Turning swords into ploughshares

Time to think-and-do beyond

The recent news conference bash organised and delegated by the President of the supposedly most powerful country of the world, US of A, and attended by the media, undoubtedly shocked the world including economists and corporate honchos who criticised Obama’s administration for employing a protectionist and uncompetitive ideology. In his socialist speech, Barack Obama passionately stressed on the urgent need to eradicate the incessantly rising unemployment in America, essentially jobs lost due to the great recession and those lost in the name of “outsourcing” to European and more importantly Asian countries.

Rightfully and bravely following the Gandhian-like ideology, the Obama administration is trying very hard to provide equality of opportunity for all sections of society. The Democrats in fact plan to tackle the concern of rising unemployment in the country, by withdrawing tax breaks to corporates that outsource to countries outside the American soil. Additionally, also revise tax codes to make provisions for tax relief to middle class Americans, who actually need it rather than offering it to billionaire folks who don’t need it all.

A socialist approach at the juncture of turning protectionist
Well, when I place my hand over my heart and think hard, I feel in complete accord with the approach adopted by the Democrats. It is said that, we need to clear the clutter inside our own homes before we look outside...and this is exactly what Obama is adamant to do before he creates and makes-easy avenues of growth, employment, and profits for the rest of the world.

But in the same vein, mulling over this grave concern using the super rational brain, it conversely feels like America is at crossroads supporting a myopic vision that indeed will not last for long. Moving on, the Democrats will not only face strong repercussions and condemnations from the rest of the world...but in the bargain will face bans and boycotts by many a people and governments of the world.

Towing away jobs
Public and government hue and cry over the act of outsourcing implemented by the corporate sector around the world has always been condemned for towing away jobs from numero uno nations to nations who propose an awesomely low labour cost and corporate taxes. The Oxford dictionary very simply defines the word outsourcing as “arrange for work to be done outside a company”. While in today’s context, the same word connotes a different meaning. In fact, today it gets nothing less than the same treatment that an F-word receives.

Coming to think of it, “Outsourcing" is as much as a bad word for Americans and Europeans than it is for an average employed Asian. Today Corporate India and other Asian countries prefer outsourcing jobs outside the organisation (locally) rather that hire or sustain a full time employee on the same job. The only difference here is that the job is towed away from one Indian to another Indian at a lower cost. Perhaps, if the world was not demarcated with borders, no country would make a fuss about outsourcing jobs elsewhere...because then eventually a job from one human being would go to another human being after all.

Balancing globalisation
Before globalisation was ever talked about, the United States of America accounted for around 30% of the world's GDP and almost remained at that position for most of the 20th century. However, with opening up of the global economy into a single economic competitive arena, developing countries have got their place in the sun...so much so that those days are not too far when one of the BRIC countries will become the world’s largest economy and will grab the 'most powerful country of the world' title from the US of A.

If one door is shut, there is always another door that opens up...and precisely, if USA shuts its doors to other nations with a protectionist agenda of restricting local companies from tapping markets globally, it will not only worsen American woes but will isolate them from the rest of the world.

Implementing a socialist approach like what Obama is talking about is undoubtedly essential for the less fortunate middle class people of America, but at the same time closing doors to the rest of the world can boomerang badly. There is an urgent need of taking a middle path and clearly there are no easy answers to it.

Post script: On after thought
It would indeed be best if nations would be governed by two Presidents at the top...one with a socialistic ideology (like Barack Obama) and the other with a more capitalistic approach. This will help nations plan correctly taking a more balanced middle path to success.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless you and this world!

Does Rahul really choose Tribal India over everything else?

If given an opportunity today to interview the heir of the Gandhi family and Congress General Secretary, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, my first question to him would be about his seriousness to assist the Tribal’s in Orissa and those isolated in different parts of the nation. Additionally, to ask him whether he honestly strives to give Tribal’s and the under privileged their right to freedom of living with dignity and equality…or is it some kind of empty promises that politicians have been making since India’s independence.

When we talk about Tribal’s in India or anywhere else in the world, we visualize poor, hungry, ancestral and primitive people who do work that slaves would do. We categorise them as people who wash our cars, who live in shanty homes, who are illiterates, who wash our vessels, clean our homes, and people who officialdom label as “grass-eaters”. These are people who we exploit because they have nobody to glorify them and have no one to empower them to fulfill their basic needs and necessities of life.

