Perlustration...

We grow up in a world of exams. Every step forward is authorized after taking some exam. They always demand to answer a certain set of problems. The range and scope is specified, you just have to prove your skills in that field. Exam ends, some pass some fail, some happy some sad. Then there is an exam which never ends, it’s tough, it’s ingenious, it’s inevitable. It has no limitation, there is no defined set of problems, it’s impromptu, and most of the times unwelcomed. It’s called life. You don’t have to submit your answers. All you have to do is think...

Think not why the test has been given to you, or why should you take the exam. You don’t have control on that. Think how to deal with it, because you have no other option, and moreover that is the only thing you can control. The nature of the exam is such that it is designed uniquely, thus no scope of copying/cheating. So, if you compare your problem with others, it’s only gonna limit your thinking. Give it depth. Don’t compare your life with others...

There are rules. Don’t make things difficult for others, and you won’t get tough problems. Keep faith and trust, don’t break promises, and you will get confidence to solve your problem. Forgive others, help them, no hatred, no vengeance and you will be given less problems to solve. The rules are simple, lustrate yourself, there is nothing as creating problem for others, if there exists something like this, then it is called creating problem for yourself. There can be no good in hurting others...

Just keep trying, keep amending, keep improvising, keep refining, keep expecting and keep hoping. No submissions, no deadlines. Promenade on the shores of life, and it will be as beautiful as ever. No one fails in this exam; some of us just perform better than others...

I will be found waiting...

When there is something inside you,
that no one is ready to hear.
The feeling that no one is there,
and you are left all alone.
I will be found waiting.

When all relations, new and old,
leave you in a swerving oblivion.
The poignancy reaching its limit,
and the pain insufferable .
My care would be found waiting.

When you can’t differentiate, between right and wrong,
And the perplex is consistently annoying.
There will be a place away from both,
a place so naive and devoid of deceptive facade.
And there, I will be found waiting.

When you need to cheer up your mood,
and everything around is gloomy.
The melody of life is missing,
and the shades of life are becoming dark.
My songs would be found waiting.

When the expectations melt,
and no one seems to be near.
When everything appears to be coming to an end,
there will still be something incomplete,
and that will be my wait.

When you are overwhelmed with joy,
and happiness knocking your door.
The blissful expanse is spreading its arms,
there will still be something incomplete,
and that will be my wait.

When everyone shows, how caring they are,
and the masquerading world engulfs you,
There will always be a corner, away from that banal bright
where something is waiting for the end of this pretence.
and that will be my unending wait. 

When everything ends, and ends again,
after the end of that,
I will be found waiting...

Whenever it rains, I walk down the memory lane...

Whenever it rains,

I try to find a corner,
where a gentle breeze with a modest sprinkle touches my face.
A corner where I can sit for hours,
and thoroughfare years back into time.
A corner where time comes to life,
the euphony brings a divine rendition, and the sprinkle purifies every thought.
A sojourn devoid of resounding rush of life,
but filled with emotions of past.

Whenever it rains,

I walk down to a child, who waits for rain so high,

that he doesn’t have to go to school.
A child who wants to take his bicycle out with his friends,
and want to splash out all possible water collected on the road.
A child who waits for the rain to stop so that,
he can float the boat he made and take some insects on a ride.

Whenever it rains,

I walk down to a random place,

where I took shade from rain,
where I wished some girl to take shade too.
And one day when she took shade,
I never gathered strength to talk to.

Whenever it rains,

I walk down to my friend,

and take him on a multi mile ride, nothing but  for a chai and a smoke.
No matter how bad he plays,
he suddenly becomes a key player for a football match.
Friendship drenched with trust,
and made stronger by every moment spent in that rain.

Whenever it rains,

I walk down to my love,

and feel the love budding under an umbrella.
Then take my hands out to bring some drops in,
the drops to play, and make her shy away with every sprinkle.
I sit with her on a pavement on the road side,
where the shiver of the rain mingles with the warmth of care.
The view so vista, the gleam in the eye, and the disarming rain,
with every falling drop, I fall in love again.

