Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Man in hurry to become PM, but..
Sardar Patel had banned RSS. Ironically, Modi, the blue-eyed boy of RSS, is building a statue of Sardar Patel, twice in height to the Statue of Liberty. Because Nehru-Gandhi must be belittled in the eyes of young India and blamed for all ills afflicting the country. Sarabjit Singh was very much in jail during NDA's 1998-2004 tenure. Neither Modi's BJP, nor Akali Dal, nor the then PM Vajpayee took up the issue of poor Sarabjit Singh's release with Pakistan. But now dead Sarabjit Singh is worth thousands of vote in Punjab, so why not add Sarabjit to Modi's Congress-bashing arsenal. The war-ready Air Force men could rescue only 1000 people in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand in a week, but Modi with his jadoo ki chhadi rescued 15000 Gujaratis in a jiffy. If people detect holes in your script of rescuing 15000 Gujaratis, then blame it on your spin doctors. Bhuj in Modi's Gujarat also was shattered by an earthquake. Did anyone at that time claimed of doing a Rambo act? So, this is a glimpse of the mind of the man in hurry to become PM.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Kevin Rudd and WE INDIANS
A picture of former Australian PM carrying a big suitcase is doing the rounds of Facebook. The picture was clicked when Rudd was helping Brisbane residents during the flood crisis in Jan 2011. The Indian subscribers of FB are quick to compare the laid-back approach of Indian politicians with Rudd's personal active involvement in a crisis like flood in the context of the ongoing flood fury in Uttarakhand. But we must remember the Bernard Shaw quote: Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
So, first we need to ask ourselves how much we Indians ourselves are ready to help each other. Our politicians are just a reflection of how we Indians think and behave. What would you say about the people who are robbing the unfortunate stranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand of their belongings, or charging them Rs 400 for a water bottle and Rs 200 for a biscuit packet?
Another tragic aspect of the Uttarakhand story, which is a typical negative trait of my Indian DNA, is that not all the money and material being collected for flood relief would reach the affected people and damaged institutions. Many 'god-fearing' people, like you and me, would also like to have their share for their involvement in the 'noble relief work'.
So, first we need to ask ourselves how much we Indians ourselves are ready to help each other. Our politicians are just a reflection of how we Indians think and behave. What would you say about the people who are robbing the unfortunate stranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand of their belongings, or charging them Rs 400 for a water bottle and Rs 200 for a biscuit packet?
Another tragic aspect of the Uttarakhand story, which is a typical negative trait of my Indian DNA, is that not all the money and material being collected for flood relief would reach the affected people and damaged institutions. Many 'god-fearing' people, like you and me, would also like to have their share for their involvement in the 'noble relief work'.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Tales for Young India: Tumultuous break-up in Bihar, threat to shave head, and biryani treat
Young India and fellow netizens, I know most of you are in love with that 'strongman' from Gujarat. Some people say that your love for him and his party (BJP) with 'a difference' is growing by the day. I hear you saying, "the Gujarati fellow, born and bred in Indian culture and traditions, is a far, far, far... better choice than someone with Italian connection." Being a democrat, I respect your 'political love' for him. However, I get disturbed when a Parrikar from Goa terms the 2002 Gujarat riots as a clear-cut case of administrative failure and bad example of governance. But you seem to calm me down: "Come on. It was just an aberration in an otherwise excellent record. After all, we all commit mistakes, don't we?"
OK, I agree with you because I have also committed many a blunder in my life. Let past be past, whether it were my blunders, or mistakes of the 'strongman'. Now, I begin narrating some tales for young India with this beautiful couplet, full of wisdom, penned by renowned Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianvi:
Taaruf rog ho jaye to usko bhulna behatar
Taaluk bojh ban jaye to usko todna achcha
Woh afsana jise anjaam tak lana na ho mumkin
Use ek khubsoorat mod de kar chhodna achcha
Sahir advises to end a relationship, which is difficult to continue, on a happy note. I think young India, like Sahir, also knows too well that an agreed break-up or a divorce is always better than continuing a relationship only in name. Mamta, Sonia, and Karunanidhi also know this, as neither of them took to streets to protest the recent break-up of their intra-UPA ties. But the strongman's party doesn't seem to be as 'sturdy' as he himself is projected to be. So, unable to bear the 'pain of separation' after a 17-year-long relationship with JD(U), BJP cadres descended on Bihar streets in protest. What a tumultuous protest it was! Violent clashes between the erstwhile partners in Bihar government, and disruption of rail and road traffic by the strongman's supporters say it all.
