Sunday, October 27, 2024
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How Rahul Gandhi exposed his colonized mindset over Gita reading

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So we read this comic-tragic news the other day that Rahul Gandhi is reading Bhagwad Gita and Upanashads to counter Rashtriya Swayam Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in his political battle. (So, at least he has moved from the “RSS killed Gandhi” platform).

It’s comical for Bhagwad Gita and Upanishads are meant for self-advancement in the realm of spirituality. It’s not for debating points. It’s tragic because this bachelor wants to lead India’s destiny without the slightest idea of its heritage.

Rahul is free to follow the religion or philosophy of his liking. But it isn’t too smart for him to show his ignorance. It betrays how little initiation in country’s heritage he has had, both at his home or in the schools he went.

It’s an educated guess that Sonia Gandhi, and by inference her husband late Raajiv Gandhi, has had little appreciation of India’s sacred texts. Indira Gandhi probably carried the indifference of her father Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru who was scornful of India’s cultural traditions.

It’s fair to argue that a political leader shouldn’t align himself with any religion in a country of many faiths so as to appear unbiased. But Bhagwad Gita is about Dharma—and not religion. Dharma advocates the righteous way for an individual which the Western colonists cleverly implied it with religion. You were thus forced to be ambivalent about your own glorious past lest you appeared communal and non-secular.

This heinous ploy by the West did two things: One, it helped create a republic where in the name of “secularism” India was made to appear shameful if it owned up its magnificent past. Two, it helped to put one community against the other. A weak India is what the West has always wanted.

Rahul Gandhi displays a typically “colonized mind.” Swami Vivekananda mirrored such individuals of confused identity succinctly:

“The child is taken to school, and the first thing he learns is that his father is a fool, the second thing that his grandfather is a lunatic, the third thing that all his teachers are hypocrites, the fourth, that all the sacred books are lies! By the time he is sixteen, he is a mass of negation, lifeless and boneless.”

India suffered terribly at the hands of Muslims invaders and British colonizers. But there was a difference. Muslim rulers did coerce locals to take up Islam. However, they never tried to control Indians’ mind. British were more sinister.  From the start, they set about systematically denigrating India’s past, its achievements, its’ scriptures and customs. They introduced the fake Aryan Invasion Theory. And courtesy the Macaulay Doctrine, they set about wiping out the land’s own heritage with its monstrous education policy. Today, before knowing anything about India, the children recite “Humpty-Dumpty” in front of doting parents.  Higher education is no different. As celebrated Indologist Michel Danino writes:

“There is no mention of India’s seminal achievements: the decimal place-value system; that the so-called Gregory series, Pell’s equation or the fundamentals of combinatorics were anticipated by several centuries by Indian mathematicians of the Siddhantic period; or that Indian astronomers of the same era had developed powerful algorithms that enabled them to calculate planetary positions and the occurrences of eclipses with an excellent degree of precision.

“It is equally hard to accept that medical students should know nothing of Indian systems of medicine such as Aryuveda or Siddha, of proven efficacy for a wide range of disorders and even serious diseases.

“If the topic is psychology, the Western variety alone will be taken up, completely eclipsing the far deeper psychological system offered by yoga.

“Water harvesting is taught as if it were a new contribution from the West, even if it was widely practiced from Harappan times onward.

“One could go on (in the same manner) with metallurgy, chemistry, textiles, transport and a host of other technologies.”

It is no wonder that any attempt to revise school books is met with serious opposition today.  Indian languages are called “vernacular” whose root meaning is belonging to native slave.’

A few years ago, State education ministers would have nothing to do with the merest suggestion of Indian culture into the curriculum. As Ananda Coomaraswamy, who opposed the prevalent education system vehemently in the 20th century, wrote:

“It’s hard to realize how completely the continuity of Indian life has been severed. A single generation of English education suffices to break the threads of tradition and to create a nondescript and superficial being deprive of all roots—a sort of intellectual pariah who does not belong to the East or the West, the past or the future…of all Indian problems the educational is the most difficult and most tragic.”

So it has come to pass that Rahul Gandhi could nonchalantly betray his lack of connection with Indian roots and isn’t shamed for his ignorance. Those who could shame him—the intelligentsia, media, academics—won’t do because they are themselves a mirror image. He is studying Bhagwad Gita and Upanishad to fight a political battle!!! This is what you say, a Paradise Lost.

Before beef politics, think why farmers have to sell their cattle

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From last one week there is a debate in TV channels and news papers about cattle trade ban and beef ban by the government. There is no news paper or channel that debated on the issue as to what makes the farmers to sell their cattle and buffalo. There are farmers who still think that having cattle and buffaloes are the gift of god. I am son of a farmer and grandson of a farmer. At the age of 80, they think that the cows and buffaloes do not eat or drink water when the master is not near them. My grandfather at the old age still wants to spend time with cattle that he loves.

The farmers who own cattle as much as 11 to 16 in numbers, employees a separate worker to see only the cattle and feed them. The farmers are having difficulties with the workers who do not come regularly to the work. The reason being is,  such working labours choose to go to various government schemes, where they don’t have to do any work and can earn 200 rupees as minimum daily wage, in half a day. Hence, it is becoming difficult for farmers to maintain a worker who works regularly. To reduce the cost of cattle maintenance, the farmers are selling the cattle one by one.

