In 1922, Khwaja Nizami set upon a futuristic world tour to gauge the impact of Mahatma Gandhi

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The relevance of Gandhi is still a relevant topic. Even in Gandhi’s own lifetime, people made fantastic conjectures as to how he would be judged by posterity.

One such contemporary of the Mahatma was Khwaja Hasan Nizami (1878-1955) of Delhi who occupies a place of distinction as a Urdu writer, thinker and religious head. Gandhinama, a collection of his articles on Gandhi was published in 1922 in which he had written an article about recognition of the Mahatma in 2050. He writes: Except God, no one knows as to what opinion would the future generations hold with respect to Mahatma Gandhi… The year 2050 is one such time which will come after one hundred and twenty eight years from now. And in this period, probably every person of the present world would be dead. Therefore, let us imagine this year and hear about the opinions that are held in the world about Mahatma Gandhi.

Unlike H.G. Wells, Nizami did not have a time machine to travel to 2050. Instead, angel Khijra blessed him with a long life of 250 years. Nizami writes: On January 1, 2050, I started on foot from Delhi, because rail, electric cable, cars etc. are now absent in this country, owing to the commands of Mahatma Gandhi.

But let me tell you that everything is very expensive. Wheat sells at the rate of four mounds to a rupee. No one eats meat. Every vegetable is prohibited because life has been discovered in it. Public eats nothing except ghee, milk, bread, jaggery, molasses and salt. Everyone has to consume five sers of milk daily, as per the law. And if a person does not consume five ser milk and is unable to produce evidence of his illness or any other legal excuse, he has to spend five days in jail. Everywhere, ghee and milk is distributed free to travellers because according to Gandhian law to sell ghee, milk, curd and butter milk is a grave crime, while to distribute these free is considered to be a very noble deed.

When I started from Delhi, a dress made of cotton yarn spurned by my own hands was on my body because it is also a law that every person has to wear cloths spurned by his own hands. In Muradnagar, I had to labour for an hour because this too is a law that no one can remain idle. While milk and ghee is given free, flour and salt is earned through labour.

Travelling from Muradnagar and passing through Meerut, Thana Bhawan, Saharanpur and Qadiyan, Nizami reaches Afghanistan. This country is now-a-days under the influence of India. Though its rulers are Muslims, the laws of Gandhiji prevail here. Eating of meat is a crime here as well, though people eat fruits, and considering the condition of that country, they have been legally permitted to do so. From Afghanistan via Bukhara, Nizami travels to Iran and then Russia. He writes: Everywhere on the way, I met believers of Gandhi. In entire west Asia, the laws, traditions and practices of India are current, keeping of arms is illegal; murders take place very rarely. Starting from Iran, I went to Russia. There too at several places, the memory of Gandhi was manifest. Though people of Bolshevik principles lived there but they too have given up the use of arms in memory of Gandhi and they do not have any need for fighting.

From Russia, Nizami travels to Turkey, Germany and comes to France. From Russia, I went to Turkey. There too every Turk was an extoller of Gandhi. They said, ‘In a very difficult time, Gandhi had helped us. For this reason we have promulgated his doctrines in our country. Eating of meat is a crime in our country too, same as it is a crime in India, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia... From Turkey I came to Germany. The Germans have established cheeps in the name of Gandhi, at different places, where I used to be invited and was asked to give discourses on Gandhi… From Germany I came to France. There too I saw the prevalence of Gandhi’s laws, and people welcomed me with a great fervour.

In Paris, Nizami hears the news of disappearance of London. In Paris, I heard that the city of London has disappeared somewhere, and great experts are reaching for it but it is nowhere to be found. I was very surprised at this news. Immediately from Paris I went there and in fact saw that on the banks of the river Thames, where London was situated, the city is not visible. I too reached for it a lot but I could not locate it. Nevertheless, I travelled a lot in other cities of England and everywhere I heard the praise of Mahatma Gandhi. The strange thing is this that though now England does not have any connection with India, every child remembers the events of India, and they breathe a cold sigh when the topic of this country comes up.

After completing this imaginary tour of the world, Nizami returns to Delhi. The conclusion of the general opinion of this world tour was this, that now the fighting and the craze for arms-worship has almost disappeared from the world. Everywhere the women are free and without veil. Idle people are totally extinct. Inhibitions have been shed. Even in Europe the consumption of wine and meat has gone down. There is not so much emphasis on luxurious life. People abhor the electric light. The manual work, as compared to the machines, is considered respectable… If this travelogue were real and true, even then one had to believe that the impact of Gandhi has now become so much popular that his fame would last for centuries. The veracity of Nizami’s prophecy lies in history, albeit in parts.

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Recently released documents offer a blow by blow account of Islamabad's quest for a nuclear device

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Recently released documents offer a blow by blow account of Islamabad's quest for a nuclear device

One of the biggest headaches of the 20th century that troubled the diplomats all over the world has been 'How to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime'? US, predictably, tried to take the leadership role, but managed to have a mixed record. Nevertheless, the deliberations in the 1970s and 80s give a clear view into how things were operating in those times and how some decisions, had they been taken at the right juncture, could have had long lasting effects.

The recently released documents by the National Security Archive at Washington DC give a blow-by-blow analysis of deliberations that took place between Islamabad and Washington DC in the 70s with respect to the former's quest for a nuclear device. The alarm bell started ringing in Washington DC way back in the late 1970s when it was revealed that a young bright Pakistani metallurgist named Abdul Qadir Khan got hold of the blueprints for a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility.

South Asia, that had seen a war in 1971 was on the verge of becoming a powder keg as India was already in the advance stage of mastering the uncontrolled fission reaction. The US realised that a nuclear Pakistan would make the situation worse. It catalysed the most interesting deliberations in the proliferation's history.

It all started soon after Jimmy Carter assumed office as the US president. Carter was briefed that Pakistan, US's key ally and a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty non-signatory, had managed to lay its hand on primal elements of a nuclear weapons capability. The Pakistani nuclear subject was on Carter's docket because he brought a fundamental earnestness in reducing nuclear weaponry and in halting nuclear proliferation. His primary, though unfulfilled goal, of massive reduction of strategic nuclear forces, and his reinforcement of CTBT were indicators that he was a serious player hard to browbeat.

