Is Pluto A Planet?

Title: Is Pluto A Planet? A Historical Journey Through The Solar System

Author: David A. Weintraub

Publisher: Princeton University Press 2007 (First)

ISBN: 978-0-691-12348-6

Pages: 241

The status of Pluto was a raging debate among astronomers from the last decade of 20^th century. As knowledge on the outermost regions of solar system began accumulating, and more and more Pluto-like objects were observed by the end of the millennium, the newest planet’s fate hung in balance. The issue was settled by the general body meeting of International Astronomical Union (IAU) held at Prague in Aug 24, 2006. By a majority vote of the members present, the IAU demoted Pluto to a minor planet, making the total count of planets in the solar system to eight. This book, though published a year later than IAU’s fateful decision, does not include the crucial last scene and is a glaring omission. The book ends with the author’s speculations about the rightful status of Pluto and the opinions of other prominent astronomers. Perhaps future editions of the work would settle the issue so that the reader will not be in any doubt.

As suggested by the title, the book provides a nice historical journey through the origin of the concepts of solar system and other heavenly bodies in ancient societies. Ancient Greek astronomers like Aristarchus, Eratosthenes and Hipparcus produced accurate reports on celestial bodies. Hipparcus’ calculations were very precise regarding the duration of the year and earth’s diameter. He could predict eclipses with an accuracy of one hour! Aristotle proposed the geocentric model of the universe and Ptolemy’s mathematical basis for it helped it to stand critical scrutiny for the next 1500 years. Aristotle was held in supreme authority by the church in the middle ages and no challenge to conventional wisom was allowed. Things began to change in the Renaissance era. Machiavelli’s diatribes against Aristotelian order in politics and Vesalius’ advances in medical concepts paved the way for a break with the past. Crowning it all came Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation which challenged church authority. Copernicus introduced his heliocentric ideas during this time, which was opposed by philosophers who stood on the right side of the church fathers. Ludovico delle Colombe summarized biblical phrases to ‘prove’ that Copernicus was wrong, which makes interesting reading today.

1. You fixed the earth on its foundation, never to be moved (Psalms 104:5)
2. He stretches out the North over empty space, and suspends the earth over nothing at all (Job 104:7)
3. Tremble before him, all the earth; he has made the world firm, not to be moved (1 Chronicles 16:30)
4. Who has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea, and marked off the heavens with a span? Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:12)
5. Stone is heavy, and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both (Proverbs 27:3)
6. The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises (Ecclesiastes 1:5)

Galileo helped astronomy leapfrog into the modern world. He observed four moons of Jupiter, which were also considered as planets then. Cassini and Huygens discovered the five moons of Saturn and the number of planets were steadily going up. There were no clear definition of a planet at that time, rather than the ‘wandering star’ assigned from time immemorial. The general consensus was that it should orbit the sun. But, discovery of Halley’s comet complicated matters. Here was a celestial body observed from ancient times, which is clearly not a planet, but revolving around the sun! A bailout from the dilemma was facilitated by the formulation of Titius-Bode rule which predicted the orbits of planets around the sun which surprisingly corresponded to the known planets then. By the help of this rule, the number of planets again came down to six. The rule predicted a planet at 19.6 AU from the sun, which was realized when Herschel observed Uranus in 1781. The rule also predicted a planet in between Mars and Jupiter. The discovery of asteroids in the early 19^th century made some astronomers designate them as planets since they obeyed the Titius-Bode rule. Diligent astronomers detected an unexplained deviation in Uranus’ orbit at that time. Mathematicians, most prominent among them being John Couch Adams and Urbain Le Verrier theorized this to be due to the gravitational tug of an unknown planet and calculated the orbit of this new planet. Neptune was observed in 1846 at the precise location predicted by the mathematicians.

Astronomers again found discrepancies in Neptune’s orbit and suspected this to be due to the influence of another undiscovered planet. An American millionaire, Percival Lowell started search for such a planet, founding an own observatory, which later shot to prominence as Lowell Observatory. The search for the trans-Neptunian planet bore fruit in 1930 when Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in that observatory. However, Pluto’s observed size was far too small to produce the deviations in Neptune’s orbit. Later, it became clear that the Neptunian discrepancies were due to observational errors. Pluto’s position became dubious. After 1992, a flood of Pluto-like objects were ushered in, with the discovery of minor planets like Varuna, 2003UB313, which is even larger than Pluto. Such objects in the Kuiper Belt are called Kuiper Belt Objects now.

Weintraub doesn’t clearly state his position on the question of Pluto’s planethood. He lists three conditions to be satisfied by a planet.

1. the object must be too small to generate, or to have ever generated, energy through nuclear fusion
2. the object must be big enough to be spherical
3. the object must have a primary orbit around a star

Many asteroids like Ceres and minor planets like Varuna satisfy these conditions and the author is equivocal in granting the status of planets to all of them.

The book is impressive to read in the first part. After the discovery of Pluto, the reading gets tougher and less interesting. The author struggles to move the discussion forward and his reliance on scientific papers, listing out all the others doesn’t help matters a bit.