If for real, here’s saluting Mr. Gandhi’s move
The very move spurred by Rahul to protect the rights of the tribal population in Orissa over the ambitious projects of corporate big wigs of India Inc. is commendable and from the face of this socialist step by Rahul Gandhi, it depicts a revelation is to beckon us soon. But again, emphasizing the phrase - “from the face of it” - because we the common people who have no legacy in politics and who become victims of political warfare don’t know the real intention behind this step initiated by someone who carries a political legacy from the time of his great grandfather and someone who is born with a diamond studded golden spoon in his mouth.

The benefit of doubts will evidently persists in our minds, because we have and are still being duped by false and short-lived promises made by our politicians who are suppose to be our official caretakers. Although Rahul’s actions touched the common man’s heart, we still doubt whether he protected the Tribal’s to gain political mileage or is it honestly going to be his fight until he guarantees every life equal value…even if it demands going against his own party ideologies and actions.

The rich exult, the poor lament
There was this great and well-known boxer who was making a journey in a plane. Even after being persuaded by the air hostess, he resisted to zip up his seat belt exclaiming that he was “superman” and didn’t really need it. To which the air-hostess pleasantly told him that, if he indeed was “superman”, he didn’t even need the plane to reach his destination. This is a real illustration made to portray the nature of most of our politicians who have zero humility and are 100% egocentric. Our politicians are like this boxer who believe they are some kind of superman possessing super natural powers and the rest of the world are at their mercy.

This attitude of our politician will definitely not help us reach our vision of “India shining”, in spite of the economic optimism that we showcase today. When 70% of us live in rural India, how can we be optimistic of fulfilling our vision? In that case, we will have to edit our vision to now say, “30% of India shining”. Nevertheless, if we start becoming conscious about tribal and rural India, by empowering them with proper education, proper health benefits, and fulfilling their basic psychological and physical needs, we will implicitly and tactfully empower them to become independent…which in turn will increase their purchasing power.

Eventually, with the spur in increased purchasing power of the otherwise dormant 70% of the population, the GDP of this country gets bigger, which ultimately will help us realize our dream. This will open up ways to become a developed country listed among other biggies.

Who said we need to be socialistic always…but in the same breath, we cannot ignore the urgent need of a developing country like India to uplift the lives and spirits of the poor, so as to achieve the nation’s capitalistic and competitive aspiration and desperation for success.

Tough to be a good politician
Nevertheless, all said and done, in the real world it indeed is tough to be a good politician. For every good move made by a minister, there are thousand detractors from the political circles who trample the strides made by this good politician. In India, we have ageing ministers who call the shots at an age when they need to relay the authority baton to the young, educated and forward thinking youth of young India. Rahul Gandhi is one such young Indian who definitely is calling the shots, but again he alone cannot make the difference. India needs many more young and entrepreneurial young Indians to represent this nation…individuals like you and me who can boast a humble conscience and an ambition to take every state of this nation to scaling heights.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless you and this world!

Stupid mistakes…

Everybody makes mistakes, isn’t it? And some great scholars and philosophers even justify saying that mistakes are a stride towards achieving success. Like Albert Einstein himself says that, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new". Well said, isn’t it? So, does that mean we forgive and forget the string of accusations that our not-so-respected Minister Mr. Kalmadi and his troupe face today? After all even Mr. Kalmadi along with his working team who form an important part of the Common Wealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee was managing it for the first time. And why only the Organising Committee (OC), India herself is playing host to the CWG 2010 for the first time…so should we be forgiving these first-timers huh!

Well, Well, Well…I wish we could! Provided these first-timers slipped-up in areas related to the actual operations or preparations of the games, it was pardonable. But goofing up with tax payer’s money and doctoring the balance sheets of the games itself, is something not only unpardonable but should also be sternly punished. In fact, the guilty of the CGW corruption episode should suffer the same fate like the entrepreneurs of global corporate scams such as the Enron and Satyam. These corporate fraudsters are probably doing the jailhouse rock in return for the scams they planted in their respective organizations. But when it comes to uprooting corruption from the government, we take it lying down with a “chalta-hain” (its okay) attitude. I wonder how long will we as citizens, who are the actual landlords of this country, allow our servants to take us for granted. Shouldn’t we put our foot down and demand a quick fix and unearthing of corrupt officials in our public administration.

