M - factor

How is it that practices change over years in a civilization? Indus, Incas, Mesopotamia, Egyptian and the rest no longer exist. It is the traces of their practices that remain in today’s era of globalization. Change is the rule of life. And it is the same rule everywhere, in every country. Diversity in ways of living that once existed across the globe is fast disappearing; it is as well converging towards a common “way of living” and lifestyle. Evolution - Biological evolution, ecological evolution and the evolution experienced by a civilization. Biological evolution is driven by the necessity for creatures to adapt themselves to the environment. Early human hand was long enough to reach his knees when he stood erect. It is getting shorter with years as a result of evolution. (I am however not very sure of this as I vaguely remember coming across it several years ago) Ecological evolution is how the ecology along with its contents (living and non-living) change, as it gets old. Global warming must be a by-product of forced evolution. It is the evolution in civilization that has kept me preoccupied lately. Changes in individuals cumulatively result in the change of that civilization over the years. Symptoms can be as minute as how you dress-up your child or eating etiquette or even the kind of music a generation listens to.

Indians are evidently not the same they were in early 1900’s or centuries ago. Things have changed. Yes, and they should change. I have always believed that there will be something or the other to be learnt from every individual or even a nation! One has to take the best and leave the rest. MNCs came as a boon to India which held (and still holds) a “developing” tag. One of the results of globalization is the growth of MNCs in India. And one of the consequences of this growth of MNCs is the heavy financial package they offer (not post-recession). This has in a way brought-up the standard of living of people. After all, Dollars' and Euros’ worth are much more than rupees. These companies get a fair trade to use human resource from this part of the world. One such Indian couple worked for MNCs. The man earned around 80k-90k and the wife 60k-70k (approximate figures). After 2-3 years of marriage they got a child. After child-birth, its mother was not to be found in the hospital while the infant was very much there. Two pair of happy, welcoming (for the grandchild) grandparents panicked and looked for the mother. I don’t know what happened after this..until after 2-3 months from the child’s birth, grandparents insisted they will not hand over the child to the parents. The parents moved the court and the grandparents’ justification was that the infant’s parents planned to sell the baby. The court’s decision favored the young couple and a couple of months after the verdict, the infant was sold by its parents for 20 lakhs! This was an article in a local newspaper. And it shocked the hell out of me! When asked why they sold the infant – They did not have enough money to buy a house and that they planned to have another baby for the real “baby-purpose”! I thought the under-developed, uneducated, born in rags India did all this business and the reason is - to make a living. But, this is just so unethical! Can this be termed human trafficking as well? Looks like giving birth to off springs and putting them for sale will be the booming industry in the coming days! Simple rule (if emotions deducted) Get-together, Generate, Sell!! What about that woman? How could she even think of committing such an act! There is an old saying - There can be a bad son in this world, but never a bad mother. I need not elaborate more on this. Money is prioritized more than human relations in these days. It is better to revise the adages for this “modern civilized society”.

“Experience is almost always a greater determinant of happiness than things are. We want the new car and believe it will bring us happiness. Meanwhile, the vacation seems like a splurge. But if you’re going on vacation, odds are somebody’s going with you. And when we’re connected well to others, we feel most happy. A vacation also creates lasting memories. A car? It sits in the driveway, gets old and rusts, looks worse than the neighbors, and starts causing you dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction”— David Hochman.
I do agree that money plays a significant role and the world runs on this M-factor. But, obsession to it leads to madness and the insanity will leave us with an immoral civilization. In the end, none will be benefitted - not even the one who craves for money and earns it.

