Indian-Chinese Food in New Jersey, #HumorinDesiLife

In India, we have redefined Chinese food with innovative dishes such as Gobi or Chicken Manchurian and Chili Chicken, dishes as strange as vindaloo is to a Chinese. Indian-Chinese food has been taken to a superior level by so many restaurants in India such as Mainland China who dish out standard fare that appeals to the Indian palate while pretending to be authentic. We pretend as if Chili Paneer is just a twist in a traditional tofu preparation not realizing milk or milk products have no place in Chinese cuisine. In the US however, Indian-Chinese food has been taken to dizzying heights. 

During a recent foray to a desi stronghold of New Jersey, my desi mind craved  for desi Chinese. We went to a seemingly well regarded popular place, in plain view of the desi hub of Edison. The restaurant (cannot name it although some clues are interspersed herein) has recently changed it's name to something more cultural from its earlier geographical denomination. The eatery has imparted an altogether new meaning to Indian-Chinese food. While in India, Chinese food means, dishes prepared to suit Indian palate, in this spice joint, it means a happy blissful co-existence. The lunch had a buffet menu, with both Indian and Chinese dishes being available at the same fixed price. So I could see plates of esteemed clients populated with both Chili Chicken and Dal, side by side without any LAC (the India-China border) dividing them. Of course this was anathema to the wife and her pal, who promptly decided, seeing the culinary harakari, to go a la carte. So the steward was sternly given an order of 'authentic' Chinese dishes ranging from Chili Chicken to Fried Rice and Hakka Noodles. The steward dutifully noted down the order and while summarizing had the impudence to suggest if we  would like to have tandoori roti and naan to go along with the Chinese curries. The look on the ladies faces were redder than the Sichuan chilies of China. The men intervened to douse the flames and we waited impatiently for the food. In some good time, the food appeared, in true desi style colorful and appealing. The server did his best to lay the food on the table. But his parting shot turned the tables. He asked rather innocently- Sir would you like some onions ( pyaanz) or  pickles (achaar) with the food? It was then the realization sunk deep, here in deep New Jersey, Indian- Chinese food doesn't mean Chinese food made in the Indian way but in the true American way, it is a melting pot, all nicely mixed up. Hakka noodles with paneer mattar masala is as theek hai as is Chinese fried rice with dal makhani in Des Pardes. 

India As A Leading Power

"Next Steps for India’s Growth &
Development"
Symposium at Harvard Kennedy School,
December 6, 2019

India As A Leading Power

The University of Chicago historian William McNeil has described the nature of power and its relationship with notions of fairness and ethics in the following words: “It seems unlikely that recent and prospective enlargement of human capacities to organise and exert power will be permanently arrested by scruples against its use. Power in short ingests weaker centers of power or stimulates its rival centers of power to strengthen themselves.

This fact has dominated the whole history of mankind. This represents the realist school of international relations where any ethical anchor is dispensable but does reflect current geopolitical reality substantially. In aspiring to be a leading power India too is placing its bet on sinews of power, current and prospective.

In India’s case the likelihood of being ‘ingested’ by a more powerful entity can be rejected. The question is whether India can be or is stimulated to emerge as a center of power.

McNeil has described how such a transference of power may take place from an established to an aspiring one: “No population can overtake or surpass the rest of the world without using the most efficient and powerful instruments known anywhere on earth, and by definition such instruments are located at the world centres of wealth and power- wherever they may be. Thus any geographical displacement of world leadership must be prefaced by successful borrowing from previously established centres of the highest prevailing skills. We have several examples of this from history. The Roman empire borrowed heavily from the Greek civilization and culture in its march towards pre-eminence. During the pursuit of dominance the Arabs borrowed heavily from the Indians, Chinese, Central Asians and Persians, particularly in mathematics, astronomy and medical science. The numerals that are commonly known as Arabic numerals are in fact of Indian origin.

In more contemporary times we have seen US building its strengths on the basis of skills and technology originating in Europe. The Meiji restoration of Japan is yet another example.

But the most recent example is a spectacular one, i.e of China. In its 4 decades of opening up it has soaked in Western knowledge and technology not unlike a giant sponge. During this time it has been a student and a good apprentice. It has bided its time.

In McNeil’s terms, a geographical displacement of power from the trans-Atlantic to the trans-Pacific is happening with China at the centre of power. The most obvious and consequential manifestation of the shift in power from the West to the East is the geopolitical competition between the United States and its challenger China. While the US remains the predominant power China is obviously not satisfied with the status quo and intends to displace the US from its preeminent position.

Let us try to understand how the displacement of power happens:
1) Countries borrow knowledge systems and advanced technologies from apex centers and adopt them;

2) this is followed by a phase of assimilation, mastering and internalizing of borrowed technologies and knowledge systems;

3) the emerging center of power is able to generate new knowledge and technologies in a relatively autonomous manner.

This is when the displacement of power becomes a reality and contestation between the established center of power and the emerging or emergent center of power begins to become acute.

China is probably in the second phase going to the third phase. In some areas it may well be in the third phase such as AI or quantum computing among others.

Where is India? In my personal view, I think India is mostly in the first phase while we have our centers of excellence in the second phase be it in our space programme, computing, nuclear technology among others. Our aspiration is to graduate comprehensively to the second phase and have our presence felt in the third phase.

Geopolitical factors favour the emergence of India as a leading center of power, co-existing, collaborating and competing with other major powers. India’s Indo-Pacific vision exemplifies its ambition of being a "leading power". At the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2018 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the “destiny of the world will be deeply influenced by the course of developments in the Indo-Pacific region”. Sheer numbers alone elevate the importance of the Indo-Pacific and its influence across the world. It is now home to more than 65% of the world’s population who collectively produce more than 60% of global GDP. Over half the world’s trade passes through this region, and it hosts the fastest-growing armada of naval fleets along with seven nuclear powers. This region will also have a disproportionately high contribution to global growth in the decades ahead and will therefore script the new terms of trade, financial flows and investments, growth, humanitarian assistance, peace and security.

