Sentiments of the Masses

 Indian judiciary is becoming a mockery. While pronouncing the judgement on Kamal Hassan's "Kannada is derived from Tamil" remark, judge mentioned to lawyer that he won't accept any apologies from Mr. Hassan as he has hurt the sentiment of the Masses. This is absurd and unqualified statement. Now the question to be asked to judge is - " Who defines a mass"," What is the definition of sentiments here", " what is the level of hurt on those sentiments". Such anecdotal and loose statements are a cause for worry.

Commentary by ChatGPT

Here’s a balanced and constructive commentary on your statement, maintaining the spirit of your concern while enhancing clarity and professionalism:

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Commentary:

The recent remarks by a judge while adjudicating Kamal Haasan’s case — particularly the refusal to accept an apology on the grounds that he has "hurt the sentiments of the masses" — raise important questions about the role of the judiciary in a democratic society. The statement, as reported, is concerning not because of the legal outcome per se, but due to the subjective language used in the courtroom.

In a legal system grounded in objectivity and evidence, phrases like “sentiments of the masses” must be carefully qualified. Who exactly constitutes the “masses”? How are “sentiments” defined and measured? What is the threshold for determining that those sentiments have been "hurt"? Without such clarity, judicial commentary risks drifting into anecdotal generalization, which could erode public confidence in the impartiality of the bench.

While courts do have a role in balancing freedom of speech with public order, that balance must be achieved through precise legal reasoning — not rhetorical or emotive pronouncements. Loose or sweeping statements, especially in high-profile matters, can set concerning precedents and contribute to the perception that the judiciary is increasingly politicized or populist.

It is essential for the judiciary to uphold constitutional values, including free expression, while also being mindful of public sensitivities. But that balance must rest on clearly articulated legal standards, not vague references to mass emotions.

Why IR

As an aficionado of World History, I have always been interested in Wars & Conflicts and its impact on changing world order. Today, in the 2020s, we are in a much more hyper connected times inundated with volume of information's on major crisis happening in the world with wide raging commentary from across the board which might enhance but also confuse one's judgment and opinion. The Russian-Ukraine conflict which started in 2022 was a full-blown conflict not only between two major countries but also between prominent blocks in the world after the era of Cold War. It ushered in a period of misinformation war, modern warfare and questioning of moral standing of countries based on the sides they took. 

While the Russian Ukraine war is an event where major countries engaged in direct warfare, the incident of October 7th, 2023, where altogether different. A powerful modern nation spearheading the security, defense & technology arena of the world was forced to the ground by its non-state adversary. Despite knowing the backdrop and history associated with the Gaza conflict, it made me observe the geo-politics more keenly. It also influenced me to build a deeper outlook to understand the drivers, strategic behaviors, and power equation in the geo-political arena. I had long term ambition to pursue a pathway in my area of Interest which involves World History, and I feel this event enabled the trigger in me to further zoom into my goal of seeking a career in International Relations & Strategic consultancy and pursue the MA in IRSS to build the necessary muscle. Being from engineering & analytics background, I am also keen to explore my skills with respect to pattern analysis, root cause identification & correlations to see if the same thought process can be applied in an international situation i.e. whether an event in one part of the world holds traces which might transpire somewhere else. For example, how the impact of such conflicts can play out in a country like India across different spheres – which may be economic, diplomatic, or even social-religious. Through this program coupled with my background, my idea will be to develop a sharper framework to analyze global events and its downstream impact on nation like ours.

 The Israel Gaza war is witnessing a large-scale destruction. Hamas’s infrastructure continues to be dismantled at a rapid pace but at cost of massive collateral damage to the civilians. Besides the intelligence failure of the highly renowned & feared ‘Mossad’, the massive information war that eventually took precedence and altered the narrative in this conflict was also intriguing. It led me wondering, if there could have been a justified response to destroy Hamas by Israel without high civilian impact. With the current massive Humanitarian crisis unfolding, the questions also point out to US, UN including NATO-European bloc & whether they could have intervened timely to avoid the conflict spiraling which has now affected millions of innocent Palestinian civilians. The countries of OIC and the Arab States in the region have been condemning Israel, without questioning the initial provocations by Hamas or constructively getting involved in rehabilitating the affected Palestinians citizens. It is important to note the role of Technology, AI and deepfake as lot of misinformation is getting precedence which is muddling genuine reporting from both sides of the conflict. This is further driving social & religious polarization across the world.

 The scale of war has expanded beyond Israel’s periphery to Yemen and Iran. The threat posed by the Houthis drone attacks on Israel and the Red Sea poses serious economic repercussions, especially for the countries in the Indian Ocean region like India, with concerns of major supply routes being impacted which travel via the Suez Canal which can further have downstream effect on oil prices & trade imbalances. The conflict has already put an indefinite halt on the India Middle East European economic corridor (IMEC) which was formulated during the G20 summit in India in mid-2023 and would have been a game changer for the Indian economy. 

