The following is an email I received in IofC-Odisha google groups from a friend.His name has resemblance with min but of course,he is a bit ahead of me in maturity of thoughts.Thanq Arbind for a wonderful mail and hope you don't mind for pasting it here.
There is slight ambiguity regarding the time he told about the death of Mother Teresa and Diana but don't get into details of that.
More than a year and a half has passed since the deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana. Yet, their lives remain clear in our memory. And for good reason, for there is much we can learn from them. For example, their deaths remind us how a person is remembered.
We can learn from them and experience the joy of giving. To do so, we need not be as heroic. There is no need to travel to some distant land or search out the less fortunate. All we need do is awaken, to become aware of those around us. Every encounter is an opportunity to give. Our siblings, spouse, children, friends, relatives, co-workers, boss, customers, and all those we meet will gratefully accept our gifts. The gifts I'm referring to are spiritual in nature and, therefore, do not have any costs.
Sometimes we forget how much we have to offer. For example, though tired of waiting in line at the bank, we can offer the stressed-out bank teller a warm smile and the gifts of patience and understanding. We have the power to uplift her spirit and make her day! At home or in the office, our words of encouragement can plant the seeds of confidence in the minds of our children and co-workers.
You say, your younger brother/sister has used your mobile and there is nothing you can do about it? Well, don't fret; there is something you can do. You can give her the gift of acceptance, unconditional love. You see, all through life we are told to conform to the standards of others, instead of being accepted for whom we are. It starts with mommy and daddy, then it's our teachers and peers, followed by our supervisors in our workplace. Even our boy and girlfriends (and later our spouses) get into the act! It seems as if everyone is telling us what to do and how to think. No wonder people hunger for a little acceptance. Speaking of hunger, it takes more than food banks to feed the hungry. It also takes spiritual gifts, such as acceptance.
There are many more gifts that we can give. For instance, the gift of interest .What do you imagine is the worst thing we can do to someone? It is not to hate them, but to be indifferent toward them, to display no interest.You can offer your seat while travelling in a public transport or in side a waiting room or bus stop & you will receive gratitude in the form of smile. If someone were to hate you, it may be because of envy. Hatred, then, is an expression of interest. Imagine what it would be like if no one had the slightest interest in you. That would hurt! Our gift of interest can help satisfy the craving for attention. Ironically, it is only after we express our interest in others that we can learn how interesting they are!
Still another gift is that of recognition. There are more people starving for recognition than there are starving for food. Why is praise so sought after? Because, like gold and diamonds, it is rare and hard find. Can you remember how many times you were frustrated because your achievements and efforts went unrecognized? We can stop frustrating others by bearing the gift of recognition. Since praise is free, let's offer it freely, but it has value only when it is sincere.
The greatest gift we have to offer is that of time, for time is the stuff life is made of. As our only nonrenewable resource, it is precious. What greater way of expressing love, than by devoting time to those we care about and those in need? Walt Whitman, the poet, expressed it this way, "Behold, I do not give lectures or a little charity. When I give, I give myself." When we give to our friends, we draw them closer. When we give to our enemies, we change them into friends.
The deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana remind us of our own mortality. It's almost as if they were whispering, "The time to give is now." Or, as Marcus Aurelius wrote in the second century, "Live not as though there were a thousand years ahead of you. Fate is at your elbow; make yourself good while life and power are still yours."
Let's do it-who know KAL HO NA HO!
love&prayer
Arbind
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I wanted to write about 2 issues,which have lot of significance but we don't really understand.Both are different from each other.
I'm taking a course of YES+ and today is the second day of 3 days course.After the long kriya,the teacher who came from Kolkata said,"Just imagine,how the world would have been if every one in this world have this state of mind(Calm,peaceful)."This statement made me aware of today's date-September 11(9/11).The day which changed the course of this world and almost demolished two nations and affected many other nations.
Last time when I was visiting Bakul foundation,I clicked a photo and it is the photo which I published here.There was a dialogue in Vedam,a telugu film-"People fight in the name of religion because they don't understand each other's language.Some call Him Allah,Some call Him Jesus,and a few call Him vishnu etc.,"If each other understand other's language,there will be no problems and the common language among all is silence,but it can't be possible to be silent all the time so we should go for patience or say,tolerance but there is a limit to it even.So,what can be the solution?
