Change Agent

“Deshis suck big-time!” this is how he began. And then he went on saying, “Indian migrants show little willingness to integrate with the local culture and to mix with the other country’s people. On the other hand, migrants from many other nations do mix with locals and adopt their ways of living. For example, why can’t they (Indians) dress according to the local flavour?” To me, the most shocking part was to find that the writer was an Indian. A Westernised Indian, if I borrow the phrase, because I see the same thinking in him what has been systematically taught to us since the British times: the thinking which curses us with an inferiority complex as a nation and as a culture. I will explain how. Let me start with asking one question. Which other set of migrants do you think ‘integrate well’ with local culture? Here, I would ask to specifically consider the migrants and visitors from other countries to India. Do you think the British integrated well with India when they came in? Did t...

Someone asked if there is any difference between killing a hen (chicken) or a cow (beef) for our food. His underlying challenge was to prove both were equal because both have souls. Here is my reply: “No one justifies killing hens for food. But when you are forced to eat non-veg because nutritious veg food is not available to you, you would obviously choose the lesser evil. A cow, in its utility and in its service to us, is a far superior animal than a hen. I am sure you would know this too. Spiritually too, we can't say that since both cows and hens have souls in them, both are equal. I believe, and I suggest you should think about it too, a cow is a much more evolved animal than a hen. We keep on rising as species of higher evolution along our birth cycle if we do good karma. Therefore, it is a lesser evil to kill a hen which is much less evolved animal than to kill a cow which is much higher on the hierarchy.” - Rahul

Recently I was in Delhi. The amount of construction work half-completed for Commonwealth Games is startling. The whole of Connaught Place is dug up and gives the image of a war-wrecked area. Given the pace, it will take more than two months to paint the under constructed buildings, leave alone finishing them. And then we have heard enough of corruption and misappropriation in the finances meant for the games. Another side of the same sad story is the outbreak of Dengu. Dengu in Delhi doesn’t only happen in slums or shady areas but also in posh areas and government hospitals! Tells much of government’s claims of Delhi being clean and beautiful! During the last state assembly elections, I had talked to some Dilli-wallas who were happy that a lot of works were being done. The fact that the work was being done for the games and not for the people’s convenience, didn’t matter to them. That is why they elected the previous Congressi government back to power, despite its dismal performance in...

I have been appointed as a class representative in most of my schools and colleges. I think it was because I was always a more sincere student than most others. In school, my important role was limited to maintaining the attendance register and making some announcements. But in the high school, perhaps my role reached a pinnacle. I remember the days very well. That was first year of my high school days, means I was in class 8th. I had done best in the exams and that made my teachers appoint me as the class monitor. In those days very less things interested me apart from studies. I was a serious student, exceptional for others, very introvert, very well mannered and these qualities definitely make us favourite of teachers. In those days whenever a teacher was late to report for the class, the class would become a pitched fish-market and the noise would reach even the Head Master’s cabin. So our class teacher fixed my major role as maintaining discipline in the class. In between two clas...

Father Sergius is a wonderful story of human dilemmas in front of divine expectations. It is the story of an ordinary man on which greatness and sainthood was thrust upon. He continuously faced dilemmas of life, also because he had a genuine and pure heart which always did introspection. At the end, he found the true peace in most unexpected place and way, which he never got in the Church. During the course of the story, the book details what is wrong with the Church, and also with the organised religion in general. When I finished reading the book for the second time, I wondered if Leo Tolstoy was inspired by Hindu philosophy. The crux of this story can be summed up in what Father Sergius realises in the end. He realises that one small act done without selfish intent is far better than prayers. “One good deed — a cup of water given without thought of reward — is worth more than any benefit I imagined I was bestowing on people (by praying for them)” This is exactly what Bhagawat Gita ...

A disturbing trend has developed in Kerala. Taliban-style courts in God's Own Country 'Hotbed of terrorism' is not the usual label for Kerala. But intelligence gathered by disparate agencies over the last few years suggests the description may not be far off the mark. Confirmation of this came with the horrifying incident of July 4, when a college lecturer's right hand was chopped off in Moovattupuzha, a town in Eranakulam district. The attack on T J Joseph was apparently in retaliation for setting a question paper that allegedly hurt Muslim sentiments. Police raids on offices of the Popular Front of India (PFI), whose activists are believed to be behind the attack, have exposed a well-oiled, pan-Islamist network fed by a heady mix of Wahhabism and hawala. Kerala's deep-rooted Gulf links also come in handy for the PFI. The revelations of the last two weeks are startling. It includes al-Qaida training tapes, Taliban-style courts that dispense justice according to Sha...

Many times our friends and relatives ask us for suggestions. I hope we give suggestions without any hidden intentions or bias and our suggestions are made to only benefit our friend from our knowledge of the matter. It is up to the seeker whether to accept or discard the suggestion. But I have observed a new trend these days. In many cases, the seeker takes decision which is opposite and in conflict with the suggestion one has received. The underlying cynicism is that the suggestion must have some hidden intent. I think I can guess the reason behind such cynicism. Some times we come across people who give suggestions which are either biased – made keeping in view the selfishness of the person giving the suggestion rather than the one seeking it, or they are conspiring – made to confuse and harm the person seeking suggestion. If we come across many such persons then we start thinking negative about the process of suggestions itself. (We still ask for suggestions because it is human natu...