Silent Observer

Ordinary people's Extra-ordinary resolve

2011-04-11T23:18:00.001+09:00

I tried to pen down the weekend after the devastating earth quake on march 11th 2011.
As I was trying to write something after a long long time, I found it difficult to articulate many things.
Sorry if its too long.

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Ordinary people's Extra-ordinary resolve
- 11th March 2011

I grew up hearing a lot of Japanese quality and religiously practised punctuality. When I landed in Japan exactly 10 years back, I was surprised, the stories I heard when I was young, were true in every word and spirit. Its not just the people, but nature as well. The four seasons will take turns with such an accurate timing.

March is usually the fag end of the winter, but in recent years, thanks to all of us all over the world, the climatic changes are too visible in Japan. Last year after 40 years, it snowed heaviliy in Tokyo during April. This year, there were snow falls in the beginning of march.

On March 11th, It was another routine bright friday morning. I as usual was rushing to the meetings. After an unusally long break, I had a meeting in Ibaraki around 1 pm. I finished the morning meeting and rushed to Ueno station at around 10:40 am to take the 11 'o clock train.

At the stroke of 11, Hitachi Super express heading towards Iwate in North eastern Japan started off with its first stop in Mito, followed by Katsuta some 150 KMs from Tokyo. I got off at Sawa and heading towards Sawa factory. Had the routine chat with my engineers and after the usual pleasantries with the purchase dept, the meeting started exactly at 1:00 pm. It went on for about 2 hours and at around 2:46 pm, there was a massive earth quake.

Earth quake is no stranger to Japan. We live with it, day in day out. Usually, it will be the ceiling and the hanging lamps that will show signs of quake. But, this one was different. The first signs were on the floor. And with every passing micro second, it multiplied manifold and the customer started panicking. I told him, that, isn't it usual and it will reside in seconds, isn't it? But, the customer shouted, NO... Its different. RUN... By Telling this, he just rushed outside pulling me along with him. We came out and were shocked to see the cars and the massive truck full of load staggering from side to side. That was when, I realised the gravity of the situation. Immediately, I turned to the building and was schocked to see that, the building started developing cracks and the walls started pulling apart. In the last 10 years, I have never seen such a massive earth quake. Usually, a quake will last for a few seconds, and the tremor lasting for a max of 10 or 12 secs. But, this one seemed to be never ending lasting for over 2 minutes. "Porumaikku udaranam, Boomi thaai. Adukku thann, en ponnukku Janani-nnu per vechen" aana, ava kovappatta, thaangadunnu annikku thaan unarden.

The employees of the company were visible shattered and were dumb stuck. One by one, they came rushing outside. Within seconds, they started asking every team and modules to assemble in their locations outside the office in the evacuation area. They asked everyone to check if the immediate member sitting next to him is there. Next, they asked them to check for the members in their row. They then asked them to stand in the same order that they sit in the office. And finally, they took a head count. This happenned in seconds and they confirmed that every single member in the whole company which houses more than thousand employees were evacuated with no injuries to anyone.

While they were counting and were checking each other, a massive second quake hit and the building partially collasped. Computers and printers from the 4th floor were falling down. People started calling their families, obviously concerned about their family's well being. But the telephone network was completely jammed and blocked.

My family was in Tokyo, wife and kids were supposed to be back home from school by that time. But, I couldn't check. For over an hour, I was continuously trying. But, couldn't connect. Tried sending SMS, but in vain. And finally realised that the mail in my phone was working. No idea why the GSM was not working, but GPRS was. But, who cares, I sent a mail and she replied immediately. All three of us were safe. I realized the power of technology and the value of investing in an iPhone. I shared the GPS Location, shared pictures, videos etc in seconds. And above all, I could use VOIP application and call India. I called my parents, in laws and my brother about our safety as they will get to know within secs, thanks to the 24X7 TV channels. For the first time, I couldn't call my wife in Tokyo, but was able to talk to my family in India.

The radio in the cellphone was informing us about the earth quake and the areas that were affected. The earthquake occurred at 14:46 local time in the western Pacific Ocean, 130 km east of Sendai, Honshu, Japan. Its epicenter was 373 km from Tokyo. Multiple aftershocks were reported after the initial magnitude 9.0 quake. A magnitude 7.0 aftershock was reported at 15:06 local time, 7.4 at 15:15 local time and 7.2 at 15:26 local time. Over a thousand aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater have occurred since the initial quake. [Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Sendai_earthquake_and_tsunami] More than the total number of shocks that will happen in a decade.

So, I was there wondering what to do next? I had no idea of the scale of damage it had caused. Immediately, there were warnings of Tsunami and everyone was telling not to venture near sea shore or even upstream rivers, as this location was 8 kms from the sea.

I had 5 engineers working in Ibaraki. 2 had fortunately left a week back and there were 3 left. I thought, I should check their homes before I head back to Tokyo. I asked for permission from all the customer heads and took them to their houses. Their houses were ok in the exterior but were totally messed up in the interior. Everything was affected. The shower, mirror, kitchen, bedroom and even the door fell down. Thank god it was not at night and no one was sleeping there, or else, it would have fallen right on their forehead. There was no water, gas electricity. Everything was automatically triggered and was blocked to prevent any further damage due to fire. We thought, it is temperory and everything will resume in a few minutes.

And I told them that, If it is ok, lets go near station, look for a good restaurent, have good food and then, I will leave. It was a long walk for about an hour before we reached Katsuda station, which was a good 7 kms from there. And then only we realised that the trains are not working because they need to check the tracks completely before they resume operations. We tried for any bus or taxi, but none of them were ready, as none of them were sure about the status of roads and the bridges.

On the way to the station we realized that there may not be any restaurents and we tried to get something to eat for dinner in the convenience store. But, they were not working as they need power to use their register. We were desperately searching for one and finally found a small convenience store, they were working. B'cos they were using the age old technology... hand counting and no computers.

That night we spent around 9 to 10 hours on the streets. It was biting cold and the toes and fingers started paining from freezing. I usually like winter a lot for the cool breeze and the serenity it brings. But, that night changed my perception of winter. I understood the kind of winter life a homeless in Japan has. We found a hotel nearby and thought of checking in for the night. But, they were closed as there was no power. But they allowed us to sit in the lobby for the night. They even provided us with a blanket.

It reminded us of the nammalwar, Peyalwar and Boothathaalvar story. The blanket was enough to support one person with full comfort and luzury. With two, they can cover themselves from neck to toe. With three, they can barely manage to it and cover themselves from their hand to knee. We three were sitting and covering ourselves. In a few minutes, "Anda perumale vanda madiri, naalavada oruthan ulla nerukkaraan..." Ippadiyaga, anda irava kazhichom.

The receptionist in the hotel told that usually, there is a bus from Katsuda to Tokyo and the first bus leaves at 5:40 am. So, I didn't want to miss it as I had a class from 8 am in Tokyo on all weekends. I didn't sleep at all and at the stroke of 5:00, I took leave from the 3 guys and left to the bus stop. I waited there for over 2 hours. There was no sign of any bus. I enquired the police station near by and they told me that, the roads were broken, bridges crashed and the broken train tracks and above all the roof of the station itself crashed down last evening. And there is no way, I can leave now. That was when it really dawned on me and I started planning long term. I enquired if there is any evacuation area or any support available. The police man gave me directions for a near by elementary school. I went there.

It was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. There were a lot of people, food was available, water was in plenty and above all, we could use the blanket. I called the 3 guys and was glad that they were still there in the hotel lobby. I asked them to come there immediately. They came there in no time.

There were over more than 300 japanese in the evacuation area. But, there was pin drop silence. People of all age group. kids, youngsters, elders ... But, none of them cried, no traces of pain or fear on their face. Immediately after the quake, the roads were flooded with people and cars. But, you can see the classic Japanese order and compassion there. The signals were not working due to power cut, but none of the automobiles moved. They restrained themselves from taking the "Me first attitude". It was an amazing view. At the junction, all the four sides were flooded with cars, but none of them moved. They requested the other side to take the first turn. This is the kind of next generation, I would love to build. Even if it takes decades together or even a rebirth, I would like to work towards this kind of a society in India.

Similarly at the evacuation center, the new born babies and the young mothers were put to utmost test. With the biting cold in the winter and a few fires to keep yourselves warm, there was nowhere for the young mothers to go secluded to feed their babies. In front of their fellow citizens, they were feeding and what can I say about this society? Words fail and heart takes over. I have never cried in my life, even when my beloved grandparents died. But, this scene pushed me to the brim of my inner strength. It was paining and was crying deep inside me. The country and the people who gave me everything were torn apart and were struggling for their basic needs... Forget about food and water, there was not even a safe warm place to cover themselves and feed their kids.

It was more than 20 hours I had my last meal and was feeling very tired, hungry and thristy. And the sight of the food distribution at the evacuation center was like dream come true. We stood in line and when my turn came, they asked me, which one do you want? They were distributing plain rice and a mixed rice. As I was a vegetarian, I preferred the plain rice, even if there is nothing to mix. But, I was for a surprise, when the rice was ready made dry rice and if we put hot water, it will turn into hot fresh good smelling rice in minutes. But, due to lack of fuel, they had only this rice and cold water. They asked me to open the packet, remove the preservative and put a cup of cold water. Asked me to wait for 2 hours before it turns out to be rice. That was the longest wait for me in front of food. It was mouth watering and was left with no other choice but to wait. And after 2 hours, when I finally ate it, it was the most delicious food I ever tasted in my life. Amritham-na epdi irukkumnu annikku thaan therinjuthu...

Konjam kooda moonjiya sulikkaama, the ward office officials were distributing everything. I requested them for the price to pay. They said, that it is free and were very sorry that, they could only give this at this moment. They were preparing the toilet in the middle of the wonderful clean school ground. Dig a long wide hole and placed a couple of metal sheet to prepare a toilet. Split it into two with a flimsy white sheet and switched on a motor operated lamp. I offered to help them in digging. But they kindly refused and told me, that, we are very sorry for the inconvenience and at this moment, this is the toilet that they could provide.

All these were provided by the city ward office officials. A panchayat equivalent of India. They knew how to handle such calamities and they were prepared for such a massive evacuation and support. There was total order and no one claimed any credit for doing it. Karnan-ma pathi namma padikkarom, aana evvlo per kadaipidikkaromnu ketta theriyaadu. Aana, inga, idathu kai kodukkarathu valathu kaikku nejamaave theriyaadu. Anda madiri, every one did their part.

For example, the workers and owners from the super market brought their foods immediately and gave it to the officials. The officials just distributed it to everyone, with no favor or fear. No influence or bias towards any local or foreigner. The telephone companies especially the NTT, made the public telephone free. Again, you see an order in front of the public booth. Its free and you can use as much as you can. There is a huge line in front of it and people use it only to say hi and their where abouts to their family. Noone took anything more than a minute. What a display of compassion towards other souls.

I have been to this place for over 5 years and have seen a particular old shop closed. But, suddenly, that day, it was open and an elderly lady was distributing some bread to the passers by. The convenience stores were giving their left over food for free. They could have charged a heavy price, but they didn't. There was a huge line for over a km in front of the petrol bunks. They could have charged a heavy price, but they didn't.

The third day after the quake, the city officials in the evacuation center were running out of supplies and were kind of looking out for more thro' each and every source. I realized that, its time we left and allowed the local people to get better care. But, the trains were still not yet ready, bus was not operating. The city official told that, it is going to be atleast a month's time before the trains start operating. So, we had to make our next move.

Also, the nuclear power plant just another 80 kms north of this evacuation center was fuming and this place started getting scary with the kind of information that was coming in. The bridges were damaged and the tracks were broken. So, the options left were to find a taxi that can take us to the location from where trains operate towards Tokyo. But, to get the taxi, we were told to walk to the next station that was some 10 kms away. So, I requested the 3 guys to get their passport and pack few of their dress and get ready to travel. I was planning to take them to my home in Tokyo.

They went ahead to their house to pack. I went in search of a taxi. After a while or walking and losing a few of them, I finally negotiated and got hold of a taxi. He was willing only to take us to a station called tsuchiura. If he travels too far, the risk of he not getting petrol to return back was high. So, He promised us only yo take till tsuchiura. Got on the taxi, went to their house. Picked them up and headed towards Tokyo.

This way, we changed taxi in the same way a couple of times and after 7 hours of travel, we reached a station called Toride, closer to Tokyo. Trains were operating from here. From here, we had another couple of transfers and reached my station Nishi-Kasai. From here, it was another 20 mintes walk and reached home - Sweet home after 10 hours of travel, the longest ever from Ibaraki to tokyo. We reached my home on Sunday night.

By the time I reached tokyo, I was in for a surprise. The roads and pipes in Tokyo were uprooted from the ground and it was the first time I could ever see my place in such a mess. But, on top of this, the nuclear scare had taken a different turn. All my fellow foreigners were planning to mass evacuate and go back to India. In the middle of all, the next morning was bright and sunny. I woke up to the sound of the kids in the near by kinder garnen, next to my home.

In the middle of chaos and foreigners fleeing, the kids displayed hope and the dawn of the next generation Japanese. I was reminded, Hope is the pillar that holds the world. How true, these kids had realized it, when are we going to?

In the whole, exercise, the display of order, process, patience, perseverance, tenacity and compassion was mind blowing. I have lived in this counrty for over a decade and I was all along thinking that, the salient feature of this country was analysis. They go to the root of every problem and always come out with a sustainable solution and was under the impression, that their strength was root cause analysis. But, I was proved wrong. The strength of this country is the patience. Patience at the face of adversity, the patience to undergo pain with a smiling face. If only, we can inculcate this to our next generation, we can be sure of having a sustainable future. Nothing can shatter us as a society / culture.

Best regards,
Murali Manikandan S

Confused Man - Mohan Singh, NAM, Mush in Havanna

2006-09-25T16:45:00.000+09:00

NAM, MMS-Mush and Havanna

Prime Minister Man Mohan singh's decision to skip the UN general assembly and participate in NAM summit that too in red havanna is a blunder of sorts. NAM has already become irrelevent. Our former external affairs minister Mr.Natwar might claim that as long as NATO is alive, NAM is relevent. But the truth is NAM is a chunk of anti americans shouting irrelevent slogans satisfying their fake ego. Unfortunately, we created this mess and we still claim it a success story.

In the 50 year long infamous history of NAM, I can't even think of a single achievement worth mentioning. Not even a single war thwarted, mediated, nor any dispute between member countries solved, not a single conflit avoided... So, what is it for ? Did it help any of the third world African nations or any of the South americans nor we south asians. The summit gave the world a chance to see a deteriorating Fidel Castro. Look at the bunch of crooks who participated in the summit, Raul - castro's brother, Musharraf, Ahmedinijad (Iran), Bashr-al- Azad (Syria), Hugo Chavez (venezuela) et all. And the result, anti american slogans all the way. That was all it fetched. And a much hyped handshake between our MMS and Mush.

This has given way for a joint anti terrorism aparatus. The initiative for this Indo-Pakistan anti-terrorism co-operation mechanism is ill-advised, ill-timed and ill-conceived. Its like a sheep asking the wolf to help in combating the loss of its kids at night. First of all, MMS should have told that he is skipping the NAM summit b'cos it would mean sharing the dais with Mush. We should have insulted and cornered pakistan. At a time when the west is realising that the pakis are playing a spoil sport, dual game in the name of "war against terror", we are handshaking and saying, lets patrol together.

Oh Mr.MMS, I once felt proud and happy for you becoming the PM. I thought Rajiv was the dumbest PM ever India had. Now, I have started believing that if Rajiv was the dumbest, then, you are the meakest India has ever seen. And your advisor Narayan... Oh, the less said the better. India feels the loss of Mani dixit when his services are required the most.

For God sake, Pakistan is a theocratic State founded on the belief that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together. We may call ourselves a secular state, but the Pakistanis look upon us as a Hindu State. If Manmohan Singh think that a State with such beliefs will genuinely co-operate with us against jihadi terrorism, then, he is living in a fools paradise. Someone, please tell him.

And look at Mush and Ahmedinijad, they went on to the UNGA. Ahmedinijad took it as an oppurtunity to proclaim that they are right, their nuclear option is atone to the right to exist and Mush told that India is the mischief and the problem creator in Kashmir. On the other hand our MMS lost his oppurtunity to roar back or even to gather support from other countries for his pet project civilian nuclear coop with Americans.

And I don't know why the G15 meeting was held in havanna, for cuba is not even a part of that group. Oh!!! A bunch of baffoons.

The only meaningful meeting that was held in this recent visit was the IBSA. The south-south corridor cooperation between India, Brazil and South Africa held in Brazilia.

Thank god the UPA didn't dump it thinking that it was the idea floated by Vajpayee.

On the whole, other than costing the ex-chequr a ton, PM's recent visit didn't fetch India anything meaningful.

- Murali

Kargil Day

2006-07-26T19:24:00.000+09:00

July 26 is Vijay Divas, the day we celebrate our victory in the Kargil War.
The day the Indian soldiers helped us hold our heads high.

The Indian Army lost 600 soldiers. Six hundred families lost sons, husbands, fathers.

But, The country won back its pride.

The country owes each one of these families. We Salute you. Jai Jawan

- Murali

India needs to be ruthless in its vengeance

2006-07-14T11:18:00.000+09:00

Guys,

Here is another one.. I know I am bombarding you with similar messages. I may be boring you with the same feelings... But, neverthless, it had to be done. It had to be said. Unless we do it, it will become like what zidane told yesterday.

Zidane told that, if he keeps quite, if he feels sorry, then, whatever the italian told about his mom and sister will become true. So, he is not gonna feel sorry, he is not gonna apologise...

So, no matter what everyone feels... it had to be said. ..

Look at what Israel has done yesterday. They have bombed Lebanon. Why lebabnon? Weren't they at hostility with Palestine? Yes, the palestine terrorist organisation, Hamas is hiding in Lebanon using civilians as shield. They took 2 army men from Israel as hostages. What did Israel do? Negotiate? No. They don't negotiate with words across the table. They negotiate with bombs in war front. They take the war to the enemy ground. U use civilians as shield. Then, everyone is guilty. We consider everyone as military and bombed the 3rd country which gave them shelter, killed their citizens, destroyed their only good international airport.

This is how a self confident nation conducts itself. Not by taking about peace and tellign that, we should go to the roots of the problem to wipe out terorism.

How on earth can we wait on the shores to reside for the waves to take bath ? Is it ever possible? From time immemorial, there have been devils. You can't wait for all of them to turn good.

Talkign about war is highly unfashionable now a days. So, when I say this 3 letter word, people look at me with distaste. But, How on earth can you create terror in the terrorists mind? Everyone is talking about peace, about dialogues, about sending more busses, more business, more bla bla bla..

There is no single prominent voice to take punitive strikes. No voice to use the UNSC's announcement yesterday to get Dawood Ibrahim back here and punish. I feel so ashamed of our political leaders.

When hamas thought that, "Ok, Sharon is gone. Israel has become meak. Now is the time to strike them and bring them to knees." And look how Israel has responded? They have take punnitive strikes and have given a clear message that, don't mess with me with terror. You are the one to suffer the most. Do it at your own risk.

What is wrong in admiring such self-respecting people, huh ? No amount of Vedanta will help here.

Murali

India needs to be ruthless in its vengeance

Shishir Bhate

July 13, 2006

As a child, I rarely fell asleep without listening to my grandmother narrate 'good-over-evil' stories from religious scriptures. Her dramatic story-telling ability held me enraptured as she described how gods took on the demons and crushed them. With 330 million gods to choose from and a near-perfect memory, her bank of stories was inexhaustible. At school, I learnt 'moral science,' which primarily consisted of religious tales of divine domination over wickedness.

I was in love with these godly heroes as they vanquished the forces of evil, mercilessly mowing them down. It took me slightly longer to realise that the magnitude of violence that lurked in religious anecdotes could hardly be matched by anything human. Yet I continued to be enamoured of Krishna and Christ alike.

For, to an impressionable mind of a child what mattered most was a sense of fairness, of justice. My mind, then, could not fathom what made people malevolent; all I believed was that the evil-doer pay the price for his sins, dearly.

Many moons have passed since then, but my love for Krishna and Christ is intact, and I still believe that evil should never go unpunished: the more severe the punishment, the bigger the deterrent it is for future violent acts. Or, I should say, the inevitability of punishment is the biggest deterrent.

However, there is nothing inevitable about India's resolve to wipe out terrorism.

But let me come back to the present. A day after the blasts, I boarded the first-class compartment of a Mumbai suburban train. It wasn't bursting at the seams with passengers, like it normally does, but I couldn't discern fear on the faces of my fellow passengers, only a weary cautiousness. Their voices, however, were laced with anger.

The snatches of conversation that I could hear centered on the Indian State's 'impotency' at fighting terrorism and what it should do to destroy terrorists. But the common man does not have the right to influence the State's policy towards matters as important as these, does he? So what if he has the right to vote governments to power.

India, time and again, has failed to wield the hammer against the lowly terrorist, often letting its citizens down. And despite what our leaders would have us believe, we are a soft State: a fact fully understood and exploited by terrorists.

After every such attack, the political establishment makes some threatening noises, hails the spirit of the civilians, holds aloft the pennant of peace, even launches buses to inimical nations, and then sits tight on its backside till the next wave of bombs rips the stuffing out of its citizenry. Then it is back to the same idiotic idiom.

But the common man, who actually bears the brunt of terrorism, has a different view, as that train ride told me. India needs to hit them where it hurts the most: squeeze the breath out of their networks, starve them for funds, take out their leaders (who we claim to know are hiding in this country or that), smash their hideouts, terrorise their associates.

No sooner is such an opinion voiced than human rights groups, 'saner' elements in the political firmament, self-styled negotiators and strategists jump into the fray to say: 'No, no, we should engage these 'people' in a dialogue. We are a peace-loving nation and terrorism needs to be resolved through peaceful means, through tolerance, through negotiations, abiding by international laws.'

We are told: 'We need to fight terrorism by understanding what triggers it and then remedying the situation. And by making 'them see reason.' Reason, my foot! The next thing you know' that bloke will be stuffing a dynamite stick down your throat and lighting the fuse.

Many people agree that international terrorism cannot be brought to an end only by the use of bombs and military might, but neither can it be ended with mere talk. What is needed is a heavy dose of ruthless action to go hand in hand with tactical and strategic negotiations.

The nation should be ready to negotiate, with the underlying condition that if there is any terrorist act against its citizens, there will be hell to pay.

This is not some original thought. We hear it all the time. The common man says:

Strengthen the infrastructure and the intelligence network.
Educate the society on how to remain alert and control panic.
Set up crack commando groups -- comprising snipers, specially trained and equipped assault teams, state-sponsored combatants -- who will engage in unconventional warfare.
Dry up the terrorists' sources of funding: drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, playing on international stock markets, donations.
Keep a hawk's eye on hostile locations and smash them up.
Take out leaders of these organisations, no matter where they take refuge.
Tighten the nation's borders even more, except maybe for trade.

Not an easy task, but not impossible either. The might of the Indian State is hardly something to scoff at. Disuse of power is worse than its misuse. It is time for Indians to roll up their sleeves, spit on their hands and get to work.

The one-track 'mature, gentile, peaceful' way of unraveling this menace only ends up in making the nation appear impotent. Just because the citizens are brave and spirited doesn't mean they have to keep suffering.

The common man wants a strong message be sent out: if any Indian is harmed in any manner, we will hunt you down and exterminate you, no matter how fast you run or where you hide.

The terrorist has no human rights; he loses them the instant he points his gun at humanity. He is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention and international laws of war should not apply to him. Since he chooses to live by the gun, he deserves to die by it.

Sounds uncivilised? Like out of a trashy thriller? Maybe. But ask the newly-wed girl whose husband was blown to pieces in the blasts, ask the old widow whose only earning son will walk no more...

India needs to be ruthless in its vengeance. The inevitability of punishment could nip many a hostile intent in the bud.

Which brings me back to grandma's tales. Not one of those stories ended with the demon getting away unpunished. Not once was justice denied. But since then, the concept of justice has changed for me. No one wants justice, everyone wants a decision in his favour. So why not the common Indian? It is time we were given our slice of justice.

But can we do it? Or will the nation have to wait for divine assistance: a Krishna or a Christ to deliver us from terror?

Anti-Brahmanism should stop!

2006-07-12T16:48:00.000+09:00

We need a foreigner to tell us the truth ... Read on... This is from one of my most favourite journalists, who won the natchiketa award for investigative journalism.

Anti-Brahmanism should stop!

June 15, 2006

The first article published by rediff on Brahmins as an underprivileged community, brought a flurry of reactions, mostly of surprise: "What, Brahmins as toilet cleaners, coolies, rickshaw pullers, priests earning less than Rs 150 a month... How is it possible, we always thought that Brahmins were a rich, fat, arrogant community?"

Many Brahmins and other upper castes expressed online their relief that someone was speaking about their plight, that for once they were not attacked, made fun of, ridiculed. Of course there were also a few hostile e-mails, accusing the author of upper casteism, of anti-Dalits bias.

One would have thought however, that at a time when reservation was the hottest journalistic topic, the media would have seized this story and made it its own. After all, isn't impartial journalism to show both sides of the story?

Don't you think, for instance, that the discovery that all 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi are cleaned and looked after by Brahmins -- traditionally the task of the lowest of the lowest caste -- and that this noble institution was started by a Brahmin, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, makes a wonderful story, both for the print and electronic media?

That is what I believed, at any rate. So when I discovered that the Art of Living Foundation was conducting workshops for all coolies, irrespective of their religion and caste of the Delhi railway station -- and that quite a few of them were Brahmins -- I thought I could share this story and the Sulabh Shauchalayas scoop, with a few journalistic acquaintances, who would jump on it with glee. Unfortunately I was very wrong.

Initially, some young journalists were enthusiastic and joined us in our investigation. We expected the story to hit the headlines soon and be taken up by the entire press, hungry for something different than the strike of the medicos, or Arjun Singh's adamant attitude. But nothing happened.

We called them day after day, proposed some more data, but still no story came out. Then one of the young journalists, working for one of the largest media outfits in India told us off the record that the sub-editor, backed by the editor, had killed the story in true journalistic freedom.

The second scenario we encountered was stone silence: the star anchors, bureau chiefs, editors of national English newspapers whom I personally contacted, either did not return my calls or were evasive.

Third scenario: Downright hostility: "You're a right winger, a pro-BJP-RSS journalist" etc. What does truth and investigative journalism have to do with the BJP (who by the way did no more than the Congress for the Kashmiri Brahmins, for instance, when it was in power)? I don't know.

Some journalists, initially willing to do a story, backed out after some time under the pretext that the data was not solid enough. Not solid enough? Does flimsy and unchecked data ever stop the Indian media to publish slanderous stories in the recent past?

Then, I came to the conclusion that more than fifty years later, the Nehruvian culture which directly brainwashed two generations of Indians in certain thinking patterns, has survived today. Actually, you have to go farther back than Nehru. For Jawaharlal was a true end product of Macaulay's policy of creating Indians who would be Indians by the colour of their skins, but British in their thinking. Thus, the English outlook on India survives today in India's intellectual class, particularly the journalists, who often cast a Westernised, anti-spiritual, pro-minority, anti-majority, un-Indian, anti-Brahmins and other upper castes -- look on their own country.

It is true that Nehru started from a positive volition: How to solve India's huge class and caste disparity? How to appease a Muslim minority which ruled India ruthlessly for ten centuries and was not ready to be ruled by those who were for a long time Islam's pliant subjects?

But Nehru went overboard. He made the paupers of yesteryear the saints of modern India, allowing some states to literally hound out Brahmins and other upper castes. He twisted history and thanks to docile historians, made of cruel Muslim invaders and rulers, the benefactors of medieval India.

He went to the extent of excusing the razing and sacking of thousands of exquisite temples all over India, by saying that Muslim invaders such as Babar did it because these temples were full of hidden gold and jewels, damning again indirectly the poor hapless Brahmins, who were beheaded by Muslim invaders, crucified in Goa by the Portuguese Inquisition, vilified by British missionaries, and morally crucified today by their own brothers and sisters.

It is true that Brahmins may be paying today for the excesses of yesterday. In ancient times, as Sri Aurobindo wrote: 'A Brahmin was a Brahmin only if he cultivated the spiritual temperament and acquired the spiritual training which alone would qualify him for the task.'

But once Brahmanism became hereditary, arrogance, complacency and casteism became rampant, ultimately bringing the downfall of Brahmins, a downfall which the Dalai Lama defines (for his own people) as Black Karma.

Thus, thanks to the lingering influence of Nehruvianism, 'Brahmins' remain today a dirty word, even in the face of reality: that Dalits have considerably come up since 1947 in Indian society, that no nation in the world has done so much for its underprivileged (India had a Dalit President -- did the US ever have a Black President?). But the intellectual elite of India, which never mentions these facts, continues to hide its face in the sand like an ostrich, refusing to see the reality.

And rampant anti-Brahmanism and upper castes, first used by the Muslim invaders, then by the British colonialists and missionaries, is still in vogue at the hands of Nehruvians, Marxists, Indian Christians and politicians in search of the votes of Dalits and Muslims, which combined together make and unmake prime ministers.

Yet, Brahmins and other upper castes have played an invaluable role in Indian history, as Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of the Sulabh Shauchalaya Movement remarks: 'Society sustained the Brahmins and other upper castes earlier, who upheld the Hindu scriptures and Hindu culture. Today Hinduism is on the decline day-by-day. There is a lack of ancient knowledge. No political party has objected to reservation thanks to vote-bank politics. People have a very short memory. They have forgotten the contribution made by Brahmins to our society.'

And who says that Brahmins and other upper castes are anti-Dalits. Some of India's top avatars, saints and gurus were of low caste and are still worshipped today by all upper castes. Valmiki, the composer of the Ramayana, was a fisherman; Ved Vyasa, the epic poet of the Mahabharata, which also contains the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of Future Humanity, was the son of a fisherwoman; Krishna was from the shepherd's caste. And are not today's Amritanandamayi or Satya Sai Baba of low caste birth? Don't they have millions of Indians, many of them from upper castes, bowing down to them?

Anti-Brahmanism has to be stopped!

