Have Mercy

The other day was reading Samjhutta Express blast victims buried in an unkempt graveyard .The graveyard in Panipat, has 29 Pakistani buried who died in the Samjhota Express train blast .The bodies in burial ground are still looking for a tombstone with their names instead of undignified numbers stating the indifference of the authorities of both the countries.

Today we come to know that Kashmir Singh ala Ibrahim captured in 1973 who has been languishing in a death cell in a Pakistani prison for the last 35 years, will return to his home in India soon.

He was one of the unfortunate prisoners not released with of 64 civilians, including 61 Punjabis, by Pakistan in sept 2005. His family held Indian Government responsible for not handling Kashmir Singh’s case properly. Recruited in the Indian Army on March 4, 1962, he worked with the intelligence wing of (Military Intelligence) till 1970 and was honored with a commendation certificate in 1971. Recruited in the Punjab police as a constable he was shown in service till August 11, 1972, and after that was shown in leave in police records.

The family came to know about Kashmir Singh after he wrote a letter to his wife Paramjit Kaur in 1977. In his letter, Kashmir Singh had mentioned that he had been awarded capital punishment by a Pakistani court. Meanwhile the family had approached Subedar Major at Jalandhar cantonment but to no benefit.

Kashmir Singh had been writing letter to his wife till 1991. But with the passage of time writing letters to each other became a costly affair as the family was under debt. During the tenure of Ms Benazir Bhutto, as Prime Minister her husband’s sentence was converted to life imprisonment. Certain CID officials from Jalandhar used to visit her regularly and gave Rs 5,000 for sundry expenses in the presence of the panchayat but discontinued after the family started receiving letters from Kashmir Singh. She sold milk and and worked and brought up two sons and a daughter with one son suffering with a paralytic attack.

The same Kashmir Singh who along with his wife gave away his life is in hope to reach his family. He is to be freed from the Pakistani prison on humanitarian grounds. The outgoing President Mush signed the petition. The same Mush who is undergoing a setback in his own country in the recent election because of is tyrannical policies. Mr. Ansar Burney who is a human right activist and a caretaker minister moved the petition.

There are plenty who cannot soak up this news like me. This junior constable charged on spying charge is being released after 35-years.what could have a junior constable done to be a prisoner under the espionage act. What about the other prisoners, there know bouts on which nobody has formal feedback on.

Mercy petition signed raise question?

This one gesture does not undo or pronounce the revelation of the prisoners still in the prisons of India and Pakistan . It’s unfair but hope for some and an eye opener for a little. Mr. Mush and the Indian Government tactics.Some people might see as a new leaf in India and Pakistan but I get a whiff of favoritism .

Is this a planned event or a tradeoff ?

Silence

Senseless expectations of a life lived to limits of misconceptions.
Contemptuous beliefs of the inexhaustible monotony of the world;
We move on endlessly tumbling down the lane of deceptions
Our existence –a speck in the malicious cycle of a thing called humanity.
Weaving through the thread of biography,
Each life’s unexpected philosophy,
The wheels of silence churned and churned…
A birth to a prodigy;
A loveless thing, a lethal automaton
Grasping the intangibles and the untouchables
An eternity of abnormality, clamor –
The human race.
Trapped within their innumerable cultures and societies,
Incapable to comprehend individuality,
They fight wars of hysteric madness, Wars for freedom.
Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, of life!
Of cause and effect, that blurs and evades their infinitely inconstant identities.
Deceptions; corruptions; corrections; apprehension,
Sanity and insanity based on trial and error,
Who are we within this vast universe?
They talk about hope--Sitting in silence, relentlessly!
Hope they say is a dangerous idea, enough to drive a man insane.
Idea is where I disagree. Hope I say is a state.
A state of redemption. The shape of sovereignty.
A drive to freedom. A dark fire surrounded with wild angels begging for light!
What “hope” does this “modern world” give us?
As an intellectual race, as “human beings”?
Marching the beats of a meaningless journey,
We Search for identity and meaning, Longing for survival,
We search for peace; for traits of “normality” within us!
Yes, a meaningless journey, through each day’s chores and phrases.
And we fail, time and again,
Falling incessantly in the cesspit of prejudice, cruelty and injustice!
Each day the human race grows closer to experience,
Darkening innocence’s hopeful vision,
Rehearsing the parts they must play,
With strength against those who would freeze their humanity,
Dissolve their individuality; against those who would make them a thing!
A thing with one face, a loveless thing,
A lethal automaton,
“I’m doing the best I can!”---Are we?
Clamor –
An end to a prodigy.
a long lost friend Junaid sent me this.

