Interview
date: April 28, 2014 (Afternoon session)
Board:
Prof David R. Syiemlieh
C: Chairman Prof. David
M1: First member to the right of C
M2: Second member to the right of C
M3: Second member to the left of C
M4: First member to the left of C
C: Lokesh, we were just going
through your application form… I see that you like travelling. Why do you
travel… as in what accrues to you from travelling?
Me: Sir, I like to explore
different landscapes and one gets to know about different cultures by visiting
places. Moreover, it is an opportunity to rewind yourself; in this rat race, it
gives one time to introspect and ponder over larger things and see where the
life is headed towards…
C: Where all have you travelled
in last 2-3 years?
Me: Sir, I’ve been to Himachal,
Uttarakhand, Andamans…
C (interrupting): How do you go
about it? Whether you go through tourist group or with friends or what?
Me: Sir, more often than not, I
travel alone, because I feel when you are alone, you can better explore the
place and spend the time freely the way you want to… For instance, I was
preparing for my Mains exam in Delhi; it was the month of June; so, I felt like
taking a break to go to mountains; I went to Himachal Bhawan office at Janpath,
did the bookings; so, I planned around noon and took HSRTC bus the same evening
and went off for 3-4 days…
C: You are also on social
networking… Which social network do you use: Facebook or Twitter or what?!
Me: Sir, actually when I wrote
the term ‘social networking’ in my form, I deliberately wrote ‘social
networking’ and not ‘social media’; cause I wanted to convey both the online as
well as offline aspects of it; by offline aspect, I mean to say that I like to
socialize with people generally, like when I travel, I interact with people
from different cross sections of society and that’s a very enriching
experience… As far as online platforms are concerned, I’m more into Facebook…
C: Do you think it is
‘intrusive’?!
Me: Not really, Sir. Facebook
provides us options in account settings to control who all can view our posts;
we can set that to ‘friends only’, ‘friends of friends’ or ‘public’, etc.
Likewise, we can customize our News Feed too…
C: Oh! We can have all these
options! I was not aware of it… J
Me: Yes Sir, these options are
available under account settings of one’s profile…
C: You listen to ghazals… Do
you also sing?!
Me: No sir! I just like
listening to them; I haven’t got a very sweet voice… (Couple of members share a
mild laugh!)
C: Let us continue going your
bio data for a while… We see that you are in DANICS service…
Me: That’s right, Sir!
C: When did you join?
Me: In March, 2012
C: So, you’ve completed your
training period?!
Me: Yes Sir, I’m done with it…
C: So, are you posted now?!
Me: Yes Sir, I was posted to
Lakshadweep around a month ago…
C: Tell me how is the
connectivity to Lakshadweep…
Me: Sir, we have 4
all-weather ships from mainland to islands and some fair weather ships and
vessels… And we have one daily flight from Cochin to Agatti, one of the islands
where we have the airport…
C: There’s only one
flight in day?!
Me: Yes Sir…
C: What is the frequency
of ship?!
Me: Sir, it varies...
Generally once or twice a week…
C: Oh! Then what do we
do in case of an emergency situation?!
Me: Sir, we have two
Pawan Hans helicopters on lease, which we use primarily for medical evacuation
purpose… Although we have a super-specialty hospital in Agatti island, still in
case of a medical emergency, if patient is required to be transported to
mainland, it is done by helicopter…
C: What is the
population of Lakshadweep?
Me: Sir, according to
2011 census, it is around 64,000
M1: You are from
Rajasthan. What are the main problems of Rajasthan?!
Me: Sir, Rajasthan is an
arid area with 60% of it being desert… So, water scarcity is the biggest
problem; Then lack of women empowerment is a major issue, with the patriarchal
mindset that we have; Further, since I’m a student of sociology, I’d say that
caste is another problem; caste consciousness is very strong there…
M1: What can be done for
women empowerment? How to get rid of patriarchy?!
Me: Well, I was thinking
about this couple of days back anticipating this [question] but I couldn’t
arrive at a ‘quick-fix’ solution… However, first and foremost, we need to focus
on literacy; female literacy in Rajasthan is less than 50%; so, first we need
to enhance female literacy… Secondly, although we have an institutionalized
system of PRIs in Rajasthan that dates back to 1950s and % of women reservation
in Panchayats has been extended to 50% from 33%, it is not very effective…
Initially, we had the practice of Proxy Panchs; though now that has declined,
they are not exactly aware of their roles and responsibilities; so, we need to
go for capacity building and train them, so that they can effectively discharge
their duties which will lead to political empowerment in true sense, which in
turn will lead to favourable socio-economic outcomes for women…
M1: What are the major
crops in Rajasthan?!
