हिंदुत्व राष्ट्र की संचेतना है। इस पर प्रहार,महाप्रलय को आमंत्रण है।
This Blog is published in service of the Man Bharati ! and to reclaim our lost glory !!!
Press Release at VHP joint session of Trust and Management Committee held at Hyderabad
‘‘स्वामी
विवेकानंद ने हिन्दुओं के धर्मान्तरण करने पर स्पष्ट रूप से कहा है कि
हिन्दू समाज में से एक मुस्लिम या ईसाई बने इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि एक
हिन्दू कम हुआ बल्कि हिन्दू समाज का एक और शत्रु बढ़ा।’’ स्वामी विवेकानन्द
की इस उक्ति पर ध्यान देने के कारण विश्व हिन्दू परिषद का प्रन्यासी मण्डल
भारत में हो रहे धर्मान्तरण से अत्यन्त चिंतित है। विद्वानों का भी मत है
कि धर्मान्तरण के कारण व्यक्ति पूर्वजों परम्परा, संस्कृृति से कट जाता है।
भारत में धर्मान्तरित हुए और मुस्लिम बने ऐसे ही मुस्लिमों ने दंगा फसाद
कर भारत को तोडकर पाकिस्तान बनाया है। जो मुस्लिम भारत में रहते हैं वे भी
वन्दे मातरम बोलने को तैयार नहीं हैं। इस्लामी शिक्षा उन्हें भारत के
महापुरुष, अवतारों से हटाकर इस्लाम मजहब निर्माता से जोड रही है।
धर्मान्तरित मुस्लिम श्रीराम, कृृष्ण, बुद्ध, महावीर स्वामी का नाम लेना तो
दूर उनसे घृणा करते हैं। धर्मान्तरण के कारण वे भारत के संतों, ग्रंथों से
कटे हैं। एक प्रकार से धर्मान्तरण से उनकी राष्ट्रीयता व देशभक्ति पर
प्रश्नवाचक चिन्ह निर्माण हुआ है।
महात्मा
गांधी ने भी ईसाईकरण पर चिंता व्यक्त करते हुए कहा है कि ‘‘भारत में ईसाई
मिशनरी के प्रयास का उद््देश्य है कि हिन्दुत्व को जडमूल से उखाडकर उसके
स्थान पर दूसरा मत थोपना।’’
अंग्रेजों
ने योजनापूर्वक अपने शासनकाल में भारत का ईसाईकरण करना आरंभ किया था। इस
ईसाईकरण के कारण भारत का उत्तर पूर्वांचल उग्रवाद की चपेट में है। गोवा में
पुर्तगाली शासनकाल में आए सेण्ट जेवियर ने इंक्वीजीशन कानून बनवाकर
हिन्दुओं को मरवाया। सैकडों मंदिरों को ध्वस्त कराया और हिन्दू माताओं और
पुरुषांे पर अनगिनत अत्याचार करके बडी मात्रा में उन्हें ईसाई बनाया और आज
भी भारत में ईसाई चर्च लोभ-लालच, छल-बल द्वारा धर्मान्तरण कर रहा है। ईसाई
चर्च भी ईसाई बने लोगों को भारत की मूल हिन्दू संस्कृृति व मूल्यों से
काटकर विदेशी मूल्यों का दास बना रहा है। इसी कारण नियोगी कमीशन की रिपोर्ट
में डाॅ0 बी0एन0 नियोगी ने कहा कि ‘‘भारत में ईसाईयों द्वारा धर्मान्तरण,
ईसाई वंश के प्रभुत्व को पुनः स्थापित करने की एकसमान वैश्विक नीति का अंग
है।’’ उडीसा में बधवा आयोग का मत है कि धर्मान्तरण से सामाजिक तनाव बढा है।
इसी प्रकार पूर्व न्यायाधीश श्री वेणु गोपाल तमिलनाडु ने भी धर्मान्तरण पर
अपना भाव व्यक्त करते हुए कहा कि धर्मान्तरण समाज में विद्वेष निर्माण
करता है। इन्हीं विचारों को पुष्ट करने वाला निर्णय इलाहाबाद उच्च न्यायालय
ने उन हिन्दू लडकियों के बारे में देते हुए लडकियों से पूछा कि तुमने
मुस्लिम लडकों से विवाह किया है तो क्या तुम्हें इस्लाम की जानकारी है ? इस
पर लडकियों ने जानकारी से मना किया तो न्यायाधीश ने इस विवाह को निरस्त कर
दिया।
प्रन्यासी
मण्डल का यह सुविचारित मत है कि धर्मान्तरण से राष्ट्रान्तरण होता है।
घर-वापसी से व्यक्ति समाज के विकास और उत्थान से जुड जाता है। घर वापसी यह
भारत में प्राचीन काल से चल रही हैं। महर्षि देवल, विद्यारण्य स्वामी,
