"We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?" - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in his very famous speech of "Tryst with Destiny" August 14, 1947.
Today, we decidedly have gone eons ahead in the journey that began with tragedy and chaos but slowly and steadily progressed towards peace and development. Sure, there are some impedements that are stumbling roadblocks, but with the dedication & determination of our fellow Indians we shall overcome. Hum Hoonge Kamayaab ek Din!
But, there are some questions which creep in our glitzy world and beg for more thought and pondering. Have the fruits of development reached all? Some random strokings of Indian-pride by some advertisements and campaigns may at best arose patriotic feelings, but are we really working towards it. Campaigns like "Mera Bharat Mahaan" and "Jagoore" and even the repeated appeals by film-stars and other celebrities and Election Commission have fallen on deaf ears if the the poor turnout rates in recent elections are any indication.
Why is that 100 crores of population can't create an environment suitable for development while many of our brothers are damn successful outside India. Sure, in recent past, India has justifiably claimed its position as a power to reckon with by successfully even averting the full effects of slowdown. But then, equality is not an ideal which is to be adored in public, while it has no implication in real life. We may rationalize the negative points, pretend that they never existed, or safely say "Mera Bharat Mahaan". But then, greatness can't be bestowed by anybody, it must be commanded through our actions. When, millions of our brothers are starving, being molested, exploited etc we may choose to close our eyes but that doesn't alter reality.
Some genuinely sincere intellectuals who tried their hand in India, failed and moved abroad to find new avenues, claim that India as a state has failed them. I beg to differ. We Indians, failed INDIA. The lofty standards set by a host of great Indians such as Gandhiji, Nehru, Sardar, Bose, Bhagat Singh and many many others who weren't lucky enough to enter the hall of fame was through sincerest dedication which demanded nothing selfish from others but their own welfare. As aptly summed up by one film, people always want a Gandhiji to be born, not in their own house, but neighbour's.
Abdum Kalam, in a speech noted that the very same Indians who give a damn to rules of India, very obediantly follow rules while residing abroad and most ironically claim that the other nations are neat and clean. Why? Some claim that system is such the it breeds corruption! Many politicians are so powerful that we can't face them. "Yatha Raja, Thatha Praja" was the maxim of past. The history has turned one full circle and now the maxim is "Yatha Praja, Thatha Raja" in a democratic republic like ours. Indian electoral history is replete with examples wherein a very powerful incumbent was thrown out of power once he lost his sympathy with masses. If he could be thrown out, then it does mean that masses are really capable of coming out of their safe confines and determine the fate of the nation.
So, this means, that the system is such, because of our own tacit approval. Indians have always misunderstood the law of Karma and there has been opposition to this pattern of thinking from leaders. So much ingrained is the idea in India that people come to accept whatever becomes of them in resignation saying that this is fruit of karma. Very true. But it is only after we have fulfilled our duties to the fullest possible extent, that we can sit aside and watch the result. Patience is not a virtue if it means tolerating everything with no sense of esteem. We always wait for the arrival of some great person to lift our lives from the misery. But, it must be understood, that we can't sit idle until that person arrives. Because of this mentality Indians suffered unspeakable misery because they believed that some day justice will be done. But so long as well place our fate on the "other" factors we would never be able to shoulder our responsibilities.
unan-o-Misra-Ruma sab mit gaye jahan seAb tak magar hai baqi namo-nisan hamaraKuchh bat hai ki hasti mitati nahin hamariSadiyon raha hai dusman daur-i-zaman hamara
Iqbal, Indian poet and thinker
The poet says that whereas the ancient civilizations of Greece, Egypt and Rome have all disappeared from this world, the basic elements oJf our civilization still continue. Although world events have been inimical to us for centuries, there is 'something' in our civilization which has withstood these onslaughts.
That 'something' which Iqbal mentions, points out to the most inherent strength of Indians. Its "character", its "unity in diversity" and the most tolerant culture. What Gandhiji created was not something new. What he factually did was to help Indians re-discover themselves. We needn't battle the ills in India by imitating from others. We need to create our own home-grown solutions to the problems that abound us. Most importantly we need to feel a strong sense of belongingness towards our motherland. Then, rest would follow.
Madhav ( www.metamorphosisinside.blogspot.com)
Did India really gain independance on 15th August 1947?
There are four people in the xerox shop doing the work that one is capable of handling. They work only when there is power, which is obvious. Power is a rarity these days. 'Unscheduled' load shedding the Electricity board say with such indifference. Sometimes, their phone isn't answered because the line is dead. From the looks of things, communication is impossible between 'concerned' electricity officials and the telephone exchange.
