Mathorupagan & Reality Check

Perumal Murugan’s Mathorupagan is the latest addition to the long list of books and other art forms that have been subjected to strong opposition in India for offending the sentiments of a community.

While the opposition for Mathorupagan was projected as a suppression of 'Freedom of speech' by the media and fellow writers,  realitycheck, a blog, has attempted to give a different perspective on this issue. With a contrived example of a toothpaste advert that could possibly result in a defamation suit, realitycheck points out the limits of free speech in a fictitious story.

“I take out an ad in the newspaper saying that there is proof that Colgate toothpaste causes oral cancer. Assuming The Hindu newspaper in a valiant hurrah to my right of expression publishes the ad. I will end up with a lawsuit by evening. Why should Colgate sue me for this and not publish a book explaining in detail why my claim is wrong?” 

- Reality Check India

One of main points in the mentioned post is that the vivid description of the offending event and the precise details like cast name, especially without a lack of a substantial evidence makes the protesters case stronger and even justified.

“There is no ambiguity in the book. The Vaigasi Visagam festivities, the chariot being pulled around town, the little details like the four streets, the various deities, descriptions of the fair, and on and on. The last day of the function he writes was “full of women over 30″ and on that day “all women are prostitutes”. The caste names also leave no room for ambiguity – it is about the womenfolk of Kongu Vellala Gounders.”

-Reality Check India

But after reading the book I felt that certain details, especially the usage of caste name, are not as precise as mentioned above. The edition I am referring to here is the third edition of the book, published in November 2012 by Kalachuvadu in Tamil.

To start with, to say that it is about the womenfolk of Kongu Vellala Gounders appears to me as a perceived thought. There is no direct mention in the book that the controversial ritual was practised only among the women of this caste. The family of the lead characters, Kali and Ponna talk about this ritual resulting in Ponna participating in it. Kaali and his relatives, at various points in the book, are casually addressed only as Gounders and not Kongu Vellala Gounder. 

Today, in popular notion, Gounders may be synonymous with Kongu Vellala Gounders. But the story is not set in contemporary times. There are subtle, but clear, evidences that the story is happening circa 1945. Even to infer that the Gounders referred by the author is in fact Kongu Vellala Gounders, based on the backdrop of the story, one should know the demography of the type of Gounders lived in and around Thiruchengode area around that time.

Currently there are more than one type of Gounders and it appears that not all Gounders are Kongu Vellala Gounders. The current list of Backward Communities approved by Government of Tamil Nadu has listed both Gounders and Kongu Vellalalars separately. Also the list has mentioned another caste Urali Gounder or Oorudaya Gounder in the district of Namakkal -- the district where the story takes place. But said that these data are most likely compiled in recent times and one has to know what type of Gounders lived in 1940s in that area to infer which Gounder was implied in the story. So, when the book mentions only the caste as Gounder, to state that “it is about the womenfolk of Kongu Vellala Gounders.” seems to be only an interpretation of realitycheck.

This difference in the caste name may seem trivial, but for those who haven't read the book in full and has read only realitycheck's post might incorrectly conclude that, the author has used this specific caste name. A quick look at the comments section of the above mentioned article will support this point. In spite of me pointing, in the comments section of the article, that there is no mention of Kongu Vellala Gounder in the book, a commenter still insisted that it is about Kongu Vellala Gounders. To quote “he has explicity used caste names, in detail..the main character is a Kongu Vellala Gounder”.

Realitycheck, in response to my comment, used 'THAT CASTE'  instead of the specific caste name. I believe this is probably because realitycheck agrees that Kongu Vellala Gounder was not used in the book.

“...The story did not involve Kali/Ponna making a secret pact or that she slyly did this on her own. But that it was a normal social practice in THAT CASTE as handed down by the old ladies. It may or may not have involved other castes, but that is not relevant. It may have dissipated the matter if storyline had Ponna participating with other community women.”.

-Reality Check India

But still, to say that it is a practice in 'THAT CASTE' seems to me, again, as an inference rather than what has been actually said. 

To quote from the book: In an instance where Muthu, Ponna’s brother, persuades Kaali to send Ponna to the event, he describes this as 'nothing new and it is only an age old practice'.  

“இது ஒன்னும் புதுசில்ல மாப்ள. காலகாலமா வந்துகிட்டு இருக்கற வழமொறதான” 

- pp 117

Though Muthu mentions it as an age old practice, he does not say whether it is a practice only among their community, or their family or the festival goers or among the people of the district. So to say that it is a common practice in 'THAT CASTE' is only an assumption. Even when Murugan narrates the event, he first describes it as 'any consented men and women can have intercourse on that night'. And in the next paragraph he says, 'no unmarried woman will be sent to the event. Women over 30 can be seen.'

“...கொண்டடத்தின் உச்சத்தில் வரைமுறைகள் எல்லாம் தகர்ந்து போகும். அந்த இரவே சாட்சி. இணங்கும் எந்த ஆணும் பெண்ணும் உறவு கொள்ளலாம்...திருமணமாகாத பெண்களை யாரும் அனுப்பமாட்டார்கள். முப்பது வயதுக்கு மேற்பட்ட பெண்களை எங்கும் காணலாம்.  ” 

- pp 87

Even here, Murugan does not associate the specified caste to the event.

I can understand if it is argued that the narration shows 'married women' or 'women over thirty' or 'any women or anyone attending the festival' in bad light. But to narrow it down to a certain caste seems inappropriate.

Similarly, reading the snippets and quotes may not always provide us the context. In the absence of a context, words can carry different meanings. The quote 'all women are prostitutes' from the book sounds quite offensive on its own. But in the context, where a prostitute, living in a street of prostitutes, who expects no customers on that day, says 'Who is going to see[visit] us today? Today, all women are prostitutes', the tone may be different. It is in this context that this quote is used in the book. 

“...இறக்கத்துக் கோயிலுக்கு எதிரே இருந்த தேவடியாள் தெருவில் அன்றைக்கு கூட்டமேயில்லை... 'இன்னக்கி நம்மள எவன் பாக்கறான். எல்லாப் பொம்பளைங்களும் இன்னக்கித் தேவடியாதான்' என்று அவர்கள் பேசிச் சிரித்துப் போனார்கள்.”

--pp 87 

Not everyone who might be offended by the first quote may feel offended when they read it in the context. Similarly, the meanings of these quotes might change when it is read in entirety. 

