Jinnah: The Misinterpreted Man

(This was posted a year before on another blog. Just to integrate the two, i'm posting them here , in a series. Hope that the predominantly literary flavour gives way to some serious talk!)

It has been believed that the sole responsibility for the greatest bloodshed of the Indian subcontinent and its partition goes to M A Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. A cautious insight into the history reveals that this man tried a lot to avert the sequence of events as they took place leading to the partition. At every stage he oppposed the partition of India but emphasised the consideration of muslim-majority provinces.

We go back to the Cabinet Mission comprising of three cabinet mimisters which was sent by the British government in March 1946. It published 'the Mission's Plan' on May 16, 1946. According to the plan, the provinces were to be a part of the union which comprised of three groups- Group A (the states which now form the Indian union), Group B (consisting of Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan & NWFP) and Group C (consisting of Bengal and Assam). The provinces were given no rights to opt out of the union. All they could do was to ask for a reconsideration by the constituent assembly after 10 years. The inevitability of partition followed hereforth with the congress rejecting the plan. Jinnah supported it and he again emphasised that he was in favour of confederation not partition. The congress went on with its plan of getting power from British and settling all issues thereafter. Nehru pronounced-"We dont think that Mr Jinnah has any real place in this country." This was the foundation of all that followed.


Congress went on ignoring Jinnah and Muslim League which had as many as 73 seats as opposed to Congress' 207 seats in the constituent assembly. Gandhiji's plan was to wrest power and later on they pressed for partition instead of a union with 'intereferences by Jinnah' with the thoughts in mind that Pakistan would rejoin the union. The British were opposed to the idea of transfering powers to Congress as they had realised that Muslim League had support of masses of certain provinces. Hence, it pressed for an agreement between Congress and Muslim League over the issue. Gandhiji lead Congress into denying Jinnah and Muslim League and it went on even after the secret deal by Congress to wrest power failed. Jinnah accepted the proposal of the Confederation with three groups of provinces so that the Muslims get their rightful position but Congress had set its mind not to compromise and blindly went on rejecting Jinnah. Gandhiji wrote to Mountbatten asking him to leave the government of India to one party. What followed as a result was the Partition Plan published on June 3, 1947, accepted by both parties. If there was one visionary who had warned Congress against this consequence time and again, it was Azad. But unfortunately his voice couldn't avert the course of destiny and India was divided.

मेरा परिचय

जिन्दगी को पैमानों में नही जीता हूँ
पीता हूँ, पर जिन्दगी की शराब पीता हूँ।

जो कहता हूँ किताबों से नहीं सीखा
खुद अपना कुराण, खुद अपनी गीता हूँ।

जो कह दिया उससे मुर्दे सा चिपकता नहीं,
पर वादों से मेरा डग कभी डिगता नहीं।


जिन्दगी की मौजों में हर पल डूबता हूँ
फिर साहिल पर बैठ खुद को ढूंढता हूँ।

कल कहाँ जाऊँगा, क्या पाऊँगा, सोचकर क्या?
स्वर्ग मान यहीं, इन्द्र की सभा सजाता हूँ।

इन्सां के डर से जीता है खुदा उसका,
मैं मोहब्बत से खुदा को इन्सां बनाता हूँ।

जो कल मिट गया मैं झूठ के निशां मिटाते,
रहे अमर जो, सच का वो मकां बनाता हूँ।

Open-IIT Prempatra

Naye din ki khaatir me lage hain log, main to gujra hua saal hoon.......

Tum kar lo accept to meharbaani tumhari, main to rejected maal hoon...

Kuchh hunar hi nahi

ki is aasmaan me chamak jaaun

guitar ke taaron se apni patati nahi

aur dhairya kahan jo seekh paaun

gala aisa besura kambakht ki

gaa doon to pit jaaun

koi drum to koi synth

god-like bajaata hai

bajaane ke naam par

main bas kar pata kartaal hoon

log shankar ki dhun pe machalte hain,

main to euphoria waala Taal hoon…

tum kar lo accept to meharbaani tumhari, main to rejected maal hoon...

Padhne ka kissa aisa ki

bas IIT aane ke liye padha tha

‘Ek baar nikal jaaye fir aish’

yahi soch inorganic rata tha

electrical aur programming ne

aisa palatwaar kiya ki

mugne se yaari chhut gayi

aur ab aalam ye hai ki gujarta minute

bhi kahta hai- ‘main saal hoon!’

poochh bas nahli, atthi ki yahan

main to chhaggi behaal hoon…

tum kar lo accept to meharbaani tumhari, main to rejected maal hoon...

