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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

Manmohan ji, it's time you spoke

The following is my email to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent today (May 5) through the PMO website:

Respected Pradhan Mantri Manmohan ji,

It's good that the CBI has acted swiftly in the railway bribe-for-choice post case. However, I feel that as a learned man, you already know that your image of an honest person among the masses has been tarnished by a host of alleged scams in your second tenure as PM. Your silence or late reaction in comparison to the opposition's recurring high-voltage attacks in corruption cases has shaken people's faith in your govt. Every new expose on corruption abets more and more Indians to unabashedly resort to corrupt means to get things done or gobble up government funds. This state of affairs leaves honest people and government staff demoralized. To check this demoralization, you must address the nation, frankly telling your stand (or accepting your government's faults) in important corruption cases. You must detail out plans (or actions your government has taken) to come down heavily on the corrupt. It will be a historic precedent in Indian politics.

Aakhri Salaam to SARABJIT SINGH

SARABJIT SINGH, an aam admi (common man) like you and me, is no more. May his soul rest in peace after spending 23 torturous years in Pakistani jails. Sarabjit died yesterday (May 2) following a brutal attack by fellow prisoners in a Pakistani jail on April 26. The nation is angry, but I think a bit late. Bollywood too has expressed its condolences. But all these 23 years when Sarabjit had been in the Pakistani jail, I don’t think whether Bollywood had ever appealed the government to get him freed from Pakistani clutches. Neither we mango people took out candle marches to pressure our governments to get him released.

Sadly, in the election season, BJP and Akali Dal see in Sarabjit yet another cause to corner the UPA2 government, mired in 2G spectrum and coalmine scams. Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal says "The whole country is angry with the lame-duck attitude of the union government." BJP president Rajnath Singh chips in with: "I would just like to say that the Congress-UPA government has blurred the image of India internationally and spread this message of being a weak nation." 

Perhaps neither Sukhbir Badal nor Rajnath Singh remembers or doesn’t want to remember that they also ruled the country from 1999 to 2004, and during this period also Sarabjit Singh was in the Pakistani jail. I shudder to imagine the type of torture Sarabjit Singh would have been subjected to in the Pakistani jail after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 and the Kargil war of 1999. For both these events BJP can’t escape the blame. Rajnath Singh would also like to forget Kandahar where in December 1999  his fellow partyman Jaswant Singh, a Minister under  the then Prime Minister AB Vajpayee, had presented the gift of three arrested militants to Harkut-ul-Mujahideen to end the hijack of an Indian Airlines aircraft. 

Any day aam admi (common man), if not instigated by politicians, is more sensible than the leader he/she elects. It is clear from the following sensible and politically-neutral words of the lady who has lost in Sarabjit  her brother. Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur, unlike the electorally-targeted reactions of Akali Dal and BJP, pleads, "I appeal to all political parties to come together and support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Earlier, Pakistan stabbed Vajpayee’s (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) back and today they have stabbed Manmohan Singh. It’s time to wage a war against Pakistan."

Will our political leaders sink their differences to present India as a nation which speaks in one voice to safeguard its honour and interests? If it happens, then we can take the toughest possible actions against Pakistan and China who are always creating problems on our borders and anti-national  movements within the country. 

Apart from our myopic, self-seeking political leaders, a section of our judiciary and intellectuals too seem to be acting too liberal when they plead for granting mercy to or respecting the human rights of those facing death penalty for terrorist acts or other heinous crimes. May I ask these ultra liberal Indians: Did these terrorists (Kasab, Afzal Guru, Bhullar or Rajiv Gandhi assassination conspirators) respect the human rights of their victims? Did they allow the kin of their victims to meet them one last time before killing them? Then why this hue and cry if Afzal is not allowed to meet his family before his hanging?

If we want to appear a tough nation to the world at large then we must stop playing politics while dealing with terrorists charged with human slaughter. All political parties must agree at once for meting out the rarest of rare punishment to those who, driven by fundamentalist ideologies, are just not bothered about their fellow citizens’ most basic fundamental right to live.

Dear Modi, please come up with a better argument

From a man aspiring to be India’s PM, one expects a better argument to counter Rahul Gandhi’s comparison of India to a beehive than singing the old Hindutva tune of 'our culture and tradition'. Then Narendra Modi also has the cheek to say, "I never pay attention to speeches of any leaders as they are not worth listening…”  A sensible person can’t digest this statement because it is natural for any responsible leader to keep track of his/her rival’s activities so as to counter him/her appropriately.  

Modi never misses an opportunity to allude to Sonia or Rahul's Italy connection as is implicit in his words: "Friends from Congress, please do not insult our country. If you do not understand the language of people of India, go and learn from somewhere. But due to your ignorance, do not try to destroy the culture and tradition of this country."  Isn't Modi's 'OUR COUNTRY' also Rahul's country?

Modi was “deeply shocked and pained when he (Rahul) compared India to beehive”. Do the Chinese also feel pained  when their country is referred to as dragon? I don't think they do. An able human resource manager or a good team leader won't find any fault with Rahul's analogy of beehive. However, some Rahul critics say that the beehive analogy implies treating Indians like bees whose lot is to work hard but do not get anything in return. 

I see Rahul's analogy in the context of late Rajiv Gandhi's initiative in reviving the almost dead Panchayati Raj institutions. The empowerment of panchayats has not turned villagers into faceless bees. On the contrary, now villagers through their elected pradhans  have a greater say in village development works. They need not look up to MLAs or MPs for sanction of funds for village development works. 

When Rahul talks about empowering 100 billion Indians, rather bees, he wants to enable them exercise their say effectively in the affairs concerning their lives, whether in villages or cities.

Not long ago this very Rahul had said sarcastically, "How we (Congress) win elections, I am surprised." If we analyze his statements and speeches in continuity, their running theme is strengthening internal democracy in the Congress and ridding it of the dynasty baggage. However, in the din of Modi euphoria, urban Indians are prone to dismiss Rahul's pronouncements as childish, not caring to go into their substance. 

As Modi is eyeing the PM chair,  he must show maturity, talk reason and stop arousing people's emotions for wrong  reasons. Already, Indians have enough TV soaps to give vent to their emotions.