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.

Sunday 31 March 2013

THE SUPPORT WITHDRAWAL GAME: THE SP-CONGRESS FRIENDLY FIGHT

Continued from:
COMICAL POLITICAL IRONIES: ON A DAY LIKE THIS ON INDIA’S POLITICAL JOURNEY 
http://severallyalone.blogspot.in/2013/03/comical-political-ironies-on-day-like.html 

The Congress party: We don’t need support.
The Samajwadi Party: We won’t withdraw support.
The Samajwadi Party: Mulayam calls Congress cheat.
The Congress party: The party doesn’t support Beni’s statements.

Even if it can sail without it, the Congress party needs Mulayam’s SP to manage comfortable numbers in the Parliament. The Congress party forcing Beni to apologise to Mulayam over the ‘terror links remarks’ validates this. Then there are other validating indicators.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram was in Lucknow on March 29. He shared stage with Akhilesh Yadav during an event to launch 300 bank branches in the state. Reportedly, he lauded Akhilesh Yadav and promised financial help to the state.

COMICAL POLITICAL IRONIES: ON A DAY LIKE THIS ON INDIA’S POLITICAL JOURNEY

March 30, 2013 was just yet another day, in the life of Indians like any other day, and so witnessed political games like it happens on any other day. But on certain days, the frustrating developments contributing to the democratic ironies of these political games get so pathetic that they start sounding comical. March 30 was like one of those days only when one was compelled to feel so. Similar things are happening on every other day, but at some points of time, they test your patience to the extremes that the ironies instigate satirical innuendos giving one some smiles of hopelessness.

That is the ugly aspect of it because it shows growing apathy among the masses on the irrelevance of the present political class elected by them. This apathy blocks the drive to fight the seriousness of the problem by wrapping it with mundane ignorance.

So sample this:

After a brief lull, the Beni Prasad Verma-Mulayam Singh Yadav verbal duel got back to its full life again. Beni, the Congress party member of parliament (MP) from Uttar Pradesh and the Union Steel Minister, started firing shots again at his old colleague, Samajwadi Party boss Mulayam Singh Yadav. Incidentally, Beni left the SP boat before the 2007 UP assembly polls to join the Congress party ship later in 2009 to harness the greener pastures.

Saturday 30 March 2013

THE CHILDHOOD REACTS

PHOTOGRAPHY
























THE CHILDHOOD REACTS 

(A digitally  treated photograph)

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

Friday 29 March 2013

RAHUL GANDHI’S NO AND YES; PRIYANKA GANDHI STEPS IN: NO NEED TO LOOK FOR RAHUL GANDHI’S MANMOHAN SIGH (II)

Continued from: 
RAHUL GANDHI’S NO AND YES; PRIYANKA GANDHI STEPS IN: NO NEED TO LOOK FOR RAHUL GANDHI’S MANMOHAN SIGH (I)
http://severallyalone.blogspot.in/2013/03/rahul-gandhis-no-and-yes-priyanka.html 

Rahul’s reluctance in taking the front space of the political developments and his silence or delayed response on vital issues has always given way to the debate that who could be the next prime ministerial candidate from the Congress party if Rahul decides to keep away from it.

Pranab Mukherjee, being the President, is now ruled out. Other names of concern in such debates are P Chidambaram and A K Antony.

But, BUT, they are not as safe an option as Manmohan Singh was. Manmohan Singh was a political nonentity and after completing 9 years as the prime minister remains a political nonentity. That tells us how safe it was for the Gandhi family to go with him. More or less, Manmohan has remained loyal to the family.

In other words, he was never going to be a threat to the political dominance of the Gandhi family in the Congress party.

On the other hand, Pranab was never a safe bet given his grudge of making Manmohan the prime minister and his political ambition of getting the prime-ministerial chair. After all he was a career politician with an impressive track record and had all the valid reasons to aspire so. He could have never been the harmless ‘yes man’ the family was looking for. Pranab’s response on Narendra Modi’s observation that Pranab would have been a better prime minister than Manmohan Singh tells all. His “You can have your own assessment” (3) tells all.

Thursday 28 March 2013

RAHUL GANDHI’S NO AND YES; PRIYANKA GANDHI STEPS IN: NO NEED TO LOOK FOR RAHUL GANDHI’S MANMOHAN SIGH (I)

Where is the confusion?

First it was about Rahul Gandhi’s ‘I am for prime minister’s chair’, then it was for ‘Rahul Gandhi’s statement on becoming prime minister was misinterpreted’, and now it is about ‘Priyanka Gandhi might contest the next Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli’.

