My first tryst with the dreaded agency - UPSC! My interview transcript.

The board was chaired by Mr. Venkatrami Reddy(c ). There was a senior lady on the board ( F1) and three other members – M1 ,M2 and M3.

I enterd the room and wished the panel a good afternoon, first the lady member  and then others.

ChairmanReddy sir – Please sit down..

C– So you are ……. What are your qualifications?

Me-Sir I have done my grad and masters in physics, grad from BHU and masters fromDU, Hindu college.

C- *indicates to other members to begin asking questions*

M1– Why civil services?

Me-Sir I come from a rural background, and I have always seen that we people  always have our views and grievances as to how things should be and what needs  to be done. And there are a lot of issues where a lot needs to be done. Being in the civil services gives you an excellent opportunity to bring about these changes and contribute to the society. That is why this aspiration to be in a position to bring about change and make things better.

Mr. Reddy smiled at this.Sarcastically or otherwise, I just could not gather.

M1– So, what do you think is the biggest problem in rural India.

Me-Sir I think it is the lack of opportunities. If this is addressed we directly tackle poverty & unemployment.This also will directly address issues like distressed migration.

M1-So you believe that developing rural India is all we need. What about urban areas?

Me-No sir, we need to integrate the two. Bharat and India will have to be developed together.they are interrelated. If rural areas develop it will release the pressure off urban areas and cities. We will have better urban planning.

M1interrupts – Do you know what % of delhi’s population lives in slums?

Me-I am sorry sir I am not aware of the figure.

M1– It is around 60 %. Now tell me how can we tackle problem of slums?

Me-Sir slums develop when people pour into cities in search of work. But the work they find is not sufficient to sustain an entire family. So we need a two pronged approach. The long term solution is providing enough opportunities interms of education,health,employment and urban aminities in rural areas.The short term way out is to regularize these slums and gradually turn them into colonies with basic urban utilities.At the same time we need to boost employment in the manufacturing sector… (interrupted)

M1– Will it not encourage people to migrate even more?

Me-In the near future it may.But for a family migration is a very hard decision to make and is majorly an economic decision. So both approaches need to go together- making rural life sustainable and improving the condition of slums.We are yet to see the impact of initiatives like Nat.  Rural Livelihood Mission.If it works out well, rural life can be made attractive. Earlier we have missed out an excellent initiative of PURA,which should have long tackled this problem. The idea of a ring of 5-6 villages with a School,college,hospital and other such facilities is a novel solution.We must re-energize PURA.

M1–china has been successful in tackling slums? Are u aware how they have done it?

Me-Sir not exactly. But broadly their approach has been to boost labour intensive manufacturing industries and set up SEZs where mass employment is possible. This has been combined with concrete housing and other basic facilities for these workers.With our new manufacturing policy we also can make a major impact.

M1– Ok.

M2– How many districts has planning commission has identified as highly backward?

Me– Sir it is in early 70s. seventy….(interrupted)

M2– exact figure you know?

Me– Sir 72

M2– Yesss * gives a lovely smile*

M2– Do you know the name of the guy who recently came down some building blah blah blah ?

Me– I don’t remember the name Sir, ….(interrupted)

M2– ok..asked you because you seem to be into adventure sports

·      I smile …out of courtesy.

M2– How do you tackle Bharat-India problem? * he was using some very tooti-futti angrezzi*

Me– Sir we need all our institutions to sensitise themselves to the demands of still underdeveloped and undeveloped areas.For example Sir I am working with Rbi and Rbi as the central bank has redefined its role in the last decade or so, by focusing on needs of the rural areas as well as the urban poor and starting new initiatives.We have taken up an all new developmental role as a central bank and this is unique for a central bank.Similarly, all our institutions need to develop a holistic approach and be sensitive to needs of everyone.

M2– So you are with Rbi. Nice. Tell me how FEMA has helped?

Me– Sir, earlier with FERA, our basic objective was to discourage the flow of foreign exchange since it was in short supply.So Fera was a restrictive act but as our economy was liberalized we went for FEMA which is more of a facilitating mechanism.Earlier people used to stand in long queues outside RBI offices just to get a few dollars.Now that is no more there.FEMA has helped our students,our doctors, tourists and anyone who dreams of going abroad. It has been very beneficial for the economy as it an enabler of an open economy…(interrupted)

M2– ok ok,what do you feel about FDI in retail, is it good or bad?

Me-Sir FDI in itself is never a bad thing.In case of MB Retail the stakeholders involved are large in number and hence the debate on it.In my view, in the form as it was given by the government, FDI in retail is a welcome step as it is only being implemented in 51 cities and with necessary safeguards.And it has come after a lot of consultations with various groups. So we should move ahead on it.

M3– You seem to be a very active sportsman with so many achievements. How do you manage it? I mean studies and sports…

Me-Sir I come from a military school-RIMC dehradun- and the most crucial aspect we learnt there is how to balance studies and physical fitness. For me, sports is a stress buster sir. Whenever I feel down I go and play basketball and it is highly refreshing. During my graduation I pursued this game seriously and it became a part of my routine.

