Tharoor Tangle

The Tharoor Tragedy (3T) is of great significance for the polity of Indian nation. After years and years of suffering substandard politicians, Shashi Tharoor’s surprise contest from Thiruvananthapuram (TVM) came as a whiff of hope in Indian politics. Since 1960s’ the biggest curse in Indian politics has been the advent and growing control of good-for-nothing politicians (including family members) over the parliament and government. The new breed of career politicians, who are fully dependent on politics for their livelihood, has become the real retardant that is holding back India. Democracy is no doubt the most civilized form for human governance, but it will blossom only if there are well meaning politicians with brilliance and calibre. Whatever be their background, those who decide to be in full-time politics immediately after completing their formal education can never do anything good for the country. The present state of India, especially its most literate Kerala state, is the best example for this. Career oriented leaders in the Communist and Congress parties of Kerala have literally brought down the God’s Own Country to a zero-development state.

Career politicians, who make up 95% in all the major political parties in India, are definitely not doing the country any good. Given their complete dependence on politics, it is not at all surprising to note that all such politicians are at all times striving for the next higher post in their party or government hierarchy. An ordinary member wants to become a panchayat member, then a district panchayat member, then an MLA and so on. Side by side they want income to take care of themselves and their family. Naturally the desire grows with age and so also the monetary requirements. In the process the only sure thing that can happen in the fixed tenure in any elected capacity is a frenzied scramble for amazing wealth for the entire future because of great uncertainty that underlines any political life. Another sinister offshoot is their determined attempts to cut down all prospective competitors while in power. In any case one thing is cent percent guaranteed – any elected career politician will never do anything good for the society at large and the nation. Those who plotted 3T from within Congress party are sad examples of this curse on Indian democracy.

Welcome Change

The entry of Shashi Tharoor in Indian politics was a welcome change because of so many reasons. First of all, he is not one of those career politicians. He volunteered to join politics at a time when all politicians with some ‘transfer value’ were running away from politics which was getting murkier day by day. The quality of debate and law making process in the Indian parliament had come down to ridiculous levels in the recent past. In the age of globalization, there is not even a single Indian parliamentarian who is well known and quoted in other world parliaments. None of them have produced nor have the potential to produce any significant work that will enhance the working of democratic process of governance. Very few had the moral authority to command respect among their peer group for educational qualifications and erudite achievements. Most of them were respected out of fear or for their oratory gimmicks. In such a scenario, Tharoor’s decision to contest for Lok Sabha rather than seeking a back door entry into Rajya Sabha was nothing but a miracle in Indian politics.

Dr. Sashi Tharoor had achieved almost everything that an ordinary middle-class Indian could in his entire lifetime when he decided to enter politics. He was already on top of the world with his foot firmly on Indian ground when he decided to take the plunge in the most politically sensitive state of Kerala. He needed a platform and he chose the Congress (supposedly because of his admiration for Nehru). Many were unhappy with his choice of the political party but all democratic Indians were happy to welcome his refreshing entry into politics. Many were unhappy with his writings but few doubted his erudition and calibre. Many disliked the foreignness in his words and looks, but nobody had any reservations about his intentions. Tharoor was the best that could have happened to Indian politics and all the political parties envied Congress when they offered the TVM seat to Tharoor. And the fact that he won it by over a lakh votes in a four-cornered contest shows the democratic resonance he could establish with the aspirations of ordinary Indians.

Unwanted Fall

Though Tharoor’s name cropped up in so many controversies in the past one year, it was always victory for him at the end. He had the integrity and intention to succeed against all types of allegations and efforts to get him out of the ministry, parliament and politics. Career politicians in all political parties were mortally afraid of the new trend he has set. All of them were afraid of the entry of bright and educated Indians into politics after having achieved something in other fields. If Tharoor succeeds in Indian politics, the consequences can be devastating for the entire system of career politics. Tharoor was using Twitter and speaking on TED platform. It was too much for the street smart dirty politicians who are interested only in electoral victory based on their family name or vote manipulation. None of the career politicians would have slept properly for the last one year because of anxiety. The BPL (Below Poverty Line) addicted communists and BPO (Bofors Pay Off) addicted congressmen are really no match for the likes of genuinely talented Tharoors.

Tharoor’s South Indian background is a major factor that has contributed to his current downfall. Power structure in Indian democracy has always been dominated by Hindi politicians (rather than Hindu politicians), thanks mainly to demography and volume of business in the North. Tharoor touched the wrong nerves when he could snatch an IPL slot from the powerful North lobby. In the past, it was considered almost impossible for any consortium representing a state like Kerala to have raised USD 333 million and beat the competition from the North. Only a Tharoor could have raised so much confidence for anyone to bet so much money on behalf of Kerala. Whether he has any direct monetary participation in the IPL bid is for the enforcement agencies to find out, but to have triggered the confidence and won a competitive bid is no crime at all. And personal relation between Sashi and Sunanda is not for Congress Working Committee or Polit bureau to decide.

It is unfortunate that 3T happened at a time when politicians and bureaucrats from Kerala are supposed to in dominance at Delhi. There has been no time since 1947 when Kerala had so many ministers and powerful bureaucrats in the government. Yet no one came to defend Tharoor for a Kerala cause is something that must not go unnoticed. And the moral credentials of the core committee itself that asked him to step down are highly suspect. It is like a set of shameless pots calling the shining kettle black. It had only the shame of India at the helm and a few family retainers who have entered the parliament through the back door. They have shown it is easy to bring down a Tharoor, but many of them have inadvertently contributed to the premature death of an Indian dream for rapid development through democracy with intelligent leadership and informed consent. And Kerala could have achieved a paradigm change in its development if only it had nurtured talents like Tharoor in its politics. Democratic Indians have failed once again in promoting genuine democracy in India.

Faith Formulations

It was an eye-opener when someone told me that I am in a world of my own creation. Though he was taking me to task for a questionable doing, I realised that he was cent percent true. All tangible and intangible items in my world are my own which I have acquired through my own five senses and same is the case with all living beings. Anything can make sense to me only if I am aware of it in the first place. And everything in my world cease for me when I am no more. The tangibles include the entire physical world around me including my own possessions, relatives etc. And my own knowledge, concepts, languages and thoughts make up the intangibles. The crux of this irrefutable argument is that each and every one of us is living in a different world, each of our own making. And we make sense to each other only when the commonalities amongst us are substantially high. We should be happy that such commonalities do exist and are increased over a period of time due to accumulation of knowledge from the surrounding environment. If a new born child could be brought up in a completely isolated environment, the world that it will progressively develop will be highly revealing to all of us who take many things for granted.

