With Love, FROM THE HEART....

I seriously haven't got a clue why the hell i am posting this thing but never mind, because there r many things in life which i have been clueless about, n hv turned out great for me :-)
Anyways,first of all,dnt mind my SMS language...jus using it cz m tooo bored(n sleepy) to type properly.this blog might be a bit off deviation from the usual serious issues which i right about....but as i said,haven't got a clue why m writing tonite!!!
M gonna talk about the usual human tendency....that of being some one else,being some where else and sooo on!!
When v r kids,v wan be in college..we curse school cz v cant bunk lectures cant "hang out", some may argue that  this is just because we r kidsss n immature...
then life goes on n we go to college, n we want to be in school,atleast some want to be,others want to be earning,again there r many reasons n excuses n counter reasons given by many to show that this is also related to age...
As always,life moves on again, we start earning, we curse our boss, the system,our colleagues.....n want to be in the fun days of college life o in our childhood again,like our kidsss may be,but this time the reasons of many start failing...trying to justify that this is again a reason of the age...but the reasons dnt fail completely!!!
then v bcum middle aged,wit a decent family,kids, stable life style....but still v wan be different,v wonder whether v hv done enough in our careers,do i hv enough old age pension,is my life boring,was it more fun when i just started working???
questions questions n more questions....
then v start getting old...grand children,inside out reading of the newspaper every morning....arthritis,high BP n sooo on...v wonder what v cud hv done if v had the energy of our youth....
n then sum day....as it happens in evry1s life...v die!!!!
Many who have survived this pravachan till now must be thinking tht suddenly i hv grown from a 19year young to a 80 year old....
no...i haven't...its just that these things just struck me...they r mere possibilities...but common possibilities!!!
What m trying to tell evryone from this blog is that....moments like,learning to ride a bicycle,crying over a toffee,zooming away on bikes when u get the license,talking late night on phone with friends about utter stupid but interesting things,spending ur first few salary checks like nythng,ur first child,ur first promotion,ur kid's first prize in nythng,ur grand child...these r things which happen nly a few tyms in our life's....n they r moments worth missing...
its okkkk to have questions....its okkk to miss the past o eagerly wait for the future....but its extremely important to enjoy the moment....
sooo tomorrow jus go ahead n enjoy the phase of life u r in.....
Sorrrry for boring u sooo much with this B*^$#*@T....

Do give your comments on all the new posts, because your comments are my motivation!!!!

YEH DEHLI HAI MERE YAAR……

Many might be wondering why I chose such a funny or stupid title for this post of mine, the reason was to bring bit of fun in my blog posts!! Anyways, as many might have guessed this is about my trip/internship experience to New Delhi. Those who did not know, I had been in New Delhi from 1^st November to 2^nd December 2009, that a little more than one month. The reason for this long stay was an internship in the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) New Delhi unit.

But as expected this trip and the stay gave me much more than just practical legal experience. As I said to one of friends while speaking to her after I came back, “an internship, a must for every professional student, as a life experience”. It is not just realising how the professional world functions but also about learning to be ON YOUR OWN away from the security and out of the comfort zone of your home, family, friends and college life. It makes you fearless or rather more modestly put, less fearful of staying alone and looking after yourself. It is about having all the freedom in the world yet not allowing yourself to never step the line, it is about being able to do anything without having to ask for permissions (not that I ever ask for permissions at home, I just tell that doing such and such thing) yet missing your mummy asking you where you are going and with whom and when you will be back.

Now about the professional exposure I had. I was extremely lucky to have the kind of exposure I had in the one month. I was able to work on cases which were up for hearing in the Supreme Court (SC). I think was the first person from my batch to attend a hearing in the “Mecca for lawyers in India” (SC), not just on one occasion but on five!! It was my sheer luck that I could see Mr. Anil Ambani just a few metres away from me and this time I was more senior in the place where I was than him (what I mean is, it was his first time to the SC but it was my third).

