<![CDATA[India Journal - First Person]]>

<![CDATA[India Journal - First Person]]>Tue, 18 Mar 2025 20:11:44 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Women Empowerment Should be India’s Priority]]>Fri, 21 Jun 2019 18:30:04 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/women-empowerment-should-be-indias-priorityBY SHRUTI SINGH
Women empowerment can be defined in very simple words - it is making women powerful so that they can take their own decisions regarding their lives and well being in the family and society. It is empowering women to make them able to get their real rights in the society.

Why Do We Need Women Empowerment in India
As we all know that India is a male dominated country where males are dominated in every area and females are forced to be responsible for only family care and live in the home including many other restrictions. Almost 50% of the population in India is covered by the female only so the full development of the country depends on the half population means women, who are not empowered and still restricted by many social taboos. In such condition, we cannot say that our country would be developed in the future without empowering half of its population - women. If we want to make our country a developed country, first it is very necessary to empower women by the efforts of men, government, laws and women too.
The need of women empowerment arose because of gender discrimination and male domination in Indian society since ancient time. Women have been targeted for many types of violence and discriminatory practices by the male members in the family in India and other countries as well. Wrong and old practices for women in society from ancient time have taken the form of well developed customs and traditions. There is a tradition of worshipping many female goddesses in India including giving honor to the women forms in the society like mother, sister, daughter, wife and other female relatives or friends. But, it does not mean that only respecting or honoring women can fulfill the need of development in the country. It needs the empowerment of the other half of the population of the country in every walk of life.
In the ancient Indian society, there was a custom of sati pratha, nagar vadhu system, dowry system, sexual violence, domestic violence, female infanticide, parda pratha, wife burning, sexual harassment at work place, child marriage, child labour, devadashi pratha, etc including other discriminatory practices. All such type of ill practices is because of male superiority complex and patriarchal system of the society.
Socio-political rights (right to work, right to education, right to decide for themselves, etc) for the women were completely restricted by the male members of family. Some of the ill practices against women have been eliminated by the open minded and great Indian people who raise their voices for the discriminatory practices against women. Through the continuous efforts of the Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Britishers were forced to eliminate the ill practice of Sati paratha. Later, other famous social reformers of the India (Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Swami Vivekananda, etc) also had raised their voices and worked hard for the upliftment of women in Indian society. In India, the Widow Remarriage Act, 1856 was initiated by the continuous efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in order to improve the conditions of widows in the country.
In the recent years, various Constitutional and legal rights have been implemented by the government of India in order to eliminate ill practices and gender discrimination against women. However, in order to solve such a big issue, the continuous effort of everyone including women is required. Modern society is being more aware about the women rights which results in the increasing number of several self-help groups, NGOs, etc working in this direction. Women are being more open minded and breaking the societal barriers in order to achieve their rights in all dimensions even after crimes are going side by side.
(Shruti is a lawyer who specializes in aiding women and organizations in tackling sexual harassment at the workplace. She is based out of Delhi, India and her office is affiliated with Chug LLP, based in Cerritos, CA.)

]]><![CDATA[Karunanidhi Scratches on my Mind From Five Years in Chennai]]>Thu, 16 Aug 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/karunanidhi-scratches-on-my-mind-from-five-years-in-chennai

By Saeed Naqvi
The way Karunanidhi burst upon the political scene in 1953 required political imagination. He pulled together several ideas that were dear to him and which moved the people to their core. The slogans were: my land is sacred to me and no one will appropriate it; my language will not be supplanted by another;

capitalists from the north should be resisted if they come with hegemonic intent.
Karunanidhi put his finger on the pulse. When industrialist Ramakrishna Dalmia set up his cement factory, he sought to change the name of the town ito Dalmianagar. Students led by Karunanidhi came out in large numbers. The town reverted to its original name. Kallakudi. Brian Friel wrote Translations, a powerful play on a similar situation in Ireland in the 19th century.
This agitation set the scene for the much bigger agitation in 1965 against the imposition of Hindi. Two year later, the DMK came to power and soon abolished the three-language formula - Tamil and English would suffice.
It was only proper that he should have found a resting place beside his mentor ‘Anna’.
Relations between Karunanidhi and M.G. Ramachandran were strained since ‘Anna’s’ death in 1969. Karunanidhi’s much greater organizational control was being undermined by MGR’s cinematic glamour.
I never got to know either well: my inability with Tamil stood in the way. But with journalists MGR was both inaccessible and vindictive, if crossed. Meeting him, however, was both, a gastronomical treat and psychedelic show. The interior of his residence was a series of criss crossing, cavernous passages until you came to what in racing terms is called the ‘straight’, a 30-feet dimly-lit narrow hall, at the end of which, like a deity, sat MGR, with his trademark cap and dark glasses. He gestured that I sit on the sofa beside him. Suddenly a trolley materialized which heralded the beginning of elaborate hospitality, an endless procession of delicacies which served a twin purpose: they titillated the palate and discouraged conversation.
For me, raised on different aesthetics, MGR remained an enigma. And yet, by every yardstick, he had shot into the charismatic stratosphere by projecting an inexplicable persona. Jayalalitha performed the impossible: she amplified charisma.
We have seen the mess the AIADMK, the two charismatic leaders mindlessly left behind. DMK, however, has always more real in its politics. Not only was Karunanidhi more intellectually agile, he had his feet firmly on the ground. The cadres are in place. The next line of leadership (Stalin for instance) have been in the drill for quite some time. But the transition may be problematic.
The MGR-Jayalalitha charisma had obscured the Dravida movement’s earlier anti-Hindi, anti-north, anti-Brahmin edge. In the absence of Karunanidhi’s hardnosed pragmatism, the second line of leadership may fall back on more radical regionalism indeed, parochialism, to score points over each other.

