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Terrorism, intolerance and the like: Active role of algorithms

Swar
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Terrorism, intolerance and the like: Active role of algorithms

I thought of writing this article after a recent conversation with a Kashmiri Youth who is in college third year and ended up abusing the Indian Army on Twitter. An ex-army friend of mine reacted to that with harsh words. When I asked why he posted this tweet: this Kashmiri youth opened up about how he came to hate the Indian Army. Apparently it had nothing to do with the actions of the Indian Army, he has never encountered one personally, but everything to do with the news/tweets/Facebook posts he is exposed to. He said that whenever he goes to social media all he sees are posts that abuse the Indian Army or present damaging pictures of the Indian Army, and that’s how he came to believe that the Indian Army is evil. Once the initial threshold passed, he himself started posting abuses for the Indian Army for no apparent reason, he felt compelled to do so. He apologized for his ignorance, deleted tweets, and the matter was closed. But for me, the matter just opened up. The whole incident kept bothering me and I decided to write this article. Pardon me if you find it too long, I couldn’t make it shorter.

I have been in the field of Artificial Intelligence for the past two years and have been exposed to various aspects of it. There is no denying that Artificial Intelligence has brought us very close to what we call futuristic society. First by the Internet and then by artificial intelligence, our lives have been made easier whether we want to find a doctor, order meals, purchase goods, read the news articles and books, watch movies, make friends, or simply operate our satellites from the comfort of our home. The list is endless in the current scenario and as of now, the future of artificial intelligence looks very bright.

However, the very same dependence on the internet for almost every aspect of our lives has opened up another parallel dimension: a dimension in which we are nothing more than a data point to be utilized by the algorithms employed to track our every move and predict the next as best as possible. Advertising companies are busy investing billions of dollars to find out about us: when do we wake up, when and with whom do we eat and what and where, whom do we speak with and for how long, tone of our conversation, where do we read the news, which books and pages of the books do we prefer, which movies do we watch, which part of the movies do we fast forward and which part we rewind, what do our friends prefer, when do we sleep and with whom, where do we go for vacations, are we right-wing or left-wing or no-wing, what do our friends like and their friends like, do we go to the gym, do we visit the doctor often and if yes for what, do we wear glasses, what kind of headphones do we like, which phone do we buy, what type of dresses do we purchase, what groceries do we often buy, what do we write in our different emails. As expected, once again the list is endless. By now you should have got the idea that we are nothing but a data-point to an advertising company and internet giants, a data-point whose map needs to be worked out and exploited for financial gains.

Our very smart software personals got together and build complicated algorithms to monitor our lives dot to dot, however, not one of these professionals is aware of what they have built-in its totality, what effects it is going to have, or how it is going to treat us. But their creation is already deployed and mapping everyone on the internet. These innocent-looking algorithms designed with the primary purpose of making our lives easier know us better we know ourselves. They decide what friends we make, which restaurant do we order food from, where and what do we read, where do we go for vacations, what jewelry we buy, what dress we wear, what hair color suits us better, all of these just based on our couple of previous ventures.

Initially, once these algorithms encounter a subject, us, it builds a space for us in its memory. Slowly and silently it watches us making a choice, via clicking through different web-pages, for a day or so. Soon, it starts experimenting with us by showing us what it thinks we might like and that’s where the game begins. There is an old saying “Sometimes you win and other times you learn”. That’s exactly how the algorithm functions. With each passing day, we lose and algorithm wins, and the day it doesn’t, it learns and comes back with a better picture of ourselves. Soon, algorithm wins every single time.

Humans tend to think of themselves as someone special, unique, unpredictable. Algorithms have proved that these ideas are wrong. Many people who hold their smartphones in hand for news and daily activities are reading what algorithms want them to read, watching what algorithms want them to watch, and doing exactly what algorithms want them to do throughout the day and then day after day. Last year in January a friend and I were discussing something and suddenly he got a notification from Spotify which gave him day’s collection of songs he might like: many new ones and some old. He suddenly jumped in surprise and said these are exactly the songs I wanted to listen to today! That’s the impact of a good algorithm that can predict what you want to do in the future. How predictable we unpredictables are!

These algorithms once deployed start creating a bubble for you, a data-point in its safe space. Initially, slowly they start filtering out things from your feed you are not interested in. Later that speed increases as algorithms learn more about you. Soon, you end up in a bubble, your own personal universe that has like-minded friends, favorite restaurants, favorite goods to purchase, favorite videos to watch, favorite destinations to visit, favorite predictions, everything you almost can’t say no to. This is what Eli Praiser termed as ‘Filter Bubble’. It is not difficult to break out of these, however, the difficult part is, most of us don’t realize we are in Filter Bubble and why would we. We by nature favor like-minded people/scenarios and that’s exactly what Filter Bubble provides. It seems like a match made in heaven and we are happy to click, click and click. It is a win-win situation: we are happy, algorithms are happy, advertisers are happy and Internet giants are happy- Business is good after all.

Filter Bubbles are still alright to a certain extent. They seem harmless, just providing us what we want. However, there is a catch: Filter Bubbles end up creating what we call ‘Echo Chambers’: a place where personal beliefs get a strong push by repetition and insulation from rebuttal. If today someone is slightly left-wing and he spends a day looking for YouTube videos to know more about left-wing, read tweets, visits Facebook for related news, by the end of the day or two this person will be put in Filter Bubble with its own Echo Chamber where all he/she will hear is/will be about the left-wing with no opinion or ideas about other wings so to say. No counter opinions. What results is a hard-core Left-Wing persona in its very own Left-wing universe that has zero tolerance for other viewpoints.

