Last few weeks have been very critical and historically important for world and Indian politics. Across the globe Obamamania is still on. May he get all the strength to justify his media created superhero persona. Although Market world over is still down and tumbling, he certainly has given a moment of Joy to everyone. The journey of ‘I would like to see…(Martin Luther King)’ to ‘Yes…We can (Obama)’ was definitely steep and the most difficult one, but achievement... most satisfactory. He has not only washed ‘Whiteman’s democracy’ stigma from America, but also given a rays of hope to youth world over that to flourish in politics you do not always need a dynasty or father in politics…I am sure many will look up to him for inspiration. Congratulation to you Barack Husain Obama…
One more news which impressed me the most is Islamic introspection in India. Recently, Muslim scholars, activists and clerics got together and issued fatwas delinking Islam with terror. An 18-coach Sheikh-ul-Hind Express from Deoband carrying 2,000 clerics set out on a journey with a message of peace and integration. Some 6,000 clerics from 21 states met in Hyderabad to issue more fatwas against terror activities. From shock and denial modes, the Indian Muslim community has begun to introspect and take positive steps. Indian Muslims had never indulged themselves into the global Islamic jihad movement, but they had to bear the pain and trauma of being branded as terrorist community because of the work of some mentally unstable communal fanatics. Issuing fatwas against terrorists is a very brave step and can only be praised.
In another development, a collective body of Muslim clerics has taken commendable step by denouncing televangelist Zakir Naik’s speeches and demanding a ban on them. I have heard Zakir Naik several times and found that he loves ridiculing other religions. On his every Tv show he tries to brand Islam as only savior religion and others as a path of evil. That’s pretty outrageous. Although this recent criticism of him came after his comment “May God be pleased with him”, for Yezid (the debauch ruler and murderer of Imam Hussain; the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson who was martyred at the battle of Kerbala), I am sure that the Muslim community will also denounce him for his hate remarks on other religions.
For me the most disturbing news of the week was this term called ‘Hindu Terrorism’ coming out from the Malegaon Blast Probe. It’s still very early to take any decisive position on it, but somehow I feel that it’s going to meet the same fate as of Aarushi Murder case. That time also Police and later on our so called premier investigating agency CBI under the pressure of Media and Public kept creating stories and making new arrests every day and again in this case I see police making the same bloody mistake. This whole drama looks like being played to appease some political dads. It becomes worse when investigation gets carried out by Maharashtra ATS. They are all the time in the news for their political connections, bad handling of case and fake encounters. This time they have gone far beyond it seems and coming back without truth will be arduous. Therefor, just be warned...but not mad. Today morning I heard that they want to question Acharya Avadheshanand ji for being guru of Sadhavi Pragya. Avadheshanandji is a Acharya and has given diksha to hundreds of thousands of devotees all across the world. I personally know more than hundreds disciple of him. Does he has to be hold responsible for every act of his followers? I have been following him quite regularly on Tv and can not remember him saying anything against any religion ever. I will recommend ATS also to listen to Avadheshanandji's parvachan once, if nothing then at least it will make them a better human beings.
As I said that it’s yet too early to be conclusive. I still do not want to say that investigating agency is going into completely wrong direction and I hope they are not…but can they act a bit more maturely and handle the case little professionally? Can they exercise some restrain and come to press only if they have some solid proof against any of the accused or suspects? Do they even realise that by exhibiting their ‘too eager for publicity’ nature how much damage they have already inflicted to nation?
I will also request Indian Media to show some maturity. They are making the same mistakes as they did in Aarushi’s case i.e creating rumors and hastly spreading them. It's a shame that in the name of free press we have created a media which act not only irresponsibly but recklessly and outrageously. Sometime it goes worse than even a worse joke. High time to take some lessons and behave properly...before it's too too late.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Jai Maharashtra...
A maharashtrian friend of mine (wants to remain anonymous) sends me this to be published in dapolitics. He says that this is something he is doing in order to help Raj Thakre and his compaign. Belows are some 'must dos' for every marathi manoos -
1. We should teach our kids that if he is second in class, don't study harder.. just beat up the student coming first and throw him out of the school.
2. Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in Delhi.
3. Prime-minister, president and all other leaders should only be from Delhi.
4. No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi.
5. At every state border, buses, trains, flights should be stopped and staff changed to local men.
6. All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should be sent back as they are SNATCHING employment from Locals.
7. Lord Shiv, Ganesha and Parvati should not be worshiped in our state as they belong to north (Himalayas).
8. Visits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from UP only.
9. Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from centre because that is the money collected as Tax from whole of India, so why should it be given to someone in Maharashtra?
10. Let's support kashmiri Militants because they have right to kill and injure innocent people for benifit of their state and community......
11. Let's throw all MNCs out of Maharashtra, why should they earn from us? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH Pepsi and MH Marutis of the world.
12. Let's stop using cellphones, emails, TV, foreign Movies and dramas. James Bond should speak Marathi.
13. We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higher price but should not accept imports from other states.
14. We should not allow any industry to be setup in Maharashtra because all machinery comes from outside.
15. We should STOP using local trains... Trains are not manufactured by Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari.
16. Ensure that all our children are born, grow, live and die without ever stepping out of Maharashtra, then they will become true Marathi's.
JAI MAHARASHTRA
1. We should teach our kids that if he is second in class, don't study harder.. just beat up the student coming first and throw him out of the school.
2. Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in Delhi.
3. Prime-minister, president and all other leaders should only be from Delhi.
4. No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi.
5. At every state border, buses, trains, flights should be stopped and staff changed to local men.
6. All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should be sent back as they are SNATCHING employment from Locals.
7. Lord Shiv, Ganesha and Parvati should not be worshiped in our state as they belong to north (Himalayas).
8. Visits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from UP only.
9. Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from centre because that is the money collected as Tax from whole of India, so why should it be given to someone in Maharashtra?
10. Let's support kashmiri Militants because they have right to kill and injure innocent people for benifit of their state and community......
11. Let's throw all MNCs out of Maharashtra, why should they earn from us? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH Pepsi and MH Marutis of the world.
12. Let's stop using cellphones, emails, TV, foreign Movies and dramas. James Bond should speak Marathi.
13. We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higher price but should not accept imports from other states.
14. We should not allow any industry to be setup in Maharashtra because all machinery comes from outside.
15. We should STOP using local trains... Trains are not manufactured by Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari.
16. Ensure that all our children are born, grow, live and die without ever stepping out of Maharashtra, then they will become true Marathi's.
JAI MAHARASHTRA
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Yeh Dil Hai Muskil...
I almost waited for 7-8 months to get this raj thakre’s anti north Indian issue die down. On many occasions I felt mad about it but always restrained thinking that my outburst will only fan the hatred and help the most unnecessary cause for which people are being lynched and murdered on road…in public. But just to get some mental peace here I have to say something. Because This is among one of very few cities I fallen in love with and it hurts seeing it getting devastated…
Mostly its going to be the same old shit you have been watching every minute on your tv and reading in daily newspapers. Therefore I won’t recommend you to waste your time on it. Read on only if you are too bored with everything else in your life…
For me this is nothing new. I came to Mumbai in 2001 and since then I have always witnessed the same hatred there for me. My best friend is a maharashtrian. But once during an emotional outburst even he had made me realize that I am an outsider and do not belong to this city which has always been coming in my dream since I know myself. It was tough living always under suspicious eyes…But come to think of it now I realize that we north Indians have earned their hatred…
Mumbai is surrounded by sea. Every inch of it is already occupied. Everything from traffic to law and order has gone out of control long ago. But still influx is on. Everyday thousands of people from all over India are coming to Mumbai. They are mainly unskilled and ready to do anything for survival. That is not helping the city. It is in fact creating chaos all over the place and making Bombay meri Jaan one of the worst place to live. This is all very good to say that Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city and every individual has right to come here and earn his livelihood. But out there in Mumbai it has become most difficult to practice it specially when people seem to have no social responsibility or civic sense. And It’s not that only north Indians are responsible for all the bad things happening there, its everyone including people coming from other parts of Maharashtra. Mumbai needs some urgent respite and this is high time state and centre government take strong measure to save it from sinking. This can not take anymore…
It’s not that people in villages are starving and they have no option but come to the cities like Mumbai to earn living. No, it’s nowhere like that. It’s just about the madness of becoming part of the metro race. Unfortunately agriculture does not drive people anymore. Everyone keep coming to cities looking for some shortcuts to earn easy money. Half of my village live in Mumbai. They work very hard here and live in the most unsuitable conditions ( 10-12 people in one small dingy room). But still they do not want to go back. If they do there half of what they do here, my village will become one of the most prosperous village.
I certainly do not support Thakreys brand of politics. They have always been the hatemonger. Whether it is regional or religious, their political aspirations have always incited violence and created divisions in the society. They have always operated like goons and jail is the only place they belong to. I for sure not going to waste my time by talking about them.
Lalu, Mulayam, Mayawati, Paswan, Congress and BJP also are equally responsible for this situation. They never bothered to create infrastructure and employment opportunity in northern states. Today again they are doing the politics of vote. They should also be denounced…
Finally as I have said earlier also that in democracy vote is the only thing which matters. And that power stays with us…with we the people. We are the one who is responsible for what we are getting today. For god sake, at least once think over before voting someone in next election…
Mostly its going to be the same old shit you have been watching every minute on your tv and reading in daily newspapers. Therefore I won’t recommend you to waste your time on it. Read on only if you are too bored with everything else in your life…
For me this is nothing new. I came to Mumbai in 2001 and since then I have always witnessed the same hatred there for me. My best friend is a maharashtrian. But once during an emotional outburst even he had made me realize that I am an outsider and do not belong to this city which has always been coming in my dream since I know myself. It was tough living always under suspicious eyes…But come to think of it now I realize that we north Indians have earned their hatred…
Mumbai is surrounded by sea. Every inch of it is already occupied. Everything from traffic to law and order has gone out of control long ago. But still influx is on. Everyday thousands of people from all over India are coming to Mumbai. They are mainly unskilled and ready to do anything for survival. That is not helping the city. It is in fact creating chaos all over the place and making Bombay meri Jaan one of the worst place to live. This is all very good to say that Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city and every individual has right to come here and earn his livelihood. But out there in Mumbai it has become most difficult to practice it specially when people seem to have no social responsibility or civic sense. And It’s not that only north Indians are responsible for all the bad things happening there, its everyone including people coming from other parts of Maharashtra. Mumbai needs some urgent respite and this is high time state and centre government take strong measure to save it from sinking. This can not take anymore…
It’s not that people in villages are starving and they have no option but come to the cities like Mumbai to earn living. No, it’s nowhere like that. It’s just about the madness of becoming part of the metro race. Unfortunately agriculture does not drive people anymore. Everyone keep coming to cities looking for some shortcuts to earn easy money. Half of my village live in Mumbai. They work very hard here and live in the most unsuitable conditions ( 10-12 people in one small dingy room). But still they do not want to go back. If they do there half of what they do here, my village will become one of the most prosperous village.