Next door is a 'paan' shop, where beedis are bought in large numbers. They're smoked like there's no tomorrow. There are wine shops on both sides of the road. Late in the night, after a "Hard" day's work, many a person can be seen drinking OMR outside these shops, and those who can't afford it settle for hooch. Soon they're so sloshed that most of them call it a day and settle into bed, which consists of the thin asphalt of the road. The beat police turn up later, and give them a few whacks. Meanwhile, their spouses are waiting at home, waiting for the money called 'salary' to pay for their kids' 'Government school' primary education. Those below the poverty line, don't even know what an education is, or can do.
The rain gods have failed farmers once again. They fail to reap any produce. Those that do, travel long distances to sell. Often they are disappointed with the prices, and so all is in vain. Tomatoes and onions are dumped in yards. Protests are held. Effigies are burnt.
A few Farmers commit suicide, unable to bear the 'burden' of supporting their families. Compensation is announced for the dead, as if to say his/her life can be equated to money.
Government jobs provide security in these turbulent times. An influential politician's son is promoted, where as the profile of an Civil services' officer, who has come up the hard way, with support from NGO's for his education and coaching, is shown the door.
The 'Assistant commissioner' of the divisional Corporation office, as he calls himself, has a few more assistants working under him. No one under him can question his authority. The irony is, he himself is an assistant to someone:p.
There is a H.P petrol bunk, one of many, that supposedly offers services through the night. Pay a visit after 11, and one will inadvertently find that those 'servicing' vehicles are snoring away. One Petrol bunk needs about ten people to run it. A separate guy to collect the cash.
The Urban Rural divide is unfathomable. Next door to the Radisson hotel under construction, one will find an 'un-official' vegetable market.
'Soil picking' is a proffesion. Child labour is payrolled. Children resort to sniffing Erazex for kicks.
A girl child is sold to a richer person, simply because she is a girl who cannot carry forward the 'family name'. It's atrocious to be associated with such a family.
Some would say it isn't, because IGNORANCE is bliss. Some faiths believe that a kid born is God's will. So they will continue to have children, until God decides they can't. Science is irrelevant in the simplest of issues.
Money equations are in, Truth and non violence was out long back. Gandhi took it with him to the grave.
Our population is our biggest strength. Sure, publish it in journals, magazines, papers. It is our biggest weakness. Democratic movement or not, who cares?
I'm just like any other Indian, voicing my concerns. I still am patriotic at heart.
But really, ask yourselves, Did India really gain independance on 15th August 1947?
Next door is a 'paan' shop, where beedis are bought in large numbers. They're smoked like there's no tomorrow. There are wine shops on both sides of the road. Late in the night, after a "Hard" day's work, many a person can be seen drinking OMR outside these shops, and those who can't afford it settle for hooch. Soon they're so sloshed that most of them call it a day and settle into bed, which consists of the thin asphalt of the road. The beat police turn up later, and give them a few whacks. Meanwhile, their spouses are waiting at home, waiting for the money called 'salary' to pay for their kids' 'Government school' primary education. Those below the poverty line, don't even know what an education is, or can do.
The rain gods have failed farmers once again. They fail to reap any produce. Those that do, travel long distances to sell. Often they are disappointed with the prices, and so all is in vain. Tomatoes and onions are dumped in yards. Protests are held. Effigies are burnt.
A few Farmers commit suicide, unable to bear the 'burden' of supporting their families. Compensation is announced for the dead, as if to say his/her life can be equated to money.
Government jobs provide security in these turbulent times. An influential politician's son is promoted, where as the profile of an Civil services' officer, who has come up the hard way, with support from NGO's for his education and coaching, is shown the door.
The 'Assistant commissioner' of the divisional Corporation office, as he calls himself, has a few more assistants working under him. No one under him can question his authority. The irony is, he himself is an assistant to someone:p.
There is a H.P petrol bunk, one of many, that supposedly offers services through the night. Pay a visit after 11, and one will inadvertently find that those 'servicing' vehicles are snoring away. One Petrol bunk needs about ten people to run it. A separate guy to collect the cash.
The Urban Rural divide is unfathomable. Next door to the Radisson hotel under construction, one will find an 'un-official' vegetable market.
'Soil picking' is a proffesion. Child labour is payrolled. Children resort to sniffing Erazex for kicks.
A girl child is sold to a richer person, simply because she is a girl who cannot carry forward the 'family name'. It's atrocious to be associated with such a family.
Some would say it isn't, because IGNORANCE is bliss. Some faiths believe that a kid born is God's will. So they will continue to have children, until God decides they can't. Science is irrelevant in the simplest of issues.