In 1973, long before Carter entered the White House, Islamabad had started negotiations to purchase a nuclear reprocessing facility for Plutonium from a French firm. The CIA was famously hoodwinked. However, it was only as late as 1978 that a series of fishy acquisitions detected by British customs led to the revelation that Pakistan was secretly getting hold of technology to make highly-enriched Uranium as a secondary path to the bomb. The “extensive foreign assistance” propositioned by the CIA in its estimate was actually the theft of plans for a gas centrifuge enrichment technology from the Uranium Enrichment Corporation in the Netherlands.

Before this, the Ford regime too had unsuccessfully tried to deter Pakistan from achieving its goal. However, the intelligence on the progress over the bomb quest came a little too late. It was only in 1978 that CIA managed to find that Islamabad was moving fast to construct a gas centrifuge apparatus. It was made possible because of the “dual use ” technology that was provided by A Q Khan through his network in the several western regimes. It triggered a complex effort by the Americans to convince or cajole Pakistan to turn off the gas centrifuge project. The process was multi-pronged and included all sorts of direct and indirect pressures. Not only did the US regime try to pressurise the then Pakistani prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his successor General Zia-ul-Haq, it also tried to collaborate with its other allies and China to convince Islamabad to see the light. It virtually managed to put an embargo over the sale of sensitive technology to Pakistan that the latter so much wanted to give its quest a one last boost.

But Islamabad was not ready to sit quietly and take it. Efforts were met with intense resistance from top players in Islamabad. Pakistan, on its part, maintained that it sees the nuclear capability as an issue of national survival. When it appeared that Pakistan was not easily to be cowed down, Washington tried to extract promise that it will not try to use reprocessing technology to produce Plutonium. It was an important departure from the Carter Administration's earlier stand. However, Islamabad was in no mood to relent. The then foreign minister Agha Shahi curtly told Americans that it was a “demand that no country would accept ” and that Pakistan “has the unfettered right to do what it wishes”. It was mid-1978.

By January 1979, CIA's intelligence estimate indicated that Islamabad was fast approaching a juncture where it “may soon acquire all the essential components” for a gas centrifuge plant. But the biggest bang in the cable was the estimate that Islamabad will manage to fix a “single device” (Plutonium) by 1982 and consequently test a weapon using highly-enriched uranium (HEU) by 1983. However, a note at the end said that 1984 appeared to be the more realistic deadline.

The US appeared desperate to stop Islamabad from achieving it. By this time the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the game changed. It was probably the biggest bet in the cold war and the US wanted to win it at any cost. Pakistan become a key front line state and the sway Washington had on Islamabad, diminished. The relations improved dramatically and, according to CIA analysts, Pakistani officials became convinced that although grudgingly, Washington had “reconciled to a Pakistani nuclear weapons capability ”.

The incident is a classic case that exemplifies the complexity and trouble of the nuclear proliferation diplomacy. Some other policy-making and strategical precedences can and do outflank nonproliferation goals. It also, in many ways, shows how difficult it is to stop an ally from going nuclear.

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The Undercurrents in AP Politics are Turning Bloodier

Andhra Pradesh Violence: Rayalaseema's Gory Trail

The broad daylight murder of 43-year-old Gangula Suryanarayana Reddy alias Maddelacheruvu Suri, one of the feared gang leaders of the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, in Hyderabad last week seems to be a scene out of a violent Bollywood flick.

The finger of suspicion is being pointed at Suri’s close associate Malisetti Bhanu Kiran, who allegedly holds benami properties worth crores of rupees of his master. “Had Ravi’s men killed our anna (Suri), we wouldn’t have felt bad, but our own man killed him,” says Vasudeva Reddy, a close accomplice of Suri. Although speculations are rife that Telugu Desam MLA Paritala Ravi’s men could be behind the killing, the police investigations have not revealed anything to that effect. Ravi, a former cabinet minister, was murdered in January 2005.

Suri had reportedly used his friend Moddu Sreenu to bump off Ravi who was allegedly responsible for planting a bomb in a television set that killed seven of his family members in 1995. To avenge these killings, Suri planted a car bomb to kill Ravi in vain in 1997 in Jubilee Hills during the shooting of the latter’s film Sri Ramulayya. As many as 26 persons, including six journalists of a private TV channel, lost their lives in the explosion. “Innocents were killed... I regret it as my target was only Ravi. But I know I will end up on a post-mortem table one day,” Suri openly told media persons soon after his release on conditional bail in December 2009.

The Ravi-Suri rivalry dated back to their warlord fathers' time almost four decades ago. Both Paritala Ravi's father Ramulayya and Suri's father Gangula Narayana Reddy were killed in faction violence.

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In the sporting world, popularity is hard for the players themselves, let alone for the stadium they play in.

Yet, in the forgetful world of one-timer stadiums, one stadium is proving it has what it takes to host one major event after another.

When the Coliseum in Rome was built many moons ago, it was an arena for Emperors. It was a place where the grandest spectacles took place, where chariot races culminated and where hapless gladiators were thrown to the lions. The Coliseum in Rome stood the test of time. Today, even in a state of ruin, it remains an attraction. In India we have a simple term for it. Paisa Vasool.

Modern Day sporting stadiums are not always built keeping in mind the larger picture. Many are constructed with a specific short-term goal in mind like a one-off sporting event. And then find themselves in a situation of disuse and disrepair. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi went from bad to worse after the 1982 Asian Games and it was only the 2010 Commonwealth Games nearly three decades later that was its saving grace. A few such glaring examples are also found among the hastily constructed stadia for the grand 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa.

There is, however, one stadium that saw action at the FIFA World Cup 2010 and is a glaring exception. A stadium where they saw the future well before the present. A stadium that on January 9, 2010, saw India and South Africa go head to head in a T20 International Cricket match – at the impressive Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

Well before the first Jabulani was kicked at FIFA 2010, the organisers had already begun to plan for life after the World Cup. And this involved not merely speculating about possible future events and initiating the staging of some of them (such as the India-South Africa cricket match) but also finding daily activities that would make the stadium a tourist attraction all-year round. Already a visual landmark of the city thanks to its unique shape, the stadium offers expected facilities such as World Cup hangover tours and fabulous photo opportunities, but also some unexpected draws such as a cable car ride (you can even walk up if you are fit – and stupid – enough) to the very top of the dinosaur like arch roof of the stadium. However, the piece de resistance would have to be something that must be a first when it comes to stadium attractions. A bungee jump from the very top of the stadium that allows you to swing across much of the length of the stadium.

