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Healing the bruised psyche of Hindus

shams9
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Healing the bruised psyche of Hindus

I beg your pardon.

Being Hindu is an honour. Being Hindu means being part of a sanskriti or culture, thousands of years old, which is rich, complex, intelligent beyond belief. It is an ancient culture that holds out brilliantly as sanatana dharma – the eternal principle. Even in today’s post-modern era it prevails and informs its followers in marvellous ways. More importantly it delivers. This is because it is not circumscribed by narrow tenets, but is fluid and expandable. Hinduism is a living thing. It breathes.

For a while now, the term ‘Hindu’ has been vilified causing grievous harm to the community’s sensibilities. As a practising Hindu, I wish to set the record straight.

Time has come for sacred Hindu symbols of worship and temples to be accorded the glory and reverence they deserve. The epic Ram Mandir that will rise up at Ayodhya will go a long way in healing the bruised psyche of Hindus worldwide.

These temples and sacred symbols of worship are a vivifying and central part of a Hindu’s life. They are the living gods and goddesses that animate the daily lives of millions. They breathe, they give solace. They are the biggest devotional support system, for believers across the board, and not the least, the poorer, non-elitist sections of society. 

However, for all that, traditional Hindu modes of worship have been pushed to a dark corner by the intelligentsia and are even mocked by a world getting rapidly and dangerously westernised. The British were banished in 1947 but the colonial mindset still clings. Macaulay derided our rich ancient culture and mocked that, a single shelf of a good European library, was worth the whole native literature of India! That uninformed utterance summarily dismissed our Vedas, the Epics and the Puranas!  Little wonder then that our pompous rulers had to bite the dust, deluded as they were in regarding  sophisticated knowledge of temporal matters, as ultimate wisdom.   

Truth is, though all religions have fascinating aspects,  Hinduism runs away with the trophy! It is infinite, endless, ever-creative and evolving. It covers the entire canvas of human experience; its free-flowing expansiveness cannot be contained in a few holy texts or to any one portion of life. It is about the total life experience – dharma, artha, kama and moksha. It is both, about living in the world and rising above it in transcendental awareness. Hinduism, if a religion, is not just about God, it is about everything – in fact it states that God is everything. Be it the stone or the tree or the heart of man (or ant), He pervades it all. Isn’t that wonderful?

The source of the wonder is that it is the only religion which didn’t start with a prophet, it came before, and its prophets and avatars and saints later. That deserves some thought. It came not from the mouth of a Messenger, then from where? Was it the All High directly beginning to reveal Himself, to evolving humanity, in the first divine burst of Revelation? But how was it to be done? God wanted to say something and needed an ear and intellect to pick it up. It was here that the yogis and rishis, meditating for millennia, came into the picture. Maybe, it was their concentrated and unyielding search for the meaning and purpose of existence, that wooed God from out of His high heavens into willing acquiescence! It was always His plan anyway; to give hints, and signs and have Man, His grandest creation, recognize Him, the Creator – and more importantly to love Him. Our scriptures state, all are but sparks of the Divine, and there is only the One, and everything has come, in a guise of maya, from ‘That’. The whole game, or divine sport, (or leela) is based on that. God is sporting in myriad forms, experiencing Himself through the illusory ‘Other’ to love Himself. What a Master plan!

So, Hinduism is unique as it affords multiple perspectives, making it expandable and accommodative. The whole mystery of existence is endeavoured to be explained in the sacred texts and holy utterances of the sages and saints of this great religion. The many Gods and Goddesses are symbols of the multiplicity and variety which is human life. Promoted by the belief that the whole world is one family – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, Hinduism offers a universal code for living a harmonious life. Reverence for all sentient beings and the belief that the Divine pervades every atom of creation makes Hinduism the most inclusive of all religions. 

Every street of India has a shrine. And nine out of ten modern day professionals genuflect and fold their palms into a devotional Namaste while passing the spot. People from every class and strata of society acknowledge the presence of deity everyday in their lives in some way. It could be a chant of the sacred Gayatri Mantra, or a clasping of palms in a jai before a home shrine or in the street.  How can you deny or berate this reality? More importantly, how can you deny the Hindu population it’s inviolable right to reclaim this culture, suppressed and demeaned by political opportunists in the name of secularism??

In the face of all the  technological progress, this is a power of another nature. It is the power of faith and  spirit. Science and technology can reach the moon and evaluate barren rock but they can’t get to the heart of the matter.  Importantly, they, nor nobody, can banish spirit!   

