THE AAKASH TABLET :A POST MORTEM

The Aakash tablet touted to be the cheapest tablet pc in the world was launched in October 2011 amid great fanfare as an attempt to bolster the academic experience of students in the country. It was conceived as a one stop solution to address concerns of inequity in the quality of education besides the digital divide which separated the convent bred from the government school students. 

After a series of iterations, The Aakash 2 tablet was unveiled on November 11, 2012 instantly receiving endorsement from the United Nations. Priced at Rs.1, 130, the tablet pc is expected to finally provide an affordable solution to the students of the information age.But does it really live up to its hype? Can the Aakash tablet really address the needs of the scores of students transitioning from the good old textbook to a tablet? Let’s examine….

An evaluation of the original Aakash tablet can throw some light on the outcomes we can expect from Aakash 2.Akash-I launched pompously as a low cost alternative to the now ubiquitous laptop, had a 2GB storage space, with an archaic 512 MB RAM, low battery life, low processor speed, frequent heating up and less apps.This subsidized tablet whose USP was its low price, failed to meet the fundamental requirement of the information age i.e. access to the internet. 

While  Aakash-I could be excused as a faulty start of an ambitious experiment ,The lack of will on the part of the government to really bring about sweeping changes in subsequent iterations is disappointing. It goes to show that we are content in providing an underpowered, underperforming device at a low “affordable price” although it defeats the very purpose for which the device was visualized in the first place. The problem with our government agencies is that we are focusing solely on the “cost” factor, rather than the priorities we seek to achieve!!…..i.e. in terms of quality.

The Aakash 2 is at best old wine in a new bottle. The storage is still around 2 GB, The new look has been achieved by substituting two USB ports that the first Aakash had for one mini-USB port. This means no internet dongles. That is a big drawback, considering Aakash 2 can access only Wi-Fi networks. It does support tethering capability that lets it act as a local Wi-Fi hot spot. But not being able to access cellular networks like 3G, such as in rural areas where mobile phone penetration is miles ahead of internet penetration, will place the onus on local governments to lay internet-cables, bring down broadband prices, etc. This is a huge challenge considering the state of broadband penetration in our country.

Wi-Fi hotspots are uncommon even in urban areas. They are currently restricted to a few high profile institutes of excellence. God alone knows when they would be a reality in rural areas. Lack of internet access and connectivity would ultimately militate against the very idea of knowledge through digital media. Our experience from countries such as Peru (One Laptop per Child program instituted in 2005) show how providing such devices did not actually translate into tangible results when the devices did not have internet access. However, Uruguay saw rapid transformations after it equipped every primary-school student in the country with a laptop with access to the internet.

The need of the hour today is to bring about an attitudinal shift of the governmental authorities and getting our priorities right.We need to understand why we opted for the Akash initative in the first place and work on it.We need to reassess with a renewed sense of urgency of how we choose to empower our students to be globally competant.

Our policy makers should emphasize on the requirements of a student in the information age. Any attempt to bring out a credible device capable of bridging the information divide and developing a world class human resource should have the following capabilities:

1. One which enables a student to take notes –handwriting recognition software (handwriting to text convertors).
2. Ability to record class lectures as audio files for playback later on.
3. Ability to watch videos of pre-recorded lectures.
4. Ability to access live streaming video sites for listening/Watching to online lectures.
5. Ability to view power point presentations.
6. Ability to access infotainment packages which can demystify concepts to students and make learning fun.
7. Data storage and printing options.
8. High processor speed to enable multi-tasking; longer battery life.more usb ports etc to name a few….

The Aakash tablet has the potential to bridge the digital divide and provide universal access to information to all students at all levels in the country. Content development should be outsourced to the private sector with sufficient government oversight. Development of content in vernacular languages needs to be emphasized through adequate transliteration of existing information.

It is always advantageous if the price of a device like the Aakash is low. But low price shouldn’t imply low quality. Given the goal of ultimately unifying 58.6 lakh students across 25,000 colleges and 400 universities, Aakash 2 could be revised to better leverage existing infrastructure instead of necessitating more.

Jab tak hain jaan...Jab tak hain jaan.....Jab tak hain jaan

The legendary Yash chopra's swansong JAB TAK HAIN JAAN is a visual feast and poetry in motion backed by credible performances from the lead protagonists.While the fact remains that Shahrukh Khan is the best Bollywood actor of our generation,The credit to extract such a subtle & mature performance from him (akin to Swades & Chak de) must go to the creative genius Yash chopra.

The film lingers just like the memory of a good meal.Every Frame showcases the passion and Dedication  of a film maker who has directed this film from his heart. Yash chopra is among the last of his kind whose understanding of the complexieties and nuances of human relationships has no parallel.London didn't look so good before and The visuals of Pahalgam ,Leh and Ladakh had me feeling nostalgic.I started yearning to get back to Kashmir again.The movie is a tad longer(3hrs) than most multiplex movies  we are used to these days, but if one is a hopeless romantic like i am, he/she wouldn't mind sitting for 3 more hours!!..The ability to show love and relationships in their purest form without making it look outlandish is the greatest craft which this master technician has honed from the days he directed Lamhe & chandni. Bollywood has truly lost a legendary film maker.Love stories will never be the same again in Bollywood, they wont be half as honest or endearing.....His death brings an end to an era of Romance!....a great loss to die-hard romantics like me.....R.I.P yash chopra, as the    end credits and rare footage indicate, u will live on forever!.

