THE FESTIVAL of RAKHI

It was Rakhi on August 13, 2011. It is a solemn festival dedicated to love and regard among brothers and sisters and all round harmony in the society.

We observed the festival of Rakhi with gusto and spirit in my younger days back home in Jalandhar. I moved to Delhi in the pursuit of my career in the Indian Foreign Service in early 1970. My sister Kamla also came to Delhi in 1973 to take up a job and later married to Kumar in 1977 and settled in Delhi itself. Till then the Rakhi festival was celebrated in the family as usual. My other sisters in Jalandhar sent the Rakhis through post occasionally. I started moving abroad in the process of my diplomatic assignments in 1977. The intensity and the spirit of Rakhi diminished over the years. The social norms, I think, also underwent change in view of the growing commercialization and economic considerations. On my side, I also did not have a ritualistic orientation. My other sisters, in the meanwhile, also got married and settled in life. The Rakhi was pushed to the back seat. We all got bogged down. We were engaged to the nitty gritty of life, in the process of earning our bread and butter and taking care of our families. The festival of Rakhi got confined to telephonic or electronic greetings, unconsciously or otherwise... Perhaps, it is the fact of life. We all got busy in our way.
I came back to India on retirement in January, 2011 after a long career during which we remained outside the country most of the years. The first Rakhi fell on August 13. My brothers politely, directly or indirectly, tended to sound me that it would be in order if we pay some attention to these social requirements and take the initiative to start and imbibe the spirit of Rakhi. It was good of them to help us in integrating ourselves with the family after our return to India. I with my wife Vidya, frankly, did not have any specific views, different from the routine, on all these matters. So far so good.
We are staying in our small flat in Gurgaon. We expected that Kamla, who lives in Delhi, would come and visit us on the Rakhi. Still just to ensure and take the initiative to revive the spirit of Rakhi, we spoke to her and invited her to come on the auspicious occasion. She said obviously she was planning to come. It made us happy. Accordingly, Kamla and Kumar came in the morning itself to avoid the usual rush and traffic jams. It was a great revival of the fine tradition of Rakhi in my family. My daughter Vaishali along with her husband JP also came, after synchronizing with Kamla Bhua, to tie Rakhi to her brother Rupesh and Sulekha, with whom we live. It was a good family get-together. We felt good. The spirit of Rakhi prevailed. I sent Rakhi greetings through e-mail to my other three sisters with the hope that the spirit of love and regard for each other will remain and prevail. Here lies the crux of happiness. I found with a sense of satisfaction that this wonderful festival of Rakhi is celebrated and rightly so with good spirit and gaiety throughout the country. Let me quote a poet to convey the spirit of Rakhi.
jaati dharm nahi vyavdhaan,
jaisi dharati khula aasmaan,
dhoop-chandani sa barse pyaar,
aaya rakhi ka tyohaar.

Prime Minister Speaks

PM Manmohan Singh spoke to the nation from the Lal Qila yesterday on August 15 on the auspicious occasion of the 65th Independence Day. It was a traditional speech by the PM which has become a yearly ritual. But this year, I noticed some departures from the traditions. I thought of sharing it with the readers of this lay man's blog.

PM mentioned and referred to almost all important issues and developments like corruption, price rise, terrorism. social inequalities, farmers and land issues, state of the economy, media etc. He also asserted that India has come a long way but still to go a much longer way. It was normal to report to the people the 'state of the nation' at this important occasion. There were two important and significant departures in the speech: i) there was no mention of foreign policy - it was a good skip particularly in the wake of ongoing internal problems of corruption and many other internal issues engaging the attention of the country. I think, foreign policy of any country, is the extension of its internal situation. It is important to set the house in order and foreign policy will flow from that. Anna Hazares, Baba Ramdevs and the self appointed spokespersons of the so called Civil Society shall consider and heed to PM Manmohan Singh who said, inter alia, in his Independence Day speech " The road ahead is long and arduous. Particularly, the prevailing situation both inside and outside the country is such that if we do not act with understanding and restraint, our security and prosperity can get adversely affected." and ii) there was no mention of any other national or international personality or quote from their utterances - I think it was a pleasant departure.PM rightly said " We should also have faith that our democracy, our institutions and our social ideals and values have the capacity to deal with any difficulty. We should all have faith in ourselves. The faith that we can build a promising future for ourselves. The faith, that united we can do the most difficult of tasks. Let us all resolve to build a bright future for our country " May be he has in mind the famous couplet of Dr. Iqbal:

जरा देख जो कुछ हो रहा है होने वाला है,
भला रखा क्या है अहेदे कुहन की दस्तानो में !

A TRYST with DESTINY

India is celebrating the 65th Independence Day today the August 15. GREETINGS & CONGRATULATIONS on this auspicious day. India has come a long way in her development and progress over the decades. It is a matter of satisfaction. But still it has to go a long way in eradicating poverty, hunger and illiteracy in which millions of fellow Indians are living. The scourge of caste and social inequality is still a big blot on the face of independent India. More needs to be done. India, nevertheless, has aarrived, to catch up with the 21st century, but it is yet to reach and bring about cheer to the masses living below the poverty line. Last year on August 15, 1910, I had the honour to hold the flag in Minsk ( Belarus) and host the Independence Day celebrations.

