This is one book I’ll cherish with the best of them. It was the direction vector for the design thinking I had evolved a few years ago, when doing general design calculations, sizing and performance calculations for general aviation concepts.

A very personal dream I have had is to make an airplane of my own, designed from scratch and built to seat only me. It was the sort of dream any self-righteous 11 year old would encourage, and I was more than happy to carry on this dream several years into my adult life. The surfeit of involvements and life events in general get one sidetracked about one’s projects and old ideas, and sometimes, it pays to revive them, just to experience what it should be to examine lofty dreams again. And many times, such examination leads to veritable gains, sometimes with a new direction that arises from a critical self-examination. As a journalist friend of mine put it wittily (on the occasion of my college gang and I sharing pictures of sundry quizzes we took part in and conducted then), “…as if we aren’t embarrassed enough about our pasts!”

When I think of what kind of project this would be, in terms of the scale, complexity or the cost of it, I can comfortably say that I have neither the time, nor the money to execute it, regardless of whether I have the will or the talent. However, that doesn’t mean that the problem is not worth examining, especially if I have a beloved text book right by me, to help me out.

It is instructive to think of human society these days to be evolving to a period of greater collusion, with tendencies towards violence distributed evenly in societies, rather than grouped into certain conflit zones. This defies the data we have available presently on areas like the West Bank, The Gaza Strip, Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan, but we have to remember that many conflicts that brew in other parts of the world are not documented or given enough attention. My qualms chiefly center around Tibet and the state-sponsored violence there, the Naxal problem in eastern and Central India, the much-discussed conflict in Northern Srilanka, the unrest in Somalia, the genocides in Darfur and other conflicts that we probably don’t know about in detail, in different parts of the world.

I saw a very interesting perspective in Steven Pinker’s talk on TED here. The talk is embedded below for ease, but there is also a discussion on TED that’s worth following on this page. 

The talk is instructive because it defies a widely held perception that we are living in a society of increasing violence and unrest. In Indian myth, there is reference to a mythical golden age, the Satya Yuga or the Krta Yuga. This age, as fictitious as it may be, probably points to certain social trends that can help one examine one view of how people can live in harmony. In a stroke of romantic imaginativeness, the Satya Yuga is purported by the ancients to be the longest, lasting 1,700,000 years. The time scales in Indian mythology are staggering, with Brahma the creator having a lifespan of 77 trillion years. Such time scales are probably what prompted Carl Sagan to view them as an exalted and perhaps wondrous, somewhat realistic view of the cosmos (compared to the widely held Western view of a 5000 year old universe). The subsequent ages – Treta, Dwapara and Kali represent periods of increasing moral decay, leading to greater materialism, and perhaps greater violence. Modern science and an examination of human evolution tells us a different story – that human evolution hit a sort of tipping point 2 million years ago, when Homo erectus started transforming into Homo sapiens. It is scientifically plausible that the development of civilization, education and the slow erasure of instinctive tendencies have permitted greater cooperation between tribes and groups that previously would be at odds or would have violent conflicts, but have education and technology taught us anything new? Has technology made killing easier or has it, on the contrary, ended up protecting us from the violence within us better?

What is plausible, given evidence that the Puranic texts with vivid characterizations of the four different Yugas originated around the Christian Era, is that historians and scholars of Ancient India, given their hopeful view of their cultural lineage, ascribed a certain perfection to their ancestors’ existence, in order that this may serve as a paragon of human society. What helped were some of the morals attributed to classical Indian religions – the Shaiva and Vaishnava sects both stressed on a set of human values that could have been developed in classical Indian society, possibly also with influences from kingdoms outside of the boundaries of what is now India. How does such a situation influence the development of non-violent thought in religion and how does this elevate the non-violent to a place of eminence in society? Does such social transformation hold the key to understanding how violent trends may have reduced in society today? I have to ask the bleaker question here also – whether human society has really progressed to a period of less violence or whether violence is reported less often or felt on a less personal level in the past, over the past few decades? Could a portion of this be because of the spread of technology that makes killing easy?

There are other cultures whose studies are instructive when discussion trends of violence. The Norse and the Egyptians seem to be polar opposites – with the Norsemen known for their stereotypic brashness, revelry and bacchanalian behaviour, and the Egyptians known to be analytical, worker ants whose architectural splendour far outlasted the civilization itself. However, closer studies of the Egyptians reveal the ruthlessness with which the Pharaoh and his Viziers exercised their power, and the plight of common people in Ancient Egypt, especially the slaves. Indeed, several Biblical tales are irrevocably tied to this hegemony. A study of the Ancient Norsemen reveals a culture of sophistication and is quite instructive about their less violent side – where metallurgy and filigree art flourished, explorers were welcomed and honoured and pioneers ruled the roost. There is probably an intellectual dynamism to Norse culture that is not well documented enough in the stereotypes.

