When Ganesh can Buy a Smartphone, he Can Very Well Pay for the Data

I have not seen a more manipulative advertisement than what is coming from Facebook on FREE BASIC for the past few days. The one which came today is outrageous. The headline days: “SUPPORT GANESH  -  SUPPORT DIGITAL EQALITY”, with a photo of a family apparently from a humble background.

It’s not just a lie, it is evil.

When Ganesh can buy a net compatible smart phone, he can very well pay about Rs.20/- or as needed, for internet data for the benefit of his entire family of 4. He doesn’t need a support for saving that Rs.20/- and in return getting content that is controlled by a commercial enterprise like Facebook. And let’s talk about EQALITY as mentioned in the advertisement. What Ganesh will get, will not be EQUAL to what the rest of the people will get. For example: others will get Google as search engine where 90% of the people go to find content. Ganesh will have to go to Bing where less than 4% of the people go. Is this Equality? All those like Ganesh, would like to fly in the open sky not making rounds in a well.

And how this Free Basic will demolish the entrepreneurship and level playing field, can be seen by just one example. To gain market share you don’t need to be providing the best products, services and rise to the top through your sheer intelligence, hard work and professionalism. Even if you are so-so in all the other things, but you are able to cut a deal with Facebook to get included in the Free Basic, your market share will shoot up overnight. Now, as an entrepreneur, among other things, I will also have to think how to please Facebook and conform to its guidelines so that my content finds a place on Facebook’s server to be streamed to the larger audience.        

Let us ask a question. Do those people who can’t afford Rs.20/- for data, need the sites like Wikipedia, BBC News, Bing Search, Dictionary.com? Just think, who is the target of Free Basic? It is of course not those who are below the poverty line. The target is people like you and me or the middle class who may feel lazy in renewing the data plan or forget to recharge and those who may like to keep it as an emergency. If my 12 year old son pesters me for a mobile, I may buy one and give him a connection with Free Basic.

And the last point.  I am yet not able to comprehend the advertisement budget of Facebook for pushing this down the throat of all of us. Being in the ad business and having a clear idea about the rates of major print publications, I can imagine the cost of two full page ads coming almost all over India for the past few days.  Any modest calculation will amount to a figure excess of Rs.200 Crores spent so far. Is Facebook spending this kind of money to take India forward or make a billion people connected so that they can get jobs and health care and education? Is this money coming from MZ’s foundation as part of some social responsibility? Make no mistake. It is business and a very profitable business.   

I don’t think our government will give the control of the minds of about a billion people to a commercial enterprise. Those in marketing will understand the value of gaining mind share very well. That directly result in gaining market share. I know there are hundreds of the benefits of having Free Basic. But no sensible person in the world will hand over the evil in its bare form. It has to be camouflaged in goodness.

I am already feeling helpless. There are petitions signed to support free basic. On one side there is a giant organization with unlimited ad budget and on the other hand, there are individuals, activists with no budgets. And people like me, writing this article at the cost of my own productive office time.  Is there a comparison? Still, thanks for the maturity of our people. We all protested internet.org last year when it was introduced. The same thing repackaged into Free Basic, got the support of only 3.2 million people as per the ad, from a billion users, which is too less despite their huge ad campaign. I am sure, our government will let the internet remain FREE from any control by any person or organization.   

Dear Mark, stop looking at India as a poor country. We are not South Africa or Latin America or other countries in the South and South East Asia, where you had been successful with this. India’s telecom revolution was far more successful than many of the developed countries. Similarly, we can take care of the internet as well. We have other priorities now than making more and more people getting addicted to crazy games and doing as you want them to do. Those who need internet will get it. It is not expensive here. Still, we have lots of internet kiosk in villages and small towns where people go and do what they need to do. Try out this Free Basic in at least one of the developed countries first then come to us. Till then leave our people to fly high and our businesses to compete in the free market environment. Thank you.

Filter the Hate Content, Loose Talk and Rumors

A useful and very effective tip for filtering the hate content, loose talk and rumors from spreading and damaging the society and relationships.

In ancient India, One day a person met the great Chanakya, and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Chanakya replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?" 

