Day 484

 

Well, today I thought that I have to be absent from posting any post. Actually, I wasn’t having any topic in my mind to write today. So, I was in frustration. I was going through news channels. Suddenly, a news article caught my attention. It was a part of speech which Mr Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, gave yesterday in the Bihar Legislative Council. Mr Kumar was saying that if a person, who is still consuming alcohol is not an Indian. Along with that Mr Kumar has called such persons as a great sinner and most irresponsible person.

Actually, Mr Kumar made an anti-alcohol rule in Bihar which came in effect from 1^st April,2016. Actually, this rule was made to fulfil Mr Kumar’s political promises which he had done during the Bihar assembly elections in 2015. To get maximum number of seats to form the government, he wanted his maximum candidates to win the election. For this he made political promise that he will ban alcohol in entire Bihar if he forms the government again. He won the election and after formation of the government, he fulfilled his political promise. Although, nobody was expecting him to take this decision because everyone was thinking that he won’t fulfil his political promise. But he did it without seeing its far fetch consequences.

Now since the ban of alcohol in Bihar, till date, not a single day has passed when we haven’t heard about the news of alcohol being found in different parts of the state. Trucks, lorries and other vehicles are being caught and seized by the Bihar police in cooperation of Excise Department of Bihar Government. But still, ban on alcohol hasn’t been 100% successful. Bulk of alcohol consignment is seized and arrests have also been made. Many alcohol smugglers have been arrested and put in the court. Then also, the supply is still on. I don’t understand that how the alcohol loaded vehicles are entering the state. How the excise department at the border isn’t able to seize those vehicles at the border itself? Why the vehicles are been seized when they have entered the state? I think Mr Nitish Kumar should investigate this first before making any statement.

Mr Nitish Kumar gave strict orders that the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police will be answerable for their districts. If any amount of alcohol is been seized in any district, then District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police will have to explain about the entry of alcohol in their district. If possible then they would be transferred from their posts. so, Mr Nitish Kumar should himself resign from his post because as a Chief Minister, he had failed to block the entry of liquor in his state. Actually, initially, there was a clause in the anti-liquor bill that if anyone or group of people are being caught consuming liquor then the whole house will be sealed and the family members have to vacant the premises. Now, which type of law is this? In my view, it’s a barbaric law in modern age.

Actually, I think Mr Nitish Kumar has made this law in very much hurry. He just wanted to prove that he is man of his words. Well, this is a very rare phenomenon in Indian politics where a politician really sticks to his or her words. Otherwise, we have a long list of politicians who have said something but later on they have taken U turn from their statements. How can we forget Mr Arvind Kejriwal, who used to vow on his children’s head that he won’t have coalition with either Congress or BJP? But after election, he went to both parties for coalition. Before formation of Jharkhand from Bihar, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, gave a statement that Jharkhand will be formed over his dead body. Jharkhand has celebrated its 21^st foundation day in November 2021 and Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav is still alive. May God give him a long and healthy life. I was just saying that politicians always take U turn from their statements and later on they say that their previous statement was presented in wrong angle. Well, that’s not an issue with me because there is a long history where politicians have taken U turn. Today, I’m not writing on that topic.

Well, its true that officially Bihar is now a dry state but unofficially liquor is available at higher price. Actually, these days, instead of nabbing criminals, police are busy in arresting those who have consumed alcohol or are involved in manufacturing and distribution. Recently, Mr Nitish Kumar got a severe comment from Supreme Court. Supreme Court was really angry with the anti-liquor law because it was formulated in hurry without knowing its long affect on the courts also. Frankly speaking, there are 23 judges in Patna High Court but 16 judges were busy in executing cases related to liquor laws. So, there had again been amendments in the anti-liquor law. But I don’t think that it will have any affect.

Since the enforcement of the anti-liquor law, there is loss of revenue to state exchequer. But still, liquor is available in black market. So, whose profit is this? State exchequer or black marketers? What other steps Mr Nitish Kumar took for getting revenue to the state exchequer in lieu of liquor? Why still no companies are interested in opening their production units in Bihar? What measures Mr Nitish Kumar is taking to promote tourism in Bihar? Actually, with the ban of liquor in Bihar, the tourism industry also got a huge impact due to this. Well, I think if Mr Nitish Kumar had made a complete roadmap before imposing ban on liquor, then it would have been more beneficiary for the state exchequer.

