Parochial Politics

The characterisation of the beneficial Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement by some narrow-minded political outfits as a deal inimical to the Muslim community is indicative of the execrable parochialism pervading Indian politics. This parochialist mentality threatens to disfigure the standing of India transnationally. Coalition governments are likely to be formed in the near future as well. The dependence of national parties on these chauvinistic regional parties, which possess scanty knowledge of strategic matters and international relations, portends inauspiciously for the emergence of India as a consequential power occupying a critical seat on the global strategic pecking order. The N-deal is utterly unrelated to the Indian Muslim community and its aspirations. It is a favourable pact intended to alleviate the predicaments likely to plague India in the future in the energy sector. The typification of the N-deal as anti-Muslim is a manifestation of deplorably small-minded politics, which needs to terminated for the enhancement of India.

UPA Must Show Resolve

An exhibition of gumption from the UPA Government is mandatory on the issue of the Indo-U।S। N-deal if the Government earnestly believes that the beneficialness of the deal is going to immensely assist India in the future and help India accomplish her geostrategic objectives.The efficaciousness of a Government stems from its determinedness on numerous issues and its unequivocal backing of its own convictions.India will positively inherit prosperousness from the N-deal in the eventuality of it being operationalised.If the UPA Government aspires to lay a constructive legacy,which will be appreciated by the general public,it must avoid procrastination while formulating its course vis-à-vis the Indo-U.S. N-deal.The numerically miniscule Leftists must not be allowed to reign supremely by this Government.Courageousness from the UPA Government will enable them to pummel the treacherousness of the Left and gain the respectfulness of the public.

चीन के लिए वामपंथियों का शक्तिशाली प्रेम

भारत की राजनीति में अशिक्षित मनुष्यों के प्रवेश ने इस सेवा को प्रदूषित कर दिया है. भारतीय राजनीति के अपराधिकरण ने इस पेशे को, जो हिन्दुस्तानी स्वतंत्रता की युग में एक सम्मानजनक पेशा था, बदनामी और जिल्लत के अलावा और कुछ नहीं सौपा है . स्थिती भले ही शर्मनाक हो, लेकिन थोड़े चमकते हूए तारे, अर्थार्त नेता, अब भी मौजूद है भारत की सियासत में जो ईस राष्ट्र की आवाम के हृदयों को और सिरों को गर्व और खुशी से ऊँचा कर देते है. इसकी वजह है इन नेताओं की साफ-सुथरी छवी और इनके अंतःकरण में अपने वतन की जनता के लिए बहुत स्नेह होना।

चीन से जो ख़तरा भारत को है, उस खतरे को भारतीय सरकार समझ नहीं पा रही है। यह दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण बात है. इस रणनीती से भारत को फायदा कम ही मिलेगा. कई नुकसानों का सामना करना पडेगा. अक्टूबर १९६२ में धोके से हूए संग्राम के कारण हिंदुस्तान चीन के इरादों पर भरोसा नहीं कर सकता. उस युद्ध के पश्चात् भी चीन की मानसिकता में कोई भारी बदलाव नहीं देखने को मिला है. आज भी चीन का अरुणाचल प्रदेश पर दावा है. सिक्किम पर भारतीय सरकार के शासन को भी स्पष्ट लब्जों में चीन ने नहीं स्वीकार है. इसलिए भारत को चीन से हमेशा सतर्क रहना चाहिए और चीन के भय पैदा करनेवाले मंसूबों का खात्मा करने के लिए अमेरिका की ओर मित्रता का हाथ बढाना चाहिए. भारत के वामपंथियों का चीन के लिए प्रेम की वजह से आज की भारतीय सरकार अमेरिका से हाथ परमाणु करार को भी सफलतापूर्वक लागू नहीं कर पा रही है. इससे लाभ तो चीन को ही मिलेगा क्योंकि चीन नहीं चाहती कि आनेवाले सालों में भारत एक शक्तिशाली मुल्क़ के जैसे उभरे. भारत के वामपंथियों की दृष्टी को स्वयं की विचारधारा के अलावा और कुछ नजर नहीं आता. उन्हें भारत का कल्याण दिखाई नहीं दे रहा. इससे यह सोच और मजबूत होती है कि वामपंथी दल मिलकर चीन के हित के लिए जी-जान लगाकर श्रम कर रहे है.

