"நீட்" (NEET) குறித்த ஓர் நீண்ட பதிவு

2007ல் பொறியியல் நுழைவுத் தேர்வு முறை நீக்கப்பட்ட போது ஏற்கனவே பொறியியல் படித்து முடித்திருந்த நான் அதை எதிர்த்தேன். அப்போது என் மனதில் இருந்த எண்ணங்கள் வேறு. நான் இக்கட்டான குடும்ப சூழலில் இருந்து 12ஆம் வகுப்பு படித்தவன். என் கையெழுத்து சரியிருக்காது. மனப்பாடத் திறன் குறைவாகப் பெற்றவன். ஆகவே இயல்பாகவே எனக்குப் பொதுத் தேர்வில் மதிப்பெண் கிடைப்பது கடினம். குறிப்பாக எனக்கு நன்றாக நினைவிருக்கிறது. உயிரியல்த் தேர்வை நான் சிறப்பாக எழுதியிருந்தேன். 198 மதிப்பெண்களுக்குச் சரியான பதில்களை எழுதியிருந்தேன். ஆனால் வந்த மதிப்பெண்களோ 168. 

எப்படியும் மருத்துவம் படிக்கப் போவதில்லை என்று முடிவானதால் நான் மறுதிருத்தம் கோரவில்லை. ஆனால் சில ஆசிரியர்களின் கூற்றுப் படி என் தேர்வெழுதும் விதமே சரியில்லையாம். நான் எதையும் மனப்பாடம் செய்து எழுதியதில்லை. சொந்த நடையில் மட்டுமே எழுதுவேன். ஆனால் அவர்கள் கூற்றுப்படி புத்தகத்தில் இருப்பதை அப்படியே எழுதுபவனும் நானும் சமமல்ல. அவன் கண்டிப்பாக என்னைவிட அதிக மதிப்பெண் பெற வேண்டும் என்று கூறினார்கள். அது எனக்கு நெருடலாக இருந்தது. 

ஆனால் நுழைவுத்தேர்வு முடிவுகள் வந்தபோது என்னோடு பயிற்சி வகுப்புகளுக்கு (கோச்சிங் கிளாஸ்) வந்து என்னைவிட அதிகப் பொதுத் தேர்வு மதிப்பெண்கள் பெற்றவர்களைவிட நான் அதிக மதிப்பெண்கள் பெற்றிருந்தேன். இதில் அவர்களுக்கும் எனக்கும் ஒரே பள்ளி, ஒரே யிற்சி வகுப்பு. ஆனால் அவர்கள் பொதுத்தேர்வில் என்னைவிட மிக அதிக மதிப்பெண்கள். நான் அவர்களைவிட நுழைவுத்தேர்வில் பல மதிப்பெண்கள் அதிகம். ஏன் இந்த முரண்பாடு? ஒருவேளை நுழைவுத்தேர்வு இல்லாதிருந்திருந்தால் நான் படித்த கல்லூரியும் பிரிவும் எனக்குக் கிடைத்திருக்காது. நிற்க... 

ஆகையால் 2007ல் நுழைவுத் தேர்வை ஆதரித்து போல் இப்போதும் நீட்டை ஆதரிப்பேனா? இல்லவே இல்லை. எனக்கு யிற்சி வகுப்பு எடுத்த ஆசிரியர் விருப்ப ஓய்வு (VRS) வாங்கிவிட்டு சொந்தமாகப் பள்ளி கட்டியதும் அந்த கோச்சிங் நிறுவனம் சொந்தமாகப் பொறியியல் கல்லூரியே கட்டியதும் நினைவிருக்கிறது. அது அப்போது பெரிதாகத் தெரியவில்லை. ஆனால் இப்பொழுது அது எவ்வளவு பெரிய சுரண்டல் என்றும் பணக்காரர்கள் மட்டுமே மேலேற உதவும் கட்டமைப்பு என்றும் புரிகிறது. என்னதான் செய்வது?

சமச்சீர் கல்வி தரம் தாழ்ந்தது போலவும், அதற்க்கு முன் இருந்த மெட்ரிக் கல்வி முறையும் தற்போது பரவிவரும் சி.பி.எஸ்.சி. கல்வி முறையும் எதோ சர்வதேசத் தரத்தில் இருப்பதுபோலவும் பலரும் நம்புகின்றனர். இது முற்றிலும் தவறான கருத்து. சமச்சீர் கல்வி புத்தகங்கள் வெளியிடப்பட்டபோது என் தந்தை அப்புத்தகங்களில் இருந்த குறைகளை ஆராயும் குழுவில் இருந்தார். அதற்க்கு முன் இருந்த மாநிலக் கல்வித்திட்டத்தோடு ஒப்பிட்டால் சமச்சீர் கல்வி பன்மடங்கு மேம்படுத்தப் பட்டுள்ளதாக 33 வருட ஆசிரியப் பணி அனுபவம் உள்ள அவர் சொன்னார்.

பிறகு நானும் இணையதளத்தில் வெளியிடப்பட்டிருந்த பாடநூல் கோப்புகளைப் பதிவிறக்கம் செய்து வாசித்தேன். உண்மையில் நான் பயின்ற பாடத்திட்டத்தைவிட மிகச் சிறந்த முறையில் படங்கள் வடிவமைக்கப் பட்டிருந்தன. அப்படியே அந்தத் திட்டம் சரியில்லை என்று கருதுபவர்கள் சற்றேனும் அறிவு நாணயம் உள்ளவர்களாக இருந்தால், பாடத்திட்டத்தை மேம்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்று குரல் எழுப்பியிருக்கலாம். ஆனால் அவர்கள் இந்த சமச்சீர் கல்வி முறையையே வேண்டாம் என்கிறார்கள். 

இங்குதான் "உள்குத்து" உள்ளது. அதுவரை பணக்காரனுக்கு ஒரு கல்வித்திட்டம் (மெட்ரிக்) ஏழைக்கு ஒரு கல்வித்திட்டம் (மாநிலக் கல்வித்திட்டம்) என்று இருந்த முறை நீக்கப்பட்டு அனைவருக்கும் சமமான கல்வி என்ற சமூக நீதி இவர்கள் கண்ணை உறுத்துகிறது. இதுநாள்வரை நவீன வர்ணாஸ்ரமமாக நிலவிவந்த கல்விப் பாகுபாடு இல்லாமல்போனது இவர்களுக்கு எரிச்சல் ஊட்டுகிறது. இதை மீண்டும் கொண்டுவரத் துடிக்கிறார்கள்.

மேலும் கல்வித் தந்தைகளும், கல்வி வள்ளல்களும், கட்டிவைத்திருக்கும் பள்ளிகளில் "சிறப்புக் கட்டணம்" வசூலிக்க அவர்கள் சொல்லும் முக்கிய காரணம் (selling point) "எங்கள் கல்வித்திட்டம் மேலானது". இன்று சமச்சீர் கல்வியில் அந்த வாதம் தவிடுபொடியாகிவிட்டது. ஆகையால் அவர்களுக்கும் "வியாபாரம்" படுத்துவிடுமோ என்ற கவலை. இப்படி அவனவனுக்கு அவனவன் கவலை.

ஆகவே இன்று NEET போன்ற சிக்கல்களைக் கையில் எடுத்துக்கொண்டு சமச்சீர் கல்வியின் மீது உள்ள வெறுப்பை வெளிப்படுத்தும் அற்பவாதிகளிடம் நாம் கவனமாக இருக்க வேண்டும். பாடப்புத்தகத்தை மனனம் செய்து அப்படியே கக்குவது தவறான ஒரு கல்வி முறையினால் வருவது அல்ல. அது தவறான தேர்வு மற்றும் திருத்த (evaluation) முறையினால் வருவது. இதேபோன்ற சூழலை எல்லாக் கல்வி முறையிலும் கொண்டுவர முடியும். ஆகவே சமச்சீர்க் கல்வித் திட்டத்தை மாற்றவேண்டியது இல்லை! அதில் உள்ள தேர்வு முறையையும் விடைத்தாள் திருத்தும் முறையையும் மாற்றினால் போதும்.

