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Kashmiri student ousted from BITS Pilani: Truth vs Hype

soulinexile
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Kashmiri student ousted from BITS Pilani: Truth vs Hype

It’s probably pointless to comment where people have already fixed opinions. And as expected, the mainstream media has created a victim narrative around “Hashim Sofi” already. You have to give it to them. While you ‘social media’ vigilantes who believe you bust fake propaganda- are slogging away at work, running between meetings and deadlines and even before you sit back in evening and check up on whats possibly gone wrong and think of countering the fake narratives, media has already created, marketed and sold the narrative and is zillion miles ahead.

Yet, I wander into the woods here hoping to redeem what’s smearing my Alma Mater.

Firstly- some cross-check/inputs from people on campus suggest that this scholar had joined campus barely 10 days ago. He was often seen wearing T-shirts with provocative slogans & imagery that got him into arguments with a few. What was finally in news was possibly a fall out of one of those altercations!

As an ex-BITSian, let me add- a random newbie arriving on campus at fag-end of semester in hot April is not even going to be noticed. Especially when rest of the campus is getting ready to get ‘rodded in the compres’ (final exams) and waiting to get out of the hot-oven. And definitely not, if you arrived in one end of the campus in Malviya Bhavan, bordering the desert. You really have to make some effort to get noticed and become a focus of attention for some groups of students within 10 days. Was the guy looking to provoke/agitate?

And before you make assumptions, let me also clarify, there are no student political outfits in BITS, Pilani. No, we aren’t undemocratic. There is a very active and effective Students Union. But, no SFI, AISA, NSUI, ABVP exist. None of them.

And I don’t even want to belabor the point that 99.99% students on campus are there because they slogged their rear side off to get there and continue to slog for a better future, because they don’t have any doles, grants, reservations to guarantee their future.

So please don’t JNU-ify the debate.

Coming back to the ‘scholar’ Hashim Sofi, even though he has deleted his Facebook account now (wonder why! Was it giving away too much?), this thread here by @organkster and this post here give a clear view of his radical views.

But, in media stories what you see is the two lines written on a vest. What you don’t know what he did/said, what led to it.

Yeah, I know what u are thinking. No provocation can be justification enough to push him out. Completely agree. And as someone who has been living in exile for three decades now owing to posters threatening death, I would never condone any such acts.

But, in a country where reputed award-winning intellectuals & liberals have justified that chanting “Jai Shri Ram” was reason enough to burn down people alive inside a train bogie, a scribble on a vest is. And was he really pushed out? Wish he hadn’t deleted this FB account and shared more!

Student warriors!

This incident or others, this scribble or face-offs over cricket matches in hostels- beg a different question. Why are Kashmiri students getting into confrontations in hostels/campuses so often?

There are other Kashmiris too in every city across India. Every single 5-star hotel in India and every big reputed shopping mall- has at least one, if not more, Kashmiri emporium/showroom/handicraft store run by Kashmiri Muslims. Go to any tourist destination across India- Goa to Kerala, Mahabalipuram to Mahabaleshwar, Gujarat to Gangtok, you will not have to search too far to see Kashmiri Muslims freely and happily running Kashmir-specialty shops. Actually, not just Kashmir specialty shops, you will be zapped to know how often I find them even running Rajasthani handicraft or Haryana Handloom shops in such tourist destinations. (Oh! Did I mention, I am not only a BITSian, but a Kashmiri too! So I can tell.)

How is it that these shopkeepers aren’t feeling threatened? Is it remotely possible that the ‘business-man Kashmiri’ is smart enough not to provoke his customers, not wear his Azadi-bravado on the sleeve, not show-off his hate for India inside his showroom?

Whereas the ‘student-Kashmiri’, high on the intifada zeal from back home, just back from a spell of stone-pelting during his last vacation is not! And possibly thinks he is taking the battle to the next frontier.

There is a generation of youth out there in Kashmir today, high on ISIS juice and pumped with Intifada machismo- who go out looking for trouble, be it ‘active Jihad’ of those aspiring to be the next Burhan Wani, ‘backend Jihad’ by attacking army men in combat with terrorists, ‘budding Jihad’ on streets in Srinagar kicking helmets of CRPF men or ‘soft-Jihad’ of boys elsewhere in campuses who feel the pressure to match up!

How Twitter is affecting main stream media and society

Shruti Bakshi
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How Twitter is affecting main stream media and society

As of May 2016, India ranked as the country with the second highest number of Twitter users (after the US) at 41 million users. For anyone with a healthy appetite for political discourse, this should come as no surprise as tweets have become almost synonymous with official public statements. As someone who jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon rather late, I have no qualms in admitting that I failed to see much worthwhile potential of this and for that matter any other social media platform. But the way in which social media has creeped its way into public discourse has been simultaneously surreptitious and remarkable. This article, looks at two important ways in which Twitter has been a force for beneficial disruption in the sphere of national/public interest in India.

