India under siege-IV

The oxford English dictionary defines economics as,"the science of the production and use of goods and services".There are various ways of looking at economics.The Marxist view of economics and the Anglo Saxon view of economics are two popular ways of looking at economics.India,after 1947,has experimented with both the socialist model and the Anglo Saxon model. 


The interesting thing to be noted is that the economics practiced by the Indian has never changed over the millennia,though the Indian state has experimented with different economic models,after Independence.Any economist will tell you that the difference between the traditional Indian economic model and the Anglo Saxon model is that the indian model is based on saving,while the Anglo Saxon model is based on spending.It was this mindset that led india to prosperity.India was such a rich country that every nation,all over the world was jealous of her wealth and prosperity.India was self sufficient and her children were contended and peaceful.


After India adopted the Macaulay system of education,there was a deliberate attempt to impose the Anglo Saxon model on the Indians.And the Britishers seem to have succeded,to a great extent as far as the Indian state is concerned, though a majority of the Indians continue to  follow to the traditional model of economics,based on savings.


But,slowly one can sense that even the Indian on the street has started to lean towards the Anglo Saxon model.The reason which is often attributed to this change in mindset is globalization.The concept of globalization assumes that it is in the best interests of nations,all over the world,to eat the same food,wear the same dress,speak the same language and so on.Globalization assumes that homogenizing societies is the key to development of the nations.


Any nation has its own people,languages,culture etc.These are influenced by geographic locations,way of thinking etc.It is natural to expect that each nation knows what is good and what is bad for it.It is only when some external power starts dictating that confusion sets in.This is more so when the mind itself is held hostage by the external power.


For the last two decades or so,India has adopted the policy of liberalization,paving the way for globalization.The popular perception in India is that India has boomed because of globalization.Unfortunately,figures and statistics seem to suggest otherwise.


Before 1986,30 percent of India lived below the poverty line.Today,more than 70 percent of India's population lives below the poverty line.How does it matter to the man on the street,whether India's image as a global destination has grown or not,or at what rate Infosys is growing?All that matters to him is whether he and his children have food for the next day.Has globalization helped him feed his children?


The reader will probably be tempted to argue that globalization has worked wonderfully in developed countries like America.While there is no denying the fact that America has indeed benefited from globalization,few are aware that it is at the cost of other nations.


From being one of  the world's largest investors in the 1980s,the U.S,today is the world's largest borrower.America,owes $7 trillion dollars to the world,and it is borrowing at the rate of $2 billion a day.Who gives America the money??


Out of the $1.5 trillion risk loans, the EU Central Bank issued a cheque for $512 billion in December 2007. The EU money was lent in the US, not in the EU. Today, America has become a burden on the world.Without going too technical,let us try to understand the meaning of the term sub-prime loan.


Sub means lower in importance and prime means main.A sub-prime loan is a loan which is given to an unworthy borrower.In other words,the loan is given to a borrower who is highly unlikely to repay the loan.It is one of the most fasionable concepts in America.Loans are given indiscriminately.The question arises,are Americans foolish enough to give loans just like that?


The answer is NO. In fact,the Americans are the most brainy people on Earth.This is because,the sub-prime loan being given is not from America's money.It is the world's money.It is the rest of the world which has made a fool of itself.Americans must go to malls,freak out in pubs and go berserk in parties at the cost of the money lent by the rest of the world. It is the world that keeps America going.Not the other way round,as is being believed.America has become the burden of the world,and the rest of the world must bear the burden.As long as the world keeps pumping money,Americans continue to spend extravagantly.This is precisely the reason why no Indian wants to return back to India,after living in America for about 5-6 years.The hardworking people in India will save their money in Indian banks,which will in turn lend it to American banks through the World Bank route,and the Indian American will continue to lead an extravagant lifestyle.So many Americans consider it foolish to save their money these days.The reason is obvious.


The tragi-comedy is that,Indians who are under the impression that everything that is 
good for the West is good for India as well,has started to emulate America in this 
aspect as well.You see malls coming up everywhere,and teenagers flocking them with 
their friends.Of course,such a mindset has just started to set in.But,its scary to think 
what will happen if this mindset continues to grow among Indians.Unlike America,no 
body is going to pitch in for us if we become spend-thrifts.




My friends often ask me as to why i avoid going to malls.Try telling them all this and 
they might even consider "unfriending" me forever.But,these are the facts.I really 
hope that the reader is able to understand what will happen if this trend continues.

Curiously enough,the idea of shopping in malls reached much popularity in America 
only after the 9/11 attacks.


Recession on one side and terrorism on the other brought down the American economy to its knees. The American Industry experts thought unless the Americans started spending again there was no way to revive the economy . Out of desperation, to make the people spend they came up with an outlandish Idea called “SHOP FOR AMERICA”.


