The Awful Indian

Rama Bijapurkar's book - "We are Like that Only" captures a colloquial truth about India. However there is a complacent ring about it. "Accept us as who we are, don't try to change us, we are the best" and therein lies the rub. I have mentioned in these pages before that there is much about India, Indians and Indianness that is less than desirable:

1. Manners - Indians generally display the worst public manners out of many countries that I have experienced. Breaking queues, personal hygeine (peeing in public, spitting), rudeness (don't you know who I am), shouting at hapless subordinates and so forth.
2. Attitude towards Women - Enough has been said in the recent past about our patriarchal society and the awful treatment of women.
3. Corruption - this seems to have seeped into our bones. There is nobody and nothing that is not for sale. Ordinary work is impossible without bribing a long list of people.
4. Violence - The attitude of  "Main tumko dekh loonga" and "Jante nahin main kaun hoon" has been extended into a feeling that disputes can be settled by violence. Perhaps it also symptomatic of the lack of faith that ordinary Indians have in the Police and the Judicial System. We are being increasingly pushed to take the law into our own hands.
5. Work Ethics - Are we really a hardworking people? I don't think so. We always find a way to weasel out of hard work or "beat the system". Aspirations have gone up manifold but there is no commensurate work ethic to justify higher salaries and benefits. A related issue is lying and cheating. We are not above making money or misrepresenting facts to suit our ends if we can get away with it.
6. Poor Management - Many of our big ticket public works and even smaller projects in both the public and private sector suffer from poor management. We claim to have good technical and management education but it does not manifest itself in the work we do.

This is a depressing list but it is reality. One of our failings is that we find it difficult to face upto facts and choose to hide behind platitudes. Accepting faults is not a sign of weakness. On the other hand it lays the foundation for improvement. It is time that we stopped considering ourselves as the heirs of a glorious civilization and instead started focusing on our faults and how to improve them.


Check out my new book: Journey to the Hills and other Stories
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An Exercise in Futility

India has tried engaging with Pakistan in various ways. Inspite of 4 bloody wars we have continuously tried to engage with our fractious neighbour. There has been 'Track 2' diplomacy, people to people contacts, cricket - where we have graciously lost as generous hosts recently, Aman ki Asha and a host of other initiatives other than the ones undertaken through official diplomatic channels.

In return we have received a cacophany of muddled signals. From well meaning civil society activists who try to equate Islamic terror with Hindutva to hard line Talibanists who argue for an intensification of aggression leading to a dismemberment of India. In between there is an ineffectual political leadership and a menacing army.

A section of people still believe that there is much in common between India and Pakistan. By and large such people are over 80 years old and have some links with undivided Punjab. Frankly, they are in a dwindling minority now. The fact is that even before partition there was very little in common between the average resident of what is now Pakistan and anyone outside North India. In particular, the commonality was really restricted to Punjab. In the intervening 65 years the neighbours have grown steadily apart. Increasing fundamentalism, Arabization and basic differences in civic society have ensured that Pakistan has taken a divergent path from India.

India too has changed especially in the last two decades. We are a young country that has little recollection of a joint heritage. Our dreams and aspirations are wedded to a globalised world and we are more linked with the Western Democracies than with the Islamic Middle East. Increasing prosperity and the lifting of millions out of poverty has created a large middle class whose main exposure to Pakistan is the periodic horror unleashed by its cohorts on innocent Indians such as in the Mumbai attacks.

So why do we need to engage with Pakistan? The fact is that there are no clear answers. Any relationship should have a mutual benefit for it to prosper. In this case it is truly hard to think of any benefit that India can get with a deeper engagement. It has often been said that one does not know whom to engage with in Pakistan. If you deal with the elected Government you have the shadow of the Army looming large over the process. Sometimes we are told that the Army is now is now on board with the engagement and then a horrific incident happens such as the beheading and mutilation of two of our armymen. Secondly, dialogue should show some progress or improvement for it proceed. With Pakistan it has always been a case of one step forward and two steps back and it has been going on for 65 years!

