A few days back, India celebrated its 64th year of Independence with a lot of pomp and show even as the ‘Fight Against Corruption’ undertaken by Anna Hazare gained prominence over the weekend. The Tricolour fluttered over rooftops, the Red Fort and most institutions to mark the emancipation from the British but the fact that almost every person we elected, has looted the country’s resources and plundered our nation’s coffers, leaves us with a daunting question – Are we really free!?

Freedom is what we make of it; how we perceive it; each of us interprets it in our unique way.

Isn’t it about time we realize that the situation has deteriorated to unimaginable levels such that an honest person fears to stick to his ideals and finds it a safer and better option to follow the crowd and become the money grubbing mongrels that we grew up detesting.

So, now we know that something needs to be done and fast. Arvind Kejriwal with his team of nationalist crusaders have come up with their version of the much criticized Lokpal Bill … popularly known as the Jan Lokpal Bill. The trouble with the entire fiasco is that their initiative has woken up the people from a deep slumber or maybe even given them the courage to finally be able to vent their frustration on an open platform, but a large majority are unaware of the postulates of the ‘Bill’ they are asking to implement on themselves. So here’s an overview of what it states and how it compares to what the government plans to implement.

A Comparison between the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Draft Lokpal Bill:

Arvind Kejriwal explains the Jan Lokpal Bill

For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Lokpal_Bill
THE JAN LOKPAL BILL BY EXPERT

Facebook voting app: http://apps.facebook.com/knowthelokpalbill/

Even though I’m a supporter of the Jan Lokpal Bill and in-turn Anna Hazare, what disappoints me most is the fact that the common perception of the crowd is to criticize and stoop low enough to begin name calling anyone who choses not to be a part of the herd. People who have something different to say about it are being branded ‘desh-drohi’ and it is expected that every Indian must support the cause.

Even though this fight has become one of the biggest show of the power of democracy for the country (often being quoted as the second fight for Independence), the basic essence of democracy is taking a blow at the expense of people who have been manipulated by the hype created by over-the-top advertising and relentless media coverage.

You have the right to take a stand but I‘d recommend that you arm yourself with a decent knowledge about what is going on (other than the Hungerstrikes) and what the Lokpal is all about. If you’re a blind supporter or a vocal disapprover of the movement, step back because you have nothing to contribute.

CONFESSION: I am not an atheist, I’m agnostic.

It never fails to surprise me when people try and talk someone, who claims to be an atheist or agnostic, into believing in deities. I have never come across any non-believer trying to convince a religious person into giving up his beliefs for any reason but the latter always find a need to do their best into saving the ‘lost’ from ‘darkness’.

Okay, firstly, let me make it clear what theist, atheist and agnostic means.

• THEISM:
  Theism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one deity exists.
• ATHEISM:
  Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.
• AGNOSTICISM:
  Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable.

I recently came across a brilliant and hilarious cutout from a Yahoo Answers page where a worried parent has a serious enquiry to make. The answer he got was spot on and the ingenuity of it is amazing. So, enjoy. [Don’t read on if you are one of those that feel that the right way has to be your way, theism et all]

^{[Image Courtesy: LoL God]}

Okay, now the forum is open for the wrath of the hardliners, the appreciation of the new generation, the suggestions of the compulsive, and the money of the rich.

There has been increasing international news coverage of the excess of young boys in India resulting from the abortion of female fetuses. The strong preference for sons is especially evident in some Indian states, but the practice of sex-selective abortion to ensure a male child has been documented in many parts of India and among Indians living abroad.

The girls have not vanished overnight. Decades of sex determination tests and female foeticide that has acquired genocide proportions are finally catching up with states in India. “Eligible Jat boys from Haryana travel 3,000 km across the country to find themselves a bride. With increasingly fewer girls in Haryana, they are seeking brides from as far away as Kerala as the only way to change their single status.” says Alka Gupta (unicef.org)

Here’s a comic strip highlighting the plight of girls in India.

The comic strip is made on StripGenerator.com which is a free online comic strip generator with a collection of characters, object and text bubbles to work with.

Just thought of trying out a comic strip. Its may not be funny but its true. People today announce their step to leave facebook like it’s a suicide letter. And what is even more shocking is the way people react to it.

Hope you enjoy the strip.

Google+ is now open for registration. Just head over to http://plus.google.com to join.

I finally got my invite for the much hyped Google+ social network and am currently in the process of exploring its features and functions. So far, I have to say, I’m impressed. I, however,  don’t think Google+ is going to be a Facebook killer but it does look like a social network that will gain popularity alongside Facebook.

