Dear BJP, why shy away from taking Dr Swamy's help?

Dr Swamy is one political figure who stands tall among BJP's current leadership. Without holding a position, Dr Swamy has been lethal against enemies of the nation. He is an intellectual giant having knowledge across diverse subjects such as economics, law, foreign affairs, defense etc.

Despite his capabilities and contributions, BJP leadership has shied away from taking his help. BJP's current behaviour towards Dr Swamy has also perplexed many nationalists. Because his ideas and knowledge are significantly potent for nation's development.

In an environment when the govt is seriously strained to tackle Border issues, Covid-19 threat, internal anti-national elements and economy, it makes more sense for PM Modi to utilise Dr Swamy's talent.

With increasing belligerence of neighbors such as China, Pak & Nepal, growing Covid cases, mindless opposition to CAA and negative GDP growth, the govt is fighting multiple battles on different fronts. However, BJP's current cabinet has been mediocre in its performance and seems incapable of handling multiple level crisis.

The current environment is a tipping point for BJP, wherein, one more trigger can cause an unexpected downfall. The party needs to take radical measures to restore public confidence, else it will witness more pain in the future. 

BJP leadership needs to shed it's insecurities and place trust in Dr Swamy for the betterment of the nation. Any reluctance in this matter will delay the progress of the country.

BJP must Investigate SP Mookerjee's mysterious death

Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was a staunch nationalist and was a Minister in Nehru's cabinet. Later, SP Mookerjee left Congress due to ideological differences with Nehru. He created a nationalist party which came to be known as Bhartiya Jan Sangh (BJS). 

Although many Congress nationalists were aware about Nehru's treacherous ways, it was the undemocratic introduction of article 370 that pushed SP Mookerjee away from Congress. 

He was a fierce opponent of Article 370 and travelled across country to raise awareness among masses. His relentless campaign against article 370 created fear among Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah. 

Both Nehru and Abdullah perceived SP Mookerjee as a political thorn in their eyes and wanted to suppress his movement. Apart from the cousins, late Arun Jaitley's father-in-law, GL Dogra was highly critical of SP Mookerjee's views on article 370. He was a devoted follower of Sheikh Abdullah and a staunch Nehruvian. 

SP Mookerjee decided to visit J&K to oppose the undeclared balkanisation of India. During his visit to J&K, he was arrested by Police in Kathua and detained without trial. Vajpayee, as a journalist, had accompanied SP Mookerjee, however, he had escaped from the scene of arrest due to unknown reasons. 

On June 23 1953, SP Mookerjee died under mysterious circumstances while he was under detention of J&K police. Later, heart attack was given as a reason for his death.

It is clear that Nehru and Abdullah conspired to eliminate SP Mookerjee because he was igniting nationalistic sentiment on article 370 and emerging as a strong opposition to Congress. However, the role of other collaborators can't be ignored.

A thorough investigation into SP Mookerjee's death must be conducted to uncover truth for public knowledge. This will be an ideal tribute to his sacrifice for the integrity of country.

Does BJP really care about Anti-corruption?

Past

I still vividly remember the political environment from 2011 onwards when Congress was facing heat due to various corruption cases. During that time, many UPA scams erupted like a wild volcano. There was 2G scam, Coalgate, Agusta Westland chopper deal, CWG scam, Irrigation scam, Aircel-Maxis scam and many others. Congress was just not able to handle the heat generated due to these cases. 

Those days, Dr Swamy's legal activism created a pressure cooker situation for Congress. Apart from court activism, Dr Swamy's barbs at Congress worsened the situation for dynasts. His witty comments and cryptic messages created furore amongst nationalists. Dr Swamy actually dug out the entire history of Sonia Gandhi and placed it in public domain. Dr Swamy’s brutal exposure of Rahul Gandhi’s debilitated political acumen caused irreversible damage to his career. The blow was so lethal that the last scion of dynasty became a subject of mockery in India's political environment.

