"You think too much", she yelled at me. And it was not the first time some one expressed his/her disillusionment from my idealism. Some called it juvenile, other called it pre-mature thoughts, some rejected by saying that they are far from realism others preferred not to comment. But no one said that my thoughts are irrelevant. Yes they are unorganized, yes they do not lead to any meaningful conclusion and can make you fatigue but definitely they are serious!

Yes I am serious. Damm serious!! and thought that work like vibes when conversations are deep. The vibes that can make anyone ponder on matter people usually want to avoid. But avoiding things just because they are bitter and have potential to make you feel low, does not reduce their importance. By saying that, "I am not interested", "Its not my duty", "Why should I care?" etc reveal an attitude. An attitude that I hate most. An attitude which is the sole cause of every big and tiny problems.

Some people judge acts on the basis of consequences, results and call them self as followers of Utilitarianism. Others first define their job, the boundaries of their act and then work according to those limits. That is the deonotological aspect of their ethics. And what is rest the abide by the theory of "common good". There are 1000 of ways of looking at same things. Each way justified in its own context. Libertarian aspect vs Social aspect. Justice approach vs Moral approach. 

Which path I should go, which ideology I should follow. And above all why should I follow those morals which are described good by others? Why should I abide my self with ethics defined by society? Why should I restrain my self from things others think are sacred or unholy. And if I am supposed to bound myself with those historical thoughts imposed on individuals on the caveat name of culture and ethics then what is the difference between Humans and Machines...

Are not we our self machines working for money and respect (Ultimate desires). Working in a system whose rules are already written. Variables are too rigid to play with and if you dare to play with it you will be lost in fight you were never involved! 

The fear.. Fear is the ultimate emotion on which this doctrine of rules with multi dimensional system stands. Fear stops us think of adventures. Fear coupled with out power to imagine magnify the idea of destruction. And its that magnified fear which deter our ultimate desires (greed).

Then comes the aspects... are not desires/greed bad. But we all have some need and what is the line that divide between need and greed. Where to stop? from were spiritual dimension come in.. and up to where it should go. Ultimately those who preach this aspect of sacrifice by introducing the concept of god do not follow it by themselves... Why this hypocrisy? 

And if we have to do opposite of what we are taught than why are we taught the things? Is it a great conspiracy are we all unknowingly part of this trap. Or there is some one who is playing with us, making us pawn of chess board so that arena belong to him only. 

What if I defy all the rules of yours? What if I do not respect the things dear to you... and dear because you are taught that they are sacred. What if I write my self of rules... what if I challenge your hegemony without popular support. Do you have the gutsy to argue with me....? Or you will avoid me by saying.. "you think too much!"...

India! probably the only land where rivers are worshiped and called "Mother". The Ganges, most sacred river in Hinduism starts from the Gangotri and falls in Bay of Bengal. Almost 400 million people survives in its drainage area and Ganga river system. Most of the important towns of India are at the banks of holy river. And even I belong to one such town.

These rivers are old, they have mythical stories associated with them. As they are in Tropics a vast diversity of flora and fauna is found in it water. To a large extent these rivers are used as waterways by people and its a cheap way of transportation as well. As originating from Himalayan glaciers, these rivers are perennial and flows throughout the year and provides water when it is most needs, i.e in summers. 

But in last some decades these rivers (or mothers according to mythical stories) are suffering from an unprecedented bunch of problems. Population explosion in Gangatic belt i.e UP, Bihar and Bengal is no hidden truth. Along with it the rapid industrialization in towns like Delhi, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna etc. From sewage to industrial chemicals, from dead bodies to organic waste, everything is dumped into these rivers.

To some extent I see Indian people as hypocrite, at one place they worship these rivers and at other end they dump all sort of waste material into it. Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew has correctly described India as, "Indian talk too much but do too little". Dozen of committees have been formed, hundereds of reports are being submitted and innumerable policies are deployed on for cleaning these sacred rivers but nothing has yielded yet. 

One reason of the reason is negligence of Indian society. I come from the society where people have very clean homes and very dirty roads. People do not consider road as their own and think that its solely government's responsibility to clean the community. This attitude is literally killing Indian people. Every year tens of thousands children die because of disease which are water borne. 

The medical expenditure done by Indian government to save people from such disease and then treatment often go without calculation. Had that money been invested on rivers and sanitation already may be people would have not reached to hospital at all. But who thinks in that way? Had the locals put the garbage in community dustbin then mosquitoes and house flies could not have acted as an vectors for pathogens. But who things that way?

What people do generally is accusation on each other. Layman accuses industrialists, common man accuses those who are living near to banks of rivers, outsiders accuses sanitation department for discharging sewage in rivers and everyone accuses government which is not considered serious about serious issues.

And as long as this attitude will persist no big change can be seen. The problem lies with the common men and the long term solution will also from the common men as well. But does comman men understand it, and even if he does, is he ready to bring the change in his locality? By breaking the protocols and keeping the road clean. Dumping the garbage at its right place and fighting with those neighbors who are not serious. 

It will happen one day, but that will take time for sure!

Long ago, when I was a child, I was good in day dreaming! Visualizing myself as hero, thinking as if I was flying, contemplating myself with the super heroes like Shaktiman and Junior G. Long ago, I was a child and I was free to imagine, free to make senseless talks, and fantasies without boundaries. Long ago when there were no obligations and no restrictions, no commitments and no realizations. Long ago when animals were friends and gardens were playgrounds...
I do not remember when did I change, when my dreams of mystical powers turned into dreams of realistic powers. I do not remember when my habit of weird imagination turned into pragmatic approach (as others put it). My infatuation for super heroes could not last long and it turned into my love for Gandhi and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. They say I am grown up!
I feel nostalgic, nostalgic for that freedom and that stubbornness. For those rains we used to wait eagerly, for those festivals on which we used to fly kites, for those days on which we used to play with colors and those nights on which we used to lighten up home with candles and crackers.
Things have changed certainly. From priorities to perceptions, for importance of time to scarcity of time. From festivals to parties, from outdoors games like hide and seek to class room responsibilities like assignments and presentations. Goals are changed, the dreams are changed, the friends are changed and the time is changed.
But change is life, and those who do not change with time become extinct with time. No doubt, this change is unstoppable and universal. For good or for bad, its beyond my comprehension yet. Do I like this change? being an emotional fool I do not! But...
But when I see that those who nurtured me, those who never stopped me from dreaming, those who gave me the freedom to walk the way I like and to talk the way I life. I see a change in them as well...
They are getting old, they do not say anything of course but they do expect something that is untold. They do not ask for time but they often look with hopes toward me. They are getting old, and I am getting mature. They are getting weak and I am getting strength over the time. They talk about past usually and I think of future usually.
There is a gap, a generation gap. Now what they talk I find it funny sometimes, I find it ridiculous sometimes, I find it irritating sometimes, I find it rudimentary and superstitious sometimes. Their stories are old, their way of looking at things is classical, their taste is traditional and their days are conventional.
I love them! love for the time I spent with them. Love for all the wishes that were heard on my one call. Love for the stories that they told me before so that I could sleep. The time when there was no google and no cable, they told me the answer of every question I asked. The time when there were no phones they told me how to write a letter. The time where there were no presentation they played with me hide and seek.
I have my made my choice, I will do the sacrifice they did for me, I will do the things they want me to do so. I will walk on the path that makes them happy. I will spent my time with them telling them some new stories. I will love them the way they love me!!

It was a long journey, and now what lies ahead is a bifurcation. Two different paths, with different challenges and different destinations. Well, we had different priorities since inception and different perception of looking at same things so, this diversion is understandable. At this moment when one chapter of life is going to end and a new chapter is going to begin, lets recap what we are giving up!!

For the eyes that said the whole story and for the lips never spoke!

For the sacrifices that we did, and never regretted...

For the resolutions that we made and never disclosed in open...

For the promises that we tried to keep and then came into our habit...

For the feelings that were over expressed and the feeling that went unexpressed...

For the truth felt by everyone, but rarely discussed in open!

For the love of the loving ones, and for the ego of the egoistic ones...

For the crush that was repeatedly met with disappointment and for the love that could not be realized on time!

For the time that we spent together happily, and the time we could not because of misunderstandings!

For the feelings we share together and for the difference in opinion that we had!

For the silence that spoke better than words and for the actions that made all things clear!

