India's Bismarck-Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by Balraj Krishna (Review)

                                        This is a detailed book about a giant of a political personality, who transformed the destiny of India . He was conferred the title ‘Sardar’ justifying the faith people had on his vision and his ability to surpass all odds to achieve success against tyrannical British empire . The successful political campaigns at Kheda, Nagpur, Surat , Ahmedabad made him leader of masses with devoted followers , his grit & determination and prudent maneuvering of tricky political situations to catch the bluffs of opponents led campaigns to its victorious conclusions.

                                      The book reveals the trust Gandhi ji had on his lieutenant Sardar , to stand firm against adversities , thus nominating him the actual PM contender for the Independent India. The extraordinary determination and discipline to unite 560 princely states (self-governing princely states were released from British suzerainty after Indian Independence Act 1947) along with rest of India was a herculean task accomplished miraculously by Patel earning him the title of ‘Iron man of India’. He was well versed with the weakness and unperturbed by vicious propaganda of few unrelenting Rulers and embarked on his successful pious job creating circumstances conducive of United India earning the title of ‘Bismarck of India’ .

                                     This book sheds light on the journey of Vallabhbhai Patel in our country’s history ,different phases of struggle from Indian Independence movement to becoming the first ‘Home Minister’ of Independent India. A comprehensive narration of events from participating in Satyagraha movements against repressive British to supervisory role in the functioning of Congress ministries post 1937 provincial elections. His understanding of ground situations and pragmatic approach had thwarted the balkanization of India much to the dissatisfaction of Jinnah who tried to outbid Congress with British help.

                                                   Much has been written and discussed about the role of Gandhi and Nehru, this book is an attempt to fill the gap by throwing light on stupendous achievements of Vallabhbhai Patel. He was a beacon of hope for countrymen and for disillusioned party men when other stalwarts had succumbed. He rose to the occasion after partition and was active behind the scenes to unite and consolidate Indian landmass.

                                         This book did tremendous job to your knowledge about circumstances and decisions taken by our leaders , a well researched book . In my opinion its a must readable book

Three Years Of BJP- Hits & Failures Part-2

                                The second frightening problem that needs immediate attention is the poor state of Indian Heath care system. The appalling Health care conditions prevalent in government hospitals are published in newspapers frequently and yet no reforms to correct the wrongdoing raises pertinent questions about the concern for the well being of masses to the government to which you lead Mr PM. How the deplorable conditions of Health care , the abysmal state it is in, which is evidenced in the recurring deaths on numerous epidemics outbreak or spat between patients and doctors don’t find any mention in your public address ? Health experts have repeatedly warned that the unprecedented growth in private Hospitals , indicates rapid commercialization of public health and that it has caused quality treatment to go beyond the reach of ordinary people. There are countless reports on how these commercially-run hospitals, clinics and pathological laboratories are thriving in urban areas in the backdrop of obsolete public Health care system.

                                   It seems there is no monitoring by the government for checking the activities at private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers and the general population who are at the mercy of these corporate hospitals are left to fend for themselves . Regulatory bodies are either incapable of monitoring the existing private hospitals, for exploitation of patients, or not interested, in exorbitant expenses incurred by helpless patients and their families.

                                     Another sector where your kind attention is warranted is the ever increasing taxation on middle class. While no body will object to the need to increase tax paying net, more people should pay their taxes as computed and GST will go a long way in addressing this under tax economy problem but my simple question is unabated levying of surcharge on one pretext or another. Why do an individual has to pay to bank for withdrawal or otherwise, in PSU banks? Is it not extortion or fleecing customers through different tactics ? As the majority shareholder why didn’t government not refraining bank management from pursuing such questionable policy? Or has the government implicitly supporting this hegemony of PSU banks to loot public ?

                              While “Ujjwala” scheme is praiseworthy and people from all walks of life have wholeheartedly supported your initiative by shunning their subsidy on gas cylinder and thus benevolently supporting noble initiative , still one question disturbs me how incentivizing farmers to not pay their farm loans will help country in long run when government has little means to support downtrodden due to paucity of funds ? Why socialist decisions to garner votes aren’t parted with ? Why out of box solutions aren’t found while increasing population in rural areas leading to declining agricultural income and thus subsequent debt traps isn’t debated and solutions deliberated?

                                 We all are aware that some parts of our country lies in rain shadow locations and receive scanty rainfall. We need to learn modern practices of farming drip irrigation, more emphasis on connecting rivers ,check dams etc. to overcome this menace of drought and support our agriculture sector. We need to dwell on efficient management of resources to supplement our loopholes in logistics for complete overhaul of agriculture sector not knee jerk reactions of farm loan waver as it is temporary and ineffective. Pushing the can down the road is in nobody’s interest least of all farmers.

