One rule for rich and another for poor-Indian situation

 

India is a very strange nation. Laws are not the same for every body. Regulatory authorities have two standards one for rich and another for non influential persons One individual Mallya could do al l types frauds  that defaulting repayments of loans from so many public and private banks, could eat up the PF and Income tax deductions of his employees , could escape from this nation when so many cases are pending against him and so many institutions are ready to take actions on him in a leisurely manner and could escape actions from the labour law violations  and non payment of salary to his employees for several months who were waiting for some justice from him . Ouu Prime Ministers , Finance Ministers and Reserve Bank governors always claim that our fundamentals are very strong and out regulatory d bodies are very efficient What is the whole episode connected with Mallya convey to the world ? these bodies have thew teeth only to bite poor farmers if thay fail to pay one or two EMIs on tractor loans and drive them towards suicide. Big defaulters are treated like dignitaries . What a nation!

Treatment of free thinking students by premier universities in India

   Treatment of free thinking  students by premier universities In                                                                  India

                                                          

                                      

After following very closely the incidents in the Hyderabad University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University through the non stop coverage by the media, I was pushed into a very depressive mood. I was wondering if this is the scenario in the prestigious universities, what is the status of the students in the mediocre institutes.

The parents send their children to the top universities not only, to get post graduate and research degrees, but also , to get personality development , logical thinking ability and analytical minds through exposure to scholarly lectures and extra curricular  and co - curricular activities . In such universities they get a chance to become members of various forums and to learn about different political, social and cultural ideologies. In such forums free and open debates and discussions are encouraged and this atmosphere helps the students to learn about different ideologies. By taking up responsible positions in such forums their leadership skill is developed. Hence, when they are coming out of such institutes they are not only scholars in their respective subjects but also have a world vision and broader knowledge in political, social and cultural fabric of our society. Hence students coming from these institutes occupy eminent positions in their later life because, they had enjoyed through out their campus life absolute intellectual freedom, democratic rights and freedom of expression.

But, suddenly we are made to understand through, the ugly incidents in the premier institute that, all is not well with our universities. We do not understand from when, the Vice Chancellors have surrendered their administrative and academic autonomy to the political bosses , from when the HRD ministry started dictating or pressurising  the VCs regarding the type of disciplinary actions they have to take on the students in the face of complaints about some of their campus activities ? We do not even are aware of the fact that, the  police is engaged in constant surveillance of curtain student groups and individual students and video recording their out side class room activities including whom they are inviting for their association meetings what they talk, what slogans they raise , what they eat and drink and which God they worship etc., and were sending regularly reports to the government  as if they were terrorists to be watched . On the basis of these reports some students mostly from marginalised communities were branded as anti nationals and very strict actions taken on them as it happened in the Hyderabad University and JNU. Heart broken by the harsh treatment given to them by their own institute such as, suspending them from the hostel, barring the entry of them in groups to certain public spaces, disqualifying them from participation in the annual student union elections, disallowing them to stay in hostels at the University till they complete their respective courses/programmes at the University and suspending their educational allowance for nearly 7 months etc Rohit Vemullah committed suicide.  

It is very shocking that  the young students who have entered these institutes  by their merits and have dreams to pursue are called anti nationals , unpatriotic, treated like thugs, arrested , put in prison for sedition not minding the shattering of their entire future life . The union ministers, the political leaders and the police top authorities are behind the powerless students and their poor parents and fellow students watch helplessly, not knowing what to do before mighty state power.

The persons to be blamed for this state of affairs in the universities are the Vice Chancellors because, it is they who had surrendered their powers to administer their universities and maintain peace in their campuses to the political class. Is it because they have to prove their loyalty to them for some mysterious reasons? 

 Now Rohit Vemula has gone and very soon will disappear from public memory. Kannaiyah will be important till the media covers the incidents related to him. What happens then? It seems already nearly 10 Dalit students have committed suicides in the Hyderabad University. Why didn’t the faculty of that university paid any attention to such tragic end of their own poor students who were entrusted to their mentoring and never bothered to assist or guide or counsel them and saved their lives? Are the teachers going to hand  over their students  to the outsiders control or they  are going to preach their students about the dangers of exercising  freedom of expression  and advise them to be dumb driven cattle if they have to be  free from troubles ? From when, the VCs will put an end to  out side influence in managing their institutes and take independent decisions in maintaining discipline in their campuses? When will teachers decide to teach the students the methods of facing life challenges and instill in their mind that suicide can never offer  solution to any crisis in their  life and tat,  it will only disappoint and hurt deeply and permanently  their families who have pinned their faith on their s children’s bright future and taken efforts to empower them through higher education in spite of their daily life struggles  ? India wants their youth to grow as free and liberal thinking individuals or crush their independent spirit through draconian laws? Does India want their youth to have 14^th century mindset regarding religion and castes and keep them forever as socially and culturally backward or want them to grow with tolerance to dissenting ideas and patience with healthy and meaningful discussions on matters of national importance?

