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.

Monday 31 December 2012

SOCIAL MEDIA INITIATED PROTESTS MATURING IN INDIA: FROM ANTI-CORRUPTION MOVEMENT TO THE DELHI GANGRAPE PROTESTS (I)

2012 was a year that showed us all that all the talks about the ‘immature social media hype creating the anti-corruption protests of 2011’ were so utterly misplaced.

Indeed the trend on social media this year qualitatively refuted this assumption.

Agreed, it was not anywhere near to the groundbreaking role social media played in the Arab Spring or in the ‘Occupy’ protests, but the elements here do established that they could act serious and responsive when needed and the future is going to see more uniformity in the response.

Given the Indian demographics and the related sociological patterns, the frivolous use of social media is bound to take a larger share in the country. The youth forms the majority of the Indian population. Majority of them are half-baked and alienated. And they are not to blame for it. It is their socioeconomic condition, a poor education infrastructure and the psychological stress to earn anyhow, that does them in.

YOU’RE NO MORE BUT THE FIRE RAGES

There was no Connect, yet the eyes were wet
The soul cried, the words dumb and upset
Like the darkness of death, lost and haunted
Living the pain of someone close departed

Couldn’t see you, didn’t know you
But felt the pain, like stabbed in the back
You fought so bravely, rekindling the hope
And now, you are no more, gone away

Why it had to be like this?
How could we fail you?
Why do we fail us again and again?
Aren’t we all the culprits?

How could we ignore you, lying on that roadside for so long?
Are we still the brothers, the fathers, who pledged to protect you?
How could we be so inert to play politics when you were slipping away?
Aren’t we all to share the blame, to let you writhe in the pain?

A life it was that we even didn’t know, but 
Could say, was young and jovial,
Dreaming and aspiring, for,
Your fighting spirit conquers whole, permeates all

How could it be the moment when it was denied to you?
How could we breathe, when you were going away?
Why couldn’t we hear your silent shrieks?

There was no Connect but we feel you’re no more
Didn’t know you but,
Feel like a person in us died somewhere today

You’re no more but the fire rages
Could it be the call to kill the slumber of the ages?

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/ 

LIVING IS THE AGGREGATE OF OUR DAY-TO-DAY MOMENTS

My reflections on life – in quotes (XXXVII)  


“We carry life aggregating our day-to-day moments.
They give us our emotions.
They give us our good and bad moments.
And, they give us good and bad experiences to learn from,
to explore within, to make us who we are.”


©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Sunday 30 December 2012

DELHI GANGRAPE PROTESTS: INCREASING PUBLIC VOICE AGAINST THE STATUS-QUO IS THE NEED OF THE DAY

She is no more but she is just not a name now. She is the symbol to fight for dignity. She is the light inspiring people from every section, irrespective of the caste and community affiliations, to rise and act.

And yes, people have taken up the call. Whosoever the protesters are, they are fighting for cause with high emotional quotient. The horror of the Delhi gangrape - if there had to be any message, it was the call to fight, and people are there, taking up to the roads, to demand the system to modify, to act.

Yes, the protests are mostly urban in nature but cannot and should not be dismissed for this reason only.

The spontaneous protests against the Delhi gangrape and in solidarity with the departed soul, the victim, are the best possible response to happen to the Indian democracy in the recent history after the massive and spontaneous support to the anti-corruption movement launched by Anna Hazare in 2011.

WHY SO MUCH OF CONCERN FOR THE PERPETRATORS AND NOT FOR THE VICTIMS?

LIFE - COLORES INFINITUM (28)

Midst all the intense talks of legal reforms and judicial reform after the Delhi gangrape, he thinks thoughtfully about the court case and legal battle in his life.

After a consistently pursued court trial for over 30 months, he has been able to secure justice at the district court, and that too, thanks to an honest judge, otherwise the developments were more on the discouraging side. The judgement sentenced the three accused with life imprisonment for murdering his brother-in-law.

But, for him, it is just the beginning of a winding judicial process in India. There are courts and courts and there are levels and levels. The process stresses that any innocent should not be punished and gives the right to judicial remedy till the Supreme Court’s decision. It would be logical if there were a time-frame to it but given the trend where it takes years for a criminal to be finally punished, it becomes the most illogical aspect for the victims.

