Is it, inspiration or envy?

 

Let us for a moment be selfish and examine this in material terms. 

Envy is toxic, just by its presence. Not only does it corrode us  from within, it destroys everything it touches.  

On the other hand Inspiration provides so much for so little. Inspiration gives us hope, courage and energises us to better ourselves without us even making a conscious effort, to do so. 

Need I say, which is the better choice?

The sole purpose of travelling on the spiritual journey is for the salvation of one's soul. In that sense being spiritual, is to be selfish. Selfish being defined as 'being concerned about oneself'.

If we remove all vestiges of morality imposed on us by organised religious, selfishness is the natural condition of man.  To accept that selfishness is a virtue in an increasingly socialistic society, is to attract scorn and even abuse. This is not unusual for more abuse is heaped on speakers of the truth than those that mislead, lie and cheat. 

The spiritual journey does not permit a being to carry any baggage, be it material, emotional or intellectual. That is why the great masters ask disciples to shed this baggage.

Summary

Everyone has faults but they also have goodness.

A 2500 year old philosophy proposed by Chanakya still holds true, today.

Acceptance or rejection of goodness makes all the difference between being inspired or become jealous. If we are inspired we will change for the better, if we grow envious we will regress.

One cannot frighten the brave.

Since childhood, I have seen Communist Chinese constantly bully and dominate India. The latest Chinese incursions and aggression has received a befitting reply by brave Indian soldiers, supported by firm leadership. It has shocked many and non more than the Chinese People's Liberation Army themselves. 

I am reminded of an incident  in the life of our family where my Uncle, Sardar Manohar Singh ji, effectively took on some bullies, and I can share that experience with you.

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Arriving in India from Burma as refugees in 1965, father and uncle decided to establish  a manufacturing unit in Pune. One day in 1968, when I was a 10 year old boy my brother andI had accompanied my uncle to the factory site where construction of the factory was underway.  

Around noon, a nasty man, accompanied by a handful of men swaggered onto the site. We learnt much later that the man was a notorious local goon. 

The goons manner was extremely aggressive, he demanded to know from my uncle, " Are you the owner?" 

Uncle sensed trouble and cooly replied,  "Yes I am the owner. How can I help you?"

The goon pointed a threatening finger at uncle, "We don't want people like you, here. Pack up and leave. I don't want to see you here from tomorrow." 

Uncle walked slowly towards the bully and glared defiantly at him. The goon jabbed a finger in my uncle's chest and repeated himself now heaping abuses.

The man had no idea who he was dealing with. 

Our father and uncle were World War II survivors. Though civilians, their village in Burma ( now Myanmar) was close to the conflict. between the Japanese and the Allied forces. 

They lost everything they owned in the destruction unleashed by the war. In addition they were often detained, beaten up, bombed, shot at, strafed, and much more. They had witnessed death and torture up close. They had stared at, and evaded certain death by sheer grit, cunning, and good fortune.  Uncle knew what violence, fear and death was, and nothing seemed to faze him, plus he was a Khalsa Sikh jovial, friendly and kind yet insanely fearless.

Like a Cobra, suddenly my Uncle's hand shot out and caught the goon's jugular in a pincer grip. With the other hand he grabbed the goon's testicles and squeezed.

The goon writhed in pain, as his eyes almost popped out. He screamed but no sound could escape his constricted throat. uncle Manohar slowly and torturously edged the goon towards the perimeter of the plot. There he gave him a shove and a kick in his chest. The goon went sprawling and lay still on the road, not daring to move nor say anything. 

Now Uncle pointed his finger at the goon and said, "I don't want to see you here again, the next time you might not be so lucky"

The stooges picked up their leader and fled. That was the end of all kinds of hooliganism. 

Father and uncle built the factory,  and the company prospered,  eventually, employing 5,800 employees by 1996 -1997.

Bullies at heart are cowards. They build their notoriety by beating some weak entities and then let their reputation work on intimidating and frightening their future targets.

They never dare to attack someone strong, lest they receive a bloody nose or even worse a drubbing.  Such an outcome destroys the dastardly reputation they carefully build.