The isolated child (let it be a male) will survive only if it is cared for till it can manage of its own and let us assume that it shall be arranged. The first impression that he will develop about the world will be his self-primacy - that everything else exist for his use. He seeks no further explanation about why it is so. He feels superior, intelligent and happy. He becomes a truly atheistic Marxist communist. In the next stage he starts bothering about the other things around him, especially the living ones. Invariably he sticks to his own primacy and concludes that other living beings are something lesser and everything is created for him by some unknown Creator. He feels no qualms about harming and even killing others. He becomes a true follower of an all powerful but formless and merciful Creator who rewards and reprimands. He attributes more qualities like compassion and forgiveness to the Creator who can also speak and instruct in human languages. He develops the concept of sin and starts to believe in pleasing his Creator for achievements. But as he grows into more wisdom, he realizes that there is nothing else other than what is already within him and surrounding him that makes his own world. His irrepressible urge to understand the omnipresent God (not Creator) overpowers him. He begins to indulge in faith formulations to achieve the same and becomes worthy of being a human being. My own faith formulations may be of interest to some.

My God

If we are alone in this world we need no culture and no God. When we have one more to share this world with, we need to confront, adjust and compromise in order to live on. Our culture begins at this point and the need arises for a formless, indifferent and an all powerful, super intelligent impersonal entity (God) that can explain everything and for us to fall back on. Though many of our saintly leaders claim to have seen, heard and even talked to God, nobody could ever demonstrate it convincingly to another person. The nearest we have heard of is arranging a feel of God, like what Ramakrishna Paramahansa did for Swami Vivekanand. The underlying truth is that God is not someone who is compassionate, merciful etc., who is directing our actions, keeping a log of everyone’s activities and ever vigilant about what all of us are doing. God has no rewarding mechanism for sending us to heaven or hell after our death. God is something that exists among everything in this entire universe which neither cares nor bothers about what we do. But its very existence must definitely mean something to each one of us. It is entirely upto each individual to reach out and realize God.

Our failure to clearly define something which cannot be defined is not a failure at all. The nearest we can reach in terms of defining God is by analogies. One such wonderful analogy is that of God with Electricity. In today’s world, there is nowhere that is out of reach for electrical and electromagnetic energy. It is invisible, all powerful, but only when used or misused, to each according to their intentions. To me, God is something like this. An all pervasive and all powerful energy that can be used for our own good (misused for our own bad). It is estimated that the number of electric impulses generated in a human body on a single day is much more than those in entire telephone network in the world. In a similar fashion, the energy or logic of God is all pervasive and all our actions call for a reaction that fits into the overall logic of the universe. We are all born with a piece of that logic and what we achieve individually and collectively are based on the fuzzy logical results of all those in interaction. I believe that we are all like metal tops rotating on a magnetized environment. It can collide and fall off or it can rotate till the starting energy gets exhausted.

My Religion

Religions have already been defined as paths to reach God. Having agreed on the existence of God and its nearest analogies it is inevitable to look for a way to understand and reach it if possible. If we analyze the available world history, we can find several ideas, suggestions and concepts for approaching God - some rational and some others purely irrational based on the perceived notions of few individuals. There are those who claim to have heard from God and given us revelations that makes no meaning to ordinary folks. And that bred a set of interpreters who are attempting newer and newer versions of their interpretations of these words, each suiting their own private agenda. The do’s and dont’s in these commentaries exposes their real intentions most of the time. The political and powerful aspirations hidden in these interpretations are making today’s world a very dangerous place to live in. It is time we ignored these doubtful interpretations and each one of us attempted to define a path of our own. The desire to know God is instinctive in every living being, but as humans who are endowed with more intelligence we should create our own paths.

God has always been there and will continue to be there. Given such a nature of God, how can we approve of any suggested paths that contain gibberish words from some olden days making no meaning to many of us. If God can utter words, it must be meaningful, never ending and must continue at all times. It should be theoretically possible for any living being to interact with God at any time without any mediators and agencies. This is exactly what happens in the case of those who demonstrate miracles and unexplained capabilities. Those who desire and strive to establish such contacts with the immense energy reservoir can always look forward to success at some time. The techniques of praying, sacrifices, rituals and practices forming part of the established religions are nothing but some of the ‘proven’ methods to achieve this contact. All may not work for all and it is upto each of us to select the methods best suited to one’s character.

During these long years of attempting formulations about God and Religion, one thing became crystal clear to me – that there is no easy way. Those who are selling easy formulae of just believing in a few words, doing a few rituals, living in particular ways etc., to reach or realize God are only taking themselves and their followers for a ride. Making contact with the vast resource of (God) energy, that is least concerned about us and our affairs, is a rigorous, skilful and intelligent one-way act. Only intense, systematic and sincere efforts (termed ‘upasana’ in Sanatana Dharma) can take anyone nearer to God. And only by a progressive process of approaching God can anyone achieve anything of their needs. All other happenings in our lives are purely on account of the fuzzy logic of constant interactions with others (living and non-living) surrounding us, which we believe as our own destinies. Only a miniscule percentage among us can establish the contact with God and dissolve in it by realization. If the contact can indeed be made, the advantage of divine outpours can be enormous. But those who are unsuccessful continue to be born and re-born again.

Landless Indians

How can we call any Indian an Indian unless and until he or she owns a piece of Indian land? The question is very relevant both in philosophical sense as well as materialistic. Anyone who professes a sense of belonging to a largely emotional concept like a nation must necessarily have at least one tangible connection with the same. What can be a better choice for this than a piece of land that he or she cannot part with during their lifetime, unless of course one chose to lose the citizenship (like Hussain)? All living Indian citizens must necessary own a minimum piece of land and it should be his or her birthright to own it. If all Indians are going to have a Unique Identity Number each in the not-so-distant future, we should also be thinking of enacting progressive and revolutionary laws that empowers them with a minimum piece of land (and also one bank account). India can truly belong to all Indians only if each Indian alive has atleast a piece of its real estate to set foot on.