The former President, Mr Bill Clinton asked his countrymen “to get out and shop”. September 30 was celebrated as “SHOP FOR AMERICA DAY”. General motors started their campaign “to keep America rolling” by introducing 0% financial offer. The result was all automakers cleared their un-sold stocks. It was preached that what is good for General motors is good for America. Time Europe Magazine in its Jan 28,2008 issue says ”since September 11,2001 consumerism has been cast as new patriotism”.Shopping was preached as the national duty of every American citizen!!



The consumerism, which was preached as a solution for recession gave birth to Sub-prime mortgage lending on houses. How come the rise in value of houses promotes spending? As the price of their house,rose, people went to the bank, got loans against the increased price of their house as an additional equity and spent them in malls and other extravagant activities. 
For example a house which was priced at Rs 50 Lakhs pre recession rose to Rs 1 crore because of additional demand. The House owner took a loan on this increased value of Rs 50 Lakhs and complted his national duty of shopping.


The money lent on sub-prime basis was not American money. The mortgaged loans of the US banks belong to banks in the Middle East, in Korea, in Taiwan or even in India.It was a US crisis at global cost. That is why it affected the world. 
Globalisation helped America to make the local loans, global loans.This is why,recession,which ought to have been America's problem,became a "global" problem.Recession is America's gift to the world.

Let us understand this in an easier manner.You give me loan.I use the money to buy things from you.I never repay the loan.Thus,you get fooled twice.America imports products from other countries using its sub-prime loans.This is what America is doing to the world,and the world knows it.

It is this life model,which our economists are trying to enforce upon us.Isn't it obvious that such a policy will turn detrimental in the long run??

It is foolish to think of economics just in terms of money.There is a moral,social and cultural aspect to economics as well.Take a look at the society in India and compare the figures for public expenditure for private purposes, which is called the social security system in the West. 30% of the GDP in America is spent for social security, 48% in England, 49% in France, 56% in Germany and 67% in Sweden. This private expenditure is nothing but what you and I do by taking care of parents, our wives and children, brothers and sisters and grandparents, widowed sisters and distant relatives. This expenditure is met by the society in India.

Now,this is where the Anglo Saxon model fails.It looks as economics just in terms of money.The Anglo Saxon model looks at individuals separately.The Indian model looks at the society at large.This is because of the strong family system prevailing in India.It is this family system which keeps the Indian economy stable.

These days,we find so many Indian intellectuals arguing that family based lifestyle is not a must.The Supreme Court itself has given legal sanction to live-in relationships and pre-marital sex.But such opinions are meaningless as long as the aam aadmi continues to uphold the age old traditions and customs of his ancestors.

"Asia is long-lived, Europe brief, ephemeral. Asia is in everything hugely mapped, immense and grandiose in its motions, and its life-periods are measured accordingly. Europe lives by centuries, Asia by millenniums. Europe is parceled out in nations, Asia in civilizations... Everything in Europe is small, rapid and short-lived; she has not the secret of immortality."


These are the immortal words of Shri Aurabindho. He goes on to predict that India shall rise on the ruins of the West.

But that is possible only if a time comes when the Indian mind will shake off the darkness which has engulfed it,and cease to hold opinions at second or third thought,and that is when India shall rise again,to ascend the throne and assert her rightful place among the comity of nations.

I hope that by the grace of God,we shall be able to break the shackles that we have imposed on ourselves.

"Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free.....
Into that heaven of freedom,my father
Let my country awake"
- Rabindranath Tagore


Let us all pray God that Tagore's prayers come true one day.


(To be continued)

India under siege-III

The date was 1st June,2012.I was to appear for my professional ethics examination on 2nd June,2012.The exam was to be conducted in the afternoon,from 2pm-5pm.I had to read 5 units by then.The first unit  was "Scope and Aim of Engineering Ethics".I was sitting at home with a book written by Mike W.martin and Ronald Schinzinger.Both of them were scholars who lived in America.One of the important topics to be covered in the first unit was about the two theories on moral autonomy.One was proposed by Kohlberg,the other was proposed by  Gilligan,who were again Americans.The book itself was meant for Americans,as was evident from the language used by the authors.(It repeatedly kept referring to America as "our country".)Where was I? Choolaimedu,Chennai,millions of miles away from America.Still,I was reading a book meant for Americans,in order to prepare for an engineering examination to be conducted in Chennai by Anna University,an "autonomous institution".
This really made me think.What is the reason for this?One obvious reason was globalization,which presupposes that it is in the best interests of nations,the world over,to follow the same policies,eat the same food,wear the same dresses and learn the same subjects in the same way(read as,Western way).the other reason that came to my mind was lord Mcaulay's speech in the british Parliament on 2nd February,1875.That one speech that was to impact the lives of millions of Indians for eternity.

