Do Founders' Values Matter to a Company?

During the initial days of starting a company, the founders go through the usual physical and emotional turmoil. Other than setting up the company, they also have to take a stand on what is going to be the company's culture. Although a founder might think that a company's culture is just being friendly to their employees and holding parties on a Friday, that doesn't necessarily tell you about the company's culture or values. The company's culture is defined by the founder and what it means for them. 

While most founders give more priority to increasing their sales and buying proposition, what they don't realize is that their company's culture begins from the day they hire the first employee. It is the founders' responsibility to ensure that they proactively introduce a positive and unique company culture that gets carried on by the employees of the company. For instance, if the founder of the company is extremely progressive, sooner or later, the company's culture is going to be progressive as well. 

While it is the founder's responsibility to define the culture that will be followed by the company, it is the senior leadership's job to make sure that they help employees demonstrate the company's culture by practicing it. By ensuring that their team members follow the culture, they are also ensuring that the cultural importance and values are followed across the organization. 

Another thing that we have to understand is that values also play an important role in shaping the culture of a company. The values are a guiding force for all the employees of the company. If you lose connection with the values that your organization follows, we'll feel that we are lost and need help. Values definitely help a person know their position in the company. 

If it is to express the kinds of ideals it holds and how it expects its citizens to act, an organization must be transparent about why it exists. Pursuing income alone will never inspire people in the same way that pursuing a goal will. Purpose transforms you from a manager to a mobilizer. And organizations that prioritize mission consistently outperform those that do not.

Traditional organizations are those that were established in the twentieth century. These typical organizations have a hierarchical organizational structure. This ensures that the organization's strength is distributed vertically and upwardly. Employees of this form of the company follow a chain of command, with higher positions conferring greater organizational importance. Each department has its own departmental manager, who is responsible for all of the department's employees. The Manager reports to the department director. All of the responsibilities In these forms of conventional organizations, the hierarchical organization structure is followed in this way.

Organizations that have arisen in this century are known as modern organizations. To achieve great results for their organization, this type of organization believes in in-network partnerships and collaboration. This form of the modern company rapidly upgrades its technology and working patterns to keep up with the modern world's changing trends.

Some of the differences between traditional and modern organizations are:

1. Flexibility

Modern organizations are dynamic whereas traditional organizations are rigid. This actually keeps on changing according to the current scenario as in the yesteryears, organizations were stable in what they did and had rigid methodologies for working. As times changed, so did the organizations. New-age organizations realized that they had to be much more flexible if they wanted to be No.1 in their area of expertise. 

2. Point of Focus

While traditional organizations are job-focused, the organizations of today are skill-focused. Today, while organizations offer jobs to people, they offer it depending on the competency of the employee. After having a good look at the employee's skill-set only will they employ them. Working for a company today is not just about doing the job, but also having extra skills that can make you an all-rounder. 

When comparing traditional and modern organizations, I discovered that traditional organizations have a simpler structure than any modern organization. For every typical organization's employer, their responsibilities and roles are very clear. They usually have set duties, which makes working in a typical company simpler. When comparing traditional and modern organizations, I discovered that the traditional organization's structure is simpler. For every typical organization's employer, it is very easy to grasp their responsibilities and duties. They usually have pre-determined roles, which makes working in a typical company more convenient.

The Challenges of Managing a Multi-Cultural Team

Although leading a team for a global competition sounds exciting, you never know about the challenges that follow until you put on those shoes. Leading and managing a multi-cultural team is really hard as you have to learn how to accommodate each and everyone according to their likes and dislikes. Your culture and your language are some of the major things that make you the individual that you are. However, while working in a multi-cultural group, these two factors can be the same reason why you might face several obstacles while connecting with others. 

As a leader of one of the teams of the Globcom Project, a global communications project to pitch new PR and marketing ideas for a company, I had my own share of problems while managing this extremely multi-cultural team. 

1. Overcoming language barriers

One of the major problems that I faced while leading my team was the various language issues. While some people were only comfortable with speaking English, some others were comfortable with understanding English, but could not speak the language properly. Although we consider English the universal language, there were some people who just couldn't get a hold of the language. We had teammates from Lithuania, Barcelona, Russia, and Germany. While all of them talked English, understanding them was another ball game. To solve this major issue, I decided to help anyone who was having trouble understanding by explaining things to them in a much simpler way. We also made it normal in our team to tell each other to repeat themselves if we had a problem understanding what the other person said. 

2. Planning projects around various time zones

Given the fact I was the leader, I was the one responsible for organizing meetings wherein we would discuss each others' roles and what would be made of the final presentation to our client. However, organizing meetings was definitely not an easy task. Since all of us lived in different time zones, it was hard enough for us to decide on a particular time zone by which we would decide the timings of the meetings. Once we took a final decision on that, it was time to decide on when we will be having the meeting. When the majority voted for a particular time, there were a few people who were either in class or working at that time. While we did want to accommodate everyone during the meeting, we did not have one meeting where all of us attended the meeting as a team. Finally, my deputy and I decided to hold meetings according to the teams which we had divided them into so that at least a representative from each team would attend our discussions. 

