tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85612092534645775392024-03-19T15:08:55.869+05:30View from [Greater] KailashAvay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.comBlogger457125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-73228643675951470112024-03-15T11:02:00.002+05:302024-03-17T10:20:38.904+05:30DINOSAURS IN THE CORRIDORS OF POWER.<p> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Now that Woman's Day has been commemorated suitably - by Ms Ambani coiling the GDP of Pakistan around her shapely neck at Jamnagar, and the Didi from West Bengal staging another march to honour the rape victims of Sandeshkhali instead of promptly arresting the rapists, and our Prime Minister gifting housewives a one hundred rupee cut in LPG prices after raising them by five hundred rupees, and Ms Hema Malini being given another ticket for the Lok Sabha elections in recognition of her outstanding record in Parliament - perhaps we can now get back to the real business of showing women who's the boss in the land of the Manusmriti. Just in case they haven't got the message yet even after the thrashing of Olympic women champions near Parliament, or the chicanery of using the census to deny women reservations in Parliament, or persisting with legalised rape by refusing to recognise marital rape as a crime or removing the abhorrent provision of "restoration of conjugal rights". For, tokenism is what our governments and society are best at, and in the matter of treating women as equals in India, the more things change, the more they remain the same. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Madhu Bhaduri, retired diplomat and writer, in her book LIVED STORIES, makes a startling disclosure of a fact which perhaps most people are/ were not aware of (I certainly wasn't even after 35 years in government service and 13 more years in the pasture). It appears that till the late 1970s women officers in the IFS needed prior permission to marry, and that even then they risked losing their promotions and even their jobs as their "domestic commitments is likely to come in the way of the efficient discharge of duties." No such stigma was attached to their male colleagues. This was not just gender bias, this was outright gender contempt. The matter was fortunately laid to rest by Justice Krishna Iyer in the early 80s on a petition by the IFS's first lady officer. The judge struck down the offending Rule 8(2) of the IFS (Conduct and Discipline) Rules 1961 as being violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> That was almost 50 years ago, and much water, muck and money has flowed down the Yamuna since then. Actually, the water and money has, but much of the muck is still stuck in New Delhi's testosterone-filled corridors of power, at least where gender discrimination is concerned. One such odorous piece surfaced just last month.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> NDTV/ Business Standard/ Hindu have reported on the mystifying issue of a notification by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to the effect that if a married woman wishes to revert to her maiden name she will have to either produce a decree of divorce or furnish an NOC from her husband! Apart from undoing decades of gender affirmative action by the courts, this order also establishes that dinosaurs are still alive and thriving, thank you, in South and North Block. For what it does is reinforce the hoary tradition of women being chattel, the property of the husband, without an independent identity or any freedom of action to make her own decisions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The order has been challenged, of course, in the Delhi High Court and will no doubt be quashed (with the concerned Secretary being sent for a mandatory course on gender equality, hopefully) but it does remind me of the occasion in 2007 when I applied for a second LPG connection for my newly constructed cottage in Mashobra. I was informed by the company that, since I already had a connection in my name in Shimla, I was not entitled for a second one. But since I was one of the four pillars of the government then (one Chief Secretary and three Addl. Chief Secretaries, of which I was one), an exception could be made in my case: a second connection could be issued in my wife's maiden (not married!) name, provided she submitted an affidavit stating that she was divorcing me! Neerja and I did a quick cost-benefit analysis and decided that, though the idea had occurred to her independent of the LPG connection, it was now too much of a hassle to revert to her maiden name and start looking for her ex-beaus. So we stayed married, but it was a close call, folks. (I did finally secure that second connection, but claim the Fifth Amendment to refuse to disclose how).</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-58811722580508090512024-03-09T09:51:00.000+05:302024-03-09T09:51:11.433+05:30THE GANGS OF FATEHPUR<p> </p><p><br /></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">THE GANGS OF FATEHPUR.</h3><div class="post-header" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-750467679787184309" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 650px;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"> Ensconced in my tiny village near Mashobra in the Shimla hills in the summers, I feel like Raja Hari Singh Katoch of Kangra when he was besieged in the Kangra fort by Jahangir in 1620. Worse, actually, because the stalwart Raja had to put up with the inconvenience for only fourteen months whereas I have had to endure it every year for the last 14 years. And it's not the Mughal army I have to contend with but the Khan Market and Lutyen's gangs of Delhi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Come April every year and members of these gangs, in their tens of thousands, clamber up the mountain landscape and take over our roads, markets, forests and every bed in every homestead. Like locusts they devour everything and leave behind in their wake tonnes of plastic, bottles, empty packets of chips, cigarettes and condoms. Like Jahangir, they lay claim to our lawns, apple trees and parking places; the women have been spared so far, but that's only because we hide them with the cattle. We huddle in our houses, waiting for the pestilence- called tourists in modern parlance- to pass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I have given the origins of this annual invasion a lot of thought, and have come to the conclusion that it occurs primarily because we no longer visit our grandparents, and instead prefer to go on vacation to the hills! Think about it. The internet, competitive consumerism and the breakdown of familial relationships drive us to constantly seek " new experiences" and new vistas. If the Junejas can do it, we reason, so can we. Even if it means being stuck for eight hours on the Rohtang pass, being ripped off by taxi drivers in Dharamshala or abused by the pony wallahs in Kufri. It was different when we were growing up in the fifties and sixties.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> My grandfather, a patriarch no one messed with, stayed in a village of Fatehpur district in UP called Husainganj (unless the good Yogi has now changed its name). He had built himself a huge haveli there from the proceeds of his book shops in Calcutta, and inscribed one golden rule in its stones: all his children and 17 grandkids had to visit him every summer: he even paid for the rail tickets. So I never even saw a mountain( or sea, or desert) till I was 25: the only mountain I had seen was the stupendous landfill in Ghazipur, which, like the Himalayas continues to grow each year. Every summer vacation my Dad would pack the family into a second class coach of the Kalka mail at Calcutta (or Hazaribagh or Asansol or wherever he happened to be posted at the time) for the 24 hour journey to Fatehpur- annual migrations one looks back on with fond nostalgia mixed with a regret that my own sons (part of the KM gang) have never seen this facet of the Old India. For today train travel is all about getting to the destination as quickly as possible, it's never about the pleasures of the journey itself. I recently travelled by Shatabdi to Kanpur and found that of the 62 passengers, 60 of them had buried their persona and noses into their smart phones. The 61st was a seven eight year old kid (who should have been smothered at birth) who was sliding the door open and shut, letting in the flies and letting out the cold air. I was the 62nd, observing it all and weeping like Alexander the Great for I had now seen it all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> For us the journey was itself a delight. There were no AC coaches or electric traction back then. We would stick our heads out of the open windows, breathing in the soot and smoke from the massive Bullet engines, jump out at every station to buy comics from the AH Wheeler stalls (where have they all disappeared?), grab the local station food from the vendors- "jhalmoori" at Asansol, aloo tikkis at Dhanbad, samosas at Mughalsarai, puri-aloo at Benaras, the delicious pedas at Allahabad. All extremely unhygienic, swarming with e-colis no doubt, but Michelin star stuff which built up the immunity which in later years has enabled us to tackle the tasteless swill IRCTC serves on trains nowadays. But the "piece de resistance" for which we all used to wait, came at Fatehpur, which arrived at the opportune time for breakfast and where we deboarded with great excitement. Its generally deserted restaurant served the best buttered toast and omelette on the Grand Trunk line, on round tables covered with spotless linen and cutlery. (The only railway restaurant that comes even close to its ambience and service is the Barog station on the Kalka- Shimla line). We left the restaurant only when they ran out of eggs, for the next two weeks in Husainganj were to be a vegetarian existence, without even onions and garlic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> There was only a dirt track between Fatehpur and Husainganj, a distance of about ten kms; there were no buses, only the occasional horse carriage on a sharing basis. But my grandfather had the biggest haveli in the village and there was no way his grand brats would travel in a "tonga"; for us he sent his personal bullock cart, drawn by two of his finest oxen: a magnificent, snow white pair standing almost five feet high at the shoulders, bedecked with colourful ribbons and tinkling bells, their regal horns sheathed in copper. The bullock cart itself was a caparisoned wonder, with sun shades, carpeted with Mirzapuri rugs and stocked with sugarcane stalks, peanuts and nimboo-pani. We flew down the dirt track like Ben-Hur in the last lap of his famous race , giving the term " cattle class" an entirely new meaning. It set the tone for the next month, a controlled chaos of joint family living, over which my grandfather proudly presided: a patriarch who held his large family together with stern dictats, superb logistic skills and well placed inducements.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> He is gone now, of course, and so is the world we grew up in: the haveli is in ruins, the bullock cart is now a symbol of penury, not of status, the omelette is now a leathery strip served with sarkari reluctance, the station food vendors replaced by catering franchisees hawking packaged rubbish, most trains do not even stop at Fatehpur. Why should they? Nobody goes there for everyone is now headed for the mountains, the seaside resorts or the casinos of Goa. In this world of OYO rooms, Make My Trip.com, Airbnb and cashbacks, visiting grandfathers is such a waste of time. But I do wish the millennial generation would start visiting the old critters again: it would make them happy, it would lift my siege and might even save the mountains from further depredation. I speak, of course, as a grandfather-in-waiting.</div></div></div>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-65442446160168996442024-03-05T11:28:00.000+05:302024-03-05T11:28:44.593+05:30DISAPPEARING DEMOCRACY-- DISMANTLING OF A NATION<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8eT9562XJkMhi-NlKQ0jY9mM-nuZvPwySMu6bK_48IqB8wOqeq9mSXUK22XrI5_lnNSyQiFTMJ3jVoo6RB8xcrK3uNX7CztWLl4KNNTfiHRXI2HjeWSOQIWm56A4eAz-TtSJBxgFLuUkColAkmDu12_50Go1coaHoJ3WC55ULrEvE4F6i_GjovufrGo/s1085/IMG-20240304-WA0018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1085" data-original-width="744" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8eT9562XJkMhi-NlKQ0jY9mM-nuZvPwySMu6bK_48IqB8wOqeq9mSXUK22XrI5_lnNSyQiFTMJ3jVoo6RB8xcrK3uNX7CztWLl4KNNTfiHRXI2HjeWSOQIWm56A4eAz-TtSJBxgFLuUkColAkmDu12_50Go1coaHoJ3WC55ULrEvE4F6i_GjovufrGo/w438-h640/IMG-20240304-WA0018.jpg" width="438" /></a></div><br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT60iRlg5fBxWWIlL1vncdbUZq0xSkzPOavJQGJ9nYVkL3NLNfpNeNaxolSt_MS757YjsHlYFA9Au68qKVDN3VSbwIZ5ZaSzFyrPGJyhb_HbStkf4gxQ9Ft-ORWZrBz12yqxDAlkkee13msrN7WhkIhyyaxb__0bmEPeyOJ4P6ZKGLu2E3syA6ucPW4Uk/s998/Back%20cover%20book%206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="697" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT60iRlg5fBxWWIlL1vncdbUZq0xSkzPOavJQGJ9nYVkL3NLNfpNeNaxolSt_MS757YjsHlYFA9Au68qKVDN3VSbwIZ5ZaSzFyrPGJyhb_HbStkf4gxQ9Ft-ORWZrBz12yqxDAlkkee13msrN7WhkIhyyaxb__0bmEPeyOJ4P6ZKGLu2E3syA6ucPW4Uk/w446-h640/Back%20cover%20book%206.jpg" width="446" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is my latest book, published by Author's Upfront/ Paranjoy on 24th Feb.2024. Available on AMAZON, in paperback and Kindle versions. An international edition is also available.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">DISAPPEARING DEMOCRACY is, in a way, a continuation of my earlier book, THE WASTED YEARS (published in 2021), and takes off from where the latter had ended. It covers the period from June 2021 to November 2023, and is a collection of my articles, blogs and opinion pieces on various subjects of current interest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The pieces in this book are my take on political, legal, economic and societal issues engaging the attention of the nation at the time. I write, not as a domain expert or as an investigative journalist, but as an averagely well informed (I hope!) citizen alarmed at the cataclysmic changes that have been taking place to the country's painstakingly carved structure, something we all had taken for granted but now find is all too fragile. To quote Lord Byron from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: </p><p style="text-align: justify;">"<i>A thousand years scarce serve to form a state, An hour may lay it in the dust."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is that hour I speak about.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our nation state is being dismantled before our eyes, its nuts and bolts being taken apart-the judiciary, civil services, constitutional bodies, media, NGOs, armed forces, even our history and culture- to serve the interests of an exclusionary ideology. What is perhaps most disturbing, however, is the dismantling of our once tolerant, proudly diverse and joyously inclusive society. It has now become dangerously brutalised, indifferent to wrongs and excesses, it has lost its voice and conscience. All other components of a state can be repaired and fixed when an enlightened leadership replaces an old one, but there is no anti-venom for a poisoned society. It can only perish, taking with it thousands of years of civilisation. If there is one lesson that history teaches us, it is this.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This book is an attempt to record these developments, in real time and not in hindsight: the date of each of the 47 chapters in the book is indicated to provide it context for a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding it. But if there is one paramount message I wish to convey, it is that the future of a nation is too important to be left to politicians, bureaucrats, so-called experts, Big Capital and the media. The ordinary citizen- you and I- have to get involved and to take centre-stage and speak out. For when public conscience and opinion die, so does democracy.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-70999269814321148892024-03-01T12:42:00.000+05:302024-03-01T12:42:36.256+05:30THE NAME OF THE GAME<p style="text-align: justify;"> Even as I write this piece, a lion-lioness pair in a national park in Tripura is going through a severe identity crisis: named Akbar and Sita respectively, they have now to be given new names as per an order of the state High Court. Apparently, a VHP outfit had objected to the names, though it is not clear whether their refined sensibilities had been offended by the naming of an animal after a goddess, or whether it was the pairing with a Mughal name which made them see red (or saffron, in this case). We also do not know whether they disapproved of the inter-faith relationship or the live-in arrangements. Taking no chances, however, the High Court has directed that they be renamed and that animals should not be named after prominent people or deities. The Chief Wildlife Warden of Tripura is now facing a crisis of his own-an existential one this time-for he has been suspended, presumably for setting too much store by Shakespeare's "A rose by any other name..."</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> When I was growing up (in prehistoric times, I must admit, given my advancing years) naming a person or place was great fun, a family occasion, like an "antakshree" game, where the biological parents had little say. The final word was usually that of the family pundit or presiding matriarch- what they suggested was generally accepted by everyone, and all concerned thereafter repaired happily to the nearest "theka" to celebrate. Notwithstanding this casual-and usually politically incorrect by today's Woke standards-approach, however, the conferred name left nothing to the imagination and was a perfect description. In my ancestral village, if a guy had a limp he was named Langru, if he was one-eyed he was naturally called Kana, the younger brother was invariably Chotu, a sharp and intelligent child had to be Chakku, the youngest kid in the family could be no other than Nanhe, a cute little girl was always named Gudiya. See what I mean?-No probing questions were needed when you met the guy or gal for the first time, no Google search was necessary, the name was the bio-data. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> It was the same with place names, which got their moniker from the person who founded it, or from the local deity or religious structure, or some natural feature, or a local tradition, or some historical titbit. For example, my present village in Himachal is called Purani Koti, which means Old Koti. It used to be, in pre-independence days, an unknown hamlet of a couple of houses and part of the Koti kingdom. That kingdom is long gone now, but there are plenty of other Kotis scattered all over the place, which have no connection with the erstwhile kingdom. So, in order to retain its historical roots and show the parvenus their place, the natives decided to name this hamlet as Purani Koti. No fuss, no controversy, history respected, and the world has moved on.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> No more, in Naya Bharat. The name has now been weaponised in support of a particular ideology: towns and cities are now being renamed faster than Mr. Modi changes his clothes. Of course, after Independence states, districts and towns have been frequently renamed- more than 100 cities have been renamed, 10 in the last five years alone. But whereas earlier the renaming was generally in the nature of phonetic transliteration (to align with local, indigenous pronunciation, i.e from Calcutta to Kolkatta, or from Simla to Shimla), or to replace the Romanized spelling with Indian English (eg. Jubblepore to Jabalpur, or Cawnpore to Kanpur), today this process has acquired a hyper nationalistic, Hindutva driven character. More often than not it is places with Muslim names which are being targeted, an exercise of revenge against past atrocities, real and imagined, the rewriting and redaction of history. The concerned governments are not bothered about the loss of cultural authenticity or the erasure of history this entails, for place names are one of the building blocks of history, and removing any of them leaves permanent holes in our past. But perhaps this is precisely what our present rulers want-simply delete those phases or events in our past which do not suit the current majoritarian narrative.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> This weaponisation of names has acquired an even more sinister character and purpose when it comes to names of individuals. Since names indicate religion and ethnicity they have increasingly become a tool for the targeting and persecution of minorities. RWAs will not admit residents with Muslim names and stout Hindus will not employ staff with Muslim names: in my Society every second maid or cook belongs to the minority community, but they all give Hindu names in order to secure a job. Orders are rejected if the delivery boy happens to have such a name, and in some reported instances the poor chaps have even been beaten up for this supposed crime. There are reports that in some states minority names are deleted from voters' lists on a large scale. There are occasional calls to boycott shops with Muslim names; in order to circumvent this, shops belonging to this community often adopt and display Hindu names, but this does not work: when payment is made through the QR code, the shopkeeper's name and identity gets revealed, leading to commotion, scuffles and subsequent boycotts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> This last example shows how even something secular like a digital innovation can inadvertently result in making one's life difficult, even without the religious under-pinning. If there is a mis-match in your name in the Aadhaar card and your bank account, PAN card, ration card, EPIC (voter card)-even if it's just a spelling error- you can spend the rest of your life trying to get it fixed, and in the meantime you will get no rations, lose access to your bank account, be unable to file your ITRs and be fined as a consequence by the Income Tax department, will not be allowed to vote, cannot get a driving license. The error or mismatch in your name will mean that you will effectively cease to exist as a living entity, you will be part of the living dead. Your name may as well be Dracula.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Never in the past have names been such a serious issue: they used to be simple markers of identity. Now they have become complex instruments of surveillance, persecution, harassment, digital black holes, stigmatas- in short, a bloody nuisance we can do without. We need to move to a less exploitable system of identification, like a PIN instead of a name. That would truly be secular paradise, what? No one will be able to, well, pin you down to a particular caste, religion or community, and peace and harmony shall prevail. And who wouldn't want to be known as 007 instead of Banchoddas Chanchad, Soumya Bum, Pornika Sircar or Valentine Mirchi ? </p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-27224841090383994792024-02-23T10:43:00.011+05:302024-02-23T11:06:56.945+05:30LOTUS INTERRUPTUS ?