The cow and buffalo give milk only when it has a calf. It will make  burden to the farmers to keep them when they don’t have cow with a calf. And the farmers either sell or wait with it for minimum 12 to 16 months for new calf. The herd of cattle with out calf will increase burden on farmer to feed them daily. The farmer has to grow separate grass in his farmland to feed the cattle, reducing usable land for the plantation of crops. To grow such grass, he needs to water it twice a week and use fertilizer. Also the milching time of the cattle plays a hurdle too as they are generally 5 AM in the morning or evening 5 PM. The working labour is not interested to come in the morning or don’t want to stay till 5 PM. This also increases the burden on the farmer. Sometimes the farmers don’t have the resources to feed the cattle.

The farmers still believe the traditional method of getting milk from cattle is good for health and not using the milking machine which may lead to cancer to the udder of the cow. Farmers having a large land of around 40 acres will use some part of the land for grazing the cattle in summer where there is no plantation and uses the motor pump for providing water to the cattle. Providing water to cattle in summer is becoming difficult for farmers due shortage of rainfall and reduction of ground water level. The small farmers having less land but have cattle wander with the cattle from land to land as they don’t have motor pump to provide water to the cattle. The small farmers will get water for the plantation of crops from big farmers who are having motor pump. Small farmers with difficulties obtain water for agriculture hence, the big farmers will not allow the small farmer’s cattle to gaze. The dung and urine of the cattle make natural fertilizer to the soil, but the farmers are loosing it.

The government provide food resources for cattle to the farmers but not all the farmers have money and necessary vehicle to bring down the cattle food from the provider stationed in far place. The small cattle growers generally have 2 to 5 cows or buffaloes, sometimes making them difficult to feed. Hence, he sells the cattle and turn into working labour, thus becoming producer to consumer. The cattle farmers face difficulties with labour, cost of maintenance and shortage of  resources.

In villages the farmers sell the milk to others and the money made from this, is used to meet his household expenses. In villages people believe donating a cow to a Brahmin gives blessings to the family and kids.

So, please debate on what makes the farmers to sell their cows and buffaloes and the difficulties they are facing and what government should do for the traditional farmers.

Rebirth of Indian economy with PM Modi’s Make in India

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The make in India initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the country’s greatest economic reforms. Since gaining independence in 1947 India some what failed to industrialize its economy in the 1950s and 1960s the government made a series of poor decisions that establish the traditional planned economic model known as the License Raj. An indirect result of the economic policy most of the country’s population remained employed in the agricultural sector only. Then in the 1990s oil prices spiked through the Iran-Iraq war and suddenly New Delhi’s energy bills skyrocketed and its foreign exchange reserves plummeted.

As a result of the economic crisis, India sought a loan from the IMF. The loan related austerity measures forced India to open up its economy following this manufacturing sector as well as the services sector grew remarkably. Currently the agricultural sector employs 49 percent of the nation’s 502 million labour force. It’s the biggest source of jobs in the country but it only accounts for 14% of the economy whereas the services sector employs 31% of Indians and it’s responsible for 54 percent of the country’s GDP. This contradiction is the result of the License Raj policy. Now the decision to open up the economy is catching up with tremendous consequences. For instance, most Indians working in the agricultural sector lack a higher degree of education which is required for the services sector. Thus as employment in the agricultural sector will diminish many displaced semiskilled people will seek for work in the manufacturing sector and this will depend on Indian policymakers as they struggle to reform the labor legislation as well as the tax regimes with gst registration.

Necessity for legal reforms will only increase over time especially as new technologies develop. For example precision agriculture also known as satellite farming will have a profound impact on the Indian economy and its labour force. Basically precision agriculture entails the use of data to improve agricultural output. Think of automated soil monitoring by satellites and UAVs and more the real-time collected data such as soil moisture and nitrogen content allows for farmers to reduce operation costs and cultivate more products with fewer acres of land. The technology still needs to be developed and fine-tuned for agricultural operations.

However, the association of unmanned vehicle systems international forecasts that by 2035 the precision agricultural sector could be responsible for 80% of commercial drone use. Presently India is exploring her options of precision agriculture, however, given the fact that nearly half of India’s labor force is employed in the agricultural sector. Satellite farming will result in steadily increasing unemployment in the agricultural sector. Meaning in just two decades time, India will see millions of semi skilled people seeking for employment in the manufacturing sector, ultimately which means that the make and India initiative is not just an ambitious project it’s a necessary one. Besides new technologies, India must also formulate her energy security for the coming decades. Economies run on energy and as urbanization and industrialization increases so too will Indians appetite for energy grow.

At the present India consumes almost 3.7million barrels of oil per day yet it only produces about 760 thousand barrels per day and the rest is imported. However, as the manufacturing sector grows and more people move to the cities to work. New-Delhi must acquire new sources of energy. For instance, the UN estimates that between 2020 and 2025 about 400 million Indians will move to the cities. As a result by 2040, oil consumption will increase to 10 million barrels per day. Aside from new energy sources, the government must also formulate a security plan reliance on hydrocarbon energy carries risks.

For example if suddenly oil prices spike, a repeat of the 1990s economic crisis would hit India. In preparation for such a scenario, the state-owned oil and natural gas cooperation has been acquiring equity stakes in foreign oil fields. The idea is that if oil prices spike then India would compensate by collecting the energy revenues of its overseas assets. This is actually a sound plan and it provides India with some leverage concerning its energy security. Yet interestingly enough India has proven oil reserves of 5.7 billion barrels that is enough to meet the needs of the Indian people for the coming years. However, over half of the oil is located offshore. To extract the oil India needs the technology and expertise of foreign multinational oil companies.