Equal distribution of a nation’s wealth among all its living citizens at all times is the most idealistic situation that we can ever think of. No nation has ever achieved this and never can it be achieved. But even when we are fully aware of the impracticality of an ideal setup, we should be definitely trying for working towards its optimum levels of achievement. The food, shelter and clothing formula of Indian politicians for getting votes in elections is now completely outdated. The next promise of electricity, road and water has also become another casual electoral slogan that raises fewer heads nowadays. All these items promised are very basic for any human being in this twenty first century and the act of being promised sounds atrocious. No body likes a promise to be provided with what is legitimately his or her own. The ruling dispensation and politicians in India must be thinking of promising innovatively in the coming elections. Any political party promising drastic land reforms will have tremendous advantage in a country like India with an agrarian economy is a lesson never learnt by many of them.

Land for Living

The very basic use of land is for food cultivation and building shelters. All other uses like commercial buildings, commercial crops, hotels, airports etc., are secondary. Every single individual in this planet who is willing to participate in food cultivation must have access to land. Air, water and food being the only three essential requirements of any living being, it should be the top most priority of any governing body to ensure availability of facilities for their production to anyone who is willing to. In countries like India and China, which are clearly overpopulated, the role of farmers can never be overestimated. Ultimately, every nation has to provide food for its people from within its boundaries and use of land assumes greatest importance in these countries. Land for living must take precedence over land as a ‘real estate’ commodity for trading. Millions of poor people are struggling for food in India when millions of acres of land are lying locked up as tradable commodity. The two realities in simultaneous existence do not make any sense at all in a civilized nation.

All farmers need not have hand under their ownership for cultivation. As far as food production is concerned, land is just one of the essential ingredients and it must be easily available to those who want to cultivate. Unlike tools and manure, land cannot be bought and disposed as and when required. The farmer must either have it in his ownership or must be available on lease or loan. The concept of land banks becomes very relevant in this regard. If agricultural loans can be provided by commercial banks, why not have land banks providing land for cultivation in a systematic and legalized way? Any farmer (or a group of them) must be able to get land and loan for utilizing his or her specialized knowledge for food production. It might sound yet another idealistic situation, but the reality is that unless we have clear cut ideas for highlighting its importance and thereby boost food production, India will again slip back into famines and abject poverty once again. Minimum land must be available under everyone’s ownership for shelter and maximum land must be available to anyone who is willing to cultivate. That is the best policy to prevent any poverty and any revolution.

Land for Investment

In the age of globalization, real estate has truly become one of the most attractive investment areas and it is almost impossible to reverse the trend. Frequent collapse of commercial banks and stock market has made this new area highly lucrative and sensible. With the land area remaining same and the world population exploding, there is bound to be shortage of land at all times to come. Any progressive dispensation for national governance must provide avenues for investing surplus funds. But all such avenues must be regulated from outside if not self-regulated. With increasing greed for profit, power and pleasure, we are witnessing unimaginable attempts to corner more and more of land by individuals even if it meant throwing out human beings from their only shelters. Man’s innate urge for natural justice is tested most at the sight of such atrocities of Man against Man. Minimum land for shelter is everyone’s divine birth right and any one trying to snatch it away can only be inhuman.

The role of governments in regulating land for investment comes in here. In every city and every village it must be possible to calculate the land area available in surplus of the minimum shelter requirement of its population. Even if we provide for ten times this figure as provisions for future requirements, it must still be possible to fix the area available as surplus. The overall limit for investment in land must be limited to only a fraction of this surplus land area. Let those who can afford have the best and most of such real estate depending upon their capacity to generate surplus wealth by legitimate means. But the vast majority of the surplus land available must be reserved only for cultivation. There can be scope for investment in this area as well for those who are willing to operate land banks. Almost in line with other commercial banks, these land banks must be offering land loans to any farmer who is self interested in cultivation. His or her return to the bank must be nominal amounts for land use for specific periods with no destruction of the land.

Indian nation is in dire need of drastic land reforms in order to achieve a more just and fair distribution of its national wealth. Land is an inalienable right of all living human beings and it is high time progressive secular nations like India showed the way to the world by assigning ‘un’transferable rights to all Indians alive at least 5 cents (40.468 m2) of land each at the nearest neighbourhood available. The right to such UMSL (Untransferable Minimum Shelter Land) must be registered in the boy’s or girl’s name when they are assigned a Unique Identity Number (UIN) and must cease when the individual is no more. In addition to such USML, any Indian who is willing to cultivate for food production (for self or others) must be assured of availability of land on lease or loan. Then only can we really call ourselves a progressive sovereign socialist democratic republic nation as claimed in our constitution.

“Historiphobic” Indians

True history has become an oxymoronic concept desired publicly by all but censored privately by the rulers. Though everyone wants to know the real truth about our own history very few show the extreme courage of wanting to record truthful history as such in black and white. Nobody and no nation can have cent percent glowing history and invariably the undesirable periods get distorted or unrecorded in the official versions. Quite surprisingly this is not the case with post liberation India. Almost all the ‘official’ historians of India exhibit a mysterious desire to record only the distortions, disasters and debacles of our nation. Aryan Migration Theory, Hindu Way of Life (not a religion) and Indian Pluralism (not tolerance) are some of the pet theories of these official historians who show no signs of professionalism or patriotism. A nasty phobia for history (let me call it ‘historiphobia’) seems to have afflicted a large section of Indians.

Professional historians must have no agenda other than pursuit of truth. They must be unaffiliated and must be willing to accept and record history as it is revealed while deciphering archaeological excavations and literature. But many of Indian historians and India’s historians do not fall into this category. Almost all of them are affiliated and their mindset is mortgaged to vested interests. They want history of India to reveal in a particular fashion and hence unwilling to record anything that does not follow the script. But far more damaging than their unwillingness to record undesired discoveries is their mysterious fear for exploration. More and more of evidence is piling up that calls for a re-writing of Indian history. But India’s official historians are afraid of any further explorations to confirm the revelations for fear of antagonizing a political leadership that is steeped in political correctness.

Afraid to Dig

There are vey few civilizations in the world that can boast of a longer period of history of any sort when compared to India. Egypt, Greece, Iraq, Iran and China are just a few of them. While the native and foreign archaeologists in Egypt are busy digging out the useless mummies in dozens, their Indian counterparts are ever afraid to dig. It is now confirmed by way of clues from literary works and some pilot excavations that the whole of India is a priceless archaeological marvel that is to be dug out. Under each of the monuments and victory memorials erected by the imperial and occupational forces, there lies buried several structures of antiquity that denotes a glorious history of India. Be it Ayodhya or Dwaraka, the layers of such historical evidences will no doubt overturn the currently official history to a large extent.

