iDENTITY Dec 2013

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Roots of Inflation in India

Journalism of Positive Change

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The Ghadar Movement

DECEMBER 2013 Rs.20

11 In Search of Authenticity

by Bhaskar Ghose

December 2013

Chief Patron : Kuldip Nayar Prop: Jatinder Kaur Chief Editor: Chaman Lala IIS (Retd) Former Director Public Relations, PIB Editorial Advisors Vijay Saighal Former Editor Dainik Tribune Donald Banerjee Former Chief News Editor The Tribune Consulting Editors VP Prabhakar Former Chief of Bureau The Tribune Swaraj Chauhan Associate Editor CJ Singh Dr Ranjit Singh Features Editor IM Soni Associate Editors Dr HS Majhail Dr SK Poonia Art Critic Prof. Ravinder Sharma Bureau Chief Delhi Dr Jagbir Singh kadyan Mob 9871688388 Bureau Chief (Co-ordination) Dr Chandrakantji Kamble Bureau Chief Ludhiana Jaswant Singh Saini Bureau Chief Chandigarh Ramesh K. Dhiman Bureau Chief Ambala Dr OP Sehgal - 098967 72288 Bureau Chief U.S.A. Shikha Tandon Special Correspondent Mumbai Bhawna Sharma Special Corrrespondent Haryana GC Lakhotra Organiser Dr Deepti Photo Ediutor & Designer Vipin Kumar Co-ordinator AK Sharma

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In Search of Authenticity

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By Bhaskar Ghose IAS retd

Roots of 13

Inflation in India

The Ghadr Movement An Ideological 15

Blueprint for Modern India Book Review

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Bal Anand

Kuldip Nayar's

Beyond Forget the Past the Move Forwards Lines Time to Change Tracks

Joginder Singh IPS (retd) Former Director CBI

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By Asha'ar Rehman

Literary Fulsomeness in Chandigarh

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he Literary Festival “Chandigarh LitFest” organized by the Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) in City Beautiful on Nov 23-24, gave to the Tricity's literati another shot of rejuvenation for turning their dreams into reality. Termed as 'dead city' and a quiet city of 'green hedges and white beards' up to the turn of the century, Chandigarh is now classified as one of the most livable cities to work and live in India. The LitFest, organized on the lush green lawns of the Lake Club with the city's pride Sukhna Lake in the backdrop, brought forward not only a vast mélange of issues for interface but also the participation of a virtual galaxy of literary luminaries from far and wide, for frank and lively discussions and rich exchange of ideas, making it a literarily fulsome and memorable one to the delight of each and every participant across the dais, in the 'must-not-miss' event, so meticulously planned -in fact crafted- by the organisers.

The CLS deserves appreciation for throwing up, immediately after the inaugural, some of the most shunned and despised by intelligentsia, the subjects of religion and politics for discussion but at the same time making their intentions succinctly clear to this end by giving the kind of tone and tenor to the topic itself. It was: “Religion and Politics - Oxygen or Poison”, preempting, possibly, that both primordials hold some measure of the other both. The way the audience received and reacted to the topic, turned out to become a learning experience, in as much as the emergence of new vistas of approach vis a vis the old beliefs in regard to the axioms and precepts espoused in the so called scriptures. A retired bureaucrat, last on the panel, sought to explain that Rig Veda was written about 5000 years back and similarly Ramayana, Gita and other religious books also belong to unknown ancient times. After the deliberations of the panelists, the house was thrown open for question answer. The first question was from the text of Gita and other from Tulsi Ramayana. The first one questioned the legitimacy of some of Gita's precepts in today's

times. For example, he said, Krishna in Gita tells Arjuna that 'Brahmin, Khatriya, Vaish and Shudra have been 'created' by me'. This shaloka, and many more in the Gita which have lived to remain as a part of perception among the people even today, the questioner said, perpetrated divisions among humans and countermand the basic religious tenet of harmony-among-humans, thus need to be rejected and deleted from the scripture. There are many such precepts have been denigrating a section of humans for centuries and require to be rejected and deleted. The Panelist agreed with the view. The other questioner argued that “dhor, gawar, sood, aur naari; yeh sab tarhan ke adhikari, having been postulated by Tulsi Ramayana, is discriminatory, unacceptable in today's times and that it was objectionable and should also be rejected”. This too was agreed to, obliquely though, by the panelist.

The people with average common sense and intelligence would agree that these and such other precepts were conceived and advocated with some contrived/specific objective thousands of centuries ago, while the rulers were the imperious monarchs, cannot be acceptable in today's times when we are a democracy and reaching Mars while others in some other part of the world have reached galaxies trillions and trillions light years away! How and why these could be part of faith? It is a paradox!

History has it that zealots and bigots are more fierce and brazen in shedding blood of innocent human beings and perpetrating social crimes. Wounds of humanity lynched during partition, is still raw and festering on both sides of border and India is still ridden by disgusting caste divisions, thanks to shastas.

There is a strong and urgent need, therefore, of revisiting the postulates mentioned in the ancient so called scriptures dispassionately, logically, dialectically and scientifically so as to weed out those found irrelevant, callous, discriminatory, outdated and the ones that cannot hold water 'today', to protect the vast humanity from the poisonous tyranny of bloody 'faith'.

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Charanjeet Singh Associate Editor

Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS), formed in 2012, hosted its debut Lit Fest, which was a dream come true. Sumita Misra, Chairperson of CLS and Festival Director, said that the biggest take away from her association with CLS was that if one dreams big one can realise it, and you get all the resources and the right people to achieve it.

Mr. K.K. Sharma, IAS, Advisor to the Administrator UT Chandigarh, an avid book lover, inaugurated Literati 2013.

He greets Mr Bhaskar Ghose, the keynote speaker along with Festival Director Sumita Misra (right).

CLS team paid obeisance to Saraswati (extreme right) Celebrated authors including Gul Panag, Rahul Pandita, and others are all ears at one of the sessions (below)

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In Search of Authenticity Keynot Address delivered at the Chandigarh Lit Fest held on 23-24 Nov 2013

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uthenticity is a ghost that haunts every form of the creative arts. There will be very rightly expressed anguish when a singer in either Hindustani Classical or Carnatic styles - is found to bring to his or her singing, elements that do not belong to the tradition, as it is generally known and accepted.

There is a similar anguish when dancers are seen to bring to their forms whether it is Kathak, Bharata Natyam, Orissi or any other elements alien to it.

I hasten to add that all of these traditions provide for, and live by, evolving newer forms of expression. What I am referring to are elements wholly alien to the traditions, but that is a discourse that is entirely separate and has not only been going on, but will go on for the foreseeable future. I'm going to restrict myself to the world of writing - and even that is not a world, but more a universe littered with arguments and counter arguments on the subject.

No literary tradition, no language for that matter has survived without absorbing new elements and forms. We are told that when the Roman Empire extended to most of Europe and the Middle east, soldiers and those serving in those far flung regions returned to Rome

bringing new words and phrases, which eventually alarmed the grammarians in the city so greatly that they codified Latin, then the common language of the Empire. But languages are nothing if not democratic, and people continued to use what they found to be effective as communication, and thus the codification began Latin's decline into becoming the dead language it is, as the radically newer derivatives, which eventually became French, Spanish, Italian and other romance languages, grew and became more widely used.

Something similar may well have happened to Sanskrit as the languages that are based on it Khari Boli, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Marathi and so on became more commonly spoken in specific regions but the 'mother' language became a language of learning, till about two centuries ago.

What has all this to do with authenticity? I'm not very sure, but I was trying to point out that the absorption of new elements into some creative form doesn't necessarily mean that form ceases to be a live one, unless arbitrary steps are taken to insulate it against such absorption, as happened, so one's been told, to Latin. On the other hand, English has been one of the most receptive of 8 Identity December 2013

Bhaskar Ghose IAS retd

languages, absorbing elements from languages spoken wherever it's been taken by the colonisers, and therefore stays live, and remains an authentic form of communication the world over. This is the link with authenticity that I was trying to make in a very roundabout way.

One can play with the word 'authenticity' in a number of ways when it comes to this language. I'm sticking to this one because it's the only one I know a little about. There is the obvious use for example the work of the very talented poet Thomas Chatterton, who tried to pass off as medieval poetry written, he claimed, by an imaginary medieval poet called Thomas Rowley, some brilliant poems he has written himself.

Many of the leading critics of the day believed him, till Horace Walpole found out Chatterton was only 16, and dismissed the poems as not authentic medieval poetry. Only after Chatterton committed suicide at the age of 17 did the literary world realise his great talent, sadly used in a manner that made it what would have to be called inauthentic.

Then there is the authentic and inauthentic Shakespeare. If I can take a few minutes of your time to illustrate this with an extract from the play that is acknowledged to be only partly written by him, anyone can

recognise instantly the difference. This is from Pericles, Prince of Tyre: As you know, in this play Pericles is repeatedly shipwrecked in storms at sea. In an early shipwreck he says: Yet cease your ire, you angry stars of heaven!

Wind, rain and thunder, remember earthly man Is but a substance that must yield to you, And I, as fits my nature, do obey you.

Alas the sea hath cast me on the rocks, Washed me from shore to shore, and left my breath Nothing to think on but ensuing death.

Stilted? Too shrill? It will do well enough to describe the writing. But a little later in the play, Pericles is in another storm, and this time he says: The god of this great vast, rebuke these surges Which wash both heaven and hell; and thou that hast Upon the winds command, bind them in brass, Having called them from the deep. O still Their deafening dreadful thunders, gently quench Thy nimble sulph'rous flashes.

One cannot mistake the authentic voice of Shakespeare.

Of course, it is generally accepted that this play was written only in part by Shakespeare; in fact, many scholars feel it should not find a place in his collected works, as it is not one of the plays published in the 1623 Folio, left out because Heminges and

Condell, who brought it out, did not, in all likelihood, consider it authentic Shakespeare.

This is one kind of authenticity, but it isn't what I'm actually focusing on. When we speak of authenticity in our own context, we're usually talking about something quite different the question of English as an authentic means of conveying what are essentially Indian perceptions, sentiments and relationships, Indian situations, what could be called, for lack of a better term, the Indian story. It is on this issue that I would like to share some thoughts with you.

Authenticity is not a major issue in a gathering where, say, Tamil literature is being discussed except perhaps to examine the extent to which other, alien, values, have affected creative writing. The authenticity of the language itself is rarely an issue. But when English writing by Indians is the focal point, which is the major issue that is confronted: not so much the use of the language, but whether it is able to communicate Indian perceptions, experiences, feelings, thoughts, emotions, concepts Indian awareness, if one may put it that way, in an authentic manner.

It's been said, for example, that it isn't difficult to translate Vikram Seth into say, Hindi or Odiya, but it is extremely difficult to translate Salman Rushdie into any other Indian language, because his use of English comes essentially from a British tradition, which he has absorbed and of which he's 9 Identity December 2013

become a part. So India, even if he contests this point, and more importantly, his perception of India and things Indian, is to him India from the outside, as Vikram Seth's perception is not.

This may be disputed, but that English can be, and has been, shaped and crafted to suit the needs of Indian writers has been pointed to by many, not the least among them Poile Sengupta, that very gifted playwright, (a Tamil writer married to a now retired IAS officer) who has a character say in her play Keats Was A Tuber: Already the definitions have begun to tremble. I have found my old cooking pot by the side of the Ganga and the first blueblack rain clouds are gathering in the south-west sky. The stranger hears the insistent call of the koel: where, where are you? He tries to answer but he uses the wrong words, he always uses the wrong words. I laugh. I know what he doesn't...I have taken from the Englishman what was his. I have smoothed it and dented it, given it shape, polished it, fashioned it the way I want. And I know I possess it now. Notice, if you will, the images here the cookng pot, the darm rain-swollen clouds and think of the 'English' daffodils and buttercups.

