Published by the Department of Economics of S. P. Mandali's Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, Matunga, Mumbai - 19.
By the Department of Economics of S. P. Mandali's Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, Matunga, Mumbai - 19.
Copyright Š 2019, by Department of Economics
5th Edition - December 2019
HOMOECONOMICUS Synergy of Social Sciences
Index ABOUT THE MAGAZINE What's in the Name?
01
From the Editors' Desk
02
Moderator's Note
03
Our Team
04
Our Other Platforms
06 POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Before Hong Kong: the three Ts of China
07
When will you Live and Let Live?
10
Collision of Dogmas
12
Tadmir al’iinsania- The IsraelPalestinian War
14
Should India have Simultaneous Elections? ECONOMICS Behave or get nudged!
19
De-industrialisation of India
21
Basic income: a critique of the agency 23 argument The Economics of KPop
26
Lights, camera, action and game theory!
29
16
The Economic Cost of Parochialism
32
Soccernomics
35
Islam Economics
37
Runs to Rupees - The Economics of Cricket
40
The Shape of You and Your Currency
44
SOCIAL ISSUES The Sabarimala Case: Reflections of a 46 Liberal-Indivusualist My views on LGBTQ
49
Why caste still matters
52
Comparison: A Distractive Pacifier
54
Education- A double-edged sword
57
How Many Feminists Does It Take To 60 Change an Economy? Popular Culture: a malevolent force?
63
Women’s Safety in India
67
Digital Pride: Queer inclusiveness , online.
70
TECHNOLOGY Data: The Science which is the new art
73
Reconstructing mankind
76
How cloudgaming and microtransactions could end piracy.
78
The Art of Genetic Manipulation
80
Just another article on Artificial Intelligence
82
INTERDISCIPLINARY The Indian Idea of Development
84
Digital Minimalism
87
Information Overload - The problems millenials face in forming opinions.
89
I feel rational
91
The Technological Challenge
93
Research Article on the food cooked at the time of Shraaddha (last rites)
96
Economic Insights from Manavdharmashastra
99
Water Policy: Summary
103
Photography By Manya Singh Book Reccomendations
WHAT'S IN THE NAME? Humankind has been around for more than 200,000 years and has been evolving ever since. We have evolved from Homo erectus: the upright man, to Homo sapiens: the wise man, and in that emerged the idea of the Homo economicus, the rational man. However, the urge to have the best of everything is not always governed by rationality - i.e with the only aim being to "maximize utility or profit, for the sake of it". We still act according to our instincts, emotions, ideas, societal obligations, and other socio-political and cultural biases. Hence, the quest for being the most rational by obtaining the best is often more irrational than we may think. Thus, we, the students of Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, through the Department of Economics, publish our very own magazine: Homoeconomicus. It is run by the students, with an aspiration to explore the Economic World of the 21st century, through the eyes of society, culture, human pscyhe, polity, and thus humanity. We invite you all to witness the synergy of social sciences with Homoeconomicus.
About The Magazine | 01
FROM THE EDITORS' DESK 2014 bears the inception of Homoeconomicus owing to the curious and passionate minds of a group of students. Equipped with immense knowledge in Economics and prolific writing skills, they used this publication for channelising their thoughts, ideas
YASHASWI SHETTY
and insights about the 21st century and its inner workings. 5 years and 4 editions later, here we have the 5th edition of Homoeconomicus, a revived and a more robust one. This year, several new changes and additions have been made to our label, the most important of which was expanding the scope of our magazine. Started off as an Economics magazine, Homoeconomics has now broadened its realm of study to social sciences. Economics, given its close proximity to other empirical sciences, facilitates an almost accurate interpretation of markets, demand, supply and the million other elements of an economy. But at the core of all of these elements lie complex individuals and even more complex societies. It is their attitudes, reactions and behaviours on an individual as well as a societal level that confer on the modern world its dynamic nature. Studying these intricate and unquantifiable behavioural patterns of humans requires a deep knowledge of the various disciplines that fall under the bailiwick of social
SATVIK TRIPATHI
sciences such as - politics, psychology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics and so on. An interdisciplinary study helps us effectively explicate human history thereby providing new angles to view contemporary issues and foresee ensuing events with better accuracy. Thus, a Synergy of all the Social Sciences paints a more intelligible picture of the contemporary world and its never-ending problems. Widening our umbrella of publications, we have also started a blog in order to establish a more regular flow of information. Our Organising Team, too, has been expanded to include teams solely dedicated to the design and marketing of our outlets. This has helped us in, not only enhancing the quality and reach of our content, but also providing opportunities to students who have interests other than writing and academics. Students and professors of varied disciplines have contributed their intellectual work to our publication. We hope that it, coupled with our newfangled approach, will effectually enrich the learning experience for our readership. Disclaimer: The views and opinions presented in the magazine are of the respective authors. The college or any of its associates do not bear any responsibility for the same.
MANALI VAIDYA About The Magazine | 02
MODERATOR'S NOTE The Dept. of Economics takes pride once again to bring out yet another edition of Homoecomomicus 2019-20. The magazine has had a great input from students across the country in previous editions, but this edition recieves work not only from students studying in the vast expanse of the globe but also professors from distinguished backgrounds on a broad array of social sciences. The topics covered are of varied nature covering, areas such as technology, psychology, social issues and so on. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all authors and creative artists for their valuable contributions to the magazine with a promise to expand the reach and scope of the magazine. Dr. Aditi Abhyankar Associate Professor, Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College
DR. ADITI ABHYANKAR
About The Magazine | 03
OUR TEAM The Content Team
Utsari Gupta Bhaya
Prarthana Puthran
Kalyani Sathe
Disha Shanbhag
Abira Sinha
Namasya Satpathy
Anupriya Bummerkar
Saloni Jadhav
The Marketing Team
Vrushali Ghotavadekar
Neha Londhe
About The Magazine | 04
OUR TEAM The Design Team
Layasree Venugopal
Riddhi Nirkhe
Aparna Varier
Smrithi Nair
Neha Yadav
Magazine Photographer: Guest Photographer: Vardhan Pol Manya Singh
About The Magazine | 05
OUR OTHER PLATFORMS WORDPRESS BLOG A new addition to Homoeconomicus was our blog, where articles were posted on a weekly basis. Articles covering a wide variety of topics such as LGBTQ, festivals, politics, etc. The blog not only helped us interact with our readership more frequently but also gave our writers more than one opportunity to write about subjects that they are passionate about.
INSTAGRAM Apart from posting updates, our social media page is also used to publish content that helps create more awareness among our followers such as snippets of current affairs, book reviews, movie reviews and so on. Such content helped us engage a larger following and widen our reach.
About The Magazine | 06
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POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOMOECONOMICUS
Politics and International Relations
Source: Google Images
“The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic
Before Hong Kong: the three Ts of China
governments.” That they do not have a democratic political process, is China’s worst-kept secret, however, that they control the media
narratives
around
this
process,
is
a
universal
truth. Hong Kong is China’s largest threat in the global arena, as
of
now,
and
the
Chinese
media
is
systematically
propagating the Communist Party’s line of thought. The National Basketball Association (NBA), a capitalist American sports organisation gains billions of dollars of profits from China, where basketball is nothing short of national passion. However, an NBA team owner’s recent stand on Twitter supporting Hong Kong resulted in the end of “exchanges and cooperation” and the state broadcaster dropping all matches from its television schedule. Long before Hong Kong’s movement had gained considerable ground and support
J a n h a v i
S a t h e
from around the world, the Chinese government has consistently repressed the three problematic areas that have succeeded in bringing the country down from time to time: Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen. As early as 1949, when the Communist Party first came to power, their declared goals were to “liberate” Tibet and Taiwan. The Tibetan question was the first to emerge in 1950. Politics & International Relations | 07
The Tibetan people were different in terms of
media. They expressed their strong dissatisfaction
culture, religion, and social organization, which
universally recognized in international relations as an
rendered them a different nationality from the
inalienable part of China. The Chinese government
mainland people. The Chinese knew that gaining
has recently received a lot of criticism for interfering
control over Tibet would give them a huge
in Taiwanese media and for paying leading dailies to
strategic advantage and while Chairman Mao’s instructions to the troops included protection of their monasteries and Lamas (Buddhism was an essential part of the Tibetan psyche), he did not want
to
spare
Tibetan
nationalists
or
their
imperialist tendencies. The vision was strong: 'one China'. While the world knows it as the Chinese invasion of Tibet, the official narrative terms it as the “peaceful liberation of Tibet.” The government maintained the stance, that after “liberating” major
parts
of
Tibet,
they
entered
into
rave about their policies. Reuters found evidence of collaboration Taiwanese
between
media
mainland
groups
for
authorities
positive
and
coverage
regarding a policy that was aimed at attracting Taiwanese investment. The Communist Party played with the freedom of the press in Taiwan to harm this same freedom and endanger their democratic values, which is a clear tactic for swaying public sentiment in favour of the mainland. The current situation in Hong Kong is reminiscent of the Tiananmen Square massacre, even to the Chinese as they have issued a statement vowing that there will not be a repeat of the same if in case, Beijing
negotiations with Tibetan representatives, which
moves against the pro-democracy sentiment in Hong
failed because of the latter. The Chinese have
Kong.
promoted only one truth: Tibet agreed to be a part
The Tiananmen massacre was the culmination of
of China. In an official report dated to 2001, it has
student protests in 1989 which had the backdrop of
been
is
discontentment with the lack of political legitimacy,
guaranteed in Tibet. It is also stated, however, that
inflation, corruption and a market economy that was
the
the antithesis to that of a communist state’s vision.
proclaimed policies
on
that ethnic
religious
freedom
minorities
that
the
Communist Party adopted were “correct.” No government
that
is
unafraid
of
reactionism
dictates to its citizens, through official reports, that its policies are correct. In doing so, they take away the citizens’ power to decide for themselves. The Taiwan question can be a confusing one. It is known as the Republic of China and differs from the
People’s
Republic
of
China,
which
is
internationally recognised as mainland China. China claims Taiwan as a territory of it's own, however it does not control it, the Republic of China
does.
dissociate
Taiwanese
themselves
nationalists from
China,
wish as
to
The
Party
deemed
this
a
political
threat
with
widespread protests and so resolved to using force in order to dissolve the crisis. On May 20, they imposed martial law and on June 4, the penultimate event took place. Troops were ordered to enter Beijing and large crowds of protesters took to the streets despite media warnings against doing so. Estimates of casualties range from several hundred to several thousand and it is unclear to this day as to how many people laid their lives for democratic ideals in an oppressive state. The Chinese media’s discussion of the massacres proved to be misleading, as they claimed that no one
the
actually lost their lives in the square itself. A few
Communist Party propagates that they are in
foreign journalists were allowed to be present at the
control of all China; which includes Taiwan.
protests and while they did not witness killings in the
Supporters of Taiwanese independence want to
square, they fully acknowledged that troops killed
rename the country - the Republic of Taiwan and
unarmed civilians exercising their natural right to
gain international recognition through that.
protest peacefully elsewhere on the same day.
Chinese state media makes it very obvious that
The situation in Hong Kong goes to show that the
Taiwan is their province. The Chinese embassy in
Chinese reaction is not happening in isolation. The
India has gone as far as issuing a statement about the 'misreporting' of news on Taiwan by Indian
Chinese state media is urging authorities to take action
against
protesters
who
are
vandalising
government buildings and headquarters. Chinese Politics & International Relations | 08
dailies criticise protesters almost every day. An administration that has to use its press as a tool to
About the Author
suppress revolt, threaten protesters with action
Janhavi Sathe Second Year B.A. student
and issue warnings and instructions is aparanoid
at Ramnarain Ruia
administration already. While what will happen in
Autonomous College
Hong Kong is unclear, it remains to be seen whether China will be subjected to international
Janhavi is a part-time
pressure or will blunder in its one China vision.
reader and full-time trying to figure out the world in all its intricacies one step at a time. She doesn’t shy away from conversation, but is a firm believer in the fact that observing and listening are as important as talking.
Politics & International Relations |Â 09
Photo Credits: Manya Singh
Hinduism is not a religion but a culture. Hinduism, unlike other religions, does not have a Hindu Pope, Hindu Vatican,
When will you Live and Let Live?
not even a Hindu Sunday. A Hindu can be an Astika (believer) or a Nastika. To define the word ‘Hindu’ is a challenge in itself. Historically, the term Hindu was used to describe the people living beyond the river Sindhu- i.e. Indus. Hence the word was initially synonymous to Indians. In other words, Hindus identify themselves by a word that they did not invent themselves but by one which the rest of the world began referring to them by. Hinduism is an amalgamation of dogmas and scientific facts. A religion which is believed to house thirty three million gods, innumerable festivals and rituals is not only followed in India but also in other countries. In the recent 2019 general elections, Modi 2.0 came to power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since time immemorial has always
been
‘Brand
Loyal’
to
the
Hindutva
ideology.
Irrespective of being very progressive in its approach towards the A v i p s a
M i s h r a
growth
and
development
of
the
nation,
it
has
conservative ideologies when it comes to religious beliefs. The narrow minded bigotry and the conservative approach of the party has done more harm than good. World’s largest democracy has now become the World’s largest hypocrisy. To begin with, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh- the largest state of India, Yogi Adityanath has started a controversy by Politics & International Relations | 10
disapproving of the fact that his government used
Another case is of the negligent attitude of the
to give models of the Taj Mahal to the foreign
government, towards ‘Rohingya’ refugees, where the
tourists visiting the state. The Taj Mahal being one
majority of the population consists of women and
of the seven wonders of the world did not seem to
children is quite alarming.
reflect Indian Culture according to him. Instead,
Spirituality and Religion are not synonymous. Shashi
he
announced
on
handing
copies
of
the
‘Bhagavad Gita’ to visitors. The situation worsened when the Tourism Department of Uttar Pradesh omitted the Taj Mahal from the list of all major attractions in the state, which it had published. The argument made was simple- it was built by traitors, the Mughals. Before becoming CM, Yogi Adityanath was best known for his anti-Muslim speeches and had spent eleven days in jail for creating
religious
tensions
by
referring
to
Shahrukh Khan as a terrorist.Furthermore, ‘Cow Vigilantism’ has begun to flourish under the
Tharoor, in his book, ‘Why I am a Hindu’ defined Hinduism
as
'not
the
acceptance
of
academic
abstractions or the celebrations of the ceremonies, but a kind of life or experience'. Any religion is not supposed
to
impose
restrictions
on
individuals,
instead, it’s supposed to instill faith and courage to take risks and help make peace with oneself. Great preachers of Hinduism like Adi Shankara in Advaita Vedanta and Ramanuja through Bhakti movement tried to bring about the real essence of Hinduism. Swami Dayananda Saraswati who established the ‘Arya Samaj’ advocated the equality of all human beings and the empowerment of women. According
current government. In 2015, Mohammed Akhlaq,
to Swami Vivekananda, each frog has much to learn
father of a serving Air Force havildar was killed by
from the others, if only he would look beyond his well.
a mob in Uttar Pradesh on the suspicion of having killed a cow. There is no doubt about the
As
protection of cows and the respect for it as a
Upanishad ) goes,
the
Hindu
hymn
(from
the
Brihadaranyaka
source of milk, but the government has taken extreme measures which have resulted in political
‘Asato ma sadgamaya!
instability in many areas. Article 48 of the Indian
Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya!
Constitution states, ‘The state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and
Mrityorma amritam gamaya! ’Lead me from Untruth to Truth, Lead me from Darkness to light, Lead me from Death to immortality.
calves and other milch and draught cattle.’ So the main purpose of the ban on slaughtering of cows was
specifically
according
to
the
needs
of
agriculture and animal husbandry, and neither worship nor religion. The historian D.N Jha, in his book ‘The Myth of the Holy Cow’ has pointed out many examples which prove that the Rig Veda is full of allusions to the consumption of cows. After years of attacking couples holding hands and exchanging greeting cards on Valentine’s Day, the Hindutva activists have changed their tactics recently. The ‘Bajrang Dal’ now sends squads to catch unmarried couples who are out on the ‘V’ day and cart them to the nearest temple to get married. Also during the controversy surrounding
the
movie
‘Padmavat’,
Gujarat
government had banned the movie in its state. Politics & International Relations | 11
Source: Scroll.in
The political pitch of Maharashtra is a new case-study for
Collision of Dogma: Maha Vikas Aghadi or Maha Tras Aghadi?
constitutional scholars and political experts. Revoking the President’s Rule by Rule 12 of Transaction of Business Rules, 1961 emphasised on the de facto powers of the head of the Union Government. The post-poll alliance of Maharashtra is not only an ideological compromise but also an antithesis of the voter’s mandate. Shiv Sena joined hands with secular INC and NCP leaving behind its 20-year-old Hindutva partner NDA. Without any ministerial experience, Uddhav Thackrey is the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Sena will now have to strike a balance between NCP head Sharad Pawar’s political ambitions and the Hindutva agenda of Balasaheb Thackrey. The triparty Maha Vikas Aghadi released its common minimum programme focusing on farmers and other weaker sections of Maharashtra whilst it neglected the Hindutva card of Sena. The setting up of two different co-ordination committees, one for the alliance and the other for the state cabinet reflect the future fears of the Aghadi. Ajit dada stands as a threat to the alliance after his failed attempt to form the government
with
the
BJP.
The
decision
of
the
new
government to halt the construction of the Aarey metro car H a r s h i t a
M a g r o g r i a
shed has reviled the policy stand, which also puts a question mark on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project. Politics & International Relations | 12
With Sena quitting the NDA alliance, an example has been set for other NDA allies to stage similar
About the Author
moves and try forming governments in different states. Sena had helped BJP ground itself in the Vidhan
Sabha
and
Municipality
of
Greater
Mumbai. With local body elections being two and half a year away the present General Body Meeting of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai with 82 BJP councillors will be an
Harshita Magroria Second year B.A. student at Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College Fellow at Praja Foundation
interesting plot. Securing a total of 105 seats in the Assembly elections BJP can act as a loyal watchdog of democracy keeping political gains at trans. The glue of economic benefit and Anti-BJP attitude only can hold the Maha Vikas Aghadi together. With three major party coalition, the portfolio distribution between Home and Finance ministry could prove to be vicious. The allencompassing and tactful policies of Uddhav Thackrey can aid him to enjoy his true powers as the
Chief
Minister
and
upheld
his
duties
surrounding senior leaders like Sharad Pawar, Eknath Shinde, Chhagan Bhujbal and Prithviraj Chauhan.
Politics & International Relations |Â 13
Source: Vox
“We are a generation that settles the land, and without the steel helmet and the cannon’s fire we will not be able to plant
Tadmir al’insania The IsraeliPalestinian War
a tree and build a home.” Quoted in a funeral oration delivered by Moshe Dayan in April 1956, then Chief of the Israel Defense Forces reflects the never-ending war between Israel and Palestine. It goes back almost 3000 years ago or even more if some accounts are to be believed when the population and ownership of this holy land varied greatly. Starting right from the 1800 BC when certain Semitic tribes inhabited the region. Originally, the Palestine citizens read as Arabs were living in Palestine when the Jews started settling there. Their migration became a threat when it overpowered the Arabs and their claims created a war. The war resulted in the formation of an independent state of Israel. The Gaza strip, west bank and the holy land of Jerusalem were the main reasons for the conflict. One of the longest and the presently ongoing war in the region became a threat to world peace. The Ottoman Empire defeated the ruling dynasty of
S h i k h a
K u m a r i
Palestine in 1517 and the Turkish sultan invited the Jews fleeing the Spanish Catholic inquisition to settle in the region. But in the 1880s the empire imposed restrictions on their migration causing Jews to invade. Zionism was born from Palestine when the Jews and Jewish culture began gaining nationalist feelings. It was the support for a Jewish state Politics & International Relations | 14
and Jordan. A peace treaty was signed between the warring states by the intervention of the United Nations. The USSR, initially in favor of the Zionist states, now aligned itself with the Arabs. US aid to Israel was minimum and Yaseer Arafat created the Palestinian Liberation Committee called Fatah to continue to defeat Israel. The issue is still on an ambiguous note due to issues like the Suez Canal crisis and the Lebanon War. It has continued since the formation of the Arab states and has always caused the destruction of human life, peace, and mankind due to the reason of religion and land. It’s high time for the countries to realize that these wars will only lead to the destruction of mankind and not the formation of power and resources.
Source: Wikipedia
defined as Israel. World War I saw the alliance of the Ottoman Empire, Germany, and Austria – Hungary which became hard for the Arabs as well as the Palestinians who were forced to flee the land.
In
1917,
before
Britain
had
conquered
Jerusalem and the area of Palestine, it issued the Balfour Declaration. This declaration promised the Jews the formation of a home without violating their civil and religious rights. It was the result of lobbying by the small British Zionist movement, but
it
was
motivated
by
British
strategic
considerations. But the Paris Conference of 1919 caused a major gap between the parties when the land of Syria was given to France as the League of Nations which was asked as a condition of support by the Arab representative. This caused a lifelong gap between both the parties. By this time the Zionists had recognized the inevitability of conflict with the Palestinian and other Arabs. The spread of Nazism and the resulting atrocities on Jews grew their migration. Partition was the only option left with them. The war of independence was caused and in May 1948, as Jews proclaimed the state of Israel. British went on the safer side and the Arab states started entering war like Egypt Politics & International Relations | 15
Source: The Hindu
'One nation, One election'Â has been a topic of debate for quite a while now. Some people think that simultaneous
Should India Have Simultaneous Elections?
elections would bring a positive change in the electoral system of the country while others are vehemently opposing the idea. What exactly does it mean by 'simultaneous elections'? 'One nation, one election' or 'simultaneous elections' means carrying out elections of Lok Sabha, different Legislative Assemblies and local bodies together at the same time. It means that the voters will cast their vote for Lok Sabha, Legislative Assembly and local elections at the same time or maybe in some cases, on the same day. In the present situation, elections for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha are held separately, i.e. whenever the term of Government ends or whenever it gets dissolved, elections are held. Therefore, elections go on every year at some stage or the other. E.g. Maharashtra, Sikkim, Odisha, Jharkhand and other states had the Assembly elections this year while Delhi
A b i r a
S i n h a
will have it next year ie.in 2020. This process of continuous elections puts a lot of strain on the Government treasury. Therefore, much thought is being given to the idea of simultaneous elections after it was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. PM's proposal has also been supported by the Honourable President Mr Ram Nath Kovind,
Politics & International Relations |Â 16
who had said that it was 'the need of the hour' to
for the betterment of the people and the economy
have simultaneous elections.
rather than impressing the public and thus it'll ensure
Though this idea has gained momentum in the
efficient working of the Government. As we can see,
past few years, the concept of simultaneous
there are many advantages of having 'one nation, one
elections
election', but like every other idea, even this comes
is
not
new
to
India.
