We live in world of Guided missiles.....But Misguided Men

आज ६ अगस्त है | जिन लोगो को यह स्मरण न हो उनको मैं यह स्मरण करना चाहता हूँ की आज ही के दिन ६६ वर्ष पूर्व मानवता को कलंकित करने वाली एक बर्बरता पूर्ण घटना ने समूचे विश्व को स्तब्ध करके रख दिया था | मैं परमाणु विस्फोट की बात कर रहा हूँ जो की तब संयुक्त अम्रीका ने जापान के ऊपर किया था | आज उसी दुर्भागयापूर्ण घटना की ६६ वि वर्षगाँठ है | प्रश्न आज यह नहीं हैं की वह घटना एक युद्ध के चरमसीमा तक पहुँचने का आक्रोश था या फिर एक राजनैतिक कदम; प्रश्न आज यह हैं की हमने अंततः इस बर्बरतापूर्ण घटना से क्या सीख ली और आज भी क्यों हम शांति के पथ से खुदको पृथक करके रखते हैं |

इतिहास के पंडितो की मानी जाय तो वह घटना एक प्रतिशोध था अम्रीका का जापान के लिए | "पर्ल हार्बर " पर बमबारी होने के बाद अमेरिका को एक ठोस उत्तर देना था जापान को ताके अगले बहुत वर्षो तक जापान यह स्वप्न में भी कल्पना न कर सके की वो अमेरिका जैसे महाशक्ती पर प्रहार करें | परन्तु क्या एक युद्ध का परिणाम यह होना चाहिए ? और सबसे बड़ा प्रश्न यह हैं की अंततः युद्ध होना ही क्यों चाहिए ? पशुओ के समाज में भी ऐसे भयानक घटनाओं का संस्करण नहीं होता जो की मनुष्यों के इतिहास में हुआ है | मनुष्यों की प्रजाती ही एक अकेली प्रजाती है जो की अपने अहम् के संतप्ती के लिए अपने ही प्रजाती के प्राण भी हर लेती हैं | ऐसे अहम् की संतप्ती का क्या लाभ ?

आज कभी आतंकवाद तो कभी युद्ध के नाम पर मानवता का हनन होता ही रहता हैं | मनुष्य मनुष्य का शत्रु बना हुआ है और यह सिर्फ एक ऐसे कारण के लिए जो के एक शांतिपूर्ण रूप से हल हो सकता हो | आज कभी धर्म के नाम पर तो कभी देश के नाम पर तो कभी जाती के नाम पर यह परमाणु बम हमारे भीतर अपना विस्फोट करती रहती हैं | आज के इस समाज में हर एक मानव और उसकी इच्छाएं एक परमाणु बम के सामान हैं जो न केवल स्वयं को पर अपने साथ पुरी मानवता को दुर्गती के पथ पर ले जाने को तत्पर हैं | आज इस समस्या के केवल दो ही समाधान है ; या तो हम सब एक दुसरे को गाजर मूली की तरह काट कर रख दे या फिर विचार करे की अंततः हमे किसकी और कितने की आवश्यकता है और कहीं हमारी यह आकांक्षा किसी के मानवता का हनन तो नहीं कर रही |


प्रथम पथ पर चलना बहुत सरल हैं पर इसका परिणाम कितना भयानक होगा ये हम सब कल्पना कर सकते हैं | हमारा समाज एक संवेदनशील गठन से पृथक होके एक अमानवीय संरचना का रूप लेगी जहाँ पर दुर्बल मनुष्यों के लिए कदाचित एक ही पथ शेष रहे और वह हैं स्वयं को एक शक्तिशाली व्यक्ती को समर्पित करना जो आपका कभी भी कितना भी उपयोग कर सके और आपको उपयोग करने के पश्चात एक तुच्छ वास्तु की तरह नकार दे | हमार समाज आज देखा जाए तो इस पथ पर अग्रसर हैं | द्वितीय पथ पर चलना कठिन हैं और एक समूचे समाज को इसके लिए प्रेरिक करना और भी जटिल | परन्तु इस पथ पर शांति और सम्मिलित उन्नती का बीज है | इस पथ पर चलना कठिन अवश्य हैं परन्तु एक बार इस पथ पर चलने के बाद जब इसके लाभ हमे दीखते हैं तब हमें इस पथ के सठीक होने का प्रतीत होता हैं | सभी प्रत्याशाओं को छोड़ जब हम एक समाज के उद्धार की बात करते हैं और वह उद्धार के लिए सदेव कर्तव्यपरायण होतें हैं तब जाके एक आदर्श समाज का गठन होता हैं |