रामानंदाचार्य, छत्रपति शिवाजी से लेकर चैतन्य महाप्रभु, दादूदयाल, ऋषि
दयानंद, स्वामी श्रद्धानंद आदि महापुरुषों ने घरवापसी द्वारा समाज को
देश-धर्म से जोडने का कार्य किया है। किसी भी राष्ट्र का उत्थान उसके
राष्ट्र भक्तों के परिश्रम व पुरुषार्थ पर ही संभव है। इसलिए समय की मांग
है कि हिन्दू समाज अपने उन जातिबंधुओं का आह््वान करे कि यदि आप इस्लाम एवं
ईसाइयत को छोडकर हिन्दू समाज में सम्मिलित होने को तैयार हैं तो हम आपको
अपनी मूल जाति में सम्मिलित करने को तैयार हैं। उत्तर से दक्षिण और पूर्व
से पश्चिम भारत में रहनेवाले संत-महंत-आचार्य के साथ सम्पूर्ण हिन्दू समाज
को अपने स्नेहप्रेम के दोनों हाथ फैलाकर विधर्मी बने उन्हें स्वधर्मी बनाकर
भारत से जोड़कर राष्ट्रीय धारा में सम्मिलित करेंगे। ज्ञान-विज्ञान
सम्पन्न एक गौरवशाली भारत निर्माण करना ही आज का राष्ट्र धर्म है।
प्रन्यासी
मण्डल का वैचारिक मत है कि धर्मान्तरण मानव को राष्ट्रीय धारा से तोडता
है, इसके स्थान पर घरवापसी मानव को राष्ट्रीय धारा से जोडती है। इसलिए भारत
सरकार को धर्मान्तरण की रोक हेतु एक कडा कानून बनाना चाहिए जिससे देशभक्त
समाज द्वारा भारत का शीघ्रगामी विकास संभव हो सके।
The latest examples of the eternally stupid
politics of religion come in the call to give official status to the Bhagavad
Gita and a dump on Hinduism by the new Hindi language Epic channel. The first
is stupid because the Gita is so far above the government’s poor power to add
or detract that giving it official status is somewhat like endowing it on the sky.
Those pushing for it do it only to discomfit the proponents of minority faiths.
It does not matter that their targets are people who try to subvert Hinduism
with niggling malicious propaganda such as the Yam Kise Se Kam Nahi sitcom on the Epic Channel. The show presents
Yamraj, the god of Death in the Hindu pantheon, as a narcissistic, corrupt
dimwit using his power to get his wife things like furniture, a microwave, a
refrigerator and a high-definition television set. Given that depiction, the
title of the series takes on an additional layer of malice, for it slimes all
other Hindu deities. (The images that appear with the title include none from
another tradition.)
With media reports announcing that another Yamraj sitcom is in the works for
another channel, it is necessary to ask why some people seem to have decided to
make that unlikely deity a figure of fun.
I think it has to do with Yama’s role in the Katha Upanishad, which explains
one of Hinduism’s cardinal beliefs, that death is merely a door to another
life. As I noted in an earlier post, that teaching, long derided as absurd by
the missionary faiths, has been validated by science, making nonsense of the
Heaven-Hell carrot and stick essential to keep their followers in line.
Presenting Yama as a clown is the first step to closing the minds of the
faithful to a destabilizing truth. So who are the people behind Yam Kise Se Kam Nahi?
