Politics as a Profession.

“You have to dream before your dreams can come true” – APJ Abdul Kalam

Our former president of India couldn’t emphasize more on the importance of having a vision and working towards realizing it. A dream loses its essence and fades away from memory if there is no effort to bring it to life. Dr. Kalam’s vision for India is in essence, every Indians dream; A dream to see a developed nation by 2020. And which mostly lies in the hands of our young ignited minds.

India has the potential and the capabilities to become a super power. Our education system boasts of the largest turnout of scientist, researchers and leaders in all fields. But sadly, most of these minds work for foreign lands where the scope for recognition and growth is high when compared to the same fields being dominated by experienced minds in India. The Indian mindset as such believes in working with the tried and tested methods than taking risks with younger fresher talents with out of the box thinking. We are in dire need of fresh ideas and young thinkers who dream big and also strive hard to make it a reality.

The crux of education is not just identifying alphabets, but designing and reshaping our destiny. The destiny of India lies in the hand of those who rule them, the politicians. The need of the hour is young educated minds brimming with political knowledge and managerial skills to run the nation. The biggest strength of the Indian youth is the high exposure to entrepreneurial and management education, along with sharp and incisive education in economics.  Politics has slowly started to attract a small group of educated youngsters with big ideas. But we need more youngsters in this field. Education coupled with patriotism will surely steer our nation in the right path towards goal.

There has been too much negative journalism about corrupt Indian politicians and too many fingers pointing towards the dooms day. But little will change unless we create an urge among youngsters to enter politics as a profession. Many universities conduct course on Political Science with not much turn out. Why does it not attract much interest like B.E, M.B.B.S or MBA? I would purely blame it on marketing and lack of exposure to this field. Aspiring youngsters are lured to other prospective fields with the goal of high incentives while politics is feared at. Politics could also become a professional course with proper guidance and exposure to the field. Seminars and projects are already part of our education system. Let us take it to the next level with certified coaching centers and training programs for aspiring politicians. Let us inculcate a love for the field with campaigns and projects. What better way do we need than the social media to propagate and garner interest of the youth.

Procuring a job in IT involves graduation in IT followed by a certified course in JAVA, ORACLE etc. and then the candidates go under a panel of interviews and test to get placed. Why not start the trend in Politics too. Aspiring candidates must complete their degree and join a certified center recognized by the Government itself and interviews shall be held by authorized knowledgeable senior  politicians electing an MLA or an MP. This will make “Politics” a profession and not just a dirty game.

Most of our problems persists and multiply because we do not relate to our country. What we lack is sincerity to work and loyalty to our country. Let us look deeper into the problem and find a way to solve it than to place the blame on corrupt politicians. There is immense promise in the thoughts and actions of the youngsters who crave for a better way of life. We have a unified dream, a cherish path to see a developed nation in the hand of our children. Let us give them the right platform to transform India into a superpower with our young ignited minds. As Dr. Kalam said “To succeed in our mission we need to have single minded devotion to our goal”. Jai Hind. 

Dress Code – Revealed

 “The finest clothing made is a person’s skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this” – Mark Twain.

Apparel is often the reflection of the mind, emphasizing on personal freedom and expression. But, when the freedom comes at the cost of public outcry, we pause to stop and look at the root cause for this tumult.  Dubai, being a land of opportunities, is a potpourri of various nationalities. With the diversified mix of nationals there is a convergence of different cultures and accepted standards of living. What one finds as an expression to freedom, the others see it as lewd and repulsive.

The heated argument is what constitutes as acceptably modest dress and vulgarity is as varied as the residents of Dubai. “When in Rome, be a Roman”, but as long as we are not sure about what Romans do or feel, the expats are left lurking the dark. Most of the Expats do agree that they are ignorant of the strict dress code in public places. When they see a number of people wearing skimpy clothes in malls and restaurants, they assume it is acceptable clothing in Dubai and follow suit. The warning sings in mall entrances are not strong enough to enforce the rule on visitors and are mostly ignored.

Longtime residents of Dubai are aware of the dress code during the month of Ramadan, but believe it to be non-existent otherwise. The issue is taking a nasty turn with many Emirati terming expats as being insensitive to the values of Muslims and corrupting the minds of youngsters. The prevalent sentiment echoed by the Emiratis is the discomfort to be around a swimming pool, clad in Abhaya, while the rest just flaunt around ,their stuff itself is ghastly. Why would they want to see skin in the malls too?

For the world, Dubai projects the High Life with innovative buildings and manmade wonders blurring the other Emirates steeped in tradition. It is a rare sight to see a foreigner dressed in revealing clothes in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah due to the fact that it is heavily populated by the Emirati and the expats who reside there have accepted their way of life. Dubai being a melting pot, the demarcation is bleak with bikini being acceptable in beach and dressing below the knee at public places. “Dubai is pretty tolerant to foreigners and I have always assumed that what I wear reflects my personality. I have been started at on many occasions for the shorts and tank tops, but have never been questioned about it giving me the impression that it’s ok. Now that I know of the issue I am willing to cover up”, says Carla Wilson, from South Wales.

The need of the hour is extensive awareness drive as done by the British Embassy last year to educate their citizens of what is the accepted standard of living in Dubai. A better understanding of our host nation will bring an amicable solution than passing a law enforcing dress code. A young Emirati feels that imposing a law would drive away tourist, and make UAE appear as a hostile nation to Women. “We need to clarify our stand and educate the public about our rich culture and garner respect, instead of shunning them away with a law”.

The case boils down to both parties agreeing on the need of a standardized dress code. Enforcing a law is viewed by many as a bitter medicine to cure the disease plaguing UAE. While the expat view it as a whip on their back, and would prefer a milder approach enabling them to coexist in harmony with the Emiratis.

No one is striving here to prove a point with their outlook, but what they need to realize is that Emiratis have a style of their own which exuberates with the confidence and values and not by means of appearance.

Nithya Kamakshi Pradeep