Master of Disguises

Source

      The critics have dubbed it a Failed State, the security agencies have named it a Terrorist State and the human rights activists have called it a Military State. So many names for one state of Pakistan. Well that is certainly the result of the many disguises that the Pakistani agencies work in. No need to say what half of them are. Yes they are some terrorist outfit plotting their attacks on innocent civilians from at times ISI safe houses. So what is it that has happened? Has Pakistan done too much for these terrorists for the terrorists to call Pakistan their home. Well so it seems. However I won't be talking about terrorism on this post. This article is dealt towards understanding the dual policy that Pakistan is following.

      Pakistan has warned the United States against any further drone strikes conducted within its borders and also any unilateral military action taken inside its territory. But is this a farcical show of strength? Is it just a statement issued by the weak civilian government to please the people and the army. The army would be more than happy with that statement because it would help them to get higher budget while at time same time show the public that they still exert influence on the government which it most desperately needs to show due to the rising criticism for them. Thus there are many different angles to this one play that is being stage on the world arena.

      If reports are to be believed than according to them, Pakistan had a pact with USA that if the US finds Bin Laden in Pakistan's territory than they shall be allowed to take unilateral action while Pakistan will be allowed to criticize them and give them warnings just to show the public that they are against such violations of their sovereignty. Now if that is true than I am not quite sure about Pakistan's future as a sovereign country. How can it be that an operation is carried out by another country within the territory of another country and that country doesn't even do anything about it? Because they simply can't. One must not forget the one very important that Pakistan needs at this time and that is 'AID'.

      Almost all the aid that Pakistan gets from the USA is spent on the military but some of it is utilized to keep the economy afloat. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Pakistan economy cannot survive long without continuous economic aid from the United States. The reason why the economy is in shambles is because of the negligence of the government. Pakistani Government never invested smartly for the country's future and if you come to think of it they got the most fertile land in the country after the partition.

      However there are certain sectors that are threatening to boycott the US aid but that may just turn out to be nothing but a publicity stunt being done by an extremist candidate up for elections. If the military is mum and not doing anything about it than there isn't much that can or will be done. And as time goes, the Pakistani people will forget about the incident but the extremists and the terrorist funded by the ISI will not. Thus the ongoing proxy war against the US planned and put into action by Pakistan will go on.

      So in short they can't do much except criticize the US and fund terrorist networks to increase attacks on Americans because after all money talks. So in short we will only be hearing statements made by the Pakistan leadership and acts of terrorism against the US and that is all that there is to it. After all statements can be forgotten but actions cannot and the US is one country that will never forget it if Pakistan does something against them. So in the end, it is the "you give me money, and I won't do anything 'publicly'."

The Concept of Clean Politics

Source

      Politics has always been a key element of our society. Without it, it would be hard to even establish whether a society even existed or not. Its a concept that is said to be as important to society as oxygen or water is to mankind. Everything that has ever defined us and the world that we live in has been influenced by this eight letter word. On the one hand it started two world wars and on the other insured the peaceful settlement of the Suez Canal dispute. So now that you come to see of it, politics is morally colourless i.e it can result in wars or solution of disputes peacefully.

     The concept of politics became famous thanks to Shakespeare and his play Caesar. I was taught the play in tenth standard and it was also my first brush with this concept. Since then the concept has fascinated me. It is so intriguing that you can achieve so many things with this one word and its careful usage. Its a tactician's dream. For ages people have planned and conspired against each other, no wonder the world is in shambles today. We have to deal with multiple threats like terrorism, rival countries and a relatively new concept known as rogue countries which I can use to describe the failed state of Pakistan which uses a dual policy. One that is anti-terrorism and the other pro. Of course it is a hide and seek game to prove the latter.

Source

      So has politics ever been clean or has it always involved those small dirty tricks that seem to be white on the outside and black like a kettle on the inside. It is confusing while at the same time we have the answer in front of us. It is like asking whether a man has ever lied in his life. Now we don't know about everyone but we can make the most likely assumption that every man has lied in their life at least once. And so it is. We take two possibilities and choose an option that is more likely and that is that politics had been a dirty business since the very start. And there is no better example to start with than that of Caesar himself.

      Caesar was murdered because he was becoming too big. He was overshadowing others and was starting to seem like a threat. Thus he had to be done with and so he was murdered, murdered by his most trusted comrades, Caesar's story went onto become epic. However there is one thing that is worth a mention here. As we see that as Caesar became powerful, the number of his enemies also increased and this is true to every individual who rises high and has a massive public support system. So he was murdered for political gains and thus it proves the fact that since ancient times politics has been a dirty business.

