A BABA CONFRONTATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT

one more day of searing heat ended. One more day of accusation, confrontation and acrimony ended. One more day of political obstinacy concluded and one more day of resolve and resoluteness went by.

                                   For the past few days, the atmospheric temperature and the political climate in India have become so raucous and bizarre that the country no longer seems to be considered as wholesome and a place of indisputable tranquility.

                                        The political atmosphere grew worse after a mid-night brutal assault on Baba Ramdev and his nonviolent acolytes, who were protesting against government’s inaction on black money stashed away abroad. The police resorted to coercive methods and used tear-gases to melt away protesters from Ram Lila ground who had assembled there peacefully as per the provision laid down in our constitution. This resulted in bedlam and several people, including some women and children, were sternly injured in ensuing melee. Protesters had to run away from the spot and spend their night lost in darkness of pain and panic. Baba himself was hounded out, arrested and forcibly flown out of Delhi.

                    The incident is rightly seen as an infringement on fundamental rights of people. Article 19.(1)(c) of the constitution guarantees that all citizens shall have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms. The police action seems to have throttled the life-line of people’s survival and the insolent government is solely responsible for undermining the sacrosanct constitution and its undeniable provision of fundamental rights bestowed on citizen as a guarantee against state action.

                                           The high-headedness of the government and its inexplicable tendency to dodge the issue on black money has reinforced the conjecture that the big shots of the major political parties, venal politicians and bureaucrats have nourished some of the foreign banks with their unaccounted black money. Given that their stakes were high and any disclosure might smudge their reputation, the crackdown on Ramdev camp was inevitable citing some flimsy raison d'être.

          Going by the past account and news reports, it requires no special faculty to conclude that the government has always taken jagged steps with regard to black money and some of the important issues like Maoism, land acquisition, corruption and political reforms. This attitude has created a void in political showground and safely given a room for judicial and civil-society intercession and activism. Even the press and media became highly critical of government’s apathy. Any avid followers of current affairs may have easily noticed the number of times the judiciary have censured and reprimanded the government for its inaction and callousness, resulting in distress of the masses. Be it the matter of free distribution of food grains among poor, political graft involving crores of rupees or matters of felony involving politicians and bureaucrats, the government have always found itself In the dock of guilty and obsequiously stooping and obeying the stricture given to it. Even in matters of money laundering and black money, the supreme- court read a riot act on government, which in turn, stood snubbed but lost no head to drop its composure.

                                    But when the same issue was raised by Baba Ramdev and his followers, why the government lost its temper? Why it went berserk and asked police to unleash terror on protesters? Why it always stands as an erring child in front of judiciary and act as a didactic martinet with common people?

            

                                   This is simply because the government considers the common people as helpless, unorganized and divided along various lines; they can be easily manipulated to suit their interest and easily targeted given their inability to become powerful enough to resist and rout state domination. A solid endeavor for union of people was bound to pester the opportunistic government and hence the brutal force was applied on peaceful protesters.

                        Baba Ramdev and his camp just became the victim of a sullen government which have long been censured, reprimanded and criticized for its ineptitude and inefficiency in tackling important issues. Inflation, corruption, unemployment, terrorism, land acquisition and internal security are some of the important areas the government has miserably failed in. its credibility was fast receding among common people. The height of the disillusionment with ruling government became evident when Anna Hazare initiated his movement against corruption at jantar- mantar. The government wilted under pressure but only with a mood full of retribution and vengeance.

                        Already lost its trustworthiness among masses, the UPA government found it not a political risk in crackdown on Baba’s camp at midnight. That was mere a reflective of government’s frustration and the assault became an outlet to vent out their indignation and exasperation accumulated over a past few years. Baba’s camp and the issue it raised at Ram Lila ground could have further decimated UPA’s credibility and seriousness among masses.

 

                   The extra-constitutionality of civil-society and its alleged attempt to wield power is being highlighted now and then in a wrong manner so that the unity of people could be impugned and it never becomes a source of constant irritant for government. The very constitution of Indian democracy begins with a sacred clause of ‘WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA’. How the congress led UPA government can ever underestimates people’s power? How can it ever categorize them extra-constitutional wing? How can it ever think to subdue and muzzle their voice? How can it ever use force to hide its own weakness and incompetence?

            

 The UPA government by applying force against peaceful protesters has committed a political blunder which could prove as a cause for its debacle in near future. At the same time, Baba Ramdev could hardly emerge out as a hero of the movement. The episode may prove a fatal blow to both--- Baba and the government. The yogi failed to become a sensible political activist and the political government failed in its attempt to project itself a saint.

                          The Baba’s timing of movement has always been a matter of his seriousness with regard to corruption related issue. One asks the necessity and provocation which led him to initiate his movement in the middle of an important deliberation----- drafting of anti-graft legislation? Was Baba feeling a sense of alienation on the issue? Did he become envious of Anna’s popularity and find himself scornfully relegated to the back banner? One fails to understand the logic behind his movement when everything was rolling almost smoothly. Is he really political and haranguing and impugning the issue which could prove as a launching pad for his political ambitions? Is he really feeling afflicted with the issue he has stood up for or simply manuveroring the rational desire of millions of Indians------ to get rid of corruption------to suit his ulterior motives?

