To Sing or Not to Sing: That is the Question

Jamiat-e Ulama Hind passed a 'fatwa' banning Indian Muslims from singing Vande Mataram - India's national song. I don't know what provoked Jamiat after more than 50 years since Vande Mataram was designated as national song. Were they deliberating whether it was against Islam to praise your Motherland all these years? Or it dawned as a divine message upon their leaders one fine morning and they decided to release a fatwa. I don't know.

However, the recent controversy made me curious and I revisited the song to find out its meaning. And here is what I found.

1.
Vande Mataram
Sujalam Suphalam
Malayaja Seetalam
Sasya Shamalaam Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

2.
Shubra Jyotsnaa
Pulakita Yaminim
Pullakusumita
Drumadala Shobhinim
Subhashinim
Sumadhura Bhashinim
Sukhadaam Varadaam
Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.


These are the stanzas we normally sing. It's a no brainer to think that there is anything Un-Islamic in these.

However, later on in the song, the following stanza appears.

6.
Tvam Hi Durgaa
Dasha Prahara Nadhaarini
Kamala Kamaladala Viharini
Vani Vidhyadayini Namaami Tvam
Namaami Kamalaam,
Amalaam, Atulaam
Sujalaam Suphalaam Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

And I think this is what got onto the nerves of the leaders of Jamiat and other Muslim leaders in the past. And even at the time of adoption of this song as National Song there were same controversial voices of protest. And that is what prompted Congress at that time to adopt only first two stanzas as National Song.

Anyway, controversy surrounding Vande Mataram is not new. It has been under attack for a long time. Jamiat just added a spark to ignite it again.

What is your opinion?

[Translation above is by Shree Aurbindo taken from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vande_Mataram]

Take me back in time! - Samajwadi Party's horrifying manifesto

The future. If we don't act now.

No English medium schools. No computers at your desk in office. No technology on the farms. Only minimum wage for each and every person regardless of merit. No more malls in urban communities. Alliance with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This is not a plot of some sci-fi movie which predicts the end of the world as we know it. Neither are these pages from history books describing 18th or 19th century. These are the main themes of Samajwadi Party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

"The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines" proclaims the SP chief Mulayamsingh Yadav. There is not one person I know who has more grossly underestimated the role of technology in human civilization. I thought he was being funny when he said this. But I realized he is no Lalu. He does not joke. He was actually serious.

"A harvesting season brings employment for the labour class for at least six months but these harvesters (machines and technology on the farm) will snatch their earnings." So now I know. Studying those stupid subjects like Science and Technology was all a waste of time. The human progress from the stone age to the technology age was all in vain. People just didn't get it right! Alas.

"The salaries provided by private firms should be in sync with the minimum wages that have been set by the government. This is only the way to build up a strong national capital" - Classic, classic Socialism. Need I say more?

The SP will ensure stronger ties with Pakistan and Bangladesh. "The basic cause of terrorism lies in regional differences. The forums across the world which deal with the issue of terrorism work at the behest of America. If a government comes to power with our support, we will ensure that action is taken against communal powers (Read BJP, RSS and largely all Hindus in the country) and attack terrorism at its roots,"
Regional differences! Yeah, right. When a group of terrorist travel all the way from "distant lands" to attack your financial capital, bomb the trains, murder innocent people, it is all because of some 'Regional Differences'. Perfect interpretation of terrorism I must say! He should be acting as senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security in US.

These are the ideas that can take a nation 50 years backward. Minority appeasement has taken such a dangerous form that now politicians are actually ready to be in bed with Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nothing can be more terrifying than such ideologies of politicians.

I wish this was all a belated April fool's prank. But unfortunately it is not. It is as real as it can get. And it will become a eternally lasting nightmare if the citizens of the country don't wake up and vote for making India a strong, developed and forward looking nation.

Sehwag frustrates the opponents once again

English Captain Andrew Strauss on Sehwag
"He plays a game most people are unfamiliar with, He almost manipulates the field. You change it, and it's like he says: 'Right, I'm going to hit it somewhere else now'."