M3– That’s good. You were talking of opportunities in rural areas. Can sports be used for that?

Me-Yes sir. In fact in Haryana this has proved to be a major success. I once went to the SAI stadium in Sonepat and I saw that children and youth from villages were working so hard there.That is why we have so many medal winners from Haryana now. This can be replicated elsewhere. In the district that I come from, we have had a tradition of good wrestlers but they still practice on bare ground.If we can provide them modern facilties like a wrestling mat, it will be highly motivating for them.

M2– So what should we do to encourage sports?

Me– Sir to start with , we need to introduce a “sports culture” , like Australia has done. We must make sports and physical exercise a mandatory part of school hours. A change of mindset is required.Today parents think that if their son is into sports, he can not excel at studies.We need to remove this myth.And providing good facilities at all levels is a must for this.

M3– you read sportsperson’s biographies.which one is your favourite?

Me– Sir it is “every second counts” by Lance Armstrong…* and I pass a smile *

M3– Oh! Armstrong, are you still inspired by him?

Me-sir for me he was the most inspiring figure for years,how he fought back from testicular cancer and his fight to win the TDF 7 times …but his recent confession that he took to doping has left me disheartened. It was hard to believe.

M3– and how about this athlete….what’s his name Oscar..

Me– Sir Oscar Pistorius…Sir as an athlete I find him a true inspiration. He has done what people could not imagine. As a sportsperson, he is still a champion.But the recent incident is his private life and especially with doubts regarding his involvement yet to be settled it is not correct to form an opinion on him. It is too early to say that he is a criminal.

M3–Alright…. *nods towards the Chairmansaying “I am done”.

F1( lady member) – Anurag as I see you come from an area that is famous for agriculture. What are your views on Land Ceiling and abolition of jamindari?

Me-Mam I believe that jamindari was an evil that had to be removed as a first step and was rightly removed. It was a correction that history demanded…(interrupted)

F1– but don’t u think it led to land being divided and agriculture becomingunprofitable?

Me– Mam jamindari was exploitation. With land ceiling we aimed to provide ownership to people. However the fault was that land ceiling acts were not formulated and implemented in the right spirit, except for some states like Kerala and West Bengal….(interrupted)

F1– but it did lead to land fragmentation!

Me– Mam increasing population is what leads to land fragmentation. Land fragmentation and soil degradation is the biggest problem today.. (interrupted)

F1– that is why….land ceiling was bad

Me- in my view what is causing the real problem is disguised unemployment in agri. Agri will be profitable for a family of 5 people only when some of them find employment elsewhere.If all of them depend on agri for all their needs, it will not be profitable. Also, lack of private and public investment is another issue. The real problem is not land ceiling in my opinion…(interrupted)

M2– and what is your take on reservations? Should they not be abolished now? Itis having a negative effect on our society.

Me– Mam centuries of historical discrimination can not be washed away in 4 or 5 decades * I tried so hard to stop myself from saying this filmy line but somehow I just went barging in*  We need a base to provide the underprivileged with a headstart and enable them to rise upwards. And for that our constitution makers provided for reservations.But the impact has not been as was desired. Yet we can not say that they have not helped.they have provided hope to these sections and a lot of people have benefitted from it…(interrupted)

F1– But reservations divide the society.it leads to violence…

Me– yes mam the recent trend has been such. I believe that the OBC reservations were politically motivated and from then on we have seen this issue getting politicized. We need to restrict and put a moratorium on any further additions to castes that are covered under reservations…(interrupted)

M2– Do you think the caste census will help us or will it lead to division in society ?

Me-Sir to the extent it gives us an exact position of how various castes havebenefitted from reservations and others have lost out,it will be veryuseful.But if we are faced with demands for reservations from everywhere thenit can do some harm.We need to strictly lay out a policy that no furtheradditions shall be done.Only modifications or removal shall be intitiated basedon census figures.

F1– Anurag since you come from that region I have to ask you your views on Khap Panchayats… * This is the first time she smiled *

Me- *Smile* Maam I tried to sincerely pursue this issue and what I have found isthat centuries back in time, when there was no codified law, no law courts andno means of transport, in those times Khaps were a free of cost and easilyavailable medium of justice delivery.they were also a tool of social control.But with the changing times, they failed to change themselves.Khaps were theproduct of a highly patriarchial society where knowledge was associatd with ageand experience.But today things have totally changed, we have formallaws,courts,schools, and people are more aware and educated.Age is no more asign of knowledge.So khaps have outlived their utility. They have also been politicized and with their decreasing acceptability among the people, they will slowly die out.

F1– O.K.

·       Then there is total silence,but suddenly Madam Straight Face raises a finger towards I don’t know what and says…oh one more thing..since you come from that area… *“That area”- I felt like telling her madam aisa kya gunah kar dia “that area” walo ne!!

