The Mirage of Justice

“Lets be fair it should be a win win situation, your approach should be unbiased, you should keep that compassion ,passion & integrity high up there ” …. all this means we just be just , not biased, not parochial in our approach.

Justice means fairness , being fair means not being partial to some , preferential to other & step motherly treatment to the neglected. When you are in a car , a beggar comes on the signal & begs in front of you ” Bhaiya, aage jau ” is what say — we take his condition to be deplorable , ours to be privileged , we consider him to be just one of the many beggars — who wants to loot us presumably , a transgender is laughed off & made fun , we feel that these people dont want to work & eat for free ?? Let alone the person sitting in the car would still not have anything of his own — just living on the earning of his parents .. What is the Fundamental difference ??? just ACCIDENT of BIRTH … is the only difference that separates the two …

We take this situation for granted, our attitude is Apathetic, we don’t care & forget the very next moment, Our senses are immobile & we are not touched by his deplorable situation, we are not empathetic, let alone being compassionate. The huge cleavages in the society , where handful are privileged & large section deprived, where some enjoy the benefits, other live in deplorable , inhuman situations . Where are focus is on the outcomes that one achieves in life, MONEY becomes our Parameter of difference, SUCCESS is what counts … in short we are just bothered about the RACE – in fact just the winner of the race– … we dont care whether all the participants had proper kit, where all of them wearing sports shoes ?? or were some running with naked legs ?? all of them had proper built ?? did some of them not have money for a proper diet ?? some gained their physique by hitting the Gym,while others through manual labour ?? or were some handicapped among them ?? did they even have a common starting point ?? — The privileged today feel its their birth right to be privileged & others are born to be poor– the line of difference is very thin ..

We are some busy in our daily routine .. we have no time to think about these mundane things, ” Bhai jo hai vo hai , kya kar sakte hai ?? ” — JOHN RAWLS — an liberal egalitarian thinker — looked at JUSTICE to be the highest of all values — he kept it even over liberty & equality as a value. The Aim was to create perfectly just system. He wanted to give Equality of Opportunity to all, where the deprived have equal opportunity & compete with the privileged.

“ JUST or UNJUST are not just NATURAL facts — what is Just or UNJUST — depends on the way the systems of the world — treats them “ — Hence being poor, born in a rich family , being from the underprivileged sections , or even born with a golden spoon may be natural facts at that point of time — But it depends on the way the Society treats this natural injustice — Gives them equal opportunity, equal resources , identifies their dignity & what we call as INVIOLABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS — which means the rightness of a human being , dignity of a person should not be suppressed for the Collective good of the society .. “individuals position should be pivotal ” —- HOW CAN THIS BE DONE ??? — why are things unfair at the first instance ??

Human beings are complex species — they have tendency to both cooperate & conflict — when these individuals who lack qualities like empathy , integrity & compassion — are made in charge of a position of Authority , when they are given discretion — they take decisions that would benefit themselves the best , they are not in a position to understand what the needy is feeling, they are unable to keep themselves in his place. For instance RESERVATION in INDIA — is it GOOD or BAD ?? — it depends on which side one is ?? is one a VICTIM or a BENEFICIARY ?? taking decisions on immediate

gratifications ?? so have we lost our RATIONALITY as INDIVIDUALS ?? — we should go behind the ” VEIL OF IGNORANCE “ — according to Rawls — that means a person taking decision should know nothing about the particular talents, abilities, tastes, social class, and positions they will have within a social order. When such parties are selecting the principles for distribution of rights, positions, and resources in the society in which they will live, this “veil of ignorance” prevents them from knowing who will receive a given distribution of rights, positions, and resources in that society– he should focus on the beneficiaries — he used use his RATIONALITY & analyze what is best suited for the society … is this quality present today ?? off course not ...

Is giving Equality of Opportunity enough ?? — for example a underprivileged son of a bonded labor is allowed to sit for a prestigious exam with a son of a doctor, or a civil servant or an actor … Can both compete ?? should not their backgrounds be considered ?? is the starting point same for both ?? we should thus Compensate Individuals for their “BRUTE LUCK ” — here is where AFFIRMATIVE ACTION comes in , or giving extra advantages or privileges — “individuals should not be blamed for the decisions they take in Unchosen circumstances “…….

POLICY MAKING — especially in INDIA needs to go a long way — policy makers should develop the basic Emotional Intelligence , they should have the Compassion , Empathy because for persons in discretion — it is just another case , but for person in need it is their LIFE… we should keep ourselves in their places & make decisions — the privileged should value their position in LIFE & live each day with GRATITUDE .. we have a along way to go before we establish a Just society, free of inequalities, free of bias ness — The solution cannot be just giving equal opportunities , but making the Starting point same , by Developing EQUAL CAPABILITIES — so next time we see a underprivileged, we should not take things for granted , rather fill ourselves with Gratitude, be modest & try our level best to change the STATUS QUO………..

It is said that with respect to most of the social evils in India – more prominently Casteism and with respect to Reservation, our opinions in Public and Private life are different.With the above write up, I just want you to think pause for a second and think from the other side (for beneficiaries and victims both ) – I am in no way supporting the loopholes, forgery, people misusing it and some others suffering – in fact the entire idea is to promote BOLD DEBATE on the topic, all though Ram Chandra Guha states that ,”The Debate on Reservation in India – Generates more Heat than Light ” – still an attempt for Societal Peace is worth giving a try ………………..

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form without the consent of the author will be legally scrutinized

Mohalla Clinics in Delhi and psychological analysis of the idea

INTRODUCTION

 

According to a Report by KPMG and FICCI, India Spends about 4.2% of its GDP on Healthcare, out of which just about 1% is contributed by the Public Sector. In other words about  only about 33% of the total Healthcare Expenditure in India in from the Public Sector, while rest 66% is in the form of Out of Pocket Expenditure of an common Indian. It is shocking to see that while the World Average spending on Healthcare is 6% of a country’s GDP, India is spending abysmal 1.28% of its GDP on Healthcare. According to LANCET report- Healthcare in India is the poorest among the SAARC countries as well, even countries like Afghanistan spend 8.2%, Maldives spend 13.7%, while even a smaller country like Nepal spends 5.8% on Healthcare.

A country like India spending so less on Healthcare is a clear indication of misplaced priorities by the Government, which would eventually lead to wasting our Demographic Dividend and taking it to a level of Demographic Disaster. To take effective advantage of this demographic dividend, it is important to ensure that the people in the country are provided with accessible , affordable, equitable and quality healthcare, to take care of their basic demands and help them focus on enriching their experience of life.

 

Existential issues in healthcare in India

Indian’s healthcare system represents  a spectrum of contrasting landscapes. At one end we have these five star and seven star hospitals which are delivering high tech medical care to rich class mostly of the urban areas. Whereas there are outposts in the “other India” which is trying to desperately trying to live up to their identity of health sub centres. With globalisation, increasing income inequalities, with a section of the population remaining marginalised – these contrasts are expected to rise in the coming times.

There are multi-faceted challenges in delivering healthcare to everyone. The term “everyone” in our

• Awareness – Due to low levels of Educational levels, poor functional literacy, low priority given to healthcare in the education system, cultural bias play important role in people knowing very less about the essentials of healthcare.

          A study in Haryana found that only 11.3% of the adolescent girls studied knew correctly about key reproductive healthcare issues, also another review article in geriatric morbidity found that 20.3 % of the participants were aware of the common causes of prevalent illness and their prevention.