What Dhoni needs to look at

It's too easy to criticize the seniors. They don't play well in one match and the sword is again hanging over their heads. Ganguly got tired of it and decided to retire. Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar are still hanging in there. Nobody knows till what time. Dhoni has always been critical of senior players. Mindless criticism and comments have spewed out of him a lot of times. What he needs to look at is the following record of senior players in last one year.

Test match figures....

	Matches	Runs	Highest	Avg	100s
Tendulkar	13	955	154*	47.75	2
Ganguly	16	1283	239	45.82	3
Laxman	16	1171	200*	58.55	3
Dhoni	12	595	92	35	0

Somebody needs to take a look at some numbers to understand what is going on !

The Magic of Quota - Part II

While the advocates of equality, fairness and justice were recovering from the blow delivered by Supreme Court, jubilant 'venerable' Mr. Arjun Singh could not suppress his happiness.

Excerpts taken from his interview with IBNLive.

"As far as creamy layer is concerned, we will discuss the matter at the apt forum and try and find a way out. We are not going to shove it under the carpet. We are going to do whatever we can"

“Increasing the slab of Rs 2.5 lakh per annum is one way out. The concerns of the allies will be taken into account—we will try to have a consensus on how to sort this out,”

Sure Mr. Singh, (more people = more vote). It's very simple. We understand that. You are a generous man and you are worried about the concerns of the allies. But what about the concerns of the general public?

"I have been wanting this ever since I was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. We won 40 seats then".

Yes dear Mr. Singh. We are aware of your desires to become Prime Minister of this country since ages. And you have been playing one political card after another ever since then. And this one was an ingenious trick indeed.

And here is the statement that says it all. Coming straight from his own mouth, in his own words.

"this reservation should benefit us politically"

Aah! Glad you told us Mr. Singh. We thought you were doing all this out of a sense of sheer philanthropy and general public good. How humble of you to confess it.

[News Source: IBN Live
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/
more-cream-more-people-to-get-quota-profit-singh/63177-3.html]

The magic of Quota!

The Supreme Court upheld the OBC quota in educational institutes supported by the Government. Only consolation for the supporters of Merit over Caste was that the 'Creamy layer' was kept out of the quota system.

Congratulations Mr. Arjun Singh. You successfully carried out your agenda. In the world that is moving at lightening pace and values nothing but intellect and hard work, the quota system in my opinion is a step backward. But for UPA government, the corroboration from SC could not have come at a better time. With 6 states going to polls in coming months, UPA government will be hailed by the people who will reap the quota benefits as 'The saviors'. Well, not exactly saviors. More like deal makers for them. After all, the government has cut a good deal. 'We will give you quota in jobs and education, you give us vote and bring us to power.'

As someone with a keen interest in Political scenario in India, I must confess that UPA has some of the most cunning and crafty political brains. Starting from Sonia's so called sacrifice of the Prime Minister's post, Chidambaram's thousands of crores of loan waivers to farmers, 'venerable' Mr. Arjun Singh's recent attempts in quota system; all these events are cold bloodedly calculated to pull votes. And my hunch is that they will succeed in their attempts to get back in power. In the general assembly elections to come, I can see UPA reaping the sweet fruits of their labor and winning the elections once again.

As if the division of people based on the religion was not enough, now the UPA is bent on creating a rift between people based on their castes. I wonder why other countries which are economically more successful than India never had the necessity to impose such affirmative actions. Why in US we see no discrimination based on race?

-Is merit really secondary to your caste?
-If an economically middle class or lower class bright young student who can't afford to pay for the NRI or payment seats is deprived of higher education and at the same time if someone from quota system is allowed, is this fair?
- If you can waive farmers' loans, why can't you give economic incentives to the OBC or other castes if you feel they have been wronged in the past.

These questions are age old and many anti-quota activists, a lot more vocal than me, have tried their best to avert this rule. But I felt it a moral responsibility to give this issue a space on my blog.

Thanks UPA for leading us back to the past. Your definitions of progress are indeed unique.

P.S. No hard feelings for any one based on any caste. I DO NOT believe in caste system and that is why I feel there should not be a divide based on it.

Darn !

Iron Maiden are performing in Mumbai on Friday, 1st Feb ! How I wish I were in India :(

[Image Source: http://alcamusicgames.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/
iron_maiden2tifbig1.jpg]

Rush to save the wild life - At what expense?