After
the
enforcement of our constitution, the first election that was held in 1951-52 was a simultaneous election. The same trend continued for the three consecutive general elections, i.e. the 1957, 1962 and 1967 elections. But after 1967, due to factors like
the
dissolution
Assemblies, system
the
and
of
some
emergence
coalition
of
Legislative
a
multi-party
governments,
elections
started to be held separately. So, the question remains- will India benefit by bringing back simultaneous elections? One
of
the
greatest
advantages
of
having
with its own set of drawbacks. One of the limitations is that simultaneous elections will give preference to National Parties. Survey has shown that there's a 77% chance that a voter will vote for the same party in national as well as the state-level elections when held together. Thus, the national parties will have chances of winning the elections, while the regional parties with good agendas may lose. For e.g. the candidates from BJP standing for the assembly elections may not be efficient, but a strong leader like Narendra Modi can influence people to vote for these candidates. As a result of this, the local issues would be overlooked. It is generally seen that the elections at different levels
simultaneous elections is that it will help in
are fought on different issues. E.g. the national level
curbing communal riots. It is a piece of common
elections are fought on issues of unemployment,
knowledge that elections happen every year in
educational issues, foreign affairs etc. The state-level
some or the other parts of the country. During
elections, on the other hand, are fought based on
these elections, political parties resort to dirty and
local issues affecting the local people of that state.
divisive politics each year to win seats. It results in
Thus, it could be anticipated that the local issues
communal rioting at times. So, with simultaneous
would
elections, it is possible to curb these riots as there
conducted.
won't be elections every year. Having elections simultaneously, has it's own monetary benefits, as it saves money, manpower and also keeps a check on black money. It takes billions of rupees, every time
an
election
is
held
but
simultaneous
elections will help to save the money of the government and the public exchequer which could be used for developmental projects. Having simultaneous elections will also help to keep a check on these illegal financing and corruption as the party has to campaign only once in 5 years, instead
of
anonymous
using
black
money
individuals
for
donated
their
by
political
campaigns every single year. In
the
present
scenario,
be
neglected
if
Before
the
simultaneous
polls
are
of
the
enforcement
simultaneous elections system, many amendments have to be made in the Constitution. The centre was informed
by
the
Election
Commission
that
amendments need to be made in articles like - 1. Article 85 - which deals with the dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President. 2. Article 83 - which deals with the duration of Houses of Parliament. 3. Article 172 - related to the duration of state legislatures. 4. Article 174 - related to the dissolution of state assemblies. 5. Article 356 - related to the President's rule. Making these amendments is time taking and a huge, complicated process. Along with this problem of
constitutional
amendment,
there's
also
the
problem of dissolution of assemblies. This is the problem that 'has' to be solved to have simultaneous
the
incumbent
elections. Because even if we have elections together,
government has to make policies and schemes
there's no guarantee that the assemblies won't
every year, so that it can attract people to vote for
dissolve or the coalition governments won't fall before
their party and please their vote bank. These
their tenure of 5 years. There are many countries like
schemes and programmes are not made for the
Sweden,
betterment of the people but only to allure them. So, with simultaneous polls, it would be possible for the government to take some tough decisions
Indonesia,
Germany,
Spain,
etc
where
simultaneous elections are conducted. But to bring simultaneous polls into practice in India, there are a lot of things that needs to be fixed, consent needs to Politics & International Relations | 17
be taken from the opposition and regional parties, constitution to be amended, only then will the idea of 'one nation, one election' succeed.
About the Author
Abira Sinha First Year B.A. student at Ramnarain
Ruia
Autonomous College Member
of
the
Content
Team at Homoeconomicus Being
a
student
of
humanities, Political Science and English Literature has always been my favorite subjects. I am a book lover and like to read and write on current topics and political issues. I also enjoy dancing.
Politics & International Relations |Â 18
ECONOMICS
HOMOECONOMICUS
Economics
Source: Taplytics
Ever ate a huge piece of brownie even after you were full, just because you paid for it? Ever bought a pair of jeans just because they were on sale, and now they just lie in the back of your closet? Ever felt bad about not being able to use a coupon, despite winning it? Well, if you did, congratulations!
Behave or Get Nudged! The spotlight’s here
You are behaving like a human. This behaviour, its analysis and how we manage to think in this way, is what Behavioural Economics studies today. Thaler and some others explicitly brought insights from Psychology and incorporated that in the wide range of economic activities, which otherwise seem irrational in the realm of traditional economics earlier. It helps explain the volatile human mind, to provide a better and deeper understanding of human decision making and utility-maximizing capability. Behavioral Economics is a happy marriage of Psychology and Economics. However, human beings are not always rational. This automatically proves Homo Economicus (the rational straw man) wrong. Psychologists like Amos Tversky, Daniel
Y a s h i k a
D o s h i
Kahneman, Herbert Simon and Economists like Richard Thaler, Vernon Smith, Charlie Plott, all helped in shaping the field of behavioural and experimental economics thus proving the above statement right. With Daniel Kahneman and Vernon Smith winning the Nobel jointly in 2002, Alvin Roth in 2012, Robert Shiller in 2013 and Richard Thaler winning it in 2017, for outstanding work on
Economics | 19
bridging
gaps
between
Economics
and
Psychology, the spotlight is now on this field like never before. Its importance has been rightfully realised. This is a must-seize opportunity to talk about Thaler’s brilliant work showcased in his books, each being unique, though all preaching the same thought. Misbehaving, written as recently as in 2015, acts as Thaler’s memoir. It is the evidence of his pathbreaking journey, adventures in discovering this field and finding solace in it. The Winner’s Curse is an interesting read with a unique layout where each chapter starts with a question, one which urges you to think. Further, it proceeds to solve
About the Author
Yashika Doshi An economist by the day and a writer in the search of a
perfect
cup
of
coffee,
Yashika can be found curled up near a window, lost in a book on a rainy day. Her innate
interests
include
reading fiction, writing for her Instagram blog (in_the_name_of_writing) and traveling. She currently works with the Corporate Economics Cell of Aditya Birla Group.
such puzzles through the conclusions derived from
both
economic
and
psychological
experiments. Whereas, Nudge is a stellar piece of work co-authored with Cass Sunstein, unlike The Winner’s Curse, the authors of this book establish really important solutions in a light-hearted way. Areas where the theory of Nudge proves to be useful range from individual and firm decision making to financial decisions and from costeffectiveness to public policy decisions. Nudge successfully shows that it is possible to help people make the right decisions if they are ‘nudged’ and are given apt choices. One of the earliest countries to adopt this technique in its policy-making was the United Kingdom, when David
Cameron,
the
former
Prime
Minister,
decided to set up a Nudge Unit (i.e. Behavioral Insights Team) followed by France, US, Denmark, Singapore, and others. India’s cautious adoption of Behavioral Economics is a step ahead from when to start using nudges to where to start using nudges, thus, aiming to derive benefits from its use.
Economics | 20
Source: The Economist
The Indian subcontinent has been one of the major markets for various industries and multinational companies (MNCs) around the globe. The major reason is the population of the country. India being the second most populated country in the world, provides opportunities to various kinds of industries to reach out to a large number of buyers in the market. Due to which over a period of time, the Indian
Deindustrialisation of India
economy is being categorized as one of the developing market economies. But this was not the case during the colonial rule in India. Before India was to be governed in the name of the queen, it was considered to be one of the most flourishing economies in the world. And as the ‘Brits’ took advantage of the disunity among the Indians and governed the country for their own benefit, for more than a 100 years, it slowly crippled the Indian economy. The colonial government had such a
S h r u t i
H i n g e
disastrous impact on the country, that the nation, which once shared 23 percent of the world’s economy before the British arrived, saw a decline in its economy which dropped to less than 4 percent by the time they had left. With the fall of the Mughal empire, the British were able to subjugate vast territories through the power of their artillery and by doing so, displaced the Maharajas and Nawabs for a price and also looted and plundered their treasuries as it pleased them. As more and more lands came under the
Economics | 21
British rule, their supremacy started gaining
54,000 along with 64,000 people injured and more
momentum. Many small scale businesses suffered
than 4,000 Indians reported to be missing or
at the hands of the British, like that of the
imprisoned. The Indian taxpayers paid an astonishing
handloom
government
amount of 100 million pounds which in today’s money
imposed heavy taxes and duties on them to
is about 8 billion pounds to fund the war along with
prevent
weavers. them
The
colonial
from
recovering
their
manufacturing costs and so the weavers in India became
beggars,
unemployment
resulting
across
the
in
widespread
country.
As
the
handloom industry crashed in India, it resulted in a series of events. The British started to take raw materials from India and shipped them back as manufactured cloths and so, India went from being an exporter of finished cloth to an importer of manufactured cloth. By the end of the 19th century, India became Britain’s biggest market to sell their manufactured
cattle, ammunition and food while they themselves were suffering from recession and poverty. The British were, in a word, ruthless. They were only concerned about making profits that would benefit them and did not pay heed to the welfare or demands of the people. One such example is the great Bengal famine during the second world war, where 4 million people died due to starvation as Winston Churchill deliberately diverted supplies to Europeans as reserve stockpiles. And when the British officials wrote to him that people were dying because of it, he had the gall to write on the margin of that file, “Why hasn’t Gandhi died yet?”
goods and with the Indian industries going to the
People who were all for the British government
dogs, the world trade was affected, as India’s
argued that their rule was also beneficial for India.
contribution to the world trade dropped from 23
Like the initiative taken by them for setting up of
percent to a thrashing less than 2 percent.
railways, courts and their efforts to establish law and
The industrial revolution of Britain was based on
order, etc. These people clearly did not know that the
the destruction of India’s thriving manufacturing
railways were actually set up to serve the British and
industries
first
not the Indians. The courts and police stations set up
deindustrialization of the modern world. A stark
favoured the Englishmen and did not deliver unbiased
which
became
the
illustration of this can be seen in Dhaka, which was once a center of muslin production. Soon after the British took control, the population drastically fell from seven lakhs in 1760 to about
justice, not to mention, the procedure was extremely complex and time consuming for the Indians. Hence, it is safe to say that the colonial rule in India truly did bring along an era of darkness with them.
50,000 in the 1820’s and as the artisanal industry was in ruins, it forced the Indians to rely on agriculture beyond the levels that the land could sustain. As Britain benefitted by exploiting India, the wealthy classes made money out of the slave trade. A practice which was followed for the benefit of some elite classes around the globe. Finally, when the slave trade was abolished in 1833, the government paid compensation of about 20 million pounds to the owners of the slaves for their so called ‘loss of property.’ India did not just suffer economically, but went through a heavy loss of its human resources as it was forced into the First World War, wherein one-sixth forces in the British army were Indians who were made to fight for them. And by the time the war had ended, the death count of Indians was about Economics | 22
Source: The New Yorker
The basic income is, in essence, a direct cash transfer of unconditional
nature
that
treats
two
fundamental
characteristics of poverty: inadequate income in any given period and a large variance in income expected to be earned in the following period. It is claimed that by substituting the existing welfare state, a basic income that is transferred
BASIC INCOME: A CRITIQUE OF THE AGENCY ARGUMENT
periodically to the bank account of beneficiaries would reduce the social cost of redistribution, enabling the delivery of state support in a more efficient, transparent and less wasteful manner. While the previous Economic Survey (201617) presents compelling evidence on the inefficiency of the extant welfare state apparatus, this article specifically takes up the ‘individual agency’ argument often advanced by freemarket proponents of the basic income. A major refrain against the welfare state is that it treats citizens as passive objects of state policy, disregarding the
A r n a v
D e s h p a n d e
potential of individual agency. The heterogeneous nature of constraints facing poor households means that the strategies for optimizing are also diverse. A single bundle of attributes delivered by the welfare state in the form of subsidized foodgrain, education, healthcare, fertilizer, etc. takes the constraints to be of homogenous nature, erring at a conceptual level. For instance, a marginal farmer might not be facing a problem of either economic or physical access to education and healthcare but requires a bicycle to facilitate
Economics |Â 23
the daily commute from her farm to a MGNREGA
childhood might as well be an optimal choice for the
worksite that can lead to a much more productive
parent within a given period. However, this optimizing
use of her time. Or a fisherman needs neither
decision
foodgrain nor fertilizer, but a mobile phone to
constrained the liberty of the child to make decisions
communicate with the rest of the fisherfolk to
as an adult; apart from the intrinsic importance of
reach the most productive fishing field. A basic
to
leave
the
child
uneducated
has
nutrition as well as education, it has denied her the
income would grant beneficiaries the opportunity to choose their optimal strategies to escape poverty than being dictated potentially suboptimal strategies. Individual agency is constrained by few important exogenous factors; the social constraint, the informational
constraint
and
the
inevitable
constraint of uncertainty. To borrow from Amartya Sen’s theorization of choice, society ‘inhibits’ individual choice, resulting in choices that diverge from desires. The potential of agency is held back
Photo Credits: Manya Singh
by the pervasive backwardness in society that is
ability to exploit the future gains from growth that
owed in large part to the absence of education,
may bring gainful employment to her doorstep. The
health
presence of some ‘initial enabling conditions’ such as
and
representation.
For
instance, social
universal elementary education, nutrition, healthcare,
pressures in making choices pertaining to the
etc. constitutes a necessary condition for benefits of
education
growth to be broad-based.
individuals
often of
have
their
to
submit
daughters.
to
The
second
constraint operating on choice behaviour is the
The constraints of social construct, information and
constraint of information, which is a derivative of
uncertainty continue to exist regardless of whether
the social constraint since the distribution of information is also a product of the social construct. Abhijeet Banerjee and Esther Duflo in their experiments have observed the presence of considerable informational constraint: people are simply not aware of the decisions they need to take to attain their well-defined objectives. This ignorance is coupled with general behavioural tendencies
such
as
the
tendency
to
delay
decisions leading to choices that are inconsistent with
desires.
informational
For
instance,
that romanticizing the power of individual agency ignores the messy nature of reality. A welfare state seeks to actively alleviate these constraints through the
heavily
nutrition,
subsidized
basic
(often
healthcare
free)
provision
services,
of
elementary
education, etc. While homogenous, several attributes in this ‘bundle’ are essential for bettering the social and informational status of society. Improvements in the social and informational status of society are in turn essential if the true constructive potential of individual agency is to be released. Part of this
vaccination of infants would typically lead to
potential lies in the ability to exploit opportunities
higher vaccination. And lastly, individuals face
that arise in the future. The welfare state is by no
uncertainty. Choices made about the future are
means efficient and there certainly is room for reform.
subject to the inevitability of change. What makes
However,
the
opportunities of the welfare state and the limitations
of
surrounding
the
or through a basic income policy. The point, though, is
timely
constraint
constraint
releasing
state support is organized through the welfare state
uncertainty
even
more
such
ignore
inefficiencies of the welfare state involves improving
haunt in the future. For instance, the choice of not expending on adequate nutrition or education in
away
bandwidth
with
the
of information that can lead people to make
The
Doing
not
of
implementation.
agency.
must
problematic is its combination with the constraint inadequately informed choices that can return to
individual
reform
for
the such
improvement can be generated by cutting the welfare state out of spaces where it is generating Economics | 24
perverse
outcomes,
for
instance,
specific
subsidies. Arguing to substitute the welfare state with basic income, though, is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
About the Author
Arnav Deshpande is an MA First Year student at the Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics. He
graduated
from
Ruia
College in 2019. This
article
was
written
when he was a third year undergraduate.
Economics |Â 25
Source: Elite Asia Resource Centre
What is K-POP? K-pop is a genre of South Korean popular music. Although the term includes music of a variety of different genres and
The Economics of KPop
origins, it is often associated with so-called K-pop idols. Idol is the term given to usually young individuals, who fit the criteria of being good-looking, fashionable, highly trained in singing and dancing, as well as having an almost perfect image. They often make their debuts in boy- or girl groups and promote their songs with music videos that feature hypnotic, sharp and intense choreographies. Some of the most successful groups are often signed under South Koreas biggest music labels and agencies, were they undertake strict training before they make their debut. The K-pop entertainment company with the highest sales revenue in 2018 was SM Entertainment, which manages multiple successful idol-groups, for example, the boyband EXO.
M i k s h i t a
O z a
A constantly growing industry While people around the world might have not heard about K-pop before PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ in 2012, Korean pop idols started to become famous in Asian countries way before that, around the year 2003 when Singer BoA and boyband TVXQ became the first K-pop idols to successfully break into the Japanese market. With the support of the South Korean government, which saw the industry’s economic potential,
Economics | 26
the so-called Korean wave or Hallyu started to
in tourism and manufacturing The clever marketing
spread even further, and K-pop garnered a global
also adds up to an already long list of the industry’s
audience. This year (2019), Girl-group Blackpink
strengths. The brand endorsements also in Korea are
was the first K-pop group to headline the famous
in sync, big celebs endorse big brands, resulting in
U.S. music festival Coachella. Also, with global and
high sales for the companies and better earnings for
national success, the seven-member boyband BTS is the biggest active boyband in South Korea currently. In December 2018, it was estimated that the band generates around four trillion South Korean won as economic value to the country per year. The Hallyu wave is sweeping countries and people’s
hearts.
A
perfect
combination
of
photogenic performers, mood-uplifting beats and knife-sharp choreography. In 2018, the South Korean
music
market
experienced
a
17.9%
increase in revenue growth, and it was described as “shifting from ‘potential’ to ‘power player.’” The
the celebs. An example would be Boy band EXO endorsing Lotte’s Pepero, the company claims that their product sales were boosted up to 8,308 per cent, 84 times greater than their average sales before EXO started modelling for them. South Korean boyband BTS are worth about 4.1 trillion won (S$5 billion) to the country's economy every year - equivalent to the contribution of 26 mid-sized companies. The floppyhaired singers were also the reason that one in every 13 foreign tourists visited South Korea last year, the Hyundai Research Institute said. About 800,000 tourists were believed to have chosen South Korea as their destination last year because of BTS - more than
country also ranked at No. 6 among the top 10
7 per cent of the total visitors to the country. More
music markets worldwide. Spotify says streams of
than US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) in consumer exports,
Korean music doubled in the first half of 2017, with
such as clothes, cosmetics and foodstuff, were
listeners in the U.S. making up one-quarter of the
associated with them, the institute said. If BTS maintain their popularity, they can
audience. In 2017, the export
be
value of the music industry in South
Korea
amounted
hard on getting their work taken by British and American
happen by accident. It is a product
singers and bands but for the
past few years major songwriters and producers such as WILL.I.AM, Sean Garett, LND Noise and even major Scandinavian songwriters have been and
forth
an
Why the sudden popularity of KPOP? The success of K-pop did not
music producers have worked
back
generate
over the next 10 years, it added.
For decades songwriters and
travelling
to
economic value of 41.8 trillion won
to
about 512.6 million U.S. dollars.
seen
expected
from
Korea.
Universal Music Group started working with S.M
of
the
South
Korean
government’s
effective
implementation of macroeconomic growth theory which focuses on developing three key elements – physical capital, human capital and technology – to achieve maximum growth in its music industry. South Korea is a country that has a dedicated goal to
Entertainment a few years ago. The company says
become the world’s leading exporter of popular
that
they’ve
culture. It is a way to develop its soft power. “Soft
delivered to the company, usually one or two a
power” is a term coined by Joseph Nye, it refers to the
month, has become a hit. Universal Music Group’s
intangible power a country wields through its image,
executives now consider Korea a major territory
rather than through hard force. Following the 1998
and it is all because of K-pop.
Asian financial crisis, the government decided to use
pretty
much
every
song
that
music to improve the nation’s image and build its
The spillover effects This global cultural phenomenon improves South Korea’s branding image. It creates a huge spillover effect for Korea’s other industries, particularly
cultural influence. The government support is huge, strict anti-piracy laws, special departments in the government
to
track
Korean
demand
in
Asian
countries and target certain products in the same. Economics | 27
The government poured millions of dollars into establishing a ministry of culture with a specific department devoted to K-pop. An entire district in Seoul, the Chang-dong district, was developed to become
the
hub
for
K-pop.
Concert
halls,
recording studios, restaurants and retail stores were built there to support K-pop’s growth. In fostering human capital, three major recording labels-SM, YG and JYP Entertainment have been in the forefront in developing K-pop idols. Talent is scouted through auditions, street-casting and even
good-old
nepotism
and
placed
into
About the Author
Mikshita Oza Like
to
connect
economics
to
topics
like art, music and in general
the
entertainment industry. An
avid
reader
and
music lover.
a
rigorous training program for several years before their debuts. The training period not only covers singing and dancing but also lessons in acting, foreign languages and public speaking, creating well-rounded entertainers. Technology also plays an important role in supporting K-pop’s growth. Every corner of any public place in Seoul has free Wi-Fi. This makes streaming K-pop songs and videos easy, and thus enhances the popularity of K-pop
music
and
concert
sales.
The
list
contributing to the success of K-POP goes on. Kpop has successfully designed its “song and dance” market – a segment that the US music industry has neglected since Michael Jackson and the 1990s’ boy-bands. While the sales of hardcover CDs in other countries dropped, K-pop experienced the opposite because entertainment companies launched creative strategies to market their physical albums. For example, collectable items like individual photo cards of idols are included in the CD packages to lure the fans. In 2012, the physical CD market of K-pop grew by 11% and
represented
around
74%
of
their
sales
revenue. To conclude, a study from the University of London estimated that South Korea has seen a return of $5 for every $1 spent on K-pop – not only from music but also from its role in selling other Korean products like Samsung phones and LG televisions. We have lots to learn as a nation from Korea, after all in 1965, Korea’s GDP per capita was less than that of Ghana. Today, South Korea is the world’s 11th largest economy.
Economics | 28
Source: Medium Towards Data Science
Films are one of the most popular forms of entertainment in
Lights, Camera, Action and Game Theory!
India, with around 1500-2000 films released in various languages across the country every year. If viewed from the eyes of an economist, you will observe that there is much more to these films than emotion, drama and action. We will try to elaborate how two films in particular (which probably all of us have watched) ,follow the game theory.Let’s rewind back
to
the
year
2004,
when
Dhoom
had
released,
introducing the concept of men in leather jackets gliding through roads on their super-fast bikes. To the dismay of Indian parents, it had increased the craze of cycling among children (we were under age to ride bikes) who would hum the tune of the title track and race with each other. In the climax of the film, Kabir (John Abraham) is chased by ACP Dixit
(Abhishek
Bacchan)
and
Ali
(Uday
Chopra)
and
ultimately reaches the dead end of a cliff. Kabir with a smirk on his face rides off the cliff with the bag of stolen money. Analysing from the point of view of game theory, there are two players- the police and the thief (Kabir). Each faces two
L a v a n y a
S a r k a r
&
Z a i d
decisions, the police- whether or not to chase and arrest him, the thief- whether to ride off the cliff (R) or not (NR). These
R e s h a m w a l a
decisions and the attached payoffs can be encapsulated in a game tree.
Economics |Â 29
India rooted for the Indian Hockey team after ages. Yes, it is Chak De! India we are talking about. Remember the sudden spurt of patriotism in you? Remember the time you got infuriated when Preety and Komal would simply refuse to cooperate? If you observe carefully you’ll realise they were behaving like rational strategic players. Let us illustrate this with the help of a payoff matrix. If Preety is the first player, her preferences can be ranked as follows (where, C: cooperate and NC: Not cooperate):
Police is the first mover here followed by Kabir. If the police decides not to arrest him and he decides to ride off the cliff, they get a payoff of 4 (the world would be free of a thief at a cost of
(NC,C) , (C,C) , (NC, NC) , (C,NC) Komal’s preferences can be ranked as follows: (C,NC) , (C,C) , (NC,NC) , (NC,C)
some wet and non-retrievable cash). If they decide to not arrest him and he does not ride off the cliff, police gets a payoff of -10 (Kabir flees). Now, if the police tries to arrest him and he rides off the cliff, they get a payoff of 4. If they try to arrest him and he does not ride off, they get a payoff of 10 (Job complete! Thief is caught and money retrieved). The dominant strategy of the police is to try and arrest him since they get a higher or equal payoff irrespective of what Kabir decides to do as compared to when they do not try to arrest him. Hence,ACP Dixit’s final decision- arrest Kabir! Now Kabir gets a payoff of -10 and 10 when he rides
off
the
cliff
and
when
he
does
not,
respectively, provided the police does not try to arrest him. When the police tries to arrest him, he gets a payoff of -2 if he rides off the cliff (he dies but won’t have to rot in the jail) and -10 when he doesn’t (he will have to rot in the jail. Besides his statement “tumhare saamne se nikal jaunga, aur
They would individually prefer that they score the goal and take credit for the win (ie. the other player passes the ball to her and she scores a goal and she doesn’t pass it to the other player).
If Preety
cooperates, she gets a payoff of 3 if Komal cooperates and 1 if she doesn’t. On the other hand, Preety gets a payoff of 4 if Komal cooperates and 2 if she doesn’t. Non-cooperation earns her a higher payoff no matter
tum pakad nahi paoge” would be proven wrong.).
what
As a rational individual, he decided to ride off the
dominant strategy is non-cooperation since she gets a
cliff which actually gave him a higher payoff than
higher payoff by not cooperating (4 and 2) than when
had
Komal
decides
to
do.
Similarly,
Komal’s
Nash
she decides to cooperate (3 and 1). When both of
equilibrium is reached with payoffs (4, -2). Nash
them play their dominant strategy, they reach a Nash
equilibrium is a situation where neither player has
equilibrium (2,2) which makes them worse off than a
any incentive to unilaterally deviate from his
situation where they had decided to cooperate (3,3).
decision. ACP Dixit and Kabir were actually
This is known as Prisoner’s dilemma. It states why two
he
decided
not
to.