Despite New Delhi’s best efforts most energy companies are not interested in Indian oil. This contradiction is linked to India’s energy subsidies which have helped the impoverished citizens but have also heard foreign energy companies. The thing is since New Delhi pays these companies only a partial reimbursement for the extracted oil, the oil companies barely make a profit. Essentially, the bureaucratic landscape undermines the domestic oil industry as for the energy subsidies these are linked to the internal politics. Considering these realities no change is expected in the foreseeable future. India will continue to fail to increase its domestic oil output but it’s not just about hydrocarbon energy that will need to be expanded, but as a result of the urbanization and industrialization consumption of electricity will rise as well.

Therefore Modi is seeking to expand all types of energy production especially the output of nuclear energy. Currently India operates 22 nuclear power reactors which generate 3.5% of the country’s total electric output as a result of its energy security. India wants to diversify the generation of energy. Nuclear energy will be a crucial component of that plan by 2050. New Delhi plans to increase the share of nuclear energy to at least 25%of the total electric output. As of this moment India is already constructing six new reactors which should commence operations by 2017.

Furthermore, to achieve its long-term goals, in 2014 Putin and Modi signed an agreement in which the state-owned nuclear energy company Rose Atom expressed willingness to construct more than 20 new nuclear power units in India. However to attract even more foreign investors in the nuclear sector, New Delhi must adjust the liability law. Currently India’s nuclear liability legislation holds the supplier rather than the operator directly responsible in the event of an accident in almost every other country the reverse is true. Due to the liability legislation many Western as well as Japanese and Korean investors are reluctant to do business in India. Since adjusting legislation is a complicated matter in India, Modi is seeking partners that are willing to work in the current parameters.

In this context, Moscow fits the bill and Russia will play an increasingly crucial role in the development of India’s nuclear energy sector. All in all, India’s growing energy appetite will have to be addressed through a combination of nuclear and hydrocarbon energy. The legal proceedings concerning the energy subsidies and nuclear liability acts will remain unchanged. As a matter of fact the bureaucratic situation is actually far more complicated when one considers that India has separate energy ministries for coal renewable energy power petroleum and natural gas. These energy ministries compete for influence and power.

What’s more is that every Indian state has a different energy policy just like its tax regimes, leading foreign companies often into confusion as to with whom they are to do business. However, with recent digital initiatives company registration has become way easier than before. Still India is a land of contradictions having tremendous potential and the Make In India initiative is exactly what the country needs to lift her people from poverty and modernize the country. Yet India’s main obstruction is its complicated bureaucratic landscape.

किसानों का ऐसा अपमान- नहीं सहेगा हिन्दुस्तान

देश के कई हिस्सों में आजकल किसान आंदोलन या तो चल रहा है, या फिर विपक्षी राजनीतिक दल इस बात के संकेत दे रहे हैं कि जल्द ही अन्य राज्यों में इस तरह के किसान आंदोलन शुरू करके मोदी सरकार को एक बार फिर से घेरने की कवायद शुरू की जाएगी. विपक्ष के नेता पिछले ३ सालों के मोदी सरकार के सफल कार्यकाल से इस कदर बेहाल नज़र आ रहे हैं कि अब उन्हें “नकली दलित छात्र” की तर्ज़ पर “नकली किसान” भी बनाने पड़ रहे हैं ताकि अपने राजनीतिक कार्यकर्ताओं को किसानों का चोला पहनाकर उसे किसान आंदोलन का रूप दिया जा सके और मोदी सरकार को बदनाम करने के साथ साथ किसानों का भी अपमान किया जा सके.

खबर यह आ रही है कि मध्य प्रदेश में किसान आंदोलन में किसानों ने एक मंदिर को भी तोड़ फोड़ करके आंदोलन के हवाले कर दिया. आप खुद सोचिये कि क्या कोई असली किसान ऐसा बेगैरत हो सकता है कि वह मंदिर जैसे धार्मिक स्थल पर हमला कर सके? अगर मंदसौर में किसी मंदिर में भी आग लगाई जा रही है तो जनता यह समझ सकती है कि इसके पीछे किसका हाथ है. विपक्षी राजनीतिक दल जिस तरह से इन शर्मनाक घटनाओं को अंजाम देकर उसका ठीकरा किसानों के सर फोड़ने की नाकाम कोशिश कर रहे हैं, उसकी उन्हें आने वाले समय में भारी कीमत चुकानी पड़ सकती है.