All it takes is courage and the willingness to accept pain and difficulty. 

Once people realise that the goon can be effectively tackled, with firmness, and some guts, the bully is finished, eventually abandoned by all.

'Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that, some things are more important than fear.'

This lesson provides a clue on how to possibly handle the bully called China.

This I will cover in my next article.

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Written and Posted: Jun 2020  ~ Gurvinder Singh.

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Interesting Links:
Burma campaign - Wikipedia
Japanese conquest of Burma - Wikipedia

Why are Muslims lagging behind?

Every society has some form of social stratification. In India this was originally done on the basis of one's knowledge, skills and merit, called 'Varna' Over the centuries it kept on degrading until it came to be based on birth rather than merit.
Thus powerful non meritorious groups cornered most of the rights and wealth and oppressed the weaker.

This lead to the easy conquest of India by foreign invaders initially Muslim and later European. The promise of Islam to the downtrodden was, that they would be released from their social bondage and be equal amongst all others. This hope was dashed for the people who converted from Hinduism to Islam still remain unfulfilled, and in fact have gotten worse.

Little known to most people is that Muslims of the Indian sub continent are still subject to exploitation, not by others, but by their fellow Muslims.

Since there is no acknowledgement of the caste system and distinct and fairly rigid social stratification in Muslim society, no solutions have been sought.

As a result Hindu Dalits receive greater opportunities for education and economic progress than the Muslim Dalits, who are held back by their faith and their society whose places little or no emphasis of education of Muslims.

While rest of India has progressed, it is indeed a sad state of affairs for the Muslim population who continue to be oppressed and discriminated by their fellow Muslims.

When things are unsatisfactory or bad, people usually can analyse their situation in two ways.
1. Why have we fallen behind,  and do we need to do to catch up and overtake others?
Those who take this approach, assume responsibility and make progress. Unfortunately they represent are a very small minority.

2. The second and dangerous is to ask, 'Who did this to us?'
Muslim clerics and the political leadership of the Muslims have convinced the vast majority of Muslims that they must seek revenge against one and all who are not Muslim for their own plight. So America and Europe, communists or Hindus and Buddhists are at blame.

Blaming others helps to stir up passions and demands for revenge and provides a convenient escape route to leaders of the Muslim community who have failed and continue to fail our Muslim brothers and sisters.

If the vast majority of Muslims are angry and frustrated they are probably justified. This anger is manifesting itself in many negative ways which rather than benefitting, is further harming the Muslims themselves.

Below is given the Caste System and its historical development along with relevant links for the interested reader.

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Majority of the Muslims in the Indian sub-continent are treated with total disdain and disrespected not only by Arab Muslims but also by high caste Indian Muslims.

Though this goes against the teachings of Islam, in reality, almost all Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani people who got converted to Islam are considered lowly.

The High Castes of Muslims in India are called  'Ashraf' (noble)
All the descendants of Muslim invaders are Ashraf
In terms of hierarchy they are as follows.

1. Syed      (Those who trace their direct ancestry to the Prophet Muhammad)
2. Shaikh   (Those who are of direct Arab ancestry)
3. Mughal  (Those who trace their direct ancestry to Mongols, Turks, Uzbeki etc.)
4. Pashtun (Those who trace their direct ancestry to Iran and Afghanistan)
Then there are the high caste converts like Muslim Rajputs

Amongst Muslims, virtually all economic, social, cultural and political power is in the hands of the Ashraf who are a small minority amongst Muslims (approximately 15%)

Indians who got converted to Islam, and their descendants are considered lowly, by the Ashraf and called 'Ajlaf '(low born),  they are bracketed as the lower castes of Muslims in India

Discriminated and untouchable groups of Islam in the Indian subcontinent and include the  following;

Julaha (weaver),  Ansari, Kunjra, Dhobi, Halalkhor Qasai (butcher), Nai (barber),

Arzal (Dalit) which included sweepers, shoe-makers, etc. were considered even the lowest of the low born of the Ajlaf are the Dalit Muslims.