• Access – It is important to make sure that medical facility is available in close proximity of every individual. Physical reach is one of the most important determinant of access . Along with the physical access what is important is that , the quality of the healthcare is also ensured.
• Absence of Human power in healthcare –  For effective healthcare provision in India, what is most important aspect is that we have adequate, efficient and skilful. A study of 2011 estimated that only roughly 20 health workers constitute per 10000 population. Allopathic doctors comprise of 30% of the workforce, nurses and midwives about 30%, pharmacists about 11%, AYUSH practitioners about 9%. Private sector provides majority of the healthcare services in India. It has been difficult so far to harness the private services to provide public healthcare.
• Affordability – The cost of the healthcare is an important aspect of healthcare services at the universal level. India is a country having comparatively low levels of per capita income. The healthcare services being costly has the potential to cause impoverishment to the family.  The issue in India is that the private sector is considered to provide quality healthcare but it is costly and the public sector is affordable but it is perceived to be unreliable, of indifferent quality and not the first choice.

 

The Health Facilities in Delhi

Delhi, the capital city of India which is also a city-state recorded a population of 1.68 crore (16.8 million) in the 2011 census. With a geographical spread of 1483 sq.km, Delhi has population density of 11,297 per sq.km. It is to be noted that 97.5 % of Delhi’s population lives in urban agglomeration and 11% of it lives in slums. As of March 31^st 2014, there were 95 hospitals, 973 nursing homes and 27 special clinics. In addition, 15 government run medical colleges in allopathic system. The Government of Delhi run health facilities examine about 3.35 crore outpatients and treat about 6 lac hospitalised patients every year. The Government of Delhi owns about 1/3^rd to 1/4^th of the total healthcare facilities in Delhi

 

Mohalla Clinics : the Origin of the idea

 

The concept of Mohalla clinics partially originated from the traditional idea and practise of Mohalla Medical units (MMU) or Mobile vans. These MMU’s used to provide health services in underserved areas bringing doctors and other staff along with medicines and supplies. The response was overwhelming to these vans and the communities demanded more of these vans. However later it was realised that the services through MMU was unpredictable and depended on vehicles, doctors, road conditions also the recruitment of staff was a matter of concern . It was suggested to the minister of health that  a more sustainable solution is taken into consideration

The idea of Mohalla clinics came up with expectations that –

• More sustainable solution, where services are based in the community,
• People know where to go for services
• There is component of assurance of availability of providers, medicines and service package
• There is sufficient community linkage and engagement.

 

 

Bounded rationality and decision making

 

Human being though considered to be rational, takes his/her decisions in the context of various conditionalities. The decision making depends on various contextual factors, time available and cognitive limitations. Getting the right healthcare can also be seen in the similar light.

 

What affects  decision making while choosing healthcare service ?

 

Class

People belong to different levels of class in an economy. There is a huge disparity in class based healthcare services that people take. While the well off may choose to go to the big branded hospitals, which have the best possible doctors but charge high. The poor on the other hand  have a hindsight bias of not being able to afford the healthcare that people on a different class levels do afford.

Perceptions of Self Ability & Contextual constraints

 

The perceptions about estimated cost of healthcare in a particular hospital, spending potentials of a person, priorities based on family responsibilities, low per capital income, professional commitments, debt traps are the factors that cause people to keep healthcare at a backseat. Especially, this happens if the cost is on preventive healthcare that curative.

 

Time Available

 

The dilemma that is often faced by people is time vs money. Most of the decisions often compel an individual to sacrifice one of the above. If the rich is short of time and wants to get himself treated, he has to pay more to get quick redressal for his issue. The poor on the other side due to his hindsight bias & perception of self-ability knows that he cannot afford high tech healthcare solutions in good hospitals, he has the option of going to government hospitals and getting himself treated for free or at reduced cost. However, time is an constraint for the poor as well. For the poor taking time off and going to get himself treated is double burden  as he has to pay for his travel, he has to visit multiple times without service guarantee- this directly means that he/she cannot go to work and his losing his wages in the process given the unorganised sector in the country. Also along with losing his wages he has to pay for whatever expenses he/she has to counter. The resource dilemma is overpowered by urgent needs of the day and immediate responsibilities, daily fire fighting and thus healthcare is not put in priority and takes a back seat.

 

Cognitive limitations of Actors

 

The first factor mentioned in the existential issues in healthcare mentioned above was- awareness. The awareness about where to go for which ailment is very low in India. It is seen that due to lack of primary healthcare -people tend to go to bigger hospitals even for very small ailments like common cough and cold, mild fever etc. This causes overcrowding of big hospitals, it indirectly causes a huge gap in a huge gap in demand and supply of effective healthcare facilities. Now, the experience causes regression fallacy in individuals, wherein next time when then encounter an ailment the mental accounting  in their mind makes then not to go to the hospitals and avoid the situation altogether.

 

Taking Satisfying decisions  (Mental construction )

 

The proverb to “Dig a well when one is thirsty” fits aptly while explaining why people go for curative healthcare then preventive healthcare. People avoid visiting a doctor in early stages of ailment due various limitations stated above. When the discomfort increases, they do visit a doctor as they are compelled to when it starts affecting their daily routine. The psychological satisfaction that they have visited a doctor becomes important for an individual over the point of the appropriate time of visiting a doctor. One does not involve in the process of self-reflection and instead keeps consoling ones self that he/she visited a doctor creating mental construction.

 

 

 

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF MOHALLA CLINICS

 

 

The idea: To provide free healthcare services through a health facility within a walking distance (around 2-3 km radius or 10-15 min walking), open for at least 4-6 h of every working day, assured availability of identified basic health services, a medicines, and diagnostic tests. Estimated 80%- 90% of health problems are likely to be treated at this level reducing the numbers of patients in need for referral

 

 

Population targeted: Underserved, migrants, Jhuggi Jhopri colony; each clinic aims to serve approximately 10,000-15,000 population

 

Staffing: At least one qualified medical doctor, auxiliary nurse midwife, a pharmacist, and support staff as needed

 

Service provision: An assured package of health services include outpatient consultations, basic first aid services, maternal and child health services including immunization, antenatal and postnatal services, family planning, counselling, and referral to next level of facilities for specialized treatment.

These clinics aim to implement national health programs as well

Specialist and referral services and continuum of care: Specialists proposed to be available on weekly basic (pediatrician, gynecologist, and ophthalmologist). A system of referral through a tiered approach to health facilities been proposed (though yet to be made fully functional)

 

Medicines and diagnostics: Sufficient supplies of medicines and diagnostics, free of cost to the people availing these facilities, from an approved list of 108 medicines and provision of >200 diagnostic tests

 

Location: Settings and localities of migrant and poor population lives and demarcated areas called slums and Jhuggi Jhopri colony, where such underserved population lives. First such clinic was established in North‑West Delhi in Jhuggi Jhopri colony and it was situated around 400 m walking

distance from the main road, in the center of Jhuggi Jhopri settlement. The locations are decided with inputs from local community/Resident Welfare Associations (RWA)/survey by planning branch/verification of sites by team of health personnel.