குறிப்பாக புத்தகத்தில் உள்ள கணக்குகள் எண்கள்கூட மாறாமல் வினாத்தாள்களில் வருவது, அப்படியே புத்தகத்தில் உள்ளதை எழுத்துக்கு எழுத்து எழுதுவது போன்ற வகையில் தேர்வுகள் இல்லாமல் படித்ததை புரிந்துகொண்டு விடையளிக்கும் வகையில் நம் தேர்வு முறை மாற்றப்பட வேண்டும். இது ஒன்று மட்டுமே போதும். நல்ல புரிதலும், சிந்திக்கும் திறனும் உள்ள மாணவர்களே நல்ல மதிப்பெண்கள் பெறும்படி தேர்வுமுறை இருக்கும்போது தனித்தனி நுழைவுத்தேர்வுகள் நடத்தவும் தேவை இருக்காது.

மருத்துவ நுழைவுத் தேர்வு என்று தனியாக ஒன்று இருப்பது எதற்கு? ஏற்கனவே பன்னிரெண்டாம் வகுப்பில் உயிரால் பாடம் எடுத்து, அதில் தேர்ச்சி பெற்ற மாணவர்கள்தானே மருத்துவப் படிப்புக்கு விண்ணப்பிக்க முடியும்? அப்படி இருக்க அதற்க்கு எதற்கு ஒரு தனி நுழைவுத்தேர்வு? இத்தகைய தேர்வுகள் இதை வைத்து பயிற்சிவகுப்பு நடத்தி காசுபார்க்கும் கயவர்களுக்கும், ஆறாம் வகுப்பிலிருந்தே தன்பிள்ளையை பல லட்சம் கட்டிப் பயிற்சிவகுப்புகளுக்கு அனுப்பும் ஆண்டைகளுக்குமே உதவும். இதனால் எப்படி மருத்துவக் கல்வியின் தரம் உயரும்?

அப்படியென்றால், 10ஆம் வகுப்புப் பொதுத்தேர்வு, 12ஆம் வகுப்புப் பொதுத்தேர்வு, மருத்துவக் கல்லூரியில் உள்ள தேர்வுகள் எல்லாம் வடிகட்டாத ஒரு தகுதியற்ற மாணவனை இந்தத் தகுதித்தேர்வு மட்டும் மந்திர வித்தை மூலம் கண்டுபிடித்துவிடுமா? அப்படி என்ன அந்தத் தேர்வு செய்கிறது? இதுவரை விண்டோஸ் 8 பயன்படுத்திவந்தவரிடம் விண்டோஸ் எக்ஸ்.பி உள்ள கணினியைக் கொடுத்துப்பாருங்கள். அவர் திணறிப் போவார். அதானால் விண்டோஸ் 8 இயங்குதளம் எக்ஸ்.பி இயங்குதளத்தைவிடத் தரம் தாழ்ந்ததாகிவிடுமா? அதுபோலவே உள்ளது இவர்கள் வாதமும். ஒருவன் 12 வருடங்கள் படித்த பாடத்திட்டத்தில் இருந்து கேள்வி கேட்காமல் வேறு பாடத்திட்டத்தில் இருந்து கேள்வி கேட்டால் அது எப்படி நியாயம்?

இப்படி NEETக்கு வக்காலத்து வாங்கும் அறிவுஜீவிகளிடம் இதை மட்டும் கேளுங்கள். "வெளிநாடுகளில் மேற்படிப்புப் படிக்க அந்த நாட்டு மொழிகளில் தகுதித்தேர்வு எழுதுவது போல, தமிழகக் கல்லூரிகளில் படிக்க வரும் அனைவரும் தமிழிலும் தகுதித்தேர்வு எழுதித் தேறி இருக்கவேண்டும் என்று சொன்னால் ஏற்பீர்களா?" என்று. இந்த நவீன-தீண்டாமைவாதிகள் ஒன்று தலைதெறிக்க ஓடிவிடுவார்கள் அல்லது நம்மை தேசத் துரோகி என்று உச்ச சுதியில் கத்துவார்கள். ஆகையால் தரம் உயர்த்துவது, சம உரிமை போன்ற NEET  ஆதரவு வாதங்கள் எல்லாம் சற்று உற்று நோக்கினால் தரைமட்டமாக விழுந்துவிடுகின்றன.

எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் மேலாக ஒரு முக்கியமான கருத்தையும் முன்வைக்கிறேன். மருத்துவம் மட்டும் அல்ல. எந்தப் படிப்பும் படிப்பதற்கு தேர்ச்சி ஒரு தகுதியாக இருக்கலாமே ஒழிய, மதிப்பெண்கள் ஒரு தகுதியாக இருக்கக்கூடாது. ஒவ்வொருவன் குடும்பத்திலும் ஒவ்வொரு துன்பம் இருக்கும். வெகுசிலரே கவலைகள் இல்லாமல் பள்ளி/கல்லூரிகளுக்கு வருகின்றனர். அப்படி இருக்க ஒரே ஒரு தேர்வில் அவர்கள் எடுக்கும் மதிப்பெண்கள் மட்டும் அவர்களின் தகுதியாகிவிடுமா? அம்மா அப்பா திட்டுவார்கள் என்று நல்ல மதிப்பெண் எடுப்பவர்களே இங்கு அதிகம். இந்தப் படிப்பை நீ படித்தால்தான் எனக்கு கெளரவம் என்று பெற்றோர் தரும் உளவியல் அழுத்தத்தால் மதிப்பெண்களைக் குறிவைத்துப் படிப்பவர்களும் ஏராளம். பந்தயக்குதிரை போல வெறும் முதலிடத்தை இலக்காக வைத்துப் படிப்பவர்களும் உண்டு. இவர்களில் யாருமே ஒரு நல்ல மருத்துவராகவோ, நல்ல பொறியாளராகவோ, நல்ல ஆசிரியராகவோ ஏன் நல்ல மனிதனாகவோகூடத் தகுதியற்றவர்கள்.

ஓட்டுக்குப் பணம் கொடுத்து வெற்றிபெற்றவுடன் செலவு செய்த காசை மீட்டெடுக்க ஊழல் செய்யும் அரசியல்வாதிபோல, சிறப்புவகுப்புகளுக்கும் (ட்யூஷன்), பயிற்சி வகுப்புகளுக்கும் பல லட்சம் கட்டிப் படித்தவன் பட்டம் வாங்கியவுடன் வெளிநாட்டுக்குப் பறக்கவோ, பெருநகரங்களில் செல்வம் கொழிக்கும் மருத்துவமனைகளில் பணிபுரியவோ, மருத்துக் கம்பெனிகளின் லாப வெறிக்குத் துணைபோகவோ, உடல் உறுப்புகளைத் திருடி விற்கவோ மாட்டான் என்று எப்படி நம்புவது?

அதுவே சிறுவயதுமுதல் ஆசையின் காரணமாகவோ, ஆர்வத்தின் காரணமாகவோ, அனுபவத்தின் காரணமாகவோ ஒரு துறை மீது ஈடுபாடு வந்து, அதனால் அந்தத் துறையில் படிக்க விரும்பும் ஒருவனுக்கு வாய்ப்புக்கொடுப்பதே சரியானதாக இருக்கும். இப்படி வாய்ப்பு மறுக்கப்பட்ட எத்தனையோ அறிவாளிகள் இன்று கிடைத்ததைப் படித்துவிட்டு வேண்டாவெறுப்பாக வேலைபார்க்கிறார்கள். இதுதான் ஆர்வத்திற்கு திறமைக்கும் கிடைக்கும் மரியாதையா? பள்ளிகளில் சுமாராகப் படிப்பவர்கள் கல்லூரிகளில் நன்றாகக் படிப்பதும் இதுவே தலைகீழாக நடப்பதும் யாரும் அறியாததல்ல. அப்படி இருக்க 8.5 லட்சம் பேர் எழுதும் தேர்வில், மாநில அளவில் முதல் 1000 இடங்கள் எடுத்தால் மட்டுமே நல்ல கல்லூரிகளில் நினைத்த துறையில் கல்வி என்றால் இதுவே ஒரு வக்கிரமான அமைப்பு இல்லையா?

