Net Neutral

Net Neutral

It is raging.  It is concerning the access to the contents of the internet without strings.   You are in control of where to go in the net, what you read and do on line.  There is no restriction imposed on the content unless it is illegal - a place where, freedom to express, an unhindered choice and no discrimination, exist.  That is the norm.  Equality is the key.  More than a million emails have been sent to the Indian regulator, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last week in support of Net Neutrality.  TRAI wanted answers to 20 questions through a consultation paper spread over 110 pages on the subject of discrimination between different types of data, by telecom networks.  

 

Airtel launched “Airtel Zero” in the beginning of April 2015.  The company listed the benefits to the customers and marketers in their web site - Customers enjoy free data access to a variety of mobile apps signed up with ‘Airtel Zero’.  App providers will pay for customers’ data charges and hence it is toll free access to their mobile application.  Here would be customers are tied to Airtel and the app provider pays to the platform owner the usage charges.  In effect the users selectively get the benefit of free data paid by someone else but restricted to the dealings with Airtel and the app provider.  Airtel boasted of providing equal opportunities to all, big or small.  Flipkart which decided to join hands a week before with Airtel Zero platform for providing Airtel subscribers free use of its application through Airtel Zero backtracked and walked away from the deal.   Flipkart also issued a statement committing to the larger cause of net neutrality in India.  A flip flop by Flipkart!  As a business proposition it is still good, but discriminatory.  It can be called a restrictive trade practice.  That is, when you access Flipkart through Airtel, you need to pay no data charges, whereas you will have to pay for it to access Flipkart through other providers like, Idea, BSNL, etc. You are being influenced / forced to deal with Flipkart only through Airtel.  

 

Earlier this year Reliance Communications partnered with Facebook through Mark Zuckerberg’s initiative to provide free internet to the mobile users through internet.org.  This free access is restricted to a bouquet of services covered by 33 websites.  RCom will provide to its customers free access to these sites.  Here again the customers are tied to these companies and a trading practice not above water.  It did not raise a storm then as in the case of Flipkart-Airtel deal.  The trigger has been Airtel Zero-Flipkart.  In both the cases data used by the user is not charged.

 

In United States, Comcast’s bid to acquire competitor Time Warner Cable last year, for $45 billion, fell through last week.  Fears were expressed in many quarters that the merged unit would have control of more than 50% of U.S. broadband market and viewed the proposed merger as anti competitive.  Comcast Corporation, a Nasdaq listed company, is U.S.’s largest video, high-speed internet and phone provider (Xfinity brand) and cable networks provider,  whereas the Time Warner is the world’s third largest television networks and filmed TV & Entertainment company.  The merger of these two would have created a monopoly situation in U.S.

 

Though the concept of ‘Net Neutrality’ is a highly debating topic world over for quite some time, it has arrived in India only now.  The regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has received more than a million mails through savetheinternet.in campaign for net neutrality.   Alas, the TRAI’s role in India is only advisory in nature and does not have the teeth.   And The Information Technology Act, 2000 does not have provisions that prevent service providers from controlling the internet to serve their business needs.

 

Unless the Government acts earnestly, the Indian users of the net will have in future only restricted access and will know only what mighty others want you to know.  As the word ‘internet’ has become synonymous with knowledge and the day will not be far off when your acquired restricted knowledge will not be ‘power’, when the normal saying is ‘Knowledge is Power’.  

Snuff out

Snuff out

 Killings!  It can be through the due process of Law meted out as a capital punishment for a heinous crime; by an individual or a group taking law into their own hands meting out as reprisal called in normal parlance as murder – either by themselves or through ‘contract’; or by occurrences, through natural causes like aging, accidents, by an act of God.   Apart from all, there is war.

Capital punishment is punishment by death ordered by a court of law for an act against humanity.   It is a subject matter of an unending controversy, for and against it. 

Judiciary attempts to give punishments commensurate to the crime.  Severity of punishment increases from fine and simple imprisonment to rigorous imprisonment to life imprisonment and in rarest of rare cases capital imprisonment, as harmful effect on the community of the crime increases.  The ultimate is the capital punishment in countries where it is still in vogue.

