An ageing Tree-- eyeing heart from the heartless

What best defines the limitations of an ageing Tree… probably the best description of this misery-torned tree is a Gandhian cap, a chick penetrating inside the skull and a skeleton notwithstanding the demands of the body… Yet the zeal to continue the fight and save the pride continues irrespective of how things and people have changed….

While coming to my workplace from my rented accommodation in South Delhi’s budget area in a blueline bus… well not to mention that I never get to seat, but tday was somewhat different in many sense.

The bus carrying us like anyother unclaimed luggage, by now, has reached the Nizammudin stand…

And it was this place where two aged people landed inside the bus…

As soon as the bus stopped at the stand an old person who was more than qualified to fall in the ‘senior’ citizen category whirled towards the entrance ( in this case the front exit-door of the bus).. The Sun was at its best to compel us to acknowledge its presence…

He (the first old person of the two)- I”ll introduce the second one after a while, stood at the gate and started looking up to some one, probably for the conductor… After some time despite making his eyeballs exercise a lot he couldn’t manage to hold the sight of the person he was lookin for…. then a someone from the crowd asked..

“Baba kaha jaoge?”

He replied: “bus laal quile jaayegi”
By this time the conductor jumped into the scene.

Conductor: han han jaayegi,, aajao ….. jaldi kro..

Old man: kitne paise lagenge?

Conductor said, in his infamous dialect, “20 rupaye lagenge chalna hai chalo”….

The old man put his hand into his Gandhian kurta to find “support”…

And immediately he said in a very low voice, “7 rupaye.. 1 ke…”

His voice was so low and lacked potent that it appeared as if the words were accompanying the hot breeze to reach our ears…

The conductor had nodded his head in an emphatic no and I was mulling to come to the rescue of the old person…..
But suddenly the driver said, “aa jao, aajao,…. Oye bithale enna nu”
I just heard the first part and had a sigh of relief, as the rest was not of much importance, for two reasons-

1. I did not have to shell-out my hard-earned money and,
2. The old man got on the bus with the money he could afford


To my surprise, the old man went backward in a hurry… I thought may to collect his belongings. But he returned with his fellow couterpart…

They both embarked into the bus and the bus moved ahead… with no seat to sit…

I continued watching both of them.. the other old man attracted my attention.. His behaviour depicted a lot abt him in that short span....


His, time and again, combing of beard with fingers and adjusting the Gandhian cap and taking care of the trademark stick…

Something was different with the duo… They did not welcomed the move by the conductor to give them space to sit on the floor of the bus… yet not even sat on the space ( reserved for the senior citizen) provided them by two others…

May they did not wanted to sit by allowing others to stand however young may be…

Then I reached my destination and had to drop-down… turned for a last glance and the face still was held high in pride..

I don’t know wat compelled me to write this but I m sure that this piece is open for your interpretation of the events….

And that I don’t want to draw any conclusion and force any prejudice on others….. I conclude this piece here only.. thanx reading….!!!!

ओन India !!!!

ONE INDIA ??????

According to Indian Constitution every citizen has equal right in India but its not the same when it comes of education, there is no rule by law to create equality in this field(as I read it on wikipedia).

But why??

Don't u think there should be a space in constitution for this also... When we think of reservation what comes first in one's mind is the SC/ST reservation or the new one 'OBC' quota reservation, but there is another category which is there from the begining, but unfortunately no one chuck-out time to ponder and "waste" his/her precious time on it.

It is this categorisation of students based on the state they belong or should I say the state they are "compelled" to represent..., Though it is as discriminating as it cud be but is given a more sober name 'domicile'.

what is domicile?

Don't u think its another way of classification in our country why is the country divided on the basis of state if whole India is one. I may not have the intellegentia our leaders have and probably thats the reason y I don't understand this classification.

Every state has just a couple of seats that it gives to All India combined examinations (AIEEE, AIPMT, MAT, CAT etc. One can exclude AIIMS, AFMC, IIT,(these have a little numbers of seats) but other than these many colleges do inequality in selection of students from whole of India.

A guy born in a developed state always has a upper hand compared to a guy born in poor state. The less "fortunate" kid has to work harder because of the poor facilities in his state, even if he reaches upto the level of being selected, its not enough, he always have an extra hurdle to cross and thats the barrier of 'domicile'.