I sympathize with BJP for its irritation over JD (U) trying to dictate who should be its face in the 2014 polls. However, this irritation brings me to the second tale concerning a head-shaving threat. Incidentally, this threat too was related to the choice of a party's leader. Actually, after NDA's defeat in the 2004 polls, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, who is now leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, had threatened to tonsure her head, don a white saree, eat only grams and sleep on the floor to protest against the 'foreign rule' if Sonia Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India.
I don’t know how much ‘foreign rule’ Sonia has encouraged in India in UPA’s nine-year rule so far. However, Sushma’s head-shaving threat made a mockery of the essential processes of democracy, adherence with which by all political parties is a must for survival of the world’s largest democracy, that is, India. Now, let’s observe the contrasts which are too obvious in BJP’s projection of the ‘strongman’ as their leader now, and the proposed selection of Sonia to head UPA government back in 2004.
First, the UPA after securing people's mandate in the 2004 polls was about to select Sonia as its leader. (In contrast, the 'strongman' has yet to secure people's mandate outside Gujarat and beyond the virtual world of Internet.) Second, the partners of the poll-winning UPA coalition had no objection to whosoever was elected as the leader by the Congress . (In contrast, the Gujarat 'strongman' is yet to emerge as a consensus leader of the BJP-led NDA.) Third, going against democratic traditions, a very senior politician of the defeated NDA, which was to sit in opposition, tried and succeeded in preventing Sonia, who was the obvious choice for PM's post, from heading the government. (In contrast, the 'strongman' faces no roadblocks in presenting himself as the PM candidate from the rival UPA coalition.)
Now, see another glaring contrast. First, you prevent Sonia from becoming PM and thus not making her directly accountable to the Lok Sabha for all actions of the UPA government. Then, you use every political and public platform to drill a perception in the minds of people that PM Manmohan is remote-controlled by Sonia as if this learned economist has no mind of his own and is being used simply as a rubber stamp in government functioning. Young India, for a bit of GK on Manmohan Singh’s work as an international economist-scholar*, please read the footnote at the bottom.
I think I have talked too much of hard but real politics. But, I’m sure this talk would enable you young Indians to think impartially, keeping your Hindutva-triggered emotions at bay. Now, to get into good mood, let's have some biryani. Oh, no! The mention of biryani again turns the focus on the ‘strongman’. Not long ago, he seemed to sound a genuine concern for our motherland’s security with these words: “Heads of our soldiers are cut (at the border) but then their (Pakistan's) Prime Minister is fed chicken biryani.” I know, young India, you had become highly agitated with this revelation. But I also have a revelation.
Many of my young compatriots might have heard about our Kargil war with Pakistan that took place during NDA’s rule (1999-2004) under Prime Minister AB Vajpayee. Before going into Kargil war, I, as an impartial observer, must give credit to Prime Minister Vajpayee for visiting Pakistan in February 1999 and signing the historic Lahore Declaration with the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Lahore Declaration was a bilateral agreement which signalled a major breakthrough in establishing friendly relations between India and Pakistan.
However, the gains of the Lahore Declaration were nullified when we failed to detect the infiltration by Pakistani soldiers in the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir. To drive out the Pakistani soldiers from the Indian territory, we fought with them the Kargil war in May–July 1999. We lost 527 soldiers and officers in the war, and 1336 army men were injured. Few months after the Kargil war, Gen Musharraf deposed the Nawaz Sharif government and himself became Pakistan President.
Ironically, this very Gen Musharraf, the architect of Kargil war, and who had also spent a night in the Indian J&K while his soldiers were building posts in Kargil, was invited and feted by the Vajpayee-led NDA government at the Agra summit in July 2001. However, the Agra summit failed to be yet another breakthrough, which the NDA government sincerely hoped it to be, in the Indo-Pak relations.
