"Open Letter To Indian Change Seekers" by Chetan Bhagat.

[Nova]

The correct way would be to help build a culture which "encourages" such service and rewards the experience. A society built on carrot & stick philosophy only does harm.

I agree and Indian education system does not have the culture of volunteering. It's all about grades and how much you score in the entrance exams.

[Clarke]

The so called Fourths, they comprise the vast majority of India, close to 90% as per the author. It will be incredibly hard to expect the thirds to fight for the fourths. The feasible route in my opinion might be for the thirds to provide some leadership and guidance and some participation, but a small percentage of the fourths can by virtue of their numbers demand substantial reforms from the ones. WRT compulsory service, it should be at least required from: a) Those studying on govt money/assistance (includes most doctors and many engineers) b) Those using reservations If you're gaining from govt schemes, please pay back by some means :rtfm:

[Crookbond]

Of course not' date=' but don't link those two issues. I gave example of the medical profession as it would help the less fortunate. Mandatory rural service in this case, at least in government institutions, is primarily because of subsidized education (including quota reservations). It is justified, in my opinion.[/quote'] In government institutions well is a different story as it is a bargain for cheaper education. Btw, is it only restricted for government institutions or for all medical professionals? I am not sure. And I am not surprised why - in a country where people find it difficult to have square meals a day the focus will always be on access to better quality living. Currently, the best (and ironically the easiest) way to that is good education. To do that, you require grades and the cycle goes on. I have seen/heard many professors lamenting about the same factor - students study only for grades - in premier institutions of India. However, when I ask them if they are ready to have "no-exam courses" they promptly wash their hands off. Talk about double standards!

[vvvslaxman]

The so called Fourths, they comprise the vast majority of India, close to 90% as per the author. It will be incredibly hard to expect the thirds to fight for the fourths. The feasible route in my opinion might be for the thirds to provide some leadership and guidance and some participation, but a small percentage of the fourths can by virtue of their numbers demand substantial reforms from the ones. WRT compulsory service, it should be at least required from: a) Those studying on govt money/assistance (includes most doctors and many engineers) b) Those using reservations If you're gaining from govt schemes, please pay back by some means :rtfm:

Indian middle class population is over 250 million.. That is over 20%.. I think we should redistribute wealth :cantstop:

[Clarke]

Indian middle class population is over 250 million.. That is over 20%.. I think we should redistribute wealth :cantstop:

Mr. Bhagat is referrring to threes/thirds as 10%. The Ones & Twos would be less than 0.1%, which means the fours are ~ 90%. The so called middle class includes many who struggle on a month to month basis.

[Lurker]

WRT compulsory service, it should be at least required from: a) Those studying on govt money/assistance (includes most doctors and many engineers) b) Those using reservations If you're gaining from govt schemes, please pay back by some means :rtfm:

Love the simple idea of if you gain from govt's scheme, please pay back to the community. It may not be very difficult to implement either. Resident medical students can provide assistance in the local Govt hospitals. Finance and Commerce grads can help with loans/tax and many other schems. etc etc.

[vvvslaxman]

Mr. Bhagat is referrring to threes/thirds as 10%. The Ones & Twos would be less than 0.1%' date=' which means the fours are ~ 90%. The so called middle class includes many who struggle on a month to month basis.[/quote'] India has 48 billionaires.. Redistribute it alerady :icflove: But millionaire club dropped by 18%. Now just 125,000 millionaires are there.

[The Outsider]

He has missed out on one important group which facilitates the corruption, is deeply entrenched in it, and to get rid of which numbers 3 and 4 have no power. That is the corrupt bureaucrats, police officers, judiciary, and in general the large government machinery which gives a damn about anyone except making money and serving their masters ie. the number 1s. This group is a subset of number 3 and to some extent number 4 and is as big a part of the problem as the number 1s and 2s.

