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Friday, June 17, 2011

Discipline: Anti-dose to Corruption

When a Battalion passes through a bridge, it does not march past. Reason - the resonance created through the repetition of marches in harmony creates waves powerful enough to destroy the bridge. Such is the power of Discipline.

It is a tragedy the a sadhu died after fasting for 116 days of battle unnoticed in the same hospital where mighty people bee lined to offer a glass of juice to break open the fast of yoga Czar Ramdev. This pinched a lot to the masses including me. The poor departed soul was on indefinite fast against mining in the basin of the holy river Ganga. Indeed, he was fasting for a noble cause. All most all the important cities are existing at the bank of some river. If a river dies, the most of our rivers are dying; the cities at their banks would also die. Three fourth of our metabolism is water and if we are insensitive towards source of water, we are cease to exist in the time ahead.
India saw trembling Central Government at the fast of Anna Hazare on the issue of Corruption. He wants a law to punish those who got caught for corruption. The Central Government bended forward to appease Anna. It was followed by Ramdev fast. People saw in the beginning the Central Government gave him red carpet treatment but soon made him run in ladies garments. The difference between Anna and Ramdev is that Anna is an honest social activist without any hidden agenda or self-interest. Whereas, Ramdev is high on Rs 1100 Crore corporate empire aspiring to capture power at Delhi. So both made a different impact in the name of the same cause.

The Central Government is playing with Anna & team on the issues of domain of the Anti-Graft (Lokpal) Bill. The Government wants to keep the positions of Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India out of the Bill and Anna is determined to include all in it. I wonder, what is the point in keeping the offices of Prime Minister and Chief Justice out of the Bill? Honest India needs honest Prime Minister and honest Chief Justice. If Lord Ram can renounce Sita ji on the allegation of a washer man, Late Lal Bahadur Shastriji can resign from Rail Minister post taking moral responsibility of a rail accident, why not the top positions of Indian system be a part of the same treatment meant for the rest of the country? An Honest citizen would emerge clean only after any such allegation.

Now I come to the main issue, corruption. We have corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, judges, officers et all because Indians pay bribe. We pay bribe to meet out our small selfish motive. Will a law on corruption remove corruption? The answer is a big NO. It would turn into another law used by the powerful people to fix their enemies. The answer to corruption is DISCIPLINE in life. We need to grow up to sacrifice our self-interests for the bigger cause of honesty in public life. If we the people don’t pay bribe, how can anyone take bribe and cultivate corruption?

The honesty is a very powerful weapon. When honesty is practiced by people, no one can dare to even dream of taking bribe. We have the example of Anna Hazare. He is dead honest. He has lived Gandhian values throughout his life. This makes him powerful to crumble the might of the powerful Central Government. The fast of Anna could not get un-noticed like that of the poor departed soul of the Sadhu who left this world fasting for 116 days. We, the people of this country, need to practice discipline to bring honesty in our civil/public life to grow strength to frighten the corrupt to its roots. Do we have this courage or are we looking for an eye wash in the form of another law? The choice is yours but it will decide the fate of the country that is at a very crucial phase of joining the club of the most powerful countries in the world or to remain a big bunch of struggling people for even the basic necessities. India as a global power is in the interest of the world. Give a sacrifice of your pity self-interest and contribute to grow together as a powerful India where the sin of corruption has no place.

Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!!

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Crust

India is known as global farmer. We realized this potential not by the agriculture statistics but by the nervous statements of the west leaders during the arrival of economic meltdown.

Last week I was in Srinagar (J&K) as a speaker for a workshop on Geographical Indication. There I got a chance to visit a village known for its saffron cultivation. The saffron farmers make the upper crust of the surface smooth three times before the first branch of the saffron plant comes out of the surface from its bulb. It has a message of the nature for the humanity.

The young and weak people need nourishment and smoothening the rough environment around them to come to their true colors to enrich the color and flavor of the society. Perhaps I need to make the crust a bit smoother to convey the message. Those are really blessed who get the support or the talent or the opportunities to flourish on the basis of their talent and hard work. There are majority of people who are not that much lucky.

All of us together make this society. You must have seen Former US President Bill Clinton or the richest man on land Bill Gates roaming around the poverty cursed areas of Asia and Africa. They have become taller enough to raise a hand of help to the poor people to come out of mess of poverty. Why do they do this despite of having all to live a life king size? Well, answer to this question lies in the time immortal example of Mahatama Gandhi. Mahatama Gandhi was a Barrister by qualification. But he failed to earn money through his profession or perhaps he was made for a greater cause. Though he did not earn much in his life, his photographs are on the biggest currency notes of India and the same can be found in South Africa. He taught the civilization the civilized way to fight for one’s rights. He showed the importance of self-reliance through spinning wheel and by minimizing the requirements. He always took a side of a poor and underprivileged. Why?