Perhaps there could be an economic reason for engagement. Pakistan may provide a market for Indian manufacturers and vice versa. However such a situation can only happen when there is a significant improvement in the relationship. The tail cannot wag the dog.

It may be better to simply ignore Pakistan. Active attempts to take the dialogue further are clearly not working. Perhaps the time has come to let them manage their affairs in whatever way they want and just put all engagement into a deep freeze.

Journey to the Hills and other Stories

Journey to the Hills and other Stories is the first book by Divyaroop Bhatnagar The book is a presented as a collection of short stories set in the '60s in Mussoorie, a hill station in North India. Here is a description of the time and place in which these stories are set:

Named after a Himalayan flowering bush commonly found in these hills, Mussoorie was established in the early part of the 19th Century. Largely shunned by the British aristocracy, Mussoorie society in the 19th Century comprised of English businessmen and Box Wallahs with Indian princes and wealthy merchants thrown in for good measure. Things began to change after independence in 1947. The British left and many of their larger mansions were bought by wealthy businessmen from Calcutta and Bombay. Smaller houses were also bought by professionals from UP and Delhi. These stories are largely set in the Mussoorie of the 1960’s and are based on the experiences of one family during their summer holidays. The British had long gone but many of their traditions and institutions still lingered. An army band played in the evenings at the Band Stand near the public library. Miss Mussoorie contests were still the highlight of the season though the contestants were no longer the white ‘missy log’ . The schools – Waverly Convent, St. George’s, Woodstock and many others were thriving. Families still took long summer vacations and there was no television and hectic activity to disturb the quiet flow of life. So, dear reader, enjoy the gentle charms of a forgotten time.

The stories are nostalgic reminiscences of a more gentle,peaceful and less hectic time. The book has been very warmly received around the world and the Facebook page has got more than 11000 likes. Here are some reader's reviews:

"A great read for those from that era. Also a great read for anyone who enjoys learning about another time and place. You may see a bit of Jim Corbett or V.S. Naipaul or perhaps Ruskin Bond in this little book." 

"This book is a must read for anyone who has lived in that part of India, and for anyone else who is curious about the way of life in the days past."

"Debu has a wonderful style of telling stories......the story flow was as smooth as silk and his narration so vivid, real and engrossing that I couldn't put it down....I finished the book in one sitting......there are many nice pieces in the book.....I found the "Ida Villa" story particularly intriguing.....and the bit about getting Miss Johnson to come for the wedding after several years was very touching.....It is a fantastic read...and I have no doubt that even if one has not been to Dehradun or Mussoorie, one can relate to it well and visualize the place and story setting......"

"Debu Bhatnagar's first book of short stories "Journey to the Hills and Other Stories" is a wonderful collection of stories all centred around a family vacationing in Mussoorie in the mid sixties. Though presented as a collection of short stories, all of them present a ensemble of characters that you recognize as you go through the book. A reader can pick and choose individual stories or can treat the whole book as one novel and go through it in one sitting. What is really remarkable about the stories is the gentleness with which the author treats each of the characters in the book. The author paints a beautiful picture of a bygone era when hill stations were full of interesting characters, and were really used as 'summer head quarters' by the affluent families. Once you start reading, I guarantee that you will finish all the stories in one sitting. A wonderful maiden effort. A must read for all of us who have had our share of summer vacations with our grandparents! A must read." 

This post on Facebook has received 85,000 likes, 663 comments and 1300 shares. I hope you like it too!

