The Swadeshi Movement: Did it Really Fail?

The Swadeshi Movement was launched in response to the British decision of partitioning Bengal. Viceroy Curzon announced the partition of Bengal in 1903 suggesting it had to be divided in order to carry out better administration. This division was based on two factors- language and religion. The Bengali population was divided and space was made for Hindi and Oriya speaking people so that the British did not have to worry about the Bengali majority. On the contrary the Hindus and Muslims were placed together to spark communal tensions.

To oppose this ‘divide and rule’ policy of Curzon, this campaign was started by the Moderates. It was led by KK Mitra, Surendranath Banerjee and Prithwishchandra Ray. The boycott of foreign goods was the USP of the movement. Other than that, people went on fasts and carried out processions barefoot. Rakhis were tied on the wrists to mark the symbolic unity of Hindus and Muslims. ‘Bande Mataram’ became the song of the hour. Most importantly, along with the boycott of foreign goods, the idea of ‘self-reliance’ or ‘Atmasakti’ was promoted.

  This movement for the first time saw participation from various sections of Indian population. Earlier, only the Indian intelligentsia belonging to the upper classes played an active role in such movements. The Swadeshi movement was joined by the students, women including the Muslims. It took shape of a mass movement. Another first was the all-India aspect. The movement soon spread from Bengal to northern India and the Bombay & Madras provinces. The Bombay campaign was headed by Tilak while the Madras campaign was headed by Chidambaram Pillai.

The Indian National Congress (INC) also strongly condemned the partition of Bengal and gave its support to the Swadeshi movement. Gokhale was the President of the Congress at that time. An important point to remember is that at the Calcutta session of Congress in 1906, President Dadabhai Naoroji proclaimed that ‘self-government’ or ‘swaraj’ is the goal of the INC.

Swadeshi also gave inspiration to the fields of art and education. The importance of national education was highlighted during this movement and in 1906, the National Council of Education was established. Indian art forms were promoted with the founding of Indian Society of Oriental Art in 1907. Artist Nandlal Bose  became the first recipient of the scholarship offered by this institution.

However, the movement couldn’t achieve the desired results. One main reason was the lack of planning and organisation. The whole campaign was also bereft of a strong leader. The internal conflict between the Moderates and Extremists continued to persist. Above all, the Swadeshi movement faced a lot of government repression. And since this was the first experience involving the masses, the movement could not be sustained for long.

Nevertheless, the Swadeshi Movement is considered to be a turning point in history. The mass participation including the women was a great achievement in itself. And most importantly, it was proven that the Indians were capable of taking bold political positions.

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#SimplyPut : Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is all around us. Be it the Face ID in the all new iPhone X or the self-driven cars. But we may not know much about this fancy sounding word. Let us break it down. AI simply refers to machines with brains. With this technology, they no longer need the human help in the form of commands or prompts. For example, Siri doesn’t require human assistance to talk to you. It just knows what to say. Not just that, machines with AI can also learn new stuff on their own as they encounter new situations or sets of data. Say, you were looking for a pair of shoes online the other day. Oddly enough, most of the ads then on in your apps are about shoes. Ever wonder why? It’s because someone, actually “something” did their homework.

Time to learn some more fancy words. AI is a very broad concept. It covers Machine Learning (ML) which again has a sub-branch called Deep Learning (DL). In a crude sense, ML is a student who makes notes but only to cram for exams, while DL reads a text, analyses it and then writes answers in her own words.

In ML, the machine doesn’t rely completely on the code of its creator. Computer code guides it only for the brief initial period to gather data and information. After that it is on its own. Say we want the machine to learn to recognize a horse. The coder would simply show pictures of several animals such as a zebra, donkey etc and point out the horse amongst them. After repeating this exercise a couple of times, it would figure out for itself how to distinguish the horse from the others. So basically, in ML, the machine ‘learns’ from the given data and prepares its own algorithms etc to extract important information. Based on this, it is also capable of making more profitable decisions. ML can be used to translate languages and recognize faces, voices and objects. The application of ML can therefore be seen in chatbots such as Siri and Cortana. If you remember, Google’s computer Deep Mind that won the Go World Championship, it was again ML.

