tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post1517492893005741440..comments2023-11-05T13:27:41.150+05:30Comments on Sanchari...: Trying to Understand Kerala –An Attempt to Explore Trends and MentalitiesJibyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07324353796946088382noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-8260595482242202872020-11-30T22:18:41.843+05:302020-11-30T22:18:41.843+05:30Thanks for sharing this blog.
Ooty taxi | Ooty Tra...Thanks for sharing this blog.<br /><a href="http://bestootytaxi.com/" rel="nofollow">Ooty taxi</a> | <a href="http://basavannatours.com/" rel="nofollow">Ooty Travels</a><br />Best Ooty Taxi - Taxi Services in Ootyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07550253543408455304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-47427054215285298172009-04-07T10:27:00.000+05:302009-04-07T10:27:00.000+05:30Regarding campus politics, we have to look at grou...Regarding campus politics, we have to look at ground realities.<BR/><BR/>An example - Universtiy College in Trivandrum is used by parties to get students for a rally, to show more numbers and activism. There are students, ex-students and party goondas who harass juniors and get money from them, in the name of party, for their daily expenses. I like to share a personal experience here. There is a daily wage labourer who comes to my house for house related work, the only earning member of the family. His son did graduation in the University college. He told me that these guys used to take money from him. He used to give him Rs 20 to Rs 50, daily, so that his son won't be troubled. Finally his son managed to finish studies. That's the reality.<BR/><BR/>Another instance - A neighbour of mine(from TVM city) joined the University College for doing a degree course. He faced the same situation. He was even taken to donate blood when he did not have money with him, so that they can get money to spend. He could not stand it and quit the class.<BR/><BR/>They pull out students from classes whenever they need people for any rallies.<BR/><BR/>This is the reality. This is happening even now, in 2009.Anandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-35961855537366434802009-02-26T12:42:00.000+05:302009-02-26T12:42:00.000+05:30Hi,I was reading ur blog posts and found some of t...Hi,<BR/><BR/>I was reading ur blog posts and found some of them to be very good.. u write well.. Why don't you popularize it more.. ur posts on ur blog ‘Sanchari...’ took my particular attention as some of them are interesting topics of mine too;<BR/><BR/>BTW I help out some ex-IIMA guys who with another batch mate run www.rambhai.com where you can post links to your most loved blog-posts. Rambhai was the chaiwala at IIMA and it is a site where users can themselves share links to blog posts etc and other can find and vote on them. The best make it to the homepage!<BR/><BR/>This way you can reach out to rambhai readers some of whom could become your ardent fans.. who knows.. :)<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>RayAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-35046977523975158742009-02-03T23:26:00.000+05:302009-02-03T23:26:00.000+05:30Hi,I am new to this blog. I am a researcher workin...Hi,<BR/><BR/>I am new to this blog. I am a researcher working on education. I too believe like you Jiby that the government schools need to reformthat but I think the sections of the society avails this education needs to be aware of it, the tendency to privatise education out of belief that it ensures better quality is a big s threat. We should also think as to what education means. Is it just manufacturing automatons to society, Do you mean we wants some cogs in the wheel. The disparity between have's and have nots are evident in education. If you look at the IIT's and the hegemony of castes and class it's evident. <BR/><BR/>We need to strenghthen public delivery systems remind people one and half generations ago these schools had best teachers and best students. <BR/><BR/>The dynamics of consumer oriented market driven society is penetrating into the system it is not noticeable but we need to think over what could be doneThe quirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18154720011403239752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-50271488674243641522009-01-04T00:51:00.000+05:302009-01-04T00:51:00.000+05:30Deepak, this friend of mine might write an article...Deepak, this friend of mine might write an article/blog/book about his experiences fighting the SFI in presidency college and i will definitely point you to it. <BR/><BR/>Boban, I am sure most MBA's would think on similar lines. <BR/><BR/><I>After all they recently banned selling Coke across the state alleging the presence of pesticides in it!</I> <BR/>Check out http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn04162005.html or several other links online.