<p style="text-align: justify;"> It should come as no surprise that, under the influence of our latest soul-mate Israel, Raisina Hill has now become our version of Mount Sinai, from where regular proclamations are issued by the presiding Prophet. The latest- that BJP shall win more than 370 seats and NDA 400+ in the coming Parliamentary elections- is, however, pregnant with connotations and implications. Is this eleventh Commandment a sign of confidence, a well prepared alibi, or a smokescreen for something worse?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I cannot see any legitimate justification for any such confidence. At its present tally of 303 the BJP has plateaued out in the West and its Hindi heartland stronghold: it cannot improve its tally here. It's prospects are no better in the East and South than they were in 2019- in fact, they have deteriorated in Karnataka, Telangana and in the North-east with Congress wins in the first two and the fires in Manipur in the latter. If at all, the BJP is likely LOSE a substantial number of seats: according to the data crunching site run by Ajay Prakash, WHAT DOES THIS DATA SAY, the BJP's total tally is likely to come down by 40 seats, at the very least.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Certain recent developments have not favoured the BJP either. Its insidious efforts came a cropper in Jharkhand where the JMM retained its government, notwithstanding the machinations of the ED and Raj Bhavan. In Bihar Tejaswi Yadav appears to have emerged stronger after Nitish Kumar's defection. In Chandigarh the INDIA alliance has emerged victorious in the Mayoral elections and the PM's party stands fully exposed. The striking down of the Electoral bonds may not amount to much in real terms because the BJP has already pocketed Rupees 6500 crores thanks to the delay by the Supreme Court in deciding the case, but it is a big moral defeat for the government, exposing once again the unconstitutional means it adopts to win elections. That the party is smarting from this judgment is evident from the PM's mocking remarks that today, even if Sudama were to give some rice to Krishna, someone would file a PIL and the court would strike it down! Even the brazen retaliation of blocking the bank accounts of the Congress two days later was struck down by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in short order. Seat sharing among the INDIA alliance partners is not the failure that the bought- out media would have us believe: it is proceeding apace and has been hammered out in U.P, Delhi and Maharashtra, and appears likely in Haryana and Goa. The decision to go their separate ways in Bengal and Punjab makes sense tactically as it will split the anti-incumbency votes. Don't let NDTV and INDIA TODAY convince you otherwise with their slanted coverage and Mood Of The Nation Polls- they reflect more the moods of Msrs Adani and Aroon Purie than that of the common public. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The revived farmers' agitation is bad news for the ruling party too, and will become even worse if violence ensues, as appears likely, given that the government has learnt no lessons from the 2021 agitation. It's reliance on brute force as a panacea for all protests cannot deliver for ever and the people are beginning to recognize it for the tyrannical regime it is. There is widespread sympathy for the farmers this time, except perhaps among the pampered elites of Delhi who do not even know the difference between MSP and MRP, and can't be bothered so long as their Zomato delivery arrives on time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The government's febrile actions over the last couple of months also do not demonstrate that it is acting from a position of confidence; on the contrary, they display a certain desperation and nervousness. The frantic campaign to engineer defections of all and sundry have degraded the BJP from a washing machine to a garbage bin: it is now collecting all kinds of trash from other parties, people it branded as corrupt repeatedly, including the likes of Ajit Pawar and Ashok Chavan. Very soon, having collected all the rubbish from other parties, it will become a patchwork quilt of opportunists and lose its strong ideological character. According to an analysis carried out by the digital platform, Knocking News, out of 303 MPs in the party only 134 are original BJP types, the rest are all imports from other parties. It is becoming a "Congress yukt" party in rapid order.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The fear of losing is prompting other knee jerk reactions: the constant targeting of Rahul Gandhi's BJY-2 (which was not the case in BJY-1), the resumed personal attacks on him and his family, the renewed attempts at polarised violence in Haldwani, the frantic rush to introduce the Common Civil Codes in BJP ruled states, the raising of the specter of CAA and NRC by the Home Minister again, the reported de-activation of Aadhar cards as alleged by the West Bengal Chief Minister, the wholesale conferment of Bharat Ratnas in order to appropriate the memory of dead legends even as the party spurns all that they stood for. The list goes on, but it indicates one thing, as surely as the Mayoral elections in Chandigarh indicated brazen rigging of votes: that these are not the actions of a party confident of not only a victory, but of a two thirds majority! The BJP may be facing a reality check, finally, and in the process is committing one blunder after another. With each such fiasco it is denting its image even further. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> It's election narrative this time sounds decidedly hollow and devoid of any substance; it offers nothing but the three M's- Mandir, Masjid and Muslim, a refrain which is beginning to sound jaded and repetitive. Real economic improvement has bypassed 90% of the country's population and this shows in just about every human development matrix. The so-called Modi's Guarantees are nothing but discredited Jumlas after cosmetic plastic surgery. So, one comes back to the question one posed at the beginning of this piece: What makes the BJP so confident of a landslide victory in spite of all these adverse indications ?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The clues, perhaps, are to be found in the manner in which the ground is being prepared- the constant refrain of 400+ seats, the slanted pre-poll surveys endorsing these estimates, and the amplification of these predictions by an obliging media. So that when the 400+ IS declared after the polling, people would not question it because they had already been pre-conditioned to expect it! Could it be that the BJP has a joker up its sleeve? The EVMs perhaps? A national roll out of the Chandigarh Mayoral model, under the benevolent gaze of the Election Commission?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I really don't know. But I am reminded of that intriguing quote from Arthur Conan Doyle: </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Think about it. And worry.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-88725443599275108692024-02-16T07:47:00.008+05:302024-02-17T10:43:21.742+05:30THE UNDERBELLY OF THE FLYING MACHINE<p style="text-align: justify;"> I'm finding that, as I get along in years, I'm becoming more and more of a contrarian, preferring to don the mantle of an "advocatus Diaboli" than an "advocatus Dei". And the reason is simple enough: one can no longer trust what one hears, or believe what one reads. The obvious is often misleading, as the Pope discovered when he was doing crosswords on a flight. He was presented with a missing first letter in the word "- U N T" and the clue was "relating to a woman". He blushingly filled in the missing letter, till a senior Cardinal whispered in his ear: " No, NO, your Holiness, the word is AUNT." See what I mean? (I cannot verify this story, it's just one of the Whatsapp gems floating around, and I mean no offence, but it does convey that men will be men, even if they have taken unholy orders).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Mankind has invented many things we, and the planet, would probably have been much better off if these had never seen the light of day: the atomic bomb, toilet paper, SUVs, politicians, the ballistic missile, the electric razor and so on-you can make your own list. To this list I propose to add flying and planes, for I can see no tangible real benefits which the flying machine has conferred on us, nor has it made the world a better place (unlike other discoveries like penicillin, democracy, the printing press, the wheel, electricity etc.) And the sheer scale of this disaster is matched only by the speed at which it has occurred.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Just a hundred and twenty years ago, in the words of Bill Bryson, the entire global civil aviation industry consisted of two mechanics and a wooden plane in a bicycle shed in Ohio. Today it comprises 39000 planes (not including light aircraft and helicopters) and 40000 airports. It emits 1.40 billion tonnes of CO2 a year, just about 2% of total global emissions. Almost 4.50 billion people fly every year, most just for the heck of it- for pleasure, to visit relatives they never liked in the first place, for honeymoons which will end in a divorce before they can cash in their frequent flyer miles, to spend precisely 10 seconds ogling at the Mona Lisa before they are pushed on by the 20 million other tourists who visit the Louvre every year, or taking a selfie on Mount Everest after being carried there by sherpas at a cost of US$ 50000. The projected figure of flyers for 2040 is 8 billion- can you even begin to visualise the environmental impact of this catastrophe?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Let us view this in microcosm, to understand how this is benefitting the super-rich primarily. Elon Musk flies 250000 kms a year in his private jets (not because he needs to, but because he can afford to). He generates 1800 tonnes of CO2 (from just his flying, mind you) every year, which is, hold your breath, 250 times the per capita of China, 1000 times of India, and 90000 times that of Burundi! Other celebrities like Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey are not far behind. The top ten global celebrities probably generate more green house gases than many countries like Somalia, Tonga and, yes, Burundi.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> There are other costs and inequities involved. The 40000 airports cover, at a rough estimate, about 400000 sq. miles of land, one third the size of India. (The largest airport in the world, Al Fahd in Saudi Arabia, covers 700 sq, kms; our own upcoming Jewar near Delhi will need 51 sq kms when complete). All this is land diverted from agriculture, which could have been used for growing food crops in a world where 40% of the people go to bed hungry. And consider also the millions who have been displaced to make way for these beds of concrete, the refugees of capitalism.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> How does this crap benefit either human kind or the planet?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> In fact, if you ask me (which I notice you haven't but that will not deter me), it has done the reverse, in addition to the humongous pollution it generates. Places and countries are being devastated by the millions who fly there like locusts- Bali, Venice, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Mount Everest, Machi Pichu, our own Goa, Manali and Shimla (and, shortly, Lakshadweep), Mounts Fuji and Everest (which will soon have more poop than snow on its slopes), and so on. Dangerous viruses can now spread all over the world in just a few days thanks to flyers. Mallya, Modi, Choksi and others of their ilk would have been in Tihar now had it not been for British Airways or KLM or whichever airline they chose to skip out with billions on our moneys. We would have been seeing much more of Sunny Leone's hairpin curves here in India if she did not have the opportunity to fly off to Canada just when the nation sighed in unison "Yeh Dil Maange More." As it is, we have to be satisfied by observing Mr. Modi switching roles (and costumes) from vishwaguru to head priest to head honcho. Not exactly the same thing, you will agree, even if you are a bhakt.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I stopped flying in 2006 and have not taken a flight since then and do not intend to do so if I can help it. The legendary Maharajah of our once national airline now looks more like Suresh the con-man, what with passengers being asked to pay separately for window/aisle seats, for water and snacks, for leg room: very soon they will also have to shell out for visits to the toilet. Flying in India is now an adventure sport: if someone does not beat you up in the cabin, or the air hostess does not spill scalding tea on your child, you are likely to be roused from your slumbers by someone urinating on you. Fine dining has been raised to a new level with worms or chicken in your vegetarian meal and a-la-carte meals being spread out on the tarmac for that runway experience. You can also expect to get screwed for free while ordering your dish, as an Indigo passenger on a Bangalore- Chennai flight on the 1st of February 2024 found out when he discovered a metal screw in his spinach-corn burger. The sauna is also complimentary, as you sweat for hours in a locked plane on the tarmac while the airline tries (not too hard) to locate the missing pilot, or when you are stranded in a malfunctioning airbridge for hours without even an apology, or forced to complete your journey on a toilet seat because the toilet door won'T open. A passenger never knows when he can expect to depart or to arrive, or whether his flight will clear the "smell test"- another Indigo flight from Delhi to Mumbai had to turn back on the 9th of this month because of an unspecified "foul smell" (is it time to make our planes ODF (Open Defecation Free) too? And, through all this, said airline is reported to have declared a profit of Rs. 7000 crore in the last quarter! Proof enough that there is more than one fool being born every minute.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> No, sir, I'm done with flying and prefer to travel by the humble train and on foot- it's good for both the planet, my wallet and my health. If God really wanted us to fly he would have given us wings, or at least some tail feathers. And don't let any economist- those practitioners of a dismal science- tell you that flying is good for the economy. For these chaps all that matters is the GDP; for them, it's good for the economy if you break your leg and have to go to an expensive hospital-it adds to national consumption/expenditure. A pandemic is good also because Pfizer can then make another 40 billion dollars from its vaccines. The war in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza are good for the global economy because they generate tens of billions for the arms industry. Overpopulation is good because it adds to the labour force, never mind if we can feed the additional billions or not. Economists are rectal endoscopists- they always take a narrow view of the world from the wrong end.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Make up your own minds, folks. Listen to the Devil's Advocate- his services are pro-bono.</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-53047702244426585332024-02-09T11:03:00.000+05:302024-02-09T11:03:10.339+05:30R.W.As-- THE NEW VIGILANTES ON THE BLOCK.<p style="text-align: justify;"> Notwithstanding the sustained efforts of our neo-colonial rulers to "decolonise" our mental spaces, some vestiges of it remain. Have you noticed how, the moment someone is given a uniform, or a baton, or a public office, he starts wielding his "authority" with indiscriminate abandon and capriciousness, as if to make up for having been at the receiving end himself for years ? (And I'm not talking here of petty govt. officials who are in a league of their own, but of your average non-sarkari Joe). Harken back to your own experience, dear reader, with the not-so-friendly neighbourhood cop, the parking attendant, the security guard, the toll plaza guy, the air-line staffer, the bank clerk, the ration shop dealer, the mobile service center chap, the vigilante "gau rakshak" goon, or any other person with a suppressed or low self esteem who suddenly finds himself empowered to lord it over his fellow citizens. The latest entrant to this sorry tribe is the RWA (Resident Welfare Association) or the AOA (Apartment Owners' Association).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> These elected bodies have been established by law to manage their colonies and housing developments, but of late have acquired an extra judicial, parastatal identity, issuing edicts and orders they have no business doing, like petty tyrants. They are totally unmindful of the laws of the land and violate them with impunity. Increasingly, RWAs have disallowed residence/ tenancy of bachelors, student groups, single women, pet owners, live-in couples, even female visitors. Residents who object or complain have their power or water cut off, entry restricted and are slapped with unjustified fines. The high (low?) point of this was reached last week when a New Delhi RWA ordered the daughter of Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer, ex-Congress Minister and MP, to vacate her flat in the colony and move out ! The provocation ? A social media post she had put up, criticising the Ram Mandir consecration on the 22nd January and going on a three day fast to protest against it. A purely private opinion and a personal gesture in a still putative free country, you would think? Wrong.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The pot bellies of the RWA , donning the mantle of protectors of the Faith, decided that Ms. Aiyar was indulging in hate speech, insulting the Hindu religion and inciting disrespect towards it. She had to go, even though she is reportedly not a resident of that particular RWA, though her father is! This brazen and illegal assumption of an undelegated authority by these medieval burghers marks a paradigm shift and escalation in the role of the RWAs- one towards bare faced bigotry and sectarianism, which is not only disturbing, but is also dangerous in its implications.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> In a prevailing atmosphere of intolerance, majoritarianism and religious triumphalism, emboldened by regressive laws like the anti-conversion Acts, the UCC of Uttarakhand and the impending CAA and NRC, this assumption of extra-legal authority by the RWAs and AOAs is ominous. They are gradually becoming the self-appointed gate-keepers of morality, culture and political discourse- a role that the law does not confer on them. Unfortunately, the recent spurt in laws that stigmatize inter-faith marriages or live-in relationships or conversions come in handy for these RWAs to harass those who have adopted such relationships or identities. The time is not far off when these busybodies may determine what their members eat, how they dress, to which Gods they pray. If not checked they could well demand, in due course of time, the production of marriage certificates, prohibit live-in residents or couples in an inter-faith marriage, bar members of a particular religious denomination or hailing from a particular region from living in their societies, compel participation in specific religious functions, expel residents for being critical of government policies, insist on proof of citizenship, dictate how many children an apartment owner can have .Why, they may even insist that all their members vote for a particular party! It would be vigilantism of the worst type. Needless to say, they could legitimately expect the full support of the local police in certain states. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Citizens are already subject to all kinds of surveillance, privacy intrusions and indoctrination by the government; the RWAs could take it to a whole new level. This trend must be resisted before it goes out of hand. State governments must step in now, through their district administrations and Registrars of Cooperative Societies, to draw red lines for the RWAs and penalise those who cross them. A man's house was once his castle, it is now under siege.</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-42582313689741622552024-02-02T10:54:00.035+05:302024-02-02T11:45:54.780+05:30SHIMLA--DOOMED BY A LEGAL "TECHNICALITY"<p style="text-align: justify;"> When the epitaph of Shimla is written in the not too distant future, as is inevitable, it will be recorded that its death warrant was issued on the 11th of January, 2024, when the Supreme Court chose to go by legal technicalities and assurances of the state govt. rather than on merits of a case, ignoring in the process ground realities and the opinions of any number of experts and environmentalists. Some background first to put the matter in perspective.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSR0hO-_rtlMPBTEgylVRY6CMo9OeIcrXPY9PD76pu8xnJ_FE4tvlV6T-X2DscBvwhHk7BpYzP2KhgxAKX1puLKJIb3UyAuoeLsvnmWsz61dqsux2FwQTrAoP6-stIw813QthZywQ81KoNxvDgdGEgyG0OvvMJG8iDmDYTBK1mTnC5Yg_2m7V5WCDFdpE/s752/1706766442750407819626721994820.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="752" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSR0hO-_rtlMPBTEgylVRY6CMo9OeIcrXPY9PD76pu8xnJ_FE4tvlV6T-X2DscBvwhHk7BpYzP2KhgxAKX1puLKJIb3UyAuoeLsvnmWsz61dqsux2FwQTrAoP6-stIw813QthZywQ81KoNxvDgdGEgyG0OvvMJG8iDmDYTBK1mTnC5Yg_2m7V5WCDFdpE/w640-h480/1706766442750407819626721994820.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> [Collapsed buildings in Shimla. Photo courtesy the TRIBUNE, Chandigarh]</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> In November 2017, acting on a PIL by a concerned citizen regarding the rapidly deteriorating environmental conditions in Shimla, the National Green Tribunal had imposed severe restrictions on future constructions in the city, including a ban on any new construction in the vital core and heritage zones and in the 17 Green Belts which are thick forested areas; it restricted buildings in the rest of the town to two and a half storeys. It did so on the evidence of rampant violations of the town's Interim Development Plan, destruction of the green cover, the seismic vulnerability of the city, unrestrained building activity on steep slopes, the risks to the citizens, and the government's repeatedly demonstrated inability/unwillingness to control these activities.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The state government filed an appeal in the HP High Court but it did not get a stay of the NGT's order. Environmentalists and the older residents of Shimla heaved a sigh of relief, hoping that now at least this once lovely town had been given a chance to recover from the ham handed and short sighted "development: inflicted on it over decades. But these hopes were dashed when the government suddenly published a draft of a new Shimla Development Plan 41 (SDP41) in June, 2022 . This document, probably the most suicidal decree by any govt. in the last 40 years, overturned every direction of the NGT and practically threw it in the wastebin. Purportedly a blue print for Shimla for 2041, it provided, in brief:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* Tripling the population of Shimla to seven lakhs by 2040.