A paisa-vasool
Before we go to watch a movie, we read film reviews, ratings, and get a lowdown of the success of the film from the public, to make sure that we get a “paisa-vasool” (return on investment) from that film. Likewise, when we invest in our government and the working of this country, we also expect a paisa-vasool. So, do we really get a 100% return on our investment is the question we need to ask ourselves.

We have a fantastic democracy in this country which is our biggest asset, but to step up honest functioning of this democracy, we need transparency, we need good quality of work, we need cleansing of the law makers and administrators who misuse their power for their own benefit, we need education for all, we need to see that every family has a bread-whiner, we need equality irrespective of sex, religion, caste, we need a clean and safe environment to live in.

“All lives to have equal value”
This is the ambitious vision statement of the Bill and Melinda Foundation, a company started by the brainchild of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, who started off this global charity with his wife Melinda Gates, with an aim to achieve their vision of, “All lives to have equal value”.

What a beautiful thought, isn’t it? And honestly it is a thought which is complimented by loads of actions by this foundation on behalf of the world’s poorest people, to improve the human condition. When Bill Gates came down to India to contribute to his global mission, he wished to fund to improve the poor health conditions of Northern India. At that time, he met up with Rahul Gandhi, the young generation leader of the youth Congress, who very frankly and honestly told Bill Gates that, “right now a lot of the money is not getting to the intended recipients and that it won’t be easy to fix”. Undeniably, corruption is the biggest battle that India is facing today and until we don’t cleanse our administrative and legislative system, it will spread out like cancer and will become irreversible to get it back on track.

On a hopeful note
There’s no doubt about the dishonestly of most of our ministers who get involved in malpractices and corruption to earn bread, butter, jam, cheese, and toppings, in addition to their monthly salary. But hopefully, with the recent whopping 300% raise in their salary, scams and frauds which have become a prevalent habit gets abolished completely and we see more transparency in the proceedings of our administration.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!

Salutations to Whistleblowers in today's vicious world

Expose the oppressor, give voice to the voiceless

Wouldn’t you want to speak & listen to the truth and deal with honest people 24x7/365 days a year; wouldn’t you want to expose intelligence and unlawful information, for public scrutiny so that the guilty are punished; wouldn’t you want to see the world as a peaceful place where every human being enjoys their constitutional rights of freedom, equality, and justice. Just wished a big-hearted genie would be generous enough to grant me my three wishes…I would have surely asked for these three wishes, provided people in the whole wide world mirror the same principles.

Can I keep the commandments in the real world?
I don’t think so! A lone individual cannot obey the commandants of ethical behaviour all by herself while the rest of the world does what pleases them. And even if he decides to be undeceiving, he probably would be tricked and duped and be taken to his grave even before his time comes. They say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” so probably the whole world is waiting for someone to make the first real-istic move and then the rest will follow.

Exemplifying from experience, many a times we dash across people who backstab their own colleagues to win a position to the top. And to make things crueler, the very next minute, you would see your colleague become your boss, not because he has the attitude and a mind for the job but because he has successfully pleased the top management by his sweet and pleasing talks and actions.

Similarly, individual nations are waiting for the other nation to make the first unadulterated move which is not tainted with corruption, hypocrisy, scams, nuclear proliferation, terrorists and, bureaucrats with a political agenda. Recently the United States of America with support from the UN Security Council took the initiative towards Non-nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) calling nations of the world to sign the NPT in order to make the world "un-armed” and “nuclear deterrent”. A few democratic and peaceful nations signed the NPT while some of them resisted, even abusing decision makers for their sagging mindsets and wisdom.

Pragmatically, it’s a tough decision to make, when you know that on one side if you sign the treaty, you could be bombed by a nation that has not signed it…and on the other side if you don’t sign it, you would be oust from global meetings and punishments in the form of “sanctions” would be entrusted upon you. Today, powerful nations are boasting about deploying new class of weapons capable of reaching any corner of the earth under an hour…so how can anyone make a 100% commitment!

“Courage is contagious”
They say courage is contagious…must say it really is! An open government group, also known as the anti corruption and transparency group—WikiLeaks—has recently made news all over the world exposing 91,000 sensitive reports mainly comprising of ground realities about how US is blindly and unknowingly fuelling terrorism in Afghan by blindly paying Pakistan for access to Afghan. Although the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, an Australian national with a PHD in Physics, claims that the information exposed on his website are bare facts...the truth about its authenticity is yet to be investigated.

