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An idea to effectively monitor the Income tax returns of assessees

Revanth Bharathwaj
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An idea to effectively monitor the Income tax returns of assessees

I am Revanth Bharathwaj M, a Chartered Accountancy final level student residing in Erode, Tamil Nadu. My areas of interest are Income tax, Internal Audit. For a couple of years, I have been in tax practice and internal audit assignment. I have come across this idea of demarcating a transaction in bank transactions after having been inspired by BJP government’s (The party) interest in taking the country towards Cashless Economy. The introduction of the following practice shall help the Income Tax department in matching the bank accounts and returns of the assessees.

Idea that is proposed:

“Demarcating a transaction while it occurs in a bank account”

In India, major part of business transactions happen through banking channels in the forms of cheques, bank drafts, online transfers etc. With the introduction of UPI, the government has stimulated the digital transactions as reported in the party’s press releases, website etc. Now my idea is to help Income tax department in this event.

Problem identified:

Now that Aadhaar and Udyog Aadhaar are gaining importance in the society, soon we shall witness 100% linking of all the bank accounts with Aadhaar. Now the department is able to probe into the bank account of any assessee by virtue of powers conferred to it by the constitution. By matching the income reported in form 26AS and bank account(s) of the assessees, the department faces the following variants:

  1. A credit transaction in the bank account is reported as Unsecured loan
  2. A credit transaction in the bank account is reported as Income
  3. A credit transaction in the bank account is reported as Advance for supply
  4. A credit transaction in the bank account is reported as repayment of Advance received for supply or as loan
  5. Cash deposit

Now the department has to admit unless validated by further external evidence, the assessee’s assertion as anyone of the following above (eg. When the true nature is Income the assessee may choose to declare it as Unsecured loan resulting in tax loss to the department).

Solution proposed:

This flexibility given to the assessees, especially unorganized assessees, result in declaring wrongful figure of income in the return, resulting in tax loss. Also, certain provisions in Income tax shall be evaded (eg 269SS of the income tax act) due to this flexibility. Now I propose the following idea as a solution, to some reasonable extent.

“Demarcate a transaction while it is made” – this shall be implemented in a phased out manner. In the initial phase, this shall be introduced to business accounts – current accounts to be precise. Every transaction (in the initial stage – outward remittances) should be defined as either of the following in the event of making the payment:

Proposed classification of outward remittances
  1. Expense to the assessee – for the supply of a product already concluded
  2. Advance by the assessee – for the supply of a product to be made
  3. Unsecured loan – made for the counter-party
  4. Unsecured loan – repaid that was earlier received from the counter party
  5. Advance repaid – that was earlier received for the supply of a product
  6. Gift made to the counter party – in rare circumstances
  7. Reimbursements – of expense paid by the counter-party 
  8. Undefined – a residuary section

Expected outcome:

Now in the event of both parties to the contract are assessees and their PANs are linked to the bank accounts, the Income tax department shall have the ability to match the counter-party’s books in the parameter of classification of a transaction in bank account and the matching of the respected value in the return. This shall be explained by the following example:

A remits total sum of Rs. 25,00,000 lakhs to B, having classified the transaction as “expense for supply of product”. Now intending to reduce the tax liability, B classifies the sum as Unsecured loan received (without compromising the section 269SS of Income tax act 1961 and section 28 of income tax act – capital receipts). Now the department has a proof by the bank account of A that this transaction is expended one while the B has obviously suppressed this one. This helps the department to initiate demand in a early time rather than to undergo normal assessment procedures. Thus income of the department is collected more effectively or this at least acts as a safeguard to income leakage.

 Challenges in implementation:

Indians are of three types – who welcome any change that progresses the nation or reluctant to change despite who introduces it or anti-nationals who paint any such introduction as oppressing the poor (though it shall ultimately benefit them). Hence, it is recommended to introduce the classifications as above for all the current/business oriented accounts and the default option for savings bank account holders as “undefined one”. This shall result in both welcoming by honest tax-payers and gagging the mouths of paid trolls and anti-social elements that has full time vocation as abusing the government for every drastic measure.

In a nutshell, by ordering every banking transaction in the nature of remittance of business concerns (regardless of the nature of the entity and including trusts and other non-business oriented non-individual assessees) should be classified as one among the ones listed above in italics above, the Income tax department shall be aided in effective processing of returns and curbing the practice of deferring the revenue.

Another major challenge, nevertheless the uncompromised opposition in the parliament is that, modification in the banking technologies. But this shall not pose a major problem, since the practice of narrating a transaction is already in existence. However, classifying a transaction is a better practice than narrating it.

Conclusion:

In my knowledge, no other country in the world has such practice in existence. This shall set an example if implemented. I take immense pleasure in writing this letter since I am inspired by our Prime Minister by the relentless efforts he is making in making the nation a better place to live in. I am only concerned that in case our beloved PM gives a go-sign to implementing this idea, this shall hit the fraudulent assessees, who have been using the loop-hole of flexibility to defer/curb the tax liability.

Jai Hind!

