Naxalbari

During the mid 1960s Charu Mazumdar and Kanu Sanyal organized an ultra leftist faction in CPI (M) in northern Bengal. In 1967, a militant peasant uprising took place in Naxalbari, led by the Mazumdar-Sanyal group. This group would later become known as the Naxalites. The same year, Mazumdar and Sanyal broke away and formed the All India Co-ordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (AICCCR), which in turn founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) in 1969, with Mazumdar as its General Secretary.

From:-
The Heart of our Darkness
by Mohan Guruswamy

It's All Gibberish

Gibberish, when done with absolute intensity, takes us out of our logical mind and into the realms of the mysterious and spiritual. Here are some guidelines for Gibberish meditation; it will take you no more than 10 minutes to practise each stage respectively.

First Stage: Throw thoughts out; get rid of gibberish

1. While sitting, close your eyes and begin to utter nonsense sounds - any sounds or words, so long as they make no sense.
2. Just speak any language that you don't know!
3. Allow yourself to express whatever needs to be expressed within you. Throw everything out.
4. The mind thinks, always, in terms of words. Gibberish helps to break up this pattern of continual verbalisation. Without suppressing your thoughts, you can throw them out.
5. Let your body likewise be expressive.

Second Stage: Moving into a great silence

1. Just sit in a space of deep silence, stillness and relaxation.
2. Go inwards, deeper and deeper, just like an arrow.
3. Penetrate all the layers and hit the centre of your existence.

The Gibberish technique is a wonderful tool to get rid of anger and frustration. However, it is not only about removing negativity. It also helps the practitioner express and enjoy positive emotions such as joy or excitement. It gives you an opportunity to feel free and uninhibited.

When the troubles first erupted in the predominantly tribal village of Naxalbari and began spreading to other areas in West Bengal, a popular slogan then was "China's Chairman is our Chairman". It may not have fired the minds of the rural masses, but it caught on in the university campuses all over the country. Many students of Delhi's elite St. Stephens College even went underground to fight for the revolution. But they soon, like their compatriots from Kolkata's elite Presidency College, discovered that revolution was not a dinner party, or even a seminar.

But the Indian Adivasi regions have been troubled much before the advent of Naxalism or Maoism, as some prefer it. The Naxalite leadership, which is mostly non-Adivasi, has however managed to superimpose its ideological orientation on the long prevalent disaffection of the tribal people. While the Maoists have managed to exploit the tribal unrest over their exploitation and the destruction of their traditional homelands, it would be wrong of the Indian State to tar the Adivasi unrest as naxalism.

China's present Chairman no longer inspires the Naxalites, as the first Chairman did

From the Naxalite groups who held that China was the center of the world revolution, a substantial number now have gone over to the position that the CPC has betrayed world revolution. The CPC's authoritative documents produced in the sixth plenum of the CC, the eleventh and twelfth congresses, have become for them the bedrock of revisionism and betrayal of Mao Zedong thought. The blind and dogmatic adherence to Mao Zedong thought as the essence of Marxism-Leninism of the epoch- a position that the CPC itself does not maintain now-is the key to the ideological disarray these groups have reached. The Marxist; Volume: 3, No. 1; January- March 1985.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the biggest liar of them all?

Often white-collar workers in cities make it to work late, thanks to traffic gridlocks and the late running of suburban trains and buses. But there are compulsive latecomers who lie their way out of trouble and their superiors' censure, citing these very travel hazards as excuses for lateness. Occasionally the lies are seen through, though. Author Charles Lamb, who once worked as a clerk in the East India Company office, was not as fortunate as modern-day officegoers. A chronic latecomer at work, Lamb had no excuses to account for his tardiness. And he was truthful. When his boss sought an explanation for his unpunctuality, Lamb replied coolly, "Sir, though I always arrive late, I make up for it by leaving the office early."

Adivasi

Although terms such as atavika (Sanskrit for forest dwellers), vanvasi or girijan (hill people) are also used for the tribes of India, Adivasi carries the specific meaning of being the original and autochthonous inhabitants of a given region, and was specifically coined for that purpose in the 1930s. Over a period of time, unlike the terms "aborigines" or "tribes", the word "adivasi" has also developed a connotation of past autonomy, which was disrupted during the colonial period in India and has not been restored. Opposition to usage of the term is varied, and it has been argued that the "original inhabitant" contention is based on dubious claims and that the adivasi - non-adivasi divide that is created is artificial. It should also be noted that in Northeast India, the term Adivasi applies only to the Tea tribes imported from Central India during colonial times, while all tribal groups refer collectively to themselves by using the English word "tribes". Thus, generally speaking the term Adivasi is used to refer to the tribal communities in Hindu dominant areas.

Waking up to Naxalism.