Nevertheless, the point I'm trying to make here is about the courage and audacity that this man called Julian has, to be able to reveal and speak about what he believes is the truth without a shadow of fear for his life. It reminds me of the Monk called Julian from Robin Sharma’s bestseller, “The Monk who sold his Ferrari”…he pretty much had the same approach towards life.

So if courage is really contagious, I think each one of us needs to pick up ourselves from the dregs, dust off ourselves, and fearlessly speak out. It's a tough thing to do, but if we don't do it, the world will take us for granted and use us as puppets to fulfill their individual or group ambitions.

Making a confession, I admit that I don’t have the nerves and audacity to be upfront and outspoken 24x7/365 days a year...but am asking myself badly whether it is really all that difficult? Authoritarian governments, oppressive institutions and corrupt corporations should be subject to the pressure, so that every human being on this beautiful planet enjoys his rights by right and not by fear. 

I will try to walk the talk…..how about you?

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!

Paul Almighty

Think FIFA 2010 and it becomes quiet impossible to do a rundown of the 2010 Football World cup tournament without discussing or describing the bang-on predictions made by the slimy fortune teller— Paul the Octopus. Octa-Paul surely won a million hearts while the FIFA matches were spinning out, but even today Paul is competitive enough to give all human fortune tellers a run for their money.

The talk of the town
Who does not like to be famous? It is human nature after all to love and to be loved. If you ask me, I wouldn’t mind getting featured in an online encyclopedia and would love to have the whole world to recognize me for my craft. But not everyone who is good at her craft gets to that pedestal of acknowledgement just like that. It involves a lot of hard work, meeting the right people at the right time, a leader with leadership qualities to look up to and to follow, and a little bit of luck can get you there.

Look at Paul today, with his 100% perfecto prophesies, he has become the FIFA world cup sensation in no time....surely making the whole world look up to him. But not a human soul can tell how a squid can make correct predictions without even knowing what a FIFA ball looks like. Amazing…isn’t it! Well indeed, it is the precise predictions made by this sea animal (called Paul) that bewilders the world.

Paul got many scientists at work, which did a lot of research to understand why Paul was right with his predictions all the time. Only to rationalize saying that octopus are generally drawn to horizontal lines and shapes, and that explains why Germany is favored over England and Argentina. But if we have to agree with this wisdom drawn out by the scientists, then we also need them to explain why Paul picked Serbia over Germany, nor Spain over Holland. Well Well Well, Paul seems to have even baffled the scientists with this phenomenal phenomenon.

Drooling over Paul
Quiet literally, FIFA ousted teams including Germany, England, Argentina whose disastrous fate Paul prophesied before their respective matches are drooling over Paul’s boneless squid-fish protein. Cooking Paul in ginger sauce would not only satiate their appetite for spineless fish but more importantly will take out their vengeance on a mere sea animal who foretold their distasteful fate.

Immediate action needs to be taken in order to settle scores of danger that this endangered species with an inborn aptitude to forecast the future confronts today. The United Kingdom, where Paul is currently an inhabitant of, needs to transport Paul to a vegetarian land ASAP. Coming to think of it, India seems like an appropriate destination where most of the population is vegetarian. Nevertheless, Indians have fallen in love with Paul and want him to prophesize India’s maiden FIFA World cup entry. I’m optimistic that if UK indeed decides to safeguard Paul by sending him to a secured location like India, India will gear up to welcome Paul…assuring him a dual citizenship option and also promising to provide him all the benefits and provisions that an octopus would really need and want to boast.

Spain versus Paul
I started writing this article with a clear intention of pegging my opinion on the flamboyant and extraordinary FIFA 2010 World cup and more significantly to talk about the milestone victory by the first-time-winners, Spain. But I have just realised that my article has drifted towards showcasing the accurate predictions and popularity of the cursed (by a few) Nazi of FIFA 2010, Octopus Paul…Phew! Sorry for drifting away…I got carried over Paul’s tenta-cular prophesies! Spain indeed is the real winner of the FIFA world cup and Paul alone is not the reason for their win, agrees Spanish midfielder, Andreas Iniesta, who tweeted saying, "The octopus indeed is very popular in Spain."

So looks like that Spain is happy to share the limelight with Paul and Paul is happier to be featured by print & electronic media worldwide.

Well, all’s well that ends well. In that note, I conclude my column here. Viva Espanio…Viva Paul!

