jabdakhata

There has been outrage in different forms over JNU incident. Some were outraged by what they perceived to be a curbing of "freedom of expression", some expressed outrage over anti nationalist spirit displayed, and others, over what they saw Government's high handedness and "intolerance". The intellectuals, media and some political parties belong to the first and third groups. Some politicians have already expressed their solidarity with the students. I am not going to argue here whether they were right or wrong. One thing is however very evident, that in communist thought process their can be no place for Nationalism and when communism mingles with communalism, the concoction becomes deadly. JNU has always been noted for communist sympathizers, some of its professors and academics were noted for their virulent and passionate opposition to anything to deal with the greatness and glory of nation because they either perceived it to be narrow mindedness to love on

The social diseases that are prevalent in India, the conflicts, the wrong doings, the corruption among Government officials, the collusion of mafias with ruling class, the flagrant violation of the laws by the high and mighty, the abysmal lack of concern for others and selfishness, bending of rules, adopting shortcuts in every sphere, right from road traffic to governance, the shortsightedness of leaders, the apathy towards fellow beings, to name a few, lead us one to question the very basis of the theory of development. Are we really developing as a nation or are we going backwards? The entire debate around development revolves round economic development and progress made on the social developments - the human development in terms of access to healthcare, education and utilities. However when we look into a country on the path of development, it seems that the human development and economic development are but secondary. The first and foremost in this respect is development in t

There was a small piece of news the other day that one prominent Indian IT Company is donating $35 mn to Carnegie Mellon University. That set me thinking, why do Indian corporates donate to US universities who obviously have more resources, than to Indian universities and institutes? Even if these universities have better infrastructures for doing research, isn’t it more apt for an Indian company to invest in human capital and research in its own country than in foreign lands? The reason however is not hard to find. It is the eternal principle of satisfying one’s master and to give something in order to get some favors. Indian IT industry is already plagued with problems of having to grapple with accusations ranging from sending people unethically on wrong visas to following unfair employment practices and they will have to try all means to satisfy the policy makers in US so that they return the favors. Indian industry is adopting such clandestine measures in order to gain foothold i

This is a tribute to Dr. Kalam. Coming from a very humble background he rose into prominence thus giving credence to Swamiji's assertion to Raja of Khetri Ajit Singh that life is the enfoldment and development of being under circumstances trying to press it down. His life story is now known to all Indians and is a source of inspiration to many. he has been glorified by many and strangely, has been vilified by a few as well, though he did nothing to deserve that. But sadly, this is India and there are always a section who would take great delight in vilifying greatness. even when he passed away a section of media and intellectuals gave almost the same attention to him, if not less, as to a terrorist who was hanged the following day. Some of them even went to extent for pleading for the terrorist's life for the sake of Dr. Kalam, strange as it may seem. Some of them did a lot of endeavour to highlight his religion, forgetting that fundamentalists actually don't like him muc

On a lighter vain, this is a good piece of article from Washington Post.  I have often wondered through my interaction with Americans as to how much self centred a Nation can be. The ignorance of most of the Americans about affairs in other parts of the world is appalling. Most of them are totally ignorant about world history. One supposedly educated American once asked me which came to India first - Hinduism or Buddhism. So it is no wonder that American media and its followers British and European media would exaggerate every other incident occurring in the rest of the world and downplay the incidents in their own turf. They would still like to view the world with the attitude of "I am holier than thou", forgetting that most of the ills plaguing the world today were creations of an erstwhile imperial Europe and its ruthless exploitation of the world's riches for its own selfish gains. Americans have their world view through the prism of their own media and hence of

Now with this as the foregone conclusion, what measures Swamiji tells us to adopt in order to ensure that a successful and largely peaceful transition happens. First of all, let us write off the elitists. They are, in the language of Swamiji, “fossils”. To the rest of us, who are more open to the transition, he asks us to collaborate, rather than oppose the transition. So it would be better to help in the transition through sincere help and service, through the worship of the living beings, the masses in various ways, by giving them proper education, by helping in their cause, by treating them with with the respect that they deserve as fellow human beings and co sharers of our lives. In short, the privileged few should sacrifice and willingly give way to the deserving many. This is very difficult, esp. when a society is driven by narrow selfish interests. Therefore the transition or handoff won’t be easy and there may be more trials and tribulations in days to come in every society a

Another trend that we see worldwide is the decline of the geniuses, extra ordinary merits. In every sphere esp. in science, there are very few ground breaking ideas. So the decline in culture which Swamiji described as one of the chief traits of the coming of the age of the Sudras is probably already evident. There are not literature well worth speaking, no art that can command respect. Innovations are mostly in the commercial realms. Life expectancies and medical cares have increased but so is the need of the persons providing such services, i.e. Sudras, the serving classes. The service industry is growing exponentially and the mainstay of the jobs for a large number of people, again by definition they are Sudras. There are no charismatic leaders and military expeditions are less and less. On a global scale rise of China is an extra ordinary event as China was reduced to a deplorable state in the nineteenth and early twenthieth century. There are a billion people out there whose ris