103 countries abolished Capital punishment altogether.  36 countries actively practice and about 50 countries have not resorted to it for at least 10 years.  If you look at demographically, China, India, U.S. and Indonesia which account for 60% of global population have death penalty in their statutes.  These four nations have voted against UN General Assembly resolutions abolishing death penalty.  With the exception of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, all countries do not apply these provisions on juveniles, i.e., below 18 years of age.  It is said that it acts as a deterrent for the potential or would be offenders.

Apart from judicial process, we have khap panchayats or katta panchayats depending on areas, which do not have sanction of law but dispense justice pushing down the throat.  Governments world over have built in machinery to effectively curb such extra judicial dealings. 

This brings us to occurrences which cover death by aging or accidents.  The concept of welfare state ensures improving longitude and quality of life through various measures.

All this boils down to the fact that there can never be a right for anybody to snatch away the life of anyone for whatever reason.  Reinforcements to this school of thought came from plenty of instances in almost all countries where it was found decades later, to be one of wrongful conviction and / or execution.   This is miscarriage of justice.   These things could never be undone.

Trigger happy law enforcement personnel have their due share.  From recent media reports two instances merit mention.

On April 4, 2015, Walter Scott was running from a police officer and he was shot to death in North Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.   A video shot by a bystander had gone viral on the net last week.  Of course, US is now grappling with the consequences.

The second incident around the same period across the world on April 7, 2015 took place in the forest of Seshachalam (near Tirupati) in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, where 20 people were gunned down by the Special Police team and foresters for alleged smuggling of Red Sanders - a banned and endangered item.  Both Hyderabad and Madras High Courts have independently ordered second autopsies.  Allegations were thick and fast that the killings were stage managed by Police.  The Andhra Pradesh is in the hot spot over this.    In any case, conviction rate in such brutalities is very negligent. 

Law is applicable to all equally and only vigilant public is the solution.      The thought that efforts should be directed towards correction and rehabilitation should get momentum and transform into action.

The "TIPS"

The 'TIPS'

It is said that TIPS is an acronym for “To Insure Prompt Service”.   A myth has it that a coffee shop patronized by Samuel Johnson in London sported small bowls on the tables marked with – “To Insure Prompt Service” into which customers would throw a few coins.  The practice of TIPS evolved into one of unsavoured item at the end of a transaction.  There is no guarantee that Tipping would ensure good service; for the receiver would not know whether you would give one or not.  There is no connection between the quality of service received and the unwritten consideration given in return.  It is not a quid pro quo.  Wikipedia terms Tipping, as an over payment made as a recognition to those who provide service beyond the expectation.  The problem here is to know whose expectation.  In most cases you feel compelled to give one even without any service.

In United States, you are looked down when you do not leave behind something for the waiter.  There you are out of box when you do not give.  It is anything above 10% of the bill depending upon the level you want show off.  It has become customary and feels obligated though not obliged.  Tipping is not native of America.  It appears that this practice found its way from the taverns of Europe, particularly England, where drinkers started, probably in 17^th Century, leaving money to the waiter before leaving.   Though this practice is inevitable in US nowadays, it was not welcomed in the beginning.  According to a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, tipping began in US after Civil War through the wealthy Americans who traveled Europe and brought the aristocratic custom with them to show off their elevated status.

There were reports that many Americans believed then that tipping would create a servile class.  Further, reports in newsprint revealed that this was considered as the “vilest of imported vices”.   In 1915, there was even an attempt to pass an anti-tipping bill that would have made leaving tips unlawful.  This attempt did not pass the muster.  There was a book by name “The Itching Palm” written by William Scott in 1916 wherein he had raised the subject of paying twice for the service rendered – once to the organisation that provided the service and second to the person involved in reaching the end customer.  He termed it as a “democracy’s mortal foe” and that creates “a servile attitude for a fee”.

