Monday, August 19, 2013
Nationalism in Decline 2
In my last post “Nationalism in Decline” I had argued that the nationalist feelings have faded from our hearts. I had blamed our ruling class for dividing our people, I had blamed our education system for loss of belonging and I had blamed the blind race to develop, without any regard for our own culture and traditions, for loss of identity among our people. In this post I would like to discuss the negative effect that all these things are having on our people.
All of us are running a marathon with no end. Every time we see the ending we run faster, push others, and toil harder so as to be the first to reach the end but on reaching there we find that the end is the start of another race. Everyone wants to come first in every race and this is taking its toll on the physical and mental health of almost everyone. Today’s youth is suffering from high anxiety, frequent depression, High BP, etc. To overcome these depressions and anxieties our young professional can be seen at the numerous pubs and discos every weekend. The motto is “work hard party harder”. But if this is the perfect world then why do we feel sorry the next morning? Why does the anxiety and depression returns once we come back to our senses? If this is the best way then why do we feel empty inside? Why are we always dissatisfied with our work and with our life? What is that one thing that is missing from our life? The thing that is missing from our lives is the inner peace. We have fiercely competed for everything but we have forgotten the one most important thing without which life cannot be happy, fulfilling and satisfying. There is a sloak in Gita “Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana ma karma phalahetur bhur ma te sango stv akarmani”(your right is only to perform your prescribed duty, but you never are entitle to the fruits of that action. Do not be motivated of the results of your activities, and do not have any attachment for not doing your duty) this sloak was imprinted in the hearts of every Indian in past. It was this knowledge that has helped millions of Indians to live their life in peace and eternal bliss though they were materially poor. This philosophy of life has been replaced by a rat race where everyone wants to overtake others. In our pursuit of development of an individual we actually forget to properly define what this development means? We have copied West without thinking if it was desirable for us. I agree with the philosophy of integral humanism proposed by Pandit Deendayal UpadhyayaI. I accept that for human development there is a need to develop its body, intellect and soul. In today’s world we are only concerned with our body and to some extent our intellect but we have neglected our souls completely. Though we have achieved great wealth but it has been done by devoting all our efforts towards our bodily needs. But we have completely neglected the needs of our soul and this is creating the unrest within most of us. The youth is worst affected by this neglect for it is farthest from its roots. Most of the youth do not realize this. They see people driving their expensive cars, living in palatial houses, media showing the glitter of celebrities’ life and consider it to be the aim of life. They work harder and harder to achieve that money and fame. Some become successful and move ahead while many are left behind in this race. One thing common with successful and unsuccessful person is that both are not happy. No one has peace of mind. The successful person wants more and wants to reach to even greater heights and is afraid of losing his position while the unsuccessful person is either frustrated or restless. But no one is happy. In our desire for big success we fail to appreciate little moments of happiness that comes in our way. Today people don’t have time for their own children and to compensate for this they buy expensive gadgets for their lads. Children spend hours in front of these gadgets thereby ignoring their mental, social and physical growth. All these internal unrest are forcing people to look for peace outside. They are ready to believe anyone who will offer them few words of console and who would offer them peace of mind. They flock the Ashrams of many so called Godmen (though many of these swamis are genuine and very knowledgeable but some are swindles who are cheating people). The real problem is that we know so little about our own religion that we are ready to listen to anyone who seems to possess any knowledge.
Most of the revolutions and other big changes in the world have taken place due to the active participation of youths. Colleges and universities used to be nerve centre of such movements. New ideas were formed and discussed in such places of learning. But today the discussions in colleges are confined to opposite sex, movies, sports, etc. Issues related to nation, society, governance, etc. are hardly discussed. During my four years in IIT Delhi I don’t remember any meaningful discussion that we had. The general feeling among youth is that the government is responsible for all the ills of our country (though it may be correct to some extent but then it is we who have been electing our governments). They feel that they can do nothing to change this situation and show helplessness while discussing such issues. But I feel the real thing is that resolve is missing in us today. The blame for this missing resolve can be put on our upbringing. Our upbringing laid little emphasis on character building.
I have heard many people saying that corruption in politics is responsible for all the ills of our country. But isn’t this corruption in politics a manifestation of corruption in our society. Tell me a place where there is no corruption in India. Is it not true that many teachers (one of the most honest profession) do not teach properly in classes so that students are forced to take tuitions from them? Is it not corruption? Is it not true that many doctors (one of the most honourable profession) do not treat patients properly in the government hospitals leaving them with no choice but to consult the doctors in their private clinics or asking patients to do unnecessary tests or prescribe expensive medicines when cheaper alternatives are there? Is it not true that corporate and businesses use every trick to avoid paying taxes? Is it not true some farmers and dairy owners use harmful chemicals to boost up their production? Is it not true that people like you and me fudge our medical bills and rent receipts to save our taxes? Cannot we classify all this as corruption? The reality is that most of us are as corrupt as we can be. The reason why politicians and bureaucrats get the flak is that they get more opportunities to be corrupt and hence it is more visible. The reason for the ills of our country is not corruption but the loss of values. Corruption is just an effect of this. Ethics and morals find no takers in our society. Society as a whole has rejected these concepts in practice and it only does the lip service to such concepts. I feel that our politicians are responsible but not because they are corrupt but because they have removed ethics from our education they have diverted us from the knowledge that has been accumulated because of thousands of years of experience.
Material gains have become the end of life. All we are concerned with is the result (material) without any thought about the means by which it has been achieved. This mindless disregard for means has brought us to the brink of destruction. In our hunger for more and more material we are stripping the mother earth with the resources that she needs to keep us alive. It is clear now we can not survive if we continue with our mindless pursuit of material. We will have to reach a balance where human and nature can compliment each other and not compete against each other.
The problem with our society is that not much thought has gone into what we want to achieve and where we want to end up. After gaining independence from British no serious attempt was made to define the path that our country should take. Our policy has been the result of some short time crises we faced without proper discussions on the long term implications of those steps. Mahatma Gandhi made an attempt in his Hind Swaraj to define the route that we should take. But instead of discussing and improving it, it was called impractical and ignored by the people who had sworn to follow him. The matter of fact is that we forgot Gandhi on 31st Jan 1948 and we recall him every year for few hours on 2nd Oct. He had envisioned an independent and strong India based on the path of Dharma. Are we the nation of that vision?
Our politicians have tried to base our country on secular credentials. In their zeal to protect secularism they have kept concept of Karma and Dharma out of our test books. But does secularism can be the excuse to keep people away from Dharma (please don’t translate Dharma as religion for it has much deeper meaning). Dharma inspires us to leave selfishness and help others. Dharma teaches us to be patient, forgiving, contented, pure, knowledgeable, and truthful and to have control of our own senses. If we keep people away from Dharma it will lead to chaos and unrest in the society.
Nationalism in Decline
The word nationalism evokes different emotions in different people. Some proudly proclaim them to be nationalists, some curse the very idea blaming it for the mayhem of first and Second World War while a large majority are completely indifferent to the idea. There is a sudden surge of nationalist feeling during a cricket match or when we face an external thread as was seen during Kargil war and much recently during 26/11 attack. But as soon as the match is over or the thread is neutralized this feeling also retreats.
But is nationalism a switch that can be switched off and on at will? Can this surge of nationalist feeling be called as nationalism? What is nationalism? According to me nationalism is a desire to be useful for the country. It is the willingness to sacrifice everything for the sake of your nation. It is selfless state where your nation becomes more important than your religion, your caste, your region, your family and even your life.
It was due to this selfless nationalist feeling that we were able to attain our independence. It was a staunch nationalist movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi that won the freedom for our country. Historically we were a divided lot fighting with each other in the name of region, caste, religion, etc. It was due to this weakness foreigners came and have blundered our country. It was under the majestic leadership of Mahatma that all these difference were forgotten and everyone stood united in the fight against the foreign occupiers. But after the independence instead of strengthening this unity Congress party started dividing the society. Feeling of nationalism was suppressed and casteism, regionalism, religionism were encouraged. Most of the Congress leaders have mastered the art of divide and rule and used it to divide our society to strengthen their hold on power. “Let the people fight for the bigger share of the pie. For if they fight they will not ask why the pie is so small” seems to be the motto of Congress.
