The Religious Game

    They say, the best way to play a spinner is on the front foot. Right where the ball pitches. That ways you take away the unpredictability of the turn. Although that sounds defensive, it is in fact a proven technique of positively playing spin ballers. A good batsmen has the necessary range of shots to play back foot. But the first line of offence is the front foot.
    This is not about Cricket or Dhoni btw. Neither is it about PK. Because irrespective of whether you consider PK ‘anti-hindu’ and call for ban or bark about freedom of expression , ones who wanted to watch it have already watched it and the producers and promoters sitting on pile of cash while countless columnists and bloggers come out with reasons every day essentially to promote their thought process using ‘PK’ as a tool. Funny, isn’t it? Everything can be presented the way you want it! And everything seems correct! That is EXACTLY the essence of this write up.  Multiple thought processes that are equally convincing and can stand up to scrutiny of debates. I don’t need to switch the context while replying to a point in the debate. Neither am I required to suppress thoughts in order to win. Wait- am I talking about ‘Sanatan Dharma’ here? That’s exactly what it is!
    There has been too much noise about the aggressive posture of some hindutva organizations vis-à-vis conversions (or re-conversations or ‘ghar wapasi’ – you name it), secularism, freedom of expression etc. in the past few weeks. For one, just because there is a BJP government at the center doesn’t mean that these organizations have to ‘slow down’. They will go about doing business same way evangelists go about doing their’s or how Islam is propagated. Just because they get a level playing field is no reason to cry foul about ‘saffronization’. Get the statistics on conversions and you will know what I mean. Btw my personal view here is, every religion has the ‘equal’ right to propagate within the realms of law. Just because Hindus are majority, doesn’t mean they lose the right!
    My concern is on the way Hinduism is propagated, which I essentially believe is a ‘defensive’ technique. Have you wondered how the ‘Sanatan Dharma’ (wont tie it to a religion, since there are many with similar thought process and some differences) persisted all these centuries? We talk about 800 years of Islamic rule followed by almost one hundred and fifty years of colonialization and still Hinduism ( encompasses all the non-Abrahamic religions for brevity ) was and remains as the pre-dominant religion of this country. It was certainly not ‘because’ of the rulers, but in-spite of them! Indeed, there were conversions during this phase .But most were for reasons other than spiritual-either lure or force. Hinduism had and has enough to offer in order to satisfy and expand the spiritual and social needs of humans. And the fundamental reason for this is, Hinduism was never tied to a singular set of thoughts or deeds that needed to be carried forward through centuries just because it was mentioned ‘somewhere’. You can see instances of this everywhere throughout the country. We are talking of a number of  religions, thousands of sects and even more methods of salvation that have evolved over centuries of existence, all encompassed under the big banyan tree. What more – Every time the society was stuck in orthodoxy and dogmas, a new set of ideas emerged and carried the ‘dharma’ forward. So we have the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahavir, Buddha, Sankaracharya, Dnaneshwar -and the whole warkari sect, Vivekananda, Ramanuja and thousands others who have carried the torch forward, often deviating from the established norms and charting a new course. It is this fluidity that best defines the Dharma and not some set of conceived principles or practices. And it is this encompassing nature that will help expand Hinduism.
    What we see today is a process of ‘defining’ Hindutva. Limiting it, constraining it. Trying to establish its ‘supremacy’ by concocted historical facts. Emulating the techniques of other religions and in the process losing the very essence of it. Effectively we are playing ‘backfoot’ here and not to our strengths. With the current process, we might improve on the ‘numbers’ for short term, but loose in long term.  If we want to propagate, tell the world WHY this dharma survived all the onslaughts and still stands tall. How it has the inherent ability to reinvent. Why countries or cultures that were subsequently converted to other religions still bear strong links to their ‘hindu’ (or Buddhist or Jain) past. Have wide debates where religion is measured on logic. Help change the aspects that have lost essence over period of time instead of insisting on them just because somebody 500 years ago followed them. Don’t try to contain the river for the fear of it merging into a lake. For, in the process you are turning the river into a ‘lake’. Instead, break the barriers of lakes and help them merge onto the river! In short, evolve and expand. Most importantly, focus on propagation of ideas instead of the ‘people’ or ‘religion’ who originated it. After all, that is what defines the dharma – Isnt it?
    I know a counter view which explains about the radical propagation of Christianity in tribal areas supposedly using foreign funds and ‘unethical’ ways.  And that the numbers will change the demography of the country. I have always held the view that this is wrong. Not because they are converting to Christianity, but because they do not understand religion in a conventional sense. In fact their view of dharma (which is a way of life for them and not religion) is much broader than the rest of the ‘Hindus’ and most certainly than other religions! It is like converting a 3 yr old kid. No wonder the kid would be attracted to whoever gives him chocolates or love without realizing that you are separating him from his parents. So go out, give them the love and keep them what they are and not convert them into ‘Hindus’ or Christians.
So, let’s go and aggressively propagate our Dharma. On the front foot though, not waiting for the ball to turn :) . Because, once it does, you are playing to the baller’s game- not your’s.