Yesterday, ie. 2nd July, 2011, my first article got published in the Patna Times edition of Times of India as a Journalism intern and to celebrate the achievement I’ve decided to giveaway Google+ invites.

All you have to do is Like the Shocky’s Journal Facebook Page and leave your email address as a comment there.

The initiative might have found millions of supporters but it has also found a significant resistance from many sections of society. The most common point of concern among the latter is whether India, along with its baggage of customs and age-old traditions, ready to accept a woman’s choice (of clothes she wears or otherwise).

The point of this post is not to judge whether the SlutWalk should or should not happen. Its not even going to be focussed on the clothing of women. The idea is to analyze the pieces and try and understand the thought behind the initiative and what are the probable consequences of such an event.

HISTORY

For the benefit of those who have been living in a cave for the past few months, here’s some history on how the SlutWalk started:

On January 24th, 2011, a representative of the Toronto Police gave shocking insight into the Force’s view of sexual assault by stating: “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized“.
As the city’s major protective service, the Toronto Police have perpetuated the myth and stereotype of ‘the slut’, and in doing so have failed us. With sexual assault already a significantly under-reported crime, survivors have now been given even less of a reason to go to the Police, for fear that they could be blamed.

The SlutWalk was started as a response to the victim blaming taking place in Toronto (and it’s common and probably a more prevalent problem in India). It is seen that women are being harassed and instead of corrective measures and substantial actions being taken by authorities, the blame is put on the victims for wearing clothes that entice & excite men to rape/harass.

THE DEBATE

• Wikipedia states that “It has been observed that advice for women on how to dress could be considered risk management, which need not be seen as mutually exclusive with an end to victim-blaming culture.”
• Keeping India as the focal point, the most common point of view is that a majority of the people who believe in the traditional scheme of thought, argue that if a woman covers herself up, no man will ever get excited to act in a rash manner.
• Another, rather surprising point of view was that India should ban revealing clothes as it is against over culture – citing the example of how France banned burqas. What was even more shocking was that the statement came from a girl.
• The most disappointing and infuriating comment came on the SlutWalk Patna page (A Facebook page for getting the views of Patnaites on the issue)

• There were also some encouraging comments too.
• The various points of view (outside India) – a discussion – The SlutWalk Debate – Guardian [additional read]

THE WAY FORWARD

Having gone through tons of pages, comments, blogs about the SlutWalk and trying to keep an open heart and an unbiased mind, my attempts at successfully finding a solution to the entire fiasco has failed miserably.

Even though the SlutWalk has grown beyond anyone’s expectation across continents, the idea behind it has been lost. Its become an event about clothes and the word Slut. Even though that is where it all started, I believe SlutWalk is about a woman’s right to make a choice about her life and not have to worry about men/society condemning, discriminating or harassing her for the same.

The SlutWalk may or may not be successful here in India, but the idea behind it – empowerment of women & respect to personal choice – will definitely leave a lasting impression. Maybe its high time that Indians (the ones who are stuck in the stone-age) wake up to the fact that women are not objects of pleasure or maids who keep your house in order.

As a kid, I remember, desperately wanting that brand new remote control car and not having any success at convincing my parents. If only I had watched more news channels instead of Cartoon Network, I’d probably have extorted a lot more out my dear parents than I actually did.

Hunger strikes, popularized by none other than the father of our hungry Nation – Mr.M.K. Gandhi, still commands a great deal of respect or atleast attention in our country today.

ANNA’S HUNGER FOR SUCCESS:

Unlike a lot of young people in India, I did not get all worked up about my support for Anna Hazare’s successful fast-unto-death. By the time I found time to do some research and pick a side, it was all over…

I was too busy analyzing the pros and cons about the Jan Lokpal Bill instead of picking up a banner and dropping the spoon at the dinner table. But that debate is for another time.

I can’t help but notice that hunger strikes still remain the most potent weapon in Indian politics. It is probably the most important legacy of Gandhi after the hundreds of M.G Roads with potholes and tons of black money with his face printed on it!

STRIKE BUT PEACEFULLY:

Wikipedia says “A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change.”

Why are hunger strikes considered to be peaceful? Isn’t it an insanely passive aggressive thing to do? You are threatening to kill yourself for heaven’s sake! By what stretch of imagination is threatening to kill a person peaceful? I agree it is better than threatening to kill other people but that makes it only “relatively peaceful” Why do we omit the relative part of it?