I certainly do not support Thakreys brand of politics. They have always been the hatemonger. Whether it is regional or religious, their political aspirations have always incited violence and created divisions in the society. They have always operated like goons and jail is the only place they belong to. I for sure not going to waste my time by talking about them.
Lalu, Mulayam, Mayawati, Paswan, Congress and BJP also are equally responsible for this situation. They never bothered to create infrastructure and employment opportunity in northern states. Today again they are doing the politics of vote. They should also be denounced…
Finally as I have said earlier also that in democracy vote is the only thing which matters. And that power stays with us…with we the people. We are the one who is responsible for what we are getting today. For god sake, at least once think over before voting someone in next election…
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Ticking Timebomb...
The recent serial bomb blasts in Delhi, Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Jaipur have only reinforced India's position of being one of the worst terrorism-hit countries in the world. Barring trouble-torn nations like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, terrorist violence claims more lives in India than in any other nation. According to the data collected by a US government agency called National Counter-terrorism Centre, 1,093 people were killed in terrorist incidents in India last year. Of course these also included the killings of Hindi speaking people in Assam by the ULFA activists and the deaths caused in Naxalite violence in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar. The report also listed 13 high-casualty incidents of terrorist violence in the country, including the serial blasts in UP, Hyderabad and the Samjhauta Express blast.
Worldwide, 22,685 people were killed by terrorists in about 14,000 terrorist strikes. Iraq alone accounted for 13,606 of those deaths. Afghanistan with 1,966 casualties and Pakistan with 1,335 deaths were the other countries to have witnessed large number of killings by terrorist organisations, the report says.
I am sure the ranking of this year’s victim countries will dramatically change with Iraq reaching to almost normalcy level, Pakistan having an explosion almost everyday and India becoming more vulnerable to the terrorist attacks. There is a very good chance that we rank third this time. And I do not see that day far away when India will be sitting on top.
The way human life is treated in India is utterly shameful. We are among one of the rudest people in the world when it comes to value human life. Death of 20 or 50 in terrorist attacks does not matter too much to us anymore. We go on living our normal life right from the next minute and claim proudly that we did not let terrorists succeed in creating panic. How senseless, how pathetic and how inhuman pride this one is? Hah…America experiences one 9/11 and lives in panic for years. For months life in America remains on complete halt. They spared some time to think over it, declared national emergency and went on even to attacking countries to punish the culprits…
But what we do to punish those who keep attacking us everyday, everywhere…whether it is Islamic Jihadi, Bajarang Dal, Shiv Sena or Nexalite? Almost nothing…In fact more likely we go on protecting them or making them face of our religion and thoughts. We are a country who enjoys being led by the psychics and love blaming politicians for every bad happenings. We are irritatingly irresponsible citizens in every walk of life and live with most possible myopic vision. And until we change our attitude towards life and society, it is going to be extremely difficult to curb any unwanted happenings. One of my American friends who recently visited India was saying,’’ Indians in India are worse. But put the same Indians in New York and they become the best behaved human on earth.” And I find it very true. We have to change our attitude and approach towards fellow Indians. We are Indian first and then any regional or religious entity. This is most basic and urgent change India requires first.
Second thing is the ‘technology’. Today’s world is all about technology. Even terrorists understand the importance of it and that’s why they employ IT graduate Touquir into their brigade. But we expect our above fifty policemen to fight terrorists with 1947’s batons. How is it possible? And isn’t it ironic? We need to induce young blood and mind into our security system and give them enough freedom and technology to deal with this menace.
Third is ‘Accountability’. Authorities should be answerable to people. Last year my parents applied for a new passport. It took more than 13 months for police to send their report back to passport office. In the beginning they sent a hawaldar for some ransom. when my father refused to pay any bribe they laughed at his honesty and put the file into some back drawer. In the meantime we went to every possible authorities and complained for the atrocities of local police. Instead of taking some action, they suggested that we should just pay some amount and get our file cleared. That shows the level of corruption in our country. Nobody is accountable to anybody. It’s damn frustrating there…We have got worst judiciary system in the world Its the biggest bluff of our society. Every judge in our country is sitting on the pile of cases. It takes years to just getting open a case... leave alone the judgment. As per law nobody can even question our judiciary. Judges are not accountable to anyone for their laziness and inefficiency. In fact they are the one who are producing maximum number of nexalites and terrorists by misusing their power and becoming the most corrupt part of the system. We have to make them answerable to media and people. We need to put up thousands of fast track courts and finish our pending cases as soon as possible. Later on we have got to decentralize the judiciary also. There should be courts in villages and panchayat level itself. If necessary let the hearing happen through video conferencing.
Fourth is introduction of ‘objective work pattern’. In our country, a teacher is helping conduct elections, arranging and distributing midday meals for children, conducting educational programmes for village elders, doing plenty of state research work and collecting thousands of datas for government besides teaching in school. After shouldering all these extra burden how do you expect that teacher to excel in his main job i.e teaching. He simply can not…and same goes for other government departments including Police. This is a peculiar and invented Indian system. In a civilised world this kind of work load will be considered harassment of an employee and will very much come under human rights scanner.We will have to change our mindset.
