Pragmatism vs. Romanticism

There is much consternation with what is called the increasing vigilantism by the AAM Admi party in the state of Delhi. The one’s whining about it are mostly the different hued politicians from mature political parties that dot the landscape of India. The angst is understandable considering the fact that well established practices of corruption and poor service are now being questioned by the poor badgered Delhiwallah’s. The latest has been the initiation of a hotline for complaints on corruption and apparently it has been an instant hit with the phone lines being choked by callers. Group’s from the AAM Admi Party scour the countryside and visit hospitals and schools at random to check on the service or lack of it. This is a romantic new beginning and has caught the imagination of the common man. While the whole idea may lack pragmatism, it certainly is romantic and who can win, at least in the short term in the face of romance. The people of Delhi and their Government are still honeymooning and during the honeymoon all faults are swept under the carpet, even poorly articulated ideas like that of Prashanth Bhushan who seems to think that a referendum needs to take place, in Kashmir on whether the Indian Army needs to stay or go. Now with all due respect, this might best be left to the honchos in the relevant ministry’s to decide. This particular snafu takes me back to my days in the middle-east. Invariably I would hop on to a cab, driven by a gent from Pakistan, whose interest would rise the moment he realized I was from ‘Hindustan’. I would gingerly say that I hailed from the state of Karnataka and the connection to ‘Tipu Sultan – the Tiger of Mysore’ would be instantaneous. It goes to probably, show that our neighbour’s know their history well. The next topic of discussion would be Kashmir and the hackles would rise, with both of us taking extreme positions. As corruption is, Kashmir is just as emotive an issue with the AAM Admi and political parties mature or otherwise would be well advised to remember that.

In the Land of Equals?

Culturally, societies may be Achievement Oriented or Ascription Oriented. To cut to the chase the former is a society where meritocracy is the order of the day and your family lineage does not matter, while the latter does take into account, who your parents were or for that matter one's social standing is crucial to gain entry into elite institutions. The front runner's for India's political future are Narendra Modi,Rahul Gandhi with the new kid on the block Arvind Kejriwal a distant prospect. While that might be the case, both Modi & the scion of the Gandhi family cannot aspire to be alumni of an Indian Institute of Technology though they could aspire to be the Prime Minister of India. That honor lies only with Kejriwal. Well that's India. The United Kingdom, is in the midst of an interesting debate as Prince William heads off to Cambridge University, to pursue a ten week course on Agriculture. Normally this would have required top grades but apparently in an egalitarian England, the Prince with far inferior grades gets a place in the midst of some of England's brightest and best. Why is this happening? Well simply because he is a future King and third in line to the British throne. The Guardian's columnist, recent Cambridge grad Melissa Berrill, wrote that admitting the third-in-line to the throne is "an insult to every student, whatever their background, who got into Cambridge by getting the required A-level or degree results." Cambridge has adjusted its admissions standards in recent years to recruit students based on merit and not just class or family connections, she wrote. "I can no longer insist that 'it's not like the old days any more,' because the heir to the throne is about to be let in for no other reason than who his father is," she wrote. While this might be a case of the extraordinary,the name of the game in today's complicated world is that generalization's are made at one's own peril and would not stand a test on the ground. It would be of immense interest to me as to how the Prince performs at his academic tryst at Cambridge University and what grades he garners. Will this too be based on his family connections or will meritocracy prevail in the land of equals?