nonamechicken

Unless I misunderstood, someone I know from one of these 2 states recently told me their grandparent wanted to be disposed of like that. They said their generation or their parents don't believe in such practices.

According to the below article, some communities do practice dumping body in Ganges.

"He further informed that the practise of dead body being disposed in the rivers is prevalent in two particular stretches in central/eastern U.P. and the epicentre of which is in Kanpur Unnao region in central U.P and Banaras-Ghazipur area in eastern U.P"

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/practice-of-bodies-b...

There was also another incident in 2015 from the same Unnao region where they found more than 100 bodies in Ganges.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unnao_dead_bodies_row

While I agree that we shouldn't be seeing bodies in rivers, I am not entirely convinced if Covid and Spanish flu in India are comparable.

The below links say bodies were found in many rivers, not just Ganga.

"A report released by the sanitary commissioner in 1918 later documented that it was not just Ganga that was clogged up with bodies, but all rivers across India."

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-natio...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic_in_India

I don't think if scenarios such as below are happening in India, the leftist Indian media would stay silent.

“India perhaps never saw such hard times before. There is wailing on all sides. … There is neither village nor town throughout the length and breadth of the country which has not paid a heavy toll.

Elsewhere, the Sanitary Commissioner of the Punjab noted, “the streets and lanes of cities were littered with dead and dying people … nearly every household was lamenting a death, and everywhere terror and confusion reigned.”

https://theconversation.com/1918-flu-pandemic-killed-12-mill...

I am guessing 'blocked_again' is from India, which means English is not their native language. Having to translate ones thoughts to a foreign language itself is hard, so I am with 'blocked_again' on this.

> The Indian state of Kerala would like to differ.

Kerala chief minister who is a communist is coming to US for health care next week.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kerala-chief-minister-...

I have been also wondering about this. My impression is that Tamil Nadu is much better in terms of health care compared to many Indian states. So, its strange that the parents are refusing to get tested. I am thinking that the parents are afraid to take public transport, and they don't want to burden their NRI son/daughter, so are making up excuses.

The dead body floating thing happened in 1 or 2 states. My understanding is that dumping the body in Ganges is a cultural thing in some towns in those states. Someone from there told me that the older generation wants their body to be thrown in Ganges or buried on the shore so that they can get 'moksha'.

> instead of letting them die in a place where they can't even get a COVID test done.

I find it hard to believe that they are unable to get tests. During the peaks, it may have been true. Outside of that, there was no shortage. And we don't even need to go to hospitals for covid tests, there are plenty of independent labs. So, if their parents don't trust hospitals, they can go to those testing centers instead. Many in my family did that, that too 2-3 times (since they have to show negative RT PCR result for travel).

I also appreciate your contribution. Unlike a lot of the so called NRIs, at least you chose to stay and do your part to make India better.

If they are worried about hospitals, please request them to go to any of the independent labs that does covid tests. These labs are not connected to hospitals, they get paid only for the test, so doesn't matter to them whether the patient is positive or not. Many in my family did that.

Also, when one of my family members got positive during the first peak, they went to a local government hospital (small town). They got really great care (including 4-5 doses of some injection worth ~10000 Rs per dose if I remember correctly, free food etc), and paid absolutely nothing.

Regarding 'helped unify India as a nation', they are not the first. Referring to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN41DJLQmPk, India's map looked close to the present day multiple times in the past.

Maurya Empire-284 BCE [1:57]

Delhi Sultanate (Tughlaq)-1345 [8:45]

Mughal Empire-1692 [10:24]

As for 'they also brought manufactured goods back', they exported raw materials from India and imported back finished goods, thereby destroying the local industries in India.

>By the mid-19th century, the Indian economy had been fully transformed into a colonial trade pattern, where its export consisted mainly of agricultural commodities such as foodgrains, and the home charges were met by exporting such commodities, while the imports consisted of manufactured goods, especially cotton textiles and machinery (Siddiqui, 2015c). After the 1880s, the trade imports became more diversified, due to the growing penetration of foreign manufactured goods such as cotton textiles, capital goods, machinery etc. (Siddiqui, 1996) This in turn further undermined the position of the local producers and hastened the decay of indigenous industries and handicrafts.

https://worldfinancialreview.com/the-political-economy-of-fa...