For Japanese, it is an affront on their dignity.  The moment something is received as a gratis he loses his standing in society; the dignity is lost, because it is a one way transaction where there is nothing in return.  They do not TIP.

In India the story is completely different.  Many restaurants charge as a percentage of the cost of the items served as service charge.  In addition, the waiters also expect the customers to pay them.  It is a peculiar case where the customer has to bear 3 point brunt – Services Tax collected by the Government at a predetermined percentage on the value of services, Service Charges collected by the owner of the joint again as a percentage of the value of items provided though there is no legal sanction and the ubiquitous doling out as a parting shot.  The first one is by the government through legislation and hence no escape; the second one by the employer, though meant as a discretionary -  to be there you need to pay; and the third one, you are reluctant but do not like to picture yourself awkwardly before others and hence felt inescapable but to give in.  Except the first one, the other two definitely are for nonexistent additional services and should attract Income tax / service tax.  God knows whether due process is followed. 

Where else you will find this predicament, first a sovereign body, the private body – the organisation, collects twice for the same service – once when selling the goods and again during billing, and lastly when you leave you are made to pay for having visited!  In fact one has to pay four times by whatever name called for the same transaction.

What a situation?  Last but not the least; can corruption be called as a TIP to ensure service? – Why double standard? 

The Euro

The Euro - Unity in Diversity

As a child of Maastrich Treaty, The Euro was created as a Common single currency of the European Union in 1999 and notes and coins started circulating in 2002.  UK and some other countries did not opt to become part of it then.  Even now UK is outside the currency union.  About 23 countries use Euro as their currency. 

Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 saw the Euro zone, where Euro is the official currency, enter into recession creating instability due to unbalanced economic developments among countries.  Some countries like Germany and France were stronger economically and some others were facing problems.  The stress of a more severe recession was threatening break-up of the Euro zone.  Easier said, than done.  The resultant catastrophe would have been monumental, had that happened.  The severity would have been worst worldwide  than Great Depression of 1930s.  Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain were the laggards dragging the others down into the crisis.  Defaults of these governments due to their mounting debts were staring the entire union.  As is always, none was prepared to tighten their belt and adopt austerity in their countries because of political compulsions.  The better managed countries were made to work out bailout packages to redeem crisis ridden governments.   Greece had become a test case of how the EU could deal better with the debt crisis emanating from its bulging debts.   In 2010 the Greek Government debt was downgraded to ‘junk’.  Even now Greece has not come out of the woods though it showed some positive developments in between.  It continues to have the debt burden and is on the verge of or already in a debt trap, if not well attended.   Austerity measures imposed were resented by the mass and led to a change in government which won on the promise of no austerity.  Naturally people would not want to reduce their consumption.  But on assuming office the new government in 2015 also learnt it the hard way that it had to agree to the conditions of the European Central Bank (ECB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Euro zone countries, dubbed as Troika, for debt relief and other supports to tide over the crisis.  Portugal and Ireland had the same problem of burgeoning debt with looming defaults.  For Spain it was the housing bubble that triggered the crisis with accompanying artificial and unsustainably high GDP growth rate.   The government’s very high expenditure along with hidden losses and misleading information flow in banking and finance sectors compounded the gravity of the situation.

Problems arising out of handling of economy and its monetary policies by Greece continue to haunt regulators of the currency mechanism, vis-a-vis, economic development of Euro zone.   It has to downsize their expenditure, service their debts and also guide their economy to grow by creating a right environment for economic development.   One country’s economic difficulties will trigger flight of capital and it cannot be isolated or insulated enough not to affect the other performing better off countries as they are constituents of European Union and Euro zone where free flow of capital and labour between them is guaranteed.  Flight of capital will only aggravate the crisis.

Euro zone and India both have similarities.  Of course India is a country with a federal structure consisting of about 25 states and union territories, whereas Euro zone consists of about the same number of countries but unified by a single currency.  Here regional imbalances are in states but in Euro zone the regional imbalances occur in separate countries economically.  Both have the problems of pulls from various quarters with their uniqueness.  Both experience pulls and pressures from within and without and find Unity in Diversity.  The fruits of unity outweighs otherwise extreme option in both cases.  That is the reason why even though the thought of exiting euro currency zone is current in Greece it has not happened so far. 