But, two of the best things of this internship, because of which many of my colleagues will envy me the most, are neither of the above. The first of the two is that I could actually stand before the Principal Magistrate in the JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD (it is a court for minors, below 18years in age, who are accused of having committed a criminal offence) and take not just adjournments but also forward an applications for bail and get bail for one of “my clients”. This was possible only because the advocate I used to go with to the JJB caught flu and the other advocates with him had gone on leave, so it was sheer luck again. The second of the best instances of this internship were, I could hear Mr. Ram Jethmalani argue for his client Mr. Anil Ambani in the RIL v. RNRL case in the court room of the Chief Justice of India in the SC. I do not agree in many of the ways of Mr. Jethmalani on most of the instances but his calibre remains undoubted and his skills unquestioned even at the age of 86. Besides this I also got to work with the Founding Director of HRLN, Mr. Colin Gonsalves, on a couple of occasions.

Now coming to the non-professional learning experiences of the internship, and frankly I liked these more than the former…. These include knowing about the true image of my state in the eyes of my fellow citizens from other parts of the world to learning to look after myself. I just enjoyed appreciating the diversity of my beautiful country, not just staying in the capital of my country, but also while travelling to and from it. This appreciation helped me strengthen my anti-regionalism and being an “Indian First” stand even more. The realisation also dawned on me how the image of Goa has got spoilt around the country and what sort of mark we leave on our country itself. I enjoyed the city of Delhi, by itself, a lot. The infrastructural development and technologically advanced New Delhi to the stinking by-lanes of Old Delhi, the packed and rickety old DTC buses to the sleek and stylish new automatic low platform DTC buses itself, the old and nostalgic cycle rickshaw to the engineering marvel of taking the Metro by the underground route to Chandi Chowk. Delhi, as city, truly represents India by having the elements of both rural and urban Indias or the aspects of both the Darkness and Light (the term is a courtesy of the book “White Tiger”), and somewhere in the middle of all this you will find the never ending and striving soul of the great Indian common-man.

Lastly, some fun experiences during weekends of extended weekdays. There are a wide range of these moments, going on escalators which are moving in the opposite direction on Metro Stations, calling “metro” “matro” and “pepsi” “paepsi”, travelling to till the last station on the metro line and asking people there which is the closest state border from there (as if we were fugitives), seeing a cycle rickshaw moving on a six lane expressway.

Before I conclude, here are two instances of India’s Unity-in-Diversity which I personally came across in the National Capital:-

(1) Three Sikh Men listing to the famous Marathi number by Avdoot Gupte, komdi pallali, in New Delhi, and

(2) Two students from the North East having a South Indian Masala Dosa in a restaurant serving North Indian food and owned by a Bengali.

All in all, it was a GREAT experience, but the best part of it was that I realised the importance of home, family, friends and having people you know around you….I conclude by saying it again, “an internship, a must for every professional student, as a life experience”.

Do not question me regarding the writer of this peom, it is not me...but some one i know!!!!

THE JUPITERIANS' ROAR

In the name of God!

The Cross and the Crescent for ages smashed into our beloved Jupiter.

Whenever the valiant Orion fought them; he got betrayed by many a brother and sister.

In the proverbial 'once upon a time' Ursa Minors weren't strong enough.

In the name of God!

The Crescent and the Cross indoctrinated Ursa Minors and made them strong and tough.

Jupiter is now blistering and she's about to melt.

Amen

It's time to salve the sores on Jupiter.

We, the Jupiterians have the numbers and intellect.

Lest Ursa Majors come into sight;

Jupiterians must always think Right act Right and vote Right.

Palmist commandments for us are fatwas of suffering.

The Jupiterians in one voice roar with no qualm:

'No palm to the Palm, which's venomous as napalm'

The Jupiterians' moral rage is towering.

It's time to jettison the incompetence of the corrupt and communal Palmist uproar.

The Jupiterians for Jupiter's sake must roar:

'No palm to the Palm, which's venomous as napalm'

-Anonymous

I am back blogging again, sorry for the long delay in posting a blog!!!!

RIFT OF REGIONALISM

The divide being created across our country by regionalism based ideologies is a known fact to most of us today. The presence of such bifurcations is the “bad” part of the story but the “worst” part is that most of us either support or harbour such thoughts within us. These thoughts, of not wanting “outsiders” in “our” STATE/RAJYA, are more dangerous and have a more drastic effect on the fabric of Indian unity than the violence unleashed by the present day mascot of regionalism, Mr. Raj Thackeray, on the “outsider bhaiyya” in aamchi Mumbai.