आपको याद होगा कि अख़लाक़ का मामला हो या नकली दलित छात्र रोहिल वेमुला का मामला, विपक्ष ने हर बार मोदी सरकार के खिलाफ दुष्प्रचार किया है और हर बार मुंह की खाई है. सर्जिकल स्ट्राइक और नोटबंदी के खिलाफ जो दुष्प्रचार विपक्षी नेताओं ने किया था, उसका नतीजा यह हुआ कि इन लोगों का सूपड़ा ही साफ़ हो गया. लेकिन अपनी इन चालबाज़ियों और उनकी नाकामियों से कोई भी सबक न लेते हुए विपक्षी नेता इस बार नयी नवेली नौटंकी को “किसान आंदोलन” के नाम से पेश करके इस देश के मेहनती किसानों को बदनाम भी कर रहे हैं और उनका घोर अपमान भी कर रहे हैं. विपक्षी नेता पूरे देश की जनता को यह सन्देश देना चाहते हैं कि इस देश के किसान मंदिरों में आग लगा सकते हैं, अपने मेहनत से पैदा किये गए अनाज को सड़कों पर नष्ट कर सकते हैं, भूख हड़ताल कि नौटंकी करके जंतर मंतर पर प्रदर्शन कर सकते हैं. हमारे देश के किसान ऐसे हरगिज़ नहीं हैं जो भूख हड़ताल पर बैठने की नौटंकी करें और “सागर रत्न” रेस्टोरेंट से अपने लिए लज़ीज खाना और बिसलरी का पानी मंगाए. जिस तरह का चाल, चरित्र और चेहरा इन किसानों का पेश किया जा रहा है, वह भारत के किसी किसान का नहीं हो सकता है, वह किसी हारी हुयी राजनीतिक पार्टी के कार्यकर्त्ता का ही हो सकता है.

भारत एक कृषि प्रधान देश है और विपक्ष को चाहिए कि वह किसानों का सम्मान करना सीखे. देश के विपक्षी दलों के राजनेता अगर अब भी अपनी इन छिछोरी हरकतों से बाज़ नहीं आये और किसानों का इसी तरह अपमान करते रहे तो इन्ही किसानों के द्वारा यह लोग इतिहास बना दिए जाएंगे. मोदी सरकार को अगर घेरना भी है तो उसके लिए किसानों की नकली नौटंकी पेश करने की बजाये, यह बताने की हिम्मत करे कि इस देश में ६० सालों तक जब एक ही पार्टी या उसके सहयोगी राजनीतिक दलों का एकछत्र राज चल रहा था तो इन ६० सालों के बाद भी किसानों की हालात में कोई सुधार क्यों नहीं आया?

Media 3.0 – End of the Liberal Consensus

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Last month Tavleen Singh wrote an article in India Express where she (in her own words) knowingly broke an unstated principle that the journalists have practiced so far – “a dog never eats another dog”. She adds further “we of the mighty fourth estate almost never attack our comrades.” Like many in journalism, she also had followed the principle but the launch of Republic and fireworks from Arnab compelled her to break that rule; she went for an all-out attack. She believed, she was not at fault as the rule was first broken by Arnab himself.

The point here is not who was right in this case, whether Arnab in handling of the debate or Tavleen in criticizing him; the point that came out was, there is no media consensus anymore. The fourth pillar of democracy is not one voice, but many. Now they don’t hold punches when criticizing one another. It is no longer a choice if they have to exist. They need to compete more fiercely for their own survival.

The most important point here – is this a good thing for democracy that media houses are fighting with each other fiercely? Whether media should really speak in one voice?

History of media consensus

There was certain amount of idealism in a journalist role in India during and even post-independence. A legendry ‘patrakar’ as shown in Indian movie was always a poor man in half torn kurta and a long jhola fighting for the rights of poor. Local landlords and sometimes the state was the oppressor and they will be attacked physically for being the voice of the poor. Since they mostly worked for the public good – there was a need to protect these patrakars – intellectually, financially and morally. The journalistic camaraderie was necessary then.

Fast forward to today in 2017 – the journalism is another profession like doctors, lawyers etc. They are no longer poor, in fact some of them are quite rich. They no longer get beaten by landowner’s goons or oppressive state (in fact some of them beat up other people when needed). They are no longer a vulnerable section fighting for the noble cause. They are professionals and the media profession is not doing badly.

Playing the role of political opposition

Once I was watching a program on NDTV where Ravish Kumar said “our job as media is not to praise government but to question them on each and everything, we have to ask them hard questions keep them on their toes”. Many media houses today in India think, it their exalted role to oppose all moves from government and their policies. Sometimes they don’t mind even bordering anti-nationalism for the sake of criticism.

On a second thought, isn’t the role of media to review public decisions which includes positive as well as negative commentary? Is there anything wrong in supporting the government if they are doing something really good? Many media houses today have taken the role of the opposition political party. A media consensus is a good to be broken in that case.

Diminishing influence on public opinions  

Not even 10 years back, mainstream media used to hold tremendous influence in public opinion. They used to set the context, tone and agenda for all of us. Then the social media arrived and upset the whole balance. Today the mainstream media in India is least trusted, as per various surveys. The narratives at times are questionable and the motives, doubtful. For every story there are counter stories, so the MSM media does not control the public discourse any longer.

Role of the government in fractured media discourse

When the media debates get so heated and fractured what should the government do? Many believe that the government should never take sides, never support one narrative against another, otherwise they will be blamed for being vindictive and authoritarian. They should stay away from these debates.

However we should not forget that there are intellectuals like Arundhati Roy and several anti-nationals who become the mainstream voice if not effectively countered. Arun Shourie in a recent interview told NDTV that media situation in India was no better than North Korea. The government should engage through its intellectual think tank to counter narratives that have national and international impact. The government can’t stay away from media discourse for the fear of being blamed selective and vindictive.

To conclude, in the noisy media attack and counter-attack we may not know easily who is right or wrong, but one thing is sure – the media’s liberal consensus is dead and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

An open letter to Ravish Kumar by his viewer

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This letter is not about defaming NDTV and it’s journalist as only courts can declare a person/company fraud as our Constitution has vested power in them.