This inter-caste war, triggered by the politicians' greed for votes, has to be defused.

FACT, my Foundation, which conducts exhibitions on persecuted minorities, whether the Kashmiri Pandits, the Christians, Buddhist Chakmas and Hindus suffering in Bangladesh at the hands of fundamentalists in Bangladesh, or the Tibetans facing a cultural and spiritual genocide in Tibet, decided to take things in hand.

We started, with the help of a few dedicated friends, a film on Brahmins and other upper castes as an underprivileged community. This film will lead to a photoexhibition and hopefully to a book. All testimonies and documents are welcome.

The future of this country lies in a unified India, where all castes will find their just place, where all will feel Indians first and belonging to this caste or that one, after.

Nenju Porukku dillaiye

2006-07-12T12:00:00.000+09:00

What is it that can justify the killing of scores of innocent civilians ?

What is it that they are trying to proove?

This is what I call a LATENT HATRED !!!

When I say, you guys think that I am a Hindu fanatic, a fascist etc etc etc and what not...

I wrote sometime back ... after the Gujarat riots !!!

[[[ machan, Riots are a mere symptom of antagonism against a community *perceived* to be getting more than the rest. Hindu rioters could be created by politicians -- but no politician can create the required fury without the ammunition given by the repugnant mullahs and the loathsome "secularists." You can throw into jail the entire Sangh Parivar for Gujarat. But what next? Can you arrest every Hindu who resents the inequality in laws and vents his ire in his own devious ways...? ]]]

This is how people like me are getting antagonised. There is no point in telling that the masterminds were far away from our shores. Why blame them, when the logistics and the execution was done by the locals. How were they able to do it without the support of the locals? I am not telling that they were all muslims. But, they MUST have been predominantly MUSLIMS. I have to use this word... Yes.. I have to...

On January 13, the Anti Terrorism Squad arrested Maulana Ghulam Yahya, the imam of Haj House masjid on the charge of harbouring three militants from Jammu and Kashmir with links to the Lashker-e-Tayiba. The ATS alleged that the imam was a link between Salauddin, the Lashkar commander in Kashmir, and the three arrested militants -- Mohammed Ramzan Abdul Wahab Haji, Kurshid Ahmed Abdul Gani Lone and Arshad Hussain Badru Hussain. So, how can I Ignore it like the GOI !!!

Nenju Porukku dillaiye Inda Nilai ketta Manidarai Ninaithuvittalal.
Anji anji vaazhvaar ivar anjaada porulilai ulaginile !!!

Idu namma ellarukkum daan. Unmaiya pesardukkum, mathavangala punpaduthiduvomonnu bayappattukittum irukkardu naala kadaisila anubavikkardu yaar theriyuma? Naama daan.

Prevention is better than cure.

You guys may again hate me for this.. But who cares !!!

In the whole of Mahabharatha, One shakuni was enough for the downfall of all the other good souls. And One surpanaka was enough to bring down the whole good hearted Lankans. But, it had to be done. They had to be killed. Good souls too have to be killed for the survival of the DHARMA.

And in the whole Mahabharatha, One Krishna was enough to assertain DHARMA.

Inda puraanatha ellam sonna manasula yearaadunnu theriyum... enna pandradu... Manasu kekkala !!!

I am not giving any solutions.. Its just an outrage ... once its ok.. twice... its acceptable.. but, not like this.. year after year ... What the **** are we doing?

Its not just the GOI or the GOM that has to be blames.. Each one of us has to be blamed. The govt reflects the aspirations and the ambitions of the majority of its citizens.

Now you see what we will be doing? We will again be giving statements.. that the perpetrators of this heinous crime won't go unpunished... bla bla bla.. ya ya.. I know.. like the perpetrators of 1993 are still being punished right !!!

Its not enough that we build our economic might. We need to build our security too.

Utterly devastated,
Murali

10 things I hate about India

2006-06-26T11:35:00.000+09:00

This is an article from a french journalist "Claude Arpi" who wrote the book, "India's Self Denial". In this article, He has listed down the ground reality of what is India Today. Though he loves India like any of us (Or should I say more than us?), he has his disappointments too. Here they are.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jun/22claude.htm

Many years ago a friend of mine wrote a book, The Wonder that IS India. Both of us have lived more for than 30 years in the Land of the Bharatiyas and share a love for this nation. When he showed me the manuscript of his book, I had pointed out that his representation of India was too rosy and suggested one more chapter -- 'The Horror that is India'. I think he did.

I have the same feelings for India today: 95 per cent is good, but there are some aspects that I am still not able to swallow, even after all these years. I have listed ten of them. Even if it does not change anything, at least some of my frustrations will be released while penning them down.

Before I begin, I must first say that during a recent visit to France, it was a pleasant surprise to see that India's image is fast changing in the West. When I left France in the early 1970s to settle in India, my family and friends considered it a shocking decision. To leave France, a 'developed' country and emigrate to the end of the world to a 'land of misery' populated 'by elephants and cobras' was unimaginable!

I was told that for a student in France today, it was of great added-value on his CV, if he had undergone training or internship in India. This 'Indian' wave has been reinforced since Mittal Steel tried to purchase Arcelor, the jewel of the French steel industry.

Though the nation has grown and matured over the last few decades, unfortunately not all domains have followed the same evolution.

Here is my list of the 10 things I still can't 'digest' about India:

1. Power cuts: While typing this article, the electricity board cut off the power supply. The reason -- a storm last night which lasted for 15 to 20 minutes. 'As a precautionary measure' the officials very compassionately disconnected vast areas from the network in the night and the following morning.

Being in rural Tamil Nadu, these officials want to protect us from broken wires due to fallen trees (it could electrocute passersby, they say). While I appreciate their reasoning, I was surprised to see that during the cyclonic rains in New Orleans last year, though thousands perished, electricity was not switched off. Indian officials will tell you that the US is a rich and developed country, not comparable to India. Where is the connection?

2. Indian babus: One could write volumes on the famous babus of India. They run one of the largest bureaucracies in the world, but have not been able to change their mindset.

A particularly bothersome aspect is that their laws often come from antiquated rules and regulations that nobody knows of. The consequence is what we call red-tapism, though for them it is 'implementing the letter, the law of the land'. But what about its spirit? In any case, the law has always to 'follow its own course'.

A few years ago, a diligent minister found hundreds such laws and regulations dating back to the British. In the era of modern technology and communications, this is preposterous.

Another aspect that irritates me about the bureaucracy is that babus never respond to letters. Probably they consider themselves to be the government's servants, not 'civil' servants and therefore find no need to reply to ordinary citizens.

3. No access to historical documents: Though a better understanding of the history of the subcontinent could be one of the keys to disentangle difficult problems such as the Kashmir issue, today nobody can access primary sources. They are locked away in the vaults of the Nehru Memorial Library or the almirahs of South Block.

All those who have tried to access historical documents since India's independence will tell you that till the end of babudom, one bureaucrat or another will ensure that you do not access the dusty files. Without fail, you will be courteously informed that India's security and integrity will be endangered if these precious documents are opened to the public. It is sad that Indians are not entitled to study their past (though they can always visit archives in the West to know more about India!)

4. Discrimination against the white tourist: Something particularly irritating for a 'white man' is that wherever he goes in India, he has to pay a special rate. Whether he visits the Taj Mahal where the 'white' tourist has to cough up Rs 750 to see the mausoleum, or a national museum, or even hotels or airlines, there is a true racial discrimination.

Rates are often ten times higher for those who have a 'white' or 'yellow' (Japanese) skin. Those who have made these rules do not understand that this policy harms India's image.

The desire to make a quick buck from the so-called rich tourists leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of the visitors who in any case would have spent their budget during the stay in India. To my knowledge, India must be the only nation in the world implementing these separate rates.

5. Paranoia about maps: Another strange thing in India is the paranoia about maps. Several years ago I visited the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. One day I was invited to the office of a local tahsildar. To my astonishment, the poor babu did not have a map of the area under his jurisdiction. He only had a vague sketch of the district. When I expressed surprise, he explained that maps were 'classified' and only the army was authorised to use them.

Is it not foolish to believe that the Chinese do not possess detailed maps of Arunachal? And what about Google Earth which is now available the world over?

One can only be surprised by this 'official' paranoia about maps. India is today a great power; technological advancements have occurred in the world during the past decades and will undoubtedly continue to occur and India has no choice but to accept them and make the best use of them.

A year ago, the Union Cabinet approved a new National Map Policy, but unfortunately, the mindset of the implementers remains the same.

6. And photographs: The paranoia is not about maps alone, it extends to photos, particularly of the sites under the Archeological Survey of India. A friend told me of her nightmarish experience while doing research in Chennai and the number of forms she had to fill to take some photos in a museum. Though one pays in hard currency, one has still to justify why one needs a particular photo. The poor researcher is looked upon as someone trying to 'steal' the national patrimony.

In contrast, a few weeks earlier, I visited the Louvre museum in Paris which receives tens of thousands of visitors every day. All of them were happily clicking away at statues, paintings, art artefacts (it is only prohibited to photograph the Mona Lisa for security reasons) and amongst them, a great number of Indians, perhaps the most frenetic clickers. This is understandable, as they have to compensate for their frustration at home!

A French television crew told me about their adventure while trying to shoot in a fort once occupied by Rajaji (C Rajagopalachari). Before leaving Paris, they had planned a short sequence at the fort. They dutifully applied to the Indian embassy for permission. After paying a hefty Rs 5,000 they were given a stamped and signed permission. When they arrived on the spot, the local official told them: "No way, as your permission does specifically mention it, you are not authorised to shoot with a stand. You have to go to Chennai (150 km away) and get the permission duly modified. No problem, it will take you a day only!" They left disgusted, the fort will not appear in their film.

7. Politicians: The topic of politicians is an easy one. Everything appalling and more can be said of them and one will still remain below the truth. In their defense, they are part of a system which is uniquely based on votes.

To win votes, one needs money and all compromises are permissible to get the required funds 'to serve the people'. It is true the world over, but here like in many other domains India excels.

8. Neglect for the environment: Another frustrating aspect for me is the lack of care for the environment (though it has been recently improving). While Indians are the most conscious people as far as personal hygiene goes, there is very little civic awareness or concern for the environment.

Education could help (for example for disposal of garbage or plastic bags), but it is often government policies such as free electricity for farmers, incentives for asbestos sheets (one of the most carcinogenic material) or chemical pesticides which harm the environment the most.

9. Traffic: I hate the Indian traffic (with its absence of rules). Each time I return from a visit abroad, it is a terrible shock. It is difficult to comprehend how there are not more casualties on the road. A friend explained to me that the multitude of gods in India probably protect their flock. The fact is that there are no law enforcement authorities (most of the police force is busy with VIP duty).

In France and elsewhere if the cops were not around, very few would follow the traffic rules. Extremely severe punishment for breaking traffic rules has a strong dissuasive effect. Here in India, you can always get away with a few rupees.

10. Corruption: It is better to not comment.

Please allow me to add a last point: the number of 'holidays' taken for a myriad of family 'problems', (marriages, engagements, funerals, etc.), cultural, local or religious festivals (of all faiths: India is secular), then you have bandhs, hartals, riots, strikes (India is the only place in the world where the government sometimes calls for a strike), etc... The worst are 'French leaves', absolutely unknown in France.

Apart from the above, India is an incredible place and I have never regretted, even for one day, to have settled here.

Muslim Appeasement at Sky high

2006-05-18T15:26:00.000+09:00

Kishen Kak on Double standards

Between 1986 and 1992, at least 93 temples in Kashmir have been documented as destroyed by Muslims ( www.kashmir-information.com/Atrocities/Temples/index.html ). Neither the Government of India nor the Supreme Court of India nor any Nehruvian secularist felt any need to intervene and prevent the destruction of Hindu shrines and cultural symbols.

In early 2005,.in the historic temple city of Madurai, some 250 temples (including those a century old) were demolished, following a High Court order, by the municipal authorities. Neither the Government of India nor the Supreme Court of India nor any Nehruvian secularist felt any need to intervene and prevent the destruction of Hindu shrines and cultural symbols.

In early 2006, following due notice and a High Court order, municipal authorities in Vadodara demolished 42 temples. Neither the Government of India nor the Supreme Court of India nor any Nehruvian secularist felt any need to intervene and prevent the destruction of Hindu shrines and cultural symbols.

On May 01, 2006, as part of the same demolition drive, and following due notice and even an offer of land in exchange, a dargah was demolished, and Muslims reacted with an orgy of violence, including arson at the sessions court because it did not stay the demolition of the dargah. Four persons (both Hindu and Muslim) were killed. The Union Home Secretary spoke to the State Chief Secretary, the National Commission for Minorities intervened with the State Government, and the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs rushed to Vadodara to later declare that "the Vadodara administration could have avoided the demolition of the dargah in view of the people's sentiments". A few days later, though the local situation was under control and the Union Home Secretary said the State authorities "are doing their job", the Government of India filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court promptly stayed the High Court order and the demolitions. Among the government arguments that the Supreme Court found persuasive were that this is an "intrinsically sensitive" issue and "that the order if permitted to operate will result in grave and serious consequences on the law and order in the State and may have adverse repercussions on the 'secular fabric' of the nation as a whole". It is to be noted that the High Court order had been to "take immediate steps for removal of encroachment of religious structures on the public space without any discrimination" and this is exactly what the authorities had done. All affected religious communities cooperated, except the Muslim ( The Hindu ;Daily Pioneer; Images ; May 3rd; Hindu ; "Vadodara incident-free as Army stages flag march", The Hindu, May 5, 2006).

..... more

A day earlier to the dargah demolition, Muslims massacred 35 Hindus in J&K. The Prime Minister of India was concerned enough to issue a statement and the Union Home Minister said that such killings will not derail the peace process. Neither the National Human Rights Commission nor the Supreme Court of India felt the killing of Hindus by Muslims warranted their intervention.

For full information visit vigilonline.

This is what is appeasement. Not able to take tough good decisions over muslims on national security and societal safely is a result of 2 things.

The public fears the muslim and the govt appeases them for loss of vote bank.

All these will go on and on and on ... All that is needed for the triumph of evil is that, good men do nothing.

Rags to riches

2006-05-04T15:54:00.000+09:00

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/27spec.htm

The future of India lies in the hands of young entrepreners like Subramani Ramachandrappa. His family rose from a humble start to a mound, then fell again in the mud, only to rise again as a mountain.

I doubt, if Subramani would have ventured into this entreprenership, but for his debts. He would have been contented, had the debts weren't there. The debts were a source of driving force. The debts were a blessing in disguise to bring out the best in him. He could have chosen to fled from the society, lead a peaceful life again with a humble start. But, he chose to fight back, taken the debts on his shoulders and be a responsible son as well as a guardian to his family.

Necessity is the mother of invention. And he has proven it. Let him be a source of inspiration to others. As he says, "Learn from failure".

Murali

Mahajan: A great loss to Mother India

2006-05-04T14:49:00.000+09:00

Pramod Mahajan, the former IT minister, I&B minister, defence Minister and Parlimentary affairs minister had an untimely death.

Forget about his party affiliations and forget about his hindutwa leanings.

Look at him as a professional who does his job with utter clearity and a spontaneous sense of humor. He is one guy who can cool off any amount of tension in any press confrence. He is one point man who believed he could deliver stuffs. He is a man of strategy, man of work, a man who earned his way up the political ladder from a low profile sub editor of Tarun Bharat to the I&B minister and later an advisor to the Prime Minister.

This should not have been the way to his end. This certainly is not. There were miles to go before he died. He died before he could become a legend. Yes, he was a legend in the making. He was the man who changed the way Indian politics approached electioneering. His strategy could have failed in 2004 elections as "Indian shining" campaign couldn't make a mark in the voters' mind. But, I would say, that is the way an election has to be faught. On the backs of your past achievements and not on the opponents weakness.

His fighting spirit was evident even in his death. When Vajpayee told that, as always Mahajan will fight back and pull thorugh, I too was confident of his come back. Gutters like Ajit Jogi survived, but Pramod didn't. Another terrible blow to the Indian Politics. He was the next generation face of young vibrant India. I thought he had the potential to become the PM oneday.

He has many a feathers to his hat during his tenure as an I&B minister. He was the one to start the first 24 hrs news channel in DD. He was instrumental in starting the 24 sports channel, DD sports and in getting the broadcast rights fo rthe cricket matches to DD. He has played a very important role in the formation of the market regulator in telecom, TRAI. And he was very much receptive to the advice of NASSCOM when he was the IT minister. He displayed shrewdness in understanding the depth of the problem and has the spine to take it head on. That is one reason why, he was on the headlines many a times for the wrong reasons. But, neverthless, he doesn't care for he does what he believes in.

India has to put up with one more loss. May his soul rest in peace and May god bless India with many more Pramod Mahajans.

Murali

Reservation: Not a cure

2006-04-27T16:27:00.000+09:00

Quota: A cure worse than the disease

This was a nice colomn from rediff written by Vinod Ramanan.

He has summed it up in the best way possible and I totally agree with him.

As he has pointed it out, ofcourse, we need reservations to met out the indifferences in our societies. We need to tackle them in a way the problem gets solved as well as it doesn't pop up in future in any other form. Now, with the introduction of reservation, it is like LeT changing its name and proping up in another form. Now, instead of bring up the socially downtrodden to the same level as others, it is weaking others in the process. We need policies which are based on economically backward and not on the basis of birth.

Ofcourse, there was a grave mistake practised in the past. Untouchability and similar othesrs were practised in the past. But, instead of chopping it out and bringing everyone on the same platform with a specific deadline, they are infact turning the tables the other way?

Is ragging the juniours justified just because they were ragged by their seniors the previous year ?

Earlier the mandal commision was introduced and reservations started telling that they will be there for 10 years time. Then, the next 10 years. And now, they have again extended for the next 10 years. Slowly poisoning in every walks of life. Is it justified ?

Some of the downtrodden and most backward classes were benefitted and have joined the main stream becasue of reservations. Agreed. And in a way they are justified. But, shud it creep into every field and every walks of life? I beg to say NO. Not because I am from a forward cast by birth, but beacuse I prefer to call a spade a spade.

Will any of us undergo a critical operation with a doctor if you come to know that he got the medical seat inspite of getting a very poor marks just because of his birth ? Even his own son won't. Why? b'cos its a life and death problem. Atleast these kinda areas shud be left for merit alone.

TN has already reached 69 % reservation. There is not enough space anymore. The nadar community has decieded to support ADMK in the forth coming elections and has demanded JJ to announce their community as OBC. Shame on U?

India shud commit suicide if someone calls us as backward. Doesn't it apply to every self-respecting man ?

Murali

Shame on we Indians

2006-04-26T18:42:00.000+09:00

Saddam a hero in Kerala village

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein may be a tired prisoner these days, but unknown to him, he is a political hero for a group of villagers in Kerala.

Read this for more information.
http://in.rediff.com/election/2006/apr/26pkerala.htm

This reminds me of the Khilafat movement back in the 19th century. When British were crushing us at their home, the muslims were concerned and fought agaist the british not for themselves, but for the Turkish caliph. (Caliph became Khilafat)

This sounds similar to that. And the Indian Government is fidlling with them entering the name "Saddam Beach" in the revenue records and other govt documents. These should have been curbed in the beginning itself. Better late than never. When our govt takes a decision, whether we like it or not, we have the moral duty to stand by it. Anyone who goes against amounts to waging a war against the state. Be it anyone, they have to be shown the place they shud be in.

Calling Tipu Sultan beach as Saddam beach could be a fancy fo rsome, but it is neverthless a grave injustice and disrespect for the one who have fought for his country and people. Leave alone drawing any comparison between them, placing saddam over him is ... Oh !!! somethign unthinkable. And now, it has gotten into the govt records.

Everyone has the birthright to say that I like Saddam or I feel sorry for what is happenning in Iraq or even Say that I hate USA. You own a boat and you own the right to name it whatever u want. Why Saddan, you can even name it as Osama. But, none has the bloddy right to hoist Iraqi flags on the Indian soil. And how can the guardians of the law and order allow this?

Its high time, people needs someone to teach them what patriotism is. We need to learn a lesson or two from the protests in Nepal. Not just the common man but also the GOI.

- Murali

!!! Remember Jallianwalla Bagh !!!

2006-04-13T23:38:00.000+09:00

This is the year 5108 in the Hindu calendar, for Kali Yuga began in
3102 BCE.

Spring always brings cheer. It is hard to be gloomy when there is a
profusion of flowers and buds all around, and the light, unnamed green
of young leaves. We Tamizhs start the new year with such a wonderful
atmosphere. So do Vishu approaches Kerala (kani konna) and I have no
idea what Punjabis do for Baisakhi, which falls on roughly the same
day, but I always remember Jallianwallah Bagh.

Remember Jallianwalla Bagh!

One Baisakhi day, 87 years ago it was: April 13, 1919 -- a day that
will live in infamy. At that walled garden with only a single exit, in
Amritsar, in the Punjab, ten thousand people gathered, mostly to
celebrate the arrival of Spring; women, children and old people
included. At the end of the day, 1,579 lay dead or wounded, fired at,
without warning, on orders from a British general, one General Dyer.
1,600 bullets, 1,579 casualties. What a precision !!! Good Job, isn't
it?

This was the pivotal moment in the Freedom Struggle, this barbaric
act!!! Clearly, Indian lives meant nothing to the British.

I AM ALL FOR FORGIVENESS, BUT LET US NOT FORGET, SHALL WE?

For it was the Sikhs of India's Punjab who bore the brunt of the
struggle for freedom, fighting and dying in their hundreds and
thousands to defend the motherland against aliens, as they had done for
centuries against persians. From the famous like Udham Singh and Bhagat
Singh, to the unknown like Kartar Singh Sarabha and Shaitan singh,
it is Sikhs whom the nation owes the greatest debt of gratitude.

Udham Singh, who was at Jallianwallah Bagh that afternoon, a teenager
who helped save some of the many wounded. He stalked O'Dwyer, the
British governor of the Punjab at the time, and slew him thirteen years
later. Executed by the British.

Kartar Singh Sarabha, student at the University of California,
Berkeley, member of San Francisco's revolutionary Gadar Party. Tried
for sedition in the Lahore Conspiracy case, convicted and executed at
the age of 19.

Bhagat Singh: the most famous, the most dashing, the most
heart-breaking of our revolutionaries -- rakta-sakshi, blood-witness.
Hanged for bomb-throwing, at the age of 23, along with co-conspirators
Rajguru and Sukhdev. Epitome of one's glory. It is sweet and proper to
die for one's country.

Let us not forget them and this day, shall we?

- Murali.

--------------------------------------------------------

Jalianwala Bagh Massacre

http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/jbagh.html

JALLIANVALA BAGH MASSACRE, involved the killing of hundreds of unarmed, defenceless Indians by a senior British militry officer, took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa. Jallianvala Bagh,. a garden belonging to the Jalla, derives name from that of the owners of this piece of land in Sikh times. It was then the property the family of Sardar Himmat Singh (d.1829), a noble in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), who originally came from the village of Jalla, now in Fatehgarh Sahib district of the Punjab. The family were collectively known as Jallhevale or simply Jallhe or Jalle, although their principal seat later became Alavarpur in Jalandhar district. The site, once a garden or garden house, was in 1919 an uneven and unoccupied space, an irregular quadrangle, indifferently walled, approximately 225 x 180 metres which was used more as a dumping ground.

In the Punjab, during World War I (1914-18), there was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rikabgang at New Delhi and later because of the activities and trials of the Ghadrites almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, there had been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948) who after a period of struggle against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915 and Mrs Annie Besant (1847-1933), head of the Theosophical Sociely of India, who established, on 11 April 1916, Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the British government to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the aim and intention of British policy to confer self governnnent on India at an early date." At the same time India having Contributed significantly to the British war effort had been expecting advancement of her political interests after the conclusion of hostilities. On the British side, the Secretary of State for India E.S Montagu, announced, on 20 August 1917; the policy of His Majesty's Government, with which the Government of India are in complete accord, is that of the increasing association of Indians in every branch of administration and the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realization of responsible government in India ..." However, the Viceroy of India Lord Chelmsford, appointed, on 10 December 19l7, a Sedition Committee, popularly known as Rowlatt Committee after the name of its chairman, to investigate and report on the nature and extent of the criminal conspiracies connected with the revolutionary movement in India, and to advise as to the legislation necessary to deal with them. Based on the recommendations of this committee, two bills, popularly called Rowlatt Bills, were published in the Government of India Gazette on 18 January 1919. Mahatma Gandhi decided to organize a satyagrah, non-violent civil disobedience campaign) against the bills. One of the bills became an Act, nevertheless, on 21 March 1919. Call for a countrywide hartal or general strike on 30 March, later postponed to 6 April 1919, was given by Mahatma Gandhi.

The strike in Lahore and Amritsar passed off peacefully on 6 April. On 9 April, the governor of the Punjab, Sir Michael Francis O'Dwyer (1864-1940), suddenly decided to deport from Amritsar Dr Satyapal and Dr Saif ud-Din Kitchlew, two popular leaders of men. On the same day Mahatma Gandh,'s entry into Punjab was banned under the Defence of India Rules. On 10 April, Satyapal and Kitchlew were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged together into a crowd of about 50,000 marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the deportation of the two leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge.

According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded between 20 and 30. But evidence before the Congress Enquiry Committee put the number of the dead between 20 and 30. As those killed were being carried back through the streets, an angry mob of people went on the rampage. Governmcnt offices and banks were attacked and damaged, and five Europeans were beaten to death. One Miss Marcella Sherwood, manager of the City Mission School, who had been living in Amritsar district for 15 years working for the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society, was attacked. The civil authorities, unnerved by the unexpected fury of the mob, called in the army the same afternoon. The ire of the people had by and large spent itself, but a sullen hatred against the British persisted. There was an uneasy calm in the city on 11 April. In the evening that day, Brigadier-General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer (b. 1864, ironically at Murree in the Punjab), commander 45th Infantry Brigade at Jalandhar, arrived in Amritsar. He immediately established file facto army rule, though the official proclamation to this effect was not made until 15 April. The troops at his disposal included 475 British and 710 Indian soldiers. On 12 April he issued an order prohibiting all meetings and gatherings. On 13 April which marked the Baisakhi festival, a large number of people, mostly Sikhs, had poured into the city from the surrounding villages. Local leaders called upon the people to assemble for a meeting in the Jallianvala Bagh at 4.30 in the evening. Brigadier-General Dyer set out for the venue of the meeting at 4.30 with 50 riflemen and two armoured cars with machine guns mounted on them. Meanwhile, the meeting had gone on peacefully, and two resolutions, one calling for the repeal of the Rowlatt Act and the other condemning the firing on 10 April, had been passed. A third resolution protesting against the general repressive policy of the government was being proposed when Dyer arrived at about 5.15 p.m. He deployed his riflemen on an elevation near the entrance and without warning or ordering the crowd to disperse, opened fire. The firing continued for about 20 minutes whereafter Dyer and his men marched back the way they had come. 1650 rounds of .303-inch ammunition had been fired. Dyer's own estimate of the killed based on his rough calculations of one dead per six bullets fired was between 200 and 300. The official figures were 379 killed and 1200 wounded.

According to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, who personally collected information with a view to raising the issue in the Central Legislative Council, over 1,000 were killed. The total crowd was estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000, Sikhs comprising a large proportion of them.

The protest that broke out in the country is exemplified by the renunciation by Rabindranath Tagore of the British Knighthood. In a letter to the Governor General he wrote: "... The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation, and I for my part wish to stand shorn of all special distinctions by the side of those of my countrymen who, for their so-called insignificance, are liable to suffer degradations not fit for human beings...." Mass riots erupted in the Punjab and the government had to place five of the districts under martial law. Eventually an enquiry committee was set up. The Disorder Inquiry Committee known as Hunter Committee after its chairman, Lord Hunter, held Brigadier-General R.E.H. Dyer guilty of a mistaken notion of duty, and he was relieved of his command and prematurely retired from the army. The Indian National Congress held its annual session in December 1919 at Amritsar and called upon the British Government to "take early steps to establish a fully responsible government in India in accordance with the principle of self determination."

The Sikhs formed the All India Sikh League as a representative body of the Panth for political action. The League held its first session in December 1919 at Amritsar simultaneously with the Congress annual convention. The honouring of Brigadier-General Dyer by the priests of Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, led to the intensification of the demand for reforming management of Sikh shrines already being voiced by societies such as the Khalsa Diwan Majha and Central Majha Khalsa Diwan. This resulted in the launching of what came to be known as the Gurdwara Reform movement, 1920-25. Some Sikh servicemen, resenting the policy of non-violence adopted by the leaders of the Akali movement, resigned from the army and constituted thc nucleus of an anti-British terrorist group known as Babar Akalis.

The site, Jallianvala Bagh became a national place of pilgrimage. Soon after the tragic happenings of the Baisakhi day, 1919, a committee was formed with Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya as president to raise a befitting memorial to perpetuate the memory of the martyrs. The Bagh was acquired by the nation on 1 August 1920 at a cost of 5,60,472 rupees but the actual construction of the memorial had to wait until after Independence. The monument, befittingly named the Flame of Liberty, build at a cost of 9,25,000 rupees, was inaugurated by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, on 13 April 1961. The central 30-ft high pylon, a four-sided tapering stature of red stone standing in the midst of a shallow tank, is built with 300 slabs with Ashoka Chakra, the national emblem, carsed on them. A stone lantern stands at each corner of the tank. On all four sides of the pylon the words, "In memory of martyrs, 13 April 1919", has been inscribed in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. A semi-circular verandah skirting a children's swimming pool near the main entrance to the Bagh marks the spot where General Dyer's soldiers took position to fire at the gathering.

footnote : On 13th April 1919, a Sikh teenager who was being raised at Khalsa Orphanage named Udham Singh saw the happening with his own eyes and avenged the killings of 1300+ of his countrymen by killing Michael O'Dwyer in London.

India Budget '06

2006-03-03T20:45:00.000+09:00

This budget is a bit more than a normal budget. That's all. Not an extra-ordinary one.