Can a plant in an agriculture field is sufficient to gain the produce? NO. Similarly each individual in a civilization is like a plant. The nourishment is taken by each plant but the yield can be procured only from the healthy plants. So more privileged people, means more contribution to enrich the civilization without any extra cost. This is the reason why all the great leaders of the modern time have made their own efforts to uplift the under privilege people. It holds the message of nature to smoothen the upper crest.

These thoughts came later to a series of incidence happened in my professional life. I am closing this article here, with a promise to come back to you with another article: My experiments! in which I share my experience in the resonance to the message conveyed in this article.

Let us make Uttar Pradesh, Ati Uttam Pradesh


Part 1: PRIDE



Uttar Pradesh holds the pride and privilege of being the birth place of two of the most sacred names of Hindu deities, i.e. Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. The home land of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna has been blessed with the very best of the natural resource. A major portion of the most fertile land of the State lies between the basin of the river Ganga and the river Yamuna.


To travel an area is the best mode to know the area. Once one sneak into the holy land of Uttar Pradesh from any adjoining States, one at once notices the change to realize that one is in Uttar Pradesh. The holy land of the State is highly fertile. The land fertility blesses the people of the land with source of livelihood for decorating her in Green. Uttar Pradesh holds distinction being among the top producers of many crops and agriculture produce. The ages old saying Uttam Kheti, Madhyam Vyapaar… still holds good in most of the parts of the Uttar Pradesh.

Much has been said about the people of this sacred State to defame them and to counter all such rubbish I have a few proud facts to share with. Uttar Pradesh holds the distinction of being the home land of warriors who committed the supreme sacrifice by giving their lives for the nation. Yes, Uttar Pradesh holds the distinction of maximum number of Param Veer Chakra awardees in the country. Param Veer Chakra is the highest military award of India. To match this glorious distinction of serving the nation in the armed forces with dignity, pride and commitment, the Uttar Pradesh shares the distinction of the maximum number of the awardees of the highest civil award of India, the Bharat Ratna with the State of Maharashtra. The Uttar Pradesh Param Veer Chakra awardees count was done by me in person at Sudan Hall of the NDA Academy almost a decade back where the portraits’ of the Param Veer Chakra Awardees are displayed by the proud nation for the inspiration of the budding defense services officers. Hence the people of Uttar Pradesh have served the nation in both civil and the defense fields. So the credentials of UPites are unquestionable.

The Capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, is world known for her sweet language, manners and rich customs. The cultural values of Lucknowites are so rich that the town has never seen even a single Hindu-Muslim riot ever since securing independence in the year 1947. The hospitality of people of Lucknow is so rich that whosoever from any part of the country comes and stays a few years in this town becomes its permanent resident.

Part 2: Economy
Let us go back to the second part of the saying Uttam Kheti, Madhyam Vyapaar… Uttar Pradesh has her uniqueness and distinctions in the industry (vyapaar) sphere too. A MSME Ministry report says that around 46% of the industrial production of the country comes from small and medium size (SME) enterprises. SME is the soul of the Uttar Pradesh. The country has renowned business families; Uttar Pradesh has towns renowned for a particular goods or a class of goods manufacturing. Moradabad is home of more than five thousand SMEs who have made this town renowned as Brass City by consistence quality goods making in brass and metal alloys. Merrut is well known for sports goods and musical instruments manufacturing. Khurja town in Bulandshahar district is famous for her ceramic pottery work. Saharanpur is famous for her wood craft. Kanpur is known for her leather goods. Only a selected class of people knows that Kanpur is the only place in India where harness and saddler items are manufactured and volume wise the turnover is the biggest in the world. Kannauj is economically sustaining on herbal perfumery (attar) and allied products since the time of Great Harshavardhana. Lucknow has earned distinction for its Lucknowvi Chikankari that is exclusively distinguished embroidery work. Firozabad is a huge centre of glass made products and the largest glass bangles manufacturer in the world. Agra, the Taj town, has emerged as one of the largest footwear producers in the world. It may surprise many, but is true! Varanasi is of world fame for her Banarsi Sarees, Zari work and glass beads. The sleepy appearing town just 40 Kms away from Varanasi, Bhadhoi, is the carpet weaving capital of India. Over 70% carpet production of the country holds the dust of Bhadhoi. The list of towns known for a particular goods or a class of goods is very large in Uttar Pradesh.

