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Leadership lessons from the Ramayana

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Leadership lessons from the Ramayana

Leadership skills will always hold a professional in good stead. Whether it is a first time manager or the CEO of a company, leadership skills are essential for the success of every manager. Lessons on leadership skills are available everywhere, however in this article we go back to our roots and learn about some important leadership lessons from one of the two great Epics of India– The Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Leadership Lessons from the Ramayana

The Ramayana is a simple straightforward story with very few twists and turns. Almost like our movies. We have a hero who, under extraneous circumstances, fights against a villain and rescues the heroine. Triumph of truth over false, good over evil.

There were no complications as such. No relationship conflicts with Sita or with his siblings. In the Ramayana, it is very clear that the central characters are Shri Ram & Shri Sita and the villain was always only one- Ravan.

In that respect, the leadership lesson from the Ramayana is more to do with an individual’s characteristics which displayed very strong leadership qualities.

Ramayana teaches us how to be an ideal human. Shri Ram is the epitome of a good leader. Let us see how his life teaches us various qualities of a leader which we should imbibe in us.

Shri Ram as a student

Shri Ram was an exemplary student. He learnt scriptures and archery, sword fighting at Maharishi Valmiki’s ashram.  In order to be a good leader you should know your subject. No one can rise to the top without learning the core skills – skills required to complete your job. Of course a measure of intelligence is required but along with that you must have a disciplined approach to learning. You cannot move ahead in life if you do not learn the basics.

Display of strength during Sita’s Swayamvara

Shri Ram went to King Janaka’s kingdom along with Sage Parasurama. There he very easily displayed his strength in stringing Shri Shiva’s bow and thus winning the hand of the princess Sita.

The significance here is not the physical strength displayed by Shri Ram. We are talking about the strength of character that he displayed. Whether it was assessing the task or actually carrying it forward and stringing the bow, it showed strength of character. Before touching the bow Shri Ram bowed and took blessings.

As leaders and managers you have to respect the task assigned to you. You have to display strength of character in completing the task. It is not about brute force, it is about the inner strength you need to harness in order to complete the assigned task.

Obeying his father’s wishes

When King Dashrath and Queen Keikeyi informed Shri Ram about the terms and conditions of the vow and what the queen wished, Shri Ram bowed his hands and said he would gladly adhere to their command. There was no doubt in his mind, no complaints. This shows humility at its best.  He knew that being exiled to the forest is probably not fair, but he accepted the same in totality. Where there is acceptance and when you accept what’s given, you can view things positively. Where there is no acceptance you end up complaining and cribbing about it. He did not cry over the fact that he was a prince and used to princely comforts which he has to give up now, because of a vow made by his father.

Similarly, as a leader, there will be situations which will be thrust upon you. Situations not of your making, but you have to bear the brunt of the same. A true leader will show humility and look at the bigger picture. Obeying (following instructions) here is significant because you, as a leader, have to obey to the commands of the top management.

The exile

Shri Ram knew about the difficulties he would have to face.  Obviously living in the forest for 14 years for a prince who is used to princely comforts is certainly not a bed of roses. On the contrary it would have been more like a bed of nails. Yet he accepted the life of a hermit just as he had accepted living like a prince with equanimity.

As leaders, there will be times when the going gets tough.  You can’t shrug your shoulders and say “hey, I’m the boss; I don’t have to put up with this”.  A true leader is one who accepts the good and the bad with equanimity.

Depth of emotions

During the period of exile, Sita gets kidnapped by Ravan. Shri Ram was distraught at what had happened. He did not hide from his emotions. At the same time he did not get emotionally weak and give up on his beloved wife.

Similarly, as a leader depth of emotions are equally important. You don’t show weakness by feeling emotions. You don’t show weakness by displaying your emotions either.  You show weakness when you let your emotions weaken your resolve. You show weakness when you let an emotional upheaval cause an upheaval in your daily functioning. What you should do is to use the emotions as a charge, a battery power to rise and find solutions to the problems. A leader will not succumb to the emotional distress. (In life there will be situations where you are emotionally distressed and drained).

Making Allies

Shri Ram knew very well that searching for Sita was not a one man’s job. He went ahead looking for her but along the way he made strong allies.  Whether it was Sugriva or Vibhishana, it was the allies and the friendships forged with them which helped Shri Ram conquer Ravan.

Similarly as leaders you should build a strong network of allies. A strong second line is a strategic requirement in today’s world.

Clarity in vision

Shri Ram was very clear about what he wanted. The goals and objectives and the way he would go about achieving them was very clear. There was a vision – whether it was getting Sita back or a vision for his empire (which he had after his pattabhishekam) and there was clarity in that vision.

Similarly for a leader, having a vision is extremely important but having clarity in that vision is even more critical. No point in viewing the future through blurred spectacles.

Identifying the latent potential in the team

Shri Ram understood the powers and capability of Hanuman and the entire Vanar Sena of Sugriv. He encouraged it, motivated the team and got them to complete what is considered as a near impossible task of building a bridge over the ocean.

As a leader, you should never underestimate the power of your team. It is your job to identify  the potential in each team member so that this can finally be used in realising the ultimate goal.

Belief in your abilities

Not once did Shri Ram ever doubt that he would not get Sita. He believed in himself and he believed in his ability to get the best out of the rag-tag army of monkeys.

As a leader it is essential to believe in oneself. If you can’t believe in yourself, your ability, your strengths, then how can anyone else believe in you? The minute your self-belief is shaken, you can be assured that your team will stop believing in you.

 Planning

There was no doubt that Shri Ram’s planning was perfect to the T. From organizing a search party, getting advice from the elders in the team (like Jambavat), trusting the young and energetic Hanuman, to planning the war strategy, everything was well planned.

When you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Planning is a key skill required of every leader. Planning is done at each and every stage of every activity and planning should be done in detail.

Organizing resources

What did Shri Ram have with him? A brother who could fight and Hanuman who could fly! Besides that he had essentially a rag-tag army of monkeys. Yet he organised these available resources to carry out his plans.

A real leader does not get daunted because of lack of perfect resources. A real leader will take the available resources and make them perfect.

Respecting the team’s opinion

Despite misgivings from the tribal chiefs, Shri Ram accepted Vibhishan under his protection and even took advice from Vibhishan. He used Vibhishan’s knowledge and made assessments about Ravan’s strength. Never once did he underestimate Ravan’s power or strength.

It doesn’t matter who in the team, gives the idea. If the idea or the advice is worth it, a leader should respect the individual and accept the advice. There is no rule which says that only the leader should do all the thinking. In fact for succession planning, it is vital that a leader encourages his team to also think. A remarkable trait in real leaders is that they respect their teams opinion and thought process, nurture it and let it blossom.