As
a
result
following game theory (if you dig into their past, they could have very well been students of economics!). Now, let’s move to the year 2007, when entire
completely rational individuals fail to cooperate even if it is in their best interests to do so. Kudos to their coach (Sharukh Khan) who eventually instilled a sense of trust amongst them.You see, economics is all Economics | 30
around us, be it a decision to ride off a cliff or to
About the Authors
pass the ball. As Shakespeare said, “Beauty lies in
Lavanya Sarkar
the eyes of the beholder”, all you need to do is
I
apply economic theories to things around you and
economics
you’ll
Hazirmal Somani college.
begin
to
appreciate
the
beauty
of
currently at
teach Bhavan's
My Professors from Ruia
economics!
college
have
played
a
major role in shaping my life
by
encouraging
me
during lectures to speak up and developed the habit of questioning each and every theory deeply.
Zaid Reshamwala
Economics | 31
Source: Google Images
An economy, as defined by N. Gregory Mankiw, is a group of people dealing with one another as they go about their lives.
The Economic Cost of Parochialism
The word ‘dealing’, here, may not necessarily refer to a business deal or a customer-retailer deal. It also extends to how people deal with one another in a more social setting. An economy is characterised by constant decision-making by its constituent individuals and these decisions are quite often affected by social, cultural and emotional factors. A society's ethos, its beliefs, norms and attitudes towards changing times and the degree of awareness of prevalent social and environmental issues among the people highly affect its economy. It has been evident that a rather liberal society may do arguably better on an economical scale. Liberalism,
on
an
individual
level,
necessitates
acknowledging the existence of pluralism in society. It implies respecting the alternate beliefs, practices and opinions borne by others and the purging of prejudice
Y a s h a s w i
S h e t t y
against other sections of society. Social prejudice and discrimination against people on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, religion, caste, etc. are traits of a regressive and parochial society and is also detrimental to its economy. Let's take the example of homophobia. Homophobia is widespread in India. The infamous Section 377 was slashed down by the Supreme Court in 2018 decriminalising gay sex. Economics | 32
However, a verdict, alone, cannot change long-
full productive potential is denied to society at large.’
standing views and opinions that people hold.
mentions Paul Donovan (Global Chief Economist of
Hence, there still is ample social stigma attached
UBS Wealth Management) in his paper.
to the LGBTQIA+ community, causing them to
The
often
superstitions in our country, especially in extremely
being
marginalised
and
ostracized
by
society. This results in them not getting the jobs they deserve, harassment and even rejection by their own families, not to mention the mental health implications. However, if one were to hypothetically
assume,
that
there
was
no
discrimination at jobs and that people were given jobs based on their skills and not their sexuality, productivity
at
work
would
increase
and
consequently, the GDP and per-capita income would also rise. According to the preliminary results of the 2014 World Bank Report on The Economic Cost of
widespread
patronage
of
blind
faith
and
backward regions, is also an indicator of parochialism and has proven to be widely affecting the social and economic development of societies across the nation. For example, the myths and superstitions related to a woman’s menstrual cycle have been uncritically passed on by generations for decades. Menstruation or periods has always been considered a taboo and sheer blasphemy to speak about in public. In a largely conservative society such as the one in India, women on their periods are not allowed to go to temples or public places and in some backward regions, they’re not even allowed to enter the kitchen or touch the water supply. There have also been myths that
Homophobia and the exclusion of the LGBT
women using pads will go blind or will not get
people (A Case Study of India), homophobia costs
married.
India an estimate of 0.1% - 1.7% of its GDP costing
uneducated but progressive man from Coimbatore,
them approximately $32 billion in economic
tried to change these perceptions. Though a daunting
output. Such discrimination has found to have
task, given the backward mentality of our society, he
added
managed
to
the
increasing
rates
of
poverty,
Arunachalam
to
formulate
Muruganantham
a
low-cost
method
an
to
unemployment and food insecurity. Upto 40% of
manufacture sanitary napkins. He sold his user-
the homeless youth in major US cities belong to
friendly machinery to rural women so that they could
the LGBTQ community. Studies in the US, UK and Thailand have shown that around one-third of LGBT students frequently miss school to escape from the unchecked bullying while some have even dropped out of school. The same is the case with religious intolerance, casteism, gender inequality and many such other forms of discrimination. The absence of such discrimination would ensure equitable access to basic welfare services such as health, education, etc. which makes them more employable, further
manufacture and sell cheap sanitary napkins. Not only did the women learn about and improve their menstrual hygiene but also developed a source of income thus adding to the per capita income of the country. A single machine causes around 3000 women to switch to pads and provides employment to 10 women. Muruganantham travelled to the poorest and most underdeveloped regions to not only sell his machines but also to create awareness about menstrual hygiene and bust the various myths and perceptions that people had. Further, even in urban areas, the lack of awareness
if jobs, too, were alloted on a more rational basis of
and information about menstruation has led to
one’s
being
insufficient provisions for women such as menstrual
discriminated against because of their caste,
leave and gender sensitive workplaces thus reducing
religion, gender, etc. a more competent workforce
the participation of women in the workforce. A
would be in play thus increasing productivity.
statistic in The Hindu has stated that the female
‘The basic reason prejudice damages an economy
workforce participation rate in the country has
is that it encourages the uneconomic wasting of a
declined from 36% in 2005-06 to 24% in 2015-
critical resource (labour). If someone fails to reach
16. Menstrual Health is just one of the many issues
merit
and
skills,
instead
of
their full potential as a worker in society because prejudice denies them equal opportunity, or restricts their career options, then the individual’s
that people have been ignorant of. Mental health problems, for example, is another issue that has been largely ignored. Due to the stigma, people refrain Economics | 33
from
going
to
therapists
or
psychiatrists.
Depression, anxiety, anger issues, eating disorders are serious issues that should be given the required attention. According to the WHO, the number of people suffering from depression increased by 18% between 2005 and 2015 and in 2017, there were approximately 300 million people, globally, suffering from depression. When one is depressed or stressed, they’re not happy or satisfied and they can’t work to their full potential, which means that productivity decreases and,
About the Author
Yashaswi Shetty Second Year B.A. student at Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College; Economics Major; Co-Editor-in-chief Marketing
Head
and of
Homoeconomicus.
eventually, so does the GDP.
Often lethargic, but otherwise I'm either reading
The above-mentioned examples are just a few of
or hanging out with my very limited number of
many such cases that reveal the irrationality
friends. Always open to learning and acquiring
backing many of man’s decisions and opinions.
more knowledge. One may find me sitting by
This is also the idea behind the modern approach
myself pondering about almost anything and
to
everything under the sun.
economics,
also
known
as
Behavioural
economics. While the traditional approach makes the assumption that people are rational with their choices, behavioural economics acknowledges that people are not always rational with their choices and that these choices are sometimes affected by irrelevant social factors too.British Philosopher and Nobel laureate, Bertrand Russell said - ‘The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment.’
Liberalism
works
towards
acknowledging existing issues and looking for solutions
instead
preconceived
of
being
notions.
The
ignorant more
due
aware
to and
sensitive we are to our surroundings, the more rational we are with our decisions and the more economically
beneficial
are
their
outcomes.
Hence, a more liberal outlook would help us grow both from a social as well as an economic perspective.
Economics | 34
Source: Football Paradise
Football, as we know, is the most popular sport in the world. Just
like
any
other
popular
product,
it
is
heavily
commercialized and financed. Players now live glamorous lives, arriving at training sessions in helicopters, spending their days off with movie stars and so on. However, things aren’t always what they seem to be and in the case of football, the public opinion is very askew as compared to reality. Some of these cases will be discussed in this article. The premise of the conclusions given below are from the books ‘Soccernomics’ written by Simon Kuper and Stefan
Socceronomics
Szymanski, ‘Inverting the Pyramid’ by Jonathan Wilson and some of the writer’s personal experiences. One, football makes a lot of profit – The sport has come a long way when it comes to making money. Before the 1980s, big clubs used to pay companies for their kits, in other words,
S h l o k
A s h e r
they used to pay companies to advertise themselves. For odd reasons, English clubs were discouraged from televising their league matches and selling their jerseys. Fortunately, clubs have now become richer and wiser, yet, they do not make as much money as one may expect. Giants Real Madrid recorded their returns to be $688 million in 2013. This figure was only 0.2% of the size of Wal-Mart’s revenue. Finnish financial analyst Matias Mottola claims that in terms of revenue, Real Madrid would only be the 120th largest company in Finland. When it comes to average company in
Economics | 35
Finland. When it comes to average clubs, in say
value. A decent performance in a small sample of
England, their revenue matches aone one Tesco
games can increase a player’s value exorbitantly. Such
supermarket outlet. The reason for this perceptive
events also lead to ‘availability heuristic’ – the
disparity could be because football is all around
phenomena of how a more available piece of
us, in the form of media, conversations and
information can influence decisions, even when the
opinions, but revenue cannot be made off these. In fact, a lot of big clubs are in debt. You may be wondering – “why would people invest in an asset that cannot make good profits?” The answer to this is that one, clubs are stable. They hold deep value in a community and are less likely to go down as compared to a company. The customers are loyal and the regional market cannot be monopolized by other clubs. Fans of Everton will still support their team even if Liverpool exists. Two, football clubs are used as an intermediary to promote the owner’s main business. Through a
information is unrelated. A defensive midfielder scoring a one-off screamer suddenly leads to him being known as a ‘goal-scoring midfielder’ (This had happened to John Jensen when his performance against Germany earned him a move to Arsenal). There are multiple other reasons such as different player preferences due to a new manager, release clauses in a player’s contract and so on. Lastly,
hosting
tournaments
is
not
financially
profitable for the region – Often when a country hosts a major sporting event like a World Cup or Olympics, politicians talk about how the economy will benefit. They collect money from the taxpayers saying that
club, the owner becomes more popular and gains
the event will improve the infrastructure, bring about
contacts. This also translates to more traction
tourists and increase employment. However, all of
towards their business. Owners that are well-liked
these promises look less appealing when you realize
generally are able to get their clubs fans as their
that the “jobs created” are temporary and are drawing
customers. Consequently, this also comes with a
employees from already functioning places. The
toll – owners are supposed to invest in the club.
expenditure for lavish stadiums, 5-star hotels for
Those who make profits using the club are heavily
players and staff, improvising travel to the location of
criticized for “leeching the club of its resources”
the stadium, all lead to a deficit in other important
and
are
pressurized
to
leave.
Modern
day
examples of this are the Glazers with Manchester United, Stan Kroenke with Arsenal and Mike Ashley with Newcastle. Second,
transfer
spend
determine
a
club’s
position – The go-to logic for this statement would be “If a club pays more, obviously, they get a better
player.”
Although
the
logic
is
not
completely wrong, its correlation with transfer fees
is,
which
is
why
wages
are
a
better
determinant for a club’s league position. Studies
sectors such as healthcare or education. This is why, before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazilians took to the streets saying that they wanted more doctors, not Neymars. In fact, in 2013, in referendums held in Europe, citizens of Munich were against holding the Winter Olympics and citizens of Vienna were against holding the Summer Olympics. Lastly, when it comes to tourism revenue, figures show that the money earned is marginal with respect to the country’s annual tourism revenue. The Euros in 1996 generated $155 million in direct income, but this figure is dwarfed by the $20 billion annual income due to
show that a club’s wage spending shows about
tourists. Large tournaments such as these could also
70% of its variation in league position for a single
deter tourists from going to host nations due to fear
season, and for a longer period, say 15-20 years,
of frenzy. Greece in 2004 recorded a 10% drop in
the figure rises up to 90% as the luck factor is
tourists
minimized. A higher salary attracts quality players,
question we must ask is, “Should a country (South
as opposed to transfer fees that the player makes
Africa) host a FIFA World Cup when a third of its
no money out of and is subject to fluctuations. For
population earns less than $2 a day?” Even though
example, certain nationalities are valued more
these events do not bring financial profits, they do
than others. An average Brazilian would sell for more than a decent Armenian. Major tournaments such as World Cups, Euros etc. also affect market
due
to
the
Athens
Olympics.
Another
bring more happiness amongst the citizens and tourists. Perhaps, the responsibility of hosting these happy events should be left to richer countries. Economics | 36
Photo Credits: Manya Singh
Introduction to Islamic Economics, its origin and sources Islamic Economics, or for the fact, every part of life explained by Islam, is based on:1. Qur’aan {the Holy book of Islam revealed by the Allah, the Lord, the Most High, on Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny)}.2. Sayings/traditions of Prophet Muhammad (Peace
Islam Economics
and blessings be upon him and his progeny).The economics presented here has been derived from these two sources. and from the book ‘Iqtisaduna’ meaning ‘Our Economy’ written by Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Sadr in and around 1960s. Ayatollah Sayed Muhammad Baqir Sadr There were a few in the Islamic history who did some work on the theory of Islamic Economics, but one of the most recent
A l i r a z a
P a n j w a n i
of
them
was
Shia
Muslim
scholar,
jurist,
economist,
philosopher, Grand Ayatollah Sayed Muhammad Baqir Sadr. (Ayatollah is a title given to high-ranking jurists in Shia Islam). He penned 3 books namely ‘Iqtisaadunaa’ (Our Economy), ‘AlBank al-la Ribawi fi al-Islam’ (Usury-free banking in Islam) and ‘Maqalat Iqtisaadiyyaah’ (Essays in Economy). He was a strong supporter of a democratically elected government in the absence of a divinely-appointed leader (the Imams).
Economics | 37
Economic science and economic doctrine
individual form of ownership, whereas, common
of
ownership constitutes the general principle in a
economic life, its events and its outward signs and
socialist society which is applicable to all kinds of
connection of those events with reasons and
wealth in the country while private ownership is an
general factors which control them. On the other
exception.
Economic
science
deals
with
exposition
hand, economic doctrine of a society is an expression of the course which society prefers to follow in its economic life and solving its economic problem. While progress of economic science began with Adam Smith, the economic doctrine was always present in every era of human existence.Thus, by Islamic Economics, we do not mean the scientific study of economics, rather, the economic doctrine of Islam which embodies the Islamic system in the organization of economic life. Just likecapitalist economy is a part of the capitalist democracy, Marxist economy is a part of
Islamic economy believes in private ownership, public ownership and state ownership and provides for each of these forms of ownership a particular field to work in. It does not regard anything thereof as an exception or
a
temporary
treatment
necessitated
by
circumstances. The principle of economic freedom in limited sphere The second element of the Islamic economy is constituted by the limited freedom allowed to the individuals in the economic field which is restricted by moral and spiritual values in which Islam believes. While individuals enjoy unrestricted freedom under
the Marxist doctrine, the Islamic economy is a part
the shadow of the capitalist economy, and the
of the religion of Islam which covers various
socialist economy confiscates freedoms of all, Islam
branches of life.
adopts an attitude which is in consonance with its general nature. Thus, it allows individuals to enjoy
Islamic Economics is not Capitalism nor Marxism-
their freedoms remaining within the sphere of the
Socialism, nor a theory formed from combining
values and ideas which refine and allow freedom and
both
thereby make it a means of welfare and good for the
Islamic theory of economics cannot be considered
entire humanity.
as
capitalist
one,
though
it
allows
private
ownership to an extent but not as a general principle and similarly, it cannot be regarded as a socialist society, though it adopts public as well as state ownership in some kinds, but not as a general principle. It can neither be regarded as an admixture of both the thoughts, as it is an expression of original religious planning, which is based on certain ideological basis and lies within a special
framework
of
values
and
meanings,
contrary to basis, values and meanings of the other two economic ideologies.
Islam's restriction of the social freedom in the economic field is of two kinds: First, The ideological and spiritual framework in which Islam moulds the personality, has a great influence on one’smoral power and limits the freedom which is granted to the individual of the Islamic society and directis it in a propermanner, without letting them feel that anything of their freedom has been taken away. Even today, millions of Muslims enjoying their full freedom shining in the framework of that limitation, pay off the religious tax (Zakaat) and other rights of God and participate in the materialization of the meanings of Islam about social justice. Second, the objective restriction, is based on the
General Edifice of Islamic Economics The
general
edifice
of
Islamic
principle that, there can be no freedom to carry out
economics
those activities which according to the Islamic law
comprises of three main elements according to
(Shariaah) run contrary to the ideals and objectives in
which its doctrinal content is defined:
whose
necessity
Islam
believes
in.
The
implementation of this principle was materialised in
The principle of Dual - ownership - Islam differs from capitalism and socialism substantially in respect of the nature of ownership which it allows.The capitalist society believes in private
Islam in the following way: Firstly, is the Islamic law (Shariaah) banned certain economic and social activities which in the opinion of Islam stand in the way of materialising the ideals Economics | 38
and values adopted by Islam such as Usury and monopolisation. Secondly, the Islamic law has laid down the principle of ‘Wali e Amr’ (literally translated to, ‘the one in authority’) who supervises the general activities of the people in the country and the states intervention with a view to safeguard and promote the general public interest by means of restricting the freedom of individuals in their activities while working within the framework provided by Islamic law (Shariah). The principle of social justice - The third element of the Islamic economy is the principle of social justice, embodied by Islam in the system of distribution of wealth in the Islamic society, having such elements and guarantees which
About the Author
Aliraza Panjwani Founding
member
of
Ecclesia - A social discussion club at Ruia College Lead Ruia Party at Mock Indian Parliament winning best
college
trophy
for
Ramnarain Ruia College Currently in my final year of graduation in economics I have a liking towards history , economics as well as theocratic studies and discussions . Interested to be a linguist as well while currently having a good command over English , Hindi , Marathi , Gujarati and Urdu . Quite fascinated as well as involved in Public speaking .
enable the system to enforce the Islamic justice and make it consonant with the values on which it is based. The Islamic form of social justice comprise of two general principles, each having its own lines and details. The first one is that of general reciprocal responsibility and the other one is that of social balance. It is through the reciprocal responsibility and the balance with the Islamic
sense
that
just
social
values
are
materialised, and it is therewith that Islamic ideas of social justice come into existence. Part of a whole To understand the Islamic economy, we must not study it as one part thereof excluded from others, rather, rather as a part of the general system of Islam, which organises different aspects of life in the
society.
It
is
evident
that
the
Islamic
economics is interlinked in its lines and details, and that it plays its role as a point of a general system of life which has a ground peculiar to it.
Economics | 39
Source: Julia Tanner Art
India swears by its immensely popular game “cricket”. Originally introduced by the British, this by-product of
Runs to Rupees: The Economics of Cricket
colonization has succeeded in securing a place for itself in the hearts of Indians. This article is an attempt to combine two of my favorite subjects - cricket and economics and explain the common dynamics applied to both. Here is an attempt made to fit economic situations in the game. Defining a market The market for cricket, can be viewed from two perspectives a demand side - one where cricket is a good that is consumed by the citizens as a form of entertainment, and the supply side where the game of cricket is produced by agents to match the demand of consumers. The other perspective comes from viewing cricket as a labour market. Cricket as a Goods market Here, the game of cricket is considered as a good that is
M a n a l i
V a i d y a
demanded by consumers for entertainment purposes. The “firms” in question are the various management bodies that schedule matches along with the digital services that relay those matches to the public. Like any market, the firm tries to maximize its profit while the consumer wants to maximize his satisfaction. Since any given match, essentially, possesses the same basic features and satisfies a single want of the consumer, the nearest relatable economic market that can be applied is monopolistic competition. Theoretically, in a
Economics | 40
monopolistic competition, many firms produce
exorbitant pricing, as can be seen in cases of India –
close substitutes of a good. Therefore, an essential
Pakistan and Eng-Aus. In the 2019 World Cup, the cost
practice is that of product differentiation since a
of ind-pak match was 250 poundsWhile that of ind-
monopolistic firm is free to choose the price at
Bangladesh was 150 pounds. Thus implying that the
which it makes maximum profit within the
teams involved is highly correlated with pricing of
constraints of the market price range. However, prices are commonly known to be sticky. The
pricing
theory
expressed as -
can
be
tickets. Relative importance of the match: This is in reference to the level of importance a match
mathematically
P=f(F,T,I,t,V)
carries, generally the semi-finals and finals are the most pricey due to obvious reasons. As mentioned before, inter-country rivalries draw in the most crowd.
Where, F - format
In case of the retirement of a well-known player, the
T - teams
match is seen as a farewell to the player and thus
I - importance
people throng in order to make it a fitting farewell for
T - type of ticket
him. In case of a series, the price is decided by the
V - venue
outcome of preceding matches, if the last match is a decider then tickets are higher than usual, if the series
Format:
is a whitewash, then they are somewhat stagnant.
Here, the product in question is the match, since
Venue:
there are three formats of the game, there is an
The
inherent difference in all three with respect to its
considered. While tickets to renowned grounds like
popularity,
and
the Oval, Eden gardens are priced higher than new
duration. The test match is a five-day event and
grounds like HPCA. During IPL, the home grounds of
thus tickets are available either as a season pass
teams like CSK, MI and RCB are major crowd-pullers
(all 5 days) or as a daily ticket. the seasons pass is
and have expensive tickets.
teams
in
question,
venue
slightly more efficient than the sum of individual tickets for all days. This is drawn from behavioural economics where the daily ticket is a decoy option,
which
can
be
compared
with
the
expensive seasons pass. the small price difference between decoy option and seasons pass will provide an incentive to purchase the seasons pass. The ODI and T20I tickets are priced on a day’s basis and half day in case of T20I. The type of ticket also influences the price as premium seats go as high as 5000 INR during prime games. The IPL is very popular owing to acclaimed players
venue
is
another
important
factor
to
be
Broadcasting economics A major part of the population, however, watches the matches on the television. Thus cricket broadcast continues to be a cash cow for the television broadcasting companies. The rights of a match are purchased by bidding for them. This correlates to a classical game theory setup, however the auction type is a sealed-bid auction. The rights are sold to the highest bidder. The bidder gets returns in terms of TRP, and the fees for subscription. The rights of IPL were bought by Star for a whopping 16,347.50 cr for 2018-2022 which amounts to 54.5 cr per match as
from across the world participating, as its tagline
compared to 43 cr per match for team India. The
says “ best vs best”. Therefore, quite naturally, the
popularity of cricket ensures a continued subscription
prices are higher than regular T20Is. The IPL is
to Star, if not television then hotstar.The recent deal is
also preferable due to its shorter format which
a major profitable venture to star, this is because the
draws in a large crowd.
stipulated period entails 2019 WC and 2020 T20WC
Teams in play:
which are no less than a festival to the cricket fans
This is the most common factor that determines
around the globe. The return to the company is a
both the demand and price of tickets. Usually, in a
share in profits and sponsorships as even the umpires
world cup, we find that matches of india, Australia,
are sponsored.
England are priced higher than other games. Particular rivalries also are encashed due to Economics | 41
Cricket as a labour market Here
the
players
are
of infrastructure, employment and mainly supports
viewed
as
factors
of
two-tier cities.
production i.e., inputs to produce the final output
Around 60% of revenue comes from sponsorships, out
entertainment. A classical monopsony is observed
of which 50% is distributed within the franchises. The
in the case of selection of national teams where
franchises in addition have their own sponsors and
the management is the single buyer while all players are inputs up for grabs. The contracts are solely decided by the management as in a monopsony. However unlike other labour markets, there is a possibility that the wages will not be equal
to
the
marginal
revenue
product
of
labour. Marginal revenue product (here) refers to the runs scored/ conceded on an additional ball Monopsony however leads to vast income inequality, this can be seen as often domestic players play more frequently but are paid less. The players are paid wages in form of contracts. To
this along with a portion of ticketing sales generates revenue to cover travelling and hospitality costs. In a classical English auction, the eight franchises bid from sorted pools of players, which are classified on the basis of their skills - batting, bowling,wicket keeping and all-rounder players . Each player has a base price, which in economic terms is the reserve price. It is the minimum price which the player expects for himself. The franchises bid successively till the player is sold to the highest bidder. Since the economic objective is profit maximization, the player is sold at the highest possible price.The difference is the producers’ surplus
achieve efficiency, each player is classified into
which belongs to the player.
grades which determine the wage paid. In India,
An auction is an example of an economic mechanism,
the highest grade is A+ which corresponds to 7Cr.
where we proceed backwards from a desired result to
Virat kohli, Rohit sharma, and Bumrah are the
different ways of achieving the same.
members of this grade. The criteria is that the
A parallel can be drawn between stocks and players
player must play all three formats of the game for
as players are classified into tier A,B, and C which is
the country. The grade is decided by points which
similar to large caps, mid-caps, and small caps.
are awarded to each player which correspond to
Uncapped players are unlisted securities which have
his performance in the match. There are two types of contracts- a yearly contract and an incremental contract. Incremental contract exits in the English Cricket Board, and is usually borne by the county of the player. Players are awarded points and when a player reaches a certain tally, he can earn an incremental contract. The BCCI pays a quarter of their income to the players, out of which half goes to international players and rest is divided among domestic cricketers. The salary includes travelling,
training
endorsements
and
and
playing other
fees.