Anyway, she goes on :

Suppose you are travelling in a bus and a gunda is trying to misbehave with a girl and he has a gun, what will you do –

Me – Mam I will first try to talk him out of it…(interrupted)

F1 – no no there is no time to talk,he has a gun pointedat you, he will shoot…

·       Then suddenly all of them start saying somethings. I hear M2saying “madam what do you think, with such health and physical fitness,…hahahaha..he will just thrash him”……M3 also says something I don’t knowwhat..Chairman says ‘Discretion is the better part of valour right!’…

Amidst all this all I can say is “ PARDON SIR”….

· reddy sir smiles….

F1 – So now what will you do, and you are not armed..

Me – Mam I will go and ask the driver to take the bus towards a place that is habitated and may have a police post….(interrupted)

F1 – There is no police post….

Me – Mam if he starts misbehaving with the girl then I will have to fight him with the help of fellow passengers because we can not be helpless witnesses to such ….(interrupted)

F1 – yeah..that is what……

·       Now they all calm down…and look at the chairman*

·        

Chairman – What did …are you working somewhere?

Me – yes sir, with the reserve bank of India..

Chair. – okay..and you qualified this nda exam?

ME – yes sir

Chair. – got selected finally -?

Me – yes sir

Chair – Ok,,,thank you..

Me - Thank you mam, thank you sirs.

P.S – I have tried to be as exact in recollecting my answers and sentences ,and their questions of course, as was possible. There may not be more than say 5% deviation from the actual interview. I have a gut feeling that i will be handed out very average marks, and so hopes are not too high. I just did not get positive vibes from the Chairman and to some extent the lady on the panel. M1,M2,and M3 were pretty happy.

LETTER FROM THE IDIOTS

Dear Justice Katju ,

I consider myself to be a part of the 90% so called “ idiots/fools” whom you “love” so much that you degrade and demean them , and all this because you “love” them, us. But of course Sire. That must be a mighty fine strategy to make people realize their mistakes. 

It’s like telling a woman who is into prostitution that “ You are a whore and you have no respect because you sleep around with people for money”. And when faced with a need to justify, you say “ I only wanted her to feel bad and give up prostitution. I only said so out of love”. We idiots, sir, do not appreciate your concern. Our stupidity . We would rather act and try and pull her out of the dirty world, even if it means our hands get a little dirty themselves. That is simple and straight. But you would make her feel so bad that (you assume) she would give it up herself. That is like a hydraulic lift. Push from this side, results on the other. That is some social-mechanics!!!

So this is the voice of the idiot and the voice of the communal – another 80% of us.

Justice, We are idiots not out of choice. We are idiots because our father was not a judge. He was a poor farmer or an artisan or a worker. Nor do we enjoy the legacy of a grandfather who was a lawyer, then a Chief Minister, then a Governor, a Union Minister. Nor was our uncle a Chief Justice of a High Court. (That is a pretty grand line of kinship sir! That is what makes you believe that we , the idiots, are idiots.) It is not an excuse but reality. We are a reflection of what our fathers were. They were ignorant little duffers, we are a bit more aware, a bit more progressive, yet not as much as those whose ‘PAPA’s and ‘GRANDPA’s were educated liberals. Our children will be better than us, we hope. We and our generations will progress towards all that you want us to achieve today and now. Our only fault being, we are slow movers.

We are hurt. You called us idiots. You think you showed us the mirror. May be you did…or may be you painted the mirror all black. Any which way, does that take away our feelings? No. Yes we are sentimental people. We are emotional too. But we are embracing reason and blending it with emotions. Absolute belief in reason would make us all machines. Criticize us, but do not flog us naked.

As for your justifications – 

1. I have been misquoted in the press reports, but it is true that I have said that 90% Indians (not all) are fools. My intention in saying so was not to hurt anyone but to awaken people to the realities, that is, the widespread casteism, communalism, superstitions, and other backward traits in the mindset of a large section of our people which is blocking our progress and keeping us poor.

Please explain how is your statement meant to “awaken” people. If statements could “awaken”, we have had enough armchair statement-makers to awaken the entire humanity ten times over. If you are so concerned, please get down from your pedestal, go to the villages, go to the riot-affected places, go to the rural interiors of Haryana to awaken people about honour killings, go wherever there is a need for awakening. But please spare us the ignominy of being awakened by your love-driven, awakening-rousing statements delivered at conferences and TV studios.

But if all you want is to stay in the headlines, there is a lot of scope out there to say a lot of things that are less demeaning. Feel free to do it. With your frequent preaching, the media is already too eager to lap up anything you say and put it on the front page. Justice Katju, the sage we had been waiting for!

And one more thing! If the Chairman of the Press Council is himself misquoted by the press, you better focus on your duty Chairman!

2.The figure 90% is not a mathematical figure, it simply means that in my opinion a large proportion of Indians (and again I repeat, not all) are fools.

What! 90% is so surely a mathematical figure. Even if you do not mean it to be so, it is so. Even if it means “a majority”- that is above 50% - your opinion is highly debatable and contestable. Problem is, you are now on a free run – no body can question you, you are not accountable, you can not be forced to accept that your comments carry a irresponsible tone.