 Sources:

https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Acts/Indian%20IncomeTax%20Act,%201922/102120000002045816.htm

https://incometaxindia.gov.in/Acts/Finance%20Acts/2015/102120000000040820.htm

This is the only way to solve Mumbai’s pothole problem

Kapil Talwar
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This is the only way to solve Mumbai’s pothole problem
Mumbai potholes
Somewhere in Mumbai

Ever wondered why Mumbai has such terrible roads? Surely every Mumbaikar has pondered about this at some point. Every monsoon is a Mumbaikar’s nightmare. The roads simply give way at the slightest provocation of the rain-gods. Some roads are so bad, that reactions can vary from ‘are these lunar craters’ to ‘who nuked this place’.

There is simply no good defense that the administration can plausibly come up with. Think about it. There is no ‘technology problem’ here. While we do not have the technology to build affordable flying cars (yet), road technology in the world is already fairly advanced, and it has been so for decades. Other cities of the world have been able to build roads that don’t develop potholes. In fact, even many Indian cities like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Patna, etc. can be credited for the quality of their roads.

Okay then, is there a ‘budget problem’? Can Mumbai not afford good roads? That can’t be the case either. The BMC, as we know is India’s richest municipal corporation, with an annual budget exceeds that of several small states! That makes us turn our attention to the third possibility- the ‘corruption problem’.

One can hypothesize that it is corruption that is preventing Mumbai from having the roads that it deserves. Corruption could exist in the form of collusion between the administration and contractors. A well oiled kick-back system, if it exists, would benefit all stakeholders (except the citizenry, of course). I’ll explain the connection between corruption and bad roads with an example.

Suppose a particular contractor, say Sai Kripa Enterprises Private Limited, has won a certain road contract for Rs. 100/-. There could be an explicit understanding between the parties that the contractor would build the road for a lower amount, say Rs. 40/-, keep Rs. 10/- as its profit and the remaining Rs. 50/- would be paid to the corporators and officials (to fund their election campaigns, buy iPhones, whatever). So what happens here is that the Mumbai taxpayer pays Rs. 100/- for a road that is actually built in Rs. 50/- (contractor’s profit is a part of the cost, for the city). Naturally, a road built in Rs. 50/- will behave like a road built in Rs. 50/-. Ergo, it will cave, and crater, and flood, and break.

Let’s assume this is our problem – corruption. How do we treat it?

My belief is that we cannot treat it.

After all, all our current safeguards have failed us- audits, inspections, online ‘transparent’ tender process, Right To Information (RTI) have all failed miserably; the state of our roads is the proof. While citizen activism, journalist activism and social media activism have certainly helped unify voices and channelize frustration, they have not been able to ensure delivery of good roads.

The good news, however, is that though we cannot ‘treat’ corruption, we can certainly ‘bypass’ it.

All we’ve got to do is ensure that a clean, honest contractor wins the contract each time. Imagine if Ratan Tata, Kumarmangalam Birla, Pallonji Mistry, Anand Mahindra and Adi Godrej (leaders from clean business houses) were to get together and pledge to start subsidiary companies that would only focus on building good, durable city roads. Every time tenders are invited by the BMC for a road contract, these companies would submit a bid. If the system is truly online and transparent, these new companies would even win the contract.

Contracts are usually awarded to the bidder who promises to meet the terms in the lowest price possible. As far as pricing goes, these business houses with their deep pockets would actually be able to win a price war, should it ever arise. Reliance Jio is a prime example of penetrating a new industry using existing financial muscle. Just imagine if these legacy-house companies were to build roads, how good they would be!

There are several reasons why I believe this plan would work. First, the business houses would not risk the good reputation they enjoy for unjust enrichment and short-term profits; they would not cut any corners for a little extra surplus. Second, private companies like Sai Kripa Enterprises Private Limited (mentioned earlier) can get away with a lot of mischief because they are away from media scrutiny (this is somewhat changing), public scrutiny, market scrutiny and regulatory scrutiny. Their promoters take advantage of the fact that they are away from the public eye and their identities are unknown. Legacy business houses would hopefully establish public companies (maybe even listed companies!) which are subject to heavier regulatory scrutiny and audits, to conduct this new business.

Next, we know how small-time builders often incorporate a new company for each new project. This is often done to loosen the grip of the law, escape liability and skirt regulation. Legacy business houses would not resort to such measures. They would conduct their operations under one permanent entity.

A question would arise that why would legacy business houses agree to doing this? For several reasons. From a business standpoint, for diversification. As profits in existing lines of business dry out, corporations are always looking for more pastures. Luckily, Shapoorji Pallonji, Tata Sons and Godrej are already into the construction and infrastructure business and as an obvious consequence, possess the relevant work experience. For the others, it would be a foray into a new line of business.

Profits aside (I mean clean, well-deserved profit), they could also do it for the welfare of the city that has been so kind to them. Imagine all the goodwill they would earn from citizens who, at the moment, can only dream of good roads. The notifications bar on Anand Mahindra’s twitter account, for example, would simply not stop buzzing; people would run to thank the man. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) regulations were made applicable to companies recognizing the fact that companies exist and function in a society, not in isolation, and must therefore work to benefit the society they inhabit. I can see no better example of corporate social duty than giving good roads. After all, I took 1.5 hours to cross Elphinstone Bridge yesterday!

Finally, let’s be truthful – Air India, Maruti Udyog of the 1970s, MTNL, BSNL etc. are all failed companies. Nobody would use their services, given a choice. They are (were, in case of Maruti Udyog) all operationally inefficient and poorly run. Government companies and unethical private companies have kept city infrastructure in the dark ages for far too long. It’s time we let serious players take over.

