The epidemic of "Therapeutic alienation" in India

Last weekend I watched a very interesting interview on PBS. John McWhorter, the author of "Winning the Race" talked about what is wrong with welfare and black empowerment. He described "the heroics of idle protest and theatrical rage" that characterize today's black leadership as "therapeutic alienation."

He says ..."therapeutic alienation: alienation unconnected to, or vastly disproportionate to, real-life stimulus, but maintained because it reinforces one's sense of psychological legitimacy, via defining oneself against an oppressor characterized as eternally depraved."

It was an ah-ha moment for me. I finally have a term for what desis from M.K. Gandhi to today's leaders indulge in. Ok, I am sure the reference to Gandhi will draw criticism from some quarters. But, think. Did Gandhi care more about winning independence or proving the British as morally inferior? And, today we have people of all kinds indulging in similar behavior (though their morals, inf any, are really low).

Now, there is a new report that was leaked in sync with the Uttar Pradesh elections that finds Indian muslims that worse off than other religious groups. It is a call for religion based reservations. This is when about 75% of indian muslims are covered by existing caste based reservations. So, on one hand we have this high sounding concepts like secularism, equality and equal opportunity while on the other hand we have government policies that promote division. How long before the shias, sunnis and other groups all ask for their own quotas?

SOA stands for "Same Old Architecture"

Last week I went for an IDC conference on "Service Oriented Architecture" (SOA). I went there hoping that the conference speakers will help provide a clearer perspective on why SOA is going to change the world.

The key note got off to a real bad start with one of the analysts presenting pretty much throwing all buzzwords, jargons and cliches in one 15min talk. There were a number of references to Geoffery Moore and his concepts to a predominantly tech audience who probably have never heard of him. It only got worse as the day progressed.

Vendors, both product and services firms, tried their best to convince everyone that their tool/ approach will offer the best. They took great pains to convince that SOA is not web services yet the only example of SOA that was demonstrated was a email validation service using web services. The services vendors talked a great deal about SOA governance but had a hard time talking about how it was different from IT Governance and where it fit in. There were a number of times when different speakers had radically different thoughts on what a term meant. A guy from the services side of a tools vendor said SOA Governance is like IT Governance but at an enterprise level while a CIO of an utility company said SOA Governance is about security and service life cycle management.

I am appalled by the number of snake oil salesmen in the IT industry. No wonder IT credibility is really low. We have a poor track record, poor communication skills but we feel the need to come up with some new term every three years and try to sell it to the world as the new silver bullet. Why can't we call it as we see it? I called SOA "old wine in a new bottle". But, a colleague of mine said it better - "old underwear in new packaging." The SOA story is just one example. The other one is SOX (Sarbanes Oxley bogey). There are a whole lot of products and vendors offering solutions for SOX compliance. SOX does not directly mention IT anywhere but that has not stopped vendors from proposing incredibly stupid solutions. I once had a consultant from a large service provider suggest that we should run SSL on our LAN for SOX compliance.

There were one or two speakers at this conference who made sense. There was this guy from HP who started off by saying "I was doing SOA twnety years back." His point was SOA is nothing but doing IT architecture right - to support the business functions. The new technologies and standards just make things easier.

Revolution in IT will happen when IT personnel and technology vendors understand the business and its problems.

In memory of a friend who I wish I had known better

I tried emailing Prasad last week, one of my once in a year or so email ping. And, it bounced back. Hotmail informed me that the mailbox was no longer available - a sign of it not being in use for more that four months. I wondered if Prasad like a number of others had decided to use Gmail. So, I searched for other email addresses that I might have for him. When I did not find any I searched on the Web.

The first hit was an article in "The Hindu" about being the only child from early this year. He was quoted in it. But, it was the second hit that made me go cold. It was an item from "The Hindu" obituary from April 25th announcing Prasad's transition on April 20th. Prasad must have been 42 or at the most 43 years.

I still remember vividly how I met Prasad. It must have been 1993 I had responded to an advertisement in the IEEE Spectrum magazine about an organization called Global Intuition Network (GIN). They claimed to promote intuition as a management tool. I was intrigued and I wrote to them. Turns out Prasad had sent a letter,too. And, since my letter must have arrived there first they asked Prasad to get in touch with me about organizing the local charter. Prasad sent me a letter. And, I was quite surprised. Anyway, I called him on the phone to find out what his interest was. He told me that he had an engineering degree, a MBA and he ran a small robotics and automation firm. Later, during our first face to face meeting at his office I learned that his engineering degree was from IITB and the MBA was from Carnegie Mellon. I remember asking him "What are you doing here?". And, his response was, "This is my company. I would be nowhere else."