The most significant extract of that speech is quoted below:

 “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a begger, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever counquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation. ”

I cannot,at present think of any person with such forthright and devilish planning as Lord Macaulay.The result is for everyone to see.Lord Macaulay lived in India only for four years,from 1834-1838,but he was destined to change the lives of millions of Indians forever.The main difference between the Britishers and the earlier Muslim invaders was that the Britishers succeeded in making us look down upon ourselves.Indians held the Muslims in fear but the Britishers were worshiped. 


Once the mind is mortgaged,there's little the body can do.When an entire nation is tricked into believing that Britishers alone,who came to plunder the wealth,  could develop the nation,there is no thing that can be done to make people have any respect for their motherland,natural resources or culture.


Thus,another dark chapter in India's painful and turbulent history was being written....Not by her children,but the haughty and disrespectful children of a bitch.


Macaulay wrote a note,sitting in Ooty,“We require an education system in India which will produce a class of interpreters, who will be Indian in colour and Englishmen in taste, opinions and morals.”


On March 7, 1835, the Governor General William Bentinck agreed with Macaulay's Minute and wrote, "the great object of the British Government ought to be the promotion of European literature and science among the natives of India," thus promoting and establishing a permanent position for the use of English language in Indian educational institutions. 


Trevelyan writes, "two of the Orientalists retired from the Committee of Public Instruction; several new members, both English and native, were appointed; and Macaulay entered upon the functions of President with an energy and assiduity which in his case was an infallible proof that his work was to his mind"

Take any English book on Indian history and after reading it you will surely get the impression that India was such a good for nothing before the Britishers came to India.Such an impression is being created and the very same books are used as the reference for drafting the syllabus of  books to be read by school children.As you read this,millions of young minds are being poisoned into believing that India was a nation of superstition,castes and inequalities before the British cleansed the system.Of course,there is no denying the fact that India did face such problems.

But,didn't other nations face similar problems?

When you think of America,does Obama strike your maid or is it Apartheid?

When you think of India,does caste strike your mind or is it the Ashoka pillar at Sarnath?

Let us consider an example to understand our history book-The Indus valley Civilization

While reading about the Indus Valley Civilization,the only person given prominence is Mortimer Wheeler,who famously declared,"Indra stands accused".It was his contention that it was the Aryan invasion that brought down the fall of the Indus Valley Civilization.It hardly matters if people lived after him,like S.R.Rao, D.P.Agarwal, B.B.Lal, Ambedkar, Swami Vivekananda, Arabindho etc have disproved this. 

Wheeler,a Britisher,has said it,and his word is law.I can understand if both sides of the story are presented to the student and the final inference is left to the student.Such myths are propagated as though they are matters of fact.

As far as the Aryan invasion theory is concerned,it was first propagated by Max Muller.Later,Muller himself realized his folly and wrote

"I have declared again and again that if i say Aryas,I mean neither blood nor bones,nor hair,nor skull;I simply mean those who speak an Aryan language".

What does the 6th standard student study?

Max Muller's initial theory.For,surely,its impossible that Indians would've prospered without the help of the white-skinned Europeans.The more a historian speaks lowly of India,the more acclaim he gets.No wonder,then that Ramachandra Guha is proclaimed as India'a No 1 historian while S.R.Rao,who conducted extensive research in the Indus Valley sites,is forced to watch from the sidelines for the simple reason that he refuses to but the Europeans' theory.

As a matter of fact,it is now held by many historians the world over that Ancient Hindu civilization was spread over two river-the Indus and the Saraswathy,which dried up later.Will you find this in an NCERT text book?

NO!

The only way you can know this is by reading Michael Danino's "The invasion that never was",unless you are a history geek,that is.

As Prof.Viswanathan said:

"While other countries are uncertain about their future,India seems to be uncertain about even its past".

Shoudn't we be proud of our glorious past?Do we deserve this treatment inspite of being the cradle of civilization?I really wish people introspect on these questions.

The less i write about the English media's reporting on India,the better.

As the investigative journalist S.Gurumurthy lamented,

"Go to any country and the same negative stereotype is echoed that India is suffering from poverty and malnutrition. India has no drinking water. Indian women are burnt. If they are married, they are burnt, if they are widows, they are burnt. See the image that has been built about this country. Who did this? The English educated Indian".

Education must help people put things in the right perspective.Not help them in repeating old dogmas and strengthening stereo types.

Christian missionaries during the freedom movement created the impression that Indians are filthy, rotten, dirty and unhealthy, advertising abroad these are the people who need to be saved. We have to Christianise them, enlighten them, and give us money. I can understand that because it is their business. But what did we do after 1947?


We repeated the same mistakes. We projected India as a country of unending problems.The media still does it.

Every country has problems. Only in India, problems become identities. How many dowry deaths take place in India in a year? Yet, India is projected as a country burning its own daughter-in-laws. And we also talk about it. Every  newspaper will be writing about it. We believe in self-deprecation. And this goes on in the guise of intellectualism in India.