Execution of plans

Shri Ram personally oversaw the execution of the detailed plans made by him. Between Lakshman and himself, they taught the army of Sugriv and the tribal chiefs the art of warfare. He saw to it that the bridge was constructed well – even though the same was commissioned to Nala (a descendent of Vishwakarma).

Planning without execution is probably the most wasteful aspect of management. There is no point in planning if the same cannot be executed. And execution has to be perfect lest all the detailed planning is pointless. It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that the team executes the plans, to foresee any deviations and to take corrective measures accordingly.

 Crisis Management

It is not as if Shri Ram’s life was a bed of roses. Besides the kidnapping of Sita, it was Lakshman’s grave injury in battle which was probably one of the most painful aspects faced by Shri Ram. Yet, he did not lose his cool. Hanuman was sent to get the Sanjivani plant which eventually saved Lakshman’s life. It was his expertise which Shri Ram depended upon.

The one thing a leader is sure of facing during the course of his leadership years is crisis. There can be multiple crises too. Handling the crisis with composure and level-headedness is a critical quality one has to imbibe. Invariably this quality surfaces only when faced with the crisis. Another important point to remember is that you, as a leader, cannot always provide solutions every time to handle a crisis. You have to trust the expertise of your team and expect them to support you at the time of any crisis.

Code of Conduct & Ethics

During the battle with Ravan, there was a time when Ravan was rendered weapon less and was all alone. Shri Ram stopped fighting and told Ravan that the war/ battle can be continued when he was armed again.

There can never be any compromise on code of conduct and ethics. Integrity of a leader should never be questioned. The day a leader’s integrity is questioned, he has lost all that he has accumulated by way of qualities and respect.

These are the leadership lessons that we learn from the Ramayana.

Our PM has said: “The current pace of our progress is a beginning for me”

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Our PM has said: “The current pace of our progress is a beginning for me”

When the world is taking notes from India’s remarkable transformation journey, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has evoked the spirit of 1.3 billion people to do more when he said: “This is a beginning for me.” His words have reminded us that the joy of achievements should not halt our desire to push further; the glory of accomplishments should not affect the pace of our efforts, it is a clarion call for all of us to get ready for that take off which a country takes once in its transformation journey. We have started with a good pace but to take our country to a new height we need to accelerate and this should be the mutual desire of 1.3 billion of us.

In his first Independence Day speech PM Modi shared his vision of rebuilding the national character and since then through his every single move he set out an example to follow. PM Modi has created the environment and opportunities for every citizen born in Independent India to contribute their part in the country’s progress. He ended the chaos about our goal and direction by giving a common purpose of nation-building. A country of 1.3 billion people cannot agree on all points but there exists a common desire about the country’s future and that common desire is our key pushing factor. PM Modi has made the last man in the last row to believe that his aspirations have a space in the country’s development efforts and things are moving in a right direction. This trust has translated into a national unity which made different bold and courageous initiatives a success i.e. Demonetization, GST, Jan-Dhan, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Sanitation Coverage Drive, Mudra Yojana, Common Service Centres, Ujjawala Yojana, National Digital Literacy Mission, Skill India etc.

Igniting the Young Minds

To fight with the 70 years old challenges our country needed the freedom war kind of spirit; PM Modi has kindled that spirit in the millions of our youths. Today, a majority of young people see Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their role model; they have a different level of trust and conviction in the system. Inspiring the youth power to direct their efforts in a right direction is one of the successes of the Modi government and we can see that in spite of the continuous efforts of different groups to spread unemployment and job creation propaganda, Indian youths are more enthusiastic than ever to play a constructive role. By nature, youths only trust what they see and feel, no argument can satisfy them. Their special connect with PM Modi is a testimony of Transforming India’s success.

Channelizing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Businesses are the driver of economic growth. In the success of the world’s all major economies, the entrepreneurs have always been the key actors. The Indian entrepreneurs are those unsung heroes who have played a crucial role during our freedom struggle and have contributed a lot in the nation bundling during the crucial years of post-Independence too. They provided jobs and means of livelihood to millions of people and worked shoulder to shoulder with the government in the process of the country’s transformation. Post-Independence they have expanded their businesses in all key sectors of the economy and left no scope for any foreign hegemony, their moves were driven by a larger goal for the country, not by any selfish instincts.

From the first day in office, Prime Minister Modi has acknowledged the role of entrepreneurs in the country’s formation and he strongly objected to the culture of defaming the business people of the previous governments. The Indian businessmen have waited a long for a right leadership in the country, one which knows how to define a balanced and healthy partnership between government and businesses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach matches with the true entrepreneurial spirit, on different occasions his leadership courage, conviction and ability to take bold and aggressive moves have surprised many of our big entrepreneurs. From his chief minister days, he has known for sparking a great enthusiasm among the businesses and kindling their desire to do more. PM Modi has made India a magnet for the world business community and at the same time encouraged/enabled Indian businesses to lead the global markets. Today, Indian businesses, small or big, startup or MSMEs, all are well equipped and ready to lead than ever before.

India First Approach

From the beginning, Prime Minister Modi has adopted the approach of ‘Nation First’ instead of politics, which persuaded different stakeholders of the country to act beyond their narrow thought structures and personal goals for the good of the nation. This is not an ordinary thing! Since 2014, in every speech of PM Modi, you will find a message for everyone to leave their past behind no matter how glorious and ugly you feel it was and to join hands for the transformation of the country’s present circumstances.

A country where all key ingredients for prosperity exist, where all twelve months are favorable to agriculture, which is blessed with six seasons, mighty rivers, and gigantic mountains, where land is fertile, natural resources are in abundance and demographic dividend is unmatched in the world, has no reason to move in a moderate pace, PM Modi has reminded us that when he said “we have to move at a faster pace.”

On this Independence Day, we have a new confidence, new aspirations and a grand vision for the country’s future and this feeling is mutual among 1.3 billion people. We have left our old ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude and today we believe in ‘Badal Sakta Hain and Badal Raha Hain.’ We are ready to drive the transformation of our country in shoulder to shoulder with PM Modi. Nothing can stop us from marching ahead!

Here are some lesser known facts about Savarkar on this independence day

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Here are some lesser known facts about Savarkar on this independence day

There are people who are revered and demonised in our history. There are a few who fit in both the slots, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is one of them. A person who is certainly not seen innocuous (if I have to be polite) by many. A man who is at forefront of every attack by the left wing zealots. Understanding Savarkar amidst the mist of intellectual barrage created over the years is not an easy ride. Collecting information about the life and times of Savarkar was an uphill task and penning it down is even tougher.