So, when you cross the floor in the Lok Sabha from the opposition benches to the treasury benches, you have no hesitation in spreading the red carpet for the Kargil architect because you think it is good for the country. Maybe, any other government would have also done the same thing. But then why this biryani song to invoke sectarian feelings among young Indians? Isn't it the responsibility of the leaders who aspire to be PM to mould the opinion of young India in a manner that is conducive for their constructive contribution in nation-building? Stoking emotions and sectarian feelings may bring a leader short-term gains but it divides the masses on religious and sectarian lines. A divided nation, just like ancient India that was mired in discriminatory varna vyavashta, is prone to all sorts of dangerous foreign interference.
As the UPA-2 government is shouldering the overwhelming burden of coming clean on serious scam allegations, it is for the BJP to come out with a blueprint on how it wants to rid the country of the scourge of corruption. It must tell the people about the changes that it wants to incorporate in the pending Lokpal Bill to add more teeth to it. Modi must also tell whether in Gujarat government offices and institutions the real Ramrajya has been established, and nobody asks for chai-pani, and every single paisa of sanctioned government funds is spent on people's welfare.
Just to inform young India, last April, the Modi government had passed the Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Bill, 2013. Experts say the bill has many controversial provisions, which would threaten the Lokayukta as an institution. For example, a provision empowers the government to choose its own Lokayukta to inquire against the chief minister and his cabinet. This provision violates the basic principle of natural justice, that no man can choose a judge in his own case.
*Dr Manmohan Singh performed excellently as a student. After studying in India, he obtained his doctorate in economics from Oxford. He had worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and held various key posts in the Government of India. He was handpicked by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to be his finance minister in 1991, though he had no political background. As finance minister, he carried out several structural reforms that liberalized India’s economy, thus averting a serious economic crisis for India. Dr Singh had also held the following important posts in Government of India — Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India; Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Chairman, UPSC; and Chairman, UGC. Between 1987 and 1990, he was Secretary General of the South Commission, an independent economic policy think tank headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
OK, I agree with you because I have also committed many a blunder in my life. Let past be past, whether it were my blunders, or mistakes of the 'strongman'. Now, I begin narrating some tales for young India with this beautiful couplet, full of wisdom, penned by renowned Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianvi:
Taaruf rog ho jaye to usko bhulna behatar
Taaluk bojh ban jaye to usko todna achcha
Woh afsana jise anjaam tak lana na ho mumkin
Use ek khubsoorat mod de kar chhodna achcha
Sahir advises to end a relationship, which is difficult to continue, on a happy note. I think young India, like Sahir, also knows too well that an agreed break-up or a divorce is always better than continuing a relationship only in name. Mamta, Sonia, and Karunanidhi also know this, as neither of them took to streets to protest the recent break-up of their intra-UPA ties. But the strongman's party doesn't seem to be as 'sturdy' as he himself is projected to be. So, unable to bear the 'pain of separation' after a 17-year-long relationship with JD(U), BJP cadres descended on Bihar streets in protest. What a tumultuous protest it was! Violent clashes between the erstwhile partners in Bihar government, and disruption of rail and road traffic by the strongman's supporters say it all.
I sympathize with BJP for its irritation over JD (U) trying to dictate who should be its face in the 2014 polls. However, this irritation brings me to the second tale concerning a head-shaving threat. Incidentally, this threat too was related to the choice of a party's leader. Actually, after NDA's defeat in the 2004 polls, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, who is now leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, had threatened to tonsure her head, don a white saree, eat only grams and sleep on the floor to protest against the 'foreign rule' if Sonia Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India.
I don’t know how much ‘foreign rule’ Sonia has encouraged in India in UPA’s nine-year rule so far. However, Sushma’s head-shaving threat made a mockery of the essential processes of democracy, adherence with which by all political parties is a must for survival of the world’s largest democracy, that is, India. Now, let’s observe the contrasts which are too obvious in BJP’s projection of the ‘strongman’ as their leader now, and the proposed selection of Sonia to head UPA government back in 2004.
