DEMOCRACY WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC IDEAS.

 BY K P PASWAN.

Largest democracy in the world has also largest number of political parties. They fight election based on universal franchise with courage and passion for power. There is nothing like common political ideology as the political parties fight  in the name of caste creed and languages.

 Indian politics is caste oriented. Since no caste on its own expect to win an election so they make unethical alliance with other caste leaders. National interest  always comes next to interest of particular castes. In the same way language plays vital role in the politics of South India. Tamil, Telugu and Kenned and Malayalam are spoken by the people of four states. Tamils claim their language as the most beautiful and oldest among all other languages of India. A few of them are under impression that Hindi which is widely spoken is being imposed upon them. But it is a is a myth being  created by certain disgruntled politicians and also by some educated persons who are   presenting unproven figures and statistics which they call scientific little knowing no scientific theory is perfect unless it can be falsified. It is so because every scientific theory may be better then previous theory. Nevertheless, election in southern states are too some extent is influenced by their eagerness to save their language. Surprisingly despite of tall claims there is no love lost among these four starts, some are fighting for water while some are fighting for cultural superiority

Recently elections were held in five states. Among these states Utter Pradesh  and Punjab witnessed strange political ideology and combination of personal whims, Punjab is among the most prosperous state and drug addiction is the  social problems. Young girls and boys belonging to well to do family are drug addicted. Punjabi are mostly Sikhs by religion but they are not different from Hindus as marriage between  Hindus and  Sikhs are very common, Hindus visit Sikhs Gurudwara to perform certain rituals and barring exceptions there exist brotherhood. A large number of Punjabi migrate to different countries but especially in Canada. Divorce rate among these immigrants are increasing.

 Election in five states were fought on a simple ideology and that was “Remove Modi” because Modi sold India but the name of the purchaser was not disclosed, and people don’t know what was sold. Thee is a particular leader whose one point political agenda is “ You give me your votes and we will give you free electricity and water” Needless to say these catchy slogan worked and the farmers of Punjab voted  to this party. After swearing ceremony was over the Chief Minister of Punjab demanded one Rs lakh Crores from centre. It is not known from where the government of India will manage such huge amount of money?

In Utter Pradesh election was fought for better laws and order and employment. Yogi Aditya Nath is a Thakur by caste but the saffron clad upper caste Hindu did not  care for the castes of hardened criminals and these criminals were neutralized. Surprisingly his opponents known for committing atrocities against Dalits but favouring minorities also increased their voting percentage but fortunately the leader of the opposition party   is not known beyond his own state even though he is appearing as a spokesman of minorities, his political activities are likely to ignite communal tension in future.

 Election in Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa were fought by abusing the prime minister of India. Uttarakhand has been strong hold of BJP which known for pro Hindu and won the election. In Goa attempts were made to divide the society on the basis of religion by every political party but BJP won the election it is certainly miraculous. Manipur has strategic importance as it has long border with Myanmar and there is chronic problems of insurgence. Anti BJP tried every trick to win the voters but is again miraculous that BJP won the election by comfortable margin. The Grand Old Party Congress suffered in all the states even though at national level this party has maximum number of legislatures after BJP but in the coming general election the Congress party is unlikely to increase its tally as the election may be fought for grabbing the post of PM.

 FUTURE. Democratic India is fast turning into another European Community. The days of insurgency in Nagaland and Manipur may see a declining trend. J&K may see further bifurcation. Jammu is likely to be separated from Kashmir valley. The separatists in Kashmir valley enjoy the support of a large number of self-proclaimed intellectuals whose adherence to human rights is nothing but enjoying certain fundamental rights not enjoyed by ordinary people. Than we find a large number of NGO indulged in money laundering in the name of social service. Almost every such organization is facing the scrutiny of investigation agency.

 Election in South India may not pose a serious problem except Kerala where Communists are in power but their achievements are being exaggerated beyond all proportion. After Kashmir Valley Kerala is going to be second minority dominated state, This state is famous for exporting terrorists to fight in Afghanistan and other Central Asian country, so situation in this state may be watched closely by investigation agency. In Tamilnadu people may elect few non DMK members to parliament while voting for DMK to rule the state. While Dravidian nationalism has lost its importance with spread of education but there are old timers still dreaming of a separate country.  Corruption has overtaken all types of social evils and Southern states are not exceptions.

