Kannadigas, stand up for Karnataka

I am not an avid Blogger. This is one article where the writer mirrors my thoughts on the current scenario. My colleague, Anil Jagalur prompted me to Blog this article, maybe he understands the power of Blogging. I picked this article from one of the dailies. I have added few points which I wanted to make in the Blog but this article is predominantly written  by Aravind Adiga, Booker Prize-winning author of 'The White Tiger', who is a Kannadiga. I was up the Mysore over the weekend to bask in the glory of Dasara, the Pride of every Kannadiga. But few things dampen, read on.....

For six decades after independence, the Kannadiga has been the South Indian's South Indian. Your Delhiwallah might associate virtues like modesty, thrift, and hard work with the Madrasi, but in the south we have always thought of Karnataka as the ultimate locus of these values. Film stars did not rule Karnataka (as they did Tamil Nadu); Naxalites did not over-run parts of the state (as they did in Andhra Pradesh); and strikes did not cripple its economy (as they did in Kerala).


Karnataka, which benefitted from enlightened rule under the Wodeyars of Mysore, developed into one of the most progressive parts of independent India: our legislature was the first in the nation to introduce Panchayat Raj. Bangalore did not become India's information technology centre by accident. Companies like Infosys could only have been founded in a place like Karnataka, where culture and education are valued so highly. If the state's politics were never free of corruption, we were nonetheless governed by men of the stature of Devraj Urs, the chief minister who oversaw one of India's most successful land reform programmes, and Veerappa Moily, a distinguished scholar of his native South Canara (his novel "The Edge of Time" is essential reading for anyone interested in Mangalore).

So how else would you react but with shock to what has been happening in Bangalore in the past few days? The state was paralyzed while the BJP government fought with dissident MLAs — and the governor — for survival. Police have entered the legislative assembly, and an MLA has ripped his shirt open and exposed his chest to the camera. The sad part is that this is no anomaly, but the logical culmination of six years of misrule that began when S M Krishna left office in 2004. The truth is that Karnataka has been progressively tipping towards a crisis.


The source of this crisis is cash. It has been flooding into this state. Some of the new money is from the IT and real estate sector, but a large part comes from the mining interests in the north. This cash has not done much to improve the infrastructure in the state. What it has done is undermine the basic functioning of politics here; Bangalore is abuzz with rumours that hundreds of crores have been paid in bribes to the dissident MLAs.

Culture, in the south of India, has always been a bulwark against money. Sadly, just when he needs it most as a defence, the Kannadiga sees his language and culture being eroded everywhere. I encounter this problem in Bangalore every day, where people routinely speak to me in Hindi. As a matter of principle, i insist on replying in Kannada, but the Kannadiga's self-esteem has dipped so low that many will talk only in Hindi to me. Our sense of who we are has unraveled. There is money, but there is no pride in Karnataka any longer. New malls are being built, but serious issues lie untackled: deteriorating infrastructure, environmental pollution, and tense Hindu-Muslim relations in places like South Canara. Of course the Church stoning which has become a commonality after the BJP took over the reins of the state.


Part of the problem is that many of us have divided loyalties. A good chunk of the state's population speaks Telugu, Urdu, or Konkani as a first language; my own mother preferred to speak Tamil. It really doesn't matter. If you live in Karnataka, you are a Kannadiga; and your children are the inheritors of Krishna Deva Raya and Professor UR Ananthamurthy. The cultural identity of the state is fraying, and needs to be reinforced. I appeal to those who have migrated from the north to teach their children the Kannada language, and to learn something about Kannada culture. Please develop some sense of ownership and belonging in Karnataka — for the sake of your own children.

Tamilians care about Tamil Nadu, and Malayalis about Kerala. Kannadigas, wherever they are — inside the nation or in Silicon Valley— must become more active. Many excellent NGOs have sprung up across the state, and if you spend a few minutes scanning the internet you will find one that is right for you. Strengthening the Kannada cultural identity is another part of the solution. But do pay attention, my fellow Kannadigas — Gowdas, Murthys, Sheikhs, and D'Souzas, all of you. Ten years from now, if the residents of Bihar tease you for coming from India's most lawless state, don't say that you had no warning.

Citigroup Makes Money the Old Fashion Way, They Patent It!

From Best Mode

When you own 30% of a global financial services company, like you and I now do, it’s a good idea to take a look under the hood, kick the tires and check-out what’s in the trunk. And look what Citigroup has here, a patent on a “synthetic currency transaction network“, US Patent 7,020,626 Inside Money.
“Synthetic currency is created by pooling and dividing into shares a portfolio of highly liquid assets and frequent evaluation and disbursements of dividends on those assets so as to hold the value of the synthetic currency share at unity with the underlying currency….The IM (Inside Money) transaction agent system in conjunction with the IM synthetic currency act like a “super” virtual central bank to allow users around the world to make near real-time final transactions.”
“Super Virtual Central Bank?“ I guess my Second Life alter ego will also take a hit in a “Virtual Recession“, grovel before a “Virtual Senate Committee” and be criticized for traveling by private “Hyper Shuttle” instead of commercial.
The system described in Citigroup’s ‘626 patent acts like a private secondary economy, where, according to The Federal Reserve’s Ricardo Lagos, ”Inside money is an asset representing, or backed by, any form of private credit that circulates as a medium of exchange. Since it is one private agent’s liability and at the same time some other agent’s asset, inside money is in zero net supply within the private sector.”
In March of 1995, Esther Dyson’s Release 1.0 featured the article “A Long-term Perspective on Electronic Commerce” by Eric Hughes, author of A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto. In laying out some general principles for designing net-based commerce systems of the future, Hughes believed…
“The ideal synthetic currency’s goal is not speculation but value maintenance. It should seek to minimize price fluctuation by targeting a broad market average. No single enterprise will be able to pull this off. The issuer of a broad synthetic currency will doubtless rely upon many other issuers. Derivative assets may derive from other derivative assets, and so on….Synthetic currencies truly thrive with small value transactions. The cost of negotiating and processing a foreign exchange trade for each small transaction would be overwhelming.”
The ‘626 patent, and our recent experience with credit default swaps and the like, are great examples of technology making all things possible, all things immediate and all things connected. What happens on Wall Street has always had an effect on what happens on Main Street, only now it happens in near real-time.
Source: gilmanresearch.com