“A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.”
Rabindranath Tagore
“हमेशा तर्क करने वाला दिमाग सिर्फ धार वाले चाकू की तरह है जो प्रयोग करने वाले के हाथ से ही खून निकाल देता है।”
रवीन्द्रनाथ टैगोर
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Quote of the Day December 15, 2020
What is San Isidro Movement?
San Isidro Movement (MSI) is the ongoing protest against the authoritarian regime in Cuba. Cuba, a Caribbean country, has been under the communist regime for more than 60 years. The San Isidro Movement started in 2018 in response to the state’s censorship of artistic works via the Decree 349. The decree enables the culture ministry to censure any cultural activity that it doesn’t approve of.
About the Movement
The movement in Cuba began in September 2018 against the state censorship of artistic works. The censorship was brought in by Decree 349. In order to protest against the decree, poets, artists, journalists gathered in San Isidro.
Why San Isidro?
San Isidro is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is Havana’s poorest but most culturally active ward.
How did the movement grow?
In 2015, Cuba signed an agreement with the USA which gave the MSI protestors more internet freedom. The protestors managed to amplify and connect their messages over the internet. The Government in Cuba controls all modes of communication and no political opposition is permitted. Thus, the internet freedom helped the movement to reach different regions.
Role of USA
On November 9, 2020, a member of MSI, Afro-Cubo rapper Denis Solis was arrested. He was sentenced to eight months of prison for contempt. A hunger strike began in Cuba following his arrest. The United States interfered openly supporting MSI and urging to release the rapper. Following this, Czech republic, Netherlands and several human rights groups like Amnesty International also voiced concerns.
Current Scenario
The Cuban Government continues to criticise MSI calling it “Yankee Imperialism” despite of the popularity of the movement all over the world.
Havana
It is the capital city of Cuba. Also, it is the largest province, major port and a leading commercial centre in the country. It is the fourth largest metropolitan city in the Caribbean region.
Canara Bank SO Recruitment 2020: Application window for 220 vacancies for closes today
Canara Bank SO Recruitment 2020: The online application window for Canara Bank specialist officer recruitment will be closed on Tuesday, December 15. Interested and eligible candidates can apply online at canarabank.com.
Canara Bank SO Recruitment 2020: The online application window for Canara Bank specialist officer recruitment will be closed on Tuesday, December 15. Interested and eligible candidates can apply online at canarabank.com.
The recruitment drive is being conducted to fill 220 vacancies for the post of specialist officers in various disciplines in scale 1 and 2 along with a special recruitment drive for Schedule Tribe Category in scale 2 and 3. The recruitment exam is scheduled to be held in the month of January or February, 2021.
Canara Bank SO Vacancy Details:
Backup Administrator - 04
Extract, Transform & Load (ETL) Specialist - 05
BI Specialist - 05
Antivirus Administrator - 05
Network Administrator - 10
Database Administrator - 12
Developer / Programmer - 25
System Administrator - 21
SOC Analyst - 04
Manager’s Law - 43
Cost Accountant - 01
Chartered Accountant - 20
Manager Finance - 21
Information Security Analyst - 04
Ethical Hackers and Penetration Testers - 02
Cyber Forensic Analyst - 02
Data Mining Expert - 02
OFSAA Administrator - 02
OFSS Techno Functional - 05
Base 24 Administrator - 02
Storage Administrator - 04
Middleware Administrator - 05
Data Analyst - 02
Manager - 13
Senior Manager - 01
TOTAL: 220 Posts
Pay Scale:
JMGS-I - Rs. 23700 – 980/7 – 30560 – 1145/2 – 32850 – 1310/7 – 42020
MMGS-II - Rs. 31705 – 1145/1 – 32850 – 1310/10 – 45950
MMGS-III - Rs. 42020 – 1310/5 – 48570 – 1460/2 – 51490
Educational Qualification:
Backup Administrator - A degree in B.E./ B. Tech / M.E. / M. Tech in Computer Science / Computer Technology/ Computer Engineering / Computer Science and Technology / Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology/ Information Science and Engineering / Electronics & Communication Engineering or MCA with minimum 60% marks or equivalent grade or First Class
