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Happy Republic day 2014

Posted by ABC Sunday, 26 January 2014 0 comments


From 26 January 1950, when India was declared a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic to 26 January 2014, we have covered a long time span. In these 64 odd years, we as a nation have witnessed myriad bitter-sweet moments and achieved various milestones. From fighting various wars across the border to being a constant companion to various peace measures, India has reflected a gamut of emotions. We continue to be the largest democracy and one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Reflecting at our achievements in the field of science and technology, sports, medicine, entertainment, business and entrepreneurship et cetera gives us immense pleasure and a great sense of pride on being a citizen of such a powerful nation. At this juncture, the destiny is exhorting us to embark on the path that will lead us to our ultimate destination – where there is no discrimination, no poverty, no crime and no hatred, a place where every individual is empowered and is a part of the development process. It is incumbent on each one of us as a citizen of this nation to struggle till our last breath for the development and prosperity of our motherland. Let us make a solemn resolution to douse the flames of alienation and hatred that have repeatedly been fanned by various hostile forces that intend to unleash terror and balkanise this country. In this era of modernisation, it is equally important for us to not to forget our moral values and undermine our diverse cultural heritage. We ought to uphold and preserve our pristine values and strengthen our social fabric. We must also ensure that our brethren are able to accompany us in this journey and our virtues overpower our vices. Let us promise ourselves to protect the sanctity of the soil of this auspicious land and join our hands together with due respect to the Almighty to bless us with strength and courage to come out triumphant in all our endeavours.


Is there ought you need that my hands withhold,
Rich gifts of raiment or grain or gold?
Lo ! I have flung to the East and the West
Priceless treasures torn from my breast,
And yielded the sons of my stricken womb
To the drum-beats of the duty, the sabers of doom.
Gathered like pearls in their alien graves
Silent they sleep by the Persian waves,
Scattered like shells on Egyptian sands,
They lie with pale brows and brave, broken hands,
they are strewn like blossoms mown down by chance
On the blood-brown meadows of Flanders and France.
Can ye measure the grief of the tears I weep
Or compass the woe of the watch I keep?
Or the pride that thrills thro' my heart's despair
And the hope that comforts the anguish of prayer?
And the far sad glorious vision I see
Of the torn red banners of victory?
when the terror and the tumult of hate shall cease
And life be refashioned on anvils of peace,
And your love shall offer memorial thanks
To the comrades who fought on the dauntless ranks,
And you honour the deeds of the dauntless ones,
Remember the blood of my martyred sons!

The Gift of India
- Sarojini Naidu


I wish all my dear countrymen a very Happy Republic Day.

                                                               JAI HIND 

 

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The President's address on the eve of Republic Day 2014

Posted by ABC Saturday, 25 January 2014 0 comments

Full text of the President's address on the eve of Republic Day



My Fellow Citizens:

1. On the eve of 65th Republic Day, I extend warm greetings to all of you in India and abroad. I convey my special greetings to members of our Armed Forces, Paramilitary Forces and Internal Security Forces.

2. The Republic Day commands the respect of every Indian. On this day, sixty four years ago, in a remarkable display of idealism and courage, we the people of India gave to ourselves a sovereign democratic republic to secure all its citizens justice, liberty and equality. We undertook to promote among all citizens fraternity, the dignity of the individual and the unity of the nation. These ideals became the lodestar of the modern Indian State. Democracy became our most precious guide towards peace and regeneration from the swamp of poverty created by centuries of colonial rule. From within the spacious provisions of our Constitution, India has grown into a beautiful, vibrant, and sometimes noisy democracy. For us, the democracy is not a gift, but the fundamental right of every citizen; for those in power democracy is a sacred trust. Those who violate this trust commit sacrilege against the nation.

3. Some cynics may scoff at our commitment to democracy but our democracy has never been betrayed by the people; its fault-lines, where they exist, are the handiwork of those who have made power a gateway to greed. We do feel angry, and rightly so, when we see democratic institutions being weakened by complacency and incompetence. If we hear sometimes an anthem of despair from the street, it is because people feel that a sacred trust is being violated.

Fellow Citizens:

4. Corruption is a cancer that erodes democracy, and weakens the foundations of our state. If Indians are enraged, it is because they are witnessing corruption and waste of national resources. If governments do not remove these flaws, voters will remove governments.

5. Equally dangerous is the rise of hypocrisy in public life. Elections do not give any person the licence to flirt with illusions. Those who seek the trust of voters must promise only what is possible. Government is not a charity shop. Populist anarchy cannot be a substitute for governance. False promises lead to disillusionment, which gives birth to rage, and that rage has one legitimate target: those in power.