The most recent issue to rake up a Twitter storm, that of Sonu Nigam’s stand against noise pollution by religious establishments, is a case in point for it is a potent example of an issue first emerging on the platform and being picked up by the mainstream media thereafter. It used to be that Twitter tracked mainstream media and served as a platform for people to air their views on topics raised therein. Millions of frustrated Indian citizens initially took to the platform to speak out on everything from corruption to anti-nationalism, mostly when they felt that the mainstream media was not accurately or adequately representing their views. But those days are long gone. Twitter has slowly emerged as the platform of first choice, forcing the mainstream media to track it and pick up worthwhile stories for television programmes. Earlier news made tweets, now, tweets make news. This, I think represents the first big disruption effected by Twitter – disruption of the media.

As people spend more and more time on their phones, traditional media is struggling to get those eyeballs to focus on Television sets and newspapers. Consequently, the number of likes and retweets have emerged as valid guages of public sentiment. Moreover, the immediacy and inclusiveness of this form of feedback is unparalleled in history. Traditional media is no doubt unhappy about its loss of power to the likes of Twitter and YouTube but if they’re true to the purpose of their own founding, namely the galvanisation of public opinion, they shouldn’t be.

The second disruption that Twitter is wreaking on the Indian societal landscape is in its role as a platform for pushing reform. Whether it be the cause taken up by Sonu Nigam or the ‘triple talaaq’ issue, the social media platform is instrumental in galvanizing public opinion and hastening the process of social change. Post-independence India has not much flaunted its talent for protest marches. One important reason was that Indians usually doubted whether their fellow citizens generally shared their views. The educated middle class silently rued that they were the only ones concerned with the governance and developmental issues facing the country. But the election of the Modi government in 2014 sent a very clear signal to the public that the majority in the country were indeed on the same page. Twitter has further strengthened this confidence, emboldening citizens to speak on topics they probably wouldn’t have either dared or felt motivated enough to discuss before. The oft-cited issue of trolling is a rather insignificant one relative to the benefits enjoyed by citizens who can now express their views and be heard. Similarly rumour-mongering doesn’t have a long shelf-life given the self-correcting muscle that social media is inherently equipped with.

The pace of reform is not only hastened, but also strengthened through social media. A well worded tweet by PM Modi is enough to engage the imagination of lakhs of people and make them feel more connected with his causes and activities for example. This of course goes a long way in building a stronger national identity.

It’s probably fair to say that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey could never have imagined that an Indian pop singer would someday use Twitter to fight religious fundamentalism. These positive ‘externalities’ of the news and social networking site have been largely unsung because of their sheer unexpectedness. While one can rail against the detrimental effects of social media on our society to our heart’s content, the fact is that it has brought many more issues under scrutiny and enabled heretofore unheard voices to reach the fore like never before. Now that certainly deserves a ‘like’, if not also a Retweet.

Islamic State: The terror machine

Sahil Jain
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Islamic State: The terror machine

Islamic State or ISIS, as everyone knows, is a dreaded Sunni hardline terrorist organisation responsible for carrying out the most brutal and barbaric atrocities seen in our modern day. The horrendous and ruthless killings, along with its public airing by the way of high-quality videography, are enough to scar and traumatize many minds. People may think why such people and their ideology comes into being in the first place. Well, its because of a strong affiliation to an ideology that their religion is under attack and that in order to defend it, they must kill all the non-believers or convert them. Only then they will be granted entry into Heaven. This mindset, added with a dose of Wahabbism, has bred numerous terrorist organisations throughout the world.

Islamic State capitalised on various factors to come into being. Firstly, the US policy of dethroning Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad in which the US govt. trained, financed and armed “rebels” who were against Assad’s rule. Secondly, the Shia-Sunni sectarian tensions in Iraq that was readily exploited by the group. This tension has been going on since the dethronement of Saddam Hussein by the US military. Other factors can be lack of economic development, political instability, frequent meddling by foreign powers in the region and so on. All these led to the rise of terror machine called ISIS. Many across the globe got “inspired” by its rise and even pledged allegiance to it.

Important to note here is that it had more appeal on foreign soil. Foreign fighters, many of them educated and with good upbringing, traveled to the West Asian region to join the outfit and wage a war against the “West and its ideology”. ISIS even started prophesying about the “final war” against the “kuffars” that would ultimately pave the way for Islam to be the dominant religion of the world. Hereon, started the terrible era of ruthlessness that continued for subsequent years and made the whole world nervous. Initially, there was confusion as to how is it going to stop, who should take the responsibility to defeat it. US and its allies were hesitant to enter into yet another war in the region, but given that the US had already damaged the military capability of Iraq and Syria by destroying them, it had no option but to enter into a war with them, particularly for “defending the world against the menace of ISIS and terrorism”.

