Supposedly the greatest democracy in the world, India moved another step closer to becoming the first democratic dictatorship in the world. There is news that now Indians will be profiled on the basis of our caste. In a country where the constitution proudly proclaims that all citizens are equal, irrespective of caste or religion, our lawmakers go ahead and completely forget the basic tenets and principles on which our nation was founded.

So what does caste profiling entails? When the census people come to your house asking how many people live there, they also will ask about the caste and religion of the people living. Once this data is collected and aggregated, political parties will go ahead to discriminate openly based on caste, by giving more and more reservations to their respective vote banks, pretending to implement social equality while introducing higher inequality in the society.

If you think, ahh, he’s making noise unnecessarily. Its not a big deal, telling my caste for the census. Well, even the jews in Nazi Germany in 1930s did not think much when they were profiled based on their religious beliefs. The result of that profiling is now known as the holocaust.

We currently live in a largely discriminatory country.  A country that discriminates with its citizens based on their caste and religion. A country where you will get admission to premier colleges even if you score just 1/100 if you have a quote, and where you will be ignored if you score 50/100 without a quota. The only good quotas and reservations have done in the last decade is to win political parties votes. No socio-economic conditions have changed as a result of these quotas. There is equal employment opportunity irrespective of your caste or religion in the private sector. There is discrimination for the government jobs though, where out of 50 open vacancies, only 1-2 will be for the “general” category. Rest is all reserved for castes, not for those with merit. No wonder we complain about all government functions: how do we expect good performance from government when it does not consider merit at all!

I have a disclosure to make. I belong to the “general” category. It is assumed that if you belong to this category, you have privileges that the reserved categories (SC, ST, OBC….) don’t have. I knew a lot of people in the “general” category who were poor, yet they did not get any special benefits. I also know a lot of IAS, IPS, IFS, bureaucrats, doctors, engineers & politicos, who make good money, roam around in red light cars, living their lives in a lavish way, and yet their children enjoy the benefit of getting a “reserved” seat. Why? They are not socially downtrodden anymore, their fathers/forefathers reaped the benefits of reservation and lifted their families out of poverty and suffering. So why should these socially upward people be given any reservation at all?

When Dr. Ambedkar created the policy for reservations, he restricted its life to 20 years. 20 years that should have been sufficient for lifting the downtrodden castes to a level of social equality. Dr. Ambedkar was no crusader for scheduled castes or anything, he was a crusader for social equality. A fact that is not understood by politicos peddling their wares in his name.

Today, in 21st century India, we the citizens will be profiled on the basis on our caste. Something that was never EVER done in independent India. What does this signify? It tells us that no matter how promising Rahul baba or Omar miya may look, our political representatives have fallen into a sewer from where retrieving them is not possible. Not now, and not in the future, near or far.

When the census people come to  visit me, I am telling them that my caste is “Indian”.  I do not expect them to understand it, but I will make sure that is what they write down against my name.

INDIA: This is my caste and my religion. And I am proud to be an Indian. Are you?

The words “Happy and gay” used to mean being happy without giving a damn when I was growing up. Now though, things have changed. Being happy and gay in today’s India would bring you a whole truckload of trouble. Until recently.

The Delhi High Court in a very sensible judgement said that being gay is not illegal by law. As expected, this has brought cheer to the gay community, and to the sensible community. But is life ever easy in India? No siree!!

According to the so-called guardians of the society and our morality, what you do in your bedroom should be a closely scrutinized (& pre-approved) act. In their opinion, a person’s sexual orientation should be trigger enough for their prosecution by the law(or at least by its enforcers). Morality seems has got itself a bunch of cronies to protect it. But then these are self-proclaimed gurus, the saints and the god-men. Now I mean no disrespect for any of these great people, but do I, or anyone else tell them what to do in their bedrooms?

Now there is another aspect of this whole gay legality/morality debate that bothers me. The same people who are out in arms against homosexuals are also the ones against me sitting hand in hand in a park, or on a beach, with my girlfriend/wife(even sister). So let me put this out clear. The enforcers of our morality, who tell us that being a homosexual is immoral and incorrect, also tell us that being a heterosexual would be equally illegal if I take my girlfriend out for a walk in the park. Some hypocrisy that is!! As some great(and unknown) person said:

I have no problems with God. It is his followers that I can’t stand.