PC has proved to be a bit different from other congress ministers. Yet, at the end of the day, he too is a politician. Even after 2 years, he is still circastic and cynical about the NDA govt and its finance ministers. He shud be greatful that he inherited a booming economy and a record high GDP. anyhow... here are my genuine comments on the budget 2006.

Before that, I have a confession to make. I am not an economist nor a specialist in fiance and business. I am just another common man interested in the India Inc's performance and the country's growth.

There are a lot of good news as well as some bad news.

Lets see the good things first ...

An Investors Protection Fund will be set up and funded by fines and penalties to safeguard the interests of retail investors. --- might see a lot of conveninec stores soon in india

Creation of textile parks on the bill. Government also announced setting up of 12 textile industry parks of which 7 have been approved and ten more in the pipeline. --- the WTO has removed the quota based allotment and has made textile a free market. anyone can compete from mar 1st 2005. Now, this will improve our share of the world market

Coal to be deblocked for captive power projects till 2012 --- might attract private partnership ... But still it is not opening it up to FDI. this is a good move, but, wont help us... can't be called as any ground breaking and all..

To double world export share to 1.5% by FY'09 --- ambitious ? No. -- Yet this is significant. Our population is 16.7% of the world. We should atleast aim at reaching 1/3rd of it. sat atleast 5%. But, none have mentioned it till date. Atleast PC takes the credit of setting some goal.

Indian Infrastructure Investment company to be established -- significant move. The SEBI, TRAI, etc were created like this.. Today they have regulated the investment, telecom ... this could also lead to such a market regulator.

Record 34,000 MW to be added under 10th plan 82 projects to be completed in 1-2 years --- ambitious. - Lets see how we achieve it.

Manufacturing and industrial townships to follow cluster model --- followed by the STP and SEZ, they are coming up with a similar model for manufacturing... the textile parks are also in this design.. good move

Banking Sector Reforms: K P Narasimhan committee for Insurance sector has suggested news bills which Govt will introduce in the parliament. --- banking is one sick industry in India. The largest Indian bank the SBI is nowhere in the top 50 banks in the world. It is a distant 84th. It is not even in the top 10 banks in Asia. That needs to be freed from the govt clutches. Hope they will be th enext to take off.

Road development program for the North East sector pegged at Rs 550cr. --- very good. The NE states don't feel being a part of the main stream India. Hope these link them both economically and culturally. Moreover, currently the trucks from Orissa are passing thro' bangladesh to reach the NE states. Whether it reduces the time or not... We need to be self reliant. We need to have the solution and then give the option to the trasnporters.

Food processing to be a priority sector for bank loans. --- good. The food processing units need a boost. The packaging, preserving, processing units need to mushroom as SSI first. Which will not only improve the exports, but also employ a significant amount of Human resource.

Mumbai Metro Rail and Bangalore Metro Rail as well as Metro in Hyderabad are under consideration. --- Consideration ??? Is it a good news or bad ... Hope people like Deva Gowda don't play spoil sport with this project too...
96 percent of Golden Quadrilateral to be completed by June 2006 --- good that PC is apolitical with GQ this year.

North East Budgetary provision up 9 times to Rs 18,696 crore. --- very good again. This will integrate the NE with the main land.

A massive immunization program to be launched to eradicate polio completely by 2007.
Gold Units -- Using gold and trading it as equivalent as mutual funds -- Nice move. But, given the traditional mindset of Indians, it will take a bit time for this scheme to bear fruits...

No new personal tax being laid...

Refinery sector to get boost, will promote FDI --- seekirame chivas regal, indialerndu japanukku export aagalam... don't be surprised...

Much more are there for other sectors too.

-----------------------------------

Now the bad news...

Donations to only religious institutions will be exempted from tax. -- Other old age, orphanage and eudcational trusts shud also be excluded. Whay only religious institutions ?

Merit based scholarships of 20,000 schemes for minority students. -- shud be for economically weak students. They first introduced the mandal comission for 10 years. then the NDA extended it for another 10 years... now congress is again introducing schemes like this.. its high time, everyone stop this vote bank politics...

central assistance for recruitment and posting of Urdu language teachers. Why Urdu alone ? why this bias ? or is this appeasement ?

pre-examination coaching of candidates belonging to the minority communities --- this shud again be for economically backward community who have a good educational track record.

Budget has not insisted in Manufacturing on a large scale other than proposing cluster models for the manufacturing sector.

Iron and steel, Coal, Mining, Ship building --- none of them find any place in the budget.

this list is also a bit long.. yet, don't have the time to write everything... will try to do so later ...

Controversy over cartoon on Prophet Mohammed

2006-03-03T20:16:00.000+09:00

Controversy over the cartoon on Prophet Mohammed

There have been scores of insults to religious sentiments in the west. Some like the picture of Hindu deity on the toilet paper, cover, footware, underware, beer bottles etc. There is no limit to such insults. This list is nothing. For a more detailed account, you can go to Hindunet.org and get the whole list on how Hindu gods and goddesses have been shamed in various countries at various times.

I can understand the sentiments that are hurt, even though I don't believe my faith is so weak as to come tumbling down because of such acts born out of ignorance(?). Personally I don't give a damn, probably I will wince once at reports of such stupidity, and move on.

I thought I am being superior in forgiving them. I have been harbouring serious misgivings over that of late in the light of the snowballing row over the Prophet cartoons.

Lets look at the background.

The cartoons appeared in a European country, Denmark. And does not violate any of the laws prevailing there. Yet, look at the protests that are mushrooming across the Indian landscape, from Kashmir to Hyderabad, taking in Uttar Pradesh and other regions on the way.

In the protests in UP, a state where the government could fall at any moment, a five-star hotel was damaged by the protestors. And, in a first of its kind in independent India, a Samajwadi Party minister offered a bounty of Rs 51 crore on the cartoonist's head, plus gold -- which will be raised from the Muslim community.

And now, a Shariat court has ordered the cartoonist's death under Islamic law.

I wonder whether we live in a secular democracy or in some medieval kingdom to our west. I have the deepest sympathies for those offended by the cartoons, as I have for those offended by other similar portrayals. At the same time, they have no right to damage a public property, which has nothing to do with the controversy.

Why is public property in India being damaged over the hurt sentiments, why is the Indian legal process being subverted by extra-official authorities who are issuing edicts? Why is an Indian minister, sworn to uphold the Indian Constitution, abetting murder and why is no action being taken against him?

What exactly is the Indian State's fault in the cartoon controversy? That it is home to the second largest Muslim population in the world, because of which it must be subject to every ebb and flow in the Muslim world?

I have a doubt: when Hindu deities ARE being defiled in many parts of the world, how come Hindus in India, from where the faith originated, never demonstrated although they must number a billion, how come the religious heads did not issue any edict like 'off with his head' etc? In the light of the cartoons row, wouldn't such behaviour have made sense?

Now that I have raised some uncomfortable questions, let me face the inevitable charge that will follow, which a very close friend of mine who never misses an oppurtunity to point finger at me WRONGLY, that I am a Hindu fundamentalist, someone who hates the minority community, and who is so blinded by his prejudice that he cannot digest any such thing.

I have a doubt. What is that Islam does not recognise national boundaries; Muslims all over are one community; what affects them in one corner of the world affects everyone equally...

Let me tell you, the Muslims who are protesting out on the streets, damaging public property, calling for death etc are doing their faith no good; on the contrary, their behaviour only reinforces the stereotype. I wish the community will stop blaming the world at large for its many ills and pause to look within.

The UPA Govt is doing nothing to uphold the constitution, which is supposed to be the highest authority. Rajiv did the same mistake. I have already written about this in my previous blog. He succumbed to the street protests by muslims and banned the Satanic verses. Even after the supreme court gave a verdict for compensation to a muslim woman, he subverted the supreme court in parliment due to the pressures from the muslim community. Who can forget the infamous Shah Bano case. The supreme court got fed up saying that this is what will happen in a secular country like us if we don't have a UCC, which we ought to have had. (Nehru and Patel shud have implemented it while starting the nation building fromt he start.)

In counter these to the hindus, he opened the gates in Ayodya temple for the Shilanyas. In response, the BJP took the Hindu votes and the Mulayam, Laloo, Mayawati and others too the muslims and other votes. BJP came to power because of the congress.

It is doing the same mistake now. Only fools do the same mistake twice. what is the need for us to protest with the Danish government, or for Sonia Gandhi to write to Imam Bukhari expressing her regret over the cartoons? Why oh why conduct a survey of Muslims in the defence forces, the last and only establishment to have escaped the poison our political class has injected into every single institution?

I don't recall the government or Parliament doing any of this for the many instances of religious insensitivity to singe other faiths, so why single out a case where street power is once again being mobilised?

The govt shud tell the protesters very clearly that, listen, we are deeply sorry for the hurt feelings. But, India has nothing to do with that. You better get along with life. Or else, put those who cause damage to public property or trouble to the pulic behind the bars. Lets enforce the Indian laws if the protests get out of hand rather than stand by and watch meekly.

Murali

Tail piece: I have previously criticised the RSS and Shivsena for their similar anti national activity in pune airport and mumbai coffee shops on valentine's day. Some think that I criticise only the minorities. I can't help if they have a selective amnesia. Answering those will be like killing a mocking bird.

Btb, this topic is like a pendulum. If you think that an increasing amount of hindus have started having this latent feeling about the minorities in general, its because the appeasement has reached a record high. Its like pendulum, it will go to the other side before it comes to a balance.

February 15 - The day J&K Assembly unanimously ratified the state's accession to India

2006-02-23T23:09:00.000+09:00

Totally forgotten was that on that very day, 52 years earlier, the Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly unanimously ratified the state's accession to India. Thus, February 15, 2006 marked the 52nd Anniversary of the day that witnessed J&K's accession to India being signed, sealed and delivered -- not by a Hindu maharaja ruling over a population of which 77 percent were Muslims, but by a democratically elected constitutional body all of whose 75 members were die-hard followers of a colossal Muslim leader called Sheikh Abdullah.

This truth has to be publisided. I wonder why the Govt of India doesn't say this. I wonder why the politicians shy away from talking and making it straight that Kashmir was, it is and it will be India's eternally. When did Hurriant became the voice of Kashmir? Why are we legitimising them? I wonder when the politicians stop this appeasement and start talking blunt truth.

Hey Ram

2006-01-31T23:02:00.000+09:00

Jan 30th - Matyr's Day

A black day that will live through history. A day that will be remembered for the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi left this Karma Bhoomi in 1948. A legend, the apostle of Ahimsa came to an end. Inspite of leading the nation from slavery/colonialism to Independence, the Mahatma as he is fondly known as, was shot dead, by an angry yound man, considered to be a Hindu fanatic.

Lets do an autopsy of what preluded those days ?

Let me take you back to the year 1946. Everyone knew that Independence was around the corner (though the precise date remained undecided). The choice of Congress president became crucial since it was certain that the Viceroy would invite him or her to head the interim government. Twelve of the 15 Pradesh Congress Committees proposed the name of Sardar Patel; not one of them sent up the name of Jawaharlal Nehru -- not even his native United Provinces (as Uttar Pradesh was then titled). It was at this point that Mahatma Gandhi made his last decisive intervention in the affairs of the nation.

He asked his spiritual successor Acharya Kripalani -- who, if I remember correctly was the choice of the United Provinces Pradesh Congress Committee -- to circulate a note to the Congress Working Committee asking that body to nominate Nehru. From this distance in time, the Mahatma's reasons seem less than convincing. 'He, a Harrow boy, a Cambridge graduate and a barrister, is wanted to carry on the negotiations with Englishmen.' Again, the Mahatma believed that Nehru could 'make India play a role in international affairs.' More realistically, 'Jawahar will not take second place.' Whatever the rationale -- and the last suggests that our much-worshipped first prime minister was a spoiled brat in the Mahatma's estimation -- the fact remains that Bapu's suggestion carried the day, and Sardar Patel, the choice of the people, failed to become prime minister through a palace coup.

Jawaharlal Nehru's legion of sympathisers will argue that his accession was legitimised in subsequent elections. But the point is that a precedent had been set; future Congress prime ministers would face the people only after they were firmly in the chair. That was true of Indira Gandhi in 1967 (prime minister as of 1966), of Rajiv Gandhi in 1984, and of Narasimha Rao in 1991. The exception to that rule was Indira Gandhi in 1980.

In any case, by the winter of 1951-1952, when the first general election was held, there was no other real challenge to Nehru. Netaji's voice had not been heard since 1945, the Sardar had died in 1950, and Rajaji -- 11 years older than Nehru and far more scrupulous -- was too tired. But to read the dying Sardar's warning about Chinese intentions or Rajaji's fulmination against the 'license-permit-quota Raj' makes me wonder what might have been ... had one of these giants become prime minister. Aarambam.. Abaaya Sangu ....

So, finally instead of proving to be the father of the nation, he proved to be the father of nehru, by insisting on him becoming the PM.

Did it stop there? No. When Jinnah wanted to split, he gave in. Muslims split and carved their map and destiny in the name of Pakistan. In all sense of justice and reason, it is Pakistan which is supposed to have paid India for taking away the natural resources and asking for a psycological and physical split in the families of crores of Hindus and Muslims. Instead, When they asked for compensation and for the first when Nehru stood saying that we won't pay, Gandhi went on fasting until death. The nation is bigger than the individual, isn't it? True. But again, the fact remains that the nation had to givein for the individual. We ended paying. (pottadu daan pottom.. Nandri Ulla Naaikka Pottom? Illa)

Being a good citizen takes more precedence than being a Mahatma, when it comes to your mother land. After being correct so many times, he was wrong then. What if he is the Mahatma or what if he is the Father of the nation? "NetrikKaN Thirappinum kuttram Kutrame".

Before all these... his support to the Khilafat movement, which in no way is related to India was unnecessarily supported by him to appease the Indian muslims. What if the turkish sultan is aggravated by the British when their own home is in British's hands ? The muslims, instead of agitating against the british for Mother India, they agitated for the Turkish sultan. (Caliph became Khilafat). Instead of deploring it, Gandhi appeased the muslims to get their support. To become the universal leader of the nation.

He resigned from Congress when Netaji was elected the Preseident of the INC. Why? He couldn't stand against the young and ferocious voice of a colleague. This forced Netaji to quit congress.

Bhagat, this yound lad ... the voice of the next generation ... could have been saved, if he had wanted to.

Every single action of him had a big impact on the long term future of the nation. Anyhow, here we are... It is very easy to look at the history and comment. We have the advantage of looking at the past, present and the future of that day. Had we been in the crowd, what if had we been Gandhi ? Would we too have taken the same decisions? or would we have crumbled ?

Noone can answer any of these. Whatever may be said and done, it is breath taking to look at this man. As Einstein said, it is hard to believe, such a man ever walked on the face of this earth. Inspite of all the odds, he has been able to practise Ahimsa, inspire and lead the whole Nation to Independence.

His famous speech in South Africa goes like this... The Policeman can enter my house without my permission, throw me out, beat me up, crush me down. But, he cannot get my obedience. It takes more than words to walk your talk. In a public life than has spanned more than 40 years, anyone is bound to do mistakes. Windows XP has more bugs than win 95. Does it mean Win 95 is the better one? When you get more facilities, better things.. you tend to have some bugs too.. And the Mahatma has his share of it.

May his soul rest in peace.

- Murali

Wish you all a Very Happy Republic Day

2006-01-26T23:01:00.000+09:00

Wish you all a Very Happy Republic Day

Btb, What is Republic Day and why we chose Jan 26th ?

On January 26, 1950, the people of India finally emerged from the shadow of monarchs, autocrats, tyrants, colonialists and took charge of their own destiny.

India was at last a Republic. India promulgated its constitution forming a Republic and Dr.Rajendra Prasad was sworn in as its first president.

January 26th was chosen, because back in 1929, In the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress, A resolution was adopted to fight for Poorna Swaraj - Total Independence. To commemmorate this day, the GOI chose Jan 26th to be the Republic Day of India.

- Murali

Remember this day, January the 23rd

2006-01-23T08:08:00.000+09:00

The grand Old Religion: Hinduism

2006-01-13T23:41:00.000+09:00

In the history of mankind, three religions have come down from time prehistoric - Hinduism, Zorostrianism & Judaism.

All of them have received tremendous shocks, and all of them prove by their survival their internal strength. Judaism failed to absorb Christianity and was driven out of its place by its own daughter. A handful of Parsis is all that now remains to tell the tale of their grand religion. Sect after sect arose in India, seeming to shake the religion of Vedas to its very depths, but like the waters of the seashore in a tremendous earthquake, it receded for a while, only to return in an all-absorbing flood, these sects were all sucked in, absorbed and assimilated into the mother faith, Hinduism. There are so many religions which rose, some as canals, streams, tributaries, some as wild rivers etc. The one which rose as a Mahanadhi is Hinduism. But all of them have originated with the sole aim of mixing with the ocean, GOD.

The Hindus have received their religion through Vedas. They hold that the Vedas are without beginning and without end. They mean the accumulated treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different persons at different time. Just as the laws of gravitation existed before its discovery, and would continue to exist even if all humanity forgot it, so is with the laws that govern the spiritual world. The discoverers of these laws are called Rishis and we honor them as perfected beings.

The Hindu nation has been producing sage after sage during the thousands of years of its existence. But these sages or great incarnations are not the originators of our religion. And we must be proud of it. For no individual can determine what is right and what is wrong for the whole of humanity.

Hinduism is just a way of life. These rishis have preached how to live a divine life by setting examples. Hence, no one can convert to Hinduism. There is no procedure to convert to Hinduism. But nevertheless, anyone can practice Hinduism. If you are good, trying to evolve divinity in yourself, then you are practicing Hinduism.

Hinduism calls the man as "Children of immortal bliss"-- what a sweet name, huh ... immortal bliss? The Hindu refuses to call them as sinners. We are children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings.

Hinduism does not force people to believe a certain doctrine or dogma. The idea is in realizing, not in believing, but in being and becoming. Thus the whole object of their system is by constant struggle to become perfect, to become divine, to reach God and see God, and this reaching God, seeing God, becoming perfect constitutes the religion of the Hindus.

The Christians and Muslims make fun of Hindus when they worship an idol. The DK and their likes too join them in its rhetoric against only the Hinduism. They ask if the prayers will reach the respective gods, if at all there is one.

I say that, Superstition is a great enemy of mankind. Agreed. But bigotry is worse. Why does a Christian go to church? Why is the cross holy? Why does a Muslim pray facing the west? Why do the DK remove their slippers when they garland the statue of Periyar or Anna?

Why b'cos, by the law of association ordinary human beings cannot think about anything without a mental image. This is why the Hindu uses an external symbol when he worships. It helps to keep his mind fixed on the being to whom he prays. It is a tool to keep your concentration. He knows as well as you do that the image is not God. There is a crucial issue that all those who abuse Hindu idol-worship do not quite get. No Hindu is under the impression that the idol or image is in fact God or the demi-god of choice. We are perfectly aware that it is only a representation of an idea; and therefore we do not worship it but the idea behind it. We merely use it as a means of concentrating our energies in prayer. This distinction seems lost on the average iconoclast.

Here is what His Holiness the Sankaracharya of Kanchi says,
"God exists everywhere. So a question may be asked why there should be any temples with idols. We know that God exists everywhere, but still the idea does not get firmly established in our mind. If God is merely omnipresent, how can He help us? We all long for His grace somehow. So we have to worship Him and get His grace. But how? The Agama Sastras tell us how this should be done. The sun's rays contain a lot of heat energy. If we keep a piece of cloth in the sun, it does not catch fire by itself. But if we place a lens and focus the sun's heat rays on that piece of cloth, after some time we find that the cloth catches fire. In the same way in order to get the grace of the Omnipresent Lord, we have to build temples where we can focus the power of the Lord in a consecrated idol for our benefit in an easy way. "

When they say God is universal and is omnipresent, why are there so many gods in Hinduism? Hinduism recognizes the Unity in diversity, which is also the plan of nature. Every other religion lays down certain fixed dogmas, and tries to force society to adopt them. It places before society only one coat which must fit Jack and John and Henry all alike. If it does not fit John or Henry, he must go without a coat to cover his body. Hinduism recognizes this. And that's why there are no fixed rules or dogma to worship god. That is why there are so many gods in Hinduism which suits his own image of a god. That is why Kaali is as equal a mother as Durga. That is why Shiva is as divine as Rudra and that is why Narasimha is as much a savior as Mahavishnu. Hinduism thus says that if an Ant has to create a God for itself, it will create a God in the shape of a Giant ant.

There is nothing wrong in creating something which fits your imagination to bring concentration to your mind. Ofcourse, as long as it does good to the society. They are simply symbols/rituals to hang their spiritual ideas. It is not a necessity that this help is needed for everyone. But those that do not need it have no right to say that it is wrong. That is why Hinduism does NOT set any rules that you should go to temple or pray as many times a day or any such rules. That is why, unlike other religions, Hinduism DOES NOT say that on the day of judgement, Armegadon as the christians say or the Kayyamat as the muslims call, only hindus will be saved or only hindu soles will go to heaven. It only says that, whoever has done good karma will go to heaven. That's all.

If a man can realize his divine nature with the help of an image, would it be right to call that a sin? Nor even when he has passed that stage, should he call it an error? In Hinduism, man is not traveling from error to truth, but from truth to truth, from lower truth to higher truth. To him all the religions, from the lowest fetishism to the highest absolutism, mean so many attempts to realize the divinity of GOD.

Any Hindu ritual has meaning. For example, why is an Agni sakshi needed in a marriage ceremony? B’cos, the bride and the groom promise to the fire that, I will be true to the other and if I break the promise, please burn me down.
Why is a band played at the time of wearing mangal sutra? Both of them should think of each other and nothing else. They shud listen to no nonsense at that time. That is why the band is neither music nor a noise which might distract them. It is a combination of both.

Likewise, every ritual that revolves around the daily life of a Hindu has a meaning. Ofcourse like every other religion, like every society there are some meaningless superstition, which need to be condemned. But, by and large, it is full of meaning. It is full of perfected habits, which help mankind to lead a good life.

In Hinduism they say that there are 3 phases/yogas of attaining god. Karma yoga, Bhakthi yoga & Gyana yoga. Likewise, we can keep on talking about the grand Old religion ... Lastly, it is imperative that all these should be carried out in practice; mere theories about them will do no good.

Religion is realization; not talk, nor doctrine, nor theories however beautiful they may be. It is being and becoming, not hearing or acknowledging, it is the whole soul becoming changed into what it believes. That is Hinduism.

Compiled from the following sources:
Hinduism, Its Philosophy - By Swami Vivekananda
Hinduism , Universal Religion - By Swami Vivekananda
Arthamulla Indu Madam - By Kavi Arasu Kannadasan
Mind, Its Mysteries and Control - By Swami Sivananda
http://www.hindunet.org/

Today the 12th of January 2006 marks the 143rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

2006-01-12T20:35:00.000+09:00

Today the 12th of January 2006 marks the 143rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Dutta) (January 12, 1863 - July 4, 1902) is considered one of the most famous and influential spiritual leaders of the Hindu religion. He is considered by many as an icon for his fearless courage, his positive exhortations to the youth, and his broad outlook to social problems.

Born Narendranath Dutta, in Kolkata in India he became famous as Swami Vivekananda, when he became the chief disciple of Shri Ramakrishna. But Vivekananda is also renowned as a thinker in his own right. One of his most important contributions was to demonstrate how Advaitin thinking is not merely philosophically far-reaching, but how it also has social, even political, consequences. One important lesson he claimed to receive from Ramakrishna was that "Jiva is Shiva " (each individual is divinity itself). This became his Mantra, and he coined the concept of daridra narayana seva - the service of God in and through (poor)human beings. If there truly is the unity of Brahman underlying all phenomena, then on what basis do we regard ourselves as better or worse, or even as better-off or worse-off, than others? - This was the question he posed to himself. Ultimately, he concluded that these distinctions fade into nothingness in the light of the oneness that the devotee experiences in Moksha. What arises then is compassion for those "individuals" who remain unaware of this oneness and a determination to help them.

His books (compiled from lectures given around the world) on the four Yogas are very influential and still seen as fundamental texts for anyone interested in the Hindu practice of Yoga.

Swami Vivekananda belonged to that branch of Vedanta that held that no-one can be truly free until all of us are. Even the desire for personal salvation has to be given up, and only tireless work for the salvation of others is the true mark of the enlightened person.

However, Vivekananda also pleaded for a strict separation between religion and government ("church and state"). Although social customs had been formed in the past with religious sanction, it was not now the business of religion to interfere with matters such as marriage, inheritance and so on. The ideal society would be a mixture of Brahmin knowledge, Kshatriya culture, Vaisya efficiency and the egalitarian Shudra ethos. Domination by any one led to different sorts of lopsided societies. Vivekananda was a socialist at heart, but he did not feel that religion should be used forcefully to bring about an ideal socialist society, since this was something that would evolve naturally by individualistic change when the conditions were right.

Vivekananda is best remembered as the man who "stole the show" at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where he earned wild applause for beginning his address with the famous words, "Brothers and sisters of America." This event marks the beginning of western interest in Hinduism not as merely an exotic eastern oddity, but as a vital religious and philosophical tradition that might actually have something important to teach the west. Within a few years of the Parliament, he had started Vedantic centres in New York and London, lectured at major universities and generally kindled western interest in Hinduism. After this, he returned to India, where he died. He was only 39 years old.

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Some of Swami Vivekananda's famous Quotes
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All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

By the study of different RELIGIONS we find that in essence they are one.

GOD is the ever-active providence, by whose power systems after systems are being evolved out of chaos, made to run for a time and again destroyed.

GOD is to be worshipped as the one beloved, dearer than everything in this and next life.

If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished.

If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.

Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material.

The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!

The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.

The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that.

The will is not free - it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect - but there is something behind the will which is free.

The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.

We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act.

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state.

You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.
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13 Kumaon's Last Stand: Chushul, November 18, 1962

2005-11-19T00:37:00.000+09:00

This article is very close to my heart. There are so many unsung heros like this who have laid their life for the mother land, for nothing in return. Kaalathaal sarithira aasiriyargal marandalum, sathiyam ivangalai marakkadu. May be, this is what is selfless sacrifice. I have never felt sorry for not being able to write poems. I was happy that lest, I have the gift of appreciating the good ones, until I read this. there was Avvaiyar to sing barani that day. But, today, we have so many poets running from pillar to post after nothing but money writing stupid duets in movies. Not one has written anything about this one. I felt terribly sorry for being a handicap in literature.

I wanted to write it on my own. But, how could I write it better than my favourite Rajeev Srinivasan from whom I came to know about this 13th Kumaon and Shaitan Singh.

Anyhow, I don't wanna bore you with my lecture. read on...

Murali.
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Rajeev Srinivasan
http://in.rediff.com/news/2002/nov/19rajeev.htm

13 Kumaon's Last Stand: Chushul, November 18, 1962

Most of us studied the Alfred Tennyson poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' in school. The Battle of Thermopylae we read of with goose bumps. We all know about Custer's Last Stand. And the battle cry 'Remember the Alamo!' resonates with us.

Yet, none of us has heard of the 13th Kumaon Battalion's Last Stand at Rezang La, Ladakh, in the Battle of Chushul, on November 18, 1962. I think this is a great pity.

For, let us remind ourselves of these examples of heroism:

* The Battle of Thermopylae in ancient Greece in 480 BCE, where 300 Spartans under Leonidas stopped a Persian army of 250,000 at a narrow mountain pass. They died to the last man, but provided enough time for the rest of the Greek army to escape to fight another day.
* The 13th Light Brigade of the British Army at Balaclava, the Crimea, in 1854. Six hundred and seventy-three men rode at Russian artillery and were decimated.
* At the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, in 1836, several hundred Texans held out against the Mexican Army before they were killed to the last man.
* Custer's Last Stand was the Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876, in Montana where the Sioux nation under Chief Sitting Bull wiped out George Custer and 265 men.

And finally:
* The C company of the 13th Kumaon Battalion, under Major Shaitan Singh (Param Vir Chakra, Posthumous) held off a fierce Chinese attack on November 18, 1962, at the Rezang La heights that they held. Massively outnumbered and outgunned, the defenders died almost to the last man, and expended their last round. All 114 men were killed or wounded. But they succeeded in blunting the Chinese assault, killing as many as a thousand Chinese in the process at Rezang La and at nearby Gurung Hill. Thereafter, the Chinese did not push further towards the Chushul plain. It was a critical checkpoint on a potential Chinese advance on Leh.

The story of 13th Kumaon is the kind of thing that would make the patriotic Indian stand tall with tears in his eyes. Yet, we do not stand in silence for a moment in memory of Major Shaitan Singh and his gallant men. No poet eulogizes them as Tennyson did the Light Brigade. There is only a small memorial at the site, which says:

How can a Man die Better than facing Fearful Odds,
For the Ashes of His Fathers and the Temples of His Gods,
To the sacred memory of the Heroes of Rezang La,
114 Martyrs of 13 Kumaon who fought to the Last Man,
Last Round, Against Hordes of Chinese on 18 November 1962.
Built by All Ranks 13th Battalion, The Kumaon Regiment.

I am indebted to the Bharat-Rakshak web site for this information as well as a long article on the Battle of Chushul by L N Subramanian. Yet, why is there nothing written about them along the lines of what Tennyson did, as in these excerpts from his stirring poem:

Half a league half a league
Half a league onward...
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred...

Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd;
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die...

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;...

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade...

Why have Indians so consistently ignored the great sacrifices made by our soldiers? Why isn't the story of the valiant 13th Kumaon a part of every child's textbooks? Why have we let these brave men die unwept, unmourned, and unsung? Just as we let thousands of soldiers die in Kashmir, in Kargil, everywhere, they are mere cannon fodder. India needs a draft, so people in power feel the pain of their children dying for the nation.

I think I know why there is no official celebration of the Battle of Chushul: the government can hardly bother to honour the Unknown Soldier on Kargil Day. Then how will they remember something that happened forty years ago?

There is also an element of shame. Congress governments were unwilling to talk about 1962 because it brings out the fact that 'someone had blunder'd' and that was their deity, Jawaharlal Nehru, along with his defence minister, V K Krishna Menon. Admitting this would leave them shamefaced, so they just let the soldiers 'but do and die'. Even the current government is unwilling to publish the Henderson Brooks report. Why? It will at least shed some light on what happened.