The seeds of this regional divide were sowed long ago by our sophisticated and cunning English rulers, by developing India in pockets of political and economic interests for them. We all, with great levels of hypocrisy have, at some point of time in our lives, supported these regionalistic ideas, for our own selfish motives and benefits.

The whole philosophy about getting first preference for jobs, getting cheap housing and so on in a State, merely because “I” have been born and brought up in that State is ridiculous. I do not understand why there the need to have reservation in Government Jobs for locals to “protect cultural identity”. In this regard, the example of Gujaratis aka Gujjus is the best one, the Gujarati community is firmly bound to their cultural and ways of living irrespective of the State or even the country they reside in…..this shows that to actually conserve your cultural identity, in this super-diverse country of ours, there is the need to have love and pride about your culture rather than selfishness for petty personal gains.

The presence of regionalistic ideas is worse than the violence and hooliganism unleashed by many politicians across the country. It may be Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu or even Goa, the growth of the hatred towards the “outsider” is frightening!!!!!!

If the people in various States are sooo much concerned about the “outsider” and troubled him “destroying their “culture”, then why do they use LPG found in Gujarat and the North East, use petrol and diesel at subsidised rates given by Central Government??? Why don’t people in Bangalore…ohhh sorry Bengaluru, throw out the various IT industries which are owned by “outsiders”, if Mr. Raj Thackeray actually has the guts let him try and throw out Mukesh Ambani from Mumbai? Why don’t the people in Goa just use the Goan vegetables, why use the potatoes and tomatoes which are grown by “ghaatis”????

When it comes to regionalism, we all, each and every one of us is a big fat HIPPOCRAT. The issue of not allowing Biharis and Bhaiyyas use the resources of other states merely because there aren’t enough economic opportunities in their respective states and so they should not be allowed in other states. We are Indians only when we want NSG commandos to defend “aamchi Mumbai”, when we want relief during floods or droughts, otherwise we are Maharashtrians, Kannadigas, Goans, Mallus and so on.

Today when we are faced with threats from two neighbours, internal threat of Maoists and the everlasting threat of terror attacks, we have to shed such petty and selfish loyalties and be an INDIAN first, and Maharashtrian or Kannadiga or Goan or Mallu later.

I have a friend of mine, who was born in Tamil Nadu, completed his primary education in West Bengal, his secondary and higher secondary education in Rajasthan, University in Goa and is planning to settle in New Delhi, I call him the “Indian Nomad” and such nomads are of great importance of the India remaining the Unity-in-Diversity rather than the Differences-in-Diversity which are heading towards.

KARGIL WAR

OPERATION VIJAY-10 YEARS AFTER

It was during the rainy season of 1999, when I was in my 3^rd standard, that news came “terrorists/infiltrators” had entered Kargil. At that age I neither knew nor cared what infiltrators were or what the LOC was and so on, but the two things which I most prominently remember are, firstly, the heavy artillery firing which was being shown on the news and secondly, the “cool” line of Pepsi “YEH DIL MAINGE MORE”, being said by Capt. Vikram Batra. Then, the line was just something catchy and nice to say, but today when I remember these moments I feel the bravery and valour of the Indian armed forces.

Operation Vijay will always, technically, remain an anti-infiltration operation, but for us Indians it was a moment of great sorrow and pride. The brave sons of our motherland fought like fearless tigers in the hostile and inhospitable terrain of Kargil, just to protect the pride of this great country.

There are issues that the Government does not treat the armed forces well, but the greatest sorrow for me is that the people of this country DO NOT value these brave men to protect the sovereignty of their country with their lives. We Indians do not value our armed forces and unless and until, this respect and love for the men in olive green, sky blue and white does not come amongst us, we cannot expect the Legislature and the bureaucracy to value the armed forces because the people who form both these are not aliens but are very much part of the Indian civil society.

It may be Capt. Sourav Kaila, whose body was sent by the infiltrators/Pakistani army after mutilating beyond recognition, the mountaineer regiment of the Gorkhas, Capt. Vikram Batra or even Capt. Sher Shah, a Pakistani officer, who was conferred the highest gallantry award of Pakistan on recommendation from the Indian officers, these were men who fought with valour and I salute their bravery, grit and patriotrism.

This is my, microscopically small tribute to the martyrs of Operation Vijay on its 10^th anniversary. Hats off to the men of the Indian armed forces who fought with the spirit “VIJAY YA VEERGATI” on the heights of Kargil.

