Future Prime Minister ? – Part 2

Future Prime Minister?

Biodiversity in Indian homes

The spring is here and I open my windows to let in some fresh air, reminiscing of running fans at high speed and noisy coolers. A fly has finds its way through the open windows in to my flat and now I’m trying to get rid of it. But I stop and realise that had I been in India, I would have stayed comfortably seated on my sofa.

In fact, now that I think of it, I can recall seeing all sorts of non-domesticated biodiversity in Indian houses: ants, cockroaches, lizards, flies, moths, worms, spiders, rats, mice, cats, dogs, cows, frogs, snakes, monkeys, birds and even bats! Anything I missed out?

Oh and of course, the exciting food chain demonstrations, if you know what I mean.

Pseudo-secularism

Its election time, and once again, I’m disappointed, like millions of other Indian citizens.

I could write at length, analyse to the last bit, but all the mainstream media to do that quite well, so I’m just going to provide my view on one tiny aspect: ‘pseudo-secularism’.

Its a term used by many a BJP supporters. They use to mean that the ‘secularism’ displayed by their rival parties is half-hearted, and that the bottom line is that these parties are playing vote bank politics. The implication is that the BJP is not so. This is where they lose me.

How can a bunch of people who openly demolish places of worship (Babri mosque), fuel riots (Gujarat), among several other heinous crimes, go around calling themselves secular? Its an ulta chor kotwal ko daate!!

To BJP and supporters: Seriously, your actions make you the real pseudo-secularists !!! India is and has been a diverse society for ages. This is the truth. Satyamev Jayate.

The (poor and helpless) international student’s guide to living in London

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have filthy rich parents to support you financially (but who have lovingly spent their entire life savings to just about meet your enormous international students’ fees), have no scholarship because a) you’re not eligible, b) there aren’t any, but still wish to study at a prestigious university, you are not the only one (but you are a damn rarity).

From experience, here are things you could do to get by:

1. EARNING IT: Don’t be a loser, get a part time job (or internship). Interferes with study? Then you probably don’t deserve to go to that top university anyway. People who do deserve to go there will find out other ways of getting money like:

• ‘Hardship funds’
• Multiple part-time jobs
• Easy scholarships which are minor compared to your fees but don’t need much work to get
• Manipulating your situation to get any of the above (note: this does not mean lying)

2. SAVING IT: Cost-cutting should be in your blood. And I mean real cost-cutting, not ooh-look-at-that-offer. For the duration of your studies:

• Replace all your food brands with Sainsbury’s basics. No to kellogs, colgate, yes to 40p cornflakes and 12p toothpaste. Eat at home as much as possible, cook everything yourself rather than getting take away or ready to eat meals (unless cheaper). Use the savings to take your girlfriend to a nice dinner.
• Cycling should be the first choice of mode of transport. If the distance is too far, take the bus. Yes it will take longer than the tube, and time is money, but at least you’ll be able to spend that time with enough space, air and light to enjoy a book. At the end of the studies, sell the bike and get your money back.
• Minimise the need for transport by staying close to your place of work. Cheaper places further away might not work out if the cost of transport makes up for the savings.
• Stay in a long-term stay hostel, not a flat. IF you can bear occasionally having your food stolen, hardly any privacy, hardly any space, sharing rooms with multiple people whom you have never met before and some of who may have alternative sexual orientation, dirty toilets, broken showers, corridors full of smoke and smells, bedbugs, and disturbed sleep. Make friends with the people who clean the place, and as hard as it may be, the random people you share your room with. Keep your toothbrush safe; share your food.
• If you’re paying for the heating, turn it off, wear sweatshirts and socks.

3. SPENDING IT: Its possible to have the same life as everyone else, as long as you’re street smart.

• Get a student discount everywhere you go.
• Negotiate and bargain as you would in the des. You’d be surprised how often it works.
• Go to the cinema every week, but only on Orange wednesdays.
• Only buy new clothes / shoes / stuff in post Xmas or early summer sales.

The bottom line: Have a happy student life!

Better than the West

India chose to have a diplomatic offensive over military action against Pakistan in response to the Mumbai attacks in November. Did it do so out of choice or having no choice?

Manmohan Singh rightly said that military action would achieve nothing constructive. If India wanted, it could have attacked the terrorist training camps in Pakistan territory. But any such action would surely result in retaliation by Pakistan's military, may be resulting in all-out war, Kargil style, and in the longer term, more terrorist attacks.

Yet if an equivalent number of people had died in a terrorist attack in the US, UK or Israel, military action would be inevitable. The mess created by that is visible in Paletine, Iraq and Afghanistan. What India has done shows restraint, wisdom, and regard to the long term.

So all of you who say India is weak, shut up.

Root Cause

The recent horrific attacks in Mumbai has 'awakened' the Indian public, government, as well as caused some fear and negative sentiment among Pakistan's public and media. Accusations have been made that the terrorists were 'home-grown', i.e. Indian based, whereas India finds evidence and backing by the US to say that they were in fact Pakistan based.

However, terrorism is a long term problem, and even if these attacks were not by home grown terrorists, there is a no doubt that there are Muslim communities in India, particularly so in Kashmir, which are hostile towards India. (This is NOT to say that all Muslims in India are like this). Why so?

In theory Muslims across India can command equal treatment like any other Indian, and Kashmiris especially have some privileges since its inception. But that theory has not been put into practice effectively. The real success of these would be achieved when every Muslim in India feels proud to be an Indian. This would be an enormous blow to all the terrorists who try to expand in India.

Sure it may be too idealistic, but so are all real goals. So people of India - yes we shall condemn terror, yes we shall make our government be more responsible, but lets make sure that responsibility spans across internal affairs as well as external ones.