Images of TRUE INDIA

TOI Report: 01.10.2010

For them,bonds of friendship are stronger than religion

 On tense Thursday afternoon,when the entire nation was glued to the television waiting for the news on high courts verdict on the Ayodhya dispute,65-year-old Izhar Siddiqui was busy talking to Mohan Swarup Sharma.Unfazed as to what the verdict would be,the two elderly residents of Dugawan,a small mohalla,in Lucknows Naka Hindola area,were into a serious discussion planning how Ram Barat would to be taken out this year.

Izhar and Mohan are best buddies since childhood and hold key positions in Sri Ramleela Raniganj Samiti,established by their ancestors in 1875,10 years before the first petition on Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute was filed in Faizabad by a mahant.For the last 135 years,the samiti has been taking out Ram Barat (marriage procession of lord Ram) and conducing Ram Leela every year.Izhar is associated with the samiti for over 20 years now.He has served the samiti with utmost dedication and we never felt that he is a Muslim, said Samitis general secretary,Mohan.Izhar laughed when asked how come he is associated with Ram Leela samiti.Go into the spiritual content of every religion and you will find nothing but love and peace,hence whatever may be the Ayodhya judgment,its not going to affect us.The Ram Barat as usual will be taken out in the city on the sixth day of Navratris which fall in winters, he said.

Similarly,Muslims at Bakshi-Ka-Talab are planning to organise Ramlila before Dussehra.Masood Ahmad is the manager of the Ramlila Samiti.His father,Muzaffar Hussain,started the tradition along with his best friend,Maikulaal Yadav,in 1972.

Ive read Ram Charitmanas several times and particularly like Rams character, says Khan.The tradition continues even if Ramzan or Moharram coincides with it.The cast takes time out to offer namaz and break roza.

Lucknow is full of such examples.Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb cemented here during the period of Nawabs in the 19th century.Hindu and Muslims of Lucknow led the 1857 revolt.Wajid Ali Shah,the last Nawab of Awadh,used to perform the Krishna leela with Kathak dancers and celebrate Hindu festivals.Once Holi fell during Moharram and Hindus decided to drop the celebrations.Knowing this,the nawab organised Holi at his palace in the afternoon and mourned in the evening.

Prakash Chandra Trivedi
Engineer, BHEL

Who is real Geelani?

Who is real Geelani? What is the reality of Hurriyat leader Mr Geelani?

From last couple of months, I am hearing statements of Hurriyat leader Mr Geelani. In his each & every interview he reiterates that KASHMIR wants freedom?

Till now I couldn’t understand what type of freedom they want? Have they any idea about Kashmir's  existence for a minute without any economical support from India? Does Kashmir have enough resources to  to feed KASHMIRI PEOPLE? Do they have enough industries to provide jobs to educated people? Do they have enough security to counter terrorist infiltration? Are hurriyat leaders representative of Kashmiris?

I expect that each & every intellectual from all over the world will be answering negative to all these bunch of question.

And now the biggest question- Does Mr Geelani want a free KASHMIR to merge it with Pakistan? Minimum his speeches & his thinking shows the same.

I want to discuss this very question thoroughly. Geelani has said Kashmiris want freedom and then he gives a strange logic India, Pakistan, China and Russia will accept an independent Kashmir, so it is better Kashmir should join Pakistan. This is a subtle attempt to fulfil the Pakistani and not the Kashmiri agenda of annexation. Geelani may have a problem with "Hindu, Muslim secular India" (as he often says) and his own reasons (financial and ideological) to conspire to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan, but what can Kashmiris expect from Pakistan Pakistan, a failed state. Sindh and Baluchistan are seething with discontent and what about Kashmiris in Pakistani?

If Bengali Muslims, being the demographic majority in undivided Pakistan, got nothing but blood and bullets, what can Kashmiri Muslims expect from Pakistan? There is a serious problem if this is the way the world's largest democracy deals with its own people. Indian crowd-control methods were equally harsh in Assam during the 1979-85 agitation when 130 people died in police firings in January-February 1983 in the rundown to state assembly elections. It should not be thought that India is handling differently to Kashmir. What behaviour you can expect to stone pelters? How can a mob of such kind be controlled? The whole blame should not be given to military.

