Saturday, September 22, 2007

Friday, September 21, 2007

Eye Opener -1

Book: India's Struggle for freedom
Author: Bipin Chandra

An Eye Opener: P 32-33 [Chapter-1, The First Major Challenge: The Revolt of 1857]

"The most outstanding leader of the revolt was Rani Lakshmibai, who assumed the leadership of the sepoys at Jhansi. Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General, had refused to allow her adopted son to succeed to the throne after her husband died and had annexed the state by the application of the Doctrine of Lapse. The Rani had tried everything to reverse the decision. She even offered to keep jhansi 'safe' for the British if they would grant her wishes. When it was clear nothing was working she joined the sepoys and, in time, became one of the most formidable enemies the British had contended with."

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Supreme Court: On Corruption

"Everyone wants to loot this country. The only deterrent is to hang a few corrupt persons from the lamp post," …

The only way to rid the country of corruption is to hang a few of you from the lamppost.

The law does not permit us to do it but otherwise we would prefer to hang people like you from the lamppost..

- a bench of Supreme Court justices S.B. Sinha and Markandeya Katju 7/3/07

Every body know what we are heading for, but alas ! All are helpless, just like 'Bhishma Pitamah' in Mahabharat !!!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

60th Independence Day

Today the nation is celebrating its 60th Birth Anniversary, the day when a free India evolved out of an outrageous war with Britishers.

60th Birth Anniversary. When any Indian Government Servant will celebrate his 60th Anniversary, he will get retirement from his duties the same month. The person has learnt, implemented, used and preached all the lessons the life could teach. He as got the highest level of maturity. Now he is thanked for all the efforts he has made to serve his nation. The time has came when you are expected to take rest, till you get a final retirement from this world !

But on the 60th Anniversary, we must do the retrospection about the level of maturity of our nation. Is India mature enough? By India, we actually refer to the countrymen, the academicians, the businessmen, the executives, the leaders and the ministers. What ever class do we belong, do we think ourselves matured enough to act or to take any implementable decision in the perspective of our nation, which may actually benefit the country as a whole?

Well, I dont think so ! Do you?

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Awareness or Darkness??

It was on 19th July '07 when I was returning from Ahmedabad to Kanpur in Azimabad Express.

Two gentlemen, sitting close to me were talking to each other. I would like to mention here & analyse one of the sentences which they uttered.

"These days people have become more aware. In elections, more & more people go for voting these days."

First of all this is a wrong statement in totallity. More & more people dont like to vote now a days. I dont have the exact statistics. If any body can pour in some, I would be obliged. But let's suppose for some time that he is correct with the second part of his sentence that more & more people like to vote these days. My question is that, in the light of this II-part of the question, I-part is correct or incorrect?

I mean to say, that if more & more people like to vote & go for voting, will you call it "Awareness" or "Darkness" ?

When we know that who so ever you vote, will do the least possible, if at all, for the society, then why to vote? Why not to abolish in totality all this election process, which has become nothing more than a dirty power race for the most corrupt class of our unfortunate society.

All this corrupt group is to be thrown out, a new motivated group is to be injected into this process, called politics. But again power will corrupt. So after some time again this process of throwing out & reinjecting a fresh group is to be done, so as to run the constitutional machinery effectively. Otherwise there is no meaning to just somehow pull this corrupt setup any more !

Is this a correct solution ?

Friday, July 6, 2007

Constitution has become a burden ???

It was just another day when I was watching 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge'. It was a coincidence that continuously for some time the Challengers were making Jokes on the Indian Politicians. With every bit of a Joke the Audience was bursting into laughter & I was just sitting & wondering the reasons...

Every single man, right from my 7 year old nephew to my 77 years old Neighbour is fully aware that there is a group of people, called "Ministers" who are involved in all kinds of misdeeds, will accidently say truth sometimes, who have made hell lot of money through Corruption, who will say something infront of the media & will do the other as soon as they are off-the-records…………….

Name one person of this country who can dare to say that there is a single Minister (be it an MP or an MLA) in this country for whom the National interest is above his own Personal interests !

There are ‘n’ number of movies which have reflected the true picture of a Politician. There are ‘n’ number of scandals which have truly substantiated all that what we have watched in movies. There had been ‘n’ number of cases which we have actually encountered in our lives, which have strengthened our belief that the nation is goverened by 100% corrupt and self centred Politicians.

In every Ministers’ cabin, in every political party’s office we will find atleast one of Gandhi Ji, Subhash C Bose, Nehru Ji, Sardar V Patel, Dr BR Ambedkar hanging in the portraits. But is there a single gentle man who move around those photographs, who follow the path shown by these great men?

So why do you hang such great peoples in your walls when you just hate their policies. To mis-guide the common man that you believe in the ideologies of Nehru Ji, Gandhi Ji etc? But common man has already identified all your deeds, Sir! So let’s atleast remove these pictures, which are totally dumb for you; and hence save some public money. Or rather you can load your pockets with it.

Is there a single father who wants his son to join Indian politics? If there is a mob of political party workers moving across a street, we would not like our mother, sister & wife to be there. We would put all effort to keep our children out of the such a gathering. Why is it so?

If a common man, by mistake pays Rs 100/- less towards his income tax, just try to visualize all the problems he is tending to. Even when he wants to correct his mistake by paying that Rs 100/-, he will be asked to fill tens of forms, get the signature of tens of people, pay Rs 500/- fine after standing in a queue, and then deposit one Rs 100/- note along with tens of documents, photocopies, reciepts and ofcourse standing in another queue. This Rs 100/- will go towards revenue collection by the Government of India. What is the value of Rs 100/- when we compare it with total amount of Black money which is not accounted any where? Imagine how many such Rs 100/- notes (which we deposit into government’s account by filling tens of forms, by standing in long queues etc) just go un-noticed by any one into some body’s pockets. One of these Rs 100/- notes must be the same which I paid to the government after facing hell lot of problems, which has just now entered very smoothly into the big pocket of a politician. All the problems I suffered was to fill such a pocket?

I work in an Steel industry & I get Rs 600/- per 8 hr day I spend in the plant, infront of the furnace (temperature 1700 oC), which is my work area. I get one Rs 100/- note when I work there for 1hr 20 min infront of the furnace at 1700 oC. Do I work in such an environment for 1hr 20 min, so that by this Rs 100 /- which I earn goes towards payment of Income tax, which ultimately through these politicians, becomes a part of Black money?

So what solution we have come through in all these years? We all agree that all these ministers are corrupt, so lets go for an Election ! But what will be the out come? Again one party or a group of parties will get the majority, will form the government. Again there will be powerful ministers who will let no stone unturned to fill their pockets.

But this is the only provision which Constitution has provided to us. If you are not satisfied with the government, go for a re-election. This is what the Constitution says. But even after spending Rs 1000 crores (which is unfortunately the same money which many of the people like me have paid towards the income tax, service tax, Value added tax, etc etc) in elections, are we satisfied?

So what’s the Solution? How long will we just spend (‘waste’ is rather a right word here in place of ‘spend’) the public money just to follow the Constitution?

I have full respect for the Constitution of India. But the way it has been moulded and re-moulded to satisfy the personal needs of politicians, it demands a major over hauling (Major Amendments).

But again Amendments will be done by the group of politicians, as per Constitution. So what is the solution? I don’t know.

Is ‘Emergency’ a solution?