                                    While big bang economic reforms were the need of the hour and PM stood firm to guide country out of disillusionment the need now is to usher revolution in social sector. The dismal 131 rank hogged by India in Human Development Index(UNDP) speaks for itself and doesn’t bodes well for us. There is need to increase spending on education and Heath care along with accountability fixed, from current 6% on Education and roughly 1% on Health of GDP.

                                         In all its endeavor to fight the sagging economy or supporting underprivileged your government is overburdening the middle class with taxes . Government shouldn’t take middle class for granted , while reforms supporting industry and concessions and liberal subsidy for lower strata is visible , but government has shown its indifference to the middle class so far which needs respite from ever increasing tax burden . In the endeavor to project as messiah of poor, it is the salaried class which is being hammered unrelentingly by government . A prudent and pragmatic approach is the need of the hour and complacency towards any section of society should be thwarted .

Three Years Of BJP- Hits & Failures Part-1

                                   After ‘Three’ years of Modi government , it is time to do reality check . How does the promise of “Acche din” holds true for general population ? With the earlier regimes engrossed in corruption, it was a sigh of relief to have government at the helm that on face of it at least hasn’t plunged itself into any corruption scandal till now. “Na khaunga na khane dunga” was the tagline which catapulted BJP under Modi leadership to rode on high hopes of majority and grabbed overwhelming majority leaving other political parties in tatters and to which opposition had no means to counter and thus succumbed. It is undebatable that BJP’s power and popularity grew leaps and bound under PM and is majestically growing which is unprecedented in history .

                                It is noteworthy to see, how a strong leader with complete faith of electorate can steer a confused nation out of morass and blew a new lease of life. How the administrative setup which was mocked for corruption and policy paralysis is transformed into efficient decision makers. With the latest success in Four assembly elections and stupendous success in UP state in particular only added to the sheen of PM Modi . Already some politicians have openly suggested to abandon harboring any hopes of capturing power in 2019 parliamentary elections while nudging their hopes on 2024. All these bodes well for BJP as the opposition is in hopeless disarray with none on horizon to challenge BJP.

                            One of the important factor for decimation of opposition is tethering pseudo secular policies apart from nepotism and corruption which eventually played havoc to their fortunes as people were unfazed and were in no mood to forgive their halfhearted midway course correction. A lot has been said and written and numerous times postmortem is done by political pundits on electoral defeat and is futile to prolong that review .

                                       In his book “Walking With Lions” Natwar Singh quoted Vietnamese General Võ Nguyên Giáp (who defeated the mighty French forces with ragtag but motivated Vietnamese Guerillas ) “Be careful when things go well. Don’t lower your guard, things start going wrong when they appear to be going well” . Is it not time to do some introspection and ask some tough questions of where the incumbent government fell ridiculously short of expectations. While all my questions are directed against PM Modi as I firmly believe when success is attributed to the captain of the ship so does the failure.

                                When PM Modi talks of big bang reform , be it GST or Demonetization, I as an ordinary Indian too have few questions to ask and seek answers. Sir, as we all are aware and agree of the need to educate masses as illiteracy is a curse, and for country like ours more emphasis is given on Human development as literate population is considered an asset. You yourself have given special attention on daughter education we all are aware of, so, I just want to ask you a simple question are you unaware of the education mafia ? May I ask you what steps have you taken to stop the thriving education mafia to curtail their power to extract money on flimsiest excuses from hapless parents ? Are you oblivious to donations and tantrums of private schools to extort money? Are you unaware of the ridiculous standard of teachers that are entrusted of imparting education to future generation in government schools ? Are you not aware of the pitfalls of our education system ?

                                   The problems plaguing our education system is that government schools are either simply not sufficient or grossly short of quality both in teaching staff and other requirements while Private school are money oriented act as a factory to cater to demand and supply situation and extract money according to their whims and fancies .

                               This is the state of elementary education , the lesser we speak about college degrees the better. How can a person of your caliber is so unperturbed by the mushrooming coaching facilities ? Does reforms in education sector that has the potential to change nations destiny skipped your thoughts ? Are you not aware of the mad rush to enter IIT’s or other prestigious organizations and parents forced to cough up unbelievable fees for coaching centers that you surely have seen thriving on every nook and corner of every town and city? Is the government so dumbfounded that no pragmatic solutions can be found to change the scenario?

                                 The recent reports circulating from different quarters suggest over 60% Engineering graduates are simply unemployable, why no measures are taken to stem the wroth in education sector which I am convinced you want to see flourishing.