The producer is one David Polycarp. The “creative” brain is a Debbie Rao.
Polycarp used to be with the Disney Channel. He is now a partner with Vasant
Valsan in Troublemaker Productions, the company responsible for this atrocity.
Epic is described as “India’s first genre specific channel,” whatever that
means. Epic went on air on 16 November 2014, and from what has been on offer so
far it seems the channel will rely on a mix of the Mahabharata serial, cloak
and dagger “history” (the Mughal era Siyaasat)
and docudramas about real events.
As that potent mix of content can shape Indian opinion on key aspects of
national life it is important to know who is behind the venture. According to a
report in Hollywood Reporter, Mukesh
Ambani in his personal capacity owns a quarter of the Epic Channel; the
Mahindra Group is reported to own a similar share. No mention of the remaining
50 per cent.
From that information I would jump to the conclusion that there is a direct
foreign element in the venture. Indian corporate biggies are extremely
vulnerable to pressure from the managers of their assets abroad, and when told
to provide camouflage they are in no position to demur. Based on that leap, I
predict the channel will soon be airing a slew of the BBC productions rewriting
our history and subverting our national consciousness.
As our Intelligence agencies and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry have
little capacity to police this cultural front, and as Indian mass media have
long been bribed into a comprador role, nongovernmental organizations must take
on the task of raising public awareness.
The danger is not confined to television; it comes also from the teachings of
mysteriously rich Babas, Sants and Gurus in command of armed thugs.
This should not be viewed as a purely Hindu concern, for Indians of all faiths
are affected by the malicious few. But Hindus have to play catch-up in terms of
paying attention to what is being said and done in their name.
To begin with, they might set about systematically examining the content of the
extremely low cost and well produced books that purport to contain English
translations of ancient Sanskrit works. Those I have read contain much
gibberish and seem to be an exercise in misinformation.
Even seemingly prestigious publishers should not escape inspection. For
instance, The Times of India’s
translation of the Bhagavad Gita subverts some key teachings; the Introduction
is incredibly obtuse. (Reading it made me think of the Jain recensions of the
Ramayana that turn the plot upside down.)
In undertaking all this Hindus should discourage politicians from coming to
their support: our religion has survived thousands of years on its own
formidable strengths.
When will India start to honour those who fought in its name?
By Rajeev Chandrasekhar02:52 16 Dec 2014, updated 02:52 16 Dec 2014
December 16, 1971, is an unforgettable date for anyone who lived through the Bangladesh War.
Vijay Diwas, as the day is known, commemorates not just an absolute
military triumph, unparalleled in modern Indian history, but also the
triumph and heroism of the professional Indian soldier.
Three-thousand, eight-hundred and forty-three Indian soldiers died in 1971. About three times that number, 9,851, were injured.
The war also saw 1,313 Indian soldiers receiving gallantry awards, many
posthumously. Four were awarded India’s highest battle honour, the Param
Vir Chakra.
These four men represented the best of India, and yet they came from diverse backgrounds.
Lance Naik Albert Ekka was born in a small village near Ranchi.
Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal from Pune, was just 21 when he died in
his tank, having single-handedly crippled the Pakistani armoured advance
at the Battle of Basantar.
Leadership
Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, literally the Flying Sikh,
defended the skies above Srinagar, taking on and outgunning F-86 Sabres
in his slower and smaller Gnat.
Finally, there was Major Hoshiar Singh, who braved heavy shelling and
went trench to trench, urging his men to fight on and capture an
important Pakistani position in the Shakargarh Sector.
What motivated these men and thousand others? Under the inspiring
leadership of men like Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, these men weren’t
just “doing a job”; they were going well beyond the call of duty,
showing extraordinary calm and determination and sheer, audacious
bravery to fulfil the national objective despite overwhelming odds.
It is important to recall and remember these achievements, and
distinguish this from the self-congratulation of a political and sarkari
bandobast on every Vijay Diwas.
Politicians and bureaucrats in the Ministry of Defence have essentially
spent the past four decades riding on the valour, the grit and the
hard-won successes of those heroes of 1971.