History has instances where unity was not achieved through diversity.  The erstwhile Soviet Union consisted of 15 republics disintegrated at the end of 1991.  Likewise Yugoslavia also disintegrated in 1991-92.  May be, the unity could not be achieved in these cases because of the type of governments they had which could not be called democratic.

But the latest affirmation for Unity in Diversity came in 2014 in the referendum in which Scots decided to remain with United Kingdom. Better wisdom prevailed.

Fearing 'Missed' Heartbeat?

Fearing 'Missed' Heartbeat?

No way.  Because as technology unfolds, a day may come soon that hearts need not and will not beat in the future.  Is it catastrophe or end of civilisation?  Should one fear missing an heartbeat on seeing a beautiful girl – it would become a thing of the past for world’s first bionic heart that does not beat but circulates blood has already been successfully transplanted into a live and healthy sheep by Australian researchers. Sheep chosen as it is similar in chest size to women and  children. Any artificial organ, particularly heart, runs the risk of wear and tear and declining efficiency.  This new device ‘BiVACOR’ will likely to function 10 years more than the previously designed artificial hearts, it is claimed.  This device has a disk that spins at 2000 rpm to pump blood without a beat, viz., pulse.  It is stated that it uses magnetic levitation technology to keep the components of the units from coming into contact one another and hence no wear and tear.  It is definitely revolutionary and 'path creating'.

Being a non-medical, let me venture out to visualise, though not seriously, the impact of this device on our day to day life.  Whenever one meets a doctor for any consultation, he would sub consciously extends his hand to the doctor, not for a hand shake, but to enable him to feel the pulse.  The medic routinely grips his hand to read the pulse and opens his Sphygmomanometer (difficult for me to even pronounce) for a reading of blood pressure.  These are the two parameters he basically needs to diagnose the status of a patient.

People normally does not like change and that is why age old practices are being followed without deviation or even questioning the necessity of it for the present day.  There are a lot of faculties in educational institutions who continue to teach the subject as they learnt during their college days till the time of their superannuation without updating contemporary developments .  This is the same reason why organisational culture does not change and Mergers and Amalgamations become failures.  Adaptability is the victim.  Doctors are also no exception and imagine a doctor who has not brushed up his repertoire and kept abreast of the developments diagnosing a patient with no heartbeat.   Will the bionic heart change the body temperature – another all important parameter a doctor needs at first.  The all known surgical procedures have to be harmonized to suit the changed circumstance, i.e., without heartbeat or pulse.  The entire medical knowledge will have to be overhauled and approach in all areas concerning physiology has to be re-charted!

If a person is emotionally charged or physically over exerted, there is every possibility that he will get a heart attack or stroke.  Will the position change when this new device is implanted?  The new device will possibly be programmed to take additional load.  That throws up more possibilities.World over it is customary for people to say, "Long Live" or "Bless you", when one sneezes.  It is said that while sneezing the heart stops for a fraction of a second!  In future scenario this good intentioned gesture will become redundant. 
 
The possibilities are endless with a bionic heart sans ‘beats’ in place of one which 'beats'.

From another angle, having a device with no heartbeat and human beings with ever changing emotions, the psychiatrists will also likely to have a field day.

'Din' from 'The DEN' -- CHINA, ‘The GOD’s Father’

China - ‘The GOD’s Father’

China, a communist country, trying to engineer a succession plan to the Dalai Lama is anathema to its professed ideology.  But it is in the process of usurping the right to have a dominant say.  Though on paper it does not interfere in citizens belief or religious practices it tries to determine the reincarnation of the 14^th Dalai Lama.

