Gandhiji, we respect you.

MK Gandhi played an instrumental role in helping India gain independence. He led the nationwide protests against Britain and employed the ideology of 'Satyagraha' and was revered to such an extent that he was named 'Mahatma'. How exactly did Gandhi develop his concept of 'Satyagraha'?

A barrister by profession, Gandhi was sent by the Diwan of Porbandar to complete some legal proceedings in South Africa. On his way to the destination, he took a train, only to be thrown out at Pietermaritzburg. Behind schedule, as last resort, he climbed onto the Wagons transporting the British public and hung on the back railing, since non-whites were not allowed to sit in the wagons. The British were peeved seeing brown hanging from their wagon and tried to poke and hurt him in an attempt to make him fall. Inspite of all the pressure and the numerous taunts, Gandhi stuck to the railing and didn't fall down.

Soon, the British got tired of the 'game' and let Gandhi travel. Hanging by the wagon on one hand, Gandhi had an epiphany. He realized that if one is convinced about his stand and sticks to it, no matter what may come, he will succeed. He also realized that it is easier to stand your ground if you are fighting for the truth. In short, if you know in your heart that you are true, you can stand your ground, protest in a non-violent method and achieve your goals.

Gandhi experimented with this theory in South Africa and achieved great success. He used his fine-tuned version of 'Satyagraha' in India to help one-sixth of the humanity gain independence and make its voice heard.

Gandhiji, we respect you.

Corruption & Butterfly Effect

Touted to root out all corruption from the current political system, LokPal Bill has finally been tabled in the parliament. One must laud the efforts of Anna Hazare and his team who fought for the bill and took the fight against corruption to the corrupt politicians.

LokPal Bill proposes numerous Lokayuktas which identify various corruption cases and aim to pronounce verdict within 2 years. These Lokayuktas will be independent of any body just like the Election Commission (EC). However, one wonders how many cases can these Lokayuktas handle each year, and will they be enough, given the extent of corruption right from the level of peon to the PMO. Also, one cant be sure of impartiality on part of the Lokayuktas. Another question which arises is,"Who will watch the watchdogs?".

Warren Buffet states that greed is essential human behavior. Government makes laws and rules to preempt acts of greed. People bend rules and supersede law out of pure greed. Law does slow down greediness, but doesn't eradicate it. LokPal Bill will only slow down the process of corruption, it wont eradicate it.

This is where the Butterfly Effect comes in the picture. This effect states that a flap of a butterfly has far-reaching effects. For example, in 1980's and 90's, crime rate in US was rapidly rising. Infact America was predicted to implode by 2010. None of that happened. Crime rate has dramatically declined since late 1990's. How did this happen? The law enforcements did not work. The answer lies in the Abortion Bill. Most of the delinquents and thugs comprised illegitimate or unwanted offsprings. Ever since abortion was legalized,such babies have drastically reduced, and crime rate followed suit.

The million dollar question is, what is the 'butterfly' for our corrupt system? This question has been answered by India's Chief Economic Advisor, Kaushik Basu. He asserts that bribing should be legalized. Currently under the Indian Penal Code, both the briber and the bribe receiver are treated as accomplices of crime. If Basu's suggestion is implemented, the briber no longer is termed criminal, however accepting bribe remains crime. If bribing is legalized, the people who bribe to 'grease the process' would be willing to testify against the corrupt. However, bribing to get illegal work done would still remain a crime under this suggestion.

I personally believe Basu's approach is the path Indian Government should adopted. It is not flashy like LokPal, and may not be understood by the masses, Infact it will not show instant results, but will surely lead to terminal decline of corruption. Illegal betting, prostitution, drugs all have same solutions, legalize them and bring them in the arbit of law.

If I could sell my soul...

Jimmy Page, arguably the greatest guitarist ever, had exceptional guitar skills and was a pioneer of many musical and recording techniques. Not only was he technically proficient, he could pour emotions into his riffs, lending that X-Factor. His legend grew in stature to such an extent that rumor spread that Page had sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for musical talent.

I got one chance to sell my soul to the Devil, I would gladly grab it with both hands, without any qualms. But before actually 'selling', I would split my soul into various horocruxes. (I guess when you can sell your soul, you could also split it), and trade my horocruxes for special wishes.

I would ideally split my soul 3 times, leaving horocruxes with half, quarter and one-eighths of my soul. Here's what I would how I would trade them:-

1. Half of my soul to be a connoisseur of literature, music, food and art.

2. Quarter to become the perfect pianist.

3. One-eights to gain courage, courage to ask out the girl I like.

4. The remaining soul i.e. one-eights of original remaining in my body would be elated to pursue a successful career as food connoisseur, play the piano for fun and enjoy all this with the girl I love.

PS: The post may present me as a disturbed person, but then again, this is just extreme form of imagination. PLEASE, do not judge me from this post, I am NOT demented.

Price, Cost and Value

Price, cost and value are related terms and are often used interchangeably by people. Technically, these terms have slight but significant difference in their meanings and application. All these terms are related to products and at which rate people buy and sell.