 

Physical infrastructure and accessibility: Proposed to be housed in two to three rooms. The rooms could be either made of prefabricated material (called portacabin) or in private houses with similar amenities. Of the rooms, one to be assigned to a doctor and for medical examination,

sufficient enough to maintain privacy. The other or second room is used for laboratory functions, dispensing medicines, and the waiting seat for next patient to be seen by doctor. If there is a third room available, it could be used as waiting room; else the open space covered through a roof should be as waiting area. The provision of drinking water dispenser and a washroom attached to these facilities. There has to be provision of air‑conditioning and a television with cable connection is part of the design. These clinics to be located in a way to ensure easy accessibility by beneficiaries, with an all‑weather road, accessible by an ambulance, and an open area.

 

Financing: The construction cost of each clinic was estimated nearly 20 lakh Indian rupee (or US $30,000). (However, till December 2016, majority of

clinics were being operated in rented accommodations.) Reportedly, no analysis was done on estimating the operational cost of these clinics.

 

Use of information technology: A token vending machine (similar to what one experience in a bank branch) for patient queuing; computer‑based record maintenance for each of the patient; and use of tablets/software programs for prescription writing/data compilation and technology‑based

tablets are used for conducting a number of laboratory tests.

 

Leadership and governance: Initiative led by the Minister of Health and other Senior Government officials; being implemented through specially enacted agency called Delhi Healthcare Corporation, led by Principal Secretary (health), the top health bureaucrat in the state.

 

Private sector engagement: The private doctors have been recruited to run these clinics at “fee for service” basis at the rate of Rs. 30 per patient as consultation charges. If a helper is positioned, an additional Rs. 10 per patient is paid. The fully ready chamber is made available to these doctors who

are empanelled to manage them in 4-6 h shifts as an outpatient clinic. This is small but major policy step as most of the time, by public sector officials private doctors are seen with complete distrust and with profit motive. That notion could only be dispelled with sustained engagement between two

sectors through top level political leadership.

 

Timing and working days: Minimum clinic time of 4 h which can go up to 6 h. These are expected to be open in morning; however, time of clinic can  be adjusted to patient needs and a few run in evening as well. Open six days a week excluding public holidays.

Other features: A proposed strong and effective referral linkage with attention on continuity of care; financial protection (by free services); reduced cost

of care by higher attention and investment on healthcare, ambulance and transport services

 

Psychological Benefits of the Concept

 

Converting Deliberative Thinking into Intuitive thinking

 

There are two modes of thinking ‘Intuitive’ and ‘Deliberative’ (Kahneman,2003). While deliberative thinking is based on careful assessment and deliberative decision making, intuitive on the other  hand  is based on fast decisions based on automatic processing. It is said that “Humans are Cognitive Misers” , therefore if encountered by an ailment and there are many choices available in the private sector and when one does not know which of the clinics is trust worthy and one is vulnerable of being gullible –  it increases the cognitive load on oneself and it leads to resistance to change and avoiding the situation all together. To avoid the cognitive load one gets subjected to status quo bias, wherein one thinks that it is better to avoid going to the doctor all together as one has to face the following questions of deliberative thinking –

1. Which Doctor to choose ?
2. Should it be a specialist or a general practitioner ?
3. Which branch of medicine should the Doctor belong to ?
4. How does one reach the hospital ? What mode of transport to take ?
5. Should one take leave from his/her workplace and let go the monetary benefits ?
6. Is the ailment more important that other immediate responsibilities at hand ?
7. How much would the Doctor charge ?
8. What is the guarantee of getting good health service even after spending more ?

 

These questions show that it involves a huge amount of mental accounting and deliberative thinking. Now, as policy makers it should be our job to make sure that healthcare services take a form of intuitive thinking and not deliberative thinking so that the status qio bias is avoided and one can take easy decisions, with low cognitive load and use heuristics. But, at the same time it is important that the decision does not prove to be a hasty decision when taken using heuristics and is as good as well thought decision. This is where the concept of Mohalla Clinics is important. As the clinics are supposed to be located in the proximity of 10-15 mins and also that it provides free services with authorised doctor – one does not have to think a lot before going to the clinic.

Creating Foot in the Door

 

Now due to the concept of Mohalla Clinics, which potentially provide affordable, accessible and quality healthcare services and also at the same time reduce your cognitive load, one has more probability to use the services of Mohalla clinics considering the Prospect Theory wherein humans tend to maximise benefits and minimise losses. The close proximity and being free of cost causes the mental accounting to tilt in a way that individual that at least wish to try these medical services.

Now, from that state’s point of view it is a success as it would’ve managed to bring an individual to the hospital. This is the first step of curative healthcare analysis. The Doctor can further analyse the ailment and if something is serious he can advise the patient to visit a Government Hospital and it can thus be lifesaving also in  certain cases.

 

Principle of Authority of Social Influence

 

Authority is one important factor of the 6 factors of Social Influence ( Cialdini, 2001). It is important that understand people tend to believe and be persuaded by “credible, knowledgeable experts”. The Doctors of these Mohalla clinics are experts and senior doctors with decent experience. The merit of the Doctors and their expertise is expected to persuade the patient to follow the advice that the doctor is giving him.

 

Creating Echo chambers

 

The location of the Mohalla clinics is most of the times located in a community. It can be located in  a locality or a jhuggi jhopri. The main obstacle is gaining trust. Now, through the foot in the door and others ways of intervention if once the trust is developed, it will help the people in the locality to get rid of their confirmation biases, previous stereotypes and prejudices. It will then create a Echo chamber of Positivity in the community due to good experiences that people in the community have had. This will lead to developing domino effect in the community.

 

Countering the Stereotypes & Creating a new schema

 

Good experiences by people, or listening to others experiences and knowing the benefits of the service would create a New Schema, i. e – New pieces of information and knowledge and get stored in the mind. It will orient new cognitive frameworks  and help to create long lasting positive effects on our minds.

 

Mere Ownership Effect

 

The Mohalla Clinics of Delhi are created by the Initiative by the Minister of Health and it is  being implemented through an agency which is specially enacted for this cause called Delhi Healthcare Corporation which would be led by Principal Secretary (health and  the top health bureaucrat in the state. This creates a ownership effect as this is a pet project of the Government and the societal goals, satisfaction and positive perception has direct political impact on the people who have designed the model ( This is very important from the political economy perspective ) . This would then create

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

The Government of Delhi has allocated about 12.47 % of its Budget expenditure on healthcare. It has definitely been  most of the high priorities of the Government. The concept of ‘Mohalla Clinics”  was a novel idea. It has the potential to reform primary healthcare in India and solve many issues related to access, affordability, equity and quality of healthcare in India.  The success of the concept of Mohalla Clinics can be seen on two proofs, first that a number of Indian states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh and few municipal corporations like Pune have shown interest in studying and potentially replicating these clinics and it is seen that there is high demand of the services from these clinics. The clinics are delivering assured health services to 70 odd patients every day and they are operating for 6 days a week. Also, one most important factor is that these clinics have brought health on the political spectrum of Indian politics.

The psychological aspect that is associated with the primary healthcare in the country is also focused well by the concept of Mohalla Clinics. The clinics help to counter the hesitancy by most of the people to take the benefits of primary healthcare and alter the status quo. It can potentially lead to heal most of the common ailments at the local level itself and thus reduce the burden on the bigger hospitals. The clinics can revolutionise healthcare in India if it brings in a demand from most states of India, prompts the parties in India to make health a topic in the elections and influence election outcomes. These steps can be in the right direction given the context of Universal Health Coverage schemes in India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Lahariya, Chandrakant. (2017). Mohalla Clinics of Delhi, India: Could these become platform to strengthen primary healthcare?. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 6. 1. 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_29_17.

