Norway is one best countries of the globe to live; a textbook example for the Nordic Welfare State. The Utoya Youth Camp massacre and the PM Office attack at Olso was Norway’s 9/11 moment. A nation which support’s International Development Activities with one percent of its Budget, pulls a punch above its feather weight category of the 47th largest economy in the world. The seat of the Nobel Peace Prize, the world was grieved and shocked to hear that a 32 year old  right wing sympathizer with a twitter account had killed 91 souls; out of a sick outrage against ‘Cultural Marxists’ as stated in his parochially poisoned 1500 page manifesto fueled by his hatred for liberalism and Muslim immigrants. According to a hard hitting article by Praveen Swami in the ‘Hindu’ newspaper, there are many parallels between Hindu Extremism and Far Right groups in Europe(The link is here-http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2293829.ece?homepage=true#.Ti5DOK5RP2U.facebook).

Both are tied by their sickening animosity towards Muslims, who make up 1.5 billion people of 7 billion souls on the planet. The Far Right is expanding electorally through out Europe, it has made significant gains in Sweden, Denmark, Holland and even the UK. The blue collar white middle class who live in subsided in town hall housing facilities are feeling threatened by the asian/african immigrants who take away their core jobs and livelihoods.  This sentiment is echoed throughout a section of the white population that non white immigrants are responsible for the filth in their society. Most, importantly, the ‘White’ way of life is being robbed away from them as ethnic and religious ghettos breed, from outer Marseilles in Southern France where Algerian origin French citizens live to the back alleys of Oslo filled with Pakistani migrants.

Marie Le Pen of the far right national front is a leading contender for the  french presidency next year. The British National Party wins council seats every time local elections are held. Geert Wilders supports the Dutch Government in a coalition. Finland has a far right party in parliament with 19% of the vote. This phenomenon is not a one off stunt any more.

This was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. This is a well known fact that the post colonial migrants such as the Turkish or north african migrants in France have not integrated and have not become European enough, according to Angela Merkel, Nicholas Sarkozy and David Cameron. Areas in the UK and France look more like Lahore and Algiers than London and Bordeaux.  Multiculturalism has failed and globalization has been stopped in its tracks. Right Wing extremism in India caused terrorist attacks such as the Samjhauta train bombings, Malegoan and Hyderabad Attacks, contested trains of thought have taken resort to arms. This is explosive, pragmatism leading to reconciliation is the best way out, of course its easier said than done. Tariq Ramadan, the European Muslim Scholar’s book on the rise of the uniqueness of the European Muslim is a good start.

I am presently on the verge of packing up on a short week long break in a globally dispersed family reunion in the City of Joy. I am back to the city of my ethnic origins after a gap of three years. The left has been replaced this may by a popular counter revolution led by Mamata Di.  A cult of the Messiah Mamata has risen, the hammer and sickle has been replaced with the three flowers of the trinamool and the hand of the congress. Politics and Culture is embedded in the DNA of the city. Over the past few days since i arrived, a build up of local rallies led up to the crescendo to the Martyr’s Day- a commemoration of the political victims of the opposition movement since 1993. On a rain soaked day, tens of thousands of people, were huddled up as cattle from the interiors of bengal to to the Brigade Parade ground where the who’s who of the current dispensation and the Kolkata entertainment industry turned up in a show of strength as in a victory day rally. It reminded me of the Left rally’s of the yesteryear’s. The Culture and the Ethos is still eerily the same  ; only the stripes have changed.

The city is abuzz with a sense of hope, a hope of change for the better. Infrastructure projects have turned parts of the city as construction sites, making traffic intolerable to bear. Urban Planning is a concept alien to the Public Works Department here, it seems. I will admit that roads have improved considerably in the southern part of the city, the northern parts still have the old world charm although seems that it has just risen from an artillery strike.  Kolkata (the traditional name) seems to be a city of rural and urban sections. South Kolkata and Salt Lake are very metro, can beat a Bandra anyday. Rajarhat and New Town are still very rural with a patchwork of concrete jungle. Roads still look more the Moon’s surface than a transport friendly surface.

Kolkata still has a soul; culturally rich. Food is certainly a USP. The best grub i have had in ages. The loud nature of the Calcuttan adds life on the street and the laid back nature adds to its charm, although very bugging at times. The organized chaos and the hustle & bustle  weave a tapestry of character of its dilapidated historic city.

I have definitely sensed a ignition towards growth towards the better; lets us see what shape does this energy take Kolkata towards.

The intelligentsia and the civil society actors have a handicap (I am a  policy activist in my small way). They are not fit for electoral politics due to a ‘few’ minor factors. These are-

1. No one in my family is in politics or the civil service, feudalism is very much present today

2. I am not a TV actor or a movie side kick leave alone a Bolly/Tolly wood star.

3. I am middle class. I just have enough money to survive leave alone spend millions to buy a electoral ticket.

4.  I am not an Industrialist like the Mallya’s and the Jindal’s. Business is the channel in to Rajya Sabha and Political Influence.