It is now a well known thing that the Ancient Mayans, a culture of mathematicians, builders and conquerors were also a culture dictated by sacrifice, notably human sacrifice. It is also being uncovered that the Dark ages, known for the widespread plague outbreaks, cruelty, the fall of civilization in Europe, political and social unrest, etc., was a period of social, political and economic development in the Islamic Caliphate, a period where civil society developed in the Middle East from the fruits of the Islamic conquest of parts of India and Europe. Europe’s Dark ages have for many decades mystified historians, but recent studies have also revealed the development of creative thought alongside witch hunts and burnings at the stake. The glory of the Islamic Caliphate probably came at the expense of 80 million Indians who were taken prisoner, massacred or systematically killed off by various emperors as part of their Islamic duties. This could arguably be one of the least discussed, least well known genocides in human history. Would this genocide have been possible without technological advancement that made better weapons possible in the middle east? Are ideas in the end stronger technological tools than implements of destruction?

It can be held that the Renaissance perhaps harboured the beginning of rational thought, but ironically (given the violence in India these days from terrorists and Naxals alike), one has to look back to Ancient India to understand the roots of Ahimsa. The Jain religion and its Thirthankaras pioneered non-violent thought in a religion and aspects of the Buddhist faith helped alleviate social violence and violence with social sanction. These ideas were eventually distilled into interpretations of the Hindu faiths, especially Srivaishnavism. The dawn of the Victorian Era and the conquest of India by Britain probably helped revive these ideas amongst groups such as the Theosophists (as evidenced from Helena Blavatsky and her obsession with Zen/Dhyan Buddhism). Gandhi probably gave a credible face to non-violence as a method of social uprising and protest against colonialism, racism and injustice.  If Steven Pinker is indeed right, that we are going through periods of reducing violence in society, would Gandhi figure as one of the key catalysts for non-violent behaviour? Contrarily, are we merely deluding ourselves by thinking that atrocities such as the ones committed in the World Wars and in the decades after are blips on an otherwise peaceful social landscape of modern society? Or is it the case that the non-violent protests by Gandhi were just a much talked about phenomenon – while events such as the genocides of the partition are ignored?

Tests of faith usually are tests of faith in oneself. Sometimes, though, tests of faith can become tests of the truth. How strongly are we willing to stand by the truth in trying times? Does standing by the truth include a constant examination of aspects of the self, so as to absolve oneself of all malcontent and wrong doing? Does it also include a constant questioning the other aspects of oneself so as to admit one’s foibles?

Where do the two intersect? Is there a grey area? There perhaps is.

It is common knowledge that there are aspects of intense events that are traumatizing, that are not well known to the person who is the victim of that incident. When the victim has to face a personal tragedy or an attack on his life, do these lost memories become fabricated memories? How much can we trust our own version of the events at, for example, a crime scene? How do people explain complex sequences of events to themselves? Do they consider the other party, that potentially brought them harm, as a reasonable actor? Does attributing such character to those that harm you bring you a level of comfort in their humanity, while making their actions seem trivial in comparison to the ways in which they could have acted? Is this transactional analysis the basis of Ahimsa and non-violent thought? When Mohandas Gandhi was struck down by an officer in South Africa even as he protested inequality in marriage rights for non-whites, was he comforted by this thought, that his non-violence rendered him superior, in some way? What was the basis of this thinking? Was it religious? Was it something less irrational? Were it religious, it could probably be considered as a case of irrational thinking being used to bolster one’s state of mental soundness. This state of mental fortitude is accomplished not by a basic physical security and strengthened by repeated exposure to pleasure,  but by an affirmation inside one’s mind, that an idea can be responsible for one’s well being. Effectively, one’s hierarchy of needs stands reversed in this situation, with personal safety and security becoming less important than the affirmation inside oneself that one is at par with, or holds a higher ground morally than, the other party.

It is probably very interesting to examine how people can move from a traumatizing experience to relative calm. There are probably multiple phases in this – starting with the shock of the trauma, acting reflexively to the situation as it demands of him/her, building a sequence of events, building paths of reasoning from these event sequences, rationalizing one’s misdeeds/mishandling of the situation, and then determining a version of the truth. Subsequent to this comes the inordinate worry, perhaps of any fall out from the event. The human animal has to, in the course of the first three of these activities, have a sense of belief in itself that caters to its survival. This reason can be born of religion, science, deduction, strategy or any tool it has at its behest.

How does one reconcile uncertainties arising from the confusion that a grey area creates in one’s mind? Is irrationality a solution? Does faith in a higher power, a judge superior to the human judges, have its roots in the social infrastructure that inures in individuals a sense of right and wrong, or is faith born of a deeper, more philosophical view of an all-controlling force? Does the former merge into the latter after manifesting in our minds as multiple other ideas? Whatever the method, it seems apparent that traumatizing situations surely test the notions we have developed about religion and reason. Habits developed in the individual, sometimes by practicing a religion or a system of belief come to the fore, and reasoning that leads from one activity to another sometimes also follows the irrational route. Strange as it may seem, irrational thinking may actually help retain certain information that is specific and factual about a situation that caused trauma to the victim.