Gujarat Govt. announced aid of Rs. 40,00,00,000 ($10,000,000) to save the wild tigers/lions in the state. Along with that the govt. announced aid of Rs. 20,00,00,000 ($5,000,000) for girl child education program!


Is it really that important to save some endangered species as against spending that money for the benefits of poor girl-children's education?

Shouldn't we take poverty and illiteracy more seriously as compared to wild life protection? I seriously believe our first responsibility as a citizen is to help our fellow citizens in our society rather than frivolously dedicating financial resources to environmental jingles like wild life protection.

India Down Under - And they remained there

It happened as predicted. I thought they would win by an innings. It didn't happen that way. But it was equally bad. Australia thrashed India by 337 runs. India had a pathetic display in every department of the game except first day show. We thought claiming 9 wickets of Aus. on the very first day was unusual and we saw a ray of hope. We thought this team can make a difference. After all this team has guts and talent, at least on paper. And it stayed there on paper only.

When it came for the batsmen to deliver, they succumbed. Dravid continued his hopeless lack of form. Ganguly and Laxman were defiant as usual. They stood tall amongst the team and the other batting line up fell apart around them. In both the innings, the batsmen showed no commitment. Of course, we will do injustice if we don't appreciate class bowling performances from Clarke and Lee. They ripped the Indian team apart.

Problems with our team. Numerous. Here are a few in my view point.

- There is literally no fast bowler in our team. Prasad has instilled his own 'qualities' into the fast bowlers and now no one can accelerate the pace beyond 130 kmph.

- Dravid needs to be 'rested'

- If not rested, he should be pulled down the order at his original place. Do not make him sacrificial lamb.

- Bring Sehwag back in the team. Fit him as an opener. Give him a chance. Anyway the team's performance is hopeless Why not take a risk? If he delivers, it will be a huge bonus for the team.

- For God's sake, please get rid of Harbhajan.

- Bring Pathan back.

Boxing Day Test

I see India's defeat in the air. There is no way this team can beat Aus. It is 134-0 and both the openers are playing exceptionally well as usual. Why on earth we need Harbhajan Singh in the team? I don't understand. Zaheer looks jaded. Question to selectors and team management; 'Do you really think you have any chance against Aus with just two 'fast' bowlers?' RP Singh is a total mediocre. Just to include Yuvraj in the team, you kept Pathan out. Sheer nonsense. You could have utilized Pathan as a swing bowler on this pitch.

I just hope we don't lose by an innings. Though it seems absolutely inevitable.

P.S. Before I publish this, Captain Kumble has struck just now. Jaques is gone, stumped.

Tatas make India proud once again. This time with Supercomputer !

Being a proud ex-TCSer, I couldn't help post this big news on the blog. One more feather of success in India's cap, earned by Tatas.

[News source: www.ibnlive.com]

A supercomputer developed by the Tata Group has been adjudged the fastest in Asia and fourth fastest in the world.

The supercomputer, called EKA, has been built at Tata's Pune facility. It uses nearly 1,800 computing nodes and has a peak performance of 170 trillion floating-point operations per second.

"High performance computing solutions have an ever-increasing role in the scientific and new technological space the world over," Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group, said in a statement.

The rankings have been given by the Top500 Supercomputer Sites list announced at the prestigious SC07 Conference held in the US last night.

India made it to the top 10 for the first time.

SC07 showcased high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis that lead to advances in research, education and commerce.

[Image source: www.ibnlive.com]

Story of an unfortunate twin

They were born on a midnight 60 years ago. Born among tremendous hatred, bloodshed and ruined lives. Both of them were born naked, hungry and orphans. They took the first steps together, grappling with each other. Facing the same problems, combating the same demons of poverty and illiteracy. Both of them saw a lot of twists and turns of fate in their lives. But 60 years passed. And today we see absolutely different pictures of both of them. One is on the brinks of complete ruin and the other one is prospering.

Yes, I am talking about India and Pakistan. It is an amazing and unparalleled story. It sounds like Manmohan Desai's movie where two brothers are separated at birth and then one of them grows up to become the hero of the movie and the other one ends up as a villain.