All
relatively less investment but high return possibilities and high risks. This trend is observed with Rajasthan Royals who largely buy uncapped and relatively lesser- known players yet have succeeded in making it to the playoffs. In fact it is well known that RR used a gametheory model for their auction strategy and perhaps it is why they bore the maximum results despite lowest salary expense. Similarly,
just
like
in
an
investment
decision,
diversification of portfolio is emphasised, it is the same case with the team selection.
In a diverse
commercial
portfolio, we have instruments that react diffently to
commitments fall under the personal income of a
market forces, in a team we have players which have
cricketer.
different
playing
styles
which
lead
to
varying
perAgain, just like a game theory model, it is quite
The IPL auction
common in IPL auctions for franchises to bid for
The Indian Premier league is undoubtedly the
players they don’t want in hope to increase the price
most popular sports league in India and hence the
of the player and thus reduce the budget of other
richest. It is valued at $26.5 billion as of 2018 and
franchises.
contributes $11.5 billion to the GDP as stated by KPMG. IPL’s contribution to the country is much more than ticketing sales, it includes development
The recent IPL auction introduced the RTM - Right To Match Card, whereby a team can retain a player by matching the top bid for him. Again in a scenario of Economics | 42
sequential games, if a franchise is predicted to retain a particular player, the bids are aggressively higher owing to two reasons 1) no team would want to retain an average player, implying the player in question is incredibly skilled and 2) the higher the bid, the higher the price that franchise has to shell out. Opportunity cost – In an auction, trade-offs are common as there is choice theory at work. The opportunity cost is the cost of the good given up in order to consume a particular good. Here, each rupee saved on a player is the opportunity cost of benefits of having that player. Therefore the more the
franchise
spends
on
one
player,
About the Author
Manali Vaidya Second Year B.A. student Co-Editor-in-chief Marketing
Head
and of
Homoeconomicus. Head of Finance for Ruia Conclave Head of Marketing for Elixir Campus
Entrepreneur
fro
Youth Money Olympiad A die-hard sports fan, aspiring economist and a cat person through and through.
the
opportunity cost is the players that could be brought with the additional cost. Consider a scenario where RCB wins Virat Kohli at 20cr, since the budget is limited to say 80cr, the team now has to purchase 10 players within 60cr. Suppose we further have Bumrah and Chahal priced at 5cr base. Here the opportunity cost of buying Kohli is that of not having Bumrah and Chahal in the team. However, such cases seldom occur as all tier A players are retained by the respective franchises, bu is a very common happening for tier B and tier C player. Just like in an investment, patience has its rewards, similarly in an auction, usually an unsold player can be bid for again at the end of auction at a price even lower than the base price. This explains how MI was able to pick Yuvraj Singh for 2 Lakhs. Economics and cricket thus are interrelated in the theoretical approaches. The game theory models are also applied in match strategies as shown in the book “Moneyball”. The similarities between the basics of economics and mechanism of cricket markets is they both are driven by demand and supply
forces
and
often
resembles
market
structures.
Economics | 43
Source: money.com
If you have been following the stock markets even vaguely, you would know that there’s a sell-off or a temporary correction going on. Anything that happens to the market also affects the exchange rate. So exactly why does the rupee go from 63 to say 67 and now to 64 per dollar? I am going to
The Shape of You and Your Currency
explain the determinants of the level of the rupee, but not by any complex econometric methodology. Let’s make it simple and compare it to our fitness. Any person’s fitness and the rupee’s fitness work in the same way. It is quite an interesting analogy actually. When we exercise regularly we stay fit, similarly, when the economy performs well regularly the rupee is stable. When we have our diet in check it further helps to keep us healthy, similarly, when our inflation is in check the rupee stays healthy. When we have sufficient sleep with lesser stress, health appreciates. Similarly, when the country has sufficient
D e e p t i
A b h y a n k a r
trade balance with lesser imports, rupee appreciates. In addition, when our surroundings (i.e. trainers, friends and family) support and applaud us for staying fit, we are encouraged to perform better. Similarly, when our country’s surroundings (i.e. foreign investors) support and applaud our country by investing through FDI and FPI, the rupee is encouraged to perform better. However, on the fitness front, if any of these factors turn discouraging and negative, we lose focus, start gaining unhealthy fat and get out of shape. In
Economics | 44
the same way, on the rupee front, if any of the
size-zero trend or the madness of artificially reducing
above factors turn unfavourable and negative, the
body fat, just a few years back? That didn’t work well
rupee gets unhealthy and it depreciates.
either. People soon realised that such methods are
With the above factors, our health and the rupee
only going to harm their bodies in the long run. We
gets better or worse gradually. However, there are
would be at our best, if our BMI and body fat is
also shock factors that drastically change our health conditions and rupee’s value. For example, suppose
someone
meets
with
an
accident,
fractures the leg and is bedridden for a couple of months, they might gain weight excessively. Also, in cases where someone is suffering from a chronic disease, also leads to unusual weight gain. Similarly, there were temporary and permanent shifts in the value of rupee as well. The financial crisis in 2008-09 depreciated the rupee sharply by almost 17% to Rs.48/$. Then the European debt crises in 2011 followed by India being part of the fragile five (high fiscal and current account deficit countries) led to another 25% depreciation in the rupee to about Rs.61/$ by 2014. These types of shocks take a long time to recover both in terms of the person’s health and the rupee’s value. Many times a healthy-looking person can be a delusion. A person may look slim and fit and has never gained excessive weight irrespective of how much he eats, but that doesn’t mean he is healthy. One must see his level of stamina and body flexibility, he might have a normal BMI score but his body fat proportion may not be great. People
proportionate and we must only try to achieve our ideal fitness level and maintain it. Similarly, if the rupee appreciates way too much, it would be harmful to the exports and the country in the long run. The rupee would be at its best if it is closest to its fair value with the RBI and the Government aiming to maintain it to that level.
About the Author
Deepti Abhyankar Currently: Economist at the RPG group Previously: Senior research analyst at Crisil. I
have
experience
over as
9yrs a
of
macro
economist. I completed my MSc
in
Economics
and
International finance from University Warwick,U.K. after graduating with Economics and Statistics from Ruia college,Mumbai University in 2009. Seperately I also hold a masters degree in dance and am very passionate about dancing and playing musical instruments.
with extremely high body fat percentage are in real terms unhealthy and in the long term more prone to chronic diseases or fatal illnesses. Similarly, at times the value of rupee may look good and favourable, but that may not be the true picture in the long run. Just recently, even while our domestic economic data wasn’t encouraging the rupee was quite stable with an appreciation bias. That was majorly driven by a weak dollar and global sentiments. Thus, it was a temporary level of comfort for the rupee. Likewise in other cases, some external events or political uncertainty in some countries can cause momentary volatility in the rupee. Ultimately, the rupee would be healthy and stable in the medium to long term, only when the necessary fundamentals driving the rupee move in the right direction. Let us now look at the other side. Remember the Economics | 45
SOCIAL ISSUES
HOMOECONOMICUS
Social Issues
Source: Vajiram & Ravi
Let me begin on a personal note. Last year, I was invited to speak at Vox Populi, the flagship event of Ruia College. Topic of that symposium was inspired by a contemporary event the case of Sabarimala Temple and the demand for entry of
The Sabarimala Case: Reflections of a LiberalIndividualist
women in the temple. This year the college invited me again, to write for their magazine Homoeconomicus.
It is a
coincidence that the Sabarimala case is back in discussion. Therefore, I am writing this article with a focus on the Sabarimala case. Just to give a background of the issue, the ban on entry of women in menstruating age in the Sabarimala temple was questioned for the first time in 1990 when a case was filed in the Kerala High Court. In its decision given in 1991, the Kerala High Court upheld the ban on entry of women. In 2006, the Indian Young Lawyers’ Association filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India (SC) questioning the ban. More cases were filed in 2016. The SC referred these cases to a
D r .
U t t a r a
S a h a s r a b u d d h e
constitutional bench in October 2017. The Sabarimala case is a classic example of the complexities involved in the matters of religious freedom, social values, cultural practises, the inter-relations among these, as well as their relation with modern values such as equality - gender equality in this particular case. Further, there could be a contradiction even in the constitutional provisions governing Social Issues |Â 46
the issue.
For example, Article 14 of the Indian
As a Liberal-Individualist, how do I look at this issue?
Constitution guarantees equality, while Article 15
At the outset, I assert that there is no objective,
prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion,
universal way in which the state, constitutions and
race, caste, sex or place of birth. Denial of entry to
law should relate to the socio-religious values and
women in the Sabarimala temple may, thus, be
religio-cultural practises. One can explain this relation
regarded as a violation of the right to equality conferred under these articles. However, Article 26 (b) confers upon “every religious denomination or any section thereof”, the right “to manage its own affairs in matters of religion”. Religion, in this case, includes not only the beliefs but also the practices which are regarded by a community as part of its own
religion.
Religious
denominations
and
organisations have autonomy to decide what rites and ceremonies form the essential and integral part
of
autonomy
their is,
religious however,
belief/practice. subject
to
This Court
within the Liberal-Individualist frame of analysis by raising
two
different
questions.The
first
is
the
question of State-Society relationship. Whether the state
should
proactively
reform
social,
cultural,
religious values and practices, is a constantly debated issue; and so is the issue, whether the state can do so effectively. However, from the Liberal perspective, the more important question is what the state must not do. Liberalism primarily concerns with limiting the powers of the state in order to protect individual liberty and advocates least state interference in society. Thus, if temple entry for women is judged as an essential and integral part of the practises of the
interpretation and orders. Thus, it can be argued
concerned religious denomination, the state must not
that devotees of Lord Ayyappa (the deity of
interfere in it. It is interesting to read the minority
Sabarimala temple) have the right to deny women
judgement of Justice Indu Malhotra in September
in menstruating age the right to enter the temple
2018 verdict in this context. However, if it is judged
for reasons of certain practises that form the
not to be an essential and integral part of the religion,
essential and integral part of their religion.
then the state may step in to regulate.
However, this right of the devotees of Lord
The second question is, who decides what is desirable
Ayyappa is subject to the interpretation of what is
and what is not? A Liberal Individualist would leave
the essential and integral part of religion by the Courts. The constitutional bench of the SC gave a verdict on 28 September 2018. In a 4:1 judgement, the majority upheld the right of women to enter the Sabarimala temple. Justice Indu Malhotra gave a dissenting judgement and gave opinion against granting entry to women. In a nutshell, the majority of four judges upheld the right to equality under Articles 14 & 15 as superior. However, the minority judgement - given incidentally by the
the right to decide this entirely to the individual, as long as this does not violate the public order as well as public morality. By extension of the same logic, a religious denomination be left to itself to determine the desirable and undesirable for itself. Does this mean that Liberal-individualists oppose any kind of reform? The case is, in fact, on the contrary. If the traditional
religio-cultural
practises
contravene
some
principles
of
the
and of
values modern
democracy, the tradition has to change. However, as a Liberal-individualist, I would argue that Courts should be the last resort of bringing about such change.
only woman on the bench - upheld the right to
Legislatures must be preferred over the Courts
religious freedom under Articles 25 & 26 as
because Legislatures reflect the public will, however
superior.
abstract that is. This is so because, in a democracy, for
Review petitions against this judgement were
the Legislatures to successfully intervene in social,
filed in the SC. On 14 November 2019, a five
religious, cultural practises, a change in wider public
member bench of the SC ruled, in a 3:2 verdict, to
opinion is a precondition.
refer the review petitions to a larger constitutional
In the context of who decides what is desirable and
bench of seven judges. The majority of three
what is not, an equally important consideration is,
judges (including Justice Indu Malhotra) ruled that
whose idea of desirable and otherwise? In a post-
various petitions pertaining to many religions; Social Issues | 47
colonial sense, people across the non-Western world have questioned the imposition of Western
About the Author
Dr. Uttara Sahsrabuddhe
ideas and values of modernity upon the non-
(Professor & Head, Dept of
Western societies. Their argument is, a non-
Civics & Politics, University of
Western practise or norm may be different, but
Mumbai)
different is not necessarily undesirable. It is a task
Her major research interests
for those who question the desirability of socio-
are
religious values and practises to demonstrate the
and
Security
Policies of India, Regionalism
undesirability within the norms of the local society
in IR and Theories of IR. She
and not within the norms of Western world. There is also a post-modern argument in the same
Foreign
has
contributed
over
30
context, which becomes particularly relevant in a
articles to edited books and reputed journals; has co-authored a book in
society as diverse as India. Not only socio-cultural
Marathi,
values and practises, even norms and rites of the
Sheetyuddhottar
same religion are quite different in different parts
Rajakaran and and edited a book titled Emerging
of India. Bringing about uniformly applicable
Issues in India’s External Relations. She was
regulations that would flatten the diversity and
invited by the European Commission to Brussels,
regimentalize
Belgium in April 2010, as an Evaluator for the 7th
the
socio-cultural
environment
Aantarrashtriya
becomes highly questionable within the post-
Framework
modern framework of analysis. There are over a
European Union.
va
Research
Sambandha: Jagatikikaranache
Programme
of
the
thousand Ayyappa temples in India. But the entry of women in menstruating age is prohibited only at Sabarimala, and that has a reference to a particular
legend
of
a
particular
religious
denomination. The point is to respect this diversity as long as it does not affect the public order and public morality. Let me reiterate the point I made earlier in this article, that there is no “one size fits all” type of solution to such questions. Moreover, at the end of the day, as a Liberal-Individualist Atheist, I find the question of temple entry for women indeed irrelevant. Let the constitutional bench of the SC deliberate and give its verdict on the issue in due course. I think it is time to move on.
Social Issues | 48
Let us dispense with the tiptoeing. Does the notion sound
My Thoughts About The Third Gender
silly? Ridiculous, even? That's okay. That's okay, and we should talk about it. But we shall first digress. Before articulating why it isn't ridiculous, I'd like to talk about why it is — or at least why it seemed ridiculous to me. I'll be honest. When I first encountered an instance of the proposed departure from our seemingly age-old system of classifying ourselves as man or woman, I didn't understand it. Though I never levelled criticism, I did joke; "Why of course a topic this silly doesn't warrant dialogue, only quips!" That's probably what I thought to myself before tapping away at my screen, and making a "did you assume my gender" joke on 9GAG. I've come to realise that that joke (besides being painfully unfunny) was simply an exercise in disunity. Societal demarcations rooted in identity run deep; my joke shaded in
P r a j w a l
S h e t t y
the dividing line by only a smidgen, but it did render it darker nevertheless. Of course, this doesn't mean that people aren't allowed to joke, just that sometimes these jokes come at a price paid and realised by others. In the time that I disparaged the idea of challenging the gender binary, it was never reason that dictated the conclusions I have drawn of the issue, rather prevailing attitudes.
Social Issues | 49
In the months leading to, and in the wake of the
According to estimates, these intersex people account
2016 presidential election of the USA, my various
for 0.05% to 1.7% of the world population. That's 131
social media feeds would be replete with political
million people at the upper end of that range. That's a
discourse
kind.
lot of people. Now, these aren't sexes in themselves,
of
a
uniquely
Contemporaneously,
would
they are variations from the norm; potential for variation
become a pejorative term, due to (among other
is infinite. It is akin to how mixing black and white in
things) proponents, and members of the LGBTQ+
different concentrations will always yield a shade of
community that objected to traditional gender
grey, albeit the shades will be different from each
attitudes.
other. So, with this alone it stands to reason that we
Association of these objections with the SJW (Social
aren't always going to get clear-cut, precise distinctions
Justice Warrior) meme which was gaining traction,
even when it comes to just our physiology, despite what
and the strange parodying of people identifying as
we might like to believe. At this point it would be wise
absurd genders, with the help of attack helicopters,
to reacquaint ourselves with what gender is. Well, it's a
would
way of seeing ourselves with reference to masculinity
mire
identity
shabby politics
gender-related
discourse
in
controversy.
and femininity — namely the attributes, behaviours and
To boot — gender studies, the discipline which
social roles associated with men and women. Simple
would owe its uptick in popularization to gender, as
enough, no? But wait.
a
feminine
political
talking
point,
would
be
cited
to
ideals
change
Wouldn't masculine and across
time
periods
and
demonstrate the dignity of the matter, but to no
cultures? The masculine ideal of pre-1800 America,
avail.
differences,
before the industrial revolution, was characterized by
gynocentrism, and leftist political bias would render
piousness, fatherhood, authority, among other things;
the
among
while afterwards, values associated with masculinity
academics and the general public, alike. This would
shifted towards virility, money, emotional robustness, a
all lead to the wholesale politicization of gender,
certain level of aloofness, etc.
consequently sullying the integrity of gender-
As for culture, the Tchambuli tribe from Papua New
related discourse. For the better part of the time
Guinea was documented to have ideals for males that
that has since passed, to me the poor pedigree of
remained diametrically opposite to the ones of the US,
the notion would arouse a sense of distaste; every
at the time; these included being nurturing, possessing
time I'd chance upon a "gender is a social
interest in forms of adornments we would consider
construct" comment on an internet forum I'd
feminine (jewellery, clothing, etc), and being personable
internally cringe a little. So what changed my
and talkative.
The
shunning
discipline
a
of
target
sex
for
mockery
mind? Deliberate thought. It bothers me a teeny bit whenever someone suggests any aspect of human
Okay, so all of this just means that circumstances
nature is binary. I think it does our potential for
together
uniqueness a grave disservice. It profanes my,
behaviours and social roles are to be associated with
yours, and everybody else's inalienable right to
men and women, right? All of this just shows that things
individuality. So, it bothers me a teeny bit whenever
are complex and shaky, but what does this have to do
someone suggests gender is binary. I am not of the
with
opinion that biological sex is to be divorced from
concepts. The idea that genders distinct from men and
gender — instead, I think they are thoroughly
women ought to be isn't anything new — in fact it has
related — but we ought not to treat them as
existed since the conception of civilization, since the
synonyms in all contexts. Humans, from a biological
time of the earliest written records of human history. To
standpoint,
are
call it passé would be an understatement. Third genders
the
are only new to civilisations that were never intimate
purview of our knowledge of sex characteristics. To
with them in the first place, or civilisations that have
put simply, these individuals do not conform to the
metamorphosed to adopt a binary system. Hijras, of the
anatomy associated with a typical male or female.
Indian subcontinent, are acknowledged in the eyes of
are
conspicuously
wobbly.
anatomically
Some
people
ambiguous,
in
a
with
third
biology
dictate
gender? Well,
what
societies
attributes,
often
birth
Social Issues | 50
law as being a third gender, but are often referred to as transgenders. Though a significant majority of them would fall under that label, their identity as a group remains distinct, due to the roles they are conferred
with,
and
the
cultural
significance
ascribed to them in our society. Just as them, the Two Spirit people of America hold a sacred place in Native American culture. Similarly, there are a slew of communities that do not conform to our traditional binary paradigm. I write this article not to persuade, as much as to induce thought. I find it
Prajwal Shetty Fist
Year
BSc
student
at
Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College I can be pretty absent-minded but
I'm
otherwise.
an I
alright enjoy
guy
bustling
places a great deal. Also cats. Dogs too, but a moderate deal.
very admirable when people are able to suspend judgement
instead
of
giving
in
to
knee-jerk
reactions, and think. To think for long enough, so that they can positively affirm their reflection of the issue at hand, knowing that they understand it adequately. Just as so, I would urge you to not take my word for it; if this piece fails to convince you, I encourage you to draw your own conclusions from your own insights of various unfamiliar genders.
Social Issues |Â 51
Source: indianfolk.com
Whenever I try to talk about the issue of caste, the response I receive is that the institution has become redundant, at least in Urban India. Cities have developed culturally, to accommodate everyone. Well, chances are that when you read the title of the article, you were
Why caste still matters..
searching for the name of the author- surname to be precise. And what does my surname indicate? My Caste. Caste continues to be the dominating factor influencing the Indian psyche. Though we continue to live in privileged denial, Caste makes its presence felt in society. The data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (2017) debunks the myth that urban areas have risen above the caste divide. As per the records, cities like Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad top the city-list in crimes committed against Dalit people. Closer home, if you keep separate utensils for your house-helps and other workers for hygienic reasons, you are subtly practising caste discrimination. Ironically, people who help to maintain hygiene in our society are considered
P r a t h a n a
P u t h r a n
unhygienic. If you have ever cracked jokes on the competence
of
people
belonging
to
the
reserved
category, it is a form of caste discrimination. If you decide not to get treated by a doctor because of his/her surname,
you
are
guilty
of
practising
caste
discrimination. What seems like a casual routine for one , is subtle discrimination for the other. Social Issues |Â 52
Being born in a privileged family, the concept of
Priyanka and her mother Surekha were dragged out,
caste was alien to me. Given the background, I
paraded naked in the village, gang-raped and
was of the opinion that the caste system is non-
brutally murdered. Her brothers also died at the
existent. However, this changed when I joined
hands of the mob. Their crime? Despite being a Dalit,
college where I met people belonging to different
her mother had dared to build a pucca house and
walks of life. Little did I know that upper caste
stand up to the upper caste men of her village who
people of my age would consider caste as a
wanted to grab her land. When Priyanka’s body was
criterion to decide their boyfriend. Slowly and
recovered, rods were found to be inserted in her
steadily, I discovered the prejudices harboured
genitals. But, the post mortem report surprisingly
towards the Dalit students. No matter how
ruled out sexual abuse. The Indian Media ignored the
intelligent their answers would be, some students
incident until there huge protests by the Dalit
would always look down upon them. At first, I
community. Interestingly, sections of the Prevention
never
of Atrocity Act were not applied.
understood
their
fascination
for
the
surnames of people. I later realised that it was a
Priyanka was a school topper but faced casteist slurs
tool for segregating people based on caste.
all her life. She must have had dreams about her
The discussion on caste always leads to the
future. Does being born in a particular family entitle
debate of reservation. Upper caste people feel
an individual with so much privilege that s/he can do
that reservation should be granted based on the
anything and still get away with it? The problem
economic needs of the people. However, let us
begins with the notion of superiority we think we are
consider a scenario- there are two poor families.
entitled to. This is why we need to check our
One family belongs to the upper caste and the
privilege. We need to come out of the facade of
other family belongs to marginalized caste. Let us
ignorance and accept that caste still matters. If we
assume that their economic conditions are the
cannot accept a fellow human being just because of
same. Will the upper caste family allow their
their caste, the purpose of our education has failed. It
daughter to get married to the son of the other
is time to break the barriers that have shackled
family? There would be strong opposition from
Indian society for centuries. We do not need any big
the girl’s family. But the economic status is equal,
revolution to do so, a small step goes a long way.
right? The marginalized castes lack social status
Next time when you ask the name of any person, be
and social capital, for which reservation is needed.
content with their first name.
As far as merit is concerned, Justice Chandrachud had
destroyed
the
'merit'
argument
in
a
judgement which said- "If this benchmark of efficiency is grounded in exclusion, it will produce a pattern of governance which is skewed against the marginalised. If this benchmark of efficiency is grounded in equal access, our outcomes will reflect the commitment of the Constitution to produce a just social order”. There was a huge outrage over the death of Dr Priyanka Reddy who was raped and burnt to death. Let me introduce you to another daughter of the country whose name was Priyanka too. The seventeen-year-old lived with her parents and two brothers in the Khairlanji village of Maharashtra. On 29th September 2006, 30 upper-caste men from the village entered their house with axes, chains and other weapons.