]]><![CDATA[Surge in Yoga Culture in America]]>Fri, 22 Jun 2018 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/surge-in-yoga-culture-in-america

For the last several years, yoga and meditation are becoming more acceptable in America. Yoga has surged in popularity and its impact is everywhere: in movies, television, advertising, and schools. Americans have witnessed an increase in yoga studios, meditation centers and vegetarian restaurants, all of which have roots in India. Meditation was originally a huge part of yoga. Now, yoga is marketed as a series of asanas (postures)

that makes one fit and helps in weight loss. Many Americans have incorporated yoga routines as an essential part of their work out regime. The number of US yoga practitioners has increased exponentially to more than 36 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012, as per a 2016 study conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance.
In 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming June 21 as ‘International Day of Yoga’. The resolution introduced by India’s ambassador to the UN was a follow up of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call during his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2014, asking world leaders to adopt an international Yoga day, as “Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being.”
The first International Day of Yoga was observed all over the world on June 21, 2015. In New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi, a large number of dignitaries from 84 nations, and a record number of 35,985 people performed 21 yoga asanas (postures) on Rajpath for 35 minutes. At the UN Headquarters, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke at the inaugural function which also featured a yoga demonstration. The UN General Assembly President Sam Kutesa attended the event along with more than one hundred people, including diplomats and UN staff. The event was webcast to thousands who took part in an all-day yoga event at Times Square.
The Indian Embassy in Washington D.C. organized many curtain-raiser yoga events featuring Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, among others, during the months of May-June 2015. Indian ambassador Arun K Singh attended the event on June 21, along with several dignitaries. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii delivered a congressional resolution commemorating the day. Now, the Indian Embassy is organizing a celebration of the 4th International Day of Yoga on June 16, 2018. All Indian consulates in USA are also organizing similar events and inviting members of the Indian community to participate.
Swami Vivekananda introduced yoga to Americans. He came to the USA in 1893 to address the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. During his stay of about four years in America, he lectured at major universities and retreats. He started the Vedantic centre in New York in 1896 and taught Raja Yoga classes. In 1920, Paramahansa Yogananda came as India’s delegate to the International Congress of Religious Leaders in Boston. He established The Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles. Today, there are seven SRF centers in California where Yogananda’s meditation and Kriya yoga techniques are taught on regular basis. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced Transcendental Meditation (TM ) to Americans in 1959. The TM technique involves the use of mantra and regular practice offers reduction of stress and fatigue. Yoga continued to proliferate in a limited way as the focus has been on the religious aspect of yoga, which dealt with how to use meditation to come closer to God.
Indra Devi was the first to teach and propagate nonreligious yoga for the American mainstream, with an emphasis on its physical benefits. She opened a yoga studio in Hollywood in 1947 with emphasis on the physical benefits of yoga. She was born Eugenie Peterson in Latvia on May 12, 1899 and went to India in 1927 for three months. She was not happy coming back and returned to India where she became a rising star as a dancer and actress in Indian films. In 1930, she married Jan Strakaty, the commercial attaché to the Czechoslovak Consulate in Bombay. She started learning yoga in 1937 from Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. She became the first Western woman and the first woman chela (pupil) of an Indian yoga teacher. In 1938, her husband was transferred to China. At the urging of her teacher Krishnamacharya, Indra opened a yoga school in Shanghai in 1939. Many Americans and Russians joined the school to learn yoga. There, she became known as Mata Ji, which means mother. She wrote her first book “Yoga, the Art of Reaching Health and Happiness.” It was believed to be the first book on yoga written by a Westerner to be published in India. In 1947, a year after her husband passed away, she moved to California. In an effort to publicize and spread yoga for health and wellness, she cultivated movie stars like Gloria Swanson and other famous people like Yehudi Menuhin to come to her Hollywood yoga studio. She promoted yoga to Americans as a system of physical exercise, consisting of a series of poses, postures and positions. She reached thousands of people through her books on yoga, two, “Forever Young, Forever Healthy” and “Renew Your Life by Practicing Yoga” were the best sellers. B.K.S. Iyengar, considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world, was the founder of “Iyengar Yoga”. He learnt yoga from Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, the same teacher who taught Indra Devi. In 1954, Yehudi Menuhin invited Iyengar to Switzerland. From then on, Iyengar visited the west regularly to teach his system of yoga. He made his first visit to the United States in 1956 and gave several lecture-demonstrations. He published his first book, Light on Yoga, which became known as “the bible of yoga” and has been the source book for yoga students. He was the author of many books on yoga practice and was often referred to as “the father of modern yoga”. Iyengar started hundreds of yoga centers, teaching Iyengar yoga which focuses on the correct alignment of the body within each yoga pose, making use of straps, wooden blocks, and other objects as aids in achieving the correct postures. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2014.
Yogi Bhajan started teaching “Kundalini Yoga, the Yoga of Awareness” in 1968. His version of Kundalini Yoga has continued to grow in influence and popularity largely in the Americas, Europe, South Africa, Togo, Australia, and East Asia. He was an inspiring teacher and trained thousands of teachers. Many of his followers opened their yoga studios in various parts of the world, popularizing yoga for health and fitness.
Bikram Choudhary emigrated to the United States in the 1970s and founded yoga studios in California and Hawaii. He earned fame and fortune by teaching yoga to Americans by opening heated yoga studios. His style of yoga is practiced in a room that has been preheated to a temperature of 105 degree F. Bikram Yoga is the 26 postures sequence selected and developed from Hatha Yoga. In the 1990s, Bikram began offering nine-week teacher certification courses and trained thousands of certified instructors who opened Bikram Yoga studios all over the world. For the last several years, Bikram has been involved in law suits due to his sexual transgressions. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar established the International Art of Living Foundation in 1981, which is operating in 154 countries. He has been promoting the Sudarshan Kriya, a rhythmic breathing yoga exercise that incorporates specific natural rhythms of the breath, harmonizing the body, mind and emotions. It is claimed that regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya “eliminates stress, fatigue and negative emotions.” In 1986, Sri Sri came to California to conduct the first course to be held in North America. Since then, he has been frequenting America to spread his brand of yoga.
Swami Ramdev is the most celebrated yoga teacher and has a following which runs into millions. He has revolutionized people’s thinking about yoga exercises. In 2003, India-based Aastha TV began featuring him in its morning yoga slot. Within a few years, he attained immense popularity and developed a huge following. His yoga camps are attended by a large number of people in India and abroad. His Pranayam exercises – a set of breathing exercises – are promoted to bring about balance between the body and mind. Regular practitioners claim numerous benefits. Zee TV in USA gives a one hour program daily featuring Ramdev’s yoga asanas. Ramdev has attained commercial success of his physical fitness yoga, with no parallel in India or the western world.
America is now dotted with yoga gyms and studios providing easy access to everyone, including business executives and Hollywood celebrities. There are also many yoga professionals and teachers who have gained prominence in this growing industry and are available for expert guidance. Several studies have shown that yoga reduces blood pressure, back pain, relieves stress and improves overall health. Several doctors recommend yoga to their cancer patients during and after treatment. Many Americans are drawn to yoga for physical fitness, others are attracted as yoga provides relief from stress while many others practice yoga for weight management.
Several entrepreneurs are flourishing in this $30 billion industry. They publish yoga magazines, yoga books, produce TV shows, make DVDs, video games and apps, manufacture yoga clothes, yoga artifacts, yoga furniture and furnishings, yoga foods, yoga tea, yoga energy bars, and hundreds of products and services. The proliferation of yoga products, DVDs, and internet has made yoga accessible by one and all. Hundreds of yoga websites have all kind of information about yoga, from health and wellness to spiritual and show simple to complex poses. Several New Age gurus, who travel across the globe, have contributed to yoga popularity. In the United States, best-selling author Deepak Chopra has significantly contributed to Indian meditation philosophy and yoga going mainstream.  Yoga has gone through several ups and downs during the last sixty years but now has earned well deserved respect and recognition. At its core, yoga is both a physical and spiritual practice. But for most Americans, yoga is a workout system that consists of a series of stretches, poses, and postures to tone and shape one’s body. (Inder Singh, a leading member of the Indian-American community is Executive Trustee of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin Foundation.)