For the moments that we want to live again, and for the moments we never want to forget...

For the wrong decision we took intentionally, just to make others happy...

For the stories that we started but are yet to complete... And for the stories that will not reach to their endings...

For simple question asked by them and their complicated answer given by us...

For the initiative taken by them and for the negligence shown by us...

For the attention given by them and for the ignorance pretended by us....

For the love shown by them and for the careless replies by us...

For the success we dreamt and for the failure we met...

For the co-operation we sought, and rejection we met...

For the appreciation we desired, and for the criticism we got...

For the fantasies we lived with, and for the realizations we could not make...

For the memories of the yesterday and the lesson of tomorrow...

For YOU & For ME!!!

People often accuse me of being Feminist. I am not! Cute Angel emotional comment is the reason I am writing this blog, so she is the source of my motivation. Her comment on my last blog left me flabbergasted and I think its my obligation to put the truth in front of world people. Thanks Cutie.

Women, whatever I say is less for her. Indian women is best among other women's. The life she lives is a life of sacrifice, its a life hard choices, its a life in which she kills her desires everyday for the people she consider her own. Her whole life is an epitome. A case study of how to live for others.

And Indian society! Only a dumb will dare to write about it on a piece of paper. Its practically impossible to write about a country which is more diverse than many continents. Its is called as the Indian continent. But sometimes we love to be fool. I will dare to give you an glimpse of Indian society in the words of Manishankar, as correct as I remember, "An India is the one who does not eat what others fellow Indians eat, An Indian is the one who does not looks like how the others fellow Indians look like, An Indians is the one who does not understand the language spoken by majority of Indians, An indians is the one you has different interpretation of religion than most of the other Indians, An Indian is the one who has different case/ethnicity than the most of the fellow Indians". 

My reason of defining Indian in the above paragraph is quite simple. The Indian society is quite complex and its imprudent to make general comments without understanding such a society. We believed in "Unity in Diversity". That is why we live, we survive and we flourish, some believed in "2 nation theory", their foundation is based on distinction rather than similarities. Different choices, different interpretation and followed by different fate. 

Before coming to Indian Women I want to say about the revolutions that occurred in India since independence. In the late 1960's Green Revolution occurred in Indian and the productivity increase 4 fold. The farmers converted from sustenance farming to commercial farming and India changed from an importer to an exporter. Its foreign exchange hiked due to agricultural export.

In the Middle of 1980's India went through the Medical Revolution. It means that it was the time where there was a vast spread among people regarding the life saving drugs, the technology that cured the most fatal diseases. The life expectancy of people suddenly started increasing. And the number of Hospitals/medical colleges increased to the number never before. And very soon the middle class people from the neighboring countries started coming to Indian cities for medical treatment as its low in cost and better in service. 

What India is going through today is "Social Revolution". And I will talk about it later. Let me tell you something about Indian Women first.

Ancient Indian scriptures show that women enjoyed a respectable position during that time and many ancient texts also talk about women scholars and sages. But gradually the patriarchy tightened its grip over the society and women were subjugated by men due to various reasons. And this subjugation continued in British era and until 1990's.

But with the policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization women got opportunities to express them-self. It was the time when they were given equal education in the middle class and the elite class of the India. Indian constitution since the beginning gave women equal rights. But it was the time when these rights were harnessed.

Now in this era, the news that Cute Angel is posting is showing the in fight of 2 society structures. Its the transition the society is going through. The generation of 1990's women have been nicely educated and is demanding their rights. A single case of rape in Delhi whose population is more than 2 crores is projected as a very heinous crime by media. The reason being women are fighting for their rights. Men are standing with them. With the advent of Green Revolution and Medical revolution they got what happened to be priority once.

Now what they are asking is a society in which women actually gets equal rights. Women's issue is a major issues in Indian democracy. And no political party can neglect it now. The awareness of women's right is spreading like a wild fire. Those who were suffering from last few centuries are now getting a voice and forum to express themselves and Indian media is standing with them like a pillar. 

Such revolution is not a new thing in the history of nations. It happened in Ameirca and UK as well. Its happening in India now. And it will last long for 10 years I guess. But in this process of transition where the psyche of Indian men/society will change and women will also play the role Men are playing. And India will emerge a better nation.

There were sicks here, there were perverts here as well. And every country has. The big thing is that Indian's women and young generation is fighting for it and trying to change the old patriarchal system. And to some extent Indian women are already successful. They constitute 35% of workforce in the software industry of India and enjoy the same status, wages and perks as men. They have also made great progress in various fields equaling and even surpassing en as doctors, teachers, engineers, manages, law enforcers and soldiers.

However, it has to be kept in mind that many of these women who have made great strides, did it braving very adverse situations, shrugging of social criticism and at times have even risked getting ostracized. Now they have won half of the battle. A whole generation got educated. The media, law enforcement agencies, Indian laws and Men are with them. They are fighting against the old system and what you read in newspapers is the stories of that fight cute Angel! 

I accept the problems that are present in my system, I give the reason why they are and what are the solutions. I judge leaders, their ideologies and legacies and I comment on them. There may be truth which are inconvenient to our ears, are you ready to accept them? Are you mentally prepared to face the challenges that lie ahead? Do you have courage to think over subjects people find disgusting or people find too sacred to be talked about? The bigger question, Are you a blind follower or the person who use his/her own brain? 
Your comments are welcome

Terrorism is often seen as an act of violence by some sick minds to spread fear and buckle down establishment for the cause terrorist are fighting. But I think its a very narrow definition of terrorism. Terrorism is not just an act, its an ideologies and the so called "terrorist" are sincerely devoted to that (wrong) ideology.

I remember the Peshawar incidents in Pakistan where terrorist before killing the innocent children in school asked them to read the 'Kalma' - "ya illa, ilil-la....". If we see that act from terrorist point of view then they are fighting the holy war 'Jihad' and they justify them self quite convincingly that their act of violence is need of hour. Yesterday, a suicide bomber killed 15 people near to church in Lahore. There must be a reason that the bomber killed himself as well. Did he had any regret for that suicide? No, absolutely not. He must be happy for that 'shahadat' (from his perspective) and the coming 'Jannat' paradise. And there are many misguided people ready for such sacrifices in Pakistan and other terror suffering countries.

The typical case of IS recent vandalism of Mosul's ancient museum can be explained. They were trying to make their Allah happy by demolishing Idols. Strange! but justified by their interpretation of Quran.

If we understand the phenomenon more closely than we are going to find that these people who are into these acts and propagation of these ideologies are not foreigners. They are the very indigenous people nurtured by same establishment at times for short term gains. And at that times these 'sick minds' were doing the same act of terror in other countries. And the establishment of Pakistan euphemistically called them Jihadis (not terrorist), because they were not killing their sons but neighbors son!

Hillary Clinton (the most probably the next President of US), has summed it up very nicely in his book as "You cant keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors". The Haqqani network, the LeT, the Hafeez Sayed and Laqwi are not only the people driven by this terrorism ideologies but they also run institutions that recruit and propagate this distorted notion of Islam and Jihad.

The problem with ideology is a bigger problem. When we believe in something, with time we trust in it, a prolonged trust creates a faith in that belief, faith (can be blind as well) is often practiced by rituals and the act of terror in Pakistan (and all over the world) are just the final "rituals" of that belief. Until and unless the centers and institution are eradicated from the foundation, you cant expect something (and all operations like Zarb-e-Azb) will prove futile eventually.

But the irony of ideology is that, it takes a long time to develop (as explained above), and it takes a long time to be removed from the society as well. It cant be changed overnight. For that there should be a political consensus, government will and public support. People's perception has to be changed by mobilization and spreading awareness. In Pakistan there is a political consensus on suppressing the act of terror and terrorists. But they are yet to understand the basic culprits behind these acts. The factories that are promoting the ideology of violence.

At one side ISI is supporting the leader (Terrorist like Hafeez Sayed) of his ideology and at other side Pakistani army is fighting a war against the followers of this ideology (TTP). Its a paradox but truth! It needs courage to accept that their is something fundamentally wrong with the system. It needs a determination to challenge the policies of the government (or military rule, because people do not mind being ruled in martial laws as well). And it need time to understand the complex phenomenon of belief, faith, ideology and practices/rituals.

