Obama's Gandhi- A Blood Thirsty Devil?

The railway station with its colored bricks and people from various classes seemed as the mirror-image of everything the country was at that time; the white masters, their servants, the zamindars, and so on. An elderly lady was sitting anxiously in one of the compartments. She was alone and she couldn’t find anyone to help her buy some drinking water. Though there were so many other passengers in the same cabin, she couldn’t find any innocent faces there. Then, she saw a young man outside; she called him and gave some money and the bottle she had with her. As she waited for him, the train started moving. The fellow passengers started criticizing her for giving money to a completely strange man. However, she looked so calm. When the train moved a bit, the young man came running and gave her the bottled water and the remaining cash. He waved his hands as the train left. Then, the fellow passengers asked her, “How did you trust that completely stranger so much?” With a smile, she replied, “He was wearing khadi.”

I heard this story in a speech by Prof. Muhammad Ahammad. He was referring the trust people had for the Gandhians during the time of India’s freedom struggle. The people who were named as Gandhians were not just workers of Indian National Congress, but those who follow certain kind of lifestyle such as complete simplicity, vegetarianism, adherents of ahimsa, truthfulness, and always felt that serving fellow beings irrespective of caste, religion, race, nationality and so on is their duty. It was not limited to the followers of Gandhi in India alone, but all those who were influenced by his ideas such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Aung San Suu Ki and so on. However, in the present day, Gandhians are people who wear khadi, except that nothing is similar with the old values and ideas. Politicians know the market value of Gandhi, but never take any care to follow the footsteps of Gandhi. Though it became a standard practice in India for politicians to wear khadi and conduct special programs on Gandhi Jayanthi, only to woo the people, it became a phenomenon outside India.

Barack Obama, for example, during and after the presidential election, shared how the ideas of Gandhi such as Satygraha influenced his life. Those who observed the way he is running his country will have to find a new meaning for the word “influence.”

The basic principle in which Gandhi built his political philosophy is ‘ahimsa’. Though ‘ahimsa’ is somewhat similar to non-violence, it is not as simple as that. Anyone who is following ‘ahimsa’ as his basic ideology can’t even think of violence. Further, Gandhi maintained the view that ‘both end and means should be pure’, contrary to the long-held view that ‘end justifies the means.’

In other words, in order to fight terrorism, a person influenced by Gandhi won’t send his army to kill people. He will not introduce a motion in the Senate to get permission to attack Syria. In other words, the policies of Obama clearly show that he does not have any respect for Gandhi or the ideas of Gandhi.

It is clear that Obama got elected as the president of the USA by creating an image about him- a black, influence by civil rights movement of Martin Luther King, ideas of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. Of course, the reason for his success is mainly the ‘hope’ he tried to sell to the voters. The point is, if ‘hope’ was the commodity he tried to sell, Gandhi, Mandela, and King were the selling strategies. Later, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Alas, what is the meaning of peace then?

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Alarm Bells on Indian Democracy

Whether India ever had a good diplomatic stand on national and international affairs is a question that should be addressed. It can be argued that India had had a good reputation among the other countries during the time of Nehru as he envisaged NAM. Even later, India continued to go on in the same path.

However, on close scrutiny of whether it served any purpose to the nation, the uselessness of the entire affair will be revealed. While analyzing some of the recent instances, with India on the one side and some prominent or lesser prominent nations on the other, would show how poorly the nation’s interests have been served. We can see “nation’s interest” in its broad sense, but the narrow sense has never been served in certain cases, ranging from Italian Mariners’ eventful act of killing Indian fishermen in the Indian Ocean, Sarabjith Singh’s case in the Pakistan prison, the border disputes with China, and the surveillance of USA over other nations and the subsequent request of Snowden for shelter in India. These issues raise certain serious questions on whose interest is being served.

Still, the burden is on the White Man’s shoulders.

Two fishermen were allegedly killed by the Italian mariners from the ship, which anchored in the Indian coast. The Kerala Police arrested the mariners alleging them with the direct involvement in the incident. This had resulted in a serious diplomatic conflict between India and Italy.



When Italy firmly argued that the incident happened in the international waters, and subsequently held the view that the issue should be treated in the International Court, India theoretically defended the argument while bending in front of the white men. From the archbishop of one church to most senior members in the cabinet show their allegiances to Italy. Even now, no fair conduct has been taken on the matter.