We are already witnessing this paradigm shift elsewhere; most of the new gardens and slum rehabilitation societies that you see are constructed and maintained by big builders (and not by the civic or state administration) in exchange for FSI and building permissions. It is a classic case of public-private partnership. Everybody will win if the aforementioned plan is implemented. The only ones who will lose (financially) are unscrupulous contractors and corporators. Well, they didn’t deserve the ‘extra’ money anyway.

Frozen India of UPA versus Vibrant India under Modiji

S Ranganathan
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Frozen India of UPA versus Vibrant India under Modiji

Several Lutyens media, the sycophants & ‘yes men’ of the dynast and the fringe political forces that are engaged fulltime in opposing and abusing Modiji wonder what big change Modiji has brought to India in the last 4 years.

They question further whether any one of the street beggar has turned to rich and multi-millionaire during the regime of Modiji with the conviction that their question wonderful and worth Nobel Prize.

After Modiji became the Prime Minister of India, India has got new hope, direction, vision and new lease of life.  People are thrilled and excited after Modiji became their Prime Minister.

The question is whether the life of people in India has totally transformed in the last 4 years?

The question of transformation is a progressive change from one level to another.  The basic element of transformation is change from the initial stage to the next stage and then to the next and to finality.

All transformation process has its definite gestation time and therefore one should not either squeeze or stretch the natural gestation time of the transformation process.

The butterfly to transform from egg to larva to pupa to brilliantly coloured, beautiful butterfly, it takes several days.  By looking at an egg or the larva, if one ask where is the butterfly that would expose nothing but his or her utter ignorance and stupidity despite he or she being a self-attested Lutyen or refugee of the great dynast.

During UPA regime, the butterflies were in silent or in a frozen state.  But Modiji brought spring season to their life, they got rejuvenated, re-invigorated, became active from frozen state and have started to lay their eggs.  The above precursor of big transformation we must learn to appreciate and must see with our inner eyes.  To see butterflies, we need gardens and flowers which Modiji is creating.  To see an egg to become a fully grown butterfly, one needs to wait patiently till its life cycle is complete.

Five years in office can only allow any government to sow the seeds of transformation and not the complete transformation purely due to the gestation period of each transformation as they are pre-determined.

What we must see in India today is life, the life wanting for change and transformation and the same desire of people of today must be distinguished from how India was under hibernation and aestivation during previous government.

We should not reduce the debate of how India has changed under the regime of Modiji just to a physical measurement.  Change in the quality of life, change in the aspiration and expectation, change in the way people think like Swaach bharat etc., are certainly some strong transformation indicators.   People have started to think of one India, one election and one tax instead to giving undue recognition and importance to regional forces that wants to grab power even at the cost of the country.

For the first time Indians have heard the term Development of India as the key political mission as introduced by Modiji in 2014.  Until then it was party politics and dynasty patronage.  But people have moved away from such politics to verify and question the political parties as how the country has transformed and what are the list of transformational ides each party has before they cast their vote.

The house wife or the home maker in the remote village know how their life has transformed after Modiji has provided cooking gas to them.  The tiny house in the village know how their life has transformed when Modiji ensured the supply of electricity, built toilets and provided safe drinking water facility to every village in India.  They are the true butterflies of transformation Modiji’s government has achieved.

Transformation is not about changing a beggar to rich but creating sufficient opportunity to everyone and empowering & enabling people, creating awareness in them and finally help to achieve their aspirations is the true transformation Modiji has aimed and achieved.

Due to different gestation period of several initiatives, it may take some more time to completely transform the country.  Today India is on transformation path and for its completion, continuity, commitment and efforts are needed and that is why the victory of Modiji as our Prime Minister in 2019 is important for India.

अमिट अमर अटल

vivekdugar
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अमिट अमर अटल

“अंधेरा छंटेगा, सूरज निकलेगा, कमल खिलेगा” – ये शब्द केवल भविष्यवाणी नहीं। इन शब्दों ने जब वास्तविकता का रूप लिया तो केवल इनके वक्ता का नहीं, उसके दल का नहीं, एक राष्ट्र का इतिहास बदल दिया।

अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी – क्या पहचान है इस नाम की? कवि, कार्यकर्ता, संगठक, नेता, प्रधानमंत्री, भारत रत्न? मेरे जैसे करोड़ों आम भारतीयों के लिए अटल जी की पहचान इन सारे पदों और पदवियों से परे एक ऐसे व्यक्तित्व की है जिसने पचास वर्ष पुराने एक राष्ट्र को बड़े सपने देखना और उन्हें पूरा करना सिखाया, आत्मबल की अनुभूति कराई और हज़ारों साल पुरानी अपनी सभ्यता पर गर्व करना सिखाया।

आजादी के पांच दशक बाद भी जो देश दैनिक आवश्यकताओं – रोटी, कपड़ा, मकान – की पूर्ति में ही उलझा था, उसे प्रगति के हाइवे और उन्नति के एक्सप्रेसवे पर ले जाना, दस वर्ष पूर्व विदेशों में सोना गिरवी रखनेवाले देश को पोखरन के बाद लगे आर्थिक प्रतिबंधों के बावजूद अपने पैरों पर खड़ा रखना, संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ में हिन्दी में भाषण देना, “रग-रग हिन्दू मेरा परिचय” कहते हुए भी विश्व पटल पर भारत का मान और मान्यता बढ़ाना, पाकिस्तान के साथ अभूतपूर्व शांति-पहल करना और विश्वासघात होने पर मुंहतोड़ जवाब देना – यह पहचान है वाजपेयी की।