A new "study" says that Indian widows are sexually unsatisfied and they are becoming lesbians.What filthy lies!

What sort of image are we trying to project about India?I can understand if the foreign media,powered by Christian missionaries does this.But, is done by Indian media in such an overzealous manner.

 In the year 1978, an interesting incident occurred in Manhattan. There was a power failure for six hours. Manhattan is in the heart of New York where you find the UN building, the World Trade Centre and the head quarters of many multi-national companies. One third of the world’s health is concentrated in Manhattan. Within six hours, hundreds of people were killed, robbed and assaulted. We don’t need electricity to behave in a civilised manner. How many intellectuals in India have ever articulated from such a sympathetic approach? We have only tarnished the image of this country. We must be ashamed of this.

In so many American homes,the mothers mix the pregnancy-prevention pill in the food without the knowledge of their daughters.

Is this the India we want to shape for the future.I hope not.Going by the rate of westernization and globalization,it appears likely.

Have we really benefited from westernization,globalization as is being perceived?Is globalization the only way out?More on these topics in the subsequent posts.

India under siege-II

If one were to look into the record books and find out the names of the longest books ever written,he would end up with two books-"1001 nights" and "Mahabharatha".

The 1001 nights is a Russian book while the Mahabharatha is a Sanskrit book written by Vyasa.It is a book which consists of one lakh verses,describing the rise and fall of various Indian empires,the lives of the illustrious and not-so-illustrious princes,warriors,soldiers and ministers of India.It is an epic story with so many twists and turns,so many characters whose lives are interwoven with one other.There are various plots and sub plots which culminate into a single emotional and heart warming ending in the end.An extract from the Mahabharatha is the Bhaghavadh Geetha,considered by the courts to be the holy book of the Hindus.It would not be an exaggeration to say that any study of Indian cultural ethics is incomplete without reading the Mahabharatha.The following is the last verse of the mahabharatha:

"धर्मार्थु कामन नाबयाँ नालोबाथ

धरमंना थ्यजेथ जीविथास्यापी हेथोहो

नित्यो धर्मः सुखा देखे थ्वानिथ्ये

जीवो नित्यो हेठुरास्य थ्वानिथ्यः "

"Dont ever give up your dharma.

Not due to fear,not due to trivial issues.

Dont give up your dharma even if it is for the sake of your life"

Now,a question arises:

What is dharma?

The literal meaning of dharma is natural property.For example,it is the dharma of dogs to bark,of sun flowers to have a yellow colour,of a typist to type and a teacher to teach".

Nature,if left to itself,takes care of itself. It is only when this natural order is breached that a disturbance occurs.Any disturbance has an effect,and that has repercussions on the surrounding depending on the cause and magnitude of the disturbance.

It is under this context that it is worth mentioning lord Krishna's declaration in the Bhagavadh Geetha

"Whenever the society forgets its duties and goes into chaos,

I take birth to uplift DHARMA"

Thus we see that righteousness from the hindu perspective means playing the game as per the rules of nature.It is the dharma of a cow to moo.It is the dharma of donkeys to bray and dogs to bark".

Unless this inherent dharma is violated,there's not  going to be any difficulty in identifying a crow,dog or cow.It is only if suddenly a cow starts barking that one gets confused whether it is a cow or a dog.

The same dharma applies to human beings also.But,man being the roof and crown of creation,has the sixth sense viz. common sense by which he discriminates between good and evil,right and wrong,virtue and vice.

The common sense is a double edged sword that can be used both for constructive and destructive purposes.Only if it is put to the proper use,can the society benefit.Otherwise,it would only lead to chaos and confusion.

Srimadh Bhagavatham,another Hindu scripture says that merely having 2 hands,2 legs and a backbone doesn't guarentee by itself that one is a human being.One can be deemed to be a human being only if he follows his dharma.One is deemed a dog if he shouts unnecessarily at other people,a vulture if he looks down upon others,a worm if he mixes with bad company and so on.

The Hindu puraanas are full of stories of people who stood up for dharma whenever the need arose.

Ramayan,another hindu epic centered an the life of warrior prince Rama says

"रामो विग्रहवान धर्मः

धर्मो विग्रहवान रामः "

"Rama is the embodiment of dharma. Dharma,if it were to be sculpted,the statue would be a carbon copy of Rama"

Another quote from the Mahabharath before we move onto the main theme:

"यथ कृष्णः थथो  धर्मः

यथो धर्मः थथो  जयः "

"Dharma lies where krishna is.

Victory lies where dharma is".

It is this respect for dharma that drove India as a nation towards greater and greater heights before the foreigners arrived with their savagery,sense of cunning and enterprise.Each invading country had a thing or two to learn from the conquests of the other nations.And this is where the Britishers acted with admirable precision and accuracy.