JAI HIND

GAY RIGHTS IN INDIA

GAY RIGHTS IN INDIA

2^nd July 2009, a Thursday, was a day to rejoice for many people across India, the reason for this, the Delhi High Court had given a historic judgement by means of which “gay sex” was no longer a criminal offence. The High Court, through this judgement struck down the 148year old law which made “gay sex” an offence punishable with 10years of imprisonment. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which made same-sex relationship an offence was, however, not abolished completely. The judgement has just decriminalised “sexual relationship between two consenting adults. Homosexuality is generally considered a taboo subject by both Indian civil society and the government. Public discussion of homosexuality in India has been inhibited by the fact that sexuality in any form is rarely discussed openly. In recent years, however, attitudes towards homosexuality have shifted slightly, the reasons for which range from getting media publicity to atrocities against homosexuals. In particular, there have been more depictions and discussions of homosexuality in the Indian news media and by the Hindi Film Industry.

The hype created by the television media and at times even the reports published in the print media gave the impression that now same sex relationships were completely accepted by the legal system. But this judgement has made things more ambiguous. If I ask a question like, can two men get married to each other? The answer to this is a big NO. The judgement given by the Delhi HC somewhere lacked foresight, as it has indirectly legalised sex [may be between people of the same sex] outside the wedlock. There was a very interesting argument put up by the counsel, who appealed against the judgement of the Delhi HC, if the court can legalise “gay sex” then why not legalise prostitution as well.

The NGO which filed the PIL in the HC, NAZ Foundation, has suddenly come in the limelight. This keeps me wondering whether this whole thing is just to get all the media attention and popularity. In the past few years, being gay or lesbian has been “in vogue” not just in Hollywood but also in the Hindi Film Industry. Being in controversy is also a means to get popularity, and for me the reason why so many film stars and Page 3 folks “raising a voice for homosexuality” is just for easy popularity. The issue of homosexuality is of importance but today people are, literally, running after it as if all the legal problems and issues of India have been solved and just this one issue is left.

                        

The argument put forward by the people in support of gay rights is that the people have to evolve according to the changes in the society. But what I do not understand is, why should “evolution” always be in opposition to the laws of nature? The true evolution of man kind, as put by APJ Abdul Kalam is, “when the human race understands the true spirit of the laws of nature and acts in synergy with them and not in opposition”. Even ancient Hindu scriptures like Manusmriti does mention about homosexuality as a sexual practice but was never encouraged and its mention made to serve the purpose of regulation. We have to understand that homosexuality is not a westernised concept but is very much Indian, this can go a long way in tackling the various issues of homosexuality in India. There is no doubt that the problem needs to be solved but people should not fulfil their craving for media publicity through this issue.

The next demand of the Homosexuals in India is granting of equal marriage rights to them. This demand, if fulfilled, is going to create mammoth problems in the legal system. For example, if two men get married and have children through scientific methods and after some years they apply for divorce, then how will you define “family”, on what basis will the succession of property take place, who will get the custody of the children and the million dollar question, who will be termed as the “husband/father” and “wife/mother”. Granting of equal marriage rights to homosexuals can land many laws of the country in a soup.

The issue of homosexuality needs to be addressed, there is no doubt in this, but while doing this there should be a foresight and it should not be done with the motive of publicity. For a nation to grow the institution of family is of utmost importance and homosexuality challenges the very basis of family, which is the union of a man and a woman. It is for us to decide which way do we want our country to evolve.

RED TERROR-THE ENEMY WITHIN

 

When the 26/11 attack took place six months back, it was a talking point during every meal any family had together but the same did not happen when one of the remote parts of West Bengal/India was burning, rather when it had been “LIBERATED”, in the words of the Naxals. The situation was much more treacherous in this case as the persons fighting against the police and paramilitary forces were not AMIR AJMAL KASABs, coming from across the border, but were the most backward sections of the Indian society. The issue of Naxalism is graver than the issue of terrorism and the sole reason for it is that, people on both the sides of the divide are very much a part and parcel of the Republic of India.

 

Naxalism has been the major internal security threat to India for the last two decades. The Naxal movement began in the 1960s in Naxalbari, a remote area of West Bengal, as a mere splintering of the Communists into radicals and moderates. But today what we are witnessing is abuse of the barrel of the gun for furthering political motives. The so-called “ROBIN WOODs” of modern India are no longer the garibo ke masiha or the voice of the poor but are mere puppets of external enemies or ambitious young men trying to fulfil their political ambitions.