 

Day 483

 

Today, I wasn’t in mood to write. But I thought that laziness will again come and there will be a gap again. Then this gap will lead to have guilt feeling in my heart. So, basically to save myself from that I thought that I should write something. Actually, writing daily was my aim but I never achieved that goal. There were many reasons behind that. But I have observed something.

Actually, there are many celebrities in our country from various sections of our society. Most of them are extremely busy in their works but still they get sometimes to mark their presence on the virtual world also. For example, Mr Amitabh Bachchan is still very active in shooting of movies and other projects are there with him which makes him busy round the clock but still daily I find a post on his social networking sites. Don’t know how he manages that. Same condition is with Mr Narendra Modi. Running the administrative work of the entire nations requires a lot of time and energy, but still, he gets time for his yoga and interaction on the virtual world also. Sometimes, I think that how they manage to do all these things in just twenty-four hours in a day.

The time is same for everyone. Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day but its utilisation makes the difference between individuals. Actually, for the last couple of months, I was trying to write a post on Mr Narendra Modi. But I was hesitating because for the last seven and half years, everything revolves around Mr Modi in Indian politics. If you are praising Mr Modi then you are his ‘bhakth’ and if you are critising him then you are secular. If you want to show that you are highly so called ‘intellectual’ then abusing and cursing Mr Modi is the only way to become one.

Well, whatever may be the side, but I haven’t seen that a leader has got so much popularity in Indian politics. Even if you are critising him then also it means that you are following him and his actions very closely. But personally, I think it’s his charisma that makes him the most adorable leader in the Indian politics. Indeed, there were many other leaders in Indian politics who have done tremendous things for the country but none of them have got so much popularity as Mr Modi has got. I think maybe the reason behind this is the way of working.

If we look into the post-independence Indian history, then we have seen that majority of the time, it was a single party rule across the country. I mean to say that at the centre and at the state level, there was negligible opposition. At a certain point of time, it looks like the country is being ruled by a single family. At that time, the progress rate was very less. The impression of India in the world was of a lagger. But now, the scenario has changed. The thought of entire world has changed since Mr Modi has come into the power. The most recent example of this has been seen in the current ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Safe passage was given to the group of people who were healding Indian national flag. Even Pakistani people have used Indian national flag to escape the conflict area. Russia and Ukraine had held their gunfight for six hours to give passage to all the Indians to leave the trouble area. I believe that this had happened to the changed mindset about India which wasn’t there earlier.

I don’t remember that during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, these things happened there. That time also, we had a strong-willed statesman leading the country. It was the for the first time that a non-member of the leading family was the Prime Minister. Anyway, that’s another thing. In the last seven and half years, we have seen how the opposition parties are after the suits being worn by Mr Modi, the foreign trips been made by him and many other things. Previously, we have seen that opposition parties have been successful in disclosing various scams like coal scam, 2G scam, commonwealth scams and more. But this time, opposition parties hasn’t been successful in disclosing any scam. Actually, previously, no one dared to ask questions from the leaders. During elections, leaders used to make many promises but all those promises were unfulfilled.

Its not like that there was no development before Mr Modi came into power. It was there but the pace with which the country progressed was at snail’s pace. Opposition parties are labelling him as a pro Hindu leader instead of being a secular leader. But Mr Modi has visited Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE. There also he had got a warm welcome. This proves that Mr Modi is equally popular across the world. I remember that before 2014, Barack Obama administration openly stated that Mr Modi won’t get the visa to enter United States of America ever because he has failed to stop riot in 2002 in Gujarat. Well, I haven’t forgotten the huge reception received by Mr Modi in New York when he visited United States of America on the invitation of Barack Obama administration. I think its impossible for anyone to force the American administration to take such a U turn. But it has been done for Mr Modi.

 

 

 

Day 482

In my last post, I went on the detail history of Kashmir conflicts and its political causes. Actually, it wasn’t in my agenda to write but my main topic couldn’t have been completed without going into the detail history of Kashmir conflict. Today, I’m going to cover the main topic on which I wanted to write the post.