The book is recommended

Rating: 3 Star

No Full Stops In India

Title: No Full Stops In India

Author: Mark Tully

Publisher: Penguin 1992 (First published: 1991)

ISBN: 978-0-140-10480-6

Pages: 336

Another good book from an Indophile Englishman. Mark Tully was born in Calcutta, and went on to become the bureau-chief of BBC at New Delhi. With his extensive knowledge of India, its customs, politics and social chores, he had travelled widely in India and it is safe to assume that he has intimate knowledge of what drives India forward. That mastery is shone through the delightful collection of ten essays on various aspects of Indian life. The author’s most important argument is that the elite, which has acquired modern education through English consider themselves alien to the ethos of the country and is completely out of touch with the masses. Their frequencies of thought doesn’t resonate with the common people and the difference makes them think that they represent the true India. However the author asserts that there are no such full stops here and only commas exist. Every one of his essays in this book drives this point home. From a general discussion of the story, Tully reaches the conclusion that the outlook of the elitist Indian is completely out of touch with the masses.

He starts with a real-life example of his aide Ram Chander, who is a Dalit and still faces some of the nastier side of discrimination. Though written in a condescending style, it nicely brings out the difficulties in the life of a manual labourer who has to undergo numerous hurdles even in a cosmopolitan city such as New Delhi. The author attends the wedding ceremony of his daughter in a village in Uttar Pradesh and comes to know of the social life in remote villages. Tully attacks the cultural imperialism which comes with the mask of social exchange programs organised from England. Instead of identifying themselves with the artistes, these Britishers generally tend to stick to their own brand of expertise which causes friction among the participants. He takes a sharp dig on the practice of discrimination of converted Christians who were Dalits, inside the church. There are practically no bishops from the community and the number of ordained priests are also very small to ensure that there would not be any contender in the near term.

The author personally participated in the Kumbh Mela of 1989 and gives a vivid sketch of the proceedings. This was the fair in which VHP masterminded their propaganda to establish a temple at Ayodhya which was disputed property. The arrogance, militancy and selfishness of many of the monks and ascetics are described in gory detail. In the end, he praises the much maligned Indian administration for a job well done, to peacefully organise such a huge assembly with the minimum investment while maximising participation and satisfaction of the pilgrims. The arrangements go about methodically and the millions offering prayers on the banks of the Ganga find it fulfilling to have attended the mela. While examining the religious sensitivities of the country, Tully straightaway goes to the shooting sets of Ramanand Sagar’s popular TV serial, Ramayan which captivated the audience of the 1980s. The program became a huge success, even surpassing the wildest expectations of all alike. The entire affair was a low-cost initiative, the actors being the marginal players of Bollywood and the site often re-using material like flowers used in earlier scenes.

The most interesting essay in the book is the reminiscences of Operation Black Thunder in 1988 when the Punjab police flushed out Sikh militants who had taken the Golden Temple by force and made it their hideout to collect arms, do extortion and torture. Unlike repeating the blunder of Operation Blue Star in 1984 when the army moved in and did extensive damage to the temple, for which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had to pay with her life, in 1988 the government played it safe and superb. The police was put in charge and by effective siege, the terrorists holed up inside the shrine was driven out after some days. The immense fire power of the government agencies forced tens of the most hardcore terrorists to meekly surrender which was telecast widely. Tully claims that this was the moment at which the Khalistan sentiments took the most severe beating in Punjab.

From Punjab straight to Bengal, which is diametrically opposite to it. Communism is very popular in Bengal and Kerala, and in the former state, they are continuously in power since 1977. The author makes some in-depth analysis of the political and social situations in Calcutta and the rural half of the state. Contrary to expectations, he doesn’t pass judgement on the Communists. Religious notions among the common folk has not suffered an iota even with decades of Marxist rule, with animal sacrifices still going strong at Kalighat temple in the capital city. In fact, they have kept a watchful and safe distance from the religious beliefs of the people they govern. Bengal is industrially backward after Independence, but the author claims that the communists are not to blame, but goes on a congratulatory note by surveying the countryside and coming up with ideas of economic upliftment of the rural people during their three-decade long rule.

The incident of Sati at Deorala village in Rajastan in 1987 was an incident which shook the whole of India and earned us much ridicule internationally. Tully gives a differing perspective in which even the possibility of a voluntary suicide by the victim cannot be entirely ruled out. Even after reading the chapter in full, we are not enlightened of the real opinion of the author on this point. He plays the perfect journalist here, give both sides of the argument and don’t pass verdict on any of it! From Rajastan, he moves south to Gujarat where communal riots were daily occurrences in the 1980s and 90s. The picture of the commoner trying utmost to stay afloat in the turbulent social waters is beautifully drawn by the author who was also a master journalist.

The book is an excellent read for all classes of readers. The author’s deft maneuvers of his pen are made delightfully appealing to the reader in the light of his deep love for India, her people and her culture. However, there is some condescension seeping in now and then in the stories. We can however pardon him for his overarching assumption of the BBC’s credibility in India. No doubt it was very dependable and somewhat impartial during the days when private TV channels had still not established base. But Tully’s argument that the Indians often circulate rumours with the remark that they had had heard it on BBC is surely stretching the point a bit.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star

Rebellion 1857

Title: Rebellion 1857

Editor: P C Joshi

Publisher: National Book Trust, India 2009 (First NBT Edition 2007)

ISBN: 978-81-237-4935-8

Pages: 381

The rebellion in 1857 against the British, variously termed Sepoy Mutiny and the First War of Independence was a landmark event in the history of India. Her definite separation from medieval era and mindset can be traced back to this war which raged in North India, particularly in today’s UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The sepoys, recruited by the British to serve in their native forces rebelled against their commanders, marched on to Delhi, made the old Moghul, Bahadur Shah emperor of India and ruled the land under their dominion. The British eventually defeated them and subjected them to inhuman punishments like blowing from the mouths of cannon. However, the incident created a furore in England and reform measures were immediately taken. India was put directly under the administration of the Crown in 1858. On the home turf, it encouraged nationalist movements, resulting finally in independence in 1947.