ஆகவே விருப்பம் இருப்பவன் விரும்பும் படிப்பைப் படிக்க வகைசெய்ய வேண்டும். "இதனால் எல்லோரும் மருத்துவம் படித்துவிடுவார்கள்" என்று நினைக்கிறீர்களா? அதுவும் நடக்கலாம். ஆனால் அதைத் தடுக்க ஒரு வழியுண்டு. எல்லா வேலைகளுக்கும் இருக்கும் வருமான இடைவெளியை (pay gap) நீக்குவதன் மூலம், "இந்தப் படிப்பு படித்தால் நிறய சம்பாதிக்கலாம்" என்ற எண்ணம் முதலில் நீக்கப்பட வேண்டும். இதுவே எல்லாப் பிரச்சனைகளுக்கும் மூல காரணம். இதைச் சொன்னால் நம்மை கம்ம்யூனிஸ்ட் என்பார்கள். ஆனால் இதுபோன்ற சமதர்மம் நிலவும் நாடுகளுக்கு ஆன்சைட் கிடைக்காதா என்று காத்துக்கிடக்கும் மேன்மக்களே இங்கு அதே சமதர்மம் வரக்கூடாது என்பதில் மிகக்கவனமாக இருக்கிறார்கள்.

சரி, தற்போதுள்ள முதலாளித்துவ முறையில்கூட இது எப்படி இயங்கும்? எல்லோரும் மருத்துவமோ, பொறியியலோ படித்தாலும் பெரிதாக ஒன்றும் இழப்பு ஏற்படாது. தெருவுக்குத் தெரு மருத்துவர்களும் பொறியாளர்களும் வேலை இல்லாமல் வீட்டில் இருப்பார்கள். நாளடைவில் தானாக எந்தத் துறைகளில் வேலைவாய்ப்பு இருகிறோதோ அந்தத் துறையில் அதிக மாணவர்கள் சேர்வார்கள். இதைத்தானே நீங்கள் "Free Market Capitalism" என்று பீத்துகிறீர்கள்? அதைக் கல்வியிலும் கொண்டுவரலாமே? வேண்டிய படிப்புகளை வேண்டியவர்கள் படிக்கட்டும். அவர்கள் பார்க்கும் வேலையின் தரத்தைப் பொறுத்து அவர்கள் தொழில் முன்னேற்றம் இருக்கட்டும்! வாய்ப்பு மறுக்கப்படுவதுதான் உங்கள் "Free Market Capitalism" லட்சணமா?

எதற்க்கெடுத்தாலும்  "survival of the fittest" என்று டார்வீனியாக் கோட்பாடு பேசுகிறார்கள். நான் பரிணாமக் கோட்பாட்டை நன்றாகக் படித்தவன். "Survival of the fittest"-க்கு இவர்கள் சொல்லும் விளக்கம் எந்த நூலிலும் இல்லை. என்னவேண்டுமானாலும் செய்து எப்படியும் தான் ஆசையை நிறைவேற்றிக்கொள்வது "survival of the fittest" இல்லை. அதற்குப் பெயர் "unethical cut-throat competition". முதலாளித்துவமும் இங்கு நிலவும் சாதிய சமூகமும் உருவாக்கியுள்ள இந்த மனநோயைத்தான் இவர்கள் "survival of the fittest" என்று பூசி மொழுகுகிறார்கள்.

அனிதாவின் பெயரைக் குறிப்பிடாமல் என்னால் கடந்துசெல்ல முடியவில்லை. 1176 எடுத்த காரணத்தால் அல்ல. அனிதா 800 மதிப்பெண் எடுத்திருந்தாலும் அவர் மருத்துவர் ஆக எல்லாத் தகுதியும் பெற்ற ஒருவர். எப்படி? மிகவும் ஏழ்மையான குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்து மருத்துவத்திற்கு காசில்லாமல் தன் தாயைப் பறிகொடுத்த அனிதாவைவிட யார் மருத்துவராகத் தகுதி உள்ளது? அவர் மருத்துவர் ஆகியிருந்தால் எல்லோருக்கும் இலவச சேவை செய்வார் என்று சொல்லவில்லை. ஆனால் கண்டிப்பாக காசு கொடுத்து இடம் பிடித்த "survival of the fittest"களைக் காட்டிலும் கருணையும், சமூக அக்கறையும் உள்ள மருத்துவராக இருந்திருப்பார். அது எவரும் மறுக்க முடியாத உண்மை. உங்களுக்கு வேண்டுமானால் பெரிய பெரிய மருத்துவமனைகளில் பெரிய பெரிய தகுதித் தேர்வுகள் எழுதிவந்த மருத்துவர்கள் தேவைப்படலாம். ஆனால் பெரும்பான்மை மக்களுக்கு அனிதாவைப் போன்ற மனசாட்சியுள்ள, எல்லா நோயாளிகளையும் மறைந்த தன் தாயாகப் பார்க்கும் மருத்துவர்களே தேவை. அப்படிப்பட்ட மருத்துவர்களை உருவாக்கமுடியாத சமூகம்தான் தூக்கில் தொங்கவேண்டும்.

முடிவாக

• நீட் விலக்குப் பெறுதல் தாற்காலிகத் தீர்வு.
• நீட்டை நீக்குவது குறுகிய காலத் தீர்வு.
• விரும்பியவர் விரும்பிய படிப்பை விலையில்லாமல் படிக்கவும், தொழில்களிடையேயும் தொழிலாரகளிடமும் சமத்துவமும் சமநீதியும் நிலவ வழிசெய்யும் பொதுவுடைமைச் சமூகம் படைப்பதே நிரந்தரத் தீர்வு!

I Love Cats. But...

I have already written how organizations like PeTA and Blue Cross are double-crossing the cultural/religious/personal rights of individuals and communities. These are the groups pushing to ban Jallikattu. They went to courts to get humans killed and maimed by stray dogs. They are behind the protests against Eid sacrifices. Now they have stricken again. This time members of the Nari Korava tribes are the victims of these "animal love-makers".

I myself have kept many cats and I love cats. They make adorable pets. Almost all members of  my family accept a feline pet over any other pet. I have personally rescued many kittens from drainage pits, barbed wires etc. But that should stop there. I should not behave like the so called "dog lovers" who are offended by Chinese (Yulin) Dog Meat festival, but want millions of cattle slaughtered to feed their dogs. My love for cats stops with me. I have no right to force my opinions on others. There are superstitious people who say that cat is a bad omen. Should I get offended by that too?

According to various reports from TV channels and news sites, the Blue Cross of India have taken law in to their hands and "captured" 3 Nari Korava men for "cruelty towards animals". Reason? The Nari Korava men were catching feral cats (possibly to eat, which is part of their food habits). Where this insanity will stop? Sadly, our Nari Korava brothers don't have Facebook activists who can write lengthy conspiracy theories that "PeTA is a foreign funded organization that is set to eradicate native cat breed and introduce foreign breeds" like they have done for bulls. But I have few questions on this aspect.


1. All these organizations regularly euthanize animals and they run in public money. (They forced me to pay money to take a rescued cat in, very humane indeed!) Will they publish the number of animals in and out of their facility transparently?

2. Will they also get offended if a cat eats a rat? If rat is natural food of cat, then meat is natural food of humans. They should not get offended by humans eating meat.

3. Will they also protest against eradication of flies and mosquito? Don't those insects have right to live? What about plants? What these people are feeding their animal brothers?

4. Blue Cross vaccinate dogs for rabies. Why they are not respecting the rights of rabies virus? If they consider dog life is more important than virus life then the same logic can be applied like this. "Human life is much more important than dog life".

5. Who are they to decide which stray animals can be killed and which cannot be? What is morally correct is subjective and changes with time and region. Killing dog for food may sound repulsive to some while for someone else it may be their favorite food since childhood.

6. They claim they want all animals happy. Have they conducted any survey among the animals they keep? How they are so sure that what they do is best for animals?

Some valid reasons to take action:

1. If someones pet has been captured or killed, action can be taken on that, provided the pet remained in the premises of its owner or accompanied by the owner and didn't pose a threat to anyone else. Killing a dog or any other animal in self-defense should not be a crime. This line of reasoning can be extended to plucking a flower from neighbors' garden.

2. Killing or capturing wild animals or endangered species can be counted as crime. But wait, that too includes even trees and plant life.

3. Slaughtering animals in unsuitable places can be prevented. This is purely in grounds of hygiene and for regulating slaughter. Not for anything else.

