Population

If people believe that their will be severe economic hardships - more than the possible benefits from fathering more than 2 children - will they then stop?
If US can be a trillion dollar debtor, why cant India borrow some measly billions to take care of the shelter, food, water and health needs for its poorest citizens with voting rights?
It is the denial of basic rights that takes the fight out of Indians. Ensure that and then see the power of the educated masses - educated in skills and trade that can feed the world.  If India is truly a place where industriousness fetches just rewards, each person will be free to choose the type of life to live while respecting the others' rights.  Our core philosophy is strong - it needs to spread its wings for all to see. As of now, we as a nation can only be united in the face of war from outside or cricket matches. There's very little else to be proud about - but that can change

Planning for a better Kolkata

The first service providers for new residential colonies outside of the main city of Kolkata are shanties.  Because of political pressure, once they set up shop, they cannot be dislodged.   And it is also a fact of life that only shanties with their low capital cost will venture first in these untested waters.  Big commercial comes much later, when returns are assured in sufficient volume to cover their large overheads. Hence for the early birds in any new residential colony, these shanties and the morning market (haat) is god-sent.  

When the area is fully developed, however, there is often a hue and cry about the existence of these very shops and very often by the early patrons themselves.  Lack of hygiene and assault on aesthetic sensibilities are primarily cited as the overwhelming reasons for their removal. Depending on political inclination (a risk few leaders take), sometimes the vendors are forcefully evicted, leading to resentment.  It is obviously a genuine and sudden loss of livelihood for people who have very few opportunities for honest living in these times of overpopulation, and recession.

Basic principles of town planning and urban sociology dictate that this needs to be managed. As both sides of the issue have very valid and cogent arguments in their favor, a solution to address both will need to be implemented .  Land should be set aside on site-n-services or plug-n-play basis to accommodate a fixed no. of such service providers.  Selection should be by lottery (conducted by Govt. in presence of judiciary) and beyond the stipulated no. any further such ventures should be strictly prohibited. In case of Govt. projects, suitable area should be earmarked in the master plan,  For large housing projects, provisions may be incorporated in the by-laws, allowing such structures to be beyond FAR, while ensuring allotment of area within the premises. The same rules of allotment will apply for the spaces provided within private development as for Govt. allocations. Right to the area will remain with the Govt. as the Lessor.   

Army of the World

Who funds the US Army if USA is in trillion dollar debt.

It is the rest of the world who have invested in USA, put their money and faith in their system. US Army has the mandate to be the peacekeepers of the world.

But there's the catch - who will monitor he monitors?

Science of Magic

As we know all magic is science. But to me, all science is magic as well. It is a miracle that there are things called cells and that they join in so many strange and beautiful ways. We understand science as defined by these miracles - the creation came first, our understanding later.

Us and Them

Only when we begin to accept each other's differences we start gaining familiarity, appreciating someone else's quirks and qualities.  I have been fortunate to count among friends, people from different countries, and their basic aspirations are all the same.  Fewer that one percent would want to truly harm another human being.

New World Order

If we sit back and introspect the type of world it is going to be a hundred years from now - do you visualize a brave new world order that stands united, or do you see one that is more torn apart than ever - as the population increases and resources decline?  The pace of expansion ensures that the balloon of support the earth provides is going to burst with the demands of her human population.  At its extreme there would be a major upheaval, wars and civil wars - like Darwin turned mad all over again.

What emerges at the end will be the true test of humanity's survival instincts.  If only we are armed with deeper knowledge and sense of responsibility, can we hope to mold our lives in empathy with each other and our environment. It will be a test for us to find out what we really need in life as opposed to focusing solely on our wants.

Humans are not alike.  There is diversity in society, language, custom, religion, politics, all of which, specially the last two, have been the cause of great strife and conflict.  In India, we even see states wanting to separate on the basis of a language. So I guess it is not Esperanto we are headed for anytime in the near future.  Russia is fractured, Spain wants to divide, Gorkhaland will probably happen, Naxalites are a fact of life.  Civil wars are rife in many countries.

However, two countries hold fast - US and China.  We empathize with US way of life because we have had the good fortune of western education.  Probably we need to accept that as people are different, they may need to be governed differently.  Perhaps there is something not altogether wrong in a system as in China for countries with high population. It reduces crime and curbs the violence.  They have achieved economies of scale that nobody can beat.

It is only India that could have countered this by efficient human resource management and more honesty within a truly democratic framework. But a broken up and corrupt India's bite will lack the teeth to take on even their smaller neighbors, let alone China and the world.

Matun