The media in India should have taken this up in the absence of governmental action. But the media, influenced by Chinese propaganda, has portrayed the 1962 war on Chinese terms. Aping the Xinhua propaganda agency, Indian media mavens have taken the stand that the war was India's fault. As though Indians, with no mountain divisions, would go over the Himalayas and attack the Chinese in Tibet and Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh!

The Marxists in India say the 1962 affair was an internal matter for the Chinese, as they have generously 'awarded' Arunachal Pradesh to China. The Chinese believe this, too. They told the CM of Arunachal Pradesh recently that he did not need a visa to go to China, as he was a Chinese citizen! Americans, Britons and Australians accept China's lies, for it suits them to support China.

But we know that all this isn't true. Individual Indians must remember the 13th Kumaon. As the Quebec motto goes, Je me souviens: I remember. And I shall always remember those brave men of C Company who died in a frozen wasteland. For me. For you.

Volcker Report: Shud Natwar be nabbed ?

2005-11-19T00:10:00.000+09:00

I think NO. Let me try to see what happenned and what is best for us.

After Iraq invaded neighbouring Kuwait in 1990, the UN imposed economic sanctions on the country. In the face of a global appeal to save the people of Iraq from bearing the brunt of the sanctions on its dictatorial regime, the UN started the Oil for Food Programme in December 1996 until the end of 2002. The programme was officially closed in March 2003 when the US and UK invaded Iraq.

Under the Programme, Iraq could sell its oil at UN-prescribed prices in exchange of humanitarian goods. Under the Programme, Iraq sold $64.2 billion worth of oil to 248 companies and 3,614 firms sold $34.5 billion worth of humanitarian goods to Baghdad. The programme ended in 2003.

After the invation of Iraq by US unilaterally without the UN resolution, An individual committee was appointed to find the misuse of this programme by the Oil ministry in the Saddam's regime.

Paul A Volcker, former chairman of US Federal Reserve, headed the Committee, which also included South Africa's Justice Richard Goldstone and Switzerland's Mark Pieth, chairman of the Working Group on Bribery in International Transactions at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

From Germany, France, England to Russia, India and Australia, the report names almost 2,400 firms and individuals who paid the Saddam regime money under the guise of the United Nations' Oil for food Programme.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed the Committee on April 21, 2004, to investigate allegations of corruption in the Oil for Food Programme. Allegations had sprung up in various publications, including Baghdad's al-Mada newspaper, which published names of 270 individuals and companies.

The Committee found that Saddam's regime had devised a scheme to fox the UN and suck money for itself from the Oil for Food Programme. The number of firms who had paid Saddam was more than half the number of firms that had dealings with Iraq under the programme.

Under this programme, Baghdad was allowed the power of choosing who it sold the oil to, a loophole which the Saddam regime exploited to garner $1.8 billion for itself.

Saddam gifted oil vouchers to supporters across the globe. Beneficiaries also included vocal anti-sanctions politicians. The vouchers could be sold to companies at higher prices, a part of which found its way into Iraqi accounts.

In the invoices for the oil sales that were presented to the UN, the illegal payments were disguised as 'after-sales service fees' or 'inland transportation fees'.

Jammu and Kashmir Panther's Party leader Bhim Singh, the Congress party, Reliance and Natwar Singh are the four 'non-contractual beneficiaries' from India named in the Volcker report.

The report says Natwar Singh and the Congress party sold their oil vouchers to a Swiss oil trading company, Masefield AG. These are the allegations against Natwar and his son.

Ok... So, How do we react to this ?

Shud Natwar resign for such an allegation? I think not. Atleast, not until George Bush, Tony Blair and Koffi Annan have resigned. If we legitimise the report and ask Natwar to resign, it will be like legitimising the US for the unilateral invasion of Iraq.

The whole basis for invading Iraq were,

First, Iraq was clandestinely acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
Second, it was in league with the Al Qaeda.
Third, it had carried out large-scale massacres of the Shias.
And four, it had misused the UN's Oil-For-Food-Programme.

Of the four, the first three have already been proved to be blatant lies. There is, therefore, a compulsive urge for US to show that at least the fourth allegation was correct.

After the invasion all the official papers of Iraqi OIL Ministry and whatever ministry is available with the US now. They can do whetever they want to justify their acts. And even if it is true, even if the allegations are true, what are we as Indians supposed to do and how are we suppose to treat Natwar ?

Like Bofers, we cannot just sit on top of it or ridicule it saying that it is illegitimate. The max that we can do is see if Natwar made any trip to Jordon during that period. Even if it is true, we cannot prove that he travelled to Jordon to make a visit to Iraq. B'cos his son has married a girl from Jordon.

We cannot start an individual comittee to probe this because,

1. He has not swindled the Indian tax payers money. Hence, we cannot use our money to probe that.
2. The findings will however be incomplete as long as we don't get all the origional documents that were part of Volcker's investigation. Which we can never expect from the US.

This needs to be debated in the over-all national interest. We should resist the temptation to exploit it for partisan political purposes. Keeping all this in view, one should avoid jumping to conclusions regarding the veracity of the reference to Natwar in the report. Though I don't like Natwar for many reasons, I don't want him to step down. What Manmohan has done is right. I too support him for standing firmly behind Natwar. Though he is removed from the portfolio, he is still a cabinet minister.

Infact, The Oil For Food Program itself has been a biggest international scam. They have paid half the amount of the money got from this programme to other countries. They have paid the Nuclear investigators, they have paid $18 billion as 'reparation costs!' to Kuwait, they have financed even this investigation team with that money. In the name of humanitarian programme what is this? Tell me what is this in the name of GOD? They have paid more than 10 times the money what Saddam got by finding loopholes.

So, with all these, Why shud we react to such a report, trying to legitimise the invasion of some country unilaterally and then being imposed by UN, which has inturn become irrelevent by the Secoretary general's own son who was paid around $3000 every month for.. I don't know a long period of time... or so...

Anyhow, it is good for India that we try to react, but in reality we do what we do.. Look at what france has done. One of the oldest democracies. They have sat over the report. No big hue and cries. That is what we shud be doing. It is others war. Let them fight it. Natwar has not done anything with my money or any other tax payers money. Why shout from the roof tops, huh?

- Murali

Indira Gandhi - The Iron Lady of India

2005-11-13T00:47:00.000+09:00

Before I write this article, I have a confession to make. When I started writing about Indira Gandhi, I was biased, pre-judiced and bent highly upon disfaming her. But, when I started collecting information about her, right from her birth to death, I am left with mixed feeling.

I am amazed at seeing her fore sight and courage in ordering the army to enter the Golden Temple to restore the law and order in Punjab as well as keeping the soverignty of the Indian Union. At the same time, I am vexed at seeing the sheer audocity of her to downplay the Allahabad high court's order and proclaim emergency in India for the first and only time in Independent India.

It was highly difficult for me to guage this unusual lady. I am always under the impression that a single man/woman is not capable enough to deciede what is right and what is wrong for the whole nation. That is why, I condemn any unilateral decisions made by any great men in history, may it be the Mahatma or his pet or his leutinant or even Bose or whoever it may be. The same applies to me also. How can I, an individual deciede what she did was right or wrong for the whole country in course of time? Anyhow, right or wrong, I have made an attempt at guaging this Iron Lady. However when I finally did it, I have tried to be as neutral, unbiased and fair as possible.

Remember, the suffix Gandhi stuck not for her love for Mahatma, but from her husband Feroz Khan, who changed his name to Feroz Gandhi in the England gazette before marrying her in London.

In her childhood days Indira was a very shy and reserved kid. Very few if not none, would have expected/predicted that oneday it would be that India is Indira and Indira is India.

After Nehru's death, Lal Bahadur took over as the PM and Indira was the Information and broadcasting Minister. After Shastri, no one wanted Gulzarilal Nanda or Morarji Desai. Kamaraj could have become the PM. But, he being a straight forward not so literate man thoguht that it would be better for India if Indira takes over. He became a king maker for the second time and supported her. She was elected. Kamaraj had not reckoned with her innate political sense or that being Prime Minister has its own power. She soon sidelined everyone. People would say the Cabinet has only one man (Indira Gandhi) and that the rest are all eunuchs, but the fact is she reduced them to that level.

She was very smart. I should say street smart. Her greatest moment, the triumph in her life, was the way she handled the Bangladesh crisis, where all her skills came together. She made a complete fool of the Pakistanis.

India faced a huge crisis with a flood of refugees entering the country. She tried to garner international support and went round the world telling them what was happening but got no backing except from the Soviet Union, which any way was with us.

Then, when she realised the crisis had to reach a climax, she proved very astute. For instance, an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked. Today we know that it was the Indians who manoeuvred to get the plane to land in Lahore. Then, in Lahore, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (then Pakistan's foreign minister) proved stupid enough to have the plane blown up in his presence. This gave India the excuse it needed to stop flights between West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) over India, something that gave India a clear edge as the war drew nearer. Pakistani planes had to fly all the way round India and refuel in Sri Lanka to communicate between the two wings.

Indian Army built the Mukthi Bahini with her support and by the time Yahya khan realised what happenned and declared war, the Indian Army was marching well inside Bangladesh. In less than a fortnight, the Pakistani army surrendered. After the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, Vajpayee, who was the Leader of the Opposition, stood up in Parliament and congratulated Indira Gandhi for her courage and vision and praised her as Durga. That was her reckonning moment in life and thats when the Gods smiled at India. Everything went in our side until the war was won by India. And she deserves every bit of it. The credit goes entirely to her for taking a bold quick decision which gave India her best victory ever. It was by all accounts a master strategy and Indira Gandhi very deservedly got the Bharat Ratna.

But, the problem with her or anybody for that matter for being at the peak of popularity is that, there is no up. You have to come down from the peak. What she did after winning the war is that she missed a golden oppurtunity in winning the war decisively. She gave back the land that we won in war and gave back the all of 90000 POW to pakistan for what? For nothing. The simla agreement stands useless today. Only India respects and stands by it. But, did pakistan ? Not yet. Not yet.

After 71, we had the emergency. But when it came to the Emergency, the Opposition too behaved very recklessly. There was no doubt that the country was fast sliding into chaos. Schools not opening, colleges not opening, huge processions, riots.

Jayaprakash Narayan made a mammoth mistake when he led this huge rally in New Delhi where he told the people to gherao legislators, not allow them to attend office. Worse, he asked the police and the Indian Army personnel to remove the legislators. There are limits to protests in any democracy and this was exceeding the limits altogether.

Allahabad high court judgment came through and she clamped the Emergency. SHE WAS RIGHT AND THERE WAS NO OTHER CHOICE. But, who created the whole mess in the first place ? She herself. She did the same mistake in punjab as well. I believe that when she imposed the Emergency, she had every right then because leaders of the Opposition were behaving in a total reckless, irresponsible and anti-national manner, just enjoying the spectacle. I heard that, when the Emergency was imposed, there was a general sense of relief throughout the country. Schools reopened, colleges reopened, trains ran on time, and there was a sense of gratitude that the country was back to normal. Of course, the freedom of the people had been taken away. The Emergency was made into a monster. She lost the next elections.

Sanjay's death in 1980 she dithered, she couldn't make up her mind, she became nervous. She started grooming Rajiv, who was until then considered to be politically dumb.

And then Operation Bluestar hapenned. This single event which occurred in Punjab almost to the day shook the Republic of India to its very foundations. She did the right thing. That was a very bold decision. It had to happen. Though I believe that sikhs are the most patriotic lot who have given their everything to save our motherland, I think they erred in this.

Though Jarnail Singh Bindranwale is Indira's own creation, she had to remove him for what a Franinstein monster he had become. It was time when but for a few states, Congress was ruling the most of India. Just because Congress's hold loosened in Punjab, she tried to split Akali Dal and created Bindranwale. But He tuned again her in due course.

Sikh extremists seeking to carve an independent country had been slowly but surely taking control of the state over the next couple of years, striking terror in the hearts of politicians, law-enforcers, and the general population. The killings began in 1983 with a murder here, a shootout there. Through the year, however, the frequency of attacks and the toll kept rising and by May 1984 dozens of innocent people were being murdered daily in cold blood, all in the name of 'freedom.'

A massive religious cleansing movement was underway in Punjab, which had become India's granary after the Green Revolution of the mid-to-late 1960s. Law and order had collapsed, and the corrupt and demoralised Punjab police was simply not up to the task of restoring it.

Heading this bloody movement was Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a preacher turned separatist who ran his terrorist campaign from the confines of the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, in Amritsar. Bhindranwale openly defied the Indian State from his sanctuary. But the police dared not enter the temple complex, for fear of outraging the sentiments of the Sikhs, arguably India's most dynamic and popular minority community.

With the situation rapidly getting out of hand, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took a momentous decision. She ordered the Indian Army to move into Punjab and decisively clear the terrorists who were armed and aided by Pakistan.

To flush the terrorists and their masterminds out of the Golden Temple complex, the army launched what is possibly its most controversial action, Operation Bluestar, under the command of Major General Kuldip Singh Brar.

The decision had to be taken, and she took it. She deserves every credit to take the decision. I miss her for not being with us when the Kashmir armed struggle started in 89. She reckons when there is a national problem. She peaks whenever the nation is facing a disaster. But, at times of peace, she did terrible mistakes.

In her insecurity to be at the helm, she destroyed the institutions of democracy. She packed Parliament with her supporters with loyalty being more important than ability; she superseded judges; she corrupted the civil service. Favouritism became a great sport with her.

She was incapable of tolerating any criticism and she picked up an aversion to some persons because she thought they were challenging her, among them Jayaprakash Narayan, a good, honest man. She couldn't stand him because he was a challenge to her as the leader of the country, especially as people grew disillusioned with her rule. There were problems, droughts, challenges and Jayaprakash Narayan had emerged as a leader. It is a democracy if only there are many leaders to choose from.

During her reign, corruption increased to enormous levels. She was really very tolerant of corruption, which was another negative mark against her. She knew perfectly well that some of her ministers were extremely corrupt, yet she took no steps against them till it suited her.

If she knew someone was corrupt, she tolerated him but if it suited her, she used the same corruption charge to get rid of him. She really had no strong views on corruption, which went sky high during her time. She nationalised the banks, the airlines and manythings along with that.

So, its very difficult to guage her with all these pros and cons. Ms.Jayalalitha is playing the same game today. Infact an even more worse game. She is capable of so much. Yet she is not doing enough to her potential.

After Nehru, Indira had 16-year-long rule. She had an enormous influence. She had enormous potential. Yet she didn't use all of them. Her street smartness came in handy while playing with another street smart, Pakistan. But, when it comes to Magnanimity she became an ordinary Indian and gave the POW and the land back. She should have got back the POK and then should have given the land and POWs. Anyhow, it is history and we surely miss her in teh late 80s for not being effective with the Kashmiri militants. And the worse we had an inept political setup in Delhi during 89-90.

But whatever may be said and done, she has a lot of feathers in her collar. She initiated the first Pokran test. The way she handled the Bangladesh war and the Punjab crisis was simply marvelous. She deserves every bit to get the Bharat Ratna. Four months and three weeks after the Operation Bluestar, Indira Gandhi paid the penultimate price for ordering Operation Bluestar. Her own guards shot her on Oct 31st 1984.

Indira Gandhi is remembered for 1971, 1974 and 1984. We should also remember the kind of things she did which are difficult to undo even today. She legitimised corruption as a way of politics. She undermined the roots of democracy. Sanjay who was just a PM's son went beserk during emergency. She played split politics with anybody and everybody. But for her NTR wouldn't have been so successful. Punjab wouldn't have seen so much blood. At the same time, we need such a lady to handle Kashmir which we missed in the form of a puny Rajiv or chandrasekar. Even in the 1971 war, instead of winning a decisive war, she fumbled with the advantages. She became a soft deity in the form of giving away everythign for nothing. Yes, the decision to return was correct. Instead of being an occupying force in Pakistan, we gave back. That was the roght thing to do. But, for what ? For nothing? That was the only time, we could have got back POK without resentment. But, we missed the golden oppurtunity. They say oppurtunity knocks the door once. That was the moment it knowcked. But we didn't recognise it. What becasue of her/or whoever advised her's short-sightedness.

- Murali

Sardar Patel, The real architect of the Indian Constitution (1875 - 1950)

2005-10-31T20:30:00.000+09:00

Sardar Vallabhai Patel, A man rightly called the Iron Man of India. The only man who understood the real meaning of Sovereignty. A Shrewd, determined, passionate, energetic, independent, sarcastic, intense, with much stamina, both base and A noble man. A Strong-willed, full of self-confidence and magnetism, dominating, ruthless and a proud Indian who is actually the real father of Indian union.

Again, the state, Gujarat takes the credit of giving India the three most influential persons who changed the course of Independent India. One is the father of India, second the Father of the cessarian born Pakistan and Third the Iron Man, without whom both the nations wouldn't have survived. The man who believed in true democracy, who was realistic in his approach and the man who didn't take credit for whatever he did. He let history and satya take note of his deeds.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel was born on the 31st of October 1875, in Gujarat. He was the son of Zaverbhai who had served in the army of the Queen of Jhansi and Ladbai. He completed his law studies in England in 1913, came back to India and started his law practice. He joined the Gujarat club and started following a western lifestyle. One day Gandhiji came to the club to give lectures. Sardar Patel was greatly influenced by this master spokesperson. As soon as he came in contact with the Mahatma he decided to discard his foreign clothes and follow the rules of Satyagraha as laid down by Gandhiji. A relationship of teacher and student began to develop in between them.

In 1918 when there was a flood in Kaira, the British insisted on collecting tax from the farmers. This time the Sardar made optimum use of Satyagraha and asked the farmers not to give in to the demands of the government. All of this was done peacefully and the farmers followed his guidance. The British got fed up and eventually returned the land confiscated by them earlier.

In 1928 the farmers faced a similar problem and Vallabhai came to their rescue again. The British were as usual demanding an unjust tax and the farmers of Bardoli under the supervision of Vallabhbhai did not budge. The government in retaliation seized the lands. This agitation took on for more than six months until Patelfs brother, Vithalbhai, an important figure in the Central Legislative Assembly struck a truce. This event immensely delighted Gandhiji and the title of eSardarf was conferred on him. When he was assisting Gandhiji in the Salt Satyagraha, he faced imprisonment for the first time.

With great wisdom and political foresight, he consolidated the small kingdoms. The public was with him. He tackled the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Junagarh who intially did not want to join India. There were a lot of problems connected with the reunion of the numerous states into India. Sardar Patel's untiring efforts towards the unity of the country brought success. Due to the achievement of this massive task, Sardar Patel got the title of 'Iron Man'. ' He is one of the prestigious leaders of the world who became immmortal by uniting a scattered nation without any bloodshed.

When India became free and Pakistan attacked Kashmir, it was Patel who asked to withhold the cash balances left by the British for Pakistan. Gandhiji felt this was immoral and went on a fast until death. Sardar withdrew his argument because he could not bear to see his teacher's suffering.

In independent India he held the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister, Home Minister, Minister of state and the Minister for information and broadcasting.

The Indian Constitution officially came into force from January 26, 1950. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a decisive role in the Constituent Assembly and remained the moving spirit behind some of the landmark provisions of Indian principles.

Patel, a man of action, spoke only when necessary in the Constituent Assembly, yet his impact on the Constitution was much wider than his intervention in the debates.

He played an important role in the selection of members of the drafting committee. He took a strong stand for or against Jawaharlal Nehru on key issues such as fundamental rights, the position of the prime minister, the election procedure of the President and the status of Kashmir. The Iron Man so dominated the assembly that the Constitution which emerged from it, bore his stamp and could be aptly called the Patel Constitution.

Just as Manu, a brahmin gave the Hindus their first code, Vallabhbhai ensured that Dr B R Ambedkar, a harijan, piloted the basic law of new India. He was also instrumental for the entry of eminent jurists like B N Rau, K M Munshi, Aaladi Krishnaswami Aiyar and Gopalaswami Ayyangar into the Assembly. Not only did Patel see that Ambedkar was appointed law minister but ensured that he completed his tenure despite Nehru's wish to drop him at one point.

Sardar's interventions in the Constituent Assembly during the debates were few, but forceful.

If only Gandhi hadn't intervened, If only Patel had become PM, If only he had not died in 1950... Today's India would have been much different. Let us not forget him and this day, shall we?

- Murali

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

2005-10-28T01:21:00.000+09:00

Lets wish our beloved President a Very Happy and prosperous healthy years ahead.

President Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam turned 74 on October 15.

We have the rare oppurtunity of seeing a true leader instead of reading it in history books. Let us wish him good health and long life.

The Job of a leader is to inspire others, to lead others. His job is to walk his talk. Our beloved president has all these three imbibed in him.

Like his wings of fire, if only the fire spreads all thro' India like wild fire, the dreams of India won't be a dream anymore. It will be a reality of the past. The priorities of the citizens as well as the govt will change.

The basis of all these is to get inspired and truely work for the betterment of oneself as well as the country.

If the leaders start talking the language of development, the religious barriers will disappear by itself. The economic progress will ensure the progress of the sociey at large.

The day every Indian shares the same dream, it will be a truely D Day for the whole country.

I thank my beloved President and seek his blessings to do whatever I can for my country. I pray the Almighty to give him enough strength and longivity to do whatever good he wants to do for India.

Sardar Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Kalam All three are Librans. Kalam is blessed with the dual character of both Bhagat and Gandhi.

May the fire in him take its wings and spread in us too.

I pray the gods to bless him with health, vigour and the power to inspire the millions of Indian kids on the path to make India a developed prosperous country.

- Murali

Kamaraj - The King maker

2005-10-28T01:20:00.000+09:00

Though he was a king in the making, he remained a King Maker. While people were busy celebrating Gandhi's birthday on Oct 2nd 1975, Kamaraj left India silently in his bed.

Kamaraj (July 15, 1903–1975) was instrumental in bringing to power two Prime Ministers, Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964 and Indira Gandhi in 1966. He was involved in the Indian independence movement and was a close ally of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.

He was born to Kumarasamy and Sivakami Ammal at Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu. His was from a poor family belonging to the Nadar caste (a mercantile caste) and retained a spartan life style and bachelorhood throughout his lifetime. Despite dropping out of school in the seventh grade he rose to political prominence joining the struggle for Indian independence at the age of sixteen.

Kamaraj became Chief Minister of Madras Presidency in 1954 and ruled the state for thirteen years. He was also president of the Indian National Congress for five years. As Chief Minister, he initiated massive reforms in the educational and the social sectors of the state. He introduced the Mid-day meal scheme in Tamil Nadu, which was later popularised by M. G. Ramachandran and this scheme is being considered by the Government of India to be introduced in all public schools in the country. It was his government, which built most of the existing dams in Tamil Nadu.

He is known for his honesty, integrity and simplicity. He denied any special treatments extended to him or his mother just because he was the chief minister. It is also said that he lived in a rented house and had a possession of only 120 rupees and 6 dhothis when he died--a hard gesture from a Chief Minister of Indian history.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award posthumously in 1976.

Whenever there is a debate on whether the politicians shud have a minimum qualification, the name that immediately strikes those who oppose any such minimum qualification is Kamaraj. Yet, I would say that he has also failed India in a way. His humbleness has cost India dearly. He must have become the PM after Lal Bahadur. Instead, he thought that Indira is better capale b'cos she was educated. But, Alas, he had to see the Emergency. It had a lasting impression in his heart and finally died. If only he had succeeded Lal Bahadur, the India Today would have been different. But, the Gods had a different thing in their minds.

Naadu Paarthathunda, Inda Naadu Paarthathunda? Nadu munnera naalum uzhaithavanai naadu paarthathunda inda naadu paarthathunda ???

Jai Jawan Jai Kisan

2005-10-28T01:19:00.000+09:00

Lal Bahadur Shastri

Why has History forgotten this Giant ?

Seven miles from Kashi in Uttar Pradesh is Mughalsarai. A hundred and one years ago, Lal Bahadur, India's second prime minister, was born there on October 2, 1904, the same day as India's greatest statesman Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born 35 years before Shastriji.

Though his parents Sharada Prasad and Ramdulari Devi were Srivastavas, Shastri dropped his caste identity in his early years. In 1921, inspired by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gandhi, he cut short his studies to join India's freedom movement.

Later he joined the Kashi Vidyapeeth and earned the epithet 'Shastri' by obtaining a degree on philosophy.

He won the hearts of Indians when he showed exemplary courage in taking quick decisions as prime minister June 1964 to January 1966) during the India-Pakistan war in 1965. His leadership in war was an answer to that most often asked question at that time: 'After Nehru, who?'

But his untimely death on January 10, 1966 in Tashkent, in suspicious circumstances, deprived him the chance for history to sit in judgement.

The 'Gentle Giant' led India through the critical years after succeeding Nehru. The nation has forgotten Shastri. It seems that, Shastri who epitomised honesty and sincerity in public life, has become irrelevant today. I don't see his name being pronounced anywhere in the congress party today. I have never heard of anything from Anil Shastri, one of the late prime minister's six children and member of the Congress party.

What was the mystery behind his untimely death in Tashkent, today in Uzbekistan ? Inspite of winning the war against all odds why did he gave back the crutial posts "Haji Pir and Tithwa" back to General Ayub Khan of Pakistan ? These mysteries will remain mysteries for ever I guess.

Whatever may be said and done, His contribution to Pre/Post Independent India is unparelled by his honesty, courage and sincerity in public life.

Here is a glimpse of what he was !!!

Shastri appeared very modest but was a man of steel. He had the ability to take quick decisions. It was demonstrated on August 31, 1965. The three chiefs visited him to inform him that the Pakistan army had crossed the international border with 100 battle tanks in the Chamb sector of Jammu. They told him that in a short span of time the Pakistan army would cut off Kashmir from the rest of India.

Without losing time he asked for the opening of a new front including Lahore. Retaliate with full force, he said. That historic meeting lasted less than five minutes.

He told them, "Be prepared for war." He called Defence Minister Y B Chavan and informed him of the decision. He responded positively and expressed his support. He didn't wait for international reactions. The next day, newspapers reported that the Indian army was marching towards Lahore. It was a big morale booster for the country.

During those tense days, in his address to the nation from Red Fort on Independence day, he said: "Hathiyaron ka jawab hathiyaron se denge. (Force will be met with force.) Hamara desh rahega to hamara tiranga rahega. (Our flag will survive only if our country does)"

When the Chamb border was attacked Shastri was asked to take a tough decision whether to cross the international border. The army chief said it would be difficult to hold on for long at Chamb. Shastri gave the order saying -- before they can capture Chamb you should capture Lahore. I wonder whether Nehru would have taken such a decision. Even Vajpayee didn't have the guts to do it in Kargil war.

In 1956, he was the railway minister. When a train accident killed 144 passengers near Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu, Shastriji resigned. Nehru refused to accept the resignation but he prevailed upon Nehru to accept it. On the following day in Parliament, Nehru said no one could wish for a better comrade than Lal Bahadur. A man of the highest integrity and devoted to ideas is called Lal Bahadur, said Nehru.

He was a Politician Who made absolutely no money !!! Shastri stands for austerity, simplicity and consensus.

Shastri represents an ideology that was right of Centre but not left of Centre. After all, he is the man who said we need the five-year plan but let us have a one year holiday from plan.

His toughness was evident at Tashkent. When Russian Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin wanted Shastri to sign the agreement for peace with General Ayub Khan of Pakistan after the 1965 war, Shastri insisted on adding the assurance, "never again will weapons be used to sort out problems between India and Pakistan."

Ayub was maintaining a vague stance by quoting UN resolutions. "Then you will have to find another PM," said Shastri during the arguments. In the final agreement General Ayub Khan had not mentioned those words but Shastri continued to press for it.

Ayub finally wrote it at the very last moment. General Ayub's handwritten assurance is still preserved in the Indian archives. (Though they have breached it many a times after this in 1971/75 and 99). India honoured the Tashkent accord. But Pakistan never implemented it. Shastri was a slight person but with a strong mind.

When he died there was a strong resistance against his cremation in the area where Gandhi and Nehru had been laid to rest. Most Congressmen wanted his body taken to Allahabad. When Mrs Lalita Shastri said she would go public only then did the Congressmen relent. They even protested against inscribing the slogan -- Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan on his samadhi. Then again, only when Mrs Shastri threatened to go on a hunger strike was it was allowed.

His contribution to Pre/Post Independent India is unparelled by his honesty, courage and sincerity in public life.

I salute the Giant. Jai Jawan Jai Kisan.

Gandhi, The Mahatma

2005-10-28T01:15:00.000+09:00

In a different time, an aspiring student of age 19, left the shores of India to get his degree. He used the opportunity overseas to learn about our scriptures mainly the Gita. After his education, came back home. But at the age of 24 he again left the shores to work (sounds like the modern IT consultant). He had the opportunity to use his skills to support and assist Indians in the foreign land, to fight unjust laws and develop new tactics in his ongoing fight against the government. These tactics were unique and unprecedented.

After a long stay, came back to India with not much money. (No NRI tax benefits like modern times). Though some of his activities overseas had come to the attention of some people, he was largely unknown. He wanted to understand his country better with 'his ears open and mouth shut'. He gave his first public address at the opening ceremony of the Benares Hindu University. He shocked the present magnates and princes by expressing his 'deep humiliation and shame' at speaking in a language (English) that was foreign to him. He further shocked them by turning to the bejewelled princes and said "There is no salvation for India unless you strip yourselves of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your countrymen in India". Many princes walked out.

This man by the force of his tactics, principles, political skill and moral leadership, lack of personal political and monetary gain roused people's enthusiasm and passion never ever seen in 1000 years of Indian history and probably never again. His skill in outmaneuvering a colonial power which has till this date never seen defeat in any war (battles yes, war never) in its history, an empire over which the sun never set, can only be considered brilliant. A seemingly ordinary man who could have just pursued his professional career as millions do today, could have made himself and family well off. Instead he developed, based on his vision, principles, intelligence, moral character and ground experience, a vision and road map for his beloved nation, the tactics to achieve it and at the same time served as a general on the ground to implement his vision and eventually delivered to our nation what it had never fully articulated nor experienced in almost 1000 years of its history beginning from the the invasion of India by Mahmud of Ghazni.