Whenever it rains,

I also wait for the rainbow,
for it brings me back to my colourful life.
And makes me realize my panoramic today,
made beautiful by past and lively by the uncanny future.

Whenever it rains,

It brings with itself,

the moments lost but not forgotten,

and I walk down the memory lane...

Bhagat Singh, the greatest Indian revolutionary-Let’s not forget him…

I am going to sacrifice my life for a cause. What more consolation can there be? A god-believing Hindu may expect to be reborn a king; a Muslim or a Christian might dream of the luxuries he hopes to enjoy in paradise as a reward for his sufferings and sacrifices. What hope should I entertain? I know that it will be the end when the rope is tightened around my neck and the rafters moved from under my feet. To use more precise religious terminology- it will be my moment of utter annihilation. My soul will come to nothing. If I have the courage to think of the matter in the light of a “reward”, I see a short life of struggle with no such magnificent end as itself my “reward”. That is all.

With no selfish motive or desire to be awarded here of hereafter, quite disinterestedly have I devoted my life to the cause of independence, because I could not do otherwise.

-Bhagat Singh

BHAGAT SINGH (1907-1931), a revolutionary, an extremist, a fearless socialist had a clear vision for his life and was quite certain of the reward that death will bring. He desired no coronation or messianic worship. He just wished to end the despotic rule and bring to its people a vista of freedom and right of sovereignty. He lived in an era when the Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence was not able to bring the intended results. The tolerance and endurance of the masses was reaching the limits. They needed some way to vent out their anger; the youthfulness of the nation was restless. It will be wrong to say that Bhagat Singh was young and the adrenaline rush was propelling him to take extreme measures. He was a revolutionary and not a terrorist. He was not fomented by exuberance, vindication and fanaticism of youthfulness, arms and ammunitions; his actions were held by sagacity of his voracious reading and firmness of beliefs. On Revolution Bhagat Singh has said:

“Revolution necessarily implies the programme of systematic reconstruction of society on a new and better adopted basis, often necessitating complete destruction of the existing state of affairs. It was one of the illusions of each generation that the social institutions in which it lived were natural and permanent. Yet for the countless years social institutions had been superseded by others adapted to temporary needs.”

The unfathomable, disagreeable and unbelievable 116 days hunger strike, which by no comprehensible thinking seems a human act, was possible only because of strong determination and conviction. It shows his devotion to the reason he lived for and the same reason he was ready to die for. It breached all the scientifically proved limits of human suffering, and demonstrated the power of conviction to every other. A significant lesson that it conveys is that a simple reason is good enough to face any challenge in life. “If a person has a reason to live for, he will never be afraid to die for that reason”. And a fearless man knows no boundaries and no limits. Have a reason in life and then nothing will be impossible…  

“Duniya se ghulami ka main nam mita dunga
Ik baar zamane ko main azad kara dunga
Jo log garibon par kartein hain sitam nahaq
Gar dam hai mera kayam gin gin ke saza dunga”

(I will remove the name of slavery from this world/ I will make this world free/ the people who torture the poor will face my wrath until the time I have any power left in me)

It was his resolve to work for the poor. The disparity and injustice in the society is increasing, and it is increasing due to increase in corruption. The rich is getting richer and poor is getting poorer. There can be no sin as disgraced as taking advantage of poor and helpless. It’s the responsibility of the youth to take care that no poor is getting marginalized, or is being filched. Let this Independence Day we also take a resolve to fight for the poor, and remove the name of slavery from this country or rather world…

There has always been a so called difference in the ideologies and idiosyncrasies of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh. I will not debate here that Gandhi tried to sideline Bhagat Singh in order to gain the mass appeal and maintain his stranglehold. But somehow I feel that in the jail going for a hunger strike Bhagat Singh also approved of some non-violent methods that Mahatma Gandhi adopted. As I said before, he was not a terrorist, he was a revolutionary, and his methods were well researched, thoroughly studied and completely based on his beliefs. Bhagat Singh never intended to kill the British troops by mass strike, he just wanted to convey his message, convey the message to the British and to the people of India that they should not fear.  Mahatma Gandhi also preached fearlessness. Only the method to convey the message was different, Bhagat Singh was a bit loud.

