If we look at a country, then the Constitution can be termed as the backbone of the system. It is a well known fact – and often reiterated – that the constitution is above all. I may be tagged as a constitutional extremist, but I have great faith in it. It is like the holy grail of the system in India, superior even to the Supreme Court.

The makers of the Constitution incorporated a system of checks and balances in the system to avoid power getting concentrated in the hands of a few. The only assumption that the makers made, and did not put in the constitution, was that the constitution should be followed and respected by one and all.

As citizens of India, all of us have a fundamental duty to abide by that written document. But, unfortunately, most of us are unaware of what the various articles and schedules of the Constitution say. As per Article 51A clause (a) you are duty bound to respectfully disagree even with the Supreme Court if its interpretations are not abiding with the constitution.

The politicians, who are expected to ensure that the tradition of the Constitution is continued, and their cohorts have mastered the art of twisting and turning the Constitution as per their whims and fancies, for they know that following it to the dot will make them lose their powers. It is a well known fact that the day to day powers of the President are actually that of the ministers because of article 74(1), which binds the President to accept ministers’ advice. The very second clause, which says that no court can assume existence, let alone the nature, of such an advice has very conveniently been sidelined.

The Constitution allows all orders only in the name of the President. I wonder why the Supreme Court has declared this clause as non-mandatory. Orders made by ministers are now being taken as orders of the Government. This laxity by the Apex Court has invited even more corruption. According to the constitution, all transfers between services have to be consulted through UPSC. And if UPSC’s suggestion is not followed then the government has to explain that with a memorandum in the Parliament. This certainly does not happen today.

There are many such instances where the Constitution is not being adhered to the letter. But, that’s not the point. As the Supreme Court itself, sometimes, is amiss in taking the constitution seriously enough, for the sake of  “not only delivering justice, but also appearing to deliver justice”, there’s little we can hope from the courts.

But, the fact remains that the Constitution should be followed. And we, the people can help do that. It’s time we understand our power of expression. Freedom gave us the right to express — fearlessly. we need to speak up and use that power. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. The least we can do is raise our voice when we see the terms of the constitution being violated. And only after that can we complain about ‘system’ failure.

Related Posts

• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace

Let’s own up the fact that we are no longer the Indians, that we were proud of at some stage of our life. As of now the world doesn’t look up at us, instead it sees us as lagging far behind (and going down) in every sphere of life. We have the highest number of poverty stricken people, we have the highest infant mortality rate, we have the highest number of people with drug resistant tuberculosis/rheumatic heart disease/ malaria – you just name it, and we are the toppers!

And when I say we, I mean we, the people, the people who read the English newspaper every morning, shake their head or even worse blame the system; the people who think they are “educated” and yet cannot see themselves standing in the same queue as all those politicians or scamsters; we, who can stand on the road and see two young people getting burnt alive in a car in the middle of the road in Delhi, the nation’s capital; we who think or aspire to be path breakers in research, knowledge and humanity. I am sure most of us know this but are not willing to accept these facts – the way things are going on, in another few years we will be scared to step out of our homes. Does even this selfish thought not ring an alarm inside us?

Why did all of us get so outraged at the Mumbai shootout? We were never so concerned when hundreds were dying, and are still dying, by bombs/bullets in Kashmir/North-East, by blue line buses, by the unscrupulous policemen and what not. Perhaps, one reason for the outrage is the fear that this can now happen to us – we, who mostly reside in such hotels. We have always thought that this will not happen to us as this usually happens where the underprivileged live. The reaction to this shootout and several other recent similar events was even more ridiculous – candle lights, citizen’s charter etc, etc. Who are we appealing to with these meaningless efforts? They don’t serve any purpose except for giving us some self-satisfaction  – as if that is what ultimately matters. Read or talk to any great philosopher of modern India, or the “old” India, they all say that whatever you do should make you feel happy at the end of the day!

Isn’t this construed logic? Isn’t it selfish again? Do we think our great politicians or bureaucrats are not happy at the end of the day even though they are grabbing land, money, power and whatever one can dream of. They are opening institutions where you pay and get your way—they can justify opening these and tell you, “I have 5000 kids who got educated at my school” — how many have you educated? So even if their main motive is money, ultimately at the altar of God he would still have done a lot more than what ordinary human beings like us, the so called educated Indians, can think of.