However, the US has not fully deployed its military, it has rather sent in its “military advisors” to assist the Iraqi soldiers in their fight against ISIS. Some NATO members, including the US, are also carrying out air raids in the terrorists’ hideouts. This, along with Russian intervention, participation by Shia and Kurdish militias, have significantly weakened ISIS. Although the territory under the militants’ control has shrunk, its ability to launch attacks has not, as is seen on an everyday basis. It has successfully launched lone-wolf attacks across many countries of the world, more recently in France and UK. This means their ideology is still potent and influential, something that needs to be tackled.

Efforts at the global level have been made by various countries, prominent among them being India and Russia, to evolve a consensus to define and defeat terrorism. India’s efforts at the United Nations (UN) to get the CCIT (Comprehensive Convention On International Terrorism) passed is laudable; but strong objections by Western countries have prevented its adoption. Moreover, China’s repeated abuse of its veto power to block the designation of Masood Azhar as an international terrorist is another upsetting factor. It clearly signifies lack of co-operation among countries and that countries define terrorism based on their own suitability. While we confront each other on what actually constitute terrorism, the terrorists’ co-operate and carry on with their brutal agenda.

An active collaboration amongst countries is required under the aegis of the UN to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the world. The new US President has resolved to “wipe out ISIS from the face of the earth”, and has also said that he is ready to co-operate with Russia to defeat the outfit. There hasn’t seem to be much co-operation as of now. China, who on various international forums condemns terrorism, radically alters its views when it comes to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, thereby frustrating India. In the absence of much-needed co-operation, it is impossible to fight terrorists’ and terrorism, and will only strengthen their hands paving the way for the rise of many more such outfits.

Is judicial interference in governance matters really needed?

Sahil Jain
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Is judicial interference in governance matters really needed?

The term ‘judicial overreach’ may not be common in other democracies of the world, but here in India, it is widely known. It refers to the ability of our courts to strike down any legislative law or executive action deemed unconstitutional. Supreme Court of our country has quashed several legislative and executive acts in recent years, some of them includes the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, licenses issued for coal mining and more recently banning the sale of liquor on National Highways.

Besides, it has also increasingly assumed to itself a lot of role which was never envisaged by the constitution. For example, ordering the govt. to set up a body to minimize road fatalities, file status report on the progress of Ganga Clean Up Project, framing guidelines to probe fake encounter cases, black money investigation, ruling on govt. schemes where Aadhar will be mandatory or not and so on. Clearly, these are executive domains and we already have parliamentary committees to keep a watch on them. Still, one may feel that it is good that the judiciary is keeping an eye on everything because it will ensure accountability on the part of the executive. However, this is the very problem affecting our governance.

The failure on the part of the government to govern effectively invites judicial interference. Here, the larger question is, is the judiciary right in its interference, even if its in public interest? Neither they are equipped in doing so nor are they constitutionally empowered. Then why does it keep on interfering? Herein, lies the conflict. The incompetency on the executive’s part invites judicial interference, which creates a crisis and ultimately the common man suffers. Moreover, no one is there to question the judiciary which has led some to call it a ‘super-executive’.

In order to change it, we need to substantially improve our quality of governance, something which has been missing for a long time. A new innovative thinking is the need of the hour. When we standardize our administration, the level of judicial interference will automatically reduce, and so will the conflict between the two. Government must address this urgently.

Time to review our reservation system

Sahil Jain
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Time to review our reservation system

The term ‘reservations’ is unique to our country. Right now, two types of reservation has cropped up in my mind while I write this, namely Rail Reservation and Seat Reservation in govt. run educational institutions. The latter is the one that will be discussed here. When we achieved freedom, our Constitution makers were of the firm belief that the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community will need special attention for their well-being, including reserving seats for them in educational institutions, if they are to achieve socio-economic upliftment similar to other communities.

Why this special attention needed was because of the precarious conditions in which members of these communities had to live their lives. The caste system has a long history and need not be elaborated here. Important to note here is that these very communities also played an important role in the freedom of our country, which does not find elaborate mention in our history books or maybe is deliberately sidelined.

Now when provision for reservations was made in the Constitution, it was believed that it will continue only for a certain amount of time and after a significant socio-economic development of the communities was achieved, it will cease to operate. However, it did not happen, rather it became a political issue and as a result the system, and politics around it, continues to this day. No political party advocates ending reservation or even a review of it. They feel that if they do so, they will lose out on their crucial SC and ST vote share, even if it means overlooking the fact if the deserving candidates among SC and ST are fully getting the benefits of it or not.

Currently, 49.5% of the seats are reserved, which also includes reservation for OBC (Other Backward Classes). This community started getting reservation post-1991 after the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations. The decision of the govt. to implement it was upheld by the courts as it felt that there are other backward classes in the country who also need to be uplifted.

The question is, for how long will we continue with the system of reservations. What about merit.? What about General Category students who already have to compete in an ultra-competitive environment due to seat reservation and an ever falling number of vacancies in govt. jobs, not to mention the corruption in recruitment which affects all. Recent protests by Jats, Patidars, Gujjars and others is a testimony to the fact that even prosperous communities have to protest in order to get a fair share of representation in govt jobs and educational institutions.