There are two other things Kashmiris will have to give India credit for,much as they have every right to complain that they have usually been denied democracy.India has not tried to change the demography of the Kashmir valley as China did in Tibet and Chinese Turkestan.Bangladesh did this in the Chittagong Hill Tracts under a military dispensation by sending Muslim settlers to the tribal homeland.Indonesia did this in Aceh.The list goes on.India is perhaps the only postcolonial Third World state which did not seek a "demographic answer" to separatist challenges.

Secondly,Indian intelligence,regardless of its endless conspiracies to divide the movements,has fought shy of physically attacking leaders;it has never driven the local Kashmiri leaders to a stage they have to seek exile.Contrast this to Pakistan.Altaf Hussain and his MQM leaders are in London,as are many of the Baloch and Sindhi nationalists.The ISI has perhaps used its Taliban surrogates to hit at MQM leader Imran Farooq outside his house in the heart of London.

As a Bengali who has seen the 1971 Bangladesh liberation struggle at close quarters,i can appreciate the spirit of azadi in the Kashmir valley.It is the Bengalis who buried Jinnah's two-nation theory in the lowlying marshes and river islands of East Bengal.But Jinnah's ghost will return to haunt Kashmiris in the midst of their tehreek.Bengal and Punjab were partitioned,Kashmir was not.Now,at the peak of the tehreek,two of its non-Muslim regions,Jammu and Ladakh, will surely demand their own right of self-determination and exercise it to stay with India.And unless Pakistan accepts Azad Kashmir, how can Geelani ever expect India to do so?

The ironic truth is that many of Indian states ie. Bihar, Uttarpradesh, Orissa and north eastern states don’t have sufficient power but India in contrast trying its hard to start lot of new hydro projects to give proper power supply to the Kashmir state. India is trying hard to make Kashmir a stable and peaceful state but because of terrorist infiltration through Kasmir route to Indian state it makes very essential for the army to stay there as a watch dog for the security of the whole nation. Kashmiris should understand the real motto of Indian army and some special powers given to them.

Geelani & other Hurriyat are not working for the common interest of Kashmir but they are fighting for their own politics, name & fame and extending an illogical support to Pakistan. The real truth should be understood by young leaders.

Reference-

1. Kashmirs Difficult Choice editorial article in TIMES OF INDIA Dated- 27.09.2010 by SUBIR BHAUMIK.

2. Wikipedia- History of Kashmir.



PRAKASH CHANDRA TRIVEDI

ENGINEER, BHEL

China encircling India: Another China’s move

China encircling India: Another China’s move, New Delhi should take appropriate actions to counter China's increasing influence in S Asia

Chinas influence in Nepal, much to the chagrin of India, received a fillip on Sunday with Beijing extending its railway from Lhasa to Xigaze or Shigatse,a city in Tibet which borders Nepal,India and Bhutan.This is the first step taken by China to extend its rail link till-Nepal border.

As per Indian officials,this rail link till the Nepal border reduces Kathmandus dependence on India as it will enable them to import petroleum products from Beijing.Pictures posted on the internet by tourists show work on this railroad may already have begun.

Strategic affairs expert Chellaney believes the extension of railway and the highaltitude airports in Tibet is to be seen in context of PLA Dailys report that the railroad to Tibet is used to supply combat readiness material to their air force.China is now in a position to move additional forces to the border to potentially strike India.The way for India to respond is to shore up its conventional and nuclear deterrent capabilities, he said.

Nepal PM Madhav Kumar Nepal had urged China in October to extend the Beijing-Lhasa rail saying that it would take economic ties between Nepal and China to a new height. In return, Nepal assured China that they would not allow anti-China activity.

Courtesy- Times of India (27.09.10)



Prakash Chandra Trivedi

Engineer, BHEL

GUESS WHO HOLDS THE INDIA’S HAND AT TROUBLE TIME

GUESS WHO HOLDS THE INDIA’S HAND AT TROUBLE TIME, THANKS PAK!!

The Malaysian and Botswanian teams today joined the ranks of those complaining against the state of affairs in the Commonwealth Games Village, while the South African envoy cried “a threat to the lives of athletes” after a snake was found in one of the rooms allotted to the country’s sportspersons.

However, there was good news on at least one front for the beleaguered Commonwealth Games officials: Pakistan. Not only have officials from the country given a thumbs-up to the arrangements and security preparedness for the Games, but also accused “Westerners” of being overly critical.