I have a good example of it- My room-mate Vijay from Bihar got 137th rank in Safdarjung's entrance examination but he didn't get admission there as selection was closed for 'outsiders' at 131. on the other a student who got 600th rank got through as he belong to Delhi.

Wasn't this an injustice?

How can he say he is an Indian if he is treated as a outsider in his Capital city. Even when I came to Delhi to prepare for the entrance exams, I was regretting for not coming to Delhi after my board exam as I would have got the seats of DPMT. It didn't mattered much for both of us because we got admission in Manipal. Private colleges do not discriminates on the basis of state, even not to those from Andhra Pradesh which doesn't gives its single seat for All India Common Entrance Exams.


It doesn't matters how meritorious or hardworking one is.....what matters is- which state u r born... Had there been a 'single entrance exam' conducted in India, everyone would have got colleges they deserve. How can one think of an undivided India if there will always be division - overt or covert.

Tasks to accomplish ???

Time has no companion. It rests for none, nor does it beacon the imbecile. It remains indifferent to each and everyone. But then, winners never shoulder the rest and seldom look at the lifeless machine which continues its voyage uninterrupted.

More than sixty years have passed since we started our journey as an independent nation. During these years we transformed from a fledgling democracy to a reckoning super power. We have conquered the moon but perhaps lost the ground.

Today, there are many challenges mocking at the doorstep of this largest democracy.

The first one being the attainment of an inclusive development – a development model taking into account the need and demands of each and every constituent. Monsoon is not just about rains it is also about season; winter and summer. Similarly, development is not just about achieving high growth rate. An increasing growth rate cannot justify the diminishing space for the survival of rural population which constitutes the majority.

There is a huge exodus moving in to penetrate the special ‘economic’ zone, created in and around the metro cities, in the hope to attain a better living and to earn a better livelihood. People thong to the cities in numbers but they are not just numbers. Satisfying their need is a tantamount task before the Indian State.

The huge influx of these people is due to the narrowing opportunities in the rural sector. The gap between the rich and the ‘rest’ is multiplying (not increasing) with each passing day. Though, division is also a widely accepted phenomenon in this part of the world. A State can’t take the risk of concocting a perennial dream if its constituents are ensnared into a quagmire of poverty.

The dichotomy of this nation lies somewhere in-between the degrading state of politics and increasing rational of corruption. It awaits another genius to decipher the science of developmental politics.

Oppression breeds resistance. The second big challenge is to contain the Naxal menace. This threat may be accredited as the extension of the first. Due to lost opportunities, absence of optimum exploitation of available resources and injustice meted out by parochial leaders are fuelling a anti-State agenda among the deprived section.

The spread of Maoism, in India, is a result of apathetic approach of the successive Governments towards developing infrastructure in the rural sector. The rich are getting richer and the poor are declining to deeper strata. The connectivity is so mean that even educational reforms and information technology take a back seat. Government schools which were supposed to enlighten the life of poor children are housing the armed battalion of the anti-naxal force.

Maoists have uncovered the true picture depicting their frustration about the Government’s apathy. But the armed struggle and killing cannot be justified as a mean to seek justice. There should be a proper channel to communicate. A specially designed architecture of developmental scheme is the need of the hour whose focal point should be to provide the benefits to the lower-unprivileged class, without any interference from the intermediaries.

Unwanted interference from various segments is another cause of concern. Corruption is proving to be a blood sucking parasite. Not just it lowers the share of beneficiary but also doubles the cost bear by the Government. The welfare schemes meant for the unprivileged itself hangs on the mercy of the privileged participant entitled with the task to disseminate them equally. However, Maoists and Maoism, in India, is an alien and an imported word. Holding the law of the land to ransom, pulling trigger and killing can’t be defended by any mean howsoever be critical. Every life is precious and should be protected so that they can contribute to the ultimate goal of nation-building, when and where the precision arises.

seeking stability in Asia

Talking about stability in south-Asia without mentioning Afghanistan is like staging Shakespear’s Hamlet without the prince of Denmark. 

Today Afghanistan has become a bone of contention in every international debate.

On one side, in different forums, there is a demand to end the assault on the innocent habitants and let the people find their discourse- themselves. And on the other side, people vow to take the war to another level before they start their retreat, next year.