These unique attractions were planned even before any match kicked off at the World Cup as organisers knew that despite being in a big city (and not isolated like Polokwane), there would not be enough sporting events to keep the interest in the arena alive.

Recently at the Champions League cricket tournament, no visitor to the cricket at nearby Kingsmead Stadium felt that his or her visit to Durban was complete without a pilgrimage to the city’s football home. In fact, several members of the visiting Mumbai Indians squad (those not bound by BCCI ‘can’t do adventure sport’ clauses) actually took the plunge from the top of the stadium.

But the high point really, if you think about it (other than the precarious jump off point for the bungee), is just to imagine how many spots in the world can boast that within a space of six months, the likes of Christiano Ronaldo and Kaka on the one hand and MS Dhoni and Jacques Kallis on the other all graced the very same turf playing different sports at the very highest level for their countries! Talk about Paisa Vasool…

(Gautam Bhimani covered the Brazil vs. Portugal match at the FIFA World Cup 2010 at one of the world’s most unique sporting arenas. Three months later he visited the city for the Champions League and found that the stadium was still buzzing. It also hosted the India vs South Africa T20 match on January 9, 2011.)

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CPM leader's remarks on agriculture evoke controversy

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Kerala politics: Left versus left over GM crops

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) polit bureau member S Ramachandran Pillai sent several of his senior partymen running for cover recently when he eulogised the genetically modified crops and castigated all those who opposed it as superstitious at a seminar in Thiruvananthapuram. Speaking on the topic “Agriculture in the era of globalisation”, Pillai was of the opinion that it would not be possible to enhance agricultural production without exploiting the advances in science and technology. Coming as it was from a party that has traditionally opposed technological advances, contending that it would be detrimental to the interests of the working class, the onlookers and political observers were shocked. The communists' opposition to tractors and computers in the early 1970s and 80s was legendary. Pillai said that the position of the CPM was that biotechnology was to be developed to boost production in the farm sector. He said this was essential especially for a state like Kerala which had a huge deficit in rice and other essential food produce. What was needed, according to him, was drought resistant seeds, and rice that would help fight anaemia that was very common among the poor of the third world countries. He wanted the central government to make public sector investments in GM technology.

The statement took the Left Democratic Front by storm and the Communist Party of India lambasted Pillai and his stance. CPI's Mullakkara Ratnakaran– the state agriculture minister– countered that there was no evidence that GM crops had a positive impact on the farm sector. He said that if the country persisted with such policies poor farmers would be left with no land. CPI state secretary C K Chandrappan fully endorsed Ratnakaran's stance. CPI national secretary A B Bardhan flayed CPM's new stance and demanded proofs that GM crops were safe and not harmful. Forest minister Benoy Viswom, also from the CPI, reiterated the party stand that it will not in any way support introduction of genetically modified crops in the state.

Sensing that things were getting out of control Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan stepped in to say that the state government had decided not to introduce GM crops after studying all the pros and cons. However, he added, that there was scope for more research and study on the technology. CPM Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, too, said that the state government would not introduce BT brinjal.

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Raunchy Bollywood songs hit by legal scanner

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Uttar Pradesh law & order: Much ado about Something...

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court calls for the banning of two recent Bollywood songs: “Munni badnam hui...” (from Dabangg) and “Sheela ki jawani...” (from Tees Mar Khan), alleging that they have been causing “incidents of violence, eve teasing, molestation, mental harassment and public/private nuisance, all of grave criminal nature”. The High Court in its hearing on January 10 asked the government respondent to present to it within a week any judgment on a similar matter given by the Supreme Court.

The petitioner, Lucknow based social activist Nutan Thakur, has cited half a dozen instances when these songs played in the public arena have caused nuisance. Two cases stand out. One wherein a Lucknow schoolgirl called Sheela, agonised by the constant teasing she had been subjected to ever since the song went on air, attempted suicide. The other incident took place in the village Machali Mankapur, Gonda (UP), on the morning of November 27 last year. One Naresh Soni alias Bacchu was singing the song “Munni badnam hui...” near the shop of Rajesh Kumar Gupta, whose mother was also called Munni. Gupta was miffed and the two started fighting over this. This ended in firing on the spot and the death of an old lady. In yet another case from Noida, at least 25 persons, including some BPO employees, were injured and over 12 vehicles were damaged after a scuffle broke out over the playing of “Sheila ki jawani” in Sector 127 of Noida on December 26 last year. Cases under sections 147, 323, 427 IPS, have been registered at Sector 39 police station.

Based on all these incidents as examples, the petitioner has requested the High Court to make the respondents personally liable for all those unfortunate and serious acts, emanating directly from their irresponsible behaviour, as being completely in contravention of section 5(B)(1) of the Cinematography Act 1952 which does not permit grant of certificate to a film or any part of it, if it is against the interests of public order, decency or morality, or involves defamation or is likely to incite the commission of any offence.

The directors and the producers of Tees Maar Khan and of Dabangg, Censor Board and the Union of India through the Secretary of Information and Broadcasting have been made respondents in the PIL. “I request the court not only to immediately ban these two songs but also to fix some kind of criminal and civil liabilities on the respondents for their wilful and malignant act,” says Thakur.

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Marriage: Pending, not Trending

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As if Violence and lack of opportunities weren’t harrying the youth of Kashmir enough, the issue of late marriages is now turning into a serious concern. Haroon Reshi explores the reasons…

Shahid Zargar (36) attained a master’s degree from the University of Kashmir, more than a decade ago. He, however, remains unemployed, and is yet to be married. Still waiting for a suitable job to start his marital life, he sees less hope and more disappointment with each passing day. These days Shahid is teaching in a private school in downtown Srinagar, where he earns four thousand rupees a month. “How can one even think of getting married in such circumstances?” he wonders aloud.

Azhar Amin, a 39-year-old ‘boy’ from North Kashmir’s Baramullah town is eagerly waiting for the day when he would get to tie the knot. His problem is different from Shahid’s as Azhar was swept in his youth – like many others – into the militancy turmoil of the early 90s in the Valley. Azhar failed to rehabilitate himself into a normal life after he was arrested for receiving armed training in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1995. Released in 2001 following a six-year prison term, his search for a partner has drawn a blank till date.