Development activities in four Southern states have attracted unskilled workers from Hindi belt, but language problems persist there. Hindi belt needs aggressive development, it is unfortunate that a state like Bihar which is producing maximum number of civil servants has no small or big manufacturing units. For the last seventeen years there is a stable government which is famous for pioneering three social evils. Bootlegging, Kidnapping and Extortions, and political leaders are enjoying comforts beyond their known source of incomes.

 Bihar needs governor rules for twenty years or a Chief Minister like Yogi of Utter Pradesh.

COMEDIANS IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS.

By K P PASWAN.

 Serious politicians always suffer from some forms of acute or chronic diseases. Best health system exists for senior politicians who are in power. Only Coronavirus did not  favor politicians or common voter. These days Comedians are entering into politics but they are behaving more like comedians than politicians,

 In India a leading comedian who once was a very good bats man and played many crickets and won applause for his style of batting, suddenly joined a leading political party but failed to become a minister. He became a turncoat and joined a political party which promised him a berth in the cabinet of the most prosperous state of India, he declared himself, indirectly the potential candidate of chief minister and started political campaign by exhibiting his skills as a comedian. Unfortunately his party was routed and he concluded the  election result as the wish of  an unproven almighty. 

 There is also a famous comedian who is not interested in politics but is famous for making comments about politics and politicians.

 In international politics, very little is known about Nikita Khrushchev, the powerful leader of USSR. He was a comedian in the court of Stalin and his duty was to create humorous scenes for Stalin. He rose to become the most powerful man of contemporary world. USSR gained extraordinary military strength which frightened even America and predicted USSR might rule the planet, Khrushchev was the first comedian who behaved like an astute and overambitious politicians. In 1962 he tried to browbeat America by deploying deadly missiles and killing machines in a small country like Cuba which under Fidel Castro was  a communist country.

Finding an excuse Khrushchev challenged the supremacy of America and declared that the West would be buried deep in a grave but young president J F Kennedy was not a comedian, he was the most powerful president of a powerful nation. Kennedy forced former comedian to remove all weapons from Cuba. It was the most humiliating retreat for a powerful politician.

 In  1962 China launched Operation Land GRAB  by declaring a low level war with India being headed by a peace loving PM, the legendary Jawaharlal Nehru who believed in policy of Non Alignment. Pt Nehru sought help from Khrushchev He told Pt Nehru " You are my friend but China is my brother". Pt Nehru was both baffled and surprised. He looked  at Kennedy who started warning after warning to China. A ceasefire declared but the friend of  India ,Khrushchev suffered emotionally from which he never recovered. Pt Nehru died in 1964 but the Comedian of USSR also could not survive the wrath of real politicians and Khrushchev was thrown out of power.

Gorbachev, a hardcore Communist realized the difficulty in implementing the Communist ideology and acknowledged the contribution of democratic ideas in the development of a country like USSR. Japan has emerged as second economy and China  with indirect help from US was trying to hijack Japanese technology. Japan has displaced Philips of Netherlands Grundig of Germany and in consumer,er goods.

Gorbachev was followed by Yeltsin who by his own admission did know much about Communist philosophy. He was followed by a brilliant KGB agent named Vladimir Putin who is neither a comedian or an astute politician. He needed western technology for overall development of Russia. Putin imported various technology from Germany, France and other countries and succeeded in improving domestic economics, Sovereignty of Russia was in danger when a former republic Ukraine tried to join NATO.  Those politicians in power in Ukraine who opposed Ukraine's bids to join NATO like  Victor Yanuvovich was forced to resign. Yanukovich was a corrupt politician. Ukraine was the ware house of Russian made nukes reactors and deadly weapons. Export of these weapons  different countries shifted balance of power in favor of opponents of Russia. 