The bigger question here is not the success of Wazirstan or SWAT or Baluchistan or Gilgit/Baltistan, but the bigger question is, 'Is Pakistan's establishment and people ready to go against the ideology that was spread in 80's and practices of terrorism that were supported by Zia-Ul-Haq based on that idology?' I see a dismal picture for that. Because a whole generation was taught with this ideology of in schools and colleges. And as the roots of this thinking (misinterpretation) are so deep (a whole generation) that it will not go form Pakistan eventually. They will remain in the mode of "self denial", will keep fighting against those terrorists which are against them (not those who are against neighbors), the institutions of ideology will continue to grow and flourish and such Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi attacks will also keep on happening.

People often compare India with China. Reason being both of them are huge countries, diverse, both developing, more or less same challenges, they are competing in many sectors and required same resources, both countries have a glorious histories and oldest civilization. When people see these points they start comparing the two, and often end with statements "India is following the path of China, and can be the next china in coming decade."

Given the similarities like huge demographic dividend, dependence on Himalayan rivers, petroleum deficient countries dependent on middle east and hence Indian Ocean, there are more subtle points which are hard to visualize and hence the contemplation of India as China is not fair. If one tries to see the holistic view than the picture is quite different.

Difference! yes. Difference in priorities, difference in ambitions, difference in perceptions and so the difference in socio-economical structure of the countries. This eventually leads to different political system and its all about system that we follow. The ideologies govern our path, rest of the things are more or less formalities. 

China is a communist country and its development model is based on Foreign Investment. Its economy works on huge imports and a great manufacturing sector. And for that purpose they have under valued their currency Renminbi. Low valued currency makes the labor cheap in China and huge export. They have developed a sound infrastructure (A world model) in transport like Bullet trains, Road connectivity and advanced sea ports. 

Communist government with centralized power gives it easy to go for hard decisions. Decision of land acquisition, decisions of huge investment, decisions like 1 child policy, decision like attacking people by tanks and guns on Tinanmen square in Beijing, a country that had border dispute with all 14 neighboring countries. A country where there even media is controlled by government. 

India is different, the biggest and a vibrant democracy. Decisions cant move an inch without public approval. India has its own private sector and better than china in service sector. Indian engineers in IT are leading the biggest giants companies of the world. Silicon valley  works because of these engineers coming from IITs and other institutes. 

Its unfair to compare India and China because India's priority is 

Thanks Arif, Anah, Mishaikh, Humza and others who commented on my last blog with emotions, distorted factual comments and Arif with logic and reasoning. It has inspired me to write the next blog in the sequence of Pakistan's ideology as a nation. 

Arif, rightly said that Jinnah was a secular initially (which India is today), but wrong circumstances (as Jinnah perceived) made him communal and a hard line Muslim politician i.e not by will but because of Hindu domination he chose to convert into a muslim leader. He quit to be an Indian public leader and became "Indian Muslim's leader", how wise was the decision, I do not know!

But in this transition he compromised with the ideology. The ideology that makes difference with time, the basic notion, belief and trust for with the two country people having same origin kill each other brutally. I never doubted Jinnah's wish and will, there is no doubt that he wanted the development of Muslims and its not a question at all. The bigger question is what was the instrument used by him, and what the consequences of that instrument (the instrument is fear and I have discussed about it in my last blog). 

Before jumping to the Jinnah I want my reader to understand the significance of ideology in a nation's life, and how it can change the course of history and future. Gandhi, Bhaghat Singh and S.C. Bose all of them were freedom fighters. All wanted to make country independent from Britishers. But all of them had different ideology. Bhaghat Singh wanted a revolution from within the country and get the power. Bose wanted to get help from outside as WWII circumstances were not favorable for Britishers and Gandhi wanted to educate people by mass movements like 'Quit India', 'Non co-operation (with Khilafat)', 'Civil Disobedience', 'Swadeshi movement'. 

All three want the same goal with different paths. Which one path is right? lets think over it. If Gandhi had supported Bhaghat Singh, Chandra Shekar than our history of peace and non violence would not be written in history but it would had been about revolutions and coup. The tools that are used against Indian government today like "satyagraha, fast until death, civil disobedience" would have been replaced by "revoloution", "liberation by violence", Killing those who are against people/nation. 

What my point is that once you change the ideology you change the whole path. No doubt we could liberate the country with a revolution against "white", but can we further run a country with same ideology. What if the civilian government is not yielding? People will ask for revolution again! And here comes the problem, we cant have revolution every time. The solution comes from a system of government in which people have right to go against the govenment, make the government realize that the path you are running is wrong and a smooth transition of power. As happened in our independence. People should be democratized not supposed to be revolutionary by the influence of ideology.

So Gandhi was a leader and others were freedom fighter. Gandhi gave a vision to fight in a way in which we can put our voice. A way in which there is transition of power but not abruptly but smoothly. A way in which there is less chaos and more predictability. This is the reason why India is still democratic, because it chose the way of Gandhi.  

Now lets come to Jinnah, the initial ideology and how it changed and what are its consequence today. In the elections of 1936, when there was separate electorate (which means only muslims were allowed to vote on reserved constituencies), Muslim League was not able to get even 2 seats from Punjab (The home land of most of the Muslims). All the seats were won by the Congress. What does it mean it means that congress was very famous there. The ideology of Jinnah until this election was "security and welfare of Indian Muslims". (The same ideology as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who founded Aligarh Muslim University for muslim's welfare). And Punjabi Muslims did not show faith in Jinnah in 1936. But in the elections of 1946 all the votes of Punjabi Muslim area went to Muslim League. Now the bigger question is what changed in these 10 years?

The change in ideology. From "the welfare of Muslims", the narrative was changed as "Islam is in danger". The change idea from "rise of Indian Muslims" to "Indian Muslims in danger because of Hindu majority." From "hope" to "fear". And Paksitan was eventually founded on that fear not on the hope. 

Had it been on hope, it would have thought of sub continent Muslims that were going to be divided into 3 parts. Its was basically the partition of Indian Muslims that can be a big force together. United we stand and divided we fall. And fall of idea that  Muslims as "political class" rule the India, as its divided now in 3 parts. Remember, Manmohan Singh was Sikh and they constitute less than 2% of the population, but he ruled country for 10 years and no one raised the question on his religion.

But the trust deficit that was created among Hindus when 1/3 of muslims left the country, saying that we are different (essence of 2 nation theory). The muslims left in India are still struggling to convince RSS and like minded people (who are less than 5% of total population) that we are not different. In the search of a better home Liquat Ali Khan (of UP) and Jinnah (of Gujarat) left their illiterate brothers in India. And no wonder the case of today's Gujarati Muslim is weakened because their own brother (Jinnah's kind of people) left them. Today's Indian muslim feel betrayed from Pakistani Muslims

But the ideology of Gandhi, helped them to survive here and they are still 20% in India. And the ideology of fear in Pakistan eliminated 20% minorities to less than 2%. 

Jinnah wanted to win the elections, Jinnah wanted the Muslims to be in policy making, but the way he chose to win the election had an impact on the Pakistan, which is hard to be remove even today. The fear! A false fear. I called him hypocrite because he knew that he was changing the basic narrative and then even he chose to do so (For better or for worse)! Just for short term gains he sowed the seed of Religion+Politics  that never existed in history. And now the roots of that tree are so deep that its hard to cut them. 

Jinnah was a lawyer basically. A successful lawyer. The one who did not want to defeat and definitely win the case by getting a separate nation. But life is not a "single case". Life is a sequence of cases, in each step we meet different problems and if you had taken a wrong ideology in past to win a case you have to pay its price in future. 

Jinnah realized his mistake when he said, "They used to call me 'Quaid-e-Azam' and now they are calling me 'Quatil-e-Azam'." These were the lines uttered by Jinnah when he saw a refugee camp in Karachi of people coming from India and leaving all property there, being killed in riots, raped by criminals and feeling betrayed. 

I personally think that Jinnah should have helped Gandhi and Abdul Kalam the only rare leader trying to extinguish the fire of hatred. He should have joined the constitution assembly and talked about reservations, political protection of Muslims there, like did by Ambedkar the leader of bakward castes. Ambedkar won 27% reservation for backward tribes and castes in jobs, educational institutions and in parliament. There are constitutional mechanism and way to get power. Division of country is not the solution. Democracy is the solution.