The Injured toe

    Have you experienced this? - If you have an injured toe, you tend to hurt it again and again! Either it has to do with the fact that you are extra cautious while during the time the toe is injured and inadvertently  tend to hurt it more OR the more logical explanation being, you ‘realize’ ,because it pains when the toe hurts again and again !. There is no statistical evidence that you actually hurt it more during this time.
    I see a striking similarity in the news as reported, particularly in the vicinity of an important event. More so, if it’s an event worth negative publicity. Look at this- I see daily news about 'Ghar Vapasi' programs being organized across the country. One may seem to believe that there is sudden surge in conversion programs by the Hindu organizations. This is likely to create 'panic' amongst some and quite possibly exploited politically. However, I believe this is certainly not the case. The business of conversion (lately ‘to’, but 'from' since centuries) of/by Hindus has been going on seamlessly for quite some time. Just that the Aligarh or Agra incident have given the media and 'concerned' parties enough ammunition.  Another example - I see frequent news of child abuse and criminal acts of sexual nature being reported from Bengaluru. Does that mean that there is sudden rise in child abuse cases and that Bengaluru was a safe place earlier? Probably not. But one event brought the focus on Bengaluru and now we have almost daily report of issues.  Ditto, during the Nirbhaya case. After the unfortunate incident, there was news of a rape in Delhi almost daily. Sometimes multiple in a day.
    It is very easy to blame the administration (in cases like rape) and/or the political parties/media (depending on which side you are). But thinking of it, everybody is right in their own way. Authorities are right in being vigilant for similar cases and acting on them .The media is right in reporting the incident. It’s their job of course and they will want to gain TRP from it. Political parties have right to make noises. It’s their job again! - Apart from many other things.
    However, the event or events are far stretched and distorted versions circulated on social media by vested interests. This apart from the 24X7 dose from news channels and their ‘experts’. The net result of this is creation of mass hysteria leading to anti-incumbency, demonstrations, cynicism, panic and everything else that may not be good for the society and nation. The positive aspect being creation of awareness and (to some extent) efficiency of administration in such cases, at least for some time.  Statistically speaking there is no evidence that the occurrence of ‘said’ event is found to reduce over time due to the excessive reporting or mass hysteria. Reason of course is that all the hysteria is a game of public emotions and numbers and public memory is short. 
    So what? Are we supposed to shut down the TV sets, newspapers and social media and just believe what Doordarshan says? Not really. But apply your own filters.

    “Logon ke kahane pe maat jao. Aapne dimage ki batti jalao! “
    In short,Use your discretion.

    Btw, this applies equally to overpublicized ‘achievements’ and flooding of ‘positive news’ as well!


    Jai Hind.

Peace of mind

The Peshawar incident involving the brutal killing of 130 school children has created a wave of strong reactions across the world. In fact it was so agonizing that many even in India, have been psychologically impacted by it. While the incident has been unequivocally condemned by almost everybody –except of course the Taliban and many of its ‘silent’ supporters, there are many who have tried to further their political, religious and ideological views as an addenda to the condemnation messages.  The official reaction of the Indian government deserves applause at this juncture as it was devoid of any political references in spite of the fact that India remains one of the most impacted countries due to terror emanating from Pakistan. 

 There are also those who have given references to past massacres and genocide in Iraq, the implicit question being – Why does this incident deserve ‘more’ condemnation than the ‘others’. The ‘others’ supposedly being more or equally horrific. Well no one knows the answer.  After all, statistically speaking there have been numerous ‘similar’ incidents which could have changed the course of history .But only some of them did. Going by the mass reactions and official statements I honestly wish this could and should be an event that would change the course of history.  Taliban and their brothers, whatever they stand for, have taken the biggest hit in terms of brand value and this should be leveraged to the maximum to exterminate them once and for all.  

 This has also brought many questions to the fore. The foremost of them is – Is or should terror be linked to religion? The political answer is ‘no’. But facts suggest otherwise. While there have been many violent struggles in modern history, fact remains that today terrorism has become synonymous with Islam. In fact history of Islamic expansion and growth has been associated with terror and violence much more than any other religion. There are many who come out with explanation of how the philosophy of Islam doesn’t support violence.  Even if that is theologically correct, the question still remains – Then why is there so much of variance in its interpretation?  After all, mere concepts don’t matter .Their interpretation and application does! So, however nicely one wishes to put it, the moral of the story is, there is something seriously flawed with the religion as it is practiced today or for past few centuries at least.  And it is for the Muslims to fix it. As a consolidated group (which many wish to believe or make others believe they are) Muslims are a majority in the world. So there is no reason, not to be able to fix this, unless there is a lack of willingness to do so.    

Reason number two – Western hegemony and the injustice done to the Muslims. Well you are not the only ones! Hardly any nation/population is unaffected by it, including the western world itself. We have never seen such a violent expression of revolt anywhere else. So again time for introspection. Is it that the interpretation of religion promotes violence more than others? Unless the Islamic world wakes up and fixes the problem, we will see it getting worse day by day. Another thing, for those who dream of an Islamic Caliph and world dominion, even if there is a chance of that happening in the next 10,000 years, it will NEVER NEVER NEVER happen if you continue to use violence as means of propagation.  So forget it!