किसी संत ने कहाँ हैं की "We live in a world of guided missiles but misguided men" हम एक ऐसे जगत में वास कर रहें हैं जहाँ पर मिस्सईल तो निर्देशित हैं पर उन्हें निर्देश देने वाले हाथ असंतुलित व असिक्षित हैं | आज इस दिन में हमे यह स्मरण रहे ही जब मनुष्य का अहम् उसके चरमसीमा पर पहुँचता हैं तब जगत में विनाश को छोड़ और कुछ नहीं हो पाता | विकास की बात तो दूर तब सिर्फ एक समाज व सामाजिक ढाँचे का बलात्कार होता है |

एक भारतीय होने के नाते मैं यह आशा रखता हूँ की हम इस दुसरे पथ पर अग्रसर हो | हम हमारे देश की रक्षा करें पर यह भी स्मरण रखें की देश की प्रगती होती हैं शांति के पथ पर चलने से न की एक योद्धा का विचारधारा रखने से | इसका प्रमाण हमारे पास ही मौजूद हैं |

Before Mumbai Becomes Shanghai....Maharashtra has to become Gujarat

कुछ दिनों पहले मैं गुजरात में था | हाला के गुजरात एक तरह से मेरी कर्मभूमी हैं पर मैं किसी न किसी तरह हमेशा से उससे एक संतान की तरह जुड़ा हुआ हूँ | आज जब हम बात कर रहे हैं प्रगती और विकास का तो यह कहना गलत नहीं होगा की गुजरात इस पथ पर द्रुत गाती से अग्रसर हैं | सठीक माने में गुजरात ही ऐसा एक प्रदेश हैं जहाँ विकास के सठीक व्याख्या आपको दिखाई देंगे | जहा पर विकास का अर्थ केवल एक शहर या उसके कुछ पूंजीपतियो के उद्धार नहीं परन्तु उससे कहीं अधिक हैं |

कर्मक्षेत्र और दुर्भाशी जगत में कर्मठ होने के आधार पर अभी मैं इस देश के वित्तिक राजधानी मुंबई में निवास कर रहा हूँ | मुंबई महानगरी जहाँ एक अवसरों की स्वप्न्भूमी हैं तो दुसरे तरफ यह एक क्षय होते नगर का जीता जागता सबूत हैं | मुंबई में रहते आप सिर्फ इस शहर को एक समस्या के रूप में निहार सकते हैं और बाकी कुछ नहीं | जगह जगह सडको पर गड्ढे आपको आपके कर के पैसो का व्यर्थ व्यय का संकेत तो देते ही हैं , उसके ऊपर सरकार के निराशावादी कदम आपको और दुष्प्रेरित करते हैं इस शहर में अपना भविष्य तलाशने के लिए | यहाँ एक साधारण वर्ग के मनुष्य से अपना जीवन व्यतीत करने का अधिकार मनो छीन लिया गया है | इसी छीनाझपटी के बीच बहुत सारा विकास हो रहा है जो साधारण वर्ग के विसंगत हैं | अगर यह विकास का प्रतिरूप है तो ऐसे विकास का लाभ क्या होगा यह कल्पना करना कठीन नहीं हैं | एक राज्य के रूप में महाराष्ट्र का विकास लगभग न के बराबर है | अगर इस राज्य से मुंबई को पृथक कर दिया जाए तो यह एक पिछड़े राज्य के सामान होगा इसमें कोई शंका नहीं हैं |