<BR/><BR/>Someday if I get to meet him we might discuss his and my article. Maybe his views have changed over time like mine and today we might be aligned on the same lines! :) Of course when he says hartals are pointless i have to agree that the reasons hartals are called for and what happens then is of major discredit to the malayali, but again i know people of all sections who welcome a day to sit at home! And protesting against Bush on Iraq; leftists do it all over the world, don't they? And Citibank - don't you think several Americans would be tempted to throw a stone at them? :)Jibyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07324353796946088382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-25297044077084898092009-01-03T21:46:00.000+05:302009-01-03T21:46:00.000+05:30See what another distinguished Loyolite (Cheru Joh...See what another distinguished Loyolite (Cheru John '95) has got to say about the communists:<BR/><BR/>http://media.www.whartonjournal.com/media/storage/paper201/news/2007/01/22/Perspectives/When-Little.Kerala.Stopped.To.Protest.Against.AhMaryKkahand-2668782.shtmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-84034291635806305352009-01-01T22:58:00.000+05:302009-01-01T22:58:00.000+05:30It is now clear you are a staunch supporter of cam...It is now clear you are a staunch supporter of campus politics :)<BR/><BR/>Well you maybe right.. violence may only be an excuse.<BR/><I>my friend, an alum of presidency college calcutta tells me that the sfi will never use violence in that campus because that will be used against them during campaigning. The discourse in college politics today should be about isolating violent elements and punishing them during elections</I><BR/><BR/>That's a very refreshing take.<BR/>But what frightens me is news items like "police discovering 500 bombs in kannur form party office" etc. From my friend who was a comrade I came to know of the contacts these budding politicians kept with goondas and gangsters. <BR/><BR/>Discourse about isolating violent elements is an appreciable idea but is it feasible. It is only a known fact that politicians nurture goondas. Wouldn't they be only happy to oblige their younger supporters?<BR/><BR/>If we accept the fact that violence in student politics is the norm of the day then we have only one conclusion. If you want to be in politics have the guts to play the dirty game. And I think it is precisely this reason which turns away many "deserving youngsters" from campus politics.<BR/><BR/>Anyways your friends tale was compelling - using violence against the parties in elections. <BR/><BR/>Read in outlook this statement by Ashish Nandy<BR/>"In India the choice could never be between chaos and stability, but between manageable and unmanageable chaos, between humane and inhuman anarchy, and between tolerable and intolerable disorder"<BR/><BR/>I agree with him. This is with reference to the Denmark/Holland example. We are a continent of several nations, forged into a nation. Our languages, cultures, identities are different. An India without conflicts is out of the question. And India, I believe, cannot be like the european countries having homogenous culture and language.The one who has loved and losthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15738489354623134522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-91714276726392644032009-01-01T22:14:00.000+05:302009-01-01T22:14:00.000+05:30Deepak, thanks for the long and informative commen...Deepak, thanks for the long and informative comments. no question of deleting them! <BR/><BR/>The reason I want government schools to be shaken up and improved is that the lower class of our population still goes to these schools. Without good schooling these children will never come up in life unlike say 30 years ago. the gap between the private unaided, private aided and government schools is widening every day. Almost 40% of our schools are still government run. For these youngsters in the lowest strata of our society to come up in life the government has to spend more money in education.<BR/><BR/>About a change in trend in colleges, I doubt if the recession can force this change. It will last at the most for two years and then the next boom will begin but I feel sorry for the fresh grads who have to pass out at this time with hopes of jobs and find none forthcoming. But the renewed attractiveness of a government job is very real especially after the pay commission. But again, not many jobs are there for the taking in the govt sector.<BR/><BR/>About why fewer youngsters take up the civil services exam - I think it is an end product of globalization. Leading a comfortable life free of hassles and leaving the other person to clean up the muck is an instilled mentality of most people today. Also from the guys who have gone for and cracked the civil services, it was either a burning ambition for power and position or a strong academic capability that made them pursue the path. Very few of the ones who went with a genuine desire to change the order cracked the exam. And of them, most change once inside the system.