And please don’t repeat “not all”. We understand. We are fools, you are not. “All” would of course include you and a lot many armchair commentators.

By the way , your opinion could be someone else’s offence. Freedom of your opinion ends where the nose of our self-respect begins, however miniscule be the degree of that self-respect.

3. I never named you, nor any community, caste, or sect, and I never said that you are in the category of 90%. Hence I do not see how you are defamed.

Sir we idiots take offence collectively. So you may have not defamed “me”, but you did defame “us” . Idiots we are afterall. But if I am not wrong, you did say “80% of Hindus and Muslims” are communal. You named two sects, or religions. Do not mislead.

Now, what do you make out of the word “ communal”, is not clear. You said –

“Today 80 percent Hindus are communal and 80 percent Muslims are communal. This is the harsh truth, bitter truth that I am telling you. How is it that in 150 years you have gone backwards instead of moving forward because the English kept injecting poison. The policy that emanated from London after the mutiny in 1857 that there is only one way to control this country that is to make Hindus and Muslims fight each other...Our ancestors also studied Urdu, but it is so easy to fool you. You are idiots, so how difficult is it to make an idiot out of you,".
Had 80% Hindus and Muslims been communal- whatever that means to you- the nation would be up in flames of religious violence. We would be an intolerant Hindu Rashtra without respect for religious minority. APJ Abdul Kalam , a muslim by religion, loved by Hindus equally. Had we been communal fanatics, India would not have sustained. We may have grievances towards each other, we may support a uniform civil code, we may be against religion-based minority appeasement, but to say we are communal is a bit too cynical an ‘opinion’. In a community, there will be ‘intra-‘ well as ‘inter-‘ conflicts and fights. It is inevitable because it is human nature. Where there is a fight over resources, there is bound to be some conflict. But the end result is not annihilation but survival. Not victory but compromise. And that is why we fight and we compromise and we survive and we sustain. 

Come to our villages sometime , Justice. On Diwali, Muslim children go to Hindu homes to collect sweets and foodstuff. No Hindu lady turns them away empty handed. Do not paint us all black . We have shades of grey and we are ashamed enough of the same.

And if your love for India and Indians is so strong, why not use “us” instead of “you” in that speech. It would look and be more sincere that way. Get down from that position of vain finger pointing.


4. I made this comment not to humiliate or harm anyone but because I love the Indian people, they are my people, and I wish them to prosper and have decent lives, which is only possible if the Indian masses develop the scientific outlook and scientific temper and give up casteism, communalism, superstitions and other mental attitudes which a large part (not all) of them presently suffer from. I wish to see India in the front ranks of the advanced industrialized nations of the world, with our people having a high standard of living, instead of suffering from the present evils of massive poverty, unemployment, price rise, corruption, farmer’s suicides, child malnutrition, absence of health care and good education, casteism etc. So you see I made that statement not to harm the Indian people, whom I love, but to benefit them. The truth is sometimes bitter, but sometimes bitter medicine has to be given to an ailing person.

Casteism – We are giving it up slowly sir. Not at the pace we would like to but we definitely are giving it up. Thousands of years of history and historical traditions and customs can not be given up in a mere 60 years. Especially, if the education system is as dysfunctional as ours . You have enough wealth sir, why don’t you start some schools for the poor? Why don’t you conduct some sort of social awareness campaign in which instead of preaching at conferences, you speak to the bhukkha-nanga India at the nukkads and the slums. Take that blazer off and work it out. We idiots need your guidance. Hold our hand and lead us up the right path. But if you stand at the top, while we struggle to trek upwards, and scowl at us “ Rascals, come up”, it demoralizes us. Idiots we are. Come down, give us a helping hand.

Communalism – The only wave of fanaticism – the late 1980s and early 90s – lost its sheen as fast as it gathered it. We need roads not temples. And we know it and we demand it. So calm down with your accusations. 
Superstitions – Today’s rites and rituals are tomorrow’s superstitions. The instrument of change is education. We are progressing in proportion to our education. No educated person does a “sati” today. Yes there are blind beliefs. It will take time to get rid of them in toto. 
Ignorance – We may not fight for our rights. That is so because the question of survival is so primary to us that rights take a back seat. The more fortunate ones among us do the fighting for us. We need to fight for ourselves too. But till such time as we are busy managing two square meals a day , we request you to kindly take up that fight on our behalf.

“ Truth Is Bitter” – Yes it actually is. But truth is also not absolute. It is relative. Thank you for your gospel of absolute truth. We don’t need it but.

Finally- 

Most astounding is your complete disregard of the ways of society, and its functioning. Society can not jump from one stage to another. It crawls. Because there is a continuous interplay of dialectic currents and what results from these currents is a mix of progressive and regressive tendencies. The progressive tendencies, in our case, have not been strong enough to herald fast paced social change. It is our duty to strengthen them. Through education, through awareness. But not through sweeping generalizations made at conferences and seminars. When Karl Marx said that capitalism is a monster and it will die its own death, he confessed that it will not die because he said so. It will die ONLY IF the workers unite and ACT. So by saying that “you are idiots” you will not improve our lot. You will do so only by ACTION. 

