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OUR World

Can there be...

Can there be no progress without pillage?
Can there be no development without slaughter?
Can there be no news without propaganda?

Can there be no jobs without exploitation?
Can there be no sale without deceiving?

Can there be no food without profit?
Can there be no children without hunger?

Can there be no humans without greed?
Can there be no cities without rulers?
Can there be no world without misery?

Yes, there can be…
Of course

There can be equality and dignity for all
And rice also…

One day,

There will be love for people, not for things
There will be love for society, not for possessions

And one day, there will be a new world…

Jung-istan

The attacks in Mumbai were harrowing. Add to this the recent outrage in Gaza Strip. Terrorism is an imperative threat to mankind.

Be it the Hitler’s war on Jews or the American occupation of Palestine, Iraq and Latin ; be it the trouble in Afghanistan and Pakistan or be it ‘War on Terrorism’ itself; be it the Police shooting at innocent children and men in tribal regions of India or the army raping their (tribal) women; be it the attack on our Parliament or be it the bombings of cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Malegaon… the list just ceases to end; all claim innocent lives.

We must realize the significance of understanding the logic behind these ‘wars’, or else we are certain to fall prey to the deceptive propaganda laid out to drag us away from the real motives behind such brutal massacres.

All these wars are related to each other in some way or the other. Around 70% of America’s economy is war based / dependent. And so, America is obligated to sell off its bombs and choppers for its development. Clearly the common man doesn’t buy them.

So whom does America sell its weapons?

American officials have repeatedly admitted that ‘America needs enemies to survive, real or virtual…!’ And hence the Vietnam, Korea, Bolivia and Gulf Wars.

There is one more way by which America has egged on its weapon business. It has perpetually supported various militant organizations like Taliban and Al-Qaida. Where else do these terrorist outfits get their ‘state of the art’ weapons from?

Secondly, although America never admits it, but its economy has been in a terrible recession since long. For the last two decades, the best that it has managed is a growth of around 5%. Its Goliath MNCs have been ravenous for new markets. That’s the reason why America is always hell bent on forcing the third world countries to ‘open’ their economies for American companies (they force one-sided trade). But the third world countries realize the danger of doing that, and hence resist; Cuba and Venezuela being classic examples.

Most importantly, America has its eye on the vast oil reserves in the Gulf and in Latin America. And so it has always tried to establish military bases in countries of such strategic importance. But these countries have just not let America prevail.

These happen to be the major reasons of America waging or financing endless wars.

Humans cost less than dollars!

And to do all this, America needs to portray ‘somebody’ as the 'world enemy'. Probably that explains why is it that ‘Not all Terrorists are Muslims, BUT all Muslims are Terrorists’. So in the most sincere efforts to save the world from these ‘traitors’, America wages ‘War on Terror’, err ‘War on Muslims’!

The result, countless bomb and war victims in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere continue to roam around homeless, jobless, foodless and without medical attention. I ask you if this happens to you, would you ever protest and hit back to culminate this injustice, or would you choose to die a spineless and shameful death?

And when people start fighting for their rights, they are labeled as ‘terrorists’. We have striking examples to this in India as well. Some forces identify Bhagat Singh as a terrorist, don’t they? Film maker Ajay T G and maseeha Dr Binayak Sen is termed a Naxalite.

Even our media has joined hands with the swindlers. We read and see all sorts of stories about Muslims engaged in terror activities all over the globe. Why don’t we ever see even a glimpse of American atrocities in Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Asia? It’s easy to guess. The entire Indian media industry ‘buys news’ from the American and European media giants. Would they ever discuss their atrocities?

While analyzing the recent attacks in Mumbai, we conveniently put the blame on Pakistan. However, we can not afford to disregard the fact that even Pakistan has been subject to similar instances of terrorism. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. There have been countless suicide bombers creating menace all over in Pakistan. Even their five star hotels have been attacked repeatedly.

As a matter of fact, terrorism has very little to do with the culprits belonging to a certain religion, country or race. Terrorism rises from injustice and the prevalent Economic System. It's always the poor and unemployed who actually take part in such doings. Kasab was a poor worker’s son, not able to find a job! The ruling forces take advantage of this helplessness to ‘mould’ them into the beasts they become.

Fellow citizens, in tough times like these, teaming up to understand and wipe out the roots of terrorism seems to be the only rational step towards ensuring a peaceful and ‘livable’ world for us and our future generations. We need to recognize our role in fostering our society.

When the Protector becomes the Predator...