It is very surprising for people to see that Firozabad that is known for her Glass wares and Bangles has maintained her monopoly restricted to Firozabad only. Agra, a larger industrial town, is just 30-40 Kms away from Firozabad. But the glass industry has not entered into Agra and footwear industry has not breached the boundaries of Agra towards Firozabad. This distinction of maintaining peculiarity of a town known for a class of goods has remained confined to the particular towns only. Wherefore the goodwill of the towns for those classes of goods have grown leap and bound with time.

The untold story of mind boggling eco-matrix of Uttar Pradesh industry has some more to add. The most of the Uttar Pradesh industries are small industries that provide means of survivals to unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers. In the places like Lucknow it is not difficult to find the artisans who have taken Chikankari as the means of their livelihood from one generation to the next generation. The artistic tricks have remained confined to the verbal communication and transmitted generation to generation and made the crafts richer with time providing more talented hands with the wisdom of their forefathers to help them to earn their living. The reflection of Lucknow Chikankari is reflected in the fusion of aprick/Jali and zari work with the Chikankari. The beauty of the fusion makes the Lucknow Chikankari glow and grow with time and appealing to the new generation. The ease with which a craftsman picks up the molded glass from a furnace at a side of a iron stick and takes away for processing or picks the molted glass at around 900 degree Celsius at one side of the hollow iron road and picks up that side over his head to blow air from the other side to give a shape to the molted glass or the way the glass bangles are made from molten glass, the sights are jaw droopingly amazing. These local artisans and craftsmen are the unsung heroes of the engines of the local economies confined to the particular towns.


Part 3: Heroes of the Local Economy


It is the chemistry of the artisans and the craftsmen with their entrepreneurs that propels the engines of the local economies that are self-sufficient and self-sustaining. The sleepy looking helmets of Uttar Pradesh is either busy with agriculture or toiling their energy and skills in giving life to a craft. The relationship among the people connected in the local economy chain makes them self sufficient and enterprising. It is the blessings of the forefathers of these people in the shape of sharing their collective wisdom as traditional knowledge with them enabling them to use it as a toolkit to earn their livelihood with respect and pride. It is the open wide vista of opportunities that makes people lives in Uttar Pradesh to bank up on. This is the reason people find Uttar Pradesh worth living.

If Rohit Bal and Ritu Beri can be the fashion brand icons, why not these local heroes can be focused in the media glare? Indeed by giving these local heroes the due share in the production benefits the local economies can earn much more. The heroes and icons do not emerge from ferry land. They are part of the same society. It is just a question of shifting the mindset of employee and employer relationship into a system or a team in which each player is strategically used to give the maximum output for the team (organization). This will just dilute the non-tariff barriers like child labor and minimum wages. On the contrary this change will bring sense of pride, association in the team members and will inspire the youth to look towards these local industries as a good and respectable source of their livelihood. After all youth is the fuel of progress for the nation. It will not harm the industry owner by lowering his share but it would make the cake bigger. With a less per cent the owner would find a bigger pie. Is anyone interested in testing this idea? Well, TATA has already enforced it! The most respected corporate brand name, TATA, is in reality TATA Sons. All in the Tata Group is a son who works to make the cake bigger and thus gets a bigger pie.



Part 4: The Future

The notion of the big industries involved in accusation for not entering into Uttar Pradesh is based on ill conceived facts and figures. If for centuries poorly equipped SME sector can sustain and grow in Uttar Pradesh, the larger industries that have certainly much larger resources at their disposal can sustain and flourish.

The maximum numbers of the food processing industries are based in Maharashtra despite the fact that this State is not among the top agriculture produces producer. Uttar Pradesh has a huge potential for agro based and the food processing industries. It is obvious that when the agro and food processing based industries would be closer to the raw material production fields, the cost of production would take a nose dip slide and the utilization of more grains and fruits shall be possible. The untapped agriculture centric districts like Farrukhabad and Bahraich offer the establishment of the industry at much lesser cost in comparison to the other industrialized States.

The picture of Uttar Pradesh has become clearer and shiner by now. The best resource of Uttar Pradesh is her enterprising, intelligent and hard working people; without which the distinction in agriculture production and having towns bubbling with locally manufactured items (the most of them are handicraft items) was not possible. The most innovative human resource based sector in the spectrum of industries is information technology. Uttar Pradesh is a home of learning too with many premium seats of learning. Uttar Pradesh offers much better living and working conditions for the industries seeking skilled white collar work force. The living conditions in most of the industrial hubs of the nation have reached the highest choking point. This factor also provides the industry to look towards Uttar Pradesh where skilled human resource is easily available and other factors are also work conducive.