His-story

It sure is a time for celebrating Kasab’s death sentence, though the implementation looks to be way ahead in the time machine. It also definitely is a verdict any judicial body of a sane civilization that respects humanity would give. But, who knows! With the mercy petitions, may be by the time he gets executed (will he?), the world might end as well! Yes. It is a crime to kill other human beings. Killing of the innocent – History has mega-tons of stories on this. The twin nuclear bombings on Hiroshima & Nagasaki during World War ll, where people were literally burnt on a clear morning with the heat radiations ripping their skin and flesh off, within a fraction of a second, miles away from the epicenter. Jallianwallah Bagh massacre – innocent Indians fighting non-violently for a cause were fired at by General Dyre (that too by sealing the area without leaving anyone, not even women and children to escape). Africans, were made slaves and brought to work in plantations in South America and were similarly shipped across to other continents, mainly Europe. As I read somewhere, they were chained to form a line, made to walk miles (killed then and there if one of them got tired or fainted under the scorching sun) and transported in what were designated to be slave ships. They were put in a particular enclosure in the ship – naked - men and women alike, with no escape from all the remnants a human being leaves at the end of the day (within the same enclosure in the ship) – This lead to epidemic and killed several. On reaching the destination, they would parade naked and the lords would buy the ones that interested them. The Lords’ rank in the society would be set based on the number of slaves they owned. Only after the slaves fought back in unison were some reformations brought in locally. The Inca king was murdered in the capitol square by the Spanish explorer Pizzaro in 1533 AD. Spain, back then, was shattered by drought, natural calamities and was also deprived of riches, as a result of which a born-in-poor-family, hungry-for-power Francisco Pizzaro sought after the much heard riches in the land of the Incas. Incas’ riches and innocence were exploited and was shipped to their home country for the first time by Pizzaro (similar to Vasco DaGama’s ’discovery’ of India). The Incas never for centuries knew the existence of wheel. They built their civilization site as we it see today by commuting to places on foot, even built the renowned Machu Pichu by travelling tough paths and steep ranges on foot! Their Engineering skills were simply amazing to exist in that era! How brilliant! How innovative to cultivate with Terrace farming! And sheer hard-work to do so even without iron/alloyed tools for digging up the steps to form terraces, without any contact with the outside world! (They mostly used sharpened wooden ends). Added to that, no wheels to transport themselves or materials! Wheel is the best invention and fire - the best discovery in the history of mankind till date if you ask me. Gold was the main material in use – for ornamental purpose; the mummies were fitted with gold sheets molded to form Masks. The Spanish described the land to be a land of riches, which was the sole motivation for the conquest of the Incas. The Spanish invasion and the capture of the Inca King, Atahualpa (who was considered to be a descendent of the Sun – their god, by its subjects (Inca civilians)) led to the civilians’ and the administration’s exploitation, who were not well–advanced in war technology when compared to the Spanish. Thousands who rebelled against Spanish’s forced conversion to Christianity were killed. All this in turn led to the destruction of a great civilization. The killings go on either in the name of religion or for land. The Kalinga war by Ashoka and the Mughals‘ exploitation are more examples for land. Europe’s domination and formation of colonies is another. Each era has had its set of sources and elements which caused evitable killings. Ours is terrorism.

Back to Kasab’s deeds - It is a sin which can gain no redemption ever - yes. Barging into the political boundary of another country and showering bullets on the unaware, innocent and its least expecting natives is no doubt brutal. We all live in tomorrow’s History. What we witness today will be probably read, analyzed and even blogged by the next generation (like I am doing now) to be history. All these have been happening since the time civilizations across the world took birth – only called by different names. A couple of months ago, there was a cover page article on the miseries and the circumstances that people who form terrorists and their family are surrounded in. As a friend of mine always says – Everyone is a product of his environment. Kasab would definitely not be the same had he been brought up in a conservative South Indian family of the same caste as his or a nomad in the Austrian ranges! The environment and inculcation of values, urge to earn money to look after an over-flowing family, poverty, resilience to other’s ideas and fickle-minded approach all could possibly be the reasons. . If you had asked me a couple of days after 26/11, I would be fuming and probably said he deserves to be shot in the head - immediately! But now, I actually feel a little sad for the guy. He is a person with no formal education. No knowledge of the outside world during his upbringing. Somewhere in his hometown, his mother may be awaiting his return, like a Kashmiri mother awaits her son, with no clue on his terrorist links and whereabouts (not even if he is dead or alive). A terrorist’s wife will not even know if her husband is alive or dead. The article mentioned a woman who married for the second time after her husband (alleged terrorist) did not return, with much opposition from her first in-law’s family. It also illustrated a dozen more women who are still awaiting the return of their better-half and that their husband’s memories are enough to emotionally spend this life. Small children are given heavy guns, forced into terrorism and trained. How well is a small child of 10 or 11 years old, without (or even with) schooling, supposed to judge what is right and what is not! The root cause is elsewhere. The master-minds behind all these are elsewhere – those people have all the education necessary and beyond. They may be the known terrorist associations or the governments themselves! (The 9/11 was claimed to be a conspiracy by the US government itself). Matters and people to be revealed will not be revealed, because of the power vested in their hands. Kasab and his associates formed only a tool and means of achieving what was to be achieved by a much elated terrorist or terror-supporting body’s conspiracy. Like Morgan Freeman tells in The Shawshank Redemption – “The guy who committed the crime then, was a stupid boy, who didn’t know what the outside world was..But, there is no way this old man can go explain that boy..the ways of the world”. May be Kasab is feeling the same or would probably feel the same if left to grow old. But, in vain. What has been done, cannot be undone.