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!

Give me an O2 mask....I want to visit Bhopal!

I'm not mocking anyone when I say this....I'm actually serious when I say that I need an oxygen mask to guarantee safe and healthy passage across some places in the once mesmerizing city of Bhopal. Bhopal or the City of Lakes is the second largest city of Madhya Pradesh which is a famous tourist’s destination for its artistically built and exquisite Laxmi Narayan Temple, Taj-ul-Masjid, Moti Masjid, Shaukat Mahal, Upper lake, Lower lake, Van Vihar (Zoo), to name a few scenic and mostly visited and liked tourist spots.

But along with this awesome scenic beauty that this capital city of Madhya Pradesh exhibits, it also carries a “black spot” with its name, for being listed as a place which once dealt with and is still reeling over the worst industrial catastrophe in the world – “The Bhopal Gas Leak” – which killed a staggering 15000 people and paralysed and maimed thousands in Bhopal then.

The question is....what did we do about it then?
The dreadful Bhopal gas tragedy is something that didn’t happen today or something that occurred very recently. At this very moment, I’m writing about something that occurred 25yrs back in Dec 1984 at the pesticide production plant in Bhopal which was operated by Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL), an American subsidiary company owned by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC). Reckless decisions made by the management and faulty handling by operators resulted in the tragic leakage of the poisonous gas which spread across the length and breadth of the area surrounding the plant.

After a little over 25years of deep slumber and dwarfing of this entire tragedy by the authorities in India, the case resurfaced recently for the court hearing (verdict) upon the alleged convicts minus the Ex-CEO, Chairman and decision maker of the company, Mr. Warren Andersen, who although is equally responsible for the tragic gas leak...left India scot free to live in his home country. Doesn’t Mr. Andersen’s conscience kill him for being irresponsible and for recklessly taking thousands of innocent lives? Doesn’t this episode haunt him while he sits to have his meals in his plush bungalow in New York city? I wonder how he has merrily lived his life the last 25 years without being haunted for his misdeed???? (I know too many question marks typify bad writing, but believe me I quiet seriously have those many questions marks staring at me when I think of Mr. Andersen’s character and crude behaviour).

A full bodied post mortem
I don't seem to understand why nothing happened in the last 25years? Were the governing authorities so busy that they couldn't make the most important verdict in the world's worst “chemical disaster” by declaring quick punishments to the perpetrators?

In fact, it was better off if the legal proceedings of this case was handled by the US because I'm sure the American judiciary would ensure that a fair and objective verdict be given to the villains of this disaster...eventually giving justice to the victims and survivors of the Bhopal tragedy. Bringing to light the way President Obama diligently and equitably handled the recent oil spill case along the Gulf of Mexico....which is something that the world looks up to and genuinely applauds Obama for his realistic people management skills. For Obama and his administration, every decision is made keeping the country's citizens as the central focus....unlike some of our corrupt officials who can stoop to any level to make quick bucks at the cost of the nation.

Silencing the catastrophe to yield steep GDP’s
I have tremendous respect for some of the leading lights in the government today, but I don’t seem to understand why they silenced this issue for so long. Who told the authorities that the people of this country want to see only “good growth figures”, “industrial progress”, “sky rocketing GDP”, and “Indian’s rocketing to the moon and exploring space”. In fact, we want simple things for this nation. We want every human being in our country to breath in a pollution free and chemical free environment; we want to see every individual receiving at least two meals a day; we want basic health benefits for every citizen irrespective of whether he/she can afford the service or not; we want sanitised and clean municipal hospitals; and we want a safe and a clean city to live in and sustain this for the next generations to come.

After 25 years, today, the government has initiated a response cell called the “Group of Ministers” (GoM) which is made responsible to take stock of the recent Bhopal judgement and to assess the options and remedies available to the government. This group is formed, to basically initiate an action plan to cast off the toxic and contaminated mess in Bhopal and also guarantee hike in compensation to the victims and survivors of the tragedy. Surely a good move....but a step taken after so many years of the tragedy, speaks volumes about the self centred, corrupt, and egoistic side of our ministers.

Quick and ingenious actions required
Relocation and rehabilitation of the people is the need of the hour. So many people still live in the poisonous environment of Bhopal and even today children are born with psychological or physical disorders because of the toxic air that the survivors breathe in. How can we be so cruel to an unborn child and his mother? Additionally, the poisonous pesticide plant which is still spewing poisonous gases should be cracked open and the waste treated and discarded. Furthermore, health check-ups and safe medical treatment of each and every person living in the vicinity of the poisonous defunct plant should be on top of the list.

