Links I liked

1. A picture worth a thousand lives - all roads link to the US (and Russia, China, Pakistan...)

2. News coverage from across the border

3. Top 10 Bush moments

4. A fun review of a not-so-fun year

* As some of you might have noticed, this post is "inspired" by Chris Blattman's blog, a personal favorite.

Indian Blogs

For the past few days I've been searching for Indian blogs - blogs that cover Indian events. Though I found some interesting ones through Indibloggies (desi blog awards) and a number of blog directories, I'm still looking...

Do you have any favorites? I will publish a list over the next few weeks as I follow them more closely.

Rushdie, Bombay, Pakistan, Justice

I thought I was going to hear about Bombay and India; specifically what India did wrong and what the Indian government can do to make things right - but I left hearing more about Pakistan and what the Pakistani government can't or, per the panelists, won't do to make things right.

I was at a panel hosted by the Asia Society on "Understanding the Mumbai Attacks" with panelists Salman Rushdie, Mira Kamdar and Suketu Mehta. Though the conversation started with a highly romanticized vision of Bombay, the bulk of the discussion focused on Pakistan.

The panelists unanimously contended that gaps in Indian intelligence and security are critical issues but focusing on these is a mistake. If one really wants to understand the roots and find the solution to the problem, one must focus on Pakistan. The battle it seems is not between Pakistan and India but between Pakistani moderates and extremists. Rushdie dismissed Arundhati Roy's argument on justice (video) - the idea that terrorists are influenced by injustices committed against Indian muslims (Kashmir, Gujarat...). Instead, terrorists are about power and the attacks are a power grab to drag the world back into the middle ages "at the point of modern weaponry".

Yes, terrorism is about power and I'm sure if Kashmir, Israel-Palestine were resolved, they would find another cause. But, don't you think that events such as the Gujarat riots provide terrorist camps with tremendous recruitment ammunition?

Say, you agree that the problem lies in Pakistan. But, what can you really do? I mean, you can put pressure to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa and enforce house arrests but what does that accomplish? They can still run their operations as do our MLAs who govern from our jails. I don't agree with Rushdie that Pakistan is a basket case. Yes, it has lots of issues and the government, ISI, the army and the Northwest Frontier are all doing their own thing, but there is a semblance of democracy and when people got to vote, they ousted Musharraf and the Islamist's parties got only 2% of the votes. They vote along provincial lines, but then so does most of India.

I left the panel with more questions than answers. I am curious to learn your thoughts on both these issues - the link between terrorism and justice and the road ahead with Pakistan. I wish I had more Pakistani friends.

The Big Necessity

As we plan our Christmas camping trip to Big Bend, my fellow campers (and I) have one requirement - flushing toilets. We are willing to brave insects, sub-zero temperatures and no showers as long we can take a dump in peace. "In peace" means a private, enclosed setting with water, toilet paper and soap.

Disclaimer: If you are squeamish about shit, stop reading now. It only gets worse.

We all know that this is not the case for millions - and as I recently learned, billions. According to The Big Necessity: the unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters, 2.6 billion people do not have access to toilets - this does not include folks who have access to public toilets or latrines or buckets or boxes. The 2.6 billion have no access, period - meaning they defecate in the open. If this number does not get you, picture this (I warned you) - In India, 200,000 tons (yes, tons) of human feces are deposited every day in the open. This is 155,000 truckloads of shit left in the open every day.

Forget the imagery, these actions have serious health consequences. According to the UNICEF, more than 2 million people die of diarrhea every year, greater than AIDS, TB, or malaria combined. Diarrhea is a results for poor sanitation. And poor sanitation is due, in a large part, to poor access to basic toilets. Obviously something needs to be done.

The thing is, most of us could never work in this area - we just don't have the stomach for it. But luckily, many do. The book highlights organizations employing innovative approaches to tackle the problem. It is a hard read due to graphic descriptions, but worth the time and occasional revulsion.

Your response?

This article India’s 9/11? Not Exactly - NYTimes.com prompted me to ask - What kind of response do you want?

A friend wisely replied -
"I want one where citizens, instead of blaming Govt realize that the Govt is just a reflection of them. Ironic how most of us Indians participate in corruption and now are "waking" up to see our Govt's corruption and ineptness. I think this is a great opportunity for each one of us to start doing the right thing. Participate in our Govt and in general society. Then it will be impossible for our "Govt" to ignore such important matters."

I am very curious about what others think. Is corruption such a fundamental problem? Why are we not more engaged? Why are we not inspired? Why do we hear incredible stories about Taj employees but only criticisms of officials? Most of all, what can each of do? People have said to stay angry and not let up. But this does not seem like a practical solution - I am looking for tangible steps - what are they?

Blogging

Being new to this blogging business, I thought I should read-up on blogging etiquette to avoid committing any faux pas. Luckily, there is no derth of knowledge on starting a blog and a quick google search reveals the scale of the blogosphere.

I mean I knew that blogging was popular, ok very popular, but I didn't realize the magnitude until I looked. First, there is a blog on everything. If you scroll through the blogs on Blogger itself, you get a sense of the diversity of subject matters. Second, blogging is a business. People make six-figure salaries through their blogs - this is probably a short list of individuals, but still many make money. I have a friend whose boyfriend's job was to blog on sports for a Latin American network. If I only liked cricket as much as I used to, I might have pursued my childhood dream of becoming a cricket commentator/blogger.

I know I have a lot to learn. Experts advice that you should pick a theme and stick to it. Well, I've already fallen off that wagon - I see this blog covering a range of issues and we'll see if it works. I am also learning quickly that blogging is hard work. Writing posts takes time and careful thinking - I've already discarded a number of half-written posts and found myself thinking about possible post ideas during conversations with friends. Still, its fun and challenging and gives me something to do at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning.

Taj: A personal account

A heart wrenching but uplifting personal account. Gives you a good picture of what actually happened - better than any of the news coverage.