स्वतंत्रता संग्राम में अंग्रेज़ों के विरुद्ध संघर्ष, स्वतंत्र भारत में सत्ता पर लगभग एकाधिकार रखनेवाली कांग्रेस के विपक्ष का संघर्ष, इमरजेन्सी में लोकतंत्र की रक्षा के लिए संघर्ष, प्रतिकूल परिस्थितियों में नयी सोच लेकर एक नये दल का गठन, उसे दो सांसदों से सत्ता-प्राप्ति के लिए पर्याप्त संख्याबल तक पहुँचाने का संघर्ष, २३ दलों के गठबंधन की सरकार को चलाना, देश को विश्वास दिलाना कि गैर-कांग्रेसी सरकार भी संभव और सफल हो सकती है, और इस पूरी यात्रा में आदर्शों और लोकतांत्रिक मूल्यों से किसी तरह का समझौता ना करना, एक कवि की कल्पना के विस्तार का समन्वय एक कर्मठ, आत्मनिर्भर और स्वाभिमानी नेता में होना – यह पहचान है वाजपेयी की।

लोग कहते हैं कि वाजपेयी भारतीय राजनीति के भीष्म पितामह हैं। मेरा मानना है – नहीं, वे भारतीय राजनीति के मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम हैं। 🙏

An enigma called the RSS pracharak

sajith
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An enigma called the RSS pracharak

Unlike most Indian politicians especially tutored under the Congress culture of sycophancy, Family rule and corruption for 60 years- political leaders who have risen through the ranks of the Sangh Parivaar or the RSS, maintain a Spartan life. They do not amass or leave as inheritance huge proportions of wealth, for their offspring, have no sons or daughters to inherit their political legacy, never ever try to create a business empire or have incomes and property in foreign locales and destinations. It is a testimony to the success of the RSS way of thinking of “Hindu Nationalism” imbibed by the RSS Pracharks who are deputed to the BJP- the most famous being PM Narendra Modi- and former PM AB Vajpayee -that these leaders have never created a “family clique” of ambitious business/ political off spring. This is kind of an outlier in Indian politics.

From the  DMK whose patriarch Karunanidhi or Kaliagnar who recently passed away and has bequeathed the entire party on a platter to his sons/daughters and extended family, to the redoubtable Congress party which is run by a bunch of Nehru dynasts that too by an Italian Sonia Gandhi and her son “by all means an incompetent political scion” in Rahul Gandhi, to the TDP in Andhra Pradesh where the CM Chandrababu Naidu is in the process of grooming his US-educated son Nara Lokesh to the hot seat of Chief Minister.

In neighboring Telangana the CM, fondly know as KCR has his son and daughter both as an MLA and MP in important govt/ministerial posts. Similar is the case with the Congress party and all its adjutants, the Christian dominated Kerala congress- run by Mani and his son Jose K Mani, the other splinter groups of the Congress in Kerala which acts on the whims and fancies of the Christian Churches of all denominations in Kerala. The IUML led by the Thangal family at the most promotes their own family members as MPs, Ministers and what not. Come to Maharashtra we have the Sharad Pawar clan with nephew and daughter running the NCP, similar is the case with Shiva Sena. And we have the SP in Uttar Pradesh where Akhilesh Yadav and his family runs the roost and the party.

The RSS remains an enigma in the sense it continuously produces and provides choice to India, and its people with towering political personalities like former PM Vajypayee and current PM Narendra Modi. Both of them were elected at times of “great crisis of governance in India”. Whereas PM Vajpayee was not re-elected in 2004 despite a stellar performance with regards to jobs, economy and infrastructure. What the Indian people voted for- perhaps the greatest political mistake that Indians as a whole could commit. For 10 years from 2004-2014, was a Congress dispensation led by a Sonia Gandhi- Manmohan Singh which was arguably “one the most corrupt, inefficient, inertia driven government that India had ever experienced”.

Those 10 years was India’s lost decade. I am sure PM Narendra Modi for the person he is- and the reason why he is despised by minority fundamentalist groups and individuals “wearing the mask of liberals”- has clearly analyzed the causes for that defeat of Vajpayee in 2004. He is determined not to repeat it in 2019. Those fake “Facebook warrior liberals” who had always considered Vajpayee a pariah and BJP Sanghi, today have changed plates because they believe “Vajpayee like persona” could easily be competed against and defeated in 2019. Thus the constant comparison between Narendra Modi and Vajpayee is made.

My dear “hypocrites” 2019 is not 2004 and PM Narendra Modi is not AB Vajpayee. Both belong to the table of the RSS but are different personalities, because all RSS pracharks do imbibe the common ideology of “Hindu Nationalism” but are allowed to develop their own line of thought and personality.

Pharmacovigilance for AYUSH – Don’t let fence to eat the crop

S Ranganathan
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Pharmacovigilance for AYUSH – Don’t let fence to eat the crop

The proposal of Ministry of AYUSH to initiate pharmacovigilance process for AYUSH products should not defeat the cause of AYUSH but instead it should support the promotion and popularization of AYUSH. By looking at the scientifically proven allopathic system of medicine and the importance of having a proper documentation on various side effects of different allopathic drugs, proposing a similar process for AYUSH products is not that wise.