Ps: A word of appreciation for Katrina Kaif !.....she was a revelation in the movie.She finally comes of age and sheds the wooden face and the Barbie hangover.Well done katrina good job.

A CASE FOR AN ALL INDIA JUDICIAL SERVICE

The constitution of India which is the supreme law of the land provides for a system of unified courts which comprise the higher judiciary (The supreme court and the high court) and subordinate courts at the district level (the sessions court) which are charged with the sacrilegious duty of safeguarding civil liberties of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ and checking arbitrary actions by the executive and judiciary. Thus, the courts have been empowered to act as a bulwark against malpractices and uphold the spirit of the democratic ideals enshrined in our constitution. Our experience in the six decades of the post independence phase has illustrated how the courts have proactively attempted to address myriad issues such as access to impartial justice, lowering costs, emphasizing on modernization of courts, boosting judicial infrastructure, improving the judges to citizen ratio etc.Several innovative models such as Lok adalats, ADR mechanisim, NALSA, tribunal system etc were adopted and implemented with the intention of achieving inclusive justice.

   However, in spite of the commendable job done by the system of courts through various landmark judgments, the judicial situation in our country continues to be in a state of shambles. The higher courts in our country are overburdened with alarming pendency of cases, red-tapism, huge shortage of qualified judges, inadequate judicial infrastructure, archaic procedures and laws, non-transparency and non-accountability etc to name a few. The higher judiciary has become the preserve of the elite group of legal personalities who have the resources to lobby for key posts. Influence, money and lobbying play a pivotal role in securing important positions in the higher judiciary. Constitutional procedures laid down to ensure impartial selection of judges, lawyers, advocates etc are routinely flouted and loopholes in the provisions have been exploited to the hilt ,in order to accommodate  persons dubious reputation to the high judicial offices. This has literally shut the door for many talented lawyers, advocates and judges having excellent track records of probity in public life from further pursuing a career in the judiciary. Statistics indicate that a major chunk of law graduates who aren’t able to secure employment in the courts of our country have chosen alternative careers ranging from entrepreneurial businesses to corporate law. This is an ironic situation given that the judiciary in India remains thoroughly understaffed.

The increasing difficulties in carving out a career in the legal machinery has also resulted in strain on the existing courts and created avenues for corruption. The higher judiciary in recent times has only been able to engage itself in addressing high profile cases highlighted by either the media or the civil society. While various cases involving the vulnerable sections of the society have been pending in the courts for years, they have either received a step motherly treatment or put in cold storage. With no one to fight for their cause, such cases never see the light of the day. As the old saying goes… “Justice delayed is justice denied”, by eclipsing the disadvantaged and the poor from getting free, impartial and speedy justice our judicial system has by and large remained ineffective for the voiceless millions. Exclusion of the vulnerable sections from the ambit of justice is a heinous crime in a democratic society which envisions ‘social, economic and political justice for all’.

What is the way out?—while a singular solution to this quagmire would be impossible to arrive at, we can attempt to follow the bottom-up approach to achieve the goal of inclusive justice. The probable solution could be a system of ICT enabled and networked rural courts which can service manageable populations  and  settle disputes which the common man encounters in his/her everyday life. While  such a solution appears to be a simple , in reality it would require a paradigm shift in the mindsets and attitudes of the higher judiciary and the legislature. The constitution of India U/A 312 provided for an all India judicial service which would recruit judicial officers to be filled up on the basis of an All India completion and assign them at all tiers of the judiciary. Such an All India service was designed on the lines of the All India Civil services. But for reasons unknown, no efforts were undertaken to create the service. Neither did the Rajya Sabha take a proactive step nor the judiciary direct the government to create the service. While various reasons such as ‘burden on the public exchequer’, infeasibility etc have been cited, the way I look at it, both the legislature and the judiciary are happy with status quo. Apart from the status quoist mindset that continues to plague our policy makers into inaction, vested interest are also at play by and large. In an effort towards preservation of its importance and prestige the judiciary is interested in remaining largely elitist and inaccessible. The legislature on the other hand is reluctant to further empower the judiciary with funds and functionaries as it fears increase in judicial activism. This according to me could be a probable explanation as to why paltry funds are sanctioned for modernization of the judiciary, increasing the number of judges, or for that matter creating ‘gram nyayalayas’.This status quoist, self-preservatory attitude militates against the very ideals of our constitution and is counterproductive.  

There is an urgent need to end elitism of the judiciary. The need of the hour is to create an All India cadre of judicial officers selected impartially on the basis of merit and assigned across the 7 lakh village Panchayats as judges of gram Nyayalayas. Law graduates who have cleared the bar exam should be allowed to work at these grass root courts and promotions should be based on the merit they show while trying these cases in the formative phase of their career. The creation of the All India judicial service would also offer an excellent opportunity to carry out tasks such as:: simplification of legal procedures; de-jargonisation to make court proceedings and records intelligible to the common man; gradation of cases on the basis of magnitude on scientific lines; disposal of cases quickly through adhoc benches; meeting shortages of legal personnel etc.All this could ultimately help in achieving the ideal of inclusive justice.