60 years past independence, India has achieved which no other nation could achieve in such a short time. It is world's fastest growing economy. There are Ambanis and Tatas. There are new generation 'Desi' Technocrats in the Silicon Valley. The entertainment world recognizes Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya and the likes. Vikram Chandra, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth have taken the front seats in the world of literature. Indian doctors feature on the front page of CNN. India is most preferred destination for software outsourcing. It is the largest English speaking nation. And above all, it is world's largest Democracy.

Pakistan has not been this fortunate. Majority of these years it has been ruled by dictators. Militants have found safe haven for years in this country under the auspicious shelter of its rulers.

Today Pakistan is on such a juncture that it is falling in the hands of militants and is in a state of utter chaos. President Musharraf is in a pitiful situation. He has lost control over his own nurtured militancy. He has lost the confidence of US in him. US is pressurizing him to curb militant activities and restore democracy. He had no other choice but to declare emergency in the nation. On the one hand civilians like lawyers and other educated citizens are protesting on the streets. On the other hand, in deserted small villages on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Taliban supported militants are capturing villages, while the police is fleeing these places. It won't be long before the government of Pakistan will be overtaken by these forces, if the government does not take some stringent steps.

It will be interesting to watch the move by US in coming days. Will they allow overthrowing of Musharraf regime? Will they employ another puppet dictator by provoking a coup internally? Will they ask Musharraf to attack the militants?

I am sure the Indian armed forces are keeping their eyes and ears open. I hope the disturbing sequence of events in the neighboring country does not threaten our security.

Long live peace. Long live democracy.

[Image Source: http://www.peacebuttons.info/0528_India-Pakistan-Flags.jpg]

Nothing 'Left' to say

Left parties are like those spoiled kids who will do anything to get attention of their parents. They will cry, they will shout, they will whine and put all kinds of unreasonable demands. They will throw tantrums at their will and make sure that their demand is fulfilled.

Dr. Singh, who is definitely not one of the strong prime ministers India has seen, had to call up President Bush and convey to him that the Nuclear Deal was put on hold because of internal political pressure on him. The deal empowers India to obtain nuclear technology from US with certain conditions which are not too outrageous. Neither these conditions jeopardize the sovereignty of India by any means.

But Left had to disagree. It had been long time since Left had demanded something from Govt. The 'little child' was feeling unimportant because nobody was noticing it. They had to grab people's attention towards them. So what do they do? They sabotage the Nuclear Deal. They do what they are best at. They threaten to pull down the Government. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the 'so called' new age avtar of Mrs. Indira Gandhi comes out in full support of Dr. Singh and blasts the Left parties in her speech. Any effects on Left? Nope. They still persisted and finally the Govt had to put a lid on the deal.

Result? The Govt is red-faced. Dr. Singh was humiliated on the political stage of the world. The Indian entrepreneurs and industrialists are unhappy. India lost a very good deal and an opportunity to strengthen the situation of better energy resources.

But look who is happy. Pakistan is happy. And lo! The Left is also happy ! The unruly child is smiling.

Recollections: Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) in Mumbai, March '05

Today I loaded my iPhone with some classic numbers by Dire Straits. And I was listening to them while walking back from school. It was 'Sultans of Swings' - the phenomenally successful song by Dire Straits which reminded me of his Mumbai tour a couple of years ago.

Mark Knopfler- known as voice and guitar of the band Dire Straits, toured India in March, 2005 and I was fortunate enough to go to his Mumbai concert on 5th March. I visited Mumbai just for one day for this purpose and was looked at with some strange stares when I told people about it. Understandable, as Knopfler is not too popular in India.

But the concert was worth every single rupee I spent for the ticket and travel. Knopfler is a legendary artist who has exceptional control and creativity over his guitar. And his impressive husky voice adds to the charm of his songs.

As a man of simplicity he is, he was in his typical outfit of white shirt and black trouser. His spectacles gave him a look more of a professor than a rock artist. Never running around on stage, not trying to woo the audience, no shouting. Absolutely no-nonsense approach towards his music. This is typical of Knopfler. And this is the attitude which commands tremendous respect towards him as an artist.

