Gain position of Strength

Technology is the key to winning wars. The capability of winning wars is the key to effective diplomatic posturing. If you have military capability backing you, your diplomatic manoeuvres gain far greater legitimacy.

Germany’s early gains in the WWII were due to the iron that they melted to make tanks and other armoured vehicles and even planes. Hitler commissioned the Luftwaffe. But this aeroplane squadron still could not overrun Britain, though this time the English Channel that protected Britain even from the Napoleonic avarice could not have protected Britain from the brute air power of the Germans. It was the discovery of the Radar, which gave Britain the strategic capability to defend its territory against aerial attacks.

Interestingly, it was the Radar invented by Watson Watt that protected Britian from the Luftwaffe. Yes, Watson belonged to same family as the inventor of steam engines – James Watt. Sometimes, the almighty gives too much to just some and too less to many. Seems that the Watt family was one such example.

It is well established that the best inventions have been prompted by military mandate or the compulsions of war. The internet is one example. Infact, a bewildered Britain, toiling hard not to supplicate before the brute German advance, set the pace for the discovery of computers, by designing a machine that could break the German code. The code that they used for internal communication.

The Jet engines were also discovered during the same period, surprising by-standers who watched in bewilderment the flight of an aeroplane without propellers. Whittles invention of Jets of course did put the propellers made by Rolls Royce in disuse, yet it brought in a new paradigm in flight technology.

It is just child logic, if a cop comes to you with a begging bowl in hand, you would never listen. Whereas, some advanced countries have a police very polite and highly sensitized to the needs of the people, yet, their uniform has symbols of power and authority, sometimes even arms, that gives them a legitimacy.

Due to the criminal neglect of armament and technology the regional hegemony that India could have enjoyed by now, by its sheer size and the traction of its economy is lost. In the ‘60s the military might of India and China was pretty much at par. Similarly, though we continue to enjoy superiority over Pakistan in conventional weaponry, they have more than offset that advantage by creating a significant nuclear arsenal. But, corruption and more than that, the traditional rivalry between the brass and bureaucracy has damaged the fine balance that was supposed to exist. In this the bureaucracy is the clear winner but the country is the clear loser. Defence is a priority area even in spending, and the babu cannot deny Defence expenditure, so he delays it. He though establishes his over arching dominance on the brass but in the process the country loses. But who cares.

America comes again

The Americans come again

Hillary is back in India just in months of her boss visiting and acclaiming India as a great emerging power. Clearly, those who matter in the US, know it too well, any recovery in USA is at best temporary. The current generation in the US is not that of builders. You need a different stuff for that. A crop grows on a particular soil in a particular season. The maintainers follow and those who reap or enjoy are basically the destroyers of the crop. One man cannot don all three hats. It is only God who can don all three hats at the same time, of the builder or creator, maintainer and destroyer and that is probably why we believe in the Triumverate of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh.

The US economy is in shambles, and the nation lacks the builders, and needs partners to boost it. India could be one such enduring partner. So she is here again. A wee bit of praise for India, and an askance criticism of Pakistan, does the trick for the emotional Indian, willing to work over time for American attention, and our media, which drools over such slices of journalism.

But regardless of what Hilary’s covert or overt intentions of her India visit were, it seems, she has an Indian mother who seeks vindication in feeding her well. Her full cheeks at least bear eloquent testimony to that.

I had a personal theory that those you are glib of tongue are gaunt intellectually but both Hillary and Obama consistently defy my self-proclaimed stereotype.

I heard Obama address our Parliament and even wrote about it. I also heard his address to the people of Ireland, where one of his ancestors were traced to. The cliché notwithstanding, his speeches were extremely well informed flawlessly rendered without demur, and with an articulation nothing less than immaculate.

But while extolling strengths of this great civilization – it is always safer to call India that than a country or nation - the undertone of Obama’s speech was clear. Do business with USA, and do those businesses that create jobs in the USA.

How many Indian politicians including our pedagogic PM Manmohan Singh, can address the US Senators without a shred of paper in hand, and solicit business the manner in which Obama and Hillary have been repeatedly doing. Sometimes I feel, a pussy footed nation of pacifists that we are, making ourselves economically strategic partners of powerful nations could be the only strategy to position an economically resurgent India at a pedestal of strength and also and this may also be our antidote to terror exporting Pakistani nuisance.

I remember a friend of mine who was posted in a Latin country describe the non descript encounter that he had with the President of India when she visited that Latin Country with an extended family in tow enjoying a state sponsored free jaunt, and of course an official entourage of flunkies that could put the erstwhile Maharajas to shame. And all this not withstanding her interaction with the Indian diaspora was most uninspiring and insipid and all of them there walked out bewildered how India works with such lack-lustre, nay, lost and seemingly without purpose politicians.

THE X MEN

The X-Men

There is a growing obsession of Hollywood with the weird and wonky which is creating an all-together new genre in Hollywood movie making. I saw the movie X-Men. ‘Mutants’ as they say, was the exalted subject on which this movie was based. People genetically different from normal and having the X-gene that bestows on them some type of super human capability. A 20^th Century Fox creation of Marvel Comics.

It seems Hollywood has run out of themes. Regardless of what international critics say about Bollywood, I think they make very good movies and regardless of the fun the some people make about the song and dance sequences of the Bollywood movies, I think they are still a major source of entertainment for a substantial section of homo sapiens which tread this plant. The complexion of their movies too is changing though as the multiplex audience is now a major revenue source, and describably more wannabe than the erstwhile cine goers.

Indian movies seem to be acquiring a larger reach and greater impact also. Times have travelled beyond the popularity of Raj Kapoor socialist films and Avara Hoon melodies in the communist world. Traveling in the London cab, a cabbie once asked me if I was a Thakur, taking a cue from my family name. It turned out that he had seen the film Sholay many times over. Sholay indeed portrayed a significant panorama of Indian life.

Another immigrant who was from Iran in his considered opinion believed Bollywood movies always carried a message - something I would not disagree with. Sholay too promoted widow re-marriage – a taboo still in much of India. Therefore, Bollywood’s were the only movies this Iranians daughters, brought up in orthodoxy were allowed to view – for the good message. Indian pop cinema was making a dent though in a fashion at best desultory.

If you would take the theme of mutants, then X men is a stupid movie. I think the Ramanand Sagar was much more creative than Stan Lee. Ramayana is much better take on the concept of Mutants. Albeit, true that Sagar can at best be credited with depiction. The original creation of our holy mutants predated Sagar by only 5000 years. And Sagar just took the rights free of charge as the content was open source. I don’t intend any irreverence whatsoever to the Ramanyana, which I can say with certitude is one of the greatest epics of the world, I can aver with even greater certitude that Valmiki or who ever the creator was, clearly leaps ahead of Homer, but speaking specifically on the aspect of mutants, I think it beats the creativity of Stan Lee hands down.

But it is clear, much of the Hollywood mega budget creativity like AVATAR or X Men are over rated. But the power of the media is such and muscle of money and propaganda is so potent that audiences are scared to criticize or even objectively judge. They are impelled to like and lap up the product even though they may not have internalized its import so much.

In fact, in the mutants that constantly dot our mythology have something that Stan Lees mutants grievously lack, that is bestowing their power by transposition on some faithful subject by way of a boon or blessing. Stan Lees or Bryan Singer imagination falls short of this. But there is time for them to catch up.