We don't need to copy the Americans. What have they done right to copy anyway? Their economy has failed, their families values are messed up, they are probably the country spending the most amount of $$ in war and destruction. The only country to have ever used Nukes, the country to ruin Iran's developing democracy, the country that defied the United Nations while attacking Iraq. It is also the country who looks to have a lot of Nuclear Powers sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty but have not ratified it themselves.
Now if that isn't enough here's another reason. The HPI - Happy Planet Index compiled by UK based New Economic Foundation has placed India at the 35th position while USA is at the 114th position out of a total of 143 nations.
The list is topped by Costo Rica, lets start following them, atleast we will develop! Why shouldn't we follow Costo Rica or other countries which are definetly much much better than USA, just because USA makes good movies? Just because they have the money to do that, which ofcourse they got after exploiting the rest of the world. Should we follow such people who in the past have been inhuman imperialists while blaming others of Dictatorship, and even today are involved in one of the worst ongoing wars on Earth, the Afghan war, who for their own safety and security toppled Iran's democracy and now blame Iran for not having a viable democracy? Look around guys, there are much better things to copy if at all you want to copy, or better lets be innovative and learn from the goods of every one and not copy any one blindly. There are also a few issues where we, the Indians can lead the world and show the world the right path.
Source of information on survey:
CNN-IBN
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Elements of the Indian Culture that Backfired
We have a very beautifull culture in India, absolutely fabulous and very colorfull. But there are elements in our culture which according to me have backfired, and backfired BIG TIME! This is my attempt to try to explain these elements of our culture and how i think they have backfired, without trying to hurt anyone's feelings.
The "Respect Elders Syndrome":
In our culture we are always taught to respect elders. Respect your parents, respect your relatives , those relatives who are elder to you, respect anyone and everyone who is elder to you. First may I ask, how much elder? What if my mamu is one day elder to me? Does that count too?
Now on a more serious note, my main problem with this culture is, why respect ONLY elders? Who respects children? Who respects people younger to oneself? Ofcourse a lot of you would say that everybody should be respected but elders should get more compared to younger people. But let us see how this "Respect Elders" culture really affects our day to day life.
Ajay was walking with his mom and her mother in law, Ajay's grandmother. It was a dark misty evening, and Ajay who recently learnt in his school about fog, told his grandmother, "Daadi (grandma) this fog is actually clouds that formed just above the Earth". The grandmother, not very knowledgeable about such things refused to accept what her grandchild just said. Infact she told him, "No its not clouds". Ajay insisted and his mother told him to keep quiet. Defeated by two elder women Ajay put the topic at the back of his mind. Later that night though, Ajay asked his mother, "Fog is really clouds, my physics teacher taught me in school". His mother very calmly told him, "Yes beta (child), i know, but you should not argue with elder people like that."
The point here is, in this process of "respecting elders" we are actually hurting our society. Now this is a very childish example , the same concept applies to adults, and becomes all the more complicated and dangerous. Child abuse by parents, women abuse by in-laws, are all compounded effects of this one basic "value" we inherit from our culture. Respect Elders is one thing, demanding or expecting respect because you are elder, is the culture we have unwantingly got ourselves into. And it doesnt end here! The effects compoound even greatly.
So till now i have identified child abuse, women abuse by in laws as being rooted to the culture of respecting elders. I say women abuse by in laws specifically and do not include Husbands yet, because husbands abusing their wives is something i will take up later in this post. Ragging culture, is yet another culture which springs out of the elemental culture of respecting elders. In this case you can call it respecting power. Just because you are a first year student you have to obey what your seniors dictate you to do. Even if this doesnt take up violent forms, and is as simple as singing a song or giving an introduction , this is basically abuse of power. Power we have created in our culture and given to seniors. Our society has a very undemocratic heirarchical structure, from family to college to ofcourse government. Teachers also many times think they are to be respected by students and the students have to believe everything they say and that they have the right to go to the extent of slapping or beating a child.
