Can't we just clip these "Right WIngs"?

I wonder why fundamentalist groups are called "Right Wing" and communist groups "Left Wing", and it adds to my confusion, when i see a bird as a symbol of freedom. It's a mystery for me to imagine a bird flying with such hollow and unhealthy wings.

I don't care to think much about the Left, because even the best practitioners (Chinese) are now giving it away and have incorporated democratic principles, first in economy and then in administration. However, what grabs my attention is the Right Wing, it's philosophy and the groups practising it. 

These right wing groups had always voiced their opinions and often displeasure towards anything that doesn't fit in their philosophy, however falls under our freedom of expression. The denial of entry to Salman Rushdie, the killing of Christians in Orissa, the Khalistan movement, the Babri Masjid incident are some of the most infamous acts of these right wings. They have however, become too vociferous in the recent times. I would like to share today's incident where the Symbiosis International University decided to call off the screening of Sanjay Kak's documentary "Jashn-e-Azaadi" based on Kashmir. The reason being a group of instigated jobless volunteers raising slogans and hinting violence. I wonder how many of them had actually seen the documentary. I wonder how many of them even knew the reality of Kashmir. They called the documentary, anti-national and pro-separatist. I wonder how many of them even know the meaning of "pro-separatist", and any of their leaders and their modus operandi. If the film was passed by the Censor Board, who were these jerks to call it anti national? Curbing the freedom of a fellow compatriot is more anti national, I would say.

The grave realities of Kashmir need to be brought in the spotlight. People should stop thinking of Kashmir only as a tourist destination or a war field; elevate their minds to understand Kashmiris, their sufferings. If there are fake encounters, mass graves, rapes; Kashmiris deserve sympathy if not a moment of thought. Kashmir gets the largest economic aid of all states, yet the state is backward and discontented towards the establishment. Why is that so? Why have Kashmiris become so reactive, could unemployment be a reason?Yet, why do we see a high voter turnout in the state, in any of the elections? Does that mean that an average Kashmiri has more affinity towards Indians as compared with the separatists? Why are hoards of people seen rallying to relieve the state from AFSPA. Why is it so bad for Kashmiris and important for India. Can there be a common middle ground? These are the things which could've been debated by the students of the University, and who knows, solution might have popped up and the sympathy would have been replaced by empowerment. But instead,  this foolish opposition portrayed India as a country where highlighting the plight of one of its state was considered to be anti national. That's how tolerant we are. 

Are we really living in a practical democracy? I mean, we claim to have freedom of expression, freedom of thought, right to religion, etc. But is there anyone to guard these freedoms? I suppose not.If there were, institutions would not have ever bogged down to such threats. This was surely not the first instance where an institution had put forth a weak front, the Mumbai University had withdrawn a book from its curriculum after a group of right wing students rallied against it. Institutions are supposed to be the bedrocks of social, political and economic progress; leaving them unguarded does no good. What amazes me is the fact that, we foresee ourselves as a progressive nation without doing away with these regressive "Right Wings"    

"Man created religion" - Napolean Bonaparte

During my schooldays, we had a subject named Value Education. It was composed of some 8 values, and by studying them, it was expected from us to become good citizens of the country. I don't know if all my batch mates have become good citizens, but I sincerely hope they do before they die and not before the nation dies. Anyways, during the lecture, it used to be imbibed on our immature minds that India as a country has unity in diversity; in spite of the cultural and religious pluralism, we as Indians are tolerant towards each other. It used to be well accepted by all of us in those days.

But it was soon going to change. Being a resident of Mumbai,I had closely seen the ‘93 riots and the resultant bombings. The only question that had come to my mind was "What could be the reason?", "What could be the motivation?" I didn't get any answers then, but always wanted to find the answers. Six years later, the Kargil war happened, where people from all faiths under the umbrella of Indian armed forces were able to win the war. Again, I thought of the same questions. And this time I had answers. In the Indian Army, or rather any military/paramilitary force, individuals practice their religions in a collective way. The Army has a MMG (Mandir Masjid Gurudwara) at all of its stations, where all jawans pray at the same place irrespective of their faiths. 