3. Allowing time to research whenever they needed it 

Although we would give them ample time to research and submit the final documents as each stage passes by, there arose some situations where we had to give them extra time taking into account the fact that all of them lived in different time zones. While some of them could gather together to finish the task that was given to them, others just couldn't join them due to prior commitments. I had to understand that as all of them lived in various time zones, we had to give them more time than was needed to finish up the task that was required of them. 

Managing a team of members from various cultural backgrounds can be difficult. Make every effort to make your coworkers feel at ease in the workplace. Since acquiring the required collection of skills necessitates a significant amount of effort, use this article as a resource if you're having trouble. We hope that these suggestions will assist you in effectively managing your multicultural squad.

Is Leadership the same everywhere?

 

What is leadership? To you, a leader might be your college principal, dance teacher, or the President of the nation. To me, it might be my mother, my father, or even my best friend. What most of us fail to realize is that a leader lives in all of us. Most of us don't even understand that when the time comes, the leader in us will emerge and lead the way. However, there are several challenges that one has to face when it comes to leading a company or even the armed forces.

A few days back, I got the opportunity to watch two brilliant movies- Guru and Few Good Men. In Guru, the movie talks about the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, and how he rose to power. Albeit a few fictional songs and some aesthetic scenes to add to the beauty of the movie, it gives the viewers a pretty good idea about the hardships he went through to establish a titan of a company, Reliance Pvt. Limited. However, his life and his life's achievement was not without its challenges. While being the leader of a company there are several challenges that one will have to face. 

1. Being an inspiration to others: This is the challenge of being able to motivate others and inspire them enough to work for your company. While it sounds like an easy task, it is not one that you dole out to your employees. You have to drill it into your employees' minds that what they are working for is worthwhile, what they are doing will bring a change in the world. 

2. Having self-confidence: Although it sounds easy, being self-confident is not a simple task to accomplish. While it may seem like all those who become leaders are self-confident, they always have a grain of self-doubt in them. A good leader is one who overcomes it and manages to confidently lead his/her company. 

3. Managing stakeholders: This basically encapsulates the management of relationships, politics, and image. While managing a company's stakeholders, a leader has to ensure that they gain managerial support, managing the company-stakeholder relation, and getting buy-ins from other departments, groups, or individuals. 

Like mentioned before, I also watched Few Good Men. Other than having stellar performances from Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, the movie is a brilliant insight into the true workings of the armed forces. The story is about a soldier who dies just days before his transfer. When red lights start popping in his death, a court martial is ordered to figure out if a "code red" had been carried out to kill the soldier. A brilliant commentary on the sinister faces of the armed forces, the movie also talks about the leadership challenges the armed forces face. 

1. Leadership for new roles: Being a leader in the armed forces not only is a lot of pressure, there is a lot of adaptability involved as well. Based on the operation you are undertaking, your role will change. The non-traditional roles like peace corps, non-combat roles, etc keep on growing based on which your leadership style may change. 

2. Increasing non-traditional roles: As mentioned above, being a leader in the armed forces is not easy. We can see an increase in the number of non-traditional roles a leader has to portray. So based on that, leaders will need to have an expansive knowledge set and additional skills to adapt to whatever situation befalls them. 

3. Maintaining technologically driven change: Future warfare seems to be that; futuristic. We will definitely be seeing a lot more of modern technology being used in wars. The technological revolution is likely to intensify, leading not only to new weapon systems, but also to information revolution which will change the nature of war. Technologically-driven change puts constant pressure on military organizations to reinvent themselves. Successful leaders have to be proactive engineers of change.

As we all know, there are lesser women in the corporate section. While there may be 20 men CEOs, the women CEOs might just be 3. Although they work just as well as men do, women don't seem to get the recognition they deserve. With ideas and thoughts that are powerful and can bring changes in a company, women get paid very less when compared to men who do the same job. No matter what, be it in a sexist or non-feminist way, we can definitely see gender influence playing a major role in various companies. 

Moving on to the armed forces, the grass is definitely not greener on the other side. Even there, it looks like women are grossly under-represented when compared to men- especially in combat roles. Most of the armed forces feel like women are not as capable as men when it comes to combat and can also cause 'distraction' on the battlefield. Be it the lawyers or even Army doctors, they too are always considered feminine and suppresses by saying that a man can do their job better. 

Does Culture Influence Marketing and Business?

People around the world know the importance of making a business succeed. However, most of them think a business is just about principles and making money out of the business. A layman ends up assuming that culture and its issues that may follow do not matter. But, what we have to understand is that people will only do business with people they trust and like. And for this to happen, culture plays a major role in it. 