Well, in my last post, I started with mentioning of a new Bollywood film “The Kashmir Files”. It’s based on the atrocities done on the Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir valley. This filmed showed how the Kashmiri Pandits were threaten, warned and then dragged out of their homes. The beatings of kids, young men and women and old peoples. Making comments like “Hindu women are allowed but without their husbands” and many other derogatory comments were commonly heard. Unfortunately, no action was taken because it was done in Kashmir. A state which was enjoying the status of special state under Article 370, which allowed Kashmir to have its own constitution and Indian constitution doesn’t have any value there except defence and international diplomacy.

Actually, it’s clear that Pakistan always wanted to have control over Kashmir since independence. It’s a clear fact, Pakistan was formed on the basis of religion. Since, its formation, Pakistan has only one dream of becoming the world leader of all the Muslims in the world. So, Pakistan started propaganda of spreading hatred amongst Kashmiri youths on the basis of religion. Actually, there were few separatist leaders who always gave speeches against Indian government and its policies. Gradually, Pakistan started infiltration of terrorists along with arms and ammunitions. It was a clear indication that Pakistan can’t defeat India in direct combat as it has seen in 1965 and 1971. Well, all the infiltration and cross border terrorism began to reach after 1989.

Well, Pakistani administration knew it very clearly that all the activities have to be done without being caught. Actually, Indira Gandhi had tackled the liberation of Bangladesh very efficiently. Diplomatically speaking, liberation of Bangladesh was the master stroke of Indira Gandhi against which Pakistan couldn’t do anything. But after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Pakistani government began to prepare its base in the Kashmir valley. Gradually, with the passage of time, infiltration was on the rise. There were separatist leaders who held rallies and these rallies were about spreading anti India propaganda. Obviously, the funding and speeches were provided by Islamabad. Well, every fortnight, there were news of infiltration of terrorists across the border. It’s not like Indian army wasn’t doing anything. Indian army was doing its best to retaliate these terrorists. But there was lack of political will power at the Indian side. Actually, after 1989, there was multi party governments in India. This was the time when there wasn’t much attention been given to infiltration because none of the leaders were much interested in solving this issue.

Since, the inclusion of Kashmir in the Union of India, Kashmir dispute is still unresolved in the UN. Well, this has been due to lack of political will power. Second reason is the special status given to Kashmir under section 370. This section of the Indian constitution had made the situation more complex. Well, the attacks on Kashmiri pandits were clear indications that the separatist leaders under the influence of Islamabad wanted to make the entire Kashmir a Muslim state of Indian union. Then their master plan was to claim in UN that since Kashmir is a Muslim state and India has forcefully taken control of Kashmir. I think it was their plan to prove that the agreement between Raja Hari Singh and the Indian government was void and it doesn’t hold any importance in today’s time. But till now, all the efforts being made by the Pakistani government has failed. I don’t think that it will have any fruits because the current Indian government has taken back the article 370 which had separated Kashmir state with rest of the India. Now the entire Kashmir region is termed as Union Territory which means every decision will be taken by the Union government and it will be ruled as per the Indian constitution.

 

 

 

Day 481

 

These days, a new film is rocking the entire Bollywood. Its name of the movie is “The Kashmir Files” and it’s based on the killings and migration of Kashmiri Pandits in late 1980s and early 1990s from the Kashmir valley. Actually, Kashmir issue has always a hot topic of discussion since 1947. Well, this issue has been created by handful of politicians of that time to fulfil their political agenda and propaganda. But now this issue has taken many lives since early 1990s. First, it was killing and migration of Kashmiri Pandits followed by the terrorist’s attacks sponsored by our neighbouring country.

I agree that in 1947, post-independence, there were a lot of problems who needed immediate attention to solve them. Actually, all these problems were created by the British empire so that there will be chaos always in Indian subcontinent. They were successful also for a limited period of time. Well, after all, they were master players of divide and rule game. Anyway, lets begin with the post-independence scenario. There were about 562 princely states in India and they had been given option to chose one of the three options. The options were to join either India or Pakistan or remain independent. As we all know that almost all the princely states agreed to join India due to diplomatic effort of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, then Home Minister of India. Well, few states like Kashmir in north and Hyderabad in south decided to remain independent. Both of them refused to go with India or Pakistan. Its another story how nizam of Hyderabad agreed to Sardar Patel’s conditions.

