दृष्टिकोण – Indra's Viewpoint

Mamta’s continued tirade against the Nano Project is just annoying. It has already raised questions in the minds of the business managers all over the world if India can any day become a powerful economy. On short term it has already delayed the entry of an Indian car with potential of huge global demand. The engineers and managers of the company must be under a great mental stress because of the unique situation created by Mamta’s adamancy. Everything on the project was going smooth with a date fixed for the start of production in October. And suddenly they had to suspend the work at the project site and asked to create the required facilities and produce the car from a different location. Hardly few in India can appreciate this manufacturing challenge, certainly not the politicians such as Mamta and her supporters. It is a shame for the country and an unnecessary challenge for the engineers created by the madness of an individual. All my sympathies and well wishes are with the engineers and managers of Tata Motors. I wish this became the part of management strategies for all the big projects in India. As in most of the cases it will be impossible, it only means careful weighing of decision to start pouring money in a big project with a potential of some Mamta appearing on the scene and create the situation as one at Singur for Nano.

Mamta wishes to keep the fire alive. I don’t know if it for the next election. However, it is pretty visible and hot issue. Mamata can keep on emotionally exploiting the farmers who consider the land almost with the same respect as their mother. Mamata seems to show that she can fight any force, however strong it may be, for the farmers. She has succeeded, as the leftists are afraid of loosing their strong base support of the farmers. Unfortunately, the Buddha’s attempt to reach the farmers through leftist cadres has failed.

Tata Motors doesn’t want to yield to Mamata’s demand of the 300 acres out of the total of 400 acres allotted for vendors’ park, as it will embolden Mamata. The proximity of vendor-park is for achieving the competitive productivity of plant operation. As otherwise too, the farm and the factory can’t coexist the way Mamta wishes. Even if the vendors hand over the land to the farmers, they will very soon sell it for commercial gains.

I don’t understand why the farmers are not agreeing to part with those marginal holdings that may not be more than an acre for any of them. The compensation offered after the Mamata’s agitation and mediation by Governor Gandhi is pretty lucrative. And they could have got it further enhanced in absence of the adamancy of Mamta. And today as reported in media, many of the farmers are confused having two minds. Some are ready to go for compensation offered. They have been looser till now. The Mamta’s impasse has neither got them their land nor any money. Many among them may be doubtful of a win for Mamata with so much of the external support for the immediate start of the project from the people of India. I don’t know why the media can’t organize those candle light marches as done for getting the justice in the criminal cases in New Delhi or Kolkata. Mamta’s action is nothing less than a serious crime against a project of national importance.

However, the farmers perhaps don’t believe the present government and its offer and want a guarantee that the promises would be fulfilled. They are tired of unrest, and now perhaps are also wary of promise. Why shouldn’t Tata appreciate this aspect and assure the affected farmers from its side that that the promise would be kept and in case of contingencies it will compensate? I am sure in the present situation Tatas may be believed.

I feel the government has not used the right machinery to take its message of the advantages from the industrialization to those opposing the project. Tatas would have helped the government through its managerial and administrative skills, tools, and techniques. Rallies and cadres can’t win over the beneficiaries or losers.

It was and is necessary, as many opposing the project with vested interest must be emotionally instigating the affected farmers for not giving up their rights. Many must be telling alluring stories about the increasing advantage of keeping the possession of land with spiraling land prices in proximity of the plant and highways. But it is all due to the Nano project that the prices have gone sky-high. With Nano shifted or Singur becoming only one of the plants for Nano, the future of the land may not be that bright.

Even if the government and Tata agree to give up the project and return all the land to the farmers, will they be able to deconstruct the plant and start using the land for agriculture?

It is the bad luck of the West Bengal and Singur that it is missing the bus of prosperity that came so near. But who can prevail over the indomitable and arrogant Mamata. She has already inflicted the dangerous damage. She wishes to see the death of the project. And how does it matter for a heartless lady like her? After all, today Mamata has become messiah for some.

With the insistence of the governments at the center as well as the state for not pulling out of Singur, Tata Motors must try to use its soft skills to win over the farmers. There can be hundreds of ways to do that. Once the farmers and the other affected people get the confidence in Tata’s sincerity of offers, it will be win-win for all. Let us see the ultimate of the war between the evil and the right.

Since school days, I read how Aryans, our ancestors entered India from North-West passes. But there were some who thought that our ancestors didn’t come from outside India. As I remember the noted Hindi poet Jai Sankar Prasad was of the later opinion. Perhaps genetics may remove the confusion about the origin of Indian.