This book is a compilation of essays published to mark the centenary of the rebellion in 1957. It so happened that the compendium contains articles sponsored by the Communist Party of India. The editor, P C Joshi was its Secretary General and the authors, both Indian and foreign are leftists, as evidenced by frequent and often irrelevant quotations from Marx. Noted historian, Prof. Irfan Habib has written a foreword to the book. Satinder Singh, writing under the pseudonym of Talmiz Khaldun has put the events in a succinct way. He argues that though the war was termed a mutiny by the British, their rule had vanished from most of the provinces. On the other hand, the war, termed the first war of independence affected only 1/6^th of its area and 1/10^th of the population. The suppression forces also figured Indians among them. Hence the terminology is not appropriate on both sides. The seeds of mutiny was sown deep by the actions of the East India Company like alienating of the peasants by excessive land measures, replacement of zamindars by absentee landlords and strict enforcement of land revenue. The forceful annexation of Oudh in 1856 caused resentment among the company’s soldiers themselves, as most of them were natives of that province. Wherever the land was annexed by the British, the old nobles and courtiers lost all livelihood and acted as captains of insurgency. Abolition of Persian as the official language and the introduction of competitive exams for public appointments prevented the Muslim nobles from reaching out to the establishment. Adding to the woes of the people, the economic depression in 1825-54 caused sharp decline in prices rendering the farmers exposed to severe financial burden. The English, who had won all battles in India, lost heavily in the Sikh and Afghan wars, thereby losing the sheen of invincibility in the minds of the people. They thought it possible to defeat their white masters in a properly drawn out battle. When Sindh and Punjab were attached to the company’s empire, foreign service allowance earlier granted to the soldiers had to be stopped, causing much resentment among the ranks. The company’s religious reforms like the abolition of Sati, killing of girl child and the 1850 law which ensured paternal inheritance to converted sons evoked opposition from a large section of the society still steeped in a medieval mindset. The government’s open support to Christian missionaries, often providing them with police protection and who indulged in uncharacteristically nasty and tactless propaganda against the people’s beliefs and gods infuriated them. The trigger for the revolt came in the form of Enfield rifles, whose cartridges had to be torn out of the envelopes by mouth was believed to be greased with the lard of cow and the pig. Such an affront on the religious sentiments of the Hindus and Muslims was bound to evoke repercussions of the most horrifying kind.

When the mutiny broke out on 11 May 1857, the soldiers marched on to Delhi and crowned the aged Bahadur Shah, the emperor of India (shahen-shah-e-Hind). This was their greatest mistake. By crowning a Mughal, they alienated the sympathies of the Rajputs who had to eke out a humiliating existence under the Mughals in the past. They absolutely had no interest to continue like slaves as had been their lot in the last two centuries. The Sikhs and the Nizam were also against them for similar reasons. Punjab proved to be the stronghold of the British.

The rebels established democratic procedures for administering the country under their rule. A court of administration was set up at Delhi with ten members, with a president (Sadr-e-Jalsa). The emperor’s seal of approval was mandatory for every decision of the court to become law. However, the weak emperor was more of a puppet than a sovereign as shown by the spineless confession put forward by Bahadur Shah when he was conquered by the British. He said, “The mutinous soldiers has established a Court in which all matters were deliberated upon, and decisions taken. But I never took any part in their conferences…As regards the orders under my seal and under my signatures, the facts are that from the day soldiery came and killed the European officers, and made me a prisoner, I remained so thereafter. They caused to be prepared papers they thought fit, brought them to me and compelled me to affix my seal. Sometimes they brought the rough draft orders and had their copies in my office. Hence several rough drafts in many different hands have been filed in the proceedings. Frequently, they had my seal fixed on empty unaddressed envelopes. I neither knew the contents of the letters nor as to whom they were being sent” (p.43-44). Indifference and actual opposition of the propertied classes, namely new landlords (zamindars), merchants, money lenders and educated middle classes ensured British dominance over them.

The effects of the rebellion and its after-effects were far reaching. The British stopped the practice of actively involving in the religious affairs of the people. Even rightful and just reforms were sidelined. Indians adopted English education in a big way, which prompted a nationalist movement to be born. Muslims were sidelined by the government after the mutiny. Imperial consolidation in India took place, with railways reaching out to a large portion of the land.

K M Ashraf discusses the Islamic revivalism which was also a source of dissent. Tipu’s war in Mysore was termed a jihad and radical Muslims answered the call. Shah Abdul Aziz, a Wahabi leader proclaimed British India, dar-ul-Harb (enemy territory) in early 19^th century. Pious Muslims had no other way than to wage a holy war against the rulers of such an enemy territory. However, conservative Muslims’ rage was not solely against the British. They declared a jihad against the Sikh regime in Punjab in 1826! Ashraf also examines the role of the noted Urdu poet, Ghalib (Mirza Asadullah Khan) in the court of Bahadur Shah who stayed in Delhi during the mutiny and promptly turned coats when the British overpowered the capital.

