The Cracked Pot - story 7

A water bearer in India had two enormous(large,बड़ा) pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was quintessential(perfect,उत्तम) and perpetually(always,हमेशा) delivered a full portion of water at the end of the prolonged(long,लंबा) walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years, this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own deficiency(imperfection,कमी), and despondent(miserable,दुखी) that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived(understand,समझना) to be a bitter fiasco(failure,असफलता), it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you”.  The bearer asked, “Why? What are you ashamed of?”  The Pot replied, “For these past two years I am able to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you don’t get full value for your endeavours(efforts,प्रयासों)”.

The water bearer felt melancholic(sorry,उदास) for the antiquated(old,पुराना) cracked pot, and in his benevolence(compassion,दया), he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to annunciation(notice,सुचना) the alluring(beautiful,सुन्दर) flowers along the path.”  As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this exhilarated(cheered,खुशी प्रकट करना) it somewhat.  But at the end of the trail, it still felt abominable(bad,बुरा) because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to embellish(decorate,सजाना) my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws.  We’re all cracked pots.  In this world, nothing goes to waste.  You may think like the cracked pot that you are inefficient or useless in certain areas of your life, but somehow these flaws can turn out to be a blessing in disguise.”

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Citizenship without bias

On July 19, 2016, the government introduced a Bill to amend certain provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill has now been referred to the joint select committee of Parliament. The object of the proposed Bill is to enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who have fled to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh without valid travel documents, or those whose valid documents have expired in recent years, to acquire Indian citizenship by the process of naturalisation. Under the Bill, such persons shall not be treated as illegal immigrants for the purpose of the Citizenship Act. In another amendment, the aggregate period of residential qualification for the process of citizenship by naturalisation of such persons is proposed to be reduced from 11 years to six years. A large number of people who would otherwise be illegal immigrants can now heave a sigh of relief if the Bill goes through as they would be eligible to become citizens of the country.

Not inclusive enough

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, owes its genesis(origin,उतपत्ति) to the assurance given by the Prime Minister that Hindus from these three countries who have sought asylum in India would be conferred Indian citizenship. But since singling out Hindus alone could be discriminatory(unfair,भेदभावपूर्ण), the Bill has extended the right to acquire citizenship to other religious minorities living in the three countries.

Bill, when passed, would be of immense(large,अत्यधिक) benefit to the Chakmas and Hajongs of Bangladesh displaced because of the construction of the Kaptai Dam who have been refugees for nearly 65 years. The Supreme Court in Committee for C.R. of C.A.P. v. State of Arunachal Pradesh directed the Government of India and Arunachal Pradesh to grant citizenship to eligible persons from these communities and to protect their life and liberty and further prohibited discrimination against them.

Though India has not enacted a national refugee law, the three principles underlying India’s treatment of refugees was spelt out in Parliament by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959 with reference to Tibetan refugees. They include: refugees will be accorded a humane welcome; the refugee issue is a bilateral issue; and the refugees should return to their homeland once normalcy returns there.

The proposed Bill recognises and protects the rights of refugees and represents a welcome change in India’s refugee policy. But it would have been appropriate if the Bill had used the term “persecuted(oppressed,सतायी) minorities” instead of listing out non-Muslim minorities in three countries. To give an example, the Ahmadiyyas are not considered Muslims in Pakistan and are subject to many acts of discrimination. Other groups include members of the Rohingyas, who being Muslims are subjected to discrimination in Myanmar and have fled to India. Such a gesture would also have been in conformity with the spirit of religious and linguistic rights of minorities guaranteed under our Constitution. Unfortunately the Bill does not take note of the refugees in India from among the Muslim community who have fled due to persecution and singles them out on the basis of religion, thereby being discriminatory.

The case of the Malaiha Tamils

Yet another disappointing feature of the Bill is that it does not provide citizenship to the people of Indian origin from Sri Lanka who fled to Tamil Nadu as refugees following the communal holocaust(destruction,विनाश) in July 1983. The Indian Tamils, or Malaiha (hill country) Tamils as they like to be called, are descendants(progeny,वंशज) of indentured workers who were taken by the British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries to provide the much-needed labour for the development of tea plantations. The British gave an assurance that the Indian workers would enjoy the same rights and privileges accorded to the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils. But soon after independence, by a legislative enactment the Indian Tamils were discriminated and rendered(give,देना) stateless. In the protracted(long,दीर्घ) negotiations that took place between New Delhi and Colombo on the thorny issue of stateless people, Nehru maintained that except for those who voluntarily opted for Indian citizenship, the rest were the responsibility of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Sri Lanka, on the other hand, argued that only those who fulfilled the strict qualifications prescribed for citizenship would be conferred citizenship, and the rest were India’s responsibility.