Me: Bajra (millet) is
the major crop; Jowar, wheat is also there… Pulses like ‘moong’, ‘moth’… Then
we have mustard…
M1: So basically the
crops those are not very water-intensive?!
Me: We could say that
Sir, although after the coming of Indira Gandhi Canal Project, things have
changed; in fact, in a district, namely Sri Ganganagar, they are growing rice
as well…
M2: So, from the mid of
a desert to Lakshadweep, it’s a complete change for you! The problems that you
mentioned for Rajasthan, are they true for Lakshadweep also?!
Me: No Sir, it’s the
contrary situation actually! Lakshadweep has got a matrilineal society; the
customary ‘Marummakathyam’ law is followed wherein the inheritance is through
female line…
M2: Oh! Is that so?!
Me: Yes Sir, and because
of that economic strength, women enjoy a high social esteem and respect…
M2: OK. And what are its
outcomes? What has it led to?!
Me: Sir, we have a
favourable sex-ratio. Then Reproductive and Child Healthcare is good. MMR is
zero! IMR is just about 5 compared to 40+ in the country; we have 100%
immunization; Gross Enrollment Rate for class 1 to 8 is 99%
M2: But it’s a very
small place. You are from a technical background. So you know that we cannot
compare population of 64,000 to the country…
Me: That’s true, Sir…
However, the stats are still appreciable since these are 10 dispersed islands…
M2: Fishing is done in
Lakshadweep… (then he confirmed if it was TUNA and asked sth about its
processing etc.)
Me: Sir, Lakshadweep Administration
has set up a TUNA factory at Minicoy island, wherein we produce 100 gm cans of
processed TUNA and its also exported… Plans are underway to increase its
capacity…
M2: But we don’t see
much of it in Market?!
Me: Sir, there are
several reasons for that; economic viability is one, because of geographical
isolation of islands and the resultant transportation cost; then there is lack
of marketing skills and marketing avenues; plus, there’s competition from South
East Asian countries
M2: Do you think there’s
any influence of Kerala on Lakshadweep?!
Me: Oh yes, Sir.
Actually we don’t have a very good recorded history for Lakshadweep; but from
the sources like Ellis Manual, Ellis was a British Collector, and a book by a
person from Kerala judicial services that I read, it emerges that the islanders
claim to be descendants of Nairs in Kerala, and Nairs followed matrilineal
system; thus, matriliny seems to have come from Kerala… Cause if we see, it’s a
unique phenomenon that obtains in Lakshadweep; typically, Islamic society is
highly patriarchal, but here we have matrilineal Muslim society… Moreover,
there was always contact with Kerala; like in earlier times, islanders used to
barter rice for coir from mainland, and even now connectivity is mainly with
Kerala; so definitely there’s an influence of that… Like Kerala, people are
very aware of their rights and entitlements!
M3: You had computer
science, but then you changed stream to sociology… So you would be well aware
of sociological theories and aspects… (sth of this sort he told); What are the
sociological problems/issues before India?!
Me: Sir, I see
Communalism as a major issue, unfortunately the manifestations of which we have
seen in the ongoing General Elections and I was in deep anguish over that…
M3 (interrupting, but in
a very comforting tone with a smile): Let us not talk about politics and
elections; they happen once in five years and people speak many things during
that time… but let’s leave that aside here…
Me (very politely): Sir,
I too didn’t want to foray into the political realm… I just meant to cite that
as a manifestation…
M3: OK. What are the
other social problems?!
Me: Sir, again lack of
women empowerment and a host of women related issues… Then the problem of Caste
(I don’t recall the exact language, but cited these two dimensions of gender
and caste)
M3: Is there an
improvement over time? Have these problems increased or decreased or remained
same or what?!
Me: Sir, there
definitely has been improvement on women empowerment; Lot of women have made it
big in economic domain and otherwise, although I’d want to see more of them in
the legislatures… Regarding caste, the only area in which it survives mainly is
‘Caste Endogamy’, i.e. in marriage alliances; the earlier forms of exclusion in
terms of inter-dining and social mingling have been eliminated; moreover,
‘occupational specialization’ which was a peculiar feature of Indian caste
system no longer holds true… So caste consciousness is definitely on the wane…
M3: And what about
communalism?! Has it increased or decreased?!
Me: (After a pause of
couple of seconds and with a smile) Sir, I’m not able to give a definite answer
as in increased or decreased, in the context of communalism. All I would say
is, it remains a cause for concern…
M3: What are the other
problems?!