Let us for a moment with joy - yes with joy as our nation or the world is unlikely to again see one of his kind, remember his 135 birth anniversary today. This person was named Mohandas by his parents - Indians know him as the Mahatma.

"Generations to come will find it difficult to believe that a man such as Gandhi ever walked the face of this earth" - Albert Einstein

Gandhi was the most inspirational leader of the 20th Century. His advocacy of civil disobedience and nonviolent mass protest as the most effective way of achieving social change has instructed freedom movements around the world, from Poland to the United States to Burma.

A Mini biography: Born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, the capital of a small principality in what is today the State of Gujarat in western India. His father is the prime minister of the principality. His mother is a deeply religious Hindu. The entire family follows a branch of Hinduism that advocates nonviolence and tolerance between religious groups.

1883 - At the age of 13 he marries Kasturba.

1888 - Gandhi sails to England to study law at University College, London.

1891 - He is admitted to the British bar but returns to India and starts a practice as a barrister in the Bombay High Court.

1893 - He is employed by an Indian firm with interests in South Africa to act as legal adviser in its office in Durban, beginning a 20-year residence in South Africa.

Indian workers had been brought to South Africa in the mid-19th Century to labour on the sugar estates. Many had stayed on to form a small but closely-knit community. Gandhi is appalled by the treatment they receive in the racist society of South Africa and begins a campaign for their civil rights. He advocates a policy of passive resistance to, and noncooperation with, the South African authorities.

1906 - Gandhi begins a passive resistance campaign against laws prohibiting black South Africans, "coloureds" and Indians from travelling without a pass. He leads Indians in demonstrations and organises stop-work protests that win the support of thousands of people.

1914 - The South Africa Government, under pressure from the governments of Britain and India, accepts a reform package negotiated by Gandhi and the South African statesman General Jan Christian Smuts. Gandhi returns to India in 1915.

1916 - Gandhi meets Jawaharlal Nehru for the first time at the annual meeting of the Indian National Congress Party in Lucknow.

1917 - The British Parliament announces that Indians will be allowed greater participation in the colonial administration and that self-governing institutions will be gradually developed.

1919 - The promise of self-governing institutions is realised with the passing of the Government of India Act by the British Parliament. The act introduces a dual administration in which both elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials share power, although the British retain control of critical portfolios like finance, taxation and law and order.

However, the goodwill created by the move is undermined in March by the passing of the Rowlatt Acts. These acts empower the Indian authorities to suppress sedition by censoring the press, detaining political activists without trial, and arresting suspects without a warrant.

Gandhi begins a campaign of passive resistance or 'satyagraha' (the devotion to truth or truth force) against the Rowlatt Acts and British rule. The satyagraha movement spreads through India, gaining millions of followers, though Gandhi pulls back when violence breaks out and martial law is declared.

On 13 April the movement comes to a halt when British troops fire at point-blank range into a crowd of 10,000 unarmed and unsuspecting Indians gathered at Amritsar in the Punjab to celebrate a Hindu festival. A total of 1,650 rounds are fired, killing 379 and wounding 1,137.

1920 - Gandhi proclaims an organised campaign of noncooperation. He urges Indians to boycott British institutions and products, to resign from public office, to withdraw their children from government schools, to refuse to pay taxes, and to forsake British titles and honours.

Gandhi is arrested, but the British are soon forced to release him. He refashions the Congress Party from an elite organisation into an effective political instrument with widespread grassroots support.

As well as satyagraha Gandhi advocates 'swaraj' (self-rule), particularly in the economic sphere. He encourages the revival of cottage industries and begins to use a spinning wheel as a symbol for the return to the simple life and the renewal of domestic industry.

He also advocates 'ahimsa' (nonviolence) and Hindu-Muslim unity. He leads his movement by example, rejecting earthly possessions and living an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. Indians begin to call him Mahatma, or 'Great Soul'.

1921 - The Congress Party gives Gandhi complete executive authority, however after a series of violent confrontations between Indian demonstrators and the British authorities he ends the campaign of civil disobedience.

1922 - He is arrested and imprisoned by the British.

1924 - Gandhi is released from prison and withdraws from politics to set up an ashram (commune), establish a newspaper, and work to help the rural poor and the members of the 'Untouchable' caste.

1927 - The British establish a commission to recommend further constitutional steps towards greater self-rule but fail to appoint an Indian to the panel. In response, the Congress boycotts the commission throughout India and drafts its own constitution demanding full independence by 1930.

1930 - Gandhi proclaims a new campaign of civil disobedience and calls upon the Indian population to refuse to pay taxes, particularly the tax on salt. The campaign centres on a 400 km march to the sea between 12 March and 6 April.

Thousands follow Gandhi as he walks south from his commune at Ahmedabad (the capital of Gujarat) to Dandi (near Surat on the Gulf of Cambay). When they arrive they illegally make salt by evaporating seawater.

"Let the government then, to carry on its rules, use guns against us, send us to prison, hang us," Gandhi says during the march. "But how many can be given such punishment? Try and calculate how much time it will take of Britishers to hang 300 million of persons."

In May, Gandhi is arrested. He is held at Yerovila Jail in Poona for the rest of the year. About 30,000 other members of the independence movement are also held in jail.

Gandhi is named 'Time' magazine's man of the year for 1930.

1931 - Gandhi accepts a truce with the British, calls off the civil disobedience campaign , and travels to London to attend a 'Round Table Conference'. On his return to India he finds that the situation has deteriorated. Hopes that calm will prevail following the negotiations between the Indians and the British are dashed when Gandhi and Nehru are again arrested and imprisoned.

1932 - In September, while still in jail, Gandhi begins a "fast unto death" to improve the status of the Untouchable caste.

1934 - Gandhi formally resigns from politics and is replaced as leader of the Congress by Jawaharlal Nehru.

1935 - Limited self-rule is achieved when the British Parliament passes the Government of India Act. The act gives Indian provinces a system of democratic, autonomous government. However it is only implemented after Gandhi gives his approval.

1937 - In February, when the elections under the Government of India Act bring the Congress to power in a majority of the provinces, the party is faced with a dilemma. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the leader of the defeated Muslim League, asks for the formation of coalition Congress-Muslim League governments in some of the provinces. His request is denied.

The subsequent clash between the Congress and the Muslim League hardens into a conflict between Hindus and Muslims that will ultimately lead to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan.

During the year, Gandhi is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is selected as a candidate for the shortlist but does not win the award. Further unsuccessful nominations follow in 1938, 1939, 1947 and 1948.

1939 - Gandhi again returns to active political life, beginning a fast to support the federation of Indian principalities with the rest of country. The colonial government intervenes and Gandhi's demands are granted.

When the Second World War breaks out in September Britain unilaterally declares India's involvement on the side of the Allies. In response, the Congress withdraws from government and decides it will not to support the British war effort unless India is granted complete and immediate independence. The Muslim League, meanwhile, supports the British during the war.

1940 - The Muslim League adopts the 'Pakistan Resolution' calling for the partition of India into two separate sovereign states, one Muslim, the other Hindu.

1942 - With Japanese forces reaching the eastern borders of India, the British attempt to negotiate with the Indians. However, Gandhi will accept nothing less than independence and calls on the British to leave India.

When the Congress Party passes its 'Quit India' resolution in Bombay on 8 August the entire Congress Working Committee, including Gandhi and Nehru, is arrested and imprisoned. Gandhi is interned by the British but released two years later because of failing health.

Also during 1942 Gandhi officially designates Nehru as his political heir.

1944 - The British Government agrees to independence for India on condition that the two contending nationalist groups, the Muslim League and the Congress Party, resolve their differences.

1946 - Nehru, with Gandhi's blessing, is invited by the British to form an interim government to organise the transition to independence. Fearing it will be excluded from power, the Muslim League declares 16 August 'Direct Action Day'. When communal rioting breaks out in the north partition comes to be seen as a valid alternative to the possibility of civil war.

1947 - On 3 June the British announce plans for the partition of the British Indian Empire into the separate nations of India and Pakistan. Pakistan is further divided into east and west states on either side of India. At midnight on 15 August India and Pakistan formally achieve their sovereignty. Nehru delivers a famous speech on India's "tryst with destiny", but the initial jubilation is soon tempered by violence.

Sectarian riots erupt as Muslims in India flee to Pakistan while Hindus in the Pakistan flee the other way. Hundreds of thousands die in north India, at least 12 million become refugees, and a limited war over the incorporation of Kashmir into India breaks out between the two nation states. Gandhi pleas for peace, using fasts to shame rioting mobs into order.

1948 - On 30 January Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi while on his way to his evening prayer meeting. His assassin is a Hindu who felt that Gandhi was compromising the nation for the cesarean just born Pakistan.

Bhagat, The name that sent terror in the british spines

2005-09-27T21:26:00.000+09:00

When the whole of our Country woke up today, it's just another day for all of us, but 97 years back on the same day a Legend was born. A Legend who was born to sacrifice his life for our country, A legend whose destiny was our country, A legend who lived for only 24 years but his presence is felt till today and will be felt for the rest of the future.

"A man is not dead until he is forgotten",

My Dear Indians, Today is the birthday of the Great Legend "Bhagat Singh". I would be happy if you could pay your tributes to this great Patriot by remembering his Gallant Sacrifice for our country.

Let us not forget him and this day, shall we?

http://www.bhagatsingh.com/

Today September 27th, is the day, A legend was born. A symbol of bravery and a synonym for patriot. The man who was a terror to the british, sent nightmares in their minds. Bhagat Singh: the most famous, the most dashing, the most heart-breaking of our revolutionaries. Hanged for bomb-throwing, at the age of 24, along with co-conspirators Rajguru and Sukhdev. Epitome of one's glory. It is sweet and proper to die for one's country.

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A small tribute:

One evening a boy of three was out for a walk with his father. There was also an elderly man with the father. Chatting they walked on and went beyond the village. Green crop delighted the eyes. The elders were walking along the edge of a field. Not hearing the footsteps of the boy, the father looked back. The boy was sitting on the ground and seemed to be planting some thing. The father became curious.

"What are you doing?" said he.

"Look, father, I shall grow guns all over the field" was the innocent reply of the boy. His eyes shone with the strong faith that guns would grow in the field. Both the elders were struck with wonder at the little boy's words.

The boy was Bhagat Singh who later fought like a hero for India's freedom and sacrificed his life.

Family of Patriots

Bhagat Singh was born in a Sikh family of farmers in the village of Banga of Layalpur district of Punjab (now in Pakistan) on September 27th of 1907. His family stood for patriotism, reform, and freedom of the country. His grandfather Arjun Singh was drawn to Arya Samaj, a reformist movement of Hinduism, and took keen interest in proceedings of the Indian National Congress. Bhagat Singh's father Kishen Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were members of Ghadr Party founded in the U.S. in early years of this century to route British rule in India. Both were jailed for alleged anti-British activities. Ajit Singh had 22 cases against him and was forced to flee to Iran. Thereafter he went to Turkey, Austria, Germany and finally to Brazil to escape Black Water (Kalapani) punishment for his revolutionary activities in India.

The Jalianwala Bagh Massacre

Young Bhagat Singh was brought up in a politically charged state of Punjab which was left with a seething memory of the Jalianwala massacre of more than 400 innocent lives and thousands injured (1919). As a lad of fourteen he went to this spot to collect soil from the park of Jalianwala (bagh) in his lunch box, sanctified by the blood of the innocent and kept it as a memento for life.

Bhagat Singh was studying at the National College founded by Lala Lajpatrai, a great revolutionary leader and reformist. To avoid early marriage, he ran away from home and, became a member of the youth organization Noujawan Bharat Sabha which had memberships of all sects and religions. He met Chandra Shekhar Sharma (Azad), B.K. Dutt and other revolutionaries. They used to print handouts and newspapers in secret and spread political awareness in India through Urdu, Punjabi and English. These were all banned activities in India at the time, punishable with imprisonment.

The Simon Commission, Murder of Lala Lajpatrai and the Revenge

Anti-British feelings were spreading; Indians wanted some proper representation in running the administration of their country to which British reciprocated only on paper. Noticing restlessness was spreading, the British Government appointed a commission under the leadership of Sir John Simon in 1928, to report on political happenings. There was no single Indian member in this commission, and all the political parties decided to boycott the commission when it planned to visit major cities of India.

In Lahore, Lala Lajpatrai (picture) and Pandit Madan Mohan Malavia decided to protest to the commission in open about their displeasure. It was a silent protest march, yet the police chief Scott had banned meetings or processions. Thousands joined, without giving room for any untoward incident. Even then, Scott beat Lala Lajpatrai severely with a lathi (bamboo stick) on the head several times. Finally the leader succumbed to the injuries.

Bhagat Singh who was an eye witness to the morbid scene vowed to take revenge and with the help of Azad, Rajguru and Sukhadev plotted to kill Scott. Unfortunately he killed Mr. Sanders, a junior officer, in a case of mistaken identity. He had to flee from Lahore to escape death punishment.

Bomb in the Assembly

Instead of finding the root cause for discontent of Indians, the British government took to more repressive measures. Under the Defense of India Act, it gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. The act brought in the council was defeated by one vote. Even then it was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the public." No doubt the British were keen to arrest all leaders who opposed its arbitrary actions, and Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, volunteered to throw a bomb in the central assembly where the meeting to pass the ordinance was being held. It was a carefully laid out plot, not to cause death or injury but to draw the attention of the government, that the modes of its suppression could no more be tolerated. It was agreed that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after throwing the bomb.

It was a forgone conclusion in 1929 April 8th at Delhi Central Assembly. Singh and Dutt threw handouts, and bombed in the corridor not to cause injury and courted arrest after shouting slogans Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live, Revolution!)

Meanwhile the killers of Sanders were identified by the treachery of Bhagat Singh's friends who became "Approvers." Bhagat Singh thought the court would be a proper venue to get publicity for the cause of freedom, and did not want to disown the crime. But he gave a fiery statement giving reasons for killing which was symbolic of freedom struggle. He wanted to be shot like a soldier, and not die at the gallows. But, his plea was rejected, and he was hanged on the 23rd of March 1931. He was 24.

Bhagat Singh became a legendary hero for the masses. Innumerable songs were composed about him, and the youth throughout the country made him their ideal. He became a symbol of bravery and a goal to free India.

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When I see a Sikh, I would like to go up to him and say, "I thank you and your tribe for what you have done for our country. I thank you for the Gadar Party, and for the Komagata Maru and for 1948 and 1962 and 1971, for every war in which your young men spilled their blood for our country." Let me raise a toast to them all. Wahe Guru, my brothers! Sat Sri Akal!

Murali

Independence Day Message

2005-08-15T23:23:00.000+09:00

Wish you all a Very Happy Independence Day.

Today is a day to take an oath. Whatever be the government, be it of your choice or not, Its the nation which is bigger than the individual. We shud be wedded to the nation and work for achieving the dream of a JUST SOCIETY free from fear, free from terrorism, free from communal riots and free from food and water scarcity. The enigmatic spirit of the Indus-Sarasvati civilization shud live on.

Swami Vivekananda once said that if he was given, but a hundred committed youths, he would work miracles: and those committed youths exist now, both in India and abroad, and they will never give up.

I once read somewhere that expatriates harbour 'Dangerously Romantic' notions about their home countries. I think this is true. It is sweet and proper to die for one's country, isn't it?.

When I look back, I feel that, we have come a long way in the last 58 years. We have achieved so many things on our way to 2005. But, is it enough? Not at all. Infact, the last 58 years has changed India from what it ought to have been. It is so different from the dreams of both Bose as well as Gandhi. It is different from both Patel's and Nehru's. There have been many turn arounds, sacrifices, wrong doing, wrong decisions, betrayals, many valour and what not.

We could have achieved so many. Yet, so little has been. We have not lived upto our potential. We have a hard task ahead. Yet, it is not unreachable.

Each one of us have a job at hand. We have a common responsibility.

We need to give the next generation a proper environment. Motivate them, Extend them the support they need. Each one of them have an infinite source of energy. As our President told, teach them
entrepreneurship. Teach them not to give up, instill courage as their conviction.

Don't feed fish to them. Teach them fishing. They will bring whales in return.

Today is a day to remember the sacrifices made to realise our freedom. The price our fore-fathers paid to achieve it is not meager. It was not just the Mahatma or his leutenant Nehru who got us the freedom. It was a national achievement by the collective efforts of innumerable citizens both at home and abroad. Patriotism is not anyone's monopoly. Anyone who is true to India is patriotic. Anyone who pays his tax is patriotic. Anyone who doesn't budge for corruption is patriotic. Its every parents responsibility to give the nation a responsible citizen.

Every parent shud teach them the truth. Teach them the philosophies of both Bose and Gandhi, Patel and nehru. And Teach them not to do their blunders. We have enough of them.

We need to take an oath. We will not do the same historical blunders and resolve the present crisises. Like,

- Prithviraj Chauhan let a defeated Mahmud Ghori go scott free only to be killed by the same bugger later. India's sense of forgiveness shud not come at times of war. When you hit the opponent, hit him hard, so that he perishes or never even dares to think of us again.
- Dara Shikoh did the same mistake and got murdered by Aurangazeb
- Similarly The Vijayanagar empire got betrayed and went down inspite of winning and leaving them free.
- Indian fought fellow-Indian and permitted the wily European to bleed the nation dry
- After a few mongols invaded china, the chinese started building the Great wall of China. Not by a single king. but, by a series of kings over a century. Why weren't that kind of unity among us then? Why didn't we build the Great wall of India to prevent invation from persia?
- The natural wall in the name of Himalayas in the north is turning into a natural weapon for China now. What are we going to do for that? Are we going to heal it after we get burnt? or are we going to inject vaccination before something happens?
- We shud have the killer instinct like Subash Chandra Bose and not be like him in not having a good second rung leadership.
- We shud not quit like he quit the INC after a difference with Gandhi. If not for that, the history would have been different today.
- We shud not give up like Patel did when Nehru took charge of kashmir issue in 1948.
- We are here to stay, we are here to make India a better place to live in, a place to be dreamt of like Baaber used to dream about India in his childhood days.
- We shud not allow another Jinnah, Nehru and gandhi to split us in the name of religion.
- We need to teach Vande Maataram along with Janagana mana.
- Teach the forgotten song "Kadam Kadam Badayega", which was INA's inspiring song. [A very rare one]
- "The nation is bigger than the individual" --- We shud tattoo this in
our heart. Thaayinum peridu Thaayagam, iduve nam thaaraga mantram.

Like Martin Luther King said, we have a dream, and in the end, we shall overcome. Yes, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. For all of us. Never Never Never Give up !!!

Think Big and Dare to Dream. The future is ours. We cannot rewrite India's history. But, we can surely make India's future history.

Jai Hind .

Murali

The Father of Indian Unrest: Tilak Maharaj

2005-07-23T00:03:00.000+09:00

Tilak Maharaj

"Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it" -- these are the words from a fearless crusader of India's Independence, Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak's contribution to modern India stands on par with that of Mahatma Gandhi's. His role in Congress and advocating Home Rule for India were enormous. His newspaper (Kesari) founded in 1881 is going strong even today. Hundreds of schools in India were result of his vision. We owe the mass celebration of the Ganesh festival (see: Ganesh Chaturthi) only to Tilak.

Tilak Maharaj was the inspiration to Savarkar and thousands of nationalists like V.O.Chidambaram and crores of Indians. Although Gandhi accepted Gokhale as his mentor, in practice, he adopted all of Tilak's ideas of Swadeshi and of social reform. He may have passed away in 1920. But, his vision and seeds are giving fruits even today.

A good leader is a one who creates next ring of leaders and a great leader is a one who inspires others. Tilak was a great leader. When Tilak passed away, 200,000 mourners assembled on Chowpati beach of Bombay, without a single untoward incident. It is very hard to condense the great man's contribution to our country.

He didn't believe in feeding fish for the hungry, but he taught them fishing.

"Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!" were the fiery words of Tilak which roused the sleeping nation to action, making Indian people aware of their political plight under a foreign rule. Tilak did not question the British Sovereignty nor his demands rebellious or revolutionary. All he was asking was favorable conditions in India, to enable people to learn to govern themselves. May be all over the world, the separatist forces should follow his vision and define freedom as ability to govern one's land. But the handful rulers who ruled India's millions thought otherwise. They thought that Tilak was whipping a rebellion and he was imprisoned twice; two years for the first and six during the second. They said, he had committed treason.

Tilak's mother wished for a son, and undertook strenuous fasting and and strict religious observances in worship of the Sun God. Tilak was born on 23.07.1856 in Ratnagiri, a small coastal town in 1856 in a middle class family. The boy who was born by the grace of the Sun God, was instrumental in making the sunset in the British Empire!

At an early age he was convinced that the educational system the British provided for the Indians was not at all adequate. After graduation and a law degree, he helped found a school which laid emphasis on nationalism. He started a news paper 'Kesari' which tried to teach Indians of their glorious past and reminded them to be self reliant.

The concept of Swaraj had yet to blossom in the minds of the people. They had to be made to feel that thirst for independence. Patriotism had to be nurtured. To lay a strong foundation for a new way of life, an educational institution reflecting Indian culture had to be estab lished. EveryIndian had to be taught about Indian culture and national ideals. Good citizens can be moulded only through good education.

The British used all the native raw materials to run their factories in England and sold the finished products to India, keeping the India an ever dependant country. In the process, all the self-employing industries of India like spinning, weaving, glass making, sugar ,dyeing, paper making were destroyed. People became destitute for no fault of theirs to help an empire become richer and stronger. The people's blind faith that British rule was God's gift to India had to be wiped out.

The educational institution planned and founded by Tilak is like a banyan tree. The little seedling planted by him, has grown into a gigantic tree with many branches.

Tilak tried to inpart life into the nation through four mantras.
(1) Boycott of foreign goods
(2) National Education
(3) Self Government
(4) Swadeshi or self reliance

He realized that mere protest against British rule was not going to help and insisted on native production and reliance. He roared, "We have no arms, but there is no necessity. But our strong political weapon is boycott (of foreign goods) Organize your powers and then go to work so that they cannot refuse you what you demand"

He founded Deccan Education Society to give better education as per the country's needs. He wrote scathing articles over inhuman punishment meted out to the nationalist youth who protested the division of Bengal (VangaBhanga). Indian newspapers were not to criticize the British policy in those days and two articles titled "Has the Government lost its head ?" and "To Rule is not to wreak vengeance" appearing in Kesari landed him in jail, after a namesake trial. For the first time in British history, intellectuals in England (including the great orientalist, Max Muller) were able to convince the Government that the trial was unfair.

But the second time (1908) was no different. Tilak advocated his own case and when the judgment of six years of black-waters (kalapani) imprisonment was pronounced, he gave the famous statement : " All I wish to say is that in spite of the verdict of the jury, I maintain my innocence. There are higher powers that rule the destiny of men and nations. It may be the will of Providence that the cause I represent may prosper by suffering than by remaining free"

Tilak was immensely popular through writing and through social work. His idea of national festivals took shape in Shivaji Utsav and Ganesh Utsav which were instrumental in bringing people together culturally - irrespective of their caste and creed. His trial and punishment led to national upheaval. But the British were careful enough to arrange everything in secret and the judgment was delivered at midnight and Tilak was taken under military vigil to be deported to Burma (present Myanmar, which was also under British control)

Tilak wrote his famous commentary on Bhagavad-Gita, the sacred book of Hindus. He stressed that Gita taught action (karma), nothing but action. Religion or spiritual message were secondary and the need of the hour was to arise and fight. This was Lord Krishna's message to Arjuna. Tilak's wife, his companion of 45 years died at Pune and the news reached him in Madalay prison Burma only after a week. He had sacrificed his personal life, his profession, name and fame for the sake of the country.

By the time Tilak completed his six year prison term, he was the unquestioned leader of the Indians - the uncrowned king. He was known as the Tilak Maharaj.

There was unprecedented jubilation after Tilak was free and back in India. Civil resistance, the concept of Swaraj, and nationalism had taken deep roots. Tilak's suffering did not go in vain. A band of leaders, full of zeal for nationalism and self-sacrifice was coming up. National schools were coming up in all corners of India. He paved the way for Khadi (hand woven cloth), picketing against foreign goods and alcoholism. His death in 1920 brought Mahatma Gandhi on the scene and Gandhiji gave a concrete shape to Tilak's ideas of Swadeshi.

The court which convicted Tilak bears a plaque that says, " The action of Tilak has been justified as the right of every individual to fight for his country. Those two convictions have gone into oblivion- oblivion reserved by history for all unworthy deeds".

We seem have a very short memory. We usually remember the last thing that happens in life. That's the reason why politicians get rid of the 5 horrible years with a small good work at the end of their term. The list of those who got us freedom is so long. Tilak is one who has done impeccable work, silently.

Gandhi might be the "Father of the nation", but British described Tilak as "The Father of Indian Unrest". He was the one who sowed the seeds of nationalism.

Let us not forget the root cause and not forget that we are one as a nation because of all these great souls.

P.S: courtesy http://www.kamat.com/

Mr Advani: What is it?

2005-07-20T18:58:00.000+09:00

Advani: Jinnah is secular

Hindus wanted a united India. They voted against Partition but Partition did happen. They wanted to retain Kashmir, the land of Maharishi Kashyap and the seat of Sharda Vidya, but two-thirds of Kashmir was snatched from them and from what remained, Hindus were driven out, thus dispossessing them of their home and hearth in a truncated, Independent India.

They had three great deities -- or rather three dreams -- in the words of socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia -- Ram, Krishna and Shiva. All the three holy places associated with them, had mosques built over them by the invaders.

After Independence, the Hindus naturally wanted to have their places of worship returned to them as a goodwill gesture by Muslims who otherwise got India partitioned.

But not only were they snubbed and humiliated for such a demand, even the greatest of their leaders in politics declared the day of a first Hindu resistance and effort to possess what historically belonged to them, as the saddest day of his life.

The Partition of the motherland and the resultant mayhem was not his saddest day but the day of repossessing a place of great significance to the Hindus became the 'most unfortunate' day for the man whom the world considered a Hindu nationalist leader.

It is obvious that any leader who is visiting the mausoleum of the father of the nation of a hostile host country should be nice and say decent words in his memory. Jinnah could have been justifiably appreciated without getting into these controversies.

In comparison, one must salute the contemporary Pakistani leadership for their single-minded missionary zeal to improve relations with India without compromising on their issues. President Pervez Musharraf visited Rajghat, but didn't say anything about Gandhi's secularism or his struggle to "HELP" newly born Pakistan despite facing disapproval from both his deputies Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel.

They remain committed to the theory of an Islamic Pakistan as envisioned by Jinnah, the qaid-e-azam, to make Kashmir a core issues between the two nations, to get the Hurriyat leaders without a passport or visa to Pakistan and declare it an evidence of India's recognition of Kashmir as a disputed territory. They are never -- even in a light 'mood' -- apologetic or sad about Kargil.

Their firebrand leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman visited India and met RSS leaders, but never spoke a single word in praise of the RSS or its founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar. He didn't find it necessary to say so for the sake of friendship. He was careful not to express regret on the demolition of hundreds of Hindu temples in Pakistan in the wake of the December 6 demolition of the Babri Masjid and even earlier.

He said all good things, expressed decent gestures, evoked friendly amiable body language -- a smiling and affectionate face -- but not an inch was given on the core issues. The Pakistanis are never apologetic about having a two-tier constitutional arrangement for Hindus and other non-Muslim minorities in Pakistan which makes them virtually second class citizens.

It is not necessary to covert to win friendship. Stand up firmly and uncompromisingly on your issues and yet strive for friendship. That alone lasts. The 'converted' can only have pity and a 'protectionist' smile, but not a friendly relationship based on parity. That is the policy which makes Pakistanis a solid block and successful on Kashmir.

Advani, they say that once you reach 40, your brain turns a dog. It seems your brain is turning into 2 dogs while you reach 80. What happenned to you? You have spoiled all the good work that you did in the past 60 years of public life. Ultimately all that people will remember is your appeasement to Pakistan. If you had really felt what you belived was right and true, you wouldn't have spoken in such a haste. Your speach was unprecedented and unnecessary. What else is it other than appeasement? Was it so much necessary that you had to call him secular to wash away your so called involvement in qaid-e-azam's assasination attempt?

Like Musharraf, you must have met the Pakistani sessionist leaders from Balochistan, Sindhis and NWFP who have a warmth and tremendous goodwill for India. Instead you met only those whom the pak Govt wanted you to meet. As an Indian you failed in your duties to your motherland. You did neither good to your Nation nor your community. Shame on you by calling yourself the Iron Man, next to Sardar and shame on you by calling yourself the sole reprsentative of the Hindus.

Walk your talk. Or else, don't talk at all.

You have no moral right to talk anymore. No moral right to criticise the UPA govt on communal lines. Do some introspection Mr.Advani. UP was in BJP's hands and so was Uttaranchal, which had the most revered pilgrim centres like Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Mathura, Vrindavan, Kashi and Ayodhya. Not a single religious township or temple got the attention of the Hindu nationalists.

Gangotri, visited by lakhs from all over the world, does not have power supply even today or a workable telephone connection. Ayodhya, Mathura and Vrindavan are the filthiest towns and its temples remain badly mismanaged under government control. Though you demand that Hindu temples be freed from State control, not a single Hindu nationalist state government has yet started a plan to de-control Hindu temples in their states and make them a 'shining example' of their 'vision, agenda, programme' and all that which gets an entry into their idea of Ram Rajya.

In a way it is good for India as well as BJP that it is out of power. They say power corrupts people. But, it has also blind folded BJP. The time till 2009 is a good time for readdressing the basic things and re-organising the party. But with a leader who is clueless about where to start, what to do and above all how to lead, I doubt if BJP can rise back to their origional vigour in 1997.

A weak opposition party is not good for the nation. A strong BJP is in the national as well as in the congress's interest. A weak congress has destabilised India and has pushed BJP out of power. In the same sense, a weak BJP might push congress out of power.

God only can help India !!!