It is possible that the human brain has to depend on some form of self-centred survival strategy when in times of trouble, and that this could defy all rational thinking, because it is the result of a neural net which is self-aware.

If one’s behaviour in an emergency defies logic at times, it is possible also, that one’s worries fall far short of the possibilities one may see when using reason and probability, while also being biased towards a few types of worry. The incident that leads to the trauma tends to condition the mind so that certain possibilities seem more possible to the mind than certain others, and these distinct possibilities become a source of worry.

What is the solution to worry after a trauma? Reliving the event may be sufficient for events that have brought fear but not harm to the individual. However, in cases where the victim has acutely suffered, there are probably multiple ways to get them to reconcile the damage and come away with a positive frame of mind. It helps to think that justice will be done, or that a solution will be provided, but for many situations in life, there seem to be no way out for victims of trauma, unless they reason out the event and develop the fortitude to divert their minds to something positive in their immediate future. This may be the antidote to bring their confidence to a level where they can fend for themselves again.

Having lived in the United States, the world’s second largest democracy and only superpower, and having seen through an election season here, I am certain that nothing in this democracy matches the scale of the campaigning and the colour and energy of an Indian election. It is strange that India, a country so divided and diverse can be so regionally, socially and politically fragmented and can still have an elected government. I am not about to brush aside the success India has had in its electoral system because of the many faults associated with its politics, such as criminalization, caste politics and corruption. I am more optimistic than, say, Arundhati Roy is, in that it is possible for the Indian democratic system to become more refined as Indians, especially young Indians, realize the importance of their democratic heritage of sixty years. However, with all the mixed signals being sent out in this election ahead of it, the multitude of crises that haunt the public memory, I think it would be safe to say that the very system of our democracy is under attack from many sides, especially from a homebred cynicism amongst the youth that is threatening the fundamental premise that our country can be a democratic republic.

Where this cynicism comes from is a question any self-respecting Indian should ponder about. The changing tides of power and the cultural changes, globalization and economic influences have led to a multitude of changes in the average voter’s mindset. The truism that exists in Indian society today is that as a society with an increasingly wealthy upper class and a burgeoning middle class and an increasing number of poor people, the country as a whole is producing leaders who are more and more opportunistic, rather than more enlightened. Gone are the days when a Nehru or a Sardar Patel could inspire millions with his vision for the future. That world has merged with this one through the predictable route of authoritarian dynaties stemming from Nehru, the subsequent threats to the very idea of the Indian nation, communal clashes, the rise of the alternative to the Congress and even the rise of a third alternative to the Congress and the BJP. The phenomenon of coaliation politics is here to stay as well. These days, well meaning leaders are cast into the same fray as bullies, cowards and opportunists, making political survival a dirty game. There are no movements to capitalize on, no flags to fly except the flags that divide and conquer, and no stones are left unturned in gaining political advantage. Predictably, the way forward is forgotten in the mess of the present. And part of the mess of the present is the very nature of India – the pluralistic, dissonant country that has many faces, voices but seemingly, a single ethos.

Where does the common man fit into this picture? Only on the very fringes. The majority of India’s political class have effectively isolated the power of the common man from the equation, by practicing caste-based and communal politics. Even the so-called secular fronts indulge in this, perhaps more ignominously than the parties known to be oriented towards the Hindu majority in our country. The buck doesn’t stop there. Polarization on many fronts has been a feature of most recent Indian societies, especially during and after the 1980s. It is common knowledge that when a people are oppressed for centuries, and are then provided the freedom to practice their culture, they find an expression that is somewhat militaristic in its fervour, as if to affirm that their culture is a source of power. Leaders around the world have probably exploited this sentiment effectively, to lead their people in the face of odds large and small. The common man in today’s India is on the fringes, influencing these divisive forces, or else blissfully disconnected from the Gordian knot that is Indian politics. We need no Alexander in sight to break the knot with his sword, as that may damage the rope that makes the knot. This has been the case with our neighbour, Pakistan. We need a force that is intelletual and sweeping, awakening the masses to act in the face of corruption, greed and power hungry opportunism, and not a dictator who will crush the fabric of our society. Most well meaning fellow Indians accept this, but also admit that India’s system needs watershed change. This watershed change will probably not be a revolution, because, as poetic and irrational as it may sound, people are now too pragmatic for revolutions. It may be war that could change political equations in India, or better still, completely rewrite them, but war is a phenomenon that is becoming an outdated way of settling issues. That is, until we have our own version of D H Lawerence, who’d package the oldest trick in the book as the very latest thing and pass it off as the best thing to do. As enticing as this may be for those of us who think with our hearts rather than our heads, it is common knowledge that most effective outcomes to a problem lie in the middle, somewhere in between the very old and the very new. Although Bertrand Russell’s essay on Genius may have been relevant in 1932, it is most certainly not relevant in modern India, where things are more complex and anything pontifical and self-righteous is either frowned upon or dismissed as froth, as if the intentions behind these bouts of self-righteousness are malefic. It is not possible for India to attain a leader of magnanimous stature any more. We will have to make do with many hundreds of emasculated ones. This may not be a bad thing, and in fact, may become a very good thing, as long as we the people keep ourselves in check. If we were to cross the limits that we don’t know well enough yet, we may be in for trouble, and then, no one can come to our help in the midst of our distrust and cynicism.