Like you would be thinking right now, the impact culture has on a business or management principle is indeed high. Culture is a decisive factor in how employees are treated in the company and what values and priorities are followed. It also influences the decision taken in the functional areas of marketing, sales, and distribution. You might have not heard this before, but culture can also influence a business's decision on what is the best way to enter new markets. Let's take a look at how culture can influence various businesses and markets in different countries. 

Starbucks, one of the best coffee retailers in the world, faced a financial crisis in 2008. Due to the rapid expansion, they were undergoing, Starbucks ended up facing a financial meltdown that was more than they could overcome. One of the major reasons for this crisis was the economic crises in the US and the world economy. The second reason was something that was mentioned before, their rapid expansion strategy. These two factors and an added competition from McDonald's resulted in them losing their customers and audience. By March 2008, their profit had fallen 28% as compared to last year's. As a result, they also had to lay off 12000 job positions. Even loyal customers who were interested in only buying from Starbucks switched to other brands as the rapid expansion caused the customers to lose out on the unique experience they enjoyed while they ordered from Starbucks. Now, how did Starbucks solve the crisis? Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks realized that their growth strategy was the root cause of their downfall. To come back stronger than ever, they decided to implement a technology-oriented strategy. A community involvement tactic was introduced to include both customers and employees. In 2008 itself, Starbucks came up with an idea called "My Starbucks Idea" where customers could voice their opinions on everything from management to instore music. This idea ended up becoming a huge success. From this, over 100 ideas were implemented. This helped them reignite the brand trust they used to have before. They also introduced another idea where customers could personalize their drinks and others could buy them as well. This was known as "My Starbucks Signature." They also included the employees and baristas who worked for them to put in their ideas and concerns. This was how Starbucks helped itself come out of the financial crisis they were in. 

In Japan, Odakyu Electric Railways are one of the major players when it comes to transportation. Every day, they carry around 2.1 million passengers to their destinations. Odakyu also owns the largest fleet of buses in Japan and taxis as well. In recent years, Odakyu has been fighting actively against climate changes and looking for eco-friendly options to travel. As an addition to this, Odakyu decided to partner with Shotl, a mobility platform in Spain. Through a network of small buses and vans, they aim to reduce the carbon footprint transportation causes on the environment. The goal of this company is to give valuable options of transportation to areas with a higher population. In 2019, Odakyu was looking to partner with a company to develop a new on-demand public transport. That's when they heard of Shotl and decided to partner with them They wanted to build an on-demand transport that picks up and drops people in real-time based on their demands. This partnership also looks at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. This is also aimed at people who can travel freely without having any restrictions due to their age, physical fitness, or other issues. 

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd or AMUL in India has one of the best success stories ever seen in the world. It involves the production of milk, cheese, and various ice cream flavors. These products are marketed through 50 sales offices throughout India and 50,000 retail stores. When they realized that the traditional way of marketing will not help them reach their goals. In 1995, AMUL decided to adopt the "Information Technology Strategy". Ever since then, they have seen a great rise in their sales and marketing. All the employees who work there since then, have had to receive training in e-commerce. Now, they only recruit e-literate people. AMUL cyber stores have now been set up in 150 areas around India, the United States of America, Singapore, and Dubai. All of these run-of-the-mill changes were accomplished in less than five years, especially when AMUL was categorized as an infrastructure that had weak technology and heavily relied on "look and feel" of their products. 

India and her Foreign Relationships

 

When it comes to India and her foreign relations, those are many in number. From ever-changing relations with the USA to a relationship of war and agony with Pakistan, we have our own trysts with foreign relations. Through this blog, we'll be learning about the impacts various nations have on India's foreign policies and relations. 

Let's start off with India's most famous relationship, with that of Pakistan. Earlier this month, the border of the nations was facing gunfire and attacks. A usual sight for the citizens of both the nations, the situation prolonged for a long time. As always, they were fighting for capturing Kashmir and making it a part of their respective nation. What started off as gunfire, went ahead and became warfare. On 24th February, the military generals of both armies decided to cease warfare. They decided that there will be no more firing and peace was restored. Although peace has been restored, nobody knows when the next conflict will start.

As for India, the short-term impact they face here is that they may have lost military personnel and gun powder as well. The nation has brought more strain to the already strained relationship they were having with Pakistan. They will now have to enter into long talks with their political counterparts in Pakistan. The nation will also have to justify its stand on why there was firing. The long-term impact is also not surprising. Our relationship with Pakistan will remain the same. Or else, it's only going to become worse. The fight for Kashmir is going to continue. There will be more firing and more peace treaties signed. 