When I spoke with Kashmiri Youth I realized how difficult life has come to be. Media is playing its negative role by creating and propagating false information and twisting presentation of the available data to mislead the vulnerable, all for TRPs/money. The same is used by the algorithm to radicalize a youth who might have clicked on one video or read one such article either intentionally or unintentionally. Once he clicks two or three times on such articles, these articles become the main feed for him no matter which site he goes to. He gets shielded from other point of views. That becomes the Whole-Truth for him. He gets no option, no say in anything he gets to watch/hear and the intolerance for anything unknown seeps in.

No one clearly understands what and how these algorithms are functioning. They (algorithms and their creators) don’t consider us alive or someone special. These algorithms are studying us, and in the process manipulating us for the benefit of creator and user (advertising companies). Even today Artificial Intelligence has been running without any control or regulations or responsibility in most of the countries. Most of us who spend considerable time on the internet are already safely sitting in our Filter Bubbles which Echoes our views and makes us feel empowered. The possibilities of discussion between different viewpoints and reaching an agreement have been eliminated completely.

I would like to conclude with a call that unless we bring in strict measures to control the functions of these algorithms and while doing so also hold creator and deployer of these algorithms responsible for their outcome, we will neither be able to run a democracy in its true sense nor be able to eliminate terrorism from Kashmir and other parts of the world.

There will always be someone ready to be radicalized and there will always be YouTube-videos/Facebook-feeds/Twitter/Google-news-feed supporting that radicalization in the name of ‘Free Speech’, which in itself has become an oxymoron since these very same tech giants place the algorithms deceitfully to put us in Filter-Bubbles and Echo-Chambers to change the way we think and behave. A difficult and dangerous world we are in right now in which everyone is right and no one is in control.

The three C-words in the latest news

G Indira
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The three C-words in the latest news

The coronavirus figures are escalating in India. However, the little bit of solace is that the fatality rate is, not as much as it is in the West. This is not to underestimate the scale of the pandemic in India. It’s only to point out, taking into consideration the size of the country with population India has, vis-a-vis the European nations of Italy- size. Anyway, the initial lockdowns by the prime minister educated the people about the coronavirus and the precautionary measures to be taken to contain the spread of the virus viz. hand washing, wearing masks, and social distancing that helped immensely later. Otherwise, no amount of media propaganda would have served.

The severity, the grimness of the situation was realised by the people then, the flattening of the curve happened then. There are people like Rajiv Bajaj, who find fault with whatever the prime minister had done. Their argument is: the PM had looked at the West on the pandemic issue and had decided to impose the lockdown twice successively nearing two months. He should have looked at the Eastern countries like: Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand and to an extent Bangladesh for a solution as they effectively dealt with containment of coronavirus without much lockdowns. This is all thinking in retrospective. The PM of India cannot gamble with this big a country and with this huge population. As a matter of fact, the government announced recently: had it not imposed lockdown at the beginning, by now the contagion would have touched one-and-half crore figure.

Pointing finger at the prime minister’s lockdown-measure, which was initially hailed by all intellectuals all over the world including the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Tedros Adhanom, is an exercise in futility. For, this big a country: India, the responsibility of the head at the top is humongous. Weighing options based on economy-moving forward-or-backward cannot be balanced by risking lives. Since in a democracy, dissent has place, the parties and individual bigwigs in their capacity can put their views in the public domain. However, criticism should never be only for criticisms sake. Everywhere in the world, the pandemic is creating a “lockdown generation”.

After the criticism on the lockdown, next followed: the migrant crisis and the cascading effects. Because after the conjoint lockdowns: the poor-migrant- workers/the guest-workers- crisis, the poor/lower -middle sections losing jobs and wages and similarly the industrial slow down, economic slump and many problems were glaring. The migrant crisis to an extent was solved with the announcement of Pradhana Mantri Anna Daan Yogana by which they would get rice and pulse through the ration shops. These ration-shops are the very arteries/veins of the Public Distribution System (PDS). If we had not got this system in place, it would have been difficult. The PM preferred to use this system rather than giving Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of cash that was demanded by the Congress. Money given freely maybe spent on other purposes but food will satisfy their hunger.

Interestingly, the Communist left-leaning intellectuals are comparing the recent migrant-worker- crisis to the mass exodus that had happened during the Partition of India in 1947. Their statements were: ‘Migrant labourers were orphaned (by us all). The state abdicated its responsibility and reduced them invisible. And this was all because of hasty imposition of the lockdown which was primarily to protect the middle-classes’ and added to it, their argument goes further to say, ‘the government had made the poor pay, to keep middle-and-upper middle classes safe’. They go further to add on: ‘this is because the Government is part of the middle-class system’. Contrary to this middle-class bashing, the prime minister always keeps saying: it is the honest middle-classes by paying their taxes are feeding the poor. These activists of the Left-leaning have another fad: to disregard police (for their behaviour). To them police always misbehave.

However, it is true, to an extent, that the determined bid of some activists by exposing the migrant-workers crisis— by taking out videos and photos of their plight and by posting them on social media, stirred the nation’s conscience. But beyond that point, their claims and counter-claims: poor are invisible in the society, they are uncared for by the government, complete apathy towards them, the deluge of migrants rushing to buses, huge hunger crisis—are all painful but somewhat overstated. This government and successive governments after the Independence have been taking up many pro-poor programmes and welfare-measures. If there are any loopholes in transmission and distribution, these NGO-activists can make efforts to plug-in by complaining to the authorities. Specially, PM Modi did much to the poor, the realisation of which was his massive mandate for the second-term.