Savarkar’s life is an eclectic one full of riddles and hurdles. He came out of all of that to make a mark in Indian History and most importantly for setting up a parallel discourse. At the time when he got admitted for his college degree in London, there was a brief but critical time in his life just before leaving for London. He completed the translation of biography of the Italian leader Mazzini in Marathi. The introduction he wrote for the book was terse and crisp. None-the-less, this translation also met the same fate as his other writings did. It was banned by the British government. The story behind the printing of this book is quite an emotional one. While many leaders were accustomed to prodigality, Savarkar family had no money to get the book printed. It was Savarkar’s sister-in-law and wife who finally opted to sell their familial bangles and pieces of jewelry. The struggle for independence never eloped from his mind even in the darkest hours of our history.

While in London, he worked with Madam Cama Ji, Shyam Ji Krishna Verma etc. It was the year 1907 which gives the taste of revolutionary and gimmick nature of V.D Savarkar. In the International Socialist Conference, which was held in Stuttgart (Germany) Madam Cama Ji hoisted the then made Independent India’s Flag. This came as a shock for Britishers who thought of Indians as some fools who can never strategise such events. V.D Savarkar was among others in planning this move. Such activities were seen as a rejoice for Indians fighting Britishers back home. Savarkar, by these kinds of events, made sure that the freedom fighters in India never feel low and shall hold their heads high even in the tough and challenging times. He was an inspiration for many including Madan Lal Dhingra who met him in London. It’s quite amazing how those revolutionaries maintained the secrecy of high level in the city which directly ruled India.

Among many events of his life, one really stands out. When Dhingra attacked Curzon Willey, there were people who wanted to bring a motion on condemning Dhingra’s act. It was V.D Savarkar who stood up in the meeting and protested with all his might. Motion failed to pass. Why I say this event stands out is because of the simple fact that the freedom fighters like Madan Lal Dhingra, who was altruistic in nature was needed in more numbers than few. Condemning Dhingra would be morally depressing for many such youths who were in their own intellectual and physical capacity joining the mass movement across the country. Pure River of revolutionaries must flow unaltered. We all know about the Kaala-Paani, and the torture he faced during those years. It would require not just an article but a book to understand the condition and his willingness to work for the society in those 27 long years of prison and house arrest. But I would like to point out one specific incident that shows Savarkar’s fathom on his will and actions even in the worst of times.

Nani Gopal a 16 year old revolutionary was undergoing the similar tortures as others in the Andaman Jail. Finally that boy sat on hunger strike in order to protest against such treatments. He was simply left to die by the British officers. No one was really concerned about him as the agony of each one individual present there superseded every other emotion. But Savarkar was not the one to be bowed down by any such agonies. He was a man of impeccable character. He protested and gathered other prisoners to protest. Slowly his art of uniting people left officers amazed and they were dumbstruck. They couldn’t get how on earth could someone forget about himself and his own severe condition. Savarkar knew he could be tortured even more for this. The devotion towards the motherland which he imbibed throughout his life overweighed every other atrocity. Finally, he was successful and Nani Gopal had some food and hugs from Savarkar. British officers decided not to torture teenagers thereafter.

Such was his charisma and persona. These were some anecdotes of his life. One cannot wipe out Savarkar from history and memories. Next generation youth must read and learn from his resolute character, his charismatic leadership and his vivid idea of Hinduism. Let Savarkar be referred and revered on this independence day.

Khalistanis are against the Tenth Guru’s Final Ordain

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Khalistanis are against the Tenth Guru’s Final Ordain

A vicious propaganda is being run by the Khalistani terrorists through front organisations like Sikhs for Justice in Canada, UK and India as a precursor to the so-called Khalistan Referendum 2020. Sikhs all over the world are being called upon to vote for a separate state carved out of India.

This is usual fare, for India is used to such centrifugal forces with separatists (mostly sponsored by Pak/ China/ CIA/ Saudi) demanding Kashmir, Nagaland, Bodoland, Naxal-zones, Islamic states, Greater Dravid etc. The Great Game of Colonial era has transitioned into Break India and Ghazwa-e-Hind fantasies long time back.

But what is NOT usual is firstly, the recent revelation about a Colonel of Pakistan’s ISI being specifically deputed to run this campaign in Canada where a lot of Khalistani terrorists have asylum. Secondly, the aggressive courting of Khalistanis by Leftist parties desperate for power (like AAP). Thirdly, the Delhi Government’s recent quiet passage of the Anand Marriage Act for separate registration of Sikh marriages, thereby formally acknowledging that Sikhism has nothing to do with Hinduism- its fountainhead. And lastly, a very disturbing aspect, the silence- even ambivalence – of educated Sikhs. A sustained Leftist media campaign duly supported by foreign agencies has created an artificial narrative of Hindu- majoritism amongst these Sikhs.

Deepening of this cleavage will create just one more fault-line in the Indian sub-continent for anti-India powers to use. Hindus and Sikhs are a deeply intermeshed, intermarried and interdependent facet of North India. While “Waheguru” is mentioned only 17 times, the word Ram is used hundreds of times in the Guru Granth Saheb (which is the final guru). We all know how Pakistan’s ISI (with CIA money) created Sikh Militancy and Terrorism in the 1980s. We all know how two motivated Sikhs- General Brar and IG KPS Gill, tackled them with an iron hand to save further genocide of non-supporting Sikhs and non-Sikhs in Punjab.

We know how the Khalistanis played havoc with India by triggering the anti-sikh riots through assassination of a PM. Since separation only benefits the politicians and religious heads, the way forward for us peace loving citizens is to merge. The biggest irony is that while the epicenter of Sikhism (Punjab) is slowly demilitarizing (i.e. removing their visible symbols of difference) and merging back into the Indian mainstream, it is the Sikhs outside Punjab (i.e. Chandigarh, J&K, abroad) who are trying to maintain status quo.

Bhai Gurdas, the original scribe of the Guru Granth Sahib, has laid out the characteristics of a Sikh in the verse Gursikhi di eh hi Nishani. The Sikh is to be like water; pure, clean, calm and humble. Like water he should adapt to his environment– warm under the Sun, cool in the shade. And like water, which puts out a fire even when boiling, he should direct his anger or response to only fight injustice. The martyrdom of the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjun Dev, at the hands of the Mughal Jahangir, set the stage for this gradual “heating-up” of Sikhs with the Tenth Guru, Guru Govind Singh, laying down a separate Sikh identity to militarize the peaceful Hindus of Punjab and countering the atrocities of the Afghans, Turks and Mughals. At a time when the Rajput and Jat resistance was crumbling after centuries of conflict and the region was well on its way to full conversion into Islam under the sword, Sikhism rose.