 

De M, Taraphdar P, Paul S, Halder A. Awareness of breast feeding among mothers attending antenatal OPD of NRS medical college. IOSR J Dent Med Sci. 2016;15:3–8.

Pandey D, Sardana P, Saxena A, Dogra L, Coondoo A, Kamath A, et al. Awareness and attitude towards breastfeeding among two generations of Indian women: A comparative study. PLoS One. 2015;10:

 

Kasthuri, Arvind. “Challenges to Healthcare in India – The Five A’s.” Indian Journal of Community Medicine : Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine 43, no. 3 (2018): 141–43. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_194_18.

 

PRSIndia. “Delhi Budget Analysis 2019-20,” March 5, 2019. https://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/budgets/delhi-budget-analysis-2019-20.

 

 

Psychological Analysis of Mental Health Crisis in India

 

Authored by Ashima Mahajan

Mental health constitutes an indispensable part of health. It is the level of
psychological well-being or an absence of mental illness. From the positive psychology
perspective, mental health includes individual's ability to live freely without any undue stress or worries and to have a healthy balance between work and home, which consequently will help achieve psychosomatic resilience.
Issues related to mental health might arise due to myriad causes including stress,
tension, loneliness, depression, anxiety, death of a close person, suicidal tendencies, grief, addiction, mood fluctuations as well as learning disabilities. Mental health illnesses can be better managed through various treatments like therapy, counselling sessions and medication and by expert treatment and guidance involving therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners or physicians.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental illness affects closely
50% of the world’s population. Beyond these staggering numbers, it is important to
understand that there lies a lacuna in how mental health is dealt with in our country. There exists a wide institutional gap in our country whereby patients do not receive treatment and care on time mainly because of lack of awareness, the social stigma associated with it, lack of trained professionals, inadequate funding and low funds advocated in the healthcare budget.
Merely framing policies is not the only solution and instead, proper awareness needs to be built along with bringing behavioural change. Further, the problem aggravates with very low spending in health budget by both the union and state government.
Multiple aspects including social, psychological and biological factors determine the
level of mental health of a person at any point in time. A person may experience a poor state of mental health because of stressful work conditions, social exclusion, rapid social change, gender discrimination, unhealthy lifestyle and physical deformities.
In today’s times, people are so conscious and aware of their physical health. They
know what diets to follow, what exercise workout routines to carry out and monitor every aspect of their health using state-of-the-art fitness bands. But this awareness is lacking when
it comes to mental health. It’s a battle in itself to educate people about mental well-being. In our country, the discovery of mental illness is often followed by denial and hesitation to seek help. Despite its enormous social burden, mental health remains a taboo subject that is susceptible to age-old stigmas, prejudices, suffering, discrimination and fears.
To fight mental illness, status quo bias cannot be maintained. Instead, we need to
break psychological inertia and come out of the fear of transparency. It is only when the
victims and their family accept the consequences of the illness can they collectively fight this malady. It can also be noted that mental illness or disorder is not battled alone by the victim.

But his family also suffers from this tragedy equally. The sentiments and emotions that go behind the fighting this cause is immense and cannot be ignored.
It is important for everyone to get involved to collectively fight mental illness and
disorder. Workshops and programs in schools, colleges, corporates and communities can help foster a movement for mental health. We must all learn to identify and red-flag signs of mental health concerns in ourselves and in others. A partnership between psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, psychologists, anthropologists, NGOs and local volunteers, that together constitute mental health workforce, contribute vitally in fostering mental health awareness and making mental health services accessible to the masses.
Supporting individuals to talk openly and without inhibitions about their mental
health issues is the crucial first step. Family and friends helping the individuals seek
professional help is the next step. At times, if we see red-flags of mental health issues in
someone close to us, we must think of it as our responsibility to affect an intervention with the help of others. The internet and social media have a huge role to play as well. They have the power to break taboos and alleviate stigma. Online apps and support groups can put those who are suffering in touch with those who can help or are facing similar concerns. Those who have recovered from mental illnesses can share their stories via the social media to inspire
others, across barriers of language, borders and cultures. A mental health campaign on social media is the fastest way to reach out to people. And as our change-makers, our youth have to lead the way in changing mindsets.
To ensure a healthy peace of mind and a stable mindset an environment needs to be
created that respects and protects basic civil, social, political, cultural, psychological and
economic rights. Without guaranteeing and ensuring these rights, it will be difficult to
maintain a high degree of stable mental and emotional health. In this case, awareness needs to be built on various kind of mental health disorders. Additionally, to address the issue from a wholesome perspective, identification, care and protection of mental health is necessary.
The government should frame National mental health policies that focus on both
tackling mental disorders and treating psychological strains that hamper development.
Thereafter, mental health promotion should be mainstreamed into governmental and non- governmental policies and schemes. To provide a comprehensive overview it is essential that in addition to the health sector, other spheres should be included like the education, labour, justice, transport, environment, housing, and welfare sectors.
Mental health problems can be tackled by incorporating them into the primary health
care setup. This involves counselling at primary levels for early detection. There is a shortage of mental healthcare workers in India. A community-based solution inspired by Asha workers model can be adapted to serve the mentally ill population efficiently. In this regard to widening the mental workforce in India, more people should be trained that will not only increase employment opportunities but also help to counter the increasing prevalence of mental disorders.

Nudges could be used to alter people’s choice architecture. This will influence their
behaviour and could prevent major depressive disorders. These nudges can provide a
complimentary and more cost-effective strategy that preventive approaches. Nudges use the concepts of the present bias, bandwagon effect, framing, salience hypothesis and the status quo bias to effectively create an impact. They present strategies to promote healthier behaviours among individuals at high risk of developing depressive disorders.
Mental health is a serious issue that needs to be tackled at the earliest to ensure India’s
demographic dividend is healthy and can contribute effectively to the country’s growth.
Progressive governmental policies based on an evidence-based approach, engaged media, vibrant educational system, responsive industry, utilization of newer technologies and creative crowd-sourcing and engaged NGOs might together collectively work to dispel the blight of mental illness. Therefore, this growing problem can be solved by a collective intervention.

Kashmir children walking on eggshells in Armed conflict

– Authored by Suriya Ansari

Introduction:

With the recent scrapping of Article 370, unrest has been suppressed with communication blackout by imposing curfew and deploying army additional forces which is already one of the most militarized states in the world. Post-independence three generations of Kashmiris have undergone the trauma that has come with AFSPA, geopolitics and instability of political consensus. Development has taken a back seat with constant curfews which has affected shutting down of schools and universities and daily life coming to a standstill. As Dreze says armed conflict affects material and psychological wellbeing of individuals  ‘entitlement failures, health crises, physical violence, forced displacement and related processes’.He argues that “ it also undermines future development prospects by disrupting or destroying the productive infrastructure, public services, settlement patterns, environmental resources, social capital and the institutions of governance” (Dreze, 2000, p.1180).