4. An economical and sustainable approach can be taken to reduce over-hunting or over-fishing or over-exploitation of resources. People who violate this can be punished.

5. No one should be punished for killing the following animals. Animals which they themselves have grown, that have been properly bought with money or other means, that are feral/stray, in self-defense, to prevent spread of diseases, to keep the environment safe and clean etc.

Some points to ponder:

1. Humans evolved from other primates just 2 lakh years back.

2. Humans domesticated cows, cats etc only within last 15,000 years. (Before that there were no such animals! Dogs were not domesticated at first and they just evolved along human hunters some 40 to 27 thousand years ago.)

3. Humans were hunter-gatherers for good part of their history. Just the most recent 5% (10 thousand years approx. out of 2 lakh years) of human history we started agriculture.

3. Without eating meat, we might not have evolved as humans.

4. Without humans domesticating, these animals will be extinct within few generations.

5. Agriculture causes more extinctions and environmental damage than sustainable hunter-gatherer cultures like those of Nari Koravas. So Blue Cross and PeTA should first try to ban agriculture.

New Source:

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Cats-of-Tondiarpet-narrowly-escape-gypsy-soup-get-mew-lease-of-life/2016/08/17/article3583010.ece

A Story of Innovations

Image Credit: WikiMedia

FloraPiss is a large corporate that manufactures and sells fruit juice in United Fates of Antarctica(UFA). One day while researching a method to preserve juices, one of their employer finds a way to carbonate water. Now from here let us see how our FloraPiss becomes the number one innovator using the fair and just patent system. As the great patent system is designed to provide incentive to innovator, to protect their financial interests and to encourage competition to innovate more, we can see how deep the altruistic and progressive system goes to save humanity!

FloraPiss files patent for "dissolving carbon-dioxide in water". So for next 20 years no other company can manufacture soda. FloraPiss starts to sell plain soda water (no sugar or flavor). A soda bottle costs 20 paise to produce but is sold for 20 rupees. It is completely legal and as there is no competition, FloraPiss gets its fair share of profit for the innovation.

There was a problem with packaging as the new drink blew up the existing cans and tetra packs, FloraPiss team innovated a tightly sealed bottle. Though they are already in use in paints and solvent industry, FloraPiss' unique innovation lies in the application of packaging soda. So another patent has been files for "using an air tight bottle with sealable caps to package edible items". WOW! Now nobody can use this innovation for another 20 years.

The employment agreement clearly says that "all inventions, improvements, innovations, discoveries etc during the tenure with the company, during or after office hours, inside or outside the office premises, belongs to the company". So in no way FloraPiss is supposed to give anything to the employee who accidentally carbonated water. But he was given a promotion, a bonus of one years salary and an appreciation mail from the VP and CEO with everyone in CC.

As the packaging patent was a team work, everyone in the team was given a salary increment and an appreciation mail from VP(that's all!).

The company demonstrated its love for the employees by this and there is no need to do anything further. Because it is the company that actually funded their recruitment, training, chairs they sat while inventing, table they placed the carbon-dioxide cylinder, the water, electricity etc. Without all these they would be beggars in the street or pizza delivery boys. So as the rightful owner of the "research" and investor of the "project" FloraPiss has no guilt attached to it like robbing them of their "inventions".

After 3 years, RedSquirt, a middle sized ketchup company uses air tight bottles to package their ketchup! How dare they are to infringe FloraPiss' patent? FloraPiss sues RedSquirt and the case drags for 4 years. RedSquirt goes bankrupt and FloraPiss gives it life by acquisition. A merger, "RedPiss" is born! FloraPiss acquires a new patent in this merger, "Twist to open". This innovation by an employee who worked for RedSquirt allowed sealable caps to be reused. FloraPiss forces him to sign an NDA and fires him after merger! They are the rightful owner of the IP now. How can a third-class employee claim ownership for it?

After 15 years, FloraPiss research team stumbles upon a way to add sugar to the soda. "Lot of R&D efforts and investments" were involved in the process as addition of sugar sometimes made the soda solution unstable and blew away the caps of the bottles. So FloraPiss also invest a lot in designing a good bottle design. They find a lighter, cheaper and more stronger alternate for the glass bottles. They use the plastic bottles which are already used in chemical industries with their acquired "twist to open" cap design. With this new innovative design, FloraPiss stars producing larger bottles. the cap can be reused and customers can pour some sweet soda, seal back the bottle air tight and keep it in their fridge! What an innovation. FloraPiss files a patent for "adding sweetener to soda water".

5 more years later, patent for soda water expires. DewyDrool, a competition adds aspartame to the soda water and starts to sell. As it infringes "adding sweetener to soda water" patent, FloraPiss sues them. But DewyDrool is also a large player like FloraPiss. They settle the case outside the court by cross-licensing. Now, FloraPiss can also produce "diet" soda and market them as "healthy" alternate to the sugary drinks. While DewyDrool can sell sugary soda as "energy drink". What a great leap!

FloraPiss and DewyDrool setup a non-profit independent body in to which other companies can join and get licenses. But there is a catch. They have to give some money to FloraPiss and DewyDrool, or give some of their patents to them in exchange. The patent will be evaluated for its worthiness by the "independent" body and any extra payment is settled. By this way, FloraPiss and DewyDrool has opened up their technology to fasten the progress in cool drink revolution!


Due to all the licensing fee, increase in shares due to near monopoly, law suits and greater profit margin, FloraPiss becomes a market leader and buys lot of companies. It even sets up some small proxy companies which hold patents acquired in due course and sue competitions without backlash. It is perfectly legal and within the limits of law! MBA students are inspired by FloraPiss CEO's BED-Talks and biography. FloraPiss becomes a ready-made theme for lot of inspirational stories and self-help books.

Meanwhile FloraPiss sues Floor-a-Piss, a chain of paid urinals where people pee directly on the floor, for trademark violation. Floor-a-Piss changes its name and settles the case outside the court.

Freemanistan is a nearby third world country where there are no patent laws to protect the "intellectual property rights". So FloraPiss is reluctant to start its business there! But new government in Freemanistan tries to establish trade contact with UFA. The problem is, there is already a market of soda water, sugary soda water, colored soda water, flavored soda water etc in Freemanistan. Actually soda water was in use in Freemanistan for last 200 years! So FloraPiss is afraid that once the trade opens, cheap import from Freemanistan will spoil its market share.

So FloraPiss and other such companies in UFA lobby their government to press Freemanistan government to sign trade treaties which enforces IP laws so that none of the UFA's corporates suffer due to the inhuman stone age laws of Freemanistan. UFA tries to do that but Freemanistan government refuses. So UFA enforces economic sanctions and trade embargo towards Freemanistan, which forces the Freemanistan government to involve in black market. Soon UFA backed "liberation army" start a "pro-democratic" revolution in Freemanistan and the government falls. The new "pro-democracy government" signs all treaties and agreements which opens room for patent laws in Freemanistan. FloraPiss buys most of the existing companies in Freemanistan and automates production, resulting in lot of job cuts. FloraPiss also acquires patents for sparkling wine, fizzy fruit juices etc in the process.

Later in Freemanistan, a new breed of companies headed by natives surface. Their tactics are no different than FloraPiss, yet the people worship them as their own innovators and an answer to UFA's aggression. Facebook posts and Tweets supporting domestic businesses and exposing foreign conspiracies are setup. Freemanistan companies also amass lot of wealth and goes exactly the same way as UFA companies from buying out smaller companies to lobbying the government to amend labor laws. Those who oppose Freemanistan businessmen are labeled anti-nationals.

There is really no way to tell the difference between the following:

• Pages by FloraPiss like companies that claim their products and activities are safe and legal
• Pages by NGOs like BlueCheese that claim soda causes cancer and autism and their factories caused tsunamis. (Soon FloraPiss will be certified as non-polluter by BlueCheese, while locals are labeled harmful)
• Pages by very few university professors, claiming FloraPiss factories discharge untreated water to rivers and their economic model resulted in unemployment and stagnation in cool-drinks industry.
• Pages by Freemanistan nationalists claiming that FloraPiss is backed by religious groups of UFA and they in turn fund conversion activities in Freemanistan. They also claim that soda causes fertility problems.
• Pages advocating the cholesterol-free organic soda, produced as per ancient sacred texts and that has unicorn amniotic fluid. They claim that it can cure all known diseases.