Dr Shashi Tharoor did a nice speech about the British rule in India listing out the damages they did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CW7S0zxv4. Text version of this speech available here: https://www.news18.com/news/india/read-shashi-tharoors-full-.... His book on the same topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglorious_Empire

Then there is the famines. Famines during british rule is estimated to have killed from 20-50 million Indians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_major_famines_in_I.... Google image search of 'british india famines' should show some photos for those who haven't heard of this before. An article talking about why famines occured: https://worldfinancialreview.com/the-political-economy-of-fa...

What are the chances of someone with around 15 years of experience as an individual contributor & currently in a foreign country getting a job in software in India? My impression is that most of the Indian companies expect people above 10 years experience to be a manager, especially in Infosys and the likes. Is this true?

Also, if you have any tips on applying for a job in India while still working in a foreign country, please share.

I don't see them as academics, but rather propagandists. I am wondering what exactly does this study achieve? The sex selective abortion issue in India is not a new thing. It has been studied a lot since the last 30 years (one of the first law banning gender determination was enacted in 1994). So I fail to understand what is the point of doing it again in 2020, when they could use that time to study something more useful. Also, its not like people in India doesn't know this is an issue. India already has laws banning gender determination before birth. There are big notices plastered everywhere in the waiting rooms and inside the (ultrasound) scanning centers that says that "sex determination is illegal, and punishable with so and so jail term and fines". Because of the laws, only time people would find out about the gender is when the nurse brings the baby outside for everyone to see after birth.

This is one of the guidelines for scanning centres: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3498636/

>There should be a board, prominently displayed, with the message in English and the local language that ‘sex selection and detection is not done in this Centre and is punishable under the PC-PNDT Act’. This should be displayed in the waiting area and the USG room. No specific size for the message is suggested.

If one searches for "PC-PNDT Act arrest", they can find many news reports (so its not like 'misogynistic' Indians are doing nothing to stop it).

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/amritsar/doctor-se...

https://medicaldialogues.in/violation-of-pcpndt-act-doctor-a...

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/sex-test-ra...

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/seven-ar...

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/salem-doc-a...

https://www.hindustantimes.com/pune-news/pune-radiologist-se...

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/ambala-man-arrested-fo...

https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/woman-...

As for "Why does it matter who they are?": I am an Indian, and I visit HN multiple times a day. All the stories that get posted about India here belongs to one of the 3 categories - how Indians treat their women bad, how Indians are castist, or how Indian programmers are stupid. I am not saying not to shit on India or Indians, criticism is how we grow. But when the criticism is on a few selected areas, it leans towards propaganda. As for this specific topic, western media talks about it every chance they get. India has a huge number of problems, but focusing only one a few select things and stereotyping the people makes it look like propaganda to me.

> are you saying Saudis abort girls similar to india or are you saying women's rights being considered bad relative to the west means saudis hate women, even their mothers and sisters

I don't know how Saudis treat women. The only knowledge I have about Saudis is from Reddit. I am guessing you are a Saudi. So I hope you understand how social media stereotypes can turn harmful. My perception about the treatment of Saudi women is based on comments I see in Reddit. As for why I am opposed to it: here is one of the recent incidents that comes to my mind about how racial stereotypes can negatively impact people just based on their identity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leipzig_University_internship_...

Obsidian in laptop -> OneDrive -> FolderSync in Android works fine as long as periodic sync is ok.

Syncthing may be even easier, but I didn't try it since I am not sure if I can restrict it to LAN only.

While Obsidian may be proprietary, as long as the files follow standard markdown syntax, it can be opened in any markdown editor. I am currently using both Obsidian & Typora on the same workspace folder(I like Typora better for editing since its WYSIWIG). Not being locked down to any specific software was the primary reason I moved away from OneNote.

Not trying to dismiss the issue here. But I find this part of the article really ironic:

> Academics from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia projected the sex ratio at birth in 29 Indian states and union territories, covering almost the entire population, taking into account each state’s desired sex ratio at birth and the population’s fertility rates.

> The study, published in the journal Plos One this week, called for strengthened policies that “advocate for gender equity and the introduction of support measures to counteract existing gender biases”.

Saudis are commenting about Indians on gender equality!

> In India, jobs are careers for life, and your employer is part of your personal brand.

