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Singapore #2: Three Shocks

Due to its location, Britain considered Singapore a vital part of its empire. They fortified it with a naval base and were ready to fight Japan over it during World War II. But British plans and defenses were based on naval war, and they didn’t stand a chance when the Japanese came via land (Malaysia) instead! “That surrender was the largest in British history.” It was the first shock of Singapore, the realization that Britain couldn’t protect them (reminds me of the Gulf States in the Iran war). Singapore demanded and got self-government in 1959 from Britain. Its first Prime Minister was the now famous Lee Kuan Yew. “Lee's government knew the island was too small to survive on its own. This led Lee to secure Singapore's entry into the new Federation of Malaysia in September 1963.”   But the union with Malaysia had a major sticking point. Malaysia constitutionally favoured Malays in all areas; which left Singapore’s Chinese and Indian populace in the lurch. This f...
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Weird Spread of Puducherry

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Puducherry. It consists of the former French colonies in India - Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. I didn’t realize those parts are scattered across India!     That looks crazy, but it’s true. And therein a fascinating tale as told by Sagar. The French came to India and decided to form alliances with regional rulers. In 1673, one such area they got was Puducherry. A small village, which, over time, extended to include other nearby villages. It is important to understand the French were not colonizing the area. Rather: “These villages were granted to them one at a time by local rulers, so they were discontinuous pieces of land that supplied the main settlement.” It was so haphazard that: “Its (just the region within Tamil Nadu alone) map is a scattered chessboard of enclaves and unevenly distributed villages and communes.” Imagine that!   The other ‘parts’ of Puducherry as shown in the map above were even tinier. And no, under French rule, those other trading village...
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Singapore #1: Early History

Singapore is surprising, writes Way Yuhl: “Singapore pumps no oil, digs no ore, and farms almost no land, yet its economy produces over $90,000 US dollars per person a year, the highest in Asia, one of the highest in the world.”   In the Indian Ocean, the winds change direction with season. This was a big deal in the era of wind powered ships. “A trading ship could sail with one wind from China or India down to the strait, but it could not sail home until the wind turned. That forced wait kept foreign traders in the strait’s harbors, and their trading made whichever port controlled the strait’s trade rich.” Singapore was one such port.   When the imperialists came, not surprisingly, they fought for control of these critical ports (Spain, Portugal, Britain). Tax the trade, and often prevent your rivals from even using the port. The British tried a different model: control the port, but make it free for all. No wonder that traders moved away fr...
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If the Heart is a Muscle, Why Doesn't it Tire?

If we keep using the same muscle(s) continuously for extended periods, those muscles get tired. Why then doesn’t the heart ever get tired? After all, it is a group of muscles too. And it beats (and need to beat) continuously over the entire life of the individual. What’s the difference?   The answer lies in physiology. Most muscles like the bicep work via anaerobic metabolism, i.e., metabolism without oxygen. They burn glucose without oxygen, produce energy and also lactic acid. It is the buildup of that lactic acid that causes us to feel fatigue in those areas.   The heart, on the other hand, does aerobic metabolism, i.e., metabolism with oxygen. The efficiency increase in energy production is 19 times!   Wait, there’s more. Cardiac muscles have a “refractory period”. Skeletal muscles can be simulated to contract and expand rapidly. That is good, in fact necessary, for many situations like quick acceleration and rapid actions. Cardiac muscles, on the other...
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Dethroned #6: Becoming Footnotes in History

What did all those princes do post-independence? Several of them joined politics. Their success rate (getting elected) was very high, at 80%, writes John Zubrzycki in Dethroned . “(They) were able to exploit traditional ties based on rank, caste and economic dependence.”   At first, they aligned with the Congress, to ensure their privy purses and privileges remained. But with success, the bitterness that some felt, the betrayal of some promises, led several to switch sides. Vijayaraje Scindia was the most prominent switch. She even “ruled” over ten parliamentary constituencies, where nobody could win unless she “approved” them. Many of the erstwhile princes of Orrisa, Gujarat and Rajasthan also fought and won elections against the Congress. Gayatri Devi from Jaipur won by the largest margin (at that time).   Nehru, never a fan of privy purses, had, from 1953 onwards (after Patel’s death), tried coaxing the princes to voluntarily give it up. He argued that giving so m...
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"Wicked Problem" - India's Mineral Policy

India’s policy on minerals. A bone of contention between states and the Center. I started reading a book on “wicked problems”, i.e., problems that are very hard to solve yet hugely consequential. (Wicked problems can’t be blamed on just politicians or oligarchs. They have multiple aspects, often contradictory. Any proposed solution impacts too many stakeholders, and there is never a perfect solution). Mineral policy falls in that category of wicked problem. ~~   This Policy Mandala post dives into it. It starts with an example – Coal. Something used to produce electricity that is then used across the country, with enormous second, third and N-th order benefits. “This creates a basic contradiction in India’s mineral economy: the resource is found locally, its value is realised nationally, but many costs of extraction are borne by the states and communities where mining takes place.”   Such a scenario then raises valid questions: “ Who should control mineral res...
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Dethroned #5: Unification and Mergers

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As more and more princely states signed the Instrument of Accession, Menon was elated that the Balkanization of India had been averted. Patel would describe such handovers as voluntary and said the rulers would be remembered with respect and admiration for their choice. But, as is clear, many of them signed under pressure, under threats, under explicit and implicit hints that post-British rule, local uprisings would happen to overthrow the rulers (it was left unsaid whether the Congress would instigate such uprisings, but that was obvious), says John Zubrzycki in Dethroned .   Ok, so most of the 565 princely states were now joining India. How best to integrate them into the political union? The first step that Patel and VP Menon came up with was to combine the smaller states with other larger states like Bombay or Orrisa. Only the really large princely states like Gwalior and Baroda were allowed to stay as separate states.   Mountbatten agreed with the idea, even claim...
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