China, which was the first mover, now finds itself having to deal with pushback of several kinds to its own expansive plans. There is little doubt that new pathways to a new order needs to be discovered soon.

India accepts this reality, and is willing to embrace greater responsibility in anchoring a "rules-based democratic order" in the region. India’s geostrategic vision for the Indo-Pacific is unique. We are against pitting against any country or participate in zero-sum competitions "between free and repressive visions of world order". We also do not accept propositions which creates perverse dependencies through economic statecraft and military coercion in a manner better suited to the Cold War era.

Instead, India is positioning itself to take a different path - one that does not see the world in binaries, bifurcated between partners and allies on one side, and competitors and adversaries on the other. India offers an opportunity for engagement and dialogue to all states, big and small, democratic and authoritarian, advanced or developing.

The new vision moves away from conceptions of non-alignment or strategic autonomy, tools of foreign policy that may have outlived their corresponding geopolitical utility. When Prime Minister Modi stated that "the Indo-Pacific region is not a limited club of members", he signalled India’s intention to lead a new configuration of states, guided by communities that yearn for development, markets that require connectivity and nations that seek security. Despite its aversion of alliances, India is a keen player in the evolving security architecture in Asia. The new American focus on Indo-Pacific has brought India at the center.

To put in place a vision that shapes the region and attracts others, India needs to script its own expectations from four key relationships i.e. with China, US, India’s Neighbors and the Global Institutional Networks .

The Asian story cannot be scripted by China alone, whether it is on infrastructure connectivity or managing security disputes. The economic prosperity of the region will be implicated by the strength of the India-China partnership. It is in this context that the engagements with China embodying the Wuhan and the Mamallapuram spirit need to be seen .

The US is a key partner and will be instrumental in making India a $ 5 tn economy. There is enormous ballast, momentum and dynamism in this relationship and this will be the key to India’s emergence as a leading power. I will not get into details of the transformation that has taken place in our relationship in the last two decades. Suffice to say it is a mature relationship bringing benefits to the people of both countries.

India is actively engaging with its neighbours and except for Pakistan, India is now scripting new chapters in cooperation with all of them. A good example is the transformation in India-Bangladesh ties, of which I speak from personal experience.

Our multilateral engagement is also vigorous with the global institutional framework. So while we will be patient for getting a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, our participation in other forums be it G-20, BRICS, SCO or IBSA is active and purposeful. A particularly appealing product of our multilateral engagement is India’s leadership in the Paris Climate Change Accord and the setting up of the International Solar Alliance.

The world has a stake in India fulfilling its immense potential. This needs to be critically leveraged to encourage a critical mass of capital and technology to flow into India to accelerate the Indian growth. As a vibrant and pluralist democracy, India shares political values of its more powerful partners and this is an advantage. The cosmopolitan temperament of India’s people and their ability to handle immense diversity and adversity are unparalleled civilizational assets in dealing with a globalizing world.

We are at a rare moment, at a specific juncture in history, when I feel the conditions are propitious for India to emerge as a leading power. India has already been a leading power of sorts for quite a while. With our size, population, GDP in PPP terms and also in dollar terms, we have significant power projection capability in our immediate region, some nuclear capability, impressive space capability, an increasingly influential 35 million and more strong Diaspora, it can hardly be denied that India is not a leading power. But more has to be done, particularly in improving the lives of our people and providing services for the global good and to the global commons. But transformation of India is on and we have to work on this assiduously.

Let us see what could be inter alia the factors in the transformation of India:

• Ruling political dispensation enjoys unprecedented political capital.
• Strong, charismatic, focussed leadership. Absence of dissidence which used to plague previous governments.
• Ambitious goal setting: making India a $5 tn economy in the next five years, 100 million toilets by 2019, drinking water to all homes in next 5 years, all homes electrified by 2019.
• Economy: India is a $ 3tn economy and about to become the 3rd largest economy in the next 5 years.
• There is a willingness to make difficult choices- demonetization, GST, IBC, corporate tax reduction, ambitious social sector spending, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Universal Health Care for 500 mn Indians under the Ayushman Bharat program, Housing For All, Electricity for All, Connecting All villages, Financial Inclusion as part of the Jan Dhan Program among others ( India’s Finance Minister recently said in New York that the huge mandate given to the Government provided the basis to the government to make deep and far reaching economic reforms. A bold step was taken in terms of reducing corporate taxation to 15% for new companies which is the lowest in the world).
• Frontal attack on corruption in high places, reduction in mega scams.
• Demographic Dividend: in 2020, the average age in India will be 29 years old (compared to 37 in China) -
• Making India a compliant society - making India an honest country.
• Cleaning up the banks, balance sheets, saying no to crony capitalism.
• A problem solving approach of the Government. Bringing closure to issues, Ayodhya verdict, changing the narrative and trying out a new development oriented approach in Kashmir
• Military: Strong military, third largest in manpower, strong in defence acquisitions, creating relationships with major powers such as the US. Has power projection capabilities in HADR roles. The 2004 Tsunami was a good example.
• Technology: India has been a target of technology denial regimes such as NSG, MTCR, Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangements. We have now become signatory to all except NSG. India is now in a more comfortable position with respect to accessing technologies. Greater IPR protection also available.
• Domestic Technology and Innovation is being given impetus. There are several pioneering initiatives in place and India’s world ranking in innovation is rising.
• Soft Power: India has unparalleled soft power attributes. Whether it is Yoga, Indian Cinema, Music, Cuisine. It generates tremendous goodwill and support for India all over the world. In Soft Power I daresay we have a big advantage over several world powers. Our challenge of course is our ability or inability to monetize it to the advantage of our peoples as efforts are sporadic and insufficient.

