Internationalism.. A Realization Needed!!

I was listening to a Spanish song which I'm fond of these days. I translated it to realize the lyrics mean same what the may mean for an Indian singer. World's got the same feeling anywhere.

Internationalist!!!! I remember this word from the time, when I actually didn't know what it meant. Way back in 8th or 9th grade probably, my history teacher and I were having a discussion and then when he called me an "Internationalist" and asked me to keep it always there. I wondered was that an compliment, looking at the way I have been, I went home, and searched the word in my favorite mini Collins Dictionary, which I found in my Grand pa's dusty library (which, though got tore, still I binded it, because no one near me had it. Guess, Oxford lovers! Hah!!). The word was back recently when I was talking to a friend from Germany after long. We met when she was in India as a Tourist! This word just keeps coming back to me, anytime I have a new friend from  any part of the world and when I explain them what I have here, in this blog.

The word meant :

1. The condition or quality of being international in character, principles, concern, or attitude.
2. A policy or practice of cooperation among nations, especially in politics and economic matters.

 I was always interested in knowing, that any news in India, which our media persons are flooding our T.V. sets with it, does it really is of same impact in any other part of the world? Probably this is what made him say that. But, that was all in my upbringing. My Mum teaching me, world news mattering my father. Me born traveling different places in India.

The best thing about being an Indian is, you have almost everything here, and probably this is the reason India forms a sub-continent. India is home to almost all the religions in the world from eras to eras. It forms the biggest secularist state in the world. The culture and languages differ in every 100 kms you travel. You got one of the coolest place in the world; Home to Himalayas. You got deserts in the name of Great Indian Tar deserts. You got the rain forests in the North-East! Deltas in the Bay of Bengal! Home to one of the globe's Multi-urbane golden life cities like Mumbai, Calcutta. Darkest of villages in Orissa. India is home to all. Incredible India!

But, that is what I'm not actually talking about! I'm talking about Internationalism. The word.... In short we are One world; One people, divided by cities, districts, culture, languages, food and living habits. Which ever city you are, whether in Poland to Perth, California or Calcutta, Arctic to Antarctic you will find people with mindset you may have. Though these cities are miles away. In Ahmedabad or Amsterdam , you will find people who loves dog, pet dogs, who fear dogs, don't pet them. You will find people who Love long drives or who loves early mornings, or who wake up early. who hate parties, love parties. In short, any two Human beings in any part of the world may HAVE same emotions and feelings, just as I do, or you do!They may like what you say and think the way you do on a particular issue. Or may differ just like any of your pals( may have same vision like your friend).

Similarly, the Indians call their Mother "Maa", an Englishmen calls "Mum", an Urdu or Arabic probably would say "Ammi". The sounds the same.  Hello, Hola, Hi.. The feelings that comes out is the same. In African misty woods, when a person meets his/her loved ones, the feelings he/she goes through is the same like what I may go through when I meet mines back in India. Same from a person in any part of the world.Whether you in Iran- Indonesia, Korea-Kazakhsthan, India, America-Africa, we may find people with the way we think. With our similar likings, just like the bunch of people around us.My heart goes out for anyone suffering in any part of the world, because I belive that they go through the same ain as smeone around me may.

But, then I come across people, thinking, "Oh!! He is a Nigerian, Swedish, Spaniard, Japanese. He must be thinking different then us!" How can we be friends?" Well, my pal, u never know, he may be the one with similar likings as you have. A person living in a torn-ghetto in Africa may have same emotions and feeling for a particular subject with the one living in a castle-like house in America. People who witnessed 9/11 in America and the ones who witnessed 26/11 in India had similar emotions against terror. It hurts an Asian and European or an American the same way to see the victims of  earthquake in Haiti, as for a person sitting in other part of the world from Haiti. I fear dogs, I can't pet them, because I fear they may bite. I may have someone thinking the same in Dallas, America or Budapest. Many of my friends have dogs and treat them and love as their friend,  just like someone sitting in Spain or Japan would. Friends from Spain or Australia, or America, think , feel the same just Like some of my Indian friends.

In every part of the world, from North to South, East to West you will find people who love and think Like you or think like one of your friends. The color, is different, because of the climatic condition they have.

The language is different, because of the the way they have evolved speaking. It is different within the borders too. The food and beverages we have is different, because of the climatic conditions and the source oif food they may have. On an Island country or a county with sandy beaches, you will find people loving and having sea foods like Prawns, Fishes. One Living in deserts, try Camel's, Cow's meats.

That's the way world is. Earth cannot have same climatic conditions, same geographical strategies everywhere. They differ. So do the way people talk, live, eat, speak are different. BUT, the world is ONE. You will find people thinking the same way in any part of the world, similar to you, or may be your friends, family.

It's important to realise for everyone in the world. We need to learn and realise that the globe is not same everywhere, so is the way people live. But, that doesn't mean you may not find people with simliar ideologies in Iraq or Indonesia. You may have people thinking like you, or not going by what you think on any particular topic, just like your friends or the people around you. But, when I say this, I don't mean we stop loving our country and think only globally. Nationalism always needs to be there, but that doesn't mean we over- think in that perspective. What I want to convey is that we must realize and go by the face that every country in the world has people who may think like you or like your loved ones, or like your neighbor, or may be like your friend. Give it a thought. May be, this realization may end our global woes.

e-Discovery in India! Call of the Hour!!!