Having been a prolific judge, people expect you to be careful in your choice of words. Words like “idots”, “fools” would have been just fine in your written judgements. Now that you have retired and speak to the media, you should be even more careful. You speak to the nation through the media. Tell us what we should do and how should we do it. Do not call us names.

In our opinion, you have become addicted to news headlines and limelight.This is your bitter truth, IN OUR OPINION. Not that you really need it after such a bright career in the judiciary. It is weird and inexplicable but you do seem to throw up dust only for people to notice you , not the dust. There have been retired judges who have done a lot of good for the society, WITHOUT EVER RESORTING TO PREACHING AND PROFESSING. Justice Iyer, Justice Hegde are fine men working for a better society. 

You are now retired from the high chair, Justice. Shed your high-nosed disdain for us, and come, be a part of us The Idiots. And lead us to light. 

We, 
The Idiots ( And The Communal)

Is Modi the only way out?.....Yes.

Before the left-leaning intellectuals and the pseudo-secular fools sharpen their knives, i confess i am usually on the Right side of the political spectrum.

Right wing politics has always been judged unfairly in India. The Nehru-charisma meant that stalwarts like Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were overshadowed. Not many know that it was Mr. Mukherjee who so daringly and staunchly championed India's sovereignty over Kashmir and lost his life when he entered Kashmir against orders in 1953. Rumors say that he was poisoned by Nehru!! Who knows there might be some truth in that! There was no post mortem after all. I smell a rat.

Decades later the Janta Party emerged as the political alternative to the post-Emergency Congress, it was an amalgam of people of all hues and colours. One such shade was the Bharatiya Jan Sangha. It mothered the present day Bharatiya Janta Party - the only right-of-centre political formation we have had. With an orator like Vajpayee and an ideological stalwart Advani, it went from strength to strength. Today, the best lines on the political spectrum come from this party. For anyone who doubts, i request you watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RgjT4-lewM - it will show you how wide is the gulf in calibre between even the Gandhis of the two parties,Congress and BJP.

However, like a team studded with stars that is always likely to implode, the BJP seems to be on the verge of imploding. And that's pretty bad news for the country. There are "camps" - Advani camp, Sushma camp, Rajnath camp, Gadkari is alone one bloody big camp! Yes there is a NaMo Camp too. So what we have is a worse than mediocre government and a super-capable but immature opposition. The Left is still licking its wounds it suffered in the Sundarbans! It is a state of political rot.

However there is one person who has not yet dirtied his hands in these muddy waters. Narendra Modi. A man who polarises public opinion like no one else ever did in India. A man who makes no secret of "being a Hindu ". Thankfully so, because it is ironic that in this country while everyone else - Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Parsi -can thump his chest and claim and proclaim and profess and promote his religion, a Hindu who does so is seen as a "fanatic". If i say "Yes, I am a Hindu" , it does not mean "You Hindu? No.Wait, I'l show you life". It only means that I am a Hindu. And i love my religion. As much as you may love yours. 

But even today, no one asks why were the Kar Sevaks burnt alive. All one asks is why were Muslims killed in Gujarat! Well there is an answer to that which Mr. Raghavan in his SIT report highlighted - because the previous night, at mosques across Godhra ,petrol was pooled, provocative speeches were made and then the next day kar sevaks - Hindus- were burnt alive in a train. And people expect a community that makes up for more than 4/5th of this country to stay calm. Violent retaliation may not be what any of us would want to be the case, but sadly, through out history, retaliation has been violent and it has been severe. More so when a majority is attacked, more so when history reads a "Direct Action Day", a bloody partition, and a Pakistan. This can be a long debate for another day.

People ask why did Modi allow it to happen! Because he possibly could not have stopped it. And because he possibly did not want to stop it. Because possibly the hurt sentiments were too strong to enslave. Because every action does have a reaction. Collateral damage is a reality. Anyway, where is the proof that he "allowed" it to happen! Is it ever possible to reign in mob that has been engulfed in fires of religious violence! He asked the neighbouring states of M.P.( under Digvijay Singh then) and Rajasthan (under Ashok Gehlot then) for police force reinforcement. Both declined. Why? No one asks that. 

To shut the Congress-wallahs up, we know for sure that Modi did not give people the "Big-tree-falls-earth-shakes" shit ( Rajiv Gandhi @ 1984 Anti-Sikh riots). 

The Left is the only truly non-religious political formation. They have earned their right to hate the 
Right. The Congress, the SP, RJD etc are dirty bastions of pseudo-secular hypocrites. Maulana Mulayam has been the fiercest advocate of SIMI - the organised production line of Indian terror saplings. Lohia ji left a totally unworthy legacy. Another of his chelas - Lalu - spared not even the poor cattle. Shame.

With the Left refusing to notice the tide of changing times, we are left with a polity that seems to be static, stagnant and servile.