There are probably two ways out of this. On the one hand, we could develop a cadre of leaders by a form of social engineering – but as we know crowds are generally less intelligent than the average person, and the greater the crowd, the more so. India is the second largest crowd in a single nation on the planet, and I don’t see a single leader emerging soon. The second way, is to do a lot more work away from the top, bring a silent revolution to the people that sees many more empowered, enlightened and cooperative individuals in our society. The second way is more sustainable, and that is probably the way forward.

TED has a number of insightful and interesting lectures, one of the most witty, interesting and thought-provoking of which, is this lecture by Richard Dawkins. Richard Dawkins, the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, is one of the controversial atheists at the forefront of the atheist-evolutionist nexus that hopes to educate ordinary people about the pitfalls of organized religion and the issues prevalent in all organized religion movements worldwide.

As a Hindu who has a bent of agnosticism within, and as someone who has questioned ritualism and superstition growing up, I have strongly identified in the past with Dawkins’ world view although I do get distracted from this logical bent of mind by the socio-political issues of fundamentalism and militant extremism facing the world today. In other words, the very precepts that we believe provide morality to our way of life as Hindus (or people of other religions) often conflict directly with similar beliefs of other religious systems. This identity conundrum has verily led to the identity crisis that exists today in any citizen of a nation that is multicultural but not necessarily truly secular. I have often believed that it is only an atheist polity that can be secular and accepting of multiple  religious identities.

Dawkins’ world view is rather different, in that the individual should be the agent of reason, rather than the government or society at large. One can, at times refute his arguments on the grounds that religion, philosophy and reason have a morality to account for, and that while the former two have provided a moral bent to the whole question of what is acceptable human social behaviour, it is not concievable to imagine that science or reason as we know it has provided a method of ascribing morality to the human condition in a manner that supposes that a reason derived from first principles, rather than a first cause, is responsible for the development of tendencies of morality in humans. He has often rubbished the causes that religions put forward for the creation of the universe (or rather the world, or a limited portion of it, as most religious texts/thoughts describe the beginning).

It is with the adoption of a number of ideas from the theory of evolution, and not by an original, rationally verifyable account, that Intelligent Design has hijacked the idea that the complexity of the universe around us is due to the presence of a greater intelligence. It is understandable why the Intelligent Design theorists were popular in the US during the time of the Republicans, some of who have a semi-religious bent in their attitude towards politics.

I found the Doha Debates, hosted by Tim Sebastian (noted former host of BBC’s Hard Talk) to be one of the few good programmes that take a good hard look at political Islam in the Middle East, perhaps as well as the US documentaries on radical Christianity have analyzed that phenomenon. The roles adopted by the participants were predictable, while some of the questions that came from the audience were rather elementary, given the seriousness of the problem in the region. The politicization of religion is not a phenomenon unique to the Middle East, where rabid ideologies like Wahhabism and other radical forms of Islam have run amok and made life miserable for millions at the hands of the Mullahs, while the royal families and the promoters of such radical strains of religion themselves live in careless disregard for the very rules they popularize. In a more educated society such as the US, confabulating the discoveries of science to create a theory that appeals to the atavistic tendencies amongst the conservatives, naturally makes for a very useful propaganda tool. If religion by itself can be made more popular by making the concept of a God more appealing to populace largely educated in an atmosphere of free thinking and surrounded by influences of technology and perhaps science, it may become possible to spread rabid ideologies in even the United States,  starting from regions such as the Bible belt, spreading eventually to the other conservative communities, to a point where the abhorrence of minorities, rational thinking and perhaps even free speech, may be made possible. This becomes a poll plank for the TV evangelists, whose endorsement of born-again Christian politicians or power hungry war veteran patriots seems to play an important role in their getting elected.

Even when you consider Dawkins’ allusion to diluted theism, Deism, which advocates a world view filled with wonder at nature, the efforts of most religious and political leaders to defeat the religion-politics nexus prevalent around the world is absent or feeble, and understandably so, because of the power equations therein. Atheism is probably the only movement that has gained acceptance in the United States for the last decade or so. A recent study indicates that more people are irreligious and less people identify themselves as being Christian. And this is despite claims by many right-wing Muslims in demonstrations and on newsgroups that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the West. Perhaps Atheism is popular for a good reason. Perhaps people really are sick and tired of differences of faith and the problems they breed, however, only time will tell whether these problems of today are short lived.