The connectivity with major ports and Metro towns is another plus factor of Uttar Pradesh. It is strategically located in the heart of the country. The rail, road and air connectivity to the most of the industrial and port towns is existing with Uttar Pradesh. Further the upcoming electricity projects, mega road projects and easily available portable water have become attracting factors due to scarcity of these resources in most of the metros. Uttar Pradesh is a hub of political activities. The road to form the Government at New Delhi goes through Uttar Pradesh. This factor makes all political leaderships to take care of Uttar Pradesh interests.

Uttar Pradesh has played a big role in contributing to make India an emerging super power. The heart of Uttar Pradesh lies in agriculture and the soul lies with the SME sector. It is time for the big industrial houses to become heart of Uttar Pradesh. This will further strengthen the engine of development and progress to propel better with the blessings of prosperity to the people of Uttar Pradesh and wealth for the nation. In the 150 birth century year of Noble Laureate Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, it would be a privilege to close with the wordings of Gurudev:

“… only those will be able to get and keep Swaraj in the material world who have realized the dignity of self-reliance and self-mastery in the spiritual world, those whom no temptation, no delusion, can induce to surrender the dignity of intellect into the keeping of others.”

JAI HIND, JAI BHARAT!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Fourteen Reasons why India cannot become a Super Power

Before going point-by-point reasons, I want to make it clear like most of the other fellow citizens I too love my nation. The brainstorming on reasons stating facts obstacles for India to become a Super Power is just a positive criticism. I have more reasons but I would like to confine to top FOURTEEN reasons.

INDIA cannot become Super Power despite of having all the qualities of becoming a Super Power, rather India is an unofficially declared Super Power!

The following are the reasons:

ONE. Indian political leadership is more concerned about itself; In place of Nation First, Nation Last is a sad but true fact. Indian democratic system has not matured in 62 years to bring quality in politics.

TWO. India is too crowded. So it will always remain a soft target to hit from inside. The nation guarantees safeguard to the life and property, but sadly enforcement of even fundamental rights is a time consuming costly affair. The densely populated unorganized towns do not promise safety even to a common man. There are so many porous entry points to sneak into Indian soil that it is easy to attack India by guerrilla warfare. It is stupid to think of an ambience which promotes economic development. Without economic development only terrorist, separatists and naxilite groups can flourish.

THREE. Indian borders are full with nasty neighbours. They will never appreciate a Super Power neighbour. China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar are not friendly neighbours who would like to go an extra mile to ensure that India does not become a Super Power.

FOUR. There is a vast difference between quality of life of people. The highest class perhaps spends more on mineral water than what a below poverty line person (With new poverty line bar to $1.25 from $1.08 per day earning), almost half of the Indian population is below poverty line.

FIVE. The Indian Defence Forces themselves need freedom from the Bureaucracy to groom itself. So with all due respect to the defence personnel, India forces look formidable only on paper. They need a lot more to make India to the class of Super Power. The glaring example of defence needs is flying coffers. Courage, honesty and high quality defence personnel are good for nothing without state of art warfare gadgets. The arms and ammunition should be at least matching the standards of the enemies. But it is no one’s concern as decision makers don’t sent their sons and daughters to serve in defence forces.

SIX. Corruption! Corruption is a deep rooted termite to Indian system. It exists in the form of bribe and commission in government machinery and in the form of dowry in our social life. Think of the alarming sex ratio. Where from the country will bring young blood to keep the life line of the nation live without girls?

SEVEN. Justice delayed is justice denied. India needs to improve both judge: population ratio and judgment: Cases ratio. Without efficient rule of law, no country can even dream of becoming a super power.

EIGHT. The Government machinery needs overhaul (rather replacement). Rajiv Gandhi discovered that each Rupee 1 send from Delhi reaches to the pubic in the poor shape of Paisa 15. Rahul Gandhi, son of late Rajivji, admits that now only Paisa 5 reaches for each Rupee sent from Delhi to the public. I appreciate the truthfulness of father-son duo who dared to accept this fact of eating up of public money by the government machinery. Their admission becomes more important with the fact that their own political party ruled the nation for the most of the time since independence in 1947. None else ever came forward even to make such a statement. Both Rupee One send from Delhi and Paisa 15 received at public end are public money. We do not need such a machinery which eats more than what it delivers. India cannot become a super power with this useless Government Machinery.

NINE. India has not preserved her natural resources. From digging Arawali Hills in North West to exploring natural gas in Cavery basin, polluting rivers to such an extent that they are in their dying stage, cutting trees to make forests cover to a pity state, depletion of ground water level and covering the land with a thick layer of poly bags has made India man made desert.