Tibetan tradition has it that the next Dalai Lama would be found by seeking the previous leader’s reincarnation.   The present 14^th Dalai Lama recently speculated that he will not reincarnate and will not have an afterlife.  It is an intricate process by which the successor is identified and incarnated.  It can take two to three years to complete the process.  According to Wikipedia, the Dalai Lama said he would not be reborn in a country controlled by the People’s Republic of China or any other country which is not free.  This throws up the possibility that the future Dalai Lama could be from any other country where Buddhism is practiced and followed.  The Dalai Lama speculated then that the future Dala Lama could be a woman.  The fact that the present Dalai Lama who exiled himself from Tibet / China and fled to India in 1959 and established a government in exile in India, aggravates unease of the Chinese Government.  That government still functions from Dharmasala, Himachal Predesh, India.  He is still the most reverered and venerated amongst Tibetan Buddhists.

Hence the present speculation that the 14^th Dalai Lama would not reincarnate makes China jittery for they would not have any say in the reincarnation of Dalai Lama or leverage in the affairs of Tibetan Buddhists.  The Chinese government fear losing grip on Tibetan affairs.  Appointing a friendly and pliant Lama who accepts China’s presence, policies and supremacy in Tibet would become impossibility.  China terms this as a betrayal of the succession of Dalai Lamas in Tibetan Buddhism.  The government seems to be bent on managing all aspects of Buddhist affairs in respect of Tibet, including the rituals of succession, to ensure total control of Tibet.

But Dalai Lama by speculating that there would not by reincarnation of himself put all efforts of China’s efforts to naught and in disarray.   Perhaps Dalai Lama does not want a repetition of Chinese government meddling in the affairs of selection of a successor as it did in the case of Panchan Lama in nineties.  The possibility of no reincarnation would make Chinese Government irrelevant.  This insult, the China is unlikely to digest and hence an attempt to run the rituals to identify to the person as incarnate.

Hence we now see the parody of Marxists, atheists by ideology, trying to fix reincarnation and after life in the true spirits of an oldest religion!

'Din' from 'The DEN' - Census 2011 throws up........!

Census 2011 throws up........!

It is reported that pregnant women are gravely underweight in India.  This fact came out while analysing census data.  Majority of Indian girls are anemic and under nutritioned.  The reasons attributed to this dismal level are the prevalent poor sanitation and drug resistant infections.   India ranks even below the world's poorest countries, like, Congo, Zimbabwe and Somalia.  About 42% of Indian mothers are underweight and the figure for sub-Saharan Africa is 16.5%.

This situation has resulted in a higher child mortality rate.  One can perceive that though cultural practices make the mother to eat the reminder after feeding all in the family, it is economic backwardness that dominates the majority of the households.

On the other hand it is also reported from the census data that in Tamil Nadu more than 70 lakh people in the age group of 20-80 are unmarried.  Of these 71% of them are males and the remaining are females.  Amidst them are people who never seriously considered getting married despite the pressure from the families to get married.  The unmarried in Tamil Nadu account for nearly 10% of the population.  The number of unmarried has jumped 13 times since the previous census in 2001.   One of the reasons attributed to this is the financial constraint.  Family commitments to support the siblings and parents alongwith the extension in the family through marriage has been a deterrent.  There seems to be no urban rural divide in the composition.  In all the southern states of India, the percentage of unmarried to that of total population is in the range of 8% to 10%.

The above two scenarios have a common link that both are the result of economic backwardness.  This is despite the fact that India had grown considerably during the last two decades after opening up of the economy.  It is a fact that the per capita income has increased, the average standard of living improved, the GDP has grown, is the fastest growing among the BRIC countries and the Indian Economy has become one among the top ten biggest economies of the world.  The development is skewed.  It is also a fact that all these improvements have not percolated down and the disparity between APL and BPL has not narrowed down so far.   If this is not addressed early, the feeling of discontent will gather momentum and a clash of classes may become a distinct possibility. 

Incidentally it is pertinent to recall that on March 8, 1917, Russia’s February Revolution began in St, Petersburg.  It was called  ‘February revolution’ as the Gregorian calendar was not adopted by Russia then and the earlier calendar that was in vogue in Russia then lagged behind 12 days.