And how have they appreciated these men? The general who led us in 1971,
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, was an authentic Indian legend.
When he died in 2008, the Government of that time did dishonour. Let
alone their presence, no wreaths were placed on behalf of the President
and the Prime Minister. The Defence Minister was too busy with political
meetings in Delhi. Instead, he sent his Minister of State – the most
senior government representative at Sam Manekshaw’s funeral.
+4
Was
this an unconscionable, one-off oversight? I would argue it betrayed a
certain attitude and mind-set that has long since treated soldiers as
cannon fodder to be used and discarded.
Let me tell you another story, also from 1971, though not from the war.
It begins with an earlier war, that of 1965, and with the martyrdom of
Babaji Jadhav, a jawan of the Maratha Light Infantry, who was killed in
Jammu & Kashmir.
Dispute
He left behind a pregnant wife, so traumatised that a few months later she delivered a stillborn child.
Life was hard for this martyr’s widow. She began with menial jobs,
including one as a tailor’s assistant. Later, she became a teacher in a
village primary school.
Just before he died, Babaji had applied for an agricultural plot under a
scheme that gave soldiers priority while allotting government land to
landless peasants.
Indira Jadhav, Babaji’s widow, pursued the case. It took her six years,
until 1971, to get an assurance that the Government’s promise to her
husband would be honoured.
In July 2014 Indira Jadhav had approached the Bombay High Court. Not
only had she not got an inch of the promised land, she was being asked
to pay market rates – 2014 rates – by the district administration of
Ratnagiri.
At the end of her wits, the lady went to court. She must have asked
herself a hundred times: is this the country and people my husband
fought and died for?
In 2010, the case of Pushpa Vanthi came to light. Living in Meerut, this
90-year-old widow of a retired Major was being paid a monthly pension
of Rs 80. She was entitled to Rs 27,000 and had been battling the
Ministry of Defence for 13 years, since her husband’s death.
+4
She believed her husband died of war wounds sustained years earlier. The
Ministry claimed he died of an illness not related to the wounds.
As the dispute festered, the due pension was held up – and a soldier’s grieving widow was left to survive on Rs 20 a week.
Appalled and ashamed, my foundation – The Flags of Honour Foundation –
stepped in and offered to pay a monthly stipend to Pushpa Vanthi. It was
the least we could do.
Grievances
Why should our old soldiers and their families, the wives and dependents
of our martyrs, continue to be the step-children of Vijay Diwas?
If we are to address this, the new Defence Minister has to take up as
his mandate a set of long-pending demands and grievances of the Armed
Forces.
The setting up of a Veterans’ Commission, as a statutory institution to
which old soldiers and their families – such as Indira Jadhav and Pushpa
Vanthi – can go for help, is overdue. So is a uniform policy on
gallantry award winners.
Currently, this varies from state to state. Clear, rigorous and
expeditious implementation of the One Rank, One Pension policy, and a
mechanism to look into the problems of disabled soldiers, for a
lifetime, are other essentials.
We owe this to the men and women who defend us. It is the unfinished
business of Vijay Diwas year after year for the past 43 years.
'The failure to remember the martyrs on a grand scale is a
national problem. As a nation-State, India time and again fails to
honour its true heroes: The men in uniform, says Nitin A Gokhale.
On
Tuesday, December 16, morning, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar,
accompanied by the three service chiefs, followed a ritual that has
become a practice for the past 42 years: Laying a wreath at the Amar
Jawan Jyoti, paying tribute to the fallen soldiers in the 1971 war.
After that, it's business as usual.
Parrikar has been defence minister for less than two months, so to
expect him to try and change the well-established procedure is
unrealistic.
The failure to remember the martyrs on a grand scale is a national
problem. As a nation-State, India time and again fails to honour its
true heroes: The men in uniform.
It is therefore no surprise that December 16, the original Vijay Diwas,
designated so after winning the war in 1971, is all but forgotten.
Well, someone can say we celebrate the Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26, so what's the big deal?
Yes, Kargil is remembered chiefly because it was India's first televised
war, but in doing so there is no reason why India's finest
politico-military victory should be so completely forgotten.