                     Baba was wrong in his assessment about his power and popularity and he became over-confident in getting resolved the issue of black money sent abroad. It is strange that he, besides supervising the arrangement for his supporters at Ram Lila ground, could make no strategy about his movement and flung himself in the battle without any technical and political guidance. Why did Ramdev not draw out a detailed plan about his movement? Why did he think of it a one-time battle? Baba Ramdev either lacks experience in spearheading such social or political movement or became brash, over-confident and haughty? Or he wanted to get a cheap popularity? The lack of a well thought strategy in his movement became evident when the police assaulted on protesters at midnight. Why Baba was found lacking in courage to court himself arrested? Why he did not appeal his followers to court themselves arrested? Would this step not been proved more effective and on the line of a true satyagrahi? Would this not been a catalyzing factor in spreading the movement throughout the country? Would this not have compelled the government to seriously address the issue of black money and corruption?

                            In the absence of any clear vision, Baba Ramdev has unnecessarily given a upper hand to the government and his movement was once posed as a threat to anti-graft legislation. Baba himself is partly responsible for the acrimonious and pungent political atmosphere in which no constructive dialogue is possible. The important issue of black money and corruption seems to be lost in trivial babble and allegation. Baba would have been more useful for the nation had he offered himself to act as a link between government and the members of civil-society. His mediation on issues of corruption could have helped in mitigating the tension and facilitated the negotiation in the right direction. Baba could have gained more popularity and adulation that way than what he is gaining now. It simply pains his lakhs of followers to see him in such a pathetic condition. It troubles them see Baba relating a sob-story and losing his equanimity in front of media.

   

                              The callous government has no regard for the yogic guru whose service has benefited the society and nation. It is ironic that the Pakistani government simply obey the inhuman and atrocious farman of its crass mullaha and ignorant clerics, the Indian government trains its guns at a yogic Baba who is fighting for the human and egalitarian society. How the nation would ever manage to stand clued-up insulting its guru? How the nation would ever manage to prosper in the absence of its guru’s guidance and blessings? How the nation would ever come out healthy and tranquil when its own preacher is languishing without food?

                  The government should immediately tender its apology to Baba and give him the due respect and place he deserves in society. A nation that insults its guru is doomed to be failure and sink in darkness of ignorance. The government should placate and request him to break his fast and show them a way out of present impasse.  The Baba should reciprocate positively and abandon his pigheadedness in order to calm the atmosphere. An alive and agile baba would be more useful and beneficial and serve the society constructively for a long time than a dead baba. The government should definitely lost this opportunity to have a dead yoga guru among us or the history would never pardon its sinful act.

                    The atmospheric temperature is bound to recede once the monsoon sprinkle its life-giving drops on the earth. Unfortunately, there seems to be no immediate respite in political atmosphere as the needed water to douse the flame itself contains some acidic ingredients.

 

                             

                            As the nation wakes up to a new morning, the freshness in air kindles the hope for a free flow circulation of wisdom and an environment conducive enough to push through negotiations of utmost importance.

                                                                          VASHISTHA RAY.

OSAMA'S GHOST REVISITS PAKISTANI TOWN

The benign and euphemestic sound of the morning prayer offered to Allah had hardly died down on friday that a powerful devastating sound left so many people with scars deep enough to heal ever in their lives. The Pakistani town, Charsadda, was doomed to be ripped apart when two sucide bombers blew themeselves up amid large throngs of people. The deadly act by fanatics was supposedly carried out to avenge Osama's death in Pakistan in an operation launched by the American authorities. The very country which provided shelter to the dreaded terrorist for almost five long years became the first victim of reprisal in which almost 70 federal constable recruits and 20 innocent civilians were killed and more than hundred were grievously injured. Now, it is upto the people of Pakistan to mount pressure on its government to desist from providing shelter to notorious criminals and terrorists who are inimical to mankind and act devastatingly without affilitation to any religion and country. This is quite unfortunate that Pakistan remained indifferent towards the democratic revolutions in several West Asian and North African countries and its people could not stand in uprising against their government, in line with the people of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. The horrendous act of terror on friday in a Pakistani town should work as a catalysing factor for its people to unite themeselves against their government with regard to its dubious policies on terrorism.This becomes imperative as the stakes in Pakistan are far more bigger than in countries which witnessed revolution in the past days.The civill society, press and people of Pakistan has a great role to play to untangle the crossed wires of religious fanaticism and ruthless voilence in which the country seems to be stuck. The Pakistani government seems to be more concerned about the lives of some dreaded terrorists hiding there than the lives of its common people. This became reflective when the establishment beefed up security along the border with India to ward off any possibility of a similar operation like America, in search of terrorists wanted in India. But it left its internal security unattended just to die its people in a grisly manner.This speaks volumes about the callow complicity of the Pakistani government in a war against humanity. My great unshaken faith in people of Pakistan and the holy religion they follow say that not far are the days when the pious call to ALLAH would be strong enough to weaken and strangle the jarring and sinister noise of terrorism and non-sense violence. AMIN!!! Vashistha Ray

CORRUPTION..............................NOT TO BE CONTINUED.

