Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear Weapons

“A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions.”-Wikipedia. A thermonuclear weapon of 1,100 kg has the destructive capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of TNT. The issue of development of nuclear weapons and their use in course of warfare has been a subject of intense debate ever since their inception. But that they offer the deterrence of mutually assured destruction seems to be self-evident.

It is no wonder then that some states run after their development as the holy-grail of military might, before actually developing their nations from the grass-roots level. Even India made a comeback on the world stage after a long hiatus thanks to the Pokhran II tests under the able leadership of A.B. Vajpayee.

The threat of nuclear weapons is very real. With the spread of technological advancement, development of nuclear weapons by different nations is possible and the threat of a suicide-bomber state is also not unreal. So how can we prevent our posterity from living under the fear of a nuclear holocaust?

The doctrine of No First Use in case of nuclear weapons is indeed laudable. But NATO has been reluctant to accept it. The development of the Missile Defense Shield, much to the chagrin of Russia, has been a topic of great controversy. One possible solution might be the joint development of such a system with countries with a No First Use policy reaffirmed by actions that testify that commitment. But the broader implication of such a strategy needs to be studied.

On Education

The issue of theory and practice of education evokes different responses in different people. The term ‘education’ has come from the Latin words: 1) Educere, to draw out or in other words to bring out the potentialities of the learners, 2) Educare, that is to bring up or rear and 3) Educatum, which is teaching. The corresponding Indian word ‘Siksha’ has its etymological base in the Sanskrit word ‘Shash’ which means to discipline, to control, to order, to direct. In this sense Education means disciplining the behavior of an individual. The term ‘Vidya’ meaning knowledge is another Sanskrit word which sheds light on the nature of education.
By examining the different definitions as given by great educators of the Orient & Occident, we can develop a basic idea about the nature and meaning of education:
“Education is the manifestation of perfection already in Man. Like fire in a piece of flint, knowledge exists in the mind. Suggestion is the friction which brings it out.” –Swami Vivekananda
“By education I mean an all round drawing out of the best in child and man- body, mind and spirit.” - Mahatma Gandhi
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” – Rabindranath Tagore
“Education is something which makes a man self-reliant and self-less.” –Rig Veda
“Education according to Indian tradition is not merely a means for earning a living; nor is it only a nursery of thought or a school for citizenship. It is initiation into the life of spirit, a training of human souls in the pursuit of Truth and the practice of virtue.” –Radhakrishnan
“Education develops in the body and soul of the pupil, all the beauty and all the perfection he is capable of.” –Plato
“Education is the child’s development from within.” –Rousseau
“Education is unfoldment of what is already enfolded in the germ. It is the process through which the child makes the internal external.” –Froebel
“Education is the harmonious and progressive development of all the innate powers and faculties of Man- physical, intellectual and moral.”-Pestalozzi
“Education is the superior adjustment of a physically and mentally developed conscious human being to his intellectual, emotional and vocational environment.”-H.H. Horne
“Education is the complete development of the individuality of the child so that he can make an original contribution to human life according to the best of his capacity.” T.P. Nunn
Thus it appears to me that the goals and meaning of Education can be approached from three different angles viz. moral, intellectual and economic or professional.
Moral: Moral Education to me is synonymous with enlightment. Now what do I mean by enlightment? Enlightment is the identification of the individual with all men irrespective of caste, creed, nation, colour, race or religion. It is the realization of the humanity that binds us all. The other important trait of moral education is the practice of virtue. Now what is virtue? Is it not a truth that virtue varies according to values which itself depends on time and space? True. But according to me virtue is the realization of the ethic of serving mankind and acting according to it especially for the poor, the hungry and the needy. If a learner acquires such education what will be its benefits apart from its inherent ethical and humanistic desirability? Firstly the problems of racialism, fundamentalism and religious intolerance will be solved. Secondly the sufferings of the disadvantaged will be reduced. Now what are the obstacles to such an awakening? Firstly such realizations are rare even in case of highly instructed conventionally educated persons. And even when there is such realization it is even rarer to find them translated into action. Their problem is that they have acquired information under the guise of knowledge but not true wisdom. Our present social status is based on wealth, power and fame but they should be based on merit, honesty and altruism. This will encourage people to work in the rural areas and to provide essential necessities such as education and health-care. How can this be done? Well, we will have to go through a transitionary period when there is a conscious effort on part of enlightened citizens to encourage such ideals. Then people will try to aspire to these values inspite of the fact that it may not come from within. Though it is not the ideal situation but the overall condition should improve. This is what is called social planning. The willingness to implement steps so that the highest ideals of our nation and civilization will flourish.
Intellectual: Matters of the intellect are a different thing altogether. There are thousands of opinions, views and ideologies which in our history have peacefully co-existed. So in this respect the goal should be initiation in the path for the search for truth. Indeed as the sage Ramakrishna said “Joto Mot, Toto Poth” which when translated into English reads- There are as many paths as there are opinions. But the end goal should be the ideals of truth, free thinking and concern for mankind.
Economic and the Professional Aspect: The economic or professional aspect of education is the most widely prevalent aspect that most people are aware of, perhaps the only benchmark of education that most people recognize. This type of education is often synonymous with instruction. But this system too has some inherent flaws. Often people pursue professions that provide the best opportunity for realization of higher social status and not in accordance to his aptitude and passions. There are exceptions of course but I feel this is the general trend. The permanent solution is glorification of the moral aim of education as outlined before. Apart from that a person who pursues his professional activities according to his aptitudes and passions is more likely to be happy and satisfied with his life thus enhancing his productivity which again will benefit the society and the nation. But how are we to achieve this? In all schools and colleges there should be trained psychologists of various age groups, well versed in educational psychology and a particular subject. The challenges posed by a problem-child should be resolved by dedicated counseling. Pupils who show promise in a particular subject should be encouraged to further his studies on that particular subject under special supervision and a distinct curriculum as done in some western and developed nations. This will definitely increase our intellectual capital.