Israel and India have always had good relations with each other. From a long time ago, the two countries have had extensive economic, military, and strategic relationships. When Israel faced tough situations or issues, India has always been there to help. Israel is represented in India through an embassy in New Delhi and one consulate each in Mumbai and Bengaluru. As per the reports of 2014, India is the third-largest Asian trade partner of Israel and the tenth-largest trade partner overall. 

So when the news came that Israel has decided to give it's surplus Covid vaccines to less fortunate countries like Latin America and Palestine, India was really happy. India has also mentioned in its foreign policy about Palestine's integral part. The country also recognizes Palestine Liberal Organisation as well. But the surprise came when the Israel Prime Minister decided to freeze the exports of the surplus vaccines. 

As for the short-term impacts, India would have thought that Palestine is going to benefit from the vaccines, and this would have in turn further strengthened Indo-Israel relations. India would have had a better relation with Israel and further exchange of trade would have taken place. However, in this situation, it seems like the Indo-Israel situation will become strained. This sudden change of plans will have India wondering about Palestine's supply of Covid vaccines. The trust that they had in Israel for supplying the surplus vaccines may worsen the relation. 

We can see how the USA is planning to talk to the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. Although India has a good relationship with the countries of the Middle East, we were not in that good of terms with America when Trump was in charge of the nation. But, all that may change now.

The short-term impact is that based on the relations the USA may build with Saudi, there may be changes in the relationship between Saudi Arabia and India. As for the long-term impact, ever since Biden has come into power, we might get to see a better and developed relationship between both the nations. 

Peace, Propoganda, and the Promised Land

 Media plays a very crucial role in projecting the conflicts of the modern world. And it's only because of this information system, that people get to know about the representation and the image about what happens in the world. One of the most defining features of the modern world’ is conflict. 

Media influence can have an enormous effect on its audience, which can even change the minds of the nation. Mass media is often considered as an ‘image’ of the conflict, which plays an important role in presenting the information to people around the world.

The media as an important factor in representing facts can take two different and opposed forms in picturing conflicts. Either the media takes an active part in the conflict and has responsibility for increased violence, or stays independent and out of the conflict, thereby contributing to the resolution of conflict and alleviation of violence.

To understand more about the topic, we will consider three case studies, according to which the role of the media in international conflict will be explained, analyzed, and evaluated. The three case studies will be the Vietnam War, the Falklands conflict, and the Gulf war. 

To begin with, all these examples took part in different periods of time which means that the media development also has its own input on the media role in international conflicts. Secondly, countries that have undergone conflicts have different relationships between the media and the state. This makes the comparison more comprehensive and interesting to investigate.

The docu-movie Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land provide a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and the Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing, and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied territories appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism and the relationship between media and politics.

Moving on to the way politicians play a role in depicting various issues is really striking. If the ruling party feels that they are to be blamed for the issue that occurred, they will make sure that only the media houses with the same ideologies as the ruling party broadcast the news. It is highly unlikely that other media platforms can publicize the news in their manner. However, if its a positive news that has to be informed to the public, maximum media coverage will be ensured.

If we look at the way Indian media has been covering news stories, why not look at the recent NRC and CAA protests? Also, let's take a look at the new farm laws and their coverage. We have all seen how biased, one-sided, and partial the media's coverage of news stories can be. When Sushant Singh Rajput passed away in 2020, we know the antics that followed. From being impartial to becoming a war of the TRPs, craziness and stupidity had overcome media.

There has been a significant loss of diversity and pluralism. Partiality in reporting and commenting on serious issues, and systematic violation of ethics that journalism requires. Media expansion has led to the shrinking of the Public Sphere and the spread of elitist views. The peace and conflict resolutions can thus come at a later stage.

The Legend of the Dark Continent

 From time immemorial, we have seen Africa as the land that was enslaved. The land that was imperialized. The land that is yet to be. Ever since the colonial nations discovered Africa, they have just wanted to get their hands on it. By hands, I mean their burdening ideologies, their deafening thoughts, and their profit-inducing plantations. 

However, why was Africa called the Dark Continent? Although race lies at the heart of this humungous land, this was not exactly the reason why Africa was known as such. The simplest answer most possibly would be that Europe did not know much about Africa till the 19th century. For the crusaders, Africa was just mysterious, filled with secrets and unknown things. It is said that Europe knew very well about Africa for at least 2,000 years, but because of their imperial impulses, they pushed the information down. Around the same time, the Africans were also campaigning against slavery. Europeans thought that they would encounter savagery and mysteries on the continent. They didn't know anything. Or at least, that's how they behaved. 

The poorest continent of the world, that says enough about Africa's situation. The GDP of the continent as whole only accounts for 2.4% of the world's GDP. What happened to Africa? Why did they have to stoop so low? Research states that Africa has the largest reserves of metals when compared to the rest of the world. It has over 90% of platinum reserves and over 60% of gold. If this is the case, why aren't they exporting it and making money out of it? The answer lies in the movie Blood Diamond. The movie accurately depicts the way in which Africans are cunningly dwindled out of their resources while others take advantage of it. 