The Sikhs have often been victims of hate crimes in US and UK by people against Islamists due to misunderstanding. Though created to counter it, the identity of Sikhism itself was influenced by Islamic symbols– growing of the beard to project an equally menacing visage, military accouterments including a turban over long hair to protect the fighter from blows to the head, Kara – an iron bracelet- on the arms for blocking an attack with the covered arm during combat, and a Kirpan for self defence not unlike the Arab scimitar. Both the religions reject idol worship. The dome of a Gurudwara- the Sikh’s temple- is rounded like a mosque but striped like a Hindu temple.

More contemporarily, Sikh means a disciple, or student; so does Talib, from which Taliban is derived. Both consider themselves as warriors of God– hence the martial traditions. And since the most visible facets of a devout Sikh are his turban and beard, easily confused with that of an Islamic cleric– or Osama Bin Laden and his Taliban/ Al Qaeda operatives, Sikhs remain affected by the Islamophobia abroad. The similarity ends here, however. The Sikhs were a reaction, akin to Europe’s Crusaders, sworn to protect Indians from Turkis, or Islamic invaders.

But today, in democratic India, or elsewhere, the cool shade of peace and democracy, access to legal justice, and equal career opportunity is onto the Sikhs. The battle against injustice is fought with guns and protective armour, not swords and turbans. Isn’t it time to de-militarise then? To adapt, to “cool down like water” and to merge back in the mainstream by losing the visible symbols of Sikhism no longer required now– the long hair, beard, turban, kirpan, kara? And just retain the beautiful melody and timeless wisdom of Gurbani?

Isn’t this what the Tenth Guru meant when he decreed that the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book, would be the Final Guru henceforth, not him? Hindus and Sikhs have always had what is termed as Roti Beti di Sanj – eat together and intermarry, as the first guru who was born in a Hindu Mehta family followed. As a Sikh married to a Hindu woman with a sister married to a Hindu husband, I do believe so.

Why Shiv-Sena is failing constantly in post Balasaheb era

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Why Shiv-Sena is failing constantly in post Balasaheb era

I remember playing role of late Shri. Balasaheb Thackeray in a fancy-dress competition when I was kid. I didn’t know much about him at that time but with the help of dialogue and his peculiar getup I could seize the 1st prize easily. I learnt more about him while growing up. Hinduhridaysamrat (loosely, ‘the one who rules Hindu hearts’) was an apt nickname for him. He was an extremely popular politician of his generation, well known for his strong political views as well as satirical cartoons.

He was seen as an answer to Congress’ minority appeasement politics in Maharashtra and for that reason he was revered by Hindus all across the world. Most of us mourned his demise in 2012. As a fan of Balasaheb, I was curious and I must say a little worried, about the fate of Shiv Sena in coming years. Because by that time, Raj, who was a natural successor according to many Shiv Sainiks, had already separated from Thackeray family and Uddhav, who was neither a good orator nor had the aura of his father, was now holding reins of Shiv Sena.

Different generations have different demands. The 70s-90s era was marked with gang wars, riots, communal fights and therefore required a strong, decisive, in-your-face kind of leadership which Balasaheb provided. But the next generation was looking for development and peace. It was looking for a dynamic leader who understands their concerns and needs. I’m not sure if Uddhav, and for that matter even Raj, realized that. Both seemed to be in a race to fill in Balasaheb’s shoes rather than creating their own space and their own formula. Therefore, ever since Uddhav took over the reins of Shiv Sena, it’s originality and popularity seem to have gone in a terminal decline mode. Here’s an account of some of recent events that epitomize this belief.

2014- Fight with BJP over seat sharing formula

In the assembly elections, traditionally, Shiv Sena used to fight on around 160 seats while BJP used to contest on about 120. But BJP’s unprecedented success in general elections boosted its confidence to demand about half the number of available seats. Shiv Sena disagreed and hence both parties fought separately only to come together after election, albeit BJP became the major party for the first time. But Shiv Sena was in no mood to accept this defeat gracefully and hence the next 4 years were marked with Shiv Sena’s continuous display of grudge and whining on issues ranging from demonetization to farmer loan waiver. They simply forgot the fact that they are the part of NDA alliance.

2017- Heavy losses in BMC election

Shiv Sena had been ruling BMC since last so many years that for some people BMC was Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena was BMC. But like the assembly elections, Shiv Sena and BJP fought separately and unexpectedly BJP gained many seats. No party had the numbers to claim the mayorship on its own. Eventually BJP supported SS in forming the mayor.

Before elections there was a talk of Uddhav coming out of NDA demanding fresh assembly polls. But this unexpected result again dented his confidence and any hopes of reclaiming major state party position.

2017- Shocker of a press conference

Rain had wreaked havoc in Mumbai again. People were angry with BMC and hence Uddhav decided to participate in a press meet. One would have expected him and BMC officials to be sober and sorry but boy was Uddhav arrogant and angry or what! He displayed his helplessness and disdain for others by asking media to stop the rains themselves.

2018- Abstaining in No Confidence Motion

With a lot of hue and cry, TDP and INC brought in No Confidence motion against the Modi Govt and eventually lost it comfortably. But the real loser was Shiv Sena as it decided to abstain from voting. This was Uddhav’s suicidal masterstroke. In an effort to show its might, it lost its weight which must have broken hearts of even core Shiv Sainiks. For Amit Shah, if this wasn’t a nail in the coffin, surely it was some sort of betrayal. Otherwise why would he indicate his party members to be ready to fight elections all alone in Maharashtra?

2018: Heavy losses in local elections

If there was any doubt on people losing confidence in Shiv Sena, it would have been rested after the recent municipality elections. BJP won Jalgaon, which was previously held by Shiv Sena, and Sangli, where Shiv Sena drew blank.

Yet, there are no indications suggesting Shiv Sena’s serious introspection. Clear parallels can be drawn between the Congress party and Shiv Sena. Both are dynast, both have incapable leaders, both believe in attacking BJP without any genuine public interest, both have shown little respect for public mandate, and both have motor-mouth publications. Like Congress, arrogance and lack of inspirational leadership is hurting Shiv Sena and they are in dire state. Unless it opens up and brings in fresh, uncorrupted minds, there are slim chances of its revival. All that will remain is Balasaheb’s glory.

This is how true feminism is defined not the one that the liberals claim

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This is how true feminism is defined not the one that the liberals claim

Throughout my two year stay in India, I have come to realize that the ideology of feminism is seldom critiqued by the mainstream or even by comedians. The usual shtick consists of its critics being brushed off as “misogynists who are too ignorant to understand what feminism means.”

