India a Peaceful Country: A Misnomer?

From our youth we have been brought up studying that India is a a peace loving country (well truthfully which country loves war?) But India has always tried to show itself as the most peace loving country in the 21st Century.

India gained independence from the British rule by a non-violent struggle lead by one of the most peace loving man ever born, our Father of our nation: Mahatma Gandhi. But the birth of this great nation was  not so very peaceful as every one knows, The partition of India filled the country with violence, riots, butchering of people and other atrocities a peace loving country will never tolerate.

But independence of India was a time of great change, and all great change are preceded by chaos, But then also we can't thus say and forget about the violence during the partition of India. But to continue on independent India fought 5 recorded wars, 

• Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
• Indo-Sino war of 1961
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1999 (Kargil war)

We have learnt that India was never the aggressor in any of these wars which may or may not be true, I also may conceded that these wars might have been necessary to keep our hard won Independence. But here I need to mention the borders of India are not yet peaceful, and the borders with some of our neighbours are not yet well defined which might lead to the cause of the next war.

Still these are issues between nations and a lot of high politics and one man ship happens between countries, so lets not consider these to decide if India is a peace loving country or not, Because I agree how much ever you love peace, you need a strong Army to protect yourself in this world. Which is why I agree to India having a nuclear weapon and am also proud of the fact that India has said "No First Use"

But that still doesn't explain why India as a whole is not the peaceful, it is said 40% of India is under grip of naxalites, a area know as the red corridor. Schedules of trains are changed so that trains don't run through these areas at night. In no way would I call this as a sign of a peaceful India. 

There have been more than 50 riots in Independent India, (get the full list here) with the latest being the 2002 Gujarat riots. These 50 doesn't include the minor fights/riots which happen in India like the latest set of violence in the North-East. These again prove that we living in a sudo peaceful country. 

Another thing which I would like to point out is the fascination with guns majorly among the northern states of the country. Even thought there is heavy regulation against carrying guns in India, Guns can easily by procured in the states of UP, Bihar. where carrying guns is actually a status symbol. No where in the world is Guns a Peace symbol.Still I haven't talked about the violence against women or any of the weaker casts, cause lets face is no country anywhere in the world is completely at peace, even Vatican has its own police. 

India is the worlds biggest film maker, but again when I look at these films violence is glorified and only if the hero shows violence does the film gross numbers. Consider film from the south (Rajnikath films) main stream films (Dabang) or any bojpuri films from the north. Violence is always there. And as these films actually are successful I would only say that India actually loves violence.

In the latest concluded Olympic games 5 out of the 6 medals were in boxing, wrestling & shooting. Sports which can be considered as violent sports (if there is something like that).

Seeing all this I begin to wonder if peace is really in India's genes, Lets look into the history. Its said India never attacked any other country but herself has been a target of many invasions. From Alexander, to the Moghuls to the British. But what if all these invasions took place just cause India was always in war within itself, history teaches us that India has always been ruled by Kings/Princes who warred among them-self. A house divided within is always a happy hunting ground for invasions. 

But my point being considering the history present India has never been a peaceful land, so is India a Peaceful Country: A Misnomer?

Satyamev Jayate - Just another TV show??

Majority of my friends know that I am not a guy who watches TV much, Yes plenty of people have expressed surprise how a modern day Indian boy doesn't watch Television. But then it is also true that I don't like cricket. Go Figure!!

Anyhow, the show Satyamev Jayate of Amir Khan has been getting some good reviews online, in Newspapers and my friends raving about how different the show is I had to watch it. I am writing this post after watching 2 episodes  Well I agree to the fact the the show is different, and if there are more shows like this might be TV won't remain a Idiot Box.

But the question is still is it all just a talk? What is Amir doing? He is talking on various issues in India which are common knowledge but still people want to keep it hidden. Everyone knows the laws against female foeticide and Dowry, but still its common knowledge that these things are still practiced in India.

So is Satyamev Jayate just another show to gainer eyeballs, push up the ratings and earn money for the big entertainment industry on India? Or does this show make a actual difference in the life of an actual Indian?