Me: Sir, education and
healthcare. We still don’t have Universal Health Coverage… and we still haven’t
achieved complete literacy…
M3: How can we do that?!
How to achieve 100% literacy? Suppose you’re given the authority, made PM or
HRD Minister, then in how much time can you do it?! So tell about the timeframe
and how will you do it?
Me: Sir, I’m afraid I
won’t be able to go for quantification and give a timeframe; I think it would
be quite unwise for one to do that… Regards doing it, I think we have to revamp
the basic infrastructure; for instance ASER and other surveys of education have
shown that one of the main reasons why girls drop-out is absence of separate
toilets for girls; so, infrastructural aspect is one… Secondly, we need to make
our education more ‘meaningful’ and functional… Right now, if one is able to
just write his name, we count him as literate…
M3 (interrupting): No
no, I’m not asking about functional aspect or quality. I’m asking about
coverage…
Me: Sir, may I just
elaborate in 30-odd second what I meant..?
M3: OK
Me: Sir, right now, our
education system doesn’t provide one with vocational skill-sets to get
employed; like in Germany, the vocational component is 70% but we have less
than 10%; so, a student who wants to drop-out after class ten in a village will
neither be able to work on farm nor possess employable skills outside in job
market; hence we need to provide more vocational courses so that after 10-12
years of schooling one is able to get absorbed in job market… and when parents
feel that it [schooling] will lead to job, they will send their wards to
school; else they won’t find it worthwhile…
M3: Although the voting
% has increased this election, still its 65 or 70 or 75 only… Nowhere is it
close to 100%. You think we should make voting as compulsory to make it 100%?
Me: Sir, I personally do
not subscribe to the idea of making voting compulsory… ‘Right to vote’ also
encompasses ‘Right not to vote’!
M3: But we have NOTA
now!
Me: That’s right, Sir,
but it has only been introduced very recently… It’s a welcome step and is
perhaps one of the factors for the rise in the voting percentages…
C: Some area just had
10% of polling, because of violence threats etc. So is that representative of
the population?!
Me: Sir, it’s really
unfortunate that such incidents happen and in such a case, it puts a
question-mark on the legitimacy of the political establishment that comes to
power… Having said that, I don’t think compulsory voting is the solution!
Instead, we should create conducive environment for free and fair elections by
fixing law and order and quelling those anti-social forces that seek to block the
democratic processes; and on the other hand, have more of SVEEP (Systematic
Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) and other voter awareness
campaigns which we have been doing and which have yielded positive results…
M4: Do you watch
movies?!
Me: Yes Sir, I do…
M4: Which kind of movies
you watch?! Hindi/English…?
Me: Hindi movies and
that too, I’m more fond of B&W movies, Sir!
M4: Oh! Because that
satisfies your interest in ghazals and poetry and all…
Me: Sir, that’s one
aspect. Overall I think movies of that era were more socially relevant and had
meaningful content. For instance, Guru Dutt’s ‘Pyaasa’ of 1957 still remains
relevant after all these decades…
M4: But don’t you feel
movies in olden times were very sad… Guru Dutt and others made movies that
portrayed only the sufferings and as if everything was kind of negative
happening around… ?
Me: That’s one way of
looking at it, Sir. But I’d say they reflected the social realities of the
time. And if the problems are depicted, I see no harm in doing that. In fact,
that will lead to more awareness about the same and make people talk about
those issues. Anyway, I feel that being in a denial mode doesn’t always help…
M4: What’s your critique
of present-day movies?! How were old movies better?
Me: Sir, unfortunately
these days, commercial aspect is given more importance, as in what would sell
at Box-Office… It’s not to say that people don’t make good movies these days;
some of them are in fact doing a very good job, making socially relevant cinema
and we see a renewed focus on the countryside and the hinterland…
M4: But don’t you think
that’s always been so?! Just that it was more subtle in olden days. Movies show
what people want to watch. And if people want to watch violence, if they want
to see vulgarity, films will contain that…
Me: Sir, I beg to
disagree… It would be an exaggeration of sorts, but for the lack of a better
phrase, I’d say that it’s a ‘flimsy excuse’… To say that is not entirely
correct… We have had film-makers like Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal,
Hrishikesh Mukherjee and others, who made good meaningful movies and people
have loved them as classics. So, if film-makers make good movies, people will
definitely watch…
C (after looking at all
the members and after their nod): Okay Lokesh! Your interview is over…
All d best sir!!!!
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