People the world admire

There are some people whom the world reveres. Nelson Mandela definitely tops the list. He is like an avuncular figure to the world. Most people around the world would agree to this. Despite living in detention for 27 years (try imagining that one) and having faced acute forms of racism under apartheid he doesn’t carry any bitterness or anger. That is amazing.

Another living person who is an incredible source of inspiration is Stephen Hawking. A renowned physicist he is been completely paralyzed (he cannot even speak) but has an amazing determination and a brain to match. His book A Brief History of Science is one of the most popular book on Science around the world, a book you can find with any pavement book seller around the country!!. He is immensely popular, I recall few years back he had come to India and I stood for three hours in the queue but even then couldn’t make it (they though arranged a screen outside the auditorium). Thousands of people had turned up right from scientist, physicists….to children as young as ten!!. He is also known for his sense of humor.

There are others too like Gorbachev, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mohd Ali…many more.

Once upon a time there was a man named Woodrow Wilson…

Woodrow Wilson was the President of USA (from 1913 to 1921) during the crucial years of World War 1. He restrained his country from entering into the war for as long as two years before the German Empires submarine intrusion couldn’t be ignored. Even during the war he focused on diplomacy. After the war he came with “fourteen points” in which he presented an idea of peace making organization-multilateral international association of nations to enforce peace, this was instrumental in creating League of Nation that was precursor to United Nations.

However despite all his effort US didn’t enter League of Nation (the Republican under Cabot Lodge unfortunately were in majority in Congress) the point of disagreement was whether League would diminish Congress power to declare war. With League of Nation giving way to UN and despite the fact that US is a veto member this dispute has remained, with US Presidents (most times Republican) prone to take unilateral actions on sovereignity of other nations undermining all international laws, promoting isolationist foreign policies.

Woodrow Wilson was a visionary whose ideas set the tone for the world in the twentieth century. Democratic government, collective security, international laws…all these have became the guiding principles “the world must be made safe for democracy” (compare that with Bush’s narrow agenda of exporting/planting/bulldozing democracy “because it’s good for America”. The way things have gone past in recent times Woodrow Wilson looks like some mythical figure in a long lost story).

Woodrow Wilson’s influence was significant. He was probably one of the first few modern leaders who recognized the need for global community of nations. In the last few decades as the world gets global the response also will have to be global the reason why United Nation has become so significant and its effectiveness against common threats like global warming, terrorism, food crisis, nuclear proliferation, genocide, civil war…is substantial. Multilateral solutions and Agreements at the global level (like Kyoto) are the only way out. What threatens the world threatens the nations too as nations are part of the world, in the competing space this reality sometimes gets lost. As Woodrow Wilson said in his Nobel Prize acceptance letter “The cause of peace and the cause of truth are of one family”.

The Per Capita balderdash

So the Indian Government has finally come out with its Climate Action Plan. Many international media has given significance to it. CAP was released by none other than the PM. The pitch seems to be the old one: let’s suck in the name of millions of people. How?. Well it’s like this: Indians have been pulling the fast one on the international community with the nonsense of per capita emission. India’s per capita carbon emission stands at 1.02 metric tons wherein “developed” (sure developed!!) countries per capita emission is many times, USA per capita emission stands at whooping 20 metric tons !!. Therefore the US and European countries are worst polluters is the pitch. But the volume of carbon emission of India remains one of the highest in the world.

This blogger had written this earlier also that the worst culprits are the richer section. Poverty is not the polluter at the most it could make surrounding unhygienic which is not same as polluting (even this could be disputed as there are example wherein people with low capita income don’t necessarily lack hygiene or create unhygienic surroundings. On the contrary they are acutely aware of this reality- Kerala is a case study on this. Also I have seen more washing of cloths in slums of big cities than anywhere else). The per capita energy consumption as well as carbon emission of elite section (as also the increasingly aggressive upper middle class) in India is comparable to that of worst offenders in West. This section probably is less than 5 to10% of the population mostly based in big metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and so on. They are influential and can definitely pressurize the Governments to work in their favor. Also consider the Gini index -that measures inequality of income distribution, is increasing steadily in India varying in recent times between a high of 37%-42% (incidentally this index is more 'sensitive' than over rated and much celebrated BSE!!). Further, the inequality in access to clean drinking water, decent housing, good education, proper health care, etc.- is rising. The scene is same around the world the UN Human Development Report notes that incomes are distributed most unequally across the world’s people, with a Gini coefficient of 0.66 globally. The richest 5% in the world corner 114 times the income of the poorest 5%. The richest 1% have as much as the poorest 57%. The 2.5 crore richest Americans earn as much as 200 crore of the world’s poorest people. The poorest 20% in the world saw their share of the global income dip from 2.3% to 1.4% in the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the share of the richest 20% rose from 70% to 85%.

