Nayanthara, Narayana Murthy and future of man

 

          The hot topic of the day is the open letter by Lady Super Star Actor Nayanthara to ‘Manmatha Raja’ fame Actor Dhanush.  It is related to a 10 Crore demand notice by Dhanush to Nayanthara for a 3 second clip used by her in her biopic.  The clip is said to have been used without permission of the Producer of the film ‘Nanum Rowdy Dhan’ and is said to be a click of behind the scene event between the the Lady Super Star and her would be (and now) husband who was the Director of the said film.  As in the case of any controversy, there are supporters on both sides.

But the immediate question that came to my mind in this context is, to what extent would ‘behind the scene’ extend?  Will it include all that happens in the sets during the shooting of a particular film? Otherwise, how could a producer lay claim on all such clippings?   If so, does it not amount to enslaving the entire body, mind and soul, of all those who are engaged for the project?

In this context, already there is a raging controversy regarding the call of Mr. Narayana Murthy for a 60 hour or 70 hour week.  When there was a charge that this was an attempt to put the clock back in respect of labour rights, Mr. Murthy was unafazed.

Talking about his remark, Murthy told CNBC-TV18, "I rationalized it this way. If anybody has performed much better than me in their own field, not necessarily in my field, I would respect, I would call them, and I would say, where do you think I was wrong in saying this? But I didn't find it. A lot of my Western friends, a lot of NRIs, and a lot of good people in India called me, and without exception, they were all very happy. They all said whether it is 70 or 60, that's not the issue."

(https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/narayana-murthy-reacts-to-his-70-hour-work-week-remark-says-we-owe-it-to-101704430695013.html)

So he obviously concluded that only those who supported him were ‘good people’ and others who opposed his idea were ‘bad’.

Now, as if that was not enough, there was an American born Indian (since that would be an oxymoron, should we say American born ‘Hindu”?) who along with Elon Musk has been entrusted a huge task by the President elect, who said that they were looking for those who were prepared to work for 80 hours a week, without any expectation for returns.  Now, only some one entrenched in ‘Karma’ theory could be expected to come up with something like that.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivek_Ramaswamy)

Now, an 80 hour week will mean nearly 12 hours per day, without a break , i.e 12x7. 

What effect it can have on the young ones who are to be targeted, is a matter of concern, for any well meaning human being.  Even now the web and net have started strangulating the work force by reducing the time of their privacy.  If individuals do that it will amount prying.  But when organizations who pay them do it, it is part of work culture – occupational hazard.

It is more than an irony that this call for an 80 hour week work culture, comes from the land from where revolt against bonded labour, slavery and long working hours had started as a part of the great ‘American Revolution’ (1775 to 1783) which was the precursor to the ‘French Revolution’ (1789 to 1799) and the ‘October Revolution’ (1917 to 1918).

To say, ‘let us gather wealth first, then we will distribute it’, can be believed only by the naïve.  It has not happened, in spite of the efforts of a Gandhian preaching to the Capitalists that they should consider themselves only as Trustees.  We have only seen real Trustees themselves behaving like Maharajas of an empire.

We already have seen how the problem of the growing divide between the haves and have nots all over the world, could not be solved by any number of economists and their theories. 

“The wear and tear of a slave, it has been said, is at the expense of his master, but that of a free servant is at his own expense”.

The above statement is not from a Communist or a Marxist.  It is from Adam Smith in his ‘The Wealth of Nations’.

According to Gandhi, economic equality was the master key to non-violent independence. If a wide gulf persists between the capital and the labor, it will eventually end up in a violent revolution. Also, he asserts that there cannot be true swaraj as long there is exploitation. 

Though this is reproduced in https://cmsadmin.amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?11380#:~:text=Mahatma%20Gandhi%2C%20who%20hailed%20from,to%20maintain%20the%20attained%20freedom. one really does not know whether if he had said this today, he would have been a free man.  If there had been any riots after the statement, he would have been booked under charges of instigating violence.  There are enough number of tough laws for that.  Irrespective of the ideology of those in government, these laws have been strengthened from time to time.

Then there is another alternative used by the class with money and power - get the youth addicted to – films, drugs, communalism or politics.  They will then have hardly any time to think about the real chains that fetter them and will fret and fume at someone whose names they know or faces they could recognize and for any reactions, they can easily be tackled with some criminal charge or the other.

The money spinning machine can gallantly and silently walk upon them.

Ultimately, who will answer Tolstoy’s question, ‘How much land does a man need”?.

History of an organisation

 

That VOC challenged the British Empire by running a ship, is a part of the history books, confined of course to a few lines.  For that he has also been called ‘Kappalottiya Thamizhan’ (The Tamil man who ran a ship)

But beyond that, seldom we read through the events in detail. 

A.R. Venkatachalapathy has done extensive research for 40 years, of varied materials from various places and persons and brought out the ‘SWADESHI STEAM’, recording the turbulences that great man VOC, his family and compatriots faced in the less than 4 years of the daring attempt to challenge the British on its waters – just to run two ships between Tuticorin and Colombo.

The partition of Bengal, the rise of the extremist faction in the Congress, advice of Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to VOC to start a ship company, etc form the back drop.

The unstinted support of Subramania Bharathi throughout the adventure, through his articles, cartoons and appeals is well recorded.

The book gives details of those persons and regions which contributed; hesitated to contribute; or said would contribute, but did not.

VOC migrates to Tuticorin after a tussle with a police man and coinciding with the death of his first wife and re-marriage.

He starts three Swadeshi organisations at Tuticorin: A weaving factory, a shipping line and a Swadeshi emporium.  His friends warn him that starting a shipping line was tantamount to a common crow trying to imitate a peacock.

His undaunted spirit sees his negotiating the purchase of two ships, which face one difficulty after another, in being run as well as when it runs.  He is away at Bombay, with a vow to come back only with the Ships, when his first son is seriously ill and his wife is expecting to deliver his second child, any time. ‘In gratitude to S.T.S.Arumugam Pillai, a Turicorin trader and director of SSNCo who assisted the family at this crucial moment, VOC-following a Tamil convention-named his son after him’, informs the author.

Though he is not on the top of the list of Directors or Shareholders of the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, perhaps deliberately, he was its very soul.  It was he who mobilized support for the company.  It was he who did the publicity.  It was he who conducted all negotiations and took care of all requirements right from the Registration of the company to purchase of the ships, to running its day to day affairs.  It was he who also bore the entire brunt when the Empire struck back.  And more humiliatingly, in spite of every one knowing that he was the chief protagonist of the entire movement, to satisfy the ‘bosses’, he is forced to resign and yet face legal proceedings for the losses of the company.  At least the agony of Christ ends with betrayal and crucification.