The second C- is China. China-problem pre-dates Independence. After Independence the border skirmishes and the wars it fought in 1962, 1965 are still fresh in India’s memory. Its policy of ‘two-steps forward and one-step backward’ is clearly expansionist. India, a democratic nation, still lingering with many people below the poverty line, would like to go on the process of development steadfastly, never wanted fight with China a battle. China, a Communist regime that is accountable to none, is trying to land-grab India’s territory at strategic points near Line of Actual Control (LAC).

All Indian prime ministers tried to befriend China, for, it being a neighbour and contiguous country that shares thousands of kilo metres of border, all were hopeful of having peace with them so that they could concentrate to solve the internal problems that bother the day-to-day lives of the people. But China betrayed India many times. Now, there is—an enough and no more—kind of feeling in the people. That’s precisely the boycott of Chinese goods by people of India.

India began to craft the new China policy after the brutal killing of Colonel Santosh Kumar. Prior to that India built infrastructure and has been doing as an on-going process near LAC. The P.M’s visit to Ladakh to meet the soldiers at the border and to address them to boost their morale indicates: thus far no further to the enemy indirectly. Now, slowly the de-escalation process started from the India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquility. The Indian and Chinese armies continued their disengagement process in a bid to resolve their two-month stand-off in Ladakh.

Coming to the third C- the Congress Party, the less said the better. The Congress, as ever, more bothered about its first-family. The loyalty to the Gandhi-family is the prime-requisite of each member in the party. Priyanka-Gandhi’s Lutyen’s Delhi bungalow- vacate notice- served by the government became an emotive issue to the party cadres. Their spokespersons raised it on all TV channels as if it was a burning problem of the country.

तुम मुझे जानते नहीं, मैं कौन हूँ

Ajay Sudame
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तुम मुझे जानते नहीं, मैं कौन हूँ

मुझे याद है, इस बात को करीब ३० साल हो गये। उस समय BJP की बागडोर अडवाणीजी संभाले हुए थे। राम जन्मभूमि का आंदोलन छिड़ा हुआ था। और उसी सिलसिले में पार्टी ने भारत बंद का ऐलान किया। कॉलेज में पहले ही छुट्टी घोषित हो चुकी थी। हम, बस्ती के १५-२० नौजवान, सुबह ११ बजे सामने वाले मंदिर में जमा हो गए। २५ की आस पास का एक युवा नेता सब को संबोधित कर रहा था। उसने समजाया, हम सब जाके दुकानदारों को बंद का पालन करने के लिए आवाहन करेंगे। पर हिंसा या ज़बरदस्ती किसी के साथ नहीं होगी. 

थोड़ी देर में हब सब हमारे आस पास के दुकानों मे चल दिए। दुकानदारों से बिनती करते, “हमें अयोध्या में राम मंदिर बनाना है। उसी सिलसिली में आज भारत बंद है। दुकान बंद कर दीजिये।” काफी दुकानदार आसानी से मान जाते, कुछ, थोड़ी मुश्किल से। एकाध घंटा घूमने के बाद यह देखा, की नजर में आने वाली सभी दुकाने बंद हो, चुकी है। सिर्फ दो छोड़ के। एक देसी दारू की, और उसके बगल की आलू-टिक्की वाली। अब हमारे नेता और ५-६ भाई, दारू वाले से मिलने चले। एक भाई बोल पड़ा, यह MP का आदमी है. (यह MP वही बगल में रहते थे, और तब कांग्रेस में थे। अब, बेटे भाजपा में है। दुकान के सामने पहुँचे तो हम में से एक बोल पड़ा, भाई बढ़ा दे यार।उसने जवाब दिया, “कर रहा हूँ। देख नहीं रहे, दुकान के सामने कितनी भीड़ है।” बात तो वह सही कर रहा था। नेताजी बोल पड़े, एक घंटे से वही बोल रहे हो। दोपहर होने आ गई।  इतनी देर में आलु टिक्की की दुकान में चुप चाप सुन रहा शख्स, उठ खडा हो गया और चिल्लाया, “भागों यहाँ से…तुम सब की औकात क्या है? जब बंद करनी है तब करेंगे। तुम मुझे जानते नहीं हो।” 

(जीवन में पहली बार फिल्म में सुने हुए इस वाक्य का असली मतलब समझ में आया।)

और उसके ३-४ आदमी सलिया-बाम्बू लेकर सामने आ गये। इस परिस्तिथि में क्या करना, इसका संज्ञान किसी को नहीं था। चुप-चाप पीछे हटने के सिवाय कोई रास्ता बचा नहीं (थोड़ी ही देर में शिवसेना के नेता को भिजवा कर दुकान बंद करवानी पड़ी ये बात अलग है)। 

NDCC bank scam 

उसके बाद में यह वाक्य किसी किसी की ज़बान से कई बार सुनने मिला। पर प्रचीती, फिर करीब एक दशक बाद आई। जब नागपुर के एक नेता ने cooperative bank का 150Cr का स्कॅम किया। उस स्कॅम में पिताजी के एक मित्र, जो के उस बैंक में प्रबंधक थे वो, धर लीये गये। पर बैंक के निदेशक और प्रमुख घपलेबाज 3 कलम लगने के बाद आज भी मस्त घूम रहे है। इतना ही नहीं, 2019 में फिर से काँग्रेस से MLA बनके वापस आ गये। 