In short, I am the faceless common man whose ideas even if they are good, does not matter because most votes are bought and sold, the value of a vote of a doctor and a ‘vada pav wala’ is just the same. Who thinks about policies, lets watch Dhamaal 2 instead:(

Good people who can make a difference are disenfranchised, what is the gradient between a Sudan and India then. Democracy is a new game with the same old players.

My heart bled for me to see the serial terror strikes in Mumbai last evening on live streaming Indian TV channels online, unfolding in the commercial central of the maximum city like the diamond hub Zaveri Bazar and Lamington Road. Precious lives and livelihoods were taken away for a proxy war that Mumbai is not responsible for. Every time something happens to Mumbai like the train bombings or the Ghatkoper bus blasts, people proudly talk about the resilience of Mumbaikars to bounce back the next day, as if something has not occurred at all unfortunately. In a city that never sleeps, time is precious- no one has time even for family, leave alone bystanders. In a metropolitan hub that Mumbai, we provide (I am a Mumbaikar as well) the bulk of the central and state revenues which the other regions feed on and yet Mumbai does not get any thing; no superior healthcare, transportation or the basic security. The 26/11 attacks seem to have taught us nothing at all. The perpetrators of the attack dared the country once again. We still shamelessly talk about the Mumbai Spirit as like the ANZAC Spirit, getting molested and staying mum about it demonstrates our incompetence to protect our selves and not our Gandhian virtues.

Afzal Guru and Kasab are still enjoying the ‘Incredible India’ Atithi Devo Bhavah hospitality on taxpayer cash. The lack of strong political will and vote bank electoral politics gives us a soft image, that India cannot even persecute its traitors and terrorists.  Israel is condemned everytime, and for reasons well known; but it is a powerful tiny state who defeated many neighbors who were mightier than its size in 1967 and 1973. India is a sleeping elephant, which needs to given a jolt out of its slumber. China is encircling India with its string of pearls strategy and Pakistan is well known for its slow burn warfare tactics. Politicos now have an opportunity to turn away from the anti graft sentiment to national security rhetoric, ideal window to change public discourse very conveniently. Terrorism has destabilized the entire sub continent for a two decades and will continue to do so until, we do not take national security seriously. Over the long the term, our politics need to change and we have to elect people who can deliver in terms of ministerial leadership; strong leadership gives a strong message. Let us move beyond wishes and crocodile tears towards doing something concrete, albeit i have a strong gut feel that I will be repeating this same sentiment a few months from now.

Politics and Governance needs a major rebooting of the software which runs our everyday lives (I talk about this aspect quite often as we live in less resilient world than the previous generation and good leadership is the need of the hour ). Corruption is a malignant cancer all through out the developing world, cripples development, drive people in to desperation and catalyzes civil strife. The problem is not with democracy, the problem is with the electorate. It is very simple; no pain, no gain. The middle class is perched in the bliss of everyday life enough to be distracted by the rot at the top of the pyramid. The poor are simply too helpless  to act, sadly. The middle class will only wake up politically when the bare essentials will be taken away from them and when they will not be able to send their children to school or bring dal and roti to the table.

The political elite are all a cartel, an attempt par excellence in self preservation. Food Insecurity, Terrorism, Job Creation and Climate Change are all mega trends that needs a new dynamic of governance; an engaged participatory networked meritocracy where popular buy-in is present. This point has been emphasized by the rising profile of ministerial portfolios in India such as Rural Development and Environment rather than the traditional power posts in Finance and Defense.

Lets start thinking about the change, today.

(This is an Idea Post)

We wake up everyday in the morning with hopes, apprehensions and a sense that life maintains itself through a pattern of days and the work associated with it. As an almost twenty five year old grad student, with a passion to make a tangible difference in the community and society I live in, albeit in a tiny portion, finding my footing is a challenging emotional and personal journey. Life is a good slave but a bad master. There is no default button on the dashboard of our lives. We are a product of serendipity, luck and efforts which we make everyday. Given that I have read three different academic domains at the tertiary level, because of the sheer fact that I have diverse interests and my parents wanted to have a humanities oriented engineer at home, who is rather comfortable in writing and doing research rather than doing engineering process design courses at the graduate level (I am a masters degree holder in engg, i do not know how but that’s the fate I have !)

Finding a niche is indeed a work in progress, as I believe that a person has to create himself an indispensable skill-set for the hire and fire job space, where life long employment is a struggle to manage. We are truly in a generation where an evolutionary social Darwinian transformation is occurring. Creating a stable niche in all the psychological chaos is indeed a crucible for innovation. We learn a lot more in the time during college through social learning mechanisms than through blackboard and the whiteboard/projected slides in the lecture theater. Student clubs, creating projects, internships, travelling and learning through social media channels are the stuff which molded me. Our peers teach us or break us. To paraphrase, Martin Luther King Junior; its always the small creative minority who are always making the change happen rather than warming the pews in the Cathedral of life, where we have to attend Church because it is a social obligation and not because prayer (analogous to opportunity) is the reason why they are around.