Extract, Transform & Load (ETL) Specialist / Developer / Programmer - A degree in B.E./ B.Tech / M.E. / M.Tech in Computer Science / Computer Technology/ Computer Engineering / Computer Science and Technology / Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology/ Information Science and Engineering or MCA with minimum 60% marks or Equivalent Grade or First Class
BI Specialist - A degree in B.E./ B.Tech / M.E. / M.Tech in Computer Science / Computer Technology/ Computer Engineering / Computer Science and Technology / Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology/ Information Science and Engineering or MCA with minimum 60% marks or Equivalent Grade or First Class
Antivirus Administrator - A degree in B.E./ B. Tech / M.E. / M. Tech in Computer Science / Computer Technology/ Computer Engineering / Computer Science and Technology / Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology/ Information Science and Engineering / Electronics & Communication Engineering or MCA with minimum 60% marks or equivalent grade or First Class
Network Administrator - A degree in B.E./ B. Tech / M.E. / M. Tech in Computer Science / Computer Technology/ Computer Engineering / Computer Science and Technology / Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology/ Information Science and Engineering / Electronics & Communication Engineering or MCA with minimum 60% marks or equivalent grade or First Class. Should possess a valid CCNP / CCNA certification in Network switching & Routing Certification
Database Administrator - A degree in B.E./ B. Tech / M.E. / M. Tech in Computer Science / Computer Technology/ Computer Engineering / Computer Science and Technology / Computer Science and Engineering / Information Technology/ Information Science and Engineering or MCA with minimum 60% marks or Equivalent Grade or First Class. Candidate should possess a valid OEM Certification i.e. Oracle Certified Associate (OCA) or higher.
Source: Hindustan Times, 15/12/20
The menace of social media monopolies
Facebook’s global monopoly profits helped propel WhatsApp’s domination of India, with great social costs
The United States (US) federal government and over 40 state governments in the US are seeking to break up social media giant, Facebook and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Instagram. The governments allege that Facebook abused its monopoly powers in stifling competition and distorting the social media industry. Of all the 187 countries that Facebook and its subsidiaries do business in, arguably, India has the most at stake resting on the outcome of this case.
However, India’s problems with Facebook and its monopoly subsidiaries are not as much about the economics of free market capitalism but about a more profound issue of social order and harmony.
There is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to lynchings and deaths in India caused by rumours spread on the WhatsApp communication platform. It lists 12 cases of lynchings since 2017 in which 36 Indians have been injured or killed in social violence incited by fake messages spread through WhatsApp.
It is an astonishingly dubious distinction for a seemingly innocuous technology platform to be hailed as the perpetrator of violent deaths in a society. Widely-circulated rumours and false news on WhatsApp have caused severe upheavals in Indian society over the past few years. Just as gun violence is an acknowledged abomination in the US, WhatsApp violence in India is now an acknowledged disgrace. Despite all its acclaimed benefits, WhatsApp has turned into an enormous social menace in India.
In a meeting with Facebook’s global leadership team in the US in July 2018, I raised my concerns over the misuse of Facebook’s technology platforms in India and urged them to take this issue up seriously. They showed no signs of recognition of the gravity of the situation. Subsequently, in another meeting in October 2018 with the then global CEO of WhatsApp and their India leadership team, I once again raised alarm over WhatsApp’s unwitting complicity in perpetrating social unrest in India and asked them how the company proposes to address it. Facebook’s India team dismissed this concern nonchalantly and waxed eloquent about the immense benefits to Indian society from WhatsApp.
The notion that no civilised society should tolerate a single death, even if it means denying benefits to thousands seemed lost on them. The enormous market power and clout that Facebook and its subsidiaries enjoy has lured the company into a false sense of self-righteousness and made them callous about the unintended deep social harm inflicted by their products.