Image: Then Army Chief General (later Field Marshal) Sam Maneckshaw with his troops during the 1971 War.
How many of us remember that for the first time after World War II a
nation was created through a combination of people's resistance and
military action?
The Mukti Bahini played a stellar role in harassing and softening up the
Pakistani army in what was then East Pakistan, but it was the Indian
military that dealt the decisive blow in December 1971 to defeat a
numerically superior adversary.
Over 3,000 Indian soldiers made the supreme sacrifice. Nearly 10,000 soldiers were wounded. 93,000 PoWs were taken.
Yet, in our collective consciousness, 1971 is but a blurred memory.
How many of us remember for instance that for the first time after World
War II, a large-scale airborne assault was launched by Indian
paratroopers, hastening the end of the war?
Do we even remember the daring raid by the missile boats on the Karachi harbour that immobilised West Pakistan?
We
perhaps don't even know that the Indian Air Force won its only Param
Vir Chakra, thanks to the daring of the young fighter pilot named Nirmal
Jit Singh Shekhon who in his tiny Gnat combat plane, took on the mighty
Sabres and forced them to turn back during an attack on the Srinagar
airbase.
We have surely forgotten the exploits of Albert Ekka and Arun Khetrapal, two more Param Vir Chakra winners in the 1971 war.
Image: Mrs Sekhon receives the Param Vir Chakra her husband
Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon won for his courage in the 1971
War from then President V V Giri.
If we don't remember them, we surely don't recall smaller, but equally significant contribution of countless soldiers.
For instance, had it not been for a young paratrooper Captain P K Ghosh,
who spent 10 days behind enemy lines, the para-drop would not have gone
like clockwork.
Or of many 'trainers' and 'liaison officers' of the Border Security
Force and the Research and Analysis Wing who risked their lives to
facilitate a resistance movement inside East Pakistan once the Mukti
Bahini got off the ground.
A nation that does not remember the valour of its soldiers and
protectors, is doomed to fail. The sheer courage displayed by Major
(later Major General) Ian Cardozo in cutting off his own leg after he
stepped on a landmine, post the termination of the conflict, is not
known as widely as it should be.
The daring displayed by Captain (later Colonel) Ashok Tara in rescuing
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman's family members (including current
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) from the clutches of a
Pakistani army group, is not told often enough.
Just as Pakistan does not and
cannot live down its defeat in 1971 and therefore continues to wage a
proxy war, India should not let the memory of that spectacular victory
fall through the cracks.
The world celebrates Victory in Europe Day or VE Day with great pomp and
show. Even the contribution of Indian soldiers in World War I has been
hailed across the globe and commemorated in different capitals
throughout 2014.
So why not designate December 16 Victory in Bangladesh Day or VB Day every year? In doing so, India will be honouring itself.
Nitin A Gokhale is one of India's best-informed commentators on national security issues.