Post independence, Congress has always played on the fears of people; it has worked tirelessly to project one community against another. The reason why congress has been successful in doing this is because there is a miss match between requirements and available opportunities. In an environment of limited opportunities people are fiercely competing with one another. In this competition some people are at great disadvantage due to their social and economical conditions. This has led to their just demand for reservation but this demand has severely damaged the unity of our society. Reservation as a policy has failed miserably; the groups that were backward before independence (socially and economically) are still backward. Some individuals have benefitted from reservation but community as whole has not benefitted from it. India would be the only country in the world, were people agitate to be called backward. There is a recurring demand by different caste to get included in SC or OBC list. These demands are resisted by castes that are already there in the list. This leads to caste conflict like the one we saw between Gujjars and Meenas in Rajasthan. There are demands made by people that locals should be given preference in the jobs, this demand has led to violence and loss of life as in Maharashtra were Marathis and north Indians are fighting for very few available jobs which are not even enough for any one community.
Any organisation that is looking to unite India and specially Hindus has to find solution for the lack of opportunities. We have to create India where everyone has equal and abundant opportunities to excel. But it is a job that is easier said than done. May be we all know this but how do we do it. There is no magic wand or one step that can solve this problem. It will require a series of honest efforts by everyone, the government, social organisations and people. One of the main reasons for the Indian backwardness is its neglect of education, specially the primary and secondary education. Few days back, I was reading an article on Economic times by Mr Yasheng Huang. In this article he had argued that the reason for the impressive growth of China is the major investment it made in primary education during 50s, 60s and 70s. In India our population has become a cause of concern. Crores of people are getting added to the work force every year but job creation is not able to keep up the pace. So we see a large number of unemployed people or under employed people. This huge population has become a major liability for our country. The quality of human resource in India is one of the worse in the whole world. We have blindly followed the Maculay’s education system which was meant to make babus for British Empire.
This system is doing exactly what it was meant to do i.e. create Babus. Maculay had a disdain for anything Indian and this scorn was reflected on the system he created for India. There is hardly any emphasis on our rich culture and traditions in our test books. Vedas, Puranas, Gita have one line existence on our books. Vedic maths, which was rediscovered in early 20th century from Vedas, is an unheard concept in our classrooms. The Hindu philosophy of Karma finds no mention on our test books. Our Ayurveda and Yoga have largely been ignored by our education system. It is not only what is being taught but also the manner in which it is taught that has changed. In Gurukul exploratory learning process was followed, where teachers and students were co-travellers in a search for truth. The teaching methods used reasoning and questioning. Nothing was labelled as the final answer. In Gurukul system students were made self sufficient and effort was made to develop reasoning. Classes were held close to the nature which helped in building creativity in students. This method of teaching is any day better than current way of teaching as it ensures students involvement and interest while the current education system is based on rote learning which kills creativity. A teacher is supposed to give a monologue which students are expected to mug up and reprint on the examination paper. In many schools students, especially in rural areas, are discouraged to ask any questions. The product of this education system is under confident, uncreative person who is afraid to take any initiative and need instructions to do any work.
India has rich culture and traditions. Each and every village has a story and a history to tell. Every place has rich traditions and a developed culture that is based on thousands of years of enlightenment. Are we not forgetting these stories, these histories, these traditions and our culture? Rajasthan has been able to retain and preserve some of its heritage because of its emphasis on tourism but can the same be said of other parts of our country? If you go to the village adjacent to a depleted fort and ask the people about its history more often than not you will be stared back by blank faces. Is it not the failure of our education system that we are forgetting the rich heritage of our country, heritage that is the result of thousands of years of experience?
In our race to become developed we have forgotten the real meaning of progress. We have defined development according to some scales and are blindly rushing to perfect the score on those scales. We are trying to achieve 100% literacy, so what if the quality of education is not up to mark. We have set-up a goal to industrialize our country and have created SEZ for their growth, so what if they have created regional disparity. We have set-up the goal to increase the productivity of our farm, so what if the food produced in those farms are making people sick. We have set-up a goal to urbanize our country, so what if it has created the problem of slums. We have set-up a goal to increase our tourism, so what if that has destroyed our heritage and natural beauty. The list goes on and on. The problem is not with the goal but the way by which we have tried to achieve it, if it is not so than how will you explain the rise in unemployment with increase in literacy or increase in disparity with increased growth.
In this race to grow we have forgotten our roots, our culture and our traditions. Many times we have heard about danger to our national boundaries from foreign and internal forces what we generally forget is the danger to our culture from westernization. Never before has our culture faced such a challenge. Our culture withstood the onslaught of Islam and Indianized it. It remained unaffected by around 200 hundred years of slavery. But now it is facing its greatest crisis for this crisis if from within. It is we the people of India who have forgotten our roots. This has led to degradation of values, corruption and indifference.
Environment Vs Development
Amidst this mayhem that has devastated our Uttarakhand, I hear varied voices giving all sorts of explanations without thinking about the poor soul who is living in one of the most remote place in our state. In all these discussions that are taking place in various NEWS channels the voice that is missing is the voice of this person. His necessities or his requirements mean nothing to these so called experts. These experts will discuss, mould public opinion and force the government according to their whims and will move on to something new. But this person and lakhs of other will have to live their lives according to the choices made by the government. And their lives are not any TV show that you can say and do anything for TRP.
Was it a manmade disaster?
When I was a small chid I used to love hearing histories of different places. If any of these experts would have heard or read history of Srinagar, he would have learned that this city has been destroyed tens of times and has been re-established every time either at left or right bank of Alaknanda. If it has happened tens of times then it can very well happen one more time. And this is Srinagar one of the major towns of Uttarakhand and hence it is well documented but there are many other places that have been devastated in past.
Most of the villages and cities around the world have been developed on the banks of the rivers but in Uttarakhand most of the villages are at the top of the mountains far away from water. It was done because during flash floods the safest place in a mountain is the area near its top.
So, first thing that we should understand and accept is that this tragedy is not one off incident but something that keeps happening in Uttarakhand even much before any construction work had taken place in this region. Though I do not deny that mindless encroachment of the river bed, indiscriminate use of explosives and destruction of vegetation have contributed to the colossal loss of life and property but to blame it for everything and demand blanket ban on development is something I can never agree with. I feel Tv shows and discussions have diverted the discussion from type of development for Uttarakhand to development versus environment which is very dangerous for the survival of my state and my people.
If we would turn pages of history we would find that many great civilizations have perished due to natural disasters. More than 3000 years ago, the Harappan Civilization was one of the largest and most powerful in the world but it is believed to have been destroyed because monsoon in the area stopped and the whole place was converted into desert. The great ancient Egyptian civilization declined due to drying of river Nile and drought caused by it. History is full of examples of civilizations that have perished due to climatic changes. If we look at the history of Kedarnath mandir, we will find many dramatic changes have happened there over period of time. There is a shloke engraved on the stone of the wall of the temple which talks about lush green fields of rice at kedar valley and there is no mention of snow or glaciers in any of these shlokes. Geologist have concrete proof that the temple premises was covered with snow for about 400 years during 14-18th century AD. All these changes have happened when there were no power projects, no hotels or tourists polluting delicate Himalayas. Such changes have happened and will happen over the period of time. And they will happen even if we keep these mountains untouched. knowing all this should we leave future of thousands of people at the mercy of nature?
Was it a manmade disaster?
Yes it was but those who were responsible for this disaster were not only the government and people who did senseless construction but also those NGOs and environmentalist because of whom last year’s debris on the river was not removed. This debris was responsible for the change in the course of river in Uttarkashi which led to huge loss of property.
5-6 years back I had read a news in one of the prestigious Newspapers about hundreds of glacial lakes that are being formed in whole of Himalayan regions. I still remember how disturbed I was reading this news for I was able to visualise what havoc this millions of litres of water, confined by natural boundaries, can do. Unfortunately people who are responsible for our safety and security were not perturbed by this news. But I am not writing this article to bring out failure of government. The purpose of this article is to give a contrary view to all that is being said by so called environmentalists. We know that these glacial lakes are ticking time bombs, one major earthquake or cloud bursts near some of these lakes can cause mayhem not only to the hills but also to the plains of northern India. Should we keep these places untouched and hope that nature will show mercy on us. Or should we allow engineers to find ways that can safely mitigate this problem.
