India: Whither Are We?

Take these two paragraphs:

1. All of us have heard about the SEZs and many among us know a little (or more than a ‘little’) about the SEZs. We also have heard about the places such as Nandigram and Singur (both are rural parts of West Bengal), where there have been much confusion, violence, and protests over formation of SEZs. While the Government of West Bengal had to give up their plan of handing land in Nandigram over to an enterprise for setting up of a Chemical Hub, acquisition of land in Singur and the plan of the Tata Motors to roll out the much talked about Rs. 1 Lakh Nano Cars is under heavy clouds. In both these places, there is a cry that land (read fertile, agricultural multi-crop land) is/was being forcibly acquired by the Government based on the Land Acquisition Act. This Land Acquisition Act dates back to the year 1894. It means the law is more than one hundred years old. More importantly, this law, like many other laws in practice in India today, was a brainchild of the then colonial British Powers, who devised these laws to acquire land and immobile property in various parts of their colony – India. Although there have been several modifications per se of the act till date (the latest of such modifications were perhaps made in September, 1985), the basic framework of the act remains unaltered. Many believe, quite justifiably, the law is draconian. This law is a legacy of the colonial interests of the then British imperialist power in India. It is not at all difficult to gauze the inappropriateness of such a law, devised and executed by the colonial rulers, being implemented in an independent country where there is an unmistakable presence of democratic ethos. Yet, little has been done so far by the policy makers of our country, save a modification now or an amendment within that law then.

2. Of late, there has been an alarmingly high rate of occurrence of terrorist activities in India. Perhaps it has now become more of a global phenomenon. There is hardly a geographical landmass on our planet that doesn’t have to deal with this hydra-headed monster of terrorism. However, as fits this particular write-up, I would like to draw attention to the terrorist activities being carried out in India of late. Within the span of a few months, we have been witness to a series of serial bomb blasts in various cities of the country, the recent most among them being in the heart of our national capital. The unfortunate list of the victim cities of late (within the span of just two years) includes such important cities as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore (Bengaluru), Ahmedabad, and Jaipur. While there is a rather deafening clamour for more stringent laws to deal with terrorism across the country, it is time we also looked the other way round. The law on which our police establishment is based dates back to the year 1861 – The Indian Police Act 1861. Yes, just as what we discussed in [1] above (The Land acquisition Act), this law is even more ancient, almost 150 years old. Needless to say, this law was more of a tool in the hands of the British colonisers to subjugate the native Indians. We boast of an open society in India today. We are also the largest democracy in the entire globe. Does, then, such an ancient (colonial) law to govern as important a wing of governance as the Police Service sound appropriate? The answer, of course, will be a big NO.

These are two apparently mutually exclusive issues that we have just now talked about. However, considering they both are guidelines towards important steps and actions initiated by the Government in today’s society, I feel they can be bracketed together. In fact, there are several other such laws in our system that dates back to that ancient colonial period, which are yet to be addressed in the proper light. But, I will not take much space here in elaborating on these at length, nor will I take any more of your precious time. Just, what I always keep saying, fellow citizens! think, please do think over these issues. We live in a democracy. If we feel that this democratic model is not working well enough, the only alternative we have in hand is to practice this democracy more vigorously than ever before. Let us all be a bit more contemplative about our India. We all boast of our country. And we just cannot let that day come when we will have nothing left as India. It is time we ACTED. But before that, we, the mass, the people, have to think. Let’s begin. Let’s start our march.

Trust Vote at Parliament: Whose Trust is it, anyway?

I am posting this on the 22nd of July 2008. There is a reason why I mention the date at the very outset. I want you to remember the exact time I am writing this. Every Indian today (by ‘Indian’ I mean not simply people born in this country, but people who are even the slightest aware of the socio-political happenings in the country) knows about the Nuclear Deal and all that is going on surrounding it. We all know that the Left (comprising of CPI (M), CPI, Forward Bloc, and RSP) was/is against the Indo-US Nuclear Deal. On finding the ruling UPA Government (headed by Indian National Congress) not ready to accept the wish of the Left, the latter has withdrawn their support from the coalition Government, and hence, amidst such a sky-high inflation and grave economic condition of the country, the people have been made to eagerly await the Trust Vote on 22^nd July.

Possibly, the vote has already been executed by the time you are reading this and we all know whether we are going to experience an early election. But, as far as my objective in this write-up is concerned, that hardly matters.