Nehru’s principled stance was abandoned(rejected,त्यागना) by Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi when they entered into two agreements with Colombo in 1964 and 1974, respectively. New Delhi agreed to take back 6,00,000 people of Indian origin with their natural increase as Indian citizens, while Sri Lanka agreed to give citizenship to 3,75,000 with their natural increase. The wishes of the Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka were not ascertained(make sure,निर्धारित). To the ruling elite(specialist,विशिष्ट) in Colombo and New Delhi the people of Indian origin became an embarrassing set of statistics. Important national leaders — C. Rajagopalachari, K. Kamaraj, V.K. Krishna Menon, P. Ramamurthy and C.N. Annadurai — opposed the agreement as inhuman, but their views were brushed aside by the Central government in order to befriend the Government of Sri Lanka.

The ethnic fratricide in 1977, 1981 and 1983, which affected the plantation areas, convinced many people of Indian origin that they could not live amicably(friendly.सोहार्दपूर्ण) with the Sinhalese. They never subscribed to the demand for a separate state of Tamil Eelam; in fact, the hill country was relatively tranquil(calm,शांत) during the protracted ethnic conflict. Even then, they were subjected to vicious(cruel,निर्दयी) attacks by some lumpen sections of the Sinhalese population. They sold all their belongings, came to India as refugees, with the hope of acquiring Indian citizenship and permanently settling down here.

A point of no return

According to informed sources, there are nearly 30,000 Malaiha Tamils in the refugee camps scattered throughout Tamil Nadu. They have absolutely no moorings in Sri Lanka. Their children have intermarried with the local people and are well integrated into Tamil society. The young have availed of educational facilities, but are unable to get jobs commensurate to their qualifications because they are not Indian citizens. The refugees in Kottapattu camp, near Tiruchi, with whom we interacted, told us: “Come what may, we will not go back to Sri Lanka.”

All these refugees qualify for Indian citizenship by registration under Article 5 of the Citizenship Act of 1955. However their plea for citizenship has been negated citing(mentioning,उल्लेख) a Central government circular that Sri Lankan refugees are not entitled for Indian citizenship. In a communication dated November 21, 2007 to the Special Commissioner for Rehabilitation, the Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu mentioned that there are strict instructions from the Government of India “not to entertain applications of Sri Lankan refugees for the grant of Indian citizenship”. We submit, in the light of recent developments, the above-mentioned circular of the Central government must be immediately withdrawn.

The tragedy of the Malaiha Tamils, a majority of whom are Dalits, must be underlined.

Immigrants, even those who are termed illegal, are entitled to equal protection before the law and the various rights that flow from Article 21. This was stressed by the Supreme Court in National Human Rights Commission v. State of Arunachal Pradesh while addressing the rights of Chakma refugees. If such immigrants are granted citizenship, the natural progression would mean that they enjoy the benefits of rights guaranteed under Article 19 besides others such as access to the public distribution system, right to participate in the political process, right to secure employment and other rights all of which currently are inaccessible to them. The Bill recognises this in its objects and reasons by referring to the denial of opportunities and advantages to such persons. The Bill therefore should not restrict itself to minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh but should include refugees from persecuted minorities of all denominations who have made India their home.

 courtesy:the hindu

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Diplomacy and the diaspora

If there is one issue on which all political parties agree, it is the imperative to include overseas Indians in India’s economic development and to take care of their needs and aspirations. Successive governments have been vying(compete,प्रतिस्पर्धा) with each other to give more and more concessions to them as acknowledgment of their contribution by way of remittances, investment, lobbying for India, promoting Indian culture abroad and for building a good image of India by their intelligence and industry.

India was initially sensitive to the view that championing the cause of overseas Indians might offend the host countries, who should be fully responsible for their welfare and security. The Indian community and our diplomatic missions interacted on national days or other important occasions, but diaspora diplomacy was low key.

