In the great British Empire, media is often refered to as the fouth estate. Today I see the electronic media of India being unethical, irresponsible and immature. I want to add that if only “page 3” news becomes the order of the day, how could CNN, BBC and if it comes to print media THE HINDU could survive.
You could barely see a case of child molestation being highlighted and shown on the prime time of the above mentioned great news channels , adding to that the poster of Drew Barrymore , Abhi Ash wedding, Shilpa Gere kissing string are not the part of the issues that common man demands.
You can increase the TRP rating by showing off the debate on inflation, Indo Pak relations ,for example, THE BIG FIGHT” shown on NDTV is an ideal example of ethical, responsible and a mature media.
Today I see the news channels majority of them recruiting young faces who may or may not have literature, Journalism and other ornamentations for the job but the Pretty face and may be the pronounciation. The Electronic media has to be blamed and in this sector the Hindi channels are worse off.
At 11 PM in Night go through the Hindi news channels you shall have news programmes titled' Wo dayan aurat thi'' Ek tantrik aur kappal ki kahani'The police crime stories with the glory attached to the death, damage, destruction and portraying the sinner as the protagonist of the play. I find these programmes more dangerous as it tends to glorify and even give over revealing accounts of rape and other such incidents which is nothing short of porn literature . No doubt such incidents do take place and every city,suburb and even villages.But the section of Media Portrays the story showing only one side of the story, their life style just to increase their TRP ratings. There are also certain surveys showing that xyz newschannel is most viewed around the prime time.
I have seen market analysts of the entertainment world telling that In India only sex and cricket sells. Sex certainly attracts us and it is rather instinctive to feel attaracted towards it. A beautiful body of young women is bound to attract more eye balls so is the crime and other destruction and damages in this world.
Media instead of educating and cautioning people of the fall out of such crimes tend to overlook the larger picture and it is certainly damaging for our society. Certainly there are news which requires indepth analysis and probing minds and I believe there are audience for such news as well. But media should also come up with certain restraints as model code of conduct. If news becomes serial thriller or the film of a sort it loses relevance and sooner or later it shall purpose attached to it and it merely becomes an entertainment channel.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
I cant understand Indian cricket
After posting my first blog, I decided to post something which hurted me after the team selection against Bangladesh for the first test match.
There has been a famous sentence said by an ex-captain of England cricket team to the ex-captain of the Indian cricket team:
“ Your Indian team comprises of a captain, a vice captain, two ex captains, two ex vicecaptains, two future captains, two future vice captain, and a player who actually becomes a captain after this tour”
This is a satire on Indian cricket of past and present.
They have been so many erroneous decisions on the part of the team management. One just cant understand the mindset of the people involved in that. Time and again they come with those kind of decisions which seriously questions the cricketing acumen of the BCCI and the selectors.
My questions to the selectors after the team selection against Bangladesh for the first test match. :
1. If you wanted to play Dinesh Kartik as an opener, why not give him the responsibility of wearing the gloves behind the stumps, I believe Dinesh Kartik is far better technically equipped than Dhoni if it comes to Test cricket. After that there is a simple question to choose between Dhoni,Laxman and Yuvraj. On an any given day,Laxman would be the first choice.
2. Here comes the million dollar question.
How could Ganguly be in the team ahead of Laxman?
One of the reasons might be that he has no political backers or sponsors to back him up.
I believe the problem with Indian Cricket that they just believe in brand, who believe themselves larger than the game.They have been many youngsters whose careers have been ruined by this policy. For instance take the example of Gautam Gambhir, he has performed well in his limited opportunities he got, Robin Uthappa looks promising, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwari, in bowling department Ranadeb Bose, all starving for opportunities, but some players on account of their past glory ( in case of Ganguly ,in Test Cricket, I only remember his debut innings worth to watch….courtesy ESPN STAR) has got the berth ahead of these future stars of India.
Its really sad to see Laxman dropped yet again. If at all there was one sure spot after Dravid and Kumble in the team it was Laxman. Perhaps, he was responsible for India's failure in the World Cup or his averages are too good..
Glenn McGrath after his post retirement press conference stated that the best batsmen that he has ever bowled to are Lara ,Sachin and Laxman. Imagine a batsmen of that caliber getting ready to carry the water yet again. During the tour to SA, he was the vice captain, doesn't he deserve more opportunties?? It does no good for Dravid dropping people who perform consistently for the team. He dropped Kumble in the ODI and now he is doing it to Laxman. True they are his friends and will understand..but its just not fair for them. This way you are making Laxman lose his confidence. This is not a good sign. Why even take him on the tour..he would be better off practising for England in Hyderabad.…
There has been a famous sentence said by an ex-captain of England cricket team to the ex-captain of the Indian cricket team:
“ Your Indian team comprises of a captain, a vice captain, two ex captains, two ex vicecaptains, two future captains, two future vice captain, and a player who actually becomes a captain after this tour”
This is a satire on Indian cricket of past and present.