Well before the commencement of 19th commonwealth games in October 2010 , an obnoxious and detrimental plume of smoke surfaced the horizon and soon engulfed the nation which nauseated people and chocked them completely. By the time it was another mega event of the cricket world cup , the height and width of smoke had unimaginably acquired a proportion that could be called nothing but perilous and inexorable. In a span of six months covering two different years , the country witnessed some of the mega scams of crores of rupees involving big ministers , bureaucrats and corporate houses. We have commonwealth , Adarsh society , 2-G spectrum , to name a few , apart from a number of cases of corruption emanating from different states of the country. The amount involved in aggregate in all these notorious scams is so gargantuan that they could have transformed the economic and social facade of the nation drastically. However , while the poor people faced double-edged sword of runaway inflation and corruption, those rapaciously involved in embezzlement of public money are yet to put behind bars , thanks to the lack of any stringent piece of legislation dealing with corrupt politicians and ministers. It is not that that the cases of scams and corruptions in India are new. Independent India saw several cases of corruptions and nepotism in almost all the previous decades and during all political regimes. What has changed over the period of time is the extent and magnitude of corrupt practices impacting all the section of society some way or the other. What has not changed over the period of time is a legislative and judicial padding which has always obstructed wrong men to be put behind bars and prosecute them in an unbiased manner. It is in this backdrop, the veteran social activist Anna Hazare launched a campaign and decided to go without food till the time government concede his demand of a joint committee for drafting an anti-corruption legislation. He pressed his demand for a Lokpal bill against corruption which has been hanging fire for over almost 40 years. But Annaji was not happy with the provisions of the bill drafted by the union law minister, Moili, and vetted by a GOM under Pranab Mukharjee. He was of the view that the bill in its present form lacks teeth and independence and presented before the country a model of the bill drafted by some eminent persons like Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan, Arbind Kejriwal and kiran Bedi. He called it Jan Lokpal bill Till now, the successive government have taken only slow and jagged steps and the investigative machineries like CBI AND CVC wilt under pressure from ruling and political parties. Anna called for a joint committee og government and civil society to draft the bill. And with this sacrosanct demand there started a fast unto Death campaign by Annaji which soon snowballed into a nationwide campaign and hundreds of people sat without food with him at jantar mantar. The campaign generated an astonishing groundswells of supports of people from all walks of life and from every nook and corner of the country. Only a few km away from jantar mantar, the government felt something serpent like crawling on its chest with each successive days number of supporters getting manifold. Men and women , rich and poor , popular personalities and common people- all assembled together and tendered an unequivocal support to the cause ans showed a rare piece of solidarity without resorting to any violence. Anna Hazare became a rallying point and people mustered in large number to show a solidarity with him. “ Anna tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hai” became a slogan of solidarity and it echoed day and night just to invigorate this 74 year old social activist. People recited poems , sang songs and delivered speeches. Drama was staged . nooked natak was performed. Slogans were shouted and banners were hung and people held placards with startling words written on them. Candle march were organized. It truly looked like a festival of democracy. Though the medium of expressions were different , what highlighted through them was the very affliction of corruption and poor governance which has made life miserable and wretched . A 24 hour media coverage of the campaign took it far and wide. People staged dharna , observed fast and took out rally country-wide in support of the cause. Even Indians settled abroad came out in full support of the legislation . The campaign had barely entered its 4th day that the government felt a tremendous heat of agitation and sensed some danger. The Anna movement in Maharashtra in the past had already unseated two state governments. Sensing fear, the central government held hectic parleys with the member of civil society and conceded Anna’s demand of joint committee for drafting anti- corruption legislation. Anna along with hundreds of protesters called off their fast today only after a notification was issued in this regard and the joint committee wore a legal sanctity.The day is really historic for Indian and all the people who advocates democracy ,justice and equality. Though we have gained the ground to win the trophy , we all must ensure that we do not get a fake one. So , as Anna said, we have to be vigil and active till we come out victorious. The campaign launched by Anna has given a fine opportunity to introspect and cleanse oneself first. Hum badlenge to Desh badlega. The campaign has also inspired millions of people throughout the world and conveyed all the good people to be firmly united so that the evil could be defeated easily. Though Anna expressed his happiness over victory , he said it is just a beginning of a series of movement for a NEW INDIA. TO BE CONTINUED…………………….. VASHISTHA RAY.

WIKILEAKS OF SOCAL BEHAVIOUR

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. It was the epoch of belief. It was the epoch of credulity. It was the season of light. It was the season of darkness. We had everything before us. We had nothing before us. We were all going direct to heaven. We were all going direct the other way.”