FloraPiss' production methods vary a lot in Freemanistan compared to UFA and causes lot of environmental problems. Some "pro-science accounts" in Facebook and Twitter expose the "stupidity" behind opposition to FloraPiss practices. They sacrifice some straw-men like BlueCheese and ultra organic soda movement on the altar of rationalism to silence these anti-science retards.

Whenever FloraPiss' tactics of forcing countries to sign trade treaties and deals using bribes, coercion and lobby is exposed, "notable economists" and "concerned citizens" bash anti-patent and anti-corporate voices, accusing them of copying and violation of intellectual property rights! How stupid and greedy these bastards trying to steal ideas and hard work of years!

People from UFA and Freemanistan like and share every post they "feel" true through their "personal experience" while enjoying a can of FloraPiss or PolarPee (Freemanistan's National Soda!). FloraPiss announces that Chandra Bai, Freemanistan woman (but UFA citizen!) as their new CEO. Freemanistan Social media celebrates it with posts narrating the greatness of Freemanistani people.

Meanwhile FloraPiss and PolarPee patent "organic soda" formulas and sue each other. Share prices fluctuate for both companies during every trail and judgement after which it will be taken to the next level of courts. Wolves of Ceiling Street make lot of money by speculating the market. Patent lawyers buy private islands.

A leak from Banana (a small nation in Indian ocean) reveals that many of the UFA and Freemanistan businessmen have hidden money in tax havens. Yet the governments come for their rescue saying that taking action against them will result in economic crash. As everything from savings to pension fund are linked to market, people "forget" the incident and move ahead with new movies and football matches.

Innovation continues not only in cool-drinks industry but also in every other industry from medicine to agriculture.

Reliable Source

Introduction

What is a reliable source for any information? Anybody with an Internet connection can write anything they want. Even this blog is one such thing. I have no qualification to write on any subject with authority save for some "public static void main". But still I am writing. So if a thousand blogs say that something is correct and only few "unknown" sites say the opposite, democratically, is it not correct, because that is majority? Is truth is what we feel and experience or something that is proven beyond doubt? Is truth is what works for me and may not for you? Is there no ultimate truth that is objective instead of subjective "feelings" or "experiences"? Is that coffee is hot for me and cold for you? But is there not a thermometer that says the coffee is 67C? What if someone sounds like a genuine skeptic while questioning the caliberation of the thermometer itself? I have seen people questioning moon landing and vaccines like true skeptics. Does questioning something makes you a skeptic while questioning something else makes you an idiot?

People who believe Coco-Cola and Mentos can produce cyanide without a question suddenly start to ask millions of question if you say that it won't. People who don't even have a doubt that solar eclipse causes birth defects become "Doubting Thomases" when you say that mercury in shark is harmful for lactating mother and label you as a foreign agent who questions their native wisdom! The source for the Coke-Mentos story may be a blog written from Brazil and the source for mercury in shark is FDA's own website. It doesn't matter. Both are websites. And some even argue that it is better to trust the Brazillian blogger as he has no financial interest than the FDA site which is influenced by corporate lobby! So whom can we trust?

History of Writing

Back in the old days, people who were educated alone could read and write. And only a minority of the educated minority wrote books. Majority of the population never had a chance to read something or express their ideas to a wider audience. Hand written copies of books were costly to produce, hard to maintain and almost out of reach for the public. Some countries allowed only the rich elites to possess books. Even worse, in some other countries only those people who were born in to particular castes were allowed to read and write.

Then came the printing press which allowed mass production of books. Books became cheaper and were within the reach of public. At the same time, industrial revolution and political changes allowed majority to get education. As literacy rate grew along with the increase in number of books, we saw a boom in creativity, inventions, discoveries and critical thinking. But there was a problem. Even though almost anyone could read a book, not everyone was able to publish a book. You can have your own manuscripts on your desk. Else you can even print a copy for yourself. But hitting market was out of question.

Even today, to reach a good number of audiences, you need a publisher. And the publishers lay out certain rules and restrictions to the buyers as well as to the writers! Writers are asked to surrender the copyright to publishers. Readers are restricted from creating derivative works. Even reselling of books and photocopying are becoming "offences" in the eyes of corporate publishers. On one side, quality books are becoming costlier and costlier. Also on the other side, whoever has money can publish anything they want. The books cover, paper quality and print, everything will look exactly like an encyclopedia from a renowned university, yet the content will be no better than "Weekly World News". On the third side, rise of Internet provides costless (apart from what you pay for data) information. Again in Internet, most of the serious researches and information are pay-walled, and anyone with a connection can write anything (they don't even need the power of money!) the picture is becoming very complex.

Let me categorize them vaguely.

1. Really Good Books

These are books that are product of serious research or study or skill. They are genuine works and they can be verified scientifically. They are written by scientists and researchers who invest their time, money and effort on their fields. These books are meant to be consumed by public and increase the awareness, ignite discussions and pave way for improvements or rectification of existing ideas. But the sad facts about the books are as follows. They cost more. They are "dry" and uninteresting for general public and most people seldom know the titles of these books! Add to this the threats and violent opposition to such books which dare to question existing beliefs or status quo!

2. Bad Books that Resembles Good Books

Majority of books sold in railway stations or book fairs etc. are of this category. They have polished covers, colorful photographs, shiny paper, good quality print, cost you a fortune and authored by a famous writer/activist you often see on TV or in movie credits. They resemble the "good books" in every aspect from ISBN to Best Seller endorsements. But they are nothing more than self-help crap, new-age rap, astrology bullshit, biased history batshit or mumbo-jumbo on any subject. Go to any book shop. You can find at least a dozen of books on Homeopathy but you can't get a book that explains Homeopathy is fake! As the free market neutrality and voting-with-your-wallet democracy "naturally selects" the "fittest for survival", you have books that endorse Homeopathy, Crystal Therapy, Astrology etc. widely and cheaply available, while a good book on astro-physics or bio-chemistry is out of stock (never been in stock) or out of budget!

3. Good Sites

Enter the Internet! There are some sites which are actually continuation of international science journals and serious magazines with genuine journalism from the printing era. They have made their way in to the Internet. But most of them are pay-walled. Even some of them are not pay-walled but they are unpopular among masses. Again, these sites serve articles that are not so "interesting" to read. Even though serious efforts (like this) are taken to make books that are already in public domain freely available to people in digital format, relatively new and fresh information is blocked by subscriptions, pay per view etc. Also attempts like Facebook's Internet.org (FreeBasics) will add another layer in between people and these sites. If you have to pay Rs. 200 every month for a full-fledged Internet connection while FreeBasics comes for Rs. 0 (I won't say it is free of cost! It costs your privacy and freedom of choice), most people will choose to stick with the few sites provided by Facebook. As far as Whatsapp is working, who cares to do a data recharge?

4. The Other Sites

The rest of the Internet is nothing but the noise you hear in the market. Absolute democracy! Everyone has their say! From flat-earthers to neo-Nazi racists. All are given equal opportunity to write and spread their "message" to the world. Whatsapp messages, Youtube videos, Facebook updates and retweeted blog links can enlighten us on GM diet, while nobody cares to check what it is actually. Even some widely read news sites publish unethical articles (see example below) and distance themselves from questioning by a lame disclaimer that the opinion expressed is the writer's and not of the publisher's. Again the genuine idiocracy democracy of the Internet wins! abchomeopathy.com has Alexa rank of 72,613 and quackwatch.org has a rank of 193,968. You know what it means right? People at abchomeopathy.com are 267% correct than people at quackwatch.org. If 100 blogs say that vaccines contain poisonous chemicals and cause autism and 3 or 4 sites say vaccines are needed to prevent diseases like polio or mumps, then surely those 3 or 4 sites are run by corporate funded doctors who have no idea about vaccines while those blogs are run by highly concerned citizens who are rightly qualified in UFOlogy or Tarot reading.



This article from The Hindu (Tamil version) claims that a single Siddha medicine can cure diseases cold, diabetes, cancer and AIDS. How can a Newspaper like The Hindu publish an article like this without moral responsibility?

Screen grab from the The Hindu's article titled "தொற்றுநோய்களை விரட்டும் மகா சுதர்சன மாத்திரை"

What’s My Problem?