Max Mullers, McCaulays and Mughals had their own reasons to do what they did with Indian history. All of them have contributed their might to spin out a version of Indian history that suits their own personal interests and that of their masters. But why should a liberated and free India stick on with those versions? We know for sure that Ramayana and Mahabharata are written by our own ancestors and almost all the places referred therein are in existence even today. Then who is preventing us from digging and unearthing the archaeological evidences that will establish our history once for all. There is no need of any conjectures and mythologies to keep us guessing always. And there is no need to defend all those illusionary atrocities that are attributed to our forefathers who are depicted as illiterate and uncivilized in current versions of our history. Some Islamic historians are even propagating that Indians were once followers of their Moosa Nabi!!!

Dig to Glory

The single excavation that can seal India’s glory once for all is that of Saraswati river which has now gone underground. Satellite imageries and pilot excavations have already established the existence of such a river and all that is now required is a determined task force to dig out the glorious past of our nation. A large amount of our Vedic literature has been put together in the fertile banks of this great river. Any archaeological excavations along its course have the potential to change even world’s history drastically. What is now claimed by many others as their own heritage can fall and the ‘Marconi-to-Bose’ change can happen in many other fields as well. The twenty first century can truly belong to India, if only our rulers show the determination and courage to dig. If ‘Chandrayaan’ has taken us to new heights, ‘Underyaan’ can take India to still greater heights.

It is said that there is nothing that we can invent that is not available in the Vedic literature. Aeroplanes, satellites, nuclear warheads etc., are just a few of such prominent references. The whole world is in praise of our ancient rishis who are supposed to have developed these ideas and concepts in their mind and imagination alone. But are we cent percent about it? Can it be imaginary ideas that are found only in literature? We can be sure only if we explore history very much below the ground level. All previous civilizations got destroyed by earth quakes or tsunamis or similar natural disasters. But traces of glory and achievements of every civilization are left intact somewhere for someone to discover again. Our story may not be any different from this. The long years of our heritage could have saved some very useful information for our future survival as well.

India’s greatest achievement in terms of history & heritage is its uninterrupted continuance in the path of Vedic Dharma ever since its origin. While its contemporaries like Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Mexico have been weighed down or inundated by foreign religions, language and culture, and China by its own internal misguided revolutions, India has sustained its own religions and culture for the last several millenniums. The combined might of foreign occupiers could capture the minds of only less than a quarter of its human resources. India’s strengths and weaknesses as witnessed during its long history shall remain its unique features forever. But what will sustain our nation is the unbeatable strength of logic, rationality of concepts and allowance for reforms within Hindhu Dharma, despite the degeneration of ‘historiphobic’ Indians who constitute a vast majority among its followers.

Religious Banking

Organised religions are becoming dangerously keen on meddling in everything and anything that is remotely connected with God. The newly evolving trend of religious banking (viz. Islamic Banking) is one such unwanted tendency with far reaching implications. Ever since we started witnessing competitive marketing of religious ideologies with a view to maximize converts and thereby capture political power, many such unhealthy tendencies have raised their heads. For the organized religions it is far more difficult to appeal to the rationale and spirituality of freedom loving human beings and hence the need to conjure up innovative ideas that may appeal to their basic instincts. Eating more food, seeking more pleasure, making more money and reserving their place in the paradise by heinous deeds are some of the catchy appeals that is drawing more of the lazy and lethargic. Nothing succeeds like success and the organizers are never tired of trying new avenues for religious conversion.

If religion and God are inseparable, religion and money must be immiscible if not repelling. There is no doubt that money is equally important as belief in God in today’s world but anything that attempts to see God in money is not only distasteful but unworthy of being propagated. Each intelligent freedom loving individual is trying to define the concept of God in his own way and mixing it up with money is the best way to spoil such laudable efforts. God who deals with money and talks about it is Man’s nemesis and not savior. How can an omnipotent energy that is spurring Man’s spiritual quest make him even think of one of the major causes of human worry? Making money, saving money and spending money are solely related to our mundane existence and it is much better to keep God away from such necessary evils.

Collapse of Dubai Banking

One of the best tragedies of mixing God with money is the collapse of Dubai. For quite some time, Dubai has been trying to achieve in a decade what others could do in a century. Be it the tallness of buildings or reclamation of land from the sea or increasing the number of tourists or organizing the biggest & best of events or announcing the biggest of projects, Dubai wanted to beat the world just by its desire and daring. The fact that it lacks human and natural resources did not deter Dubai from aiming for the very top at the fastest pace. It learned very early that tapping money from wherever it is available has got limits. The vast potential of Islamic Banking was a natural discovery in its further efforts to explore all avenues for keeping its money inflow open. A good number of rich but gullible individuals and institutions fell into the trap is something that all of us have learned now, though unbelievingly. Boost up bubble can only burst and Dubai banking bubble has finally burst.

The obvious way to ensure development in any system is by nurturing its positive growth trends. Many forgot the simple fact that the only ways to make money grow is by drawing interest or making profit by putting it to productive use. In an institution dealing with money viz. financial institutions, it is naturally by lending money for productive use of adding value to raw materials. The profit thus generated adds onto the principal and thereby generates growth. The only other age-old principle of money growth is by levying interest on it for keeping it dynamic. Stagnant money indicates death and no country or society can tolerate a dead economy. The concept of interest on money is definitely not anything evil but a time-tested noble method to guarantee growth of money even if it is not put to any productive use. Inflation is a necessary evil in any economy and interest is the natural protection against it.

Need of Dharmic Banking

Like in all aspects of life, anything that is unbridled and uncontrolled can lead us to the graveyard faster than due. The case of interest on money is another good example where moderation can sustain and excess can ruin. And more importantly, lack of it can also ruin. So interest on money is inevitable and indispensable, but must be applied on moderation. The concept of dharmic banking becomes very relevant in this regard. One of the four duties (and privileges) of Man (the other three being Artha, Kama and Moksha), Dharma has been defined as “that which sustains” and banking institutions based on dharma can make a lot of difference in a world full of inequality. As an example, imagine a system where A can get an agricultural loan at 5% interest and B can get the same loan only at 10% interest based on their inequalities. Interest rates in a dharmic banking industry can become instruments for closing the inequality gap in our society.