Saturday 29 December 2012

SHE IS NO MORE: AND IT’S NOT JUST THE RAPISTS, ITS THE SOCIETY AND THE GOVERNMENT WHO KILLED HER

It was first the boneless people who saw them but chose to move ahead ignoring the two badly injured people who were lying on the roadside.

The 45 minutes or so of the delay when every second counts in a medical emergency is unforgivable. The Delhi gangrape victim and her male friend were lying unattended for that much of time with severe injuries inflicted by the perpetrators. Every passing moment was of prime importance but the spineless creature in the animals of the society declined the call.

Then it was turn of the political class of the country elected by us to ‘to run the country for us’ – a fallacy that this incident and many other incidents have proven beyond doubt now. They rule to suck us.

Millions are spent in irrelevant study tours of the parliamentarians and members of the state legislatures.
Millions are spent on the maintenance of the government installations housing high-profile government people.
Millions are wasted in the countless wasted hours of the Parliament sessions.

There are countless other examples when millions are justly simply wasted by our elected leaders.

Yet the indifference, ineptitude and arrogance with which the government handled the case and especially the medical treatment of the victim is inhuman and condemnable.

Safdarjung Hospital of Delhi is like any other government hospital – dirty and ill-managed. It is certainly not a place where anyone who requires serious medical attention like in this case would like to go and should go.

But other than shedding crocodile tears and running verbal exercises, the political class didn’t do anything else.

Ideally, the victim should have been shifted to a well-equipped hospital, India or abroad much before, when she was communicating and was somewhat stable medically, and not after 10 days, when she suffered cardiac arrest hurting her chances to survive even more.

She is not with us now. And she has made every thinking soul cry.

It is no time to speculate but to grieve and a grieving mind asks why it wasn’t done when it was the time; why it wasn’t done earlier when doing so could have saved her life?

It is not just the rapists, but we, the society, and the political class - everyone is equally responsible for her death; each of them failed her; each of them killed her.

It is a day when humanity died once again.

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/ 

Friday 28 December 2012

RETROSPECT YOUR EXISTENCE

My reflections on life – in quotes (XXXVI)  

''Follow your conscious to introspect 
your conscience.
Follow your conscience to harmonize 
your existence.
Retrospect your existence to make sense of 
your presence.''



©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Thursday 27 December 2012

DECODING MANMOHAN’S ‘THEEK HAI’

Actually it doesn't take much decoding into, not even for the ‘theek hai’ element that prompted for some other elements of inquiry to come up. Altogether, it was a routine Manmohan Singh stuff, in full fervour with all the elements – delayed, written, without soul, without substance, without connect and above all, not required.

We have become so accustomed of these elements in his speeches that there wasn’t left much to think about.

First of all, some simple (cardinal) points: what all that went wrong (‘theek nahi raha’) 

DELHI GANGRAPE: WHAT TOOK THE GOVERNMENT 10 DAYS TO TAKE THE VICTIM ABROAD FOR TREATMENT? – CONDEMNABLE!

It is shameful. It is lamentable. It is despicable. It is crass.

The young victim of the Delhi gangrape was flown to Singapore late last night (December 26, 2012) amid much drama and cover-ups. An insensitive media only intensified the drama.

After 10 days, the government woke up from the deep slumber. Manmohan was monitoring. Sheila was monitoring. Shinde shared concern as he, too, has three daughters like Manmohan Singh. Chidambaram tried to be as sensitive as possible.

Yet nothing was done beyond lip-service to take the victim abroad for the required treatment. A Times of India report puts it in some relevant words by using phrases and sentences like - ‘Last-ditch battle’ and  “Government is also concerned about fresh protests if the worst can't be averted, and is therefore keen to be seen to be doing its very best to save Nirbhaya.” (1)

Wednesday 26 December 2012

DELHI GANGRAPE: LOCALIZING A NATIONAL ISSUE

YET ANOTHER STANDALONE EXIGENCY?

It is now 10 days to the gangrape in a moving bus in the national capital. All the accused are in custody. The victim is in hospital and continues to be critical.

