The best way to know the self is feeling oneself at the moments of reckoning. The feeling of being alone, just with your senses, may lead you to think more consciously. More and more of such moments may sensitize ‘you towards you’, towards others. We become regular with introspection and retrospection. We get ‘the’ gradual connect to the higher self we may name Spirituality or God or just a Humane Conscious. We tend to get a rhythm again in life. We need to learn the art of being lonely in crowd while being part of the crowd. A multitude of loneliness in mosaic of relations! One needs to feel it severally, with conscience, before making it a way of life. One needs to live several such lonely moments. One needs to live severallyalone.

Wednesday 31 August 2011

FREEDOM .. FIEFDOM

Freedom, they say free we are
Fiefdom is we say they go for
Ranting and ranting the stupor
Stoning and macerating the roar
Breaking cunningly the only oar
Sharpening the fangs even more
  
Freedom, they say is the emblem
Fiefdom is what we say is to blame
Evolution they claim is not to tame
Revolution that they work to maim
Resolutions and their ‘per se’ claim
Making them look absurd and lame

Freedom, they say is now so clear
Fiefdom is what we say they wear
Giving us dreams the moon is near
Leaving with the means just to tear
Killing our voices with their smear
Motives their might get so ulterior

Freedom, they preach as inclusive
Fiefdom, we say is so manipulative
Granting us the mode degenerative
Wanting us to go dumb, diminutive
All so visible, nothing left figurative
Any raised voice is said subversive

That was until NOW

Freedom was defined to be subjugated
Fiefdom still intended to be propagated
We realized the equations thus oriented
They realize the mobilisation so effected
That it is to be heard not to be amputated
That the change finds a way to be reflected

Monday 29 August 2011

THE ANNA FLUX & THE RAMLILA GROUND REDUX


The Culmination Point - Rama Would Certainly Be Smiling

Anna & 'Anna'naas (Pineapple) - Just This On Sale (Any Coincidence)

Significant Business Time-out For Vendors!

Spilled-over Traffic & Self-motivated Pioneers

And Last But Not The Least: Annagiri of Anna Topi :)

THE POSTER POSTURE SUPPORTERS OF ANNA!

Like throngs of vendors of all hues, another conspicuous presence at the Ramlila Ground during Anna's Fast was presence of some seemingly 'die-hard' Anna supporters crying their heart out for Anna embossing their words on posters pasted in multiple copies all around the Ramlila Ground. Some of them could find a space here.

The Gangsta Look & Thick Gold Chains




The Enlightened One!

Leaning Corruption Management Through Organizing Religious Tours


Last But Not The Least - Ramdev Comes To Anna's Aid


Sunday 28 August 2011

WE RAISE VOICE, ANNA PREVAILS – DEMOCRACY RELOADED

27th day of August 2011 is the epitome of the movement started on the historical day of August 16, 2011 when a simple but honest man of Gandhian integrity challenged the might of a democratically elected government that looked to turn hostile on voices representing the ordinary Indians demanding a strong ombudsman bill termed ‘Jan Lokpal’ on an issue, just being debated and debated over the last five decades. The ruling class on August 15-16 dismissed the demand terming it as a thought process of small standalone group. They projected it as subverting the supremacy of the Indian Parliament. Some of them even said that very few of the Indians were angered over the issue of corruption and they would soon have their grievances met once the government version of the ‘Lokpal’ is enacted. They miscalculated. We have proved it during the last 13 days since the historic day of August 16.

Every day beginning with the August 16 moment, when the mounting public pressure forced the government to set Anna free, has graduated on higher note of true democratic values putting the notion ‘citizen first’ on the highest pedestal and has witnessed a riveting cascade of defining events being unfolded every moment and being spread to every Indian by a media that after ages, played a largely sensible role realizing its obligation towards strengthening the democratic values. Almost nothing except Anna’s Movement was seen and is being seen on almost of the national news channels and in national pages of newspapers and news portals.

