The key sticking problem in India is the question of ‘Muslim/Islam’. A Muslim in India is as Indian as any Hindu is as per constitution. But what is the situation on the ground. There were reports few days back that Muslims are having a hard time to get an apartment in Mumbai. Some said this is exaggeration and some said this is true. I don’t know the truth. But I had first hand experience of bias against Muslims. In 2001, when I went to get my passport issued the first question the agent asked me was ‘Are you a Muslim’. Before I left I asked him about this seemingly not-important question. His answer was that the chance of getting a passport for a Muslim is thin. Why is it so?

We need to be fair. Muslims in India are lagging behind in every aspect. As Muslim population is almost 12%, we can’t dream of a developed society until we pull this huge population out of the mess. Now let’s examine the ‘mess’. Who is responsible for this mess? Not pointing to an individual, I can say that the Muslim leaders, who wanted a separate homeland, were responsible for this mess. Historically Muslims in India are converts from Hinduism (due to the rigid caste system). All the while Hindus and Muslims were living side by side. But why all of a sudden just before independence, there was a requirement for a separate home land? There are few tough questions we have to ask.

1. Whose interest the Muslim leaders represented at that point of time?

2. Why Gandhi allowed the separation of India on religious lines?

3. Again if Indian was trisected based on religious lines, then why India allowed Muslims to stay behind in India?

Answer to the 3rd question first. The reason was that not all Muslims agreed to the idea of a separate homeland.

Answer to the 1st question was that Muslim leaders were not widely supported by Muslims. So leaders were following their self-interest in the name of religion.

Answer to the 2nd question. Gandhi was terribly wrong in his calculation.

Muslims who migrated to Pakistan were the well-to-do class. What left behind was the ‘unfortunate’ class. But due to policy failure Muslims in India did not get a helping hand from the Government. Because of their huge population they became a good vote bank for every political party. Even though Muslims are at very high positions, they are not fairly represented. I can’t put the whole blame on Government. Muslim community is not as open to change as its Hindu counterpart is. This is one of the reasons for the disaster. Lack of education/job and poverty has become the hallmark now. With poverty came madrasa and the brainwash. With the brainwash came bomb blasts. With bomb blasts came further marginalization. This is a vicious cycle and it has to be arrested urgently. I think we have to take some action along the following lines.

1. Affirmative action by Government: This should include education/healthcare/policy. But I don’t support quota in jobs/education at any cost.

2. Muslim leaders should try to understand the gravity of the situation and should steer the crowd in right direction away from extremism.

3. Muslims should start to embrace change. Living in a cocoon will push the situation from bad to worse.

4. Communalization of politics should be stopped.

5. Politicians should try to resolve the domestic issues first before pointing finger at Pakistan. It is a very common guess that without local help terrorists can’t carryout the deadly blasts and massacre.

So let’s clean our house first before blaming others. Once we have an united India we can fight external threats effectively.

Update: 11/01/2009

1. Communalisation of politics has to be stopped.

a. Ban any political party with overt link to communal organizations. BJP is strictly linked to RSS and RSS is a Hindu organization. There is regular bonhomie between the leaders of these two organizations. So it is obvious that BJP is trying to represent the sentiment of Hindus.

b. Ban any minority appeasement. Any political party trying to extend favour based on religious line, has to be banned. The leaders of that party should be shopped from contesting election. Congress’s policy of minority appeasement has done enough damage to India. Why Muslims get subsidized Hajj? I don’t get paid for my trips to Puri or Brindawan.

c. Every Indian should be treated as equal. Our constitution should be secular. Uniform civil law is the key. We can’t afford to have laws based on religion. Refer to Shah Bano case.

2. Muslims should embrace change

An example: I was talking to one of my acquaintances few months back in Orissa. He told me that Muslims in Orissa are in dire state. I asked why it is so. His answer was ‘Their jobs are vanishing’. What does ‘their jobs’ means? Most of the Muslims in Orissa are either butchers or vehicle mechanic. Now with the warrantee and Service station (i.e. Hero Honda service point), Muslims are at the receiving end. With the onslaught of organized retail, butchers will be jobless soon. Quite true. Question is why Muslims are not upgrading their skills? Answer is ‘resistance to change’. Can I change another human? No. Change has to come from within. When it comes to change of a community, leaders play a very important role? Name a single Muslim leader of prominence in India. There is none. Post Mumbai crisis Amir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan tried to give a voice as ‘Muslim’. It is a good beginning. More Muslims should be vocal. Educated and enlightened Muslims should come forward to lead the mass.

