ON THE EVE OF MAY DAY 2014 !

Faiz Ahmed Faiz [1911-1984] was one of the most prominent revolutionary intellectual of the sub continent.                                                           His political beliefs [Marxist-Leninist]                                 set him up as an natural critic of General Zia Ul Haq. In 1985, as part of Zia's programme of forced Islamicization, the sari, part of the traditional atire for women on the subcontinent was banned. That year, Iqbal Bano, one of Pakistan's best loved singers and artists, sang Hum Dekhenge to an audience of 50,000 people in a Lahore stadium wearing a black sari. The recording was smuggled out and distributed on bootleg cassette tapes across the country. Cries of "Inqilab Zindabad" ("Long Live Revolution") and thunderous applause from the audience can be heard on the recording onYouTube. Faiz was in prison at the time.

Hum Dekhenge was written in 1979. It is considered Faiz’s response to General Zia ul Haq’s repressive dictatorship and a critical commentary of Zia’s brand of authoritarian Islam.

LYRICS -HUM DEKHENGE ;

hum dekhenge,
laazim hai ke hum bhii dekhenge,
hum dekhenge,

woh din ke jis kaa waada hai,
jo lauh-e-azal pe likhaa hai,

hum dekhenge,

jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-giraa.n,
roo_ii kii tarah uR jaayenge,
hum mahkoomo.n ke paa_oo.n tale,
yeh dhartii dhaR dhaR dhaRkegii,
aur ahl-e-hakam ke sar uupar,
jab bijlii kaR kaR kaRkegii,

hum dekhenge.

jab arz-e-Khudaa ke kaabe se,
sab but uThwaaye jaayenge,
hum ahl-e-safaa mardood-e-haram,
masnad pe biThaaye jaayenge,
sab taaj uchhaale jaayenge,
sab taKhth giraaye jaayenge,

hum dekenge.|

[Translation :-we will see,we are also duty bound to see,what happens on the day of promise,written on tablets of history,we will see.When massive mountains of cruelty and tyranny,when marching steps of downtrodden,will make the earth beneath their feet quake and shudder,when skies above the heads of tyrant rulers,by streaks of lighting are split asunder,we will see.When from the sacred square of the kaaba,idols of false gods will be uprooted,when to us rootless and unwanted,seats of power will be granted,all crowns will be tossed into the air,all thrones ground to dust,we will see].

SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AMONG PAHARIES [HILLY TRIBES] OF JAMMU DIVISION] !
The paharies believe in superstitions having become victim of 'ghosts','dains and churials [evil spirits]'.In certain diseases like Hysteria,Epilepsy and some of the Gynecological problems,the women in particular become unconscious and the story goes round that such and such women is under the influence of supposed evil spirits.I have been personally witness to such many cases,during my posting in District Poonch and Rajouri [nearly 22 years]. The women in question behave indifferently and cry producing different sounds with violent jerks of the body.They start trembling in such an odd situation and in majority of such cases,their relatives seek the help of Piers,Jogies and Darvesh instead of any nearest medical facility,though of late some logical awakening has taken place among some section of the Paharies.These superstitions are still quite common both among the Hindus and Muslims of hilly population. In order to establish his 'professional expertise' ,the experts dealing with supposed evil spirits dress and behave abnormally.Some times they burn red chilies in the fire port and place it before the nose of sufferer,while reciting phrases,which others can hardly understand or question.Some times they beat the victim black and blue and some times they create such fear psyche threat that the sufferers take their word so seriously and accordingly all of sudden the victim starts uttering that he or she is indeed an evil spirit.As part of established practice and legacy,Darvesh or Jogi,are presented black cloth,black Cock, piece of iron and cash[Rs 11/51/101/501 or even 1001] for their services.Among the Hindu ladies,some pronounce themselves 'Mata or Devi' on specific times or days.The whole ritual called locally Chowki [religious prayer] ,is basically process of hallucination ,under which supposed Devi issues sermons in native language,concerning problems of devotees.In Pahari villages,the children wear Jantar or taweez so that no evil spirit takes them into their 'clutches'.