Many of our puranaas and scriptures contain reference to such a banking industry that once existed in our great nation. The concepts of gold loans, chitty kuries, pledging land for loans, farming on loaned lands etc., are remnants of a highly innovative and dharmic financial system that once prevailed. Money on interest was easily available in our country at varying interest rates for various applicants depending upon their status and purpose. That is why we could control upto 40% of the world’s GDP at one stage in the not-so-distant past. Money lenders were an integral part of our society carrying out their dharma in the best interests of the society with reasonable rates of interest. Then what went wrong was the intervention of a foreign value system that considers interest in anything as sin.

The concept of dharmic banking is not to be confused with that of any religious banking. It is not on the basis of any instructions from God or on the basis of do’s and don’t’s related to religious rituals. Financial institutions that follow the concept of dharmic banking must be capable of lending according to need and charging interest on loans according to the current economic status of the taker. Current economic status of the loan taker must be a definite criterion while deciding on the interest charges on his or her loan. It is by judicial and dharmic use of the best financial tool mankind has ever invented namely interest on money that we should bring in economic equality in the present world. Avoiding it and trying to bring in more returns by undue profiteering is definitely not intended by an omnipotent God. Such concepts are only part of some other sinister agenda being pushed on by imperialist forces.

Tragedy of Political Correctness

One of the major offshoots in USA from the recent shooting incident involving a Muslim Major in an American base is the raging debate on political correctness. If we analyse the incident and the issue involved we will be surprised about the lack of such a debate in India where such terrorist incidents are of far greater dimensions and that too when it has been happening for so many decades now. Except for the last few months, it was becoming far more easy to predict serial bomb blasts in India that kills hundreds of innocent people than making weather predictions. At one point of time many of us even believed that Today’s Terrorist Toll (TTT) will become an integral part of all news bulletins like Exchange Rates and Gold Prices. But Indians have become far more disposed to pain and sufferings than our American brothers thanks to our inclusiveness and the special brand of secularism (aptly termed pseudo-secularism) that we have developed in modern India.

In a democracy, being politically correct is far more important for politicians to attract votes in elections. Each and every politician is important in a democracy and capturing power to rule is the foremost goal of political parties. Each political party has a declared objective, but it is hardly of any use when it comes to electoral battles. Hypocrisy is the hallmark of parties and politicians in any democracy and political correctness is the height of hypocrisy. For example, no Indian politician will dare say candidly that religious conversion is nothing but silent terrorism. He or she knows for sure that electoral victory is lost forever if it is said so. The highly powerful organized religious outfits will ensure that such a honest politician never sees the state assembly or central parliament. Thus political correctness is such a treacherous and harmful attribute that runs in all democracies. To reflect its negative quality more markedly it should have been termed as political ‘corruptness’ rather than political correctness.

Political Corruptness

Most of the politicians and autocratic rulers are ultimately concerned only about their own seats. Getting more support than their equally adharmic competitors, capturing and clinging on to power by any means have become the sole intention of those who come to rule. Irrespective of the size and scale, this is the actual situation in any country where elections are held. They always tend to side with their support available enbloc just like the organized religious minorities in India and America irrespective of whatever misdeeds they indulge in. Be it miniscule groups planting bombs and killing innocents under the name of Jihad or religious poachers attempting subversion by demographic conversions, the rulers always tend to side with them because of the solid support base they can command. Politicians in a democracy always forget the fact that enbloc votes are assured from such groups only because of the lack of democracy within them. But only those who can appear politically correct can be assured of victory in today’s elections, especially in democracies having universal adult franchise.

Anything truly correct must pass the acid test of being fair, just and sustainable. This is exactly what is covered under the term of dharma in Sanatana Dharma. Being dharmic is to be associated only with fair, just and sustainable deeds and words. If we can accept such a correct definition for correctness, the correct stand in politics must always be one in support of dharma. Repeating untruth in order not to offend the few who are always offending us and not taking stands that can nurture the positive elements in a society are definitely not part of dharma or correctness. Politicians who go on to become rulers in a democracy must be siding with dharmic forces if their ultimate intention is betterment of society, nation and the whole world. Unfortunately that is not always the case. The real tragedy in all democracies is that political correctness has become an unavoidable pre-requisite for attaining leadership.

Dharmic Politics

Unquestioned political correctness is the single most reason for the fast degeneration of democracy into a not-so-preferred option for governance. If the essence of democracy is rule according to majority will it must support and nurture the dharmic aspirations of the majority. This should always be the case, irrespective of whether it is to the like or dislike of those in minority. Present day phenomena of majority will always yielding to the more organized unjust demands of those in minority may be political correctness but morally adharmic. Electoral systems in most functioning democracies are failing to come up with ideas to defeat the organized might of those in minority wanting to impose their unreasonable demands. Instead of ensuring a rule according to majority will, democracies have become majority rule according to minority will. Practicing dharma in politics is the only way to bring back the losing legitimacy for democratic governments.

Beauty of dharma lies in its applicability in each and every aspect of our life. If something is dharmic it means it is the best option. In politics too it is the best option to rekindle the spirit of democracy that is inbuilt in every human being. Being dharmic in political activities means the words and deeds are for the betterment of society. Those which are required are sustained and those which are blocking our dharmic progress are to be destroyed. This principle of dharma is equally applicable in the case of concepts and individuals. Kauravas and their organized unjust activities were equally adharmic for the betterment of human society at that time and both were eliminated without any other consideration. It is time for considering the same option in the case of democracy and politics as it is practiced today.

India and USA are considered as the biggest and strongest democracies in the world. No wonder that the tragedy of political correctness has taken its biggest toll in these two countries. If it is difficult in USA to get Congress approval for send more troops to crush Jihadi terrorism, it is far more difficult in India to get any law passed in Indian parliament for a complete ban on religious conversion by coercion or a uniform civil code. Both the issues are destroying the very basis of these secular nations, but the will of the majority is unable to do anything because of the pressure on elected representatives to appear politically correct to those holding minority opinion. A totally wrong notion is preventing the duly elected and authorized setup from doing what it is supposed to do. The only way for genuine democracy to flourish is by arranging a deep burial for the abhorrent concept of political correctness.

