Love

The word “love” is possibly the most beautiful in the world. Someone can say, “I love God”, or “I love my wife”, or “I love my Country, or “I love my children”, or “I love my friend”, or “I love my neighbor”, or “I love my dog”, or “I love football” or “I love chocolate”, and most people will think they understand. But the kinds of “love” appropriate to all these objects of those “loves” are as different as anything can be. Someone who truly loves God desires to promote the glory of God, and to be with Him forever, and to help others to know and love Him as well. He who really loves his wife desires to make her happy and safe, to see her good qualities replicated in the building of a family with her, to sacrifice himself, even his life, if necessary, to protect her, and to help her secure eternal happiness in the next life. She who loves her husband obeys his just wishes, and desires to assist him in fulfilling his duties as a man, that he may be worthy of her love and loyalty, and of eternal salvation. Those who best love their children are desirous of raising them properly; to prepare them for life in this world and the next, and sacrifice their own personal interests and preferences for their children’s good. He who loves his Country wants to see it act honorably and justly, and desires to keep it free and safe from enemies, foreign and domestic, even if he must give his life for that cause. She who properly loves her friend enjoys her company and helps her in need. He who correctly loves his neighbor may or may not like his Neighbor, but treats him as he himself would be treated, with courtesy and respect for his person, but not necessarily for his ideas or deeds if they are unworthy of him. The person who properly “loves” football enjoys watching or playing the game, but (we hope) does not sacrifice all for its sake, recognizing it is just a game. And she who “loves” chocolate desires to consume it for the pleasure it gives her. Love of God constitutes the highest form of love, for God Is Love.

This kind is followed closely by love of family, country, and neighbor for love of the God Who made them. This kind of love is called Charity, and is primarily concerned with giving. The kind of “love” that consumes something for pleasure is more properly called “desire”. This kind involves taking, and is obviously of the lowest kind. Alas, how common it is to find these two very different things being confused! Just as there are indeed those who sacrifice all on the altar of sports or food, or some other triviality, so are there many deluded people who establish relationships with others for the purpose of consuming each other for their own selfish pleasure, often putting each other at risk for incurable, fatal diseases, or worse, eternal damnation, and dare to call that “love”. Such relationships are easily recognized by the chronic disputes, insecurity, dishonesty, promiscuity, and/or shortness of duration that characterize them. These incidents are more properly called examples of lust than of love, and cause great harm to everyone involved, causing, among other problems, habits that are as addictive as drugs, leading its victims from one destructive relationship to another. Children that result from these selfish alliances are frequently either slaughtered in the womb, or brought up like wild animals that travel in packs called street gangs, at great expense to taxpayers who must substitute for the absent father and/or mother, and at great cost to others by the damage they do by their irresponsible acts, not having been raised in a normal family environment that teaches respect for the rights of others. The uncountable destruction wrought by this sort of “love” rivals, if not exceeds, that brought about by hatred.

I contend that this confusion over the meaning of the word “love” has caused a great many people to go through life without ever having experienced real love. As a by-product of this deficiency, there is also confusion over the meaning and purpose of hate. When a person truly loves someone or something, this love necessarily results in abhorrence for anything that threatens the well-being or honor of the beloved. This abhorrence is called “hate”. When directed against evil deeds and the false ideas that spawn and support them, hatred is a proper, necessary, and inevitable component of love. In fact, he who is incapable of this type of hatred is also incapable of that highest love known as Charity. However, when hatred is directed against persons, it is misdirected and uncharitable. Our modern society, unfortunately, fails to draw distinctions between persons and their deeds or ideas, and creates false divisions in mankind by pushing people into identifying themselves with their ideas and actions, usually for political or economic exploitation. Owing to our nations false national ideology that pretends that all ideas and beliefs are equal and somehow sacred, conflicts frequently arise, in which hatred is directed against the people who have false ideas that cause behavior that is destructive, rather than against the ideas themselves. But people are not ideas, nor are they deeds. People are made in the image and likeness of God, and, as such, are good in their essence. Whether they are what can be called “good” or “bad” people depends upon how they utilize the free will God has granted them. Ideas, beliefs, and deeds, by contrast, can be good or evil in their very essence. And, let us never forget, ideas and beliefs have consequences. Nobody can truly keep his beliefs to himself, for they will affect everything he does. He who does not act according to his beliefs must eventually believe in accordance with his acts, or go mad.

A Nazi, therefore, is not Nazism, but is rather a person, potentially capable of much good, but who has unfortunately been deceived by a foolish and dangerous ideology that prompts him to do evil things. A robber is not robbery, but a person who, because he falsely believes or “feels” he has an excuse that is superior to the laws of God and Man, commits the sin of robbery. A prostitute is not prostitution, but a person who commits the sin of fornication for profit. A sodomite (the legal term for one who practices certain unnatural sexual acts) is not sodomy, but a person who commits the sin of sodomy. A sinner is not sin. None of the above persons have to continue doing what they have been doing. With a little Divine Grace, some repentance, and a bit of humility, all these persons are capable of casting aside these sins and errors as being unworthy of someone redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. And many have done so, to their great happiness. Therefore, if we would truly love our neighbor, who is a sinner, we would gently inform him that he was created by a loving God for higher things than wallowing in sin. We would also correct, publicly if necessary, those who would tell the sinner that there is nothing wrong with his sin, for to tell any of these afflicted souls that there is nothing wrong with their false ideas or the evil deeds that they help generate, would be criminally irresponsible and very unloving. It would be equally wrong to hold up a sign, as some well-intentioned but apparently ignorant people have done, telling them that God hates them. God, being Love, loves all His creatures, even the worst sinners, but He also hates sin for the harm it does to the sinner and to society. If we would truly love our neighbor, so should we all.

Earth Day

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is celebrated in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Many communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. The first Earth Week originated in Philadelphia in 1970 (starting April 16 and culminating on Earth Day, April 22.) Earth Day Network, a group that wishes to become the coordinator of Earth Day globally, asserts that Earth Day is now observed on April 22 on virtually every country on Earth. World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5 in a different nation every year, is the principal United Nations environmental observance.

U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced his idea for a nationwide teach-in day on the environment in a speech to a fledgling conservation group in Seattle on 20 September 1969, and then again six days later in Atlantic City to a meeting of the United Auto Workers. Senator Nelson hoped that a grassroots outcry about environmental issues might prove to Washington, D.C. just how distressed Americans were in every constituency. Senator Nelson invited Republican Representative Paul N “Pete” McCloskey to serve as his co-chair and they incorporated a new non-profit organization, environmental Teach-In, Inc., to stimulate participation across the country. Both continued to give speeches plugging the event.