This has not been the case for at least the last 10+ years. I cant speak of the 'product' companies such as Microsoft, Google etc. But for anyone working in the WITCH like companies, only way to get your salary changed is to switch companies. People change their jobs every 2 years or so, especially in their first 10 years. After that, it becomes less, probably because WITCHes feast on the young ones more, making more money from them. Openings for 10+ years are very less in these companies. WITCHes hire fresh graduates and pay them very less, hardly enough to survive as a bachelor in a big city like Bengaluru. So the only way to get your salary changed is by finding another job. When a person with 2 years experience change job, they often get double of what they were getting earlier. And every job change from then on comes with a 20-40% increase. Loyalty penalty is a very real thing in these companies.

I don't think anyone in the Indian IT industry thinks jobs are careers for life. I feel like our shelf life is around 40 years of age. Only a few survive the industry after that. Sad thing is there is no social security like in US, so we are completely on our own. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there were so many senior engineers working in US companies. In WITCH like companies, every single team I have seen are structured mostly with 0-3 years, a few 4-8 years. People with more experience expect more salary. Clients want cheap 'resources'. So, these companies hire mostly the cheaper ones.

Indian Council of Medical Research announced today that Covaxin is effective against several variants including B.1.617 (double mutant variant identified in certain regions of India and several other countries), B.1.1.7 (UK variant), B.1.1.28 (Brazil variant) and B.1.351 (Southern African variant).

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/icmr-says-covaxin-...

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/covaxin-shows-78-o...

According to this Twitter person: https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout/status/138482553989517312...

>Covaxin is the inactivated virus-based COVID-19 vaccine being developed with Bharat Biotech and Covishield is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine being manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India under that name.

>So inactivated vaccines tend to have lower immunogenicity on average (when we look back on past vaccines). I would like to think if Covaxin neutralizes it, the others would likely do so as well. We will definitely need data but this is very promising

I have been in USA and has experienced first hand the convenience of buying vegetables and fruits from the likes of Walmart or Target or Costco. They provide consistency in quality and price most of the time. I don't have to worry about the content of pesticides or other harmful substances. Right now, in India, I have no way of knowing what kind of farming practices the produce I am buying was subjected to. At least in Kerala, the prices shoots up a lot every now and then as well. From that perspective, I feel this change would be good for consumers.

Also, my understanding is that the current system of small scale farming will never be profitable. In US, I have seen 1 or 2 person operating huge machines to farm large areas of land. May be its time India also move in that direction. I don't know.

As for corporate tactics, I agree with you. I see similar tactics employed by many others-Amazon, Uber etc. So I wouldn't be surprised if farmers end up in similar situations in future. We already have an example of chicken farmers in US: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/human-cost...

Regarding the warehouses, according to the below links, they are not new. They say Adani had started their construction in 2007.

https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/fact-check-no-ada...

https://thelogicalindian.com/fact-check/adani-logistics-limi...

Also, Punjab government themselves invited Reliance to Punjab in 2015.

https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entert...

thewire.in is not neutral and biased towards the left (Communism) according to here: https://www.quora.com/Is-Thewire-in-biased

Just to give you some more context on why I am wary of trusting leftist sources: Communists & BJP (and sometimes Congress) party members have been killing each other a lot (over 200 since 2000), often really brutally in the south Indian state Kerala. I don't know why BJP & Communists have this enmity towards each other. But one thing I find amusing is that Communists don't like religion because "religion kills". During the last 10-20 years, I haven't seen any religious killings in Kerala, but see a lot of brutal Mexican mafia style killings (except may be complete dismemberment), always with machetes & similar weapons and country bombs, in the name of politics.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/politics/030920/never...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36299827

https://www.mansworldindia.com/more/news/politics/rss-vs-cpm...

Would you be able to explain why the farmers don't like the new laws?

I personally don't trust thewire.in either because as far as I understand, thewire.in is left wing. Just like I won't trust swarajamag or republictv.

Looks like fault lies partly with the government. Even though there are multiple crops with MSP, govt has been procuring only wheat & paddy in Punjab.

This is according to an interview with an agricultural economist regarding the issues in Punjab. See timestamped note below at 10:31 where he talks about this. Its in Hindi. Given below are the main points that caught my attention, time stamped in case any one wants to check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZGUBIdT6PM

Edit: Full interview available here as text: https://theprint.in/india/governance/save-punjab-from-desert...

___

If the current system of mono culture (paddy/wheat) continues, the land of 5 rivers (Punjab) will face desertification in 20-30 years, says one of the most prominent agriculture economists in India Sardara Singh Johl.