ELECTION MANIFESTO SYMBOLIZE EMPTY PROMISES ;
There is something about politics and politicians that make them impervious to promises and the same could be said about manifestos of political parties.

Every election, every political party announces a manifesto, in other words, promises and then, till the next elections they promise a lot more to keep those promises. Like a necessary elephant in the room that needs to be addressed sooner or later, every political party in India has come up with a list of promises for the 2014 General Elections.
On behalf of voters,it will be very pertinent to quote here, Mirza Ghalib :-
Hum ko maaloom hai jannat kee haqeeqat lekin,
Dil ke khush rakhney ko Ghalib yeh khyaal achchhaa hai.
[we all know the truth about paradise,i fear,But Ghalib,the illusion keeps the heart in good cheer].

शादियों का मुहूर्त पंडों का कारोबार;

 

साल 2014 में कुल 90 दिन शादी की शहनाइयां बजेंगी. इन में सब से ज्यादा विवाह 17 जून को होंगे. साल 2013 में 126 दिन में शादियों के मुहूर्त थे. यह खबर पिछले दिसंबर से एक नियमित अंतराल से प्रकाशितप्रसारित की जा रही है और हर महीने पड़ने वाले तीजत्योहारों पर इस का अलगअलग तरह से दोहराव होता रहेगा. बड़े पैमाने पर धुआंधार तरीके से इस खबर के प्रचारप्रसार का सीधा संबंध पंडों की दुकान से है जिन की आमदनी का एक बड़ा जरिया शादी कराना भी है.

पत्रपत्रिकाओं और न्यूज चैनल्स ने इस अनुपयोगी मसौदे को खबर बना कर बड़े दिलचस्प तरीकों से पेश किया. आम लोगों ने भी उतनी ही दिलचस्पी से इसे देखा, पढ़ा पर किसी ने यह सोचनेसमझने की न कोशिश की और न ही जरूरत समझी कि आखिरकार इस की उपयोगिता क्या थी. 

जिन के यहां विवाह योग्य उम्मीदवार हैं उन्होंने तो बाकायदा ऐसी सभी खबरों की कतरन संभाल कर रखीं ताकि बातचीत के पहले दौर का काम संपन्न कर लिया जाए जिसे मुहूर्त कहते हैं. इंटरनैट इस्तेमाल करने वालों ने कतरन नहीं रखी क्योंकि यह जानकारी कई वैबसाइट्स पर मौजूद है.

दरअसल, इस प्रचार के पीछे पंडों का बड़ा हाथ और स्वार्थ है जिन का कारोबार चलता ही मुहूर्त से है. सदियों से ये लोग शुभ मुहूर्त में काम करवाने का धंधा कर रहे हैं और आम लोगों से मुहूर्त बताने के अलावा धार्मिक और गैर धार्मिक संस्कार संपन्न कराने की फीस वसूल रहे हैं.

मुहूर्त के कारोबार की बुनियाद अनिष्ट का डर और उस से बचना है. कोई नहीं चाहता कि भविष्य में उस के काम में किसी तरह के अड़ंगे पेश आएं. संभावित विघ्नों से बचने के लिए लोगों को पंडों के बताए समय में काम करने में कोई हर्ज नजर नहीं आता. लोगों का ऐसा मानना होता है कि मुहूर्त पर 2-4 हजार रुपए खर्च कर, काल्पनिक ही सही, परेशानियों से बचा जा सकता है तो सौदा घाटे का नहीं.

यह दीगर बात है कि परेशानियां ज्यों की त्यों हैं और शुभ मुहूर्त में काम करने के बाद भी होती हैं. लेकिन यह अंधविश्वास भारतीय जनमानस के दिलोदिमाग में पंडों ने कैंसर की तरह ठूंस रखा है ताकि उन की कमाई पर आंच न आए.

