AUM
UNCONGENIAL CLIMATE SUITS UNSOCIALS
By Chitranjan Sawant
I heard of the uncongenial climate in the officers’ mess over a drink. It was named Open Officers Mess because wives, girl friends, an acquaintance for just one-night stand, or even one on Hi and Bye terms were permitted to come with an officer escort and enjoy privileges provided by the facility on payment. Quite a congenial climate that suited one and all. The facility was on the premises of a US Army establishment where officers and their spouses from many countries assembled to undergo some training or the other made available by the Department of Defence of the United States of America. The broad nomenclature was the Military Aid Programme under which America extended its influence globally. It worked well. Never mind if some aid receivers were the worst critics of policies of Uncle Sam.
VIETNAM WAR
The phrase uncongenial climate came up in the conversation every now and then when the Vietnam War was discussed. The war was in full swing. Notwithstanding its unpopularity with average Americans, the United States got sucked in more and more as the days passed. The arm-chair politicians clamoured and said “Bring the Boys Home” but the policy makers from the White House to the Pentagon to the Department of States did not know how to handle it. Airports handling MATS (Military Air Transport Service) flights bustled with activities as plane loads of officers and GIs flew out to land at the Saigon airport (now Ho Chi Minh City) in Vietnam. Wives and girl friends who came to see off the departing personnel painted their lips and cheeks red with lipstick wearing lips. After all, they were leaving from places of congenial climate to jungles and hills of uncongenial climate.
The service personnel drew uncongenial climate allowance that was increased from time to time. It was not the wild life, nor the snakes, nor the leeches nor the scorpions that bothered the servicemen so much as the Vietcong or the rebel guerrillas who popped up from nowhere and wreaked havoc on the US Army convoy. The US convoys also passed through hostile civil population areas who pelted stones on personnel and disappeared in lanes nearby. The unsocial elements who sided with the enemy made the climate most uncongenial.
Fragging was a by-product of a war that was as good as lost. Once the top generals and policy planners lose a war in their minds, the soldiers lose it on the ground in no time. All ranks become irritable by nature and sometimes simple arguments turn into violent fist-fights. The more of such incidents occur, the more chances of total defeat are there. These incidents reflect low morale leading to an abject surrender to an enemy that is ill armed but has high morale. No amount of uncongenial allowance will turn tables on the winning enemy. Fragging, that is soldiers killing fellow soldiers, especially own officers were in evidence in Vietnam. It was a result of crisis in command. There were too many top brass giving orders and too few junior ranks to implement orders in areas of uncongenial climate. It is surmised that the US Army lost the Vietnam War because it was killed by the weight of its own brass, read incompetent senior officers who knew not how to handle battle weary GIs. Thus fratricide became the order of the day. Americans lost the Vietnam War and the global climate continued to be uncongenial – that is now military history to be read by up and coming tacticians and strategists all over the world.
HOME COMING WAS SWEET
On fulfilment of my mission I returned home in India from the Continental United States. Home sweet Home is not just a cliché. It is indeed soul -touching. I experienced it. What, however, bothered me was the uncongenial climate in different parts of our lovely Bharat. Many a pessimist made matters worse by speculating that the Republic of India was perhaps breaking up because of lack of decisive leadership. Our so-called leaders at the centre were too weak-kneed to withstand the international pressure in the form of Taliban terrorism, Maoist-Naxals, and restive Kashmiri Muslims prodded by Pakistan. The spate of fake currency pumped in by Pakistan to destabilise India made the climate more uncongenial.
Home-coming that was initially sweet was gradually turning into bitter-bite. Let us take stock of situation in our Kashmir first. Once what Firdaus, the renowned Persian poet had written about the Iranian city, Isfahan and the Moghul Emperors had it engraved in their famous garden in Srinagar, Kashmir. It says “O Firdaus, if there is a Heaven on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.”Unfortunately, the golden climate of Kashmir has turned into uncongenial climate of Kashmir. The street urchins turned into stone-pelting mobs have made the city unliveable. The unsocial elements have put a fear psychosis into minds of tourists who now shun Kashmir. The political leaders at the State level and also at the Central government level bungled time and again. Trillions of US dollars equivalent Indian rupees poured into the Kashmir valley went into the pockets of a few families. The common man was led astray by Maulvis and Mullahs in the pay of Pakistan and, therefore, preached sedition. Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir sat with the anti-India crowd who burnt the national flag and separatist Huriyat leaders connived with the Islamist forces in driving out the Hindus from Kashmir valley to Jammu, Delhi and other places forcing them to live a life of refugees in their own country.
