Saturday, December 27, 2008
Yahoo! Emoticarol
Friday, December 26, 2008
Stop! Think, Cry & Love
(This article is written by one of the School kids from
The siege on Mumbai left even the most experienced of us stunned. Even those who have become immune to grief and tragedy stopped for a second. The 48-hour encounter with these extremely sophisticated and trained terrorists left
However, we are not here to talk about the grief that these victims suffer. Nor do I wish to discuss the various and repeated intelligence failures and lackadaisical attempts of the government and its security agencies. We are here to figure out what exactly is wrong with us, because it is evident that there is something horribly amiss in this country and it's people.
People are not born terrorists. Teenagers do not get up one fine day with the conviction that violence is the path of their lives. The terrorist that battled with NSG in the Taj hotel for over 24 hours was not more that 25 years old. Can any of you imagine the kind of courage and determination that this young boy exemplified in accomplishing such a feat. He is a terrorist, a terrorist who is responsible for the death of over 150 people. He is also a mere boy. A boy whom we have forced into becoming the man he died as. The IM consists of young boys from the
Every kind of terrorism stems from extremism; and extremism is the most obvious ramification of discrimination. Discrimination is sadly practiced in every nook and corner of our country. We think it's insignificant, we think that it's just the way people are. But it is discrimination and if only we were brave enough to face it.
It is discrimination when the age-old story of Hindu parents refusing to marry their daughter into a Muslim family repeats itself. It is discrimination when parents of Muslim children refuse to sing Hindu bhajans. It is discrimination when Christians refuse to participate in Hindu and Muslim festivals. All of this is discrimination. And every form of terrorism and extremism finds it's roots in this kind of discrimination, which is practiced in each and every one of our homes. That is why we need to look at our homes and our thinking before we cry out in rage and protest against the government and security forces.
Last night you had emotional and angry Mumbai mobs screaming out anti Pakistani slogans. That is the beginning of terrorism. Have we all gone mad? What does the normal Pakistani family who is probably in their own way praying for the Mumbai victims have anything to do with this? This is the quintessential problem that we are facing. When will we realize that by blaming each other the problem will only intensify?
The Hindus destroyed the Babri masjid. The Muslims blew up a Hindu coach. The Hindus killed a city full of Muslims. Wave after wave of madness. Stop! How long can we go on like this? An eye for an eye has never been the answer and it should not take us a thousand years to accept the truth of this statement.
You had Raj Thackarey chasing out the north Indians and Biharis from
In another 60 years we'll have Bihari terrorists attacking
Today you have every news channel proudly acclaiming the army, NSG and Marine commandos as heroes. People in Mumbai are running out on the streets to congratulate them. These heroes weren't born today. They have been here all this while. Where were these people of
You want to know what the problem with
I'll give you a small and perfect example of what is wrong with us. We all complain about this country's dirty roads. We love holidaying in
We have enough and more to say about Manmohan Singh, Advani and every other useless politician and rightly so. But the fact is that in all honesty we couldn't care less. The best of us don't vote, don't contest in elections and don't even help out N.G.O.s When we can't do anything for our country how dare we, I repeat, how dare we expect anyone else to do anything.
We can go on talking about stepping up security, straightening out our coast guards and eradicating terrorism. But the problem lies not in our security system but in us. It lies in our Madrasas, in our temples, in our schools, in our homes and in our minds. And until we realize our role, until we open our eyes to this truth, not a thing will change.
Everyone talks about this new
Don't tell me that we won't be able to reach out to the people who need to hear what we have to say. These people live among us. There is no limit to what people can achieve when they set out to do something. You are talking about a country whose founding father won a war without raising a weapon, who have lived on stories of Subhash Chandra Bose calling out for blood and promising freedom. Well we've bled. Now it's time to get our freedom. Freedom from our own mindsets. Freedom from shackles we've placed on ourselves.
These last two days have been the worst attack that
How many more people have to die before we respond to
Monday, December 22, 2008
Year 2009: Ode to Renaissance of Self
Why I wish to record it today i.e. Dec 22nd 2008, I wish to acknowledge the short length of the day today, see the sun set on this interesting year and allow myself the graceful view of an early sun rise next year. I eagerly await to see calmness, for this turbulence is disturbing me beyond description.
I wish to know more, build on what I am now, to create that difference for myself, to seek the dividing gap with strength, and courage to fill it in...I hope!
Happy New Year 2009!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Life: A False Dichotomy
I am writing to you to acknowledge the fact that you create many questions. It is up to us, whether or not we wish to answer them. It is interesting to note that these questions form the basis to divisions and inequality within oneself. When we tend to understand the reason behind the need and the necessity for an action, we normally ignore the rules of judgment which we use to judge others. It is important to see how susceptible we are to this logical fallacy, and help ourselves in such a scenario.
It might interest you to know the reason I wanted to acknowledge your role with the questions. Even this question will remain unanswered as many others which remain the same since a long time. But, it is equally necessary to appreciate the effort which I put into attempting an answer. If at all, we could answer all the questions we face, it will be a pleasant world sans complexity...but then, what fun it is to live in simplicity, and feel the lack of complexity?
Lastly, I wish to express my sincere feeling of gratitude for the role you have played in shaping my understanding of self, and the opportunities you have given me to explore this world, and contribute my bit to its complexity.
Thanking you,
Yours truly,
Abhijith Jayanthi