Its all about power. Power given to those of higher status (like in a family), higher caste, or higher position (like college or school). Same with politicians who think they are rulers, and are above law. Wondered why most politicians are old? Its because we respect them so much, elders not politicians. We respect elders so much that firstly we offer them what they want and mostly they themselves expect respect along with obidience.
Here i come to another point i want to make. Does respecting mean to obey blindly? Does respecting mean to follow blindly? Does respecting mean to say yes for everything? Can not we with full respect tell our elders that this or that is wrong? Cannot we with great respect listen to the point of view of someone younger or inferior to us? Sad but no Indian culture has taught us not to do such things.
Pati Parmeshvar:
Another element of Indian culture, which is very disastrous and many people don't know unconstitutional! In India , atleast legally, a man and woman are supposed to be 50% stakeholders in a marraige. Which means both have equal right over the kids, and which also as i interpret it, means that the woman has the right to stay with her parents.
Why does a woman have to sacrifice her parents , when she marries? I will put this in slightly different ways. Why are women forced to do such a dis-service to their parents, who by no doubts are the closest relatives of the woman. Would guys do such a dis-service to their parents, even though they love them so much? Where does all the thoughts about Gender equality go when it comes to marraiges? Cannot a man and woman marry each other, without the woman having to marry the man's family as well?
This along with the respect elders culture has led to abuse of wives by husbands, and very interestingly is also the reason the women stay shut and bear everything and accept it as their fate.
Lives are being lost, not by the physical death of women but by their mental death. Guys have to understand this and help make a better India with a reformed culture. Most importantly women have to stand up and understand the gravity of the situation and the discrimination against them and not only fight to become independent but also help others become independent. We have a lot in our culture to be very proud of, but a few things that we have got wrong, can be changed.
I would like to end this long article, with my concept of respecting people. If you have read all along and reached till here, thanks a lot for being so patient.
"Respect each and every single person around you, just for the sake of humanity. Respect more those who deserve more and most importantly respect differences in opinions".
The "Respect Elders Syndrome":
In our culture we are always taught to respect elders. Respect your parents, respect your relatives , those relatives who are elder to you, respect anyone and everyone who is elder to you. First may I ask, how much elder? What if my mamu is one day elder to me? Does that count too?
Now on a more serious note, my main problem with this culture is, why respect ONLY elders? Who respects children? Who respects people younger to oneself? Ofcourse a lot of you would say that everybody should be respected but elders should get more compared to younger people. But let us see how this "Respect Elders" culture really affects our day to day life.
Ajay was walking with his mom and her mother in law, Ajay's grandmother. It was a dark misty evening, and Ajay who recently learnt in his school about fog, told his grandmother, "Daadi (grandma) this fog is actually clouds that formed just above the Earth". The grandmother, not very knowledgeable about such things refused to accept what her grandchild just said. Infact she told him, "No its not clouds". Ajay insisted and his mother told him to keep quiet. Defeated by two elder women Ajay put the topic at the back of his mind. Later that night though, Ajay asked his mother, "Fog is really clouds, my physics teacher taught me in school". His mother very calmly told him, "Yes beta (child), i know, but you should not argue with elder people like that."
The point here is, in this process of "respecting elders" we are actually hurting our society. Now this is a very childish example , the same concept applies to adults, and becomes all the more complicated and dangerous. Child abuse by parents, women abuse by in-laws, are all compounded effects of this one basic "value" we inherit from our culture. Respect Elders is one thing, demanding or expecting respect because you are elder, is the culture we have unwantingly got ourselves into. And it doesnt end here! The effects compoound even greatly.
So till now i have identified child abuse, women abuse by in laws as being rooted to the culture of respecting elders. I say women abuse by in laws specifically and do not include Husbands yet, because husbands abusing their wives is something i will take up later in this post. Ragging culture, is yet another culture which springs out of the elemental culture of respecting elders. In this case you can call it respecting power. Just because you are a first year student you have to obey what your seniors dictate you to do. Even if this doesnt take up violent forms, and is as simple as singing a song or giving an introduction , this is basically abuse of power. Power we have created in our culture and given to seniors. Our society has a very undemocratic heirarchical structure, from family to college to ofcourse government. Teachers also many times think they are to be respected by students and the students have to believe everything they say and that they have the right to go to the extent of slapping or beating a child.