Murali

BJP and VHP damaged the VIP lounge in Indore Airport

2005-07-07T00:43:00.000+09:00

BJP's bandh affects train services

Agreed, attack on the make shift temple was a major security lapse. So, how do you react to it? By damaging public property? My foot. Shame on them to call themselves a "Party with a difference". A demonstration is fine, but not this. This amounts to goondaism amd shud not be tolerated.

Look at Atal. He has asked to look into what went wrong first. This is what is the need of the hour and keep communal harmony. Instead, instilling hatred and damaging public property... stinks.

Switzerland honours Abdul Kalam

2005-06-07T19:24:00.000+09:00

Switzerland has declared May 26 as Science Day in honour of our President A P J Abdul Kalam. The Swiss government, considering his vast expertise in science and technology, announced this following his arrival in Geneva on May 25th. Switzerland considers Kalam as the father of India's missile programme.

Swiss honour Kalam, May 26 is Science Day

Switzerland, the only country not to participate in World War II has declared May 26 as Science Day in honour of our President inspite of knowing that he is the father of our missile programme. This displays the greatness of both India as well as Switzerland. For Switzerland understands and believes that India will use it only for defense and it also sees Kalam as a scientist and not just as a President. Back in 2003, when Kalam visited Bulgaria, similar sentiments were shared by the political elite as well as the students whom Kalam met.

Kalam never ceases to amuse and inspire wherever he goes.

May his dreams of India 2020 come true. May God bless him and India.

- Murali

RSS is Communal, Muslim League is Secular !!!

2005-06-07T18:35:00.000+09:00

RSS and VHP are Communal, While Muslim League and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is Secular, Wah !!!

If Vajpayee and Advani share the dais with Praveen Tagodia and Ashok Singhal and talk about the welfare and development of Hindus, they are communal. While Sonia and Laloo sharing the dais with Ulama-i-Hind leaders and talking about reservations to muslims in each and every Govt corridor are hailed as secular. They say, they are the saviours of Muslims.

I don't understand this statement, "We are the saviours of Muslims". What do muslims need to be "saved" from? In this largely peaceful hindu-majority nation, muslims are allowed to pray, practise and profess their religion. They forget the fact that the Bhagalpur incident was in laloo's reign.

Has anyone heard about Hindu-Parsi or Hindu-Christain riots of the type Hindu-Muslim riots in some parts of our country.It is clear that these riots are motivated, mainly by those who want a solid vote share from these Muslim Voters by frightening them. I appeal to Muslims to wake up & be aware of these Hypocrites.

If it were not for Hindus, the community would have been crushed to the graves. It is largely due to the patience and secular credentials of the hindus by nature, that the country is still a multi ethnic and multi cultural truely democratic nation.

In whole of this planet, Only in this holy country, Hindus will pay for Muslim's Huj pilgrimage subsidy, while Hindus going to Vaishnodevi temple will pay Rs.2000 for two night stay in J&K.

You deciede who is truely secular and who is communal.

- Murali

Walk your talk Mr.Advani ?

2005-06-07T15:52:00.000+09:00

Advani's visit to Pakistan is historic. Both in timing as well as in temparament. He had the golden oppurtunity to show the Pakistanis what we as Indians really are and what we feel for Pakistan. But, like Congress, he too has fumbled when he had to actually deliver it.

If BJP and the larger sangh parivar dreamt of an Akhand Bharat, why shy away from it? He could have told the media that we couldn't digest the reality that the nation was cut into pieces in the name of religion then. But, today, times have changed. We have realised that physical violations cannot be undone. Today India, pakistan and Bangladesh are 3 independent soverign nations and that is a reality and it cannot be undone. This isn't betrayal you know? The then dream was the result of love for the nation and not for the religion. Today, laying off the dream is again not a betrayal. It is in the larger interest of the nation, coming in terms with reality.

I don't see anything wrong in that. If we were together, we would have been the biggest democracy ever in this planet, the largest and the most powerful standing army with intelligent scientists, Nuclear weapons, strongest cricket team, largest in agriculture, the spending on defence would have been less and more on development would have been there, and what not? Probably, Even the communal riots would have been less. Anyhow, now that it cannot be changed, we come in terms with the reality. What is wrong in saying this, Mr.Advani?

Why shy away from telling that, "Yes, I dreamt of Akhand Bharat and I believed in the beauty of my dream" ? But today it is different and we dont harp back on dreams and history.

The man who prefers to be known as the BJP hawk or the Iron Man of Modern India has proved to be no different from any other politician. How could you betray, saying that you never had that dream?

Then, Calling Jinnah as the man who created history is true in every word and spirit. But, was he really secular? Advani, you derive justification from Jinnah's speech to the Pakistani Parliment. Is it adequately justified in his actions? Or do you really believe deep down in your blood and nerve that Jinnah was infact secular? NO. How could you ... ?

Advani, it was an oppurtunity lost. It was a golden oppurtunity and you missed it. You need not do these to gain a moderate image. Atleast not this way. Shame on you. Only a weak leader will do this. This is what you were calling all these days as appeasement. And you have proved no different.

- Murali

UPA - Yearly Report Card

2005-06-02T17:50:00.000+09:00

Let us see what the UPA government achieved in the last 1 year or so. Its achievements, failures, advantages and handicaps.

A Prelude:
The UPA Govt inherited an upbeat economy with a remarkable GDP growth rate touching 8. It inherited an impeccable stature that India enjoyed in the international arena with India enjoying a good relationship with US, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and started having good relations with China. The Cross Border relationship with Pakistan and Bangladesh were about to get better.

The sensex was picking up, the FDI was destined to soar new heights day after day, the manufacturing industry was picking up and the infra-structure was picking up.

In spite of these, the NDA lost on two major grounds. Lack of reforms in the unorganised sector and Agriculture. They made blunders in not giving the required importance and attention to these 2 sectors.

So, lets see what the UPA changed. We will give them a thumps-up if they retain the good and cure the struggling sectors.

Lets see the achievements:

1. For the year as a whole, total agricultural production has,risen marginally by 1.1 % (from around 9 % preceeding year). With agriculture still a large portion of the GDP it is difficult to raise the GDP without much improvement in the agri sector. But, this much is achieved inspite of Tsunami and the irregular monsoons. Good work farmers.

2. Fiscal deficit decreased in 2004-2005 from 9.4 % of GDP to 7.9 % in 2004-05 despite higher oil prices and tsunami. The credit goes to the Financial Minister, Mr.P.Chidambaram

3. Employment guarantee bill which seeks to do something for the marginalised. But, to claim this as an achievement is yet to be seen.

4. The achievments in the petroleum sector is remarkable. The Petro minister Mr.Mani Shankar Aiyer has won many accolades in the African, South American continents and the middle east. He surely deserves the credit.

5. Dayanidhi Maran's contribution in the Information sector is noteworthy, with his tie ups with the Japanese and the chinese industries. The introduction of "TamilNadu One" and the dream of "India One" is a great leap.

6. Kamal nath, the Commerce and industrial minister has done a wonderful job in the WTO meetings by taking the lead within the developing nations. His brand slogan "Served from India" is picking up speed.

7. Taking VAT one step more closer to implementation.

8. The right to information bill is enacted into law.

9. Kashmir, has seen the start of a Bus service from Srinagar to Muzafarrabad. After about half a century the people of Kashmir have a chance to meet their loved ones and relatives. There is nothing equivalent like seeing smiles in the face of ordinary men, who have lived thro' terror for the past decade and a half.

Did they go wrong anywhere?

Ofcourse they went wrong in more than one.

1. Though the Tsunami relief works were remarkable, they changed their stand on accepting the international aid too very frequently. Turning down might be a matter of pride, but, shud be done without irritating the helping hand.

2. Democracy. Shame on us. The high profile drama enacted by both BJP and the Congress in Goa in the name of safe guarding democracy has brought an irreversible black mark on the nation's pride as the largest democracy.

3. Alas, Congress didn't stop with Goa. Its continuation in Jharkand and recently in Bihar is not even work mentioning here. How can they even think of doing this in this information era? 1975 was a different time. Today is the media age.

4. PM, the supposed to be the highest authority in the Govt doesn't seem to enjoy the real power. What is the point in having the Potential without the real Power?

5. The communists have dragged him in every possible encounter. Be it the appointment of Montek singh ahluwalia or the dis-investment. Infact, the communists declared within hours of the election results that they will scrap the dis-investment ministry. What signal will this send to the investors both FII and FDI or whatever?

6. There was no significant development in the transport infra-structure. No budget was allocated for the golden quadrilateral project. Isn't it a Silly behaviour? Is this a matured Democracy? Scrapping the previous govt's devlopment activities isn't prudent or doesn't serve the ulterior motive of nation building.

7. Railways. Its better not to say anything about this.

8. Agricultural reforms. Yet to see an output.

9. Terrorism: They revoked Pota. Started negotiations with the Naxalites. But, this has not served in the national interest. They have actually become stronger and more open. The Maoists are getting stronger in Bihar, Jharkand and the PWG is getting a strong hold in Telangana.

10. An Indian soildair was shot dead by the Bangladeshi rifles. There was no action taken or it was not taken to the bangladeshi higher ups politically. The same mistake was done by the BJP govt in 2001. Doing the same mistake again amounts to foolishness.

11. Nepal: We again lost the train in pushing our agenda in Nepal. Nepal is shoing signs of going the Tibet way. It might soon be lost to the Maoists. Shutting the doors by pushing hte democratic agenda and revoking it back was foolish both ways. If Pushing Democracy is not in the national interest then, dump democracy and see the nation as a whole.

12. The relations with the US, Russia and the G8 were at historic high at 2003. But, Natwar seems to be not doing the job at his best. The relations have started soaring. The reactions to the sale of F16 to Pak wasn't prudent.

Advantages of this Govt:

They have some great advantages when compared to the previous govt.

1. The finance ministry is looking impressive with the PM himself and another intelligent, straight forward P.Chidambaram in the Finance Miniter and a much better Montek singh Ahluwalia in the place of K.C.Panth as the planning commionner.

2. Mani Shankar Aiyar is at his carreer best as the prtroleum minister.

3. Dayanidhi Maran proving his father Murasoli as an able executive than a politician.

4. Kamal Nath again pushing the agenda quite well in the international market.

Handicaps:

This Govt had some bigtime blows.

1. Communists ... lesser said the better

2. Lalu .. again no need to give reasons

3. Mulayam ... his muslim appeasement is beyond stinking

4. The year end (2004) seems to have been a curse on the nation. the nation witnessed the death of two great souls and thousands of innocent ones to Tsunami.

5. The legendary P V Narasimha Rao left India. He was not even given a proper cremation in Delhi. As Nehru once said in his speech after losing 1962 war, I am saying this... My heart goes to the family of Narasimha Rao...

6. Another one was the death of J N Dixit. National Security Advisor to the PM. If he had been there, ManMohan wouldn't have done the blunder with Nepal. People realise only when we are absent. Dixit, the nation misses you. Misses you now, that your successor is no where near your potentiality.

Any pessimist will ridicule saying that the direction India is heading towards is bound to get doomed.

But, I beg to differ. India will progress irrespective of who is in power. With a powerful media, once the tranparency bill comes into full action, things are bound to get changed. Though the pace of reforms are slow, we will keep progressing.

We need to appreciate ManMohan's assessment. Though people might think that he is moderate and humble by awarding 60%, I would still say that he is generous. I would only award 45% to this Govt's performance. This is surely a thumps down.

Yet, this govt has passed the first test, though not with an impeccable performance.

- Murali

Mahatma Gandhi did far more good for mankind than a thousand Winston Churchills

2005-05-23T19:00:00.000+09:00

Excerpt from The Hindu May 23 1955. Published on May 23rd 2005 In Hindu.

Bevan flays Churchill
Mr. Aneurin Bevan, the labour left winger, declared in Hemel Hampstead ( Hertfordshire ) on May 20 that Mahatma Gandhi "did far more good for mankind than a thousand Winston Churchills." Addressing an election meeting Mr. Bevan spoke of the Labour party Government granting Independence to India and said once Winston Churchill had once described Mahatma Gandhi as a "half naked Fakir." Many other Tory family fortunes in Great Britain were founded on the loot in India and "they are angry because the opportunities for imperialist loot are going."

- Courtesy T.V.THYAGARAJAN, Coimbatore

Remember Jallianwallah Bagh !!!

2005-04-12T23:32:00.000+09:00

This is the year 5107 in the Hindu calendar, for Kali Yuga began in 3102 BCE.

Spring always brings cheer. It is hard to be gloomy when there is a profusion of flowers and buds all around, and the light, unnamed green of young leaves. We Tamizhs start the new year with such a wonderful atmosphere. So do Vishu approaches Kerala (kani konna) and I have no idea what Punjabis do for Baisakhi, which falls on roughly the same day, but I always remember Jallianwallah Bagh.

Remember Jallianwallah Bagh!

One Baisakhi day, 86 years ago it was: April 13, 1919 -- a day that will live in infamy. At that walled garden with only a single exit, in Amritsar, in the Punjab, ten thousand people gathered, mostly to celebrate the arrival of Spring; women, children and old people included. At the end of the day, 1,579 lay dead or wounded, fired at, without warning, on orders from a British general, one General Dyer. 1,600 bullets, 1,579 casualties. What a precision !!! Good Job, isn't it?

This was the pivotal moment in the Freedom Struggle, this barbaric act!!! Clearly, Indian lives meant nothing to the British.

I AM ALL FOR FORGIVENESS, BUT LET US NOT FORGET, SHALL WE?

For it was the Sikhs of India's Punjab who bore the brunt of the struggle for freedom, fighting and dying in their hundreds and thousands to defend the motherland against aliens, as they had done for centuries against persians. From the famous like Udham Singh and Bhagat Singh, to the unknown like Kartar Singh Sarabha, it is Sikhs whom the nation owes the greatest debt of gratitude.

Udham Singh, who was at Jallianwallah Bagh that afternoon, a teenager who helped save some of the many wounded. He stalked O'Dwyer, the British governor of the Punjab at the time, and slew him thirteen years later. Executed by the British.

Kartar Singh Sarabha, student at the University of California, Berkeley, member of San Francisco's revolutionary Gadar Party. Tried for sedition in the Lahore Conspiracy case, convicted and executed at the age of 19.

Bhagat Singh: the most famous, the most dashing, the most heart-breaking of our revolutionaries -- rakta-sakshi, blood-witness. Hanged for bomb-throwing, at the age of 23, along with co-conspirators Rajguru and Sukhdev. Epitome of one's glory. It is sweet and proper to die for one's country, isn't it?

Let us not forget them and this day, shall we?

- Murali.

Time is running out for India.

2005-04-12T22:59:00.000+09:00

Western diplomats sense a drift under the UPA, whose national aims and goals are missing or hazy in the foreign-policy realm. “Under the NDA, there was a definite sense of direction,” said a Western diplomat. “With the US especially, there was rapid and concerted cultivation of friendship.”

The best thing under the NDA, according to diplomats, was follow-ups. The chain of relationship-building went systematically higher up, first the foreign secretary, followed by the foreign minister, sometimes the NSA, Brajesh Mishra, intervening with a visit, then L.K.Advani going, as the number two person in government, capped by the prime minister, then A.B.Vajpayee. “There was great cabinet synergy,” said a diplomat. “There was team work.”

Under the UPA, it is each to his/ her own, but it is worst between prime minister Manmohan Singh and Natwar Singh. Natwar Singh does not keep the PM in the picture about foreign policy, keeps all the flowing knowledge to himself, and operates the foreign office like a fiefdom.

At least when J.N.Dixit was NSA, the prime minister had a handle or a fix on the more sensitive areas of foreign affairs, relationship-building with the US, China, and other powers, nuclear policy, calibrating ties with Pakistan, handling the neighbourhood, and so on. Till Dixit was alive, Natwar Singh resented his authority, and Dixit’s too-eager successor, M.K.Narayanan, is a policeman who does not understand foreign affairs or strategic issues.

As diplomats who are concerned about India say, the Cold War is over, and every great and middle power is on its own. Every country is pursuing relations that best suit their interests, but India among the major emerging powers is hopelessly floundering. In a fractured internal polity, a disunited government or a cabinet at war can survive, and there is no threat to the UPA, but India is in a terrible mess internationally. The PM has to seize control of the government, it is the desperate hour, and stamp his authority on defence, foreign policy, nuclear and economic issues. He should exercise his right and privilege to sack those in the cabinet who undermine his authority.

For More information visit http://www.newsinsight.net/archivedebates/nat2.asp?recno=1114

Simple, Well-Articulated Vision can Work Wonders.

2005-03-24T21:22:00.000+09:00

A nice article from one of my most favourite colomnists Rajeev Srinivasan.

Indians have the processes to manage anarchy, more or less. If a couple of ingredients can be added to the pot, such as discipline and, perhaps most importantly, self-confidence, there will be no stopping India.

Discipline and self-belief arise from a strongly internalised set of beliefs, the moral equivalent of the American vanity of 'manifest destiny'. If we believe, we can work wonders. And the belief has to be straightforward and easy to understand. Some of the best examples come from the world of business; and since business is in effect war by other means, the lessons learned there are useful in statecraft, too.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/mar/24rajeev.htm

Lest we forget this day - 23rd March

2005-03-23T10:46:00.000+09:00

Today March 23th, is the day, A Man turned a legend, His life became a way of living for some and inspired many more to fight for Swaraj and suraj. A symbol of bravery and a synonym for patriot. The man who was a terror to the british, sent nightmares in their minds came to a drastic and a dramatic end on March 23rd, 1931.

*** Bhagat Singh ***

The most famous, the most dashing, the most heart-breaking of our revolutionaries. Hanged for bomb-throwing, at the age of 24, along with co-conspirators Rajguru and Sukhdev. Epitome of one's glory. It is sweet and proper to die for one's country.

Let us not forget him and this day, shall we?

A small tribute
----------------

One evening a boy of three was out for a walk with his father. There was also an elderly man with the father. Chatting they walked on and went beyond the village. Green crop delighted the eyes. The elders were walking along the edge of a field. Not hearing the footsteps of the boy, the father looked back. The boy was sitting on the ground and seemed to be planting some thing. The father became curious.

"What are you doing?" said he.

"Look, father, I shall grow guns all over the field" was the innocent reply of the boy. His eyes shone with the strong faith that guns would grow in the field. Both the elders were struck with wonder at the little boy's words.

The boy was Bhagat Singh who later fought like a hero for India's freedom and sacrificed his life.

Family of Patriots

Bhagat Singh was born in a Sikh family of farmers in the village of Banga of Layalpur district of Punjab (now in Pakistan) on September 27th of 1907. His family stood for patriotism, reform, and freedom of the country. His grandfather Arjun Singh was drawn to Arya Samaj, a reformist movement of Hinduism, and took keen interest in proceedings of the Indian National Congress. Bhagat Singh's father Kishen Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were members of Ghadr Party founded in the U.S. in early years of this century to route British rule in India. Both were jailed for alleged anti-British activities. Ajit Singh had 22 cases
against him and was forced to flee to Iran. Thereafter he went to Turkey, Austria, Germany and finally to Brazil to escape Black Water (Kalapani) punishment for his revolutionary activities in India.

The Jalianwala Bagh Massacre

Young Bhagat Singh was brought up in a politically charged state of Punjab which was left with a seething memory of the Jalianwala massacre of more than 400 innocent lives and thousands injured (1919). As a lad of fourteen he went to this spot to collect soil from the park of Jalianwala (bagh) in his lunch box, sanctified by the blood of the innocent and kept it as a memento for life.

Bhagat Singh was studying at the National College founded by Lala Lajpatrai, a great revolutionary leader and reformist. To avoid early marriage, he ran away from home and, became a member of the youth organization Noujawan Bharat Sabha which had memberships of all sects and religions. He met Chandra Shekhar Sharma (Azad), B.K. Dutt and other revolutionaries. They used to print handouts and newspapers in secret and spread political awareness in India through Urdu, Punjabi and English. These were all banned activities in India at the time, punishable with imprisonment.

The Simon Commission, Murder of Lala Lajpatrai and the Revenge

Anti-British feelings were spreading; Indians wanted some proper representation in running the administration of their country to which British reciprocated only on paper. Noticing restlessness was spreading, the British Government appointed a commission under the leadership of Sir John Simon in 1928, to report on political happenings. There was no single Indian member in this commission, and all the political parties decided to boycott the commission when it planned to visit major cities of India.

In Lahore, Lala Lajpatrai (picture) and Pandit Madan Mohan Malavia decided to protest to the commission in open about their displeasure. It was a silent protest march, yet the police chief Scott had banned meetings or processions. Thousands joined, without giving room for any untoward incident. Even then, Scott beat Lala Lajpatrai severely with a lathi (bamboo stick) on the head several times. Finally the leader succumbed to the injuries.

Bhagat Singh who was an eye witness to the morbid scene vowed to take revenge and with the help of Azad, Rajguru and Sukhadev plotted to kill Scott. Unfortunately he killed Mr. Sanders, a junior officer, in a case of mistaken identity. He had to flee from Lahore to escape death punishment.

Bomb in the Assembly

Instead of finding the root cause for discontent of Indians, the British government took to more repressive measures. Under the Defense of India Act, it gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. The act brought in the council was defeated by one vote. Even then it was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the public." No doubt the British were keen to arrest all leaders who opposed its arbitrary
actions, and Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, volunteered to throw a bomb in the central assembly where the meeting to pass the ordinance was being held. It was a carefully laid out plot, not to cause death or injury but to draw the attention of the government, that the modes of its suppression could no more be tolerated. It was agreed that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after throwing the bomb.

It was a forgone conclusion in 1929 April 8th at Delhi Central Assembly. Singh and Dutt threw handouts, and bombed in the corridor not to cause injury and courted arrest after shouting slogans Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live, Revolution!)

Meanwhile the killers of Sanders were identified by the treachery of Bhagat Singh's friends who became "Approvers." Bhagat Singh thought the court would be a proper venue to get publicity for the cause of freedom, and did not want to disown the crime. But he gave a fiery statement giving reasons for killing which was symbolic of freedom struggle. He wanted to be shot like a soldier, and not die at the gallows. But, his plea was rejected, and he was hanged on the 23rd of March 1931. He was just 24. Is it an age to leave this world? But, he thought that it is sweet and right to live and die for one's motherland.

Bhagat Singh became a legendary hero for the masses. Innumerable songs were composed about him, and the youth throughout the country made him their ideal. He became a symbol of bravery and a goal to free India.

Pakistan an endemic disease

2005-03-18T19:05:00.000+09:00

India, Pakistan cross swords at UN

Pakistan has this endemic disease. It will never get cured. Not with this Indian Appeasement. Inspite of giving so much consessions and confidence building measures, They talk so rashly in UN.

On one hand its president is playing the cricket diplomacy. When we invite him, he refuses to come. On the other end, its Permanent representative in Un is talking as though they are some holy ****. When the chairperson gave the time to "Right to Reply," the Indian delegates did not respond to the Pakistani statement. What is this? We should have frowned at them.

First of all, they have no right to talk about that in the UN. If so, it is Pakistan who should withdraw from POK, before a plebisite is held. Why didn't the Indian delegation talk all these? ****ing crooks. Today we are in a war of words age. Words have to be fought with words.

Pakistan is never sincere in its efforts to remain at peace with us. A failed state by itself, it is trying to ruin the entire South Asia with its endemic disease of Jihad and Bleed thy neighbour policy.

Atleast in 1993, we had a good Congress leader who acted on his intuition. But today, we have his student at the top but without neither his intuition nor his power. What is the use of his integrity while the other two are not present ?

Whom should we blame for all this mess? Fate? No. I beg to differ. Its we people who have failed ourselves. We need another Kautilya Today. And the same Arthashastra.

If we continue our appeasement, this will be the result and the price the next generation pays will be much more.

- Murali

Modi Denied Visa by US Administration

2005-03-18T18:37:00.000+09:00

A totally unprecedented and unwarranted move by the US administration. We should never start a tug of war. If we are presented with one, we should never miss it. US is using this as a tool to subvert. It is upto the GOI to take necessary action. It is a superb oppurtunity to raise our international stature. Grab the oppurtunity before the forelock.

A democratically elected leader of a state is denied a visa, while a self proclaimed leader who grabbed the throne through military coup from Pakistan and the leaders of red china where there is absolutely no freedom for religious practise are accorded red carpet welcome.

Only Strength respects Strength. If only we stand heads straight and tall, even cowards will respect us. It is time, we do that. The Indian Govt should shed its political strains with the BJP and act swiftly in the larger interest of the nation. If this can happen to Modi, it can happen to Sonia tomorrow for her husband's alleged involvement in 1984 Sikh riots. Whatever it may be. It is our Internal problem and we should solve it ourselves. We don't need any lessons from US for religious freedom. People might have forgotten But History will always remember US's alleged role in Chile or El Salvador or their recent actions in Iraq and their Human rights violations in Afganistan. Its not their mistake. Its ours. This is what we get in return for our appeasement.

Stand straight or get stink. Its time we hit back.

Why this undue importance ?

2005-03-17T19:23:00.000+09:00

I grew up playing cricket like everyone else in India. I like watching it as much as playing. I hardly played hockey or football. But still, I don't understand why people are so crazy about this game. Here is a genius who has shed his brutality with the bat and has started playing for records. And on the other hand the neighbour is trying to use the game as a way of diplomacy. And above all, our Govt is trying all its might to woo the Man in uniform.

If he wants to watch a game, let him. Let him apply for a visa in the Indian embassy in Islamabad or use his diplomat passport, come to India, watch his men get crushed and go back. Nobody is preventing him. But, why this gossip about he wanting to come to India and our PM grabbing this as an oppurtunity to invite him.

Fine, after Manmohan invited him for the match in Kochi, how dare Mush refuses it? If he can't make it, let him go to hell. Let him forget the dream of coming to India.

This should be told loud and clear.

Only Strength respects Strength. Inspite of being a failed state, the head of the state is posing as though he is some ***. And our Pm is trying to appease. History repeats itself, if we don't pay heed. There is no point in wooing him.

All these in the name of cricket. Shun it. Let's start paying more importance to athletics, football, hocket, gymnastics and other games. Atleast other good sportsmen will get sponsored, who might in turn fetch us olympic medals.

- Murali

UPA: Performance Appraisal

2005-03-09T19:28:00.000+09:00

I am very disappointed with the way the government acted last month. (Feb 2005)

I cannot imagine Congress could go to this extent. Totally attrocious. Even after all this, will the People of India, ever realise the peace and the relative political freedom they enjoyed in the last 6 years? I doubt it.

What is Manmohan doing ? It seems, he was in Kashmir when the results in Bihar and Jharkand were announced. And when Advani called and asked him to intervene, he said, he was yet to know the results and promised to get back immediately after talking to Patil. But, after 4 more hours, when Vajpayee called him to again enquire, Manmohan has told that he couldn't get patil on the phone. I really don't know what to comment on this. What is he, when being the PM, he is not able to talk to his own deputy?

I am happy that Manmohan is on that hot seat. Instead of some crackpot, he is better. But, apart from the finance ministry, he is not bringing any dignity to either the PMO or his seat. But for this, I think it would have been better for the future of the country, had Sonia herself had sat in that seat. Though, it would have caused irrevokable embarrassement to the nation, and a literal slap on our face, people atleast would have realised the blunder they had committed. But, now, It is worse.

On the other hand, the way Natwar has handled the Pakistan and the Nepal situations is also pathetic. How can he compromise in the bus route without insisting on the passport's requirement or how did NDA allow that without any opposition or any discussion in parliment? They were busy fighting on Goa and the state elections and has allowed the nation to go to gutters. And our PM was ill advised on the Nepal front also. We have shut the doors to Nepal. We can neither talk to the King nor to the Maoists now. On this crutial moment, we have lost our best advisor J.N.Dixit.

Not even an year has passed, this govt has squabbled the whole situation.

The only console in the whole of last month was a decent budget from P.Chidambaram. Even he has introduced a ridiculous transaction fee of 0.1% for every transaction worth Rs.10,000. But for that, he has tried to address others with a sane approach.

This month has started with a positive note. With the UPA recommending Governor's rule in Goa and President's rule in Bihar. I hope the law and order in Bihar will improve and the Maoist's will come to their knees and Bihar will start seeing peace and development.

- Murali

Nepal: Shud India stick to its "Democracy" Guns and give way for Maoism !!!

2005-02-24T20:27:00.000+09:00

India has threatened Nepal by announcing its move to cut arms aid. India, Inspite of being the biggest arms supplier to Nepal wasn't able to help its previous democratically elected Govt in solving its problems with Maoists.

The reason for King Gyanendra to take over the kingdom was the inability of the Govt to bring peace in the state. If India stops its arms supply, it will have long standing repercussions. What if they turn to their northern neighbour, China? There are already frightening reports that China has a hand in this. Is it a diplomatically correct decision for India to skip SAARC meeting citing the coup in Nepal and stopping arms to it?

If the Indian PM can share the dais with the Military leaders of Pakistan and Burma, why not a King from Nepal ?

This is the time India should act like a Mother and not like a Big brother. We shud extend any help to Nepal in order to restore democracy and peace.

2000 years back, Kautilya wrote in Artha Shastra that no two neighbouring countries can live in peace for long. China proved it. Until A buffer state Tibet was there, China was a friend. When China gulped it, it became hostile. Until Pakistan was created Afganistan was hostile. When Pakistan was created Afgan became a friend and Pakistan turned hostile. Until Bangladesh was created East Pakistanis were friendly.

All our neighbours look at India as hostile. China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma. None of them understand that India is a massive economic oppurtunity. They have got a lot to gain by being at peace with us. The Only exceptions till now are Nepal and Bhutan.

Should India lose them too ?

Now, We miss the legend, Late Mani Dixit. He understood the importance of our neighbours. If only he were with us today, India wouldn't make this blunder.

Conviction & Hardwork: 2 faces of the coin, Success

2005-02-24T19:23:00.000+09:00

Dilip Tirkey and Sania Mirza have reached the top with these two virtues.

Dilip, an Adivasi from a tribal village, Saunamara in orissa has come to rule our national game. His 17 years of hardwork and concentration has finally paid and has made him the Captain of the Indian hockey team. He is not just a captain for his colleagues but a source of inspiration and a sense of confidence when he is around. Though his father Vincent Tirkey has represented Orissa in national tournaments, his success comes from hardwork and conviction. He has a long way to go. Hope he will get India the gold medal in the next Olympics and A World cup in his tenure.