Like Shahid and Azhar, there are thousands of Kashmiri boys and girls in the Valley who are well past the ideal marriageable age owing to reasons of poverty, unemployment, dowry, roadblocks to higher education and conflict situation in the region. According to a recent study, “Emergence of late marriages in Kashmir”, by the sociology department of University of Kashmir, the average marrying age has moved from 20s to late 30s. According to Prof. B A Dabla, who was the chief investigator of the study,

“Conflict has played a vital role in this changing trend. Due to the prevailing situation in the region, it takes our boys and girls 30 to 40 years to attain proper higher education and career development. And then they find themselves over-aged in the marriage market where
ideal wedlock age is pegged between the late teens and late 20s.”

“On one hand, the late-marriage trend has challenged our traditional fabric and on the other it has created many social problems. There’s an increase in cases of mental disturbances, suicides, divorces, immorality, pre-marital sexual relationships and other such things,” Prof Dabla added.

“During the two-decade long turmoil, thousands of young Kashmiri men lost their lives, thousands got injured, many others were jailed and many more disappeared. This loss from the young generation has added to the problem of late marriage, as the skewed sex ratio proves further detriment to getting good matches for girls,” Zarief Ahmad Zarief, a noted social activist tells TSI.

The growing number of bachelors in the Kashmir Valley can be gauged by looking at the estimated figure of jobless youth, which stands at around a million. “We have more than 7.5 lakh unemployed youth registered with the state’s employment exchange, many of them over-age. How could these people afford marriage until they get proper livelihoods?” asks Zarief rhetorically.

The tradition of extravagant weddings is an additional reason for the late marriage syndrome in Kashmir. Most of the parents, belonging to the middle class or lower middle class, cannot afford dowry for their daughters’ wedding ceremony and feasts (wazwan). “It takes years for people to collect and save money for the marriage of their children. Unless we change the trend and make marriage inexpensive, this problem will persist,” says Sumaira Bashir, a 29-year-old unmarried girl. “In many cases, girls after attaining higher education do not want to marry men who are less educated or economically weak,” Ali Mohammad, a marriage broker, shared his observations.

Deferred nuptials are not devoid of adverse biological consequences. “Over-age women find problems conceiving. Late pregnancies often lead to genetic abnormalities like Down Syndrome and other congenital defects in children,” said Dr Sabiya, a physician in a maternity hospital in Srinagar.

Social and religious organisations and scholars have expressed their concerns over the disturbing trend. “I have been saying that the late-marriage trend is absolutely un-Islamic. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) guides us to timely marriage. I frequently urge Imams (person who lead prayers in the mosques) to make people aware that late marriage is a sinful act. The Shari’ah (Islamic law) gives solutions to every problem. We should have faith in God rather than money and job positions,” Moulana Showkat Shah, a leading religious scholar and the Chairman of Jamiat Ahle-Hadith, told TSI.

It was revealed in the census of 2001 that 54 per cent of men and 46 per cent of women were unmarried. Four years later, in 2005, Humsafar Marriage Counseling Cell (HMCC) was established by Islamic Dawa Centre, a religious body of Kashmir, to organise marriages in true religious style and discourage extravagance. According to Fayaz Ahmad Zaroo, director of HMCC, more than one thousand marriages have been conducted austerely since the establishment of this NGO.

The HMCC has also started a weekly audio programme in collaboration with the state-run Radio Kashmir to promote the new thinking around simple marriages. “The late marriage tendency is sullying our religious, social and cultural values and has devastating impact on individuals, families and the nation. Our one-point agenda is to tell people how important it is to make marriage economically affordable for everybody in the society. And we are getting a positive response. But there is need to launch a massive campaign everywhere.” Fayaz told TSI.

A marriage is after all a meeting of the hearts. A campaign for minds over matter (read money) definitely makes sense not only in the Valley, but everywhere else to.

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Music is the new vocal weapon of protestors world wide!

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Last year in May, numerous music groups and bands announced their plan to boycott (read “sound strike”) all musical performances in Arizona marking a protest to the new anti-immigration law and requested their fans to file a petition challenging it. This protest won support from Latin performers, Mexicans bands, Colombian singers and many others. It grew to an extent that even many municipalities decided to “cut their economic ties” with Arizona. A similar incident occurred in July, 2009, when United Airlines refused to pay compensation to Canadian singer Dave Carroll (after his guitar got broken in the cargo), and Dave, in return, composed a song titled United Breaks Guitars and uploaded the same on YouTube which attracted four million users in just 10 days, resulting in a drop of the airline’s share price by a whopping 10 per cent - or $180 million!

Music has been an age-old effective tool when it comes to non-violent protests. Hip-hop was used in Sweden by NGOs to engage disaffected immigrant and working class youths. African and French artists, since long, have been using hip-hop and other modern (youth appealing) forms of music to address environmental justice, policing & prisons, media justice and education. South-African pop artists, after being exiled from South Africa, composed music to bring into notice the issues pertaining to apartheid and slavery.

During the Vietnam war, songs like,Edwin Starr's War, Wars of Armageddon, Jimmy Cliff's Vietnam – to name a few – talked about peace and the melancholic state of society. In the US, during late 1960s, rap and hip-hop music were used to highlight issues like racial dignity and economic empowerment of Black Africans. Various other bands across the world are delivering messages on issues like the Iranian regime, Mexico's drug abuse, Brazil's social unrest and many more.

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd helped in the remake of the song "Another Brick in the Wall" featuring footages of street violence after Iran's disputed elections in 2009; this song eventually attracted more than 100,000 hits. Even Bon Jovi performed "Stand By Me" with Iranian pop star Andy Madadian (Madadian's music is banned in Iran) for the same cause.

During their regime, the Taliban banned music in Afghanistan, something that Soviet Russia did in 1930s. Only Taliban chants were allowed to be released. In the US, artists have even gone to an extent where they composed music against Bush Sr. (when he sent troops to Kuwait in 1991) and interestingly titled them as "I Wanna Kill Sam" and "Bush Killa". In order to protest against George W. Bush, there had been protest songs, since 2000, blaming him for the destruction & mismanagement prevailing in the country. Neil Young in 2006 released his album where he sang, "Let's impeach the President for lying." Guns 'N' Roses composed an album on the lack of democracy in china, based on their five tours to China. The album's songs were played over 4 million times on Myspace in one day. But, the album is banned in the People's Republic of China.