]]><![CDATA[VACCINE HESITANT PARENTS AREN’T “CRACKPOTS”]]>Wed, 02 Nov 2016 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/vaccine-hesitant-parents-arent-crackpots

BY PAUL THOMAS, M.D. AND JENNIFER MARGULIS, PH.D.
In an article in, the New York Post labeled vaccine-hesitant parents as “crackpots,” a sentiment that was then echoed on Good Morning America. The idea goes like this: parents who choose to delay, space out, or forego some vaccines are uneducated, selfish, misinformed, and—most importantly—putting other people’s children...

at risk. Journalists and the doctors they interview are baffled: How could any parent not want to do every vaccine on the schedule? How could parents be so ignorant? So misled?
But the vast majority of parents who turn away from vaccines do so after following the doctor’s orders to vaccinate at birth, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 12 months, and 15 months and watching their baby get sicker and sicker.
Their baby’s reaction to a round of vaccines—high-pitched screaming, a fever of over 104 that lasts for hours, lethargy, loss of appetite—scares them. But since no one wants to leave a child vulnerable to infectious disease, these families usually ignore the reactions and continue to vaccinate. It isn’t until a diagnosis of regressive autism, unusually severe allergies, or Type 1 juvenile diabetes comes in that the parents step back and say, ‘Whoa, what happened? What did we do to make my child this sick?’

This happened four times in four years in my own practice—four babies born healthy followed my recommendations for vaccines (and everything else) and ended up with severe brain dysfunction by age three. These families did not have any known genetic risk factors for autism. I was baffled. And concerned. It took that much damage for me to start reading past the media headlines and doing my own exhaustive research into what we know and what we don’t about the safety of our current vaccine schedule.

I made evidence-based, scientific changes to the current CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule so that I could keep the children in my practice safe from infectious diseases and keep their brains and bodies healthy. According to the mainstream narrative, that makes me a “crackpot.”

But my clinical results are astounding. In my pediatric practice, we have had no new cases of autism in the children whose parents have adopted what I call a “vaccine-friendly plan”: a slower, more European-style vaccine schedule that does not include the birth and infant series of the hepatitis B vaccine, spaces out aluminum-containing shots, and delays the measles mumps and rubella vaccine until age three.

I also help parents understand the importance of exclusive breastfeeding (which hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific articles have shown to be a key component of lasting good health and immunity), why it is essential to avoid pediatric Tylenol (which can cause liver damage and immune dysfunction and can make it much harder for infants to detoxify), and why we must reduce our children’s cumulative toxic load as much as possible.

This issue is not black and white.
As we explain in our new book, The Vaccine-Friendly Plan, it’s not that all vaccines are bad or all vaccines are good. But sometimes—for some small children—too many vaccines at once can overwhelm their developing immune and neurological systems.
Indeed, there is good evidence to suggest that vaccines have become a component of the toxic overload our children are facing.

ake this toxic overload (which includes exposure to pesticides, herbicides, flame retardants, plasticizers, acetaminophen, arsenic, aspartame, and neurotoxins like mercury, lead, and aluminum) and combine it with nutrient deficiencies stemming from our high-sugar SAD (Standard American Diet), lack of exercise, too much stress, and a compromised microbiome and the result is the neurological and immune damage we are seeing among America’s children today.

We realize this is an inconvenient truth. We realize our medical colleagues and the media would rather pretend it wasn’t happening. But we simply cannot continue to insist that the current vaccine schedule is safe and should be unquestioningly followed when we have a growing body of scientific evidence, clinical data from doctors like me, and parents’ firsthand experience proving otherwise.
We give vaccines in our office every day. Questioning the safety of the current CDC vaccine schedule does not make us anti-vaccine. And it certainly doesn’t make us crackpots.

Paul Thomas, M.D., is a Dartmouth-trained pediatrician with over 13,000 children in his integrative pediatric practice in Portland, Oregon. Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is a Cornell-trained award-winning science journalist based in Ashland, Oregon. They are the co-authors of The Vaccine-Friendly Plan: Dr. Paul’s Safe and Effective Approach to Immunity and Health, From Pregnancy Through Your Child’s Teen Years

]]><![CDATA[Prof. George Hart of UC Berkeley: Erudite Scholar]]>Fri, 25 Mar 2016 17:39:32 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/prof-george-hart-of-uc-berkeley-erudite-scholar

By PREM SOURI KISHORE
Awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 2015, by the Government of India, George Hart, professor of Tamil Language at the University of California, Berkeley , is distinguished for establishing Tamil as a classical language and for his translations of Sangam Literature His devotion, commitment, scholarship and...