Hall ke maai-baap ke funde

mujhe start se bakwaas lage

aur hum tempo waale kaamo.n

me shuru se darkinaar rahe

Gymkhana ke jo bhi armaan jage

hall waalo.n ne kaat liye

apni bhalayi dekh hum bhi

is mainstream se bhaag liye

jaise taise zindagi kati

aur ab budhha, paanchwa saal hoon

hall, gymkhana ke bade bade god yahan

main to 2^nd year se hi be-hall hoon..

tum kar lo accept to meharbaani tumhari, main to rejected maal hoon...

Sach maano to mujhe

ye duniya jhoothi lagti hai

apne matlab saadhne me lagi

ye bheed pakhandi lagti hai

hunar bas itna sa hai

ki jab aankho.n me aansu honge

tumhaari muskaan ban sakta hoon

aage-peechhe tumhaare mandara nahi sakta

par jaan lo ye tum ki

jab aanch aayegi tumpe

to ye bheed kat legi…

faulaad ki tarah ad jaayegi jo

main wahi dhaal hoon

tum kar lo accept to meharbaani tumhari, main to rejected maal hoon...

Sannata

Zindagi me-

Sannaate ko jagah di hai maine….

Sannata-

Jisame main apne vichaaro.n ki

aahat sun paata hoon|

Usake ghunghruo.n ki khanak

dekh paata hoon,

aur taul paata hoon use

apne bachpan ke maapdando.n par|

Kuchh ka sanhaar karta hoon,

Kuchh ka srijan|

Par ye urja shor nahi karti,

Bhang nahi karti-

Sannata!

Zindagi me-

Varan kiya hai maine sannate ka..

Sannata-

Jisme main tumhare vicharo.n ki

gati naap jaata hoon,

Shabdo.n ka prayojan

bhaanp jaata hoon;

Aur dekhta hoon apne

aas paas ek aisa sansaar-

Jo khilwaad hai shatranj ki,

ghamasaan hai moharo.n ka|

Ye nishkarsh par,

kachotata nahi man ko,

Jodta hai-

Sannata!

Zindagi me-

Gujara hoon main sannate se...

Sannata-

Jisme paao.n neeche

dhool ki karaah suni hai maine,

Preyasi ke julfo.n ki

chhao.n chuni hai maine|

Apne bhoot ki

lajjit aah suni hai maine;

Aur dekhe hain sur

unmatt pranay-kreeda ke|

Ye awaajein-

Goonjti nahi antar me,

Ghol jaati hain-

Sannata!

Blood In My Eyes

(It had been seven years since i last attempted writing a poem in English. This time, i didn't attempt, i just did it. I've all the sympathy in the world with you while go through the lines.)

You thought i had no tears,

But, you know,

my tears are more precious

to me, than my life.

I’d prefer to be dead than

Caught with them.

So, next time, if you get

Those rare appearances

Take those droplets as blood-

Blood of my heart,

Blood of my life,

As blood in my eyes.

(I didn't have further courage...so restricted my maiden one to this length only.)

Reserved!

I still remeber those days when Mr X used to burn midnight oil incessantly

for two years to become an IITian. There was Mr Y who took everything lightly even though he was an underperformer. The final result facilitated Mr Y an entry into IITs with scores less than one-third of Mr X as Mr X unfortuantely belonged to the politically irrelevant 'general' category. The most interesting part is that despite the sufferings of so many X's, the governement has proposed to ensure a bigger number of Ys. That's the reservation policy of Government of India, for you, in short.

The Motive

The original constitution prescribed a period of ten years for the reservation of seats which was extended by 8th Amendment Act, 1959 for a period of ten years. Till date, it has been extended five times- the latest amendment being the 79th Amendment Act, 1999. Add to it the fact that the percentage of seats reserved has been consistently increased over this period of fifty-six years, and then try to understand the logic behind the belief that reservation has a strong contribution in the upliftment of backward classes! Well, there's one area where reservation had significant contributions- in creating vote banks. No government ever left any opportunity to play the reservation game for ensuring its vote banks. There's something so attractive about this reservation that even if a government had no significant achievements during its rule, its electoral fortunes are revived by securing reservation for the politically significant classes. This government gives no heed to 300 farmer suicides in Vidarbha which occurred in a span of just seven months. This regime is ignorant about the plight of the thousands relocated in Narmada valley until Medha Patkar's fast threatens her death. It announces, amidst all this, reservation of 27% for OBCs in all central universities just before the commencement of assembly elections in five states. And you believe that shows the government's concern for the suffering 'Aam Aadmi'! The motive behind the reservation game has been nothing more than attracting the consolidated vote bank of backward classes.