The outrage and protests are still an ongoing development though more contained now after the death of the Delhi Police constable Subhash Tomar who had got injured when the protests turned violent on December 23, 2012.

Also, the protests are now more or less localized and the government’s tone is purely political with elements of arrogance, ignorance and sometimes, sensitivity.

To sum-up all the action, till now, has been more in the domain of rhetoric. Also, whatever that has been proposed by the supposedly national leaders (not on acceptance barometer but on their tag of being the union ministers), is just an eyewash aimed at immediate measures to quell the growing voice of demonstrators.

Mr. Shinde, your government talks about forming task force to monitor security of women in Delhi; it brags about implementing measures like increasing frequency of buses in night, installation of GPS, mandatory ID cards for public transport personnel, enhanced patrolling on busy routes, to name a few. On December 26, 2012, Mr. P Chidambaram announced formation of a commission of enquiry ‘to identify lapses and fix responsibility’ in the case (See! it took brilliant minds of the government 10 day to reach at something, that should ideally have been the first step.)

HUMANS ARE NOT COLLATERAL DAMAGE, MR. NEERAJ KUMAR

When the supreme bosses are showing the way, the followers are bound to follow them dutifully.  

After Manmohan’s insensitive brief on what he thinks about the Delhi gangrape and the subsequent public outrage and after Mr. Shinde comparing young protesters with Maoists, it was turn of their yet another ardent follower (in delivering verbal volleys - and they are plentiful), Delhi’s police commissioner, Mr. Neeraj Kumar. Please excuse me if I am exaggerating.

In the aftermath of the Delhi gangrape protests, one thing is crystal clear that had it not been the huge public outcry on the streets, we would never have seen whatever developments have been so far in the case given the kind of blind leads the case had thrown initially.

And the fact that the crime itself owes its origin to some glaring lapses by the police slaps Delhi Police squarely in the face. These lapses are always there but whenever the criminal elements exploit them to perpetrate some inhuman crime like the Delhi gangrape, the issue comes to the forefront.

Tuesday 25 December 2012

HUMANS ARE NOT COLLATERAL DAMAGE, MR. NEERAJ KUMAR (II)

He could have been right in his ‘sense’ when he said it was not feasible to check every bus in Delhi but he probably didn’t do his homework. The bus was chartered with a school, was plying on a school holiday, had circled the same area twice and the accused had attacked others before picking up the young couple. Also, the police had ignored the complainants about these ‘other attacks’. Also, it was just the 8-10 PM time-slot when it all happened.

When these lapses were the major reasons behind the brutal attack and gangrape, Mr. Kumar should have accepted the shortcomings with grace cracking down on the errant and careless cops. But, he, instead, chose to play insensitive, like the character of the Indian police has become. Action on errant cops after a week of the incident only bolstered the claim that the police was acting indifferent and the sacking was result of the mounting public protest.

And yesterday, he, in his profound wisdom, came up with yet another remark that can comfortably put him in the league of people with dictatorially insensitive mindset.

He equated injured protesters by his Force’s barbaric act as collateral damage. (Mr. Shinde, do you see in him the next home minister of the country?) His statement came midst increasing protests and increasingly barbaric police acts to suppress the voices.

The CNN-IBN report said him quoting: ('If sacking the police commissioner improves safety for women, do it every day – December 24, 2012)

“Pointing that "in a crackdown, there is always collateral damage", Neeraj Kumar hit out at the media, accusing it of fuelling the violence on Sunday, adding that the police had "not mishandled the situation". If an innocent person has come to harm, I apologise. I feel sorry for that. But I do not apologise for what the police did there, he further said.”*

Mr. Kumar, you are an IPS officer and I might be wrong in writing here owing to my poor knowledge of affairs, but it again puts your whole persona in negative light. No one is going for your intent here. That cannot be the case in the highly charged atmosphere of protests. What matters first is how sensitive you sound. And you have sounded totally insensitive in managing this affair. What sort of sincere effort can we expect from you and your police force in the long run then?


