OBC: WHO ARE THEY?

Last year, HRD Minister Arjun Singh dropped a bombshell when he announced 27 percent reservations for OBCS in all institutes of higher learning. It is seen as a precursor to reservations in private jobs to already existing quotas in government jobs. No wonder, this triggered nation-wide protest, for and against the policy. It also revived the volatile debate regarding merit versus equity. The issue was taken to the Supreme Court which asked the Government pertinent questions. What was the basis of the norms for fixing it? Finally, if the proposed reservation is implemented, what are the modalities and the basis for these modalities? These questions struck at the core of the reservation issue.

The truth is that reservation has become a victim of politics of competitive populism. Not only are there variations from state to state regarding who is entitled to reservations, the statistical basis of the latest policy is suspect. There is little credible data on what percentage of the population constitutes the Other Backward Classes, a polite metaphor for caste. At the time of Independence, 2,399 castes were recognized by the Kalekar Commission as OBCS. The Mandal Commission recognized 2,052 castes but today that figure is 3,743. Mandal estimated that the population of OBCS was 52 percent based on the last castebased census in 1931. The Census continues to record SCS and STS but not OBCS which remains a conjectural figure. The National Sample Survey estimated that OBCS constitute about 36 percent of the population and not 52 percent as the latest reservation policy would have the country believe.

Moreover, there are serious questions regarding the impact the reservation policy will have on the quality of education. There is also confusion about whether the creamy will be part of the new policy.

HEALTH: UNHEALTHY TEENS

There is an old adage repeated in many Indian homes, especially by the older generation: health is wealth. Well, the Indian middle class has got the wealth but is fast losing its health. The middle-class in India has never had it so good. Affluence and globalization has made a given them a wider range of cuisine, not necessarily the healthiest. Yet, as is often said, there is no such thing as a free lunch, or it could be a case of too many lunches.

Paradoxically, a nation with 20 percent of the poor of the world is facing an obesity crisis. The middle class is increasingly sporting a middle spread that poses a serious health risk for millions. Obesity, till recently, was seen as a disease of developed countries. Yet, 35 percent or approximately 120 million urban Indians are seriously obese, as are one in 10 urban Indian children. Delhi is India’s obesity capital with alarming 45 percent males and 55 percent women suffering from high levels of obesity.

Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern. Being seriously overweight puts you at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, some cancers and other health risks. Ultimately, obesity can be life-threatening. In the US, more than three lakh deaths are linked to obesity annually. According to the World Health Organization, the obesity epidemic is increasing faster in developing countries than in the developed world.

The prime cause revolves around changes in lifestyles as a result of affluence and a sedentary lifestyle. Basically, we are eating too much high calorie food and not burning enough of it with exercise. It always amazes me to see how a country, used to eating fresh home cooked meals, has taken to pizza parlors and McDonald’s each year. These have aggravated the obesity problem. Longer work hours mean longer hours behind a desk. At home, it’s sitting at a computer or the TV. As lives become busier, there is less time to cook healthy meals; instead, more people are opting for high calorie, pre-cooked meals popped into the microwave.

In Indian health care circles, the battle against the bulge has begun. Last year, the first Asia Pacific Obesity Conclave took place in Delhi and health experts are gearing up to tackle obesity on a war footing. The antidote is simple: eat healthier, exercise more and change lifestyle patterns.

I think that the challenge lies in creating awareness. We all know that fat is ugly, but many people are unaware that it is dangerous as well.

Affluence may have given middle class India many gifts but they are in danger of losing the greatest gift of all: good health.

THE RAPE NIGHTMARE

I have always believed that the status of children and women is a very accurate indicator of how civilized a country is. If the children are healthy and educated, you know the country is progressive. In a place where women are not treated with equality, you know that country is bedeviled by problems.

In the past decade, one of the key features of India’s liberalizations has been the influx of women into a variety of professions and their contribution to a growing economy. However, as we read about the horrific attacks on young women in India’s two biggest cities, this seems a veneer. A teenager was raped in Mumbai by a taxi driver. Then Delhi was shaken when a young call-centre worker was picked up off the street and raped. The capital has a reputation of being dangerous but the incident in Mumbai, which often boasted of being safe for women, points to a darker trend. That women, now facing more dangers during the course of a work day, have a reason to feel unsafe in urban India. According to the latest figures, the rate of crime against women in 35 big cities is higher than the national average.