I am not denying that global warming is happening. I am not saying that we should not do anything to stop pumping of green house gases. All I am saying is please do not stop development of my people in the name of environment. They do not want five start hotel facilities, all they want are the basic necessity of life. They want roads, schools, hospitals, electricity, water. Are they asking for too much? A small village called kunao which is 5kms from Rishikesh is demanding electricity for their homes. Another small village gets cut off from rest of the country during rainy seasons because there are no bridges to cross seasonal rivers. There are hundreds of such examples that I can give where people have been deprived of the basic necessities of life in the name of environment. What surprises me is the fact that people living in metros, driving most inefficient vehicles, living and working in centrally air conditioned places are deciding the fate of these people in the name of environment. They are telling us that these roads, these electricity and water connections, these schools and hospitals (actually I should call them dispensaries because they are no more then that) will do irrevocable damage to the environment. I would like to remind everyone that it was our mothers and grandmothers who first raised the voice for forests. It was our ancestors who used their body as a shield to protect trees. They were not European funded NGOs but simple villagers who understood the need for protecting environment. Children of these villagers feel cheated by governments, courts and NGOs. There life and there hope of development has been completely slashed into pieces. These broken hopes are leading to frustration and the biggest sufferers of this frustration are the speechless animals and forests whose first line of defence has now turned against them. Our environmentalists are fighting for stricter laws to protect forests. But who will implement these laws? The state forest department? The truth about this department is that every year it starts controlled forest fire to burn dried woods and leaves. Every year this controlled fire gets out of control and burns hundreds of hectare of forest lands. These fires and a new threat lantena grass(which is spreading faster than forest fire) have reduce the quality of forest to such an extent that animals are not able to find food in these forests. Hungry animals are coming to the fields of villagers and destroying all that they are producing. As a result villagers have stopped all kind of agricultural activities. But is it not more profitable? For now these young villagers are presentable, honest and cheap labour for metros where they are manning the gates, washing the dishes and cleaning the floors.
Nobody ever talks about quality of forest. Is it because quantity and not quality is money spinner. We agree that forest and wild life is important but how do we explain it to the mother whose 5 yrs old has been eaten by the tiger or 20 yrs old girl whose face has been disfigured by a bear. This anger against wild life has started showing signs. Few years back a tiger trapped in a cage was burned alive by villagers. Villagers who used to rush to extinguish fire at far away forests are today much happier spreading that fire to new places. Is it possible to save forest by alienating locals? There is a need to create balance between development and environment. This balance can be made by involving locals in decision making and not enforce decisions taken by supreme court or central government appointed committees. If bridges can't be made because they will block elephants route then we have to make under pass or specially designed bridges that will solve both the problems. Humans living near forest are at least as important as forest or wild life living in that forest. While billions can be spend for tiger and elephants projects, we are not ready to even spend few thousands for these poor souls. One thing all of us need to understand is that there is a cost associated with protection of environment. Unfortunately, people dwelling near forest are the ones paying this cost.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
India’s fight against terrorism
Another attack on India. Mumbai is bleeding again. How many more attacks, how many more corpses, how many more sacrifices will it take for our leaders to act? I am fed up; I am fed up with this government, all politicians irrespective of their party. Something needs to change and it is not politicians but us who have to do this. Mumbai attack has shown the exemplary valour of our soldiers, our police and ordinary people. The only cowards in India seem to be our great leaders who are hiding in their safe haven in Delhi. The leadership has failed and has failed again and again. Are we soft state? Yes we are and here I would like to compare the speeches of Mr. Bush after 9/11 and our own PM, Foreign minister and the Home minister.
“Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.” were the opening remarks of Bush.
“The dastardly terror attacks that took place in Mumbai last night and today leading to the loss of many precious lives and injuries to many others have deeply shocked the nation.” were our PM’s word.
Let’s compare these opening remarks. The opening remarks of Bush made it clear that it was just not any other attack but an attack on everything US stands for-: its citizens, its way of life and its very freedom while our PM called it just a dastardly terror attack. These opening remarks show he difference in the determination.
“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve…. Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could,” were the inspiring words of Mr Bush. I could not find anything inspiring in our PMs speech.
“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them,” was clear warning to anyone who was harbouring terrorists.
“We will take up strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them.” Take up? What you mean by take up. You are taking up this thing for last 30-35yrs.
“we're going to find those evil-doers, those barbaric people who attacked our country and we're going to hold them accountable and we're going to hold the people who house them accountable. The people who think they can provide them safe havens will be held accountable. The people who feed them will be held accountable. And the Taliban must take my statement seriously.” What warning are we giving to Pakistan?
Why should every time it is India’s responsibility to avoid conflict and reduce tension? Why our leaders are afraid of escalating tension? War is already there, we are bleeding everyday. The only anomaly is that only one side is bleeding right now. I am not ready to bleed hundred of times I am ready to take a hit but I also want to hit back. Our armed forces have shown their ability again and again. I am sure they are capable of punishing Pakistan to such an extend that they would not dare to repeat this dastardly act. But our leaders are coward they are afraid that the any conflict can escalate. We are a nuclear weapon state as Pakistan is. If Kargil did not escalate why should an attack by India. Pakistan works with an assumption that whatever it does will not be retaliated by India because international community would come in to diffuse the tension. They know whoever will act swiftly and decisively will get the advantage. Now it’s India’s turn we should act swiftly and decisively. We should take the punitive action; we should hit them fast and hard.
Pakistan Foreign minister has promised all help in the investigation. He has also proposed to form a hot line between head of intelligence of two countries. But first let them give us 20 most wanted terrorists that have found safe haven in Pakistan. No matter what Pakistan promises unless they will give us terrorists like Maulana masood and Dawood Ibrahim we will not consider them our friends. It is time now for Pakistan to take steps to diffuse tensions.
What kind of Democracy are we living in? The most hated home minister is still there in his office just because of one woman. I will never be able to forget that video where our home minister was clearly more concerned about his spotless attire than the people who were battling for their life because he failed to do his job.
None of us is perfect but we learn from our past mistakes. We learn and we do not make those mistakes again. But we seem to be repeating them every time. Let’s look at the common things in most of the terrorist attacks. Most of the attacks that are happening in India are serial attacks and there is about 30mins to 1hr or more between first incident and the last. Why don’t we have a system with the help of which we can warn all the public place in a city if an incident take place any where in a city. Why can’t we have an announcement system which could announce about an incident immediately asking people to leave the market leaving their vehicles behind and stay out till police have checked out everything? Militants are also attacking the hospital nearest to the place where first attack has taken place. Are we taking this thing into consideration? Why don’t we have a NSG type force in all the state capitals and large cities? How much will it cost? We can spend millions to protect our useless leaders why can’t we spend few more to protect people who choose them? And one question I want to ask our leaders why doesn’t the most elite force of our country have night vision goggles?
Atrocities have been inflicted on our fellow citizens. Today we will mourn the deaths but tomorrow we should avenge them.
There is no issue bigger than security so today I take a pledge I would vote for anyone who will promise to punish those 20 terrorists even if that means a war with Pakistan or I would not vote at all.
Jai Hind
“Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.” were the opening remarks of Bush.
“The dastardly terror attacks that took place in Mumbai last night and today leading to the loss of many precious lives and injuries to many others have deeply shocked the nation.” were our PM’s word.
Let’s compare these opening remarks. The opening remarks of Bush made it clear that it was just not any other attack but an attack on everything US stands for-: its citizens, its way of life and its very freedom while our PM called it just a dastardly terror attack. These opening remarks show he difference in the determination.
“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve…. Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could,” were the inspiring words of Mr Bush. I could not find anything inspiring in our PMs speech.
“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them,” was clear warning to anyone who was harbouring terrorists.
“We will take up strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated, and that there would be a cost if suitable measures are not taken by them.” Take up? What you mean by take up. You are taking up this thing for last 30-35yrs.
“we're going to find those evil-doers, those barbaric people who attacked our country and we're going to hold them accountable and we're going to hold the people who house them accountable. The people who think they can provide them safe havens will be held accountable. The people who feed them will be held accountable. And the Taliban must take my statement seriously.” What warning are we giving to Pakistan?
Why should every time it is India’s responsibility to avoid conflict and reduce tension? Why our leaders are afraid of escalating tension? War is already there, we are bleeding everyday. The only anomaly is that only one side is bleeding right now. I am not ready to bleed hundred of times I am ready to take a hit but I also want to hit back. Our armed forces have shown their ability again and again. I am sure they are capable of punishing Pakistan to such an extend that they would not dare to repeat this dastardly act. But our leaders are coward they are afraid that the any conflict can escalate. We are a nuclear weapon state as Pakistan is. If Kargil did not escalate why should an attack by India. Pakistan works with an assumption that whatever it does will not be retaliated by India because international community would come in to diffuse the tension. They know whoever will act swiftly and decisively will get the advantage. Now it’s India’s turn we should act swiftly and decisively. We should take the punitive action; we should hit them fast and hard.