[Clarke]

India has 48 billionaires.. Redistribute it alerady :icflove: But millionaire club dropped by 18%. Now just 125' date='000 millionaires are there.[/quote'] Don't punish the job creators :hitler: I have wondered about it though, 30% upper limit on tax without any state income tax is jolly good for the rich guys. Then there's a bunch of tax evaders, less than 3% of the country files income tax :mad: http://in.news.yahoo.com/less-3-percent-file-income-tax-return-india-130206333--finance.html

[coffee_rules]

What's with Indian writers and middle-class criticism? Even ARoy claims that the Naxal problem is because of Indian middle-class being self-centered and are supporting the govt over Naxals. Middle-class is supposedly happy and thriving in the current economic boom. Middle-class is immaterial, even in this situation there is some hue and cry in the social media and people are indulging themselves in some candle-light vigils and fancy dress shows on the streets. But it will die down in a few days. Women are still getting raped and police can;t do much overnight. People will go back to Chalta-hain attitude in a few days.

[beetle]

This guy is confused with the 3 and 4. If three is middle class and four is lower class then his argument about ridiculing the views of the forth class doan't make sense. Most of the apologists with the taliban mentality are middle class or upper middle class financially.These people don't need the sympathy from the 3 as they are far more powerful than the 3. If his 3 is the urban middle class ...then he should know that this class has emerged from the fourth lclass by sheer hard work and by being responsible. A class that chose to educate their children,restricted the size of their families and chose to open up their mind .His attempt to guilt the 3 into believing that they are responsible for the problems of 4 is stupid and delusional.The 3 work hard ,pay their taxes and try to better their lot . They are not responsible for uplifting the 4 It is the responsibility of 1 to look after 4 and uplift them They make policies,rules,they enforce them .Hold these people responsible. If this article was about the gender issue that the nation has woken up to ...then this guy is just barking up the wrong tree. Every class is responsible for the misery of the female in their class.Female feteocide appens in every class. This is a crime that happens within the same class. 90% rapes are commited by people the victim knows and hence most likely from the same class. A very average article by a very average writer.

[Lurker]

What's with Indian writers and middle-class criticism? Even ARoy claims that the Naxal problem is because of Indian middle-class being self-centered and are supporting the govt over Naxals. Middle-class is supposedly happy and thriving in the current economic boom. Middle-class is immaterial, even in this situation there is some hue and cry in the social media and people are indulging themselves in some candle-light vigils and fancy dress shows on the streets. But it will die down in a few days. Women are still getting raped and police can;t do much overnight. People will go back to Chalta-hain attitude in a few days.

Arundhati Roy is an extreme case, but when it comes to Naxalism it definitely has to do at least a bit with the middle class. Put it this way, Naxalism has existed in India since 60s when it started in Naxalbari and then moved to the rest of the country. And yet if you ask an average Indian on the street on what Naxals fight for, what are their grievance, what are their philosphy, who provides them weapons and funds, and how best to address the case - there is a good chance they do not have any idea. That is a good 40 years after this thing happened, and usually kills hundreds, if not thousands of security forces every year. I dont expect Politicians or Industrial elite to do much. I mean there is a reason this block is considered cut off from the aam janta, and not only in India but in most countries. But it is surprising to see it seen shrug off by average middle class.

[coffee_rules]

Arundhati Roy is an extreme case, but when it comes to Naxalism it definitely has to do at least a bit with the middle class. Put it this way, Naxalism has existed in India since 60s when it started in Naxalbari and then moved to the rest of the country. And yet if you ask an average Indian on the street on what Naxals fight for, what are their grievance, what are their philosphy, who provides them weapons and funds, and how best to address the case - there is a good chance they do not have any idea. That is a good 40 years after this thing happened, and usually kills hundreds, if not thousands of security forces every year. I dont expect Politicians or Industrial elite to do much. I mean there is a reason this block is considered cut off from the aam janta, and not only in India but in most countries. But it is surprising to see it seen shrug off by average middle class.

Naxal problem started from people in villages/tribals were exploited by zamindars and they had to fight back using force. The middle-class originated from the same people who moved to cities, educated themselves and are self-sufficient. Why should they care about naxals and why is it their responsibility?

[Lurker]

Naxal problem started from people in villages/tribals were exploited by zamindars and they had to fight back using force. The middle-class originated from the same people who moved to cities' date= educated themselves and are self-sufficient. Why should they care about naxals and why is it their responsibility?

Isn't that the crux of the whole argument? That the middle class is at best indifferent, and at worst selfish and self-centered?

