Thanks to a former IDEX staff member I learned about Manthan. They organize talks with experts on different topics. Yesterday was the second annual Manthan Samvaan with some of India's greatest minds as speakers. The topics covered were gender equality, political and economic institutions, urban planning, agriculture reform, politics and its alternatives.
Manthan is a journey of ideas to fill a gap in public spaces - issues in addition of inquiry
Dr. Kannabiran spoke on the bill of rights of women
Anticaste philosopher on widowed child bride who killed her child. What about the childhood innocence she lost? The abuse she suffered from her family?
Women are burned at their husbands pyre. Are there any who resisted. Most likely very few. Those who resisted were probably pushed into the pyre.
Questions asked were directed at female degradation by the media and what of jealous in-laws. Her response was that men/husbands can strike their own path that why should they follow in the mistreatment of their wife out of jealousy.
India has passed anti dowry legislation- middle and upper class are more likely to be victims of dowry murder. Even though the age of consent has risen from 9 to 18 the average age of women being married in Andhra Pradesh dropped from 18 -16 because of a resurgence in conservatism, honor, tradition and culture. For my knowledge I looked up the Devadasi system - religious practice in parts of southern India, including Andhra Pradesh, whereby parents marry a daughter to a deity or a temple. From my understanding they are religious prostitutes. (please correct me if I am wrong)
Mr. Maira spoke on reforming institutions and works with Boston Consulting Group.
He has written remaking India, transforming capitalism among others.
Democracy and capitalism are institutions that need to be reformed.The most effective solutions - mistrust of individuals of institutions is high with 18% trusting businesses to be honest and 13% trusting government to be Honest. There is a growing mistrust which leads to unrest. The local institution crises is prevalent. Look at the Arab Springs, Hong Kong, etc. Democracy and free markets are rivals and reforming government institution involves localization, laterization, learning and listening. Country of democrats or a country of capitalists. He wrote the book Redesigning airplanes
Yogendra Yadav spoke on alternatives to politics, he is a social scientist and political scientist
- Alternatives to politics - what is wrong is because of politics, opt out of democracy
- Political alternatives - get rid of congress, change, established alternative
- Alternative politics - low end there will be no corruption and more accountability;
Politics in a new way. Democracy practiced the way it is preached. Rethinking the model of development, mode of renewing idea of India
The ideas of India are democracy, development and respect diversity.Today the opportunity is to experiment with alternative politics and offer hope, energy
The challenges - brand distinction - you must stand for something new
- Sustaining energy
- Electoral viability - public perception, medium restored
- Organizational party format
- 100 years of politics
- If you fail people won't trust change makers for the next 20 years
Shekhar Gupta spoke on the rise of an impatient new India
Unfortunately I had shifted to the back where the sound was not to good so I did not hear most of his talk. I did catch a mention of a Pakistani,Indian conflict where an Indian soldier was beheaded and mentions of the media.
KT Ravindran spoke on the future of cities
Multiple futures to spur growth and the future of housing
Urbanization History in India - dates back 5000 years, nonagricultural economic base as a result of colonialism, now based on trade, militarism and cultural hegemony
Planned urbanization post independence reaffirmed European inheritance and post colonial system was lost. Migration to the urban city has reached 377 million.
Transportation - inadequate roads, infrastructure lags behind urbanization, increase in GDP and growth, infrastructure is overstretched and will break down soon if not fixed
Climate change - increase in natural disaster, increase rate of rural to urban migration, increase choices of how to move around, public transport in order decrease private vehicle ownership, intergrate metros into city plan to reduce cost and make it communter friendly in terms of connectivity, metros are increasing price of goods because of increased transportation cost
There is a mismatch of central policy and local capacity. New slum policy contradicts the on the ground reality.
Pollution, special economic zone - liberal economic regulations, land bill - put people first
Delhi - Mumbai Corridor - dry area with no water, 3 cities are being planned, unsustainable model
Green building, most urban cities have old city conserve heritage, 74th amendment led to planning from the bottom up, convert planning process to participatory so the people have a say
Smart city - IT based, improve governance, mobility and social, increase quality of life, review master plan because it has a weak information base.
Vandana Shiva spoke on the future of agriculture
Movement to save seeds from genetic modification
1987 - biotech industry revamped itself, genetic engineering to patent seeds
She wrote Violence of the Green Revolution on Punjab
Agriculture is the culture of land, nourishment and transformed into a system dependent on inputs from surplus after the wars (pesticides and fertilizers)
Farmers rights act - article 3g: biological resources and processes cannot be invented, Andhra PRadesh regulation of seed prices has been disputed that cost part of agrarian crises
Nathanya - Dehradun courses for farmers, paradox is farmers have been condemmed and they have a high suicide rate yet the wealthy are choosing farming as a last vocation when bored of corporate world.
WTO - farming subisidies, India come under heat from USA about subsidies yet baselines are outdated from '86/'87and US has higher subsidies
Agrarian distress - 3 lakh farmers commit suicide
Books Soil not Oil and wealthy per acre, diversity is the answer
I learned so much and met 3 new individuals one of whom gave me some reading. I also ran into someone from the Anathgiri Hills trek. I was the only foreigner present but so glad I went because it is a great thing going on in Hyderabad. Surprised it was in English but glad it was for my sake.
