India On Edge -1

 To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years.To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day.
                                                                                                                                —Sir Winston Churchill 
   
                             The ignominious deeds of humans seems to have no abyss, the more a group of people stoop lower, others challenge it by sinking further. Nowadays the irony of all the madness is the itch among respective religious bigots is to declare ones religion as supreme. Religion which was supposed to preach tolerance, peaceful coexistence among masses is now the centerpiece of conflicts around the globe. Everyone in general is in hurry to identify himself with religion and more sympathetic towards co-religionists while libellous towards "others". 

  Life with ideology and morality is construed as weakness and people adhering to it are often mocked at or are intimidated to silence. The space for rational voices is getting  skewer by the day. With religion taking the center stage extremists are having a field day. Before 1990's socialism was an ideology with human face, a demigod till 90's but it had bitten dust and after collapse of Soviet Union religious fanaticism and liberal western democratic system tried to fill in the vacuum. Unfortunately, liberal democracies of west propagated materialism, alleged moral and ethical degradations of society is rampant thus disintegrating the family value systems in many civilizations. It is believed societies based on materialism ideology are hollow and ripped apart as materialistic ambitions are respected  and encouraged. On the other hand  religious extremism propagated intolerance often resorting to violence towards other religions or anyone objecting to them. The mixture of both makes a deadly combination with no breathing space for helpless opponents.

                                                                    INDIA 

                                   Indian society that for centuries prided itself for being tolerant ,pluralistic is also passing through testing times. After Independence,Indian society was steered by Nehru towards pluralism,totally apt and accommodating for diverse society like ours.With time, this unifying ideology is increasingly under severe strain and today lies in shambles with more people questioning the allegedly lopsided or biased politics of it. It is extremely disturbing as to why does a  man's quest to become statesman(non aligned movement) and get international acclaim is hounded after his death ? The answer to it lies in the opening up of Indian economy in 1992. 3%growth rate economy started achieving 7% economic growth that lent confidence among Indians(middle class),a burgeoning class that started questioning decisions of previous policymakers.Another potent change was the penetration of  cable tv with the opening of economy. It revolutionized information gathering and distribution ,suddenly curbs on news by govt and its manipulation became an arduous task, thus manipulating opinions through censorship started diminishing and so does the clout of established operators.

                                    Initially the old media celebrities who had a field day during printing era and then  on cable news(initial years) by manipulating news and manufacturing opinions on cable tv's lasted another 10-15 years till Social media(SM) developed roots and began challenging these self-acclaimed media celebrities. The internet revolution has been both a blessing and a curse as news spread quickly and repercussions are spontaneous.The penetration of SM is the most significant factor that altered public discourse.The growing intolerance among masses might have many reasons but one definitely is skewed depiction of events by vested interests. Verificity of events are scarce and instant justice is rampant. SM is a powerful medium attracting large number of angry, frustrated and humiliated youth who uses the anonymity of uncensored media to vent there anger. Many groups have sprung up on SM vouching to defend certain ideologies and respective religious beliefs foul mouthing and spewing venom against others in the name of defending free speech.There are numerous reports where riots were orchestrated by extremists citing dubious SM comments or videos leading to loss of men and material.

 Truth is somewhere in between, after commencement of reforms in 1991 a particular section benefited immensely and moved out of poverty becoming part of burgeoning middle class that grew in confidence with economic prosperity while majority still is confined to the unending vicious poverty cycle. Self-confidence and economic independence helps people to diminish wrong mythologies and complexes, makes one more tolerant and pluralistic. On the other hand deprived class become's more religious, more tied to their caste/sub-caste, more radical in their thinking, and blaming disparities on previous policymakers. The ruling elite also find it convenient to blame and tarnish past as there incompetency isn't questioned.

                                  For India to thrive society has to do brutal,honest introspection,its vital to shun the twisted,polluted ideology. There is a saying in China that whatever you put in your head and your stomach, no one can take away from you. Grievances among masses is understandable coupled with religion it becomes a powerful emotional connect and tool in the hands of unscrupulous radical fringe elements to exploit. Economic growth is the best antipoverty system and stabilizing factor when millions of deprived young people be provided with opportunities to achieve their full potential by imparting modern education and jobs.

Saudi Arabia Heads UNHRC

                               As stated by the U.N. declaration of Human Rights in 1948 "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." The above declaration states that each and every human is entitled to certain basic human rights such as right to live, speech, freedom, justice, etc. irrespective of race,religion,color,creed and nationality and these rights are fundamental to human existence thus should be protected.

                          The sad part about honoring the simple basic rights enshrined in most countries constitution is the different interpretation of human rights and its protection. In some counties political and civil rights are not given or guaranteed to all its citizens or minorities while in some others, economic and social rights are not honored. To ensure promoting & implementation of rules safeguarding human rights international organizations like UN,Amnesty International and International Human Rights Commission(IHRC) were created and entrusted responsibility.