After centuries of struggle with various atrocities like war, famine, and slavery, Africa wanted to survive. They needed to survive. When imperialism affected the country, the world outside thought that Africa will progress. They will see a new dawn. However, the unequal distribution of resources and new boundaries caused more problems. It seemed like their issues will never end.

Following are some of the problems that Africa has been facing and continue to face:

Since independence, Africa has had a long-standing history of poor governance. Although they pried away from their independence from the imperialists, they still have a long way to go for achieving complete democracy and liberation. They are still struggling with having a proper government that is democratic and can serve the people properly. 

When it comes to population growth, Africa has the highest population growth of them all. The fertility rate is quite high as well. In the continent, it is 4.7 children per woman. So, one can only imagine the challenges a woman faces there. According to the UN, by 2050, Africa will have double the entire population that it has today. That just means more people and fewer resources, yet again.

Decades after its independence, Africa is still yet to discover its agricultural potential. Ever-changing climates and unexpected weather patterns still pose a threat. When droughts go on for longer than usual, it results in people displacement and depleted grain reserves. Just when the country thinks they have had a surge of development, droughts and famine occur, which makes them a step back to childhoods that were malnourished and adulthood that was filled with unemployment and struggles.

But Africa is not all sorrow. It has created its own impact on global development. Although globalization and liberalization couldn't do much for Africa, they have made strides that have become known globally. Africa was not a country that progressed with globalization. They couldn't fully take advantage and develop their continent. Instead, they thought that the traditional ways were best to move forward and never paid heed to the New World. 

Africa invented major breakthroughs like ink and pen. It would be an understatement to say that all other technologies after this were only made possible because of these inventions. They derived ink from the combination of soot, vegetable gum, and water. It was all made possible because of the Kemits of North Africa. They also invented the alphabet as well. 

The people of ancient Kemet also invented the calendar, which is one such invention that people cannot live without today. Through their meticulous study of the sun, moon, and stars, they were able to precisely calculate the flooding of the Nile River which was vital to their ability to farm. The Kemites discovered that the movement and position of the sun and the moon had a direct effect on all objects on the planet Earth. From this revelation, the astronomers of Kemet were the first to develop a solar calendar that divided the year into 365 days with 12 months of 30 days each. Successive civilizations went on to create their own calendars, owing much to the pioneering development in ancient Kemet.    

People were of the common notion that medical procedures were invented in Europe. But, it was in medieval Africa that the first medical procedures like surgery, skin grafting, use of ancient medicines, the installation of false teeth, etc.

The story of Africa is not something that can be compressed into a few words. They have a very rich history of slavery, traditions, and of course, wildlife. Here's to hoping that the coming years will be brighter for Africa and they will have the chance to embrace a healthier economy. 

Her- Movie Review

By writing personal letters to people, a sensitive and soulful man, Theodore, earns a living. These letters are such that they encompass love, passion, and adoration for the person it is addressed to. Meanwhile, he becomes obsessed with a new operating system that allegedly evolves into an intuitive and special entity in its own right after his marriage ends with his high school sweetheart, Catherine. Unlike a more conventional sci-fi tale, Theodore isn't engaged in an external fight against military technology or an invading alien species; Theodore is in a struggle with himself. He is in the middle of a divorce with Catherine, who is waiting for the divorce papers to be signed by Theodore. And though, seemingly, he can't let go. Emotional support is what Theodore needs. He wants, above all, a relation. We see Theodore alone in a packed train early in the story, alone at work, alone as he walks home, listening to a "melancholic song" in his earpiece. Individuals are murmuring inaudibly into their devices in the elevator. Commuters do the same on the subway.  The movie is set in a world of fiction where technology isolates humans. Where technology pushes people farther away.

He then begins the program and meets “Samantha” whose bright voice shows a personality that is sensitive and playful. While initially “friends”, the relationship soon deepens into love. The movie is an unusually expressed movie of the romance genre, along with some mature themes. The movie also teaches us important lessons widely as we make our way deeper when in a relationship. 

The positive elements of the movie: 

The movie makes us ponder on questions such as “what is love?”, “why is it special?”, “what makes it last?”, “what makes it go wrong?” and much more, when we humans fall in love with one another. It questions us how we humans define love. We may be glad that Theodore learns how to love the people around him a little more through his friendship with Samantha. That he's writing an amazingly warm letter to his ex-wife, thanking her for what she was and is, and telling her that she'll always have a little piece of his heart. 

The movie not only teaches us lessons on love and relationship but is also set in a futuristic time. A futuristic Los Angeles. The film uses its bizarre sci-fi scenarios, tender, soulful, and thought-provoking settings, to both comment on the current dependency of people on technology and impart information about the state of human relationships. The film's production design is an excellent combination of hipster chic and technology-dependent futuristic, engaging the audience throughout with a warm visual glow.