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* Opening of the 17 Green Belts, comprising 400 hectares of the only remaining green cover in the town, for construction.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* Permitting construction in the Core and Heritage zones.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* Allowing buildings upto 5 storeys in the remaining zones, in place of the existing 2.5+1.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* A vision of going "vertical" in pursuit of its expansion plan.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* It failed to take into account, or deliberately ignored, the seismic vulnerability of the city, its depleting green cover, the lack of space or open areas, the geographical limitations on building more roads, the lack of parking space, and the effect of the increased traffic volume that any expansion would entail, the existing constraints in ensuring supply of basic needs like power, water and garbage disposal systems.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The draft SDP 41 was immediately challenged by one Ms Minocha in the NGT as violating the NGT order of 2017, which struck it down. The state govt. predictably filed another appeal, this time in the Supreme Court which first allowed the state to notify the SDP but not implement it for one month (does this make any sense to you?), and finally on Jan 11, 2024 set aside both the NGT orders and declared the Plan legally valid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> It did so, not on merits (which the NGT had considered at length) but on a technicality and a brief, prima facie overview of the SDP, supported by platitudes that sound lofty but are not convincing. It did not go into a detailed examination of the points made by either the petitioners of the NGT. To justify its decision the Court held as follows[ my layman's response to each point made by the Court is given in italics in the brackets following them):</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* The NGT had usurped legislative functions by blocking the SDP. * It had indulged in judicial overreach and ignored the doctrine of separation of powers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <i>[ Both the above observations are ad-hominem arguments that evade the real issue and seek to hide behind the thicket of legalese. The NGT is a statutory body that is tasked with protecting the natural environment and enforcing the rights of the citizens to a healthy, unpolluted and safe life- in fact, these rights are an extension of the fundamental right to life, as the SC itself has stated on many occasions. Moreover, if the higher judiciary can indulge in suspiciously similar "overreach" in ensuring reemployment for its members post retirement in various Tribunals and Commissions, in providing perks and facilities for them, and in creatively interpreting the Constitution to justify the striking down of the NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission), then surely it could have shown the same creativity on an issue that effects the lives of lakhs of people? (Not for a minute am I suggesting that the examples cited above were wrong-I generally agree with those orders- but what I AM stressing is that judicial interpretation should keep in mind the merits of a case and the public cause, which has not been done in this case.]</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">* Statutory plans, once formulated, should not be altered by judicial bodies unless there is a constitutional basis to question their constitutionality or legality.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>[ The SDP 41 was clearly, and blatantly, in violation of the NGT order of 2017, which had not been stayed by any higher court. Therefore, the Plan was certainly invalid legally, if not a contempt of the court itself. The intervention of the NGT was also justified by the broader interpretation of the right to life, as already mentioned in the para above.]</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">* It emphasised on the need to balance development with environmental protection.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <i>[ This is pure lip service platitude, nothing else, and exposes the real weakness of the Supreme Court judgment- its total failure, or unwillingness, to examine the merits of the case. The NGT , on the other hand, had done so in great detail and had even appointed an expert committee to review Shimla's environmental status. For the situation in Shimla (and indeed the rest of Himachal) is no longer one of maintaining a balance between development and the environment (as the SC seems to think) but one of <b>correcting</b> the existing imbalance which is dangerously skewed in favour of "development". Strong and immediate affirmative action is needed to <b>restore</b> this balance; the SDP 41 further skews and distorts this balance and it is unfortunate that the apex court could not see the woods for the trees, even though there are not many trees left in this sorry town]. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">*The SC added, as a sop to the concerned citizens of the town, that they could separately raise challenges to specific provisions of the SDP, particularly on environmental or ecological concerns.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>[ But this is exactly what was done by the petitioners before the NGT, twice, which upheld these challenges! The SC order simply avoids taking the correct decision and only encourages further litigation!] </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i>What is astonishing is that the SC simply ignored the mountain of evidence that proves that the SDP shall only make a bad situation worse for Shimla. Some of these are:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>* </i>A recent report of the SDMA (State Disaster Management Authority) that landslides in HP have gone up three times in just the last 3 years and are attributable to over construction and inadequate drainage.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>* </i>A Disaster Management Plan prepared by the Municipal Corporation, Shimla in 2012, and an EIA carried out by the Deptt. of Environment in 2013, both of which recommended against any further dilution or relaxation in the Town Planning Rules.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* The report of an Expert Committee appointed by the NGT in 2017, consisting of technical experts from NDMA, MOEF, NEERI, Wadia Institute, among others, which observed/recommended, inter-alia:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> - Shimla is in seismic zone IV, 85% of its area lies in landslide prone areas, most constructions were on unstable slopes of 45* to 75*, only 20% of the buildings met the standards of earthquake proof construction.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> - In the event of an earthquake 39% of the buildings would collapse, resulting in a minimum of 20000 deaths. It admitted this could be an underestimation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> - Shimla had exceeded its carrying capacity long ago and needed to be decongested.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> - No construction should be allowed in the Green Belts, Core and Heritage areas and more areas should be brought under the No Construction restriction.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> - The existing 17 Green Belts should be expanded and more area brought under forest cover.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* To these recommendations one must add that Shimla has no capacity to absorb any more vehicular traffic- it has about 100,000 vehicles of its own and between 10000-20000 more enter it every day during the tourist season. ( During the last Christmas week 100,000 cars entered the town). Yet, it has parking for only about 6000 cars. Any expansion of the town would completely choke it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* There are 17000 illegal buildings in the town, an indication of the govt's inability to enforce its building plans, even if it were interested in doing so. The new SDP will result in the regularisation of almost all of them, and encourage even more violations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* The town's majestic deodars are dying of vehicular pollution, construction dust, compaction of soil due to increasing anthropogenic activity, under cutting of their roots and the changing climate; they have stopped regenerating. Hundreds are felled every year under some excuse or the other, but primarily to make way for more buildings and roads. Without them Shimla will just be seven huge rocks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If any more proof was needed, the rains of 2023 have provided it. The town was practically immobilised and cut off from the world for almost two weeks, all roads were blocked by landslides, power knocked off. Hundreds off trees were uprooted, dozens of building collapsed, at least 50 lives lost. Further confirmation of the potential for further havoc was provided by neighbouring Uttarakhand and Joshimath.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Surely this indisputable mass of evidence should have persuaded the apex court to not stand on "technicalities" but to realise the massive potential for disaster that the SDP41 contains within itself. In my view, it was incumbent on the Court to have posed some queries to the state govt. for instance: Does it make sense to go "vertical" at 7000 feet elevation in the Himalayas, on topography which is prone to landslides and is a seismic zone? Will not construction in the Green Belts further denude the city of its already disappearing green cover? Do the hills of Shimla have the carrying capacity to sustain an increase in population of another four lakhs ? Where is the space to accommodate another 100000 vehicles, considering there is no road space or parking area in the town? How will the additional garbage and rubbish be disposed off, given that the Municipal Corporation is unable to manage even the existing waste, which has choked the town's hills and natural waterways? Has the govt. even considered the impact of an earthquake on such a sprawling urban sprawl, and its readiness to respond to it? The larger public interest demanded that the case needed further interrogation, and, while staying the SDP41, the Court could have remanded the matter to the High Court for a more detailed examination on merits. In my humble view, the SC had an opportunity to display some vision and prescribe a template for urban development in the mountains. Unfortunately, it has chosen to follow the path of least resistance. Its order is disappointing and a warrant of death for Shimla and many of its residents. This once-beautiful, historic town certainly deserved better. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-89517110386115070112024-01-26T13:36:00.005+05:302024-01-26T14:09:27.411+05:30 A NEW LOW FOR THE I.A.S<p style="text-align: justify;"> There could be no better-if that is indeed the right word- indication of the progressive decay of the ethos of our civil services than a Facebook post this week by a very senior IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre. One Manisha Patankar Mhaiskar, Addl Chief Secretary, in a very opportunistically timed post after the consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, revealed how, as a probationer in Mussoorie she and some colleagues celebrated the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6th December 1992 by distributing sweets and eating kesar pedas. It was, she adds, a "secret" meeting, perhaps revealing the conspiratorial nature of the meeting. (A sharp contrast to the very blatant manner in which she has now gone public- a sure measure of the changing times!). To further ingratiate herself with the powers in Delhi and Nagpur she also brought in the Bharat-India divide, by claiming that her group was from "small town India" and the Lutyen's Delhi types in the Academy did not share her sentiments. She had been issued a disciplinary notice by the Administration at that time but we are not aware of what happened to that. Presumably nothing, since she has been elevated to the rarefied heights of the Apex scale and clearly entertains even loftier ambitions. Her post has attracted a lot of attention on social media and a flutter in the IAS fold.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> What Ms Mhaiskar did 32 years ago should be of no relevance now, especially as she was a young probationer then, still sowing her wild oats. What her personal religious or political affiliation is presently should also be on no concern to us: she is certainly entitled to them as a free citizen of a (still) free nation. It is when she goes public with them, in the most brazen and don't- give- a- damn manner, that we should start worrying. The concern, therefore, should be that she has the confidence to publicly proclaim and reiterate those feelings in 2024, after having taken an oath to a (still) secular Constitution and having ostensibly served it for 32 years. There are a number of points to be noted here:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* A serving public servant is celebrating and applauding something which has been declared to be a crime by the Supreme Court. I am not talking here of what she did in 1992, but the fact that in her post she maintains that she holds the firm belief that what happened on the 6th of December, 1992, was "something powerful, something auspicious, something positive." In fact, she goes on to describe it as "seminal".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* By drawing a contrast between "small towns" and Lutyen's Delhi in a mocking manner she is again feeding into the right wing narrative that the idea of secularism is an elitist concept nurtured in the metros, and that it is "small towners" like her who represent the true ethos of India. This is the kind of music the bhakts like to hear. (Incidentally, Ms Mhaiskar is no small towner- she comes from Nagpur, which has a population of 3 million and is the second capital of Maharashtra!).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* There is, in her post, an obvious ambiguity about her belief in pluralism and secularism. This does not sit well with the oath she took to uphold the Constitution of India.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* That she can publicly go on record with her feelings and beliefs with such aplomb and impunity clearly indicates that she is confident no action will be taken against her, unlike the notice issued to her in 1992. (She can, obversely, expect a lot of support on social media, a manifold increase in the number of followers. a few approving phone calls from Delhi, and envious glances from her colleagues who would be kicking themselves for not having thought of a similar strategem).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">* The timing of the post indicates that Ms Mhaiskar's repeat epiphany is not a spontaneous Wordsworthian <i>"my heart leaps up in delight" </i>moment, but more a Shakespearean <i>"a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune" </i>moment.<i> </i> It appears to be a well thought out move; one could be excused for thinking that she has observed the rising tide in the Saryu river and decided to take the plunge. The conduct rules can wait. * * This well-timed confession is also a measure of the deterioration of our civil services. It is bad enough that more and more retired civil servants (not just the reemployed ones) and defense forces veterans are jumping on to the majoritarian band wagon, but it is now abundantly clear that the rot has spread even to the serving officers- this is an ill wind that can blow no good. For it is the apolitical, religion-neutral and non-partisan civil services and the army (not the politicians) which have held this country together for 75 years through wars, riots, changes of government and insurrections. Their capacity to continue to do so in the even more tumultous times ahead will be seriously eroded and comprised if they begin to align themselves with particular religious beliefs and political ideologies in their public life. A democratic government functions on the basis of trust between the public servants and the public, on the belief that civil servants are impartial and apolitical; once large sections of the public lose this trust, the efficacy of governance itself gets compromised.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> On the plus side, of course, Ms Mhaiskar has suddenly improved her chances of becoming Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, but she will have made a Faustian bargain to do so. I ,for one, would not have much trust in the kind of administration she would be heading. My primary worry, however, is this: now that the sacred Lakshman Rekha has been crossed, will there now be a stampede by others to do the same, in the classic FOMO or lemming pattern?</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-9046365399670135632024-01-19T12:39:00.021+05:302024-01-21T18:39:53.484+05:30OF SHANKARACHARYAS AND CAMERACHARYAS<p> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> This last week has established that plumbing the depths of the ridiculous and the bizarre is not only our national pastime, it is also now the leitmotif of our society and ruling regime. The other day I decided I needed a "kurta", not one of those fancy and expensive Myntra creations, but something more befitting a pensioner who has not received his last four DA instalments because his state govt. has decided to buy cowdung and cow urine with the money instead in order to win elections. So off I went to the local market; there were kurtas aplenty but only in one colour- yellow. The shopkeepers told me that they were "jajman" kurtas, in honour of the Ram Mandir consecration next week! Which explains why we should not be too hard on the Chief Justice of India for turning up in a saffron kurta at a temple recently- he really had no choice of colour. The fact that this was preceded by the Supreme Court delivering a couple of disappointing judgments in favour of the government was, of course, merely a coincidence.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Staying with the curious goings-on in Ayodhya, it appears that we now have a fifth Shankaracharya, located in Delhi- no wonder the original four are feeling threatened. The affairs of the Hindu faith shall no longer be conducted on the Collegium pattern but on the Master of the Roster model: there are no "Kaun Banega Crorepati" prizes for guessing who this gentleman is. But one has to admit he fully deserves his pre-eminent position for his sheer gall and inventiveness, and the ability to smoothly sail over contradictions: the inauguration of the new Parliament building last year, which was patently a political occasion, was effortlessly converted into a religious event, while the consecration of the Ram Mandir, which should be a purely religious ceremony, has been converted into a mega political event! Politics and religion have been seamlessly blended into one supreme individual, very soon the Shankaracharyas too shall be dispatched to the Marg Darshak Mandal which does appear to be getting a bit top heavy. Actually, the four genuine Shankaracharyas should never have entertained hopes of presiding over the Mandir consecration, for an "ubermensch" like our venerated PM, who has never let a single train be inaugurated by the Railway Minister or an Expressway by the Transport Minister, was certainly not going to allow this spiritual thunder to be stolen from him by a couple of sulking saints.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Or by a battered Constitution, for that matter, now on a ventilator under the Bharat Ayushman scheme. Article 370 may have been deleted in full public glare, but Article 27 (which prohibits the state from using the taxpayers' money for the promotion and maintenance of any religion) has been given the quietus, well, quietly. The icing on the "prasad" is the government's order declaring a half day holiday for all central govt. and PSU employees on the 22nd of January. By my calculations this shall cost the exchequer Rs. 250 crores. Expect these folks to go chanting Jai Shri Ram all the way to the local "theka" on the 22nd, and to the polling booth subsequently. I have no doubt that this holiday will now become an annual feature.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> And suddenly Ayodhya has become the El Dorado for our own remora-like corporates who have a remarkable resemblance to this species of fish that hang about the jaws of sharks for the crumbs: land prices have tripled, plans have been launched to build hotels, condominiums, malls, airports, old age homes, homestays to cater to the 40 lakh visitors expected every month. One airline, which has a reputation for locking up its passengers in its planes and airbridges for hours on end and serving them a-la-carte meals on airport tarmacs, converted its Ayodhya flights into morality plays, dressing up its crew in Ramayan costumes: the pilot became Ram, Sita and Laxman received the boarding passengers at the gate. There was no sign of Hanumanji-he was probably on another mission to set on fire that other impudent island which had the temerity to mock God's chosen One. The Disneyfication of Ayodhya is almost complete. Wait for Akshay Kumar a.k.a Akhand Kumar to make his next movie on it, just as soon as he finishes his prolonged genuflections to the powers that see, or for Amitav Bachchan's next quiz show Kaun Banega Shankarcharya ? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> All those who laboured for years to make the Ram temple happen will, of course, not be there: this is in the best traditions of the bird after which our country may well be named now- in cuckooland, after all, the real work is done by someone but the credit claimed by someone else. And so the likes of Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi will not grace the occasion, the poor labourers who have given their blood and sweat for its construction will be kept miles away, the worshippers of the temple will be outside while the usurpers will be inside. But for me the unkindest cut is the non-invitation to that flag bearer of nari shakti, if not nari bhakti, from my state- Kangana Ranaut. Ayodhya could have done with her oomph, and her temporary absence from Himachal would also have had the beneficial effect of slowing down the melting of the glaciers there. Methinks the BJP has missed a trick here- it could have used her scholarship in history to get her to revise the date of Independence once again, to 22nd January 2024. What about the earlier announced date of 2014?, you may well ask; well that would now become the year of the Quit Thinking movement. But I can understand the Supreme Leader's quandary- even with all the AI tools at Mr. Amit Malviya's disposal he would have had a tough time keeping the cameras focused on the fifth Shankaracharya once the Rampaging Ranaut entered the frame. Algorithms have their limitations too, you know. A.I may be artificial, but its not stupid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> <i>[ NOTE: I believe that, subsequent to Ms Ranaut descending from the mountains like a furious torrent, she has now been invited to the consecration, and has been gushing about it all over social media. This is bound to strengthen her chances of getting a ticket from Manali for the ensuing elections, and this has the other hopefuls from there worried like hell. The Congress may consider putting up Sunny Leone from there if it hopes to stand any chance. ] </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-15139237834435339522024-01-12T13:03:00.002+05:302024-01-21T18:31:50.279+05:30BOOK REVIEW : THE MAN WE ALL FORGOT<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZrxzRDUHiziFIwjYWtLfQZBikK9BcC2Tsy-WKYSC1N7c9XAEQfXxkeKrS4ODdSOQbXTbr032yVVjfX3GiWX5-H5bI_PexSX1MlVE3WbXUlVrP1SPAc4yfOy1_cf1F86JSPhucpoc5KFWl-hZ288o3_fzoMQLWg0l06xvEESDfZFOtj0aR3fTsW4eFgE/s3423/IMG_20240112_123431~2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3423" data-original-width="2317" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZrxzRDUHiziFIwjYWtLfQZBikK9BcC2Tsy-WKYSC1N7c9XAEQfXxkeKrS4ODdSOQbXTbr032yVVjfX3GiWX5-H5bI_PexSX1MlVE3WbXUlVrP1SPAc4yfOy1_cf1F86JSPhucpoc5KFWl-hZ288o3_fzoMQLWg0l06xvEESDfZFOtj0aR3fTsW4eFgE/w434-h640/IMG_20240112_123431~2.jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p> NOWHERE MAN</p><p> AUTHOR- SHIVALIK BAKSHI </p><p> 216 PAGES</p><p> PUBLISHED BY PENGUIN VEER 2023 [Available on Amazon}</p><p> This is a book about courage, betrayal and hope. It is a book about someone we all- the Army, the governments of the time, society, the media- forgot. All, that is, except his family, especially his two sisters, and this book is an attempt to keep his memory, and the silence surrounding his disappearance, alive. Captain Kamal Bakshi, a 25 year old officer of the 5 Sikh Battalion , was last seen on the 6th of December, 1971 at his command post 303 in the Chhamb sector on the border with Pakistan, surrounded by an enemy battalion, tanks bearing down on his post, his platoon decimated. Company Havildar Ajit Singh, who had been ordered by Bakshi to retreat back to HQ, turned round for one last look and saw the Captain leap out of his trench and rush towards the enemy, firing all the time with his Sten machine gun. Since then he has disappeared into the maws of officialdom, declared dead, or missing, or a POW at different times. All efforts by his family to uncover the truth about him- indeed, even if he is still alive at the age of 77- have petered out into the arid desert of bureaucratic indifference, stoic silence and impotent diplomacy. For officialdom he is just a faceless number on some file buried deep in an army cabinet. This book (by his nephew) is an attempt to reveal the face behind this number, the introverted boy who grew up in an army family, the young man who wanted to do his family and his country proud, a soldier who loved books and nature.</p><p> Kamal Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi in undivided Punjab in 1946, studied in Dagshai and Sherwood College, Nainital, joined the NDA (National Defence Academy) and was commissioned into the Indian army in 1966. The author has given us a glimpse- it was a short life of just 25 years that he was dealing with, after all- of Kamal's life by interviewing his family, school friends, course mates, colleagues and superior officers. The picture we get is of a young man with extraordinary- sometimes contradictory- traits: studious, fond of reading. a nature lover, adventurous (he once walked from Chandigarh to Shimla), a fitness freak with a spartan lifestyle, a man who loved challenges and would never give up. generous and giving to a fault- travelling on a train one bitterly cold night, he just gave away his sleeping bag to a shivering co- passenger who had none. Born into an army family (his father was a Colonel) he was always destined for the defence forces, his first choice was the Air Force but poor eyesight did not allow that. </p><p> Kamal Bakshi was initially declared killed in action and was also posthumously awarded a "mention in despatches", but subsequently, partly due to the unceasing efforts of his father, was categorised as "missing in action". In 1978, during the course of a statement in Parliament, the Minister of State for External Affairs admitted that he was secretly being held in captivity by Pakistan. The latter, of course, does not admit it, but the author speculates that Pakistan had probably held back the names of six or seven Indian POWs from the International Red Cross in 1972-74 when the exchange of prisoners took place. It apparently did so as an insurance against India (which had captured 90000 POWs in Bangladesh) acceding to the Bangladesh demand to hand over about a hundred Pakistani soldiers and officers to stand trial for atrocities committed. Ultimately, of course, this demand was dropped on the condition that Pakistan recognize this new country, which it did. But Pakistan has never accepted that it had given an incomplete list of POWs, or that some still remain in its jails. India's frosty relations with the country do not make it easy to negotiate a solution to this vexed issue.</p><p> But the issue of the missing Indian POWs, including Captain Bakshi, in Pakistani jails continues to haunt their families. Anecdotal evidence continues to surface from time to time of their presence in Pakistani jails. These include notes and letters smuggled out by some POW; one such letter by a Major Suri to his father from a jail in Karachi mentions that there are a total of twenty Indian POWs in that jail. An ordinary Indian criminal who had spent ten years in a Pakistani jail, told Indian officials when he was repatriated in June 1978 that he had met an Indian army officer named Kamal Bakshi in jail. There are even reports and eye witness accounts that Pakistan had sent some Indian POWs to Oman, but neither the Indian nor the Oman governments have ever confirmed this. </p><p> Kamal's parents have since passed away, waiting for their only son to somehow, miraculously, come walking down the driveway of their house in remote Mcluskieganj in Bihar. His sisters, Kiki and Niki, continue to pursue efforts to find out the truth about the soldier his country forgot, to attain that closure which has eluded them for the last 55 years. Successive Indian governments seem to have given up on our missing POWs even as they vigorously pursue extraditions of criminals and hunt anti-nationals abroad; even if a fraction of these resources and energy were to be spent on tracing out our missing soldiers it would provide comfort to their grieving families. A soldier, if alive, has the right to be acknowledged and protected by his nation, and if dead, the right to an honourable grave in his own country. This is all the closure that his sisters and friends want. They somehow hold on to the assurance given by the Buddha:</p><p><i>"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."</i></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-34799522967210829892024-01-05T10:38:00.000+05:302024-01-05T10:38:23.531+05:30YOU DON'T LIVE ONLY ONCE<p style="text-align: justify;"> The other day I came across these haunting lines by the poet Rumi:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>"Death has nothing to do with going away. The sun sets, and the moon sets, but they are not gone."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There is the promise of (for want of a better word) immortality here, and this set me off on a path of recollection and reflection, as such words are wont to do at my age. A couple of incidents in my personal life came to mind, which may give some tangible meaning to Rumi's thoughts; this piece explores this idea.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">About 15 years ago, a tree fell on me in the middle of a severe snow storm in Shimla. I suffered grievous injuries but survived, after months of hospitalisation. While I was laid up, my wife (in the tradition of all good Indian wives) went to consult a very learned gentleman who is internationally respected for his ability to read horoscopes and divine the future. After studying my horoscope for a few days he told her that I would recover completely, that the falling tree had actually saved my life by averting a bigger accident. He explained that at the time I was under the influence of "markesh dasha", a celestial arrangement (in Vedic literature) in which death is almost certain. But it's what he went on to say further that is the trigger for this blog: that nature would never harm me because in my previous birth I had been a mendicant in these very same Himalayan forests, and had lived and died among these trees. (For the record, I had never been to Himachal before 1976, when I joined my training at Shimla).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Fast forward to six months later, when I had started to walk again, with the help of braces and a stout stick. Neerja and I decided that, as my first trial, we would drive to Hatkoti (about six hours above Shimla) and walk from there to a holy place called Giri Ganga, five kms away through a thick forest. The locals regard this place almost as highly as Haridwar, and it is where the ashes of their loved ones are immersed in the stream that flows there. Neither of us had ever been there before, but as we neared Giri Ganga I just KNEW that I had been there before. I started telling Neerja what lay beyond every bend before us, where the prayer platforms were located, where the bridge would cross the stream, where the little temple was- all long before we had even set eyes on them! Neither of us could explain this, but the words of the wise guru in Shimla came to mind. And now Rumi, and some reading on this subject, the results of which I would like to share with the reader.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Literature is now emerging about the continuance of life after death, and the influence of our past life experiences on our present behaviour. This is being made possible by a fairly new discipline in psychiatry called hypnosis regression therapy where the psychiatrist takes the patient, under deep hypnosis, back to his or her past life, to reveal hidden details and facts which could have a bearing on his/her present life. There is a second strand to this mysterious phenomenon- the "near-death" or "out of body" experience (NDE), where the person medically dies, leaves the body but returns to it to live on because his ordained hour has not yet come. I find these allusions to previous lives and the twilight zone utterly fascinating, comforting and disturbing at the same time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> There are quite a few books on this subject now, by authors (usually psychiatrists) such as Dr. Melvin Morse, Paul Perry, Jenny Randles, Peter Hough, Denise Linn, Jenny Cockell; but the book which is the gold standard on after-lives has to be <b>Many Lives, Many Masters</b> by Dr. Brian Weiss. Weiss's book is a years long study, carefully documented, of the many lives lived by one of his patients, Catherine. In her sessions with the doctor she recounts, with startling detail, as many as 17 of her previous lives, spread over many centuries. For those who find it difficult to believe this, let us remember that just about every major religion postulates some form of reincarnation or rebirth, whether on this earth itself or on some plane called Heaven, Paradise, Jannat, or whatever. Reincarnation and the in-between planes are integral tenets of the Jewish Kabbalistic literature, which are hundreds of years old. Why then should we be surprised that the experiences of a few individuals seem to corroborate something we implicitly believe in, or at least do not question as part of our religions?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The first window to the "other world" is provided by those who have experienced NDE, and these experiences are remarkably similar: they all report leaving their body, hovering over it and observing the events below with detachment, feeling a sense of panic, anxiety, temporal and spatial distortion, moving towards a bright light, and then being asked by a hooded figure- "elders" or "masters" according to Catherine in Weiss's book- to return to their body because it is not yet time for them. According to a 2005 article by a French psycho-analyst, Chris French <i>"Near death experience represents evidence of the immaterial existence of a soul or mind, which leaves the body upon death, and provides information about an immaterial world where the soul journeys after death."</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i>It is this "other" or "immaterial" world which Weiss and the others explore and document in excruciating detail with their patients. One remarkable experience, common to all NDEs, is that some souls leave the body temporarily but are told to return because they have not yet completed the "learning" process: they can cross over to the celestial other world only when this process is complete. This aligns very well with the Hindu belief of birth and rebirth, in which the soul or "atma" undergoes a series of births till such time it is completely purified and purged of all negativity, and only then can it become one with the "Brahmand", ending the cycle of birth and death with its entry into "Swarg" or Heaven. It also corresponds nicely with the concept of Purgatory in Christianity, where the soul undergoes a phase of expiatory purification to cleanse it of its sins and make it ready for entry into Heaven.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> It would appear that people are quite often reborn in the same place and social milieu where they existed in their previous life (though this is not necessary every time). Catherine confirms this to Dr. Weiss and identifies many persons in her present life as persons she recognizes from many of her previous lives. Does this explain the feeling of "deja-vu" people sometimes experience when they meet someone for the first time but feel that they have met before, or go to a new place and feel that they have been there before? (Like my experience in Giri Ganga). I don't know, but it is strangely comforting to learn (or believe) that we can, after death, rejoin those loved ones who have gone before us.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The subject of the after life is an intensely personal thesis and a matter of belief, but it IS one where science and religion appear to be converging as we continue to learn more about it from the experiences of people like Catherine. For me the primary lesson from these books is twofold : One, Death is not the end of life, the soul is the eternal traveller. Two, respect that fateful moment when the soul of someone you love transitions from the material to the spiritual state, for this is a moment of intense trauma, confusion and apprehension for the soul : it is leaving the familiar and heading for the unknown. It needs our support, love and warmth at this terminal moment- sit with the body, hold its hand, murmur words of love and care- the body may be without life but the soul is still very much there, reluctant to leave on its final journey. Do not run around, shouting and screaming, or making phone calls or summoning relatives. There will be a time for that. But right then create an ambience of calm, of serenity and quietude, make it easier for the departing soul to leave, not more difficult. Stay with it, in mind and body, till the end, for it is not the end; you will probably meet again in another life.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> As a wise man said: <i>We are not human beings going through a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience. </i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-47701825746202811132023-12-30T10:09:00.000+05:302023-12-30T10:09:05.389+05:30FISH OR FOWL ?-- I.N.D.I.A ALLIANCE HAS TO DECIDE- QUICKLY!<p style="text-align: justify;"> <span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"> </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL WON'T WORK</b></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> It's not working, for either the INDIA alliance or the Congress. Current trends and mood postulate that 2024 is lost for them, and after that they are dead in any case. The problem is that INDIA stands for everything and therefore for nothing; one can't be all things for all voters and still hope to retain a distinct identity and appeal. The BJP has proven this time and again: rightly or wrongly, it stands for something which distinguishes it from the rest of the pack- aggressive nationalism, unapologetic majoritarianism, authoritarian governance, naked Hindutva, centralised unitarianism. What you see is what you get, there is no confusion in the minds of the voters as to what they can expect. The INDIA alliance, on the other hand, is a smorgasbord of half-baked and contrary, if not competing, dishes and leaders, a veritable dog's breakfast. What would you choose?</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> INDIA has to narrow down its menu to just five or six predominant issues (not 300 point manifestos) and then develop a unanimity on them, offer the voter a table d hote instead of a buffet. In fact, take on the BJP's own winning menu of majoritarianism etc. and repeatedly question its deficiencies, unconstitutional underpinnings, anti-citizen implications, unaccountability, trappings of bhakti, their effects on unemployment, inflation and increasing inequality. Discard the losing strategy of name-calling, dependence on freebies, Adani and Ambani, failed foreign policy, competing Hinduism. Old whine in old (or even new) bottles just doesn't work in the new India that Modi has fashioned.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> The alliance should realise it can't run with the secular hare and hunt with the religious hounds at the same time, this appears too much like rank opportunism and will cut no ice with the voter. Take a stand; after all 50% of even the Hindu voter is not comfortable with the BJP's violent and hate filled religious agenda, show them that a balance can be struck without any appeasement of any religion. Confront Hindutva, don't coopt it in some sanitised form. The Kamalnath type of Hanuman bhakti convinces no one, nor does the Mamta Bannerjee type of minority pandering. In this respect, it is creditable that the Karnataka govt. has announced that it is rolling back the ban on hijab imposed by the previous BJP govt. Promise more of the same, whether it is recalling the bulldozers or rescinding the "halal" ban.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> It doesn't matter whether the alliance is able to put up single candidates in 400 constituencies or not. The fact is that the Congress has historically always had a direct contest with the BJP in about 200 Parliamentary seats in the North; in 2019 it lost 95% of them. It is these seats which will determine the fate of 2024. If the Congress can win even 40% of them, about 80, it will seal the BJP's fate. The Congress-not just the Alliance- has to work on these seats, and let the regional parties take care of the others, which they can if the GOP stays off their turf. There is nothing to worry about in the South, it is already lost to the BJP.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> The voting universe is not one homogenous entity, it is divided into different components: women, youth, businessmen, farmers, teachers, govt. employees. Congress and INDIA will have to develop a distinct campaign/ product for each of them, and then sell them in a targeted manner, like the BJP does so successfully with its toxic capsules. Of particular importance is the hitherto ignored First Time Voter (FTV) who constitute anything between 10% and 14% of the electorate, big enough to swing any seat. This segment has many issues- unemployment, leaked exam papers, cuts in government recruitment on a massive scale, tinkering with syllabi, clamp downs on any form of protest- which need to be highlighted. Similarly, the inability of the Opposition to capture the farmer vote after all that the NDA govt. has done to them is a singular failure. Ditto with the women, small business/MSMEs which had suffered the most under this regime.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> Not only the wine in the bottle, even some of the labels on it have to be changed. Learn from the BJP's ruthlessness in benching old faces and bringing in new ones. Granted that the BJP can do so at will because it is Mr. Modi who brings in the votes by the bucketful, not individual candidates who nobody has even heard of. Neither the Alliance nor the Congress can afford this luxury because they don't have a Modi like Colossus, but they need to take selective chances in some states. The choice, and resounding victory, of Mr. Reddy in Telangana is the proof of the pudding. The timidity of the status quo mindset has to be replaced with an inventive and risk-taking one if the BJP juggernaut has to be defeated. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> The EVM issue is a festering problem which the ECI will not acknowledge and the Supreme Court will not address; it is time to change tack on this. More affirmative action is needed; one course is for INDIA ruled states to announce that they will henceforth conduct panchayat and urban local body elections (over which the state Election Commissions, and not the ECI have jurisdiction) on the VVPAT model, i.e. the voter slip generated by the EVM will be given to the voter who will then deposit it in the drop box. Results shall be declared on the basis of physical counting of these VVPAT slips and not the count recorded in the EVM. This shall be in line with the resolution recently passed by the INDIA alliance (and the challenge in the Supreme Court by ADR and some civil society activists); it will show that the Opposition is prepared to walk the talk, believes in transparency, and respects the voter's right to know how his vote is cast, recorded and counted. This could generate public demand for a similar practice to be followed by other states and may even awaken the ECI from its slumber.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> Finally, of course, no amount of back room strategising or witty Twitter/ Facebook ripostes or angry press briefings can make up for boots on the ground. The BJP wins because of its grass roots cadres, while Congress continues to lose because it has too many "leaders" and not enough foot soldiers. It was expected that the Bharat Jodo Yatra would remove this deficiency, but that did not happen. This should be ensured with BJY II, which has just been announced. 2024 depends on the Congress, the other INDIA parties will hold their turf, of that I have no doubt. The GOP has to be the agent of change; if it cannot reinvent itself it needs to perish. That is the law of nature, and of politics also.</div>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-56933742548544942462023-12-22T11:30:00.012+05:302023-12-22T11:39:29.795+05:30 FAKE DEMOCRACIES AND REAL ONES<p style="text-align: justify;"> Amidst the ongoing cacophony of news and Deep Fake news, claims and counter claims, dissemination and dissembling, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between fake and genuine democracies. What makes a country a real democracy? Is it a "progressive and liberal" Constitution? An "independent" judiciary? A "fearless" press and media? An "elected" government? An "independent" civil service? On paper, yes, but in reality these attributes are neither sufficient nor enough to ensure a democratic government or a free society. This is being demonstrated to us on a daily basis right here at home.