Whatever the outcome of the Trust Vote of 22^nd July be, it will go down in the history as the decision of the people of India. Yes, you may be hardly aware of the business and clauses of the IAEA or the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, but, in a few years time, write-ups on Indian history and polity will state that you and me and she and he, ‘We The Indians’, have decided for/against the Indo-US Nuclear Deal.

Why am I saying all these? Before I say anything else, let me QUOTE a few lines from a couple of reports published in The Times Of India newspaper (20-07-08).

1. Govt nears comfort zone ahead of vote

JMM In Bag, Cong Now Needs SP To Keep Its Flock Intact

With just a couple of laps to go, UPA has gained a vital lead in the gruelling marathon it has run against political rivals since the Left withdrew support. It is close to sealing what could be a ‘government-saving pact’ with elusive Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren.

Congress negotiators made headway with the JMM chief with the offer of a cabinet berth and a minister of state at the Centre, which the tribal outfit will get when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expands his team, possibly next month… his (Shibu Soren’s) demand for the deputy CM’s (of the state of Jharkhand) post for his son is said to be under consideration…

2. SP man in the morning, with Maya at noon

Shahid Siddiqui (a Rajya Sabha MP), frozen in many frames with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and is deputy Amar Singh hawking the nuclear deal, woke up to the same routine on Saturday…

Except that at 2 pm, he was standing beside BSP chief Mayawati, outside her residence, cursing the nuclear deal as “against Urdu-speaking people” and saying that he was feeling suffocated in the SP for one and half months…. it was a (Siddiqui’s) swift flight to Mayawati’s base…

For BSP, the Rajya Sabha MP (read Shahid Siddiqui) does not matter much now. But its plot to link the deal with “Muslim interests” made him an ideal candidate (for Mayawati) to trigger a sense of unrest in the rival banks (SP being a part of that)…

***[inputs within parentheses are mine]

So…

I am quite sure that you have noticed (with raised eyebrows?) the phrases/words such as “Congress negotiators”, “offer of…”, etc. in the first of the two reports. It is also very hard to miss the undertone of the second report which

· Yet again brings to fore the opportunist face of politicians in India

· Nasty mingling of vested political interests with religious sentiments on the common man

Just re-read those phrases - …’cursing the nuclear deal as “against the Urdu-speaking people”… or, ‘link the deal with “Muslim interests…”…

Friend… is not it just too obvious to miss – this nasty political trade going on there at the centre? (In fact, it is so frustratingly nasty that I am not too sure whether we can call it as ‘political’ anymore. After all, ‘politics’ has its own definition.) And these are just two of the hundreds of like reports being published in several magazines, journals, and newspapers over the last couple of weeks or so. Ever since it became clear that the UPA govt is going to face the acid test of this Trust Vote (on 22^nd July), this game of drawing MPs towards one’s camp started. And, you cannot be that dumb not to realize the elementary fact that MPs, either for or against the motion, are, in no way, being driven by the issue at stake. Their consideration lie entirely with their immediate as well as far reaching gains (any way, the General Election to choose the country’s next government is not too far… quite naturally, political parties are re-thinking and re-orienting themselves, trying to assess the pole that will suit them the best)

So, whether a party and its MPs will vote for the motion or against has nothing to do with what actually culminates into the very trust vote – the Nuclear Deal and strategic alliance with the US. But, as I stated earlier, whatever the outcome of the confidence vote be, it will go down in history as mandate of the ‘people of India’. After all, I repeat, India is a democracy, “government of the people, by the people, for…”…

Does it disturb you in any way? This decisions of the MPs and ‘political’ netas, based entirely on their own material gains and cunning rivalry, keeping at stake the actual issue – the country’s interest, and these very decisions being labelled as the decision of the people. If the ruling UPA government wins majority (271 is the figure that they need), it will go down in history as “the people of India welcomed the Indo-US pact and…”. And, in case the government fails, it will be read as “the people of India opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal and…”. May be it sounds incredible to you! But, whether you take it or not, this exactly is what has happened in the past, and is happening today. So, is this the way history is written? The will of a few (often corrupted) people being overtly generalised and written down as the will of an entire generation? Then, which history are we to bank upon? Whom are we to ask? Where are we to…?

image courtesy:

http://images.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://2ndlook.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/2710cartoon.jpg&imgrefurl=http://2ndlook.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/caricaturing-indian-politicians-born-with-two-horns/&h=320&w=226&sz=29&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=9Z6K3KDelXFL7M:&tbnh=118&tbnw=83&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dindian%2Bpolitician%2Bcorruption%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

Precious Links

Friends!