Whatever be the analyses, speculations and guessing games (including the wild ones), but these three developments (reported) summarise how and why of the politics of the Indian National Congress in the coming days.

Let’s see what is being said about the Congress party politics, its leadership and its next prime ministerial candidate in the recent past, especially after the 2009 general elections when Rahul Gandhi was given the major credit for the good show.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

DMK PULLS OUT: WHAT COULD SAVE THE DAY FOR THE UPA GOVERNMENT?

Continued from:
WHEN IS THE UPA GOVERNMENT COMING DOWN?

What could be the political developments saving the day for the UPA government to give it time to create the outreach to let it exploit the populist dole-outs like the Food Security Bill or the direct cash subsidy transfer before the country goes to polls to elect the next Lok Sabha?

Efforts to woo Nitish Kumar might succeed: After managing good enough number of people in the Adhikar Rally held in Delhi, Nitish met almost every big political boss of the UPA government and got a favourable response from each of them, from the prime minister to the finance minister.

Now the reports say the UPA government is preparing to open its coffers to give Bihar Special Status, a demand Nitish has been making for years and is now all out to make it a major poll plank in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. If he doesn’t get it, he will play the victim. If he gets it, he will take the credit of opening new avenues of development for Bihar. A win-win situation, in any case, it seems for him, as of now. Transfer of the Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar to placate Nitish is yet another indicator of what the Congress party is working on.

Ever since the Congress party started facing pull-out problems from the allies in UPA-2, it has been working to woo the political parties like Janata Dal (United) to manage numbers in the Lok Sabha. Nitish, who harbours prime-ministerial ambitions but doesn’t stand a chance before Narendra Modi in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), might jump the wagon to join the UPA as his Bihar government can manage numbers without the BJP. JD(U) has 115 assembly members and can easily manage the seven more required to cross the half-way mark in 243-member Bihar legislative assembly. Others including the Congress party have 15 members in the state legislative assembly.

SCATTERED EMOTIONS, A RANDOM LIFE

DIGITAL PAINTING




































SCATTERED EMOTIONS, A RANDOM LIFE
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/

Tuesday 26 March 2013

WHEN IS THE UPA GOVERNMENT COMING DOWN?

When is the United Progressive Alliance government coming down?

Though this is an old question, repeatedly asked, repeatedly analysed and repeatedly guessed, this time, it has got a seeding space that is generating galvanized responses from the political and media pundits as well as from the ‘aam aadmi’, the common man, who is going to be the centre of the short-lived attraction once more when the next general elections are held (when? – the raging debate is all about it!).

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) that has 18 Lok Sabha MPs (members of the Parliament) has withdrawn support from the UPA government on the issue of human rights violations and atrocities on Sri Lankan Tamils demanding India take a tough stand against the stubborn small island nation. Now, the stubbornness of Sri Lanka and the ineptness of the Indian foreign policy rule out any such intervention by India that the DMK so eagerly wants in order to help it reclaim its slipping electoral ground in Tamil Nadu.

Monday 25 March 2013

YES, HE IS NOT THERE, BUT HE REMAINS

Sometimes, it feels like there is the face
That was so lively, living there in every moment

Sometimes, it feels the words are flowing
And the life is going to make the song that you sang

Sometimes, it feels like there is that sound
That made a song but some notes missing

Sometimes, it feels like there is the call
That called to be heard but could not be heard

Sometimes, it feels the there is that smile
Waiting to be responded but could not be read

Sometimes, it feels there is that charm
Waiting to take into its embrace but couldn’t find the arms

Sometimes, it feels there is that soul
Detached from ostentations, rooted in emotions

Sometimes, it feels there is the soul
Telling to live the life responsibly free, his way  

Sometimes, it feels he is there only
Standing, waiting for us to call, yet not listening to us

Sometimes, it feels he never went away
Silently talking to us reading the language of his absence

Yes, he is not coming back
For, he left for the unknown shores

Yes, they know life has taken away him
Leaving them in pain, pushing them to an unknown loss

Yes, he is not there, but he remains
He exists in their lives through the pain, through his memories

March 24/25, 2010 to March 25, 2013

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

Sunday 24 March 2013

THEY HAVE LEARNT TO LIVE WITH HIS MEMORIES

It was a day when a cruel joke happened with the family. Three years ago, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they had become victims of life, destiny, survival and death.

