Kargil..not just a name

Kargil

Kargil is not the name of a far-off place,
Kargil is not the name of a high mountain ridge,
Kargil is a place of pilgrimage
Where wooing death as one would a sweetheart,
With the laughter of Rudra in their eyes,
Ever ready to fling their lives, gnawing hunger
And biting cold, they faced with a smile,
Where to defend Mother India, her brave sons die.
A cluster of grenades to their waists they tie
As they struggle for a toe-hold,
Crawling up the sheer slopes
Of those snow-covered harsh ranges.
To lighten their load they throw away their daily meal,
To be able to carry some more ammunition
And extra grenades to blow up those enemy bunkers,
Which stealthily Pakistan had made
And thus had our trust been sorely betrayed.
For he went to them -- Atal of India, the past to forgive
And forget with hands outstretched to embrace and befriend.
While they prepared to stab us in the back,
To wound our trust with a forward thrust in India .
Will Gods ever pardon what they have done?

Today to the Indian annals of sacrifice and self-immolation,
Are added new chapters, as our brave soldiers
Lay mutilated by their inhuman captors.

Today, the Tricolour of India
Flies again from those peaks snow-bound
And the full-throated war-cry of India 's hero-warriors
On those ranges will always reverberate and rebound.

Then hundreds of pilgrim feet will brave the arduous way
To light incense and to lay wreaths on the sacred spots
Where they fell, the valiant sons of Mother India.
Kargil has become a hallowed name, etched in pain
Spoken with pride, by patriots India-wide.
After Kargil India will always be wary
The torch of constant vigil will it carry.
Kargil has ignited a new fire
In our hearts an ardent desire
To wager all for the Mother's defense
Petty living no more makes any sense.
Today we need to answer the call of the Mother
All else will come thereafter.

Now the youth of India vie with each-other
As to who will fling first one's life on India 's altar
And who will first have the honour Of being a martyr?
Many try to be the first to die for the country.

O Kargil! thanks to you, a new spirit has been kindled
In state after state in person after person;
Love for the country, which had alas grown dim
Now burns bright and the Rajputs' ideal
In India 's daughters and sons is once more alight.
Be wary, O enemy! Indians arise,
India will not be beguiled again
It will never be taken in again.

Kargil reminds us of dark perfidy and of sombre sacrifice.
The nation pays homage to the Indian army
To its brave way of life, to its readiness to die.

The curious case of Rahul Gandhi!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T ENDORSE ANY POLITICAL PARTY.

NOR DO I ENDORSE ANY OF WHAT MAYAWATI IS DOING.

WAS JUST TAKEN ABACK BY RAHUL GANDHI'S HYPOCRITICAL COMMENT AT THE RECENT FARMER AGITATION IN UTTAR PRADESH.

Rahul Gandhi: "I feel ashamed to call myself an INDIAN after seeing what has happened here in UP".

PLEASE DON'T BE ASHAMED OF U.P. YET

Please don't be ashamed of Uttar Pradesh yet. Congress ruled the State for the Majority of the duration Pre Independence to Post Independence.. from 1939 to 1989 ( barring the Periods of Emergency.. Thanks to your Grand Mom Indira G. and a couple of transitional Governments)

8 out of the total 14 Prime Ministers of India have been from UP, 6 out of those 8 have been from Congress...

I think your party had more than half a century and half a Dozen PM's  to build a State...

The Reason Mulayam Singh, subsequently came to Power is because your party wasn't exactlyGandhian in their dealings in the State.. So May be If you look at in totality the present chaos in UP is the outcome of the glorious leadership displayed by Congress in UP for about 50 years!

So Please don't feel ashamed as yet Dear Rahul.. For Mayawati is only using the Land Acquisition Bill which your party had itself used to LOOT the Farmers many times in the Past! 

WHY DIDN'T YOUR PARTY CHANGE THE BILL WHEN IT WAS IN POWER FOR SO LONG? 

Not that I Endorse what Mayawati is doing.. What Mayawati is doing is Unacceptable..

But the past actions of your party and your recent comments, puts a question mark on your INTENT and CONSISTENCY. 

YOU REALLY WANT TO FEEL ASHAMED

But don't be disappointed, I would give you ample reasons to feel ashamed...  

You really want to feel Ashamed..?

First Ask Pranav Mukherjee, Why isn't he giving the details of the account holders in the Swiss Banks.

Ask your Mother, Who is impeding the Investigation against Hasan Ali in the 74,000 Crore tax evasion case ?