Life is too short to waste, every day is a blessing and obstacles are opportunities in disguise. A perspective shift is indeed a paradigm shift. Find a niche, enjoy the chaos and create value for the brother in need in your housing estate. Every day is new a semester in the institution called life.

Politics at the meta-physical level is a battle of ideas. One perspective to govern is weighed against another perspective. All the Ism’s; Capitalism, Socialism and its various derivatives, such as compassionate capitalism, democratic socialism are just different shades of the same color.At the end of the day, politics is still about movements and mass mobilization. Cadre based parties with ideological polarization still do better at the ballot box than the most well intention ed Civil Society type Non Profits. The Green Party movement internationally grew out of the local community movements into a powerful political force to reckon with. Greens are especially influential in Germany and other EU Nations. The ban on Nuclear Power in Germany by the year 2022, was triggered by a growing green vote in the nation.

The battle for ideas on the streets and subsequently on the ballot box is demonstrated in the political theater in Bangkok with the telegenic Ying Luck Shinawatra, riding on a sympathy wave voted in by rural peasants in Chang Mai and the adjoining areas on the popularity of elder brother Thaksin. It was clearly a battle of ideas at the forefront- An elite and military backed and pro monarchy democrats against a pro poor and populist with a rural mass base. The needs of a middle class against the wants of an agrarian poor. This battle is being illustrated worldwide from Caracas to Tehran. Ahemadinejad wins because the poor vote for him and Hugo Chavez wins too because of populistic measures like low fuel prices and free healthcare and education ala Cuba. Populism wins votes, lets admit it.  Good Economics does not make good politics always, sad but true.

Often, ideology is media powered, they are the flavor of the season like Neo-conservatism during the Bush 43rd presidency or the ‘change’ fever is the Obama flavor in the ice cream parlor of political discourse.  Ideology should be about the set of ideas which bring development, serve the have nots and be pragmatic about what works for the time frame and what is a relic. Ideology which translates into development with a popular buy-in sustains itself. Ideas that work count, communism is good for a politics class read….

As cable TV and Internet connectivity penetrate the most obscure hamlets in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia, the information divide is being bridged regarding have and have nots. Although electricity coverage and decent secondary education access are very much substantial issues to be dealt with, the spoken word  reaches the poor, via vernacular new channels in India even if they cannot read the written language. This access to news of the world is trans-formative. The discourse is electoral politics in India has shifted from caste and religious matters to basic utilities such as Electricity, Water and Road Access. The rich cannot survive in an island of peace around an ocean of poverty. Philanthropy makes strategic business sense. Tomorrow’s middle class is also also tomorrow’s consumer base for the corporation. Keeping the poor, poor is not good business sense.

The philanthropic endeavors of Azim Premji to start a development and education training oriented university has the potential to professionalize the non profit sector and primary education. The TATA Group were the original philanthropists who built hospitals and townships, the business of rendering social services should not be limited to the government, business is an important component of the machinery of society.  Philanthropy is good vehicle for helping out our Brothers in need in our community. Community building which the hallmark of Gawad Kalinga in the Philippines is based on the sweat equity model where companies and individuals contribute in Nation Building. A fairer society makes for a productive society. Poverty and inequity is at the heart of the Arab spring, not religion. Development is growth, and growth oriented politics means healthy democracies.

Poverty is capability deprivation of the highest magnitude. Poverty contributes to vulnerability; it is the sense of defenselessness, and inability to make the optimum choices in the presence of a stressor like a flood or drought or a earthquake. The poor do not have any power to mobilize the right capitals; economic, cultural and political and capitalize on their social capitals to extricate themselves out of the current mess. Most of the resource poor in the developing world are dependent upon the environmental commons  for their livelihoods; subsistence agriculture  and fishing. In the light of urbanization and globalization, there is displacement from rural to urban space due to work pressures and the loss of incomes from farm based occupations. Sustainable Development is a policy nightmare, balancing fiscal and environmental stressor on a level playing platform is not possible. Poverty drives people to cut tress for logging companies and for mono-culture palm oil plantations in Kalimantan and the Amazonian regions. They are the lungs of the earth and the ideal climate change buffers. Local economic factors jeopardize global climate dynamics.

Norway is linking development aid to Indonesia to forest conservation, in its ‘forest pact’. Global Philanthropic foundations are increasing climate change adaptation funds for local communities. Human migration on a large scale will happen if we do not create buffers and adequate income generating resources at the local and regional levels. Microfinance is a major tool which can provide capital to start sustainable businesses around eco-tourism ventures in Vietnam and Indonesia. Poverty alleviation, local economic development with developmental aid and micro finance is fundamental for sustainability…