Source

      We are further convinced of this when we look at the recent examples of Libya and Syria. I have explored Libya in a previous post and thus I won't be discussing it and instead I would take Syria as an example. Syria has been a dictatorship for a long time and it's people have been denied their rights for a long time. Hence it was quite natural that a tipping point be reached and thus at this tipping point the public anger overflowed from the pot. Widespread stirs and agitations took place and they were put down. The authorities used every resource that they could to fight the very same people whom they were meant to help in their quest for progress. Its a tragedy if you look at it closely.

      So we have the answer that we wanted. Yes politics has always been a dirty business. Always some interests are involved. But does it mean that this black and white picture of politics can't be given a make over and turned colourful like the rainbow maybe. Well I would say that this black and white picture can't be turned into a rainbow-colourful but it certainly can be lightened. Colours can be added and the baggage attached to the word 'politics' can be lost. But it doesn't start just like that. No one individual can do it. It has to be a community's work. It is like a society garden. Everybody needs to plant the seeds, water them and take good care of them if flowers are to bloom and happiness to come.

      How can one do it? Well it is simple. Grab your paper and get your pen, and pen your worries on it. Just direct your feet to the sunny side of your mind. I took that line from a song but how does it matter, the message goes out loud and clear. It means that you should write what worries you. Put it down on a piece of paper while at the same time suggest things or steps that can be taken to improve the situation and that would be you doing your bit. So as I finish this article I look at my TV screen and see the farmer agitation and I hope that I can do something about it. With that hope I shall again take to my laptop and pen another article but till then this is me signing off and hoping that things come out well.

Justifying the crackdown at Ramlila Ground

      On June 4th as the clock ticked form 11:59 PM to 12:00 AM the Delhi Police stationed itself at the Ramlila Maidan. What was to follow was to be dubbed as one of the worst incidents ever to happen in a democracy like India. Allegations were made against the government. People warned that we were returning to the Emergency Era. The Delhi Police had raided the maidan, many protesters were injured and Baba Ramdev was taken to Dehradun. 

      The crackdown received criticism far and wide. BJP President Nitin Gadkari said, "Home Minister P Chidamabaram has replaced General Dyer who had massacred peaceful agitators in Jallianwala Bagh during the freedom struggle". LK Advani termed this police crackdown as "naked-fascism". Human Rights groups demanded answers from the government.

Source

      All in all the government was cornered but not even for a moment did anybody think about all of this from the government's point of view. Maybe it was the sudden excitement that people found themselves surrounded by or maybe it was the collective anger that people had for the government. Nobody was happy. Rising prices, corruption and what not. Something had to give. And thus the government found itself to be a lone woodcutter in the forest, surrounded by hyenas ready to tear apart the woodcutter. 

      I admit that the crackdown may have been a little too harsh but it was what was needed. I believe that the constitution grants the government the right to crackdown on such protests if it feels that it may disrupt civil peace or cause civil unrest. I feel what the government did was totally justified. If you come to think of it all, if any damage had been done to public property had the protest gone out of hand thenn who would have had to pay for it? We would have had to pay for it from our pockets. Our taxes would have been used to pay for it all and I for one refuse that my money be used to pay for damage caused because of a Baba whose total net worth is over a 1000crore Rupees. 

      Another argument that the people raise is that 'Women and children were harmed'. I find this argument to be the dumbest of them all. Doesn't everybody go about claiming that women and men are equal? So why this special reference to women alone. It's a bit strange now that I look at it carefully. And the children. It is unfortunate if any children were hurt but at the same time only the parents are to be blamed. I have to still meet a single parent who would take their child along to such a place when they know that the issue is going to get very political. Of course many would defend the parent's action by saying that the parents took the child because their future was at stake. OK fine if at all the future of their child was at stake even then I would say that not a single person I know would take their child to such a place. They would go themselves but not a single parent would allow any harm to come to their child.

      After the crackdown, we saw BJP protesting against it. A clip of Sushma Swaraj was being aired by news channels which showed her dancing to supposed patriotic tunes at Rajghat. She defended herself aggressively by asking whether it was a crime to dance and sing patriotic songs at a place like Rajghat where the father of our nation was cremated. Even if we allow patriotic songs but still dancing at a place like that is condemnable. That is a place where one should remain silent and show his respect for Bapu. And however much you claim that you were simply singing and dancing to songs in praise of the motherland, it does not explain why you had the urge to dance to whatever patriotic song that you were dancing to at Rajghat. There is a time and place for everything. I for one regard it as a clear cut insult to me and to every Indian because of the special place that Bapu holds in our society.

