On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 10:18 PM, Rishab Aiyer Ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: [...] > really? i think this is a problem of popular democracy combined with an > increasing: > -unwillingness to accept ones (low) place in the social order, something > that was never common in places like, say, brazil (explaining the higher > violent crime relative to wealth disparities there compared to india) > -perception that education may not be the way to increased wealth or > social status > -perception that education is inaccessible, in any case
This is a quick response, so please forgive me if I seem brusque. I am having one of those weeks where it seems like everything is happening at once, and so I am responding tersely in a vain attempt to manage my time well (yeah right). But no point-by-point debate from me today. I agree with what you've observed Rishab, and it is not orthogonal to what I said, I think. And, why is this happening? Because we've lowered the standards of entry. Whether it be to educational qualifications or to the positions of authority. Indian higher education is a farce where just about anyone with a weak pulse can get a degree out of our colleges, and they don't even have to cheat. The system is geared to push out the maximum graduates, but doesn't really control quality at all. The Indian administrative services have been denuded of most of its talented officers leaving behind the evil and the corrupt. My family in its previous generation has produced about half a dozen high thinking, well meaning, highly efficient bureaucrats, and every one of them has quit at some point alleging harassment from dishonest colleagues and bosses. So my generation hasn't even tried. Just about everyone has a Master's degree or higher from a foreign university and about 95% of us aren't even in the country anymore. The voters who matter are being systematically disenfranchised. How many in Silk have voted ever? In the recent past? Registering to vote, and then exercising it is such a huge effort that most people who are gainfully employed, educated and busy are just unable to get their vote. India is anti-mobility. If you've only ever lived at the same address for ages can you get all the government paperwork together for your vote, and even then it's a tough bureaucratic wrestle. In an age when news and information literally moves at the speed of light, and people's lives are no longer rooted to one spot, it's a very efficient way of isolating the thinkers. If my personal history counts for anything, I have never voted ever. I would very much like to vote, but the system has posed enough hurdles for me to shy away. In the past 6 years I've lived in 7 cities for at least 3 months or more. I don't even know if there is a way for me to exercise my vote when I am not in the country. On the other hand I pay taxes at the highest possible slab rates. Respect for the intellect has been a mark of a civilization since the earliest times. America just barely managed to save itself. I am sure India will crow soon enough about having found it's Obama in Mayawati. That will be a dark day indeed, because unlike Obama's victory which fills everyone's heart with hope, a Mayawati victory will create dread and panic. Her politics is one of fear and intimidation, of clever manipulation and politicking. http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2008/11/06/will-an-untouchable-become-indias-obama/ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Columnists/Waiting_for_Indias_Obama/articleshow/3678897.cms Cheeni