Rajiv Gandhi had a total of Swiss Franc 2.5 billion ($2.2 billion) in secret account In November 1991 [SEE ANNEXURE 10]

After his death, SoniaG was the sole beneficiary of that amount. And that was 1991, Only She knows her account balance now.. Could that be the reason the Govt. of India is not releasing the list of account holders in the Swiss Banks ?

Ask her, Who got 60% Kickbacks in the 2G Scam ?

Kalamdi is accused of a Few hundred Crores, Who Pocketed the Rest in the Common Wealth Games? 

Ask Praful Patel who made Indian Airlines so Sick? Why did Air India let go of the Profitable Routes ? 

Why should the Tax Payer pay for the Air India losses?   

Also, You People can't run an Airline Properly. How can we expect you to run the Nation?

Ask Manmohan Singh. Why/What kept him quiet all this while?

People say He is Honest. Honest to the Nation, or Honest to a PERSON?

THE CBI raided the vault of the Reserve Bank of India and found a huge cache of COUNTERFEIT INDIAN currency lying in the denomination of 500 and 1000. IN THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA???

Why is the Govt. of India quiet on that ?

So, Could the reasons for sustained INFLATION be MORE related to POLITICS than ECONOMICS? 

Who let the BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY Accused go Scot Free? (20,000 People died in that Tragedy)

Who ordered the State Sponsored Massacre of SIKHS in 84?

Please read more about, How Indira Gandhi pushed the Nation Under Emergency in 76-77, after the HC declared her election to Lok Sabha Void!

(I bet She had utmost respect for DEMOCRACY and JUDICIARY and FREE PRESS)

I guess you know the answers already. So My question is, Why the Double Standards in Judging Mayawati and members of your Family and Party?

I condemn Mayawati. But Is She the only one you feel Ashamed for?

What about the ones close to you? For their contribution to the Nation's Misery is beyond comparison.

You talk about the Land being taken away from the Farmers. How many Suicides have happened under your Parties Rule in Vidarbha ? Does that Not Ashame You ?

THE 72,000 CRORE LOAN WAIVER

Your Party gave those Farmers a 72,000 Crore Loan Waiver. Which didn't even reach the Farmers by the way.

So, Why don't you focus on implementing the policies which your govt. has undertaken, instead of earning brownie points by trying to manufacture consent by bombarding us with pictures of having food with Poor Villagers....

You want to feel ashamed. You can feel ashamed for your Party taking CREDIT for DEBITING the Public Money (72,000 crores) from the Government Coffers and literally Wasting it...

You want to feel ashamed.. Feel ashamed for that...

WHY ONLY HIGHLIGHT THIS ARREST?

Dear Rahul, to refresh your memory, you were arrested/detained by the FBI the BOSTON Airport in September 2001.

You were carrying with you $ 1,60,000 in Cash. You couldn't explain why you were carrying so much Cash.

Incidentally He was with his Columbian girlfriend Veronique Cartelli, ALLEGEDLY, the Daughter of Drug Mafia.

9 HOURS he was kept at the Airport. 

Later then freed on the intervention of the then Prime Minister Mr. Vajpayee.. FBI filed an equivalent of an FIR in US and released him. 

When FBI was asked to divulge the information, by Right/Freedom to Information Activists about the reasons Rahul was arrested ... FBI asked for a NO OBJECTION CERTIFICATE from Rahul Gandhi. 

So Subramaniyam Swami wrote a Letter to Rahul Gandhi, " If you have NOTHING to HIDE, Give us the Permission" 

HE NEVER REPLIED! 

Why did that arrest not make Headlines Rahul? You could have gone to the Media and told, "I am ashamed to call myself an INDIAN?". 

Or is it that, you only do like to highlight Symbolic Arrests (like in UP)  and not Actual Arrests ( In BOSTON) 

Kindly Clarify.....

In any case, you want to feel ashamed, Read Along... 

YOUR MOTHER'S SO CALLED SACRIFICE OF GIVING UP PRIME MINISTER SHIP in 2004.

According to a Provision in the Citizenship Act.

A Foreign National who becomes a Citizen of India, is bounded by the same restrictions, which an Indian would face, If he/she were to become a Citizen of Italy.  

(Condition based on principle of reciprocity)

[READ ANNEXURE- 1&2]

Now Since you can't become a PM in Italy, Unless you are born there.

Likewise an Italian Citizen can't become Indian PM, unless He/She is not born here!

Dr. SUBRAMANIYAM SWAMI (The Man who Exposed the 2G Scam) sent a letter to the PRESIDENT OF INDIA bringing the same to his Notice. [READ LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT IN ANNEXURE -3]

PRESIDENT OF INDIA sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi to this effect, 3:30 PM, May 17th, 2004.

Swearing Ceremony was scheduled for 5 PM the same Day.