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> For the sake of appearances, and press releases, India has all the attributes mentioned above but the reality is a different kettle of fish altogether. There is little point in listing out what has gone wrong with our Constitution, judiciary, press, civil services in recent years, for they are all well documented and known to those who care about such matters. For instance, retired Justice of the Supreme Court Rohinton Fali Nariman has listed out the four developments this year which have disturbed him most, the Supreme Court has yet to give any judgment of any consequence where it has spoken against the government at the centre, the Election Commission has become some kind of Philosopher's stone which can turn the ruling party's dross into the gold of victories, Parliament has become a vestigial appendage like the coccyx in the human body which has long outlived its utility and has to be cast aside, the civil services (and the defense forces) have either become camp followers of the ruling dispensation, or have hunkered down in their well cushioned burrows like the marmots in the More plains of Ladakh, the media is giving some serious competition to the oldest profession in the world. All these have become what Pratap Bhanu Mehta has termed a "pseudo constitutional facade" of parliamentary democracy. For the fact is that we are an eroding democracy and an uncaring society, and this can be best understood by a comparison with some other, more genuine, democracies. Comparisons are odious, but they are sometimes necessary to recognize our hidden ugliness. Just a couple of examples should suffice to make the point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Take our government's and society's response to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Any criticism of Israel is not allowed: lectures are not permitted, protests are banned, police cases are filed against those who dare to put up posts on social media. The media will not show both sides of the story, celebrities and influencers are conspicuously silent, all in thrall of the government's support for the settler-colonial policy of Israel and its allies in the developed world. But in the same developed world, and indeed within Israel itself, there are no restrictions on the expression of the wide- spread anger against Israel. Biden is being condemned in the US media daily for supporting the slaughter in Gaza, even his State Deptt. officials are staging a kind of mini revolt, expressing their dissent through the "dissent line" created for feedback. Public opinion is turning against him. In November, journalists with the BBC protested against their own management for being selective in its coverage of the war, dehumanising Palestinians and failing to show the Israeli atrocities. The Universities are pushing back against their pro-Israel funders who want to rein in the anti-Jewish sentiments on the campuses, and at least one President has resigned. Public protests are being staged in the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Canada demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. None of these governments can even consider suppressing these protests, and sooner or later, these will have their effect on the policies of these countries. This is how genuine democracies give voice to their citizens' concerns against their own governments turning rogue.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The London Metropolitan police recently provided another example of how real democracies work. Various organisations had planned a massive march in support of Palestine on Armistice Day last month. The Home Secretary and the government of Uncle Tom (brazenly pro-Israel)wanted the police to deny permission for it, the Police Commissioner refused, on the grounds that there was no threat to law and order and he could not legally ban the march. Braverman went public on the issue, accusing the London Police of partisanship and selective favouritism. The Commissioner stood his ground, the march went ahead peacefully, the only arrests were of some right wing elements who attempted to disrupt it. And guess what? There was so much anger and outrage against Braverman that, a couple of days later, Sunak had to sack the Home Secretary. THIS is how democracies work, not like our own police who have become like private militias of any ruling party, whether at the Center or in the states.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Our defense Chiefs are looking increasingly like men of straw, notwithstanding their impressively resplendent uniforms, with more stars than in the Milky Way. They have been silent even as the political executive has run rough shod over their decades old culture and ethos, changing their regimental traditions, ranks, uniforms, mode of recruitment, perhaps even interfering in operational and tactical matters. And now, we are told, some of these retired worthies may even be attending the inauguration of the Ram Mandir, a politico-religious event, further eroding the apolitical and religion-neutral ethos of our armed forces. Compare this with the stance adopted by General Milley, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who resisted every move by Trump to use the military to stay on in power. He made his reservations clear to the White House and almost resigned in June 2020, but then told his staff: " If they want to court-martial me or put me in prison, have at it....I will fight from the inside." </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Real democracies, as opposed to fake ones. respect their citizens' sentiments, do not suppress them by the use of force, and have robust institutions and civil societies that stand up and be counted at critical moments. We are not yet a fake democracy, but we are getting there fast. Democracies do not die at the hands of governments alone: when public conscience and opinion dies, so do democracies.</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-84762773208376217852023-12-15T11:12:00.000+05:302023-12-15T11:12:54.593+05:30"DUST TO DUST, ASHES TO ASHES" IS NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE<div style="text-align: justify;"> <i>" We therefore commit this body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust..." [ The Book of Common Prayer]</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> " You are dust and unto dust you shall return." [ Genesis] </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> These quotations from the Bible, which have soothed generations of grieving relatives, are of little comfort in the age of global warming, or, as the UN Secretary-General rephrased it recently, the age of global boiling. For it is becoming increasingly evident that our contribution to the planet's demise does not end when we shuffle off this mortal and warming coil, it continues even in the process of death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Burial and cremation are the traditional methods of disposing of our loved and not-so-loved ones, but the Earth can no longer afford them, given the rising numbers of our population and consequent deaths. 67 million people died in 2022 globally. Assuming that half of them were buried, and that each body requires 54 cubic feet of land space for a grave, that means we need 3,618,000,000 cubic feet of land area for their disposal. In just square feet, the requirement would be 1.20 billion square feet or 112 sq. kilometers, which is one tenth the area of Delhi or half the area of NOIDA. Every year, and increasing each year as the baby boomers start returning to the pavilion in ever increasing numbers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The planet just does not have this kind of space, especially in in its urban areas: we are running out of space for the living, let alone the dead. New York city has already banned burials south of Manhattan's 86th Street since 1981. The Japanese bury their dead in drawers in cabinets for lack of space. In India, constant demands by Christians and Muslims for more burial grounds have become a source of communal tensions. Burials in graves have other adverse environmental effects in the requirement for wood, steel, concrete and embalming fluid which does not degrade and leaches into the soil. contaminating ground water sources. A study by the magazine Pacific Standard shows that just Americans buy 73000 kms of hard wood board each year, along with 58000 metric tonnes of steel and 3.10 million liters of formaldehyde for burials.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Environmentally speaking, cremation is not much better either, in case that thought had entered your mind, according to a very well researched article in the Citizen (31.5.2021) by Abhay Jain and Sandeep Pandey titled <i>Green Last Rites.</i> The authors tell us that cremation in India consumes 60 million trees each year, generates 5 million tonnes of ash which is washed into the rivers, spews 8 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. A 2016 Kanpur IIT study says that cremation alone contributes 4% of Delhi's carbon monoxide emissions. Electric/ CNG crematoria are only marginally better, since they only shift the site of the pollution to thermal plants and gas fields where the power to operate the former is generated. In any case, they have not been widely accepted owing to cost and religious reservations. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> But globally this problem is now being recognized, and a shift to alternative body disposal methods are emerging. many of them are modeled on practices of some communities/ religions. For example, the Parsis had their Towers of Silence where bodies are laid, to be picked clean by vultures. The Tibetans had something similar. The Lingayats, Shiv devotees, bury their dead in natural graves in a sitting, meditative position. In Anandvan, set up by Baba Amte, all bodies are buried in simple graves with a sapling planted on top. A concept which is now gaining ground is that of "natural burials" in which no wood, concrete, steel or chemicals are used, just a shroud or body bag to wrap the dead, buried in a natural wilderness with no fuss or complex, expensive rituals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> These areas are known as "conservation burial grounds", could be publicly or privately owned, and serve the twin purposes of zero pollution and conservation of wildernesses or green areas. An example of this is the Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve in Florida, USA. It is private land, 142 hectares of forest land of which 28 hectares are set aside for natural burials. The income from this is then used to afforest/ conserve the remaining 114 hectares, land which would otherwise have been sold to real estate developers. Many states in the USA have passed laws which allow for the establishment of conservation burial grounds, and the idea is gaining traction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Another innovative step is human composting, started by a venture called Recompose in Seattle, as reported by an article in The Economist issue of March 2023. This technique requires the body to be placed in a vessel, along with a mixture of woodchips, straw, and other vegetative matter. The chemical reaction within the closed vessel creates a mix of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and moisture which decomposes the body in situ. After about 12 weeks all that remains is a mound of soil which is handed back to the next of kin, who can use it in their garden to plant a sapling in memory of the departed. At least six states have so far legally permitted human composting. Recompense says it has a waiting list running into thousands!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Such sustainable solutions are, as can be expected, being opposed tooth and nail by big business. The size of the funeral homes business in the USA alone is estimated to be US$19 billion per annum. The size of the "death care industry" in India is reported to be US$ 3.5 billion, up from just a billion dollars in 2008. This is a gross under estimation, of course, because most of this business lies in the unorganised sector whose figures are difficult to capture. There is big money involved here, as well as religious patronage and monopolies, hence the opposition to the idea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> In India the funeral business is entangled in a lot of red tape, local laws, all kinds of needed certification, and the stranglehold of the purveyors of religion and its rites and rituals. But, in the year of COP28, the governments need to start addressing this issue of sustainable funeral methods. Governments don't need to spend scarce public resources for this, but allow the private sector and NGOs to enter the field. One innovation could be to permit this as a legitimate activity under the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) regulations. Allow corporates to purchase tracts of land for conservation burial grounds, for example, or to fund NGOs for human composting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Give the people, or at least those who care for the natural environment, the choice of deciding how they want to leave this world. To borrow a phrase from the Wild West novels of Max Brand and Zane Grey, many of us, when the ordained hour comes, would prefer "pushing up daisies" rather than disappearing in a plume of smoke. Why, some day we might even be plucked from the field by a beautiful damsel, in true Rubaiyat fashion ! Of course, one can also become a mushroom, but then you win some, you lose some. </div>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-82630466567913661732023-12-08T10:33:00.000+05:302023-12-08T10:33:47.933+05:30IS THE FIRST- TIME VOTER THE X FACTOR IN BJP'S VICTORIES ?<p style="text-align: justify;"> It's not unusual to do a post-mortem after a massacre, and so the forensics have begun after the electoral carnage of the 3rd of December. The hindsight morticians, of all hues, have started their analysis of what went wrong with the opposition carcasses littering the battlefield in five states: EVMs, caste, Hindutva, "panauti" barbs, tribals, in-fighting, corruption, electoral bonds-it's an endless list which shall keep the pundits occupied till it's time for the next blood- letting in May next year. Not one to be discouraged by my lack of expertise in this field, however, I would like to add my two bits to the autopsy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Not much attention has been paid so far on the impact of the behaviour/ preferences of the first-time voter (FTV) on electoral outcomes since 2019. This is surprising given their increasing numbers. According to available figures there were 80 million (8 crore) FTVs in 2019, and the estimates for 2024 are 150 million, or 15 crores ( NEWS18 report dated 31.8.23, based on ECI estimates). That is an almost twofold increase between two elections. Even if we discount the 2024 estimates by 25%, even then FTVs will form a sizeable proportion of total voters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> FTVs comprise between 10% and 15% of the total electorate, perhaps more than most castes or religious denominations. They constitute a separate and distinct cohort, with their own problems, aspirations, preferences and mental make-up. You would expect that all major political parties would be aware of this, and that they would cater to them specifically in their manifestos, as they do for all other electorally significant blocs. Especially as available data shows that FTVs have a significant influence and impact on election results.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> A 2014 analysis by IndiaSpend had concluded that this youthful segment had catapulted the BJP to power in the five states with the highest proportion of young voters. Below is a table indicating the five states which had added the most number of FTVs between 2014 and 2018, and the number of Lok Sabha seats in each:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>STATE FTV ADDED (IN LAKHS) LOK SABHA SEATS</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Bihar 61.33 40</p><p style="text-align: justify;">WBengal 55.02 42</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rajasthan 43.45 25</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Maharashtra 41.70 48</p><p style="text-align: justify;">U.P. 39.74 80</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>TOTAL 241.26 235</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is significant to note that this accounts for about 43% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Consider now another set of statistics. In the just concluded elections to five states (where the BJP won three by sizeable margins), the vote share of the BJP has actually increased substantially over the 2018 figures: Rajasthan by 3.69%, Madhya Pradesh by 7.66%, and Chattisgarh by 13.37%; even in Telangana (which it lost) its vote share has gone up by 9%. This is a psephological puzzle because the general consensus is that Modi's brand equity is no longer as strong as it was in 2018-19, that the appeal of Hindutva has peaked, and that economic issues such as price rise and unemployment have begun to bite. What then is the generic explanation for the party's phenomenal rise in vote share in 2023?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> There is a distinct possibility that the answer could lie in the hitherto ignored First Time Voter. In an interesting article, The Seven Sins of New India by K. Jayakumar, published in The New Indian Express on the 25th of November this year, postulates that the young generation of today (read FTV), "with no exposure to an earlier ethos of public life, begins to believe that what it sees today is normal." And what this generation sees today is listed out by Jayakumar as the "seven sins of new India." These are: Inequality before the law, vindictive vehemence, intolerance to criticism, corruption, doublespeak, window dressing, and the baggage of secularism. These seven sins comprise the new normal and have changed the idiom of public life and polity completely.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I find this a fascinating thesis, one which makes eminent sense. Just step back and consider- the FTV of today was only eight years old in 2014, he was thirteen in 2019. These are impressionable ages, the crucible when values, behaviour, beliefs and prejudices are formed. This generation has grown up in the Modi years and has seen nothing but the seven deadly sins in operation, carpet bombed by media and party propaganda to believe in this right wing ideology and that Modi is the Vishwaguru. They are creatures of this new toxic environment, and their value systems can only align with this new reality, having experienced no other one. I, for one, therefore would be very surprised if they did not vote for the BJP in elections, almost as a bloc. This thesis brings together all the anecdotal data and statistics mentioned above, and may go some way in explaining the BJP's continued appeal and the increase in its vote share. The FTV may not be the only explanation but it certainly merits a serious look. And the beauty of this phenomenon is that with each incremental year of this regime, their numbers will keep increasing by a few millions, providing the BJP an ever increasing constituency of programmed supporters. There can be no worse news for the Opposition.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I may be wrong (I usually am in such matters), but can the Opposition continue to ignore the First Time Voter? He/she may be their ticket to ride.</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-18482464399853005672023-12-01T11:46:00.000+05:302023-12-01T11:46:55.896+05:30CHAR DHAM OF THE GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL PARK [4]- THE PARBATI RIVER<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> CHAR DHAM OF
THE GREAT HIMALAYAN NATIONAL PARK [4]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THE<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PARBATI<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>RIVER—DAUGHTER OF MANTALAI<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S6x6cn3WAut8VAw3TNcvTBcXa1FYO3LuQbXeD9cqGbfV3MDUhqKT-qdMjh8NvJm5bfsj-OPEKc5OnTrPwLRuSfxb1NLY_AdNlzlvMfKIdI7iMVPH_CirW0oOU7-DECQhXgJsWghVRfVe5gl4Cf4NtkzG2DiZj4sJqZwKpQPy2c0-O0i8SZphBHg2AWs/s2988/parbati%20river.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2040" data-original-width="2988" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_S6x6cn3WAut8VAw3TNcvTBcXa1FYO3LuQbXeD9cqGbfV3MDUhqKT-qdMjh8NvJm5bfsj-OPEKc5OnTrPwLRuSfxb1NLY_AdNlzlvMfKIdI7iMVPH_CirW0oOU7-DECQhXgJsWghVRfVe5gl4Cf4NtkzG2DiZj4sJqZwKpQPy2c0-O0i8SZphBHg2AWs/w640-h435/parbati%20river.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>[The river Parbati, just above Kasol. Photo by author]</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">The Parbati is the best known and biggest of the four GHNP
rivers, meeting the Beas at Bhunter, just below Kullu. It is the only one that
does not originate from a glacier- its womb is the huge, forbidding Mantalai
lake at 14000 feet, at the foot of the Pin Parbat pass which divides the Spiti
and Kullu valleys. The Parbati valley, one of the two best known valleys in the state (along with the Sangla valley in Kinnaur), is totally uninhabited for most of
its length and is shrouded in mystery, myth and wonder; a number of trekkers
have disappeared in its remote fastness, never to be heard of again. At the
foot of the 120 km long valley are the small settlements of Kasol and
Manikaran, hubs for both drug and religious tourism (Manikaran has the famous
hot springs and Gurudwara), attracting thousands of tourists, including from
Israel and Russia. These, however, are add-on aberrations introduced by man, the real
Parbati valley upstream of these urbanised scars is quite different, a natural
Eden of resplendent vegetation, wildlife, perennial streams and high mountains.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrDA25NtNJHUx9o9tSz3_-UTnJLpFpety41JeiZRaFDw2miAMPMoHSHoRWZZ6jjNTI0d4grMKHkp-bwdyC9UHO7i1VIlhUfvMM3uGdSsUrCrZRq4Xob26LkyJH9yQx5LNpeRLL7qAhqyW5Ic4D7HOYB4VzI2WsrlVwXj8WFBwwjrB1EnlNK1Wx6XphLI/s3443/Parbati%20valley%20vegetation.tif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2182" data-original-width="3443" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrDA25NtNJHUx9o9tSz3_-UTnJLpFpety41JeiZRaFDw2miAMPMoHSHoRWZZ6jjNTI0d4grMKHkp-bwdyC9UHO7i1VIlhUfvMM3uGdSsUrCrZRq4Xob26LkyJH9yQx5LNpeRLL7qAhqyW5Ic4D7HOYB4VzI2WsrlVwXj8WFBwwjrB1EnlNK1Wx6XphLI/w640-h406/Parbati%20valley%20vegetation.tif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>[ An unforgettable view of the Parbati valley vegetation. Photo by author]</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The trek to Mantalai takes three to four days and begins at
Gwacha, about 15 kms beyond Manikaran where the Tosh Nullah joins the river.
