Towards fraternity

He was thriving to write something. In his mind, he is always like writing something. He questions a lot. He talks to himself for hours. It is like an endless conversation. It goes on and on; searching for some person or some idea or some thought to guide the conversation. The arguments he makes with his own mind are just very fiery. Many times it seems like he actually wants to prove some point in a very classy academic manner where he believes he is actually following some sort of methodology. No answers are actually found. He usually ends up having some direction. He believes that in these directions he will be able to go ahead following certain absolute rules. At the same time he knows that there are no absolute rules to go ahead in life. This too he has found out through that conversation with himself. Isn't it amazing to think out contradictory things being in the same conversation! This is the beauty of this. This is what he considers.

His views today are fighting with many more ideas that he observes while interacting with society. It is many times very interesting for him and often irritating for him. He feels like irritation is caused not because of somebody’s views but because his own poor appetite to digest those views. He actually admits and believes that ‘digesting a new view’ is the first step to take a thought or an idea to the conversation. Many people told him that his ‘so believed methodology’ would lead him no-where. But he is so stubborn in some strangely arrogant manner, but in many sense he has polite ways to stick to his ideas of his methodology to think. Simply explaining the steps, he has many times asked others to understand or at least try to give a thought. His methodology in simple steps can be described as following. Step 1: have an idea through any channel of communication possible. Step 2: digest it. ‘Digesting’ means receive the idea with no disturbance to your peace of mind. Step 3: analyse the idea or a view from already prevailed lens of ideology and find the questions. Step 4: ask the questions to your mind and try to get some logical answers. Step 5: let the unanswered or the not so satisfactory answers to improve by having more points from the external as well as internal discussions about that. Step 5: iterate the same process unless you figure out some sort of theory or logical fact or some sort of rule Step 6: experiment the outcome in reality and enjoy the results. Step 7: iterate the process aiming improvement in the society and most importantly in you.

It is hard to believe but many times he asks himself how human thinks; rationally or just arbitrarily? If arbitrary is not so celebrated way, why we cannot learn how to think a bit rationally in some organized way! This does not stop anyone to have different views. It does not curtail natural right to think and follow. It does improve our capacity to fraternize; to live together with harmony. How? It is because, if we think in a bit organized way and in some rationale way, we will be able to have views that would be either accepted logically by all or rejected rationally by all since all are following the same system of thinking in life that is rationale thinking. Don’t you think the final solution to all those conflicting-societies lies somewhere in our way to think? Many believe it is my right to think the way I wish. His message does not stop anyone to think in his or her own way of thinking. He just suggest you to add a very effective component in your thinking style and that is of rationality; a minimum level of logic, not more than that. And, in all this the aim is to have more capability in all of us to fraternize among. Human race will prosper with its best positive rate in the environment of fraternity. It is what he believes and it is what he wish all to understand.

Remembering the fundamental duties stoned in the most sacred document of all Indians and perhaps all democrats in the world the  Constitution of India, it is an urge of humble to consider them and reconsider them as many times as one can do in a life to enhance the prevailing circumstance of society towards a thriving culture of the future. 

It  is mentioned in the Part IV (A) of the Constitution that it is a fundamental duty  

(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement; 

(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;

Well, it is a known fact that the intellectual honesty is a rare phenomenon, but the possession of which is a must if we want to be considered as a dependable, intelligent and foresighted group of people- a nation! It is an expectation perhaps with faith in society's collective acumen. 

Think about...
Towards fraternity..!   

Right to Access Internet? o please!

Transformation creating a need

It is always of a subject of great debate when anyone solicits for a 'right' to be introduced in a democratic country like India founded and nurtured by the stalwarts like Gandhi, Nehru, Maulana, Ambedkar and V. J. Patel etc. Entire foundation of the Indian independence struggle is some how based on our peoples' screaming brawls imploring their fundamental rights to a ruthless state of those days when our stalwarts provided much needed leadership. This nation's birth is out of our need to have fundamental rights in a way. It is almost like obligatory for its nationals to discuss about the right they want!

It was a day of 14 August, 1995 when the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) - Rajiv Gandhi's brain child, launched India's first full internet service for public access with multiple 64kbps links. Since then the era of electronic communication and information technology has changed the landscape of Indian information society at least for the urban Indians very substantially and drastically. The extent of impact can be understood by noting that today the public debate is going on about introducing the 'Right to access internet'. 

In this back drop, to opine  upon the subject comprising internet access and fundamental right is quite an exciting one for many. Here, it is tried to have something on right, duty and internet access and how it can be made possible to have it working in the most appropriate way.  

Right to access information society

At the world stage the discussion about the right to access internet has been going on since 2000. The discussion boils down to the matters related to "Right to access information society" and the main aim is to eradicate the 'digital divide' in the society. Digital divide is considered inhuman or against the doctrine of equality. That is why the state (i.e. government in a way) is obliged to kill it by different ways. Here, one should also understand that it is always important for the state to rationalize the decision to introduce anything as a 'right'. And, the lead that the state can derive is usually from the doctrines like of justice, liberty, fraternity, equality etc. as far as India is concerned. Now, in this case it is simple to take lead to rationalize this from the doctrine of equality. 

An intensely dependent right  

Now since this proposed right is more dependent on infrastructure and the capabilities of the citizens like connectivity and e-literacy, what is to be thought out is how to make it possible to introduce a revolution that can lead us to the scenario where we have considerable infrastructure and e-literacy to introduce this right universally. So, the 'public representatives' and ' law makers' are imagined and understood here as the agents of change. The change that they may bring in the society is obliged by the means of 'fundamental duty'. That means the introduction of this as a 'fundamental duty' and right may inspire up to that extent where ground realities can be seen as improved over a period of time. When the state may see this as happened, that would be the day to introduce the right to have high speed internet connectivity and access internet that too justiciably! 

Doing it the other way around

Let us think the other way. Think to make it compulsory; that is a 'fundamental duty' for all the 'law makers' and 'public representatives'. It would be more effective since the bunch of people it may target would be practical. The duty can be- "to access internet productively to be properly updated and informed about the ideas and issues of governance emerging out of any place in the world and improve governance subsequently." Considering the situation of connectivity and computer or e-literacy, this proposal has two parts. 

Part 1: 

Where the duty is put with the "justiciable" dimension to it which makes it more enforceable for higher assembly members and Urban Local Body (ULB) members since they have more adequate internet infrastructure than rural areas. Roughly, this may target some 700 MPs, 4000 MLAs, 300 MLCs and 70000 ULB members; in total around 75 thousands may be brought under this proposal. 

Part 2:

Exclusively for the Panchayati Raj Institutions' (PRIs') members, this duty will be a fundamental one but not justiciable considering the situation of connectivity and computer or e-literacy as of now. Roughly, this will target some 15000 district panchayat members, 150000 intermediate Panchayat members and 25 lakh village Panchayat Members; in total around 27 lakh people!

Views are welcome to improve this!