All plant/herb based AYUSH products must be separated from the toxic metals like Mercury, Arsenic, Antimony Copper etc., based products and products that are formulated with excretory materials of several animals by AYUSH system. The second group of products definitely require firm regulations because all such preparations are made without any proven scientific basis or rationale. But for herbal mixtures bringing newer and newer norms by comparing with those that exist for scientifically proven allopathic drugs would make the growth of AYUSH very difficult.

Various herbal mixtures of AYUSH must be treated with respect to our ancient tradition and must be allowed to exist freely than with stringent norms. Like different restaurants that constantly invent different food recipes, AYUSH industries must also be encouraged to invent different herbal combinations and conglomerations.

AYUSH is a system evolved through the collection of several isolated experiences, narrations, faith and finally the devotion between patient & Viadya. In the great past when a Vaidya gave certain AYUSH recipe(s) to the patient, the patient in turn used to give their experience about the recipe(s). The patient had never doubted or questioned the wisdom of the Vaidya. Out of such sharing what extent the science was present, how accurate was the initial diagnosis, was the experience just a feeling of the patient or really the medical outcome, whether all the changes narrated by the patient were due to the product given by the Vaidya etc., were not clear.

In the past, both the Vaidya and the patient believed in each other as well as on the recipes. Vaidya had the genuine intention to save the patient as well as the patient had the genuine acceptance of the Vaidya due to his intentions.  So the question of science or other details of the recipes were considered the least.

Therefore a set of recipes that got evolved through the above process of trust and belief between the patient and the Vaidya, trust in God, trust in superstition, astrology etc., should not be subjected to severe scientific scrutiny like that of the allopathic drugs. In the past patients were also sufficiently prepared by the Vaidya and by their associates to accept the treatment failure and then attribute such treatment failures to the actions of previous birth of the sufferer so that the system or its recipes are never demeaned or questioned or suspected.

It was believed that any systemic aberrations in mind-body balance as the key precursor for all diseases. So the fundamentals of AYUSH had always given importance to restore the mind-body balance than eliminating the etiological factor. Problems born out of such imbalances would have got cured mostly due to the total dictums of AYUSH and having developed complete faith and belief in the treating vaidya. AYUSH is indeed a perfect wellness system for promoting and protecting health than treating diseases.

It is always seen that if people submit themselves to someone with complete faith and trust that someone would save them, then getting the possibility of relief is great especially when both people have true intentions. When the patient surrenders to the Vaidya with complete faith and belief the relief is certain according the AYUSH philosophy. The point is that how a system that has evolved through faith and belief we can bulldoze with the giant wheels of Drugs and Cosmetic act. Instead AYUSH need benevolent support and it must be promoted for the wellness and happiness.

AYUSH is predominantly a one sided experience based system and not experimentally proven system. Therefore the system must be promoted with the above essence.

It is not about pharmacovigilance, but unconditional support is needed for AYUSH and the law must facilitate everyone to make own recipes with proven herbs from the system. Such concoctions should be exempted from strict regulatory scrutiny or rigorous law.

AYUSH Vaidyas in private practice must be empowered, rejuvenated, made confident and proud of their system so that they would not migrate to cross pathy. Enforce regulations for AYUSH that are simple, friendly and progressive.  Similarly ensure AYUSH vaidyas in private practice feel proud about their system and promote own system with zeal and ecstasy and not become missionaries of western medicine.

Science in Hinduism 2: Is Mass Energy Equivalence Theory explained in our scripture?

anantpurohit
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Science in Hinduism 2: Is Mass Energy Equivalence Theory explained in our scripture?

During the study of Manusmriti, I found the fascinating phenomenon of world’s creation ‘The Big Bang Theory‘ in it. The way it was elaborated meticulously, I was completely mesmerized! It instigated me to explore the Hindu scriptures further with a scientific view and I found another, even more intriguing phenomenon, in Veda- ‘Yatha Pinde, Tatha Brahmande; Yatha Brahmande, Tatha Pinde‘. This is exactly the famous ‘Mass Energy Equivalence Theory, E= mc2‘; given by the great physicist, Nobel laurate A. Einstein. How?! Here it is!

The famous hymn ‘Yatha Pinde, Tatha Brahmande; Yatha Brahmande, Tatha Pinde‘ is written in Yajurveda and a similar shloka is also written in Rigveda with some alter words. What does it mean? As is the body, so is the universe and vice-versa.

Let’s see the word ‘Pind’ especially. We see the dictionary meaning of ‘Pind’ as follows (reference: Molier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary):

  • any round or roundish mass or heap, a ball, a globe, knob, button, clod, lump, piece
  • a ball of rice or flour offer to the ancestors, an oblation
  • food, daily bread, livelihood, subsistence
  • any solid mass or material object, the body, bodily frame
  • a calf of the leg
  • the flower of a china rose
  • a portico, part of a house
  • the fleshy part of the shoulder situated above the collar bone
  • the two projections of an elephant’s frontal sinus
  • the embryo in an early stage of gestation
  • a kind of incense
  • meat, flesh
  • alms
  • quantity, collection
  • a sine expressed in numbers
  • a sound tone
  • of a man
  • iron
  • steel
  • fresh butter

Sanskrit is a copious language; its words have many meanings. In general, ‘Pind’ is referred as a body or part of body, but precisely; it is mass or material object – living or non-living; discernible or indiscernible. Hence, an object for our study, a section for our observation could be called as a Pind; and could be as small as an embryo or could be as large as a planet or star.