6. This rage will abate only when governments deliver what they were elected to deliver: social and economic progress, not at a snail's pace, but with the speed of a racehorse. The aspirational young Indian will not forgive a betrayal of her future. Those in office must eliminate the trust deficit between them and the people. Those in politics should understand that every election comes with a warning sign: perform, or perish.

7. I am not a cynic because I know that democracy has this marvellous ability to self-correct. It is the physician that heals itself, and 2014 must become a year of healing after the fractured and contentious politics of the last few years.

My Fellow Citizens:

8. The last decade witnessed the emergence of India as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The slowdown of our economy in the last two years can be some cause for concern but none for despair. The green shoots of revival are already visible. The agricultural growth in the first half of this year has touched 3.6 per cent and rural economy is buoyant.

9. 2014 is a precipice moment in our history. We must re-discover that sense of national purpose and patriotism, which lifts the nation above and across the abyss; and back on to the road of prosperity. Give the young jobs and they will raise the villages and cities to 21st century standards. Give them a chance and you will marvel at the India they can create.

10. This chance will not come if India does not get a stable government. This year, we will witness the 16th General Election to our Lok Sabha. A fractured government, hostage to whimsical opportunists, is always an unhappy eventuality. In 2014, it could be catastrophic. Each one of us is a voter; each one of us has a deep responsibility; we cannot let India down. It is time for introspection and action.

11. India is not just a geography: it is also a history of ideas, philosophy, intellect, industrial genius, craft, innovation, and experience. The promise of India has sometimes been mislaid by misfortune; at other times by our own complacence and weakness. Destiny has given us another opportunity to recover what we have lost; we will have no one to blame but ourselves if we falter.

Fellow Citizens:

12. A democratic nation is always involved in argument with itself. This is welcome, for we solve problems through discussion and consent, not force. But healthy differences of opinion must not lead to an unhealthy strife within our polity. Passions are rising over whether we should have smaller states to extend equitable development to all parts of a state. A debate is legitimate but it should conform to democratic norms. The politics of divide and rule has extracted a heavy price on our subcontinent. If we do not work together, nothing ever will work.

13. India must find its own solutions to its problems. We must be open to all knowledge; to do otherwise would be to condemn our nation to the misery of a stagnant mire. But we should not indulge in the easy option of mindless imitation, for that can lead us to a garden of weeds. India has the intellectual prowess, the human resource and financial capital to shape a glorious future. We possess a dynamic civil society with an innovative mindset. Our people, whether in villages or cities, share a vibrant, unique consciousness and culture. Our finest assets are human.

Fellow Citizens:

14. Education has been an inseparable part of the Indian experience. I am not talking only of the ancient institutions of excellence like Takshashila or Nalanda, but of an age as recent as the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, our higher educational infrastructure consists of over 650 universities and 33,000 colleges. The quality of education has to be the focus of our attention now. We can be world leaders in education, if only we discover the will and leadership to take us to that pinnacle. Education is no longer just the privilege of the elite, but a universal right. It is the seed of a nation’s destiny. We must usher in an education revolution that becomes a launching pad for the national resurgence.

15. I am being neither immodest, nor beating a false drum, when I claim that India can become an example to the world. Because, the human mind flourishes best when it is, as the great sage Rabindranath Tagore said, free from fear; when it has the liberty to roam into spheres unknown; in search of wisdom; and when the people have the fundamental right to propose as well as oppose.

My Fellow Citizens:

16. There will be a new government before I speak to you again on the eve of our Independence Day. Who wins the coming election is less important than the fact that whosoever wins must have an undiluted commitment to stability, honesty, and the development of India. Our problems will not disappear overnight. We live in a turbulent part of the world where factors of instability have grown in the recent past. Communal forces and terrorists will still seek to destabilize the harmony of our people and the integrity of our state but they will never win. Our security and armed forces, backed by the steel of popular support, have proved that they can crush an enemy within; with as much felicity as they guard our frontiers. Mavericks who question the integrity of our armed services are irresponsible and should find no place in public life.

17. India's true strength lies in her Republic; in the courage of her commitment, the sagacity of her Constitution, and the patriotism of her people. 1950 saw the birth of our Republic. I am sure that 2014 will be the year of resurgence.

Jai Hind!
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An open letter to the media

Posted by ABC Friday, 24 January 2014 2 comments
Dear sir/ma’am

Through these columns, I wish to express my dissatisfaction with the way you are exploiting the power of media to lead a one-sided anti-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) propaganda. I beg to differ with your brazen criticism of the AAP ideology and the way you have been exploiting your forums to chastise the functionaries of the AAP. As a responsible and law abiding citizen of India, I wish to discuss some of the contentious issues surrounding the AAP that have been blown out of proportion and that need to be understood with pragmatism.