On September 29, 1969, in a front-page New York Times article, Gladwin Hill wrote:

"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...” Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate student, read the NYT article and traveled to Washington to get involved. He had been student body president and a campus activist at Stanford University in McCloskey’s district and where Teach-In board member Paul Ehrlich was a professor. He thought he might be asked to organize Boston. Instead, Nelson eventually asked Hayes to drop out of Harvard, assemble a staff, and direct the effort to organize the United States. Hayes would go on to become a widely recognized environmental advocate.

Nelson's suggestion was difficult to implement, as the Earth Day movement proved to be autonomous with no central governing body. As Senator Nelson attests, it simply grew on its own:

Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

Official Earth Week logo that was used as the backdrop for the prime time CBS News Special Report with Walter Cronkite about Earth Day 1970

On April 22 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, Freeway and expressway revolts, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Media coverage of the first Earth Day included a One-Hour Prime-time CBS News Special Report called "Earth Day: A Question of Survival," with correspondents reporting from a dozen major cities across the country, and narrated by Walter Cronkite (whose backdrop was the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia's logo). The largest segment of the special report (20 minutes of the 60-minute program) focused on Earth Day in Philadelphia.

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

Dr. B R Ambedkar: The Legend to Remember

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.

Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job in Baroda.

In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.

The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.

After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.

In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.

When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.

Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.

In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as "Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what they were called.

Achievements: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.

In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.

In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.

On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.

Place of Dr. Ambedkar as a Humanist in the Historical Context

Humans as the Homo sapience evolved on this planet about 150,000 years before present. Some of the oldest civilizations known in the history of humanity have been dated 10,000 years old. Human Being is a social animal. Social animal has a tendency to govern and to be governed by a set of rules framed by the society itself. There are two fundamental types of human nature. Creative and possessive. Creative humans use human intellect for creative endeavors which enriches human thought; knowledge and wealth thereby contribute to the development of human heritage for the posterity. Possessive people, on the other hand do not believe in the use of human intellect for creative purpose. Rather, they believe in appropriation, amassing and even usurpation of the products of the labor of the creative people. This type of people posses a strong urge to become the governing class by all means in order to achieve their aims. Lesser the degree of civilization in the society, greater is the probability of succeeding this type of people in becoming the governing class. However, in a more civilized society the creative people can offer resistance to possessive people and try to safeguard their interests.

This is a continuous process in the human society. Karl Marx has scientifically analyzed this conflict by applying the principles of dialectical materialism to the sphere of social phenomenon and described it as the historical materialism. Slavery, apartheid, gender bias and caste system are the abominable creations of possessive peoples for the exploitation of creative people. These are man made evils created by man for the exploitation of man. Those, who have raised their voices against these evils and given a relentless fight against the prevailing social order of their times in order to free the creative peoples from the shackles imposed on them have become immortal personalities in the human history. Some of these great persons are better known as founders of religions. Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ and Guru Nanak for example. Some have become famous as saints as Kabeerjee, Ravidasjee and Tukarama. Some have become source of inspiration and guidance to the underprivileged classes as Krantiba Jotiba Phoolay and Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker and some are revered even more than gods as Bharatratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramjee Ambedkar.

Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ, Guru Nanak Kabeer, Ravidas, Tukarama, Krantiba Jotirao Phoolay, Periyar and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar they all belong to the great class of exalted Homo sapience called as Humanists.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was truly a multi-faceted personality. A veritable emancipator of Dalits, a great national leader and patriot, a great author, a great educationist, a great political philosopher, a great religious guide and above all a great humanist without any parallel among his contemporaries. All these facets of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's personality had strong humanistic underpinnings. It is only regrettable that the press in the past as well as the contemporary has projected Ambedkar mainly as a great social rebel and a bitter critic of the Hindu religion. Critics of Dr. Ambedkar have ignored his basic humanistic instincts and strong humanitarian convictions behind his every act or speech through out his life. It is important to trace the origin and consolidation of his humanistic convictions.

Origins of Dr. Ambedkar's Humanistic Convictions.

Dr. Ambedkar's father, Subhedar Ramji was a known follower of the Kabeerpanth. Many of the Kabir's Dohas are the veritable gems of rationalism and the most daring expressions of the humanitarian beliefs. Dr. Ambedkar's mind was thus deeply imbued with Kabeer's philosophy in the childhood days. On passing his matriculation examination, he was felicitated by his teacher and was presented with a copy of a book on the life of Buddha. This gift must have made a profound impact on the mind of young Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar stayed in America, the land of liberty, for his higher studies. There he studied the western liberal thought and the humanitarian philosophy expounded by great thinkers such as Prof. John Dewey, who was also his teacher, John Stuart Mill, Edmund Burke, and Prof. Harold Laski to name a few. The impact of this original thinker on Dr. Ambedkar's mind is evident from the frequent quotations one comes across in his writings and speeches. The contrast between the social milieu which he lived in, and the liberal academic thought he studied could not have resulted in anything but making him an ardent humanist.

Proof of Dr. Ambedkar's Unflinching Humanistic Convictions.

Following events in the life of Dr. Ambedkar bears testimony to his humanitarian concerns and convictions.

Mahad Tank Satyagraha

Untouchables were barred however; the animals were allowed to use the water of the Chawdar tank in the Mahad town of Maharashtra. This glaring manifestation of inhuman attitude of the society was challenged by Dr. Ambedkar to usher a new era of social revolution. On 20th March 1927, 10,000 satygrahis assembled at Mahad under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar and marched to the Chawdar tank to assert their human right to drink the water from the public place. The procession was attacked by caste Hindus and many satyagrahis were injured by them. There were many ex-military persons among the satyagrahis who had shown their bravery during the World War I. They could have retaliated in a befitting manner. However Dr. Ambedkar appealed to his comrades not to indulge in violence. Only a person who is the humanist to his innermost core can show such steadfast faith in the non-violence in such situation.

The name of Mahad town is also permanently linked with human rights because one more reason. Dr. Ambedkar organized a conference of satyagrahis on the 25th December 1927 in which the Manusmriti was burned. Burning of the Manusmriti was a revolutionary step which sought to denounce the inhuman laws of scriptures and proclamation of right to equality and justice.

Pune Pact

In the field of politics also, Dr. Ambedkar remain firm with his convictions.

Signing the Pune pact is perhaps the ultimate testimony of Dr. Ambedkar's humanitarian credentials. He was fully aware of the reason for Gandhi's fast and also the consequence of signing the pact, yet only on the humanitarian ground to save the life of Gandhi he did it. The essence of his political philosophy, the trilogy of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity he had borrowed from Buddha's philosophy. His political aims and objectives as expressed in the manifesto of the independent labour party founded by him. Many of the current provisions for the welfare and protection of labor have their origin in the manifesto of the independent labour party.

