శ్రి కౌముది జనవరి 2010

 

శ్రీ కౌముది డిసెంబర్ 2010

Want to win an MP’s seat? Caste, religion the key

Nov. 10: Caste and religion still reign supreme on the political scene in the country, a full 63 years after Independence. This proves beyond doubt that politics in India has systemic issues that need to be addressed, says Ajit Phadnis, a former alumnus of IIM-Bangalore. Mr Phadnis should know what he is saying, after completing his one year internship at the Lok Sabha recently when he had the opportunity to observe the functioning of this August institution from close quarters. 

As the modu operandi of political parties has a significant influence on the functioning of Parliament, the preponderence of caste and religion is threatening the very survival of India's democracy, he said in a research paper titled, ‘Democratic quotient of the Indian Parliament.’ 

Factors connected to caste and religion inevitably determine the direction in which a political party heads. Another important factor is the excessive influence of money power during elections, which means that the majority of MPs representing India, are those from the extremely affluent sections. This means that it is difficult for a person of average income to be elected to Parliament, said Mr Phadnis.

“The objective of this study was to secure the views of those in Parliament about the institution itself and the opinions of the majority of MPs on various issues. The most glaring of the concerns or weaknesses are the working of political parties which includes money and muscle power, curbing the views of party people and the increasing disruptions in Parliament sessions,” said Mr Phadnis while speaking to Deccan Chronicle.

Of the 100 MPs chosen for the study, as many as 75 per cent are current members of Parliament. Of them, 84 per cent were from the Lok Sabha and 16 per cent from the Rajya Sabha while the male-female ratio was 94 and 6 per cent respectively, explained the researcher.

He added, “A systemic problem with our democracy is that MPs feel that their work does not significantly influence their chances of getting re-elected. Caste, religion and money appear to be playing bigger roles. The disruptions in Parliament are only giving negative inspiration to our MLAs and corporators, who are taking it to new lows in the state legislatures and in the corporation and municipal councils. Almost a 2/3rd majority expressed the opinion that political parties do not permit them to express views which are divergent from the party stance leading them to believe that it is a few party leaders who are deciding the course of this country’s future”

Mr Phadnis in his report, that has now evoked the interest of political leaders in Karnataka too, suggests guidelines for the reform of political parties.

Deccan Chronicle, Thursday November 11, 2010

శ్రీ కౌముది: నవంబర్ 2010

... our national sin

We Indians cannot give up jealousy and rally together.
That is our national sin.

Letter to Swami Ramakrishnananda. Written in Bengali from Chicago in January 1894. Complete Works, 6.256.

Finding of Unity

The finding of unity in variety is really what we call knowledge.

From Swamiji's article in the February 1895 issue of the New York Medical Times. Complete Works, 9.285.

శ్రీ కౌముది సెప్టెంబర్ 2010

... a nation is not to be judged by its weaklings

There is good and bad everywhere--but a nation is not to be judged by its weaklings called the wicked, as they are only the weeds which lag behind, but by the good, the noble, and the pure who indicate the national life-current to be flowing clear and vigorous.

Letter to the Maharaja of Khetri. Written from America in 1894. Complete Works, 6.249.

Those who think themselves too high ...

What you call majority is mainly composed of fools and people of ordinary intellect. Those who have brains to think for themselves are few, everywhere. These few people with brains are the real leaders in everything and in every department of work. The majority are guided by them as with a string, and that is good, for everything goes right when they follow in the footsteps of these leaders. Those who think themselves too high to bend their heads to anyone are fools, and they bring on their own ruin by acting on their own judgment.

Conversation: Saturday, January 22, 1898. Recorded in Bengali by Surendra Nath Sen in his private diary. Complete Works, 5.333.

శ్రీ కౌముది ఆగస్ట్ 2010

... think we know something!

Knowledge is mere classification. When we find many things of the same kind, we call the sum of them by a certain name and are satisfied. We discover "facts," never "why." We take a circuit in a wider field of darkness and think we know something!

Retreat given at the Thousand Island Park, USA. June 25, 1895. Complete Works, 7.18

శ్రీ కౌముది జూలై 2010

Real men do it barefoot

India qualified by default for the 1950 FIFA World Cup finals as a result of the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. However, they did not take up their place in the competition. The Indian players were unable to play as boots were required according to FIFA legislation, and the Indian players were not used to footwear and thus refused.

http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/006211.html#more

శ్రీ కౌముది జూన్ 2010

Colours of terrorism: Hindu, Muslim

..... the political class and Indian society at large must now fully comprehend the fact that ‘Hindu’ terrorism is as real as the ‘Islamic’ one.

And that comprehension, if terrorism — particularly the home-grown variety, involving Indian citizens — is to be defeated, must lead to the awareness that the spread of communal hatred and polarisation is the driving force for such acts. The point isn’t that only a fringe element within communities is involved in terrorist attacks.

Rather, that there is a wider context of communal hatred and fundamentalism behind these attacks. And that jingoism and hatred is sustained by a discourse of difference, of narrow and sectarian interpretations of history, identity and nationhood.

Colours of terrorism: Hindu, Muslim
22 May 2010, 0525 hrs IST, ET Bureau