‘Sanatinise’ Hinduism

Ideological, demographical and physical threats to Hinduism and Hindus are increasing on a daily basis in its very land of origin. Sustained use of various novel variants of the divide & rule game adopted by alien powers has taken its toll on Bharatvarsha and Hinduism. There is a well planned strategy at work in moving India nation away from the ideological contours of Bharatvarsha, thus isolating Hinduism (and Hindus) from its fountainhead of Sanatana Dharma. The predators are fully aware of the enormous clout of Sanatana Dharma especially in comparison to their own half-cooked cults. The alien religious ideologies are no match for Sanatana Dharma in a purely intellectual and spiritual plane. For that matter, mankind is yet to discover or invent any other better form of civilized life that can sustain human evolution forward. Indian psyche is so much entrenched in Sanatana Dharma that the only chance of success for alien ideologies in India is by clever manipulation of their routes through the same Dharma. The often repeated theory about Sanatana Dharma is not a religion but a way of life is only a clever ploy to enable this strategy.

Earlier threats to our land came mainly on account of the rapid developments in seafaring techniques of the Europeans. Aggressive missionary work for religious conversion, which always comes in during second phase of colonization, was only to consolidate the rule of the colonial masters. Converting a section of the colonial subjects to think like us and work for our interests is a proven technique of any colonial power. The evil of proselytisation by Christians is still continuing mainly due to weakening of its base in Europe and the fast multiplying sects within Christianity, each new one with a new power centre with unlimited money at their disposal. Islam is fast replacing Christianity in Europe and the new oil rich Gulf nations have begun to smell their turn for colonization. Highly effective techniques of religious conversion through love jihad or fear jihad are nothing but innovative ideas of their popular fronts in the sub-continent. The one and only way for Hinduism (and Hindus) to ward off these evil twins of religious conversion is a renewed attempt to re-sanatanise Hinduism.

Organise & Reform Meaningfully

Organisation and reforms are inevitable for any living system that grows. Hinduism is weakening because it is stagnating and India’s ruling system has managed to block its umbilical link with Sanatana Dharma. The inherent strength of Sanatana Dharma which has successfully withstood the combined might of alien ideologies for over one thousand years is legendary. All that is required by us to confront the latest threats is only to re-channelize our links with Sanatana Dharma. What we have essentially lost in our journey from the Dharma to ism is nothing but a vibrant platform for continuous reforms. Sanatana Dharma was a complete picture of happy components, where as Hinduism today is a hanging picture of disparate components, many of them unhappy. In the critical situation that we are now in, it will not take much coercion for all the components to co-operate for collective survival once again.

Sanatana Dharma does not advocate a rigid organizational hierarchy as others do. In an ever changing world, it is nothing but foolishness to think of a hierarchy for faith and belief. Each living individual must have freedom of thought but we need a border security force to protect the borders of our faith. The role of our divine leaders (which includes living avatars like Mata Amritanandamayi, Sai Baba etc., Swamis, Gurus etc.) comes in here. There must be a Dharma Sabha where these leaders interact and deliberate for common good. A highly visible and transparent setup for propagation of Sanatana Dharma must come up preferably within India. And our religious leaders must be able to talk aloud from this platform without fear and fright of terrorists of any kind. Long standing demands for social reforms within our religion must be deliberated and agreed on this platform. Lack of simple reforms is the only drawback in our completely rational ideology that has no systemic flaws and unnatural practices.

Rejuvenate & Popularise Sanskrit

Language is the most formidable weapon in the ideological arsenal and we have seen this several times in human history. In today’s world we find the best example of this in Arab lands. The colonizers in waiting are spending billions of money in propagation of their language. They are fully aware of the future returns from this investment when their army marches into foreign lands. It will not only make their communication easier but will keep other speakers of their language perpetually on the lower grades. This is where our immediate forefathers have erred. Just like Sanatana Dharma being the only complete religious ideology, Sanskrit is the most comprehensive language of all times. Yet we decided to keep it aside and agreed to put our own Dharma on ventilator. Reintroduction of Sanskrit as the first language is the first step in our return to glory.

Wealth of Sanskrit language and literature cannot be measured on any scale. If we want to make Sanskrit a popular language once again the best way is to churn out and serve the best literary works to the common man. Vedas and Upanishads will naturally feed the rejuvenated population for generations to come. Sanskrit is also recognized as one of the most structured and hence most suited for computing devices. If the right incentives are provided, I have no doubt that the Hindu ingenuity will work wonders in this field. Sanskrit will become the most popular language for computers and humans in no time. It will then be no surprise if even robots would prefer to talk in Sanskrit in a futuristic world. And who can underestimate the enormous potential of Yoga, Ayurveda, Astrology, Vaastu, Vedic Mathematics, Mantraas and Yagnas in a world where other faiths have only fundamentalism and terrorism to offer.

Sanatana Dharma possesses all the necessary ingredients for the best alternative for entire mankind. The Dharma possesses everything that is lacking in all other religious ideologies. It has the unique capability and capacity to contain all Indians and Indian religions. The only foolproof way to revitalize Hinduism and prevent its collapse in its sole remaining stronghold is to ‘sanatanise’ it once again. Promote and provoke all Hindu organizations to recognize the alien religious storm that is encircling India in the form of Jihadi Islam and Pentecostal proselytisation. We can survive the storm and even turn the tables on them only if get ready with the impenetrable shields of Sanatana Dharma. And if we can push it further with creative imagination it might be even possible to retrieve the entire lands from malignant cults built on myths about false Gods.

Identity for True Indians

Unique Historical Opportunities (UHO) thrown up during the lifetime of individuals and nations can matter a lot. Indian nation, which has been stagnating with the miserable tag of a ‘developing nation’ for the past six decades, is a best case study for missed opportunities. In the past one hundred years, India passed through at least a dozen UHOs’ when a different decision by those in power then would have made us citizens of a developed nation by now. The whistle blows from visionaries like Arabindo, Rajaji and Ambedkar were ignored by leaders like Nehru to the detriment of our national aspirations and development. The only decision that brought us relief during the period was the historical blunder of an arch communist like Jyoti Basu in opting out as the Prime Minister of India. We would have been in a complete mess by now if that blunder was not made.

