https://telegram.me/TheHindu_Zone

12

https://telegram.me/PDF4EXAMS

COMFORTING THE AFFLICTED

THE TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017

AFFLICTING THE COMFORTABLE

India’s Politics Of Fear

A thought for today Venezuela does not need mediation NICOLAS MADURO

Both right-wing and ‘secular’ parties have unleashed a vicious cycle of extremism

By making Pakistan crack down on terror, Washington can aid India-Pakistan peace process

U

S envoy to UN Nikki Haley’s assertion that the Donald Trump administration is open to playing a proactive role in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan goes against the position of previous US administrations, that had preferred to adopt a hands-free approach to India-Pakistan issues. There are several issues here that need to be carefully considered. First, there is a consensus that Indian and US interests today are increasingly converging. This is especially true in the area of fighting terrorism. Trump himself has repeatedly emphasised his desire to vociferously go after the Islamic State (IS) terror group. Given that Pakistan has long been a hotbed of Islamist terrorist outfits, there’s a danger that it might become an IS outpost in the near future. In that sense, New Delhi and Washington are veering to the same position on terrorism emanating from Pakistan. It’s in both Washington’s and New Delhi’s interest for the Trump administration to get Islamabad to crack down on terrorism. And since Pakistan-based terror is intrinsically linked to the Kashmir issue, US intervention against terrorism will certainly aid India’s case here. It’s also a fact that New Delhi’s allergy to any kind of US mediation in India-Pakistan issues is coloured by the legacy of the Cold War when Islamabad was seen to be in Washington’s camp, as well as the 1948 UN resolution recommending a plebiscite in Kashmir. However, the scenario has changed considerably today with the Trump administration even ready to take action to counter China’s coddling of Pakistan-based terrorists. Despite such strategic convergence, New Delhi is right in rejecting direct US mediation in India-Pakistan issues as it needs to retain its freedom to manoeuvre. But it can not only live with international pressure on Pakistan on terror, that in fact is the only way Islamabad (and Rawalpindi) can be persuaded to drop its support of terror groups. After all, when President Bill Clinton addressed the Pakistani people live on television after the Kargil war to proclaim south Asia’s borders cannot be redrawn with blood, that is a form of ‘mediation’ which New Delhi can welcome. If Washington is successful in getting Islamabad to drop its strategy of covert warfare, it will create the right atmosphere for New Delhi and Islamabad to bilaterally resolve all outstanding issues. Perhaps the right term is not so much ‘mediator’ but ‘facilitator’.

IPL Ver 2.0 Cricket league enters new era of transparency at the end of its first decade

I

t began as an experiment in fusing capitalism and the special Indian passion for cricket. Ten years later, having survived ups and downs such as match fixing, corruption charges and changes in five teams either through suspension or takeover, the glittering launch of IPL’s tenth edition in Hyderabad is evidence of its longevity as an enduring pastime on the Indian leisure calendar and a magnet for global cricket talent. IPL may be synonymous with cheerleaders but its business numbers are revealing. Generating annual business worth Rs 1200 crore it is almost on par in this sphere with BCCI and its profit contributes nearly 15% of BCCI income. This year’s IPL is significant in more ways than one. It is taking place under the watchful eyes of the Supreme Court mandated Committee of Administrators (CoA) which is also currently at the helm of BCCI affairs. CoA has brought in sweeping changes with regard to conflict of interest, which will now make it compulsory for coaching and support staff to choose between BCCI and IPL franchises while offering their services. This will come into effect from next year and abolish BCCI’s current system of contracting, whereby it offers 10 month contracts to coaches and support staff giving them elbow room to secure hefty 2 month contracts with IPL. This should go some way towards cleaning up IPL and making it fairer. IPL is also a cosmopolitan hub where each team has foreign players. After a bitter India-Australia series, this IPL edition features Steve Smith and David Warner as captains of Pune and Hyderabad respectively. As stand-in India Test captain Ajinkya Rahane, who will now be sharing the Pune locker room with Smith, put it, it is time to put the bitter memories behind and play on.

