2017-06-30

Violence and mob culture: Modern India must stand up for rule of law, values of freedom and democracy



"All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health."

-Article 25, Indian Constitution

The silence of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was appalling and the silent Hindu majority of Hindu could be termed as necrotic on the spate of lynching and beef killing in modern India. Tremulous voices were heard on social media that consisted of feeble voice sandwiched between over aggressive extremists condoning such attacks that gave a false sense of entitlement or belief on one hand and on the other hand, citizens irrespective of religious belief coming together to condemn attacks on Muslims, traders, and consumers of meat. The dichotomy lies in the fact that beef is not religious centric.  

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Image credit: Google/India.com


 It reached a point of saturation when reasonable citizens, irrespective of their religious identities, decided to put an end to the break-down of law after 16-year-old Junaid was assaulted and dealt with death in a train on the eve of Eid. It was the time for Indians cutting across community and caste lines to say No to the heinous killing in the name of the Gau Mata.

Since the coming to power of the BJP, the law of the jungle reigned supreme with this idiotic and dim wit Gau Rakshak running loose to brutally assault citizens. We have one Mohammad Akhlaq who was brutally murdered in Dadri, UP for allegedly keeping beef that turned out to be goat meat. It gave us the impression that the voice of reason has lost its might and we failed to recognize the secular India, which seems to loom away by the day and disappearing like dust in the distant past.

 The time for action is now for citizens to engage and say No to such killings in the name of religion. A movement was born as an alternate power to protest in the right direction, #notinmyname. It bears resemblance and was strikingly similar to the Nirbhaya movement where women fearlessly trudged in the open and boldly faced police brutality. It didn't take long to mount pressure on the Government.
Today, PM Modi condemned such attacks in the name of religion and claimed that such killing and intolerant behavior shall not be tolerated. For the first, I saw the PM who somehow got lost in globe-trotting showed that he means business and that he is the Pradhan Sewak for everyone.

 He spoke like a strong statesman and sent a strong message to the warmongerers. I recognized my PM speaking and shall give credit where it is due. It was needed on his part at a time when so many of us were lingering on the verge of insanity and lives were falling.  We helplessly saw our country fading into oblivion, our secular values of respecting faiths crumbling and contrarian views bearing the brunt of intolerance. It is the top most priority to instill the fear of law in those terrorists and murderers.

The worse thing is that those extremists are giving a bad name to Hinduism and rewriting the Hindu scripture to make it the book of violence. It's extremely dangerous considering that Hinduism as a way of life has always celebrated peace, stability, tolerance, and growth of humans to cohabit together as enshrined in the Indian constitution and is being misinterpreted by a bunch of extreme voices. Today, Islam is facing the same issue where few bad and rotten apples are spoiling a religion and its adherents.

The power lies with the people to thrust the Government into action to safeguard and protect rights of both the majority and minority. The mass protests #notinmyname gathered steam and showed the power of an enraged nation coming together in mounting pressure on the political power. It reached the ears of the state which propelled Shri Narendra Modi into action. It was no asunder script where voices were lost. There is the government, the media as the fourth estate and like someone rightly said, the power lies with the people to say no to the forces of terror. India is the biggest democracy on earth which is facing testing times. It was a confrontation with the power of the day but with a legitimate reason. India cannot afford to remain silent when innocents are slithered to death on account of their religious beliefs with demented fools hijacking the country.

Non-peaceful method is one way to confront the forces of evil and one shouldn't be cowed down by the veiled threat of violence raging its might to silence voices. The demented goons hiding behind a religion and assaulting women cannot be my religion. I am born a Hindu. You don't do it in my name. My religion never believed or advocated violence and for instance, the Vedas is a gem that has always preached peaceful living, divinity, and spirituality. Till now, this mob culture gave an impression that their action received a legitimate nod from the Government of the day and the PM where they fearlessly went on a killing spree. Truth is they lack spine on the face of apathy where the state apparatus failed till now to protect the victims. Rise my countrymen and women against such heteronormativity!