Sarabjith Singh: A Victim of the Cat and Mouse Game called India-Pak Relations

Who was Sarabjith Singh? How did he reach Pakistan? What did India do for saving him? These are the questions, for which we may get innumerable answers. Right from the beginning, India and Sarabjith’s family held the view that he was a poor farmer from India who mistakenly crossed the border, and Pak army arrested him mistaking him to be a spy. However, he was charged for some of the blast cases in Pakistan and convicted for capital punishment. Later, he requested for President’s mercy. By this time, a cry for his safety started in India, but nothing happened until he was subjected to capital punishment. Here, also the nation failed to protect its citizen in other countries and it has been reported that thousands of Indians live in Pak prisons and other countries in the world, and the only information our country has about the matter, is their number, not their names, or any other details. And the nation is not trying to procure the details, either.

Border ties: Xenophobia?

It has been observed by political philosophers that the national identity of Canada is shaped by their constant fear of their Big Brother, the US. As there are no real markers in the border between Canada and the US, the Canadians always fear a probable annexation by the US, which is termed as ‘garrison mentality’. Similar fear can be seen in the case of India and China also, but not without reasons. Though the present dispute deals with Arunachal Pradesh, India has problems with China over a long time. The Chinese still occupies some geographical areas of India under their control and nobody in India even bothers about this. The irony is that India is doing nothing to take back the occupied land, and is acting ignorance when similar cases are reported in the border area.

Edward Snowden, a Messiah of anarchy?

When India was labelled a third world nation, it had the guts to stand against the power blocks such as the USSR and the USA. During that time, India was the mediator among other third world nations. Together with Sukarno, Nasser, Tito, and Nkrumah, Panditji wrote a new chapter in the history of the world. However, when India became one of the potential members among power centres on the globe, it lost its influence among ‘small’ nations in the world.

Now, India is a mere puppet in the hands of the USA. This is evident when Snowden, a former employee of the USA hacked the security system of the country, and declared the country’s long term project to surveil the activities of other nations, including top diplomats to the common man. This project is known as “PRISM”. India is one among many nations, which was subjected to this constant surveillance.

When the leaders of the country heard about this, they expressed their “shock” and extreme “anguish”, but that’s all. Nothing was heard about India’s stand regarding this issue. Not just that, later, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told the international media that India did not respond to the request from Snowden to get asylum in India.

These instances, of course there are many more similar cases, raise the question against the diplomatic policies of the country. Since the purpose of having diplomatic relations with other countries is to safeguard nation’s interest, in other words the interest of the people of the country, these recent developments are alarming.



PS:

This article has been formerly published in the college magazine "Framilothungatha Chithrangal", EMS Memorial College of Applied Science, Iritty.

Arjun, Phaalgun, Jishnu, Keeriti, Shwetvaahan....... and Srinivasan

I may agree with the conclusion and enjoyed the bitter satire also. But I have some differences with some ideas expressed, and also how Malayalies responded. Except Shashi Tharoor, and Srishanth's family, nobody openly or indirectly supported him during his bad days, because it is in the blood of Malayalies to feel jealous in the success of others. We never encourage individual success, whether it is Srisanth, or Prithviraj or Ranjini Haridas. These are the common targets of the virtual malayali, see FB posts about them. What they did wrong? They know what they are, what they want, how they can get it and that they have the ability to get it. It means Confidence, but Mallus( of course not Malayalis) consider it arrogance. I didn't react to the arrest of Sreesanth in the beginning time, but had doubt. Still I had doubt. I don't know whether he is engaged in the crime. If yes, hang him, no objection. But criticizing him for conducting Thulabhara in Guruvayour, for wearing some "sacred threads" in the hand, and criticizing his mother for conducting poojas when he played in the matches are irrelevant things to be talked about. As if, none of the Malayalis go to Guruvayur and do Thulabhara. Those who come to Guruvayur are from other planets. As if those who visit Shabari Mala are not at all Mallus. As is the one who conduct Poomoodal is not a Progressive Politician, as if the Mosque which is built for honouring the hair of the prophet is not in Kerala. If these things are done by the virtual Mallu alone, it can be forgiven, but the so called "revamped" police also doing the same thing. Evidences given to the press: Condom( as if having safe sex is bad), Ladies were with him ( as if it is a punishable crime to be with ladies), laptop ( as if only Sreesanth is having it), Smartphone( as if he is the one who invented it), money( he is a beggar arrested from the street), and hotel rooms allegedly booked in metros( oh my god) and he is said to have connections with the all powerful Davood (The Maharastrian Messiah of Indian cricket Almighty Sarath Pawar haven't even heard of Davood), and that too without evidence. So, Sreesanth is arrested, and then "evidences" are found, not in the other way, that too the POlice have been observing Sreesanth and his company from the beginning of the IPL( and now they got condoms, so what, you may say). And tell me, if I feel Sreesanth is a scapegoat, is it wrong?