All of us are somewhat aware of how much VOC was made to suffer at the Coimbatore Prison.  We do not know about the difficulties faced by his family later.  It requires a stony heart to read through the ordeals faced by VOC’s wife, when he was imprisoned at Cannanore. It is given in the Chapter ‘Running Aground’, in the book.

The people gave him support to run the steamers and when there was suppression by the Empire, corrupt practices indulged in by the rival British steamer company and ultimately VOC was got arrested, people revolted in a historic fashion.  And for having shown the temerity to shut down the shops and refuse food to the constables on duty, during the hartal when VOC was arrested, hundreds of people were arrested and the people of the area where forced to pay ‘punitive tax’ (‘Thimir vari’ in Tamil)

Right from not having non-European people trained to run the ships (the Gallia and the Lawoe), there were problems, unforeseen.  But it was surmounted by initially engaging Europeans and simultaneously starting training centers to get Indians trained.

Competing with English traders, that too on the seas and in which huge investments were required, was no easy task.  And getting monetary support when particularly against the ruling establishment was all the more daunting.

The book also gives details of previous such indigenous shipping ventures which had been commenced and had perished.

But, this venture had a difference: ‘It seemed as though the Swadeshi Company was propelled by patriotism and not steam’ says the author. VOC had prayed to Lord Muruga at Tiruchendur before he embarked on his journey to procure the ships, and when it was taking time, he wrote in a letter, ‘God has promised to give me whatever money I require for the cause of the country’.

As is the case in any organization, till date, the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company was felled only by the division between two segments – one which wanted to stick to the ideals for which the company was floated, i.e. to keep the flag of swadeshi flying high - and the other which wanted to play moderate and protect the material interests of the company alone.  While VOC was the vanguard of the first category, one K.R.Gurusamy Aiyar, who was part of the project all along and up to its very end was the head of the second category.  But as is natural, the name of Gururamy Aiyar has been consigned to the dust bin of history.

It appears that every organization faces this problem.  First, it is created for a particular purpose, then some others who join it want to run it only for its profit.

‘In his autobiography, VOC states with pain that, as the company made steady progress, those who had earlier discouraged him, now went to the extent of conspiring with BI from at least the latter part of 1907 if not earlier’. This is another typical phenomenon, faced by any organization with some ideals, till date.

The author notes about Arthur Lawley during whose period as governor of the Madras Presidency till 1912, the ‘movement’ had been crushed and that his repressive nature notwithstanding, Lawley figures benignly in some of R.K. Narayan’s Malgudy stories with a road named after him and a statute in his honour.  (Incidentally, in Coimbatore we have a real Lawley Road, though no statue of his is known to be there)

It is the combination of this Lawley with Robert Willaim D’Escourt Ashe as collector and magistrate of Tuticorin which conducted the entire suppression which lead to a revolt and later the assassination of Ashe at Manayachi Railway Station by Vanchi Nathan – again while there is a memorial for Ashe, none was made of Vanchi, the author notes.

Those who are desirous of knowing how any power, whether indigenous or foreign, imperial or otherwise would act to suppress any force that rises against, what methods would be adopted, who could be the victims of the scheme- siding with them and opposing them, what are the pitfalls of organizing humans for any particular purpose, should read this well researched document.

It will demonstrate how history has to progress in spite of constant attempts at betrayals.

A speech in Tamil on this book

Looking for the Third force

 

The above photo of Rajiv Gandhi with V.P. Singh is a poignant one.  It was obviously during the early days of their bonhomie.  The Raja of Manda looks royal as usual. Rajiv looks candid, casual and friendly.

When Rajiv entered the political arena as the PM, though he was anointed by the stage managers of the Congress by dubious and devious means, he appeared to be quite willing to be amiable, with an intend to take the country forward in its development and to curb corruption which was at the root of the ills we face.  But as it was natural, the old guard which had brought him into office succeeded in forming a coterie around him and he became a different person.  The huge victory in the parliament elections enabled by the massive sympathy wave went into his head and with his increasing realization that corruption was not so easy to fight as in school essays, he became defensive, defiant and at last lost the mandate.

The Raja of Manda, who started off well with Rajiv also shared his vision to end corruption. In fact, as the Finance Minister of the country, he made major inroads in that direction.  Not only was he amiable, he was also tough on the wrong doers.  He gave a free hand to enforcement agencies, but not to harass on the grounds of political opposition. 

But, with Rajiv coming under the influence of the old guard in the party, he could no longer travel with the Raja on the issue of corruption eradication.  Yet, he could not afford to be seen as openly dropping him from the key Finance portfolio.  So he used the ruse of a Pakistan building up forces at the borders to move the Raja to the Defence Ministry.  But then, Bofors issue raised by the CAG and investigation ordered by V.P.Singh himself into the HDW Submarine deal ensured that V.P.Singh would stick to the avowed principle of doing away with corruption in defence deals and part ways with Rajiv.

The next phase which the Raja chose was significant for the political development in the country.  He formed the Jan Morcha.  It was to be the Third force – the name given by Vinobha ji for the concept - and which was on the lines of the earlier JP Movement.  In fact, the prime proponent of this method was Gandhi ji.  He remained outside the political structure, officially, though he was able to operate its levers from outside, more than any other individual.  Though, technically it was called undemocratic, it was the essence of democracy and moral politics rolled into one since by his stature of uncompromisingly standing for the avowed principle for which the political structure vowed to exist, had the backing of the people of the land, which was more than any of the political structures with their vested interests. Of course once the political structure gained power, then moral authority had no more any relevance and he was promptly thrown out, months before he was physically assassinated by a ‘mad Hindu’.

JP also succeeded in being outside the party politics.  But soon he too became irrelevant for the people in power.  He died, just like Gandhi ji, a heart broken man.  The Janata Government which had taken office due to his efforts had fallen due to infighting. 

(Only EVR Periyar had survived this agony.  He could found a third force in the name of DK and still did not become irrelevant.)