Unlike places such as the US ,UK or Canada, India does not have any vocal intellectual contrarians like Milo Yiannopoulos, Ben Shapiro or Jordan Peterson to challenge the status quo. As a result of this, India has produced some of the most odious feminists figures in recent history who have gotten away with defending their flawed and fallacious positions through anecdotes masquerading as rationalism.

How can one claim to be oppressed by the patriarchy when they are mollycoddled by the mainstream media? I believe that their ideas should be scrutinized and refuted in the free marketplace of ideas.

Here are three rebuttals to the most common feminist talking points:

Rebuttal #1: Equality for everyone

Feminists often use false comparisons to create support for their position where none exists. For example: feminists state that if a person believes in equal rights, then by definition, they’re also a feminist. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Feminists advocate gynocentrism, not gender equality as shown by the definition which says “the advocacy of women’s rights”. This is a logical fallacy known as the Appeal to Definition. This is a flawed argument because it uses a dictionary’s limited definition of a term as evidence rather than statistical polls which show that the vast majority of women do not consider feminism as a movement for equality.

In Britain, only 7% of people choose to label themselves as feminist. According to The Telegraph: “More than two thirds of Britons support gender equality – but just seven per cent would call themselves feminists.”

In America, the number is only slightly higher. According to The Huffington Post: “Only one-fifth of Americans identify as feminists, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.”

According to Vox: The poll, conducted by research and communications firm PerryUndem, shows that a strong majority of Americans agree on gender equality. Eighty-five percent, for example, say they believe in “equality for women.”
But many fewer want to put the feminist label on their beliefs. Eighteen percent of poll respondents said they consider themselves feminist.

Another rebuttal to this argument would be to point out that individuals can be pro-equality and for women’s rights without being a feminist. In other words, feminism does not own the monopoly on equality since you can be an egalitarian or a humanist and still be a supporter of equal rights.

Rebuttal #2 : Delhi is a Rape Culture City

According to India Today: “The number of rape cases has doubled in Delhi in 2013 compared to the previous year. A total of 1,636 rape cases were reported in the city last year, while 706 such cases were reported in the year 2012. On an average, four rape cases were reported in Delhi everyday in 2013.”

The key word here is “reported”. This means that just because a rape case is reported doesn’t mean that it has happened there needs to be reliable evidence for that. This type of fear mongering also hurts men who usually have their lives ruined over false rape allegations.

According to the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW): “A disturbing trend of filing of false rape cases has come to the fore, mocking stringent laws adopted by the parliament last year to prevent crime against women. The Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) has come out with startling statistics showing that 53.2% of the rape cases filed between April 2013 and July 2014 in the capital were found ‘false’.”

Furthermore, according to the Daily Mail: “In 2013, 1,559 rape and 3,347 molestation cases were registered as compared to 680 rape and 653 incidents of molestation in 2012. However, the acquittal rate in rape cases was 46 per cent in 2012, while it shot up to 78 per cent in 2013.”

In conclusion, the rape capital argument is nothing but hysteria which also has the power to incite hatred against law enforcers. Rapists are not celebrated in society, we put them in prison.

Rebuttal #3 : Patriarchy

The dreaded patriarchy, the all time boogieman of the entire feminist movement.

Merriam Webster defines the patriarchy as: “A social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line; broadly : control by men of a disproportionately large share of power”

Wikipedia describes it as: “A social system in which males hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property.”

This has been used as a scapegoat by feminists to explain disparities such workplace demographics, CEOs etc. In other words, if an institution is majority male, it has everything to do with sexism in a male dominated society. These are a few examples which refute the idea that the system is in favor of men:

  • There is a huge gap in research funding. Prostate cancer sufferers are approximately 10% more likely to survive the disease than those with breast cancer
  • Males are disproportionately the victims of suicides
  • Indian women can’t be arrested after 6pm
  • Only men can be charged for sexual harassment
  • Only men can be charged for stalking
  • Men cannot get raped 

Talking about the patriarchy is a very lengthy process which I will write about in future articles. Also keep in mind that these are only three of their points debunked. There are still many moronic claims which still have to be refuted.

The wink of Priya Varrier versus wink of the Dynast in Parliament

S Ranganathan
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The wink of Priya Varrier versus wink of the Dynast in Parliament

The wink of Priya Varrier has won the global attention and it became talk of the town. The wink of Priya Varrier went viral and almost stopped India because it was so natural, spontaneous, cute and lively. Any act or expression when it comes with its originality and trueness become authentic and certainly such gestures would gain global recognition.  But imitation would certainly come with limitation.

May be after seeing the wink of Priya Varrier how it captured media attention and went viral, the dynast would have decided to imitate the same so that like Priya Varrier the dynast also become the talk of the county.  The above is only a guess and not a confirmed statement.

It looks like the dynast does not want to take any chance and put too much of hope on wink so he would have subsequently invented another idea that was to go and hug Modiji in parliament. When he hugged Modiji, naturally people would be curious as Modiji is the most followed and respected leader in the world. When people watch Modiji also would watch the dynast and his hug. This would have prompted the dynast to do the theatrics of hug and then wink. But again the dynast had his doubts. When people watch Modiji whether his hug also would be watched and admired was the doubt of the dynast. So to make things look different, the dynast had winked in the parliament after hugging Modiji thinking that if his hug goes unnoticed at least his wink would win the hearts like the wink of Priya Varrier.

Unfortunately all the efforts of the dynast had gone waste and the act of both the hug and wink of the dynast had gone viral but for wrong reasons. Instead of some political mileage and recognition, people talked about the act of the dynast as joke and made fun and humour out of the hug and wink of the dynast. Indeed the hug and wink drama of the dynast has reiterated his first slot in Indian politics as the great entertainer of the century.

A cat if put stripes or spots in its body, will not look or become tiger or leopard. Originality and not imitation shall win in Indian politics.

Modiji is a class leader, a leader with vision, clarity, decisiveness, honesty, commitment and hard-work. On the contrary the dynast has come to the position purely due to his dynastic rule and not due to merit. That is why the present generation doesn’t like to connect with the dynast.  Unfortunately the dynast also has not put in enough efforts to improve his quality of speech with details instead he continues to utter vague and hypothetical statements.

What Modiji knows in his life is to work and work and work. He rose to this position through hard work and commitment. But on the contrary the dynast is been gifted with everything and is always surrounded by sycophants and ‘yes men’. Nothing the dynast would have achieved in his life through his merit and that is why the dynast follows the art of imitation. Even to gain some recognition, he has to choose Modiji and only through Modiji he can gain some prime time slot in news media.

Reason for the utter failure of his theatrics in Parliament ‘the hung and then wink drama’ may be due to his inborn confusion.