First, the UPA after securing people's mandate in the 2004 polls was about to select Sonia as its leader. (In contrast, the 'strongman' has yet to secure people's mandate outside Gujarat and beyond the virtual world of Internet.) Second, the partners of the poll-winning UPA coalition had no objection to whosoever was elected as the leader by the Congress . (In contrast, the Gujarat 'strongman' is yet to emerge as a consensus leader of the BJP-led NDA.) Third, going against democratic traditions, a very senior politician of the defeated NDA, which was to sit in opposition, tried and succeeded in preventing Sonia, who was the obvious choice for PM's post, from heading the government. (In contrast, the 'strongman' faces no roadblocks in presenting himself as the PM candidate from the rival UPA coalition.)
Now, see another glaring contrast. First, you prevent Sonia from becoming PM and thus not making her directly accountable to the Lok Sabha for all actions of the UPA government. Then, you use every political and public platform to drill a perception in the minds of people that PM Manmohan is remote-controlled by Sonia as if this learned economist has no mind of his own and is being used simply as a rubber stamp in government functioning. Young India, for a bit of GK on Manmohan Singh’s work as an international economist-scholar*, please read the footnote at the bottom.
I think I have talked too much of hard but real politics. But, I’m sure this talk would enable you young Indians to think impartially, keeping your Hindutva-triggered emotions at bay. Now, to get into good mood, let's have some biryani. Oh, no! The mention of biryani again turns the focus on the ‘strongman’. Not long ago, he seemed to sound a genuine concern for our motherland’s security with these words: “Heads of our soldiers are cut (at the border) but then their (Pakistan's) Prime Minister is fed chicken biryani.” I know, young India, you had become highly agitated with this revelation. But I also have a revelation.
Many of my young compatriots might have heard about our Kargil war with Pakistan that took place during NDA’s rule (1999-2004) under Prime Minister AB Vajpayee. Before going into Kargil war, I, as an impartial observer, must give credit to Prime Minister Vajpayee for visiting Pakistan in February 1999 and signing the historic Lahore Declaration with the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Lahore Declaration was a bilateral agreement which signalled a major breakthrough in establishing friendly relations between India and Pakistan.
However, the gains of the Lahore Declaration were nullified when we failed to detect the infiltration by Pakistani soldiers in the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir. To drive out the Pakistani soldiers from the Indian territory, we fought with them the Kargil war in May–July 1999. We lost 527 soldiers and officers in the war, and 1336 army men were injured. Few months after the Kargil war, Gen Musharraf deposed the Nawaz Sharif government and himself became Pakistan President.
Ironically, this very Gen Musharraf, the architect of Kargil war, and who had also spent a night in the Indian J&K while his soldiers were building posts in Kargil, was invited and feted by the Vajpayee-led NDA government at the Agra summit in July 2001. However, the Agra summit failed to be yet another breakthrough, which the NDA government sincerely hoped it to be, in the Indo-Pak relations.
So, when you cross the floor in the Lok Sabha from the opposition benches to the treasury benches, you have no hesitation in spreading the red carpet for the Kargil architect because you think it is good for the country. Maybe, any other government would have also done the same thing. But then why this biryani song to invoke sectarian feelings among young Indians? Isn't it the responsibility of the leaders who aspire to be PM to mould the opinion of young India in a manner that is conducive for their constructive contribution in nation-building? Stoking emotions and sectarian feelings may bring a leader short-term gains but it divides the masses on religious and sectarian lines. A divided nation, just like ancient India that was mired in discriminatory varna vyavashta, is prone to all sorts of dangerous foreign interference.
As the UPA-2 government is shouldering the overwhelming burden of coming clean on serious scam allegations, it is for the BJP to come out with a blueprint on how it wants to rid the country of the scourge of corruption. It must tell the people about the changes that it wants to incorporate in the pending Lokpal Bill to add more teeth to it. Modi must also tell whether in Gujarat government offices and institutions the real Ramrajya has been established, and nobody asks for chai-pani, and every single paisa of sanctioned government funds is spent on people's welfare.