Education and geographical mobility has changed the profession of many Muslims, but they are still classified by their earlier family professions.  There is some mixing between the different categories, but the percentage is so small that its negligible. Thus the advent of Islam has not changed the social status of most Muslims particularly the lowest and poorest in Muslim society.

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Murder of Democracy

Leaders and the ideologies they propound ask a fundamental question, 'Is Humanity basically good or bad?'

Those who believe that Humanity is basically bad, unabashedly seek to concentrate power in their hands and dominate the masses with the help of a relatively small group of loyalists and supporters. It is usually centred around an ideology and a few personalities.

However whenever one entity tries to dominate another, conflict will naturally occur, as Theocracies, Dictatorships, Monarchs and Communists have discovered. 

Each type of domination has its advantages and disadvantages. The more overt the domination more the hostility. When domination is covert and subtle, the less the opposition by the dominated. 

Democracy has the unique distinction of the masses to choose who will dominate them, if even for a short while. Naturally  the people are more accepting of democracy than any other form of rule. 

Democracy is not a new concept it has existed in various forms for thousands of years. An interesting note is available on Wikipedia What is Democracy?

Though I quote American President John Adams, America is not the originator of democracy, though it is the loudest proponent of its own kind of democracy.

Known Western Democracy originated in Europe with Athens 508 -507 B.C.E. and then other City states and across Greece then Roman empire. It then spread across Europe and finally through post Colonial efforts it spread across the world.

In a democracy the politicians have to woo the electorate. This is relatively easy. They break up the electorate into tribes, religions, genders, race, caste, and then grant each group in the electorate with favours and privileges. With passage of time the tail increasingly wags the dog.

Wooing the electorate with the wealth of the state is easy. The politicians don't have to spend their own money, they just take it out of the State treasury and distribute it. 

As appeasement grows, which it will always do so in a democracy, more and more power and privileges flow to certain groups and the drain on the exchequer deepens. 

This is because in a democracy wealth flows from the producers to the non producers in the name of 'equality'. As a result the State sinks deeper and deeper spiritually, financially, socially, morally and culturally.

Naturally a State weakened by the burden of unsustainable load can no longer indulge the people. When governments cannot afford to indulge and bribe the electorate, restrictions are placed on the people and sacrifices are demanded of them.  First the people will grow angry, then furious and finally riots and violent protests will break out and one day democracy will collapse.

When this happens another form of government will step in, promising  to try and set things right. This new form of government will be very centralised and highly authoritative. The people will have lost their freedom and democratic rights. 

This calamity of the death of democracy may be delayed by a wise population but its death is inevitable. That too, only if the people exercise their electoral and citizenship rights with responsibility as long as they can.

While on the topic one must look at a different kind of Socialistic Democracy that was practiced in India for 2000 years until the Muslim invaders tampered with it and the British completely dismantled it. 

Until this invasion on India's civilisational political structure India had a different kind of vibrant democracy. A system where every village was a Republic. 

In the Indian democratic system called the 'Asiatic Model' the people in society held much their resources in a common pool. The villagers themselves decided upon everything that impacted their lives through their Panchayat system (reintroduced in 1992). They paid their taxes to the ruler but otherwise they just minded their own affairs without any significant interference from a government bureaucracy and the ruling elites at the capitals.

The Cholas in South India had a well documented democratic electoral system in 920 C.E.  I am not sure there was any comparable system elsewhere in the world at that time.

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If people want to destroy society then ....

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What is Democracy?

'Truthification' - Why they convert a lie into a truth?

J Edgar Hoover

J. Edgar Hoover headed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of America and its 

predecessor organisation for 48 years (1924 -1972).  

In pursuit of so called, 'National Security', Hoover amassed great personal power by collecting large amounts of compromising and potentially embarrassing information on many powerful people, especially politicians. 

John F Kennedy

When John F Kennedy was campaigning for presidency of the United States (1962) he vowed to replace Hoover on becoming president.  

After becoming President, Kennedy never touched Hoover. On the contrary extended his term and powers as director of the FBI. 