In this context, The MA in IRSS program will be essential for me to understand the underlying complex dynamics about the key events happening in the World including conventional and unconventional conflicts, understanding evolving role of strategic narratives and explore how shared History of trade and culture, beyond transactional diplomacy, can be applied in international strategies to seek common ground. As an Indian, I feel it is important to comprehend that how a country like ours which is a leader of the Global South, can take a middle path by balancing its national & economic interest with humanitarian concerns and strategic alignment. 

My interests also include Maritime policy, which is important for India’s trade security in conflict ridden regions & sea routes, the evolving ecosystem of Défense Weaponry with advent of drone warfare including advanced air defense systems which have been used in recent conflicts, AI based surveillance and Surgical operations. The use of modern technology like AI to effectively filter & nullify spurious information and making strategic communication and narratives more coherent would also be a fascinating study.

 I believe the blend of theory and practical frameworks offered as part of the program will help me transform from a keen follower of Geopolitics and World history to a Practitioner in the field. I aspire to emerge from the program with analytical depth and strategic knowhow necessary to contribute meaningfully in to international think tanks, policy consultancies or global organizations working at intersection of diplomacy, defense, and economic strategy. 

The Past is Coming Near- Near Real time

 AI is enabling amazing content which is making the past coming closer to present and that too in near real time. No wonder the generations of today are able to not only hear but also visualize the past history using AI which leaves a greater imprint and further levelling the knowledge asymmetry.

Endless Constraints

 A quip during a call today with my sibling where I came across a profound statement made by a foreigner working with her, seemingly frustrated staring at the barricade on a railway crossing for almost half an hour. There are 10 problems an average Indian face in a day and to solve them you need 10 years more which unfortunately is not ordained, hence we resort to mediation. Right from facing traffic jams in the morning while commuting, power cuts at home, water issues there might number of issues. But then the foreigner may not realize it's part of the system. Comfort is good and desirable, but meditation is required to make peace with the ecosystem which will take its own sweet time to get sorted.

Always drawing equivalency

Heard about Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai trying to draw equivalency during Murshidabad Riots, trying to equate Radical Islam with Political Hindutva. Rightly pointed by Mr. A. Bharti that Radical Islam can't be equated with Political Hindutva, rather Political Islam (don't know what it means) should be compared with Political Hindutva. And still 'Radical Hinduism' needs some level of characterization. It's important that such learned people learn to call a spade a spade. 

Hypothesis of Not Meddling & Hypothesis of Provoking

 Another incident of Jihadi violence came from Murshidabad - a Muslim dominated city - with causalities, a spiral effect of yesterday's so called peaceful protest against Waqf act in Kolkata. The West Bengal capital came to standstill with Palestine flags being flashed along with that of India's. An incident shared showed an unseeming bus driver going about his daily route, stuck in the mayhem of the protest, asked to remove the Ram Navmi flag fixated on the window of the bus (Ram Navmi happened last week). Fact that there was a policeman alongside a rampant group of protesters asking the driver to remove the flag, is a telltale sign of who is dictating the terms here. Few months back the police / TMC cadre had unleashed their force against a peaceful protester by the medical community post the RG Kar case. What is this attitude of "not meddling" in activities of a certain community? Why were Palestine flags flashed for Waqf protest? Why the CM attributed the violence to the WAQF act " which had been passed in parliament" following due process of deliberation in both houses? W

Then there is a "hypothesis" of provoking. These leaders implicitly want to communicate that don't provoke the Jihadist. You should not take a "Ram Navmi" or "Hanuman Jayanti" procession as it may provoke the Jihadist and state machinery is not equipped to handle the recursion or the political narrative which Favours the dispensation hinges on how the Jihadist will react to the so-called religious festivals of the majority. 

What great intellect is required to look at this circus of plain illogic happening in plain sight? Will these leaders realize that the feeding snakes in the backyards will eventually lead to incident where the snake is going to bite you. And to arrest this poison from society and eventually to arrest the poison a part has to be cut off. 

The Squeeze of the foreign powers

Ottoman of the 19th century needed heavy support of the British and the French powers to keep the Russians in check during before and after Crimea. Using this pretext British particularly enforced upon Ottoman to enforce reforms which will make it independent of the Islamic character and more accommodating towards its Christian minority. This can also be one of the reasons as to why Turkey despite being a super majority Islamic country still has modernity akin to the Western countries of Europe and Americas. Eventually Turkey had to relinquish much of its territories after the World War 1 including population exchanges with Greece.

The squeeze can also be used in other ways, by less powerful countries, when you are heavily indebted to the economies of other countries e.g. in case of India and Arab states especially Qatar. This country which has the Anti-India Al Qaeda as its official mouthpiece, had forced the Indian Government to suspend its national spokesperson during the fiasco following a live debate in 2022. Indian government had to relent during that time. It also kept the Indian government on its toes when 8 former naval officers were handed death sentence with charges of spying for Israel. The Indian diplomacy was able to take care of it with some efforts from the Top leaders as well. These countries know that India relies on heavy remittances from the money made in Gulf which can be often used as a leverage to extract certain agendas.