Most often, people confuse between price and cost. Cost and price of a particular unit is different. Price is the rate at which the store is selling its products. For example, a pencil may be priced at Rs.10 . Cost is the expense the store had to incur for that product (in our case a pencil). It includes the rate at which the store bought it, plus the operating and miscellaneous costs per product. A store operates only when its price is greater than cost. The moment cost increase beyond price, for every unit sold, the store incurs a loss, and its better if the store shuts down. The situation where cost equals to price is termed as Shut Down Point.

Value is the rate pegged by the buyer on a product. For example, a retailer sells a pencil at Rs. 10. However you may peg a rate of Rs.15 on that product. That means that the buyer will be willing to buy that pencil, even if its price rises. Only when the price rises above Rs.15 will the buyer rethink buying the pencil.

Paintings, diamonds, memorabilia and other products are often sold in auctions. Auctions use the concept of value. People bid on the products at the value they peg. The person who values the item most would have bid the highest and wins the auction. However, value of concept is a crude method to explain auctions. More often than not the people who value the item most do not have sufficient money to place a bid, that is by default they value their money more than the item being auctioned.

PS: I recently wrote cost and price as two separate concepts while writing an answer in my Technical Report Writing course. The teachers correcting my answer sheet deducted marks, because according to her price and cost are the same. Even after arguing she refused to accept the truth. This post is a retort to that.

Blogosphere

I have been surfing the net in the past few days searching for some good blogs, which not only augments knowledge but also helps develop keen understanding of our world.

Some of the blogs which particularly impressed me were :-

1. http://blogs.hbr.org/

My all-time favorite. Love the authors. Love the issues. Best way to kill time.

2. http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/

A fansite by a true classic rock fan. The links mentioned are awesome.

3. http://theoatmeal.com/

Whenever I need a laugh, the site is one click away.

4. http://www.caughtoffside.com/

For all the football news.

5. http://climateprogress.org/

Our future is determined by the climate and this site keeps me updated.

6. http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/

All those intriguing economic riddles are solved here.

7. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/

To be in touch with the latest in economic trends.

8. http://delong.typepad.com/

To gain a deep academic knowledge in economics.

9. http://zenhabits.net/

All those reasons to live.

10. http://www.mymarijuanagarden.com/blog/

An essential pothead blog.

11. http://www.wellpitched.com/

This blog based on Pakistan cricket gives an idea about the mysterious hot-cold nature of their cricket.

12. http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/

I have been following this blog since 3 years and its a delight to read the deep insightful posts. Vir Sanghvi, Sanjoy Narayan and Pramit Pal Chaudhari stand out.

13. http://blog.investopedia.com/

Essential for any Stock Exchange enthusiast.

14. http://www.rakeshjhunjhunwala.in/

He is not the real Stock Exchange guru, but the posts are satirical and damn funny.

15. http://news.cnet.com/tech-blogs/

To be in touch with tech.

16. http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/

For all the freakish theories, which might actually be true.

17. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Seth Godin is _/\_.

18. http://commoditytrader.com/

Keep in touch with the latest developments in commodity prices and the forces determining them.

There are tons of more awesome blogs. These are some which I have been devouring in the last few days. Hope you enjoy them.

India and UNSC

India has been trying to gain worldwide support in a bid for a permanent seat in the UNSC. It cites the recent economic boom, growing international influence, being world's largest democracy and a widespread diaspora as the key reasons why India should get a seat. UK, US, France and Russia have all agreed to India's demand at different levels. Only China remains a roadblock towards our journey to play a decisive role in International Affairs.

The important question is, are we ready to play a decisive role? Ministry for External Affairs (MEA) may say yes, but their actions speak otherwise. India is currently a temporary member of the UNSC, believed to be an audition for a permanent role. Far from being impressive, India has failed miserably in the audition. It has failed to seize initiatives and play a critical role. In fact, India has shied away from key issues fearing to rub certain sections the wrong way.

Recently there was a resolution passed in UNSC regarding the Libyan crisis. India abstained from voting, fearing backlash from certain sectors. A nation, shaping into a major power cannot afford to be so gutless. It needs to step up, make a strong stand and make its opinion heard.

Under the UPA, Indian leadership led by the puppetry skills of the Gandhi family has regularly failed to take strong stances, may it be diplomacy, corruption or even Pakistan. Inviting Geelani to Mohali for the match was probably the biggest political blunder beating other blunders like Sheik-e-Sharm, Headley case etc.

India's case weakens if you look at the whole picture. Indian borders are regularly infiltrated. It is afflicted with insurgency in large parts. It is at continuous odds with its neighbors, infact the whole subcontinent is a ticking nuclear time-bomb. Societal, Regional and Communal issues still exist. India in no circumstance represents a nation capable for handling the post of permanent member of UNSC.

To justify its inclusion in the UNSC permanently, India first needs to set its own house in order and enhance credentials. Then it needs to develop a strong foreign policy, stick to it and play hard ball. India, in no circumstance can afford to be the elephant in the room.