Whether to imitate Priya Varrier or hug Modiji which would give him better edge might have been his worry. Hence, he had decided to do the both with the hope that certainly he would get noticed. He got noticed and he was discussed about but for wrong reasons.

People could easily judge his acts to be a mere theatrics, a show, indeed flopped. Before blaming the actor, we must know who had directed the masterpiece, who wrote the script & screen play, who gave the rehearsal to the dynast and finally who said ‘light, camera, action’.

Instead of becoming a box office hit, the hug and wink drama has become a super-duper flop and made people to laugh and not to change his title as the best comedian and entertainer of the century.

The question before Indians is that are you going to gift India to such hands in 2019?

BJP’s victory in the Sangli, Jalgaon- Emergence of a new political phenomenon in Maharashtra

Shounak Kothekar
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BJP’s victory in the Sangli, Jalgaon- Emergence of a new political phenomenon in Maharashtra

Reports from the prominent media outlets will have you believe that a strong anti-incumbency wave is building up against the current BJP led Government of Maharashtra. The recent incidents of Maratha agitation over reservation, farmer protests over milk prices had made the news headlines across India. The best example is how the the incident of “Farmers March” that took place in the month of March, 2018 in which thousands of farmers marched from Nashik to Mumbai was reported. Many would remember how this particular incident had caused a huge furor in social media; a flood of pictures of distressed farmers with injured legs and red flags marching towards Mumbai.

We have seen several intellectuals and political analysts in the country make a point on the basis of these occurrences that there is an underlying strong discontent among different sects of society in Maharashtra especially farmers, Marathas, Dalits, and OBCs. The opposition is doing its best to make the protests come across as a vote of no-confidence against the Devendra Fadnavis led BJP Government. However, a close look at all the results of the elections held in the last 4 years especially the most recent civic body polls of Jalgaon and Sangli-Miraj-Kupwada, tell us a different story altogether.

Jalgaon and Sangli-Miraj-Kupwada, on the 4th of August 2018,  gave a resounding majority to the BJP, this came as a surprise not just to the usual critics but to many supporters as well.  While Jalgaon was the stronghold of Shiv Sena Leader Sureshdada Jain, who as the reports say, had control over the civic body for the last 40 years, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwada has been a traditional strong hold of NCP and Congress. The results warrant an urgent introspection for both these opposition parties and  Shiv-Sena. This is imperative if they are still hopeful of electorally defeating the BJP in the 2019 elections.

An Embarrassing Defeat in the Home Turf Sangli District has been a stronghold of  Congress/NCP for years. The district is home to the current NCP President Mr. Jayant Patil and has produced stalwart leaders like Late RR Patil- Ex Home Minister and Late Patangrao Kadam whose son Vishwas Kadam was active in the current elections. Despite this Congress/NCP could not save the civic body. Such an occurrence especially at a time when there were claims made by the opposition of discontent against BJP speaks volumes of the condition of Congress/NCP today in the state of Maharashtra. Similarly in Jalgaon Shiv-sena could not save the civic body of Jalgaon in spite  having a leader like Suresh dada Jain who as mentioned earlier controlled the Jalgaon civic body for the past 40 years. The fact that shiv-sena had to rely upon Mr. Suresh Dada Jain, even though had been in jail in the recent past, reflects upon its lack of strength in the region.

The Maratha Agitation: A House of Cards Marathas have always been the core vote bank of NCP. Even though the local civic bodies are fought on local issues, NCP did its best to use the issue of “Maratha Agitation” against the BJP. Sharad Pawar himself led the attack from the front directly taking on the CM on the issue of “Maratha Agitation”. Such a move should have benefited them considering the fact that the district is dominated by maratha votes who have a decisive say in the elections. However, on the contrary, BJP improved its seat tally from 0 to 41. A win by such a huge margin and an improvement in the vote share of this scale proves that Maratha’s overwhelmingly voted for the party. It can be argued that the factor of anti-incumbency existed as the Congress/NCP were in power for many years. Even so, the voters still saw BJP as an alternative while dismissing the “anti-maratha narrative” of the BJP built by the opposition.

An Unfruitful Alliance NCP lost so badly in sangli in spite having a coalition with congress. It has to be noted that both congress and NCP have a strong cadre as well as leader strength in the district. The demographic conditions were  also in favour of NCP– majority of the population in the sangli district belongs to the Maratha community. On the other hand, sangli has been a weak area for BJP in terms of its cadre strength and overall presence in the past. In addition, the party was supposedly on the back foot on the Maratha issue. The odds were in the favor of Congress /NCP, which fought in alliance in these elections. Therefore this loss will make both these parties question the electoral utility of their alliance partners.

Emergence of a New Political Phenomenon In Maharashtra The recent civic elections are just a glimpse of the BJP’s victory marathon in the last 4 years. A party that was once number 4 in the state today controls majority of the civic bodies and nearly than 80% of the zilla panchayat or the district panchayat. While the anti-BJP narrative created by the opposition and some media outlets thrives; none of that has put a stop to the BJP’s election victories. It seems that Maharashtra is very much moving towards being a single party dominated state like it was from 1951 to 1980’s before the rise of BJP and Shivsena only this time BJP replacing congress as the dominant party. This is a new phenomenon and a detailed study by political analysts and social thinkers is required into its causes and impacts. As far as congress/NCP is concerned, the past 4 years have either been about orchestrating or hijacking community led agitations and creating  a divisive agenda which has a tendency to affect social harmony. Leaving aside the obvious societal repercussions of such a strategy, it has not paid any political dividends either. The oppositions strategy lacks newness, consistency and a well defined ideological framework.

Albert Einstein once famously said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. If the same spit and run kind of politics is practiced by the opposition things are going to get worse for them in the future.

The grief of Arun Shourie & Yashwant Sinha and the story of Yayati & Puru

S Ranganathan
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The grief of Arun Shourie & Yashwant Sinha and the story of Yayati & Puru

The grief of Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha over the government headed by the most respected and revered leader Modiji is fully manufactured by none other than these two people. The ambition, greed and the identity crises of these people appears to have over scored their age and that is why they rant frequently in public space.

Instead to accepting their age gracefully and become Margadharshak to the party that had given them ministerial position, recognition and dignity in the past, they chose to look for Puru like how the King Yayati was. Fortunately the Yayati could find Puru in his son but for Shourie and Sinha, no one was ready to become Puru to fulfill their greed and ambition. Since they failed to get a Puru are ranting constantly against Modiji hoping that the dynasty culture or the other political parties would give them refuge. Even if they do not get refuge, some Lutyen’s media are giving them some media attention and prime time slot.