Musicians and singers ranging from Elvis to Michael Jackson, have used art, music and sound-tracks to raise latent issues, be it cultural, environmental or political. Such backlash from artists and musicians plays a major role in pointing out dissent, injustice and inequality across the globe. Music is one medium where language gaps take a bow, unity prevails.

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Economic growth alone doesn't guarantee social welfare

IIPM Mumbai Campus

Miles to go before i sleep...

Just before World Bank President Robert B Zoellick landed in India for his four day trip, a statement by theWorld Bank caught enough attention — "High level of growth in India is helping the international economy recover from the crippling impact of recent financial turmoil." It is undoubtedly a big statement to recognise India as a rising economic power and it is certainly a milestone for India. However, for any nation, economic prosperity is never synonymous to social welfare.

The high GDP growth has created enough news in the international arena; but is it ensuring a proportionate rise in social welfare that Nehru had envisioned?

It can be understood from the very first argument of inequality in India among individuals and regions. One of the primary objectives of setting up the Planning Commission in 1950 was to reduce inequality of wealth and income. India has not achieved much on this. Inequality has only widened with time from 25.8 per cent in 1999 to 36.8 in 2004. Regional differences too have increased significantly over the years. The ratio of per capita State Domestic Product between richest (Punjab) and poorest states (Bihar) has increased from 2.2 times in 1980 to 4.8 times in 2004. More interestingly, with crony capitalism, India has succeeded to increase the number of billionaires in the Forbes billionaire list but it has grossly failed to get more and more money out of them for the social welfare when judged by their philanthropic track record. There are a few big names including Azim Premji who pledged $2 billion to fund rural education or Shiv Nadar, who promised to donate $130 million. While the top 100 richest Indians control 25 per cent of India's GDP, all individuals and companies across the nation make 10 percent of the total charity funding in India, which is very less when compared to the 75 per cent in America. Although it takes 50 to 100 years to built a culture of philanthropy for any nation, it's high time India looks into the issue more seriously.

The suicide rate is rising across the nation among students, farmers and rural population. It is a matter of grave concern that in every 32 minutes, one farmer committed suicide between the year 1997 and 2005. In spite of being the third largest Asian economy, 127,151 people committed suicide in India in 2009 only, according to National Crime Records Bureau. The reality shows that the success story of economic development in the last two decades has fuelled Ambanis and likes to multiply their wealth but an ordinary Indian didn't have a success story to share. Many still don't have access to education, health or sanitation. Housing is gradually becoming a grave concern for professionals migrating to metros.

Capitalism's contribution is bountiful but it lacks proper management which can increase inequality and economic instability. It is not for nothing that Robert Zoellick mentions India while talking about the world, "Its status as a rising economic power is closely connected with how the country manages the next phase of growth."

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Syria dissidents meet in Damascus to discuss transition

IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri - The New Age Woman

Some 200 Syrian dissidents are due to hold a conference in Damascus on Monday to discuss the country's crisis.

It is the first time such an event is taking place since anti-government protests broke out in March.Many of those attending have spent time in prison in the past for their political activities.

The participants do not represent political parties, and they do not claim to represent activists who have taken part in the recent protests. The Syrian authorities are said to have been informed of the meeting and have not blocked it, but there will be no government representation at the event. The participants says they are not making concessions to the government and they want an end to the violence and killings.

The government is making a show of looking for the middle ground to solve the crisis but they are also seen to be playing for time, says the BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus. Aref Dalila, a prominent Alawite opponent of the Assad government who spent nearly eight years in prison for criticising state corruption, says there is no chance the government will make use of the meeting as it is known that its participants reject government policies, our correspondent says.

But there has already been unease expressed by some opposition activists, who fear that holding such a meeting while the violence and repression continue could confer legitimacy on the regime, says the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon. Others have insisted that those taking part must stick to their basic demand, that the regime has to go, and make way for democracy.

The meeting comes three months after pro-democracy protests started, as the authorities in Syria continue with their security crackdown.

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In 1985, the Narmada Bachao Andolan was launched against the Sardar Sarovar Project.

Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership

From the valley of struggle

Dhadgaon region of Nandoorbar district in Maharshtra has little to distinguish it from others of its kind. Those who flock to the area come mainly from the neighboring villages to get everyday necessities.

But on October 22, it was different. The people who had gathered in this nondescript area did not come to shop; they were there to reaffirm their commitment to a way of life and the struggle to safeguard it.

On the said da which has recast the paradigm of development the world over, completed 25 years.

At Dhadgaon a huge gathering, including social organisations from 20 states, re-committed itself to fight its battle with greater determination while raising questions on the models of development prevalent in India.

The NBA sprung up in November 1985 when in violation of all rules and regulations, the Sardar Sarovar Project over the Narmada river began displacing lakhs of people. From opposition to one big dam, the movement soon became a synonym for resistance to all such dam projects where people were uprooted without compensation and appropriate rehabilitation.

First proposed in 1946, the Sardar Sarovar Project later became a part of the Narmada Valley Development Plan under which 30 big, 135 medium and 3,000 small dams were proposed to be built over the Narmada and its tributaries. Sardar Sarovar, with a proposed height of 445 feet, is the biggest of these dams. The project, which will finally irrigate 18,000 sq kilometers of land, has displaced people from larges swathes in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

In the first phase, besides electricity production, the dam was to irrigate the drought prone areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The height of the proposed project was 500 feet. In 1979, the Narmada tribunal, disposing off a host of complaints lodged before it, decided the allocation of water between the four affected states and settled on a height of 455 feet for the dam.

The tribunal also issued strict guidelines for the rehabilitation of the dam oustees. These included, besides a home with all amenities or land in lieu of a home, arable land. However, when the governments concerned began to ignore the tribunal’s recommendations and went ahead with the displacements, the NBA was born.
In the 25 years of its life, there have been many instances when it looked like the movement would fall apart. But every single time those fighting for it came back with renewed vigour and stuck together.