दुसरे ओर जब हम गुजरात की ओर अपनी दृष्टी को केन्द्रित करते हैं तब यह महसूस होता हैं की यहाँ पर विकास एक सम्मिलित प्रक्रिया का प्रतिरूप हैं | गुजरात में विकास का अर्थ केवल अहमदाबाद को विक्सित करना नहीं बलके राज्य के सभी शेहेरो का अनुपातिक रूप से विकास करना हैं | अगर इस विकास के प्रतिमान की समीक्षा की जाए तो यह एक लम्बे समय तक कारगर और समाज के सभी वर्गों को संबोधित करेगा यह प्रतीत होता है | गुजरात को एक तरह का बढ़त इस बात पर भी मिलती हैं की यहाँ हर एक इंसान स्वयं अपना रोज़गार जुटाने में विश्वास करता हैं जिससे के जनगन का एक बड़ा भाग उद्यमी हो उठता हैं | ऐसे भावो को गुजरात सरकार प्रोत्साहित करता हैं अपने सारे वित्तीय योजनायो से जो सदेव लाभ की ओर केन्द्रित होते हैं | यहाँ लाभ इंसान व् सरकार दोनों को पहुँचता हैं और इस कारण समूचे राज्य की उन्नती एक स्वाभाविक प्रतिफल है | विकास के लिए गुजरात को कोई विशेष पग नहीं उठाने पड़ते क्योंकि यह एक सामान्य प्रक्रिया से ही अपना गठन कर लेती हैं |

गुजरात के विकास का प्राथमिक कारण यह हैं की सरकार का केंद्र - बिन्दु यहाँ आधारभूत संरचनाओं अर्थात मौलिक सुख सुविधाओ को विक्सित करने की ओर हैं, जैसे के सड़के बनाना, बिजली-पानी का सठीक वितरण करना , ओद्योगिक विचारधारा को प्रोत्साहन देना इत्यादी | जब ऐसे सिद्धांतो के साठ कोई विकास के पथ पर अग्रसर होता हैं तो विकास स्वयं अपनी राह पकड़ लेती हैं और यह विकास एक लम्बे समय तक स्थिर रहता हैं |

विकास को बढ़ावा देने के लिए यह भी ज़रूरी है की आप आधुनिक अभियांत्रिकी का सहारा ले | रुधिचुस्त भावनाओं को किनारा कर आप एक अपरंपरागत चिन्ताधारा को अपनाए जो के आप को एक लम्बे समय तक अपना लाभ पहुचाये | विकास के क्रिया में आप यह भी स्मरण रखे के यह विकास केवल कुछ लोगो के लिए नहीं है परन्तु एक समूचे जनता को संबोधित करता है अतएव इस विकास के क्रिया में कुछ ऐसा न हो जिससे जनता को आज के आधार में कोई संकट प्रकट हो | विकास एक क्रमिक प्रक्रिया हैं न की कोई चमत्कार, इसलिए इस क्रमिक प्रक्रिया को इस तरह से रूप दे के आपका आज और आपका कल दोनों ही विक्सित हो उठे |

मुंबई को शंघाई बनने के पहले महाराष्ट्र का गुजरात बनना आती आवश्यक हैं ...........

Computers....From a machine to a part of life

It was the mid nineties when I was first exposed to the world of computers. There was much of inquisitiveness as to how this new machine that claims to change the life of every human being would actually look like. I had seen a lot of computers on the television but never had seen one in the real life. I was really excited. When our teacher took me to the computer LAB I could see three very salient features of this magic-machine, a television screen, a box, and a typewriter like keyboard. I wondered, it would be very easy to make such a thing and could be also made in our home. Just connect the TV to the keyboard and get to know how the box is. I was very good in mathematics so I often thought that what would be the reason that in order to do calculations which were very efficiently done in the ledgers one would use this machine? I was really surprised when I got to operate with that machine.