This unrest and the public outcry is a direct result of insensitivity of the police administration and the political machinery. The protests were ignored first. No one of the governing machinery took it seriously thinking it would die down. When it grew, they were not prepared. And since, they have been a most insensitive, elitist lot, they, in their arrogance, chose to crush it down, not learning any lessons from the self-erupted massive public protests of 2011. 

‘Humans as collateral damage’ has been mostly used in the context of wars and civil wars and terrorism, and certainly there wasn’t any remote possibility of that happening during the Delhi protests. It is not just the lumpen and mob elements that are to be blamed for the violence that injured many and took life of one Delhi Police constable, but, you, your police force and your political bosses, too, are equally responsible.


Also, please, stop making death of the police constable an issue to settle scores with the Delhi government and Sheila Dikshit.

Mr. Commissioner of Police, your concept of ‘humans as collateral damage’ is misplaced and against the spirit of democracy. And people like you and your political bosses are given charge to ensure that it doesn’t happen.

Indian democracy is still half-baked; it still has many mob traits. But that doesn’t allow anyone to treat the Indian public (and the voters) as collateral damage. On the contrary, it is true that the political bosses and the administrative machinery have been doing that regularly.

The wrong notion might well be on the way of the forced-correction mode, growing public protests on issues of public concern is a testimony to it.

Mr. Kumar, you, your police force, and your political bosses - do you realize that?


©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

HUMANS ARE NOT COLLATERAL DAMAGE, MR. NEERAJ KUMAR (I)

When the supreme bosses are showing the way, the followers are bound to follow them dutifully.  

After Manmohan’s insensitive brief on what he thinks about the Delhi gangrape and the subsequent public outrage and after Mr. Shinde comparing young protesters with Maoists, it was turn of their yet another ardent follower (in delivering verbal volleys - and they are plentiful), Delhi’s police commissioner, Mr. Neeraj Kumar. Please excuse me if I am exaggerating.

In the aftermath of the Delhi gangrape protests, one thing is crystal clear that had it not been the huge public outcry on the streets, we would never have seen whatever developments have been so far in the case given the kind of blind leads the case had thrown initially.

And the fact that the crime itself owes its origin to some glaring lapses by the police slaps Delhi Police squarely in the face. These lapses are always there but whenever the criminal elements exploit them to perpetrate some inhuman crime like the Delhi gangrape, the issue comes to the forefronts.

Some years ago, a female journalist driving back to her home from work post-midnight was shot dead by some rogues for apparently no reason. That was a South Delhi area. There was much hue and cry. Some measures were taken only to go slack once the cry was over. Last year, a girl was shot dead in broad daylight by a jilted lover in Southwest Delhi. The blind case was solved after much public and media outrage and some tough remedy was 'proposed'.

The police have lost its character of being the people’s saviour first. Cracking these blind cases tells us police can solve most of the cases and prevent crime much more efficiently. But the increasing crime graph tells us they are not willing (of course, for variety of reasons!).

So when there is outcry and outrage, it does as much so as to save its skin.

The way the Delhi police commissioner has handled the issue since the very beginning only confirms the insensitive and inhuman character of the police.

It also represents (once again) the colonial mindset with which the high-ranked administrative officers work. There have been debates and commissions to overhaul the selection and training process of the Indian Administrative Services but nothing on the ground has been done.


These officers, in collaboration with their bosses, run the country. So much depends on them. Mr. Neeraj Kumar is just one among many of them we saw it in this case, and we are still observing the ugly blame game, be the law and order maintenance or the death of the injured Delhi Police constable.

To continue..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Monday 24 December 2012

DELHI GANGRAPE: LOCALIZING A NATIONAL ISSUE! (II)

The Delhi gangrape case is being handled in the similar mode with similar intent reducing it to the impact level of a localized issue. Every measure being talked about is Delhi-specific. There have been many gangrape cases after the Delhi gangrape on December 16. They have been reported from cities from across the India - Guwahati, Muzaffarnagar, Jaipur, Shamli, Bharuch, Mahasamund, Tuticorin, Siliguri, Saharsha, Rampur, Sitapur – (add to them some more cases from metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata).

But have we heard growing voices on implementing the similar measures like Delhi in these cities?  