The killing of 74 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers on the wee hours of April 6, 2010 at Chintalnar near Dantewara in the Bastar area of Chattisgarh state seems to have finally woken up the Indian establishment to the fact that while they have been obsessing with economic growth and India's place in the world, the country's hinterland is witnessing an awakening of another kind. A raging insurgency, with its epicenter in the Adivasi homelands of central India, is threatening to engulf at least a quarter of India's 590 districts. It would not be very far off the mark to state that over 200 million people now live in areas where insurgents of some kind or the other are in armed conflict with the Indian State. It's not by coincidence that in much of this area, there is a sizable tribal population. Much of the insurgency can now be attributed to Naxalism, probably making it the last communist ideology inspired insurgency in the world. But now the geographical scale dwarfs every such conflict the world has known save the Chinese civil war that finally ended with Mao Zedong's victory. China has moved on a long way since then, and almost certainly China's present Chairman no longer inspires the Naxalites, as the first Chairman did.

Biorhythm Is Gonna Get You

Timing is everything. You knew that. A study now suggests you can use that. On condition you ride mood swings, the biorhythmically regulated emotional highs and lows we go through everyday. So, all ye married men, avoid a fight with the missus at 3 p.m. That's when your better half becomes the smarter half, pulverising you in any argument. Which means hubbies out to shirk housework or to stag-party had better not rebel mid-afternoon. Else, with due apologies to singer Gloria Estefan, the wife's biorhythm is gonna get you.

As for all ye gals out there, wait till evening for your partners to grant your wishes. Want your guy to potty-train your mean mastiff or fund your overpriced tattoo? Hit a sixer after 6 p.m., when he-men become more manipulable. Clearly, the virtue of timing is no clock-and-bull-story. Why, this study even tells you when to ask for a promotion. Accost the boss around 1 p.m. to drop the (time) bomb. An explosive 'finding', that.

Rediscovering Emperor Ashoka

Writes Sen, in a foreword to Rich's volume, that an "underlying concept of fairness is based on Ashoka's basic belief, influenced by his conversion to Buddhism, in the fundamental value of all life. It is a shared reverence for life that can, according to this approach, make everyone behave spontaneously in a responsible and considerate way, without the compulsion of forced good behaviour."

Yours Faithfully, With Grace

When we do not face reality, especially when we consider it 'unpleasant', we may tend to push our own suffering - by unconscious but active denial - on to other people and out into the world, seeing them as 'bad' or 'wrong'. Parents who cannot tolerate their own imperfections, will criticise and alienate their children for their imperfections; one partner, blind to his own faults will notice, criticise and condemn the very same imperfections in the other.

This is not about being satisfied with the mediocre or about condoning 'evil' or inhumanity; it is about facing reality and working with it rather than against it.

The Option Is Yours

We can maximise our happiness by minimising two habits - expectations and comparisons. When we have high expectations of others, especially our near and dear ones, we invariably end up getting hurt. Similarly, making comparisons can cause negative emotions like discontentment, jealousy and an unhealthy competitive spirit.

Life, however, may not always be rewarding. During troubled times, we need to maintain an unwavering faith in Divine functioning. A trusting, non-resistant attitude will help us embrace reality gracefully. Accept the world the way it is rather than brood over its imperfections. A negative attitude will certainly not alter reality - the option is in our own hands!

For true, undiluted happiness, it is imperative to live in the present. Past is a grave and the future is unknown. Living in the present moment is what can yield positive results. Again, the choice is ours. Simply pondering over past miseries and not learning lessons will make us cling to the past in sadness. It is only when we wisely embrace the lessons that we let go of the past and move on in life to brighten our present.

Protecting The Lawgivers

The Constitution (One Hundred and Fourteenth Amendment) Bill, 2010 seeks to make long overdue amendments to Articles 217(1) and 224(3) of the Constitution of India, which peg the retirement age of high court judges at 62. Introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 25, 2010, the Bill takes its cues from the 39th report of the parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, that the retirement age of high court judges be "brought at par with the retirement age of [judges] of the Supreme Court", who presently retire at 65. However, while the objectives of the proposed amendment are laudable, the Bill in its present form may have an adverse impact on the length of the term of Supreme Court judges, unless its enactment is paired with a definitive policy on the age at which judges will be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Multidimensional Life

All of us see the world and life from our limited perspective. If we knew this, then we would not be in conflict with others. But we assume that what we know is the whole truth and that the other is wrong. And hence there are conflicts all over the world, basically because my truth does not agree with yours, although both of us don't know that we are both only partially correct, and are both likely to be wrong. We strongly hold on to our partial or wrong concepts, and fight over it, tooth and nail. When the final picture emerges, or with the passage of time, when we look back at the past, we will often see how our words and actions were often wrong.