Not long after that, Godhra happened. And there are always some news about forced conversions, communal clashes and so on. We haven’t really bothered to understand the reasons and the underlying effects of communalism. The mentioning of “unity in diversity” and citation of ’93 riots has a relevance. The ’93 riots had happened between Hindus and Muslims. However, these two religions were hand in hand to drive out north Indians from Mumbai at the call of a leader. Isn’t this a situational and a contextual unity? We have always fallen to the trap of fundamentalists and opportunistic politicians.  This fundamentalism exits on either sides, be it Hinduism or Islam. I personally feel that everytime a Hindu thinks of badmouthing/assaulting a Muslim, thinking of him as an enemy of the state, he should also consider the fact that, a Muslim, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, was the backbone of our missile system and the defence system overall. So how can a religion be an “enemy” of the state when a person from the same religion is a “guardian” of your state. There are examples which apply vice versa as well.

For a developing country like ours, FDI is considered to be the best means of achieving economic well being; and stability, is a key determinant for bringing in FDI. We being a state where the political situation is fragile, can’t afford to have a fragile communal harmony. The only way in which we can become guardians of this harmony is by defeating the fundamentalist ideologies rather than the religion.

There will be people who would say, “Why do you even want to care about these things?”  It is because of this apathy that we see issues like Ram Janmabhoomi raise their head even after 60+ years of co-existence; and there would always be people who will disagree to what I just discussed. I can’t really answer them but, I can surely pose a question to them “Were you born into your religion by your choice?”

It's all about Ads

You get to meet tons of people who love asking..."Why this?"...I was unfortunate to meet such people at regular intervals!. After my 10+2, i wanted to join the Army...and the only way at that juncture was to appear for the NDA exam..get cleared...attend a 5-day SSB, get cleared and then medicals...get cleared through that as well..This was the exact sequence in which I told my Dad, that i wanted to appear for the exam, and see myself dawn olive green. To that, my Dad said, "Your Engg CET exam is more important, better concentrate on that one first." Engg was never my choice, so i was as it is gonna fair badly in it. After the results, my Dad noticed that i had done exceptionally well in the NDA exam, and the latter, is left to your understanding.So for the army thing, my Dad asked "Why this".* Now i had already told him about my urge to serve in the forces, the adventurous stuff i would be able to do, the lifestyle of the officers, be it a field posting or peace posting. But it didn't have the desired effect.

Later in the day, I showed him the TVC of the Indian Army with its slogan being "Jeena hai toh aise jeeyo" and he really was into it. I dint manage to clear the interviews, but my dad has supported the army thing since then. The story doesnt end here however. During my undergrad days, i was a part of NCC and still an aspirant of the armed forces, and "why this" was still being showered on my ears for quite often. The TVC and the prospectus always came in handy though! I was again selected for the army, this time I had an interview with the board president, a highly decorated officer from the elite parachute regiment. He asked me,"Why this"...and there i was, however this time, the advt wasnt there for the rescue, i dint need it anyways. He being someone from the actual profession, easily understood whatever i really meant.

But in the general populace, it's really hard to influence others, experienced it!. While I was pursuing my last year of bachelor's degree(Computer Science)a bug of doing something for the society bit me, the reason is mentioned in the brackets.. :P..So, at that time, a group of my friends had brainstormed on various issues and had come out with certain issues as the primary reasons for our country's problems, past and potential. The key issue was the "system". We had launched initiatives through which we educated the general public about voting rights and stuff, one of them being, "NULL VOTE or VOID VOTE".. We had named this movement as the "Middle finger movement"...the slogan being "U get to decide who gets the finger, with and without the dot!"...we hadnt relied on mass appeal though, and so, no one really paid heed to it. We were screaming our throats out in telling people, if you are not satisfied with your candidates, you can fill Form 17 A and your work's done..the EC has to conduct a fresh election in the constituency...as i said, people dint care. But the very same thing was welcomed with an uproar when India Against Corruption advocated it!!...2 days back...i heard of someone having an "Ungli Movement!"...It does feel great on one hand that things are shaking and moving...but deep down, one also feels dejected for the fact, that someone is doing, because you were not successful in nurturing your brainchild. We had also started maintaining a database of candidates of 3 wards...but we weren't able to sustain it....for the next state elections, i see some having a database of the state by the name of "netapedia"...n for the Lok Sabha elections...he had a DB for the entire country!...commendable job...and i see them struggling too..to sustain it...but they are handling the advertising part exceptionally well...