In a diverse country like India, where Tamilians, Telegus, Bengalis, Punjabis, Malyali etc think that Hindi people can dominate the country. Where dalits, backward castes of all the states fear that Pandits and Brahimins will rule the country. Where poor laborers think that Ambanis and Tatas will take all the wealth. Where the black of south India thinks that they can be discriminated by the white north Indians. Where women accuse the society of being Patriarchal. There muslims can also fear that may be Hindus will dominate the country.

But try to understand the India. Its the most diverse country of the world. Where many forces acting simultaneously. All forces are equally powerful and they fight for power, eventually everyone gets his share of power and then they make a coalition government in which every voice is heard. The beauty of democracy is that you have to hear all the voices. And if you neglect a voice you will have to pay its price.

Muslims! they live in every street, every colony, every city and every state. I can't imagine India without Muslims because muslims are in the gene of India. The "ideology of fear" that we cant live together is very much flawed and proves wrong in every street of the country. 

I called Pakistan "an artificial nation", because it has no vision. The founder died without giving any formula and goal and left with legacies of fear. The "Kashmir problem" got genesis from the ideology of "two nation" and India never accepted it, because the moment we accept it there will be riots in every city. The fanatic Hindu organisation like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena will ask 18 crore Muslims to leave the country, with the same logic on which Pakistan demands Kashmir. The moment India gave Kashmir it will be lost in fire and domestic war.

Can Paksitan ever get Kashmirt. No, it cant. Because we are same people divided by border and we both are very much patriotic. Paksitan can never win form a country whose economy is 10 times bigger and in population 7 times. Each and every Indian will be solidly aligned behind the army if war happens.

Conclusion - The "two nation theory" is a theory of fear given by Jinnah (a hypocrite who changed the narrative for political gains). Neither can Pakistan win Kashmir (because of less power), nor can Pakistan forget it (its against the basic ideology of Pakistan's 2 nation theory). So it will remain in this "self denial mode" and the problem will persist until it does not change the narrative and come back to the old system. The system on which "Deobandi's" differed with Jinnah. The system for which Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi) talked about. The system for which Abdul Kalam Azad fought for. 

Dear Pakistani friends no one is bigger than truth (not even Quid-e-Azam). Lets judge the leaders and their decision, appreciate their achievements and understand their mistakes. Gandhi one said "To err is Human, to forgive is divine".

Your comments are welcome. 

The oldest civilization of Indian subcontinent, lies in the lower Indus valley basically. Its is called Indus valley civilization (most of the part lies in Pakistan today). Its the place where Hinduism was born. Its the place from where Veda were written. Indus is the river from where country derived its name India and remained integrated for the next 5000 years until partition happened on the name of religion. 

Mohd. Ali Jinnah an erstwhile secular person was the founder of an Islamic nation Pakistan (An irony that he later turned into a communal mind). Jinnah believed that Hindus and Muslims are two different people and their interests are in conflict (which are not). So they cant live together and he gave very famous "two nation theory" for partition of India. Partition is seen as the biggest blunder in the modern history of Indians. 

A partition that divided the two flourishing cultures of Punjab and Bengal. A partition that resulted in the mass refugee camps, a partition that took over a million lives, a partition that made India and Pakistan (earlier brothers) enemy forever. And eventually the false fear of Jinnah that Hindu and Muslims cant live together turn out to be true when the two countries fought 4 wars in last 60-70 years. What happened to be brothers once and fought the war of independence shoulder to shoulder are deadly enemies today.

Since the inception, Pakistan was made on fear. When north western Muslim majority areas were part of India they were taught that India will be Hindu majority country and in elections only Hindus will win. Muslims will be suppressed by the Hindu majority concept of democracy. And soon the existence of Muslims will come in danger (basically Islam was in danger). This fear was imbibed by the elite class of Muslims who was having voting rights and once after partition they also left the India for Pakistan. Leaving millions of poor/rural Muslim in India. Instead of fighting for them in a Democratic society, they chose to leave the country (to save Islam). 

I read Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. A real visionary man who was actually a cleric and knew Quran better than Jinnah (A hypocrite). Jinnah who did not know Gujarati and Hindi/Urdu and only knew English found Islam in danger but the biggest cleric of that time Azad clearly said that "Islam means brotherhood not nation hood". There must be some reason there are 22 countries in Arab/Gulf. And they are not a single country. No wonder now Shia minority is in danger in Pakistan and Jinnah was a Shia. Because when you define religion as basis of nation hood then you have to be specific, which religion, which sect what about others and why not others. He never gave a vision of Pakistan future.

Jinnah  founded a nation on the basis of religion. A nation whose more than 20% population was Non Muslims. What can happen in such circumstances? They had to leave or convert. And now the number of non muslims is less than 2% (I hope Islam is not in danger any more). Once theocracy comes in state power it becomes difficult for minorities to survive and that is what happened in Pakistan. One can imagine the level of intolerance as they are taught in this way only, like Islam is the best religion and rest of the others are enemies of Islam including the Indians, Jews, Americans, Shia, Liberals, Democrats and Secular (actually all). 

Jinnah got a separate nation but India was not an enemy of Pakistan until Pakistan broke stand still treaty with Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is a diverse state with Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. The people of J&K were not radicalized at that time and asked for Indian help. After signing the "Instrument of Accession", they joined Indian Union and their demands were taken care in Article 370.

Now when Pakistan got an enemy (out of the way). It was necessary for them to protect them self. The time when all the nations were investing on industries and education, Pakistan was investing on arms and ammunition. Because they got an enemy who is many times bigger in economy and population. This idea of fear ruined their education standard and economic prosperity.

Punjab (half of Pakistan) happened to be one of the prosperous state of Indian subcontinent is now way lower than average Indian income (considering the fact that India got "bimaru" states like UP and Bihar). 

The fear that India wants Pakistan back was routinely haunting the people of Pakistan. It gave the military legitimacy that they can coup when ever they want. Because its the military that would save them from India. And an institute that was supposed to come under Civilian government became so monolithic that it can coup anytime it wants. And no one wants to decrease the power of ISI/Military as they perceive that India (their enemy) is not attacking them because of ISI (Its the perception, not the truth).

In all four wars Pakistani military lost the battle. But such battles keep reviving the legitimacy of Pakistani armed forces and they can increase their budget, defense expenditure, more power and more recruitment (one side of the coin), with more poverty, more illiteracy, more fundamentalism and more riots (the other side of the coin). Because the fund that is supposed to be in developmental projects is going in defense expenditure.

In the worry of war they even made Nuclear Arsenal. When Pakistan made nuclear weapon it was believed that now Pakistan will not invest too much on Army as they got a legitimate deterrent. But nothing changed and they are still where "Quaid-e-Azam" left them, in the state of fear. 

Since the theory of two nations was so flawed that it was impossible for Pakistani intellectuals to convince people that Hindus and Muslims cant live together. Given the fact that they were living for last 5000 years. Given that fact that India is a second largest Muslim country today and none of them is Al-Quaida (Because Indian muslims know that Islam is not in danger). Given the fact that India is worlds biggest and vibrant democracy and probably the most diverse country. 

In these circumstances when Bangladesh also separated them self from Pakistan and became a secular nation (not islamic), the only way left for Pakistani intellectuals is to distort the history. The innocent children of Pakistan are taught in this way that, "Hindus and Muslims were always enemies". But the fact is that Muslims ruled because of Hindus co-operations (eg Akbar and Rajputs.) and Hindus ruled because of Muslims co-operation (like Sivaji and Ranjeet singh). 

They are taught in school that "Hindus were ruled by Muslims for 1000 years". A totally flawed concept. First of all the rulers was a Hindustani ruler/ Indian ruler not a Muslim ruler. That is why people respected him. They never see Akbar and Mughals as Muslims but as an Indian ruler. Second concept the Muslims of India are basically Hindus who converted (by force or voluntarily god knows!). And the rulers were the Muslims who were invaders. So how can Indian (former Hindu and now Muslim) can take credit of Turks, Afgans and Persian victory?

No wonder Turks, Arabs and other Muslim countries do not give a damm! to Pakistani Muslims. Even though they made them self on the name of foreign religion, but the place where this religion was born do not care about Pakistan very much. Pakistan could not get the attention that it was seeking in Muslim world as well. In fact Muslim world is in itself so much fractured that they cant give attention to anyone else.