Their aim was not to demolish temples,rename provinces etc,but far more deceitful,far more cunning.They decided to strike at the very core of India's existence-her culture,in other words,her dharma.

This is what Michael Danino writes in his best selling book,"The Invasion that never was":

"Unlike the Portuguese or the earlier muslim invaders,the British were anxious to clothe their greed in lofty ideals:"the white man's burden" of civilizing(and naturally Christianizing) less enlightened races,the "divinely ordained mission" of bringing India to the glory of Europe's commercialization and industrial civilization..........."

It was this deadly plan which was executed with remarkable efficiency by the Britishers that snuffed the life out of the Indian's lungs.India was to die a slow,silent death on her own.The british-educated indians started believing that only imperialism could bring development to India.The home grown techniques,the Indian traditions,heritage,civilization,the result of nearly 4000 years of civilization were discarded with gay abandon. The british alone knew what to do,how to do and where to do.And Indians were to model themselves in the western ways as quickly as possible in order to please their newly arrived masters and for their own development,as the Englishmen wanted the Indians to believe".

And,the result???

The Britishers won,hands down.

Jawaharlal Nehru,the first prime minister of "independent" India was born with a silver spoon.His father Motilal Nehru was an Indian educated by the British system.The British influence on him was so stark that he decided to to become a Britisher in every sense of the term,by mannerism,habit and language.He insisted on the use of knifes and forks for eating and conversed only in English inside the house,inspite of the fact that his wife couldn't understand a word.(Those were the days in which the wife  was considered as a part of the furniture after the first few years of marriage.)

"Like father,like son".

Motilal's son Jawaharlal Nehru,lived up to his father's expectations to an unbelievable extent.He once remarked that he wanted Indians to remember him as the last British prime minister of India.The less said about his character,the better.He was a womanizer to the greatest possible degree.One of the rather nasty jokes is that it was his affair with Mrs.Mountbatten that ensured early independence for India.

If only he had paid heed to these soul stirring words of Swami Vivekananda:

"The debt which the world owes to our motherland is immense.Taking country with country,there is not one race on this earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu,the mild Hindu.....Here activity prevailed when Greece did not exist,when Rome was not thought of,when the very fathers of the modern Europeans lived in the forest and painted themselves blue.Even earlier,when history has no record,and tradition dares not peer into the gloom of that intense past,even until now,ideas after ideas have marched out from her,but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it,and peace before it".

It is the dynasty of this great nehru which has ruled India for the greater part of India's so called "independence", Little wonder then,that Indian telecommunications and hrd minister has decided to do away with Devanagari numerals,the basis for the Arabic numerals we use today.

Today,Indian polity,media and education system  are guided by three foreigners who died long time ago viz Max Muller,Karl Marx and Lord Macaulay.

We shall see the contributions of these  powerful man and their impact on the Indian fabric in the next post

P.S:Nostradamus predicts that a sikh called CHYREN ROY will be born in the southern part of India,where the three seas meet(Kanya Kumari) and that he shall rule the world one day.Is he the only hope????

I hope not.  

.

India under siege-I

We have been taught in school,"Be proud to be an Indian.Be prepared to lay down your life in the service of this great nation.Stand for its sovereignty and integrity.It is your duty to serve your motherland......" The one thing that we have failed to ask is this:
"Why should I be proud to be an Indian?What is special about this land?What is it that differentiates this nation from other nations?"

And,even if you had asked,the reply would probably be"You were born here.This land gives us food,shelter and a respectable life..Being a citizen of India,you have to work for its development and be prepared to defend it".

Is it so simple?Is it just the fact that i was have born and continue to live here?
Such a simplistic explanation places India on par with the other nations of the world.But is that the case?Can we afford to turn a blind eye to our glorious past?
As August 15th approaches,I intend to go on a blogging spree to introspect on these issues.Sometimes I wonder if we are free in the real sense of the term.
As a noted writer put it,"Independence for the nation must translate into freedom for the people".Has it happened in India?I am afraid it has not.We may have finally hoisted a flag of our own on Aug 15th,1947,but is that what is meant by freedom?If Tilak,Tagore,Bharathi or Gokhale been alive today,would they have been happy enough to celebrate independence day on Aug 15th?Is this the independence that our freedom fighters dreamt of?

Let us explore all these questions in as unbiased a manner as possible in this post and the forth coming posts.In a certain cases,it might be necessary to go deep into issues of  history,economics,governance and culture.I hope we will be able to do it to the best possible extent ,notwithstanding my rather shoddy knowledge and lunatic tendencies.

Since India was the home to the world's oldest civilization,it is imperative to look long back into its history.This becomes inevitable as that alone can help us understanding India's past which is the guide to  the future.