I would like to share a few, i would say, rather PRECIOUS links with you.
Here they are:

1. http://www.unv.org/

2. http://www.onlinevolunteering.org/

Bye.

A few unnatural Lines

{{I hope what brings you here is your presence of faculty that distinguishes human beings from those money-making (and, money craving) machines. Don't get me wrong. I too need and value money. But only that much which is... come on, let's forget it...So, let’s move on.}}

Though I come from what people usually call as North Bengal, I have never been to Darjeeling. The closest I have been to the hill areas was back in 2004 or ’05 and that too when I visited places like Mirik and Sevoke. That too for not more than a few hours. So, I can never claim to have seen the hill areas of Bengal that well. Even then, one October morning, we set out on a car from Siliguri (my uncle lives there) for visiting those places. We were scheduled to visit a couple of places – the famous Sevoke Bridge and Mirik, famous for its placid lake and the soothing locality.

As our car was approaching the hill areas (that was the first time I saw an official looking signboard reading some thing like ‘welcome to the jurisdiction of the Gorkha Hill Council’… it did something to me – that board; believe me!), with the passage of every kilometre, the view was fast changing – the temperature was gradually falling, there were so many unfamiliar bright coloured flowers by the roadside, and the occasional local faces too looked de-familiarized. And once we were into any of the localities, Mirik for instance, I couldn’t help myself from thinking – How on earth can this be a part of West Bengal! Not that I have a so-called separatist bent of mind. I am verily against such people and theories that advocate in favour of separation of geo-physical landmasses under the pretext of different culture, religion, language, and so on. But, that had nothing to do with such feeling. Actually, what I felt, these people too are fellow citizens of my very own Bengal (West Bengal that is). Yet I know a nought about them. The way they build their houses, the way they speak, they smile, they interact with unknown people – everything, small and big, was so much removed from what I have so far seen and felt.

Now, do not get me wrong. Yes, I did feel all those quite de-familiarizing. But, never for once did that appear to me to be a substantial reason to demand for a separate state. In a country as diverse as India, it is foolish to think of separation of geographical spaces on basis of such differences. Rather, what I felt was that it was my own fault that I do not know much about these areas, these people, their way of life, and everything that comes with that. Now when there is so much debate, political turmoil, etc. over GJM’s call for a separate state for the Gorkhas, I am (justifiably?) reminded of that.

Who are these people? These Gorkhas? My present address is Kolkata. The place where I say is a multi-storeyed building where several families stay together. At the third floor stays a family – XXX Rai, YYY Rai, and ZZZ Gattani – the nameplate on their door reads so. I am yet to meet them. But from what I get from these names, they belong to what we call as the Gorkhas – people who descended from Nepal to what we today know as Darjeeling District long time back in history. Although I have never met them, I can bet that if I ask somebody as to who they are, the answer will invariably be – Nepalese. And I am sure you people too either have similar answers for these Rai’s and Gattani’s, or come across such answers every now and then. Is there something unnatural about this? Isn’t there something unnatural about these?

Yes, IT IS UNNATURAL. To call a certain section of our fellow citizens as Nepalese (which connotes to being people of Nepal, a separate nation) is amongst the most unnatural as well as unfortunate things. And this unnatural has been a part of our life for long time. As if we are calling a rose a rose! Actually what we feel is natural is shaped by the frequency at which occurs in the society. For instance, what can be more unnatural than blood on straw at the paddy fields? What can be more unnatural than an old woman dying in a market place, in the presence of hundreds of other people, just because she did not get the least medical assistance in the right time? Yet such things are natural to us just because they are happening everyday. Similarly, to call a certain section of our fellow citizens Nepalese is the most unfortunate and unnatural thing. Yet we are doing that. And thereby, unintentionally, we are marginalizing those people who too learn in their schools that India is their motherland, that jana gana mana adhinayaka…bharata bhagyavidhata is their national anthem, that Delhi is their national capital. Yet, we rob them of their very identity day in and day out. We deprive them of their Bharatavarsha. Worst, we never even realize what crime we are committing, how unconstitutional it is!

Now you may ask me as to why am I saying all these?

I have two questions for you:

1. Why is there a demand for a separate statehood?

2. Why are those Indians called Nepalese?

Waiting for your reply.