focus directing awareness of the richness, history and diversity of the Indian language Tamil and his historical translations make him a worthy recipient of the award. He has played a crucial role in opening doors to a culture , creating a new vocabulary and recognizing to the world that Tamil is a classical language.
Q: What piqued your interest in Tamil?
I went to Harvard and majored in chemistry and physics but in school I studied Latin and Russian and became interested in languages .In third year college I had a roommate who was interested in Buddhism and so I started learning Sanskrit. I was fascinated and switched to Sanskrit in Indian studies.I was taught by an amazing scholar. I spent the proverbial 12 years of Sanskrit study to get a foot hold in the language. I had studied German , so I learned that in India there was another language that was not European .Another language in India which had a lot of literature, Tamil .I went through a primer on my own, did not know the pronounciation. Then I went in the summer to Wisconsin to study Tamil -quite fortuitious taught by one of the greatest scholars A.K. Ramunajam. At that time I met my wife Kausalya who was Tamilian. I continued to study the old poems together with A.K. Ramanujam -quite an experience .Did research for a thesis and spent a year in Chennai and made a point to study with people who did not understand English. How can you learn a language otherwise? I had a Tamil vidwan who worked with me on a bunch of old Sangam Literature. The oldest form of literature. I started translating while continuing to learn Sanskrit.
I worked with a Sanskrit pundit for a year who did not know English. This was important as it gave me focus and discipline. My wife after a while understood everything I said in Sanskrit.
I returned to the US with a lot of index cards of Tamil and Sanskrit Literature and wrote my thesis to show that they both shared a lot of conventions and probably did not borrow from each other. Some of the conventions are common like in ‘Meghadoota’ where lovers are separated during monsoons. Lot of customs are the same in Tamil or Telugu literature.
A colleague Narayan Rao did a lot of work in Telugu literature of 2000 years ago. We found commonalities. Old conservative culture spread across Deccan into Maharashtra .This may be the result of cross cultural marriages, often between cousins.
Q: What is Sangam Literature? How did the anthologies come about?
Scholars differ on the exact origin of Sangam Literature. The word Sangam is not from the Tamil language, it is derived from the Sanskrit word Samgha which means academy and comes from the Buddhist and Jain sanghas that existed between the 6th and 8th centuries BCE.
The Sangam period is the period in the history of ancient Southern India spanning 7-10 generations from 300 BCE. It is a collection of mostly 2,400 secular poems composed by 450 Tamil poets both men and women from various classes of society . Kings, scholars, teachers, artisans, farmers, noblemen, learned men, doctors, even farmers. Some of the poems are anonymous .It is one of the main sources used for documenting the early history of the ancient Tamil land. The poems are the main source of the Chola Chera and Pandava eras.
The poets and authors gathered regularly and expounded on the events, rulers and daily life . It started our as an oral tradition and continued for several centuries. Later texts and anthologies were composed and commentaries written around the 13th or 14 th centuries. The Sangam period entertained literary academies, but disappeared with the advent of Jainism and Buddhism and rediscovered in the 19th century.
Q: The Tamil language it is said had become a powerful and elegant medium of literary expression with social life coded with elaborate conventions.What were the themes?
All poets had patrons. As for themes, most praised the king’s virtues as the king was close to God. You also come to face to face with tragedies, women suffering, nature ,moods, situations, the politics of the time, clothing, jewelry, battles, warriors, trade, friendships, kindnesses, courtesans, passion, betrayal, the love of man and woman.For instance, ‘Akananuru’ was written by 142 poets and includes around 400 poems while ‘Purananuru’ has 400 poems written by men and women and among them were was the famous female poet Avvaiyar who wrote 33 poems .They range from 4- 40 lines .Most poems praise the kings belonging to 3 great dynasties the Chera, Chola and Pandya.
Q: The themes appear to be dramatic , vivid and rich with various issues of life and historical incidents. Is war a common theme in Tamil Literature?
Book of War and Wisdom-Akananeru a rich collection’s 400 pages long . Many of the writings are in praise of royalty, as poets were trying to get them support. A French Institiute in Pondicherry has just published the anthology.
Interestingly enough the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka used these poems where war is glorified, and they used that as part of their propaganda and culture.
Sangam poems are so varied detailed, elaborate and an extraordinary body of work. Of course Telugu literature too is powerful but when you try to evaluate , a lot of it is in the eye of the beholder. It is difficult to generalize. Nobody knows enough of all the languages to compare them.
Q: What was the length of these poems?
Some poems run hundreds of lines, some are short, just 3-4 lines
Q: How much of Sanskrit influence was there in early Tamil poems?
You may find Sanskrit words in the early poems and later no Sanskrit words at all. Elegant Tamil is less Sanskritised unlike Telugu and the other languages.
Nature, evenings, spring season, monsoons, clouds, separation can be found in epic poetry. Time and seasons reflect the emotions of humans as seen in the epic poetry of Kalidas a (10 th century CE) as well as the 6TH century Tamil ‘Silapadhikaram.’
Tamil literature does not have the Upanishads and Sanskrit does not have the ‘Tirukural.’
Q: When did Sangam literature disappear?
Probably between the first and 3rd century CE since the Jains and Buddhists became active and Sanskrit became the more intellelctual language of South East Asia.Telugu developed at this time and was very much affected by Sanskrit.
But then you get ‘Manimekala’ which is more Sanskritised .Because it is older Sanskrit keeps its identity so strong .Tamil is perhaps entirely independent in its first beginnigns to be entirely independendent of Sanskrit influences, yet the name Sangam is retained.
Q: Did poets travel?
Bards traveled from king to king and place to place to make money and then when the poets came along, they imitiated the bards and pretended they were like them. Whether they traveled is not clear.
Q: How did Tamil language develop?
It is one of the many Dravidian languages. Language keeps changing .Groups move and produce daughter languages.Meanwhile scholars are beating their heads trying to prove the Indus Valley spoke Dravidian languages.There were at least 9 Dravidian languages and they divided again.We have no concrete evidence.
Q: Is there much interest in research today ?
They are Tamils who research diligently and put their findings on the internet Sri Lankan Tamils have done really good work .They take great pride in the language. In this age of technology most people aim for a career in medicine or computer or engineering but hopefully that will change.