We never did anything about GIN but we kept in touch. It was mostly my initiative. But, he always made it a point to respond to the letters or make time to meet me. After I moved to the US and my folks moved out of Chennai in 1999 the once in 3 months contact reduced to one or two emails a year. My emails were always the same - "how is work? hope your mom is doing well." His dad had passed away back when he was in college. And, his responded promptly, as always. He told me about the pressure from the Chinese entry into the Indian market, the increasing wages etc...I did not have anything to offer him. As always he seemed quirky as ever, a bit defiant and making the best of the situation.

In December of 2003 I decided to fly into India via Chennai. I called Prasad when I got there. And, he invited us over to his home for breakfast. I went to his home, met his mom for the first time and had breakfast with them. He seemed upset about things at work - an old timer had swindled him and another had decided to move on. He invited us to stay on, said he would like to get to know my wife, who like him is an only child and an air force child. But, we were on the run - the typical 3 week vacation from the US. I promised to try spend time with him on my way out knowing fully well that it probably would not happen due to other commitments. Prasad dropped us off at our next appointment, a friend of mine from my undergrad days. And, during the drive managed to fool my friend into believing that he was a hired driver. It was hilarious. That was the last time I met Prasad.

In December of 2005 I did return to India on vacation. But, this time I skipped Chennai altogether. We spoke briefly over the phone. He sounded upset that I had not planned on coming to Chennai. He seemed to be holding back something. I did not ask, he did not tell. I promised to keep in touch by email or phone - my usual "ping". I don't know if I did email him after that. I want to think that I did. I never received any response. So, maybe I never did.

I wonder if things would have been different had I been in Chennai. Or, would we have remained the same. I do wish I had asked him what was on his mind, why he had not married, if could have been of any help.... I wish I had been more involved. I thank you, my friend, for the memories. I just wish there were a lot more.

Child Rights or Relief... what is in a name?

Looks like the favorite desi pastime of re-naming cities and organizations has bitten my favourite charity. Child Relief & You (a.k.a CRY) has decided to change its name to Child Rights & You (a.k.a CRY). But,looks like laziness caught the better of them (at least the IT staff). So, while the indian site has it as Child Rights & You (http://www.cry.org/index.html),the US landing page (http://america.cry.org/index.asp) still has Child Relief & You.

BTW, I think the new name for Bangalore is quite appropriate - Bengaluru, derived from Benda Kaal Ooru - that's "boiled beans town". Yes, you guys are full of hot air. Maybe, it is the beans ;).

You also make me proud... very proud

BBC News | Corus accepts £4.3bn Tata offer

Growing up in India it is hard to miss the Tatas. Their product and services were integral part of my life (and, for that matter the life of most Indians). In B-school two years back we had a case study on the Tatas. I remember the German professor asking the class - "What do you know about the Tatas?" And, my response was ..."I think they have done more for India than all Indian governments put together." Well, that may not be saying much given the quality of Indian governments but here is a group that for the most part knows the right from wrong and plays by the rules.

I was bit sad when Reliance took over the position of #1 indian industrial group. I remember Anil Ambani launching a website called "Anil Ambani for India" (now goes to Reliance insurnace) in true Amreki estyle. And, the next thing I knew was Reliance Telecom was fined a hefty amount for terminating international calls as local calls to avoid the gateway fees. Talk about robbing the country blind. Reliance to some extend is the opposite of the Tatas - for the most part they bend the rules and when their conscience troubles them they do something good. A bit like most Indians.

Anyway, coming back to the topic. One of the most memorable advertisement was the Tata Steel ad that showed their commitment to society and ended with the line "We also make steel." Yes, and a whole lot of it. But, you also make me proud (and, I bet most Indians would concur).

Irony that is India

The other day I was having a chat with the head of sales of a mid sized Indian offshore service provider. And, he mentioned that Bangalore was closed because of a "state sponsored" bandh to show their grievances about north karnataka area that is claimed by karnataka and maharastra. Then, came the protests against english.