When V.P.Singh wanted to emulate the previous two models, at the national level, his detractors came at him saying that he was running away from taking up responsibility as leader of the party and then as PM.  He took over as the leader of the Party and successfully faced the election and got the Congress unseated. Then when he took over as PM in spite of an immoral internal challenge from Chandrasekar, he was forced to put up with heavy weights like Devi Lal to run the government.  When the torment became unbearable, again his detractors started predicting that the Raja will flee, as he had done as CM, previously.  They conveniently brushed under the carpet the grandeur with which he had left the CM chair from UP decades ago.  They refused to see the character of the person in that.  Then he had to implement the Mandal hurriedly.  And the BJP lead then by L.K.Advani finding no way out of the Mandal ‘Chakravyuha’, took flight by climbing on the Rath to Ayodhya.  The chaos which have followed, are still there to be seen and assessed.

When I see Rahul, I see V.P.Singh and the unadulterated Rajiv in him.  He appears to have the wish of his father and intention of the Raja.  He also has so far exhibited the will of the Raja of Manda and appears to have learnt from his father’s mistake of allowing the old guards to form a coterie around. 

The third force should actively help in the endeavor.

As usual the detractors want to deflect him and discredit him. 

In the interest of a new political class to develop, it only is fondly hoped that the third force would thrive at least this time.

DHARMA

 

Came across a news item circulated in Whatsapp as below:

 

"In the Indian state of Karnataka, a leopard was chasing a dog to eat it, but the dog ran and jumped into the toilet of a government rest house, whose door was locked from the outside. The leopard also entered the toilet but both got trapped. The dog saw the leopard and sat quietly in a corner, waiting for the leopard to attack. Both animals stayed in different corners for about 12 hours. Then, the forest department team used a tranquilizer dart to capture the leopard and release it. The question is, why didn't the hungry leopard eat the dog, even though it was chasing it to eat, and could have easily done so in the locked toilet?"

-      I was reminded of another photo and news item where a Cheetah was kept in a cage near three other cages in which three dogs were also kept and when they were all released, when the dogs lunged forward, the cheetah had kept quiet.  The message said that the cheetah was not ready to prove its speed, just for a race.

While the Cheetah might have signaled ‘self respect’, the behavior of the leopard when it was trapped along with a prey it was pursuing, is intriguing.

On one hand, the pose of the dog, putting it’s head down, expecting to be attacked any moment by it’s expected predator, is heart rending.  On the other hand, the pose of the leopard lying in the other corner, perhaps expecting to be killed or trapped any moment is also hear rending.

The question as to why the leopard did not kill it’s prey, could be answered only by the probability that it knew about the trap and was fearing for it’s own life. The second possibility is it did not want to hunt a trapped prey?

Of course, had it been a man, in the place of the leopard, perhaps, even at that moment, he would have preferred to make best use of the opportunity and would have had a go at the prey.

Animals after all are seen to have some ground rules - DHARMA.

CHILD PLAY

 

CHILD PLAY

 

Children play
on the sea shores.

They run around,
Fall and rise,
Wet their feet’
In the graceful waves.

Children play
on the sea shores.

With the sand that was kissed
By repeated waves,
They build their house
With tiny hands.

Children play
on the sea shores.

When the waves advance
And touch their house
Or dash them down
They weep and yet,

Children play
on the sea shores.

Again and again,
They build houses,
With wet sand and
Tiny hands,

And Then when
roaring waves advance,
They jump aside,
And clap with glee

Even as the houses
Built by them
Are swept away
Without a trace.

Children play
on the sea shores.

When they grow up,
They walk around,
Lie on the sand
Stare at the sky.

Other children play
on the sea shores.

Then they watch
Other children build
Houses in sand
And the waves
Washing them away.

They smile at the games
other children play, for
‘Building houses in sand
Is better than castles in the air’.

Houses get built
Again and again
With wet sand and
Tiny hands,
Get destroyed
Again and again
By the raiding tides,
Without respite.

Still children play
And people watch
The endless game
With the endless waves.

Children still play
On the sea shores.

 

Antidote for 'Emergency'

 

Though I was only in the 5th Standard when the #Emergency was clamped, from my father I used to get regular updates regarding the happenings. It ignited the spirit to stand against injustice and authoritarianism.

Later from books like 'The Judgment' by #KuldipNayar (who with the support of #RamnathGoenka had conducted a spirited campaign against the Emergency through the Indian Express) and 'Delhi Under Emergency', I had the opportunity to learn about the Emergency vividly. The Book about the Alahabad High Court trial by #PrashanthBushan (The case that shook India) also was highly informative, giving the detailed proceedings in the High Court in which Shanthi Bushan had represented Raj Narayan against #Smt.IndiraGandhi which ultimately led to the unseating of the PM and her imposition of the Emergency to protect her reign.

What precipitated the Emergency was the refusal of #JusticeV.R.KrishnaIyer to give an unconditional stay against the High Court Order, but only a 10 day stay to enable the Congress party to elect a leader to occupy the post of PM. The Legendary #NaniPalkiwala, who was appearing on behalf of Smt. Indira Gandhi in the Supreme Court, walked out of the case, once the Emergency was declared and opposition leaders including JP and Morarji were arrested and put in jail.

What we faced during the 19 months of Emergency was only a small glimpse of what had been faced in other parts of the world during fascist regimes.

Nightmares still continue in various methods in different degrees, till date.

Hence, on this day, we once again try to analyze the symptoms of such ills and its antidote.

Symptoms:

Centralization of power

The belief in one leader as savior from all ills

The belief of the leader about one’s own importance and indispensability

Acceptance of the above from majority of people

Formation of cartels around the leader who has been accepted by popular support

Vested interests taking roots in the cartels

The leader coming under the sway of the cartels

All institutions made subservient to the interests of the supreme leader and the cartel that has formed around the leader

With the erosion of institutions, more and more dissent getting suppressed

Only ‘Yes men’ allowed

The leader gets alienated from the masses and real needs.

Antidote:

Consistent attempts by people with knowledge of the dangers of the above, to keep the people informed about the eventuality.

Constant reminder that in the entire history of humanity, no single human (or for that even ideology) has been able to solve all problems of mankind.

Constant reminder that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Constant reminder that there are no short cuts to development – that real and lasting development depends upon all round growth.

Constant reminder that what goes round, also comes round - injustice caused to one today could knock at our own gates tomorrow – and there may not be any one to support us, if we are quiet now, or even support injustice directly or tacitly.

Constant efforts to keep institutions of democracy and governance protected from encroachment by vested interests.

Reminding every generation that ‘Eternal vigil is the price of freedom’.

Protection from knowledge and even God

Al-Hujwiri was a Sufi saint belonging to the 11th Century, born near Ghazni (more known for the Muhamad of Ghazni, the invader) in Afghanistan.

Like many of the statements of the Sufi saints, some of his chief statements attracted me.