Benoy Ghosh’s account of the role of Bengali intelligentsia and Gopal Haldar’s review of Bengali literature during this period brings out the province’s educated mindset clearly. The educated middle class in Bengal opposed the rebellion. They had no sympathy to the rebel’s demands which were prompted by religious fanaticism, ignorance and outdated moral precepts. They had no role in a regime organized by the rebels, as there were no middle classes in a feudal society which the rebels sought to establish. P C Joshi’s articles on ‘1857 in our History’ is nothing but propaganda. He liberally quotes from Marx with the exclusion of all historians. His essay contains one remark by a British priest, who harbours the most incendiary feeling towards India and its people. The reverend speaks, “Whatever misfortunes come on us as long as our empire in India continues, so long let us not forget that our chief work is the propagation of Christianity in the land. Until Hindustan from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas embrace the religion of Christ and until it condemns the Hindu and Muslim religions, our efforts must continue persistently” (p.167). P C Joshi asserts that the sepoys didn’t establish feudal order back, as the Court was working above the emperor. Also peasants and dispossessed landlords were in the forefront of the riots. P C Gupta, S Ehtesham Husain, K M Ashraf, Gopal Haldar and P C Joshi examines the waves caused by the rebellion in the literature of Hindi,Urdu, and Bengali languages and folk songs.

Another part of the book is dedicated to demonstrate the level of awareness, support and popular mindset of the peoples of Britain, France, Italy, Russia and China. Unfortunately, all these articles are written by prominent leftists, particularly from China in which the authors resort to emotional tirade against the British calling them robbers, pirates, killers etc. The responses in these countries were subservient to their own national prejudices. Britain’s enemies naturally supported the Indian cause. A large portion of the French people sided with the British due to common colonial interests and racial prejudices.

The book is indeed a good effort to piece together various aspects of the struggle as reflected in people’s minds working in varied fields like literature, folk songs and press. Such books are essential to bring out in colourful detail, a forgotten but important chapter of India’s history. However, such efforts should ensure a level-headed and unpartisan approach not displayed by this book, which is a purely one-sided narration based on the leftist point of view.

The book is recommended, however.

Rating: 2 Star

What On Earth Evolved…in Brief

Title: What On Earth Evolved…in Brief

Author: Christopher Lloyd

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2010 (First published: 2009)

ISBN: 978-1-4088-0289-2

Pages: 445

This book is a must-read and must-possess for popular science enthusiasts. Brief descriptions of 100 of the world’s most influential life forms - animals and plants alike – are given in 3 to 4 pages each, succinctly tucking it down to clearly demarcated niches for easy retrieval. The author read history at Cambridge and later became a technology correspondent for the Sunday Times. In 1994, he won the Texaco award for the Science Journalist of the year. Another of his best-seller is the similarly titled What on Earth Happened? Being a successful journalist, the author knows the right mix of hard scientific jargon and easy readability which he has put to good use in compiling this excellent volume.

The book categorizes and lists the species who have impacted the world most. It is divided into two main sub-divisions, Before Humans and After Humans. The first part describes viruses such as Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Potyvirus and others, simple cells such as cyanobacteria, anthrax, symbiotic life forms like slime mould, water mould and algae, sea life like stony coral, roundworm, pioneers of land such as prototaxites, on biodiversity, on fish that came ashore and on the rise of reason. The second part narrates agricultural plants like wheat, sugarcane, drugs, life forms providing material wealth like horse, camel, etc. All the species are ranked on preset criteria and listed at the end of the book based on their overall rank.

The Earthworm comes first in the table of 100 species judged on its evolutionary impact, impact on human history, environmental impact, global reach and longevity. According to Charles Darwin, no living thing has had such a profound impact on history as the earthworm. These were first evolved during the Cambrian Explosion, c.530 million years ago whose descendants rapidly spread in all continents. Five mass extinctions have occurred over the last 500 million years, some of which devastated up to 96 per cent of all marine species and 70 per cent of all land species, but none of them ever touched these creatures (p.94). Earthworms till the ground, keeping them aerated and fit for further agriculture. Without these crawlers, the land becomes exhausted and some historians even suggest this to be the cause of the downfall of the Sumerian civilization.

The book is a real page turner providing so much infotainment and is irresistible to put down. The wealth of data which abounds in these pages is ming boggling. Some very interesting details and anecdotes also adds further flavour to the already delicious serving. Some form of algae is about to transform the world, as “Some algae, including Botryococcus, have the potential to help save the modern world from a global warming catastrophe by weaning us off our dependancy on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Algaculture, the practice of farming algae for oil production, has ancient natural origins. Kerogen is a mixture of organic compounds buried deep underground that is made up of decomposed marine algae, cyanobacteria and other protoctists. When it is heated to the right temperature in the Earth’s crusts, it releases crude oil or natural gas” (p.46). Also, elephants are among the strongest, most emotional and highly intelligent creatures on earth, with a brain larger than even humans with a typical weight of just over five kilograms. Such a large brain is also useful for the creature to make primitive wooden tools for food gathering. Elephants learn from experience and captive animals are known to remove their shackles and make their escape.