This letter is specifically explore the possibility of an interview between our PM and Ravish, since Ravish has indirectly called out PM Modi to give accountability to him only as all others are ‘Godi Media’, even neutral channels like Aajtak and ABP (although Z news is Govt’s favourite for sure).

I support Ravish in his indirect demand of fixing accountability of PM Modi by asking tough questions to him directly, which certainly makes our Ddemocracy more vibrant and free.

Now we should know how PMO selects  PM’s one on one interviews. There are some conditions, which are genuine enough like:

1) The journalist taking interview should have pan Indian viewership cutting across all sections of our country.

2) He shouldn’t have ideological activism otherwise he will ask more questions which are his ideologically driven.

3) He should be aware of all the arguments (for and against) the questions, that he will ask the PM.

4) He and his channel’s viewership should be high enough, at least figure in Top 3 ratings by NBA.

5) He shouldn’t have any hatred towards PM otherwise he will ask biased questions.

I’m not saying that till now PM Modi has given interviews to only those journalist that have fulfilled all of these points but certainly they have fulfilled majority of the points that I have mentioned.

Ravish ji, you are an honest journalist for sure (doesn’t need any certificate from anyone certainly not mine). Whenever  I want to know the weak points of this Govt, I watch you and your channel’s debate to know more about them. But I have to filter out your ideological positions from the news (which is difficult for others).

Since this Govt has come to power, there are some media channels who are cheer leading this Govt for favours, but to counter that narrative one shouldn’t become an activist instead of a neutral journalist, who will only show things that are bad/critical on part of this Govt but chooses to silent on other state Govts ruled by different parties leaning to your view of India.

Since your channel’s ideological leanings are mixed with news, you and your channel have quickly narrowed your channel’s viewer ship, most of the people in North India specially, don’t watch your channel because of this specific reason.

If you have soft heart for Maoist students/professors, homegrown terrorist of Kashmir and you label them as Bhagat Singh and Freedom fighter of Kashmir then how are you different from VHP/Mahasabha, which has soft heart for cow vigilantes.

Not many viewers are like me, Ravish ji, who will ignore the open bias of your NDTV anchors (all of them).

Coming to your channel’s credibility which is vague thus different from yours, almost all Luyten media knows that your channel has a strong connection with the previous establishment (both ideologically and financially), so if any Govt agency investigates that charge and present it to courts is a good move that you should welcome as you were always an advocate for an investigation. If the NDTV group hadn’t done any wrong; it will come clear out of it like all honest people has come clean.

All of you (NDTV anchors) hate Z news so much. But you guys are just so similar (apart from 1 or 2 anchors from both side) in and your ideological leanings.

NDTV is like (not may be you, as you are the sole NDTV anchor who had criticized Congress heavily during their rule) “Bagho mein bahar thi jab tak Congress ki Sarkar thi”.

You would have supported the investigation, had your perceived ideological notions not affected your judgement but that’s the irony we have in this country that one of our finest Hindi anchors is always let down because of his colleagues, friend circle.

You are a celebrated anchor among so called Vampanthi, they worship you as a Media/Free speech God who takes on heavily on this so called right wing Govt by mixing their ideological feelings with the news.

Unfortunately this demography is only 0.02% in UP, more in Delhi but very less in whole North India, Hindi belt of our country, thus why on the earth any PM will give an interview to a journalist, who has this narrow base and have a certain degree of preconceived bias towards him.

Start showing bad things of all Govt’s in the country and shun any type of ideological leaning. Modi or Yogi or Shivraj etc all will come to your doorstep to give their interviews and will face the music of tough questions on Governance as you will find public backing you in fixing accountability of them.

This is my take on the ambiguity you and your channel faces, hope you will not mind if I have crossed any line in my freedom of speech, this is also not an advice for you as you are too mature and experienced for that. This is simply my humble opinion.

From hating India, ‘liberals’ are moving towards breaking India

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Nation’s gamut of opposition, and its fourth pillar of democracy can only get so low: It’s one thing to hate Modi (though even that is not logical because it is driven by pathological hatred for Hinduism, and zero logic), but it is another thing to distrust and demean Army. The same army whose Jawans are not able to talk or walk properly (because of bullets pierced at different body parts) but despite this they don the uniform with utmost pride and humility.

At a time when Kashmir is infested with internal and external terrorism, and the country should be standing up in one voice these imbecile anti- nationals of first kind (not trying to say all the opposition or all the media houses but certainly most of them) are mentally masturbating like a bunch of spoiled brats. They are busy fighting for the human right of the stone-pelter civilians engaging and promoting terrorism, and not asserting that the human rights of an army soldier are supreme, and that an Indian soldier’s rights should take precedence over those of terrorists or a militant or a  civilian aiding the terrorists. Moreover what do the stone-pelters want? They want jobs? They want fish or beef? They want money? (though they get paid for it by ISI and Pak). They want democracy?

None of it- All they want is Islamiyat and an Islamic State, or otherwise they would have been in school or college (funded by our tax) and seeking a better future in the mainstream. I have read numerous articles, but I still don’t see the conclusion or the way to end all these theatrics. Also, what is the point of articles when the loath still continues? I am sure it gets challenged in petty way (by the likes of me), but the point is it still continues. Why does the so called liberal gang hate army and everything that has to do with protecting the idea of India? In this article I will just like to contemplate on how did we reach to the stage where army’s sacrifice and work is debated? Should we be scared Scared of what? Of whom?