Fundamental rights assured to all citizens of our country is a great leap towards establishing the basic human values in the society that was based on graded inequality. As the chairperson of the constitution drafting committee Dr. Ambedkar was instrumental in the incorporation of the principle of fundamental rights in the constitution.

Dr. Ambedkar was a firm believer in the parliamentary democracy. That is why when the fear of fascism represented by Hitler was looming large over the world,

he decided to co-operate with the British government in its fight against the fascism. Because as a humanist he could foresee the dangerous consequences of the victory of the fascism. Today some myopic people criticize Dr. Ambedkar for this. However, by criticizing Dr. Ambedkar on this score, they inadvertently expose their fascist leanings.

A few months before his Mahaparinirvana he embraced Buddhism. It was a great tribute of a great humanist to the greatest humanistic philosophy of Buddha. By initiating millions of his follower in to the Buddhist fold, he asserted his faith in the humanistic values preached by Buddha in alleviating the sufferings of his lot. He thus reached the pinnacle of the humanism by becoming a Bodhisattva.

Mirch Masala

Sonbai walks in the lanes of an unnamed village with a ghada (metal matka, water container) on her head. She is in the middle of her hen-party, with all members skillfully balancing the ghadas on their heads, and you know that Sonbai is a leader.

As the group of these exotically dressed women pass through a gang of by-sitters loitering around the quintessential banyan-tree-chowraha combination, they are welcomed with derogatory remarks. One of the men calls her a diamond yet unpolished. Sonbai pretends to ignore and avoids a retort, but not without uttering a few disapproving obscenities to her friends and followers. The leader knows how to handle those men whose idea of contempt of a woman comes from low self-respect and a pretense of strong masculinity.

As the group of women disperses to walk towards their ‘destiny’ation. Sonbai has business to attend to, and she walks up to the baniya store to buy some oil. The baniya demands money for the goods purchased; in an undertone, he probably insinuates acceptance of other favors in the absence of currency . Sonbai dodges any implied meanings, cajoles him with purpose and walks off with the desired quantity of oil with a smirk on her face. She cannot tell the baniya off, as he employs her and her husband. As the boss sees the luscious back of Sonbai walking away, he can’t help but yell out his frustration with a risque remark; “Sasuri puri raat jagati hogi marad ko” – reason why once again her husband didn’t show up for work. Yes, she can do that. She has the beauty and attraction capable of doing that, but they are reserved for but one man.

And she meets the man sleeping outside what’s almost a hut. Sonbai gets playful, and teases the husband. The husband is grumpy over the hopeless working conditions in this hopeless land. He wants to go to a city to find a good job. Sonbai is clearly unhappy with his dream, and pleads, shows love and plays about every card available up the sleeve of a woman in love.

A gang of sepoys pass by an insect-infested scarecrow standing in the middle of a farm. The scarecrow has just been beheaded by a farmer’s stone. It doesn’t mind it, as it is not a living organism.

There are women at the lake feeling water in their ghadas. The sepoys, now visibly leads by someone arrive at the lake and all women scatter, expectedly. Un-expectedly one maintains her ground, looks in the eye of the leader. The leader, a lanky figure with commanding eye stares back. His eyes hold more bewilderment which turns into lust quickly, still not just letting it out. Both the alpha male and female exchange dialogues; – the male wants to quench his thirst and the woman wants him to behave properly, not like an animal. The woman gives him water when he promises to comply, but when he is done drinking, we know the woman played nicely and won. The leader, called Subedar, was not able to get what he wanted. Not yet.

The Subedar would not live without having Sonbai, or he promised havoc that no one can afford. Sonbai would not give away her pride, and the man who is supposed to protect her is not around. The men who are supposed to protect her have given in to the will of the man who holds the gun. Some woman who are aged, mature and with a knowledge of the schemes of the world also try to persuade Sonbai to give herself in to the Subedar, for the greater good of the village and its people. No, is the answer. Always. Firm. What happens after that, is the clash between only the power and the seemingly weak, but also between the conventional wisdom and someone who have just found their way of doing things.

The 1980’s saw a very consistent and continued rise of parallel films in Hindi film industry. On one hand we had films that still linger in our memory as Torture series, on the other hand a fistful of directors fresh out of film institutes, full of attitude and josh to change the world were giving a new voice to their dreams, hopes, frustrations and struggles.

One from the crop of those directors was Ketan Mehta. His first film, Bhav ni Bhavai and second film Holi (with Aamir Khan) were two different subjects completely unrelated in nature, with the central theme of rebel. While the rebel had a form of subdued frustration in the first one, the second took it to another level of aggression.

His third film, Mirch Masala had a different class raising its head against the societal norms. This is a story which can be described as a microcosm of India at any time in the history. The women in the film have been conveniently denied their rights, and not only by men but by conventions. There are male characters who do not quite agree with the stronger members of the society, but their voice is oppressed. How they find their own voice against the society is a theme Ketan Mehta once again tries to explore with. The original story is written by Chunilal Madia and screenplay by Ketan Mehta and Shafi Hakim. There is a Zaverchand Meghani flavor to the subject matter, but to do justice to writers they maintain their own style.

At times you feel that all the characters are a little bit too obvious. A villain is a villain and he is supposed to be bad. So he is bad, with a wicked mustache. Often the “Men bad, women good” is not so subtle. An educated men is like one in the frogs’ party. He is ridiculed for his unconventional views, harassed and he also wears spectacles. So we are to understand that the villagers do not value education or anything that challenges their existing thought process. But Sonbai is one character that makes up for any nitpicking flaws.

The cast includes Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Supriya, Deena, Ratna Pathak, Raju Panchal, Om Puri, Raj Babbar (in a cameo), Suresh Oberoi, Ben Gilani, Paresh Rawal and Mohan Gokhle. There is Amole Gupte in a small role, and he is also AD of the film. The acting is adequate from the supporting lot. Naseeruddin Shah acts well but his character is sort of uni-dimensional. Om Puri acts as a character of an age that he even today does not look, but very convincingly. Deepti Naval is good, and so are sisters Supriya and Ratna in their bubbly, naive villager act.

Show stealer is without any doubt Smita Patil. Here she looks so sensuous you wish why she didn’t do a few more ‘Jaane Kaise Kab Kahan’. She looks so strong in her character as a woman who after all her village life knows her ways, you wish why she did not go for politics as a parallel career. And you realize what we are missing in the roles of women today, and the actresses that depict them. Watch it for Sonbai and Smita Patil.

Dombivli Fast

A lower-middle age house in the Mumbai Suburb of Dombivli, an alarm rings in the morning, the household goes into a frenzy of activities where the man of the house, Madhav Shreedhar Apte gets ready for work, goes to work travelling in the Mumbai Locals, works and then comes back in the evening, feeds his young daughter and then goes to sleep. The next morning the same routine starts again, and the next morning.