World’s largest cultivated crops – sugar, wheat, rice, maize and potato (in that order) all find place in this collection. Orange, one of the most widely grown fruit is particularly important to all mammals as they are a rich source of the much needed vitamin C, which is not produced automatically by mammals, unlike vitamin D, which is synthesized by the skin with nothing more than sunlight. Mammals, including humans lost the capability of making vitamin C somewhere in the evolutionary pathway.

Although the book is terribly appealing, some contentions of the author is a bit grating on the nerves. The conclusion that elephants mourn their dead from the fact that they have a large brain does not seem to be cause-and-effect. Another point is the rise in treatment of open wounds infected by anti-biotic resistant bacteria with maggots of fruit flies goes counter to established scientific wisdom. Readers are advised to treat such arguments with scepticism until proved right from other more reliable sources. On the some topics, it was felt that a little more attention should have been paid. However, the author may be pardoned on the basis that he had to squeeze all these in, in about 450 pages giving a maximum of 5 pages for each topic.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star

Blood and Oil

Title: Blood and Oil – A Prince’s Memoir of Iran, From the Shah to the Ayatollah

Editor: Manucher Farmanfarmaian, Roxane Farmanfarmaian

Publisher: Random House New York 2005 (First published: 1997)

ISBN: 0-8129-7508-1

Pages: 482

Born as a prince of the ousted Qajar dynasty in Iran, Manucher Farmanfarmaian rose to hold prominent positions in the Iranian administrative system by dint of hard work, western education and most importantly, connections to people who wielded real power in Shah’s Iran. He was born to Prince Abdol Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma in 1917. The Shah, during the Pahlavi dynasty took a dim view of the Farmanfarmaians who controlled enormous power, owing to the numerous siblings holding vast amounts of land, business, administrative and foreign service positions. The author studied in Paris and Birmingham, obtaining degrees in Petroleum engineering. He rose to become the director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which was nationalized during the 50s. He became Iran’s ambassador to Venezuela in 1972 and returned to Iran just before the 1979 Islamic revolution. Hunted by Khomeini’s revolutionary guards, he fled the country and settled in Venezuela to lead a peaceful, retired life till his death.

The book presents a vivid picture of Iran and its transformation from an underdeveloped country in the early 20^th century to an oil rich state by its end. The British monopolized Iranian oil in the form of a concession ceded from them in the form of the APOC (Anglo-Persian Oil Company), which later metamorphosed to British Petroleum. Political pressure from opposition forces resulted in the nationalization of the company and Iranians took control of it. The author claims that he had a deciding role in the formation of OPEC, the organization of oil-exporting countries in 1961. Iran, being an underdeveloped country, with a monarchy which has lost all touch with people was controlled by aristocratic families who owed allegiance to the Shah through matrimonial relationships, further cemented by ostentatious social gatherings to remain the lime light. Dissidence simmered among the public, which went unnoticed even by western intelligence agencies. When Ayatollah Khomeini returned from Paris to assume control of the state left by the Shah, things changed rapidly for the worse for these aristocrats, who had to eat the dust. One by one, they were hunted out and subjected to swift punishment, often without a decent trial.

The book is an interesting read which brings out various facets of Iranian civil society as it existed under the monarchs. The stark contrast between the haves and have-nots are evident between the lines, though the author is not unduly sympathetic to the socialist cause. When the Shah decided to effect a redistribution of land by appropriating it from the aristocrats, he opposed it on the flimsy ground that the gift positioned the new owners in an disadvantageous position, as they now had to care for the land and the means of cultivation which was until then taken care of by the lords. All top jobs were distributed among the relatives and friends of those in power. Whenever the author was in need of a job, all he needed to do was visit some of his cousins or brothers handling an important government portfolio and ask them to position him in a suitable chair already identified by him!

The book is easy to read and the story line very captivatingly arranged. As his notes were lost in the uprisings, he claims to have narrated all details from memory. The style is commendable, which was really put in place by his daughter and co-author Roxane. Hafez’s verses adorn the beginning of each chapter.

On the other side, the book is unduly long which need to be abridged. Arranged in smaller print, the book is not so easy to read. At the end of the day, the reader is not without some reservation against the author’s point of view which seemed to be skewed.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 2 Star

The Corporation That Changed The World

Title: The Corporation That Changed The World – How the East India Company Shaped the Modern Multinational

Editor: Nick Robins

Publisher: Orient Longman 2006 (First)

ISBN: 81-250-3022-0

Pages: 190

Nick Robins is a prominent international author on corporate and financial matters, whose expertise is brought to arresting detail in the threadbare discussions of a powerful multinational company, formed in 1599, which exerted its tentacles far and wide and destroyed the lives of millions of Indians in the process, the East India Company (EIC). Founded as a joint-stock company for the task of carrying out trade with the East, the company gained territorial possessions and acted like a soverign power with no regard to the well being of the subject people. It systematically overthrew the political, economic, social and cultural framework of India by aggression, diplomacy and outright cheating. When the people rose up in revolt, the agitation was put down severely, but the aim of the revolutionaries succeeded in rooting out the company from India. Robins describes all these aspects in a sympathetic way and points out the pitfalls in today’s mindless globalization rhetoric.