DL is super cool if you ask me, it works almost like a human brain! Which by the way means that it is slightly complicated. ML can tell you it’s a horse, but it doesn’t know why. But DL takes it up a notch. The machine for starters uses ML and then creates artificial neural networks (ANN). Each neuron has an answer in the form of a yes or a no. There are layers and layers of such artificial neural networks hooked with one another. Thus by asking questions, it ‘learns’ new things such as what is what. Let’s take a very simple example. The machine is supposed to give you video recommendations on YouTube. Then a simple neural network would look like this:

Has the user seen any video uploaded by this channel? Yes (1).
Does the tag in the video say ‘comedy’? Yes (1).
Was it uploaded six months ago? No (0).
Is the content similar to those channels subscribed by the user? Yes (1).

So the code so formed is 1101 and bingo, it is thus eligible to be a video recommendation. However, DL is much more complicated. It is composed of millions of networks and deals with a huge amount of data.

These are the basics of AI. If you haven’t already, read more about Sophia, the humanoid robot. It is one of the finest breakthroughs achieved by AI. On the one hand, a lot of research is taking place in this direction, but on the other, the skeptical scientific community has raised a very ‘serious’ question – what if AI gets out of hand and the robots take over the world? So if you think about it, it’s a wonderful time to be alive!

Things 2017 Taught Me

I have not posted in a while, so let me tell you what’s been up with me lately. I’m at the moment enjoying my month long vacation. Finally, I have started taking out time for the things that are good for me. For example,I have been doing some productive reading, taking care of my skin etc. Also, I am trying to maintain a sketch book, you know, to give wings to my creativity. My art works are not all perfect; but whenever I’m filling one of those pages, it gives me joy.

Now that you have my life updates, let’s get back to the topic.

The most wonderful thing to have happened to me this year is meeting this great soul who completely turned my life around. It’s like kindergarten all over again. In no time, we became best friends and now we’re inseparable. When we’re hanging out, I become so free, I become myself again. I don’t have to please anyone to be socially acceptable or behave responsibly like I ought to under my parent’s watch. I think I’ve found my happy place. But this wouldn’t have been possible had I not initiated a conversation. So, the first thing that 2017 taught me is that never hesitate to take the first step, don’t keep waiting for the other person to do it. The same thing goes for saying sorry. Be the bigger person and apologize first, if the relationship means something to you.

I experienced a fallback in friendships too (actually just one), which was another good lesson for me. Until now, I have always tried to maintain cordial relationships with people irrespective of how they treat me or really feel about me. The year 2017 has taught me to let go of the toxicity. You don’t always have to talk it out and make things so-called normal again. You’ll have to deal with hate several times in your life. There will always be people who will try to control how others see you by spreading inappropriate rumours about you. The misinformation will feel unfair. I’ve been there, and it kept me distressed for weeks. But what you should do is stay above it, trusting that other people will eventually see the truth.

And the most important thing that 2017 taught me is that journaling makes all the difference. Earlier I neglected writing things down as it was all in my head anyway. But that way I didn’t accomplish much. So, a couple of months ago, I started a bullet journal and wrote every small task that I had to finish on a daily basis. I slowly realized it’s not only about remembering things, but once it’s written down, it works like a contract and you’ll literally want to put a check mark against it as soon as possible. You become more and more productive. Not only that, at the end of the day you get a nice feeling when you look at the amount of work you got done. I also have a bucket list and a list of long-term goals to stay focussed in my journey towards my dream life.

So, these were the major lessons that I learnt this year. I really hope you would gain something from my experiences. Wishing you a wonderful year ahead. Simply slay! Also, while you’re at it, don’t forget to throw kindness like confetti.

Toodles.

That Difficult Neighbour

A peaceful neighbourhood is unquestionably a utopian concept. There will always be that one neighbour who would occasionally give you a really hard time. Initially they would come home and play nice so you think they like you. Wait another week and they would start nagging about the leaves that fall off of our tree in their yard. They would not once miss an opportunity to show off their fancy belongings to suggest how better equipped they are as compared to you. But you cannot simply cut ties with them because a) they will continue to live next door no matter what and b) it is them who provide you with a bowl of sugar when you need it.

