Socrates once said that its almost fatal to spread rumours about things which we have heard and its genuineness is not known. This has been the case with J&K since the political upheaval fuelled by seccionist forces with divisive tactics is thriving. Let me discuss some of the relevant issues which are in news. In Administration, majority people should be satisfied because you cannot please everybody and thats a universal axiom. So, Omar abdullah's persistent efforts in bringing tranquility in the State should be appreciated because sitting in an AC lounge sipping a drink in Mumbai TV studio or travelling in a Bangalore bus or in Delhi's metro commenting and raising fingers on anybody's efforts without knowing the true picture is Bad Democracy we have imbibed.

We should repose our Faith and trust in Omar abdullah's way of governance and Centre's not so pro-active policies for the time being. Loud clamouring about the Separate kashmir is baseless because except few seccesionist group which are specifically funded by Pakistan there are no such demands. Youth are always rebellious otherwise they should not be a part of Youth. They are dissatisfied because there is lack of development, dearth of job opportunities, social infrastructure lacking, feeling of alienation from India and many minor issues. But as said by someone that " Development being the best contraceptive" the Government's effort should be to bring the Kashmiri youth into mainstream Administration, mainstream politics, and mainstream India where it may give out an image of Kashmir and its people being a part of India.

Those who demand for seperate kashmir are oblivion of the fact that if that at all happens they end up being a part of Voracious China or Failed Pakistan ultimately ending like Afghanistan whose political stability is still in doldrums. If viewed rationally Kashmir's maximum revenue is generated by tourism, courtesy Amarnath Yatra, Vaishnavdevi Temple, Honeymoon hotspots like Leh, ladakh, gulmarg, Srinagar and many more, even the majority kashmiris do not want to get seperated from India's as it is not in there own interest.
Scrapping of Article 370 which gives J&K a seperate constitution and Constituent assembly should which has been one of the Election manifesto of NDA government should not be discussed now amidst the political turmoil in the valley.
AFSPA(Armed Forces Special Powers Act) which the poeple wants to get removed is neither a problem nor a solution to this unending violence. The troops which are stationed in the valley are for the protection of the people and maintaining law& order which may dissatisfy few but withdrawing it would bring more devastation inthe valley because the insurgency of any terrorist forces or from pakistan army wont be a surprise. National human Rights commission should understand that Administration cannot run pleasing everybody and we are not an EU nation where peace prevails most of time with not intrusive nature. If removed we may see another Kargil anytime which is not wanted. The government can amend some of the clauses in the Rule to make it more human so that no more innocent people are being killed and women are not raped or harrassed. Stern actions should be taken against such officers and should be court martialed but still withdrawing of AFSPA is not recommended.

Those in Authority should be respected, as they know best about J&K, about its people, demography, problems then we people who are always ready to comment. Are our Family problems solved by outsiders? The central governement should continue supporting the NC government and take apt actions.

Kitchen cabinet became popular during Indira Gandhi's reign. It consisted of small coterie of advisors, friends, relatives and close confidante. They had usurped the power of the Cabinet Secretariat, PMO as well as other constitutional institutions. But that is the convention even followed today where most of the decisions are taken at 10, Janpath Road, Delhi. Thats somewhat acceptable, lets put it that way. This is one of those colonial legacies which we have inherited from the british.The phenomenon which i have realised which existed since the evolution of Adam & Eve among the so called informed indians is the Nookkad Cabinet. At every corner, every human dwelling, any thought stimulating conglomeration, corporate houses, bus queue, que where in people are standing to relieve themselves, kitty parties and every other human existence which may be beyond my rational there is Nookkad Cabinet. The Expressive Indian, which sometimes is the bestest fruit of Democracy in India and also sometimes these Expressive Indians make us envious of the Chinese communist Government where everything is at the behest of law and order.
Once i went to a Tea corner in the city and overheard few people discussing everything right from films to politics.Felt really glad that people are so much informed and discussing the topics of urgent public concern. I heard someone saying that "Omar abdullah has proved to be a weak CM and there should elections again in the valley". Surely i didnt judge the comment but just asked one question to myself as to before even having concrete evidences, knowledge about the situation and coming to a conclusion is not only wrong but fatal to the over all culture we are spreading .I think every person is quite knowlegable in its own way and capable of taking a rational decision.Rather than respecting the position the person is in let us not be oblivion of the fact that we too have our problems and there can be some people always who would be commenting, criticising, reasoning our lifestyles. Lets stop spreading these culture where we become a liability as an Expressive Indian.It really feels so empowering when we hardly have comprehensive knowledge about any situation and still not only do we comment, but we also a solution for it. A family which consist of just 4 people still have chaos, differences, and problems in their houses which can give them a feeling of a chronic migrane all their life, still we feel it so easy to comment about a State where almost crores of people are living and to manage a better governance out it is to my knowledge is not an easy job. Nookkad Cabinet is always a desirable way of providing checks and balances to the Goverment but still let us reinstate our faith in the Constitution, people at top and be patient.Because Revolution starts from within.

