Poetic Justice

Delhi gang-rape main accused Ram Singh found hanging - The Hindu 

By now everyone would be familiar with the recent Delhi rape incident. Very swiftly the perpetrators were caught and their trial is on-going. Two days ago the alleged mastermind was found hanged in the prison cell. His lawyer has alleged foul play and further asserts that his client was beaten and raped whilst in detention. Foul play or not there would be many who would have rejoiced upon hearing of his death and many more would have smiled sheepishly for the alleged treatment descended upon the “victim”. Victim? Many may ask and many more would silently wish that the same fate befalls the remaining accused. The tables have turned.  The predator now has become the prey.

Gandhi’s famous quote, “India will attain full freedom on the day women can walk safely at night.” If this were to be applied I believe no country in the world has actually attained freedom.

Justice must be seen to be done. But the circumstances must fall within the ambit of sensibility. When justice is executed emotionally it gives rise to a moral dilemma. To the rest of the world such an incident would be a mere tragedy that would soon be forgotten after the initial outpour of sympathy. But for the affected it is life torn apart. They would have to live with the nightmare forever etched.

Abraham Lincoln had once said, “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice,” a paradox statement that bears contrary to the rule of law. This puts us in a further abysmal state. So how do we decide? Should mob mentality be the answer, for its simplicity and convenience, in which case no one takes neither the responsibility nor is held accountable for such actions. It is easier to be a participant in a group action than to act alone. In the latter situation greater thought is given to consequences which is conspicuously absent in the former.

Thus arises the question “Is man a rationale being?”.  If he/she was, than the rape tragedy should never have happened in the first place and the alleged prison brutality leading to a suicide would not be even imagined. So where does this leave us? We claim to be a civil society. But are we? Being sympathetic alone cannot bring change, for compassion needs action. Poetic justice, maybe but I leave it to your own conscience.       

Has the Kraken inadvertently been released?

Malaysia Attacks Filipino Rebels on Borneo Island By FLOYD WHALEY Malaysian forces also led a ground assault on an armed group that has occupied parts of northern Borneo Island for weeks.

Antibiotic basically works in 2 ways. In the form of bactericidal it helps the body immune system to kill becteria, or as bacteriostatic it stops the bacteria from multiplying in the body. However when antibiotic is improperly administered the bacteria becomes resistant to it. Thus not only the antibiotic becomes useless but it can become dangerously harmful to the body.

The current conflict besieging Malaysia has an uncanny resemblance to the analogy above. Whether the problem is a conspiracy as speculated by both sides of political divide or it is real, at this juncture it has become irrelevant. But the fact remains, this incident has unleashed the Kraken. New tentacles are emerging day by day exposing past and present deeds of local and regional socio-political construct that is posing tremendous challenge to status quo. 

For Malaysia and Philippines the impending general elections this year, compounds to the already tumultuous state in the respective countries. A decisive bilateral solution is the only way this predicament can be dealt. Any solution that propagates purely a national agenda may not see an end to this conflict. I believe falling back on ASEAN as a platform to resolve this impasse would be logical. Anyway it is no longer a national problem but a regional one.
         

Education Dilemma

Where is our education system going today? Sometimes I question my purpose and roles as an “educationist”.  Educational institutions today including the Ivy League Universities have become  manufacturing houses, churning out graduates with various degrees. Employers expect industry- ready graduates, so the burden falls on the educational institutions. Thus begins the “vocationalization” of tertiary education. 

Extensive research has been carried out in teaching and learning methodology since, but the focus has been towards breaking down the process to facilitate ease to the learner. Tertiary courses and subjects are broken down comprehensively to be specific in dealing with specific industry tasks. Thus tertiary education is designed to be job specific.  But somewhere along with this approach the concept of “thinking” appears to have got lost. Which boils down to the question of whether the education system promotes “thinking” or promotes “programmed behavior”.

Should proliferation of this approach continue, eventually it would lead to a disparate society with few “chosen thinkers” influencing the rest. 

Wisdom is an important element in humanity. Wisdom would be lost without the element of thinking. The “materialization” of education has created conscience-less undergraduates who do not mind committing academic misconduct in their pursuit for knowledge or better phrased as employable qualification. It clearly shows the callousness of undergraduates undertaking their responsibility as a learner.

Thiruvalluvar (Indian Philosopher-Poet-Saint, 2^nd Century BC) in his famous Thirukural Poem wrote:

“The more the sandy spring is dug up, more water wells up in it. The more men learn, the more of wisdom will there manifest.”

He believed a holistic education encompasses the aspect of Listening, Literacy, Learning, and Possession of Wisdom.  But I admonish the current direction in which education seems to be moving. Even the teacher has negated from the true purpose of the process. As much as we hear about unethical academic misconduct by the learner, there also appears to be a growing concern about similar behavior amongst the teachers themselves. 

The question is whether such behavior existed in the past but was not reported owing to lack of infrastructure unlike today. Or is it that the social restructuring taking place today in the name of development has taken its toll and deteriorated the learning-thinking equation. 

If all academics think themselves as a “Guru” (the imparter of knowledge) I am sure this malaise can be reversed.

Poor GOD takes brunt of MAN'S greed for power.

Is Nigeria's conflict religious or political? - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English

The calamity that has befallen Nigeria is nothing new which we have seen throughout the history of mankind. Power and Greed muffles live itself. The power broking between Constantine I and Licinius I to the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian cause is nothing more than  political manipulation of entities who want to remain in control.

God now appears to be caught in the crossfire that mortals have barraged against each other. Poor God even if he appears today in person to defend himself/herself, I don't think the feuding powers would want to listen. Instead the parties concerned would probably tried to broker a deal with him/her to support one against the other.