In the entire world, every object, every element, living non-living whatever; has some discrete qualities, behaviour and nature with the other, some have few similarities too. Question is, if every object is different from the other, how could it be possible – Yatha Pinde, Tatha Brahmande – As is the individual, so is the universe? Certainly, this condition could not be fulfilled until and unless every individual is made of some basic elements. Exactly, this dubious condition is answered by Manu in Manusmriti, Chapter 1, shloka 6 & 14 to 16:

tatah swayambhuh bhagwan avyakto vyanjanna idam

mahaabhutaadi vritti ojaah praduh aasit tamonudah (1:06)

Then the divine self-existent, self-born, indiscernible, omnipresent God; manifested this universe by dispelling the darkness with his energy (oja) and made discernible himself in the form of five basic (great) elements (Panch Mahabhut). (1:06) 

udvabarhatmamanashchaiva manah sadasadaatmakam

manasashchaapyahamkaramabhimantaaramishvaram (1:14)

From himself, he also drew forth the mind, which is both real and unreal, likewise from the mind egoism, which possesses the function of self-consciousness (and in) lordly.

mahaantameva chaatmaanam sarvaani trigunaani cha

vishayaanaam grahitrini shanaih panchendriyaani cha (1:15)

Moreover, the great one, the soul, and all (products) affected by three qualities, and, in their order, the five organs which perceive the objects of sensation.

teshaam tvavayavaansukshmaan shannampyamitaujasaam

sanniveshyaatmamaatraasu sarvabhutaani nirmame (1:16)

He (the creator) created all beings by joining minute particles of those six (Panch Mahabhut and Mind), which possesses measureless power, with particles of himself.

From above shlokas it is obvious that all living and non-living object is made of five basic elements. Easily could be concluded the first part ‘Yatha Pinde Tatha Brahmande’ is true. But, the later part ‘Yatha Brahmande, Tatha Pinde’ is even more complex. Still the five basic elements are different from each other, if all five are contained in Brahmand, even then it is not possible that the Brahmand contained in five elements individually, until and unless all these five elements are formed of a single element. Surprisingly, this question is also answered in above shlokas; all these five great elements (Panch Mahabhut) are made of Oja (energy or ap or aupo). This is exactly Einstein’s Mass Energy Equivalence theory. The theory iterates: Mass and Energy are mutually convertible.  In simple words, every known element in the entire world is a form of energy. We have already seen in the shloka of Manusmriti that every discernible, indiscernible, real unreal thing i.e. the entire universe is made of Oja (energy) of the God.

The last word I would like to say, this shloka Yatha Pinde Tatha Brahmande not only depicts the famous mass energy equivalence theory but is the greatest shloka for humanity too. The Rishi who wrote the shloka, knew by his experience, by his inner conscience that everything in the entire world is made of a single element i.e. Oja (in scientific terminology it is ‘Energy’). It simply shows that every individual is equal by default, how could he discriminate someone based on caste, race, color etc.?! Equality is not a matter of choice, but all are basically equal, created by God and consists of a single element called Oja. Certainly, the discrimination was not the concept of original Hinduism.

To create harmony among the society we need to examine the scriptures without our biased perception. We must and must have to examine our scriptures with unbiased view, understand the the message our scriptures actually want to deliver. This is the only one solution.

In next part ‘Science in Hinduism 3’ I will try to explain how the famous ‘Time Dilution Theory of A. Einstein is already in Hindu scriptures, till then please bear with me.

Independence Day Speech of Modiji has proved why India needs Modiji and not the dynast

S Ranganathan
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Independence Day Speech of Modiji has proved why India needs Modiji and not the dynast

The Independence Day speech of our Honourable Prime Minister of India Modiji deserves rich tribute and flowery praise. Modiji has clearly shown to the world that he is in this planet for a mission to accomplish that is to develop India and ensure Sab Ka Vikas. He is on a positive mission and not interested in playing petty politics. Modiji is working overtime to develop India unlike other political parties which are interested only in developing own dynasty and its sycophants. In fact the speech of Modiji has clearly re-kindled the great quotable quote of William Arthur Ward about 4 types of teachers.

William Arthur Ward has said that there are 4 types of teachers exist and the first being the ‘mediocre teacher’ who know only to tell the contents to the students. On the other hand, the ‘good’ teacher would ‘explain’ the contents to the students. The third type of teacher, ‘the superior teacher’ would demonstrate while the great teacher would inspire. Modiji has proven he is great and his speech was very inspiring.

Modiji has touched new heights in his greatness and has surpassed a level above true statesman. His speech was packed with vision, mission, true intention, list of achievements, detailed account on how India has transformed, got direction, inspiration, motivation and with clear admission on what more to be done.

A great speech, a speech on India, speech about India and speech for India is what Modiji has delivered from the rampart of Red Fort. Our country is passing through a transition phase. The next phase is transformation, i.e., transformation of New India where people are going to be prosperous, rich, happy and purposeful. The New India as envisaged by Modiji will not exist just for India alone but instead it would exist for the world, to change the character and destiny of the world, future and fortune of the world and India shall remain a global super power.

