Bagh Day

The debris-laden garden was the venue of a peaceful public meeting held to protest the martial law imposed by the Lt. Governor of Punjab, Michael O' Dwyer. Just after the meeting had begun, Dyer marched in at the head of 50 soldiers. He stationed his men on either side of the entry and without a word of warning opened fire with machine guns on the people. For ten full minutes while the trapped Indians screamed for mercy the soldiers fired 1,650 rounds. The result was a stampede. Many jumped into a well in the garden while others tried to scale the walls to get out. Convinced that he had done a "jolly good thing" Dyer withdrew leaving the wounded and the dying to fend for themselves.

The Jallianwala Bagh lies in the heart of the walled city of Amritsar and at the heart of our struggle for independence. For it was bagh, in the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa April 13, 1919, that a massacre involving the killing of hundreds of unarmed, defenseless Indians was ordered by Brigadier-General R.E.H. Dyer. This was a turning point in the history of Anglo-Indian relations, more decisive than even the first war of independence. A committee was formed with Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya as president to raise a memorial to perpetuate the memory of the martyrs.

The bagh was acquired from the Jallewala sardars on August 1, 1920 but the actual construction of the memorial had to wait until after Independence. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President on April 13, 1961, inaugurated the monument, and befittingly named the Flame of Liberty. The central 30-foot high pylon, a four-sided tapering structure of red stone standing in the midst of a shallow tank, is built with 300 slabs with the Ashoka Chakra, the national emblem, cast on them. On all four sides of the pylon the words, In memory of martyrs, 13 April 1919, is inscribed in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. Bullet holes are carefully preserved under thick glass frames. The well, now enclosed holds no water, only coins tossed by those who come to pay homage. At the adjoining martyrs' gallery the Jallianwala Trust files have recorded details of condemnation that followed the massacre.

Dyer was unrepentant when the British Parliament passed strictures against him. The Lt. Governor of Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer was shot dead 21 years later in London by Udham Singh, who was executed within months. Udham Singh's portrait rests in the gallery with the famous lines from his trial inscribed below, “What greater honour can be bestowed on me than death for the sake of my motherland?”

2050: Closure

2050 for the past year and a half has been an amazing journey. Loved all earlier posts, but sadly it did not hit the mark, did not reflect the point we're trying to make.

For me 2050 means more than typical posts, 2050 is a landmark and a goal to achieve. And thus, we will be going on a short break. I will remove everyone from the member list.

For the rebirth, anyone interested in the genuine idea of blogging till the year 2050 and think that they can do it often (one a week) please do drop me a mail so that I can add you.

Thank you for all you support all this time. Memories will be cherished, writings will remain forever.

America, India and their role in global security

Today, the United States stands as a global colossus -- economically, militarily, and culturally. Yet even at this moment of unparalleled influence, the unipolar Pax Americana that emerged from the end of the Cold War is slowly being replaced by a multi-polar global order. This process may be slow, but it is inevitable.

With the rise of Asian powers like China and India reclaiming their historic place in the world economy, and as Europe integrates into a single economic bloc, the US will be forced to fundamentally re-think the very foundation of its foreign alliances that have served it so well during the Cold War. Similarly, the world will need to re-imagine its global institutions such as the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which were designed for a world order that no longer exists.

More immediate than these longer-term shifts in world power are the threat of global terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and the looming environmental degradation � that already pose a clear and present danger to our way of life.

It is because of these challenges, both near-term and long-term, that this column argues America must reach out for new allies, and that its focus must expand from Europe to Asia.

Today Asia is home to half the world's population, and is witnessing dramatic economic growth. It also contains the world's most explosive conflicts. The arc of instability now stretches from the Middle East to North Korea. An America that is no longer the only truly global power should reach out to rising nations of Asia to secure not only its own interests but also to maintain global peace and security.

Within Asia, it is specifically to India that America should turn its focus.

Bound by common values of democracy and secularism, and challenged by the same forces of terrorism and fundamentalism, America and India are moving towards a remarkable congruence of interests, and importantly, pose no strategic threat to each other. Furthermore, both countries must recognise and accommodate the rise of China, arguably the biggest global political dislocation since the rise of the US itself.