Politics is and will always be played around it as was seen in 2014, when just a few months before elections, the UPA govt. granted reservation to Jats despite knowing that it will definitely be rejected by courts. It was a desperate political move on the part of the erstwhile govt. Current govt, despite facing intense violence by Patidars in Gujarat and Jats in Haryana, has resisted in granting OBC status to the community knowing well it will not survive court scrutiny. In this context, the definition of who is “backward” and who is not needs a relook, something which the courts have also indirectly highlighted.

Clearly a permanent solution has to be found to this issue plaguing the country. One cannot keep on extending reservation benefits to select caste and communities. It needs a tough decision to be taken by someone who puts national interest first and does not engage in petty caste politics. Only then will the country prosper.

Gangs of Punjab: Breeding drug peddlers and Khalistani movement

shivam009
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Gangs of Punjab: Breeding drug peddlers and Khalistani movement

Recently in Punjab near Gurdaspur there was a triple murder in which three guys were killed. They apparently were also gangsters. Main accused of this Vickey Gonder is very famous gangster who escaped from Nabha jail break with few other people. These gangsters have become very active in ending years of Akali-BJP govt.

No mainstream media reported it except the local newspapers. These gangs have become breeding ground for Khalistani movement and drugs paddlers, ramping across Punjab. These young bloods have been used by different political parties for their own benefits. After being used by the politicians for their own interests, they turn their back. They are then either encountered or killed by some other goons. Here is such case.

Previous year there was the infamous case of Sukha Khalon who is killed by rival gang ‘in police custody’. Gurdaspur which is an important district from national security’s aspect, being the most important root of Indian army to enter in Kashmir. In last few years there has been too much disturbance in this belt, like dinanager terrorist attack and Pathankot air base attacks.

The link between these terrorist attacks and gangster may seem irrelevant but if you see the bigger picture, you will find a nexus between drugs, gangs, Khalistani movement. You can solve this jigsaw puzzle and deduce that Pakistan has been the driving force in promoting Khalistani movement in past and now drugs in Punjab. These tools are being used again to create an insurgency in Punjab.

But govt also must go to the root of such gang war problems by knowing why and how the youth is being turned into gangsters. Vickey Gonder was a national level discussed throw player. But when these youngsters are abused by political authorities; they pick up weapons to seek revenge. However, nothing can justify this being a proper way to seek justice. The least that the Government can do is to make sure to stop police’ atrocities on the locals.

The Konspiracy called Kashmiriyat

Siddhartha Kar
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The Konspiracy called Kashmiriyat

Imagine walking down a street filled with misguided, innocent youth wielding sticks and stones. Imagine further, many of these youth mourn dreaded terrorists like Burhan Wani and celebrate their vision of an Islamic Caliphate, that intends to rid Kashmir of all plurality. While you probably carry orders denying even your basic rights to self-defense, your family waits anxiously for your arrival back at home, knowing not what fate awaits you every day, every hour, every minute. Amidst such scenes, the threat posed by these goons to India plays in your subconscious as does the fact that in India’s heart too stand some people who not only defend but, even passively provide intellectual cover to this criminal hostility.

When the soldier battling hostile conditions stands his ground in the Kashmir valley amidst stone pelters, it is to take up that unenviable (yet not quite so) task that has remained unresolved over the last seven decades because of the complete failure of the political helm across the spectrum. Right from Nehru’s creation of the Kashmir mess, the incorporation of article 370 in the Indian Constitution, the encouragement and rise of a hypocritical and at times dangerously anti-national Kashmiri political fabric, rise of Terrorism and radical Islam, purge of the Hindus from the valley, the handling of Kargil and Vajpayee’s Aar ya Paar rhetoric – the political class has failed miserably on all fronts across the spectrum with a remarkable degree of consistency. Their only achievement has been on the front of draining the Indian taxpayer’s money into an anti-national ecosystem hoping that appeasement and indulgence of secessionists would somehow foster harmony.

Interestingly, while Indian blood flowed in the valley, and politicians contracted cowardice and hypocrisy in the guise of generosity and liberalism, the mainstream Indian intellects – sections of new age TV anchors, liberal film-makers & artists, few vocal Indian academicians and authors – busied themselves relentlessly inventing and reinventing Kashmiriyat. While the respect for plurality was being decimated in the valley, these missionaries made sure to brush every kill executed, every rape committed, every temple destroyed under this carefully crafted concept.

This politico-intellectual nexus operated with unfettered dishonesty and made sure that the last thread of pluralism inherent in the Indian psyche is destroyed there. And the rest of India were gifted Kashmiriyat to relish on. Pakistani Actors, Artists, Cricketers and every person that ostentatiously covered up the grim realities with a palatable face were encouraged onto the center stage. More shamefully, it proved an edible excuse for us to look the other way while the ugly pre-partition story of Pakistan and Muslim League unfolded unchecked in the valley. Ordinary Indians found it embarrassing to take politically incorrect stands – and it gave us just the tool to justify our own dishonesty.