In his work, ‘Kashf al-Mahjub’ he is quoted as to saying:

“Whatever may be an activity, good or bad, once one gets used to it, mind easily accepts it. When such a habit is formed, then this practice itself becomes a screen between oneself and God. To tear that screen becomes the chief duty of a Sufi”.

It is stated that Mohammed the Prophet used to say that the fasting of brother Dawood Alaihislam was the greatest method of fasting because he would fast one day and would not do so on another day.

Fundamentally, all this point towards annihilating ritualism and even what one would hold as great knowledge.

This reminds one of the verse 9 of the Isopanishad which says,

“They who worship ignorance enter into darkness
They who worship knowledge enter into greater darkness”.

For an ordinary mind the first part is clear while the second is stupefying since knowledge only is capable of extinguishing ignorance and knowledge is after all held to be power.

This seemingly contradictory statement has been explained by great ones clarifying that worship of knowledge is different from acquiring knowledge and worshipping knowledge means one has stopped learning, but become ritualistic and hence is an impediment in really getting enlightened. It has been explained like this: To remove the thorn of ignorance, the thorn called knowledge is required and once the thorn called ignorance is removed, then the use of the thorn called knowledge also vanishes.


There is a story narrated about Abu Bakr al-Shibli, one of the great Sufi mystics.

It goes that when Shibli had a wash of himself and was about to enter the shrine, a voice within himself asked, ‘Do you think that you are very pure just because you have washed yourself?’.

When he was about to turn around and leave, the voice asked, ‘Having come to my house, are you returning without entering and thus insulting me?’.

When Shibli started lamenting about this predicament aloud, the voice within asked, ‘Are you shouting at me?’.

When Shibli kept quiet, the voice asked, ‘Are you putting on an act as if you are putting up with all ordeals?’.

In sheer exasperation Shibli cried, ‘Hey God, I pray that you may protect me from you’.

Sacrifice of oneself at the alter of God is said to be the greatest sacrifice.

All spiritual greats have repeatedly said this over centuries, all across the globe at various times.

God, grant us that wisdom.

Id Mubarak on this Bakrid to all friends.

 

 

God and inequality

          Once when we were arguing our case to an official, my friend said that there should be equality in application of certain principles.  The official with a wave of his hand said, ‘don’t talk about equality, even God is not equal’.  Though I was about to point out the provisions of the Constitution which stressed on equality before law, what actually I blurted out was, “Sir, that is the exclusive prerogative of God. I do not think humans should usurp it”. I said. This was something unexpected even by me.  The Official was startled. He looked up from the file he was perusing even while speaking to us, put down the pen and said, “ I am sorry, I withdraw my statement”.  His reaction was even more unexpected.  Instead of becoming angry, he had suddenly realized the enormity of his statement.

          Whenever I remember this episode, I am reminded of the parable in the Bible where workers come to a farm from morning to evening at different times of the day and at the time of leaving they are all given their wages for the day.  The one who came last is given an amount and the same amount is given to the one who came first also, prompting the one who came first to ask, how when he came early and toiled for more hours he was paid only what was paid to a person who came much later and worked for a much lesser time.  The owner of the farm tells him, ‘look only into what has been given to you, not into what was given to others’.

          This parable has been a bone of contention for those who believe in the theory of equality and particularly the Communists who feel that every one ought to be paid as per their contribution.

          Capitalists have however refused to accept the concept of such equality on grounds that the quality of work cannot be quantified as per the time taken to perform alone and also that it is the exclusive prerogative of the ‘owner’ to determine what should be given to whom.

          The parable in the Bible however is not related to material equality.  It is to be understood in the context of spiritual excellence.  When someone reaches the goal, it is immaterial whether he was first or last. It is this concept that is emphasized in the Bhagavatha story of Ajamila also.

          From the story of Ajamila one would feel that it is enough if he thinks of God at the time of death, for in the Bhagavat Gita it is said that one attains what one thinks at the time of death. 

(8.6: Whatever one remembers upon giving up the body at the time of death, O son of Kunti, one attains that state, being always absorbed in such contemplation.)

          However, it has been emphasized by the realized that it is not as easy as that.  At the time of death, only that desire which is predominant in mind would arise, they say. 

Two films and a message

 

Happened to see two films – both in Malayalam, in amazon prime.

One is Naradan.  

It depicts the evil side of the 24x7 news channels which are desperate to increase their ratings at the cost of peddling (or even creating) false narratives in the name of news, without concern about the damage it does to the individuals concerned who become victims and also the larger good of the society.  It shows the arrogance that goes with that power to intrude into individual and private life in the name of freedom of the press and speech.  It ends with the sweet dream of an incorruptible Munsif/Magistrate directing the Police to file an FIR against the protagonist. Indirans as the Munsif/Magistrate has displayed magisterial regal.  He stands on the side of the poor who cannot afford to approach the judicial forums for a compensation for their life and reputation being spoiled by the mighty and money hungry media.

The other one is Aatam – The Play.  

It revolves around an allegation of sexual assault by the lone lady member of a drama troop against a leading actor of the film industry who happens to be the main actor in the troop.  What forms the plot of the film is the discussion that takes place between the other members of the troop regarding what action is to be taken against the alleged offender.  Some want to find the veracity of the allegation.  Some have a doubt whether there is proof that it was the said person who was the perpetrator.  Some suggest a compromise between the two. One suggests a mid way of a suspension for 6 months or 1 year.  There are also persons who are of strong opinion that there cannot be any compromise on such issues and the person against whom the allegation has been made has to be sent out of the troop.  Though one or two are still having doubts about the stand that they are to take in the matter, they decide to abide by the decision of the others.  But before the decision is communicated, they want to have a word with the victim to show that they are all with her.  One of the members of the troop is sent to fetch her.  In the meanwhile the person against whom the allegation has been leveled happens to turn up to meet the leader of the troop and makes a promise of taking the troop on a foreign trip for 3 months.  This promise makes the members of the troop slowly change their stand one by one and by the time the victim arrives on the scene, there is a different scene.  It shows how thin the question of moral compunctions is in our society.  There is a twist, I do not want to reveal.  I was reminded about the German drama 'Zeit der Schuldlosen' by #SiegfriedLenz, which has been translated into Tamil by G. Krishnamurthy under the name of ‘Nirabarathikalin Kaalam’.(நிரபராதிகளின் காலம்).  Though the German play is with a political background, I feel the basic issues remain the same. 

I only felt that if the common man is able to appreciate the issues presented in both the above movies, we would evolve into a far more better society and would not allow people, particularly politicians and moneyed mafia to take us for a ride.