]]><![CDATA[Political Representation Matters]]>Tue, 01 Dec 2015 23:47:03 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/political-representation-matters

BY RAJIV DALAL
With over a half million Indian-Americans living in California, the state is home to the largest Indian diaspora community in the United States. And yet, there has never been an Indian-American representative in the California Legislature. I am running for the State Assembly to change that. Like so many others in...

their generation, my parents came to this country with eight dollars in their pocket and built a life for their family. They focused on their profession and built their small businesses from scratch, earning enough to send my sister and me to great schools so that we could achieve the American Dream. Like a lot of immigrants, politics was not their top priority at the time. In addition to their laser-like focus on career and family, it is possible that part of my parents’ reason for not engaging in politics in their new home was their perception of politics in India (sometimes corrupt and often distant from everyday people’s concerns). My parents’ story is shared by hundreds of thousands of immigrants here in California. But unlike other ethnic groups that saw gains in political representation amongst their next generation, Indian Americans are only now starting to engage in California politics in a meaningful way. Political representation isn’t just symbolic; it is a fundamental necessity for strong communities. It is no secret that Indian Americans make up a large proportion of health care professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners. But rarely does California adequately support the medical field, small businesses and capital investment, and the state continuously hampers these sectors with an obtuse regulatory regime. At the most fundamental level, our community believes that education is the key to success, yet California’s public schools are among the lowest performing in the nation in core academic areas like reading and math (California ranks 45th). New York invests over $20,000 per public school pupil while California pays a paltry $9,100. We spend six times that amount incarcerating each prisoner.
While California has one of the best public university systems in the world, we have cut it to the bone over the last decade. I care deeply about education, which is why I guest lecture at community colleges in my district and co-founded the Samvedana school in India, which serves students in slums in Gujarat. The consequence of a lack of political representation is that our priorities are not adequately reflected in our state’s policies.
However, for the first time our community has a real shot at political representation here in California. There are three viable candidates (in San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim) and if at least two of the three elected, we can build a legislative caucus in Sacramento like other ethnic groups have. We can establish a political infrastructure on the inside so that each time a qualified Indian American runs for office, he or she is not doing it alone. But, this can only happen if our community up and down the state rallies to support us. I have spent my career working in the film industry, and as Los Angeles’ Deputy Film Czar I helped to engineer and pass the recent Film and Television Jobs Promotion Act that has brought thousands of production jobs back to the state and infused millions of dollars into small businesses around Southern California. I know what it takes to get meaningful legislation passed in Sacramento, and it is not easy. If our community wants legislation that positively impacts our concerns—be it ethnic and religious anti-discrimination protections, fair immigration practices, pro-business reform, or positive representation in educational curriculum, we need to come together as a community and as professionals to effectuate change.
(Dalal, who has served as L.A.’s “deputy film czar” under Mayor Eric Garcetti, is a Georgetown University Law Graduate, he is married to Divya and is running as a Democrat for the CA State Assembly, from Dist. 43 that covers Burbank, La Canada, Glendale).

]]><![CDATA[Where Gandhi & Mandela Are Palpable Parts of Our Present]]>Fri, 28 Aug 2015 01:19:08 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/where-gandhi-mandela-are-palpable-parts-of-our-present

By Danita Dodson
On July 13, 2015, a new era in my life began. Travelling from Tennessee, I arrived in California to attend the Ahimsa Center’s Summer Institute for K-12 teachers. Held at Cal Poly Pomona, Journeys of Nonviolence focused on two champions of nonviolent action for social change, Mohandas K. Gandhi and...

Nelson Mandela, who devoted their lives to battling racism, oppression, violence, and poverty. This biennial program introduces teachers to the concept of ahimsa and assists them in creating innovative curriculum that brings the ethics of nonviolence to their classrooms. Joining a select group of thirty-one educators from across the U.S., I was privileged to participate in a two-week journey that was truly life-changing.
I was drawn to the Ahimsa Center when a good friend shared his own experience in the 2013 Institute. Because I have always valued opportunities that nurture transformative learning, my friend’s description resonated deeply. While I am a joyful person, I cannot remember a time when I did not recognize and mourn the injustices and disharmonies around me. Growing up and teaching in rural Appalachia—a region steeped in both discrimination and activism—I endeavor to help disadvantaged students realize the importance of social action to end cruelty, discontent, and poverty. Desiring to help them fathom the 7 billion Others and to realize that local troubles are akin to problems around the globe, I was attracted to the Institute’s mission. It promised to help me teach Gandhi’s and Mandela’s shared truth that injustice, violence, and hatred can be remedied only by the propagation of kindness, harmony, and respect for all life.
Within the current global and local contexts of escalating hostilities and divisions, the Institute affirmed just how crucial it is that teachers connect pedagogy and nonviolence. The interdisciplinary format included the themes of compassion, forgiveness, transformation, and reconciliation, providing not only notable lectures about the history of nonviolent social change but also invaluable curriculum-development workshops with exceptional facilitators. Working with expert faculty and scholars in appraising the importance of Gandhi and Mandela in their own eras and also their continuing relevance in our time, participants were exposed to readings, discussions, and documentaries that enhanced our understanding of nonviolence and nonviolent social change. Based on our learning experiences, reflections, and analysis of sources, each of us wrote a comparative essay on a salient aspect related to Gandhi and Mandela and developed an associated lesson.
By the end our exploration of Gandhi in week one, we began to jubilantly pronounce the words swaraj, swadeshi, satyagraha, sarvodaya, and to advocate their vital applicability to our lives and our instruction. One of the most poignant experiences of that week for me was a close study of Gandhi’s talisman, which encourages us to envisage “the face of the poorest and the weakest” when we act. Pondering this benevolent wisdom as I continued to immerse myself in Gandhi’s writings, I began to realize that his life itself is a talisman of compassion, and the study of his journey can only bring us goodness. In the second week, approaching Mandela’s writings through this lens, I became cognizant of his comparable empathy for the oppressed as he worked to lessen their suffering and to facilitate their freedom. Working with a Mandela scholar, participants engaged in a thorough study of the horrific conditions under apartheid and the extraordinary movement against it. We also had the unforgettable opportunity to hear Linda Biehl share her story of love and forgiveness for the four men who killed her daughter Amy in South Africa, men she now calls her friends. Presented within this multifaceted and profound framework, Gandhi and Mandela transcended history and became a palpable part of our present.
In addition to giving participants a critical assessment of Gandhi and Mandela and their contributions to history, the Institute allowed us to experience the sense of community that these men diligently sought to create. Assembling educators whose applications exhibited a deep interest in teaching students a greater appreciation for humanity and its oneness, the program placed us within what Gandhi called an “oceanic circle” with a common goal that still respected the individuality of each. It inspired a bond that will likely last a lifetime. Currently, I am in contact with my Ahimsa fellows almost daily, and we continue to be mindful of our unified endeavor to “be the change.”
Although only one month has passed, I have begun to put into action the lessons of nonviolence in my school system, for the Institute has empowered me with the ability to extend the oceanic circle into my own community. Two weeks ago, in a professional development session, I shared Gandhi’s talisman and related insights. Emulating approaches I learned at the Ahimsa Center, I noticed receptivity radiating from Tennessee educators as I reminded them of human connections. Though the words ahimsa, swaraj, and sarvodaya were foreign to them, their equivalents nonviolence, freedom, and well-being of all were not. Last week I also began the work of bringing the principles of compassion, civility, unity, and trust into my classroom. I have designed a multicultural curriculum to provide disadvantaged Appalachian students a bright lens through which to view both their region and their world, one that will encourage them to make their own inward journeys, to imagine positive possibilities, and to understand the oneness of all life. This curriculum includes the lesson I created at the Institute, which explores how Gandhi and Mandela helped their peoples reclaim cultural heritage, symbols, and values; it is anchored in a framework that promotes cultural competence, tolerance, and appreciation of the heritage of others. Thanks to the Ahimsa Center Institute, I have made a commitment to be more fully present in every encounter, professionally and personally. The experience has helped me tap into my truest self, delve into my purest potential, and embody the essence of nonviolence in my life. (Danita Dodson is a high school English and Spanish teacher in Sneedville, TN. She also teaches literature and humanities as an adjunct instructor at Walters State Community College. To learn about the Ahimsa Center : www.cpp.edu/ahimsacenter.)