Manmohan Singh was brought in the Picture at the last moment to Save Face!!

Rest of the SACRIFICE DRAMA which she choreographed was an EYE WASH!!!

Infact Sonia Gandhi had sent, 340 letters, each signed by different MP to the PRESIDENT KALAM, supporting her candidacy for PM.

One of those letters read, I Sonia Gandhi, elected Member from Rai Bareli, hereby propose Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister.

So SHE was Pretty INTERESTED! Until She came to know the Facts!

So She didn't make any Sacrifice, It so happens that SONIA GANDHI couldn't have become the PM of INDIA that time.

You could be Ashamed about that Dear Rahul!! One Credential Sonia G had, Even that was a HOAX!

THINK ABOUT YOURSELF.

You go to Harvard on Donation Quota. ( Hindujas Gave HARVARD 11 million dollars the same year, when Rajiv Gandhi was in Power)

Then you are expelled in 3 Months/ You Dropped out in 3 Months.... ( Sadly Manmohan Singh wasn't the Dean of Harvard that time, else you might have had a chance... Too Bad, there is only one Manmohan Singh!)

Some Accounts say, You had to Drop out because of Rajiv Gandhi's Assassination. 

May be, But Then Why did you go about lying about being Masters in Economics from Harvard .. before finally taking it off your Resume upon questioning by Dr. SUBRAMANIYAM SWAMI (The Gentlemen who exposed the 2G Scam)

At St. Stephens.. You Fail the Hindi Exam.

Hindi Exam!!!

And you are representing the Biggest Hindi Speaking State of the Country?

SONIA GANDHI's EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Sonia G gave a sworn affidavit as a Candidate that She Studied English at University of Cambridge

[SEE ANNEXURE-6, 7_37a]

According to Cambridge University, there is no such Student EVER! [ SEE ANNEXURE -7_39]

Upon a Case by Dr. Subramaniyam Swami filed against her,

She subsequently dropped the CAMBRIDGE CREDENTIAL from her Affidavit.

Sonia Gandhi didn't even pass High School. She is just 5th class Pass!

In this sense, She shares a common Educational Background with her 2G Partner in Crime, Karunanidhi.

You Fake your Educational Degree, Your Mother Fakes her Educational Degree.  

And then you go out saying, " We want Educated Youth into Politics!"

Letters sent by Dr. Swami to EC and then Speaker of Lok Sabha are in ANNEXURE 7_36 &7_35RESPECTIVELY

Contrast that with Gandhi Ji , who went to South Africa, Became a Barrister, on Merit, Left all that to work for South Africa, then for the Country....

WHY LIE ABOUT EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS?

Not that Education is a Prerequisite for being a great Leader, but then you shouldn't have lied about your qualifications!

You could feel a little ashamed about Lying about your Educational Qualifications. You had your reasons I know, Because in India, WE RESPECT EDUCATION!

But who cares about Education, When you are a Youth Icon!!  

YOUTH ICON

You traveled in the Local Train for the first time at the Age of 38.

You went to some Villages as a part of Election Campaign.

And You won a Youth Icon!! ... That's why You are my Youth Icon.

For 25 Million People travel by Train Everyday. You are the First Person to win a Youth Icon for boarding a Train. 

Thousands of Postmen go to remotest of Villages. None of them have yet gotten a Youth Icon.

You were neither YOUNG Nor ICONIC!

Still You became a Youth Icon beating Iconic and Younger Contenders like RAHUL DRAVID.

Shakespeare said, What's in a Name?

Little did he knew, It's all in the Name, Especially the Surname!

Speaking of Surname, Sir

DO YOU REALLY RESPECT GANDHI, OR IS IT JUST TO CASH IN ON THE GOODWILL OF MAHATMA ? 

Because the Name on your Passport(ITALIAN) is RAUL VINCI.

Not RAHUL GANDHI..

May be if you wrote your Surname as Gandhi, you would have experienced, what Gandhi feels like, LITERALLY ( Pun Intended)  

You People don't seem to use Gandhi much, except when you are fighting Elections. ( There it makes complete sense).

Imagine fighting elections by the Name Raul Vinci...

It feels sadly Ironic, Gandhi Ji, who inspired Icons like Nelson Mandela ,Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lennon, across the world, Couldn't inspire members of his party/ Nehru's Family, who only seem to use his Surname for the purposes of FIGHTING ELECTIONS and conveniently use a different name on their PASSPORT.

You could feel ashamed for your Double Standards.

YOUTH INTO POLITICS.

Now You want Youth to Join Politics.

I say First you Join Politics.

Because you haven't Joined Politics. You have Joined a Family Business.