The NBA’s own findings suggest that the harm done by the dam far exceeds the hugely magnified benefits that will follow from it. Plus, governments have brazenly flouted all legal orders which protect the basic and human rights of the oustees to benefit big industrialists while destroying natural resources with impunity.
The movement has also focused on coming up with creative solutions like small lighthouses, the teaching of life skills to children and the promotion of development activities that do no harm to the environment.

In Dhadgaon and in Badwani the next day, it became clear that the oustees had not got their dues and that their connection with the NBA was deep. More than 5,000 people were present at the rally in Dhadgaon.

Children came out with their traditional musical instruments and became an integral part of the rally. As they sang and danced, their fists went up at slogans like “Ladenge, jeetenge” (We shall fight, we shall win).

To cross Dhadgaon and reach Badwani in Madhya Pradesh, the rallyists had to cross as many as ten villages. Even as night fell, the villagers stood by the sides of the paths to welcome those who were part of the rally.

As we speak to people in the affected villages, their sense of betrayal becomes evident. In the holy region of Koteshwar, famous locally for its ancient Shiva temple, the priest Mahadev Puri says, “There is very little compensation for the temple. I understand the pain of those who lost their homes. I pray that the height of the dam is not increased any further or else the loss will be mammoth.”
At Kotdo village, 70-year-old Jayaram says, “Our children are part of the movement. We did not get appropriate compensation.” This reality becomes more evident in villages like Khapadkheda where many claim not to be part of the survey of the affected.

Durji Patedar, resident of Nisarpur village in Madhya Pradesh, says, “So many houses were said to be outside the area which was to drown. Only half of some people’s fields were marked for compensation. The payment we received for our land is blatantly unfair. How can anyone be treated this way?”

NBA leader Medha Patkar says, “There is no truth in the claims of development made for the Sardar Sarovar Project. People have been cheated in the name of rehabilitation and compensation. This is a fight to protect the rights of the marginalised, the tribals and the fishermen. The principles of development being promoted today have only brought ruin."

The anti-dam activist adds: "There have been many instances in the last 25 years when courts have ruled in favour of the NBA, establishing that the questions we are raising are valid. Even today the height of the dam has been stayed at 121.92 metres. It is not only a question of the Sardar Sarovar Dam but of the hundreds of other dams that are to come up around the country."

Patkar further says, "Till a meaningful definition of development is adopted and the valid demand of the oustees upheld, our struggle will continue. This movement is in line with all those other movements of the world that talk of people- oriented development and people’s rights.”

And so the fight continues.

Dr BD Sharma
Veteran social activist

“Those affected by the Sardar Sarovar Project have been cheated by the government from the first year itself. The NBA should move forward with greater determination and expand the scope of its struggle. “



Madhu Bhaduri
Former politician

“New thinking on development is the greatest gist of the NBA. The movement has taught us about inclusive development.”


sunil
National vice-president,
Samajwadi Jan Parishad.

“The NBA has raised important questions on the inequalities of modern
day development. The movement should have widened its scope and become a force to question today’s system, which has not happened as yet.

Swami agnivesh
Chairperson, Bonded Labour Liberation Front

"The NBA has shown the correct path to development. The government should talk to Medha and her associates. If the government does not change its path this movement will intensify."

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A rather unusual take points to the actual realities behind India's newfound buying spree

Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership

Consumerism: A covert imprisonment

George Orwell – born as Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, Bihar, on June 25, 1903 – may be laughing in glee in his grave today with a hidden conceit as his words: "Man is the only creature that consumes without producing" ("Animal Farm") ring axiomatically exacting at least in India today. And had he been today at the AC Market near the Gariahat-Rashbehari Avenue crossing in Kolkata, he might have rephrased his words with a biting innuendo about the menace of affluenza.

I went to buy a pair of shorts and a pair of trousers and casually asked the young shop owner about the sales pattern during the pre-Puja days. He shot back ecstatically, "Never, never did we have such a sellers’ market, not at least in my 15 years in retail."

The middle class, more pointedly salaried people in not only private corporate and public sector undertakings but also in government departments and directorates too have the unmistakable feel of affluenza. In every locality, the number of foreign liquor shops rose steadily over the last two decades. Every Saturday or on the eve of clubbed holidays, long queues in the afternoon identify IMFL counters: a reflex of shooting conspicuous consumption which is a threat to the economy. The syndrome is well spread out. Look at the rising sales curve of brand new four wheelers, continuously upping as if never to taper off.

"An average award staff – clerical, technical or running – gets Rs 40,000 a month, after the recent pay revision. This was unthinkable even five years ago," admitted Milan Choudhury, general secretary, West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) Employees’ Union, affiliated to the INTUC. He was talking about the staff under the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, born out of a split in the WBSEB upon the diktat of Asian Development Bank that clamped such conditions before granting a multi-billion rupee soft loan for revamp of the electricity sector. A class IV staff in any petroleum company in the public sector has a take home pay of Rs 45,000 on an average. Most of them have four wheelers. But what alternative do they have? Pathetic to note as it may be, planners at the helm in South Block in New Delhi or Yojana Bhawan never thought of engaging economic research bodies to suggest ways of putting the huge liquid cash, resulting out of significant salary revision of thousands of white and blue collar workers, in productive use and in beefing up welfare objectives that our governments are constitutionally committed to.

Imagine one whose take home pay was hardly Rs 7,000 a month a decade back now returns home with Rs 32,000 - 45,000 plus. How shall he or she plan the vertically upped income. Shall such people eat money? ("Will Indians eat steel", right wing American economist W. Malenbaum commented after learning about the IInd Five year Plan which spelt construction of three steel plants in Bhillai, Rourkela and Durgapur).

If one strolls along the pathways in a shopping mall, one unwittingly gets educated in what can be defined as built environment of consumerism. But this is not confined to the state-of-the-art shopping malls. The contagion has percolated down to the pavement.

A professor-rank lecturer with a Ph.D in a college today earns Rs 80,000 against the Rs 15,000 he would make in the early 1990s. I won’t take into account the unaccounted income through private tuition. A primary school teacher under the state government begins his career with a take home of Rs 10,500 a month while his predecessor in the early 1980s got at the most Rs 800.