They could not know but only asked and kept on asking, why it had to happen. They keep on asking why it happened. Their lives were thrown in a mess. No one of them knew how to respond to it.

They were so numb that they did not feel initially if they had questions but they kept on asking, with teary eyes, with swollen faces, with unkempt hairs, with untidy appearances, with a broken souls, with a thoughtless presence, why did it happen to a person, so jovial, honest, simple and helping, a person who went out of the way to help the needy.

Photograph him from any angle, in any situation, the outcome was always a jovial, photogenic face. And that person was subjected to unimaginable brutalities when his life was taken away by the three persons, one of whom he trusted and helped. It was this person who betrayed him, laid a trap with others and called him to perpetrate his crime.

The smile that was there in the evening was gone permanently by the morning. Still, when he was found there lying in a pool of blood, his face was speaking in the same way, but this quiet face was now tearing into the existence of the family members he had left behind.

That face still comes to visit, renewing the pain that has become now an inseparable part of their lives.

The movement he went missing in the evening, lights not only went off symbolically, but also existentially. The ambience became haunting dark. Next morning, the shrieks were deafening. He was lying there, lifeless, not speaking. They were madly trying to speak to him but nothing was moving as if he had taken every other voice with him, as if the perpetrators had killed many other voices with him.

Three years ago, the family was hit hard by the life to stare at a survival crisis. Since then, they have been learning to live with it. Since then, they have been learning to internalize the pain. Since then, they have been trying to fight the vagaries of that death, the destiny, the survival and the life.

Three years later, they still feel, as if he would come and talk. But now they have learnt to live with his memories.

They know, that smile is to be preserved, in thoughts, in living. And that can only be done by surviving the odds.

They know he would not come back. But they know he never left them.

They know life will never be the same again. But the way he lived his life asks them to live and prevail.

March 24/25, 2010 to March 24, 2013

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

Saturday 23 March 2013

MURDER AS ACCIDENTAL DEATH

Adverstisments educating people of the fraud committed by the insurance companies tell to read the terms and conditions carefully and analyse the prospects before making any decision.

What effect do they leave in a country like India where the majority is 'quality illiterate' is not a big deal to know.

Volumes of documents written in ultra-small sized fonts and an equally vague language coupled with misleading or ill-informed insurance agents make for a nagging deterrent even for well-read ones and most go for the insurance agent's words while taking a policy.

They come to realize about the problems only when they face problems in settlement in case of exigencies. There are agents who openly ask for commission to settle such cases. The scale of commission increases with the complexity of the exigency.

Death and how it happened is probably the most complex of the settlement categories in a life insurance policy settlement. And when a death is caused by murder, the legal definitions and their vagueness come as yet another severe blow to the victim family. 

In one such case of murder (and certainly, in numerous other similar cases), the insurance company withheld the second installment of the claim amount saying the company needed the final verdict by the court to see if the murder could be placed in the category of 'accident'. Though, on the policy paper and anywhere else on the public platform, the compnay had nowhere furnished the related information.

What rubbish!

A murder is always an accident.

And RTI query was sent to insurance compnay to know if the company had any written guidelines to follow in such cases. The questions posed were:

  • How does the LIC of India define the term ‘accidental death’? Please provide the documentary support from the official LIC of India literature. 
  • What are the defined criteria by the LIC of India to treat a murder as an accidental death? Please provide the documentary support from the official LIC of India literature.
  • When a murder is not considered an accidental death by the LIC of India? Please give the reasons of not considering a murder as an accidental in each case. Please provide the documentary support from the official LIC of India literature. 
Let's see what the insurance company had to say in its reply.

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

Friday 22 March 2013

UNHCR SRI LANKA RESOLUTION: RAHUL GANDHI HARD-TALKS ‘POLITICS OF CHANGE’ YET THE CONGRESS PARTY REAFFIRMS ITS NOT GOING TO CHANGE

The way the national events and the international developments, directly affecting the internal politics of the country, are happening tell us the Congress party has not even given a thought to the prospect that it is the time to change, to follow the politics of principles, that ‘enough is enough’, that no more unethical compromises to cling to the seat of power.

Abuse of power by the democratically elected governments in India has become a norm and the Congress party leads the pack, for it has ruled the country for the maximum number of years.

NOW could have been the time to walk the talk when, once again, Rahul Gandhi, the future prime-ministerial candidate and the party’s recently crowned vice-president, is talking not only to change the way the Congress party functions, but is also speaking about making the Indian politics free of undemocratic values like the dynasty politics.