"That's right," Chanakya continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. 

Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Chanakya. "So you don't know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Chankaya continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true.

You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left, the filter of Usefulness.

Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Chankaya, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Use this triple filter each time you hear rumors, hate content, loose talk etc. about any of your near and dear ones. 

Tolerance Tussle Reaches New Heights in India

Most of the people in India seem to be in one camp or the other. Everyone from one camp is blaming the government as if they themselves have done everything they could as a responsible citizen. And on the other hand, the government and its supporters are attacking everyone who even remotely appears critical of the government. The statement coming from the Home Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh, who requested all those who are raising the concern of intolerance to come forward and suggest how to solve the current problem of intolerance, is commendable. I fail to understand why the statement of the Home Minister had not been given the same space in the media as much Mr. Jaitley’s comment of ‘manufactured rebellion by intellectuals…’, had received. Have we stopped finding conciliatory approach attractive than confrontational approach, due to which media are showing only what we actually want to see? Are we right to put the entire blame on the government?   

Just criticizing the current government will not help but the problem solving approach would. Writer's meet on the 1st. Nov. in New Delhi could have been more on constructive lines than just being used as a platform to criticize the government. Statements like, "there is no intellectual difference between ISIS and RSS", would not solve problems, it will widen the valley of division. RSS choosing the current timing to raise concerns of population policy to curb the growth of particular minorities can't be made at a worse time. The statement by the home minister should be responded positively by all those who want the current environment of intolerance, as perceived, to change. 

People like scientist, historians, industrialist, artists, authors and other creative people who are raising the concern of intolerance, should not fall in the trap of any political party who are ready to exploit the situation to their benefit. These intellectuals should get into the dialogue and discussion with the government to improve the situation. Our government needs the collective intelligence of the entire nation.

If India develops, the benefit goes to all, even to those who had not voted for this government. If you do not like the present government then wait till 2019 and vote them out. But it is not wise to stop this government from performing. The current government has the popular mandate till 2019. No one can take it away from them. The objective should not be to embarrass the government or India, but to address and solve the issues through dialog and discussion. I understand, there are many who are not ready to talk, but there are few who are ready to talk. Both sides need to find those who can discuss the issues and solve the problems. We are still a poor and a developing nation. We cannot afford a non functioning government.

Dozens of new schemes and plans for development had been initiated by the new government. And various reform bills are pending before the parliament. And there is no doubt in my mind that the government is sincere in its effort. It will be a disservice to the nation if anyone obstructs and creates impediments on the way of progress.

If we go back to the pages of history, it is painful to note how a few terribly minor incidents of intolerance went on to create an atmosphere of mistrust which had been exploited by the communal forces that led to the partition, resulting in thousands of deaths, large-scale suffering and the starting point of a potentially never-ending state of animosity between two neighboring nations. The entire subcontinent has been left behind in terms of development. Hope we learn from the history and understand the background of our current status and act as appropriate so that the wrongs of the past are corrected to the extent possible. Divisive politics had hurt India then and it will hurt India now. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it, fits very well here.

Dividing the Population on Communal lines will take the Country Backwards

The party ruling the center is attempting to divide Bihar on communal lines in their election rhetoric in the final phases of election. A similar thing was done by communal politicians at the time of India's freedom. Read 'Indian Wins freedom' to know events that lead to the partition of India. Dividing the population on communal lines will take the country backwards. Painful to see history is repeating itself. The results are not difficult to predict for India as a whole, if the divisive politics continues. Why can’t the election be fought on the basis of development on the lines of education, healthcare, poverty eradication, roads, electricity, clean drinking water, industry and investment in the state etc. Everyone gets benefitted by these works. Those resorting to divide people on communal lines, prove that they do not have anything to offer on making the state progress and prosper. The voters must reject all those who are fanning the religious passion, no matter which community such leaders come from. 

Let us stop getting manipulated by shrewd leaders and start writing our own destiny by electing the able leaders among ourselves.

