Sunday, September 7, 2008

NSG and Reservations

Today ( 7th Sept 2008) I have had my fill of India shining. Manmohan Singh stands tall after leading the charge into the cloistered confines of the NSG. While the Congress I is trumpeting their prime ministers victory, the other parties are looking for holes to bury themselves in. But this is what the Congress would have done too, if they were in opposition.

The Indian Industry sees the NSG waiver as something that is unprecedented and that will help them and the economy as a whole. There is good reason to this, which I shall come to later.

But the fact of the matter is India’s demand of the NSG highlights her Reservation mentality. I make no bones about the fact that I am a product of reservation; the only reason why the college accepted me after my disastrous high school results was because I bore a cross they recognised. Reservation is intended to give those without opportunities a fair shot at life, it is not for those (like me) who have the wherewithal and suddenly find themselves in a self made conundrum.

Over time India has become adept at demanding reservations/quotas from international bodies. This country has got an exemption from signing the Non Proliferation Treaty which is a must for any country to trade with NSG countries. By doing so it has once again destroyed the value of the NPT, not to mention its impact on The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Fissile Material Treaty (FMT) international conventions that are trying to remove weapons of mass destruction.

This kind of demand for waiver in international fora though embarrassing is not unusual for India, this country lives off Reservations. It can be seen in the horse trading that occurs amongst our politicians, it is apparent everyday when people disobey traffic rules, it is apparent when building norms are thrown into the wind, in the way we celebrate festivals and marriages that spill out into the street and inconvenience the rest. Every Indian wants to be in a special category, every category wants to be recognised not for what they bring to the table but for the benefits they can accrue.

The Indian psyche is actually a selfish one, maybe it could be called a survivalist mentality to couch it in better terms, but the fact of the matter is we don’t care about what our actions have on others.

The NPT, CTBT and FMT are international treaties made by nuclear haves to ensure that no other country got their hands on such weapons though made in good faith is also a clear case of different rules for different people. Rajiv Gandhi at the UN said “"We cannot accept the logic that a few nations have the right to pursue their security by threatening the survival of mankind...nor is it acceptable that those who possess nuclear weapons are freed of all controls while those without nuclear weapons are policed against their production. History is full of such prejudices paraded as iron laws: That men are superior to women; that white races are superior to the coloured; that colonialism is a civilizing mission; (and) that those who possess nuclear weapons are responsible powers and those who do not are not."

India did propose a comprehensive action plan for a nuclear-free world within a specific time-frame at the third United Nations Special Session on Disarmament, in 1988. Nothing much has happened after that besides India testing another set of nuclear weapons in 1998 (which was another knife into these international treaties) and finally the NSG waiver that according to the Swiss government mean that “it will be necessary to conclude that the non-proliferation regime that we know has reached its end.”

So in the last decade India has been able to single handedly destroy an international treaty that has 189 signatories – we sure have become a global superpower.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the crown jewel of Indian science and technology – the nuclear establishment is being built on a policy of reservation. Indian Taxpayers money is being poured down an abyss, everything surrounding the nuclear establishment be it financial accountability, health of the workers and people staying in that area is all cloaked in secrecy. If that is not a form of reservation then what is? The fact that norms other public utilities have to follow do not govern the Indian Nuclear establishment shows there is a publicly accepted, government sanctioned Reservation for this entity. This huge pie is what the private industry wants to get their hands on. The fact that there is no accounting, that there is no one answerable to the public, that the government disburses money without a blink is what the private industry wants, they want a pie of the reservation.

What the waiver has done internationally is nothing compared to what the Indian public are going to face. A spew of reactors all over the country will increase the threat of accidents, will provide more avenues for terrorist attacks, will also increase the amount of nuclear waste that has to be dealt with. What is more ironic is that the very industry who were against reservation for the Indian public are going to be lining up to demand their 'fair' share in the nuclear reservation.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Big Asks.

It has been said that there is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers. Questions are conundrums that created philosophies, lead to scientific discoveries, to revolutions, to wars and conquests. Questions have also led to more mundane human things like love, loss, desire, hope, despair, greed, jealousy, unhappiness - things that are dealt with individually or with a close set of friends and family.

For the regular human questions are usually based on worth. Worth that is a perception of the self and of the other person and that is the fount of most questions. Everything from pay to relationships is based on this – and happy is the person who sees through it all. But until then the question remains.

Though questions are a means towards fulfillment it is not easy to question or ask. Therefore the BIG ASK.

Questions by their very function can be construed as points of vulnerability. A pay-hike request could have its birth in anything from a comparison with a colleague’s salary to the feeling that the money is not commiserate to the work all could be very justifiable though indicating a reassessment of worth. Before such a question is raised a lot of internal dialogue goes on everything from how will the question be perceived to what kind of answer will it beget to the response that would be necessary for the answer. It requires a steeling up that provides the impetus for the question to be asked.

One can handle such impersonal questions, but when it comes to matters that are little more personal boy-oh-boy do things get heated? Asking a woman for her hand in marriage is scary not only because the man is in effect forfeiting all his freedom and friends, but also because she may just say no. So on the one hand his present is looking pretty unsure (before he pops the question), his future is certainly bleak.

But BIG ASKS are not only about life and bank balance altering scenarios, they are also about the smaller stuff, like wanting to get to know a person. In such cases there are many BIG ASKS, from does one really want to get to know the person, to does the individual in question want to get known and what happens if after the BIG ASK the person indicates in the negative. There is always this argument which is very British, take it on the chin and don’t behave like a child. But that is just not possible, because BIG ASKS such as these are based on hope and desire two very basic, very human and very personal emotions that though nurtured in a vacuum of singleness can only blossom in the chaos of two.

One of the results of a BIG ASK is another BIG ASK which is ‘why’ followed by the remonstrations and the hind sight. But the good thing is that in BIG ASKS one never learns from hind sight because there is no such thing as a stupid question.