Well, its clear that Raja Hari Singh was the last ruler of Kashmir. Although, he was a Hindu king but the majority public in his kingdom were Muslim. This was the key issue on which Mohammad Ali Jinnah proclaimed that Kashmir should be part of Pakistan instead of being an Indian state. At that time, Raja Hari Singh was having political differences with Jawahar Lal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India. That’s why he preferred to be independent instead of joining either India or Pakistan. But Nehru’s friendship with Sheikh Abdullah, a prominent leader of Kashmir. To have a square political situation with Raja Hari Singh, Nehru called Sheikh Abdullah as his blood brother.

Actually, Sheikh Abdullah had a dream to rule Kashmir. He had formed a political party also which was called Kashmir Muslim Conference which later turned into National Conference. Obviously, his dream was to remove the king and to become ruler of the Kashmir. That’s why the party was formed and since 1946, he started Quit Kashmir Movement just like Quit India Movement. Ironically, in 1945, Jawahar Lal Nehru made a statement in a session of National Conference that if non-Muslim wants to live in Kashmir, then they should join National Conference or say goodbye to the country. If Kashmiri Pandits doesn’t join National Conference, then no safeguard will save them. I think this was a clear threat being made by Nehru to the people of Kashmir.

For the rest of India, Nehru portrayed himself as Kashmiri pandit but for Kashmiri pandit he doesn’t belong to their clan. After all, he was blood brother of Sheikh Abdullah. To safeguard his political interest, Raja Hari Singh arrested Sheikh Abdullah in 1946 which was taken as personal insult by Nehru. Actually, Nehru and Abdullah were having their political issues connected. There was logic behind this also. Well, Sheikh Abdullah didn’t want to be a part of Pakistan because there were differences between Sheikh Abdullah and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Jinnah considered Sheikh Abdullah as a traitor and an agent of Congress party. So, Sheikh Abdullah wanted to be a part of the Indian side. This was going to fulfil his political ambition of ruling the Kashmir. Maybe this was the political interest which was a driving force to get inclined towards Nehru. Nehru also wanted Kashmir to be in India.

Actually, all these differences were due to inter political interests. Raja Hari Singh also had a political interest that he didn’t want to leave his throne. His problem was that if he joined Pakistan then his state will be under an Islamic nation and in an Islamic nation, he won’t be treated well because he is Hindu. If Hari Singh joined India, then his state will come under the democratic system of government where the ruler will be elected from the general public through election process. This also was unacceptable to Raja Hari Singh. That’s why he wished to be independent. He didn’t want to be a part of either India or Pakistan.

But Mohammad Ali Jinnah had different plan. He wanted Kashmir to be a Pakistani state because the majority of the population were Muslims. On the basis of religion, he thought to get Kashmir merged into Pakistan. But with refusal from Raja Hari Singh, it was difficult for Jinnah also to claim Kashmir as Pakistani part. It was crystal clear that Jinnah didn’t have friendly relation with Sheikh Abdullah so there was attack on Kashmir by the Pakistani side. Jinnah thought that having Kashmir by force will solve the problem. So, Pakistani forces comprising of Pakistani Pashtun tribal militias crossed the border to take control of Srinagar. They thought that by taking control of Srinagar they will have the control of entire state. But by that time, Maharaja Hari Singh sought help of Indian government by signing Instrument of Assession to India. Then Indian forces fought the war with the Pashtun tribal militias and saved Kashmir from going into Pakistani control.

But Nehru made a mistake by going to United Nations to solve the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. Till date, this is a disputed case between both countries without any decision. With the influence of United Nations, a ceasefire was made and it was said that the forces will remain where there were. That’s how Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) came into existence.

Day 480

 

I would like to greet you a very happy and colourful Holi in advance. Actually, I won’t be able to write any post on Holi. Well, this year Holi is being celebrated on two days that is Friday and Saturday. Hence this is causing the confusion about which day to celebrate Holi. Actually, I think that if there are two days of celebration of any festival then it kills the enthusiasm of the festive mood.