It made me wonder about the various stupid acts that we seem to proudly carryon. I think Gandhi probably never realized that the non-violent non cooperation movement will legitimize bandh, hartal and what ever you may call it...And, is it really non-violent? Try telling that to someone who is trying to get to a hospital for a medical emergency.

We take a lot of pride in claiming that ours was a non-violent struggle for freedom.But, we forget that the first act was to kill each other. Yes, we did not fight the british with arms, we fought our own.

Then, there is the stupid practice of calling the disadvantaged folks "harijans". As, if calling them that will change the people's behaviour. Why not just try to remove the need to classify people and enforce the non-discrimination law. And, that is not the same as handouts.

Desis everywhere

Potential predators in Petaluma - Dateline NBC - MSNBC.com

Yesterday's Dateline NBC "Catch a Predator" featured a number of desis. In fact, I think desis were the largest ethnic group featured in yeasterday's episode that was about the sting operation in Petaluma. I think almost all desis were young software engineers. Way to go guys. Yeah, some time in the jail will round off your US experience. Enjoy Maadi!!!

Hate, Indifference or Unconditional love ...what do I care?

NRIs to get voting rights soon

First they (the Government and most people) hated the Non Resident Indians (NRIs). They were these scumbags who enjoyed the best that Dear Old Bharat Mata (DOBM) had to offer and then turned their backs on DOBM.

Then came the indifference phase. The NRIs were eager to cash in on the high interest rates at home. And, DOBM was eager to take their cash to tide over the messy forex reserves problem.

All that changed a few years back. Now, we have Parvasi Divas, Dual Citizenships, full coverage of spelling bee contests, star writers (until they turn out to be plagiarists) and first round elimination from Amazing Race. DOBM loves the NRIs. But, allowing NRIs to vote is the last straw. Most of these blokes did not vote or were not eligible to vote when they were in India. Now, they will try to vote based on their views moulded by different surroundings, perceptions created by media and with no touch with reality on the ground. And, what more they won't have to enjoy the consequences of their votees on a daily basis.

Someone once said immigrants are strangers in the country they go to and the country they leave behind. I tend to agree with that assessment. I also think most immigrants (desis or otherwise) tend to take extreme positions. Would I want a stranger to decide what is good for me? No! So, DOBM why would you?

Yet another layoff

Back in 2001-2002 I was at an Internet consulting company that was laying off people every three months. Just when I thought I was behind that here I am after making the cut.

Back in 2001-2002, I remember the firm's CEO saying "we don't want to become good at this" after mishandling the first layoff. But, by the third layoff they had the process well nailed down. Often there were people who were offered additional incentives to stay on to finish the project they were on. They were called "trailers". But, pretty much everyone got laidoff the same day.

Here they took a different approach. First they told the analysts and public that they were downsizing. Then, told the employees the next day that over the next two weeks they will know if they were going to be affected.  So, for the next two weeks nobody really did much. And, when the announcements were finally made all were asked to stay on till the end of September to get their package.

My boss said someone had to go from our group. And, he said  "Since you recently got your graduate degree we thought you may want to do something else." A very noble thought indeed. Over the last six weeks there have been a flurry of resignations from the department. And, it prompted the CIO to spin it as a sign of "red hot" job market.  The spin is something that I expected.

I am often amazed how the folks at the "C" level get away with screwed up performances. And, can spin their way out of it.

Finally!!!

UP court stays subsidy to Haj pilgrims

It took a while for someone to go to court on this. And, it took a right wing hindu organization symapthizer to do it. But, what the court has ruled is absolutely right. A secular state has no business supporting its people's religious trips.

Now Playing...The States vs. The Colas

This is a theater of the absurd. First, some NGO finds that Pepsi and Coke have chemicals in excess of the minimum residue levels (MRL) established by the government. According to India Today India is one of the few countries that have MRL on such products. So far, so good.

soon, some state governments in India jump on this and promptly ban colas. And, US is upset with the situation that it "warns" India. I am sure that will be enough for some of these politicians in India to wag their fingers back and call it nationalism. But, tell me how many people in India drink these colas. And, how many people depend on water. Why don't we talk of MRLs in the drinking water supply, vegetables and food grains. Why can't these states that were quick to ban the colas do something about the problems with chemicals, pesticides in other food items that are more commonly consumed?

US would do better if it would stop issuing such stupid statements that hurt the fragile egos of the Indians. India has a slow but reasonably good legal system that can provide recourse. Interestingly, the US reaction came even before any strong reaction from the cola firms.