Rediscovering Indians abroad

Rajiv Gandhi was the first Prime Minister who changed the diaspora policy by inviting Indians abroad, regardless of their nationality, to participate in nation-building, much like the overseas Chinese communities. In return, he promised them opportunities to work with India, like in the celebrated case of Sam Pitroda, who was entrusted with the task of modernising telecommunications in India. The response was not ecstatic(joyful,उन्मादपूर्ण), but many volunteered to help out in various ways. But this brought to focus the many inadequacies(insufficiency,अपर्याप्तता) of the Indian system for the diaspora to collaborate with India or to invest in the country. Grievances like red tape, multiple clearances, distrust of government in fulfilling promises were addressed through hesitant reforms and promotional measures.

The first test of the new diaspora policy came in 1987 when Sitiveni Rabuka ousted an Fiji Indian majority government in Fiji and reduced them to second-class citizens. Rajiv Gandhi, in a major departure from established policy, protested vehemently(forcefully,प्रबल), imposed trade sanctions against Fiji, got it expelled(throw,निष्काशित) from the Commonwealth and raised the issue at the United Nations. This bewildered(confused,व्यग्र) those Fiji Indians who did not want to disturb the race relations in Fiji, but energised the Indian diaspora, generating faith in them that India would not be a silent witness, as it was in the past, to discrimination(unfair treatment,भेदभाव), racism and disenfranchisement of Indians abroad. The Indian position was instrumental in democracy and racial harmony returning to Fiji after 10 years.

After India and the overseas Indians rediscovered each other under Rajiv Gandhi, there came a host of measures such as a separate Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Card, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, Overseas Citizen of India Card, NRI funds and voting rights for Indian citizens abroad, some from the United Progressive Alliance and some from the National Democratic Alliance governments. The response from the diaspora was diverse, as these affected different categories of Indians in different ways. For the Indian nationals in the Gulf and elsewhere, welfare measures and resettlement facilities were more important, while the prosperous communities in the West, who were clamouring(loud demand,जोरदार मांग) for dual citizenship, felt short-changed. But, on the whole, they were energised into espousing(support,समर्थन) Indian causes in the U.S. Of course, their support to Indian interests was not automatic and they often urged(forced,जोर डालना) India to modify its policies to suit American sensitivities. Indian-Americans contributed little by way of remittances or investments, but the establishment of the India Caucus in the House of Representatives and turning around doubting legislators into voting for the India-U.S. nuclear deal were major accomplishments.

The Modi outreach

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the diaspora a centrepiece of his foreign policy and, during his foreign visits, addressed mammoth(large,बड़ी) meetings of the community to project India’s priorities and needs. But he did not address any of their demands or announce any new plans for removing their grievances like travel issues and protection of their properties in India. If anything, the merger of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs, though pragmatic(practical,अनुभवजन्य), has been construed as a negative step. The irregularity of diaspora conferences and awards has also caused some concern in the diaspora.

Together with the new hopes and expectations raised by the government, there are new fears and concerns among and about the overseas communities. The volatility(unpredictability.अस्थिरता) in West Asia, together with the fall in oil prices, has caused fears of a massive return of Indian nationals, curtailing(control,नियंत्रण) remittances and making demands on the job market. In Kerala, for instance, workers from other States have bridged the demand-supply gap in various sectors. The Gulf countries will require foreign workers for some more time, but India’s relations with many of them remain in the employer-employee mode. Of course, it was heartening to see Saudi Arabia resolve a serious issue relating to a starvation among Indian workers, but we should be ready for the eventuality of Indian workers returning, though a massive “Indexit” is unlikely.

A recent phenomenon is that of “discovering” Indians wherever there is a crisis. India does not have any precise(clear,स्पष्ठ) data on the number of Indians in different parts of the world. The amount of risks that Indians are capable of taking to get medical education, for instance, is phenomenal. Whether it is in Ukraine, Yemen or Syria, Indians are discovered eking out(fill out,निर्वाह करना) an existence in difficult circumstances. General V.K. Singh (retd.), Minister of State for External Affairs, has become virtually the Chief Repatriation Officer, flying into hotspots with chartered flights to rescue Indians and bring them home. He was often bewildered when many Indians refused to use the facility for return and insisted on staying on in difficult situations either to seek alternative jobs or to settle their claims. Back home, disquiet has been expressed that public money is being spent on bringing people who have gone on their own for their benefit.