First you Join Politics. Win an Election fighting as RAUL VINCI and Not Rahul Gandhi, then come and ask the youth and the Educated Brass for more involvement in Politics.

Also till then, Please don't give me examples of Sachin Pilot and Milind Deora and Naveen Jindal as youth who have joined Politics..

They are not Politicians. They Just happen to be Politicians.

Much Like Abhishek Bachchan and other Star Sons are not Actors. They just happen to be Actors (For Obvious Reasons)

So, We would appreciate if you stop requesting the Youth to Join Politics till you establish your credentials...

WHY WE CAN'T JOIN POLITICS!

Rahul Baba, Please understand, Your Father had a lot of money in your Family account ( in Swiss Bank) when he died.

Ordinary Youth has to WORK FOR A LIVING.

YOUR FAMILY just needs to NETWORK FOR A LIVING  

If our Father had left thousands of Crores with us, We might consider doing the same..

But we have to Work. Not just for ourselves. But also for you. So that we can pay 30% of our Income to the Govt. which can then be channelized to the Swiss Banks and your Personal Accounts under some Pseudo Names.

So Rahul, Please don't mind If the Youth doesn't Join Politics. We are doing our best to fund your Election Campaigns and your Chopper Trips to the Villages.

Somebody has to Earn the Money that Politicians Feed On.

NO WONDER YOU ARE NOT GANDHI'S. YOU ARE SO CALLED GANDHI'S!!

Air India, KG Gas Division, 2G, CWG, SWISS BANK Account Details... Hasan Ali, KGB.

Then Sonia Gandhi proclaimed ‘zero tolerance’ to corruption at a party rally in Allahabad in November 2010. WHAT A HYPOCRITE! 

You want to feel ashamed..

Feel Ashamed for what the First Family of Politics has been reduced to...

A Money Laundering Enterprise.

RAUL VINCI : I am ashamed to call myself an Indian.

                     Even we are ashamed to call you so!

P.S: Popular Media is either bought or blackmailed, controlled to Manufacture Consent!

        My Guess is Social Media is still a Democratic Platform. (Now they are trying to put legislations to censor that too!!)

        Meanwhile, Let's ask these questions, for we deserve some Answers.

ANNEXURE 10_43: An e-mail from the magazine addressed to Dr Swamy on February 22, 2002 confirming Rajiv Gandhi's secret account

ANNEXURE 10_44: Extracts from magazine Schweizer Illustrierte of Nov. 11, 1991, issue regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s numbered Swiss bank a/c amounting to 2 billion dollars.

ANNEXURE 10_45: Extracts from magazine Schweizer Illustrierte of Nov. 11, 1991, issue regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s numbered Swiss bank a/c amounting to 2 billion dollars.

ANNEXURE 10_46: Extracts from magazine Schweizer Illustrierte of Nov. 11, 1991, issue regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s numbered Swiss bank a/c amounting to 2 billion dollars.

Annexure 18_68 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to Director, CBI enclosing a news item in Indian Express regarding receipt of funds by Congress Party from Saddam Hussain.

Annexure 18_69 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to Director, CBI enclosing a news item in Indian Express regarding receipt of funds by Congress Party from Saddam Hussain.

Annexure 12_55 : News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Annexure 12_56 : News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Annexure 12_57 : News Clipping from Times of India 27.6.92 and Hindu dt. July 4, 92 regarding receipt of payment by Rajiv Gandhi & family from KGB..

Annexure 17_66 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to the then Union Finance Minister Mr.Yeshwant Sinha regarding Rahul Gandhi’s foreign bank a/c and the acknowledgement of the letter by the Minister.

Annexure 17_67 : Dr.Subramanian Swamy’s letter to the then Union Finance Minister Mr.Yeshwant Sinha regarding Rahul Gandhi’s foreign bank a/c and the acknowledgement of the letter by the Minister.

Annexure 13 : An unofficial translation of V.Chebrikov, KGB Chief’s,letter to the Central Committee of Communist Party of Soviet Union regarding payment to Rajiv Gandhi’s family..

Crusade Against Corruption in India: Thanks to Assange?

He has been the harbinger of terrible omens, making every country’s worst premonition come true. A hacker in his early life, today he travels all over the world talking about the need of investigative journalism and the freedom of press. With an enormous support from the international press, he has transformed Wikileaks from being just another news website to an important journalistic tool revealing suppressed and censored injustices to people from all over the world.