                                                                             ~

Today India is also trying to bring out a revolution, a revolution in Kashmir, a revolution in North East, a revolution in tribal areas of central India, and many other. All must learn from the teachings of Bhagat Singh. A major step, "India against corruption" is a revolution of modern era; the corruption has been embedded so deep into the roots of political system that people have lost faith in democracy. The youth must join the revolution, and must bring support to the movement in every possible way. It is a fight for freedom, freedom from corruption. The current movement is a movement for truth, for justice and for democracy. The definition of revolution as given by Bhagat Singh fits very naturally to the current system. Conspicuously, the political will is absent, surrogated by vested interests of personal gains. The current stand of the government only obfuscates their ostensible measures to remove corruption. Let’s remember the greatest revolutionary of Indian history and end this farcical and institutional democracy. Let’s bring the change in terms of real democracy, free from corruption. The time has come…

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab humare dil mein hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna bazu-e-quatil mein hai…
Waqt aane de bata dengetujhe eh aasman
Hum abhi se kya bataein, kya humare dil mein hai…

The boyfriend(s) of India...

No point beating the bush that India is getting westernized or modernized or globalised or anything to do with western culture rushing into Indian streams. No denial of India’s love for the west. I am not interested in talking about modern Indian girls displaying what they were not supposed to display earlier, and with that display obstructing the display of Indian culture. Also I am not interested in discussing what a modern Indian girl should be like or how she should behave. I am definitely not on right wing propaganda.Girls are also no longer shy enough to make more-than-a-few boyfriends at a time, of course they have their own reasons for that.

India is a stunning girl of this modern glamorous world and is definitely making a lot of boyfriends. Not to mention, not all girls possess this skill. India in its red romper, flowing black hair, waxed legs is surely a center of attraction for everyone out there. Everyone’s trying for a cup of coffee, but before the other one. The permanent five of the United Nations Security Council all visited India last year to try their luck (the powerful one’s get the first chance everywhere). India is charming enough to make everyone happy. Striking a deal or two with everyone, but tried for a nuclear deal with everyone (of course for her own reasons). Uncle Sam (U.S) seems more interested in keeping the other big guy away from India, he is quite disgruntled with China. China is keeping its currency undervalued by buying a hell lot of US treasury bonds. The undervalued currency helps his exports and thus he is able to provide a lot of gifts to India. Uncle Sam had already messed up his economy by being over smart and now wants to blame China for destabilizing the world economy. China is a tough guy, won’t be easily bullied by him. China tries to get her attention by timely declaring new dams on Brahamputra, by issuing stapled visa, by raising border disputes. He just tries every possible thing to grab her attention. But has deep love inside and the bilateral trades are increasing. All the raw material from India gets finished there only.    

India is also busy in all possible implantation to attract more and more guys towards her. The proposals to increase the FDI limits in various sectors, preferring autonomous way to FDI than the FIPB route, changing of mining laws, passage of RTI, opening up of economy, moving towards capital account convertibility are just a few to name. Earlier she had natural beauty so there was no need for all this, but that excessive beauty made her vulnerable as well. Now she is the 21^st century woman.

Guys like Pakistan are just jealous and want to throw acid to annihilate her beauty. He sends the terrorists, he causes the blasts, and he organizes riots in Kashmir. But the 21^st century woman is too strong; he gets a time to time canning for his nuisances, left right and center. Guys like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh know that they have no chance at all, so they are happy playing their role for fixing dates with the big guys. If you can’t get her, just try to behave as brother, atleast you get a chance to talk and at times touch. They provide her the strategic positions to avoid the unwelcomed guests and in return get some bilateral trade. Guys like Bhutan almost get their quarter budget funded by India. Nepal is trying to get his constitution being made with India’s help, but India after 60 years is still busy understanding hers own. Sri Lanka’s President is a student of Indian university, so as every college guy of India he is confused as to what to do with his nation and lives in a constant fear that one day Sri Lanka will become a part of Tamil Nadu.