Our knowledge is partial and incomplete. We form our central core from this partial truth, and hence are prone to get into conflicts with others. If we recognise that we don't know the whole picture, we are likely to become less aggressive and more humble, which will pave the way for more peace and joy on earth.

Keeping cities livable, healthy

Approximately 50% of the World's population live in cities and urban areas. And it is predicted this will rise to 66% in 2050. Philips will address the challenges facing policy makers, planners and governments in building sustainable, beautiful and safe environments with a high health status.

About Philips and health & well-being

Philips is a diversified health and well-being company, with a mission to improve people's lives through meaningful innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting. Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and simplicity".

The Philips Center for Health and Well-being

The Philips Center for Health & Well-being is dedicated to improving people's quality of life around the world by identifying barriers to health and well-being, and developing solutions to overcome these barriers. Together with a diverse range of independent experts, global agenda setters, policymakers and opinion leaders we will debate and define the critical problems society is facing. And we will co-define or recommend solutions for overcoming these problems with the aim of improving health and well-being now worldwide.

Brand Licensing

Philips' Brand Licensing Program provides the brand licensees the possibility to tap into their worldwide brand advantage. The Philips brand is one of the most highly recognized and trusted brands in the world. Brands cannot be built overnight, and their on-going investments and marketing efforts have ensured continued growth of their brand momentum year-on-year.

Philips proposes a Brand Licensing Program to partners that are keen to leverage the Philips brand to take on the challenge in delighting consumers with "sense and simplicity". Brand licensees also benefit from Philips' innovation experience and go-to-market knowhow. This includes consumer insight validation, cross-category research and distribution opportunities. Regular joint business reviews fast-track the sharing of learnings, and provides the opportunity to forge a forward view of the market to continually grow the business.

Operationally, Philips also works with brand licensees to approve products, consumer care and marketing efforts to ensure that they are in-line with the Philips standard, and ultimately deliver on Net Promoter Scores.

Brand licensing arrangements typically requires a licensing initiation fee, minimum royalty commitment, approved business plan, agreed upon business metrics, and customary insurance and indemnification provisions. Brand license management meetings are conducted during joint business reviews, and on an ongoing basis.

Being a Philips brand licensee means a pledge to continually drive and deliver on our brand promise. To be considered, licensee will need to clearly demonstrate how their offering will enhance the value the Philips brand and the consumer experience. Conversely, licensee has to let Philips know how the Philips brand will enhance the value of their offering. Beyond consumer product creation and quality, other competencies licensee should also bring to the table include consumer care, marketing and distribution.

Philips Sponsorships

For Philips sponsoring is a means to connect to their stakeholders via their passions such as sports, art and culture. Philips also see sponsorship as a cost-effective way to reach their audiences; helping Philips to reach their business and branding objectives.

In the selection of sponsorship properties Philips are guided by their ability to help reach business objectives and the strategic fit with Philips (simplicity) brand positioning.

Previous Simplicity Events

Since 2005, the Simplicity Event has been one of Philips' most inspiring and engaging avenues to demonstrate their commitment and leadership in delivering "sense and simplicity" to people. Previous events have been held in Paris, Amsterdam, New York, London, Hong Kong, Sao Paolo and Moscow.

Healthy People, Healthy Living, Healthy Planet

In line with the theme of 2008 event, 'Healthy People, Healthy Living, Healthy Planet', the concepts presented at the Simplicity Event 2008 particularly focus on the responsible domestic use of resources, harnessing renewable energy and the responsible consumption of goods.

The Simplicity Event 2008 at Moscow's Red Square

The concepts and products presented at the Event illustrate the Philips' brand vision to contribute significantly to the health and well-being of people across the globe, supporting its ambition to be the leading brand in Health and Well-being. Philips is also putting strong focus on collective well-being, and helping to create a sustainable global society to protect our environment for future generations.

Delivering “sense and simplicity”

It is the combination of two unique capabilities that enables Philips to deliver on their "sense and simplicity" promise. These capabilities are firstly, by understanding people and secondly, technology integration and product design.

Brand Promise

'Sense and simplicity'. This brand promise encapsulates commitment to deliver solutions that are advanced, easy to use, and designed around the needs of all their users.

Poor Politics

Today I saw some hoardings saying 'Desh lut raha hai, Pradesh bik raha hai'. But the reason I am mentioning this is that, this hoarding had a prominent leader's photograph. The leader was smiling in the picture.

This is another example of poor marketing. As soon as I read the slogan I was shocked. What if this is true? Something should be done about this. But the smiling photograph next to it gave a different message. It meant, nobody is serious about it, not even those who are speaking on behalf of people.

May be it's not poor marketing but the true picture of our political parties. Our leaders are only cooking up issues to increase the lengths of their speeches. Nobody is interested in solving the problems. In fact, leaders create problems for people so that people start running here and there for help. Then leaders act like solving problems and in the process they make money.