There is no one to blame for such a situation except “us”. We listen to any discussion, discourse, tirade, whatever of an “intellectual” – be it a Doctor, an Engineer, CA, Managers of Multi-nationals, so many other successful people – the usual statement is that the government does nothing, the system is rotten. Everyone expresses his/her helplessness even though they WANT to do so much. Who is this SYSTEM? Is it a piece of hardware or a code of software? Is it comprised of human beings, or Gods or Ravana’s/Duryodhanas? Unfortunately, all these intellectuals do not realize or do not wish to recognize that we are the system. I cannot overemphasize—WE ARE THE SYSTEM. Till the day we acknowledge that and honestly accept that, the system will continue to be rotten. One can make 100’s of excuses about us not being the system or getting into the system, but if we claim/think ourself to be better than that “goonda” on the road or those villains depicted so nicely in the Bollywood movies, we have to make a sincere attempt to be in it. We cannot achieve anything till we acknowledge that WE are the system.

All of us know very well that these politicians and corrupt bureaucrats are not there for us. We gave our home (the country) to be run by these people, who smartly took this up as their profession. Imagine you giving your own house to be run by someone similar – would you ever do that? We have always looked at all this administrative work as menial and felt this was the job for the illiterates. Why do we expect them to be truthful, honest and disciplined? It is like any other business, be it our richest man of the world (at least for a few days when Bill Gates was in doldrums) or the one with the highest deposit in the Swiss bank/German bank, they have been like any other crook or probably like all of us Indians, selfish, and  interested only in themselves. Don’t we make money far in excess of our needs, or enjoy power or bribe someone when there is a need for that? So why blame them. It’s high time we stand up and fight the system to give a better future to our children. Otherwise we can send all of them to USA and UK, the way most of our colleagues have done. We can then feel proud that the surgeon general of the US is an Indian or Sunita Williams is an Indian.

I am not proud of being an INDIAN today – just look around you at the average Indian – he is busy, extremely busy either making or trying to make money, fighting to get a social status so that he is “known” for his achievements. Most of us consider life as one big mela, enjoy it, rather than worry about it – the celebrations are endless and vulgar – just look around you, how much food we make and waste. A recent get together I attended had some over 100 types of dishes, more than 15 types of “dessert” and over a 100 people serving them, standing in front of you so that you pick up a piece of paneer or chicken or whatever – this is something you probably see only in India now. The British did this to us, but why are we doing this to ourselves now.

I have a colleague who once, in these “academic” discussions said, “we would have been better off under the British rule.” I was aghast – this was a highly educated doctor who represents the country’s best. What do u expect then from us? Going on with the get together, on the center stage meant for the “old boys/girls” you could see an ongoing dance – I hate to term it as vulgar but that is what it was – a vulgar demonstration of our wealth, our “culture” and our feelings towards the masses. I am not condemning such events, but only appealing to the intelligent Indian, to restrict all this to a much smaller scale with sensibilities intact – not for our own friends and relatives but for those who can’t get two meals.

All this talk is extremely pessimistic, but, unfortunately, there is no optimism in whatever I see around me. Something has to be done before it is too late – sometimes I feel happy that scientists have predicted that the world will come to an end by 2050. Great! At least I will have the satisfaction of not seeing India at its worst 40 yrs down the road. The only way I foresee for things to get better is to awaken the so called “educated middle class” that always keeps away from politics as if it is some beast or an untouchable. We have to understand that unless we do it, things will gradually become even worse than the British Raj. And, this time, we might not get a Bapu.

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace

“ I like chicken tikka and you?”
“Me too.”
“I like Shahrukh Khan, and you?”
“I like him too, but I find Ranbir pretty hot these days.”
“Whats happening with your team, they aint playing well, we guys beat you in the last cricket match.”
“Yea, that is fine but why are you guys not allowing us to play in IPL?”
“We love to see you guys play, but what can we do ?”

This could be a typical conversation between two normal friends across borders, who share so many things – culturally and otherwise-  that at times one wonders, why are these nations separate in the first place. That debate aside for the moment, what is it that makes us hate people? There are enough problems around us to submerge ourselves in and deal with, but we forget all that is around us and pay more attention to what someone on a TV channel is telling us.