It is in such times that a country needs to get its act together and think like a "nation". And needs a hard taskmaster at the helm. Not a "yes-man" who bleeds responsibility through all sides without enjoying an iota of authority. We need some one who can and will take tough decisions. Someone who can say 'no' to his own party if that is in the nation's interest ; Who would not cite "coalition compulsions" to take cover under for his failures ;Who would keep the administration on its toes ; Who would be a powerful Pradhan Mantri and not a mere smiling buddha !!! We need some one who could tell Pakistan in no uncertain terms that act or face the music. Some one who could identify the illegal immigrants in Assam and send them home or send them to jail. We need someone who can act, and not merely mumbles sher-o-shayari.

In the name of 'secularism', the Congress Party has been building ghettos of the Muslim community, segregating them, isolating them, provoking them with an anti-Hindu anti- BJP stance that could spell doom for India. Secularism has come to mean "Appease the minority, Forget others".  From a religio-neutral dictat of the Constitution, the Congress has taken us to a Decidedly-Pro-Muslim State kind of status. We were a secular state. We no more are. We are now a minority-appeasement state.

Communalism is another much raped term in our country. Originally,it means "related to an ehnic community". It has nothing to do with religion, and absolutely nothing to do with religious orthodoxy and fanaticism. In India, it is a term coined by hollow intellectuals to take on the Hindu revival movement. And it raises its head only when the sufferer is the Muslim community. Never the other way round. It becomes self-defence then! So much for the secular farts. 

That apart, we need who can move beyond doles. We need to provide productive aid to our people. Not doles. UPA 1 & 2 has perfected the art of 'doles-for-votes' strategy. It only makes the people more and more dependent on the state. Not productively dependent i mean. There has to be out of the box thinking like installing solar panels along and over rivers and canals - as Modi has done in Gujarat. Rivers have to be cleaned. The system has to be cleaned as well.

AB Vajpayee's mission of high-density rural and urban connectivity has to be resumed. Sadak, pani & bijli - these have to be massively pushed towards the hinterland. Our guns and tanks and ships and air crafts have to be refitted and re-organised. People have to be forced out of their slumber and into action.

On every front, there is an urgent need for ACTION. The longer this urge for action is responded to with inaction, the faster we deteriorate and disintegrate. 

Narendra Modi does not and will not think in terms of hindu-musalman. Agreed that we need universities in Murshidabad and in Mallapuram, but why the hell do we need to label them as " Centres of Aligarh Muslim University "? Because we are hypocrites.  If religion of the majority of the targeted population of an area is the criteria , we need to open at least 12 Centres of Banaras Hindu University as well !!! 

Why do we need to give huge amounts of funds for Madarasa education? Why not try and get our muslim children to the non-religious Primary Schools. Why do we have to make them feel segregated? Should we not a Uniform Civil Code ? To Nehru's credit, he gave us a reformed Hindu Code Bill, against heavy opposition.Why did we not reform the Sharia ? If national integration was the reason given for Hindu reforms by Nehru, he would have served us better with a Uniform Civil Code. Even today we need one. Urgently. Modi may be the only one today who has the guts to do that. No one else even in the BJP can.

Modi's arrival would leave the Lalu-Mulayam-Karunanidhi-Congress axis-of-evil a lot less relevant than it is today. It would bode well for strong and efficient Chief Ministers willing to work and develop with the Nation as a whole. It would also spare us the doomsday scenario of Rahul Ji being crowned as the head of the government- damn even the thought of it is so scary! 

Crucially, Modi does not have a family to protect and promote. He does not have a son wanting to be PM and a damaad wanting to take the country for granted. And the best part is that he does not take his dictation from Nagpur -the RSS head quarters- which the rest of the BJP tends to do. 


He is fiercely independent and a workaholic (contrast that with what we have today ).

He would serve the NATION well. 

Kejriwal - support you we should. But with caution.

In the dusty interiors of Western UP and Haryana, the bania is an interesting character. One with no scruples whatsoever and with single-minded focus on money and profit. One who would rob you with the proverbial meethi chhuri ! However when it comes to being combative, people believe a bania can be anything but that. There are jokes that mock this supposed lack of mardaangi. That is how stereotypes are cast in our society.

Arvind Kejriwal is a bania from Haryana. And he defies all perceptions that people have about his caste. One, he has his heart in the right place. Two, he is always ready for a fight, however high and mighty the opponent may be. And finally, he is acerbic and hard to befriend. That makes for an instant recipe for attracting a lot of derision. Because such are the times we live in.

Kejriwal has always been uncomfortable about the way our systems work. His professors at IIT recall a young man who wanted to change things in whichever way he could. For the better. He used to be uneasy about the chalta hai attitude of all. It must have been with this will to make things better that he aimed for and got through the civil services exam. As an officer in the Income Tax department, his colleagues say, he worked for change earnestly. But they also say they could sense a rebel in him who could stand up to any person or process that was crooked. Try hard he did,but to no avail. IT department signifies all that is wrong with the sarkari bandobast.  Epitome of corruption in a moth-eaten , rotten system. And so Mr. Arvind moved from IT to a field where he could fare much better. And he did. He turned a social activist.

Working with Aruna Roy, the RTI was his grand success. Ramon Magsaysay in 2006, he took off. Gradually, like an undercurrent , he built a base that would serve him well in 2011. Anna was the superstar , Kejriwal the director. An year later, the superstar has faded, the director is going strong.

Why to love him?

Now , there is no doubt the man means business. He is ready to take all the brickbats if it means he can better people's lives. And that is why he needs to be supported. He is one of us. He wears his shirt like the school teacher of a suburb. He does not wear starched white kurtas or shiny bandgalas. His oration is so very middle class - brutal and frank.Most importantly, he believes in what he says and does. His kathni and karni tend to converge in a political system where for most(if not all) other politicians the opposite it true.

Aam Aadmi

He brings a much needed honesty of intentions to the table. Unlike the G-family, he is ready to face the media,ready to answer their menacing questions, ready to be challenged into a debate, ready to fight - for a cause. Apart from Lohia and JP we have hardly had any politician who believed in a cause with so much of sincerity and courage. We need a lot many Arvinds for their courage and conviction.

He also offers a rare combination- an honest heart and a brilliant brain. He has all it takes to turn the system around. Except popular support of course. He has a love for details and understands the nuances very well. He also has that much needed ability to say "NO". A yes-man is more gullible. Kejriwal is not easy to fool. 

Connecting with people is something he is learning fast. His rock solid belief in his ideas has often resulted in people parting ways with him. But over the last year and a half, the man has taken to a more democratic manner of functioning. He is learning his alphabets well.

More than anything else, he MUST be supported because he offers what no one else does at the moment - HOPE. We all know he can't get more than a couple of good people elected in the next elections in Delhi, yet we also acknowledge that the man is good for us. At a time when the Con-gress stands exposed with its soiled pants and the party with a difference BJP is embroiled in its own internal civil-war, Kejri and his team at least offer a different kind of politics. At least for people who think that the UPA - NDA bipolarity is akin to choosing between Scylla and Charybdis, Aam Aadmi Party offers a silver lining.

Why to fear him ?

But then he has a fundamental flaw - his ultra-leftist views. I believe-more out of hope than conviction- that his ideas on big government spending on subsidies are more out of josh than hosh. If he really is an anarchist that he come across to be, then he would better be an eternal Opposition. If not, we can vote for him.

We can not afford any more of 'left' . The Left is always there. The Congress seems to out-left the Left. Even the so called Right ( the BJP ) is slightly towards the left of right. We do not need another Sonia-G led NAC to offer a MNREGA that creates useless employment. We need better primary schools and better teachers and better doctors and better administrators. Doling out reservations will not work, doling out jobs will not work. What will work is imparting skills, educating children, and empowering women. If we were to place all parties on a scale from left to right, Kejriwal ( and his AAP ) would probably stand at the left most tip of that scale, with all barring the BJP to the left of centre.

                                                                         Anarchist ?

And that is why he poses a danger. His economics aims to take us "back into the future". His actions make him a perfect Leader Of Opposition but with the kind of policies he seems to envisage, to see him as the head of a government is to play a ultra-high-risk-game. Purely for the economics of it.

All in all, the heart says let us give him a chance, while the head underlines the need to be cautious. But as goes the saying - when the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object. 

SONIA ji & RAHUL ji - Will You Please Excuse Us!!!

As 2014 beckons, we need to take stock of how have we allowed this country to be run the way it is being run. What transpired between the night when we had our tryst with destiny and this day when we have a battery of ministers hell bent upon turning a multi-crore scam into a few-crore one and ultimately into a zero-loss aberration !!! Its a long story and could run into numerous volumes of history. 65 years of history is too eventful to cover. 

But one thing that has run parallel to our fate till today is our fixation with the Gandhi(Nehru) parivar. For all that Jawahar Lal Nehru was - a champion of democracy,secularism, fabian socialism - he was also a hopeless romantic who viewed things from a high pedestal,true to his classy upbringing. Ram Manohar Lohia's jibe in the Lok Sabha - contrasting the income of a common man and the money spent on Nehru's dog - signified all that was wrong with Nehru. You could trust him to be well-intentioned but then intentions don't build nations. Actions do. His well-bred daughter kicked her dad's dream of democracy aside as she laid the foundations of the sultanat to whose reign we are still subjected to - The Gandhi Sultanat.

When Sonia ji so cleverly draped her inability to lead the nation with a farce of a sacrifice in 2004 and chose to install a puppet Pradhan Mantri , the ever-so-gullible Indian exalted her to a status that few have enjoyed in this poor country. Little did the common man know that there would be a NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL - led by the same lady which would be the real fountain  authority. Authority has since then flowed out of 10 Janpath while Responsibility is a poor soul that mumbles and grumbles at 7RCR.