Pakistan Foreign minister has promised all help in the investigation. He has also proposed to form a hot line between head of intelligence of two countries. But first let them give us 20 most wanted terrorists that have found safe haven in Pakistan. No matter what Pakistan promises unless they will give us terrorists like Maulana masood and Dawood Ibrahim we will not consider them our friends. It is time now for Pakistan to take steps to diffuse tensions.
What kind of Democracy are we living in? The most hated home minister is still there in his office just because of one woman. I will never be able to forget that video where our home minister was clearly more concerned about his spotless attire than the people who were battling for their life because he failed to do his job.
None of us is perfect but we learn from our past mistakes. We learn and we do not make those mistakes again. But we seem to be repeating them every time. Let’s look at the common things in most of the terrorist attacks. Most of the attacks that are happening in India are serial attacks and there is about 30mins to 1hr or more between first incident and the last. Why don’t we have a system with the help of which we can warn all the public place in a city if an incident take place any where in a city. Why can’t we have an announcement system which could announce about an incident immediately asking people to leave the market leaving their vehicles behind and stay out till police have checked out everything? Militants are also attacking the hospital nearest to the place where first attack has taken place. Are we taking this thing into consideration? Why don’t we have a NSG type force in all the state capitals and large cities? How much will it cost? We can spend millions to protect our useless leaders why can’t we spend few more to protect people who choose them? And one question I want to ask our leaders why doesn’t the most elite force of our country have night vision goggles?
Atrocities have been inflicted on our fellow citizens. Today we will mourn the deaths but tomorrow we should avenge them.
There is no issue bigger than security so today I take a pledge I would vote for anyone who will promise to punish those 20 terrorists even if that means a war with Pakistan or I would not vote at all.
Jai Hind
India’s fight against terrorism
Another attack on India. Mumbai is bleeding again. How many more attacks? how many more corpses? how many more sacrifices will it take for our leaders to act? I am fed up; I am fed up with this government, all politicians irrespective of their party. Something needs to change and it is not politicians but us who have to do this. Mumbai attack has shown the exemplary valour of our soldiers, our police and ordinary people. The only cowards in India seem to be our great leaders who are hiding in their safe haven in Delhi. The leadership has failed and has failed again and again. Are we soft state? Yes we are and here I would like to compare the speeches of Mr. Bush after 9/11 and our own PM to prove this.
“Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.” were the opening remarks of Bush.
“The dastardly terror attacks that took place in Mumbai last night and today leading to the loss of many precious lives and injuries to many others have deeply shocked the nation.” were our PM’s word.
Let’s compare these opening remarks. The opening remarks of Bush made it clear that it was just not any other attack but an attack on everything US stands for-: its citizens, its way of life and its very freedom while our PM called it just a dastardly terror attack. These opening remarks show the difference in the determination of the two leaders.
“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve…. Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could,” were the inspiring words of Mr Bush. I could not find anything inspiring in our PMs speech.
“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them,” was clear warning to anyone who was harbouring terrorists.
“We will take up strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated” Take up? What you mean by take up. You are taking up this thing for last 30-35yrs.
“we're going to find those evil-doers, those barbaric people who attacked our country and we're going to hold them accountable and we're going to hold the people who house them accountable. The people who think they can provide them safe havens will be held accountable. The people who feed them will be held accountable. And the Taliban must take my statement seriously.” What warning are we giving to Pakistan?
Why should every time it is India’s responsibility to avoid conflict and reduce tension? Why our leaders are afraid of escalating tension? War is already there, we are bleeding everyday. The only anomaly is that only one side is bleeding right now. I am not ready to bleed hundred of times I am ready to take a hit but I also want to hit back. Our armed forces have shown their ability again and again. I am sure they are capable of punishing Pakistan to such an extend that they would not dare to repeat this dastardly act. But our leaders are coward they are afraid that the conflict may escalate. after all we both are nuclear weapon state . If Kargil did not escalate into a war why should should a punitive strike by India escalate. Pakistan works with an assumption that whatever it does will not be retaliated by India because international community would come in to diffuse the tension. They know whoever will act swiftly and decisively will get the advantage. Now it’s India’s turn we should act swiftly and decisively. We should take the punitive action; we should hit them fast and hard.
Pakistan Foreign minister has promised all help in the investigation. He has also proposed to form a hot line between head of intelligence of two countries. But first let them give us 20 most wanted terrorists that have found safe haven in Pakistan. No matter what Pakistan promises unless they will give us terrorists like Maulana masood and Dawood Ibrahim we will not consider them our friends. It is time now for Pakistan to take steps to diffuse tensions. "You are with us or against us" was what Mr. Bush said to Pakistan president, it is time for India to tell them so.
What kind of Democracy are we living in? The most hated home minister is still there in his office just because of one woman. I will never be able to forget that video where our home minister was clearly more concerned about his spotless attire than the people who were battling for their life because he failed to do his job.
None of us is perfect but we learn from our past mistakes. We learn and we do not make those mistakes again. But we seem to be repeating them every time. Let’s look at the common things in most of the terrorist attacks. Most of the attacks that are happening in India are serial attacks and there is about 30mins to 1hr or more between first incident and the last. Why don’t we have a system with the help of which we can warn all the public place in a city if an incident take place any where in a city. Why can’t we have an announcement system which could announce about an incident immediately asking people to leave the market leaving their vehicles behind and stay out till police have checked out everything? Militants are also attacking the hospital nearest to the place where first attack has taken place. Are we taking this thing into consideration? Why don’t we have a NSG type force in all the state capitals and large cities? How much will it cost? We can spend millions to protect our useless leaders why can’t we spend few more to protect people who choose them? And one question I want to ask our leaders why doesn’t the most elite force of our country have night vision goggles?
Atrocities have been inflicted on our fellow citizens. Today we will mourn the deaths but tomorrow we should avenge them.
Jai Hind
“Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.” were the opening remarks of Bush.
“The dastardly terror attacks that took place in Mumbai last night and today leading to the loss of many precious lives and injuries to many others have deeply shocked the nation.” were our PM’s word.
Let’s compare these opening remarks. The opening remarks of Bush made it clear that it was just not any other attack but an attack on everything US stands for-: its citizens, its way of life and its very freedom while our PM called it just a dastardly terror attack. These opening remarks show the difference in the determination of the two leaders.
“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve…. Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could,” were the inspiring words of Mr Bush. I could not find anything inspiring in our PMs speech.
“We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them,” was clear warning to anyone who was harbouring terrorists.
“We will take up strongly with our neighbours that the use of their territory for launching attacks on us will not be tolerated” Take up? What you mean by take up. You are taking up this thing for last 30-35yrs.
“we're going to find those evil-doers, those barbaric people who attacked our country and we're going to hold them accountable and we're going to hold the people who house them accountable. The people who think they can provide them safe havens will be held accountable. The people who feed them will be held accountable. And the Taliban must take my statement seriously.” What warning are we giving to Pakistan?
Why should every time it is India’s responsibility to avoid conflict and reduce tension? Why our leaders are afraid of escalating tension? War is already there, we are bleeding everyday. The only anomaly is that only one side is bleeding right now. I am not ready to bleed hundred of times I am ready to take a hit but I also want to hit back. Our armed forces have shown their ability again and again. I am sure they are capable of punishing Pakistan to such an extend that they would not dare to repeat this dastardly act. But our leaders are coward they are afraid that the conflict may escalate. after all we both are nuclear weapon state . If Kargil did not escalate into a war why should should a punitive strike by India escalate. Pakistan works with an assumption that whatever it does will not be retaliated by India because international community would come in to diffuse the tension. They know whoever will act swiftly and decisively will get the advantage. Now it’s India’s turn we should act swiftly and decisively. We should take the punitive action; we should hit them fast and hard.
Pakistan Foreign minister has promised all help in the investigation. He has also proposed to form a hot line between head of intelligence of two countries. But first let them give us 20 most wanted terrorists that have found safe haven in Pakistan. No matter what Pakistan promises unless they will give us terrorists like Maulana masood and Dawood Ibrahim we will not consider them our friends. It is time now for Pakistan to take steps to diffuse tensions. "You are with us or against us" was what Mr. Bush said to Pakistan president, it is time for India to tell them so.
