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Showing posts from November, 2013

The Great Indian Skill Gap... A Reality Check

I am a corporate guy, with experience in teaching MBA classes as well . And I categorically state: there is no skill gap. The only gap is in our approach, at least in the general sense of the term. What is the difference between the 2 statements - Skill Gap and Approach? When you say Gap, the onus is on the student; when you say approach - YOU are the culprit. This is not splitting hairs, this is the core issue. You say students are not corporate-ready. Fine, Enumerate steps taken by your organisation to tackle this. And please dont list A-lister colleges. Till date, I have not seen a single corporate aligning with universities, If you cant get in, dirty your hands and solve it, stop crying and face the music! Do you seriously expect a greenhorn to come raring out and write perfect code? Do you seriously expect a greenhorn to come out raring and bribe a government babu with impunity? And dont tell me corporates dont bribe, please! Do you seriously expect a new guy fresh out of co

The Significance of 1857 in our Independence

1857, The First War Of Independence... what was its true significance and importance in our freedom struggle? To understand this, we first have to understand the sequence of events leading upto and during 1857... Until we really colonise India, and raise up a European element in the population... Edward Humphreys, Manual of British Government In India, 1857 ..May be no dilatoriness on any account in continuing in the country the grand work of making India Christian - Mr Mangles, Chair, EEIC, in the house of Commons, Early 1857 The whole land has been shaken by missions to its innermost centre... the Hindu trembles for his religion, and the Muslim for his... Rev M A Sherring, The Indian Church During The Great Rebellion, 1858 Areas covered by the proclamation of Bahadur Shah Zafar: Taxation (I commit to lower taxes, to preserve the dignity...); Trade and Commerce (Open trade of every article, both by land and water, to all Indian Merchants, access to Capital, lower

Online and Digital Media - A Different Perspective 1

Online and Digital Media are the flavour of the day, with everyone waxing eloquent about the prospects and opportunities of the said medium. In the Information Technology age that we are living in, it is only to be expected that there would be an exuberance and a dream of high growth and deep penetration of this medium. And, truth be told, the initial figures that are now coming in - and these are initial days, make no mistake - have only underlined the tremendous potential of this nascent industry.  However, every coin has 2 sides; every situation has multiple perspectives. And remember that the full nature of the industry is not revealed till it enters its fast growth or even mature phase. These are early days for the online medium, and it is going to be an interesting growth phase for it, as it grows and tries to meet the challenges and hurdles that are thrown its way.And, insofar as it has not had to meet any challenges till date, it should be interesting to see how it deals

The Post Colonial Hangover 3: The Modern World

This is the 3rd and concluding part of the series on Colonialism in the Modern World. The previous part can be found here :  http://reflectionsvvk.blogspot.in/2013/10/the-post-colonial-hangover-our-colonial.html The age of Empires was over; the age of colonial style exploitation was over; the age of plunder and loot was over; the age of easy money was over; the age of forcible subjugation of Asia by Europe and America was over. The 50s marked the beginning of an era wherein all nations were viewed as equal; wherein all people were one and equal; wherein each nation could survive and grow basis its own economic, political and social policies and experiments, with the better nation winning out in the end. This is best symbolised in that iconic Hindi Song Chhodo Kal Ki Baatein, Kal Ki Baat Puraani; Naye Daur Mein Likhenge Mil Kar Nayi Kahaani, Hum Hindustani! / Aaj Puraani Raahon Ko Hum Chhod Chuke Hain, Aaj Puraani Zanjeeron Ko Tod Chuke Hain... Nayaa Daur Hai Nayi Umangein, Ab Hai