This position is now a given.

What is important is that part of what Sengupta says 'I have smoothed it and dented it, given it shape.' In other words we've moved from the actual use of the language to the manner in which it is used. The way in which it communicates with readers and conveys what the writer wants to convey, as authentically as

possible, be it Upamanyu Chatterjee, Vikram Seth or Amitav Ghosh or Amish Tripathi, Ravinder Singh and others.

There may be a great temptation to make comparative aesthetic or literary comparisons between the works of these writers; such comparisons have been made, and will continue to be made in different forums. I personally believe that such comparisons and evaluations are premature. We're too close to all these writers and their works. In time, as the years pass - indeed, as generations pass, the work of these authors will fall into place, and endure or not endure, and if they do endure, in what form and on what terms.

On a personal note I have to admit that I, and I dare say many others of my time, belong to what a very close friend once called the lost generation. We were children in British India, learnt English as our mother tongue, didn't learn the language of our family or our ways, and then grew up in that strange time just after India became independent, when attitudes and relationships had yet to change and the new ones that were emerging hadn't assumed their identities, as they have now. But in that strange world we inhabited we soon realised we really belonged nowhere. British India did not exist; the new India which we saw then taking shape was one in which we found it difficult to find a place, and many of us ended up isolated, seeking a world that was, in every sense, an imagined one. Neither the one nor the other. The irony is that that

emerging India is, as we now know with the benefit of hindsight, quite different from what the nature of the new country, and its cultural landscape had been envisioned by those who considered themselves the keepers of our cultural traditions.

I remember that, when we were young, it was politically correct to sneer at Anita Desai for writing in English. She was declared to be out of tune with the 'new India'. But she carried on writing in English, courageously, and has, after many years been acknowledged as a major Indian writer and been given the Sahitya Akademi award, apart from the acclaim she has received internationally.

So what the arbiters of cultural and creative works thought India would become it did not; it became something else.

It may be bewildering to this lot that, for example, most of the truly original plays being written and performed today are in English Mahesh Dattani leading the group which now includes a whole lot of others like Anuvab Pal, Poile Sengupta and others.

Apart from a handful of playwrights like Mahesh Elkunchwar, most plays in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and other languages are based on or translations of foreign plays. But it is what's happening.

Anita Desai belongs to that 'lost' generation in India I spoke about; lost in the sense of having lost its way. She herself, like some others of her time, didn't; she created, in a sense, her own way. But many of us were in that strange space between worlds 10 Identity December 2013

for a long while. Speaking for myself - serendipity led me back, from the isolation in which I found myself, to a more or less known world; I found my way to my own language and, through it, to a world that instinctively made a kind of accepted sense. I was fortunate in finding the little I did, and in retaining my familiarity with that other more volatile and hazily defined new world of Indian writing in English, the world which had moved from R.K. Narayan and Mulk Raj Anand to Nissim Ezekiel, Asif Currimbhoy, Raja Rao, Dilip Chitre and a whole lot of writers of that particular time, and is now peopled with a generation of younger, unself-conscious writers, some of whom I've mentioned earlier, to which list everyone can add many more.

In the midst of all this, what can one call authentic? Perhaps the answer lies in forgetting labels and accepting what one finds enriching and attractive, enduring and absorbing, whether in the music of Beethoven or Philip Glass on the one hand or a lovely rendition of Bhairavi by a young singer like Manjusha Kulkarni Patil, or the exquisite grace of a Bharata Natyam or Kathak dancer and the fine lines of a version of Swan Lake choreographed by Balanchine; the paintings of Husain or the sculptures of Henry Moore. And in deriving equal joy from the plays of Harold Pinter or Arthur Miller, and those of Badal Sircar or Girish Karnad.

The search for authenticity can, I believe, have no boundaries and can be seen everywhere in the works I have

mentioned, among others, or in newer forms of creative expression - in films, for example, or in music that brings together traditions and yet is not the less authentic for doing so.

All expression gains validity from the response it evokes, but I also feel that in such explorations there is a point where there is a real danger of drifting into mediocrity, particularly if one's link to existing evolving forms is forgotten or, worse, not even known. Valid creative expression, accepted as such, doesn't just happen; it grows out of something. Time present and time past, as Eliot said, are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past. We're not talking of a Big Bang theory here. Not certainly in human expression and communication. And if we're not, we have to accept the fact of growth.

Growth means that it whatever, music, dance, painting - grows from something else.

That 'something else' is what gives it its richness, its attraction, its authenticity.

So today the work of a poet or novelist, a painter vocalist or dancer is richer, and more relevant to readers, viewers and listeners if it emerges, instead of being a play or poem or dance cobbled together from bits and pieces from different traditions and even different works These may hold one's attention for a moment, but then they vanish into oblivion. And behind them lurks the dark shadow of mediocrity, often difficult to discern because of

the fatal, catastrophic compromise that is, too often, just a lazy acceptance, replacing a firm adherence to what one believes to be the best. Forms that emerge endure, and move to becoming something more, a kind of continuous process.

That emerging is what, to my mind, makes something authentic. If today Amitav Ghosh's work endures, as it does and will, it's because it emerged in his consciousness from a live tradition, or from growing, dynamic ideas he has absorbed and made his own from his childhood to his years of maturity, when he wrote. Girish Karnad, who is totally at home in the new world of ideas dominated by concepts and perceptions enunciated in English and internationally, is very clear that when he writes he thinks and writes in Kannada, and from out of his total immersion in that tradition, which he then translates, if and when he feels the need to do so, into English.

These are the strands, the enduring worlds that are live and growing. Today's creative minds produce enduring works, absorbing, enthralling works, out of their awareness of that and their perceptions of the world they live in. I had said earlier that some critics have said a writer like Salman Rushdie cannot be translated into other Indian languages; this may well be true, as he has emerged from another and entirely different tradition. One has only to switch from him to, say, Mulk Raj Anand to see the difference in the underlying dynamics and traditions. Time 11 Identity December 2013

past and time present are certainly contained in time future but the times may be, and are, quite different.

The American poet Wallace Stevens personified this as 'order', which he saw as a feminine form, in his poem The Idea of Order at Key West, in which he says at one point: And when she sang, the sea, Whatever self it had, became the self That was her song, for she was the maker. Then we, As we beheld her striding there alone, Knew that there never was a world for her Except the one she sang, and, singing, made.

The assertion of the validity of the 'something else', the idea of origin, of tradition and its dynamics, of what emerges from it, leads seamlessly to the pleasure of present forms of articulation.

To use Poile Sengupta's words in her play that I referred to earlier, words that conclude her play: The character, who, in the last scene, is addressing a seminar on the use of language, concludes her address by saying: Across land and water, over hills and desert, language is a travelling. It can never arrive.

She then puts together her papers, and says to the audience: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for listening.

Thank you for listening.

The writer is a prolific writer.

The former IAS officer has served in various capacities both in the government India and the West Bengal government.

Art of Relaxation

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he famous poet, Rumi quoted, “When the world pushes you to your knees, you are in a perfect position to pray.” This famous quote is applicable to those who have mastered the art to put their mind at ease to understand and achieve an out-of-box view. So when the world distracts you; take a step back, breathe, pull your socks and begin to cultivate the simple art of relaxation.

A relaxed mind and body can achieve much more than a worried mind. You are the hero or heroine of your life, so act like one. If the hero does not win, the movie is not over yet. So whenever you face an ordeal, pat yourself at the back and say, “come on, it is easy” or you may use the all time favorite “all is well.”

The whole world watches Sachin closely when he is at his batting best he too is perfectly relaxed, and after the execution of a delectable on drive, he displays a faint smile a sign of a deed accomplished. He knows he can do it, so he does. On the other side, the spectator seems much more tensed about his game than he himself.

The Gita explains that we are too much connected with the world and have failed to create a space or a small universe for ourselves. We are so occupied with our impression on others and hope to get their approval on our actions. Instead, we should mind the business at hand, do our best, and leave the results to care of themselves.

The present prevails in your life. The past is gone. The future is not here yet, the present is the only moment you can live and create. If

you have done everything that needs to be done now, the future will take care of itself. But if you try too hard, it will reflect in your action more than your behavior. It takes away the focus from accepting to controlling.

There are several reasons that make you feel that you are always on pins and needles; one of them being our cluttered surroundings.

A mismanaged office desk or an untidy pile of clothes in our wardrobe reflects the condition of your mind. So one of the ways is to reverse the cycle and organize your surroundings so its sends a positive message to the mind.

When you see too many things, you wish to work at all of them and end up doing none of them or worse, you mess up everything you attempt. You are caught up in a vicious cycle. Your mental strings are plunked.

You may also try a small exercise in self-organization that will help you inculcate better habits in the long run. Make a todo list. Prioritize your work. Make symbols to mark the priority work.

Like, you may use Roman numerals like '1' to mark high priority and then subsequently other numerals. Make it fun!

Think over what Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Some people have no perception of the source of their difficulties. If you don't care for yourself, you would never know if others you care for like or dislike it, as you have not experienced it yourself.

Dr. Fink found that people suffering from extreme tension had common factors. One of the main factors is finding fault with 12 Identity December 2013

Jasleen Narula everyone. The law of projection avers that your impression of others is colored by your own personality quirks, which unconsciously project upon them.

You judge people by your own yardstick. So basically what you think of others is in a way what you think of yourself. Do not criticize, unless you are paid for it.

Look for the positive, and you will find some. A thorn has a rose.

Think from the viewpoint of others. They are entitled to their thinking as you are to your very own. Live practically in the present. Maxwell Malty says, “don't fight straw-men out of the past.”

You may also practice some bodily relaxation daily. Lie on the floor or bed, a pillow under your head and then go limp. Do nothing. Tense your arm and then let it go. This means doing something and then doing nothing.

Close your eyes gently which is doing. Open your eyes, it is doing.

You are relaxing.

Now frame mental images of yourself as a totally tension free person; relaxed, at ease and peace with your own self. Let go and you hold on to ease. Physical relaxation is the first step to letting the mind go. In your mind's eye, transport yourself to a Garden of Eden and frolic. See the result.

These little 'funny' exercises do not need any expensive gadget.

You are the most important person in your life. There will be sufficient number of people around you to add up to your worry, don't join their league rather be your friend.

Roots of Inflation in India

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he proper title in this article should have been 'Roots of pricerise in India'. The two terms 'inflation' and 'price-rise' are not the same thing. The mega media in India, following in the footsteps of the highly developed West, have been using the two terms interchangeably for long.

Now that the West has almost recolonised, India at least intellectually, we hear of inflation only. In our daily discourse even in the academia, one talks about inflation only. The fact is that in the Western advanced economies the co-relation between the two terms is far more positive than in 'reemerging market economies' like India.

Semantic Question Most media-bred' intelligentsia may dismiss the question raised above as a 'mere' semantic question as though the use of specific words has no role in shaping human consciousness. Inflation is the proliferation of liquidity in an economy whereas price-rise affect the lives of millions of people as consumers. Karl Marx, writing at the time when artisans were being replaced by industrialists/ manufacturers, talked of exploitation of workers by capitalists. To-day's investors/ entrepreneurs indulge in double exploitation. Not only workers are being exploited by their employers, all consumers are also

subject to exploitation as society / polity / economy is getting more and more organised / institutionalised.