Why the backward classes have been so significant in Indian Politics?

In a popular youth blog, i read about the insignificance of caste among the educated youth of today. But, people always miss out the insignificance of this youth in Indian politics. They watch RDB, they talk RDB and on the election day, you will find them picnicking! The same stands true for the 'general category', to a large extent. They're the most vocal group of Indian politics but least significant. You closely monitor the electoral equations in the states individually and you'll find the ground reality. In Bihar and UP, its still Yadav+Muslim. In AP and Tamilnadu, its again OBCs and Muslims.(I'm not covering any more state as that would make a long list.) In fact, the Congress government in AP has even implemented a 5 pc reservation for Muslims to pocket its minority vote bank for long. In almost all the states of Indian union, the reservation percentage for SC, ST and OBCs has touched the upper ceiling of 50% set by the Supreme Court.

These backward classes remain significant in realpolitik because of the consolidated nature of their votes. It has been observed that these castes always take sides with a single political party and the deviations have been small. As opposed to this, the castes which belong to the general category, have a larger educated class which becomes individualistic in its voting pattern. Moreover, when we look at the combined picture of the voting pattern of all these castes put together, they have never been amalgamated. There is a large section among this general category which is economically backward. But, there had been little talk of reservations for them all these years. The number of affluent families has been burgeoning among the backward classes but there have been no effort on the side of government to check them availing reservations. That defines the power they command in Indian politics.

Reservation for central universities

Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar had stated the purpose of the provision of reservation as the upliftment of the impoverished masses. If we consider what purpose the reservation in central universities is going to serve, we'll find that it just helps the lower middle class or middle class of the backward castes to move to the next higher class. The impoverished masses belonging to these backward castes have nothing to do with this. Upliftment doesnt mean moving from middle-income to high-income class. It very clearly implies the betterment of the people below the poverty line. That is one area where India has to do a lot to become a developed nation. But, then we had a long history of 'power-politics' and even today, 'development-politics' takes backseat when realpolitik comes into consideration.

I wont talk of the miserable fate of the general category students as a result of 49.5 reservation. I wont even talk of the dilution of the IIT and IIM brands as a result of severe blow to meritocracy. Just because much has been said about it and it doesnt matter at all for our veteran Arjuns.

The state of the reserved category students

They are facilitated an easy entry to the esteemed institutes. But, has anyone ever tried to look into their lives? I recently read the statements of some SC, ST students at IIT powai in which they described about all that they have to go through after they get into the college life. I remember an incident that happened during my first year. There was a guy who had to be sent back home for psychiatric treatment. It was revealed later that he was suffering from an inferiority complex and he used to think that everybody around keeps talking of him and making fun of him as he was SC candidate. That led him to attempt for suicide even.

This is a general phenomenon that the reserves category students live an isolated life, confined mainly to the group of other reserved category people. Most of them find it difficult to overcome the inferiority complex and it curbs their growth as an individual. They would have been much stronger as an individual had they been in some REC with the confidence of having got through on the basis of merit.

There is a good number of cases among the reserved quota people who belong to well-to-do families and they lead a truly luxurious life during their college days, aided by the minimal fee structure for them. This again proves that the advantage of the reservation policy is not reaching to the people it was meant for. In fact, it's being availed by those who least deserve to avail it.

What remains as a big question mark in the backdrop of all the discussions over the issue is how to stop the government from implementing it. Well, it again comes to being significant in the political scenario. We must realize now that to avoid unfavourable government exercises of this scale, youth has to play an active role in the democracy. They need to assume their role of significance. This realization is also a must that the protests in virtual world are not going to make any difference apart from venting our frustration. We need to make our voices heard before people with merit are obstructed at every avenue and greeted with- 'Reserved!'.

KGP की राजनीति के नाम

(If there's any difficulty reading Devnagri, you can find the Roman version also below.)