Source

      Many critics of the government compared the India under UPA to China. I for one find this comparison both silly and childish. It is strange that people are able to criticise the government like that and still say that they are living in China. I really doubt if in China people are even seen or heard of after they have made such a statement against the government. Comparing this incident to the Tienanmen Square protest or to the Tahrir Square protests is nothing but an insult to those protesters who bravely fought their regimes in the hopes of having a better tomorrow. I don't think that this crackdown evoked any feeling of being that helpless that one compares it to the those valiant protests that happened in China and Egypt respectively. People claimed that all the politicians had Swiss bank accounts. That statement too is dumb. Did they go and get the bank statement of those individuals? Why do people insult politicians just like that? Agreed that politicians are public servants but still you do not own them. Our democracy can be best described as a restaurant where the Prime Minister is the waiter and he has to come at one call as soon as he is summoned by any Tom, Dick and Harry. What the people do not understand is that he has got much more important things to attend to like administrating this huge country of ours.

      One of the many factors that makes me critical of Baba Ramdev's protest is the fact that the man travels in private jets even though he has taken sanyas. This one thing alone makes me not want to believe whatever he says. Besides, what is left of a fast after you have taken some honey and lemon juice? Also not to forget all this fasting was like holding the government to ransom. I for one wonder what would happen if an unstable person tomorrow undertakes a fast saying the government must bomb some country for all the atrocities that it is committing on India by means of terrorism. If the fast gets good publicity then many idiots would also join the protest. At that time a crackdown would be needed. We can't simply bomb a country and then hope that they won't nuke us.

      This fasting incident made my Grandma nostalgic. She told me that when she lived in West Bengal, almost every single day there would be a strike or a fasting by a group of workers wanting a rise in salary. They claimed that they were being made to work a lot and not being a paid a fair amount. What was the result? At times when the strike would go on, the company would go bankrupt and shut down. Hence all of them would lose their jobs while the Union Leaders were taken care of by political parties with vested interests. A similar thing is happening in India. Every single day somebody goes on a fast for some issue or the other. He is endorsed by celebrities who at times simply fail to understand the fact that adding their name to such a campaign would have a broad effect and many people would join in the fasting without actually being aware of what the core issue is.

      Thus all in all, promoting such things is not going to be beneficial to anybody despite whatever people may claim. I hope this article succeeded in telling you guys that if you want to protest against something then fasting is not the way to go. You can do rallies. Sit at the pavements and shout slogans, protest. But this thing of holding mass protest is not good. It won't do the country any good. Police forces would be diverted to ensure that these protests don't turn violent or to ensure the safety of the leaders from things like ensuring the security of the common man, terrorism and robberies. So even though the constitution grants us the right to protest but it is up to us to understand, be reasonable and to protests in a way that does not hurt the economy, administration or anything for that matter. If we are to all grow old together in this great country of ours then we must find ways to let out our anger against the government in respectable and acceptable ways.

Education...Nah! Tuitions...Yeah!

Guess who topped the twelfth grade exams?

1. The student who had his hand up with a well-thought intelligent answer in class! 
2. The student who was not seen or heard in class.

      You are forgiven for making the mistake selecting option 1 because we are talking about the Indian Education System. What should a developed education system lay emphasis on? The child's all round development but in India the education system is meant to lay emphasis on studies and studies alone. Studies are emphasized regardless of the fact whether the child is interested in the subject at hand or not.

      In the exams, the child who is always active in class, answers questions and is recognised by the teachers as a good student gets average marks while students who are not heard of manage to get excellent marks because the examiners give marks only to the answers which are good enough to be introduced in any guide. They do not see whether the child has understood the fact or simply mugged the answers.

      I am not ridiculing the entire tuition system. I understand that at times tuitions are needed for subjects like Maths and even for languages that you haven't learnt before like French or Russian but I don't understand the logic behind having tuitions for subjects like Political Science or Psychology. Is there a need? No student can be so dumb that they won't understand what is being taught in the class in the above subjects.

      What I don't stand for is that you go to college and then go for tuitions mug those huge answers that are given by your coaching classes and then just print them out on your examination sheet word to word and then end up topping the exams. I know many people who didn't take tuition and who got average marks and I also know people who took tuitions and got good marks. It is upto you to decide who to respect. I respect the one who didn't take tuitions and got average marks. They are the ones who will do well in abroad where there are is no tuition system. So for all those who didn't take tuitions, you did better than the rest.