Money equations are in, Truth and non violence was out long back. Gandhi took it with him to the grave.
Our population is our biggest strength. Sure, publish it in journals, magazines, papers. It is our biggest weakness. Democratic movement or not, who cares?
I'm just like any other Indian, voicing my concerns. I still am patriotic at heart.
But really, ask yourselves, Did India really gain independance on 15th August 1947?
P:S-- I wrote this in tthe 'moment', it may be a little deep, but i'd like to know if others would agree.
source: www.insipid-kish.blogspot.com
So What?
Hi All,
A national calamity has befallen our nation. We have been wronged and humiliated. Our existence has been questioned and eminent citizens of our country, all of a sudden, suffer from trust deficit.
This would be the conclusion anyone would have come to if he/she had watched the media coverage following SRK's 'detention' at Newark Airport on Saturday. It was as if his detention was as important,if not more, as the day itself. Clippings of Independence day celebrations took a back seat to SRK's 'ordeal' speech! As all of you are aware the issue is still raging on with some celebrities and many politicians coming in support of SRK while the rest dismissing it as yet another publicity stunt for his latest movie. (Coincidentally(?) his upcoming movie also deals with similar incidents).
Now let me come straight to the point. I am angry and disappointed in equal measure with the media and the person in question,SRK. The media went into frenzy mode when the news first broke out and many channels started airing voice clippings of SRK speaking out on the issue. The constant barrage of the 'sufferings' of SRK made me feel obnoxious enough to switch off the idiot box and let the dust settle. After portraying SRK as a fallen hero, now some sections of the media wish to occupy the moral high ground and question the reactions subsequent to SRK's detention and ask what is all the fuss about!
SRK on his part did all he could to make this incident into that of racial profiling and garnered, to a great extent, lots of sympathies from the general public who probably saw this as yet another attempt of humiliation of one of their kind. To make matters worse, he even disclosed the reasons provided by the authorities for detaining him knowing fully well that these very reasons could flare up emotions back home. The least he could have done, in my opinion, is to downplay the incident and brush it aside like Abdul Kalam.
Now i ask, SO WHAT? So what if SRK is questioned. So what if he made to sit in a room for a couple of hours and made to answer a few uncomfortable questions. Is he above the law? Couldn't he have been the one of those randomly chosen people to undergo further screening? What about all those Indians who have been subject to outright profiling? Why hasn't the Indian media spoken up against this practice,with the same amount of intensity shown for this incident, in the past?
I wish to clarify that i am not condoning racial profiling. On the other hand, like all good people of this country, i condemn it outright. But we(media, public and the concerned persons) should stop reacting in a knee jerk manner every time an Indian is questioned or frisked and put all sorts of theory behind the incident. Rather we should look at it objectively.
A national calamity has befallen our nation. We have been wronged and humiliated. Our existence has been questioned and eminent citizens of our country, all of a sudden, suffer from trust deficit.
This would be the conclusion anyone would have come to if he/she had watched the media coverage following SRK's 'detention' at Newark Airport on Saturday. It was as if his detention was as important,if not more, as the day itself. Clippings of Independence day celebrations took a back seat to SRK's 'ordeal' speech! As all of you are aware the issue is still raging on with some celebrities and many politicians coming in support of SRK while the rest dismissing it as yet another publicity stunt for his latest movie. (Coincidentally(?) his upcoming movie also deals with similar incidents).
Now let me come straight to the point. I am angry and disappointed in equal measure with the media and the person in question,SRK. The media went into frenzy mode when the news first broke out and many channels started airing voice clippings of SRK speaking out on the issue. The constant barrage of the 'sufferings' of SRK made me feel obnoxious enough to switch off the idiot box and let the dust settle. After portraying SRK as a fallen hero, now some sections of the media wish to occupy the moral high ground and question the reactions subsequent to SRK's detention and ask what is all the fuss about!
SRK on his part did all he could to make this incident into that of racial profiling and garnered, to a great extent, lots of sympathies from the general public who probably saw this as yet another attempt of humiliation of one of their kind. To make matters worse, he even disclosed the reasons provided by the authorities for detaining him knowing fully well that these very reasons could flare up emotions back home. The least he could have done, in my opinion, is to downplay the incident and brush it aside like Abdul Kalam.
Now i ask, SO WHAT? So what if SRK is questioned. So what if he made to sit in a room for a couple of hours and made to answer a few uncomfortable questions. Is he above the law? Couldn't he have been the one of those randomly chosen people to undergo further screening? What about all those Indians who have been subject to outright profiling? Why hasn't the Indian media spoken up against this practice,with the same amount of intensity shown for this incident, in the past?