 Many hope and expect Pakistan to wake up to the dangers of terrorism at least now and stop supporting terror as an instrument of state policy. Well I would say it is a hopeless expectation! Simply because they do not have any other means to further their agenda. Given the fact that the very survival of Pakistan is anti-India, it would need sufficient means to inflict damages on India. Currently there are none except terrorism. So, we might see a lull in terrorist activities, even ‘milder’ versions of terrorist attacks for some time, but it will not go away. Because unlike the Taliban or ISIS , this is not about furthering of an ideology or economics ,but a battle for existence on part of Pakistan !. 

 The other topic doing rounds is around violence. Generally speaking violence doesn’t have or should not have any place in civilized society. However I find it amusing when people try to promote religions which are supposedly ‘nonviolent’, in the guise of Peshawar tragedy. Singling out Islam doesn’t absolve other religions at all.  All religions in various forms have been guilty of wars and violence, though not necessarily on the scale of Islam. All you have to do is go couple of millennia back and/or look around the globe! There is enough evidence of it. So, while it may be an ideological (or interpretative, whatever way you want to look at it) problem in Islam, in general violence is a human problem.  Or is it even beyond that?  Are animals, or rather life in general violent in nature? If it is, why do we expect humans to not be so?  By expecting humans to be different (and even if that is on the basis of ‘intellect’) are we not expecting a deviation in the concept of evolution or the ‘oneness of universe’?  On the contrary, if life is not violent, the question would be, where did we humans get the traits from? Is it ‘intellect’? If so, hasn’t intellect done more harm than good to humans and the world at large? To go even deeper, what constitutes violence?

Lots of questions and even more answers! For now, let’s pray for peace and sanity.

“Sushantir Bhavatu”

   Let there be peace!

Amen.

'Su' Vichar: All is well !

'Su' Vichar: All is well !:     Finally sanity prevailed and the old friends are back together. I would call it more of a marriage than friendship The events in past f...

All is well !

    Finally sanity prevailed and the old friends are back together. I would call it more of a marriage than friendship The events in past few months resemble  those of warring couple and not friends, with bloated egos , calling names ,prolonged negotiations besides the ‘third’ party involvement ! . I wouldn’t want to define who the husband and wife are lest, my otherwise gender neutral friends (at least in theory) will pounce on me! Also, we may not want to go into details of this ‘induced’ sanity since the first question that would be asked is, why not earlier? Even assuming that it was RSS who pushed for it on ideological grounds, the question still would be – why not earlier? Or is it that real politick scores over ideology?
    Anyways it’s good to see the Shiv Sena and BJP together.  The happiest person would be Mr. Devendra Phadnavis . He may at least get to sleep without the fear of getting a phone call in the middle of night, informing that the ‘nonexistent’ outside support has been withdrawn! So hopefully he should look at a longer tenure now. For the people, it means a fair amount of stability. May not translate into ‘acche din’ immediately .That train is yet to start from Delhi. Some say it has started. Either ways, will take time to reach Mumbai! But in the interim, you at least get to enjoy the daily local trains and the metro! , not to mention a less eventful (in the house at least!) winter session.
    So do we have a winner?  No, but we certainly have the losers! For the BJP, the high was getting more seats than what the Shiv Sena was offering. So certainly they scored a point. The low was to realize that they really do not have an alternative, not in the present context at least and having being required to negotiate and agree with the Shiv Sena. For the Sena, it was a series of lows, starting with BJP winning close to majority seats (well you feel bad if you fail in the exams. But you feel like sh*t when you fail and your friend stands first!) But ended up in a high with them getting a significant number of ministerial births-ignoring, the nitty-gritty of the portfolios, they were insisting on. Effectively a zero sum game for both the parties- so far at least! For the people, it is a positive thing since, we are looking at a (relatively) prolonged stability.  I feel the real losers are the diehard fanatics (cyber fanatics- that’s the word) on either side, who went about bashing the other as if there was no tomorrow! So what happened to your thoughts and emotions? Are the fans disillusioned? If so (well, for that you need to stop being a fanatic, momentarily at least) it’s a lesson – politics of convenience plays over everything else!. Bear that in mind!  Others – They will unabashedly go about the business of justifying, how the alliance had to be saved in the name of religion! , conveniently ignoring what was forwarded and publicized by them during the past few months. Carry on guys, that’s all I can say!
    So what does it mean in a long term? Hard to say. BJP has certainly set the cat among the pigeons by attempting to go alone in the state. Besides its attempts in other states to expand the sphere of influence will certainly make the Sena wary.  The BMC elections in 2017 will see the next chapter of this story unfold. So obviously the alliance (not sure if we should call it that) in its new form is nowhere its earlier avatar- will never be. It is an alliance of opportunity and convenience, no matter how much the fanatics proclaim it to be based on ‘ideology’ or friendship!  BJP will try to use the stability to further strengthen the organization, besides providing ‘good governance’ whenever possible! Shiv Sena on its part will look for making the most of its participation in the government, strengthen the organization and wait for the wave to die down to prove a point or two ( if they still feel the need).

    What about Sharad Pawar and co.? Well let’s wait and see what comes out of the magician’s hat!