No wonder our pradhan mantri has no knowledge of any scam. He still drives a Maruti 800 afterall. We don't blame you Sire. You are merely following the directives of the lady that this country trusted. Twice over. But the problem arises, Sire,when you go " Hazar zawabo se achi hai meri khamoshi, na jane kitne sawalo ki abru rakhe " . We wonder was the aabru so sacrosanct to be kept when right under your nose sychophants and thuggs looted the public exchequer! But then again, your kurta is clean because the mota maal goes to Italy via a different route.

And alongside all this we had a constant overdose of a bachelor baba who,if the Congress is to be believed, is the only baba left in India capable of curing it of the ills it is plagued by, - Rahul Baba! The messiah of a country of a billion and more, they say. Except for the fact that we know nothing about his education, we know nothing about his ideology, we know nothing about the solutions he proposes, we know nothing about his vision. Half a decade he has spent reforming the Youth Congress and only he knows what these reforms have been. I know it for a fact that his visits to the villages and bastis are planned a month in advance, the photo-ops are well choreographed, the food is squeaky clean, the actors are well paid. The cameras are 'bought'. 

Where was he when the youth of the capital was crying hoarse for change during the Anna Andolan? Why did he not come to Ramlila Maidan to give his side of the story and why did he not give his 'constitutional status' prescription before a crowd of thousands at Jantar Mantar? Why does he- and his mummy- go underground every time we face a crisis,only to emerge at rallies pointing a finger and grumbling "humne dilli se paisa bheja aapki sarkar kha gayi" . 

Ye paisa aapke pita ki jaagir nahi hai Rahul ji, ye paisa is desh ke har nagrik ki mehnat ka paisa hai. Aap isko bhejte nahi hai .aap bhej bhi nahi sakte aapki aukaat nahi hai.aap is paise ko lautate hai - janta ko. It is the money that the people of this country keep with the Government Of India ,protected by the Constitution and to be spent with all care and caution.You don't own it Brother.

Despite complete absence of meat and merit , Rahul ji is the de facto PM-in-waiting.  As if India is a large estate passed down from Nehru To Indira To Rajiv To Sonia To Rahul To Priyanka To who-so-ever-is-next-in-the-family. Even Vadra ji would someday grace the Cabinet if things work out to his plan!

Vadra, a one-time vagabond, is today desh ka daamad. Salman Khurshid can sell his soul,dharm and imaan  and much more just to defend Damaad Ji. And when he can not, he takes off the microphone and vanishes. Well tried Sir. You failed not only in your defence of Vadra ji, you also failed your pedigree. Dr. Zakir Hussain was as distinguished a statesman as India could ever get. You betray his blood with your sychophancy and guile.

Sonia Ji, the lady with the lamp of sacrifice, with the legacy of a sacrificed husband ( or a pradhan mantri husband who sold our ijjat and aabru to the Swiss!! ), with a starched saari to show for her Indian-ness and her ever so chaste Hindi, we thank you for all you have done for this nation. And we pray to you with folded hands, leave us to our own fate. Let Rahul baba chill out. You also take a nice long vacation.Please. And worry not, we'll take good care of Mr. Vadra. 

There is no end to the price we are paying for this parivar's sustenance. It is for us to decide how long we want to be ruled by a family that no longer carries Nehru's sincerity of heart nor his passion. It is for us to take our fate into our own hands and decide our own future. Let a thousand small parties spring up and let a thousand coalition governments form and fall, at least we'll learn how to run a country. Sooner or later we'll get it right. Madame,you and your family have tried long enough to ruin us. Somehow we still hold firm. You have completely turned a party that won us our freedom into a rotten warehouse while the likes of Digvijay Singh and Ambika Soni keep your ego well fed by their unabashed sycophancy. 

Our destiny - of 1200 million people - can not be written unilaterally by a mother-son duo. It should NOT be. 

THIS IS A POEM WRITTEN BY MY BRO WHO WANTS TO SOAR JUST LIKE THE SEAGULL ''JONATHAN LIVINGSTONE''..........I LIKED IT FOR THE SHEER INTENSITY OF EMOTIONS THAT MANIFEST THEMSELVES IN IT........HERE IT GOES----

I AM A FLYBOY,DESTINED TO FLY

FLY HIGH,FLY LOW

FLY FAST,FLY SLOW

I AM A FLYBOY,DESTINED TO FLY

CLEAR PROP,FULL THROTTLE,HANDS UP

AND THERE I GO

LEAVING THE DUST

AND SURLY BANDS BEHIND

SLOPPY FIELDS,FRAGRANCE OF MUSTARD

YELLOW FLOWERS.....THE BLUE SKY

THE BREEZE BLOWING ACROSS MY FACE

SAYS SOMETHING.........................

"YOU ARE A FLYBOY,BORN TO FLY

BORN TO FLY.........BORN TO DIE

BUT BEFORE THAT....LETS FLY

LETS FLY N LETS FLY HIGH

I NEED NO WINGS

JUST SOME GASOLINE

AND PARAMOTOR AND THE OPEN SKY

SO WHY WAIT!!!!!!

LETS FLY...BECAUSE

I AM A FLYBOY

BORN TO FLY...N FLY HIGH.