Solution is Love.4 worded solution but it has lot of meaning.Love includes understanding,respect and every thing.Personally,I believe God is omni-present but I don't believe in "Idol-worship" but if some one asks me bend down before an idol,I immediately do it not for the sake of that idol but I respect the other persons belief who asked me to do so.I wish a muslim in his tradition paying complete respect to the words because I love(try to) the human being and I respect his belief too.
Can't we develop this trait,love.Why we fight on unnecessary after-death hell and heaven in turn turning the present earth into hell.I won't believe religion is greater than humanity and I trust,Love is equivalent to all forms of God.
I often hear people saying doing kriya or some yoga is spirituality.I have reservations with this.I have seen people who are extremely spiritual but they don't perform any of this acts.They always try to love everyone and I believe spirituality is a process of understanding and implementing love.
Second thing I want to write about is Creativity.I dont want to write much about this in this blog but definitely I'll write about this significant issue.For now,I want to publish a few photographs
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
India needs new politics
India is adrift. Worrisomely adrift. This is not because of any widespread social unrest or destabilising economic problems. Discontent in society there certainly is. Grievances due to the country’s unbalanced economic growth there certainly are and they are mounting. But the lack of direction is primarily due to the stagnant state of Indian politics. There is no soaring sense of purpose, fresh vitality and inspirational energy visible in any segment of the political spectrum, including in the two main national parties — Congress and BJP. Making matters worse for the country is their growing mutual antagonism, which is set to create a storm in the monsoon session of Parliament.
Discussing the state of regional parties is unnecessary in this context because, significant though they are in their respective states, they do not critically determine the health of national politics. Discussing the state of the two communist parties is also not pertinent here. Their national footprint and influence have both shrunk enormously, mainly due to the fossilisation of their ideology. Their future looks bleaker than the present. The socialist movement, once a persuasive voice and a powerful factor in Indian politics, has all but vanished. Can there be a sadder commentary on its disappearance than the near-total absence of a suitable commemoration, in 2010, of the birth centenary of its greatest leader, Dr Rammanohar Lohia? How effortlessly we have forgotten one of the most original political thinkers in independent India.
What is truly worrisome is the state of the two national parties. Outwardly all seems well with the Congress and the government it heads. UPA II is stable. Dr Manmohan Singh has become the third longest occupant of the office of Prime Minister. Not a small achievement. It is also a tribute to the quickly acquired political expertise of Sonia Gandhi. Her authority is unlikely to be challenged by anybody within her own party, something which was not true even in the case of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. However, in spite of all these pluses, the calm in the Congress and its government is suggestive of stagnation, not the strength, self-confidence and sagacity needed to take the nation forward, rapidly and in the right direction.
Efforts of UPA II to normalise relations with Pakistan are leading nowhere, mainly because of India’s overdependence on American mediators. Pakistan’s shrewd rulers are trying to strike their own anti-India bargain with the US, stuck as the latter is with its needless and hopeless military occupation of Afghanistan. India’s gains in normalising the situation in the Kashmir valley, which were the outcome of the farsighted efforts of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Singh (in UPA I), have been largely frittered away by UPA II due to inattention. There is lack of consensus within the Congress and the government on how to deal with the menace of Maoism. And there is no big and enthusiasm-creating action to walk the government’s laudable talk on inclusive development. This cannot be done, as ample examples from history caution us, merely by launching yet another poverty alleviation programme by spending thousands of crores of rupees. What is needed is firm and sustained action against corruption, inefficiency, unaccountability and bureaucratic insensitivity, which are responsible for the abysmal failure of most government-funded anti-poverty schemes. Besides distorting India’s development, corruption is also poisoning the very lifeblood of India’s democratic institutions, including the judiciary. Sadly, there is no real and credible outrage over corruption in Political India. The BJP’s recent conduct in Karnataka and Jharkhand shows that it has no energy or intent left to retrieve what was once its biggest USP: its attempts at probity in public life.
There is a dichotomy today between India’s stagnant politics and vibrant society. The vibrancy and vitality are most visible in India’s young population — not only the rich but also the poor, not only in urban areas but also in villages. However, the political and governance establishment seems woefully unresponsive to their aspirations and ambitions. This is evident from the fact that no political party is articulating the agenda of thorough-going political and governance reforms, without which all talk of “inclusive development”, “social justice”, “education and health for all”, “zero tolerance towards terrorism and Maoism”, etc. are meaningless. The only party that is talking about political reforms, with specific ideas, is Lok Satta in Andhra Pradesh, led by Dr Jayaprakash Narayan. It is still small and struggling, but nevertheless a ray of hope.