What happened in Kashmir has been a cleansing of an entire native Hindu population from their homeland due to the valley’s intolerance for religious diversity. What is still more alarming is the fact that a few people could manage to orchestrate and force a mainstream discourse down the throats of the Indian audience that brainwashed even many well meaning people to believe that the Indian Army, Indian State, and somehow rest of Indians are at fault while the peace loving valley only strive for warmth and peace.

After the forced exodus of the Hindu population, the subsequent handling of the situation by successive administrations and the coverage & presentation of the situation has only served to aggravate it to an extent that now the target of the violence has tangibly shifted to the armed forces. They, who despite spending their days in severe and ungrateful circumstances fighting some of the world’s deadliest terrorists, and giving relief to the local population during times of natural calamities, are being not only denied the opportunity to solve the problems but, now are denied even rights to self-defense.

The politico-intellectual nexus got down to doing everything imaginable under the sun to rob the forces of any means of self-protection. The recent incident of a stone pelter tied to an Army jeep to prevent local goons and stone pelters attacking the Army convoy, was a commendable improvisation born out of a significant handicap. There was indeed little that could be done in the circumstances when the decision was taken, and an ingenuity was shown to ensure protection and simultaneously non-violently punish the stone pelters. While a section of journalists and politicians, arguably the very people who have enjoyed the liberty of defining the Kashmir discourse till date, remained pretty stubborn in their criticism of the tactic but, they were, at the same time, very conspicuous in their empathy for the stone pelters and lack of constructive participation to resolution of the problems.

Today, though, it is very easy to recognize such negative machinations at work. Each day, the power and reach of technology grows. Social Media has enabled Peer to Peer direct communication. Public opinion may now be expressed with little censorship. The days of news intermediaries and brokers are of the past. Additionally, an unprecedented democratization of knowledge has practically rendered the ability to lie or be conveniently half-truthful severely hampered. So while it may still definitely be possible to arrange a convenient narrative on organized, controlled media, it is much more difficult to push it down the throats of the audience.

Today, when looking at the recent videos of Army Jawans being punched and kicked by some ‘misguided innocent youth’, the culpability of the heinous crime can no longer hide behind kashmiriyat. Reality dawns into plain sight as bluntly as it could. Period.

Thus when Gambhir, Sehwag or Phogat sisters take a stand that pierces through such insincere eyewash, they find tremendous support directly from the people. In fact, the time is due for public figures in every sphere of national activity to extend their encouragements to the Jawans without fear of political correctness. The amount of courage it takes for those few soldiers to walk down some of those streets infested with Pakistan-loving goons, to brave the physical threats and humiliation is only founded on the country’s support for them.

Summarily, while Kashmir has indeed been a battle ground having suffered pain and conflicts, the rest of India has bled more for it. The extent of disdain and ungratefulness with which the Army and India have been treated by sections of Kashmiris is condemnable. The only resolution to the problem lies in political uprightness and intellectual integrity. Each academic artifice that has been crafted out by insincere intellects must be fully deconstructed so that the reality of Kashmir and its stakeholders may lay bare to everyone across India and the world.

‘Indian Pluralism’ is not a modern invention of August 1947. It has always been an integral part of the life of the country since time immemorial. Indian Pluralism isn’t just the insincere ‘tolerance’ of people of communities – rather the all embracing outlook that encompasses the entirety of nature. Such pluralism is arguably one of the most exalted achievements of mankind across all times and geographies. Post Independence, Kashmir is the first province that has fallen victim in the charge for destruction of this legacy. While the Army, the state of J&K and rest of India attempt to heal the festering wounds, the gravest challenges are likely to arise from the intellectual proponents of Kashmiriyat, and the like.

Apple and Blackberry join the Make in India drive as the newest stakeholders: Is this a boon or bane?

shravanipt
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Apple and Blackberry join the Make in India drive as the newest stakeholders: Is this a boon or bane?

Close on the heels of California-based tech-giant Apple Inc.’s announcement that it will make iPhones in India in association with Taiwanese OEM manufacturer, Wistron, Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry has charted a surprise comeback by partnering with Delhi-based Optiemus Infracom over a 10-year brand licensing deal, thus becoming a contributor to the ‘Make in India’ project.

While Apple’s focus is on assembling operations in Peenya (lying on the outskirts of Bengaluru) due to start this April 2017, Blackberry’s deal with Optiemus Infracom will give the distributor exclusive rights to design, manufacture, sell, promote as well as provide customer support for Blackberry handsets in India, Sri  Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. This follows the company’s earlier global licensing agreement signed with TCL Communication in December last year spread globally excepting India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

A former market leader in business phones and a once-sinking enterprise in the wake of Android smartphones and iPhones, Blackberry seems to have bounced back in style with a newfound concentrated focus on security software. This strategy finds place in their recent deal with Optiemus whereby the company has agreed to license its security software and services suite as well as related brand assets, while continuing to exert control over development and maintenance of security and software solutions plus the regular security updates sent directly from Blackberry.

