Free your mind

I was watching a documentary on Buddhist monks in Thailand where they were shown keeping tigers as their pets. These tigers grew up under the care of these monks and would obey all their orders like a pet dog. If any one of the tigers ever tried to show any kind of dissent it would immediately be forced to concede by showing a stick. The stick, to an outsider, would seem to be only capable of intimidating a smaller animal or perhaps an adolescent but how would it help a monk to wield his authority over a wild beast. The answer lies in the psyche of the tiger and not in the size of the stick. The tiger, when it was a small cub, was shown this stick which would make it submit to the will of his master and even though after growing up as a tiger the stick holds the same status of absolute power in its mind to which the realisation of its physical strength has no existence. I have heard the same thing about people keeping a big elephant chained to a rather weak one but it would be the same chain which was indeed a strong one when the same elephant was a small baby. I guess the same holds true for humans too not so blatant as in the case of these wild animals but something more subtle or should I say deeper. When I was a small kid I always wanted to ride a bicycle so my father bought one, the only trouble being that I was small and the bicycle was a tad bigger for my size and I obviously fell from it while learning to ride it and that was it. I could not dare to ride that bike again. I was quite bad at art and drawing and I remember I drew a diagram, that diagram was shown to the class as the one which should never be drawn the way it was drawn by me and due to this I hated biology because that subject involved drawing lot of diagrams. I wonder how many of these kinds of incidents would have happened to other people in the world and how this would have created an inhibition in their mind to try something which they were not very good at as starters. Recently I heard the news that Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was awarded the 2009 Nobel prize in Chemistry who is the seventh Indian to get this highest award in the field of science but what is more amazing is that he was a graduate in Physics and did his PhD in physics. He then designed his own course for transitioning from Physics to Biology! And surely this would not have sounded enough for him so he started researching in the field of chemistry and rest is history. Who would imagine in the wildest of their dreams to change the course of their career twice and that too doing it at a very later stage of their career. I am sure he would have his own version of childhood stories of several failures but the remarkable feature of this great genius lies in his strong will power and the tenacity to learn despite the failures. We as small cubs are always shown the stick but as we grow and become adults we have to erase those memories, forget that we failed and just remember to strive, strive not for success but for ourselves because not everyone can win a Nobel prize but at least can feel proud of themselves of not cowering at the sight of a challenge but standing up to it and giving everything we have to encounter the challenge head on because boundaries and limits are the lines etched in the minds and as long as we have no such boundaries, fear will fear us as its worst nightmare.

Martyrs of India

On the eve of Independence day, I was looking at the meaning of martyr.The definition of this word is "One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle" and some names which instantaneously flash in my mind after reading the definition are Bhagat Singh,Chandra Shekhar Azaad, Rajguru, Subhash Chandra Bose;it goes without saying that there are many other names worth mentioning but those are the most common names anyone in India, given a chance, would mention. But do we know the names of people who gave their life for the country after independence. I would like to add that soldiers of Indian army are excluded from this discussion because their commitment and sacrifice go beyond the definition of martyrdom. They are heroes and remain heroes even after giving up their life for the nation. I am sure many people who are highly aware would be able to list some names but I guess most of the others would struggle to give me 5 names. Why is that so? I am sure there were many people who gave their lives for the principles which were held in the highest regards by them or is it that there have been so many of them after independence that we cannot remember them or to put it very bluntly we do not put the people, who gave their lives for the country after independence, in the same league as people before independence. I get a feeling that we have decided that our greatest struggle which was the struggle for independence is over which obviously is not the case. One of the greatest struggle which threatens to paralyse this country is corruption. India is full of martyrs who have tried to stand against this affliction. Although the government seems to be quite reluctant to call them as martyrs but it provides a lot "opportunities" for them to become one. An honest government official is always on the edge of being humiliated or even being mercilessly murdered by corrupt leaders. The predicament of such people is worse than that of a policeman caught in the middle of gun fight because they have a chance of defending themselves but what about a civilian who is just trying to abide by the law.Should the government make these honest officials sign a contract that the government will not be held responsible for any kind of humiliation or threat faced by the individual while carrying out the duties honestly or simply give them training for self defence. I believe that we are in a state of denial, that the worst is over. I am not sure how many more lives and sacrifices shall we need to realise that post independence the biggest struggle is still on and the more time we take to unite and stand against this oppression of corruption the harder this struggle is going to get.

