Survival of the Darest

Mumbai 26/11 was an awakening...to the fact that India is losing it's war on terror. A government is meant for the welfare of its people. It is supposed to make it's citizens secure. It is them that respond to the terror attacks.

Not anymore.

26/11 is not really different from any other terror attack. It caught us off guard like always. We lost our fellow countrymen as always. We vowed not to "bow down to terror" as always.

What has changed is the mood among the populace. Before we could console by saying that the spirit was resilient and that we would fight out the terrorists. 

We are scared today. Not knowing where the next bullet comes from. Patriotism has no place when you have a gun stuck at your throat. The fear is so naked..and we are feeling it. 

Today , I dont believe we can win the war on terror. We simply dont have the balls to do it.We have settled into that comfort zone where we such incidents are part and parcel of our lives. It's like a bad wound we have learnt to live with. What we think of as a symptom is really a disease. 

Our leaders are like old people..given to fate. It is the common man who suffers. But he cannot live with this wound. Its gonna kill him, his friends or someone random person whom he saw on the train everyday. If not today..tomorrow..at some point its gonna affect everybody. 

We will wait for that day. The glory that we foresee for 2020 will not exist. The damage will extend beyond emotional ones to those of a state as a whole. Countries will sympathise but wont help. By failing to globalize the Kashmire issue we will ultimately end up in isolation-economically and politically.

India used to be a soft state. Today, it is timid. 

No one likes hard measures but we need them all the same. Our leaders know best what these hard measures are. Identifying the problem never helped..finding the goddamn solution did. 

Isolating and weakning the Paksitan economy. Putting international pressure on thier government. Threatening a nuclear war. Call back all embassy officials. Request friendly states to do the same. Demand not request for the men behind these attacks. If the Americans could smoke out Saddam for attacks he was not even party to..what stops us from getting the Dawoods in Karachis and Lahores? 

The low point of a democracy is when the people lose faith in it. We are not far from that point. The only way to salvage our pride and lives is to simply fight back. The Congress or BJP..whoever does it..doesnt matter. History will not remember them by their party loyalties but as individual who emerged from their shadow of politicians to become leaders.

Gen Patton said to a soldier who said he would love to become a martyr

" You god damn bastard ..you cant win a war by dying for your country..you win a war by making the other god damn bastard die for his country"

Elections@BITS

Disclaimer: The post is not biased by the influence of any party/group. It is intended solely for expressing my views and not ridicule either the candidates or the people associated with them.

Background: For the benefit of non BITSians. The student elections for President of Student Council was embroiled in a lot of controversy. It was also a first of many sorts. Rachit Chadra, perhaps the most decorated student on campus contested much against conventional norms. The nomination of the second candidate, Nitesh Kumar Singh was withdrawn two days before elections in ambiguous circumstances by the watchdog ,Electon Commission. No explanations were given to the students and decisions were taken hastily by the EC without accepting an appeal by Nitesh.It was alleged that this was done to ensure the victory of Rachit Chandra keeping in mind his credentials.The BITSian junta felt disillusioned at being imposed a candidated upon it and doubted the credibility of the Election procedures. To voice this ,it voted in majority for NONE thus calling for re elections.

First off, it is undeniable that the controversy surrounding the elections has created excitement quite unparalled in the past three years. With rumors flying thick and fast, there was always something to fodder wing gossips. Opinions often swelled into emotional outbursts.

On Rachits campaign-
Pros
1. Obviously, his exposure and knowledge would have contributed immensely to widening the ambitions of the SU.
2. His manifesto points, though not populist like Nitesh's, were spot on. The extension in timings of the SAC would have gone a big way in promoting sport on campus. The ISO accredition was a novel idea and inspite of the difficulties in getting, it must be sougt to propel OASIS into getting bigger sponsorships and consequently better organization. Discount on Laptops is quite common in other colleges..BITSians needed someone to take the trouble of starting it here.
3. He recovered well from his Audi Debate disaster to give an emotional speech in SAC, quoting Obama for making a "positive difference".
Cons
1. His performance in the Audi Debate was disappointing. He needs to do something about his throat..makes you think hes gonna cough every time he speaks.
2.His campaign managers never quite manged to recover from the Audi Deabte debacle. Far from influencing people with his manifesto points and ambitions for BITS, they said HE DESERVED to win. They failed to realise that credentials can only go so far as to make people listen to you. Beyond that it is your ability to convince them of your candidature.
3. On the eve of the elections, Gtalk status messages were swarming with people voicing their support for NONE. Again his campaign team blundered in asking people to vote because BITS needed a president for its upcoming cultural and sports fest. It took away all attention from Rachit himself and made him appear desperate and sensing defeat. Not a message you wanna give voters, however bleak the circumstances.
4. Lastly, his blog ,post elections was the nadir of his campaign. Instead of walking away gracefully, his cries and complaints about the decision of the junta, made him appear vulnerable and removed from reality. He failed to realise that it was victory for NONE(and the rights of the junta) and not really a defeat for him.