Incidentally, the manufacturing operations on the handsets will also take off from a Wistron facility in India, in furtherance of an existing contract between Optiemus and Wistron.

Other Smartphone-makers flocking to be a part of the Digital India playing field

It is not just Apple and Blackberry that hail India as the fastest-growing smartphone market surpassing the U.S. and China, but other foreign players as well that are increasingly trying to get a foot in the door and grab a fair share of market exploits in the country’s expanding economic potential.

For example, in August 2015, Chinese handset-maker Xiaomi tied up with Foxconn to manufacture phones at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh’s Vishakhapatnam.

In 2016 another Chinese player introduced its first smartphone F103, as a product of its tie-up with Foxconn in Sri City. China-based tech-company Vivo set shop at Greater Noida, Delhi to scale its manufacturing operations way back in 2015 and has till date invested roughly 125 crores in its expansion strategies.

Where South Korea-based LG Electronics introduced the LG K7 and LG K10 models, the company’s first Made in India smartphones in April 2016; Chinese networking and telecommunications equipment and services company Huawei partnered with Flex to manufacture smartphones in a Chennai manufacturing unit last September.

Ahead of the pack racing ahead in this segment, Lenovo (leader in the laptop, notebook, and tablet segment) and Motorola (acquired by Lenovo) had begun manufacture of smartphone Moto E in Sriperambudur, Chennai in August 2015 itself. With separate manufacturing lines at the same facility, Lenovo went ahead and later introduced its K3 Note phablet as well, which seemed to have opened to excellent reviews.

What this means for the digital space in India?

Apart from the apparent economic boost and increased job opportunities such participation of foreign entities in the ‘Make in India’ project would generate, a “cutting edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development” is expected to be fostered as well through manufacturing operations conducted by foreign players.

With import of electronic goods falling to the tune of US $44billion (Rs. 3 lakh crore), the Indian government has recently been working to scrap imports altogether by 2020; the result being, a focus on assemblage operations in India, of the more than two-third of smartphones shipped between April to June 2015. Current import duty on phones in India stands at 12.5%; evidently, bringing production of these electronic devices to India will reduce the costs for foreign smartphone-makers, thus, helping them price smartphones cheaper than they would otherwise. This is a win-win scenario for both foreign investors as well as Indian consumers.

Mobile phone component manufacturing which has till date remained largely dependent on China and is at a nascent stage, will, as an integral part of the technology ecosystem open up as a lucrative market for entrepreneurs in this sector. This is turn will raise India’s credibility on the manufacturing aspect on the international level, in addition to IT services that it has since years outsourced and generated huge revenues from.

Steps the Indian government has taken and the Challenges that remain

Recently the Indian government pumped in US$1.4 billion (Rs. 10,000 crore) under the Electronics Development Fund to encourage entrepreneurs in the electronics sector. In the present year budget, the government enhanced allocations for Modified Special Inventive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) and Electronic Development Fund (EDF) to Rs. 745 crore for 2017-18, which are designed to aid companies manufacturing in electronics, telecom, automatic, and consumer electronics.

Way back in 2012 the government had launched the Electronic Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) scheme which was meant to boost sophisticated infrastructure and thereby attract further investments in the electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector. This has led to 14 registered EMCs across the country.

An additional US$14 million is to be invested by component manufacturers into the ELCINA manufacturing cluster in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan which was originally launched by the central government and is slated to launch 18 other similar manufacturing clusters in different cities and towns. Companies investing in these clusters will be privilege to a host of benefits provided under these schemes.

The Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP) which outlines a variable duty structure for all three components- chargers, batteries and headsets, will now attract a concessional duty of 2 percent instead of the earlier 12 percent. A seamless credit system in the supply chain under a common head of the proposed Goods and Services Tax laws will make operations smoother on many levels and encourage domestic entrepreneurs as well as foreign investors by reducing production costs, lowering import costs and generally facilitating flexibility in obtaining credit on goods and services.

Despite all the listed benefits and concessions provided under the various schemes launched or proposed to be launched, India as a smartphone hub still turns out to be expensive due to a number of factors. Essential stages of design operation, hardware testing and tooling are still based overseas. End-to-end manufacturing of phones is still problematic due to limited component supplies, a struggling ecosystem, hindered access to contemporary research and development and a dearth of talent are also responsible for slowing down the process.

Though a once-dominant Blackberry in playing it safe in its revival phase is now moving away from phones to focus more on software and security services, and will likely not try to bargain for more when working around restrictions and conditions of the Indian market; Apple has a host of demands that seem to be in excess of what the Indian government can comply with to help it set up base in India.