In the 15th century, Portugal handled 75% of European spice trade. Protestant revolt in Holland resulted in blockade of Antwerp and Dutch traders were ousted from Lisbon. This forced the Dutch to ply their ships direct to India and pepper prices tripled. Spurred by the immense profits garnered by the Portuguese and Dutch traders, Queen Elizabeth signed the royal charter for establishing a British company in 1599. This was a joint-stock company, in which the investors pooled their money for making the dangerous journey to India. They were also given privileges to mint own coins in overseas territories, exercise justice in its settlements and the right to wage war. It grew several-fold and by 1774, 14% of England’s trade input was from this company. It operated in a more democratic way as compared to Dutch VOC. Each shareholder, possessing shares of £500 could participate in the election, and everyone having £2000 worth shares could contest for the post of director. The organisation was strictly hierarchical and the officers employed overseas could carry on private trade with other Asian ports. The company was given monopoly of bringing the oriental produce to England. EIC first established factories in today’s Indonesia, but wars with the Dutch expelled them from the Spice Islands. Textiles was the item of choice it exported from India, causing much hardships to British textile mill owners and labourers, as “The company had long been the target of protests from protectionist interests, critical of its growing imports of Indian calicoes. ‘When the East India ships come in’, they argued, ‘half our weavers play’. Others contended that competition from India kept wages in the wool and silk industries at starvation levels. The pressure was intensified when 5,000 weavers marched on Parliament. On their return journey, the weavers attacked East India House and broke open its doors, forcing the intervention of local milita” (p.52-53).

Company’s territorial ambitions were galvanized when Siraj-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Bengal invaded Calcutta in 1756. He was summarily defeated in 1757 at the Battle of Plassey, in which 50,000 Bengali troops surrendered to the 3,000 company troops, out of which only 1,000 were Englishmen. It could snatch victory due to the treacherous intervention of Mir Jaffar, Daula’s trusted minister. In recognition of the company’s superior position, the then Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II granted them the diwani (tax collection rights) of Bengal in 1764. A commercial organization could now collect land taxes forcibly from the public, give a portion to the toothless Mughal and reexport the remaining to England. Thus, the Company in collusion with the Mughal robbed India of her riches. Till that moment in history, gold flowed to India to pay for textiles. With this momentous step, the flow reversed. Robert Clive pocketed for himself a large share and was tried in England for financial misdemeanours. Speculation and grabbing of rice by company’s tax collectors exacerbated the Bengal famine of 1769-70, in which an estimated 10 million people (1/3rd of the Bengali population) perished. The excesses and immoral operations of the company overseas evoked outrage back home, resulting in the Regulating Act of 1773, which ushered in more government control.

EIC also contributed to the American war of independence in an indirect way. In the mean time, the company had engaged in importing tea from China, which was very lucrative. Most of the tea was reexported to America. Taxes in England caused the company’s tea to be dearer in America, which could not compete with smuggled tea from elsewhere in Europe. The new Tea Act abolished the tax in England and levied it upon arrival in America. This caused heated opposition from the colonists, resulting in the famous Boston Tea Party of 1773. The high handed deals of company officials attracted much scorn from intellectuals at home, like Edmund Burke, who was known for his humanist approach and who proceeded with impeachment motion against Warren Hastings, the governor-general of the company. His accusations against Hastings ran thus, “It is with confidence that, ordered by the Commons, I impeach Warren Hastings Esquire, of high crimes and misdemeanours. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose laws, rights and liberties, he has subverted, whose properties he has destroyed, whose country he has laid waste and desolate. I impeach him in the name and by virtue of those eternal laws of justice he has violated. I impeach him in the name of human nature himself, which he has cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both sexes, in every age, rank, situation and condition of life” (p.135). George Dempster (1732-1818), a former director of the company and an MP also opposed British rule in India.

Increased expenditure of military strained the finances of the company. Between 1763 and 1805, soldiers in its payroll increased from 18,000 to 154,500. It defeated Tipu in 1792 and annexed Malabar. Company’s losses mounted from £9 million in 1792 to £30 million in 1809. It sought to regain the losses from taxes, which the Indian taxpayer had to bear. Protectionist measures in England also weighed against free trade with India, in the form of 78% duty on calicoes and 31% on muslins. In the meantime, Industrial Revolution picked up in England, resulting in increased automation and reduced operating costs, which made the mills 400 times more productive than the Indian weaver. Indian textiles suddenly found themselves to be at a disadvantage and its market collapsed. This caused loss of jobs in India and William Bentinck remarked that Indian plains were bleached with the bones of weavers. To offset the losses in textiles, company turned to Chinese tea. But, they had nothing to offer the Chinese other than gold, which they were reluctant to do. Instead, they smuggled opium to China by bribing the officers. The company had a monopoly of opium production in Bihar and hence could set the price. Its cultivation in Malwa under the Marathas brought down prices, which prompted the company to attack and defeat them. Increased production from Malwa however reduced the prices. It exported 2,000 chests of opium (of 63.5 kg) in 1800 which bounced to 105,000 chests in 1879. The health and wealth of the Chinese were in the wicked company’s hands. When China banned the imports, the Royal Navy itself intervened and ensured free flow of the narcotic drug in two Opium wars.

In the 19th century, India’s role as an exporter of finished product weakened and it fell to the role of a supplier of raw materials for the emerging British industries. In 1811, India’s exports consisted of textiles (33%), opium (24%), indigo (19%), raw silk (8%) and raw cotton (5%), whereas it changed to textiles (nil), opium (30%), cotton (19%), indigo (11%) and sugar (10%) in 1850. The company’s special trading privileges ended in 1833 and the first war of independence in 1857 forced the crown to abolish the company and take over its Indian possessions in 1858. The company was formally wound up in 1874, with shares converted to government bonds.