STONE PELTING SPECIALISTS
The telephone intercepts of separatist Kashmiri leaders on the pay-roll of Pakistan, were made available to the Media. It clearly shows that they not only organise stone-pelting youth but also pay them as per their performance. There are stone-pelting specialists who charge more money from the Pakistani agents for fomenting trouble in the valley. It is horrendous but true that these separatist leaders also stage-manage killing of commoners by the security forces to foment trouble. Even when village women die of natural causes, the Huriyat leaders make the death as resultant from rape and torture by the security forces. Riots were stage-managed by the pro-Pakistan elements and the cause was shown as rape of Kashmiri women by the security forces. When the doctors said that there was no evidence of rape, the rabble rousers changed it to attempted rape. Even the moderate leaders among separatists knew that the charges were trumped up. However, in the interest of Pakistan Kashmiri separatists let the attempted rape charge continue to agitate minds of masses. Thus it is crystal clear that Pakistan promotes dirty tricks and violence in Kashmir to destabilise India.
NAXALS NOT HOME GROWN
Any political outfit claiming to be India-based would not target passenger trains to kill innocent passengers for no fault of theirs. The police constables being killed in ambush laid by Naxals are poor people. And Naxals profess to protect poor people.
The Naxalite movement has bases in forests, villages and among poor and exploited tribal people. It is partly negligence of governments at various levels to ignore such a massive problem for such a long time. Moreover, there is no coordination between the Central government and the State governments. Thus there is no strategy to tackle the Naxalite problem and the situation is going from bad to worse. The Prime Minister acknowledges Naxalite violence as the biggest threat to the Internal Security but just stops there. No tangible major step has been taken to punish the law breakers and simultaneously wean away the exploited men and women from the violent core group.
NATION ABOVE ALL
All political parties and all governments must put the Nation Above All. If the Government of India fails to hang a criminal sentenced to death by the Supreme Court because the political party in power erroneously jettisons national interest for petty politics of vote bank, take it from me the country is doomed. With a view to saving the sinking ship of the State, all concerned must have only one aim to achieve – Making our country strong and people prosperous. So say NATION ABOVE ALL.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303, INDIA Mobile : 0091-9811173590.
Email : upvanom@yahoo.com sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
WALK WALK WALK AND WALK
AUM.
WALK WALK AND WALK
By Chitranjan Sawant
I was a boy scout and an active one. I loved my uniform and dreamed of joining the Indian Army someday to wear the olive greens. The British were still around as masters of our destiny in undivided India and all the high posts were occupied by them or by the families that were counted as pillars of the Raj. My scout master commended my plan of becoming an army officer but said that the British rulers did not appreciate independent minded men and women. A little bird brought me some good news. A British Army Officer was to come to motivate boys in uniform to join the Indian Army on completion of secondary school education. The British paramount power needed young men to promote war efforts and that there were privileges galore for those who helped defeat the Axis powers. German and Japanese armies were on the war winning path then.
MOTIVATION FOR MEN
The British Army Officer, after his introductory remarks, said some golden words that have motivated men like me all along. “Don’t let grass grow under your feet” said he. We were standing on the school quadrangle lawn and the grass was already under our feet. We looked at the grass, looked at him and looked puzzled. The officer understood our predicament. He said that this sentence of the King’s English meant that you have to be up and about all the time. If you succeed in joining the army, you will be required to be on your toes all the time. In other words, do everything at the double. Be on the move all the time. The boys thought that the gentleman had demotivated the audience. Boys are after all boys and want to take things easy.
The talk did me a lot of good. I was motivated to be on the move all the time. I promised to myself that I shall not let grass grow under my feet. To achieve this aim, I had to walk, walk and walk. Walking all these years, even as an Army Officer when a car was at my beck and call, kept me in the pink of health. As an adolescent on the threshold of joining the All Men’s Club, I was highly motivated by the aforesaid British Army Officer to join the Indian Army. I succeeded in achieving the goal and what helped me most was my mental make up to be on my toes always and everytime. Indeed it kept my physical fitness at the optimum level.