Lovers holding hands and dancing to the sweet tunes of 'Romeo and Juliet', young enthusiastic teens jumping and feet-thumping on the beats of 'Tunnel of love', sensitive music lovers sitting down on the ground and enjoying the sad and grave notes of 'Brothers in arms', Knopfler had something to offer to everyone in the crowd. And I remember the surge of enthusiasm when he started his good old 'Sultans of Swing' song. The whole crowd was up on its feet, cheering him. Crowd was thin though which was kind of expected as not many people know Dire Straits in India.

An evening to remember it was.

[Image Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=1042374]

A letter to Mr. Rahul Gandhi

Dear Mr. Gandhi

First of all many congratulations on becoming the general secretary of AICC. I am sure you will do great as the GS of a direction less party like Congress. The party needs youth representation and you are capable of providing that. Though I must say apart from youth, you have nothing much to offer to the party. But I appreciate your efforts.

We came to know, through media reports that you are focusing your energy to revive the flagging Congress party in Gujarat. For that you have taken great effort and pain to learn our language! You are taking crash courses in Gujarati language. We would like to extend our vote of thanks to you for being so generous as to learn our language to speak with us. But Mr. Gandhi, we would like to remind you that speaking someone's language does not make you understand that society or culture.

Can you actually spot Gujarat on the map of India? Can you name 5 biggest cities of Gujarat? Also, do you remember what was the last time you had visited villages of Gujarat? Other than your election rallies which have been flop all over India anyway.

Dear Mr. Gandhi, we do not need your interference in Gujarat. Your party is doing virtually nothing in the state and does not deserve to be in power ever in future. We are all satisfied with the governance that the current government is doing.

Also, just a friendly hint for you. Before you start your campaign and start alleging and maligning Mr. Modi's government, update your facts and knowledge about the progress of Gujarat in last few years. Look at the connectivity of road networks. Read some figures about Gujarat's revenue, export and import. Look at the improvement in situation of water and electricity in villages and towns.

Wishing you Good luck for your campaign. You really need it.

Yours Sincerely
A Proud Indian and a Gujarati

Hindi Language - National Language?

By the constitution, India does not have a 'National Language'. Hindi is adopted as 'Official Language' of the Union. Here is the excerpt from the constitution text which clearly indicates this fact. Is all the fuss created in the name of language in India really meaningful?

source: http://www.constitution.org/cons/india/p17343.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PART XVII OFFICIAL LANGUAGE CHAPTER I.- LANGUAGE OF THE UNION 343. Official language of the Union. (1) The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals. (2)Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before such commencement: Provided that the President may, during the said period, by order_306 authorise the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and of the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union. (3) Notwithstanding anything in this article, Parliament may by law provide for the use, after the said period of fifteen years, of- (a) the English language, or (b) the Devanagari form of numerals, for such purposes as may be specified in the law.

India outplay South Korea to lift Asia Cup

The fever of the movie 'Chak De' seems to be gripping. It was a glorious day again for Indian Hockey. India lifting Asia cup for the second time consecutively. Hail Hockey!

News Source: CNN-IBN (www.ibnlive.com)

New Delhi: India beat South Korea 7-2 on Sunday to retain the men’s field Asia Cup. South Korea was completely outplayed as the in-form team led India to its second successive triumph in the Asia Cup.

Shivender Singh scored the first goal in the third minute by putting in a diagonal pass from Prabhjot Singh in the goal. South Korea came back through a penalty stroke conversion by Jang Jong-hyun in the ninth minute. But India soon was in the lead again through S.V. Sunil's goal.

Tushar Khandekar set up the third goal in the 31st minute when he took full advantage of a through ball and provided a square-pass to Prabhjot Singh, who made no mistake in flicking the ball inside the goal to give India a 3-1 halftime lead.

India's fourth goal came in a bizare manner when several South Korean players were busy contesting an umpiring decision and the ball was still in play and India launched a counterattack that set up the first of Rajpal Singh's two goals.

Ignace Tirkey made it 5-1 for India in the 53rd minute and Rajpal Singh put the game beyond China's reach by scoring India's sixth goal.

fter Prabhjot Singh put in India's seventh and last goal in the 65th minute, South Korea pulled one back two minutes from the end but it was a bit late in the day.

This was the biggest winning margin in the Asia Cup and India along with the trophy in the bag also achieved the feat of being undefeated through out the tournament.