THE ROAD AHEAD

-Yashwant Deva

It was in the IETE Newsletter that I wrote a piece on hierarchies and networks under the caption Editors Musings. The refrain of that piece was that the days of hierarchies are over and that it is an age of networks. Describing networks as more democratic, more federal and a priori more open, accessible, and responsive, I had made out a case for their adoption. Recently, I read an article by Robert John Garigue, Hacking Belief Systems: An Agenda for the Survival of Humanity in Cyber-Society, at http://www.infowar.com/articles/00/cyborg/CYBORG3.htm His thesis is that for humanity to survive, it has to learn to hack belief systems that are encased in networks. Ibid. He maintains that the future conflict will be between the different types of cyber-environments as they continually assimilate more and more of humanity into their network structure. Ultimately, the final battle will be, as usual, between fundamentally different belief systems. The fight will be flesh and silicate against flesh and silicate. Ibid. He obviously has the developed societies of the world in mind and is oblivious of the prevailing smog and smoke that engulf the under developed world and the societies in transition, struggling for a space under the sun. Here the conflict is and shall ever remain between hierarchies that smack of and betray totalitarianism, dogmatism and fundamentalism on one side of the divide and networks borne of liberalism, egalitarianism and pluralism on the other. It is not that network cannot be an instrument of libertine and permissive culture as is apparent from the Internet. However, evil is in content not in connectivity, in application not in design.

Networks have a profound impact beyond their physical borders, confines and boundaries. They can transform political, economic, social and cultural relationships and give them a wholesome integrated identity purveying a systems approach to resolving societal problems. They lend value to human interactivity and therefore it is as important to network individuals and organizations as it is to inter-web machines. Let us not forget that growth does not come by merely buying computers, but from connecting them to each other, more so by spreading network culture.

Undoubtedly, belief systems are human constructs and they will always be more humane and fallible. So are machines. These too are human constructs and any fault-lines that are designed in them will of sure, sire Frankenstein of our own creation. The choice between technology and anti-technology too is of our own making. It is a matter of opinion that in cyber environment belief systems will be less participative and more and more dogmatic, imperative, and totalitarian³ Ibid. as Gangue suggests just because these are embedded into silicate and demand conformity and uniformity of input.⁴ Ibid. Of course the danger of humans losing control over the machines is ever present, but to insinuate that it is because of the networks, and therefore inevitable, is indeed erroneous. Whatever be the times, societal mores or the state of the technology, the networks have sustained positive belief systems and have been a bulwark against tyrannical arbitrariness and impulsivity imposed by the hierarchies.

What are these belief systems that we have chosen to be the lodestar for our Institution? Some are enshrined in our constitution, some envisioned by our mentors and set in the Vision Document of the Institution, others borne of the sagacious agenda of the Government and manifesto of the party in power. We have recently codified them and put them down in the brochure. It would be perverse of me if I do not credit my predecessors and elders of the institution, who have so painstakingly identified the goals and paved the stepping-stones for us to stride along. These belief systems, a source of our inspiration are:

Social justice

Economic reforms

Technological ethos

Industrial rejuvenation

National security

Globalization

On this day of our assumption, the members of the newly constituted IETE council and I reaffirm and avow our commitment to these. We are aware that these are not perfect. There are infirmities, inefficiencies and inequities associated with each one of them. But let me assure you that this is not a laundry list that we intend giving for wash. These are our belief systems and their implementation a sacred agenda for action. Even the much-maligned globalization is ours to boot ours to cap. To some it may mean Vasudeva Kutumbakam, to others like me the emergence of India as a Chakravarti power. Let us not forget that we have a commitment to making India a superpower in IT and SD. That has been so codified in a Gazette Extraordinary. Today they have dared usurp and patent our meditation system; tomorrow they will covet our belief system.

And now to the Road Ahead - our agenda for action, concretization of our vision, I start with the internal hierarchies and networks. When the Institution was started, it was a network of visionaries, who had pragmatic and clear ideas about the Road Ahead. As we expanded, power-wielding hierarchies sprung up, we became conscious of varna. Time has come for us to strike down pyramid-like structures of decision-making that smell of decadence, of dead mummies, of fossils, howsoever resurrected; and instead build a participatory and interactive network of the living, and the vibrant, who are technology savvy and are wedded to our culture, our way of life, our values. The concept of networking is in tune with the time-tested Indian philosophy of life, traditions of heterodoxy and thirst for knowledge borne of the abiding credulity of the seeker and technical ethos. It is aptly reflected in our motto too: saha veeryam karvavahi.

I have cut down the number of committees from 11 to 7, dispensing with burdensome hierarchies. These were constituted with an eye to bureaucratize the system. Over the years, they have lost their relevance and have become dysfunctional. I have rehashed some committees and changed the vista of others. During the last council meeting, a decision was taken to create a Board of Examinations. I have added a Board of Research and converted erstwhile Awards Committee to a board, naming it as a Board of Recognition of Excellence.