A veteran trade unionist who joined the undivided Communist Party of India in the mid-1950s told me in a pensive mood. "Today, our union members, even in steel plants and Central public sector enterprises, reluctantly take part in nationwide strike even at the call of all premier central trade unions. Loss of one day’s salary is more agonising than the loss of economic freedom to the predatory neo-liberals that rule from Washington and destroy livelihoods of millions the world over, including India. But even in the early 1980s, they used to pressure us for strike calls including indefinite strike actions."

To have more liquid cash does not mean more freedom to choose what to purchase or how to spend. Retail chains dictate us what to buy. Consumerism is an invisible toxin but it’s no use blaming the apparent beneficiaries of affluenza which is unlikely to sustain. Salary-inflation induces some kind of powerlessness that accumulates in our ordinary living to escape like hot gasses. "There is a lot of this splintering off into colonies of the instantly righteous. This is happening to all of us. We’re a sleeping monster," aptly wrote Reverend Billy Talen several months back. The US is bloodier than India but we – the victims of ‘alienation’ via consumerism – too are on the same orbit.

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Crook Twisted Tale: Too many characters, too little coherence

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Mohit Suri tries to cash in on some contemporary developments (the racist attacks on Indians in Australia) by constructing a story around a reckless and lawless Jay (Emraan Hashmi) who is sent Down Under by Joseph (Gulshan Grover), his guardian. Introducing a couple of love stories into the track, and weaving in some unnecessarily complicated twists, he soon loses his handle on the film’s narrative.

Too many intertwining threads - Suraj loves Suhani (Neha Sharma) but wants to marry Nicole in hopes of getting a permanent residency but Suhani’s sister Sheena has had an affair with Russel who is Nicole’s brother and is now orchestrating the racial attacks (!!!) – weave a tale that cannot decide whether to focus on the love story or the larger message. The performances from the new comers are average and Hashmi doesn’t leave much of an impact either. As a result, the message and the medium both are wasted.

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Jennifer Aniston: Sexy, single' but ready to mingle?

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The 40-year-old actress, Jennifer Aniston, climbed ahead of all the younger actresses to top the list of ‘Hollywood’s Sexiest Woman’. At a press conference, Jen spoke about women of the present generation being independent enough to not want any man’s support to live or even settle down with to have babies. Having had broken relationships and gone through several heartbreaks, if that’s how the sexiest-yet-single woman, Jennifer, consoles herself; good for you girl!


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Eat Pray Love: An endless voyage of self discovery

Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership

Pray, no more clichés!

An adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love”, this idealistic movie is all about self-love. Liz, played by Julia Roberts, separates from her husband, and goes straight into a lover’s arms, only to realise a few fights later that a new boyfriend wasn’t the solution to her woes. Travel, on the other hand, was what her soul yearned for. And so she packs off for a year-long trip to Italy, India and Bali. In Italy she gorges on pizza and spaghetti, in India she learns to meditate and forgive herself, and in Bali she meets the sensuous Javier Bardem and learns to love again.

My grouse against this film is its love for clichés. It bothered me that among the few people Liz meets in India is a minor girl forced into an arranged marriage, and how everything is dirty, and street urchins, mosquitoes and buffaloes are everywhere. Director Ryan Murphy takes us through the film at an incredibly leisurely pace till Liz reaches Bali, where finally “Eat Pray Love” becomes a movie that we want to watch.

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Toy Story!: Channapatna's toys and handicrafts were able to ward off the threat from the whole mass-produced Chinese shebang,

thanks to some combined public private enterprise. NK Suprabha walks into toy town

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

'The market is flourishing; there is enough demand. It is up to us how fast we finish an order and get to another one,' says Mujeeb, a craftsman of Channapatna, or what is known as the Toy Town of Karnataka. Wherever you look in this town, you will find toys, wooden crafts and people with toys in varying degrees of completion in their hands. Channapatna, situated in Ramanagaram district and 60 km away from Bangalore, is home to more than 5,000 skilled craftsmen who produce wooden and ivory craft including bangles, earrings, toys, even beaded car sear covers.

Channapatna's legacy of toys goes back to the time of Tipu Sultan. More than two centuries back, Tipu had invited Persian artisans to train the locals of Channapatna. They started with carving toys out of ivory; later they switched to rubber, cedar and teak.

A 200-year old legacy however found itself on shaky ground when the markets were flooded with 'Made in China' products; low cost Chinese toys and plastic playthings soon replaced indigenous toys. Livelihoods were threatened, but thankfully not for long. The government and NGOs were able to rein in the damage and transformed Channapatna's state of affairs. 'My friends back home working on toys earn much more than what I do, here in Bangalore. They earn Rs 250 to Rs 300 per day,' says Lokesh, a resident of Channapatna, employed as an office assistant in Bangalore.

Today, many who had migrated to big cities in search of jobs have returned to Channapatna to bolster its lost-and-found glory.' Earlier, it was difficult to find work orders owing to the absence of an organised system in place. Now we get encouragement and work orders from both government and private organisations. That is why residents of Channapatna are happy to stay back,' says Shami Ulla, a local craftsman.

At a government craft complex that TSI visited, nearly 20-25 members were engaged in paring wood on machines to make it easier for craftsmen to carve designs on them. A few craftsmen were on the floor giving final touches to toys and other pieces of art. A major buyer of these handicrafts ' since 40 years ' is Cauvery Emporium; rest of the goods are either sold to local shops or are exported. An area of six acres, with more than 250 families working away at chiselling, making, designing and colouring the handicrafts, is set aside to meet the Cauvery Emporium order.

The land is provided by the government and spending Rs 150 for electricity is not a big outlay, but a major problem is load shedding. 'The government has not fixed salaries. They have just given us a place to work. We arrange wood, lacquer and other necessary materials. It is a good thing that the government buys our product,' says Shami Ulla. Shami Ulla volunteered to take us around town to show us more houses engaged in toy-making. We visited Hanumanthiah and his family who were busy with designing and colouring dolls and idols. His children also helped out after their school hours. 'We earn a minimum of Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 per month. We are required to colour and design and fix the half done art pieces,' says Hanumanthiah. The next house was Rukkamma's ' she and her son were so busy with preparing wooden beads that they answered our queries without taking eyes off the hand driven machine! Rukkamma was rotating a wooden stick and skillfully cut the tip of the stick in the shape of an oval bead with a thread; in 15 minutes she had finished making 15 beads.