What kind of Democracy are we living in? The most hated home minister is still there in his office just because of one woman. I will never be able to forget that video where our home minister was clearly more concerned about his spotless attire than the people who were battling for their life because he failed to do his job.
None of us is perfect but we learn from our past mistakes. We learn and we do not make those mistakes again. But we seem to be repeating them every time. Let’s look at the common things in most of the terrorist attacks. Most of the attacks that are happening in India are serial attacks and there is about 30mins to 1hr or more between first incident and the last. Why don’t we have a system with the help of which we can warn all the public place in a city if an incident take place any where in a city. Why can’t we have an announcement system which could announce about an incident immediately asking people to leave the market leaving their vehicles behind and stay out till police have checked out everything? Militants are also attacking the hospital nearest to the place where first attack has taken place. Are we taking this thing into consideration? Why don’t we have a NSG type force in all the state capitals and large cities? How much will it cost? We can spend millions to protect our useless leaders why can’t we spend few more to protect people who choose them? And one question I want to ask our leaders why doesn’t the most elite force of our country have night vision goggles?
Atrocities have been inflicted on our fellow citizens. Today we will mourn the deaths but tomorrow we should avenge them.
Jai Hind
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Weak government and death of citizens
UPA government has failed to proect the people. Major attacks are happening throughout the country and our government seems to have no plan of action to counter it. After every attack there is a talk of punishing the terrorists and doing everything that is possible to avoid the repeat. But it seems UPA government seems to be out of idea. The most important responsibility of a government is to protect citizens. Our ain and present UPA government has again and again failed to do so. Terrorists seems to be fearless and stricking at will while our investigating agency are wasting their energy on trying to proove a non existence hindu terrorism. The government has failed and it has no right to continue. Government has blamed Hindu orgnisation for terrorism and have accused the hindu samaj for protecting the terrorists and it claims that it is acting tough on terrorism but what at action are they taking on more than 2.5crores illegal Bangladeshis that have become such a big threat to our national security. What action have they taken against 1000s of madrassas that have opened in border areas who are mind washing the young brains against India. It is the government whose supporters have questioned the martyrdom of our brave soldiers for some votes. Who Sarkaar jisme apne shaheedoan ki ijjaat na ho, jis mai apne shantoan ko apmanit kiya jata ho aur jis sarkaar mai desh ke thukde kerne ki koshish kerne waloan ko bachaya jata ho us Sarkaar ko hatana padega. We Indians have fought elections by dividing people in the name of religion, in the name of caste, in the name of region but now will we divide people in the name of our nation. Attacks after attacks are happening and we seem to be doing nothing. People are dying and all we seem to get is petty politics.
It is time to act tough. Why should onus of ensuring peace be with us? What is Pakistan doing to avoid conflict? Pakistan Foreign minister has promised all help in the investigation. He has also proposed to form a hot line between head of intelligence of two countries. But first let them give us 20 most wanted terrorists that have found safe haven in Pakistan. No matter what Pakistan promises unless they will give us terrorists like Maulana masood and Dawood Ibrahim we will not consider them our friends. It is time now for Pakistan to take steps to diffuse tensions.
It is time to act tough. Why should onus of ensuring peace be with us? What is Pakistan doing to avoid conflict? Pakistan Foreign minister has promised all help in the investigation. He has also proposed to form a hot line between head of intelligence of two countries. But first let them give us 20 most wanted terrorists that have found safe haven in Pakistan. No matter what Pakistan promises unless they will give us terrorists like Maulana masood and Dawood Ibrahim we will not consider them our friends. It is time now for Pakistan to take steps to diffuse tensions.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Hindu terrorism or evil propaganda?
Let me start this piece by asking what is the meaning of terrorism? As far as I know it’s a way of achieving a political or religious or some other mean by use of violence. It is a way of warning people that they would kill or hurt people if their demands are not met.
In the case of this so called Hindu terrorism what was the end of these so called terrorists. Was it to terrorize Muslims? Or was it to warn them? Or was it simply to take revenge? What of these motives has been satisfied by these so called terrorists? How would you terrorize Muslims if they don’t even know that these blasts were done by some Hindu Organization? How would you warn anyone if the person getting the warning doesn’t even who is warning them, why is he warning them and exactly against what are they getting warned? If it is to take revenge then what kind of revenge is this if the person doesn’t even know someone has taken revenge against him? Why did Sadhvi and her group did not take responsibility of this. Why didn't she used some phony Hindu organization to raise her demand if it was an act of terrorism?
Clearly this case does not satisfy any of the requirements of terrorism so it cannot be called terrorism. Even if Sadhvi Pragya is guilty then also we cannot call it Hindu terrorism at most we can call it crime committed by criminal minds but not terrorism. And by calling it Hindu terrorism media is defaming Hindus simply to improve their ratings.
In the case of this so called Hindu terrorism what was the end of these so called terrorists. Was it to terrorize Muslims? Or was it to warn them? Or was it simply to take revenge? What of these motives has been satisfied by these so called terrorists? How would you terrorize Muslims if they don’t even know that these blasts were done by some Hindu Organization? How would you warn anyone if the person getting the warning doesn’t even who is warning them, why is he warning them and exactly against what are they getting warned? If it is to take revenge then what kind of revenge is this if the person doesn’t even know someone has taken revenge against him? Why did Sadhvi and her group did not take responsibility of this. Why didn't she used some phony Hindu organization to raise her demand if it was an act of terrorism?
Clearly this case does not satisfy any of the requirements of terrorism so it cannot be called terrorism. Even if Sadhvi Pragya is guilty then also we cannot call it Hindu terrorism at most we can call it crime committed by criminal minds but not terrorism. And by calling it Hindu terrorism media is defaming Hindus simply to improve their ratings.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
10yrs Prison will be injustice to Sanjeev Nanda
10 years of Imprisonment just because of drunken driving. Is it justice?
When I was young I read a poem about Gautam Budhha. I don’t remember the poem but its moral was that justice is compassionate. Is it compassionate in Sajeev Nanda case?
I have always believed that the purpose of punishment should be to reform the criminal and act as a deterrent for others. But will this punishment do either of these?
If 10 years prison term is given to Nanda and if it is because of his attempts to botch up trial than I will support it whole heartedly but if it is because of drink driving then I will think that great injustice is done to this person.
First thing that we have to consider is what was the real reason for this unfortunate instance? According to me the real culprit was alcohol for once a person is drunk he/she loses control on his/her senses. The person cannot decide what is right and what is wrong. He cannot even decide should he drive or should he not drive? If someone meets with an accident in such a stage you cannot blame him for rash or negligence driving because he cannot make this decision in such a stage. “A motor vehicle being driven by a drunk driver is virtually a death machine on the road “is what the judge said. Is it justice that driving a death machine on road attracts maximum 1 day prison while if you cause death by driving that death machine you get 10yrs?
Lets first look at the law. What is permissible limit? What does 30mg/100ml blood means? Does that mean I can have one bear or one glass of bear or 30ml votka or 60ml whiskey? Does any Pub or disc or bar has this information that I can find and ensure that I do not cross the limit? Shouldn’t this information be displayed at every place where alcohol is served? What action has been taken by the police to inform people about the limits in simple terminology? Whenever I go to party people will say arre one bear is allowed nahi nahi two are allowed. If I don’t have this information and I listen to someone else and have 2 bears and meet with an accident, should I go to jail for 10 years. Is there any bar which has this policy of letting people know that they will be crossing permissible limit if they have one more drink? Or any alcohol bottle that mentions in simple language what is the permissible limit?
Most of the times in parties, you are forced by your friends to drink. Let’s take a hypothetical case (something that happens with almost everyone). 4 frds meet for a party one of them doesn’t want to drink because he has to drive home. But the other 3 who too have to drive are drinking, so due to peer pressure and coercion of frds he takes one drink and after that loses it and have few more drinks. On his way back home he meets with an accident. Should this guy go to prison for 10yrs just because he was not strong enough to say no to his frds? Let’s make this example a little more dramatic. All four of them meet with an accident on their way back home. While other 3 were lucky and there was no one sleeping on the pavements this poor guy was not. Should this guy get 10 yrs just because he was so unlucky that there were people sleeping on his pavement? Is justice a factor of luck?