Divisive Politics had Hurt India Then and it will Hurt India Now

Just finished reading 'India Wins Freedom' by Abul Kalam Azad. Totally convinced, that the partition of the Indian sub-continent was wrong. It was very painful to see how a few terribly minor incidents went on to turn the tables in favor of Muslim League, and in favor of partition resulting in thousands of deaths, large-scale suffering and the starting point of a potentially never-ending state of animosity between two neighboring nations. The entire sub-continent has been left behind in terms of development. A free united India with provincial autonomy to the extent desired by the respective states as suggested by Cabinet Mission would have been put India on path of a highly progressive and modern nation. Hope we learn from the history and understand the background of our current status and act as appropriate so that the wrongs of the past is corrected to the extent possible. Divisive politics had hurt India then and it will hurt India now. Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it, fits very well here.

Why do we Love to Hate?

Though the humans have inherent desire to be loved, it is very surprising that most of us love only those who preach hate. We have seen people becoming leaders of the masses overnight just by giving a couple of hate speeches. Though there are huge number of people who are fighting for humanity, love and compassion, across cast, creed, religion and nationalities, but hardly we notice those people. The recent example would be our own Kailash Satyarthi, the Nobel laureate from India. Hardly anyone knew him until the time Nobel committee awarded him the Nobel peace prize.

Here in India we have a shortcut route to become VVIP. Just deliver some controversial and hateful content, media will come calling to your doorstep, and invite you to their studios. They will give you a slot at the prime time to deliver your message to the entire population helping you gain huge number of followers, and you also stand a chance of getting a ticket for the next election since you are considered a winnable candidate. I would not like to name anyone in specific because it is across political parties.

Media houses too figured out that hate and sensationalization sells, they find no options but to do more of it to remain at the top. War of words in the TV studios, in panel discussion happens on a daily basis. It just creates animosity and hate among the people participating and those watching it. Such arguments put everyone on defensive and hardly any one is ready to take constructive criticism positively, therefore it helps none. Our entire print and electronic media celebrates and publicizes hate content as if that is the biggest news.

As long as this love to hate mindset does not change, we will remain divided. We will not be able to leverage the collective power of one nation. Since the hate mechanism works very well for our politicians to keep their flocks together, the initiative has to come from us the common people who make leaders. Another major problem that exists in our society is stereotyping. Is it fair that just because someone believes in a certain faith, citizen of a particular nation, speaks certain language, you form an opinion about that person even before knowing or meeting that person? Can we take a call of not listening to ALL those who preach hate on the basis of cast, creed, nationality, language, religion, etc.

I am proud of all those of Muslims who speak against the terrorism perpetrated in the name of Islam, be it in Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Kashmir or anywhere in the world and I am also proud of all those of Jews who speak against the injustices done by Israel on Palestinian people. I am proud of India and the contribution of those from the majority community due to which large number of people following different faiths live here in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. I am proud of those Muslims who respect all other faiths the way they want others to respect their faith. I am proud of those Muslims of Kashmir advocating for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits for their return to the valley and help them settle there.

When we look at the highest level, it all boils down to two things. Pro-Justice and Against-Justice. And, whether who we are, and who they are, influences our decision on the side we take, or not that matters. Can I say that, illiterates of today are not only those who can't read or write but also those who are biased and racist? How long do we require to eliminate this kind of illiteracy from the surface of the earth?

Khalid A Khan

Wonderful Days are Ahead for India

India has moved on to become a corruption free, secular, progressive and a modern state in real sense, hope our religious leaders are making note of it that their interference in politics is not appreciated, people of Delhi had demonstrated it in the recent election. Religion and cast based politics will soon become history in India if the recent momentum is maintained. Imam Bukhari's appeal to Muslims to support AAP, and subsequent outright rejection of that support by AAP tells a story of new India which is not ready to get manipulated by the religious dictates. The earlier norms had been that the politicians would knocking the doors of influential religious leaders for support during election, this is the first time in history of India that any political party has rejected the unsolicited support from a religious leader. These religious leaders will soon realize, their support to a particular political party will do more harm than good for the party. This will create a political atmosphere where political parties themselves will tell religious leaders to keep away from their parties. It is great to note that recently BJP too realized that the statements by some of its leaders had dented their image and caused huge embarrassment to the government and impacted the popularity of the party which had swept the election on the promise of development and development alone. The whole of India is watching the performance of the new government. India has shown what it is interested in by giving a clear verdict in Delhi. India is interested in becoming corruption free, secular and a progressive modern state and I am sure our Prime Minister is capable of bringing that development and prosperity to India as long as his focus is squarely pinned on it. 