Especially from 2011 to 2013, Dr Swamy was all over the Indian political space. His interviews, public speeches, court battles, TV debates and Twitter interactions became a rage among the youth of India. The masses were waking up to a new reality as Dr Swamy’s ideas received grand reception. During the same time period, the leader of opposition from BJP was virtually sleeping over Congress scams. For all practical purposes, Congress didn't face meaningful criticism from BJP leaders like Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Advani. As a result, Congress could easily introduce many anti-Hindu acts during its tenure.

Dr Swamy's activism precipitated public anger to reach disproportionate levels. As a result, the public started baying for the end of Congress through slogans such as ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’. This sentiment manifested in the 2014 LS elections when Congress was comprehensively defeated by BJP. 

BJPs LS victory in 2014 was climactic because for the first time, Congress had bitten dust so badly. The expectations were high that Modi will usher in a golden era for India. His power-packed speeches exposing Congress (using Dr Swamy's anti-corruption fight) and 15 year track record as Gujarat CM made him look promising. However, this victory turned out to be anti-climax.

Present

After six years, BJP government has failed to deliver justice in corruption cases. Honest officers are shunted out or given non-serious responsibilities. For example, Mr Ashok Khemka, who exposed Vadra's land dealings in Haryana, is consistently transferred from one place to another. ED officer Rajeshwar Singh was hounded on fictitious grounds because he was seriously investigating Chidambaram's role in the Aircel-Maxis scam. Instead of promoting these officers, the govt suppressed their nationalistic endeavors. 

Moreover, crooked officers were promoted because of their affinity with a system that thrives on corruption. These pliable officers are like a double edged sword because their loyalty shifts according to the party in power. They are efficient agents of match fixing among political opponents.  

BJP effectively used investigating agencies prior to state elections and indulged in sporadic investigations just to gain electoral advantage over other parties. On the other hand, non-election time has been relatively peaceful for BJP's opponents. This is a happy agreement between BJP and Congress.

The party with a difference has adopted Congress template of governance to consolidate its hold across the country. Horse-trading, political blackmail, importing Congressmen and usurping control of state governments through unethical means have become common action points for BJP.

Amidst all this, the goal of ‘Corruption free India’ is dumped into the store room of BJP office. The rot continues to spread with the tacit support of political leaders having no desire to contain and reverse the alarming trend.

It is a misfortune of the country that nationalist agenda, so vigorously built by Dr Swamy, was first hijacked and then willfully diluted by opportunists. 

- Gaurav Bhatia

Emotions and Political Atyachaar!!

In a nation battered with lost pride due to 1,000 year of invasions and loot, being emotional is normal. However, emotions shall not camouflage logic and reality in a manner that distorts vision. Emotional Indians who perceived Congress to be largely responsible for the freedom movement, gave thumping victories to the party till 1990. However, our country suffered a great deal due to 55 years of Congress rule. Only after significant miseries, our electorate realised about Congress misdeeds.

Unfortunately, political narrative even today is dependent on emotions instead of governance & performance. Citizens are mere tools for electoral victories as they can be triggered with sentiments. This may be ideal for politicians, however, it doesn’t augur well for our nation. 

Politicians love to dramatize situations and tragedies. Exploiting mass feelings for personal benefits is a common phenomenon. In the face of negative public sentiment, unfortunate incidents become an opportunity for building a positive sentiment. Every crisis or tragedy is an image building exercise, while planning, detailing, objectives and strategies take a backseat. Rhetoric takes precedence over ground realities because winning elections is the only motive.

Elections have their own festival feeling for politicians. Grand rallies in small towns, Large hoardings across cities, Full page advertisements in print media, along with tall promises, 24/7 mud-slinging on TV channels and fallacious predictions of psephologists. People attend large rallies to listen and watch the sheer oratory and theatrics of politicians, hoping and wishing it to be true. Hope pushes people to vote and elect leaders. Hope is an antidote to real problems of citizens and in this sense, it has become a mirage. In reality, people don’t elect leaders, they elect HOPE.