Even more serious is the suspicion that some Indians are travelling to the Islamic State areas either to join the jihad or to settle there in what is considered a Promised Land. Adventurism of this kind needs to be stopped. We used to take pride in the fact that Indians never joined terrorist organisations, but the latest trends are very disturbing.

The dilemma(confusion,दुविधा) for India is whether movements of Indians abroad for education or employment should be curbed. This will be against the spirit of freedom; but there should be at least an accurate count of Indians in different countries and projections should be made of future prospects. States must be prepared with plans for rehabilitation of Indians, with the possibility of offering the same kind of jobs they were doing abroad. Asking them to turn into entrepreneurs overnight would be counterproductive. There should also be a clear division of labour between the Central and the State governments in crisis situations.

The Indian diaspora is more prosperous than before and its involvement in India’s development is increasing. Indians overseas are conscious of their opportunities in India. At the same time, new fears about scaled-up return of Indians or their involvement in global terrorism are raising their heads. Firefighting is not enough. We should have a comprehensive plan involving both the Centre and States to invest remittances intelligently and to find alternative ways of livelihood for those who return.

courtesy:the hindu

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know your english

What is the meaning and origin of the expression ‘happy as a clam’? (T Indira, Tiruchi)

This is the shorter form of the expression ‘happy as a clam at high tide’. A clam is a sea creature that buries itself in the sand to escape predators. It has a shell that it uses to protect itself; when threatened, the two halves of the shell quickly snap shut. It is from this that we get the expression ‘to clam up’ to mean ‘to stop talking’ or ‘refuse to talk’. Some varieties of clams are found very close to the seashore, and the best time to dig for them is when the tide — water level — is low. A clam becomes vulnerable during low tide. When the tide is high, it feels less threatened, and therefore much happier. When you say that a person is as happy as a clam at high tide, you mean that he is extremely happy.

Jai was happy as a clam at high tide when he got the promotion.

Raj clams up whenever he is in the company of girls.

What is the difference between ‘purposely’ and ‘purposive’? (Bhavana, Delhi)

In both cases, the stress is on the first syllable. When you do something ‘purposely’, you do it deliberately or intentionally. You make up your mind to do something, and you do it.

Many students purposely come late to class.

Hema purposely pushed Jai into the pool.

While ‘purposely’ is used in both formal and informal contexts, the use of ‘purposive’ is mostly limited to formal ones. It means ‘serving a purpose, useful’. Anything that serves a purpose can be said to be ‘purposive’.

Do you seriously believe that meditation is a purposive activity?

Is it okay to say, ‘Could you possibly help me with this?’ (SV Nagesh, Nellore)

Yes, it is. In terms of meaning, there is no difference between ‘Could you help/possibly help me with this?’ In both cases, you are enquiring very politely if the individual would help you with something. The difference between the two is in the degree of politeness. Native speakers would suggest that the use of ‘possibly’ makes the request even more polite.

Could I (possibly) borrow your car this weekend?

Could you (possibly) give me a ride home?

What is the meaning of ‘droolworthy’? (Rakesh Kumar, Pune)

When you ‘drool’, saliva flows out of your mouth. Babies drool quite a bit. Some adults drool when they are sleeping. The expression ‘drool over someone/something’ is frequently used in English to mean to take extreme delight or pleasure in looking at someone or something. The person that you are looking at is so gorgeous that you salivate/drool looking at him/her. It is from this that we get the relatively new word ‘droolworthy’. An object that is droolworthy is exciting to look at; just looking at it makes your mouth water.

The cakes that were on display were droolworthy.

Many of my friends find the new hero droolworthy.

* * *

Happiness: an agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another. — Ambrose Bierce

courtesy:the hindu

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Don’t blame it on Rio

Even as the Union sports minister, Vijay Goel, and his unruly cohort(group,समूह) bring disgrace upon the nation by bullying their way into prohibited spaces at Rio, our sportspersons have brought us little glory. Although hope lies undying within the human breast, it is highly unlikely that we will match our tally of the last Olympics.