For India, the pinnacle of missed UHOs’ in recent history was during the period 1945 to 1950. When the unnatural division of Bharat was forced on religious lines by the Muslim League and the British, surgery of the nation could have been carried out in a much cleaner manner. None of those who were involved then would have objected to a more logical, legitimate and reasonable arrangement for the majority in India. The half-hearted, unreasonable and highly idealistic constitutional arrangement that is India today is making life miserable for the majority in many parts of India. Jihad and religious conversion in many forms have already made grave inroads into the essence of Indian nation. But potential instruments for salvage can present itself in many forms and the current attempts for Unique Identity Numbering (UINING for short) of all Indian citizens is one such UHO for the majority in India. All that is required is a proper numbering system that will capture and record the entire truth.

To start with, a ten digit alpha-numeric coding system can go a long way in protecting the interests of all Indian citizens, especially those of the majority who is currently at the receiving end of all government policies. A broad pattern for such a coding system can be as follows:-

1st digit - Must be “I” that can stand for “Identity” as well as “Indian”
2nd digit - Born in India or outside
3rd digit - Must be a religious one at birth – eg. “H” for Hindus, “M” for Muslims, “C” for Christians etc., which denotes the religion of parents (mother’s if it is different from father’s because mothers should have the first right over any children)
4th digit - Whether SC / ST
5th digit - Can be an alpha code referring to the mother tongue
6th digit - Invalid or normal by birth
7th digit - Blood group
8th digit - Biometric parameter
9th digit - Biometric parameter
10th digit - Biometric parameter

Since all the basic parameters of an Indian at his or her birth are captured in these 10 digits, he or she will be entitled to all his or her benefits under the various provisions of our constitution by the ID number alone. All that remains to be monitored for this purpose is the economic prosperity of the individual which can vary during his or her lifetime. In any case, all citizens irrespective of their religion and caste, who are economically deprived, must be supported by the state till they climb above the poverty line. UIN must not record the transient states of citizens but only those parameters that form part of their permanent identity. And once UINING of the current population is over, it must be made mandatory for all Indians to get such a number as soon as their birth is registered in the local body as per existing laws of the country.

In this whole exercise, the salvaging part for the majority community lies in the 3rd digit. Once an Indian citizen obtains a UIN, which also records his or her religion at birth, it will make the whole process of religious conversion and obtaining another UIN transparent and open. Current practices of religious conversion by dubious means and creation of a silent majority of “cryptos” will be rendered difficult for the schemers of such crimes against Indian nation. Millions of cross-dollars and petro-dollars being pumped into India every year by the competing organized religious orders, each for creation of their own versions of paradise for the poor and hapless Indians, will stand exposed in the process of obtaining new UIN for those who are converted. We will also remain aware and vigilant about the number of UINs being changed every year on account of religious conversions in the country.

Once it has been decided to have a database covering all Indians, it is definitely possible to maintain and make available online the ratio of H:M:C on 24x7 basis. This demographic ratio is of vital importance to the every existence of Indian nation. Our false beliefs about and skewed practice of secularism must not make us blind about the catastrophe that is waiting for India once the H:M:C ratio is altered in line with what happened in our neighboring nations. India will no more be India if the combined might of foreignness outweighs our own “Indianness”. With an almost confirmed Islamic Europe by 2050 and aggressive evangelization from US based missionaries there is very little left for hope or imagination. We might have missed many UHOs in the past, but the UHO in UINING can be missed only at our peril.

Right Indians

Right Indians constitute a formidable majority in India, yet our Right parties have failed miserably in their electoral tactics. Little do they realize the simple fact that a country with more than 10,000 years of uninterrupted civilization can only be Right in its thinking. Starting from the Slave Dynasty around 1000 AD till the time the British were kicked out in 1947 AD, innumerable efforts have been launched to break the Rightness of India during the intervening 1000 years. It has been an international effort of unprecedented dimensions involving almost all shades of isms from outside of India. Their efforts have been highly successful in plundering the material wealth of India. From a share of about 40% of the world’s GDP the thousand-years-plunder reduced India to less than 1%. It is no exaggeration to say that more than 50% of the material wealth in current Europe rightfully belongs to India. But the successive onslaught of all foreign isms has failed completely in their attempts to break the Right mind of India.

It is necessary to differentiate between Right and Left in this context. The Right stands for tradition, values, nationalism, progressive reforms to correct the wrongs in society and all that is now known as Hindutva and Dharma. And the Left denotes rejection of our traditional values, mindless internationalism, revolution and support for complete destruction of our society structures. The perverted version of secularism practiced in India now (which dictates equal respect for all religions but special status for the followers of some) and several versions of anti-national forces are nothing but tools of the Left in its efforts to capture power. They have been successful so far in capturing political power and altering the shades of our society in many parts of India, but the overall character of Indian psyche remains unpolluted. Kailas, Ganges, Kanya Kumari, Ramayana, Sanskrit and Vande Mataram will still make any Indian to wake up from his slumber.

Left Over

The latest general elections in India have not been helpful for the Indian Right. Strange combinations of ‘secular’ forces including the notorious EVMs’ have worked against its interests. The net result has been uninterrupted dummy rule with an unelected PM at the helm to keep the seat warm. The prince of democracy is getting ready for the eventual take over, by which time the incumbent could be duped into all the terrible and horrible actions and thrown out as a traitor, thus making the change look logical and in the best interest of the nation. But who will hoodwink whom and whether the grand design will work out as per plan remains to be seen. Much more grandiose plans have failed earlier and many princes have failed to achieve coronation for silliest of reasons in the past. Only time will tell us the final result.

But Left is almost over in India for the time being. When Gorbachev made his famous speech in 1991 advising the world to learn from their mistakes, little he would have expected his brother comrades in India to take it seriously. No one likes to remain poor and be Communists forever. Communist leadership in India has realized this much earlier than their followers. Parliamentary aspirations, international corruption, air-conditioned armchair socialism and lipstick feminism has alienated the cherubic leadership from the dark, ugly and hungry proletariat. The dialectic between a leadership without sweat glands and followers who bleed sweat was getting too much. The wipe out of Left in the last elections was nothing unexpected. Like Gorbachev the great, the current Communist leadership must also be thanked for a bloodless burial of Communist Leftism in India.