If know God then ONE God, but If Many Gods then NO God...

An official chinese citizen who is officially atheist wouldnt be believing in God, destiny or say Karma? Whenever i pass by a temple i just wonder as to whom should i worship the IDLE God(IDOL God) or His creations. Should i bow my head to an Idol in the temple who as perceived by indians also sometimes drinks milk or should i inherit the basic values of humanity for what i am over here. Have you ever seen a carnivore eating grass? The fundamental characteristic of any being should never be lost, isnt it? And so in worshipping an Idol which to me is Idle relinquishing my fundamental characteristics of Being human is a hypocrisy where we cheat nobody but ourselves. I might be wrong, but its not my rational, reasoning, logical mind which says this. But may be the way " The God " has been interpreted unnerves me. Its not that i have not seen God so i dont believe Him, thats logical but puerile and not me atleast. To be precise, humanity is the religion and its creation the God. Building a billion dollar akshardham or a million dollar church or a mosque is like deminishing the human value within a God.

During Idd, i visited a mosque with a friend of mine who is a muslim. Definetely would be considered an act of blashphemy by many but then I felt nothing anomalous. Just felt the same as I visit a Hindu temple. Not at all a devout Hindu by any means, but yes what i have institutionalised is that God does not reside in the temple, mosque or church. All those are institutional mechanisms for the society to follow a norm, which is civilised in its form and acceptable by the society. The purest form of God which i have come across other than the 99.9% glittered gold idol god, is a child. If you pick up an infant, thats when You can truly say that God is in your hand because of that innocence, un corrupt, innocuous non envious heart which the God is born with...

Good fences do not necessarily make good neighbours...

Good fences do not necessarily make good neighbours as in case of China especially. China has started issuing stapled visas to Indian citizens from J&K. It has created new wrinkle on India's face as rightly quoted by Raja Mohan over its portrayal of J&K as a "disputed area". China's meteoric rise depicting its economical and political prowess worldover has dilated its delayed appetite of acquiring new territories and influencing its neighbours along its periphery.

Several military exercises between nations allayed fears over Beijing's ambition of aquring new territories. They did act as tranquilizers in Indo-Sino relation for a while. But these is colonialism in its new form where through persuasive dialogues and nudging the countries circumferencial area you can acquire territories without shedding a single drop of blood. New delhi should engage with Beijing in a comprehensive and concrete dialogue process to solve the perrenial border dispute. Beijing's ogling over J&K is a gradual shift form its policy regarding J&K.

China is in occupation of 38000 sq.km of territory in ladakh region that connects original state of J&K with two chinese provinces, Tibet & Xinjiang. China also controls another tract of 5000 sq.km in shaksgam valley that Pakistan ceded to China under 1963 treaty. Chinese PLA had built the karakoram highway in the 70s which is the passage between China and Pakistan. Though India's soft state image cannot ignore China's vigorous attempts at acquring new are altogather. Though dialogue being the only solution Delhi should lay down some cemented foreign policy which may if not yield an outcome but atleast seed a hope for the future...

