Our Constitution : A system of laws, or a bundle of flaws?

1924..


A wing of the then Congress party had wanted to enter electoral politics. Desabandhu Chittaranjan Das, an eminent Bengali Lawyer, emerged victorious in the elections and became the Mayor of Calcutta. Regarding official negotiations, he then went to the then Governor of Bengal Province. He very modestly but firmly stated that as he was elected by the people of his city, he would like to choose his own Commissioner.


Amused, the Governor had very nicely accepted Das' request and told him to choose any ICS officer from the British cadre whom he deemed fit and competent. Das once again put forth a modest question stating why he should select someone from the Goverment. He declared that he would like to select his own young men and women, i.e, the brightest Indians.


On the account of the great stature Das had at his command, the Governor instantly offered permission. D.C. Das selected a 27 year old youngster. This young man did an outstanding job for the next one year, and managed to earn immense acclaims from the British Government, the officials, the Municipal Council and the people.


One fine day, it so happened that this dynamic young man was jailed, as he had incurred the Government's wrath and ire by participating in the freedom struggle. He was put in the Alipur jail of Calcutta. As the news reached Das, he again approached the Governor and put across his views that he had not come to him to pick up a brawl. He once again firmly told, that in or out of jail, the 27 year old youngster would serve as the Commissioner.


The British Government gave an extraordinary order saying that the young man would continue to be the Commissioner of the city, and the files for the city would be periodically circulated to him and the orders shall be implemented.


The orders are still present in our present Government archives. That practice continued till the young man was shifted to Mandalay Jail. That very young man went on to become the Mayor of Calcutta city by 1930. By 1940, he became the President of the Congress party in the country. He was the founder of the Azad Hind Fauj, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.


That was the Local Government tradition and Democratic tradition 87 years ago in our country during colonial rule. That was the power the Government leaders had at that time; the power to directly choose efficient people from the common public.


Can't we have at least that back? Can't our own constitution, written by us for ourselves permit the same act which the British Government had permitted? Can we not have the communities govern? Can we not have pride in our cities?



 - Compiled from Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan's speech at Mumbai University

Indian Justice : To execute the wrongdoers? Or to encourage them?

If you had ever been to a court proceeding, or happened to watch such a proceeding in a movie or any other media, you will know this; the huge white figure of the Mother of Indian justice stands blindfolded, holding a beam balance. The blindfold denotes the fact that there is no 'your' and 'mine' when it comes to punishing the culprits. And the beam balance portrays the idea of equality before law.

The reason for this not-really-important explanation of our Mother of Justice is just to enlighten the fact that the denotation and portrayal mentioned above, are being automatically and unknowingly modified by the passing years. Moreover, the modifications are definitely not for the better. And who are the very people allowing that to happen? WE.

What's happening in our country? Can't we ever see the political culprits hanged? Do they always enjoy the privilege of getting out of prison with a bunch of health ailment issues under their armpits and again open up their immoral acts after pretending to be silent for a while? Why does our justice system allow all that? Why is our judicial system so hesitant to execute all such rogues? Is it meant to eradicate the wrongdoers, or encourage them?  

Let's THINK. Let's ACT. 

Why no 'Jobs' in India?

He is the one of the biggest entrepreneurs of all time. His invention had molded and directed millions of brains across the globe towards the idea of thinking big and thinking different. Innovation is his second name. Well, you guessed it right, that's Steve Jobs! The father of 'Apple', the technology company which is now taking the whole world by storm. All is fine, let's now try to print our thoughts on a different path. What if Apple were born in India?


The whole world received him with great admiration. He amazed people of all races with his inventive trait. To the whole world he is the Godfather of modern invention. But pathetically, if Jobs were born in India, if the Apple had popped out of his mind in our country, it would have soon died a rotten death. Why? A single line explains the whole thing : Steve was a dropout.


This very clearly depicts our Indian mentality. Through the decades, we had always wanted top rank holders, high percentage profiles, university gold medalists, and all other sorts of 'academically brilliant' people. We have been so obsessed with the matter in our school books, that we had failed to realize that dropouts too have brains, and when given a chance, they too can prove their stand on the world stage.


