Resentment all along...

It all started with the ‘Jasmine revolution’ and then virtually all the Middle-East viz Egypt, Jordan, Algeria and now Libya followed-in to witness the, ‘history in the making’. No doubt that these countries derive their inspiration from Tunisia. Today almost the entire West-Asia is ensued into the call of democracy. It is indeed history in the making.

The common focal point to all these unrest among the people that fuelled their outrage is mounting inflation, unemployment, disenchantment with the government that resulted in the indifference of rulers to decades and an unending corruption. Particularly in Tunisia and Egypt, the situation was very intense which led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidine ben Ali and put an end to 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak. One of the major drivers behind these public movements is the Facebook and Twitter generation. These young men used the ‘alternate media’ to their advantage when the state ensured a blanket ban on the other sources of information.

Now the question here arises, why is the ‘Jasmine revolution’ failed to call upon the Lotus despite the causes undeniably present here in India. A self satisfying answer to this question could be that here still persists some sort of democracy which in all the above mentioned cases were absent. But for how long can these answers contain the people from taking themselves to the streets. In India a staggering 78 pc (some 84 crores) people can’t even manage a proper meal twice a day. They do not enjoy the liberty to express themselves on platforms like Internet.

A similar kind of state-wide anger was witnessed in Bengal in 1965 owing to lack of employment, scarcity of food and the fact that little or no action was being taken to improve the situation. This led to an end to the congress-rule in the state and still the party is trying to undo the past. Then there also was a popular movement by Jayprakash Narayan. Basically it was a students’ movement with which the JP later associated himself and led from the front. It, however, lacked the basic attributes of a revolution and was more of a personal attack on Indira Gandhi following a judgment against her election in 1971.

If history can be a teacher then surely our politicians are the worst of pupils.
Today, corruption is the biggest malaise that India is facing. And it is challenging the very roots of existence of our society. Corruption depends on three things: values cherished by individuals; values cherished by society and the system of governance. Let’s take an example for each of them to ascertain where we actually stand on these parametres.

During and after the CWG scam broke out it was just a matter of time that there were whispers in several other corners as well. Then it was Adarsh Housing Society scam, Karnataka land deals, the mother of all scams the 2G scam. Even, space in not out of reach from the corrupt on the earth.

Corruption is always pervasive in every society but in a covert way.
In the 2G, as it is estimated to be the biggest of all, an individual’s values were targeted by a whole bunch of cronies for whom values never was a motivator and only profit can gauge their success. The first two criterion were easily tossed as a quid-pro-quo for the huge amount of money involved.

‘Masses chose who should run the government and classes decide how they should rule.’ A perfect example of Marxist theory was on display. The influence exerted by people outside the government in decisions of policy formation clearly explains the lack of system of governance.

During a recent meet only with the editors of TV channels the Prime Minister said, ‘I am not that a big culprit that I am being made of… and in coalition politics there are some give and take.’ He also emphasized the fact that ‘if some sort of compromise is not made then there would be elections every six months.’
Now to blame every shortcoming of the government on ‘coalition dharma’ may be a prudent idea but it does not augurs well for people expecting a no-compromise attitude from the government.

It is also important to ask the PM what kind of coalition dharma is he speaking of. In Tamil Nadu the DMK is in power with the support of 34 MLAs of the congress party and at the centre the congress party has 18 MP from the DMK. In case, even if hypothetical, DMK withdraws support from the Manmohan Singh government, it can still manage to complete its full term. But if it withdraws its 34 MLAs in Tamil Nadu the DMK is sure of biting the dust.

Also, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh whose name occurred in scams in Maharashtra and because of whom the Maharashtra government had to pay Rs 10 lakh to the Bombay high court, was elevated to the Union Ministry. He is a congress man. If the PM is really concerned about corruption and willing to take it ‘head-on’ why is he shying away from taking action against his own party men. Well, only the Prime Minister or the congress party is well-positioned to answer these questions if it wishes to otherwise it can wait till the next general elections and take refuge behind the ‘coalition dharma’.

Jo lehron se aagey nazar...

JO lehron se aagey nazar dekh paati,
to tum jan lte main kya socta hun.
wo awaaz jo tumko bhi bhed jaati,
to tum jan lete main kya sochta hun.
Zidd ka tumhare jo parda sarakta...
khidkiyon k aagey bhi tum dekh paate...
Ankhon se aadaton ki jo palke hatate,
to tum jaan lete ki main kya sochta hun.
Meri tereh hota agar khud par zara bharosa,
to kuch door tum bhi saath saath aate.
Rang meri aankho ka bantate Zara sa,
to kuch door tum bhi saath2 aate.
Hasrate tumhari naya zanm pati...
Khud dusre zanm me meri udaan chune,
kuch door tum bhi saath saath aate

Courtesy: UDAAN (movie)

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.