Of the many demands it has made, a few noteworthy ones are: a 15-year customs duty exemption on raw materials, components, capital equipment and consumables for smartphone manufacturing and services/repair for domestic and export markets, a relaxation on rules that would allow imported defective iPhones (older than three years old) to be repaired and exported again, relaxation in labeling rules, certain changes in stringent customs procedures to smoothen the manufacturing process, and some tax incentives.

While no mobile manufacturer has previously approached the Indian government for similar or other additional incentives and the government has granted no such sweeping concessions to any other foreign investor till date, it is yet to be seen how far it is willing to concede to these demands to accelerate the Make in India drive by joining hands with one of the most powerful tech giants in the world. In any case, it is certain that the road to getting foreign companies to contribute to India as equals and not as superior entities, and function on fair, universal standards while working towards mutual profits, is an arduous task indeed.

On the other hand, despite the government’s many schemes designed to introduce a level-playing field for all (domestic entrepreneurs as well as foreign companies), Indian phone makers still lag behind when it comes to beating South Korean Samsung and other Chinese players in this sector, namely, Xiaomi, Oppo, Gionee and Vivo (specifically modelled for the Indian urban target and competitively priced). Where Samsung continues to lead the smartphone market with a whopping 25.1 per cent share, the Chinese newcomers too continued to climb up to some of the top spots by changing strategy at the right moment and veering towards offline sales to build on the revenue numbers, instead of pushing in solely through online sales to gain profits.

In fact, reports show that in September 2016, Oppo overtook Apple in sales value, capturing 8% of the Indian market as opposed to the meagre 2% secured by Apple. Its approaches include setting up thousands of retail points and multiple service centres across different cities and towns, all targeted at nation-wide coverage of the smartphone market.

Needless to say, when even Apple, despite being a powerful contender globally continues to struggle in India and is facing stiff competition from its Chinese rivals, the situation for Indian phone makers is graver as they face insurmountable pressure to put up a fight and get back to their days of glory.

Indian competitors Micromax, Intex and Lava are fast losing ground and slipping back into oblivion amidst the flurry of Chinese smartphones thronging the market. In the quarter of 2016, the collective share of these three brands had fallen to around 11 per cent from the 30 percent in 2015. In fact, not even Yu Mobiles, the sub-brand of Micromax managed to make an impact on Indian consumers.

As of now, domestic companies need to step up their game in the hardware design and software implementation aspects along with competitive pricing to gain back their lost spots and be at par with foreign entities when it comes to consumer choices. At the outset, a regulated, seamless tax structure, federal government initiatives and elimination of red-tapism are needed to manifest the Make in India campaign in the most efficient way possible.

The balance eventually, would be to ensure the core purpose of Make in India does not get defeated at the hands of foreign expertise and infrastructure; and so, the need of the hour would be to develop domestic know-how in the digital space, while attracting foreign investment so it fosters a cooperative environment rather than an increasingly foreign technological monopoly in the home ground.

Pros and cons of Modi Govt’s move of controlling pharma sector

prasanu202
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Pros and cons of Modi Govt’s move of controlling pharma sector

Recently, our PM mooted bringing in a law making it mandatory to prescribe generic drugs. Subsequently, a widely followed Twitter handle expressed apprehension about the return of the Congress/UPA era Control Raj. I’m sure that there are many who share this discomfort with excessive Govt control in various spheres of a citizen’s life.

As a doctor, I would like to make a case, albeit with a heavy heart, for such an advisory or even a regulation. Let’s start with some basic facts. Generic drugs are medicines which contain exactly the same active ingredient as branded drugs, and has the same therapeutic effects. It is exactly the same in dosing, safety, strength, quality, the way it works, the way it is taken, and the way it should be used.

Why, then, are they so much cheaper than branded drugs? Pharma companies spend a lot on R&D to develop new drugs. To protect their investment, they are allowed to market with their new drug under a brand name with patent protection. Once the patent expires, other companies can market their version of the drug. It’s cheaper because the manufacturer doesn’t have to duplicate the original trials for efficacy, safety etc.

With inexpensive yet effective versions of many drugs available why hasn’t their use become widespread? Both, doctors and pharma companies would have to shoulder the blame for that. Doctors, being busy professionals, seldom have time to read about the newer drugs or keep up with the latest research. They are almost entirely dependent on Medical Representatives for their information.

Medical Representatives push their products aggressively and even offer considerable incentives to doctors. Sponsoring medical conferences, doctors’ travel & stay at star hotels, lavish gifts on birthdays/festivals/New Year go a long way in influencing prescriptions. Doctors might refuse actual bribes but who can deny that a company which has sponsored a physician’s trip to Paris for a conference, is counting on maximum brand recall of its products?

There are other, less well known ways of influencing treatment. Pharma companies fund a lot of Medical research without full disclosure. There is an inherent conflict of interest here which goes unnoticed and unquestioned by doctors.