Since that day the computer has never left me. In some ways or another I have been using it and also getting inspired by it. Some days I even wondered whether the humans made a Frankenstein in the name of computer and then I think as to what the world would be today without it. A computer is actually a style statement today. Gone are the days when you had a computer like a three piece suite. Today it is more designed, compact and more stylish. We have technologies like touch and voice sensing in our computing devices which actually help us more to brag about it than to actually use it. Today a computer has gone beyond the boundaries of computing. It is used in designing, co-relating and is used in every field that you can think about. From the counters of the banks this machine has made its way to the movie studios, to the railway stations, to the schools, to the nearest grocery shop and even to our homes to be of a household help. The computer is now a source of satiation of one’s emotional needs in the form of social networking and friendship sites. It is also a source of entertainment as well as a device that brings you more closely to the finest educational institution that would actually provide you with the best possible courses right at your fingertips.


For an engineer the processing capability is a high point whereas for a fashion designer and a movie editor it is the display. If we ask a librarian then it is the storage capacity that brings a smile on his face. Different parts of this machine and its different capabilities actually appeal to several professions. And when they do so it is essential to also have a different physical look for their machines because this is how things would work better internally and externally. When I saw the advertisement of Dell, this requirement was met because over here now you could actually change the look of your gadgets based on your mood, clothes as well as profession.


Today as I write this from my laptop I still recall that day when I saw the computer for the first time….didn’t love it then…..but slowly fell in love with it later.

http://bitly.com/inspiron

http://www.dell.com/in/p/inspiron-r/pd?dgc=BA&cid=33223&lid=783245&acd=1059962037409490

Telecom and Inclusive growth

Being in the telecom industry for almost 9 years now I have been fortunate enough to see the industry evolve from being provider of some services of desires to being the necessity and a pillar of infrastructure in the country’s development and this, who could have imagined would have been realized in a span of 12 years since the telecom industry was privatized. Today, however, my article is not about glorifying this industry but to actually bring about the dark side of the development of technologies involved in this industry. People may opine this to be a kind of betrayal or on a soft note a personal censure but today it is important for us, the urban population, to know as to when to stop.

Years ago a voice call used to be a matter of luxury. There were no mobile phones and there were only the fixed wire phones, that too, not in all houses. This was the symbol of an under-developed country.Today, almost everybody has a cell-phone. Every person is reachable. Every person can be tracked. You have Wi-Fi, 3G, video calling and what not to communicate and entertain yourself but still there seems to be a kind of restlessness in the urban population. So much development; so much technical innovation; but just one thing to ask; how much of it is actually necessary today. Today a person has a cell-phone, a laptop with wireless LAN, internet, video calling, live-TV connectivity, interactive television and what not but the statistics say that the same urban person is far away from his family, his parents, and his relatives. The social circle that he maintains is on facebook with 300 friends on an average 293 of them he never meets. The urban youth prefers to surf the you-tube on his mobile or laptop rather than going out and exploring the world.


Our communication industry is exploding, growing day by day. Technologies are being upgraded day by day but for whom, only for the urban population who are actually developed and need less of such development. The reach of this technology upgradation is only limited to 20% of the population of this country. People in the villages who actually dominate around 50% of our economy are still not aware, or rather not made aware of the advantages that these technologies can do for them. Statistics say today that the usage of internet is actually for the following purposes.

60% ------ for Pornographic and adulterated material.
15% ------ For online gaming
3% -------- For E-Commerce
10% ------- For entertainment content download and social networking.
2%--------- For study purposes.
10% ------- For communications like e-mail, chat and live talk.

Thus to see the least the largest chunk of the BW is actually being used for the most frugal kind of activities. Does this actually mean development? We have actually ushered in a bandwidth evolution but we have failed to actually guide people as to how to constructively use this bandwidth. The major part of this bandwidth is being not used in the proper way. A day will come when everybody will have a satellite atop their heads but still the usage of bandwidth would be for unscrupulous ways.