The track winds upwards, past Pulga ( there is an Italian pizzeria here!),
Nagthan (the last village), Rudranag (so named because of a waterfall shaped
like a serpent below which the god Ganesh is believed to have meditated), Ishidwara,
which actually had a restaurant run by an intrepid Sharmaji from Palampur when
we went up there- I fondly hope he’s still there! Ten kms later is the famous
Kheer Ganga (2900 m.), the USP of which is a pool fed by a hot water spring, once pristine and unsullied but now
overrun with dhabas and serais. Fortunately, the debasing tentacle of tourism
ends here, and beyond is the realm of the gujjar, gaddi and the brown bear. One
can camp here for the first night or move up another five kms to Mandron on the
left bank of the river. We camped at the latter spot and met a gujjar, Lal Hussain, who had made his semi-permanent camp
here, along with his four wives, 25 buffaloes and a hidden hoard about which he
would tell us nothing! He is the last of a disappearing breed of hardy
pastoralists, threatened by reduced ranges for their cattle, the inroads of
development and a new generation which craves the smart phone, TV and an urban
lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5F_uXCHCHz7rHTz_iV8XP1dKG0rs7oGkAEkkdZd7DD6qmWwHfsaKlGkHM5xpAwfjLQK_Xske3zu9h-vCfXPCAIQvcRrN7hhUWrHwQ1suJO1pxRxTHSffF0S-NFWPU5gbAiEMCqP0TlkcuaWDIZ5KvzAWDFlb5sgg3mUiL5r4s84pAPF6RcLCn9Wiojx4/s1024/Khir%20Ganga%201-06-91.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="1024" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5F_uXCHCHz7rHTz_iV8XP1dKG0rs7oGkAEkkdZd7DD6qmWwHfsaKlGkHM5xpAwfjLQK_Xske3zu9h-vCfXPCAIQvcRrN7hhUWrHwQ1suJO1pxRxTHSffF0S-NFWPU5gbAiEMCqP0TlkcuaWDIZ5KvzAWDFlb5sgg3mUiL5r4s84pAPF6RcLCn9Wiojx4/w640-h424/Khir%20Ganga%201-06-91.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>[Hot water pool at Kheer Ganga. Photo by author]</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The first hair-raising experience is encountered on the
second day at Nichidwar- crossing the river on a wire basket suspended over the
waters on a cable and pulled by ropes to the other side! Definitely not for the
faint hearted. About six kms further on a deep gorge meets the Parbati on its
right bank: this is Dibbi Bokri and attached to it is a fascinating tale of an
Englishman who discovered emeralds in the gorge, killed off his gorkha labourers one
night and disappeared with the jewels, never to be heard of again! In the late nineties the
NHPC had proposed to build a huge dam below Dibbi Bokri to impound the waters
of the Parbati and generate 800 MW of power- Phase I of the Parbati project. This would
have been an environmental disaster of unimaginable proportions; fortunately,
it was refused environmental clearance. There were apprehensions that at some
later date the idea would be revived, but in 2010 the HP govt. has notified the
entire area above Pulga right up to the base of the Pin Parbat as a National
Park- the Kheer Ganga NP- so hopefully this lovely landscape has been saved for
posterity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">By the evening of the second day, after having covered 25
kms, one reaches Pandupul ( 3700 m.), where the river has to be crossed once
again to the right bank. But this time over one immense , monolithic boulder
the size of a house which straddles the river which is a gushing torrent about
ten meters wide at this point. Legend has it that the huge boulder was put
there by Bhim when the Pandavas came here during their exile, hence the name of
the place. We silently thanked that brave warrior, for having spared us another
wire basket crossing!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CgXGKNqYPGxAQtjwIG4Nqs_9lxnotmIclCBsiHG9ZgCY0naleADrZ5vvXjKkOuhCSoTfqq2Q9HRkIbpRRscEX7_3zXnlYMSbSMl-_DOx0DXdq85htnQ0fSi-vmXlRT6AI_CamhxMDsfcS-iJwv4SF28XxURzO5ejYjD_JuQOcpc_w_qLCF9USUqsrF8/s1024/Pndupul%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1024" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CgXGKNqYPGxAQtjwIG4Nqs_9lxnotmIclCBsiHG9ZgCY0naleADrZ5vvXjKkOuhCSoTfqq2Q9HRkIbpRRscEX7_3zXnlYMSbSMl-_DOx0DXdq85htnQ0fSi-vmXlRT6AI_CamhxMDsfcS-iJwv4SF28XxURzO5ejYjD_JuQOcpc_w_qLCF9USUqsrF8/w640-h430/Pndupul%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <i>[The massive boulder straddling the river at Pandupul. Photo by author]</i></p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The third day’s trek is a gentle, 16 km walk up the valley
which at this point is about one km. wide, with the adolescent Parbati happily
gurgling down its left side. One ambles through a thickly carpeted pasture,
knee deep in multi- hued flowers, flanked on both sides by towering snow
covered peaks from which tumble small streams, impatient to join the Parbati on
its way down to the Beas, criss-crossing the pasture. After about 14 km the
valley widens out quite a bit and the river now distributes itself into a score
of water courses, almost like a delta. Negotiating them is no problem and after another kilometre or
so one is confronted with</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">a huge
rockfall, 100 meters high, which blocks the valley. This is the appropriately
named Shahidwar; the Parbati has carved out a passage for itself on the right
but we had to clamber over the mound of rocks. Cresting it, we came face to
face with the magnificent Mantalai lake, the womb from which the Parbati takes birth.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoOUJDIihgpg44bKcS4LVO8HBbpmsz47TQaTq0xvvHi7NE-oKKwo2TdWk4C1JVd5UMPeGCyJTAaVC4w9k2hd-IUnHs1sqbQhxTMmi_y5U02B5bY0B0Z8RNp-TKqGM33fd4I4bp0FrofccjQ0sJ4_NwvJzJHZAeqQOb-akBGjdslR4W5e6efni82iGQTk/s5300/PPP%20Mantalai%20.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2869" data-original-width="5300" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoOUJDIihgpg44bKcS4LVO8HBbpmsz47TQaTq0xvvHi7NE-oKKwo2TdWk4C1JVd5UMPeGCyJTAaVC4w9k2hd-IUnHs1sqbQhxTMmi_y5U02B5bY0B0Z8RNp-TKqGM33fd4I4bp0FrofccjQ0sJ4_NwvJzJHZAeqQOb-akBGjdslR4W5e6efni82iGQTk/w640-h346/PPP%20Mantalai%20.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>[The infant Parbati exiting the Mantalai lake. Photo by author]</i></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The landscape here, at 4100 meters, is awesome. The lake is
huge, nestled in an elliptical basin about two kms long and half a km wide, in
a south-east/north-west alignment. It is a pure glacial lake, completely
enclosed by towering mountains from whose glaciers and snowfields innumerable
streams and run-offs feed the lake. Little mounds of rocks, called "jognis", are scattered all around on its banks- these are sacred spots where the locals come to pray and plant colourful flags; we did so too: in these rugged regions it is better to have the gods on your side! There is only one small opening on the
north-west side, though which the infant Parbati gleefully escapes from its
forbidding cradle in a frothing gush of water. The landscape is majestic and hypnotic but Mantalai is not a
pretty lake like Khajjiar, or scenic like Chandratal, or gentle like Renuka.
Mantalai is, instead, imperious in its grandeur, confident in its silence and
arrogant in its ruggedness. It commands respect, not love. Beyond it, another
two days of hard and dangerous trekking and 1500 meters higher up, is the Pin
Parbat pass, and beyond that the Pin Valley National Park. This is the realm of the wind, ice and snow and the primeval
forces of creation rule here. Man is an intruder here who the gods tolerate when they are well inclined, and who perishes if they are not so minded. He should pass through with
reverence, his head bowed in humble respect. May it be so for eternity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7DFJXyljXd9EAKwZ4oeMiTlOFnjXyuCRa6wlpTmpEXvmcYeLniaz0LOJqOHpM8jZ4GTWYd3VghCQx98gEFchwCZieYMTB3LH2EPjTIxRrSYHfX9c3PKL5JdfBDAkALwiZ1EKaPBtLNG0LbkKIv2izAnza4_WGT2EsYOmDo7H3RyXGUhCo8tZf17pm4A/s5276/Jognis%20at%20Mantalai.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3492" data-original-width="5276" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7DFJXyljXd9EAKwZ4oeMiTlOFnjXyuCRa6wlpTmpEXvmcYeLniaz0LOJqOHpM8jZ4GTWYd3VghCQx98gEFchwCZieYMTB3LH2EPjTIxRrSYHfX9c3PKL5JdfBDAkALwiZ1EKaPBtLNG0LbkKIv2izAnza4_WGT2EsYOmDo7H3RyXGUhCo8tZf17pm4A/w640-h424/Jognis%20at%20Mantalai.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <i>[The sacred "jognis" on the shores of the Mantalai lake. Photo by author]</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-983766355378546282023-11-24T10:49:00.008+05:302023-12-01T16:24:41.737+05:30THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE DOG<div style="text-align: justify;"> Animals have always featured prominently in Indian culture and mythology, and have added immensely to their richness and mystique. Garuda is the loyal friend of Vishnu, the peacock is the vehicle for Kartikeya, the lion is Durga mata's fearless steed, the elegant swan is the vehicle of Brahma and Saraswati, the snake adorns Shiva's neck and Nandi the bull is his constant companion, the white elephant is the companion of Indra, the god Ganesha is half human and half elephant, the demon killed by Durga came in the form of a buffalo. Even Man's best friend, the dog, is worshipped in parts of Sikkim and north Bengal, it is the mount of fearsome gods like Kalabhairva and we are told that four fierce dogs guard the abode of Yama, the Hindu god of Death.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> You could be forgiven for thinking that our scriptures have more animals than most of our National Parks and Wild Life Sanctuaries, but let's leave that little critique for another time. So why am I sputtering on about animals, like a loquacious cicada? Because, dear reader, animals continue to dominate the Indian landscape even today and play an important part in our polity and public life. They grab our attention like the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) wrestler grabs his opponent by his round and bouncing organ, which thereafter bounces no more, to paraphrase the refrain from Edgar Allen Poe's poem, The Raven. Let me explain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Our public life is full of animals, and I'm not referring to the type who get elected but to the genuine ones. How can one forget Gau mata, or the Jallikattu bull, or Azham Khan's missing buffaloes for whom Interpol had to issue a red corner notice, till it was discovered that they had actually joined the BJP to save their skin, literally? Or Rahul Gandhi's pet pooch, Piddi, who provided the alibi for Mr. Hemanta Biswa Sarma of Assam to join the BJP and become Chief Minister. In times bygone the English King Richard III had shouted "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" which the wily Biswa Sarma converted to: "A kingdom, a kingdom, a dog for a kingdom!" He got his kingdom and Rahul got the doghouse.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Then again there was that incident about Delhi's AAP leader, Somnath Bharti, and his Labrador. His wife (Bharti's, not the dog's) alleged that he used to order the dog to bite her and lodged a police complaint. The poor Lab was taken to the police station and, in order to test him, was ordered to bite a constable. Being a canny canine of good taste, the doggie refused, the case against Bharti collapsed, but he has not been seen in the AAP kennel since then.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Readers will also recollect that incident involving the IAS couple, the Khirwars, in Delhi last year. They had taken their dog for a walk in a stadium, which the govt. felt had reduced our medal tally in the Asian Games by at least half a dozen. Consequently, they were asked to take a longer walk, to Ladakh in one case and to the north-east in the other. I learn that now IAS officers have stopped taking an amble with their pooches, it is too dangerous. They now take their wives for a walk; no marks for guessing who's holding the leash on these jaunts. All because a fastidious canine insisted on peeing on astro turf rather than the genuine grass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Given the central role that dogs have been playing in Indian politics in Amritkaal of late, therefore, it is no surprise that the Mahua Moitra brouhaha also has a dog as its prime mover, a Rottweiler named Henry, presumably after the English king who had a very innovative method for resolving his wives' headaches. Now, I don't know why she named him Henry - she probably had a good history tudor in school. Be that as it may, Henry is the undoubted kingpin in this whole affair; not only is his custody the <i>causus belli </i>in this case, he is also the insider who knows everything- whether Mr. Dehadrai is just an ex-lover or a jilted lover, who did the jilting, who visited Ms Moitra, who she spoke to on the phone, the type of gifts received by her, etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The Ethics committee of Parliament, intent on peeping through the key-hole rather than looking at the larger picture, definitely missed a trick or two by not examining Henry under oath or getting his statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. I believe the police did ask him a few questions but, having spent time with a lawyer and a Parliamentarian. he was well aware of his rights, cited the Fifth Amendment and also quoted the law against self incrimination. Brain mapping and a narco test were suggested but Henry insisted that a similar test be carried out on Mr. Nishikant Dubey, the complainant M.P. This time it was the latter who refused, fearful of what the tests might reveal about the state of his brain. The last time such a test was carried out on a politician, it revealed no brain at all, just a bank passbook and a doctored print-out from an EVM (Electronic Voting Machine). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The last chapter in this drama has not yet been written, and we can expect the curtain to rise again when Parliament reconvenes in December. Meanwhile, the Royal Bengal tigress in West Bengal has also joined the battle and has divested Mr. Adani of the Rupees twenty five thousand crore port project allotted to him earlier. It's all hands on the deck now. The government has thrown all its might against the diminutive lady from Bengal but will soon find out who the real Rottweiler is. One can't help but recollect the words of Mark Twain: <i>"It's not about the size of the dog in the fight but about the size of the fight in the dog."</i></div>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-56459596985474705952023-11-17T12:36:00.042+05:302023-12-01T16:45:34.855+05:30STOOPING TO CONQUER OR FLATTERING TO DECEIVE ?<p style="text-align: justify;"> If you've been a keen observer of public discourse in India, as I have been for some years now, you are probably immune to the bizarre and outlandish statements made by the worthies holding public office. Like the Scowling Sherpa's revelation that "there is too much democracy" in India, or a Minister in Davos claiming that high unemployment is indicative of increasing self employment, or the Supreme Leader's assertion that not one inch of Indian land has been occupied by the Chinese, or a Minister for Human Resources in NDA I debunking Darwin's theory by maintaining that none of his ancestors ever saw an ape turning into a homo sapiens. We are, of course, the swine who should be grateful for such pearls of wisdom, but two recent pearls, cultured in our very own fascist laboratory, have taken even my post-Diwali asthmatic breath away.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Arguing for the government in the Supreme Court, the Attorney General made two astounding averments: one, that the voter does not have any right to know how his vote has been recorded or counted, and two, that the public does not have the right to know who has contributed how much to which political party. The first statement was intended to counter the very legitimate demand for a more extensive VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Trail) verification of the votes cast in the EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines), the second was in response to the challenge to the Electoral bonds, which have effectively become the BJP's private ATM.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> We have never been in doubt that these statements are a faithful expression of the BJP's private views, but the sheer brazenness of declaring it openly- and that too in court!- is mind-blowing. It is beyond arrogance and hubris, it shows utter contempt for the public, the Constitution and (dare I say it?) even for the highest court in the land. Translated into language which we porkers can understand, the government is actually saying: we will have our way, we don't give a tinker's curse for what the citizenry thinks or what the court decides; we have the majority in Parliament (even if Mahua Moitra and her Lui Vuitton bags are not expelled) and can pass any ordinance or Bill we are inclined to. Misplaced confidence and hubris, did you say? You would be wrong, dear reader, because past events have proved that they are right. The judiciary has never been an obstacle to the ruling party's rampaging depredation of our social, constitutional, legal and institutional landscape. One cannot but help feeling that the govt's impudence is due in no small measure to the court's accommodating and obliging behaviour.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The Supreme Court never fails to disappoint, and has done it again in two recent judgments: on the petition for legalising same sex marriages, and on Manish Sisodia (the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister)'s application for bail. These petitions had been vehemently opposed by the government. Both were dismissed, quite against the run of play. Both judgments came as a surprise, not only because of the inherent contradictions in the judgments themselves, but also because in comments leading up to the judgments, the Court had appeared to favour the petitioners' cause.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The order in the same sex marriage case is retrogressive and mired in a medieval mindset, which exposes the Court's disconnect with a rapidly changing social order. By refusing to legalise same sex marriages, or allowing same sex couples to adopt, or giving them civil rights as a couple, the Court may have warmed the cockles of the BJP/RSS heart but it has also given a thumbs up to obscurantist forces. By directing that the government set up a committee under the Cabinet Secretary to examine the matter to confer more rights on the LGBTS and queer communities, the Court is only displaying its naivete, or deliberately deluding itself: does it really expect an officer who is on extension in service and who has been party to every unilateral and illiberal decision taken by the present regime, to propose any expansion of the rights of this section of society, something this government is vociferously opposed to?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The logic in the Manish Sisodia case is even more difficult to comprehend. In the course of arguments leading up to the judgment the Court had time and again castigated the prosecution for lack of any evidence against the accused. It had even gone so far as to say that there was no money trail to link Sisodia with any bribe, and that the ED's (Enforcement Directorate) case would collapse in two minutes during trial. And yet, it denied him bail and sent him back to jail. Such a vacillating and equivocal attitude can only encourage the govt. to lock up more people for months, confident that the courts will not enlarge them on bail, evidence or no evidence. Clearly, this order is based more on presumption than on solid evidence.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The Electoral Bonds case was taken up after five years, the delay allowing the BJP to mop up almost Rs.5500 crores, many times more than that received by all the other parties combined. The court has now concluded the hearings and reserved its order more than two weeks ago, again giving the BJP the opportunity to open the window for another tranche this week. This will enable it to secure all the donations it needs for the 2024 elections: whatever the court now decides will effectively be irrelevant for the coming general elections, and after that, who knows- we're all dead (or conveniently reemployed) in the long run, in any case.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> In the Maharashtra disqualification case between the two Shiv Sena factions the Speaker continues to ignore, if not defy, the SC's repeated orders for a quick decision. The Speaker has been given such a long rope that he is using it to strangle whatever vestiges of democracy remains in the state. The Article 370 case similarly hangs in the limbo, the orders reserved, and democracy continues to elude Jammu and Kashmir. Umar Khalid continiues to rot in jail, as do the Bhima Koregaon accused, with their trials nowhere in sight. The Bilkis Bano case has disappeared from the radar, if not the court's registry. Whatever happened to the Pegasus Committee report, or the SEBI's investigation in the charges against the Adani conglomerate?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> With every day's delay in deciding such crucial cases, or in delivering reserved orders, the status quo (which can only favour the government of the day) becomes a fait accompli, all the more difficult to reverse. It emboldens the government to continue with its bulldozer tactics, and to take the court for granted. Which is why the Attorney General can make the kind of statements he does and continue cocking a snook, as it were, at the courts. Earlier this month he even cautioned the Court (was it a veiled warning?) not to cross its limits, when the CJI (Chief Justice of India) fixed 31st December as the deadline for the Maharashtra Speaker to decide the MLAs' disqualification case!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> It may be that the Court wishes to avoid a confrontation with the executive, and therefore "urges" when it should direct, or "requests" when it should mandate, or "persuades" when it should command. But such a timid approach is not working; it takes two to avoid a clash, and this government is perpetually in an adversarial mode. Moreover, it also reduces the majesty of the law and dilutes the credibility of legal institutions in the eyes of the citizenry. No amount of table thumping rhetoric and platitudes from pulpits outside the court can define a judge- what defines him or her is her judgment <b>inside</b> a courtroom, and that has been sadly lacking for the last few years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> What we need is for the Court to administer the law without fear or favour, to practice within the court what it preaches outside it at seminars, conventions and in key-note speeches. We need fewer sermons, obiter dicta and moral grandstanding from the judiciary and more concern for our foundational freedoms and rights, stern messaging to the government, and imposition of consequences for defying orders. "Stooping to conquer" may be an interesting phrase for an Oliver Goldsmith play, but entirely inappropriate for our current political environment; the phrase "Flattering to deceive" may describe it better, don't you think? </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-68883527290659212622023-11-10T10:07:00.022+05:302023-12-01T16:59:45.825+05:30GENOCIDE HAS NO NUANCES<p style="text-align: justify;"> In my blog last fortnight (<i>World Leaders and War Criminals)</i> I had opined that what Israel and the USA were doing in tandem in Gaza was a war crime. Since then the criminality has only intensified and two thousand more innocent Palestinians have been murdered, with the world-global north, south and middle- either remaining silent or muttering inanities of the Blinken type that are specious and intended to give more time to Netanyahu to achieve his objective of depopulating the strip. A non binding UN resolution moved by Jordan for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds has been passed by the General Assembly (for whatever it is worth), but to our eternal shame India has not voted in favour of a ceasefire. A reliable estimate states that Israel has already killed 1% of Gaza's population; in Indian terms that would amount to about 14 million deaths.