BEHIND THE BOND

 

The data about the #ElectoralBonds released by the EC has prima facie shown that it was another grand scam like the #Demonitisation (Demo for short).

The similarities are quite striking.

In the case of Demo, the #RBI was used as a shield.  In the case of the Political Electoral Bond (PEB for short), it was the #SBI.

In Demo, the Government said that the intention was to wipe out black money and fake currency (issued primarily by Pakistan).

But, what was hidden under the carpet from the eyes of the gullible common man is that black money is not related to the currency held in one’s hand.  It is related to whether it is accounted for (not merely accounted) and has been subjected to tax that it ought to have been.  It changes from its nature of being black or white depending upon with whom it is at the time of the transaction, when it was required to be accounted for and subjected to tax.  With the next transaction, it changes the colour depending upon whether the recipient was required to account for it and had to pay any tax and whether it was done so or not.   For example, if a person who has earned money that should have been subjected to Income Tax, but he either did not account for the said transaction in his IT returns and spent the money for purchase of groceries on a large scale and gave it away to some organization which fed the poor, the money has changed hands, is not taxable at the hands of the grocery merchant, if he is below the IT limits and is not going to be taxed at the recipient end, which is the organization feeding the poor (exempted as a charitable organisation).  Yet, the liability of the person who did not account for the income remains.  To get hold of that tax, no end of chasing of the currency would matter. Because, from the grocer, it could have changed hands to a whole-sale merchant, who might have accounted for it or not and from there to some other supplier or to a manufacturer or down the lane to some other persons.  And if the money has reached the hands of an agriculturist it becomes non-taxable and thus is white at that point.

The second example is that of a person who earns money which is taxable, but shows it in his book of accounts under a category of non-taxable receipt.  This money also changes many hands.  Classic case is incomes shown as generated out of agricultural activities, even if no such activity had been undertaken.  There is no use in chasing that currency because it does not stay with the person who has stained it.

Thus, black money could be essentially and properly checked only by means of checking the accounts and investigating those who have filed false returns or evaded tax.  Not by going after the currency in the hands of all and sundry.  Thus this stated objective itself was false.

Regarding the next stated objective regarding checking fake currency, it is indeed directly related to the currency.

But during the Demo exercise, when exchange of notes was made mandatory, there was no mechanism to check whether the currencies obtained across the counter were fake or not.  Since there was no mechanism of noting down the number of the currency and from whom it has been obtained, even if it is stated that the Banks subsequently undertook a verification of the genuineness of the currency, there was no way they could have tracked down the person who exchanged it.  They had also by that time issued genuine currency in that place. 

Then of course, as revealed in the Sekhar Reddy episode where crores worth of currency in Rs. 2000 denomination had been seized during a raid, within days of demo, even as people were standing in queues to get two such notes, all transactions did not necessarily take place across the counters and some persons were lucky enough to get them exchanged in lump sum.  It is another thing that subsequently the case was said to have been closed on finding that all that was ‘accounted’.  This again proves the disconnect between the colour of the currency and the colour of the accounts.

All the more important is that there is no statistics revealed by the RBI regarding what number of such fake currency had been thus got exchanged for new genuine ones.

The other issues that they stated regarding fake currency were (a) that it was enabled due to imported paper used for printing the currency in India and (b) due to high denomination currency in circulation.

These stated objectives were also proved to be a mere eye wash when subsequently paper for printing currency was imported again and a still higher denomination (Rs 2000) currency was issued in the place of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 thus making it more luring and profitable to issue fake currency (in a higher denomination).

The final tally of the currency which had come into the RBI also disproved the Government claim that it expected that there will be a deficit of 15% of the money in circulation when it comes back and thus it will be the net saving.  The total number of currency which came in was almost 100% (99.3% as per RBI) to that which was issued.  The counting in the last phases became very slow beating even Ravi Shastri’s innings at the finals of the Benson and Hedges in 1985. 

In the case of Political Electoral Bonds it was stated that the intention was to stop illegal political funding.  The second limb was the assurance that the identity of the donors will be maintained to ensure that there will not be victimization. 

Here again, the legality or illegality of political funding does not depend merely upon whether the fund has come through banking channels. First criterion is regarding whether it is accounted on both the sides, whether it has suffered the eligible tax deductions and then whether there is any quid-pro-quo for the said donations.

What the details of the PEB revealed by the SBI have shown is that there is every indication that the funding has been for some quid-pro-quo.  Either it is in the way of contracts, obtained or to be obtained; or to wriggle out of some case already booked or to be booked by any of the agencies like CBI, IB, ED, etc.  These could obviously be operated only by the parties in power, whether at the Center or at the States and thus, the entire funding itself is obviously illegal, irrespective of whether it came through the bank or not. That the donors have donated beyond their capabilities as per their own books of account again evidence that merely because it came through banks, it is not white money.

As in the case of Demo, here again it is proved that black and white do not depend merely on being accounted or coming in through banking channels.  People who still do not understand this difference shall continue to be duped again and again by the advertised concept of transparency through banking transactions.

Secondly, when the scheme said that the donations will be anonymous – at least to those not involved in it- it was quite contrary to the requirement for any banking system to reconcile receipts and payments; to verify whether the bonds that were being realized were the ones actually issued by the institution itself; that no cash purchase was possible and only through bank accounts; that Banks had to take the KYC of the donors; that realization could be done only by way of deposit in another bank account and when such data is available with the institution, no anonymity is possible, particularly from the eyes of the Government and when the scheme itself stated that the data should be provided if demanded by a competent Court, the said declaration of providing cover or protection to the donor itself was misleading. If at all there was any intention of keeping it anonymous, it was only from the knowledge of the public, who are the citizens, called upon to vote, in the name of promises, from time to time.

In the above scenario, when the Bonds were having an alphanumeric identity, the SBI taking a stand after 16 or 17 days of the Supreme Court order requiring them to reveal the details of the bonds, that they found it difficult to match the donors and recipients (something the Court had never required them to do in the first instance) is obviously a lie.  Once the data was out, people have been able to match it within a few hours. Because all of us know that the SBI and Mr. Harish Salve were saying the lie with impunity only because they, like anyone else knew that they had the backing of the Government, no action could be expected against them for making such a statement.  Nor will they be hauled up for not understanding simple English which required them to reveal all details, and instead they chose to misunderstand it in a very complicated way, ‘in the light of some paras of some earlier judgment’.  If any ordinary mortal had attempted such tricks before even the lowest court in the land, he would have landed up in jail.  But mighty Government is mighty due to their having gained absolute majority. 