It is hoped that China's rise will be peaceful and benevolent, but we cannot pretend to ignore it could also pose profound challenges to both countries. Such challenges may occur not only in terms of economic interests, but also in terms of core values such as democracy and the rule of law. As the world's largest democracies, a US-India security partnership will be vital to global security and stability as the world's balance of power moves from Europe to Asia.

We do not limit ourselves to advocating for a stronger US-India relationship in isolation. Our intention is to examine and explore all world events from the perspective of this nascent relationship, in the belief that a US-India partnership will serve as the foundation of a new global security paradigm.

This is not an argument for an expansion of NATO into Asia, particularly given Asia's colonial history. Nor do we argue that a 'European NATO' should be replaced by an Asian kind.

Europe is still important. But the days are gone when the free world was challenged by one single enemy as during the Cold War, with Europe serving on its front lines. Any new security understanding needs to be global in scope, and flexible enough to be able to respond to a myriad challenges, hence making the one-for-all formal alliance embodied in NATO impractical in the future.

Countries may respond differently to different threats, and the nature of cooperation should not be limited to a narrow definition of security. An example of the kind of global security cooperation that we will see more of in the future, occurred after the Asian tsunami, when the US, Indian, Japanese and Australian navies jointly coordinated a rapid relief effort until the United Nations was able to take over its responsibilities.

We believe global challenges require global solutions and that, ultimately, countries sharing the same values and challenged by the same threats will come together to ensure their common security. Accordingly, democracies across the world should be encouraged to contribute to such a globalised security understanding.

However, we believe it is the US-India partnership that must be at the core of any future global security structure. India, alone among the democracies of Eurasia, is continental in size, and has the potential to project a military force that can truly work in partnership with the US.

This piece is written unashamedly from an American point of view. Yet this column is not designed to be an intellectual exercise in strategic relations among Washington think tanks. Rather, it serves as a strong advocate for a US-India strategic partnership, in the firm conviction that such a partnership is critical for US long-term interests, and the foundation for a future global security paradigm. The inherent advantage to American and Indian interests makes such a partnership inevitable.

Source: Rediff.com

who is Middle Class?

very Often we hear about term Middle Class, Lower Class & Upper Class while talking about India. with Economy as indicator -- How can we define in measurable scale..!! with that Quest, I gather information to compiled this blog.

With a per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under US $1000, India is often regarded as a poor nation. Over 300 million Indians live with incomes comparable to the least in the world's other acknowledged poverty zone - sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the deep poverty of the country is borne unequally by lower income groups within this population. 46% of the income is accounted for by the top one-fifth of the people, while the lowest one-fifth accounts for only 8% of incomes. Even this breakdown presents only an incomplete picture; in fact the top 10% alone earns 33% of all income.

This large-scale deprivation has a curious companion - a grossly incorrect understanding of what the term 'middle class' means. The median family income in India is approximately Rs.4500 a month. By its conventional definition, the middle class includes families whose incomes lie between 75% and 125% of the median. Families with monthly incomes over Rs.6000 are thus above the 'middle class' line, and families earning more than Rs.8000 or 9000 a month are certainly among the top fifth of the nation. Still, among the urban salaried class that constitutes most of the audience for media outlets, many believe themselves to be members of the middle class. The view that they obtain 'middle class' incomes is widespread among many such families.

What's more, with proficiency in English largely confined to those who can afford private education, nearly everyone who can fluently say 'middle class families like mine' is almost certainly part of the India's economic elite.

Mudhal Payanam

Live the Dreams, Remember the Past

[+] KLK-MudhalPayanam



[+] 6 More days for closure. 2050 Closing Down in 6 Days.

Little did i know!

Lightning struck my heart
When I saw you down the lane
Arrows of your sharp features
Pierced through my soft features
I was rooted to my place
As you occupied my heart’s empty space
you were nearing me
My heart was nearing to burst open
You smiled at me as you passed me
Making my heart hammer against me
I gathered myself together
And wondered if I will see you again
Little did I know

I saw u in the park bench
Buried behind newspapers
But I knew it was you
Coz my heart said so
I sat next to you
To see if you will smile again
That melts me allover again
Yes, you did smile
And made me fly a mile
‘Jogging’ u asked me
I nodded in reply
‘Can I join you?’ u asked me
I wonder what I told you
But we jogged all around the lane
Till the end of the lane
I gathered myself together
And wondered if I will see you again
Little did I know

You came everyday
We jogged everyday
In one of the jogging sessions
Came our confessions
I do not know if it was you who made it
I do not know if it was me who made it
But both of us knew it, that
I was the sister whom you lost
You were the brother whom I lost
In the tragedy 10 years back
I gathered myself together
And wondered how you recognized me
Little did I know
That a new face from a plastic surgery
Doesn’t hide my old face to you.