India is not prepared to go backwards in history that is full of instances of interference of religion in politics and the resulting inequalities in justice dispensation among the followers of different faiths and casts. Politicians had long been dividing the population on religious and cast lines and ruling over them, this is going to end very soon, the citizen of the country had realized that these divisions only serve the ruling classes not them. We are on the way to real Achche din(wonderful days) for all Indians.

Khalid A Khan

Why I Support AAP

It is surprising to note that peaceful dharnas, are being ridiculed and called drama by the mainstream media and other political parties. Satyagraha had been a rich legacy of our freedom struggle. Peaceful protests were instrumental in getting freedom from British rulers. Analysts say, it was Anna's dharnas that have brought down the Congress government from power in the recent national elections. These means of protests give hope to those who are victim of various unjust practices and who believe in non-violence.

Satyagraha theory also influenced many other movements of civil resistance world over. For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his autobiography about Gandhi's influence on his developing ideas regarding the civil rights movement in the United States, he writes, 

"Like most people, I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously. As I read I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. I was particularly moved by his Salt March to the Sea and his numerous fasts. The whole concept of Satyagraha was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking"

In a recent Obama visit, Obama confirmed that Gandhiji was an inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr. and for himself. It pains to note that our own people are ridiculing one of the most powerful means to fight the establishment through non-violent and peaceful means.

A couple of years ago, those in the government challenged the Anna's team to get into politics and solve the problems they are protesting for. As we know, this has resulted in few people deciding to take up the challenge. They came with a vision to cleanse the system. They started it by fielding candidates with no criminal or corruption cases against them. They came to give power in the hands of common man – Swaraj. They came to eradicate corruption, cleanse electoral system, stop the current practice of corporate helping political parties win elections and then these parties paying them back by doing undue favors.

It is a known fact that the current system is paralyzed, it does not serve the entire population in a just and unbiased way. In this system only the rich and mighty get the benefit. Rich is becoming richer and poor is becoming poorer. The common people are not able to live with dignity. Some of them got attracted towards naxalism, some who are non-violent are attracted towards those who are promising clean and corruption free government. 

Now let us ponder on the role of media that shapes the opinion in a democracy. As we know press is the 4th. pillar of democracy, I am sure here the reference to press is made to be as an independent one not the kind of media houses we have today. Most media organizations are owned by business houses, whose goals, as any other business is to maximize their profit. Ad revenue, paid news and PR are the most important sources for them to remain in business. Elections are the most important event for media companies. Congress and BJP has spent about 516 crores and 714 crores respectively. Almost all the traditional parties spend on advertisements except the AAP. It will be a heartbreaking event for the media companies if a party can win elections without paying them crores of rupees. It is just a common sense to understand, these media houses will never want a party to win an election without paying them. Now you can relate why there is a common stand by media to show AAP in a bad light. If AAP wins, all the traditional parties too will reduce paid advertisements and start doing the good work of serving people to get elected. Point to be noted is, when the same people were on dharna with Anna, the media covered them as rock-stars but when some of them got in to electoral politics, the media got threatened of loosing out on its plum revenue that comes from the political parties during election.

You and I know why media houses show AAP in bad light, I can understand when congress people ridicule the AAP, I can understand when BJP calls Arvind a Bhagoda. as if keep glued to the CMs chair and compromising on ideology is a good thing, I can also understand why rich and privileged people are against AAP, I can understand when those who want the country divided on the lines of religion or any other line or those who want India to be a theocratic state oppose AAP, remember in the human history it took centuries to get the governance out of the clutches of Priests, Pandits and Mullahs. I can understand why big businesses - who fund parties to win elections and then make them pay back from the tax payers money -, oppose AAP.

