FABRIC OF INDIAN SOCIETY

I sense a general feeling of insecurity among the Christian community in the Country. I find many articles or write-ups of many Christian writers generally critical of the Central Government policies and reforms even if they are welfare centric. I find pronoucements by Christian Institutions very tacitly warning its followers about a threat approaching them.

The fact is that situation in the Country is not at all that fluid to warrant such a reaction by the community. True, there has been a Hindu revivalism in the past four years, but that has been more towards uniting Hindus and restoring their past pride. Great leaders of this Country fought for Independence. The leaders, post Independence penned their dreams into the Constitution to pave the way for a society akin to Utopia. But it was a fractured India, which underwent a terrible brith pang in the form of partition. Coupled with this, the Country was illiterate, with rampant Caste outlook and riddled with abject poverty and disease. The British plundered and looted the Country and left its inhabitants like the aftermath of a hurricane. The early Government servants were naivettes who, probably did the best they could. The British style of Institutions were the only form they could learn from in almost spheres, be it Governance or in Education.

Since Independence there has been a substantial increase in the population of Christians in India. Initially the Christians had a missionary zeal which provided selfless philanthropic assistance in the field of health and education. Somewhere this zeal turned into a machinery for conversions taking advantage of the innocence and poverty of people in very sensitive areas. The vulnerable areas were North East of India, West Bengal, Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu. A sizable population in these areas were converted into Chritianity with propoganda and generous aid from their drivers overseas. This practice continues even today while Indian society advanced admirably in almost all the spheres. This is probably because they thought that if India were to become an advanced country it would be Christain in nature. Even today I get at least one group in my doorstep every month professing about Christianity and looking for an opportunity to convert. Taking a cue, Muslims too started conversions in the Southern tips though it was not backed strongly by any overseas agents.  However Islam was more active in Africa where many have been converted over the years and good sportspersons they were that they could immigrate into European soils. It is also significant to mention that 320 years of Moghul rule and 120 years of British rule could not wipe out Hinduism inspite of razing of Hindu temples by the Moghuls and weakening of Hindu Institutions by the British.

Otherwise, Indian society with their tollerant attitude have nothing against Christians as long as they practise their religion without interfearing into others' territories. Somehow all religions teach the same virtues, lead to the same goal, though the path taken may differ. Therefore, each individual, whatever religion he may belong to, must respect other religions and this only can ensure harmony in a society. They must not be swayed by some self-serving parties or institutions whose motives may be malicious.

DRIVE THE FUTURE?.

During the sixties till the nineties, one used rise up in the corporate ladder gradually with experience. There used to be a selection process in the Companies where people used to get elevated based on one practical capabilities. With the advent of Management courses that is supposed to compress years of practical experience into a two year capsule, Companies began to induct MBA graduates at senior positions giving them exorbitant salaries. This turned the tables upside down and perhaps sowed the seeds of many of the behaviours we see today.

The countless number of loosely regulated Management schools that sprung up everywhere gradually started to change the  a course of times. These probably induced change in the thinking young minds. In the family, the father and mother became casualties. The sons and daughters stopped to listen to them. The mobile phone and internet made the matters worse. The young people just  assumed to know all. Quickly parents lost their relevance. The teachers were the next. They lost the respect. Teachers were once upon a time the heroes and heroines. Now they are mere instruments who are supposed to do the job alloted to them in their profession. The schools gradually altered their exhalted role of character building to those of commercial corporates where it is more important to turn in material and immaterial profits. There is a gradual degradation of family and community institutions because their roles lost the relevance. One finds that nowadays the marriages are breaking up at the drop of a hat, and marriage itself becoming a question mark for many of the youngsters. There is a threat to the very fabric of life  In the society too, a large number of people express diverse opinions, engage in blatant loose talks and take extreme positions on issues of collective importance. Many issues are allowed to burn literally in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. One has to view one of the debates being conducted in the news channels on television to understand the harsh and untruths being spoken in the name of free speech. Sparks fly, heat is generated which pushes the mercury of tolerance to critical levels resulting in crimes. In these circumstances can one expect righteousness to happen?.

Sigmund Freud or Phillip Kotler propounded theories probably to establish a new corporate order. Einstein proposed theory of relativity which also contributed to fearsome nuclear weapons. Japanese mass production models also lead to Chinese type of cheap products. It is rarely possible for humans to direct the course of the times. But look at someone such as recent theorist J.Krishnamurthy. You will find a seeming contradiction in his theories. Hindu scriptures are by nature contradicting. It gives people not only the possible but also the vision of the negative effects of any theory. While the past cannot be controlled, the responses in the present times are in the hands of the people. Human mind has been given the power of discrimination which has to be used to decide the appropriate responses. This  is the only way to sustain the world.

PRESENT DAY INDIA DEFINED

In India

Education has no value
Ignorance is Bliss
Poverty is a blessing
Economy is skewed
Money is everything
Corruption is a way of life
Road is a war zone
Breaking law is a matter of pride
Politics is a lucrative profession
Justice is a boon

Striking work is one's right

Super Power Bharath - A Rediscovery by Smt. Vishakha Hari

ERA OF POST DEMONETISATION

There has been some amount of success in the demon-isation of the demonetisation move by the Modi Government, especially after the end of 50 days. The continuous tirade by the Media and the Opposition parties din did succeed in sowing an element of doubt in the minds of people. The debate continues whether it is beneficial or has achieved the desired objective. There were divergent views by several economists including the Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen who is on his didi's side. Economics, like psychology is a subject where the outcome cannot be predicted. Economy depends on the markets which ,in turn, depends on peoples. thoughts and behavior. Opinions sway the people and short term success of any move depends on that. 