NO!

Cases that stir the whole nation or a large segment of it are the potential flickers that can set a remedy process in action. The beginning is already there, the standalone cases tell us. But the need to bring a positive change on the larger scale of mindset and hence in governance needs a chain reaction where one such standalone case simultaneously prompts demand for action and reform in different other cases.

‘THEEK HAI’: MANMOHAN SINGHJI, NAHI CHALEGA (IT WILL NOT WORK)

Yesterday, we had yet another gem from our conveniently-silent and comfortably-numb Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

No one can say what caused Mr. Manmohan Singh to break his silence after seven days of the Delhi gangrape in a moving bus, but it would have been better had he maintained his familiar, formidable silence.

Manmohan is expressionless, emotionless or so seasoned to cover his emotions and expressions might have been a matter of debate in the initial days when his bad phase during the second term of the United Progressive Alliance government began but certainly not now.

DELHI GANGRAPE: LOCALIZING A NATIONAL ISSUE! (I)

A Thomson Reuters report of July 2012 describes condition of women in India in these words: Canada best G20 country to be a woman, India worst - Policies that promote gender equality, safeguards against violence and exploitation and access to healthcare make Canada the best place to be a woman among the world’s biggest economies, a global poll of experts showed on Wednesday. Infanticide, child marriage and slavery make India the worst, the same poll concluded.

Sometimes, it almost looks like a hopeless situation. Urbanizing India is certainly a development to talk about but there is no denial that the gender crime is present there, too. Casting-couch and glass-ceiling have only added to the oldies like dowry murders, molestation, eve-teasing and rape cases.

Sunday 23 December 2012

DELHI GANGRAPE: A LESSON TO LOOK BEYOND DELHI?

Delhi is being called rape capital of India. It is true when we see it in the context of urban metro India where media exposure is accessible and cases see escalated reporting. 

But what about the small town, rural and hinterland India?

Now, all the politicians and the administration people - aren’t you aware that the condition is critical in almost every part of India and not just in Delhi?

Till October this year, 580 rape cases were reported in Delhi while the figures for 2011 and 2010 were 568 and 507 cases respectively. Conviction rate in rape cases in Delhi is 41.5 that is better than the India average of 26.4. In the last three years, the reported rape cases in India have seen consistent rise with 21, 397 (2009), 22,172 (2010), and 24,206 (2011) cases annually.

DELHI GANGRAPE: YET ANOTHER STANDALONE EXIGENCY?

It is now seven days to the gangrape in a moving bus in the national capital. All the accused are in custody. The victim is in hospital and continues to be critical.

The outrage and protests are growing more localized while the government’s tone is getting more and more political.

To sum-up all the action, till now, has been more in the domain of rhetoric. Also, whatever that has been proposed by the supposedly national leaders (not on acceptance barometer but on their tag of being the union ministers), is just an eyewash aimed at immediate measures to quell the growing voice of demonstrators.

Mr. Shinde, your government talks about forming task force to monitor security of women in Delhi; it brags about implementing measures like increasing frequency of buses in night, installation of GPS, mandatory ID cards for public transport personnel, enhanced patrolling on busy routes, to name a few.

Saturday 22 December 2012

FEELING GOD

My reflections on life – in quotes (XXXV)  
 
“Feeling god
is the physical manifestation
of god for most of us
who come from the worldly life
made of moments of
happiness and gloom.”
 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Friday 21 December 2012

THE SILENT SHRIEK..THE BURNING SOUL


THE SILENT SHRIEK..THE BURNING SOUL 

A human emotions painting by Ragini 

Get interactive with Banaras Calling’s Facebook extension at: http://www.facebook.com/BanarasCalling 
Email at: interact@banarascalling.com 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Thursday 20 December 2012

MR. SHINDE! MADDENING AND HEARTLESS, ISN’T IT?

The girl is putting up a brave fight and we are praying for her. She wants to live more and she wants to know if her perpetrators have been arrested.

Yes, five of them are caught but reports say they are remorseless on what they have done.

The promises say efforts would be made to wind up the case within two months.