Fifth is hitting hard on terrorism. In the current scenario we are one of the easiest targets for terrorists. Reason is our very soft and politically malign approach towards it. In the name of human rights our politicians don't even hesitate to favour terrorists. This can not go worse than this. I agree that with tough laws and more freedom to police force there are chances to victimise few innocents also in some cases. But that will avoid hundreds of civilians getting exploded in marketplace for sure. We will be able to make our country a safer place. Even US has Guantanmo Bay...all the other europian countries has very tough law against terrorism. Don't forget that they are the biggest advocate of human rights.
Very shamelessly government says that there were terrorist attacks even when POTA was in effect. That shows the ineffectiveness of POTA. What a headless thought! There are laws to punish murderer, but does it mean that there will be no murder happening because of that law? and if a murder happends you go on to scrap that law. NO, you never do that. POTA should be treated in the same way.
Last, but most importantly we need to set up some educational standard for our politics and politicians. There must be some essential educational qualification required to join politics. In a parliamentary democracy politicians are the one who take all the decisions on behalf of the people of that country. How can we let our fortune decided by some illitrates. Today, half of our parliamentarians are either illiterate or semi-literate. How to expect anything worthwhile from them? We desperately need plenty of young and educated brains among those magical 540, who can take tough decision if required to combat the menace like terrorism in our country…and who can think beyond the vote bank (although democracy and numbers will always be the main huddle here).
Its already too late. We need to come out of that pseudoeconomic euphoria created mainly for the sensex and its beneficiaries (which sadly are just 3% of country's population). Lets live in reality...lets make it a real world.
Worldwide, 22,685 people were killed by terrorists in about 14,000 terrorist strikes. Iraq alone accounted for 13,606 of those deaths. Afghanistan with 1,966 casualties and Pakistan with 1,335 deaths were the other countries to have witnessed large number of killings by terrorist organisations, the report says.
I am sure the ranking of this year’s victim countries will dramatically change with Iraq reaching to almost normalcy level, Pakistan having an explosion almost everyday and India becoming more vulnerable to the terrorist attacks. There is a very good chance that we rank third this time. And I do not see that day far away when India will be sitting on top.
The way human life is treated in India is utterly shameful. We are among one of the rudest people in the world when it comes to value human life. Death of 20 or 50 in terrorist attacks does not matter too much to us anymore. We go on living our normal life right from the next minute and claim proudly that we did not let terrorists succeed in creating panic. How senseless, how pathetic and how inhuman pride this one is? Hah…America experiences one 9/11 and lives in panic for years. For months life in America remains on complete halt. They spared some time to think over it, declared national emergency and went on even to attacking countries to punish the culprits…
But what we do to punish those who keep attacking us everyday, everywhere…whether it is Islamic Jihadi, Bajarang Dal, Shiv Sena or Nexalite? Almost nothing…In fact more likely we go on protecting them or making them face of our religion and thoughts. We are a country who enjoys being led by the psychics and love blaming politicians for every bad happenings. We are irritatingly irresponsible citizens in every walk of life and live with most possible myopic vision. And until we change our attitude towards life and society, it is going to be extremely difficult to curb any unwanted happenings. One of my American friends who recently visited India was saying,’’ Indians in India are worse. But put the same Indians in New York and they become the best behaved human on earth.” And I find it very true. We have to change our attitude and approach towards fellow Indians. We are Indian first and then any regional or religious entity. This is most basic and urgent change India requires first.
Second thing is the ‘technology’. Today’s world is all about technology. Even terrorists understand the importance of it and that’s why they employ IT graduate Touquir into their brigade. But we expect our above fifty policemen to fight terrorists with 1947’s batons. How is it possible? And isn’t it ironic? We need to induce young blood and mind into our security system and give them enough freedom and technology to deal with this menace.
Third is ‘Accountability’. Authorities should be answerable to people. Last year my parents applied for a new passport. It took more than 13 months for police to send their report back to passport office. In the beginning they sent a hawaldar for some ransom. when my father refused to pay any bribe they laughed at his honesty and put the file into some back drawer. In the meantime we went to every possible authorities and complained for the atrocities of local police. Instead of taking some action, they suggested that we should just pay some amount and get our file cleared. That shows the level of corruption in our country. Nobody is accountable to anybody. It’s damn frustrating there…We have got worst judiciary system in the world Its the biggest bluff of our society. Every judge in our country is sitting on the pile of cases. It takes years to just getting open a case... leave alone the judgment. As per law nobody can even question our judiciary. Judges are not accountable to anyone for their laziness and inefficiency. In fact they are the one who are producing maximum number of nexalites and terrorists by misusing their power and becoming the most corrupt part of the system. We have to make them answerable to media and people. We need to put up thousands of fast track courts and finish our pending cases as soon as possible. Later on we have got to decentralize the judiciary also. There should be courts in villages and panchayat level itself. If necessary let the hearing happen through video conferencing.