These were the first signs for my increasing inclination towards branding, advtng and marcom overall. Now, even though some people have understood or realized this fact, the world is not really small(and i dont have ppl follwing my blogs),and knwing that, i am quite sure, there will be folks and friends who would still ask me "Why this"!!!!....

Unfortunately, the Army Chief's last name isnt "Gandhi"

The Chief of a nation's security pitted against the government he serves, can anything be worse than that? When a similar situation arises in the troubled neighborhood of ours, there is not a minute spared to speculate if such an incidence would trigger a military takeover. So, then why doesn't this speculation arise in our case?

The only answer is the ethos and the ethics that the Army carries, outweigh the childish arrogance of the ruling government. 

I see people from the Army itself divided over this issue. One of the Lt. Gen.s said that it was extremely disheartening to see the cover page of India Today saying "Self before Service"; and that before embarking on this battle, he should have vacated the office of the Chief of Army Staff. It does seem to be a sane argument, since this government shows a complete apathy towards the armed forces. This was more than evident from the sixth pay commission and how the verticals of bureaucrats were streamlined against those in the Army. Apart from that, this issue would have only worsened the situation of the forces,inviting more apathy with respect to arms procurement, land sanctions, admin changes, etc. However, I don't agree when someone says "The image of the army has taken a beating". That's a bit ridiculous. The Army is respected for its uprightness, the Army is never seen badmouthing the government, even if they have their respective frustrations against the government. An organization which boasts to be high on morale, should for no reason bow down to the government on every issue. There had to be someone who would tell the government, "Please don't consider us as a weak lot, and be thankful that we aren't taking any drastic steps,  and that we will play by the book".I don't believe that the Chief has set a wrong precedent. Infact, the retired big mouths should consider talking less I suppose, some of the previous Army Chiefs are involved in illegal sanctions, owning property in an illegal property and so on, is that a good precedent? And here is some one, who has a clean career, and is fighting for truth, honor and integrity!

But should the argument end there?I guess not. The crux of the matter is, why was the Army Chief forced to take such a step! The army chief has the backing of 4 retired Chief Justices, validating the evidences that he possesses to prove his real age. In spite of that, the Army chief offered an olive branch, saying that he doesn't mind retiring if his real date of birth was acknowledged. A compromise solution from a person who has toiled for the nation for over 40 years, who has a distinguished and a highly decorated track record, who doesn't want an extension, but honor and integrity restored.

So why is it so difficult for the government to do the needful? This issue clearly reflects the reach of the ruling government's apathetic behavior towards its citizens. Renuka Chowdhary, a Congress spokesperson, in "We the People", an NDTV program, was seen saying that it is a learning learning curve for them. One can just say that after ruling India for over 50 years, if they are still learning, then the congress is either dyslexic or a terrible slow learner. The fake ration card issued in Sonia Gandhi's name got immediate attention, the son-in-law experiences exemption from frisking at the airport, the ministers move to ban social media after seeing 'content' maligning, mocking the members of the Gandhi family, and citing that this move was initiated to protect the religious sentiments of the people, the list is endless. But, the government didn't find the need to devote some time to communicate appropriately to the Chief, that his honor would be restored, and that the Govt. is committed to it. They didn't find the time or the will to sort this issue at the earliest, being busy first in the lokpal fiasco and now in the state elections.

Only one thing can be concluded from this, no matter what office one hails from, how important and significant one is for the country, so long as the person isn't a GANDHI, he is invisible to the congress government!