Female Flattery of the Ulta-Pulta Alliance (UPA)

Finally a 72 year-old dadima is all set to become the first woman president of India. I am still wondering whether I should accept this occurrence as Sonia Ji's mental sickness or height of sycophancy of congressmen. I have got one more reason to wonder. Why didn't Sonia Gandhi choose her very daughter, Priyanka, to be the next president – the woman one. I am not talking about Rahul. First reason is that he is not a woman, and the second, he has been toiling hard in UP election, and is being seen by congress apple-polishers as perfect fit for future prime minister's frame.


No pun now. Give a pat to the super lady of India, Mananiya Sonia Gandhi for choosing a lady having vast experience of being a low profile blunt political knife. It seems, to hold high post in the country, the main eligibility is to please Sonia Maino (Arre, didn't you know it is the real name of our Sonia Gandhi Ji?). And see the flattery of Congressmen. When the meeting of CWC (Congress Working Committee) was going on, Sonia Ji proposed the name of Pratibha Patil for Presidential candidature. Not to surprise, the proposal was accepted anonymously, which was later green-signaled by Left parties and other UPA allies.

I have nothing against Congress. Nor am I against accepting a woman president. Being an Indian, I am proud having a woman ruler like Indira Gandhi, who lined herself with powerful leaders of the world. It is true, this new to-be woman president, Pratibha Patil always stood the congress-way (even during the emergency, this lady was with Indira Ji). But, it doesn't mean that person who is more capable of being a president has to be sidelined by a lady, who is too submissive to disobey her party.

A president has to have a vision for the country. He or she has to be a figure of high dignity. And when you are talking about vision and dignity, none can surpass the outgoing president, A P J Abdul Kalam. Important to add, a report suggests that women legislature and parliament members of India will prefer Kalam to anybody else in presidential fray to be the next president. It is astonishing that none of the UPA member stirred to agree upon making him again the next president, when third front spoke about continuing Kalam.

Instead of showing a false flattery towards woman, UPA ought to pass the Woman Reservation Bill, which has biggest obstacle in its way; and ironically it is called UPA. Recently, BJP seems to be agreed upon proposing 33% reservation in his party. Taking similar steps by other parties will be an escalating step to improve the image as well as condition of woman in the country. Instead of fake glorification of woman, UPA, the ruling political party should try to ameliorate the woman's condition in grassroots level.

If you want to gift them something, give them power. The power of execution, which was bestowed on Indira Gandhi. Not the deeper sense of gratitude, which our new 'rubber-stamp' president will be burdened with for next five years

Nalanda : Will The Gone Glory Revisit?

Among the several incidence I walked upon the unroofed rooms of ruinings of Nalanda University, the one I can recall most vividly take me more than a dozen year back. As the complex of ruined university is close to a small village, Bargaon, whose Sun Temple and believed-to-be a holy lake call thousands of devotees from all over the state, for persons living in nearby districts of Nalanda, Chatth Puja (one of the most widely celebrated festivals in Bihar) is perhaps the only time to take an excursion walk inside the ruined architectural complex of Nalanda University, which once was what Oxford, MIT, LSB and Kellogg are today.


While ascending to its one of 9-storey ruined complex (which costs hundreds of your steps), I heard some boorish ladies, the illiterate intellectuals, discussing the heartbreaking fact that the library of the university complex had had so many books that “Its ashes kept burning for six months” (read the intellectual statement carefully). The another lady spoke more in boasting manner, “the college had 10,000 students and some 2,000 teachers who came from different locations of the world.” Being a child unable to make out how long the duration of six months is and how big the figure of 10,000 would be, I tried to wonder as hard as I could while imagining scenes like heaps of books put on fire, and thousands of head-shaven men walking here and there.

Return today's date. To tell you the truth (unfortunately, as usual, I have got only gruelling truth to share), heaps of books containing thousands of rare texts, and the entire university complex, the unique architectural gem, was ordered to be ruined completely merely because the entire university did not have a single piece of Quran, the holy Islamic text. The place which was an excellent place of excellent learning for seven centuries (5th-12th century) was finally set on fire following the order of (Turkic) Muslim invader, Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193.

The place today has no grandeur to boast of. Once upon a time, the grandeur was there, but that is gone now, not to return ever. Excavated during 1915-1930, the complex spreads today merely over 14 hectares, where several of hostels, temples, monasteries, stupas, lecture halls have been identified. Imagine the magnificence of the university complex; the number of monasteries inside the university complex touched the impressive figure of 108, among which 11 have been excavated.