Delhi’s chief minister says she is ready to take the girl abroad for treatment.
Delhi High Court is positive about setting up of special courts to handle rape cases.
Reports say government is considering amending law to include death sentence as a possible penalty in rape cases.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has spoken of forming a task force to monitor the safety and security of women in Delhi.

All said and done, still the sixth accused is at large. Some reports said of presence of one more accused.  No further words about it.

TV PUNDITRY

TV pundits are the in-thing (irrespective of how much of TV punditry we, the viewers, can digest?)

If you want to gauge it, just tune in to your television set on a big-ticket event like Anna Hazare’s 2011 fasts or big election results. The outcome of the Gujarat assembly elections 2012 is one such big spectacle. It has kept the TV pundits glued to the studios that finally precipitated on the day of counting, i.e., today, i.e., December 20, 2012 after passing the bylanes of the polling phases and the exit polls.

Opening and running TV channels is hot in India (though the business sense in it is always questionable). One may find different genres among the news channels and this is still a work in progress (a spontaneous germination).

Out of all this diversification has grown up one common outgrowth across the genres of the news channels – they are changing more into views channels. Hard news stories are given in flat impulses where you don’t miss missing them. The rest is filled with views – views of the political, social, industrial and religious pundits. There are many more categories and that, too, is a work in progress (again a spontaneous germination).

This development can further some more opportunities, like a course module can be developed on ‘TV Punditry: Being, Accessing and the Art of Managing the TV Pundits’. Simultaneously, professional management development agencies can come up with themed workshops on understating the nuances of TV punditry management.

After all, they are a resiliently growing resilient lot. They are never out of battery though the listener soon gets discharged. They are a growing and glowing constant among the growing genres of the news channels, so they need a proper, guided and managed attention.

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 19 December 2012

DELHI GANGRAPE: THE RETRIBUTION MUST BE SWIFT AND UNPRECEDENTED

I am a peace-loving soul. I know about my identity and values. But I know I do need to get outraged.

And why shouldn’t I? Being not so would be inhuman, utterly ghastly.

A girl fighting for her life who wishes to live more, was raped, beaten brutally, and left to die, slaps us in the face, for we, the cowards, we, the products of this sterile society, fail to act again and again on the call.

Like you and me and everyone (as the Constitution of this country envisions), she, too, has the fundamental right to live with dignity. And this right is being denied by some perverts debased by false ego, male chauvinism and unrestrained run of libido. And the society, this whole system is to share the blame with these bastards for it has failed to act on the call, time and again.

The horror has been revisited many times. Everyday we hear cases of rape and gangrape. Every such case is a call to act swiftly. But every such call is ignored comfortably. Every year, there are some brutally horrible cases in some big cities getting the media attention and the subsequent public glare. Every day, there are rape-cases, severely heinous, in almost every part of the small-town and rural India. But they go unreported.

We, as a society, as media and advocacy advocates, as local, regional and national governing machinery, don’t do the follow-ups and we, so, don’t learn the lessons. Whenever such a heinous criminal activity is committed, we see the clamour growing for legalizing death sentence for the rapists or plugging the loopholes in the existing legal provisions and their implementation, only to subside a few days later. It has been a raging debate for years, but we are yet to see any concrete action.

Patience should have run-out much earlier. We, as a society, are in vital danger of being a dead lot. And the time is running out. The retribution has to be swift and unprecedented.

A heinous crime it was, and it needs equally ‘heinous’ punishment. Exemplary in magnitude! It has to be executed now.

We need to get rid of the unhealthy tradition of the ‘debating and debating but doing nothing’. Be it the death sentence, physical or chemical castration, or beheading in full public view as Saudi Arabia does with a rapist as per the Sharia law, it has to be done fast.

That is the only way to ensure peace and harmony in the system because we all need this society. We inhabit it. It inhabits us.

Doctors say they are moved by the fighting spirit of this young girl and most of us have cried, had tears in our eyes, for the pain she is suffering, for the torture she was inflicted with. That must not go waste.