India also has one such lovely neighbour. Except they’re saying that the falling leaves are much similar to those growing in their garden and therefore by that logic the tree in our yard is also theirs. In fact, it has even started issuing stapled visas to the residents of Arunachal Pradesh which is a direct attack on India’s territorial integrity. They have proven to be difficult in several other instances. Despite India’s objections, they have been building dams on the Brahmaputra river at their end, which is causing major floods in our country. They went ahead and built the CPEC that passes through PoK without India’s consent thus questioning India’s sovereignty. They also may have deliberately blocked India’s entry to the NSG.

Most recently, there was a nail biting standoff between the two neighbours at Doklam. Although a peaceful settlement came through, the event raised the question whether India could wage a war against its mighty neighbour. The answer is definitely not in affirmative. The costs of war are high obviously, but more importantly it’d leave a huge hole in the heart of our economy, it being India’s largest trading partner. Rationally speaking, we cannot afford to go to war, however, if we were at war, the Indian armed forces are well-equipped and well-trained to defend our territory. Our newly acquired modern defence equipment, the ballistic missile system, nuclear warheads etc can tackle all sorts of adversities.

Similarly, it would be foolhardy for our big neighbour to start anything close to a war with us. If it initiates the attack, the international community would matter-of-factly sympathize with the defender. It would give the USA, the defending champion of the superpower tournament, an excuse to interfere. Moreover, it too gets a significant amount of business from India which it wouldn’t want to loose out on. It may have an upper hand in terms of military strength, but it knows war is at all events off the table.

With this I want to bring to light the anomalies in the international system where there are sufficient conditions for the war to break out, but interstate peace prevails. Several causal factors may be at play. 

In conclusion, it is worth noting that one dialogue from the movie Once Upon A Time In Mumbai -“Jab dost banake kaam ho sakta hai toh phir dushman kyun banaye?” (When we can get the work done as friends then why should we make enemies?). It is in everyone’s interest to use diplomacy as a means for preserving peace against war.

Her. (A Short Story)

Darkness had fallen, the sun was gone. She tiptoed out and into the forest in search of what people called a “happy place”. She had resolved to experience what happy felt like.

There is an enchanting lake. She walks towards it only to find she’s not alone. She steps back, very insecure, and hides behind a tree. He sat by the lake, very still even in a state of immense pain. Like he was used to it. She had never seen anyone like him before. For the rest of the night, she forgets everything else and quietly watches him.

It had become a routine. She would find him at the same place after midnight. It wasn’t about finding happiness anymore. Just him. She decides to go closer now. When she does, it begins to pour. Their eyes meet. The raindrops were slowly washing away the masquerade that hid her scarred face. A disaster, she thought. To her surprise, he never took his eyes off her.

He leans and whispers something in her ear. “You’re a work of art” he said. Never had she been appreciated for being who she was. It was a lot to take in. She was feeling weak in her knees. He stood by her, not saying another word.

The following nights they spent learning about one another. It was beautiful what they had, a soul to soul connection. She was slowly beginning to understand what being happy felt like. Very often she would get so lost in his poetry, losing the track of time. When they were together, they made magic happen.

As she stood up to leave, for the first time he stopped her. “Stay”, he uttered. He puts forth a possibility of having something more than this. She is at a crossroads. She wants to become the poet’s muse. But she’s afraid she’ll end up rupturing his fragile heart. That’s all she’s capable of. She’s a beast. As much as she would like to hold on, she needs to go back in the cage.

On Changing The World

How many people are there in this world? Let’s say roughly seven billion. And how many people are you? Obviously, just one.  Needless to say, you’re no Mahatma Gandhi or for that matter Nelson Mandela. So what are the odds that you could change the world?

This is more or less what you’ll hear when you tell someone you want to change something about the world we are living in. “You know what you should do? You should change yourself instead” they’d say, after they’re done laughing. They’re the people who can get nothing done in their lives. So, stay put with your idea and ignore this lot.