Let’s take the example of Holi this year. According to the Hindu calendars, Holi is on Friday and Saturday. Now suppose, you are in full mood to celebrate Holi on Friday. But your neighbours and friends are undecided when to celebrate Holi. At last, you decide to celebrate it on Saturday but when you visit your friend’s home then you find that the friend has already celebrated Holi on Friday. Then what will be your condition? Obviously, your mood will be off. Now take another scenario. You decided to celebrate Holi on Friday and went to your friend’s home, but your friend is in mood to celebrate it on Saturday. On your persistence, your friend will celebrate Holi half-heartedly. Then also, your mood will get spoiled. That’s why I prefer to have festivals on a single day when there is no confusion at all.

Well, festivals are the time when all the family members are together. But with due course of time and with increasing number of nuclear families, the meaning of celebration of festivals is changing. I’m not going far back. Let’s go back three decades back, when we were in primary classes. At that time, we used to have grandparents, paternal uncles along with their wives and cousins. Sometimes, maternal aunty used to come on festivals. There used to be so much fun in such a huge gathering. There was no issue of who will sleep where. There used to be a big bedsheet and we, children, used to sleep together. We used to have variety of foods. But now, even if a single person arrives our home, then we get worried about how to make arrangements for him. At present time, due to professional life, most of us are leaving far away from our home towns. We don’t get the feeling of ownness in different cities. Whenever we return to our home towns then we get a feeling of ownness.

Anyway, I don’t want to drag this post long. Let me enjoy the festive mood of Holi with my sweet memories and my family. You also enjoy Holi with your family. Happy Holi once again.

 

Day 479

 

Again I’m back after a long gap. This time I won’t say that I’ll be on time and punctual. Actually, sometimes, our control over ourselves or the environment or our action. When I was in school, then I have read an English proverb, “Man proposes and God disposes.” Well, I think this proverb has a very high accuracy and impact upon my blog writing. Whenever I have decided to write the blog with continuous ideas with daily posts then something had happened which had forced me to come on back foot for few months or couple of years. Same thing happened this time also.

It’s not like I was very busy in my professional life. For the last seven or eight months, I don’t have any professional life. I quit my last company and I didn’t have any regret for that. Circumstances were such that it was clear indication for me that I won’t be there for a long time. Or you can say that I was destined to work in that company for that time period only. Well, I say that whatever is fixed to happen at certain point of time then that thing will happen at that point of time. It can’t be resisted or stopped. I believe that everything is predetermined by the supreme authority. For me, supreme authority means God.

Actually, I think that there is some power beyond the limits of human thinking and beyond nature. It can be called as super power or supernatural power. But the power is there. That’s why we believe in God because we think that this power is beyond everything. There are many things in this world which are beyond any scientific explanations. This proves that there is a power beyond science. I’m not criticising science here. I’m just saying that there is some spiritual power in this world. Science has evolved a lot with the passage of time. But since human race has started living in community, it has prayed to the supreme power as God.

But these days, the fight has intensified that my God is superior to your God. This thought is creating imbalance in the world. It’s not like there weren’t fights or wars between two persons, two groups, two communities or two countries since human race has started living in community. But this war of my God versus your God is something which is more dangerous than any epidemic. You can cure any disease or epidemic with the help of science and technology but you can’t cure any thought which brings destruction only.

There are several inventions in science and technology which are blessings for the entire human race. I can’t deny that. But there are few inventions too which are like curse for the entire human race. Well, I think it depends on the intention of the people using some particular technology whether it’s a cure or it’s a blessing. Let’s take example of nuclear energy. The concept of the nuclear fusion depends on whether it’s a controlled one and is used for power generation to solve the electricity generation, or for fuelling naval ships and submarines or for medical remedies. Same nuclear fusion can be uncontrolled which can trigger a nuclear warhead being mounted on a missile which can be used against the opposition country during a war. Likewise there are many inventions in the science and technology which can be used either for the humanity or against the humanity.

