[Reader-list] Ravi's "Recycling Modernity" paper

[Arun Mehta]

One of the objectives of the reader-list is to discuss the excellent papers 
in the Sarai Reader. Here's my first salvo, I hope others join in before my 
enthusiasm sags.

Ravi's excellent paper describes very well the dichotomy between the 
techno-elites and the critical underbelly of our IT revolution. On the one 
hand, you have "young, upper-caste, often English-speaking programmers in 
large metropoles", and on the other the "dark seedy cluster of grey 
concrete blocks, which is filled with small shops devoted to the computer 
trade. Present here are the agents of large corporations, as also software 
pirates, spare parts dealers, electronic smugglers, and wheeler-dealers of 
every kind in the computer world." Both sets have their problems.

The techno-elites are tied into "traditional patterns of unequal exchange. 
Indian programmers offer a low-cost solution to the problems of 
transnational corporations. Indian software solutions occupy the lower end 
of the global virtual commodity chain, just as cotton farmers in South Asia 
did in the 19th century, where they would supply Manchester mills with 
produce." At the lower end, I might add, we will face increasing 
competition from countries like China, and also obsolescence -- much of the 
Y2K work we got, for instance, was in languages like Cobol, which provide 
no future.

On the other hand, the grey market, or 'pirate' electronic space, "only 
reconfirms older patters of unequal exchange and world inequality... this 
means ... no control over the key processes of electronic production." This 
segment consists largely of computer semi-literates, where there is an 
inordinate amount of waste. Perfectly functional cards are ripped apart 
merely because nobody bothered to keep the manuals or read them. While a 
throw-away culture may be common in the West, it certainly isn't here. In a 
country where computers are scarce, this waste is criminal.

Through the eyes of an activist, however, problems become opportunities, 
and this is where Sarai should fit in.

Firstly, the effort must be made to break the caste barrier in IT. There is 
no reason why poor kids could not make great programmers, and I would urge 
the cyber-mohalla concept to encompass the IT education of poor and street 
kids as well. Conventional IT education is doing a terrible job -- which is 
mostly why we find ourselves at the lower end of the cyber ladder, so this 
presents us with the opportunity to show the way for other IT training 
institutions as well. We are currently discussing on the linux-delhi list 
if there might be ways in which the linux community (which Sarai is ably 
supporting) might actively engage in training people in the process of 
bringing them into its fold -- get them involved in collaborative projects 
on the Net, provide a backup to each other and an environment in which 
everybody learns. More on that soon.

As regards helping the grey market, perhaps we could, together with 
organisations like C-Sec at Delhi University that engage in hardware 
design, look to see if better training programmes might be developed for 
people working there. Perhaps a library of all the cards that are sold in 
the grey market, with digital photographs to help identify them, and some 
training on how to make and change settings? To help them get some degree 
of control over the processes of electronic production, perhaps we can look 
to see if projects could be initiated to add value to old hardware. For 
instance old hard disks of half a GB are almost useless these days, but 
with a suitable docking station, they could make excellent mobile storage. 
Individuals might not need to buy computers of their own, just their own 
hard disks, which they could simply plug into suitable machines at cyber 
cafes or schools. I'm sure people can think up other such interesting 
projects, that might help turn assemblers into proper manufacturers.

The hardware sector has a more serious fundamental problem. The 
attractiveness of the computer software profession has denuded other 
engineering disciplines of qualified professionals. Hardware design skills 
are virtually absent now. With the increasing importance of embedded 
systems, and as industrial equipment becomes increasingly Internet-aware, 
hardware design skills will be much in demand. Here we need not only the 
availability of suitable training courses, but also an awareness campaign 
among the young, so that bright kids opt for them.

Thoughts?


Arun Mehta, B-69, Lajpat Nagar-I, New Delhi -- 110024, India. Phone 
+91-11-6841172, 6849103.  http://members.tripod.com/india_gii To join 
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