Listening to Elinor Ostrom

This blogger had the good fortune to listen to Elinor Ostrom at ATREE Bangalore about a month back. It was quite a brief speech. Clearly there is no approach that fits into all needs and that precisely is the point here. The policy makers in a country as divergent as India need realize this. It is not a coincidence that Planning Commission is blamed for ivory tower syndrome. Ostrom mentions “polycentric system” that is a “complex adaptive system”. Studies have shown that monitoring of forests by local users backed by government officials have led to lower rate of deforestation. According to her analysis “trust and reciprocity” of the community and say in rule making are important elements that decides the success and failure of a policy.

One couldn’t agree more on what Ostrom has to say, her understanding are an asset and needs deeper involvement.  But then when we think of Indian context the issue becomes quite complex. For community oriented intervention to function the foremost criteria is that the community should itself be egalitarian in nature. Caste and patriarchy have created entrenched powerful interest groups. But there are exceptions, and quite predictably it comes from Kerala (where the awareness of individual rights and community well being is rather high).  I have been reading and found that “…fishing communities from villages around Vembanad Lake, Kerala have come together to create Mathsyavalams or sanctuaries that provide safe breeding areas for fish. They identify these areas by mutual agreement and cordon them using traditional wisdom and materials. This demonstrates that communities do prioritize long term conservation goals over short term gains when they start talking to each other, and highlights the potential of democratic approaches in conservation” 

The Norwegian tangle

The issue of infant children taken by Norwegian authority seems to have gained much significance in recent time with even the foreign minister getting involved. Quite clearly these kinds of things don’t happen in this part of the world. This blogger doesn’t have much detail nor would take the emotional angle that is being sought to be fed. Market media seem to be relishing in this ‘we are here to rescue poor souls’. It is indeed possible that the parents are abusive and not ‘aggrieved souls’, the kind of abuse that most in India mistake for “parental love”. In a stricter sense Indian family consist of parasitic being feeding on each other. The checks and balances I am told is what love is all about (what do the firangis know about Indian culture!!).  

Though there are many things to admire about Indian families I would like to know what Indian authorities are doing to safeguard children from abusive parents. Indeed most Indian families are probably dysfunctional and crude social units when it comes to feeding children with selfishness and narrow worldview. Market may find difficulty in accepting this as not parental love but plain child abuse (wherein child’s inborn right to explore and understand is curtailed) since these children are their future recruits. Parents do not own children, nor are children property of parents. The Indian emotional family nonsense seems to have exaggerated to such an extent that abuses are brushed aside as personal matter, wherein the reality is that children are vulnerable and need protection. If the parents are the abusers then the state should have a system in place to protect.

Sacred is inviolate

If a set of people consider something sacred and put faith on it then that it is to be respected. Either you have faith or you don’t. But one thing is clear you cannot degrade or mock. Sacred cannot be profaned. Sacred is absolute. Absolute is inviolate. My freedom of expression ends where the sacred begins. Liberty is for civilized discourse. As it may be, the traditions\custom or culture and norms\values acting as derivatives of sacred are open to scrutiny and questioning. Interpretation and perspectives are what defines tradition\culture; clearly these tend to reflect the concerns of power. Feudalism is a norm in these interpretations that find expressions as tradition. Patriarchy and segregation are ofcourse imbedded. So is dogmatism that feeds on weak. Superstition/fatwa that thrive on fear. Any threat on rational is a threat on freedom.    

That is why the attacks on Taslima Nasreen and West Bengal government’s capitulating to fundamentalists are serious concern. It’s an attack on civilised world. It is the duty of the government to uphold and protect democratic principles and values. These extreme religious forces must be dealt severely. Pandering to extreme elements seems to be easy way to garner vote by politicians. But fortunately it’s the ordinary voters who decide not the mullah. Market does play a significant role in trivialising issues. Market media’s interpretations on issues are necessarily simplistic. Juvenilities find expressions. ‘This versus That’ is how the evolutionary story has reached its pinnacle in the world of market media. We must pity them.

India is quite an old civilisation and though it is important to learn and assimilate it also need be asserted that Western interpretations of secularism exist in the framework of their socio-historical narration. Faith needn’t be in confrontation with rational. Freedom of expression has context, in the narration of confrontation these tend to get inflammatory and provocative. They aren’t concerns, and necessarily lack empathy and compassion. In most cases these are egoistic ventures masquerading freedom. Not long back Britain took pride in providing freedom to all scum of the world. Their arrogance caused extreme misery to many societies. When one is insulated from reality, theories look charming. Few reality checks and Britain had first hand lesson on value of freedom, as is the case they now move towards xenophobia. Amazing.         

It’s the mischief mongers who degrade the sacred. Sacred is not debatable, there isn’t any. Either you belief or you don’t. And you cannot mock if you do or don’t. These are divisive and tend to polarise the society. In this quagmire the reality of liberty becomes abstraction. The abstraction becomes points of discussions and debates, thus moving further away from apparent. It might help the elite to score points as they party but for people this is where cynicism finds place, and therefore space for violence. 

The interpretation of sacred is where the injustice begins. Much injustice has been done in the name of sacred over the years. This is where individual freedom needs to be asserted. That is the reason why it’s important to support people like Tasleema Nasreen. It’s just a coincidence that she also happens to be writer.    

Crude woman tale: So crude woman says after much manipulation for awards “Hum log Vibushan type ke log hai, Bushan se kya hoga?”. Tears filled her eyes. Madam seems to have decided on her worth, atleast for now. Boss who was contemplating on existential issues like “Uski genes mere genes se agge kaise?” was much calmer. His argument was “we maybe millionaires but wonderful Indian muslim are always victim” if not now very soon it will take us to “Vibushan ki haseen duniya”. Crude Woman fluttered her false eye lashes as a sign of excitement. She was back on candlelight walk for “jiska murga uski biriyani” campaign. She was peeved by the fact her murga was snatched. The camera panned some dozen people as closely as possible and the media declared it as a massive gathering. The hoarding Crude Woman held informed “we undertake langger for biryani at short notice” bottom corner read “hamare yahaan mitai ke saath dibba nahi tholthe"