 

Today Naxalism, along with jehad, is being used by external forces ranging from China to Pakistan to bring a halt to the economic development and technological advancement of India. Naxalism is at its peak in certain areas of Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which are the most remote and the least developed parts of India. The “Red Corridor” in these 9 states totals up to 155 districts, these amounts to nearly a quarter of our national territory.

 

With the tense and volatile neighbourhood that India has, however illogical and impossible it may seem, a great nexus is being created between the Maoists of Nepal, the Naxals in India and the extremist Islamic groups like the JeM [Jaish-e-Mohammad] and LeT [Lashkar-e-Toiba]. The Indian intelligence agencies have reports that Pakistan’s ISI is using the Naxals for drug-trafficking and pumping fake currency notes into the Indian economy. In return the ISI is providing the Naxals with sophisticated weaponry and know-how about using improvised explosives. The evidence to this nexus is the support given by Naxals in Andhra Pradesh for the demand of the Dasargah-e-Jehad-e-Shahadat to unconditionally release of Maulana Naseeruddin, a key accused in the murder of former home minister of Gujarat, Haren Pandya and the strategically coordinated economic blockades and swarming mass attacks with the Maoists in Nepal. The weapons and explosives also stand testimony to this unimaginable nexus.

 

However there is a need to look at the other side of the divide as well. In left-extremism there is a thin line between ideologues and leftist mercenaries. The true ideologue is fighting against the police atrocities, lack of development and presence of few or no government facilities in these remote areas. But many a times such ideologues are generalised as the armed Naxals because of the financial backing which the Naxals have. Hence a careful analysis of the Naxal threat needs to be taken up as the ideologues can easily be brought into the main stream by taking firm developmental steps.

 

Also a small part of the Naxal problem is because of the use of such people for winning elections by candidates and parties. The result of such actions is instances like Nandigram where the so-called Naxals were used by the Left Government in West Bengal to maintain its hold political hold in its bastions against the in-roads being made by the Trinamool Congress. Small make shift or part-time “Naxal” groups are used during elections for campaigning and in other times to maintain the hold of that political party.

 

It is high time the Central Government, in harmony with the various state governments, tackles this issue of Naxalism by formalising a national policy to deal with this issue of Naxalism and stop sweeping it under the carpet. The problem of Naxalism cannot be dealt with the military solution. There needs to be training for the SPOs [Special Police Officers] who are being used for dealing with Naxals. Policing needs to assess the psychology of the local people, who are being sandwiched between the armed forces and the Naxals. However the reverse scenario exists where the SPOs are just trained for dealing with criminals and not civilians. The armed solution has to be supplemented by development, as development alone can help solve the problem of Naxalism once and for all. Reforms of land have to be also looked at as Naxalism also arises due to oppression from the landed class. Special measures to help the tribals and various ethnic groups displaced by mining have to be taken. Development of educational opportunities and providing health facilities are the easiest ways to win over the people and re-instil their faith in democracy.

However there have to be stern steps taken by the UPA government at the centre. Tooth-less efforts like reconciliation with mercenaries directly involved in the dastardly massacre of blowing up a bus full of 40 CRPF jawans and then shooting the survivors in the eyes at point blank range, have to be stopped. On the other hand, there has to be a concrete surrender policies put in place for villagers and other civilians who want to enter the main stream and help the developmental work in the region, as a vast majority enter Naxalism because they have no other choice.

 

There are certain very encouraging steps taken by the government, like the policy to recruit 50% of the SPOs and CRPF jawans fighting in the Red Corridor from the affected areas itself, the ban on the Naxal organisations and other supporting organisations like CPI (Maoists) and CPI (Marxist-Leninist) and the setting up of night schools for the villagers who have fled their homes due to the fear of the conflict between the armed forces and the Naxals.

  

The urban population of our society has to be sympathetic and aware about the problems of Naxalism faced by their nation and members of their society, and not turn a blind eye just because it is not happening in the urban alleys of Mumbai. The evidence of the “fastest growing economy” should not just come from Dalal Street but also from the villages of Bastar, Dantewada and Lalgarh.