Fourth is introduction of ‘objective work pattern’. In our country, a teacher is helping conduct elections, arranging and distributing midday meals for children, conducting educational programmes for village elders, doing plenty of state research work and collecting thousands of datas for government besides teaching in school. After shouldering all these extra burden how do you expect that teacher to excel in his main job i.e teaching. He simply can not…and same goes for other government departments including Police. This is a peculiar and invented Indian system. In a civilised world this kind of work load will be considered harassment of an employee and will very much come under human rights scanner.We will have to change our mindset.
Fifth is hitting hard on terrorism. In the current scenario we are one of the easiest targets for terrorists. Reason is our very soft and politically malign approach towards it. In the name of human rights our politicians don't even hesitate to favour terrorists. This can not go worse than this. I agree that with tough laws and more freedom to police force there are chances to victimise few innocents also in some cases. But that will avoid hundreds of civilians getting exploded in marketplace for sure. We will be able to make our country a safer place. Even US has Guantanmo Bay...all the other europian countries has very tough law against terrorism. Don't forget that they are the biggest advocate of human rights.
Very shamelessly government says that there were terrorist attacks even when POTA was in effect. That shows the ineffectiveness of POTA. What a headless thought! There are laws to punish murderer, but does it mean that there will be no murder happening because of that law? and if a murder happends you go on to scrap that law. NO, you never do that. POTA should be treated in the same way.
Last, but most importantly we need to set up some educational standard for our politics and politicians. There must be some essential educational qualification required to join politics. In a parliamentary democracy politicians are the one who take all the decisions on behalf of the people of that country. How can we let our fortune decided by some illitrates. Today, half of our parliamentarians are either illiterate or semi-literate. How to expect anything worthwhile from them? We desperately need plenty of young and educated brains among those magical 540, who can take tough decision if required to combat the menace like terrorism in our country…and who can think beyond the vote bank (although democracy and numbers will always be the main huddle here).
Its already too late. We need to come out of that pseudoeconomic euphoria created mainly for the sensex and its beneficiaries (which sadly are just 3% of country's population). Lets live in reality...lets make it a real world.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Damn Kashmir...
As I said in my last column that we are a nation that seems to be living reality as lived on the 'Truman Show'. If it is not IPL, it is Aarushi. If it is not Aarushi, it is the no-trust vote. If it's not the trust vote it is the cash for votes. And very sadly if it’s not the cash for votes it is Kashmir. We want our reality to be played out real time in front of our eyes and we want it now.
For last two months Jammu and Kashmir is burning – jammu with religiously grinded patriotic fever and Kashmir with separatist fervor. Things have gone out of hand long ago. I won’t blame government as I anyway believe this is the weakest and most useless government India ever had. They are pathetic with all their approach and can only be sympathized. If you believe that this government is going to come up with some concrete plan and action you are just fooling yourself. As a nation what we are doing that should be questioned? After so many blasts all over the country, high upsurge in naxalite movement and now Kashmir (which was calm for last 7-8 years), we can not even make our shameless home minister resign. That’s why I say that we are nation that enjoy living into fictitious reality shows.
Yesterday, when Arundhati Roy said that India needs azadi from Kashmir and likewise, she was shunted off and called as a biggest villain of the country. I personally don’t think that she was wrong. Kashmir is a kind of stigma we have been living with for last 60 years. Today when Indian Tricolor is being burned, Pakistani flags are being hoisted everywhere in the valley, Indian military is being treated as a force of occupation,slogan of ‘hindustan murdabad’ and ‘kafiron Kashmir chhodo’ is being chanted in Kashmir, every second day one political party threatens to march to line of control, we in Delhi are busy proclaiming that Kashmir is integral part of India. Cann’t we see that a second rate country like Pakistan whipping all the time that Kashmir is in their blood. And they will fight for it. Everybody knows what a mess they made to Pakistan itself…forget about the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
It’s not as though the Indian state has no experience of dealing with secessionist movements. Almost from the time we became independent 61 years ago, we have been faced with calls for secession from nearly every corner of India: from Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram, from Tamil Nadu, from Punjab etc. In every single case, democracy has provided the solution. We have followed a three-pronged approach: strong, almost brutal, police or army action against those engaging in violence, a call to the secessionist leaders to join the democratic process and then, generous central assistance for the rebuilding of the state. It is an approach that has worked brilliantly. Even in, say, Mizoram, where alienation was at its height in the 1970s, the new generation sees itself as Indian. The Nagas now concentrate their demands on a redrawing of state boundaries (to take in part of Manipur), not on a threat to the integrity of India. In Tamil Nadu, the Hindi agitation is forgotten and in Punjab, Khalistan is a distant memory.
The exception to this trend has been Kashmir. Contrary to what many Kashmiris claim, we have tried everything. Even today, the state enjoys a special status. Under Article 370 of our Constitution, with the exception of defence, foreign policy, and communication, no law enacted by parliament has any legitimacy in Kashmir unless the state government gives its consent. The state is the only one in India to have its own Constitution and the President of India cannot issue directions to the state government in exercise of the executive power of the Union as he can in every other state. Kashmiri are Indian citizens but Indians are not necessarily Kashmiri citizens. We cannot vote for elections to their assembly or own any property in Kashmir.
Then, there is the money from centre. Other states get per capita central assistance of Rs 876 per year. Kashmir gets over ten times more: Rs 9,754 per year. While other states, this assistance is mainly in the forms of loans to the state, in Kashmir 90 per cent is an outright grant. We the taxpayers meet the Kashmir's entire five year plan. In addition, New Delhi keeps showing it's genrocity by throwing more and more money at the state: in 2004, the Prime Minister gave Kashmir another $ 5 billion for development.
