Lessons for the Indian Democracy

More than often, the Indian political class has thumped its own back, in celebration of a democratic franchise it has safeguarded for its citizens through thick and thin. Or so it claims.

A recent visit to Singapore for me, took place at extremely interesting times, when the small city-state emphatically showed the power of 'free and fair' public voting rights. While the news of Arab states,continuously in a state of upheaval kept filtering in, the local channels were filled with a strong message the people of Singapore had given in the recently concluded elections. The message, was ironically the same that blood was being splattered for in Arab nations, and one that the US president had spread to see himself elected. The message of Change.

In Singapore, and as much elsewhere, the 2011 General Election results must be looked at with greater detail. The election which jolted the ruling party out of sleep after 30 years of unabated success, also saw the foreign minister as well as other senior political figures being voted out. The message of the voters was loud and clear. The names don't count, work does. A logic that misses both the Indian voters and the politicians alike.

The Arab uprising, much a concern for oil hunting US too was a call for a change from oppresive regimes to establishment of citizen centric policies. Though even the most hardened politicians wouls not observe any pattern to these demands of change, yet what the common man across the globe connects of these is fantastical. The power of a single voice.

Exhibited quite recently in the form of Anna Hazare, using Gandhian tactics to coerce the Government into relooking at the Lokpal Bill, a utopian tool intended to curb corruption, this voice has now been given wings by popular social media platforms. The spread of information and understanding of macro situations by a common man are leaving little room for any Indian politician to continue his game of 'Change will Come'. The world wants to see if it 'has come' or not.

Indian democracy, arguably came to India when it was little too young. With a history, in which it continued to revel, rich with kings, dictators and aristocracy, the Indian democracy has known little of how to leverage on fundamentals of public franchise. The empathizers of Indian progress highlight the difficulty of the nightmares of partition, subsequent wars, and natural calamities ,insufficiencies to claim refuge against allegations of non-performance. However, the reality of their lack of vision is not in what they havent achieved but social evils they have ingrained which discourage meritocracy and others from performing.

What remains to be seen is how if ever, do the Indian politicians end up controlling the public sentiment, if they were to face an equally vocal and consistent dissent against the way Indian politics is run.

Swami Vivekananda's Speech on September 11 in the World Parliament of Religions

Swami Vivekananda's Address to the World Parliament of Religions September 1893

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Courtesy: www.writespirit.net

- Swami Vivekananda

Secrets to Success: REALLY???

I do not intend to add humor in what I say, as I talk of an entity so unpredictable that it borders on the verge of being funny by itself. An entity called Life. The topic I have chosen to express my views is Resolve: The essence of Life.
Optimism is just an affair with realism. Where all is well till you are focused and determined, but the relation goes awry with adultery of unreasonable ambition. However there are a few who justify their rendezvous with that, not accepted by all in the society, these are the likes of Katara’s, Lal’s and Mattoo’s.

The horn blowing, self proclaimed societal villains here are the spoiled BMW driving young brats, kids of politicians and the uber rich. For all those in the life of mere mortals the life is a challenge. Thus, in a world that’s changing every second, growing every minute and falling, only to resurrect every once in a while, men and women have recognised a vital rule for living. The rule states: to live up to the challenge of every moment, you need to live up the moments in every challenge.
There are those in the world jumping in front of trains due to failure in love, exams, businesses or purely publicity hungry siblings of honourable Rakhi Sawant. However there are those too that take this failure, dejection and disappointment as the stepping stone to the next level of performance, the saga of Mr. Amitabh Bachhan is a living testimony to this relentless effort to succeed. However there is another level where result driven endeavours cease.

At such moments we see the rise of individuals who etch their names on pages of history.
A frail Mohandas when stood against the mighty British was the one immortalised with the title of Mahatma. When the black man called Dr. King stood firm against the atrocities meted out to his brethren, the whites went further pale in colour. Poverty, illness, destitution and several other human impediments could not stop the saintly Teresa from stoping work for those she cared for. It wasn’t their being the unfavoured at any moment which diluted their resolve for achieving the goals in sight.

A proof of the fact that to achieve what may appear as a mirage, all you need to do, is envisage.
The life today that we live, is a life where learning is tough and the going tougher. In such an environment its imperative to to have a resolve that withers the storms with resilience. Be it the living God Tendulkar, or the immortal Dhyanchand, they have all had resolve of steel.

To achieve heights in life one need not have vastness of land owned, but expanse of a heart that cares. It is not important to have a bank balance that cant be counted, but well wishers who say countless prayers for you. For all of this it need not be that you make an effort that unreasonable, but are able to reason when your fellow brethren are afraid to do so.
Life is collection of events that leads one to repeatedly question, what does it take to be successful, and the answer: A Resolve