India today needs not just new leadership, but new morality-based politics. This new politics will have to discard old habits of conduct and old ways of thinking, which have compelled even the good people in our parties to become prisoners of myopic and sectional considerations. It should muster the courage and understanding needed to fight corruption, and thereby reinvigorate all the institutions of democratic governance. It must eschew misuse of government agencies for partisan ends. It should also be committed to creating national consensus on all major national challenges, including the two inherited from history — disputes with Pakistan and China — which are sapping India’s energies and hindering its rise in Asia and the world.
Is new politics possible? Remember, stagnation is always an invitation to start new attempts.
Courtesy: Indian Express
Discussing the state of regional parties is unnecessary in this context because, significant though they are in their respective states, they do not critically determine the health of national politics. Discussing the state of the two communist parties is also not pertinent here. Their national footprint and influence have both shrunk enormously, mainly due to the fossilisation of their ideology. Their future looks bleaker than the present. The socialist movement, once a persuasive voice and a powerful factor in Indian politics, has all but vanished. Can there be a sadder commentary on its disappearance than the near-total absence of a suitable commemoration, in 2010, of the birth centenary of its greatest leader, Dr Rammanohar Lohia? How effortlessly we have forgotten one of the most original political thinkers in independent India.
What is truly worrisome is the state of the two national parties. Outwardly all seems well with the Congress and the government it heads. UPA II is stable. Dr Manmohan Singh has become the third longest occupant of the office of Prime Minister. Not a small achievement. It is also a tribute to the quickly acquired political expertise of Sonia Gandhi. Her authority is unlikely to be challenged by anybody within her own party, something which was not true even in the case of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. However, in spite of all these pluses, the calm in the Congress and its government is suggestive of stagnation, not the strength, self-confidence and sagacity needed to take the nation forward, rapidly and in the right direction.
Efforts of UPA II to normalise relations with Pakistan are leading nowhere, mainly because of India’s overdependence on American mediators. Pakistan’s shrewd rulers are trying to strike their own anti-India bargain with the US, stuck as the latter is with its needless and hopeless military occupation of Afghanistan. India’s gains in normalising the situation in the Kashmir valley, which were the outcome of the farsighted efforts of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Singh (in UPA I), have been largely frittered away by UPA II due to inattention. There is lack of consensus within the Congress and the government on how to deal with the menace of Maoism. And there is no big and enthusiasm-creating action to walk the government’s laudable talk on inclusive development. This cannot be done, as ample examples from history caution us, merely by launching yet another poverty alleviation programme by spending thousands of crores of rupees. What is needed is firm and sustained action against corruption, inefficiency, unaccountability and bureaucratic insensitivity, which are responsible for the abysmal failure of most government-funded anti-poverty schemes. Besides distorting India’s development, corruption is also poisoning the very lifeblood of India’s democratic institutions, including the judiciary. Sadly, there is no real and credible outrage over corruption in Political India. The BJP’s recent conduct in Karnataka and Jharkhand shows that it has no energy or intent left to retrieve what was once its biggest USP: its attempts at probity in public life.
There is a dichotomy today between India’s stagnant politics and vibrant society. The vibrancy and vitality are most visible in India’s young population — not only the rich but also the poor, not only in urban areas but also in villages. However, the political and governance establishment seems woefully unresponsive to their aspirations and ambitions. This is evident from the fact that no political party is articulating the agenda of thorough-going political and governance reforms, without which all talk of “inclusive development”, “social justice”, “education and health for all”, “zero tolerance towards terrorism and Maoism”, etc. are meaningless. The only party that is talking about political reforms, with specific ideas, is Lok Satta in Andhra Pradesh, led by Dr Jayaprakash Narayan. It is still small and struggling, but nevertheless a ray of hope.
India today needs not just new leadership, but new morality-based politics. This new politics will have to discard old habits of conduct and old ways of thinking, which have compelled even the good people in our parties to become prisoners of myopic and sectional considerations. It should muster the courage and understanding needed to fight corruption, and thereby reinvigorate all the institutions of democratic governance. It must eschew misuse of government agencies for partisan ends. It should also be committed to creating national consensus on all major national challenges, including the two inherited from history — disputes with Pakistan and China — which are sapping India’s energies and hindering its rise in Asia and the world.