Kashmiris are happy to take the money and the special rights but they argue that India has been unfair to them because no free political process has developed. shame on them.Given that Kashmir has the best deal of any Indian state, is there anything more we can do? Kashmiris talk about more autonomy. But what more can be given??? what does the Centre get in return for the special favours and the billions of dollars?
The short answer is: damn all.
The other cost of Kashmir is military. Many terrorist acts, from the hijacking of IC 814 to the attack on parliament have Kashmir links. Our response to the parliament attack was Operation Parakram, which cost, in ten months, Rs 6,500 crore and 800 army lives? (Kargil cost us 474 lives.) Each day, our troops and paramilitary forces are subjected to terrorists’s attacks, stress, and ridicule.
The short answer again is: damn all.
This is 21st century India. We are one of the fastest growing economy of the world. Now this is high time when we leave Kashmir behind and proceed ahead. If they are happy with the ‘Azadi’, which they won’t even be able to save for 10 minutes…give them. We cann't let one kashmir to rule entire India...there are much more serious things to be addressed.
For last two months Jammu and Kashmir is burning – jammu with religiously grinded patriotic fever and Kashmir with separatist fervor. Things have gone out of hand long ago. I won’t blame government as I anyway believe this is the weakest and most useless government India ever had. They are pathetic with all their approach and can only be sympathized. If you believe that this government is going to come up with some concrete plan and action you are just fooling yourself. As a nation what we are doing that should be questioned? After so many blasts all over the country, high upsurge in naxalite movement and now Kashmir (which was calm for last 7-8 years), we can not even make our shameless home minister resign. That’s why I say that we are nation that enjoy living into fictitious reality shows.
Yesterday, when Arundhati Roy said that India needs azadi from Kashmir and likewise, she was shunted off and called as a biggest villain of the country. I personally don’t think that she was wrong. Kashmir is a kind of stigma we have been living with for last 60 years. Today when Indian Tricolor is being burned, Pakistani flags are being hoisted everywhere in the valley, Indian military is being treated as a force of occupation,slogan of ‘hindustan murdabad’ and ‘kafiron Kashmir chhodo’ is being chanted in Kashmir, every second day one political party threatens to march to line of control, we in Delhi are busy proclaiming that Kashmir is integral part of India. Cann’t we see that a second rate country like Pakistan whipping all the time that Kashmir is in their blood. And they will fight for it. Everybody knows what a mess they made to Pakistan itself…forget about the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
It’s not as though the Indian state has no experience of dealing with secessionist movements. Almost from the time we became independent 61 years ago, we have been faced with calls for secession from nearly every corner of India: from Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram, from Tamil Nadu, from Punjab etc. In every single case, democracy has provided the solution. We have followed a three-pronged approach: strong, almost brutal, police or army action against those engaging in violence, a call to the secessionist leaders to join the democratic process and then, generous central assistance for the rebuilding of the state. It is an approach that has worked brilliantly. Even in, say, Mizoram, where alienation was at its height in the 1970s, the new generation sees itself as Indian. The Nagas now concentrate their demands on a redrawing of state boundaries (to take in part of Manipur), not on a threat to the integrity of India. In Tamil Nadu, the Hindi agitation is forgotten and in Punjab, Khalistan is a distant memory.
The exception to this trend has been Kashmir. Contrary to what many Kashmiris claim, we have tried everything. Even today, the state enjoys a special status. Under Article 370 of our Constitution, with the exception of defence, foreign policy, and communication, no law enacted by parliament has any legitimacy in Kashmir unless the state government gives its consent. The state is the only one in India to have its own Constitution and the President of India cannot issue directions to the state government in exercise of the executive power of the Union as he can in every other state. Kashmiri are Indian citizens but Indians are not necessarily Kashmiri citizens. We cannot vote for elections to their assembly or own any property in Kashmir.
Then, there is the money from centre. Other states get per capita central assistance of Rs 876 per year. Kashmir gets over ten times more: Rs 9,754 per year. While other states, this assistance is mainly in the forms of loans to the state, in Kashmir 90 per cent is an outright grant. We the taxpayers meet the Kashmir's entire five year plan. In addition, New Delhi keeps showing it's genrocity by throwing more and more money at the state: in 2004, the Prime Minister gave Kashmir another $ 5 billion for development.
Kashmiris are happy to take the money and the special rights but they argue that India has been unfair to them because no free political process has developed. shame on them.Given that Kashmir has the best deal of any Indian state, is there anything more we can do? Kashmiris talk about more autonomy. But what more can be given??? what does the Centre get in return for the special favours and the billions of dollars?
The short answer is: damn all.
The other cost of Kashmir is military. Many terrorist acts, from the hijacking of IC 814 to the attack on parliament have Kashmir links. Our response to the parliament attack was Operation Parakram, which cost, in ten months, Rs 6,500 crore and 800 army lives? (Kargil cost us 474 lives.) Each day, our troops and paramilitary forces are subjected to terrorists’s attacks, stress, and ridicule.
The short answer again is: damn all.