Maybe, we should consider a statuatory warning on the cola bottles like the ones on cigarette packages and focus on the real issues.

Finally, I am TTB (thrilled to bits) to see fellow Chennai-ite Indira Nooyi as the CEO of Pepsi. Lets all drink to that.

Find the odd one

When I was young I used to love doing these puzzles where I had to find the odd item. This item below in italics is a table from a latest "India Today" article. Item 2 certainly seems to be the odd one out. There is no denying the writer is really smart throwing all related and unrelated statistics at you


- 44% fewer Muslim students complete senior school compared to non-Muslims

- Lack of one night's sleep results in a 30 per cent drop in cognitive performance. Poor decision making, irritability, loss of temper and short-term memory loss follow.

- Only one in 101 Muslim women is a graduate versus one out of 37 non-Muslims

- 31 million more Muslims to be educated by 2011 to match today’s literacy level of non-Muslims

Oil for food and food for thought

Report implicates Indian ex-official - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune

So, the official report of the indian study to investigate on the allegations made by Paul Volcker's report is out. Actually, it has been "leaked". According to it the Congress party is not to be blamed but Natwar Singh and his son is at fault. If you recall Volcker's report had listed both the Congress party and Natwar Singh. Natwar used the leaked indian report to claim his innocence. He says since the report clearly states that he did not monetarily benefit from it he is innocent. And, of course, Congress party says the report vindicates them, too.

Here is the deal guys. Saddam would not have dealt with Natwar Singh had it not been for the fact that this joker was a member of the Indian government, a Congress government. And, our democracy is supposed to be an example of collective responsibility. So, Congress cannot say that they are innocent. And, Natwar can't say he is innocent because he did not gain from it. Even Robinhood who robbed the rich to give to the poor did rob. He did break the rule of the land. And, Natwar is no Robinhood. He is, just like many others, another ordinary criminal who gets elected to the Indian Parliament.

Fired about the public corporation(s)

This week the firm I work for announced that they were going to cut 15% of their workforce. Now, I am no stranger to layoffs, having survived about six rounds of layoffs back in 2001-2002 at my then employer. But, it is always interesting to see how these things work.

Back in 2001 the firm I worked for laid off a whole lot of people, good number of them were staffed on projects at client sites. They all were given an hour or two to get out. And, they left without any opportunity to transition their work. And, we were left to figure out how to keep the projects going. But, they did get better over the next few layoffs. They started asking folks who were on projects to stay on till the end of the assignment in return for a better severance package.

As for the current saga, I believe we will be told over the next two weeks if we are affected. Now, I am not sure how they released the number to the public if they have not identified who is staying and who is going. And, why would you keep the employees waiting for two weeks. I bet the employees are going to be very productive during these two weeks.

The options backdating scandals seems to be picking momentum. I wonder if there would be a stock buyback scandal soon. A number of corporations are doing buybacks claiming the stock is underpriced. At the very same time senior management is cashing in on their options. Nothing illegal about selling the options if you have filed the necessary papers. But, is it ethical. And, I am sure some of these guys can co-oridnate their sale with the planned buyback well in advance.

Yet another example of vain boasts

'IBM is legacy, Infosys is the future'

What IP has Infosys created? And, what is the value in creating shiny glass buildings in a tropical country where it is hot and power cuts are frequent and an on campus golf course in a country where you can't get water for basic needs.

New face of terror and new realities to face

India police detail role of militants in attacks - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune

Reports from police investigating the latest Bombay blasts indicate one of the ringleaders was a muslim software engineer who until recently was working for a large multi-national. Now, this is not the first time that folks involved in terror/ anit-social activities have come from such a background. But, often this is not the background that is associated with terror, especially in India.

The story always is - the person felt marginalized, did not have access to opportunities, was in a financially weak situation etc...It is almost as if with all such conditions it was "natural" for them to go and blow up innocent people. And, so what does the government do - offer more handouts to the marginalized communities around election time.

Now, it is clear that there are factors other than economics or revenge at work. The only way I can explain this is - religion. These people feel that their religion is better than others and so everyone should either join me or die.

The DH Imam wasted no time in absolving LeT and blamed it on the hindu radicals. He claims he has information to that effect. And, he continues "We were rulers here for 800 years. Inshaallah, we shall return to power here once again". This guy is not some fringe radical. He is the religious head of one of the biggest mosques in India and is a well known religious leader. And, this is not the first time he has indulged in such statements.