Is new politics possible? Remember, stagnation is always an invitation to start new attempts.
Courtesy: Indian Express
Thursday, August 5, 2010
FOURTH NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK
LADENGE! JITENGE! WE WILL FIGHT! WE WILL WIN!!
3rd Announcement for the
FOURTH
NATIONAL CONVENTION
ON
THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK
6-8 AUGUST, 2010,
Venue: Meera Bhawan, Rourkela, Orissa
Dear friends,
The Steering group of the Right to Food Campaign1 invites you and your organization to the fourth National Convention on the Right to Food and Work, to be held in Orissa from 6-8 August 2010.
This convention, convened by the Right to Food Campaign, is extremely significant in the current context where the Government on the one hand is increasingly eroding people’s control over their livelihoods and resources while on the other, promising to enact a National Food Security Act that guarantees food security for all. With spiraling food prices and widespread drought experienced across the country last year, pushing people further into hunger and poverty, the principle of universality in food entitlements must be established in an urgent manner. The draft National Food Security Act proposed by the government, in fact falls far short of any such guarantee and even erodes entitlements that already exist.
The right to food for all can only be realised if water, land and forests are not diverted from food production and people's control over these resources is safeguarded. The Government has to be forced to make a commitment that nobody goes to sleep hungry. Further, with such high levels of malnutrition as in India, food security must be understood to mean “nutritional” security and not just access to cheap food grains.
It is in this backdrop that we want to discuss issues related to the question of people's right to food that are of concern to our campaign.
The Convention will be held over three days and will be a mix of plenary sessions and parallel workshops. The discussions on the first day will focus on issues related to determinants of food security and hunger. The second day will focus on the National Food Security Act, entitlements and government schemes. On the last day we have a plenary on addressing the issue of access to the Right to food in areas of Conflict including in areas where struggles against displacement are taking place. The Convention will end with a Rally and public meeting. Please find and attached the detailed programme.
Pre Conference Preparation: Please consider organising meetings, workshops and conventions at the district/state level on these issues in advance of the national convention. This would facilitate better involvement of local groups and grassroots organisations at the national convention. Participating organisations are also invited to bring their campaign material (e.g. reports, posters, exhibitions, etc.) for circulation or display at the Orissa convention.
Parallel Workshops and Stalls/Exhibitions: The organizing committee in Orissa is planning on having some exhibitions on issues such as children’s right to food, foods of the forest, sustainable agriculture and so on. In case you are interested in putting up a stall or exhibition, please let us know by the 26th of July, so that necessary arrangements can be made.
There is also a proposal to set up a stall with local foods from different areas, for instance the Karnataka campaign will display some “ragi” recipes. Please let us know if you would be able to contribute to this.
Below is a list of workshops that have been finalized until now. In case, you have any suggestions for other workshops and are willing to co-ordinate workshops on other issues, please let us know by the 26thof July. The programme committee will review all such suggestions and see if they can be included.
Venue: The venue is Meera Bhawan, opposite Rourkela Railway Station, Rourkela, Orissa. The place of stay for participants would be Amar Bhawan, which is 100 meters away from Rourkela Railway station. The meeting venue (Plenary meeting / Large meeting) which is Meera Bhawan which is around 50 meters away from railway station and same distance from Amar Bhawan.
Registration Fee: All participants would be expected to pay Rs. 50 per day making it a fee of Rs. 150 per participant for the conference registration. This would take care of lodging, boarding and the conference kit for the participants.
Donation: The campaign also welcomes any other donations that you can send will be most helpful. All participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements. Kindly book your tickets well in advance. And kindly intimate us about your participation as it will help us plan for the convention.
We request you to share news of this convention within your organization and with other interested organizations/
National Campaign Contacts: The Right to Food Campaign secretariat at 011-2649 9563. mobile: 9560923178 (Deepika) righttofood@gmail.com , check the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.
Orissa Contact Persons:
Convenor of the Orissa Organising committee of Fourth National Convention: Mr. Prafulla Samantary "Prafulla Samantara" <psamantary@rediffmail.com>
Coordinator Working group of Organising Committee: Bidyut Mohanty bidyut.mohanty@gmail.com, Phone: +91-9437025326;
Rourkela Organiser: Mr. Abul Kalam Azad, Email: disharkl@yahoo.co.in, Phone: +91-9437049329.