I re-post the comment I have given to one of the posts soon after Sreesanth being arrested for spot-fixing mainly to show the continuous neglect of Southern players in India and also to highlight the prevalence of total corruption in the sports administration in India. It is not just that Sreesanth being denied justice and Srinivasan being escaped, but also include rejection of Arjuna Award to the prominent players such as Tom Joseph and Renjith Maheshwary. It is reaffirmed that sports in Indian sub-continent is only for the North Indian baboos and multi-millionaires, but not for players. When Sreesanth got life-time ban, Srinivasan is still controlling the board.

Tom Joseph has been nominated for Arjuna for nine times and rejected.

Renjith Maheshwari’s nomination was rejected because he had indeed failed a dope test in 2008 during a national meet in Kochi. In other words, even if he got an Olympics prize in future, he will not get any national recognition only because he failed a test in the past.

Sports Minister Jitendra Singh acted so well in the case of Tom Joseph, protecting the vote bank of Kerala. Though he is supposed to clean sports sector from the Kalmadis, he is singing in tunes with people like him. He has protected all the evils of India so well.

Anyone who observes these developments will see one point clearly. The rejection of nominations citing technicalities happens only in the case of Malayali sports stars. Why this happens?

Postscript:

In fact, Arjuna award is not at all suitable for us Malayalis. As per one story, the predecessors of most Malayalis fought in the Mahabharata war against Arjuna, and left North-India after the defeat of Duryodhana to escape from Arjuna. In other words, it is an epic-war!

Nina Davuluri- Indian origin Miss America

Indian origin model Nina Davuluri won Miss America contest this year, which sparked negative responses from some people and it became sensational news in India.

The patriotic Indians became furious over the racist comments made by some through some social networking sites. But, why such a fuss? Surely, Miss America contest itself doesn’t aim at promoting Indian culture, but a celebration of Americanness. The values it propagate, the style they celebrate, the success they promote, everything is American. Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone can laugh at the model who won the price.

The point is, celebrating the success of Nina because of her Indian origin and denouncing it because of the same, both are wrong. If you are criticizing, criticize the very concept of beauty contest, which itself is racial. Who is determining ‘style’, whose ‘style’ is being judged and what is ‘style’ in their point of view? These are the questions that need to be asked.

One advantage of this controversy is that the event got a good market including the Indian peninsula. In other words, otherwise a local contest in one of the countries in the world became a hot topic in one of the most populated countries in the world, India.

Cast Away- A Review

We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over “nothing”. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring? Chuck Noland, Cast Away

The movie Cast Away is one of the foremost among the genre called survival movie, a genre in which the main plot surrounds around a hero/heroine who is in a struggle for survival. In the movie, the hero Chuck Noland is an employee in FedEx. He is in a relationship when the movie begins. The action turns into a new dimension when the hero’s plane crashed and he landed in a lonely island. After a gap of some years, he reaches back to his home town safely.

First and foremost, Cast Away is a survival movie. In this genre, the plot goes around a single individual, here Chuck Noland. Mostly, other characters are insignificant, or will get only very few roles. One classic example will be Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe. Though it cannot be considered as an essential feature, absence of strong female characters can also be seen in these kinds of movies. In Cast Away also, the heroine gets only little bit of importance. When the psychological struggle of the hero gets more focus, the same mental struggle of the heroine is limited to one or two scenes. In other words, the hero is one who faces a real challenge, and overcome all these hazards with a strong will power, which is rare or even beyond human abilities, the heroine is submissive and accepts the suggestions of the society and marries another man due to social pressure ( in this movie). Therefore, we can say that the movie is ‘his’ struggle rather than ‘hers.’