The point here is neither to dissuade people, communities from getting offended nor to argue that Mathorupagan is not as offensive as it has been criticized. But it is to show that that different people can interpret the same work differently. My inference or understanding of the story is different from that of realitycheck's (realitycheck indeed read the Tamil version of the book before writing the article). So I believe one should go through the full content himself\herself, be it a movie or a book, before feeling offended. If not, one may end up being offended by someone else's perception of the content rather than his or hers. This is highly likely in case of books, for a book does not always attain its meaning at the hands of the author but in the minds of the reader.

Still Counting the Dead

One of the problems with books on conflict reporting are in understanding the impartiality of the author. If the author belongs to one of the groups involved, they risk being biased towards their own people. But, being a complete outsider also has its own limitations -- trying to be neutral, the author may fail to relate with the conditions of the affected people.

'Still Counting the Dead' is a reportage on the last days of the Sri Lanka - LTTE civil war based on experiences of some of the Tamil survivors -- both civilians and rebels. Frances Harrison, the book’s author, is neither a complete outsider nor belong to one of the affected groups. Harrison's experience as a BBC Correspondent in Sri Lanka between 2000 and 2004 and the work she had done in the Tsunami affected areas of coastal Sri Lanka has given her a first hand experience of interacting with Tamils and watching the rebel Tigers in their own backyard.

Harrison limits the scope of the book to, "...an account of victory from the perspective of the defeated." Having said that, Harrison does not take anything away from what the Sinhalese soldiers and civilians also had to experience during the war. She acknowledges their suffering at the hands of the Tigers. But, for her, to report any Sinhalese's suffering is beyond the purview of the book.

The survivors interviewed in the book, come from different walks of life: an UN aid worker, a Tamil Journalist, a front line LTTE fighter, a Doctor, a Nun, a shopkeeper and many more. Though not all of these survivors were part of 'The Movement' -- a term used by locals for the LTTE, it becomes obvious, during the course of the read, that the day to day life of these survivors were entwined with the rebels irrespective of whether they support the movement or not.  

The LTTE, unlike other terrorist organizations, was not just armed rebels. For almost two decades, they had been the de facto administrators of the rebel controlled regions. As Harrison puts it, “the civilians had little choice but to work in the Tiger's banks, cooperative shops, agricultural institutes, colleges and law courts. It didn't mean they were fighters who'd undergone military training”. They were literally running a state within a state and even had an “immigration” post which decided who could enter and leave their region. This entanglement had transformed the region like a wheat field with tares. And what happened at the end of the war was like what Joshua had said in the Gospel according to Biff  “you can't pull out the tares without destroying the grain.”

The last stages of the war had scarred the lives of many Tamil civilians. Almost everyone who were interviewed mentioned how they and many more like them lost their properties, livelihood and had to be on a constant move for fear of losing their life. Bunkers became not only their new homes but also their place to defecate and their place to leave the dead unburied. With the number of injured outnumbering the available facilities and with insufficient surgical supplies, doctors operated without anaesthesia and sometimes had to amputate with butcher knives. The injured mother who died while her baby was still feeding; the doctors who performed a caesarean delivery on the road; a baby trying to feed from its mother who was probably dead -- incidents like these may be difficult to come to terms with for someone who has never witnessed a war, but they seem to be a common sight in a war zone.

The ubiquitous claim among these stories is the unforgiving attack of the army. These survivors believe that the civilians had been targeted intentionally. The aid worker, in his story, describes heavy attacks on civilian areas in spite of transmitting their locations to the military. Similarly, a doctor interviewed for the book also claims that the hospitals were under constant attack. The attacks on the medical facilities were so consistent that eventually the doctors decided not to disclose their locations in order to prevent further attacks. A similar claim is made on the military declared safe zones as well. The survivors say in the book that the military would drop pamphlets from the air providing the locations of no-fire zones and asking civilians to move there. And as soon as they relocate and settle in these safe zones they would be attacked.

Many Tamils have suffered not only from the attacking army, but also from their own people – the Tigers. The LTTE had been notorious for using child and under-age soldiers. In the peak of the war, when the Tigers casualties were high, it appears that the forcible recruitment of children had increased. One of the front line LTTE soldiers interviewed in the book denies that the recruits were under-age, but accepts “ [recruits] been forced to join and spent their whole time complaining”. In another story, a teenage sniper described to one of the interviewees how her mother used to hide her in a travelling bag to protect her from the LTTE recruits. These forcible recruitments had created animosity between the civilians and the LTTE.

The incident, where an angry Tamil woman, whose nephew was forcibly taken over by the LTTE, being ready to handover the Tigers to the army surmises that the LTTE may not mean the same any more to many Tamils like her.

Besides forcible recruitment, the LTTE is also accused of exercising control over the movement of civilians from the war zone. According to the nun interviewed in the book, the rebels had a working “immigration” system and one had to get a pass that will allow them to travel in and out of the rebel area from a Tiger who also doubled up as an immigration officer. In addition to this, there are claims that the LTTE attacked their own people who attempted to flee the war zone. Though some of the interviewees deny that the Tigers shot at fleeing civilians, they did accept that civilians were intimidated and forced to stay in the war zone. The rebel's justification for this action is that as long as there are civilians in the war zone there is hope that the international community might intervene.

It is one thing to be a good samaritan when things are normal, but it is a total challenge to retain this character in times of adversity. Exploitation is a common behaviour when the demands for basic necessities shoot up and war zones are no exception. As much as there were incidents of people using the conditions to sell food and other products many times their original price, there were also stories of honourable and brave deeds. People shared their last remaining food and crowded bunkers; hid teenagers from rebel recruiters; declared unknown people as relatives to prevent the army from detaining them as terrorists. Kind acts like these only had saved some of the survivors Harrison had spoken to.

If the war was terrible, neither its end nor the surrender of Tamils to the military gave them relief. The experiences, narrated by the interviewees, in the various camps set up for the people coming out of the rebel region appears to be as worse as the war itself. There are alleged reports of rape, abuse and torture in many of these camps. Thanks to some of the corrupt soldiers in these camps, few fortunate Tamils have managed to pay these guards off and escape from them. Even long after the war was over, Tamils have experienced extortion, custodial rapes, disappearances and tortures in the name of identifying former Tigers.  'The Wife', one of the stories in the book, narrates such horrific experiences of a Tamil's wife who was once part of the movement.

For various reasons, including geopolitical one, the international community and Sri Lanka's neighbours like India failed to take stringent actions to protect the civilians. There were also some strange decisions by United Nations, like asking the aid workers to evacuate the region at a time when their presence was most needed. Though the reason for this is cited as the region becoming too dangerous for the aid workers to stay, critics see this as an action taken by Sri Lankan government to avoid outside witnesses. Moreover, the presence of foreign aid workers in the war zone means the military may not be able to go on a full throttled attack. Whatever may be the reason, it is apparent that the international community has let down yet another group of civilians. Harrison acknowledges this throughout the book and has dedicated a separate chapter rightly titled - 'The War the United Nations Lost'.