Now we enter Zelensky, the present president of Ukraine. He is a famous as Comedian but, he is still behaving as Comedian He is an ambitious man oppose to Russia and India. NATO was dead and its revival was seen if Ukraine joins NATO. US was in a position to deploy nuclear weapons in Ukraine to frighten Russia. But NATO is dead and in absence of support rendered by all members US was unable to send troops in Ukraine. Advancing Russians have practically taken back all the deadly weapons and is awaiting the response of the Comedian who is hiding somewhere in Poland.

FINAL THOUGHT. Complex diplomacy needs final words from experienced politicians. Last words of complex diplomacy have not yet been spoken. If Putin is Devil than the world wants to know who is the Angel?

HOW DOES THE GENDER PERSPECTIVE WORK IN POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN INDIA.

By K P PASWAN

India is a land where majority of the people follow Hinduism in different forms and venerate Veda, the holy scripture of Vedic religion. Some of the famous hymns of Veda were composed by learned women like Apala, Ghosha, Lop mudra Kamayani and a few others. But in contemporary India women in every religion are looked down as something like Barbie toy, plays and throw away with full force.

 It is now said by priestly class that women and Dalits cannot read holy VEDA but by laws women and Dalits in India can read these holy scriptures.

 Gender perspective in Indian politics must be seen in different angle. UK had seen several Queens and women prime minister who contributed to the growth of parliamentary democracy. US has so far not elected any woman as president and there is no hope of any woman occupying White House in near future. If an ageing Joe Bidens retires from active politics than the most dangerous woman of the contemporary world has chance to sit in the Oval Office for a few months as she does not enjoy popular support.

 Despite of notorious for burning of young brides for not bringing sufficient dowry, there is no gender discrimination in India. India has seen one charismatic woman as the PM who sacrificed her life for the country. Indian has also seen a woman as the president of India. Indians have seen and are seeing women as being appointed as Governor of a state and several women are working as judges of High Courts and even in the supreme court.

 Women participated in large number when agitation for a free India was launched. Some of the women are remembered for initiating social reforms while a few are also admired for taking arms against the colonial power.

COLOR AND RACE. Every country in the world finds problems relating to race and color. India is not the only country of the land of diversity. Women in north east resemble with Chinese race while in South Indian state of Tamilnadu  most of the people are of dark skinned, one state. We find high rate of literacy among people of southern states and for this credit goes to foreign missionaries. But the society remains dominated by male. Some of women are working in different govt and private organisations but they face discrimination, and there is little that these women can do except going to judiciary for justice only to be denied. In India there is law for every crimes  but these laws are in favor of rich clients and common man and women continue to suffer.

In the south we find black and fair skinned people. After independent spread of education among women led to greater political and social awareness. There is high percentage of literacy in Kerala but the violence against women continues to grow. This is surprising as these educated women are supposed to inspire the male dominated culture and politics of Hindi belt. Intermixing of people of different color may prove beneficial for working of gender perspective but this is just a speculation.

CO -EDUCATION. In India there used to be separate school and colleges for girls and boys, but with passage of time we see institutions where girls and boys study together. From various researches and survey it appears that girls are more devoted to education than boys. There are cases of sexual exploitation of helpless girls both by teachers and affluent boys. In most of the cases girls are married before graduation and their dream of higher study is shattered. Child marriage is not rare. Now with exposure of Indian society to the west parents in India are more conscious of education of their daughters. A working woman is preferred by educated husband to cope with rising prices.

GENDER INEQUALITY.

 In India educated women are qualifying for administrative services. They are occupying high position in police services, but due to gender inequality these women are still not getting much respect from society. While making appointment for certain posts deserving women are not given their due position which result in despair and frustration.  There was a proposal to reserve certain percentage of women in Parliament and the state legislature but the proposal has been thrown in the dustbin. Women are competing for All India Services. These women officers are known for their efficiency but in their own offices, owing to gender inequality  empowering women is difficult if not impossible.