Nitesh
Pros
1. His experience of two years in the Student Union made him a good and informed candidate.
2.He did not buckle under the credentials of Rachit and used whatever opportunities came to his benefit.
3.He reached out to the voters, gave excellent interviews....in short everything right.

Cons
1. His campaign team comprised of people who had contacts but not the sense to influence them. They faulted time and again by anti campaigning. The campaigning and charachter assasination charges during the ban period, though not proved, were true and reflected poorly on Nitesh.
2. His manifesto points were aimed more at getting vote banks than the actual benefit of BITSians. Regional night and all are good for entertainment but his horizons as a prez candidate should have been much wider.
3. His vote banks were confined in pockets and he ignored Meera Bhavan inmates, which might have spelt disaster had he been allowed to contest.

My Take on the Trust Vote Market

To Congress or not to congress?

Elections now seem imminent. With our ministers being sold like fish in the market, it seems Indian politics has reached nadir. Now, I have the power to vote. The power, often disparaged, to choose my country's leaders.
Whom to vote for..Congress or BJP..or I can also decide like this

Why Congress?

The Nuclear Deal. It may not seem so valuable now but the dramatic rise in oil prices makes it necessary for India to brace alternate energy sources. The best alternative is nuclear fuel. We have with us the abilty to dictate terms on the 123 agreement thanks to our booming economy. Never before were we at such an advantageous position for getting nuclear fuel. Admittedly the problems with the IAEA need to be ironed out but it's a risk we must take.
It was expected that this deal would stir a hornet's nest. It has brought the govt on the brink of a collapse. So, kudos to the congress for standing by the deal. They may have vested interests in this deal but at the end of the day, they stood by it,which is in the best interests of the country.
It will be very difficult for any other party to see through the deal.

BJPs trump card is Hindutva. I am for regional politics but certainly not religional politics.

Why not congress?

First and foremost- reservation. The congress brought in the reservation solely to swell it's vote banks. What it did not realise is that the previously dormant youth will now cast it's vote..to seek revenge. If not the law..I as the youth of the country will seek to end the govt that got it in the first place.
Second-inflation. Congress took over the reins from the BJP at a time when everything was going great..Incredible India was not just a publicity campaign but a reflection of the state of affairs in the country. Four years later..congress has all but made a mess of the economy. Inflation has climbed from 4% to just under 12%. This with a Prime Minister who brought Liberaliztion,Privatization and Globalization(LPG) in the early 90s and a capable Finance Minister in Chidambran, only shows the soup the govt has created with the resources available to it.
Third-Shibu Soren may become a minister. This perhaps will put the icing on the cake of tainted politicians becoming ministers.
Fourth-The Gandhis have historically created blunders in foreign relations..Nehru trusted the Chinese in late 50s..we got back stabbed....he accepted a plebiscite in Kashmir that was Paks moot point in the UN for many years..Indira retreated 10kms from Lahore in 71 and returned 90,000 Pakistani POWs..Rajiv sent our troops to Sri Lanka in 87 to fight for a cause that was not theirs..we lost thousands there.
With the possibility of Rahul Gandhi becoming PM sometime soon..I would not like the congress to be in power. The congress needs to go beyond Gandhis to appeal to the common man.

My final vote..not the congress.

Patience..wazza????

