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WORLDWIDE INDIAN NETWORK
Frequently Asked Questions ("task15")
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MN -- There are already a large number of Indian associations in
the US and Canada. In addition there are associations
devoted to people from a particular region. Is the WIN
going to interact with them, help them, or what?
NC -- The WIN will try to interact with all of them and do our
best to help them. In fact this is the main objective of
a network. We would like to maintain a list of all Indian
associations, their objectives, and brief biographies on-
line, for the benefit of our members and the entire Indian
community.
--------
MN -- Some people may not take kindly to "college students" and
just shrug us off.
NC -- Our members come from a wide range of professional
disciplines and geographic areas. The Network consists of
students, professors, engineers, scientists, physicians,
accountants, businessmen, journalists, etc. Moreover, if
they do not take you kindly, so be it. Remember, you are
the one who is trying to do them a favor and not the other
way around.
--------
MN -- Haven't other organizations already tried to do what the
WIN plans to?
NC -- Not to our knowledge. Although there are organizations
for various political, social, and cultural concerns, and
even some umbrella organizations in the United States,
there is no network that tries to unite Indians from all
over the world. Part of our objective is to place on-
line a list of all resources that are available to the
Indian community.
--------
MN -- In what way can we do better?
NC -- We are going to do something that none has done before.
We are going to unite all Indians in a single network.
And WIN will be action oriented -- no nonsense, no jokes,
and no recipes. All members will participate collectively
in certain constructive actions that will benefit Indians
not only in the United States, but also around the world.
--------
MN -- Does WIN have any political leanings?
NC -- No.
--------
MN -- By this I mean is WIN inclined towards Democrats or
Republicans in the United States, or, Cong(I)/LF/BJP in
India?
NC -- WIN is inclined towards India. It is not inclined towards
Democrats, or Republicans, or Liberals, or Conservatives
in the United States. Also, it is not inclined towards
Congress, or Communists, or Left Front, or Right Front in
India.
--------
MN -- It is a little surprising to see that you have only "n"
addresses in the list, when there are thousands of Indians
reading the bulletin boards. This may have to do with the
tone of your first message. I think people might have
considered it to be too aggressive. A more reasonable
call that emphasizes the positive elements of the
cohesiveness of a community would attract more members.
NC -- The first message is definitely the most important message
any person is going to receive from the Network.
Therefore, we tried to be as constructive in the first
message as possible. However, we have limitations (see
MN02 of "task10"). Therefore, we ask all members to help
us improve the recruiting message ("task00").
--------
MN -- I hope women are equally welcome to the Network. Some
people may be put off by frequent references to "he,"
"him," etc.
NC -- The frequent use of "he," "him," etc are unfortunate
consequences of the English language. All people of Asian
Indian ancestry, irrespective of gender, caste, religious
beliefs, or language, are welcome to the Network.
--------
MN -- One of the responsibilities of the members you mentioned
(in MN05 of "task10") is to find e-mail addresses of as
many Indians as possible and mail them the recruiting
message ("task00"). According to you, a single desi
should not receive the message many times. But how does
one know that some other member has not already mailed him
the recruiting message?
NC -- I have a file of e-mail addresses of all Indians who I
sent the recruiting message ("task00") to. Every time I
send the message to some prospects, I check those
addresses against the master file. I think all other
members should follow the same procedure. At present it
is not possible for me to keep a centralized filing system
of all people who have been contacted by the Network. If
you or any other member is willing to take up this
responsibility, you have my support.
--------
MN -- One of my friends is very interested in issues related to
Kashmir. Could you please include him in the Kashmir
Committee?
NC -- Membership in the Network isn't free: all members have
agreed to help us in this project. Membership in any
committee isn't free either: members have agreed to take
an active participation in the Committee. Rules to join
the Network are spelled out in task00. Also, rules to
join any committee are spelled out in task51 (see http://
theory.stanford.edu/people/arjun/WIN.html).
--------
MN -- Being an Indian does not mean I defend every action taken
by the Government of India or by pro-India lobbies. We
have to weigh each issue on rational terms and decide what
to act on. If we fail to do that, we would be no better
than those who blindly follow the extremist dictates of
certain militant organizations lobbying in the United
States.