Thus is the state of humanity crumbling in it's own greed. From a person who rides through a red light to the perpetrators of corrupt practice, they all share a common platform, that they only think of themselves and not about the implications of their actions. Has society degenerated so low that we have forgotten altruism altogether.

Spiritualism has been replaced by marketing campaigns by evangelists. The purported guardians of divinity seems to have betrayed their original purpose. As such it is not surprising to find greater distrust and resentment has taken place towards religion, no fault of GOD but due to his/her so called representative in this mortal world.

Questions thus arise, when all else fails where do you look for an answer or guide? Well I think we should not look too far, LOOK WITHIN oneself. You would see humanity in yourself. Identify and nurture it, the circle would be complete. After all, all religion preaches the same as well.

Guru Tegh Bahadur, Joan of Arc and Mahatma Gandhi- WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?

All of them had faith in their “believe”, whilst confronting the face of death. How many of us would stand by with what we believe, even if it means certain death awaits? In the advent of a scientific world, man, constantly look for an answer for every possible phenomenon, and when he can’t, he, searchers for justification for its existence.

 “Believe” today seems to be as superficial as the dew in the morning, when the sun goes up the dew disappears. Or on the other hand, the “believe”, could be something imposed by somebody else to fill in the vacuum in the minds of the beholder. Thus the beholder conforms without reasoning, but merely abides due to conditioning and regimentation, for non-compliance would lead to either worldly or ethereal, punishment or reward. Whether one believes in himself/herself, or in the Divinity, reasoning via understanding and experience should be the source their faith. Otherwise their actions or inactions would be in vain.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the 9^th Guru of the Sikhs who was executed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb for his non- compliance to renounce his faith. Joan of Arc a Catholic Saint at the age of 19 was burned at the stake purportedly for heresy, a charge which was deemed politically motivated. Mahatma Gandhi was murdered, for what he believed, “non-violence”.

All three individuals had a choice to comply, which may have saved their lives but they chose not to and pursued their own destiny. Today their lives have had profound impact on our rationalization process. It keeps check and balance on our own pursuits so that humanity is not compromised.    

The Illogic Call Terrorism

Three would-be suicide bombers found guilty of terror plot.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/21/three-wouldbe-suicide-bombers-guilty-terror

Terrorism is real and it is here to stay. Denial only prolongs the act. Whether it was Britain’s feared IRA or Japan’s  Aum Shinrikyo or Al Qaedah their realm of terror at different period of time was definitely real.  When war is waged against the common man, it would then be deemed to be an act of terror(ism). When this happens the objectives of the cause becomes diluted and sympathy turns to hate. No matter how noble a cause maybe when it crosses the boundary beyond the perpetrators, the actions of the victim would not be held in the same respect. 

According to the website terrorismfiles.org http://www.terrorismfiles.org/encyclopaedia/terrorism.html  terrorism is defined as “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.”

Another definition given states it as, “the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals to attain a political objective.”

Throughout history we have seen terrorism being inflicted by political outfits, nationalistic and ethnic groups, revolutionaries, and even by armies and various government linked intelligence agencies.

Regardless of the perpetrators, ordinary lives are pawned without its consequences being cared for when a terrorist act is carried out. The rights of the victims are totally ignored. But then again are these victims truly innocent bystanders, or were they themselves party to the cause of agitation? Only a post mortem would tell. An analogy, a person who may have no qualms in throwing a sweet wrapper out of his/her car while driving becomes ballistic when his/her neighbour’s rubbish bin accidently overflows into his/her compound. In this equation call “life” every action or inaction has its own multiple sets of reactions that webs. 

Gandhi may have propounded non- violence but if he had lived today, I am not so sure if he would continuously believe the same. But then again he is a “Mahatma”, who incidentally succumbed to a violent death himself. Godse eventually was hanged for his crime despite pleas from Nehru as well as two of Gandhi’s sons, for which they believed that a death sentence would dishonour the legacy of a man opposed to all forms of violence. 

So when emotions run high without reasoning it would give rise to the ugly head call TERRORISM.

The China Factor

Chinese Army Unit Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/technology/chinas-army-is-seen-as-tied-to-hacking-against-us.html?emc=na&_r=0

 

Despite the growing proliferation of Chinese Economic interest worldwide there is definitely an aura of scepticism on it's supposed hidden agenda. Beyond economic conquest of Chinese interest, the fear seems louder in the area of political exaltation amongst the developed world. The question often arises as to how  independent are Chinese corporations void from Chinese government stake. 

From the hacking incident at the Dalai Lama's office in India, to the denial of telecommunication supplies by the British government during the London Olympics points to one direction ie. FEAR.  In October 2012, American companies and its government was advised by the US House of Representatives' intelligence committee  to avoid doing business with China's two leading technology firms, Huawei and ZTE, because they are believed to pose national security threat. Similarly in Canada the $15billion takeover of Nexen by CNOOC did not materialise after much deliberation. The Canadian government has assured that this would be a one time deal and future investment would be combed independently. 

Interestingly China has no problems in troubled African nations and it's investments in Sri Lanka gave rise to many speculations particularly on how Sri Lanka managed it's long drawn internal conflict. 

With more exposure of political espionage purportedly committed by the Chinese, the brunt of the blame goes to Chinese Corporations owing to their visibility. Whether the threat is real or otherwise Chinese corporations are going to be continuously bombarded with this stigma. By virtue of this greater resistance can be expected to be instituted by the developed world to make it difficult for Chinese corporation to have liberal investment mobility.  What can the Chinese government do to elevate this predicament? The current government under Xi Jinping has a lot of homework to do to reengineer itself away from this impression by creating complete independence towards corporate governance in China. Than maybe!