VILLAINOUS MUSK, ALTMAN, ZUCKERBERG, HOLMES!

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VILLAINOUS MUSK, ALTMAN, ZUCKERBERG, HOLMES!

Now Hollywood is converting heroes into villains! Will Bollywood follow the example and bring out films on Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani?

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when tycoons were converted into villains by Hollywood. For a Saturday following the week when we discovered the comparative cost of studying abroad and in Goa. For a Saturday following the week on the ongoing battle between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. For a Saturday following the week when Durga Puja was celebrated in Goa. Incredibly, Goa probably has more Bengalis than Goans.
AND a few stray thoughts on tycoons turning villains courtesy Hollywood. Suddenly, the perception of tycoons has changed. Hollywood directors have made films about “Rocket Man” Elon Musk; Sam Altman, the founder of the Independent Artificial Intelligence system; Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook king; and the notorious Elizabeth Holmes, who claimed, as a Stanford graduate at 19, to have invented a revolutionary pathological device that could cut costs and save diagnoses for critical diseases.
Elon Musk is now engaged in a fight to dominate the world through Starlink. He is projected as an irresponsible entitled businessman who thinks he can do anything he wants. With a lot of support from Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the Make America Great Again movement supporting Musk has rebelled against him. Trump and Musk have fallen out. Musk tried to stop a documentary against him but has not been able to succeed; the film examines the darker side of Silicon Valley — ambition, deception, corporate power and the treatment of whistleblowers. In contrast the story of Facebook breaks down the legal battle over ownership and credit. It dramatizes how a university startup became a global empire. But with it has comes arrogance. Apparently, social media now has double the population of planet earth. Social media no longer has to bother about Donald Trump. Mark Zukerberg is accused of instigating the revolution in Nepal, Bangladesh, India and now France. Documentary maker Alex Gibney examines Musk’s rise and his business empire. His influence over social media and his growing political power. The general impression conveyed is that Musk needs to be stopped before he destroys the planet. Indian industrialists are, of course, much cleverer. Between Adanis and Ambanis, they own the major TV channels. Reliance even owns Columbia and Disney World, the two biggest film makers in the world.

STUDY IN GOA OR GO ABROAD?
AND a few stray thoughts on the comparative cost of studying abroad and in Goa. In the UK and the United States, college education is beyond the reach of the common man. In the United States, higher education can be prohibitively expensive for an ordinary family. Indian IITs offer a far cheaper route to elite technical education. This is why the top technical companies in the US are headed by Indians. In the United States the annual cost including accommodation to enroll in an university could range between dollar 25,000 to dollar 50,000 in a state university. In private university the cost would be dollar 60,000 to dollar 70,000. In sharp contrast, the cost of studying in IIT in Bombay is roughly Rs2 to 4 lakh per year, depending on accommodation and other expenses.
The problem however is that while India offers excellent education, the return on investment is higher in the UK and the US in contrast to India. A fresh graduate in the US can earn 2 to 3 lakhs dollars. In the UK you can earn pound 90,000 to pound 1,20,000. In India a graduate of IIT can earn a maximum of Rs 10 lakh. Similarly a postgraduate doctor who may spend more than crore in his6 to 12 lakhs.

MODI VERSUS RAHUL
AND a few stray thoughts on the ongoing battle between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. The entire controversy centres around an unfortunate remark made by Neha Bohra, president of the CPM All India Student Association. Neha Bohra, who is now the face of the agitation against Gyanesh Kumar, claimed that she was inspired by the student movement in Bangladesh.
Admittedly, it was the student’s movement which brought down Sheikh Hasina, and forced her to take refuge in Goa. Unfortunately, for Neha Bohra the new regime was rabidly communal and targeted the minority Hindu population. This is being used by Narendra Modi and the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, to term Neha Bohra and Rahul Gandhi anti-nationalists. Neha Bohra also made the mistake of using the expression regime change. This expression has historically been used for the violent overthrow of an existing government.
Ironically, there were no objections when the late Indira Gandhi overthrew the Pakistani regime in Bangladesh and gave the country independence. The issue in India is not regime change but the hijacking of the democratic process by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar the chief election commissioner. Narendra Modi has created an atmosphere of terror where anyone who protest is thrown into jail and detained for weeks without even being produced before judge. Both Saurab Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been in custody for a week.

DIGITAL TYRANNY
AND a few stray thoughts on the tyranny of digital work in every sphere of life. Historically, every employer of a company whether it is private or public limited, who employs more than 25 workers, has to set up a provident fund. Historically, the employee contributes 8.5% of the salary while the employer has to contribute an equal amount. This is intended as further security of the employee. The employer can withdraw money for contingencies like medical treatment. The problem is that with everything in country the provident fund system is corrupt. Very often employers do not make their contribution. Even than the employee is entitle to use that share. But in a globalized world employees change jobs. Employees relocate in different cities. Women employees get married and are very often forced to change their names. Unless you are very meticulous in informing the Provident Fund Commission that you have changed your jobs, that you are changed your address, and that you got married, your money is entitled to be frozen.
Forget about the chori by the employer you will not even be able to get your contribution back. Everything is compounded by the digital world. You’ve got to make sure your Aadhar card, your PAN card, and your bank details are all registered under a common name at a common address. The bloody algorithms will block your account if there is a single mistake. The digital world will not only deprive you of the right to vote. It will deprive you of the money you have saved in the bank if your married name does not match your maiden name and if you have not informed the bank. You cannot even Google Pay if the server of the bank is down.
In fact, if you do not have a web connection, you do not exist. You may be alive in flesh and blood but not digitally.

DURGA PUJA IN GOA
AND a last stray thought on Durga Puja celebrated in Goa. Incredibly, Goa probably has more Bengalis than Goans. The Bengalis are more divided than the Goans. Every town has a separate Bengali association. The Ganga Zuari Academy, which tried to build a bridge between Kolkata and Goa has split up. Coincidentally, the break came after the BJP won in West Bengal. Now there is a BJP faction of the Ganga Zuari and a Demagi Naxal faction.