 

As a policymaker, my focus is on what are the vulnerable risks and resilience necessary for children and youth affected by armed conflict narrative. With a lack of interventions and facilities in dealing or equipping even adults to seek mental health. Children and teens have been exposed to the everydayness of conflict as the everyday norm and imbibing the context as a part of life. The rise of disappearances of teens and children taking up arms to become child soldiers has not been a new instance, with adults resuming normal life post militancy. Trauma due to armed conflict should be viewed as a dynamic process of priming because of adjustment in psychological resilience to prolonged trauma and mental health rather than stereotyping it as a personal trait. For this, the context is necessary even within the Kashmir conflict narrative of how individuals have experienced within their bounded rationality and how actors such as militants, peer groups, armed forces and families influence certain behaviour of children taking arms.

 

Social and Ecological Context:

Modern armed wars often rupture the fabric of life that supports healthy child development. Conflicts suspend families and extended social networks, interrupt usual systems and often feed deep ethnic and political divides.

Source: The social ecological model of risk and protection for children affected by armed conflict

 

As Bronfenbrenner (1979) explains the ecological model of child development. He analyses the relationships of a different environment of how a child interacts with different subsystems. The Microsystem is where the child has the most touchpoint with family and school shaping his/her upbringing. The Mesosystems involves the interaction of extended social network in his/her neighbourhood and family circle. The Exosystem involves societal structure which is often extensions of mesosystems both formal and informal channels through which information is received that builds the narrative for the child. The exosystem may include cultural beliefs, political situations, economic conditions which overlaps how these narratives seep in through these structures to where the child interacts the most. The ability of parents, caregivers and children to shape interactions is dependent on what place and priority do the actors play in the child’s development.

 

Bounded rationality framed by Individuals:

Children try to frame narratives through their peers and older teens within the neighbourhood and school. Individuals growing piece this information from ongoing stone-pelting, adult conversations with armed men patrolling neighbourhood. While soldiers have been provided positive framing that they protect citizens. Children going to school comes across conflicting narrative during a street protest and pellet showers. While mostly caregivers keep a close gauge on avoiding children chanting slogans on Azadi to avoid children going into the menace. The other side of the truth is also that children adjust the discomfort as an everyday norm while going to school. Children tend to show a buffer in absorbing the shocks of trauma due to sense of empathy,shared experience that makes an individual less vulnerable as opposed to a group,a community connection of growth and trust in each other, a sense of anchoring connection with spirituality which comes with religion.

 

Religion plays the first stepping stones through familial ties through which a child learns to associate with cultural identity. They help children to make sense and trauma they survive. Supportive adults, neighbourhood networks and mentors within the community help in building resilience against trauma.

 

Influence of Microsystem on children :

 

Children who could make sense of conflict setup through their fathers and mothers felt a sense of attachment to understand and communicate frightful situations. The process of interpretation and reassurance by caregivers plays an important role to create a sense of blanket comfort to survive such conflicts. It is interesting to see that adults who have been a part of militancy rise have made efforts that their children study away from the valley and receive education in Jammu and outside J&K. When they become teens and come back to valley most do notice aggressive behaviours and bouts of depression to piece the narratives to make sense from the outside valley and within the valley.Children of families associated with displaced siblings and adults faces issues with internalising emotional and behavioural problems.

 

Exposure to community violence where stone-pelting was highly prevalent showed major impact on children.Children showing high degree of intrusive thinking shows symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were likely to show anxiety ,depression and emotional withdrawal often falling to patterns of substance abuse if they come across teenagers coming across such behavioural patterns.

 

Parent’s Mental health :

The loss of revenue from tourism due to the two-decade-long armed conflict also added in the impoverishment of people in the valley. Thus resulting in the overall backwardness of the valley and particularly of those families who are the victims of the two-decade-long conflict in Kashmir.The impoverished families have a direct impact on their children in a number of ways such as compelling young kids to work, at the expense of their schooling, under-nourishment and malnourished. Dar and Khaki (2012) noted, “The macro figures at the state level reflect this dismal picture of high child labour in the state. The state has seen an increase of 149% from 2003 to 2011 in child labour.While as the comparative figures for the whole of India show that there were 1,07,53,985 child labourers in 1971 and this increased to 1,26,66,377 in 2001, an increase of just 17.7 % (RGI, 1971 and 2001 in NCPCR, N.D)”^[1].

 

A range of activities including construction work, tea stalls, mechanic shops,transport industry and carpet industry has employed children as cheap labour (Dar and Khaki, 2012). Bhat and Rather (2009) also found poverty was one of the reasons for engagements of children in handicrafts in Kashmir. Most of them were out of schools, and almost two-third of children (69%) were girls. The reports have also shown a high exploitation of such children. Gani and Shah (1998) found that most of the children engaged in the carpet industry belonged to the poor and vulnerable families.

 

Parents and family network act as two roles either they act as a protective shield or complicate child’s management when they themselves handle it poorly. Children’s mental health has often been associated with maternal mental health. PTSD of a child is strongly linked with the mother’s symptoms of showing signs of PTSD or prolonged depression. The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) estimates more than 8,000 have disappeared since 1989 (APDP, 2009; IPTK and APDP, 2015). Their widows and orphan children are referred to as ‘half widows’ and ‘half-orphans’.

 

Child care institutions and Schools:

Educational institutions played important role in managing the child’s need and importance of school helps in “mitigating the needs of child trauma” fostering learning and increasing the scope of the framing to help in better choice architecture.Opportunities to return back to schools helps to instill hope and channelise ways to detect symptoms of behaviours on the early onset.Literacy rates has been slower as enrollments have been severly affected with constant shutdowns during curfew. School infrastructures have been severly damaged ,reducing availability of human resources,disruption in transportation and demotivated teachers have disempowered schools to function effectively.

 

What has resulted is absenteeism , lack of retention of students reduction in school days and difficulties in commuting that has resulted most of the parents to send children outside valley for education. The question still does not solve in the inability to improve the quality of School in the valley. MSF in their survey found that school related problem scored highly among children with 15.5% being unable to attend school and 16.3 % having problems in studying (MSF, 2016).

 

Macrosystem : The cultural,historical and political context of war

 

Recently 146 Juveniles were recently detained between August 5 and Septemeber 23 for “ in conflict with law”. The youngest of them was nine year old. They were release either on same or after a brief period just before Eid. A total of 46 juveniles were detained in observation homes in Srinagar and Jannu since August 5^[2].

 

The Amnesty International reports states ‘ A Lawless Law: Detention under the Public Safety Act’ 35 highlighted ,  “In practice, the J&K state authorities appear to treat boys above the age of 16 as adults and detain them without trial under the PSA and ordinary criminal law, holding them in regular prisons along with adult prisoners. Amnesty International is aware of a number of cases of children detained during demonstrations in which stones were thrown” (Amnesty International, 2011).

 

Macrosystem dynamics of political context helps to draw relations from the historical context and religious Jihad connotation leading to disparate voices and support creating current instability.The Separatist movement and beliefs perpetuated due to lack of common consensus disrupting the state machinery which led development to climb in the lowest priority.Political ideologies, cultural context ,religious tensions between the Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits during the exodus have historically percipitated which has underlined the political agenda and manifestos influencing the alienation of Kashmir community in shorud of silence.

 

What affects now is how will the new generation rise from the shattered and fractured governance? The uprising within valley is just a matter of a ticking bomb that will shape the lives of children and youth in the midst of hopelessness and at the edge of being cornered by Centre with disgrace as the whole country rejoiced with the scrapping of Article 370.