Though I sympathise with these survivors, I cannot refrain questioning how much of these stories are true to a tee. Harrison also expresses a similar sentiment and accepts that she cannot prove every single detail of the account, in spite of all her attempts to find the truth. I completely agree, when Harrison says “... there never will be an agreed account of what actually took place in those final months of war – Sri Lankan history will continue to be written differently according to your ethnic group or political bias.” 'Still counting the Dead' should be read keeping this in mind.

Apart from reporting the stories of these survivors to the world, the key thing to take from the book lies in its conclusion. The need of the hour is to acknowledge the truth from both sides. Though the Sri Lankan inquiry finally acknowledged that the casualties were significant and hospitals were shelled, the report overlooked targeting civilians and sexual violence. Similarly, the Tamils and their diaspora who had been supporting the war financially all these years, should start recognizing LTTE's war crimes and their attacks on Tamil and Sinhalese civilians.

It is only around the time when Velupillai Prabhakaran was born, the Sri Lankan government had introduced policies that started alienating Tamils. This along with the standardization policy introduced in the 1970's are cited as a reason for the rise of Prabhakaran and formation of an organization that eventually became the LTTE. Harrison fears there is a possibility for this to reoccur in the future.

If the trauma caused by the 2009 war is not addressed sincerely, then it could result in the rise of another insurgent movement. This may not be in the near future, but there is a younger generation growing up listening to the horrors of the recent war, just like Prabhakaran did when he was growing up. This sounds to me as a legitimate concern. If not for anything else, at least to prevent the rise of another Prabhakaran and yet another civil war, the parties concerned should start addressing not only the wrongdoings of this war but also the cause of the war itself.

To quote an aid worker from the book , “The war is not over in Sri Lanka; you don't solve these kinds of problems on the battlefield.”

Lost and Found

It is nice when people do good things. It is nicer when it is altruistic. And it is best when it is done to us. I have had this pleasure at least twice now. Couple of years back when my other half lost her phone in the bus, I had written it off immediately. Nevertheless, I decided to follow the old trick of calling the mobile number to see if we are lucky. While I was expecting to hear "your phone is currently switched off", a samaritan answered the phone, which was still in the bus, and handed it over to the driver. The transport service had a wonderful lost property division and we were able to collect the phone next day happily.

On another occasion, few weeks back, I walked out of the tube day dreaming, leaving behind my badminton racket. I realized this only after entering the office and knew its too late. When I went back to the station to enquire, I was told about the Lost Property Office (LPO) that Transport for London operates.

LPO © Supafly¹ 

Any items found not only in tubes, but also in trains, buses and back seats of cabs are returned to LPO. So I went back to my desk, filled an online form, provided the identification details and submitted it. LPO has a twenty one day waiting period and irrespective of whether the item is found or not, the applicant will be notified of the status.

Twenty one days had gone and I didn't receive any notification. So I assumed it was not found and  in the spirit of new year, I decided to buy another racket. But for one last time, I called up LPO to ensure that my racket was never found. After few inquiries, when the attendant said that they found my racket, I was taken by surprise. Though they failed to intimate me, I would like to give the benefit of doubt to LPO as I don't remember providing a distinct identification, apart from the description, a badminton racket in a black bag.

In the window of LPO in Baker Street © Gary Knight²

Later, when I thought about how they would have found my racket, two scenarios came to my mind. One, some passenger found it and returned it to the authorities. Second, the maintenance team or the driver while inspecting the train, at the end of a service, had found it and returned to LPO. In both the cases, the person who had found the item also had an opportunity to keep it with them. But they didn't. Probably because, he or she is kind and was against owning some one else property, even when they can get away with it. Alternately, a cynical view would be the presence of CCTV cameras in the stations and trains that records every activity, would have acted as a restraint. I hope it was the former.

Irrespective of who it is or what their intention is, I am very thankful to them. And one of the key things, I think, that helped them to return the item is the kind of system that is in place. In the absence of a properly functioning system, like the LPO, right intentions alone may not be sufficient. A more relevant example to illustrate this theory is the presence of litter bins in the streets. Few years back, I happened to carry a coffee cup for almost a mile, without able to find a bin. That was the first time I realized the lack of enough bins in the streets of Hyderabad. So even if some one really has some inclination to keep public places clean, absence of a functioning system, litter bins in this case, will only restrict them.

This doesn't imply that the presence of a functioning system is a sufficient condition; I have seen people littering next to empty bins, in the streets of London, where there are no shortage for bins. Nevertheless, I think, a functioning system is a necessary condition and would motivate the well intended. Presence of more such systems, across various domains, either by private organizations, local communities or government bodies, could bring out more responsible behavior from its citizens.

In pictures: behind the scenes at the TfL Lost Property Office

Image Copyrights:
1. Supafly - http://goo.gl/s7ubii
2. Gary Knight - http://goo.gl/1EAUWh

Time

Time is the healer, Time moves on.

Time, if not heals, at least allows one to come to terms with his past. When it heals, it also robs. Robs slowly, the memories, in a way one does not realize consciously. It takes away the memories, one at a time, both good and bad, and transforms the past to an illusion. Time when combined with distance makes the faces of even our  loved ones, from the past, a difficult thing to recollect. Yesteryear events become obscure and one can be no more certain about all his past actions. What seemed obviously right or wrong then, may not seem so obvious anymore. Time makes memory treacherous and even the past not so certain. The scars might be there, but it may not be so painful nor it's cause be so sure as it used to be. Time heals, not only pain but also happiness. Looking at the smiles captured in those happy moments may not evoke the same emotions now. Time moves on, leaving the past behind, slowly but steadily.

Nevertheless, Time is special for many, if not for all, and so are the days like the beginning of the new year and birthdays - the virtual markers of Time. Special because it creates hope, or an illusion depending upon one's perspective, for a new beginning. Time helps us to look ahead by leaving the past behind. But, as much as Time helps us to move forward it also lets us to fall into some trap again in the future by robbing our memories. Time becomes the healer again and Time continues to move on, without waiting for anyone.

Holy Dwar

Religions are complex and contentious. In its multitude, the fact that religions do share common ground in their beliefs, practices and symbols are often overlooked. This is not only true for religions that share a common ancestry, like Abrahamic or Indian, but also across these religions.

In Hinduism, Surya; the Solar deity, is usually represented as riding in a chariot. This representation of the Sun God is not limited to Hinduism alone. A similar representation is being used in some of the European religions as well. In Greek, Helios - the Greek personification of Sun, is represented riding in a chariot. Similarly some of the paintings in the Vatican Museum also depicts the Sun God as riding in a chariot.