Do we see today that such a stage has set in? We see some indications in the social and economic circumstances of the present world. The financial crisis caused by housing bubble is taking a pretty long time to heal. None of the world economies are in a sound state. There is a risk of collapse of currencies and the so called financial stability to blow apart. At the micro level there are insecurities associated with job and life more than ever before. We also see some grave indications in the social system. We see that today political leadership in many states in India is driven by people from the so called humble backgrounds. The elites who have often jeered others with humble backgrounds are fast getting eclipsed. One such sneer was at aimed at one leader who possibly sold tea at some stage of his career. The politics based on entitlements and endolements are not clicking because people are fed up with the elitist attitudes. They are not happy with the feudal mindset. Instead they

A struggle to understand the prevailing social and economic conditions all over the world and a knowledge of Swami Vivekananda’s visions as reflected in his speeches and writings, can provide one with profound insights on the direction in which the world is moving. It does not need any prophetic vision, only some knowledge of history and ability to develop a regression model from the past data into future, based on variables shaped by the present conditions and an inspiration from Swami Vivekananda in his voice without his form. Swamiji’s profound thought was reflected in his essay – Modern India, and several of his letters. He said, “ According to the prevalence, in greater or lesser degree, of the three qualities of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas in man, the four castes, the Brahmin, Kashatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra, are everywhere present at all times, in all civilised societies. By the mighty hand of time, their number and power also vary at different times in regard to different countr

Once there was a huge elephant. He used to roam freely around the forest. He was wise and kind and generous and had much power. Many had gained from him. He never injured others but always helped them. But gradually he became tired and sleepy. He was then attacked by some hunters and other  opportunistic  animals who were looking to feed themselves on his body parts. He resisted successfully for a long time. He however became more and more weak and tired. Then fatigue overcame him and he fell asleep. He remained in that state for a long time. Then several other hunters came. They found the animal very useful for their purpose and therefore decided to tame him. They chained him, tied him with ropes and thrashed him mercilessly till he bled. However he did not die. Nor did he completely surrender. Even though he was sleepy he resisted them with all his might. He finally succeeded in shaking off the chains and tried standing on his feet. But the hunters had badly bruised him, and dented

The Independence Day ushers in a message of freedom and hope. But the key question is - Freedom from what? and what is the definition of freedom or liberation? Many a great sacrifices are made for liberation of every country. Many heroic souls lay down their lives for the future generations to survive and succeed. However future generations tend to forget them and in their lethargy and ignorance do not understand the sacrifices, or are afraid of them. Because of this failure to understand and appreciate the sacrifices and need to preserve the legacy of those sacrifices, they soon run into grave danger and are ultimately destroyed. Then again comes another set of heroic souls to liberate the rest. Thus this cycle continues ad nauseum . However nobody can deny that freedom is a basic need of the mankind. Nobody wants to remain as slaves. While now education and awareness have increased appreciably this is all the more evident. Worldwide fundamentalism, which is a major impediment a

The entire Europe capitulated in Second World War, irrespective of the affiliations of individual nations. The European pride suffered a major jolt and to some extent the downward journey still continues. Notwithstanding the development in infrastructure and the social progress made by some of the erstwhile powers, there has been a general decline of the political and financial power. With the establishment of Euro zone, Europe perhaps thought that they would be able to salvage some of the earlier financial power in a global stage. But the same idea has now hit them back. In their ardent zeal to see a united, strong, Europe, they ignored the common knowledge that weak links added to a strong chain will not make the weak strong but the chain as a whole weak, so much so that it can snap. There were other problems as well. Some nations of Europe, not driven by any generosity but out of sheer compulsion (of industrial growth and labour shortage – the gap between demand and supply o

Sri Ramakrishna, like a child, was always very guileless and straight in his evaluation of others, esp. the so called scholars and intellectuals with mere book learning (who do not have spiritual traits like discrimination and renunciation to complement the learning thus acquired). He equated them with larks and vultures which soar high up in the sky (a reference to the high social status of the former) but still have an eye on the charnel-pit of greed and lust. These intellectuals clamour for name and fame. Being obsessed and driven by their ego they are highly opinionated. They are egotists and treat anybody differing from their opinions contemptuously. There are many a living sample of them whose quotes and opinions many times appear on the front pages of the newspapers. They have certainly made a name in the academic and material world without providing any practical benefit to the society and mankind. They adorn academic chairs. They are considered by the left liberal or right l

Sri Ramakrishna had a simple way of teaching. Through many parables he has handed down very profound messages of Vedanta and other scriptures to his devotees and disciples. Himself uneducated in the traditional sense, he nevertheless derived this source of knowledge from direct realization. The supreme mother of the universe, according to him, passed on the required knowledge whenever a need arose for teaching others, just as a peasant woman moves forward the paddy for the removal of the husk. One of his famous parables was that of a physician to whom one day a father and a son duo appeared from a different, far away village for the treatment of the latter. The physician did a general check up but did not suggest any remedy. Instead he told them to come back next week. The next week the duo turned up and the remedy suggested was simple – “don’t eat any of those molasses”. The father was astonished – “why didn’t you tell us this last week?” he asked the physician in private. The lat