History stands behind the Afghans. They have never undergone any foreign dominance and have always fought for their liberty. This needs to be kept in mind while forming a policy to tackle Talibans.

The war was started by the bush administration to avenge 9/11. But the perpetrators of 9/11 are still at large, may be hatching similar coup, and the US is running after the Kabulliwallas.

Almost nine years have passed to that fateful day, yet there’s no sign of Victory in the ‘war on terror’.

By the end of this year, the number of US forces present on the Afghan soil will be around 100,000.

In such a scenario, what should be the role of the South-Asian countries and India, vis-à-vis the stability in the region?

India has always, treated the Afghans as untouchables. Probably that’s the reason why it was not invited to the ‘London conference’ which the British PM held a few months back with 500$ trust fund and also in the Turkey conference.

It was a sheer foreign-policy failure for India.

Now, as is evident that the west has a change of heart towards the Talibans- they have divided them in Good and Bad, Talibans. There are chances of Good Talibans sharing the future government with Hamid Karzai. Thus, it’s imperative for the Indian government to re-engage itself with the whole of Afghans. Because, once the Talibans come to the power- which is not far, it may happen as soon as the US exits- it will find India more reliable than Pakistan’s duplicity.

Also, the geography of this nation is such that, it holds a special place in south-Asia. It shares a close proximity to all the power players in the region. Hence, commands a special position in the priority of each nation.

The earlier Indian approach was just investment in this deprived nation whose major occupation till now is opium trade. This approach is slightly flawed. India needs to engage the regional players and encourage them to become stakeholders in peace. This will enable them to seriously think of Afghanistan’s peace after the US leaves. Mere, investments will not yield results.

India must aggressively pursue its national interest.

Women Empowerment- an illusion- atleast the Bill is !!!!!!

"After a 14 year hiatus, finally women have got their due."

This I heard as soon as the women 'Empowerment' Bill got through the Rajya sabha. And then, a long session of debate presided the whole process .....
As if,  my collegues were unpleased over the passage of the Bill minus- debate in the Elder's House- as it is fondly called. Though, the scenes, on the day the bill was introduced, depicted some other story.

Let me not get into the ethics of proceedings of the Parliament- both the houses included. It's not worth teaching the Guardians of our democracy.
My collegues, kept themselves busy with their approach on the Bill.

The debate was still on..... and it was something we all missed by our Elders.

However, the debate on the Bill started with a misnomer" -Women Reservation Bill"... Had they said Empowerment, I'd have been more pleased, however.

First party's response was the bill should have been passed.

second party's idea was it shan't have been.

For any debate, two-party system is necessary- first supportive and the other dissident or the vice-versa.

The first and only requirement to start the debate was fulfilled. The other requirement to lead it to a meaningful conclusion was, however, absent.

For almost 2 hrs the debate continued- with each party pressing their point emphatically. And I kept on enjoying the ongoing 'battle of the warriors'.

During the whole debate the idea I found missing was the future of the Bill.

As the bill has been passed by the upper house, in due course it will also get through the lower- may be with some more high intensity performances.

What will happen next?

The bill is to provide a fair share to the 'under-priviledged'- as is talked about and being projected by the government.

But is it really so?

According to the Bill, 33% seats will be reserved for women.The first question struck to mind is, which seats? Not decided yet? But, It will be decided by a panel...

Fine........

Again the Bill says, the elected woman candidate will have to vacate the seat after 5 yrs
(the rotation formula provides) - for the government continues to complete its full tenure.... 

Here it can be asked,Will it not ENCOURAGE CORRUPTION AMONG THE POLITICIANS( both genders included). As the male candidate also fear losing their seat to the reserved category, in the next election.

The situation now is worse, what will happen if the leaders get to know about their fate earlier. Will they work to secure their position in the next election....

Most of them will seek to amass 'wealth' as much as they can.

Their thirst, however, is unquencheable.

These questions repeatedly came to my mind and I seek to clear the haze...

The Bill indeed is necessary and one whose time has arrived... But it needs certain changes...!

The most important work it will do is to reduce the spectre of the regional parties and once again bring the national parties in the fore front.. which is good in some way and in some ways it will increase the regional disparities and anchor the smooth sailing of the central parties.

What an innovative way to cater the increasing threat of the regional parties.