कल शाम PAN LOOP में घूमते

एक  कुत्ता  मिल  गया-

देखते  ही दुम हिलाने लगा 

मैंने  कहा  कि
मैं HP नहीं, क्यूँ  हिलाते  हो ?
कहने  लगा  कि
यहाँ  के  चुनाव  देख
उत्साहित  हो  गया  हूँ -
कल  ही  आजाद  से  निकलते  दो  लोगों
को  ये  कहते  सुना  हूँ -
"यहाँ  तो  कुत्ता  भी  खड़ा  हो  जाए
और  pact बना  दो support में
तो  बेशक  जीत  जाए"

हम  मामला  समझ  गए
और  उसके  हौसलों  के  आगे  झुक  गए
उसे  आगे  का  रास्ता  बताया
हॉलपतियों  का  पता  सुझाया

और  ये  भी  कहा 

कि  भाई  इस  साल  का  तो  इलेक्शन  ख़त्म हुआ
अब  क्या  फायदा  मिलने  से ?
वह  बोला -
'हम  इतने  भी बेवक़ूफ़  नहीं
जितना  आप  समझते  हैं
हमे  पता  है  कि  यहाँ
लम्बी  लाइन  लगती  है
कमसेकम  साल  भर  पूर्व  से
तैयारियां  चलती  हैं
हर  जगह  अपना
चेहरा  दिखाना  पड़ता  है
और  कई  कामों  का
क्रेडिट  भी  उठाना  पड़ता  है "

हमने  कहा -
बड़े  समझदार  मालूम  पड़ते  हो
तुम्हारी  दूरदृष्टि  देख
हमे  सबसे  काबिल
उम्मीदवार  जान  पड़ते  हो
हमारी  शुभकामनाएं
हैं  आपके  साथ ;
लगता  है  सत्ता  आने  वाली  है
अबकी  किसी  'down-to-earth' के  हाथ |

उसे  कुछ  सूझा
वो  यकायक  पलट  के  पूछा -
"पर  एक  समस्या  है
कि  मुझे  जानते  हैं  बहुत  कम  लोग  -
नेहरु , आजाद  और  पटेल
नियमित  जाता  हूँ  लेने  स्पेशल
तो  जान  पाए  हैं  बस  कुछ  ही  लोग "
हमने  कहा -
"अरे  भाई ! तो  इसमें
कौन  सी  बड़ी  बात  है ?
यहाँ  तो  वह  भी  जीतता  है
जिससे  बगल  वाला  तक  अग्यात  है
तुम  तो  फिर  भी  पॉपुलर हो
और  लुक  में  भी  muscular हो
कई  sports  में  extra हो  जाओगे
और  soc-cult में  तो  हर  जगह
खुद  को  पाओगे "

खुश  हो  गया, कहने  लगा -
"आपकी  बातों  से  हम
बड़े  प्रसन्न  हैं
कहिये  क्या  बनाना  चाहेंगे ?
हिंदी  ठीक  है  आपकी
अलंकार का  governor बना  देंगे "
हमने  कहा  कि
जी , शुक्रिया ! बन  चुके  हैं
और  आपसे  बात  करते  करते
साढ़े  आठ  बज  चुके  हैं
मेस  का  खाना  खाना  है
अतः  हमे  जाना  है"

उस घटना  को  हुए
कुल  पांच  दिन  हुए
आज  हम  फिर  झंडाने  निकले
झांकते बगलें

कि  फिर  कोई  सनकी  कुत्ता  न  मिल  जाए

और  इससे  पहले  कि  हम
फ्रुस्त  कॉर्नर  पहुँच  पाएं
पावों  में  कुछ
घर्षण  सी  जान  पड़ी
देखा  तो  वही  कुत्ते  महाशय !
हमने  पूछा - इसका  आशय?
बोले  कि  काम  बन  गया ,
समझ  लो  कि  मैं  बन  गया |
हम  हैरान, परेशान !
उन्होने  हमारी हैरत  मिटाई
और  उत्तर  में  पूरी  कहानी  सुनाई

"हुआ यूँ  कि  हमारी स्वामिभक्ति  तो 
बेमिसाल  है
और संयोग से
ये candi कि पहली दरकार  है
दिमाग कुछ कम  है,
कुछ चलाते नहीं
तो खुश सारे सरकार हैं
मतलबी तो पहले से  हैं
अब हॉल से  मतलब साध लेंगे
first years प्यार से नहीं माने
तो भौंक-भौंक vote गिरवा लेंगे
Impressive resume से
Schlums न सही ITC में सुट्टा मार लेंगे
वैसे भी इस  जगह  की
कौन सोचता, कौन करता है?
दो फेस्ट  करवा  दो  बस
बाकी सब  तो  'चलता  है'

हमने गहरी  सांसें  ली ,
KGP की राजनीति, प्रजातंत्र  को
मन-ही-मन प्रणाम किया,
और अपनी कलम  को  इसी  मोड़  पर
विराम  दिया|

In roman script:

Kal shaam pan loop me ghumate
ek kutta mil gaya-
dekhte hi dum hilaane laga-
maine kaha ki
main HP nahi, kyun hilaate ho?
kahne laga ki
yahan ke chunaav dekh
utsaahit ho gaya hoon-
kal hi azad se niklate do logo.n
ko ye kahte suna hoon-
"yahan to kutta bhi khada ho jaaye
aur pact bana do support me
to beshaq jeet jaaye."

