Notes of Nagesh

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: Small states are a must for Better Governance. Uttar Pradesh is larger in terms of population than Brazil, Japan or Bangladesh. The total population of India in 1947 was about 320 million and today, we have about that number of people who are below the poverty line.  The creation of Telangana, almost 60 years after the people of the region first voiced their misgivings about being co-opted into Andhra Pradesh, is yet another step in rationalising and restructuring the Union of States that India is meant to be. India was never meant to be a union of linguistic states, but a union of well governed and manged states. This creation in 2014 has fully justified itself when Telangana, once among the poorer agro-climatic zones in the country, posted the fastest SGDP growth and gained a place for itself among high per capita income states. Thus, the demand for newer administrative units will be a continuous one, one that seeks to bring distant provincial governm...

https://m.thewire.in/article/politics/is-a-new-power-centre-emerging-in-the-bjp-under-nitin-gadkari-to-counter-modi-shah If the ModiShah duo are defeated or are seriously wounded on June 4, there will be a major struggle to take control of the rump BJP. It will be divided along several axes, Brahmin and non Brahmin, Gujarati and Maharashtrian, RSS and VHP, Adani and Ambani etc.  “The tiff between Gadkari and Modi-Shah is an open secret. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut recently declared, “Modi, Shah and Devendra Fadnavis are working to defeat Gadkari.” He even alleged that Fadnavis gave “large sums of money for Gadkari’s defeat”. Now there could be some fire to this smoke as Gadkari, who is running for the third term from Nagpur, was absent from most of the BJP’s campaign posters in Nagpur. Gadkari was also dropped from national campaigns in the run up to the 2024 elections. In the run up to the 2019 polls, Gadkari had made speeches and was a star campaigner for th...

) Railli/  Establishing the sound of the ghanta: Huen Tsang says northwest of the O-mo-lo-kia (Modern day Lemuabad) stupa in the middle of an old sanghdharma is a stupa that is called “establishing the sound of the ghanta.” I will quote the last para of page 96 of Si-Yu-Ki. “To the north-west of Amalaka stupa, in the middle of an old sahghardma, is a stdpa; it is called “ establishing the sound of the ghanta {Kin-t'i)." At first there were about 100 sanghdrdmas in this city; the priests were grave and learned, and of high moral character. The scholars among the heretics were silent and dumb. But afterwards, when that generation of priests had died out, their suc¬ cessors were not equal to those gone before. Then the teachers of the heretics, during the interval, gave themselves to earnest study with a view to the mastery. Whereupon they summoned their partisans, numbering 10,000, to assemble together within the priest's precincts, and then they addressed them saying, with ...

“I MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SURE ABOUT WHAT REALLY DID INTEREST ME, BUT I WAS ABSOLUTELY SURE ABOUT WHAT DIDN'T.” "ALBERT CAMUS, THE STRANGER": It is a classic philosophical novel published in 1942. It is one of the most famous novels in French literature of the 20th century and has been translated into 60 languages. The story is set in Algiers, Algeria, and follows the main character, Meursault, an office worker who leads a boring and lonely life. The story begins with the death of his mother, and instead of feeling sadness, Meursault seems rather indifferent to the situation. He doesn't show much emotion during the funeral, and he implicitly challenges society’s accepted moral standards, which believes that one should grieve over death. This indifference confuses the reader. The main character, Meursault, approaches the world with moral indifference and believes that there is no true meaning to life. Meursault lacks emotion and empathy; and this makes him an unlikeable and...

This painting of a young woman breastfeeding an old man in a prison cell was sold for Euros 30 million. The painting may look perverse but the story behind is from historical records. The poor man was sentenced to "death by starvation" for stealing a loaf of bread during the reign of Louis XIV in France. The woman was his only daughter and the only visitor to his cell. She was allowed to visit him daily but was frisked thoroughly such that no food was taken in. When after 4 months the man still survived with no weight loss, the authorities were perplexed and started spying on her in the cell and to their utter astonishment found her to breastfeed her father to the fullest sharing her baby's milk. The judges then realizing the compassion and love of the woman for her father, pardoned the father and set him free. This piece of history brings into focus how deep is a woman's compassion in our daily lives that men often tend to overlook.