Robins ends with a long chapter on similarities of the erstwhile company with modern multinational corporations which are also not bound by national laws. He argues that an Ethic gene must be included in the company law. The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) in America is described to be a step in the right direction, citing the case of Unocal which was indicted for its unscrupulous deals in Burma.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star

Blood of the Earth

Title: Blood of the Earth – The Battle for the World’s Vanishing Oil Resources

Author: Dilip Hiro

Publisher: Penguin 2008 (First published 2007)

ISBN: 978-0-14-310401-8

Pages: 379

Dilip Hiro is a renowned author who writes fiction as well as non-fiction and selects middle-eastern issues frequently. Oil is also a predominantly middle-eastern issue which affects all parts of the globe. Whatever happens in that strife-torn area, is bound to vigorously shake the lives of people even living in far remote areas. A good example is the pro-democratic struggle going on in Libya. The people, fed up with a dictator who reigns over them for the last four decades are desperate to get rid of him at all cost, as seen by deaths of hundreds of protestors. Libyan oil is now blocked and it has pushed up the price much above $100 a barrel. This book is a compendium of petroleum which is also called the blood of the earth. It covers the origins, identification of utility, usage and the critical influence of oil in contemporary world. Geopolitics is more or less shaped by the subtle swings of power oscillating between the oil-haves and oil-have-nots. The sole superpower in the world is itself impotent to rein in the predatory attitudes of petroleum producers who have no compunction in boosting up the price of their commodity to sky-high levels.

Commercial oil production began in mid-19^th century at Titusville, Pennsylvania in the U.S. Digging of oil wells picked up momentum soon after in Texas and Azerbaijan in central Asia. It may be curious to note that the first commercial oil well in Asia was dug at Digboi, India. Most of these first-generation wells have now been dried up and the fields themselves give diminishing returns. The average yield of American wells is 10 bpd (barrels per day) whereas the figure runs into thousands of bpd in Qatar for typical wells. Oil was first struck at Iran and then in Saudi Arabia by 1930s. The oil boom which occurred after World War II ended the coal era once and for all.

Petroleum originated in the deep bowels of earth by a process spanning several millions of years. Dead algae and planktons sink downwards to the bottom of the ocean and forms a layer. Over millions of years, this carpet hardens into nutrient rich rock called Kerogen shale, a mixture of compounds with large molecules containing carbon and hydrogen. The high pressure and temperature obtaining at depths of 2300 – 4600m, often reaching 100 – 135 deg C cooks the shale further. The high temperature breaks down the heavy molecules to smaller molecules of oil and gas. Oil is ideally seen at depths of 2300 m, below which the occurrence of gas is more probable. It is very crucial that the lighter than air gas is not bubbled off back onto the surface. Deposits of salt and anhydrous calcium sulphate left behind by receding seas act as perfect seals as seen in the mega oil fields of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The quality of the crude is different based on the composition and it is graded into degrees between 15 and 45 defined by the American Petroleum Institute.

The output from an oil well follows a bell-curve, first proposed by M King Hubbert, a U.S. geologist. This indicates a peak in the production, beyond which it dwindles. It is expected that the world would experience the peak in somewhere in this decade. Even super giant oil fields like Burgan in Kuwait and Ghawar in Saudi Arabia are showing signs of fatigue. OPEC will continue production until peaking around the year 2025. Non-OPEC production will be seriously affected by shortfalls and those countries are likely to depend on OPEC in the coming years. Development of new technologies are essential for these nations to take out the remaining oil from underground.

Oil is undeniably interlinked to world politics. Oil replaced coal for transport in the beginning of 20^th century. In 1912, Britain, a large producer of coal moved to oil-fuelled warships for their efficiency, speed and better capacities. The Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) was formed to prospect for oil in Iran. Once its efforts proved successful, the British government procured majority stake in it. One of the deciding factors in favour of Allied forces during the World War I was the naval blockade of Germany which cut off its oil supplies. The inter-war period was notable for locating oil in Iran and Saudi, and also for Mexico nationalizing its oil production capability in 1938. The second world war was also motivated in part due to oil ambitions of the players. Japan, themselves bereft of any local oil, coveted the resources of Indonesia while fearing U.S. intervention. To temporarily disable the Americans, they made a pre-emptive strike at Pearl Harbour in 1941, thus setting in motion a disastrous trail for themselves. Germany’s attack of the USSR was a twist in the European front affecting the outcome in the end. Russia had occupied a large portion of Romanian oil fields and it was to release these facilities and also to annex the Azerbaijan oil fields that Hitler turned against his former friends and allies, again with tragic consequences. Hitler intended to take hold of middle-east oil by pincer movements from Azerbaijan and North Africa. U.S. befriended ibn Saud to exclude British companies from the kingdom. An informal agreement was arrived upon by which Saudi oil was taken by U.S, Iranian oil by the British and the rest, by mutual sharing. Attempts at nationalization of oil resources by Iranian premier, Mohammed Mussadiq was foiled by the CIA and MI6 in their first ever operation against a democratically elected regime. During 1958, Soviet Union appeared as a contender for the western oil companies. To outsmart the Russians, western oil companies slashed the prices considerably, which affected the economies of middle-eastern states. OPEC was formed in 1961 to prevent such happenings in the future and it mandated the companies to consult with the governments in fixing the price and production rates. The 1967 and 1973 wars against Israel and Arab states infuriated the latter who shut off the oil. Prices boomed five-fold from $1.37 to $7 per barrel, shaking the western civilization itself at its roots. The second oil shock in 1979-80 following the Islamic revolution in Iran was another reminder for the west to seek alternate sources for energy needs.