Anna has proved the mettle of the ordinary Indian. He has spoken again through Anna’s voice that he is fed up of the existing system of governance in the country and needs some fundamental reforms now. This thought process has capitalized in the voice of Anna Hazare. It has made Anna much bigger than Anna Hazare giving him a larger than life presence in the psyche of the ordinary Indian for the days to come. He has come to represent the true embodiment of the Mahatma. He may lack Mahatma’s political acumen but he has imbibed Mahatma’s will power on holding on values like honesty and integrity practiced through ‘Satyagraha’. Anna has come to represent the conscience of every conscious Indian.

And what else could be the more visible show of strength of this mass conscience symbolized by the word ‘Anna’ that forced the divided, bickering, warring, ridiculing, ignoring, criticizing, abusing, mocking, dodging, dismissing Parliamentarians to speak the language of Anna and so of us in just 12 days.

On 12th day of Anna’s Fast, (Saturday, August 27, a Parliament holiday), the Parliament was forced by political compulsions to be convened to discuss the ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’ and Anna’s three specific demands – PM’s inclusion, State Lokayuktas and the Citizen Charter. It was forced by political maneuvering of BJP on 11th day of Anna’s Fast when it demanded voting on the three demands of Anna Hazare under the Rule 184. It was double whammy for the government as BJP had dwindled away to support Anna in order to save its face when Congress was looking to find an escape route behind the veil of united Parliament floating the idea of discussing a lameduck draft that had no essence after excluding Anna’s three demands. And to add to it, it chose to carry out the debate under the Rule 193 that doesn’t include voting. Congress’ misery was more intensified with ‘well thought of remarks’ of Rahul Gandhi that took 10 days into making on Anna’s Fast and the spreading Movement when he chose to dismiss the very intent of this mass uprising. Intense politicking and parleys of discussion ultimately forced all the politicians to convene the Parliament on Saturday to discuss the ‘Jan Lokpal’ including Anna’s three demands. This whole exercise was equally compelled by the increasing public outrage over Anna’s deteriorating health and insensitive dilly dallying of the political class. Also the fear psychosis that another weekend was approaching and repercussion could be severe with many more Lakks of people on the streets to support the anti-corruption Movement named Anna was lubricating this feeling. But even here, the intention was to score some gains as voting was not going to be part of it.

On Saturday, 12th day of Anna’s Fast, when all the political class ‘representing us officially’ went into the discussion mode, least of us had expected sanity on their part but as the debate progressed (and remember, it was televised live and being watched by the whole country), a rare sense of sanity, though forced by the political compulsions of some big elections including Uttar Pradesh next year, started percolating. By the evening, the trickle down was complete and a holistically spread sense of sanity seemed to be working on this elite rural class as the House passed a ‘Sense of the House Resolution’ with thumping benches endorsing Anna’s all demands. A ‘Sense of the House Resolution’ is a rare event in the history of the Indian Parliament and is a thumping endorsement of an issue with no division of the opinion. What could be the better indicator of this sanity, that may prove very fragile, than BJP’s support even if was not happy without actual voting as it decided to go with Anna accepting the ‘Sense of the House Resolution’.

The whole country rejoiced on the evening of August 27. The whole country is celebrating the milestone achieved on the way to fight. Millions participated, irrespective of their affiliations, when Anna broke his Fast this morning. But, the celebration should be with the sense of caution. It is just half the ‘Lokpal’ battle done. It is just the beginning of the long march ahead when the next two big-ticket reforms needed immediate action are the enactment of the ‘Jan Lokpal Act’ and the election reforms.

The Anna Symbolism has helped us revisit the Gandhian Conscience and it is rare opportunity for this country. India was forgetting Gandhi and its democracy had started looking more like a half-baked product. But with this symbolic victory of the power of the ordinary Indian yesterday, the Gandhian Conscience and the Indian democracy have again been put in the ‘being reloaded’ mode fuelled by the participation of the ordinary Indian and not its political class.