I hasten to add that this is not in the least the fault of our sportspersons. It is the inevitable consequence(result,परिणाम) of our never having had a comprehensive sports policy aimed at developing a sporting culture to make ours a sporting nation. Indeed, sports policy, such as it is, has been wholly concentrated on funding sports bodies and administrators who are intent on living in style while hoping that Lady Luck will produce some athlete or team that will compensate for our being the worst performing large country in the world of sport. If we do happen upon a Milkha Singh or a Dutee Chand, it is more chance than an earnest search for catching them young and then assiduously(laboriously,परिश्रम से)  nurturing them to a world-class showing at the Olympics.

Indeed, what our sports administrators wish to concentrate on is hosting mega-sporting events on which government, for reasons of false prestige, goes out of its way to shower its largesse. We saw this with devastating consequences at the Commonwealth Games, 2010, that did more to sully our good name the world over than any failure in field and track.

×

The worst job I have ever held was as Union sports minister, 2006-08. CWG ‘10 was under preparation and everyone expected me to be a complaisant team player although I discovered within a few days of taking the assignment that what it meant was that I ask the government for more and more money while keeping prescribed financial procedures at bay as far as possible. I repeatedly protested my reluctance(unwillingness,अनिच्छा) to be part of these shenanigans and was eventually sacked — to my intense relief.

But before I was shown the door, I was instructed to prepare a “comprehensive sports policy” to replace the few pages of clichés prepared by the previous government. I got my 72-page document ready within weeks but the Indian Olympics Committee got all sports bodies to boycott the effort. I, therefore, submitted the paper as it was. A discussion on it in cabinet was scheduled but, with a day or two to go for the discussion, I was eased out and my successor’s first task was to withdraw the paper. When the new government was formed in 2014, the new BJP minister (who has since been elevated to chief minister, Assam) requested me for a copy. I sent it to him. I was then asked for another copy by Vijay Malhotra of the IOA, who, as the longest-serving sports administrator in the country, has been responsible for more sporting disasters than several of his colleagues combined. However, I complied post-haste with his request. That is the last I have heard of it.

The gravamen of my paper, based on constitutional provisions relating to sports, numerous(many,बहुत से) expert committee reports since Independence, repeated parliamentary standing committee recommendations, the Olympics Charter and a host of UN declarations on education and sports to which we have subscribed, and recent and earlier policy statements at the level of PM and below, was that we cannot win medals before first becoming a sporting nation. Instead of waiting for talent to appear out of the blue, we must create a national sports culture, fostering(nurture,विकसित) a nation-wide sports consciousness and building a reservoir of sporting talent by providing universal access to sports, as other comparable countries have done.

The paper drew on 2000 data (this now needs updating) to show that China had created 6,20,000 sports facilities with 3,50,00 popular sports instructors and another 1,00,000 part-time trainers, working through some 40,000 grassroots sports associations, to involve an estimated 37 per cent of its population in physical education and sports activities stretching across all age groups. India, on the other hand, was estimated to have provided access to sports to no more than 5 crore out of its 77 crore population of youth and children. In consequence, where China had won a total of 379 medals in recent Olympic and Asian Games put together, India’s tally stood at a meagre 55.

The paper pointed also to little Cuba’s astonishing(surprising,आश्चर्यजनक)

 score, in the Olympics and Pan-American Games put together, of 179 medals, amounting to an average of 157.2 medals for every 10 million of its population as against India’s 0.5 medals for every 10 million of our population. It was stressed that out of some 11.5 million people, Cuba had 2 million “recognised athletes”, of whom 23,000 were in the “high performance” category spread over 38 sporting disciplines, trained by 1,20,000 retired sportspersons and 48,000 professionals, leading to this tiny island inhabited by fewer people than are to be found between the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and the Yamuna Sports Complex at Surajmal Vihar, New Delhi, becoming one of the best performing countries in the Olympics.

