The Bored Engineer

India being a socialist democracy committed to equitable growth of our citizens has always had a set of strong welfare policies aim at various problems namely poverty, malnutrition, infant mortality rates etc. These policies have often been a target of a section of society that is wary of the amount we spend on subsidies and the welfare programs; and when these schemes fails to meet the desired objectives they are quick to point out at their failure and how this is an ill use of our tax rupees. We often forget that it is imperative for us as a nation to ensure that the fruits of development are shared equally by all sections of the society if we are to progress into becoming a developed nation. You can’t underpay your domestic help, the homely maid and then complain about her children’s contributions to the malnutrition statistic. India’s educated elite have failed this nation (and the blame squarely goes on our political leadership especially the Grand Indian Political party...

A common theme that binds the growth story of all the nations that are on a developmental path is the cropping up of imperialism. The 20 th century poses the greatest and the most horrifying evidence of the premise but it’s not a singular example and all modern developed nations have a history of imperialism in some form or the other. Every century has its villains and victims, the actors change but the plot doesn’t deviate much. While the 20 th century showcased its brutality in the form of major world wars and some other wars, the 21 st century does not seem to a have a very promising start either. The wars may not have played themselves out yet but that does not mean the lack of underlying tensions. Resources are strained and the economies wishing to expand are fighting off till the last piece is up for grabs. In such a scenario, what does the upcoming world order hold for the retiring powers like America and Russia as well as the emergent ones like India and China? Wil...

As I wander through the ruins that I once called home I can’t help but feel the apparent despair and hopelessness. Everything that I once called home is lost. The home has lost its warmth. For me the mention of home always brought to my mind the images of me entering the home. It’s an old house, really old something like 150 years old. Many heritage enthusiastic organisations have declared it as a heritage site and offered to renovate the parts of it. And of course my parents declined the offer, their argument: “It’s our home and if we feel need to renovate something we will renovate it on our own.” I always liked this pride of theirs because it made me think of them as the strong people who will never bend whatever be the circumstances. I mean these are the people who survived the ethnic cleansing and target killings of the 1990s. As I keep walking I look around the elegant but deserted buildings that are all around my home. These were all inhabited by people before they left to ...

While we are here sitting in relatively comfortable dwellings gossiping about college, cricket or even Bollywood, complaining about stuff we don’t have and what we deserve as a nation in the 21 st century (internet connectivity is surely gonna top that list!), while we go on with our lives there is a woman raped in some war torn African nation, a child orphaned in some Arab nation under siege by a terrorist group, a country’s heritage is being destroyed, the natural wealth of some place in India is being plundered, the basic democratic rights of people in China are being trampled. We have fixated our eyes so strongly on the brightness that our future promises to hold that we miss out on the darkness spread wide in present times. We go on with our lives and there isn’t much that we can do as individuals to change the course of some place thousands of miles from where we are, but does that absolve all our responsibilities as a global citizen. Isn’t every murder that is happening...

Respected seniors, It was your farewell today, marking the culmination of your journey as a student of this institution and I must say that you all have made us proud and I wish you all the very best in all your future endeavours. Whatever be the case, you will have us at your back supporting you no matter what. Although I could go on and on about future I wish to talk to you about the present or the immediate future that stares us in the face. Soon you will be leaving the campus taking different paths that the life may have in store for you and we will be left there to take your place and this scares the hell out of me. How will we ever match up to you, how will we find that exactly right blend of friendship and mentorship that our juniors will expect of us. I remember you sharing our joys and worries like the very best of our friends and yet when we erred you were there to guide us. You laughed at the silliest of our jokes (and vice versa of course) and disciplined us wit...

India is often referred to as the nation of contrasting nature, assimilating various hues and shades that seem to defy the very presence of the other. Our vibrant democracy has also in certain cases led to situations that may surprise the novice observer. For example while four states in India share two capitals each (Haryana - Punjab = Chandigarh & Telangana - Andhra Pradesh = Hyderabad) we also have a state that has two capitals, Jammu and Kashmir having Jammu and Srinagar as its winter and summer capitals respectively. While Chandigarh & Hyderabad are examples where the states involved have shown inability to create/maintain capitals of their own (although Andhra Pradesh is working on its separate capital), Jammu and Kashmir boasts of two functional capitals for a single state. While many feel that maintaining two capitals leads to wastage of precious public funds and time, an equally compelling argument in its favor is that it maintains regional stability. The...