The Marathi movie “Dombivli Fast” (DF)starts with the above routine scene about a middle class home but ends with the most under-rated climax of all, simple yet hard-hitting.

Madhav Apte is a common man with strong principles. He has strong values and he does not believe in bending any rules for anybody, even when the future of his children is involved. He fights with people around when he sees injustice and corruption, which include his colleagues, his boss, the shop keepers, man who delivers water in a water tanker, school principal and even his wife. His principals and his behavior is a cause of fights between his wife and him. She is tired of only preaching of changing the world but not doing anything about it.

He is pushed to a corner by everybody who finds his policy of righted ness too difficult to handle and one day he snaps. He goes on a rampage trying to do right, everything that goes against his principal and then starts a mayhem on the street of Mumbai, ultimately ending in a tragic climax.

The story is very similar to Michael Douglas’s starrer “Falling Down” but DF stands out because of good acting and brilliant direction. There are many characters in the movie but the three main characters are Madhav Apte, His wife and a police Inspector.

Madhav Apte who is frustrated by the system and the people around. His wife. Alka who is initially frustrated by her husband’s behavior toward the system and is ready to change to fit into the world and later when she is worried about her husband being shot by the police. The Police Inspector, Subhas Anasphure who is again frustrated by the system but understands that he is the system. The story moves forward through the eyes of these three characters where each reflects and questions their own belief and principles.

Madhav Apte tries to do whatever he sees wrong but is surprised to see that the very people he tries to help are the people who are pulling him down. A telling scene is when he tries to help an old couple in a hospital and to his horror finds that the couple do not approve of his threatening ways even though he is right.

The police meanwhile are clueless and try to stop his rampage. The rest of the story is how Madhav Apte meets his end and in turn trying to correct everything that is wrong with the world.

Directed by Nishikant Kamat makes his directorial debut with this movie. He is the same person who wrote the screenplay for Neha Dupia’s skin flick “Julie”. He handles the thriller very well. The directors excels in the movie. He also has written the screenplay for the movie. He is also directing Madhavan in the Tamil flick “Evano Oruvan” which is a remake of Dombivli Fast set in Chennai. Nishikant Kamat made TV serials before he directed films.

Shilpa Tulaskar plays Alka Apte, Madhav Apte’s wife. She is a veteran of Marathi Movies and has acted in many Marathi movies and serials and plays. She gives a good performance of a frustrated wife. The transformation into a scared woman whose husband is on a rampage is also worth watching, Madhav Apte is the main protagonist of the film but Alka is the one who entices him to go on a rampage. She had to really be the nagging wife and she does excel in that.

Sandesh Jadhav is the Police inspector Subas Anasphure who is after Madhav Apte. I haven’t seen him in any movie and it seems he was very active on the Marathi theatre scene. He has a deep voice which commands authority and is so perfect in the role. He understands that whatever Madhav Apte is doing is the correct action but illegal and is tied to the system. He does not want to make Madhav Apte a martyr but hopes that people do make him one. Sandesh Jadhav has played his part very well.

Finally coming to the main character, Madhav Apte, played by Sandeep Kulkarni. I really had to find who Sandeep Kulkarni was before watching the movie and there is no info available about him on the internet. Sandeep Kulkarni has acted in quite a number of plays, serials and movies. He had played a doctor in “Shwaas” Here he plays the frustrated Madhav Apte who is strong on his principles but his friends, family and colleague always want to deter him from the path. Looking at the movie, it is difficult to imagine any other actor in Marathi cinema who could have done the same role. Watch him talking to the deaf and dumb boy on the footpath venting out his frustration. It was brilliant.

Dombivli Fast can be described as a sober version of Sunny Deol’s “Ghayal” without the happy ending and Sunny Deol’s he-manism. One is forced to look at himself after seeing the movie. It does not dwell into stuff like country and love for the country which normally happens in most of these movies but at the very structure of morality on which any society is based. Madhav Apte, his wife or the inspector looks at morality in their own way and according to their convenience,

The inspector also accepts bribe and is not shown as a righteous one. When he asks his wife would she had managed to run the house on his salary, she answers a flat “No”. They both know that it is wrong but carry on for luxuries rather than basic survival.

The politicians, the shopkeeper, the school principal wants to earn more not for survival but for the luxuries of life.

The most telling scene of the movie which summarizes the whole movie is the climax when Madhav Apte is shot in the train. An injured Madhav Apte asks the Inspector

Ayushya gela ithe Chaavtya seat var basun, jara khidki var basu?

(Whole Life I spent on the fourth seat, can i seat on the window seat for sometime. )

Those few words of Madhav Apte tells the story of middle class Indian. What each Indian has is what he terms the fourth seat, means to just scrap through life. What he desires is the Windows seat, a chance to live a better life without compromising on their principle.

The movie forces you to reflect back on us and as the inspector said to look hard at our self in the mirror to answer a simple question

Is Madhav Apte really guilty?

Politician's drama

Back home in India the elections are going on to elect a new government. Around this time every politician worth his salt will indulge in tactics to gain sympathy, support and finally garner enough votes to win. And of course once they win, politicians will get busy in their own lives... making money, partying, foreign junkets, transfers, getting their loyalists into key positions, etc.

Couple of days ago I received these e-mail forward of two images about two well known politicians in India. One young and inexperienced and another old and a tad too experienced. But both have one thing in common: Political Drama. If the younger one wanted to show that he is with the people in their struggle, the older one wanted to struggle for the people. But both ended making a fool of themselves in front of the thinking class (educated people in India who don't vote but comment liberally about what should be done to make the country developed).

Anyway the pictures are self explanatory, do take a look at them and let me know what you feel.

Rahul created a ripple by acting like a laborer.

Veteran politician Karunanidhi created a world record, the shortest Fast unto death. Yes the septuagenarian fasted for 4 hours by sleeping in air conditioned comfort. The fast started after breakfast and ended before lunchtime

I am sure Indian politicians would have made lot more money and achieved respectable fame if they had become comedians. But now they are making a joke of our country by behaving in this ridiculously comical fashion.

This is perhaps the most shameful facet of our country. Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the ruling Gandhi family didn't think twice before heading out and partying all night even as the family members of those dead in the Mumbai terrorist attack grieved over the loss. According to news reports the general secretary of Indian national congress was seen partying hard till 5.00 am at a friend's Sangeet function in a private farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi.

According to anonymous eye witnesses, Rahul Gandhi was completely out of sync with the mood of the nation post-26/11 terrorist attacks. Though officials have been canceling parties and even private business establishments called off special events, Rahul Gandhi wouldn't stop partying. He was enjoying himself at the lavish party hosted by Leena Musafir, sister of the bride and her husband. “When everyone is canceling parties or just keeping them low-key, Rahul Gandhi had no business to be celebrating. His action makes us lose faith in future leaders,” said Ajay Bahl, a leading corporate lawyer who was trapped in the thick of the action on 26/11 at The Oberoi, Mumbai, but managed to escape with the help of the hotel staff.