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Surely, both the irony of our posture and its perfidy cannot be lost on any serious or objective observer of our foreign policy. Here is the self-proclaimed leader of the global south-the Vishwaguru- which has just spent 4000 crores at the G-20 conclave to burnish these delusive credentials, but has now become just a camp follower of the global north! It is a "leader" without any followers, a general without an army. That is the irony. The perfidy lies in an External Affairs Minister who has spent his entire career in the IFS (Indian Foreign Service) supporting the Palestinian cause (our time tested and age-old policy), but now has no stirrings of conscience in joining the pro-Israeli ranks. Either he has changed his mind (which is difficult to do at an age when most of your mind is in furlough in any case) or he has sold his soul for the loaves of office. I am inclined to plump for the latter explanation, given his strident expressions of loyalty to the right wing ideology and the Supreme Leader)for quite some time now. Which diminishes him as a human being: he has abandoned his principles and values and has now become a full fledged member of a callous, opportunistic, amoral and transactional universe. I wonder if he can sleep at night; he probably can, what with the experience acquired in the Ukraine war, doing precisely the same. India now languishes in a no man's land- "terra nullius". We have abdicated any moral right to lead the global south, and in the global north we are now just another parvenu seeking only to stay in the good books of the USA, putting all our eggs in the geo-political basket and picking off crumbs from the high table. Our time of reckoning will come sometime, but it will not save the Palestinians from further slaughter. No one with an IQ above 50 (which excludes most of the bhakts, naturally) will buy our canard that we are maintaining "neutrality" in the Gaza conflict. Neutrality in a dispute between the world's fourth most powerful army, a nuclear power to boot, and a putative "nation" that comprises millions of displaced people with no government, economy or army and 80% of whom survive on humanitarian aid, is no neutrality; it is complicity with the former. As Martin Luther King had said: there can be no neutrality between right and wrong, or between good and evil. Neutrality in such a context means supporting the wrong and the evil. Which brings me to my next point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> In response to my earlier piece I have received quite a few responses on the blog as well as by email. I won't bother with the bhakts and trolls since radical Hindutva, Nazism and Zionism all are poisonous fruits of the same genealogical tree and by definition can only exude venom. But there are a lot of otherwise well-read and reasonable people who appear to have succumbed to the "theory of nuances" in the ongoing pogrom and slaughter of Palestinians. This fake theory, and their argument, goes something like this: Israel's disproportionate assault on Gaza is not a simple black and white issue, it has nuances which must be understood. It is defending itself from a terrorist organisation which has beheaded babies and raped grandmothers, launches rockets against Israel, has taken 250 hostages, the Gazans fully support Hamas and must now pay the price for it. Most important, Jews have a right to the lands of the Palestinians since they were the original settlers, 900,000 Jews were evicted from Palestine in the early 20th century by the Arabs; some apologists even go as far back as the Old Testament and Canaanite period to justify Israels's claim to Palestinian lands. Most of this is misleading hogwash and an attempt to deflect the debate and to direct it to a road that leads away from recorded history and the war crimes being committed in Gaza.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Today's global outrage should not be about who, the Jews or the Palestinians, are right about their respective claims to land- the anger should be about the slaughter of innocent non-combatants, women and children in Gaza in their thousands. There are no nuances here- not in the killing of 4500 children and 1500 women, not in the further 2000 buried under the blasted rubble, not in the bombing of hospitals, schools, refugee camps, not in the forced eviction of 800,000 Gazans from their homes in the north, not in the use of starvation as a weapon of war, not in the blockade of food, fuel and medicines to a people already horrendously deprived by 17 years of a blockade and 75 years of forcible displacement.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> There are no nuances in killing tens of thousands of innocents in order to assert a legal right to land which was never yours in the first place. (At the beginning of the modern era, which in the case of the middle-east can be said to begin with the conquest of Arab lands by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century, there were barely 5000 Jews left in Palestine: they started arriving in large numbers only after 1947, starting the continuing dispossession of the Palestinians- a claim borne out by the United Nations time after time, and by the Oslo Accord).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> There are no nuances in determining the culpability of Israel in the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing. Even if Hamas is said to be a terrorist organisation (which it is not), this does not entitle Israel to behave like a terrorist itself, as it has been doing since 1947. A sovereign , democratic state has to abide by international rules and covenants, during peace and war; it has to be held to a higher standard than a terrorist outfit. If it conducts itself like a terrorist entity, there is no subtlety needed to determine its guilt. In any case, independent evidence is now emerging that Netanyahu himself covertly supported and funded Hamas as a counter balance to the Palestinian Authority, it is his creation. The news about beheading of babies has been debunked by independent journalists. Even more damning evidence is beginning to indicate that most of the Jewish settlers killed on the 7th and 8th of October were killed by the Israel's IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) in retaliatory fire under its "Hannibal Directive" which requires the killing of the enemy at all costs, even if it involves the death of its own citizens. Some reports reveal that these Israelis were killed by tank shells and 5.7mm bullets which the Hamas does not possess. Nor does Hamas possess the kind of lethal missiles, one of which killed 500 people in a Gaza hospital in one midnight strike. Netanyahu is using the Hamas as a pretext for his subsequent savagery and to stay on in power; someone in India seems to be doing the same with our bankrupt "neutrality".</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> Looking for nuances in this conflict, or claiming neutrality, is sheer Islamophobia and complicity in the neo-colonial game playing out before our eyes. The western colonialism of the 16th and 17th centuries is back, this time riding on the back of a Biblical justification, oil and gas, the Ben Gurion canal, racial hatred, and its Messiahs are a self-proclaimed Zionist in the White House who cannot climb three stairs without stumbling and a psychopath whose mind is "a black hole" which cannot be penetrated, according to his psychiatrist who had committed suicide. Truly has it been said: <i>Homo homini lupus est</i>. Man is wolf to man.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-47696092541727505572023-11-04T10:46:00.001+05:302023-11-04T10:46:50.484+05:30WHO NEEDS A SMART CITY ?<p> <span style="text-align: justify;">I come from Kanpur in UP. In the immortal words of Bill Bryson: someone had to. Though why it had to be me I can't understand. But it could have been worse: I could have come from next door Unnao, in which case I'd be sharing the stage with Sakshi Maharaj and giving consular advice to our Muslim brethren on how to move to Pakistan, preferably in more than one piece. And though I no longer reside in Kanpur I used to go there once a year to visit my Dad and furtively check his will to ensure that my name had not been struck off the list of "labhartis", to use a word in fashion these days. But more on that later.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> Kanpur is one heck of a smart city: I'm not sure whether it made it to the official list of Smart Cities (which are all now smarting under mounds of garbage, pollution, strangulated roads and posters of Mr. Modi). But it doesn't really matter, for Kanpur was a genuinely smart city long before some mole in the PMO came up with the moniker : it doesn't need an official tag to classify it as a smart city, for it already has all the required attributes of one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> For one, Kanpur and its four million citizens, don't need a government: since 1857, when Nana Fadnavis was given a rousing reception here by throwing 400 Britishers down a well in today's Nana Rao park, the city appears to have thrived without any sign of a government. God only knows what the dozens of Commissioners, DIGs, Judges and their minions do, for they certainly don't maintain civic facilities, roads, power, water supply, law and order, public transport etc. etc. The Kanpurias do all this themselves, in one happy chaotic system which exemplifies the ideal of Anarchism- the total withering away of the state. It was atmanirbhar long before Mr. Modi came up with this word.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> No one goes to the police for settling disputes: they just hire goons (the banks and NBFCs learnt this trick much later). Electricity is obtained by tapping into power lines, water by digging their own bore wells, transport by hopping onto one of the 40000 cycle rickshaws that ply without any permit, entertainment by attending political rallies and beating up each other. The Supreme court and the National Green Tribunal are a distant nuisance as the many industries joyously throw their muck into the Ganga to join the the thousands of crores which the govt. has already thrown into it. The difference, however, is stark: the muck is visible, the moneys spent are not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The good burghers of Kanpur love the IAS. Every family wants the son to join the IAS and the daughter to be married to an IAS officer. Most sons, however, end up as LDCs (lower division clerks) in the AG office if they are lucky, or as lawyers if they are not. The law is a respected profession here and I'm told there are more than 30000 lawyers in the district courts. Now, this may appear excessive, but consider this: in Kanpur it takes five lawyers to prepare an affidavit: one to look up the legal terminology, one to draft the document, and three to hold down the deponent so that he doesn't run away to any of the other 29995 lawyers. There isn't adequate space for so many lawyers in the district courts and so the bar has devised an ingenious system for beating the odds: half of them are on strike at any given time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> So much for the sons of soil buried beneath tons of toil. The daughters just HAVE to have an IAS groom, and for this their doting fathers will go to any length short of kidnapping an IAS officer (kidnapping has been tried but abandoned since it's extremely difficult to get rid of an IAS officer once he is ensured free board and lodging). In deference to the market economy and long before Ms Sitharaman came up with the idea, everything has been monetised, and there is a graded scale of dowry payment: 1X for appearing in the UPSC exam, 2X for clearing the prelims, 4X for passing the mains, 6X for getting selected, 8X for getting UP as the home state. One of my batch mates (who was in the 8X category) was approached by a prospective suitor who offered him a choice of three car models (there were only three back then) if he said "Aye": an Ambassador, a Fiat Padmini and a Standard Herald. Said batchmate took the Ambassador; he has since then upgraded the model (the wife, not the car).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Kanpur has a very innovative approach to education, as I discovered when in 1970 I joined Christ Church College (yes, there were colleges even back then) for an MA in English. My first choice was Delhi Univ. but it would have nothing to do with any potential Naxalite from Calcutta. On my first day at CCC I discovered that in Kanpur English was taught in Hindi and the essence of the course was to be a good translator. But even here there was much to be desired. For example, the word "misunderstanding" was usually translated as " ladki neeche khadi hai" ( The girl is standing below). My three years in St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, instinctively urged me that this was not correct, and so at the first chance I moved on to Hindu College, Delhi, where the understanding of English is better; "misunderstanding" in Hindu College means a "broad minded girl"- not entirely correct perhaps, but certainly an improvement on a girl who merely stands under the stairs!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Kanpur is well represented among the elite of India: Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi (of Moorkh Darshak fame) used to be our reluctant representative in Parliament, PAN PARAG Pan Masala is our answer to e-Commerce, Sunil Gavaskar is our municipal son-in-law since his wife Marshneil belongs to the city, Aseem Trivedi the cartoonist is our Freedom of Speech champion, we even have an ex President in residence, though no one can recollect whether he was President of India or of the BJP. We don't as yet have any distinguished alumni in Tihar jail, but we do have a prime candidate in Mr. Sri Prakash Jaiswal, the ex-Coal Minister and are hopeful that this minor deficiency will be rectified once the coal scam cases are decided by the CBI courts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> For me Kanpur's biggest claim to fame, however, is its street food- at the risk of offending Vir Sanghvi I must declare that it is the best in the country. All of it has been copied by every other state but nowhere else can you get the original, authentic taste of its culinary standard bearers: the TUNDA KABAB and BOTI, the KACHORIS of Double Hathras, the MOTICHOOR LADDOOS of Banarsi Mishthan Bhandar, the PEDAS of Sita Ram, the MAKKHAN MALAI of Birhana Road, the gossamer light tendrils of whipped cream which can only be churned out by the falling dew of early morning ( given the vulgar name of Daulat-ki-chat in Delhi), the PURI-AALOO of Arjun Singh, the BADNAM KULFI and FALOODA of Parade, the TIKKI and DHANIA ALOO of Munna chaat walla who has been plying his spicy trade opposite the Reserve Bank Of India on Mall Road for more years than I care to remember. One can stay in the city for two weeks, eat three times a day and yet never eat the same dish twice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Kanpur is a city sans any excess baggage of history or hoary cultural traditions or the compulsion to conform; it doesn't have the intellectual overburden of Allahabad, or the religious fripperies of Benaras, or the effete urbane refinement of Lucknow. What it has instead is a generic vigour, the ability to innovate and adapt, the art of cocking a snook at the mandarins of governments, and the momentum to carve out its own path. It is unstoppable. It demonstrates Newton's first law of motion- that an object, once set in motion, will continue to be in motion unless it is stopped by some external force. That external force does not as yet exist in the case of Kanpur. And that's precisely the reason why, long after Lucknow, Allahabad and Benaras have declined into genteel oblivion, Kanpur will continue to be a Smart city, whether or not it is included in an official list.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Unfortunately, I haven't been to my cradle of nativity for some time now. It may be because my dad passed away in 2017 after accidentally hitting the DELETE button when my name cropped up in his will. Now, I keep wondering whether that was because he was near-sighted or far sighted.</div>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-54923045325600186262023-10-26T12:51:00.014+05:302023-12-01T17:16:07.272+05:30WORLD LEADERS AND WAR CRIMINALS<p style="text-align: justify;"> As modern day war criminals go, you could be forgiven for thinking that it would be difficult to beat the Netanyahu- Biden duo. The former has initiated a genocide in Gaza and the latter has been giving him all diplomatic and military covering fire to get the job over quickly. 6000 civilians dead in Gaza as I write this (including 2500 children and 1500 women), with more to come as the ground offensive of this doomed enclave unfolds. Ukraine is being repeated in Gaza, with the logic of justice being up-ended as per their fascist convenience- Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine for invading another sovereign nation and killing civilians, while in Palestine a rampaging Israel is the victim for doing the same. Sheer moral bankruptcy and criminality under international covenants is now rephrased as geopolitics. Israel has even called for the resignation of the UN Secretary-General for having had the temerity to say that the Hamas attacks did not happen in a vacuum. And it has now taken to taunting the UNRWA, the relief agency of the UN in Gaza: on the latter's pleas for allowing fuel into Gaza, this rogue state has suggested that it ask Hamas for the fuel! This is not just over-arching arrogance, it's the confidence of a criminal who has bought both the judge and the jury.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> How can an alleged terrorist organisation be equated or conflated with an entire nation, as the global North has done with Hamas and Palestine? And then obliterate that nation for the sins of those "terrorists", as Israel has been doing for the last three weeks? This is like the RAF carpet bombing Ireland because of the activities of the IRA, or India bombing Lahore for the actions of Pakistan's cross border terrorists. Netanyahu, Biden or their pet pit bulls in France and the UK may not comprehend this logic, but surely India should be able to see it, and at the very least demand that Israel respect this distinction. Previous Indian governments, from the time of Nehru to Vajpayee, had the humanism, sense of history and vision to realise this; they had learnt from our own history the abject consequences of partitioning of countries, and could therefore empathise with the Palestinians whose own ancestral lands had been forcibly partitioned in 1947. Not so with Naya Bharat where the benefits of Pegasus, hi-tech weapons and training by Mossad matter more than shared history, humanitarianism and justice. Islamophobia has now entered our foreign policy, it would appear; it was inevitable after the nine years of the present regime, for, as Hubert Humphrey had remarked: "Diplomacy is nothing but domestic policy with its hat on." Which is why Mr. Jaishankar has gone silent for now on this war, with even his usual waffling missing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The Netanyahu-Biden strategy is clear: it's time for the "final solution" in Palestine: occupy the Gaza strip, if not annex it. Readers would recollect that at the last General Assembly meeting in New York in September, Netanyahu had displayed the future map of Palestine as he saw it: it showed almost the entire region from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean (the present West Bank and the Gaza strip included) as part of Israel. The attack on Gaza is the first phase of converting this map to reality on the ground. Israel will occupy north Gaza after expelling all Palestinians living there (almost a million and a half) and either occupy it militarily, or convert it into a buffer zone with a proxy government. Over time it will push more Israeli settlers in there, dispossessing the few Palestinians who remain there, as it does in the West Bank. It will change not only the geography but also the demography of the area forever, with the blessings of the North and the silence of countries like India. This is what Netanyahu had meant when he stated, at the beginning of this "war", that the Middle East would be changed forever.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> By any definition of terrorism, and under international law, Israel is a terrorist state. It has forcibly occupied 85% of Palestine and allowed, under military protection, 700,000 Jewish settlers to encroach on Palestinian land in the West Bank. It distributes arms to these settlers and has killed and jailed thousands of Palestinians without any judicial process: it is an occupation force and behaves as such, in the teeth of opposition by the UN and in flagrant violation of all international laws. It has converted the blockaded Gaza strip into what one commentator has described as the largest concentration camp in the world, and all this with full support of the USA, which runs its own concentration camp in Guantanamo Bay. Between 200 and 250 Palestinian civilians are routinely killed by Israel every year (more than 120 have been killed in the West Bank in just the last two weeks) and has imprisoned about 5000 of them, most of them without any judicial process. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> As of today the UN has announced that it shall cease its relief operations in Gaza: Israel's two week old blockade has ensured that no food, fuel, medicines or even water can enter this enclave where 2.5 million have been trapped like rats ("human animals", according to an Israeli minister). 35 hospitals will be shut down, and the 140 babies in incubators and 130 patients in ICUs will almost certainly die. This is deliberate genocide, far more barbaric than taking hostages, even though the comparison is odious. And this is even before the ground offensive has begun! What more does it take to be a terrorist, pray?