Am I responsible for the situation in India?

Yes.

Bomb blasts in India can be attributed to the distrust between Hindus and Muslims. I do feel proud to be an Indian but I’m ashamed when a bomb goes off, people die and nobody is accountable. If I trace the history of communal violence in India, it goes deep into the past. But I felt the vice of violence in 1991/1992 when I was in school. I still remember that day when somebody in school told me about the massive bomb blast in Bombay (now Mumbai). When I was on my way back from school, I saw black smoke and I was so very worried about my mother. At the age 12, I could not really understand the geographical distance between Mumbai and Rourkela, but I was extremely worried. I was relieved to find that the black smoke was from a massive fire at a depot quite far from my home. What preceded that incident was the demolition of Babri Masjid. That was one of the most shameful incidents in India’s history. We can’t undo historical mistakes by pulling down a mosque. If we commit the same mistake then we are in the same boat with the past perpetrators. Now how am I responsible for demolition of Babri Masjid?

I did not protest when Advani was running around in his ‘rath’ trying to be Mr. Ram of Ramayan fame. I could not remember whether he had the arrows and bow with him. I did not exercise my vote. As usual I showed my helplessness in the face of communal force. It is not only Deb that committed this but millions of cowards like Deb did. Millions of Indians don’t exercise their vote. People who vote are those who dance to the tune of 100 rupees, a girl for 1 hr and a bottle. What can we expect to get out of this kind of voting exercise? If 100 rupees, free sex and a bottle decide our future, then we certainly have bomb blasts, riots and gang rape of a nun in our horoscope. We can’t run away from it. Let’s accept our part for the failure of India. Only when we accept and realize, we can grow up and go beyond.

I talk a lot about corruption. But do I have moral right to talk? Let me scan my past. As bulk of my working life has been outside India I did not have the necessity to bribe. But last year when I needed something urgently, I had to bribe. The job that would have taken 60 days was done in less than 6 hours. When we talk about bribe we see one side of the coin. We always blame politicians, bureaucrats and police. But we forget that we are party to it. We pay and that’s why somebody gets it. If we all vow not to pay bribe we can erase bribery. Is not it simple? We always complain about corruption but we fail to realize our part in it.

I always know that every grand achievement has a humble beginning. The other day a guy asked me how can my vote (a single vote) can change the system. And my answer was ‘Had Gandhi thought in similar lines, we would not have achieved our independence’. Everything starts with an individual. A single step in right direction is like a magnet that pulls others. But if I look at my life I don’t think I’ve walked my talk. I’m an escapist. I chose the easy way and I escaped India. But can I really escape? I’m not a person to party hard on weekend, chase my career during weekdays and forget my home. How can I disassociate myself from the place where I’ve my near and dears? How can I cut the chord? Exchanging passport is easy but dissociating self is impossible. I can’t erase 20 years of history. I can’t adapt to a culture that is so alien. I could wear a mask but I can’t change my face. Had I wanted, I could have washed my hands off my blue passport long time back. But I can’t be an escapist for ever. I can’t run away and hide in Oz. I talk of change and I have not initiated it. So the bottom line is that I have to align my walk with my talk.

But I think I’ve taken a step in the right direction with my decision for MBA from India and my post-MBA plans. I don’t know where I’m heading. I don’t doubt my ability but I always suspect my ability to bend and twist the rules and regulations to get the things done. I’ll give my best try to achieve my goal without bending, twisting and paying bribe. I don’t think I’ll fail. If I fail and I realize that Indian system/society is the reason then I’ll accept my defeat and exchange my passport and wear another mask.