Research has been a neglected field in the past. Our only contribution is Journal of Research, which is merely a collage of research done elsewhere. There is no in-house research, particularly pertaining to the policy issues and industry-focused applied fields. I have taken a cue from the USI, which runs a Center for Research and has five Research Seats, sponsored by Army, Navy, Air Force, DRDO and MEA. I have completed a project with them under Prof Kothari DRDO Chair on Emerging Global and National Information Infrastructures and their Security Implications. Based on this project, a book Secure or Perish has been published. Other initiatives worth studying and emulating are: Financial Services Technology Consortium

It is this kind of research that I have in mind to promote on the IETE platform. We hope the Government, the Industry, the business houses, the academia, the research establishments and the Defence Services come forward and create corpus, establish research seats, identify projects, recommend scholars to conduct research, and render help in other ways. It will be a valuable contribution to the national effort on the one hand, and provide right kind of ambience and opportunity to the scholarly pursuits on the other.

We have not fallen from academic favour. That is a singular achievement indeed. Let us cash on it and further improve the standards, widen the span of academic activity and strengthen the integrity of the system. Two more streams, Computer Sciences and Information Technology have been introduced from this December. The Institution is on the right path, truly with the times and the needs of the society.

The larger chunk of our membership comes from the student community. Currently we have no forum to regularly interact with them. For form sake we conduct yearly ritual of student AGM and hold a paper contest. Whereas the local centers have a student committee to discuss student viewpoints and debate on their problems, we have none at the headquarters. In former case too, focus is limited to academic activity. It needs to be widened to embrace all facets of HRD, personality building, preparing for competitions career counseling, dispensing new skills of computation and networking, dissertation writing and e-surfing for knowledge. A forum has been created just for this purpose.

Taking guidance and inspiration from the way Samarat Ashoka propagated Dhamma by unburdening it from language, we plan to dissociate language from learning, concentrating instead on the content. John Keay writes in his history of India, Adoption of local scripts and languages shows Ashoka appealing directly not only to his own people but to other people beyond his frontiers and to other generations beyond his times,.. .the directness of his directives, which transcending the millennia, gives them even more awesome immediacy. See John Keay, India: A History (Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 2000) p. 96. We have introduced Hindi as an option for diploma level examinations from this December, and shall adopt other Indian languages by and by. The language and its idiom that we have in mind will be simple, direct, unstilted and not artfully organized for memorizing. The technical terms will be retained as they are in English.

The Government of India created a working group on IT for the Masses, under Prakah Javadekar. Its members of this group have been our leading lights too Prof Inderesan, Prof Jhunjhunwala, Dewang Mehta, A K Soni, S Ramakrishnan and Y K Sharma. The working Group has set laudable goals for the country. This is a massive task 100 million computer literates knowledge of computers a compulsory requirement for government to be acquired in two years, computer education facility in minimum of 10 schools in each of the countrys 6000 blocks. We intend taking it on as an agenda for the Institution. Propose to create a working group, make our own staff computer literate and go rural. For this year, we have set a target of establishing one center each in the four zones. We have plans to take this onerous programme to remote areas.

The erstwhile committee on industrial coordination has been wound up. It had hardly any issue to discuss. Instead a forum with a wide representation of the Industry has been created. It will organize round-table discussions at various stations on vital issues of the day. We invite the industry to patronize us. We could be their research arm a part of the innovative culture, a part of the cyber culture, the e-culture. We could help in setting up Virtual Enterprises through collaborative computing, and project studies on organization size, geographical and Web location, computing environment, relevant technologies, process implementation and talent search. We have in mind the example of National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols (NIIIP), whose protocols are viewed by Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) as one of the fundamental building blocks of NII.

We could be Industrys academic arm, help them in HRD, take on general courses under CEP 2010 and industry-specific training on subjects that we specialize in. We could be their public relations arm, help them reach out through our networks. We could carry their message across on our web site and publications and advertise their products and services. We could help businesses with object oriented technology and programming adapters that makes the intricacies of communication networks transparent to users. We could help them increase their competitiveness in dot com. We could help in creating consortia and networks in knitting industry with their peer industrial houses and entrepreneurs, with the Government. Our message is, try us. For sure, we have ideas to sell, besides recognition of excellence to dispense.

It is my view that we spend too much time on trivia on domestic, electoral and intra organization matters and too little on momentous issues - academic, research, publications, and growth of the institution. Our concern is where ATC is held who our chief guest is, what kind of clout does he wield rather than the subject, content and coverage, the quality of papers, the post-event analysis leading to positive recommendations and agenda for action. I have requested Brig Balasubramaniam to look into all aspects of electoral reforms and see if the frequency of local centers elections with membership over 200, can be reduced to once in two years.