The next step is all about taking action. Simply talking about it won’t take you anywhere. It’s okay, if it’s just a baby step. Take it. Do what you have to do to make the change possible.Be the change you wish to see, sure. But go a little bit further. You cannot bring the change all by yourself. Spread awareness, get more people to join you. If something is seriously wrong in the world around you, other people will definitely follow your lead. Thanks to the social media, it has become much easier to reach out to people. It’s a long shot, I get it, but not impossible either.

I feel enraged when people around me persuade me into believing that the world runs like that and nothing can be done about it. Well, it is us who made the world like that and if we’ve messed up, the onus is on us to rectify the mistakes. All the realities of the world are socially constructed. If we understand this concept, it’d be easier to go about the process of bringing the necessary change in the world.

I love John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”. It is so very beautifully written (and of course, sung). If you listen closely, he’s giving out a very strong message. More often than not, despite of seeing all the wrongs, all the unjust practices, we do nothing. We think we do not possess the means to rise above them. So, we keep on waiting for the world to change. The world is not going to change itself, people! Don’t even wait for others to do it for you. Just go for it, make a difference, because you can.

Simplifying Feminisms

Feminism off late has become the new F-word. Many believe feminists are angry, wicked women who want to make slaves out of men. Some have even gone to the extent of calling them ‘feminazists’. At the same time, other views are surfacing that remind me of the quote by Rebecca West:

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.

Let’s do a reality check, shall we?

Feminism very simply put is a movement campaigning for equal rights and opportunities for the male and the female sex. They should be treated equally. It’s about eliminating the gender gap.  Like my professor would say, we are not born a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’. While growing up, we are conditioned to become one. Our society has charted out strictly exclusive gender roles which is problematic as it gives a certain edge to the so-called men. Say for example, men take all the decisions while women follow orders without any objection. And that created a history of unfair treatment towards “women” which gradually became a norm.

If you have paid close attention to the title, you would have noticed it reads ‘feminisms’. Feminism could be understood in several ways. Interestingly certain types of feminisms are often at odds with others. In my opinion, three types namely liberal, radical and difference feminism are most crucial for our understanding.

1. Liberal feminists: They are the sweet kind. They would say “Patriarchy is awful. But it’s fine as long as women get equal legal and political rights.”
2. Radical feminists: As the name suggests they are sort of revolutionaries. They would say “Dude, gender is socially constructed. If you think it’s based on biological differences, you are full of crap. Woman subjugation has to stop.”
3. Difference feminists: They are like “Sure, women are different from men. They are kind, caring, elegant and what not. The feminine qualities are better and therefore more valuable than the masculine qualities.

And then there are post-feminists who think it’s high time they went beyond equality of the sexes and started aiming towards female domination. As far as I am concerned, I am an equality feminist who seeks to live in a more inclusive, gender equal world.

Feminism primarily empowers women. On that note, if you are a woman, keep in mind, you are not obligated to be a feminist. It definitely is highly recommended but what’s more important is to know that you are in no way weak or inferior to men.

Happy International Women’s Day! #BeBoldForChange

 

Don’t Always Be Happy With Yourself.

No, it isn’t a typographical error. And no, I’m not out of my mind. Keep reading, and it’ll start to make sense.

There comes a time in life when you think everything’s just about right. You’ve earned all your standard check marks from grades and career to relationships. You’re happy where you are. That no doubt gives you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, but it also is kind of detrimental to your growth.

When you’re happy with yourself, you become complacent and lethargic. You have no dreams and aspirations left to keep you going in life. I am sure you’ve worked really hard to get to this point. But come tomorrow, you need to be a better version of yourself. Say hello to the new experiences. Try the things that you were always afraid of. Set another set of goals for yourself. They needn’t be work related. Never be content. Ask for more. There is always more. Having said that, I don’t want you to be greedy. Exercise your discretion.