The scenario that will emerge as this transformation is underway is illuminating. In economic power there are or will be only two countries ahead of us i.e. US and China and there are much ahead so we are not in competition. In fact with the US our aspiration is to work closely with the US to achieve our ambitions as there are remarkable coincidence of values and views on how we see the world. Russia, and Japan are witnessing demographic decline and Europe, too, is a fast ageing continent. Africa, the LAC , ASEAN and are competition but may lack India’s depth of strength in terms of economy, market size, demography, technological and innovation prowess.
------
In the ultimate analysis it is how the country concerned grows strong internally and is thus enabled to project its strength externally that matters. How this happens and how it is done has to be discussed ad nauseum everywhere. It is like being on a cycle. We need to keep pedalling for not stalling and falling down. There is no leading from behind. Even so, it is merely the beginning of a decadal journey, which will see India shoulder the expectations that befit the world’s largest democratic economy.

ConclusionAfter independence India had the choice to be satisfied with economic progress and leave its security questions to be addressed by other major powers. Countries like Australia, Canada and Japan followed this model. India could not accept this for the simple reason that its economic, political and security interests are a function of its unique history, geography, polity and society. India’s ambitions of shaping the international order to its own advantage are driven by the desire to transform India into a modern country and abolish poverty, hunger and illiteracy. The strategic elite sees foreign policy primarily in light of domestic priorities.

India, as a rising power, has a different set of interests, capabilities and strategic culture from other major powers. Former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon summarizes the Indian way of conducting foreign policy “as a combination of strategic boldness in conception and tactical caution in implementation, by a fundamentally realistic approach masked by normative rhetoric, by comfort in a plural and diverse world and by a consciousness of India’s destiny as a great power”. Till the time India becomes a great power, the world will see an India focused on increasing its power as well as taking more responsibilities globally.

                                                        &&&&&

References:

1. India's emergence as leading power, Shyam Saran, Business Standard, November 13, 2019.

Rooting for Failure, Astrological Prediction

Met Mr Bhaumik, a well regarded Kolkata based, astrologer in New York on Nov 24, 2019. According to him on December 26, 2019, seven planets are going to be aligned. Astrologically speaking it is an ominous development. So the world in general can expect a great deal of turmoil, starting from one week before December 26 and then lasting for sometime. Unrest will grip several parts of the world and there may be natural calamities.
He also says that world economy will not do well for next 3 years.
He also spoke of a 30 year cycle. Similar turmoil was present in 1989. Well 1989 wasn't a very good year.
How much I wish this prediction fails.
Has anyone else heard anything similar?

The Best Thing About Anupam Kher is Anupam Kher

Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly: An Autobiography by Anupam Kher, A Review.

At best of times, reviewing a book is a challenge. There are several aspects to a book: literary style, story, language, choice of words and idiom, personal likes and dislikes of the reader among others. I remember years ago I was moved by the book 'Bridges of Madison County' by Robert James Waller. I thought to myself "what a nice little romantic story". I shared the book with a poet and writer colleague and encouraged him to read it. After reading he demolished it on technical grounds that it lacked the basic elements of a good story. It is too far removed in the past for me to remember what exactly those elements are, except that it lacked the characteristics of a good story. The challenge is more daunting when one attempts to review an autobiography, that too of a person whom one knows and respects. The challenge intensifies when the author himself has been rather candid and frank about his origins, struggles and failures of life and not pulled punches on many individuals who have crossed his path. 

I read Prathyush Parasuraman’s review of the book  in the Indian media. Personally I think Parasuraman has been harsh in judging the book on its literary merit. Kher doesn't have literary pretensions. He is candid throughout his narration that he was rather weak in studies, failed some of his exams and barely managed to pass the others with 38% marks. His lack of educational skills is more than compensated by his talent as an actor and his passion for living life, connecting to people, making friends and taking on new challenges. What is most impressive is his almost photographic memory which enables him to record his life's events. Also for a person who studied in Hindi medium to bring out a 432 page volume in English itself is very creditable. And LLTMU comes after the best selling "The Best Thing About You is You", Kher's first motivational book. He can be criticized for giving long names to his books (LLTMU & TBTAYY) but not for writing them. Also a balding, if not bald, wiry framed man without any pedigree in films, making it big in Indian cinema, is in itself a story worth telling and reading.  

Before we go ahead, a disclosure is in order. Since the last year or so, Kher has made New York his home. He has settled in comfortably into the professional and social milieu of this city and is now a frequent and inclusive part of New York's Indian-American social life. Consequently, I have interacted with him and learnt about him and his life. Reading his book now gives me an advantage in our future conversations. Also having spent five years of my youth in the Mandi House area, the cultural capital of Delhi, a place whose vicissitudes Kher describes vividly in his book, brings another area of coincidence in our lives, kindling my interest in reading LLTMU.

LLTMU to me is inspirational. It makes one believe in  'kuch bhi ho sakta hai! or 'anything can happen' as the author reminds us time and again. Belonging to a middle class background myself and with modest academic accomplishments, I am able to immediately and intrinsically connect to the protagonist and root for his success. The leitmotif of the book, that failures make a person and they are stepping stones to success is resounding and convincing. This message strings and ties the tales of the book. The author is often down but never out. He sustains and reinvents himself and this is his mantra for success which will inspire any reader. No wonder the book is dedicated to “those who dare to dream. And succeed!”