Three months have passed since the attacks on Mumbai’s hotels and train station, and much diplomacy and mudslinging between the Indian and Pakistani governments has resulted in few concrete solutions to the problem of terrorism. With a few more perishing and tens more affected directly by terrorism with each passing day in Pakistan, Islamists have effectively compromised that country’s internal security to the point where anyone non-muslim and any unislamic activity, even by a muslim, will be attacked with severe penalties. The United States has continued their strident attacks on Pakistani territory and continue to flagrantly violate that country’s sovereignity, using unmanned aircraft, even as rumours abound that such attacks are the result of an arrangement between the US and the Pakistan government. The Taliban has taken refuge in the northern areas of Pakistan and have infiltrated most of Peshawar, even as Karachi remains a stronghold for many Islamist extremists.

Yesterday’s shameful attacks on Srilankan cricket players touring Pakistan simply reinforces the opinion of many political analysts who claim that Pakistan is a failed state and a country out of control. Various unrepentant and strong opinions have made the news since mid last year when attacks by American troops and aircraft began in earnest inside Pakistan territory. One opinion that has been endorsed by most is that of Madeleine Albright, who justifyably called Pakistan an “international migraine“. French, Polish, Indians and Chinese have all been targets of Islamist extremists in Pakistan, and the trend started quite a few years ago, with the Daniel Pearl assassination. The fact is now out in the open that the US’ long standing ally in the war on terror managed to be that at the expense of double standards in the way the then government (Musharraf’s) looked at terrorism – as a double edged sword – one that could consume Pakistan from the north and therefore should be fought, in order to gain sympathy from the US, and one that could be used against the Indians in Kashmir via Lashkar-e-Taiba and similar “separatists” to eventually cede Kashmir to Pakistan. Fortunately, the truth is out now and many in the western media are questioning the very status of Pakistan as an ally of the US. With the end of the Musharraf government and the growing problems in Pakistan, separatism in Kashmir has taken on a different shade and it is possible that Kashmiris will become more pragmatic about their relationship with India. It is possible that many Kashmiris are now skeptical of whether they will be safe or any better off if part of Pakistan.

There are other palpable causes for worry in India. The threat of a nuclear attack on India by terrorists operating from Pakistan is extremely probable, according to the Indian Navy chief. Analysts around the world, especially in the US, have long wondered about such a possibility, so the Indian Navy is a little late to the party, essentially. It is a well known fact that Pakistan nuclear material production facilities in Kahuta are close to the North West Frontier Province and Islamabad. Islamabad, Lahore and the NWFP are all tightly packed into the northern part of Pakistan and face a very real threat of being taken over by Islamists and the Taliban. The release of A Q Khan, a prominent figure in the Pakistan nuclear programme also proven to have links with Al Qaeda is another step in the wrong direction. It is possible that military organizations like the Al Qaeda may enlist young engineers and experts such as Khan to build or use nuclear devices for Jihad. Another speculation that is doing the rounds these days is the prospect of a “dirty bomb”, which essentially spreads fissile, radioactive material over large urban areas, prompting panic from the residents, while doing little real damage to property.

What is more worrisome than the inaction and inept governance, security and double dealing in Pakistan, is the US’ pandering to military elements in Pakistan. General Kayani was recently awarded an American medal for his contribution to America’s war on terrorism. While this may appear to be a genuine front for America to support Pakistan’s effort, it may be evaluated as a policy of appeasement, which may help the US in case the existing instability in Pakistan spirals into anarchy and results in the fall of the existing democratic government. As it has happened in the past, the army generals in Pakistan usually take the reins of power from failed democratic governments on the pretext of illegalities, inept governance or conspiracy. The US will move to stabilize the fragile economic and political situation in Pakistan and indeed, such efforts are already under way. However, the multiple factors that support the terrorists themselves while becoming a disadvantage to Americans and others who are fighting the terrorists have been rarely examined. A chief cause of worry is the presence of large financial networks across the USA, UK, the Middle East, India and Indonesia, which support Islamist fundamentalist and terrorist activities in the name of charity. What start as innocuous organizations to propagate Islam in the US turn into hubs for smuggling weapons, laundering money and supporting the terror cause, not unlike what the LTTE’s supporters have done in the UK, USA and Canada. Hawala scams, stamp paper scandals, counterfeit money, oil money from the Middle East, weapons smuggling in Palestine, Yemen and Saudi Arabia are just some of the factors that are in favour of the terrorists. As long as the US relies on Saudi Arabia for oil, the money they spend there will directly profit terrorists. In addition to this, there have been lapses in the weapons supply chain to the American troops.

What does the future hold? Liberal Islamic culture has been dealt a death blow in northern Pakistan and important cities like Karachi and Peshawar. Cities like Islamabad and Karachi are now no strangers to Islamic terrorism, with the Marriot bombing and the attacks on Srilankan cricket players. I see this insurgency in Pakistan mounting to a point where the government is overthrown and Pakistan is taken over by a pro-Islamist government or even the Taliban. The process will certainly see much confrontation between the forces in question – the Taliban, Pakistan and the US. The Indian security situation has not improved markedly since the Mumbai attacks thanks to our bureaucratic red-tape and niggardly defence spending, because our politicians are too busy thinking of their vote banks now. Chances are very high that the major celebrations of Indian democracy and sport, viz. the Lok Sabha elections and the Indian Premier League, will be targeted.