There was a piece of news that Supreme court has reduced the compensation to be paid to the victims of Uphaar cinema hall tragedy in which several people were burnt alive in 1997, from Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs. While the Supreme Court is the highest authority and any attempt to write against it would be treated as “contempt of the court”, I humbly ask one question to the honorable judges – what is the value of life? How can one even compute the value of a life lost, the cost of pains and sufferings and miseries for over fourteen years for the family members who are fighting for justice? In any civilized country the court would have asked for maximum punitive damages from the guilty party, in this case the builders, the MCD, the police etc. who gave the necessary safety clearances (a clear case of corruption). Sadly in India human life is treated with utmost contempt and often vested interests and other considerations hold greater sway. The builder (Ansals) however will appeal even th

Why is there so much anger in the media over CWG mess? Media is behaving as if they have suddenly woken up to the deficiencies of Governance and corruption in India. We who encounter it day in and day out know better. We know that the Government services will not be able to deliver any goods - because our roads are poor despite paying road taxes and they are increasingly becoming poorer - because we have filthy cities as garbage remains dumped on roadside - because we have virtually no sanitation and sewage disposal which during monsoon season either often comes up on the roads or contaminates the drinking water causing all sorts of diseases - because we have no public urinal and people relieve themselves on the roads along with dogs - because we do not provide toilets to poor and underprivileged and they defecate in public - because our roads remain inundated with flood water during monsoon - because our flyovers take an eternity to get completed causing colossal loss of publi

  Just read this news to decide for yourself. Judiciary is beyond any comment? But do we have any conscience collectively as a nation? Does not seem so, else a rapist could not have been qualified for civil services or acquitted as a result of that. This does not happen in any civilized nation. SC rejects women panel's plea against rapist IANS | New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition by the National Commission for Women (NCW) challenging the Delhi High Court order setting free a rapist on the ground that he had "redeemed himself" by clearing the civil service exam while in prison. The apex court bench of Justice Harjit Singh Bedi and Justice C.K. Prasad rejected the appeal by the NCW on the ground that it has no locus standi to challenge the high court verdict setting free Ashok Kumar Rai. The NCW appeal was dismissed after Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, appearing for the state of Delhi, said that they did not intend to challe

I saw the plight of thousands of passengers stranded owing to the volcanic eruption in Iceland and was saddened. However this is an instance which is denoted as "Act of God" or "force majeure", airlines cannot be blamed for this. But what if passengers are stranded owing the problems of the airlines? They are supposed to compensate, but do they? I recount one of my own experiences here in this context. While returning from Toronto, I had a connecting KLM flight from Amsterdam. Because my original KLM flight got delayed I missed this connection in Amsterdam. The lady at the counter could not help. No hotel accomodation was provided, only a meal voucher of Euro 10 was handed (poor beggar, he won't need more than this!), no upgrade was provided despite plenty of miles on my flying blue card to justify one, and I was given two straight choices, either spend the night in the airport and board the next day's flight, or get yourself rebooked in another flight which

Remember Manjunath Shanmugam, the IIML graduate and IOC officer who was murdered in cold blood by a petrol pump owner because he brought on them charges of corruption? Yesterday he received another blow, this time from Indian Judicial system, a system so arcane and dismal that it cannot deliver justice in 5 years (and we all know cases normally drag on for a lifetime in Indian courts). Earlier in March 2007 district sessions judge (DSJ) Lakhimpur Kheri, S M A Abidi had given death sentence to the chief architect of the crime, Manu alias Pawan Mittal, and the rest of the gang were given life sentence. Honest people were relieved that there is still some sanity in judicial system. But now in December 2009, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court felt that the crime did not belong to the “rarest of the rare cases” and therefore does not justify death sentence, they commuted it to life imprisonment. Not only that, the high court has freed two of the accused. These guys will obviously f

Bhopal gas tragedy enters into its 25th anniversary. A lot has been written on it. Suffice to say that nothing will alleviate the pain, misery and horrendous suffering of people caused by Union Carbide (now Dow Chemicals). The disaster left around 4000 dead and another 500,000 badly affected. They are dying a slow death everyday. The ground water has been polluted by the incident to such an extent that people are drinking toxic water for the past 25 years. Governments and political parties have done nothing, except taking advantage. People of India have not shrunk in horror at the extent of the calamity, they have just accepted it as another ill fate. But the most unholy response came from Dow. The paltry amount given to every injured was around INR 25000 and to every dead person's kin it was INR 62000. As if Indian lives are so cheap. It seems that there was also a statement from Dow that the "amount would be sufficient for Indians". Now isn't that called arrogance