Look at what we are missing out on, I am a hardcore cricket fan, and I will speak for myself, that I miss watching the fast bowlers from across the border playing in our IPL. The only time when the Pakistani players played in the IPL,  it was fantastic to watch Shoaib Akhtar take on Sachin Tendulkar, or see Shahid Afridi hit a few sixes out of the park. There are artists, who are stopped from coming and performing here – Ghulam Ali, bands like Jal, Strings, and so many other good singers that are loved on both sides of the border. There are garments, food cuisines, sports, etc. which we would like to share with each other.

Given a chance, I believe the people from both sides would love to interact more often, in a friendly manner, and exchange views, trade, etc. It is only a few ill-willed forces that are acting in a manner that a cordial relation between the two nations becomes an impossibility. Are we going to stay foolish and vote them into power, are there not enough issues left for these politicians than to instigate us against our neighbors. My heart boils when I hear educated Indians supporting such bans on our neighbors. Please realize that people across the border, or rather across the world are facing same problems in their lives, and our wishing ill will towards them does no good to them, or us.

It has been around 60 years that we have been trying to resolve our differences, and I do not have much hope that it will be solved soon. It is about time, that we realize that sharing a smile and maybe even a hug with our neighbors can go a long way in resolving the differences. The younger lot in our country seems to be more rational in its approach and I see hope there in terms of starting a dialogue. It is heartening to see even the government now taking cognizance of the fact that, by not talking they are only playing into the hands of the forces who never want the neighbors to have a cordial relationship.

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace

Become an Entrepreneur ,
Get an degree from an IIM and join the corporate world,
Start a web based company ,
Invest in the Market, etc., etc.

One answer you might not get, but which, it seems, is the right answer today is:

“Become a Godman”

With the minimum investment – just set up a microphone in a big, empty, piece of land and start sermonising – you can earn big time. The sermonising part can’t be hard because half of the things constituting these sermons are things that are well known to one and all.

The number of Godmen is increasing exponentially these days. That is no wonder as there is an increasing demand for them, to feature on the increasing number of religious channels we have today. It must be acknowledged that some of the gurus and pundits might be genuine, but most of them are not. Most of them have today been proved to be involved in all kinds of criminal activities like land grabbing, sexual molestation, money laundering, murder – you name it, and we have one or the other god men involved in the crime. What is worrisome is that even these fraudulent gurus manage to garner a good following, and these followers are ready to do anything – even kill – on their guru’s bidding.

What is the reason behind this infatuation with Godmen?

Ignorance, naturally, tops the list. People, sometimes even educated ones, are ignorant, or choose to be ignorant, when they are bathing in the fountains of knowledge emanating from their gurus. The most outrageous point in recent times was the condemnation of aerated drinks by a leading baba. While there is evidence that these drinks might not be the best thing for your health, the logic forwarded by the all knowing baba was less than convincing. By comparing the pH levels of a coke with your regular toilet cleaner, he claimed them to be the same. And people believed him.

Some people, who know the difference between a coke and a toilet cleaner, feel that one should look at the ends and not the means, but never – especially not in the spiritual field – do the ends justify the means.

Unwillingness to accept responsibility is another major reason for the expansion of this new business. It is a common fact that men like to take full credit for any success, but want to take no responsibility for any failures in their life. The realm of the supernatural provides an easy target to put all the blame on; People who are non-believers in good times, turn into the staunchest believers when they face tough times.

The need for an external support is also a factor for the rise of the gurus. Raj (name changed) was having some issues with alcohol and his friends had given up trying to explain to him the consequences of what he was doing. One day, he says, he heard a sermon from a reputed guru on TV and quit. He himself admitted that there was nothing new in what the man on the show said, but somehow he needed to hear it from a spiritual guru. On being asked why, he had no answer. This need for external validation might have something to do with the way our society deals with authority. The time has come, however, when we stopped looking outside us for answers, and took complete responsibility for our actions.

The importance and need of a guru – in any field of knowledge – is undeniable, but unless until we pull ourselves out of the mire of ignorance and fallacies we will continue to breed such gurus, while the real Guru will remain hidden to us. Do we want that?