[Image Courtesy:

www.astrainfotech.org/]

"Bharat-varsha Kothay? [Where is India?]" : Bharati (in Aranyak)

The recent most crises to have taken entire West Bengal, if not regions beyond it, by surprise (!) is the stern call for a separate state – Gorkhaland – for the Gorkhas residing for centuries in northern parts of West Bengal. We all know of it, some of us are impatiently dead against any and all sorts of demands of these people. And some are ready to have thoughts over the matter. May be what I and you and he and she thinks about the just and unjust part of the story will not matter in the final count, I am confident that if this ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘she’, and ‘he’ forms a ‘we’ and EXPRESS what we think… well… that might make some sense; rather, a lot of sense. So, I would like to ask for you people’s liberty to pen down parts of what have been going on in my mind for some time now.

So, shall we begin?

At times we feel glorified to think of the diversity manifested in the land that we call as India. Sometimes, we are taken by surprise considering the immensity of this land in regards its diversity of language, culture, geo-physical conditions, religious beliefs… the list is seemingly endless. And yes, there are also times when we keep aside the newspaper, have a sip from the steaming cup of coffee, and ask ourselves – is it very unnatural? This call for separation from various groups – like some section of people from the northern parts of West Bengal raised the demand of a Greater Coochbehar sometimes back. Then, there is the KPP-KLO (though the two parties have separate ideologies, their goal is one – Kamtapur for certain sections of Northern West Bengal) demand… Go to Assam, go to Nagaland, to Kashmir, Telengana… and, once again, the list (of separatist demand) continues. Outright most of us dismiss such things as utter notoriety and brainchild of vested political motif. But, it is again the same ‘we’ who give it a second thought, at least, tend to give it a second thought. Is it really nothing but vested political interest? Is it nothing but sheer love of power that drives hundreds and thousands of people to the verge holding their lives at stake to realize their demand of a separate state or, as in some cases, a separate nation!

From a very tender age, I have tried to think of this country as a singular family. A family with several members – diverse from each other in terms of taste, passion, hobbies, and everything that defines the person of a person. They are all diverse from each other but share the same surname. That is India to me. I remember writing and expanding exactly on this very point during my graduation exams a few years back. Yes, I do believe and try to see this land as a singular joint family. May be it is an over-simplification and the socio-pundits will dismiss me outright. But, why complicate things that you can perceive in a simple manner!

So, when does a family member revolt against the very family? When does the child say that it is no more possible for her to stay together with the family; to bear the same surname? Yes, there may be some fault with the daughter (or the son) in the way s/he is viewing everything around. But, are not the parents in any way responsible for this? Can it be that there is not the slightest hint of wrong done by the family on the daughter/son and that the revolt against the family is entirely baseless? Think over it and say. Or, you perhaps even do not have to think over it. The answer is pretty obvious. So, should not we think twice (or, even more) before passing comments regarding these agitations, the recent-most being the one led by GJM (Gorkha Janamukti Morcha) in the hill areas of West Bengal?

PS:

Please comment over the issue

And, think over these:

• History (origin) of the Gorkhas (How much do you already know about this? Half of what you know about the Harappan civilization that is a thousand kilometres distant from you? Even less than that? How less? Do you know anything at all? I for one, did not know much apart from that they ARE Nepalese, despite living in and loving India for centuries now…)
• Gorkha as a race (They fight during the battles, isn’t it? But, do they do anything else? Just as we sensible people?)
• Gorkha in independent India
• Why this call for Gorkhaland?
• ‘Outsiders’ – A view from the outside

Lets have an earth for ourselves

Well..

What I intend to do here is start a good discussion ground for as many topics under the sun as may interest us…disturb us…trouble us…humiliate us…. Intimidate us… hike our curiosity…take us from one pole to another…break all poles…whatever it be….

It may be on present (‘sarkari’) model of India’s development

It may be on Gorkha – Bengal situation

It may be US elections (?)

It may on present situation of Ho Chi Minh’s land

It may be on Sarkar Raj

It may be on Euro 2008

It may be on the true story of an earthworm discovering its way back to its hole

It may be M.K. Gandhi vis a vis Marx

It may be Golwalkar vis a vis Nehru

It may be anything

I will rather appreciate people suggesting newer modes

Arrey… the whole point is to DO something

Let us all utilize this nice platform for something substantial apart from hi-ing and hello-ing friends

Lets come close to each other

Let us not dream of heavens

Let us have an earth for ourselves

PS:

please suggest what needs to be done to materialize this desire