NC -- We are in complete agreement with you. The Network weighs
each issue very carefully, and with member input decides
what actions to take. We have a Panel of Judges (see
"task20") and a Board of Editors (see "task21") to review
issues, and we encourage all members to take an active
part in the decision making process.
--------
MN -- The bottom line is that though we are a group, we have to
assure the members that their INDIVIDUALITY is intact.
For example, if we plan to protest an anti-Indian
legislation, I should have the liberty to support or
oppose the protest and still be a member. In other words,
being a member of WIN does not mean I unconditionally
support the decision of WIN. Also, we should be able to
go ahead with plans even if some of the members do not
agree to it.
NC -- Once again we agree with you wholeheartedly. We will try
our very best to ensure and preserve the rights of all
members.
--------
MN -- NRI investments are very important for India. While such
discussions do go on in SCI to some extent, we can
probably help too.
NC -- Oh, yes. People discuss some very serious matters on SCI.
But the WIN's objective is to take concrete actions. If
you have any suggestions on what actions the Network
should take, please contact the Panel of Judges (see
"task50").
--------
MN -- We should think about how we can put pressure on the
Indian government itself. On a long term basis, we should
be able to bring about some changes in India (provided we
don't ask for the moon!). My priorities are education and
social justice.
NC -- These are excellent goals for the Network. For now we are
still young and are trying to concentrate on issues
affecting Indians in the United States.
--------
MN -- Another thing we should work on, is to revitalize the
Indian Embassy in the US. I have heard a number of
complaints against the embassy personnel, mainly about
inefficiency and rudeness.
NC -- This is a very good suggestion. The Network can
definitely undertake a project like this in the future.
You and I alone cannot change the conditions at the Indian
Embassy. But a strong network of Indians can have a
significant impact.
--------
MN -- In my opinion, the hierarchical structure of this network
is a model of the many bureaucratic systems in vogue. It
defines a pyramidal structure of "power." If we are
planning to work as a group of responsible individuals, we
have to be "equal" in every way.
NC -- We are definitely "equal" in every way. But if you want
to accomplish something constructive, you have to operate
within an organizational structure. On the other hand, if
you want to talk, and talk, and talk, and talk, and talk
-- like people do on the net -- then you don't need any
organizational structure. And in order for the Network to
be practical and action-oriented, I came up with the
following structure:
NC --> RC --> ZC --> AC --> MN --> PD Center --> people
1 10 100 1K 1K+ 1K+ 900K+
--------
MN -- It is probably the best way to manage a large group. But
while we are a fairly small group, we should be able to
interact with each other without having to go through a
number of intermediate points.
NC -- Today we are fairly small. But eventually we will become
substantially larger. There are more than 900,000 Indians
in the United States. And throughout the world there are
more than 900 million of us. Therefore, to unite all
Indians in a single network is enormously difficult and
extremely complex. Without a proper structure, this task
cannot be accomplished.
--------
MN -- I believe that a minor change in the organizational
structure of the Network would be more appropriate. The
Regional Coordinator position should be replaced by that
of State Coordinators. The reason I am suggesting this is
because there already exists in all of our brains a system
of substructuring of the nation in the form of states, and
creating a new substructuring is confusing to many people.
NC -- 1) If the Network is divided into fifty states, then the
Network Coordinator would have to be in charge of fifty
State Coordinators. Since all of us are volunteers, it
would be extremely difficult and time consuming for the
Network Coordinator to supervise fifty State
Coordinators; whereas, with some help, supervising ten
Regional Coordinators is manageable.
2) The population of California (30.38m) is 45 times than
that of Delaware (0.68m). But if you add up the
population of all regions, you will find out that the
most populous region is less than twice as populous as
the least populous region. Since Indians are scattered
throughout the United States, it is fair to assume that
all regions contain more or less the same number of
Indians, or in other words they are equal in size.
--------
MN -- I am quite uncomfortable with keeping records of people's
statements. Sounds far too autocratic.
NC -- In order to avoid problems that may arise in the future,
we must keep all records for a certain period of time,
perhaps for a couple of years. What we have been doing is
completely legal, moral, and ethical. Therefore, there is
nothing to worry about.
================================================================
P.S. If you have yet to respond to MN01 of "task10," please do
so at your earliest convenience.
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