Hum maamla samajh gaye
aur uske hausalo.n ke aage jhuk gaye-
use aage ka rasta bataya
hallpatiyo.n ka pata sujhaya
aur ye bhi kaha-
ki bhai is saal ka to election kahtm hua
ab kya fayda milne se?
vah bola-
'hum itne bhi bewakoof nahi
jitna aap samajhte hain,
hume pata hai ki yahan
lambi line lagti hai
kamsekam saal bhar poorva se
taiyariyaan chalti hain
har jagah apna
chehra dikhaana padta hai
aur kayi kaamo.n ka
credit bhi uthaana padta hai"

Humne kaha-
bade samajhdaar maloom padte ho
tumhaari doordrishti dekh
hume sabse kaabil
ummeedwaar jaan padte ho.
humaari shubhkaamnayein
hain aapke saath;
lagta hai satta aane waali hai
abki kisi 'down-to-earth' ke haath|

Use kuchh soojha
vo yakayak palat ke poochha-
"Par ek samasya hai
ki mujhe jaante hain bahut kam log -
Nehru, azad aur patel
niyamit jaata hoon lene special
to jaan paaye hain bas kuchh hi log."
Humne kaha-
"Are bhai! to isme
kaun si badi baat hai?
yahan to vah bhi jeetata hai
jisase bagal waala tak agyat hai.
tum to fir bhi popular ho
aur look me bhi muscular ho.
kayi sports me extra ho jaaoge
aur soc-cult me to har jagah
khud ko paaoge."

Khush ho gaya, kahne laga-
"aapki baato.n se hum
bade prasann hain
kahiye kya banana chahenge?
hindi thik hai aapki
Alankar ka governor bana denge."
Humne kaha ki
ji, shukriya! ban chuke hain
aur aapse baat karte karte
saadhe aath baj chuke hain
mess ka khaana khana hai
atah hume jaana hai."

Us ghatna ko huye
kul paanch din huye
aaj hum fir jhundaane nikle-
jhaankate baglein,
ki fir koi sanki kutta na mil jaaye
aur isase pahle ki hum
frust corner pahunch paayein
paawo.n me kuchh
gharshan si jaan padi-
dekha to wahi kutte mahashay!
humne poochha- iska ashay?
Bole ki kaam ban gaya,
samajh lo ki main ban gaya|
Hum hairaan, pareshaan!
Unhone humaari hairat mitayi
aur uttar me poori kahani sunaayi-

"Hua yun ki humaari swamibhakti to
bemisaal hai
aur sanyog se
ye candi ki pahli darkaar hai
Dimaag kuchh kam hai,
kuchh chalaate nahi-
to khush saare sarkar hain
Matlabi to pahle se hain
ab hall se matlab saadh lenge
first years pyaar se nahi maane
to bhaunk-bhaunk vote girwa lenge
Impressive resume se
Schlums na sahi ITC me sutta maar lenge.
Waise bhi is jagah ki
kaun sochta, kaun karta hai?
Do fest karwa do bas
baaki sab to 'chalta hai'|"

Humne gahri saansein li,
KGP ki rajniti, prajatantra ko
man-hi-man pranaam kiya,
aur apni kalam ko isi mod par
viraam diya|

तीर खींचता है

Gali ka kutta
raat me bhaunk-bhaunk
chaukasi karta
fir bhi
patthar khaata hai....
dande khaata hai..
par dum hilaata hai...
dard asahya ho jaaye
to gali ke kone baith
rota hai, aansu bahata hai|

Gareeb ki beti
ghar ke chulhe se lekar
khet ke fawade tak
do joon ki roti me haath bataati hai|
deen juwani ke
samajik 'farz' nibhaati,
aabru ke fate cheetharo.n
ko samete,
byahta ho jaati hai...
ab deh ke das tukdo.n ki
bhookh se wo jalti hai..
par, mare bhi to kaise abhaagin?
raat bhar jagi aankho.n
se aansu nigalti hai...

Ghar ki gaay
maa ke sammaan ke saath,
ghar aati hai;
jitna prem leti
utna hi doodh deti hai|
chup-chaap sab kuchh
sah leti hai,
par apne bachhde ko
bhar pet doodh na de sakti hai...
rambha-rambha shayad
vidhata ko dard ke geet sunaati hai....