They have been so many erroneous decisions on the part of the team management. One just cant understand the mindset of the people involved in that. Time and again they come with those kind of decisions which seriously questions the cricketing acumen of the BCCI and the selectors.
My questions to the selectors after the team selection against Bangladesh for the first test match. :
1. If you wanted to play Dinesh Kartik as an opener, why not give him the responsibility of wearing the gloves behind the stumps, I believe Dinesh Kartik is far better technically equipped than Dhoni if it comes to Test cricket. After that there is a simple question to choose between Dhoni,Laxman and Yuvraj. On an any given day,Laxman would be the first choice.
2. Here comes the million dollar question.
How could Ganguly be in the team ahead of Laxman?
One of the reasons might be that he has no political backers or sponsors to back him up.
I believe the problem with Indian Cricket that they just believe in brand, who believe themselves larger than the game.They have been many youngsters whose careers have been ruined by this policy. For instance take the example of Gautam Gambhir, he has performed well in his limited opportunities he got, Robin Uthappa looks promising, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwari, in bowling department Ranadeb Bose, all starving for opportunities, but some players on account of their past glory ( in case of Ganguly ,in Test Cricket, I only remember his debut innings worth to watch….courtesy ESPN STAR) has got the berth ahead of these future stars of India.
Its really sad to see Laxman dropped yet again. If at all there was one sure spot after Dravid and Kumble in the team it was Laxman. Perhaps, he was responsible for India's failure in the World Cup or his averages are too good..
Glenn McGrath after his post retirement press conference stated that the best batsmen that he has ever bowled to are Lara ,Sachin and Laxman. Imagine a batsmen of that caliber getting ready to carry the water yet again. During the tour to SA, he was the vice captain, doesn't he deserve more opportunties?? It does no good for Dravid dropping people who perform consistently for the team. He dropped Kumble in the ODI and now he is doing it to Laxman. True they are his friends and will understand..but its just not fair for them. This way you are making Laxman lose his confidence. This is not a good sign. Why even take him on the tour..he would be better off practising for England in Hyderabad.…
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
RESERVATIONS
Today one of the most burning problem in this contempory India is the problem of reservations to the economically backward classes in higher educational institutions .Allocating quotas and reserving seats for economically backward classes in higher educational institutions is economically inefficient, morally wrong, strategically flawed, and tactically ineffective. The policy does not help the underclass and ends up victimizing both the underclass and the so-called privileged class. The policy gives rise to what is called a “lose-lose” solution, while avoiding a “win-win” situation.But what suprises me the most is that in this era of multi party democracy,no party came forward openly to oppose these reservations,and this gives rise to dangerous situation known as vote bank politics ( recently concluded poll in UP inspires me for that ).
Quotas, if they have any effect on the system, effectively replace qualified candidates with otherwise unqualified candidates. Unqualified candidates who enter the system are by definition unable to benefit from the opportunity to the extent that a qualified candidate would have done.
Lets first talk about the current reservation system. When it was first introduced , there was only 5% for SCs and 5% for STs . This progressively increased with a new quota coming up for OBCs . Who constitute the OBCs ? Lets start from the south . Thevars in Tamil Nadu, Vokkaligas in Karnataka , Reddys in Andhra Pradesh. When we go north , lets have a look at some other OBCs. Pawars and other Marathas in Maharashtra , Jats in Punjab and Haryana , Yadavs in Bihar and UP, Rajputs in Rajasthan . Lack of knowledge about the OBCs in other states prevents me from adding more to this list. What is common to all these ?. They are all politically powerful castes. The ruling Govt has to make a point to make concessions either towards these castes or the minister .They are very well represented including having the chief ministership in many states. So, the question becomes – how are they disadvantaged in society so as to have a reservation ? What makes it difficult for them to join schools and colleges if they donot have reservation ? Incidentally, some of the brightest minds also belong to these communities. And there is a whopping 23% reservation for the OBCs. It makes sense to have reservations for the SCs , STs and Dalits who indeed are the victims of oppression and brutalities which still exist in a lot of Indian states . But reservation for the others?
The same argument holds good for Muslims too . There are a lot of reports which suggest that Muslims comprise the backward sections of society and they need to be educated to be brought into the mainstream . For this, there need to be reservations for the Muslims in the education sector and then the govt sector for jobs.
Muslims are a very strong political force in this country . What prevents them from joining regular schools and colleges ? There is no law which prevents it. Speaking of representation, the highest office of the country (that of the Presidency) has been held by the Muslims on more than one occasion . Where is the question of discrimination ? In any case, there are many political and non political parties which make a hue and cry at the slightest hint of discrimination. In that case, should there be any reservation present for Muslims ?