As in any other cottage industry, the middlemen here too walk away with the best deal, while the manufacturers make only a meager profit. Rukkamma gets only 75 paisa per bead; the middleman sells the same for Rs 1.50. These beads go to cover car seats that retail for Rs 800-Rs. 1000.'

Decades back, toys were booming business in the country, but that was of course before the Chinese took control of the market. The local produce was pushed to obscurity; it's only in the last 3-4 years that the market is looking up again. 'NGOs are training us; we are learning new designs. We get orders on a regular basis. I earn Rs 200 to Rs 300 daily here. We are however allowed to work only from 10am to 5pm. All other private factories work day and night. If the government allowed us to work late nights, we could earn more too,' says Mujeeb, who works in a government shop floor.

Private enterprises do good business out of this art; fifteen to twenty of such companies get orders from overseas as well. 'There is great demand from UK and the US. Private companies earn around Rs 5 lakh per month by exporting. They get business with their own efforts,' says H.K. Sahukaiah, Planning Officer of the government workshop in the town. The traders still carp about the Chinese deluge though. 'We used to get positive responses from buyers 5-6 years back. But nowadays Chinese items are the rage. People obviously like cheaper goods,' says MP Mariswamy, a trader of toys in Channapatna.

For the locals, income of Rs 5000 to Rs 6,000 per month holds good to lead a fairly decent life in this small town. Besides, nearly 1000 registered members also avail benefits from government schemes to encourage the cottage industry, which include the central government fund for training on new designs, and health scheme, apart from the loan recommendations for providing craftsmen with more facilities.

Channapatna is a fine model of public'private enterprise leveraging local talent for the welfare of the community and to the benefit of the exchequer. May its tribe increase'

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Silent for a cause: Silence is his voice

After Irom Sharmila last year, Anna Hazare wins IIPM's 2011 Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize of Rs. 1cr. To be handed over on 9th May

Protesting against the selling of drinking water, Amrut, a social worker, is completely silent for the last five years, confident that his silence would soon transform into a thousand cries.

At times silence can be more powerful than a thousand words. Cinema and theatre regularly use this tool to sprinkle the element of drama. In real life, too, we use silence to register protest when we are miffed with somebody. But for how long? Hardly a few minutes or may be hours if the case is too extreme. Bute here is a man who is silent for the last five years' five-and-a- half-years to be precise. Why? Well, he is protesting against the price tag some money minded companies have attached with the drinking water. Water is a basic need of human beings and it must not be sold for profit making, feels 53-year-old Amrut. A post-graduate from Bangalore University, Amrut is on his 'Satyagraha of Silence' since March 1, 2005, protesting against the selling of drinking water.

A few books, one set of cloths, a pen and a writing pad to interact with people around and a shawl that protects him from cold are the total belongings of Amrut alias Ambrose. With no permanent house, he usually sleeps on the road side. And yes, he wears no shoes. But unlike MF Husain' the other famous guy who goes without footwear' he hardly gets to walk on expensive carpets and fancy flooring.

Amrut interacts by writing on a piece of paper and through gestures. His passion is more visible in the latter mode. 'Selling of drinking water is a new phenomenon that these profit mongers' the multi-nationals' invented in the era of globalization. New and unique problems need new and unique ways of protest. The ready made protest models won't work here,' he explains of his way of protest.

He recalls the incident that forced him to take up this struggle five years back. It was a hot Bangalore afternoon. A few labourers at a construction site asked for water from a local resident. But the person refused to give them any water. The poor labourers' pockets did not allow them the luxury of buying bottled water from the nearby shops. Amrut, who was watching all this, came forward and fetched water for them. The incident enraged him enough to launch a protest against the selling of water. 'Water is nature's gift and selling it is a crime. Several local and multi-national companies are minting money through this crime,' he writes.

The passionate social worker hates packaged drinking water so much that if he finds mineral water bottles on the stage in any programme he attends, he does not hesitate in raising voice against it. Once he was even beaten up for this and that too by his own party men. It so happened that a few years after the demise of MD Nanjundaswamy, the leaders of the warring factions of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) met in Bangalore to discuss the possibilities of a merger. What terribly irked Amrut there was the presence of branded water bottles bought to be served during the meeting. He instantly wrote a placard and displayed it outside the venue, exposing the leaders' real face. (The leaders had promised to wage a resolute struggle against the sale of drinking water just a year ago). 'They brutally assaulted me. I had honestly worked in KRRS for a cause for so many years and this was the way they treated me,' he jots down. He has worked with many other social organisations too. Since 2007, Amrut has intensified his struggle by cutting his food down to one meal a day. He doesn't take even a glass of water till five in the evening! He usually takes his supper at the roadside food venders' in the city or at any farmer's house if he is in the countryside.

Amrut participated in the recently concluded Congress party's padayatra and walked from Bangalore to Bellary barefooted, taking a single meal a day. He became the centre of attraction throughout the walk as the word about him spread. 'I am not a Congressman. I participated in the walk just because they have raised an important issue concerning the ordinary people of the state. For me it was an opportunity to spread awareness about my cause,' writes down an excited Amrut.

Amrut's protest against the anti-begging law was also unique. To register his protest he started begging on the streets of Bangalore. Then he organised his co-beggars and marched to Delhi, begging all through the way, to oppose the law. 'It is the state that has created the circumstances where a section of people is forced to beg. If the government is really concerned about its citizens and is feeling ashamed of having such an inhuman practice on its land, it should address the conditions that have given rise to begging,' he opines.

For the last one year or so, he has started selling revolutionary and progressive books in public programmes, mass protests and demonstrations. He feels that it is not just a means of filling his stomach, but an effective medium of spreading awareness among the people. 'A year back, I was just distributing some progressive literature in front of the Lawyers Bhavan in Bangalore. Some people claiming to be from the Sangh Parivar snatched the papers from me, physically assaulted me and handed me over to the police accusing me of distributing anti-Hindu literature. I took it as a challenge and thenceforth started selling all kinds of revolutionary and progressive books to spread awareness. I sell the books keeping a little profit margin to earn a few bucks for a cup of tea and a roadside meal in the evening,' he conveys with a note of triumph. He is confident that one day his silent protest will translate into thousands of voices for his cause. 'Till then, I will keep it up. I may not be able to see it in my lifetime, but the future generations will surely do,' he concludes.

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