And this is the same person who is being projected as the future prime minister of India. Do we need someone like this, one who is totally callous about the sensitivities of the nation, someone who is totally self-indulgent at the tax payers expense. Someone who doesn't care about the response of the nation to this crisis and goes off to party hard. A Member of Parliament who parties instead of serving his constituency? Come on we don't need the future of our to go in such wrong hands.

JAI HIND

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla

Several times in the life we come across the situations where either we are on receiving end and are seized in a circle of thoughts imposed by others on us or we are also part of that crowd which imposes the thoughts on an individual.

Shekhar Kapur might have felt this when his film “Bandit Queen” was stuck with censor board and lot many objections were raised against the film. Phoolen Devi also might have felt limitation because she was not allowed to see the film before its premier.

Director Anurag Kashyap might have felt it when his first directorial venture “Paanch” was not given a green signal by the censor board and few jurors (members of censor board) were against his film.

Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi both political leaders might have seen both the sides, they were outside the circle when emergency was declared and they were inside the circle when Janta Party Govt. came in to power and mother and son were charged for everything bad under the sun.

We all do it in the family, in school, in offices and in social clubs, internet forums that we form a group to give verdicts and we deny seeing an individual’s point of view.
What we think is right for us and this we do as per our understanding about the life. Some people don’t like a particular religion or a section of society so as soon as their matter is under question these prejudiced people become automatically against them.
We don’t care if an injustice is imposed upon them, because we have so many things in the life to do. Teachers do this when they check the copies of students and if they are in a bad mood then students are bound to get less marks.

Common men have to face this situation in daily life. If policemen are in bed mood and some common men are in their trap then only miracle can save them else they are bound to get at least insult by these powerful group of our society.

Wherever, whoever gets a little power then he stops looking at things with a justified approach and his own biased understanding affects the decisions. We live in a superficial manner and skin remains the centre of attraction for us and we don’t bother what is lying inside. If clothes are not good, person can’t be good. If his face is not liked by us then he is not a good person.

For riches, poor people are almost untouchables and they should live away as that can bring communicable diseases. For poor, riches belong to the section of society that exploits others. Our decisions are biased because our approach is biased. We can see our biased approach through events happening in our own society as these events put a mirror before us.

Be it Salman Khan’s case or Sanjay Datt’s case or recent case of Shilpa Shetty, hardly we opt a rationale approach. We are very eager to hang a person on nail. We don’t care to go little deeper in any matter.

If we don’t like Salman Khan then he is certainly guilty in every case he is trapped in. If we like him then he should be released even if he is guilty of offensive doings.

If a person belongs to our cast, religion and section then we are almost blind towards his doings but if he belongs to other group then he is perfectly suitable to be hanged even if he is caught in a small case of corruption.

We may be having a frustration inside so when such cases come before us, that frustration provokes us to decide against that person. We are in a hurry to take decision because accused fits very well in our disliking. During any riots and attack on institutions etc, we find opportunities to check our attitude but seldom apply an objective and wise approach which is good for the society.

Film “Ek Ruka Hua Faisla” reveals all these things before us. It shows us that impulsive decisions are not good and we have to be objective when important decisions have to be taken.

A young boy has been charged for killing his father and court has appointed a jury of 12 members to decide whether man is guilty and hence deserves a capital punishment or not? Members of Jury are not lawyers but they belong to different sections of society. All the members of Jury are gathered in a closed room. As soon as meeting is started, few of them are eager to seal the fate of the man and 11 people decide that decision to give capital punishment to the accused is perfectly right. He killed his father and he deserves this and he should be hanged.

12^th Juror, opposes this decision. Not that he says that accused is innocent; but he starts his arguments that it’s a very sensitive matter, as a person’s life is on stake and jurors should discuss all the factors associated with the case. He is interrupted by most of the jurors as some of them are in a hurry. Somebody has got cinema tickets for the evening show and he has to reach at home at time to pick up his wife and staying in this meeting any longer is a waste of time for him. Another person also has some important meeting to attend. Almost everybody has some excuse or other for going home or else where.

One juror is filled with aghast that how one can kill his own father? He is clear that such person should be killed immediately. 12^th Juror tries again and says,” O.K, let’s say he did not kill his father and what is wrong if we discuss the case at least for a little time. I will put up my arguments in favor of the innocence of that accused person and you all may contradict me”.
He starts his arguments and soon most of the jurors are in his trap depending on their resistive power. 12^th Juror keeps giving his arguments and tries to re-consider all the facts related to the case and many jurors start taking interest in his arguments. The juror, who has to go to cinema, is frustrated seeing meeting is going on and on. Soon meeting reaches at that interesting point where 12^th Juror is supported by 4-5 other jurors.

After a few more minutes and 12^th juror is able to successfully convince more jurors in his favor and soon only two jurors are left there in his opposition. 12^th Juror enacts the last scene of killing as defined in the police report. He analyses whole situation and proves that the person has not killed his father and police has trapped him in a false case. One elder member of Jury, who is still opposing any kind of argument in the favor of accused, breaks down and he cries and tells all the jurors that his own son insults him and does not take care for him, this man should also have been doing same with his old father and he is certain that he has killed his father.

He sees the image of his cruel son in the accused person and thus wishes him to be hanged. Scene becomes emotional, the elder juror is crying and telling all other jurors, his own pathetic conditions he has to face at his own home.

It’s decided now that accused has not killed his father and all the jurors praise now 12^th juror that he and his rationale approach could save the life of an innocent man.

Pankaj Kapur, Annu Kapur, S.M Jaheer (due to Hum Log), Aziz Qureshi (Hum Log), Shailendra Goyal (Wah Janab, a TV serial starring Shekhar Suman and Kiran Juneja), Subiraj (TV serials) and brothers, KK Raina and MK Raina, Deepak Kejrival played the jurors.

Mainly it’s the show of Pankaj Kapur, Annu Kapur and KK Raina. KK Raina plays the 12^th Juror and he plays his role very well. His character is a low profiled but down to earth person who is sober in dealing but very clear in his approach.

Pankaj Kapur gives a fantastic performance.

Annu Kapur plays an elderly man and his gestures are wonderful to watch. These two Kapurs raise the standard of acting in the film and steal the show from other actors.

Basu Chaterjee has directed this film.

Later I got to know that this was remake of Hollywood film “12 angry men” (1957). Do watch it, if get the opportunity.