Knowledge vs Experimentation

I was watching a program on BBC one evening in which they were tracing the history of mathematics and the contribution of India in particular to mathematics. Some of the great discoveries made by Indian mathematicians were of course the idea and implementation of zero as a number, calculation of pi, discovery of negative numbers, use of trigonometry to calculate the distance of earth from sun and moon, the discovery of infinity, the use of inifinity to evaluate geometric progressions. The program emphasised the fact that these concepts were also discovered by the western mathematicians but much later than the Indians. Almost 300-400 years later;some even more than 1000 years later, like discovering zero.All this obviously makes me a very proud Indian. The host of the show also accepted the thinking of Western world that the eastern culture had nothing to offer was so misplaced. We indeed were very good at Maths but why is it that west has made more progress than we have. The first thing which strikes me is the lack of application of our rich repository of knowledge. So what if the west was slow to learn, they put their learning into practice. What use is knowing the value of pi if it does not translate into a scientific leap which reflects into a giant social leap and later transcends the entire human race. We were the first to know that sun is 400 times farther from earth than the moon,yet the first space mission was completed by the western world. This clearly reflects the lack of practical implementaion and experimentation of our knowledge. Our education system from the beginning has stressed more on theoretical knowledge than the expermintation part of it which indeed enables us to solve a differential equation but does not enable us to invent a basic computer which works on binary numbers-0(we gave it to the world) and 1 . Expermintation gives another dimension and stimulates the intellect of an individual and it is experimentation rather than knowledge which leads to discovery. The second thing I liked about the program was the candidness with which the host said that Indians were the first to make such great discoveries. We for long have tried to prove that we were a advanced race, well the west accepts it. It is they who produce such programs and dig deep and bring out facts which may be unknown to Indians too.Knowledge spreads by sharing it with others. We stagnated because we stopped sharing which obviously led to complacency and while the west was basking under the glory of great scientific achievements we were still lighting an oil lamp. The road to scientific glory and salvation is nothing but giving our knowledge and gaining the knowledge of others which is when we will also be one day a scientific super power.

Domestic racism

Indian students have recently bore the brunt of racism in Australia and I as an Indian feel very angry about it. Every Indian in Australia has earned his/her own right to be there perhaps to the distaste of the locals there. But should I not feel proud of what is happenning to the Indians if I were Raj Thakeray. Why are the Indians there if it is not the place where they are born. After all it is not their Janmbhumi then why should it become their karmbhumi. If Mumbai is only for the mumbaikars, shouldn't Australia be only for Australians. I think Raj Thakeray would have personally congratulated those who stabbed the Indians after all their philosophy is the same as his. No Mumbaikar has the right to condemn this act of racism because they themselves are racists. I am sure some of the students in Australia would be from Mumbai but I do not feel sympathy because when the their felllow Indians' fundamental rights were being violated they silently condoned the act. Regionalism is nothing but domestic racism where a person from a particular region feels he is superior than people from other region of the same country. This government is trying to pacify the victims of racism in Australia while they were trying to pacify the perpetrators of racism in Mumbai. It is the mentality of wild animals and stray dogs to forbid animal of the same species from entering their territory; are we not the same in that sense. Who says racists are different from street dogs.