People are choosing what they want to believe and it is their choice and their life. How can you say what you believe is correct and what I believe is wrong? What is your problem? Do you know whatever you say is 100% correct? Nobody is 100% correct. Unless you experience it yourself, you won't believe.

These are the usual response people give when confronted that what they believe is pseudoscience or hoax.

An engineering graduate believes that a pulse check by a naturopath is equally valid as an ECG and a glass of coriander juice is equally good as angioplasty. He even said that former is better than later as it is fully natural, safe and without side-effects. You don't see a problem?

A person with pain due to gall stones ignores it and goes for acupuncture to treat the pain. He is rushed to ICU with severe jaundice. No problem yet?

A project manager enrolls his son in mid-brain activation class for a hefty sum of money against his son's wish to join Karate or Swimming. Still no problem?

An MBA gold-medalist spending Rs. 8,000 a month on red-mushroom powder and Spirulina capsules and genuinely believes that it can cure any sort of disease.  Not a problem at all!

Magnetic necklace, pyramid schemes, water therapy, energy treatment, de-tox diet, positive vibrations, vaasthu fish, snake oil, faith healing all are real. Thousands of people are saying it worked for them. So I am just trying it out. Nothing is wrong in trying that. If it fails, I may lose some money or time. But what if it works? And we should fight the "leftist conspiracy" to infect our children with evil ideas like evolution, germ theory of disease, astronomy, physics, chemistry, history, biology and English grammar (their r grammer Nazis r8? Dey cn’t evn tolrite ma Whatsapp msg!). Also we should fight the right wing corporates who are trying to kill the people by vaccination, anti-biotics, fertilizers, cellphone radiation, chem-trails, GM food etc. We should rely on our UFO masters, spirits of nature, kundalini energy, water memory, cosmic waves and organic foods to save us!

Absolutely no problem! Go ahead!

Solution?

What is the solution? Am I the expert to ask? Not so. But here is my opinion. Researches, studies and serious work of science, history and politics should be made cheap or free of cost for the public. Government and rational intellects should encourage people to read and share that information. Sharing, derivative works, collaboration etc. should be encouraged rather than being met with lawsuits in patent courts. On the other hand, people who knowingly circulate unscientific and unethical ideas, misinformation, rumors etc. should be banned and punished. Yes. I hear you crying that I am for censorship and against freedom of speech. But for your kind information, spreading misinformation about vaccine or endorsing a home-made cure for cancer is harmful. It is not freedom of speech. It has direct impact on people who are foolish enough to fall for it. Lives are lost. Damages done in irreversible ways. Yet these people are walking free on pretext of free speech! Scientific community with the help of volunteers should set up a universal review panel to review and rate sites based on the content. Again, these may result in censorship. But we should think a way to make it impartial and honest system rather than giving every retarded view an equal opportunity to corrupt the minds of public. If there are sources with 95% truth and 20% truth, both are logically partial truth. But practically they are not equally valid. It is our duty to ensure the 95% truth grows to 99.999% and 20% truth (80% false) obscured from the public. Long live democracy! Long live freedom of speech!

Merry Christmas!

Sorry! No crib this year!

 As Chennai is limping back to normalcy, Churches have asked people to tone down Christmas celebrations and spend the money on something meaningful. So no crib, no cakes, not much decoration and no crackers (crackers have no place in Christmas! Do you want to shake up the sleeping baby Jesus?). Some people even gave up new clothes and donated towards flood relief. Good move indeed. But why don't we do this every year? I think this is a good starting point and expect at least some of the Churches will follow the suit in coming years. After all what those decorations have to do in celebrating the birth of a humble child 2000 years ago? So if anything we can please Jesus with that money is to help out our fellow humans in need. Fine... Let us move on. The intention of this post is to bring out some factual truths about Christmas. Now-a-days many Christians know about what I am going to write. But this is just to put things according to my understanding.

1. Christmas is not Jesus' birthday!

Even though the Church has celebrated December 25th as birthday of Jesus, Bible or any reliable historic sources don't give us the date of birth of Jesus. The possibility of Jesus born on cold winter night is slim as the Biblical account says that the sheperds were out in the fields (Luke 2:8). So there is nothing that points to the date December 25th. There are some theories that a Pagan festival to celebrate winter solicate has been converted by Roman Catholic Church in to Christmas. Whatever! I see no harm in celebrating Christmas on 25th December. But we should be aware that it is not Jesus' birthday but Jesus' birth rememberence day. Another point, December 25th is Isaac Newton's birthday and you can also include the GravMass day in your list of celebrations :)

2. The Wise-men

There are no record that the wise-men visited the manger nor there were any records saying 3 of them were there. So the usual crib scene with the three wise-men is not factually correct. Actually Bible records that the wise-men visited Jesus at his house.

3. Lack of Space! Not Poverty!

There is a common misconception that Jesus' family was so poor that they couldn't afford a lodge and took refuge in manger. There are some people like Paulo Coelho who are comparing Jesus' family with refugee crisis. And this link(thepoke.co.uk) that says that they are squatters who are wasting taxpayers' money.

 

But Joseph seems to be a law abiding citizen who was obeying orders given by government and moved to his native place for sake of registering his census records. Too much for a squatter right? There is a good chance that Joseph paid his taxes as Jesus himself did so and advised his followers to do so. Third, it is not poverty that forced Joseph to take shelter in the manger but lack of space in the inn. It may be correct that Jesus is not so rich but he is not that poor as Joseph had a profession (carpenter) to care for his family. It can be argued that they went to Egypt as refugees. Again, that is only a movement within the then Roman Empire and not illegal immigration.

4. The Santa Claus 

Saint Nicholas was a 4th Century Christian Saint who gave up his wealth and helped poor people. Also some accounts record that he used to place surprise gifts for the needy. This somehow got mixed up with the Pagan Germanic Yuletide celebrations and the Santa Claus legend hence came to life. But this has been cleverly exploited by market forces and there is so much Santa in Christmas that Jesus could not even surface for the entire month of December! Even if it is not for the "Son of God" people should realize, it is Jesus and Saint Nicholas who can influence children in the right direction.

So it is easy to get carried away from the real meaning of Christmas and actual facts behind the festival as well as better way of observing it. In this consumerist world, everything is marketed. We should draw a fine line between acceptable spending on celebrations and excess. By that we can do more good to everyone (including us)! The flood has reinforced our love for fellow humans across stupid barriers like caste and religion. So Christmas this year has become more of celebrating the spirit of giving than filling our bellies with biriyani. Hope this Christmas sets itself as a starting point for coming years of more such resonable Christmas celebrations (of course without floods)! Happy Christmas!

Animal Farm - Book Review

Do you want to know why Russia and West are fighting over Ukraine? Do you think communism can save the world? Do you like children's fantasy? If you answer 'yes' to any of the above questions, then ”Animal Farm” by George Orwell is a good choice for you. Counting just less than 100 pages, the book tells the story of a farm in England. But wait! Are you wondering how a farm in England can explain current political mayhem surrounding Ukraine? Written in early1940s, the book is much of a prophecy that can even belittle blabbering of Nostradamus.

Most of us would have read or at least heard about ”Gulliver's Travel”. The story about Lilliput's! You got it? But many of us are not aware that Jonathan Swift wrote the story not only as children's fantasy, but also as a political and philosophical satire. Swift ridiculed the Imperial French and British as well as the struggle between fading archaism and emerging modernity in Gulliver's Travel. Orwell on the other hand encapsulates the raise, progress and fall of USSR (Soviet Russia) inside children's fantasy, with clever parodies. The wow factor is, Orwell wrote about events happening today 70 years before.

The story opens with a farm run by one Mr. Jones in England. The animals of the farm, fed up with the mistreatment at the hands of human masters, plot and execute a rebellion successfully and take over the farm after expelling Jones. Soon, they create certain rules and orders for themselves and start running the farm all by themselves. But as time passes, the power at the hands of pigs start to corrupt them. Soon the farm is attacked by neighboring humans but the attack is successfully thwarted but with great losses too. But the pigs start changing the laws to suit their desires and gradually collaborate with humans and start imitating them in everything. They go so far that even the animals can't identify pigs from humans. At last all other animals go back to the state which they were when humans ran the farm.

