Lotus Revolution in India

Vande Mataram,- BVande Mataram- Vande Mataram...

Call is loud in silence.
In mid 1960s a lady just wanted to sit on a bus - and she did - that made America of today - that also made possible to see President Obama at the White House.

in early 1930s British did not allow Gandhi to stay in Africa - and pushed him back to Bharat - and that initiated the end of British-raj in the world.

And very long ago Mighty king of Magadh insulted Chanakya - with that Bharat saw end of tyranny and a good 500 years Golden era.

I wonder what I would be writing on 20+years later on the event that is unfolding at the Jantar-Mantar site of New Delhi.

Is what we think it is?
Perhaps it is - It smells like that, feels like that and begin to sounds like that.

And, if that is true, what should all do ....

Thank you,

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Cries of ‘revolution’at Jantar Mantar
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi, April 7: Egypt, Tunisia and now — Jantar Mantar.

That’s what a gaggle of school students felt Anna Hazare’s protest site had become. “Tunisia, Egypt and now India,” said one banner. Teenager Ankita, who held aloft the poster, said she could not hold herself back. “A revolution is on. And I wanted to pitch in,” said the Class XII student of a reputable city school. Schoolmate Ashish Parikh nodded. “It is the tipping point.”

They were among the 1,000-odd people who had converged at Jantar Mantar to support Hazare on his third day of hunger strike to demand a tougher Lok Pal Bill. Hazare’s aides claimed the figure was close to 2,000.

A Delhi police officer didn’t seem to agree, though. “It’s like a Kumbh Mela in terms of the variety of people, but not the numbers. The noise on TV would make you believe Jantar Mantar has turned into another Tahrir Square. It is yet to cause even a minor traffic jam,” he said.

In a scene straight out of Peepli Live — the Aamir Khan-produced parody of the way TV amplifies events — media representatives at the site rushed to the stage after hearing Hazare had taken ill and was being shifted to hospital. They returned disappointed. It wasn’t Hazare but two of his associates.

The septuagenarian himself said he could fast for seven more days. “I have been working for a long time,” he said in one of his many speeches despite a rise in blood pressure.

Hazare apologised to Uma Bharti, who was asked to leave yesterday by his aides. But the former BJP leader warned against the activist sweeping generalisations. “All politicians are not bad. He should not allow his movement to become negative,” she said.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar came, as did actor Raza Murad. Other stars tweeted support.
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What should India's revolution look like?
Frank Raj

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - No 2 Religion Yes 2 Faith by Frank Raj

“In India, where a river can be a goddess, a laundry and a toilet all at once, nothing is obvious. India can supply an example of any extreme, and convince you it’s the whole story. The country’s official statistics are subject to frequent and unexpected revisions. India’s variety and vagueness conspire to frustrate anyone who tries to be objective.

- Brooke Unger, former South Asia Bureau Chief of The Economist

MIDDLE EAST, INDIA, April 05, 2011 —Around the Middle East people are risking everything to change their lives. But nothing significant seems to be happening in India. Just two and a half hours away from the Arabian Gulf only a countrywide obsession with sport, and India’s triumph in the 2011 cricket World Cup seems to hold the attention of the population. The Roman Empire once ruled much of the world, yet kept its population similarly distracted from their unending miseries by entertaining them in the infamous Coliseum.

India's stark reality is that its have-nots comprise half the world's poor. They are mostly deluded by the religious notion of Maya - that life is an illusion; it probably accounts for the lethargy and inaction of its most unfortunate citizens. We Indians are easily beguiled. We are bamboozled by customs, caste, creed, an assortment of popular mendicants and a conniving political and religious leadership.
Bathing in the Ganges (Photo: India)

Bathing in the Ganges (Photo: India)

Why don't India’s disadvantaged rise up and demand their rightful share of the nation's wealth that is systematically looted by a handful of politicians and businessmen?

In our schizophrenic nation of extreme poverty and extreme wealth, much needs to change.

