a dead end?

The very recent deal between the Taliban outfit and the Pakistan government has sent a very dangerous signal to the world. Some trends which are emerging are going to test us in the very near future. 

There is a sense of deja vu around. In 1994 the taliban ran over Kabul and overtook the governance of Afghanistan. In this very similiar way the day is not far when we might actually witness Taliban sitting in Islamabad or Pakistan broken into 2 more fragments. This is a dangerous possibility not only for India but for the world in general, because they essentially belong to no nation and their aim in only to spread hatred and violence. 

Remember the Nazis? Once accepted by the German people as a partial solution to their problems they unleashed a wave of terror that spread throughout the world. Evil prevailed when good men failed to act.

We too have had deals with some fundamentalists monsters in the past. Let us not forget how we sweet talked Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala, with the result that he grew out of control and threatened the very fabric of our nation. Finally it was Beant Singh and Mr. KPS Gill using the same terror tactics against the terrorists themselves that drove them away and secured peace and prosperity in Punjab. 

LTTE was the other devil that we tried to nurture. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi paid dearly for his inability to understand Prabhakaran and his designs. Even today some of us fail to fully appreciate the necessary and concrete steps that the Sri Lankan government is taking at the present moment. 

Whenever there seems a problem of fundamentalism I fail to understand that why does a civil government even tolerate its demand and not crush it with an iron hand. Extremism, in a modern society with the ethos of democracy and a liberal society will never and should never be accepted. An attempt to woo them will always result in invariably strengthening their beliefs and actions.

Let me also briefly touch on the aspect of what happens when the state fundamentally fails to perform its duty of protecting its citizens and then essentially arms them by forming militias. Yes I am referring to the Salwa Judam. Taliban was created by the Americans to fight the invading Soviet army but they have now turned out to be their nemesis. Pakistans non state actors are now eating away into the state. We have to be therefore extra careful when we arm our civilians be it for their own safety. The job of the state should never be outsourced. 

Once stuck in the quagmire there will be practically no escape. The ONLY way to deal with fundamentalism is have zero tolerance towards it and nip it in the bud.

Decoding the Indian Culture....

"Culture: the cry of men in the face of their destiny."

Albert Camus

Its been an umpteen number of times I've heard people talk about our culture, traditions, heritage, morals.But apparently I've never been able to understand till now what exactly is meant by this culture and why is it so unique to us?

Our country has a very rich history, with various eras of progress and advancement. There have been periods where people have been seduced by our richness and blinded by our greatness.We were once called the golden bird. Science, art, architecture,literature all have flourished during our glorious periods. We, unlike some past civilizations have survived and advanced. (In this sense I can understand Nehru's initial dissillusionment with China.)

The very recent attacks by the Ram Sene and then the comments of its chief, Mutalik and some non saffron politicians (Rajasthan CM Gehlot), " This is not Indian Culture, this is pub culture), shows some very disturbing trends occurring in the society. The warnings of Mulathik about they marrying off couples on the coming Valentines Day and the violence and the harassment we have witnessed in the previous Valentines Day by the Bajrang Dal and the Shiv Sena forces, does make me question what culture are these people talking about. What kind of moral values are these people talking about when these self claimed custodians of morals and culture engage in violence with absolutely no respect for women.

Amartya Sen has talked about an exotic India that has been a beacon which has attracted multitudes from foreign lands. We have had a great spiritual past, where numerous saints and seers have talked about the mysterious forces of the world and have attempted to decode it in the Himalayas and forests. Our spirituality has sought to provide solutions to the beleaguered people all around the world. It is believed that the Indian way of life is often determined by this underlining spirituality. The beliefs and the values given by the various literatures are the guiding principles by which we humans are supposed to lead their lives.

We are a diverse nation with a mosaic of faiths and beliefs. Akbar and Ashoka were considered the pioneers in nurturing a diverse society. But the growing intolerance today in some sections of the society is really alarming. Even our actions like the closing of the "Karachi Sweet" shop in Mumbai shows where our irrationality and intolerance is leading us.

We seem to have forgotten we are the land of the Kamasutra. Why then so much intolerance at the mere sight of young unmarried couples even holding hands?What is so wrong in expressing love publicly? Why so much anger and anguish at the sight of women wearing noodle straps and tank tops and jeans? Where in our "Indian Culture" is it written that women should be attacked? Our society perhaps has the largest number of goddesses who we worship, Laxmi, Durga, Kali to name a few, but still there seems to be a discontinuity in our beliefs and our practices.

Since when has social mixing been deemed anti- Indian. If these anti-nationals have their way they will end up by talibanising our country. When liberal regions like Mangalore and Mumbai witness such events it really is a scare. What is wrong if women choose to wear what pleases them. Perhaps sari can be the most sensuous dress . Should we now even have a national dress for them? Traditions are fine, but modern thought is about looking at wider and newer horizons. Our society should be the ideal blend of modern and tradition.

Today it seems our culture has become a sore wound. Anything contrary to the personal views of a few seems to harvest only hatred, and against the "Indian Culture".


"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too."

Voltaire

Our Constitutions 60th birthday!!

Saare Jahan Se Acha Hindustan humara....

Since its very first mention by Mr. Muhammad Iqbal( he then swung like a pendulum and proposed a 2 nation theory ), this phrase has been immortalized by the utterances of many.
60 years ago we formally adopted our constitution and the nation presented itself a sacred document that was to guide us into a new era. It promised us a LOT!

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

Can we proudly sing about the achievement of these ideals?We have been successful in our holding of "free and fair elections". Nehru sowed in us the democratic ideals pretty well and the "fledging and largest democracy" is what we are reaping.

The document has been fairly respected for what it is, but what about the justice, liberty, equality and the fraternity it visions for ALL its citizens. What seems prevalent is the Justice, as talked about by Thrasymachus in Plato's Republic, as "the interest of the stronger" . The Jessica Lall case and then the elevation of the judge S L Bhayana to the High Court,the Saumitra Sen episode and the remarks of our CJI drives home the point.

We do enjoy our Liberty of expression.Mr Hussein has had to flee the country and take refuge in some other nation, exactly because of this liberty that we enjoy and he thought he had. Of course we enjoy our liberty of religion and faith. Are we proud of what happened in Kandhamal and the numerous communal riots that have been waged in our country?Is this the fraternity and secularity our sacred document is talking about?

We are proud of our country and the ideals that it stands for, but things at times don't look that good and glossy. At times all that is shining is not the true and the incredible India.

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore
Geetanjali(1912)

hmmmm.....

Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

Confucius, The Confucian Analects
Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC - 479 BC)

Things have become so complicated. People have become so confusing. Chaos and Disorder have been restless and it is absolutely true that both have been making their presence felt more and more. It is inevitable and futile to control them(The second law of Thermodynamics bluntly states it - Entropy increases for an isolated system).
When everybody seems so baffling and everything so complex,is there any hope for an answer?

Here I just want to attempt to sort out my thoughts and ideas. Personally, I hope for more clarity and better understanding of things. The journey may be long and lonely, but thats how it has always been....