U Me Aur Hum

Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people. As the credits start to roll in with various romantic quotes in the background; you may be forgiven in thinking that Ajay Devgan's directorial debut might be one of those romantic movies where the hero gets the heroine against all odds and settles down to a lived happily ever after scenario. But the movie turns out to be a quite a serious movie which attempts to tackle a sensitive subject of a patient suffering from the Alzheimer's disease.

Opening with love quotes from diverse sources like Albert Einstein, Emily Dickson, Leo Tolstoy and David Levesque, we meet Ajay (Ajay Devgan) a senior citizen. He narrates the story of Ajay (Devgan, again) and Piya (Kajol), two twenty-somethings who meet aboard the ‘Super Star Libra’, a cruise ship which is travelling from an unspecified location to Mumbai.

From the beginning, movie speaks more about achieving love in all the scenario. It talks about romance, music and fun. In midst of all this mess Ajay meets Piya (Kajol) and is entralled by her. He falls in love with her at first sight (predictably); meets resistance from her immediately (again predictably); uses a few lies and couple of songs to make her reciprocate his love (yawn..predictably). But even though the broad outline of the courting seems to be run-of-the-mill stuff, it’s elevated to a different level due to some neat touches by Ajay Devgan. The explanation of Piya’s background through her book; the conversations between Ajay and Piya run in the background while we see the two enjoying each others company; the sequence of Ajay attempting at learning Salsa overnight – all these result in making the courtship a bit more enjoyable.

“Let’s party and get tight, cause its love at first sight!” the younger Ajay declares. By the time the journey ends, they are predictably in love. In true romcom fashion, a misunderstanding ensues but they are reconciled and get married.

“I think your story is going to be too long,” the elder Piya remarks when her husband decides to narrate their earlier days of clichéd happiness. Everything seems to be going Ajay’s way and he seems to be leading an enviable life, when suddenly he discover that Piya is suffering from Alzhimer’s disease. From here, the movie takes a serious note as Ajay tries to grapple with Piya’s disorder and tries to bring some sense of order in his life.

This is a story about Ajay and his love. He can go to any extend to achieve his love, he can play hard to stand still on the path of love and to protect his love. He teaches us the fact of life when he speaks about the psychological behavior "Defense Mechanism" in human. Where at some level tries to save her child when both are sinking in water and then a moment comes when she climb over her own child to survive from the water. There is nothing wrong in it when she does that. Even she loves her child but its the fact of life. Its a survival of the fittest. Ajay find himself in same situation when he send Priya in Mental Care for the better being of his son and himself. He thinks that he is the one who should be suffered because he broke his promise of never go away from Piya. What if Piya is suffering from Alzheimer? Doesn't she love him? Isn't she the one whom Ajay loved?. Love must survive in all circumstances, this is what U Me Aur Hum teaches us.

The sequences showing Kajol’s gradual tendency to lose her memory is catalogued quite subtly. There’s an instance when Ajay tells Piya to come to meet her at a certain time and Piya turns up an hour late insisting that he got the timing wrong; Piya has a tendency from childhood days to keep post-its in her mirror so that she may not forget much. These scenes seem to be inconsequential at first but as we understand her condition, we also realise the importance of those scenes.

The movie focuses quite a lot on Ajay Devgan’s character and he delivers a commendable performance. His character goes through a lot of distress emotionally and he emotes quite well in those. Kajol delivers an excellent performance. She is pretty restrained in her performance when Alzhimer’s takes over her. Any actor of a lesser calibre could have gone over the top. Thanks to Kajol it does not become U Me aur Ham! Both the lead actors lift the movie up a few notches. The viewer feels very convinced of Ajay’s dilema and is sympathetic towards the choices that he’s forced to make. Ajay’s friends Vicky (Karan Khanna),Natasha (Isha Sharwani), Nikhil (Sumeet Raghavan) and Reena (Divya Dutta) spoil the mood with their histrionics. Except for the title track rendered by Vishal Bharadwaj, the songs are strictly ok. In fact a couple of songs (specially the wedding song), could have been chopped off.

Ajay Devgan the director handles the emotional scenes like a veteran. It’s the light-hearted scenes that are a big let-down. Of course that could be due to the low quality of writing. But he doesn’t seem to maintain a certain level of consistency. For instance, there’s a wonderful digital imagery where we are introduced to Kajol’s thoughts and aspirations; the very next sequence though there is a loud scene with Pichwade Pe Kutte Kate playing in the background. This puts off the viewer’s mood immediately. The romantic track between Ajay and Piya is marred by such inconsistencies. Ajay Devgan does have in him to be a good director, he just has to ensure that consistency is maintained. As Piya’s condition worsens in the later stages, there are a few shocking scenes which are handled very well by him. The story written by Ajay Devgan is good, but I thought the story was a bit incomplete. There could have been more meat in the story towards the end.

Overall, the second half saves the day for the movie. The emotional portions overwhelms you and you’re willing to overlook the blemishes in the first half. If you are looking for a light hearted romantic comedy, then this movie isn’t for you. It’s a movie that tackles the subject of relationships at a serious level.

Why do you Die for? A Sensitive Issue Indeed

Dear friends,

I would like to share an article which i received from Capt. Soami Bhatnagar. Its very sensitive issue so please be calm and think on it openly.

“DO YOU THINK YOU DIE FOR YOUR COUNTRY?”-A QUESTION TO SOLDIERS?
Anatole France once asked a soldier, ” Do you think you die for your country?” When the soldier replied in the affirmative, he said, ” Wrong! You die for the INDUSTRIALISTS.”

I would, in the Indian context, like to modify his suggestion to read as : WRONG, YOU DIE FOR THE CORRUPT, UNGRATEFUL and UNCONCERNED. Bureaucrats and politicians head this list, followed by bulk of unscrupulous businessmen who would qualify to be included in the list.

Soldiers, today, must learn that they NO MORE fight a Nation’s wars but the conflicts started by inept, inefficient and incompetent BUREAUCRACY of India, in league with self-centered, greedy and corrupt politicians.

You ask me to explain it. My answer is very simple. All internal and external problems of India are created by lack of vision and thought bankruptcy on strategic matters by two sets of people who rule India, namely, BUREAUCRATS and POLITICIANS:-From Nagaland in the fifties to Mizoram in the sixties;-from Assam in the seventies to Punjab and J&K in the eighties;-from Mumbai riots in the early nineties to Mumbai attack in 2008;-from communal riots in Gujarat to the same in Andhra & Karnataka;-from killing fields of BIhar and UP to mafia murders in Mumbai;-from ‘MANDAL’ issue to ‘KAMANDA’L issue;-from demolition of BABRI MASJID to burning of TRAIN in GODHARA;-from Naxalite hooliganism to Communalist mayhem since independence;all this and much more owe themselves to the misdeeds of an unholy nexus between the bureaucrats and politicians, who govern this country.