Now when this generation who grew reading "Mahummad Gauri, Quasim, Gaznavi" as their leaders (who were actually foreigners). After being taught hatred against Hindus and Jews. After reading distorted history, they are brainwashed. They are so radicalized that its almost impossible to talk to them on partition of India. 

They still live in fear and will continue to live in fear. Because fear is the ideology of Pakistan. And the day this fear will vanish there will not be any differences.

This blog is a sequence of my older post. In this post I will try to go in the depth of some narratives and will endeavor to reach a conclusive ending.

I am thankful to Eslam for commenting on my last blog. It gave me motivation and hindsight to get into details and think well before write. I am glad that he countered my point on reasoning and did not went to the emotional aspect of the narratives as many layman do. He is a tscience/engineering student.

We both agree on American narrative to a large extent that how they perceive themselves. But he disagree with the problems and their origin has anything to do with Americans.

The problem of Iraq, Syria and ISIS is too much inter-related. I will confine my discussion from American deeds and narrative behind actions. Here are some points. 

1. United States and many of its Western allies have imposed economic sanctions against Syria,       condemning al-Assad and demanding that he leave power after internal unrest of 2011. But they did not propose the UNSC to do the same (A more democratic way, democracy which they worship). 

2. I condemn Houla massacre, Darra massacre followed by state reaction and Syrian unrest. But having  said that, I could not understand why American do not stopped Bahrain and Saudi Arabia from infusing money to the rebels? In fact they supported it. How can a political unrest beneficial for middle east? And is not its the duty or THE SUPERPOWER to be fair with all. 

3. Lastly, how far the interference of outer world in the internal conflicts are justified? A revolution (if any desired)should come from within. 

Iraq - Well we all know Saddam was a secular leader. Americans attacked him for some reasons. Now when he is dead, is not this is Amecia's duty to give Iraq a stable government. I mean if you remove a system completely then its your obligation to give back a better political system. You cant leave Iraqis in the middle of chaos and unrest. 

ISIS - Its area and people come from both Iraq and Syria. In both the cases Americans got their hand and now they should clean it up.

Libya - Col. Quddafi was killed by NATO forces. Again Americans/NATO are removing a political system taking their responsibility to maintain peace and order but not providing an alternate government which is just other face of the coin (responsibility). Recently some Egyptians were killed by ISIS on Libya land. Had Libyan govt. been stable I doubt this could have happened. If we see the bigger picture and sequence of events it gives a different picture and different culprits.

Lets come on Russia.

I do not they are innocent. And I do not represent my point of view. I am putting how they see them self and how they teach their generations. They will call expansion of NATO as a betrayal for sure (and to some extent it is). 

But I want to say that American never dream that Russia will stand again so quickly. And the way it is rising (pretty aggressive and confident), the way they are shifting themselves toward China instead of Europe, can shift the balance of power. After all this century is Asian century not American century anymore. The world will be multi-polar soon and the more quickly Americans understand it the better it will be for the world.

China - Well, china has become my focal interest for a long time. China want to be the next super power and the only country that can dare to challenge American hegemony today. There is a power vacuum in Indian ocean as Ameican got a lot of shale gas reserve in their own country and they are not interest in middle east as once they happened to be for a constant supply of oil and gas. 

Now American are going back and China wants to fill the gap. They are expanding their Naval and Military capabilities like anything. The problem with China is two sided one internal other external. The internal problem is that they do not allow their public to speak. Even the media (print or broadcast) are highly regulated. There are insurgencies (Tibet and Xinjiang) in some parts of the China and these insurgencies are/will quelled with force for sure. As we do not know public opinion (as their is no fundamental rights like right to expression) we never know what is happening at ground level. May be some parts of China are sitting on a volcano about to erupt. Hong Kong is protesting considerably against China. I do not know where it is going to end. As if they allow democracy in Hong Kong, it will send a negative message to common people in China mainland and they will be asking for the same. If they do not allow Hong Kong then the problem will persist.

The second problem with China is its nationalism which is reflected in external world, as they want to show themselves as the next superpower, they assert them self like this. China is actually aggressive and it had conflict with India, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan etc on border/natural resources issues. Let me put it like this "China's rise is not seen peaceful by its neighboring countries". Given the atrocities done by Japanese on Chinese at the time of WWII still haunt Chinese and I do not think China and Japan (second and third largest economy of the world) will be friend in time soon.

I will write my next blog on Europe, Islam (keeping in mind the recent incident of French magazine, Copenhagen, Australia etc incidents) etc. And an Indian perspective in it. Where do we see Af-Pak in this chaotic world.  

Yesterday I was reading the story written by Darius in the chat room. It was a fantastic story of an elephant. It motivated me to apply the same concept on broader aspects. Let me put the different narratives first.

American - Its a Uni-polar world, and we American have the great responsibility to maintain peace and order for the welfare of all countries. If any country or organization threat peace than its our obligation to deal with it with consensus or unilaterally if required. 

Results of this narrative - Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Libya, ISIS, containment theory, conflict with China etc

Russian - We want peace, we believe in social justice. We are a great race and happened to be a super power. We are deceived by the American (NATO actually). And we are suffering because of it, till today. We wont fall into any trap this time. And will fight for the rights of Russians and Russian speaking people.

Result - Trust deficit, annexation of Crimea, Ukraine problem, Economic slowdown, Euro zone Crisis, tension in eastern Europe.

Chinese - We had a great civilization and we are rising again. We are trying to get what belongs to us but we do not understand why neighboring countries call it Chinese aggression. We have the largest population and we should have a great deal of share in world resources like Eastern china sea, Southern china sea, Askin chin, Arunachal Pradesh. We do not believe in democracy and we are doing good without it.

Result - Problem of Tibet (Dalali Lamha), Xinjiang, East China sea island's fight with Japan, claiming on oil reserves of south china sea, verbal battle with Vietnam, Philippians, South Korea, Taiwan. Hong Kong demand of democracy.

European - We have fought war with each other for some 200 years. Now we got the eternal truth. In a war no one is victorious. Only losers. We pledge that we wont fight any far on our land. But if a war does not fall on our land and does not affect us very much than we can provide arm and ammunition support to others. Religion should be separated from state policies. Liberty, freedom of expression etc matter too much

Result - NATO operations, Eurozone formation, European Union, a strong voice of all countries. People with fundamental Islam find secular wrong. Strong arms industries. 

Islamic Narrative - Whole world is made by Allah and we all are devotee to that almighty. Basically shariyat laws should be applied everywhere and Quaran should be taught to all. Western liberal ideas are dangerous to society. And thing that is wrong, we should fight against it on the name of Jihad.

Result - Rise of Islamic fundamentalism, Many foreign (esp US and NATO) got opportunities to intervene in domestic situation. Over emphasis on religion results in more sectarian wars of Shia's and Sunnis etc. 

African - We are yet to find our narrative, but out problems are different then rest of the world. We are poor, illiterate, destitute. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is a problem for us as well. 

Result - Somalia problem, Sudan, Libya, Ebola, poverty, Chaos...

Israel Narrative - Palestine land belongs to Jews. Jews are not treated well all across the world so we created this nation for the our community. We wont tolerate any treat against us. And crush all those who will even try to go against us.

Result - Unrest in Middle east, Palestinian problem, Fundamentalism in Jews. 

Indian - Being an Indian I know its not easy to write Indian problem on a piece of paper. But here are the prominent ones. Self interest is the only interest of ours. We do everything peacefully, but not quite sure about results. Our society is the oldest civilization, and full of internal contradictions.

Result - Caste, class, religion fault lines, but Indian-ness still exists and thriving. There are internal differences but yet similarities are more than those differences. Kashmir and China problems are old problems. A rising country and neutral on most issues.

I will be discussing the decision taken by these power houses on the name of these narratives in coming future.

This blog is a reply to all those who keep asking why I do not go into relationships. Even at the age of 22, I am single. And when this will end?

Well to put it simple, I was not mentally ready for this stuff. One fundamental difference in my perception regarding to it, that created to my isolation was that girlfriends or commitment brings a responsibility, which is different from the aura that is maintained today.  A general perception of guys is that, they take girls in for granted and as an opportunity, a notion I was never comfortable with, and wont be in even in future. I am not an opportunist but a responsible guy.

People say about crush, impression, attraction and some put it more bluntly as physical desires and it begins with everyone since puberty.  But that should not be taken as a license to fall in a stuff where you are always emotionally vulnerable and are potentially soft targets. Until and unless you are ready for it better to avoid anything that can have grave consequences. I looked at the bigger picture and refrained myself from events and occasion where things gets romantic.