I am reminded of the famous speech of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, at the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, on the eve of INDEPENDENCE, in the Constituent Assembly, in which he said in a poetic tone:


" Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. "

These were the lofty ideals of our leaders. We started at the right path. We came on the rails with all the difficulties on the way. We are on the move. We have hopes. We tend to realise them under the democratic system which we adopted to run the country. The things are getting difficult. The vested interests and the messengers of doom are working over time to derail the process. India needs to ward itself off from the " Grammar of anarchy " as fore warned by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, being spread and propagated by some of the so called leaders under the guise of " Satyagraha " outside the constitutional parameters of such actions.

Let me refer to still another warning of the father of the Indian constitution Dr. Ambedkar. He said in the Constituent Assembly on November 24, 1949:


"Here I could have ended. But my mind is so full of the future of our country that I feel I ought to take this occasion to give expression to some of my reflections thereon. On 26th January 1950, India will be an independent country. What would happen to her independence? Will she maintain her independence or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind. It is not that India was never an independent country. The point is that she once lost the independence she had. Will she lost it a second time? It is this thought which makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by the infidelity and treachery of some of her own people. .........Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will Indian place the country above their creed or will they place creed above country? I do not know. But this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost for ever. This eventuality we must all resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood. "

Jawaharlal Nehru's ' tryst with destiny ' and Ambedkar's ' reflections on independence ' shall serve as the guide posts in the march ahead. India shall also not ignore the warnings of Dr. Iqbal:


वतन की फ़िक़र कर नादाँ; मुसीबत आने वाली है,
तेरी बर्वादिओं के मशवरे हैं असमानों में !
न समजोगे तो मिट जाओगे ऐ हिन्दोस्तान्वालो,
तुम्हारी दास्ताँ तक भी न होगो दस्तानों में !

FOOD for THOUGHT

WITHOUT COMMENT

a)Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's reply to speech of the Leader of BJP Yashwant Sinha in the Lok Sabha on the recent debate on the issue of inflation and price rise:
Yashwant Sinha said ' Go, for God's sake go' using the words of Oliver Cromwell in 1653 to the then British Prime Minister. What happened afterwards ? Pranab Mukherjee said reminding the BJP leader Cromwelss's skelton was dug out from the grave and hanged by the parliament for destroying democracy. There is no point in making such statements.

b) Jan Lokpal Bill goes elitist - Dipankar Gupta in The Times of India:They took their eyes off citizens and concentrated almost exclusively on big people in important positions. What tempted them to take this stance ? Is it because enemies in high places are better ego boosters than humble friends.

c) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly on the Comptroller and Audit General, as said by a legal expert in one of the speeches:
During the 30 May 1949 Constituent Assembly debates, Dr BR Ambedkar described the Comptroller and Auditor General as “probably the most important officer in the Constitution of India” with duties “far more important than the duties even of the judiciary”, one who should have “far greater independence than the judiciary itself.” That is a remarkably strong statement and underscores the unique position of the CAG. It is a constitutional post, and the holder of that office can only be removed in the same manner and for the same reasons as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

THE CIVIL SOCIETY & THE DALITS

AS IT COMES

I have been writing on the agitation of Anna Hazare and the Civil Society on the issue of corruption and accountability. The bill on the subject which has been termed as the ' Sarkari Lok Pal ' , I don't know whether there could be a ' Non-Sarkari Lok Pal also, has been introduced in the parliament. The debate goes on. But a new aspect of the issue has been introduced to the debate and controversy which I would like to refer. One of spokespersons of the so called Civil Society has slammed the bill as " weak, anti poor and anti dalit. " I myself saw on the TV channels that the said statement of Arvind Kejriwal was high lighted. I was wondering as to what was the import and relevance of inclusion ' dalits ' in the debate at this late stage. It seemed to me, as if, the dalits were neither poor nor civil and were separate element of the society. I think to include dalits in the controversy is a after thought. It would be better if Anna Hazare and the self appointed civil society enlighten the dalits at least, if not the society at large.

The Government constituted a joint drafting committee for the Lokpal Bill। Neither the Government nor the Civil Society thought it appropriate to take a dalit on the Committee. Chief Minister of UP, Mayawati, commenting on the composition of the drafting committee said "“not even one member in the 10-member joint drafting committee... is from the Dalit community. It’s intriguing that the UPA government and civil society could not find even one competent person among the Dalits who is well versed with the Constitution after 63 years of Independence.” The civil society did bot care. What is the compulsion now ? I expect that somebody answers this. Dalits continue at the receiving end. The civil society may like to consider and agitate for the rightful and dignified space for the millions who are condemned to remain underdogs of the society. It would justify the appendix ' civil ' to their group's name. Otherwise, the dalits shall not be used - by firing the shots from someone else's shoulders - दूसरे के कंधे से गोली चलाना .