[5:55] Our current food grain production is 3 times that of the optimum buffer stock norms. Disposing of these stocks is a problem, as due to MSP, our crop is more expensive than international crops. The central government has to dispose of the stocks internationally, sometimes even lower than the public distribution price of Rs. 2-3 per kg. But that too is rejected on the ground of high chemical content in crops. We have moved from a problem of deficit to a problem of surplus.

[7:11] Land holding per farmer has decreased to a very small unit per person. This made agriculture non profitable. Farmers resort to borrowing money at higher interest from money lenders which in turn pulls them down further.

[10:31] What led to paddy/wheat mono-culture?

MSP and free electricity made paddy/wheat the most profitable. Even though there is MSP on other crops such as maize, pulses, and oil-seed, government doesn't procure them as much compared to paddy/wheat. Govt procures only paddy/wheat plus a little cotton.

[12:20] The MSP system has led to a cropping pattern out of sync with the consumption pattern. Other food grain production has crashed, as has fruit and milk production.

[12:55] The biggest problem in Punjab is the fall in water level, and its pollution because of the use of fertilizers. Punjab has the highest use of fertilizer per unit of land in the country, and the water table is decreasing 25-30 cm every year. With the Bhakra Dam, a lot of water was diverted to Delhi & Haryana. Punjab's allocation fulfills just 20% of its agricultural needs, so ground water accounts for the rest. With increasing urbanization, rainwater is not absorbed into the ground as everything is concrete now. Water that is absorbed from farmlands is high in pesticides & fertilizers, polluting the ground water. Nowadays, drinking water in Punjab can only be found at 350-500 feet with a deep tube-well. In 2 or 3 decades, groundwater for drinking might not be available. Punjab will become a desert if this continues.

[22:20] Solution to Punjab's crisis.

Economic diversification of crops is necessary. I've given 2 reports, in 1986 and 2002, proposing to maintain the water balance of Punjab. In 2002, 16 of my fellow committee members proposed to bring at least 10-15 lakh (1-1.5 million) hectares of land out from under paddy cultivation. Compensate farmers for growing other crops. How do we compensate? At that time, India imported Rs. 14000 crore worth of oil-seeds and pulses. We proposed utilizing Rs 1600 crore for compensating farmers for growing pulses and oil-seeds on 10 lakh hectares of land. Unfortunately, the plan didn't fully materialize.

[27:20] Now, the govt can give Rs 10000 per hectare to farmers to encourage the diversification of crops. MSP & procurement should be provided to other crops such as maize, cotton, oil-seed and pulses. Move the cultivation of wheat and paddy out to 50 lakh hectares of land in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.

[28:00] Future of subsidies

No farm sector in the world can survive without subsidy. USA, Japan and European countries provide billions of dollars to their farmers. They get subsidy even with farms as big as 1000-1500 acres. But Punjab's free electricity subsidy is wrong; its misused. Farmers will not do this if they are made to pay for it, and will lead to judicious use of water. Subsidize the small farmers in other ways (in a way recommended by WTO).

[Then they talk about contract farming part of the new farm bill. I skipped that.]

That's a very good point. Thank you.

Sorry, I just copy pasted from another post of mine where we were talking about MSP.

MSP means minimum support price. Its a guarantee from the government to the farmers that the government will buy the crop at a certain minimum price no matter the market situation is. For example, MSP for 1 kg rice may be rupees 20. If the farmers can get a higher price in the market, they can sell it at that price. But if the market price fell for some reason (over production for example), government will buy it from the farmers for rupees 20. This guarantees that the farmers will not be at a lose.

MSP made sense when India had issues with rice and wheat (the video I linked talks about its origins in India at 5:00). Since MSP is guaranteed for some crops (such as rice and wheat) and not for others (such as pulses which India has to import), farmers would naturally make more of the MSP grains.

Also, do note that the farm bills doesn't remove MSP as far as I understand. One scenario farmers argue is this: Farmers get MSP when they sell in government run markets. Now, with the new system, farmers will get more money since they would be selling directly to the companies without any middlemen. If I understood correctly, the new system removes middle men (whom I have heard makes huge profit while paying very less to the farmers). Once the farmers starts selling directly since direct sale gets them more money, no one would go to the government markets any more. So, after a couple of years, government will close those markets since they are not in use. Now, corporations will start offering lower prices to farmers, and farmers will have no place to go. This is one argument I have heard of what could go wrong. But seeing all these protests, I have been thinking why can't farmers dictate the price if they have this much bargaining power.