When Anna broke his Fast this morning, it was culmination of this symbolic victory and reminder of the fight that is en-route to get promises into real, solid ground based activities because if we have reasons to praise the rare conscience shown by the ruling elite class of the Indian politicians, we equally have the reasons to doubt their continued sense of reasoning for good given their changing stands since August 16 and their many U-turns after its promise to Anna on April 9 to break his Jantar-Mantar Fast for the ‘Jan Lokpal’ draft.  Rejuvenation is under way. Complete resurrection is on the way.

BELIEVE BUT BEWARE AND MARCH AHEAD. WE STAND VINDICATED. WE STAND UNITD.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

THE ANNA SYMBOLISM-2: FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: AUGUST 16 – THE AUGUST MOMENT OF THE COMMON INDIAN (PART-III)

Anna started making in-roads in the psyche of the common man. Government saw the public fury now openly expressing it. Many of the elected representatives had never seen such a crisis situation in their lifetime. Public, for them, had become a recurring bank account with election time as the only point to offer some more blank cheques of hope in return of another official term to splurge on the wealth of a poor nation. Call for the name Anna grew louder and soon the name Anna became larger than the simple and honest person Anna. Government came under the mounting public pressure and had to release Anna’s release orders but it was still not accepting that it faulted in handling the situation. Anna refused to budge. The mobilization opposing the government started chanting the name ‘Anna’.

That was the beginning of the Anna Symbolism. As Anna continued with his Fast, the intense media support to it made it an issue to be updated regularly without any break. Government seemed to slip into a slumber with some more foolish steps. And with Anna’s Fast inside the jail and his appeal to the common Indian, a mature face of the Indian democracy of the common man emerged that took to the streets peacefully to tell the government it was not going to take any false assurance on tackling corruption this time.

Here came the Anna Phenomenon to give a disciplined expression to the public anger simmering all these years. By the time Anna came out of the jail on August 19, he was dictating his terms and yet majority of Indians welcomed it as Anna’s cause was echoing with their thought process. Anna rode high on the support mobilizing more and more people. Anna became larger than life symbolizing the fight of the common man against corruption.

On August 20, lakhs took to the Delhi streets to rally for Anna just on a call of Anna. Anna remained resolute, his support base enlarged while the government committed mistakes after mistakes. Congress leaders who were justifying Anna’s arrest, questioning his character and advocating for a tough gesture, started taking the line that Anna’s integrity was beyond doubt and they didn’t feel good about Anna’s arrest, even Ambika Soni and Kapil Sibal!

On August 21, the sixth day of Anna’s Fast, when Anna asked his supporters to do ‘gherao’ and do ‘Gandhigiri’ at houses of their representatives, politicians across the country saw their houses blocked by protestors. On August 22, the seventh day of Anna’s Fast, Congress MPs like Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt came out in full support of Anna Hazare when they faced this ‘Gandhigiri ’and more or less, it was the stand adopted by most of the representatives barring few inhabiting the crisis creating block of the government. Agreed, they might have done it under pressure of their electorate but the remarkable thing is they had to realize it so soon, just within a day of Anna’s call. And so, when Pranab Mukherjee and Sheila Dikshit said such protests didn’t matter, it was again a poor face saving exercise giving more prominence to the relevance of the Cause symbolized by Anna.

The sanctity of the Anna Symbolism lies in its uniformity for everyone. The same police that crushed Ramdev’s Fast at the same ground, is deployed unarmed visibly and is offering help to the visiting protestors politely. Many of them could be seen with their families at the Ramlila Ground. It can be felt in other parts of Delhi and at other places where peaceful protests are taking place. Ask some of them personally and they simply start lambasting their higher-ups and the government for making mess of the whole issue. It would be an interesting study to be conducted on the families of the police personnel to find what they think about Anna’s fight and what they felt when someone from the family was involved in arresting Anna.  Anna’s movement may not and cannot wipe out corruption in a day but can help us to initiate in Gandhian values. Anna has successfully used the Gandhian experiments to bring a large section of the Indians out to demand for the ‘Jan Lokpal’ and it obviously has given way to the irrelevant debates on comparing Anna with the Mahatma.