The story narrates how power corrupts people who rule(pigs), how religion is used to keep people under ignorance(raven), how army and police forces are used to suppress free thought and speech(dogs), how media is used to promote personality cult(Minimus and the black cockerel) and at the same time brainwash people and spread false news(Squealer), how even after all these things some people blindly support ruling class(sheep) and finally how bad the sufferings of people can go unchanged whatever way they choose(other animals, especially horses and hens)!

In the last chapter, there is a scene when the pigs fight with humans. But this time, it is not about the ownership of the farm or welfare of animals but about the card game they are playing. This is what happening now between West and Russia. As Orwell predicted 47 years before fall of USSR, they even renamed the nation! Communism in theory is good. It can be practical in short run too. But sooner or later power will corrupt the rulers and thing will end no better or even worse than before. George Orwell, came to this conclusion long back. I still admire USSR, their rational culture and their radically new political and economic structure, their raise from a poor nation of peasants to first nation to put a man in space within few decades, their books, their bold stance against capitalist West etc. But alas... It all fell apart for just one reason. It too was run by humans.

So read the book, not only as a fantasy. The power is all yours to corrupt your mind with truth :-)

May 1st

Everybody know that today is world labor day. And if you want to know the history and geography about this day, you can head to the Wikipedia article on the same by clicking here. But I am here with a different message. Especially to the younger generation of so called "professionals" working for corporates.

Who is a worker? Anyone who is not the owner of a business is a worker. Even owners of smaller business like salon shops, iron (laundry) shops etc are workers in proper sense. In that aspect, we are all workers. We are all labors. Don't let your 5 digit salary make you feel that you are different from those who collect garbage or lay down the roads in scorching sun. You are still a labor.

Most of the IT professionals, while interacting with a plumber or carpenter, don't think they are one of their own kind. They isolate themselves thinking they are uneducated, low class while themselves educated, high/upper-middle class. This is a very dangerous mindset. Your salaries won't define who you are. Your nature of work defines who you are.

Let us take a typical day...

You wake up from your bed made by carpenters.

Your bedsheets by textile mill workers.

You go to bathroom constructed by construction workers and plumbers.

You eat food produced by farmers.

You wear shoes made by cobblers.

You lock your door with locks made by blacksmiths.

You drive a car or take a bus manufactured by mechanics.

You travel on the road laid by labors.

Your office is maintained by housekeeping people.

Your office is guarded by security people.

Your network cables are laid by labors.

Electricity and air-condition maintained by electricians.

Your PC manufactured by technicians.

Your .NET code can't build this water tank!

Without all these, you can't work. You can't even live! And remember, you are not the owner of any of the above mentioned services. You are just getting benefited by the services.

You too are one of the labors making the world better.

You are the one who make people's life easy with ATMs.

Your applications make it easy for people to apply for exams.

Your work makes exam/election results readily available.

You create options to book tickets and pay bills from home.

You save nature by reducing paper works to mouse clicks.

You make it possible for people to connect with each other.

You work to trace cyber-criminals.

And the list goes on.

So be proud that you are also part of the work force like everyone around you. But you also need to learn from valuable lessons from the same people whom you despise.

1. Unity

You should stay united. When salaries are not paid properly for some new joinees, don't take it easy as market trend. Remember, the mill workers fighting for the benefits of temporary workers. When someone is fired for no good reason, don't console yourself saying "Thank God! It is not me!" Instead, stand united for his cause. Who knows, when your turn of getting fired will come? Learn these lessons from the workers around you. Nobody can mess with them and walk safely. Their fellow workers will gather like swarms of bees to make them repent and apologize. The same spirit should come to us. That will make us stronger. Corporate CEOs and HRs should know that we are not second to anybody when it comes to our rights.

2. Modesty

Don't allow your high salaries decide how you live. You should be the one who decide how your money is spent. Don't become dependent on too many luxuries of life. Imagine, if we all use public transport and stop using ACs and invertors, how much fuel and electricity can be saved! Invertors consume more power. While the rich are watching IPL with invertor, poor children are struggling with candles to study. Your cozy apartments, luxury cars, LCD TV etc won't bring you happiness. You are just a recession away from those people living modest life. For them it is the normal life. But when you fall, you can't tolerate the ground reality. So it is better to stay at ground than to fly like a plastic bag carried by wind.

3. Humility

Treat people not according to their economic status or educational qualification. Treat them according to what their character is. Treating a human with dignity and respect, we need to learn from them. For example, a construction worker respects teacher of his son more than us. A taxi-driver respects a doctor more than us. You may be an onsite return. You may have more degrees. You earn more money. But your behavior is not like that. Don't put yourself above everyone in everything.

So, this May 1st stuff is not for "them". It is for "us". We as workers, are the force that builds and sustains this world. So let us leave behind corporate fed "elite" mindset and embrace our fellow workers, united in thoughts and deeds.

Killing Plants for Food?

A Case for Plants

Plants breath. Plants grow. Plants reproduce. Plants die. And hence plants are living things. Whether they feel pain or not, let me discuss in later. But for sure we can say that they are living.

Everything is life... You have to open your eyes!

Killing for eating. Is it correct? We uproot carrots, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, ground nuts and other innumerable plants just to satisfy our hunger. Is it ethical? Is it acceptable for rational human beings to do this to plants which can’t even defend themselves when attacked?

Is not killing a carrot plant for it’s food reserve which it stored day by day is like killing an old man for his wealth he accumulated in his entire life? Is not boiling a cup of rice is like boiling thousands of unborn foetus removed from dying mothers? Won’t those innocent rice and wheat grains grow in to new plants if they are provided with soil and water instead of being boiled and eaten as idlies and chapattis?

Where are your ethics when you kill a plant which can’t even express its will to live? In the name of farming, we kill thousands of insects using pesticides. We kill ants which are almost always harmless to human beings. Also innumerable plants are killed in the name of weeds. Are we really behaving with responsibility?

If we have to be humane to animal, why not to plants and insects? They are also living beings. Why there is discrimination? Why some animals are considered even more venerable than some other? Why people are ready to share their dining table with pets (which can harbour lot of diseases) yet they throw an entire meal in to trash if an ant lays dead on it (which is almost always harmless)? Is this not discrimination?

Let us assume killing plants is ok as they don't feel pain. Then comes the question. Is it ok to kill and eat animals/humans in comatose? Or is it ok eat animals killed in road accidents or died naturally or nearing their natural death? It is the same logic used by people accuse meat eaters being unethical to justify their killing of plants.

Here is my summary on this topic:

I feel, killing any animal/plant just for fun or for no use is unethical. I believe endangered species should not be killed for any reason. But growing animals in a good and acceptable condition for meat/milk/research is acceptable. On the other hand, factory farming, where animals are not allowed to move and live a natural life should not be allowed. Those factory farms pump animals with anti-biotic and hormones for extra meat and milk. But don't think agriculture is any better. Ruthless agricultural practices also damage nature comparable to factory farms. Extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers pollute land, water and air in irreversible ways. They also pose threat to human health.

Meat from animals grown in good conditions are better ethical choice than vegetables from aggressive farming with hazardous chemicals.

So there is no denial that, we as a species have to kill in order to eat. We are omnivores(both meat and veggies eaters) by our design/evolution. So whether it is meat or plant, there is no guilt if we don't over hunt, aggressively farm or over consume them by wasting the resources. With that said, no one is morally superior on the grounds of their choice of food.

Being a BE

Everyone of us are born unique. Our tastes differ. Our choices vary. But when it comes to education, everyone is pushing for BE. I am here to share you what I feel about the entire BE-mania.

My Case

When I was a kid, I always dreamt becoming an astronomer. I was very much interested in space. Before we even had our own TV at home, me and my parents used to sit at the steps of our house during nights and I used to watch the sky and ask a lot of questions. Days rolled. My dad took me to a computer center when I was 7. He told me that to become an astronomer, you need to learn computer (really he meant it, as there was no IT boom back then). I was very happy. Those were the days of QBASIC and Lotus 123. When I was 10 years old, my demand was a telescope if managed to get first rank. But I didn't make it that time. Hmm... But by that time, my dad bought me lot of books about space. Almost all of them were printed in Soviet Russia, the pioneer of space. So, they served as a paper telescope for me.

Night sky was my playground!