Raj Chengappa presents some findings in the latest ‘India Today’ September 10, 2009 in its cover story, ‘The great Indian gene findings‘ providing a new scientific theory on ‘Who is an Indian

Now a growing body of geneticists and anthropologists believe that India was a major first stop in that outmigration of humans out of Africa. That the tremendous genetic diversity originated in the sub-continent itself rather than as a result of the so-called ‘Aryan invasion’ that historians have theorized about.

Recent studies by Indian researchers show that their influence of Central Asia on the Indian gene pool was minor. One by CSIR’s Samir Brahmachari in collaboration with major Asian countries such as China and Indonesia and the other done by Lalji Singh, former director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in collaboration with American Universities, are likely to overturn all conventional theories about India’s role in the spread of the gene pool.

Singh had postulated recently that the “genetic diversity evolved in India itself as waves of settlers moved both north and south of the country, intermixing before migrating to other countries” and the results of his study to be out later this month are eagerly awaited. So after Africa, India became both a major genetic bridge and a pool for the rest of the world.

R. Pitchappan, Professor Emeritus, Immunology, Madurai Kamaraj University, compares the journey of early migrants as arriving on different trains from Africa-some came earlier and others later.

Those who subscribe to the theory of a single wave of migration to India believe that all the caste groups evolved from the same genetic pool, whether Brahmin or Shudra. And if it is true why should there be so much animosity and politics of castes in India.

And the findings of the Indian researchers lead to some other useful inferences: That some regions in Northern India are more susceptible to heart diseases while some populations in Rajasthan and Jammu have a genetic immunity that puts them at lower risk of HIV infections. As claimed, the trigger for Indian researchers has been the most spectacular scientific achievement since man walked on the moon: deciphering the book of human life.

Enthusiastic CSRI head Brahmachari talks of the promise of pharmacogenomics: “We should soon be able to do rapid tests to determine a patient’s genotype and then guide treatment with the most effective drugs apart from reducing adverse reactions.”

There is also the growing clamour to resort to gene therapy or the potential of using genes themselves to treat disease or enhance particular traits much like the research into stem cells. While genetics holds up the promise of revolutionising health care, there is need to be cautious about its use.

Genetic profiling would reveal some of the innermost secrets that could, for instance, be used by employers to weed out candidates found to be susceptible to certain ailments or diseases.

As claimed by the CSIR chief, Brahmchari, “India is the first country to do a disease-specific drug-response mapping on large populations.”

Let India and its scientists come out with more and more with similar solutions.

It was perfect time to reach San Francisco. However, as Yamuna couldn’t have walked that long, she took wheelchair route. It was easily available, but later on we found that the same man is to move at least three persons. He took three stops to reach the immigration counters. It was due to more flights reaching simultaneously. As usual, it is easy and affordable to have more machines, but hardly prudent to have equal number of persons to man them when required. It was the case at San Francisco airport. It took quite a time in the immigration because of the strict scanning for any possibility of one being terrorist. Everyone had to give three scans- 4 fingertips of right hand and then left hand as well as for the tips of the two thumbs. A camera also took the photograph of the face. I got reminded that similar cameras were in use at the reception of Noida Authority’s administrative office for issuing the entry passes. However, with the CEOs changing so frequently, the practice has been discontinued.

While custom personnel hardly took anytime, it was a mess at the baggage collection conveyor. The suitcases had arrived, but it took time to search them. The porter of Yamuna’s wheel chair had vanished to help the other passenger. But Yamuna by now was excited enough to meet the family and agreed rather forced me to walk. And as soon as we came out in the arrival lobby, it was a happy moment again with Keshav, Anvita and Svanik touching the feet followed by their parents. Naturally Shannon had to miss. She waited for us at the residence with Emma. We never wanted to inconvenience her.

Anand drove us to his residence with Rajesh, Shephali and Svanik. Rakesh drove in separate vehicle and later on joined us at the residence of Anand. And then it was a joy and celebration that they had planned for Yamuna’s birthday in advance, as Shannon may move for maternity on any day. Emma got mixed with us. I kept on watching her playing and enjoying with her brother and sisters. I made Anvita to make a sketch of mine. Keshav kept himself glued with a book. Svanik was mostly on his own or with Emma. But Svanik hardly ate anything. As grandfather I felt bad.

By night, we could find the major causality of the Cathay. Even a tag of ‘handle-with-care’ hadn’t saved my laptop in its case in the suitcase getting broken at the hinge. Perhaps I never thought about the extra precautions that it deserved. It is my old age and the last minute adjustment that caused it. However, it is working fine and Anand helped me to put me on line for blog.