Thursday 21 March 2013

INDIA VOTES AGAINST SRI LANKA ON UNHCR RESOLUTION – YET ANOTHER FOREIGN POLICY COMPROMISE

The ongoing survival crisis of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) withdrew support from the government on the issue of alleged Sri Lankan war crimes on Tamil population of the island nation with yet another Channel 4 documentary revealing more dirty secrets of the human rights abuse by the Sri Lankan government in the civil war was yet another test-point for the Indian foreign policy.

Going not just by the humanitarian aspect, but also by the requirements of the internal politics, SOLIDARITY with the Sri Lankan Tamil community is a must as Tamils are an integral part of India, but sensitivities of the foreign policy cannot be decided by a community concern alone.

Wednesday 20 March 2013

DMK PULLS OUT, MULAYAM DICTATES TERMS: WHAT THE CONGRESS PARTY SHOULD DO?

In a state of shock, awe and indecision and a collective face as deadpanned as Mr. Manmohan Singh himself, what the United Progressive Alliance government, or should we say now the Congress party government, should do after the DMK pulled out of it taking away its 18 Lok Sabha members?

That depends on what the Congress party strategists are thinking at the moment. The options may be:

  • Whether the Congress party is trying to save its skin
  • Whether the Congress party is trying to locate that elusive face saver
  • Whether the Congress party is trying to cling to the power at any cost
The above three options are based on the sort of politics the Congress party has been practicing after the coalition era in the Indian politics began.  

Alternatively, the young blood, if we believe Rahul Gandhi is really trying to change the face of the Congress party and so the Indian politics, may push the Congress party to do something radical, something very un-Congress party, going for morals and principles, opting to take the road of uncompromised political ethos.

What could be the options then for the grand old party of India if that be the case?  

  • Whether the Congress party is thinking ‘enough is enough’ and no more compromises
  • Whether the Congress party is reading the writing on the wall desisting it from taking yet another ‘even if unethical, be in power anyhow’ decision
  • Whether the Congress party is realizing the mistakes done in the past and trying to base its decision of the moment to save the day for its near future
  • Whether the Congress party is realizing that it is staring at a certain electoral defeat in the upcoming general elections and that has more to do with its anti-people policies and unethical political practices than mere the simple anti-incumbency factor 
Though the signals as of now are giving mixed responses, the political developments say the Congress party is inclined more towards the first set of options mentioned above. 

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

Tuesday 19 March 2013

NOW COMES THE NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY BILL – CORRUPTION GETS SOME MORE AVENUES TO COVER?

The Union Cabinet today passed the National Food Security Bill. Intended to cover 67 per cent of the Indian population, the United Progressive Alliance is seeing it as one of the game-changer duo (direct cash transfer of subsidy being the other one) to help it win the next general elections that all say it has already lost.

Okay, that is an analysis in the future, but given the precedent set by two other (not counting many others here) flagship (populist) dole-outs by the UPA government, the Farm Debt Waiver (FDW) scheme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee (MNREGA) that is also known as NREGA, this too, is going to be yet another hotbed of political and bureaucratic corruption.

The government is simply not apt to handle such mammoth projects. Given their scale involved covering a large section of the Indian population stretched across a vast geographical space, there has to be a complex monitoring procedure to regulate the desired flow of the resources.

But sought and implemented as populist dole-outs (though with bad economics), more emphasis was placed on giving customary statements and doing customized data-sheets showing the positive outcomes while suppressing or even killing the negatively worrying trends that let the people involved in the implementation of FDW and MNREGA embezzle thousands of billions in a country of a billion socioeconomically poorly managed lives.

Let see the how the FDW and the MNREGA have lost the track – what FDW and MNREGA began with and what became of FDW and MNREGA.

Monday 18 March 2013

‘MAN KILLING MAN’ IS THE WORST ACCIDENT TO HAPPEN

Why does a System exist?                                  

What does a System exist for?

Who all constitute a System?

What all should a System exist for?

Let’s see the universally accepted (and rightfully correct) answers sanctified by the human elements of the human civilization.

Human civilization here means the human society. Civilization might be a complex term with different and differential connotations and permutations associated with its various elements, but the basic driving force of the process of civilization can be defined in the simplest of the terms – striving to make a society that provides ideal living conditions to each of its inhabitants.

So, what are the answers that we come across:

WHAT ALL SHOULD A SYSTEM EXIST FOR?