2002 में जब पहली और आख़िरी बार उन्हें bail मिली थी, सुनने में आता है उन्हों ने न्यायपालिका के प्रांगण में पत्रकारों को कहा था “वह जानते नही मैं कौन हूँ…”

बात तो सही थी।

मनु शर्मा 

Whatever Nagpur can do, Delhi can do better। इस बात की प्रत्यय तब आया, जब राजधानी में मनु शर्माने, बिना रमानी की illegal party में देर रात में शराब ना देने पर जेसीका लाल को गोली मार दी थी। और, उसे कोर्ट पहली बार में सजा भी ना दे पाया था। तब मनु शर्मा दिल्ली के लोगों को ललकार रहा था “तुम मुझे जानते नही, मैं कौन हूँ…”

मेरी दादी, मेरे पापा, उनके दादा

Delhi तो ठीक है, पर यह भी सच है, की Nobody does it like a Gandhi! याद है किस तरह से राहुल गाँधी ने अपनी ही सरकार का आर्डिनेंस फाड़ के PM मनमोहन सिंह का सरे बाजार अपमान किया था? उस दिन वह इस खड़णप्राय देश के करोड़ो लोगों को चुनौती भरी स्वर में बता रहे थे “तुम मुझे जानते नहीं, मैं कौन हूँ …मैं कुछ भी कर सकता हूँ। मुझे देश के प्रधानमंत्री भी रोक नहीं सकता।”

इस घटना के कुछ ही दिन बाद जब National Herald Scam में सोनिया गाँधी और उनके सुपुत्र को कोर्ट में हाज़िर होने की नोटिस भेजी गई, तब सोनिया जी ने करारा जवाब दिया. “मैं डरती नही हूँ। मैं इंदिरा गांधी की बहू हूँ।” वो तो बेचारी अपने आप को बचाने की कोशिश कर रही थी, पर ना जाने मुझे क्यों “तुम मुझे जानते नही हो…” सुनाई दिया. और कमाल देखिये न्याय-व्यवस्था का, वो आज तक खुला घूम रहीं हैं. 

हाल ही में जब UP सरकार ने प्रियंका गाँधी को अनाथ आश्रम की लड़कियों को बदनाम करने के लिए नोटिस भेजा तो उन्होंने योगी आदित्यनाथ को उनकी औकात याद दिला दी। एक स्वतंत्र और स्वयंभू नारी की भाषा में उन्होंने बोला “मै इंदिरा गाँधी की पोती हूँ…” नारी शक्ति-करण का इससे अच्छा उदाहरण आपको आज मिलेगा नहीं। १९९७ से जिस अवैध तरीके से वह लुटियंस का बंगला हतियाके के बैठी है, उसी से उनकी शक्ति का यथोचित प्रदर्शन तो हो ही चुका है। और उन्होंने एक झटके में जैसे वह बँगला खाली कर दिया, वह उनका आत्मसम्मान ही दिखाता है।  

अब सवाल यह है की हम जैसे साधारण लोग, जिन्हे हर कोई जानता है, वह इस “तुम मुझे जानते नहीं…”  वालों की दुनिया में क्या करे? जब मेरे से पुलिस लाइसेंस मांगती है तो क्या मैं बोल सकता हूँ, “आप तो मुझे जानते हो। लाइसेंस देखने दिखाने कहीं लेट हो गया तो तनख्वा कट जाएगी?” जब मुनिसिपालिटी घर का टैक्स लेट भरने पे, कुड़की लाने की धमकी देती है तो क्या मैं बोल सकता हूँ “माई-बाप सरकार आप तो जानते है, मैं यहाँ सालों से रहता हूँ. कंहा जाऊँगा? और आप तो यह भी जानते है की lockdown चल रहा है। आर्थिक स्तिथि गंभीर है.” यहाँ तो चालीस साल से सफर करने बाद भी हर बार रेलवे ID मांगती है!  

खैर, मुझे इस बात की खुशी है की आज, ६० साल “तुम मुझे जानते नहीं” वालों ने राज करने के बाद, “आप तो मुझे जानते हो” को मौका तो मिला। पर मुझे एक बात का डर अभी भी सताता है। कहीं फिर कोई “तुम मुझे जानते नहीं” का कोई बेटा या पोता फिर से हमारी जिन्दगी को इमरजेन्सी मे झोंकने या बोफ़ोर्स scam करने ना आ जायें।

क्या आप हर चैनल पर रविश कुमार के क्लोन झेल पाएँगे?

Shailendra Kumar
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क्या आप हर चैनल पर रविश कुमार के क्लोन झेल पाएँगे?

एक सामान्य नागरिक होने के नाते में विशेष कुछ कर नही सकता देश के लिए! इतना ज़रूर है की जो लोग देश के लिए कुछ अच्छा कर रहे है उनके लिए कुछ कर पाऊँ. इस पोस्ट में विशेष कुछ कहने के लिए नही है, देश के किसी नागरिक एक फ़ोटो को एडिट किया कम से कम ३-४ घंटे मेहनत की और फिर उसको फ़ेस्बुक पर पोस्ट करके अपन्नी तनखाह उठा ली होगी.

लेकिन फिर उस फ़ोटो को किसी ने पोस्ट किया- “Target Terrorist”!

उस पोस्ट को शेयर किया गया लाइक किया गया! मंशा इन लोगों की साफ़ है. इन लोगों के लिए मौलाना साद फ़रिश्ता है शांति और भाई चारे का लेकिन हमारे पत्रकार आतंकवादी!