We have been developing an attitude that's so dumb and dead, and if we continue to maintain our line of thinking on the same stream, one day India will emerge as a nation not consisting of people, but of walking libraries that had got rusted under the air of decayed education; education that looks only at the pages in between the two covers of a book, and not outside, where the real taste and essence of innovation lies.


Dare to be different. Dare it. Do it.

Protagonist imprisoned, and the rascals on a freedom rambling

We are marching towards a new age, a new era, where the law and administration are beginning to melt on the lands of hopelessness and shameless deeds. For the past 64 years, India has seen significant growth in population, poverty and corruption. And when one or two from the masses emerge to put things on the right place, all they get is insult and imprisonment.

Why is it that the real offenders don't get imprisoned, or even if they were, why is it that they so easily manage to come back to their seats? Why is it that the ones who fight for good aren't largely accepted in this country, and the ones preaching bad are welcomed ? Is this a country of democracy or hypocrisy ?

No matter what, India has been, is, and will be a great nation. But we need to realize that this greatness is being torn by the inevitable blades like corruption and ignorance, with apathy and indifference haunting our minds. 

Things don't change if we just keep sitting and debating on topics, they don't change if just one in a million wakes up and walks out to fight, neither do they change when we think of changing others. 

Things change, only when we change. Things change, only when I change. 

A Disgrace

As the days are passing by, the beliefs and thinking of the government have begun to go the insane way. Seems ours is the only nation, where people fighting 'against' the country enjoy more publicity and support than people who fight 'for' the country. Congress, which has been covering it's immorality and corruptness under the blankets of Manmohan Singh as being the most clean and ethical party, finally speaks out. But wait, after such a long pause, it doesn't speak anything that makes sense.


Those people are now turning the topic, claiming that Anna Hazare is corrupt. And the PM himself has started to request Anna to end the fast as he feels that it is a disgrace for such people to awaken the nation and kindle delicate issues like corruption.


What is the real disgrace, an old and experienced Anna fighting for the country, or we youngsters keeping ourselves off from politics ? I believe the later one is something unpardonable! 

Sleeping India : The country of Scams

Hats off to the person who had compiled this. These are the scams that had seen the light and were brought to the notice of the public. There might be many more hiding behind the scenes; but this figure itself is disgraceful.        ( USD 20.23 trillion )


We may doubt the genuineness of the above facts and figures, but when we reconsider the amount of Indian money dumped in Swiss Banks, we should realize that it's high time we wake up from our long-lived slumber. Before independence, the British devoured our nation, and now we ourselves are doing so. Not a big difference. Lets move out and make a difference!

Incredible India we say, but is India really Incredible?

INDIA : Ranks 4th among the world's most dangerous countries for women 

A total of 100 million women and girls are estimated to be involved in drug-trafficking in India. 

-Former Indian Home Secretary, Madhukar Gupta

Girls from rural villages taken to cities on the promise of jobs and wages are sold to brothels. Even when they do escape or are rescued they can be rejected from their own families and left destitute. It's under-reported. There is also bonded slavery still in existence. 

-Mandy Marshall, Tearfund

44.5 % of girls are married before the age of 18.

- ICRW (2010), Analysis of Demography and Health Survey data

50 million girls are missing in the past century due to human infanticide and foeticide.

- United National Population Fund


'Incredible India' we say. We claim that ours is the greatest and one of the oldest civilizations. We proclaim that ours is a diversified country, and our culture and heritage have got unmatched repute.
Well, how long will we fool ourselves? How long will we remain asleep under the blankets of atrocities,  corruption, child abuse? Wake up, Open up, Speak up!

Saythya Sai : The BABA who was a BLACK sheep

There is a saying, that only when people leave us, we get to know their importance and feel their absence. But here, only when the so called divine human, Satya Sai Baba deceased, we got to know how insignificant his presence was. All the atrocities that had been plotted and covered in the name of spiritualism and divinity have finally surfaced.