In my last blog ' The Grammar of Anarchy ', I quoted a couplet of Dr. Iqbal and here I complete the stanza:

इकबाल बड़ा उप्देसक है मन बातों से मोह लेता है;
गुफ्तार का तो यह गाजी बना किरदार का गाजी बन न सका.

THE GRAMMAR of ANARACHY

As I Feel It

I wrote in my Blog on ‘ Satyagraha and Democracy’ and also on ‘ The Corruption Debate ’ with reference to the agitation of Anna Hazare and the Civil Society on the Lokpal and corruption and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on black money and corruption. Much has happened very fast in intervening months. There are a few lessons to be learnt from the prophetic warnings of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, father of the Indian constitution. He said in the Constituent Assembly on November 1949:
Quote
We must hold fast to constitutional methods of achieving our social and economic objectives. It means we must abandon the bloody methods of revolution. It means that we must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. When there was no way left for constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods. But where constitutional methods are open, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional methods. These methods are nothing but the Grammar of Anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us.
Unquote
We all know the aftermath of Baba Ramdev’s agitation at the Ramlila grounds. Baba Ramdev is in trouble. His close associate Balakrishan is on the run. I think Baba discredited himself and the message on black money. He tried to assume that he was more powerful than the duly established Government and the constitutional set up of the country. Nobody shall undermine the importance of the issue of black money. But the process to address the problem shall have legal and constitutional support. Now Baba Ramdev is busy in proving that the money and property he amassed over the years is white and legal. I think it would be difficult. It would be advisable for the Baba to read and consider Dr. Ambedkar’s reference to the grammar of anarchy in his thought provoking speech.
Coming to the agitation of Anna Hazare and the so called civil society, it is going to be, to my mind, yet another disaster. Anna Hazare is a respected Gandhian. The members of the civil society like Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh, Arvind Kejriwal, Santosh Hegde who are the supporters and instigators of the agitation are also well placed intellectuals. The cause and issue of corruption for which they are agitating is also important and topical. They made their point and the Government of day fell in line. The joint drafting committee on the Lokpal bill was constituted. The duly elected Government has agreed to introduce a bill in the Parliament on the Lokpal. Anna Hazare and the civil society are not satisfied with the provisions of the said bill. There is no problem. They may still have differences with the authorities. But to sort out these differences now, they are expected to go to the Parliament and not to the Jantar Mantar. They shall speak and convince the political parties and the MPs and get their wishes included in the Lokpal Bill. They make the Government agree or if not, may consider defeating the Government on the floor of the house. Thy may even consider amending the constitution to accommodate their wishes not only with regard to the Lokpal but also any other issue. The constitution provides for such arrangements. Anything outside this would amount to subscribing to the grammar of anarchy which the framers of the constitution spelled out. Let us hope that the saner sense prevails and these issues are addressed through constitutional means. Corruption needs to be tacked head on. There are not two opinions about this. But how it could be done ?Certainly by not shouting from the top but by faithfully and diligently working for the empowerment of the society at large though constitutional ways and means. I reminded of an Urdu couplet of Dr. Iqbal:
मस्जिद तो बना दी सव भर में, इमां की हिरार्त वालों ने,
मन अपना पुराना पापी है बरसों से नमाज़ी बन न सका !

THE AARAKSHAN CONTROVERSY - A point of view

I have read with interest the controversy on the forthcoming movie AARAKSHAN. The issue, to me, seems to be unnecessary and uncalled for. The movie produced by Prakash Jha, renowned movie personality, is yet to be released. The controversy that the movie is against the dalits is based on hearsay. The public does know the contents and the message, if any, of the movie. I read some months before that the lead actor in the movie Saif Ali Khan was harassed and threatened by the concerned. I read the other day that some forum has been made in Jalandhar to oppose the movie. Today, I read that P.L. Punia, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Scheduled Caste Commission have desired to see the movie before it is released. The producer Prakash Jha and the Censor Board headed by Leela Samson have not agreed to do so. On intervention by the Ministry of Information, a special screening of the movie was arranged by the Censor Board for a 9 member Panel (5 members of the panel belonged to dalit community) constituted for the purpose. They did not find any objectionable content and intension in the movie. The movie is scheduled to be released on August 12.
I have not seen the movie. Most of the so called activists who have apprehensions about the movie have also not seen it either. What is the controversy then? Is it inferiority complex? Is it fear? Is it ignorance? Is it exploitation or blackmail by the vested interests? We are living in a democracy and shall not be afraid of debate and discussion. Let people speak their mind in a civilized way. The dalits shall prepare themselves to meet them make their point, if there is any. Democracy also provides them the power of vote. Defeat the adversary, if required, at the Hastings. Dr. Ambedkar. became the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly by his own right. Jagjivan Ram could not become the Prime Minister in spite of the fact that he was the most competent and eligible to hold the position. Mayawati is holding the coveted position of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time on the basis of her own strength and ability. Let us shed the fear and get ready for the fight by democratic means in the parliament, legislatures and the society at large. I heard one of the songs of the movie AARAKSHAN which goes something like this:

जरा पंख तो खोलो फिर उड़ान देखना; जरा मौका तो दो फिर आस्मां देखना !