Is it possible for someone to survive in a lonely island without human contact and nothing to eat? The answer depends on how we see the world. A normal man would consider it impossible to live without the help of anyone. Some others feel that if we have a strong will power and the help of god, anything is possible. However, living alone in an island without any connection with the ‘real world’ is impossible, in my opinion. A person, who gets into a totally unfamiliar world, a lonely island or in any other foreign place, cannot easily adapt to the newer changes. He will always try to analyze and contrast this alien/dream world with his ‘real world’. For this, he needs something to connect with his real world, an image, a photo or anything, to constantly reminds him of his real world where he can go back at once. This totem is very much important for remaining sane in this other world. In the movie, the football which Noland names as Mr. Wilson becomes his true companion.

Mr. Wilson helps his to connect with the real world, but once the hero arrives to his home town safely, this totem is no longer relevant. That’s why Mr. Wilson disappears in the sea when the hero goes back.

The movie is significant in other respects also. As discussed earlier, the movie is about ‘his story’. It is the story of a man who overcomes all the difficulties but finally becomes victorious. In other words, “it is possible, or everything is possible” if we have a mind to achieve it. The movie is the celebration of individual success, a success no one can thwart.

Friday, 13th Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister

“Don't walk under any ladders, Don't break any mirrors, Don't spill any salt, And don't walk by any black cats. Happy Friday the 13th!”

On 13th Friday, 2013, the BJP Parliamentary Board has ‘unanimously’ declared Narendra Modi as their prime ministerial candidate. As the old guards became useless and most of the second-level leaders do not have mass support, Modi’s succession is easily predicted, and political observers were curious only to know when it will happen. However, what message this action gives to the people of India. One easy answer is Modi can lead India to the path of development, as he did in Gujarath ( as he did everything else in Gujarath, including the riot!). But we need to ask the disturbing question, how Modi’s concept of development is different from that of his counter-part, i.e., the Congress.

Evidently, he is not against multi-national corporations, wooing capital flow from the other countries, or anything like that. In other words, his idea of development is in no way different from that of his opponents. But, one difference maybe that he will be stricter in implementing the plans and programs. His dictatorial style won’t be suitable to a multi-cultural society like India.

Let us hope for the best!

"Drink Alcohol, Be Healthy!"

“Do you know the problem of the ‘liquor policy’ of our government?”One of my friends asked. I wondered, as if I just came from Mars. It never even came to my mind that the Kerala Govt does have a liquor policy, except the fact that it runs many liquor shops in Kerala to promote drinking; in the same way we promote art and literature (Do we promote art and literature?). I immediately surfed the Internet and found one PDF copy of the liquor policy of the govt. I didn’t know that our rulers are so humorous. One of the main attractions of the document is ‘the basic idea of the govt is not to promote drinking, but to decrease the use of liquor among the Keralites’. With that mission, the govt has formed a new corporation, named Kerala State Beverages Corporation. Of course, the aim of the corporation is not to sell coffee, tea, or soft drinks, but liquor. Hey, why you are saying so, ‘beverage’ means not tea and coffee, but alcohol drink, don’t you know that? An average Keralite would wonder? According to Merriam- Webster Dictionary, ‘beverage’ means ‘a drinkable liquid’. However, for Kerala Beverages Corporation and majority of the people of Kerala, it means only alcohol. You are so naïve in thinking all this. The govt is selling liquor to give quality alcohol to the public, thereby limiting the chances of selling methanol, and at the end the aim is to control drinking in the final stage, the people reason. Then, why the govt banned soft drinks like Coca Cola, Pepsi etc, but leave alcohol as such, you may ask. You are completely wrong my friend, we are banning these drinks to show that we are fighting against the MNCs.

However, I cannot find fault with the governmental system because we are living in a country where a religious document such as the Sama-Veda talked about different ways to make liquor. The govt is trying to revive the ancient civilization by forming an institution such as KSBC, and the people are just supporting that endeavor of the govt!





For further reading, see here and here.