    As for the common people, I am reminded of the stanza from the song in 3 Idiots
       
           "Murgi ka jaane ande ka kya hoga ,
           Life milegi ya tawe pe fry hoga,
           Koi na jaane apna future kya hoga
           Honth ghuma, seethi baaja Seethi baaja ke bol
           Bhaiya All is well”

Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra and Jai Bhim.

Musings- The arithmetic sorry-calculation...err philosophy of life…umm know what? Forget it!

    It was a phase  where I spent the best weekends of my life! I was tempted to say the ‘best phase of my life’ generically, but for my better half! After all, it takes a lot of courage to proclaim ‘better times’ in life to which your spouse is not party to! They say discretion is better part of valour. So I will rather stick to ' the best weekends of my life'!

   It was my first trip abroad to Japan and I was obviously in seventh heaven. After all, an onsite opportunity in those days was a big thing - rather a matter of effort and fortune with right combination. I had all the reasons to be happy since in my case it was the latter that played all the part! I was on this short term assignment to a project in Tokyo and was ‘accommodated’ in a business hotel in one of the Tokyo suburbs.  It (now as I understand) was something similar to a budget version of ‘Extended Stay’. Each room had a kitchen (and by that I mean the stove –ability to cook) and some very basic things to enable the occupant to stay for weeks. Though my company would often accommodate people for months! For somebody like me, whose exposure to a hotel stay could easily be measured with the tip of fingers, it was certainly a heavenly abode!

    Not to mention almost all my colleagues staying in the hotel were bachelors, at various stages of their ‘bachelorhood’. Right from somebody like me, who had just begun the ‘journey’ to others who were about to cross the bridge. Every now and then we would have people leaving the place once the project or assignment was over and new ones coming in. But the set of people in any ‘phase’ was the group. And I happened to be part of such a phase. So we had about six of us staying in the hotel for the few months I was there. Every day we would start early so that we managed to get to the office before our clients arrived (well I almost always never achieved that!).  If you are in the habit of waiting for your customers to leave, before departing office- you need to take a break. Especially if you are in Japan. We- the poor souls were oriented that way and almost always ended up getting back late in the night. On few of the lucky days, getting back involved cooking for the ‘group’ since everybody took turns. So I had to choose between the devil and the deep blue see, for most of the week days!

    But it were really the week-ends that everybody eagerly awaited. It was an unwritten norm to party on Friday nights. ‘Party’ involved booze (for the most),dinner –cooked by one of the enthusiastic members, an occasional movie and the most important ingredient –lots and lots of chatter. It was certainly a way for most of us to unwind from the hectic office schedules and in a larger frame – to unwind from our worries, anxieties of life. So we would have ‘episodes’ from the biography of each one of us every Friday. It was fun, learning and certainly the best way to spend a Friday night in the given situation.

    While I could gather (and extrapolate) the lives of most of my colleagues based on the revelations made on Friday night, the one person that often eluded me was Dipam.  Dipam Bora was in his late 20s.He was the ‘elder brother’ in the group and generally helpful.  Mild mannered, he would speak sparingly for most of the days in the week- rather always, except those Friday nights! Couple of drinks down, Dipam would start interacting freely. Knowing him, we –the chelas (protégé) would often keenly listen to his talk which was full of experiences from his life, some anecdotes and some practical tips for the given situation. For each of our ‘biography episodes’, Dipam had a constant comment. ‘Gosavi!- Jindagi ka hisab kitab utna asaan nahi jitna tum sochte ho !’. The only variable in this was ‘Gosavi’! We would appreciate and clap for Dipam in the ‘sprint’ of the night and Friday nights would pass – well mostly without an argument. Next day, everybody would be busy with their weekend cores. Dipam would become his reclusive self. He could neither remember nor acknowledge to anything that happened the previous night. You would hardly hear any of the philosophy on other days except for his punch line “ Jindagi ka hisab kitab’, which he would invoke occasionally .

    My stay at the hotel ended in a few months and I lost touch with Dipam and the rest (well email was not an easy option in those days and often a ‘paid’ service!). As I said, I spent some of my best weekends with this group. I didn’t contact Dipam or the rest because in my memory, I wanted all of them to be just the way I left them! Subsequently, my memories were superimposed with lots of other stuff in life- better and bitter. But that one thing which continued to stay with me was Dipam’s tag line – Gosavi, Jindagi ka hisab kitab itna asaan nahi jitna tum sochte ho!  I have had fair bit of my experiments with ‘self’ and philosophy in the years before and after. .Learnt from a lot of ‘Babas’ and Swamis and all the readable English (or Marathi) material that I could comprehend. Also, I often like to read the back of auto rickshaws and trucks for my routine philosophical doses.  But the one thing that has helped me tide over in my life is Dipam’s tag line!  Rather it would inadvertently be the first thing that I would remember in any situation good or bad!

    I have not ventured to translate the tag line here because I believe my literary knowledge is insufficient in this case. Hope the learned (and Hindi speaking) would understand it. For others, I would refer you to Vedas, Upanishads, Gita or any other granth and /or philosophy of your liking for a more insightful revelation.  Chances are –some of us, including me may encounter Dipam sometime, somewhere and hear the golden scripts from him! After all-
“Jindagi ka hisab kitab itna asaan nahi hota jitna tum sochte ho”!.


Dedicated to my long lost friend –Dipam Bora. Dipam, wherever you are, May the force be with you!