There are various guys, who feel they are not competent enough to try their luck on India, come in groups, groups like ASEAN, SAARC, BIMSTEC, MERCOSUR etc. India also tries to be involved in all of them, after all I don’t know a single girl who doesn’t like to get attention from all the guys in the party. So when the economic party is on, then why not show a piece of glamour of entice everyone.  

   

Then there is the old boyfriend The Soviet Union, now disintegrated into number of parts, the biggest one called Russia. It’s a time tested relationship. Whatever happens, the love of Russia never seems to fade away. He has always loved her, but feels a bit uncomfortable these days, looking at so many other relations India is making with other guys. Russia is also a big guy, he has huge natural wealth, he is rich, he is powerful, but not as it used to be before 1991. He has always taken a single and sole stand for India against all tides. This one side love always hurts the most, and that too when it’s true. Rapist turned friend, U.K is not getting the desired love it expects. History could be the reason. But when it comes to money I guess the relationship can be made better, everything melts down to economy these days (monetary reasons). He also came to India last year, with lots of lovely gifts and in return wanted India to save his degrading economy.

~

The geopolitics has become more of geo-eco-politics. India is making the best use of it. She makes relationships with everyone and anyone which can fulfill her energy needs. With energy she makes a fast development and becomes more and more beautiful. This charm will continue until the time the growth is in full swing. Once the beauty becomes stagnant, the guys will leave and then she will have to be self sustained enough to carry on. Then no boyfriend will welcome her every step, nor will he take care of her needs. He is taking care because he is getting something in return.  As I said before, no point beating the bush that world is getting westernized or modernized or globalised. This is how relations are these days. More materialistic than sentimental, more pragmatic than natural and more realistic than emotional. India’s relationship is also like that only, no marriage material. She knows how to move now, but also has to make arrangements for the upcoming lonely times. India should focus more on domestic growth and consumption. The export driven economy can not be a sustainable mode of growth. Also the manufacturing segment should be bolstered, the service sector should never be neglected and fiscal consolidation should always take place.

India likes all her boyfriends but loves only a few and also tacitly deeply loves China, but when she can have so many boyfriends, then what is the need to marry any of them. ;)    

PS: I have portrayed India as a lady not because it can be an analogy to weakness, but to show that woman these days are not weak, as considered before, at least in Indian context. India has faced the burns and brunt during colonial era, and now politicians are trying to sell India into the hands of only a few rich ones. As a true Indian lady, India is self sustainable for growth and also can help the other one’s around. It’s time for grassroot development and empowerment.

The Commanding Cronies of India and the Meek Naxalites

Adam Smith has stated, “The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful…neglect persons of poor and mean condition…is the greatest and most universal cause of corruption of our moral sentiments”. Indian capitalists have become so strong that the political parties have no other option than to worship them. Crony capitalism has always been a part of this modern industrialized corporate world. But what price are we paying? Are we really electing the government who works for our betterment? Are we living in oblivion that one day our net worth will increase as our country’s GDP is increasing? Are the so called fruits of development really gonna reach us? Is there a real free market regime or we are getting more cartelized? And above all, are we living actually in a democracy or is it just an institutional democracy?

It’s a well know fact, that India faces internal as well as external insurgencies. It’s relatively easier to understand the external threats, maybe because they straight away attack our integrity. I guess that’s what we understand when it comes to internal security as well, when we talk about Kashmir or Naxalite like issues we are made to believe that they are a threat to our integrity, they are the proclaimed separatists. Bu the equation is not that simple. Our Prime Minister has stated that Naxalites are the single biggest internal security challenge. Let’s ask a few questions to ourselves and then see how big this threat is.