 

I will conclude with the final poem of Makhdoom Mohiuddin

 

Qaid -Incarceration

 

Incarceration but not the period of incarceration

Oppression but not a complaint against the oppression, nor its redressal

Night, its stillness and loneliness

Far away from the ramparts of assembly

From the depth of the city’s heart

Comes the echo of the tolling bell

The mind starts

The flame of breathing quivers

The candle of the night of my imagination is awakened

And each moment of life is recollected

Crowds of men on highways and in streets

And their brisk steps

Wrinkles of confusion on their foreheads

Regret of the past

And anxiety of the future

In their looks

Hundreds and thousands of people

Hundreds and thousands of steps

Beating hearts of hundreds and thousands of people

Sad with the oppression of the ruler

Exhausted with the persecution of politics

Who knows

At what crossroads

Do they become an explosion suddenly

Hope of youth

Depressed and compelled for decades

Tied to the chains

Goes to sleep

Clinking of the chains

While changing the sides

Speaks of the hustle of life

In my dreams

I regret that my precious life was wasted in prison

And not in the prison of the freedom of my motherland.

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

“The IRC’s Emergency Education Programme For Chechen Children And Adolescents | Forced Migration Review”. 2019. Fmreview.Org. https://www.fmreview.org/displaced-children-and-adolescents/betancourt-winthrop-smith-dunn.

 

“144 Juveniles Were Detained In J&K After Abrogation Of Article 370: Report”. 2019. Telegraphindia.Com. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/144-juveniles-were-detained-in-j-k-after-abrogation-of-article-370-report/cid/1709434.

 

Shah, Khalid. 2019. “Children As Combatants And The Failure Of State And Society: The Case Of The Kashmir Conflict | ORF”. ORF. https://www.orfonline.org/research/children-as-combatants-and-the-failure-of-state-and-society-the-case-of-the-kashmir-conflict-47514/#_ednref13.

 

 

 

 

 

 

^[1] (2019) Impact of Armed conflict on children in Kashmir (Shodganga) pg 15

^[2] (“144 Juveniles Were Detained In J&K After Abrogation Of Article 370: Report” 2019)

Municipal Dynamics– going “RIGHT” way….

In 2012– I had just turned 18 , my interest in politics had always been inherent but first time i was going to get a chance to actually  reflect my political inclinations in the form of VOTE — first time i was going to exercise my political right, my political franchise. Just years before Raj Thackeray had formed Maharashtra NavNirman Sena — a rival child of ShivSena. . Maharashtra especially Mumbai , regionalism was growing = the identities of ” Marathi Mannos” were being evoked yet again ( as the tradition in Maharashtra to target outsiders to lay a strong foundation for a political party) , every individual who  was till recently looking at himself as Indian like during 2011 World CUp win — suddenly started viewing himself as MARATHI MANOOS —   the issues & identities kept changing thereafter..

 

 

IDENTITIES are fragile in india, be it national identities, state identities , regional or linguistic. The beauty of India is a person who stands on railway platform to hit the migrants entering into India, suddenly  starts protesting against TRUMP — why he is sending his daughter / son in US back to india & say USA does not respect merit , but technically he was doing the same thing with people from UP or Bihar  or maybe SouthIndians—just that his position has changed to beneficiary in case of USA. One is an Indian when we did surgical strikes against pakistan , when  india wins a cricket match , North indian ( homogenised identity ) when talking to south indian ( again used collectively ) –but fighting within themselves like for eg — Cauvery issue, suddenly u have a pan ASian identity –Indian & pakistani’s act as brothers when protesting against “TRUMP’s policies” — suddenly during Municipal elections that identity narrows down to linguistic basis. A person starts abusing Gujratis in Mumbai for voting for BJP &  has a drink , has business or goes on a date with same Gujrati or for that matter anyone else.  Moral is that Identities are Fragile, Politicians & Political parties shape up the way you think., the emotionally influenced people are just Pawns of the politicians playing divisive politics for their benefits & we are falling victim to it .

Maharashtra until 2012 was very much fragmented , there were regional “forts” or “powerhouses” creates in various parts by various politicians like Sharad Pawar & his NCP in Baramati ,Pune  areas surrounding it ; Gopinath Munde in beed , Vilasrao Deshmukh in Latur, Balasaheb Thaceray  his Shivsena controlled  Mumbai , Thane  areas around, Pramod Mahajan also being one of the stalwart of BJP. But unfortunately — Maharashtra lost one after the other — all its big leaders, creating Huge Political void in the state. COngress lost most of its Big leaders– who either died or others like Ashok Chavan were caught in Aadhar scam .NCP lost its hold– due to decline of fellow COngress, lack of agenda, political leadership like that of Sharad Pawar being focussed in Center, huge Corruption charges & irrelevant  highly irresponsible comments.  HUGE POLITICAL VOID — created in Maharashtra.

Then came the 2014 LokSabha elections– NARENDRA MODI Wave swept the entire country , the epicenter being Gujarat , but adjacent Maharashtra suffered huge impulses & afffect was seen till UP, Bihar everywhere. The Wave or Tsunami was so strong that the after effects are still being seen — the recent in Mumbai & several other Municipal Coorporation in Maharashtra. It was not only an after affect of Modi wave but also reward to Devendra Fadnavis era in Maharashtra — who rose in the time  filled in the political void with his clean image, effective personality , intellect , organisational skills etc. Rose against all the odds , all the criticisms — this election was bigger test for him , because it was under his leadership ,under his name..

The course of Maharashtra politics changes now– one thing is for sure- Congress & NCP have to something substantial something out of the box — to regain their lost  charm  & overthrow ShivSena &  BJP.. For both Rightist parties it is a win win situation..BJP saw huge increase in its vote share — ever since its inception, whereas ShivSena was looking to get a  “Good Bargaining power” against the BJP. Both  gained as they faught separately . Uddhav  & Devendra have evolved their skills over time  & the image especially that of DEVENDRA FADNAVIS got revamped — he has certainly arrived as the New “HERO” of  Maharashtra Politics. With his clean image, political backgrond, educational qualifications, managerial skills, communication efficacy, young age  & leadership skills along with Support of the Center.. it will be interesting how far he takes his state riding on his shoulders………..

The future course of  Maharashtra’s political landscape will be interest affecting the national scenario to a great extent ….

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tale of Two Democracies

                                        “DEMOCRACY”– literally means Demos + cracy -i.e  “Rule of the people ” ;  it has  today become the most fashionable , the most trendy word, “direct democracy” , “indirect democracy “,  “participative democracy “, “deliberative democracy ” – the concept itself has multiple variants . Its cool to say “we are democratic” , “lets keep things democratic between us” – we say in our private sphere. What is Democracy ?? Democracy is taking things to the least advantaged,  making him to participate in the decision making, it is empowerment of the masses, it is giving “power to powerless” , it is respecting human rights, upholding the principles of liberty, equality , fraternity. It is not only type of Government but “VALUE SYSTEM” 

                     I bring to you — TALE OF TWO DEMOCRACIES — one the oldest  & other the largest  , one preaching the values of equality, liberty, justice ,  human rights — but themselves violating those principles, they try to Impose democracy on smaller countries, they feel theirs is the “only way of functioning ” — they are monistic about their values, they do not subscribe by other people’s value structure, they feel other who dont subscribe by their teachings are BARBARIANS .