We all have witnessed many circumstances when good intentions have turned sour. In this case, the intention was made clear from the beginning. An exervise of this scale would have caused havoc  if not planned properly. Some deviations are only natural fallouts particularly in a diverse country like ours which have been addressed through periodic notifications. But people were expecting some immediate sops as a reward at the end of 50 days and when that did not come through as expected, they probably got disappointed. 

Has it helped in the fight against the corrupt, black-marketeers, hoarders and terrorists?. Apart from all the Government initiatives in this direction, it mostly dependis on the people. I am sure majority of people want a clean society though they may not express it emphatically. So the fight has to continue. If the money generated can be put to good use, such as to eradicate poverty and illiteracy and used for education and strengthening justice to the citizens it would serve the purpose. Black economy is like living in a dark room. The honest people will never get anything good and dirt will always be hidden.

Then the question arises, 'Has it done any harm?.'. There have been some cases reported that some people have found hardships, particularly in rural areas, who could not transact through digital means. and growth rate as also the GDP have slowed down. These are at best temporary phenomenon, nothing that cannot be retrived. There have been  news of some deaths. Life is precious and it must be investigated if those have any bearing on demonetisation. 

JOINT FAMILY – A FORGOTTEN TRADITION

In my younger days, as also with others my age (I am now 55), I fondly remember spending my younger days with all my cousins having  lots of fun and frolic in a huge house. We as children were unaware of any family differences between the elders. Not that there were no fights between us children, but often it passed off as passing phase. We did observe however, that our parents went about doing specific tasks by sharing the total work. We imbibed qualities of sharing, adjusting, delegation into our character. Our grandparents were darlings.who were compassion incarnate. We gleefully awaited sleeping time everyday, that used to come early, so that we could hear from one grandparent those beautiful stories of Krishna, Ram, Eklavya and so many others. These taught us values. We observed the authority of the  seniormost member of the family who was respected. At the sametime observed the opinions sought from all. We learnt good governance. The festivals and marriages had meaning. They were mini melas, the celebrations  palpable, the spirits high, the involvement true. The kitchen was a small factory whose produce were awaited and enjoyed by all of the family as well as guests. The houses were surrounded by various trees and plants and we contributed Uto tending them. We climbed, touched & hugged them as if they were part of the family. Small problems got dissolved and almost never came into the open. Family crisis were handled together and individual crisis got the support of the entire family. There were affection, bonding and  unity. There was freedom for the righteousness, but not for wrongdoings. The punishment was immediate and insulting to the offender. So there was an unwritten penal code.

In the last 40 years, this system started breaking up and today lie shattered, giving rise to a lot of social problems. Now the cases have piled up in courts due to a lack of such shock-absorbers. There is a decay in values. So called freedom, wrongly understood from western culture,  has turned individuals into self-centered behavior damaging surroundings and environment. The technology, such as mobile phones, more misused than used have contributed more to an overall degradation.

The youth of today must think about rights & wrongs. I have found a tendency in youth of today to summarily reject anything connected with tradition.They must acknowledge the inherent goodness in them and adopt its merits. They cannot have short-term perspectives in this because nature & societies are permanant and in a way guardians of our race.

WHERE DO WOMEN STAND IN OUR SOCIETY?

First of all, let me tell you that I am a male and do not want to be judgemental. I just want to throw up a few thoughts for both male and female readers.

Biologically, in any organism, male and female exist. Apart from child bearing,a female has a role to play and so has a male in the smallest unit of society called a family.

Upto 3 years of a child, most of its needs is taken care by the mother. During this phase, the child cannot speak, and communications are not clear, so there is bound to be problems. But this problem is borne by the mother. And the problems can be a great variety, be it hunger, sickness, discomfort, likes & dislikes, wants etc. Do men have such variety of problems with your subordinates or employees.

Have the men noticed the bargaining skills of their wives when shopping. Or  with the vendor selling vegetables?. Next time these men should calculate the percentage of savings.

Have men witnessed women getting the work done from the maid-servants in the house? Just try to equate it with men getting the job done from plumber or electrician. More often they will compromise with the work done ( even sub-standard output) and pay what he asks for, but not women.

Okay. Let us assume that in a family a man is the sole earning member ( a rarity these days). He  hands over a fixed amount to his  wife every month and asks her to manage within that. Examine how she does it. This man may probably take a hint for running his  departmental budget in his company.

Most of the companies have let out housekeeping to women, because it is obvious, isn’t it?. Now HR is being increasingly allotted to women. These jobs demand patience as a virtue and men do not seem to have it nowadays. Presently women have also started to lose this virtue. 

Media projects women serving in army as breaking male bastion. Similarly women have been shown to drive planes,trains and buses. Protection & such outdoor activities have been male preserve for centuries. Instead of  breaking male bastion it is rather denying or appropriating his property, in a way. Lot of women took to jobs and the Government got burdened with providing employment to more people than it could generate. This resulted in both male and female working in many families (to augument their collective income) and none employed in some. Will it not cause a social unrest?.

The current generation of young women have become far removed from tradition. In a new marriage, both the male and female go to work defeating the very purpose of wedlocks. In such homes, food is often sourced from outside and only the night may be spent at home just as if in a hotel. So pitiable is the situation when they leave their 2 year old child in a crèche on the way to work 5 or 6 days in a week, 12 hours daily. It probably is the need of present days that both man and the women go to work. But the source for this is the greed to earn more. We should probably look at the welfare of the society rather than its greed. The solution for this has to evolve through good sense.