Heritage & Indianess

Social practices in changing times

Today, changes are taking place at a fast pace, often demanding a paradigm shift in the mindset and the policy framework to manage that change. It is not always easy

It is generally agreed that change is the law of life. The body changes, the mind changes, the environment changes, and so does everything else. It is creating a synergy amongst the different paces of change of different entities that is a core concern for management action. The response to this concern needs tactics, the conglomerate of tactics makes for a strategy, and putting together various strategies leads to a policy. The long and short of it is putting the proposition on its feet.

This cyclical insight into the management of change is one of the core propositions of management. Management action itself is embedded in an environment. This environment in recent history has also, been changing at an unprecedented pace over the last century or so. The two world wars contributed to the need for theories related to the management of change. The Second World War and its conclusion led to many wars across the globe. They were over the de-construction of empires and a new kind of war, which was […]

By |2024-02-28T14:58:41+00:00January 4th, 2024|Heritage & Indianess|0 Comments

Time to study the unspoken rules

It is one of the gaps of sociological studies that social mores have rarely been subjected to scholastic scrutiny

Life is a profound yet subtle experience. The origins of norms, values and regulations are visible only at a certain level and in the context of certain experiences. For instance, consider the almost global feeling amongst Homo sapiens that taking human life is wrong, no matter what the colour of their skin, religion or caste. It doesn’t really matter if that person is from the jungles or the cities, or if he is literate or illiterate.

The list of such rules, social mores, customs and behaviours is endless. Consider the universal feeling of love, concern and care that parents have for their offspring. Like other such generic examples these sentiments need no codification. They are so universal that they have become an integral and spontaneous part of life. These may well be referred to as unspoken laws. However, the story doesn’t end there.

What has been said above is generic and global. Moving beyond it can be specific and regional, probably local.

Consider perhaps, the oldest surviving institution of mankind: Marriage. A man and woman commit themselves to each other and to a lifelong partnership. […]

By |2023-10-22T14:00:47+00:00March 2nd, 2020|Columns, Heritage & Indianess|Comments Off on Time to study the unspoken rules

Relating research to the country

The roots of R&D have to be Indian assumptions, environment-friendly methodologies and techniques which can work in the infrastructure available here

The quality of research by Indians is well recognised. It is equally true that path-breaking research in Indian institutions, in practically most domains of study, is few and far between. This includes science, technology, medicine, maritime studies and more. This poverty of range and depth is not always a factor of resources or autonomy. There are many factors which have contributed to it, not the least being the intellectual conditioning and orientation of an overwhelmingly large number of so-called ‘intellectual’ leaders. Oriented and bred in Anglo-Saxon scholastic traditions or traditions of US/Canadian Universities, these front line leaders have inherited a world view and academic orientation which they perpetuate through their choice of research themes and methodologies.

Most of the Central Government institutions with specific specialisation, such as science, technology, medicine and management are not short of money or talent. Yet somehow, the chemistry between the objectives of the institutions and the efforts of the personnel have not resulted in the alchemy, which makes for referable fundamental contribution to the chosen domain of knowledge. Nor does it, often enough, significantly, contribute to the […]

By |2020-12-25T03:50:25+00:00November 11th, 2019|Columns, Heritage & Indianess|0 Comments
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