Capitalism and its wage-slaves have been so brainwashed that the word 'capitalism' which had acquired a dirty dimension for a century or so has been replaced by ' market economy'. Does market disappear in a socialist or social economy? Is it possible for the state or social / public sector to go

on producing goods and services which nobody wants to buy for consumption? What happens in a capitalist system is that market (money power) dictates politics.

In socialism, it is a reversal of the process. It is politics which determines economics. The essence of capitalism is competition whereas that of socialism is co-operation. It may be of interest for some readers of 'Identity' to recall that prices of essential goods and services remained static for about 7 decades in former Soviet Union.

The subsidies required for stabilising for prices did not drop 13 Identity December 2013

from heaven. These came from the 'profits' of non-essential items meant for luxury consumption.

Limited co-operation which existed during the cold war is being gradually replaced by competition in India and the big fish have started eating the small fish. The unemployment created by 'jobless growth' is creating inflation in India whereas it is leading to deflation in the West.

Immediately after the colonial power left, India followed by the liberal economic policy under the Bombay Plan given by the captains and majors of industry headed by J.R.D. Tata. The price-rise, which is an inherent component of capitalism, was very slow. The real decolonisation of India took place during the period of Indo-Soviet cooperation. Although it annoyed China no end. Inflation and pricerise went hand-in-hand during this period only as most of the investments made in the heavy industry were deficit- finance based. The jute press gave it the tag of 'socialist' which is still a part of the social discourse of Indian Intellengstia. With the coming of Liberalisation, Privatisation and globalisation (LPG), prices of essential commodities have been shooting up all the time. It is the period of re-colonisation of India, when

most of the thinking is done by global capitalist institutions for our ruling class. Instead of calling it a 'neo colonial' economy, it is being called 'neo-liberal' economy as the word 'colonial' is unacceptable to the people of India. Such is the power of semantics and the mega-media that many people have fallen willingly into a new trap.

It is no longer necessary for the rulers of the world and their camp-followers to defame socialism as the world has become mono-systemic after the Cold War. Gone are the days when the giving the dog a bad name to kill it was needed in the name of 'ideology' or 'mind-set'. But people in Latin America and some European countries are interpreting the word 'ideology' historically when it was regarded as the false consciousness generated by the rising bourgeoiste.

Alternatives to LPG are being found as LPG is not liberal at all because it is burdened with P & G. Indians will also have to do the same if and when they are fed up with ever-rising prices of those commodities and services which help them keep their body and soul together Locating the roots of price rise World economy has become so complex that locating the roots of any economic phenomenon to a single cause just does not help.

Our economist PM once resorted to a mono-casual route when he suggested that food-grain prices have increased because the poor who were given work under NREGA had added to the demand for wheat and rice and hence this price-rise. This simplistic explanation may have a very small grain of truth in it. We should, however, not forget that those below the poverty line (BPL) were already being given heavily subsidised grains. Hence they could not have caused this pricerise. Moreover, there were grains

aplenty with Food corporation of India (FCI) for which even storage capacity was not available.

Besides, India was exporting grains at very low prices which were used by importing countries to feed their cattle and poultry.

The hackneyed theory of too much cash chasing too few goods and services also hardly helps us understand the phenomenon. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been raising bank rates for some time to reduce liquidity in the market to contain prices but the reverse is happening in the real economy. Even in the global financial sector, the rupee is not really stablising at around R. 60 to a dollar. The scheme introduced by the former RBI Governor of direct selling of dollars to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) has been quietly withdrawn by the next Governor leading to higher prices of diesel which has a direct impact on the agriculture and transport sectors.

The 'aam aadmi' has to pay through the nose in such a policy regime.

The ruling think tanks seem to be flogging a dead horse to contain prices which seem to be flying high inspite of good monsoon. Some silver linings in the dark clouds, however, appear occasionally like including the lower middle income group above the poverty line (APL) in the food security net. Let us see how the new law is implemented before the General elections in 2014.

May be, the law is repealed after the election because institutions of global finance have shown their disapproval of such a scheme.

Real roots of the economic weeds It is very difficult to maintain your lawns because weeds have 14 Identity December 2013

The weeds of varna/caste systems legitimising inequality and ignorance have made the upper echelons of our society very insensitive to the suffering of the have notes of all varieties specially women and Dalits. deeper roots than manicured grass in the Indian soil.

The capitalist system specially its LPG, variant is the last weed to be eliminated if the meek have to inherit the earth as stipulated in the Gospel.

Price rise, let us admit, is the product of speculative forward and futures trading. This has to go if India is to achieve a genuine and no a make-believe world status. Critical thinking rather than anything coming from Havard or Cambridge or even New Delhi is the immediate requirement of the common man. Sensitive intellegentsia alone can fill this gap. Calling a spade a spade is the need of the hour.

And today alone can lead to Sarvodya in India of to-day. The reverse order, we have talked about for long time, has not and cannot lead to Antodya.

Trickledown effect has hardly been tried for long and has hardly ever clicked. If the demographic dividend of 125 crores Indians has to be realised, a new system has to be evolved with stable prices and

The Ghadar Movement An Ideological Blueprint for Modern India

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he modern human history has been more fancifully and popularly sought to be studied and analysed in the fragments of the centuries of the Gregorian calendar. In this context, the first quarter of the 20th century definitely belonged to the continent of America, more specifically to the United States.

The year 1913 is regarded as a watershed by many historians 'dividing two eras and the signalling the end of 19th century European civilization, for royalties everywhere were losing their thrones as American-style democracies were established.'

Interestingly, for India too, the revolutionary torch of FreedomFraternity-Equality was lit dazzlingly bright by the small group of the humble but most dedicated Indian patriots, predominantly workers and students, in the far off soil of the Pacific coast of the continent.

The seedlings of the ideology of the 'Hindi Association of the Pacific coast', founded in 1913 and soon acquiring the resounding nomenclature of 'Ghadar Party' to challenge the might of the British empire, indeed germinated to be the core concerns during India's long drawn struggle for freedom. And several of these ideals were the inspiration for the US educated Dr BR Ambedkar, the first law minister of free India, for

substantially incorporating them in the Constitution of India.

Incidentally, a non- descript 44 year old Gujrati lawyer, had also returned to India the same year after practising new methods of 'the violation' of the racially discriminating laws prevalent in South Africa.

The nineteenth century in Europe had provoked an unprecedented global scramble for raw materials in the wake of Industrial Revolution the countries of the continent, with France and Britain in the lead, had added almost 9 million square miles (23.4 million km), one-fifth of the land area of the globe, to its overseas colonial possessions. Germany and Italy too occupied huge territories in Africa while the USA annexed the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and some Caribbean Islands and Russia expanded in Central Asia.

15 Identity December 2013

Bal Anand

Britain managed to snatch extensive territories in Africa linking Cape Town with Cairo, more Pacific Islands including Fiji and parts of Indonesian archipelago. By 1914, Britain exercised authority over a fifth of world's landmass and a quarter of its people. In retrospect, the fragility of these European empires, so haphazardly assembled, should be obvious but they have left an indelible mark on the peoples of Africa and Asia, propelling them, willingly or not so willingly, into the twentieth century. The conditions of everyday life underwent more change in this quarter century than in the previous hundred years or even in five hundred years before that.

It was a brand- new age.

The twentieth century in India witnessed the dawn of the nationalism under the overall western impact, movements of local social reform triggered by the activities of Christian missionaries and the consciousness created by the new liberal pattern of education.

The foundation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 by Englishman AO Hume had unwittingly heralded a new political era with its even baby steps acting as 'a safety-valve for popular discontent.' The celebrations in Britain of the th 50 anniversary of the '1857

Indian uprising'-called a 'Sepoy Mutiny', or 'the Indian Mutiny'- provoked VD Savarkar, an Indian scholar in London, to write in 1909, 'The Indian War of Independence', initially, in Marathi. (HL) The book, influenced by histories of the French Revolution and the American Revolution, sought to bring the Indian movement to public attention in Britain and inspire nationalist revolution in India. Savarkar interpreted that the 1857 revolt was a unified uprising of India as a nation against the British rule. The English translation of the book was finally published, in strict secrecy, in the Netherlands. The second edition was published by Lala Har Dayal on behalf of the Ghadr Party in America. So it was 57 years after 1857 that thousands of Indian workers, mainly Sikhs from Punjab, on the West Coast of the USA and Canada were motivated to'reenact'-hopefully successfully this time- the earlier 'Ghadar-Revolt' when the Indians had routed the foreign usurpers but were defeated by themselves.

While toiling hard for a living in Canada and the USA, the workers from India predominantly Sikhs but including also the Hindus, Muslims and Brahmins from lower Bengal- felt the common need for protection against the White labour and the biased local administration. Having come in contact with free people and independent institutions, they became acutely conscious that the root cause of their humiliations was the slavery of their nation, India. The

awakening was further fostered by the educated among them and the comparatively free environment in the USA. The arrival of Har Dayal (18884939), a charismatic scholar and orator among them inspired and fired them into organising themselves into a well-knit group ready to make any sacrifices for realising the 'dream of India's Freedom'. The result was the founding of the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific coast with Sohan Singh Bhakna and Har Dayal elected as President and Secretary respectively while Jawala provided much needed funds but preferred to remain behind the scenes. The Party bought premises at 436 Hill Street in San Francisco, naming it Yugantar Ashram, invoking the aura of the Bengali revolutionaries. The first issue of weekly, audaciously titled 'Ghadar-Mutiny', came out on 1st November 1913 and the organisation also adopted the name, 'Ghadar Party' with the avowed aim of 'overthrowing the imperialist Raj of Britain from India'. The rest is, what they call, history-a chapter glorious in its lofty ideals to put India on the path of freedom though it became a footnote in the long drawn saga of struggle against the mightiest and most foxy imperialism in human history.

The weekly 'Ghadr' published in Punjabi (in Gurmukhi script), Urdu and Hindi, using electrically operated lithographic technique to prepared texts, proved the strongest weapon in winning battles of the mind and recruiting soldiers for the revolutionary war December 2013 Identity December 16 Identity

of Independence of India. The effect of oratorial logic and poetic imagery of 'Sewak' i.e.

Har Dayal was indeed magical among Indians across the continents and in India. Aware of the power of poetry, Har Dayal was lavish with its use; the columns of Ghagr resounded with stirring verse. Less than six months after the first issue of Ghadr, the Yugantar Ashram published the first volume of poetry, Ghadr-ki-Goonj-Echo of Mutiny- and distributed six thousand copies. Among the trusted team mates of Har Dayal were young Kartar Singh Sarabha, Harnam Singh 'Tundilat' and Raghubar Dayal apart from a number of students.

A few pamphlets elaborating the views of the Ghadar Party on the important issues with titles like, 'The Poison of Slavery', 'The New Age', 'Meaning of Equality, 'The Indian Peasant, 'Revolutionary Sage-Karl Marx' etc. were also widely distributed.

To quote Sohan Singh Bhakna, “Har Dayal's work for five and a half months bring out Ghadr and managing the office and its publications would endure forever in the history of the Ghadr Party.”

Although himself being an extraordinary scholar of various languages, Har Dayal was a firm believer in the use and promotion of the native languages of India, “you should be proud of your mother tongue...It is necessary to disseminate knowledge of all living languages as far as possible.”

Sohan Singh Bakhna The Ghadr Movement had tried to tackle the most dangerously divisive and explosive issue of religion among the people of India in a firm, fair and forthright manner.