                              

From publishing documents on the Iran and Afghan War to reporting about the extrajudicial killings in Kenya, Julian Assange has revolutionised modern-day media into a major instrument for societal change. Recently, over five thousand Indian tapes acquired by the US Embassy were disclosed via Wikileaks taking the entire country off guard. What followed next was a series of harrowing events and the bitter realization of the fact that India’s every move was tracked, followed and commented upon by U.S diplomats sitting miles away in their air-conditioned offices at Washington DC.

Such an astonishing revelation has led to several movements all over the India, the most recent one being that of Anna Hazare about the much debated Jan Lokpal Bill. Inspite of all that, we are left with an inevitable question whether the crusade against such widespread corruption is only a result of Wikileaks and its editor-in-chief Julian Assange, as claimed by the man himself.

According to law student Surath Bhattacharjee – “It has silently incited the frustration into a widespread movement against corruption”. However he asserts that – “One influential person goes incendiary and the entire population follows without even remotely questioning the moves of the erudite.” According to a recent report by Reuters, Wikileaks has allegedly charged the present ruling party for buying off MP’s during a crucial no-confidence vote. The news was first published in India by The Hindu, giving extensive details about a certain conversation between a senior Congress party member with a U.S Embassy official regarding the payment of nine million dollars to a regional political party in order to secure their support.

Most of this had started in the year 2005 when a series of cables were sent to the US regarding India’s decision to side with America against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Cables from April 2008 have been revealed, of an anxious official worrying about displeasing the Americans because of the visit of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The cable states later that this trip was organised to appease the UPA government’s left and Muslim constituencies. Little did they know that they would not only face resistance from the US Embassy but also from the Opposition whom they did anything but please. However, the biggest blow has been through the latest cables which stated that the Congress had bought MPs to survive its vote of confidence in July 2008 when the Left challenged India’s nuclear deal with the US. And within three weeks of the disclosure, you had social activist Anna Hazare announcing a fast unto death as a campaign against the widespread corruption in this country.

One might wonder why all of a sudden there is such a hue and cry about a Lokpal Bill which even last year’s handful of scams had failed to stir up. According to journalist Debapriya Mondal – “The Anna Hazare issue has two sides to it. A few call it a political game, and a few call it a revolution.” And when asked about her opinions on the matter she clearly stated that she believed that this was nothing but a government fixture in order to retain its image in front of its people. As for the Wikileaks cables – “That is just a small part of the much larger western perception which believes that whatever they do brings about a revolution in the third world country.”

Veteran journalist, P.Sainath points out that in the entire long list of distinguished members of the Lokpal Collegium there is just one elected representative i.e. the speaker of the Lok Sabha who only votes when there is a tie. There is an incredible arrogance involved when it is presumed that the elected representative process is a farce since the people have already elected “bad people”. It is not only an undemocratic process but also arbitrary in nature. He says – “You needed a committee to turn out such garbage?” And by providing such a dangerous weapon in the hands of the Government they can ensure the retention of that gulf of inequality which separates us from each other.

Anna Hazare has been a revolutionary figure for decades, but somehow the Lokpal Bill seems to get more and more unrealistic with each passing day. Anna, who has earned his people the second movement of Independence has never been concerned with their political affiliation. But then what do you do of a Narendra Modi who is of the opinion that Anna’s fast has created an emergency like situation in the country? Since Modi was well aware of his statement, what could he have possibly meant? Lastly quoting Javed Anand, the General Secretary, Muslims for Secular Democracy – “But thank you, Anna, for speaking up now. I was assured that no one would be allowed to make political use of your anti-corruption platform. But who can stop the leader from speaking? So we know now that in your post-corrupt utopia, we should look forward to leaders like Narendra Modi.”

The Truth Behind ‘India Shining’

Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.


Thomas Gray

No words could better describe the consequences of neglect in rural India. So much talent remains hidden and eventually gets lost merely due to lack of resources. It is sad to see that in this globalised era, when many rich and fortunate urban children are so tech-savvy, their rural counterparts do not know about the computer itself. Opportunities have increased in leaps and bounds in the metros but the outskirts of these metros itself represent the grotesque picture of the ‘developing’ India; ‘developing’ being a sophisticated term for ‘poor and backward’.


“Even after five years in school, children studying in rural schools don’t reach the level expected of them after two years in school” – reads a report in The Statesman. “The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2010 [a survey of seven lakh school children over 13,000 schools in 522 districts in the country] said that only 53.4 percent of all school children studying in Class V could read a Class II level text.” In 2009, 69.3 percent children could recognize numbers between 1 and 9. The percentage dipped to 65.8 in 2010. Doesn’t the mere statistics appear preposterous in an age of ‘India Shining’?