The Indian Army catchphrase "Do you have it in you?" used to fill my heart with all the josh and patriotism in the world. Not any more! Check this...

What Indian Army has done in the state of Manipur in the last 50 years is worse than what Modi did in Gujarat.

There is something known as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, better known as AFSPA. This is one of the most draconian pieces of legislature in Indian history, which states that in any area that is proclaimed as "disturbed", an officer of the armed forces has powers to:

• Fire upon or use other kinds of force even if it causes death
• To arrest without a warrant and with the use of "necessary" force anyone who has committed certain offences or is suspected of having done so
• To enter and search any premise in order to make such arrests

What's more, there can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal proceeding against anyone (officer / jawan) acting under that law. Nor is the government's judgment on why an area is found to be disturbed subject to judicial review.

And that is precisely what has happened in Manipur. Incidents of false encounters, custodial deaths, youths disappearing, young women being raped and killed are a common phenomenon.

Mister Prime Minister, Manipur is not 'DISTURBED'. It is 'BEING DISTURBED'. Consciously! On Purpose! And the Indian Army is the worst terror outfit a common Manipuri can think of!

Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee says the Act is a "symbol of oppression, instrument of high-handedness. But GoI has turned a deaf ear.

Many human rights activists have also demanded abolition of this brutal Act. Sharmila Irom is an icon of the struggle to dismantle AFSPA. She has been on an indefinite hunger strike since Nov 2000.

8.5 years is a long time...

She has been kept on alive on forced-feeding by the state. Her only demand - Repeal AFSPA.

Sharmila, you are not alone. We stand by you in your struggle for justice!

Fascist Incarceration of Dr Binayak Sen must End Immediately

Enough is enough! It is 2 years now!

Chattisgarh government has failed to prove any of its accusations (obviously fabricated) against Dr Binayak Sen. He has been accused of being a Naxalite, incarcerated and denied a bail repeatedly. 22 Nobel laureates and eminent intellectuals like Noam Chosky and Arundhati Roy have demanded immediate release of Dr Binayak Sen. Yet Indian government is not concerned. We ask, why?

Dr Binayak Sen completed his medical studies from a reputed college in Vellore, and later chose to lead a selfless life serving poor tribals in Chattisgarh. But he is not just a good hearted doctor. Dr Binayak Sen is a staunch human rights crusader. He was always critical of the state-sponsored terror in the name of Salwa Judum and strove to expose police atrocities on innocent tribals, which triggered his arrest.

In essence, Dr Sen was arrested because he was speaking the truth! He was arrested because he was fighting discrimination and unfairness.

In our country, people who raise voice against injustice are shown the gallows!

Is this Democracy?

Govt should BAN Bt Brinjal

The government decision to permit testing on Bt Brinjal is indeed unacceptable. It’s high time we should start learning from past mistakes. Bt Cotton, in spite of being promoted as farmer-friendly, has been a major contributor to the colossal farmer suicides in our country.

It is an established fact that Genetically Modified (GM) food is fatal for all life forms. Bt Brinjal has tested alarmingly negative on rats. The ill-effects are claimed to be observed in the second and third generations.

Promoters of GM crop seeds claim it to be a variety that requires less water and is pest-resistant. All these claims have already been proved fictitious by Bt Cotton!

Can government provide a justification for introducing artificial crops in agriculture when we don’t face any crisis, especially in case of Brinjals? Also, we have developed many organic approaches to fight pests.

The TRUE Women's Day

Every 8th March, we advocate for having a Men’s Day. The rationale being, that even men deserve a day for being pampered. The fact, however, remains that Women’s Day is NOT celebrated to pamper women. Necessarily, it portrays an impressive history of the courageous struggles led by women in the past.

We live in a highly advanced society today where few know of women facing any kind of suppression. Words like Women’s Rights and Liberation do not astound us today, which unfortunately used to be deemed as being ridiculous till a few decades back!

Inherently, our society has been awfully patriarchic for ages. And the rights that women enjoy today have not come easily. They are fruits of the passionate struggles led by women in all parts of the world during the last century.

Women’s struggles have played another significant role in the forming of the society that we live in today. For instance, the concept of overtime was simply absent, say, 100 years back, when people were made to work ruthlessly for 16 hours in a day! The 8-hours-work-a-day policy was a direct outcome of the constant struggles led by workers all over the world. And women were an integral part of this struggle too.

Today we remember and embrace 8th March as a symbol of such struggles. 8th March is by no stretch of imagination a day for pampering women, and hence the question of celebrating a Men’s Day is bizarre! We must view these days as significant milestones in the history of mankind. And hence we must take inspiration from the struggles of our ancestors.