Catastrophe at Wimbledon...

The mark of a great playr is that even though he looses or gets defeated it is still he who makes news and not the one who won against him. And that is what has happened at Roland garros and Wimbledon. The Swiss is a 6 time winner at wimbledon and he has not only set a precedent for others to follow but also a tradition that there can be only one winner at wimbledon and that is him. Roger, unarguably was given the title of the greatest grass-court player ever produced by his predecessors when last year he won the most coveted title winning the 6th wimbledon title. No doubt, his supremacy at grass-court was challenged by the rippling Spaniard many times but still at 28 he has the elegance and aura to be the number one player. He entered this wimbledon with apprehensions among his followers because in one of the Masters cup held at grass court he was defeated by 15 seeded Hewitt...Will have to wait to see as to how he makes a comeback... bt for the time being am eager to watch the semis and the finals...it has to be Nadal v/s Djokovic final...lets c...

On the roads of Gujarat...

Almost everywhere in and around Gujarat you may find the eccentric culture of the state and that is true with most of the states. But recently a friend of mine came from Karnataka and we went for Gujarat darshan on our own and i should say it was a deightful journey. But at end of the journey my friend noticed one thing above all that along all the major cities in Gujarat there is one common thing. And that was Narendra Modi's hoardings every few kilomitres on any road major in Gujarat. Every half a kilometre you will find one person smiling at you from a corner that is Mr. Narendra Modi. I dont about other states but the way Modi flaunts itself i think the marketing aspirants should learn something. Let us not discuss as to what he is doing is right or wrong because its an endless issue. But the question is about accountability of "public money".
It is said that hoardings all across Gujarat is costing about hundreds of crores. From where does the money comes? In a recent controversy Bihar CM Nitish kumar criticised Modi for flaunting himself in all sorts of advertisement. But who cares? What matters to people of Gujarat especially who blind-foldedly support Modi is his Hindutva face. There is s difference between Development and Growth and what we are witnessing in Gujarat is not development but Growth which is natural and not Modi-crafted. It is thought by most people residing outside Gujarat that it is one of the most non-corrupt state. But it was never. Its a catchy punch-line thats it. I know its almost impossible not to taste the honey kept on the tip of your tongue. Menace of Corruption prevails everywhere but to flaunt it just to extract some votes and reinforcing the habit of institutionalised corruption is a matter of shame. I read somewhere that " Power unravels the real Man" but here it has come true in the form of " Power unravels the Real Modi".

"Half"- World Cup...

The world is awaiting the biggest event of this year and that is the "Football World Cup" being played in South Africa. Yes, ofcourse it is special for many reasons because it is for the first time played in an African nation with an overwhelming jubiliance and fanfare. Around 25 top playing nations will qualify for this years trophy. But there was one thing which amazed , surprised me the most that is there are only two countries from Asian continent playing this world cup that is Japan and North Korea. The continent which has Maximum population, maximum land area and maximum countries are least represented. The reasons may not be apt but then how can we say that it is a "World Cup" rather it has to be termed as "Half World Cup", isnt it? If the name "World Cup" is based on viewership around the globe then the name is apt but not for any other rational reason which i could find...
The top two populous countries are not represented which almost constitutes 30% of world 's living population then is it fair enough to say that we are viewing a world cup. This reasons may look absurd but still shocking. Any game should be judged only on performance and merit and not on representation but then FIFA as world class regulatory body should promote infrastructure facilities in those countires which is lacking it. India is ranked 134th in the world not because football is unpopular or not played enough or because the denizens lack the talent but its just because of lack of infrastructural facilities and politicization of the game and ofcourse the idolization of cricket.
Qualifying rounds do provide chances and opportunities to many such countries with utmost passion but lacking facilities but of meagre help. The onus is on FIFA to see whether there is maximum representation from every corner of the world. We can only hope that this "Half World Cup " which is being played gets converted into a real "World Cup" in times to come.