WhatsApp is a big social menace primarily because of its ubiquity. Nearly one out of every two adult Indians uses WhatsApp. WhatsApp has become hugely popular in India largely because it was free for the Indian consumer. Indians send as many free WhatsApp messages in one day as the number of text messages they send in a whole month. If WhatsApp charged a fee for every message or revealed the identity of the original sender of a widely circulated message, then perhaps WhatsApp would not be the menace that it is now. But, as the Netflix documentary Social Dilemma reminded us — “if the product is free, then you become the product”.
WhatsApp is able to provide its encrypted services to billions of users for free because all its costs are borne entirely by its parent, Facebook. Facebook can pay for the enormous costs of keeping WhatsApp free because it generates a profit of the equivalent of ₹20 crore ($2.7mn) every hour from its sheer dominance and monopoly of the social media industry. So, the fountainhead of “deaths by WhatsApp” in India is Facebook’s monopolistic profits.
WhatsApp is a big social menace primarily because of its ubiquity. Nearly one out of every two adult Indians uses WhatsApp. WhatsApp has become hugely popular in India largely because it was free for the Indian consumer. Indians send as many free WhatsApp messages in one day as the number of text messages they send in a whole month. If WhatsApp charged a fee for every message or revealed the identity of the original sender of a widely circulated message, then perhaps WhatsApp would not be the menace that it is now. But, as the Netflix documentary Social Dilemma reminded us — “if the product is free, then you become the product”.
WhatsApp is able to provide its encrypted services to billions of users for free because all its costs are borne entirely by its parent, Facebook. Facebook can pay for the enormous costs of keeping WhatsApp free because it generates a profit of the equivalent of ₹20 crore ($2.7mn) every hour from its sheer dominance and monopoly of the social media industry. So, the fountainhead of “deaths by WhatsApp” in India is Facebook’s monopolistic profits.
By this argument, a free WhatsApp should be deified as a blessing for consumers. But we know that a free WhatsApp causes deaths in India. The economic method of measuring consumer benefit or harm through the exclusive prism of prices is shallow. It is irrefutable that WhatsApp has caused tremendous social harm to Indian consumers.
Facebook’s enduring stream of global monopoly profits helped propel WhatsApp’s domination of the Indian market. If WhatsApp is split from Facebook, it will either be forced to charge for its product or look for alternative revenue streams or raise billions of dollars from new investors. None of these are easy solutions and can disrupt WhatsApp’s status quo. This could potentially break WhatsApp’s dominance in the Indian market, spurring competition for safer platforms and ending its monopoly. Which, in turn, could bode well to reduce social unrest through widely-circulated rumours on one dominant monopolistic platform.
India is WhatsApp’s largest market with four times more users than its second-largest market. There is a lot riding for Indian society on the case to break up Facebook and WhatsApp. While the US is seeking to save its cherished free market capitalism, India will be looking to save lives and preserving social harmony. Breaking up Facebook could help prevent the breaking of some Indians’ faces.
Praveen Chakravarty is a political economist and a senior office-bearer of the Congress
Source: Hindustan Times, 15/12/20
How did slums survive during the lockdown?
The pandemic has shown that slums need sustained engagement between crises
Usually, when Adeel Kureshi contacts government officials, it is to demand paved roads, sewers, and streetlights for Pahari Nagar, a sprawling slum settlement in eastern Jaipur. This past April, though, Kureshi was seeing to more pressing needs—making sure residents have enough food and fuel during the raging coronavirus pandemic and stringent lockdown. Kureshi, an informal leader and resident of Pahari Nagar, told us over the phone: “I have tried to make a list of households who are the rozkamane vale, roz khane vale. If they don’t work for one day they will go hungry. So I made sure they got supplies…”
Six hundred kilometers away in Bhopal, Om Prasad, another slum leader, was scrambling to ensure residents were keeping the settlement clean and understood how easily the virus can jump from person to person. “The first thing I did [following the lockdown’s announcement] is get the settlement cleaned. The second thing was to build awareness about how the disease can spread between neighbours.”
India’s slums received substantial media attention for being potential coronavirus hotspots. Journalists note that slum communities are especially vulnerable to the spread of the virus, and the economic consequences of restrictive mitigation strategies. Slum residents are susceptible given most work in the informal sector and live in crowded conditions, often with inadequate access to essential public services like water and sanitation.