Oil is traded in major exchanges like the New York Mercantile Exchange (NyMex – called WTI, West Texas Intermediate), Rotterdam spot market and at London Petroleum Exchange (Brent Crude). Futures trading began in 1983 which helped stabilize the markets and undermined the price setting power of OPEC. Gulf War and the competition among Arab states slashed the price of oil in 1985-86. After the war ended, Kuwait asked Iraq to return $12-14 billion it had received from Kuwait in the form of oil it supplied to Baghdad’s customers during the war. Saddam Hussein refused, claiming that the war with Iran was for the common benefit of other Arab states and they had a responsibility to share costs. An infuriated Kuwait began flooding the market with cheap oil, cutting the price from $18 to $11 in 1990. A cut of $1 in the price of oil would diminish the Iraqi economy by $1 billion. Saddam invaded and annexed Kuwait in 1990. He then controlled 20% of the world’s proven resources as against 26% of Saudi Arabia. U.S. intervened and after 43 days of one-sided operations, Iraq conceded defeat with an estimated damage of $190 bn to its infrastructure. The urge to control Iraq’s oil directly prompted U.S. to invade Iraq and deposed Saddam in 2003.

The imperative to find alternate sources of oil led to a scramble for oil fields in the 90s. Fresh reserves were identified in Azerbaijan, Caspian sea and Kazakhstan. Under U.S. pressure a giant pipeline was laid from Baku in Azerbaijan to Ceyhan port in Turkey through Tbilisi in Georgia, called BTC pipeline. Kazakh oil was later linked to the pipeline. American and Chinese companies are vying with each other and with Lukoil and Gazprom of Russia for Kazakh oil. China has adopted oil and other resources as articles of state policy and has agreed into trading agreements with African nations such as Angola, Nigeria and Sudan. Latin American countries like Brazil and Bolivia are rich in oil, but their consumption is fast rising to negate the chances of exporting it. Venezuela is an oil-rich state, which openly oppose American interests and engages in subsidized supplies to the poor, even in U.S! Oil demand surged, as China became a net importer of oil in 1993 because of its economic takeoff. Its companies reached pacts with oil producers worldwide. First oil well in India was found in 1867 at Nahorpung, while laying rail lines from Calcutta to the tea estates of Assam. Bombay High, developed in 1974 caters to one-thirds of Indian output. Private companies are also involved in oil exploration now.

It is imperative for the world to look for alternatives for oil. Natural gas is a good option, but that too is produced by the same cartel as oil. Russia, Qatar and Iran are the major players. Nuclear power is an option which was relied upon less and less by the west after the incidents at Three-mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986. India and China are investing in more nuclear power plants. Another older option is coal, of which India and U.S. has reserves lasting for two centuries. The biggest drawback of coal is the pollution it engenders which can be alleviated by the technology called IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) which generates syngas from coal. Price is costlier, but the technology is very clean. Conversion of coal to oil is possible with a conversion ratio of 1.5 barrels of oil for 1 ton of coal. The method is economical only if oil price stays above $35 a barrel (2005 values).

Divorcing the internal combustion engine from automobiles is a prime consideration for bringing down the consumption of oil. There have been steps in the right directions in the form of hybrid vehicles like Toyota Prius. Judging from the present trends, it is likely that fuel cell-powered vehicles would become the norm of the future, perhaps as early as 2050. Production of hydrogen for use in fuel cells is to be boosted up. Wind energy is a very viable alternative with Germany in the world leadership, producing 10% of their total power from wind. India is vying to catch up with a proposed 1000MW wind field near Mumbai.

The book is quite easy to read, the style being simple and uncluttered. The author has introduced a ‘petroleum alphabet’ for driving home the point that oil has become an inalienable aspect of modern life. Some very interesting quotations are included, the star of them being the one said by Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Yamani, a former oil minister of Saudi Arabia – “The Stone Age did not end for lack of stones, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil”. A fine set of maps are given in the first section and an equally good chronology at the end. The book is graced with an index, thought it seemed not comprehensive. When looked for finding IGCC in the index, it drew a blank, though the term is repeated 4-5 times in the text.

On the negative side, the life sketches given about persons as they are introduced seemed to be boring and beside the point. It was felt that the reader need not know that Hubbert was a puffy-faced man who appeared in one or two pages. These were uninteresting and diluted the focus of narration. Also, the chapters on India and China was not at all concentrated on the oil aspect. It simply described the amazing economic progress achieved by these countries in the first decade of the new century and as such, the description would have suited any book on contemporary financial matters. Needless details are given, and it may safely be assumed that the description could have been compressed into 2-3 pages. Altogether, the writing though simple, is more often uninteresting. In the end, the reader is likely to end up with a feeling that the author has wasted an opportunity to bring such a time-relevant concept as petroleum. Another serious drawback is the lack of technical depth of the book. The author could have come up with a little more detail of the exploration, drilling and refining of crude oil. As such, there are no such details, spoiling the utility of the book.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star