THE ANNA SYMBOLISM - FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: AUGUST 16 – THE AUGUST MOMENT OF THE COMMON INDIAN (PART-II)

THE ANNA SYMBOLISM

A movement becomes a mass movement when the cause behind it is bound by a thought process linked to a symbol of almost no folly and supreme trust where the common man sees a reflection of solution to his endless problems and Anna, today, has become that. India was struggling to find a way to gain independence but it could get a pan-India character only when it found a symbol to follow in Mahatma Gandhi. The Mahatma went on to become a Thought as the Movement prolonged. And the Anna Symbolism is extension of that thought process. The Mahatma thought process effected many movements globally with its unique legacy of ‘demanding change through the means of peace and non-violence’ giving rise to leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela and  Desmond Tutu but, back home, the Independent India has always felt a lacuna except names like Vinoba Bhave or JP.

We are in a position today where we need to accept with a sense of urgency that we have failed to live up to the aspirations of the Mahatma of an Indian society based on ideals of equality and purity, what he defined as ‘Ram Rajya’. Mahatma was not a utopian. He was a practical strategist. He had a vision to get the ends meet and the most important one was the political restructuring with decentralization upto the village level. But, India, collectively failed the Mahatma. If India is ranked among the most corrupt countries year after year, we have reasons to believe in that. If India is debated more as a chaotic democracy with reducing people-orientation, we have reasons to believe in that. If every other Defence, industrial and social project deal is ultimately taking a hue of ‘being corruption laden’, we have reasons to believe in that. What a country can feel when its PM says in issues like corruption and inflation that he has no magic wand to cure and he, time and again, repeats it?

The 65 years of consistent failures and patches of success slowly have given way to what we are witnessing today as the Anna Phenomenon and what we witnessed during the yesteryears in luminaries like Vinoba, JP or Lohia who could truly mobilize masses for greater change. Like Vinoba, Anna has imbibed the Mahatma during his over three decades of living with the Gandhian means to bring the change on-board. An India that was reeling under pangs of corruption and establishment apathy, after decades, found someone in Anna Hazare to look forward to. Masses always look for a leader to follow, history tells us. They need a formidable character to look up to, to run behind. And, any social upheaval needs subsequent political characterization to stabilize and here a character like Anna is needed. India lost the opportunity after it emerged victorious from the 70’s Emergency when the political movement could not correspond to the great mass mobilization and JP had to lament on demise of first non-Congress government owing to its own internal deformities. Could it capitalize on the gains this time?

Now India is again at the brink of such an opportunity. Its seeds were sown when NDA lost the power to the UPA in the 2004 General Elections. Everything, from the analysis of political pundits to the media and opposition, had this feeling that NDA was going to return to power with comfortable majority. But the results were a slap in the face of every such analyst inhabiting the corridors of power. Common man had spoken through his ballot. The ground beneath NDA’s feet was taken away by the momentum generated by the ‘Spiral of Silence’ that the common man was subjected to. It was the time for the political class to take some lessons because the dissenting voice of the minority was on the way to become a majority with consistent increase in India’s young population inheriting restlessness and uncertainty owing to the limited career avenues available. The unexpected outcome was telling that something fundamental about majority of Indian society was changing. But that wasn’t to be. No lessons learnt.

Irrespective of party and coalition affiliations, the political class continued with practices of ‘take it easy’ and ‘it happens’ attitude in dealing with issues of the common man, cases of corruption and implementation of common man oriented policies. Some good things like MNREGA, ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ and Mid-day meal scheme lost their utility owing to the wide-scale corruption in implementation. Taxes didn’t come down much; income didn’t increase proportionately while prices skyrocketed. The common man saw the humiliation of the nation when success of its biggest sporting event was compromised with a corruption on the scale seldom heard-of. Telecom scam has already sent some big political names to jail. Parliament witnessed the shameful episode of currency notes being waved by its members. Things reached to the level of debasement when allegations were labeled on some House members to take money for asking questions in the House. All this while, public anger was simmering looking for a way to vent out its anger. But the political class didn’t take note of it.