Yes, let’s unabashedly celebrate the glory and wonder of our grand Hindu culture and spread the message for the benefit of all humanity. 

Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavantu

-Shammi Paranjape

Goat lives matter

qwertyuiop
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Goat lives matter

This week, approximately 1.5 billion people belonging to a certain community celebrated Eid al-Adha, a four-day feast. The key ritual of this festival is to kill a goat. The animal is blindfolded, put down while it bleats continuously and then slaughtered in the name of their god. The meat is then consumed by the family and also distributed to neighbours and to the needy.

Like this, year after year, countless innocent goats are mercilessly slaughtered. During this period, all animal’s rights activists, organisations and virtue signallers go underground and don’t utter a word. In fact, organisations like PETA that were started in order to ensure that no one messes with innocent animals, end up giving in to the goat murderers. All animals are equal, but for PETA it seems like some animals are more equal than others. This organization clearly has developed a bias against poor goats due to threats from a certain community because in July of this year PETA removed all anti-goat slaughter posters from Indian cities. PETA today is single-handedly responsible for the slaughter of millions of goats.

And not just slaughter, members of a certain community are also known to indulge in bestiality with goats. Numerous incidents of gang rape of goats have been recorded. In the past, a few people like Arvind Kejriwal’s aide have also gone to the extent of justifying such incidents of degenerate animal sexual intercourse.

As an Indian, it deeply pains me to see that my country has weak and close to non-existent animal ritual slaughter laws while Islamic countries like Abu Dhabi impose a fine of 5,000 Dirhams i.e a lakh rupee for those caught slaughtering animals in homes, public parks or other places. Why’s it that goat murderers are given special relaxations in India? As it is, these murderers are allowed to cause noise pollution by blaring their religious propaganda five times a day through loudspeakers while poor Hindus aren’t even allowed to control their own temple’s funds.

We must not let these anti-goat elements take over our country. Start small and protest against goat slaughter. Force international pretentious organizations and public figures to take action. It’s our turn to cause an outrage but, for the right reasons, for a better Rashtra.

अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता की आड़ में चलता हिन्दू धर्म का अपमान

वैभव वर्मा
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अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता की आड़ में चलता हिन्दू धर्म का अपमान

अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता एक ऐसा शब्द जो हमें अहसास कराता है, एक स्वतंत्र राष्ट्र का हिस्सा होने का, एक ऐसा शब्द जो वर्णित है हमारे मौलिक अधिकारों में और यह लगभग विश्व के सभी लोकतांत्रिक देशो का एक अभिन्न अंग है जहाँ यह वहाँ के नागरिको को अभय प्रदान कर मन की बात कहने में सक्षम बनाता है। किंतु आज अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता के मायने बदल रहे है, आज इसी अधिकार के पीछे से देश की धार्मिक अखंडता, मौलिकता तथा राष्ट्र की एकता को भंग करने की साजिश की बू आती है व एक तुष्टीकरण का खेल नज़र आता है। यह रचनात्मक आलोचना या समीक्षात्मक ना होकर एक अमर्यादित, अतार्किक तथा वैमनस्य से परिपूर्ण शब्दो के रूप में परिवर्तित होती जा रही है।

जिस अधिकार ने हमें लोकतांत्रिक देश में अपनी बात को निर्भिकता से रखना बताया, वहाँ क्या आज नैतिकता इतनी पतित हो चुकी है कि स्वतंत्रता के नाम पर गैरकानूनी गतिविधियाँ, वक्तव्य इत्यादि की व्यवस्था संचालन हेतु गुट बनाकर राष्ट्र के विरूद्ध, धर्म के विरूद्ध, आस्था के विरूद्ध जाकर बोले वो भी उनके विरूद्ध जो इस राष्ट्र का आधार है, इस देश का बहुसंख्यक समाज है, ये कहाँ तक न्यायोचित है।