TEN. There is senseless development. Virtually nothing has been done in the North East part and most of the stress has been given for the economic development to a few places like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It is an amazing fact of our constitution which permits a state (J&K) to have her own constitution. We not only discriminate among States which in integrity makes India but also discriminate people on the basis of caste and religion. With so much stress on breaking apart the things which makes us a nation, how can we dream of becoming a super power?

ELEVEN. India does not have a vision. After a long time India had a visionary leader, India’s missile man Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, at the top most constitutional post of President of India. He gave India vision 2020. But did we moved ahead with the same synergy after his retirement? We have lost vision 2020 for history books.

TWELVE. We, the people of this great nation, who in integrity make India, have grown to 130 Crore in number but unfortunately do not have even a single leader who is acceptable and respected across the length and breadth of this great country. This is the reason we don’t have a vision. Without a road map and a leader to lead the nation on a single track, how is it possible to even think of becoming a Super Power?

THIRTEEN. India is a growing economy considered among top ten growing economies of the world. But India does not have sufficient energy to run the engines of economy. It has persistently failed to generate enough electricity for fulfilling the demand of industry and simultaneously provide electricity for agriculture and domestic use. People live in horrible conditions without electricity for hours in temperature above 42 degree Celsius. The economy of the nation dances at the tunes of fossil fuels price fluctuations. This is one of the strongest reasons for India lacking quality to become a super power.

FOURTEEN. India is in sub-tropic part of the globe. It provides an ideal environment for most of the bacteria and virus. The poor hygiene manners among almost all of us make the nation vulnerable to brisk business in medical science related trade and profession. Water is life. None can survive without water. There is almost no public place where safe drinking water is available without a price tag. There is no public place which is not carrying an evident of Paan lovers. Splitting at public places is a right. Similarly releasing oneself from urinal urge at any place is a birth right. If one thinks that so called high status people take care of common hygiene manners, the toilets of Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains, Aeroplanes and even Ministries would prove you wrong. This is one such topic in which habits of most of us are common and thus unite us. No one has right to misuse rather abuse freedom granted through independence. The readers may strange what is the big fuss in this topic in relation to reason for which India cannot become a super power. Well, your behaviour pattern at public places indicates our alertness for behaving like a responsible citizen. The pity looking lack of hygienic manners shows lack of discipline. Lack of discipline is nothing but failure and anarchy, which does not take us towards becoming super power.

I wish none of the reason remain even a single day to release India from obstacles to become a Super Power. But wishes seldom come true by just prayers.

JAI HIND.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Terrorism in Pakistan