About the Author
Prarthana Puthran OC
member
of
Homoeconomicus (Magazine
of
Department
of
Economics) OC Member of We The People (Political Science Association) Columnist
at
The
Ruiaite
Monthly (College Magazine) Writes Blogs on socio-political issues as The Politically Incorrect Indian An avid reader and learner, I am always ready for discussions on socio-political issues. I do not mince my words while voicing my opinion. If not in Canteen, you will find me in the Library. Social Issues | 53
Source: Avigna Learning Academy
“Krishna asks Yashomati - Why is Radha fair and I dark?” As my mother sang the chorus of this very commonly sung bhajan in a last, desperate attempt to put me to sleep, I sat
Comparison: A Distractive Pacifier
up and asked, “Why did Krishna’s mother make excuses about the night sky and cloudy days for his skin tone?” My mother sighed, giving up on the idea of me sleeping she said, “You’re right. What she should have said is, stop comparing yourself to her. You’re literally the face of god.” That, in a nutshell, is how comparison is toxic, distracting and often, misleading to me. As a competitive person, I fully understand the need for reasonable comparison in classrooms and between siblings (I promise you I am the smarter one), however, I am vehemently opposed to the idea of using comparison as a crutch. Why don’t we like our parents
A n a g h a
R a v i
comparing us to “Sharma ji ka beta”? That is because we don’t like being measured against someone else who does not have the same priorities (in procrastination and a high score in Minecraft but that’s not the point) as us. However, we forget to use this reasoning in bigger, less obvious aspects of our life, for example, our skin colour. The idea of cognitive bias is explored by Amy Morin, author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do as “a systematic error in thinking that affects the decisions and judgments that people make” which has been linked back to comparing one’s own race, Social Issues | 54
gender, lifestyle, activities and even economies to
misinformation.
others and allowing that to affect one’s judgement and decision-making. Anthropologists have come to
A man’s world but only if it isn’t a woman’s
call it a ‘social comparison bias’, I call it a ‘discomfort
Recently, in India, veterinary doctor, Priyanka Reddy
pacifier’. I would like to explain this theory with two
was gangraped and burnt dead in Hyderabad, causing
case studies of recent events that deal with a
nationwide protests. In the light of this, six other cases
personal scale and a mass movement’s scale of
of a similar nature were reported as having occurred on
comparison respectively.
the same day in the country. Soon a case of a high school student, Dhananjay surfaced of having been
Instagram: An app for un-app-iness
sexually assaulted and humiliated by his teachers that
There’s nothing left to be said about Instagram
drove him to suicide. Without doubt, all these cases are
models and “creative influencers” who convince you
extremely unfortunate and the people’s agitation is
that they lead better lives than you do or even they
absolutely understandable. However, the problem with
actually
feel
this ‘social cognitive bias’ as the psychologists call it, is
miserable and demotivated. Here, I’d like to discuss a
that it skews facts and news to an extent that it is
much simpler idea of how you and I post on social
condensed into only becoming a piece in the puzzle to
media – I carefully sort through my gallery after a day
expose a pattern. Rather than bringing focus to the
of fun to see which pictures are “worthy” to post. I
student’s story as being a cause for outrage for the
don’t blame myself for it because that is the norm
sheer inhumane crime committed against a minor boy,
that we have gotten comfortable with. Ah, there’s
it was used to raise concerns like,
that word again – comfort. Why are we comfortable
feminists now? See? Men get raped too! Men are not
with a post of a Mumbai girl at Lil’ Flea but not when
safe either and nobody talks about it!” The problematic
we witness her take the same picture, coaxing us to
nature of this form of awareness is that this actually,
make
defining
does men no favours and in fact, weakens our argument
abstraction in psychology, a TED Talk detailed it to
as being equal genders in society.Crimes are crimes and
be “the thinking process of reducing the information
no one must get away with it. If we, as a society, begin
content of a concept, typically in order to retain only
to
information
particular
arguments for or against a particular gender, do we
purpose”. In this case, we are uncomfortable with
even care about the crimes anymore? The idea of
retaining information about someone not being
#NotAllMen, a popular hashtag is to convince people
present in the moment but rather directing energy
that not every man is a criminal. However, in hastening
towards capturing it but we would still go home and
to justify the legitimacy of a gender, we forget to pay
double-tap a picture that abstracts this information
attention to the crime itself. Why do we say women are
for us, helping us only retain, “She got such great
unsafe when men are too? Because women more
pictures at this event. I wish I could too.” There’s
commonly suffer consequences of this lack of safety. A
comfort in comparison because comparison means
100% of the womankind in India has undergone some
not having to consider the how’s and when’s and the
form of harassment and/or eve-teasing, if not worse.
differences in the situation between you and the
When this statistic is presented to you, it is not in
other – it focuses on the end results, without
comparison to anything else, it only brings attention to
considering the process, thus proving to be biased
the woman’s struggle. Therefore, a comparison between
and toxic. Further, the new Instagram feature of not
genders in criminal activity takes attention away from
displaying the number of likes on posts was
the subject of the crime and is an extremely dangerous
announced in November 2019 and was met with
path to tread because we risk losing sight of our goal to
some outrage, especially by young teenagers which
have a safer country for everybody. Yet again, it deals
can be linked back to this insecurity and need for
with the idea that we are not comfortable accepting an
instant gratification that occurs when one is allowed
event for being an individual’s story but find the need to
do,
fun
making
of
her
which
the
for
is
average
posing?
relevant
person
When
for
a
compare
the
criminality
of
it,
“Where are the
only
to
prove
to compare themselves with others on the basis of Social Issues | 55
compare it on the basis of something that pulls conversation
away
from
perceived
discomfort. Modern-day economists argue that an economy’s “comfort zone” lies at the brink of its steep fall into recession and honestly, we as individuals are no better. A society is only as good as its culture and a culture is only as good as its potential for growth and adaptation. In my humble opinion, we must learn to get out of our comfort zone to try and grow rather than plunge into a comparative tug-of-war of attention the second we feel any form of alien discomfort. To be comparative is to be reactive but to be attentive is to be reflective. Discomfort, if channeled well, need not be pacified by petty comparison but can be used to fuel conversation
that
helps
development
of
ideas,
opinions and eventually even, laws. After all, how long are we going to convince ourselves that Krishna did not have considerable amounts of melanin in his skin that had nothing to do with rain clouds?
Social Issues | 56
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
As much as I will try to prove how disruptive education has gotten, through this article, I equally believe that education is important. It’s not only the backbone of a nation but also a certificate of validation that saves you from Sharma Ji’s taunts. Yes, it is more of a social symbol than an economic
Education- A double-edged sword
reform. Nevertheless, education is crucial and I demand it to be approached the same way by the government. There has to be a sense of responsibility towards the youth of the country without which it would be tough to accept the fact that the system we have been following for decades needs major reforms. In a society like ours, education is a doubleedged sword. This makes us question the very root of the problem- our education system and the regressive society. And well, the other side of the coin will make you rethink on where we went wrong all this while.
U t s a r i
G u p t a
B h a y a
A social reform: We collectively fail the purpose of education, the moment we think it to be an indicator of one’s social status. As much as I believe that compulsory education is crucial, I equally condemn the fact that it has become a tool to measure someone’s worth. I also oppose the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 when it totally excludes the possibility of homeschooling. Education should be the means of economic upliftment and not only social uplifment. And
Social Issues | 57
when I say economic upliftment, I mean that it
practical skills. No company wishes to spend crores on
should render jobs to the ones who seek it. Here,
skill development workshops for the employees.
the society demands us to go to school, spend a
That’s fair on their part. Therefore, recruiting the ones
hefty amount on education but does not assure
who have a well-decorated CV with internships at
worthy jobs. Hence, education stands more like a
prestigious companies is fair on their part. But we all
compulsion
than
a
means
to
welfare.
This
undoubtedly gives rise to more inequality that we aim to destroy in the first place. The ones who do not want to obtain education voluntarily after 14 years should not be looked down upon. At least they pursue what they want to. What if she quit academics after 10th and pursued her career in Odissi? Or what if he drops out of college and joined a cricket coaching? At least they are following their dreams, unlike Sharma Ji’s son. Lack of opportunities:
know how internships work. So, the hack is not to diss your acquaintances if you want a good job. The ones who have a reach to the prestigious companies, again, mostly belong to the higher income groups. That’s where I hold the universities guilty. The syllabus neglects the need for practical skills. We are victims of this decaying system which uproots from us all the qualities that are necessary in the real world. The gap created between the privileged and the underprivileged undoubtedly gives rise to the most evil monster- inequality. The vicious cycle will break only when reforms to promote skill development will be prioritised. Until then, let’s find ways to create
The pressure on jobs in the tertiary sector is
pressure on the system instead of whining on the
because those who did not want to go to colleges
syllabus.
ended up taking academic courses they didn’t like and invested in them because no one ever told
Neglects important topics:
them that it is okay to give up college and pursue
The thought that schools and colleges are not
Odissi or Cricket as their career. Here, I hold the
responsible to inculcate knowledge on topics that do
society guilty. The government needs to invest
not concern academics is itself toxic. Why was
more in non-academic institutions and provide
Environmental Studies not given as much weight as
opportunities to the youth at a reasonable price as only the higher middle class seems to afford its dreams. Education, if not provided in the right way, can potentially increase the challenges in the society. So the next time “3500 MBA and Engineers applied for 549 posts of sweepers” flashes on your notification screen, you know Sharma Ji’s son’s future is at stake. So, the reforms can only be passed when we recognize that unemployment is
Maths? Why was Sex Education never a concern?If it had been, maybe the friends sitting in the biology class would have never felt awkward when taught about the human reproductive system. Maybe, they would have never taken wrong steps to know more about sex. And maybe, normalising this would have helped us save many lives. I know this can’t change overnight but it has to change sometime. If you go on claiming sex education as vulgar then you do not know what vulgar is.
not because labour supply is greater than labour
We have failed as an education system. We have
demand, but due to the unequal treatment of all
failed as a society. We know no ways to go beyond
fields. Whereas the ones who can afford private
the books nor do we create pressure. Instead, we
institutions or can take risks and start a business,
outrage on issues like having the meat of our choice,
mostly belong to the upper-middle and high
stopping women from stepping inside the temple. We
income group. This gives rise to superiority and
are ready to die and kill for dead queens, sacred
further gaps between the rich and the poor.
animals, and caste history. When in schools, we are either unaware of how little we are learning or we are
Eliteness bias: Money and power can buy you a good CV, hence a good opportunity and a good job. No company wants to hire an employee with zero experience or
afraid to speak up. When in colleges, we are protesting on issues tangential to our learning. In fact, the toxic education system has normalised its inability to provide the youth with the education that Social Issues | 58
is needed.
About the Author
Utsari Gupta Bhaya
Being an undergraduate, I rightfully hold the
Second Year B.A. student at
society, the government and the education
Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous
system guilty. I also urge all the parents, students
College
and employees to demand real capability and not
Always looks for a healthy
empty certificates. Education of this style has
discussion on politics and
become a challenge in itself. It is only us who can
runs behind beautiful skies.
make a change.
Expresses her frustration through fine arts and tries to make sense out of the capitalist world. Her plan B is launching a spa company for a living because both unemployment and stress will get worse.
Social Issues |Â 59
Source: The Convestation
“Hey, have you heard about the economy? Word’s around
How Many Feminists Does It Take To Change an Economy?
that she is a real gold digger.” The term 'gold digger' has often been used to describe women in an extremely derogatory manner since time immemorial. It has been used to refer to an apparent tendency
of
women
to
be
primarily
interested
in
a
relationship in order to enjoy its material benefits. And while feminists all over the world, have broken the internet and have
successfully
managed
to
convince
the
target
demographic, that their ways of assuming traits of women are wrong, let us take a step back and think about the more logical (and certainly less sexist) possible origin of the term. Talking about the Indian scenario- Gold being a safe haven in terms of investment, it has maintained its store in value over history, leading to secure investments for big investors. It also reacts positively to growing inflation. However, that is
S a l o n i
J a d h a v
talking about the big players. The smaller players, i.e. the households, tend to invest their life savings into education, property and at last, gold. It is seen as a means of luxury, as a tell of how well-to-do a certain individual is. It is also seen as a sentimental legacy, an heirloom that is passed down through generations. Indian households are together the world's largest hoarders of gold. Social Issues | 60
They hold a record of 23,000-24,000 tonnes of the
'Vishaka Guidelines' but some debates remain in the
precious metal, worth at least $800 billion.1 In a
society without conclusions, such as legalization of
country where success is measured through the
abortion, compulsory menstrual leaves, legalization of
grandeur portrayed in (and before) weddings and
prostitution, etc.
in gold-plated gifts given on special occasions,
Adding on to these legal shortcomings, there are also
hoarding gold is more of a habit than a choice, which has been assumed by the society as a whole. Indian housewives are said to possess 11% of the world's gold which is more than the reserves of the USA, the IMF, Switzerland, and Germany put together.2
This talks in lengths
about the progress of women in India, as a majority of the Indian female population consists of housewives, financial security might come to them, only in the form of family gold, to which these women hold on to, with their dear lives. And that is where the problem lies, albeit a safe haven,
many socio-cultural factors of our predominantly patriarchal society that might prevent young, capable women, sometimes even with sufficient resources, from being able to contribute to the economy. The unawareness in rural areas which constitutes a majority of the nation's population, when it comes to birth, education, and marriage of girl child is the biggest reason that women in the workforce are left behind. The several rape cases that have been brought to limelight in the past few decades are responsible for creating a constant and inherent fear in women and their loved ones, which stops them from being able to study or work. The stigma around
gold is still a dead investment. Critics might argue
menstruation and sexual health too inhibits ladies
that bonds, stocks, currency are not real money
from communicating and solving their problems,
but are just debts to the Government, to the
which ultimately renders them unfit to work. To make
central bank and the companies. However, at least
matters
they are not idle; unlike gold, which sits in
engage in remarks such as "Child marriage is the
household
no
solution to rape and other atrocities against women"
velocity of money to the economy, other than
(Om Prakash Chautala, former Haryana CM) while
amounting to minimal taxes and rent amount for
they go out of their way to protect cows; and Savarna
lockers
and
brings
absolutely
lockers paid to commercial banks annually. Hence, it is extremely necessary to realize this trend and start working towards making Indian women financially independent enough to get education, get employed and hold wealth in the form of interactive assets, thereby contributing to the economy. Fighting for gender equality includes doing away with all the disadvantages females face, as compared to their male counterparts; just by the societal vice of being a woman. Gender equality encourages actions which are in
worse,
Indian
male
politicians
publicly
female political leaders putting females from the Bahujan Samaj Party down, sets wrong example for the gullible minds. Governments all around the world have realized the importance of having women at the centre of their economic
policies,
such
as
safe
transport
and
workplace provisions. The World Bank estimates that India could boost its growth from 1.5 percentage points to 9 percent per year if around 50% of women could join the workforce. The housewives in India make for the largest and most underpaid workforce and it is crucial to implement policies that will aim at encouraging women workers,
favor of the birth of girl child,
entrepreneurs
equal and quality education,
ensure sustainable
right to work with equal dignity
and inclusive development. In doing
and equal pay, right to ensure
so, it is important to give due credit to
ideal healthcare, right to
the differently privileged women who
dictate consent with regards to sexual acts, freedom of has
executed
contributors
to
work in houses which in turn helps Source: The Daily Illini
speech and expression and much more. The government
and
certain
excellent
policies such as 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao',
other working women to leave their houses and earn. The future is female and we can only celebrate it, if we can rise as an equal and safe society. It’s time to dig Social Issues | 61
deeper for gold; and by that, I mean a golden future.
About the Author
Saloni Jadhav Second
Year
Ramnarain
B.A.
Ruia
student
at
Autonomous
College Joint Secretary 2019-20 at the Rotaract Club of Ramnarain Ruia College Member of Team Literary Arts of the
Ruia
College
Student's
Council Member of Team Marketing at Homoeconomicus
An aspiring economist, by the day you can find Saloni in the hallways of Ruia College, equal parts engaged in political debates, petting cats and bringing down misogynists. At night, you can catch her plotting political debates in her head, wishing she was petting cats and bringing down misogynists over social media!
Social Issues |Â 62
Source: White Mountain Puzzles
Popular culture has always been an influential force
Popular Culture: a malevolent force?
in shaping the various social aspects of a person’s life, including their beliefs, behaviours and even their interpersonal relationships. It works greatly among adolescents and young adults who rely on it heavily in their stages of identity discovery. Today, thanks to the internet, pop culture exists as a borderless, singularly synthesized entity. It is incredible to think that something as innocuous as the chick flicks one watches at sleepovers could mould one’s expectations in life and love. To talk specifically of love, there is no other guiding force as powerful as the teachings of the several TV shows, books, movies and songs that are constantly played on re peat, since we were children. So, understanding the power they hold when it comes to the perceptions of love, these media outlets must make use of positive examples after which behaviour could be modelled, right? Apparently,
P r a n j a l i
E k t a r e
they don’t think so. Not to be a philistine, but the years of cognitive conditioning coming from TV, movies, books and music have led us into cultivating some blisteringly deplorable notions of the entirety of love and romance. As products of Bollywood, we think love is a consequence of constant and unwanted pursuit,
Social Issues | 63
leering, stalking, and sometimes even sexual
dynamics and interpersonal relationships. Initially,
harassment. In DDLJ, the gold standard of the
comes the capricious friend circle. There is always a
romance trope in India, there is an explicit scene
‘best
in which the protagonists are travelling in the
available for the protagonist at all times, coming to
train, where the hero commits these very acts
their aid even when they are wronged by the
and subjects the heroine to them. However, all’s
protagonist. There is also this frankly homophobic
forgiven in the name of romance, right?
“gay best friend who helps in the makeover, who is
This
very
friend”
character
who
tinappropriate
sentiment
make
with
themselves
men
most
normalising sexual abuse
imes, who is sassy” stereotype.
is
very
common
Then follows the tiring “men and
throughout
cinema.
women can’t be best friends” and
Songs Nazar,
like
Teri
“my best friend is in love with me
Samandar
but I don’t notice until they start
Jadoo
Saat
Paar, and even recent
dating someone else or until I get
Source: The Hindu
time hits like Gandi Baat and Agal Bagal all
my heart broken because I go out with a bad person”
promote stalkerism like it is an indivisible part of
routine.
romance. And this trend is seen across several
It is easy to classify all the above and many such
music genres. Even 2Pac and Eminem are guilty
observations as rants, and to say that complaining
of using lyrics that normalise the abuse and
won’t do any good. But what most people don’t
secondary treatment of women. To say that this
realize
is a bygone would be fallacious, because songs
manufacturing of real-time dating expectations on
like YES or YES by K-Pop girl group TWICE which
the impressionable young minds that watch these
reject the need for consent by both parties are
films, who then experience frustration when they
being released as recently as in November of
find that these senseless standards do not translate
2018.
into the real world. It also deprives so many of
Aside from this, the beloved romantic comedies
potentially perfect matches, simply because of the
also perpetuate shallow standards of what is
absurd expectations regarding the partner. Also,
ideal and what is not. There are several reasons
people subconsciously model their everyday actions
why the whole makeover trope is problematic.
after the rom-com characters, which is detrimental
From classic Hollywood rom-coms like Princess
considering how self-centric these characters are,
Diaries to our own Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, movies
and how inconsiderate they are towards the people
have a very restrictive idea of beauty, and they
in their lives.
propagate that in order for one to become more
What is worse is that the influence of these movies
date-able,
and several such media outlets like comics and TV
one
must
undergo
a
physical
is
that
this
essentially
leads
into
the
transformation in order to fit into the beaten,
shows
dogmatic and parochial idea of an ideal romantic
entertainers, runs deeper into creation of cognitive
match. The process in question here ensues that
infrastructures than we assign it credit for. Being
the
person
undergo
head-to-toe
alike,
which
are
deemed
as
harmless
physical
brought up on the audio-visual media, the younger
procedures and put on clothes that are generally
generation is more influenced by movies. So, ask
considered glamorous, bidding adieu to their
yourself this: what comes to your mind when you
originally frumpy sense of fashion. Oh, yes, and
think about movie protagonists? For Hollywood, it is
then follows the quintessential “losing of the
always straight, white people who have the physique
glasses” scene, because apparently wearing
of someone who either lives at the gym or starves
corrective vision wear makes one an unfit dating
themselves most of the time; and for Bollywood, it is
candidate. The quixotic expectations don’t stop
always a rich Mehra, Singhania or a Sharma, i.e an
at aesthetics, but hazardously extend to social
upper class and upper caste Hindu person with Social Issues | 64
about the same physique as mentioned above,
family with that partner is very much still widely held
and skin five shades fairer than the original skin
even today, to the extent that it is imposed upon
tone of the actors’ bodies. This goes on to show
those who refuse this “prototype”. This style of life
how popular culture is extremely significant in
might have been relevant in the archaic, evolutionary
the inception of prejudice in our minds. I still
sense; but it actually makes less sense to ingrain this
remember when in 2015 the Dork Diaries movie
into young brains as the one true way of life.
was announced, as an eager teenager, I had
Elizabeth Brake, a professor of philosophy at Arizona
logged in on the website to find out that there
State University, encapsulates the essence of these
were speculations of an African-American actress
societal
playing the lead. I was taken aback then. Now, as
Amatonormativity. Amatonormativity is, essentially,
a nascent adult, not only do I realize my racist
“the assumption that a central, exclusive, amorous
attitude, but also the enforcement of racist
relationship is normal for humans, in that it is a
outlook in my pliant adolescent brain; which
universally shared goal, and that such a relationship
would have continued to exist and fester if it
is normative, in the sense that it should be aimed at
were not exposure to awareness channels and a
in preference to other relationship types,” according
serious unconditioning, unlearning process.
to Elizabeth Brake. The term is not only limited to the
In the very least, there exists a percentage of
child-bearing and amorous elements, but also has
people
other undertones. It also includes the devolution of
who
are
aware
of
the
racial,
assumptions
in
a
term
she
coined,
the
friendship and other forms of intimacy outside of
popular culture and can consciously prevent
romantic entanglements into a mockery. Further,
themselves from being affected by that. But
there is the rejection of polyamorous people, and
what is largely unknown is that consumption of
makes them into obvious deviants. Also join the
popular culture can also inculcate a series of
defective clan are the aromantic or asexual folk, who
psychological frameworks which then further
experience little to no romantic attraction to others
lead to a culture of confining behavioural
and who have a lack of sexual attraction to others, or
patterns. An ardent example of this would be the
low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity.
rising existence of singlism, or prejudice against
Adding on is the layer of heteronormativity, that
single people. It is a lesser known evil, but a very
being straight is the default. Plus, amatonormativity
potent one. The way being single is perceived
implies
today is becoming increasingly negative. There is
meaningful platonic relationships and that romantic
also a whole “perpetually single” comedic trope
relationships are the most superior relationships a
that has piteous undertones to it. Studies reveal
person can experience in their lifetime. It enables
that people perceive subjects who are couples in
several evils like emotional abuse, exclusion and
a more positive light and are more likely to
oppression of several divergent groups, convenient
befriend them over single subjects. It has also
dictation
resulted into several unready people to jump into
physical needs into emotional ones, and so on.
dating and a lot of emotional turmoil because of
Popular culture has sowed and tended several
differences
poisoned ideas of interpersonal fundamentals. And
heteronormative,
in
sexist
implications
expectations
and
of
incomplete
the
of
people
the
are
incapable
translation
process
of
of
forming
several
this conditioning runs so deep that we as people
emotional maturity. But
that
manifestation
of
these
restrictive
don’t even realise that we are being programmed to
in
function in certain ways; and when we do, most
discriminatory actions but also in our overall life
times, it is too late to undo the learning process.
expectations. People always have a set design for
Sure, things are not as pessimistic today, with several
norms that define a good life. The expectation
outlets focusing on representation and visibility; but
that one is supposed to find a mate and to get
it still has miles to go. What I suggest is a more
into
aware
behavioural
a
standards
loving,
is
not
romantic
only
and
seen
preferably
heterosexual relationship, and further to start a
consumption
of
entertainment
and
an
adoption of a more active role in the ingestion of Social Issues | 65
what is being played out in front of us instead of passively sitting back and letting it rule our thoughts. In finality, we want entertainment, but we need entertainment that enriches our society such that the values promulgated are sustainable rather than deleterious.
About the Author Pranjakli Ektare Second Year B.A. student at Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College. I am a psych undergrad, a chaotic neutral and a combination of sleep deprivation and bad jokes. I would like to believe that once day, I might contribute something positive to the world.
Social Issues | 66
Source: thestatesman.com
The
morning
of
Saturday,
November
30
became
disturbing for the entire nation after the news of Dr Priyanka Reddy broke out. A veterinary doctor from Shamshabad in Hyderabad, she was brutally killed, gang-
Women’s Safety in India
raped and burnt alive. When she went to the ORR toll plaza at Todupally to get her scooter, she realised that the tyres were punctured. Two men at the toll plaza befriended her and offered to help. Under the pretext of taking the scooter to another shop as the nearest shop was shut , they took her to an isolated place where this unfortunate
incident
took
place.