आज हम देख रहे है कि देश में कुछ समूहो द्वारा रोज किसी ना किसी नये विवाद को जन्म देकर उसे हिंदुत्व के साथ जोडकर सीधे देवी-देवताओं, सीधे हमारी सनातन संस्कृति, हिन्दुओं की धार्मिक आस्थाओं को अपशब्दो का रूप देकर हिन्दूहितों एवं उनकी भावनाओं पर कड़ा प्रहार किया जाता है। इस प्रकार के गुटो द्वारा देवी-देवताओ के चरित्र का मिथ्या लेखन, झूठी कथाओं की रचना, ईश्वरीय अस्तित्व पर प्रश्नचिन्ह खडा करने वाले विवादास्पद बयान देना कोई नया घटनाक्रम नहीं है, किंतु प्रश्न यह है कि ये आखिर क्यों और आखिर कब तक चलेगा? आखिर क्यो लोग अपने मतो को व्यक्त करने के पश्चात् उसे बलपूर्वक लागू करने का प्रयास करते है, आखिर क्यों ये लोग अपने शब्दो के बाणों को एकपक्षीय होकर बरसाते है? जिस हिन्दू धर्म ने इस राष्ट्र को एक धर्मनिरपेक्ष राष्ट्र बनाया, सर्वधर्म समावृत्ति की शिक्षा दी उसी धर्म के सम्मान की अव्हेलना कर देना इस देश में कहाँ तक उचित है? क्या समीक्षा एवं अपमान के बीच कोई विभाजन की रेखा नहीं बची अथवा कोई रेखा खींचना नहीं चाहता।

आये दिन सेक्युलरिज्म के नाम पर तथाकथित सेक्युलरो द्वारा शास्त्रो में वर्णित उपदेश, उनकी मान्यताओं को चतुराईपूर्वक शब्दो के हेर-फेर द्वारा काल्पनिक घोषित कर देना, कहीं मूर्तियों को विखंडित कर देना तो कहीं पर किसी भगवान का असभ्य चित्र बना देना, यह किस प्रकार की स्वतंत्रता का परिचायक है। जनता ने इस देश में कितने ही अभिव्यक्ति के साधनों को खोजा, कितने ही नवीन द्वार खोले किंतु अब इनके तुच्छ स्वार्थ और प्रसिद्धी की भूख ने इन लोगो को नैतिक रूप से इस स्तर तक गिरा दिया है कि उन्हे सिर्फ अब यही उपाय नज़र आता है कि कोई भी विवाद जन्म ले तो उसे अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता बोलकर उससे पल्ला झाड़ लेते है, धर्म व संस्कृति के उत्थान का हवाला देते हुये कुतर्को पर उतर आते है। आज हिन्दू धर्म के प्रति इनकी बौद्धिक असहमति, अभिव्यक्ति की परीक्षा ले रही है तथा इस अधिकार व आवश्यकता को एक चुनौति बनने की ओर मोड रही है इसलिये प्रत्येक व्यक्ति को यह ध्यान में रखना होगा कि वो क्या अभिव्यक्त कर रहा है एवं किस माध्यम से किस तरह अभिव्यक्त कर रहा है तथा इस राष्ट्र को भी इसे गंभीरतापूर्वक लेकर भाव व्यक्त करने की इस स्वतंत्रता को अपने नियंत्रण में लेना होगा व इसकी सीमाओं के संतुलन को खोजना होगा।

इस अभिव्यक्ति का जो दायित्वबोध खो गया है, उसे स्मरण कराकर धर्म, आस्थाओ तथा उनके प्रतीकों पर वाणी के माध्यम से चोट करने वाले लोगो को कानूनी प्रक्रिया के तहत उचित दण्ड का प्रावधान किया जाये अन्यथा वो समय दूर नहीं जब ये कुकुरमुत्ते हर विषय हर चीज को ईश्वर से ही जोडने लगे।

73 years an alien: Plight of Kashmiri Hindus

Veeresh Malik
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73 years an alien: Plight of Kashmiri Hindus

“Among those who have received domicile certificates are West Pakistan refugees, numbering over 20,000, nearly all of whom are reportedly covered now” as reported in the Indian Express and other sources confirm the numbers.

If my extended family is an indication, then just about 7 out of 300 who ventured out of then West Pakistan to New India are alive today, and they are all, obviously, in their 70s and 80s and above. A few of them, who came from Rawalpindi side, did try to settle down in the Jammu & Kashmir area, but on realising that they were not really welcome in Jammu & Kashmir, moved on to other parts of India.

More than a dozen of my extended family have served in Jammu & Kashmir, and two have died there, with some more injured too. My late father was there with the earliest troops in the winter of 1947/48. So were my uncles. And my cousins. (Read this beautiful write-up about J&K.)

One of them, his memory lives on in Baramulla area, was of mixed Punjabi Refugee and Naga Angami parentage. My first cousin. Major Abhimanyu Sikka. Never retired. We as a family have more rights on domicile status in Jammu & Kashmir than most other Indians, if fighting and dying for the freedom of Jammu & Kashmir is ever going to be one of the qualifications required.