Its all about power. Power given to those of higher status (like in a family), higher caste, or higher position (like college or school). Same with politicians who think they are rulers, and are above law. Wondered why most politicians are old? Its because we respect them so much, elders not politicians. We respect elders so much that firstly we offer them what they want and mostly they themselves expect respect along with obidience.
Here i come to another point i want to make. Does respecting mean to obey blindly? Does respecting mean to follow blindly? Does respecting mean to say yes for everything? Can not we with full respect tell our elders that this or that is wrong? Cannot we with great respect listen to the point of view of someone younger or inferior to us? Sad but no Indian culture has taught us not to do such things.
Pati Parmeshvar:
Another element of Indian culture, which is very disastrous and many people don't know unconstitutional! In India , atleast legally, a man and woman are supposed to be 50% stakeholders in a marraige. Which means both have equal right over the kids, and which also as i interpret it, means that the woman has the right to stay with her parents.
Why does a woman have to sacrifice her parents , when she marries? I will put this in slightly different ways. Why are women forced to do such a dis-service to their parents, who by no doubts are the closest relatives of the woman. Would guys do such a dis-service to their parents, even though they love them so much? Where does all the thoughts about Gender equality go when it comes to marraiges? Cannot a man and woman marry each other, without the woman having to marry the man's family as well?
This along with the respect elders culture has led to abuse of wives by husbands, and very interestingly is also the reason the women stay shut and bear everything and accept it as their fate.
Lives are being lost, not by the physical death of women but by their mental death. Guys have to understand this and help make a better India with a reformed culture. Most importantly women have to stand up and understand the gravity of the situation and the discrimination against them and not only fight to become independent but also help others become independent. We have a lot in our culture to be very proud of, but a few things that we have got wrong, can be changed.
I would like to end this long article, with my concept of respecting people. If you have read all along and reached till here, thanks a lot for being so patient.
"Respect each and every single person around you, just for the sake of humanity. Respect more those who deserve more and most importantly respect differences in opinions".
RIP VIP Culture
It's time we say R I P to VIP culture in India and stop treating our netas as Gods. Here is a situation in India right now, where the ex-President and perhaps one of the most respected Indian in India is frisked, and he being the gentleman he has always been has no problems with the incident, whereas the Parliament cries foul.
Our dear old politicians, are not crying for the dis-respect shown to Dr Kalam but to protect their own Godly images. It is bloody high time we cut short the privilages these politicians get, they are servants after all, and servants are supposed to serve not rule. The President and Prime Minister of India may retain such privilages but that is more than enough.
It is completely ridiculous how traffic is blocked so that ONE, one out of a billion plus Indians can go where he wants to go, not like most of his group are sincere and honest either. Ex-President Dr Kalam has stood in queues many times, (sigh) it's sad, but our Politicians don't even learn from the President!
Our dear old politicians, are not crying for the dis-respect shown to Dr Kalam but to protect their own Godly images. It is bloody high time we cut short the privilages these politicians get, they are servants after all, and servants are supposed to serve not rule. The President and Prime Minister of India may retain such privilages but that is more than enough.
It is completely ridiculous how traffic is blocked so that ONE, one out of a billion plus Indians can go where he wants to go, not like most of his group are sincere and honest either. Ex-President Dr Kalam has stood in queues many times, (sigh) it's sad, but our Politicians don't even learn from the President!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Time to come out of the matrix
Poverty, illiteracy, corruption is everywhere to be seen in India today. We , the youth of India have learnt to separate ourselves from politics. Politics has become the P-word we are scared to use , while we might use B-words and C-words in practically every other sentence we say. No work is done without giving bribes. We are all well aware of all this and all this is much discussed by all of us. Yet, there is a point we all miss while discussing such issues.