<BR/><BR/>Campus Politics :) ha, let me ask you how many of the politicians we know of today(excluding the rich kids with political legacies) took to politics after studies and while working. The campus is where the politicians of the future have to be bred. Look at Bill, Hillary, Obama...they were all campus politicians. Look at our own Chandy, Antony, Vayalar Ravi, Karthikeyan, Vishnunath, and almost all the young cpm mla's of today - they took to politics on campus. Banning campus politics because of violence is an excuse to keep deserving youth out of politics. Which is why union elections are so important - my friend, an alum of presidency college calcutta tells me that the sfi will never use violence in that campus because that will be used against them during campaigning. The discourse in college politics today should be about isolating violent elements and punishing them during elections. I am hoping to see the cpm split for the same reason as this would mean a split in the sfi too and what the fledgling unit should do is raise discussion on the violence in campus to fellow students instead of resorting to violence themselves. hope what i said makes sense.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Karthik, don't crucify me for earlier held beliefs man :) . <BR/><BR/>Very often we don't realize the greed in us has a chain which propogates through the production cycle and consumption cycle and damages someone elses livelihood. i have no other explanation for the rising maoism. denmark, sweden and holland are countries with less population - our greater population should be making us more aware and wary of resource wastage but sadly that doesn't happen. You are free to hold your views on campus politics but i hope a day will not come when you will have to raise your arm to shout slogans. Also please refer to my views above. Very few students get exploited. Students join it with the full knowledge of what they are getting into. The ones we see rise up to become MLA's and ministers are the more capable/shrewd of them. Even in UK there is campus politics and it is party based. So in US. So why should India not have campus politics and why should it not be party based? Are we not a democracy too? Is the indian student immature not to know his politics. A student politician is the larva of a senior politician. If we can spot the good politicans early on we can lay the foundation for a new political culture too. Blame the culture of violence and coercion - don't blame campus politics. And of course. Keep politics out of the school level. There you have a strong case for being under age!<BR/><BR/><BR/>Guys, Deepak and Karthik - thanks to you both for blogrolling me. Wanted to write to you both and say the thanks but idled.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Jina, it existed for a while but I opened it to public access only a month ago.Jibyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07324353796946088382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-24953350661248020772009-01-01T18:13:00.000+05:302009-01-01T18:13:00.000+05:30wow..i didnt know this blog existed..thats indeed ...wow..i didnt know this blog existed..thats indeed a newyear surprise...happy new year..and waiting to read all ur posts in hereJinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04114322815517985585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-10085056578135441362009-01-01T14:38:00.000+05:302009-01-01T14:38:00.000+05:30As resources get squeezed, and we continue to expl...<I> As resources get squeezed, and we continue to exploit the earth, the poor will unite; sharing will replace profit motive and socialism will ultimately win over capitalism. But my fear is that it will be a violent change. </I><BR/><BR/>You disagreed with me when I also stated something similar about US feeding corn to cattle. :-)<BR/><BR/>Anyway your observations are very good. The greed in consuming earth's resources is the biggest sin. The very reason why we have negative impacts of those acts through rise of naxalism, terrorism etc..<BR/><BR/>In the above regard we should follow countries like Denmark, Sweden and Holland who use the resources optimally.<BR/><BR/>As for campus politics I am totally against it. It is just an exploitation of students by idiotic politicians. College unions are welcome but parties in educational institutions is a no-no. The reason we have campus politics in such colleges are because Govt. sponsored education comes so cheap. In European countries the colleges charge heavy fee for quality education which the students pay by doing part-time jobs and assistantship activities.Karthikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03957283080236921003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-71259317581122712912009-01-01T12:10:00.000+05:302009-01-01T12:10:00.000+05:30Oh I have to disagree with you on politics. I thin...Oh I have to disagree with you on politics.<BR/> <BR/>I think campus politics is discouraged due to the violence that have crept into campus politics. One might argue that strikes and lathi charges are part and parcel of campus politics. But lately campus politics have reduced to goonda politics and the party with more no of goondas/man power will emerge as the stronger one in any campus. <BR/><BR/>Why would any parent want his/her son/daughter sacrifice their lives for the selfish motives of goondas and their protectors. Campus politics is not the idealistic, personality developing, vigorous politics of the sevenies or 80's (as shown in the movie classmates).