Kher has been through much in life. Coming from an extremely humble background with a joint family, he wasn't academically talented in the classical sense. Yet he had the innate theatrical talent of being able to act, mimic and sing. This sustained him in his childhood and he somehow seemed to know that if he had to make it in life, it had to be in the arts, dramatic arts. LLTMU therefore is a  compilation of a litany of failures faced by Kher but overcome by grit, determination and perseverance. 

The book is an extraordinary compendium of Kher's memories. He remembers every minute detail from his childhood and later in life. As he himself says, he has a photographic memory. It's not that he has maintained a daily diary but has captured every event in his memory.  Kher remembers Garcia Marquez who said "life is not what one lived, but what one remembers and how one remembers to recount it.'' There aren't many like Kher who can recount life so vividly, every detail, every vicissitude. As he says himself in the beginning "I had a joyful childhood mainly because many of my relatives were an unusual lot- comical characters.....for me, not only my family members, but also my neighbours, my friends and my teachers, were all akin to comic book characters". He has wonderfully captured these characters in LLTMU.

Truly, the book is about persons and personalities. To put it upfront straight and simple, and I told the author so, the most enjoyable part of the book is the description of the tales of the persons who has touched his life in the formative years, his family and friends who have sculpted his personality and value system. Standing tall here is Kher's grandfather Amar Nath Kher who has had transcendental  impact on his personality, value system and moral compass. His pithy yet telling advice to Kher "bhiga hua aadmi baarish se nahin darta" distills the advice of many self-help motivational books into just one simple phrase. One easily likes this part as one relates to them and one roots for the young, poor but ambitious Kher to succeed. This extends from his childhood days in Shimla, to his days at theater school in  Chandigarh, drama school in Delhi, and the relentlessly difficult days in Mumbai till Saaransh happens. And Indian cinema is all the more richer that Saaransh happened. It needed to happen for Kher to emerge and it needed to happen for Indian cinema and for Mahesh Bhatt to make it. Saaransh so wonderfully transcended the space between commercial films and art films. For obvious reasons Saaransh made Kher what he is. And for his part, Kher gave everything he had to the character of B.V. Pradhan, one of the most unforgettable characters in Indian cinema. It doesn't seem to be an exaggeration that Kher rates the scene where Pradhan goes to collect the mortal remains of his son to the Customs office, as perhaps one of the ten best scenes of Indian cinema. 

One can easily to divide the book into three parts of Kher’s life, pre Saraansh, his success post Saraansh and life after success. The pre Saraansh stage is middle class, disappointments, failures, fun, humour, escapades, crushes, love, idiosyncrasies in his immediate families among other earthy tales. When Kher describes his family members, friends, lovers, and  teachers, they come to life in an incredible yet natural way. Kher owes a lot to his family and friends and says very clearly that his stable childhood taught him above all that it is family that he treasures the most. He has inseparable bonds with many including his mother Dulari, brother Raju and friends. Friends stand out in the book, be it Nav Prakash Parihar who shared his school lunch with him or Vijay Sehgal his best friend over half century whose only solution to all the problems of the world is eating food, and Anil Kapoor and Satish Kaushik in the Mumbai part of his life. The romantic interludes in school also come out in a heartwarming way particularly the author’s disastrous first kiss which landed in the girl’s ear. 
Kher's relationship with his wife Kirron and her son Sikander also stands out. There is great deal of affection and respect in the relationship. The author succinctly describes the relationship when he says "we are the epitome of the modern family, each pursuing his or her own dreams-connected by our relationship but free to blossom and flourish". Perhaps even here there is a message for modern professional ambitious couples on how to make their marriages successful.

It’s quite unbelievable how despite having a flair for theater, Kher couldn’t land the job of an announcer in All India Radio due to stammering and stuttering with his first announcement. Luckily for all he failed there. Similar meltdown is seen later when he auditioned for the role of Nehru in front of Richard Attenborough. One wonders what seized him then? He doesn't explain. 

One can also easily relate to familial characters Kher describes as such people exist in our own lives as well. Rarely have I laughed out loud reading a book or re-read a piece aloud for the benefit of my family members. Yes! LLTMU is quite a gag bag. I can even sniff a film or a mini series script lurking somewhere in this part. Some of the characters such as Kakaji who was worried about losing hair so “he  resorted to a curious fix for fighting nature's way: every night, Kakaji used to sleep with a comb, mirror and hair spray under his pillow and in the middle of the night, he'd get up, adjust his hair, and sleep peacefully thinking this was doing him a service for his scalp!”. The author's father Pushkar Nath Kher and his superstitious nature brings many a smile to the reader. The anecdote about the 'Bread & Bun Man' is truly hilarious and one can visualize the father with his eyes closed stepping on people’s hands and toes and opening the door so that he can see the lucky face of the bread seller. Yet even Kher's father whom he describes as a 'simple man of simple wisdom' gave him profound lessons, lessons I believe every father should give their children.  Treating the son to a hearty meal when the son had failed the matriculation examination is a rare display of fine character in a man. That evening Kher learnt his most precious lesson from father Pushkar Nath Kher that "failure is an event, not a person". This has kept Kher in good stead. Even his mother Dulari, whom we see and know from Kher's videos, is an archetype of an Indian mother, strict yet loving and a bundle of fun. That she'd escape to a temple when angry with the family members and then need the coaxing of Kher's brother Raju to come back home is cute and funny. Dulari’s strictness with Anupam Kher is with reason, she did not want her son to become just like the others in her big family. She wanted him to rise and be different and make it in life.  

Interestingly, Anupam Kher is not the only person who had a tryst with failures in the family. His uncle Dwarka Nath Kher who lived under the same roof  failed seven times in the eight grade and was promoted to ninth grade on 'compassionate' grounds as his classmates had started calling him Uncle. 