Questions are too many and from where do we get the answers?

Budget and the salaried class

Every government treats the salaried class as punching bags since it is the only sure source of income tax revenue. This BJP came to power after harvesting the middle class votes and gave tall promises as if they are their saviors from money worries. After the presentation of each budget the middle class faces inflation through new and increase in the rate of indirect taxes,higher and wider service taxes,  fall in savings, rigid tax  base ,  steady fall in the interest rate on their bank savings and cancellation of exemptions . They have no way to avoid or evade tax and as richer classes do hence caught as captive gold mines

Amendment to child labour ACT

My letter published in The Hindu

Barkha Deva has raised relevant questions regarding the benefits of the proposed amendment bills on certain existing Acts in her article, “Big questions on our generation.”published in the Hindu two weeks  back  I remember very well , an incident when I was in 3^rd or 4^th standard when Rajaji was ruling Chennai  . All of us had to be present only for the morning classes and were sent  home in the afternoon to enable us to learn  traditional skills. That is what the teachers told us . I remember about angry discussions at home and else where criticising  severely this move as a step to keep marginalised sections in that category forever and soon this scheme was scrapped much to our disappointment . I am surprised that  after several decades, this regressive policy is resurrected  and  incorporated in the amendment bill  to the “Child Labour Act “ Is there any dying  need for the children of poor families to learn their traditional crafts ? Can’t they use their after school hours for developing sports or other languages or digital skills? Can’t a poor man child aspire to become professionals in various fields? Does India wants to travel back to 18^th century ideologies or want to travel on progressive path along other nations?

My native place

 Golden days of my native place (written by me and published in The Hindu , Open page ono9.9.12)

The memories of my childhood days spent at Natchiar Koil village in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu are still fresh in my mind. Such memories led me to compare the existing situation in India, in general, and in villages, in particular, with the past. An analysis left me sad for the undesirable transformation which India has undergone over the last few decades. Those were really golden days.

As children, we didn’t know that our village was famous for the Mariamman temple, the Perumal (Vishnu) and Natchiar temple, for the world famous brass lamp factories, for Nagaswaram vidwans like Raghavan Pillai and for betal leaves. Our village, like any other village of yesteryear in Tamil Nadu, had an Agraharam, where Brahmins lived, the Muslim streets surrounding the mosque and the colony where the Scheduled Castes lived. The Brahmin youth were working in offices, the Muslims were landlords and traders and the Scheduled Castes mostly served the other communities in various capacities. But we never witnessed communal clashes or disputes. We lived in total harmony. Everyone treated the other with dignity. All community leaders participated in the meetings held to discuss village matters.

The Mariamman temple festival was celebrated for 10 days at a stretch. It attracted crowds from all surrounding villages and towns. Small traders from all over Thanjavur district participated in the shanty, spreading their wares in the lanes around the temple. Children, and even adults, used to crowd the shops for the whole day. Things which attracted the women were vessels of all types, ready made clothes and kitchenware. The children liked seeni mittai, a sweetmeat in different shapes and colours. Jav mittai was an attraction as well. The vendor would sing songs to attract children and pull out the colourful, sweet semi-liquid material which was elastic enough to be moulded from the bamboo which was holding it and out of which he would make birds, animals, watches, insects, etc., as per our demand and stick the design on our hands. Girls used to crowd ribbon, bangle and wooden and papier-mâché doll shops and boys thronged shops selling kites and tops. There were bio-scopes through which we can see “cinema bits” and the merry-go-rounds, and folk arts performances provided us enough entertainment.

The best part of the festival was the display of religious tolerance. All Muslim families wrote letters to their relatives living afar, inviting them for the Mariamman festival. Every Muslim home used to have so many guests during those days. The same way, people of different faiths arrived for the three-day float festival of the Natchiar temple, making it grand by their presence, participating in the festival activities organised outside the temple. I still remember the regular badminton practice given by my father to Brahmin boys on the mosque ground in the evenings.