Another point here worth mentioning is that even after 50 years of independence and quota systems, if India needs reservations for some sections of the society , there is something baiscally wrong in the way that it is administered. Should these quotas then just go up and up or should there be a complete rethinking of the necessity and the desirability of having quotas for some sections of the society .
So then, what is the solution?
The solution therefore is that they have to be provided help in preparing for higher education, which basically means that they have to be given assistance at levels that precede higher education. They are handicapped at the level of higher education because they are handicapped at the earlier stages of education. If their handicap in the school level were addressed, you would not have to make special provisions for them in the post-school levels.
The disadvantaged segments of the population are not disadvantaged only in their ability to gain admission to higher education, they are disadvantaged in all levels of education. The solution then is to help them with providing them opportunities in the lower levels first. Equality of opportunity at the lower levels (primary, secondary, and high school levels) is a necessary and sufficient condition for the disadvantaged segments to have a shot at competing with the others. Equality of opportunity is to be desired and can be engineered, but of course that does not guarantee equality of outcome.
The policy makers need to understand the distinction between the equality of opportunity and the equality of outcome:
The fact that IITs and IIMs and other premier institutions don’t have sufficient representation from some economically and socially disadvantaged groups is a symptom of a deeper problem.Merely increasing the number of seats does provide only a quick fix problem, not a permanent one.
Quotas, if they have any effect on the system, effectively replace qualified candidates with otherwise unqualified candidates. Unqualified candidates who enter the system are by definition unable to benefit from the opportunity to the extent that a qualified candidate would have done.
Lets first talk about the current reservation system. When it was first introduced , there was only 5% for SCs and 5% for STs . This progressively increased with a new quota coming up for OBCs . Who constitute the OBCs ? Lets start from the south . Thevars in Tamil Nadu, Vokkaligas in Karnataka , Reddys in Andhra Pradesh. When we go north , lets have a look at some other OBCs. Pawars and other Marathas in Maharashtra , Jats in Punjab and Haryana , Yadavs in Bihar and UP, Rajputs in Rajasthan . Lack of knowledge about the OBCs in other states prevents me from adding more to this list. What is common to all these ?. They are all politically powerful castes. The ruling Govt has to make a point to make concessions either towards these castes or the minister .They are very well represented including having the chief ministership in many states. So, the question becomes – how are they disadvantaged in society so as to have a reservation ? What makes it difficult for them to join schools and colleges if they donot have reservation ? Incidentally, some of the brightest minds also belong to these communities. And there is a whopping 23% reservation for the OBCs. It makes sense to have reservations for the SCs , STs and Dalits who indeed are the victims of oppression and brutalities which still exist in a lot of Indian states . But reservation for the others?
The same argument holds good for Muslims too . There are a lot of reports which suggest that Muslims comprise the backward sections of society and they need to be educated to be brought into the mainstream . For this, there need to be reservations for the Muslims in the education sector and then the govt sector for jobs.
Muslims are a very strong political force in this country . What prevents them from joining regular schools and colleges ? There is no law which prevents it. Speaking of representation, the highest office of the country (that of the Presidency) has been held by the Muslims on more than one occasion . Where is the question of discrimination ? In any case, there are many political and non political parties which make a hue and cry at the slightest hint of discrimination. In that case, should there be any reservation present for Muslims ?
Another point here worth mentioning is that even after 50 years of independence and quota systems, if India needs reservations for some sections of the society , there is something baiscally wrong in the way that it is administered. Should these quotas then just go up and up or should there be a complete rethinking of the necessity and the desirability of having quotas for some sections of the society .
So then, what is the solution?
The solution therefore is that they have to be provided help in preparing for higher education, which basically means that they have to be given assistance at levels that precede higher education. They are handicapped at the level of higher education because they are handicapped at the earlier stages of education. If their handicap in the school level were addressed, you would not have to make special provisions for them in the post-school levels.
The disadvantaged segments of the population are not disadvantaged only in their ability to gain admission to higher education, they are disadvantaged in all levels of education. The solution then is to help them with providing them opportunities in the lower levels first. Equality of opportunity at the lower levels (primary, secondary, and high school levels) is a necessary and sufficient condition for the disadvantaged segments to have a shot at competing with the others. Equality of opportunity is to be desired and can be engineered, but of course that does not guarantee equality of outcome.
The policy makers need to understand the distinction between the equality of opportunity and the equality of outcome:
The fact that IITs and IIMs and other premier institutions don’t have sufficient representation from some economically and socially disadvantaged groups is a symptom of a deeper problem.Merely increasing the number of seats does provide only a quick fix problem, not a permanent one.
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