So why did it take so long for Indians who opted for India to be given domicile status in an Indian State? Oh yes, a secular New India, where all religions were equal?

Ah, yes, 370 can be lobbed at us. But was that all?

Certainly not. There were enough ways to get around 370 if you were from “a particular community”, and not only by the route of marriage, or a walk across the Line of Control.

It was simply that if you were NOT from a particular religion, then you were not welcome to a domicile certificate, and that was that. And therefore, for 73 years, in your own home, you were and remained, an alien.

All that has changed now. 73 years behind schedule, but very welcome all the same, and signs of better things to come.

Like, for example, a Uniform Civil Code. For all except micro-minorities. Towards a New India.

नई शिक्षा नीति 2020: एक सकारात्मक पहल

Radha Mohan Meena
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नई शिक्षा नीति 2020: एक सकारात्मक पहल

शिक्षा किसी भी समाज और देश के विकास का सबसे महत्वपूर्ण अंग है। भारत में पहली शिक्षा नीति 1968 में बनाई गयी। इसके बाद 1986 में। 1992 में इसमें कुछ संशोधन किये गए थे। यधपि इसमें सुधारों और क्रियान्वयन के लिए समय-समय पर कुछ परिवर्तन भी किये जाते रहे है। सरकार ने नई शिक्षा नीति को मंजूरी दी है। यह एक दृष्टि दस्तावेज है। इस शिक्षा नीति को के कस्तूरीरंगन की अध्यक्षता वाली समिति ने तैयार किया है। 

शिक्षा भारत में समवर्ती सूची का विषय है ऐसे में राज्य और केंद्र दोनों की ही भूमिका इस पर क़ानून बनाने और लागू करने में अहम् है। यह भी ध्यान रखा जाना चाहिए की ऐसे में जरूरी नहीं की नई शिक्षा नीति के सभी सुझावों को माना ही जाए। अतः इन सुझावों को लागू होने में तत्परता केंद्र और राज्य दोनों तरफ से होनी चाहिए। इस शिक्षा नीति में अनेको ऐसे सकारात्मक सुझाव है जो भारत को शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में नए मानक स्थापित करने में मदद करेगा। यह शिक्षा नीती स्कूली शिक्षा से लेकर उच्च शिक्षा तक के सभी पहलुओं पर दृष्टि डालती है। जैसे शिक्षा के अधिकार, स्कूलों के समवर्ती विकास, छात्रों के सम्पूर्ण विकास। प्राथमिक शिक्षा मात्रा भाषा में हो इसके लिए त्रि-भाषा फार्मूला पर जोर दिया गया है ताकि विद्यार्थिओं पर कोई भी भाषा थोपी न जाये इसका भी इसमें ध्यान रखा गया है।

उच्च शिक्षा में भी महत्वपूर्ण सुझाव दिए गए है। शोध के महत्व को देखते हुए नेशनल रिसर्च फाउंडेशन की स्थापना की जाएगी। लॉ और मेडिकल को छोड़ कर सभी के लिए एकल नियामक संस्था ‘हायर एजुकेशन कमीशन ऑफ़ इण्डिया’ होगी। मल्टीडिसीप्लिनरी शिक्षा पर भी जोर दिया गया है  मानव संसाधन विकास मंत्रालय भी अब शिक्षा मंत्रालय के नाम से जाना जायेगा। विश्विद्यालयों को और स्वायत्तता दी जाने की बात भी इसमें कही गयी है। अभी तक के सिस्टम में यदि कोई छात्र बैचलर डिग्री में एक साल या दो साल की पढाई कर के और किसी कारण से आगे की पढाई नहीं कर पाता है तो उसकी इन सालों की पढाई का उसे कोई भी फ़ायद रोजगार में नहीं मिलता है। लेकिन नई शिक्षा नीति में ऐसे छात्रों को एक साल या दो साल की पढाई के अनुसार सर्टिफिकेट और डिप्लोमा दिए जायेंगे ताकि उसकी इन सालों की मेहनत व्यर्थ ना जाये। छात्रों के हित में यह एक महत्वपूर्ण फैसला है।

शोध में जाने वाले छात्रों को 4+1 अर्थात चार साल में डिग्री एवं एक साल में एम् ए (M.A.) करने का भी प्रावधान है। महत्वपूर्ण बात यह भी है की पहली बार सकल घरेलू उत्पाद (जीडीपी) का 6 प्रतिशत शिक्षा पे खर्च होगा जो की अभी तक 4.4 प्रतिशत के आसपास है। हालांकि इस शिक्षा नीति में जरूरत में हिसाब से आने वाले समय में आवश्यक परिवर्तन भी किये जा सकते है। लेकिन पिछले चौतींस सालों में शिक्षा के ढांचे में किये ये परिवर्तन अवश्य की मील का पत्थर साबित होंगे।