From the Prime Minister to the paanwaala, from the high-profile citizens to the low-profile countrymen, everyone became an empty-headed victim to this colossal and corrupt empire of the BABA. The good thing is that there were people who succeeded in keeping themselves off from the ominous ditches of this empire, but unfortunately, such rationalists and positivists were immensely outnumbered by the sapheads and fools who were not sensible enough to comprehend the downfall of this kingdom; the kingdom of deception.

Such and such are the people to whom we give the powers and the responsibility to govern the nation. Politicians, bureaucrats and other ministers, who seem to carry the highest duties lacked the basic common sense to sense the reality. Are these dumb-headed people fit enough to govern us? Are we giving the chance of governance to such educated-derelicts? Let this not only be an eye-opener, but a mind-opener for us. Let's wake up, and get into the challenging world of politics and chase these morons out of our nation.   

Is our country Democratic or Demo'critic' ?

Seems our government has now begun to chart a new tomorrow; a tomorrow from where inane critics are going to pop out. A few determined people like Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal have been fighting it out for the past many weeks. And these people have harbored the support of millions. Now, the government has transferred its target from the corrupt to the anti-corrupt. Criticism has crossed it's framework, and now our government is getting  into an entirely new path; the path of criticizing and condemning the protagonists.

A few days ago, there has been a citation in the news media that had caused turmoil. It says that if we had been in favor of the 'Jan 'Loot'pal bill', in place of the 'Jan Lokpal', the bill would have reached the President's desk long back. This line might appear comical, but definitely not nonsensical!

The government has now begun to slam all those people who are against corruption. And the people who serve as a reason for this state, our country is plunged into right now, are in their homes, healthy and happy. We don't question the wrongdoers, but when someone tries to get up and march forward to chase these culprits out of the borders, we pull them down. We are either sitting satisfied with blind thoughts that long-hour debating and criticizing will help, or we are not enough gutsy to get into the tough world of politics and lead a change.

The cassette of India is getting rewound. We are moving backwards. Let's enter the political scene and do something incredible, trendsetting and sensational!

Is India in for Innovation?

6 of the top 10 IIT rank holders this year are from AP. Well, this is not something that can be considered to be a feather in the cap for the state. And not only Andhra, most of the Indian states have now begun to take this rusted route.  The passing years have seen a severe downfall in the number of students turning their faces towards civil services or politics, or any other line away from the traditional courses. Education has now earned a brand; a brand so tormenting and discriminating that most of us have forgotten that there is something beyond bookish knowledge.

The latest news statistics say that India files over 36,000 patents annually. Whereas our neighbor, China, is way far ahead, filing around 4,00,000 patents yearly. Is innovation being buried in the name of education? Are our brains being injected forcefully with the lethal threads of raw knowledge?

Various movies are being made concerning such topics, debates are being held on the world platforms, and the so called national icons are pledging to bring about a change; but the thing that really matters, or rather, the thing that matters at all is, are WE willing to CHANGE?

We need to think about it!

The real freedom

63 years have passed since our country had fought its way to freedom from the heinous clutches of the British. Our national leaders have sweated blood just to make sure our country thrives through the ever competitive world and emerges as a world leader. They have lost their everything, just to ensure that the future generations can see India as a country that resembles a heavenly abode. They had fought till their last breath. They had given up their lives, but not their hopes to see India as a nation that sets an example for the other nations of the world. They fought for it, and finally, we got FREEDOM.


Wait. Let's think once again. Freedom? Freedom to preach corruption? Freedom to breach the rules and break the laws? Freedom for the politicians to exploit the people and make false statements and betray the common man? Freedom to practice discrimination on the grounds of race, caste and religion? Freedom to re-inculcate the so called 'banned' practices of child labor and child marriage and bring them into the national practice? Freedom to disrespect our national leaders and make them items of mockery? Freedom to deceive the people and make money in the name of spiritualism and education?


If all these sum up to make the 'FREEDOM' our nation is enjoying right now, we need to wake up.
Would India have been a better country if the British Rule hadn't ended? Let's ensure that the answer to this question remains a 'NO', for now and for ever.

