I have to cheat. Udhay suggested I post an intro, since I just joinedthe list yesterday. I was going to do so after lurking for a day ortwo. But here's a topic that I am happy to jump wholeheartedly into. And skip the caution or the intro.
I like the content of Dr. Sastry's message here. (Aside: Whatdid the signboard cost you ?). Rather than the idea of cynicism comingwith the "deterioration of the good ole Raj", I think that popularapathy began as a response to the British Raj. It wasn't a democracyunder the Raj, and as Colonial subjects we had to accept what ourgoverning body did. Once India gained freedom, we continued to accept.But what changed was that we now openly complained about it. On the one hand I find myself proud of the vibrantly participatingdemocracy that we have in the country. Every law and every bill isprotested loudly. However, this is often done by what Washington wouldcall "Special interest groups". The privileged, educated, common, urbandweller, in my observation (and I'd love hear if I'm wrong), remainscynical and aloof. So on the other hand I find myself frustrated aboutthe point made below - that so many people in the socio-economiccategory that I know well don't participate. Or participate only in limitedways. Three possible reasons that I think apathy occurs in the minds of the "privileged": 1) For justified and unjustified reasons, it's easier & more timeefficient to remain on the "outside" as Dr. Sastry says. We all tend totake group responsibilities more lightly than individual ones, becauseindividual accountability for it is low, and because the perceivedchange / rewards are weak. 2) Language barrier. Government in Bangalore still conducts business inKannada, so a person may hesitate to participate until s/he had decentcommand of the language. (I'm sure the Kannada in Bangalore discussionhas already been held at this venue and this is not meant to provokeconversion on that front.) 3) Perceived social hierarchy of govt. officials. (Where did the termGovernment Servant come from ?). Many do not consider them equals andtherefore have a pre-conceived notion (justified or not) about how theywould think or what their actions may be. (Thus it intrigues me thatDr. Sastry says that plain clothes on-duty policemen are friends - canwe hear more ?) So I've jumped in. Are there any government official / ex-governmentofficials on this list who can comment ? Thoughts from others ? - Anjana aka Shortindiangirl aka SIG aka The smaller the better aka STB. ----- Original Message ---- From: ss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 8:33:28 PM Subject: Re: [silk] Lost and Found Heck - I am being exposed am I? But let me rant a bit. Getting any board painted is a pain because you have to struggle with what the painter thinks the spelling and grammar should be versus what you think you know. And I typically tend to translate my own English into a kind of Indian English that people seem to relate to better in India - knowing and acknowledging that I am, at the core, a Macaulay-putra. This particular sign was a request from one of the on duty plain-clothes policemen in the are whom I can recognise from a mile and who are mostly friends of mine. A little data point. If you need a sign that says "no parking" or something else to be put up by the roadside you can ask the local traffic police chief (whom one can meet at any local police station) for permission. After that you are free to get a sign painted using a standard template and you can even have a little board that says it was sponsored by you or your business. The police are chromically short of funds and people and do cooperate with the community for community related issues. We the educated tend to see government employees very cynically - as corrupt and incorrigible. This only adds on to the impression of corruption of these groups held by those who are poorer, less empowered and more vulnerable than us. Unfortunately we who are wealthy are also independent enough to be cynical and escape the worst effects of corruption. One pro-active step that we the empowered and wealthy can take is to involve ourselves with the government officials and machinery - starting with local police, water supply and electricity depts. Meeting the senior officials and setting time aside just for that gives a good insight into exactly who is corrupt and in what manner and who is not corrupt and is genuinely trying to do a job. The experience is extremely edifying and gives one a good handle on what is what and gives one new insight into how things work or don't work. It makes one join society rather than sit physically within but mentally outside that society, commenting superciliously and boringly on all its ills. But this requires rising out of the college level cynicism that many of us develop with influence from parents and grandparents who perceive a deterioration today from the "Good old Raj" when patronage and elite status ensured that things worked well for some while the rest were not heard or seen at all. shiv On Wednesday 27 Feb 2008 11:19:09 pm Deepa Mohan wrote: > I was pretty impressed with this evidence of public-spiritedness on > the part of a silk-lister whom we all like to get together and take on > sometimes.... > > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/2296559004/ > > Thank you, Nallu/Shiv/Dr Sastry..imagine, a whole notice with grammar > and spellings perfect...note "gate watchman or duty policemen". > > Could you tell us..or at least me...how this notice came to be put up > in front of Lalbagh West Gate, which I know is five minutes from your > home? > > Deepa. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! 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