Will this justice do anything to reform Nanda? I don’t think so. All it will do is to ruin his life. If I put myself on his shoes and think I feel the biggest punishment for me would be the realization that there are people who are not here just because of me. This feeling of guilt will remain in me throughout my life. I would be a change person from the date of accident. I am sure that I will never touch alcohol or drive a vehicle after that. We need to understand here Nanda is not a hard hearten criminal who needs to be punished. At most he is a misguided youth who made a mistake. There is a need to reform him, there is a need to punish him but is 10 yrs prison justifiable? Take away his driving license, put him in a reformatory for a year, make him pay hefty compensation to the victim’s family but for god sake do not destroy his life.
Will this punishment act as a deterrent? No I don’t think so. Sanjeev Nanda will become history in few days. No one except his family will remember who he is. This punishment might act as a deterrent for a month or 2 but then it will be back to normal. The only way to stop this menace is effective policing and hefty punishment for offenders. Today, once in 100 or may be 1000 times you ever get caught, and what’s the price to get free? 100, 200 or may be 500 depending on your negotiation power. How will you ever deter people from drink driving by this punishment? And it is the drink driving which is the real culprit and not the accident.
When I was young I read a poem about Gautam Budhha. I don’t remember the poem but its moral was that justice is compassionate. Is it compassionate in Sajeev Nanda case?
I have always believed that the purpose of punishment should be to reform the criminal and act as a deterrent for others. But will this punishment do either of these?
If 10 years prison term is given to Nanda and if it is because of his attempts to botch up trial than I will support it whole heartedly but if it is because of drink driving then I will think that great injustice is done to this person.
First thing that we have to consider is what was the real reason for this unfortunate instance? According to me the real culprit was alcohol for once a person is drunk he/she loses control on his/her senses. The person cannot decide what is right and what is wrong. He cannot even decide should he drive or should he not drive? If someone meets with an accident in such a stage you cannot blame him for rash or negligence driving because he cannot make this decision in such a stage. “A motor vehicle being driven by a drunk driver is virtually a death machine on the road “is what the judge said. Is it justice that driving a death machine on road attracts maximum 1 day prison while if you cause death by driving that death machine you get 10yrs?
Lets first look at the law. What is permissible limit? What does 30mg/100ml blood means? Does that mean I can have one bear or one glass of bear or 30ml votka or 60ml whiskey? Does any Pub or disc or bar has this information that I can find and ensure that I do not cross the limit? Shouldn’t this information be displayed at every place where alcohol is served? What action has been taken by the police to inform people about the limits in simple terminology? Whenever I go to party people will say arre one bear is allowed nahi nahi two are allowed. If I don’t have this information and I listen to someone else and have 2 bears and meet with an accident, should I go to jail for 10 years. Is there any bar which has this policy of letting people know that they will be crossing permissible limit if they have one more drink? Or any alcohol bottle that mentions in simple language what is the permissible limit?
Most of the times in parties, you are forced by your friends to drink. Let’s take a hypothetical case (something that happens with almost everyone). 4 frds meet for a party one of them doesn’t want to drink because he has to drive home. But the other 3 who too have to drive are drinking, so due to peer pressure and coercion of frds he takes one drink and after that loses it and have few more drinks. On his way back home he meets with an accident. Should this guy go to prison for 10yrs just because he was not strong enough to say no to his frds? Let’s make this example a little more dramatic. All four of them meet with an accident on their way back home. While other 3 were lucky and there was no one sleeping on the pavements this poor guy was not. Should this guy get 10 yrs just because he was so unlucky that there were people sleeping on his pavement? Is justice a factor of luck?
Will this justice do anything to reform Nanda? I don’t think so. All it will do is to ruin his life. If I put myself on his shoes and think I feel the biggest punishment for me would be the realization that there are people who are not here just because of me. This feeling of guilt will remain in me throughout my life. I would be a change person from the date of accident. I am sure that I will never touch alcohol or drive a vehicle after that. We need to understand here Nanda is not a hard hearten criminal who needs to be punished. At most he is a misguided youth who made a mistake. There is a need to reform him, there is a need to punish him but is 10 yrs prison justifiable? Take away his driving license, put him in a reformatory for a year, make him pay hefty compensation to the victim’s family but for god sake do not destroy his life.
Will this punishment act as a deterrent? No I don’t think so. Sanjeev Nanda will become history in few days. No one except his family will remember who he is. This punishment might act as a deterrent for a month or 2 but then it will be back to normal. The only way to stop this menace is effective policing and hefty punishment for offenders. Today, once in 100 or may be 1000 times you ever get caught, and what’s the price to get free? 100, 200 or may be 500 depending on your negotiation power. How will you ever deter people from drink driving by this punishment? And it is the drink driving which is the real culprit and not the accident.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Why do we have to fight for everything in India?
I was trying to go to Dehradun from Delhi yesterday. My only folly was that I decided to use a bus instead of a car. I reached ISBT at around 8 o'clock in the night. To my horror I saw hundreds of people standing in a queue in front of ticket counter but there was no one distributing tickets. There are quite a few buses from Delhi to Dehradun. One by one I saw all of the empty buses coming from Dehradun getting hijacked by young muscular men who would forced their way in and grab a seat. Within seconds you will see people sitting on the roof and hanging from the door(it is quite scary to think that these people will travel for about 6-8hrs like this). I waited there till 1:30am when I gave up and decided to go back. While going back I just looked around and saw who all were left behind, they were young girls, ladies and old people. People who cannot force their way in. I am sure these people must have been harassed by the autowalla's for I was and had to pay an exorbitant amount to get back to my place. Sometimes I feel it is a crime to be a woman or a old man in this country for we Indian have to fight fight for everything (even for a small ride from Delhi to Dehradun or for that matter a ride from ISBT to Saket).
Now lets look at the whole problem objectively. What was the real reason for all this mess. I overheard couple of women complaining about the rowdy crowd. But was it really the problem, if you keep a one man meal in front of hundreds of starving people only the strongest or the stronger ones will get to eat. So was it an excess crowd that was causing the problem? When I decided to leave there were 20-25 people out there. Including the people who must have left before and the over crowding of the buses I think it is safe to assume that there were about 120-150 extra people. How many but ply 150 people? 4 may be 5 or may be 6.
For last 8-9 years I have been going from Delhi to Dehradun and whenever there is an extended weekend this problem is there. And we need only 6 more buses to solve this problem. Now I am not saying that government should buy 6 more buses and I am sure most of the politicians must have thought that way. What I am saying is that some of the buses can be diverted from routes which are not that popular during such days. For example I am sure the number of people coming from Dehradun to Delhi gets reduced just before such extended weekends. Few Buses can be diverted from this route.
Most of the time we have complex problems with very simple solutions. Simple queue system in front of ticket counter can solve the problems of women and senior citizens. But we don't look at the solutions, we look at the problem and surrender.
I think we need a young leader who can talk with the common person, walk with him and understand him. A person who is ready to look at his problems and try to find solutions for it. You might say that it can be Rahul Gandhi, Varun Gandhi or some Pilot or Mahajan but who are these people? what are their qualifications? Does you get the right to be a leader just because of your surname?
Now lets look at the whole problem objectively. What was the real reason for all this mess. I overheard couple of women complaining about the rowdy crowd. But was it really the problem, if you keep a one man meal in front of hundreds of starving people only the strongest or the stronger ones will get to eat. So was it an excess crowd that was causing the problem? When I decided to leave there were 20-25 people out there. Including the people who must have left before and the over crowding of the buses I think it is safe to assume that there were about 120-150 extra people. How many but ply 150 people? 4 may be 5 or may be 6.
For last 8-9 years I have been going from Delhi to Dehradun and whenever there is an extended weekend this problem is there. And we need only 6 more buses to solve this problem. Now I am not saying that government should buy 6 more buses and I am sure most of the politicians must have thought that way. What I am saying is that some of the buses can be diverted from routes which are not that popular during such days. For example I am sure the number of people coming from Dehradun to Delhi gets reduced just before such extended weekends. Few Buses can be diverted from this route.
Most of the time we have complex problems with very simple solutions. Simple queue system in front of ticket counter can solve the problems of women and senior citizens. But we don't look at the solutions, we look at the problem and surrender.