Whether it was the Indo-Pak wars in1947, 1965 and 1971 or ‘WAR LIKE SITUATION ‘in Kargil in 1999 or even Operation PAWAN in Sri Lanka in the late eighties and the Chinese invasion of 1962—–my dear departed comrades: you did not die for the nation; instead, you gave your lives so as to cover the callous mistakes of these people. You are dead and gone. But no one remembers you other than some rantings on these annual rituals, called ‘Vijay Divas’ or the ‘VICTORY DAY”.

If there is a natural calamity in the country—army is called in.If law and order goes awry, soldiers are roped in.If a child gets stuck in a bore-well pit, soldiers are mustered to save the innocent life.BUT,No one punishes the guys responsible for such acts of omission and commission.In the bargain, if a soldier loses a life, they play-act a drama, as if they care too much but none does.

There are many a widows of soldiers, who are fighting their lonely battles———no one is coming forward to help them except some ESM organisations such as IESL and IESM—whom no one listens to—not even the army.

Once NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR, while in Germany, had made a remark on the army’s recent projection of anomalies in the Sixth Pay Commission. He retorted to the questioner,” Don’t worry we will sort out the bast**ds” or words to that effect. He did not know that MILITARY ATTACHE was also listening and who, then, faxed it to his chief. You know what happened then. The three chiefs walked up to the PM with resignation letters in hand.

The recent case of OROP(One rank One Pension) is an interesting testimony to how bureaucracy fools everyone. Don’t you know the way the soldiers have been fooled by this announcement in the parliament by our respectable Finance Minister on July 6 2009, when he vociferously announced implementation of ONE RANK ONE PENSION for the armed forces. Undoubtedly, it was an attempt to divide soldiers by announcing it ONLY for PBOR (PERSONS BELOW OFFICERS RANK). The govt has, thus, tried to create a wedge amongst officers and PBOR. Even the so called grant of OROP to PBOR is a fallacy.Unfortunately the UPA government is trying to exploit this by allowing some ex- Major in Delhi distributing leaflets on this. It is an utter nonsense. What the government has done is to bring at par the pre-96 retirees with pre- 2006 retirees, which is only a miniscule segment of pensioners. The bulk of the pensioners lay in the post-1996 and pre-2006 category, which has been left untouched by the government. This is how our bureaucracy makes fool out of everyone and this is how the politicians willingly play into the hands of bureaucrats. I bet if Pranab Mukerji knows as to what harm he has done to the armed forces by approving this Machiavellian strategy of bureaucrats. To them, it is NOT the NATIONAL INTERESTS that matter but their PERSONAL INTERESTS.

They had done the same thing during implementation and formulation of proposals for armed forces by SIXTH PAY COMMISSION. It is only due to near-rebellious situation in the armed forces that the govt reluctantly accepted it.. Now the same bureaucrats have played another dirty trick with the army and the ESM. They do not realise by tampering with the ARMED FORCES and its disciplined ethics, they are endangering the security and integrity of the nation.

Just imagine what happens, if the armed forces whither away like police or any other government organization! Bureaucrats and politicians have broken the back of police and made them ineffective. Thus Law and order has become a serious problem. Like Committed bureaucracy and committed police officials—-they want soldiers also to be committed to political parties. If it happens, your national security be damned.

THERE IS A VITAL NEED TO KEEP THE ARMED FORCES APOLITICAL. But some wise Congressmen think KARGIL-99 was not their war but BJPs—similarly BJP will think that 1971 or 1965 wars were not theirs but of the Congress. What happens to soldiers?They too are being cultivated to divide the army. Would Congress’s soldiers like to die for BJP’s war? The question is ridiculous but this is what Mr Rashid—– a Congress MP, meant when he ridiculed the celebrations of VIJAY DIVAS. No congressman asked him to shut up. How disgusting.

Often, I hear a logic, that one joins armed forces voluntarily and that no one forced them to join. Very right. This very logic has affected the military ethos. You do not get the quality material any more because of this lopsided thinking. Therefore there are aberrations —corruption cases—rapes—misbehaviour—hooliganism—-extortion and what not by some officers and soldiers. It is still under control—but if you continue to ignore them, certainly he would ask the question:WHY SHOULD I DIE FOR THESE PEOPLE? IS IT WORTH LAYING DOWN ONE’s LIFE FOR SUCH SELF CENTERED PEOPLE?

Most of our soldiers come from rural poor backgrounds and they still think of their poor families before they do any act which might affect their family honour. Therefore, they not only tolerate all sorts of nonsense but also accept the professional hardships. Their tolerance limits are much more than the soldiers of other armies.

They suffer the vagaries of weather and man-made conditions silently. In 1962, they fought the Chinese with point 303 rifles with just 50 rounds—they went to snow covered high altitude mountains in their summer clothing. They died. They were injured but they did not rebel. It was exploitation of their impoverished background by the nation. Giving medals and awards to a few does not ameliorate the pain of many others whose deaths go unnoticed and uncared.

The question is how long the nation and the army can keep its soldiers in the ‘DENIAL MODE’ from their LEGITIMATE DUES and RIGHTS? Today’s soldiers are more aware of their rights and privileges. Education and literacy is making them INDIVIDUALISTIC. Time is NOT far when they would behave like the EDUCATED SOLDIERS—-Yes, its implications must be understood by all and sundry—even the army.

They will question every one–from their own bosses to governmental orders. THEY WILL NO MORE BE SOLDIERS OF THE ‘LIGHT BRIGADE’—WHO WILL AUTOMATICALLY MARCH INTO THE ‘VALLEY OF DEATH’ WHILE THE BULLETS FLY LEFT AND RIGHT OF THEM. They will no more sing the hymn: THERE IS NOT TO REASON WHY; THEIRS IS BUT TO DO AND DIE. Therefore , please do understand that ignoring SOLDIER’s MARTYRDOM and his SACRIFICES was going to be very costly for this nation. Nation has to pay the PREMIUM for the SOLDIER’s SACRIFICES and MARTYRDOM. Nation has to pay this premium for its own security and safety. It is NO FAVOUR nation is doing to its soldiers—whether they joined voluntarily or due to some economic pressures.

The words of General Douglas Mac Arthur, US army Chief in 1931 echo in my ears, when he told president Franklin Roosevelt, “Mr President, when in the next war, an American soldier lay on the ground with enemy bayonet slicing his abdomen and spat out his last curse, I do not want the name to be Mac Arthur but ROOSEVELT”. It is no point emphasizing that president Roosevelt gave to the army what he wanted. And second world war is a testimony that US army tilted the balance in favour of Allied Powers.