If El Gore can take pride in having been a journalist during Vietnam war, let us join our brave soldiers in taking technology to the trench. The soldiers need telephones, walkie talkies, PCs and above all connectivity rather than discarded blankets and garments. Let us give them opportunity to acquire engineering skills, computer literacy, and after-name adornments if only to find brides when they are young, and if they are lucky like me, become President of this Institution when they are old. The Chinese have a laudable programme of creating what they call, a synergy between the market and the battlefield. Let us follow their example.

Ironically, the bad is embedded in our day-to-day environment; whereas we have to sift the good with a comb, search for its source in our glorious past or dream it in the eyes of our grand children, Fighting evil is a history. It only happened during Ram Rajya. Today if you kill a Ravana, disguised in Kashmiri Phirun, you are hauled up for human right violations. Violence, indiscipline, intolerance, graft, corruption, cheating, - evil in all guise, hues and appearances has become a way and part of every day life. This, I am afraid, will now transcend to cyberspace. Whether the businesses are on the mall or On-line, there will be likes of DCM cheating on small investors wearing a faade of respectability and family philanthropy, whether you trade stocks online or offline, there will be Harshad Mehtas to manipulate them and should the sort be rapped by the law, the market will react in sympathy with the evil doer; We cannot track Veerappan in our own country with all the forces of law at our disposal, how will we trace and hunt down phreakers, fiends and frauds or for that matter hackers, crackers and crypto breakers - unregulated, uncontrolled, ill-monitored, un-policed, and cross-bordered as the cyberspace is? What about cyber laundering? It is more vicious than black money. This is how ISI thrives and carries out its nefarious activities in India and elsewhere. This is how drug money is laundered. This is how the cyber underworld do business; it is not EFT, but UFT -. Underground Fund Transfer. . .

I alone cannot achieve it, nor can my team, the IETE Council, the best of our ability, and intentions, notwithstanding. We need participation, that of the Government, that of the industry, that of the businesses, that of the academia and that of the student community which is the very bed-rock of this Institution. We seek advice and blessings of our elders our mentors. We seek approval of our peers and we seek trust from the younger generation, the student community. We assure them that we have not only the capability, but also the will to deliver. That reminds me of a quote by Gandhiji scrawled at the entrance to Imax Dome at the Tech Museum of Innovations at San Jose. It says:

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would solve all the worlds problems.

If this can inspire the enterprising of the Silicon Valley who have given the\ world the third wave civilization, surely it can be our leading light too, on the not-easy-to-tread road ahead.

We are not in competition with anyone but ourselves. There is no place for crab culture. Let thousand flowers bloom. Therefore, I invite all the organizations whose mission is similar to us, the Institution of Engineers, the Computer Society of India, the Indian Science Congress, the Telematics Forum, the EMC/EMI Society, the NASSCOM, the NIIT, IEEE, IEE to network with us, enrich our publications with their copyrighted research and w3rite-ups, swap speakers, create content in Indian languages, organize joint seminars, participate in each others activities and if nothing else, crack jokes at each others expense.

Recently, I went on a mission to attract NRIs to our fold. I stayed at New Jersey and Palo Alto and spent all my time trying to learn what makes the Americans click, and what is there for us in the new cyber culture. I have discarded my earlier impressions which I had formed during my interaction with them in Vietnam in 1970-71. They have come a long way. Over the years they have become a highly disciplined and law abiding people, whereas we have been on the downward slide. Of course they are conscious of their self-interest and superior status, but this comes from competitive spirit and a notion that the American way of life is the best.

We need funds. Funds for creating research seats, funds for going rural, funds for going on-line, funds for creating e-libraries, funds for spreading computer literacy, funds for imparting continuing education and lending quality to our academic programmes. We need donations. A new breed of philanthropists has to come forward

The Government can only create task forces. It can only launch campaigns. It is we, you and I, who have to take on the burden of fighting. We have to fight the ills of this society, ills of the times, ills of the environment poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, deprivation et al. Let us gird up. Tasmad uttishth kauntay, yudhay krit nishchaya.

Hack hierarchies, create networks: Debate less, perform more

Reduction in number of committees.

Distributed decision making.

Establish LAN/WAN and databases.

Interactive forums.

IETE goes rural.

Establish rural centres, one in each zone.

IETE goes online.

e-publicity

e-ideas

e-journal

e-advertisement

News, views and reviews.

Take technology to the trench.

Primacy to Research

Establish research seats

Create research corpus

Join computer literacy campaign

Connectivity, creativity, content

Ours is not a pie in the sky fixation. Our ideas are down to earth. We aspire to be the outriders to the governments campaigns computer literacy, continuing education, content creation. Treat us as the brick and mortar crew for building a knowledge society and a think tank to come up with some fresh ideas.