When asked why he kept Hoover on as FBI director, JFK bluntly replied. 

"I would rather have Hoover inside the tent pissing outside, rather than have him outside pissing inside."

What is inside the tent? 
It's called 'The Establishment'. 

Figuratively speaking the establishment consists of all people of significant consequence, i.e. all the politicians, bureaucrats, officials, business people, judges, priests, media persons, and others, even criminals. They are the people in every society who make things happen or stop them from happening.
Figuratively speaking, this establishment which holds effective power is always inside the tent. 

The opposition and the 'want-to-be inside the tent' gang up, and as Kennedy said, piss inside on the establishment.  They hope to derail all initiatives, discredit the establishment and seek for their ouster so that they can occupy and establish themselves inside the tent.

Those inside piss out and those outside keep pissing inside. This pissing match between government and opposition is called domestic politics. Vested interests in the bureaucracy, judiciary, religious organisations, business people, join and indulge in this dirty game to ensure that their preferred choices win and become the establishment. It is usually a 'no holds barred' fight because they believe that the ends justify the means.

To win the match, it is necessary to win the minds of the people by convincing them that the existing establishment and leadership is unfit because of immorality, incompetence, corruption etc.  That the opposition is the best alternative. 

One of the greatest beneficiaries of the pissing match is the media. They are the carriers of the charges and the counter-charges, they make gold from piss. 
By providing entertainment full of drama, mystery, money, sleaze, violence, corruption etc. sprinkled with a few facts, the media becomes enormously wealthy, powerful and influential.

Until now the media was almost the sole life giving and taking agency for politicians and their supporters. Thanks to social media their monopoly is constantly reducing, main stream media remains incredibly powerful.

With power always comes arrogance and corruption. They perceive themselves as makers and true leaders of society. They cannot remain neutral and play favourites.

The media become the shouting agents to smear (damage the reputation by false accusations or slander) entities and philosophies, culture and religions etc. undesirable with as much filth as they can get away with, without crossing a line which will cause the public to react adversely. 

Nancy Pelosi

How does this smear campaign work?
Ms. Nancy Pelosi leader of the Democratic political party and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, a political veteran, explains how 'The Wrap up Smear' works.

First a politician or an academic or some person from an NGO or civil society will spew out allegations. 

Then one or a couple of  media sources will quote them, then a flood of allegations will be made by the media.
The politicians, will then quote the media and a falsehood becomes a perceived truth in the domestic and international public's mind.

Pinging and ponging, the allegations are bandied about endlessly and the the issue kept alive in the public's eyes and minds. 
In all the smearing and dirty tricks business the truth gets buried under an avalanche of lies. 

The main stream media has played this game too long for anyone's good.
Now Social media allows individuals to verify and provide counter views not from a corrupted press but from other individuals.

Now politicians and groups with vested interests are either conducting their own Social media campaigns or taking the assistance of the same  mainstream media who are taking to Social media themselves (with little impact).

We have to remember there are no truths just perceptions. He who wins the battle of the mind of the people will also win their hearts, and bodies. They will walk away with enormous power, influence and of course, a lot of money.

As a result of their perceived lack of integrity, Main Stream Media is losing ground and influence not only to individuals but also to  technology companies like Facebook, Twitter YouTube etc. 

Contrary to what we may like to believe, no mater who provides us the news, 
We the people are not the beneficiaries of news, we are the pawns and the victims.

____________________________________

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Can't you dress like a gentleman?

During a visit to England, an Englishman asked the great Swami Vivekananda ji, who wore traditional Indian clothes,
"Why don't you wear proper clothes to look like a gentleman?"

Swami ji's response was,

"Maybe, here, its the tailor that makes a gentleman, in our country its character"

_____________________

An excess of economic  wealth is as harmful as poverty. Wealthy societies begin to decay because they grow clueless of what to do with their wealth and their time.

Such a society is identified by numerous and elaborate social rituals and an excess focus on political correctness.  This keeps the idle rich and powerful busy and intrigued.