Every issue of Ghadar underlined that the strength and destiny of mother India lies in the unity of her children. Though the large majority of the Ghadrites were Sikhs from Punjab and Gurdwaras in Vancouver and Stockton provided them their institutional shelters, the basic belief for all of them that the individual religion must remain confined in the personal domain, the love of mother land is indeed the virtue to be inculcated above everything else. Har Dayal refined his thinking on the religious issue to state in categorical terms, “You should study the great religions carefully and thoroughly; their origin, history and present position. For social progress, they have been what the mighty rivers are for the material prosperity of the nations…they have supplied the life-giving waters if ethics, which are, however, very dirty and turgid on account of the

Hindi, Jaat Hindi Hun mein / Yehi Mazhab, yehi firqa, yehi hai khandaan apnaIndian I am, absolutely Indian, Indian by blood, Indian by Veer Sarvarkar Lala Hardayal caste…” Lala Har Dayal has large admixture of castigated the caste system of superstition…the rites and ceremonies of all religions must India in his inimitable words: be spurned …”

Har Dayal feels furious over the 'Theism' which teaches people to love 'their God' so much that they begin to hate those who honestly cannot accept their particular doctrine'So long as this abominable superstition prevails, the unity of mankind cannot be realized.”

The Ghadrites clearly understood that the door of justice and fair play in India had been sealed the day when the worst system of slavery was scripturally sanctioned in the guise of the 'Varna Ashram' attributed to the mythological Manu. If the 'invention' of 'Shoonya-Zero /cipher' by the Indian scholars had deciphered wonderful world of 'Ganit Shashtra -Mathematical and Astronomical Sciences'-, the cruellest caste system had locked forever the civilization of India into the most pernicious and poisonous social system the humanity could have ever imagined. The teenager Kartar Sarabha proclaimed, “Mein Hindi, Theth Hindi, Khoon-e17 Identity December 2013

‘Caste is the curse of India. Caste, in all its forms, has made us nation of slaves.

It is not Islam, it is not England that has destroyed India. Our enemy is within us.

Priest-craft and caste have slain us.'

He chided the higher caste Hindus for their hypocritical methods of half-hearted measures of social reform to use the 'untouchables' vis-à-vis Muslims in the in the communal allocation of legislative seats: “All Hindus are pariahs in the society of civilised men and women, whether they are Raja or valets, priests or sweepers…” It was indeed the experiences of indignities suffered abroad that pricked conscience many Indians including MK Gandhi, about the insults they routinely inflicted on the people of the so called lower castes in Bharatvarsha. It is indeed ironic and a matter of the worst shame that the Indians abroad-the Punjabis being the worst offenders- continue to be more divided on the moribund caste lines- and inviting ridicule

in the international forums when Indian delegates stand up to pontificate others on the racial and other kind of discriminations.

The Centenary, falling this year, of the founding of the Ghadar Movement, has occasioned, across the continents, tens of high table discussions organised by the various academic forums, interested political organisations and the cultural bodies reflecting their spectrum of ideological orientations. The unit of one hundred years seems to sound more of an arithmetical connotation than the unpredictable run of events of the crooked history of humanitycentury is indeed the most popularly understood and celebrated figure of runs in the game of cricket and, of course, the human life. The complex aspects of the origin of the Ghadar Party with its radical nationalism, rationalistic idealism, its actual manifestations, its brutal suppression by ruthless British rulers at zenith of their imperial power and the lasting impact it made on India's long drawn struggle for freedom indeed require cool contemplations and in depth deliberations in the context of the current scenarios of our country which represents an unenviable contribution to human civilization in history and also by our sheer force of numbers in this epoch of global democracy.

Addressing the 11th Pravasi

Bhartiya Divas in Kochi, Kerala, on 9th of January this year, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh evocatively observed, “Over the ages, the relationship between Pravasis and Bharat has taken many forms. One of its most glorious manifestations has been their contribution to India's Independence Movement. Nearly a hundred years ago, almost to this day, Mahatma Gandhi returned to lead a nation's march to freedom. This year, we are celebrating the centenary of the Ghadar Movement, which was a luminous spark of support in distant California for the struggle for independence being waged at home in our country. Apart from commemorating it by the issue of a special postal stamp, we will also upgrade the Ghadar Memorial in San Francisco into a functional museum and Library with a sculpture to honour the Ghadri Babas, the heroes of this great national movement.” Many scholars and historians would cite weighty reasons to take a dimmer view of the activities sponsored by the Congress Party about the Ghadar Party to the historic distance that the Grand Old Party had maintained from the various radical out fits espousing armed struggle against slavery of the British.

The elements of the glossing over the religious divides, caste discriminations and the call for socio-economic emancipation of the people of India by adopting modern means of science and technology were indeed the 18 Identity December 2013

unique principles of the Ghadar Party which appealed to all, cutting across the party lines.

The main activists of the Ghadar Party were educated and were deeply inspired by the forceful writings of Har Dayal who was a brilliant scholar with a fiery dedication and unmatched background of sacrifice. The ranks of the Ghadar Party were provided by the Indian immigrants, mainly the Sikhs, in Canada and the West Coast of the USA. A body called Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast was set up at Stockton with Sohan Singh Bhakna as President and Har Dayal as Secretary. The first issue of the Weekly newspaper 'Ghadar', authored mainly by Har Dayal proclaimed, “A new epoch in the history of India opens today, 1 november1913, because today there begins in foreign lands, what is in our country's language, a war against the British Raj.” The Ghadar Party had indeed invoked 'Ghadar' as the metaphor of the struggle waged 57 years ago by the people of India to be masters of their own destiny, and were defeated by themselves. The lamp that Ghadar Party lit with blood this time was definitely destined to turn into the brightly burning flame of liberty in a period of less than four and half decades since the day of the call for Ghadar the Revolt.

[An Annotation of Paper presented at the Seminar in the GNDU, Amritsar]

TRUST Your Instincts!

W

hen inspired by a great purpose or a noble cause, all your thoughts break their bonds.

Some invisible energies create a magic. Your mind transcends all limitations, your mental awareness expands in every direction, diagonally as well as vertically and you find yourself in a wonderful world. All inactive forces, faculties and potentials become alive and suddenly, you find you are a grander person than you ever dreamt of.

Your instincts and intuitions grow stronger when you are inspired by a grand cause or purpose, your thoughts get wings.

Your mind transcends all limitations. When you coincide and listen to Nature's call and you work as per Nature's wish, your equipoise, calm and serenity blossom and there is liberation of soul and spirit.

The initial step is. -- get connected with nature. Listening to the wind, rustling of leaves and poetry of nature develops your quietude and tranquility and during tranquil moments, ecstasy whispers and unique creativity takes place. Issac Newton was resting under an apple tree, he observed an apple falling on the earth and he formulated the universal law of gravitation.

William Wordsworth composed immortal poetry in the lap of

nature realizing the “bliss of solitude". Great Music Composer Salil Chowdhry composed his melodies during his communion with Nature. These quieter moments sharpen instinct.

Dale Carnegie has so beautifully written, “Let's not get so busy or live so fast that we can't listen to the music of the meadow or the symphony that glorifies the forest. Some things are far more important than

wealth. One of them is an ability to enjoy simple things.”

Get connected with yourself in silence to enjoy and savor the charisma of solitude and recharge and re- vitalize your mind, body and spirit. Listen to the silence. It is worthwhile to remain connected with who you really are and why you are here.

Thoreau said," it is not enough to be busy. Ants, too, are busy. The life-question is what are you busy 19 Identity December 2013

about and what is your purpose.

“Purpose kindles all reservoirs of intuitions”.

Talk to yourself. Listen to your voice. Build a strong relationship with yourself. Most of the time, we are not clear about ourselves, nor do we know our own core wish, desire or goal.

That ignorance about our “self” bothers us. That is the sole cause of stress. Hence, it's important to take out a quality time to spend with yourself. Your “self” will be so much satisfied and feel well attended.

Maintain a close communion with the self!

Trust is life. Trust is love.

An airplane was moving through the clouds. It lost balance suddenly. Everyone started screaming and shouting in fear. But a small girl kept playing with her doll. After an hour, the flight landed safely. A man asked the girl, “How could you play with your doll, when everyone was so afraid?"

The little girl smiled and said, “My dad is the pilot. I knew he will land me safely!”

This trust is the elixir of a strong instinct.

Praying to God, as I feel, is a direct communion with God. A one-to-one interaction when your heart opens up and there are novel unfoldings from within. I have loved Lord Tennyson's line ever

since I read," Many things, in this world, are wrought by prayer." I believe there is a beautiful exchange program while conversing with God. You know, you hand Him over all your worries, tensions and frustrations.

In return, He hands you bags full of love, happiness and peace. Oh yes! When we pray we open a channel to the reservoir of God Almighty's power.

Knowledge is Power.

Knowledge is dynamite. David S. Jordan said," Wisdom is knowing what to do. Wisdom leads to know the skill of doing and virtue is the process of realization. So long as you live, keep learning.

Keep the learner in you alive.

Learning and awareness awaken the instincts. Knowledge alone makes your existence worthwhile.

The bliss of quietude is supreme. Silence is a unique strength. When no one speaks, all senses awake and, then on works the sixth sense; the divine sense; the mentoring power. The Guru in

you lets Him be listened to. The sixth sense is the outcome of learning, awareness, silence and meditation. The spiritual scholars and saints would know, by virtue of their instinct and intuition, the time to leave for the heavenly abode.

Music is another sublime force with magical rhythm and vibrations which is the food for the soul and spirit. Music builds the inner strength so much that miracles happen. Sangeet Samraat Tansen is said to have sung raag Megh Malhar and in no time it started raining. When he sang raag Deepak, all the earthen lamps (diyas)were lit. It left everyone in utter amazement.

This is the magic of soul stirring music. Cows would come magnetized to Krishna when he played flute. This is intuitive music.

William Shakespeare wrote in “Twelfth Night”: “if music be the food of love, give me more, -----

to my soul's fill”.

Concentration is another tool most fertile to strengthen the power of instinct. Instinct has a direct relation with the cool and concentrated mind. What was Ram baan? Nothing but a total sum of concentration!

Concentration generates instinct, instinct generates knowledge of the other worlds and this knowledge infinite unfolds the mystic instinct. There lies the beauty of Shakespeare's sonnets and plays. There lies the grandeur of 'Abhigyaan Shakuntalam' and lies the immortal and universal quotes of Saint Kabir who never attended a school but Kabir is tremendously life-affirmative.

"maati Kahe kumhar se, tu kya ronde Mohe, ik din aisa aayega, Mai rondungi tohe."

This is a law of life and universe as defined by Saint Kabir.

We live this, we breathe this we sing, we recite and we die with this.

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Identity Bureau

Kuldip Nayar's

Challenge of Crafting a Novel @ 90

K

uldip Nayar, born in 1923 in the legendary Sialkot, can be counted among the few titans representing the best of the profession of journalism in independent India. He has been an authentic witness to many a momentous events in the history of the subcontinent. He has put in tons experience to mature into a shrewd judge and an insightful analyst of the global developments. He stood out during the dark period of emergency as the brightest example of the person with a rare courage of his convictions and the uncompromising commitment to the freedom of expression, the oxygen of the democratic system adopted by the founding fathers of the Republic of India. He has been credited with many explosive exposures relating to the grave national and international issues.