Written in a shaky hand obviously in a state of high excitement Susan confirmed that she had indeed been a ladies maid to Miss. Williamson. She had come to India with her in 1918 just after the Great War. It had been difficult to book a passage but Miss Williamson was a determined lady as the children had already discovered. They had traveled directly to Mussoorie from Bombay where they had docked and had stayed at the Charleville Hotel. The ‘missus’ used to write a great deal of letters and used to travel down to Dehradun quite often. Finally the construction of Ida Villa had been completed. They had already decided the furnishings. “Ordered straight from a big shop in Calcutta. No expense spared” was the way Susan put it. They moved in, mistress and maid and the initial years were happy and contented though lonely and sometimes frightening especially when it was a “thunder night and the clouds were a comin’ into the house”. Miss Williamson would visit the graveyard everyday and take flowers to a grave in the second or third level below the road. “She never told me what she was doing and it was not in my place to ask”. But this idyllic existence was not to last. Barely two years after they had moved in into Ida Villa the masterly Miss Williamson fell gravely sick. Dr. Mathews came down from St Mary’s Hospital to see her but is was obvious that she would not last too long. Susan was terrified, being in a strange land with no money of her own. But the missus told her “You don’t have to worry my girl. You have stood by me when I needed you most and I will take care of you” As she sank Miss Williamson began to have strange nightmares. She would cry out and thrash around in her bed. Finally, one day, very near the end she called Susan and told her that she wanted to tell her the whole truth. In turn Susan felt that she had to pass on the story as “I’m getting on now and who knows how long I will last.”

In the end it was a common story. A young girl, ardent and in love with a dashing army officer who had conveniently forgotten to tell her that he was married already. The girl was from a very rich family who shipped her off to India when they discovered that she was to have a child. She lived with old family friends in Mussoorie where Ida was born. For a time she was happy as any young mother would have been. But then Ida died and the distraught mother buried her darling in the Mussoorie graveyard. She returned to England but her heart was in Mussoorie. She never married and would later join her daughter in the same graveyard. The children were really shocked but also touched by the story. They often wrote to Susan after that who always exclaimed “I never thought you was just children. All grown up you sounded in your letter.” She went on to tell them many more details about her stay in India and Miss Williamson, whom she worshiped to this day.


They told the grownups about it and they were amazed at what the children had been up to. Next year the whole family went down to the graveyard to lay flowers on the graves of Amy and Ida. It seemed that their long history had come to a peaceful end

Click on the link to buy the book from Amazon anywhere in the world.

I would love to receive your feedback after reading the book. Please write to me at Debu

Happy Reading

Debu Bhatnagar

Police

If you ask the average Indian what they think of the Police it's usually a negative reaction. Most people do not want to get involved with them as they are perceived as being brutal and biased. Why is this so?

Most policemen at the lower levels are drawn from lower middle class backgrounds and belong to nearby towns and villages. Around Delhi, for example, there are a number of villages who have a tradition of sending their boys to the police. Patriarchal attitudes are strongly embedded in such places. Their attitudes towards women are conditioned virtually from birth. The women of the house will eat only after they have served the men. Young girls will start helping with housework at an early age while the boys have the freedom to enjoy themselves. The girls may not be educated or partially so while the boys are treated as "ghar ka chirag" These small examples are part of the overall reality of our attitude towards women and policemen's families are no different. Secondly, in such families, the attitude towards corruption is one of benign tolerance. The police recruit has seen corruption endemic in his village from his earliest youth. He may even have had to pay a large bribe to get into the police force in the first instance. Once recruited he is pitchforked into a milieu where corruption is virtually institutionalised. In fact, if he is honest and does not conform he will be singled out by his colleagues - the theme of endless Bollywood Movies.

Apart from the above, one may question what training does the police recruit receive. How does the force ensure that patriarchal attitudes towards women are changed or that there is a strong push back against corruption? How does the police force instill values of public service and incorruptibility in their recruits? It would be interesting to see what a a professional analysis of HR and Training practices followed by our Police force would throw up. Another aspect is the traditional Indian attitude of not wanting to get involved mentioned earlier. Policemen also do not want to get involved in 'trouble'. If he is unfortunate enough to get involved with a serious case of rape or murder he is scared of running afoul of powerful political or criminal interests. Ultimately he is not very different from the society that shapes him.