The solution is also very simple. While we provide bandwidth and this should not stop at any cost, there should be a kind of group that actually educates people how to efficiently use this bandwidth for their own upliftment and development of the nation.
There should be focus on the rural market, as this is the population that would use this bandwidth and rise to the occasion to develop this country. I know that there would be fear or ROI, but hey, somebody will have to take this risk. Somebody will have to do this. Because if this works out fine the ROIs would be four-fold from what the company actually gets from the urban market. There should be innovative ideas in service provisioning for the rural masses to make this technology affordable for the rural people. As the affordability increases the purchasing power will increase initially. Now as the sales go high, albeit with low margins initially with the help of innovative services this in an effect raises the bar of living for the rural masses.


This would now raise the demand even more from the rural market and ROIs will keep on coming for the companies in a better ratio that they actually come in the urban market. This would be rise in sales without increasing much of pressure on the sales staff and also evolving people in the way. This calls for a development that is inclusive and more comprehensive in nature. There would be rise in demand due to genuine reason; no demand will have to be created because now the technology has already caught the right pulse. The companies prosper, the people develop, the economy grows and in some ways the urban population also benefits. This can be the story of inclusive growth through communications.


So today as communication upgradation becomes necessary even more necessary is actually to educate the people how to use this technology. How to channelize this technology in the proper way so as to give maximum impetus to the communication business as well as development of the country at large.

The fight against corruption

These days there have been a lot about corruption and the fight against it. While, I as a citizen was bewildered by the sudden awareness, it also came to my mind as to why people are being so agile now against this age old problem. Corruption is not a phenomenon or a property that existed only since we had our independence; this is an age old problem of our country. Since the times of the Mahabharata there have been incidences of deceit and corruption in the political machinery and administration. So why this brou-ha-ha over this issue after so many years?

I am not aware of the contents of the Lokpal Bill but then the brief synopsis I got of this so called hope for the common man was as follows:

1. The bill empowers the common man representative not on an electoral basis but on a meritorious basis to a committee.
2. The committee has the powers to actually prosecute/recommend to prosecute/impeach a person, sitting in an office of power, if found guilty of corruption and other malpractice.
3. It actually gives the power in the hands of the people who actually deserve to have it and empowers the feeble minded common man towards being more confident and adhering to the system of the country.
4. It is a system under which there can be a significant reduction in the segmented corruption that we have not only in our political machinery but also in the administrative domains.

While the picture seems rosy enough, what I fail to understand is the following.

a) How sacrosanct would be the committee which will be formed to deal with such cases?
b) Daily there are about 1000 or even more cases of corruption or corruption related crimes, how these will be prioritized by this committee?
c) What is the guarantee that in this event of prioritization of cases there will not be any sort of nepotism in the committee itself?
d) As the time passes by, how do we actually monitor and analyze the work of this committee and on which exchequer and fund will this committee run (centre or State)?
e) If it is a centrally run committee then what is the guarantee that this committee itself will not be parochial to certain regions?

While Anna Hazare has done a wonderful job and that too in the most decent ways about taking an initiative towards fighting this problem called corruption, however, I feel that to fight this demon which is actually within us for so long a time will take much time and effort than just a fast.

Joelle Brown Girl in the rain

Makar Sankranti

Often we wonder sitting in India, which is a land of festivals, what actually is the meaning of the numerous festivals that we celebrate. Some national, some regional and some universal; these festivals are actually the small elements that bind our country in a single cultural fabric. One of the many festivals that actually exist in this country is Makar Sankranti. I have heard a lot about this festival, and tried to find its meaning, however most of the times I only realize this festival either as a harvest festival and a festival to fly kites. Today as I went to the Jholi Parv of BAPS in Mumbai I had the chance to listen to the exact meaning of this festival and today I would like to present to you some very good words of HDH Shri Viveksagar Swami of BAPS.