Magesthenes,who visited the court of the Mauryas in the 4th century B.C noted,"All Indians are free,and none of them is a slave.....Indians neither invade other people nor do other peoples invade India......They fare happily,because of their simplicity and frugality.....Since they esteem beauty,they practice everything that can beautify their appearance.....Further,they respect alike virtue and truth".


This fascination for India's wealth and culture seems to have sustained down the ages.India was an unknown commodity for most people,and the foreigners were keen on exploiting our passiveness.

In 1068,Andalusi,an Arab writer from Spain wrote:

"The Indians,among all nations,through many centuries and since antiquity,have been the source of wisdom,fairness and moderation.They are creators of sublime thoughts,universal fables,rare inventions and remarkable concepts.

Those were trying time for the Indian people,for their culture,the core of India's identity was put to test.Still India sustained the onslaught and withstood the test of time.
As Bedi ezr Zenen recorded,

"Indians are innumerable,like grains of sand.They fear neither death nor life".

By now,the Hindus would have gone through  one of the many torturous and tumultuous periods in their history.

The qutub minar was built in Delhi after demolishing 17 Hindu and Jain temples.The same material of the temples were used to build Qutub Minar in order to demonstrate the "Might of Islam".The assumption of the Muslim rulers was that the Hindus would cave in seeing their temples being destroyed.Alas,those rulers failed to understand that Hinduism was much beyond temples,idol worship and glorified institutions.They failed to acknowledge that India was made of character,resilience and inner strength to overcome such odds.But,they continued to hope that they would one day get to wipe out Hindus from their homeland if they continued to spread Islam by the sword.Forcible conversions,temple demolitions,giving Arabic names to Indian cities and provinces was enough,or so they thought.

Babur,the first Mughal emperor of India,had conquered both Hindustan and the afghan provinces.It was during this period of Babur that the Babri masjid was built after demolishing the temple at Ramjanmabhoomi.An estimate states that around 1.57 lakh Hindu and jain temples were demolished during Babur's time alone.

Still India managed to maintain her identity and heritage,even through these arduous times.

This is what Abul Fazl,the friend of Emperor Akbar wrote:

"The Hindus are religious,affable,lovers of justice,given to retirement,able in business,admirers of truth,grateful and of unbounded fidelity;and their soldiers know not what it is to fly from the field of battle".

It is because of these accounts of foreign traders and writers,recorded through a gap of about110 centuries that one gets the impression that Indians were never enslaved,though India as a state might have gone into the hands of foreign powers.

What is the reason for this?What really sustained the national life of India.how did the stream of India manage to flow inspite of the innumerable dams built by foreign powers,when other nations had crumbled under the face of similar oppression?

These are of course questions which have complex answers.
Let us try to answer them in the forth coming posts.
Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Revolution 2020:tough to call

Hardly do you feel confused after reading an english book.Especially as far as rating the book is concerned.It almost seems like two different people have written it.So good it parts.Horrible in other.Page turner alright,but....
For one,the title is a complete misnomer.there's simply no revolution.Its just a love triangle.And,only one character is given attention despite there being 3 protagonists.Especially ,the girl....she comes and goes in phases...more like the bollywood heroines,who are there just for their beauty...The narrator sulks through out....when he is in debt,when he goes to study,when his friend hits on his girl,when he becomes rich,when she changes her mind,when she decides to marry him,there's only 1 thing he does...sulks....Still this sinking feeling the reader gets on reading the book is more to do with the ending...yeah,the opening and middle game are good(passable at least)
This seems to be somekind of a script for a movie rather than a novel...so unrealistic,too far fetched.
This book isn't crap though.The way bhagath portrays varanasi,human emotions(here and there) and the changing culture are stand points,not to mention the way in which girls send confusing signals. If only he could have given better treatment to the subject.....
The subject is too good to be treated like this.The book will sell,but am not sure if it will satisfy the readers.Agreed,not all novels need to have happy endings,but there should be some reason for the ending to be sad.It all seems way too abrupt and crass.Was it deliberate.given all other books of his have happy endings??
Really how can the girl marry raghav after having done it with gopal?that too twice??
All in all,thank god it was a library book...And to be fair,Chetan is just a mediocre writer,wen compared with others.
of course its wrong to compare writers of different genres and backgrounds...Well whatever....

Anna Hazare:the enemy within

This indeed does seem to be the season of fasts,dharnas,candle light vigils,protests,rokos and even yoga shivirs held against what does seem to be the topic of any gathering-informed or otherwise--CORRUPTION.Just as the dust settles down after the deliberations among the members of the Joint(?!) drafting committee came to an end,it is time for us to analyze the positions of both sides of the drafting committee,as impartially as possible.

I do agree that corruption is a menace which must be curbed as far as possible.i have serious concerns about the path this country is taking as far as the fight against corruption is concerned.In fact,i feel that the atrocities which are being committed in the name of fighting corruption are a bigger menace than corruption itself.And,that's not without reason.