विकास दुबे ने भीतर घातियों की मदद से 8 पुलिस वालों को मार डाला, 8 परिवार अनाथ हो गए. अब आप चाहे विकास दुबे को फाँसी दे उसका गैंग फाँसी पर लटका दे वो 8 परिवार अब पहले जैसे नहीं हो पाएँगे.

देशभक्त, निड़र मीडिया कर्मियों को हम सुरक्षित नहीं रख पाए तो सब के सब मजबूरी में रविश कुमार, अभिसार शर्मा और पुण्य प्रसून्न वाजपेयी बन जाएँगे.

राष्ट्रवादी पत्रकारों को Z+ सुरक्षा देने की ज़रूरत है. सरकार जागे.

Random thoughts on consumerism or capitalism

Ut
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Random thoughts on consumerism or capitalism

The economic idea of “Consumerism” or “Capitalism” are just modern versions of “hunting gathering” way of civilization.

Before advent of agriculture every tribe across the world was dependent upon nature to provide for its needs, for food they hunted and collected, whichever tribe had more food in store they survived tough seasons and thus were more powerful. If you look at modern-times, What was Imperialisim? it was an updated version of hunter-gatherer civilization, with violence at its core, to wage wars against smaller countries to satisfy the need of hunt AND loot those smaller countries to satisfy the need to gather. As the times progressed, these civilizations used advanced technology’s to use in warfare first and then to look for the resources to gather.

In modern times these civilizations coined a term “White man’s burden” UK used it to Hunt and Gather in Africa, Asia, Americas and Australia, they wiped out civilizations in many parts of the world, ex Aztecs (By Spain), Tribes of America who are called Red-Indians. USA did this in front of our eyes and called it spread of “Democracy” (another term coined to fool their people into believing that they have the power).

On the other hand some civilizations evolved and moved away from the practice of hunting and gathering and used their skills of observation and analysis to see that seeds from the collected berries turn into plants which bore same berries, those living in the mountains found that some of the roots, when ingested kept them warm. These little observations, studies and research turned these civilizations into “agriculture based civilization” where the dependency on hunt was not a necessity but a choice.

The observations made by people during those days lead to development of civilizations along great rivers ex-, Nile River civilizations in Africa, Indus valley civilization. The trade originating from these civilizations was also heavily agriculture based but was sustainable since knowledge that seeds + soil+ water = food, ensured the sustainability of these civilizations. This led these civilizations to explore other aspects of human lives and nature, it’s interesting how these “old”, “backwards”, “uneducated”, “uncivilised”, “godless” civilizations have more texts ranging from Social science, Mathematics, astronomy, medicine than “western” civilizations, whom most of people consider as advanced.

So before we start to follow on the footsteps of ideologies coming from these civilizations, whom we consider as advanced or modern are, we need to understand that they are in fact, un-evolved in their core.

Why only Hindus get hunted by Conversion Mafia?

Ujjwal
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Why only Hindus get hunted by Conversion Mafia?

I was scrolling down my twitter feed and suddenly I saw a news that in Arunachal Pradesh a Pastor burned the idol of a local Devi “Ain Donyi”. The first thought that came to my mind was “Why? don’t be so blind to enforce your thinking on others that you forget your limits”. I was not okay with it but who cares about Hindus?

I went to see the comments and then I saw something out of the world. This is the comment of a twitter user named Jibran, he said that:

” Is Hinduism so fragile that the burning of one idol will hurt the religion? why can’t we grow up and ignore these acts The more you get angry, the more trouble mongerers will arise “

So, according to this genius, ignoring the problem is the best way to solve it. I completely disagree, my opinion is, no matter who the hell pastor is, he should be punished for this hate crime and we should not promote such religious teachings in our country that promote discrimination against other living beings.

These type of people are just there to confuse Hindus. They will normalize the issue so Hindus don’t care about it and then they do what they want! The biggest harm is always done by our own people. That is why Mughals and Britishers ruled over India.

The Solution for Conversion Mafia

The best way to protect our people from these extremists is to spread awareness and educate them about their own rich cultural heritage. Hindus are unaware of their own scriptures, majority of Hindus don’t read any Upanishads or Bhagavad Gita that’s why they get easily defeated in debates.

Every teenager should read Bhagavad Gita and Indian Parents should teach their kids about their Ancient History. Teach your kids Dharma otherwise, others will teach them Adharma.

The government should develop better schools and hospitals in rural areas government should also help poor farmers to get higher rates for their crops. If we will develop good infrastructure, there will be no need for missionaries schools and hospitals.

We are not against any religion. I am against the extremism and hypocrisy of these religions no matter they are done by Christians, Hindus or Muslims. Religion never teaches (MUST NOT TEACH) violence but the greed of power and money does.

Tirukural and Modi- The strategy behind Modi’s Tamil push

binoyashokan
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Tirukural and Modi- The strategy behind Modi’s Tamil push

Modi is known for his brilliant usage of symbolisms to its maximum effect in his speeches. His recent surprise visit to Ladak which electrified the nation and the subsequent address he made to the army-men stationed there also was not an exception to this experience.