Going through Philips

Opinion Space

Is it possible to help others without imposing yourself on them? You can keep others content by giving them what they want. But once you are involved you try to do it your way which may annoy others.

This is wrong. I should be able to give my best without imposing myself on others. I should give space to others opinion as well.

This is resistance. I think resistance can be overcome by understanding the objective. Even if objectives are same there can be differences in methods and knowledge. Over here even more conflicts may arise.

I am saying all this in the context of generation gap. Different generations have differences in opinions, objectives, methods and knowledge.

Vehicle horn with volume control

Today I suddenly realized that I want to use horn with volume control in my bike and car. I do not own a bike or a car at the moment but may be in the future I shall have it.

I hate noise pollution. I lived for more than six years in Kumaon hills and that region used to be very quite in 90's. Peace is sweet.

So, if I am given a horn with controllable volume, I will use it. All horns have a decibel level. Now, what I wish is that there should be some control or switch by which I can decrease the level of noise. The number of levels should be 5.

This idea would sound awkward to most of the people but to me the most awkward thing is noise.

Don't assume anything.

Don't assume anything is what Deepica advised me. Even sometimes when I make mistakes or think too much I tell this to myself.

I wish to stay in control of things so I try to imagine the forthcoming circumstances. And to do this I have to assume many things. This habit is genetic I think.

This keeps me occupied. I enjoy it when I go through crushes and hate this when I am under stress.

I am still not sure

Deepica I have noted your comments. There was a phase in my life when I was very passionate about doing the right thing and changing this world. But as I progressed in life and went deeper into my thoughts, I became skeptical about even the existence of this world. Anyway, that is beyond my capability of reasoning and explanation.

Let me tell you honestly. If I get a Government job then I would not come out clean. Though I would apply some force to reduce corruption. But, I won't be absolutely clean.

I change my decisions at the last moment but I shall not come out openly against corruption. And to some extent I would be a part of it.

In fact, still when I am not working for anybody, I have given bribe. So, anyway I am a part of this.

Thanks Saba for your comments as well. Views given by you and Deepica have made their impression. Because you both have put your opinions in words so now I have a better view of situations.

I shall try to change the subject of my post next time. It has been too much of ethics and idealism.

The two kinds of girls.

Girls can be of two types. One, those who are idealistic, they firmly believe in whatever they have been taught in schools or they have learned from their idols.

The other type are practical, opportunistic and they have flexible values.

I would like to talk about the first kind of girls because Deepica and Saba you both are very close to the first kind. Though there is one quality that I haven't seen in both of you that is aggression. Which comes with idealism and womanhood.

Saba to some extent speaks out but she usually quits or distances herself rather than fight or confront.

Now, the first kind of girls are usually well educated and are from middle class or upper middle class.

Let's take up a situation. Suppose, there has been a major calamity like earthquake in Lucknow and surrounding areas or due to war the economy has stopped functioning. So, there is no food and people are dependent on food supplies from army. Army is dropping food packets at some places. Imagine people fighting and killing each other for food. To feed my family either I would kill somebody or get killed. No place for ethics.

You might say that this is an extreme extreme situation but humans must try to behave in civilized manner.

Alright, let's take another situation. Suppose a guy working in a private firm with not much experience. He has a wife, a child who has just started going to school. Wife is keeping home. Father has retired and Mother is ailing due to age. The guy also has a younger brother who is not a graduate yet.

So, the guy is earning for his family and apart from that his Father's pension also contributes to family income. Though family does not have much savings in bank and just one house where they all are living.

The guy faces a dilemma at his workplace that if he does not carry out some unethical jobs he would lose the job. What if he objects and becomes jobless? His family that is dependent on him shall face crisis.

What do you say? Ethics or Family?

Trying to come back

It has been a long time since I wrote a post for this blog.

A lot has changed since then. Incidentally, today in my first class, that happens to be of Corporate Evolution and Strategic Management, we were discussing ethics. And my last post was on a topic that sounded similar.

We were discussing questions, for example. "Is it unethical to make up data to justify the introduction of a new product if, when you start to object, your boss tells you to 'just do it'?"

Well, my answer is, if you are just asking whether it is ethical or unethical then obviously it is unethical.

But, when I put myself in a similar realistic situation I find that I shall be doing this unethical job.

Our Professor was warning us about the outcomes of such act. He said if you do it then remember that you shall be held responsible for the consequences. So, weigh the consequences of your act before behaving unethically.

Then he also said that sometimes people justify by saying that this is not a big deal and this is the first and the last time I am doing it. But this is partially true. It sure is the first time, but not the last time. So, be strong and avoid it from the first day first step itself.

A classmate of ours Karm, was looking at the situation practically and strongly believed that we all would indulge in certain unethical practices if our boss would ask us.