There is a perception that the PM hands are fettered by the dangerous forces of Hindutva agenda and it’s extremists agents in the form of RSS and its ilk, VHP, Ram Sena or Bajrang Dal. Today, the PM affirmed his might in holding the reins of the country and in a way, thwarted occult forces of Hindutva to overcome this ‘perception’.  For the first time, I saw the PM, the one whom citizens want to see so that the rule of law triumphs above everything. It is the voice of reason and its citizens that make a nation the shining beacon of democracy.

However, the irony lies in the fact that long after the PM broke his deafened silence, a meat trader was beaten to death and his vehicle perished in flame set by ruffians and mob made of more than 100 people. It's unacceptable in today's India. The supporters of the Government and of this flawed ideology are as guilty as the murderers. We cannot condone such acts. The perpetrators should be brought to the book. Time for the PM's strong words to translate into action. Let the voice of reason rise against such killings and the movement of citizens as a watchdog should never stop till democracy gets back its sheen and voice of sanity so that we become a model to the world.

"King Piyadasi (Ashoka) dear to the Gods, honours all sects, the ascetics (hermits) or those who dwell at home, he honours them with charity and in other ways. But the King, dear to the Gods, attributes less importance to this charity and these honours than to the vow of seeing the reign of virtues, which constitutes the essential part of them. For all these virtues there is a common source, modesty of speech. That is to say, One must not exalt one’s creed discrediting all others, nor must one degrade these others Without legitimate reasons. One must, on the contrary, render to other creeds the honour befitting them.” 

-Plural India in Ashoka's inscription of 3rd century BC

Jai Hind

I abide by the Constitution of India, respect of law, plurality and tolerant values

Vishal







2017-06-28

Celebrating sweetend hearts, divinity and deleting hate


Sweetened meat,
swirling sensation lashing the tongue,
love,
friendship,
unity,
taste of soft words,
gentle whispers,
divinity,
music stirring the soul
pure love,
delicacies that bind hearts together,
no room for prejudices
hatred shipped to a different planet
the heart only knows how to love
glowing soul
tiny pieces of sparkle
kiss of divinity,
spreading into the veins
sumptuous dinner,
celebrating our differences and emotions,
love has various shades,
hearts are strung together,
one emotion,
our way of love differ,
yet it's symbolism carves its own place,
our heart is the abode of love,
carried in abundance,
 a weapon to thwart effort of haters,
killing innocents,
making them sacrificial lamb,
 a young life killed by mobs,

this Eid,
share love but wear a black band,
say no to violence and cowardice attack,
We are Indians,
we believe in unity and tolerance,
hate shall be met with love.

Happy Eid Mubarak
Vishal




2017-06-25

Gardener of love


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/49/21/89/492189e3e2d512cc3a7ba5ef2ff8220a.jpg
Raat ki Rani/ Image sourced from Google.


Sprouting roots,

adorning nature's own garden,

bliss, love, and togetherness

Roses,

Dahlia,

Raat ki Rani,


standing tall in its midst,

fluttering with the breeze,

offering ray of sunshine and hope,

glistening sight,

a shade of the gleaming sun creeping in,

beaming joy of petals sparkling,

ushering pure joy and deeply intense feeling,

a haven of love and togetherness,

cultive the roots,

spray the petals with water,

call it friendship,

affection

music strumming to the ears,

clinking bells in the heart

the gardener of love.

Love

V



 

2017-06-22

It's not called friendzoned but men-women friendship


It's not a tale of estrogen meeting testosterone and the X-factor of sexual attraction that hinges on everything imaginable. Yes! Not everything needs an electric shock running dizzy in our body to burst alive our sex bubble. Men and women can be friends and need not be in a platonic-cum-fancy one-night stand relationship. Pure friendship exists.

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Image credit: Google


It was in the college days when a flatmate that I abhorred told me how men and women can never be friends. I shrugged it off! Stupidity has an invisible human form. There was a time when I was chaperoned by the hottest and most attractive women during my student days where some turned out to be the best buddies that I ever have. Nah! I didn't feel the need to offer my friendship as a shield to hit on them. There were no sour grains. We turned out to be the best of friends.