अमेरिका और दुनिया की सबसे प्रतिष्ठित
पत्रिकाओं में से एक 'टाइम' द्वारा किए गए पाठकों के एक सर्वेक्षण में
'पर्सन ऑफ द ईयर' (वर्ष का चर्चित व्यक्ति) के खिताब के लिए मोदी पाठकों की
पहली पसंद बन गए हैं।
इसमें कोई शंका नहीं कि यह उनकी व्यक्तिगत
उपलब्धि है तथा यह उपलब्धि और भी अधिक प्रभावशाली दिखती है, जब उन्होंने
अपने कार्यकाल के अभी मात्र 6 महीने ही पूरे किए हों। किसी भी भारतीय को
अंतरराष्ट्रीय मान्यता मिलना प्रत्येक भारतवासी के लिए गर्व का क्षण होता
है अतः हम इस चर्चा का दायरा थोड़ा विस्तृत करते हैं।
पहले तो यह समझ लें कि 'टाइम' पत्रिका का
यह खिताब कोई पुरस्कार नहीं है। इस खिताब को पत्रिका ने दो श्रेणियों में
विभाजित किया है। एक नाम का चयन होता है संपादक मंडल की समीक्षा आधार पर और
दूसरा नाम पाठकों की राय के आधार पर घोषित होता है। संपादक मंडल द्वारा
होने वाले चयन के नियम कुछ विचित्र हैं।
'टाइम पर्सन
ऑफ ईयर' बनने के लिए उस व्यक्ति को उचित या अनुचित कार्यों की वजह से
सुर्खियों में बने रहना जरूरी है। सुर्खियां गलत कारणों से हों या सही
कारणों से- इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता। व्यक्ति द्वारा किए गए कार्यों से
विश्व की राजनीति में वांछित या अवांछित प्रभाव पड़ना चाहिए।
यही वजह है कि यह खिताब हिटलर, माओ, लेनिन
जैसे विवादास्पद व्यक्तियों को भी मिल चुका है। अभी तक यह खिताब सभी
अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपतियों को भी दिया जा चुका है। साधारणतः अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति
को बनने के साथ ही उसी वर्ष में यह खिताब दे दिया जाता है। अतः समझ लिया
जाना चाहिए कि संपादक मंडल द्वारा दिया गया खिताब, नोबेल पुरस्कार की तरह
किसी क्षेत्र में उपलब्धि के लिए सम्मान नहीं है।
फिर भी यह बात सबको स्वाभाविक तौर पर सबको
विचित्र लगी कि 'टाइम' मैगजीन के संपादक मंडल ने मोदी को अपनी अंतिम सूची
में शामिल नहीं किया। वजह जो भी रही हो, यह अमेरिकी नजरिया है जिस पर हमें
प्रश्न उठाने का अधिकार नहीं है।
दूसरी श्रेणी वाला खिताब हमें महत्वपूर्ण
लग सकता है जिसमें मोदी निर्विवाद विजेता घोषित हुए, क्योंकि यह चयन जनता
के मतों के आधार पर होता है और जनता इस खिताब को पुरस्कार के भाव में लेती
है।
विश्व की जनता ने मोदी के पक्ष में अपना मत
दिया और वह भी तब, जब विश्व के कई धुरंधर उनके सामने थे जिनमें ओबामा और
पुतिन जैसे शक्तिशाली लोग शामिल थे। इस प्रकार एक तरह से देश के साथ
विदेशों से भी मोदी को समर्थन प्राप्त हुआ।
इसमें कोई दो मत नहीं कि मोदी अभी
लोकप्रियता के शिखर पर हैं। उस पर इस तरह के खिताब किसी भी संवेदनशील
व्यक्ति पर अपनी क्रियाशीलता और कार्यक्षमता के लिए अधिक दबाव बनाते हैं
तथा जनता के प्रति उसको अधिक जवाबदेह बनाते हैं।
मोदी ने लोकसभा चुनावों में कुछ वादे किए
थे, जैसे सबका साथ सबका विकास। स्वच्छ, निर्भीक और छोटा प्रशासन। जनता को
ये मुद्दे पसंद आए थे और इन्हीं मुद्दों को लेकर चुनाव में सकारात्मक वोट
पड़े थे। किंतु चुनावों में मोदी की जीत के बाद कुछ दक्षिणपंथी लोगों को यह
लगने लगा है कि बस अब भारत उनके हाथ में है वहीं कुछ वर्गों के नेताओं ने
अपने समाज में यह बात फैलाई कि यह व्यक्ति केवल एक वर्ग का हित करने वाला
है। किंतु ऐसा कुछ भी नहीं हुआ।
आम जनता को भी समझ में आने लगा है कि घृणा
की राजनीति क्षुद्र नेता केवल अपने फायदे के लिए करते हैं। भारत के हित या
अहित से उन्हें कोई सरोकार नहीं। एक दिन का हीरो बनने के लिए यहां कोई भी
कुछ भी बकता है।
एक छोटी जगह के छोटे से मंच से महत्वहीन
नेता का अनर्गल प्रलाप मीडिया द्वारा राष्ट्रीय मुद्दा बना दिया जाता है।
जो किसी चौपाल या महफिल में बहस योग्य विषय नहीं होता वह संसद में प्रमुख
मुद्दा बन जाता है।
यह तो विडंबना ही है कि जो विषय बहस के
होते हैं वहां सांसद गायब होते हैं। ऐसी परिस्थिति में मोदी के सामने
चुनौती है अपनी टोली को अनुशासन में रखने की और अपने प्रयत्नों को अपने
वादों पर केंद्रित रखने की।
देखना अब ये होगा कि मोदी-प्रशासन इन
मुद्दों पर कितना खरा उतरता है। यदि अगले वर्ष भी मोदी इस तरह के खिताबों
