Being MODIfied

A resounding verdict and an even more gratifying victory, people of this nation have indeed made their choice visibly loud and clear by giving the largest mandate to a single party which is a record in post- Independent India. I see a sense of pride and overwhelming happiness emanating from all corners on the social media, among the morning joggers, among the evening gossipers, even from those who never spoke of politics.

The vernacular by the UPA that the social media wave was a farce didn’t quite go well with social media fanatics who exist in real.

The constant denial of the underdevelopment, the stoic defence on the ever pervading scams and rampant corruption, the rise in the lawlessness, the persecution of the middle class by anti-middleclass policies with unjustified price rises, the horrendous inflictions on the farming lot, the bleak opportunities provided for the youth and most importantly concealing all these fiascos with mere English rhetoric, venomous media campaigns banking only on white imperialistic faces have really taken an ugly embarrassing toll on the veteran party.

Even those who seemed to establish connect with the young and the educated failed miserably. The Aam Aadmi in this country can certainly see through the filth and dubious intents. The detrimental Delhi Drama only furthered and facilitated the people to make their choice wisely. Canoeing in the deep sea with an eye on the big vessel has not only failed the strategist but also the people of Delhi. The dramatic ditching of Delhi eyeing a fat share in the Lok Sabha polls was just an over ambitious reverie of the young debutant literate party who is now destitute for power with deficit of credibility and people’s trust.

Don’t underestimate the intelligence of a common man (Aam Aadmi)!!

Also the communal baby fostered gently by the pseudo secularists all along their tenure has suddenly burped and is now throwing up at them. It is indeed interesting to see the melodramatic media debates all mellowed down and accrediting themselves about their speculative expertise.
The fact that Modi who was constantly vilified and bickered of being communal has secured a colossal mandate from the masses, this is a stark reflection of the ground reality and it’s really time the rhetoric experts and the many social activist agents who worked hard to keep the media debates secularly communal and amusing learn their lessons and realize that people are well informed and any attempt to radicalise thoughts would be castoff off categorically.
Maybe it’s time to redefine secularism and communalism in India.
Ye Public hai ye sab jaan thi hai!!!
People are more aware and no longer succumb to false propagations and are not bound by sentiments or hero worships but purely by virtue of the policies and the quality of polity.

Amidst all this euphoria the Modi Government certainly has a grim task ahead to tame and shoulder a dinosaur of a responsibility because clearly the people have voted for the man with loads of expectations, so how tactfully or how tacitly will he handle the power hungry pocket filling clan and how soon will he bring a sigh of relief to the poor and the middleclass of this country or how impactful in one’s everyday life will this change of guard bring about is to be waited and watched because in India corruption, inflation, communalism, illiteracy, nepotism, red tape, reservation is all inter connected and multi layered hence any alteration will conveniently snowball only a communal angle denigrating and thwarting the very idea that was envisioned for the country’s developmental aspects and bright prospects of this intelligent nation. It’s time to retrospect and reinvent ourselves by allowing the new leader a free hand to achieve a striving and thriving India and flow with the feeling of being MODIfied.

Are we becoming an intolerant society?

The recent article in The Hindu ‘Pray, what wrong did I do, asks Nashik teacher’ http://communalism.blogspot.com/2013/09/india-school-teacher-salve-says.html is a grim reminder of the growing intolerance levels in our country. A country known for its diversity of religions, cultures, beliefs and languages is it fast grappling in the storm of secular-communal divide? If so who is responsible for it? Is it an over doze of the pseudo secular/communal debates that we watch every day. When the country is already burning with so many issues of corruption, inflation, failing economy and many foreign intrusions all across our borders when we are mired in the midst of demands for separate states as if these divisions were not enough how justified and how responsible are our media fraternity who roar about divisive politics but do not hesitate to publish an article that out rightly outrages and divides the society in the name of freedom.

This article talks about a person called ‘Sanjay Salve’ a teacher who has approached the courts to protest praying at his school assembly as he was a follower of Buddhism. The epicenter of his thoughts seem to be based on some ego clashes between him and his seniors which has sadly taken a communal turn his hatred for Hinduism looms large than his love for Buddhism.
How is it wrong to simply fold your hands and stand in the prayer hall thereby abiding by the school discipline? Whether Mr.Salve prays or does not pray is his personal choice but isn’t the media communalizing this issue by putting it on the front page. The fact remains that India is a Hindu dominant country where every nook and corner has a history revolving around Hinduism and no one can deny that. Most societal practices like meeting and greeting people, conducting ourselves in a gathering are bound to be influenced by the traditions and cultures of the prevailing beliefs. The main idea of starting the day with a prayer is to inculcate discipline and societal sanctity which every teacher and student should comply with.

In many middle-east countries people of all religions are expected to kneel down where ever they are during namaz times would Mr.Salve file a complaint there? It is only in India that people have all the liberty to rebuke and ridicule the beliefs of the majority.
Even today in many hotels when guests arrive they are greeted with a tilak and a garland which is symbolic to our traditions. One cannot be called communal if they greeted someone saying Namaskar.