This
disturbing,
sorrowful news, compelled me to revisit and think whether the streets in India are safe for women? Why haven’t we learnt a lesson from the Nirbhaya case? Statistics have shown that crimes against women are increasing in India. Let us take a look at some of the reasons as to why women are perceived as vulnerable. The change should begin at home itself.
S w a t i
A c h w a l
In our society, there are two extremes that exist. Girls are either worshipped as ‘Goddess’ or simply treated as a ‘burden’ to the family. In both cases, she is always viewed as something to be protected by the family. The gender discrimination starts when she is very young at home itself. The male members are considered to be strong, independent and the providers of the family Social Issues | 67
whereas the women in the house are considered
her
to be inferior, weaker than men. They are
become a target of such heinous crimes. Lone
supposed to be submissive, dependent on their
travellers or women working in late night or early
brothers, fathers or husbands and not encouraged
morning shifts are more vulnerable. Women cannot
to be financially independent. In case of poverty,
trust anybody, cannot perform any ordinary actions
parents prefer to educate their sons rather than
like riding a scooter to work, or sit on a roadside with
their daughters as they believe that a son will
a friend or board a bus after watching a movie as
provide for the family and will look after them
these acts can prove to be fatal at times for an Indian
during their old age. However, the daughter will
woman. The company buses have also become
be married off and therefore, is considered as a
unsafe for women as the driver is the perpetrator
‘paraya dhan’. This inferior treatment is justified
most of the times.
by misinterpreting the scriptures. Though women are
becoming
financially
independent
and
venturing into careers which were considered as ‘male-dominated’, beliefs are yet to change. For the
woman
to
feel
truly
empowered,
this
traditional belief should be changed at the earliest.
home.
Working
women
have,
particularly,
Constitutional Provisions The Nirbhaya case highlighted the issue of women’s harassment which led to changes in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 19th March 2013 and by the Rajya Sabha on 21st March 2013. It made amendments to Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act and Code of
Women are considered as an object of lust and
Criminal Procedure, 1973 on laws related to sexual
desire
offences.
Women have always been considered as an object
imprisonment up to 7 years, which can be extended
of lust and desire. As the supposedly weaker sex
to life imprisonment and fine. As some police
in the patriarchal system, the system wields
personnel are uncooperative and misbehave with the
power to men in Indian society. It is expected that
women, they feel scared to approach them. The
the woman should hold the family together,
perpetrators find loopholes in the legal system to
consider her husband as God, never disobey the
reduce their punishments. There is an ongoing
elders in the family, never complain about him
debate about whether capital punishments will help
and make sacrifices for her family. Narrow-
to induce fear in the potential rapists. I feel that
minded men and their families consider the wife
stringent laws and actions should be brought to
as property.This expectation has often led to
prevent such brutal inhuman crimes.
instances outraging her modesty and Physical and Mental torture. An Indian woman cannot complain to the world since it would bring disgrace to her and her family. The woman who would voice her plight to bring harassment into notice would be shunned upon instead of the perpetrators.
The
punishment
for
the
crime
is
Conclusion I feel that society’s perspective should change towards women. She should be considered as an equal member of the society, having the freedom to exercise her rights and freedoms in the true sense, thus establishing an egalitarian society. Apart from stringent laws and imparting moral
Working women
and egalitarian values, the change should begin
Cities, which were considered as safer places for
from
women, have witnessed increasing cases of rapes
equally. The society should support the victim and
and harassment. The same streets or roads which
her family emotionally by not calling her names or
the
viewing her in a disgraceful manner as if making
women use for daily commutation have become
her believe that she is the one who is responsible
unsafe for them. There is always a looming fear
for this incident. Most of these incidents take
among the family members about the girl’s safety,
place at isolated places where the victim is taken
security and life, the moment she steps outside
on the pretext of some reason.
the
home
itself
by
treating
females
Social Issues | 68
Such
isolated
areas
in
the
city
should
be
identified, police personnel should be deployed, law enforcement agencies should be sensitized
About the Author
Swati Chintamani Achwal.
and or CCTV cameras should be placed. People
Second Year Arts Student,
should be vigilant if they see a girl or a woman is
studying
Politics,
English
being forced to accompany some strangers and
Literature
and
Sanskrit
appears uncomfortable and scared. They should
Literature.
My
hobbies
contact the police immediately. Last and not least,
include reading, voicing my
every man should respect the woman’s choice
opinion on various issues and
when she says ‘No.’
I also like to write articles.
Social Issues | 69
Source: news.18.com
There is a digital upsurge felt by the masses all over the world with an increase in content and audience in the digital arena. Suddenly, the creators took YouTube on the storm with varied subjects and visual content, accepted
Digital Pride: Queer inclusiveness , online.
and liked by the masses, worldwide. Heartland platforms like Voot, AltBalaji, Hotstar, revolutionary Jio, creating content targeting audiences of every age group, sexuality, ethnicity, race, etc. Unsurprisingly, giant-media online platforms, Netflix and Amazon have given troop of independent directors and content creators to explore their independent creative space and assisted them financially as well. There has been a plethora of content dealing with the topic of the queer community after the historic verdict of the Supreme Court regarding abrogation of Section 377. In the bygone days, when YouTube was not as flourished as it is today and digital giants like Netflix and Amazon were finding their feet in the ginormous world of Cinema
N i s h a n t
B h i s e
and prime-time scripted shows on television and its influence on the audiences, nationally as well as internationally. The first show dealing with lesbianism, 'The Other Love Story (2016)' by Roopa Rao was broadcasted by the open-source platform like YouTube. She intentionally chooses YouTube so to reach a wider audience and to attract them without having to be burdened by any paid subscription, unlike other digital Social Issues |Â 70
platforms, it was a pioneering work or a baby step
character in the series and real life. Her Gender is a
for the community, digitally. Then on, creators
lens through which her lived experience is portrayed,
came forward and started creating inclusive
but it is also not the only factor that shapes the
content worth watching. Television and cinema are a big influence on the
audience's view of her character." Another groundbreaking series of 9 episodes created
people where the product created employed
by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Alankrita Shrivastava,
largely,
and
'Made In Heaven', which was released on Amazon
traditional Indian values, restricting it to delve into
Prime earlier this year. They too, touched upon the
controversial topics of gender, sexuality, etc.,
facets of the society which were hesitatingly ignored.
Scripted daily-soaps are pathetic pieces and the
In
topics on which they built their narrative have
patriarchy, complications of relationships, women
restricted
empowerment and have specifically, put a spotlight
characters
the
enclosing
independent
chastity
art
of
acting.
this
9
episode-series,
they
encompassed
of
on Karan, the male protagonist, who is portrayed as
misportraying the community as sidekicks or
gay. The distinct feature of his character, he was not
titillating the funny bones as mentioned earlier.
portrayed differently from others, his missteps and
According to a report by GLAAD, there were 173
complications were portrayed normally alike the
characters of LGBTQIA+ nature in the western
straight characters, making a bold and beautiful
Primetime
the
statement on the barbarian article of Section 377, in
restrictiveness is the authoritarian Censor Board which filtered the product before parcelling it to
the 8th episode. These directors and writers are well acclaimed in the
the audience, both on television and cinema. Due
mainstream arena chose to portray these characters
to censorship, many filmmakers and producers
on these characters on digital platforms due to
would rather choose to walk on eggshells then to
creative liberations that they couldn't have in the
independently explore the unexplored. Queer
mainstream due to the draconian censorship which
filmmakers who wanted to tell the stories of the
is absent in the case of these platforms. Alankrita
community couldn't do that for years as no
Shrivastava, one of the directors of Made In Heaven
producers would back them fearing repercussions
stated that "It wouldn't have been possible to work in
and monetary loses. But due to this outburst of digital platforms where
the shadow of censorship scrutiny. Amazon gave us
there are no issues of censorship and the creators
we wanted to write. They were supportive, I didn't
independently could tell the stories, untold and
feel like anything was restricting our creative
explore, unexplored subjects.Indian filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar and writers like
freedom. It was a great relief”. Even though these platforms are independently
Alankrita Shrivastava, Varun Grover found their
portraying characters from the community, some of
ground to deliver their perspective on societal
them
issues through camera lenses via these digital
instead of sensitizing, they are sensationalizing them.
platforms.
Games’
Shows like AltBlalaji's Romal and Jugal features
inspired from the book with a similar title by
textbook stereotyping of gay characters whose
Vikram
DevDD's lesbian characters exist for the sole purpose
Bollywood,
too,
has
television.
Anurag
Chandra
committed
The
Kashyap's portrayed
mistakes
root
of
‘Sacred a
trans-woman
free space and was a great partner. We wrote what
have
successfully
stereotyped
them
and
character Kukoo played by Kubra Sait which
to titillate straight men.
received applause from the critics as well as the
Regardless of some loopholes, these streaming
audience. A spokesperson at Netflix said that "We
platforms are creating a storm digitally and breaking
want to tell powerful stories with authentic
the shackles of creative restrictions and helping
characters,
budding
including
compelling
LGBTQIA+
directors
showcasing
characters
of
stories that resonate with the audience. In Sacred
LGBTQIA+ nature as their reach is wider which will
Games, Kukoo is a key character with motivations,
help
desires and expectations similar to any other.
community, their people and issues in a sensitive
to
educate
the
uninformed
about
the
Social Issues | 71
manner, independently. Digital platforms helped the community to have a
About the Author
conversation with common people via cinema and digitally about their feelings, sentiments, problems and their journey from a closet into a liberated world. There is a long way to go, and during this journey of folks from the community, can be aided by these two as a tool to tell stories from the community to the people and help them
Nishant Bhise A member of Team Literary Arts Existing For Movies & Politics. An ally for LGBTQIA+ rights
to understand that they are humans as well and their existence also matters. Directors, Producers and Actors also have a responsibility to put an end at stereotyping and put out there a cinematic product containing rainbows!
Social Issues |Â 72
TECHNOLOGY
HOMOECONOMICUS
Technology
Source: MIT Libraries
If I walk up to you and say that I have “some data” about you, you wouldn’t be amused by this mere statement.
Data: The Science which is the new art
However, if I tell you that I am 90% sure about what food item you will consume next OR for that matter what disease you’re likely to be affected by in the next 10 years, I’m quite sure I will have grabbed your attention. Moreover, as you read this article, I intend to spark some interest in your mind whenever you come across the words “data science” in future. The central idea, I aim to highlight through this article, revolves around the depth and reach of data in all of our lives and some fundamental understanding that one should have to thrive in this “Age of Data.” The Economist doesn’t hesitate to say, “The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data”. Well, it was the 1640s when the term “data” was first used and the interpretation of this term has changed
S i d d h a n t
B h a g a t
drastically over the years. Very few of us would’ve seen data as a separate branch of study, but the trend is quickly catching up. The value of data and its understanding is just as much as any other field of education; and can potentially influence our lives in ways unimaginable to an ordinary mind. Every generation of living species has harnessed data to derive a better understanding of their Technology | 73
surroundings,
some
of
them
being
overly
successful and the rest having learnt a lesson for the rest of their lives. As Henry Thoreau has rightly said, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see”. What one sees as a heap of garbage might seem a pile of unrefined gold to someone else. The statement might not make sense to you at this point, but will certainly leave you with something to ponder over by the time you finish reading this article So, here I begin my journey to put forth before my readers, the true essence of this article. I could have bombarded my readers with some really well-known buzzwords and consider my job done, but this article aims to educate you about data science, about how it changes the way the world makes decisions and how data is worth nothing short of a treasured resource. I have avoided the use of technical jargon as much as possible, because I aim at keeping things simple and maximizing the relevance of this article across varied groups of readers. I have followed a question-answer arrangement to take you on a journey right from the purpose to the execution of basic data science activities.
The birth of a data science problem lies in an issue
in
the
functioning
of
an
organization or some sort of impedance, an organization has to face while striving to achieve a goal. The organization can stick to conventional remedial measures, only to realize that in today’s world, the nature of solutions require data-driven insights at some level or the other, and there’s no escaping this reality. The organization can be a multinational banking firm, a government, or simply any entity that wants to stay relevant in today’s world.Such is the state of the world today that we not only need data to solve an issue we encounter, environment
but
also
more
to
for in order to take the next step in our journey. Step 2: How do I get the data? The raw material for the process of data science is nothing but data. Data of any sort, data from any source, data entered by any random individual and so on; all this data is worth something to someone. However, it would be incredibly convenient if we could manage to streamline our raw material to the sort that can actually be converted into a valuable resource. Hence, we ingeniously plant our data collection methods at points where it would not bother the person entering the data, or we are lucky to have all the required data stored in a database, which was essentially used for keeping records, but now has an insanely different application. With the development of many
different
technologies (especially “Internet of Things”), we are exposed to an enormously large number of data collection points, many of which we aren’t even consciously aware of. By 2025, it’s estimated that 463 exabytes of data will be created each day globally – that’s the equivalent of 212, 765, 957 DVDs per day! By the end of this step, we have our raw materials in hand and we know what to make out of it. I herein quote, "Well begun is half done", as it holds true for
Step 1: Why are we doing this task? underlying
need to know, with confidence, what we are aiming
understand
our
meaningfully.Hence,
we
indulge ourselves in finding a solution to our problems using 'data', because 'data' is our key to success. We have framed a problem in our mind to which we seek a solution using this advanced
our ongoing discussion. Step 3: What is the first thing I do with this raw material? Having gathered the raw materials in the best way you could, you are bound to realize that some errors have crept inside your data sets (A data set is a collection of data entries with values stored under some distinct parameters or attributes). Processing this data could yield awfully wrong conclusions, and the primary task at hand is to make sure that the collected data contains only those fields and entries which make sense to your job at hand and have an impact on the overall result, even if its effect is minute.
In
a
simpler
sense,
clean
your
data
selectively. This part requires one to have a sound knowledge of statistics and other tools required to handle the data. Incomplete or invalid entries have to be dealt with accordingly.
science. The process is an elaborate one, but we Technology | 74
Step 4: What to do with the "clean data”? It is high time that you start playing with your
their investment in the data science process will
data!It's the time you feed your data to the
results.The readers might have noticed that I've not
various algorithms which can spot potential
used the technical aspects to elucidate the process.
anomalies, abnormalities, unique data points,
This is because the main purpose of this post was to
some very peculiar trends or some outliers in any
acquaint y’all with the basics of "data science", so
which way possible. This is the step when you
that this term is no longer alien to you.
explore
the
data,
with
the
best
yield
positive
(and
more
importantly
“usable”)
scientific
approach you can apply. Numerous algorithms
Whatever might be our field of study, all of us can
are available, each having a specific set of
contribute differently to the data science value chain.
applications and use case. An educated data
All you need is an inclination towards this domain
scientist is able to make the right choice of
and once you start exploring opportunities in this
operating procedure depending on the data set,
field, a plethora of exciting and groundbreaking
and can tweak the approach to best formulate
challenges await you.Thanks for taking out time to
meaningful results. The job here is to describe
read this and I hope that you've read this article with
and
the same enthusiasm with which I had written it.
present
the
data
in
a
form,
which
“motivates” the further exploration of the data.
Please do feel free to contact me for any queries regarding the article, or for any discussion in the
Step 5: What to do once I've explored the data? The step we now discuss is one of the most
domain of data science; I would be happy to help in any possible way I can.
crucial steps in the entire data science process. It is the step where one has to use one's complete sense
of
understanding
of
statistics,
About the Author
mathematics and domain-specific knowledge
Siddhant Bhagat Training and Placement
(for example, a data set involving heart rates
Coordinator
would
Coordinator for the Industrial
require
analysis
by
a
healthcare
professional as well) to crunch the data into
Relations Cell
information which will help us decide actionable
Student member of the
paths. We have to make optimal use of all the resources available at our disposal and take all
Institute Innovation Council An Electronics and Telecommunications
the calculated and well-thought steps to use the
engineering undergraduate, who happens to
data to best of its potential. In-depth analysis
love drawing data-driven insights to solve
requires
business challenges.
dedicated
extremely workforce,
talented, working
skilled
and
cohesively
to
derive meaningful insights. The process can take a few days or sometimes even months at a stretch to best use the data. Step 6: Am I done with the job? NO. The following part of your job is to communicate the results you've found out to the concerned
departments
for
which
you've
worked, because they are the ones who need to be convinced that your method of processing is the one which caters to their problems and whether you've been able to provide the most efficient solution to their existing problems. This is the time to sell to them, the very idea that
Technology | 75
Source: Earth.com
Has science overpowered humans? Is the perception gap between
Homo
sapiens
and
science
increasing
exponentially these days? These are a few renowned questions that arise whenever there is a symposium about
the
meaning
and
development
of
Genetic
engineering.
Reconstructing mankind
Genetic
engineering
focuses
on
the
manual
reconstruction and manipulation of genes through scientific
techniques
recombination,
CRISPR,
and
methods
plasmid
like
method,
DNA biolistic
method and the vector method studied in biotech engineering. The first genetic engineering company was founded by Herbert Bayor and Robert Swanson in 1976 and they successfully managed to produce a human protein
R o s h i n
R a m a k r i s h n a n
(Somatostatin)
in
E.Coli
and
genetically
engineered human insulin (Humulin) in 1978. Since then, genetic engineering has evolved into a prominent field having the ability to transform mankind. With the help of Genetic engineering, the resilience of plants has increased, problems like cystic fibrosis, diabetes and the 'Bubble boy' disease have been rectified and medical progress has been achieved considerably. While the field of genetic engineering was busy creating splendid medical marvels, it has unknowingly opened an enigmatic dimension within itself known as 'Human Technology | 76
gene transformation'.
reduction in genetic diversity and with identical
An innovation that holds an unassailable power to
genomes, the human population as a whole will be
change mankind and enhance the evolution
susceptible to viruses and other diseases.
process is prone to various ethical dilemmas and
3. Once an altered gene is placed in an organism, the
social restrictions. One may come across various
process cannot be reversed.
opinions regarding human genetic modification
4. Terrorist groups or armies could develop more
but we need the help of time, nature and
biological weaponry that can reproduce faster and
technology to analyze it better. Some have
which are resistant to medicines and antibiotics.
questioned the orthodox nature of humans for
Despite all these concerns, the potential for genetic
criticizing the technology but before jumping to
engineering
conclusions, we need to understand the process
dialogue is needed between time, nature and
and
Genetic
technology. It's extremely important to analyze the
modification can be applied in two different ways:
feasibility and safety of this technology before
Somatic
effects
of
this
genetic
technology.Â
modification
and
is
tremendous.
However,
constant
germline
implementing it. Manipulating the evolution process
genetic modification. 1. In somatic genetic modification, the gene of a
can be harmful but if we find out a way for
human being is edited and manipulated to
reconstruction can prove to be the most sought-after
increase the efficiency and resilience of a human.
scientific invention. With the current conditions
Somatic Gene modification is trending because of
prevailing in the society, the acceptance of this
its ability to overcome diseases and problems. 2. Germline genetic modification would change
technology
sustainable
and
will
safe
need
evolution,
some
Human
more
time
gene
and
development.
the genes in eggs, sperm or early embryos. Often referred to as "inheritable genetic modification" these alterations would appear in every cell of the person who has developed from that gamete or embryo. Due to social and ethical reasons, many scientists, policymakers
and
the
people
believe
that
germline editing should be banned. Due to the threat possessed by germline modification, more than 40 countries have banned it.In spite of the social restraints imposed on this technology, a scientist named He Jiankui had edited the genes of twin baby girls in China in 2018 by using the CRISPR
gene-editing
technology.
Germline
About the Author Roshin Ramakrishnan Just a common man with a commie motive. An Atheist who has married science but popular for having an affair with communism. One shall always find him around people discussing and debating about Politics, economics and ethics. Extremely scared of loneliness and is currently striving to be remembered in death.
genetic modification has also given rise to the concept of 'DESIGNER BABIES' that is gaining popularity
among
modern
generation
and
families. All these inventions pose a considerable threat to different aspects of society. 1. Genetically engineered species would have the possibility of causing an imbalance in the ecology of a region. Certain accidents in modifying a bacteria or virus can result in a stronger type which could cause an epidemic when released. 2. As defective genes are replaced with the functional gene, it is expected that there will be a Technology |Â 77
Source: Google Cloud
Recently Google launched Stadia, the first video game streaming service in the world. You can think of it as something like Netflix, but for video games. Traditionally, playing the high end (or the ‘AAA’) video games required
How cloudgaming and microtransactions could end piracy
either an expensive gaming console like a PlayStation or an Xbox; or an even more expensive gaming laptop, which meant that the high-end video games were played by a very niche audience, who could afford the expensive setup. But Stadia, with its multi-platform free online streaming, enables a user to directly stream games on a TV, laptop or even a smartphone, which makes these games accessible to almost anyone with a reasonable internet connection. This is possible because most of the processing is done on Google servers somewhere far away. Stadia, therefore, is a pioneering development that could revolutionize the gaming industry in three major ways. First, Stadia could enable game developers to tap into Google’s powerful servers to create video
P a r i k s h i t
S a m a n t
games that are heavier and are just not possible for traditional consoles. Second, by making Triple A titles accessible to all, Stadia could open up to new markets for the industry, including the developing countries, especially India. The number of active internet users in India is second only to China and with the deeper penetration of internet services India represents a huge untapped potential for the industry. Finally, the most Technology | 78
significant impact of Stadia could be the solution
various features but has to pay to access certain
to piracy. How?
premium features like characters, treasures, new
The gaming industry is one of the largest
maps or levels, etc. Games using microtransactions
industries in the world. Last year it boasted of
became popular with the launch of smartphones.
revenues upto $43.8 Billion in the US alone. To
Initially, games like Temple Run and Subway surfers
give a perspective, during the same time period
had a huge playing base where for a small amount of
the revenues generated by Hollywood grossed $41
money you could buy the in-game currency that
Billion. But one of the major problems plaguing
could let you purchase characters (like Usain bolt in
the media industry is Piracy. Last year alone the
temple run) or an ‘extra-life’ after survival. Later, games like Clash of Clans used this model in their real-time strategy game. The current trend is that of Battle Royale Games like Pubg, Fortnite, Call of Duty and others. Piracy in these games becomes difficult because the games are played on cloud servers which can’t be hacked. Hence this model became especially popular in China where piracy had killed their domestic gaming industry. These models soon became popular for smartphones. But the games still remained
constrained
by
hardware.
This
handicapped them to low to poor graphics or very basic non-heavy games. This could change with movie industry lost almost $30 billion due to piracy. A survey by PCGAMER found that almost 90% of the gamers had pirated a video game at some point. Almost 25% gamers pirated more than 50 games in their lifetimes. In 2014, Tru Optik estimated that the video game industry lost $74 billion to Piracy. Piracy is more severe in countries like China and India. It is very easy to pirate a video game. Almost a week after its release, Resident Evil’s pirated copy was available online. It is no secret that even after strict regulation by the government, torrent sites continue to operate . Even Denuvo, which has created anti-piracy softwares,
had
to
admit
that
"there
is
no
uncrackable product". But while on one hand companies are making piracy of games difficult,
cloud gaming, which could offer a better more immersive experience, in fact, there is a huge potential for a completely new type of Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Finally, there is one more way in which Cloud gaming could reduce piracy - by making games cheap and easy to access. This was observed in the music industry with Spotify and entertainment media with Netflix. Bundling multiple items and making them easily accessible can induce individuals to switch from piracy to legitimate means. A survey by YouGov found that the music piracy in Britain fell from 18% to 10% of participants within a period of five years. One of the leading reasons for this was that it was much easier to stream music than to pirate it. In the case of cloud gaming, microtransactions with its
on the other they are innovating new and novel
ease of access could put an end to piracy. But there are some caveats, Stadia, and cloud gaming
methods of gaming. One innovative method of
in general suffers from lag, which can be further
revenue generation that the internet revolution
exacerbated by slower connections, the list of games
has enabled is microtransactions. Microtransactions are low-cost purchases made
offered by Stadia at its initial release are few and not
by gamers for purchasing virtual in-game items.
faces competition from Microsofts preview of their
These transactions can be as less as Rs 10 and can
own cloud gaming service - Xcloud. But there is hope,
go as high as $38000 which is roughly Rs.27 lakh
Internet penetration in developing countries and 5G
(see Ethereal Flames Pink War Dog). In this model,
technology could mean huge growth potential for
users can download the game for free along with
cloud gaming.
that impressive, and hardly a week after its release it
Technology | 79
Source: newengineering.com
Meet the love of your life, get married to her, have a kid, raise the aforementioned kid, watch him grow up, find something wrong about him, try to correct him, give up and let him live his life on his own terms. The story arch
The Art of Genetic Manipulation
of every parent and child ever. And this is normal, isn’t it? Every human being has their own flaws, and the only people who will constantly try to correct them are your parents. But what if you had a choice? What if everyone could be perfect. Devoid of everything that society terms as flaws. Without any of the imperfections that we think people are. That’s what we’ve come to. Modern medicine has finally made the age old saying of “Prevention is better than cure” the truest it has been in ages. Starting from the advent of genetic therapy in the hands of Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer in 1972 to the arrival of CAR-T cells as
G e o r g e
B .