Imagine Your Death!

Imagine Your Death!
Imagine yourself after you pass away
Imagine your grave through night and through day
Wishing that you did not do as they say
Wishing that you had got up and had prayed.
Imagine, my friends, the day that you died
Imagine all of the tears that they cried
Remember how it felt when your body was tied
Remember how it felt in the grave which you lied.
Imagine the day you'll be called to account
Imagine the sum to which your life will amount
Think for a moment of the deeds which you mount
Think for a moment how much they will count.
What will they say of you when you are dead?
What will they say, what will be said?
Will they speak of all the poor who you fed?
Will they remember all the Qu'ran that you read?
Think not of them, but of Allah, Lord of mankind and jinn
Think of Allah when tempted to sin
Think of the paradise which you will dwell in
Don't wait till later to think what might have been

as written by an 18 year old muslimah fro UK.

Fair-mindedness of the vast majority

I grew up listening to a lot of stories from my grand mother and my parents about Prophets, Mahatmas, Saints, various religious gurus, Business man and political leader’s as well. They all valued freedom in every sense and also believed how articulation are mounted, passions be aroused, provoked and manufactured.

Yes I am talking about the Raj thackrey drama in Mumbai. The goons like Raj and Abu should very well understand that they cannot dictate terms to anybody they like for publicity. I am in Indian first .Every Indian can go anywhere whether its north, south, east or west India. Every Indian has he right to work wherever she/he likes. There sense of proportion is absent as publicity has become their lifeblood. What we witnessed was the near-failure of the social order in the financial capital of the country, Mumbai.

Raj found his voice at the dawn of the year 2008 after quitting shiv sena in 2005.Raj thakrey living in oblivion came in picture when he raised voice against the molestation case on New Year in Mumbai this year. He had a moment under the sun when the media highlighted the theatre of absurd in Mumbai knowing Raj thakreys gambit in the political chessboard. He spoke chillingly against migrants to gather media attention and was successful. Hatred against North Indians reached such a crescendo that Mumbai and later, its spill over in Nasik and Pune, shocked us all

Today Raj is in a win win situation. He has resurrected his identity. I must say, “A preplanned script for the leader who used photo opportunity to gain the votes”. The media made him a hero instead of highlighting the misuse of inefficiency of the state government and the dilly dally of the police.

The inefficient state government not even once thought of the mumbaikars who kept anticipating. Will there be violence or not? Schools were shut; shop owners in a fix, taxi drivers horrified as were beaten up and offices deferred their schedule .Aaj Tak channel blew things out of proportion. Small towns became vulnerable. 2 busses were burnt and in the end a Marathi an innocent person was killed in a stone pelting by some workers of the goon. To everybody’s surprise the Man who died was a Marathi and the whole fight began on the safety of Marathi’s vs. North Indians. Element of fear factor was there through out the day. Hats off! For the adaptable people of Bombay.

The 9-day drama came to an end when the police officials arrested Raj from his house, put him in the bus followed by the convoys, reached the police station and granted him bail on rs 15,000. He got away in two hours. The stage was set for him. He was arrested to be released. Still the Party doesn’t feel apologetic. The MNS took political mileage of the drama created by the state government and the police . with their negligible presence in the state municipal corporation of 7 candidates the the new political party gets recognition.

We don’t expect a different Raj thakrey after this incident any ways. The migration battle will be carried on till the time politicians who are elected by us will woo the voters by igniting the hatred instead of being a facilitator. They can’t work on highlighting issues like farmer’s death tolls and unemployment problems of the small cities in Maharashtra. The visionless sena leaders are on hunt for publicity. Why can’t they understand that the same narrow mindedness could well rebound on the poor maharashtrians staying in other states as well because we have the same categories of leaders in other states always looking for a reason to hog attentions like them? There are Indian families living outside India for business, education, works etc etc. These goons will be the first to raise a voice if any of is asked to pack their bags and go back to their country. How will they justify the demand being illegal and unconstitutional?