Who actually are Naxalites? Are Naxalites and Maoist same?

In 1967, an uprising occurred in a village called Naxalbari near Siliguiri in West Bengal. They had a simple demand of “land to tiller”. They were fed up of being landless agricultural laborers. They decided to distribute the land amongst themselves (following socialism as enshrined in our preamble) and carry on their activity. Somehow the government did not like it, as they cannot allow the poor and uneducated to take decision for themselves. When their whole intelligentsia thinks it is suitable for them to be landless, how in the world they can they decide against it. So police was deployed, and the result was the uprising. So from then, anyone who decided to fight for their rights is termed Naxalite, the biggest threat to our constitution and democracy.
As, every group with political ambitions follow some or the other ideology. Here the ambitions are more administrative than political. Still as their leaders are following the ideology of Chairman Mao, so eventually they all become Maoist as well. Now, if you also like the ideology of Mao you are Maoist and in turn a Naxalite and thus a threat to the nation, you must be killed.

What is Salwa Judum?

As India is incessantly working for our development, so it is one of the major employment schemes in the tribal areas. Here the tribal people who like to follow the government instructions are employed and provided with weapons. Their job is pretty simple…just kill the ones who do not like to follow the government. This is a part of poverty reduction scheme as well. As per the government, tribals cannot bring themselves above the poverty line on their own, and also they are not allowing government to do so, so the best option for them is to die. And thus we also inch closer to the UN Millennium Development Goals, and thus keeping our global obligations.    

What is the government’s interest in that area?

Of course Development! What else the largest democracy in the world wants? They want to teach those uncivilized tribals how to live. As till now they have known the principles of sustainable development, and were able to survive in the jungles for years, but now they do not have the requisite skills remaining with them. They need the state’s support to survive. The industrialists are not pushing them to make the way clear for mining (for the thousands of MOU that they have signed). Our industrialists are concerned more about the people than the money. Government does not give it a damn, if bauxite worth 4 trillion is lying in the hills of that area. We are not a capitalist economy… we are a socialist democratic country, believing in welfare economics. No one is fool to not to understand as simple thing as that. The interest is more of the capitalists, who see the wealth beneath those mountains, and government just acting as puppet in their hands. They do want to through all these creepy creatures out of the forest and dig out all possible ores and minerals.

The cases like Niyamgiri got attention because it received some global support as well, otherwise that area is also supposed to be infiltrated by Maoists/Naxalites, and should therefore be a national threat. The mining has made the life of people living in the jungles a hell, they definitely do not have the know-how to survive in such climate, where the dust full of alien elements fill their lungs and destroy their crops. The shining India needs that mineral wealth to become brighter. The tribals cannot allow this to happen, as it is land they worship, it is the land they admire, all they want is their land to remain their own.

Why violence?

State believes in the Gandhian philosophy of satyagrha and non-violece, so when a policeman comes running to you, having no other intention than to kill you, try sitting on a hunger strike, trust me you will get heard. When a Godman is beaten in the national capital (for whatever reasons), how can a Dogri, Kondh or any such unheard human (considered uncivilized and uneducated) tribe expect itself to be heard from the jungles. When comrade Azad came to carry a few rounds of talks with the government, he was shot point blank. I guess the government was sure that his existence could bring the real issues out. I must make it clear I do not support any form of violence (is it too late to say that? I hope the forces have not already started surrounding me reading the above questions). But when money involved is so huge, and people in the area know, that government is ready to cross any forbidden lines; then survival becomes the only fathomable question. When all possible sort of forces available in the country, ITBP CRPF, BSF, CISF and adding to them the specially designed-to-kill COBRA, GREYHOUNDS,SCORPIANS become hyperactive in the area, then non-violence will only end up giving away your lands. And that’s what they are fighting for, that’s what they are protecting. The sad part is that along with the tribals, the precious army men are lost in this battle for the capitalists. The Dantewada Massacre was done to just send the message to the state that stop flooding the jungles with the army men, don’t convert schools and hospitals into military camps. They also do not like killing, but in this jungle warfare the rules have been laid down, either kill or get killed. But yes, the tribals have two options- either get killed by the bullet or follow our terms and get killed yourself slowly. They have chosen the first path for the fight for their dignity, for their survival and for their existence.