The book has an underlying emphasis on values. One is touched by Kher’s respect and affection for his Gurus- be it Balwant Gargi in Chandigarh, or Alkazi Saab in NSD and then of course Mahesh Bhatt in Mumbai. They have had a lasting impact on his life and made him yearn and strive for bigger scenarios in life and on the stage. His belief that if we keep making space for everyone else, on stage and in life, we will never make space for ourselves, comes through again and again and is perhaps a good mantra to emulate for all aspirants. 

Cutting the act to Mumbai, Kher’s real Karmabhoomi, the personalities or the characters appear distant. They are stars in the real sense of the term. Good from afar. One is not able to visualize them in flesh and blood. Nonetheless one gets to know them in vivid detail as not much is written about our larger than life film personalities. One only gets to read gossip about them, some of which is self generated to create a buzz about them or their films. In LLTMU one gets a ring side view, knowing how they are in real life, how they behave and how they relate to their colleagues. Reading about Dilip Kumar and Raj Kumar and their idiosyncrasies is fascinating. One wonders which other profession can be so accommodating? While Kher describes the world of cinema in Mumbai to be cruel and merciless, yet he owes his success to the kindness and generosity of several persons starting from Mahesh Bhatt, Yash Chopra to Sooraj Barjatya among others. As this is the nature of life everywhere, Mumbai and its film world is no exception, yet one childishly yearns the world of make of believe to be different. 

It is sad to learn that his relationship with Mahesh Bhatt, whom Kher quite unabashedly calls his guru, mentor and person who made him in Mumbai, has soured and is today at best cool. Kher blames the estrangement on ideological differences but remains unflinching in his admiration of this mentor. Here again one can glimpse a very admirable character of Kher. He owes his success to several persons and gurus and is unselfish in his praise of others be it Balwant Gargi at the Chandigarh acting school, Amal Allana and his many teachers at NSD. Ibrahim Alkazi whom he calls as the emperor of theater and then Mahesh Bhatt in Mumbai. Kher is unabashed in heaping praise whether it is on David Dhawan, Subhash Ghai or Sooraj Barjatya or his Hollywood idols starting with Robert de Niro. He is even sentimental about Datta Sawant or Datto as we know him, the little boy who started first with Suresh Oberoi and has been a steadfast companion of Kher since then. 

I believe that more than the anecdotes the book is about lessons. How to keep going when the odds are against you. How not to be deterred by failure. The way Kher embraces failure time and again and picks up the threads is the greatest takeaway of reading the book.  One can pick up several lessons for live and internalize them. The book is truly all about Anupam Kher and that’s the best part of it.

&&&&&

Hostage Rescue: Operation Chavin de Huantar

Lessons in resolving a hostage situation.

http://thewire.in/33124/lessons-in-resolving-hostage-crises-from-perus-operation-chavin-de-huantar/

Gandhiji & Climate Action: The Ecological Mahatma

“The Ecological Mahatma”

"The only tyrant I accept in this world is the ‘still small voice’ within me. And even though I have to face the prospect of being a minority of one, I humbly believe that I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority" - Mahatma Gandhi

    Gandhi Ji was an Indian but he was not only for India. To many Gandhiji was a mass leader, a political leader and champion of the rights of the downtrodden. To others he represented a way of life, a method of tolerance, harmony and simplicity. I regard him as the World’s first environmentalist. He was an apostle of peace, offering to the world and humans a vision of being at peace with oneself and at peace with the world. His philosophy was one of  cutting out violence in every form, whether it was within oneself, in one's thoughts, interactions, words, language, writings, deeds and actions.

    In present times, there is a great deal of concern about the climate crisis, pollution caused by plastics, our dying rivers and oceans which have become dumping grounds for all kinds of waste, extinction of our wild habitats and wildlife. Climate Change, Sustainability and Sustainable Development have become buzzwords, ringing out in classrooms to boardrooms and in the summits of world leaders. Underlying this concern is the recognition of a deep-seated and pervasive conflict between modern human lifestyle and Mother Nature. This conflict is the root cause of most crises, whether it is environmental degradation, climate change / global warming, lack of water, food insecurity, conflict, migration and rootlessness or anxiety, depression, suicide, addiction, gun violence, broken relationships or general all-pervasive despair and ennui.

    Our day to day disconnect with nature is near complete. In earlier days, we used to drink from the river, stream or pond or pluck a fruit from a tree. We produced and consumed only what we needed to sustain life. Most ailments were treated from medicines sourced from herbs and minerals and through necessary dietary and lifestyle modifications – an approach that addressed the underlying causes of illnesses.

    Today water is conveyed by pipes to the home. We drink the water unmindful of its origin and therefore have the propensity to abuse it, little realizing that the water is depleting and that rivers are being polluted. These days, many children believe that water is made in the supermarket in bottles! I tried to contact a bottle water company which makes and sells plastic bottles containing water as I wanted to see and understand the pristine watersheds that they advertise. Despite several attempts I failed to find a single person who could guide me. So my only connection to the pristine watershed are the beautiful advertisements or the plastic bottle of water.

    A Washington Post story said that many children believe that Chocolate comes out of brown cows. Similarly, we consume food without knowing where it is produced or who has produced it and at what cost. We have no awareness of the complex and increasingly fragile food chain we are a part of. The medical and pharmaceutical industry is primarily about treatment of symptoms using synthetic chemicals that often have harmful side effects. Human greed and exploitation of natural resources have skyrocketed to the extent that chronic and acute under nutrition in many parts of the world is matched by profligacy, waste, over consumption, over nutrition, obesity and lifestyle illnesses in other parts. 

    It is not that we haven’t collectively realized the severity of the degradation of our planet, the rapid depletion of resources and the looming threat it poses on human safety, security and survival. But have we fully understood the underlying cause and what we need to do to find a holistic, lasting and transformative solution that focuses on the human being, the singular agent of change? I posit that we haven’t, and having said that, I propose that the Gandhian construct is a different way to approach this unprecedented challenge humans face today.