Although Anna’s fast was ‘Gandhian’ in every sense of the term and not even a window pane was broken as a consequence of his fast, it is not the case for most of the hunger strikes that happen. For most politicians it is just a wonderful way to get a lot of attention, re-energize their bases and pump some enthusiasm into their party workers and basically kick some political ass!

WHY DON’T OUR POLITICIANS DIE OF HUNGER!?

In a country with extraordinary levels of poverty and widespread hunger in addition to the frequent hunger strikes organized by our politicians and social activists, never has there been a case where our politicians have succumbed to the hunger and DIED!

Other than the fact that whenever a politician goes on a fast – his colleagues and the media are instantly worried about his health. Just after a couple of days, the docs shift him to a hospital and “force” feed him intravenously. Now that’s cheating isn’t it?
Its like hunger strike has a whole new meaning – “You may eat just not with your hands!”.

The answer to politicians never dying of hunger can be found in the most unexpected place ever – the menu card of the Parliament Canteen.

Parliament House Canteen Food Rates
Tea Re. 1
Soup Rs.5.50
Dal – one katori Rs.1.50
Veg thali (dal, subzi,4 chapatis, rice/pulao, curd and salad) Rs.12.50
Non-veg thali Rs.22
Curd rice Rs.11
Veg pulao Rs.8
Chicken biryani Rs.34
Fish curry and rice Rs.13
Rajma rice Rs.7
Tomato rice Rs.7
Fish fry Rs.17
Chicken curry Rs.20.50
Chicken masala Rs.24.50
Butter chicken Rs.27
Chapati Re.1 a piece
One plate rice Rs.2
Dosa Rs.4
Kheer – one katori Rs.5.50
Fruit cake Rs.9.50
Fruit salad Rs.7

As it turns out, the Parliament Canteen never faces the same inflation rates as the rest of us do. The prices remain dirt cheap and never vary with the change in prices in the market. No wonder our politicians seem more like the ‘bania’ (pot belly and all) at the local general store rather than the leaders of our country.

Politics maybe a dirty word, even a yawn-worthy subject but when you really get into the murky world of Indian Politics, even the most stoic will find their jaws hitting the floor.

As if the twisted, manipulative game of politics wasn’t enough, the godmen have decided it fit to break-out into political discourses when people have gathered to get a dose of good old pranayam. The general public might have become inured to the bakwas shouted through loud speakers during political campaigns, but all hell breaks loose as our spiritual leaders start taking a detour into political agendas. Recently, one Mitu Singh Rathore, a paramilitary forces soldier, had taken leave to travel to Nagpur to listen to Ramdev’s yoga discourse and got to hear an unnecessary speech on politics instead.  Things came to such a point that Rathore opened his boots and hurled the pair towards the guru.  Baba promptly folded himself in half to avoid impact.  Perhaps this was Rathore’s humble contribution to the Yoga guru’s otherwise shirtless- shoeless wardrobe. Maybe its time RDB (read Ramdev Baba) learned a thing or two from his disciples.

Politics and Pranayam have more in common than you ever thought. Like pranayam, (Indian) politics too grants you the boon of eternal youth. Where else will find an 87 year ‘young’ still nursing his Prime Ministerial dreams? At 87 no one looked more youthful. So imagine his shock when a still-in-diapers 40 year old called him “too old for elections”. And so began the “Amul-baby” story.

As journalism students, we are supposed to be taught to be objective and uninvolved in order to report any news without bias. But who can escape the far reaching grasp of politics and pranayam. Here too, the eternally young have taken it upon themselves to preach and sensitize us to this ‘cruel & corrupt’ world. They say, the path away from the political garbage and towards nirvana comes from yoga, vegetarianism and simple life (yes, we have our very own Ramdev Baba amongst us).

The unfathomable conglomerate of politics and pranayam is a proven anesthesia. Students should give serious thought to recording such political discourses and marketing them as lullabies for insomniacs worldwide.

Politics and Pranayam don’t mix.

“Over 4 Billion served”, the billboard says. “60 People die from this disease every hour.” “Millions of people have this heart condition and will live shorter lives.” What do these quotes all have in common? Numbers.

Marketing strategies for businesses, non-profit organizations, and even blogs often try to use numbers to sell their services and products.

For instance, we visit a new site that’s screaming the number of hits, or subscribers or buyers its got, we immediately get impressed and feel that the seller knows what he’s talking about because so many consumers trust it enough to subscribe. This common judgment of authority and expertise seems logical enough to both consumers and sellers of products and goods. But does the use of numbers really persuade the average consumer to buy? Think about yourself. When you see a blogger promoting a product with a large subscription base, are you more likely to buy?