Its said the donations to various NGOs working against female foeticide increased after the 1s episode of the show, An awareness against various evils in our society like dowry, malpractices by trusted doctors, the crime of falling in love is being highlighted. What remains to be seen is if this awareness is transferred to actual action on the ground, or will it remain just a Sunday afternoon wakeup call for people.

What I am scared of is if this hype will become like the Anna's anti-corruption movement and the Jan Lokpal Bill. Populist rhetoric does not generate nuanced solutions. On various issues, Satyamev Jayate chose a populist ‘truth'; but failed to push the envelope and convert it to a difficult, deeper, much needed conversation with India.

But like its said, something is better than nothing right? Hopefully due to the show an awareness is created and India changes for the better. Hopefully Satyamev Jayate stands for what it is "Truth Alone Prevails" and doesn't decent into a program only for eyeballs, touches real issues and discusses solutions to these issues. 

Broken Window theory

Broken window theory was put up by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, in an article titled "Broken Windows".

Basically the theory is explained as follows

“Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside”

Basically if something appears to be uncared for there is greater chance the destruction will be more. If I feel no one else cares for something even I won’t care for it.

Put yourself in this situation, “A small fair girl of 5 years old, well dressed but roaming lost in a mall with tears in her eyes, what do you do? You mostly will ask the girl whats wrong and try to trace her guardians”

But now consider another situation, "You are at a traffic signal, a small girl of 5 years in shabby clothes is sitting across the road with a look of hunger in her face, what do you do? Roll up the window?"

Why this discrimination? Is it just cause of the location? Think about it, in both cases the child was a 5 year old girl.

Not convinced about the theory? You wondering what if the broken window is in a upscale location? Rich people don’t go about breaking windows, do they?

Let me put another extract from the same article

“We arranged to have an automobile without license plates parked with its hood up on a street in the Bronx and a comparable automobile on a street in Palo Alto, California. The car in the Bronx was attacked by "vandals" within ten minutes of its "abandonment." The first to arrive were a family--father, mother, and young son--who removed the radiator and battery. Within twenty-four hours, virtually everything of value had been removed. Then random destruction began--windows were smashed, parts torn off, upholstery ripped. Children began to use the car as a playground. Most of the adult "vandals" were well-dressed, apparently clean-cut whites. The car in Palo Alto sat untouched for more than a week. Then we smashed part of it with a sledgehammer. Soon, passersby were joining in. Within a few hours, the car had been turned upside down and utterly destroyed. Again, the "vandals" appeared to be primarily respectable whites.”

Basically its not the location, Humans just enjoy breaking stuff (how much ever you deny it). The difference in reactions was explained in the article, I quote

“Untended property becomes fair game for people out for fun or plunder and even for people who ordinarily would not dream of doing such things and who probably consider themselves law-abiding. Because of the nature of community life in the Bronx--its anonymity, the frequency with which cars are abandoned and things are stolen or broken, the past experience of "no one caring"--vandalism begins much more quickly than it does in staid Palo Alto, where people have come to believe that private possessions are cared for, and that mischievous behavior is costly. But vandalism can occur anywhere once communal barriers--the sense of mutual regard and the obligations of civility--are lowered by actions that seem to signal that "no one cares."

How’s it we humans with our superior intellect still governed by the basic instincts (Humans, do we only try to survive and reproduce?) ? Why is it that if a message No one else cares is conveyed even I won’t care? Can't I think for myself?

It is often complained about India that we keep our homes clean but dirty our surroundings, Isn’t it possible we keep our homes clean only cause we care and dirty our surrounding because no one cares. If you have noticed all India is not dirty, there are islands of clean neighbourhoods.

Which can be explained by  considering  this examble of a pavement.

If some litter accumulates and its cleaned at once the road remains clean but if its not cleaned, soon more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash and the whole road becomes a garbage dump.

In Mumbai, Take Powai for e.g. In the Hiranandani complex everything is clean but step outside, just near IIT campus you will see the litter. It’s the same people who pass through both areas but why the difference? I belive its cause of the above Broken Window effect. No one bothers to clean up outside IIT but Hiranandani complex is always kept spick and span

But why am I rambling this? I don’t know, Might be cause of the Broken Window in my head which needed fixing :P