There are also times when you settle for less and you come to terms with where you are instead of where you imagined yourself to be. I am talking about the I-am-at-peace-with-what-I-have attitude. I have a friend who wanted to lose some extra kilos. Initially, she was very eager to get in shape which acted as a motivation to exercise daily. As months passed by, she couldn’t keep up. Ultimately, she convinced herself that she was ‘happy’ with the body she had. Yeah, it’s okay to feel that way. But this attitude will always deter her from working hard for the desired goal. This shouldn’t be the case either.

There’s so much to do in life and so much to see. Don’t be happy just yet, you have more dreams to catch.

 

I’d like to thank my friend Anmol for providing me with some interesting food for thought. He’s an immensely gifted writer. Click here to enter his isotopic world.

The Study Of IR

What do we mean by ‘international relations’? One image that pops up is probably that of a group of elites, say Presidents of different countries discussing issues and trying to arrive at a consensus.  It could also be what appears in the ‘International’ section of the newspapers. The reports usually discuss what kind of relations the government of one country enjoys with the others. They also throw light on the foreign policy of a powerful country and it’s implications on the rest of the world. Say for example, Donald Trump’s ‘Immigration Policy’ is making headlines all over, especially in India.

Simply put, international relations or IR concerns the relationships among the world governments. To make it a little bit complex, we also connect these with some other actors or players such as the international organizations, NGOs, individuals etc. We cannot ignore the social structures either- be it culture, state of economy, domestic politics and so on.  It is an all encompassing field, that reflects the world’s complexity.

Nevertheless, the nation-states remain the primary actors in the international system. They are rational, self-interested and self-seeking entities. By this I mean, they prioritize national security and national interest over everything else. So, one key problem in the field of IR is how two or more nation-states would forgo their individual interests to serve the collective interests? Lets just say two nations-states are a guy and a girl in a romantic relationship. The guy likes to spend his free time watching movies . While the girl prefers to watch cricket matches. So what do they do this weekend? This in IR is called the ‘collective goods problem’. While their shared interest is to watch TV together on a Saturday night, they each have conflicting interests with regards to what to watch. This happens because the resources are scarce i.e. there’s room for just one television.

We face this kind of a problem all the time. Siblings fight over chocolate, neighbours have conflicting views about the tree that faces their apartment. But this can be easily resolved by the parents and the Secretary of the building respectively. But it is different in the international system. There is no superior authority above the nation-states that would enforce the measures necessary for providing the common good. So, how do we get the nation-states to cooperate with one another? One major aspect of the study of IR is to find a solution to that. There are also questions on the behaviour of the states. There are various interesting sub-fields like international law, war and conflict studies etc.

Not to mention, we are all pieces in this huge international relations puzzle. Things you do in your daily lives could affect the world order in ways you cannot imagine. Therefore I urge you to not do anything stupid. Yes, all those who voted for Trump, I’m talking to you. (teehee)

Who We Really Are

One dominant theory of International Relations is “Realism”. It tries to explain how the international system functions and how States (i.e. a sovereign nation with distinct territory, government and population) behave with one another. I’d be focusing on one of the two branches of this school which is Classical Realism. It was propounded by Hans J. Morgenthau. He was of view that the human nature was the root cause of wars and all other kinds of interactions between States. He describes it as”animus dominandi“, Latin for ‘desire to dominate’. Human beings inherently seek more and more power, to dominate one another. Hence the likelihood of conflicts and even war between States is high. Cooperation is out of question as it is impossible for the interests of various States to align.

Like any major theory, this one too faces some criticisms. Nevertheless it is still popular and accepted by many scholars. Through this narrative I want to get at the question about human nature. We are guilty of doing so many evil things. We have gone to the extent of hurting, enslaving and even killing other human beings. We poisoned the very Nature that nurtured us. Is this expected of the highly intelligent species? Or are we programmed to behave in this manner? They say humanity is dead these days. But probably there is no such thing as humanity in the first place. It is not just the elites, the statesmen or big business houses seen indulging in power games. Take for instance the phrase ‘cut throat competition’  to get a picture of how bad things are at the bottom level. Jealousy, rage, betrayal, you name it and we have it. Us human beings have done unspeakable things. Is this who we really are? Savages?