Right Time

The great opportunity for Indian Right lies in here. About 50% of Indian population remains poor and they desperately need a political force to talk for them. Genuine communists had handled this role well in the past and the space is now lying vacant. Indian Right who had hitherto stood more for the urban middle class and village traders must now argue more for the unemployed, toiling labour and agricultural workers. Right leaders who should be more rooted in our traditional values must appreciate that ‘daridra narayans’ are the best representation of Narayan and ‘manava seva’ is the best form of Madhavaseva. For the right political party it will be the easiest of exercises to pick up right candidates for leadership from among the millions of its supporters for such a right cause. India’s own versions of trusteeship ownership of capital and dharmic ways of handling labour to usher in a Ram Rajya as envisaged by the nation’s father must not be difficult at all for a leadership with vision.

Time is also ripe at the international scene for a resurgence of the Right forces from India. Pure forms of Capitalism and Communism have failed to alleviate human misery at all levels. What we have in many countries are adhoc-isms which are centered on individual leaders than around any faceless ideology. India’s Integral Humanism provides the best option for ensuring spiritual growth of individuals along with adequate material growth, health and happiness. The innate greed of humans can be controlled only by states run on ideology and not by individual or family charisma. The feeling of equality must be accepted by each and every individual before we can ensure distribution of minimum wealth. Such a feeling was definitely there in ancient India, otherwise there could not have been a peaceful co-existence among various communities. It was lost during the thousand-years-plunder period and the Right forces can bring it back again.

It is golden opportunity for the Right in India to re-emerge. The current façade of stability that is projected by the ‘dy-nasty’ parties is bound to be short lived. How can there be genuine democracy in a country that is run by political forces with no ideology other than the interests of a dynasty? Our nation is one of millions of families and not the private property of a few political families. Political parties and politicians in a genuine democracy must necessarily have alternative political ideologies and clear-cut action plans to implement them. The elected government must implement its own declared action plan based on its own ideology. In this regard there is no better choice for India to put right smiles on every Indian face than the Right way.

Blinding Books

Like pens and words are mightier than swords and missiles at times, books are far more blinding and binding when it comes to subjugation of humans under the guise of religious isms. Almost all the major isms in the world have a central book and its followers are tied down at all levels with the good and bad messages emanating from the single book. Most times the original author (actually a team of authors) is clever enough to assign a divine presence behind the book and its instructions, thus making it infallible, uneditable and even worthy of worship. Any book contains knowledge related to its times and frozen knowledge is nothing but stale, stagnant and senseless. Followers of such blinding books can create only havoc when they confront seekers of true knowledge which can be realized only with open minds. For sure all future wars will be for freedom from such books, if not for drinking water and fresh air.

In broad terms, knowledge can be classified into two categories – occult and open. The essential difference between the two lies in its openness to debate. Occult knowledge is secretive, frozen, known only to its proponents and invariably with hidden agenda. And open knowledge is free, progressive and open to debate and change. Books containing occult or open knowledge are one of the best ways to influence the literate humans. It is this interesting aspect of books that is being effectively utilized by clever religious leaders for enhancing their own ambitions. All successful religious leaders have put in place their own versions of incoherent and incomprehensible texts as words from God in a well planned manner. Most of such religious books contain occult knowledge which is of little or no use for existence and evolution of mankind.

Body of Occult Knowledge

One of the essential objectives of occult knowledge is its dire need to enforce uniformity among its followers. Uniformity is a wonderful attribute when it is present among a group of people with the same objective. This is more so if the common objective is conquering or destroying something by force or by deceptive means. Enforcing uniformed exteriors is only one aspect of achieving uniformity in a group of people. The more difficult part is attaining uniformity in values, thought and action. The only way to capture the minds of humans is through sustained indoctrination by means of injecting occult knowledge. Compiling book(s) containing desires of the leader, preferably in a style that is more symbolic and seldom descriptive, and assigning divinity to them is a proven method to attempt uniformity among followers. And if the initial few generations of questioners and dissenters are suppressed with an iron hand, the success of such books is assured. Many of the central books containing occult knowledge are best examples of such a “uniforming” process.

There are many more proven recipes for ensuring the success of such central books containing occult knowldge. Selection of its language, topics and narrative methods are the most important. A tone of infallibility must be present throughout the text. Hatred for those who doubt the book and assault on any competing ideologies can enhance its chances of success much more. Scope for deceptive interpretation must also be amply provided for development of successive generations of interpreters. And after a few hundred years, the sheer population of those making a living by interpretation of the book will ensure its sustenance at any cost. Different schools of interpretation will emerge but the centrality of the book of obnoxious occult knowledge and its author shall remain unchallenged. The process will continue to vitiate humanity until another set of much more wicked leaders emerge to pen down their own books of occult knowledge.

Body of Open Knowledge

In sharp contrast, the books with open knowledge open a much more refreshing window for anyone in search of freedom and absolute truth. Indians can be truly proud of their civilization that has propounded Sanatana Dharma which contains some of the best examples in this regard. For the ancient Indians, knowledge was equally important as air and water. The innumerable books produced by Indian Rishis contain knowledge that is open in every sense. It is open to questions, debate and changes if needed. Quite unlike other religious civilizations, there is no single central book in the Dharma. How can one believe in the theories of the omnipresent and omnipotent God speaking to prophets who are all from only a particular region in the world and speaking only a particular man-made language? If it is true, then it must be a limited God who knows only that part of the world and its language.

Books containing open knowledge are known for their logic and coherence. Sanatana Dharma does not prescribe any books that contain the authentic and unchangeable words of God. Even the four Vedas that are available now represent only collective bodies of knowledge in specific areas. The openness of Sanatana Dharma is best represented in a stanza in one of its most outstanding books viz. Bhagavad Gita. Chapter-18, Sloka-63 - iti te jnânam âkhyâtam, guhyâd guhyataram mayâ, vimrsyaitad asesena, yathecchasi tathâ kuru (Thus, I have instructed you in knowledge which is more confidential than the secret knowledge of brahma. Reflect on this knowledge properly, and then act as you wish). The ‘act as you wish’ command is proof enough of its openness.

People’s literacy is increasing tremendously in all parts of the world. But a large section is getting literate only in occult knowledge and not in open knowledge. Most of our problems emanates from this single issue. Even completely indoctrinated people with exposure to only occult knowledge want to raise questions when they accidentally breathe the fresh air of open knowledge. But the mortal fear instilled by their leaders silences such a minority for ever. The captive majority in these communities, however, continue to wreck havoc in the world armed with ignorance as their deadliest weapon. They do not see or read any book that tells them that knowledge can never remain frozen in time. It is only values (Dharma) that remain with no beginning and no end (Sanatana) in our world.