Having said that, there are some fundamental pre-requisites in today’s way of love and relationship. It’s not less than a protocol. It starts from checking out, then dating, they hooking up, either it goes on or they break up, with coming back to the status of single again. So it makes a cycle. Now I think, I do not myself fit into this cycle, reason being it looks awkward to me. I can’t approach they way people do using some standard lines for coffee and dinner. I can’t flirt because it’s hard for me to fake myself, and real feeling do not come on first or second meeting (it’s just crush). To use the cheesy lines, even if I do not feel them? Nah! That is a big deal for me.
Lastly all girls want someone who is confident, having good communication skill, they pick the one who is witty and keep the talks moving on. But I personally think that I should not be judged on my communications skill or sense of humor in my love life. It’s should be about what I feel about her. And what she feels about me. Do I care for her or not? This notion of being compatible, having same standards, choices, priorities and to some extent same vision sounds like a professional relationship. For me it should be a personal stuff where feeling matter more than anything. A level of understanding where our silence speaks better than our words and eyes reflect state of mind.

I know I am going too idealistic and it’s practically impossible to get a girl like this. So I think it’s better to do what I am good at. And not to think of the utopian notion which is practically not realistic. It may look cynical at first sight that I am giving up and not looking for a dream girl. You may call it pessimistic outlook where you have lost hope even before tying anything. But I will call put it other way round saying that not everyone gets a real love of life.  What usually happens is compromise and sacrifice on the name of love. It’s just I am honest and do not agree with the modern definition of love. Only a handful of people really feel the true love and it is destined not something you need to search. It will approach at right time at right place if it is written in your destiny. Do not look for chances or opportunities desperately!

She says “Life is small, enjoy it as much as you can, take the decisions and grab the opportunities. Don’t bind yourself in moral and ethical dilemma”.

I say “Life is too big, take decision cautiously, because at the end when you will see the memoir you may regret on the decision and choices. Enjoyment is a perception and morale is an inherent part of it.”

She says, “Let the life be an open book, who cares what we are, why we are and how we are? Why to hide the truth and why to make the boundaries easy to break, better do not make limits”.

I say “Life is of course an open book, and the moment you allow others to ready that open book, you are vulnerable to the comments and compliments that actually matters a lot. You can’t ignore them then. Better make some boundaries (privacy), and remain on the safer side”.

She says “I want a normal life, a good job, an understanding, intelligent and responsible boy friend, then life is secured, and let it flow in the steady phase of life”.

I say, “Job can be a way to get the things done, to find path to channelize the creative energy. But surely it can’t be the aim. A job is an instrument for deed you really want from life, not the life itself. Don't make boy friend because you want him, but let the things move on it own pace you will get one without conditions”.

She says “What matters finally is the destination, it’s the aim not the path that you took to reach that location. Actions matters as they can are seen and remembered by others not the reason behind them”.

I say, “The path that you chose is far more important than the destination itself. For me reasons behind the actions are more important than actions themselves”.

She say “No one is permanent, people come and go, so use them as much as you can. After all we have to travel alone in the walk of life”.

I say, “Of course they come and they go, but our memories stick with our self and they remain in our memories, so make them friends not as commodities of use”.

She says, “There is lack of resources and only those who are fast and selfish will get the best one, so be cunning”.

I say, “There is enough for our need, and if you take the proper way even then you will get sufficient, so there is no need to go for unhealthy way”.

She says that she like me and will change herself once she will get me. I ask her to change herself first, and then she will get me automatically.

She says she is not wrong, it’s just she is different; I agree with her on that and replies that we are not compatible with each other and one of us has to compromise on ideology.

She thinks there is enough space for both of us, I disagree on that. She ask for both of us to compromise equally, I rejected. And its over.

Now I regret, she moved on and so did I. But the time I spent with her is the only colorful chapter of my life. Was break up inevitable? Could not there be a way out? Judge it and tell me what went wrong, and who was responsible? I am in dilemma..

I lied. I lied to you when I said I am not in love. I lied that I do not feel it. I faked it, and never put the real feeling in front of you. Don’t know, whether it was lack of courage or lack of understanding. What so ever it was, it was a blunder for sure. A blunder which has no redemption, it has only consequences.

In the walk of life, I met people and I lost them. They came like a day and went like a night. I can not remember them, because my memories are pre occupied by you. Everything, every place, everyone is fade in memories, except your laughs and the moments I spent with you. Moments that can make in laugh, even in the worst situations of life.

Those who know me, they say “move on, it was past”. For them what lies ahead is a future. A future where there are possibilities of happiness. A future having the remedies for the past wounds. A future where there is hope.

Hope! The most beautiful thing ever made by the almighty. The hope that I saw in your eyes. I lost the battle of love because I was in despair. I did not believe myself, or you. But you were confident as usual. Your faith was immense so was your will. I shattered those dreams, because I was weak. I let you down.

I have a picture of yours. You are looking beautiful. You are smiling in it. Your cheeks got 2 dimples, their symmetry is the proof that god is the biggest artist and he gave special attention to you. Your eyes are glowing, and you are looking directly in to my eyes. Those eyes are asking some questions. And I have no answers for those questions.

I do not want to move on. I want to see your pictures. I want to remember the past. I want to laugh on those happening. I want to feel your feelings. And finally I want to make myself realize the fiasco. I want to regret on it. I want to punish myself. This is the way, it should happen.

I may look like a pessimist. But that is a game of perception. I see optimism when I see you. For me you are the hope and I want to stick to the hope. I know you are not with me, but the moments you spent with me are sufficient to ignore the small trifles of daily life.

I do not want to gamble in future. I want to go into the past again, because it was beautiful. If I would move on, I will lose you. I do not want to repeat the mistakes again want by moving on. I want to say the lines I never said when you were with me. I want to ask for sorry and then to give it a new beginning.

I lost you and I do not know where you are now. But I am trying to find you again. I am optimist here. I know god is punishing me, but he is not that cruel. I have faith in him; I have faith in you and your prayers. I know every genuine question is answered and every sincere prayer is heard.

This is hope for me. This the hope for which I wake up every morning. This is the hope that make me smile even when you are not with me. This is the hope that makes me write the letters. I look forward and wait for you.

Your love.

Ever experienced an exhilarating delight and extreme thrill at the same time? Try being in the midst of a mixed flock of birds in a highland forest of Uttrakhand, with snow covered roads looking no less than paradise but yet risky for vehicles and making adventurous journey vulnerable.

Thanks to Amit, for enlightening the thirst to feel the Higher Himalayas by all our senses. He called me to watch those snow peaks from top roof of the Cautley Bhawan which aroused a relentless curiosity to feel them more closely.

It was this desire that make me ask all my friends who were present there. It was that craving which forced the reluctant Sumit to concede. We reached a joint consensus after a heated debate, to leave the Roorkee at 4 AM and bunk all the scheduled classes. Let me describe the diverse and dynamic group of people who brought colors to the trip.

Bikesh – A true blend of contrasting character, agile to work and quick to response. It is difficult to manipulate him as he got some sought of prudence and reckon well before taking decisions.

Nasit – In maiden appearance, he appears to be decent (if not innocent) guy. Naivety is his perhaps power which enhances his personality and adoption anywhere (virtually everywhere).

Varun – Someone with god given veto power, having an assertive voice and adamant behavior for those who do not know him. Those who know him will not ever dare to describe him on a piece of paper.

Sumit – He is a typical Harayana product with inborn recalcitrant behavior (at least in hostels). But he is trying to be serious for the new aspiring future. He is going under huge transformation and certainly has got considerable achievement as well. Though he does not drink tea/coffee that much, but on that chilling day of January he proved himself to be a tea addicted person (No offence). 

After making a comprehensive study of roads, taxis, routes, options and cost effectiveness we made 3 plans A, B, C. As per plans, dragging ourselves out of bed at 3:30 AM on cold morning we reached bus stand.

The journey began and on Sumit’s insistence for tea at Roorkee bus stand, we quickly gulped a hot mug of tea with Monaco biscuits. We left for Dheradun in a drowsy state, except Varun as he got 2 Dheradun girls on the seat just next to him (not to mention pahari girls were pretty enough to envy us). Duns are the valleys filled by sediments in the lower Shiwalik regions. Freezing winds well blowing in Dheradun at 7 AM when we reached the valley.

