NEFARIOUS AND DIVISIVE SAFFRON AGENDA !

The Project Saffron has taken off with a bang in all seriousness with Modi leading the charge to dump the Gandhian-Nehruvian idea of a secular and inclusive India and instead raise the Hindustan of Hindutva’s dreams.

Modi is on a mission and on a roll. In his deliberate actions, speeches and approach, he reminds you of early years of the Fuhrer, out to fashion the Third Reich. Every single word he speaks and every single step he takes has a careful, well thought out purpose and a message. Like those clever art works by Leonardo da Vinci, even regulation photo opportunities have their own hidden clues and messages. Those who do not pay attention do so at their peril.

As  Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal argues, from appropriating national icons like Gandhi, dumbing him down to a cleanliness drive and the humble broom, and projecting Patel as the new national icon above Gandhi and Nehru, the Parivar is pushing its agenda: “The icons are strategically picked up, suitably distorted and recreated in a manner that is gradually and subtly bringing the Hindutva agenda to the fore through historical falsehoods and propagandist tactics that have begun squeezing space for any dissent and challenge.”

In his latest New York Times piece, Pankaj Mishra warns that the kind of retrograde 1920s-style nationalist dogma that appeared in Europe, Russia and Japan is making a big comeback in India as Modi “stokes old Hindu rage-and-shame over what he calls more than a thousand years of slavery under Muslim and British rule.”

Mishra writes: “In Madison Square Garden, in New York, last month, more than 19,000 people cheered Mr. Modi’s speech about ending India’s millennium-long slavery. But hundreds of millions of uprooted Indians are also now fully exposed to demagoguery. Interestingly, it is not the RSS’s khaki-shorts-wearing volunteers but rather quasi-Westernized Indians in the corporate-owned media and mysteriously well-funded think tanks, magazines and websites who have provided the ambient chorus for Mr. Modi’s ascent to respectability.”

It seems by the time Modi is done with India–or India is done with Modi, which looks like a distant possibility given the total decimation of the opposition and the messianic role he imagines himself–it would not be the same country and nation again. It has already changed in the past few months in ways one never thought possible. And the ride has just about begun.

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Faiz had said this in a different age and for a different country but it still rings as true and is contextual to our circumstances as all great poetry is:

Nisaar main teri galiyon ke aye watan ke jahan
Chali hai rasm ke koi na sar utha ke chale
Jo koi chahne wala tawaaf ko nikle
Nazar chura ke chale; jismo-jan bacha ke chale

(My salutations to thy sacred streets, O beloved nation!

Where a tradition has been invented

That none shall walk with his head held high

If at all one takes a walk, a pilgrimage

One must walk, eyes lowered, the body crouched in fear)

REVIVALIST EDUCATIONAL RENEWAL !

What is common between Boko Haram and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,besides  being               votaries of respective fundamentalism ?Both are hypocritically opposed to western education,though with different dimensions.Paradoxically,despite their opposition to western education per se and spacious sophistry against western values, comparatively and comprehensively they are the better beneficiaries of modern science and technology than many many others.

So when recently top RSS 'academic intellectuals' met Human Resources Development Minister to discuss shudh Bharatiya education policy,their main concern was about 'biased' History books,which according to them portray exclusively 'western/leftist' view of History.They emphasised the need to redefine and rediscover Indian History,strictly in accordance to ancient 'glorious' culture and civilization.Needless to say that their onus was  for 'Hindu sabhyta/sanskrti' exclusively. Being themselves religious bigots,they are least concerned about counter productive implications and fall out of such revivalist educational policy which ultimately will precipitate destruction of diversity ,lead to social divisiveness and different bigotry of a lethal kind.

There is nothing like perfection and perfectionism cannot be achieved by alteration of History books.Instead of destroying or burning  History books                                  authored by 'pseudo secularists/communists/leftists',historical literature needs to be preserved for comparative analytical studies.Freedom of thought and expression is fundamental right of each and every citizen of India,irrespective of their      religious beliefs.At least,till today constitution wise India is secular,liberal and democratic state and not theocratic [read Hindu rashtra] one.

There is always space for improvisation of text books on logical and rational basis but this improvisation can be achieved by reputed scholars of merit and academic excellence and not by prejudiced pamphleteers from the RSS stables,whom well known columnist Tavleen Singh has described as -"doddering old bigots and provincial intellectuals".

 

NEHRU :FIRST AND LAST SECULAR PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA;
"It is only through the scientific approach and method and the use of scientific knowledge that reasonable material and cultural amenities and service can be provided for every member of the community and it is out of a recognition of this possibility that the idea of a welfare state has grown."
~Scientific policy resolution,1958~
Nehru,remains hate figure number one to Hindu right wing saffron brigade,even after many decades of his death.Though phrase 'scientific temper' [first used in his discovery of India],has got hardly any meaning or relevance for present BJP led government,it was Nehru's spirit and vision for Indian society which found articulation in the scientific policy resolution of the country,was adopted as a constitutional obligation of every citizen through Article 51[h]-A of the constitution which says,"IT SHALL BE DUTY OF EVERY CITIZEN OF INDIA TO DEVELOP THE SCIENTIFIC TEMPER,HUMANISM AND THE SPIRIT OF INQUIRY AND REFORM."And India is the only country that has raised the notion of scientific temper to the level of a constitutional obligation.And yet,in all these years,India as a nation has failed enormously to inculcate and spread that spirit in society.In absence of any meaningful or purposeful fundamental social reform,Indian society has been culturally and historically steeped in religious dogmas,obscurantism,superstitions,religious bigotry and blind beliefs-all contrary to scientific temper.And today,in 21st century,we are witnessing a phenomenal growth of superstitious beliefs and obscurantism,under well orchestrated state patronage.More significantly,new facets of irrationalism,in particular a culture of anti science,is the latest mantra of the day.It was only Nehru,who had moral and political conviction to describe Bhakra Dam as modern day temple of India and who was genuinely rationalist in his practice and perception.