At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully. Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would come back to look for her.  The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll saying "please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures." Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life. During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable. Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned to Berlin. "It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl. Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: "my travels have c...

Kerala is indeed God’s own country and  Malayalis are indeed God’s chosen people. Kerala is India’s most educated state and arguably its wealthiest. It’s a land steeped in rich culture and India’s shining symbol of progressivism. Kerala did us proud at the most prestigious Cannes Film Festival. It didn’t have to put up a parade of outlandishly dressed aging divas. All it needed was to showcase its people and their talent. “Less than 3% of Indians speak Malayalam. But to many who attended the 77th Cannes International Film Festival in the French Riviera this year, Malayalam may have appeared to be India’s lingua franca. Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light, the first Indian film ever to win the Grand Prix at the festival, speaks mostly in Malayalam. Praised as lyrical and delicate, the film is about the life and dreams of two young nurses from Kerala in Mumbai. It is also the first film from India to have been selected to compete at the prestigious festival for the Palme d’Or aft...

"Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen is a novel that offers a keen social critique of the values, norms, and limitations placed on women in early 19th-century England. Here are some critical points of analysis: 1. Class and Social Standing: The novel highlights the importance of class and social status in the lives of the characters. The Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, are forced to navigate the complexities of class-based society, and their prospects for marriage are often influenced by their financial situations. This underscores the limited agency women had in their own lives during this period. 2. Sense vs. Sensibility: The title itself reflects one of the central themes. Elinor represents "sense" with her practicality and restraint, while Marianne embodies "sensibility" with her intense emotions and romanticism. Austen explores the balance between these two traits, suggesting that a middle ground is ideal. 3. Female Agency: Through Elinor and...

One day in 399 BC, the philosopher Socrates stood before a jury of 500 Athenians. He was accused of "refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state" and "corrupting the youth". Aguilty verdict could mean death. After six hours of arguments from Socrates and his accusers, the jury voted by placing "guilty" or "not guilty" discs into an urn. The verdict: guilty by 280 to 220. The jury was asked to decide on Socrates' penalty, which his accusers argued should be the death penalty. When asked for his opinion, Socrates impudently suggested that he receive a government salary and free dinners for the rest of his life. His second suggestion was that he pay a small fine. Athenians had come to expect no less from Socrates, a man who was widely hated by the city-state. According to Plato, his student and biographer, Socrates had become the "gadfly" of Athens when the oracle at Delphi had allegedly said no one was wiser than he. Socrat...

Topic :- Background : William Shakespeare wrote this play between 1596 and 1599. Though this play is a comic work but is famous for its dramatic scenes. The Merchant of Venice summary revolves around a merchant of Venice, Antonio. Antonio is the protagonist of this play. He took a loan from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock, in order to help his friend. But Antonio is unable to pay back the loan. Shylock demands a pound of flesh from his body in the absence of the repayment. Portia, a rich heiress, disguises as a lawyer and saves Antonio from Shylock. The plot of the Merchant of Venice summary is based on friendship, loyalty, wit, kindness, and humanity. Main Plot: The story starts with Bassanio’s desire to marry Portia, a wealthy heiress of Belmont. In order to become a suitor to her, he is in need of 3000 ducats. He seeks Antonio’s help who is a merchant of Venice and also his friend. But, Antonio says that he is short of cash as his ships and merchandise are expected. However, he assure...

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: India’s People Problem! We are not far from the day when we will be short of people! The demographic dividend might just end up as a demographic nightmare. I have long been speaking and writing about the demographic dividend. Politicians and their hucksters have latched on to this term without quite understanding what it implies. The challenges are on hand.  India, with a population of 1.34billion is now the most populous country in the world. But India was not always as large as it is now, both in terms of population or economy. The year 1921, known as the “Year of Great Divide”, is regarded as most important in the demographic history of India. It marked a drastic fall in mortality and the swing from a pattern of a relatively stable population to one that was rapidly increasing. The population grew very slowly from 1801-1921 from about 200 million to 220 million.  It is then our population really took off to reach the stratospheric levels of today  The ...