-डॉ. राधा मोहन मीना

बिहार: कोरोना,बाढ़ और चुनाव

mungerilal
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बिहार: कोरोना,बाढ़ और चुनाव

जरा सोचिये उस मौर्यकालीन बिहार के बारे में, जो उस समय देश का सबसे शक्तिशाली और समृद्ध क्षेत्र हुआ करता था। आचार्य चाणक्य ने कल्पना भी नहीं की होगी कि विदेशी आक्रांता और देशी राजनीति उनके बिहार को गरीबी, अशिक्षा, बीमारी, अपराध, भ्रष्टाचार और जातिवाद से इस तरह संक्रमित कर देगी।

कोरोना:

22 मार्च 2020, को बिहार का पहला कोरोना केस मुंगेर में पाया गया। ऐसा माना जाता है कि जिस 38 वर्षीय व्यक्ति को संक्रमित पाया गया उन्होने कतर की यात्रा की थी, फल्स्वरूप इन महानुभाव के कारण ढेरों लोगों में तेजी से संक्रमण फैल गया।

देश के विभिन्न हिस्सों से अपने गांंवों में लौटे प्रवासी मज़दूरों के कारण बिहार में कोरोना के मामले तेजी से बढ़े। ढेरों मज़दूर बिना स्थानीय अधिकरियों को जानकारी दिए सीधे अपने घरों में चले गये। सीमावर्ती और स्थानीय अधिकारियों की लापरवाही के कारण कोरोना छोटे शहरों और गावों तक भी पहुंच गया।

खबरों के अनुसार बक्सर की एक घटना है, जहाँ खैनी बांट कर खाने और साथ बैठ कर ताश खेलने के कारण कई लोग कोरोना से संक्रमित हो गये। लगातार ऐसी खबरें आती रही हैं कि ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में स्कूल या अन्य भवन जिन्हें क्वारंंटाइन सेंटर के रूप में प्रयोग किया जा रहा था, सामान्य सुविधाओं (बिजली, पानी, बेड और खाने ) की समुचित अव्यवस्था के कारण कई प्रवासी 14 दिन का आवश्यक क्वारंटाइन पूरा किए बिना ही वहाँ से चले गये।

बिहार स्वास्थ्य विभाग के अनुसार बिहार में कोरोना के मामले 48,000 से अधिक हो गये हैं जिनमें सक्रिय मामले 16,000 से अधिक हैं। कोरोना से निपटने में अक्षमता ने राज्य सरकार के चिकित्सा व्यवस्था की पोल खोल कर रख दी है। स्वास्थ्य कर्मियों की लापरवाही, पीपीई किट्स, अस्पताल, बेड, वेंटिलेटर, इम्यूनिटी बढ़ाने वाली दवाओं की कमी और कम टेस्टिंग की वजह से बिहार में कोरोना बेकाबू नज़र आ रहा है। सरकार के पास अभी तक इसको लेकर कोई प्रभावी योजना नहीं है, वहीं प्रशासन अभी तक छोटे शहरों और ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में लॉकडाउन और सोशल डिस्टेंसिंग का सख्ती से पालन करवाने में नाकाम रही है।

बाढ़:

बहुत कुछ छूट गया,बहुत कुछ टूट गया
जो बनाये थे, हाथों से घरौंदे अपने
वो दरिया का सैलाब,
पल भर में लूट गया..

अनुपम चौबे साहब के कविता की ये पंक्तियाँ बिहार में हर साल आने वाली बाढ़ पर बिल्कुल सटीक बैठती हैं।

बिहार के 11 जिले और 24 लाख से अधिक लोग बाढ़ से प्रभावित हैं। बूढ़ी गंडक, घाघरा, बागमती, कोसी समेत कई नदियाँ खतरे के निशान से ऊपर बह रही हैं। दशकों से बिहार बाढ़ की त्रासदी झेल रहा है। हर साल लाखों लोग बेघर हो जाते हैं, पशुधन नष्ट हो जाते हैं, ढेरों जानेंं जाती हैं। करोड़ों खर्च हो चुके हैं पर स्तिथि जस की तस या फिर कहें तो हर साल के साथ स्तिथि बद से बदतर होती जा रही है। बाढ़ से प्रभावित इन क्षेत्रों में लोगों के पास दिखाने के लिये सरकारी कागज तो हैंं लेकिन फिर भी हर साल ये ऐसे ही शरणार्थी की तरह जीवन जीने के लिये मज़बूर हैं। पुख्ता योजना और उनको कार्यांवित करने के संकल्प के अभाव के कारण बिहार में हर साल बाढ़ तो आ जाती है पर बहार कभी नहीं आयी।