~

Politicians have made these poor tribal people the enemies of the nation. The media of the country also display a hapless situation, by being sold in the hands of the riches. You will find an energized host shouting at full throttle and asking questions like, why do the Maoist not come out and contest elections and come to mainstream politics? Next time you can tell him “they are not rich enough to pay you”.  The country boasts of its democratic fundamentals, the ministers say we are not a communist government, so we cannot grow fast. The capitalists are making them dictators, and they are paying them handsomely for being so. The power of the industrialists has overpowered the democratic powers. Poor people are paying its cost by giving away their lives. If the state thinks that tribals cannot survive on their own then please let them die on their own. And as u are sure they will die, once they are dead you can fulfill your cartel dreams.     

Here I would like to quote Fali Nariman, “In the relentless march of the history of a nation, there is no second chance. There are only lessons to be learnt from a similarity of situation elsewhere. Dictators take over and establish themselves wherever and whenever the situation in a country goes completely out of hand (in the minds of right thinking people), when law and order breaks down, when politicians will be bought and let it be so known, and (confound them) when once bought, they have not even the residual decency to remain bought!

When settled principles and norms of decent behavior are set at naught, when established conventions are thrown to the winds, no constitution, not even the best-worded, can work.

In such situation, democracy tends to commit suicide.”

The Wildest Roar...

One of the most dramatic day in Indian politics, West Bengal elections have seen what few years ago, people could not even think. Yes, I say a few years ago, because the furor and fervor with which this lady was fighting, people smelled the death of left. She has decimated left, and has severed the 34 years old “red regime”. Communist Party of India (Marxist) has finally lost its stranglehold in the state.

Indian voters have once again proved their prudence; people were angry and disappointed with the socio-economic condition of the state. A similar situation in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK era has come to an end, people have vent out their anger about corruption cases charged against the government. I won’t say, Jayalalitha has won only because people din have much other options for a change, she also has struggled for more than a decade to achieve this. But it is definitely not as glorious a moment as what Mamta Banerjee has done.

In 1977, India demonstrated the power of democracy by ousting Congress, and people chose Janta Party government over that. But congress did return in power after 3 years, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has to take care, that this should not happen in west Bengal. If they are unable to restore law and order condition, or are unable to provide with the change people want, left is still strong enough to take control again. If TMC can benefit from Singur and Nandigram, which definitely were the turning points of the political equation of the state, similar equation could again develop and benefits could be taken by the hard-bitten opposition.

But, we are hopeful and optimistic for the lady who has the nerves to take her decisions without caring much about her seat or coalition. She has always done what she feels is right for the people. No one can forget the Alipore rally, nor can Amar Singh ever forget when she handled him by collar in the well of the parliament. She was the youngest parliamentarian and was able to upset veteran Somnath Chatterjee. It was her dream to decapitate left from the west Bengal when she formed TMC in 1998.It took almost a decade of toiling, but the lady never gave up on her dream and has incessantly worked to fulfill it. And that’s what she said in her victory speech on CNN-IBN- “we did it”. And also mentioned the famous lines of the great Rabindra Nath Tagore, “Where Mind is without fear and the head is held high…” The state has definitely awakened.

Whole country is listening to the wildest roar from the West Bengal, famous for the Bengal tigers, but this tigress has roared louder than any other in the Sunderbans. I can put myriad of instances where people were awestruck by her bold display of speech and action, but the time is to celebrate her glory, time is to take inspiration and work for our dreams, and believe in them. However mighty the opposition be, if you have faith in victory and belief in actions, success will definitely come. Always keep eyes on your goals, never care about the path, because if your eyes can see nothing but the dream, any path becomes beautiful.