URGENT: Please send confirmations of participation to righttofood@gmail.com, bidyut.mohanty@gmail.com and disharkl@yahoo.co.in
Looking forward to meeting all of you at Rourkela, Orissa!!!
In solidarity,
Steering group of the Right to Food Campaign
We are,
Annie Raja (National Federation for Indian Women), Anuradha Talwar (New Trade Union Initiative), Arun Gupta& Radha Holla (Breast Feeding Promotion Network of India), Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey (National People’s Movement of India), Ashok Bharti (National Conference of Dalit Organizations), Anjali Bhardwaj, Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey (National Campaign for People’s Right to Information), Asha Mishra and Vinod Raina (Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti), Colin Gonsalves (Human Rights Law Network), Kavita Srivastava (People’s Union for Civil Liberties), Mira Shiva and Vandana Prasad (Jan Swasthya Abhiyan), Paul Diwakar (National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights), Subhash Bhatnagar (National Campaign Committee for Unorganized Sector workers), Jean Dreze (Former support group and Allahabad University), V.B.Rawat (Former support group and Social Development Foundation)
For more information, please contact
Kavita Srivastava (0141-2594131 or 09351562965),
Dipa Sinha (09650434777)
Deepika (9560923178)
Sejal Parikh (09560266167)
Mr. Abul Kalam Azad (9437049329)
Secretariat - Right to Food Campaign
C/o PHRN
5 A, Jungi House,
Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110049.
India
Website: www.righttofoodindia.org
Email: righttofood@gmail.com
Phone - 91 -11 -2649 9563
FOURTH NATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK
LADENGE! JITENGE! WE WILL FIGHT! WE WILL WIN!!
3rd Announcement for the
FOURTH
NATIONAL CONVENTION
ON
THE RIGHT TO FOOD AND WORK
6-8 AUGUST, 2010,
Venue: Meera Bhawan, Rourkela, Orissa
Dear friends,
The Steering group of the Right to Food Campaign1 invites you and your organization to the fourth National Convention on the Right to Food and Work, to be held in Orissa from 6-8 August 2010.
This convention, convened by the Right to Food Campaign, is extremely significant in the current context where the Government on the one hand is increasingly eroding people’s control over their livelihoods and resources while on the other, promising to enact a National Food Security Act that guarantees food security for all. With spiraling food prices and widespread drought experienced across the country last year, pushing people further into hunger and poverty, the principle of universality in food entitlements must be established in an urgent manner. The draft National Food Security Act proposed by the government, in fact falls far short of any such guarantee and even erodes entitlements that already exist.
The right to food for all can only be realised if water, land and forests are not diverted from food production and people's control over these resources is safeguarded. The Government has to be forced to make a commitment that nobody goes to sleep hungry. Further, with such high levels of malnutrition as in India, food security must be understood to mean “nutritional” security and not just access to cheap food grains.
It is in this backdrop that we want to discuss issues related to the question of people's right to food that are of concern to our campaign.
The Convention will be held over three days and will be a mix of plenary sessions and parallel workshops. The discussions on the first day will focus on issues related to determinants of food security and hunger. The second day will focus on the National Food Security Act, entitlements and government schemes. On the last day we have a plenary on addressing the issue of access to the Right to food in areas of Conflict including in areas where struggles against displacement are taking place. The Convention will end with a Rally and public meeting. Please find and attached the detailed programme.
Pre Conference Preparation: Please consider organising meetings, workshops and conventions at the district/state level on these issues in advance of the national convention. This would facilitate better involvement of local groups and grassroots organisations at the national convention. Participating organisations are also invited to bring their campaign material (e.g. reports, posters, exhibitions, etc.) for circulation or display at the Orissa convention.
Parallel Workshops and Stalls/Exhibitions: The organizing committee in Orissa is planning on having some exhibitions on issues such as children’s right to food, foods of the forest, sustainable agriculture and so on. In case you are interested in putting up a stall or exhibition, please let us know by the 26th of July, so that necessary arrangements can be made.
There is also a proposal to set up a stall with local foods from different areas, for instance the Karnataka campaign will display some “ragi” recipes. Please let us know if you would be able to contribute to this.
Below is a list of workshops that have been finalized until now. In case, you have any suggestions for other workshops and are willing to co-ordinate workshops on other issues, please let us know by the 26thof July. The programme committee will review all such suggestions and see if they can be included.