This is nothing new . In ancient Rome, two months in a year would be seen, devoted to exotic and lavish entertainment, this is why the Coliseum was built. It kept the poor enthralled and distracted. 

The greater the disparity in living standards between the rich and the common people, the more complicated, superficial and grandiose the rituals and social standards of the rich become. It also sets the ridiculous standards of success and happiness, to which the poor might aspire.

Practicality is sacrificed at the altar of ridiculous fashion. Character and human values are replaced by gaudy displays of wealth and glamour. So enamoured do we become that we often lose touch with reality. The fake become accepted as valuable and the things of true value are shunned. 

In this world did Swami Vivekananda ji visit when he went to England. He was mobbed by people and seekers of truth. We normally mock the unique because it differs from the collective. The great are nor ashamed of their uniqueness, rather they use into their advantage to attract people to their message and cause.

This also indicates that you can seize all my land and all my resources, but you shall never seize my soul or my beliefs. No wonder Swami Vivekananda ji is the youth icon of India 

Unsung Heroes - Ramesh Butani

Sometimes I get to spend time with my aged friends, Vimla and her husband the 92 year old Ramesh Butani. As our friendship grew so did I discover a hero.

Here are some of his experiences.
On 8th Aug 1942, Mahatma Gandhi launched the 'Quit India' movement, to unite all Indians, in all out effort to oppose British rule of India and become independent.



At that time, Mr. Ramesh Butani aged 17 and three of his other juvenile Sindhi college student friends living in the city of Hyderabad (Sindh) decided to join the freedom struggle. Malkani one of the friends knew the very rich Indian buisnesman,  Bhai Pratap Dialdas. They went to him to seek counsel. He asked "What do you think you can you do, for our freedom struggle?" 

Butani said, "I can write articles and Anand Panjwani here can help me distribute our message" Malkani and Shivdas Sahani said "We know how to make small bombs to create a scare amongst the British authorities."

Bhai Pratap said, "Whatever you need you arrange it. Whatever money you need its yours. Whatever resources you need but can't get it let me know and I will arrange to provide it to you. 


The four youngsters working in total secrecy, set up their base in a garage provided by Bhai Pratap. They got hold of a small hand press and other resources, along with various chemicals to make bombs. Every alternate night they would print a couple of hundred copies of some inflammatory message against the British and messages of motivation to Indians.  A typical poster had the motto  'Rebellion is my religion, revenge is my oath'.

Every now and then Malkani and Sahani would take the bombs and set them off in public places, to infuse a sense of panic amongst the British. They succeeded in their intent of causing a ruckus without killing anyone. 

In November 1942 the British police arrested the four friends. They were kept in jail for several months, beaten up regularly. They were grilled often by the police, to find out who was funding and supporting them. The young men said they were independent and had collected money by begging. The name of Bhai Pratap was never revealed.

The police sought the death penalty for the four but the prosecution could not establish a case and Malkani and Sahani, were found 'not guilty' by the court and set free. Unfortunately Butani and Panjwani were found to be 'guilty' and were sentenced to 20 lashes each.

The punishment was to be meted out in the backrooms one of the Police stations in Hyderabad. A tall and formidable Sikh soldier led Butani to the back, stripped him naked, strapped him down and when they were alone the Sikh wept.

He spoke softly in Hindi to Butani, "Please forgive me for doing this. I feel ashamed that I have to side with the British against my own people, but I dare not leave their service for then I too will be targeted." 
He continued, If I give you 20 lashes I am afraid I will kill you, and my officers sitting in the front room want that. However I will give you only 10 lashes and 10 times I will lash the wall. I know you will scream in pain when I lash you, but you must also scream even when I lash the  wall"

So harsh was the lashing that Butani was in hospital for 3 months and could walk again only after 5 months.

Butani ji stopped writing and printing inflammatory articles, but continued to join agitations wherever they were held. 

In 1943 a brave lady, the freedom fighter Aruna Asif Ali arrived in Hyderabad (Sindh) to spur people on in the fight for freedom. 

