Vacancy: An Icon for India

What does India need urgently?

An Icon.

Not the icon of of just a religious or a display nature, but a Symbol.  An Indian who stands for something.  All societies and nations need an Idea or Person or something, to which they can believe, and internalize.  Something which can give Identity, a sense of togetherness, something that rises above the petty divisions of caste and creed, community and religion.  Without this symbol, we Indians are doomed to fight our petty internecine battles – never to rise above the pitfalls of our diversity.  

We have given up on our politicos (barring a very small minority), to be an Icon.  For these few, it is a struggle against the entrenched bloated crass set, collectively encompassing the legislature and the bureaucracy.  We’ve seen cases of judicial activism – but the judiciary cannot take the place of the legislature.  Our intelligentsia set is no good, endlessly debating various logic to their bitter end, or paralysis by analysis, if you must.  This makes people escape to sports-persons (cricketers?) and/ or movie – and TV – persona, good in their fields, but not suitable enough to transcend barriers and inspire policy.

An Icon, when when he or she emerges will unite our hopes, desires, loves and fears.  The identity forged therein will transcend our current identities of region/ religion.  And make them irrelevant.

The time is ripe for our Icon.

Grow up, Indians

The Taliban-Al Qaeda threat is at our borders, and we people are still fighting on religion, caste, and now - region...

When will we grow up?

India: State of War


"Even if we are spared destruction by war, our lives will have to change if we want to save life from self-destruction."
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn


India is at War. No question about it. This may not be a war in what we generally take war to be: two nation-states facing-off each other, soldiers and machines of war on the battle-field, planes flying through the skies - raining munitions and destruction, warships facing each other at sea, missiles flying off to destroy civilian and military installations, et al.


But it still is war - lives are lost, blood flows, weapons are used, tempers exist, warmongers rule the roost, innocents are harassed, truth is subverted, accusations fly thick and fact, gruesome images haunt and there is a rule of chaos.


Consider these:

• Kashmir primarily and the rest of India sporadically faces bombings, shootings, hijackings, murders, pillaging by proponents of a extreme form of hatred, under the guise of a religion, which like other religions, never sanctioned or condoned such wanton violence under any pretext
• North-East states of India being devastated by self-styled groups under the pretext of liberation of the people there
• Areas of West-Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, etc being degraded under the Naxalites, claiming to follow the principles of equality and self-rule for the people, but actually have suppressed and looted the people, maimed the economy and destroyed the will of the people they claim to serve
• Self-styled armed groups who resort to periodic violence under any pretext of religious and casteist slights and injustices
• Political groups who do not mind resorting to divide-and-rule policies on regionalism, language, caste, culture
• The new players on the scene - self-styled 'moral police' who claim to protect a culture which they know nothing about and care even less
  

This is the war by fundamentalists, people who have no other agenda but to subvert entire groups of free-spirited people, impose regressive agendas on them and use unwarranted and unpardonable violence to keep the people enslaved. Under guises of protecting and benefiting people, all they want is: Power and Money.


Let us not kid ourselves that they are benefiting us. Lots of comments in the media indicate that groups of people support the activities or the ideals professed by these groups. That is sad. What we, the people, don't realize is that all the causes are elaborate facade for power-hungry money-grabbers. If they were really concerned, they would put themselves through the rigors of proving their point, instead of planting bombs, wielding guns or beating up innocent women and men.


The end-result of all this will be, without doubt, dead or suffering innocents, psychologically scarred individuals, economic losses, an atmosphere of rage and fear, and - more importantly - a weak and divided nation.


About time we woke up to the reality.


Make no mistake - India is at War.