While his visit was a great symbolism in itself, through which he sent an unmistakably strong signal to China that he is not a Nehru and he is damn serious about this business. In his speech to the men in uniform whose spirits might have been sky-high with pride and with boosted morale and confidence while listening to the Prime Minister speaking to them directly, he said, while we are a nation who revere lord Sri Krishna in his form of playing a soothing and melodious flute, we also do pooja of the same Bhagwan Sri Krishna in his form of brandishing his killing weapon called Sudarsna Chakra. Meaning of which will never be missed to China and everyone else that while India is a peace loving, non-expansionist nation, it can also be a ruthless destroyer if pushed to be so.

This is how Modi uses symbolism to convey his messages. While Sri Krishna analogy was meant for the enemies from outside the nation, there was another one aimed at the internal enemies who are in disguise.

Of course when you are interacting with the soldiers of the nation who are amidst a war, you need awe-inspiring quotes from great sources or personalities praising and boosting the valour of the army. We know Modi will know this better than anyone else because we know he is a master in this league– and yes he did it this time too with clinical precision, as expected. The great source he used this time for a quote was the Tamil classical text Tirukulal.

The quote was “Maramanam manda vazhichelavu thetram yena nangey yemam padaikku.” Meaning “The tradition and credibility of valour, honour, dignified behaviour, these four qualities are the reflection of the army of any country.’’ ‘’Indian forces have always followed this path” the Prime Minister said.

This was not the first time Prime Minister Modi was quoting from this most revered ancient classic text of India in Tamil. It was not missed by the Indian media either- Indian Express catches it promptly https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/jul/04/pm-narendra-modi-quotes-from-tirukkural-again-now-for-soldiers-in-ladakh-2165064.html.

It had been a long maintained fashion or tradition for the Indian leaders to pepper their speeches with quotes from the vast ocean of our ancient Sanskrit texts like Vedas, Puranas, smritis etc. They know that those Sanskrit quotes give their speeches an air of depth of knowledge and hence a feel of authenticity.

If observed closely one can see that Modi has brought in a change into this tradition recently. He started alternatively using quotes from ancient Tamil texts, especially from Tirukural along with that from the ancient Sanskrit texts.

This is not any accident, neither it is that Modi wants to show-off his knowledge of Tamil. This should be a well thought-out strategy by the master strategists of the ruling dispensation. There are mainly two reasons behind this strategy or rather it is a two-pronged strategy.

The first reason is that Modi and the ruling nationalist, RSS-backed BJP dispensation want to counter the secessionist narrative of some vested interest groups by pitting Tamil against Sanskrit in building a divisive narrative of ‘South India v/s North India’.

By this grand strategy, Modi – the Prime Minister of India and BJP – the so called Hindu nationalist party are openly and whole heartedly accepting the claims of Tamil that Tamil language is indeed on par with Sanskrit, much to the agony of the trouble makers who had been for decades painstakingly trying to feed the Tamil populous that ‘Hindutva forces under RSS is bent on undermining the glorious tradition and heritage of Tamil language on the expense of Sanskrit’.

Modi by his gestures is telling the Tamil population of the country that, see we India has two glorious ancient, culture-rich languages in Tamil and Sanskrit. There is no need of competition between the two, instead what is needed is taking pride in both, instead of one we have two, so we are two times prouder. That is the message Modi is sending out. And there are signals that this message is well taken by the Tamil people in the country.

The second reason is more subtle than the more obvious first one. One might think that Tamil is just a language of one of the many states of India then why would PM give so much focus on this. Answer is that Tamil is not just one of the regional languages like many more such in India. Tamil is ‘one of the’ most ancient languages of India on par with Sanskrit on antiquity, culture and literary traditions. Even it can be said that Tamil ‘is the’ most ancient commonly used language as Sanskrit is not in use by the common populous. And there is a manufactured hurt feeling among Tamil people on this topic and there are serious players out there to use this to fan the secessionist fire in the country – on their even grander plan to carve out a country of their own. And in that grand design Tirukural plays a majors role along with other prominent ancient classic Tamil texts like Shaiva Siddhanta.

The fraudulent Aryan Invasion Theory invented by European-evangelical colonists in 1800s like Max Mueller has the root of the current problem of the misplaced Tamil chauvinism which has transformed today into a full-fledged anti-Indian, secessionist Dravidian-Christian nationalist movement. This is what Modi and BJP are trying to neutralise today.

The main argument of this so called Dravidian-Christian fundamentalism operational in Tamil Nadu today is that ‘the Dravidian South-India is separate from the Aryan North-India. Hinduism is the religion of Aryans. Sanskrit is their language. Dalits of the South India are the predecessors of Dravidians. Religion of Dravidian-Dalit South-India is Christianity and it has to secede from India to form a new nation called South-India whose religion will be Christianity and whose racial identity will be Dravidian. This is the only solution to the North Indian Aryan’s oppression of Dalits of South India.’

Both the notions of Aryan and Dravidian are the imagination of European-evangelical colonists. Even though one can trace the words ‘Arya’ and ‘Dravida’ back into earlier Sanskrit texts, there was no usage of the words ‘Aryan’ and ‘Dravidan’ in the sense of a ‘racial identity’ as being used today was never in existence prior to colonial misinterpretation of the original words.

This is nothing less dangerous and similar situation than the initial days of propagandizing the new idea of Pakistan in the run up of India’s independence and subsequent partition. Modi and co. want to nip this in bud this time as it is not yet very late.