K .
recent as 2017, the field has been constantly growing at a pace that rivals everything in the history of science. The basic human thirst to understand who, and more importantly, why we are who we are, has propelled the field of genetics to great heights. “Strive for perfection” reads every board outside of Peking University in China, and that is the core of all human nature. To reach the zenith of our own abilities. But, what, in all actuality, determines that peak? Is that Technology | 80
something that we control, or is that something
While all of this sounds all sunshine and daisies when
that comes pre packaged within us? The human
we talk about using genetic engineering to fix
DNA is a sequence of over 3.3 Billion nucleotides,
diseases and correct fatal flaws, but what happens
stacked, coiled and bound into each and every cell
when someone who can afford it, chooses to create a
of ours, and it is this beautiful double helix that
superbaby? The world has always evolved on the
runs every aspect of our lives. From the color of
simple motto that the strongest will survive. But in
our hair, to the way we speak, everything is run by
this age where being the strongest is a choice you
that strand of molecules. Scary, isn’t it? To think
can make rather than something you build yourself
that something that is so beyond our control, so
into, this becomes more of a conundrum. Nazi
unpredictable, and so easy to have mistakes in,
Germany,
controls our very existence? And that’s the very
superhumans, is one of the prime examples of how
thing that triggered the need for the invention of
the wonderful field of genetics can take a turn down
genetic manipulation. An effort to take back our
a dark alley. Forced participation from PoWs, the
lives from the domination of DNA, they called it.
Jews and non native Germans in concentration
An effort to make sure that it is truly us, who
camps took the world by storm, leading to the
decide who we are, rather than some random
immediate shutdown of these experiments.
sequence of molecules.
The choice to be the best at everything (or rather, at
And this finally happened. In 1990, when Dr.
something) has always existed, except that it used to
William French Anderson cured Ashi DeSilva of
be a choice that people made and trained toward
the, until then, fatal ADA-SCID, the world looked
that ultimate goal of perfection. It's time that we
up in amazement. He had finally managed to
accepted genetic engineering as something that's
unlock the code of God. The code that no one
here to stay. Whether we treat it as something that
thought was possible to read, let alone analyze
we need to be cautious of or as something we
and edit, much as I am with this article right now.
embrace along with the possible evils it brings, is up
Since then, a cascade of discoveries including
to us. All I have to say is that genetics, dark as it can
Human Insulin (Humulin), the HeLa cell lines,
turn, is a magical remedy, something that can solve
CRISPR-CAS9 technology and a battery of other
an issue before it even arises. After all, prevention is
instruments, tests and devices have brought us to
better than cure.
known
for
its
penchant
to
create
the point of being able to edit genes at our own sweet will. Imagine a society with no disease, no illness, no trait that would make them a threat to the country’s stability. Sounds pretty utopic, doesn’t it? But, that’s where we are. We live in a world of
About the Author George B Kozhippattu, First Year MBBS, St. John's Medical College
“Justin Beiber” babies. Where everyone who can
A generally very loud person,
afford it, wants their kids to look like their favorite
who tends to quiet down at
celebrity. He Jiankui, a Chinese doctor, recently
times. I'm very interested in the
made the headlines for genetically enhancing the brains of two baby girls and this brings us to the actual question, how ethical is all this?
nuances of human nature and the occasional book and love my music
A theologist or a religious person may say that it's wrong because we’re messing around with a code that God installed within each and every one of us, but let’s put this scientifically- There’s a code. It’s reprogrammable. We know how to do it, so we did it. Is there anything wrong about that? Technology | 81
Source: clusteralisei.it
Technology, just like change, is an essential and integral
Just another article on Artificial Intelligence
part of the development and growth of humans. Artificial intelligence (or AI as the cool ones would call it) is one such
technology
that
is
gaining
the
interest
of
developers of the young generation. With technology becoming a part of our everyday lives, AI just like many other recent technology advancements has become a topic of debates and discussions in almost every household that shelters technocrats. Some consider it as a blessing and for some, it is a disaster. The funny thing is that much like the oceans and their depths are unknown, the future of artificial intelligence is equally, or even more unsure. Leaving us with a question, whether artificial intelligence is a threat or a blessing? Now, if we look into the textbook meaning of the term Artificial intelligence, it is the intelligence depicted by a machine, rather than a human. However, it has evolved
P r a r t h n a
M u k h e r j e e
as a tool for understanding human activity, predicting the next move and making life easier for us.The ability to invent intelligent machines has always fascinated us, humans, blame it on the inquisitiveness or just plain intelligence of the human brain and its need to incorporate this intelligence in these machines. We watch J.A.R.V.I.S (Just a rather very intelligent system) grow from a rule-abiding Artificial intelligence to Technology |Â 82
becoming the sass buddy of Tony Stark through
human brain.
the Iron Man Series. Artificial Intelligence research
One of the biggest side effects that people can
has now grown into the integration of computer
foresee would be unemployment. With capital-
science, with aspects of science that haven’t been
oriented
tapped into before to programme a functioning
requirements have decreased in some industries. If
robot such as, physiology, philosophy and even
in the future, human beings don’t add to their skills,
psychology. Artificial
is
then in no time they would be replaced by machines.
highly technical and streamlined. It is now based
The major issue of the GDP being stagnant or not
on
biological
growing at the expected rate is unemployment.
thinking where the AI is based on how humans
People don’t possess the required skills that are in
think and the other being factual knowledge and
demand. The scope of development in Artificial
common sense, much like the left and right sides
Intelligence is very vast. It has now become a very
of our brain. So, here are the aspects of AI which fall in the grey
common topic of discussion as to where the future of
area of development for human beings as a
humans
society. AI implementation always comes at a high cost. It
unemployment while some believe AI could be a
requires large expenses because it is a complex
depends on us and how we use ‘our intelligence’.
two
main
intelligence
aspects,
one
research
being
technologies,
human-intensive
AI leads us to. Some believe that AI replacing in
various
tasks
could
lead
to
stepping stone to a glorious future. I guess it all
machine. Other than the installation costs, there are multiple other costs for its repair and
‘Okay, Cortana Send Email.’
maintenance. Our needs are dynamic in nature and any software that is supposed to cater to our needs will require frequent upgradation for the
About the Author
same. Moreover, if there is a breakdown, the cost
Prarthna Mukherjee
and time for recovery are very high.No matter
Co-
how smart a machine becomes, it can never
student chapter. (TY - BTECH
replicate
IT)
humans
in
terms
of
emotional
Chairperson
technology
IEEE-UMIT
intelligence, as emotions are something which
A
and
music
cannot be coded into a single algorithm and
enthusiast, who is learning
programmed into them. Machines are rational
how to find the difference
which overlook emotions and moral values. They
between being hungry and
aren’t aware of the difference between what is
just simply bored.
ethical and what isn’t, as they do not possess any judgement skills of their own. They do what they are told to do and therefore their judgment of right
or
wrong
is
almost
nil
for
their
understanding. If placed in an unfamiliar situation, they either perform incorrectly or just break down. Further, machines can’t be creative. They are designed to do what they are taught. Although they can assist in designing or creating, they simply cannot match the power of a human brain.As for Humans, their thoughts are guided by feelings which are absent in machines. No matter how much a machine is developed, it cannot inherit or replicate the intuitive abilities of the Technology | 83
INTERDISCIPLINARY
HOMOECONOMICUS
Interdisciplinary
Photo Credits: Manya Singh
The question on models of economic development still remains one of the most debated issues, relevant even in present India. While the 2014 campaign was based on the same topic, it remains questionable whether the BJP model was quite different from that of the Congress. Since the
The Indian Idea of Development
economy was liberalized in 1991, Marxists have argued that all mainstream parties in India represented a similar form of economic model of governance. To separate that of BJP from the Congress would only be a result of propaganda. Whether this argument stands valid or not is the question we yet have unanswered. But my recent visit to a constituency in Madhya Pradesh did uncover a lot of unspoken grounds. The Uncrowned King In a small-town district, dominated by tribal population, lies a small private airstrip. As the private jet lands on the ground, the
king
arrives.
Kamal
Nath
was
first
elected
from
Chhindwara in 1980. As a close associate of Sanjay Gandhi, S a h i l
M .
P a r s e k a r
Kamal Nath was called the “third son of Indira Gandhi�. It has been 38 years since then, and Kamal Nath still serves as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from the same constituency - Chhindwara. He was made the Union Cabinet Minister twice, acquiring about four different portfolios. He used his ministerial position to divert resources to his constituency and with his 38 year long reign, he has certainly become the Uncrowned King of Chhindwara.
Interdisciplinary |Â 84
As my colleagues and I began our survey on the
chief factors: huge investments, encouragement to
streets of the town, we found ourselves being
private industrial sectors and the involvement of
answered with a single message - of how Kamal
multinational companies. The model is sold on similar
Nath had done a great work for this constituency.
lines as well - the liberal argument of providing
People ranging from age groups as young as nine
employment through increase in investment. It is
to the old eighty “have seen it all”, all had the same to say. We travelled to Tamia town, Janardev, Saunsad and, Chhindwara city. People of
different
occupations,
castes,and
political
orientations had nothing but praise for Kamal Nath. We even found the hardcore BJP workers admitting to the work that Kamal Nath had done. From our survey for the first two days, which recorded for about 600 participants, we didn't find a single person to have been critical of Kamal Nath. They may have a lot to argue on their residing MLA, but nothing about Kamal Nath. It
furthered
by
explaining
investment increases
how
an
increase
in
the income capacity of an
individual and his family, which raises the demand for goods
in
the
region
and
thus
brings
more
employment. This line of thought was adopted in1991and is now endorsed widely across the political class, especially after the formation of the new government. The Congress and the BJP, though sell their versions differently, but they have the same economic
model
to
offer.
Does
it
work?
The
appreciation from the locals of Chhindwara did give us the picture. The Whispers of Dissent
was certainly a matter of huge curiosity for
On the fourth day of our visit to Chhindwara, I could
students of politics as to what was the secret
barely estimate the change in the winds of the
behind the echo of praise across the constituency.
constituency. On the Pench river flowing through
Little did we know that we were missing out on
Chhindwara, a dam was being constructed, called the
whispers.
Machagora project. The dam water will be provided to
The Noise of Development
two power plants, one of which is owned by the Adani
Kamal Nath followed what could be argued to be
group. The construction of the dam has resulted in
more of a classic liberal model. Bring huge
the nearby areas drowning. The water from the river
investments to the town, increase employment opportunities and raise the per-family income of the town. Kamal Nath opened a skill training centre in the outskirts of the town. Exploiting his relations with the corporates, Kamal Nath invited the Confederation of the Indian Industry, which constitutes 10 multinational companies such as the Tata group, L&T, Voltas, Mahindra & Mahindra, TOYOTA and Cummins. The training centres provide a set of skills required as per the companies’ openings. About 60,000 students have
has reached the farming areas adjacent to the rivers. A small village of nearly 400 people, all practising farming, was reduced to being unemployed after the construction of the dam. One of the farmers of the village said, “We were farmers before; we were selfsufficient. Now that we are jobless, Kamal Nath throws us the offer of being a driver at Ashok Leyland. Is this what we have become? Slaves of this king, who orders us what profession we must practise?” The government has promised to give the families a compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh, however, the people claim that the market price of the land is around
been trained in the past four years, with a 100%
thrice the amount given to them. Furthermore, the
guaranteed employment rate. Influenced by this
government
investment, Ashok Leyland, too, has opened its
instalments. While the government has claimed to
own branch on the other side of the town,
pay 30% of the compensation, the locals reject the
providing training for drivers. The SR group has
claim.
opened its own call-centre, giving jobs to at least
In another surrounding area, one of the villages was
15,000 students. To accelerate the process, Kamal
partly under water. The temple of the village was
Nath
road
submerged, while some of the localities would remain
The Chhindwara model in every manner mirrors
levels rise. The people in the village now seemed to
has
made
heavy
investments
in
infrastructure. the Gujarat Model. It is characterized by three
is
to
give
the
compensation
in
awake at night to warn everyone in case the waterhave a collective voice of rebellion. Over here, the Interdisciplinary | 85
villagers complained that a compensation of Rs2.7
prototype. Since the Gujarat Model won the mandate
lakhs was given to them via bank accounts but
in the general elections, there is no doubt that this
since the banks cut the loan returns from the
model is being enforced throughout the country, and
received money, they have no money left to
at a fast pace. The question is whether this is an
continue farming. Having placed their concerns in
attempt to rapidly direct the economy from the
Jana-Sunvai, and getting nothing productive out of it, the people have lost their hope in their political representatives. “Neither Kamal Nath nor Shivraj (Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh) are welcome here. They are all the same. When this project was being propagated, they told us that one member of each family will be given a job. We, the illiterate, believed them. They betrayed us.” While entering another village called Dhanora, it was interesting to see the walls being inscribed with “Jay Jay Kamal Nath”. It was later revealed by
agrarian sector to the other sectors? If it was so, there would have been more of a legislative philosophy attached to it, rather than a direct assault on the farmers’ movements, so much so that the media at times fails to even publish it. Another question that stands is whether the Congress has any alternative to this? The Congress, since 1985, has made a major shift in terms of its ideology, under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi. Endorsing a liberalized economy was one of them. Though the Congress still claims
to
uphold
the
rights
of
the
farmers,
movements across India utter the names of the Congress and the BJP in the same breath.
the locals that the slogans were painted by Kamal
So, it brings us to the third question - Is it inherently in
Nath’s men, and none of the villagers support him.
the system? The kind of electoral democracy that
The villagers state that their land was already
exists in India is structured on the lines of First Past
under water and this land was given to them for
The Post system, where the highest leading candidate
resettlement. Unfortunately, the land was rock
represents the entire constituency. In such a case, the
solid, and farming was impossible there. To sum
candidate who gets about 30% of the votes wins the
up their situation, their slogan goes:
seat, because the rest 70% are fragmented amongst
“Teen’on taraf paani,
other candidates. In the case of Chhindwara, Kamal Nath has secured much more than 30% and is safe in
Ek taraf Adani,
the constituency. There is no incentive for him to
ye hai Punarvaas ki kahaani” (There is water on 3 sides, Adani on one. This is the story of the resettled villagers.)
Chhindwara
model
democratic system - Are the rights of the farmers
opened
a
book
of
questions. Are the farmers to pay the cost of development? Is “sabka saath, sabka vikas” not inclusive
of
government
farmers? at
the
farmers at the edges of his constituency. To further the question on the nature of the
The Questions Unanswered The
move beyond his electorate and think of the dying
The
state
Shivraj was
Singh-led
criticised
for
being distorted, abused, ignored; and is this the very character of a partly capitalist democracy? Indian Constitutionalists would disagree. What they would argue is that there is a difference between “the system” and those who represent it (meaning the political class and the bureaucrats). Such an argument
shooting at protesting farmers. In Chhindwara, as
is also endorsed by some of the political forces such
well, a woman activist was beaten for raising her
as the Aam Aadmi Party and certain groups of the
voice, but this time it was Kamal Nath behind
Ambedkarite ideology. Marxists, however, have a
closed doors. Is there a difference between the
contrary argument to make. Since the corporates
Congress and the BJP model? Is this system
fund the political parties, they expect monetary or
inherently such? Or isour political class too
expansionist returns. The farmers are therefore the
incompetent to uphold the spirit of the system?
obvious victims of such a system.
One of the prime concerns I have today is that the
The questions, thus, are still there, whispering in every
model followed in Chhindwara being replicated at many other places. Primarily the Gujarat Model,
unheard village in India. For all I know, for all I saw, India is Chhindwara and Chhindwara is India.
which is a large-scale expansion of the economic Interdisciplinary | 86
Source: www.meetup.com
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal In 2007, when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone, it’s major selling point was that it integrated your iPod with your cell phone. There were no social media notifications, no
Digital Minimalism
constant snapping of photos to Instagram, and absolutely no reason to glance down at your screen at least 70 times a day! In the last two decades, these devices and technologies have crept upon us, almost colonizing the core of our existence without us having the time to step back and reflect on our relationship with technology. What happened to being okay with standing in queues or commuting daily without flipping out our smartphones at every spare microsecond that we get? The answer to this lies
T a n a y a
C h a v a n
in how fast these advancements have come at leaving no room for solitude. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the smartphone generation has been stripped off of solitude, which is basically having your mind free off inputs from others. The constant FOMO and habitual surfing and scrolling have spiked up anxiety disorders rapidly. The solution to this lies in the philosophy of Digital Minimalism. Digital Minimalism: A philosophy of technology use in which Interdisciplinary | 87
you focus your online time on a small number of
But to be honest, it would not matter if we stop the
carefully selected and optimized activities that
usage of our cell phones about 90% of the time if not
strongly support things you value, and then
for the fact that it only makes our life slightly more
happily miss out on everything else.
convenient.
To put it in easy words, minimalists don’t mind
The mellifluous joy of convenience is elating but what
missing out on small things; what worries them much more is diminishing the large things they already know for sure make life good. I
first
realised
that
I
could
practice
is more joyous is the satisfaction that comes from acting with intention. i.e. taking control of the most valuable resource that we possess- time.
digital
minimalism when I understood that I prioritize maximising convenience much less than using technology to support my values. In Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, he states a heartwarming example of Dave, a creative director and a father of three. After embracing minimalism,
About the Author Tanaya Chavan is a student who is fledging digital minimalist, fond of geopolitics and calisthenics.
Dave reduced his persistent social media use to only a single service, Instagram, which he felt offered significant benefits to his deep interest in art. The reason this story is Cal’s favourite is because Dave’s own father wrote him a handwritten note every week during his freshman year of college. Touched by this gesture, Dave began drawing a new picture every night to place in his oldest daughter’s lunchbox. His children were overjoyed and Dave stated with pride how this would not have been possible if he did not protect how he spent his time. When you intentionally focus your attention on things that you value the most, it grants you a sense
of
autonomy
and
liberation.
If
you
mindlessly sign up for whatever new digital service that emerges due to vague peer pressureit is the opposite of liberation and will likely degrade your individuality. The point of the digital world is connectivity and there is nothing wrong with it. But if this connectivity is not balanced with regular doses of solitude, then it will have diminishing benefits. These digital services find their way into life through cultural pressure whilst being superfluous and
are
likely
to
hamper
our
growth
and
productivity in the long run without us even realising it! The psychological and economic impact of our relationship with technology runs deeper than we imagine. We tend to underestimate the role of it. Interdisciplinary | 88
Source: The Daly Star
We're
living
in
a
world
where
our
day
starts
from
consumption of information and ends with it as well. We're entering a new decade where the world will get closer to
Information Overload - The problems Millenials face in forming opinions
going totally digital, but still, our grandparents won't stop consuming knowledge over tea and newspapers. In such a tricky time frame that we find ourselves in, millennials find it extremely difficult to form a particular opinion on anything; whether it be a grave social/political situation, or it be just some new idea being introduced in their routine life. And this problem, especially for me, is a very important social problem. Eventually, we're going to be citizens who would affect the society and contribute in forming a government as well. A lot of causes have done their part in forming this ambiguity and indecisiveness in the minds of millenials. Firstly, the news sources that let out pieces of information only through one lens do their part in forming prejudices. Marshall McLuhan, a communication theorist had come up with a theory called "Medium is the Message," which talked about how the way of communication is more important than the message itself. And this theory is proving to be true day after day. Increasing nexus
J a a n v i
H a r i a
between
political
parties
and
news
agencies,
increasing capitalism and power politics, and compulsive pressure of constantly publishing news to stay firm in the competition result in this practice. Most news agencies have political alignments and being exposed to only one kind of
Interdisciplinary | 89
source can be very dangerous for the human brain. Other than this, bandwagons have become uncommon on social media where people just share and repost the opinions of other people that they look up to. This creates 2 problems. Firstly, one doesn't take the effort to check if the information is credible or not. And secondly, the propagated opinion gets stronger and stronger, while the circle of silence for others begins.
About the Author Jaanvi Haria is an 18 year old student of Mass Media at V.G. Vaze College, Mulund. Along with vibing over Coke Studio, she likes to anchor, write, paint and engage in social work!
Information is no more information. It reaches us through lenses that are distorted and prejudiced. We're never taught to check the credibility of the news source, or to look at one thing through different perspectives. Along with the flaws in media, we're flawed as viewers as well. All of this, collectively, makes it difficult for each one of us to actually generate our own authentic and raw viewpoint on any thriving issue. And our hesitance in looking from the other side makes this whole very issue worse.
Interdisciplinary | 90
Source: The Mileage
“Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear” -Bertrand Russell The above quote accurately suggests the eternal relation between emotion and irrationality. The article intends to examine the same. It would be fantastic if one could achieve complete rationality, yet, we, in certain ways, are bounded by our
I feel rational
mental and physical limitations to make decisions. Herbert A. Simon proposed the theory of Bounded Rationality through which it can be understood that our decision-making ability is limited by various cognitive faculties, time pressure,
S a t v i k
T r i p a t h i
emotional conditions and other cognitive biases that are presently studied under behavioural economics. (Simon, 1957) The central idea of Behavioural Economics talks of humans as cognitive misers who try to conserve energy spent on cognitive tasks through frequently taking shortcuts. For instance, our brains are primed to give preference to the first candidate book that we find attractive on a bookshelf before we’ve even had the chance to explore all of our options; or how an item costing 400 rupees may not be preferred over another that has been discounted down to 400 rupees and screams “ON SALE!”, though both may have the same
Interdisciplinary | 91
qualitative features – this not only illustrates how
particular choice, while negative affect (fear, sadness,
our
by
guilt, etc.) makes us overestimate the risks of a
fundamental visual cues in our environment but
choice. Consider the following, if I am afraid of
also by our cognitive heuristics (a fancy term for
swimming in a pool (or more precisely, drowning), I
mental shortcuts). Today we live in metropolitan
may be overestimating the danger water might pose
‘freedom
of
choice’
gets
restricted
areas, where these biases and heuristics are overwhelmingly used against us by advertisers hoping to sell one more waffle to one more individual and mark them as their consumer, but in the evolutionary stages these biases have aided our survival and growth as a species in the fastpaced wilderness and, thus, eliminating them while making decisions becomes even harder. (Ariely, 2008) Apart from Cognitive heuristics, one of the major factors on the constraint of our decision-making ability are emotions. It isn’t surprising that most of our
emotionally-driven
decisions
have
later
to my life while a crowd might be enjoying their time in the same pool that incites fear in me. In this case, though the risk for me might be the same as that of another individual, the limitation stemming here would be rather unique to me. When faced with a threat, our body’s instinctive response of fight-orflight is likely to generate either fear or anger. While fear incapacitates our cognitive ability to respond well to the threat and overestimate its hazards, anger, on the other hand, provokes optimistic yet destructive assessment of the situation. It is noteworthy that the idea of a Homo economicus, a fully rational human, is demolished through these irremovable influences in one’s own innate being. (McDermott, 2004)
brought us more grief and regret than the
Though emotions might seem to be an impediment
happiness we expected initially – unless of course
while making good decisions to some, they are great
you want to tell yourself a different story to pacify
to allow for survival in nature and have been driving
yourself. We might have, at times, simply binged
forces of motivation for time immemorial. Their role in
on food or TV shows – which brought us much
determining an individual’s attitude towards life is,
needed emotional relief for the moment only to
without
regret it within minutes of finishing up. As any
motivation and attitude towards one’s own life – are
neuroscientist would say, the limbic system, only serving its evolutionary purpose, jumps at the very opportunity of obtaining pleasure and being one of the most influential compartments of the brain in driving action, it isn’t exactly your fault either. Considering the working of these emotional mechanisms makes understanding the effect of emotions
on
decision-making
slightly
more
mechanical, instead discussing these from a cognitive
science
perspective
–
that
is
by
assessing their overall impact on the mind – would be more fruitful to the study of decision-making in Economics. The
decisions
made
during
an
emotionally
charged moment are generally more focused on the short-term as a reaction to the emotion and there’s a greater possibility that they don’t align to the individual’s needs in the longer run, thus one should
try
to
stall
making
decisions
when
emotionally strained at a given point. It has been cited
that
positive
affect
(joy,
ecstasy,
etc.)
doubt,
significant.