MY MORNING WALK
Eversince listening to the motivational talk, I have always been up and about in the wee hours of the morning. Initially I went out on a run, then it was walk and run and as the age advanced I took to morning walks. Ah! What a delightful experience it is to walk in sylvan surroundings with the birds chirping on the trees and in mango season, the nightingale singing its song of joy. At the crack of the dawn, there are not many human being around and in wooded parks of appreciable size even peacocks and peahens come close to humans to compare notes. In Pachmarhi of 1950s, located in central India and boasting to be the sole hill station in Madhya Pradesh, nestling near a waterfall or walking through the thick jungles a morning walker could meet a friendly tiger. The magnificent king of the jungle would just yawn to say Good Morning to the civilized Man and disappear in the thick woods.
I have full freedom of doing anything on my morning walks. There is not a soul around at that hour of the morning whose privacy would be disturbed. No one would threaten to sue me if I sang a song or just danced in my own style. Indeed that was the golden hour to prepare my speech or a lecturette and even practise it before a bush or a tree treating them as captive audience. What a pristine joy did I experience in going through the lecture practice without a single interruption from the audience or the mentor. Of course, mistakes went undetected and became a part of the script until friendly mentor pointed it out.
I love to dress up for my morning walks. I prefer all whites, from top to toe. Wearing spotlessly clean and well pressed white shorts, a white half-sleeve shirt, a pair of white socks and white PT shoes without a speck of dust is a source of unadulterated joy. Of course, a lot of effort goes into coming out of the house so well dressed. Once a neighbour remarked that the way you dress up, it appears you are going up for an Olympic competition. I took it as a compliment.
CHARAIVETI CHARAIVETI
It is a command of the holy book, the Vedas. Move on, Move on – that is indeed a Vedic injunction. If a human being is constantly on the move, he will never suffer from inertia. It is the walk, it is the Pranayam that exercises the mind and the body. The essential organs get oxygenated blood and remain healthy. One does an effort to get ready to go out of the house and it motivates the individual to do both mental and physical exercises. That is the way to remain mentally alert and physically fit.
If the grass has not grown under your feet, it means you are an active fellow. An individual of this nature will advance in age gracefully without suffering from common age-related problems like the Al Zheimer’s or Dementia or pain in the knees. There will be enthusiasm for life and zest in doing a job well. An individual who walks and walks will find some meaningful activity for himself and not remain idle. The devil will not come anywhere near an active person because his or her mind will not be idle and cannot become a devil’s workshop.
Accepting the Vedic word of command we walk, walk and walk.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA 201303 Mobile : 9811173590.
Email : upvanom@yahoo.com
WALK WALK AND WALK
By Chitranjan Sawant
I was a boy scout and an active one. I loved my uniform and dreamed of joining the Indian Army someday to wear the olive greens. The British were still around as masters of our destiny in undivided India and all the high posts were occupied by them or by the families that were counted as pillars of the Raj. My scout master commended my plan of becoming an army officer but said that the British rulers did not appreciate independent minded men and women. A little bird brought me some good news. A British Army Officer was to come to motivate boys in uniform to join the Indian Army on completion of secondary school education. The British paramount power needed young men to promote war efforts and that there were privileges galore for those who helped defeat the Axis powers. German and Japanese armies were on the war winning path then.
MOTIVATION FOR MEN
The British Army Officer, after his introductory remarks, said some golden words that have motivated men like me all along. “Don’t let grass grow under your feet” said he. We were standing on the school quadrangle lawn and the grass was already under our feet. We looked at the grass, looked at him and looked puzzled. The officer understood our predicament. He said that this sentence of the King’s English meant that you have to be up and about all the time. If you succeed in joining the army, you will be required to be on your toes all the time. In other words, do everything at the double. Be on the move all the time. The boys thought that the gentleman had demotivated the audience. Boys are after all boys and want to take things easy.
The talk did me a lot of good. I was motivated to be on the move all the time. I promised to myself that I shall not let grass grow under my feet. To achieve this aim, I had to walk, walk and walk. Walking all these years, even as an Army Officer when a car was at my beck and call, kept me in the pink of health. As an adolescent on the threshold of joining the All Men’s Club, I was highly motivated by the aforesaid British Army Officer to join the Indian Army. I succeeded in achieving the goal and what helped me most was my mental make up to be on my toes always and everytime. Indeed it kept my physical fitness at the optimum level.