I wish to clarify that i am not condoning racial profiling. On the other hand, like all good people of this country, i condemn it outright. But we(media, public and the concerned persons) should stop reacting in a knee jerk manner every time an Indian is questioned or frisked and put all sorts of theory behind the incident. Rather we should look at it objectively.
Media’s role during troubling times
Hi All,
Love them or hate them, you just can’t ignore them goes an adage. This couldn’t apply more to the media than anything else today. Print, electronic or any other form of media pervades every aspect of our life; informing us and determining, to a reasonable extent, the formation of views and our response to developing situations.
The ongoing Swine Flu Pandemic has highlighted the media’s role yet again in informing, educating, spreading information and awareness among the masses. In fact, I reckon, without the proactive media we have today in this country, the flu could have posed a much bigger threat than it currently does.
Having said this, there are proponents of the argument that media is primarily doing this for the sake of TRPs. Undoubtedly there is great public interest surrounding this flu and media outlets just want to cash in on this frenzy. They point out that we experience greater numbers of mortality just due to preventable diseases like malaria etc. So where was the media all this while, they ask. Fair argument by any measure!
So what are your thoughts on media’s role in this pandemic and in troubling times in general?
Love them or hate them, you just can’t ignore them goes an adage. This couldn’t apply more to the media than anything else today. Print, electronic or any other form of media pervades every aspect of our life; informing us and determining, to a reasonable extent, the formation of views and our response to developing situations.
The ongoing Swine Flu Pandemic has highlighted the media’s role yet again in informing, educating, spreading information and awareness among the masses. In fact, I reckon, without the proactive media we have today in this country, the flu could have posed a much bigger threat than it currently does.
Having said this, there are proponents of the argument that media is primarily doing this for the sake of TRPs. Undoubtedly there is great public interest surrounding this flu and media outlets just want to cash in on this frenzy. They point out that we experience greater numbers of mortality just due to preventable diseases like malaria etc. So where was the media all this while, they ask. Fair argument by any measure!
So what are your thoughts on media’s role in this pandemic and in troubling times in general?
The Orangy Pen competition
With the kind of content various Orangy sites are getting, the appreciation and response that we are getting is immense. Hence to reward some very good written articles, Orangy Consultancies has decided on a book prize to be given monthly. All the articles sent to us through our web e-mail id, orangy.in@gmail.com shall be seen for popularity, good content, theme and presentation and shall be judged accordingly.
Do Participate in, and also write in as to which entry do you think should be termed as the best !!!
Now Orangy and Jagruti both are available on Twitter as well.
Amendment to the 'Public Office Act circa 2009'...:)
Election Commission [EC] Circular:
The following 'rules' have been added to the already existing criteria for filing nominations to run for office.
• Ability to shout down opposing views. It is mandatory that prospective member clear the prescribed 'decibel-o-meter' test with flying colours.
• Should be strong enough to yank the speaker's microphone out in case the speaker asks you to stop speaking or says anything that is not in your favour.
• Ability to fall asleep while serious discussion is going on. Candidates with snoring that amounts to just a whisper will be preferred over the rest.
• Compulsory absenting on Fridays so as to take an extended weekend holiday. Punitive action will taken against members who insist on attending sessions on Friday.
• Ability to smuggle in wads of currency notes and display it in the well of the house at the most opportune moment in the full glare of the cameras. Conceiving unique smuggling ideas will attract incentives such as 'black money limit' extended to 10 crores and relaxation in the 'less than 5 years' in prison rule by another 2 years.
• Asking ONLY questions for which members have been paid for. Extra questions will be charged at 420/question.
P.S: This post was never meant to demean anybody or any country... :)
The following 'rules' have been added to the already existing criteria for filing nominations to run for office.
• Ability to shout down opposing views. It is mandatory that prospective member clear the prescribed 'decibel-o-meter' test with flying colours.
• Should be strong enough to yank the speaker's microphone out in case the speaker asks you to stop speaking or says anything that is not in your favour.
• Ability to fall asleep while serious discussion is going on. Candidates with snoring that amounts to just a whisper will be preferred over the rest.
• Compulsory absenting on Fridays so as to take an extended weekend holiday. Punitive action will taken against members who insist on attending sessions on Friday.
• Ability to smuggle in wads of currency notes and display it in the well of the house at the most opportune moment in the full glare of the cameras. Conceiving unique smuggling ideas will attract incentives such as 'black money limit' extended to 10 crores and relaxation in the 'less than 5 years' in prison rule by another 2 years.
• Asking ONLY questions for which members have been paid for. Extra questions will be charged at 420/question.
P.S: This post was never meant to demean anybody or any country... :)
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