It is time for the so called "secular" indians and political parties to determine if they want to be an Islamic nation. And, have no doubts this won't be the second coming of the Mughal dynasty.

I guess what we need is not new anti-terror laws like TADA, POTA etc... We need a law that make any attack on the secular nature of the nation a crime. That way we can throw the hindu radicals, muslim radicals and prostelizing missionaries all behind bars.

PS: Why is that many Islamic radical groups have words "democratic", "freedom" etc... in their names?

Grabbing at straws of vain glory

Desis are great about going to town about "achievements" of other desis or even folks who are vaguely desis. It is either that or an outright attack on the person without much background research.

So, it was not surprising to see desis go gaga over Kavya Viswanath of plagarism fame. And, poor Kavya did not realize that writing a book is not like high school or college papers where one generally gets away wit some "borrowing". As soon as the news came out the desis dropped her.

Then, they jumped on the spelling bee/ geography bee bandwagon. It is quite possible that some of these kids have never been to India and they are certainly not part of the Indian education system. But, that does not stop us from gushing about their acheivements. I never understood the obsession with spelling contests. I mean, the purpose of communication is to keep it simple and convey the meaning. So, why would you waste your time memorizing the spelling for painfully complex words that you are almost certain never to use.

Why can't we celebrate real achievements in moderation. And, criticize in moderation.

Lets kick some butts...as long as it is not in my backyard

I have colleague - a Russian Jew who after reading some Leon Uris books started talking about "my people" and "my land" even though he has never been to Israel. So, last week I had to ask him what he thought about the happenings in the Middle East. He said, "We are kicking some butts." To which I replied, "But, you are kicking the wrong butts." He was surprised by this comment. He did not know the details - who Hezbollah was? why Israel was bombing Lebanon? And, how (if any) were the Lebanese involved in this.

He is not alone. There are a number of people here in the US who feel Israel is right to bomb the heck out of Lebanon. They point out that their neighbors don't indulge in terrorist acts. So, if the neighbor indulges in terrorist acts you can bomb the heck out. Very simplistic. US, Iran and Syria are probably having fun watching the Hezbollah and Isreal fight a war on their behalf.

Lets change the scenario. We have a drug problem fuelled by drug peddlers from the south. Assume that these guys pick two of the DEA agents and hold them for ransom or even kill them. Are we justified in bombing Mexico City, if that is where the heads of these drug rings live?

And, what do think the reaction would be if this happens. Do you think the people slipping across the boder will be looking for work or something more sinister. You raze my home I am coming after you.

Silent Majority ...the silence is deafening

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tension among Mumbai's Muslims

According to this BBC report the Muslims in Bombay are feeling the heat. I do feel sorry for them. But, the slience of the Indian muslim leadership on the blasts is deafening.

I counted three Bollywood muslims who voiced concerns regards the blast - Aamir Khan, Javed Akthar and Shabana Azmi. But, where is that DH Imam of Juma Masjid who shouts off his mouth other times.

Other day I heard a report on NPR about a silent majority in Pakistan who want the "Islamic" oridnances introduced by Zia repelled. I thought hard and long about "silent majority". It is an oxymoron. They say "he who is afraid to ask questions is ashamed of learning". And, if you are silent about your convictions you are ashamed of it. My guess is there are situations when they find the current situation and laws to be advantageous to them.

But, Pakistan is not the only place with "silent majority". India has a number of "silent majority". They are "secular", "class-less", "oppose dowry" and feel aghast about female infanticide. The truth is they are happy with the current the situation. And, a "silent majority" of Indian muslims condemn the blasts.

Israel ... no balls?

Hezbollah abducts two Israeli soldier. Israel gets all worked up. Bush says Syria and Iran are supporting the Hezbollah. So, why is Israel bombing Lebanon? Is it because Hezbollah operates out of South Lebanon.

By same twisted logic GWB should have bombed Florida. After all the 9/11 terrorists operated out of there. And, before that they were in Saudi Arabia.

Maybe, the hypothesis that children who were molested when young have a greater tendency to be molesters themselves applies to nations, too.

I bet Israel does not feel too good about taking on Syria or Iran directly. Or, conduct a covert operation to get the Hezbollah leadership.

PS: GWB was heard saying they should get to Syria....