See the behaviour and attitude of these ‘recognition/job seekers’ in Indian politics at the age they are expected to embrace Vanaprastha from politics. They show greed and ambition for power and authority.

Yayati was a King who married Devayani, the daughter of Sukacharya, the Guru of Asuras. In the meanwhile the King Yayati also secretly married Sharmista who was made as the acting maid to Devayani. When Devayanai came to know of her husband’s marriage with Sharmista, she complained to her father and her father Sukacharya cursed Yayati to become old and weak. But the desire to enjoy the worldly pleasure pressed Yayati to appeal before Sukacharya and finally Sukacharya told Yayati that if someone is willing to give their youth to Yayati and receive his curse of being old and weak, he can become youthful again. The greedy Yayati could finally convince his last son Puru who gifted his youth and received the curse of Yayati and made his father to enjoy the worldly pleasure and fulfill his ambitions and greed.

Both Shourie and Sinha were not great leaders, have no stature before people. But BJP recognised them, made them ministers. When BJP announced Modiji as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the party both these leaders murmured their dissent may be due to whether they would get some job in Modi government or not. But when they were made as key advisers of the party, like Yayati how he married Sharmista secretly, these leaders appears to have started to work for anti-Modi block and naturally such an act deserve the curse of Sukacharya.

Like Yayati, these leaders were greedy, power hungry and were looking for job opportunity in the Modiji’s government. It looks like they have searched out for a Puru who would make them ministers by abdicating their Ministerial position and when that did not happen they have started to rant against Modiji.

Some Lutyen’s media may give attention and importance to them but not the people of India. People of India are wise enough to differentiate the grief of these two leaders are like that of greedy Yayati who made his son to sacrifice his youth-hood for Yayati to enjoy the worldly life.

Modiji is a leader to exemplary excellence and virtues, honest, committed and passionate and is working for the development of the country and Sab Ka Vikas.

It is India that is going to lose heavily if Indians fail to support Modiji in 2019 than Modiji himself or BJP. If this country goes to all those fringe players, India will be fragmented, tormented and turned into a bedlam of caste and community division and minority appeasement.

We the Indians need one India, one election and one tax which Modiji is working hard to achieve. The divisive forces must be evicted out of Indian politics and the mission of Modiji to reform India and make India free of corruption, inequality and nepotism has to be achieved.

Every Indian should not limit their responsibility to support Modiji in 2019 but also must work in the society to create awareness about the good governance of Modiji and all those initiatives taken by him for transforming India.

People should ensure in 2019 India shall remain for Indians and not for those who want to develop their dynasty, make India pauper and a land of minority appeasement and caste divisions.

Modiji alone can take India to the destination of complete and harmonic development where everyone is equal in receiving the rewards of the Mission Modiji and are also equal contributors to the mission New India.

AAP in parallel with 70s Congress: Ambers of Khalistan

Devanshu Rajput
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AAP in parallel with 70s Congress: Ambers of Khalistan

Terrorism and fundamentalism can be active or dormant. But, never extinguish. For there will always be people justifying it; propagating it. Notwithstanding how few!

Khalistan movement, on the same note, never ceased to exist. It changed its course after 90s decade. It had failed so miserably, after all. Other than, government crackdown, people so vehemently discarded the very basis and fundamentals, this extremism and madness it assumed to be base. Khalistan was never an organic movement. It was not even a movement. Age old sentiments were immaculately engineered, to metamorphose it into a giant. A conflict against the state. Secessionism. Bloody days. And mayhem.

Aam Aadmi Party, which lost miserably in last Punjab state elections is accused in the past of taking a pro-Khalistan stand. Politics of AAP in Punjab has been centred around resurrecting the dormant secessionist movement.

In context of the accusation, AAP MLA, Jaikishan Singh Rodi was seen with Gurdial Singh, who has known links with outlawed Sikh body, known as International Sikh Youth Federation or just Sikh Youth Federation (SYF) mostly funded by Germany based Balbir Sandu, and also soliciting votes for him. And also, journalist turned politician, Jarnail Singh of AAP was reported to be involved in collecting funds for party from the UK for sake of keeping, Khalistan movement alive.

Recently Captain Amarinder Singh, slammed Arvind Kejriwal, on remarks made by Sukhpal Singh Khaira, opposition leader of Punjab.

Khiara had gone on record to say (emphasis added), “Those demanding a referendum are within their right. The injustice meted out to Sikhs during the last 34 years has compelled people to make a demand like this. You give justice to anti-Sikh riot victims you will come to know that the justice exists in India. We have nothing to do with the referendum. But can you stop people living in independent countries? Their sentiments were hurt so whatever they are doing, they are doing within their rights.”

AAP is always seen giving pro-Khalistan voice, on stage.

Canadian PM was on an 8-day visit to India recently, and Canadian convoy had expressed aversion to meet Captain Amrinder Singh, despite Captain being the CM of Punjab, fearing reaction from Pro-Khalistan diaspora of Canada. Instead of critiquing Canada, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh lashed out at centre for not extending warm welcomes towards Trudeau like it did with other state leaders. He was outrightly hinting at PM Modi for not receiving PM Trudeau at the airport.

What Sanjay Singh, must have realized is that Canada has become a hub of Khalistanis. Trudeau government has been soft in cornering the radicals. Avoiding Trudeau at airport, and not even acknowledging his presence for straight 6 (in which he was merely touring here and there, donning attires which is even odd for Indians) days by PM, and his unaffectionate welcome as a State Leader, Centre was tough on giving a clear message, ”If you are indulged with radicals with agenda of balkanization of India, you are not welcome here“.

Back in 2014, newly formed Modi government had cancelled visa of Jagmet Singh of New Democratic Party, who didn’t even condemn the blowing of 1984 Air India Flight 182 with 329 civilian casualties.

Dharamvir Gandhi, former AAP supporter, also felt “Khalistanis have right to separate homeland”.

All these events, strikingly draw parallels with politics of the 70s and 80s and today’s politics revolving around Punjab. Maybe these leaders, don’t realize what doom that demand for “homeland“ had brought to Punjab.

Hardly anyone can get horrors unleashed in decades of the 80s and 90s out of there mind. What we hear of Kashmir turmoil today, people read in newspapers then. 15 years up to 1995-1997 Punjab’s clash with Centre seemed would never end, or end with government kneeling against violence and sanction formation of Khalistan.

Seeds of an idea of formation of a theocratic Sikh state could be traced back to partition (or even before), in which Sikhs felt they are left behind without a homeland between the distribution of Punjab between Muslims and Hindus. But, it wasn’t a tough decision for them, as which side would be more safer, so eventually, the majority of Sikhs migrated to the Indian side of Punjab.