When I was 15, things changed. Everyone around me started to tell me that unless I get "good" marks in SSLC, I won't get "science group" in higher secondary school. OK, so what? Then I can't study engineering or medicine. But, what about my astronomer dreams? Then I realized that I myself had lost my interest somewhere in the middle. I was shaped by the education, society and lack of opportunities. The same parents who encouraged me when I was a kid, started to say, you first improve your handwriting or you memorize the poems, when I watched programs on space in Discovery channel.

I scored moderately good in SSLC, and landed in science group. By that time, my dad had some health issues, and I couldn't give lot of thoughts about space or anything else for that matter apart from school and family. But at the same time, I was blessed with great teachers. Back then, we had entrance exams for engineering. So I joined a coaching center like everyone else. My friends who were with me know how much I hated the entire engineering thing (even though I had interest in electronics and computers it was not up to the level I loved physics and space).

My first DIY FM radio, while at school

But the pressure on me as the only son to take up the family responsibility before my dad retired was so bad. I had only 5 years in hand to study, find a job and earn to support my family as my dad's health continued to have issues.


I was left without options. I didn't even apply for any other courses apart from BE "as everyone did". There was literally no one to tell me. No one to support me. If this is the case of the only son from a middle class, educated family, imagine what will happen to the rest. I joined BE, electronics and communication in a private college through merit (That is just a lie, I am coming there). Even at that time, I thought if I can study well, I can become anything I want. I did so. I envisioned lot of jobs. I thought, at least, I should become an electronics engineer in some space labs. But people told me that I will not be able to find a job with a decent salary as I am not studying in a "good" college. FUCK! Everyone is studying Anna University syllabus right? I was wrong.

Believe me! It is a trap! But you have no choice...

I was one among the first 4 who got selected in an IT company in our college. I didn't even know the name of that company when I was selected. I believed for sure that I will not work in that company. I was very much interested in circuits and micro-controller programming. But when I finished my education, even with a good streak from primary school to college, I couldn't find any job that I dreamt. I became, not an astronomer, not an engineer in a government or private space lab, not a circuit designer, not even a guitarist but a "software engineer" (I still hate that title). The company that recruited me took people in batches. It was not until you are called, that you know which technology you will work on. I was called in a batch. Until I went there and joined, I didn't know which technology or nature of job I am supposed to do. I didn't even know whether it was a development or support or testing or anything else. It was much like "Shut the fuck up and do what we say or else get the hell out of here!". There was so called "bond" too!

Yet another faceless person in the crowd! I feel that I have lost my identity :(

I thought that they would fire me within the training. But cleared it. I thought I will resign after the bond ends. But fortunately or unfortunately I was tied up to work and earn. People say, "if you don't get what you love, then love what you get." That happened to me. I slowly started to love what I got. Life as a programmer goes on. The only achievement I can boast till date is my resistance against onsite positions. I was offered to travel abroad to client location many times. I declined. I hate to follow crowd. Especially those who want to go to US on whatever cost. By ignoring their family. By playing dirty politics in office. Just to earn money and become inhuman. I don’t want and never wanted to become one of them. This is my life. Not only mine. Many of the BEs live like this.

Why parents are forcing their children to BE?

If I tell that the government policy is the main reason for all this mess, will you accept? I am not saying DMK/ADMK/BJP/Congress are the reason. No matter who rules, the policy is determined by corporates and rich elites. That is the reason. At least, that is what I believe to be the reason. The greed and culture of the society is having a minor impact too.

The government opened doors for corporates and multinational. The corporates need skilled labor for their air-conditioned sweat shops called IT companies. So the government increased engineering seats. As it can't afford cheap and quality education to everyone, they bargained with rich industrialists/movie stars/politicians to open colleges. The fees is rightly set so that not too low to make the parents and students feel that the education is cheap. Not too high that makes parents think this is not for us. It is rightly set to the level that every parent can pay after getting loan or with very tight economic planning. The students are preached day in and day out that they are risking their parents money and their future. So they should not talk with girls, involve in politics or social movements. Instead they should present paper in symposiums. Join IEEE and add weight to their resume.

Students should not talk with girls, involve in politics or social movements.

Hand picked students are sent to campus interviews to lift the college's image. The students are brainwashed to become mute and not even in their thoughts they rebel against authority. That is the corporate mindset. That will make them obey their PM unconditionally if he shouts at them and force them to work on weekends. That is how they shape the young generation to become aware of the world. "Keep quiet and live! Else, suffer.", "Cultured people won't fight for their rights, they just live calm", "Settling in life is more important than doing what you love." Good lessons indeed. These colleges are run by rich people who see it as yet another business. They exploit poor people and milk the middle class everything they have and force them to take loans and sell properties. They call it is merit seat, yet demand Rs. 60,000 every year! Is that the respect you pay for merit? Fuck off bastards!

Which parent will think, "let the kid next door become a doctor or engineer. My son will become a hockey player as he wishes."? Everyone wants to see their grandchildren. For that they want their children to marry. For that they need own house. For that they need money. For that they need a job which can give lot of money. For that they need to do MBBS (only few seats and need for MS/MD makes it hard for many) or MBA (only B schools or foreign universities makes it hard for many) or the last option BE, which can land you in an IT job with "onsite" option. For that they need to score well in 12th. For that they need to study in a "good" school. For that they need money. For that they need to earn more. And this cycle never ends.

The people who study other courses are forced to feel inferior to their BE counterparts. They have to force these BEs to take loans, drive their cabs, build their apartments, manage hotels, serve them as air hostess etc. We are just chickens from newly opened factory farms to meet the demand created by KFC and Mc Donalds. Other are just local chickens left with no food to eat and no water to drink. They have to eat the leftover of KFC and Mc Donalds and drink the water they wash their hands.

A typical parent's mindset:

I will join my child in a high class school even if it takes 1000 times more money compared to "normal" schools.

I will take up the interview to join my kid in LKG.

This will make sure that my kid will get seat in a good school for 6th.

For 6th admission, even if he doesn't get good marks, I will give donation and get seat in a good CBSE school as Matriculation follow the same syllabus as government schools after "samacheer kalvi". YUK!

If my son is interested in kabadi, who cares? I will join him in skating class. No matter there are no good roads to skate in my town.

I will start sending 10th tuition from 9th standard itself.

Even if he gets lesser mark in 10th I will get recommendation or pay donation and get seat in a strict school with good coaching.

There is no 11th. My kid will study 12th for two years.

After that I will join him in a engineering college with "campus interview" through merit by paying 60,000+ per year!. Even with donation.

If the company he got selected doesn't have good onsite option, I will send him to B School or MBA in foreign university.

My kid will pay the loan for first 4 years of job.

After that 2 years onsite.

After that an apartment with 20% down payment, rest EMI.

Marriage with 1 kg gold and 5 lakhs dowry, apart from car and all home appliances from soap box to AC.

Force his wife to work and have only one kid.

He will pay EMI for 20 years. Else go to onsite and reduce it to 18 years.

Join my grandchild LKG in a good school to start the cycle again.

I will close my eyes in peace!

Shit! You better eat shit, than living like this.


Frankly I Don't Know!

I don't have much idea to say what we need to do! I am not expert. All I have written is the emotional outburst I have everyday. I think we should diversify our education and allow young people to do what they love. Opportunities should be created equally across various sectors. Science and arts should be given importance. Agriculture should be given priority.

We are an agricultural nation. We need lot of research in crops and irrigation. We need to build dams and power plants. We need to explore the space. We need to build bridges. We need to establish food and social security for all. We have to afford free education. We have to invent and discover new things. That won't happen with the our young generation locked in BE/MBBS/MBA and forced in to slavery for corporates.

I know some may think that this guy is in IT, living a comfortable life and writing something to fool us. I am sorry for still working in IT. But I have no other option. I am still trying hard to switch to some other stream. But the harder I try, the more frustrated I get. Only thing I do is, I live cheaply. I try my best to keep luxuries like AC, microwave, LCD TVs etc at bay. I try not to join the crowd in traveling to onsite, killing time in malls and pubs, buying car and apartments on loan. I call on everyone to do the same. If you are in IT, just earn for your life like everyone else in other fields. Don't let the excess money entice you to get addicted to luxuries. Once you are addicted, you can't leave that IT hell for ever. You will demand for more and more and more money, until you forget all important things/people/joys in the life.