Apocalypse Now

When Yogi Adityanath, the newly anointed chief minister of UP, held his first cabinet meeting on Ram Navami, did he have in mind that Rama is regarded as maryada purushottam, the epitome of rectitude, or was he merely playing politics? Is India’s secularism in danger, or will governance rectitude triumph over religious divides? History has its own serendipities. On 6th December 1948, exactly 44 years before the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the Constituent Assembly, which drafted our Constitution, was in the throes of a heated discussion on the question of secularism and the new Republic. While there was unanimity that India would not be a theocratic state, and that secularism did not imply contempt or marginalisation of religion, Loknath Mishra, a member of the Constituent Assembly from Orissa (who later, in the 1990s, became Governor of Assam) warned that a “secular state is a slippery phrase, a device to bypass the ancient culture of the land ... justice demands that the ancient faith and culture of the land should be given a fair deal if not restored to its legitimate place after a thousand years of suppression”. In their infinite wisdom, the founding fathers of our Constitution allayed Mishra’s fears, and resolved that India would be a country where all faiths would be respected, while the state itself would be secular. This ideological clarity was based on pragmatic grounds. Hindus and Muslims, and other minorities, don’t live in separately demarcated geographical areas. Nor are the minorities, especially Muslims, in insignificant numbers. They constitute over 14% of the population and live cheek by jowl with other religious communities across the country. Even the much smaller Christian community, not more than 2% of the population, is cumulatively more than the entire population of Hungary and Greece put together. Co-existence, and

Uday Deb

Mediation Question

Pavan K Varma

respect for each other’s faith, is therefore an imperative and not an option for India. But this ideology-based pragmatism is being tested today, not because the ideology or the pragmatism has become irrelevant, but because electoral calculations have created cynical expediencies on all sides of the political spectrum. Some political parties that reflexively genuflect before the altar of secularism have blatantly used Muslims as a vote bank in order to win elections, but done very little to address the real needs of the community. And parties like BJP have assiduously worked to consolidate a Hindu vote in opposition to the Muslims, while privileging divisiveness over governance. What we are seeing is a vicious cycle. Because BJP and even more so its ultra-right affiliates openly espouse a Hindu India, it heightens fears among Muslims. And this fear psychosis in turn prompts some parties to specifically target the Muslim vote, without which

If India is to survive as a nation, the time has come for such insanity to stop. Indian politics badly needs a return to balance and statesmanship they cannot win. This was evident in recent UP elections. BJP, in a transparent attempt to consolidate the majority vote, proclaimed that Hindus were being discriminated against in the matter of land for cremation grounds and electricity supply for festivals like Diwali. Not a single Muslim was given the BJP ticket. In contrast, parties like BSP, which has worked to empower Dalits, went overboard in giving nearly a hundred tickets to Muslims to stitch a winning combine, triggering a reverse Hindu consolidation.

[email protected]

A five star hotel was fully booked to host the top performers of a leading bank from across the globe. Their hosts’ plan was to showcase India as a premium luxury travel destination that boasted world class premises. A part of their stay involved a gala dinner where these executives could sample the finest selection of wines and enjoy a tour to a bustling food hub nearby. The Supreme Court order banning alcohol within 500 metres of state and national highways made all preparations go awry. The Indian hosts are wondering how to tell their foreign guests at the last moment that they have been ‘banned’ from serving alcohol. The hotel manager explains the word ban freaks out a lot of travellers and causes irreparable damage to an establishment’s reputation. The order’s intention is to curb drunk driving endangering lives on roads. The 500 metres distance is said to act as a deterrent to those driving while drunk or buying a drink on the go. While no one doubts the

earnest intentions of the apex court and every citizen welcomes safer roads, the approach could have been different. National Crime Records Bureau data of 2015 on road accidents shows that out of a total 4,64,674 road accidents that year, 7,061 or 1.5% were due to driving under influence (DUI) of drugs or alcohol. Dangerous or careless driving, overtaking etc was the reason for 31.4% of road accidents whereas speeding

Our favourite places to unwind are no longer permitted to serve us our hard earned drink. A vend will still pick up its makeshift structure and hop 500 metres away caused 43.7% accidents. This suggests that strict enforcement of existing traffic and road safety rules will curb accidents far better than closing down bars and restaurants. One saw a definite shift in attitude of people towards drunk driving when traffic police instituted strict checks and heavy fines. Aggressive media campaigns also increased

awareness among drinkers to not endanger their own life and that of others by taking the wheel. Secondly, the judgment clubs liquor vends with bars and restaurants within and outside the hotel. A restaurant is a highly regulated space set up after going through various inspections and licensing. It is one legally permitted place where one can enjoy a drink responsibly with friends and family. Each of these spaces was established after a hefty licence fee and paid heavy taxes on every pint or peg sold. It is important to understand that most of the places paid a premium to set up shop in areas designated for hotels or food outlets by city planners. When many of these places