             This beautiful paragraph, written by Charles Dickens on the very onset of his famous Novel “ A TALE OF TWO CITIES” to describe the contradictory nature of the period in Europe just  before the French Revolution(1789) , surprisingly fits to describe  the nature of  even the present world we are living in. It seems that the society of today is characteristically parallel to the ones existed in Europe some 220 years back during the French Revolution. However, it would be wrong to draw the conclusion that we have remained dormant over two centuries, given some uncanny attributes solely ingrained with contemporary times. We have acquired some more elements In the process of gradual advancement of civilization which has made the present time more bewildering and paradoxical.

                                  “ It is the period of explicit freedom. It is the period of implicit slavery. It is the time of free speech. It is the time of suppressing them. IT is an era of clarity. It is an era of ambiguity. It is an affair of globalization. It is an affair of insularity. It is the age of surprising truth .It is the age of equally surprising lies .It is the spring of love. It is the cruel winter of hatred .It is the episode of trust. It is the episode of betray. It is the day of heaven. It is the night of hell. It is the chapter of unquestionable loyalty. It is the chapter of brooding duality.”

                                    If anything has succeeded in an attempt to blow the lid off the confusing affairs of the current world and to show its real nature and ways of working, that is the revelations made by a whistle-blowing website, Wikileaks. Just a couple of months back, the website posted a host of private cables of state department of America which contain confidential exchanges between diplomats of various countries of the world. The revelations caused a great deal of embarrassment, particularly to America, as they exposed the true intent and opinion of the influential world leaders and diplomats with regard to major concerns of today’s world. They are, fortunately or unfortunately, just contrary to what the people used to make of on the basis of the press and public statements of these leaders.

                  The vast trove of classified documents released by Wikileaks rubbished the long and seemingly purposeful claims of friendship, guide and mentor on the world arena. Friends were caught behaving as foes and enemies were shown as sympathizers in world politics. Just one long and loud whistle of the Wikileaks turned the cup upside down, tumbling down all the hollowness and hypocrisy of the dynamic world political culture. While the astonishing disclosures made by the website have given a credence to a widespread views which constantly talked of double-standard, they have even forced our perception to take a 180 degree turn and gasp in amazement for the world full of pretense and insincerity.

                                   Julian Assanage, the owner of Wikileaks, deserves to be praised for two reasons. First, he apparently alone did something very irritating and discomfiting to America, which has severely eroded the credibility of the superpower among nations of the world. Secondly, Assanage has shown us a crude reality of political society based on a set of values and beliefs of modern generation which grooms and cater to the nourishment of duality and mendacity.

                Though the Wikileaks has wrapped itself around with a political blanket, deep inside lies and support the social fabrication of individuals’ behavior and their relationship with kith and kin. Our own identity itself is that of a person of a contradictory attributes. Our own relationship itself is dubious, fragile and mostly, need-based. So what if one concludes that our own face resembles besmirched and bemused America and our own relationship with friends and family members, as that of America with rest of the globe, as superficial and deceptive.

                                                    Through Wikileaks, we have learnt how this political world runs .This world runs on the basis of false promises. It runs on the basis of power and dominance. It runs around greed and selfishness. It runs on hypocrisy and atrocity, and on the basis of a long list of uncivilized this and that .But have you ever thought how our small social world consisting of friends and families run. Does it not run on the same line with the political world? Are the motives cementing the ties in both the world not same? Are the reasons for discord in both the world not same? Some of you may counter my view and say that our social world run on the basis of love, trust and mutual respect. I agree. But question arises, are they unquestionably beyond doubt and conditions? Ameica along with some major powers of the world has also been claiming to steer the globe towards freedom, equality and economic and social prosperity. But in the game plan rules, as the Wikileaks suggests, its own abhorring greed for power, energy and dominance.

                                                                     Our social network more or less is influenced by our own priorities and preferences without any or least concern for other people. We too make friends to serve our own interest. We too make promise to further our own agenda. We too indulge in backbiting and we too want to remain always on the top. So where is the difference between “ political America”and “social we”? In a way, Wkileaks has exposed everyone of us. Our rude intentions, unflinching greed and a crass double-standard which we adopt to suit our plan. It has revealed our nasty social behavior which proves detrimental to others’ peace and happiness. It has shown a very human instinct present in everyone of us, which sometimes makes us worse than animals. The shocking disclosure made by Wikileaks is nothing but an ominous large reflection of our own deeds and behavior of decades. It is a black dark shadow of our own thought process and set of values and beliefs guiding our lives for a long time now. The gigantic and invincible spirit the disclosure has managed to overshadow is a stark reminder of unethical life-style followed by people all over the world on a large scale. The long accumulation of egocentricity, two-facedness and self-indulgence in micro level in the society has ultimately snowballed into a political culture highly inimical to spiritual and intellectual well-being of the society a whole. It is an irony of this culture that hundreds of millions are spent on the purchase of arms and ammunition and an almost equal number of people die every year in want of food, safe drinking water, medical-facilities and lawlessness. Shame on us! and Shame on this political culture which values power and prestige more than the precious lives of common people, which seeks materialistic sophistication even at the cost of moralistic downfall and which justifies terror and force to achieve tranquility in society.

