Another amazing day at JLF.
There's particular events that i've attended.
There's particular events that i've attended.
At first “Arms and the Man: The Bangladesh Bloodbath” Salil Tripath in conversation with Mukul Deva
The Bangladesh War of 1971 disjointed a nation absurdly partitioned by the British into territories, more than a thousand miles apart. Played out against the precarious balance of power of the Cold War, the Bangladesh War of Liberation remains a subject of deep and immediate interest to both historians and writers of fiction.
After that...
"India’s Turn: Catalysing Economic Transformation" Narayan Murthy
in conversation with Rahul Jacob
By Harish Alagappa
Noted industrialist and philanthropist, Narayana Murthy held an enlightening session at the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival in front of a packed Rajnigandha Front Lawn. Murthy elucidated his ideas about the economic transformation India has experienced over the last 20 years and highlighted the measures he believed are necessary to accelerate economic growth.
Murthy, who co-founded Infosys Technologies in 1981, shared his experiences of setting up a business in pre-liberalization India. Murthy described the difficulties an entrepreneur faced when it came to basic services, such as obtaining a telephone connection. ‘Back in those days,’ he joked, ‘half the people in India were waiting for a telephone connection and the other half were waiting for a dial tone.’
Murthy proposed sweeping reforms in government-owned Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and advocated the establishment of regulatory agencies to measure the progress of PSUs, stating that the government should ‘leave the business of business to businesses’.
Moving from the past to the present and future, Murthy said that for India to be a serious competitor in the global market, ‘We will have to benchmark ourselves with the best of the world.’ He suggested looking at nations that have values that lead to success ingrained in their culture, and imbibing those values in India.
‘Punctuality,’ Murthy said, ‘is not a great asset of Indians’. The lack of punctuality among Indians, Murthy asserted, is construed as a sign of grave disrespect in other cultures and is indicative of an undisciplined approach to life.
Reaction time was another area where Murthy believed Indians could learn from other cultures, and expressed hope that India would be able to leverage the power of technology to improve standards of reaction time, particularly in the government. ‘It is a colonial mindset,’ Murthy speculated. ‘The British have moved forward, we are still stuck with their attitude from a hundred years ago’.
Murthy espoused his confidence in meritocracy, stating that Indians do not appear to believe in it. He articulated his disdain at the habit of people attempting to secure admission to prestigious universities or gain lucrative employment by asking for favours rather than through the dint of their own effort. Finally, Murthy expressed his opinion that Indians need to inculcate humility and be willing to find flaws in their culture whilst accepting wisdom from other cultures.
It was an entertaining and informative session, and while Narayan Murthy did highlight many areas of improvement, he did end on an optimistic note, expressing his belief that India has the potential to achieve a level of pre-eminence on the global stage over the course of the 21st century.
After that...
“The Devil in the Grove: Racism, Murder and Rape in the Deep South” Gilbert King introduced by Akash Kapur
Gilbert King’s remarkable book Devil in the Grove, winner of last year’s Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, is a gripping true story of racism, murder, rape, and the law in the tradition of Truman Capote’sIn Cold Blood. It brings to light a whole history of racism exposed through the prism of one of the most dramatic court cases in American history. Given recent events in Ferguson, the book could not be more timely.
After that...
“Devil’s Advocate: Ram Jethmalani” Ram Jethmalani in conversation with Madhu Trehan, introduced by Shobhaa De
Flamboyant lawyer and politician Ram Jethmalani has had a rich and varied life, full of controversy and celebrity. His biography, penned by Susan Adelmen, chronicles a lifetime of swimming against the tide. In conversation with Madhu Trehan, he discusses the cases he has fought and the choices he has made.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer and former BJP leader Ram Jethmalani said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to dismiss Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley if he wanted to succeed in recovering black money. "I am most disappointed man because Modi has put those men in charge of the work who will never be able to complete it. The man has ought to be dismissed if black money needs to be recovered," Jethmalani said.
The veteran lawyer said the Union Minister had been talking about bilateral double taxation avoidance treaties (DTAT) as the reason behind the inability to reveal the names of Indians who hold illegal foreign bank accounts. "This man needs to be dismissed right away," the 92-year-old lawyer said. "I had said that I am living in departure lounge of God's airport and I don't want anything from you but I wish you will fulfill all the promises you made to people of the country. But as far as the black money row is concerned I am most disappointed in him," he said,
Jethmalani said he had supported Modi all through the election campaign. "I just had two things on my bucket list. One was to see the previous government being thrown out of gear and am very happy that I have succeed and my efforts have partially contributed to it and second to see black money being recovered," he said. Recalling how BJP leader LK Advani wrote to him from jail appreciating one of his arguments presented by him in a case, Jethamalni said, "LK Advani is the most ungrateful man because he is party to my expulsion from the party." "When elections were near there were many hurdles inside the BJP. Everyone wanted to be the Prime Minister and they all were rivals of themselves. One issue they were united on were that Ram has to be silenced and thrown out of the party," Jethmalani said.
The noted lawyer was suspended from the BJP party after he opposed a second term for Gadkari as BJP president.
"Our society undoubtedly suffers from disease of corruption. I don't deny hat corruption has crept into judiciary. I swear that considered to other sectors of society judges are still angels," he said appreciating the role of judiciary in the country.
After that...
"Debate: Culture is the New Politics" Suhel Seth, Rajiv Malhotra, Arshia Sattar, Shazia Ilmi
Moderated by Sanjoy Roy
Festival producer Sanjoy Roy initiated the debate by arguing that culture is the softest target in the bipolar world of today. Arshia Sattar echoed these sentiments, adding that ‘culture is the old politics,’ not the new politics, and has always been used to control, censor and manipulate any new ideas against the dominant existing ones.
Journalist Shazia Ilmi agreed that ‘culture has always been the bedrock of politics’ but that Indians have multiple identities. She did not advocate any extremist position and clearly stated that ‘culture has been the new politics and will always be.’
Suhel Seth’s main argument was that education should not be interrupted by political overtones, because that ruins the discourse of civility in the nation. Rajiv Malhotra advocated an ‘open architecture’, which he explained meant ‘an ideal cultural framework based on mutual respect.’ He echoed Shazia Ilmi, saying, ‘Diversity is part of the fabric of our culture and should be reflected in the political system.’
Sanjoy Roy then challenged the panel by asking whether the middle path that India has always taken has been hijacked recently. Suhel Seth replied that the main problem in India is not to disagree but to be disagreeable. He said this comment was directed at the ‘intellectually innocent’ populace, adding that he believed it was difficult to contain the extremist element, and that at the moment, fringe movements are playing a part in policy making.
Rajiv Malhotra responded that the parliamentary system should be viable instead of fragmented: ‘The fringe element gets its power from the fallacy of the political system. Sattar exclaimed how she was ‘not ready to give up hope at this moment’.
Sanjoy Roy then enquired if intolerance has become a new culture. Seth described a brand of intolerance that he believed had become vicious, commenting on the angry society India has become. Sattar exclaimed that it’s the ‘I-am-so-quick-to-be-offended’ attitude that really bothered her. Each speaker supported the right of every individual to believe and say whatever they feel is right.
Sanjoy Roy ended the debate proclaiming that ‘ We have to fight for our freedom of creative expression.’ After taking a vote of hands and missed calls from the audience, he declared, ‘This house believes that culture has become the new politics.’
Surely glad that I was there.
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