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> What India, which has ditched all moral and ethical values for rank opportunism and, in the apt words of (retired) Ambassador Talmiz Ahmed has "corporatised" its foreign policy for the benefit of a few cronies, does not smell is the fecal stench of racism emanating from the Israel-Palestine issue. When "white" Ukranian civilians are killed by Russia the West is outraged, but when "brown" Palestinians are massacred by Jews it sees this as just retribution. Even an Uncle Tom like Rishi Sunak is blind to this. Historically, the Muslims have never persecuted the Jews- it has always been white Christians who have persecuted, disenfranchised and murdered Jews, culminating, of course, in Hitler's final solution. There were hardly any Jews in Palestine in 1947, the vast majority were in Europe and should have been given their sovereign state there. But the Christians didn't want them as neighbours, apparently, and packed them off to an enclave in the Middle East under the Balfour declaration, one that belonged to the Arabs. So who is the racist and aggressor here? Self proclaimed Zionists like Biden and Uncle Toms like Sunak should think about this. So should the Hindu Samrats. History has a way of coming back to haunt one. It may not repeat itself, as someone said, but it rhymes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> In these sorry times we could do worse than recollect the words of the poet, Mahmoud Darwish:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>" The wars will end and the leaders will shake hands, and that old woman will remain waiting for her martyred son, and that girl will wait for her beloved husband, and the children will wait for their heroic father, I do not know who sold the homeland but I know who paid the price."</i></p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-11363556730265448382023-10-20T10:25:00.000+05:302023-10-20T10:25:47.405+05:30MONKEYING AROUND WITH THE CENSUS, CONSENSUS AND CON-SENSUS.<p style="text-align: justify;"> The current flavour of the season is Census, not to be confused with Consensus, which is a con job on a census, as witnessed recently in the DD (Delhi Declaration) of the G-20. A census is basically a count, and the DD was a count of those nations who resolved to do nothing on any issue of global importance, as I have explained at some length in an earlier blog. Which is why the DD was a Con-census, regardless of what our Vocal for Local favourite Sherpa may call it. And even as I write this a similar Con-sensus appears to be emerging about the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Global North. And India, as the self-appointed leader of the Global South, in the best traditions of Indian politics, has decided to defect to the North, as 20 million of its citizens have already done. But I digress.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The central govt. gave a miss to the decadal census which was due in 2021, possibly because it was too busy counting the banknotes which returned to the banks after demonetisation, or perhaps the banknotes which did NOT so return after the NPA birds had flown the coop. Whatever the reason, we will now never know whether there was a dip in the population post demonetisation (because every joker and his wife were standing in ATM queues instead of being tucked up in bed), or a bump in the population post the lockdown (because every joker and the neighbour's wife were in bed instead of toiling in the office). We will get to know only when Ms Kangana Ranaut gives us her views, which may take some time as she is currently preoccupied with dissecting the war in the middle-east.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, just as nature abhors a vacuum, a census abhors a zero; as Confucius told the guy who invented Zero- thanks for nothing! And so our Opposition parties have decided that they will now conduct a caste census in their states, a kind of mini decadal census, to find out the number of BCs (Backward castes), OBCs (Other Backward castes), and EBCs (Extremely Backward castes). The SOBs will be counted after the elections. Bihar has already done it and released the results, Karnataka too has finished it but is sitting on the results which it will announce at "an appropriate time", Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh have also said they shall do it soon. This has been dubbed as Mandal-2, a sequel to the original blockbuster Mandal-1.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The entire exercise is like a salami-slicing of society till the original sausage is unrecognizable. The BJP is not elated about this, not because it prefers sausages whole, but because it holds the exclusive IPR and monopoly on dividing society. It does this through religion, but has been outflanked by the Opposition's use of caste to do something similar. We have now gone through the entire gamut of division and ghettoisation , having used everything possible to fragment the country- religion, regionalism, language, festivals, clothes, food, occupations. All that remains now is to do a sub-census of the Upper castes ( Brahmins, Rajputs, Jats, Marathas) who comprise about 20-25% of the population nationally, and tribals, and India will then resemble a piece of Emmentaler cheese, more holes than cheese. The only organism which thrives in this type of cheese is bacteria, which is an apt description for our politicians, you will agree.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, unfortunately, my own state- Himachal- has been left out of this caste carnival. The state does not have a caste issue, primarily because it has only two dominant castes- government employees and apple orchardists- and between them they control the economy and the politics. Everyone is happy except Preity Zinta (who has left for the USA) and Kangana Ranaut (who is happiest when she is unhappy with something, which is most things). So, not to be left out, the Himachal govt. has now decided to conduct a census of monkeys in the state, as announced this week by its Forest department. Only "bona-fide" monkeys (those who were settled here before 1974) would be counted, not the "domiciled" ones (those residing in the state for 15 years) because the latter would already have been counted in places like Karol Bagh, Kotkapura, Surat and Asansol. The author of this piece officially belongs to the domiciled category, by the way, even though I have been swinging on trees in Himachal for the last 50 years and look alarmingly like an aged Rhesus monkey. But rules are rules and "show me the face and I'll show you the rule" doesn't work on this one, unfortunately.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Why a census of monkeys ?, you may well ask, and since I am not an RTI Commissioner I shall give you the answer. The govt. feels that the monkeys harass tourists, particularly in Shimla, and have converted the Jakhoo hill into a banana republic, literally. They also destroy crops and indulge in gorilla warfare with the villagers. The Forest department has been sterilising monkeys since 2004, with greater success than Sanjay Gandhi's efforts with their cousins: their population has reportedly declined from 3.17 lakhs in 2004 to 1.36 lakhs in 2019.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But I have my reservations. For one, the monkeys are better behaved than the tourists and I feel it's the latter who should be sterilised instead. Two, apes best exemplify the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest, and catching the remaining 1.36 lakh will be tougher than catching a cold in Hell or catching Amit Malviya telling the truth. By the time I retired from the Forest department the simians could recognize every official in the department, from the Forest Guards to the DFOs, as well as their vehicle numbers, and disappeared the moment they spotted the long arm of the law, somewhat like our Women Development Minister vanishing whenever an atrocity is committed on a woman. Thirdly, according to the (gr)ape-vine, the monkeys are enthused by the frequent rallying cry of "Jai Bajrangbali" and the Hanuman of the TV series Ramayana being allotted a ticket for the elections in MP, and have decided to contest the next elections. Their reasoning is that they should enter the fray directly instead of being used as proxies and intermediaries, something I believe Mr. Adani is also seriously considering. That has the sitting MLAs worried: they can no langur take their seats for granted, hence the need for the final solution of sterilisation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, I'm an optimist. The original and rightful denizens of Jakhoo have survived the Gorkhas, the British, the BJP, the Congress, Uncle Chipps and the guy from Kotkapura. They will live to cock a snook at the last of the inappropriately named homo sapiens when the inevitable apocalypse happens- census, consensus or con-sensus notwithstanding.</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-4110111756589271022023-10-13T13:28:00.003+05:302023-10-14T14:23:27.429+05:30DHAN KI BAAT<p> <span style="text-align: justify;">I should have listened to Mintu, ten years my senior, way back in 1973. If I had, I wouldn't be living in a village near Mashobra, waiting with bated breath for my pension every month, hoping the Treasury Officer doesn't question my Life Certificate which states: "Brain dead but still breathing and smoking Wills Flakes." I'd be rubbing shoulders in Kensington Gardens or a Bangkok penthouse with the Nirav Modis and the Vijay Mallyas of the world, handing out lavish tips to ravaging beauties, all debited to the Bank of Punjab or Baroda, as the (suit)case may be. I'd better explain.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;">In the Delhi university of 1973 you couldn't take a girl for a "band omlette" to Khyber Pass unless you had a Jawa mobike between your knees, its exhaust sawed off in some reverse phallic ritual. Lumbering through my final year MA (no, Mr. Narendra Modi was not my class mate) I petitioned my nearest living ancestor for a loan for a bike. Now, my Dad sold oil (Burmah Shell) for a living and was harder to pin down than an oil slick. Like Mamta Bannerji I kept hoping for the funds but they never came. Fed up of waiting and seeing a life of enforced celibacy awaiting me, I decided to take matters into my own hands and sat for the SBI Probationary Officers' Exam. To everyone's great surprise I made it, but then developed second thoughts: I'd always wanted to sit for the IAS. Enter Mintu, to whom I went for advice. Now, Mintu was the hot shot in the extended Shukla tribe, a go-getter in a multinational company. " Take it!" he ordained. " Why ?" I sought to know.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">" A bank job," said he of the unlimited expense account, " is worth dying for. The fortunate guys can play around with their own money, but only the blessed play with other people's money. That's what you'll be doing for the next 35 years, you know(give or take a few years of suspension and jail time). You can borrow as much money as you want. Remember, a borrower never dies- he just loses interest."</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I didn't heed Mintu's Delphic advice and now have the next 15 years in village Puranikoti to regret it. I have an aversion to taking loans, believing implicitly in the old adage: Neither a loaner nor a loanee be. A mistake which I ascribe to a double promotion between Nursery and KG II, which made me miss the other adage which Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, et al. learned by heart in KG I: " A buck in the hand is worth two in the Bank." I guess I better explain this paranoia also. I have had this great suspicion of loans ever since my Dad visited me when I was posted as SDM Chamba in 1976. Now, my Dad used to make a smooth transition from oil to alcohol every evening, scotch on the rocks. I had no rocks since , with a salary of seven hundred rupees a month, I could barely afford to keep my wife in clothes (not a bad thing when you're just married, but you get the drift), and therefore had no fridge. My Dad immediately directed me to buy one, saying he would put up the money for it. It was an (All)wyn-win situation. He went back to Kanpur after a few stiff ones on the rocks, had some second thoughts of his own, and informed me that the Rs. 4000 he had advanced to me was not a grant, but a loan. It was my Ashok Gehlot moment. I borrowed money from the District Nazir to repay my Dad and decided never to take a loan again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But life has a way to make you eat your words. Suddenly, retirement loomed over the horizon and I realised that soon I would no longer have a leaking "sarkari" roof over my head. At about the same time my younger son Saurabh discovered Madhusudan Das ("Indian universities are the slaughter houses of intelligence") and decided to study in London. So I polished up my begging bowl and went with it to my bank manager for two loans: house and education. I got the loans but not before the bank had squeezed out every drop of information about me: a data extortion even Facebook would be envious of- salary slip, GPF statement, land revenue papers, default guarantee from employer, architect's plan. If I recollect it also took from me my horoscope ( to ascertain that I would live long enough to repay the loans), blood reports(to check whether I had AIDS), my ACR dossier (was I likely to be dismissed from service before repayment of the loan ?), an IQ test report for Saurabh to satisfy itself that he was intelligent enough for further studies (that was a close one), and perhaps even a report on my sperm count (to be sure that the bank would get a bang out of its buck- it didn't, nothing lowers the testosterone more effectively than two EMIs a month ). After that experience I have never applied for a loan, not even a credit card or a post-paid mobile account, because I can't bear the thought of OWING money to anyone. A big mistake, because the only way you can get uber rich in India is by borrowing big time, and not returning the moolah. In this blessed country if you owe a bank ten thousand rupees it's your problem, but if you owe it ten thousand crores then it's the bank's problem! Just look at the couple of dozen bankruptcy cases before the NCLTA: while all the banks and depositors are taking what is called "haircuts" (but are more like fiduciary castrations) in the thousands of crores of rupees, the defaulters continue to live the life of the Sultan of Brunei. So, if you want to live the big life, go and borrow money- in crores. As the Duchess advised the ageing Duke: " If you can't raise it, you ain't getting no piece !" Which, by the way, appears to be a slight adaptation of that Confucious gem: Man who quarrel with wife get no piece at night. Which is also why I live in a village, doing Yoga when the sun rises and meditating when it sets. In between I think of Nirav Modi standing on tip toe peering down designer cleavages, of Vijay Mallya and his life membership of the Mile-High Club, of Lalit Modi who still appears to have the government by the (cricket) balls, of the captains of Indian industry at Davos in their bespoke suits which have no pockets- they don't need pockets, because their hands are always in someone else's pockets, you see. Maybe I should have listened to Mintu. </div>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8561209253464577539.post-79690870764941406852023-10-06T18:47:00.000+05:302023-10-06T18:47:24.488+05:30REFLECTIONS ON THE GENIUS OF THE "PAKODA" ECONOMY<p style="text-align: justify;"> Some of us may recall that revolutionary doctrine enunciated by one of India's leading economists, Mr. Amit Shah, a couple of years ago, viz. that selling "pakodas" on the road constitutes gainful employment. Or that other one on this subject by our second most eminent economist, Mr. Piush Goyal, that unemployment rates in India are high because more and more people are opting for self employment. These twin blasts shook our neo-liberal foundations like the earthquake in Delhi earlier this week, and caused quite a stir among the subordinate economists from Harvard, Yale, DSE, the IMF and the World Bank; those in the Observer Research Foundation, of course, merely applauded politely- they had never doubted the brilliance of these two gentlemen, not even when the former had announced that India would become a five trillion ton economy by 2024, or when the latter had mistaken Einstein for Newton (or was it the other way round? Not that it matters, relatively speaking).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But you know what, folks? Our two leading economists were right! No, I haven't joined the RSS, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel now that the light in the tunnel itself has been switched off. What makes this country survive is not the Finance Ministry, or the Nutty Aayog, or the Chief Economic Advisor, or the corporate fat cats of the Davos variety. No sir, these worthies only create more billionaires and multi-millionaires; what sustains our teeming millions of common folk is- they said it- self employment, the "pakoda" economy, the "juggad" at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Though I prefer to call it "proletarian entrepreneurship" on an industrial scale, something they don't teach you at the IIMs and Ivy League snob-shops, perhaps because they are not even aware of it. But it feeds millions of households, enables Mrs Sitharaman to crow like a cock about our growth rate, and keeps the country growing- without a paisa being contributed by the government, or even one of the 40 million government employees having to move an inch. This is the real "atmanirbharta", not what you hear in Man ki Baat. It's genius is all around us in our daily lives, but we rarely stop to think of it or to acknowledge it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This home-grown genius consists of spotting the tiniest of demand niches in our economy or society, and then scrambling to fill it- provide that product or service required- without handing out expensive consultancies to Mckinsey or TCS or retired IAS officers. For example, on my many treks to remote areas, I have always marveled at the intrepid individuals who set up shop in the most inhospitable, climatically severe and sometimes dangerous locations. I am not talking here of areas like Khir Ganga or Kasol or Marhi (on the way to Rohtang pass), which have become mini-townships serving car borne tourists and require no entrepreneurship, just a few contacts in the Forest and TCP departments. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The real entrepreneurship is to be found in near inaccessible areas. Like the young man from Baijnath I met in Chandratal lake (14000 feet, 20 kms from the roadhead): he had pitched a huge parachute as a tent on the shores of the lake, and for Rs. 100 per head provided accommodation, bedding and a hearty dinner (the rum was BYO, though mine host could arrange even that for an extra premium!). During the season his Hilton Heights catered to about 5-6 trekkers every day. Or Sharmaji's dhaba in a dense forest on the track to Khir Ganga in the Parbati valley, miles from anywhere: he told us that his biggest problem was dealing with black bears who were attracted by the smells of his chhole chawal and Maggi. Or the bravest of them all- a couple who had pitched a tent at Merh, just below the Thamsar pass at 16000 feet on the climb down to Bara Bhangal village; a more bleak, freezing and windswept location would be difficult to imagine. It served as an inn for exhausted trekkers (and locals) and no one minded sharing the tent with a few sheep or mules- in fact, they provided much needed warmth.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Only a marketing genius, with courage to match, would have chosen to ply a business in these remote regions, hundreds of kms from their homes. They are the stuff of Bata and Levis. They chose their spots with a perfect eye for the customer's needs, provided a badly needed product and service, acted as a clearing house for local news and weather, and have probably saved a few lives in the bargain too. They would pack up with the advent of winter, go back to their families in Baijnath, Kangra or Chamba, and return the next year in spring to resume. No bank loans, no PLI incentives, no subsidies, no complaints. Genuine entrepreneurship at its purest, outside what learned persons call the "formal" economy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I see the same initiative, enterprising spirit, and appetite for risk in the urban habitat where I now live, in a massive, multi-storeyed housing society. Services which even an Elon Musk could not have predicted a dozen years ago have now become mainstream, something the privileged residents of these RWAs cannot do without now. Take pets, particularly dogs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Pets are now a status symbol, a plaything for kids, a substitute for missing grandkids, and the pet care industry in India is valued at Rs. 4800 crore, growing at 16.50 % per annum. But that is only the formal part; the informal service sector I discovered only when I moved to the society. I'll give just two examples. There is a huge demand for "dog walkers" since the dog owners are either too busy, or too old, or too drunk or too high brow to take their doggies out on a leash. The job provides a good living: Rs. 4000/ a month for two walks a day, about 30 minutes each. A dog walker can easily do five pets a day- that's 20000/ a month the CBDT does not know about, more than what your average Management graduate or lawyer earns. Then there is the dog "groomer": for about Rs.1200/ to Rs. 1500/ the groomer will shampoo your pet, brush and trim his coat, cut his nails and brush his teeth for good measure. At the end of it the doggie looks better than the missus does after spending Rs. 4000/ at Tony And Guy's or some other such gender neutral salon. Not exactly a dog's life, you will agree!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have another enterprising young chap in my society- he specialises in fixing anti-pigeon nets on balconies, a business niche like no other. Since statues are now all more than 100 meters high, and trees a rarity, pigeons have taken to roosting on balconies and depositing their "shagan" in them in respectable quantities. Enter Ajit Chauhan, who, at Rs. 15/ per square foot will give you a lifetime (the pigeon's life, not your's) warranty against the nuisance. The final charges for a 4 bedroom and 3 bedroom flat work out to about Rs. 12000/ and Rs. 10000/ respectively. And he does all the fixing himself, with just one kid as helper. He makes more money than an Apex scale IAS pensioner, and doesn't even have to submit a Life Certificate every July! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My little village of Puranikoti, a safe 15 kms form the sanitary landfill known as Shimla, also has its jugadu entrepreuners. A Sikh gentleman comes on his motorcycle once a fortnight (he covers the entire panchayat) offering to sell/ repair/ service gas burners, regulators, pipes etc. It's a vital service for us at our doorstep, literally, since the nearest gas agency is 20 kms away and has never heard of the "Right to Repair" concept or law. A young lad from Haryana gets his womenfolk to make huge quantities of pickles back home, puts it all in his pick-up and motors up to Mashobra regularly to hawk his wares to us country bumpkins. I always buy my pickles from him, they cost Rs. 100/ per kilo ( yes, you heard that right- a KILO) as against about Rs 700-800 for the branded varieties, and are fresher and much more delicious.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is these unknown and unsung (at TIMES NOW or INDIA TODAY type conclaves) innovators who are the real Atlases holding up the Indian economy and creating informal livelihoods for its teeming, excluded, millions. Unlike the Adanis, Ambanis and Mahendras, they don't demand or expect concessions from the government, they don't create NPAs, they don't fly to Davos in CO2 spewing jets, and they don't issue IPOs to milk the public. They do it all on their own. They represent our true genius. I'm waiting for some political party to make the "pakoda" its party symbol.</p>Avay Shuklahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02928879917197239026noreply@blogger.com12