Silence is 'NOT' Golden

'Speech is silver, silence is golden'. This is a proverb our teachers have been forcing into our minds since childhood. But today, after all the dark elements of politics have entered the scene, this maxim doesn't deserve the least of attention. Silence is no more golden. Silence is now dangerous, extremely dangerous. It has been ripping apart the nation's reputation for the past 6 decades. Politicos have come, politicos have gone. But they have so dedicatedly stuck to the above mentioned proverb, that the nation has begun to shrink in shame.


There will be people who instantly dispose off such thoughts of supporting a change. There may be people who strongly feel that fighting for the nation is going to be absolutely useless. And people nursing such arrogant thinking serve as perfect examples for cripple mindedness.

A few non-political luminaries like Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Baba Ramdev have begun to act. They have put their everything in dragging our nation out from its slumber. And, even now if we don't wake up and start forging ahead, the future will show no mercy on us.
'Wake up and start DREAMING, Wake up and start DOING'

Education going nasty; caste cards replace ID cards

The contemporary Indian education system has now begun to take an entirely different route. And the credit to this change goes to St. Agnes High School, Muttachira, in Kerala's Kottayam district. But wait, this change doesn't appear to behold the bright future India is heading towards. It appears to take our nation a few decades backwards, and again put the act of discrimination into national practice. Caste cards replacing ID cards.

Indian civilization is the greatest civilization ever, we say. Our culture and heritage have got unmatched reputation, and our country is a secular country. We say everybody is equal before the law, and the Indian judiciary doesn't care which caste or community you are from. The offenders will be punished, and the innocent will be salvaged from the clutches of darkness. For the past 64 years we have been proclaiming, that India deserves to be mentioned as the perfect example for the universal adage, 'Unity in Diversity'.
But lets rethink. 'Unity in Diversity', or 'Diversity in Unity' ?

Welcome!

The one very good reason that I could find to justify my creating this blog is to impart into the minds of the people of this country, that talking and debating over the problems of the country are not going to solve the problems. But before I continue putting my mind into this article, I would like to illuminate the answers for the typical questions that may pop out from your minds. You may very well have this feeling on your inner side gulping you, that what an 18 year old chap is trying to do by peppering some really posh looking words throughout the length and breadth of this blog. Some bog-standard queries that question my ability and eligibility of putting something sensible into the peoples' minds, or some extreme thoughts telling you that I am heading to do something nonsensical, or some sort of delicate and too intricate thinking that I am doing all this just to show myself off, etc, may begin circling within your brains. 


At this juncture, I want to make one point clear. And let this settle all the misconceptions once for all. This move of mine is not to impress you, but to welcome you into the world of the most potent tool that can change the peoples' lives for the better, POLITICS. I want to mention that I have got terrific passion for politics. And it is clearly perceptible from the real world that politics is not something that can be moved on by a single person. Most of us are habituated to the common thought process of shunning politics and painting it negative. More often than not we keep saying that politics is all about corruption, immoral practices and just another illegal and easy way of living a life comprising luxury and power glued together. We sometimes strongly feel that politics is all about exploiting the poor, making promises that appear to be true at the first instance, but at a later date turn out to be false. And then, there is this notion crippling most of our minds that politics requires influence and experience, and only those people who have got these two under their belts can ever do anything. 


It would be very much unfair if one equates the system (politics) with the rulers (politicians). Politics today has begun to bear faces of immorality and unprincipledness, and most of the politicians should be given the credit for this 'contribution'. Politics by itself isn't bad. Politics by itself isn't a corrupt and unethical system. It is because of most of the politicians, that the term politics has ended up printing negative ideas in our minds. 


In a few years from now, time would find me getting into politics. As already mentioned, the political scene is not something that can be carried out single handedly. And I alone can do nothing  by getting into politics, if I don't harbor the support and suggestions from you people. Hence, I wish you too think the political way, and pour in your ideas and suggestions regarding what has to be done to make India a better country. Your propositions and ideas will undeniably play an incredibly huge role and find their place in the country's political agenda.