[Reader-list] Happy Sunday :) Library and Garbage bins

Sun May 10 20:06:32 IST 2009

thanks kshmendra but why have u attached quotes to the word strip. i dont
understand. pray tell.

On 5/10/09, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>   Anupam
> Delightful 'strip'. Thanks
>
> Rakesh
> Public libraries would serve an excellent purpose. The poor and homeless
> could find temporary refuge in them, getting shielded from the cold and
> protected from heat.
>
> Only problem in that might be along the lines of the news story "US library
> bans 'offensive bodily odours' from entering!"
> http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090415/959/tod-us-library-bans-offensive-bodily-odo.html
>
> Wonder how 'library going elite' (for elite they would be in comparison)
> would react to the poor and homeless in the 'public space' of a public
> library
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
>
> --- On *Sun, 5/10/09, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Happy Sunday :) Library and Garbage bins
> To: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Sunday, May 10, 2009, 5:13 PM
>
> Here's a little library's story.
> http://www.soundofdrowning.com/lib.html
>
> regards anupam
>
>
> On 5/10/09, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Jeebesh (and all)
> >
> > While the heat in this list could have been tackled by means of more
> > personal chats and more respect of both sides' views from the other
> > sides, here I wish to express my views on the first issue you have
> > raised.
> >
> > Any issue, be it water, roads, health, education, or even a public
> > library, can be addressed. However, there are umpteen points regarding
> > as to why it is not an issue. And they are numerous in our system of
> > democracy (or as in Gulaal they say, it's just autocracy in the name
> > of democracy).
> >
> > The first issue here is about the way our democratic system works. It
> > is a system which is half full and half empty, meaning that it is 50%
> > democratic and 50% not, if one were to quote Ramachandra Guha from his
> > book 'India After Gandhi'. And it certainly is. We do have a
> system
> > which has elections and the transition of power after elections is
> > also smooth. However, that's it. Our system begins and ends with
> > elections. After that, nobody cares. We never look at things beyond
> > elections. Any criticism of a government takes place only with the
> > point of view of elections.
> >
> > What this means is that only those issues which are important from the
> > election point of view, would be addressed. But the question arises,
> > as to then which issues are important, if they are there at all? Here,
> > our media and the grassroots are totally at crossroads. The media
> > feels the PM or the CM at the state level are more important issues
> > than say water supply, health or education. On the other hand, the
> > candidates realize that is not necessarily the case, and they
> > concentrate on the kind of developmental works undertaken and some or
> > the other sops being given.
> >
> > And what are these developmental works actually? The issues of
> > livelihood. The issues of roti, kapda and makan. And if one may add to
> > it, in a certain way they are related to bijli, sadak aur paani. These
> > are the issues which are uppermost in the minds of the people. One
> > must understand that with the kind of society we are, a caste and
> > religion-biased society, where Brahmins wouldn't eat with Muslims or
> > Dalits, where now even the OBC's live separately from them and where
> > inter-caste marriages are even now abhorred, at least in rural areas,
> > the kind of politicians who would emerge would also concentrate only
> > on giving doles to their supporters or caste/religion members as cash
> > or some kind of incentive.
> >
> > With the competition between people of different castes and religions
> > for such govt. doles and rewards like jobs, rather than them fighting
> > together for a common cause (long back this happened under Gandhi's
> > movements), and with the kind of society we are (where people revel in
> > having contacts with the powerful and the rich rather than following
> > rules), all want a common minimum level of existence, from where
> > education is excluded.
> >
> > Also, no political party has been imaginative enough to put health and
> > education as basic issues in their campaigns and trying to corner the
> > incumbent governments either during elections or during other times
> > through mass based movements. Neither have non-political organizations
> > played a successful role in this part during such times to ensure that
> > such issues are addressed, which does not mean that they haven't
> > tried; it simply means they haven't tried enough or the results are
> > not enough.
> >
> > People in general also have little patience to understand the
> > complexity of issues. That is why we have experts to understand them.
> > But one must remember that things should also be made palatable to the
> > electorate to back you. In this case, Manmohan Singh is a huge
> > failure, precisely because he has never contested an election himself.
> > And Advani may have an advantage here mainly because he has won a Lok
> > Sabha election before this at least, so he could understand possibly
> > how to make an issue and its solution palatable to the public. (This
> > is a possibility, not necessarily the actuality).
> >
> > The second issue we have forgotten is in our society who is doing
> > what. The poor don't have the power to actually undertake movements on
> > their own and fight a battle which can yield results. I don't mean to
> > say that the poor can't undertake movements. The poor in many states
> > may have actually done so, but one must remember that in today's
> > times, when our politicians are image-conscious, things which are not
> > popular are not going to make much headway. Therefore, one must
> > realize that unless such things are popular or in the mainstream
> > media, it is very difficult to get the point across.
> >
> > Moreover, the poor are more concerned with their livelihoods, which is
> > the most important issue for them. Things like library are non-issues
> > from their point of view.
> >
> > The rich on the other hand do have the power, so also the middle
> > class. The media is also on this side. However, we have tended to
> > concentrate more on issues which are not going to help the poor at
> > all. Forget that, we have not even concentrated on issues which can
> > help the society at large. Even in the voting campaigns, people are
> > being encouraged to vote. But the moot point remains this: if all the
> > candidates are corrupt, what is the point of voting, even if for the
> > least corrupt candidate? After all, corruption be it of Re. 1 or lakhs
> > can and should not be tolerated. If terrorism is not tolerated, how
> > come corruption is tolerated?
> >
> > Similarly, Hindutva seems also to be an issue going by some great
> > Rediff articles and views expressed on them. Malls and removal of
> > slums are issues, even though people don't try to understand at all
> > the situational changes which can take place by having malls at
> > certain places, or even the problems in slums and how they can be
> > corrected without removing them. And of course, we have some other
> > nonsense things to talk about.
> >
> > Conclusion:
> >
> > The library is a public good, and ultimately the library will benefit
> > the public. The problem is that the rich don't want to fight for it as
> > they think it's useless to involve themselves in such fights which are
> > unprofitable (or non-money yielding). The poor don't fight for it as
> > they have more important issues to look at. The media doesn't take it
> > up as it's not a 'TRP-giving' news to be looked at, or it is
> too
> > serious. And our politicians being image-conscious, believe that
> > these are not the things which will fetch them votes.
> >
> > So the library is a non-starter in our cities.
> >
> > And so, we don't have spaces in public to debate with on a personal
> > level by and large.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Rakesh
> > _________________________________________
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