What is as disturbing as these statistics is a medieval mindset which continues to dominate our society. There is little empathy for the victims of violence, little understanding of the gravity of the problem. Even political parties like the Shiva Sena, whose basic commitment should be towards protecting women’s rights, make reactionary statements like “women invite rape by wearing provocative clothes”. Women today are no longer confined to their homes and their jobs require them to be working at odd hours. It falls on India’s civil society to safeguard women even more but we have not adjusted to this fact. The courts need to become more sympathetic towards rape victims, increase the rate of convictions and mete out justice swiftly. None of this has happened.

Indians take pride in the visible symbols of the progress of their cities-whether it is urban growth rate or the mushrooming of malls. But economic growth means little if the same cities become zones of social anxiety where half of its citizens feel unsafe.

THE NEW AMBASSADORS

Government figures say there are 20 million people Indian origin living in 110 million countries. Somehow you don’t need statistics to tell you that. You can find Indians in the most unlikely places.

The migration of Indians has been quiet, gradual but relentless. I like to think of it as a reverse colonization. During the Raj, Indians were sent as indentured labour to Africa, the West Indies, even Fiji. Today, their children are presidents, prime ministers, senators, tycoons and Nobel Prize winners.

Persons of Indians origin (PIOS) are impossible to typecast. Like those at home, they come in all shapes and sizes, fit all descriptions. What links the astronaut on our cover with the Punjabi sheep farmers in New Zealand? What connects whit collar techies in Silicon Valley to the Indians who seem to have a monopoly on 24-hour stores in Britain-or the Patels who so dominate the US motel industry that motels are often referred to as “Potels”? It is the will to succeed. Many migrant communities continue to live on the margins of their host society. Indians are rarely among them. We must introspect as to why these people had to go abroad to be so successful. Obviously the conditions in India were too stifling to allow this energy, enterprise and talent to thrive.

The global Indian, wherever he may live or work, whatever passport he may hold, is forever Indians. As is often said, you can take an Indian out of India but you can’t take India out of an Indian.

INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

Examinations test aptitude and help students make career choices. That is what they are supposed to do. In India, exams have become something else altogether. Every time the exams come around, a collective paranoia settles over India’s 30 million higher secondary students. Scholastic aptitude becomes a matter of life and death. When children begin to take their lives over exams then something is very seriously wrong. Stressed over the intense competition and high cut-off percentages, students a year as they prepare for the boards. Instead of being confident and creative young people, our teenagers believe that their entire futures depend on exam results.

The irony is that the reforms needed in education are not radical but commonplace. They revolve around the modernization of textbooks, broadening the ambit of what students are tested on and how they are taught. The tragedy though is that education is one of the most contentious and slowest-moving areas of governance. We pay for too heavy a price for government sloth through the precious lives of our children. This can’t go on.

THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR

India’s economic indices reveal that we have achieved record levels of growth. In the past few years, it was difficult to ignore the couple of clouds despite the silver linings. Around 2004, it was feared that the growth in India would be jobless and manufacturing would languish. Those fears have proved to be baseless. This economic surge has a heart. Every sector has expanded its employment numbers and there are new investments across the board. What is more encouraging is that the growth is not restricted to IT and other services sectors but has spread to traditional industries like textiles, steel, even readymade garments.

When celebrating any economic progress, all Indians wonder how our great rival China compares by the same standards. An increasing number of economists are beginning to bet on India. The reason is that unlike China’s investment-driven economy, India’s is consumption-led. Today, for the middle-class Indian affordability is no longer a function of price. The Indian consumer’s spending has moved from worrying about the MRP to quickly calculating the EMI. His urge to splurge has been accelerated by flexibility in pricing, the availability of easy loans, and product innovation, such as a PC for less than Rs 10,000 or a RS 10 phone recharge.