Venue: The venue is Meera Bhawan, opposite Rourkela Railway Station, Rourkela, Orissa. The place of stay for participants would be Amar Bhawan, which is 100 meters away from Rourkela Railway station. The meeting venue (Plenary meeting / Large meeting) which is Meera Bhawan which is around 50 meters away from railway station and same distance from Amar Bhawan.
Registration Fee: All participants would be expected to pay Rs. 50 per day making it a fee of Rs. 150 per participant for the conference registration. This would take care of lodging, boarding and the conference kit for the participants.
Donation: The campaign also welcomes any other donations that you can send will be most helpful. All participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements. Kindly book your tickets well in advance. And kindly intimate us about your participation as it will help us plan for the convention.
We request you to share news of this convention within your organization and with other interested organizations/
National Campaign Contacts: The Right to Food Campaign secretariat at 011-2649 9563. mobile: 9560923178 (Deepika) righttofood@gmail.com , check the campaign website (www.righttofoodindia.
Orissa Contact Persons:
Convenor of the Orissa Organising committee of Fourth National Convention: Mr. Prafulla Samantary "Prafulla Samantara" <psamantary@rediffmail.com>
Coordinator Working group of Organising Committee: Bidyut Mohanty bidyut.mohanty@gmail.com, Phone: +91-9437025326;
Rourkela Organiser: Mr. Abul Kalam Azad, Email: disharkl@yahoo.co.in, Phone: +91-9437049329.
URGENT: Please send confirmations of participation to righttofood@gmail.com, bidyut.mohanty@gmail.com and disharkl@yahoo.co.in
Looking forward to meeting all of you at Rourkela, Orissa!!!
In solidarity,
Steering group of the Right to Food Campaign
We are,
Annie Raja (National Federation for Indian Women), Anuradha Talwar (New Trade Union Initiative), Arun Gupta& Radha Holla (Breast Feeding Promotion Network of India), Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey (National People’s Movement of India), Ashok Bharti (National Conference of Dalit Organizations), Anjali Bhardwaj, Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey (National Campaign for People’s Right to Information), Asha Mishra and Vinod Raina (Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti), Colin Gonsalves (Human Rights Law Network), Kavita Srivastava (People’s Union for Civil Liberties), Mira Shiva and Vandana Prasad (Jan Swasthya Abhiyan), Paul Diwakar (National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights), Subhash Bhatnagar (National Campaign Committee for Unorganized Sector workers), Jean Dreze (Former support group and Allahabad University), V.B.Rawat (Former support group and Social Development Foundation)
For more information, please contact
Kavita Srivastava (0141-2594131 or 09351562965),
Dipa Sinha (09650434777)
Deepika (9560923178)
Sejal Parikh (09560266167)
Mr. Abul Kalam Azad (9437049329)
Secretariat - Right to Food Campaign
C/o PHRN
5 A, Jungi House,
Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110049.
India
Website: www.righttofoodindia.org
Email: righttofood@gmail.com
Phone - 91 -11 -2649 9563
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Nationalism vs Regionalism.
Note:-Every opinion in this post is purely personal and no statement was written intentionally and I'm sorry if my words hurt anyone.You need not to consider anything as I'm not an intellectual and I'm only a jejune. I apologize for all the grammatical mistakes and every point here(besides from opinions) has source and I can provide that source.
In India, an average district is bigger than 85 nations in the world(in terms of population).Uttar Pradesh would have been the 5 th largest nation in the world if it had to be a nation
Today I got a learning opportunity to hear some veterans and hear them debating on "With out a strong regional identity there can be no strong national identity" I really admire Telegraph's idea of organizing a debate as I completely believe that discussion and debate are very important in successful functioning of democracy.Its a pleasant experience to hear speakers who respect other's view, even though, its a sensible topic.
Its a topic where lot of homework is needed and I admire Jatindar Nayak, who had made a few quick points like,"Arbitrary administrative division is not acceptable so language is taken as a marker to divide states." Its very key point because there is no problem in creating new states or keeping the states intact.Formation of new states is neither cataclysmic nor it can be a panacea but it should be addressed constitutionally and genuine markers should be identified.We can't take development as a marker as it is rampant in India and language can't be marker any more as almost every major language(Leaving Hindi) have a separate state now.The problem of identifying markers should be addressed constitutionally.The most important point he made is about "Vacuum being created" (This vacuum is occupied by violence(naxals etc,) ) because of over-centralization of power.If I am not wrong, this point was put-forth by Dr.Jaya prakash Narayan(Former national advisory council member,present MLA of Andhra Pradesh,ex-IAS officer) in some meeting before 5/6 months and many of Jatindar ji's ideas seem to be taken from Dr.J.P's paper.