I think we need a young leader who can talk with the common person, walk with him and understand him. A person who is ready to look at his problems and try to find solutions for it. You might say that it can be Rahul Gandhi, Varun Gandhi or some Pilot or Mahajan but who are these people? what are their qualifications? Does you get the right to be a leader just because of your surname?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
India up for sale
Anil: brother I have an offer for you. It's a wonderful business opportunity even our papa would be proud of us.
Mukesh: Tell me
Anil: lets buy India, its up for sale.
Mukesh: how much would it cost.
Anil: Rs 13,600crs only.
Mukesh: how did you get this figure?
Anil: Rs. 50 cr for every MP and you need 272 votes to form the government.
Mukesh: you are not real businessman. you have put up same price for everyone. look the MP's from east will sell for less than Rs. 5cr, MPs from south will sell for around Rs.10cr while MP's from North will sell for around 25cr its only the MPs from west who will have price tag of around Rs50cr.
Anil: brother you are not considering the hostile take-over bid from other businessmen. I have heard from reliable sources that Bill gates and Warren Buffet are trying to buy MPs for Rs. 100cr each. Its just because of patriotism of our MPs that they are unwilling to sell India to a foreigner. But how much will they compromise they have to look after their genuine self interest.
Mukesh: But why should these people try to buy India . Are they not satisfied with Africa?
Anil: No brother India has huge potential. Buffet is planning to sell RBI, SBI, PNB and other banks to himself at a cost of Rs. 1cr each. While Gates is planning to expand his business to other areas, he believe hospitality has huge potential so he is thinking of buying Rashtrapati Bhavan , Red Fort , Taj Mahal and all other historical monuments and convert them to 7-8 star hotels. Only Parliament house will be left untouched.
Mukesh: Why?
Anil: Oh! "Sansad ki maryad jo bacchani hai"
Mukesh: But why should we buy India. we are neither in Hospitality nor in banking.
Anil: Are Bhaiya think harder. Once we buy India you can buy Indian oil, Hindustan oil, bharat petroleums for 50 lakhs each while I can buy BSNL, MTNL, etc as a complementary .
Mukesh: Shabash Anil you are visionary . but we have to be very careful while investing in Indian parliament lest Tata and Birla gang up against us.
Anil: don't worry I have seasoned players in my team. They are veterans in Buying and selling of MPs. You just keep the cash ready.
Mukesh: That is fine but once we buy the majority MPs who will be the PM.
Anil: I am doing all the planning I am at the fore front so naturally I should be the PM.
Mukesh: I am the elder so I should be the M
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Kokilaben: Stop fighting. will you both ever agree on something. This is the opportunity of life time and you are letting it go by fighting with each other. Neither you nor Mukesh but let's make Kusaliya mausi the PM she was your governess.
Anil: yes I can give up my post to her and everyone will say "kitna bada tyaag" As for once in life time opportunity, don't worry mom it comes every 5 year if not sooner...
Gustakhi MAAF
Mukesh: Tell me
Anil: lets buy India, its up for sale.
Mukesh: how much would it cost.
Anil: Rs 13,600crs only.
Mukesh: how did you get this figure?
Anil: Rs. 50 cr for every MP and you need 272 votes to form the government.
Mukesh: you are not real businessman. you have put up same price for everyone. look the MP's from east will sell for less than Rs. 5cr, MPs from south will sell for around Rs.10cr while MP's from North will sell for around 25cr its only the MPs from west who will have price tag of around Rs50cr.
Anil: brother you are not considering the hostile take-over bid from other businessmen. I have heard from reliable sources that Bill gates and Warren Buffet are trying to buy MPs for Rs. 100cr each. Its just because of patriotism of our MPs that they are unwilling to sell India to a foreigner. But how much will they compromise they have to look after their genuine self interest.
Mukesh: But why should these people try to buy India . Are they not satisfied with Africa?
Anil: No brother India has huge potential. Buffet is planning to sell RBI, SBI, PNB and other banks to himself at a cost of Rs. 1cr each. While Gates is planning to expand his business to other areas, he believe hospitality has huge potential so he is thinking of buying Rashtrapati Bhavan , Red Fort , Taj Mahal and all other historical monuments and convert them to 7-8 star hotels. Only Parliament house will be left untouched.
Mukesh: Why?
Anil: Oh! "Sansad ki maryad jo bacchani hai"
Mukesh: But why should we buy India. we are neither in Hospitality nor in banking.
Anil: Are Bhaiya think harder. Once we buy India you can buy Indian oil, Hindustan oil, bharat petroleums for 50 lakhs each while I can buy BSNL, MTNL, etc as a complementary .
Mukesh: Shabash Anil you are visionary . but we have to be very careful while investing in Indian parliament lest Tata and Birla gang up against us.
Anil: don't worry I have seasoned players in my team. They are veterans in Buying and selling of MPs. You just keep the cash ready.
Mukesh: That is fine but once we buy the majority MPs who will be the PM.
Anil: I am doing all the planning I am at the fore front so naturally I should be the PM.
Mukesh: I am the elder so I should be the M
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Anil: No I
Mukesh: No I
Kokilaben: Stop fighting. will you both ever agree on something. This is the opportunity of life time and you are letting it go by fighting with each other. Neither you nor Mukesh but let's make Kusaliya mausi the PM she was your governess.
Anil: yes I can give up my post to her and everyone will say "kitna bada tyaag" As for once in life time opportunity, don't worry mom it comes every 5 year if not sooner...
Gustakhi MAAF
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Are we losing the battle against terrorism?
Are we losing the battle against terrorism?
I think yes we are losing the battle and not only India but all the civil society is losing this battle. US which is spearheading the fight against terrorism is the main reason for this. We lost the battle on the very day when we called this inhuman acts as Islamic terrorism when there was nothing Islamic about it. Instead of showing that Islam is against any form of terrorism we have given these acts religious sanction by calling them Islamic. the whole war was made to look as a fight between Christianity and Islam. The choice of words by Mr. Bush are very significant here. He described his military action as crusade against Islamic terrorism. Terrorist have been able to take benefit from all these. They have successfully positioned themselves as savior of Islam and as someone who are fighting against Christianity crusade. This has helped them to get unlimited supply of funds and recruits. Young Muslims have been attracted to Osama Bin Laden for they see him as a hero and savior of Islam. US has not helped itself by starting a war against Iraq. While many people including many Muslims agreed with their actions in Afghanistan, they could not understand the logic of attacking Iraq. US lost many Muslim supporters by attacking Iraq and widened the gulf between Islam and Christianity. Today average Muslim thinks that Islam is in danger and every Muslim is being threaten by a world power USA. This insecurity is feeding terrorism. If we want to win the war against terrorism then this insecurity should be removed.
What can be done to reverse this trend?
Though we are losing the battle but we haven't lost it yet. A lot can be done to reverse this trend. First good news is Mr Bush is leaving. I have absolutely nothing against him actually I like him for improving ties with India. But the matter of fact is that Muslims world wide do not trust him and nothing can be achieved without trust. Many steps can be taken to win back trust of Muslims. New American president should travel to Middle East, talk about friendship and progress. He or She could also visit religious places in Middle East like Mecca(if that is allowed) to show the Muslims that he/she respects their religion. Israel and Palestinian problem is the major reason for this mis-trust. I know solving this problem is easier said than done. But efforts should be made to project this problem as a local problem between government of Israel and Palestinian and not a problem between Muslims and Jews. Terrorist have exploited this problem to generate support for their cause.
It is very important for everyone to understand the war against terrorism will not be won with guns and bombs but by propaganda. You cannot possibly kill all the Muslims and until this mistrust is there there will always be someone to challenge the might of USA. So the only way to win it is by proper propaganda. This is where we are losing the battle. Many Madrassas and Mosques are used for this purpose. In every locality there is someone who is helping these terrorists in their propaganda. If we really want to defeat them than we need a propaganda of our own. There is a need to tell Muslims what these terrorists are doing? First of all we have to remove any misconception that Islam sanctions any form of terrorism. The only way these terrorist tried to justify their actions is by saying that they are fighting against the aggression of the west. This is there soft spot for they are killing women and children who cannot be touched under any circumstance according to Islam. Here I would like to ask everyone one question. How many of you will join army of your country if you would find out that your countrymen are being killed, raped and tourtured by someone? I think most of us will. But how many of you will join it if you find out that your army is killing children, women and innocent people? I for one will never join it. This is exactly what is happening here. Terrorist are able to show that the are the victims. Their friends and family members are getting killed and hence they are able to get the sympathy and help of so many but in reality the case is exactly opposite and this is what we have to show everyone. If we are able to do this terrorism will lose its popular support and will die of its own without a single bullet being fired.