came up, the roads may not have been national or state highways and may have just been city roads. As cities grew, many roads developed into arterial highways. A consideration in buying residential property nowadays is recreation options nearby. To suddenly be told that the bar across our residential society cannot serve liquor as the road has become a highway amounts to forcing a resident to drive further for his drink. The third and most important point: everyone going to a bar is not a drunkard looking to get sloshed and drive over people. To paint places serving alcohol as dens of debauchery and consumers visiting them as ones desperate to binge on booze is a

dilbert

[email protected] http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/erratica

mindset that needs to change. Bars, restaurants and hotels are a reflection of our evolution. They are signs of a booming economy and a cosmopolitan society. Any popular tourist destination boasts of a vibrant food and nightlife and strong law enforcement that gives a sense to security. India had a happening food scene, what was merely needed was to provide stronger security that implemented rules strictly. To suddenly order that our favourite places to unwind after a taxing working schedule are no longer permitted to serve us our hard earned drink is depriving us of simple joys of life. A vend will still pick up its makeshift structure and hop 500 metres away from its present location to sell liquor. But a bar that came up after huge investment and employed security guards, trained waiters and talented bartenders will simply have to shut shop, rendering them jobless and consumers without a safe drinking spot. For me it is taking away the essence of my ‘Incredible India’ where i can enjoy the finest of food and alcohol in my city. An India where i have the freedom to party but also awareness of my responsibility and rules.

Sacredspace No More Hate Hatred does not cease through hatred. At any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.

Bachi Karkaria

erratica

The writer is an author and member of JD(U)

‘Incredible India’ hollowed out by court-ordered alcohol ban, just when India’s dining scene was turning world class

Story of a lashing storm, powerlessness and the buckling bridge in Trump’s America This visit to the US has resembled the Biblical warning. Namely, that if Mankind didn’t clean up its act, after the (Noah) flood, God would use the fire of Armageddon, the final battlefield, to destroy it. Well, i don’t know if Trump’s racist, sexist, bigoted – and beefeating – or if America deserves to be trampled under the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but the hooves are already a-sounding. A fortnight ago, a lashing storm crashed the electric supply and reduced parts of Atlanta to powerlessness for almost 16 hours. Last week, we drove to Nashville, Tennessee, praying that we wouldn’t be re-galed by thunder and roar instead of its iconic country music. A tornado was predicted. That cloud passed. Actually we did, taking the precaution of leaving town before it struck. We sat securely at the Tesla store en route while No. 1Son got his No.1obsession charged up and smugly watched the drama queens of the weather channels track the stormy passage through the South. But our self-congratulation over a timely departure was short-lived. The arrival back into Atlanta unleashed the Biblical ‘fire’. A huge conflagration had brought down a major connector, the I-85. Fortunately the official cellphone alert came when we were far away enough to detour. Television footage revealed an inferno of leaping flame and obliterating black smoke; the flashing lights and screech of police, fire engines and ambulances; helicopters hovering; cars stranded at Ground Zero. And most heart-stoppingly dramatic, the buckling of the bridge in an apocalyptic cloud of debris. This interstate flyover is also the city’s main commuter artery. Rebuilding it will take six months. Had a terrorISt caused this catastrophe? Nah! It was a marijuana joint, mindlessly thrown. It had combusted the huge PVC cables below the bridge, the heat melting steel and concrete. And now the Biblical ‘flood’ – and another aborted self-congratulation. Despite the Monday morning traffic battling the fallen I-85, i got to the airport with an hour to spare. But the tornado i’d escaped earlier caught up with me. It scrambled all flights; i missed my connection to Mumbai. Spending the night in Newark, I’ve woken up to news of continuing storms. Hope getting out of Trump country won’t be as fractious as getting into it. *** Alec Smart said: “So, the son-in-law now rises in Trumperica too. India first again.”