Citizens have developed sharp differences resulting in strong likes and dislikes over crucial matters, which are perceived from a political lens. This results in heated debates, endless discussions and disinformation campaigns on different media platforms. Truth and reasoning has no place among citizens divided by sentiments. As a result, seeking accountability to build pressure and improve performance doesn’t seem to be a concern.

Social media platforms have also played a role in aggravating the sentiments of common citizens. Although SM platforms started out well for raising awareness among citizens, they now seem to be losing neutrality. Censoring and shadow banning of fact based hard-hitting content have become routine matters. On the contrary, these platforms have struggled to put a check on propaganda and fake news which dominate the mind-space of SM users. Increased propensity of users to accept information/news at face value has subdued reality. 

A mature electorate, which doesn’t get swayed by emotions while being focused on facts and performance, will usher a brighter future for the country, else, it will always be 'Emotions and Political Atyachaar'.

India's Awakening

India's Awakening

British empire inflicted irreparable scars on our civilization. The wounds are so deep that even after 71 years of independence, we are struggling to come to terms with our true identity as an Indian. 

The Britishers thrived not only on dividing our society in the name of religion and castes, but also fanning hatred amongst each other. This simplified their governance and helped them appear superior over us (the native Indians).

Besides societal damages, Britishers killed our flourishing agricultural sector and handicrafts industry. They imposed a flawed education system where the medium of instruction was a foreign language. 

Gurukul system of education was banished and made to look unscientific. Indians were forced to opt for British education system and those who could not cope with it, were branded as illiterates (Gawars).

Britishers established an administrative system that suited their financial objectives. It helped them to conduct organised loot of India's financial wealth through exploitation of natural resources and manpower.

A system of control that introduced harsh policies to punish Indians for non-compliance. It eliminated any chance of progress in our society. 

At the time of Independence, the govt adopted the same system. Our so called swadeshi govt allowed it to flourish and spread across the country. 

Even today, Indians are subjugated to the same British legacy that it left in 1947. Barring few exceptional decisions (such as abrogation of Article 370), we are following a defective system, which is unfriendly towards the natives.

It has facilitated organized loot, division of society and fostered inferiority syndrome amongst Indians. A full scale surgery is the need of the hour.

-- Gaurav Bhatia

What caused Shiv Sena to split from BJP

I am not a Shiv Sena empathiser nor do I approve of its recent alignment with NCP-Con to form govt in Maharashtra. In my view, SS-BJP alliance would have been the most fruitful alignment for Maharashtrians.

It is now a thing of past as SS-NCP-Con are set to form govt in the state.  However, this is not an encouraging sign for Hindutva as BJP-SS parted ways in an un-amicable way which has furthered the distrust among them.

If we analyse the root cause of current situation, we will be able to identify the reasons that widened the gap. Was it BJP that forced SS out or was it SS that cut out BJP?

To begin with, after 2014 victory, BJP miscalculated it's existing equation with SS and erred in decision-making that irritated SS leadership. For example, facilitating a secret understanding with NCP in 2014 assembly elections but later allying with SS to retain power in the state. 

BJP appointed Suresh Prabhu as railway minister, which pricked SS. Prior to Nov 2014, Suresh Prabhu was an elite member of Shiv Sena. 

SS minister, Anil Desai, was ridiculed which pushed him to return from airport without attending the swearing in ceremony of third cabinet expansion. Lastly, awarding Padma Vibhushan to Sharad Pawar, a known adversary of SS was like a nail in the coffin. 

Continuous humiliation of Shiv Sena forced it to take a more aggressive stand against BJP, which further soured the relations.