While thinking about all this, we only think about those corrupt officers, those corrupt beaurocrats and those criminal politicians. But is politics about them? Or is it instead about us, us Indians, our India, our people and our society? How we make our motherland a peacefull heaven for its citizens? How we share amongst ourselves this beautifull home of ours?
How we form and develop this beautifull nation which we have got after years of fierce struggle and numerous sacrifices, How can we so easily let all those sacrifices and struggle be wasted? How can we be quiet until we have achieved our dream, the dream we, free Indians, have been seeing since the last 60 years, the dream they had seen since more than 150 years back and sacrificed their lives for? Independence from British was just the first step towards achieving that dream of a beautifull, vibrant India where every citizen lives with his head held high. The struggle should not have died out just after the first step. The mission is not yet accomplished , we are now free from British, thats Objective 1 completed, but the mission is very much incomplete. The struggle has to restart. The second Innings is yet to be won!
Does it mean that you and me have to become politicians? No, certainly not. What India lacks today is good leaders and powerfull support base for them. We have leadership qualities in many many Indians. It would be very impractical and irrational to say that a country with more than 1.2 Billion people doesnt have atleast 0.001% of people having good leadership qualities, dedication, sincerity and honesty. 0.001% of 1.2 billion is 12,000 , more than enough to have every politician with those qualities we are looking for. Yet we lack good politicians, why?
The reason for this, in the most direct and general sense, is lack of Political Recruitment and lack of incentive to perform. It's clear , we have leaders, but how can we make sure the right ones get to go up the ladder and the bad ones are forced to come down? The ideal solution is reforms. Reforms so that the political system harbours leadership, so that local governments are empowered and are directly held responsible for development in their region. But for all these reforms we need politicians who will make these changes, and why would the criminals decriminalise politics? Why would the theifs build police stations?
Therefore what we need today is, a struggle. A struggle to force these changes. Not a violent struggle, nor the Gandhi style non-violence. Today we need a political struggle, a political revolution, a political mass movement. We, all of us, young and old , especially the youth need to get involved, as supporters, as volunteers of good political parties. Oops did i say good political party? Yes, I did indeed! There are such parties being formed, the one i know of is the LokSatta which is trying to form its base in Andhra Pradesh but is also starting to form in other states.
Its not joining politics, its raising our voice, its asking for change, its asking for dignity we have the right to. I am not a member of LokSatta and this is no LokSatta advertisement. If you are not in Andhra Pradesh, look around if such a party exists. a new party which believes in new politics, a politics which constructively looks to resolve conflicts of ideologies and charge ahead on the path of development. a politics where money power, muscle power, and family background are not required to affect change. If you fail to find such a party, you still have a few options, keep looking, there should be one around you soon, or look for people interested and start one!
We need to get involved, or else the consequences of such disgusting , cheap politics can be disastrous, because the only outcome of such politics, discrimination, undesirable, preventable suffering is violence and if we are not able to change things now, we may never be able to and our children will be the ones paying the price. We have to now, not only achieve the dream we have all been seeing since more than 150 years , but also save our Mother from getting devastated.
While thinking about all this, we only think about those corrupt officers, those corrupt beaurocrats and those criminal politicians. But is politics about them? Or is it instead about us, us Indians, our India, our people and our society? How we make our motherland a peacefull heaven for its citizens? How we share amongst ourselves this beautifull home of ours?
How we form and develop this beautifull nation which we have got after years of fierce struggle and numerous sacrifices, How can we so easily let all those sacrifices and struggle be wasted? How can we be quiet until we have achieved our dream, the dream we, free Indians, have been seeing since the last 60 years, the dream they had seen since more than 150 years back and sacrificed their lives for? Independence from British was just the first step towards achieving that dream of a beautifull, vibrant India where every citizen lives with his head held high. The struggle should not have died out just after the first step. The mission is not yet accomplished , we are now free from British, thats Objective 1 completed, but the mission is very much incomplete. The struggle has to restart. The second Innings is yet to be won!