And let these morality thugs also remember that Khajuraho stands tall as an example of our heritage. At one time, more than 50 temples stood tall, decorated all over with very graphic sexual imagery. Some of it is still intact, and when you go there, what strikes you is the amount of common sense that we have lost over the ages.

Legalizing homosexuality is simply removing discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation. More crudely put, what anyone does in their bedroom is none of my, or anyone else’s business. So why should people be discriminated based on their bedroom behavior? Doesn’t make any sense.

So, with all humility, I request all religious gurus, and self-styled morality enforcers to please do a show of common sense. Let the world know that in a country that is the birthplace of Kamasutra, and where we have a lord of sexuality(kama dev), we can be open minded to accept homosexuals as regular individuals, and not treat them freaks, wierdos or diseased people.  Please channelize your energy towards creating a peaceful society, one without bias and discrimination. Empower the poor, empower women, save the girl child..there’s several issues that need your attention. Focus on them, and make a difference there.

Let us all be nice sensible people for once.

On a more personal note, the summer vacation is over. It is astonishing how much the world can change in a matter of 2 months. Very soon, I will be writing some more on what I think of the changes in the summer gone by.

Till then…let us all be happy and gay…in the true meaning of the expression!

“Dawood - Who’s that? We never heard of him before.”

“Maulana Masood Azhar who? Sorry, never heard that name”

“Terrorism? What’s that? Don’t ask us to eliminate terrorism, we’ll go to war”

Pakistan is a nation that is in a state of denial. Never before has clearer evidence emerged that Islamic terrorists have established their roots deep within the Pakistani fabric. Yet all our neighbours seem to do is to turn a blind eye to this menace that has started affecting its own citizens.

The trouble started way back in 1947 when India was divided into two countries, India and Pakistan. The biggest flashpoint then was the Indian state of Kashmir. Back then, Pakistan supported the Mujahirs who were no more than armed mercenaries backed by the then rag tag Pakistani army to try and wrest control of Kashmir. They succeeded partially, and what began was a bloody era for people of Kashmir.

What also began here was a clandestine backing of the militant forces by elements in the Pakistani Army. The responsibility of handling these militants was then passed on to the Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI). Since then, several acts of terrorism have been  carried on in the state of Kashmir as well as several others throughout India. The developed world mostly ignored these incidences of terrorism till a certain Osama Bin Laden took terrorism to their own backyard.

Switch to 26/11. India’s financial capital Mumbai was held hostage by a group of ten terrorists for 3 days. Unlike previous incidents where all terrorists were killed, this time one terrorist was caught alive. Azam Amir “Kasav” has owned up to being a Pakistani national and has even written a letter to the Pakistani government. Only to be denied existence.

What Pakistan is doing here is playing with dynamite. Even though it has been time and again proven that Pakistan is the home to some of the most wanted on Interpol’s list, like Dawood Ibrahim  (mastermind of the 1993 bomb attacks in Mumbai), Maulana Masood Azhar (Jaish-e-mohammed chief and wanted for numerous terror acts), the chiefs and cadres of world famous terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammed and also Al-Qaeda, it either denies their existence or calls them non-state actors to wash its hands off.

The murder of Benazir Bhutto and the multiple terrorist bombings in Pakistan make it quite clear that Pakistan is now bearing the brunt of the same terrorists it harbors. If this is not enough to serve as a wake up call, only God knows what will!

Pakistan’s democratic government under Mr.Zardari must take swift, affirmative and urgent actions against these known terrorist forces. If they do not, they are sitting on a ticking time bomb that will cause more harm to Pakistan than anyone else.

“MNS Mob fury!!”, “Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan for ST Status”, “BJP workers force down shutters, block highways”

These are just some of the headlines from our newspapers and news channels. Each headline representing some or the other political/social group holding a state or the nation at ransom to have their demands met. So are we turning from a peace loving, democratic nation to one that is ruled by hooligans of political parties?