When I graduated 30 years ago, 110mg% was the upper limit of a fasting blood sugar. Now, it’s down to 90 mg%. In one stroke, there are millions of new diabetic patients all on anti-diabetic drugs! So is the case with cholesterol. The upper limit of normal, which used to be 250 mg%, is now 150 mg%. Anyone & everyone above 40 yrs, and cholesterol levels above 150 mg% was put on statins.

The trend is only now being questioned after the side effects of statins have come to light. Similarly, the previous decade saw HRT being used aggressively to treat changes at menopause. Our grandmothers took this change in their stride but thanks to pharma companies, HRT was made the Holy Grail until the possible risk of breast cancer and of developing blood clots caused a rethink.

There are many more such examples where ‘independent’ research, actually funded by pharmaceutical companies from behind the scenes, helps create a huge market for their products. I might add that there is a lot of peer pressure at work here. I might want to tell a patient with high cholesterol to eat sensibly and exercise regularly instead of popping pills. Or a menopausal lady to add milk/curds/cheese to her diet and  take a brisk 2-3 km walk everyday. But I run the risk of appearing ignorant/outdated and losing my patient to a colleague who quotes the latest studies in the US and prescribes a long list of new, expensive drugs!

However, failure of generic drugs to take off is not only about a nexus between venal doctors and unscrupulous pharma companies, as the Govt appears to think. There are serious practical issues to grapple with. There have been doubts raised about the quality and efficacy of generic drugs as very few of them undergo quality control tests. This is a genuine concern for doctors wanting to prescribe generic drugs.

Availability is also a major stumbling block. Even if a doctor were to prescribe a generic drug where would a patient get it? Most patients walk into the chemist next to the doctor’s clinic. If the chemist gets a better margin from selling a branded drug, it’s unlikely that he would stock the generic drug.

The Govt has indeed opened Jan Aushadhi stores but they are too few in number and mostly located in Govt hospital premises. Certainly, the numbers are not adequate to cater to the demand. A lack of awareness is another big hurdle. Both, doctors and patients are woefully uninformed about generic drugs and their availability.

The positive point is that a discussion has now begun. If the Govt is serious about bringing in a regulation, it must iron out these problems first. It must standardize generic drugs by subjecting them to stringent quality control. It should make them easily and widely available so that patients are not inconvenienced.

Massive awareness programmes to inform patients about the availability of generic drugs will help to create a demand for them. The IMA (Indian Medical Association), on its part must encourage all practicing doctors to prescribe generic drugs where ever possible. The old MCI (it has been replaced by the National Medical Commission) had notified last year that doctors should prescribe generic drugs and that the prescription should be legible and in capital letters. We must take that up as a mission.

It’s heartbreaking that we might have to be coerced into doing something for the patient’s benefit, which we should have been doing as a matter of course. But I am optimistic that if quality generic drugs are made easily available, we will embrace the change.

A different India painted by Indian media post 2014

Liberal Right
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A different India painted by Indian media post 2014

If you read and watch Indian media, and more importantly believe all the things they say, you certainly think that since 2014, India has been a different place altogether.

Suddenly, Indian people have become intolerant. Majoritarian rule has dawned so religious minorities (especially Muslims) are horrified. Fringe elements on the right have been empowered by this ‘sympathizing’ government and they started pursuing their agenda brazenly. It all started with church attacks. Some elements in media gave it a religious spin, but in the end it turned out to be a law and order situation. Then comes intolerance and award-wapasi.

The tragic incident of Akhlak’s death has triggered an award returning spree. The so called ‘liberals’ started returning their award in the protest against the central government. The incident happened in Uttar Pradesh. Law and order is state’s responsibility. Samajwadi Party was in power in the state at that time. And yet, the award-wapasi gang returned the awards in protests against BJP and PM Modi. Why? Because the PM did not say a word against the incident. They are not bothered by Akhilesh not doing anything, but upset because the PM did not speak anything.

Latest entry in this row of manufactured controversies is cow vigilantism. Nobody can be punished by the mob let alone killed even if he has committed a crime. It is definitely a condemnable act. The government must find the culprits and punish them severely, and make sure that in future such incidents never happen. Having said that, I want to iterate that some section of media and many ‘liberals’ have been very biased and selective in reporting such incidents. If a person who is at the receiving end of mob justice happens to be from a minority community, he will get more airtime and print space. But the same is not true if a person is from majority community. In Kerala, many innocent BJP/RSS workers are killed by communists, but you will not see the outrage in mainstream media, print or electronic.

While contemplating about this situation, a question occurred to my mind: Was this selective outrage from media and ‘liberal’ community intentional or their minds are framed in such a way that they feel they are acting naturally? If the second option is the case, then we are not doomed. Through dialogues and conversations, they can be persuaded. Their incorrect perception can be corrected. But if the first option is the case, which seems the case, then we are definitely doomed. You can wake the sleeping person, but you cannot wake a person who pretends to be sleeping. When your intentions are not clean, you cannot be persuaded to change your behaviour.

God save India from such ‘liberals’.

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