Late Benazir Bhutto’s daughter is mourning for her mother by writing poems on her mother and singing the same. I can understand the pain and agony of the young lady who lost her mother in a terrorist attack. When I see towards this poor young lady with inconsolable sympathy, my attention invariably goes towards her immediate family members. I regret that the father of this young lady has learned nothing from the tragic loss of his ‘beloved’ wife. Perhaps Mr. Ten Percent of the yesteryears of Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto’s regime has earned the last bounty by the tragic death of mother of his children by getting elected to the top official position in Pakistan. Had it not been so he, and under his reign the Pakistan Government, would not have reacted so shamelessly to the Mumbai terror in front of the world community.
Pakistan is the hub of terrorism; this fact is now well known to the world. Unfortunately it has remained at the top of agendas of each Pakistani ruler for the last two decades. Terrorism has friends only among death, mourning and destruction. The fire of terrorism, which is the creation of Pakistan, has created destruction around the globe and has come back to Pakistan to create more friends for her known as death, mourning and destruction. I wonder what Pakistan has earned by inventing terrorism? The more surprising is the fact that after knowing and experiencing the havoc created by the dinosaur of terrorism there is not even sign of reprimanding what a blunder they have created.
I praise the patience of my country, India, in keeping calm and not indulging in the loop of mistakes with our beloved neighbour Pakistan by waging a war. I say beloved neighbour because excluding the ruling class which has always reasons to curse India, I have seen the affection and similarity among people across the border of both the countries. I have witnessed the rolling tears in the eyes of Pakistanis while going back to their home countries after paying friendly visits to India. The economic condition of Pakistan is well-known the world. It is not long back to get faded away in the memory of people that Pakistan was virtually bankrupt. On a plain and simple demand of India to handover those nasty elements responsible for the terrorist attacks on her soil, Pakistan is threatening for waging a war against India and doing all possible efforts to save the skins of terrorist attacks masterminds. If Pakistan dares to repeat the mistake to wage a war against India for third time, I am afraid it would collapse due to financial crunch in between the war itself. The land of Gandhi which practices non-violence is the fourth mightiest in terms of defence forces in the world. India’s patience should not be mistaken as her weakness. Pakistan has tested and experienced the India’s mettle in past, so knows it better. As far as trigger of war from India is a concerned, it is a very remote possibility. It is a remote possibility because as a land of Buddha, India, knows that peace cannot be traded in the coins of artillery shells. India knows who are the friends of terrorism. If Pakistan continues the friendship with terrorism, there is no need to name who would be next friends to Pakistan. In the last two decades of honeymoon between Pakistan and terrorism, peace and wealth have fleeted away from Pakistan. If this trend continues and rulers of Pakistan could not see the poems of their daughters wet with their tears, Pakistan will die natural death. Terrorism will eat it up. India needs just to wait and pay the price of being a neighbouring country to Pakistan by bearing perhaps, God forbade, a few more burnt of terrorism.
I, as a proud Indian like any other Indian, assure Pakistan that India is not going to wage a military war against her, as it is not required. If Pakistan does not break relationship with terrorism and India’s patience prevails, terrorism will eat up Pakistan; else if India’s patience could not persist to see the imminent fall of Pakistan then there are many technological methods to bring Pakistan on the right track.
Pakistan boasts for being a Muslim country, but still India has more proud Muslims as her sons and daughters. The rulers of Pakistan have sown the seeds of hatred against India in her masses to mislead them to secure their votes to rule them. This is communication age; Pakistan should learn that such propaganda is not going to work anymore. The Pakistani rulers will have to serve the masses to win their votes. Pakistan will have to learn that it is in a very crucial stage of an endless civil war which may give birth to multiple nations out of it. This is in the interest of Pakistan to see terrorism as its enemy and stop treating it as a friend.
I shall be glad to see peaceful, happy and prospering Pakistan enjoying friendly neighbour relations with India. But for that the rulers will have to have the hearts to feel the pain, agony and helplessness of their children and eyes to see tears wet pages on which their children are mourning deaths of their dear beloved ones by writing poems and ears to listen what they have lost in the words wrapped in poems.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Respect Farmers!

The agitation in Sigur against allotment of land to TATA for building Nano Car Factory has brought industrialists and farmers at crossroads. The investors are interpreting the things in their own way and people around there have their own issues. But in-between a positive side is that it has highlighted the plight of farmers who frequently lose their farmland by the drastic means of land acquisition laws.

First, Please don't see Singur things in isolation. This is not the first time when this 'fundamental right' of farmers is getting violated. Singur is the symbol of the injustice to GRAB the LIFE of farmers going in abated since the withdrawal of fundamental right on property. I would accept the legal instrument by the means of which Government grabs the agriculture land, if you accept the logic of demolishing the factories to cultivate crops in that land? Will anyone accept this argument? No, industrialists would fight tooth and nail to strike down the very concept of creation of such an instrument. Does not it symbolize double standards to two fellow citizens one of which is getting deprived of his that land which is nothing less than life for him and the other fellow citizen is enjoying not only his property but also getting more property from fellow citizens. This is injustice. More it is not acceptable in the Modern India for which our first PM defined as industries are temples of modern India. Mind it temples are never build in graveyards and force able land acquisition is nothing but making graveyard of farmers.

Second, I object treating Mr. Ratan Tata as a villain to make the news items catchy. Mr. Ratan Tata has made India proud by his contribution. He is a prized citizen to this nation. It is unfortunate that till date BHARAT RATNA has not been awarded to him. He is building the plant because Government allotted that land to him. He was instrumental neither in abolishing the fundamental right to property nor in senseless use of it by politicians. The same politicians who committed these blunders are staging DHARNA before TATA factory. This is cheap politics to win the votes of the farmers even after duping farmers of everything.

Perhaps agriculture is the last profession in which a youngster would be interested in the country, where majority meet their end meet by agriculture. India allots a royal share in budget in the name of agriculture each year, still she needs to allot thousands crore of rupees to wave-off their loans. India is the country where lakhs of farmers have committed suicide for professional misery. Agriculture is not holding a status of industry. Indeed it cannot with the famers sentiments attached to their land, to whom it is better to die to lose land. Indian farmers grow so much that demand-supply equation fails and Government has to put ventilator of minimum support prices. The farmers don't have guarantee to practice their profession, agriculture, in their own fields as Government holds right to grab their land by the means of Land Acquisition Laws. The government also holds right to restrict the choice of selecting buyer to their produce by banning exports.