My transformation from a Non-Vegetarian to a Vegetarian

Since I belong to an Army background, eating non-vegetarian came naturally to me. Moreover, Army's culture of parties and intrinsic stress over non-veg eating activated my taste buds quite early in life. I am also from a Punjabi Khatri family where having non-veg is considered a matter of pride. This early conditioning towards non-vegetarianism deeply influenced my psyche which eventually became a strong barrier when I struggled to leave non-veg. I continued to relish non-veg (mainly chicken & goat mutton) till I was 21 years old; however, it was around this time that I seriously began to have second thoughts about it.

It all began during a post dinner family conversation over eating habits .. whether one should eat non-veg or not. Ours is a highly religious family too, so these conversations were given equal importance. My father and brother proudly stated that, in Hinduism, Kshatriyas are allowed to eat non-veg as it helps to build aggression among them. However, I countered that many Kshatriyas are not owning up to their Kshatriya Dharma in contemporary times, for example, when a weak person is beaten up or a girl is molested, how many Kshtriyas stand for their help? The answer is ZERO ... yet many of the so-called Kshtriyas rhetorically call themselves WARRIOR CLASS when it comes to non-veg eating. 

Nonetheless, non-veg began to trouble my thought-process and one fateful night I had a dream that completely shook my SOUL. Its been more than 12 years and I still vividly remember that dream ... so I will narrate the sequence to all of you. In my dream, I saw myself sailing on a boat in a rough sea. Due to the storm, my boat sank and I was eventually drowning ... I kept falling until I saw a BIG SHARK charging at me and I was shit scared. I couldn't help saving myself and the SHARK took away my entire lower body. I woke up, suddenly realizing that it was just a dream ... took a sigh of relief feeling that I am still very much alive BUT I was sweating profusely.

This dream was the TIPPING POINT .... the moment that compelled me into turning vegetarian. All other factors such as spiritual enhancement, regulated aggression, reduced lust, and healthier lifestyle had yet not surfaced my mind. Only one thing mattered to me THAT I need to save myself from that SHARK.

Phase - I

Hence began my journey towards vegetarianism. I decided not to have non-veg even if my father will home-cook it OR in case of any special occasion. The real fight began now because many in my family, particularly my father and brother actively resisted my move ... They tried to convince me with number of fallacious reasons from 'enjoying life' to our 'Kshatriya lineage' ... This entire DRAMA continued for another 1.5 years; however, I eventually gave in and started having non-veg food again...

Phase - II

By now, I had picked up a job in an MNC and here too, I met many friends who were fond of Non-veg and did not actually appreciate my viewpoint over vegetarianism. Even though I was having non-veg after 1.5 years, I wasn't relishing it anymore. So after six months, I tried leaving non-veg again ... BUT was unable to keep my promise. I was thoroughly disappointed because of my inability to resist the temptations ...

I was disappointed because even after trying to leave non-veg two times, I fell again for the trap. This repetitive behavior wasn't doing any good and my mind was in complete turmoil. Meanwhile, I wasn't enjoying my MNC job either ... so after having worked for 1.5 years ... I decided to call it quits. By the time I quit my job, I was 24 years old. 

Phase - III

Due to the stress in the job, I now wanted to head towards a HILL station to spend some time alone. This was a good decision because it helped me to improve my resistance towards non-vegetarian food. I zeroed in an isolated village in Himachal Pradesh, where I planned to stay for a period of 15 days. While I dedicated a lot of my time towards trekking and silence, I also occasionally indulged in spiritual discussions with fellow villagers. It was during such discussions that I understood the impact of non-veg diet on person's thinking and behavior. 

Meanwhile, that DREAM kept haunting me and reminding me about the LAW of KARMA. I thought its about time that I seriously give up Non-veg AND hence, began my journey towards Vegetarianism ... However, this time I succeeded in leaving it despite pressures from several quarters. 

Not only did I give up Non-veg BUT I also eventually succeeded in transforming many of my near and dear ones in giving up this kind of eating lifestyle.