In science fictional romance, she is an intelligent and beautiful achievement; a film on human fragility and the strangest aspirations of platonic love. In this movie, there are so many rich shades I could mull over and anticipate with. It is positively one of those movies I want to watch more than once just to captivate it all again. An unconventional way to tell an age-old tale that works so well that, as its humanity washes over you, you forget about its unconventionality. Overall, Her is a lovely movie complete with great acting, a great story, and a dreamy soundtrack. Miss it and you're going to miss out.

The Climate Change we have to know

Climate change is a real issue that we are tackling today. From the likes of Greta Thunberg to the fashions of Abhirami, a young environmental activist from Kerala, climate change is affecting people all around the world. I'm sure people know about the effects the climate has on the ever-changing flora and fauna of the world. 

Coming to the sub-continent of  India, we sure have formulated a lot of policies to preserve and protect our environment and its surroundings. From the very famous Chipko movement that had people hugging trees so that they are not cut to Adivasis fighting for their lands, our policies and laws have come a long way. Some of the famous acts that have been made in India to protect nature is:

1. The National Green Tribunal Act of 2010

2. The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

3. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

4. The Environment Protection Act, 1986

5. The Hazardous Waste Management Regulations, etc.

Moving on to recent strategies that have been legitimatized to reduce the effects of climate change in India, the Prime Minister's Cabinet had introduced the National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2008. This plan aimed at reducing the implications of climate change by making the country more eco-friendly and reduce the emission of carbon footprints. Ever since then, India went on to record the highest pollution levels the world has ever seen and also became one of the countries with the largest carbon footprints.

Just to understand all of this further, I interviewed Dr. Toby Francis, retired professor, and environmental activist. After his thesis on the topic, "Seasonal Variations Avifauna concerning Habitat Changes in Kole Wetlands of Thrissur District", he was more than prompted to do his part to protect his surroundings.

A very busy man, he was only able to spare few minutes of his time to talk to me. Based on the research he had conducted, one of the first questions that I had asked him was about the diminishing wetlands that he might have noticed during the course of his research. He said that more than the wetlands that were diminishing, it was the fauna that was thinning in size. The birds, in particular, were not many in number. Although it does not have any direct connection to mankind, he said that this was happening due to the rapid climate change and sooner or later, mankind's going to be affected by it. He also mentioned that in the Thrissur-Tamilnadu border, peacocks were many in number and this was an unusual phenomenon that started sometime back. In the olden days, peacocks were not even seen here, whereas now, peacocks were too many and they were causing trouble for the farmers by eating their crops. What was the reason for this sudden thrust of peacocks? Climate Change. 

Before leaving him to his thoughts, I just had one more question to ask him. "These tourist places that have become all the more famous after the pandemic. How are they getting affected by climate change?" He replied with one word. Eco-friendly. He went on to explain what he meant. If the tourist areas we visit are eco-friendly, then there's nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, if we are just going for a getaway and destroy the place we went to, we are accountable for it. He believes that more than climate change, we humans have a greater role to play in torturing nature and eventually making our world apocalyptic, not without a bird or plant insight. 

From the Uighurs to the Rohingyas

 Ever since we have known, the Muslim religious communities in India have also been a minority.     Never have they once been treated as majority nor have they ever become as such. One major factor that separates them from other communities is that they have a lot of other religious and cultural routines that make them very different from the other communities in the country. 

Coming to the Muslims in our country, we have a range of Muslims from various categories. In simple, the Muslims in India are very different from Muslims in other parts of the world. If you look at the Uighurs that live in China, they are an ethnic minority group that lives in Xinjiang. Almost half of that city's population are the Uighurs. They are of an estimated 11 million people. These Uighur Muslims have been around for thousands of years and they speak a language that is really familiar to the language of Turkey, ie., Turkish. The common belief is that their ancestors may have come from a previous homeland of the Turks in the northern part of central Asia. Some Uighurs don’t accept that Xinjiang – officially an “autonomous region” – is part of China, and their claims are that their ancestors used to own this area before the Chinese Han and Tang dynasties established their dominion in the area. Evidence has been uncovered that up to one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are being held in “re-education” detention centers in Xinjiang, according to a report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. When asked about the same, the state of Beijing outrightly denied any mistreatment and they went on to claim that these camps are “vocational training centers” which help push out extremist thoughts by the Islamist separatists, as well as giving people new skills. However, a 2018 report by Amnesty International report unearthed the fact the arbitrary detention of Uighur Muslims across the province was widespread. The exile group World Uighur Congress claims detainees are held without charge, and forced to undergo attempted indoctrination by shouting Chinese Communist Party slogans. 