I could not concentrate on my job at office. I’m extremely worried about the deteriorating situation in Mumbai. Till now 100 people dead and still counting. I always ask a simple question after every event. Who is responsible for this? Well I can’t blame terrorists as they are inhuman without any sense. The real culprits are Indians. Corruption has gone so deep in India that you can’t find the word ‘accountability’ in Indian dictionary. Bombs are going off in regular intervals. But has there any action been taken? No. Politicians are busy in dividing the society in the name of ‘n’ number of parameters e.g. caste, religion, place of birth, language….and it is an endless list. But I can’t blame politicians. They are doing this to survive. I should go to the root cause of the problem and the root cause is Indian attitude. It is a common Indian attitude to look for yourself and forget the society. It is a common Indian attitude to look for short-cuts, which gives rise to corruption. It is a common Indian attitude to break rules and regulations. Well, if you do nasty things then nasty things will happen to you. I’m a normal human with all sorts of flaws and I can’t preach morality to anybody. But I have the common sense to look beyond my immediate surrounding. And normal Indian does not have the simple common sense. Why vote for a politician who is telling the lie over and over again? Why crib but never take action? Why the fatalistic attitude? Why blame others but never look at the rot in your own bed room?

A country is the reflection of its civil society and the civil society is the reflection of its citizens. Corruptions, resistance to change, lack of education and fatalistic attitude have almost destroyed the country. Supreme Court has handed over death penalty to a terrorist but Govt. does not have balls to execute the order. We have a Prime Minister who said he lost sleep when Haneef was arrested in Australia but he is having a good time when 100s are dying in weekly bomb blasts in his back yard. What kind of a leader Manmohan Singh is? A leader should be able to lead the people by example but he is losing his sleep when an individual got arrested. He is a coward. God save India.

We need a strong leader, who can unite the country and pull it out of the mess. We need a leader who will rise above party politics. We need a leader who will set precedence. We need a strong leader who can take decision in the broader interest of a billion people rather than losing sleep. We don’t need a proxy as our leader. I can see only two persons at this moment who have the guts to carry this burden without losing sleep. They are Laloo Prasad and Narendra Modi. I don’t care which party they belong to or their past. They have shown the leadership quality by being fearless. Modi has proved his skills over and over again in Gujarat. There is no need for any proof for this. Laloo is a person who knows how to get things done. I will love to see any one of them as PM of India next year.

Just now I had a chat with a guy in India regarding the situation in Mumbai. He made the following two statements (copy and paste below) and it proved the point that I’m trying to make.

prasad: I am in nag
too far for bullets

prasad: its like this from last 50 years in india
you pay the polioce man and you are free

This is a very typical Indian attitude. As long as this attitude is not changing, bombs will go off and the guy who says ‘bullet won’t reach Nagpur, will face the bullet in his own home’.

 The arrest of Hindu activists in India in connection with bomb blasts is a fact that I want to forget. How can somebody kill innocent people in the name of religion? India has always been conquered yet never tried to conquer. The reason is the passive nature of Hinduism. But at this point of time militant Hindus are trying to reverse the thousands of years of legacy. But are these people in right course? No. Rather than cleaning up their own house they are trying their level best to put the blame on others.

 Conversion is a big ticket item in Indian politics now. But has any Hindu leader has really tried to understand what is the reason for tribals and SC/STs to embrace Christianity? I don’t think so. Had the Hindu leaders tried to understand the real reason for Conversion they won’t be at loggerheads with Christians and burning down churches. Centuries of systematic segregation/humiliation of a set of people in the name of caste is the reason for Conversion. Why an individual is superior to another individual because of birth? As a human being does not have control over his/her birth, it is very absurd to measure the importance of a human based on his family. A human is an individual first before he/she belongs to a caste, a country. We need to understand this. Buddha, Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Mandela reached the pinnacle of success not because of their lineage but because of who they themselves are. Rather than giving respect to individual, Hindu society subjugates a section of society to third class status. I respect human spirit and I feel I’ll go where I get respect. I’ll always leave a society, a country where I’ll be treated as third class citizen. And I don’t blame tribals and other section of Indian society to embrace Christianity. At least they are getting respect as an individual that is the most important thing in life. Now this bunch of Hindu activists can neither give equal right to individual nor can they tolerate when individuals leave the wretched religion. What these activists want? God only knows. Perpetual feudalism?