The blood needs to boil for the justice to prevail. I need my peace but not at the cost of being an imbecile because if we do not act now, we are nothing but the mentally handicapped criminals promoting such perverts. 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

RAHUL GANDHI’S LOVE FOR POTATO, POTATO CHIPS AND COMPUTERS

I am not saying this. Rahul Gandhi has been delivering speeches emphasizing these words. Potato and potato chips are the recent inductions (a year or so) after the FDI coronation of ‘his’ government.

Computer, mobile phone and telecom revolution in India have been pet words in many of his speeches and they continue to be so, patronizing, sometimes, Mr. Sam Pitroda.

There were some other tag words but Rahul is not talking them right now. Given the similar streak of his speeches, they are bound to appear in some other speech by his speechwriter, I am sure.

Also, there are some whom his speechwriter is not going to recall again. There was once a Kalawati. Named by someone else, but famed by Rahul Gandhi. Rahul visited her hut, was appalled at her misery, and mentioned her in his ‘fiery’ speech in the Parliament.

Rahul had sounded so assuring then: Empower Kalavati with N-deal, says Rahul - IANS, July 22, 2008 (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/empower-kalavati-with-ndeal-says-rahul/69318-37.html)

“I was thinking about what I want to say and I came to a simple conclusion. I decided that it is important at this point not to speak as a member of a political party but to speak as an Indian.”

Kalawati specific parts of speech from the Lok Sabha website: (http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/psearch/Result14.aspx?dbsl=10243)

I would go to the house of Kalawati.  I am glad you find that funny.  But Kalawati is a person whose husband committed suicide.  So, I would urge you to respect her.  I would take you to the house of Kalawati, which I also visited three days ago.  Kalawati is a woman with nine children whose husband committed suicide three years ago.  Her husband committed suicide because he was dependent on only one crop, the cotton crop.  When I asked Kalawati as to why her husband committed suicide, her answer was that he was dependent on only one source of income. … (Interruptions) …* I asked Kalavati as to what did you do.  Kalavati responded by telling me that I diversify … (Interruptions) … I spoke to two poor families.  One of them was called Mrs. Kala… (Interruptions) Mrs. Kala said that she had diversified her income sources and she has used that to stabilize her family and bring up her nine children.

Sir, at the very least, nuclear energy is going to act like Mrs. Kala’s pond and it is going to act as an insurance policy for this country in times of need.  At its maximum, nuclear energy is going to act like Mrs. Kala’s main crop.

This was the career phase of Rahul Gandhi when he evoked expectations that he would practice a different and positive style of politics. But it didn’t take much longer before it ebbed away.

See, for Kalawati, what an India Today report (October 28, 2011), had to say: Rahul's lost widows - Suicides on the rise in Vidarbha, Rahul Gandhi's Kalavati remains symbol of deprivation (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/suicide-in-vidarbha-rahul-gandhi-kalawati/1/157775.html)

"I would take you to the house of Kalawati ... a woman with nine children whose husband committed suicide. I would urge you to respect her." When Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi quoted her example in his July 21, 2008, Lok Sabha speech, describing how she had diversified her income, Kalawati became the symbol of rural resurgence. But Rahul didn't return to check on her. In 2010, Kalawati's son-in-law, plagued by debts, committed suicide. In September, it was her daughter-the fourth death in her family in the last six years.

As Rahul started taking more and more of the political public sphere, he needed to talk more and what he needed to do above all was to do some real ‘walk the talk’.

But the example of ‘Kalawati’ symbolizes what had been happening was not in-sync. Words were coming fluently but equally superfluous was the support from the reality based ground activity.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

GOD AND US

My reflections on life – in quotes (XXXIV)  


“If god creates, we are his creation.
If we exist, he exists within us.
This is the only way we can feel god.”


©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

THE CONCEPT OF GOD (OR FAITH)

My reflections on life – in quotes (XXXIII)  


“The concept of god (or faith)
has never to be a blind-following.
True, there are many concepts beyond life;
there are many developments beyond reasoning;
and there are many answers beyond understanding.
But, they should not prevent one
from questioning; from acting logically.
They should, rather, be the Call to evolve
- in faith - in god - and in life.”