India has two major obsessions where a revolution is urgently needed: both are used to manipulate Indians, often with deadly combined effect - politics and religion. Since it is supposedly in the realm of the sacred, the latter probably has more clout for all the wrong reasons in India, unlike the generally more open debates on such matters in the West.

The track record of religious communities positively shaping politics in India is dismal.

Religion in India is controlled and manipulated by unscrupulous politicians and corrupt clergy. Yoga and gurus galore attract westerners who flock to India for enlightenment.

Yet those same gurus overlook the desolation of a society infected with religious hostility where women and children are brutalized and the country has little pity for its teeming underprivileged millions.

The religious spectacle in India is great for tourism, but it does not shape character. It is Indian culture and traditions that dominate people’s convictions. Elected officials routinely manipulate religion for vote banks. Crooked politicians and businessmen publicize their pilgrimages seeking divine favors, and both clever and common Indians offer ritual prayer as a good luck charm.

The unbelievably polluted Ganges River, considered holy, visibly reflects the rot of religion. The age old, all pervasive caste system gives sacred sanction to a 3,000 year old society's twisted hierarchy.

All Indians seem to link piety with wealth and are strangely satisfied with religiosity and its outward manifestations. I make no exception, few of them are inclined to seek something deeper.

Granted, money is not worshipped only by Indians. Sometimes it appears that in fact only one religion controls mankind - materialism, the religion of the world. In India there is Lakshmi, the ruling goddess of prosperity. Mammon rules the rest of the globe; less of an overt religious symbol perhaps but equally effective in controlling men's minds and hearts.

Yet, in pluralistic India we somehow need to build trust and respect for one another's beliefs in all faith communities. But that is possible only if Indians can offer one another authentic, inspirational values, instead of religious showmanship and narrow communal preferences that ignite conflict.

One is humbled by genuine manifestations of supplication and personal faith in anyone truly seeking God. But religion is a different kettle of fish. It is mostly ideology, and by allowing a volatile mixture of the two, India has consistently invited havoc. It has the dubious record of permitting the 21st century’s first state sponsored pogrom, when fanatic adherents of Hindutva massacred several thousand Muslims in Godhra, Gujarat in 2002.

WikiLeaks recently exposed India’s devious religious politics when Robert Blake, a senior US diplomat, revealed that Arun Jaitley, leader of India’s main opposition party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Upper House of Parliament (the Rajya Sabha – Council of States), had admitted to him in a meeting on May 6, 2005 that Hindu nationalism is an "opportunistic issue" for his party. "Pressed on the question of Hindutva, Jaitley argued that Hindu nationalism 'will always be a 'talking point' for the BJP.'

Those who haven't seen through the BJP's well crafted, Goebbels-inspired propaganda should stop and consider how ideology has been hammered into Indian minds and reinforced as something religious when it is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Open dialogue on common spiritual concerns can be a vital source of personal and social morality in a country's public life.

Hindu, Muslim or Christian, people lose an authentic relationship with their Creator when they settle for any religious ideology - Hindutva, Islamism, or Christianity.

India needs a genuine spiritual revolution that eliminates the politics of religion, which frequently pits Indian against Indian.

Nevertheless, is there no need for a social and political revolution in India like the Middle East?

Unlike several Arab governments on the brink, a convoluted India ranked 84th on the most corrupt nations list, still has a choice. It can choose whether to implode eventually and disintegrate politically and spiritually as a people and a nation - or, become stronger through all the upheaval around the region and use it to rebuild a solid democratic foundation.

India's media enjoys much more freedom than any Middle Eastern state. Why hasn't it taken the initiative to issue a clarion call for change? The country’s media barons, known for increasing profits rather than upholding integrity, prefer to maintain the status quo. Tunisians and Egyptians discarded their dictatorships because of a unique alliance: youth power, alternative media, solidarity and sheer determination.

The Internet is censored in India mainly for pornography. Indian civil society could easily channel the restlessness of educated, young unemployed Indians and empower them to organize and rally the country.