 Yesterday I was at ISCON temple at Melbourne. I saw a number of Anglo-Saxon and individuals of African origin at the temple. It gave me a great joy as these people are trying and embracing a great culture (not religion). They were standing in front of Lord Jagannath and seeking wisdom. But the real land of Lord Jagannath is Puri, India. And only Hindus are allowed to enter Jagannath temple in Puri? Why? As the name suggests ‘Jagat’ means universe and ‘Nath’ means master. So ‘Jagannath’ means master of universe. Why not everybody is allowed to enter his temple? Why a bunch of ignoramus, illiterate individuals has hijacked the right of rest of the world? Why we are so narrow in our mentality? Why the Hindu organizations that are fighting so hard to save Hinduism are not trying to eradicate the rot in Hindu society? I know I won’t get answers to my questions. I know I’ll be frustrated at the end.

 Killing innocent people won’t change the truth as the cold blooded murder of the father of nation could not change the truth. Murder and social disturbance will only exacerbate the problem.

 But what hurts me most is that these militant Hindu organizations have absolute zero contribution to our society, our country and Hinduism. But they have hijacked the religion. I sincerely hope that my fellow country men will realize the danger and choose the right course of action.

After living in several countries, I feel that democracy in the current form is not the best for society. My view of democracy is shaped mainly by India, Australia and Singapore. Well, Singapore is not a democracy in true sense but it is somewhat better.

Basic tenets of democracy are equal right and say for all citizens. But is this tenet correct? I personally feel this is wrong. The most powerful entity is nature as we are part of it. Nature has made every human different. Physically and intellectually we are all different. So human’s quest to make everybody equal is a foolish endeavour. I believe that every human being has to enjoy certain basic rights but beyond that individual capacity should play a major role. Most of us want higher benefit with less effort. Even if we deny, this is the truth. There are exceptions but exceptions never prove the rule.

Should Debashish Samal (DS) have same say as that of Ratan Tata (RT) as far as industrial regulations go? No. RT understands industrial landscape much better than DS does. So RT should have much more points than DS. But in a functional democracy both DS and RT have the same voting power and this is precisely wrong. We all advocate market dynamics but tuck tail when it comes to implementing it. RT is much more valuable than 1000 DS combined together. Why the democracy is unable to respect the market dynamics? Why in the poll DS’s vote has the same value as that of RT’s vote? Because of this shortcoming democratic India has 40% of its population below poverty line.

As I’ve said earlier, most of us can’t think beyond our immediate surrounding. This is the reason for failure of democracy. In such a situation few visionaries who have the power to unleash innovation are shoved to the corner. History is cluttered with incidents where visionaries are punished for their vision and capabilities. Few people can think out of box and they are branded as outsiders. Society full of normal Joe, can’t view the merit. Otherwise how can you explain the crucifixion of Jesus or cold-blooded murder of Gandhi. Thus, by allowing these normal Joes to have same right as those of few visionary, we are doing a great injustice to humanity.

When normal Joe goes to poll, he selects another normal Joe. But running the state is a different game. Efficient running of a state needs visionaries. Normal Joe will only wreck the country and the best example is India. A country is a reflection of its society. Indian society is full of morally corrupt people and so is the political class. MPs are traded in Parliament. Going rate for MPs was 200 million rupee few months ago. This is the result of democracy in its current form. A CEO was killed because of industrial disputes and the concerned minister justified it. Shame on India. Shame on Indians for voting this kind of people as law makers.

I’m a Hindu by religion and I know for the fact that Hinduism does not give equal basis rights to all individuals. Human is degraded to a position that is worse than animals. Slavery is better than untouchability. And precisely because of the degrading and demeaning traditions, people in backward areas prefer Christianity, where they have dignity. But fanatics are up in arms against Christianity. Alas, India is a democracy and majority of vote-bank is Hindu by religion. This is a classic case of double oppression. In one hand you don’t give them the dignity that every human deserves and on the other hand when people move away from the system, you don’t allow them. I’m neither a fan of Hinduism nor a fan of Christianity, but as a human being I can’t support the burning down of churches and murder of Christians.

Democracy is of the people, by the people and for the people. But when people are mediocre, democracy gives mediocre result. Let’s examine the style of governance of Singapore. Initially I was a bit sceptical about the system. But now I realize that Singapore’s governance is a more refined and forward looking version of democracy. Western media has always criticises Singapore’s way of democracy. But if I go by results, Singapore is more dynamic and successful than even the USA. In just 35 years, it reached the first world from a dark third world. People have every right in Singapore. There is no injustice. There is religious and racial tolerance. It is a society where capable human can go any height. The reason is simple. Normal Joe does not have any say in the affairs of state. Capable people are at the leadership position. Most people in Singapore complain but they are normal Joe and they will complain. As long as they just complain but they don’t have a say, it is fine. I agree with Lee Kuan Yew when he said to a western journalist ‘Western way of democracy is not the best’. Unfortunately in India we have the ‘Western democracy’, that is the reason for our failure. We need a better democracy that gives right to people and makes them accountable as well.