Hidden Wealth

    I happened to read a story during my school days. Don’t remember which grade it was, and doesn’t matter anyways! In short, the story was about an Indonesian man and his lazy son-in-law.
The story ran thus-

    A wise old Indonesian man had a lazy son-in-law. The son-in-law wanted quick money and was too lazy to cultivate a piece of land, he owned. Once the father in law told him that an Astrologer has predicted that the land his son-in-law possessed, had hidden gold underneath it. Excited about the idea of getting rich, the son-in-law and his wife dug out the land and found nothing. Since the land was already dug, the father-in-law advised them to plant bananas so that at least their effort doesn’t go in vain. They agreed and by end of the year made some money by selling bananas. Not to be content, the son-in-law decided to dig out the land thoroughly the next year, again with the same result. This year they got a better yield and more money. The third year, again with advice from the father in law, the couple bought nearby land and tried to find the ‘gold’. Years passed by and the couple never really found the gold. But meanwhile, their plantation had prospered and they were able to earn enough money and respect.

    Ignoring the factuality of the story, it does convey a message. For us,  kids then, the message was about the importance of hard work and how not to run after quick wealth and all. At least that’s how I answered in the ‘Reference to context’ section!  However, I now realize, it does convey an important subtle message. In fact that’s the reason I remembered this story after all these years.

    People like sensation! Be it national news or daily gossip in offices or social circles. I was tempted to use ‘We Indians’ instead of ‘People’. But then realized that it is a global phenomenon. Besides I want to desist from the tendency of ‘special treatment’ for Indians –good or bad, when we see those traits amongst many other people. Coming back to sensationalism, the higher the ‘object’ in social/economic ladder, the more sensation the related news creates. In fact a good amount of media Industry survives on this very ‘basic instinct’ of people. Besides, we often have a ‘socialist’ trait buried within us. So, if the object happens to be a businessman, politician or any celebrity, the feelings are extreme, often more on the negative side. The ‘Black Money’ thriller has all the ingredients of a blockbuster! Rich businessmen, corrupt politicians stashing their ‘ill gotten’ wealth in ‘foreign’ banks and depriving the country of the economic prosperity and power that it demands! Add to that the statistics of ‘lakhs’ that poor people would get if the money is brought back! What better can it get! No wonder, the movie is running successfully across the country, from parliament to courts to 24X7 channels and coffee hubs.

     Overlooking the facts and the complications, the ‘story’ is portrayed in a very simple manner, which derides truth.  Even by the PM’s own admission, nobody knows the exact amount of money. Not all the money in foreign banks will be ‘black’ (earned by unlawful means). It would at best be a case of tax evasion. So a certain percentage of the same belongs to the state. Also, the ‘accused’ are not stupid enough to keep the money stashed when there’s so much happening! Honestly, I believe this is a story of ‘Emperor’s new clothes’! The emperor here being the people!

    Anyways, this piece is not to judge the euphoria and the potential benefits of the black money, if and ever it is brought back .Let the court issue strictures, government make attempts, people (depending on which side you are!) criticize the inaction or justify the action. Also, opposition parties have every right to take government to task in a political way. After all, aren’t they supposed to do it? The BJP would have done the same if they were in opposition. In fact black money was an important poll agenda and hence the opposition has every right to question the government.

    As they say, Life is what happens when you are busy making plans! In this euphoria for getting back the black money, we should not lose sight of those subtle changes taking place around us, which I believe would have more direct and tangible benefits.  There are a lot of initiatives that the government has taken and quite a few that it has carried from the previous regime , which I believe would yield more substantial benefits than the extreme figures ‘speculated’ for the black money. 

    Just a case in point – As per government’s own records, the country spends (approx.) 8000 crores on affidavits annually. Not to mention the ‘fee’ that advocates demand and the stationary charges. So, if implemented (and it is not a big deal to implement as such), we are talking of at least around 15000 crores of direct savings! This is the money that common man is saving, unlike ‘waiting’ for something to come back! The Direct deposit scheme, the foundation of which was laid by ADHAAR (well that was Congress!) and boosted by the Jan Dhan Yojna, will save thousands of crores from being swindled by the middle men.   E-governance and transparent administration being key to prevent the ‘generation’ of black money. Defense deals is another area, the government seems to be focusing. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan will also have bearing on the cost factor, since it would be expected to bring down the per capita cost of health care. Compounded with eradication of corrupt medical practices and improving of infrastructure for health care, this should help creation of a ‘healthier nation’ in coming years and help utilize the demographic dividend that we are banking upon. Not to mention the positive investment environment that is being created, the cramp down on hoarders to contain price rise etc .

    The list can be endless, and this is not a BJP manifesto! . However, the message is clear. There is a lot happening around us that has the potential to change the destiny of the nation. It is for us to decide if we want to wait for the gold or plant our bananas!


Jai Hind! .
Irrelevant here, but in case you are wondering – Jai Maharashtra !

Three act play

So finally the Maharashtra government has managed to pass the ‘Trust vote’. It is ironical that this had to happen with the support of a party whom the electorate trusted the least. But it’s after all a number game isn’t it? Nevertheless, within the boundaries of our democratic setup, this still counts as a ‘trust vote’. I would not comment on the ‘manner’ in which the trust vote was passed in Vidhan Sabha.I have scant knowledge of the law. Would rather leave it to the constitutional experts to break their heads. But yes, it was certainly not undisputed!