I believe there is bound to be at least one major terrorist attack on Indian soil in the coming year, because I believe things have changed little since Mumbai, and the advantage is still with the terrorists and that our internal security is still toothless. The rest of this year will probably also see one of two things – a polarization of India’s muslim community into hardliners and secularists, in a sort of internal socio-political confrontation of the realities of the Pakistan situation in India. The re-election of the UPA government (which seems to be the most likely outcome of the 2009 elections in India) will strengthen the Congress’ current trend for complacency, patchy governance and instances of corruption and will naturally impede the development of our internal security and further increase crisis response time. The trouble is that the alternatives Indian voters have are not any better, with the Left parties being, at best, political opportunists and the BJP deteriorating from a genuine opposition in 1996/98 to the somewhat ignored hardliners whose agendas sometimes match no one’s needs. Religious polarization will probably rise in India too, in a copy-cat reaction to the Islamists or as an anti-muslim sentiment – hardliners will grow in numbers. There is bound to be much introspection by the Indian media and much talk (and probably little action, as is customary) from the Indian political class. The US will probably intensify its war in northern Pakistan and may impose a number of sanctions if any regime change occurs in Pakistan by force. Chances are that another military uprising in Bangladesh may cripple the elected government there or may aid the Islamists in that country. On the whole, South Asia seems to be headed to a flash point where there are bound to be numerous conflicts, political upheavals and terrorist attacks over the next year and possibly the next few years.

On the occasion of Darwin’s 200^th anniversary, I made a little mind map to get myself thinking about Evolution, natural selection and related topics. I have long been a fan of his book The Origin of Species, having read it once. However, what really got me interested in evolution was an offshoot of the idea of evolution – the evolutionary algorithm.

Forgive the poor aspect ratio match-up. The Scribd plugin doesn’t seem to be able to do better. To collaborate with me on this mind map, click here.

The objective of an evolutionary algorithm is to generate a set of individuals that are best suited to survival in a given fitness landscape. While this description is generic, it could be called accurate. Typically, the representation of most real-world systems in mathematical or systems engineering formats would involve the use of vectors of state variables. These state variables, when changed, represent different manifestations of that system, or, different system states. This could be generalized to many problems, stretching from structural design using finite element analysis, to topological design in networks or even large scale multi-disciplinary optimization (MDO). To not drone on the technicalities of the problem, one could say that evolutionary algorithms present a robust method of determining multiple solutions to a fitness landscape, by processes of generational (repetitive) selection, recombination and mutation.

A perspective I have on evolution and its impact on human history is that for the first time, 200 years ago, we started looking at ourselves as a product of a lengthy natural process and with more humility than we ever have in the past. While philosophers and religious leaders have made mental strides in the past, their steadfast followers have only diminished the curiosity that led to the successful mental leaps of these philosophers. Science and empirical studies led us to reason and once documented reason replaced unfaithful memory, technological and scientific progress was made possible. It is surprising that as insightful as the theory of evolution is, it has generated much debate inside the creationist circles and has inspired few to consider the revelations of evolution as a triumph of observation and therefore something to be lauded, as much as the Heliocentric theory (revived in Europe by Copernicus after being discovered independently by medieval Hindu astronomers in India and by the Mayans), or the idea of gravity.

More on the topic of evolutionary algorithms in an older post.

The movie Chandramukhi (Tamil) has the dubious distinction of being an unoriginal movie which reproduced an older Malayalam movie called Manichithratazhu while it was preceeded by a Kannada adaptation of the latter Malayalam movie, Apthamitra. This in turn was copied unscrupulously by Bollywood and therefore formed part of a quartet of movies for each geographical direction (note the low quality humour). This post is fortunately not about the movie, which has already been analyzed to the viscera and done to death by other bloggers.

I was entranced by one of the nice numbers in the movie’s soundtrack – Ra Ra Sarasakku Ra Ra (not surprisingly, a thinly veiled invitation to have sex, as is common in many Indian film songs) when I first heard it, in part because the name of the song became the name of a memorably bad movie quiz. Anyway, I decided to try the song out today, since I hadn’t really given it a shot since December ‘07, when I made an earnest effort to try the song out, with my limited skills at the time. I was under the impression that it was set in Hindolam with a few anyaswaras, which are common in film music. Although this impression that it was Hindolam never left me, I began to doubt myself on it. After all, the Hindolam idea was thrust on me through a discussion forum, so someone had perhaps got the better of me because of my ignorance.