Holy Door in St.Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The similarities doesn't end with symbolism. In catholic custom, 'Holy Door', also called as the 'Door of Great Pardon', is seen as a representation of Jesus. This 'Holy Door', present only in the four major basilicas of the Catholic Church, is opened during the holy year that occurs every twenty five years. Passing through this 'Holy Door', which portrays scenes of man's sins and redemption through God's mercy, is believed as an act of redemption among the Catholics.^[1]

A custom similar to that of the 'Holy Door' is being practiced in another religion, a non  Abrahamic, whose roots are in a different continent.

'Vaikuntha Ekadashi' is a holy day for certain Hindu sects. On this day, the devotees pass through a special door called as 'Vaikunth Dwar' or 'Swarga Vaasal' which literally translates to 'Door to the Heaven'. According to the Hindu mythology, people who fast on this day and pass through this door are redeemed of their sins.^[2] Though the Hindu mythology and Catholic church have different stories about the origins of these doors, their purpose is similar and is not very difficult to draw parallels between them.

Swarga Vaasal in Jagannadha Temple, Tamil Nadu^[6]

In a multi-faith country like India, certain religious practices can be found common among different religions within the country. The votive offering of metal images of body parts (for healing) and salt to God is common in certain churches and Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu.^[3][4][5] This commonality is understandable in countries like India; a closely knitted society where many of its customs are shared, including religious ones.

In the case of 'Holy Door', though is a catholic belief, is practiced only in the major basilicas, located in Rome and the Vatican City. So the 'Holy Door' is not a common practice outside the major basilicas. So unlike votive offering,  the practice of  'Vaikunth Dwar' being influenced by another religion from the same geography seems less probable.

The earliest reference of  the 'Holy Door' is in c.1437^[7] and there doesn't seem to exist a chronology for the Hindu practice. So it is unclear how the same practice came into existence in different religions. Comparative religious studies might explain this commonality and may even highlight many such practices among different religions. Nevertheless, it is intriguing, to observe different doctrines following similar customs in different geographical locations without much influence from each other.

References:
1. http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Interior/HolyDoor/HolyDoor.htm
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikuntha_Ekadashi 
3. http://lonelygothsguide.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/st-anthony-shrine-chennai/
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaitheeswaran_Koil#Worship_and_festivals
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samayapuram_Mariamman_Temple
6. Jagnnada Temple Photo Credit: Sriram Srinivasn - Flickr:Creative Commons
7. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/documents/ns_lit_doc_14121999_porta-santa_en.html

Manual Scavenging and Nash Equilibrium

Recently, I was having a conversation about the manual scavenging issue in India discussed in Satyameva Jayate¹ and how the law enacted to abolish manual scavenging was of little help. For example, Indian railways, one of the largest rail networks in the world, is still using open discharges. This means that the Indian railways' 115,000 km long track also makes it probably the world's largest open toilet. This also means that it is highly likely that humans are still being used to manually clear the wastage especially in the tracks near the stations. May be not with bare hands, but with brooms and hosepipes.

This is an example of a situation where enacting laws doesn't necessarily help the affected people nor stop them from continuing the prohibited.

Kaushik Basu, former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, in his book 'Beyond the invisible hand: Ground work for new economics' explores reasons for such failures in proposed laws. 

Law makers while creating new laws often fail to create or envision a system in which an individual cannot act unilaterally, to move to a better state, by breaking the law. In other words, in a system where an individual sees a better utility beyond what the law prohibits, then it is likely that the individual will violate the law. Once the individual is in a state where he cannot get any better utility, then it is very unlikely for the law to be violated.

In game theory, such a state, given all other conditions, where an individual cannot unilaterally move to a better position, is defined as 'Nash equilibrium'. Named after John Nash, the mathematician who is known better as the protagonist in the Hollywood movie 'A beautiful mind'

Basu describes Nash equilibrium as

"A choice of action (or strategy) by each player constitutes a Nash equilibrium, if these choices have the property that, given every other player's choice, each player feels that it is not possible to do better by altering his or her choice.²"

Basu stresses that if an announced law is not a Nash equilibrium, then it is preordained to fail³. When concepts like Nash equilibrium is not taken into consideration then the presence or absence of law is insignificant. Meaning, irrespective of whether a law exists, the society would continue the prohibited practice. And when there exist a Nash equilibrium, then even in the absence of a law, those actions will not be performed by the society. 

Applying the Nash equilibrium to the case of manual scavenging possibly explains why this law is violated easily both by the workers and their employers. Currently in India we have a system where manual scavenging is prohibited by law. Now, for this law to be effective, the onus is on both the workers and the employers. It should be noted here that the workers are not coerced to work as scavengers. It is more of a voluntary agreement and hence both the parties should play by the rules for the law to be any effective.

From the workers point of view, at least three conditions should be satisfied for them to not take up the scavenging work. Firstly the scavengers should have an alternative employment if they cannot not work as manual scavengers anymore. Secondly, this new employment should provide an income that is better than their scavenging work. And finally there should not be any scavenging opportunities that could lure potential scavengers from their current job, say with a higher pay or less work load. If any of these conditions are not met, then this provides an opportunity for the workers to choose a better option then their current state. The better option in this case is manual scavenging. And this is precisely what one of the scavenging workers had to say about her work

“I am happy with my work. This work is easier. Earlier, I used carry bricks on my head, which was back-breaking.⁴”

A scavenger worker feeling happy about her work might surprise many. But the reality is, in the given state of things, this is probably the best outcome the worker could get. As soon as they see a better, sustainable option then what their current one, then it is likely that they will move out of their current state irrespective of what the law states.

The same principle can be extended to the employers of manual scavengers as well. As long as the employers get better utility by choosing to employ manual scavengers, they are likely keep employing them one way or the other and as a result keep violating the law. So, for the employers to actually stop employing manual scavengers declaring the work as illegal alone is not sufficient, but there should exist a viable and affordable alternative.

Based on this, a parallel can be drawn to other laws in India like the laws against corruption, child labor and media piracy which are almost ineffective.

Thus creating new laws without taking into account of concepts like Nash equilibrium will only ensure that laws are as ineffective as possible. Nash equilibrium may not be a sufficient condition for all social issues but it will be a necessary condition for most of the laws to meet its purpose. Policy makers and law makers should probably think along these lines rather than piling up ineffective laws for the sake of creating one.  