Kavi ka hriday,
akshay-prem liye
preet ke geet lutaata hai;
par pathharo.n ki basti me
jab angin baar chotil hota hai...
vidhaata se poochhta hai-
aisi nirmam duniya kyun banayi?
ye duniya banani hi thi to,
mujhe kyun banaya?
inhi prashno.n ke maun me..
apni peed likhta hai...
vyatha-sarit ke teer khinchata hai...
teer khinchata hai|

Democracy Evolves @ KGP

In the recently concluded student body(Gymkhana) elections at IIT Kharagpur, all the top posts, except VP, went uncontested and the lonely fight was won by a margin of around one-third of total votes polled. You must be thinking that this institute is blessed in having such exceptional people as their representatives! You might even be thinking that in a place full of talents, how much exceptional these people must be in order to invite no challenge. Well, they're not. Not exceptional. What's exceptional is- KGP's democracy(?). And, it has evolved further in its singualrity this year.

A key feature of this democratic setup is absence of the right to freedom of expression. You can't speak against the system- its sacred! The gods may bedamn you! In fact, more than the gods, the common people are the source of fear. Fear- mind it! You may murmur but you can't say in public, you can't say it aloud. Who knows you might be subjected to all sort of punishments! You may become outcast of 'A' for aloof block! You might loose your candidature for the innumerous coveted posts! But, don't forget these are the people who are going to carry out the 'Paritrana' of this country. Keep it in your mind that these are the 'Rang De Basanti'-brand leaders of tommorrow. And, their leaders- they're divine creatures! Don't ever dare not to follow their directives. Neither questioning the righteousness of it!

There're many things that IIT's have given to the world and our country. IT revolution is one classic example. There may be controversies on these things being a contribution by IITs alone. But, everyone will agree to its contribution in terms of the great number of enterpreneurs and engineers it has produced over the years. It has made contributions at many other levels too, which are not visible. Rather, they were not made visible. It has been rippling subcultures for a long time. There have been many literary contributions, too. Apart from Chetan Bhagat and Sandipan Deb, there have been a good number of terms which were originally a part of IIT lingo and are now used almost everywhere. My endeavour here, is to bring to light a significant contribution that it has made to politics and governance which has not been noticed till date.

The students here are divided into a number of 'Halls of Residence' which are not only residential units but also administrative and cultural. They're divided, not just distributed. Each hall has its council, at the top of which is the Hall President(HP). The student body, which is known as Technology Students' Gymkhana, consists of the nominees of these HPs. The nominees which are later formally elected by a formal voting procedure, to ratify the control and authority of these handful of people. The arrangement under which all this happens is called- 'Pact'. This word-'pact' is undoubtedly the most impactful term of the KGP lingo. This arrangement is highly efficient and it has very few leaks. The nominees are decided on individual preference and pleasure and are agreed upon by others well in advance, almost two-three months and even more. The system through which these nominees become eligible is compact- it doesn't leave a common man a chance of ever standing in the elections. There're proper channels in which he must have spent a significant time and he must have done enough to please the people who matter.

This time the results were much more obvious than previous years. Six of the seven, which were parties to the affair, joined hands. They had victory written all over their walls the day they joined hands. But, yet they waited for the formal ratification. That evening and i were witness to the celebration party that followed. The spirits involved yelled- 'Conquered!'. There were numerous murmurs- 'Injustice Done!'. I took that as 'Democracy Evolved!'.

A World Driven By Its Energy Needs

The phase between the 18th July nuclear deal and the March visit of Mr Bush to India was marked with heated discussions and anticipations about the outcome of the diversion that Indian foreign policy was subjected to. When the air of confusion and the fear of India becoming another one of US allies was cleared by Dr Manmohan Singh's suo motu statement in parliament, everyone felt genuinely convinced about the need of fuel for Tarapur nuclear power plants. What followed was a debate on the potential of Nuclear Energy in fulfilling the ever-growing energy demand and the costs at which it was coming.

Nuclear Energy For India

Nuclear power plants have a much higher establishment cost than their petroleum counterparts. Accepted. They take a much longer time to become operational. True. Another fact states that due to financial constarints, India can set up only that many nuclear power plants by 2020 which will feed not more than 25% of its total power needs. Well, this definitely is crucial given that the present share of nuclear power in India is a meagre 2.8% as against 78% of france and 19.9% of US. Its important for India to reduce its dependence on oil and gas since just a quarter of its consumption is produced in the country and it's estimated that the figure of import will change to 80% of total consumtion soon. Manmohan government was right in finalising the nuclear deal on its conditions though it's bound to cost shifts in foreign policy owing to US pressure. India needs to develop at a faster rate and power has to play a crucial role in this development. At times, one needs to think of its needs.