Just to inform young India, last April, the Modi government had passed the Gujarat Lokayukta Aayog Bill, 2013. Experts say the bill has many controversial provisions, which would threaten the Lokayukta as an institution. For example, a provision empowers the government to choose its own Lokayukta to inquire against the chief minister and his cabinet. This provision violates the basic principle of natural justice, that no man can choose a judge in his own case.
*Dr Manmohan Singh performed excellently as a student. After studying in India, he obtained his doctorate in economics from Oxford. He had worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and held various key posts in the Government of India. He was handpicked by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to be his finance minister in 1991, though he had no political background. As finance minister, he carried out several structural reforms that liberalized India’s economy, thus averting a serious economic crisis for India. Dr Singh had also held the following important posts in Government of India — Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India; Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Chairman, UPSC; and Chairman, UGC. Between 1987 and 1990, he was Secretary General of the South Commission, an independent economic policy think tank headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Why ONLY 1984 Memorial?
I am feeling a bit uneasy at the injustice inherent in the recent (June 13) foundation stone laying for a memorial for the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) at Gurdwara Rakabganj, New Delhi. At the foundation stone laying ceremony, apart from Sikh religious leaders, Akali Dal and BJP leaders, such as Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, his MP wife Harsimrat Kaur, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, and Vijay Goel were also present.
Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony, DSGMC president Manjit Singh said the memorial would remind the generations about the injustice done to the Sikh community. Yes, we must always remember our history, particularly the bitter one, so that we must not commit the same mistakes and suffer again. But this remembrance must not appear to be parochial and sectarian.
Prior to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere, the violent followers of Sikh priest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had killed hundreds of innocent men and women in Punjab. Those killed included innocent migrant labourers, unsuspecting bus and train passengers, moderate political leaders, journalists, and those government and police officers who refused to follow Bhindranwale's diktats. After their killing sprees, Bhindranwale's men used to run away to the precincts of the Golden Temple, secure in the belief that any police action at the Golden Temple would be branded as an act of sacrilege by the Sikh community. These AK-7 wielding men sowed the seeds of mutual hatred among large sections of Hindus and Sikhs. To the Hindus, Bhindranwale was a symbol of the Sikh separatist movement.
The following excerpts from an article written by Arun Shourie* in the November 30 1984 issue of India Today, throw some light on the Hindu-Sikh divide created by the bullets of Bhindranwale's men. This issue carried detailed reports on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination and subsequent anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere:
"...To the country Bhindranwale was a usurper. To some he is a martyr who died for 'The Cause'. To the country Mrs Gandhi's assassination is a diabolic, cowardly murder — a frail lady has been felled by bullets. To a lunatic fringe she has not been 'assassinated' at all, she has been 'executed'.
"...For two years innocent citizens are gunned down one by one. The Hindus cower and curse. Lunatics among the Sikhs exult: 'We will send these dhoti-walas packing. Ultimately the army is brought in. It overwhelms Bhindranwale and his men. The Sikhs cower and curse. Lunatics among the Hindus exult: 'We have taught the Sikhs a lesson'. Mrs Gandhi is killed. Lunatics among the Sikhs exult: 'We have avenged'. In the next three days one thousand are killed. Lunatics among the Hindus exult: 'We have avenged'...
Some people blame Indira Gandhi for the Punjab mess. Shourie also in his article had held Mrs Gandhi responsible for the 'progressive enfeeblement of the state'. But any sensible person would also question the enfeeblement of the top Akali leadership before Bhindranwale. Why the Akali Dal leadership allowed the Golden Temple to be turned into the sanctuary of Bhindranwale's killer squad? Those days few Akali leaders could gather courage to oppose Bhindranwale. But his men riddled them or their near and dear ones with bullets.
If we move little forward in history, then we come to the loss of hundreds of our fellow Indians in the 1992 Ram Mandir–Babri Masjid clashes and the 2002 Gujarat communal riots. Isn't it surprising that these massacres occurred despite the lessons left for us by the Punjab killings and Delhi's 1984 retaliation, and Mrs Gandhi's alleged Punjab mess-up? Can we blame anyone for these? Or, did Lord Ram want us to teach some lessons by making us indulge in these clashes in his name?