This is 21st century India. We are one of the fastest growing economy of the world. Now this is high time when we leave Kashmir behind and proceed ahead. If they are happy with the ‘Azadi’, which they won’t even be able to save for 10 minutes…give them. We cann't let one kashmir to rule entire India...there are much more serious things to be addressed.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
...yet i am proud
Can you believe that I had taken my days off from work to watch parliament’s proceeding during the confidence motion presented by the prime minister. Proceeding definitely had better entertainment value than any of the today’s bollywood films can offer. It started with prime minister’s googly and ended with Omar Abdullah’s brilliant three minuters. There were lots of drama in between like silly accusations, mudslinging at each other, slogan soughting and finally the money throwing episode came as an item number. This has already given so many headline materials for upcoming days to news channel. Personally i consider them a part of parliamentary democracy. So i would not talk much about it. Lets talk here about the positive outcomes of the proceeding. Off course one is nuclear deal But there were many more for every party and every Indian individuals. And biggest among them was to see the arrival of new brigade of politicians.
Rahul Gandhi [Images] may be the best thing which has come out from this two days drama in the parliament for Congressmen looking for their rozi-roti, but off course he is no Obama. Heck, he is not even Omar or Owaisi. Talking extempore may make for better viewing than reading from a prepared text as he did the last time round, but Rahulbaba's public speaking skills suggest that he has a long way to go before he even utters 'hame yeh banana hain' like papa Rajiv. Still I count him among one of the positives of this proceedings.
Mohammed Salim, Omar, Owaisi and Praful Patel were the ones who impressed me the most. It was disappointing to see BJP only counting on sought brigade. Once upon a time BJP used to be the home of greatest orators in Indian politics, what happened to them? Almost all the speakers from this party including Advani were just pathetic. BJP should seriously think about it before distributing tickets for next general election. They should introduce more and more eligible young people into the party. And most importantly stop projecting Mr. Advani as a prime ministerial candidate. He has lost his charm.
The biggest positive of this whole drama is speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Not many have the courage to defy party whip to stand for his constitutional post. He did it and he did it exceptionally well. At the age of 79 the way he handled the most difficult group of 540 of our country is really commendable. But again his expulsion from the party shows the mental bankruptcy of CPI (M) hi-command. Many have been casting 22nd of July as a biggest stigma on Indian parliamentary history. But i won't say so. Even after all what happened i find democracy as a clear winner. Everyone casted their vote and that matters a lot. That gives a bit of life to democracy and loksahi. This is something which can be achieved only in India and that's the reason we are called greatest democracy of the world.
After giving a thought about my obsession to watch parliament proceeding, what I realized is basically we are a nation that seems to be living reality as lived on the 'Truman Show'. If it is not IPL, it is Aarushi. If it is not Aarushi, it is the no-trust vote. If it's not the trust vote it is the cash for votes. We want our reality to be played out real time in front of our eyes and we want it now. So, what’s next???
Rahul Gandhi [Images] may be the best thing which has come out from this two days drama in the parliament for Congressmen looking for their rozi-roti, but off course he is no Obama. Heck, he is not even Omar or Owaisi. Talking extempore may make for better viewing than reading from a prepared text as he did the last time round, but Rahulbaba's public speaking skills suggest that he has a long way to go before he even utters 'hame yeh banana hain' like papa Rajiv. Still I count him among one of the positives of this proceedings.
Mohammed Salim, Omar, Owaisi and Praful Patel were the ones who impressed me the most. It was disappointing to see BJP only counting on sought brigade. Once upon a time BJP used to be the home of greatest orators in Indian politics, what happened to them? Almost all the speakers from this party including Advani were just pathetic. BJP should seriously think about it before distributing tickets for next general election. They should introduce more and more eligible young people into the party. And most importantly stop projecting Mr. Advani as a prime ministerial candidate. He has lost his charm.
The biggest positive of this whole drama is speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Not many have the courage to defy party whip to stand for his constitutional post. He did it and he did it exceptionally well. At the age of 79 the way he handled the most difficult group of 540 of our country is really commendable. But again his expulsion from the party shows the mental bankruptcy of CPI (M) hi-command. Many have been casting 22nd of July as a biggest stigma on Indian parliamentary history. But i won't say so. Even after all what happened i find democracy as a clear winner. Everyone casted their vote and that matters a lot. That gives a bit of life to democracy and loksahi. This is something which can be achieved only in India and that's the reason we are called greatest democracy of the world.
After giving a thought about my obsession to watch parliament proceeding, what I realized is basically we are a nation that seems to be living reality as lived on the 'Truman Show'. If it is not IPL, it is Aarushi. If it is not Aarushi, it is the no-trust vote. If it's not the trust vote it is the cash for votes. We want our reality to be played out real time in front of our eyes and we want it now. So, what’s next???
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Dalits of India Part-2
"Are you to deny that these are not children of my God?"
That question raised by bapu comes to mind as I read of an eight-year-old Dalit girl set on fire in a Mathura village for crossing a road used by the upper castes. Or the 600-metre wall that segregates Dalits in a Madurai village. Or the horrors inflicted on a Delhi University M Phil student and her siblings. The list, shaming the image of Shining India, goes on.