'Defending One's Religion': The New Evil - A Few Thoughts

Recently, a friend of mine, Malachi Lopez Mendes, sent in a few comments in response to my previous blog. They are so thought-provoking, that it is worthwhile sharing them:

• An interesting thought is that the cosmos does not have gods. Men find gods to explain what they do not know or to seek solace when they cannot find it in themselves.
• The creator has also created animals where they kill each other routinely. We do not consider that incorrect. Do we? What makes us better than animals in the justice of the Creator?
• Very true is the fact that the All-Knowing, All-Powerful Supreme Being needs no protection from mere pitiful words and / or images from us mere no-consequence mortals. So why do we fight?
• I think that while this (Each has taken to wearing one's religion on one's sleeve, and banishing its teachings from their heart) is true, there is also a very large population that is moving away from it. These people see the shame that the religious scramble has become and are seeking either other religions or shunning religion all together as atheists. This is the probably the silver lining to the bloodbath?
• (Pray, tell me, does that not take us away from what the purpose of religion is supposed to be?) This question i have expolored in depth. What is the supposed purpose? Do any of the scriptures state the purpose of religion itself? (and here i do not mean faith) In my view religion is a drug. What do u think?

These are very thought-provoking, & my sincere request is to think on them...

Thanks, Malachi!

'Defending One's Religion': The New Evil

There is spiritual belief... and there is religion... And shall the twain ever meet?

In the recent past, it was only the extremists and the fundamentalists who would take up the cudgels to 'defend' the honour of their religion. They would kill, burn, pillage, loot, rape, murder - all in the name of their 'God'. Considering that - as every person knows - that all of the cosmos has only one God, one wonders which is that God, whose name are they defending? How different is that God from the One under whose perview those come, who are being defended from? And, how is it that the All-Knowing, All-Powerful Supreme Being needs protection from mere pitiful words and / or images from us mere no-consequence mortals?

Coming back to the pertinent point, we now see a needless uprising of people of all religions, sects, sub-sects, creeds, etc making a beeline to protest heavily against some or the other slight perceived to be against them. From making a bloody nuisance of themselves to reducing others to bloody, mutilated bodies, they stop at nothing till their bloodlust is satiated. And to what end? When each religion, at its heart, instructs one to be tolerant, understanding, broadminded and never to hurt beyond self-defence, how will destroying others' lives and properties make you more dearer in God's Eye?

Now, forget the extremists and all, even the ordinary people are dividing themselves, and seeking to do outdo each other in creating a ruckus in the name of religion. It has become a race, in which each person is trying to outdo the other in terms of how outspoken and how 'defensive' one is about one's religion. Each has taken to wearing one's religion on one's sleeve, and banishing its teachings from their heart.

This has only negative repurcussions, one internal, one external:

The Internal: Religion is meant to be a personal thing, an act of faith, a path to spitituality, a path to inner peace. It is meant to foster understanding, calm the self and be one with one's own mind. Every step we take towards such needless, competitive violence will take us away further from the path to good, the path to peace, the path to oneness. Of the seven deadly sins - lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride - the defensive acts in the name of religion, actually and wholly encompass wrath and pride, and at times, one or more of the rest. Pray, tell me, does that not take us away from what the purpose of religion is supposed to be? And, since two or more of the sins are definitely a part of such 'defence', are such 'defensive' displays not a display of Evil? After all, each religion shows that it only takes one sin, which is an act of disobeying God's law, to separate man from a perfect God, placing him in need of redemption and salvation.

The External: Moving on to the external consequences, such competitive displays of religious 'affection' hurt all of us directly and indirectly. Lives are lost, livelyhoods are lost, homes are broken, we lose the people we love, we lose the life we love. The fabric of the society is destroyed. The fabric of the nation is destroyed. The work of many is undone. Opportunities are created for internal and external enemies to rip our society and nation apart, and feast on the spoils. In short, our Future is lost.

Please note that this is not a call to condone all those wretched individuals who create scenarios hurting the sanctity of religions and who transgress all decency in vandalizing religious symbols.

Rather, it is a call to all the rest of the people to react appropriately and in a civilized manner, to such purposeful provocative acts - because, if we behave like the provocators, how different or better are we from them? While the essence of true religion will not condone their acts, nor will it ever condone ours, if we behave like them.

It is a call for all of us to remember that the faith, in which we believe, has borne the brunt of ages and still remained strong - and a mere few words or images of indiscretion will not harm it even a bit.

It is a call to all of us to remember what our religion truely stands for - tolerance, peace, unity, faith - and act accordingly.