The scheme of free mid-day school meals might have been successful in luring poor children into the school rooms but what about the infrastructure and resources – be it material resources or human resources? Projectors in schools are becoming a reality in schools in metros but here we are talking about schools without blackboards. Naturally a drab verbal explanation becomes a substitute for an easy-to-understand diagram on the board.

Leave alone black-boards, many village schools have only one teacher who deals with all the subjects. There have been reports that three classes are accommodated in a single room because of lack of infrastructure and one single teacher is juggling between the three classes. An individual with a slightly higher qualification will naturally try and grab a lucrative offer in the cities. Dr. Vinod Raina, a member for the Central Advisory Board for Education and helped in drafting the Right to Education Act, says “We have done much damage to our education system by recruiting para-teachers to get the work done cheaply. To attract quality teachers, we need to pay them well. Following the implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, a peon employed with the government now gets Rs 15,000 a month. So, you cannot get a good teacher for Rs 2,500 ~ something that is paid to para-teachers.” – (The Statesman, 21 January, 2011)

Often children in absolute remote areas have to travel long distances to schools which kills their interest for learning and thus become early drop-outs. To evade the hassle of registering and getting an affiliation from recognized board, schools do not go beyond the eighth standard and the children bear the brunt. Being oblivious of the outer competitive world, the children as well as the parents do not feel the compulsive urge to make an effort on their part. Only a few strive hard on their own to carve that niche for themselves, but these are only mere handfuls. Proper resources, guidance and training as also influencing and goading is required to ignite this zeal to work towards better future.

A report in The Times of India on 23 February, 2009 reads -

The recently constituted Rural Education Cell, department of educational surveys and data processing, NCERT, organised a national seminar on ‘school education in rural India’ at its Delhi headquarters. The seminar provided a platform to policy analysts, administrators, researchers and practitioners to analyse the current scenario in rural education, identify problems and come up with recommendations to improve the situation.

Seminars and surveys add pages to the year-end reports but where is the implementation?
Here are some measures that we can take to help our rural counterparts realise their dreams –

• A college/school can offer voluntary services (by students and faculty) in the nearest schools in rural area.
• Keeping in mind the lack of specialized teachers, student volunteers can come forward to teach their own subject in these schools and handling primary syllabi should not be a problem (as is being done by the Teach for India programme).
• With involvement of young teachers, learning becomes fun for these children and can be instrumental in drawing more children.
• Authorities must focus on practical hand-on training rather than rote-learning. Children in rural schools can be trained in plumbing, carpentry, advanced techniques in agriculture and also basic computer skills.

Let’s move our focus from academics for an instant. Swaroop, contestant of Indian Idol 5 and Harshit Saxena, runner – up of the Voice of India, 2007 bear testimony to the fact that talents thrive in small towns and villages too, waiting eagerly for that one ray of hope, for that one opportunity. The Super 30 in Patna has taken the country into whirlwinds and proves that talents are not born in only families with money. Opportunity and training is what has to be provided.

We proudly count and declare the number of medals we have received in Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. If we notice, many athletes come from humble backgrounds and each one of them complains about the lack of infrastructure. Only a few can survive the struggle and go on to become a Preeja Sreedharan (athlete from rural Kerala, she lost her father at an young age, her mother and brother worked as domestic help and carpenter respectively; Preeja Sreedharan won gold, 10,000 m and silver, 5,000m in Asian Games, 2010) or an Ashwini Akkunji (born in an agricultural family in a nondescript village of Siddapura in Karnataka; Ashwini won two golds in the Asian Games, 2010).

In the wake of India winning the World Cup, 2011 newspapers and television news channels are delving into extensive reports about Indian team comprising of cricketers who have come from districts and modest families and how they have struggled to make that place in the team, the captain himself hailing from Ranchi and working as a ticket collector in Kharagpur station. But it required these young brave-hearts to shed their sweat and blood until the authorities in their respective regions realised that coaching centres need to be established. As Sportstar puts it – Only after Sreesanth’s success did Kerala Cricket Association spread the base and open as many as 28 coaching centres in all the 14 districts.

Pathetic is our situation: And worse are our actions!

Talking on the worldwide front, first Tunisia and now Egypt are facing what is probably the largest public outrage faced by a developing country in the last decade. Failed economies, corrupt ministers, crippled system, unemployment, crimes and frustration amongst the common man in these nations have led to a turmoil.


While many would agree that this outrage is further affecting the respective nations adversely, we cannot ignore the fact that this has been a result of the malpractices of the respective Governments.

The world has reached a state where the top level officials and the highest in the Government are involved in scams. Even though a group of whistle-blowers exposed what was the biggest diplomatic exposé – the superpower chose to let terrorism breed in Saudi Arabia and allow more 26/11s to happen.