When the alphanumeric details of the bonds were released, it only confirmed the quid-pro-quo nature of all these donations.  The time line, the amount involved and the parties involved have made it obvious regarding the purpose for which these donations took place.  They were definitely ‘not in the national interest’. If they had anything to do with elections, then it was only for further illegal dealings using the said money.

This episode not only revealed yet another hollowness of the claims of the BJP Government, but also shows how brazenly people are being taken for a ride in the name of tall promises of cleaning up the economy or the system.

As a last ditch attempt, the SBI and FICCI, ASSOCHAM, etc were made to attempt to thwart revealing the alphanumeric details of the PEB.  Mr. Harish Salve appearing for the SBI openly sought a declaration from the SC that no PILs should be entertained on the basis of the information.  Mr. Mukul Rohatgi representing the Associations of the Industries and Commerce/Corporates (donors) said that they feared that there will be a witch-hunt once the data is revealed.

The episode once again shows how the BJP let down those who believed in them – that they will deliver on the stated objective.

It could also be a pointer that the trade or captains of Industry fear that BJP may not come back next time and hence they may be in trouble since the contributions to BJP is the highest.  Otherwise, why should they talk about witch-hunt?

From this revelation, what is clear is that the very persons who came to power in 2014 in the name of cleaning up politics and the economy have only further muddied them and in the process the investigating agencies have blatantly and brazenly been misused to suit the needs of the party in power.

The other thing is that there is no difference between any of the political parties.  Either they get money through deals for contracts, or through some policy that might help only someone who give them money, or by threats of raids, arrests, etc.  The one who came up promising to be a messiah against all these ills has proved to be only a master of these techniques.

When it becomes blatant that investigations could be launched against any one and pre-trial arrest itself will be seen and propagated as evidence of guilt and the persons could be bound down, even Judges cannot remain fearless in such an atmosphere.  Then, to expect that in the face of such misuse, Judiciary can come to the rescue is also difficult to believe, always. 

One Dhanjaya cannot don all roles and all times.  He is not after all Krishna Paramatma.

In such a scenario, democracy becomes a farce, because there is no level playing field.  Russia also conducts elections.  But we do not consider them democratic any more. 

So more than the monetary element, what is at the back of the Bond is the revelation that we are in deep trouble as a democracy and as a state.

THE LINES ARE CLEAR

 

When the Supreme Court ordered that the SBI should reveal ‘all details of the electoral bonds, including the names of the purchasers, the amounts and the names of those who en-cashed them’,  like a clerk in a panchayath office, the SBI interpreted it to mean only the names of the purchasers, the amounts and the names of those who en-cashed them.  They deliberately did not understand the words, ‘all details of the electoral bonds, including’.  And they did not have the guts to send a representative to the SC for the next hearing.  The ASG Mr. Tushar Mehta repeatedly said ‘I am not representing the SBI’.  So much fear for the ire that the SBI would draw from the first bench of the highest Court for mocking them on their face. The Court had to order specifically that the numbers of the bonds have also got to be revealed. 

In fact, I had felt that even in the previous hearing Mr. Harish Salve had feebly said that the numbers and KYC details were deliberately kept separately so that they cannot be matched.  But nobody seemed to listen or give any significance for that.  He also did not press on that later.  But it appeared to be a very lame excuse; keeping the KYC had absolutely no meaning if they cannot be connected to the bonds, because then there would have been no requirement to obtain them at all.  Thus, even at that time, the SBI was trying to find an excuse not to divulge the bond numbers so that they cannot be directly co-related to the deposits by the parties. 

But even without the numbers coming out, the indications of quid pro quo are quite evident. However, once this co-relation is done, then, all contracts awarded to the parties who had made the deposits, the charges against them investigated but closed or put on back burner, etc should have to be investigated afresh.  But who will do that?  The very beneficiaries of these un-constitutional bonds?

Now, coming to the effect of the revelations of the electoral bonds on the general public:

I find that only those who were already convinced about the illegality of the bonds got it confirmed.  But those who proclaimed that it was a transparent system have gone silent even on why the transparent system failed even the orders of the highest court.  They perhaps meant that it was transparent to the ruling party alone and that is enough, like the other opaque fund created in the name of PM himself, the PM CARES. How can there be a private trust in the name of the PM is a fundamental question these people will not face.  They are not shocked by the revelations of the SBI.  Rather they are only shocked that the Supreme Court suddenly got this courage to dictate to the SBI and the EC, which means the ruling party in government.  They say that the Court should not interfere in administrative matters.  They do not even acknowledge that the highest court is a Court for Constitutional matters.

Therefore, even if they were claiming that the BJP is a party with a difference and that they are in-corruptible, even as legislators were being bought right, left and center, they merely called it an extension of only the political games the Congress played earlier, not that they really believed about the cleanliness of the party.  They still said that their leader was in-corruptible.  Then they said that even Patel took money from the industrialists for the party and even Gandhi stayed (though only for 7 months) in the Birla mandir (forget how he stayed there, why, etc) and that instead of taking money without accounts, taking it through a banking system was always welcome. They are not even bothered about this having been brought as a money bill, that the amendments made for this electoral bond enabled even loss making firms contribute, which means even shell companies could do so and that the Representation of Peoples Act was also amended to the effect that the parties need not reveal the receipt details through these bonds. Great measures to ensure transparency indeed.

These are the very people who did not understand the stupidity (even theoretically) of demonitisation and the lock down announced at a single stroke instead of leaving it to the concerned states to control the epidemic whenever it spreads in the different regions.  They have refused to acknowledge the failures of both these announcements, which were done purely for one person to assert – to exhibit the power to bring lives to a stand-still.

And it is this cult mentality that keeps them bound till date, irrespective of any number of proofs of the weakness of their government (not mentioning of China or the deliberate looking away from Manipur) or the steep corruption involved in by their party.

That their party has amassed wealth on one hand, has got many of their opponents either imprisoned or embroiled in different cases and have withdrawn them if they joined the BJP, on the other hand, has put them on a totally high pedestal (not morally but on monetary terms) – that is, on a totally uneven playing field.  To make the best of this advantage, they would like to go for a ‘One Nation One Election’ so that none of their opponents will have the wherewithal to face them in such an unequal match – at one go.  They have got hold of the full powers to appoint the referee for the match also.  Even the CAG has been caged.

The only impediment has been the highest Court.  To take care of that, they have been propounding a way out of the collegiums system.  Once, that is achieved, the appointments to the Courts also could be done like to any other administrative post and the appointees will be answerable only to the PM. 