Despite widespread concerns, we have little systematic information from slum residents about their pandemic-time experiences. Most reporting has focused on conversations with residents in ‘famous’ slums in megacities like Dharavi in Mumbai. These city-sized slums are unrepresentative of most settlements, which are smaller and in less metropolitan cities.Media accounts also tend to render settlements as uniformly vulnerable and helplessly passive in the face of the pandemic.These portrayals ignore significant variation across slums in their levels of infrastructural development, and neglect the internal structures of self-governance through which these communities solve problems during ‘normal times’.
To better understand how slum residents were affected by the lockdown and pandemic, we conducted a phone survey with 321 slum leaders across 79 slums in Jaipur and Bhopal, at the height of the lockdown in April and May 2020. To our knowledge this is the first such effort to canvas these important leaders during the pandemic. What did we find?
First, our survey demonstrated that slum leaders are not idly watching the virus spread and economic distress deepen.Roughly six in ten leaders contacted a local politician during the lockdown to request assistance. However, the focus of their lobbying efforts shifted dramatically from ‘normal’ times. 91% of requests during the lockdown were for food rations, instead of more usual demands for public infrastructure. This reorientation makes sense given leaders estimated the average household in their settlement had only enough savings to survive for 24 days.This shift in focus highlights a hidden cost of the pandemic—a reduction in the time leaders have to address pre-existing deficiencies in basic public services.
Second, pre-pandemic disparities in infrastructural development also shape the extent to which residents can abide by public health guidelines. 39% of the 1594 households we surveyed across the same 79 settlements in 2015 lack domestic water taps. Accessing water requires them to congregate at communal sources like public taps and truck-fed tanks, where intermittency in water supply creates uncertainty that forces long waits. Slum leaders in settlements with sparser household connections are nearly twice as likely to report public water sources as a problem for social distancing than leaders in settlements with more widespread connectivity. As Vikram, a slum leader in Jaipur told us, “people understand it is dangerous to come to a crowded place for water, but they have to do it.” Approaching‘slums’ as a homogenous category misses how disparities across settlements matter during the crisis.
Third, slum leaders are not uniform in their ability to help residents. We asked leaders to enumerate any relief schemes that had been initiated or expanded during the lockdown that slum residents might benefit from. 47% of leaders correctly identified zero or 1 scheme, while 25.5% of leaders correctly identified 3 or more schemes. Slum leaders also varied in their reported ability to get requested assistance from politicians. Two key factors underpinned their influence with city leaders: education and their embeddedness in political party networks. In prior, pre-pandemic research, we found these exact traits corresponded with effectiveness in everyday problem-solving. Leaders who were effective before the pandemic remained more effective during it.
Public health experts have called for community-driven solutions to slow transmission and soften the economic blow of containment measures. In India’s slums, such participatory efforts will encounter informal leaders like Kureshi, Om Prasad, and Vikram. Our findings reveal active forms of leadership even in the most underserved areas of India’s cities. However, we also document that slum leaders are deeply dependent on party networks, and that nine in ten are men. These traits inevitably bias the types of residents that leaders are most likely to hear and help. Rather than flatten and simplify slum communities, participatory efforts must recognize these complexities within them.A small silver lining to the pandemic has been in rendering visible the Indian state’s inadequate understanding of important urban communities, ranging from circular migrants to slum residents. Acting on this realization requires more than calls for making cities inclusive. It requires sustained engagement between crises, not a flurry of recognition during them.
Adam Auerbach is an assistant professor in the School of International Service, American University and author of Demanding Development: The Politics of Public Goods Provision in India’s Urban Slums (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Tariq Thachil is an associate professor of Political Science, and Madan Lal Sobti Chair of Contemporary India, and Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania.
Source: Hindustan Times, 14/12/20
Friday, December 11, 2020
Quote of the Day December 11, 2020
“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.”
Napoleon Bonaparte
“जिसे हार जाने का डर होता है उसकी हार निश्चित होती है।”
नेपोलियन बोनापार्ट
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