A Priesthood For The Temples of Modern India

India’s spacecraft, Mangalyaan, successfully entered a Martian orbit this morning. It made me very happy.

This evening one of the TV channel had a call-in chat program with a retired scientist from the Indian Space Research Organization. As was only to be expected all the callers said how proud they were. (There was an Indian caller from Germany who said, “Great job guys!” Guys?)

There was one caller who wanted to know how this would affect his life. The guest on the show gave the expected answer – add to knowledge etc. etc.

Will the Mangalyaan clean up the Ganga? Will it stop power outages? Will it counter the terrorism threat? Will it add muscle to our forces facing China? The answer to those, and a lot of similar questions is, no.

Is adding to knowledge justified when the taxpayers see no benefit to their lives?

I believe it is justified. And not just because of spin-offs in technology. The real benefit is the creation of first rate mathematical, scientific and technical minds. 

The country needs to have projects to which national prestige is attached. The best minds will compete to get on to these projects and organizations. The aggregation of the best minds will foster accumulation of knowledge. More importantly even those who do not measure up to the standards demanded of these prestigious projects, will also be improved. It is this humanware spin-off which will impact industries and social systems.

It is for the same reason I believe that IITs, and other institutes of national importance, are not in the business of producing manpower with industry relevant skills. They are – or should be - in the business of producing knowledge. For that purpose they have to select the best available talent and then continue to filter them. The result of the filtering should be people who have the best minds to undertake research work. That is how it ought to work.

“The temples of modern India” was Jawahar Lal Nehru's term.  ISRO, Atomic Energy Commission were started in his time. The TIFR, though started in 1945, was given pride of place. These are temples of modern India.

Temples require “temple priests”. As long as they are selected on acknowledged merit, and merit subjected to regular review, the danger of decadence would be minimized.

India needs these new temples and a “priest-hood” to run them. Those who do not become temple priests will nonetheless be better. And that is what society will gain.

1857 & The Sikhs

Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the Punjab, died on 27th of June, 1839. In just ten years his empire was gone. On 29 March 1849, after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, Maharaja Dalip Singh stepped down from his illustrious father's throne. So it was barely after 8 years, and two hard fought wars, that the 1857 uprising happened. So why did the Sikh's side with the British in 1857? That is a question I have often wondered about.

I recently finished reading Khushwant Singh's two-volume "History of The Sikhs". I believe the answer lies in the good governance - to use a currently popular phrase - that the British provided in those eight short years. The following points, taken from chapter 5 of the second volume, are, in my opinion, the main factors.

* A three member Board of Administration was established. It was the final court of appeal with powers of life and death.
* The Governor General ensured the most experienced Englishmen, available in India, were sent to the Punjab.
* "Every civil functionary from a member of the board down to the humblest kardar was vested with judicial, fiscal and magisterial powers".
* External and internal security were given top priority.
* Extensive public works were undertaken. Canals were cleaned and extended. Road were improved and new ones built.
* Tax structure was simplified.
* The school system which was already better than in other parts of the country (there were 16 schools for girls) was expanded.

In other words, the Punjab never had it so good! No wonder the Sikhs sided with the British.

BJP's Manifesto Delay

Apparently the delay has been caused because Modi wanted a clear, crisp document, not one that is verbose and full of waffle.

In short he does not want a "legal" document. I am sure that would have p****d off a lot of the lawyers who infest BJP headquarters (as they also infest the Lutyens Delhi offices of other parties).

It is implementation of a manifesto that is important. For those who know how to wiggle out of commitments, making manifestos is easy.

The Shahi Imam

What has the Shahi Imam done to modernize the muslim community? Apparently whatever he has done meets with the approval of the Congress.

The Congress is not a well wisher of the new generation of muslims; recall Rajiv Gandhi and the Shah Bano case.

Second Dictator

Mr Farooq Abdullah does not want another dictator. Who was the other dictator?

Secular Front

AK Anthony asks left parties to join (support?) the Congress. Anything to deny Modi the PM's chair. To do that the Congress would have to get MSY, Behenji, Didi, Amma... on board? Who does the Congress have in mind to project as the prime-ministerial candidate? Is Rahul Gandhi stepping aside?

The Congress is saying, "You think 2009-2014 was bad? Wait till you see what we will do in 2014-2019. You ain't seen nothing yet!!!"

Ab Ki Bar, Modi Sarkar.
Uske Baad, Bar Bar Modi Sarkar!

Should there Be A Modi-Kejriwal Debate?

The TV channels want it. No Surprise there. Modi's name will send TRP thru the roof.

Kejriwal wants it. Again no surprise. With Modi's name pulling in the audience, it will allow him to get his message at no cost. Of course, if he comes off second best, that will be because the media has been purchased.

But why should Modi want it?

Large crowds turn up for his rallies. He has a team that is out in the field, getting his message across. What more reach can a TV debate get him?

Modi is directly addressing the voters. The voters are the real judges. The Congress and the APP too are making their pitch. There is already a 24 x 7 debate taking place across media, across the country. So why have a 60 minute TV "debate"? On voting day the people of Varanasi will decide who won the debate.