Zanychild
Driving people insane as always

Living...once life..

Over the years, our inbox were flooded with FWDs with speeches/articles of various personality from all walks of life (business executive, entrepreneurs, spiritually leaders, authors, celebrities,..) on this very topic - Life, whatz important in life? 100s-ways to lead happy life,?. with great appreciation of life, caring my past as memories, enjoying daily surprising experience as it comes, and with heavy baggage of culture/society thinking & belief, I continue my quest for better life - one with wisdom/knowledge/so called ways-to-lead-happy-life, while living a happy & exciting life...

Consistent contradiction of benefits of knowing too much vs. ignorance is bliss - its were is started. did ever gave hard thought about "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life..".? in certain ways I couldn't compile to this rules(so-to-speak). my attempt was unsuccessful - in someways or not, I had too infact sometimes we all are influenced by our emotions. its very romantic to say "live your life and dont live in results of others thinking.." but practically we trapped in thinking for living for our loved ones(parents/friends/spouse/children/..) in someways. our purpose and sense somehow doesnt go beyond. reason may be many..limit of knowledge/sense-of-understanding, whatever.. but by pursuit what we interpret and implement(half-barked) results in isolation mentally/thinking/lifestyle/intellectually from our loved ones(parents/friends) because its takes our thinking away from what they know and believed in...result is: we lead complex lifestyle & perform balancing act between what we know and what we were taught.

Someways, I envy someone with ignorance(is bliss). if you dont know what you are missing you dont miss anything. I dont claim to be intellect, but an individual who would understands the difference. unfortunate/fortunate but I cannot avoid thinking:

• Much in life are directed by things preceding me, therefore out of my control.
• Our mind will somewhat be polluted by public discourse(/superego - the division of the unconscious that is formed through the internalization of moral standards of parents and society, and that censors and restrains the ego)...
• I cannot escape your emotions and it will always interfere with my sense of truth..
• Always been a major distortion between what I know, what I will be able to communicate, and what people will then understand.
• We are ultimately subject to forces beyond us, natural selection, laws of acceleration,etc.
• What people tell you or how others view you will inevitably affect you.
• You will sometime be subject to the needs of your containing vehicles: physical body, relationships, family, house, nation, car, etc.. and because of the nature of time, everything that persists requires maintenance.

it's hard to say whether I act based upon these dirty truths. perhaps, the proper way is to live in transcendence of these rules--i.e.. to keep up with an idealistic conception of life.

It's old adage, that for every answer there are two new questions. No matter how deep we penetrate any issue, or what we do to improve ourselves, our environments, our existence, there will always be an infinite number of steps before us. The process is one that never ends... as much as I hate to admit it, I love this game-of-life and cannot help thinking that's very reason why life is more exciting, and in those ugly truths all that it is reflected our wish to let it go on and on.

but then, may be its just me.. may be because of I am currently living in land of Socrates & Plato, may be I have too much of time, may be I am very happy man unnecessary complicating less complex life or may be only ugly, banal, truth is that happiness might be boring...

