते हैं। बहुत कड़ी निंदा करते हैं। और क्या कर सकते हैं? चलिये मोमबत्ती मार्च निकालते हैं। सोशल मीडिया पर शेयर करते हैं। अपनी प्रोफाइल फ़ोटो हटा कर एक काला फ्रेम लगा देते हैं। कुछ दिन लगा रहने देंगे। जब मामला शांत हो जायेगा और वही फ़ोटो वापस। हाँ व्हाट्सऐप पर भी कुछ करना पड़ेगा। एक नंबर सब फॉरवर्ड कर रहे हैं उसी को सारे ग्रुप में भेज देते हैं।

सच कहूँ तो आज लिखने का बिल्कुल मन नहीं था। अंदर कुछ ऐसी उथल पुथल मची हुई है जो बाहर पता नहीं किस शक्ल में आये। मुझे उसके डरावने चेहरे से डर नहीं लगता लेकिन उसके सवालों से ज़रूर लगता है जिसके जवाब मेरे पास नहीं हैं। फ़िर लगा नहीं लिखा तो सब अंदर ही दफ़न हो जायेगा।

2018 में अंतरराष्ट्रीय महिला दिवस पर मैं अपनी पुरानी टीम के सदस्यों के साथ एसिड अटैक का शिकार लक्ष्मी से मिल कर वापस लौट रहे थे। मेरी टीम की सहयोगी के साथ दिल्ली मेट्रो से ग़ाज़ियाबाद वापस आ रहे थे और हमें लौटते हुये नौ बजे गये थे। मेरे हिसाब से बहुत ज़्यादा देर नहीं हुई थी लेकिन जो मेरे साथ थीं उनको लग रहा था हम काफी लेट हो गये थे। उन्होंने अपने लिये एक समय निर्धारित कर रखा है और उसके बाद वो घर से बाहर नहीं रहती। इसके चलते उन्होंने कई टीम के साथ बाहर जाने के मौके भी छोड़ दिये। उस शाम लक्ष्मी जी से मिलने की इच्छा के चलते ही वो इतनी देर तक बाहर रहीं। ये एक पढ़ी लिखी प्रोफेशनल मोहतरमा हैं। उन्होंने ऐसे हालात से समझौता कर लिया है।

अब चलते हैं 1994 में। मैं जब पुणे स्टेशन के बाहर बैठा था और ये सोच रहा था अगले तीन दिन इस शहर में कैसे गुज़रेंगे तब उस अनजान शख्स ने मुझे अपने घर चलने को कहा। अनजान शहर, अनजान व्यक्ति। लेकिन सिर्फ़ और सिर्फ़ भरोसा था उन पर जो उनके साथ हो लिया।

आज 2019 में भारत के एक शहर में एक पढ़ी लिखी युवती ने ठीक वैसे ही विश्वास किया था उन युवकों पर। उन्होंने उसकी पंचर गाड़ी को सुधरवाने का भरोसा दिलाया। किसी भी सभ्य समाज में विश्वास, भरोसा ही तो होता है जो आपको जोड़े रखता है। लेकिन उसके बाद जो बर्बरता हुई वो सोच कर ही सर शर्म से झुक जाता है।

दरअसल हमें इससे डील करना नहीं आता है। पहले तो ऐसा नहीं होता था लेकिन अब ऐसी कोई घटना होती है तो सबसे पहले आरोपियों के नाम देखे जाते हैं। किसी समुदाय विशेष का हुआ तो बस सब उस सम्प्रदाय के पीछे पड़ जाते हैं मानो उस समुदाय के सभी लोग वैसी ही सोच रखते हैं। लेकिन बाकी तीन आरोपियों की जाति या धर्म उन्हें नहीं दिखता। आप आज का सोशल मीडिया देख लीजिये। किसी ने ट्विटर पर लिखा ये घटना शमशाबाद इलाके में हुई है और आपको पता है वहां कौन रहता है। हमारी सोच इतनी घटिया हो गयी है की जघन्य अपराध को हमने धर्म का चोला पहना कर असल मुद्दे को ही बदल दिया।

अब ये उस युवती पर हुये अत्याचार नहीं हो कर एक समुदाय विशेष द्वारा किया गया कृत्य हो गया। हम जो भी कर रहे हैं वो सब ऊपरी है। इस समस्या की जड़ है कानून का डर न होना। पिछले दिनों सरकार ने ट्रैफिक के नियम तोड़ने पर होने वाले जुर्माने की रकम में कई गुना बढ़ोतरी कर दी। अगले ही दिन से खबरें आने लगीं लोगों ने मोटी रकम भरी नियम तोड़ने पर। सब कागज़ात साथ लेकर चलने लगे और कुछ दिन सब ठीक चला। लेकिन विरोध शुरू हुआ और कुछ राज्यों ने बढ़े हुये चालान को लागू करने से मना कर दिया। मुम्बई में ऐसे कई इलाके हैं जहां स्पीड राडार लगे हैं। आपकी गाड़ी की स्पीड ज़्यादा हुई तो चालान घर आ जायेगा। ड्राइवर डरते हैं और गति पर नियंत्रण रखते हैं।

इसका दूसरा और ज़्यादा चिंताजनक पहलू है की अपनी रक्षा की सारी ज़िम्मेदारी हमने स्त्रियों पर मढ़ दी है। लेकिन हम पुरुष से ये उम्मीद नहीं कर सकते की वो अपना स्वभाव, आचरण और नज़रिया बदले। हम लड़कियों को तो सब सलाह देते हैं की वो कैसे अपनी सुरक्षा करे, लेकिन हम लड़कों को ये क्यों नहीं सिखाते की क्या ग़लत है और क्या सही है। क्यों वो लड़कियों को सिर्फ़ एक उपभोग की वस्तु ना समझ कर एक इंसान समझें। कहीं न कहीं ऐसी घटनायें हमारी परवरिश की कमी ही है और अपराधियों की ये सोच की कानून उनका कुछ नहीं बिगाड़ सकता।

इस ताज़ी घटना के बाद मांग हो रही है सबको फाँसी दी जाये। चलिये ये चार को फाँसी दे भी दी तो क्या ये सिलसिला थम जायेगा? निर्भया के बाद जो कानून में बदलाव हुआ उससे भी हमें लगा था अब बेटियां सुरक्षित हैं। काश ये सच होता तो आज हैदराबाद की एक बेटी अपने घर, अपने परिवार के बीच होती।

Cope with Copenhagen

So the biggest meeting to discuss the challenges mother earth faces has ended as a no show. Of course Mr Obama and his team of publicists will over the course of next week continue to hammer inside the people what all the deal will do. But for countries like India and China and Brazil the outcome is nothing but a candy handed by the developed countries.

It is really strange that India should follow other countries even on issues like environment. Our needs and requirements are different from countries like China. But why should we follow China is something I have not yet understood.

It really is a matter of shame that even when it comes to policy decision India looks upto or follows other countries. Instead of announcing voluntary cuts India should have waited to gauge the mood of other countries before making its stand public.

And just how can people turn blind eye to the problems the country has been facing due to global warming?  How and what will we tell a farmer in a remote village in Madhya Pradesh that his problems are all due to US not agreeing to emission cuts. It is good game – pointing fingers at each other. But the blame game will not provide any solution that we desperately want.

But the same farmer will not be aware of the danger that awaits the developing countries like India. Maybe the unseasonal rainfall/hailstorm/drought affected him but he failed to understand why.

With Earth Summit over it is very unlikely the same people will worry about the environment again and continue doing their business as before.