P.S:

I am no expert in the area of economics and policy making. I have only tried to apply the ideas, that I understood from Basu's book, to the issue of manual scavenging. Any misinterpretation of Basu's ideas only shows my lack of understanding of the subject and not what Basu actually says in his book 'Beyond the Invisible Hand: Groundwork for New Economics'.

References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyamev_Jayate_(TV_series)
2. Basu, Kaushik. Beyond Invisible Hand: Groundwork for a New Economics. Penguin Books, 2011, p.63 
3. Basu, Kaushik. Beyond Invisible Hand: Groundwork for a New Economics. Penguin Books, 2011, p.66 
4. http://famschennai.wordpress.com/tag/employment-of-manual-scavengers-and-construction-of-dry-latrines-prohibition-act/

Porum Valiyum (War and Pain)

Porum Valiyum (War and Pain) - by Savitri Advithanandhan is a collection of short stories, based on real incidents happened during the Sri Lanka - LTTE war which had lasted for almost three decades.

The book's introduction is left blank awaiting completion from the late LTTE leader Prabhakaran. In the place of introduction there is a photo of Prabhakaran with a map of the Tamil Eelam in the background (Unlike the photo in this link, the book shows only the Eelam boundary) with a note 'munnurai ethirparpudan' (introduction expecting). The book also has a foreword with a quote from Kirupanandha Variyar on Prabhakaran and promises that Prabhakaran would resurface alive again like the way he did in 88/89 when there were reports that he was dead.

The book has been published in Tamil Nadu by Cheran - a prominent Tamil movie director. Apparently Cheran was so touched by reading these stories and wanted to publish the book himself, hence started a publishing house. This is the first publication from the house. It is a bit surprising that the book has been published in Tamil Nadu first and not in any of the European countries (where there is a significant Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora) in spite of the author herself being from London. Also surprisingly a book about Sri Lankan Tamils' pain and struggle carries no foreword from any of the Sri Lankan Tamils. Probably the book is targeted at Indian Tamils?

Each chapter in the book starts with a quote from world 'leaders' which includes some of the ruthless dictators like Che, Mao and Prabhakaran himself.  The quotes are of revolutionary theme and advocates struggle for freedom until death.

Though the book is titled as war and pain, it doesn't depict the horrors of the war from a neutral stand. The book is more about the sufferings of the Tamils and glorifies LTTE on every possible opportunity. No story goes without mentioning the sacrifices of the LTTE and their struggle for free Eelam. Even while writing on the July 23rd 1983 attack on the army patrol by LTTE, which eventually triggered a series of atrocities against Tamils, the author plays down LTTE's role by indicating that the attack was used only as an excuse to target Tamils.

In one of the stories, the author narrates emotionally how the Tamils were forced to vacate their homes within a short notice by the Sri Lankan Army, but fails to mention about the 70,000 odd Muslims expelled in a similar way by the LTTE from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Similarly other incidents like the massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers and the bombing of Central Bank by LTTE has no mention whatsoever. It appears that these events have been conveniently overlooked. Because of this selective story telling, one can't avoid the feeling that 'Porum Valiyum' is biased and doesn't give the full picture.

Though the stories depict the horrors of the war, a war's effect on civilians and how it has caused irreversible damage for generations to come, the one-sidedness of these stories and the explicit praise for the tigers could make a reader with a neutral stand uncomfortable. Also in every other story, either the protagonist or his/her family member is a LTTE cadre or related to LTTE. If this is indeed true, then it blurs the distinction between Tamil civilians and Tamil armed forces and makes it more difficult to empathize with them, especially when LTTE is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 32 countries.¹

These shortcomings in the stories could prevent the book from reaching a wider audience and limit itself to staunch LTTE supporters and those who are looking for another military solution. For the rest, who are hoping for a relatively peaceful political solution to end this conflict, the book will be only a disappointment.




References:
1.LTTE - Wikipedia

History in Schools

Recently there was a news in England about whether History should be taught in schools in a chronological order.

I think the real question is should history be taught in school at all? Especially in countries where there is little respect for freedom of speech and where educational institutions are funded, accredited by a government body.

When educational institutions or it's syllabus is controlled by a group of people i.e say a government body, then what is taught in these institutions could be more less become a government propaganda. For example, according to a wiki entry teaching evolution vs creation in schools is a long standing debate in many countries.¹ It also cites how politicians and political parties in various countries had tried to influence the teaching of creation or evolution in educational institutions.

If this is the case for a subject that can be scientifically debated, it gets trickier when it comes to cultural studies like history. A quote from the movie Braveheart summarizes it - "...but history is written by those who have hanged heroes".² It takes years together for historians to come up with a different take on the actual events happened. And if their version is different against the accepted version, then their work is subject to restriction and ban.

In countries where the academic institutions and its syllabus are controlled by a set of people, they more or less decide what students should learn from their past. Any part of history that is against what they believe in or that could damage the reputation of their beloved leaders is suppressed.

Besides suppressing the texts that are objectionable, control over cultural studies could also pave way to selectively choose a part of history to portray some one as a leader or traitor. LTTE's propaganda in schools for voluntary recruitment is one such example.

"LTTE cadres frequently go into schools to speak about the LTTE, sometimes showing films that show LTTE service in a positive light. For instance, according to the Trincomalee Senior Superintendent of Police, the LTTE in July 2004 provided area teachers and principals with exams on the history of the LTTE to give to their students. "They [LTTE] collect them afterwards. This is part of their propaganda work. The teachers and principals can't refuse because they need to survive. They have to carry out their instructions."3

There are similar examples in other war-ridden countries. In a more civilized country, similar propaganda is possible when the schools are funded by the government or requires accreditation from a government body. In fear of losing funding or accreditation, the schools could be limited to teach only what is allowed by the approving bodies.

 In India, Rohinton Mistry's 'Such a Long Journey' was withdrawn from the syllabus of Mumbai University because it had some derogatory remarks about Maharashtrians and Bal Thackeray.⁴ Similarly A.K. Ramanujan's 'Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translations' was removed from the University of Delhi syllabus as it contradicts the popular version of Ramayana.⁵  This shows how anything controversial could be possibly censored unless there exists a legitimate independent body that could monitor the contents of the syllabus and prevents censorship.

History is not one dimensional. History is best learnt only when one has access to its multiple perspectives. Access to the woes of India's partition tales would make one realize that the common notion of bloodless India's war of independence is very much a false propaganda. 
History taught in schools with its content enforced by a small group of powerful people makes it more or less one dimensional and a far-fetched reality.