Anyway, it’s good to write something again after a long time. Let’s hope that this time I’m regular with my posts. Even I want to have the same thing. But unfortunately I have failed in doing so. But this time I’m wishing that I get some success.

 

Day 478

 

Actually, today, I was just going through some old memories. Sometimes, it’s necessary to look into the past also. Well, it can be said that sometimes if we look into the past then there are many things pop up in mind. There are few topics on which we can have lengthy discussions and there won’t be any formal conclusions. There will be a lot of theories in the end. Some theories will contradict other theories, some will support each other and few will be independent ones. But we won’t have any final clear conclusion.

We can find a lot of things in our history after independence. There are still few mysteries which aren’t solved till date. With every passing year, a lot of theories are being added but there is no final conclusion. Well, let’s take the example of the assassination of former Prime Minister, Mr Lal Bahadur Shastri. I don’t understand how a current Prime Minister can be assassinated in such a way and there won’t be any formal enquiry about it. As we know that when Mr Shastri died, he was in Tashkent, Russia, for bilateral peace talk with Pakistani dictator. This peace talk was initiated by Russia, which was a strong ally of India. So, it was obvious that Mr Shastri couldn’t refuse it.

All the things were under control. All the peace agreements were signed as per plan. But next day, Mr Shastri was found dead and the reason of death was heart attack. Now, here the suspicion arises. How come he died the very night when he signed the peace treaty? The answer can be that heart attack can come anytime. Okay, this theory is accepted. But later on, Russian authorities conducted their own enquiry and found that Mr Shastri was poisoned. Russian authorities arrested the waiter who served the last meal to Mr Shastri but there wasn’t any further information about that waiter. Second question is that under diplomatic immunity, if a person is travelling on diplomatic passport and he dies in foreign country then the dead body can’t go for autopsy or post mortem. Then how the statement was made that Mr Shastri died due to heart attack?

Well, when his dead body was brought back to India then also there was no post mortem conducted to know the reason of his death. On whose orders or directions this was done? Was this to hide the real reason of the death or was this to hide any conspiracy? Well, it’s being said that all these was done on the instructions of Mrs Indira Gandhi, who wanted to be the Prime Minister of India after her father’s death. But in democratic country, there are few protocols and rules have to be followed. Anyway, it’s true that Mrs Gandhi became Prime Minister after Mr Shastri but was this a murder for the Prime Minister’s post?

It’s obvious that after 1965 war between India and Pakistan, Mr Shastri has gained a lot of respect and popularity and he had become a national hero. But a lot of things can happen in politics. Mrs Gandhi became Prime Minister after Mr Shastri hence it’s still a theory that she was behind all these things but there isn’t any prove till day which can say that indeed Mrs Gandhi was after all these things. It’s true that there was some drift between Mr Shastri and Mrs Gandhi and both of them were on opposite axis in the same party. So, it’s obvious that allegations will made on Mrs Gandhi.

Well, this isn’t the only case in post-independence India. There are a lot of high profile mysterious deaths. Plane crashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr Homi Jahangir Bhabha and Sanjay Gandhi are still fresh in minds and it’s still highly debatable. It’s still a heated debate that Jawaharlal Nehru was indirectly involved in the alleged plane crash in which Subhas Chandra Bose was travelling. Many people still believe that Subhas Chandra Bose didn’t died in that plan crash and he was present during the Tashkent summit. But there are few people who think that Subhas Chandra Bose died in that plan crash. Actually, there is always conflict of ideologies and there is no final conclusion.

In the case of air crash which led to the death of Dr Homi Jahangir Bhabha is concerned then it’s alleged that it was done by the FBI and CIA. Actually, in India, Dr Bhabha is still respected and is called as the Father of Nuclear Programme in India. Dr Bhabha had already established Atomic Energy Establishment in his life time and he was the director of the Establishment. But during that time, NASA and American authorities didn’t think that India is capable of becoming member of the Elite Space Club. So, it’s rumoured that the plane crash was orchestrated by CIA and FBI to help NASA and to make India a laggard in terms of space programmes. Again there is no direct proves of this and it’s a theory only. But at the end, it’s true that we have really suffered a lot in our space programmes due to death of Dr Bhabha.