   Recent contentious appointment of Saudi Arabia  by the UN to head a key human rights panel United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has been deplored by human rights groups Worldwide. The reason being the disgusting human rights record of Saudi government. Saudi Arabia is notorious for worst kind of rights violations,repressive theocracy by discussing the open discrimination against women, public execution for petty crimes and harsh sentencing for government critics is cited as reasons by organizations for Saudi Arabia's omission from human rights panel. 

                        According to the Amnesty, rights activists are labeled as terrorists in Saudi Arabia and their trials continue. The fundamental human rights respected world wide are not adhered to by Saudi regime.The organization adds that Riyadh imprisons people merely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Amnesty has also slammed the Saudi regime for violating international laws through its unilateral aerial war on Yemen that  killed hundreds of innocent civilians.

  The wife of imprisoned free speech blogger Raif Badawi, Ensaf Haidar, called the appointment “scandalous” and said that it meant “oil trumps human rights”.Saudi Arabia has been accused of human-rights abuses for decades, from suppressing dissent to beheading people for homosexuality,drugs,adultery and minor crimes. Saudi regime is accused of using draconian,medieval era laws to silence dissent in there country.

Ensaf Haidar, wife of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi

                   With angry human rights organizations calling Saudi appointment preposterous there had been past instances when despite worst human rights violations, China together with Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Cuba and Algeria won seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council. As UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said “It is scandalous that the UN chose a country that has beheaded more people this year than ISIS to be head of a key human rights panel, “Petrodollars and politics have trumped human rights.” 

                                                   Shia Activist Ali AlNimr 

                             Western governments are always being accused for dubious conduct on penalizing human rights offenders. Saudi Arabia is an important Western ally in an increasingly tumultuous middle eastern region and that implies Saudi Arabia's appointment to coveted UNHRC .

Caste System And Reservations

                               We live in a country where surname is important, its not your achievements but the family you are born decides one's social standing. Caste is a powerful tool of self-identification in Indian society. Caste based discrimination in India is as old as country itself.

                            India adopted constitution in 1950 and provided "reservations" to the most downtrodden caste groups in social hierarchy for there upliftment and thus imparting social justice and bringing equality. Idea to provide reservations was to bring equality,development and social unity among masses thus concluding that caste consciousness would slowly wither away with time. Reservations which was meant to provide equality and unify society, actually ended up increasing the wedge.

                          Reservations undoubtedly provided relief to a section of targeted caste groups(beneficiary) but failed to bring social unification or untangling caste web in our society, on the contrary it further complicated things parting wedge further. The problem, as all too often in India, is politics. Caste based politics is a potent tool in the hands of politicians exploited to the hilt. In electoral democracy "reservations" became an election tool in the hands of politicians for population mobilization. With fewer government jobs and dwindling economy nowadays there's a competition among caste groups to be declared backward and get under the ambit of reservation.

  Reservation policy was implemented for social,economical,constitutional and political empowerment of lower castes. The irony of reservation quota is, it divided the society even more as the unreserved castes either want the reservations cancelled or to be included in the quota themselves and current beneficiary castes protect their quota percentage and resist inclusion(dilution of quota) of any new castes into their category. With increasing population and lesser jobs, the scuffle to get enrolled through reservations is only going to vitiate social environment . The mad rush to declare there castes socially and economically backward is only going to accentuate further. Gujjars of Rajasthan, Patels of Gujarat, Jats of Haryana and Kapus of Andhra Pradesh are just the beginning with many more castes will unite as vote banks to arm twist government for advancing there cause.

Category as per Government of India	Reservation Percentage as per Government of India
Scheduled Tribes (ST)	7.5%
Scheduled Castes (SC)	15.0%
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	27.0%
Total constitutional reservation percentage	49.5%
General	50.5%

                              Providing reservations to section of society ( 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent for SCs and STs respectively) was a social experiment for uplifting deprived castes who were allegedly suppressed for generations with equal opportunities and social equality, but the trouble began in 1990, when Parliament passed a law reserving another 27 percent of government jobs for members of "Other Backward Classes".  It's important to know the basis for reservation to any caste and the benchmark setup to distinguish are obscure. In the mid-1990s,Rajasthan's Jats community applied for inclusion in backward-classes quota. They cited, among other things, 1931 census data revealed child marriage in their community was more prevalent than among other official backward castes. 

                                                                     Jat Agitation 

                                 The primary objective of Indian reservation system was to provide enhanced  social,economical and educational opportunities to underprivileged communities but with more affluent communities seeking pie of reservation quota,it actually defeats the objective of classless Indian society. With brain dead politicians at helm,numerical strength of communities and there prowess to unleash terror will be the benchmark for inclusion of specific community in reservation quota in future. The Patel's in Gujarat, Jat's in Haryana are testimony to quota agitation.

                                                            Patel Agitation 

                                  In present scenario when every caste is in haste to be branded backward and logic is overruled by politics, there's a need to analyze the impact of reservations on our society. We should determine whether the past practices of 65 years (reservations was initially proposed for 10 years) yielded desired results. Some people argue to include economically weaker sections irrespective of caste be granted reservation. One most formidable alteration to reservation quota would be to abolish prevailing reservation on caste and give free and quality education till 12th to all the deprived and poor sections of the society (any caste, creed or religion),full scholarship to meritorious  candidates irrespective of caste and religion.