 In the film industries gender perspective works in different ways. Woman cannot gain even small role without begging to producer, if she is related to any film actor than  there is no problem,but for new aspirant exploitation is very common. In the field of modelling situation in India is not different from West. Girls in and around New Delhi predominate modelling industries but we find male and female models from other countries gaining popularity in India. As per their lavish style it appears they are untouched by gender perspective but in reality, situation is difficult to evaluate.

In rural areas birth of a girl child is not welcomed. Importance is given to male child. Reasons behind murder of new borne girl is heavy expenses in the marriage of the girl. Prospective groom in India thinks it is his birth right to demand cash and expensive luxurious items at the time of marriage. There is a strict law to punish dowry seekers but such type of laws are not followed strictly and what is worse anti dowry laws have become a source of income for corrupt police and also sometimes for the bride and her family to harass the groom for reasons never revealed. The Apex Court has made sweeping comment that certain laws are being misused by the bride’s family to serve personal interest.

 We also find certain cities infamous for molesting women whether belonging to south, west, east or north. Women from north east are taunted as drug addicts even after knowing that in Punjab maximum number of drug addicts are found.

 ARMY. Gender based discrimination is sometimes reported from Indian army. It was only after the intervention of the Apex court that women in army were given the power to combat. Only female physicians were allowed to join army and several of them got elevated to  higher rank.  National Defence Academy is opened for women. Not only in army but in police forces like BSF, and CRPF proper norms are being followed and gender related discrimination is rarely reported because of social stigma.

  In western countries violent protests are being staged against gender bias but no such protests have ever been seen in India.  In such circumstances woman may become either a mental patient or even resort to unlawful activities.

Politics and society  in India complement with each other. If a woman belong to a particular political party she is likely to be mocked by the opposition party. Society is divided into caste and sub castes each having its own set of ideology and woman may find herself at the receiving end. She will not be protected by any section of society if she is discriminated. Women are not given reservation simply because male dominated politics hate the very idea of being dictated by women.

 FINAL THOUGHT. Working of gender perspective in Indian politics and society is not different from other countries. This is a universal truth.

 

IMPOSITION OF HINDI.

 

By K P PASWAN.

With the advent of electronics media and spread of internet, some of the self-declared intellectuals and power-hungry politicians in India are finding these electronic medias and newspapers as effective medium to spread misinformation regarding imposition of Hindi upon unwilling people of south India.

 India is an open democracy and the freedom of speech is being used as a fundamental right by certain groups to defame their opponents. They are spreading false propaganda in connivance with corrupt politicians just to remain in limelight. One of such propaganda is imposition of Hindi language upon unwilling population. They are advocating English as a national language and declaring all the 22languages mentioned in the 6^th schedule of Indian constitution as the official languages. We do not stop here, one of comedians from south India is advocating to declare India as union of Nations. There was a League Of Nation and now we have united Nations Organisation we are yet to hear Union Of Nations, even EU cannot be called as Union of Nation even though members tates have surrendered some sovereignty to Brussels. A few writers have declared that a particular language is the oldest language of India, quoting some unknown sources which can never be verified by independent agency. A few writers are linking Dravidian race with the people of Indus Valley Civilization.

I see no reasons why a student living in a remote village in Tamilnadu is forced to learn Hindi, learning of which is not going to help him even in remote future. But this is not the real story.

 Here we take the issue of imposition of Hindi in South India in general and Tamilnadu in particular. If you are impartial and neutral in assessing the culture of others than you must acknowledge that Tamil is actually a unique language but unfortunately only confined to Tamilnadu. A large number of people have migrated to Malaysia and these people are contributing to the economy growth of an Islamic country while maintaining their separate identity. We have Tamils in SriLanka but there is nothing unique in their culture. We also see migration of Tamils in US where they speak Tamil in their homes and speak in English at the place of their works.

 There are more than half a million Hindi speaking people in US with excellent knowledge of English. US is not accusing India of imposing Hindi.

  Tamilnadu has produced great poets and philosophers who are not known in Hindi belts, the reasons, no body took any step in propagating their wonderful ideas in other parts of the country. Most corrupt finance minister of India was in the habit of quoting passages from the writings of a famous Tamil scholar of ancient time.  From his budget speech in parliament the nation came to know the existence of such a great thinker.