It is not that the supporters of the BJP are not aware of any of these.  In fact they are happy about all this.  They are absolutely sure that this PM or anybody who follows him as per the decision of the BJP or the RSS are enough to safe guard their interests.

Now, what are ‘their interests’?

They feel that as Hindus, they did not have enough freedom to propound whatever they wanted in the name of the religion.

Why?

They have propagated and believed that the Congress under the leadership of Nehru and thereafter his family indulged in ‘pseudo secularism’, thereby giving the Muslims and Christians an advantage at the cost of the majority of the Hindus. They have put the blame for the partition on Gandhi and Nehru. 

Before going into the truth about that, one question arises – whether these RSS elements were against partition?  They were not.  In fact, without a Muslim Pakistan coming into being, they could not demand for a Hindustan.

It is quite a fact that after the experience of running the interim Government (before the Independence) along with the Muslim League, both Nehru and Patel were fed up with it and hence felt that a combined Government accommodating the League could not be possible.  Hence, the blame cannot be on Nehru alone. 

Now coming to the role of Gandhi:

All along Gandhi has said that the British should quit and then Independent India can decide on whether a partition was necessary or not.  He said that Britain had no business to indulge in such an exercise which was playing with the fate of the lives of millions, as if it was child’s play. 

The following is the transcript of his letter to Mountbatten written on 8^th May 1947 when he was on a train to Patna:

 (Source : https://www.mkgandhi.org/selectedletters/95viceroy.html )

On the train to Patna,
8th May 1947

DEAR FRIEND,

It strikes me that I should summarize what I said and wanted to say and left unfinished for want of time, at our last Sunday's meeting.

1. Whatever may be said to the contrary, it would be a blunder of first magnitude for the British to be party in any way whatsoever to the division of India. If it has to come, let it come after the British withdrawal, as a result of understanding between the parties or [of] an armed conflict which according to Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah is taboo. Protection of minorities can be guaranteed by establishing a court of arbitration in the event of difference of opinion among contending parties.
2. Meanwhile the Interim Government should be composed either of Congressmen or those whose names the Congress chooses or of Muslim League men or those whom the League chooses. The dual control of today, lacking team work and team spirit, is harmful for the country. The parties exhaust themselves in the effort to retain their seat and to placate you. Want of team spirit demoralizes the Government and imperils the integrity of the services so essential for good and efficient government.
3. Referendum at the stage in the Frontier (or any province for that matter) is a dangerous thing in itself. You have to deal with the material that faces you. In any case nothing should or can be done over Dr Khan Sahib's head as Premier. Note that this paragraph is relevant only if division is at all to be countenanced.
4. I feel sure that partition of the Punjab and Bengal is wrong in every case and a needless irritant for the League. This as well as all innovations can come after the British withdrawal not before, except always for mutual agreement. Whilst the British Power is functioning in India, it must be held principally responsible for the preservation of peace in the country. That machine seems to be cracking under the existing strain which is caused by the raising of various hopes that cannot or must not be fulfilled. These have no place during the remaining thirteen months. This period can be most profitably shortened if the minds of all were focused on the sole task of withdrawal. You and you alone can do it to the exclusion of all other activity so far as the British occupation is concerned.
5. Your task as undisputed master of naval warfare, great as it was, was nothing compared to what you are called to do now. The singlemindedness and clarity that gave you success are much more required in this work.
6. If you are not to leave a legacy of chaos behind, you have to make your choice and leave the government of the whole of India including the States to one party. The Constituent Assembly has to provide for the governance even of that part of India which is not represented by the Muslim League or some States.
7. Non-partition of the Punjab and Bengal does not mean that the minorities in these Provinces are to be neglected. In both the Provinces they are large and powerful enough to arrest and demand attention. If the popular Governments cannot placate them the Governors should during the interregnum actively interfere.
8. The in transmissibility of paramountcy is a vicious doctrine, if it means that they the States can become sovereign and a menace for Independent India. All the power wherever exercised by the British in India must automatically descend to its successor. Thus the people of the States become as much part of Independent India as the people of British India. The present Princes are puppets created or tolerated for the upkeep and prestige of the British power. The unchecked powers exercised by them over their people is probably the worst blot on the British Crown. The Princes under the new regime can exercise only such powers as trustees can and as can be given to them by the Constituent Assembly. It follows that they cannot maintain private armies or arms factories. Such ability and statecraft as they possess must be at the disposal of the Republic and must be used for the good of their people and the people as a whole. I have merely stated what should be done with the States. It is not for me to show in this letter how this can be done.
9. Similarly difficult but not so baffling is the question of the Civil Service. Its members should be taught from now to accommodate themselves to the new regime. They may not be partisans taking sides. The slightest trace of communalism among them should be severely dealt with. The English element in it should know that they owe loyalty to the new regime rather than to the old and therefore to Great Britain. The habit of regarding themselves as rulers and therefore superiors must give place to the spirit of true service of the people.
10. I had a very pleasant two hours and three quarters with Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah on Tuesday last. We talked about the joint statement on non-violence. He was agreeably emphatic over his belief in non-violence. He has reiterated it in the Press statement which was drafted by him.
11. We did talk about Pakistan-cum-partition. I told him that my opposition to Pakistan persisted as before and suggested that in view of his declaration of faith in non-violence he should try to convert his opponents by reasoning with them and not by show of force. He was, however, quite firm that the question of Pakistan was not open to discussion. Logically, for a believer in non-violence, nothing, not even the existence of God could be outside its scope.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur saw the first eight paragraphs, the purport of which she was to give to Pandit Nehru with whom I was to send you this letter. But, I could not finish it in New Delhi, I finished it on the train. I hope you and Her Excellency are enjoying your hard-earned rest.

Yours sincerely,
M.K. GANDHI

To

H.E. THE VICEROY, SIMLA

In spite of the above documented letter and many more records, there is a wild allegation that Gandhi got the Nation divided to make Nehru the Prime Minister.  Surely, a generation which has not read history can easily be misled by whatsapp universities.