Coolie O Coolie

I was standing at platform 1 of New Delhi railway station and my train was suppposed to start from platform 12. The luggage was too much for me to carry so decided to take a coolie. I saw some coolies standing just outside platform 1. One of them agreed to carry my heavy luggage to platform 12 and demanded 60 Rs as his labour charge to which I readily agreed. Labour indeed is very cheap in India. You realise this specially when you reach India from any developed country. Coolies represent the readily available unskilled labour in India. I wonder if the railway stations had escalators on platofrms what would these coolies do to earn their living. Most of the coolies are past 45 well past the age when they can acquire any specialised skills. I believe I am a modern man who always advocates the use of technology but a simple technological advancement like installing escalators on railway platforms would deprive many labourers of their right to earn a living. I also believe that these esacalators would make life and travel easy for all the travellers using railways. This indeed is a catch 22 situation. This predicament indicates towards a very serious labour problem in India. Is it possible for such a huge population to become skilled workers?Perhaps an optimist would say Yes but realistically speaking I do not think so. Even if we assume that it is possible, do we have enough jobs for these skilled workers in India. The government of India instead of beating its chest about its contribution towards the progress of this nation, which I believe is a progress driven by some great Indian corporate leaders, should take serious note of the situation of unskilled labourers in India. The corporate world has done a lot to create jobs for skilled workers in India ; it is the duty of Indian government to provide opportunities to those who are not lucky enough to acquire those skills and come up with a solution to which I have no answer in my mind

Survival of the fittest

The theory of natural selection says that nature choses only the fittest to survive. I have seen numerous documentaries which show how difficult it is for a new born of a wild animal to survive in this treacherous world. A new born calf of a deer can't stand on its legs and the mother watches helplessly its struggling infant. The calf finally manages to stabilise itself and suckles at its mother to extract life . Nature by its nature is very unforgiving and does not give any second thoughts on eliminating a weak offspring. It even compells animals to eat their own kind when the situations get very severe. These offsprings start withstanding all the hardships and begin the journey of their life. Their parents always teach them the skills necessary to survive in the jungle. If it is deer, it is always told to be alert and hide behind the tall grasses to avoid being spotted by a stalking lion or a cheetah. If it is a lion's cub it is told to always stay away from serpents or other big male lions. The hunters are taught the skill to hunt and the prey is taught the skill to hide and dodge the hunter. One of the most important lessons taught to them is to respect the nature because it is nature which is their playground and the workplace. They are always taught to work with nature and not against it. One of the most beautiful and complex creation of nature is what we proudly call is - US , no no not the Unites States but us- human beings. Nature almost marvels itself upon the creation of such a complex system. Most of the times when a human baby is born it is in no condition to help itself and crawl to its mother. Mother holds the baby in her hands, supports the baby and gives it the milk of life. I see some kind of partiality here on the part of nature.Why does it allow a human baby to be given a supporting hand while the children of the other species are denied this support. We as human beings are created more intelligent than any other living speices in the world. A human infant is prone to many diseases in the initial part of its life and might not be the fittest but we make it possible for the baby to survive. It is because we are more intelligent than other animals. I believe what we perceive as intelligence is nothing but a second chance given to us by nature. We have used our intelligence for the development of our world and our species. But in the process of development we have lost the respect for nature which has given us the power of intelligence. It would be a cliche to say that we are working agianst nature; that nature which has presented the cradle of life to us. The worst part is we do not realise that by doing so we are getting weaker every moment. This realisation stimulates us time and again when we hear about Tsunami and devastating forest fire. Nature has allowed even the weakest of human beings to suruvie but I guess we are quickly reaching a threshold point after which indeed only the fittest will survive and at that time I am not sure how many of us will back themselves as the fittest.

Is this Democracy

India is one of the biggest democracy in the world and infact America imported polling machines from India to hold its elections and the Election Commission of India is consulted by various countries for holding elections in a systematic manner. Does this make India a democratic country? Some would say why not. After all millions of people in India cast their votes to elect their representatives but still is this democracy. Jawaharlal Nehru was our first Prime Minister and intersestingly his daughter became Prime Minister whose son Rajiv Gandhi also became our Prime Minister. This does not sound democracy to me. This is no different than a monarchy where a king's son/daughter inherit the throne of a country. One example is not sufficient to emphasise the point I am making. Orissa's current Chief Minister is a son of Orissa's former Chief Minister. Kashmir's chief Minsiter shares the same heritage. Devegowda who enjoys the privilege of being the CM and PM of our country ensured that his son also tasted the power of becoming a CM. Stalin in Tamil Nadu is lining up to replace Karunanidhi. Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam is getting ready to hold the reigns of Samajwadi Party in UP. Madhav Rao Sindhiya's son is already a sitting MP. Bal Thackeray will some day anoint his son as the king of Shiv Sena. Sanjay Dutt convicted for TADA is raring to join politics; his sister is already an MLA. Democracy is just a farce in India; a ludicrous idea and we as Indians have been made to believe that we are living in a democracy. Politics in India has become a business where the the sons/daughters inherit it from their parents.Democracy gives us the choice to choose but our politicians have masterminded a plot where you are given an illusion of making a choice. Did we chose Manmohan Singh democratically? Are we being asked if Rahul Gandhi should take over as the leader of Congress party. I guess just voting for the politicians in the election does not warrant a democracy. Democarcy in India is nothing but a shameless act of nepotism. We have to break out of this matrix , open our eyes to the realilty and come out of this pseudo democracy otherwise by the time we realise this, someone serving a life imprisonment sentence would be making a speech from Red fort and we would be cheering, waving our national flag and proudly telling our generations to come- This indeed is democracy.

Pakistan aka Afghanistan

Is Pakistan the new Afghanistan that's the big question I guess. It is quickly heading towards becoming a terrorist nation. There has always been a fine balance between fundamentalism and liberalism in Pakistan and though there is no dearth of religious leaders in Pakistan it has always managed to keep these people out of power which clearly reflects the minds of the Pakistanis. But you can't live peacefully if you do not let your formidable neighbour live in peace. The outlook of Pakistan towards terrorism been dual. It had openly supported the terrorists in past spreading terror in India and has brazenly hailed them freedom fighters but now when the bug has bitten them they have no choice but to condemn the terrorists. I think I can postulate the three laws of terrorrism:
1) Terrorism continues to be in the state of motion unless dealt in a hard manner.eg: Punjab
2) The force of terrorism is inversely proportion to the strength of the government
3) Most important- For every action there is equal and opposite reaction. eg: America creating Osama, Pakistan spreading terror in India.
Pakistan I guess is slowly coming to realise the second and third laws of terrorism. Its government has always been unstable oscillating bewtween democarcy and military rule; and so much time and effort has been lost that Pakistan has lost control of the terrorist outfits which it gave birth to. The foreign policy of Pakistan has been a one point agenda- Kashmir. Recently the Pakistani government signed a cease fire agreement with Taliban which goes to show the weakness of the government and irony that it was pakistan which created Taliban and is now begging for mercy from them. It(Pakistan) has to realise that terrorism is not a chemical reaction but a nuclear fusion which is uncontrollable if not nipped in the bud. India has to remain wary of this situation as Taliban was atleast a country away from us but now seems like our ministers would soon be dealing with Taliban officially in Pakistan. Religious fundamentalism can coexist and can be accepted fully among the people which has been demonstrated successfully by Iran, Saudi Arabia. Pakistan should apply for a crash course of social reforms in one of these countries to pull itself out of the black hole which it is creating.

SlumDog Millionare

This movie has been a rage recently and quite obviously bagged a lot of international awards. It has produced mixed reactions among the Indians. Some feel it is a great movie while the others believe it just debases India and wrongly bares the condition of the people living in the slums. I personally believe that the movie is a good one and truely relflects the condition of slum dwellers. I think it would be hypocritical to say it paints a very sordid image of India. The truth can't be obliterated by closing our eyes. None of the politicians in Mumbai ever talk about the apalling conditions of the people living in slums but never mince any words about instigating Mumbaikars against Non Mumbaikars or Hindus against Muslims. Are they saying silently that it is problem which can't be solved? I think the Indian government lacks the political will to salvage the situation of slum dwellers. Atleast by making a movie on slums the life of the children who acted in the movies would change. India which is one of the biggest democracy in the world cares so little about its citizens which is one of the greatest irony . It seems as if the government thinks -why the hell do we need NGOs. Movies like Slumdog millionares should be made more which would atleast hit the facts hard not only in the governments's face but in our face too who feel a lot of pride in their nation's progress in the twenty first century and forget about the fellow Indian slum dwellers who should also share the success and rise of India as a global intellectual power.