There are many Christian schools and convents where carols and many Christian prayers are taught and children from different communities simply learn them and sing along. Any religious binding is just a way of achieving concentration on cleansing the soul. It is just a way of disciplining oneself. I have sung carols during Christmas, went to church with my Christian friends, attended many Sai bhajans, wear a headgear when I visit gurdwaras and dargahs, have even attended many Bhajans of the Jain community whenever I visit jain temples because I respect all religions and at the same time know my roots and I am well connected to my faith with a firm foundation. Nobody can baptize me what so ever having said that I am proud of my country’s cultural history and believe that every other faith and sect of people in this country have emerged and branched out of our history of Hinduism. If there have been invasions and ingression of newer religions that is again our history which one should respect and live with it but by despising one’s own roots and origin are we not running away from the truth and creating false boundaries for ourselves separating one another. Just by folding hands or kneeling down in prayer is only a sign of showing reverence and by no means can it shake one’s foundation of faith.

The Hindu majority has weaved a strong bond with people of various other religions and faiths but the many attempts to bring down the communal harmony by some vested interests by way of falsely instigating people in the name of pseudo-secularism and trying to bring about a drastic divide within Hinduism and its branches in the name of freedom are really alarming and concerning. It’s time both the print and the broadcasting media worked on some positive news that could bind us all together.

All In The Name Of Secularism

The word secular means ‘not religious’ and a secularist is one who believes that religion should have no place in civil affairs unfortunately our politicians have largely misinterpreted this and used it conveniently to suit them. Today in India anybody who speaks for the larger community of the Hindus is communal but the one who brings up the minority quotient for vote bank politics is a secular diva.

Recently I saw an article in a remote corner of a leading Indian daily which said in tiny letters that the court had ruled that Muslim girls could marry at the age of fifteen, this new law came as a mockery just when the union law minister was busy urging for 4.5% sub quota for dalit muslims in central educational institutions. Fortunately the supreme court of India rejected the petition and saved the merit class in a system that is already over-burdened with so many quotas. How ironical indeed if only the quota mongering people understood what this filthy reservation is all about? On one hand our politicians pretend to work for uplift of the minority community while on the other hand they are letting them down jeopardizing their future by encouraging practices such as child marriage and bigamy passing separate bills thereby appeasing some hardcore religious fundamentalists.

The very purpose of providing a quota to improve upon the social, economic and educational condition of the dalit or the oppressed is lost as they are making laws which threaten the very idea of progress and reform.

How can Indian economy improve when the people rebuff education and defend it in the name of religion? How can we progress and bring about developmental changes when we don’t have one law for the entire nation? People should stop believing and endorsing politicians who portray themselves as their caste mascots.

The word ‘dalit’ means ‘the oppressed, backward and deprived’. Originally the policy of giving reservation to dalits was an after effect of the long sufferings and humiliation meted out to the Shudra sect among the Hindus. In order to bring about an equal status for all, the Government of India introduced the quota culture to accommodate the backward classes in educational and Government institutions and to further their increased participation in all streams at par with other higher castes. These quotas are still being given everywhere and it is also being given in job promotions.

I agree that this kind of revolution was much required at that time six decades back, for providing an egalitarian opportunity to one and all and to really change the mindset of the people. Ambedkar the man who fought for the uplift of dalits in India had sought reservation for backward communities only for ten years but unfortunately the quota system is getting extended endlessly. Today reservation is largely misused as a result of which even after sixty years of giving quotas nothing much has changed because the focus of all the successive governments was never intended to give education or improve the lifestyles of these dalits who were poor and ignorant and are still poor and ignorant. The political syndicates want the deprived masses to follow them without pointing a finger at them whatsoever even at the cost of keeping large masses illiterate. Nowadays the term “dalit” and “reservation” has just remained a hot favorite among men in polity and the media men who often act as middlemen of the politicians.

There are poor and oppressed people deprived of many an opportunity in every community which categorically suggests that all castes have some amount of dalits among them who are backward in their own communities and are waiting to get some help and be heard. But the pseudo secularists instead of addressing the real problem of economic backwardness still collect the caste details of every citizen during census. It’s time the Government picks up the nerve to introduce some drastic step bringing about a reform and take a decision for the good of the larger masses by eradicating this epidemic called caste reservation. If at all any reservation is given, it must reach the economically weak failing which all those politicians demanding caste based reservation quotas ought to adhere to austerity in a true sense and choose to take medical treatment from a dalit doctor who got a seat on reservation basis and not by merit, they should get their children educated by untrained or under trained teachers who get selected as teachers through reservation quotas in Government schools but the grim reality is that most Indian politicians seek their medical treatment abroad and send their kith and kin to study abroad.

The quota system introduced by the spurious secularists has become a communal bane for any kind of development in this country. Undeserving, dishonest and corrupt officials have become the order of the day.

How can one’s social status improve if he is pin pointed that he is a reservation candidate, what kind of pride does it give to call yourself backward even after sixty years of consideration? People should feel ashamed and refuse to call themselves backward and strive to get into jobs with their own capabilities instead of basking in the ill-gotten glory of backwardness peevishly. The quota policy that sought to curb caste consciousness has only ended up further dissecting the society into several castes and sub castes.

It is important for every one of us to think seriously and vote sensibly shedding all our prejudiced feelings of casteism and choose an honest and upright government.

An awareness among backward classes that education along with hard work is the only way to improve their social and economic status and that the religious quotas is only going to jeopardize the nation’s growth is required. More and more educated and honest people should join politics and reform the current caste scenario by spreading the need for education and its role in the progress of our country.

I dream of a day when parents counsel their children to take up a Government job or politics as their profession with pride without depending on any caste quotas.