All these factors add up to a policeman who is not unlike the society in which he lives. He shares the patriarchal attitudes towards women, easy acceptance of corruption and a desire to stay uninvolved with any contentious issues. Not a very potent force for social reform or crime control!

What can be done? As always there are no easy answers. Societal change is obviously the basic pillar of any real improvement. But that is slow and uncertain and the factors influencing change are not strongly embedded in our country today. So what remains is; One, inspiring leadership. A lot can be achieved by dynamic and motivated police officers at the senior level. Delhi still remembers 'Crane' Bedi who was responsible for clearing the streets of badly parked cars and other traffic offenders. One wishes that there were many more like her. The second doable improvement is summary punishment for wrong doing. In the private sector, a dishonest salesman was dismissed if found guilty. There was no redressal. I realise that the Government cannot act as arbitrarily as that but there is a strong need for swift and punitive punishment for corrupt and inefficient policemen.

India needs to regain its faith in both law makers and enforcers. It is time that Government and Civic Society moved strongly and decisively to redress the anomalies that have crept in.

Rape

Rape is a heinous crime. Everyone thinks so. Right? Obviously not if you consider how many such crimes occur in our society. So what are the reasons why it happens? There are two basic reasons, attitude towards women and lack of enforcement.

Male attitudes towards women in India are too well documented to reiterate here. Suffice it to say that all the rubbish about "Ma, Behen ya Beti" and worship of Durga, Kali or any of the other goddesses is just a facade that covers the awful reality of what we really feel about them. The main attitude is of dominance. Women are by definition subservient in Indian society. Their role from childhood onwards is to serve men. The saga of female foeticide to infanticide to dowry to bride burning is an awful indictment of all that is wrong and hypocritical in Indian society. Sati was banned many years ago by the British but every once in a while rumours and actual incidents still show up. Reverence of "Sati Mata" hides primitive attitudes behind the act of worship. The worst offenders are the burgeoning Indian under class in our urban slums. Behind the glittering facade of emerging metropolitan areas like Gurgaon and NOIDA there is a stinking cess pit of illegal and violent dreams fed by increasing money and easy access to Alcohol and Drugs. Delhi has many such urban villages imbeded in its cityscape. This is not to imply that these areas are the only source of sexual violence. The essential thought process of dominance prevails equally strongly in middle class India too. In addition to the this, there are two other facilitators. One, the attitude towards crime and corruption. In the old days middle class families would not entertain a tax evader or a criminal of any sort in their homes. This attitude has been considerably diluted nowadays and one does not really consider bribery or tax evasion as a crime any more. It is a symbolic of the slipping standards of public morality. Two, easy access to pornography and increasingly titillating cinema. Social depictions in Bollywood have undergone a seismic shift. From not depicting a kiss it has leapfrogged into the modern era where a "one night stand" is par for the course. In reality, society has not moved that far and many gullible viewers begin to imagine that all women are open to their advances and inflamed imagination.