What I noticed when I played the song this time around, is that the song’s notes fit neatly into a scale I had never before explored! Courtesy Ilaiyagaram and Karnatik.com, I discovered that this scale is called Srothaswini (an audava-audava scale), and it seems to be a derivative of Gowrimanohari, at first glance. Lacking a Dhaivatam and a Rishabam, it comes close to the scheme of Shuddha Dhanyasi. I made two recordings – one where I simply fooled around in the scale and another where I tried to replicate two key phrases in the song in question. Here they are:

General fooling around in the raga:

A partially successful attempt at some of the progressions in the aforementioned song:

The other scale I found pleasantly familiar and surprising today was Revagupthi, which I intend to write a separate post about, once I have understood it. One fine day, I hope to wake up to Revagupthi being played on the Veena. Until then, I will reserve Srothaswini for the evenings.

An important debate brewing in the Indian circles these days, especially in the media, is that of the recent “moral policing” attacks by fundamentalist Hindus on Indian youth in Mangalore. The incident is not unlike other atrocious activities aired with scary regularity on Indian television, although the media nexus in the incident was apparent from the start, and therefore, the incident got the fundamentalists in question a lot of attention. While essentially a deplorable attack, it has been hyped and blown out of proportion (as is nearly everything in the under-regulated, unscrupulous Indian TV media these days). I have made a few observations from the reports and the sundry articles that have been flying around and decided I should summarize the set of generalizations, misconceptions and misinformation that the media are propagating and getting away with, while finding odd allies and using  half-truths to their advantage at the same time.