How much does a man need? Should we be really satisfied with what we have and when does growing need give birth to greed. I don’t know answers to that and I don’t expect you to have them either. After all how can we? All our lives we have spent taking care of and listening to just one person, that one person we call ‘I’. Yeah, we may have occasionally given a thought or two to other peoples’ lives, the lives that are connected to ours. The lives of our brothers and sisters, of our parents and of our friends and relatives. But that’s it. I for one always thought that I am a caring person who thinks about others, of the direction our nation is heading to, of eliminating poverty etc. continuous reading books and watching documentaries and interviews, surfing internet and discussing with friends and family. I thought this is what everyone was supposed to do and I was doing my part. Yesterday, it was Raksha Bandhan, the festival of love, of the strong sibling bond that has ev...

Recently at a quizzing event I came across a strange fact. The Santa-Banta jokes were named after the killers of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in order to humiliate the Sikh community and punish them. Although I tried to cross check the fact on the internet, I was unable to verify the authenticity of the above stated fact, but what made me think was that this is not the case of two imaginary individuals (read fools) but an entire community is ridiculed. As I said earlier I can’t verify the origin of these Sardar jokes but the fact that we are openly stereotyping an entire community and ridiculing it is no less disturbing than trampling their basic human rights (The right to live their life with dignity). Can this be considered any less than an Indian version of Apartheid? After all no matter what part of India you are in you will hear a Sardarji joke. People of almost every region and ethnicity make Sardar jokes and forward these jokes on their social networks. Bollywood itse...

World’s largest democracy, India. A nation of 1.25 billion people uniting themselves under the Tricolour abiding by their fundamental duties as well as enjoying the fruits of being a free nation. Our constitution guarantees us freedom of expression, religion and in return expects us to respect the national flag, constitution and educate ourselves so that we may serve the nation better. Now as lucrative as it may seem, the reality is quite otherwise. We as a nation despise freedom. We look down upon youngsters (mostly females) and their dressing sense, we hate it when a woman asking for civil rights has been on a fast for more than 10 years, and we don’t like a person from some other state makes a living in our state. We hate it all. Our politics is not about liking a politician or their policies, rather we hate other politicians. We take pride on calling ourselves a pluralistic society but look around you and see how much we hate the economic or social diversity. We hate ...

Nearly sixty years ago Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose supposedly died in an air crash. Nation mourned on the death of a titan and the government followed up with an investigation. Three commissions of enquiries have been set up but to this day the contents of the investigation report have not been conclusive. Also various documents related to Netaji’s death have been classified and kept away from public purview under the guise of variable nomenclature (like ‘Top Secret’, ‘Secret’, ‘Classified’ and ‘Unclassified’). But we as a nation deserves to know what happened to one of our most dynamic leader and vastly loved freedom crusader who is a source of inspiration and patriotism even so long after his death. BJP during its election campaign had promised to release classified files about Netaji's death but now it seems like the matter has been conveniently forgotten. Sixty years on and the truth is still hidden behind closed doors in the name of secrecy and protectin...

Probably one of the longest unresolved debates of all times is Religion vs. Science. Every time some fresh development takes place in some part of the world that may influence this debate, the debate is restarted. Although new ideas and facts continue to make this contest richer with every new edition but the basic essence remain the same. The scientists seem to trust physical proof more that something unverified and written a few millennia ago. The religious guys emphasize on the importance of faith and how it helps. Like every unresolved issue this debate too is a result of unflinching egos. A common characteristic among all the unresolved issues in the world is that longer the debate is dragged on the more rigid both sides become. Science (or let’s just say scientists) has grown tremendously in last few centuries and its growth has surely helped mankind in more ways than religion has ever been, thus swelling its support base. On the other hand religion has grown a little wea...