Literal Meaning of the Festival:

Makar Sankranti in the literal meaning is the movement of the sun from the Sagittarius constellation (Dhanur) to the Capricorn Constellation. In other words it is the “Sankraman of Lord Surya from Dhanur to Makar” and that is the reason why we call it Makar Sankranti. The festival is also called as Uttarayan in many parts and this is because of the fact that from this day the Sun actually traverses from the Southern Hemisphere to the North. So it is a journey of the Sun towards Uttar and thus called as Uttarayan. Days start to become longer and nights become shorter from now on and this marks the beginning of a new year. Technically speaking Makar Sankranti is the actual beginning of the New Year for Hindus and all the auspicious works start from this day on.

Metaphorical Interpretation:

The rise of the sun from the southern hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere is actually a sign of progress or “Unnati” as we call it in Hindi. This is the reason why all the auspicious works are done after the onset of Makar Sankranti. The rise of the sun actually indicates the start of a new beginning, and inspires people to go ahead towards the rise of character and content. It is said that the rise of the sun towards the north indicates the rise of spiritualism in one’s life. It is very important to have a spiritual growth with the materialistic growth that one strives for. A person without a spiritual growth is somewhat like an envelope that is decorative in nature (with lots of embellishments) but then inside it has no content or no good news to bring in. The content of a human being depends on the spiritual growth and as long as this doesn’t happen we will not be able to traverse the knowledge era in full form. The message of Uttarayan is actually to usher in this spiritual growth in one’s self and to actually make people believe in the essence of inner growth.

Today the whole country is talking about inclusive growth but then to see it in its entirety where is it? India is moving from one decade to another and telling new stories of success. However, to think about it, only 22% of India is under this influence of economic development and is not totally sound. This is a fact that actually relates to the fact that there is a superficial growth and no growth in substance. The growth of a country is to be measured by the index of happiness and peace rather than actually how many people can actually go to McDonalds’ and have a burger or ride on a Mercedes. Unnati (progress), as we call it comes from Unnayan, or good sight, which cannot be developed until the soul is purified of its own inhibitions. After all if you have more money you can probably buy a good bed but then does it actually guarantee you sleep?

Talking about Money Vs Happiness is really cliché and today I really don’t want to rake up this topic, because me as a human being always needs money and happiness both. Today my point of contention is not about that, however it is about what is superficial and what is spiritual and full of content. We have many educational institutions in India, IIMs, IITs, AIIMS, but how many Dhirubhai Ambanis have come out of the IIMs; or how many Einsteins have actually emerged from IIT’s? How many Nobel laureates have actually emerged from these institutions? None, if I can count. So, these institutions, as they stand tall today with huge salary packages to talk about (embellished envelopes) don’t actually contribute towards the growth of the country as a whole. To talk the least, most of the alumni actually reside abroad, slaving it out for dollar dreams. Can this really be called development?


Makar Sankranti is actually a festival that indicates breaking the shackles of superficial development and rise towards development that is more stable and more contentious in nature. Today, the importance of this festival is even more important as everybody is having a world war inside their hearts.
Let us now see how different regions celebrate this festival.

My Gujarati fellow Indians go for flying kites. Flying of kites indicates the urge for progress, the urge to rise high in life.

In Maharastra, there is distribution of “Til Laddoos”, sweet dish made from sesame seeds to mark the start of the new festive season.

In Southern India, this festival is called as Pongal, and this marks the start of the new sowing season for the farmers hoping for a better crop.

In Bengal where this festival is called as Posh Parbon marks the beginning of every auspicious occasion by distributing Pithes or sweet-meat made of new rice.

In Punjab, the day before Makar Sankranti you have Lohri, where people actually make a bonfire indicating the burning of all old inhibitions in the fire and hence beginning the new year with a new hope.

Likewise is all parts of India this festival has its own meaning.

Today “Damn Common Man” wishes in advance all its readers a very happy Makar Sankranti and wishes lots of progress (real progress) in all of your lives.