The MNS rioting in Mumbai is a classical example of a political party deriving valuable vote bank mileage from its violent acts. When Maharashtra goes to elections next, Mr. Raj Thackerey would harp on his successes in making the life of the average Mumbai resident no less than hell. Yet the voting public would cheer, rather than condone, such acts. Who knows, it may even win him a substantial number of votes! After all, we Indians are known to forgive our politicians very quickly. Absolution is very cheap in our country.

The Gujjar agitation was a complete case in contrast. Without any direct political backing, a community led by a retired Army Colonel held the whole of Rajasthan and North India in its grip for a whole month. The reason, they wanted to be given reservation in the ST(Scheduled Tribe) quota. Roads and railways were blocked, with agitators damaging railway tracks to make sure rail traffic was disrupted till their demands were met. The Indian Railways incurred losses to the tune of millions of rupees. Now that the agitation is over, and the Gujjars have been promised of a special reservation quota, will the goverment send the Gujjars and their leaders a bill for the losses they caused? Naa, that won’t happen. Its not the government money, it is the taxpayers money that is laid to spoil. Our leaders sat in silence as several thousands of people had their lives affected with regional and national strikes!! And yet we forgive, forget and move on. What a great nation we are!!!

The most recent case is of the BJP & VHP calling a nation-wide bandh(strike) today. There are reports of protesters blocking road and rail traffic. The nation is being held to ransom again. People who earn their livelihood on a daily basis will go home with no money and no food to feed their families. Yet the political parties will gloat in their success at holding the entire nation at gunpoint!

So I ask, are we turning into a nation of rioters and hooligans?

There is one, and only one way to stop this menace. Make those responsible of such agitations to pay up! Ask MNS to pay up for every taxi its workers destroyed, ask Mr. Bainsla to pay those millions of rupees the Indian Railways lost due to the agitation he led, ask the BJP and VHP to pay up for the destruction and damage it has caused to property across the nation.

And while we are at it, send them bills for the lakhs of man-hours wasted by the police in controlling their crowds. Time that could have been spent in making our roads and our lives safer.

Some political leader, some political party needs to find its spine and take such action. But wait, is there any political party in India that HAS a spine in the first place?

George Lucas, in his movie Star Wars III made a very potent observation, in the form of a dialogue. I find it really apt as a closing quote to this post

So this is how democracy dies, with a thunderous applause

“They knew that there is no point in asking the generals for freedom. They knew that they don’t have guns and can’t beat the army. All they wanted to do was show the world what their situation is and that they are prepared to die.”

These are brave words coming from a nation under oppression. A nation under great political distress, where the military regime is pulling out all stops to suppress a cry for freedom and democracy. Burma needs help, its common man needs help. And the help needs to be more than bureaucratic handshakes and discussion behind closed doors. Action needs to be taken by the international community to force the military regime(also referred to as junta) to step back, release all political prisoners and let people have a say in running of their country.

As a blogger, I do my bit by being a part of the One Post for Burma campaign.

Please visit www.free-burma.org by clicking on the link, or the image above and support the Burmese who are fighting for their freedom, without any guns, but with a lot of guts.

But when they hear that support for the demonstrations is dwindling and time passes by without help from anyone, they lose hope. They are getting disillusioned and eventually they’ll give up.

Please do not let these people lose hope. My request to the entire international community is to stand up, and act. Actions always speak louder than words.

But till we see any action, let us keep spreading the word. And show solidarity for the oppressed masses of Burma.

Free Burma!!

References:
1. Image courtesy Free burma flickr pool
2. Quotes from BBC World : Account from a monastery

These were the words of Mid-Day editor Vitusha Oberoi, when asked on the line of defence they adopted in the Delhi High Court. This happened as the Delhi High Court sentenced 4 journalists of Mid Day to 4 months in jail for contempt of court. What irked the court was a report published in the Mid-Day that suggested that a former Chief Justice had benefited from his judgments.

This raises a gamut of very disturbing questions. (more…)