If practicing agriculture is so tough, then who will grow to feed the nation? Who will promote their sons and daughters to remain in agriculture? Is this not a fact that majority of Indians practice agriculture because they are farmers by compulsion not by choice? If this question holds water, then the situation is alarming for the nation. Irrespective of the tough life, each year farmers produce more than what they have produced previous year. Their silent cry needs our attention and the nation needs to do more than chanting Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan slogan.

In many pockets of our territories there is plenty of land in our country which is not suitable for agriculture. Then why agriculture land is always found suitable to get acquired and allotted for industrial use? In my opinion this is a great subject matter of investigation and I promise to the investigators there is a lot find and to expose!!

The changing use of agriculture land into non-agriculture land should be a crime. Civilization can sustain without any industry but cannot survive even for a day without grains which come out of agriculture. This is a selfish but strong argument in support of farmers and agriculture without deviating or disrespecting Pt. Nehru's vision to treat Industries as temples of Modern India. A stronger argument is that agriculture is lifeline of around 70% population of India. No Government can provide equally arable land to farmers in compensation to acquisition to their farmland in a country where occupation of majority of population is agriculture. But can certainly develop pockets of land not suitable for agriculture as industrial zones. The monetary compensation to agriculture land acquisition is injustice and inhuman treatment to our fellow citizens whom the Constitution still guarantees the right to equality. It is so because mostly small and marginal farmers after losing their land become landless unskilled labourers. Agriculture is a noble profession and loosing it and then to work as landless labourers is perhaps dying each moment instead of dying for once. Small farmers cannot afford to do anything else but agriculture. India is a country of public ballot and it is surprising to notice insensitivity towards farmers.

Please respect farmers. Respect their hard work to feed all of us. Respect them as equal citizens. Respecting farmer is respecting the nation. Perhaps that is why Late Lal Bahadur Shastri, Former Prime Minister, gave the slogan, "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". The implementation of this slogan by spirit has the potential to make the nation AYAI (invincible), so please take it seriously.

Friday, August 22, 2008

India Needs Liberation from Article 370

Law is not static; it is dynamic. It is true that Article 370 was instrumental in the signing of the accession instrument which made J&K a part of India. Since then much water has flown both in Jhelum and Yamuna. Since independence we have almost lost more than one third of J&K to Pakistan and China which are known to the world as Azad Kashmir (PoK to India) and Aksi Chin (if I rightly remember this name). Four wars have been fought and much blood of the sons of main soil has been sacrificed in this process. The present condition is our neighbour has succeeded in her ulterior motives by dividing J&K on communal lines. There is hardly any supporter of India on her own soil in Kashmir valley, to which we hypocritically say an integral part of India. Please look into the sub section 3 of Article 370 which says that President of India can struck down this Article only after the due consent of the Constituent Assembly of J&K. Will you call it a Sovereign Power of our nation in which it has to seek permission of anyone sitting outside Parliament of India? What kind of integral part of India is this State which has its own Constitution and laws to run the State? What kind of integrity is reflected in this State which needs deployment of a major part of Indian Army to carry the myth of its integrity with India?

The current Amaranth Trust issue would not have caught national headlines if it had taken place at any place out of J&K in any other State. The pictures of Kashmir Valley are terrifying to any patriot. The state of affairs is alarming. This is high time to accept the mistakes committed by the political parties in power to mess up the issues. There are hundreds of amendments to the Constitution. Even under Article 370, a part has already been repealed. The country is facing the threat to her integrity, if we assume that J&K is an integral part of India. J&K is head of mother India. Just like head which requires more blood than any other organ in a human body, J&K has been pumped more young blood of the nation than required to any other State. India is a Sovereign nation. Her sovereignty is challenged every second in Kashmir valley. Please go and face the Pakistan fanatic mob in the street as an Indian Army soldier. You would realise how tough is to face anti Indian sentiments carrying mob and maintain the law and order to keep mission Kashmir going. You would perhaps also realise how tough it is to those poor soldiers to hold their sentiments to accept those Pakistani (read anti national elements) as fellow citizen. You may also realise how difficult it is to respect human rights in such tough conditions and how easier it is to write human rights of terrorists and anti nationals.

The newspapers report regularly how brutally Indians civilians are treated for years in Pakistani prisons and thrown back in Indian territory when they lost all senses. I do read such stories in media but never saw any human rights violation alarm from media on behalf of those poor civilians. Are all moral obligations unwritten laws for India and all liberty for Pakistan? It is easy to target defence personnel as they can be spotted in their uniforms but it is a violation of human rights even to suspect a terrorist. It is very difficult to fight against enemies within our territories as they always remain in the disguise of common civilians until they play their game. Please have some sympathy if not support to our own brothers in defence uniforms and report about them also outside the defined headline of publishing the news of their martyrdoms while serving the nation.