To give credibility to this weird theory that the Christian evangelists forces under the guise of Dravidian and Dalit politics  have picked up the classic Tamil text Tirukkural written by the sage Tiruvalluvar, for  which every house hold of Tamil Nadu has a high regard. Colonial evangelist scholars like G.U Pope has theorised that Tirukural is written from influence of Bible and it is not a Hindu text but a Christian text. Then got introduced a whole new theory based on St.Thomas myth that he had came to South India and all ancient Tamil classical texts like Sangam literature, which actually predates to Jesus’ time, are said to be created under St.Thomas’ Christian influence and hence all the Tamil classics should be called Dravidian-Christianity. Tamil separatists like M.Deivanayagam even claimed that Tiruvalluvar was converted to Christianity by St.Thomas.

This is part of the global ambitions of Church to convert their next big soul-harvesting-field called India by fragmenting it by encouraging disunity of all possible sorts and then digest into Christianity. 

Even after Vatican has officially debunked the theory of St.Thomas ever coming to South India (https://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/22pope.htm), the St.Thomas myth has got considerable number of takers in Tamil Nadu today thanks to the various political interest groups like DK the predecessor of DMK whose core ideology was built on anti-Brahmanism and anti-Hinduism and pro-evangelists.

They all still nurture the dream of carving out a Tamil nation from India which will be a Dravidian-Christian nation – behind the curtain encouraged by Church and various Christian evangelical groups. Artificially induced Tamil chauvinism made pitted against Sanskrit is the fuel for that separatist movement and Christianised Tiruvalluvar and Christianised Tirukkural are the main tools in their hands for its execution.

So, now you can see the 2 pronged counter attacks Modi and BJP are strategising against the secessionist narratives of Dravidian-Christian separatism by placing Tamil and Sanskrit on an equal respect and regularly quoting from Tirukural and Sanskrit at the same time. This sends out a successful broader message to the normal Tamil populous that Tamil-Sanskrit-Hindu-India all are part of one big family and not enemies as some interest groups are trying to project to them.

This is the Save-Indian-Unity project Modi and co. subtly carrying foreword.

I am Assam

bushreesha
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I am Assam


Alphabetically Assam would stand second in the list of states of India, otherwise it is a state that that is known very little of among the states following it. It would not be farfetched to say that most would not know the capital of this state that has a population of around 3 crores. Assam for the rest of the countrymen is more recognized for its tea and being the gateway to its sister states in the north east.
“FLOODS” is not uncommon in various parts of the country, what is common is the preferential treatment that states and cities receive according to the economic and political capital during a natural calamity. Floods in Assam are an annual phenomenon for various reasons that are manmade as well as environmental. What is dismaying is the abject apathy towards the state and its people during this crisis. The indifference is not just from the wagering politicians across the spectrum and the vulturous media that always eyes the size of a calamity; it is the nonchalance of the fellow countrymen towards the crisis hit Assam brethren that is heart breaking.

As a country we have always come together when a particular region is badly affected, the social media goes on an overdrive, countless images of the calamity and pictures of people hit in the strife floats around driving the population of the country to help the dented region. It is also the stagy “PR” of everyone and everything that counts who hike the “HELP THEM” bandwagon that overwhelmingly manages to tide over the catastrophe, resulting in a “feel good” avatar.

It could be the habit (of being used to), the resilience, the grit, the determination, or the pride that forces the people of Assam to not indulge in seeking sympathetic attention during an emergency of such magnitude. What else could explain a situation that befalls annually, where more than 10 lakh people get displaced, homes disappear in seconds and everything around you floats in dead motion, be it things, vehicles, animals or people and yet, the national media organized and unorganized or the populace of the country wears a mask to.

It is a matter of shame that most of the countrymen have turned a blind eye to a region that is fighting not just the pandemic, but also this devastation in what seems to be a double blow. Yes, they would not ask for help or seek help from us, but it is time for us to wake up to this annual disaster and find ways and means to do our bit to help them survive. We don’t need sad, lost and damaging pictures to do our bit. We don’t need people screaming and crying for help for us to loosen our strings. Let us for once help without being asked to help.

Let us stop being an ass and be ASSAM!!

Lockeddown: A blessing in disguise

gaurav7x7
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Lockeddown: A blessing in disguise

I was working till 2:00 am last night, not because it was too much work, but just because the internet works really fast at night, so I don’t have to wait for ages for the browser to load. Then, after working for 2 hours and watching Netflix for the next three, I slept around 5:30 in the morning. I had hardly slept, that I started feeling a thumping noise on my roof, I guessed the kids must be running on the roof. So, half-awake I went to the terrace to shout at them, you know when you are sleep deprived, you become quite irritated, but to my surprise I saw my mother, and the aunty who lives next-door were playing stapu (it’s quite a famous game, refer pic below)!

14 Classic Games We've All Grown Up Playing – Storytellers of Wonder
A girl playing game of stapu, Image Credits : Google

Now, I was half asleep and in my shorts and angry, but seeing my mother really enjoying the game, I kind of felt really good. It is that feeling of satisfaction that you get, when you know the people you love are happy, and my mother and that aunty, whose name I don’t know, since I always call her “side wali aunty” as she lives adjacent to our flat were really happy that day.

But I had never seen my mother play that game before, so why she all of a sudden wanted to play that game? But then I realized that I never came to know, because I never asked.

We are so busy in our lives, or we were rather, thanks to a pause that this pandemic has bought. We want to make a career, meet deadlines, attend meetings, that we have completely forgotten to take care of the people we love. We are in this race where people have become more artificial and machines more intelligent, where everybody wants to win, but the irony is nobody has time to celebrate.

But, we are doing all this for them only, some people might justify, but no, the answer is if you are doing all this for them, then include them in your daily life, talk to them, just sit with them, they will feel good. In the quest and race of building corporate relations, our personal relations have gone for a toss.

