Agriculture in South India - notes

There is a huge population of Kannada speaking labourers in Hyderabad. They live in primitive conditions. In some cases their family life is a complete mess. Many of them own few acres of land in North Karnataka. But because of insufficient irrigation system and irregular Monsoon they had to abandon their land and migrate as coolie workers.

However, in my opinion, even with proper rains and irrigation system the prosperity of these farmers can not be guaranteed. Because of their limited land they would employ only limited resources. They most likely remain as stagnant farmers.

As I see it, in places like Karnataka we face two problems.
- Water
- Limited land of individual farmers

I have made the following observations:
1) In a water scarce land, a farmer with large landholdings still can survive and even prosper by using high technology.
2) But even in a water abundant land there is no guarantee for a farmer with limited land to reach sustainable prosperity. Few reasons for this:
(i) Not much use of high technology
(ii) Not much room for experimentation
(iii) Content, happy and petty life when the earning is below certain threshold.
All these contribute lower yield and lower profit.

But there is an additional point to (2)
2.a) A farmer with limited landholding in water abundant region can always sell his land and buy a greater stretch of land in water scarce region and become prosperous.

Bonafide Feudalism:
The best way to overcome the situation in Karnataka is to create a class of bonafide feudals. These bonfide feudals must be local to the region. More precisely, only officially Karnatakans are eligible to become bonfide feudals in Karnataka. Bonafide colonialism is not acceptable (even if the person is resident of India). The concept is simple and is generally employed by landless but money rich neo farmers. They lease the land from the farmers.

The salient features of this system:
- the land will never be owned by the bonafide feudals. They have to lease it every year.
- there is no upper limit for the acquisition of leased land.
- the farmers have to work for the feudals. The surplus farmers should work in any ventures that they run.
- all farmers' families must get monthly salary. A minimum monthly salary is a must under any conditions.
- the farmers' income is taxable but not bonafide feudals'.
- failure to pay minimum monthly salary will result in end of feudalism and the land will be available to a new feudal

Reference:
Bonafide Colonialism in Ukraine

Compilation of Kannada male names - i

There are not many Kannada male names in circulation. Most likely the names will become extinct in my next generation. Even in my generation one hardly comes across original Kannada names.

Generally in Kannada names, nouns work as adjectives. I'm afraid my English translations may not fully capture the imagination of Kannada parents of the past.

guNDappa -> The great round -> Well rounded man
mariyappa -> The great little one -> Darling man
cennappa -> The great good -> Healthy man
celuvappa -> The great beauty -> Handsome man
cinnappa-> The great gold -> Generous man
honnappa -> The great gold -> Generous man
baGgArappa -> The great gold -> Generous man
beLLiyappa -> The great silver -> Sparkling man
naJjappa -> The great envy -> Enviable man
maJjappa* -> The great mist -> Cool man
kALappa -> The great pulse -> Rich man
mAnappa** -> The great beauty -> Handsome man
bALappa -> The great life -> Zestful man
kaNNappa -> The great eye -> Eye candy man
hAlappa -> The great milk -> White man

That's an abysmally small list.

* Not to be confused with Indo-Aryan 'manju' which means charming. Dravidian 'manju' means dew, mist etc...
** 'maanu' is male name in Karnataka and female name in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as far as I know. It has survived as literary word only in Telugu (According to Dravidian Dictionary)

How to Make an Indian Baby

Cross an African with a Chinese and you get an Indian? Still believable, I believe. Not as dumb as few population genetics morons' interpretation that you should in fact cross European male and Chinese female.



Via Pharyngula

UPDATE:
It seems in the above spoof those non-Indian girls are atheists (I guess non-religious is euphemism for atheism). But the Indian girl is "actually" a Hindu. Now that is a problem. There are atheist Hindus who are generally communals or castiests. The regular atheists do not identify with their religion of birth. I am positive that a Hindu atheist when asked to be part of that video would have angrily said, "Why it has to be a Hindu. We are an easy prey. Aren't we? Try to get a Muslim girl and do your spoof".

That being the case, I am sure that that is a believer Hindu. A believer Hindu taking part in a parody of Christians by atheists only goes on to show she is intellectually challenged. That is not a sin. At least in Indian context believers are normal people and atheists are abnormals. So I have nothing against her.

The problem is what those light skinned atheists were thinking when they asked a believer to be part of that video. They should have selected an atheist Indian girl. They must have thought dark skinned intellectually challenged Hindu is beyond mockery. I am afraid that smacks of racism.

Our Exciting Future

Green tea reduces heart attack risk by 20%
Red wine reduces heart attack risk by 20%
Cow milk reduces heart attack risk by 20%

All we need is two more liquids and we will be 100% free of heart problems.

A View from the Origin

Runoko Rashidi on Indians

Reminded me an incident, that my dark skinned friend born into Kannada Brahmin caste told me with a roaring laughter. He and his friend, an equally dark skinned Tamil born into a non-Brahmin caste, were watching a Tennis match. The Tamil commented that he would like to see a Serena Williams win as she was also dark skinned like him.

But the most uncomfortable with dark skin lable must be females of the communities that became successful as a whole within few generations. If the success is gradual accompanied by lightening of skin tone in each generation, as many of the castes show, then one can overcome the stigma of dark and successful.

Battle of the Sexes - iv

Don't know if it belongs here but still...best of us don't survive says the article.

"The results support the suggestion that genes that are good for males may often be bad for their mates. Therefore, in beetles at least, multiple mating does not award females with genetic benefits," says Göran Arnqvist.

Via Science Daily

The True Historians

All other nationalities, ethnicities should retire from and refrain from the study of history and related fields. Only "Argumentative Indians" are the true masters of it.

History is all about argument. There is no absolute historical truth about anything big in history.

Via BBC news

Battle of the Sexes - iii

I'm doing a groundbreaking research on South Indian children birth weights for the last six months or so as every person contemporary to me is becoming a parent. Whatever I have read over the net indicates that on an average boys' birth weights are higher than that of girls'. Not so in the case of South Indians if my data has to be believed.

Girls:
4.1Kg
3.7Kg
>4Kg

Boys:
2.5Kg
2.75Kg
<3Kg All of them belong to middle class. All mothers are working women. Then I come across this study:

Previous research has offered evidence of a genetic struggle for supremacy only during fetal development: In the womb, some genes of paternal origin have been shown to promote increased demands on mothers, leading to fetal overgrowth, while genes of maternal origin tend to have the opposite effect. This new work suggests maternal and paternal genes continue to engage in internal genetic conflict past childbirth.

I couldn't anyway apply this study to my observations. But I felt a connection.

Via Science Daily