Drawing from the experience of China and Cuba, the paper laid out a strategy for adopting their methodology to the Indian reality. The Action Plan comprised nearly a hundred steps to be taken, and is too detailed to be summarised in this article. It broadly aimed at securing “sports for all” through promoting universal access to sports. Besides schools from the primary level upwards, the three-tier Panchayati Raj system was to be involved through the already-launched Panchayat Yuva Khel aur Krida Abhiyan and the 2.5 lakh clubs of the Nehru Yuva Kendras (since abandoned(leave,छोड़ना)by the BJP ministers). Scientific talent-spotting was to be encouraged through district and sub-district sporting competitions, followed by an elaborate system of specialist sports training with suitable nutrition at special education institutions that combined normal school and college education with overwhelming emphasis on sports for selected sportspersons of exceptional talent. Promotion of indigenous sports and the preparation of a sports grid and sports mapping to monitor what disciplines of excellence were emerging in which parts of the country was emphasised. That, not squandering(waste,व्यर्थ) tens of thousands of crores on hosting mega-sports events, is the way forward to medals and to national glory.

courtesy:indian express

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know your english

“In the final scene, we have the heroine running at the villain and punching…”

“Running at the villain? You mean ‘running after’ the villain, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t. When you ‘run after’ someone, you pursue or chase the individual. The policeman ran after the thief, but was unable to catch her.”

“Like many policeman, he was probably out of shape. Here’s my example. The children ran after the cute puppy. Now tell me, what does ‘run at’ mean?”

“When you ‘run after’ someone, you may be pursuing the individual just for the fun of it. When you ‘run at’ someone, you rush towards him in order to attack…”

“In other words, you’re being very serious. You’re not fooling around. You’re charging or moving towards someone in a threatening manner.”

“That’s right! The cornered animal ran at the hunter.”

“The young woman ran at her tormentor and punched him on his nose.”

“When he saw the villagers running at him, he pulled out his gun and fired in the air.”

“They must have stopped immediately. Tell me, what do you think of this new shirt my aunt got me? She and my mother went…?”

“To tell you the truth, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing it. There’s something…”

“Caught dead wearing it? What does it mean?”

“It means I would never wear a shirt like that. I’d be too embarrassed to…”

“I see! How about this example? I wouldn’t be caught dead shaking hands with a politician.”

“Sounds good. It’s also possible to say ‘seen dead’. I wouldn’t be seen dead in the company of Sujatha and Jai.”

“Even if you paid him, my neighbour wouldn’t be seen dead riding my old bicycle.”

“That sounds a bit like my friend Sameer. He’s always talking about…”

“Your friend Sameer comes from a very wealthy family, doesn’t he?”

“He’d like people to think so. But he was born with a wooden spoon in his mouth. He’s…”

“Is it the opposite of ‘born with a silver spoon in his mouth’?”

“That’s right! When you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you’re born into a wealthy family. Some of my cousins were born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”

“Quite a few students in my class were born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”

“That’s a good example. The expression ‘born with a wooden spoon in his mouth’ is sometimes used to refer to a person who comes from a poor family. His parents…”

“His parents are not well to do. They have to work really hard to make ends meet.”

“That’s right! Jai was born with a wooden spoon in his mouth. He’s had to work really hard to get to where he is today.”

“Most people in my neighbourhood were born with a wooden spoon in their mouth.” “Now tell me, where did your aunt get that shirt?”

“She went for shopping with my mom yesterday, and…”

“You don’t ‘go for shopping’. You ‘go shopping’. I went shopping with my friends.”

“Many people enjoy going shopping.”

“I certainly don’t.”

* * *

We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops. — Henry Youngman

courtesy:the hindu

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Why EPW matters

In early 1966 more than 50 of India’s leading commentators, academics and senior government officials appealed for contributions of Rs.500 each to establish a trust that would publish a new journal of economics and politics.

Tomorrow (August 20) marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW).

EPW has become something of a global phenomenon over the past half century. Week after week it has presented informed commentary on the important issues of the day as well as research papers on a wide range of social science disciplines. Its authors have included everyone from political activists to Nobel Laureates, from lecturers in colleges in small towns to professors in the leading universities in the world, from members of non-government organisations to government officials.

Actually 67

EPW is actually now 67, and not 50. The Economic Weekly (EW), conceived and edited by Sachin Chaudhuri (an economist from what was then Dacca who had moved to Bombay), had begun publication in 1949 in the western metropolis. It quickly made a name for itself as a much sought-after platform for publishing opinion and research about India’s development policies and the politics around it. But that weekly, financed by the Sekhsarias, a group of cotton merchants, closed at the end of 1965 after differences between the editor and the publishers. Within a few weeks some of India’s leading academics and thinkers made the appeal to launch a new journal that would be edited by Chaudhuri and build on the legacy of the very influential EW.