The
two
factors
–
the most influential factors while making decisions and efficiently executing them. Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Without music, life would be a mistake”. Emotions are the music to one’s life. It is the tunes one dances to that really determine our decision-making and executive capabilities in life and, therefore, must be accepted unconditionally if one wants to deal with them effectively.
About the Author Satvik Tripati Co-Editor-in-Chief and Head of Design at Homoeconomicus I like cognitive stimulation and am generally interested in all kinds of information. I like to play chess, go for jogs, meditate and spend time under tree shades with my favourite humans.
generally makes us overestimate the benefits of a Interdisciplinary | 92
‘HUMANS ARE GOOD AT INVENTING SOMETHINGS RATHER THAN USING THEM WISELY.’ The article is based on the book - ‘21 lessons for the 21st century’ by Yuval Noah Harari. A part of the book deals with
The Technological Challenge
the upcoming technological upgradation and the challenges that will usher in the new era of AI and algorithms. The
book
begins
with
a
very
interesting
premise-
Disillusionment of humans because of their faith in certain stories. Three stories have been in the spotlight since the dawn of the 20th century. During the late 1940s, the Nazi story underlined the superiority of the Aryan race and demanded complete devotion to Hitler to realize this dream. But with the defeat of Germany, this story came to an end. After World War 2, the communist and the capitalist liberal story came to the fore. With the disintegration of the USSR,
H r i t h i k
N i r h a l i
the communist story was defeated. It was believed that the capitalist liberal story was here to stay. But after the 2008 financial crisis and the recent nationalist, protectionist upsurges even the liberal story seems doubtful. This liberal story is further threatened by the progress in two fields: Biotech and Infotech. The development in the field of Biotech is due to a better understanding of the human body and its functioning. When it is supplemented by the rapid developments in technology, manipulation will become
Interdisciplinary | 93
easier. Till date with the help of our stored data, a
they will get the signal much earlier than we do as
search engine was able to gauge our outer world
they will receive the signal from the same network
preferences. But with the developments in these
and the chances of disaster can be reduced. It will not
two fields, our inner world may also become
completely eliminate the probability of accidents but
susceptible to manipulation, i.e., our feelings and
will surely reduce it.
emotions. One might wonder how it would be possible, as emotions are something that we experience and artificial intelligence won’t be able to understand it. But our feelings are nothing but evolutionary rationality and our emotions are nothing but products of biochemical processes which involve the exchange of signals in neurons. If these processes are deciphered, it wouldn’t be difficult to make an algorithm for understanding these patterns. Thus, our emotions and feelings wouldn’t be just understood but also shaped by the big
Even if the state brings in new rule pertaining to traffic rules, it can be updated by entering it into a single integrated network, ensuring uniformity and can be followed immediately. Thus, various fields have the threat of increase in unemployment due to the upgradation in AI. The unskilled workers who had some alternative source of employment in the Industrial Revolution era won’t be able to find other means of livelihood if the tentacles of AI spread everywhere. Besides the world might have to face another problem of lack of skilled labour due to high demand for technical knowledge for designing and operating AI systems. Thus, these twin
data stored with the MNCs. Which, clearly, comes
problems might aggravate the employment crisis.
with a compromise on our privacy. When such
AI has immense potential. It can beat the speed of
personal data is with the MNCs, they could be sold
humans and computers. A case in point would be the
to anyone- governments, advertising firms.
Chess competition between Google’s Stockfish 8
The liberal story was about humans. But with the
which
rise of the machines and AI, the very existence of
experience and Alpha Zero- an AI, which had no
jobs is under threat. One of the reasons why
previous knowledge of Chess. But within 4 hours
communism won’t survive in the 21st century is
Alpha Zero managed to learn from scratch and was
because of irrelevance. In the 20th century, strikes were organized and people protested against exploitation. But with the dawn of the AI era, the struggle would be for relevance. If the workers aren’t of any use to the company, what would be the reason to organize a protest against it who thinks the labourers are of no use? One
might
argue
that
the
fear
of
mass
unemployment prevailed during the industrial revolution but it provided some of the other kind of jobs. This was due to the edge humans
had
accumulated
decades
of
human
able to defeat Stockfish 8. We might, in a few decades, watch Chess championships between AIs. But the positive aspect of the advancement in the technology would be an increase in the efficiency and productivity of all the jobs. We will have access to better health services. We would also be able to understand ourselves in a better manner as the AI will decipher for us our own ‘complex emotions’ (a biochemical process which we cannot understand at this point of time). Governments of the countries interested in the development
of
such
technology
could
come
possessed over machines with respect to the
together to sign a treaty to regulate the development
cognitive abilities. But in the case of AI, if it
in the field of AI. If needed, the process can be slowed
manages
down to give enough time to the concerned parties
to
understand
the
biochemical
processes and the functioning of neurons, it can
whose jobs are at stake.
cause a serious threat to jobs. Two advantages of AI which separates it from the humans are its connectivity and updateability. Let us take the example of self-driven cars. If all the cars are self-driven, then the various robots driving cars would be of the single integrated network. So even if two cars are speeding towards each other, Interdisciplinary | 94
About the Author Hrithik Nirhali An Ambivert who loves to explore and expand horizons of his thinking through books and people. Ready for A PERMANENT JOB which pays for making people laugh (stand up comedian doesn't count).
Interdisciplinary | 95
Source: www.poonambachhav.blogspot.in
Last rites are the last of the sixteen austerities (Shodasha Samskaras) that need to be performed by every individual as
Research Article on the food cooked at the time of Shraaddha (last rites)
per Hinduism. While these rites are performed, there are specific food items which are supposed to be cooked in the household when Shraadha is being held. There are three types of “Paak” i.e. food, namely: “Nityapaak ” (food cooked on a daily basis), “Vratapaak ” (food cooked for a specific occasion) and “Shraaddhapaak ” (food cooked at the time of last rites). In this article, we will focus on “Shraaddhapaak”, i.e. food consumed in a household during the performance of the last rites, more specifically on the 12th and 13th day (post the death of an individual). It is to be noted that the food served on this day is considered to be a feast for the dead since the family members of the dead pray for the well being of the departed soul (attainment of moksha in the religious sense). “Shraaddhapaak” is also cooked during “Pitrupaksha” (second half of Bhaadrapada, which is the sixth month of the year as per the Hindu calendar- a period in which one shows gratitude towards the dead members of the family) and
R a s i k a
J o g a l e k a r
death anniversaries. It is suggested that this kind of food should be cooked and consumed on a daily basis. However, this is not practically and financially possible for every household
in
the
city.
Hence,
it
is
expected
that
Shraaddhapaak is rightly cooked and consumed on the aforementioned days. Let us take a look at the
Interdisciplinary | 96
Maharashtrian menu of Shraadhapaak. This menu
leaves and (Bhareet) salad of pumpkin can be
is perfectly balanced and fills all the four corners
swallowed. Kheer- the dessert is a “peya”, i.e. a drink.
of the plate. It can be described as follows: (Sides
The black chutney and the other chutneys (not the
mentioned according to the point of view of the
dry ones) are to be licked. The small pieces of coconut,
person who is eating). Before serving the food
dried dates, etc. are to be sucked, along with the
items mentioned below, the plate is purified, ie. Shuddhikaran by applying ghee and honey on it.
sesame seeds and other grains, Panchamrut (made of coconut, dried dates, sesame seeds, seeds,
jaggery,
etc),
Chutney,
Salad-
Koshimbir or Bhareet (either made of cucumber or pumpkin,
respectively,
and
curd)
and
Black
chutney (made of ginger, kokum, aamla, jaggery, etc). Right
side:
Dal/Sambar,
Kadhi
(made
slurped, just like buttermilk. Also, it comprises of all the six Rasaas (six basic tastes). For example,
Left side: Lemon, Curd, Dry chutneys made of
poppy
spiced liquid present in the specific dish. Kadhi can be
of
Vegetable made of bitter gourd is bitter, Kheer is sweet, Black chutney is astringent, vegetable made of colocasia leaves is pungent, Kadhi is sour and salt is used to maintain and to add taste to all the food items.
It
is
important
to
understand
that
Shraaddhapaak does not consist of vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, etc. which are not of Indian origin and were brought to India by Portuguese merchants and sailors. Also, it does not contain vegetables like aubergines and peas which can cause problems with
buttermilk), Fried items like Paapad and Wadas
digestion.
made of Black gram, Vegetable made of Pumpkin
Shraaddhapaak are pumpkin, bitter gourd, gaur
and Guar beans, Vegetable made of Bitter gourd
beans, etc. which can be easily grown in the backyard,
and semi-solid vegetable made of Colocasia
without any extra efforts.
The
main
vegetables
used
in
leaves. Centre: Rice with Ghee (clarified butter), Ghaarge (sweet fried puris made of pumpkin), regular Rotis, Kheer made of rice and Laddoos made of semolina.
आहारस_भवंव_तु, रोगाहारस_भवा:| This subhashita from Ayurveda believes that body functions are maintained and dysfunctions are healed through food. Thus, it is important to study these ingredients well and cook and consume it carefully.
It is to be noted that the food items mentioned
Ingredients like lemon, curd, amla, ginger, black gram,
above can be freely cooked and consumed
pumpkin and bitter gourd effect on one’s diet
without any inhibition, however, they are of
immensely
remarkable significance at the time of last rites.
between the three doshas, that is, Kafa, vata and
The micro flavouring ingredients like
Amla,
pitta. To conclude, while we are all trying to go back
ginger, jaggery, asafoetida and cumin seeds.are
to our traditional cuisine to seek better nutrition, it
also used for the purpose of facilitating the
should be noted that Shraaddhapaak shouldn’t be
digestion of food which contains ingredients which can possibly cause a problem in the stomach. There are certain reasons why this cuisine is considered ideal. These reasons are related to the environment, health, nutrition and various other factors. According to “Soopashastra” (the oldest Indian cookery book found till date), a meal should consist
of
six
categories
of
food,
that
is,
and
help
in
maintaining
a
balance
missed out upon since it is a balanced square meal. Rather
than
considering
Shraaddhapaak
as
something inauspicious, it is time to rebrand its significance in terms of health, nutrition, culture and overall lifestyle. Shraaddhapaak, in 21st century, is a bridge that connects our past to the present as it is not only a simple meal but carries a truckload heap of heritage, memories and culture, which makes it an integral part of food history.
“Bhakshyam” (to chew), “Bhojyam” (to swallow), “Peyam” (to drink), “Leham” (to lick), “Chyoshyam” (to suck) and “Pitcchilam” (to slurp). Rice, roti and Wada are chewable. Vegetables of colocasia Interdisciplinary | 97
About the Author
Rasika Jogalekar I'm a classical dancer and a Rotaractor. Generally, I like to write stuff which is mellow and a bit philosophical. I like to travel and explore food and culture.
Interdisciplinary | 98
Manavdharmashastra is the original name of Manusmriti-Â the treatise about the laws of people. It is an ancient Indian text on Dharmashaastras- or the fundamental laws in society, dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century C.E. It was composed for an era where the King was the head of the kingdom. Thus there was complete control of the government over the economic activity in the kingdom. An elaborate network of
Economic Insights from Manavdharmashastra K a l y a n i
S a t h e
Village-Lords, Superintendents as well as supervising officers and ministers is mentioned, which talks about thoughtful decentralisation of responsibilities. Thus the functioning of the economic system was very different than that of a democratic system. The composition of the society too played an important role in the economy. Following are the economic insights gained from Manusmriti: Varna System and livelihood: The Varna system is an aspect of significance in the context of Manavadharmashastra and of the economics discussed in it, as the subject matter is structured according to the composition of the society. The treatise explains the means of livelihood to be availed by the people belonging to each community, which was as follows: Brahmins: Subsisted by teaching, conducting yajnyas for themselves and others and by alms received. It is mentioned explicitly that the King was supposed to
Interdisciplinary | 99
provide for the wealth and prosperity of the
Currency and weights and measures:
Brahmins. It was advised that the King should
Gold, Silver and Copper were the three metals that
organise many yajnyas and pay generous fees to
were used to make coins. Karshapana or Pana was
the Brahmins.
made from Copper, Suvarna and Nishka were made of
Kshatriyas: It was their duty to protect the people as warriors or soldiers. Remuneration was given to them as wages, or a fraction of the wealth procured after winning battles and invasions. Vaishyas:
Cattle-rearing,
money-lending,
etc.
agriculture, were
their
trade, main
occupations. The Vaishyas relied on the Profits they earned from their business for income. Shudras: Service, and worked as labourers, mechanics or artisans. They were usually paid wages, in both cash and kind. It is mentioned that the wages to be paid to servants and
Gold. Pala is one of the weights used. The description of weights and measures and corresponding coins are explained in detail in the Manusmriti. Money-lending and interest: There is no proper distinction seen between usury and
interest
standards
in
have
Manusmriti. been
However,
described
about
certain money
lending. The money lender, who was usually a Vaishya, was allowed to demand interest on the capital lent. Usury was considered as a sin. The rate of 18% a month was allowed, but it was considered high. It was usurious lending to lend at any rate above 5%. It is said that taking interest at the rates 2%, 3%, 4% or
women employed by the King were 1 Pana per
5% per month was not a sinful act- meaning that
day for the lowest kind of servant and 6 Panas
taking higher interest was a sin. In case of one-time
per day for the highest kind. They were also to
payment of interest, the amount should not be more
be given clothing once in six months and one
than double of the principal amount. In case of food
Dron (measures capacity- approx. 10kg) of
grains, fruit, etc, it was not to be more than 5 times. A
grains every month.
pledge was not to be used by force or the lender
It is important to note that there are 9 ways of
would lose interest and at times, would have to pay
earning livelihood (the tenth being practising
the principal amount to the borrower. Also, no
economy and making do with whatever less wealth
one
Learning,
has),
according
Mechanical
work,
to
Manusmriti:
Wage,
Service,
Rearing cattle, Trade, Agriculture, Alms, and Money-lending.
laws: If we are to divide the occupations according to modern sectors, they would be as follows:
compound interest, periodical, stipulated or corporal (in form of labour) was prohibited.
forest
Prices for all marketable goods were decided and fixed by the King himself. It is said in the Manusmriti that the King should fix the prices of all goods, taking into consider where they come from and where they are sent- place of manufacturing and transportation
a) Primary sector: of
profit to the creditor. Forms of lending such as
Price determination:
Composition of the national product and tax
Collection
interest could be demanded if the pledge yielded
cost, how long have they been stocked for, profit,
produce:
Timber,
honey,
outlay, etc. the prices should be fixed once in five
medicinal herbs, aromatic substances, flowers,
nights, or once in fifteen nights. Kullukabhatta, one of
fruits, roots, etc.
the most revered commentators of Manusmriti,
Agriculture: food-grains and vegetables
explains that, in case of those goods which are
Animal husbandry and mining.
irregular (probably in terms of supply) and unstable
b) Secondary sector: Textiles, cane and leather
(perhaps in terms of prices), the prices should be
articles, stone articles, earthenware, housing etc.
revised once in five days (nights) while those of a
c) Services: Various services provided- education,
regular nature should be revised once in 15 days. It is
yajnya, health, money-lending, as also services provided by slaves, courtesans, etc.
also mentioned that all prices, taxes, etc. should be decided by consulting the concerned authorities on the subject, understanding the intricacies of sales and Interdisciplinary | 100
purchase, cost of production transportation of
suggested rate for tax was 1/6th.
goods, expenses of traders of food, and keeping in
For goods like clarified butter, meat, perfumes,
mind the general welfare of the traders.
earthen vessels and stone articles, again the rate is1/6th. On increments received on gold or cattle, a king
Tax laws: It is important to note, the taxes were collected in both cash and kind. Brahmins or Shrotriyas- those who were well versed in Vedas were generally were exempted from paying taxes, for their means of livelihood were limited and generally provided for by the king when the Brahmins completed their education. Not much is described about the taxes paid be Kshatriyas. Thus the burden of taxes fell completely on Vaishyas and Shudras, who were the most significant contributors to the economy. The tax rates were different for different types of produce.
was supposed to collect 0.2% or 0.5% as a tax. This sums up the taxes imposed on the produce by Vaishyas. The Shudras, who provided various services, or took up work as mechanics, artisans or labourers, were not required to pay tax in cash or kind. The Manusmriti says that they should provide their service for the king, once a month. Generally, the taxes were paid annually. An interesting verse in Manusmriti gives a fleeting reference to something like the modern-day GST, but it refers only to saleable goods and not services. It says that, the king should collect 1/20th of the amount fixed as a price for every saleable
Agricultural produce:
commodity as a tax. There are no exemptions or
Vegetables and food grains.
diversified rates for different types of produce.
Manusmriti suggests that the king should
Physically challenged, mentally challenged, visually
collect 1/8th, 1/12th or 1/6th of the agricultural
challenged people as well as people who were
produce as tax.
Specifically, 1/6th of the
above the age of 70 years were exempted from
vegetables cultivated and 1/8th of the food
paying taxes. It is a sign of a benevolent and lenient
grains.
system, quite similar to the modern tax system in
Also, it suggests to collect only 1/12th of the produce, probably referring to near-to-drought years or unfavourable conditions. Contrarily, Manusmriti also suggests that during the time of calamities, such as wars, the king may demand 25% of the produce as taxes, only if he can afford to protect the citizens from the calamity. Otherwise, if he fails to do so, he will sink to hell. One must note that agricultural income was taxed. It was not exempted from taxable
India. Secondly, there are tax deductions for physically or mentally challenged individuals and the family members they are dependent upon. The Manusmriti suggests the king to not overtax the population of the kingdom. Doing so would not only impoverish the population, but also be of no use to him. Since the Vaishyas and Shudras were the most prominent taxpayers, they were the most active contributors to the economy. In fact, the Manusmriti itself says, that if they refrain from working, the world would fall into confusion.
income, the way it is done today. In fact, it was the most taxed income from other, 1/6th, i.e.
Means of revenue to the State:
16%. This reflects the prosperity in agricultural
In general, it can be said that Taxes on income from
sector- both farming and agro-based industries.
all sectors, taxes on marketable goods, fines, tolls,
Also, the inclusion of 8% rate shows the
duties, seizure of property, and booty found after
flexibility in the system, regarding the level of
winning battles- chariots, animals, money, food-
output due to calamities.
grains, valuable metals, etc were the main sources of revenue to the kingdom.
Forest produce: Wood, honey, medicinal herbs, spices and condiments, fruits and roots, grass, etc. The
However, not much is said about expenditure of the revenue, in Manusmriti. It only emphasises upon the duty of the king to “protect” his subjects from Interdisciplinary | 101
“calamity�, against taking taxes and tolls. It threatens the king, that if he cannot provide protection to his kingdom, even after taking taxes and customs and duties and tolls, he shall sink to hell. Thus it can be interpreted, that, the king was held accountable by the taxpaying population for all sorts of protection of both life and property as also interests.
variety of subjects ranging from diet to war strategies to punishments and fines for various crimes as well as means of Salvation. In spite of not being restricted to one subject i.e. Economics, Manusmriti
Kalyani Shreenivas Sathe A student of Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College, studying in SYBA. I have a great fascination for Ancient Indian History, Indian Mythology and
Apart from this, the Manusmriti sheds light on a
the
About the Author
gives
many
insights
into
Sanskrit language and literature. I love Jane Austen's works and I am a Potterhead (Sorted, into Gryffindor, by the way). I play the Harmonium and am currently learning vocal Hindustani Classical music.
organising an economy. It is interesting to study the similarities and differences in the eco-political norms of two different eras in the same country.
Interdisciplinary | 102
Source: timoelliot
Thales, one of the earliest thinkers from Greek believed that water was the source of the entire creation. Albeit, his belief isn't in sync with modern scientific developments at all but it proved one important point, that is, water is essential for the
Water Policy: A Summary
existence of life on the planet. It is a known fact that the distribution of water on earth itself is highly uneven. Only 3% of the total water available is used for human consumption and other activities. Hence, our lives would revolve around (below mentioned) Coleridge's lines if we don't conserve water in the present. Water, water, everywhere ,And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. Water is needed for a variety of purposes –agricultural,
D i s h a
S h a n b h a g
domestic, hydropower, navigation, recreation, etc in our day to day lives and hence it is highly preposterous to imagine a future without its existence. Many reasons other than significant growth in population like waterlogging, soil sanity, a sudden occurrence of manmade and natural disasters like floods and droughts, exploitation of groundwater resources have further led to its depletion and climate crisis which has contributed in worsening the water crisis. It also needs to be noted that freshwater exists in different forms in different regions, that is, ice in glaciers, liquid form in
Interdisciplinary | 103
lakes, rivers and underground. Moreover, the
believed that the water crisis was a result of improper
availability of water doesn't guarantee efficient
governance and unspecific policies more than poor
distribution of it among the topographically
infrastructure and technological issues which highly
diverse regions of the globe. The scarcity of this
contributed to forming a strong policy in this domain.
resource
In 1987, the first National Water Policy was articulated
and
its
immense
value
as
an
indispensable human need makes it an asset of global and national worth. Therefore, it is essential to formulate policies regarding it at a national as well
as
global
level.
The
planning
systems
primarily study water as a resource and then formulate
policies
by
critically
analyzing
all
possible aspects of it. On the global front, while some organizations are working towards this cause, the most prominent one seems to be the UN-Water, an organizational body under the United Nations that is solely devoted to water conservation and sanitation.
and it put the basics in place. It was formulated from a socialist point of view and hence believed that justified and adequate water rates will ensure that it is accessed by all. Rigid compartmentalized divisions were created regarding water allocations and the priority was given to drinking water followed by irrigation and hydropower. The policy was first updated in 2002 and various changes were made with the response to the changing technological and social advancements. Non-conventional methods like an artificial recharge of groundwater, desalination of seawater as well as traditional methods like rainwater harvesting were proposed for conservation and from
Established in 2003, it has achieved various
preventing
milestones when it comes to tackling the water
globalization,
crisis through a three-point method –First, Inform
gained priority over-irrigation and other multipurpose
Policies, Second, Monitor and Report & Third
projects. The 2012 update, came up with very
Inspire Action. A few of the major contributions of
stringent
this organization include placing the issue of
principle and institutionalization of community-based
sufficient water supply and sanitation in the 2030
water systems.
Agenda for Sustainable development, celebrating
While each update bettered the policy, we haven't
22nd March as World Water Day with the hope of creating
awareness
among
the
masses
and
declaring March 22, 2018 to March 22,2028 as the International
Decade
for
Action-Water
for
further
exploitation.
ecology,
In
the
agro-industries,
recommendations
like
age
of
navigation
'polluter
pays'
witnessed any visible benefits of it. Loopholes like "water is a state subject and central has no right over making policies regarding it" come in the middle of larger national projects.
sustainable development. At home, the situation is much worse. As per the Composite
Water
Management
Index
Report
released by the Niti Aayog in 2018, more than 18 metropolitan cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are going to run out of groundwater by 2020. Other than that, we experience drastic differences between the experiences of two regions within the same country, that is, while a city
like
Chennai
is
living
in
drought-like
About the Author Disha Ramnath Shanbhag A part time nobody who doesn't mind dishing her opinions on days she doesn't have a Jane Austen novel to read.
conditions due to major scarcity of water, Mumbai is highly flooded and the rainy season seems to be never-ending. Although the Indian government first took notice of the dwindling condition back in 1985 under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and
Ganga
Rejuvenation,
a
global
concern
emerged in the late nineteenth century that Interdisciplinary | 104
As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality exist in the world, none of us can truly exist. – Nelson Mandela
Photography by Manya Singh
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