The Case of Iran
While Indo-US deal was capturing news headlines, there was another issue which popped up intermittently- the Iran crisis. All the games being played by US and its allies in the backdrop of Iran's Nuclear Programme, are just to create a bugger crisis. A crisis of the scale of Iraq. US is the largest consumer of petroleum products in the world. Energy security has been at the core of US foreig policy, for years. With all oil pockets of middle-east in its pocket, it has all its eyes set on Iran which is crucial with its vast reserves of natural gas. This crisis was initiated with just one designed end- getting control over Iran's petroleum reserves. All the other nations of middle-east which do not face the US threat, had opted for friendly relations with US. They were right doing so and so is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in not yielding to US pressure and letting the world see the real face of US policy of neo-imperialism.

The Coloured Revolutions
The erstwhile Soviet Union is another region wealthy of hydrocrabon reserves. So, naturally it's another playground for US. The United States has been pouring a great volume of resources in this region to sponsor revolution to install puppet governments. Its money has bore fruits, and in a number of countries of this region, the revolutions have occurred. These revolutions are better known as coloured revolutions.

The European nations have been involved in arrangements with Russia which has resulted in a network of gas and oil pipelines running from Russia to various European countries. There are similar negotiations in the pipeline between Japan, China and Russia.

In the wake of human life getting increasingly dependent on modern gadgets, energy requirements have taken a vital place in the basic requiremnets' list. With the rise of Asian countries, which consist of two most populous countries of the world, energy needs of the world are bound to register unprecedented surge. What we can imagine under these circumstances, are more players in the present US's playgrounds and world whose political moves are increasingly driven by the energy factor.

कुछ और नहीं मेरी कविता

Unicode HELP

दूर जगत के कोलाहल से,
मानस के प्रशांत अंतर में-
मौन के बीहड़ सपाट से
दर्द के बुलबुले हैं उभरे।

तस्वीर खींच शब्दों से उसकी,
जो है जन्मी-
कुछ और नहीं, मेरी कविता।

विरह में उगी आँसू की बूंदें
तुमने सोचा- गौण हो गयीं।
औ मिलन की बातें, रातें
तुम समझे- मौन हो गयीं?

उनका अक्षुण्ण प्रतिमान संजोए,
देखो बैठी वो-
कुछ और नहीं मेरी कविता।

बचपन में माँ की थपकी से
उनींदी मेरी पलकें,
औ अब पीढियों की दरार-
उनसे उलझी मेरी बहसें।

क्या कैद करेंगी तकनीकें उनको?
कर सके कोई तो-
बस एक यही, मेरी कविता।

सौ बातें करते हैं हम,
सौ सुनते हो तुम रोजा़ना;
उन सौ बातों की सौ यादों में,
इस जीवन का कट जाना।

इन सौ यादों की एक याद,
दिल को आहिस्ते छू जाती जो-
कुछ और नहीं, मेरी कविता।

Kuchh Aur Nahi,Meri Kavita

Door jagat ke kolahal se
manas ke prashant antar me
maun ke bihad sapat se
dard ke bulbule hain ubhare

tasveer kheench shabdon se usaki-
jo hai janmi-
kuchh aur nahi meri kavita|

virah me ugi aansoon ki boonden
tumne socha gaun ho gayi.n,
au milan ki baatein,raatein
tum samjhe maun ho gayi.n |

unka ek akshunn pratimaan sanjoye,
dekho baithi vo-
kuchh aur nahi meri kavita |

bachpan me maa ki thapaki se
uneendi meri palake.n,
aur ab peedhiyo.n ki darar-
unse ulajhi meri bahase.n

kya kaid karengi taqneeke.n unko!
kar sake koi to-
bas ek yahi- meri kavita|

Sau baatein karte hain hum
sau sunte ho tum rozana |
un sau baaton ki sau yaadon me
is jeevan ka kat jaana |

In sau yaadon ki ek yaad-
dil ko aahiste chhu jaati jo-
kuchh aur nahi, meri kavita|

Suraj Ki Raat

Dekho suraj jo ast hua kaise ithlaate hain taare,
Sabme jagmag ki hod lagi,
Kaun badhe kisase aage
Jugnu bhi jag aaye hain,
Yahan dikhein kabhi wahan udein
Maano taro.n ke pankh lage
Ek chand hi hai sajjan
Pakhwade bhar chhup jaata hai,
Aur kabhi amawas ke jehan
lupt, vinamra, poojya ban jaata hai
In taro.n ki yahi haisiyat-
So jaao inko ginate, sunate
Kal prabhat ki poorva disha
jab usha-rakt-ranjit hogi,
un kirano.n ke madhurim aalok me tum punah satya apnaoge-
Nav-aabha se sajjit surya ko swatah shish nawaoge.