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: India: From an Unitary State to an Union of States.   The Indian Union of States has reached a critical impasse. Its diversity bound together by the Constitution that was meant to make us a modern, democratic and secular state based on equality and equal availability of justice, education, healthcare and social services, and division of government based on functions is now under grave challenge. India was never intended to be a saffron hued monochromatic state, but a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual state whose diversity made it a nation as never before. Its demographics compound its problems by threatening to swamp the non-Hindi/Hindutva belt into a saffronised dominion.   Each state in India is a veritable nation and hence maintaining the balance of political and  economic power between them is critical. The delimitation exercise now underway will reduce the weightage in Parliament of the states that did better on giving their people a better ...

10 LESSONS FROM THE BOOK "THE ORGANIZED MIND: THINKING STRAIGHT IN THE AGE OF INFORMATION OVERLOAD" BY DANIEL J. LEVITIN  1. Information Overload: Levitin discusses the overwhelming amount of information available in today's world and its impact on our cognitive abilities. Understanding this overload is the first step toward managing it effectively. 2. Multitasking Myth: The book debunks the myth of multitasking and highlights how attempting to juggle multiple tasks can reduce productivity and impair decision-making abilities. 3. Organizing Information: Levitin emphasizes the importance of organizing information into manageable chunks or categories. Creating mental or physical systems to categorize and retrieve information can aid in reducing cognitive load. 4. Externalizing Memory: The concept of "offloading" or externalizing memory is explored, suggesting the use of external tools such as calendars, notebooks, or apps to store information, freeing up mental re...

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: The God Business. Religioneering in India. Last year the number of foreign tourists who came to India was about 9 million.  By contrast domestic tourism totaled over 1400 million visits, clearly suggesting that its implied economics are far bigger than the foreign business. It also suggests that very many of our people make several trips for tourism every year.  While the concentration of the central governments tourism promotion efforts focus on the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur  “golden triangle” the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals (20.1%) are in Tamil Nadu. Delhi draws half that.  The southern states see the most foreign and domestic tourist traffic because of the number of important religious places like Tirupati, Madurai. The location of Tirupati within it makes Andhra Pradesh India’s biggest domestic tourist destination. Religious tourism is now very big business. What does this suggest? Must we be worried? A Pew Global Attitude survey study sho...

THE NEW IDEOLOGICAL DIVIDES WE MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN NOW. HERE IS A TYPICAL ONE Two groups of Iyengars clashed on the streets of Chinna Kanchipuram over the chanting of hymns at the Varadaraja Perumal  temple. The long festering ideological clleavage between the Thankalai and Vadakalai Iyengars spilled over from the temple courtyards to the courts and now to the streets. Commenting on the intractabiity of the dispute , Justice Vaidyanathan of the Madras High Court istated:,“Temple is a place of worship where anybody can pray. Unfortunately, as there is difference between Vadakalai and Thenkalai of Iyengar community, the issue is yet to attain finality. As long as this globe exists in the orbit, their differences would not be resolved. Instead terming themselves as ‘human being’, they should first know how to be ‘being human’.” Iyengars are a sub-sect of the Hindu Brahmin community and are worshippers of Lord Vishnu. The main difference between Vadakalai and Thenkalai sects of the Iye...