The Pit of Struggles

I woke up to a bright sunny…err… wait a sec….it isn’t bright or sunny….instead it is pitch dark...oh maybe I am sleeping still….’wake up sleepy head’….I open my eyes wide open, still it is pitch dark….I try to look at my watch…it shows 6 :00 am….then wat is the matter? Why is everything pitch dark….I look next to me to find that my mother is not sleeping next to me…where could she have gone? And I see three people clad in white approaching me…..I strain my eyes and adjust them to the darkness…and see the three figures clearly…one is a woman and the other two are men…they come to me
‘Welcome to the pit of struggles’ says one of the men who is slightly taller than the others
‘We r the 3 wise people of struggles’ says the lady with them
I blink….what the heck is happening around me?
‘I am the director of this pit, she is the managing director and he is the assistant director’ says the man who is shorter…
I blink once again and ask them if this is some king of a joke?
They then ask me to look above…over thousands and thousands of foot above me I see a small glitter….the lady tells me that, that is my goal in life…
I am confused….what goal….who are all these crazy people??
As if reading my mind…the taller man says…that is the goal I am supposed to reach in my life…and the purpose of my life…
I laugh out! What the hell….I myself do not know wat my goal is…and here are three people defining my goals??
I then say to them…I want to get out of this spooky place and want to return back home…
The lady smiles at me and says…that even they want the same thing to happen…and for that to happen she says I have to reach my goal….
Me ‘!!!?????’
What the hell is happening around me! Is this some kind of a fantasy movie?
How can I reach that goal which is thousands and thousands of feet above me I ask them?
They reply that, that is why I am here…in this pit…this pit of struggles…which has to be overcome with the torch light of hope, and they give me a small pen torch…
I give them a confused look, to which they say…this is the torch light of hope…
Err…excuse me….I say….
With this teeny weenie torchlight of hope I am supposed to reach that goal….up...Up …above me…
they nod and smile at me….
That is impossible….I cry
They smile for this too…
And say this torchlight will show you the way of light you have to follow….
But what if I do not want to reach my goal? I ask them
They reply that only those highly ambitious people fall into this pit at a certain point of their life!
I laugh that they might have been mistaken…I am not that ambitious person….
They laugh back saying…all my ambitions are deep inside me…I have developed them gradually when I grew up…without me realizing it…that they are aching deep inside me to burst out….and only if I reach this goal of mine will I be able to get back to my world satisfied …. There is no other way out of this pit…
I yell ‘What the heck?’…..only I did not use heck….I used the F word….all three people shake their heads and mutter ‘Kids these days…..’
I shout back saying I am not a kid….I am an 18 year old adult….and ask them to go to where they have come from…I do not want to climb up the pit- I shout…it is soo unfair…
They just look down at me….with I do not know….if it was a look of pity or sympathy….
I sit there for a few minutes…with these weird people….they do not seem to be going…and I finally give up…
‘Ok seems like I do not have an option’
They smile at me again….
They and their bewitching smiles…I mutter to myself!
I get on my feet….they ask me to hold on to the walls of the pit with both my hands…and feel the rock wall…and use the clefts in it to climb….
I blink….but I have to hold a torch also….how am I supposed to do that?…
They smile asking me to hold the torch in my mouth…
I just shake my head…saying why can’t they give me a rope…and what if I do not know how to climb…
They smile saying I will find a rope halfway through my journey….and they very well know that I know to climb...they have seen me climb on the pipes of my house to reach my room…when I return home late….
Oops…how long have these weird people been watching me…?
I question back…what about others who fall in this pit…who do not know to climb?
They smile… (That bewitching smile!!!)...When in the pit of struggles...worry only about thyself….they said.
I show them a face…and start climbing…cursing under my breath….and I heard them cheering for me from below…..I very much need it right now!!
And they shout at me to be aware of snakes and other dangerous things….
Yikess!
I fall down again….they hold me…and say ‘we only said beware…we did not ask you to shout and lose your grip…you can overcome everything that comes your way’
And they also tell me…if I fall back again….definitely a set of hands will be there to hold me….those are hands of my well-wishers…
I continue this journey….keeping a watch for snakes….and I fall many times….and I am caught every time by a set of hands… and it puts me back on my foot….and I notice that every time it is a different set of hands….once I felt them like the hands of my mother…I also find a rope….and after endless hours I reach the glitter I saw from deep down below….it is no longer a glitter…it is beaming at me with such ferocity that it blinded me…..it looks like a big space of light….as I went near it….it engulfed me…and I felt warm all around me…….’Ouch’ I banged my head somewhere…
I get up with a start…I have been sweating….where am I?….I look around and find that I am in my room, in my bed……I can hear my mother calling for me to get up….she says it is getting late for college…..I wonder if what I experienced was a dream….when something brushes against my arm….I look down…it is the torch light of hope!

Zanychild
Driving people insane as always!