Terrorism, Conflicts & Human Divide

Terrorism is probably the most used and abused word in todays world. What are the causes of terrorism and conflict? Can we see a peaceful world in our lifetimes? I'm afraid we are still at the beginning of a long drawn conflict.

The society has always been at war and so there is no reason to expect that our planet will be free from wars & conflicts. Terrorism is simply a modern form of conflict – and so we cant expect it to be wiped away too.

Birth of Conflict
Terrorism is born in a society that is Oppressed, Unequal and where the state has failed to live up to the expectations of the people. Eliminating these can help us reduce extremist tendencies in the society.

Oppression of people (Cause of Naxalism, Ethnic Conflicts etc..) & Inequality (Urban-rural divide, Educational divide, Cultural divide, Digital Divide, Opportunity divide, etc..) are to be contained and the divisions need to be bridged.

Balanced development
States and Nations must be strive for balanced development. The benefits of Modernization, Globalization and Urbanization must be evenly spread across geographies and cultures. Cross border trade systems should be setup in such a way that this objective can be achieved. For example – how about a differential import duty that is lower for goods from underdeveloped countries and higher for developed countries? How about lower tax rates for Industries setup in a region with lesser population or lower levels of education ?

Education, Poverty Alleviation

Education, Poverty alleviation and High Standards in Governance and Justice delivery systems are very important – not just nationally, but internationally. UN, which could have played a key role has simply failed in curbing the hegemony of a few states.

Cultural Exchanges

Cross Cultural Exchanges must be promoted on a large scale – at state expenses if required. Making an impression in the formative stage of the mind can make a huge difference. How about American kids spending a few months in Africa, Afghanistan or Iraq? And How about Free treatment for Sudanese children in India?

Cultures of the World as a Subject must be made mandatory for school children across the world – with the whole world adopting one syllabus for this subject. This subject must be taught for atleast 10 years. For example one Academic year could be dedicated to history and culture of Arab World and another year for Asian Cultures and yet another for Europe, etc.. This way one can at least expect that notions of stereotypes can be dispelled.

Secularism

Secular State Alliances must be formed to encourage more countries to practice secularism. This alliance must campaign for more secular states – and offer trade incentives to those renouncing their affinity for a religion.

Protecting Sovereignty of Nations

Sovereignty of Nations must be protected. Leaders of developed and developing Countries must have the courage to fight rogue states that bully the weak and crippled nations. If an international alliance of such countries could have been formed, Iraq and Afghanistan could have been protected. After all the US or the Europe cannot endure sanctions from nations such as China, India, Brazil, etc..This would have sent a clear message to the Oppressed societies that they can enlist global support if their cause is just.

Towards a Uniculture world

In a Globalizing world, have we forgotten to give space to other cultures? Are some people considered "uncool" because they dont do what is popularly perceived "Cool"?

We have seen the spread of the Colas, Burgers, Pizzas, Kellogs and a million other products across the world. The marks of a global economy presently spans several countries. From colas to computers, the world has gone about adopting one product, or one behaviour or one thought process as being "correct". So now across many nations, being tee shirt and denim clad, clean shaven youngster is fine, but if you wear a white robe, sport a long beard and speak arabic- you are probably a Terrorist!

Women in India wear a "dot" (called Bindi) on their forehead. There were many reasons why wearing a bindi was considered good. Today many young women seem to have lost affinity for them. I also see a lot of young, college going dudes wear woolen "fashion wear" on hot Indian summer days! Are we increasingly longing to be a part of a uniculture world?

What does a uniculture world look like? Mostly like America does today and to a lesser extent like a few other cultures. Democracy should be the form of Governance (or else the country would be attacked sooner or later), Kellogs should be the breakfast, Subway or McDonalds for lunch and colas to drink, etc...? India would probably have its global products too - perhaps a Tandoori or Yoga.

We have seen this phenomenon with our own country or state. A Dhoti clad is considered a Country Bum, even if he can afford a Merc, right here in our city. I wonder what then, happens to the fellow citizens who are probably being left out from the polarization that is happening. Are they the new "Backward Class" of our social hierarchy? For example if you dont wear a shoe to a pub, you are denied entry. How is this different from a low caste, generally unclean person from being denied entry to a high caste brahmins house ?

My Grandmother has several home-cures that work like a miracle. My mother picked up some and i picked even fewer. I'm sure this is a story that every generation would tell. We seem to be losing a certain type of knowledge in favor of another. What I fail to understand is - is this a deterioration of standards or is this a natural progression. I can probably name a few hundred skills that i know was common knowledge a few years ago, but have virtually disappeared over the last 2 decades.

The more i write, the more my thought flows...Watch this space for more such ramblings on the society.

Hello World !

A Classic Techie style of starting anything. For the non-techies reading this, "Hello World" is typically the first program we write in any programming language.

Speaking of Hello World!, i cannot but think of how difficult it must be for a lay person to understand the Tech jargon that have become common place today. For most people in Rural India, Computers and Software are synonyms of Money.

How do you tell your Grandparents what Internet is doing to us? or a School Kid in a village school on how Social Networking was helping create friendships across the world? or a Farm labour on how Weather data can be accessed from the Internet? I think we should take Digital Divide seriously before we have a big social problem.