]]><![CDATA[Bollywood Dance Is About Understanding Culture]]>Wed, 03 Jun 2015 18:52:09 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/bollywood-dance-is-about-understanding-culture

By NAKUL DEV MAHAJAN
I remember standing at the bottom foot of a raised stage at the India Independence Day celebration in Los Angeles in 1983, as two beautifully costumed Bharata Natyam dancers took their place with their ornate braided hair and dramatic eye make-up. An elegant and stunning lady dressed in a green and...

red Kanjeevaram saree took the microphone and introduced herself and her company. She began to explain what the two dancers were going to perform. Her face became animated with her story telling, as she gestured with her intricate hand movements. The music began and I was immediately put into a trance by the rhythmic sounds of the dancers bells. I drew even closer to the performance when the elegant lady began reciting words that were foreign to me, yet spellbinding. I was 8 years old when the lady in the green and red Kanjeevaram saree evoked an inner passion for dance. This was my earliest memory of classical Indian dance and the beginning of a love affair to all forms of dance from India, especially Hindi film dancing or better known today as Bollywood Dance. I started choreographing and teaching Bollywood Dance at the age of 12, but the demand didn’t snowball until I was 16, when I became legal to drive. I would drive a lot and get paid close to nothing after travel distance and gas costs. I wasn’t the businessman yet; just hungry to teach anyone because I loved it. It was a wonderful time in film dancing when the community provided platforms for the youth to perform, whether it would be dance competitions or community festivals. It was the early 90s and we had SriDevi and Madhuri Dixit that inspired children and young adults to dance and learn a form that was considered vulgar and “not really a style.” With my classical training, I created a style and found a niche for myself in the community as a Bollywood Dance teacher. There were not too many of us.
In reality, I was the only male Bollywood instructor in Southern California, in a predominately classical based dance community of instructors, many of whom were unwelcoming and discouraging to the Bollywood craze. Bollywood Dance was the future and unfortunately, the classical forms began to take a hit, as the younger generation found more interest in learning a style that was commercial and trendy. I have always been and continue to promote learning a classical form, as the best dancers are the ones that have years of classical training. It is a tragedy that Indian classical dance is becoming a dying art and I hope that there is a shift in interest in the coming years.
It is interesting to see how much Bollywood Dance has changed in terms of people’s attitude and opinion. In the earlier part of my career, I recall people making judgements that Bollywood Dance has no technique, it is simple, it takes no talent and that it is provocative. However, we have learned over the years that Bollywood Dancing is very complex and diverse. Today we have many styles within Bollywood Dance such as classical, folk, hip-hop, contemporary and jazz. In recent times, I hear people complimenting and appreciating the complexity of how demanding this form can be. The best testament to the popularity of Bollywood dancing today is the surge of Bollywood dance schools that have opened across the US, just in the last 5 years.
It does however sadden me that the Indian traditional component of Bollywood Danceis losing its significance in the majority of films being made today. The western influence in Bollywood filmmaking has outweighed the traditional wholesome family oriented movies we grew up with. A “Kabhi Khushi Khabie Gham” or a “Devdas” is a once in a blue moon treat we may be given from a very provocative Bollywood industry we have today. The backlash from this new wave of filmmaking is the types of music and songs, which are often inappropriate to teach students. We take great pride at my studio, NDM Bollywood Dance Studio, that all of our students are limited to learn choreography on music that is tasteful and not vulgar. Unfortunately, I have seen that not all Bollywood schools follow this responsibility of researching songs that are suitable and age appropriate. Nowhere I am saying that the Western influence is negative. All is good when in balance.
There has been an overwhelming difference in the quality of aspiring Bollywood Dance students over the past decade or so in my experience. The main difference is in the facial expressions of what the students are trying to emote through the music or song. My theory is that recent generations do not speak Hindi or understand it, therefore they perform dances without true embodiment of the story telling aspect of Hindi music. What we see quite frequently is movement and very little depth in emotion. This is something I identified in my students years ago and have a strict curriculum in not only learning the lyrics to the songs, but also knowing the translations to the words.
However, it is more than just lip syncing, its understanding the Indian culture, roots, tradition and customs throughout the subcontinent. I recall a few weeks ago explaining to a group of girls of what a ‘doli’ (bride carriage) was and the symbolism of sindoor (vermillion). These are Hindi words frequently used in Bollywood songs. This is where I become more than just a choreographer. It fills my heart to share such important layers of our culture to the younger generations that may have slipped from their upbringing. I have to remember that all students were not like me growing up; dancing and watching Bollywood movies on a weekly basis, having their grandparents sharing language and customs and a parent that only spoke to them in their mother tongue.
Nonetheless, I must give this new generation “props” for being a part of the dance community where much of its influence derives from Hip-Hop and other Western forms. Bollywood dancing today is much more demanding and competitive. The levels of athleticism has increased tremendously over the years. We went from the charismatic Shah Rukh Khan to 8 pack-flexible Hrithik Roshan to the unmatchable technique of Shahid Kapoor all in just 10 years. The kids today are out dancing my generation and will continue to add more elements to a form that was once called simple and easy to do.
I am often asked about the challenges I faced in my career. In retrospect, those challenges are what has made me Nakul Dev Mahajan today. I was a shy boy that was picked last on the school yard, teased for being Indian, bullied for being “different” and later questioned by peers and family for pursuing a career in dance. It was these experiences that toughened me to go against the grain of what was culturally expected of me. I stood behind my dream and my passion to do what makes me happy. Through sweat, blood and many tears, I opened the first Bollywood Dance Company in the US, which I consider one of the milestone moments in my career. I was hit with my greatest challenge two years ago when I was diagnosed with stage 2 testicular cancer. But the power of love from family, friends, students and fans around the world gave me the strength to fight and persevere. Today, as a retired professional dancer, I have been blessed with many astounding opportunities. As a choreographer, I have yet to reach my pinnacle, but I have been very fortunate to call myself the Bollywood choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance and to be the one that brought Bollywood to the White House with our First Lady, Michelle Obama. While constantly making history by bringing Bollywood Dance to levels never seen before, I hope that I have not only made the South Asians in the US, but my entire country of India proud.
After all these years, I still see that same lady in the green and red Kanjeevaram saree time to time. Her sarees have changed but her spirit and blessings are the same. That lady is Bharata Natyam’s Viji Prakash. What she evoked in me 32 years ago, still resonates in me every day and I hope to continue to inspire others in the same way she inspired me. As artists, we keep passing the torch and hoping that the flame never dies.
Mahajan is known as “Hollywood’s Favorite Bollywood Choreographer.” He is best credited for his work on “So You Think You Dance,” A.R. Rahman Jai Ho World Tour, Miss America (Nina Davuluri) talent segment and bringing Bollywood to the White House with Michelle Obama.

