Modern Arthashastra

        Arthashastra is regarded as one the best bets, to master the art of politics and rule a state competently. However with time and research, as on date there is a Modern Arthashastra that can be mandated as the heart of political science. The following is the comparision of the chapters of the age old epic with the modern one.

    The various chapters of the Modern Arthashastra are collectively the core values of any political party in India and are listed below along-with the original ones in brackets (courtesy Wikipedia).

• I Defining the Conduct of the Party - (Concerning Discipline)
• II What the Leaders of ruling Party (shortly as WLP) can exercise at free will whereas others cannot - (The Duties of Government Superintendents)
• III WLP feels like, depending on the cases against the Party Leaders - (Concerning Law)
• IV The Art of the removal of Jaswanth Singh kind of. -(The Removal of Thorns)
• V The DOs and DON'Ts of the non significant members - (The Conduct of Courtiers)
• VI How to keep the party on the lines of the Leader's Heirs - (The Source of Sovereign States)
• VII  The Art of keeping the six stated above, intact - (The End of the Six-Fold Policy)
• VIII Art of staging sponsored agitations  - (Concerning Vices and Calamities)
• IX The Art of concerning and "controlling" foreign interventions - (The Work of an Invader)
• X The election strategies -(Relating to War)
• XI Art of providing grants and exemptions to foreign investments - (The Conduct of Corporations)
• XII How "not" to succumb  to the "friendly foes"  -  (Concerning a Powerful Enemy)
• XIII The Art as exhibited by fast till death, by certain people - (Strategic Means to Capture a Fortress)
• XIV Making people believe what is not true (Ex: KCR 11 day fast) - (Secret Means)
• XV The Art of exposing the demand for a new state when the Party is neither stable enough to win the elections nor has the credibility in the region - (The Plan of a Treatise)

Divide and Rule

           The Divide and Rule is not something new to hear about, at least for someone in the Indian-subcontinent. It has been used here in the past as one of the most effective and successful policies of all, in the world. All those who don't have a clue of their middle school history lessons can have a look at here and others can continue further on.

The Present Divide and Rule policy

     What's it all about? - The divide and rule policy at present is very less, in the lines of what was prevalent in our country under the British rule. However its a clear, violent and tag less civil war. There are a few perspectives to look at and they are as listed below in the order of precedence from the least to the most, which is the reason for the divide and rule as such to materialize. 

• Social and Geographical edge : The cultural impact, standard of living of the people,  social standard and of course the geographical inhibitions of the terrain and the Human as the resource, in large numbers, is the LAMP.

• Economical edge :  The economic status, growth and prospects w.r.t other regions surrounding it and at most times highlighted as the most important reason. This is ideally to be considered the OIL for this policy.

• The Political sphere : The people who're so vehemently protesting for this to happen, speak in terms of the importance and necessity of the two stated above however what they really have in mind is the lust for power and position more than anything else. Hence this leads us to what the FIRE is, that burns the OIL in the LAMP.

        After the proposed "divide" is complete, the "rule" starts and the FIRE being blown out with the LAMP and OIL taken care similar to the candle on top of a birthday cake, after its blown out.

Western We - Part II

...continued from Part I

What we have learned from the Western World

1. The moment we're adolescent, we "expect" ourselves to be treated on par by our parents and others, in opinions, decision making, being independent etc.
2. To deal with terrorism we've set up the NIA ( National Investigation Agency), supposedly the dubbed Indian version of the FBI.
3. We appreciate The Academy Award as the best recognition a movie can get, be it in any language, in the world.
4. Being a part of one of the hundreds of BPOs and KPOs around in our country, we would've definitely come to know  about how "wise" are the western customers and how we shouldn't be, the next time WE make a call for support, as a customer.

What we have failed to learn from the Western World

1. However adolescents in the western world groom themselves to be economically  self-reliant to a certain extent at the least and "make" themselves eligible for such on-par treatments.
2. Yet there isn't any agency or force in our country that is mandated to work and make decisions without the political intervention.
3. Understand that The Academy Award is an appreciation for a movie based on their set of likes and guidelines, expectations and feelings however our National Award is the one for an Indian movie which is adjudged by a jury who understands our genre. No clue  how people here as well as the Academy Award jury felt that the music was so worth-it in  Slumdog Millionaire that was NOT in Lagaan.
4. We, at the BPO or KPO industry are not given a job for what's up there inside the skull but just that we're a cheap alternative to a fellow Westerner in terms of cost and we may end up losing it if the few "real wise" Westerners finds an even more cheaper alternative.

             If it so has been the tradition that we've have seen, yearned for, adopted or even worshiped the numerous unlisted cues ONLY from the western world, be it good or bad, we also need to think about and realize how much and what good have WE been of an impact as a Western country (apart from being geographically) to all those countries that are to the east of us.

Western We - Part I

    The impact of the western world on our country and people has been slow and steady but gradually on the ever increasing trend only. The impact has been very diverse on various fields with the likes of IT/ITES, Fashion, Entertainment, Marketing, Business Model,Life-style,  Health, Culture, Beliefs, Food, Tourism, Terrorism, etc.

As a summation of those above, here are certain aspects which broadly fall under

1. What we have learned from the Western World
2. What we have failed to learn from the Western World

It has been categorized as comparative one and hence would make a lot of sense to go further  in such a similar manner i.e 1 vs 1... 2 vs 2 etc.

What we have learned from the Western World

1. The easily noticeable and foremost thing is their english accent or slang or however one can term it and we have started to accept that as the standard and acceptable way to speak that language.
2. Take the camera and shoot millions of photographs and videos of the numerous places we visit, and share with our friends and family as well as on social networking sites like FB, Orkut etc.
3. Try out their beachwear on ourselves and  enjoy the sensual freedom as well.
4. Wear, consume or use foreign brands and pay little or no heed to our local brand equivalents.
5. Their style, fashion and etiquettes, and we have westernized our Indian practices on these wherever possible.

What we have failed to learn from the Western World

1. Their interest and awe to learn other languages but NEVER forgo or disregard theirs as the primary language.
2. Do the same thing however with a lot more sense and  idealize a story out of it and make the people around the world know about it using platforms like NGC, Discovery etc.
3. Their mindset to look at people in beachwear with no difference and don't give a damn for what we are wearing (at least in most cases) however here it varies from curses to blunt stares and from intimidation to assault.
4. Promote the local brands onto the global platform as well as take the cue from them on their idea of importing the processed goods from us, adding their brand label on them and selling it back to us.
5. Learn and try out other fashion, style or etiquettes from elsewhere and make a separate business case out of it and make profits but rather not fiddle and dilute their as such existing practices.

to be continued...