MY MORNING WALK
Eversince listening to the motivational talk, I have always been up and about in the wee hours of the morning. Initially I went out on a run, then it was walk and run and as the age advanced I took to morning walks. Ah! What a delightful experience it is to walk in sylvan surroundings with the birds chirping on the trees and in mango season, the nightingale singing its song of joy. At the crack of the dawn, there are not many human being around and in wooded parks of appreciable size even peacocks and peahens come close to humans to compare notes. In Pachmarhi of 1950s, located in central India and boasting to be the sole hill station in Madhya Pradesh, nestling near a waterfall or walking through the thick jungles a morning walker could meet a friendly tiger. The magnificent king of the jungle would just yawn to say Good Morning to the civilized Man and disappear in the thick woods.
I have full freedom of doing anything on my morning walks. There is not a soul around at that hour of the morning whose privacy would be disturbed. No one would threaten to sue me if I sang a song or just danced in my own style. Indeed that was the golden hour to prepare my speech or a lecturette and even practise it before a bush or a tree treating them as captive audience. What a pristine joy did I experience in going through the lecture practice without a single interruption from the audience or the mentor. Of course, mistakes went undetected and became a part of the script until friendly mentor pointed it out.
I love to dress up for my morning walks. I prefer all whites, from top to toe. Wearing spotlessly clean and well pressed white shorts, a white half-sleeve shirt, a pair of white socks and white PT shoes without a speck of dust is a source of unadulterated joy. Of course, a lot of effort goes into coming out of the house so well dressed. Once a neighbour remarked that the way you dress up, it appears you are going up for an Olympic competition. I took it as a compliment.
CHARAIVETI CHARAIVETI
It is a command of the holy book, the Vedas. Move on, Move on – that is indeed a Vedic injunction. If a human being is constantly on the move, he will never suffer from inertia. It is the walk, it is the Pranayam that exercises the mind and the body. The essential organs get oxygenated blood and remain healthy. One does an effort to get ready to go out of the house and it motivates the individual to do both mental and physical exercises. That is the way to remain mentally alert and physically fit.
If the grass has not grown under your feet, it means you are an active fellow. An individual of this nature will advance in age gracefully without suffering from common age-related problems like the Al Zheimer’s or Dementia or pain in the knees. There will be enthusiasm for life and zest in doing a job well. An individual who walks and walks will find some meaningful activity for himself and not remain idle. The devil will not come anywhere near an active person because his or her mind will not be idle and cannot become a devil’s workshop.
Accepting the Vedic word of command we walk, walk and walk.
UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA 201303 Mobile : 9811173590.
Email : upvanom@yahoo.com
Sunday, July 4, 2010
PROTECT PROGENY; KILL NOT
AUM
PLEASE PROTECT PROGENY; KILL NOT
By Chitranjan Sawant
What a shame! What a pity. Some Muslim males have degenerated into a species lower than animals. Everybody knows that animals protect their progeny. Now everyone knows some misguided males kill their kith and kin under a false belief of protecting family honour.
UK MUSLIM FAMILY IN TURMOIL
Abdul Azad is a 54 year old Muslim whose parents migrated to the UK from Bangladesh. He was born and raised in the UK. So was his wife. So was his son. So was his daughter, Afshan Azad a 22 year old broad minded girl who acted in the Harry Potter films and played the role of Padma Patil, a Hindu girl.
Somewhere down the line, Afshan started dating a Hindu boy and both have been going steady in their relationship. How silly but true it is that many Muslims do not wish their children to make friends with Hindu boys and girls. A Muslim girl going steady with a Hindu boy with the intention of eventually marrying him is to a Muslim zealot like a red rag to a bull.
The bull is raging mad now. How dare Afshan Azad marry a Hindu boy? So Abdul the father and his adult son went to the bed room of Afshan Azad, an adult, and demanded severance of relationship with the Hindu boy and on her refusal to do so, bruised and battered her.Their brutal behaviour was worse than that of beasts of the Amazon jungles. Disgraceful indeed.
The British police swung into action and put both father and son into the jail for assault, battery and criminal intimidation. The next hearing will be on 12 July 10 for committal proceedings to send the case to a Sessions court. Meanwhile the criminal duo is granted bail with a heavy rider to remain under curfew at night and not to contact an unnamed male. It is presumed that the intention of the law enforcing authorities is not to allow the misguided males of the Azad family to pressurise important witnesses or the Hindu boy so that he breaks off the amorous relationship with the concerned Muslim female.