______

In India, corruption now seems to be breeding at every level. More like an unsatisfied pest that just wants more. From the security guard at the passport office, who holds tremendous power – enough to make sure your documents are cleared (or not); to the cabinet ministers (and may be beyond).

______

Talking of the everyday citizen, our level of tolerance has vanished. Trust me, if tomorrow a bike touches your car in peak traffic, you would not hesitate in hurling the choicest of abuses at him, and may be furthering the debacle by making sure that the dent on your car resembles the one you will cause on the bikers head. Pathetic is the condition, in simple words.

You would prefer ignoring an accident, acting as if it never happened, than stopping and helping the ailing. The days are gone when we used to selflessly jump across the road and rush towards the stranger in need of help, irrespective of his caste, creed, colour, sex. Now we think thrice.

Such is the situation that we choose to shoot the person who mistakenly dropped the butter-chicken off our plate. We choose to stab that person who shouted at our arrogant kid who was refusing to move from the car parking. Did he not shout to make sure your kid was safe – and not playing where a car might have hit him? Pathetic is the condition.

______

A few swamis chose to join hands with an ex-cop and an RTI activist – and start an anti corruption drive – starting with a march at a number of places in India. Their statements made sure that the public feels cheated and participates.

Before the drive, one of the organizers chooses to go on air on a TV show and call the Prime Minister “nikamma”. Further making sure that the public starts hating the Govt.

In the same show, a veteran journalist very rightly asks him, “What after the march? What is the agenda? Do you have any call for action?” and the organizer seems flustered. Such is the campaign that we launch.

Very abruptly, we choose to go out on the street and conduct marches, vigils, protests and what not, but when it comes to joining the system (really) or expressing oneself as an independent individual (not a mob), we are no where to be found. We badmouth the Govt, but we don’t want to first think and then act. Similar has been the case in many riots India has had. We failed. Our protests failed. Our anti-corruption drives fail. Our initiatives fail. Why? Because the thought that must go behind it, the long term goal that we wish to fight for, the path that we need to take to achieve it – is something that we have not thought about. Because we failed to think before we acted.

All of us have revolutionaries hidden inside us. But the problem is, we do not realize that it took around 200 years for revolutionaries to overthrow a kingdom that was once the most powerful entity in the world. We do not realize that it takes time – it takes generations to propel the change.

What we have at hand right now is the power to skillfully and properly chalk out the path for the solution, build a base for change, enlighten our peers and try to generate the right kind of awareness. Many of us are so stubborn that we never wish to change our mindset. If we think that ABC is wrong then he is wrong. We do not wish to file an RTI and know the reality, and we certainly do not want to do a comprehensive research ourselves and then jump to the conclusion.

We are outraged – frustrated with our own lives. It takes seconds to launch us in a fight. But we are fragile, we break within seconds. This life is not enough to change the system, but it is surely enough to stir a revolution. It is in our hands to stir the right kind of revolution. We have the power of information at our disposal, but are we using it?

Is Democracy India’s Bane?

India, a country of 1.2 billion people, boasts to be the largest democratic set up in the world. Along with this, it also is a country allowing dozens of religions, hundreds of languages, thousands of castes and sects and millions of Gods. Thus, it is also today, the most chaotic and controversial democratic set up in the world! One can surely argue for the fact that Democracy has hampered rather than boosted India’s progress.

There are several reasons that prove ardent proponents against this belief wrong. In the backdrop of such a massive administration, India houses politicians and so called crony, corrupt and uneducated leaders of society. More than half the members of parliament in Lok Sabha face one or the other criminal charges. There is a huge list of scams and scandals by ministers and petty bureaucrats under almost every government regime and what happens in the end is nothing except discussions. This is one of the primary weaknesses of Indian polity. In the face of problems, the democratic set up allows culprits to exploit situations on the basis of religion, caste, language or in recent times coalition weightage.

In other developing countries, the Government policies do reach the lowest strata of the society with much transparency unlike India and thus countries like South Korea, South Africa are much highly ranked in termed of socio economic development and transparency. In India, we have interpretation of laws and policies so as to make rich richer and poor poorer. Multi layered governance and innumerable amendments or laws for people to protect themselves, lead to utter chaos even in the event of exposure of any illegal practise. India’s constitutional framework which guarantees impartial democratic rights to all, is perhaps the most complex and misinterpreted in the world.

Moreover, a very important point of difference between India and other countries is that in India, people have the power to vote out a government as quick as a swish of an eye. This periodic renewals of governments and polity through ballot box deters single minded focus on development and results in varied agenda and undue wastage of time in fixing and re fixing policies.