RELIGIOUS HALLUCINATIONS SYMBOLIZE OBJECTIFICATION OF WISHFUL THINKING !
Since time immemorial,credulous religious followers have suffered from several kind of hallucinations.Accordingly dependence on religious hallucinations have caused widespread 'divine' disappointments from time to time.Today,it is well known that psychedelic symptoms and signs observed in drug addicts and visions of delirious patients are also hallucinations.
Here in this part of country,there exists related tradition of 'chowki' and subsequent 'darshan' of 'devi-who takes over the subject'.It is quite interesting to know that during the period of supposed divine take over,subjects see the vision of god only in the forms familiar to them and receive revelations of message,in Dogri language,which they know.Now generally speaking,a Hindu sees the vision of 'god' with four hands[only Hindu 'gods/goddess'],whereas a Christian sees only Jesus on the cross or carrying a lamb or healing a leper.A Muslim devotee hears the message of supposed brotherhood or of Jihad according to concrete shapes to any imaginations.It is quite 'logical' too,as respective followers have been indoctrinated in their childhood and hallucinations are strictly in accordance to childhood indoctrination.
I  have read somewhere one interesting and related anecdote.A Christian girl who could not make up her mind,whether to marry or not,finally listened to the Church bell,telling her 'ma-rry'[based on sound of the bell].After some years,when her marriage proved utter failure,she again went to Church,again listened to the same ding dong of the Church bell,telling her 'di-vorce'.And here was divine command to act.
Religious hallucinations are therefore subjective realities and objective falsehoods.  

HAS RENAMING PROCESS OF FOLLOWING PLACES ANY WAY HELPED AAM AADMI,EXCEPT PRECIPITATING REGIONALISM,SECTARIANISM,CHAUVINISM AND ETHNOCENTRISM ???
*Alleppey renamed as Alappuzha. *Banglore renamed as Bengaluru.
*Baroda renamed as Vadodara. *Benares renamed as Varanasi.
*Bombay renamed as Mumbai.* Calcutta renamed as Kolkata.
*Calicut renamed as Kozhikode. * Cannanore renamed as Kannur.
*Cape Comorin renamed as Kanyakumari.* Cochin renamed as Kochi.
*Coimbatore renamed as Koyamuthoor.*Ellore renamed as Eluru.
*Gauhati renamed as Guwahati. *Madras renamed as Chennai.
*Madura renamed as Madurai. *Mysore renamed as Mysure.
*Ootacamund[Otty] renamed as Udhagamandalam. *Poona renamed as Pune.
*Palghat renamed as Palakkad. *Orissa renamed as Odisha. *
*Pondicherry renamed as Puducherry.* Simla renamed as Shimla.
*Quilon renamed as Kollam.*Tanjore renamed as Thanjavur.
*Thana renamed as Thane. *Trichinopoly renamed as Thiruchchirapalli.
* Trivandrum renamed as Thiruvananthapuram.*Trichur renamed as Trissur.
And many more ! As rationalist,i am subject to logical correction,if any ?

AKSHAY TRITHYA TODAY!
NEW MODERN CONSUMERIST DIVINE OBSERVANCE!

Akshay trithya, also known as Akshay Teej, is Hindu and Jain 'holy' day that falls on 3rd tithi [lunar day] of the bright half [shukla pakhsh] of the Indian month of Vaishakha. Accordingly to Hindu mythology, said day is not only birthday of Hindu sage Parshurama, but is also supposedly 'ruled' by Vishnu-the 'preserver god'. There has been associated myth that starting a new work or buying valuables on this day, is divine panacea for 'luck' and 'success'.

Traditionally has been linked with child marriages too. Even today,despite law against child marriages, such marriages are solemnized in many parts of the country, mainly due to supposed alignment of the sun and the moon-considered auspicious for respective parents. It is mystery when and how, said day got corporate makeover and its exclusive modern observance for purchasing gold. True to class interests, even world gold council has declared Akshay Trithya as 'auspicious' for buying gold and silver ornaments. Eric Hobsbawn and Terence Ranger have rightly said, 'not only the symbols and the rituals have to be invented afresh, but a 'historic continuity' has to be 'invented' for them.'
Classical example of establishing a lineage with the older tradition.