Therefore. I reiterate that dues of indian soldiers must be given. The nation must do it. If you do not do this then the ULTIMATE WILL HAPPEN—–as a URDU SHAYAR had said, ” GAR AB BHI NA SAMJHOGE AYE HINDOSTAN WALO—TUMHARI DASTAAN TAK BHI NA HOGI DAASTAANO MEIN”( If you do not mend your ways O’ Indians, you shall evaporate and not exist even in History books). Take it from me, there will be no more SAFE INDUSTRIES—THERE WILL BE NO MORE JET FLYING ‘CEOs’ and smooth talking corporate managers or the GLOBE TROTTING IT’s WONDER BOYS IN INDIA———-THERE WILL BE NO MORE SAFE HOMES FOR YOU TO INDULGE IN BLOGGING ON SULEKHA——-IN FACT, THERE WILL BE NO MORE INDIA AS IT EXISTS TODAY. Decide what you want.

The last bastion of India’s UNITY and INTEGRITY is waiting to DISINTEGRATE because of CONSTANT TAMPERING WITH it by BUREAUCRACY and POLITICIANS.
Indian army has been fighting for 60 years in Nagaland and other North East States—it has been holding Assam, Kashmir and Punjab for you for the last 25 to 30 years. Despite all this there are no major cribs against it, other than media hyped non-sense by vested interests by which some of you get influenced. Remember, Soldiers are not saints—there will be aberrations but the track record of Indian armed forces is much better than most of the armies.

I am appalled to see some debates on Sulekha which talk about wrong doings in the army. Most of it is based upon misinformation–but even if there was any misdeed army is prompt to act and punish the guilty—you know about TEHELKA expose and what Army did later. Who else did it and who else does it?

Haven’t you heard the recent murder of a youth in Baramulla? There was KASHMIR BANDH on this on the plea that he was killed by the army. Now it has turned out that he was killed by his friends for money. Such manipulations against army are quite common in insurgency infected areas.

All cases of alleged rapes are speedily dealt with—most of them turn out to be motivated allegations. When you ask soldiers to search for militants at the dead of a night in a village—-such rubbish will be attributed to them. Even if some soldiers misbehave—take it, they are NO HOLY MEN. If you want to avoid such incidents—ASK THE GOVERNMENT TO SEND THE ARMY BACK TO BARRACKS. This is what the SEPARATISTS and the MILITANTS want—If some of you, educated elites of SULEKHA are going to play into the hands of the SEPARATISTS of KASHMIR like this and believe in their motivated propaganda——-then, also be prepared for them to walk into your homes one day and there would be none to check them.

Look at the record of Pakistan army in Bangla Desh in 1970. More than 10 million people had become refugees; many lakhs perished and thousands of women were raped and hundreds of children maimed. Just have a glance at Sri Lanks’a recently concluded operations against LTTE. what has NOT come out about thousands of CIVILIANS of TAMIL ORIGIN who were killed. Look at what the PAKISTAN ARMY has done in SWAT? Some 3 million people have been rendered homeless. There is no independent check of army’s claims of killing some 1000 Taliban ( there were only 4000)—No top leader has been killed or arrested.

Compare the track record of Indian army against this back drop.

Now, read “CRISIS IN COMMAND” by RICHARD GABRIEL and PAUL SAVAGE to know the track record of US army in VIETNAM in the 60s & 70s of the last century. If still not convinced then it would be interesting for you to know of US army’s recent misdeeds in IRAQ in the years 2007 &2008.

Here are some excerpts from this link:-

“——————-Several soldiers said unit discipline deteriorated while in Iraq..—————-”Toward the end, we were so mad and tired and frustrated,” said Daniel Freeman. “You came too close, we lit you up. You didn’t stop, we ran your car over with the Bradley,” an armored fighting vehicle.————-With each roadside bombing, soldiers would fire in all directions “and just light the whole area up,” said Anthony Marquez, a friend of Freeman in the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. “If anyone was around, that was their fault. We smoked ‘em.——————”
“———————-Taxi drivers got shot for no reason, and others were dropped off bridges after interrogations, said Marcus Mifflin, who was eventually discharged with post traumatic stress syndrome.

“You didn’t get blamed unless someone could be absolutely sure you did something wrong,” he said “——————–Soldiers interviewed by The Gazette cited lengthy deployments, being sent back into battle after surviving war injuries that would have been fatal in previous conflicts, and engaging in some of the bloodiest combat in Iraq. The soldiers describing those experiences were part of the 3,500-soldier unit now called the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team.—————–Since 2005, some brigade soldiers also have been involved in brawls, beatings, rapes, DUIs, drug deals, domestic violence, shootings, stabbings, kidnapping and suicides.

——————-The unit was deployed for a year to Iraq’s Sunni Triangle in September 2004. Sixty-four unit soldiers were killed and more than 400 wounded – about double the average for Army brigades in Iraq, according to Fort Carson. In 2007, the unit served a bloody 15-month mission in Baghdad. It’s currently deployed to the Khyber Pass region in Afghanistan——————- ———.”

Now talk about the Indian army and its track record. It is sixty year for this army to hold your nation together from Nagaland to Kashmir and J&K to Kanya Kumari. It has been involved in wars—low intensity conflicts—militancy /terrorism——-flood reliefs—children rescue—-earthquake relief—-you name a damn thing where you have not called your army—how many INDIANS have been rendered home less. It has fought four and a half wars (Kargil was somewhat a war) for you.

Some thousands of soldiers have laid down their lives in these wars and operations ——–they have left their widowed wives; orphaned children; helpless mothers, sobbing sisters and wailing fathers in your care for, they had faith in you.

Would they have sacrificed their lives if they had an iota of doubt on your sincerity? They fulfilled their part of the CONTRACT by laying down their lives for your safety, honour and security. Why are you retracting from your part of the contract? Please ensure they are not to be ridiculed and slighted as you are doing it today.

I insist soldiers are no saints—they are from the same society—-as you all are—-while you have gone astray—–I mean the society—-how do you expect them to remain holy men? if soldiers are running berserk at times—it is the social system which is to be blamed which has begun to TREAT THEM AS DOORMATS.Reform the society first. Stop this unwanted criticism—else you break this institution as a back lash by the soldiers who will ask:

WHY SHOULD I DIE FOR THESE PEOPLE?"

Today, our soldiers are asking this question. Are we prepared from within to answer them?

Capt. Soami Bhatnagar, i salute you, for what you brought under our consciousness. We weren't aware of such dilemma of our saviors in the current world.

Don't be disappoint, we are the part of same mud and soil. If a brave heart like you will get weak then who will fight against injustice? Remember that war which been fought in Kurukshetra. Today we are fighting the same war in our mind.

We have to stood together to overcome this harassment of one man on other.

If together we stood we can bring lots of change in our society, that is what i believe from the depth of my heart.

Thanks for sharing your.
We shall win on injustice
We shall win on injustice
We shall win on injustice, someday.

Deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome someday.