Walking Along The Scholars' Avenue

The days spent at KGP have made me learn that the least expected thing here is- 'change'. Yes, the mess menu changes occasionally, though the taste remains same. Yes, the courses change every semester and alongwith them the professors, though the impact remains same.

But, then came The Scholars' Avenue and i was made to believe in existence of people in KGP who're willing to take initiatives. I was busy with Alankar then and during the course of upliftment of Alankar, i had come across few campus newspapers like Insight, Campus Diary(IIT Bombay) and Campus Rumpus(IIT D). I was so enthused by the news of the upcoming fortnightly that i was looking forward to The Scholars' Avenue more than Alankar. I kept checking the notice-board for the selection notice, as it signifies the first step of from-the-scratch missions. Amidst the lull of expectations, the first issue arrived. No doubt, it was pathetic. But, given that it was first issue and the whole lot of complications in giving it final shape, it was ok. I enquired about the people behind it and i came to know that the whole team was handpicked with personal preferences of the mentors. That explained to me the failure. But then, that was the first issue and the team was good enough to be believed in.

A big campus like ours is certainly prone to floating informations which mostly have either no roots or are a product of cumulative 'mirch-masala' add-on. It necessitates an official source of information. 'Junk' very purposefully junked couple-gossips, who's the hottest babe, who dumped who stories to the notice-boards. It was a big hit in first year and till late continued to be so for first years. 'Junk' did yield hot-bhaats of ye teri, wo meri, isaki usase, usaki kisase kind and with no comps to serve, fantasies did fly out of 'Beware! Snake(Nag)-Charmers' anecdotes. It missed terribly on the information part and nobody missed it after it died its natural death. We're living in a world where people are very focused about their lives. They take in only that they need. The first article in The Schols Ave which i found serving some need unfortuantely led to its first discontinuation. It was really courageous on the part of the editors to come up with the issue B C Roy Hospital's mismanagement. Hats off to them! But, where was the impact? A good initiative but badly done! It was written to serve a purpose. It created enough furore but the situations remain same. There were certain things that i felt were required:

=> The pics of which give you an insight of the state of the hospital, e.g., the constipation-invoking toilets, the patients' plate of food.
=>The tragic experiences of people (in .zip format).
=>Views of faculty.
=>The break-up of the expenditure as comapared to the annual grant.
Most importantly,
=>An investigative approach towards the issue.

All the while The Schols Ave was out of print, i prayed for its revival and mobilised opinions for the cause. The prayers were heard and The Schols Ave was revived. The experience must have made the team grow- in its thinking and its approach, was my expectation. They did come up with something better. But, their growth rate seems to follow the trend of Indian Economy of eighties. The issue was more informative but barring 'Earthquake strikes Kharagpur' all articles possessed the infantile loquacity. That loquacity is still preserved and is intact in the latest issue of Feb '06. Well, this 8th issue is good enough to write another blog on so.

Despite the volumes of criticism, the Schols Ave deserves its space for appreciation. They have boosted and in fact, to some extent, crated a literary culture in KGP. The literary aspect of The Schols Ave has been consistently sound. But, it couldn't connect to people. It didnt get into its purpose which forced it has to come up with '10-15 bucks per semester' appeals. The Schols Ave must get into the minds of the people walking along the Scholars' Avenue and find their tastes. You must look into the people at unit level if they're not behaving the way you expect them to. You further need to find out their current needs and prospective needs and aim towards fulfilling them. The reader here wants:

1.Maximum content in minimal time,i.e., speed-reading content (vital info highlighted/ summary into a box et.c.).
2.Easy to grasp info rather than extract-out-of-the-long-paragraph info, i.e., graphical presentation, statistical tables et.c.
3.Coverage of issues which concern him.

This is the most important aspect which The Schols Ave has been missing. The range of articles has been very small. One must note here that the crowd here is really diverse and they range from bhajan-maniacs to Iskcon disciples. Leave the people at the extremes, but cater to the diversity of taste of the rest.

4.Small articles but a wide coverage of happenings and issues.
5.Range in the flavour of articles- from a highly intellectual one to a 'Junky' gossip masala.

If you zero in further, you'll find more.

I believe Kgp will get its due as The Schols' Ave will mature into a one-for-all campus magazine. The Scholars' Avenue just needs to move beyond The Scholar's Avenue and walk along the Scholars' Avenue. My wishes seek the same.