चुनाव:

अक्टूबर‌-नवंबर में बिहार के 243 सीटों के लिये होने वाले चुनाव की तैयारी में सभी पार्टियों ने कमर कसना शुरू कर दिया है। कोरोना और बाढ़ को लेकर अपनी फज़ीहत करवा चुके सुशासन बाबू के लिये ये चुनाव चुनौतियों से भरा रहने वाला है। चुनावी पंडितों ने लालू के 15 साल और नीतीश के 15 साल का आकलन करना शुरू कर दिया है। दोनो के शासनकाल को देखें तो बिहार को बदहाली तक पहुंचाने में दोनो ने “तू डाल-डाल मैं पात-पात” के सिद्धांत को सार्थक कर दिखाया है। आजादी के बाद से ही विकास की बाट जोह रहे बिहार की सत्ता का ऊंट इस बार किस करवट बैठेगा, ये कहना तो मुश्किल है लेकिन सुशासन बाबू की डगर आसान नहीं दिखती। लोजपा के साथ टिकट बंटवारे को लेकर कलह सामने आने लगे हैं, वहीँ चौतरफा नाकामी से नीतीश कुमार के खिलाफ एंटी-इंकंबैंसी फैक्टर काम कर सकता है। बिहार के राजनीतिक इतिहास को देखते हुए इस बात से इनकार नहीं किया जा सकता है कि जातिगत वोट फिर से महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभा सकते हैं। जहाँ एनडीए विकास के मोदी मॉडल को ही भुनाने की कोशिश करेगी वहीं महागठबंधन का सारा दांव फिर से लालटेन पर ही होगा।

खैर चुनाव तो आते-जाते रहेंगे, ये चुनाव भी गुजर जायेगा। देखना तो बस ये है, आखिर कौन इस बिहार में बहार ला पायेगा।

अंत में कुछ पंक्तियाँ:

कोई आरक्षण का लॉलीपॉप थमाता है
कोई सुशासन का धुआँ उड़ाता है
कोई जाति की धुनी रमाता है
कोई कागज पे योजनायें गिनवाता है
फिर हर नये-पुराने चुनाव के बाद भी
बाबू ये बिहार बीमारू कैसे रह जाता है…

Supreme Court needs to rise above this

Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan
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Supreme Court needs to rise above this

This is nothing but an avoidable self-inflicted wound on the top court. It was quite unnecessary for the Supreme Court to have initiated contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan, the senior lawyer before the apex court for his allegedly ‘scandalous tweets”. In one of his tweets on 27 June, 2020 Bhushan had written about the “role of the Supreme Court” in the “destruction” of democracy during the last six years, and had also mentioned the “role of the last 4 CJIs” in it. In another tweet on 29 June, Bhushan had commented on Bobde astride a Harley Davidson bike. He had questioned the CJI for riding a bike without a helmet and a face mask while “he keeps the SC in lockdown mode”. This is not the first time that son Prashant has been in the eye of the storm.

Even earlier contempt proceedings against Mr Prashant Bhushan were instituted for his following statement in an interview to Tehelka: “In my view, out of the last 16 to 17 Chief Justices, half have been corrupt. I can’t prove this, though we had evidence against Punchhi, Anand, and Sabharwal on the basis of which we sought their impeachment”. Mr Shanti Bhushan backed his son’s statement by affirming in his affidavit that, out of the last 16 Chief Justices at the time of the impugned interview,

Mr Shanti Bhushan concluded his affidavit by saying…since the applicant is publicly stating that out of the last sixteen Chief Justices of India, eight of them were definitely corrupt, the applicant also needs to be added as a respondent to this contempt petition so that he is also suitably punished for this contempt. The applicant would consider it a great honour to spend time in jail for making an effort to get for the people of India an honest and clean judiciary. That the applicant also submits that since the questions arising in this case affects the judiciary as a whole, the petition needs to be decided by the entire court and not merely by three judges handpicked by a Chief Justice.