So when the government decided to bypass the draft Lokpal Bill without including major points of the draft bill of the Anna Hazare group and the PM challenged from the Red Fort on the Independence Day that Fast was not a way to make an effective Lokpal and his government would not allow it happen, it sent negative feelers to the Indians across India now having privilege of information accessibility through wide reach of media vehicles unlike the days of Emergency. Anna had achieved a pan-India perception of a ‘crusader of truth’ after his Fast for the Lokpal in April at the Jantar-Mantar. PM’s open challenge and irresponsible attitude and statements of its ministers and members like Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari, P Chidambaram, Pawan Bansal, Janardan Dwivedi only capitalized the negative sentiment in the common man that government was going overdrive to muzzle Anna’s movement that was ultimately aimed at bringing good for an ordinary Indian like him. Anna’s arrest from his New Delhi place of stay worked as the catalyst to make the masses erupt in anger. Agreed Anna’s team had worked out the strategy anticipating this dictatorial step by the democratically elected government, the mass level mobilization within hours that the country saw on August 16 could only be spontaneous given its pan-India nature.

Friday 19 August 2011

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION: AUGUST 16 – THE AUGUST MOMENT OF THE COMMON INDIAN (PART-I)

August 16 is the August day of the history of the Independent India and one of the most significant days of 21st Century India when a democratically elected government becomes hell-bent on killing democratic values and has to bite dust by a 74-year old man with integrity, simplicity and 34 years of experience of experimenting with the Gandhian Satyagraha to bring positives to a society that somewhere seems to have lost its track. What else can we say when our own elected representatives start treating us as secondary citizens in our very own country. They’re okay as long as we’re doing the ordinary chores of the life not affecting their elite circle of reasoning. We become anarchists if we try to question the validity of some archaic provisions or timely introduction of new measures to strengthen checks and balances to maintain a proper public order. Sometimes, it seems, these elected representatives have stopped taking us seriously.

Anna giving message to his supporters from inside Tihar. Photograph from http://www.deshgujarat.com/.
And so the government, on the expected lines, tried to undermine him. The government tried to undermine the source of power in a democracy – the people – the source that gave the humankind Mahatma Gandhi. And this happened in Mahatma’s very own country. The government could not perceive the symbolism behind the mass perception of the figure Anna Hazare then that it is realizing now but still trying to look defiant; still trying to looking not accepting it. Gracefully accepting wrongs is a value they need to learn.

When Anna Hazare chose August 9, 69 years after the Mahatma launched the ‘Quit India Movement’ in 1942, most in the establishment sought to dismiss him. In the desperation, they could not see the well lubricated communication machinery of the people working with Anna Hazare. Hazare’s team conceptualized it really well. They hit the right spots. They hit the bullseye by assimilating the mainstream media and social media to their advantage. The crescendo reached to the top when, on August 15, Anna Hazare dominated not just the airwaves but also the psyche of the common man. It was a day when the PM delivered his I-Day speech but was devoid of the notice usually an I-Day speech by the PM gets. Again it was the Anna factor with high-voltage drama being unfolded every moment in light of the Anna’s proposed fast from August 16.

The prominence of the Anna factor became evident on the morning of August 16 when the government found itself on the backfoot after unprecedented public anger on Anna’s arrest from his house in hurry and everyone, from the PM to the Home Minister to Kapil Sibal, other Congress spokespersons as well as the Delhi Police officials, looked to defend the decision in the garb of law and order maintenance. The remarkable thing was rapid mellowing down of the tone of people from the establishment by the evening, from belligerence and arrogance to the defence made on just plain language of legal technicalities, again to be torn apart. The seven days of judicial custody was suddenly terminated and the government decided to set Anna free. Anna refused to walk out of Tihar and started dictating terms. By then, people were on streets, not just in Delhi, but across India, and this initiation, if was not spontaneous, its build-up was certainly self-driven. It was a well thought of strategy by Anna Hazare group and they played it well again. Media and social media amalgamated and the message to the common man took the unified notion- government was acting dictatorially. And that was enough to create panic among the Congress party members already plagued by incessant corruption charges. But, by then, it was too late to do any damage control. The name Anna was well on the way to become a Symbolism of a Thought Prcoess long ignored.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

LOKPAL, CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE ESTABLISHMENT - THE SYNTHESIS THAT MIGHT BE!