]]><![CDATA[50th Anniversary of Indo-Pak War: Remembering A Close Encounter]]>Thu, 28 May 2015 16:57:05 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/50th-anniversary-of-indo-pak-war-remembering-a-close-encounter

I was posted to Dwarka in Oct. 1963 and was there till the middle of Jun. 1967. There were two signal units at that particular moment in Dwarka - No. 114 SU and No. 607 SU, where I was posted, along with one DSC Guards unit. There was a Corporal Swamy (Radar Mechanic) who was trained on that particular radar equipment that were installed onto two big motor vehicles.

I was in the Electrical branch and others in Motor Transport Mechanics, others in Carpentry, Welding and Wireless Mechanics. We all worked on repairing vehicles right from tires and tubes to complete engine overhaul. In fact we all learned how to drive and to repair almost all kinds of vehicles including motorcycles, during our stay with that unit. It is 50 years now and I do member almost all the people by name and have their faces in my mind. Flg.Offr. S.Damodaran, was from the Air Force Signals branch, and was Commanding both the units and the only officer during that particular period.
The 1965 War
War had been declared and the trenches were dug all around the unit. On a regular morning, Sept. 7, 1965 I received a message that I was detailed to replace a sick guard. I was detailed for the third shift and my timing were 5.30 pm -7.30 pm; 11.30 pm - 01.30 am (on Sept 8) and 05.30 am - 07.30 am. Early in the afternoon we noticed a ship sailing from Bombay towards Okha, Gujarat,India’s last port. On contacting Air Force Station Jamnagar, we came to know that it was the INS Talwar patrolling the area. In the evening, around 5.30 pm, we saw the ship sailing in the opposite direction and thought that it might be INS Talwar going around on her routine duty. This ship sailed near the coast and all the lights on the ship were on. Everyone saw it taking its perfect position by moving up and down, going forward and backwards and it anchored there, after setting itself and turned all the lights off. Everyone forgot about that ship and was back on their routine, thinking that it was INS Talwar.
There is a light house (Asias second highest), a girls hostel, a girl’s school and a civil hospital near the Dwarka shore. All these were almost in the line of firing of that ship. We realised this fact only later. I was on my second round of the shift and after finishing a round of the camp, along with the DSC guard, we reached near a tree that was in the center of two barracks. The root of this tree was in such a shape that it was coming out of the ground at one place and the other end entered the ground forming a kind of a bench on which we normally sat during our break time. I looked at my watch and it was 0115 am on the morning of Sept 8.
Shelling
I turned to say something to my companion, then, there was a loud Swiiish and a Boom. Both, my companion and me looked towards that direction but the first Boom was followed by more Swiishes and Booms!! Everyone in the unit and in the city was up and running all around. People were jumping in the trenches and or falling flat on the ground to escape from the shelling. After about ten minutes the shelling stopped and slowly everyone started getting up.
Everyone was nervous and did not know what to do. Our Officer Commanding, Flying Officer S. Damodaran, Cpl Iyer and myself advanced towards the direction from where the shelling was coming. We did not find anything there. We took a Jeep and went around in the village to see if there were any damages. We did not find any damage or casualties in the entire village. Though the people in the village were now scared and there was a bit of panic around.
We turned our attention to the safety of our staff that was deployed on our Signal Vehicles, about 10 to 15 miles away from our base unit. Our Signal Vehicles (the Radar Units, that tracked the targets and directed the aircrafts for pinpoint bombing) were stationed far away from our base (in Varvala, between Dwarka and Mithapur on way to Okha). On hearing the shelling, the crews there had begun to drive towards our base to see what had happened to us. We met them on the way and both parties satisfied that everything was safe returned to our positions.
Propaganda
After refreshing ourselves, we had our breakfast and went back to normal routine. Soon we heard Radio Pakistan giving the news that the Pakistan Naval ship BABUR had shelled Dwarka, the citywas burning and the smoke could be seen from a distance of 10 miles.
The Aftermath
Our O.C. summoned everyone and asked us to send a telegram to our home to inform our family that everyone was safe. All the telegrams were collected and a couple of people rushed to the post office. The post master informed us that it will be better for us to write a letter than sending the telegram, as the lines were cut and it was not possible to send the telegrams!
Meanwhile, the villagers started bringing the shells from their fields after digging them out of the ground carrying them on their shoulders. We collected almost 25 to 30 shells. They were displayed in front of the Guard Room for the public to take a look. The amusing thing about them was that they bore the markings of Indian ordnance and were dated 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946 and so on. These shells were all pre-partition ammunition that was given to Pakistan during the partition in 1947. It turned out that the Indian ammunition was LOYAL to India! None of them exploded to harm its country. The one, that did explode, was the one that hit the Railway Retiring Room on the outer edge of the building that was not occupied at that time. All the other shells went over the village and into the fields.
The miracle behind this was that the sea level had risen from the time the Pakistani ship had taken its position to the time it started shelling. This resulted in most of the shells overshooting Dwarka. Of course, it is quite obvious that the learned and experienced officers and the crew on board of that Pakistani ship did ignore this fact and were rejoicing that they have shelled Dwarka without any resistance and destroyed it.
Vigil
Needless to say, even after this shelling we were on our toes. Our O.C., Cpl Iyer and myself did our rounds around the base, the village, and towards our Signal Vehicles and the surrounding areas around the clock, driving around for at least four days without a minute of sleep.
The total manpower in our unit at that time was hardly 75 to 80 men including the DSC guards, with a limited supply of arms and ammunition. We were all thinking about what our fate would have been if the Pakistanis had decided to start an ‘invasion.’ They could have done anything to us or to the public.
(Madan joined the Indian Air Force in 1959 as an airman and took part in the 1965 and 71 conflicts. He was on site when the Pakistani Navy shelled Dwarka. He narrates the events in this candid story of that day. Ramesh Madan left the IAF as a Sgt.)