Infidelity and treachery of some of our own people has lead us to the present stage; ideologies, and everything that matters takes a toll when you trade it for money, and that’s why I always believe in following the money to trace the traitors; it’s organized trickery and an organised campaign to peddle anti- India filth in return of which they get to discuss the idea of India in English while enjoying Scotch, Single malt or 1974 Chateau Lafite, enjoy trips and vacations to foreign locales under the garb of conferences, participate in TV debates, and get perverse perks with doles from foreign intelligence agencies and other foreign organizations whose agenda is to Break India or Convert India.

It goes like this; pick up an ideology or pick up an issue like human rights of Kashmiri Muslims or liberalism or feminism or LGBT or Minority Rights or Environment or Freedom of Arts and Expression (debating about Pakistani actors acting is some dumb Bollywood movies while giving tow hoots to dead soldiers, crying victim when countered for being stupid) or Nuclear blah blah, float an NGO, open a bank account, gather a few sidekicks and make noise, attract TRP-led Media attention, and voila u have a dynastic business which your children can take over from you.

The same liberals or thugs as I call them talk about alienation of Kashmir, plight of Muslims, beef ban, freedom of expression but largely keep mum on various other similar issues which involves Hindus, otherwise what is the reason for the predominant silence on what happened to the Hindus of Sindh, Hindus of east Bengal, or Pakistan, Where are they? In the Republic of India, there was one, just one large region where Muslims were a majority. Kashmir. What happened to Hindus there? Why are the Pandits of Kashmir not in Kashmir? Why the entire Pandit population heartlessly pushed out of the Valley through rape and threats of violence? Why was not the much cherished secularism able to protect them? And the most important question that still alienates these hoax intellectuals; What hearts can be won when the remaining Muslim population in the Valley has no reasonable demands to make of the Indian state?

Why do these liberals skirt around from giving terrorism a name, when it is very well known that it is mostly to do with one particular religion. Aren’t they aware of the status of democratic, religious and cultural freedoms in the Muslim majority nations across the world? Why do they have empathy for anyone who perpetrates violence and bloodshed in the name of his religion? They have seen what a PhD in Islamic Studies is doing to the world? It is an established fact that a substantial chunk of global terrorism emanates from one or the other sect of the followers of Islam. So why are they still so apologetic?

Why are they are so keen on dividing Bharat over caste, language, religion, food habits, north and south? I will tell why; because a failed India will be a better target for their self- serving agendas, because they know that we Hindus (majority) have a laid back attitude and we take everything in stride. They strike us every day, we reply late on Sundays. As Indians we have learnt to adjust a little too much. The slavery  have withered away but the citizens have yet not come out of their servitude, to see what is rightfully theirs and where it is going. A nation is just an idea, the more pride and passion we invest in it the more powerful it becomes, the more respect we get from the world

The ‘liberal’ assessment and understanding of India is so ‘orientalist’. Orientalism’ is the label given to a body of scholarship produced by European scholars, mostly British, German and French, in the nineteenth century. Why are the domestic ‘liberals’ so fearful and negative of the country they inhabit. In their eyes it is a downright dangerous place. Why? When we are talking about liberal it is given that they belong to elite class with zero idea of ground reality, the privileges they take for granted are something which regulars Indians fight for lifetime and still die without getting it. The members of this group are brainwashed, snobbish or just so remote from real life that they do not understand how things work?

They live in largely sanitized, antiseptic islands in a land known for its dust and chaos. When you are raised in these localities, it is very likely that your country will appear random and ‘dangerous’ to you, because it will be such a contrast to what you are accustomed to. They don’t want to be included in our culture because that will make them so common, and common is something they don’t want to become, because if everyone gets to drinking 1974 Chateau Lafite then will not it lose its significance? They don’t have one solution to any of our problem, only trivial discussion. The above theatrics is so easy to identify but the problem is that instead of bringing out their thuggery, even genuine people try to mimic the same intellectuals to gain a membership in the club.

The problem with most of the middle class Hindus who obtain rank and fame is that instead of trying to find out their own path or break the monopoly they too start posturing as liberals and an attempt at social climbing. They do this to find acceptance among these upper or upper middle class folks I have described above. Because it’s always good to be included in classy Lutyens Delhi cocktails parties where logic takes a toll and English is the only thing that matters.

We are confused about our Hindutva, and the opportunists find it a good platform to exploit. Even the so called right wing is always apologetic about being included in the cultural right, because they think that it will dampen there liberal outlook. What they don’t understand is being a Hindu automatically means being Liberal, as Hinduism does not have any dogmatic principles that are cast in stone, making it continuously evolving and self-reforming. What is the point of all the economic development when you cannot offer an iota of respect by bringing home the point that we need to respect the Jawans defending our borders.

How can appeasement and anti-Hindu politics go unpunished in a Hindu majority country? How can a cow be slaughtered in a public gathering, cooked and served, How can students (studying on tax given by Indian citizens, and who should focus its energies on debating issues such as endemic poverty, employment growth, income inequality, gender inequality, environmental degradation, poor educational and indicators et al.) utter slogans such as “Kashmir demands Azadi”, or “Bharat Tere Tukde Honge” remain unpunished, and to top it eulogized as another messiah? Why do we even listen to the debate of people who have always been cheerleader of Kashmir separatism? Why is the freedom of expression only debated whenever Hindus have complained about their sensibilities being hurt- as in the cases of Wendy Doniger or MF Husain? Why don’t we understand that few things are simply nonnegotiable, that few things should be thrown out lock, stock and barrel instead of repeatedly debating over it, and that democracy is not about  cutting “anti-nationals” some slack.