GLOBAL CHAMPS

In the past five years, 307 overseas companies have been acquired by Indian corporates, the worth of the mergers totalling $ 20 billion (over Rs 90,000 crore). The rate of Indian acquisitions has been growing exponentially over the past five years, the last two witnessing more than half of the 307 takeovers. The acquisitions reflect the growing confidence of Indian business because they believe they can do a better job than the foreign players. It also indicates the cash surpluses accumulated by companies in an economy consistently growing at 8 per cent. Indian businesses have emerged from fairly retrogressive economic conditions to embrace the global markets so much so that our business section calls these Indians the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The open economy of the past 15 years has forced Indian companies to become globally competitive. They have realised there is no reason why they should confine themselves to the domestic market. For many, the only way to go is global. The smartest of firms know that building assets in India takes far too long and comes with too many strings attached and therefore have begun to shop abroad.

The story of the Indian software companies’ overseas thrust is well documented but the international forays of companies in the manufacturing sector are relatively new. The audacity and aggression is truly breathtaking. Bharat Forge is the second largest forging company in the world; Ranbaxy is among the top eight generic drug manufacturers in the world. Asian Paints is one of the top five paint companies in the world. M&M is emerging as one of the world’s largest farm equipment companies.

INDIAN FASHION INDUSTRY

Today, India is in vogue again as a result of the work of many talented people in the fashion industry.
Unlike before, the Indian motif is one of luxury and confidence. Designers in the West are using it to make a statement- whether it is Cavalli who put Goddesses on bikinis or Prada whose latest collection uses the peacock feather. The transformation that has already taken place in other sectors like business and economy is now finding expression in fashion in a significant way. It is a reflection of India’s larger engagement with the world.
Behind the arc lights of the recent India Fashion Week, real business was being conducted. Buyers from major western retail chains came looking for genuine local talent. Be it Selfridges, Harrods or Browns, mainstream stores in the West now retail the collections of some of our best designers. More than a generic Indian “look”, the label of the Indian designer is also being sought after.

CRICKET MONEY WINS

It’s said only films and cricket unite India. In terms of pan-Indian recognition and affection, even Bollywood stands second to the country’s national obsession, cricket. Cricket cuts through barriers of region and language that this cultural behemoth can’t scale. It’s why in a recent survey Sachin Tendulkar scored over Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan both on visibility and a “quality” index that ranked celebrities for reflecting virtues like trustworthiness and honesty. India is probably the only country where cricket is played on every street corner.

The popularity of the sport in India has translated into the fact that the business of international cricket is dependent on Indian Cricket. Some estimates reckon Indian cricket economy to be worth Rs 1,000 crore a year, driving between 60 and 70 per cent of the world’s cricket business.

Cricket’s boom in the 1990s was closely linked to commerce. It is now a child of satellite television and free market, not only a popular and profitable sport but a brand; a financial force that supports an entire industry made up of players, officials, sponsors, television executives, event promoters, agent and finally the consumer, who can’t get enough of this product.

THE SONIA FACTOR

Sonia Gandhi has always been a mystery and somewhat of an oddity in Indian politics.
Until her husband died, she was just an Italian-born housewife who had a well-known loathing for Indian politics and politicians. She was thrust into the Congress presidency after Sitaram Kesri retired in 1998. Her first steps in politics were unsure. Uncomfortable speaking in public, she marked her first major moment in national politics-staking her party’s claim to form the government in 1999-with a blunder and the immortal words, “We have 272 and we hope to get more.”

But today, it seems Sonia walks on firmer ground and is a more self-assured political personality. There has been a perceptible change in her demeanor and in the way she is regarded by her party men. When she took over the Congress, her party was ruling in only three states. Today, it is a cohesive force controlling Central government and 10+ state governments. She is the supreme leader of the Congress and no one dare contradict her.

This is in total contrast to the ruling BJP which seems in disarray.

Sonia’s emerging confidence has an uncanny parallel with her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi-she too was expected to be a goongi gudiya (dumb doll).