While moving on from the Uighur Muslims to the Kashmiri Muslims the main difference is that they have been struggling for basic human rights over the past 90 years. From the time of.  Independence to today, their community has seen uncountable, horrific things. Things that a person will never be able to endure. Although people were killed, women raped, and honor was lost, there was not one instance in the whole history of Kashmir where they bowed down to the Indian forces and said that they surrender. It finally came to a dark point in 1948 when the UN had to intervene to ensure the safety of the Muslims living in Kashmir. The UN ensured that the people of Kashmir would have a better life. But, that just remained what it was, a promise. Nobody paid heed to the horrendous situation of Kashmir. The world pushed it under the carpet with the name of 'removing terrorism'. Not even international organizations paid heed to the saddening situations that the Kashmiri Muslims were living in. The worst part of this is that they still continue to live like this, even today. 

The Rohingyas as we all know is a Muslim minority that is concentrated in the Rakhine state in Myanmar. Another thing that everyone should know about them is that they are one of the most persecuted communities in the world. They can also be found in other parts of the world like refugee camps in the neighboring country of Bangladesh and other countries as well. The Rohingyas make up for one-third of the population in the state with Buddhists populating the rest of the two-thirds. Just like the other two communities that were discussed earlier, they too face the same problems. 

The one thing similar in all these Muslim communities is that they all have been victims of discrimination and violation of basic human rights. From the beginning of their lives, they have been facing all types of injustice from government inequality to even international issues. Their whole lives have been full of ups and more downs that they have reached a stage where they do not know if they will be free or not.

From 1947 to 2021: The War between India and Pakistan

 

When India got freedom in 1947, there was a grim situation that followed. The Partition. When Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah agreed to a partition with the British, they never knew what they were getting into. Even today, Gandhi is criticized for agreeing to the Partition, otherwise which India could have been a bigger nation. Anyhow, the Partition displaced up to 12.5 million people and shattered the uncountable lives of many. This resulted in the long-drawn enmity between India and Pakistan and of course, the fight for Jammu & Kashmir, which continues to date.

After Partition, Pakistan became a Muslim State filled with its own share of religious disputes and violence, and India chose to become secular. They believed that Hindus and Muslims are two entirely different religions with different thoughts and hence, can never be a part of one united country. The main reason for the division of India and Pakistan was religion and other reasons such British’s divide-and-rule policy etc. Ever since then, the India-Pakistan struggle has always remained the same. Never once has it become better nor has it been resolved.

After the Partition, there were no bounds to the wars and violence that ensued between the two countries. Two countries that could have been strategically helpful for each other became bitter enemies. They have engaged in several wars over various issues ranging from the infamous J&K issue to border issues as well. One year after Partition began the wars. In 1948, 1965, and 1971, India fought several wars that ensued military tension that has not died down to this day. The nuclear test in 1998 further created problems that are still far from over.

While there have been situations and times when both the countries have tried to work as one, such instance are very less in number. One such instance was where 1960 water treaty was signed. Another such instance happened when the nations resolved the border issues they had in Kutch. This happened in 1965. And finally, in 1998, after the nuclear tests, they decided to exchange their nuclear lists. The latter was a bilateral decision. However, the first was an ultimate result of mediation and arbitration.

Moving on the current scenario between the two countries, it doesn’t look like the problems between them are not going to get over anytime soon. In 2019, the Pulwama attack shook the nation of India. 40 CRPF jawans were killed in a suicide bombing by JeM, a Pakistani terrorist organization. Just two days later, India retaliated by hiking the prices of all imports from India to Pakistan by 200%. Also, in 2016, the infamous URI attack went down and as India’s direct response to the attack, we carried out ‘surgical strikes’ on suspected terrorists across the LoC in Pakistan Administered Jammu & Kashmir.

In the past, there have been several situations where both India and Pakistan have tried to address their issues and solve problems. But that has not worked out for both of them. Both nations have similar trouble spots that will always hinder them in achieving at least partial unity. Their relationship can be improved if dialogues are given a chance. That can, at the very least reduce the issues, if not completely remove them.

Peepli ALive OR Absurd Govt?

 

There’s a dialogue in the film that goes “Zindagi ban gayi hai bell-bottom aur khudkhushi ban gayi hai jeans pant.” Although it does not make sense to you now, it will by the time I finish with my blog. I’m pretty sure all of you would have seen the situation farmers of our country are going through today. Peepli Live showed us the satirical version of it. Released in 2010, Peepli Live tells is directed by Anusha Rizvi and produced by Aamir Khan. The movie tells the story of a farmer who is merely existing and ultimately has to suicide. It has brilliantly employed the use of media and politics to portray this area, this is, the increasing rate in farmer suicides.

We can see that there is a drop in farmer suicides in the country. But that doesn’t mean that the situations that farmers are facing have lessened. Look at the current scenario. A farmer’s law has torn the whole country apart. Is it actually a law or just another absurd government scheme?