    This finally puts an end ( well more of a punctuation than a full stop) to the first act of the play that begun in late September when both the alliances decided to part ways – coincidentally (?) on the same day.  I wouldn’t want to judge what happened as right or wrong. To each, his own. But this for sure will change the politics of Maharashtra forever. Not to mention that it would have a serious impact on the state administration.

    Here begins the second act!

    Let’s start with the BJP. It is but obvious that this tie up with NCP is a need based one. BJP would want to break away from the shackles as soon as possible. So we will see a lot of ‘action’ going around to lure the discontented and power hungry legislatures from other parties. Unfortunately they have to break en-block (well Phadnavis must be cursing the person who brought in and passed the anti-defection law!). So if at all they succeed, it would mean that at least one political entity in the state suffers an irrecoverable loss.  No points for guessing who the target might be! And all this would already be ‘tweaked’ as morally justifiable. For the BJP everything they do is ‘morally correct’ isn’t it? There would be lot of buzz in the social media on how- many opposition legislatures want to ‘contribute’ to the development of the state and want a steady government to facilitate development and strengthen the hands of the PM !. To ‘accommodate’ these well-wishers of the state, they will be given ministerial births and chairmanship of the millions of co-operative bodies in the state.  This all in the name of ‘development’ and ‘stability’.  But then BJP is right- A few more ministries for the Shiv Sena would have adversely affected development, whereas more than double that number given to opportunists will not. As I said, the BJP media managers would already have started campaigns to justify this and still proclaim how the party is ‘different’ and pro-development. The RSS will dissociate from the party while all this happens- with one of its mouthpieces criticizing the ‘deterioration of the political values’. Another one (or the same, after a few days) will justify the action in name of ‘Hindutva’ or ‘Development’.  All this, while there would be a sustained malicious campaign against Shiv Sena, highlighting all the ‘ills’ that the BJP realized after 25 years.

    For the Shiv Sena, well, they are the wounded tiger for sure! There would be ‘opposition’ everywhere. So you would see the battles being fought on streets as well as the Vidhan Sabha (well if the SS remains intact till then). Again all the ‘ills’ of BJP, realized after 25 years will be showcased.  Marathi people – Beware!. You would be in danger every day from now! Or so would you be asked to believe!. Mumbai, Vidharbha, Belgum will all be issues of prime interest from now on.  After all, who else is the protector of the Marathi manoos? . Of course, all this may die down if a ‘settlement’ is reached over continuation of power in the BMC. After all BMC is more important than ‘self-respect’ and Marathi interests, isn’t it ? .  The only question is – will they have 63 warriors to fight or less than 40!.

    Sharad Pawar has once again shown why he is the master of the game! The first thing he would do is to secure the 41 legislatures he has. Shouldn’t be too difficult for him unless there is a compulsive grudge against him or his family members, besides the lure of power and money ( which most of the 41 have in plenty) !  For him the equation is simple, continue support to the BJP till they rake up the various scams (less likely) OR there is an alternate plan in place (which would depend on whether the SS is about to break!), whichever is earlier. So the ‘stability’ would last only till the government has dependency on the NCP! After that the BJP becomes ‘communal’ and the NCP will act in interests of the state and Marathi Manoos!.  Unless , of course , if the PM needs the services of an ‘able and experienced’ person like Sharad Pawar at the Centre AND the state government  suddenly realizes that it has to ‘focus’ on development and not politics of ‘vendetta’ !.

     One interesting factor to mention here is, while other  the parties will be vigilant to keep their ‘stock’ together, the tables can be turned! The BJP itself has 22-24 of MLAs who are technically outsiders (mostly ex-NCP). Plus , there are at least a dozen aspirants of the ‘CM position’ in this disciplined party.  I won’t be surprised if someone aspires to follow Sharad Pawar! (what he did in 1978). After all, there is little ‘flexibility’ these people get with Narendra and Devendra at the helm of affairs!. So there may be ‘ the one’ who wants to ‘rise’ against the purported  anti-Marathi (the 'i' can be replaced by 'a' depending on the politics of that day !)  policies of the BJP!

    The one party that remains unaffected (more by compulsion than choice) by all this is the Congress. With a minor risk of defection, there is not much it got to lose, or rather left to lose!  It also is technically speaking the only genuine opposition party in the state! The congress has an excellent opportunity to gain some ground and good will (yes! even after 15 years of mis-rule) in this scenario, but for the morons leading them at the Centre and state! Of course the congress would be ‘called in’ to service if there is an alternate formation taking place and would as usual offer ‘outside’ support for the ‘ benefit of the state’ and ‘to keep communal forces away’ !.

All in all, very ‘interesting’ times ahead!.And while this naked dance of politics is being played, people would still ask the question
“Kuhe nehun thevlay maaza Maharashtra “!

Lastly - The Third act? Well, that’s when the audience get to play and the actors watch!.  Its just a question of when this happens !.

Jai Hind and (so much I wish) Jai Maharashtra!.