The British had announced an award of Rs 5,000 for her capture, because she was the nationalist who unfurled the Indian flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan, in Mumbai on 9 Aug 1942 which marked the commencement of the 'Quit India' movement. She took this courageous step, after the British authorities arrested all the Congress leaders.

Bhai Pratap had received information through his spy network that Aruna ji was marked to be arrested the next morning. There was no time to lose. He sent for and arranged for Shri. Jaitley and Shri. Butani to accompany and escort Aruna ji, safely out of Hyderabad. They travelled by foot and 'tonga' in disguise, she as a Muslim woman in a burkha, accompanied by Shri. Jaitley and Butani ji acting as her husband and young son respectively. 

With great difficulty they arrived at Kotri railway station where they boarded a train to Shikarpur. Once there Aruna ji secretly met with key people at a safe house arranged by Bhai Pratap.

 Butani and Jaitley with great difficulty managed to return to Hyderabad. All the heroes played their part and kept the flame of the freedom struggle burning bright. 


Soon thereafter young Butani ji, got a job as a reporter at the 'Sindh Observor' newspaper. His outstanding work saw him elevated to the post of assistant editor. He interviewed several times the future leaders of India, Jinnah, Nehru, Sardar Patil, Maulana Azad, etc.

On 14th August 1947 he quoted from Jinnah's speech as the first Governor General of Pakistan, 'Now that freedom is a reality, we should forget, Muslim animosity to other faiths, and  live and build a secular Pakistan." 

Unfortunately Muslim fundamentalists and extremists ruled the streets of Pakistan. They took exception to Butani's factual reporting on secularism statements of Jinnah. They sought to kill him. He took refuge in the home of Muslim well wishers and finally with the assistance of the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan fled to India on 9th Sept 1947.

The small built and frail looking Butani ji shows that courage and strength does not mean only physical strength.

Many Sindhis gave their blood, sweat, tears, money and lives for the freedom struggle. Rarely is their contribution acknowledged. 'Sindh's role in the freedom Struggle' by Baldev Gajra is an excellent reference on this subject.

Drop by drop, the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of such unknown and unsung heroes, created ripples, that grew into waves that eventually turned the tide against British occupation in favour of Indians and our freedom. 

To these countless unsung heroes, the people of undivided India owe their gratitude and debt. We salute you.

I want to be a politician

My friend Jaiprakash Singh, runs the 'Sujata School' in Hyderabad and Moinabad. 

During my visit to the school he requested me to speak to and motivate the young students in class 10, who were shortly due to leave school for college. The easiest thing to do in the world is, to lecture others especially the young and dole out unsolicited advice. Rather than lecture I prefer to have a dialogue with the young, for they never fail to surprise me with amazing new perspectives and their boundless enthusiasm and energy.


We spoke about several things and then a quick poll of the students revealed a great surprise. Several boys and girls said their career choice was to become politicians.

Wow! I never saw that coming.
I later realised that, we often ask what, but rarely why?
I have no definitive answers but yes a theory. 

Most people dream of being powerful, rich or famous. In India all these three things are possible in one profession represented by the Indian politicians of today. Politicians are a force that is not dependent on any other group in society. They are just one step below God in social standing.
All they need is a fig leaf of concern and service. 

Politics is the only profession in which no pre-qualification, formal training, skill acquisition or training is mandated or required. Politics is open for admission to all, and it seems to require no study or hard work.

Traditional Indian society had four classes. 
1. The warrior class who held the muscle power. 
2. The priestly class who were custodians of society's knowledge and wisdom. 
3. The traders who had most of  the money and controlled commerce. 
4. The working class, who had the skills to provide products and services and also those who tilled the land, the farmers.  

This arrangement ensured that no one group controlled more than one lever of power. This provided balance in society because each group was interdependent on the others. The is why India was an economic success and social stability, and there was no social unrest or revolution for over 5000 years.

Now in post independent India there has been a convergence. The people with muscle power now also have financial and administrative power. They are the politicians. Sadly they have made irrelevant religion and education by subjugating and corrupting them.

Though there are exceptions, it is generally believed that politicians exist only to serve themselves. 