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Readers can write to me at - garv560@gmail.com

Chandrashekhar Sitaram Tiwari

                                 In today’s time and age when fiery debates are order of the day . Epithets are flung at remotest provocation , some true some half baked. Even being a nationalist is seen with an angle of perceived ideology whether one endorses it or not . Words like “DeshBhakt” or “Bharat Mata ki Jai” are scoffed at and are hurled as abuses implicitly . Here,in this viscous environment, I have read and is sharing a valiant story of a freedom fighter who inspired millions, his valor and indomitable spirit still gives goosebumps and is held by masses in reverence. His awe inspiring tale has and will continue to instigate passions for the motherland till posterity. I am beginning to share the story , we all have heard and cherished to believe that what I stood for is true and will continue to serve my motherland in whatever miniscule way I can. To believe that nationalist feelings aren’t outdated and concocted lies won’t stand the scrutiny of time.                                                                                                                       

                       “Your name?”

                         The boy replied back nonchalantly “Azad”.

                       “Your father’s name”?- “Azadi”

                       “Where do you live?”-“In Prison”   

                              Taken aback by the fearlessness of a teenager, a Parsi magistrate Mr. Kharegat , known for awarding severe punishments, ordered 50 lashes of severe caning . The boy seemed unperturbed while facing the Jailer Ganda Singh, notorious for his cruelty and torturing the prisoners. The boy was punished more for displaying his contempt for the magistrate than his actual crime of throwing stone at the police officer. Much to the disappointment of the Jailer, with every stroke of cane lashing and tearing his skin apart , boy continued to yell “Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai”. 

                            As the news of the youth’s bravery spread, people from all walks of life converged, to accord a hero’s welcome and the slogans of “Chandrashekhar Azad Ki Jai” reverberated the streets of Varanasi . A revolutionary , a Star, glimmer of hope,a 15 year old Sanskrit student Chandrashekhar Sitaram Tiwari , thus transformed into heroic patriot Chandrashekhar Azad . This is how, the story of one of the greatest warrior a true brave heart of Indian Independence movement came to limelight. 

                                 The year was 1918, the British Government introduced the dreaded Rowlatt Act, to suppress the growing clamor for independence. It’s aim was to suppress political agitations under the pretext of “sedition” as disenchanted people raised their voices against additional levy of taxes due to First World War. The country was up against the Rowlatt Act,  and Mahatma Gandhi led the Satyagraha which was brutally suppressed by British government. Scores of people were killed in police firing and infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in Punjab on Baisakhi day in April 1919 . The atrocious policies perpetrated by British knows no boundaries which further fueled the discontentment and unrest among masses and Azad was no exception to it.

                                 Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the non cooperation movement was launched all over India in 1921. Varanasi too was caught up in the frenzy , as students boycotted classes, and demonstrations were held . Azad being a rebellious by nature, left his studies and actively participated in it, but the Chauri Chaura incident(1922) and the abrupt suspension of Non Cooperation movement by Gandhi ji disappointed him immensely. His disillusionment with non violent movement made him believe and trudge the path of armed struggle for Indian Independence. 

                                Disillusioned with non violent movement and burning zeal to overthrow British , Azad joined Hindustan Republican Association( HRA) under revolutionary Sachindranath Sanyal. The organization was greatly influenced by the Russian Revolution in 1917 which overthrew Czar NicholasII. This organization was later renamed and reorganized by Azad and his associates like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Batukeshwar Dutta etc. as Hindustan Socialist Republican Army( HSRA) 

                                    Two daring raids carried out by HRA was the famous Kakori Case and (HRSA) assassination of two British police officers Saunders and Scott(escaped) to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai who were brutally lathi charged and mortally injured in 1928 while leading a demonstration at Lahore and thus infusing the spirit of nationalism and new lease of life in the freedom movement.

                                      On the ill fateful February 27, 1931, Azad was with his friend at Alfred Park  Allahabad, planning his next course of action when betrayed by his associate Azad was surrounded by police . Fighting against all odds and surrounded by 80 sepoys, Azad refused to surrender and resulted in gunfight . True to his name undeterred by circumstances , valiantly he fought like a cornered tiger till the end. He kept firing at the British police with his pistol, till he had just one bullet left. With no intention to surrender, he placed the pistol to his temple, and pulled the trigger.

                                    The story I recalled didn’t end here , Chandrashekhar Azad didn’t die that day , he lived in the minds and hearts of countless nationalist. His story is told and gives strength to generations thereafter. The story is a folklore inspiring patriots stimulating our nationalism, galvanizing us as one and prompting us to shed the narrow selfish beliefs and unite us as Indians. In prevailing acidic public discourse where slogans like ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ or ‘Vande Mataram’ are mocked and makes you an outcast , it best to remember the umpteen sacrifices of martyrs who went to gallows holding their head high for the future of this nation . Never wilt under pressure or get seduced by the gimmickry of unscrupulous elements who nowadays have slowly seeped into our society , these self professed intellectuals have for long continued with their despicable agendas enticing the gullible. The nationalism or patriotism will never go outdated as long our hearts resonate to the calls of nation.