       Even the personal relationship of people weaved around friends, families, neighbors, teachers, peers and mentors are not totally insulated against meanness and voracity, and gradually an apparent crack appears on the face of it, followed by an era of embarrassment and face-covering. We have strangely worn a persona of a dubious nature. We despise and love the same person at the same time. We eulogize the people we denigrate. We curse the people we say prayer for.  We open all the gates and roll our red carpet to welcome some and the next day we close our doors hard on them and build an impregnable wall around us. We act as friends and foes to some during the very same season of rapport. Does it all not speak volumes about our double-standard which takes its toll in the form of an astringent relationship and a phenomenal penitence?

           TIME FOR INTROSPECTION

Let us put ourselves, as the Wikileaks provides an opportunity, on an introspection mode to seriously put an end to hypocrisy and chauvinism which has given us nothing but a tattered and tensed surroundings around us. This will become possible when we ponder over what has indeed crept into our psyche which is spewing out a vitriolic cascades of revulsion. Is it greed or selfishness or simply a mad race to achieve success, wealth and popularity? Or is it our callousness towards others’ sentiments or is it a contagious culture of distrust and disloyalty that usually results in fractured faith and loyalty? Whatever the reason, situation can be sufficiently improved and association can be saved from taking a slippery slope once we take a very a strong moral stand on the issue, keeping aside all our petty interests. Lets make an environment of mutual cooperation and unbreakable harmony. Let the message travel around that we put humanity above all and have its repercussion on political sphere so that millions of lives can be saved from fatal negligence. Let the fission of goodness release on a sustained basis an energy of tolerance.

                                 As the cables run amok and penetrate every nook and corner of the world, the world leaders were shown reacting differently. While some are registering their protest against other countries, some are busy in refuting the charge made by the revelations. Its time to either better understand the world or be crazy in the smoke of mystification. Whatever the implication of his disclosure on political life, one sure way to save ourselves from undesirable embarrassment is to be truthful to oneself and all. We also have a net of friends from different society and culture and we also indulge in conversation with them and rail against one another. This put us on the high risk of being exposed among friends. Let us put this practice on an eternal hold for the good of ourselves and all, lest this should crumble our little beautiful world forever.

                                                               Do good and expect it from all corners of the world. Lets bury the relevance of Dickens’ negative observations about past period for the one we are part and parcel of.

                                                               VASHISTHA RAY

                                