From there we took the next bus for Mussoorie keeping in mind the live fantasy of Himalayas – And the range of habitats comprising lakes, rivers, forests of various hues, riverine and mountain grasslands, snow capped peaks and glaciers, and Human settlements.

There are almost 3-4 Shiwalik ranges and 1-2 Middle Himalayas ranges from Dheradun to Mussoorie and a clear discernible change in flora and fauna with varying altitude was observable. Only Bikesh was recluse in bus because of motion sickness, otherwise the faces of rest of us were glowing. No doubt there were apprehensions regarding heights but such thrills were not enough to hide our excitement. 

After a myriad twists and turns on a high slope road we finally reached Mussoorie Library bus stand.

Even after stringent opposition from higher Judiciary, the JAC bill is all set to be passed by the parliament. It has already been passed from Lok Sabha and will get the required 2/3 votes in Rajya Sabha as well. It clearly shows that, parties may not be united for FDI in insurance (which only need ½ votes) and which is already much debated but they are united on JAC bill.
Judiciary has its own reservations and concerns, which can’t be ignored completely. But as always, truth has many facets and it’s also a true that there was hue and cry against collegiums system. Should executive be part of judicial appointments? And if yes then how can we make it possible without comprising with the independence of the judiciary? These are some of the really tough question in front of Indian democracy.
If we go in a little history of this contentious issue which has created fears of Constitutional crisis we can get a better glimpse. As per Article 124 or 217 it’s the president who is going to appoint the judges of the Supreme courts and High courts, in consultation with the judges of Supreme courts, concerned High courts and CJI as he deems fit.
This system actually worked fairly well for the next 2 decades of the independence. In fact only on the 7 occasion out of 350 executive sent back the recommendation of the CJI. But during the era of Indra Gandhi there was biasing in the appointment of Judges on the basis of ideology. It happened because concurrence was not binding to the President of India as per the First Judges case 1983.
And what happened with K.S Hegde on his historical decision of Keshwanand Bharti case vs State of Kerela (Basic structure doctrine) is well known to everyone. The doctrine of “basic structure” was a land mark decision in the history of Indian judiciary. Only on the basis of this doctrine, judiciary stopped executive from taking discretionary appointments in second judges case (1992). These decisions laid the foundation of collegiums and made the recommendation binding to the president.
Since then Judiciary is completely independent of executive in its higher appointments. By the time it got rid of the executive pressure/interference as well. But with time questions on nepotism and competence were raised in higher judiciary. Also arguments like “none of the contemporary democracy follows the system collegiums as followed by India” were given (though in Japan also Judges appoints Judges). In all the democracies there is some say of executive as well, in appointments.
No one can deny the fact that the recent decision of the SC’s and HC’s were a bitter pill for the executive and parliament on times. Whether it was about disclosing the personal information before giving nomination in legislative election or about debarring from election if convicted or about NOTA. There was resentment in parties on this judicial activism. In the recent times Judiciary is also accused of interfering in the policy making decisions. 2 G case, Coal gate and CWC are some of them and RTI has made it worse for the corrupt politicians.
But if we go in little depth of these recent developments we will find that there existed a political vacuum in the policy making arena. Corruption was on its height and executive was weak in the Manmohan’s era. And Judiciary just tried to fill this vacuum by the helps of PIL’s and suo moto (eg. on CNG issue) so that public retain their belief on the Indian democracy. In that way it served a good purpose.
Now when government has been changed and wants to get independence from judicial bottlenecks through passing this bill. NDA government is in hurry and has not taken Judiciary in proper confidence before drafting it. In such a situation clamor of judges is genuine. Though a good lobby of lawyers are supporting this bill because there is a record that lawyers are not generally appointed as Judges of higher courts by the collegiums. 
The voice of executive in judicial appointment is widely accepted and practiced concept/phenomenon all over the democratic world. In the proposed commission of 6 members, there are 3 members of SC, including CJI as its chairman. One law minster and 2 eminent personalities (out of which one should be from minority or SC, STs, or woman) will be chosen by a separate commission (PM, Leader of Opposition and CJI). But the definition of eminent personality remains obscure. Although veto power is not given to Law minister, as there is a need of at least 2 members against the proposed appointments to drop the name (thanks to Congress as opposition party here).
Now the question remains how will Judiciary take it? Can it be considered as breach of basic structure doctrine (as Independence of Judiciary is a part of it)? It would have been better, if they had a presidential reference before passing the bill using article 143.
How long and how well this system of appointment will work in the course of time is a matter of discussion in itself. Difference in opinion (as can be seen between Judiciary and Executive) is one of the basic features of democracy. But at the last one should not forget that Executive and Judiciary are the two most important pillars of the democracy and it’s the judiciary which has the power of “judicial review” on the name of final interpreter of constitution.

We see a lot of things throughout the day, we see them all the time, we notice them some times, we talk about them rarely and we forget most of the time. This is what usually happens. But sometimes, even we do not discuss about it, it sticks somewhere at the back of the mind unconsciously. This is what is happening with me. Maybe I am not saying anything, but I am down and dump and my heart is feeling the pain stoically.

It was a picture I saw in the newspaper ‘The Indian Express’ on late July. A father holding the dead body of his son, in front of a hospital building, collapsed by Israel’s air strikes. I read the whole news and went to the finest detail of that incident.

But now more than a week after the incident, all I remember is that photo. The dismal picture of a forlorn father, lamenting in the middle of debris and fire. Each time some questions come in my mind. I think profoundly over it, try to understand the causes, people responsible for it and how can we avoid it? After an hour of exercise each day on this issue, I reach to conclusion that I cannot do anything and decide to move on my personal life stuff. But next day when again I read it or something related to it, I am occupied with the thoughts again.

I am sure, I am not alone who is suffering from this paranoia. There are a lot of people who cares about humanity and want to see a peaceful world.

I have read the news of riots, violence and genocide even before this incident. But this is different from Saharanpur or Muzaffarnagar.  And it is different from Kashmiri pundit’s issues or even the issues of Hindus in Bangladesh or Pakistan. The issue is more complicated then what is seems to be and it’s an ideological war from my point of view. It’s a war of civilizations and a war that will decide the definitions of right and wrong in the due course of future.

The first difference is that here is powerful country which is killing the innocent people of a weak neighboring country. The weak country is subjugated from last 6 decades and it is still continuing. The people of weak country were once residents of places where stronger country resides today. They were turned into refugees and terrorist (only a few are terrorist) from a secular and well settled country.

The irony is that this religion based country (of Jews), is supported by many of the powerful country who themselves are secular. These so called secular countries can fight against “communism” and can interfere in the sovereignty of any country (as happened in cold war), but will not take any plausible action to stop these massacres happening Gaza strip.

Just because Jews have a powerful lobbyist group in USA, they can kill innocent people? Are the international organization like UN made for military actions against Iraq and Syria (where US interest lies) only? Is not the world’s oldest democracy ruled by only a handful of people but not by its own people?

And who are these Jews there? The one who dominates the porn industries and makes money by cultivating the idea of sex violence, not only in US but all across the world. The one who were slaughtered some 6 decades ago by the Nazi Germany in containment camps?

It is surprising and unfortunate that the community which suffered the most in World War II, and hated the ugly face of fascism is moving on the same ideology and path in a broad frame work. The more unfortunate part is that, the whole world is watching it either mutely or condemning it for formality.

There will be devastating effects, if democratic and secular countries/organization will allow inhuman incidents on the name of foreign policy. They may obfuscate their own ideology behind the national ideology but it will raise the serious questions for the future generations.

The question is what comes first Nationality or Ideology? I will sum up by remembering the famous lines of Pitamah Bhishmah which he uttered when he was on the death bed. He accepted that Dharma comes first not the nation and he conceded that he made a wrong choice, by joining Kaurwa (because it was national interest, though it was against his own ideology). 

The state of tranquility provides a ambience to develop mettle and courage in all predicaments of life. Calmness (internal) leads to a focused mind which conduits to discipline. Discipline is followed by consistency and resilience which are the most required pre-requisite for getting the name written in history or printing an unprecedented image in the mind of contemporaries.

The more the number of variables you play with the less attention you can devote considering the time constraints (no doubt there are exceptions with emblem ‘work is play’). In general there is deviation and distraction which actually results in lack of attention from the indispensable issues.