It may have been extremely graceful of the Supreme Court to have ignored his tweets which were meant to be provocative. Prashant has possibly achieved the purpose he set out to get the eyeballs of the top court. The Supreme Court of India is the ‘most powerful  institution in the world’ said the late, lamented Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the SCOTUS. Not for its power to wield the contempt  power, but for the sweep and its limitless remit to take on causes and issue directions. The Supreme  Court surely does not need this power of contempt vis a vis ‘scandalising the institution and interfering with the course of administration for  justice’, vindicate its honour.’ It should rely on its performance’ as Justice Cardozo said.   

Justice Felix Frankfurter said, “Judges as persons, or courts as institutions, are entitled to no greater immunity from criticism than other persons or institutions. Just because the holders of judicial office are identified with the interests of justice they may forget their common human frailties and fallibilities. There have sometimes been martinets upon the bench as there have also been pompous wielders of authority who have used the paraphernalia of power in support of what they called their dignity. Therefore judges must be kept mindful of their limitations and of their ultimate public responsibility by a vigorous stream of criticism expressed with candor however blunt”.  “Justice V R Krishna Iyer put it beautifully. “The judicature is a noble and never a nocent institution. If you goofily debunk and unjustly bring the judiciary into disrepute, you judges commit contempt and get punished. The court is a magnanimous institution, majestic and glorious, and it sustains the confidence of the nation.”

Remember after the Spycatcher judgment the British media banner headlined the photographs of the Judges upside down “You Fools”. Fali S Nariman the jurist asked one of the judges, why they did not initiate contempt against the media, the reply, “it is just an opinion. We do not agree.”.

Now read what Justice Hugo Black of the US Supreme Court had to say, “ The assumption that respect for the judiciary can be won by shielding judges from published criticism wrongly appraises the character of American public opinion. For it is a prized American privilege to speak one’s mind, although not always with perfect good taste, on all public institutions. And an enforced silence, however limited, solely in the name of preserving the dignity of the bench, would probably engender resentment, suspicion and contempt, much more than it would enhance respect.”

We can add more of  the same. The point is that the Supreme Court must be a large hearted  institution to ignore such slights. Be it Arundhati Roy or Prashant Bushan or these usual suspects, they revel in taking on the institution. It has become a past time for these characters. They love the attention. “Adverse publicity is publicity too”, said Tom Friedman. It is oxygen to these folks to carry on their tirades and trolls. They would  in the least be perturbed by such notices. On the other hand, they may wholeheartedly welcome it. That is shame, but that is how it is.

Even if they are fined and/or  incarcerated, there would be no contrition. It may harden their stances to come back with more, as if they have been vindicated. The institution does not need the power of contempt of this genre, to protect its majesty. Several prominent citizens in the land have urged the Supreme  Court to drop the proceedings. I join them, not as an eminent citizen but as an officer of the court that the these proceedings do not enhance the majesty of the institution one bit, for its needs none of it. Per contra, it is offering avoidable ammunition  for the likes of these alleged contemners who love to  revel in such indulgences. Proceeding against them and punishing them bestows them with an aura and a credibility or martyrdom, they surely do not deserve.

(Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan-Author is practising advocate in the Madras High Court)   

Colonial shames

Veeresh Malik
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Colonial shames

When will we Indians give up our enslavement based fascination for all things Colonial?

Even the people from the Colonial countries have started removing those horrific memorials to the deepest human tragedy ever, the slave trade, known more frequently in India as “indentured labour”. The rest of the world is pulling down statues of slavers, whether as a result of Black Lives Matter, or just because a time has come for this to be done.

But here in India we continue to not just honour those who had robbed, maimed and killed us, but we also use tax-payer funds to encourage a weird sort of glorification of their memory. Just changing a name from Victoria Terminus to CST is not enough, though it is a very good start, we have to do a lot more.

I am not for even a moment suggesting that we also start toppling statues. Sure, removing them and placing them elsewhere, or simply doing away with them as was done with the King Somebody or the Other’s Canopy at the India Gate roundabout and replaced with the War Memorial for Indian Armed Forces is one option.

But a message has to be sent out that now, in 2020, finally, we are trying to do away with the way our Colonial Rulers thought and still try impose their thought processes from Colonial days on us. That we are truly free.

And one way would be to ensure that ALL colonial era buildings, wherever they are in India, are lit up in the colours of the Tri-Colour. Every night and not just on National Holidays.

And that wherever there is a statue of a Colonial Ruler, a tricolour is painted on it, just like it is on railway engines and passenger wagons as an example.