P.S : The views expressed above are speculations of possible scenarios. Something I so much wish shouldn’t happen but fear, it may! I would personally want a stable government in Maharashtra irrespective of my political orientation.

Is it really that complicated?

    So –Me and my subordinate are working to win a project for months. After a lot of hard work, and inefficiency of existing team, we manage to win it. The management thinks that my subordinate has played a major share in the win and promote him to be my boss! Now, this new boss of mine is bent on diminishing my influence (understandably to establish his control over the smooth execution) and gives me a minor role in the scheme of things.  The terms are not agreeable to me. What options have I got?
    A.    I join the project team on the conditions laid down and work my way to execute it efficiently. Make a positive impression through hard work, exhibit my capabilities (which I claim to possess) in the project, and even otherwise and make a determined effort to get back the position and influence I deserve.

    B.    I quit the project team without bickering. That would be a setback for me since I have worked all these years and months to win over the project. But it would give me a chance to re-establish myself and prove that I can win and execute even without my would-be boss. Even a small win would help prove the management that I can be an useful entity!  Yes- This is the hard path. I may suffer on my pay checks, some of my loyal team members may break away from me. I may even risk going into oblivion. But isn’t life about easy choices versus the right ones?

    C.    I let my ego drive my decisions. I find it difficult to come in terms with reality and constantly bicker over every responsibility the new boss gives me. I make it difficult to form the team and hamper execution. In the process, I even lose support of those from the management who have faith in me and are waiting for an opportunity to give me the right role and responsibility.

    There are no right answers in life. Only the wrong ones! No points for guessing which one(s) would any right minded person choose.  Doesn’t the Shiv Sena get it? Either Uddhav Thackeray has gone crazy or is ill advised to the hilt!

    Ironically, they don’t realize that in this tussle, they are losing the very thing that they seem to be fighting about- Self-respect! This government is a BJP government, irrespective of the 4-5 ministries more or less you could have managed to get. That number is not going to change the public perception. Of course it may change the ‘financial’ angle possibly. The one thing you don’t talk about but everybody knows !. So if that is indeed the case, it is shameful because you would end up ‘selling’ your self-respect! Probably the worst form of ‘sell-out’.

    Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray quote about Shivaji Maharaj every now and then. But they seem to forget the history. In the tah (treaty) with the Mughals, Shivaji had to give away a lot. In practical terms, it was a loss for him. But the visionary he was, he was not trying to preserve ‘self-respect’. He was trying to minimize losses of Swaraj through negotiations. Trying to buy time. He did invoke the ‘self-respect’ card. But that was only when things went worse, threatening his very survival and who knows, probably timing it so that he had enough time for his team to prepare a counter attack strategy. History proves that he did time it well!

    Negotiations do not help you win! The very fact that you are forced to get down to the negotiating table, proves that your adversary (or friend, whatever way you want to see it!), has the upper hand. Negotiations can be useful to contain losses and help you buy time. But they should be used just for that and not a condition for the agreement. Ego is the last thing you want to bring during negotiations.

    The Sena’s idol – Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj played it really well in his lifetime. Their ‘friend’ Sharad Pawar seems to be playing it well! Surprisingly their ‘enemy’ – Pakistan has played it well, time and again with India, the US and many more.  Unfortunately, the Sena seems to have lost the plot.

So a joke being circulated for few days seems to be turning into reality. Rather the ring master had his way !

" Delhi me Narendra, Mumbai me Devendra  aur baki saab Shardchandra !".

Jai Hind …and Yes – Jai Maharashtra!

A new Beginning ( ?)

         Congratulations to the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra!! And to the BJP. For first time in decades, we see a possibility of a new brand of governance in Maharashtra. Earlier, irrespective of who was in power and who the CM was, the power always remained with ‘one’ political entity. It always was a case of ‘Heads I win, Tails you lose’! .As per the faith reposed by the electorate, we expect this government to execute duties devoid of pride, prejudice, regionalism, factionalism and political compulsions. As the Prime Minister has often said, Maharashtra is the ‘Big Brother’. We expect the new government to conclusively establish and prove this fact and not succumb to the wishes of the ‘younger ones’! The battle is not an easy one. The power equation is skewed. Although BJP heads the state government, the local bodies in majority of the state are still controlled by other political players. The Co-operative societies are almost entirely in the hands of Congress and the NCP. To add to this, the culture of power brokers that has prevailed in the state has not let the ruling party unaffected as well. Lastly, the state government has to effectively deal with Center to facilitate uniform development in the state. With states competing for investments and industry, Maharashtra needs to once again establish its supremacy in this area. We are aggressively competing with Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other states that offer tax sops and other benefits. The CM and the state government has to ensure that the interests of state are primal over all other aspects.
         The profile of Shri Devendra Phadavnis is certainly impressive! Although he is the fourth CM from Vidharbha, he is different in terms of his political and cultural lineage. Being a CM at this young age is certainly impressive, but he has to remember that, it doesn’t matter how you begin. What matters is where you end. After all, we did have a chief minister who was younger than him !. We are hopeful that the dynamic CM along with his small team, coupled with the support from Centre, will change the socio-economic landscape of the state. The populace has very high expectations from this government and thus entrusts additional responsibility on the government. While basking in the glory, the government (and the party) has to remember that the task ahead is not easy. Perhaps, it may take not five but ten years to fulfill the expectations of the people. In this journey, support from various other political forces and entities may be required. So the government has to take everyone together at the same time not compromising on its ‘core values’ and promises to the people. Easier said than done !.
         Lastly, it is interesting that a person who openly advocated a separate ‘Vidharbha’ should be elected the Chief Minister of Maharashtra! We believe that an aggressive chief minister from the region, with such an overwhelming mandate, coupled with support from Centre should most certainly be able to push Vidharbha on the path of development and alleviate the concerns of people in that region. Because if that doesn’t happen, the very demand for  a separate Vidharbha state is flawed, except for political reasons!

Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra !

Nobel and the War

I never heard of Kailash Satyarthi! I consider that as my failure as an Indian and also of the media at large. Well the positive side is, this does bring about the important role of the media –and by that I mean print, electronic, regional, national- every kind. When it almost seemed that social media with a P2P approach was turning out to be an alternative for conventional media, the news about Kailash comes out as a silver lining. While social media is effective, it lacks penetration. No wonder why the twitter account of the PM increases by millions while Kailash is largely unheard of! To give an analogy, while big banner films spend lacs, even crores on promotion of mediocre films, it takes a genuine film critic to bring forth a masterpiece though a low budget film. Of course, the problem with both remains the same – Credibility. So the institutions are still relevant, it’ just that the people responsible have lost credibility and are not taken seriously. The Nobel Prize for Kailash Satyarthi is indeed a recognition of his lifelong contribution (again read from the media AFTER Nobel is announced) as it is about the inherent ‘goodness’ that prevails in the society. To add, it surprises me that he has not received any of the ‘Padma *’ awards. Perhaps the Government of India never considered the effort worthy enough. Or Kailash lacked the necessary ‘influence’.

Malala’s case is different. Though, her efforts and courage are definitely noteworthy, she did have the world media by her side. She has been a household name for past couple of years and it was a matter of time that she was considered for Nobel. Of course, this privilege doesn’t make her prize any less important. She braved her life for a cause and instead of being subdued by the attack, has used her celebrity status to promote her cause. The irony is that while she is admired worldwide, her own people seems to condemn her.

Nevertheless, ignoring (or lauding – whichever way you want to see it) the political statement the Nobel committee wanted to make, it is indeed a proud moment for India and Pakistan. But then the commonality stops right here! Moving away from ideality to reality, this should not be linked to the border situation in any way. We are witnessing the largest cross border firing between India and Pakistan in a decade. Although Malala has expressed her concern for peace on border, I would dismiss her suggestion as that of a sweet kid with idealistic views. Politics demands a pragmatic approach to achieve stated targets. Unfortunately there is nothing called as absolute right or wrong in international politics , certainly not during war (which by the way is an extension of state policy). It’s all about right moves. And so far, gods seems to be favoring India!. Both the nations are acting in their ‘national interest’ and we will witness such skirmishes till both find a confluence of national interests or realize the sheer irrationality of the conflict. All I can say is – Hope for the best !

Megalomania- The delusion of Power

There is a saying in Marathi – “Daiva ne dile ani Karma ne ghalavle” which loosely translated means – whatever you gained in fortune, you have lost by your own deeds (Karma). Déjà vu anyone?
Well I am sad. Not because the ‘Mahayuti’ was a great political entity and all. There was bickering even earlier. But at least the marriage was intact. The success of Loksabha elections had led to expectations about (finally) a non-Congress (and I mean any variant of that grass) government being formed in Maharashtra. And that looked like a certainty until today.But the modern political descendants are hell bent on carrying the legacy of their forefathers-Individuals over the state. Looks like narrow political gains and a few seats are more important than the collective wish of maharashtrains. Well they seem to have forgotten the basic principle of politics – Never take the voters for granted. How much I wish the voters had taught you a lesson! But we have experienced the alternative for 15 years and –should I say more!
Discounting the ‘insider politics’ that a commoner like me can hardly perceive, the outward reasons seem to be the want of CM position arising out of perceived strength of the two parties. BJP seems to have forgotten the fact that it had settled for a lesser number of seats earlier and the utility of ‘NaMo’ factor in local elections is yet to be ascertained. And even if it works, is certainly not a long term option. Given the volatility of local issues, it but takes one bad decision to turn tides against a wave. Bad thinking I must say.They clearly seem to have overestimated their strength!.As for the Sena, the success of loksabha election is largely attributed to the ‘NaMo’ factor and legacy of Balasaheb. Current leadership seems to have grossly overestimated its ability to pull on their own.
An alternative theory (and we do have reasons to believe it!) is - the ‘breakup’ is not just related to seat sharing. That was a minor issue and could be resolved amicably. Looks like it was an engineered split. No points for guessing who may be behind it!! . And if true, also goes on to show, who is the ring master of the political circus in Maharashtra. So now you have all cards on the table. Its a five,six,seven cornered fight.Simply put, any two non-Congress (and here I mean non-Indian National congress!) parties will come together and form the government. If required three- Whatever it takes to grab ‘power’. Certainly not ‘Acche Din’ for Maharashtra.
All I can say is – “Good Luck Maharashtra”