Global WarNing

India aspires to be a Global Power by 2020. Given the current economic and terrorism crisis, there is no doubt that this vision has been punctured significantly.

This aside, there is one more thing which needs immediate attention. And that is the debacle of Global Warming. It is well established that Global Warming has struck Australia and America. Struck them hard! These countries happen to be world leaders in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

Lately, Australia has witnessed its hottest days of all times. Hottest months, to say the truth. The recent forest fire, which devastated thousands of families, stands an excellent testimony to this fact.

California is another victim. In recent years, it has experienced severe desertification of cultivable land, resulting in some of the worst droughts in its history.

It is high time we should start taking Global Warming seriously. Experts claim that if the world doesn’t check Carbon and Methane emissions in the next 10 years, things will move out of humanities reach!

People, Wake Up!

Dow ko Bhagao!

This refers to ‘Dow Fire – A Mindless Act’, Pune Mirror, TOI, dated 27 July ’08. The setting of Dow Chemicals’ plant on fire was indeed sad. But let’s also try and analyze the true situation.

Unlike NCL & UICT, Dow is one of the world’s most notorious chemical companies, with an appalling 100 year history of producing world’s most toxic CHEMICAL WEAPONS and pesticides. Thanks to Dow Chemicals, even today, the effects of Agent Orange & Napalm Bomb stand testimony to the havoc created in countries right from Vietnam to Iraq, wherever US has waged wars.

Also, there is always added danger from such research units since these try out and test new chemicals, obviously toxic! Think about the pollution of the nearby Indrayini River, which flows all the way up to Pandarpur.

Furthermore, if Dow claims not to intoxicate the vicinity, why doesn’t it reveal its Project Report, which is a public document by Indian Law!

Besides, Union Carbide (now taken over by Dow Chemicals), functioned on exactly similar lines and was downright responsible for the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The question is, “Is Pune ready for a Pune Gas Tragedy?”

Kill the Cartels

Who has not been affected by the current price catastrophe? Why do politicians deceive people by saying that the current rise in prices is due to shortage?

Why does our honorable agriculture minister provoke North Indians against South Indians saying that the current rise in prices is due to South Indians consuming too much wheat & the North Indians consuming too much rice?

Why does Bush blame Indian middle class for the international hike in prices?

Why doesn’t the true picture come out?

This distressing inflation actually is not due to scarcity of goods, but is a comprehensible result of cartels becoming more and more active by the day. When five or six major corporations or dealers, who control 60-70 % of the market share, come together, they fix on the prices at will. Classic example to this is the Cement Manufacturers Association, which was the master mind behind the recent cement price escalations.

Why does the government give in to pressure from private players who flourish at the cost of common man’s blood?

Ab BUS

"Public Transport Sucks"

"Public Transport is Not Efficient"

"Buses are in Bad Shape"

"Buses Occupy too much Space"

"Bad Buses are the Root Cause of Pollution and Traffic Congestion in our City"

"Drivers and Conductors are the Rudest People Alive"

"Bus Services should be Privatized"

All of us are fed up! We are fed up of waiting for buses. We are fed up of driving for hours together in the horrifying traffic that we have to bear with.

Since I stay in Pune, I shall limit my discussion to Pune. But out of common sense, we can understand that the same logic stands true for any city. Here are a few facts --

Close to 800 Private Vehicles (this includes 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers) get registered with Pune RTO every day.

Pune has a shocking 1200 buses to a requirement of 2500 buses.

People are bound to buy their own vehicles in the absence of a robust Public Transport system. And it’s easy to realize now that most of the chaos on roads is created by private vehicles, especially cars.

90% of these cars carry just a single person. Roads are a public property and all the people have an equal right to use it. Does a single person require so much space to commute?
Building flyovers is just a temporary workaround! And by the time a flyover comes up, it’s already too late as traffic increases way beyond the flyover can handle. Classic examples are the University Road & Hadapsar flyovers.

No flyover can sustain traffic for a long time. It simply redirects traffic from one busy square to the next. And, soon we require new flyovers in the vicinity.

A smarter solution is improving public transport. Why don’t we follow Belgium’s model of FREE & EFFICIENT public transport for all? This will reduce traffic many fold as an army of 30-40 private vehicles will be replaced by a single bus. It’s the best way to reduce traffic jams, pollution & accidents on roads. And this way we can fight Global Warming and reduce dependence on imported oil as well.