With the first Sun of Modern Independent India we saw division of our land into two parts. Then we lost a major portion of J&K to Pakistan and China. We are peace loving country but we are neither eunuch nor impotent. But we are not ready to sacrifice our blood for baking breads of the politicians. Please come out to the ground realities and drag those too outside their comfort zones who have mastered the art of securing the right of ruling the nation in the name of people. Else, history will never forgive any one of us while describing another disintegration of India.

Please try to see what is written on the wall. If signing the document of accession was the need to 1947, saying goodbye to Article 370 is the demand of time. It would be justice with those Indian soldiers who have given their lives considering fighting for their own nation on the soil of J&K. It would integrate J&K with such strength that then never again Pakistan could be able to divide people living in the State on communal lines. Please add your voice to create a thunder of Indian masses support, it would be heard and transform into the liberation to India from Article 370.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Energy Crisis

When we talk about energy our attention goes towards electricity and fossil fuels. What about the energy we need to survive? No one speaks about poor farmers on whose produce all survive, grow and prosper. But perhaps plight of farmers is not known to most of us who do not have any relation to farming or agriculture.

As per the latest news items world is facing an acute food crisis. Meanwhile WTO is in preparation for opening up trade further to include agriculture. There is a relation between food crisis and opening up of trade in agriculture produce. The developed world is gearing up to ensure its food security.

The condition of poor farmers is pathetic at least in the third world countries including my nation India. India is known as country of farmers. Still most of the population of India lives in villages and sustain on agriculture. Their plight is imaginable from that fact that when India secured her political freedom 70 to 80 per cent population was living in villages and was dependent on agriculture. Today, still around 60 per cent population is living in villages but agriculture needs only 10 per cent of the rural population. What rest of the people should do, is a big question neither attended and nor addressed. The pressure on agrarian land is tremendous. It is loosing its fertility in the need to grow more and more and for all kind of efforts to make it possible.

The interesting twist to this food crisis is that India is harvesting her bumper wheat crop these days as the second largest wheat producer of the world and India does not have enough safe places to store the harvested crop! Hats off to the Indian Administration system and political will for taking care to the agriculture!!

The fossil fuel crisis has added woes to the production of food grain. Bio-fuel crops are paying rich dividends to the farmers. They are finding growing bio-fuel crops profitable to cultivating food grain crops. Even floriculture is also a better option for farmers. Then who will grow food grains for 6.7 billion people of the world?

A series of questions have queued up in this small puzzling write-up on energy crisis. The first and foremost is that can Government compel farmers to grow only food grains? The other side of question is another question, Do farmers have right to make a choice what to sow?? Do farmers have right to select buyer of his crop? Do the farmers have right to use their fields exclusively for exports just like exports oriented units? In India Government exercises its powers to control exports and imports in food grains. Will this power remain with the national governments in the light of opening up of agriculture for trade under the aegis of WTO?

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mothers Day!

For me every day is mother's day. So I don't see anything special in it. But it is the right occasion to remember and resolve to serve mother in a different form. Please learn to respect others mothers too. Stop abusing language most of which are directed to mothers and sisters.

My second concern is towards mother earth. She is mother of all of us but sadly no one remember her on mother's day. You can make very modest contribution by stopping splitting here and there; shunning the habit of peeing roadside; planting a tree and looking after it. It would be a contribution worth presenting your Mom a new dress.

My third concern is towards poor conditions of rivers. I live in Lucknow and every time I cross river Gomti, it pretends she is crying for help. I have grown up in this town and have witnessed slowly she is dying. The Government is concerned about putting concrete structure on both banks of her. Builders are concerned to make a few more bridges over it, municipality is using it as the right place for drifting city sewage and other waste into it Dear Lucknowites, all great towns have come up on a river side. If Gomti dies, surely developers would feel pride in selling its land for creating more concrete jungles but it would deprive you of drinking water. The depleting ground water resources would vanish in no time. Death of a river is reverse counting of death for the towns on her banks. This applies to all rivers. So pay your respect to your town's holy river by making it clean. She is also our mother.

Can you live if your body is covered with polythene? Then why do you use it and throw it anywhere? It ultimately covers mother earth. How would she breath? Liberate her to have a deep breath by ensuring that you would not use polythene and would not take home anything in polybag from market.

May we all be bless by Mothers! Happy Mother's Day!!