Let’s ask some basic questions to seek the answer.

Why does a System exist? 
                                 
 What does a System exist for?

 Who all constitute a System?

 What all should a System exist for?

Let’s see the universally accepted (and rightfully correct) answers sanctified by the human elements of the human civilization.

Why does a System exist?

To bring an order among the various elements that, constitute the System. In case of the human civilization, the primary element of the System is the humans.

What does a system exist for?

Being human first and remain human always – a System exist for the people it is made up of.

Who all constitute a system?

The human beings who believe in the universal doctrine of the human civilization of ‘being and remain human’

What all should a System exist for?

To maintain human harmony, to promote ‘human’ growth and to weed out the ‘inhuman’ elements

A System has to be synonymous with HUMANITY.

The human existence needs a humane System and a human society reflecting on the principles of ‘being human’ first.

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

Sunday 17 March 2013

FREE LAPTOPS – BRAND BUILDING THE INDIAN POLITICS WAY

‘…that was the first things most students tried to do’ quoted a Hindustan Times* report on the free laptops distributed by the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

The report was on how the laptops crashed when the students tried to change the wallpaper that shows the CM Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Now whether to refer this act of the UP government to distribute ‘eligible’ students laptop free of cost as an act of charity or social responsibility of an elected government or poll-related or poll-promise related populist sop of a government feeling the heat of not delivering on law and order and development agenda, may have separate lines of independent debates, but it tells us one thing very clearly – nothing (not even every charity) comes free and when the political class of the day is involved, never even think of it.

The interesting report made the equally interesting observation: “Efforts to change the in-built tamper-proof wallpaper -- depicting Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav -- proved disastrous. The laptops crashed. And when local HP engineers tried to rectify the problem, Linux, one of the operating systems on the machine, got wiped.”

Brand-building the Indian politics way – imposed, forced, indoctrinated.

Indian politics is full of interesting case studies if one thinks of doing a series of satirical stories such brand building exercises.

Saturday 16 March 2013

LOVE NEVER HAPPENS TWICE

My reflections on life – in quotes (XLIV)
“Love never happens twice.
Every subsequent time,
it is the reflection of the love,
you fell for the first time,
you felt it for the first time.” 
  




























Friday 15 March 2013

‘NEED’ AND ‘WANT’

My reflections on life – in quotes (XLIII)

“The decision between ‘need’ and ‘want’ is a regular process.
It is never completely defined.
It is always relatively circumstantial.
Life seeks to bring ‘sameness’ in the definitions.
But, their contours change circumstantially.
And the relativity of the circumstances plays with us to make the decisions.”




















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

Thursday 14 March 2013

THE ITALIAN BETRAYAL: WHAT INDIA SHOULD HAVE DONE IN HER FIRST REACTIONS

As a common Indian who cares for the Indian pride, some natural, spontaneous thoughts emerge as the initial (and required) reactions:

The topmost functionaries of the government should have acknowledge the issue fully in the morning of March 12 (a day after Italy’s refusal to send back the marines to face trial in India) instead of giving silly sounding replies like the one where the prime minister said that he came to know about the issue through the newspapers or the one by the minister of external affairs where he said that he was yet to read the note verbale sent by the Italian Embassy.

A strong note of protest should have been issued by the Indian Parliament as the Parliament was in session highlighting the Italian betrayal that it was a direct attack on the Indian sovereignty and undermined the sanctity of the Indian judicial system.

As the Italian Ambassador in Indian office at the moment had signed the undertaking taking responsibility of the marines’ return to India by March 23, he should have been immediately made a party in the case against the Italian marines to face the Indian courts.

Given the pangs of the diplomatic immunity and the international legalities, and if India, still chose to play the civilized partner, the Italian Ambassador should have been asked to leave India immediately after the issue emerged.

At the same time, India should have called its Ambassador back from Italy suspending the diplomatic ties.

To back this action, the prime minister should have made it clear that if the marines did not return by the date given in court, i.e., March 23, India would break its bilateral ties with Italy.

And all this should have been done by March 12, 2013, a day after Italy reneged on its promise to send back the Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen. 

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

Wednesday 13 March 2013

INDIA’S POLITICALLY INCORRECT RESPONSE OVER ITALY’S BETRAYAL ON MARINES’ RETURN ISSUE

The details that filtered out said there was a note verbale sent by the Italian Embassy to the Ministry of the External Affairs on late evening of March 11. Some reports put the time around 9:30 PM. Now that is not so late a time in the evening that no one would be there to inform the top brass of the government about it given the sensitivity of the issue as it is directly related to the question of the Indian pride and country’s status in the global geopolitical set-up.