We Indians cannot be patient..it is somehow embedded in our genes to just get over things as fast as possible.It is fine as long as this impulse is restricted to the concerned individual but it almost always gets displayed in public places..buses, theatres, admission lines,banks..just get the hell done with the work..no matter if you are cutting lines ,hurling or getting hurled at with abuses and angry stares(why dont people scream the hell out instead of cussing in their minds).
However, this practice is deep rooted that at times it is not even fruitful to take the effort of being just that-impatient.
I was sitting in the departure lounge of the Delhi airport. A female announced in halting English that boarding for the airline would start soon. This is followed by an announcement calling for people to get in the boarding line. In the interim period, one is expected to lay back and relax. Not in this part of the world. The first announcement had barely finished when an elderly gentleman got up promptly from his seat,a cabin baggage in tow and stood where the future line was to have started."Future" because the people checking the boarding passes werent even present yet. So there stands our uncle..all at please with the world. Then a lady seeing the sight of this "inspirational" man also gets up from her seat and stands behind him. Soon a mad race starts for the 3rd 4th ..by the time the announcement calling for the boarding was made,the line already numbered about 30.
It took a person about 10 minutes of standing to get his turn.
The seat is allotted so what is the point of standing first in the line. But we have to do this ...be ahead in pointless matters. I waited to see how many people had the sense to remain seated and get in the line in the end.
Three.
Me(expectedly..wat are geniuses for!)
An elderly man
A young girl of maybe 16...this young girl had an audacity about her that is common to girls who have strived for little and got everything(read as utterly spoilt). She wouldnt have dreamt of standing in such a long line. The logic of it probably didnt strike her..but at times people do things(even smart ..like this one) without realising.
Life is just.

My perfect little world

We will keep in touch..words said at every parting. It is so spontaneous that at times I wonder if there is even a thought behind it. Coming to coll meant leaving all the people I knew behind me. But, I believed that I would be able to keep in touch no matter what..this is the mobile age, right?. It is effortless to pick up a phone and make a call. Gradually, though the calls decreased, giving way to mails and then scraps.
It seemed that the onus of keeping in touch was upon me. All sorts of thoughts creped into my head.
Now, I realise though, that this just a part of growing up. It isn't that people are just lazy or ignorant to keep in touch. They have moved on and it is not possible to share the same camaraderie like before. Life has created a diversion and we have go to our different ways. My effort to build a bridge every time is futile...the journey is endless and if at some point of time in the future, the paths do cross again, we could enjoy each others company till whatever time it lasts.Clinging to the past is not healthy.

My day

I read one of Rohan's post about how his day had gone and thought it a nice idea.
So, here is how my day went
Getting up in the mornings is getting increasingly difficult but with a tut to give, I had to move my ass and go for SPM. Five minutes into the tut and I realised I'd made a mistake in coming at all..I could hardly make out what the questions meant. The structure of Nylon 6,6 was clogged somewhere in the back of my brain..it was in one of the amazingly boring Chem chapters in class 12th. At times I wonder if I knew more about sciences before coming to coll. Now, it is just cramming formulas one night before tests and burping them out the next morning in the vain hope of crossing that Thin Red Line..the average. Fourth semester into coll and I realise that making an A in a structured course may a remain distant dream..but hell Bs aint so bad too.
Moms cakes arrived and it has lifted my spirits like nothing else. Mom is good at making just about anything but I love her cakes the most...and with the mess food deteriorating each day..it will keep me going for the remaining three weeks before going home.
Evenings are now usually spent at the temple. As a kid I used to read a lot of books on public figures. These people questioned the world around them..particularly their faiths. I too started questioning and eventually that led to rebellion to whatever contradicted with my views. The last two years in school were particularly difficult. Without realizing I was pushing myself into seclusion. Grades were not great either. Talking at home had become nightmarish..just defending whatever I was doing.
With the second year..a sort of calming effect came over. I feel more peaceful. Happiness comes spontaneously. It is a feeling I had almost forgotten. Going to temple is something I look forward to. I am yet not sure about my views on my faith but I do know that my mind is so much more peaceful going to the temple and feeling the silence inside it. There is one particular dargah in Srinagar in Bibi Cant that I wish can go sometime in the near future. There is no other place of worship so serene..maybe because it is not religious..that is what appeals to me about Sufism.