नरेंद्र मोदी की सरकार ने सन् २००२ में सत्ता पर अपनी पकड़ मज़बूत करने के पश्चात् गुजरात की प्रजा के लिए काफी प्रस्ताव लागू किये है जो प्रजा के लिए बहुत हद तक फायदेमंद साबित हुए है. लेकिन इस प्रसन्न वास्तविकता को दूरदर्शन पर दिखाया नहीं जाता. यह एक दुखद असलियत है भारत में पत्रकारिता के कुछ भागों की. गुजरात से संबंधित कोई समाचार यदि दिखाया भी जाये, तो वह नकारात्मक ही होगी. जिस मुख्यमंत्री को गुजरात की जनता ने लोकतांत्रिक नियमों का पालन करते हुए चुना, उस मुख्यमंत्री को दानव जैसा बताना, यह किसी जुर्म से कम नहीं. इस मुख्यमंत्री के व्यक्तित्व को राक्षसों से जोड़ना और उनके चरित्र पर निरंतर कीचड़ उछालना, यही देखा गया है ज़्यादातर अंग्रेज़ी भाषा के समाचारपत्रों और न्यूज़ चैनलों में. दर्शकों को गुजरात में चुनाव के पूर्व इस तरह की पत्रकारिता दर्शाके ये अंग्रेज़ी अख़बारों और समाचारों के चैनलों ने उन्हें गलत संदेश भेजा जिसकी मुख्य प्रेरणा थी असत्य और भ्रष्ट धर्मनिरपेक्षता. इन दोहरे मापदंडों की मैं सख्त शब्दों में आलोचना करता हूँ और कामना यही करता हूँ की भविष्य में यह झूठी धर्मनिरपेक्षता के प्रवक्ताओं को अपनी भूल समाज में आयेगी. धर्मनिरपेक्षता का मतलब किसी धार्मिक समुदाय को राजनीतिक प्रलोभन देकर उस धर्म के लोगों से चुनावों में अपने-अपने दलों के फायदे के लिए मत डालने की गुहार करना नहीं है. इस प्रकार की दुष्ट धर्मनिरपेक्षता राष्ट्र में योग्य धर्मनिरपेक्षता के स्तम्बों को चूर-चूर कर देगी और इस देश की विनाश के मार्ग पर यात्रा करवायेगी. धर्मनिरपेक्षता के सही अर्थ को तोड़-मरोड़कर पेश नहीं किया जाना चाहिये और इस पवित्र विचार को इस तरह प्रदूषित करने से हमें बचना चाहिये.

Left's Devotion For China

The description of the nuclear deal by the Indian Leftists as a tactic of the perspicacious Americans to position India as a counterbalance to China is indicative of the vassal mentality of the Leftists.The frightfulness of the Leftists that the nuclear agreement will be inimical to Chinese interests is despicable.The concern of the Leftists that the nuclear pact will be utilised by the Americans to prevent the emergence of China as an international superpower is reflective of the irksomely excessive obsequiousness of the Leftists towards China .Any nationalistic Indian political party will be more bothered about the satiation and fulfilment of Indian strategic objectives to enable India to grow into a transnationally powerful force.The annoyance stems from the reality of the Leftists expressing heartfelt concern at the impact this favourable nuclear deal will have on China .It is not mandatory for any Indian political outfit to be anxious about the consequence India's relationship with other countries will have on Sino-Indian ties.This enslaved mindset of the Leftists is condemnable.

North and the South

My fervent aspiration currently is to witness myself being at the receiving end of a terrific employment offer in a few days from now. I positively want to start working. The association of guiltiness with my mind due to staying at home and solely watching T.V. is stifling. I no longer am the custodian of the rationale of ‘it-is-a-vacation’, which has enabled me to refrain from working even as a part-timer previously. It is a different matter altogether that I did not need to work then. These are the years you get to spend joyously without the anxieties that usually

accompany adults.

My voyage to Kerala and Tamil Nadu was an exemplary one. Jet Airways and Jet Life ensured that. The people there, in whose bungalows I was lodged, along with my paternal relatives, were sufficiently jocund. Palakkad is a Tamil-majority city. That was a revelation, much to my surprise. I had data on the age-old presence of Tamils in Palakkad. But I always felt that Tamils constituted a significantly scanty minority community in Kerala. Nonetheless, the presence of the Tamils was omnipresent. The installation of messages, in Tamil as well as Malayalam, on socially consequential placards, in various sites of Palakkad, was unexpected. Even the Malayalis in Palakkad understood Tamil. The Tamils could converse in pristine Malayalam as well as their own mother tongue. The amalgamation of Tamils with Keralite culture was praiseworthily comprehensive. Probably, the non-Marathis in Mumbai could learn a slight quantity of lessons from the Tamils in this regard. The Tamils in Palakkad have even incorporated some Malayalam words into their idiom. For example, ‘samaadhaanum’ (which means ‘content’, similar to the Hindi word ‘samaadhaan’), ‘sumuhyum’ ( which means ‘time’, again close to the Hindi word, ‘sumuhy’), etc. It was delightful, listening to the confluence of Tamil and Malayalam in the spoken vocabularies of the Tamils. The Malayalis superficially do not seem to have grudges against the Tamils, who are a reasonably affluent community. The Malayalis also appreciate the efforts put forth by the Tamils in Palakkad to integrate suitably with the Malayalam civilisation.