The brother of Afshan Azad has now realised his mistake and laments the adverse publicity that the battering act has brought to them. It is now too little and too late.
CALL FOR CHANGE
How whimsical the primitive males from some countries are that they welcome girls of other faiths to marry Muslim males and convert to Islam but raise hue and cry when a Muslim girl wishes to marry a Hindu or a Christian male and convert to the faith of her husband. if this is not narrow mindedness and religious bigotry , what else is? it is for the liberal leaders and spokespersons of moderate Islam to change the mindset of the zealots who bring a bad name to their faith.
Indeed the Muslim women may like to play a prominent role in this evolutionary change. Unfortunately, they are treated as second class Muslims and have a feeble voice compared to the Muslim males. Never mind if this discrimination against women has been going on for 14 centuries, that is since the inception of Islam. It is time now for the enlightened women like Afshan Azad to raise the banner of revolt for restoration of female rights. Never mind the battering and bruising in the initial stages. Ultimately the victory will be for the Muslim females to exercise their human rights, constitutional rights and hold their heads high against the beastly behaviour of their own blood relations.
We pray to Parmatma, the Lord Almighty that forces of Righteousness ascend the victory stand and bear children as independent as their rebellious and victorious mothers.
______
Email: upvanom@yahoo.com
PLEASE PROTECT PROGENY; KILL NOT
By Chitranjan Sawant
What a shame! What a pity. Some Muslim males have degenerated into a species lower than animals. Everybody knows that animals protect their progeny. Now everyone knows some misguided males kill their kith and kin under a false belief of protecting family honour.
UK MUSLIM FAMILY IN TURMOIL
Abdul Azad is a 54 year old Muslim whose parents migrated to the UK from Bangladesh. He was born and raised in the UK. So was his wife. So was his son. So was his daughter, Afshan Azad a 22 year old broad minded girl who acted in the Harry Potter films and played the role of Padma Patil, a Hindu girl.
Somewhere down the line, Afshan started dating a Hindu boy and both have been going steady in their relationship. How silly but true it is that many Muslims do not wish their children to make friends with Hindu boys and girls. A Muslim girl going steady with a Hindu boy with the intention of eventually marrying him is to a Muslim zealot like a red rag to a bull.
The bull is raging mad now. How dare Afshan Azad marry a Hindu boy? So Abdul the father and his adult son went to the bed room of Afshan Azad, an adult, and demanded severance of relationship with the Hindu boy and on her refusal to do so, bruised and battered her.Their brutal behaviour was worse than that of beasts of the Amazon jungles. Disgraceful indeed.
The British police swung into action and put both father and son into the jail for assault, battery and criminal intimidation. The next hearing will be on 12 July 10 for committal proceedings to send the case to a Sessions court. Meanwhile the criminal duo is granted bail with a heavy rider to remain under curfew at night and not to contact an unnamed male. It is presumed that the intention of the law enforcing authorities is not to allow the misguided males of the Azad family to pressurise important witnesses or the Hindu boy so that he breaks off the amorous relationship with the concerned Muslim female.
The brother of Afshan Azad has now realised his mistake and laments the adverse publicity that the battering act has brought to them. It is now too little and too late.
CALL FOR CHANGE
How whimsical the primitive males from some countries are that they welcome girls of other faiths to marry Muslim males and convert to Islam but raise hue and cry when a Muslim girl wishes to marry a Hindu or a Christian male and convert to the faith of her husband. if this is not narrow mindedness and religious bigotry , what else is? it is for the liberal leaders and spokespersons of moderate Islam to change the mindset of the zealots who bring a bad name to their faith.
Indeed the Muslim women may like to play a prominent role in this evolutionary change. Unfortunately, they are treated as second class Muslims and have a feeble voice compared to the Muslim males. Never mind if this discrimination against women has been going on for 14 centuries, that is since the inception of Islam. It is time now for the enlightened women like Afshan Azad to raise the banner of revolt for restoration of female rights. Never mind the battering and bruising in the initial stages. Ultimately the victory will be for the Muslim females to exercise their human rights, constitutional rights and hold their heads high against the beastly behaviour of their own blood relations.
We pray to Parmatma, the Lord Almighty that forces of Righteousness ascend the victory stand and bear children as independent as their rebellious and victorious mothers.
______
Email: upvanom@yahoo.com
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