But the way the Indian government and the political class reacted tells they are not at all concerned about the question of the Indian pride.

First in the series of bloopers is from our comfortably-numb-economist prime minister, Manmohan Singh. According to a PTI report (1) quoting a CPI(M) MP, the prime minister said he came to know about the issue from the newspapers.

The report said: CPI(M) MP M B Rajesh said, "We met the Prime Minister and took up the issue of Italian marines. The Prime Minister told us that he came to know about this from newspapers. He assured us that he will ask the External Affairs Minister to look into this issue to intervene in this issue." 

See the travesty. Manmohan’s junior colleague and one of the senior UPA ministers didn’t inform the PM and he came to know it through the newspaper reports. Questionable! Objectionable!

Tuesday 12 March 2013

ITALY RIGHTLY BACKSTABS THE SPINELESS STATE INDIA

Being an Indian, writing so hurts, but given the state of affairs, words find no other alternative, even remote, in trying to see any ‘positive’!

India, India, the socialist and secular state, that was envisioned to be a sovereign republic of global presence, has come to be known as a spineless state in the global geopolitics.

Given the historical credence that the country has had, it was a tough task (becoming spineless) and the Constitution framers would never have thought of it after the heavy price paid for the Independence.

But the post-Independence politics has made it so easier that even small nations like Sri Lanka or Nepal or Myanmar or even Maldives dare us and keep on making audacious breaches and belligerent acts.  

In fact, India, the world’s fourth largest economy and an emerging superpower, (? – as said somewhere), has no effective (or no influence at all) on its neighbours. Pakistan is a sworn enemy. Don’t think of it. China is like Pakistan, will do all to harm the Indian interests. Our condition in Afghanistan is dependent on how the US wants us to be there. Our meekness and indecisiveness has allowed China to make significant inroads and interference in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal, giving nightmares to India’s Defence apparatus. Soldiers from Bangladesh brutally murder our soldiers and we, as a country, cannot even protest effectively. Bhutan doesn’t matter on the global geopolitical scale.

So, the Italian betrayal in the Italian marines return issue should not be seen as a surprise event.
  

Monday 11 March 2013

MOUNTING FARM SUICIDES IN VIDARBHA – YET THE VOICES REMAIN AT PERIPHERY

Some media reports say the Maharashtra police have alerted its personnel to be ready to handle a possible water riots in the drought-hit regions of the state. Reportedly, the state is facing the worst drought in 60 years.

Headlines like ‘In drought-hit Maharashtra, young ‘brides’ have good resale value’, ‘Opposition geared up to grill government on mishandling of drought relief works, deteriorating finances’, ‘Maharashtra drought is man-made: Athavale’, ‘Maharashtra set to face worst drought ever’, ‘Maharashtra gets Rs 5.47 billion as drought relief’ are making in-roads in the newsrooms.

But given the response, it is clear that the voices continue to remain on the periphery.

Voices forced to remain at the periphery - it is indeed equally outrageous as the issue of continued farm suicides in India. Vidarbha of Maharashtra has had a history of crisis and it is one of the regions claiming high number of farmer suicides.

Sunday 10 March 2013

WHAT BANARAS STANDS FOR!

Banaras or Kashi is a unique spiritual light where life and death, both are seen in their full fervour. Banaras’s spiritual heritage is built on the Trinity of ‘Shiva, Ganga and Death’. Banaras’ existential legacy is sustained by the joy of living the life fully with all its elements. The spiritual heritage and the existential legacy of the city complement each-other and that, in turn, sustains Banaras.

Banaras is both, सुखदा (Sukhada) and मोक्षदा (Mokshada), a place that gives happiness and the joy of living as well as the salvation in death, as defined in the literary works.

Banaras is for Life Vs Death.

Banaras is for Life to Death.

Banaras is for Death to Life.

Banaras is for Life irrespective of Death.

Banaras is for Death irrespective of Life.

Banaras is for Life complementing Life.

Banaras is for Life complementing Death.

Banaras is for Death complementing Life.

Banaras is for Life completing Death.

Banaras is for Death completing Life.

Banaras is for Life liberating Death.

Banaras is for Death liberating Life.

Banaras is for Life following Death.

Banaras is for Death following Life.

Banaras is where Life teaches how to look at Death.

Banaras is where Death tells how to look at Life. 

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