I don't know when next I would be writing on e-Discovery again, and thus, I really wanted to push out all my thoughts on what I could read and my understandings on it's presence in fast emerging India.

e-Discovery!!! Something I fell in love with after SAP in college! (and now you finally  know that such crushes has actually made me SINGLE !!!! Hah!!) The other guy who really brought me close it, seems to also be madly in love with e-D. Charles Skamser, who seems to be running an e-d vendorship in US. His blogs, his active participation in anything related to e-D, just portrays his interest in e-D!

Anyways, There is something in e-Discovery that made me feel that this stream of I.T. is always open to new ideas and innovations. Because there is so much still needed for it to grow. And, may be, because I find both these fields SAP and e-Discovery, the easiest and fruitiest in I.T.! 

I personally feel, I.T. dealing with defense, legal and government projects always forms the highest priority level for  I.T. world. Something is needed every minute to enhance them, looking at the way they work.

e-Discovery, is something that links I.T. world to legal world. And, in India, to be honest, even I didn't know about it, until I stared working on it, and none of my friends do, because we still don't have it around. This has thus obviously led to my curiousness to learn when will e-D make its presence felt in India. So, in my venture to learn that, I put in posts in LinkedIn to know what the intelligent brains from the legal world had to say about it. Started fishing out all I could from Google to satisfy my curiosity.

But it's important to know first what e-Discovery really is. If you ask me, my amateur knowledge on e-Discovery calls it a concept that brings I.T. and legal world together. Legal work involves reviewing of millions and billions of documents of different formats ranging from a simple MS Word to a RTF kind. So, it's really important that each and every documents reviewed is brought under one roof for review. They are batched, and made to the easiest of convenience for a lawyer or a reviewer to review. So, what I.T. really does is, provides such tools and softwares which really removes other head-aches for reviewers, so that he can only concentrate on reviewing documents and come out with the best of results. But, how e-Discovery does that, it's a real twist, it actually is a series of processing, this and that, which actually thus brings out an smile on a reviewer's face, just like the below cartoon(Ah!):

India is an emerging axis of power in the world. The efficiency and the reforms India has, is well-known worldwide. Moreover, looking at the way Globe is presently bending,  the need of the hour is democracy for each and every citizen in the world. And, India is the largest democracy in the world. The free and fair legal system in well-known and well-recognized in the world. The most recent example is, the conviction of the lone alive Paki terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, who brutally fired and killed many innocent Indian and foreign nationals in Mumbai in 26/11/08. There were enough evidence provided and present to convict him straight away, but still, a special court was formed to convict him and hear his case for a free and fair trial. It took along 15 months and 40,000 pages of charge-sheet to finally announce him a death penalty. the menace terrorist was even explained why he has been given corporal punishment. 

There are may cases running and pending every day in the Indian courts. So is it the right time to pitch e-discovery in? Is it the right time to think about e-Discovery and making it all happen with e-Discovery? If you ask me, I would say Yes!!! In fact, why aren't we actually thinking about it?

My Discussions on few Legal IT groups in Linked In are as follows ( Yes, you got it correct. I don't want to pain my fingers jotting it all down for you, so have it eaten all raw!! Hah!):

1. Topic: M working with on of the leading e-Discovery vendors..As I stay in India, I was curious to know when will e-Discovery step in India?? What are the chances?? How long?? Any views from experts??

Comments:

• "Don't see that happening anytime soon. The only e-Discovery I can think of is if MNCs have lawsuits which  involve their employees residing in India (as they may have offices here). " 
• "Thanks Rajiv... It seems seriously difficult...But I really wish to learn the reason why?? why not possible in India?? Whys is it taking time??"

• "I think the current legal system in India is not that great in working with electronic evidence. I sure feel the Satyam case can actually be investigated using e-Discovery and has the potential to be a great example. I don't see the problem as specific to India but this seems to be the case with a lot of countries who haven't upgraded their legal system to handle electronic evidence."

2. Topic: When will e-Discovery come to India? 

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  "This is certainly going to take a long time as our judicial system still dependent on mostly paper work(hard copy). Until it get a shift to softcopy, there is very minimal chance of e-discovery in India. Few LAW firms like Pangea3 are into e-discovery but will take a long time to expand its hands in India."

• "Thank you for your answer. It is really worth a reason why we don't have people thinking about it as of yet.Thanks again!"

With both the above discussions and few learning with my talk on this with my beloved collegues, I could feel that the root cause is the legal world in India is actually not thinking about it. Neither is the system compliant for e-discovery and the technology yet. The legal system in India still relies a lot on paper work. 


Furthermore, it is equally important to link the legal students and anyone anyhow related to legal system in India with technology and the miracles of e-Discovery. This should be kinda chapter in their studies somewhere. I personally feel, relating to technology to whatever you do is very important to remin smart! You never know, it may do you wonders. So, it should be a part of curriculum.


These are my learning on what I feel about why e-Discovery isn't in India! India, a home to second largest population in the world, and one of the fastest and influencive economy, needs legal system to be revived asap.