It is a call for all of us to wake up now or be doomed in the eyes of God forever.

The Violently Volatile Atmosphere of India

We challenge the culture of violence when we ourselves act in the certainty that violence is no longer acceptable, that it's tired and outdated no matter how many cling to it in the stubborn belief that it still works and that it's still valid. ~ Gerard Vanderhaar

Over the last few days, news about India is pretty well dominated by acts of violence - be it Hyderabad, Punjab or Singur - whatever be the cause, whoever may be responsible, this blog does not deal with that...

What this blog deals with is the fact that we are becoming an increasingly violent society... We literally give call to arms at the smallest provocation... sometimes before the cause is established or who initiated or why the triggering incident occurred, suddenly large mobs gather & go around shouting, beating up innocents or scapegoats, killing, maiming, pillaging, burning, looting, sacking & generally making everyone miserable in their misguided quest for justice.

Even in cases like Hyderabad, where the initial blasts were the handiwork of the enemies of the state, why did we loose our control & start mob rioting instead of keeping calm & showing some solidarity & help? Why did we have to play right into the hands of the secessionist elements who triggered off the blasts to divide India & destroy its harmony, by further setting off chain reactions of violence? Why does the media have to report potshots taken by our so-called leaders as to who is responsible, before investigations have properly started, & why does it not act responsible & spread messages to calm the society & help us project a message that we, the people of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of India, will not let the secessionists' designs affect us?

In Punjab & cases earlier, we are seeing increasing cases of religious intolerance. Religion, which is supposed to be a private issue, is becoming increasingly a hair-raising trigger for violence - a small whisper, a small deviation, a small expression of artistic freedom - becomes a matter of ego & pride, & we just attack. We do not even realize the fact that the more we indulge in violence, the farther we go away from God..

Have we finally lost our senses - our sense of calmness, courage under fire, rational thinking, tolerance? Are we seceding from the civilized world? Will the resurgent Indian story be again mired in darkness & chaos?

Where are the voices & forces of Peace?

These are questions that need to be answered if each Individual Indian is to enjoy his/her right to Life, Peace & Prosperity.

Political Power & Vacuum

"Nature abhors a Vacuum" - Aristotle.

For quite sometime, I have been reading and re-reading a book of Frederick Forsythe, called Icon. Apart from being a favorite book of mine, it has some rather interesting viewpoints about replacing a leading player in Political Power.

In the book, one of the chief protagonists makes an observation that, if we are to replace a powerful figure in the political sphere - irrespective of whether he or she is a tyrant or a benevolent ruler - simply discrediting or assassination will not work. We shall have to have a equally powerful candidate ready to occupy the vacuum left when that person is removed. This is because, some unfavorable person may take over the position, nullifying our efforts.

A prime example of this is the Israeli reaction after the Massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The rather superlative Israel secret service, Mossad, launched Operation Wrath of God or Mivtza Elohim and Operation Spring of Youth. Ostentiously, it aimed at assassinating those who were responsible for Munich, for revenge, for demoralizing the PLO & for preventing future attacks. Thus the operation functioned not just to punish the perpetrators of Munich but also to disrupt and deter future acts. The results were there - for quite a period PLO was not effective.

But was the effect long lasting? As we can all see - it was not. The mission was flawlessly executed, as far as can be ascertained, as seen by the weakness of the PLO in the aftermath... But, then it re-established itself & is back in the business of terrorizing & taking lives. Because the void left after the assassinations have been re-filled, as Mossad failed to grasp the opportunity to subvert the movement by hoisting its own people into the ensuing void after the assassinations.

One aspect of this strategy which is to be borne in mind is that, efforts are thus divided into two roads - removing the current incumbent, and nurturing and protecting the favorable , equally powerful replacement. Well, no powerful person would like a potential rival on the rise to remain on the scene for long... & no powerless puppet will be acceptable... not for long.

A powerful concept, implementation is hard, but the main boon is that very few things are left to chance. And as the saying goes, good plans are those which do not depend on chance, but have been made with all scenarios in mind.

As for Icon, the story starts on that premise and builds up to a rather spell-binding read. Recommended.