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace

Voices, today, are screaming that India is moving ahead full-speed in the race for becoming the number one country in the World. The screams are so loud that the outsiders have begun to believe it. It is only when these outsiders come in, and have a look at the ground realities, that they realise that the screams are nothing but words.

As a new year – a new decade begins – India must look at what it needs to do to actually lead from the front. But, what is India? India is more than the Metros, the few big industrial names, the Cricket team, more than any single individual, body, or state. It is the sum of one billion plus people who are divided among themselves by lines of caste, creed, language, religion, state, economy and other such differences. When one section of the society moves forward, another section falls back, in an every action has an equal reaction kind of way. An example can be the suppression of other games by the the dominance of cricket.

Does India have the potential to lead the World?

Indeed it does. Even today, with all its ills, India has managed to secure for itself a position where China, USA and other developed countries have no choice but to keep an eye out for it. The recent recession in the developed economies has further helped India and China to catch up with the developed world. But, having potential does not automatically lead to success? Genius, as they say, is 1 % inspiration and 99 % perspiration.

India needs a change in mindset. The mindset needs to change from the top to the bottom.

But what is the reason behind this dysfunctional mindset?

The answer, I believe, is fear. Everyone is afraid.

The politician is afraid that whatever he might do, he might not get a second term, so he wants to amass as much wealth as he can. He is afraid that the other party might malign his image, so he digs deep to find dirt on other politicians.

The bureaucrat, or the sarkari babu, is afraid that he might get transferred to some remote location, or a desk job, if he doesn’t please his political masters, so he does his best to please them. He keeps aside his sense of duty and does what his political masters want him to. In the process if he can make a quick buck, or two, of his own, he wouldn’t mind that either.

The common man is the worst hit. He is afraid of everything. He is afraid of the forms he has to fill – and the palms he has to grease -  before he can get an electricity, water, or gas connection. Of course, he sees the wrongs in the system, yet he is afraid that if he raises a voice, he might be stripped of whatever semblance of life he might have. A recent example is the Ruchika Girhotra case. The family that tried to fight to get justice for the dead girl, had to suffer the consequences. This is just an example that came to light. Personally we see such examples, albeit on a lower scale, every day.

Why the Fear though?

The root cause of fear, I think, lies in scarcity. For a long time India, as a nation,  has suffered from unemployment, and under-employment. Parents have been blamed for decades for forcing their children to become either Engineers or Doctors, but what choice did they have? They knew that if their child was to have any decent shot at life, he should be a Doctor or an Engineer. In fact, if I look around my town today, the best houses still belong to the Bureaucrats, Doctors, or Engineers. So, why have we been blaming the poor parents, who only wanted what they thought was best for their children?

The times, however, are changing now. India offers more opportunity and access to facilities. The systems are changing, though very slowly. This pace can increase, but for that each one of us has to shed his, or her, fear, and stand up for what is right. It might be tough to begin with, but it brings with it great joy. It is time that we had a  re-look at these famous words penned by the great Rabindranath Tagore:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Image courtesy: asifthebes from sxc.hu

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace

The day when you wake up and find that your city, no, your street has become a state unto itself is not a big impossibility now. But I would not simply close my eyes, and oppose or condemn anyone who asks for a separate state. We need to look at the history and the legitimacy of the demand, examine both these factors carefully and consider the sentiments and stifled voices of the people in that region. Only then can we make a call about any demand for statehood of any region. This brings us to the most hyped – and in the news – subject of Telangana. Let us look at it in detail .

A few facts about Telangana first. This state was ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was never under British Rule. Hyderabad was always a part of the state, and was, in fact, its capital. When the agitation to separate Andhra from the then Madras state picked up steam, and Potti Sreeramulu gave up his life fasting, the original demand for Madras as the capital was changed, and what is now coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema were merged with Telengana to form Andhra Pradesh . Right from that time, a very virulent and often vehement movement to separate Telangana, so as to facilitate proper balance of resources and development, has been in force and many people have laid their lives down for it. So if the Gen Y and Gen X are thinking that KCR fasting for a week brought this state about magically, they are grossly mistaken.

But sadly, many a politician has picked up the jingoism and tokenism.