AN OPEN LETTER TO ARUNDHATI ROY

Ms. Arundhati Roy ,
I heard of you for the first time when you were awarded the prestigious Booker Prize in 1997 for your debut novel “ THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS”. At that time , I was just 13 years old and studying in class 8 with little knowledge of India and the world. You were ,on the other hand , with your proved dexterity ,bracing for a career laden with responsibilities of educating and spreading the message of love, dignity and justice to the masses.
We have come a long way since then. As my understanding of the world over the period of time has increased, so has your quest and desire for peace and equity. Both of these developments evidently suggest that barring some western countries , stories of oppression and injustice against common people keeps pouring in time and again from various corner of the world. Situation becomes more deplorable when it is backed by the ruling government and its machineries. While the democratic set-up may ensure a just society, existence of autocracy and military dictatorship in several Asian and African countries has tossed the lives of common people in a precarious air of helplessness.
We have several instances from our neighboring countries like Pakistan and Afganistan , where people have been living under a reign of perpetual terror and untold sufferings without actually enjoying their civil and political rights. Women and children have been found to be the most vulnerable section of society .If anything has become cheaper in these countries , that is the lives of common people who become victims of reckless violence unleashed by Islamic fundamentalist groups. Persecution of artists , filmmaker and writers is common and they cannot freely express themselves as they are forced to stoop before wishes of the undemocratic government and the dictates of a number of fundamentalist groups.
Just a few days back “THE HINDU” came out with the story of a young boy from Somalia whose one leg and one hand was amputed for his alleged involvement in theft. The act was carried out in full public view at the behest of the most powerful and brutal fundamentalist group, AL-SHABAB. While validating the cruel punishment , the shariayat law was said to be taken for reference which allows amputations for petty crimes like theft. The ordeal of the young man became more pronounced when the next day he was informed of miscalculation in amputing his leg and a saw was used to further shorten his leg without using any anesthesia and anti-septic medication. This is just an example and we all are aware of the fact of the prevalence of medieval mindset and legal framework in different parts of the world which has robbed people of their respect and dignity and left them bound to lead a life full of trouble and tribulations.
Ms. Roy, far and much better are the conditions found in India where democratic values , including RIGHT TO SPEECH, are held in high esteem. We are signatory to a host of national and international peace and justice treaties and our remarkable contribution in this regard has been applauded world-wide. India has been successful in acquiring a unique place in the world because of her constant support to peace , justice and democratic values.
Writers ,like you ,and other artists here feel free to air their views and showcase their creativity with no serious guidelines and obstacle from government. We have seen Sita and Saraswati being painted nude , Muhammad and Jesus being written off the wall , many Hindus’ god name and figure being used for commercial advertisement. And all this with our magnanimity of acceptance and administrative and judicial nod. Ms. Roy , don’t you think that we all must be proud of having the liberty which the people of some other countries have been denied for decades?
So far as the situation in Kashmir is concerned , I feel that Pakistan has no locus in Kashmir and cross-boarder terrorism sponsored by it is an iniquitous act which has to be condemned and countered unequivocally. The presence of Indian army in Kashmir is in direct proportionate to the increase in militancy and cross-boarder terrorism. Had there been no Pakistani-sponsored terrorism , there would have been no thick presence of Indian army in the valley.
Ms. Roy, here I would like to draw your attention towards two important things. First is related with some noble services rendered by these army personnel in Kashmir which have more directly and visibly helped in retaining justice and peace , the very causes you wish to fight for through your writing and activism. The army not only fight with militancy which could have otherwise proved malignant for entire India and south Asia , it also undertake various civil and social measures and protect important installations like ,school ,colleges ,hospitals ,roads ,bridges and dams from being damaged by anti-national elements.
Ms. Roy , if you are still in Kashmir and see small children marching towards their schools , youth towards their colleges ,patients undergoing treatment at hospitals , businessmen carrying out their activities and yourself either roaming around without fear or parking comfortably somewhere, you must feel happy that seeds of peace and justice have been sown and will be guarded against all the nefarious wrong-doers by the very Indian army you accuse of brutality. We simply can not expect tranquility and justice to take place without these social and economic overheads.
Secondly, think of a hypothetical situation of total demilitarization of Kashmir with no let up in cross-boarder terrorism. Do you ,Ms. Roy, think that the people of Kashmir then would be handed over fruits of respect ,freedom, justice and peace? The situation , on the contrary, would turn for worse and then for worst. In no time, kashmiriyat would lapse into Talibanisation and people helplessly dancing at the tune of militants. Would u still feel free to roam around in Kashmir to discern peoples’ conditions ? would u still dare to fight against militants for their oppression and killings ? If your sincere answer to my questions is “no”, then you must admit that India stands for praise. However , If your answer to my questions is “yes”, then why do you not stand with families of 26/11 victims? Why do you not commiserate with widows and children of our brave martyrs who laid down their lives in parliament attack while protecting our leaders and most importantly our sovereignty ? Do you not think that these people are also entitled to seek justice and an explanation for the loss they have suffered? Ms. Roy , I urge you to make a visit to them once you return from Kashmir and you would get the same answer you have got from the enraged kashmiris. They ,too, want “azadi” from terrorism and violence. Why do you stand with your back to them?
Ms. Roy , you try to paint Indian government as villain ,but how many times have you pleaded with AL-QAIDA and TALIBAN to shun the path of violence and flagrant killings ? These organizations are notorious for their inhuman cruelty and their presence and spread pose a great threat to the cause you are fighting for. Why do you not begin a serious battle against them? Why are you silent ? Have you ever tried to build an international fraternity to weed out such organizations ? IF I am not wrong, you have never hold a public meeting in Pakistan to put pressures on them to work against these organizations in spite of your knowledge that Pakistan is the country which nurtures ,supports and exports them for spreading mayhem. If you are a world citizen as you have been claiming for a long time and a true champion of peace and justice, then why this double standard, Ms. Roy ?
I sincerely hope that you have no ulterior motives but It seems to me that you are fighting for yourself and some international recognition like NOBEL FOR PEACE because you also know that only a crusade against state like India can fetch you with the most coveted prize without risking your life and freedom ,while a fight against terrorist organizations and rogue elements can only bring danger and even death to you. What an ingenious move Ms. Roy!
I was appalled to know about your poor interpretation of post-independence Indian history which has led you to conclude that India became a “colonizing power” just after independence. Turn the pages of history Ms. Roy , and you would find that India has never invaded any areas within her reach and, on the contrary, helped in the creation of Pakistan so that people may choose to live in either of the countries as per their wishes. This was all for the sake of peace and justice, Ms. Roy.
The concept of nation-states came into being only in latter part of 18th century when the Moughal power had started decaying and various European colonial power were trying to strengthen their position in India. The period saw the emergence of several new political states as of today in Europe and some other parts of the world. The political awareness in India was the result of exploitative polices of the British government and our knowledge of the progress in the west. The attempt at creation of India after independence should be seen in the light of the ongoing pattern worldwide and our then home minister Mr. Patel was just assimilating the cultural homogeneity for the sake of progress and prosperity of the entire area and giving a concrete shape to the new political state so that the people living in this geographical areas do not face the atrocities at the hands of any prospective invading powers. The federal structure adopted by the constitution of India is a reflection of our guarantee to the provinces (states) of no less important place than the central authority but at par with it.
Your accusation seems to based on the flawed observation of a very brief period of history while neglecting a significant part of history which witness India to be a poor victim of plunder and colonial power but rich and tolerant enough to be accommodative.
Ms. Roy , I am sorry to say but the truth is that you are working on a very small concept of peace and justice .If you think that merely by raising your voice against some political stand of the government you would become a messiah of people , then you need to come out of the illusion and work hard to provide some constructive means and ways to solve some complex and pressing problems INDIA is facing presently. Ms. Roy, take my advice not as an insult but as a challenge since this country, wounded by many social, economic, cultural and political problems, provides ample scope and freedom to work for people like you.
India, on her part, knows very well how peace and justice is ensured. It is ensured through providing education, employment , health-care to the masses. It is ensured through the establishment of civil and unbiased society. It is ensured through providing civil, political and cultural rights to people. It is brought about by scientific and modern outlook. It is found also found in our promises to coming generations and world fraternity. peace and justice dwells in the conservation of forest and environment and plantation of saplings. And India is keen to work in all these areas with a resolute mind and vigorous commitment. Some of the legislations passed recently by the UPA government are truly historic and testimony to the fact that India stand for peace and justice.
Proud of the nation where 13 crore of MuslimS live amicably among 80 crore of Hindus. Proud of the nation where a huge cultural differences are celebrated and enjoyed. Proud of the nation that advocates uprooting terrorism and discrimination. Proud of the nation that is always looked upon as a symbol of tolerance .Proud of the nation in which RIGHT TO SPEECH is considered as important and dear as RIGHT TO LIFE.
Pity the people who shows contempt and ingratitude to the nation that has given so much precious things which are just a dream for the people of some of the other countries.
VASHISTHA RAY.