[Mariyam]

Isn't that the crux of the whole argument? That the middle class is at best indifferent' date=' and at worst selfish and self-centered?[/quote'] What can the middle class / upwardly mobile Indians do about naxalism? Apart from being concerned? It is a political/military problem. The solution also has to be such, hopefully more political than military. Come to think of it, no major party in India has anything about ending the naxal issue in their manifestos. Is there any demographic (middle class/poor or even the bureaucrats) which actively wants this issue sorted out, apart from those immediately affected by it?

[Lurker]

What can the middle class / upwardly mobile Indians do about naxalism? Apart from being concerned? It is a political/military problem. The solution also has to be such, hopefully more political than military. Come to think of it, no major party in India has anything about ending the naxal issue in their manifestos. Is there any demographic (middle class/poor or even the bureaucrats) which actively wants this issue sorted out, apart from those immediately affected by it?

And middle class is the biggest piece of the group that does not participate, or rather participates in status-quo. What can be done by middle class is dependent entirely on perspective. For starters, it would help that middle class acknowledges the problem and understands it. I bet more middle class members know how many centuries Virat Kohli has scored than how many states of India suffer from the menace of Naxalism today.

[Crookbond]

And middle class is the biggest piece of the group that does not participate, or rather participates in status-quo. What can be done by middle class is dependent entirely on perspective. For starters, it would help that middle class acknowledges the problem and understands it. I bet more middle class members know how many centuries Virat Kohli has scored than how many states of India suffer from the menace of Naxalism today.

And that's that - neither of what you say actually "helps" the problem. The onus on solving the problem is by people who rule not the one's who they rule. By your logic, every problem in the country should be solved by the middle class.

[coffee_rules]

Isn't that the crux of the whole argument? That the middle class is at best indifferent' date=' and at worst selfish and self-centered?[/quote'] We are concerned about how to uplift our family or close circle of friends and relatives. If everybody does that, the world will be a better place. By denouncing cricket and just become aware of Naxal issue/problem, will not solve the issue. We need political clout, which is lacking and that is how we ended up being middle class. I believe in Ayan Rand totally.. "ŵo love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self esteem, is capable of love - because he is the only man capable of holding firm, consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed value. The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone ― Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness "

[vvvslaxman]

Honest politicians required. An uneducated former Chief minister has done so many things Kamraj Achievements During British regime the education was only 7 percent. But in Kamaraj’s period it was 37% . During Rajaji’s period there were 12000 schools in the state.Whereas it was 27000 in the period of Kamaraj. Power supply in all the villages , industrial growth were in the period of Kamaraj. Tamils compared the education to our eyes. Hence Tamilians were considered as genius . Kamaraj who hailed from this group made a revolution in education. He removed the system of communal education started by Rajaji. He ordered to re-open the 6000 elementary schools closed by Rajaji. Moreover he opened 14000 new schools. During first plan schools which were 21500 in number had gone upto 26750 during 2nd plan which crossed over 30,000 later. Likewise the admission of students also went up gradually from 25 lakhs to 33.8 and to 46.1 lakhs. During 3rd plan it was decided to admit 14 lakhs more students. The result of Kamaraj’s work was there for all to see. There was an all-round development with village as the nucleus. By inducting colleagues like Shri R. Venkataraman and C. Subramaniam in his Ministry he paved the way for the growth of industrial, agricultural and educational sectors.Tamilnadu set itself as an example for other States to emulate.

[Mariyam]

And middle class is the biggest piece of the group that does not participate, or rather participates in status-quo. What can be done by middle class is dependent entirely on perspective. For starters, it would help that middle class acknowledges the problem and understands it. I bet more middle class members know how many centuries Virat Kohli has scored than how many states of India suffer from the menace of Naxalism today.

Lurks, I'm not sure I follow your point here. How would the middle class acknowledging a problem that is beyond the realm of their influence change anything? The middle classes, by and large, acknowledge the problem of terrorism. A problem that directly impacts an urban middle class Indian. Many people will can name the various terrorists/groups, dates on which major terror attacks took place, where Dawood Ibrahim stays etc. Has the acknowledgement helped us as a society to fight terror? IMO, our middle class, is one which is likes staying in its zone of comfort. Be it economically or socially vis a vis others. But one thing I would not accuse the middle class of is being ignorant. They are quite aware of the naxal menace. Whether or not they are concerned is a question of perspective. :winky: PS: I don't know how many centuries Kohli has to his name. :D