Sania Mirza, the 18 year old sports woman became the first Indian woman to claim a WTA tour singles title by winning the Hyderabad Open singles final. It was a steady rise in each game she played. She has won many a hearts and has inspired many others. The fighting spirit and the aggresion in the game is what is going to take her even further. Hyderabad, her home town is just the beginning. The young icon has got a long way to go before she grabs all the four grand slams for the years to come. That will be the salvation for all the hardwork and the conviction she has put against all odds, including the social one.

May God bless them both to lead India in their respective games.

Feb 15th - J&K Constituent Assembly unanimously ratified the state's accession to India

2005-02-15T11:22:00.000+09:00

Feburary 15th marks the J&K Constituent Assembly's unanimous ratification of the state's accession to India

Totally forgotten was that on this very day, 51 years earlier, the Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly unanimously ratified the state's accession to India. Thus, February 15, 2001 marks the 51st anniversary of the day that witnessed J&K's accession to India being signed, sealed and delivered -- not by a Hindu maharaja ruling over a population of which 77 percent were Muslims, but by a democratically elected constitutional body all of whose 75 members were die-hard followers of a colossal Muslim leader called Sheikh Abdullah.

- Murali

India's First Sikh Army Chief

2005-02-01T20:14:00.000+09:00

General Joginder Jaswant Singh, a hero of anti-terrorist operations, became the first ever Sikh officer to don the chief of the army staff.

Can't believe it, isn't it? But yes, it is true. Though Sikhs, as an ethnic group, are the single largest chunk in the army at about 10 per cent of the million-strong force JJ is the first sikh to become the Chief of Army Staff.

Ironically, many believe that India is getting a Sikh four-star general 37 years too late, after Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, GOC, Western Command, 1968, was overlooked by the then political leadership. Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister had picked Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) Sam H F J Manekshaw, who later led the Indian Army to its finest victory yet over Pakistan in 1971.

Hope JJ will take the forces to greater heights like his predecesor.

The outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Nirmal Chander Vij had achieved a lot in a short span of 2 years. His relentless efforts have proved successful. He pushed the army to complete fencing work along the 740 km LoC, a task that was achieved in 2004. With great efforts from Gen Vij, 6,000 Kashmiri men joined the Indian Army, the first ever Kashmiri regiment was introduced. He brought near normalcy to J&K. In honor of Vij, the army band played a new tune "Gen Nirmal" in 2004 "Beating the Retreat" after the Republic day celebrations.

Hope JJ will bring back total peace to Kashmir and make it a heaven on earth once again. I wish him all the best and Pray God to give him enough strength and resolve to achieve it.

- Murali

Republic day, What is it actually ?

2005-01-25T23:14:00.000+09:00

On January 26, 1950, the people of India finally emerged from the shadow of monarchs, autocrats, tyrants, colonialists and took charge of their own destiny.

India was at last a Republic. India promulgated its constitution forming a Republic and Dr.Rajendra Prasad was sworn in as its first president.

January 26th was chosen, because back in 1929, In the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress, A resolution was adopted to fight for Poorna Swaraj - Total Independence. To commemmorate this day, the GOI chose Jan 26th to be the Republic Day of India.

- Murali

Bhagat Singh, A Terrorist ?

2005-01-25T16:26:00.000+09:00

Ridiculous isn't it ?

People who call him a terrorist need to be jailed for contempt of nation. What if the govt itself is like that? Yes. This can happen only in India and only in This Govt. Only in this govt, Gujarat will be missed in the national Anthem and Veer Savarkar's plackard will be removed from the Andaman and Bhagat Singh will be called a Terrorist.

Nenju porukkudillaiye Inda Nilai ketta manidarai Ninaithu vittal.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/25bharat.htm

So, where do you draw the line? How do you differentiate a freedom fighter and a terrorist?

- Murali

Fellow Patriots, Remember this day, January the 23rd

2005-01-23T01:55:00.000+09:00

Today, January 23rd is Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's Birthday.

Men have come and gone. But, this Man, who changed the way India was looked upon, took over the whole British Empire by surprise, joined hands with Hitlet, Mussolini and the Japanese Emperor. Created the Indian National Army. (His secular attitude was reflected even in that. Each of his three army chiefs were a Hindu, Muslim and a sikh) His courage, mental strength and vision are immpeccable even today. History teachers might have forgotten him. 'Aana Sathiyam marakkadu'. His sacrifices, memories and glory will never be forgotten by True Indians. It will always be hailed and hero worshipped in times to come. It is important to remember that India's freedom movement was in fact a movement of the masses and there were a number of great leaders with fierce patriotism and great visionary ideas who sacrificed their entire lives for the nation's cause.

Ironically, the highest Indian award, Bharat Ratna, which was given even to Khan Abdul gaffar khan, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Nehru and many more was not fortunate enough to be conferred on Bose. Never Mind. I think, it is with a purpose. His service and glory cannot be and shud not be engulfed in a single medal.

Today's India, The Nuclear India is more of Netaji's dream. His dream, wish and sacrifices have finally paid after 50 long years. The only regret being, he is not with us today to see our "India Shining".

I request each one of you to remember him today with a moment of silence. Had he lived, Subhas Chandra Bose could have given a new turn to Independent India's political history as well as her *Geography*. But he lives on eternally in the Indian minds, more famous after his death.

Murali.

For those who are interested in knowing more visit http://netaji.netfirms.com/netaji/songs.htm

--- A Tribute to the Legend ---

Known as Netaji (leader), Mr. Bose was a fierce and popular leader in the political scene in pre-independence India . He was the president of the Indian National Congress in 1937 and 1939, and founded a nationalist force called the Indian National Army. He was acclaimed as a semigod, akin to the many mythological heroes like Rama or Krishna, and continues as a legend in Indian mind.

Subhas Chandra was born on January 23rd 1897 in Cuttack (in present day Orissa) as the ninth child among fourteen, of Janakinath Bose, an advocate, and Prabhavatidevi, a pious and God-fearing lady. A brilliant student, he topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. His parents' wishes kept him away from the Indian freedom struggle and led him into studies for the Indian Civil Service in England. Although he finished those examinations also at the top of his class (4th), he could not complete his aprecentship and returned to India, being deeply disturbed by the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre. He came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress (a.k.a. Congress). Gandhiji directed him to work with Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, the Bengali leader whom Bose acknowledged as his political guru.

Bose was outspoken in his anti-British stance and was jailed 11 (eleven) times between 1920 and 1941 for periods varying between six months and three years. He was the leader of the youth wing of the Congress Party, in the forefront of the trade union movement in India and organized Service League, another wing of Congress. He was admired for his great skills in organization development .

The Influence of Bose

Bose advocated complete freedom for India at the earliest, whereas the Congress Committee wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status. Other younger leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru supported Bose and finally at the historic Lahore Congress convention, the Congress had to adopt Poorna Swaraj (complete freedom) as its motto. Bhagat Singh's martyrdom and the inability of the Congress leaders to save his life infuriated Bose and he started a movement opposing the Gandhi-Irvin Peace Pact. He was imprisoned and expelled from India. But defying the ban, he came back to India and was imprisoned again!

Clouds of World War II were gathering fast and Bose warned the Indian people and the British against dragging India into the war and the material losses she could incur. He was elected president of the Indian National Congress twice in 1937 and in 1939, the second time defeating Gandhiji's nominee. He brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block (1939).

The second World War broke out in September of 1939, and just as predicted by Bose, India was declared as a warring state (on behalf of the British) by the Governor General, without consulting Indian leaders. The Congress party was in power in seven major states and all state governments resigned in protest.

Subhas Chandra Bose now started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the great war. To him, it made no sense to further bleed poor Indians for the sake of colonial and imperial nations. There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly imprisoned him . He took to a hunger-strike, and after his health deteriorated on the 11th day of fasting, he was freed and was placed under house arrest. The British were afraid of violent reactions in India, should something happen to Bose in prison.

The Mystery Begins...

Bose suddenly disappeared in the beginning of 1941 and it was not until many days that authorities realized Bose was not inside the house they were guarding! He traveled by foot, car and train and resurfaced in Kabul (now in Afghanistan), only to disappear once again. In November 1941, his broadcast from German radio sent shock waves among the British and electrified the Indian masses who realized that their leader was working on a master plan to free their motherland. It also gave fresh confidence to the revolutionaries in India who were challenging the British in many ways.

The Axis powers (mainly Germany) assured Bose military and other help to fight the British. Japan by this time had grown into another strong world power, occupying key colonies of Dutch, French, and British colonies in Asia. Bose had struck alliance with Germany and Japan. He rightly felt that his presence in the East would help his countrymen in freedom struggle and second phase of his saga began. It is told that he was last seen on land near Keil canal in Germany, in the beginning of 1943. A most hazardous journey was undertaken by him under water, covering thousands of miles, crossing enemy territories. He was in the Atlantic, the Middle East, Madagascar and the Indian ocean. Battles were being fought over land, in the air and there were mines in the sea. At one stage he traveled 400 miles in a rubber dingy to reach a Japanese submarine, which took him to Tokyo. He was warmly received in Japan and was declared the head of the Indian army, which consisted of about 40,000 soldiers from Singapore and other eastern regions. Bose called it the Indian National Army (INA) and a government by the name "Azad Hind Government" was declared on the 21st of October 1943. INA freed the Andaman and Nicobar islands from the British and were renamed as Swaraj and Shaheed islands. The Government started functioning.

Leader of Masses and the Military - Early Success and Tragic End

Bose wanted to free India from the Eastern front. He had taken care that Japanese interference was not present from any angle. Army leadership, administration and communications were managed by Indians only. Subhash Brigade, Azad Brigade and Gandhi Brigade were formed. INA marched through Burma and occupied Coxtown on the Indian Border. A touching scene ensued when the solders entered their 'free' motherland. Some lay down and kissed, some placed pieces of mother earth on their heads, others wept. They were now inside of India and were determined to drive out the British! Delhi Chalo (Let's march to Delhi) was the war cry.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed the history of mankind. Japan had to surrender. Bose was in Singapore at that time and decided to go to Tokyo for his next course of action. Unfortunately, the plane he boarded crashed near Taipei and he died in the hospital of severe burns. He was just 48.

The Indian people were so much enamored of Bose's oratory and leadership qualities, fealressness and mysterious adventures, that he had become a legend. They refused to believe that he died in the plane crash. The famous Red Fort trial wherein Bose's generals and the INA officers were tried, became landmark events. Initially, the British Government thought of a court-martial, but there was a countrywide protest against any kind of punishment. For common Indians, Axis and Allied powers hardly mattered, but they could not tolerate punishment of fellow countrymen who were fighting for freedom. The British Government was in no position to face open rebellion or mutiny and a general amnesty for INA soldiers was declared.

While Bose's approach to Indian freedom continues to generate heated debate in the Indian society today, there is no denying of his burning patriotism, his tireless efforts to free India from inside and outside and his reckless adventures in trying to reach his goals. His exploits later became a legend due to the many stories carried by the disbanded INA soldiers who came from every nook and corner of our great country.

Now, this is what I call a life well lived

2005-01-18T19:19:00.000+09:00

What do you call a life well lived ? Is it a life lived to satisfy one's needs ? Is it a one lived fully for others ? Or is it a combination of both ? A life which had a humble start, worked hard to earn money as well as knowledge. Then, take a sudden turn as an entrepreuner, setup your own firm. In a place where there is not even an elementary school. Transform your company as well as the environment into a knowledge rich society and earn foreign exchange for the country. And finally you do what you always wanted to do ... Play with your grand children.

This is exactly what Mr.G N Naidu, chairman and managing director of Regency Ceramics Limited has done.

Now, this is what I call a life well lived. A satisfied life, A life without any regrets.

- Murali

Story of a very ordinary people's extraordinary resolve

2005-01-11T11:54:00.000+09:00

Paddukuppam is a tsunami-ravaged village in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. Its residents are members of the fishing community.

Here, believe it or not, the affected people had themselves built the temporary but sturdy shelters, which can house 68 families. They were built in just 13 days. On January 7, affected people slept in their 'own' home once again. Thanks to the women of Paddukuppam.

This is a story of a very ordinary people's extraordinary resolve. It is not money that has worked here, but the rich experience gained from the earthquake in Gujarat (2001), the relief work carried out during the riots in Gujarat (2002) and people's power.

For more information read http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/10tn.htm

- Murali

India open to foreign aid for tsunami victims

2005-01-07T11:49:00.000+09:00

Consistency is the other side of the coin - "Trust". If we change our stance so frequently and that too, so dramatically, who will trust us?

I was happy that India has rejected the Tsunami Aid offer so that other people in more need can utilise them. But, it seems the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) hasn't done their job with diplomacy. They have antagonised the countries which wanted to help us by rejecting bluntly.

An year ago, when US requested for troops to Iraq, we refused. But, that was without any pitfalls. We mutually agreed to disagree. Now, that is what I call, diplomacy.

What is this govt upto? As soon as they took charge, they lifted the ban on all the aid agencies that the previous govt had banned. They lifted the Huj subsidy that was given to income tax payers, and now, they are lifting the self imposed ban. reverting it so quickly is a sign of weakness. Indecisiveness.

Andava nee daan kaapathanum !!!

http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/06sheela.htm

Why patron Indian Cricketers ?

2005-01-05T21:24:00.000+09:00

Aussies are the all time favourites for the cricket lovers. They are considered to be the most arrogant lot. (But, they have the right to be so. ) they are the most favourite of mine today, not for their criekcting skills, but for the humane touch. Australia have donated their prize money for winning the second Test against Pakistan to a fund for the tsunami victims in Asia. It need not be for India, but let them go to the one in more need. They were the first to show their sense of responsibility as humans.

Pakistanis have donated 25 percent of their match fees from the Sydney Test match against Australia to aid victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Even the South African team has come forward to donate.

What did the Indian Team do from their recent earning in Bangladesh? Nothing so far. The BCCI has donated 1 crore to the PMNRF. But, what of its employees? What of Sachin Tendulkar? What has he done with all his money? If not at times of need, is it ever going to be of any help ?

The Indian cricketers are playing a fund raising match. Is it enough to show their solidarity? I beg to say NO.

Are these men worthy of our patronization ?

- Murali

J N Dixit, the Irreplacable

2005-01-05T20:42:00.000+09:00

The man whom the Prime Minister will meet and listen to at the end of any particular day, The man who is the eyes and the ears of the Prime Minister is the Principal secretary and the National Security Adviser. It was Mr J N Dixit. If the PM is the political face of the govenment, his principle secretary is the one who is actually running it. Such a man, National Security Adviser J N Dixit passed away on Jan 3rd.

The loss of this man is so important, so critical that, it is equivalent to losing the PM himself. It is unfortunate to lose a man of his caliber at a time when it was most needed. An expert on all south asian countries, which was the need of the hour has left us in troubled waters. He was right on track to ascertain us as a regional super power.

Mani Dixit, you will be missed.

Anyhow, let us pray that the one who is going to replace him has all his qualities.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/05flip.htm

Desperation - On Tsunami's devastation of innocent lives

2005-01-01T23:30:00.000+09:00

Desperation

When the wicked and evil rise to destroy and disrupt
Humanity loses its moral fibre, stinks and goes corrupt
At a time of mistrust, anguish and sheer disgust
The mighty Ocean finally decided to forcefully erupt
Its own way to bring instant justice and set all things right.

Beyond the Earth-shattering waves and their extraordinary might
With its never-ending miseries that leave no chance of a fight
Will there ever be another day of bright, clear light -
When sanity resumes and peace and love back in sight ?

- Vijayasarathy 31.12.2004

(On Tsunami's devastation of innocent lives in South East Asia -26.12.2004)

Vijayasarathy - One of my best friends.

Give so that others can live

2004-12-28T16:06:00.000+09:00

Tsunami Hit Tamil Nadu

Ok. What next ? How best can we react as Humans, as Indians and as Tamilians?

Let us Pray for the departed souls and help the survivors. This is the least we can do. We don't know how many great achievers our great country has lost. Let us mourn a minute in silence for them and get on to work, help the rest of the survivors with clothes, food, shelter and in whatever way we could.

I know you were the one's who contributed for Gujarat earth quake victims. When it comes to your homeland, you 'll be generous and won't hesitate.

Being abroad-abroad, we can't help them with clothes or food or any other physical help. The least we can do is the monetary help. Let us contribute generously to the helpless. Whatever the country is, is because of these men. India shone last year b'cos of all of us. Thaan aadataalum than sadai aadumnu solluvanga. adu madiri, inda vali nammalum pagirndukkanum. Last year we shared the pride, today let us share the pain.

Vandaarai vaazhavaikkum thamizh naadu, indru than nilai thadumarikkondirukkiradu. If not we then who ? Let us not search reasons for not giving. Yes, there are cheap politicians and middle men who might suck our contributions and live on these diasters. But, let us not forget that, atleast a percentage reaches the real needy.

God has given an oppurtunity to show who we are. He has given us an oppurtunity to become karnan and paari for a day. Let us grab this oppurtunity to help them.

Kaalathaal seida udavi mattum daan, Gyalathin maanap Peridu.

This is not the time to calculate the currency conversion rate and give a token 50$. No. please Give whatever you can. May be a day's salary. Even that is not a big short in our arm.

Remember, There is no big deal giving when you have it. What matters is what you give when you don't have enough for yourself.

Take care,
- Murali

P.S: You can contribute in any of the following places.

PM's National Relief Fund (PMNRF),
C/o Secretary, Prime Minister's Office(PMO),
South Block
New Delhi 110011

The donations can be made by cheque or draft in the name of “The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund” and sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, South Block, New Delhi 110001. As per directions on the subject the nationalised banks are not to charge any commission on preparation of drafts favouring the PMNRF.

You can find the form for donating to PNNRF here ...
http://www.pmindia.nic.in/formpmnrf.htm

Or through Association for India's Development (AID) a non-profit development organization
http://survivors.aidindia.org

-----------------------------
If anyone is interested to do rescue work for affected persons (tsunami) in Besant Nagar please contact Shihan Hussaini 98416-18386. U cud help with old clothes,water bottles, blankets, food packets. Even if u cant help please pass on this message to the people whom u know will be interested in.

If anyone is interested to do rescue work for affected persons (tsunami) in neelankarai please contact Priya 25506284. Even if you are not able to, please pass on the message to your friends...

To know details of your loved ones in Nagapattinam and for People willing to do rescue work there please contact the following numbers.
04635 242 999
04635 248 777
-----------------------------

Loss of a Leader, Narasimha Rao

2004-12-24T19:41:00.000+09:00

Mr.P.V.Narasimha Rao, One of the finest PMs of this great country has passed into ages. History will remember him(though his party has long forgotten him) as a man who made the great turn around, a man who had his own vision, a man who seldom responded to questions which seldom needed any answer ... A man who had the political will and the resolve to solve the economic problems of those days.

Will he be remembered for

The great economic turn around

or

For babri Masjid and JMM

God bless Narsimha Rao's soul. Here's a quote from him
"When I don't make a decision, it's not that I don't think about it. I think about it and make a decision not to make a decision"

He was the one who changed the economy from a soviet model into an open market, introducing globalisation, started abolishing the quota raj introduced economic reforms and paved way for the great turn around for India. This helped the country take even more harder decisions on the reforms later. The successive PMs were able to reap benefits. Usually it is easy to grow and multiply 10 into 100. But, the most difficult part is the change from 0 to 1. This is what Narasimha did.

He was the wall in front of the present PM and the then FM of the day, Mr.Manmohan Singh. he took all the brunt of the politics allowing the beaurocrat to do only what he is supposed to be doing. It takes a lot of political will and Patriotism. he could have given-in to the cries of the businessmen and the vote banks. But, he didn't. He did what he is supposed to do. Often they say, he didn't have a choice. But wait. Who said so? He could have imposed a financial emergency, which has never been imposed on us. Instead, he opened up the economy, introduced competition, which inturn has brought enough wealth as well as quality and innovation into India. He proved again, that Necessity is the mother of invention.

Ofcourse, he is accused of corruption, Babri masjid and bribery to JMM etc. But, How do you weigh a man's life? Is it through the narrow prism of those 5 years or should it be through the analysis of those 5 years on the next course of the country. I think it shud be the latter that shud take pretense.

"Gunam Naadi Kutramum Naadi Avatrul Migai
Naadi Mikkakk Kolal" -- So, lets analyse it thro' the latter

Instead of forcing the Nation, which was going through a financial crisis, to go through another election, He chose to solve it by paying 1 cr to the JMM MP. Today, we have the advantage of seeing both the past, present and the future of those days. But, he couldn't do so. Yet, he did it.

"Poimayum Vaaimai Idathe Puraitheernda
Nanmai Payakku menin" -- Isn't it right?

Then comes babri Masjid. Though the Hindu zealots brought the structure down, it was more Rajiv's mistake than Narasimha rao's. The infamous Shah bano case was crutial for the bringing down of the masjid than Rao's inactiveness. If not Dec 6th 1992, it would have been 1993 or someother day. Chawan and Rao couldn't have stopped it.

Now that both Narasimha Rao and S B Chawan have passed into ages, history will analyse them. The better souls of Congress Narasimha Rao, S B Chawan, Madhav Rao Scindia, Rajesh Pilot have all deserted leaving the Congress party to stink with Sonia, Tytler, Shivraj Patil, Mukerjee and the likes...

The year 2004 ahs already proved a disaster for India and Rao's demise is only adding icing to it.

God Bless India and God Bless Rao's soul rest in Peace.
- Murali

Hinduism is not fragile!

2004-12-21T01:13:00.000+09:00

This is exactly what I have been advocating.

If an Imam of Delhi or the arch bishop has escaped an arrest, the VHP and the BJP should demand their arrest and not the release of Jayendra.

Infact, it is in the best of Hindus and Hinduism that he refuse to come out on bail without proving himself innocent. No doubt that he has done a great service to Hinduism and India. But, if he is a suspect, then the law shouldn't look at him through a prism. The same prople who advocate the Uniform Civil Code should repect the Uniform Criminal code that is already in place.

- Murali

--------------------------
http://inhome.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/20akd.htm

Hinduism is not fragile!

December 20, 2004

While the arrest of Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, has raised some hackles, the good news is that most Hindus, who were no doubt shocked at what happened, have refused to bite the bait of the pseudo-nationalist parties who claimed it was an insult to Hindus. Rather than take the law into their hands, they prefer to let the law take its own course and have faith in the country's judiciary to ensure that justice will prevail.

In fact, not respecting the laws of the land is an insult to the Hindus, considering that Hindus constitute over 80 per cent of this country. Second, the law treats everyone as equals: if the pseudo-nationalists have a problem with that, then they are not just pseudo-nationalist, they are anti-nationalist!

Certainly, the arrest is shocking coming as it does at the hands of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. In that sense, M Karunanidhi may have a point when he says maybe Jayalalithaa has a personal axe to grind. That she handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakhs to the family of the murdered Sankararaman is questionable. Hundreds of people are murdered in India; are they handed over huge amounts by the chief minister personally as compensation? So what makes Sankararaman's case different? Such acts make people suspicious of Jayalalithaa's motives.

Whether or not the Shankaracharya is guilty, it is for the courts to decide. Indian courts are among India's more reliable institutions and one can be sure that the verdict, either way, will be respected.

Turning a law and order and justice case into a political battle is despicable. That the BJP and VHP desperately need any (Hindu) straw to clutch is evident by the way they have latched on to the Shankaracharya's case. Not so long ago, the VHP was claiming that since the Shankaracharya is a Shaivite, he had no right to mediate in the Ayodhya case since that concerned a Vaishnavite temple. There is no doubt to those who were observing the Shankaracharya's heroic effort to solve the complex Ram temple-Babri mosque issue that it was under intense VHP pressure that the seer suddenly changed (and upped) his demands, leading to the collapse of the talks.

The Hindu right love to draw comparisons with 'Would the same have been done to a Muslim or a Christian'? Personally, I believe yes. If a Muslim or a Christian (or for that matter, or any other religious denomination) should be accused of a crime as serious as murder, s/he would be arrested, regardless of who the person is -- be it the top imam or an archbishop.

But if, as the Hindu right claims, this would not be the case, then it is a matter for concern for all Indians. And the answer to such a situation -- that an imam or bishop would never have been arrested -- lies not in demanding the Shankaracharya's release but in demanding, and ensuring, that no person should ever escape the law because of his religion. If there is any such case where a person was/is not arrested, the VHP should then demand that such a person be arrested, not that another suspected accused be released. Two wrongs do not make a right. The law of the land must prevail, regardless of who is at the receiving end.

Let us also be clear: the arrest of the Shankaracharya is not an insult to any Hindu. Individuals like Jayendra Saraswati will come and go, but the Peeth of the Shankaracharya remains. If an individual's failing can destroy an institution, then most institutions would have long been destroyed, but the fact is that the four shankaracharya Mutts (along with the Kanchi Mutt) have survived centuries, against various obstacles.

Even if the worst fears about the Jayendra Saraswati case were to come true, to say that it will harm Hinduism or the Hindus is to assume, wrongly, their fragility.

A religion that has survived millennia and a people who have clung to a faith against the worst odds cannot be affected by what is a mere hiccup in its awesome history.

But then, will the pseudo-nationalists ever understand this logic? Or perhaps, they prefer to be politicians first and Hindus next.

One must give credit to Jayalalithaa. She has shown courage in cracking down on law-breakers and suspected law-breakers. She ensured that Veerappan, who had been literally ruling the southern jungles for over 20 years, was killed and now she had the Shankaracharya arrested for his suspected involvement in a crime.

What India now needs is someone like Jayalalithaa to crack down on India's numerous corrupt politicians.

12/11 - The day Amara kavi Bharathi came to my mother India

2004-12-13T20:07:00.000+09:00

At this time, when the world is worried about 9/11 and its aftermath, lets , we Tamils all over the Globe, remember fondly 12/11 - Dec. 11th - the Birthday of our Mahakavi - Amara kavi Subramanya Bharathi.

It is easy to imagine and write poems and prose all hues in the airconditioned comforts of a home or office or a palatial hotel now-a-days! But in those testing times , when the nation was under foreign occupation, when writing or expressing anything about your nation or being simply nationalistic was suspected or treated as treason, This man, our Hero rose like a Phoenix from the ashes and wrote - some truly magnificent poetry which was breathtaking and rejuvenating at that troubled age and remarkable and very relevant and quite beautiful even today. That is what is poetry in the true literary sense of the term.

Bharathi like some other very important people in the history of Mother India, left this world when he was hardly 39. May be the almighty thinks that this is enough for these special individuals to be in this earth. (to remember a few illustrious ones - Adi Shankara at 32, Srinivasa Ramanujam (mathematician) about 32 again, Vivekananda again at 32...)

Obviously , its not how l...o...n...g... one lives , but how long he lives after his death and how he lives his life here, thats what really counts.

Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathiyaar was born in the year 1882. At age 11, in the court of the King of Ettayapuram, he was given the title "Bharathi". The King and the poets in the court were astonished by Bharathi's prodigious poetic talents. Bharathi died at a young age of 39 (in 1921). But he left a legacy that is truly invaluable. A legacy which can't be measured by time or litreture or thoughts.. or in any terms

Today people make a huge hue and cry by self proclamation of doing service to Tamizh. Some claim to write notes for the tamil grammer. they claim to have framed the word "Nenjukku Needi".. But the true owner of it is this Man, Mahakavi. He was the one to wrote

Nenjukku Neediyum Tholukku Vaalum
Nirainda sudar manipp Poon,
Panjukku Ner Pala thunbangal Yaam ival,
Paarvaikku Ner Perum Thee.

He loved tamil so much that he usually referred to it as his Mother.

yaamarintha mozhikazhi-le tamizhmozhi-pol
inithavathu engum kaaNOm

But at the same time, Bharathiyaar was fluent in many languages (incl. Hindi, Sanskrit, Kuuch, English, Telugu, Malayalam etc.) and frequently translated works from other languages (Bengali, English) into Tamizh, thus showing that one can love one's language/culture and yet be appreciative of other languages/cultures. He referred to Telugu as

sundara telunginil paatisaithu

His thirst for freedom inspired many. A true leader's job is to inspire others. He displayed that in every sense. His breath was nationalism. He feared no death. He once wrote

Ada kaala unai naan siru pullena madikkiren
En Kaalaruge vaada, unai satre midikkiren

While Bharathiyaar was not ashamed of proclaiming the richness of his language, he was always an Indian first. He championed national integration, when India had not yet achieved nationhood. He was staunchly opposed to casteism.

In his song "VaanDhe maatharam enbom, Engal maanila thaayai vanagudum enbom"
he wrote:

jaathi madhangkazh paarome - uyar
janmam ith thesathiL yeithina raayinum
Vethiya raayinum Onre andri
Veru kulathina raayinum Onre

Long before our beloved president, Bharathi was the one to realise that if we want to change the course of the nation, its best to empower children. He wrote:

Jaadigal Illai adi paappa
Kula thaazhchi uyarchi sollal Paavam
needi uyarnda madi kalvi
ANBU niraiya udayavargal MELOR.

Just as he did not discriminate based on caste, he did not discriminate between religions as well. He sung the praise of many a Hindu god/godess, and at the same time he wrote devotional songs on Jesus Christ and Allah. Mahakavi Bharathi was a visionary who thought India should be a modern industrial nation, where all citizens (irrespective of gender, religion or caste) would be equal. He envisioned a great India:

Paarukkulle Nalla Naadu, Engal Bharatha naadu

I think Bharathiyaar's contribution to Tamizh and Indian literature is second to none. He showed that you can be a devouted Hindu and still sing the praise of Jesus or Allah. He showed that the love for your language and heritage need not come in the way of your patriotism. I think every Indian should remember This great Indian tomorrow, and draw
inspiration from his words.

Ini varum aandugalilaavadu avan kanavai niraivetruvomaaga.

Pengalukku sama urimayaainum sari,
singala theevinukkor palam amaipadaayinum sari,
vangathil odi varum neerin migaiyal maiyathu naadugalil payir seivadanalum sari

Seidu mudippom.