We have to work from home for few months and we can’t take it, we miss office, we want to be with our colleagues, it feels suffocated being at home all the time. Think of your mother, who has been working from home for you 24x7x365, she never complains, she never demands holidays. She just wants you to sit with her and talk to her.

Do you remember, when you were a kid, your father would come from office, you would go running to him in excitement, take his bag, give him water and ask in your innocent voice, “dad aaj office mein kya hua?” and he would answer all your questions without getting irritated. Today, when your dad asks you, how is the office work going on, you get irritated, you don’t talk with a straight face, and you say dad it’s too much stress you won’t understand. Your parents could understand you, when you could not even speak, you are the one who has to understand now.

God has his own ways of telling you things, the amount of time we are getting now to spend with our loved ones might never come back, and we will look back and say, I had a lot of time, I just didn’t use it. So, let us make use of this opportunity, working from home gives you more time than ever before. Use this time to talk to parents, enjoy a cup of tea with them while watching their favourite movie, yes their favourite. Go down the memory lane, discuss some funny childhood incidents. Cook something for them, play any game. The point is use the lock-down to bring up that love for your loved ones, that was lost.

And yes, now me, that side wali aunty and my mother three of us play stapu, I have to wake up early for that, but it is okay, because I can’t keep losing to that side wali aunty.

And that is why I said, this lockdown is a blessing in disguise.

The threat of Chinese cyber-attack is looming over India

surjitfloracanada
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The threat of Chinese cyber-attack is looming over India

Around the globe, the APP industry is as hot as ever, with downloads reaching a record of 204 billion in 2019 and consumer spending of US$120 billion. Nowadays, people spend 3-4 hours using such apps every day, and it is not just free time that matches the T.V. app- they are big business. In 2019, the total valuation of mobile-first companies is $544 billion, which is 6.5 times higher than companies that do not focus on mobile industry.

After being significantly upset that the mobile application business is competing on the global stage, India last week blocked 59 applications developed by Chinese companies. This is due to concerns that the application is threatening to engage in activities “Indian national security and defense,” according to the Indian government.

The blocked software includes the video-sharing app TikTok, which has been downloaded at an estimated 600 million times in India; U.C. Browser, an internet browser that uses very little data and is popular among Indians using low-cost smartphones; and other well-known apps such as Shareit, Baidu, Weibo, and WeChat.

Yes! Advance technology around the world has made our lives much more accessible, but its misuse is also increasing. Because all the work is being done on the Internet and computers today, protecting your personal and sensitive data from hackers has become extremely important.

According to a report, hackers demanded a ransom of 1.14 million to recover data after hacking into the University of California’s computer systems, San Francisco, in the United States. On the other hand, Britain’s intelligence agencies have also been targeted by other rival countries, including China. There are alerts to prevent cyber-attacks in research labs. Corona medicine is being developed in these labs.

The ban itself is a politically powered move as it follows deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along the disputed Himalayan border in June, which led to the death of at least 20 Indian soldiers. Indian government officials claimed they had received reports of the apps stealing and transmitting user data in an unauthorized manner to servers outside the country. This is what necessitated the ban, they said.

The threat of cyber-attack is now looming over India as well. China has raised fears of a cyber-attack after India recently banned 59 Chinese apps. In such a scenario, the government is paying close attention to the sectors and companies in which China has invested. Such sectors include communications and power, as well as the financial industry.

Cyber ​​experts believe that banning apps is just the beginning and that an outraged China could try to harm Indian cyberspace in return. According to some officials, better surveillance is being maintained in almost all sectors. Besides, the power, telecom and financial services sectors have been placed on alert due to their connectivity with Chinese infrastructure.

“For many years we have allowed China to invest in critical infrastructure, in which case China has access to those networks,” an official said. These include communications, power, as well as the financial sector. The danger is that China could launch a cyber-attack on these Indian networks from remote locations.

According to cyber experts, the government will focus on companies that are funded by Chinese investors and will be monitored and surveillance at different levels. Also, Chinese-made surveillance devices used in public and private sectors are being monitored.

According to one expert, in the current economic climate, no country is ready for war on the border, in which case cyberspace, trade and the supply chain could be affected, and attempts could be made to harm. Chinese-funded companies, especially tech firms, are now being monitored because they can be easily targeted. The government has already issued a warning to Chinese hackers, and China is already attacking for data, and last year millions of Indians had their medical data stolen.

In the last few days alone, the number of cyber-attacks by China has risen sharply. Just last month, the Maharashtra Cyber ​​Department had issued an advisory warning that Chinese cybercriminals were planning a large-scale phishing attack, said a Special I.P. of State Cyber ​​Department.

In just four to five days, India’s cyberspace resources, especially those related to information, infrastructure and banking, have come under attack from China. He said at least 40,300 such cyber-attacks were attempted, most of which were traced to China’s Chengdu area.

In such a situation, all concerned must be made aware of the safe use of the Internet, such as any unwanted emails on social media, SMS. M. S. Or avoid opening or clicking the attachment in the message. Beware of emails, typing errors on the website and anonymous email senders. Be especially wary of emails or links these days that come with special offers, such as Covid-19 testing, Covid-19 help, prize money, cashback offers, etc. Before clicking on any link or logging in, his / her URL Be sure to check.

Author: Surjit Singh Flora, Brampton based veteran journalist and freelance writer and a Popular media commentator on current affairs.

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