I will tell you that market research says you are. The concept of social proof means that you are willing to trust others with deciding whether or not you should trust this new blog or business. What you are saying internally then is, “if so many others are trusting them then I cannot go wrong!” From a consumer’s view this makes sense. So companies and business have been using these marketing strategies for years.

It’s Not About the Numbers

I just told you using numbers works, but if you are confused by my sub-heading, “it’s not about the numbers” don’t worry.  You see although using your numbers based authority does increase sales for the average business or organization it is not the best way to increase your marketing.

The best practical strategy by businesses and by good bloggers is personalization.  If you remember the quotes I used at the top of the post one of them was something like this.. “Thousands of people in Africa die every day from Aids, you can help.”  The quote uses numbers and is particularly alarming.

But does it get you out of your seat to do something about it?

In most cases I would say “NO”.  You see numbers become less and less valuable as they become larger.  Think of politics and the discussion of national debt or spending.  When people talk about a trillion dollars it no longer means anything.  Numbers that large become impersonal and unimaginable.  We as humans can’t really even think about that much money.

The same goes with products sold.  Although sales increase with social proof like large numbers of products sold, the best way to make more sales is through personalization.

Marketing Personalization

Personalization is the connection between social proof and authority or expertise and individuals.  To market personally you touch each potential buyer as an individual.  Think about how much more effective an ad campaign for a non-profit organization would be if instead of saying “Thousands of Africans die from AIDS each day” they said, “This 16 year old has AIDS, he might die today.  What will you do to help him?”

Studies show that personalizing your marketing makes all the difference.  For bloggers this translates into personalizing the launch of a contest, product, service, or other income source for maximum results.  I would even add your blog should be personalized.

Think about putting together a wonderful ebook.  You spent months planning and writing it all out.  Then you added images and formatting and after lots of time and effort you are ready to sell it.  So you put together a sales page and launch your ebook.  What happens?

Well if your ebook really is good quality then some people will buy it.  You could start putting up the numbers to encourage some people, but you will maximize your sales if you make it personal.

“Its like eating a strange food, swallowing a raw egg or a goldfish.” is how Dr. Barry Marshall describes the feeling as he drank a glassful of a cocktail containing a 100 million Helicobacter pyroli (bacteria). Dr. Marshall, convinced that H. pyroli caused gastritis and stomach cancer, decided to take the drastic step to test his theory – on himself to prove its validity to the medical establishment.

What the story tells us is that knowing you are right isn’t always enough to succeed. You might have to go out of your way; take extraordinary steps; amaze and surprise people – to get noticed. I have seen brilliant minds fail under the pressure of the unsympathetic world and yet there are a million others who have run the gauntlet, fought and squeezed their way through, to the top.

Walking through an aisle of books at the local bookstore, I came across tons of self-help, how-to-succeed books talking about positive thinking, willpower & hardwork. Hell, I even found books dedicated to teaching you tips and tricks to outsmart and ‘use’ others to propel yourself to the top of the food chain. Movies too have an obsession with success stories and human triumphs. Everywhere I look, someone is trying to impart gyaan on how to succeed and become rich and/or famous.

Blogging too has an altered meaning. It is no longer a thing people did for sharing their opinions and ideas with the world but has become a money making business, a shortcut to success, if you will. If I had a Rupee for every time I was asked how I make money online, I wouldn’t have to design sites or blog at all.

No one can ever teach you to be a winner, a success. No one can ever define ‘winning’.

The most apt definition of Winning is “getting back up one more time than you’ve been knocked down”.

It’s a slow and painful process and you’re going to want to quit 3 steps in. People are going to beat you down, lie with a smile on their face, hug you as they drive a knife through your heart. The only thing you can be sure of is that the journey isn’t easy and there are no short-cuts. Then what should keep you going? The Spark.

The Spark of happiness, of health and of satisfaction that awaits at the end. It’s the spark that will make the journey worth it all. Its not about becoming a millionaire, or a movie star. Its about the quality of life. The Spark dies if you have to lose friends for money, or health for fame.

Finally, in the words of Chetan Bhagat

“Don’t take life too seriously, as we’re really temporary here. Its okay, bunk a few classes, scoring low in a couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, enjoy with your friends, fall in love, little fights with loved ones. We’re people, not programmed devices.
Don’t be serious, be sincere.”