    There have been meetings at very high levels for addressing Climate Change. The Paris Agreement has been agreed to by many countries. The central aim of the Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change. The goal is to keep the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, it aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

    To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework are to be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives. It implores nations to invest in technology to arrest carbon emissions, alternative fuels, emissions trading.

    All this is fine, but do these measures address the issue at a fundamental level? I dare to say they don't, because under the spell and hubris of technology and investment, the agreement totally fails to focus on the principal and central actor, i.e. we humans.

    Countries and their agreements and treaties are myths. Human beings, rivers, mountains, forests are real. Nation states don’t pollute, humans do. The impact of pollution is not restricted to national boundaries; these potentially impact humans across political boundaries of nation states. Yet, there isn’t a single mention of the human, how he or she behaves and how he or she will contribute to arresting climate change. The Paris Agreement mentions Internationally Determined Actions and Nationally Determined Actions but what about Individually Determined Actions?

    In fact, does any international communique talk of the human being, how he must change, how he must be austere, frugal and only consume what he needs? Does anyone talk of changing the march of consumerism, of reducing demand? Many if not most things made in the world today are thrown, many without being used even once such as food? Is it because such a view could be viewed as contra-economic theory. It will be contra-growth and contra-market economy. Are austerity and frugality bad words in the market economy? Prof Cortright of Notre Dame University says that the current global effort to stem carbon emissions focuses on the supply side: produce more efficiently with less energy; use renewal materials and resources. In my opinion, this is grossly insufficient. We must also look at the demand side and explore ways to produce less and to consume less. Curbing our demand for products does not mean that we abandon the struggle against poverty. We must continue and accelerate the work of fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. But surely we can find a way to continue lifting people out of poverty without further ruining the environment or undermining the life support systems that are necessary to sustain human dignity into the future. This can happen only with inner transformation.

    The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, proclaims ‘aham brahmasmi’ – I am all-encompassing existence, the universal consciousness; and the Chandogya Upanishad proclaims ‘tat twam asi’ – you are that. Both were written between 600 and 700 BCE, and both accorded supremacy to human consciousness and the oneness of that consciousness with entire creation and the creator, or the creative force if you like.

    Swami Vivekananda said, “Nature is homogeneous. Differentiation is in manifestation. The Sanskrit word for nature is Prakriti which literally means differentiation. All is one substance, but it is manifested variously.” So all the five elements – earth, fire, water, air and ether (or space) are as much us, as are the mountains, forests, rivers, plants and animals. These are mere differentiated manifestations of a homogenous substance. And mind you, this is not mere metaphysical speculation. Modern science is leading us to this conclusion as well.

    In Albert Einstein’s profound words - “A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty”.

    Our oneness with creation is therefore not just a spiritual and metaphysical speculation.  Climate Change and Environmental concerns therefore cannot be divorced from our inner lives; the problem, and my implication, the solutions are not outside us; these are verily a part of us – environmental issues are a consequence of what we think and how we act. Although we may not be conscious of it, we are experiencing and living it every moment; it is an organic part of how and where we live.

    This essential oneness of humans with creation has been articulated over the ages in unequivocal terms. Many of us genuinely want minimal damage to the environment, and in our own way we try different methods – from our individual behaviors that include  reducing consumption of products, reusing them, up cycling them, recycling to environmental activism. Many also think of converting their entire lifestyles into sustainable ways of living. And this is a need of the hour but is it enough?

    Also, it is a fallacy to assume that appropriate technology and money will clean the mess because technology and investment, useful as they are, cannot be the panacea for all the problems. Neither will be fully up to speed with increasing need, and we will forever be in a mode of mitigation, as against being in a mode of primary prevention.

    It is clear that trying to understand nature and creation, and approaching environmental protection, conservation and issues of climate change by looking at life and the world around us in a fragmented piecemeal way will not work. We have to see it comprehensively in all its possible dimensions, and holistically in terms of a connectedness between various elements.

    The question is - how do we approach the problem in a holistic, harmonious and sustainable way? What will be our approach to finding sustainable and transformative solutions? Where and how do we begin? What are the underlying cultural and paradigmatic shifts that we need to bring about for a true transformation, as against making incremental changes that are constantly trying to catch up with increasing unmet needs?

    The paradigm for transformation from within comes from the Gandhian principles: It is fairly easy to understand interconnectedness and interdependence of life - within and without - from an intellectual dimension, but then, intellectual understanding does not necessarily ensure transformation. We know that smoking is harmful, but why do we still smoke? Why is this deep conflict between knowledge and action? In the Mahabharata, a poignant line spoken by Duryodhana captures this human dilemma: “Janami dharma, na cha pravritti; janami adharma na cha nivritti”. I know what is right but I have no inclination for it; I know what is wrong, but I can’t desist. Gandhiji also nicely captured these perversions that everyone should be aware of. These are:
-Wealth Without Work
-Pleasure Without Conscience
-Knowledge Without Character
-Business Without Ethics
-Science Without Humanity
-Religion Without Sacrifice
-Politics Without Principle

    These principles of Gandhi ji act as a guide to protect humanity and to tackle climate change or a selfish social life which has brought the earth to the brink of environmental disaster. It is only when we connect to our inner consciousness and resolve our inner contradictions and conflicts between our knowledge, thoughts, emotions and actions that we will embrace, as a fundamental truth of existence, the essential interconnectedness and oneness of life.  How do we resolve this contradiction, this conflict? How do we awaken our inner consciousness about our environment and then realize it in our conscious actions? Once we become conscious that we are a part of the whole, of a continuum, then how can we pollute the water that we drink, contaminate the air that we breathe or poison the river and destroy the life giving forest?