Introspection, frequent feedback from external environment can provide pointer to the best option available from myriad chaotic life journeys possible. Identification of pointer is a difficult question. Vague ideologies, lack of perceptional knowledge can change the course of life drastically.

But both ideologies and perception are measure of character and experience. One can learn from past travesties and that can change the future’s course of action. Vast experience in dynamic situation can help in formulating a pragmatic ideology by collating plethora of conclusion and hence making a comprehensive outline.

It’s god grace that provided me the best family possible. We do not choose our family. We do not choose our primary schools and hence we do not choose initial environment. It’s our parents and grandparents job.

But there is no doubt that, initial period is imperative for the foundation of basic understanding. Differentiation between right and wrong with proper rationale begins right form there and continues till the dusk of life. The almighty gave a father who never let the impediments come into the way, occludes were vanished and an obscure way became crystal clear so life was simple.

They taught me how to correct the past mistakes, and how to avoid them in future. They did not teach me how to win every battle, because probably they knew the fact that not every battle is meant to be won. I could not rendezvous any real problem when I was with my family, so all the preaching were theoretical. Possibly this the reason I did not take them seriously.

They say, ‘every day is not Sunday’. I am realizing it since the day I left my home. We realize the importance of people only when we lost them. The fore founders of my destiny, the accelerator of my growth are old now. Some of them have already passed. They are decreasing and sometimes a feeling of insecurity rules my mind.

My family members were well aware of the harsh realities of the competitive world. They know me better than me. I am getting it today when I am looking at the past. Somewhere in the walk of life I left the ‘introspection’ behind. I left the silence, that meditation behind and chaotic, random thoughts filled that created vacuum. So the consequences are palpable.

But life is all about improvements (as they taught me), my foundations are strong. A lot of people worked tooth and nail to bring me up this way. I know every serious desire is fulfilled and every sincere prayer is answered. I am rising again with only a small number of variables with the ‘lost silence’, flavors of meditation and consistency.

There may be hostile times, there may be despairs, but every night is ended by dawn. After all, life is a journey and such ups and downs are inexorable. As it is said “To err is human”. There is nothing ignominious in hobbling with yourself. If you want to strengthen the sinews of understanding then you have to go for complete transformation internally. Flexibility is desired here.

Whether we like or not, China plays probably the most important role in India’s economic growth, military aspiration, diplomatic relations and influences the internal politics considerably. It’s the second largest trading partner of the India after UAE, and the main reason behind that made India’s largest importer of ammunition. Any discussion of India’s growth and development, without illustrating the role of China into it, is incomplete.

China’s knows very well that India has the largest demographic dividend, and second largest population (i.e. market) of the world. She recognizes the Indian power in IT and communication and accepts that the two countries share same future vision and aspiration.

 This is the reason Chinese PM (Li Keqiang) was one of the earliest congratulator to NaMo, followed by President’s (Xi Jingping) special envoy Wang Yi, who came to India after 2 weeks. Modi himself went to China 4 times when he was Gujarat CM, for inviting the Chinese investment in Gujarat.

China is famous for long term relations and deep commitment in diplomacy. The famous friendship of Mao – Nixon, that changed the course of Cold war is knows to everyone. China remained loyal to Nixon, even after the Watergate scandal, is in itself an exemplary example of her commitment.

China has no place for emotions when it comes to its foreign policy. When India’s premier was on Bhutan’s visit, a 5 member delegation of Chinese communist party was meeting BJP (a right wing party) members at BJP’s headquarter, proving that national interest is bigger than their party ideology.

The biggest problem between India and China is border dispute. Fortunately China has shown interest in solving the problem. China share border with 14 countries and had disputes with almost all of them. But with time she has resolved 12 out of them and now Indian and Japan are the only remaining neighbors.

Border settlement in Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh are necessary because only then both countries can control cross border infiltration (especially in Ladakh region), visa problems and security concerns of the people (respective citizens of each country) living on the borders.

Security concerns with China have always played a central stage role in Indian defense system especially after 1962 war. But one should always remember that China is the second largest economy in the world. She is the fastest growing economy taking giant strides toward US economy and will leave US behind in next few years. Her defense budget allocation is 4 times greater than India’s.

In these conditions it would be fatal for India’s growth if it entangles militarily with China. The China is aspiring to be the next superpower of the world and cannot afford any war with India with whom she shares 2,185 km long border. Any war will shatter the dreams of both the countries for sure.

There are theories like “string of pearl”, which put apprehension over the increasing presence of China in the neighboring countries of India, like Bhutan, Nepal, Srilanka, Maldives etc. The concerns are legitimate, but solutions are also there. India needs to take her neighboring countries in confidence by better foreign policy. The threat of dragon will automatically diminish if not vanish.

 P.M. Modi understands it better than anyone else, that is why SAARC countries were invited in swearing ceremony and his first visit was to Bhutan. His foreign minister’s recent visits to Bangladesh and Nepal are another step forward. He is meeting with Chinese president on 6 BRICS summit at Fortaleza is considered successful. Only a close co-operation between the world’s two oldest civilizations can bring prosperity in the Himalayan/Tibetian countries. 

A lot of things have been said on “Women participation in politics”. And a lot of steps have been taken as well. India is probably the fastest growing country on the track of women empowerment. The country realized this need much before her independence. In 1928 it was Nehru who proposed universal adult suffrage, when in Britain herself right to vote was not give to women. Similarly French Revolution happened in 1848 and women get right to vote in 1944.

The society was retrograde, because of prevailing social ills, patriarchal society and religions obscurities, but definitely leaders were far ahead of their time. And bills like Hindu marriage act, Equal remuneration act, Maternity benefit act, Hindu succession act, child marriage act, Special marriage act, Dowry prohibition act and so on, shows the clear will of the parliament to socially improve the conditions of women in the society.

Indeed the social condition of women improved with time. Their role in private firms, engineering, medical sciences, banking, public sector to space tech. was appreciable and steadily increasing. There got respectable positions in every sphere of life except politics.

For a long time, politics remain the monopoly of Males. Indra Gandhi was an exception but the reason was obvious. She was daughter of Nehru rather than a great political leader that made her the first Indian woman PM.  

A great break through was the introduction of 25% reservation in the Panchayati Raj by Karnatka government for women in 1984-85. The respective central government of Rajiv Gandhi (30%) and VP Singh (33%) tried to follow the reservation policy, but none of them could pass the bill. It was Narshimha Rao in 1992 under the 73 Amend Act passed the bill with 33% reservation as the benchmark. But on the part of state government 16 states today provide 50% reservation in local bodies amounting more than a million elected women in the system.

From these developments women get the rightful position in the lower political system and are also performing satisfactory there. But in the middle (MP’s and MLA’s) and top (parties executive council, working committees) political positions, they are still not represented with desired numbers. Though every party has made some significant women faces in their parties and given them really powerful positions like Sonia Gandhi, Jailalita, Mamta Banerjee, Shushma Swaraj, Mayawati, Rabri Devi, Sumitra Mahajan, Uma Bharti, Nirmala Sitaraman etc. But these faces are probably glamorized positions only.

From last 3 decades the women share in voting has increased drastically. Now they vote almost equal in number to their men counterpart. And this is the reason lucrative positions to women are also given in every party to make a hold on women vote bank at All India level. But at the level of MP’s and MLA’s there is no such convention, and hence the number of women lays only 9% in the world biggest democracy.

The Women Reservation Bill is still pending in the Parliament. It has not passed yet because individual Parliamentarians (especially the fist times) have fear to lose their position and the bill may ruin their career. Those is why most of the parties put it in the manifesto but are reluctant to pass the bill when it comes on the floor, except some left parties which are consistent with their position.

There are 2 arguments generally put forward while denying tickets to women by national parties, one is about winning ability and other is competence. But both these arguments are completely absurd as they have nothing to do with gender and are person specific.

Most of the democratic countries have provided compulsory reservation to women in parliament (even Pakistan) and other those who have not provided are taking voluntary steps toward it (like US). Only Indian politicians are hesitant because of their vested political interests.

The politicians should now unleash the tremendous potential of women in leadership by passing Women Reservation Bill. It will not only help in decreasing the atrocities happening all over the countries, but will also boost the morale of women in all the sectors of public life. India will be able to use its human capital more efficiently that will add to country’s growth.