With the hogwash of per capita within national boundary most of these offenders are trying to hide behind millions of people whose energy consumption and carbon footprint is minimal. This is not acceptable. The international community should call this bluff. Just because people live within a geographical entity referred to as Nation is not the reason why they are similar in energy consumption or carbon emission. Green House Gases affects the whole planet, the boundaries of nations are insignificant. If the policy makers and concerned people are serious about reducing carbon emission then they need to see the world as one planet and not different nations.

Pratibha Patil’s position is unconstitutional!!

Pratibha Patil is the first woman President of India but there is no Constitutional provision for her to be the President!!. Shocking…well it is like this Article 53 of the Constitution states that “The executive power of the Union

shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officer subordinate to him in accordance with this constitution”. Article 56 states that “President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office….” And so on…

Pratibha Patil we understand is “her” but the constitutional provision is for “him”!!. The Judiciary or Legislature or Bureaucracy may have agreed among themselves that “him” can be “her”. The problem however is what is agreed on by the policy makers is not even valid at the street level. See it is like this I being “him” cannot go to “her” toilet, I would be thrashed!!. Clearly “him” is not “her”. Vice versa also true.

What is further shocking is that each word was carefully discussed, debated in the Constituent Assembly before placed in the Constitution. The Constitution of India that gives entity to India and its people as it exists now is blatantly gender insensitive document. It has no provision for women whether as MP, MLA or as Chairman. Recently Australian Parliament passed a communiqué making “him” as “him or her”. This might sound routine for many but it is a very significant step. A step that should have been taken few decades back. I recall when in school during Civics class (I guess it was in 6th Std) we used to make fun of the girls, by saying that ‘this not for you’!!. It was very difficult for them to defend, irony was girls were toppers. I don’t know whether I carried the guilt but years later when I was working in a Publishing Company I was told to write few chapters on Constitution as they were coming out with a Book (I guess it was on Public Administration), and I found it extremely difficult writing “him” so I wrote “him or her” but soon coded it as (s)he since I was tired of it, as I had to hand write 100 odd pages (don’t know what Editor thought about it as I had quit by then). It is time that Government of India made the Constitution gender sensitive and these be added into school texts as early as possible. Why this not been done in last 60years is amazing.

Post Script: I worked in the publishing company for three or four months, this probably the only job where I send a resignation letter (most others I told to get lost!!, was some hot headed dude) since I wanted to freelance for them. I did take interviews for the Magazine for six months or so most cases I spend more than I earned. It was quite tough those days but I carried on since I enjoyed it. Below is the interview of two lady Army officers I took, this one page interview looks innocuous but it took almost a year (plz click on it to enlarge). First I thought it was an easy thing just drop into their office and fix an interview but I was told to go to PRO – South Block and many phone calls later, probably after two months it was arranged. I had to record the interview and then convert into writing which actually is laborious. Unlike the interview published it was not this dry nor was it one page!!. I was really upset when I got my copy!. Also the interview was taken somewhere in February 1998 (the plan was to get it in Women’s day edition of March) but it came in December by the time I had forgotten about it. Anyway it was a good experience for me. Apart from such Interviews I also recall going to cover Acting school somewhere in Noida (run by one Kapoor…there are too many to remember!!. And yes this one also had acted in movies!!). He showed me around the building, even asked some of his students to demonstrate their acting skills for me. I recall giving appreciative nods!!