But I can't understand why an Aam aadmi would not support AAP who is standing for THEM not for its own self. Yes to Self Rule – Swaraj.

Khalid A Khan 

Act of Terror in the name of God, How Muslims should deal with it?

Every time there is breaking news of a terrorist attack aired on TV, the thought process of the vast majority of Muslims takes the following route. The first of their wishes would be - common for any human being - a wish for no or minimum casualties. The immediate next wish would be, "Dear God, this time at least the perpetrators are not from my religion". And their last and final wish would be, "the act is not committed in the name of religion”. If we notice most of the acts of terror happening in the past few years, rarely any of these wishes were fulfilled.

 After every act of terror many from the Muslim community come forward to denounce and condemn these acts in the strongest terms and tell everyone that the perpetrators do not represent the true spirit of Islam. But is just condemnation good enough? Can we just wish away these acts of terror committed in the name of Islam without making any concrete effort to address the main issue?

 We all have learnt quite well that if we do not define and understand the problem accurately we will not be able to solve it quickly and effectively. The question is, what a law abiding normal Muslim can do to make sure such acts of terror are not committed, at least not in the name of their religion. Here are my thoughts:

1. Introspect: Muslims need to face this problem head on. If a person commits an act of terror and then quite nonchalantly points out to a verse in their religious scripture, there should be introspection from the side of the Muslims as to what that verse really means. Just rejecting it and saying that it is not Islam means we are not comfortable to discuss the particular verse. All such verses should be discussed and the actual meaning is clearly communicated to everyone including non-Muslims.

2. Be Vigilant: Someone has to be radicalized and brainwashed to carry out the act of terror. Here, individuals can contribute more than the state. Since the state has a policy of religious freedom, they can't do anything beyond a certain limit. Since radicalization happens mostly in public places including mosques and madrasas, we need to be vigilant of such activities happening around us to ensure that none of these are allowed to happen. A database of all religious institutions along with the profiles of those who teach or lead the prayers there should be maintained. This process will not allow someone from a different country and different school of thought gaining entry in to our institutions and corrupt the innocent minds. We also need to be aware that internet is widely used these days to propagate the hateful content.

 3. Responsible Parenting: Family is an institution where thoughts of young and tender minds take shape. It has been observed that children carry the thoughts of their parents or at least get influenced by it greatly. Parents might have had undergone circumstances which had been hateful, bitter and unpleasant. It is not wise to pass it on to their young ones to carry those in the future. Give your children the best and most modern education you can afford. They themselves will be able to separate good from evil if they are educated in the real sense.

4. Respect the law of the land: Be a law abiding citizen at all times. It is not obligatory to fight with the state even if something prevalent in that country contradicts with your religious or cultural values. One can only protest as per the law of the land.

5. Get out of Victim-hood mentality: A victim, by definition, is powerless, helpless, and ruled by circumstances and forces beyond his or her control. The opposite of a victim is a sovereign or one who is free. The opposite is also a person who insists on taking “Full responsibility for everything that happens” in his or her life. I believe those with victimhood attitude are mentally ill to some degree. Most victims are angry people, and usually quite unforgiving. Many victims would also lie and exaggerate, to some degree. Shrewd leaders had always exploited victim mentality of the people and led them to believe there is a danger to everything that is important to them. For example, slogans such as, Islam is in danger, or Hinduism is in danger is a best bet for such leaders to rally crowd around them. One needs to watch out; else unknowingly one would slip into a victim hood mentality and start acting as one.

6. Seek help from experts and those in authority: Terrorism is everyone's problem. It is as big a problem for a state as it is for an individual. Collaborate with those in authority, share material evidence and information so that the acts of violence are nipped in the bud before they are  actually executed.

7. Keep away from hate mongers: This one pledge that I took about ten years ago has brought a drastic change in me and the way I perceive things. It was simple. I just decided that I will not listen to anyone suggesting me to hate someone just because that person belongs to a particular religion, nationality, color, cast etc. If we stop listening to these people and such leaders, we will become a society full of mutual respect, love, tolerance and understanding.

Khalid A Khan