There are state requests, and bandh calls, and fasts, springing up everywhere and people are being misled by selfish politicians to believe that this will benefit them. This is a sad trend and I fully hold the ruling UPA responsible for first promising, then conveniently forgetting, and finally – at a totally wrong time – giving in to the demand. What they have done is glorified the wrong people and set a wrong precedent. There are many other pressing things crying for attention – the looming threat of terror, the economy, the climate and so on. They are using this as a diversionary measure to keep people distracted, and I admit that they are succeeding to a large extent. People have forgotten starvation deaths, and are now making starvation a fashion statement or a tool.

We need to wake up and stop getting into this vicious circle, and focus more on getting our country to its due destination in the global arena. That would be possible only and only if we stand together and not split ourselves on languages/zones/religion lines. I am keeping my fingers crossed in the anticipation that we, the people, are capable of thinking beyond the differences. How about you ? Think about it

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• November 14, 2009 — Brothers in Peace

Before entering into any discussion on the subject, there is a need to understand the culture and capabilities of the two nations. India has been hailed as a fast developing economy and a lot of information is available about the nation. Let us, therefore, have a look at the capability of its neighbour, Pakistan. The average growth for Pakistan, before the Afghan issue, till 2004-2006 was at 6-8% yearly. The country received the top performer of the Region for new reform from World Bank during 2005. A few years back Pakistan managed top performance in terms of the fastest growing economy in the world, only behind China. And Pakistan’s services sector is the fastest growing in the region.

Having been led into the path of Terrorism, and despite facing tremendous internal as well as external issues, they still seem to be able to manage their current growth to an average of about 5.8%, their core sectors being agriculture, textiles, chemical industry and services sector. Their rapid growth in textile industry seems to outperform the world’s thread industry, as they move up the value chain. They are one of the largest producers of some of the agricultural products like mangoes and onions, to name a few.

Having been such a great country, and one that happens to have stumbled into some terrible issues, it’s  upto India to help its brother nation deal with the troubles it is currently facing. But, that will not happen in a short while. The agreement earlier signed between Mr. Pervez Musharraf and Mr. Manmohan Singh did seem promising, but the poor control of the terrorist network within the country and internal politics has cost Pakistan heavily.

Two countries like India and Pakistan – when they stand together – can be compared with the greatest strength of the world, as they both complement each other. The so called Goliaths of the world are now taking advantage of the age old principle of divide and rule.

So, how can we bring about a change during our time so that new generation of the two countries live as Brothers of Peace. If we look at it from the government point of view, then resolving the following issues could be a way:

• Dialogue on normalization of relations
• Dialogue on Kashmir & within Kashmir
• Dialogue within Each country
• Dialogue on Line of Control

It is, however, escaping our responsibility as individuals if we expect the governments to do all the work. There are somethings that we can do as individuals too. For starters we can use social networking as a platform for change. I know of a good friend who happens to be in an extended friendship with a brother from our brother nation. They keep in touch, and talk about their lives in the two countries. Well, that is an inspiration for us all. If we all are able to extend such cordial relationships with our friends who are separated from us by a manually built line of control, then flowers will blossom -  slowly, but surely. When we are able to extend and support friendships across continents, what stops us from building such relationships with our brothers and sisters who are merely a theoretically drawn line away. If each of the online Indian, or Pakistani,who is into networking on social platforms does this, there will definitely be a change in terms of perception and attitude.

We can make a further difference by helping them with our efforts during their calamities, or bomb strikes, through these social networking platforms. It’s a change that must happen and the online citizens of the two nations can be the change agents to do that. At the end of the day, we are bonded by ties of history, tradition and culture…aren’t we? When we talk about changing the world using these platforms, why not start with that?

Related Posts

• May 19, 2010 — Getting Systematic!
• April 1, 2010 — How They Fooled Us…
• February 27, 2010 — The Story of India Today!
• February 12, 2010 — Beyond Barriers…
• February 1, 2010 — IPL – The Business of Cricket!
• January 19, 2010 — The Rise of the “Baba”!
• January 2, 2010 — Where the Mind is Without Fear…
• December 17, 2009 — Splitting States – The New Story of India!
• October 24, 2009 — Global Warming – We Can Stop It!