I am following the above by giving some excerpts from ‘Let’s Kill Gandhi’, by Tushar Gandhi, to throw more light in the matter:

    "Gandhi did not have the least doubt that the British would eventually leave, but of late he was worried that what his countrymen would be left holding would be an empty shell that once was a glorious nation.  On the morning of 24 May, as Gandhi boarded the train for Delhi at Patna, he told Dr. Mahmud, “The Congress has practically decided to accept Partition.  But I have been a fighter all my life.  I am going to Delhi to fight a losing battle”. (p 309)  (See the pain in his statement)

    “On 29 May, during his morning walk, a co-worker said to Gandhi: ‘You have declared that you won’t mind if the whole of India is turned into Pakistan by appeal to reason, but not an inch would be yielded to force.  You have stood firm by your declaration.  But is the Working Committee acting on that principle?  They are yielding to force.  You gave us the battel cry of “Quit India”; you fought our battles; but in the hour of decision, I find, you are not in the picture.  You and your ideas have been given the go by’.

    Gandhi replied, ‘Who listens to me today?’ to which the co-worker replied, “The leaders may not, but the people are behind you’.  Gandhi replied, ‘Even they are not.  I am being told to retire to the Himalayas. Everybody is eager to garland my photos and statues.  Nobody really wants to follow me’.

    The co-worker said, ‘They may not today, but they will have to before long’, to which Gandhi replied, ‘What is the good? Who knows, whether I shall then be alive?  The question is: what can we do today?  On the eve of independence, we are as divided as we were united when we were engaged in freedom’s battle.  The prospect of power has demoralized us”. (p 310-311)

    “During his walk on the morning of 3 June, Gandhi asked Rajendra Babu if he might now return to Bihar.  But the latter did not feel he should, as his presence was essential in the capital, ‘if only for Badahah Khan’, cryptically suggesting that the whole process might still degenerate into chaos on the question of the fate of the North-West Frontier Province.

     ‘In all probability’, he said later, the final seal will be set on the partition plan during the day.  But though I may be alone in holding this view, I repeat that the division of India can only do harm to the country’s future.  The slavery of 150 years is going to end, but from the look of things, it does not seem as if independence will last as long.  It hurts me to think that I can see nothing but evil in the Partition plan.  May be that just as God blinded my vision, so that I mistook the non-violence of the weak for true non-violence, He has again stricken me with blindness.  If it should prove to be so, nobody would be happier than I.”  (p – 315) 

          It is very saddening to see that a person who called off the Civil Disobedience movement after the Chauri chaura had only at the fag-end of his life found that the people who acted to be non-violent were actually cowards within – in other words that he had been fooled not by his opponents, but the very ones who called him Bapu and Mahatma.  [“They were the ones, the word went round, with whom business could be done.  The impossible old man was put on a pedestal, admired for his genius and unerring hunch, consulted, listened to with respectful attention and bypassed”. – Pyarelal Nayyar in Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase, Vol. 10 Part II]

All along the Congress paid lip service to Gandhi. Now it is the turn of the BJP.  First, it was in the name of ‘Gandhian Socialism’. The present day rulers have decided to renovate the Sabarmathi Ashram. Every now and then, even as Nehru is rubbished, Gandhi’s name is invoked, clearly to pit Gandhi’s name against Nehru. And then to undermine the stature of Gandhi, they try to portray Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Bhagat Singh and Nethaji as the real patriots.  Then simultaneously, they have started to openly celebrate Nathuram Godse – as if he was a patriot and started to slowly introduce their own icon Veer Sarvarkar on par with Patel, Shasthri, Netaji and Bhagat Singh and propagate that things would have been far better if Gandhi and Nehru had not been in the scene.  That Patel and Shastri would have been non-entities but for Gandhi and that Bhagat Singh and Netaji had a difference with Gandhi only like sons have with their father [“It was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who had called Ba a martyr first; in his obituary, he accused the colonial administration of murdering Ba to break Gandhi’s spirit” – Let’s Kill Gandhi p- 173] and that definitely they were all not in league with Sarvarkar, is something they do not want others to consider – even if it is so clearly recorded in the history.

Modi ji paying lip service to Gandhi does not suppress the resentment of the RSS or BJP to Gandhian philosophy.  Because, for these people, ‘Ends justify the means’ – just the opposite of what Gandhi stood for.

These people believe that there is no crime in killing (they may call it a sacrifice) an individual to save the family, a family to save a village and a village to save the nation.

And precisely for this, those who are opposed to them as well as their supporters hold the same view – that the BJP and its outfits could have indulged in any atrocities in Gujarat - and they are not repentant about it;  that they may not want to accept before the Court, but they brought down the Babri masjid in a planned way and that the strong armed tactics will be followed as a measure to maintain law and order – in the same manner in every situation – a la a bulldozer raj.

The crown of dadagiri will be worn with a different colour.  What smaller parties have been accused of doing at the level of states or districts, will gain a national status.  But, when states indulge in it, there was the Centre to be looked towards for help and intervention.  ‘When an elephant goes mad, the chain would restrain; what if the chain itself goes mad?’, is a saying in Malayalam.

The lines are therefore drawn – it is not any more regarding corruption or clean public life, since it has been established that BJP is no different from other parties in spite of their tall claims all these years– it is regarding whether we will have the rule of law to abide by, where institutions can discharge their respective functions without fear or favour, or whether we will fall back to being ruled by mobocracy – in the name of religion or individual’s cult.  Because, we know that there never existed a Hindu Rashtra – there were only kingdoms of different sizes by different rulers at different points in time in different places of the country.  Those kingdoms had got buried due to the efflux of time and by the misuse of the positions that their rulers indulged in.  They had fought between themselves and ended up letting in the Muslim invaders and then selling themselves up to the East India Company. 

Hinduism obtained a concrete form only after it was organized by Adi Sankara.  That itself was only an answer to the rude shock the then vedic religion faced after the advent of The Budha.  But even after Sankara, the division of Advaidha, Dvaidha, Vishistadvaidha, remain, not to forget about the non-believers and sects which still are not fully absorbed into the above organized branches. 

Hence, the essence of true Hinduism, whether in its pre-organised form or after its different branches in the organized form, has been assimilation.  This was the greatest proclamation made by Swami Vivekananda to the world.

What Vivekananda, his Guru Sri Ramakrishna and many others like Paramahamsa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Swami Rama, Sri Narayana Guru, the Sai Babas, etc, in the last century have shown is that Hinduism still can assimilate from other faiths.  Hinduism shall survive only by that spirit.  Not by becoming a monotheistic religion where we keep on hearing “One’ for each and every thing. Hinduism allows many, as many as one would want.  And it is only that spirit which holds this country together too.

This cannot be achieved with an attitude of vengeance, a scheming mind or even out of an inferiority complex created out of a perpetual portrayal and assumption of victimhood.  Nor by the continuous chants and war cries of annihilating all the others – faiths, parties or people.

Our future depends upon what we decide now.