Availability of 660 litres of fresh water for free and electricity at reduced tariff:
This has been the primary agenda of the AAP that has won the debutantes votes in large numbers. I fail to understand the rationale behind the hue and cry among the members of the Opposition as well as the media. Why is the fulfilment of this electoral promise being termed as distribution of freebies? Access to fresh water and electricity is a basic necessity to sustain a livelihood in a metropolitan city like Delhi. The AAP has clearly specified how it intends to earn revenue by cross-subsidising water and electricity. The burden of this subsidy is considerably small as compared to the burden caused to the exchequer by the ministers of other governments o useless activities like construction of memorials, erection of statues as a ‘symbol of unity’, distribution of laptops, mobile phones, household electronic appliances and other monetary inducements. If the media is really worried about the burgeoning deficit, why then may I ask, it does not lead campaigns against wastage of taxpayers’ money by corrupt ministers on the above mentioned activities? Why does the  of its candidates in elections but condemns unequivocally the AAP’s decision to bear the burden of additional subsidy which amounts to only a fraction of the allocated budget?

Provision of vehicle, accommodation and security to ministers:
As promised in its manifesto, the AAP has brought an end to the use of red beacons and weakened the VIP culture prevailing in Delhi. The media has wrongly portrayed the use of official vehicle by AAP ministers. The citizens should know that these vehicles are being used only for official purpose and not for any personal activity. Similarly the pressure built up by media and the Opposition that compelled the Chief Minister to decline the accommodation offered to him was unjust. As compared to the accommodation held by the ministers in other governments, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal was being offered a modest home equipped with basic amenities and an attached office. We want an accountable Chief Minister but we don’t want to facilitate the working of the Chief Minister Office! Perhaps he will lose his identity as an aam aadmi ! Sir/ma’am what about the acres of land that Mr. Robert Vadra and others of his ilk have grabbed in the guise of being an aam aadmi? Aren’t they supposed to be accountable to the public? The Delhi chief Minister has vehemently denied any security cover that has been offered repeatedly to him. Even when there is a threat to his life we seem to be apprehensive of his intentions. One wonders if ministers in other states are ever questioned for their cavalcade of SUVs and security personnel!

Self-vigilante acts of the ministers of the AAP:
Living up to their identity as servants of the citizens, the AAP ministers have been visiting government schools, offices, colleges, slum et cetera both in day and in night. Unfortunately, it seems that the media and the Opposition have colluded to term this as a political gimmick to gain public sympathy. That hundreds of downtrodden people were shifted to porta-cabins and relief camps went largely unnoticed but the death of one poor exposed their preparedness! Had media shown the same passion in stirring the conscience of people and ministers of other states, the riot victims would not have been languishing in rudimentary shelters in shivering cold.


Display of anarchy and confrontation with the Delhi Police:
For the last 15 years, Delhi was being ruled by the Congress Party. Had the then Chief Minister taken up the issue of control over Delhi Police to the ministry of Home Affairs vehemently, the law and order situation in the Capital would have been a lot better. Instead the citizens of Delhi have got accustomed to the corrupt ways in which every government department functions. That the AAP has instilled a fear in the hearts of corrupt sarkaari babus is not important for the media but what an equally corrupt minister from the Opposition has to say about the functioning of government is a watchdog discharging its duties faithfully! Yes, the sit-in and the agitation organised in Delhi was not the appropriate way of protesting but at the same time the calling off of the dharna was not a ‘facesaver’ either. As Mahatma Gandhi himself said in context of the Chamapran Movement, “Where the peasants are so crushed and fear-stricken, law courts are useless. The real relief for them is to be free from fear”. Similarly, if a minister attends to the complaints of aggrieved citizens, we see that his actions are condemned and there are demands for his resignation.


Use of unprofessional language
No doubt the AAP ministers have failed to keep a check on their choice of words on several occasions. They deserve criticism for their bloopers. But what about the cheap alliteration and personal jibes that the ministers of Opposition parties have been taking at the AAP? Aren’t terms like ‘yeda mantri’, ‘item-girl’, ‘clown’ offensive enough to lower their dignity? Don’t they need the same condemnation and outburst of criticism from the media?

 The political discourse of India is changing, so are the rules of the game of politics. The AAP is living well to the expectations of people. The media has been reminding people of the 18 point agenda of the Aam Aadmi Party nearly every day. Had the media shown the same enthusiasm in discussing the manifesto of previous dispensations, the walled city would have surely turned into a world city.
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My blog is an innovative amalgamation of my thoughts, how i perceive and react to different events in the ordinary business of life and at the same time entertain the readers and sensitize them.
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