The catastrophic consequences of the partition of Nayar's beloved Punjab in 1947 had indeed scarred his soul. He, however, bravely recovered to compose himself and focus his idealistic energy and brilliant professional talents, apart from his defined duties with the major national dailies, to promote the causes of social harmony, democratic culture and integrity in public life. He was an inside observer to the emergence of strong under currents of communal divide funnelled by the demand for a separate Punjabi speaking province which had started vitiating the atmosphere of the Punjab still struggling to leave behind the bitter legacy of Partition. The trifurcation of Punjab with the carving of the new states of Haryana and

Himachal out of the existing state in 1966, much to the better judgement and dismay of many Punjabis, was inherently fraught with more problems than the stated goal of the promotion of Punjabi language; it was the proverbial, 'a remedy worse than the disease'.

Nayar must have been watching all this with a studied concern and how the 'Little Punjab' had been becoming a fertile soil for the socio-cultural clashes and a battle field for 'political power' at any price' by the two political contestants in the state.

The degeneration of political agitations by the Akali Dal into a phase of militant violence; 'Operation Blue Star'; assassination of PM Indira Gandhi followed by mass killings of the Sikhs in Delhi and some other places in the country were, according to Kuldip and many others, were the worst tragic events which could have been avoided with better political judgement. Kuldip Nayar has written at length on various aspects of the 'wounded Sikh psyche' and the cultivation of the composite culture of Punjabiyat. The debut novel in Punjabi, 'Mainu Hanera Kyun Nahi Lagda (Why I don't feel the Darkness'), could be called veteran journalist's deeply felt desire to address the Punjabis in their own proper idiom. He declares his intention in the preface to the novel, “writing in Punjabi has been a thrilling and intoxicating experience indeed…speaking straight from the heart…should be greatly acceptable…I can't write the Gurumukhi script, so I had to 21 Identity December 2013

narrate it to a stenographer.” He vehemently criticises the mixing of religion with politics, 'whenever the two are combined, people are betrayed.'

The novel narrates the story of Charan Singh, a young Sikh whose family had migrated from the Frontier area of Pakistan to settle in Patiala. Charan Singh's life is jolted by the tragic events of 1984 and further shattered by the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002. The characters in the novel act as the mouth piece of the novelist in expressing their views on the communal cauldron of the country and the dire need to promote the religious harmony.

The Identity Bureau was indeed privileged to be a part of the special function on 5th Nov. at Bhai Vir Singh Sahit Sadan, New Delhi.

Dr Mohinder Singh, Director of Sadan, rightly remarked that, “The story of the protagonist, Charan Singh, bears testimony to the fact that in its hundreds of years history, Punjab has imbibed secular values in its culture and tradition.”

The Bureau and the readers of Identity extend their heartiest felicitations to their Patron on the release his maiden novel in the mother tongue.

Kuldip Nayar's

Book Review

Beyond the Lines

By Asha'ar Rehman

F

or someone nicknamed 'Bhola' by his parents, Kuldip Nayar's can hardly be described as a simple life. He has spent it well and lived it in all its diversity, not as just a spectator but, as his account Beyond the Lines says, as an active participant in some of the big developments that took place around him. What's more, he is frank about his role in making some things happen and preventing others.

Beyond the Lines is not the story of a journalist satisfied with informing people and stirring controversy, breaking a few stories along the way. Not averse to flirting with the establishment and accused of turning politicians into prime ministers, by the 1970s Nayar had come far enough from his first journalistic assignment at an Urdu paper in Delhi to actually sound out Indira Gandhi about the possibility of entering the political scene.

Actually, such was the nature of his relationship with the government in Delhi that sometimes it was impossible to separate Nayar the newsman from Nayar the government consultant. You can be a bit taken aback when Nayar first admits to simultaneously playing the journalist and an adviser or a

PR person to Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. But over the following pages, as one politician after another seeks Nayar's counsel, you get more used to it.

Nayar also served as the Indian High Commissioner to London during V.P. Singh's government in the early 1990s.

He sat in the Rajya Sabha as its member, his stint starting during his friend Inder Kumar Gujral's time. But he was always available to the politicians as a consultant a consultant with the gift of prediction.

At the same time, though, Nayar pursued human rights causes, sympathetically looking into the cases of those fighting state oppression in places such as Kashmir. Somewhere during his hectic life, he also found time to support the demand for due status for Urdu, a language he had carried in his belongings from his birthplace when he migrated at the time of partition.

The places life takes Nayar to and the causes he chooses make for some absorbing reading even when he wishes he could have “written it better�. In a recent interview, Nayar said that the book, comprising 400-odd pages, could have been twice as voluminous. What he missed out this time round he intends to 22 Identity December 2013

include in another book.

Full of interesting information, Beyond the Lines is essentially an old-school chronicle, one which breaks more icons than it creates or perpetuates. True to the expectations raised by Nayar's origins and his emphasis on Pakistan-India ties, the story begins when he was a child, his father a doctor in Sialkot. Their house had a mazaar on its premises, and a minor compromise had to be made to allow occasional visits by the devotees. This was co-existence.

At the time of Partition, Nayar was 24 years old and through college in Sialkot and Lahore. Partition was a harrowing experience and Nayar crossed the new border an angry young man, looking for both

livelihood and fresh moorings.

Gandhi's secular ideals offered hope while the diversion from Mahatma's path by India and its people caused him huge disappointment.

Some 65 years later, Nayar notes that the partition of India was central to shaping his views: “When I crossed the border on 13 September, 1947, I had seen so much blood and destruction in the name of religion that I vowed to myself that the new India which we were going to build would know no deaths due to differences in religion or caste,” he writes. “I therefore wept when I witnessed the mass murder of Sikhs in 1984 and saw a repetition of such inhumanity in Gujarat in 2002, viewing it as a microcosm of the communal violence I had witnessed in 1947.”

For a man who had been through so much, this is a rare reference to an emotional breakdown and it seeps into the book right towards the end. His epilogue also includes a reference to his close relationship with his mother and a sister, both of whom are no more. But other than these and few other references, the family stays by and large out of the autobiography which concentrates mainly on public

affairs. Family matters come to fore seldom, briefly and only when they are tied to some big public event such as when Nayar provides a fleeting glimpse of what his wife and sons went through when he was arrested during Indira Gandhi's emergency. This restraint is remarkable for a first-person account, especially given the current preference for mixing the personal and the public to connect with readers.

Nayar's compassion is evident when he discusses the

Sikh uprising or the Gujarat killings. But he makes an effort to suppress his anger at the blundering rulers. And there are two men he does not criticise: Lal Bahadur Shastri, in whose ascent to the prime minister's office after Jawaharlal Nehru, the author accepts he had played an “inadvertent” hand, and Jayaprakash Narayan, the socialist leader Nayar credits with rallying India against Indira Gandhi before the 1977 general election in which Congress was defeated.

23 Identity December 2013

Just after Nehru's death, Nayar did a story about Morarji Desai's possible candidature that had a disastrous effect on his chances for prime minister's office. The show of intent, just when India was mourning Nehru, was seen to be improper.

That impression cleared the way for Shastri's rise as Nehru's successor in power.

Moreover, Ayub Khan goes off lightly, I.K. Gujral without too strong a censure, as does V.P. Singh. But three Indian prime ministers, Chandra Shekhar, Morarji Desai and Narasmiha Rao, all get a rap on the knuckles.

Both Shekhar and Desai are projected as nursing personal grudges against Nayar over his role in denying them the prime ministerial seat earlier in their careers. And Narasimha Rao's “involvement” in the Babri Masjid episode in December 1992 is established on the authority of an official working closely with him. As the zealots gathered in Ayodhya, Nayar says, Rao was holding a puja, ending it only when someone whispered the news of the toppling of the mosque into his ear.

Living in the present is real living

M

any of us do not realize the value of living in the present. They feel that present will not give them the happiness they are looking for. Happiness for them lies in remembering some happy moments of the past.

They also hope that the future will give them thrilling moments which the present has eluded them thus far. Not only that they also have some regrets of the past and anxieties for the future due to which they do not understand the value of living in the present moment. Living in present is the real living because the good doings of the present will not only neutralize ill doings of the past but shall also make your future an affair to remember. What we are now are the effects of our past deeds and what we do now shall have a direct bearing on the quality of our future life. Time wasted now in remembering the past or imagining the future can be usefully invested in living in the present.

What does living in present mean?

Past, present and future are three phases of life. Past is not available to us except that it can be remembered, future again is not available to us as it has yet to come. So what is available to us is only the present which in fact is a period fully under our control to utilize it to the best of

our ability. So we should live in present as present is more powerful than past and future.

Not only we should live in present, we should love the present, enjoy the present, explore the present and invest in the present. We should treat the present as a present from God to us. We should live in present mindfully without any excitement to make the present positive and creative.

Life is not any competition with others as most of us may think. Life is our own journey which is meant to be enjoyed and relished every moment. Life provides plenty of situations and opportunities to those who want to learn and live every moment of it mind fully. Life can be compared to a river which just flows and flows towards the ocean. Similarly we should flow in life, remembering God Almighty, doing something useful for others, nourishing those who come in our contact giving them happiness and exchanging positive energy with them. As river has a goal to merge in the ocean so we should have a goal to become God like.

When the goal is to be one with God, we should lay utmost emphasis to purify ourselves while enjoying our journey. Do set a goal in life but do not get too anxious to achieve the goal otherwise the journey f life would become boring and 24 Identity December 2013

Lt Col R.K. Langar

disinteresting. To maintain newness and interest in life we must grow inwardly while moving along the journey of life.

Life is beautiful only when we acquire beauty and virtues inside us. Therefore keep on learning and practicing divine virtues till they get into your blood and are manifested in your conduct. By doing so we annihilate our negative traits and our journey of life is converted into divine life.

This is only possible when we live in present purposefully with enthusiasm. Investing in present means that the present is dedicated to a higher ideal. When you perform only good deeds life becomes a celebration. Life becomes a celebration when you realize that you are essentially a soul and all beauties and values are inside you. Then you work on yourself and manifest them.

You become powerful from inside with plenty of energy.

Higher the goal of life, more energy you generate which should not be invested in unproductive channels. This is how you live in your own terms investing in the present which also means becoming more and more aware of our inner world or inner beauties and values. Once you are aware of your pluses these can be further enhanced.

Observe your thoughts and also observe your reactions towards the negative behavior of others.

Do not react to what others say

for remaining in a positive state of mind.

Past is past: Past is past and however hard you may try, you cannot revisit it. We should put a full stop on the past. One thing is certain that those who remember past or talk about the past are not doing anything worthwhile in the present. The practice of remembering and talking about the past is found most prevalent in senior citizens who are in a habit of passing the time( time pass) and not utilizing time purposefully. There are also impressions of sensual enjoyment of the past which push you to recreate them in the mind. So there should be no Action Replay of past sensual enjoyments. It is a waste of time.

Some time you feel that you could have some better in the past had you tackled the situation differently? Instead of remembering the past episode do everything carefully now to obtain better results. Learn from the past and apply it the present.

Instead of cursing the past, make the best use of present. Whatever I do good in the present will create fortune for me in the future in accordance with the law of Karma emphasizing on cause and effect. Make changes in the regrets of the past and utilize these in the present for obtaining better results. If your mind still goes back to the past out of sheer habit, then you should recollect your blessings of the past. This should only be done till such time when you get over the inclination to remember the past.

When you do not remember the past, you automatically forget those who have hurt you in the past.

Future has yet to come: Number of people waste their time in worrying about the future. Worry or anxiety for future dissipates energy.

Worrying about future is as bad as remembering the past.