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: Jawaharlal Nehru died sixty years ago on May 27, 1964. He was seventy-four. He had a stroke that morning at 6.25 am and lost consciousness almost immediately. He died without regaining consciousness, and according to a member of his household, his death was due to "an internal hemorrhage, a paralytic stroke, and a heart attack." He had returned the previous day from Mussourie, “hale and hearty” but Nehru was clearly ailing. Parliament, then in session, and the nation were told about his death at 2.05 pm. A major event such as this inevitably gives rise to “where were you?” questions. Where were you when Kennedy was assassinated? Where were you when Indira Gandhi was killed? Where were you when the World Trade Center was brought down? The shock of the event magnifies the immediate around you and imprints it in your mind. I still can vividly recall the day Nehru died and the moment I learnt about it.. I was in Poona studying German at the Goethe Institute, and ...

https://www.civilsocietyonline.com/spotlight/muslims-cant-outnumber-hindus-even-in-100-years/ WILL MUSLIMS ONE DAY OUTNUMBER HINDUS IN INDIA? A paper that emanated from the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) in May stirred up a storm with researchers, NGOs and legal experts questioning its assertions on religious minorities and accusing its authors of fear mongering during election time. The paper, titled “Share of Religious Minorities: A cross-country analysis (1950-2015)”, examined the religious composition of populations of 167 countries since 1950 based on datasets. Countries where 50 percent or more of people belonged to a particular religion were analyzed. Thirty-five were OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries and 25 were from Europe. In India, from 1950 to 2015, said the paper, the share of the Hindu population declined by 7.82 percent, whereas the share of the Muslim population increased from 9.84 percent to 14.09 percent. ...

ARE YOU READY FOR THE BIMARU TAKEOVER? After delimitation the Hindi speaking states will have more MPs while the high performance states will be punished for doing well. Within the next 25 years India will be dominated by Hindi/Hindutva forces. The southern states have to take a call now. We know how the Hindutva belt treat their minorities. The southern leadership must wake up and oppose any more delimitation.  By 2051 over 50% of India will be from UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan and Haryana., who together will add 468 million of the 773 .2 million additional number of Indians. Kerala and Tamil Nadu would have grown by only 23.7% and 28.8% respectively, while India would have grown by 91.4%, and the BIMARU plus Haryana would have grown by 132.9%. There are several issues implicit here. Internal migration will be a major social flashpoint. Look at the raging debate on "Bangladesh ghusbaitis".  Are the economically faster growing states and demographically slowing down s...

♦️ *మోడీకి కలలో అయోధ్య రాముడెందుకు  చెప్పలేదూ?* May 23, 2024  11:44 pm ప్రజలు వాస్తవమైన ఆనందం ఏమిటో గ్రహించిన రోజున, ఆ ఆనందాన్ని పొందడం సాధ్యమేనని తెలుసుకున్న రోజున, మతం అదృశ్యమౌతుంది- అయితే, పాలకవర్గాలు తమ ప్రయోజనాల రీత్యా- ప్రజలు అసలు విషయం తెలుసుకోకుండా అడ్డుపడు తుంటారు. తమ ఆధిపత్యాన్ని కాపాడుకోవడానికి మతాన్ని ఉపయోగించుకుంటారు. – ఆగస్ట్‌ బెబెల్‌, రచయిత, వక్త, జర్మన్‌ సోషలిస్ట్‌ రాజకీయవేత్త. తెలివిగలవాడికైతే వాడి మెదడు పనిచేస్తుంది. తెలివిలేనివాడికైతే వాడి నాలుక పనిచేస్తుంది – అనే మాట ఉంది. తెలివిగల నాయకుడే కదా సకారాత్మకమైన నిర్ణయాలు తీసుకుని, ఒకవైపు ప్రజా సంక్షేమం మీద, మరోవైపు అభివృద్ధి మీద దృష్టి పెడతాడూ? అవి చేయలేని నాయకుడు మన్‌కీ బాత్‌ పేరిట నాలుకను తెగ ఉపయోగిస్తాడు. కోతల పురాణం వినిపిస్తాడు. అది పదేండ్ల పాటు విన్న ఈ దేశ ప్రజలు తమకు రవ్వంతైనా లాభం చేకూరిందా?- అని ఆలోచనలో పడ్డారు! ఒక సంప్రదాయవాదుల ఇంట్లో నామకరణ మహోత్సవం జరుగుతూ ఉంది. పురో హితుడు పిల్లవాడికి ‘నరేంద్ర’ అనే పేరు పెట్టమని సూచించాడు. పక్కన ఓమూల కూర్చున్న పిల్లవాడి నానమ్మకు దు:ఖం ఆగలేదు. బోరున ఏడ్చింది. ”ఏందమ్మ...