Does it mean that you and me have to become politicians? No, certainly not. What India lacks today is good leaders and powerfull support base for them. We have leadership qualities in many many Indians. It would be very impractical and irrational to say that a country with more than 1.2 Billion people doesnt have atleast 0.001% of people having good leadership qualities, dedication, sincerity and honesty. 0.001% of 1.2 billion is 12,000 , more than enough to have every politician with those qualities we are looking for. Yet we lack good politicians, why?
The reason for this, in the most direct and general sense, is lack of Political Recruitment and lack of incentive to perform. It's clear , we have leaders, but how can we make sure the right ones get to go up the ladder and the bad ones are forced to come down? The ideal solution is reforms. Reforms so that the political system harbours leadership, so that local governments are empowered and are directly held responsible for development in their region. But for all these reforms we need politicians who will make these changes, and why would the criminals decriminalise politics? Why would the theifs build police stations?
Therefore what we need today is, a struggle. A struggle to force these changes. Not a violent struggle, nor the Gandhi style non-violence. Today we need a political struggle, a political revolution, a political mass movement. We, all of us, young and old , especially the youth need to get involved, as supporters, as volunteers of good political parties. Oops did i say good political party? Yes, I did indeed! There are such parties being formed, the one i know of is the LokSatta which is trying to form its base in Andhra Pradesh but is also starting to form in other states.
Its not joining politics, its raising our voice, its asking for change, its asking for dignity we have the right to. I am not a member of LokSatta and this is no LokSatta advertisement. If you are not in Andhra Pradesh, look around if such a party exists. a new party which believes in new politics, a politics which constructively looks to resolve conflicts of ideologies and charge ahead on the path of development. a politics where money power, muscle power, and family background are not required to affect change. If you fail to find such a party, you still have a few options, keep looking, there should be one around you soon, or look for people interested and start one!
We need to get involved, or else the consequences of such disgusting , cheap politics can be disastrous, because the only outcome of such politics, discrimination, undesirable, preventable suffering is violence and if we are not able to change things now, we may never be able to and our children will be the ones paying the price. We have to now, not only achieve the dream we have all been seeing since more than 150 years , but also save our Mother from getting devastated.
A running thought
I was running , running and running in what seemed an infinitely long field with mist all around. Dodging unknown invisible objects with a football in my hand. Running for ever and ever, the finish line just did not seem to arrive. I was panting and was getting tired, but kept running, even while my feet started to feel sore, there was only one thing in my mind, "I have to get ther, have to get there before this ends..".
My priorities were set, my heart was determined. The pain in my stomach increasing progressively, my feet feeling more and more sore with every step but i kept running, hoping that sometime it will end, the finish line will come, the time for touch down will come. My mouth open to take in as much Oxygen as i could, sweat trickling down my cheeeks but i still kept running.
And then, finally something happened. There was some sound ringing, still running i looked up for a fraction of a second to see where the sound was coming from, but could not locate the source. I kept my eyes on the ground as much as I could to dodging the unknown, left and right, and trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. But i kept running because my objective was clear in my mind, no matter what, I have to get to the finish line. The sound was growing louder and louder , and once again i risked looking around to locate the source, and then many things happened in an instant. I tripped, and fell, the golden package in my hand fell on the ground and rolled down away from sight, my eyes opened to a new world, with an alarm clock ringing by my side!!
My priorities were set, my heart was determined. The pain in my stomach increasing progressively, my feet feeling more and more sore with every step but i kept running, hoping that sometime it will end, the finish line will come, the time for touch down will come. My mouth open to take in as much Oxygen as i could, sweat trickling down my cheeeks but i still kept running.
And then, finally something happened. There was some sound ringing, still running i looked up for a fraction of a second to see where the sound was coming from, but could not locate the source. I kept my eyes on the ground as much as I could to dodging the unknown, left and right, and trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. But i kept running because my objective was clear in my mind, no matter what, I have to get to the finish line. The sound was growing louder and louder , and once again i risked looking around to locate the source, and then many things happened in an instant. I tripped, and fell, the golden package in my hand fell on the ground and rolled down away from sight, my eyes opened to a new world, with an alarm clock ringing by my side!!
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