<BR/><BR/>Goondas rule the day. In engineering I had a classmate who was area committee member of a prominent political party. Strong comrade, pakka leftist, die hard commie. Fancied becoming area committee president and all. Well... he was disillusioned by party politics, goonda vilayattom and all other evils we associate with campus politics. <BR/><BR/>I think the evils outweigh the good. Unless there is some move to end violence politics I think campus politics is not a good idea at all. The fear that the youngsters become "araashtriyar" is baseless. I studied in a very peaceful engg college. No politics.. no goondas... I'm still deep into politics. <BR/><BR/>I'm not against campus politics. But I'm very against the way it is conducted in today's campuses.The one who has loved and losthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15738489354623134522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-47196340584295616382009-01-01T12:02:00.000+05:302009-01-01T12:02:00.000+05:30I realise my comments are getting bigger than your...I realise my comments are getting bigger than your post :)<BR/><BR/>Feel free to delete them after you read them so that other commenters are not frightned away.<BR/><BR/>I will come to your post script. Honestly speaking, I liked it more than your actual post.<BR/><BR/><I>As resources get squeezed, and we continue to exploit the earth, the poor will unite; sharing will replace profit motive and socialism will ultimately win over capitalism. But my fear is that it will be a violent change. </I><BR/><BR/>As I said in my previous comment, I think 2009 will be a landmark year. The loss of jobs might turn people back into public sector jobs. Demand for the non engineers and doctors might rise. One blogger I know used to say we need a revolution to wake us from our lazy asses. I think the revolution is coming. As you said it might be a very unpleasant revolution. But then what good has come without pain.<BR/><BR/>There are these pseudo revolutionists all over the net.<BR/><I>Those who call for complete overhaul or even a change by being within the system are actually calling for a mini-revolution. A revolution doesn’t happen by writing blogs where the audience is your own class of people. The ordinary people of Kerala love it as it is – </I><BR/><BR/>Brilliantly put maashe. This is my exact sentiments too.<BR/>I don't think I contributed anything useful to this discussion. So I'll end with a question for horrors sake. When there are so many youngsters keen on bringing change why are they lured away to corporate jobs and not civil services where they can make a change?? Selfishness? Hopelessness?The one who has loved and losthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15738489354623134522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-87727927417795480142009-01-01T11:50:00.000+05:302009-01-01T11:50:00.000+05:303) CollegesOne of the regrets in my life is that I...3) Colleges<BR/><BR/>One of the regrets in my life is that I didn't study in a proper college. Well not an engineering college but a propers arts/humanities/social sciences college brimming with life, politics and vigour of the youth. I'm afraid to make the above statement cos the moment I say it the response is "how hypocritical... you engineer" :)<BR/><BR/>Anyways, I said this with reference to <I>Other than a natural confidence in social skills and proficiency in English which upper and middle class youth in big cities are endowed with as a birthright I really see no big difference in academic temperament with college goers in Kerala.</I><BR/><BR/>You know what my opinion is? I have found students who did their schooling in Kerala to be better informed about politics, state and country. They know their leaders.. they are more aware of the issues and most of them by default are leftists :D <BR/><BR/>This is not mocking the city/urban/anyone who has studied outside. I'll tell you my personal case. I spent my 6th to 10th std in Bangalore and I guess those years detached me completely from ground reality. I had my own dreams, my own problems.. the problems of my people, the state or country were absolutely of no concern to me. When I came back to Kerala I got a new set of friends. Friends who would say "who all should we call for this program", "how many peons/workers will come" etc. In other words students who were totally conscious of the people around them. I used to wonder how come these guys of my age are so mature. I guess being and living in Kerala has that effect on you. <BR/><BR/>So I agree to your point that college level education in Kerala is not far behind at all. I always wonder what the situation of these colleges would have been had there been no brain drain to other states and countries. But that of course would be a utpian thought.