References:
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_and_evolution_in_public_education
2.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/quotes
3.http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,HRW,,LKA,,42c3bd300,0.html
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Such_a_Long_Journey_(novel)#Withdrawal_from_Mumbai_University.27s_syllabus
5.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._K._Ramanujan#Controversy_regarding_his_essay

£0.20

A bus driver refused to let a woman travel as she was short of £0.20p of the fare amount. That was the last bus home and so the woman who decided to walk back was attacked and raped. This article reports that the student was pleading with the driver for about eight minutes but still the driver had "turfed her off". Also the article indicates that none of the passengers who boarded the bus offered to make up the fare.

It looks like this news got a bit sensationalized because of that 20p. The drivers action and the fellow passengers inaction became a debatable topic. According to the above article, the bus company has also dealt with the driver through their disciplinary procedure.

It surprises me how this 20p has become the highlight here. What if the person had only 20p and the driver had refused him or her to travel and something similar deplorable incident had happened? Would it have evoked a similar response criticizing the driver or the fellow passengers for not letting a commuter to travel with just 20p?

Similarly how much is the driver's or fellow passengers act is consequential to the incident followed? Should they be the one to be blamed or punished in this case? Instead of becoming a victim, if the person had been lucky and got some fortune while walking back home, should he or she be expected to share it with the passengers and the driver for letting him/her walk?

Unless the driver had violated the company policy to be followed in situations like this, I don't think the driver is the one to be blamed. Talking about rest of the passengers inaction, it is a case study to understand human nature. Aren't people helpful by nature? Don't normal people rush to help others?

The "helping experiment" conducted by Richard Nisbett and his student Eugene Borgida has surprising results. The experiment shows that individuals feel relieved of responsibility when they know that others have heard the same request for help*. The original experiment was conducted with a seizure victim, but I think parallels can be drawn with the way how we react in situations like this.

I don't see much point in trying to find someone to blame for. For me one the of the key lessons to be learnt from this incident is to improve the ticket purchasing options in buses in general. A better system would reduce the amount of passengers left stranded off due to incorrect fare or shortage of fare.

Some bus operators accept only exact fare. They do not provide you the remaining change as the ticket fares are dropped directly into a box. Bus companies like Cardiff Bus provides a voucher for the balance amount, which can be exchanged at the customer service center. But still, the current buying options affects the commuters and also the tourists.

A better way is to start accepting card payments within buses. With the way the cash cards have evolved, especially in the developed countries, the usage of actual currency is getting reduced day by day. Lots of shops accept card payments for purchases even less than a pound,  but still its a surprise to see why the bus companies have not followed this. And now with contactless debit cards coming into the market, its not even required to chip and pin like a standard debit or credit cards.

Bus companies should start working towards providing better buying options for its customers. Improving the ticket purchasing system will help the commuters a lot and might avoid embarrassment and incidents like this.

* Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman, Penguin Books, P170

Hay Festival 2012

Hay-on-Wye is a small town along the England-Wales border. Called as the 'Town of Books', Hay is also the host for the annual festival of Literature and Arts - Hay Festival. The festival is a ten day event that runs during the months of May-June, hosts some of the best writers, musicians, artists, scientists, film makers, politicians and speakers from various fields.

Historically the festival has been conducted in different parts of the town. In recent years the festival is being organized just outside the town with makeshift tents, pavilions, stages and caravan toilets providing a decent protection from the constantly unpredictable British weather. The twenty fifth edition of the festival is being held from May 31 to June 10, 2012.

Festival Entrance

This is our first time at Hay and we managed to spend around three days in the town and the festival, thanks to the Spring Bank Holiday and Queen's Diamond Jubilee Celebration. Different events were organized simultaneously at different venues making it difficult to choose which one to attend and which one to miss. Some highlights from the events that we attended.

The event that I was keen to attend was Daniel Kahneman's discussion with Jesse Norman on 'Human rationality and irrationality'. The discussion was based on Kahneman's recent book 'Thinking Fast and Slow'. The psychologist, who has won the Nobel prize in Economics, ironically has never attended a course in Economics. He talked about the two systems of thinking, system 1 and system 2 and how they influence our decision making. As most of the topics and examples were taken from the book itself, the discussion was very familiar and only very little discussed was unknown. Still it was nice to listen to Daniel Kahneman in person.

Daniel Kahneman with Jesse Norman

'The way we live now' is one of special events for the 25th anniversary of the festival. In the first event of this series, Salman Rushdie - British Indian Novelist, Niklas Frank - Author of  'The Sins of the Fathers : In The Shadow Of The Reich', Elif Shafak - Turkish Writer, Tishani Doshi - Indian poet - journalist and Jim Al-Khalili - Iraqi born British Theoretical Physicist discussed with John Kampfner a British journalist,  about what freedoms the panelists were prepared to trade for security.

Salman Rushdie said that there is not many that he would sacrifice."There is no such thing as perfect security. We should not swap freedoms for supposed security". He was also very critical about the current situation in India and how historically the freedom of speech has been suppressed. He cited incidents of M.F.Husain, banning of Rohinton Mistry's 'Such a Long Journey' and A.K Ramanujan's Three Hundred Ramayanas to indicate the state of freedom of speech in India.

Niklas Frank, Elif Shafak, Salman Rushdie, John Kampfner, Tishani Doshi and  Jim  Al Khalili

Niklas Frank and Elif Shafak spoke about their idea of freedom and security from a German and Turkish background. Though Niklas Frank insisted on the freedom of speech, he took a step back when a question was raised about laws against Holocaust denials. Niklas Frank insisted the need for such laws as Holocaust is a truth. Personally I think such laws are still against the freedom of speech.

An interesting question was raised in the audience about the freedom to opt out of vaccinations and other disease preventive measures. Jim Khalili was of the idea that such freedoms might have to be sacrificed for the greater good as a child who is not vaccinated could possibly impact other children in schools and public places. Writer Tishani Doshi spoke about the Unique Identification cards being introduced in India. She was kind of skeptic about sharing so much personal information like retina and fingerprint details which might actually fire back as these information are very sensitive.

When the panelists were asked to suggest one book or cinema of their liking, Salman Rushdie suggested Ulysses and Pather Panchali, Elif and Jim went with Brazil and Tishani with Charlie Chaplin's Dictator. The event was quite interesting with views from the people in public space and coming from different background.

The next day we went for an Hedgerow Foraging Walk with Adele Nozedar. The weather was so bad that we thought the walk would be cancelled. But Adele was happy to take us around the Hay Festival camp for a short foraging walk exploring edible plants and flowers. It was about an hour and half walk tasting leaves and flower buds along the countryside. On any other day I would have hesitated to touch or taste anything like these, but on this ocassion I decided to give it a try, which was not bad actually. Though it was kind of drizzling throughout the walk, it made the plants and trees look more green and beautiful.