When Hazare went on his fast unto death in April,I,like everyone else was tempted to support him whole heartedly.And that's what I did.I got my first suspision when he made this outrageous remark after the government caved in meekly to his unreasonable demands:

"If people call this blackmail.we will continue this black mail."

Also,the fact that he didn't allow any politician to share the stage with him disturbed me a lot.All this seemed to suggest the Hazare was against the political class as a whole.he also claimed that the entire nation was backing him.According to his logic,if 5000 people join his fast,then 1.2 billion people are backing him.

My doubts grew in leaps and bounds once the joint drafting committee was formed.Then came the fast of another baba-Baba Ramdev.All of us know how he tried to hold the parliament to ransom and how he was given a royal reception at the delhi airport by the government of India.Both he and Hazare seem to be highly intelligent people who seem to know how to take advantage of the prevailing anger against corruption.And his fast at the Ramlila maidan was ample proof of his acumen.(I did support him for a while as,for me,he was a Hindu guru.But am writing this post only as a citizen of this country.)And,finally,after so many rounds of talks,the government did the right thing at last-it broke the baba's fast.if at all there's something to be learnt from his fast,it is this:(my mother taught me this when i was 5 years old)If you don't eat properly,the police will come and catch you.

Aghast at the swift response of the government,Hazare skipped the next meeting of the joint drafting committee.the committee was setup by the democratically elected Government of India,consisting of 543 members,elected by the people of India.if skipping the meeting of the joint drafting committee doesn't amount to showing disrespect to the Indian state,then what does?Then,Hazare went on a 1 day token fast at Rajghat.at least he called it a fast.Just think for a moment.When do you have your breakfast?8-8:30 in the morning.Maybe lunch at 1 pm and dinner at 8 pm.Anna hazare started his fast at 10 pm and ended it at 6 pm.In short,he skipped his lunch.Nothing more.nothing less.if skipping a lunch is a fast,then i have fasted for half my life!!The only difference is that i've done it silently,unlike Hazare who does it at a huge venue,with an eye on publicity.

Dear reader,if hazare is indeed selfless why does he go to delhi to fast?Fasting is a simple enough thing which can be done anywhere in the world.Why delhi?

The answer lies in the question itself.Delhi,being the national capital,gets the maximum media coverage.Otherwise he would've fasted at maharashtra itself,which is his home state.

Hazare crossed all limits when he burnt the Lokpal bill tabled in Parliament.isn't that an insult to the people of India(whom Hazare claims to represent),who've elected the government in the first place?

Now he has threatened to go on an indefinite fast unto death from august 16th,demanding a stronger bill.

my simple question is:Who is he to decide which bill is a strong bill?As one of the congress spokesmen put it,Anna hazare's threats represent the "tyranny of the unelected and the unelectables".
Every country has its own means of passing Bills.Take England for example.A bill must be approved by both the house of Commons and House of the Lords for the Bill to become an Act i.e law.There are different methods in different countries,but I don't think there's any country in which fasting is a method to pass a bill.

And,the people fo India elected the people of India gave the Indian National congress a 2nd chance to rule because they wanted it to frame laws and rule the nation.Not for Hazare to dictate terms from Rajghat or any other localion which he might deem fit.Of corse,if Hazare feels that the Lokpal Bill in the present form is not good,then he has the opportunity to stand for elections in 2014.here again,he dissapoints.he has declared that he will never stand in an election in his life.Why?Because he can blackmail any government that might assume power at the centre as per his whims and fancies with his refusal to eat?I don't know.Again,this indeed amounts to showing disrespect to the government and the electorate at large.Hazare and his team are bringing about a dangerous atmosphere in which,if things go as per this trend,people will lose faith in democracy.Is that his aim?Again,I don't know for sure.

Coming to his Jan Lokpal Bill,it is ridiculous.Let's consider a few examples.

1)PM as per the jan Lokpal Bill:

As far as Jan Lokpal bill is concerned,a committee of 11 people will formed to look after cases relating to corruption cases filed against any central/state government employees,including the Cabinet Ministers,the Chief Ministers of all states and Union territories and even the Prime Minister.

Let us say a complaint is filed against the Prime Minister.if the Lokpal panel finds prima facie evidence of the PM's wrongdoing in the matter,suo moto cognisance will be taken and the PM will have to demit office.There's a differnece betwwen a CM resigning and the PM resigning.The resignation of the PM means the resignation of his entire government,unlike the state governments where the CM can be replaced at will without any threat to the govenment itself.This is Indian law.In short,if and when the PM demits office,nation wide elections will have to be held,costing the exchequer thousands of crores.now,after the new government takes charge,if it turns out that the complain was mala fide,then will Mr.Anna Hazare give us the money we wasted in holding elections?I really don't know..It is for this rweason that the ?Congress suggests the the PM should be investigated once he completes his 5 year term.