It is unique and the way it is taking shape tells Mahatma Gandhi can never be irrelevant!

Anna Hazare has embarked on the next endeavor. Though the period from April 5 to July 28 with the midpoint junction of June 30 had largely been a mismanaged communication campaign except the days of fast then; they look organized this time.

But can they handle the showdown this time? The establishment has again acted in the pseudo-dictatorial way by imposing its unilateral viewpoint denying the protestors their Fundamental Right of Freedom of Expression. Protesters look firm. Establishment looks overcautious and nervous in the same vein. Anna Hazare has been arrested and thousands are courting arrests. Independence Day speech from the Red Fort had its overtures. Statements made yesterday and the day before yesterday had such overtones. And state power with this psyche of nervousness can do blunder!

Mobilization seems massified. Support is pouring. And it’s not just the media hype. It looks on the ground, from across the country. Everyone including the media was caught unawares when Anna Hazare began and got huge unprecedented support during his April fast, so even the media caring for its survival interests seems to hit the right chord this time by giving the movement of the common Indian its due right from the gestation stage. They look right on the job and that is what a democracy has to be in a situation like this. It’s not about taking sides. It is about being the voice of the masses, the most basic tenet of media of any developing society.

The mass mobilization is real and so is the imminent clash of ethics and values. But who is pitted against whom. On the surface, they look divided into two groups, certainly with appendages.

But it is not just that!

It is ironically outrageous and subversively deleterious for a ‘not-so-mature-yet’ democracy like India, where quality literacy is well below 50%; where one-fourth of the countrymen are still below the poverty line (and surely this is debatable as many welfare economists put this figure significantly higher!), that its own members are pitted against each other divided by the two symbolic terms, the Civil Society and the Government. They both are us and so are the appendages, still waiting and watching to park their vehicles based on the mileage the confrontation can offer.

And midst all these, teachings and vision of the Mahatma are being push into the oblivion by the one with mightier sword. Yes, the mightier sword in the hands of the establishment in a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic that won its independence after experimenting for centuries with the method to fight and ultimately relying on the non-violent protest of ‘Satyagraha’ practiced by a man of frugal means but of higher than every established norm of morality.

It is happening on a land that began on a foundation of peace and non-violence. It is happening on a land which had the wounds of witnessing savagery of millions being killed and left displaced to be taken care of. But it started and began to drift apart. What else can we say when we see the establishment’s locus-standi on corrective and urgent issues like the Jan Lokpal and the Women Reservation Bill, decades old and still lingering?

Should we see this as part of the evolutionary process of a democracy? If so, for how long we need to see it as mute spectators? Please mind, we just celebrated our 65th Independence Day!  

The atmosphere tells Anna Hazare is going to get support. That tells the government to pre-empt and abort Anna’s attempts. The most significant aspect is Mahatma’s methods are at the forefront of the movement this time and support base is swelling irrespective of regional affiliations. When that could drive the mighty British out, it can work successfully to weed out our internal anomalies.

We, as the Indian citizens, need to be part of the movement to see what synthesis it can offer because it is the most significant Pan-India mass mobilization on an issue of common man’s concern since the Independence and the days of Emergency. It is fight against corruption, something that is killing the social ethos and so the concept of Mahatma’s India daily and so the common Indian that is you and me. It is now or never. We need to act with the sense of urgency.

Let's be there. It is need of the time.

Sunday 14 August 2011

“WILL THE CONGRESS LISTEN TO ME?” – MAHATMA GANDHI

In a letter written in Gujarati to a friend, Gandhiji had indicated, “The Working Committee has been going on. Its resolutions, I am sure, will be good. But how far they will be put into practice, God only knows. My suggestion is that, in so far as the Congress was intended solely to achieve Swaraj and that purpose has been gained – though I do not think what we have gained is full and real Swaraj – this organisation should be wound up, and that we should put to use all the energies of the country. In that way we shall be able to do a great deal. For instance, Jayaprakash Narain has immense energy. But he does not come forward now, because of party considerations. I feel strongly that if our country can get the benefit of whatever energy each one of us has, it will surely prosper.”