Worrying about future gives you a feeling of helplessness besides giving some apprehension of unexpected trouble which may

25 Identity December 2013

not even come at all. Develop an unfailing conviction that if I do well in the present my future shall be good. This shall remove the fear of future and shall motivate you to live in present and do your best. Neither you should predict your future nor go to an astrologer to know your future. The spiritual energy within you anchored on the divine virtues imbibed by you can dictate the outer conditions.

Also life would be boring if your future is known to you. Create your future by good deeds of the present. The Gita says that the doer of good shall never meet a sorrowful end.

Conclusion: Live in the present, do good in the present, enjoy the present, negotiate the problems which you face in the present and you shall ever remain cheerful, enthusiastic and helpful for others. Living in present makes you alert and positive which is a sure sign of becoming a good person who is God loving and not God fearing.

Forget the Past Move Forwards Time to Change Tracks

W

hen I joined Indian Police Service in 1961 in the then Mysore and later on renamed Karnataka cadre, the country was governed by the stalwarts, who treated governance as a trust. They did not treat it as a football ground to kick around the officials who did not dance to their tunes. Of course, there were cases when some action did notsuit the convenience of the powers that be, the officials were transferred. But nobody in bureaucracy regarded the legislators andministers as demigods, and in all fairness, the legislators most ofthe time did not throw their weight about.

The Supreme Court has ordered on 30th of October, 2013, setting minimum tenures for bureaucrats and put restrictions on arbitrary transfers and postings by their political masters, wading into an issue that has long bedeviled relations between the executive and officialdom.

Supreme Court added, "We notice that much of the deterioration of the standards of probity and accountability with the civil servants is due to the political influence or persons, purporting to represent those who are in authority.

In the present political scenario, the role of civil servants has become very complex and onerous. Often they have to take decisions which will have far-reaching consequences in the economic and technological fields. Their decisions must be transparent and must be in public interest. They should be fully accountable to the community

they serve‌Arbitrary transfers is also a major bugbear of the bureaucracy, with politicians wielding it as a weapon against inconvenient officials�. It is more or less like the 22nd September, 2006 orders of the Apex Court which has not been implemented In all fairness, it must be said to the credit of the Prime Minister, that he is and was for a fixed tenure since 2004 when he took over.

It all started with the ruling of the Supreme Court in a case, when it ordered a minimum tenure for Director CBI 26 Identity December 2013

Joginder Singh IPS (retd) Former Director CBI

in December, 1997. This is the only post, which has a fixed tenure. Others jumped on the same bandwagon including Home Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, Defence Secretary, Director Intelligence Bureau, Secretary Research and Analysis Wing and a few more.

One official is as good as others, but whoever does not suit the powers that be, is kicked out like a football from one place to another.

Take the case of the largest State of India, Uttar Pradesh.

In a round of administrative reshuffle, the Uttar Pradesh government in April 2012 transferred 70 IAS officers including 32 district magistrates and five divisional commissioners. With this, the total number of IAS officers transferred since the present SP Government came to power on March 15, 2012, the transfers of IAS officers has gone up to 221. The total authorised strength of the UP cadre is 537. The present governemnt has transferred a total of 1828 officers of the Provincial Police Service (PPS) got transferred in Uttar Pradesh in a short period of 2 years in 2011 and 2012. This includes 478 officers of additional SP (ASP) rank and 1350 Deputy SPs. 307

ASP rank officers got transferred in 2011 while 171 were transferred in 2011. 892 deputy SP rank officers were transferred in 2012 and 458 in 2011.

Lest I be misunderstood in painting any political party black, I hasten to add that the same story has been repeated all over by the previous rulers, belonging to other parties. In first term as the chief minister in 1995, a government that lasted four months and 14 days, the Government (BSP) effected 550 transfers of IAS officers. The second regime of the same party, for all of 6 months in 1997, saw another 777 transfers. The third stint (BSP) in power saw 970 transfers while the number crossed 1,200 in the same party's five-year term in the CM office. By that logic, the mass-scale transfers in the present government (SP) have nearly beaten the Previous ( BSP) record. These figures do not include other state-level employees, or even the secretariat staff, which have not been spared. Uttar Pradesh is no worse or no better than almost all other states, though the difference may be in degrees.

The Maharashtra Government was in 2011 forced to withdraw a blatantly illegal circular instructing policemen not to record politicians' calls in their station diaries. In a High Court recorded, case, a private secretary of ex-CM Vilasrao Deshmukh had in 2006 called up Buldhana police asking them not to register an FIR against a Congress legislator's money-lender father.

Farmers from Vidarbha had wanted to complain about a money-lending racket which squeezed debt-ridden cultivators dry.

The call was recorded in the

police diary by the investigating officer. Late Deshmukh had also, allegedly, told the collector not to act till he had 'personally looked into the matter.' The High Court struck down the circular and the government went in appeal to the Supreme Court, which not only upheld the HC order but enhanced the cost imposed on the State to Rs 10 lakh from ten thousand rupees.

By the above instances, I do not fancy conveying any impression, that Indian bureaucracy is full of saints and all politicians are crooks. There is a good percentage of good and bad in both. In fact, the larger share of blame should go to bureaucracy which is considered not only by the foreigners but also Indians as most inefficient.

According to a survey by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), India has been named as having the most inefficient bureaucracy in Asia. Its survey says: “Politicians frequently promise to reform and revitalise the Indian bureaucracy, but they have been ineffective in doing so mainly because the civil service is a power centre in its own right.”

The survey further notes that dealing with India's bureaucracy “can be one of the most frustrating experiences for any Indian, let alone a foreign investor”. There are far too many laws, rules and regulations, in our country. There are roughly 1,030 Central Acts and 6727 State Acts, which give the bureaucrats plenty of opportunity to further tax the patience of the citizen.

There are far too many clearances and approvals to be obtained for doing anything in our country whether it is starting a business or setting up a new industry or a new venture. Only speed money can make most 27 Identity December 2013

bureaucrats move. If we go by the report of the international corruption watch dog Transparency International, released in December 2012, India has been ranked 94th out of 183 countries, in Corruption Perception Index ratings India has a score of 36 out of 100 on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) which is a result of an average of 10 studies including World Bank's Country Performance and Institutional Assessment and Global Insight Country Risk Ratings.

In 2013, India is ranked below neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and China, Bureaucracy has to pull up its boots to make life easy for the common man. It is also the duty of the political executive to be fair to all Indians, instead of going by caste, creed or religion and stop indulging in vote bank politics. Corruption is eating into the vitals of the country and all of us are stake holders. As Supreme Court has laid down debarring criminals from politics, it is time to weed out the corrupt, inefficient bureaucrats also from the system instead of the working of government which at present is providing layers after layers of protection not only to the serving but also the retired bureaucrats. It would not do to treat the criminals in civil service with kid gloves and give them over protection. The present position in the government is that whether you work or not, whether you are corrupt or not, you are safe as the built in procedures provide over protection which must go. Good governance does not come easy and it involves taking hard decision or striking hard? The million dollar question is, to quote Charles Dickens, whether “Bark is willing”.

The

Sun-dial

I

t is great if we succeed in acquiring a polished personality, which is the envy of those we come in contact with. It is a plus personality, a positive and endearing personality, not a minus, negative or repulsive one.

It will be plausible if we could wipe out negative, black, unpleasant and bitter memories.

If we could sponge out depressing and discouraging ideas.

If we could keep the mind filled with bright and pleasant thoughts, which make us outshine others and put us on the path of popularity.

There are countless people who are so made that they are unable to think pleasant thoughts. Meet them and they recount tales of woe, misery and melancholy.

They are misery - manufacturers.

They spend most of their time in inflicting misery on others as we as on themselves. They are always me-deep in misery!

They unfold stinking accidents, losses, betrayals, intrigues, fraud, adultery. They narrate the ugly, disagreeable, the discordant. Rainy days, black clouds make such an impression on them that they make you think that the sun has set for ever, never to rise again. They need to

be reminded a memorable inscription on a sun dial; "I record only the sun-hours."

Then, we also have the people who think bright. They talk pleasant. They narrate funny stories with sunny endings.

Despite setbacks in life, they look on the bright side!' The difference between the two kinds mentioned here can be summed up in the

two men look out of bars; on sees mud the other stars. That's the difference between a pessimist and an optimist. The later is attitude is reflected in Helen Keller's words: Face the sun and you do not see the shadows.· Some people's minds are like a junki's store - they contain a few very precious., rare things, highly priced. But most other cluttered there are rag - tags and rubbish. The only way out is to conduct an occasional, if not frequent, mind - cleaning operation and throwaway all junks into dustbin.

28 Identity December 2013

Throwaway mental, intellectual and emotional junk.

Do not go through life loaded with meaningless ideas. If you do, you are like overweight woman who carries say 20 kg of needless fat. You must have seen a public transport bus, often overloaded with passengers. you are stunned when you see a beautiful woman, well dressed , savvy and sophisticated almost being crushed from sides by uncouth, rustic, foul- mouthing ruffians or drunkards.

Why does this happen? Because the conductor makes no effort to see who he is letting in. For him, all are passengers.

This is what happens without thoughts.

We open the portals of the mind and let every kind of thought take seat - the fair and the foul.

Mind needs to be disciplined or the mental goons play havoc with your personality. A mind that is sodden with slush obviously can neither be clean no clear. It can produce only “muddy" thinking.

One conspicuous quality of a clear and clean mind is it ability to nurse the virtuous and to discard the vicious. Bury everything that cripples your personality before it buries you.

Part-II

I

n his maiden endeavor with Mehboob Khan, the maestro composed 'Aawaaz de kahan hei, dunian meri jawan hei' sung by evergreen melodious Noorjehan and Surendra , which proved to be one of the most popular melodies not only of India, but for the entire Indian subcontinent. The voice quality of Noorjehan in the song, it appears, as if coming out of a violin instead from her throat. The accompanying soft and matching instrumentation employed was haunting. After listening to such immortal melodies, one can say without any hesitation that music cannot be bound by any barriers.

The melody queen of Indian sub-continent, Noorjehan migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India, which is considered as one of the biggest losses to Hindustani cine music.

Had Noorjehan stayed in India, her fate and that of Lata Mangeshkar would have been exclusively different. In the making of Lata Mangeshkar (during her 'Golden Era' -1948 till 1955) she was fortunate enough to have a galaxy of music composers, who were indeed diamond cutters. They not only shaped her voice quality, but also the destiny.

At this juncture, it will not be out of place to mention that there was a complete lack of talented composers for the class and voice quality of Noorjehan in Pakistan.

The excellence of her 114 melodies composed in undivided India was simply matchless. Just for instance, listen to some of her evergreen numbers of 'Khandan' (1942), 'Dost' (1944), 'Bari Maa', 'Zeenat' & 'Village Girl' (1945), Anmol Ghadi (1946), 'Mirza Saheban' and 'Jugnu' (1947).

What composers like Master Ghulam Haider, K. Dutta, Sajjad Husain, Shyam Sunder, Husnalal Bhgatram, Naushad and Feroze Nizami could extract out of Noorjehan is something beyond description.

As destiny would have been, Noorjehan was not that lucky enough to have composers which Lata had during her singing career. While Noorjehan continued to sing in Pakistan and earned a lot of fame, admiration, wealth and applause; yet the fact remains the immortality of her singing of 'Badi Maa', 'Anmol Ghadi' and 'Mirza Saheban' like films, was missing in her later 29 Identity December 2013

singing.