Their manifesto could include three main demands: An end to corruption with rigidly enforced accountability; equal opportunity that tangibly cuts unemployment currently estimated at nearly 11 per cent; and poverty eradication beyond mere sloganeering.

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s premier business association, 72 % of India's population is below the age of 40, while 47% of Indians are under the age of 20 and 10% of the world population is an Indian under 25. They can be a major force to reckon with if they harness the subversive, ubiquitous power of social media like Facebook, Twitter etc.

Like their Arab counterparts if they unite in nationwide solidarity they can demand transparency in governance, and wage a peaceful yet unrelenting fight for genuine democracy in India. Youth associations, independent trade unions, citizen's and women’s groups must empower any such initiative with a total commitment to an organized movement for the rights of the people.

Violence is not the solution for India, but a peaceful revolution must come about in a tangible manner that redresses the predicament of marginalized Indians. They face a bleak future and contend with the high cost of living, massive unemployment, dehumanizing poverty and the despair of being left behind as globalization benefits only a fraction of the country.

If India doesn't apply its national tenet: Satyamev jayate, (Sanskrit: "Truth Alone Triumphs") which sustained and motivated Gandhi, I see little hope for the future despite our steady annual GDP figures.

It could all unravel someday.

Frank Raj belongs to an extended Indian-American family; he is based in India and the Middle East where he has lived for over three decades. He is the founding editor and publisher of ‘The International Indian’, (www.theinternationalindian.com) the oldest magazine of Gulf-Indian society and history since 1992.
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BANGALORE: Inspired by Gandhian Anna Hazare, the youth is ready to throw its power behind the fight against corruption. They are standing up for a clean India — it could be the fragrance of the Jasmine Revolution seeping into the country, or it could just mean that they've had enough.

'A revolution should happen today and now' — these were the words of hundreds of students from Bangalore, who gathered in support of Anna Hazare's fast, demanding implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Students from across the city, who joined the protest by the hundreds, cheered when L S Tejaswi Surya, a student leader of Arise India, said: "We want a change and we want to see the change now. The youth has supported every movement in the country. Now, it is time for Clean Revolution. Dirty politics has to be changed. The youth of Karnataka and students of the entire country are showing their real power."

Students applauded as Tejaswi, a student of Bangalore University Law College, said: "The youth have woken up. It is a death-knell for the corrupt. We want leaders who are honest and educated, and not corrupt."

Perhaps it is the right formula — a wise old fighter backed by the energy of the youth. More than 300 students from various colleges — Vijaya Composite College, New Horizon College of Engineering, Jain Group of Colleges, BNM Institute of Technology, Krupanidhi College, NMKRV College, and Bangalore University Law College — participated in the protest at Freedom Park.

"We are expecting the number to go up by 1,000 in the evening. Students have turned out to be our strength. When we started the anti-corruption movement, we thought it would be difficult to mobilize students against corruption. But, they have proved us wrong," Ajit Phadnis, a member of India Against Corruption, and one of the organizers of the campaign in Bangalore, said.

All the students chanted the name of Anna Hazare. Roopak K, from Vijaya Composite College, said he found out about the movement online. "We went through indiaagainstcorruption.org. It was Anna Hazare's act that influenced us. He called upon the youth to be part of the movement. We are here to prove our power," he said.

Fighting odds, girls also participated. Vishnu Priya AH, second-year PU student of Vijaya Composite College, said it was difficult for girls to participate in protests. "Though our parents support the anti-corruption movement, they were not willing to send us. They were scared there might be a lathicharge and told us we were too young for all this. But, we don't think so. We convinced our parents of the importance of participating," she said.

Nagendra C, another student of Vijaya College, said: "We felt that if this soldier of great calibre can go on a fast at his age, the youth has the power to do much more."
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Revolution futile, admits Ulfa
- Hira Sarania attends raising day function
RIPUNJOY DAS
Arabinda Rajkhowa and other Ulfa leaders in Tinsukia district on Thursday. Picture by UB Photos

Kakopathar, April 7: After waging an armed struggle for 32 years, Ulfa today admitted the futility of armed rebellion, saying it would not yield “any solution” and that it had not been able to “liberate even a small village” in three decades.