In 1943, Gandhiji had undertaken a fast for 21 days when he was imprisoned by the British in the premises of the Aga Khan Palace in Poona. Recalling that long fast, the Mahatma said, “I survived for twenty-one days not because of the amount of water I used to drink, or the orange juice I took for some days, or the extraordinary medical care that I had, but because I had installed in my heart God, whom I call as Rama. I was so much attracted by the lines of this bhajan that I asked for someone to send me by telegram the correct words of its text. I was very happy when I got them by reply telegram. The essence of the bhajan is that Rama Nama is everything, and that other Gods count for little compared to Him. I am mentioning this episode from my own life, because I want the AICC’s members to think and deliberate with God in their hearts when they meet for their important session on Saturday (the 15th). They will have to do so, because they are representative of all Congressmen. If the leading men of the Congress do not do so, and if they have Satan in their hearts instead of God, they cannot be true to their salt. If the AICC could claim with confidence that, so far as the Indian Union is concerned, the days of communal madness are over and that sanity will reign from one end of India to the other, it can oblige Pakistan to call back all the Hindus and Sikhs who have left it and offer them honour and safety. Such a situation can be created only if all of us have Rama in our hearts. Will my words have an echo in your hearts? Will the AICC be able to act wisely?”
November 14, 1947

(Taken from Mahatma Gandhi: The Last 200 Days by V Ramamurthy)

FOR SO LONG..A TRYST WITH THE DESTINY..

This is what I had written two years ago. The theme, ironically, has been so consistently relevant even now. In fact, it has always been since the very first Independence Day. It can easily be deciphered when one reads the writings of the Mahatma right after the Independence. Then also, it was about individual and biased preferences getting the dominant edge over reasonings for the collective development. India of 2011 is at the crossroads for similar underlying reasons. The time-frames of 1947 and 2011 show a collective inertia in this context. It becomes even more poignant when we see the civilized and democratized India of the 21st Century witnessing its most challenging political conflict involving mass mobilization to protest its own elected representatives on an issue that should never have been an issue in a country like India that paid such a heavy price for its freedom (partition, migration, millions of lives).
The Tryst with the Destiny 61 years ago: 

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.”


Why it still seems so fresh? Why it can be applied, even today, for the soil which has given us a meaning, even if the vague one! India woke up 61 years ago but why, then, this slumber came? Why the tryst with destiny happening today gives us a mix of feelings, but inundated with questions in mind!


We are independent souls…. in essence….
Let the MESSAGE be spread across….
A LIFE lost is always a loss can never be substituted with….
Be it at CST or Taj Mahals or Karbi or Lalganj or Dantewada or elsewhere….
Let the SOUL cry….
Let it be heard across…..
We never know when the time comes…..
But it does come…..
But can we see the CST or the Taj Mahals or the Karbi in the same flow….
We NEED to…..
Lest we again be here to lament for what we did….
Lest we again be here to become an inhuman flesh…..
Another shock to look back at and to move ahead…..
To relive the trauma….
July 22, 2009

IN THE MOUNTAINOUS HIGHWAYS!

Walking into the clouds,
Talking to me,
celebrating the lapse
Midst the drifting sun
Trading the silence
To time the chord of
Soon to be falling rain
To run deeply into
The highs of the hills
To get free of,
Limits of time, to go,
To the quiet song of
The still mountains
And their lost alleys

(Thoughts while somewhere in the mountainous highways)

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey





CLOUDS ON MY WINDSCREEN

Somewhere on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, en-route, to find the route!!

Clouds seem descended right on the dashboard!
Becoming mightier, engulfing all!

Hide & Seek!

COMMUNICATION & COMMUNICATORS!


Feedback awaited..

Process on..Feedback received!

THE HIGHWAY PUNK!!




Somewhere on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway