This follows the Part I and Part II. Here’s a guide to this blog in chronological order.
I believe that action and action alone can help this country. Each of us may have thought about hundred and one things to improve this nation. But unless we act nothing will happen. And to start that action is now- today. A slogan that I like a lot is: ‘Just Do It’ (from Nike). Yes, it’s a powerful slogan; and when applied to this nation it can create wonders.
‘Our sentiments are hurt’ is a disease that has caught with almost every religion and region in this subcontinent…We are affected by what you wrote, though we have never read it. We are affected by what you think, though we don't know what it is. We are affected by what you paint, though we have never seen it.
India’s most important achievement
It is almost a wonder that India has retained and preserved the institutions of its democracy even after sixty years of Independence. Even our forefathers might have had some doubts whether we would ever survive sixty years as a democratic nation.
There is no other country on this planet where such diverse populations are living together. India is so unique in this respect that no other nation comes close to India. Come to think of it, India completely defies every rule on how a nation-state should be formed.
India has to grow up. Its people have to grow up. Its politicians have to grow up. We seem to be ruffled by every sentence a person makes about us. While we continue to riot in our Parliament and Assembly proceedings, throwing speakers, chappals, chairs, beating up each other, we get offended when someone comments on such behavior.
Most Indians leaders of 1947 welcomed and hailed Soviet style economy and touted it as the only solution to India’s problems. Capitalism, which imposed a completely unreliable and topsy-turvy economy onto its people, was considered the least agreeable solution. If you were an adult during 1947, there was a good chance that you too would have been agreeing to the soviet style socialistic economy.
I believe one of the most essential ingredients for a leader and which is completely missing from the above list is ‘the ability to take strong, bold and quick decisions and implement them with concrete action’. For some reason this was quite absent from the list gathered by the team at TOI.
What happens when people take law unto their hands? What happens when citizens believe they are better at doling out punishments than the state? What happens when responsible citizens believe they have a right to choose what laws they will abide by and what they will violate? Why do I think the example set by ‘Rang De Basanti’ is a bad one?
Spate of communal incidents in India
Most Indian Hindus believe that such violence and strife will not reach them. While they continue to foment and fuel the hatred which spawns more such violence, they believe they are immune to the consequences such as rioting, killing and pillage. The discontent, the frustrations, the disillusionments that we continue to foster in one religion or one region will come back to haunt us all.
'Our sentiments continue to hurt' II
‘Our sentiments are hurt’ seems to be the new disease of India…The mighty Supreme Court of India, which seem to baffle me more and more these days, with its idiotic decisions, is also now affected by this disease.
TOI (Times of India) comes to my aid affirming my belief system about Indians. Idiocy that it represents confirms the crux of all my contentions- that indeed Indians are idiotic. The sheer volume of chicanery it produce everyday is quite astounding. Sometimes you wonder, is this what Indian youth is currently thinking?
Is this one of those cheap tricks? I mean, how does one ‘cut short the normally long-winded path up the political ladder’? Someone should inform TOI that the only way one can do this in India is by being born to a political leader (like Rahul Gandhi).
I have often wondered why Indians follow rules so obediently when they are in a (foreign) developed country whereas they flout every conceivable rule when in India. Is it the system or is it the people? What is it that makes them behave so inconsistently?
While a person could be ‘compassionate’, humane, and principled, he may not turn out to be a leader. ‘Commitment to truth, honesty and justice’ are great qualities in a person, but do not necessarily make a leader.
If all the horns on every car and motorbike gets bust, we would definitely have a more peaceful nation. I also believe that many of us would take back that responsibility that we gave away of saving our lives, and start behaving more responsibly taking charge of our own fates. That would build character and we would see more and better leaders.
To Better India II: Primary Education
I believe investing in a better future is the wisest thing we can do right now, and that involves investing in creating better younger generations. For that, we have to ensure we do not inherit our kids with our prejudices and bigotry but instead equip them with skills, values and attitudes of the right kind, so that they make their own future, hopefully, a better one.
Rejection of Rationality I: Indian Hindus and the New Age
Indian Hindus love this West’s ‘post-modern’ disapproval of science and rationality. This disapproval is lapped up by many Indian Hindus because it seems to rhyme with their own theories of ‘scientific Hinduism’, which posits logic and mysticism as two sides of the same coin.
Well, most urban Indians want Indian Army in Kashmir to stay longer. They believe India should emulate Israel and US in keeping the Muslim separatists out. Some would admire George Bush for what he did in Afghanistan and Iraq. They think he has the guts to do something which Indian leaders seem to lack.
Reservations-based-on-caste is unjust and unfair, but having 80% of upper caste Hindus in IT sector is just the ‘survival of the fittest’. Having more Muslim policemen in Muslim areas is unjust and unfair, while having predominantly Hindu fo
Indians are getting vexed by Secularism! They see it as an encumbrance; something they know is guaranteed in the Indian constitution but which they do not like to follow if possible. It is more akin to traffic rules of India, which most Indians would rather not follow though they exist as laws.
I believe the protests are going to increase. And I think that the Government of India will have to scrap the project and accept traveling extra miles in the sea…In India you just cannot win over God. In India God always wins!
Rejection of Rationality II: Terms explained
Most of Indian philosophies of yesteryears are based on peripatetic investigation just like Aristotle’s theories on Universe, most of which are now proved to be wrong. These are mere conjectures, based on argument that satisfies the logic of man, but NOT necessarily true in nature. Empiricism was not taken up by Indian Philosophers and there is no record to suggest they did.
To illustrate my understandings, I have created these scenarios.
Hinduism has now upgraded itself to include blasphemy. The BJP, which appoints itself as the official spokesman for all Hindus, has accused UPA government of ‘blasphemy’… Blasphemy, we welcome you! Our national IQ average is falling rapidly, are we are becoming complete idiots, please embrace us!
India is now running extremely low on Vitamin S – where S stands for Science. The lack of this vitamin has led to a disease called ‘our sentiments are hurt’. The first sign of this disease is that human emotions and sentiments become more important in the matters of running the state whereas logic and reason are booted out of the door. In the latest controversy engulfing the political parties of India…petitioners have claimed that Ram Sethu/Adam’s Bridge is 1.75 Millions years old. Humans have been human for much less than 1 million years. So, how come Rama existed before humans became humans?
There is no historical evidence to suggest Rama existed. That does not mean he did not exist. He may have. He may not have…To suggest that Rama existed is a matter of belief. Whether he existed or not is irrelevant to dredging of Ram Sethu. What is important is to know if Adam’s Bridge/Ram Sethu is a man-made construction or not. All evidences suggest that it is not, expect certain quotations from mythology and some blind beliefs.
while u r workinh hard on this blog u obviously are an idiot...revel in ignorance....every opinion of yours just seems to be based on the superficial...revel my dear friend....gud 1 on medha patkar n arundhati roy though
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