There were no stray dogs roaming around aimlessly in Palakkad menacing the pedestrians. What a relief! The absence of tobacco stains, which have sullied the reputation of Mumbai and aggravated the countenance of its roads and walls, in Palakkad was truly commendable. It was testament to the civility of the people and their consciousness regarding these matters. The wonderfully extensive network of streets was mostly bereft of potholes, underlying the infrastructural enhancement that has occurred in these areas.

Yes, Palakkad is not a Mumbai. It is devoid of grandiose malls and other outlets owned by business conglomerates. The outfits of females are pleasantly conventional. The generous innocence of rural Palakkadites is inconceivable. One feels that their arrival in a chiefly self-centred metropolis like Mumbai will unbearably shock and painfully mar them. The dissimilarity between the mores and etiquettes of the North and South of India was amply blatant. The sometimes laidback approach of the Keralites on routine chores might irk the Mumbaikars, who are habituated to executing their lives in a frenzied manner. Such is the frenetic disposition of Mumbai that relaxation is out of bounds for most Mumbaikars. However, this slackness is not alien to the society of modern Kerala. It has become an intrinsic constituent of many lives there.

Nonetheless, the really irksome part of Palakkad, for which the people cannot be blamed, was its excruciatingly muggy weather. Geographically, Palakkad is apt for the creation of an unforgivingly sultry climate, which only exacerbates in the summer. The visitors to Palakkad will have to display endurance and, more so, if you happen to journey to Palakkad in the ruthless Indian summer. Otherwise, Palakkad, Thrissur and Guruvayoor, three places that I traveled to, are beautiful areas worth a look! These areas are not in sync with the concretisation of Mumbai and it is this very quality that makes them huggable.

Ugliness was only perceptible in the immense amount of offensive posters of vulgar Malayalam movies, belonging to grades ‘B,C and D’.

Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is an enormously sophisticated city in terms of infrastructure. The roads are largely spotless. The most endearing facet, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, was the adherence to norms by the people. Cars were not unashamedly parked on the corners of streets as abundantly as in Mumbai. The vehicles never irritatingly crossed the road dividers while waiting at a traffic signal, a phenomenon increasingly seen in Mumbai. It reminded me of the statement made by the Delhi Lt. Governor, Tejinder Khanna, a few months back, in which he loathed the inclination of North Indians to pay disobedience to the rules. While the barefaced generalisation might be unfair, there is a significant quantity of meritoriousness in the comment. The hotels, outlets, malls and luxurious lifestyle shops in Coimbatore were exceedingly reminiscent of Mumbai.

Yes, underneath this astonishing tranquilness and visually pleasurable vistas in Coimbatore, there might be present some quantity of loathsome tendencies in the society of Coimbatore. But such is the tale of every society and city globally and nationally.
The trip to Southern India substantially assisted me in gaining a perspective on the divergences between the North and South. The unwillingness of the Southerners, especially of the Tamils, to accept the enlightening Hindi as the national language, is now more understood by me than was in the past and I empathise with the cause of the anti-Hindi ‘Tamil brigade’. However, I will determinedly stick to my belief that the inspiring Hindi is and should always remain established as the national language of India. It must be understood and spoken by all Indians to instill a sense of linguistic unity amongst us. However,it must not be at the cost of the extermination and alienation of the indigenous languages of the various provinces of India.

Shaun Pollock's Farewell

Shaun Pollock's departure from the international cricket landscape, as a consequence of his appropriate retirement, is the source of immense disappointment for authentic cricket admirers transnationally. He managed himself, inside and outside the cricket field, terrifically, making him a role model worthy of emulation for scores of up-and-coming cricketers globally. His performances, with the willow and the ball,in all appearances of the game, have enchanted cricket supporters worldwide. The emanation of creditable graciousness and delightful humility along with effective competitiveness from his conduct as a cricketer should be gazed at by all stakeholders in the game in light of all the unhealthy incidents in Australia recently, which have besmirched the character of cricket.