]]><![CDATA[Opportunity Waits for India to Scale Up in IT Sourcing]]>Fri, 22 May 2015 00:07:30 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/first-person/opportunity-waits-for-india-to-scale-up-in-it-sourcing

BY K.S. RADHAKRISHNAN
Nearly two decades ago, many U.S Corporations moved work mostly IT to India primarily for one reason – COST. It surely made sense, as it had a direct positive impact to the bottom line. While it is true to an extent even today, the reasons are not necessarily the same. In this global economy the success or failure of a company...

depend to a great extent on how well it takes advantage of the global eco-system. In this global eco-system, India has a unique place. While India has a huge intellectual capital, it has been plagued with poor infrastructure, complex bureaucracy and questionable business ethics. In spite of these negatives, many U.S and European companies have taken advantage of India’s vast intellectual resources for their benefits over the last two decades.
Having worked for large U.S and European companies for over 30 years and with direct involvement in large scale IT sourcing work in India, I am more bullish today than ever before for increased business engagements between Indian IT companies and U.S Corporations for one simple reason – “a business friendly government in India”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a “Red Carpet” for foreign investors and at same time to address “Red Tape”, which had been a major source of frustrations for many U.S & European companies wanting to do business in India. The “Make in India” program launched in Sept 2104 by the Modi government is focused on transforming India into a global manufacturing hub.
The government’s focus to improve physical infrastructure and create a digital network to achieve that goal will need much deeper cooperation and participation of Indian and many other global companies. A series of investor friendly financial incentives announced by the government has already received tremendous interest from foreign governments and companies. However, these measures alone will not guarantee success. It is unclear if our Indian workforce is well equipped and ready to take advantage of these new initiatives.
In the IT outsourcing domain, India has earned probably the top place for doing “repetitive and mundane tasks”. By definition this kind of work has less strategic value to a US or European customer. While it has helped many Indians and Indian IT companies become more affluent, it surely has to an extent lowered their chances to compete for high-end technical work, where Russia took the top spot. It is especially true in the area of Material Science, complex Aerospace design & engineering, complex search algorithms etc. In this regard, India seems to have taken an easier route in the 1990s and early 2000s to get into the IT market.
Much credit has to be given to National Association of Software & Services Companies (NAASCOM) for shielding IT companies from government bureaucracy. NAASCOM’s help was much needed for many new entrants into this market segment. As a member of Boeing IT executive team, I had the pleasure of meeting with NAASCOM leaders more than a decade ago. Their advice was of immense help in setting our expectations right prior to making major out-sourcing commitments in India. They provided valuable information on overall landscape of IT industry in India, major players, their strengths and shortcomings. Particularly important to us was discussion on Indian educational system which helped us understand the overall skills of the IT employees.
Credit also goes to several entrepreneurs like Azim Premji (Wipro), Shiv Nadar (HCL), Narayana Murthy (InfoSys) and F.C. Kohli(TCS) among others who had the foresight and guts to enter into this market at an early stage and created a multi billion dollar industry. In fact they lead the crowded field with skill and fierce competitive spirit and earned a place for themselves.
During my career at Boeing as VP of global IT infrastructure, I had the privilege of working with most of them and with some of them very closely. One incident with Azim Premji is still green in my memory. I met with Azim in the Bay Area in 1996 for regular performance review of Wipro with Boeing. It was a one-on-one meeting.
What impressed me the most was the attention he paid to my views and recommendations for change that would make their service better. Honestly, I did not expect much from that meeting, as large companies are slow to act. To my pleasant surprise, he acted very quickly by implementing almost all my recommendations. The 9/11 incident, was surely a turning point - some of the Indian IT companies proactively reduced their hourly billing rates – sharing our pain. It was a class act of Partnership.
However, the global financial collapse in 2008 combined with geo-political changes, have given new dimension to the IT sourcing industry. While India’s position in the IT industry is strong, other nations like Russia, Eastern Europe, Philippines, Vietnam and China are getting into this market with vengeance and strong government support. For India to continue maintain its leadership in the IT sourcing industry it is imperative that it seriously addresses “Quality & Innovation” as part of the solution. While many Indian IT companies have made a good stride in the quality area, they are perceived less innovative compared to US, Russian and a few other European counterparts. While this perception may be debatable, one thing is sure – the students coming out of technical schools in India are less practical and less challenged during their schooling.
This is true primarily for the second and third tier colleges. For India to be a major force in this global economy, it must address the technical educational system with a sense of urgency. One of the major shortcomings I personally experienced years ago with Indian IT workers, is lack of practical knowledge in the domain they worked contrary to students educated in Europe or US. IITs and a few other schools may be an exception.
In order for Indian IT companies to maintain their position in this industry it is important that practical training, especially in the technical domain, become part of their education and made mandatory for Graduation. It is my belief that current government’s pro policies can help but it can not replace quality and innovation needed from our students.
Over the next several decades many more disruptive technologies will fundamentally change business models in almost all industrial segments. India should not only take full advantage of it, but also play a constructive role in driving these technologies. With focus, discipline, educational system modernization and national unity, I am convinced India can produce many more like Sathya Nadella (Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Google) and be the driver of the global IT industry.
I am optimistic…….
(As former VP & CIO of Hughes Electronics Corporation and VP of Information Technology at Boeing prior to retirement, four years ago, Radhakrishnan had worked with several Indian and U.S. IT suppliers and consultants with mixed results.)

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