Today, the total area of entire devastated university may not be so large that it may take you one full day to explore it. Yet, beholding each of its lofty and magnificent walls made of red brick give you same joy what you get while roaming in its museum containing many of rare Hindu and Buddhist gods, several of large clay-vessels, copper plates, coins and carved bricks.

The last time I witnessed the place some 4 years back, when I drove past without feeling any need to get off the vehicle and take a stroll in the complex. I felt, the place, as it is for more than a thousand year, was in lull. The only commotion I could make out was caused by blowing wind; which came now-and-then close to my ear whispering the fact “did you know that the great scholar, Hieun Tsang - 'Master Of The Law', studied here, and spent his 17 years here?”

Now-a-days the news is that the place in next two years is going to have some part of the all those glory back which it lost a thousand year ago not only because that it was devastated by a Muslim invader, but also due to the fact that corruption in many forms clutched the university too tight to loosen. As the news state, by 2009 the place will have a world class university spread over 21 square km. Even an art village is also being set-up over an area of 64 acres which will include an open air theatre having special facility of performing arts. The university which in its hey-days got patronage from great royal houses like Pala and Gupta, today Asian countries like China, Singapore and India will take over the financial matters. Planning to offers post graduate level studies, the world class university will have students from all over Asia.

The news, if becomes reality, appears to be a boon for the local villages and its inhabitants, who despite producing dozens of IAS and IPS officers every year, suffer through a disease called backwardness. Right now, by the time I finish typing my last word, I am going to be completely wet with a vision that after a couple of year when I pass through the complex, I want a thorough craving inside me – craving to roam through each of its newly built magnificent pillars and study halls, craving to eye thousands of books befitting in its grand library, craving to see thousands of head-shaven Buddhist scholars roaming here and there the same way they stirred a thousand year back.

Adios To Rickshaw Ride In Chandni Chowk

The decision of barring cycle rickshaw from entering to bustling areas of Chandni Chowk seems to me not an easy morsel to be digested easily. Say it my sympathy towards thousands of rickshaw pullers or say it my listlessness for crap idea of Delhi High Court to accept it a way to make Delhi a global city.

Many will argue that getting rid off rickshaw from Chandni Chowk may save thousands of commuters from traffic snarl. In fact, this was the basis upon which the court ordered exude of 2500 of rickshaw plying between Lahore Gate (of Red Fort) and Fatehpuri Masjid. In words of one of MCD persons, "They (rickshaw pullers) make it very difficult for the fast moving vehicles to pass. They stand in clusters and create congestion." My lord, If traffic snarl is the reason, why don't you order some initiatives to be taken to chuck out hundreds of cars parked on both sides of the road? And yes, make also a rule to curb the growing number of vehicle in Delhi. You must be aware, my lord, that the number of vehicle (around 4.4 million) we have in Delhi is equal to the sum of total vehicle in three other metro, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

15 small CNG buses have begun plying on the route, Digambar Jain Mandir-Fatehpuri Masjid, charging flat rate of Rs 5. I wonder while thinking which way it is going to act as palliative for thousands of commuters. I agree, it is definitely a good move if we think of environmental issues like pollution. But is it possible for 15 CNG buses replacing 2500 of rickshaws in so little time? It is not even a week since the shuttle service has started, and commuters are grumbling over the inconvenience they are suffering. Buses are most often too crowded to occupy a single bone. What if a senior citizen or a physically challenged man has to rush urgently to their destination? Will they wait for crowded CNG bus to get pissed into or they will call or a rickshaw Wallah Bhaiya, and have a place (costing a meager sum of Rs 10) worth occupying 2 butts?

Leave arguments. My recent reading of BBC website says that authorities in global cities like Singapore, Paris and London are planning to license rickshaw to ply on their roads. If sophisticated city like London can think of rickshaw being an eco-friendly and comfortable way of commuting, and seems excited to see it running in Oxford's streets, why can't Chandni Chowk accept it wholeheartedly as its most favourite commuting tool?

Should court be so supportive to those local businessmen who appealed for rickshaw ban in the area, simply because they are a bit annoyed every morning due to traffic puzzle while driving their Chevrolet and Honda? Reasons are numerous to advocate for allowing rickshaw to ply again on Chandni Chowk. At least think of those rickshaw pullers toiling hard, and can't even think of earning more than Rs 150-250 a day. There are 15000-20000 rickshaw plying in Chandni Chowk and its adjoining areas. The ban on rickshaw to ply in Chandni Chowk will affect their livelihood badly. Thousands of them might be able now to earn only half the penny they used earlier. And, little to surprise, several hundreds of them might lose their profession, and will loiter to seek new job.