Lack of enforcement is endemic in India. From trivial offences like jumping a red light or driving on the wrong side of a one way street to other more serious offences, Indians believe they can get away with anything. It took us four years to hang Ajmal Kasab and a more deadly example of a criminal, terrorist act is hard to find. Politicians, Power Brokers and Mafia Dons routinely get away with murder and worse. At worst there could be a brief period of jail after a protracted legal process after which they are usually freed to enjoy their ill gotten gains. In some cases the jail terms are alleviated by frequent paroles where the convicted criminal is allowed to "look after his ailing mother" or some such nonsense. What are the reasons for this attitude? Let us dismiss one often touted one straight away. There is an argument that our laws are not stringent enough. That is simply not true. We have laws in plenty if only they could be implemented strongly enough. The real reasons lie elsewhere. Firstly, the foregoing paragraphs talked about slipping standards of morality and ethics. This is equally true for work ethics in India. A civil servant sees himself as the recipient of a government pension for life. He has priviliges without responsibility. Power without accountability. What could be better than that! Politicians embody the extreme end of the spectrum. If you have been elected once all you need to do hold on to your chair while you press the button of the public ATM to fill your pockets. Obviously this venal approach precludes public servants from doing anything more constructive than filling their own pockets. Secondly, the dimensioning of our law enforcement agencies is just not big enough as indeed is the case of the courts. Our cities, towns and economy have grown far faster than the institutions that are meant to uphold them. Civic infrastructure is a similar example. What restricts us from expanding the Police and Paramilitary? Budgetary constraints are one thing but what is more important to realise is that taxes are being eaten up by unproductive subsidies. There is simply no money left to improve policing and preserve security. We have abdicated the will to govern in favour of short term gains of a selfish nature.

We cannot claim to find solutions for these endemic problems in a simple blog like this. Perhaps all of us need to introspect on what is wrong with us so that effective solutions can emerge. We are not a world power yet and perhaps we will never be one. Certainly we can never hope to progress and hold our heads high if we treat our women the way we do,

 

Roads

Winding roads, highways, potholes, dirt tracks. India has them all. A few years ago the best 'highway' was only 2 lanes with no dividers in between. It was OK in the 80s when I started working. A drive to Jaipur or Chandigarh from Delhi would take 5 hours in a panting Ambassador car without airconditioning. The roads were tolerable with very little traffic. It all started changing after that. Many thousands of cars and trucks later the Jaipur highway had become a menace. Once when coming back we just had to stop at a Dhaba as we were literally sandwiched between smoke belching, rumbling monsters. In the one hour we sat at the Dhaba disconsolately we must have counted a thousand trucks roaring by. Finally, we summoned up the courage to start again and limped into Delhi hours later. All this changed when the Jaipur highway got 4 laned. Then for a brief blissful period you could get to the pink city in 3 1/2 hours. But it was not to last, Manesar happened and Bhiwadi and the traffic grew and grew until it was back to a 5 hour ride and growing.

Anyway this is not a lament or history of India's road network but a paean of praise for India's most fabulous road - The Yamuna Expressway. Mayawati may have been overfond of handbags and their contents but she has gifted UP something to be proud about. Last Sunday we drove to Agra from Gurgaon and came back the same day. The roads are immaculate all the way. The Expressway is a ribbon of perfection against the background of emerald green fields and menacing storm clouds. Traffic moves like lightning and we actually made the return trip all the way from Agra to Gurgaon in just 2 1/2 hours. Akbar would have been truly amazed!

Development does come at a price and it is a bit of a shame to think of all the fertile land that has got swallowed up for making the road. But something has to be sacrificed for improvements and I guess it's a small price to pay!

I heard that the Ganga Expressway from Agra to Gorakhpur has been sanctioned and work will start soon. Can't wait!

Systems

One of the things that always strikes me when I travel abroad is how systematic and process driven everything is. The frustrating side of it is when you try to ask someone to bend the rules even a trifle, you are usually greeted with an incomprehending shrug almost implying that you are from Mars or something equally outlandish! Maybe you have wondered (as I have) about who makes these systems. Surely they are smarter and more flexible than the sheep who follow them! Asimov wrote a wonderful story on this theme called 'Education' where the idea was that a truly creative person WILL create. At the expense of great personal difficulty and even social ostracism. And then he will be the REAL leader. The one who creates systems, not follows them. Many years ago I wrote a poem about a similar thought. My memory fails me as to the exact words but it went something like this:
The leaves fall down,
Slowly floating down to the ground.
If two thousand two hundred and twenty two
Could sacrifice themselves
Could one alone be different?
This difference, this inner vision, this innate conviction. That is what makes for true leadership!