On the day of India’s celebration of its Independence, people of India are certainly happy and excited by the speech of Modiji as it was filled with positivity and enthusiasm that has dipped India into the ocean of celebration and joy.

Just to oppose Modiji, many fringe political parties that exist purely due to dynasty culture are mocking and joking at India.   Indians must derecognize all these political parties by rejecting them totally from Indian politics. The culture of dynasty politics must disappear from Indian politics.

The clear admission of several initiatives of Modiji are ‘work in progress’ and many other initiatives that are yet to begin clearly tells the people of this county that people of India have an extra-ordinary responsibility on their shoulder and must support Modiji than the divisive forces in 2019.

India is growing in an envious manner and for India to attain its fullness, continuation of the same vision, passion, commitment and integrity is essential. Modiji alone can fulfill the dream and agenda of New India and Sab Ka Vikas of millions of Indians. Indians need Modij and not the dynasty culture where the sycophants would sing the song praising the dynast and not Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

India needs Modiji in 2019 as its Prime Minister to build a New India which is corruption free, healthy, happy and purposeful India.

UPA Govt’s Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act and Unemployment

Anant Chetan
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UPA Govt’s Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act and Unemployment

A week ago I came across a German law regarding the education of a child. It turns out education is compulsory for every child. There are stern consequences if a child does not attend school. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany. 100% attendance is required, barring exceptions like illness or funerals etc. If parents do not send their kids to school the kids can even be taken away from them and handed over to child services. If you do not believe me look here, here and here. Further, I asked one of my German colleagues and he confirmed the law.

Out of curiosity, I started looking if we had any such law in India. I found UPA government brought Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act to existence in 2009. At a superficial glance, the act resembles the one in Germany. However, after delving deeper into the details the disparities became ostensible. Moreover, the act actually manifested itself as one of the worst kinds of a mockery of education policies. The aftermaths of the act are visible now but somehow people are not connecting the dots.

This act is one of the major reasons for rising unemployment today. The act clearly states that no student shall be detained or expelled till class eight. A fundamental question, will a kid put efforts in his studies if he knows he can not fail? Technically, the children on papers will become literate but will barely learn. At every stage after, instead of trying to rectify the act, the concerned departments tried to push the problem to the next level leading to a cascading effect. Class X Board Exams which were standard exams till 2009, were rendered insignificant or a mere formality. The exam was made an optional exam with grading system introduced. In addition to this, to push the problem to the next level the difficulty level of Class X and Class XII exams was reduced. This could be justified simply by the fact that the number of students scoring more than 90-95% marks increased. More number of students score 100/100 in many subjects now as compared to earlier times. Overlooking cheating/copying during the exams worsened the already disturbed situation. These effects can be justified by the dipped pass percentage when class X exam was made mandatory again and was conducted in a clean (no cheating) way. One of the ex-chief ministers in UP actually ended up claiming that some cheating is okay.

“Destroying any nation does not require the use of atomic bombs or the use of long-range missiles. It only requires lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in the examinations by the students.”
– Nelson Mandela

Private universities became the other beneficiaries of the act. Myriad students who completed their schooling, will have to graduate from somewhere and they did it from any university available. The problem was pushed once again to the next level, but for the last time. There are millions of graduates with negligible employable skills and “know how” simply because they never had to make efforts to get promoted to the next level/class. The genuine problem manifests itself now in the form of unemployment. Jobs require skills which these graduates do not have. A study said 95% software programmers are unfit for software development. And this is just a beginning, as the kids who for the first time enjoyed this ‘privileged act’ during there class X, would have graduated in 2015/16 but they still would have some exposure to learning and exams in the school time (before the act came in existence). In the near future the unemployment is going to sky rocket because the kids then would have never faced any true exam in their lives and would not have inculcated the habit of making efforts at all.

Even if we assume, the people who formulated this act did not foresee this and had clean intentions towards children then why does the act exclude the state of Jammu & Kashmir from its purview (Chapter 1(1.2) of RTE Act)? Isn’t the act depriving the kids in J&K of their basic “free & compulsory education”, right? The act clearly tries to separate an Indian State from India as the article 35A does.

The people who formulated the act, either were not interested in helping the children in J&K at all or they knew the act would impair the learning ability of the children and so spared J&K.

Adding 25% reservation in private schools looks like doing charity on someone else’s money. The reimbursement received is distinctly less than the fees for high-end private schools. Where does the school generate the rest of the amount? From the other 75% students. Now you know why the fees increased in private schools, the charity is being done with parent‘s money. Reservation for poor kids is still acceptable but including socially backward clause adds one more reason of contention in the future. It is as if, caste-based reservation (in grads, post grads and jobs) has not created enough protests-riots-public property destruction-problems that we need more areas for altercation. A general category child coming from not so affluent family would at some point realize that his/her family lived a very frugal life and had to pay a lot to get educated whereas some of his friends had more money to spend but did not pay the fee. Earlier, children understood caste system during graduation but now caste-ism is being fed at a very early age.

“As you sow, so shall you reap”

In addition to all this, the act also discriminates on the basis of religion. All the minority religion controlled schools are kept out of the purview of this act. In essence, the law applies to schools controlled by Hindus. About 1 Lac schools were shut down till 2014 due to the RTE Act. Is it one of the new tactics for minority appeasement and attack Hindus?