Excess fosters excess. When in 1985 the Congress party, then in power at the Centre, succumbed, in a perhaps wellintentioned but hasty move, to Islamic hardliners and overruled through Parliament the Supreme Court’s decision for the payment of alimony to Shah Bano, a mother of five children divorced by her husband, it fuelled accusations of Muslim appeasement. Such accusations then made BJP point an accusatory finger to even needed interventions for the uplift of Muslims. Fears that Hindus were being marginalised were played up without factual basis. More recently, artificially simulated campaigns like ghar wapsi and love jihad were launched. In the ensuing turbulence sane voices – both among Hindus and Muslims – were sidelined, while extremists grabbed the headlines. If India is to survive as a nation, the time has come for such insanity to stop. Indian politics badly needs a return to balance and statesmanship. Inclusion not exclusion, and hope not fear needs to guide our political class. If politicians do not understand this, the only hope is that, ultimately, the people of India will. The Rama temple issue, and the unnecessary politics over the singing of the Vande Mataram or the Surya Namaskar, will only go that far if, as latest statistics reveal, only some one lakh jobs were created in eight key non-farm sectors from April to September last year – including, shockingly, only 12,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector – even as farmers continue to commit suicide in droves due to rampant agrarian distress. Ordinary Indians want good governance, jobs and economic development, an end to endemic social instability, and peace and security in their lives. If given a chance they will, beyond the machinations of clever politicians, vote in the long run for someone who promises these ends, and not for those who only use them as cannon fodder to win elections. Secularism will then not be the ‘slippery slope’ that Loknath Mishra cautioned us about, but a firm foundation for a mature and truly democratic republic.

Gautama Buddha

You Could Achieve The State Of Eternal Bliss Shri Shri Anandamurti

hen people withdraw all their mental propensities from worldly objects and direct them towards Brahmn, Consciousness, they are bound to feel immense bliss. Constant contemplation of God lands them in the world of spiritual ecstasies. In Vaishnavite philosophy, the various states of spiritual ecstasy are described as dasha, bhava and mahabhava. To keep the voice at the same level while singing is well-nigh impossible, and even so, it is not pleasing to the ears. There ought to be high and low frequencies. Only the high will not suffice, there should be lows also. Again, if high frequencies dominate a song, pushing low frequencies out, then that kind of song, if sung for days together or for a long time daily, may result in illness. Hence, after singing songs that are predominantly high-pitched, the singer should sip a mixture of powdered black

W

pepper and warm ghee. The high frequency part of a song is called khandaparshu. While singing, one should hold before one’s eyes the bhava, ideation, of the raga or ragini in which the song is being sung and also sing meticulously and systematically within the notes prescribed for that particular raga or ragini. For this, different ragas or raginis have specific ideations of their own. To reflect on these ideations, different hours of the day have been prescribed for different ragas and raginis. Deviation from this hastens death of a song. The songs of the singer who flouts these rules sound lifeless as those songs ride roughshod over the prescribed norms. The mind has to be led to the mahabhava or cosmic ideation embodied in the different ragas and raginis through anubhava or unit ideation. Of these, bhava, anubhava and especially the

mahabhava are called khand aparshu. In ancient times, the impetus given to the unit bhava or mahabhava for the sake of poignancy, stilling the mind and clarity was called khambaj. When the sadhaka clearly feels the thrill of divine existence around him, the state of bliss he experiences is described as dasha. When he feels the existence of the divine world around him, as also the source from which divine existence comes, the state of bliss he experiences in sadhana is bhava. Again, when the sadhaka feels the closest proximity of Parama Purusha, even within his embrace, that bhava is called mahabhava. At the time of dasha, the sadhaka feels bliss within and falls down, and during bhava, the sadhaka feels proximity to God, feels great bliss and falls down. At the time of mahabhava, he feels the tactual presence of Parama Purusha and falls down. At that time, every nerve-cell, every

the

speaking tree

nerve-fibre and every pore of the human body feels the divine touch. The entire [extent] of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind becomes filled with devotion. But devotional expression is much more in the heart, the sentiment being strongly aroused. During floods, the rivers, tanks and pools, all become filled and begin overflowing. Similarly, the mind and heart of the sadhaka are filled to the brim with devotion, flooded by bhava. The sadhaka attains states of dasha and bhava according to samskaras. Again, according to one’s dasha and bhava, one attains mahabhava. That is why one who has attained mahabhava becomes sometimes restless, sometimes calm, now laughs and now weeps. The sadhaka feels waves of devotion in body, mind and heart, and feels so close to God that he completely forgets his physical existence. At that time, the dhama, or stratum, where he moves mentally is Nitya Vrindabana or Vaikunta.