के लिए नामांकित होते हैं तो समझिए कि वे सही राह पर हैं। भाषणों की
श्रृंखला समाप्त हुई, अब समय है वादों को अमली जामा पहनाने का। बातें हो
चुकी, काम भी शुरू हो चुका और शायद दिशा भी सही है, अब तो दौड़ना है। जरूरत
है इस दौड़ में बाधा बन रहे लोगों को हाशिए पर धकेलने की। राष्ट्र की जनता
साथ देने को तैयार है।
हमारा आकलन तो यह है कि मोदी--प्रशासन भी
तैयार है? बात अब समय की है। आज जो बोया जाएगा वह अपने सही समय पर उगेगा भी
और फल भी देगा। आवश्यकता है सही बीज बोने की। हमारा विश्वास है कि यदि
प्रयत्न और दिशा सही बनी रहे तो सफलता अवश्यंभावी है।
Today
world is appreciating India’s spectacular growth in Space, Nuclear and Missile Technologies
,agriculture ,Human capital and many more fields. On other side, India slipped
10 ranks (76th position) in Global Innovation Index 2014. The Innovation is the
Growth Engine for the Nation.
The
rate of R&D - Innovation depends
upon existence of the National Innovation Ecosystem. This Innovation Ecosystem decides the rate of growth
of economy of the nation. It is one of the proven methods to become developed country. We are not in
position to neglect this very area of larger interest for long time. We need to
analyse the system, The reality, The problem and solution to this strategic key
process area of growth and development.
Innovation
happens mostly in Industry. The National R&D units and Universities should
play a supportive role to this process. The
manpower comes from Universities as well as from Industries.
How
to improve this situation? How to introduce the culture of Innovation in India?
What are the root causes of poor Innovation Ecosystem in India? What is the
importance of Innovation Clusters? What are the best practices all over the
world? How to introduce innovation in industry and R&D labs? How to
introduce innovation in Academia? How to enhance employability through
Innovation Competencies?
Organized
Innovation Ecosystem. The Innovation Ecosystem is a complex phenomenon and
contains
dozens of players like Universities, Higher Education Institutes, National
R&D Labs,
Industrial
R&D Labs, Multi National company’s R&D Labs, Intellectual Property
Rights (IPR)
Culture,
Venture Capital Funding Organizations, and many more. To nurture the Innovation
requires
Innovation Ecosystem, Innovation Clusters, Innovation Culture and Government
Policies.
The
Government policies include IPR, S&T policies, Industrial Policies,
Taxation policies, Laws
etc.
The development of the Innovation Culture is a specialized job and depends upon
more than
80
parameters. In addition to this, Hundreds of factors drive innovation. When the
Innovation
Ecosystem
concentrates in one region then it becomes Innovation Cluster and becomes major
source
of innovation. The innovation clusters generally grows around renowned
Universities. In
this
context, the role of the university should be towards the development of
innovative employable
workforce
for the industry, a knowledge hub which provides international talent, center
for
technology
transfer, platform for international collaborations with academia, industry,
research
labs,
government agencies etc. All these factors are important Drivers for
Innovation.
If
a degree of hypocrisy is the basis of civilised behaviour, in politics
hypocrisy should be seen as the ultimate art-form. Here, hypocrisy and
U-turns from stated positions are often the keys to good sense and
governance.
Remember former US President George Bush Sr, who said “Read my lips”, promising not to raise taxes?