Sheared Sheep with the Festival tents at the background - during the walk

Next event was the screening of the Hindi movie - Khosla Ka Ghosla at the Booth Cinema Hall. Booth Cinema hall is part of Richard Booth's bookshop, and is being used as a venue for the films screened at the Hay Festival. The movie was about a father's dream of buying a plot and how he was cheated by an estate agent. The rest of the movie revolves around how his children plan to trick the estate agent to recover his father's plot. Featuring Anupham Kher and Boman Irani, the movie was a lighthearted entertainer.

Anupham Kher at the screening

The final event for us was the British council series discussion about perceptions and cultural visions of 21st century India. The panelists were Anupam Kher, Nandita Das and William Dalrymple talking to Nik Gowing a British Journalist.

Anupham Kher talked about his recent autobiography and how Bollywood has grown in the recent years. He believed in the idea that cinemas are more about entertainment and means to escape for common man's everyday struggle. Nandita Das, on the contrary, felt that cinema is not only for entertainment and spoke about independent film making. Though she agreed that independent films like her own movie Firaaq are not as popular as the mainstream cinemas, she insisted that there are audience for such movies.

William Dalrymple, Anupham Kher, Nandita Das and Nik Gowing

William Dalrymple, writer and co-director of the Jaipur Literary Festival felt that in spite of its growth, Bollywood hasn't produced much word class movies that could compete at the levels of Oscar. When compared to countries like China, the quality of movie making is still not at the best. The event was chaired by Nik Gowing who seem to have a fair understanding of politics and culture in India. Anupam was witty, a bit defensive about Bollywood and spoke passionately about India. The highlight of the show was Nandita's clarity of thoughts and her perceptions towards Indian culture and cinema making.

Besides talk shows and movie screenings, there were variety of events for different age groups and target audience. There were lot of shops merchandising the 'Hay Festival'  brand as well. In addition to Oxfam's book shop there was also a festival book shop promoting the books of the festival authors and hosting book signing events.

The Lawn at Hays

The festival was quite crowded which was a bit annoying at times, but still it was a good experience.

More information and photos about the festival here and here.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers

For a long time now, slums have been an integral part of Mumbai's description. The stories and characters from these shacks have been a source of inspiration for many writers and film makers. The overrated 'Slumdog Millionaire' is one such example. The mere characterization of the hero from the slum has done the magic. I doubt if a similar story of life and hope from a poor village which is not a slum would have been as successful as the original movie.

'Behind the Beautiful Forevers' by Katherine Boo is one another book on the slums of Mumbai. Unlike Vikas Swarup's Q&A (which came out as the 'Slumdog Millionaire'), this book is not about the success story of an individual brought up in a slum background. This book is more about the slum as a whole and not a particular character. Katherine Boo has chosen 'Annawadi' for her book, the slum behind the walls carrying the advertisement 'Beautiful Forever, Beautiful Forever, Beautiful Forever' off the Sahar Airport road, Mumbai.

Annawadi is the land of immigrants from the other poor parts of India. People migrate to slums like Annawadi hoping that they would get a better life than their past. One could imagine how their past would have been, if slums like Annawadi is their hope. They struggle day in and day out to feed themselves, save a few and hope to move to a better place.

The history of Annawadi as in the book:
"The slum had been settled in 1991 by a band of laborers trucked up from the southern tip of Tamil Nadu to repair a runway at the airport. Work complete, they decided to stay near the airport and its tantalizing construction possibilities. ... Residents of neighboring slums provided its name: Annawadi - the land of annas. ... Seventeen years later, almost no one in this slum was considered poor by official Indian benchmarks"

'Behind the Beautiful Forevers' depicts the life of these Annawadis,  the way they see the world from their mounds of garbage; their life with rat bites, which also occasionally turns out to be their food along with frogs, their fights over trivial things and their fear for life from movements like 'Beat the Bhaiya' and false accusations by the local cops.

In a society of systemic corruption, it looks like the most affected are people like these. When accused falsely, they can neither pay the bribe nor prove their innocence. And their lives are not taken seriously and their deaths are taken for granted. Most of the Government funds provided to help these people are devoured by the corrupt officials by running non existent schools and NGOs. This corruption along with the crab mentality of the few Annawadis shatters the hopes of the rest, forever.
In Katherine's words:
"...a system in which the most wretched tried to punish the slightly less wretched by turning to a justice system so malign it sank them all"

Katherine Boo's focus on multiple characters provides a bigger picture of life and death in Annawadi. The sequence of events makes the narration interesting, and the lives of Annawadis makes 'Behind the Beautiful Forever' a memorable read. 

Possibility Effect and Understanding of Numbers

Few months back, there was a sudden upraise of protests regarding the atomic power project in Kudankulam, India. In the little reading I did on these protests, one of the primary concern was about the safety of the nuclear power plant and the possible direct and indirect casualties this could trigger. In addition, the effects of Bhopal disaster, probably the worst industrial accident in the history of the country and the way these victims were handled  had created an animosity towards projects like these.

In cases like Kudankulam the decision to oppose the project is usually based on the casualties caused by similar projects in the past. For example, if we consider the Union Carbide disaster, according to this CNN article, the death toll was about 33,000. This Wikipedia entry quotes that, the leak had caused about 558,125 injuries. Similarly this entry from Wikipedia indicates that the approximate number of deaths alone in nuclear accidents around the world is about 5000 and then there are other prolonged side effects. These numbers seems quite high. But do the protesters actually take account of these numbers?

Now to a different event. This article in 'The Lancet' indicates that about 7.6 million children below the age of five had died in 2010 of which about 64% are attributed to infectious causes including pneumonia, diarrhea which are preventable.This is the estimate around the world. Out of these 7.6 million, 1.682 million were from India alone which includes about 0.397 million from pneumonia and 0.212 million from diarrhea which are infectious but again almost preventable.

Assuming that the above numbers regarding the deaths from nuclear reactors and infant mortality are true (at least proportionally), it is very clear that the infectious diseases have a high death rate (among the children below the age of 5), when compared to nuclear accidents. The outcome of injury related to nuclear reactors still reduces if we include the frequency of these accidents as well. Unless we start working towards better healthcare, the death rates among these children are going to be more or less similar every year unlike an accident in a reactor which might not necessarily happen every year.

So ideally our priority to save human lives should have more focus on events that have an higher death rate . But we seldom see protests against these events like infant mortality which has an higher outcome. Even if such protests happen, it doesn't get the required attention always. Rather we tend to focus our time and energy towards relatively less probable events. This inconsistency, I think is an example of the Possibility Effect:


"The decision weights that people assign to outcomes are not identical to the probabilities of these outcomes, contrary to the expectation principle. Improbable outcomes are over weighted - this is the possibility effect. Outcomes that are almost certain are under weighted relative to actual certainty."

-Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow, p.312

The Possibility Effect might look less harmful, especially when it is associated with events like gambles and lotteries. But when it is applied to our attitude towards some serious life threatening events, we can observe how it affects our decision making.

In addition, the lack of understanding of numbers related to these events we deal with, affects our decisions. If these protesters were aware of the actual numbers, will it have the same intensity or will they still work towards the same cause ?

For example, When a question 'Which of these events should be prevented first ? Event A - Kills 1 lakh people, probably occurring once in few years. Event B - Kills 10 lakhs people almost every year' is posed to the protesters, a reasonable person would want to prevent event B and work towards it. But if we just pose a question without numbers, 'which one you would want to prevent? Deaths related to infectious disease or Nuclear Disaster?' do we still get the same answer?

The possibility of a nuclear accident even though its outcome is less comparatively, looms large and attracts more attention and support to eliminate it. This when compared to a larger and sure outcome event like infant mortality is more or less ignored*. So ideally we should try working towards making our decisions based on the probability of the event, its outcome and the actual numbers. Not just based on an ideology or the emotional statements of the policy makers and the protesters. This could have a better value for people's money and time and might have a better impact on society itself.



* This representation is only based on the numbers available in the internet. If the numbers turn out to be incorrect or change eventually and reverses the outcome, then so should be our decisions towards it.

Capital Punishment

Should a State allow capital punishment or not? Probably one of the most debated topics of all time may be next only to 'Love Marriage vs Arranged Marriage' and 'Does God exists or not?' I think the last two questions has reduced considerably in recent times. But realized death penalty is still a lingering question after  its discussion in BBC program 'The Big Questions' a few weeks back.

As I see it, in general there are three sides to the discussion on capital punishment. First is the 'victim's side' - the victim and his/her family and friends. Second is the 'convict side' - the convicted person and his/her families. The third side, arguably the most dangerous side - 'the audience side' - people who are no way related to the case directly or indirectly, but just witness these events through media and eager to provide an "expert" opinion without actually living through it like the victim or the convicted.

Few arguments that's often placed by the audience against the capital punishment are 'Nobody has the right to take someone else's life', 'Capital punishment is an inhuman act', 'Every person deserves a second chance'. When such arguments are placed, there are some questions to ponder.

When a country is at war, is it right to kill the 'Enemy of the State' ? ('Enemy of the State' because the enemies here are not decided by the individual. This clip from Ab Tak Chhappan around the fourth minute talks about it precisely). Comparing killings at the war front and death sentence might not look appropriate, but they are objectively equivalent - taking a human life. Though both have a similar outcome, isn't it strange that we despise one as an inhumane and ornate the other with awards?

Similarly the famous quote by Gandhi "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" is often used as a defence against capital punishment. This quote appeals to the masses easily and gains a lot of support like Gandhi himself. But when such quotes are placed under a context, they might not necessarily have the same appeal. Here is a context.

In relation to the late war, one question that every pacifist had a clear obligation to answer was: "What about the Jews? Are you prepared to see them exterminated? If not, how do you propose to save them without resorting to war?" I must say that I have never heard, from any Western pacifist, an honest answer to this question, though I have heard plenty of evasions, usually of the "you're another" type. But it so happens that Gandhi was asked a somewhat similar question in 1938 and that his answer is on record in Mr. Louis Fischer's Gandhi and Stalin. According to Mr. Fischer, Gandhi's view was that the German Jews ought to commit collective suicide, which "would have aroused the world and the people of Germany to Hitler's violence." After the war he justified himself: the Jews had been killed anyway, and might as well have died significantly.¹

After reading Gandhi's view on Holocaust, does the above quote still retains its charm? Should the Jews had followed Gandhi's view which is along the lines of "An eye for an eye.."? If Hitler was caught as a Prisoner of War, should he have been given a second chance? These are some questions to ponder for those who oppose capital punishment in the 'audience side'.

Now coming to the proponents of capital punishment in the 'audience side', the usual arguments are of the kind that 'Punishment deters crime', 'The convict loses his right when he violates others rights', 'Its justice done'. For arguments along these lines, my first question to them is 'How sure are they that the convicted was proved without any doubt² ?'.

Not all cases are self evident like 'Kasab's Trial' where there might not be much to prove. But in most other cases, I think that, its not possible for the audience to know the entire truth about the case. The audience's knowledge about the case could be based on media reports and hearsay and their opinion could also be influenced by their prejudice. The media reports are not always reliable, as each one of them carry a version of its own. For example Patrick French's story about the 'Aarushi murder case' is quite different form the stories in main stream media³. This is a classic example for 'what we know Vs the truth'. So how do we know what the truth is?

I think the answer is, except for some clear cut cases, there is no way for some one in the audience side to know whether a convicted person is the real criminal or not. Even if it is proved in a court of law, we often see that a judgement by the lower court is overturned by an higher court. So without knowing the truth should we really advocate death sentence for someone?

Now assuming that somebody is proven beyond doubt and is ordered to execute legally, will the supporters of capital punishment be ready to do the honors in their own hand on behalf of the Government, society or the victim? Being on the receiving side, it wouldnt be a surprise if the victim or victim's family wouldn't hesitate to execute, but from the audience side, I really doubt⁴. If it is only a right thing to do, restores justice and deters heinous crimes shouldn't they be able to do it like doing any other good deed to the society? If they cannot execute on their own hands, then what is the reason? Is it because they dont want to get blood on their hands but fine as long as some poor chap does it⁵?

Now going back to the original question, should a state allow capital punishment? With what I understand, I don't think there is a one size fits all solution for this. A blanket 'Yes' or 'No' might not help I guess. I think it should be only  handled at a case by case level and as much as objectively possible.

When it comes to individual cases, its better if the audience doesnt promote mass movements about whether the convict should be executed or not. For, what we know about the case might not be the truth at all. Moreover how much ever one can empathize with the victim or the convict, its never the same as actually being a victim or the convict. Tinkering with their emotions could only make it worse for them. So a better thing to do is to let the parties involved along with the system of law to judge on how it should be handled rather than we promoting a decision based on our "expert" opinion.


References & Links:
1. Reflections on Gandhi by George Orwell - http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/ghandi.html
2. 12 Angry Men - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/
3. India - A Portrait - http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/worse-than-a-daughter-s-death
4. But not for the likes of Hazare - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/singhvi-should-be-hanged-if-found-guilty-anna/254810-37-64.html
5. Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Nizhalkuthu - A perspective from the eyes of an Hangman - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nizhalkuthu