An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Finally, Anna Hazare has decided to call off his 12-day old satyagraha; the Indian Parliament has passed a unanimous resolution on three basic issues of Lok Pal.

Chetan Bhagat summed up the situation well (on Times NOW): this way of getting the government to act is not comfortable; however if this is the ONLY way to get the government to move, so be it.

If my choices are corruption-galore with the current structure and way of legislating v/s a satyagraha to bring attention to the anti-corruption movement, I will choose the latter any day.

This is only the beginning. I can bet that the political class is waiting for all the outraged citizens to get back into their lives and allow the movement to die a quiet death. It is now upto we-the-people to keep up the pressure and ensure that strong anti-corruption legislation gets passed and then implemented.

On a lighter note...

Somebody sent me this joke, which is worth publishing!

Anna ki shaadi hui hoti to yeh andolan kabhi na hota.
1. Kahan ja rahe ho?
2. Akele tumhi ko padi hai anshan karne ki
3. Ye Kejriwal ka saath chhod do
4. Ye boy-cut baal wali Kiran kaun hai...? baar baar bagal mei akar kyu baithti hai.
5. Shyam tak aa jaoge na
6. Pahunchte hi fone karna

What about Irom Sharmila?

A section of people who denounce Anna Hazare's fast, do so by invoking Irom Sharmila. They say Irom Sharmila has been fasting for much longer than Anna Hazare, so how can you support Anna Hazare? What about Irom Sharmila?

To me, it seems to imply that in order to support one cause, a pre-requisite is to support every other cause that uses the same means of protest. Otherwise my support for my cause is suspect.

This line of reasoning seems totally bizarre to me. While I have no doubt that Irom Sharmila is a brave lady who is supporting a noble cause selflessly in the face of government apathy, I don't see why Irom Sharmila's fast should stop me from supporting the anti-corruption movement?

Every Indian is Anna Hazare

The draconian UPA ruled by Manmohan Singh, (aptly christened Sardar Winston Churchill by Shanti Bhushan), has shown its true colours. Anna Hazare was arrested from his place of residence. When he asked what his crime was, he was told by police that they were "following orders".

Manmohan's mouthpieces (this time they're Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Ambika Soni) kept up their shrill rhetoric of rubbish. Kapil Sibal taunted how well team Anna is being advertised. Yes, he is, Mr. Sibal, and without an advertising budget at that. His cause is being advertised by the people of India -- for free.

With our every word, our every action, we support Anna Hazare and the right to peaceful protest.

Diamond traders in Surat spontaneously downed their shutters. Lawyers all around the country spontaneously went on strike and protested. Thousands thronged the Chchatrasal stadium in Delhi and courted arrest. Working professionals took to the streets in Bangalore. Mumbai citizens courted arrest. All over the country, citizens poured out in spontaneous protest.

All over the country, citizens support Anna Hazare, the right to peaceful protest and a strong Jan Lok Pal bill.

Each one is Anna Hazare.

The Draconian UPA 2

The wolf has finally cast off its sheep's clothing. The draconian UPA 2 has revealed its true colours -- far from being an elected representative of the people of India, the UPA 2 is an erstwhile Egyptian style autocracy that cannot bear peaceful protest by its own citizens.

After much dithering, Manmohan Singh and his Congress cronies have refused to let the citizens of India, led by Anna Hazare, launch a peaceful protest against the cancer of corruption that has all but destroyed every institution of the nation. Simultaneously, the barking Congress dogs (Manish Tiwari leads the pack this time, taking over from Digvijay Singh) have been unleashed in an attempt to slander Anna Hazare, while at the same time daring him to contest elections. 

Well, Manish -- we the citizens of India return your dare -- we dare you, your cronies and your ring-leader Manmohan to do the same. Particularly Manmohan, who has never ever had the guts to face us, the people, in a election.

Shame, shame, shame.

Peaceful Protest is a Fundamental Democratic Right

When India was ruled by the British, oppressive as the rulers were, they did not stop peaceful, non-violent forms of protest such as satyagraha.

Fast-forward to the present day, when "free" India is ruled (the word "governed" no longer applies) by a corrupt coalition of politicians led by Mr. Not Clean -- Dr. Manmohan Singh. Dr. Singh and his Congress cronies are hellbent on protecting the de-facto "Right to Corruption" that presumably allows them the clout that they currently have. So scared is the ruling coalition of a strong anti-corruption law, that in "free" India, a group of legitimate protesters are unable to get permission to launch a peaceful agitation.

If it weren't such a gross insult to democracy, it would be laughable that a peaceful protest was being scuttled. To me, the current UPA 2 is even more draconian and high-handed than the erstwhile British rulers of the past that my grandparents fought to overthrow.

Shame!

Estimation Models

I was recently tasked with creating a model to help determine duration for a particular kind of work. Working through making the model a reality I began to appreciate its value.

A targeted estimation model is a good tool to try and understand the impact of specific factors on the work at hand; also a useful tool for what-if analysis. It can be particularly handy in helping stakeholders understand the various factors considered and their role in arriving at the predicted duration of work.

The more specific a model, the more useful it is likely to be. One-size-fits-all models result in extremely iffy results that often fail to account for the unique factors and constraints of particular kinds of work.

Useful as models are, it's important to strike a note of caution about them. Data emerging from a model is, in the end, a prediction (guess) and NOT the gospel truth. If the initial understanding of the models factors and constraints turns out to be close to the way they play out in reality, data emerging from the model will serve as a useful guideline. At no point should the data emerging from a model be considered absolute.

Appeasing the Speed God

The traffic police of Bangalore city recently put a multitude of "half" speed breakers  in place across busy roads of my area. For the uninitiated, a "half" speed breaker is one that exists only on the side of the road where the intention is to slow traffic down, e.g., just before a cross road.

The traffic police probably thought it was a master stroke of careful budgeting while also achieving targeted speed control. So far so good.

What really happened?

In Bangalore, most drivers believe speed is God. Fools risk the wrath of the One Above if they slow down at cross roads or at speed breakers or even to stop themselves from mowing others down. However, it's not pleasant to be bumped on a speed breaker when driving at breakneck speed. So these worshipers of Speed God devised another method to please their deity. The wonderfully pious drivers started to swerve to the *other* side of the road, each time they approached a speed breaker on their side!

No prizes for guessing that this led to total chaos not to mention close shaves for the hapless drivers on the non-speed breaker side of the road.

Fortunately, the traffic police quickly caught on to the mess they inadvertently created, and overnight the speed breakers were all extended to cover the entire road.

This led to two things:
1> Folks being forced to slow down for no reason because the speed breakers were uniformly extended, irrespective of which side of the road they were needed.
2> The Speed God worshipers got nasty bumps as they swerved to the wrong side of the road, only to be met by ... a speed breaker.

While I must admit I enjoyed the spectacle that <2> created, it does sadden me to live in a city where people think of driving rules as mere advisories to be flouted at will.