©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Monday 17 December 2012

RAHUL GANDHI’S LOVE FOR POTATO, POTATO CHIPS AND COMPUTERS (VIII)

THE POLITICAL SOUL-SEARCHING

Uttar Pradesh is his battlefield of political soul-searching. Apart from being the family legacy of the political history of the Nehru-Gandhi family, this most populous but economically backward state is also the state with the highest representation in the Indian Parliament.

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) being on the margins, Rahul’s main opposition here is Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Rahul had to search and claim his political ground away from these two political outfits.

But, ironically, these two political outfits, owing to their selfish agenda, have been instrumental in saving the UPA government at many occasions, be it the No-Confidence Motion of 2008 or the Lokpal debate last year or the recent discussion and voting on the retail FDI.

You are targeting Mulayam and Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh while your party is doing backdoor dealings with them – saying something and doing contrary to it - it has become the norm with the Indian politicians of the day – but it was not certainly expected from the politician in Rahul Gandhi.

RAHUL GANDHI’S LOVE FOR POTATO, POTATO CHIPS AND COMPUTERS (VII)

STAKING CLAIMS

An angry gesture! Concern for the ‘Aam Aadmi’! Hard-hitting words! Tearing into the opponents! 

This is what makes the primary elements of Rahul Gandhi’s speeches, delivered hot on location.

Largely not customized! Mostly the context missing! Almost similar sounding examples and epithets! Flood of claims signifying and cornering achievements in the name of the grand old party of India not going into the nuances of relevance!

All in the magnificently big context of the mountainous anti-incumbency of his party led national government!

It unwinds all.

Sunday 16 December 2012

RAHUL GANDHI’S LOVE FOR POTATO, POTATO CHIPS AND COMPUTERS (VI)

IT HAS NOT TO BE ALL ABOUT FAMILY

Another thing that Rahul often quotes is the how the Gandhi family has empowered the nation. He attributes computer and mobile revolution to Rajiv Gandhi and Mr. Sam Pitroda subsequently comes into the picture. He had started using Sam Pitroda during the Uttar Pradesh polls to woo voters on the ‘caste plank’ (something that had not to work).

Campaigning on the last day before the first phase of voting, Rahul said in a rally, "You have a mobile phone. Who brought it? Rajivji... what happened...a revolution came and your voice started getting heard...Who was standing with Rajivji...Sam Pitroda from Gujarat." (http://english.samaylive.com/nation-news/politics-news/676520012/rahul-gandhi-narendra-modi-polls-election-palanpur-gujarat-natio.html)

See more of it:

Congress ropes in Sam Pitroda for Uttar Pradesh polls, India Today, January 28, 2012: Sam Pitroda said, "It was the dream of the late Rajiv Gandhi to promote IT sector which would help India make its presence felt on the global level." (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/congress-ropes-in-sam-pitroda-for-uttar-pradesh-polls/1/170940.html)

Rahul Gandhi uses Pitroda's OBC link for votes - TNN, December 18, 2011: The report says - RAMABAI NAGAR (UP): Rahul Gandhi said the country's telecom revolution ushered in by his father Rajiv Gandhi was authored by a "vishwakarma", Sam Pitroda, introducing the technocrat as a poster boy of "most backward castes" (MBCs) and giving a final thrust to Congress's social engineering plank for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.( http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rahul-Gandhi-uses-Pitrodas-OBC-link-for-votes/articleshow/11151580.cms)

An Indian Express report puts it more clearly, “Twenty years back Rajiv Gandhi thought of bringing mobile phones to India. Do you know who brought them? Sam Pitroda, who is a Vishkarma, “Barahi” (carpenter). He brought mobile phones to your houses.” (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sam-pitroda-is-new-caste-face-as-rahul-targets-most-backwards/889077)

Rahul has been using such similar streaks in his speeches more and more. Computer, information-technology, mobile phones are big-ticket words and long-term business processes, not directly affecting the psyche of the voter on the street. Shelter, food, water, health, education and security still remain the mainstay of the development politics and not the technological advances of sophistication.

Also, these being the long-term investment sectors,  what Rahul mentions attributable to his family and his people, is not acceptable. In a democracy like India, one government takes a decision and another one continues with it, and the industry builds more on it with the increasing consumerism. Governments have nothing to boast in the process – not any longer.