CRAWLING INTELLIGENTSIA !

Many decades back, BJP leader L.K.Advani sarcastically commented about media during emergency that "when asked to bend,they crawled."The famous comment was apparently made in different content and context,yet prophetic words are very relevant even today not only for a significant section of print and electronic media but for a section of intellectuals too,who prefer to be on the right side of the 'chair' as per their 'convenience'.Probably that explains,how not just the media but intellectuals from various fields such as education,health care,science and technology culture and law

are not just bending but crawling before Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.Just imagine,60 intellectual luminaries included :-

# Ved Prakash, Chairman University Grants Commission.

# Dinesh Singh, Vice Chancellor Delhi University.

# M C Mishra, Director All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

# Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitor General.

# Naresh Trehan and K K Aggarwal ,Cardiac Surgeons.

# Sonal Mansingh, well known Dancer.

# Anil K Tyagi,Vice Chancellor,GGS Indraprastha University.

# P Venugopal,former Director AIIMS.

# Prakash Singh, former Director General police ,Uttar Pradesh and many many others, who graced the lunch meeting on October 12 at Delhi,with presiding deity of RSS, param adarniya and pojniya ,Mohan Bhagwat.Well,let us believe that some of them  attended much publicized meeting without any vested interests but there are media reports that most of them were 'ingratiating themselves'to the unelected head of various organisations which spawned the party in power -an act unworthy of their official positions or duties  as well as democratic propriety.

The prime position of Sarsanchalak and his political status as 'person at the helm of affairs' has largely contributed for such 'intellectual discourse' which could hardly even be imagined just few months back. It can not be beyond any body's imagination -what is going to be state of affairs if one fine morning ,we come across the the slogan ,Modi is India,India is Modi.Recollect when many decades back Dev Kant Barooah coined the slogan-India is Indira,Indira is India.

BIG BROTHER WATCHING;HE IS THERE AFTER YOU ON EVERY OCCASION !
The sweep is wholly Goebbelesian. Much as you might try to get away from it you can be sure about one thing: there’s no escaping him; you may wish to give him a miss, he won’t let go of you. You wake up with the voice and sleep with it; for the present at least the voice is your companion for keeps: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. The message is the thing and the messenger is unrelenting.
It is right there on the front pages of all your newspapers, it confronts you the moment you switch on your idiot box, no matter how often and when. And, it is there again if you have chosen to escape to the radio channels, AIR, FM stations.  If you think you are being clever by turning to untouchables like the Antakshri or, why, even the Krishi Samachar, you are in for a surprise. The voice, if not the face, is there even before you have made the switch. The relentless voice of “the most popular Prime Minister of India”   follows you everywhere, even to your bed, like Goebbels’s did promoting the Fuehrer’s cause. Lesser PMs like Nehru, Shastri, Indira, Atal Bihari Vajpayee be blown.
The message must chase us from morning’s ‘surya pranam’ to the ‘shubh ratri’ at night. Mr. Modi y’see, has so much to tell us – right from how important it is for us to wash our hands each time we use them, to his scheme-a-day plans for us to overtake China. Like, say, made in India must yield place to make in India. All these, and other noble thoughts. Like, bringing to book all wrong-doers, tax dodgers, hawalawallas and swindlers, who have deposited the nation’s wealth in foreign banks. The maa-beta too shall be exposed.

"ANCIENT WISDOM" INDEED;
EXTRAORDINARY PROCESS OF SWAPPING AGE FOR SENSUAL PLEASURE ;
King Yayati had two wives , Sharmishtha and Devayani. Sharmishtha was the daughter of Vrisha Parva, the king of the danavas (demons). And Devayani’s father was Shukracharya, the preceptor of the demons.

Devayani gave birth to Yadu and Turvasu and Sharmishtha gave birth to Druhya, Anu and Puru. 

Yayati ruled the world extremely well for many years. He performed many yajnas. But eventually he grew old. The problem was that although Yayati grew old, he was not yet tired of sensual pleasures. He still desired to savour the joys that the world had to offer. 

Yayati told his five sons. "Because of Shukracharya’s curse, an untimely old age has come upon me and I am not content with what I have savoured of life. I request one of you to give me his youth and accept my old age in return. When I have sated myself with worldly pleasures, I will take back my old age and return the youth." 

Except for Puru, the other four sons flatly refused such an exchange. They had no desire to part with their valued youth. They were thereupon cursed by their father. (Although not mentioned in the Matsya Purana., the curse was that they or their descendants would never be kings.) 

As for Puru, he said, "Please accept my youth and be happy. It is my duty to serve and I will gladly take upon me your old age." For a thousand years Yayati savoured the pleasures of the world with Puru’s youth. A thousand years were not than enough to satisfy Yayati. He accepted his old age and returned Puru’s youth. He blessed Puru for his obedience and announced to the word that Puru was his only true son. 

[Translation of original Sanskrit text from Matsya Purana].