The whole episode shows the inefficiencies the part of the state government and the police. Why did the CM go to Sonia Gandhi for suggestions? Why was there a delay on the part of the police? Why did police take so long to arrest Raj? The police kept evaluating… The big wigs of the police were missing! There was no one to respond to the situation. The Mumbai city is in the edge of the anarchy it seems? The police was looking at the side where the political wind was blowing instead of taking a decision. The police should have acted decisively rather than delaying it. The very process was unconstitutional. It was a mirror image of the lack of economic opportunities. It was family politics and absolute opportunism.

To mobilize the vote banks such cheap politics should be stopped. Strict actions are needed to curb such nuisance being played at the cost of innocent people. the goons feel that as long as they are safe, nothing else mattered NCP and Congress think that the citizens of the country are fools. They should accept the handicap of the coalition government. Somebody has to be accountable for this high drama created. This hullabaloo shows the farsightedness the Shiv Sena and MNS have for Maharashtra.

Because of their created commotion, in pune, Nasik and adjoining cities, Ancillary units which provide material to big industries such as Mahindra and Mahindra and Crompton & Greaves are having problem in meeting the deadlines of production. Its has affected the big industries and heavy industries such as the steel industry in Satpur, Ambad and Sinnar as most of their workers are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan who are in a fix. These petty leaders should be booked by the government.

The agendas are missing for very long in the political parties of the country! It’s shameful for the country leaders who have stooped down to this level to be in power. It shows the fair-mindedness of the vast majority and nothing more than underwater violence.
We need to rise and shine!
I’ve always been taught to be a human first.

Nobody remains virgin

Could not stop myself from posting it on the blog

Jashn-e-bahaara - Jodhaa Akbar

Why should the politicians of our country be left behind if an opportunity can give them triumph? What better way will be to use the distorted history for the coming elections?

Movie Jodhaa Akbar Perhaps the most costly and eagerly awaited film of recent times has set a new record of and whopping Rs 90 crores for the rights and controversies at the same time. The work of art has been taken by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment for all rights of theatrical distribution. Ashutosh Gowarikar & A.R.Rahman, the team that gave us the Oscar nominated, Lagaan and the critically acclaimed Swades has already made waves with Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. One of the most awaited movies in Bollywood takes a glimpse into the life and romance of the Emperor Abkar. Hrithik plays Akbar and Aishwarya plays Jodhaa. Adding magnitude to the movie the lyrics by Javed sahab is set to grab the attention of the country.

Assertive historians say the movie is factually wrong just after Ritik Roshan reacted for the first time for the film. He believes in breaking notions, challenging mind sets of people, who consider only a restricted kind of treatment in period dramas? Ashutosh choose the lead pair as they are adaptable and very professional and claims that in Akbarnama, Abul Fazal doesn’t mention Jodhaa at all but also explains that the harem existed and Jehangir was born out of that alliance. Everything in history is open to interpretation. He has repeatedly asked not to compare his love story with Mughal-E-Azam as the later is a classic with incredible performances. And his is also a historical subject with a different attempt and modern attitude by keeping the era details as close as possible. “I just want my film to be liked, for the genre to be successful”

Our historians are in love with the lyrics of the movie song so are we.

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai

Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai

Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai

Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai

gulshan mein Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Sare sehmein nazare hain

Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain

Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai

Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai

phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein

Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Kaise kahen kya hai sitam

Sochte hai ab yeh hum

Koi kaise kahen woh hai ya nahi humare

Karte to hai saath safar

Faasle hain phir bhi magar

Jaise milte nahi kisi dariya ke do kinare

Pass hain phir bhi paas nahi

Humko yeh gum raas nahi

Seeshe ki ek diware hai jaise darmiya

Sare sehmein nazare hain

Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain

Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai

Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai

Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein

Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Hum ne jo tha nagma suna

Dil ne tha usko chuna

Yeh dastaan humein vaqt ne kaise sunai

Hum jo agar hai gumgee

Woh bhi udhar khush to nahi

Mulakato mein hai jaise ghul si gai tanhai

Milke bhi hum milte nahi

Khilke bhi gul khilte nahi

Aankhon mein hai baharein dil mein khiza

Sare sehmein nazare hain

Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain

Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain

Kehne ko Jashan-e-bahara hai

Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai

Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein

Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

But maintain that Mughal Emperor Akbar never married anyone named Jodhabai. Jodhabai was, in fact, his daughter-in-law, his sons “Jehangir wife. This even included in the history books “Akbarnama” and “Jehangir memoirs”. They claim Jehangir got married to the House of Jodhpur so the princess was later called Jodhabai says historian Satish Chandra, author of NCERT History books. Mohammad Amin a senior historian establishes a link by explaining that, Akbar admitted alliances with Rajput families. He married the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber, who was later titled Maryam Rahmani or the Mother of Rulers of the Universe. But there is no evidence to say that she was called Jodhabai.”

Why is it that every beautiful story presentation or a piece of art gets assassinated in India so easily? Why such hue and cry on a topic which will not affect the future of our country. We very understand Indian democracy. What ever has happened has happened and let the historians do their work. We all know the election is nearing in MP and Rajasthan. Distortion of history in the movie should not be used as an alibi for vote banks neither by Rajput Mahasabha or the Karni Sena.

With brilliant visuals and multitude of emotions with some fervent romance this ambitious production will set new standards for Indian cinema. Let’s wait till the release scheduled on Feb 15th 2008.

Water wars or water peace is in our hands

Since Old Testament times, water supplies have proved a source of conflict and peace. The scary reality is that water is becoming so scarce in many parts of the world that people are fighting resulting into big conflicts.

Representatives of more than hundred nations have been meeting and the rich countries are being accused of adding to the water crisis. Poor nations use just one-thirtieth of the water of many developed countries.

Water will be the source of the world's next big conflict if nations don't take action now. One flush of a Western toilet uses as much water as the average person in the developing world uses for a whole day for washing, drinking, cleaning and cooking. Jamal Saghir estimates that half of the world's population - mostly in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia - may face severe water shortages by 2025.

Ever since the demand for water has hit the limits of limited supply, possible conflicts are brewing between nations that share transboundary freshwater reserves. More than 50 countries on five continents are caught up in water quarrel. Awaited solution to diffuse water conflict can be inevitable with cooperation within the country and between the countries. The laws are not enough in defining and regulating the use of shared water resources.

Long back the science editor of the Guardian reported that two billion people rely on underground water supplies. As water tables sink worldwide, experts worry that the most vulnerable population - small farmers in poor rural areas - will suffer the most. Our water situation is an emergency, and it should be dealt with as such.

The water giants are seeking to control the system around the world. They treat water as a commodity and awarding its control to big intercontinental companies. Due to increased consumption and pollution, water has become the “blue gold” of the 21st century. Yet instead of ensuring the fundamental human right to access clean water, global trade agreements follow the dominant economic philosophy of the “Washington Consensus.”

The Middle East thirst became the deadly thirst when in an attempt to secure its water supply Israel signed an “arms-for-water” deal with Turkey in 2004.

Still water is becoming a matter of life and death. One out of two Africans will be living in countries facing water scarcity. Why can’t we have improved water management, as well as external financing for water infrastructure projects? What if "Attitude and behavior problems" on the part of national leaders lie at the heart of the worldwide water crisis? Lack of access to water is creating a non-human environment. It’s leading to frustration, poverty and finally fostering terrorism. Why cant water work as a pathway to peace? Why can’t Countries build trust and prevent conflict by coming together to jointly manage their shared water resources. Why cant a process of establishing cooperation begin on time before serious conflict is blown up which can make it difficult for nations to sit around a negotiating table together.The Indus basin offers a good example. After their independence in 1947, India and Pakistan nearly went to war over the waters of the Indus but Eugene Black used his good offices to mediate the dispute, a long but ultimately successful effort that culminated in the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.

Water wars or water peace is in our hands I think.