But in present days it has become a fashion of a few intellectuals who may be called linguistic chauvinist to denounce the propagation of Hindi, a language widely spoken and understood in major parts of India.

A good scientific theory and for that matter any systematic study of any serious subject is defined as theory which can be falsified. Some of these chauvinists are publishing articles related to origin of language and race which can never be falsified. So the emergence of new theory is virtually impossible. It is so because that every new theory or research is better than previous theory or research. 

In the case of Hindi, its origin is shrouded in mystery like the origin of our universe. Hindi is not the mother language of any particular state, it is following the scientific theory of evolution and selection. It is for this reasons that this language is flourishing without being imposed.  Rajiv Gandhi, a popular political leader was brutally assassinated because he was opposing the formation of a separate state for Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka. He was not preaching Hindi but a fanatic Catholic and his suicide squad killed the young leader and supporters of his assassins are now in power. One of such comedians has coined the words India is a country of nations which means every citizen of such country must acquire passport to visit his next neighbor.

ORIGIN OF HINDI.  No scholars worth the name have mentioned the source of this language. It is believed that Hindi began to evolve with the decline of Prakrit and Pali which were language of learning during the period when Buddhism was spreading throughout South east Asia, but these are  mere conjectures and not final findings. Despite of its similarity with Urdu, Hindi does not owe its origin to Urdu.

  During the early periods of Islamic rule people of northern India had hundreds of local dialects and these combined to form a language which was destined to evolve as the language of majority of the people. Even in modern India every households in Hindi belt like UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, New Delhi and even in Punjab people in their homes speak in different dialects, when they speak the same dialects in a particular style known as Khadi Boli it becomes Hindi.  

 After independence constitutional assembly discussed the issue of national language. As the country was divided on the basis of languages, it was essential to elevate a language and accept it as national language. English was the language of the elites in major parts of India. Troubles started when Tamilnadu opposed Hindi and demanded English as the language or the language of communication, little knowing that low literacy rate in India precluded such type of ridiculous suggestion. There were violent protests in Tamilnadu and in some other parts of South India. But they failed in their attempts to ostracize Hindi which enjoys the status of official language. There is no doubt that English is widely spoken with different ascent in different countries of the but few countries have declared English as the national language.

 In near future Hindi is likely to become one of the official languages of the United Nation and there is not likely of opposition from any member state of UNO.

ENGLISH IN HINDI BELT.

 After 20000, there is widespread expansion of English and it is not exaggeration to state that now the percentage of English-speaking people is more in Hindi belt than in states opposed to Hindi. But these English lovers of Hindi belt never speak in English to a Tamil in New Delhi They use English as an effective tool to crack UPSC, IIT and other competitive examination. In 2017, 53 students from a Hindi speaking state qualified for central services, seventeen   seventeen for Foreign services and IAS and rest for Group A services. What is surprising is that every young officer chose English as medium of writing and most of them belonged to rural areas. This north Indian state is famous for three industries (1) Boot legging (2) Kidnapping and (3) extortion.

THREE LANGUAGES FORMULA.

If this formula is sincerely implemented than Hindi speaking people will definitely pick up Bangla as the third language which is neither difficult to write or speak. Nearly fifty lakhs Hind speaking people live in and around Kolkata, they speak Bangla and has contributed to the economic growth of this great city.

Widespread unemployment prevails in Hindi belt forcing a large number of people to migrate to southern states which are more developed states. These workers cannot communicate with natives either in Hindi or English. Intermixing of these people is beneficial to Hindi and also to the language of their employers. These unskilled workers during their annual visit to their homes in Northern spread the culture of Southern states.

FINAL THOUGHT.

 Stiff opposition to Hindi in South India has contributed to the spread of Hindi. Some of the best Hindi movies were produced in Tamilnadu. A particular Chief Minister of Tamilnadu was so efficient in Hindi that a senipr diplomat still maintains that she was like Narsingh Rao who as a PM of India generally interacted with people in Hindi.