Lastly, the “compulsory” in the title is not applicable to the parents. Why would a parent not want to send his child to school if the government is providing free education? What is the child doing if he is not going to the school Will making it compulsory for parents and guardians to send kids to school reduce crimes like child labor, etc? But with this law, it is good that it is not compulsory for parents. Social skills and interactions which were the downsides of homeschooling don’t look downsides with this kind of environment in schools. How can an act that not only discriminates on the basis of states, caste, and religion but also promotes homeschooling be called “Right of Children to free and compulsory education act”?

It is simple, create a monster, feed it, nurture it for years and when the monster starts causing havoc start blaming the government, who actually is the victim of a monster created by their predecessors.

Even if the almighty god visits earth he/she would not be able to fix issues like this in 5 years, let alone a human being. A mess that  was created and nurtured for years cannot be fixed in one term.

Thanks for reading! If you like this article, please visit my personal blog Infinite Sea Of Opportunities for some more articles.

On the death of Somnath Chatterjee, CPM- W.Bengal and liberals show their true colors

G Indira
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On the death of Somnath Chatterjee, CPM- W.Bengal and liberals show their true colors

The veteran CPM leader, Somnath Chatterjee’s death and the manner in which his son and daughter vent their ire on CPM party members of the politburo, makes one wonder, are the communists so callous to their own tall leader who left his lucrative career as a promising lawyer at his young age to join the cadres, to be lurched by the same party in his ripe old age to ruminate and feel remorse? The cause for his ousting from the party’s membership was that he did not toe the line of the CPM during the Confidence motion on Shri Mamohan Singh’s Govt.-UPA-1 on Indo-US nuclear deal. Being the Lok Sabha speaker, he took a non-partisan stand. As per the Constitution, the speaker of Lok Sabha has to remain neutral and with no party affiliations during such situations.

Late Somanath did so. That Confidence motion was, of course, a prestige issue for Prakash Karat as he did not want Man Mohan Singh Govt. to sign the nuclear deal with the US. However, they should not have pressurised Late Somanath ji to abide by their position. What did they gain by that Confidence motion or by withdrawing support to the UPA-1? Nothing. In fact, the Congress inked the deal with US and also formed the next Govt without their (the left) support.

As matter of fact, the Congress had brought the left to power, from their political no where to now here. The communist parties are irrelevant in Indian politics. They have been marginalised long ago. Their anti-majority and anti-Hindu and anti-Indian culture stands have been rejected by the people of India. Soviet Russia is not a source of emulation now.

The CPM-politburo and its stringent orders and regimentation was exposed in the death of Somnath Chaterjee. Bimon Bose of W.Bengal’s  statement shows how that party defies Indian Constitution. It’s published in the newspapers a couple of days back that Biman Bose, then Bengal secretary of the party, had said: “He (Somnath Chatterjee) may have acted according to the Indian Constitution but the party constitution is supreme for party-members.” Had a similar statement been said by a member of the BJP, the Liberal anchors and journalists would have lynched the party bosses by their acts of verbal terrorism in the studios and by verbal diahoreah in the print.

The moot- point here is, how can a political party’s Constitution is above the Indian Constitution? How could Somanth Chaterjee listen to the party higher-ups, having himself pledged to abide by Indian Constitution as the speaker of L.S then? The opinionated anchor-jounalist of the so-called Liberal media do not take up when the topic is coming from their ideological base, the left, though deviant. Because, it is inconvenient. Otherwise question like-how can political parties have a Constitution- one day it may supercede the Indian Constitution- if so and so party comes power it may change the country’s constitution etc.- would be the topics. The other panelists i.e the “yes, I agree” kind, would also go ballistic. They say, “Yes, I expected this, I told -you-so”, this they expand in their wordy language, though stylish with no substance. This theatrics go on with no stoppage, daily like soap-opera on liberal, progressive channels. None question the regimentation and militant behaviour in the CPM. Often they mouth these tendencies in the RSS.

In any case, the founders of the RSS, when they talked about the fundamentalist Muslims, the Liberals in India sided with the West and spewed venom on the organisation and called it bigoted. When the Literary giant Naipaul died many wrote obituary columns. Naipul in his writings used to point out the colonial period and the history with Muslim fundamentalism. Rahul Singh (son of Kushwant Singh) wrote in his column, ‘A man always true to himself (TOI dated:13-8-2018) in remembrance of Naipaul that ‘his (Naipaul’s) book on Islam, “Among the Believers”, infuriated much of the Islamic world. Though he was on the shortlists of the Nobel Prize for several years, opposition to his candidature by prominent Muslim leaders apparently stalled his getting the award. But the terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Centre, changed the mood, and soon afterwards, he got the coveted prize’.

For, the US, 9/11 was an eye-opener. When the Indians have been saying so long, how fundamentalists among Muslims have a role, none in the world bothered. Even in India, the western-minded Indian media brushed it aside as they were RSS’s theories. When the West sneezes, we catch a cold. Of course, the Liberals in the West did not buy those theories of fundamentalism. Likewise, even in India the Liberals are stuck to their guns.

The Liberals who emphasize on free-speech and open-mindedness have to make a soul’s search whether they themselves are so.

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