On the economic front, India has travelled from being a closed and protected socialistic economy to a liberalized economy overnight in 1991-92. This marked an era of democratization of businesses and economy. But, I guess the effects of such a gesture have stopped reaping benefits. Today, industrial output is pegged at an abysmal 1.6%, whereas price rise as much as 16.7%. Such a free scenario has led to a roller coaster ride for the market, commodities razing down the agricultural set up, a steady decline in agricultural output over the last 2 decades, massive migration and urbanisation leading to more and more unemployment and polarization of development initiatives. India still stores more than 50% of its unemployed population as unemployable. There is a huge disparity between income levels, standards of living and human resources development among different regions of the country. Whereas India’s very neighbour China and a small island nearby Singapore, both being non liberalized or democratized countries boast much better development, rate of growth and better income levels . This is when china moved from social/cultural revolution to economic initiatives in late 80s, almost the same time as India. Today, projects in India take years and years from planning to execution stage with budgets for them increasing several fold. The inclusion of indigenous fighter combat planes TEJAS is one such bare example of the hypocrisy of our democratic set up. Today, India instead of building on its brand image in meets like davos, has to defend its image as a non corrupt and idealistic country.

It is said that a country is marked by how it treats both its patriots and traitors. Today, in India, we struggle to convict a flagged telecom minister who has lost us 1.76 Lakh crore rupees, or a tainted chief minister in corruption, we have a terrorist whom we cannot punish, a state that we cannot treat normally or businesses whom we can direct honestly. India, shamefully is facing challenges and identity crises within its so called democratic set up.

Today, we overlook all our problems with a very simple and cowardly statement, “This is India”, but my friends one should remember that with great powers come greater responsibilities. We need a Hero, an Idea, a revolution to make things happen. We need an answer to this so called crony democratic society whose false veil is now lifted for the world to see us.

Secularism or Communalism?

The Hindi word that is commonly, albeit incorrectly used for “secularism” in India is dharmanirapekshata and which ought to mean “indifference towards religion” but actually means “indifference to duty or Justice”. The word Dharma is not to be confused with religion, it implies a broader definition encompassing duty, Justice and virtuousness. The correct Hindi term is ‘Panthnirpekshta‘ meaning “indifference towards matters of faith”. The state cannot be Dharma neutral as that would imply abdication of duty the usage itself denotes the understanding of secularism as more a policy of political practice than a philosophy in itself. However, the plurality of religions, religious pluralism (the view that all religions are equally valid), and cultural (and communal) concerns greatly influence the various ways in which secularism has developed and is looked at on in India. Prominently in Indian soil, secularism is more a subject of politics than of metaphysics.

A nation cannot be secular merely because of its constitution, secularism is something that the people of the country should not only believe in but also act in accordance with it. I want to ask this to each and every citizen of India who proudly believes in the secularism of this country, is our country secular in true sense? Can a country where every fortnight a group of people suddenly rise from their sleep just to fight and kill each other in the name of religion be called secular? Can a place where people carry out movement’s and demonstration’s to bring about a change in the system and revolutionize it not for the sake of the whole country but for the sake of a handful group of people belonging to a particular religion or sect in terms of reservations be called secular? A nation where in the name of religion, a pregnant lady is raped and murdered. Is it secular?

India supposedly being a secular country, does not permit the State to discriminate against any citizen on the basis of religion. However, four states – namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Bihar have religion-based reservations in percentages varying from a high of 12 per cent for Kerala to 3 per cent for Bihar. These points clearly define secularism in India.

Such a policy is repugnant to the idea of genuine secularism – as distinct from the vote-bank ‘secularism’ of many political parties whose own interest lies in further ghettoizing minorities by offering them the lure of reserved quotas. Even after so many reservations The thing that amuses me is this: none of the said major group(s) is happy. Be it a Muslim or a Hindu, both feel threatened by each other, if not amongst the urban class, then at least amongst the uneducated rural and semi-rural class. The Christians still feel discriminated against as a minority. Even the caste based reservations cannot be justified as neither the Brahmins nor the Dalits or the other backward classes feel happy.

The only people who seem to benefit are the politicians.

According to me any type of reservation which is on the basis of religion, caste or race cannot be justified in a country which calls itself as ‘secular’. Reservations in India can be defined as a concept misunderstood by the people and misused by the government. The word reservation came into existence basically for the up-liftment of the socially and economically deprived people. I strongly believe that reservations should be provided on the bases of ones economic status but not on one’s ascribed status.

Why cant reservations be named as “reservations for people below the poverty line” why do they have to be reservations for Hindu, Muslim, Christians or anyone for that matter? Misuse of secularism in such a manner is only creating problems for all of us. When will we act?