Back to Naushad and the story of Noorjehan, who sang 'Ajaa, ajaa meri barbaad mohabbat ke saharey' was another fabulous song of 'Anmol Ghadi'. Also, there were 'Kyaa mil gaya bhagwan', 'Jawan hei mohabbat' & 'Merey bachpan ke saathi mujhe bhool na janaa'. .

Other than Noorjehan's songs, there were some fine melodies of Suraiya. Just listen to 'Sochaa tha kya, kya ho gaya; 'Man letaa hei angrai' & 'Mein dil mein dard basaa layee' and Surendra's 'Kyun yaad aa rahein hein' and Rafi's 'Tera khilona toota' and Zohra & Shamshad's 'Uran khatole pe urh jaoun, terey haath na aauon'.What a grand inauguration of 'Naushad-Mehboob Khan' joint venture!

Though Mehboob Khan was a towering personality in the field of film production; Naushad did'nt allow the producer to interfere in his music making. He reminisced to Raju Bhartan (the famous music critic), “When I recorded my first song for Mehboob's 'Anmol Ghad'i, he asked Noorjehan to change a note here a stress there. He was the boss. The next day I purposely went on the sets as the song was picturised. Mehboob welcomed me, saying, 'Look, your song's being taken!' 'May I see it through the camera?' -I asked. I peered through and daringly asked to move this table left, that chair

right. Mehboob caught me by the ear and said, 'Who do you think you are! Scram, this is not your job. Your job is music, direction is my job.' I said that was the very admission I wanted from himthat his job was direction, not music! Mehboob's answer was never to enter my music room again and I did all his films unfettered.”

There is not much to be commented on the subsequent film 'Elaan'. But Mukesh sang some memorable songs for 'Anokhi Ada' viz 'Manzil ki dhun mein jhoomtey gaatey chaley chalo', 'Bhoolney waley yaad na aa', 'Ye pyar ki batein' & 'Kabhee dil, dil se takrayaa to hoga'. Uma Devi (Tun Tun) too sang 'Kahey jiya doley, kaha nahin jaye' & 'Dil ko lagaa key humnein kuchh bhi na payaa'. This was his first film with Naushad. There were also songs of Shamshad & Surendra and a fabulous duet of Mukesh & Shamshad 'Bhool gaye kyon dey ke saharaa'.

The next major success was super-hit film 'Andaaz' (1949) starring Dilip Kumar, Nargis and Raj Kapoor. In this film young and upcoming Lata Mangeshkar sang for the first time for Naushad. There were three solo and three duets of Lata and another four marvels of Mukesh.

Looking to major star cast and also the legendary directorproducer, Mehboob Khan, it was not only a challenge for Lata Mangeshkar but also for the composer. This was owing to the fact that young Lata basically lacked the understanding of Urdu accent and poetry to be sung on the playback of the heroine Nargis. And most prominently, Dilip Kumar and Mehboob Khan had their reservations about the accent of Marathi singer Lata.

“Music is my department and I don't want any interference; be it director, actor and or the producer. I told Mehboob Saheb, when fingers were raised, as to who will be the female singer for the playback of the heroine Nargis?” Once again Naushad had to assert. This conveyed his confidence in the singer and his conviction.

As such, at the time of recording of her first song with Naushad 'Tord diaa dil meraa, tuney arey bewafa___', every body including Dilip Kumar and Mehboob Khan were spell bound over the totality of impact created by the maestro and the singer.

The other five numbers 'Koyee merey dil mein', 'Uthaye jaa unkey sitam' & 'Daa dir daraa, meri ladli' and duets 'Darr na mohabbat kar le' (with Shamshad) & 'Yun to aapas mein' (with Rafi) were beyond any one's expectation. This was indeed a major step forward in the career of Lata Mangeshkar.

Again, all four songs of Mukesh for this film -'Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe', 'Tootey na dil tootey na', 'Jhoom jhoom ke nacho aaj' & 'Too kahey agar jeevan bhar mein geet sunata jaaun' came out as memorable.

Though for the next 19 years, till 'Saathi' (1968), he did'nt sing for Naushad.

In view of the recognition to the music of 'Andaaz' in general and to Lata in particular; immediately thereafter Lata got a chance to sing for the film 'Barsaat' (1949) produced and directed by Raj Kappor and for which music was composed by new entrant duo -Shanker Jaikishan.

The music of the film 'Aan' (1952) was splendid. The memories of 'Terey janey ke baad 30 Identity December 2013

teri yaad aayee' & 'Aaj merey mun mein sakhee bansuri bajaye' (Lata) and 'Khelo rung hamarey sung, din rung rangilaa aaya (Shamshad & Lata) numbers are still alive. Though the next film 'Amar' (1954) was not a box office success; the fact remains that all the ten recorded songs had an alluring impact on the listeners. To this day, when ever a signature tune of a temple bell is heard, we memorize the magnificent-'Insaaf ka mandir hei, bhagwaan ka ghar hei' (Rafi). Additionally, Lata's brilliant numbers for the film include -'Janey waley se mulakaat na honey paiee', 'Naa shikwaa hei koi, naa koi gilaa hei', 'Khaamosh hei khewan haar mera', 'Terey sadkey balam'. Besides there was her all time brilliant ghazal -'Naa miltaa ghum to barabadee ke afsaney kahan jatey'.

The first song (a bhajan) of Asha Bhonsle for Naushad 'Radha ke pyarey, krishan kanhayee, teri duhai', was a musical endearment. Though listeners' memories have faded with the passage of time; to me, it was and is certainly one of the outstanding melodies of Asha.

The magical touch of the composer is clearly evident in this immortal number. The voice quality is simply amazing.

Whenever the recording of this fascinating number is played, very few listeners could even believe it to be the voice of Asha.

In this melody, Naushad certainly has made use of Asha's voice with a difference!

The height of 'NaushadMehboob Khan' music collaboration can be seen in film 'Mother India' (1957) starring Nargis, Rajkumar, Sunil Dutt, Rajender Kumar and Kanhaiyalal.

It was the remake of Mehboob Khan's earlier film 'Aurat'. The

role of Nargis for the film was a landmark in the history of Indian cinema. The direction of Mehboob Khan and the acting of Nargis were certainly 'parexcellence'. Most of the songs were perfect, matching with the story line and more particularly those sung by Lata for the playback of Nargis.

Listen to 'Nagri nagri dwaarey dwaarey', 'O janey waley jao na ghar apna chhor ke' & 'O merey laal ajaa' -Lata and 'Chundariya kat tee jaye rey, umariya ghat ti jaye rey' sung by Manna Dey created some superb effects on the viewers. Again, the folk music in 'Garhiwaley garhi dheerey hank rey' -Shamshad and Rafi; 'Dukh bharey din beetey re bhaiyya, ab sukh aayo re' Shamshad, Rafi & Manna Dey. The background music and melodies positively enhanced the impact of events portrayed.

In the composer's voyage to follow, a major signpost was film 'Mugl-e-Azam' (1960), which was produced and directed by K. Asif.

It was based on the story line of 'Anarkali-Salim' love affair. The impact of the identical story line based musical super-hit film 'Anarkali' (1953) was still alive.

How can one forget C. Ramcharda's composed -'Ye zindagi usee ki hei', 'Duaa kar gamein dil' & 'Mujhsey mat pooch merey ishq mein kya rakhha hei' sung by Lata and 'Jaag dard ishq jaag' a memorable number of Hemant Kumar & Lata.

It was a challenge for Naushad for a heavily budgeted 'Mugl-e-Azam' with super-cast stars- Dilip Kumar, Madhubala and papaji of Indian cinema, the great theatre actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Moreover, the expectations of the producer were

sky-high. Naushad once narrated to me that in his career he never had a sleepless night. But, while composing music for this film, his regular time schedule was disturbed.

The celebrated film 'Mugl-eAzam' was released on 05 August, 1960 at a fairly large number of cinema halls all over India. It proved to be a historic day in the annals of the history of Indian cinema and witnessed an extraordinary large crowd at the booking windows throughout the country. At hundreds of places, police was resorted to control the cine-goers gathered for the advance booking. The black marketers had a field day, selling the tickets at a huge premium.

Naushad's music for the music received extraordinary reviews from the ardent critics.

The melodies composed on classical ragas were well acclaimed by one and all.

Undisputedly, the music was one of the major factors for the success of the film. Even to this date, music lovers have not forgotten -'Pyaar kiya to darna kya', 'Mohabbat ki jhoothee kahani pr roye', 'Beqas pe karam kijiye sarkarey madeena', 'Khudaa nigebaan ho__dhadakte dil ka payam lelo', 'Ye dil ki lagee kum kya hogee__jab raat hai aisi matwali, phir subah ka aalam kyahoga' & 'Mohey panghat pe nandlal chher gayo re' -all Lata numbers and 'Teri mehfil mein kismat mein aazmaa ke hum bhi dekhengey' a qawwali sung by Lata and Shamshad.

Another notable feature of the film was the two classical melodies sung by Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan -'Shubh din aayo' & 'Prem jogan baun jaoon'.

The songs were admired by the viewers, the listeners and the 31 Identity December 2013

critics alike.

How did Bade Gulam Ali Khan -the doyen of Hinduatani classical music- agree to sing for a film? I enquired from the composer during one of my meetings. “Yes, it was a very difficult task. As the eminent classical singers consider it beyond their dignity to sing for a film. But, during the course of making of 'Mughl-e-Azam', one day K. Asif insisted that we should have something unique in its music. And, before I could react, he told me that we should contact Bade Gulam Ali Khan and request him to sing a song for the film”.

“As such, an appropriate time for the meeting was arranged and we (Naushad & K. Asif) called on Khan Saheb. I offered my respects. Khan Sahib enquired the reason for this meeting and before he could complete his sentence, Asif Saheb interrupted by saying 'Khan Saheb hum ek film banaa rahein hein aur aap ney usmein ek ganaa, ganaa hei'.

At this Khan Saheb flared up and told -'Naushad, tum kis ehmak ko pakar laye ho'. There was a complete lull. I was in a complete fix as to what to say. On one side, it was the most respectable Ustad and on the other side was -the producer of eminence. After a few minutes, Khan Saheb said 'Merey ganey ki keemat jaantey ho; mein ek ganey ke pachees hazar letaa hoon'. At this, as if the battle was won. Asif Saheb spoke 'Khan Saheb hum to apkey ganey ki keemat bahoot zyadaa samajhtey hein, baheraal hum aapko pachees hazar dengein'.

This is how Khan Saheb was made to agree. He came for the recording; and as he was very much impressed with the situation, background and also the

story line, he instead sang two songs for a sum of fifty thousand rupees in late fifties, when highest fee for a song was not more than three thousand ruprees.� -told Naushad.

After 'Mughl-e-Azam', Naushad composed music for more than 25 odd films, but the fact remains that with the passage of time, changes in the music scenario and most importantly demise of his brilliant assistant Ghulam Mohammad (who himself was a class music director), the glitter of glory of his music was somehow not there in his subsequent films. In some of his later films, the reference can be made of -'Kohinoor' (1960), 'Ganga Jamuna' (1961), 'Leader' (1964), and 'Palki' (1967). In these films, there were just a few songs worth any particular endorsement.

As a gesture of goodwill and relationship, he completed the music of 'Pakeeza', as its music director Ghulam Mohammad expired before its completion.

A question is generally asked as to which was the best musical hit of Naushad. I too asked this question when I came face to face with the maestro. To this, he modestly said -“I am still alive!�

This made me speechless.

In my opinion I must admit without any hesitation that best of Naushad can be discovered in the film 'Shabab' (1954) starring Bharat Bhushan and Nutan.