I am pretty speculative of the investigative report that will be submitted to the Prime Minister by the GoM. Sources say that GoM will prepare their reports after investigating the Bhopal situation from ground zero for a week. Only if our authorities had spent the same 7 days way back in the 1980’s when the tragedy had just struck the poor people of Bhopal in the wee hours of the night.......we wouldn’t have lost so many lives and would have done justice to the survivors then.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!

And still counting the dead....

6 Apr 2010, Naxalites in a cold blooded ambush killed 76 and wounded 50 Indian soldiers who unknowingly were making their last trips travelling in a security convoy towards Dantewade district, a Naxal stronghold area of Chattisgarh. Later, on 17 May 2010, a landmine blast triggered yet again by Naxalites destroyed a bus killing up to 44 civilians including a few police officers. Subsequently in another recent unpleasant and gory incident on 28 May 2010, a train from Kolkata to Mumbai was sabotaged by Naxalites killing at least 150 innocent civilians.

The agony and emotion expressed in all the above incidents which happened in quick successions of less than a month typifies the brutal and ruthless hearts and minds of the so-called radicals who mercilessly killed innocent people.....people, who neither directly nor indirectly are responsible for the distressful and pitiful conditions of the Naxalites today. I can see eye to eye and can put myself in the place of the painful and deficient lives that this marginalised section of society faces today. But no one on this free land has the right to use their freedom of expression against the government...by threatening the security of the nation and making civilians scapegoats to their anguish.

Numbers create panic
Number of dead bodies being flashed on banner headlines in newspapers & internet sites and those sensationalised as breaking news on TV, creates panic amongst the people of this nation and also in government circles. Quickly, our officials in governing circles appear for interviews on national TV expressing their anguish over these incidents and also in a fit of pressure and intimidation articulate their plan of action and divulge internal official secrets of the Union and State governments. And all this done on national TV...eventually giving the assailants a full view summary of what is in store for them. Subsequently based on these facts assailants plan their course of actions to mitigate the risks scheduled to be implemented upon them by the government.

Cabinet decisions and plans are official secrets and in no way should be exposed for public scrutiny and comments. If our ministers in their capacities do not understand law and order of this nation, then something needs to be seriously done to get their focus right. Tendering resignations on “moral grounds” is a good way to gain sympathy and empathy from the people and also your seniors, but it also shows cowardice...which is something that is not expected from intellectuals who the world looks up to.

Exposing popular defects in the systems
"Naxalism” is a bad word in the Indian dictionary today and sections of noteworthy media proactively and very precisely are exposing this popular defect in the system which only worsens as the days goes by. This expose significantly acts as a media trail reinforcing authorities to make a serious note of this national issue and persuades them to take immediate action on the deficiencies in the system.

Conversely playing up news to gain good readership/ viewership..... commercialises the very purpose of news makers. Such sections of media start behaving like hyperactive watchdogs that can’t wait entering the bedrooms of people to fetch exciting gossip or even plagiarizing news for all they care. Some of them even spin out paid news masquerading as fair and accurate news in media.

Good civilian turned bad
For how long will we keep counting bodies of the dead in all these incidents which happen almost every fortnight? Are we waiting to wipe our valuable resources from this land which commands a population of over 1 billion people, who in some way or the other have contributed to society and have given this country a progressive GDP growth which does not show signs of turning back to the old ‘not-so-good’ times?

Whether it is Naxalite in India or the Taliban in Pakistan...the purpose and mission of these groups are alike. Talibans started off just like Naxals are today, and hence we cannot wait for these enemies of the soil to become as big as the Taliban in Pakistan. We need to devise an action plan to contain these people who once were the common man like you and me.

At the same time, we need to distribute the wealth to the marginalised population of India who never could have the benefit of education and health because of their backward upbringing. 70% of India’s population lives in villages and majority of them do not have the basic privileges of medicine, food and education. A partial socialist approach of addressing this section of society is needed. If we fail to cater to them, we’ll have many of the “good civilians” turning to become “bad civilians”...and then our netas will label them as “Naxalites”.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Do write to me with your reactions, opinions or critical comments at simplymearl@live.com or leave your inputs in the comments tab below.

Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!