 
Why Indians are low in confidence? I think it is cultural. We always look up to someone as role model in the family, in school, in job etc. This attitude has to be changed. This is the key difference between Indians and westerners.

Why there is so much of debate on the nuclear power issue? I don’t understand. Any rational person can come to the conclusion quite quickly. We need power. We don’t have oil and our coal is of low quality. So if we need to industrialize quickly then we will have to generate nuclear power. But we don’t have enough uranium and we have to buy it. So it is in our self interest that we should welcome this deal.

There is opposition from some quarters because of India’s close relationship with USA. Come on. This is a non-issue. Another point of opposition is that India might not be able to test nuclear weapon and in case India does, US will stop fuel supply. Again how naïve Indians are. The US understands the jingle of dollar. Rather the whole world understands the jingle of dollar. As long as India has money, it can buy anything. I repeat anything. How forgetful Indians are. Can’t they remember that just ten years ago the whole world was up in arms against us when BJP govt went ahead to test nuclear bomb. There were a lot of sanctions from all corner of the globe. Where are those sanctions? India is the darling of the world now. Everybody is queuing to get a piece of the pie. So the bottom line is that in world politics, money matters much more than principle. So my dear Indians learn to be self-confident. If US won’t sell, you can buy from somebody else. And companies from US will hate to lose out business and for that matter India should not be worried.

Proximity to the USA is a non-issue as well. In politics the only interest is self-interest. It is in our self interest to get cosy with the USA for the time being. The USA is definitely smart. If it can get friendly with us then there is definitely a huge benefit for it. So lets look at our benefit rather than who the other party is. By partnering with USA if we can accrue benefit, then why not? My dear Indians, have you forgotten that in politics there is no friend or foe. Let’s be wary of the USA, but let’s piggyback on it as far as our self-interest is met.

What is very clear at this point of time is that the Anglo-Saxon financial system has a lot of short comings. The regularity, with which the so called invincible institutions are falling, provides a lot of lesson. As always history is the greatest teacher and we are passing through one of the most important chapters of history. Free market and globalization are well oiled words that have served the western financial system quite well. 700 billion $ rescue package is not the sign of philanthropy; rather it is a desperate measure to save even more spectacular collapse. So the lesson for India is not to follow what the USA preaches blindly, but to do whatever is best for its citizens. Open market or close market does not matter as long as Indians are getting prosperous at the end of the day.

For the time being globalization, de-regulation and nuclear trade are good for India.

What is the basic premise with which politicians are elected? I think the answer would be for betterment of society through employment generation, promotion of healthcare and education and the list goes on and on. Do the politicians in India remotely subscribe to this basic principle? No. In last sixty years after independence our politicians have failed the public.

Transparency International (TI) has ranked India 85 in the corruption index. It is a shame that the country which promotes spiritualism is so corrupt. As per TI, the primary institutions of corruption in India are politics, bureaucracy and lower judiciary.

Can we clean this mess? Yes and No. I believe a country is what its people are. So we need to change the society before we can see any change. The realm of power lies with politicians and politicians are elected by the common citizens. In a thriving democracy, I can’t blame a politician for being corrupt. Anybody with a little knowledge will blame the society. Citizens vote the politician to power. And at the end of the day the common man suffers for his/her mistake. Politicians use bureaucracy to their advantage and the entire system got plagued by corruption. If citizens send a clean man to power then we can have a clean India.

Before I can blame the common man, let’s see who is a typical common man in India. 73% Indians live in village and most of them are illiterate. An illiterate man is the easiest to be blackmailed and made fool. 40% of Indians live below poverty line. To a hungry human, food is god. So politician can easily buy votes from this group of hungry and illiterate citizens. What is the cost of the vote? I don’t think it can be more than 100 rupee (2 USD) and couple of empty promises. This is the cocktail of disaster and a vicious circle. I’m writing from my experience as I’ve lived in the most backward places in India such as Orissa and Bihar. I have seen a hooligan, murderer and rapist being elected again and again. Where is the conscience of people? Well, when there is hunger there is no concise.