I was extremely happy when when Darul Uloom at Deoband condemned terrorism and called it Un-Islamic and issued a ftwa against it. It is a great beginning all we have to do is to make sure that this is not the isolated case and many such things should happen to remove any misconception in the minds of Muslims that this terrorism has sanction from Islam.
I think yes we are losing the battle and not only India but all the civil society is losing this battle. US which is spearheading the fight against terrorism is the main reason for this. We lost the battle on the very day when we called this inhuman acts as Islamic terrorism when there was nothing Islamic about it. Instead of showing that Islam is against any form of terrorism we have given these acts religious sanction by calling them Islamic. the whole war was made to look as a fight between Christianity and Islam. The choice of words by Mr. Bush are very significant here. He described his military action as crusade against Islamic terrorism. Terrorist have been able to take benefit from all these. They have successfully positioned themselves as savior of Islam and as someone who are fighting against Christianity crusade. This has helped them to get unlimited supply of funds and recruits. Young Muslims have been attracted to Osama Bin Laden for they see him as a hero and savior of Islam. US has not helped itself by starting a war against Iraq. While many people including many Muslims agreed with their actions in Afghanistan, they could not understand the logic of attacking Iraq. US lost many Muslim supporters by attacking Iraq and widened the gulf between Islam and Christianity. Today average Muslim thinks that Islam is in danger and every Muslim is being threaten by a world power USA. This insecurity is feeding terrorism. If we want to win the war against terrorism then this insecurity should be removed.
What can be done to reverse this trend?
Though we are losing the battle but we haven't lost it yet. A lot can be done to reverse this trend. First good news is Mr Bush is leaving. I have absolutely nothing against him actually I like him for improving ties with India. But the matter of fact is that Muslims world wide do not trust him and nothing can be achieved without trust. Many steps can be taken to win back trust of Muslims. New American president should travel to Middle East, talk about friendship and progress. He or She could also visit religious places in Middle East like Mecca(if that is allowed) to show the Muslims that he/she respects their religion. Israel and Palestinian problem is the major reason for this mis-trust. I know solving this problem is easier said than done. But efforts should be made to project this problem as a local problem between government of Israel and Palestinian and not a problem between Muslims and Jews. Terrorist have exploited this problem to generate support for their cause.
It is very important for everyone to understand the war against terrorism will not be won with guns and bombs but by propaganda. You cannot possibly kill all the Muslims and until this mistrust is there there will always be someone to challenge the might of USA. So the only way to win it is by proper propaganda. This is where we are losing the battle. Many Madrassas and Mosques are used for this purpose. In every locality there is someone who is helping these terrorists in their propaganda. If we really want to defeat them than we need a propaganda of our own. There is a need to tell Muslims what these terrorists are doing? First of all we have to remove any misconception that Islam sanctions any form of terrorism. The only way these terrorist tried to justify their actions is by saying that they are fighting against the aggression of the west. This is there soft spot for they are killing women and children who cannot be touched under any circumstance according to Islam. Here I would like to ask everyone one question. How many of you will join army of your country if you would find out that your countrymen are being killed, raped and tourtured by someone? I think most of us will. But how many of you will join it if you find out that your army is killing children, women and innocent people? I for one will never join it. This is exactly what is happening here. Terrorist are able to show that the are the victims. Their friends and family members are getting killed and hence they are able to get the sympathy and help of so many but in reality the case is exactly opposite and this is what we have to show everyone. If we are able to do this terrorism will lose its popular support and will die of its own without a single bullet being fired.
I was extremely happy when when Darul Uloom at Deoband condemned terrorism and called it Un-Islamic and issued a ftwa against it. It is a great beginning all we have to do is to make sure that this is not the isolated case and many such things should happen to remove any misconception in the minds of Muslims that this terrorism has sanction from Islam.
Monday, May 26, 2008
gujjar problem
66 dead, more are ready to die.
for what?
to get the title of backward class.
where in the world you would find people ready to die for a backward tag? I think our politicians have perfected the art of East India company - Divide and rule. they have created artificial differences where there were none. This is exactly what was done just after 1857 when Muslims were discriminated and had to suffer the repercussions which were far more than what Hindus and others had to face . this led to isolation of Muslims. while the Hindu intelligentsia took up western education and thereby found government jobs(only jobs other than agriculture that were available those days). This is one of the major reason you do not find any Muslim leader of any gr8 significance during those days. in early 1900's the situation started to change. Hindus had started asking for more freedom while many Muslim intelligentsia thought the only way to uplift there community was by being on the right side of the British. Britishers, worried of Hindu activism were too pleased to form this new alliance. this lead to the infamous partition of Bengal and reservation for Muslims and separate and weighted electorates were given to Muslims. This did not do anything to uplift the conditions of Muslims. They remained more backward but it became the foundation of ultimate partition of India. for the leaders thus chosen were not leaders of India or of any region but of a particular community. Remember it took 40-50 more years for the actual partition and anyone would have laughed at any person who would have suggested formation of Pakistan at that time.
Today conditions in India are exactly what were there 100 yrs ago. Unlike the last time when there was two ways divide today the divide is many ways. We are Meenas or Gujjars or Brahmins, aur Rajputs or Maratha or this or that but not India. Today our leaders are dalit leaders or Muslim leader or fundamentalist leader or this or that.
I am not suggesting that another partition is imminent. what I am saying is by dividing our society in grps and sub-grps we are creating the conditions that could lead to another partition. we have to discourage these tendencies to form grps. one way of doing it is to replace the current system of election. Instead of declaring a candidate who has the maximum no of vote we shd elect the person who has more than 50% of votes. Elections can take place in two rounds. In first round (if no one gets 50% of votes, in which case the person will get elected) all the candidates except two will get eliminated. In the next round the election will take place b/w top twoand whoever wins will get elected. this practice will help to prevent patronization of few caste or grps by political parties and candidates.
for what?
to get the title of backward class.
where in the world you would find people ready to die for a backward tag? I think our politicians have perfected the art of East India company - Divide and rule. they have created artificial differences where there were none. This is exactly what was done just after 1857 when Muslims were discriminated and had to suffer the repercussions which were far more than what Hindus and others had to face . this led to isolation of Muslims. while the Hindu intelligentsia took up western education and thereby found government jobs(only jobs other than agriculture that were available those days). This is one of the major reason you do not find any Muslim leader of any gr8 significance during those days. in early 1900's the situation started to change. Hindus had started asking for more freedom while many Muslim intelligentsia thought the only way to uplift there community was by being on the right side of the British. Britishers, worried of Hindu activism were too pleased to form this new alliance. this lead to the infamous partition of Bengal and reservation for Muslims and separate and weighted electorates were given to Muslims. This did not do anything to uplift the conditions of Muslims. They remained more backward but it became the foundation of ultimate partition of India. for the leaders thus chosen were not leaders of India or of any region but of a particular community. Remember it took 40-50 more years for the actual partition and anyone would have laughed at any person who would have suggested formation of Pakistan at that time.
Today conditions in India are exactly what were there 100 yrs ago. Unlike the last time when there was two ways divide today the divide is many ways. We are Meenas or Gujjars or Brahmins, aur Rajputs or Maratha or this or that but not India. Today our leaders are dalit leaders or Muslim leader or fundamentalist leader or this or that.
I am not suggesting that another partition is imminent. what I am saying is by dividing our society in grps and sub-grps we are creating the conditions that could lead to another partition. we have to discourage these tendencies to form grps. one way of doing it is to replace the current system of election. Instead of declaring a candidate who has the maximum no of vote we shd elect the person who has more than 50% of votes. Elections can take place in two rounds. In first round (if no one gets 50% of votes, in which case the person will get elected) all the candidates except two will get eliminated. In the next round the election will take place b/w top twoand whoever wins will get elected. this practice will help to prevent patronization of few caste or grps by political parties and candidates.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Starting
this is my first attempt to write a blog. lets see how long can I carry on? the worst part in me is my laziness and my unlimited capacity of dreaming. If I only work more than I dream i will be able to do something. today I woke up at around 9:30 and since than I am doing nothing just changing governments and alleviating problems of our country, of course in my dreams.
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