What is the way out? Frankly speaking, if we keep listening to the filth peddled by media and liberals, and keep reading the junks available in our history books then we won’t be ever able to come out of the time wrap nor will we be able to see Hinduism in its entirety. So first thing first, we should change the hegemony of left liberal in academia, we should find all the false bullshit peddled by them till now, and replace it by the true thing. Only then will people start respecting the idea of India, the idea of Hindustan. Only when people start thinking on those line, and start taking pride in their history can we collectively progress as a society.

As youngsters we should read more about Indian history, instead of listening to the Bollywood crap of who is dating who? We can try to focus our energy on things that actually matter, we can try to read more, form our own truth, so that we can at least challenge the lies of anti- nationals from the comfort of our house. When the army is doing so much for us, I feel that that is the least we can do. In terms of strategy vis a vis Pakistan I am not an expert but from what I have read I believe that the progression of strategy must be along the following lines (not in the specific order) allow the armed forces to take full geographical control of the valley and create the conditions for the police and politicians to do their jobs or speak freely. the government needs to realize that giving army full freedom to act as they deem fit against terror or Pakis is nothing but self-deception, because Army cannot fight media crooks, Pak stooges and Maoist supporters in society, that needs to be done by sustained pressure on Pak, their stooges in India and their political envoys.

क्यों न फिर से निर्भर हो जाए

आज की दुनिया में हर किसी के लिए आत्मनिर्भर होना बहुत आवश्यक माना जाता है। स्त्रियाँ भी स्वावलंबी होना पसंद कर रही हैं और माता पिता के रूप में हम अपने बच्चों को भी आत्मनिर्भर होना सिखा रहे हैं।

इसी कड़ी में आज के इस बदलते परिवेश में हम लोग प्लैनिंग पर भी बहुत जोर देते हैं। हम लोगों के अधितर काम प्लैनड अर्थात पूर्व नियोजित होते हैं। अपने भविष्य के प्रति भी काफी सचेत रहते हैं इसलिए अपने बुढ़ापे की प्लैनिंग भी इस प्रकार करते हैं कि बुढ़ापे में हमें अपने बच्चों पर निर्भर नहीं रहना पड़े। यह आत्मनिर्भरता का भाव अगर केवल आर्थिक आवश्यकताओं तक सीमित हो तो ठीक है लेकिन क्या हम भावनात्मक रूप से भी आत्मनिर्भर हो सकते हैं?

क्या हमने कभी रुक कर सोचा या फिर पलट कर स्वयं से यह सवाल किया कि क्यों हम अपने बच्चों पर निर्भर नहीं होना चाहते? सम्पूर्ण जीवन जिस परिवार को सींचने में लगा दिया उसे एक पौधे से वृक्ष बना दिया और जब उस वृक्ष की शाखाओं में लगे फलों का आनंद लेने का समय आए तो आत्मनिर्भरता का राग क्यों गाया जाता है?

मनुष्य एक सामाजिक प्राणी है अपने भोजन कपड़े मकान इलाज आदि जीवन की हर छोटी बड़ी चीज़ के लिए हम एक दूसरे पर निर्भर रहते ही हैं। केवल मनुष्य ही क्यों सम्पूर्ण सृष्टि जीव और जड़ जगत एक दूसरे पर निर्भर है तो फिर अपने ही बच्चों से यह दूरी क्यों?

आज क्यों हम अपने बच्चों से अपेक्षा नहीं करना चाहते? जिस बच्चे को हमने अँगुली पकड़ कर बचपन में चलना सिखाया क्यों बुढ़ापे में हम उसकी अँगुली की अपेक्षा न करें?

हमारा समाज जिसकी नींव परिवार की यही शक्ति थी हम सभी क्यों उसे खत्म करने पर तुले हैं? हम सभी किस घमंड में जी रहे हैं?

यह तो प्रकृति का चक्र है बचपन से जवानी, जवानी से बुढ़ापा प्रकृति के इस नियम को हम सहजता के साथ स्वीकार क्यों नहीं करते ? जब हम सभी को एक दुसरे की जरूरत है तो इसे मानते क्यों नहीं?

आज क्यों हम और हमारे बच्चे दोनों इस बात को स्वीकार करने में संकोच करते हैं कि जिस प्रकार बचपन में एक बालक को माता पिता की आवश्यकता होती है उसी प्रकार औलाद माता पिता की बुढ़ापे की लाठी होती है?

क्यों हम इस सच्चाई से मुँह छिपाते हैं कि बुढ़ापा तो क्या जीवन का कोई भी पड़ाव केवल पैसों के सहारे नहीं गुजारा जा सकता?
क्यों हम अपने बच्चों को बचपन से ही परिवार की मजबूत डोर से बाँध कर रखने में असफल हो रहे हैं?
क्यों माता पिता बच्चों से और बच्चे माता पिता से दूर होते जा रहे हैं?
क्यों आज संयुक्त परिवार तो छोड़िये एकल परिवार भी टूटते जा रहे हैं?
जरा एक पल रुक कर सोचिए तो सही कि यह भौतिकवादी संस्कृति हमें कहाँ लेकर जा रही है?
क्यों हमारे समाज में जहाँ समाज और परिवार एक दूसरे के पूरक थे आज उन दोनों के बिखराव को झूलाघरों एवं वृद्धाश्रमों द्वारा पूरा किया जा रहा है?