I end with a poser to our learned leaders present at the 1984 Memorial foundation laying ceremony on June 13: Don't we need to remind coming generations about those killed in the 1992 and 2002 communal flare-ups for no fault of theirs? Are there any plans to construct memorials for them?
*Arun Shourie is an economist, journalist and politician. He was a minister in the NDA Government (1999-2004) under Prime Minister AB Vajpayee.
Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony, DSGMC president Manjit Singh said the memorial would remind the generations about the injustice done to the Sikh community. Yes, we must always remember our history, particularly the bitter one, so that we must not commit the same mistakes and suffer again. But this remembrance must not appear to be parochial and sectarian.
Prior to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere, the violent followers of Sikh priest Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale had killed hundreds of innocent men and women in Punjab. Those killed included innocent migrant labourers, unsuspecting bus and train passengers, moderate political leaders, journalists, and those government and police officers who refused to follow Bhindranwale's diktats. After their killing sprees, Bhindranwale's men used to run away to the precincts of the Golden Temple, secure in the belief that any police action at the Golden Temple would be branded as an act of sacrilege by the Sikh community. These AK-7 wielding men sowed the seeds of mutual hatred among large sections of Hindus and Sikhs. To the Hindus, Bhindranwale was a symbol of the Sikh separatist movement.
The following excerpts from an article written by Arun Shourie* in the November 30 1984 issue of India Today, throw some light on the Hindu-Sikh divide created by the bullets of Bhindranwale's men. This issue carried detailed reports on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination and subsequent anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere:
"...To the country Bhindranwale was a usurper. To some he is a martyr who died for 'The Cause'. To the country Mrs Gandhi's assassination is a diabolic, cowardly murder — a frail lady has been felled by bullets. To a lunatic fringe she has not been 'assassinated' at all, she has been 'executed'.
"...For two years innocent citizens are gunned down one by one. The Hindus cower and curse. Lunatics among the Sikhs exult: 'We will send these dhoti-walas packing. Ultimately the army is brought in. It overwhelms Bhindranwale and his men. The Sikhs cower and curse. Lunatics among the Hindus exult: 'We have taught the Sikhs a lesson'. Mrs Gandhi is killed. Lunatics among the Sikhs exult: 'We have avenged'. In the next three days one thousand are killed. Lunatics among the Hindus exult: 'We have avenged'...
Some people blame Indira Gandhi for the Punjab mess. Shourie also in his article had held Mrs Gandhi responsible for the 'progressive enfeeblement of the state'. But any sensible person would also question the enfeeblement of the top Akali leadership before Bhindranwale. Why the Akali Dal leadership allowed the Golden Temple to be turned into the sanctuary of Bhindranwale's killer squad? Those days few Akali leaders could gather courage to oppose Bhindranwale. But his men riddled them or their near and dear ones with bullets.
Why not a memorial for the innocents killed in Punjab: During 1983–1985 after every major terrorist strike in Punjab, it was BJP's routine to call a bandh in Delhi, which would often paralyze life in the Capital. But, surprisingly, it never occurred to the BJP and Akali Dal leaders to build a memorial in Punjab for those innocent people who were killed simply because they belonged to another religion or refused to follow Bhindranwale's diktats. Those killed at the hands of Bhindranwale's men were as innocent as the Sikhs killed in the riots after Mrs Gandhi's assassination. But perhaps these martyrs carry no political value for the BJP and Akali Dal in the forthcoming States and Lok Sabha elections.
If we move little forward in history, then we come to the loss of hundreds of our fellow Indians in the 1992 Ram Mandir–Babri Masjid clashes and the 2002 Gujarat communal riots. Isn't it surprising that these massacres occurred despite the lessons left for us by the Punjab killings and Delhi's 1984 retaliation, and Mrs Gandhi's alleged Punjab mess-up? Can we blame anyone for these? Or, did Lord Ram want us to teach some lessons by making us indulge in these clashes in his name?
I end with a poser to our learned leaders present at the 1984 Memorial foundation laying ceremony on June 13: Don't we need to remind coming generations about those killed in the 1992 and 2002 communal flare-ups for no fault of theirs? Are there any plans to construct memorials for them?