I would love to see, to start with, an Indian flag flying on a flagpole right next to Victoria Behn in that Memorial in Kolkata.

A student’s review of the National Education Policy 2020

Nivan
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A student’s review of the National Education Policy 2020

As a Class 12 HSC student currently studying in a college in Mumbai, I feel lucky to be a student as the National Education Policy 2020 gets passed.

The National Education Policy 2020 is a fresh relief from the out-dated education policy we previously had. It has more emphasis on skill learning and understanding, and lesser focus on rote learning.

As a student, it is a boon for me since I’ll be able to focus on understanding the core elements of the subject, and not waste my time on unnecessary concepts that are only intended to fill pages in a text book.

The pattern of the examinations is also welcome from the student community, since it will focus on objective type questions that are based on understanding the subject and not just vomiting words from the textbook onto answer sheets.

The new formula for school education (5+3+3+4) will attempt to imbibe the international standards of education in the Indian Education system. The Indian system of education is often criticised for being rotten due to the excessive emphasis on rote-learning and impractical knowledge.

However, the new policy intends to provide flexibility in subject choice and gets rid of the outdated ‘3 stream’ system that was the main cause of academic caused depression and suicide. Now, Arts subjects can be taken along with Commerce or Science subjects, providing students with a vast number of options to choose from.

Moreover, the syllabus of courses on Sociology, Political Science and History which were the breeding ground for Urban Maoism will also be curbed by the ‘Indian-ization’ of the syllabus. Regional languages would be used as a medium of communication in schools till Class 5, grooming the student to be more nationalistic and understand his/her cultural roots.

The 3 subject concept will also provide Sanskrit as an option to those who have Hindi as their mother tongue. The merging of institutions like UGC and AICTE into one regulatory board is also going to reform the education system, making it more efficient.

The new policy will also reduce the number of drop-outs from colleges, increasing the number of graduates in the country. The policy will provide a ‘basic certificate’ to those who complete one year of their course, diploma for two years and degree for the completion of the course. Majority of the students who drop-out of college are usually suffering from poverty or family issues. This new system will make it easier for them to join back the institute and complete the course one their matter is resolved.

Overall, this is a good change and should have been implemented way before. The Modi government has fulfilled yet another promise it had made in its manifesto. Hopefully, this new policy will reform the system for the better and truly make India a global power.

The struggle of nationalism in India

kaiser1945
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The struggle of nationalism in India

Nationalism isn’t just a term for Indians it is a mutual feeling of love which united us originated from the pain and suffering faced by our ancestors who yielded their life freeing one human from the bondage of another human. When we speak about our nation’s history thousands of names bring tears in our eyes because of the selflessness those young had cannot be forgotten by our hearts. They understood the true meaning of nation- for them nation is something which liberates a man from slavery gives them an identity of being a free man.

But nowadays the term nation and its feeling of patriotism decreased to such “a man who abuses a foreign nation and blames his minorities” is called a nationalist instead of looking for solutions of the problems. We attempt to move the fault on different shoulder which driving Indian nation towards blind Nationalism. India is witnessing the cult of cultural nationalism where minorities confronted outrages, abuse due to their disparities in character which we were seen from 1984 in Delhi, mid-90s in Kashmir, 2002 in Gujarat and 2020 Delhi were ideological contrasts blinded the entire country and separated human on communal bases which were contrary to the idea of Bharatvarsh where all races were welcomed regardless of their differences.

In the efforts of imitating the west, we created new problems for our nation despite being the largest democracy we became so intolerant towards other opinions that truth is often projected as a conspiracy against the nation and those who are vocal stamped as anti-national. The brotherhood of India is corrupted by our own fear which never existed outside but within our mind. We need to safeguard the integrity of this nation without compromising with the core values on which this very nation was formed. If we don’t do that, it will be a betrayal to thousands of mothers who sacrificed their children in the name of the nation.

Indian patriotism ought not to be restricted to a specific limit but enlighten the whole world by guiding the west towards love and cooperation between people. We should preserve the true values of Indian nationalism which is selflessness and fellowship until Indians acknowledge the necessity for the restoration of true core values Indian society will remain in a vulnerable state. The hate and greed lying within us made us so ignorant that we are denying the universal brotherhood due to selfishness and this notion of egotism leading us towards catastrophe nothing else. It is always a valuable exercise to freshly imagine what our country means to us, but in doing so we would do well to remember that when it comes to divisions of race, ethnicity and religious belief, the unforgotten is the destroyer of nations.

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