शायद इन सभी सवालों के जबाव इन सवालों में ही है।

Human minds vs. Robots – Who is winning this battle?

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The monster of automation and Artificially Intelligence (AI) is finally upon us! This statement was as true in last 10 year as it will be in the next 10 years or more. Is it eating our jobs like never before? A lot of thought leaders and news reports indicate so. But are automation and AI very new? Definitely no, but it has progressed faster than many tech wizards had anticipated it to.

Traveling back in time, in a very rudimentary language, this started many decades ago as an effort to develop superior machines for industrial revolution. The element of digital gradually entered the world of mechanical machines and repeated predictable physical activities were automated. The automation spread in every other industry, entered in our homes, and whether we like it or not, it has changed our day to day lives.

While there are several benefit areas, as outlined in quadrant 1 below, some of the things in #2 do irritate at times. I am sure many of us have had those frustrating moments when we call up the customer care center and can’t find a human being after several permutations and combinations of the interactive voice response system (IVRS). Similarly, what about the scary fact that for a majority of flight duration, the plane is controlled by a machine (auto-pilot) mode and the active steering by experienced pilots is only for 3-7 minutes.

On the other hand, there are several jobs/tasks (#3) which should have been automated yesterday but appear to be the last in the queue. This is particularly true in India, where cheap labor is easily available and there is little motivation to automate them immediately. We can easily locate several such needless employees around us in hypermarkets, malls, airports, parking floors, and of course in public sector units.

Unfortunately, the biggest irony of automation and AI is that it can hardly work where it is needed most (#4). For example, The judiciary. Despite an extreme shortage of judges in India, can Robots fill those ever open positions? Despite an acute shortage of quality doctors and surgeons, can Robots be deployed to perform critical surgeries of our dear ones? NO.

AI is not an end in itself and it can never occupy a space which human does. Humans being are relentless in the way they work and we always supplement our skills with varying degree of emotional quotient. There are several research projects going on to estimate when AI will become better than human minds and different estimations are available but we need to understand that jobs involving cognitive work (decision making, creativity, leadership and managerial skills, etc.) can’t be fully automated and only a certain activities in them will be automated.

Just an example– Data Science, one of the hottest job today, heavily relies on the power of algorithms. The algorithms are becoming smarter by doing self-learning every time they are put into use. By this trend, today’s Data Scientists should become irrelevant tomorrow. However, as per a study by Indeed, the Data Scientist has been considered one of the most future proof jobs!

The current automation wave is going to uncover the true potential of humans. As quoted by HBR, humans have an understanding of the dynamic nuances inherent in working relationships and the ability to respond and adapt to those nuances; machines probably will not get there. With every technological disruption in past, people found new ways to stay relevant and this wave is going to be no different.

“Technology in nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them.”
-Steve Jobs

The young-environmentalists

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When cities are not more than a jungle of concrete it is impossible to have aesthetic pleasure of walking through thick woods, watching spring flowers in full bloom or waking up to the singing of Bulbul. When success is being defined as having a place to hide your head in megacities the intimate relation which human had with the environment- since time immemorial- is breaking. Children are getting acquainted through books not only to the fiery tiger but the even pretty butterfly. We visit the florist shop even for a marigold which our grand-mothers offer daily to the Lord Hanuman.

Population is rising and under the soaring market price of land, the small gardens of flowers along with the habit of gardening is becoming a thing of past. The impact of market can be felt everywhere, the Amazon forest which is estimated to produce 20 per cent of total oxygen in earth’s atmosphere is being cut with alarming speed for cultivating soybeans or for conversion to grassland for raising beef cattle. It will be unfair to expect that States to do much when they are leaving the things to the market under the neo-liberal agenda which is against any type of collectivities.

To raise awareness about environment World Environment Day is being celebrated from 1973. Programmes as well as protests are being organized demanding the state for the action. But the result is far from the desired. The importance of World Environment Day will vanish and it will remain not more than a photo-op event if we concentrate only to the protest and marches neglecting the vast potential of the individual action like terrace gardening, diminishing the use of polythene etc. Many Apartments are promoting environmentalism by encouraging its members to pant marigold, rose etc. in their balcony.  Along with it gifting sapling on the birthdays is becoming a new trend.

Highlighting the importance of Terrace Gardening, Sameeksha, a Botany student, tells us, “For people who live on rented apartment, it is impossible to have a garden so the only option which left to them is to have small plants in pots made up of mud or bone-china. Terrace gardening is not only about decorating homes. You can have medicinal plants like Tulsi, Aloe-Vera, Mint etc.” Tulsi plant keeps away poisonous insects, its leaves, commonly used for the cure of common cold is also a powerful memory enhancer.  Aloe Vera can be used as antiseptic and cosmetics. Its consumption keeps sugar level under check and helps in reducing obesity.

A mass of young generation who grew learning environmentalism in their schools seems to be more concerned about the environment than their predecessors. For them carrying an eco-friendly bag is a style. It is not a difficult to tap their energy. What we need is to plan small steps which they  can take with their limited resources.