                      

Pakistan's Preposterous Claims On Kashmir

                         Pakistan a "land of pure" was created by Muslim fanatics headed by Jinnah for subcontinent Muslims. The main objective to carve out an Islamic homeland was to provide safe and secure country for Muslims who were allegedly under threat from Hindu majority. Advancing there case of unifying Muslim majority(dominated) areas in Indian subcontinent , there's always an unending propensity of Pakistani establishment towards Muslim majority Kashmir valley and publicly highlighting annexation of Kashmir as there unfinished partition agenda.

                         Did Pakistan became a safe heaven for Muslims as envisaged by its creators ? We shall soon have some idea about the "Savior of Muslim" or "Pious land for Muslim" credentials of Pakistan as it vociferously propagates to gullible people around the globe.

                    

Bangladeshi Genocide 

                      
                      The idea of Pakistan was decimated with breakaway and independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Atrocities by Pakistani army on linguistically different Bengali population who were co-religionist eroded and ended the idea of one homeland for subcontinent Muslims. Many academics state that the first time rape was consciously applied as a weapon of war was during the Bangladesh War of Independence. The mass killings in Bangladesh whose figures varies between 2 to 3 million was the most concentrated act of genocide in the twentieth century by Pakistani establishment against Muslims and other minorities in Bangladesh . Rough estimate suggests that the number of the rape victims could be anywhere between 4 and 6 millions. The bifurcation of Pakistan in 1971 on linguistic bases and atrocities on Bangladeshi Muslims by Pakistanis defies the concept of creation of Pakistan on religious basis. 

                           

                        Shia Genocide 

                         Pakistani myth about Muslim homeland lies in tatters as Sunni Muslims attack and butcher Shias with impunity since 1980's . The sectarian violence against fellow Muslim sects is increasing by the day. Antagonism towards Shias by Sunni Muslims motivated numerous target killings and bomb blasts in Pakistan. According to human rights group over 4000 Shias were butchered in Pakistan between 1987-2007. Over 1,900 Shi’a (including Hazara and Ismaili) were killed in bomb blasts or targeted gun attacks from 2012 to May 2015 . Shias that numbered around 20% of Pakistani population are frequently persecuted by Sunnis in Pakistan.

                   Another Muslim community that's routinely persecuted inside Pakistan are Ahmadiyya Muslims. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community of the sub-continent, which migrated to Pakistan after partition. In 1974 Pakistan's parliament adopted a law declaring Ahmadis to be non-Muslims, they are forbidden to call themselves Muslim or to "pose as Muslims", there religious places are desecrated and are subjected to persecution and systematic oppression. 1953 Lahore riots, 1974 Anti-Ahmadiyya riots and May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore bare testimony to Anti-Ahmadiyya hatred and persecution in Pakistan.

                      Such is the hatred towards Ahmadis that theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate Dr Abdus Salam was shunned and sidelined in Pakistan because he was an Ahmadiyya Muslim.

                        

Sufi Islam which is another stream of Islam that preaches tolerance and peace is now under threat in Pakistan.Sufism’s influence on the literature, music, art and architecture of Islam is also immense thus contradicts the rigorous religion that is enveloping Pakistan today.Sufi festivals on shrines of saints are routinely attacked and desecrated.

                        While confronting Muslim insurgents in Baluchistan, Sindh, Gilgit etc. Pakistani army are notorious of oppressing Muslim inhabitants of these regions. Balcoh people are persecuted, abducted and systematically killed by Pakistani security agencies and the Pakistani Army. Baloch leaders like Shaheed Nawab Akbar Bugti, was attacked and killed along with his tribesmen in 2006 testifies intolerant Pakistani psyche . The busting myth of Pakistan for Muslims becomes crystal clear with "Operation Cleanup" a brutal state sponsored attack on the Karachi Muhajirs(Urdu speaking Muslim immigrants from India) in the early 1990s, both under Nawaz Sharif (1992) and then Benazir Bhutto (1993-4).  

 The diabolical Pakistani claims of harbinger of Islam and protector of its followers was at public display in Jordan in September 1970. Over 25,000 Palestinians were massacred by Pakistani 2nd Division in September 1970 under Brigadier Ziaul Haq who later ruled Pakistan. So much for the Palestinian and Muslim cause that Pakistan profess and propagates thus seek support of International community to usurp Kashmir after getting decimated in all the wars she initiated against India. 

                          Pakistan is at war with itself and countless insurgent groups, it doesn't have the moral or religious authority to question Kashmir unification with rest of India. The intolerant,violent Pakistani society is ruined and is on brink of civil war. She shouldn't be taken seriously as there is no merit in continuing dialogue with a failed state that doesn't recognize international treaties of past and should be left to fend of for herself.