Democratic Reforms, The Digital Payment System And E-Governance

One of the major problems of our polity is the lack of accountability of the legislatures elected by the people. They have tremendous influence and power over the police and the administration. Thus they are able to do whatever they wish to. This discretionary and unofficial power invariably leads to the abuse of power, often manifested as corruption in ethical and economic domains.
 
This can be countered by Recall. Suppose in a particular constituency the crime rate has increased significantly. Some of the people of that constituency authorize a petition demanding recall of their representative. If the number of petitioners crosses a certain threshold a Recall is held. This will lead to the accountability of his actions.
But due to our population and limited resources such Recalls are not feasible in the present system. To conduct a safe, secure and correct democratic exercise much resource is needed which indeed are not available to us at present.
But the concept of ID cards containing biometric information together with the application of available technological knowledge can present a viable solution.
 
The government can provide each citizen with a card reader that can scan and read the biometric data given in the card and after verification connects itself to a particular network of governmental servers via Wi-Fi. Then that citizen pushes a particular sequence of numbers aided by an interactive voice response system that accepts his/her particular choice. This can be used in such Recalls or any type of democratic exercise. This will be a great resource saver apart from ushering in a new era of direct democracy when the society is prepared for it or the awareness in the people is strong enough. But some of its limited applications such as Recall can and should be implemented today itself.
 
But this solution, like all others, throws up a few more problems. What if a candidate forces the voters to vote for him by virtue of the physical strength of his supporters and here I use the word physical literally. In the absence of paramilitary forces, observers and media persons one can ensure one’s success by sheer brute force. This too can be countered. If we reduce the time window of the election to 45 minutes or 1 hour, no candidate will be able to force a significant number of voters. The short time window itself should not be a problem as a voter will be able to cast his vote from any location. Another problem is security. Wi-Fi can be insecure but if well directed research is made this too can be solved. Also the biometric data should also include retina scans and voice scans. Another area of concern remains. What if a party comes to power and then manipulates this digital system to its own advantage? The solution to this, it appears to me lies in making the whole system transparent, about which the public has a right to know under The Right To Information Act.
This system can also be extended to the realm of financial transactions. When a card is activated one can do all the necessary transactions. Thus all transactions will be recorded and if a person spends significantly more than his known sources of income for a considerable amount of time then the relevant authorities can look into the matter. This will result in the total elimination of black money. What is the use of money that you cannot spend. Also all sorts of financial misdeeds will come to an end and considering that financial motive is one of the major causes of crime and illegal practices, this too will be curtailed.
 