Velli ppani malayin meedulavuvom
adi melai kadal muzhudum kappal viduvom
palli thalam anaithum koil seiguvom
ENGAL BHARADA DESAMENDRU THOL KOTTUVOM
ENGAL BHARADA DESAMENDRU THOL KOTTUVOM

Aayudam seivom, kalvik kaagidam seivom
Aalaigal vaippom kalvi salaigal vaippom
OOYUDAL SEIYOM THALAI SAAYUDAL SEIYOM
unmaigal solvom pala Vanmaigal seivom

VaanDhe maatharam enbom,
Engal maanila thaayai vanagudum enbom
VaanDhe maatharam enbom

Adutha muraiyaavadu pona May Madathai ninaivil kondu, Bharathi sorkalai ninaivil kolvom

Aayiram undingu jaathi, Enil
Anniyar Vandu pugal enna Needi
Ondru pattal undu Vaazhve
"NAMMUL OTRUMAI NEENGIDIL ANAIVARKKUM THAAZHVE"

Naalai Dec 11, kaalathal azhiyaada Nam "Amaran - Maha Kavi Subramanya Bharathiyin" Piranda Naal. Bharathi kooda Kadavul madiri daan Kaala Desa Doorathai Kadandadanaal.

As I write these, feel like reading some of his poems. If you too feel like, visit
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/9687/

Remember, Its not how l...o...n...g... one lives , but how he lives his life here, thats what really counts.

- Murali

Dec 6th: A Day that will live through infamy

2004-12-06T21:20:00.000+09:00

Dec 6th: A Day which will live through infamy, A black day in the long history of Hinduism.

This Day marks A marked change in the history of Hinduism, A marked change in the attitude of Hindus. As a first ever act by hindus, Hindus demolished a masjid, built by Babur as a mark of his victory.

I wonder how can Hindus, the most tolerant of all the humans can commit such an act? Such a hateful act? This cannot be guaged with a single lifeline. It has to be analysed over time.

Reason:
Dec 6th, 1992 was an outburst of a latent hatred, a latent anger that was vented over the masjid. It was the outcome of people getting to know certain truths that were concealed over false promises and that were forgotten over time.

When I look back, there are so many causes for it. If not Dec6th 1992, someother day, sooner or later would have witnessed the demolition. One reason that stands tall from others is the Shahbano case in Supreme court. Dec 6th was a direct outcome of the infamous Shahbano case. Rajiv changed the constitution stealthily, inorder to play the Muslim clergymen's tune. To pacify the Hindus's voice, he ordered the opening of the gates of RamjanmaBhoomi. This in course of time, took its own toll.

An oppurtunity Lost:
Time has again and again taught us that the muslim appeasement invariably ends up in an ugly mess. Dec 6th, was an outcome of the Divide and Rule policy of the Congress. Rajiv lost an invaluable if not the only oppurtunity given to him to cleanse the Muslims in India of mediaval civil rights and law. Instead of catching the oppurtunity by its forelock, he messed it up. The dumbest PM India has ever had, had once again messed it up.

TimeLine - 1992 to 2004
India has seen a metamorphical change in the last decade. It has risen from the ashes like the phoenix. It rediscovered itself. It witnessed the rise of Hindutwa and the rise of Hindu Nationalist Party, The BJP to power. This single event catapulted the BJP from a meak opposition to a reverberating ruling party. The same pride inspired to test Phokran II and procalim itself a Nuclear state. It changed the country from the shackles of economic breakdown to a sintillating growing economy. At times, It witnessed the market crashes during Bombay blasts, thanks to Dawood and subsequently by sponsered by Harshad Mehta, Ketan Prekh, UTI etc. But, Thanks to Manmohan, Chidambaram, Yashwanth and Jaswanth India got better and better.

In TN, the famous festival of Mahamaham is celebrated once in every 12 years. ironically, after 12 years of the rise of Hindu Nationalism, the nation failed to deliver once again when it was needed like never before. it has again introduced a void in the Hindutwa and BJP is again contemplating of Hindutwas as a political tool.

Unanswered Questions:
Reasons apart, If Hindus can't build a temple in India, then, where can we build it? Do they expect us to build it in Mecca or Medina?
A mosque where there has not been any prayer offering for over 20 years is considered to be a graveyard by Islam.
There were not any prayer offering in the Babri Masjid for more than 20 years. then why r they considering it still sacred ?
Babur, who built it as a mark of his victory over a Hindu temple, that too on the birth place of Lord Rama has to be condemned by all Indians. Instead, he is being lauded as an emperor. Instead of ridiculing, he is being worshipped. This can happen only in India.

Pak troops encroach border again

2004-12-03T16:14:00.000+09:00

Pak troops had encroached border area: BSF

The so called secular, sane people who urge us to Trust pakistan and their promises on all issues including the gas pipeline and their sincererity in the recent peace talks should take note of this.

How can these guys be trusted, given this example. This is not a here or there rare instance. It is a regular bleed thy neighbour policy that they have been pracising. People who point out the reduction in infiltration don't listen to the BSF commander's claim that the reduction is not due to Pak's sincerity, but due to their tireless efforts.

The IB fencing is very much justified. Hope the entire fencing gets finished soon.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/02pak1.htm

Income tax payers are now eligible for Haj subsidy.

2004-12-02T11:59:00.000+09:00

http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/20haj.htm

What do u call this other than appeasement, huh ? why shud a guy having
money be given subsidy ? Just b'cos he is a muslim ? What I regret is,
the govt is getting away with it. I hope someone drags the govt in a
PIL case. Wish I could do it.

What happenned in Gujarat was a latent hatred that was cultivated by
these kinda poisons.

Riots are a mere symptom of such antagonism against a community
*perceived* to be getting more than the rest. Hindu rioters could be
created by politicians -- but no politician can create the required
fury without the ammunition given by the repugnant mullahs and the
loathsome "secularists." You can throw into jail the entire Sangh
Parivar for Gujarat. But what next? Can you arrest every Hindu who
resents the inequality in laws and vents his ire in his own devious
ways...?

The J&K government is levying an entry tax of Rs 2,000 for each bus
carrying pilgrims to Vaishnodevi and an additional charge of Rs 2,000
on stay for more than three nights in the state. And Muslims should get
huge subsidies for the Haj -- augmented by the same Hindu pilgrims who
are now taxed for visiting a shrine with their own money... in their
own country? Why??? Tell me why this should not anger a Hindu.

btb, Please don't get me wrong. I am not against the muslims. I am just
furious at the appeasement and social inequality stealthily introduced
by politicians.

- Murali

Aryans are Hindu

2004-12-02T11:34:00.000+09:00

Pioneer: By Sandhya Jain

Even as political parties debate whether India is "shining," a momentous-though unreported- international academic consensus has established that there was no Aryan invasion of India. This intellectual breakthrough has staggering implications for us as a nation. Not only has a colonial falsehood been overturned, but the origins of a corrosive divide in our political, cultural and emotional life stand exposed.

Hopefully, our Leftist (read anti-Hindu) historians will accept the truth and help in re-writing true history for new generations, so they may enjoy legitimate pride in their heritage. The Aryan invasion theory (modified to Aryan migration theory) did grave damage to the Hindu psyche and to national unity.

As Hindus are both the native and the majority community of India, this colonial canard wrought terrible havoc upon the nation. Its foremost manifestation was the North-South divide, engineered by Sir William Jones when he invented the fair-skinned Aryan "race" that drove native dark-skinned Dravidians southwards after seizing their lands. The archaeological evidence for this claim was sketchy even at the time, and was challenged by qualified Indians, but colonial intellectual monopoly triumphed. This mischief, many will remember, triggered Tamil separatism, even though Tamil Nadu has long been an outstanding centre of classical Hindu erudition and cultural accomplishment.

Sadly, the post-Independence intellectual tradition fostered by Jawaharlal Nehru was obdurately anti-Hindu. The Aligarh School took advantage of this environment to forge an alliance with Leftist historians and promote a supercilious history wherein India was ever subjected to foreign rule and conquest; that this was its true historical tradition; that contemporary Indians (read Hindus) had no right to regard Arab-Turk-Afghan rule as foreign; or currently, to object to the possible reign of Ms Sonia Gandhi! The British were outsiders because they disrupted the glory of India's Islamic rulers.

Naturally, this school of history did not permit a true account of the horrors perpetrated by Muslim armies and rulers upon native Hindus to be disseminated in public. The meticulous recording of these atrocities by contemporary chroniclers was downplayed. A corollary of this whitewash job entailed distorting the glories of India's pre-Islamic past. The Aryan invasion theory helped "prove" that the Hindu people and the Vedic civilisational ethos were themselves alien grafts on the Indian landscape.

Five decades of academic absolutism by Left-Aligarh historians have bequeathed what Prof Shiva G.Bajpai, University of Wisconsin, USA, calls "the burden of bad ideas". Mercifully, these lies will now wither away. A little background to the rebuttal of the invented invasion may be in order. In October 2003, California State University, (CA), USA, held a conference on "The Rise of Civilisation in the Greater Indus Valley and Saraswati: Recent Interpretations."

The participants included Prof BB Lal, former Director-General, ASI; Mr Iravatham Mahad evan, expert on Harappan and Tamil Brahmi scripts; Left academic Dr Shireen Ratnakar; Dr Vasant Shinde and Dr Gregory Possehl who are excavating Gilund in Rajasthan; anthropologists Dr Steve Farmer and Dr Brian Hemphill who have worked on archaeological evidence through skeletal remains; Prof Jonathan Mark Kenoyer and Dr Richard Meadow who have worked extensively on Harappa sites; Prof DR Sar Desai, University of California, Los Angeles; Prof Ihsan Ali, University of Peshawar, Pakistan; and Prof Kaminsky.

The conference proved to be epochal as academics arrived at a consensus on the "End of the Aryan invasion theory". Its moderator, Dr Sar Desai, declared that future writings on Indian history would assert that there was no Aryan invasion of India. The organiser, Prof Kaminsky, was authorised to get in touch with authors of Indian history textbooks and introduce this consensus at the secondary and high school level, where falsehoods are still being perpetuated.

Prof Kenoyer contacted publishers of school textbooks in New York to revise the issue of the Aryans and Vedic-Harappan culture in American school textbooks. In fact, the conference organisers have written to school level educational institutions all over the world, including the NCERT in India.

The belated dismissal of the Aryan invasion theory is no small triumph of the Hindu civilisational memory of a continuous spiritual-cultural tradition beginning with the Vedas and centred round the region of the once mighty river, Saraswati. Hindus have no memory of a pre-Vedic past, and have always maintained that the term "Arya" simply meant "noble", and denoted adherence to an elevated culture with no ethnic connotations. It was Sir William Jones who misrepresented Vedic allegories and conjured up the Aryan race by Immaculate Conception-a seedless parenthood, that is to say, one without any foundation. Yet his colonial brethren embraced the spurious offspring with the fervour of new converts; the rest is history.

Personally, it gives me great pleasure to witness this international vindication of Prof BB Lal, who has been villified and hounded by the Leftist-Aligarh oligarchy and its media consorts for daring to establish our civilisational veracity through archaeology. Prof. Lal and scholars like Prof Bajpai have been asserting the unity of Harappan and Vedic cultures, as their geo-cultural areas are historically overlapping and identical.

Indeed, there is no credible evidence of a difference between the two, barring the highly suspect discipline of linguistics, upon which the likes of Prof Romila Thapar are now trying to make some dubious claims. What is of critical importance is the fact that the finding and mapping of the Saraswati riverbed archaeologically establishes the identity of Harappan and Vedic culture, and puts the lower chronology of the Rig Veda at about 2000 BCE. Professor Bajpai traces the Sapta-Saindhava and Saraswati country from Kubha (Kabul) river (Hindukush range) to the Ganga river (western Ganga plain), and claims this was the cultural and geopolitical realm of the Vedic Aryans.

He believes that the core area of the Rig Vedic culture, as noted in two different places in the Rig Veda itself, was the doab of the Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers. As for the antiquity of the Rig Veda, it must be dated before circa 2000 BCE when the Saraswati dried up, for it is the Saraswati, and not the Indus, that is the most celebrated river of the Rig Veda. Actually, the fallacies in the Aryan invasion theory had long been apparent, and scholars had diligently traced a plethora of inconsistencies between the empirical data and literary sources vis-`-vis the theories of committed historians.

For instance, there was simply no archaeological evidence to substantiate the hypothesis of an invasion or even a massive migration from Eurasia in the Vedic period. Then, the geographical descriptions in the Rig Veda match the topography of north India in the fourth millennium BC, as does the climate. The flora and fauna mentioned in Vedic literature, especially those found in sacred symbols, are tropical and sub-tropical varieties not found in temperate zones or in the steppes.

But the crux of the matter was chronology. Pro-invasion theorists claimed the Aryans entered after 2000 BC. In that case, they would hardly compose hymns praising the bountiful Saraswati flowing from mountain to sea.

Alternately, if the Vedas were composed by people living in the Saraswati basin when she was truly a mighty river, then those people were progenitors of a civilisation that has continued unbroken up to the present-despite some wrenching historical encounters. Arya is then original, authentic Hindu. It is now time to deconstruct that other great colonial artifice-caste.

Savarkar: Patriot or Traitor ?

2004-12-01T20:33:00.000+09:00

By PROF. A.SREEDHARA MENON

The outburst of the secular fundamentalist, Union Minister Mani
Shankar Aiyar, against Vir Savarkar and the removal of the plaque
installed in his name in the cellular jail in the Andamans which was
his abode for over a decade under the British Raj have triggered a
controversy, generating a lot of heat. Normally, the initiative for
such an action with political overtones should have come from the
Union Home Minister. It is strange that the Petroleum Minister has
arrogated to himself this right. Aiyar has since justified his action
as having been motivated by his desire to respect the memory of
Mahatma Gandhi who had no such plaque in his honour in the cellular
jail. Evidently, Aiyar has resorted to cthis argument as an
afterthought to save himself and his Government from the embarrassment
caused by the strong reactions from a section of the intelligentsia
and the political class. The existence or non-existence of a plaque in
honour of Gandhiji in the Andaman jail does not reduce or enhance the
stature of his personality as the supreme leader of the Indian
Independence Movement. The Mahatma's place in history as the Father of
the nation is assured and does not need any advocacy by Mani Shankara
Aiyar and his ilk for the perpetuation of his legacy.

The removal of the plaque from Savarkar's cell in Andaman
jail is an unpardonable act of meanness. It is heartening to note that
Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, an academic par excellence who
according to his own confession has become a politician by accident,
has distanced himself from Aiyar's stand and has conceded that
Savarkar was a patriot and freedom fighter. It is also significant
that Savarkar's acquittal in spite of his being an accused in the
Gandhi Murder Case was also stressed by the Prime Minister. It would
be pertinent in this context to recall Savarkar's role in the Indian
Freedom struggle in the early phase of his career in historical
perspective, whatever might have been the nature of his activities in
the later years of his life.

The activities of Terrorist organizations comprised of militant Hindu
youth form an important chapter in the history of India's freedom
struggle. Bengal, Punjab and Maharashtra were in the forefront of this
Terrorist movement. The terrorists preached the cult of violence and
founded secret societies to encourage acts of individual terrorism
against the oppressive British bureaucrats. In Bengal sprang up early
in the twentieth century the Anuseelan Samithi and other terrorist
groups with which were associated political activists like Bipin
Chandra Pal, Pulin Das et al. Bhupendranath Dutta, the brother of
Swami Vivekannda was actively associated with a terrorist group. The
venerable Aurobindo Ghosh himself advocated violence as a means of
political action for the achievement of freedom from foreign bondage
and was arrested for alleged complicity in the Muzzafarpur bomb case.
Punjab had its chain of secret societies under the leadership of Lala
Hardayal, Ajit Singh, Rash Bihari Bose and others. Maharashtra became
the cradle of militant Hindu nationalism and revolutionary activities
started even in the closing years of the 19th century. Lokamanya
Tilak was a source of inspiration for the militant nationalists. He
did not rule out resort to violence as a means of achieving 'Swaraj'
He was held responsible for the murder of Mr. Rand the Collector of
Pune and sent to jail after a sensational trial. The emergence of
Savarkar on the political scene of Maharashtra has to be seen in the
background of the above developments and not in isolation.

Savarkar was the brain behind the terrorist movement in Maharashtra.
He organized individual terrorist attacks on British officials. He
founded in 1899 a terrorist group called Mithra Mela which became the
precursor of the more well knit and active terrorist group Abhinava
Bharat founded by him in 1900. There was a branch of Abhinava Bharat
in almost all educational institutions in the Bombay Presidency and
terrorist outbreaks became a normal feature of political life. The
Abhinav Bharat proclaimed its goal as the establishment of a Republic
of India, the princes having been considered as mere puppets.

Savarkar subsequently left for London where he continued his
anti-British activities. The India House founded by Syamji Krisna
Varma in 1905 was the rendezvous of the politically active Indian
youth in London. This body had become virtually defunct after its
founder was exiled by the British authorities. In 1907 the leadership
of the India House was taken over a group of youngsters led by
Savarkar. It was a member of this group Madanlal Dhingra who
assassinated the British bureaucrat Curson Wilyie in London in 1909
and he was sent to the gallows by the British . During his stay in
London Savarkar helped his compatriots in Maharashtra by supplying
arms for the fight against the British. Sumit Sarkar, the Leftist
historian has recorded in his 'Modern India 1885 to 1947' that it was
the pistols secretly sent by Savarkar from London that were used to
kill the District Magistrate of Nasik in December 1909. Savarkar was
arrested by the British Police for transportation to India to be tried
in the Nasik Conspiracy Case

On his way to India by ship Savarkar eluded the vigilance of the
British Police and escaped through the toilet hole and swam across
the British Channel to France in a bold bid for freedom from British
clutches. However, he was re-arrested, brought back to India and
sentenced to a long term of rigorous imprisonment of which he spent 11
years in the cellular jail in Andamans. During this period he had not
only to undergo hard labour but was also subjected to physical
torture. After his release from the jail as a physical wreck he
thought it wise to buy peace with the British in his own enlightened
self-interest and also in the national interest for service to the
country in the manner he deemed fit. It should be noted that Sri
Aurobindo who was active in politics just for five years from 1905 to
1910 went into political oblivion and led the life of a yogi avoiding
confrontation with the British.

It was Savarkar's association with the Hindu Mahasabha and his non-
participation in the freedom struggle under Gandhiji's leadership,
particularly the Quit India Movementof 1942 that have been advanced as
arguments to question his credentials as a patriot and freedom
fighter. Many Indian revolutionaries and for that matter even Congress
leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose disagreed with the Gandhian method of
the political action and chose to follow their own paths to attain the
cherished goal. Eminent national leaders like Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Sir C.Sankaran Nair had their own
strong reservations about the Congress policy of appeasement of the
muslim minority and they gravitated to the Hindu Mahasabha. In fact,
it was Madan Mohan Malaviya who took the initiative in forming the
Hindu Mahasabha in 1916 and he was assisted in this endeavour by Lala
Lajpat Rai and others. Sir C.Sankaran Nair presided over the special
session of Hindu Mahasabha in 1931. All the three persons mentioned
above were Presidents of the IndianNationalCongress at some time or
other and are still held in high esteem by the people for their
contribution to the National Movement. Should they be considered as
unpatriotic for the simple reason that they were associated with the
Hindu Mahasabha for reasons of their own?

Savarkar became the President of the Hindu Mahasabha and declared at
its Nagpur session (1939), "We Hindus are a nation by ourselves". This
was a natural response to the Muslim League demand for a separate
state based on the theory that the Muslims in India constituted a
separate nation and cannot be considered as unpatriotic in the context
of the times.

As for the Quit India movement, it should be noted that a
group of Congressmen led by C. Rajagopalachari and the Indian
Communists themselves opposed it. Rajaji's opposition to the movement
did not stand in the way of his becoming the first Indian Head of
State (Governor-General) in independent India. The Communists who were
condemned as unpatriotic betrayers by the Congress in 1942 have today
become patriotic enough to be considered as their bosom partners at
the centre. The great revolutionary of earlier days M.N.Roy extended
his unconditional support to the British and even offered his services
to Lord Wavell for appointment as a member of the Viceroy's Executive
Council. Dr. Ambedkar whom we revere today as the architect of the
Indian Constitution was himself a member of the Viceroy's Executive
Council, which took the decision to arrest Gandhi in the wake of the
Quit India Resolution of August 8, 1942. The nation honours his
memory today by observing his birthday April 14 as a national holiday!

Mention may also be made of the social revolutionary of Tamil Nadu
E.V.Ramaswamy Naicker who advocated the cause of the Dravidasthan
seeking the support of the British in the pre-independence era. Would
Mani Shankar Aiyar dare to say a word against him and step into the
soil of his own home state? R.Sankar and A.A.Rahim, two Congress
leaders of Kerala, did not worry about the unity of India when they
supported the declaration of Travancore as an independent State by
the Maharaja in 1947. The former became the Congress Chief Minister of
Kerala and the latter a Minister of State in the Central cabinet under
the Congress rule. In fact, several distinguished personalities like
S.Radhakrishnan, R.K.Shanmukham Chetty, N.Gopalaswamy Iyengar,
V.T.Krishnamachari and others who were rewarded by the British with
knighthood were not considered unqualified to hold top posts in
independent India.

Viewed in the above background it is incomprehensible why Savarkar
alone should be considered a political untouchable and his memory
pursued with vindictiveness by a group of self-styled intellectuals.
Let me quote Sumit Sarkar again on the role of Savarkar and the RSS
from his "Modern India" " Golwarkar's RSS kept strictly aloof from the
August rebellion. Savarkar on 4 Sept. 1942 urged the Hindu Mahasabha
members of the local bodies legislatures and services to stick to
their posts and continue to perform their regular duties and Syama
Prasad Mukherjee was actually a Bengal Minister while Midnapore was
being ruthlessly suppressed " In spite of all this Jawaharlal Nehru
did not consider Syama Prasad Mukherjee as unpatriotic enough to be
denied a place in his Cabinet.

The current controversy about Savarkar's role in the national movement
is really unfortunate. His life and work have to be assessed
objectively in a broader historical perspective. It deserves special
mention that Savarkar was the first writer to present the Revolt of
1857,'Sepoy Mutiny' in the eyes of the British, as an important
episode in Indian freedom struggle. His work "The Indian War of
Independence 1857" is a valuable contribution to the historical
literature on the subject. What Jawaharlal Nehru has to say about this
in his "Discovery of India" written in 1945 is extracted below " A
great deal of false and perverted history has been written about the
Revolt and its suppression. What the Indians think about it seldom
finds its way to the printed page. Savarkar wrote the "History of the
War of Indian Independence" some thirty years ago, but his book was
promptly banned and is banned still". Of course it was published in
free India. The fact is that when the balance is struck, whatever be
the fulminations of Mani Shankara Aiyar and his tribe, Savarkar has
his own legitimate place in the history of modern India as a patriot
and freedom fighter. The removal of the plaque kept in his honour from
the cellular jail in Andamans where he spent more than a decade of his
life is not only an insult to the memory of this valiant revolutionary
and freedom fighter but also an injustice to history Let us hope that
the plaque will be restored to its original place and the soul of
Savarkar allowed to rest in peace. The earlier this is done, the
better for the Government and the people of India.

(The writer is a former National Fellow of the ICHR and can be
contacted on e-mail sreesaroj@satyam.net.in)

Is India an IT Super Power ?

2004-12-01T19:46:00.000+09:00

India stands 3rd when it comes to IT product making next only to U.S and Ireland. In IT services we stand 2nd next only to U.S.

Many claim our achievements in IT as one of these.

Vijay Khosla was the Co-Founder of SUN microsystems.

Microsoft's Vice Precident is Sanjay Mirchandani. Just see the acknowledgements list for Indian names. Internet Explorer is the defacto browser of the day, isn't it happy to see these names. First name is an Indian name (it comes in the alphabetical order though).

Vinodh Daham the father of Pentium also became the partner of AMD.

HP sometime back developed a strategic product called E-Speak. The idea of E-Speak was conceived, headed and driven by Indians. The CEO of the E-Speak operations was Rajeev. The brain behind the specification and the one who defined the nuts and bolts of E-Speak was Arindam Banerjee. Sekhar (a NASA scientist) was the head for the tools section.

I hope everybody knows the story behind bose speakers.

You would have heard that an infosys's banking product is being used in Africa.(?)

Indians have contributed a lot to the Java technology.

Is it enough to call ourselves an IT Super Power ?

Is there any single company setting the standard for a particular cutting edge technology in the IT field? No, absolutely not. I find very little Indians aspiring to become Entrepruners. They tend or rather prefer to work under someone instead take a bigger pain in establishing their own business empire.

China, Taiwan and korea are very good in computer electorinics. Only Dell and compaq sell systems, though they use korean parts. Indian IT companies are doing exactly the same.

Look at the way the Japanese, Koreans and the Taiwanese are treated or rather respected in the west as against, we Indians. There is no doubt that they are looked a little high, rated high and ... When you see the number of Asians settled in US in the 70's, the Indians are the least in number to start their own firms, but top in the migration. ofcourse, there are some interesting success stories. But, look at the bigger picture. where do we stand? there is nothing wrong in analysing and correcting our mistakes, right? whereever u find good, make it yourself.

For example, take the automobile industry. when u take automobiles, u say Japan and germany are super powers (as against v call India as an IT super power). When u see the western market, they are flooded with toyota, honda, nissan, mazda, volkswagen, benz, bmw etc ... above all ferrari. So, when they say Japanese are good in autos... They have really nice products... they have cutting edge technologies in their fields. When India says that we are the best in IT, then, how many Indian companies have a cutting edge technology with them... ? Take for example infosys, TCS, wipro... all are into service. they get projects from west. They execute it. Here, there is no major technology involved. its just the service that is utilised. they don't have any particular product that can drive the market. No one is the market leader. we don't set trends. we just follow trends. ofcourse we have brains... that's y, Indians are hired all over the world. there is no second opinion. But, that brain is used to execute a particular work. Not to think innovatively. Guys, we don't comeup with ideas. We just execute other's ideas... No one can deny this. Even giants like Infosys and wipro don't drive the market. They just drive the sensex high.

Well, u can claim that, an indian is leading the team of intel's most prestigious project. 2 indians r in highest position in MicroSoft, philips has most of its R& D work in india, servlets was invented by an indian, pentium was designed by an Indian etc etc etc. But, what I am trying to convey here is not this kinda success. These are again MNCs. They utilise our brains. Ofcourse, Indians are a part of their success. Infact, they are the key drivers behind their successes. But, this success is not a part of Indias'. The only gain that India derives from these successes are just monetary benefits which indirectly contributes to our GDP and forex reserves.

We shud be proud of the Java tech skills and our contribution to that. But, are we to take credit for that? Is India really an IT Super Power? Indians are utilised for low end projects. We take orders. We execute projects. That's it. Most of the Indians are not amoung the guys who actually frame the strategy and plan designs and all. This is a blatant truth.

Moreover, India is 'relatively under-computerised' with only 4 million personal computers, as against China where the penetration of PCs stands at around 18 million. On contrast, Thirty per cent of the world's graduates in software are from India and a big part of the talent responsible for innovation is from our country's universities.

Many justify the Indian companies' stand by saying that, "It is not that the Indian IT companies don't have ideas to make products. What happens if a Indian service company like Infosys or WIPRO or HCL starts making products? Clients and customers of these companies will lose their faith on as they might fear that we would make products based on their ideas and requirements". But, I say that, once we grow to that extent, we will replace them in the market. It will be our market then. MicroSoft was started as a services company for IBM. But, where do they stand now?

They claim, "The Indian companies do not have the monetary strength to push a product in to the world market easily". Accepted. For startups yes. But, what about companies that are well established in the market? What about the ever boasting TCS or the Wipro or the Infosys? If they can pay more than 3 million dollars on a scam settlement, why can't they?

The key reasons for this is our general attitude. We should avoid "The Earn-to-Spend" Mentality. We should do Whatever Is Necessary to Meet Your Goals. We should Take Calculated Risks. We shud learn lessons from the Japanese. For example, Akio Morita was a young man fighting for the Japanese Army during the world war II. There were news that Japan was bombed by US and almost 1 lakh civilians perished and therefore, the war might come to an end. As predicted, the war was over, he came back. Saw the troubles of his country men. He, with his girl friend Yoshiko, (this concept of gf was there at that time itself ...) started a company in 1946 with 20 employees. That day, he wrote in his diary, that, "My growth shud be my country's growth."(Ennoda Valarchi En Naattoda valarchiya Irukkanum) True to the every single word, the company as well as his country grew. He later renamed his company as SONY Corp. This is the kind of vision we want. We want people who can dream this big.

The problem with Indians is that we have lost the habit of thinking big! Growth has no limit. We have to keep revising our vision. And that vision has to be within reach, not in the air, It has to be achievable.

When individuals succeed, its for the individual or may be his family or at the max, we can be proud that it was an Indian who did this... I want to point out someone like Morita, someone like Dirubai... ya, I shud defenetely mention Dirubai Ambani here, orelse it would be a great injustice. Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani had achieved what many would consider impossible. In a life spanning 69 years, he built from scratch India's largest privately controlled corporate empire. Today, the whole energy cycle in India is gonna get changed. Reliance has got 26% stake in IPCL. RIL has found gas in bay of bengal some 2000 feet below sea bed. They have decieded to go by themselves, inspite of all the OIL majors in the world lending their hand for joint venture in that. See, The company whose mentor returned back from Yeman to Bombay with just 500 rs in 1957, is going to take gas from Bay of bengal over a period of 7 or 9 years with an overall estimate of 18000 crore rupees. RIL, First Indian private sector company to record Net Profit of over Rs. 1,000 crores in one quarter. He is an investor's deity. He created a new class of investors. (middle class investors.) sollitte polam.. Idu madiri daan edir pakkaren. This kinda success is what amuses me. This shud amuse "us".

We need entrepreneurs like them. I believe that ambition and initiative will ultimately triumph. The success of the young entrepreneurs will be the key to India's transformation in the new millennium. They should drive the market. They should create new markets. Not follow one.

I think, while so many people are out there smelling the flowers, we should take the time to plant some.

- Murali