*Arun Shourie is an economist, journalist and politician. He was a minister in the NDA Government (1999-2004) under Prime Minister AB Vajpayee.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Happiness — Personal choice, personal effort*
“What makes me happy?” This question never crossed my mind
the way business bestseller Harvey Mackay explains it. Mackay prescribes
happiness as a way of life, something like enjoying every moment of our life
through thick and thin. It’s not momentary happiness which one derives after
wearing a trendy dress, or the ecstasy of love birds during a date. What if the
next day is a Monday and one is back to one’s old dress, or the love birds are
buried under tonnes of work in their respective offices, not finding even a few
moments to exchange sweet nothings over phone.
The next day, how happy could one be, it’s entirely one’s
choice. That’s what most psychologists and personality development gurus tell
us. They also stress that to reach our goals, we must be in a happy frame of
mind most of the time. So, if being happy is entirely our call, what can we do
to remain cheerful. In response to this question, I tried to whip up a
happiness recipe. Let me share some ingredients of this recipe with you.
To ensure our bonding with happiness, we need to take care
of our heart and give it a tonic. No, it’s not a costly tonic prescribed by
some cardiologist. It’s something which each one has to and can produce on
his/her own. It’s the tonic of love, joy, enthusiasm and inspiration. I derive
this tonic from inspiring quotes and real-life stories about the indomitable
human spirit. Among my favourite quotes is this high-voltage adrenaline-booster
from American basketball legend Michael Jordan: “I have missed more than 9000
shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been
trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and
over again in my life. And, that’s why I succeed.” These words are proof why
Jordan is a legend.
Another must for creating happiness is that we should try
our best to be naturally cheerful at the places where we spend most of our
time. Obviously, these two places are our home and our office. We have certain
expectations from our near and dear ones and our office colleagues. Similarly,
they also have certain expectations from us. We can only be happy if we are
able to balance these expectations keeping in mind our and their limitations.
How we treat or are concerned about fellow human beings also
contributes a lot to our happiness. I feel a lot of good has happened around us
because some people have gone out of their way to extend a helping hand to the
needy. The other day I read about a top Hollywood
executive-turned-philanthropist, Scott Neeson. Not long ago Scott was enjoying
a luxurious Hollywood life reflected in his million-dollar salary with
trappings of a mansion, a yacht, a Porsche, etc. But he left it all when the
plight and helplessness of wretched Cambodian child scavengers brought tears
into his eyes. Until Scott extended a helping hand, these children were exposed
to deadly diseases while scouring toxic dumps for recyclable materials to make
a living. Scott started the Cambodian Children Fund (CCF) with his own $100,000
and gave these children hope for a bright future through healthy living and
good education.
Agreed, we don’t have $100,000 to do a Scott, but we can
certainly follow our own Hamid. This 5-year-old protagonist of Premchand’s
moving masterpiece Idgah overcomes a child’s natural temptations for
swing rides, toys and mouth-watering sweets to buy a chimta for his dadi.
Hamid by spending his meagre possession of three paise to help her dadi exhorts
us to rise above our personal interests and serve humanity even with our modest
means. Hamid, created by Premchand 80 years ago, popped up in a KBC question the
other day. Hamid will always be relevant for all
those who want to share the pain of others.
We are lucky that we have inherited the priceless wisdom of Bhagwat
Gita. If we are able to truly absorb the powerful words of Lord Krishna, no
power on earth can make us unhappy. Then there is spiritual and enlightening Gitanjali penned
by Rabindranath Tagore, which exhorts us to create a world “Where the mind is
without fear and head is held high”. Just read it when you see narrow and
negative thoughts creeping into your mind.
Sharing happiness is as important as creating it for
ourselves. Renowned Hindi poet Jai Shankar Prasad expresses this feeling
beautifully in this verse taken from his marvellous creation Kamayini:
Oron ko hanste dekho Manu
Hanso aur sukh pao
Apne sukh ko vistrut kar lo
Jag ko sukhi banao
Let’s first be happy ourselves and then share our happiness
with others.