Unless the primary necessities are met, human brain can’t function. Couple of years back, I skipped my dinner and I was barely able to work the next morning. And 40% of Indians i.e. 400 million people face the same situation over and over again. So I really can’t blame them for being bought over by politicians.

What is the way out of this mess? I still believe the answer lies in capitalism. Poor needs money and so does the politician. Let’s go full throttle with industrialization and economic development. Our development will bring in more money into society. It will fill the pocket of politicians and poor as well. Poor will eat well and will have a house to live. Once poor have enough to eat, they will certainly send their kids to school. Thus the next generation will be educated. An educated person with enough to eat will be the catalyst of further growth and prosperity. This new generation of Indians can’t be bought over by politicians. New generation of Indians will be above the social divide such as caste, religion, language and region. We can see a real social change within one generation.

The former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam rightly said that 30% of Indian politicians are non-corrupt and these leaders are our last hope. They should go all out to de-regulate every sector in economy and bring in transparency as much as possible. If we can sustain the 9% growth rate we can wipe out extreme poverty in two decades and this development will self-sustain a positive cycle of growth.

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

– Patrick Henry

In my childhood, once I asked my mother to buy me a parrot. I was fascinated by the talking-parrot of my neighbour. My mother said that parrot will never be happy to be caged. It will certainly get better food, better shelter, protection from predators and love from human. But it will still be unhappy because it will lose its freedom. If it wants to fly, it won’t be able to do so. If it wants to meet other parrots it can’t. So locking an animal is not a good idea. Well, I was not convinced. I thought she has a fancy story to deny me what I was asking for.

But twenty years hence, I can understand my mother’s perspective. Without much knowledge about world affairs and the theory of ‘freedom’, she relied on her common sense and culture. Freedom is something that is birth right of every person. Freedom is a very intriguing concept. We can never have absolute freedom. But freedom with justification and mutual respect are what we all need. We can force another human to do things that he/she does not like. We can wage a war and subjugate the enemy. We can kill and wipe out civilizations to assert our power. But can we buy the sprit of a human? Never. Spirit can’t be caged and can’t be conquered. Spirit is free and will remain so.

History is the best teacher. Turning the pages of human past is the best illustration of the value of freedom. Mighty empire of Britain is nowhere to be seen now. And that empire is never remembered with respect either. British Empire is a hated figure because of its attitude to rule by force. That mighty empire is now confined to a small country off the coast of Europe. Great fighters such as Alexander are not viewed with respect. They can be great in their country, they can be great military commanders but they are not great human beings. Who commands more respect than Mother Teresa? A frail woman conquered the world with her love and affection. Another great example might be Buddha, who ran away from his palace, wandered in Ganges plain and preached us Buddhism. People who win over the heart and mind of others are respected over centuries and millennium. And these are the people who preach the spirit of freedom. By granting freedom they spread the principle of love and friendship. But those who cut short the freedom could not hold on to their machiavellian plan for long. They dot the history as evil and serve as examples of what should not repeat.

I’ve come across and interacted with people from various countries. Level of freedom varies from country to country and society to society. It has always been my experience that people from countries where there is no freedom for speech tends to be much less happy. They might enjoy economic success and luxury of life. But as the parrot story goes, material pleasure can’t be a viable alternative for real freedom.

In India, We already have a certain degree of freedom. But we need to couple the freedom of expression with freedom from hunger. Real freedom is not possible until we wipe out poverty. As long as there is hunger there will be repression and exploitation. When 40% of Indians go to bed hungry, it is a huge social problem. Poverty is due to lack of opportunity and we all should work hard to eradicate the inequality and help others achieve their freedom.

Reading the comparison between India and the US especially when it comes to democracy is quite familiar. This comparison is more intense now as the US and India are cozing up as far as defence cooperation goes. Well I have always held the US to be the most successful democracy in the world, but that notion will crumble when facts are examined.

India got its independence in 1947 and US in 1776. India has 1.1 billion population and the US has 300 million. So it is statistically easy to brand India as the largest democracy and the US to be the oldest democracy. But I believe India is largest democracy but the US is NOT the oldest democracy. India as a democratic country is older than the US as a democratic country. My reasoning is very simple and it is as follows.