“We have been given complete assurance by the organisers and our security liaison officer is in India at the moment. We trust the Indian government to provide full protection, and we have no security concerns. Hopefully our entire 75-member contingent will be in India on the 29th as planned,” Pakistan Olympic Association president Syed Arif Hasan told The Indian Express on Sunday.

Courtesy- Indian Express
(27.09.10)


Prakash Chandra Trivedi
Engineer, BHEL

Finally Curtain falldown: India third most powerful nation

Report-  Times of India, dated- 21.09.2010


India is listed as the third most powerful country in the world after the US and China and the fourth most powerful bloc after the US, China and the European Union in a new official US report.



The new global power line-up for 2010 also predicted that New Delhi's clout in the world will further rise by 2025, according to "Global Governance 2025" jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union's Institute for Security Studies (EUISS).



Using the insights of a host of experts from Brazil, Russia, India and China, among others, and fictionalised scenarios, the report illustrates what could happen over the next 25 years in terms of global governance.



In 2010, the US tops the list of powerful countries/regions, accounting for nearly 22 percent of the global power.



The US is followed by China with European Union at 16 percent and India at eight percent. India is followed by Japan, Russia and Brazil with less than five percent each.



According to this international futures model, by 2025 the power of the US, EU, Japan and Russia will decline while that of China, India and Brazil will increase, even though there will be no change in this listing.



By 2025, the US will still be the most powerful country of the world, but it will have a little over 18 percent of the global power.



The US will be closely followed by China with 16 percent, European Union with 14 percent and India with 10 per cent.



"The growing number of issues on the international agenda, and their complexity, is outpacing the ability of international organisations and national governments to cope," the report warns.



This critical turning point includes issues of climate change, ethnic and regional conflicts, new technology, and the managing of natural resources.



The report also highlights the challenges proponents of effective global governance face.



On one hand, rapid globalization, economic and otherwise, has led to an intertwining of domestic politics and international issues and fuelled the need for more cooperation and more effective leadership.

Congratulations Sushil Kumar & Mary Kom

I extend my hearty Congratulations to Mary Kom for winning her fifth consecutive women's boxing title at Bridgetown (Barbados) on September 18 last. We, the whole nation, are proud of you.


I also extend my hearty Congratulations to Sushil Kumar for winning the World wrestling championship in Russia. Your victory is a victory of the nation & we all are proud of you.

Besides these two, also congratulations to their coaches whose mentoring and right guidance gave these excellent results. We salute your dedication & hardwork putforth to achieve these results.

Ayodhya Verdict: No Riots on Indian Soil.

Daily in print media (Newspapers) & in News channels, some news of scheduled verdict on 24th Sept 2010 on Ayodhya by Lucknow High court bench is visible. Many newspapers are predicting horrible condition after the verdict. Many are claiming that the result will be no longer effective as anyone of the Hindu & Muslim will approach the SC against the result.


All India transport association has already decided to suspend its services from 22nd to 29th (one week). Many of the schools will be shut for that duration. Industries will be closed as workers & staff fear to come out as curfew situation may prevail. A chaotic condition will prevail.

What will be the end-result?

This is not only going to hamper India’s economy but will affect Hindu-Muslim relations for so many years to come. India is rising & we are facing a tough completion from other Asian nations ie China, Korea & Japan. The clashes, riots and Hindu-Muslim divide will not only deteriorate our harmonious social structure but also affect our economy significantly. Pakistan supported militant groups want the same thing and awaiting for a mass destructive riots which will help them to fulfil their aspirations.

Historical background-

Hindu-Muslim has a great relations in India. Inspit of their minor clashes, we have a quite harmonious and symphonic environment. Hostorical background is the testimony of our great relations when both the communities worked together to ousted the foreign rulers. We fought against many evils and social iniquities. We fought together in many wars against our neighbouring nations. We helped each others in many floods, natural calamities and forged an Indian bond in place of a particular religion. We both worked together to make India rise in economical terms.

Now, what to do?

Now when Ayodhya verdict has to come in a legal perspective we have to follow the legal judgement and avoid to create any such disturbance which is going to affect our social values and our National dignity. We have to rise from a particular religion biased to have a feeling to be an active part of Indian Nationality and a great force behind its success.

We have to crush those forces which are going to affect our national integrity and in the name of religion going to divide our harmonious social structure.

 
 
Prakash Chandra Trivedi
Engineer, BHEL-Rudrapur