These women became my confidants and incarnated the 'guys talk' where I discussed anything with them right from the crushes, the woman I was madly in love with and swearing in front of them. Being in their company was pure bliss where we shared everything under the sun. There was no hesitation or constraint that I am speaking to a female and never became conscious to delete words or adjectives. We shared a certain bond. I would call them my 'male buddies.' Yeah! Right! They do the guys talk much better than the males I hanged around with whenever I freaked out about the love (s) of my life. Mind you! These super hot and perfectly beautiful women turned out to be the best companions. I never hit on them for there was a conviction about this riske job where friendship would go for a toss.

We are such a complex and confused society when it comes to the man-woman relationship. It's high time to move beyond this cliche that only one relationship exists between them. Men and women can exist without the sibling relationship and still share a sacred relationship based on deep bonding, respect and minus the attraction or sexual angle. For people who claim that both sexes can never make it as amazing 2 a..m friends probably never had someone of the opposite sex as a chum.

Friendship is sacred and bears no time limit, nor it's seasonal. It's genderless. There is one thing that I have always treasured and been emotional about and its friendship which matters more than anything else. Why paint the relationship between men and women? The moment we do it, the friendship is tainted and ruined forever. It's one of the most beautiful aspects of this timeless relationship. I would always hit off with a female buddy, smoking, watching a movie, go high on a joint and for that matter, catching up with beer. A flurry of shit is exchanged as the conversation veer about everything in life and coming with ingenious solutions that would put Einstein to shame. Poor guy! Must be reeling inside his grave and whining, 'Why the fuck I never came up with this one?'

The boy-girl-man-woman friendship is what vibes are all about. It's not even the friend zoned that naysayers would say and scorn at this relationship which never shies in blossoming in any season of the year. There is a thin line between friend zone and true friendship where the former doesn't even come into play since there is no attraction. OK! Be honest. There might be a certain degree of attraction but it's just a plain and passing feeling. It's a relationship based on trust where we respect each other's space and privacy as humans who bat for each other and standing tall during the rough weather. This friendship hold meaning for nothing can change even after decades.

Yes! A man and woman can be great friends and share a deep cum rooted cum meaningful relationship. It's not about whatsapp group but true dosti that stand the test of times. You don't make friends looking for sexual or material benefits. I think there is a dividing line between attraction or love on one hand and friendship on the other when we speak between the man-woman equation. The rest doesn't matter whether it's society's twisted mind or the faulty eyesight.

Love
Vishal




2017-06-19

Longing and lost on dark boulevard

A seemingly lost road,
unfamiliar boulevard and lanes.
Fazed and disjointed,
I long for a home,
something to call my own.
Craving for new friends,
 a woman to share my life
Momentary love
Isn't it traded on the market of hearts?
A courtesan for company,
nursing tears and healing wounds,
listening to deep dark secrets and whining.
After all, I am paying for company,
in exchange for an ear to listen and tender shoulder,
unbound caress,
adventure frill.
Making love behind the dark walls at night,
admiring tall buildings,
a silent and stranger lover,
we crave for company,
Closed mouth dipped into each other,
healing pain and distress 
rubbing salt on wound of separation 
It isn't just love that ordinary mortals seek,
but exploration of the mind and body,
to quench the thirst.
Encounters in an intriguing city
It may not last an hour
but who cares?
as long as it cuts corner and close gaps.


Love
V

2017-06-02

Lush and mush words in June

Flaky lip,
the taste of liquor and brandy,
swirling on the tongue's edge like a hot, passionate kiss
gulping to perfection,
sending rush of warmth roiling inside the stomach
the drizzling new season
winter has arrived
freezing sensation,
watching the sunshine trot gently
fresh brewed coffee
in the comfort of the coffee shop,
observing the surrounding and occupants swerving.
concocting a story
pure addiction
beautiful women
lone grandpa walking slowly but enjoying life in all it forms
 leaves snuggle on trees,
gyrating to music
crowd lost in translation 
longing for caress and a swing 
It's June
lush and mush words
kissing to make poetry
Cheerz to a new season.

Love
V