2)Judiciary under the Jan Lokpal Bill:

Hazare wants to monitor the entire judiciary.But,how will a judge be able to carry out his day to day affairs,especially while hearing cases of corruption,if he knows that his every move is being watched by a reckless ombudsman?Please ask Hazare,for he claims to  know everything.

3)CBI under the Jan Lok Pal bill:Hazare wants the investigative wing of the CBI to come under the Lokpal,for he trusts no one in this country.A simple question arises:why should we trust someone who trusts no one?In simpler words,how can we be so sure that the Lokpal will bw free from corruption?Who will monitor the Lokpal panel?Who will pass judgement on the functioning of the Lokpal committee?

On what elegibility criteria can one become a member of the lokpal panel?Please ask Mr.Hazare,for he claims to know everything.And most importantly,who will constitute the Lokpal?

Finally,Hazare wants to start a second freedom struggle against the government.but isn't this government elected by the very people with whom he wants to fight against the governmen?IDoesn't such a statement amount to sedition?

I really feel that the time has come for us to decide betwwen what is right and what is easy.As Da Vinci said,

"Blinding Ignorance does mislead us.Oh,wretched mortals!!Open your eyes!!"

P.S:The views expressed in the post are personal.The author holds no brief with the Congress.He,in fact is a BJP sympathizer who voted against the DMK-Congress combine in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

Guru Poornima....

"Agnyaana Thimiran thasya nyaanajala shalaakaya
chakshu hu unmeelitham yena thasmai shri gurave namaha"
I offer my humble obeisance unto my dear spiritual master who with pure spiritual knowledge has illuminated my consciousness which was blinded by the darkness of nescience.
Am reminded of this most confidential verse of the Bhagavadh Geetha which i learnt in school as i try to write something on my guru.
A man's character is shaped by his family,parents,upbringing,surroundings and education.Though this applies to all people irrespective of nationality,the aryavarta is special for the role the teacher in the shaping up of man's life.There can be different types of gurus:
1)sikhsha guru-teacher who teaches skills
2)dhiksha guru-teacher who teaches art(by accepting money)
3)sat guru
The sat guru shows the disciple the way to follow in life,the way to attain paramatma,executing our day to day duties in life.Am sorry,but i cant tell more.My sat guru is beyond description,beyond the realms of speech,beyond description,beyond understanding.
As they say"Guru maatha guru pitha
Guru amuchi kula dheivatha"
If it hadn't been for my guru,I've would've been like just another boy in this complex world,caught up in the web of pleasures and desires,unaware of the aim of existence,the purpose of life,man's eventual destiny dont know if ou find this stupid,but its because you don't have the good fortune of having a sat guru.
The guru can be understood by a simple analogy:
Fishes,rafts both are present in the sea.The aim of the raft is to liberate the fish from the troubles of life.The fish is desperate to stay alive.In the world of man,the guru is the raft,keen to liberate the disciple from samsara and the cycle of births and deaths,while the disciple is desperate to remain stuck in the world of worldly pleasures.
It is notable that God himself takes the form of the guru while taking birth in human form.Am referring to Lord Krishna who was the guru of Arjuna during the Mahabharath.Krishna was not only Arjuna's guru but the guru for the entire world as he gave us the eternal book-The Baghavadh Geetha.
The aim of guru poornima is to pay our respects to our guru(s).
Really,how my college teachers pale in comparison to my sat guru.....
It is indeed unfortunate that those who teach for money are regarded as ultimate gurus and are even felicitated by students in some Hindu schools.such is the state in which our western educational system has placed us in.The world of chaos..The world of confusion.As the worlds of east and west continue to tangle and intertangle,such ironies will only proliferate.
Anyway am happy that am different,thanks to my guru.
a study of great men will tell you that all of them have been guided by their gurus.
Swami Vivekananda,Kabir Das,Adi Shankara,Paramahansa Yogananda,Dayanada Saraswathi...the list is endless.
That is the essence of our dharma.
Once Dayananda Saraswathi was asked :"How is it that Hinduism has survived the onslaught of Islamists and Christians while other religions had to perish due to the onslaught of these false religions?"
The question was asked by a group of people who were under the banner of Elders of Europe.Those people were from Judaism,Zoroastrianism and other old religions.All those religions were wiped out by the forcible conversion drives of Islamists and Christians.
Swami Dayanand Saraswathi replied"It is because:
1)Dharma is universal
2)We have a teaching tradition"
more on this in the next post...
Ambarish



P.S:Am sorry if this post is vague.but its my own blog,you see:).And,a  traditional Hindu will never reveal the name of the Sat Guru .That's why i didn't do it.....If all this is beyond your understanding,well....am sorry but you're not lucky enough....