    Mahatma Gandhi said there is enough in this world for everyone’s need but not enough for even one’s greed. The inspiration for combating climate change has to come from within. Every action we perform contributes toward some aspect of the world. Just being conscious of that will keep us inspired. Inspired souls are those who will change the world.

    The operative word is inner. If we are convinced in our innermost selves that we have to stop the abuse of the environment, we will do so. It comes naturally. If, for example, you are convinced from within that vegetarianism is good for yourself and for the world, it won’t take a second to stop eating meat. If you are convinced from within that plastics in the oceans are destroying all marine life, it doesn’t take a second to stop using plastics. We don’t really need a straw to sip our coffee or drink or use plastic shopping bags.

    Professor David Cortright spoke at the UN on Gandhi and Climate Action on October 2, 2019 and analysed how Gandhian principles measure up with the need for Climate action. 

    Gandhian Simplicity, selflessness and humble service to others and non-possession, revealed a profound truth about the roots of our current crisis, and he was pointing toward the pathway to a more sustainable future. If India were to follow the industrialism and economic imperialism of the West, he warned, it would “strip the world bare like locusts.” Gandhi’s critique of excessive materialism calls into question our constant striving and demand for more goods. In calling for fewer wants and less consumption, we needn’t go about in loincloth or live in an ashram. But we can commit ourselves to living more simply and modestly. Those of us who have achieved middle class status must demand less for ourselves and share more with others, especially the less advantaged.

    Equity : In his famous Talisman, he said we should ask ourselves how our actions will affect the poorest and the weakest. We know that the harmful effects of pollution and climate chaos fall disproportionately upon the poor and powerless. The rich and mighty can move to higher ground or cooler climes, but the impoverished do not have that option.

    Nonviolence : Gandhi’s most important contribution to the world, is his philosophy and method of nonviolence. He was greatly influenced in this line of thinking by Thoreau and Emerson He rejected violence because it is based on domination and coercion. Peace on the other hand is rooted in cooperation and freedom. Peace and nonviolence are indivisible. Life is sacred, and all living beings are interrelated.
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    As we strive to live peacefully with our fellow human beings, we must also be at peace with the earth. With all of our energy and strength, we must take up the responsibility to protect and preserve this precious, vulnerable envelope of air, water and soil that sustains all life and that is increasingly in peril due to our own actions.

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Our Tech Futures: Digital Diplomacy, A Practitoner's View

Digital Diplomacy: A Practitioner's View

Diplomacy has two essential dimensions, each feeding into and complimenting the other. The first is to achieve the Foreign Policy goals of a country. In India’s case it is to facilitate the internal transformation of India by leveraging the external environment. The vehicles of India's transformation are the people and resources within India, India’s foreign partners and the Indian diaspora. We as Indian diplomats have to link and connect the last two to the first and vice versa. The second dimension is Public Diplomacy which basically means reacting and responding substantively with the operating environment, both within the country and outside the country and also obtaining feedback from it. It needs to operate in an incessant and virtuous loop.

Diplomacy has changed in the 20th century and even more so in the 21st century. In a conventional sense, diplomacy comprised of communication between governments, not direct communication between a foreign government and population of another. It could have been regarded as a breach of sovereignty. Between the invention of the radio and social media, the meaning has totally changed with a strong element of Public Diplomacy, a term first heard in the 1920-30s featuring in the diplomatic tool box. If we refer to the radio age then BBC, VOA were and still are tools of Public Diplomacy of these powers. 

When we talk about Digital Diplomacy, there are various aspects that need to be considered. Does it only affect Public Diplomacy or does it also make and influence the craft and practice of Diplomacy. There seem to be two schools of thought regarding Digital Diplomacy. The first claims that it is a new tool in the conduct of Public Diplomacy. The second maintains that it increases the ability to interact with both domestic and foreign public and actively engage with them thereby enabling the transition from monologue to dialogue and thereby influences diplomacy as a whole. So perhaps the best definition of Digital Diplomacy would incorporate both perspectives and state that: Digital Diplomacy is the growing use of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and social media platforms by a country in order to achieve its Foreign Policy goals and practice Public Diplomacy.

Digital Diplomacy is thus the use of ICTs to help achieve diplomatic objectives. I would not restrict digital diplomacy to only Public Diplomacy. I would like to posit that it is the use of digital technologies in and by the Foreign offices, be it for internal management, consular work or reaching out to people. 

Prime Minister Modi has placed "Digital India” at the heart of India’s development strategy. The objective is to create a digitally empowered society and infuse technology into government, healthcare and education. The Ministry of External Affairs (Indian Foreign Office) have taken a lead in implementing the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India. 

Digital technologies have changed the way how we work within the Indian Foreign Office. And here one is not referring to computerisation, data storage and use of email and the internet. We are increasingly using several next generation digital technologies to change the way we work and communicate. Notable among them is eSamikhsa, an online application for data collection and analysis and very recently launched online dashboard of MEA which allows to communicate to people on a real time basis what we are doing. Here are some ways in which we are using digital technologies: 

A: Digital tools have helped in improving internal management and communications:
(i) Better internal management, MEA dashboard, Online Collaboration Sheets (OCS) sheets, Intranet, eSamiksha; 
(ii) Grievance redress- Twitter has emerged as an important tool for this. With no intermediaries, even a common citizen can reach out to the senior most functionaries. The use of digital tools has strengthened democracy; 
(iii) New opportunities for external engagement: in these times it is impossible to convey what we do and what we think without the use of the new tools. Emails are dinosaurs. They come in waves and if you miss checking your mails one day, you are drowned. So dashboard based monitoring and responding is the only sure way of communicating. At the Consulate level we have developed Pramit or Pravasi Mitra. Pramit is a dashboard based web application/response management system which assures 100% response within one business day. No query is missed, no one is left behind; 
(iv) Consular emergencies, both at personal level and at a national/international level, we are just a tweet away. One just tweets tagging us with a personal inconvenience and we respond within minutes and 
(v) Use of Twitter and Facebook during the evacuations that we did, most recently in Yemen. These help in sharing information and bringing people together by mobilizing people for common action. 