YOUTH POWER

In a country and a culture where inordinate respect is given to the elderly, the Indian youth have largely been sidelined. Led by our political class, we have been governed and influenced by an army of greybeards. Consider this, of the 543 elected members in the current Lok Sabha, barely 12 were born after 1970. Politics, unfortunately, does not reflect the reality on the ground. Demographics and economic opportunities have combined to dramatically change India’s social equations. The figures tell the story. The number of Indians below the age of 15 is currently 336 million; another 121 million are between the ages of 15 and 19 and those in the age group of 20-34 add up to 271 million. In short, the number of Indians below the age of 34 is an unprecedented 728 million, almost 70 percent of the population.

Never in our history have the youth constituted such a large and powerful demographic entity. It can be accurately said that in their hands lies the future of India. In the context, what is the future they see for themselves and for the country as a whole?

It is often said that youth is wasted on the young. But a survey shows quite the country. The youth are a unique hybrid of global attitudes but quintessentially Indian in almost everything else. Culturally, they reveal a surprisingly strong core of conservatism, quite contrary to the images we see in our films, TV and music videos. They convey a powerful sense of India and aggressive nationalism.

The overriding message: it is cool to be a conformist

SLEEP DEFICIENCY

“To sleep, perchance to dream.” That most famous of Shakespearean quotations is becoming increasingly irrelevant in today’s age. The truth is modern 24*7 lifestyles and pressures of work mean we are sleeping less than ever before. Without us quite realizing it, Indians have undergone some dramatic changes in their sleep patterns.

Sleep is the only natural elixir that repairs the body. But in today’s fast-paced world, sleep is the one aspect that is compromised the most. At work, the manic race against time means we are working longer hours. At home, our lives are no less hectic. The incessant ringing of mobile phones, the clamor of multiple TV sets, late night are all par for the course in average urban households. Sleep and upward mobility make for incompatible bedfellows.

Medical studies have established the benefits of sleep: it improves memory, thoughts and concentration. Getting too little sleep accumulates what is called “sleep debt”. Eventually, the body will demand payment. A sleep-deriving schedule means our judgment; reaction time and other functions are impaired. Research shows that those who have accumulated a large amount of sleep debt function at only 80 per cent of their capability. Constant sleep deprivation also weakens the immune system and has linkages with heart disease, apart from cardio-respiratory problems.

Then there are behavioral consequences, making people irritable, prone to had dictions-making ad memory loss. In a recent survey, 25 per cent of couples reported that their sexual relationship suffered because they were just too tired. Burning the candle at both ends has created so much sleep deprivation that what is abnormal is now the norm. Reason enough for those on the fast track to wake up to the other side of midnight.

Today’s lifestyles condition people to do with very little sleep. They don’t realize the damage it does to their health. It’s like being overdrawn at the bank. The interest piles up.

9/11

9/11 is not just another date and Nine Eleven are not merely numbers. They have become shorthand for a series of cataclysmic events that took place in the US but whose after-effects continue to reverberate in our neighborhood.

It has brought the Americans to our doorstep and changed the way the US sees the world;
Fortunately for India, it has put the fight against terrorism on top of the world agenda and also put our not-so-friendly neighbourhood General in a tight spot. It has changed air travel all over the world and made everyone feel vulnerable. Above all, it has changed the way we view the future. Above all, it has changed the way we view the future. It is for all these reasons and more why the anniversary of September 11 matters to all of us.

There are some momentous events in history that continue to shape the future long after they take place. In that sense September 11 is history still in the making.

THE RETURN OF TERRORISM

There is no such thing as being prepared for or getting used to terrorism, India has lived with the scourge longer than most democracies, but every attack is like the first. The shock and grief over the loss of innocent lives and the devastation it visits upon the families are always deeply felt.

The serial blasts in Hyderabad, in which more than 40 people killed, caused damage not just to life and property but also to public sentiment. With Rakhsabandan, the markets were bound to be soft targets.

Today, we are dealing with a different kind of beast. Even though its roots and concerns are regional or national, terrorism is a global industry. India’s problem might be Kashmir-centric terrorism, but terrorists could come from anywhere, choose any target and strike at any time. The means available for spreading terror are difficult to detect, more sophisticated and for more lethal now.

Today we have to learn to live with terrorism; the terrorists may eventually learn that while they can take human lives, the human spirit is not as easily destructible.