*This piece of mine I have reproduced from the house
magazine of my previous company, Kogent Learning Solutions.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Amish's Religious Extremism vs Secular Extremism
Amish Tripathi, the author of Shiva Trilogy, in his article In God's own country (June 7, Hindustan Times) writes: "Countering religious extremism with secular extremism only replaces one monster with another... The answer to religious extremism is not secular extremism but religious liberalism." I am unable to understand the context of Amish's words because India already follows religious liberalism.
I think the word 'extremism' won't be there in the dictionaries of true believers and secularists, otherwise they are not what they appear to be. Those who truly believe in the word of God just can't be religious extremists. By nature, they give equal respect to all religions, as we Indians do unless we allow vested interests to play with our emotions.
The true followers of God can turn to extremism only when others belittle their religion or they are forced to convert to another religion. So, I think all this talk of religious extremism applies to pseudo believers who use religion to arouse people's emotions for their selfish motives.
Similarly, a truly secular person by nature has to be liberal-minded. He/she is not expected to take extreme positions, particularly in a vibrant democracy like India. In the recent Indian history, we have not seen any attempt by successive governments or secular institutions to impose secularism on the masses. All people, whether minorities or the majority, are allowed to pray at their free will in their religious places and run their religious institutions. Have we ever seen any protests, rallies or long marches by secularists to pressurize the believers to become non-believers? I don't know what has made Amish to think that religious extremism is being countered by secular extremism in India.
Actually, over the last three decades what India has seen is not secular extremism pitted against religious extremism but the clash of religions triggered by some vested interests. This clash has divided people on the basis of their religions. For example, the Khalistan movement created a wedge between Sikhs and Hindus. Similarly, the Babri Masjid–Ram Mandir movements turned large sections of Hindus and Muslims against each other. All this caused a huge loss of precious human lives, and also threatened our centuries-old religious liberalism.
People like Amish, who have a following, must do their bit to stop the misuse of religion by rabble-rousers for selfish gains, particularly for electoral gains.
I think the word 'extremism' won't be there in the dictionaries of true believers and secularists, otherwise they are not what they appear to be. Those who truly believe in the word of God just can't be religious extremists. By nature, they give equal respect to all religions, as we Indians do unless we allow vested interests to play with our emotions.
The true followers of God can turn to extremism only when others belittle their religion or they are forced to convert to another religion. So, I think all this talk of religious extremism applies to pseudo believers who use religion to arouse people's emotions for their selfish motives.
Similarly, a truly secular person by nature has to be liberal-minded. He/she is not expected to take extreme positions, particularly in a vibrant democracy like India. In the recent Indian history, we have not seen any attempt by successive governments or secular institutions to impose secularism on the masses. All people, whether minorities or the majority, are allowed to pray at their free will in their religious places and run their religious institutions. Have we ever seen any protests, rallies or long marches by secularists to pressurize the believers to become non-believers? I don't know what has made Amish to think that religious extremism is being countered by secular extremism in India.
Actually, over the last three decades what India has seen is not secular extremism pitted against religious extremism but the clash of religions triggered by some vested interests. This clash has divided people on the basis of their religions. For example, the Khalistan movement created a wedge between Sikhs and Hindus. Similarly, the Babri Masjid–Ram Mandir movements turned large sections of Hindus and Muslims against each other. All this caused a huge loss of precious human lives, and also threatened our centuries-old religious liberalism.
People like Amish, who have a following, must do their bit to stop the misuse of religion by rabble-rousers for selfish gains, particularly for electoral gains.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Strange justice of God: A promising career snuffed out
Just read at the HT website about the painful death of Delhi girl Preeti Rathi following an acid attack in Mumbai. RIP. Preeti would have been very very happy when she had started for Mumbai from Delhi to join the Colaba Naval Hospital INS Ashwini as a staff nurse. But her stepping out from the Garib Rath train at Mumbai's Bandra terminus on May 2 last proved to be a bad omen, as an unidentified pervert threw acid on her. After struggling for life through ventilator support for several days, unfortunate Preeti embraced death today. Why does God allow innocent young people to become targets of some people's madness? And, many people despite committing serious crimes not only roam free but also live a long life. Strange is God's justice. I pray to God to bless all young people with good, fulfilling, and long life.
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