B. Public Diplomacy: Use of Social Media gives us enormous power in communication. Countries such as India who do not have a BBC or VOA or Russia Today have these social media tools available to us and we also have been able to develop enormous outreach similar to other leading powers of the world. Digital Diplomacy through Social Media has made dialogue possible replacing monologue of the earlier avatar of Public Diplomacy. Such two way communication offers more opportunities for engagement with foreign public and domestic stakeholders. 

But Public Diplomacy is more than just having Social Media tools at one’s disposal. A modern diplomat has to be well versed in writing both telegrams and tweets. In some ways the luxuries of the past i.e. the telegram and the diplomatic bag have all but disappeared. Now it is instant communication. We have to show nimbleness in communication, reading and digesting social media and making sense of it is a continuous task. In Digital Diplomacy Content is the key. Also staying on the message, positive messaging and never to get involved in spats, negativity and criticism of others is the hallmark of the Indian digital diplomacy.  Our Foreign Office has been very fortunate as it has been led from the top. Our leaders have shown us the path. 

However, one cannot afford being carried away in Social Media interactions. We are not soldiers in a trolling army. We cannot always be reactive to the environment. As diplomats we have to find time and space for contemplation and analysis. We are not only reporters. We are also creators of news. Just retweeting tweets doesn’t make one a digital diplomat. Just having a Twitter or  a Facebook account doesn’t mean that an organization is digitally savvy or is digital in its outreach and approach. 

There are also many challenges and limitations to Digital Diplomacy as well: Getting the digital code in the DNA of foreign office is the key. The fear, resistance, apprehension has to mitigate. Also at the end of it all Digital Public Diplomacy can only be practiced with members of the digital society. Are those who are not digitally literate beyond the purview of the Digital Diplomacy? That is the question that all practitioners of Digital Diplomacy have to deal with.  

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Moving from the general to the specific, I here narrate some personal experiences of being a 'digital diplomat', both using it for internal management and for Public Diplomacy. I must confess that I have transformed from being wary of Tweeter to now being tweeple. In the late 2000s I was wary as my former boss, was a pioneer in the use of Twitter for political messaging but was always getting into trouble with his bosses because of his tweets. So I’d advise him to refrain from tweeting. But he was certainly ahead of his times and was confident that people would get used to his tweets. I understand now what he had meant.

Presently, in the Consulate , we are active on a frequently updated Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and LinkedIn. We have brought about uniformity in our addresses: all our platforms have the same handle, simple and easy to remember, use and communicate- @indiainnewyork.  A confession is also in order. In a bid to reach out to young people, we tried to be on Snapchat. But we haven't been able keep pace with it as it is just too fast and ephemeral for us. Another advice that we have been getting from media consultants worth sharing is that Facebook is a more reliable Social Media platform than Twitter. This is because it is much more difficult to open a Facebook account than a Twitter account. So the genuineness of the person interacting with us is better established on Facebook. On Twitter we frequently encounter nameless and faceless persons who troll us or are abusive and make unreasonable demands. 

Our Website is the most visited platform. Since we revamped it in June 2018, it has registered almost 1.7 million hits, more than 100,000 hits a month. Hosting of our web application Pramit on the website encourages people to visit our website. This makes our web application serve a dual purpose- it forces a behavioral change in the applicant as he/she use the app to reach out to us. As the app is located on our website, the applicant is obliged to visit the website and then see for himself/herself what is happening at the Consulate. 

Being posted to New York where we use Social Media extensively in our daily diplomatic duties, I can cite several cases of timely and effective use of Social Media to help to contain and manage tricky and difficult situations. In October 2017 there was a terror attack in Manhattan. The news spread like wildfire in India. From the very beginning the question on our mind was about Indian victims. We reached out to our NYPD friends and were able to find out that there were no victims of Indian origin. This news was promptly put out on Twitter and helped in calming anxiety. Another case of effective use of Twitter which comes readily to mind is the attack on an Indian Swamiji (monk) in Queens, New York. I immediately reached out to him, met him and tweeted a picture with him conveying that he was well and police had arrested the assailant. This was picked up by the Indian media and effectively dealt with rising concerns in India. Another example was the murder of members of a Sikh family in Ohio. I immediately spoke to the Police and family members and could determine that it was not a hate crime. This view was promptly tweeted and once again we were able to deal with a potentially explosive situation. 

Another example of constructive use of Social Media comes to mind. After the Pulwana terror attack, Viveik Patel, a young man from Virginia, started a drive on Facebook to collect funds for the victims. I was one of the first to endorse him and many people reached out to me about the authenticity of the person. I asked him and some of the persons who had doubts to come and see me in the Consulate. They all came and we had a meeting where Viveik explained his model and said that there was no way he could misuse the funds. We agreed to send the money to the Bharat ke Veer account operated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. We took a picture and posted on Facebook and Twitter which was shared widely. Our endorsement removed doubts and this fund on Facebook went on to raise more than a million dollars. Later on we worked with the American India Foundation to transfer the money to Bharat ke Veer. A proactive role by us on Social Media allowed for raising funds for a worthwhile cause in India. These cases highlight the power of Social Media tools and the need to use them quickly and effectively when the situation arises. Today;s diplomats have to be Social Media Savvy.  Diplomats need to shun the stock phrase - I’m not Social Media or Tech savvy. If you are not Tech or Social Media savvy can you be savvy Diplomat? 

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