This system also has the potential to change the very essence of governance. Suppose you have a police complaint to file, you just access this same system and make your complaint which a speech to text software transcripts and files. This will also remove the detriment of literacy and distance, by which I mean that persons who do not know how to read or write can also access such a system. But again I reaffirm that transparency and accountability is the key behind the success of such a system.

India: The Present Society and Polity

After reading an article in The Times of India by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a sitting MP, on June 13th, I felt compelled to express my opinion about the various events taking shape around me. This is called Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression, a right which was supposed to be a Fundamental Right guaranteed to me by my Constitution, as taught by my Political Science textbook. But recent developments have convinced me that perhaps it was an errata on part of the publisher or was it that the very mention of our Constitution was itself an errata, that the rich and powerful could do whatever they pleased and we, the people, as lesser mortals were bound to obey it.
 
So what was the catalyst behind this new found realization? Well for one, the Indian Government with its sagacious wisdom has now proposed to the UN for international governmental control of the internet. Encouraged by their resounding success in ruining our country, our political class is now intent upon ruining the world as well. I am no Marxist but feel impelled to use the word political class as it is exactly how they act irrespective of party affiliation. This is especially tragic in the context India’s great heritage of tolerance and freedom.
Ruined our country! Look around you. See the malls, the sky rises, the Blackberries, Mercedeses and BMWs, they will retort, see how much we have done for the country. True. Earlier scams were of the magnitude of crores and now it is in lakhs of crores. Development indeed. Corruption, intolerance, fundamentalism, social and educational backwardness, manifested in the form of honour killings, female foeticide, dowry, casteism, communalism, political killings, persecution by the government of its critics, blatant violation of laws by those with the power to be above it, the number of real problems that ordinary people face in their day to day lives, that our polity has been able to solve can be counted by hand. Blessed are the souls of all those great patriots who dedicated their lives to bring forth political, social, economic, religious, cultural reforms in order to restore our country to her ancient glory and renown, who made our independence possible, for whom today I am able to write this, that they do not live to see what we have made out of our independence. Development indeed.
 
The sad fact is that in spite all our IIT’s, IIM’s, AIIMS’s and other educational institutions of international repute, we have become literate but not educated. That is the main reason behind the mess we find ourselves in today. A village simpleton who has never attended school may behave more in a more educated manner than an MBA pass out. We the people are also to blame. It is our beliefs, practices and short sightedness that make such unethical politics possible. If we refuse to vote for a candidate indulging in caste or communal politics, if we stop attending meetings of politicians who can withstand no criticism, if we refrain from supporting leaders who wish to censor all critical opinions, debate and discussions, the very life-blood of a democracy, they will be forced to change with the changing times. But who will bring forth this great enlightment.
 
The emergence of the media and its great influence in our times is of historical importance. Perhaps it is the only force strong enough to bring forth this change. And that possible only because the polity can’t censor or suppress it. But the media too has its faults. Instead of news that inform its readers about the loose motions of filmstars they should try to project people like Anand Kumar who runs the super thirty in Bihar as public heroes. More resources should be made available to them so that they can spread their activities. Here again the public is at fault. It is yet to learn who are its true well-wishers. They yearn for glamorous gossip so the media gives them just that. But the time of letting things be just as they are is gone. The time has now come to reshape the whole society as an educated, progressive, tolerant one. Merit, honesty, care for humanity should be the new benchmark of social status, not wealth and power. It is difficult and will take time but it can be done. But we have to act now. Let’s see what happens is not the preferred option. Thus I as the common man look towards the media for help and hope, though my cynical wisdom tells me otherwise. I am hoping against hope that it will not be so.
 
As a teenager I was greatly influenced by Disraeli’s immortal line “The day will come when you will hear me.” But if the government has its way perhaps this is the last time you will hear me.
 
“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”-J.S. Mill