• The assumption that the Sri Ram Sene are a terrorist group. To me, they look like a bunch of oppressed, jobless people who have taken up a cause because of the lopsided economic injustice prevalent in Indian society. Indian society, unlike American society has become economically developed in a non-uniform fashion and the economic upper classes in both India and the USA have adopted lifestyles that are essentially materialistic. In an older India, there was probably an enlightened voice of moderation that was based on a unity born out of the secularism apparent in the freedom struggle. In modern India, as in modern America, the “voice of moderation” ironically comes from those who are well off, and the actual activity of adjusting to this new social order seems to be left to the less economically privileged (who also stand up to fight for what they think is their culture, because of the intellectual and financial poverty they otherwise have to face). And what do the upwardly mobile youth give about their concern? Scorn and blatant disregard for their culture’s well-being, not solutions.
• The assumption that such groups are moral police. Although the Sri Rama Sene claim to be, the educated classes should know better – I am surprised that they were taken for moral police by so many educated people. It is probably true that Indians are among the communities least educated about their own culture and religion and this probably applies more to Hindus than other communities. If Hindus as a whole had a homogenous, apolitical, formal voice in a regulatory authority, such as a religious head, that helped decide right and wrong, such groups would never come to the fore, and such barbarism would be seen as exactly that – barbarism, and not moral policing. The proliferation of fundamentalism in Islamic society is because of the prevalence of mullahs – regional religious heads who wield power. This in turn has encouraged a culture of terrorists and warlords supported by fundamentalists. I hope Hindus never see the day that their religion is hijacked by war profiteers against them and against other communities.
• The absolute and complete lack of a thorough investigation into the actual assault. The media got there before the police and hyped the incident and splattered images of girls being assaulted all over the TV screens. This proves nothing other than that they had a camera and were opportunistic. Pedestrian reporting prevented the actual investigative aspects of the attack to never come through in the media. If stories are all about TRP and if interviews with controversial figures are all that reporting is about, the TV channels have won and the citizen has patently lost.
• The assumption that the women (and men) attacked were completely representative of all urban youth. While there are many Indian youth that have taken to western lifestyles (behaviour and trends to a lesser extent, preferences in terms of food, drink and dress to a greater extent), rarely did the media showcase the ordinary youth who didn’t belong to the economic upper classes (who are synonymous with those drawn to western lifestyles). The media have largely taken a left-liberal “free-for-all” attitude, which is unsuitable and biased towards moderated, enlightened public dialogue.
• Indian culture has always hampered and curtailed the personal freedom of women. The same women who claim this, speak of the fundamentalists’ misinterpretation of Indian culture, as if their own narrow view of “Indian culture” as merely the Kamasutra or Khajuraho sculptures were correct. The reality is that Indian culture was somewhere in between, in the constant dialogue between the liberal and the conservative, not only in the sense that women had the same freedoms as men did, but also that they had unique responsibilities as role-players (just as men were). Indian culture not only has its Vatsyayanas and its Kamasutras, but also its Sitas, Mandodaris, Satis and its Savitris, to borrow cliches. It cannot be said that none of the women represented in our culture or literature were not exploited (people famously make the case of Sita’s exploitation by Rama in later iterations of the Ramayana) but it has to be remembered that our culture also defined patently well the roles of men and women and the fact that there is virtue in moderation. There is dignity in moderation, and overtly drunk, loose women don’t (to me, at least) present a picture of dignity. (so the argument continues…)
• The pub-goers have done absolutely no wrong. Pending investigation, it cannot be said that the pub-goers who were attacked by the Sri Ram Sene were within the limits of civil behaviour. It cannot be claimed that the pub in question was free of illicit activity. The media has certainly hesitated to call a spade a spade. I smell a rat when I realize that the media’s complicity in obtaining the story, elevated a bunch of small time rogues to the protectors of Hindu society. I get even more distressed and concerned that pubs in some cases have become drug and porn hubs, that they lure minors and adolescents into the web of sexual and drug abuse. That the pub-goers would possibly not have indulged in any wrongdoing is like defending a strumpet’s right to not be sexually abused – which is extremely difficult in practice and sometimes self-defeating, if not impossible, because of the realities of that profession.
• Pubs are healthy for society and for our culture. It is well known that pubs and other places that serve liquor are breeding grounds of crime and encourage addiction and excessive fetishes and excessive materialism and sometimes violence. That said, not all pub-goers are criminals. While many prevalent cultures and religions don’t permit excessive indulgence in intoxication, sex and violence, these are boundaries that have been crossed regularly and often to detriment. In the same vein, the myriad arrack shops that have provided a detrimental addiction to so many rural folk should also be similarly dealt with. The media has disproportionately interviewed newfangled pub-goers who seem at ease with pub culture as if to indicate that all youth feel the same way, and this is of course, patently untrue.
• Pink Panties will make the Sri Ram Sene quake in their… erm… boots. A foregone conclusion I made is that this flower-power-ish pink panther panty move, is really going to make no difference to the agenda of the Sri Ram Sene. One can’t solve the problem of adopted, hypersensitive prudishness  (unfortunately supported by a million other conservatives) as is the case of the Sri Ram Sene, by openly proclaiming looseness, sexual promiscuity and intoxication. No dignified young person will really want to uphold loose, promiscuous “socially forward” women (or men) as his own and only in the most vile and materialistic of cultures is this really permissible. By adopting such a viewpoint, that all pub goers are loose and promiscuous, they only serve to defeat their stand that pub-goers are a healthy, affliction-free lot. Looseness and excessive sexual promiscuity were only cool in the 1960s in the United States. Other countries seem to have found more intelligent ways of self-assertion, but since we seem intent on jumping on Uncle Sam’s bandwagon for everything including expressing love, this seems to be the youth movement that’s making the news. The hypocrisy of our (loose, socially-forward)  youth startles one because they use the Kamasutra as defence against moral policing, but have to take to St. Valentine to express their love for their significant other(s)! No other day and no other style is suitable to our astute aficionados of Western culture. Is this not akin being ill-informed about one’s own culture? In what way can this be deemed progressive?
• Socially forward people are horny and loose. Socially forward people are smart, intelligent, amicable people that need not be horny or loose. It is perfectly possible that someone horny and loose is socially forward, but is certainly more possible that the reverse is not true.
• The Sri Ram Sene can do the sort of things they did because the BJP is in power. It is perfectly possible that a toothless and inept government with lax internal security (like Yeddiyurapa’s) can be manifested by the Congress. What does one say about the Maharashtra Navnirman Sabha and their atrocities in the Congress-run Maharashtra government? The bottom line is that entities like the Sri Ram Sene are fringe elements goaded on by any inequity and conservatism left in the Hindus. When your life is under attack from Islamic extremists and your institutions and culture are under attack from people who want to convert you to another religion or impose their commercial will on you, the sections of the oppressed Hindus directly affected by these conflicts will stand up for themselves with what they think is right. Especially in the face of corrupt politicians and inept police, they will continue to be effective and scare the living daylights out of the liberals, the moderates, the pseudosecularists and pretty much everyone else but the hardliners. The Sri Ram Sene is an unfortunate symptom of the fact that Indian culture is fragmented and needs redefinition and homogenization by the removing of social evils like caste and class inequality to find solidarity from within. While our political, religious and cultural leaders sleep in their pseudosecular chambers while the corrupt police collect their daily bribes, the hardliners will naturally prosper and gain public footing. There’s no reason other than frustration with pseudosecular politicians that the public have, for actually supporting a bunch of thugs.
• The Sri Rama Sene should not be banned. Pramod Muthalik is arrested and goes scot free in a few days, and the Sri Rama Sene is back in action. Justice never seems to get its run. Why not ban a bunch of goons while we still can?

In conclusion, the viewpoint I seem to have come to, is that moderation with a measure of dignity to our culture, while exhibiting a healthy rational outlook, while not blindly aping the west, seems to be the solution to most youngsters. The governments in India culpable on many counts, primarily on the law-and-order front, and should also work to reduce economic and cultural inequality between different groups. The Sri Rama Sene, to me, is the symptom of a multitude of problems and not the very problem itself. Unless these problems are resolved quickly, I see no end to the schizophrenic clash between progress, false modernity, social evils, fundamentalism moderation and conservatism.

Update (11th Feb ‘09): Son of Bosey put up a hilarious post on the aforementioned goon.

Update (13th Feb ‘09): Pink Chaddis, Self Defence and Political Correctness.

This is a thought provoking video I found on the lines of Brian Greene’s “The Elegant Universe”, one of my all time favourite reads. After revisiting Stephen Hawking’s Universe (the BBC TV programme), I feel compelled to ask more questions about fundamental science. There is perhaps no greater satisfaction or pleasure than that in discovering something completely new about the universe!