In the movie, you can see how two brothers, who have lost claim to their ancestral land are told to commit suicide by a politician so that their family will get Rs 1 lakh as compensation. Let’s go back. Why are planning to suicide? Is it because they are done with life? Or is it for the money? The answer is the latter. Instead of having helped the brothers with some money to pay the bank so that they can reclaim their land, the opportunistic politician tells them to end their lives so that according to a Governmental scheme, they’ll be awarded Rs 1 lakh as compensation. Similar schemes like Baliraja Chetana Abhiyaan which was started by the Maharashtra Govt was also scrapped last year. This scheme sought to give counselling and financial help to distressed farmers, but did not see a decline in farmer suicides.

Coming to the movie and how they have portrayed the absurdity that the protagonist and his brother fall into, they fall in hard. As a by-election was proposed in the area that they live in, the news of the possible suicides of the brothers become a point of competition for the parties. One party tries to buy off one of the brothers, in the hope that that will push their party to victory. One part even goes to the extent of kidnapping Natha, the protagonist, so that he won’t suicide and create a ruckus. But little do they know that the circus has already begun.

As soon as the media gets a whiff of the news that the brothers might commit suicide, they come rushing to cover this. All channels have their own agendas, just like the crazy schemes that the Govt comes up with. Neither do the channels want to give up their exclusive stories, nor does the ruling party want to give up their power. The Govt works for their own good, introducing new schemes that will prove to be good for their party. But they do not realize that it is the common man that gets dragged into all of this.  

Art of Society through K Vishwanath's eyes

 

K Vishwanath, one of the most renowned directors of the Indian film industry left behind a legacy of films when he passed away. Take any film of his and I assure you, you will not be disappointed. 

Last weekend, I decided to watch 3 very famous movies of his. Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, and Swarabhishekam. Apart from the fact that all three of the films start their names with ‘S’, all three of them are movies with amazing songs and filmography that glorifies Indian cinema. Although his movies may seem like art films, they are definitely not of that genre. Vishwanath’s movies are a complete package of entertainment that the audience desire. He taught the industry to use music, art, and dance to talk about serious issues like caste, religion, and other problems the society faces. 

Sankarabharanam, one of Vishwanath’s greatest accomplishments is a movie that cannot be missed. Portraying a story about caste and the consequences it has on people, it’s stellar cast and performances cannot be missed. With songs that will be etched in your heart forever, it’s a must-watch. Through the medium of music, the director has portrayed the caste issues people faced in early India. The protagonist of this film is from an upper-caste family whereas the heroine of this film is a ‘dasi’ or a servant who belongs to the lower-caste. In this film, K. Vishwanath has shown that music and its rich culture transcends all problems that caste has. Be it the fact that people shun Shankara Shastri, the protagonist when he lets Tulasi, the dasi stay with him, or how Tulasi’s son becomes Shastri’s disciple, every part of this film is laced with music. No matter what the issue might be, he’s explained the most serious of issues with the utmost ease. How has he done it? With the help of music. 

Moving on to Sagara Sangamam, this movie uses dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Kuchupudi to enhance the story. This movie tells the story of Balu (Kamal Hassan), who is a good dancer but can’t stoop down to any level to be commercially successful. He meets Jayaprada’s character who helps him participate in competitions. Eventually, they fall in love. When Balu knows that she was married, he breaks up with her. Years pass by and Balu becomes an art critic who is an alcoholic. He doesn’t know he has a child with Jayaprada. But, by the end of the film, he teachers his daughter dance. The issue of the extramarital affair has been tackled beautifully with dance in this movie. A situation that was extremely progressive and controversial in that era was easily shown through the film. Such an issue was portrayed in a way that the story of the film was told through dance.

The last movie that I saw was Swarabhishekam. K Vishwanath has acted and directed in the film. Core issues that every family face like jealousy, ego, and competition are portrayed in this film. It tells the story of two brothers who are both Carnatic singers. After the younger brother gets married, his wife feels a sense of resentment towards her brother-in-law. She feels that her husband should get better recognition as he does most of the work. Meanwhile, the elder brother gets awarded with a Padmashri and the problems only worsen. Issues keep on rising and it reaches a point where the brother has a fallout with each other. At the end of the movie, the younger brother’s wife realizes her mistake and strives hard to bring back the family together. Familial problems that happen everywhere are shown in this film with the utmost ease. Music accompanies the whole length of the film.

Through Vishwanath’s film, he tries to portray various serious issues like caste and religion. He has also tried to express various scenarios like mental health awareness, sexual abuse, and even the remarriage of a widow. No matter what movies of his you see, all of them will have a dance, music, and culture playing a central role. Be it casteism or even extramarital affairs, he says the stories and the issues he wants to talk about with ease.