During their team as elected officials, they are magically transformed into business and property tycoons. Their wealth grows by leaps and bounds sometimes a thousand fold in 5 years.They usually live in palatial homes and estates, and are surrounded by incredible luxury.  If you smell an incredible amount of money, you can be pretty sure a politician is nearby. 


Politicians are extraconstitutional authorities. Yes I know about that humbug, that everyone is equal under the law and as per the constitution. Politicians are not under the law, they are above it. The entire government administrative machinery is at their disposal. Their power comes by controlling criminal elements, the law and order machinery, the keys to the vault etc. Politicians withhold funds from opponents and those who do not pay, while granting favours and projects usually to cronies, themselves, their kith and kin through front men or to others for a fee. They usually misdirect tax and regulatory authorities to harass and destroy any voice that speaks or even contemplates speaking against them. They are powerful and they have no qualms about demonstrating it, and flexing their muscles often.

Famous, they are. Other than film stars and cricketeers media reports primarily on politicians. They cover almost every action, and expression. They hang on to every word politicians utter, as if it were holy gospel. This encourages more useless and often harmful verbal diarrhea. The media uses this 'info-tainment' to often fake concern for the people and affairs of the nation to make money while irresponsibility abounds

Kids are impressionable and they learn quickly, particularly fast the things that are not good. Is it any any wonder that politics is the preferred profession for many youngsters?

Isn't it wonderful that India is the worlds's largest democracy?

Price and Rewards of War.

Leaders both political and religious always seek to maximise the number of people who will willingly follow them. Followers who will obey the leaders blindly, and unquestioningly. More often than not, leaders command their followers to indulge in immoral, fear inducing, socially damaging activities to enrich themselves and enhance their 'power'. "We have to defend ourselves against non believers, for your God, religion, your brothers, for your country, for freedom, your rights, blah .... blah ..........blah. Go forth attack, and destroy." Guess what? There are more than enough indoctrinated people who will jump forward to blindly obey them. 'Honourable people' and youth are like a tinderbox, full of inflammable stuff and consumable energy. All they need is a spark. And leaders are happy to provide the trigger.

If there is a global axis of the evil, then its centre is Pakistan. propped up by massive funding, political and military support by Arab, Chinese and American interests. The army is Pakistan's largest economic group, political organisation. It owns factories, transport organisations, hospitals, hotels, etc. etc. Through their 'Fauji Foundation' the Pakistan army earns upwards of US$ 20 Billion per year. Like any successful business, it always takes steps to increase its earnings and power. An army's total domination and control of a nation can be accepted by its people, only in the face of external aggression and internal strife. If there is no threat, it has to be manufactured. Various Jihadi groups and fake threats from India and Afghanistan provide the justification to Pakistani leaders. They care little for Islam or Kashmiris, but use religion just as another set of weapons to justify their claims and manufacture another set of issues. The army leadership there has converted Pakistan into a mercenary country, that is willing to breed terrorists, kill and unleash mayhem for a fee. The rewards of war and terror accrue mainly to the Pakistani army along with their fanatical supporters in the Arab Gulf states, the American war machine and the expansionist Chinese. The price unfortunately has to be paid by all of humanity. The recent confessions of the Pakistani terrorist Daood Sayed Gillani also known as David Headly now in custody in USA, revealed nothing new, except act as a grim reminder to us that something has to be done. Clamouring for justice to the same Pakistani leadership, the same people who nurture terrorism as a state policy is naive and stupid. Sensible and courageous governments, must isolate rather than deal with Pakistan.

The declining oil revenues of Arab Gulf States, the mounting American debt and war fatigue that has set in, the strengthening cooperation that India now enjoys with both America and China could just be the best things to bring peace dividends for India and the world.

With this trend it appears likely that within 10 years to 15 years Pakistan will implode and break up into fragments. We however have to brace ourselves because things will get a lot worse before they might get better.

In any conflict there are no winners, just losers. Unless of course, you are a religious or political leader, financier, or trafficker of arms, drugs and people.