<BR/><BR/>Two things I have to mention though. <BR/>1) The number of such colleges providing quality education is not at all at par with the number of calibre students seeking such education every year. <BR/>2) Opportunities are limited for other streams. Corporate jobs are the way to go. Unless this trend is reversed why would anyone go to arts and humanities college? Ultimately its the survival question. How wise would it be to throw away the safety of a corporate job and pursue one's own passion. <BR/><BR/>This was with reference to <I>Of course, for the last 20 years we have systemically damaged the arts and pure sciences colleges and universities in Kerala for a preference for engineering, medical and nursing colleges where all the jobs and money are.</I><BR/><BR/>I was just trying to say unless the issue of opportunities is resolved the race for engg/medicine will continue until that reaches a saturation point. And then probably we will see a reverse trend. I'm waiting with anticipation to see what surprises 2009 has in store for us.The one who has loved and losthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15738489354623134522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5953482879862812067.post-58141065826128913152009-01-01T11:20:00.000+05:302009-01-01T11:20:00.000+05:30Your portrait in my heart just became bigger :)Any...Your portrait in my heart just became bigger :)<BR/><BR/>Anyways, since this comment forum was opened for sensible discussion.. I'll concentrate on the same. <BR/>My opinions might be naive and ill informed (and long) but here is my contribution.<BR/><BR/>1) Politics<BR/><I>Look at any of the path-breaking campaigns in the State – it all came through the left parties – the demand for statehood of Malayalam speakers, land reforms, education reforms, saving the Silent Valley, Literacy Movement, decentralization, etc.</I><BR/><BR/>A year back I was one of those anti commies. The foundation for my grudge was their "opposition" towards development. But lately, I have been wondering what development is all about. I think you nailed it when you quoted “there is enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed”. Development, as you said, have always been one sided. The middle and upper class got the benefits whereas the poor never benefited. Happened to see "vaippin kudi vella prashnam" again recently on TV. One of my uncles who was watching the news started lecturing us on the cost profit theories and how it is such a humongous burden on the treasury to reach drinking water to the residents of Vaippin. <BR/><BR/>I was shell shocked. On one hand we have crores of rupees allocated for more and more IT parks and govt. should not waste money in providing drinking water to the residents of Vaippin?<BR/><BR/>You were bang on when you criticized the selfish "I want everything; system will take care of the poor" attitude of the middle class. <BR/>Staying on the topic of politics it was refreshing to see Murali and co's victory in Shornur. For me it meant two things<BR/>1) The Indian/malayali voter has his head in the right place<BR/><BR/>2) However flawed/criticized our democracy is, the victory in Shornur (and in states like Rajasthan and Delhi) re affirms my faith in democracy and the electorate. <BR/><BR/>Bloggers across blogosphere (and sad to say, especially mallu bloggers) spew venom criticizing/ridiculing/mocking/judging the voters who vote the parties (especially the left parties) into power. To some extent they are right. We don't have the luxury of choice. But "change" has to start within the system and not outside it.<BR/><BR/>My prediction is that anti incumbency will bring congress back into power. The irony is every one I wanted to see in the CM's chair has been CM. Antony, Umman Chandy, VS.. and every one disappointed.<BR/><BR/>As you said,<BR/><I>a few good men with no ideological or visionary moorings other than going with the tide, can change very few things for us</I><BR/><BR/>I agree completely.<BR/><BR/>2) Schools<BR/>Nothing much to say here.. except that I believe private schools does a better job of imparting education (syllabus???)<BR/><BR/>I have studied in a govt. school in Thrissur. In fact I'm a hybrid (studied ICSE all my life and 5 years in a good school in Bangalore and then plus 1 and 2 in govt. school - Model Boys High School Thrissur)<BR/><BR/>In the school I studied, half the time classes are suspended due to strikes and other issues. Once a 10th standard boy beat up one of the 12 th standard boys and then there was no class due to the resultnat tension (the 10th std boy was a goonda accused in goonda cases and is now dead. he was murdered by someone from another gang)<BR/><BR/>Such instances are rare in private schools due to stricter admission processes and rules. The net product (children who come out of school) may not be far apart in calibre... nevertheless in current situations I'm inclined to believe that private schools does a better job of schooling than its govt. counterparts.<BR/><BR/>This was with reference to your statement <I>And are these private schools providing anything that the government schools can’t if they are put an equal footing? I doubt it.</I><BR/><BR/>I'll continue in another commentThe one who has loved and losthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15738489354623134522noreply@blogger.com