SAY NO TO PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT

11 year old Sompa Banarjee from west Bengal in a live dance show could garner more votes than all other participating contenders .She not only won the hearts of the judges of the competition with her unblemished and brilliant dance performance, but could also unintentionally knock on the conscience of large number of audience worldwide watching the program. The audience showered on her copious votes which gave her an edge over rest of the no less talented competitors.
Just after Sompa concluded her staggering performance, thunderous clapping by audience and judges made her look satisfied with some tears of happiness rolling down over her cheeks. Then came judges’ pronouncement followed by her revelation of how she managed to master the nuances of the BHARATNATYAM at this tender age. She was full of gratitude towards her dance teacher whose constant support, guidance and love, according to her, caused to bring best in her. Ravi Prasad, the dance teacher, tried to downplay his role giving all the credits of her success entirely to her sheer determination, hard work and an unbelievable desire to excel . An outstanding display of bond between a teacher and his student was seen when Sompa flung herself in her teacher’s arms in front of a huge concourse of spectators. That was, I think, the best part of the show. On being asked by one of the judges if she had felt nervous performing In front of her teacher, she humbly acknowledged that his inspiring presence, on the contrary, made her feel comfortable and do her best.
The viewers and the judges were moved in pain when innocent Sompa shared another story of torture and mental agony she was going through at her school. A sullen and forbidding silence suddenly engulfed the stage when she showed a deep bruise on her neck which her math teacher awarded for not doing home work. “I am not good in mathematics”, she candidly admitted, “but it is not that I do not try. Still I fail to solve the problems”. The regular physical punishment has made Sompa hapless and she has gradually developed an aversion for her school and studies.”I don’t want to go to school, but I will miss out the company of my loving friends if I do so.” She helplessly revealed.
The disclosure was so touching that it brought tears in the eyes of Sompa’s parents who were sitting amidst audience. They were also peeved at the enduring pain of their little daughter but ,“In our small town we have not any other school in the radius of 5 km. and our complaint with the school authorities has fallen flat on their deaf ears”, the unfortunate mother lamented.
Though Sompa stole the limelight of the show and won the competition, it could not offer her any succor out of the traumatic experience she has been through at her school. Like her, there are numerous school-going children who face corporal punishment of severe nature everyday for their weakness in a particular subject or their innocuous indiscipline behavior.
Such punishments usually lead to serious bodily damages along with an adverse impact on psychological growth of children who begin to loathe their schools and teachers which adversely impact the process of learning.
The social behavior of such children begin to take an ugly turn when even parents, friends and relatives treat them as useless on the basis of their poor academic performance and repeated complaints from teachers. The innocent children find themselves in a world full of expectations , torture and artificiality without any scope for exhibition and promotion of own interest and talent. This feeling renders them aloof and negativity along with indignation takes over the mind of innocent children causing a great loss to society and nation.
REMEDIAL MEASURES
Several guidelines by different states’ education boards and central board to the school authorities have failed to check the menace of corporal punishments as is evident from the occurrence of such cases time and again. Even the judicial intervention and legislative measures have not yielded desired result.
Corporal punishment is more than an institutional predicament and is a result of a complex web of factors and hence, its abolition calls for a multi-dimensional and a holistic approach.
To begin with, awareness among teachers and school authorities about bodily punishment and its adverse impact on school children should be spread far and deep. It has been seen that the rural and interior parts of the country witness high cases of punishment, torture and exploitation of children at schools due to lack of awareness among teachers and parents.
The selection and training programs of teachers should be immediately reviewed and some qualitative changes should be introduced so that the temperament of teachers may help in promoting the tolerance limit. Teachers should be trained in self-control, class management and leadership. They should be trained in such a way that they easily recognize weaknesses and strengths of students and work accordingly for their benefits.
A different kind of schooling based on the interest and talent of children is the need of the hour. However, the government needs to be creative and zealous enough to generate employment in non-conventional areas of human talent and pursuits. This will go a long way in reducing pressures on children from various quarters of society, doing away with parents’ anxiety and exploiting the full potential of children for the sake of social and cultural prosperity.
Gone are the days when flicks of canes installed discipline among children at schools. Now, a different set of instruments, totally harmless and encouraging in nature, should be discovered and used so that the purpose of discipline among children is not defeated and the process of learning remains full of interest and enthusiasm.
Sompa along with other victims will then take a sigh of relief and set out for their respective schools without any valid trepidation.
VASHISTHA RAY