Addressing a meeting of about 400 cadres and families of Ulfa martyrs at the outfit’s designated camp in Kakopathar under Tinsukia district of Upper Assam on the outfit’s 32nd raising day, chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said, “It’s true that the government of India could not finish Ulfa by using its military might. But the Ulfa, too, despite the sacrifice of thousands of our youths, could not liberate even a small village, forget the whole of Assam.

“Realising this and showing respect towards the wishes of the people of Assam, which was expressed through the Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan, we came forward for formal political negotiations with India.”

Rajkhowa said the time had come for the people of Assam to choose between armed struggle and political negotiations and stick to one.

After giving a vivid account of Ulfa struggle over the last three decades, he said, “Many people will still try to lure a section of our rural youths to armed struggle but after more than 30 years of armed struggle against the Government of India, we can say that it will not bring us any solution.”

Rajkhowa, who was flanked by vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi and political adviser Bhimkanta Buragohain, said the Centre had, through a letter dated May 25, 2005, reached out to Ulfa saying that solutions to all problems could be found through dialogue and had expressed its willingness to discuss all the core issues of Assam. “The first round of discussions got under way in New Delhi in the presence of the Prime Minister on February 14 this year. The government has reciprocated well, assuring us of a meaningful and acceptable solution to the issues raised by us. We have stressed upon a time-bound solution and made it clear that we are not interested in discussions for the sake of discussions,” he added.

Rajkhowa said the agenda for future discussions with New Delhi, which would include all the core issues plaguing Assam, was being drafted and would acquire a final shape very soon.

He said the government would also have to give answers on the whereabouts of the 24 missing Ulfa leaders, including self-styled majors Asanta Bagh Phukon, Bening Rava and Robin Neog, “captain” Abhijit Deka and “lieutenant” Ajoy Narzary, who went missing during Operation All Clear launched by the Royal Bhutan Army in 2003.

Pradip Gogoi said there was no rift in the Ulfa hierarchy and there were no factions called the Paresh Barua faction or the Arabinda Rajkhowa faction. “Paresh Barua has never said that he is not interested in holding talks. There might be some difference in opinion, but this does not mean that there is a division,” he said.

The commanding officer of Ulfa’s 709 battalion, Hira Sarania, also made his first public appearance today during the function along with the commanding officers of 27 battalion, Pallab Saikia, and 109 battalion, Gullit Das. There were murmurs of Sarania having joined the Rajkhowa group but there was no confirmation till he surfaced today.

Sarania, who had joined the outfit in 1987, reportedly commanded its activities in Guwahati and lower Assam. He is also reported to have been responsible for the kidnapping of P.C. Ram, the executive director of FCI, Northeast Circle, who was later killed in a crossfire during an encounter between Ulfa and security forces. Sarania told this correspondent that “some understanding” had been worked out so that he is not harassed by agencies investigating the Ram case. He, however, refused to give details.

In the morning, Rajkhowa raised the flag of the outfit, was formed on April 7, 1979 at Rangghar in Sivasagar, and the Ulfa rank and file, initiated by Bhimkanta Buragohain, paid tribute to the martyrs. Police and CRPF personnel were seen guarding the venue from a 100-metre distance.

More than 120 families who had lost their sons and daughters in Ulfa’s armed struggle, were invited to the function. They were felicitated by Ulfa leaders, including Rajkhowa, with phulam gamocha. However, apart from sympathy and the status of Jatiya Swahid, it is not known whether the Ulfa leadership gave the martyrs’ families anything else.

The chairman of the Terror Victims’ Families Forum, Brojen Hazarika, said, “It is good that Rajkhowa and his followers have realised the futility of armed struggle after the unnecessary death of several thousands. But they cannot save their skin by saying so. They will have to ensure that there is no further bloodshed, no life is lost and that those who are still in the jungles return home.”---------------------
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