The new weekly, with “Political” added to its moniker in acknowledgement of its widening intellectual mandate, was published by the new Sameeksha Trust. In this new, revitalised avatar the weekly blossomed.

Within a decade EPW had grown in the range of disciplines and themes it published. EPW’s pages hosted some of the most important debates, about economic strategies, change in village societies, foreign policy, political representation and ever expanding fields such as secularism and the politics of the Left. Then and later, some of India’s best gave their best work to EPW and EPW, in turn, helped launch many a career by publishing the first works of young writers.

What explains this success of the EPW, when world over independent “little magazines” rarely, if ever, manage to survive for a few years? One reason surely is the thriving(grow,पनपना) intellectual climate in India of the first few decades after Independence when everyone put their shoulder to “nation building”. Later, the cross-disciplinary open-ended nature of the journal helped it grow and prevent being painted into a corner.

The editor has always been pivotal(crucial,निर्णायक) in making EPW what it is. Krishna Raj, who took over as editor a few years after Chaudhuri passed away (after a brief interregnum when R.K. Hazari was editor), opened the pages of the weekly to an even wider range of authors, gave it its trademark left-wing flavour without closing it to other viewpoints. He went out of his way to encourage young scholars, got activists to write academically rigorous(strict,सख्त) articles and got academics to sustain a public-political purpose to their work By the 1970s, EPW became a journal which a large number of people identified with, looked forward to reading each week and hoped to contribute to. Krishna Raj built up a team of EPW staff who worked to produce a veritable book-size publication every week, and of ever widening circles of contributors and subscribers who felt a sense of fraternal bonding with the journal. Together, these circles of committed authors, readers and employees provided the support which sustained the EPW even when conditions were hard.

Perhaps Krishna Raj’s greatest contribution lay in building up and nurturing this world of the EPW where everyone felt ownership of the journal. The legal form in which it has been published may be of a trust but it has really worked like the best of the cooperatives, with everyone a trustee.

What lies ahead?

EPW has never been shy of publishing the new,peculiar( unusual,अजीब) or offbeat argument. And, of course, its defining identity is its independent and critical stance on issues. EPW has always looked for new fields to cover. In the 1980s, EPW added gender to its pages, and later health, education, the environment and much more were included in its portfolio. (Like much of academia, EPW “rediscovered” caste in the 1970s.)

Another remarkable feature is that EPW has been produced all these years without any commercial backing, depending entirely on its income from circulation sales and whatever limited advertising comes by. It has as a policy never taken any grants from abroad. At home, other than the occasional donation to its corpus, it has received only three generous one-time grants from institutions/individuals, all in the first decade of the 21st century. Difficult as it has been, this way of functioning has helped EPW maintain its independence.

The world of publishing, the world of academia and the world of public debates have all changed dramatically over the last decade or so. EPW has ridden the waves of these changes and we feel a sense of satisfaction that at our time at the journal we managed to steer its course where today the number of article submissions and the circulation have both doubled over the past dozen years, the finances are better than they ever were in its history even when staff salaries are at their best and EPW is ready to meet the demands of digitisation and growing specialisation.

Yet, success brings forth new challenges.

EPW may be reaching the limits of its ability to cater to the needs and demands of India’s intellectual life. The widening range of commentary and research that EPW receives every week has already been testing the limits of editorial capabilities and the space available for articles. How can the massive numbers of new students, researchers and teachers who have come into the social sciences in India over the past few years be socialised into the old world charms of the EPW? How can the hundreds and thousands of commentators who are turned away from mainstream publications find a place in EPW? Can the digital world provide answers? How will EPW’s financial security be ensured when everything comes for free on the Internet?

Strengthening the EPW community

There are no set answers to these challenges, yet the only way to meet them is to strengthen the community which is the EPW. In these testing times, with the forums for debate under scourge(threat,खतरा) and intellectual activity frowned upon by the ruling elite(specialist,विशिष्ट), EPW is needed more than ever before. Fifty years after EPW started publication, today the country perhaps needs fifty more such journals publishing from all parts of the country, from all viewpoints and in all forms.

EPW has survived and grown over the last half century on the backs of successive teams of dedicated staff and a close-knit community. Its very success has created conditions where future growth and survival may well depend on the growth and spread of an entire ecosystem of independent publications hosting varied research, debates and readership.

courtesy:the hindu

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