A stroll from troll

The world is increasingly becoming virtual,

With friends having full freedom to stroll,

Even when one restricts posts on ones wall,

There is always the danger of a troll.

A real-life banter can also end up in brawl,

Breaking a bone or two can be for real,

It is no consolation for the Internet scrawl,

When your friendly foe holds you on trial.

Their slander campaign will make you boil,

Slowly and steadily it could drain your fuel,

Engage with utmost care to avoid turmoil,

Conserve for larger issues that need your gruel.

If a troll is still making life a hell-hole,

A stroll will keep you away from that troll.

Also listen to: A stroll in an exotic place.

[PS: Edited on 27 Sept 2014 where I replaced the last two lines. The earlier version was: 'If a troll is still taking your toll,/A stroll will take you on a roll.'] 

Visit to Amana Colonies

Today it was a nice surprise as one of my friends from University of Hyderabad student days, Lakshmi who was doing her linuistics there, came over from Nebraska with her husband, Madhusudhan (Masa) and son, Miti who has entered his teen. It was nice because we did not interact much during our student days; of course, we have been in touch virtually in recent years. The hightlight was the gift with the tag 'good teachers think out of the box.' They came down with us to Amana colonies and it was a nice time spent.

Amana colonies, like the Amish villages we went yesterday, have a German origin. The Amaa colonies have a lot of handicrats - furniture, wollen, restaurant, brewery and other shops. It is a nice outing for a Sunday.

At the brewery we chatted up with people about American history, culture and politics. How it is perfectly right for an Iowan to talk about weather and pets but it is more about politics and who you claim to know at Washington DC and people will hardly have any time in New York leading to the saying that if you stop moving then you will be run over. Coming from a fast-paced Mumbai, one can empathise with this, as one has also heard umpteen times that the only place faster than  Mumbai is New York.

There was a discussion on taxation and how the rich can always get away by paying less. The emphasis on private property means that many people argue against taxes being used for distribution purposes. Instead, low taxes and investments are argues as alternatives for gererating employment and in that sense spreading out the reach of wealth through some trickle down.

On government expenditure, it is the defense that takes a larger pie and the rest are all from a small proportion. This limits the distributional outreach of the government. This means that we need to tax more, but we have been reducing taxes.

Another justification that one hears is the role of the market in fostering growth. One does not deny this, but observes that the relevance of the market as conveived by the founding fathers (to provide freedom in selling and buying goods and services) is missing. And in that sense, fostering freedom and an enhancement of capabilities of more and more individuals to participate in the market is also missing. The relevance and role of the market has been turned on its head. Market, instead of a being a means has become an end. The growth of the market (owned by a few) is given precendence over the freedom of the market.

In the economics sense, the relevance of the market and its justification as an efficient outcome comes from perfect competition. In this kind of a market the efficiency argument follows from an assumption that there are many buyers and sellers. If this is missing then the argument in favour of efficiency also falls. Does, this mean that we do away with the market. No, we do not. But we should be careful of the possible pitfalls. In particular,  the vested interests need to be kept out. This requires some structural differences in organising the market and regulating it witout stifling innovation. There is an increasing need to think out of the box.

Day 28 of farmers marching across India to save agriculture

The Kisan Swaraj Yatra, known as the farmers freedom tour, is mobilizing farmers and public opinion across states of India. It is a call to save Indian agriculture.

Logo of Kisan Swaraj Yatra. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra

A number of farmers and farmer organization have come together under the banner of Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA, which literally means hope in many Indian languages) and are touring across the country. The Kisan Swaraj Yatra started on 2 October 2010, Mahatma Gandhi's 141st birthday, from Sabarmati, the same place from where Mahatma Gandhi had started his famous salt sayagraha or Dandi march on 12 March 1930. It will end on 11 December 2010 at Rajghat, New Delhi (Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi or crematorium) after having traveled across 20 states.

Today, on 29th October 2010, the Yatra has traversed Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu and now reached Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore, a collaborating institute with Monsanto. Farmers' protested by donating money, which the authorities did not accept. The yatris message for the scientists is to take up research that benefit farmers and not the agribusiness corporations.

Farmers in their march as part of Kisan Swaraj Yatra protest against the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University's collaboration with Monsanto. © Kisan Swaraj Yatra

"The overwhelming message from farmers and non-farmers, rural and urban areas, is that such a large mobilization to save Indian agriculture is the crying need today. The Yatra is raising issues like support systems for farmers, remunerative prices, control over seeds, land and other resources, forced displacement and the vicious cycle of high-cost chemical agriculture. The Yatra has had ministers in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka endorsing the demands, farmers taking out bullock-cart rallies, promising resolutely to be annadatas (providers of food) in the face of adversity and land-grabbing, adivasi (tribal) children laying out their vision of sustainable development, film personalities coming out in support, shopkeepers and transport officials donating money to keep the Yatra going."

To support their call, you may have a look at their petition to the Indian government. "The Kisan Swaraj Yatra is an initiative to strike out a new path in agriculture, which provides a dignified livelihood to all our farmers and farmworkers, and keeps our soil alive and our food and water healthy."

It questions the ethos that "there is no alternative" and throws up a world of possibilities where "many alternatives exist" (MAE).
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Those interested may have a look at their petition to the Government of India. If you agree then do sign and share the same.
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Other related articles are the coincidence of the Yatra's 35th day with Obama's visit, the tour across eastern regions and northern regions of India.

A similar write-up was first put up in Digital Journal, 29 October 2010, http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/299546.