I share the same fear farmers have in regards to corporations taking over things. I have seen documentaries that talks about how chicken farmers are at the mercy of 3-5 corporate monopolies in USA. So I don't know if the Indian farmers fear about corporations are entirely wrong.

Having said that, I think the new laws are good for India. These are the arguments I have heard in favor of the new laws:

One of the main arguments against the farm bills is that it will remove the minimum support price (MSP) guarantee which the government gives the farmers, and will put them at the mercy of corporations. India introduced the current MSP related system back in 1960 to inspire farmers to grow some crops when India had a huge shortage of food grains, and was importing grains directly from US (referred to as 'ship to mouth'). That is not the case now. India actually has a surplus of those grains.

Also, MSP covers only 23 crops produced in India. For example, onion prices dropped to insanely low prices last 2 years. There is no MSP for them.

Also, the MSP cover is available only in certain states, which puts other states at a disadvantage. To make things complicated, there is a law that guarantees certain grains at low price for the poor. For example, the law guarantees rice at 3 rupees to the poor. Govt has to buy the rice from the farmers because of the MSP system (say at Rs 20), and then in turn sell them to the poor at Rs.3 in a state which doesn't have MSP, thus putting the farmers in the non MSP states at a huge disadvantage.

Another reason is that farmers are producing huge amounts of MSP crops such as wheat because the price is guaranteed, while ignoring other crops that India has to heavily import (such as pulses and oil seeds). The govt has to purchase the MSP grains no matter what, and the godowns have way more in stock than India could distribute (almost double or more last year).

Also, some of these MSP crops like rice require lot of water for cultivation, and considering the shortage of water in most places in India, govt wants to reduce the farming of such crops.

I got most of these info from this video (I believe this channel is neither right wing or left wing): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9hSADKW3Cc

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I am from Kerala, which is currently ruled by the communists. I see protesters getting lathi charged and water cannoned pretty much every month (pre covid). So, honestly I can't say the farmers were treated badly based on the image in the BBC article. I am not saying violence is good, but police were lathi charging people during the corona lockdowns also.

Did they actually attack? I haven't come across any news about that.

I share the same fear farmers have in regards to corporations taking over things. I have seen documentaries about how the 3-5 corporate monopolies in USA are abusing the chicken farmers. So I don't know if the Indian farmers fear about corporations are entirely wrong.

Having said that, I think the new laws are good for India. These are the arguments I have heard in favor of the new laws:

India introduced the current MSP related system back in 1960 to inspire farmers to grow those crops when India had a huge shortage of food grains, and was importing food directly from US (google 'ship to mouth india'). That is not the case now. India actually has a surplus of those grains.

Also, MSP covers only something like 15-26 food crops produced in India. For example, we all saw how onion prices dropped to insanely low prices last 2 years. There was no MSP for them. Just yesterday, there was news of a farmer in UP dumping 1000 kg cauliflower because of low prices.

Also, I believe this MSP cover is available only in certain states, which puts other states at a disadvantage. To make things complicated, there is a law that guarantees certain grains at low price for the poor. For example, the govt will give rice at 3 rupees to the poor. Govt has to buy the rice from the farmers because of the MSP system (say at Rs 20), and then in turn sell them to the poor at Rs.3 in a state which doesn't have MSP, thus putting the farmers in the non MSP states at a huge disadvantage.

Another reason I heard is that farmers are producing huge amounts of MSP crops such as rice and wheat because the price is guaranteed, while ignoring other crops that India has to heavily import (such as ground nut). The govt has to purchase the MSP grains no matter what, and the godowns have way more in stock than India could distribute (almost double or more last year).

Also, some of these MSP crops like rice require lot of water for cultivation, and considering the shortage of water in most places in India, govt wants to reduce the farming of such crops.

>But the platform itself, I tend to see as a force of evil.

Exactly my thoughts the last couple of weeks. I think world would be a much better place if platforms like Twitter or Facebook doesn't exist. All they are doing now is spreading hatred and divisiveness in our societies, be it USA or India. I left Facebook back in 2012. And quit Twitter & Reddit for good this week.