TACKLING SOCIAL HAZARD : BEYOND LEGISLATION

Much to everyone’s surprise, street- children and beggars no Longer sneak into traffic when it comes to a halt at red signals. Nobody now, insist you there to purchase newspapers ,magazines and flowers . Nobody ask you to take pity and give alms on the very road meant for driving .The changes are clearly visible as Delhi’s traffic and civil administration manage to get rid of once seemingly difficult and embracing problem .The sprawling vagrant community in Delhi is out of sight these days as the city finds itself in the midst of hosting commonwealth games.
Though this is a positive development and clearly in line with standardized operational procedure to host the game, my mind dwells upon the fate of those marginalized people who, just a few days back, used to scramble for merely feeding themselves in this highly economic prosperous city .Now driven forcibly out of this city the destitute might have made their ways into some other cities where conditions for them would be no better. Everywhere, these people heavily rely on sympathy and pity of some passers-by for their subsistence .They are no better than animals who spend their entire life with no permanent roofs on their heads and stand vunralable to various kinds of exploitations and abuses. Nature’s fury hit them hard as they lack in even basic requirements of life .The most vunralable among them are women and children who are criminally abused and thrown for begging ,prostitution , street-selling and some other anti-social activities. The number of such poverty stricken people are increasing at an alarming rate. They can be easily traced on railway platform, bus-stand ,road-side and any other public places. Their ubiquitous presence causes lots of inconvenience to people and is blot on socio-economic picture of India, which the world looks at to be a near future superpower. The shocking growth of such phenomenon manifests our collective failure in addressing the pressing needs of unprivileged and weaker section of society.
As there is no dearth of legislation and experience has proved them to be only partially effective, we need to mull over some other ways to give a death blow to this ominous shadow .This should be our collective responsibility though the government with its mammoth resources can provide leadership to the cause on a sustained basis. Some ministers could come forward to take up the cause of these people and strive to ameliorate their condition significantly during their tenure .Some other may choose the cause of their interest and work on them as mission. This is exactly what some British parliamentarians are reported to be doing these days .The noble practice will provide the necessary political voice and support to these penurious community, in the absence of which they are bound to lead a reprehensible and shameful life.
In a world we are living today, we cannot expect all the people to devote themselves fully to social causes. Thinking so is impractical and it amounts to only emotional treatment of the problem. The pragmatic approach would be to evolve such course of actions which can be easily undertaken by individuals and institution without overlooking their own priorities and pursuits. What I seek to suggest here is to develop a structure which could effortlessly solicit peoples involvement in social works and they can readily respond positively to such calls .This will happen when people need not have to go extra mile for serving the community and they may contribute towards the cause while doing their own work. This way individualism will not become obstacle in the way of community development and fraternity. Though this work is not easy and calls for a greater degree of administrative acumen along with indefatigable effort on the part of the government and its machineries, this will prove once adopted to be a panacea for all social malaise.
The gist of the matter is that the continuing preoccupation of Indian people with fixing their own priorities is translating into a lack of meaningful engagement with the so called unprivileged community .This has caused a social hazard and it can be tackled successfully only by striking a right chord between material progress and altruistic endeavor .
Since awareness precedes any change, media has an important role to play in this regard .It can also help to bring about changes in social and administrative attitude towards drifters. Some NGOs and corporate houses are already doing their bit, they can now encompass left outs and vertically launch the programs so as to dent on the problem. Educational institutions should be infused with a culture of sensitivity and sympathy through various participatory programs so that the coming generations may not show callousness towards poor people.
As the signal flashes green, my mind is filled with a palpable fear of these communities haunting back to the city once the mega event is over . Though my small piece of work ends here with a note of fear and pessimism, your grand work should begin here with a hope and optimism to weed out this social stigma and implant in society an aesthetic cultural amalgamation forever.
VASHISTHA RAY.