After Indo-Pak war of 1965, the government accepted demands of formation of a Sikh majority state by cutting down Haryana and Himachal Pradesh both Hindu dominated, from Punjab. Demand grew for more autonomy for State alongside various other issues including safeguarding linguistic identity.

Indira Gandhi government couldn’t keep up with these demands, these gave rise to leaders like Jagjit Singh Chauhan (who was PUSHED to Khalistan movement) Who started travelling abroad, even to Pakistan, and started publishing anti-India diatribes and vociferously rising banner of Khalistan.

Like minded people on foreign lands started collecting fund and sponsoring it. Here are how events unfolded in distant future.

Punjab has always been a challenge for parties having power at centre. When Indira Gandhi had an outstanding majority in Lok Sabha, Punjab didn’t have Congress government and even now it is out of the hand of full majority Modi government.

Against these backdrops, 1978 elections of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee( SGPC) were in offing. Akali Dal which grew to prominence in Punjab in between the 70s and 80s, was giving a tight electoral competition. Indira Gandhi along with Giani Zail Singh (Who later became president of the country) meted out a strategy to divide Akali votes.

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a missionary and leader of Damdami Taksal, who roamed villages to villages and endorsed youth to give up drugs and live by tenets of Sikhism. Perfect posters boy was discovered by Congress. Indira Gandhi backed Bhindranwale in SGPC elections and in turn, Bhindranwale helped Congress grapple Akali dal in following elections. Bhindranwale was a rising star, once a small missionary, Zain Singh helped him to be hailed as Sant Bhindranwale.

What Indira government didn’t know was what will start as the antagonism between INC and Akali dal will soon degenerate to a direct confrontation of centre with very people she was having a liaison with.

Between 1982 and 1984, more than 1500 cases of violence were reported leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured. Most vulnerable people of this violence and madness were Hindus. Buses and trains were raided and many Hindus were massacred in Gobindgarh and other places. DIG AS Atwal was assassinated in 1983.

All of these incidents could have been avoided if Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had nabbed Bhindrawala after Gurbachan Singh of Nirankari sect, an electoral rival of Bhindranwale, was shot dead by Khalistani fanatics. She had gone soft on perpetrators of these incidents and turned blind eye towards hoarding of Golden temple with arms and ammunition, since the 1980s. Police and army were asked not to check trucks entering Temple, even when the government had clear intelligence that they carried arsenal smuggled from Pakistan.

Bhindranwale stance changed and he supported Anandpur Sahib Resolution of Akali Dal. This was a major turning point in events leading up to Bluestar. The government labelled resolution as secessionist agenda and heavily cracked down on Akali Dal, and eventually banned it.

By the time Indira Gandhi government realized the gravity of the situation, Golden Temple was already fortified by militants led by General Shabeg Singh (Man who had an important role in the training of Mukti Vahini in 1971 Bangladesh liberation war). Negotiations failed with Bhindrawala and Bluestar was launched. What I will call one of the most ambitious decisions taken by PM Gandhi. It was unfortunate, that holiest place of Sikhs was subject to destruction and many innocents were also killed.

Ramifications were even more lethal and horrifying.

Sanctity of Sanctum Sanctorum was obliterated by Khalistanis when they stockpiled shrine with weapons and militants exported by ISI of Pakistan. So hardliners who lament on every anniversary of Bluestar and label Army and Government to be  complicit in the deliberate desecration of shrine holds no water.

People Indira Gandhi had forged an unholy alliance with, seeds of separatism which she had allowed to be watered and grown resulted in her own assassination by own bodyguards. A price India was not ready to bear. A PM was killed for protecting the idea of India.

On 31st October, 11 AM, All India Radio reveals about the incident and reported assassins of PM  being Sikhs.

News spread like wildfire. Like plague, riots consumed Punjab and Delhi. Gurudwaras and other Sikh places were subject to arson. Women and children were burned alive on streets.

Delhi was worst hit. In 2009 high court observed, “……the sheer mention of the incidents of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in general and the role played by Delhi Police and state machinery, in particular, makes our heads hang in shame in the eyes of the world polity.”

Fate befallen to these innocents, started with politics, a lust for power. A handful of them who started all this in the first place was safe, mostly abroad. The common citizen was paying the price. Huge price. In no sense, riots were spontaneous. What following investigations unfolded was that it  was a manufactured pogrom.

Nanavati Commission in its report stated that Rajiv Gandhi government did little or nothing to prevent riots. Paramilitary was asked not to respond at earnest. Delhi police did not cooperate with army and curfew was not strictly implemented in many places. Several INC leaders were accused of instigating violence including Gandhi family loyalist Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. But, UPA dismissed Commission reports and its demands were not paid heed.

Despite, many other commission and committee reports not even one of prominent Congress leaders were awarded punishment instead they were awarded ministerial berth by Rajiv Gandhi.

Still, many convictions happened, over course of years. Many were incarcerated for 10 years others imprisoned for life and around 50 perpetrators were sentenced to death.

Victims of tragedy, still await justice for main perpetrators are still out of reach of the law.

No one wishes to see this again. How seeds of poisonous ideas engulf humanity is clearly evident. What leaders like Khaira don’t understand, is the gravity of words they speak. Who doesn’t want justice for victims of ‘84? Labelling, the inefficiency of Judicial system as systematic discrimination against Sikhs, because they are in minority seems a clear-cut instance of political vendetta. Let me remind them, Hindus consist of 80 per cent of India’s population. Kashmiris Pandits still await justice for the 90s ethnically cleansing by Jihadi forces. They even now are immigrants in their own country.

When oppressor convinces others that they are victims, narrative even starts to come out with a euphemism for felonies.

Let me be vocal. Khalistanis are and were no victims. Anyone compassionate with dead militants of Bluestar is not a victim. Victims are 350 Sikhs of Trilokpuri colony, who were massacred in the madness that lasted for 72 hours. These politicians don’t speak for them. Unfortunately, no government does either.

Juxtaposition between situation and level of politics of these two different eras may sound anachronistic to many . But, using our hindsight may tell you what was wrong then, what is wrong now. Appeasement. Liaising with radicals. India isn’t a perfect federal structure. Instead of addressing issues with it, politics shape it into rage. It has been almost 70 years we have evolved and yet still evolving.

After 47, British thought India won’t hold long because of ethnic and linguistic complexities. We did. After 92, intellectuals thought, India will go USSR way. We didn’t.

Let me leave you with this, quote and deliberate. Why?

The most successful of the nations of the world are those who do not fall into the lure of secession but who, through thick and thin, forge unity in diversity.

-Yemi Osinbajo

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