Hindu women used to bring their babies suffering from fever to the mosques in the evening and would wait for the Mullahs to come out after prayer and get them cured of illnesses. The Mullahs would recite Arabic prayers, and bless the babies.

Muslim families always threw a separate vegetarian feast the day after their family weddings for Hindu friends. On Pongal days, all agricultural labourers used to bring fruits, flowers and hens for the Muslim landlords and they, in turn, were given dresses, money and food. They were allowed to decorate the cattle as they liked.

In short, everyone faithfully followed his/her religion and was tolerant of other religions. They never talked of conversions. As children, we never bothered to know about the classmates’ religion. We never heard of untouchability during our school days. In the big bazaar of our village, Hindu and Muslim traders conducted business without any clash of interests or rivalry.

Our village had Panchayat-run Tamil medium primary and secondary schools. Private schools were unheard of. Students belonging to the rich, middle and poor classes studied in the same school. Our teachers never demanded but always commanded the respect of not only students but also the village elders. The headmaster was always consulted by the panchayat leaders in village matters. Out teachers inculcated in us the values of religious tolerance, patriotism, secularism, respect for elders and honesty. Independence and Republic days were celebrated with patriotism. I still remember some Hindu teachers giving free tuition to poor Muslim students and some Muslim landlords helping poor Brahmin boys in their higher education.

Life was simple and stress-free. We spent our childhood playing out on the dry riverbed, the open ground for the entire evenings. We played in rainy and summer seasons. We played in mud and clay, but were never discouraged from playing for a long time and we never felt sick because of dust or pollution. We never had heavy homework. Going to school was fun since we could meet all our friends and exchange our eatables. We studied only for the examinations. English was introduced only from Standard VI. Yet many of us could get higher educational qualifications and a decent status in our life.

I can go on and on, with the memories of my village life. My heart bleeds when I now hear news of loss of human lives, destruction of business and property taking place, in the name of religion. It is painful to see responsible political leaders making hate speeches about different communities, owners refusing to rent out their homes to particular communities, children in village schools suffering the indignity of untouchability and neighbours in apartments in the cities boycotting one another on the basis of religion. How backward have we become in social harmony and religious tolerance? Our mindset has become so rigid against peaceful co-existence. Such an ugly transformation is not only confined to the cities but has spread to villages, which had all along protected the rich Indian culture. Will India revert to the golden days?

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Freebees culture of Tamil Nadu

The article, "public policy and private gain" by Pulapre Balakrishnan in the Hindu (16.12.15)clearly explains how the distribution policy of the Dravidian parties has restricted the space for public goods in Tamil Nadu.. The youth of  Tamil Nadu particularly, of Chennai who were rendering humanitarian service of high order during the recent flood would have witnessed directly for the first time in their life, the futility of distributivism policy pursued vigorously   at the expense of  the  provision of  physical infrastructure like roads, bridges, sewage, drainage system etc., and shocked beyond limits. But the question is , have   the political parties of Tamil Nadu  wanting a  clear mandate to govern this State after the election of2016 learnt any lessons? Have the voters who vote repeatedly on the basis of free bee culture learnt any lessons ? Only the recent flood exposed fully the quality of governance of the Dradvidan parties which has ruled Tamil Nadu for most of the decades. In a away the flood has exposed  the mismanagement of the disaster and  has  awakened the collective consciousness of the voters of Tamil Nadu and made them feel guilty about blind use of their votes 

Directionless conduct of the Congress party .

Ever since, the “high command” culture and the centralisation of powers in one family started in the Congress Party resulting in the fall of the federal structure , the  party faced  reduction in  the party’s   vote banks in several states  For example, as long as regional leaders like Kamaraj and Moopanar were playing a dynamic role at the national executive level of the party , the congress had decent vote bank in Tamil Nadu. The most important  effort  the Congress Party has to take urgently is to strengthen the Party at the states level through giving an opportunity to local leaders to participate at the decision making level . Imposition of decisions from above without considering local realities  may not enthuse the party cadres. Moreover the present strategy being adopted by the Congress party session after session in the parliament has  irritated many responsible members of their own party and the even their allies . The Nation is also losing it’s patience over their unproductive approach to parliamentary affairs . Can’t they fined a better strategy to put the BJP under right track ? A mature approach to revive their glory is expected from a old party.