"The Gift of the Magi" is a heartwarming and beautifully crafted short story by O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story revolves around a young, poor couple, Jim and Della, who live in a small apartment in New York City. Despite their financial struggles, they are deeply in love and always find ways to make each other happy. As Christmas approaches, they both want to give each other a special gift, but they can't afford to buy anything expensive. Della, who has long, beautiful hair, starts to feel guilty that she has nothing to give to Jim, who is equally worried about what he can give her. Della decides to sell her hair to buy Jim a watch chain for his prized possession, a gold watch that has been passed down from his grandfather. She visits a hair salon and gets her hair cut short and sells it for $20, which is a lot of money for her. She uses the money to buy a beautiful watch chain for Jim's watch. On the other hand, Jim decides to sell his watch ...

THE IRONY IS THAT THE HINDU MAJORITY IS BEING COACHED TO FEAR THE POOR MUSLIM - OUR SECOND POOREST GROUP. "Changing the social fabric of the country has been a clearly stated agenda of the BJP, which has ruled India for the last six years. Its efforts have been so successful that it appears to have shifted the ground further to the right, making it hard for other parties to evoke a different view of India that doesn’t depend on majoritarian politics. Henceforth whichever government comes to power, the people of India will have to grapple with a cultural fabric where questioning each person’s right to live in the country seems to have become fair game.  And though the question began with Muslims, other religious minorities and oppressed classes, are not far off.  Indeed, though caste has not been discussed separately here, each one of the items has an element where India’s continued casteism only makes the country’s challenges even harder to overcome." - SCROLL

"The Twelve Universal Laws of Success" by Herbert Harris provides a structured framework for personal development and achieving success through adherence to universal principles.  Here are 10 key lessons and insights from the book: 1. The Law of Thought: This principle underscores the power of positive thinking. Harris argues that thoughts are the seeds of reality, and by focusing on positive, constructive thoughts, individuals can shape their own destinies. Negative thoughts, conversely, can hinder progress and attract undesired outcomes. 2. The Law of Change: Change is inevitable and constant. Harris emphasizes the importance of embracing change and adapting to new circumstances. Personal growth and success often require letting go of old habits and adopting new ones that align with one's goals and aspirations. 3. The Law of Vision: Setting clear, specific goals is crucial. Harris highlights the significance of having a clear vision for the future, as it directs focus a...

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: Not many people in the country would know who Ramnath Kai was and that is the way he probably would have liked it. He was the founder director of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the innocuously named Research and Analysis Wing with the rather misleading and sometimes evocative acronym RAW. In the last few days a lot has been written about what little was known about Kao. I am not about to add my little to it for what I too know is mostly the little already known. But this must be said and that is that he was no ordinary spymaster serving a three-year tenure whispering into the ears of the varied lot who came to rule India. Kao established a rare post independence institution in a tumultuous era. The Cold War was at its highest fury. Pakistan’s hostility was unremitting, as it is now. Chinese hostility matched Pakistan’s and the West was much more suspicious of India and often more inimical to it than now. Kao’s RAW was created in the wake of India’s defeat in 1962...

MOHAN GURUSWAMY: The Greeks had words for every personality frailty. In the present case three of these words are of relevance to us. 1. Hubris; 2.Hamartia; and 3. Narcissim.   Hubris is described in the dictionary to simply mean “excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance”. Hamartia is usually an artifice in Greek drama as the inner quality that initiates a "movement of spirit" within the protagonist to commit actions which drive the plot towards its tragic end. Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one's idealized self-image and attributes. The term originated from Greek mythology, where a young man named Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. In the drama of Narendra Modi we see quite a bit of the hubris and overweening narcissism, both fatal flaws.  The question before us now is whether this is the moment of hamartia that will drive the plot to its tragic end? The sin of hubris has been a ...