                    The other democracy — is nascent, it is just 68 years old ,  not even the average life span of an individual. It is faced by numerous difficulties day in & day out, it is surrounded by  cacophonous neighbors , it took huge efforts to recover from the colonial legacy , it faltered, it faced hardships, it was vulnerable to various threats , economic hardships, huge wars, corruption, cultural divides, religious riots — but he still kept standing tall ; it has kept the key principles of democracy alive. It manages largest number of voters in the world , it is poor –but its poor vote & vote in huge numbers – about 66 % — people participate in political processes, they come out protesting for a rape or when they feel that Corruption has crossed its limits.

                 The former democracy on the other hand , was preaching liberalism , UNiversal Adult franchise, equality , liberty to the world, but it got caught in its own web , the most literate people , the so called intellectuals –vote only about 45 % in their recent elections , do not even subscribe to their primary democratic duty . They vote a Fundamentalist to power, a Misogynist , a misanthrope & off course a xenophobic,  who through his speeches has deregarded women as “Second Sex” , other that Whites all to be inferior.

                   YES —- YOU ALL GOT IT RIGHT …!! — I am talking about United States of America & INDIA….

“for me the meaning of democracy is that weakest should have the same opportunities as the strongest” —GANDHI once said. 

                    USA & india — are probably the strongest propounders of democracy , but actually none are perfect — neither is European Union– which claimed to have  combined many democracies & give rise to the value of  “Multiculturalism”. Neither can  not voting in the elections can be called democratic , nor can just having elections in INDIA , be called as democratic . In todays world differences do emerge, the world is going towards Fundamentalism , National IDentiies are on rise &  the concept of “borderless world” getting blurr ,Globalisation & liberalisation which was considered ” to be end of ideologies ” be considered to be Absolute . Schumpeter calls ” democracy to be a marketplace, the politicians are entrepreneurs & voters are consumers “ Democracy  has reduced to “race between elites” — it is cirulation of power between elites, it is Oligarchies who are shaping up the present governments— even in India the voter is reduced to only means to achieve power — there are certain sections , who form the crux of DECISION MAKING — mainly drived by the Capitalists .

                  CHina while not subscribing by the model of democracy , has achieved progress  but the borders of China still remain opaque , Progress cannot come “at the cost of subjugating rights”  — Europe which supposed to lead most successful Integration project in the Form of “European UNIOn” is going to “fundamentalism” itself — nation & national boundaries are becoming relevant again. In India also , inspite of being “parliamentary & not presidential ” in form — people do feel comfortable with charismatic leadership —they wish to transfer their power for the sake of Security — “IF you sacrifice  liberty for security — you ultimately get none ” in the end.. 

 

                 The picture remains Blurr , there is no clarity , a sense of ambiguity prevails , the world remains in “Ideological Confusion”  –  the reason world is at crossroads , it will take time for those crossroads to clear out ; till what we can hope is Democratic values are upheld.The solution is not NO Democracy but instead MORE DEMOCRACY.

THIS is the way , we can get there…..

 

 

” Man’s sense of justice makes Democracy possible , but his tendency  & inclination for INJUSTICE MAKES DEMOCRACY NECESSARY “ 

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)

BRIC(S) by BRIC(S)

                                           The World Order in International POlitics is ever evolving, from city states in Ancient greece to medieval kingships , Post Treaty of Westphalia giving rise to the concept of Nation States where Sovereignity of the nation was of Ultimate importance to Current MultiLateral World Order, where countries are dependent upon each other. The World in indeed interconnected, we are actually moving towards One Global Village. But metaphorically that village has different groupings within itself. From the time when POlitical Ideologies were the overarching principles – which glorified the principle of “MIGHT IS RIGHT” to the current situtaion where Economic Realities has become the new rationale.

                                           The present world revolves around Multi groupings, where the importance of global institutions like United Nations , IMF & World Bank are started to reduce, the post Cold War world no longer revolves around the Hegemonic paradigms of WEST. Fall of West & Rise of Rest is the new mantra. The hegemony of power like USA and some EU countries, disregarding the importance of Powers like CHina, India has developed as a irritant for them . Complaining of being moved by the thumbs of the few, The emerging powers like CHINA,INDIA, BRAZIL,RUSSIA & SOUTH AFRICA  have decided to carve their own way out by creation of BRICS.

                                            BRICS was the term coined by Goldman Sacchs, as this countries were initially viewed as most profitable destinations. BRICS which was initially formed  on geopolitical & geoEconomic considerations takes up variety of issues today. It signifies the new world order, it allows these countries to play a assertive role, it takes them forward , moving away from the hegomic paradigms of west & altering the Status Quo, It allows India to play a pivotal role ,it allows India to punch above its weight, progressively Rebalance Global Economy & enable Distribution of power, it allows us to explain our views on Inequalities & differences.BRICS represents 43% of World population & 26% of world landmass, it is land of 3 billion people.

                                            At a time when India’s current Foreign policy taking a complex & significant manoeour. AT a time when India pakistan relations developed a new trough, SAARC gasping for breadth, Chinese showing obstinate determination to hurt , harm & oppose India we need to make the most of this opportunity. The BRICS summit  at Goa tomorrow can turn to be a important juncture, with recent developments , Pakistan being diplomaticaly cornered by INda, Russia & pakistan conducting their 1st Security Drill, The BRICS meet  ,they meet to brainstorm of various burning issues.

                                         Along with BRICS , the IBSA & the BIMSTEC also meet at Goa. This is a movement for india to showcase its importance as a lynchpin, to justify its pivotal role. With India gears up to assert its position, it is going to be Crucial for South block to Balance the conflicting powers, to keep Bilateral conflictual issues away. According to Our PM – BRICS signifies the vital pillar of hope to the world & challenges being faced by todays world. The theme of the Goa Summit is Building  Responsive Inclusive & collective  Solutions. BRICS now needs to go beyond the Governmental Framework — India has planned for BRICS football tournament, Youth Summit, young Diplomats, Film festival — thus rightly moving towards developing people to people ties.

                                           The Goa Summit integrating BRICS,IBSA ( india brazil southafrica ) & BIMSTEC is expected to developed a new paradigm in India’s South SOuth cooperation. India has moved from the role of Golobal Opposer to Global Agenda Setter, a democracy promoter & a agent of Peace. Thus, the evolution of India’s Foreign policy from Idealism to Realism to Realpolitik & finally now revolving around Pragmatism seems to be completed a full circle

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)

 

                                          .

International Politics- A Struggle for Power

Be it a family,an office,a nation or the global arena we associate the word “Politics” in all these spheres.What is politics ? Politics is nothing but the struggle for power. Human nature is power seeking, you have a constant quest to be competitive,to prove yourself, earn money,find respect, be the center of attraction, you want the world to listen to you. Why ? because you have the inherent quality to seek power.But, given the fact that you live in a country which is guided by the “Rule of Law” you cannot exercise that power absolutely and you are subject to certain restrictions.

 

In the context of International relations, there is no overarching authority.It is said that International arena exists in the state of Anarchy, therefore all the nations of the World are guided by the Principle of “MIGHT IS RIGHT”.

The concepts of Morality & Ideology are plastic.Ideology is generally the “mask to hide real intentions”. For e.g ,the ideology of “Democracy” which the United states and the United nations want to impose on every country of the planet, but the UN and other world institutions guided by the US are hardly democratic, they are oligarchies guided by certain nations who have their might well established.All the institutions like the World Bank,IMF,United nations seldom represent a broader interest.