In 1975 Britain's Minority Rights Group wrote, "India is one of the few countries today where a section of the society is regarded by others to be so inherently inferior that it is polluting to other humans: untouchable." Very little seems to have changed since then. Here I would like to mention a very sad incident I happened to encounter day before yesterday. I had hired a boat and gone for fishing with my family. Boat driver was a very nice man from Tamilnadu. We caught lots of fish with his tips. After coming back we found boat owner ( an Egyptian) was waiting for us. As soon as the driver parked the boat, owner started abusing and pushing him. Surprised by this shocking welcome I tried to know the reason behind his outrage. Driver told me that he was suppose to water owner’s garden in the morning but due to his very busy day he had planned to do it in the evening. That’s why owner is so angry. I went to the owner and showed my press card to him then only he will calm down. Later I asked the driver why doesn’t he protest to his owner’s behavior specially now when he can get equally and sometime better paid job back in India very easily. He nodded his head and said, “ I know but will I get better treatment. I am a dalit, still untouchable in my village...” I am a proud Indian and could have debated this till the end had someone else said it, but here when a fellow Indian was telling me the truth I was just ashamed…ashamed to be born in forward cast.
What is the way out? For last 60 years government is trying to uplift the dalits by pushing them with reservation. Conventional wisdom holds that affluence is bound to dilute and eventually wash away the degrading rigors of the caste system. That money will eradicate a pernicious relic of the dark ages. The justification is that once the Scheduled Castes are sufficiently uplifted to rank with the supposedly higher castes, there will be no further occasion for discrimination. But though India might be booming, prosperity does not seem to have had the civilising effect that politicians had expected in 1950. Why? One obvious explanation is that life cannot be viewed only through an economic telescope in a land where, as somebody said, people don't cast their votes, they vote their caste.
Clearly, culture ranks high among the other factors that account for a person's responses and actions. And that leads to a second dimension that is usually ignored. All the reams of literature on the subject, the reports of committees and commissions, concentrate on the victim. They consider ways and means of improving the status of the underprivileged. Better education is expected to mean better employment, which, in turn, will ensure social acceptance. But it doesn't happen that way because the formula ignores the pride and prejudice of the person who does the accepting. Kanaklata Rani is very likely better educated than the Grovers. That does not make her more acceptable to them. So, it's the Grovers of India at whom attention must be directed even more than at the Kanaklatas. Awareness and education is the only weapon through which we can eradicate this old age stigma on Indian society.
Though well-conceived to start with, in practice, reservation has encouraged political exploitation, victimised meritorious students and invited allegations of a 'creamy layer' and 'vested interest in backwardness'. Meanwhile, the Thakurs, Pandits and Yadavs of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and the Brahmins of the south continue to wallow in brutal ignorance. Until this stops we will keep having useless leaders like lalu, mayawati, mulayam and many more elected to take our country closer to hell. Because atleast these useless show their sympathy towards dalits during election time.
In 1975 Britain's Minority Rights Group wrote, "India is one of the few countries today where a section of the society is regarded by others to be so inherently inferior that it is polluting to other humans: untouchable." Very little seems to have changed since then. Here I would like to mention a very sad incident I happened to encounter day before yesterday. I had hired a boat and gone for fishing with my family. Boat driver was a very nice man from Tamilnadu. We caught lots of fish with his tips. After coming back we found boat owner ( an Egyptian) was waiting for us. As soon as the driver parked the boat, owner started abusing and pushing him. Surprised by this shocking welcome I tried to know the reason behind his outrage. Driver told me that he was suppose to water owner’s garden in the morning but due to his very busy day he had planned to do it in the evening. That’s why owner is so angry. I went to the owner and showed my press card to him then only he will calm down. Later I asked the driver why doesn’t he protest to his owner’s behavior specially now when he can get equally and sometime better paid job back in India very easily. He nodded his head and said, “ I know but will I get better treatment. I am a dalit, still untouchable in my village...” I am a proud Indian and could have debated this till the end had someone else said it, but here when a fellow Indian was telling me the truth I was just ashamed…ashamed to be born in forward cast.
What is the way out? For last 60 years government is trying to uplift the dalits by pushing them with reservation. Conventional wisdom holds that affluence is bound to dilute and eventually wash away the degrading rigors of the caste system. That money will eradicate a pernicious relic of the dark ages. The justification is that once the Scheduled Castes are sufficiently uplifted to rank with the supposedly higher castes, there will be no further occasion for discrimination. But though India might be booming, prosperity does not seem to have had the civilising effect that politicians had expected in 1950. Why? One obvious explanation is that life cannot be viewed only through an economic telescope in a land where, as somebody said, people don't cast their votes, they vote their caste.
Clearly, culture ranks high among the other factors that account for a person's responses and actions. And that leads to a second dimension that is usually ignored. All the reams of literature on the subject, the reports of committees and commissions, concentrate on the victim. They consider ways and means of improving the status of the underprivileged. Better education is expected to mean better employment, which, in turn, will ensure social acceptance. But it doesn't happen that way because the formula ignores the pride and prejudice of the person who does the accepting. Kanaklata Rani is very likely better educated than the Grovers. That does not make her more acceptable to them. So, it's the Grovers of India at whom attention must be directed even more than at the Kanaklatas. Awareness and education is the only weapon through which we can eradicate this old age stigma on Indian society.
Though well-conceived to start with, in practice, reservation has encouraged political exploitation, victimised meritorious students and invited allegations of a 'creamy layer' and 'vested interest in backwardness'. Meanwhile, the Thakurs, Pandits and Yadavs of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and the Brahmins of the south continue to wallow in brutal ignorance. Until this stops we will keep having useless leaders like lalu, mayawati, mulayam and many more elected to take our country closer to hell. Because atleast these useless show their sympathy towards dalits during election time.
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