He had to impose taxes later when his budget math went for a six. He
got a lot of boos from rival politicians and the media, but boos are
better than boo-boos.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI
So when the Congress made a laundry list yesterday (1 December) of the BJP’s U-turns on
policy after coming to power, what matters is where it did those
about-turns: was back-tracking the right thing to do, or the wrong
thing? If it was the wrong one, the government needs to be hauled over
the coals. If not, it should get a boo and a pat.
Ajay Maken,
Congress General Secretary, scored good political points by listing the
areas where the BJP did U-turns in a booklet titled “Chhe maheene paar, U-turn Sarkar”
(Six months later, a U-turn government). He said: “This government has
made 25 U-turns in the last around 180 days. That's an average of one
U-turn every seven to eight days.”
Among the U-turns listed are
policies which the BJP had blackballed or delayed when it was in the
opposition: allowing 49 percent FDI in insurance, the Aadhaar unique ID
scheme, the direct benefits transfer (DBT) scheme (paying cash instead
of indirect subsidies to the poor), respecting the confidentiality
clause in double-tax avoidance agreements (that is, not naming the
persons on the black money list), and the proposed swap of land enclaves
with Bangladesh, among other things.
Among the more contestable
U-turns are the alleged BJP promise to bring back black money in 100
days, failure to check cross-border incursions by China, resuming talks
with Pakistan and then calling them off, and having a jumbo-sized
ministry.
This is good politics and such attacks are important to keep any government on its toes. So kudos to Maken for the same.
However,
there are U-turns and there are U-turns. The question is: if FDI in
insurance is good for India, it is good that the BJP did a U-turn. If
Aadhaar is vital for implementing the DBT scheme, it is good that the
BJP is eating its words (I have doubts about Aadhaar, but that is
another story). It is good for fiscal rectitude and preventing leakage
of money meant for the poor. If the exchange of enclaves with Bangladesh
makes it easier to prevent border infiltration, so be it.
There
is no getting away from the reality that politicians behave differently
when they have the responsibility to run a government than when they
just have to oppose it. Even if we assume that Indian politicians are
far more changeable than politicians elsewhere, the difference is
probably the result of the greater levels of hypocrisy we see in Indian
society in other areas too. Our politicians are just mirroring the
greater hypocrisies of the society they serve.
Moreover, it is not
as if there are no U-turns even within the same government. For
example, the Congress party announced the DBT scheme with great fanfare
in 2012 and thought it was a vote winner. It even coined the slogan “Aapka paisa, aapke haath.” But as elections approached, the party got cold feet and put the scheme in cold storage.
P
Chidambaram, after promising to stick to the Fiscal Responsibility and
Budget Management Act in UPA-1, abandoned the goal in his last budget
even though it was easily achievable. He did this to accommodate the
farm loan waiver scheme before elections.
And some of the U-turns
mentioned by Maken are on the borderline of credibility. The promise to
bring back black money was nothing more than loud poll rhetoric, and it
worked for the BJP. It is also not clear that Modi literally promised to
bring back all black money in 100 days; his party now claims wriggle
room by saying he only meant he would act on this front in 100 days. In
any case, what matters is whether the broader goal is kept in mind and
whether policies are reoriented to prevent the generation of black
money, and bring at least some of it back. This could well happen – but
it may take much, much longer than 100 days.
As for the BJP’s
alleged inability to stop border incursions by China, the proof of the
success or failure of its policy can only be judged over the long term.
Trying to escalate matters every time there are incursions is hardly the
sensible thing to do, even though making our intent to oppose Chinese
encroachments and expressing our displeasure clearly has to be part of
policy.
In this area, in fact, Modi’s foreign policy stance has
been very clear and consistent: he is building bridges with all parties
which feel Chinese pressures – from Japan to Australia to Vietnam and
the US. This is sending the right message to the Chinese. Border
defences are also likely to be strengthened.
U-turns are a part of
politics and good sense. In the face of reality, if governments don’t
do U-turns, that is a cause for worry. We don’t want pig-headed
governments.
Was
this an unconscionable, one-off oversight? I would argue it betrayed a
certain attitude and mind-set that has long since treated soldiers as
cannon fodder to be used and discarded. 
O
W