Another interesting speech was given by Swapan Das Gupta and the most interesting point he made is that national identity and state identity are negotiable and his example of person aged 100 years ,who was born in India and presently living in Bangladesh has three identities of being an Indian,Pakistani and Bangladeshi.But he missed out everything in democracy is negotiable and we should turn all negotiations into win-win outcomes.
I couldn't understand Sitakant Mohapatra, who made points regarding Partition of Bangladesh and the failure of Soviet union.He was unable to make any peculiar,genuine points. when we observe the history of US, and its way of forming states and all that,we can't really appreciate his view.A benefit of doubt is there that may be I was unable to understand him or he is not understandable.
Dr.Nivedita Mohanty,the first speaker of the evening who made a few points regarding Odisha's history and most contradictory statement," Odisha would have gone the way of A.P if our forming fathers didn't take measures." I dont think A.P is different from Odisha or Odisha has advantage over A.P. I am not an A.P chauvinist and what matters more for me is this nation's development as a whole and some times I feel,I love Odisha more than my birth-state but her idea and her point shocked me .Whether she made her home work rightly? Her track record and bio-data was quite impressive and no one expects such an infectious statement form a person of her stature.Madam, can you tell me the specific details which made you to speak this line. Don't see it as an A.P problem as Telangana issue is on board presently.Unfulfilled potential nurtures differences and it will lead to different type of problems and almost every state in India is in this pathetic condition including Odisha and you feel Odisha has the advantage because of its forming pattern,I have no say but let me tell you with the policies like Rs.3/ Kg.rice and other dirty policies,Odisha and Andhra are in the way of bank-ruptacy.(I dont know much about Odisha budget patterns but out of common sense and as I'm observing A.P budget patterns I can say this that these are not goo policies).
I have problems with K.B.Singhji's opening statement that Odisha is rich in H.R( For God's sake can you tell me about the source of this information or is this a comparison with other poor states).Another statement,"Even though 100 constitutional amendments were done we never touched the basic structure of constitution" .He said it as our achievement or our positive point but I feel its wrong and not touching it is a mistake and I dont completely agree with not touching the basic structure.What about 73 and 74 amendments( a way to district governments) and what about 100 presidential rules in the last 48 years.Isn't it a failure of our federalism. He qouted subash chandra bose "A government which can't be strong can't deliver effectively and K.B singh said,"Strong hand can come from central hand only".Subash Chandra Bose who was the muncipal commisioner of Calcutta appointed by Chitranjan Das would have never said this statement in K.B.Singh's context because S.C.Bose created history by being a municipal commisioner when he was in the jail too(until he was shifted to Aligarh jail) and how could he make this statement? Subash Bose was a supporter of local self-governements.K.B.Singh ji's admiration of Vallabhai is really required but I have problem with his other statements.
S.R.Pattanaik is good.He is only one who quoted about technology and the need of congruence between centre and states and he pointed out the government's failure because of political interventions. and he is the one who stressed on individual identity and crisis and his pointing about congruence is an important one.
A few questions were unanswered or neither touched like,"How to tackle the problems like sharing natural resources like water between the states?What can be the pragmatic approach to handle issues like kosala and Telangana?"
"How to handle the over-centralization of power ? Don't they think that the power should be decentralized as it is erratic now?Especially in the last 60 years ,never an issue from Union/concurrent list has been shifted to state list? whats the reason?
Nothing about article2,article3,article 254,article 356 was touched and I think its essential as a constitutional and political glimpse is essential as it is not a philosophical issue.
Over all,I rate this debate as average one( even though I enjoyed the evening) and the topic is really an issue which is going to govern this nation's future in the coming 20/30 years.Its good that a process of dialogue and debate has been started and personally I believe its time to shift to the third tier of federalism that is district governments and I really appreciate this idea put-forth by Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan,who is my child-hood hero. As Malcolm Gladwell says in 'Tipping point' that every thing starts at a moment but it takes time to reach tipping point and I'm waiting for that tipping point as we can address every problem constitutionally and can fulfill our potential.In this process,we should not forget that education and politics have no substitute.
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