A nation always wishes to be powerful, one which is already powerful goes further to attain the absolute power, it wants to have the “Power to Roar”, it wants to establish itself as a Hegemon, either globally or regionally.Also there is no permanent friend or enemy in International Politics, policies shape up depending on the self interest of a particular nation.For e.g  Japan & US ,the deadliest enemies which lead to the atomic disaster are the strongest allies today, Pakistan & Russia are having a good relation,Iran-US,China-India- all these nations are having good relations today but what persists is the TRUST DEFICIT. Nations never believe the intentions of the other nation ( Nehru believed China & it back stabbed us) this leads them to attain greater relative power with respect to the other nations, this develops a “Arms Race” arising out of the “Security Dilemma“. Nations understand the other the system is a system of “Self Help”- hence they are Power Maximisers.

In the 21st century though you do not see a conventional war taking place, hence they go to maximize their strength on other indicators like Demography,the Power of Knowledge,Economy,Natural Resources, Technology,Sports etc- but the ultimate principle still remains the same Acquiring Greater Relative Power.

In today’s world be it bullying of the US, the Great Economic Leap by China, Rise of the ISIS, Modi’s campaign to spread tentacles of India- asking for permanent UNSC seat, Pakistan making use of its strategic location, Russia bombing the Islamic State to show that it is still relevant- all almost all these examples are guided by the same principle- Acquire POWER; other things will take care of themselves.

India needs to assert itself more dynamically on the International Arena. We need to develop our capabilities in every possible way- be it Military,Economy,Polity,Yoga,Olympics or anything else. But India should also be cautious that our claim should not be hollow meaning we should develop the capabilities from within , we need to develop our people,empower the downtrodden,eliminate poverty, abolish illiteracy and we need to do all this on priority to assert ourselves as a major power in the world & to give better life to our people.

 

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

All feedbacks will be appreciated on

chinmayud@gmail.com

( All rights of the blogs are reserved with the author , duplicity in any form  without the consent of the author will be legally  scrutinized)

 

Kalyan Dombivali shaping South Asia

Politics is nothing but the race and the struggle for Power. According to Machiavelli “Ends Justify The Means” the doctrine which the Politicians in India seem to have adopted over the one which Gandhi was an ardent Supporter of,” The nobility of Ends and Means”; in politics of the present world ,Ideologies are shaped up as the Situation demand.Soon these pseudo ideologies turn into a propaganda to acquire power, to gain the lost grounds, to remain in news, to make your presence felt.

The recent development in Mumbai against the Pakistani  Nationals by the Shiv Sena ranging from the Oil Paint Episode, to music concerts,returning back of  Pakistani Commentators and Umpire, cancellation of BCCI and PCB officials, has brought Embarrassment to Mumbai and India on a whole. Mumbai, the financial Capital of India and by far the most liberal city of India is in news for all the wrong reasons. To understand the reasons of these acts one needs to understand the context of history, current national and international scenario.

After the death of veteran Balasaheb Thackeray, the Shiv sena witnessed a leadership crisis, the vaccum for a strong agenda and issue based politics persisted since a long time. Now, amidst the rift with BJP ; breaking of the alliance and a last moment entry into the Government, was like a wounded Tiger agreeing to Eat vegetables for Survival; once again the point was established there are no permanent friends & foes in Contemporary Politics, establishing the point further that Opposites attract not only in case of magnet, in this case Power which is the larger magnet. The Attempts to gain the lost ground in the State after a humiliating 2nd place in State election, lack of positive agenda,absence of Issues made Shiv Sena to resort to “ShivSena style politics” again, the only thing they are best and comfortable at. The  Prestigious and  21000 crore budgetary Mumbai Municipal Corporation over which Shiv Sena  has managed to maintain its Hegemony are due in 2017, and before which another satellite town Kalyan-Dombivali elections are due where Shiv Sena and BJP have decided to go separately, hence these context and the ongoing Skirmishes with the BJP has lead Sena to resort to tactics it is most comfortable with.

More than the micro level Politics of Maharashtra it is the Politics of entire South Asia which can be shaped up by these disruptive activities.Known the fact that the stability of Entire South Asia rests largely on the relations between India and Pakistan, the animosity of which has made the SAARC almost redundant and ineffective also made the region Unstable, the most volatile after West Asia.

After the recent developments after the Ufa meet between two nation heads and the cancellations of NSA level talks, the phase of Political Slogans is on. It is necessary to understand that “conflict is the fodder for Politics” in South Asia, the existence of most parties in India and Pakistan is due to Anti India and Pakistan issues. The balance of Power theory , the Realist theory of International Politics is shaped up in such a manner that it manufactures facts and makes us believe that we are the arch rivals of each other, whereas on ground level there would be hardly any difference in the structure of lives of people in entire South asia, the artificially created boundaries have manufactured animosity. It is unfortunate that we are shaping up our present and future by the Colonial legacy that we shared.Pakistan is dangerous because it is like the “Mad Child with a Loaded Gun” which can be lethal, it has very less to lose but the stakes of India are high.

India and Pakistan relationship has been shaped up by the Government, the bureaucracy,Army(in case of Pakistan) and the Elites for their vested interests.The insecurity for India with Pakistan raising number of Nuclear warheads,Growing Sino-Pak relationship and Us-Pak nuclear deal is giving sleepless nights to  many in India. The need of the current world is to develop regional cooperation, peaceful neighbourhood is the most important pre requisite for Overall development of the country. The Security Dilemma needs to be overcome.The interactions of Government  to Government relationship has repetitively failed or had a short shelf life, the need is to develop Track Two Diplomacy i.e People- People diplomacy, the trust deficit needs to be overcome, people need to be feel that there is hardly any difference in the way they live, the differences at various level needs to increased for the interests of both the nations. A lesson needs to be learned from The European Union, which has been one of the most successful organizations to promote regional peace over national goals, the region which was the most conflicted region, which had a 30 year long war, ended the war and the concept of Nation emerged by  ”Treaty of Westphalia” and since then, especially after the 2^nd world war they have entered in the Era of peace. The same feeling of homogeneity needs to be promoted in South Asia, if the nation have the ambition to make any progress.

If India aspires to become a Global Leader, if it aims a seat In UNSC, it needs to Understand, “With Authority Comes Responsibility”- if India cannot promote regional peace, if India cannot be Regional leader , the ambition will only remain a Utopia.

The men who lead to the disruptive activities, would only be obeying their party leadership, for them “ The feeling of Vengeance would be over Reason”, what they need to understand is the dynamics of International Relations and the affect of their short sighted, unreasonable disruptive activities for petty political gains would have on the Relations of India-Pakistan and overall politics of South Asia.

If they are really Patriotic and Nationalism is not a propaganda and they are not playing the Patriot versus Pakistan card to score brownie points, they must care about the Image of India on International Forum,

They need to Understand the India has been taking Pride in its diversity,tolerance,multiculturalism and Plurality.Our Right winged Political leadership should realize that they are elected for their agenda of Development, they should not do anything that hinders that Social and Moral fabric of our Nation, lets preserve the values of Our great nation, the core values of Hinduism which has been able to accommodate the diversities since last 5000 years. Let us build a Strong foundation on which the superstructure of our development can be build upon.

-always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

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chinmayud@gmail.com

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Antipathy, the Ultimate Winner !!!

Antipathy, the Ultimate Winner !!!.