Democracy is all about right of people. And in a country ‘right of people’ means people having the freedom and choice to choose a leader. Let’s flash back on the history of the US. Technically it is a democracy since 1776. But only white and male citizens were allowed to vote. Then slowly at the beginning of twentieth century white women were allowed to cast vote. And not until 1960s African Americans were allowed to vote. But in India since Jan 26, 1950 all citizens are treated equal. Male, female, white, dark, upper caste and lower caste all have same right in India long before the US gives its citizens the same right. Thus India as a democratic country is older than the US. In India we don’t say Punjabi Indian or Tamil Indian. But in the US the term ‘African American’ and ‘Asian American’ are quite common even today. So a person whose parents came to the US 200 years back from Africa is not an ‘American’ but an ‘African American’.

Let’s look at the type of leader the US citizens are choosing over past two centuries. Till now, the US does not have a non-white, non-Christian president. All presidents in the US are male. Does it mean that women and non-white are so intellectually deprived that they can’t lead the most successful country in the world? Contrast it to India. We have a Sikh Prime Minister (PM) now. Those of you who don’t know what ‘Sikh’ is, it is a religion. Don’t confuse ‘Sikhism’ to ‘Hinduism’. They are different. India had a woman as PM. We had PM who could not speak our national language. We have Presidents from minority communities. India seems to be a better democracy than the US.

Well I’m not justifying anything. I’m just convincing myself that despite all our problems we can come out victorious. If the US is most prosperous and successful nation in the world with all its defects, why can’t we? We have a better system in 60 years. We can always match and surpass the US. Democracy and freedom is our strength. Let’s transform the land of million mutinies to the land of million opportunities. From chaos will come ideas. All we need is an able leader who can unite the country under a common goal.

I saw three documentaries and I’m confused now…

Few years ago I’ve seen a documentary which was based on a true story of a child custodial battle. But the battle was not between estranged spouses but it was between the father and the State. If I can remember correctly the concerned country was Ireland (but not sure). The story goes like this. Mother of the family ran away with another man. As per the law of the land, concerned department decided that father is not rich enough to care for his kids. But the bond between the dad and the kids was too strong. The guy tried his best but he could not find a job that could convince the department to hand him over his children. Then an American layer heard the plight of the father and decided to help him without any fee. They fought the State and at the end won the case. There was a quote from Bible that said ‘Nobody, not even God can snatch away the right of a father on his children’. It was such a nice story and was a victory of an individual’s right.

Few months back Australian Parliament extended a formal apology to the aboriginal people for the mistakes that the State perpetrated over an extended period of time. The matter is known as ‘Stolen Generation’. There was a political debate but the ruling party went ahead with its apology. It was a triumph of individuals over the State. Australians are remarkably brave in the sense that they acknowledged the wrong done in past and took steps to amend the same. So what I want to point out is that the right of individual is supreme and the State can’t interfere.

I saw a documentary last evening and it was about children in red light district of Kolkata, India. The name of the documentary is ‘Born into Brothels’. It was quite interesting to see that an American woman fighting for the forgotten children and trying to rescue them from the hell. Some of these children won photographic prizes and she managed to put them into schools with great difficulty. But few years later most of these children were back to where they belong. In most of the cases the reason for their inability to continue studies was parental pressure. Parents can’t just realize that a brothel is not the right place for kids. Parents love is unconditional. But they are blind in that love. When those little girls reach the ‘sellable’ age, they will be an object for men. How far a man can degrade to use a woman as an object of desire? Just for few minutes of pleasure man can shatter a life. But I hate those mothers and fathers whose blind love is responsible for the plight of those small girls. What is their life? What is love for them? What is their world? What is their right? When a thirteen years old prostitute stands in front of a mirror, what will she see? Is it her reflection? She should be a free spirit exploring the world at that age. But here she is just a living dead.

Well, the point I’m trying to make is whether the future of a child has to be solely decided by his/her parents? Can the State and community be a silent spectator? Are we doing justice to the child? No. Then where to draw the line? I don’t know. I’m asking myself this question since yesterday but I’m yet to find an answer. By giving three examples I just wanted to find an answer, which is still eluding me.

Further Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_generation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_into_Brothels

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388789/