The four solo songs of Lata Mangeshkar viz 'Jogan bun jaungee', 'Jo mein janatee bisrat hein saiyyan, ghunghtaa mein aag lagaa detee' (a classic melody, based on Rajasthani raag -'Maand') 'Mar gaye hum jeetey jee maalik' & 'Marna teri galee mein, jeena teri galaa mein' are

some soul-stirring melodies.

Then, 'Aayey naa balam wadaa karke' & 'Yahee armaan lekar aaj terey ghar se hum nikley' & 'Mehlon mein rehney waley' -sung

by Mohd Rafi (wherein young Mubrak Begum beautifully lent her support) are yet again completely different songs of the singer from what he sang for all other music directors.

Additionally, listen to one of the best bhajans of Manna Dey sung for this film -'Bhagat ke bus mein bhagwan, maango milega subko daan___' wherein surrender to the sublime was complete. The quality of harmonium played as accompanist by Mohammad Ibrahim was unique.

A particular reference. I would like to incorporate in this chapter is that of a memorable duet -'Chandan ka palnaa, resham ki doree' sung by Hemant Kumar and Lata mangeshkar, which was unusual in the maestro's music-making. This was the first occasion when Hemant Kumar (a music director and singer himself) lent his voice to Naushad (the second was of course for 'Ganga Jamana' 'Insaaf ki dagar pe bacho dikhao chal ke'). The master-piece song 'is certainly a much better composition than any of his (Hemant Kumar's) own songs and or composed by any other music director. After a thoughtful rethinking and accumulated courage, I enquired from Naushad, as to why he did'nt have Hemant Kumar later in his films?

Was it because that he belonged to Bengal school of music and you are from Lucknow? To this the maestro replied in his usual humble tone -'Aisaa nahin hai, Hemant Sabeb ek achhey 32 Identity December 2013

mausikaar hein, per wo merey kirdaaron se mail nahin khatey hein'.

Last but not the least, music lovers of yesteryears and of present era will be indebted to the maestro for recording 'Dayaa karo, hey giridhar gopal' rendered by Ustad Amir Khan in this film. Thereby, confirming my conviction that Naushad was at his best in entirety in this film.

A music director of a class, Naushad was an exceptional human being, without any kind of ego problem and a noble poet at heart. While living in 'Aashiana' Carter Road, in the posh vicinity of Bandra, Mumbai; he never forgot the memories of his days of distress and struggle. When he came to Mumbai, he had even slept on the footpath and walked on foot for miles together to save one anna (1/16th of a rupee). He was a highly religious person and invariably used to offer five namaaz a day to Allah, his mentor. But he was away from orthodox customs as well, which divide humanity on the basis of religion. This is evident from some of his compositions 'Bhagwaan, bhagwaan ___O dunian ke rakhwalley' and 'Bhagat key bus mein hein bhagaan', which he composed for the films 'Baiju Bawara' and 'Shabab'.

In recognition to his grand contribution to music, Naushad was bestowed with a number of awards and rewards. He was honoured with the prestigious 'Sangeet Academy Award', the coveted 'Padma Bhushan' and also the highest 'Dada Saheb Phalke Award'.

Naushad bid adieu on 05 May, 2006 in Mumbai.

NaMo vs. RaGa

Their communication imperatives Elections 2014!

Papri Dev

T

here is no dearth of plans and plots or twists and turns in the run up to the next Great Indian Election story. It's being covered from all angles and reams more will be sacrificed to the cause as we get there. There will be new promises, political manoeuvres, shaking heads and shouting mobs.

What is fascinating for a public relations/ communications professional like me is following the pattern or the lack of one that you can identify working in the shadows as a silent but continuous machinery delivering messages, exploring new media and building the narrative. Just like alchemy it's a cold fusion of communication a nuclear reaction taking place at room temperature that is slowly hardening into modern day's gold i.e. perception that will determine which way the ballots will swing.

Whether it's NaMo's carefully orchestrated and symbolic forays to appeal to a wide spectrum of society or it's RaGa's tune in various tonal and melodic variations, here are five interesting areas at play within this cold fusion, each capable of

being explosive or enchanting depending upon the degree and manner of usage: 1. Connection: 'The relationship' At the core of it will be the relationships that have been formed emotional bonds evoked through properties and platforms that have been created and are seen to be owned by the person that allows each to connect with his multiple suit of audiences.

This isn't about pre-election rallies it's about creative assets that allow a story to unfold over time with very specific influencers and audiences whose perceptions are going to matter more and more as the time finally arrives.

2. Conversation: 'The dialogue' Social media will not only matter, it will make the difference. Traditionally elections have always brought our nets out on the streets to interact with the masses but with a dynamic & vibrant social media scenario, a continuous and active dialogue with the young urban is going to strike a chord some way or the other.

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3. Content: 'The vocabulary' The Language of engagement therefore becomes an important consideration. Is it the angry young man with the from-theheart sound bites or the nonapologetic address of the older man that will leave the lasting impression? The vocabulary used to create and unfold the story will be a key factor influencing people's perceptions whether it's in words, pictures or moving visuals.

4. Currency: 'The knowledge' Intellectual depth and ability to hold one's mind to navigate the complexities of international relations and government policies, will be the knowledge imperative in the equation. It will be the currency of credibility that will give comfort to people that they have a leader who has a deep understanding of foreign affairs and the ability to fix India's economy.

5. Conduct: /Culture: 'The behaviour' Finally, what will drive or destroy the charge will be not just be conduct but in the medium term the culture it gives rise to. Is it a culture to think of solutions and quickly implement them? Or is it a paralysis of the system given political agendas?

Demonstration of good intent will not be enough, conduct and culture both have to shout out loud to complete the fusion.

The writer is Managing Director, Zeno Group India

Nutrition and Health A USEFUL COMBINATION Dr. D.K. Batta

Bhawna Batta

Ex. Joint Director PHSC

M.Sc. (F & N)

F

ood is the prime consuming a balanced diet energy purpose to perform necessity of life like drawn from various sources. various voluntary and inair & water. We See picture below:voluntary functions, tissue cannot live without food repair and to build up reserve Mixed and Balanced Food beyond a certain period of time. for use during deprivation of Concept: Food tops among the basic course for a limited period.

The needs of food vary not needs of the human beings. So only for the we cannot survive different age HEALTHY BALANCED DIET without food. In groups namely the absence of infants, young food, our energy children, dwindles and it adolescents and becomes an easy elderly persons, prey for diseases. but also under Our food consists different of six principle physiological substances: conditions like proteins, pregnancy, carbohydrates, fats lactation, and and oils, vitamins, during minerals and pathological water. conditions which Food Pyramid may be cause or Confirming to effect. Hence Mixed & nutrition has been Balanced defined as science Concept: of nourishing the We select a variety of food Vitamins and minerals are body. stuffs in order to get all the required in small quantity and Studies have been conducted nutrient substances. All foods are assimilated along with to know the amount of food we do not contain all the principle major food constituents. Water need for different working is absorbed by large gut and is a substances to an equal extent conditions to take care of hence diet has to contain vital nutrient. However the deficiency diseases resulting cereals, pulses, fruits, other major constituents like from malnutrition/under vegetables, oils/fat, seeds, dairy proteins, carbohydrates and nutrition or for any other products, egg, meat and fish etc. fats/oils are broken down into reason. It has been further Each of these contains different smaller and simpler substances established that the diet of the substances in different by various digestive enzymes vulnerable groups like infants, quantities and proportions and then absorbed and lactating mothers, pregnant hence the needs are met by assimilated in the body for 34 Identity December 2013

women, adolescent girls is deficient in proteins, vitamins like Vitamin A & B complex series and minerals like calcium and iron.

Food nourishes the body for performing various functions and the nutrients are provided through food we take. The chief sources of energy for the body are carbohydrates, oils/fats, whereas proteins and Amino Acids primarily meant for providing materials for tissue building and repair due to wear and tear. Water helps in regulating the various body processes like excreting waste products, regulating temperatur e.

Whatev er we eat, all the food stuff contains nutrients in variable quantity and these nourish the body.

The main purpose of food intake is to keep the body fit to discharge various physiological functions both voluntary and involuntary functions, this is done by providing energy by regular intake of nutrients drawn from food groups as listed above in the food pyramid. In addition, the food must promote growth or build the body and undertake repair resulting from wear and

tear, protect the body against various diseases and regulate various physiological processes of the body.

To understand it better, we must have clear concept and knowledge of nutrition and good health. The various nutrients must be taken in sufficient quantity otherwise any aberration in intake is bound to produce adverse effects which may manifest as disease / disorder / defect. The concept of mixed and balanced food is vital for overall

harmonious growth and development and functioning of both the body and the mind.

We can expect healthy body only if it is well nourished. To achieve this goal, we need to know, the concept of quantitative and qualitative aspect of nutritious food, commonly known as 'mixed' and 'balanced' food. The global situation in this regard is not very encouraging as more than 10% of the people are unable to 35 Identity December 2013

manage regular three major meals to meet the body requirement of nutrients. Hence people are suffering from malnutrition of varying type and this is more marked in developing and under developed countries as compared to the developed nations. It is more common among vulnerable age groups like infants, children between 3 to 6 years of age (pre-school going children), pregnant and lactating women, old and infirm people. These groups are not only exposed to risk of overall insufficient intake but also suffer from qualitative infirmities, hence wide variety of clinical manifestati ons. The golden rule is that the food needs to be taken not only in sufficient quantity, but also conforming to meet the qualitative parameters to carry out various physiological functions in the body to stay healthy.

India became aware of these issues from time to time, hence planned and launched various programs related to nutrition supplementation to take care of the situations resulting from deprivation for any reason like

National Iron Deficiency Anemia Control Program-1970, National Vitamin-A Supplementation Program, National Iodine Deficiency Control Program, Supplementary Nutrition Program (SNP), Applied Nutrition Program (ANP) and the recent Food Security Bill passed by the parliament to make available food stuffs at the subsidized rates to more than 60% of the population of the country a gigantic task indeed.

National Institutions like ICMR in year 1995 made recommendations for mixed and balanced diet so as to raise the health status of the people at national level for the different age groups.. In India even today, approximately 40% of the population is living below poverty line (BPL) who can't manage to have three meals daily conforming to the concept of mixed and balanced diet essential for good health. It is not only because of deficit intake but also result from faulty intake of food, food preparation and even storage etc. This has been made more complex and difficult by high rate of growth of population.

India is the second most populous country next to China, we have already crossed 120 crores mark and we were just 34 crores at the time of independence in 1947, which means we had multiplied by more than 4 times a very high rate of growth of population which is negating or retarding the process of socio-economic

development in the country.

Projections are that by year 2030 we will be surpassing China and occupying position 1 in this regard. It has been estimated that every year we add a little over two crore new faces which is matching the total population of the country like Australia. This has put tremendous pressure on natural resources and has resulted in what is known as Green House Effect.

Molthesian, a social scientist also postulated a theory known as Molthesian Hypothesis He has stated “In case we fail to control ourself, nature will take care of by way of floods, earth quakes, droughts, diseases and death and that is what is happening the world over. It is worth mentioning here that India is having landmass of 2.4 percent of the world and having more than 16% of the population segment. This single factor is neutralizing all the efforts being put in to achieve goals of socio economic development & raising the standard of living at National level. If we want to achieve socio economic development, we need to have a strong check on the growth of the population.

ICMR conducted food surveillance studies and found that Indian Food is not only deficient but also imbalanced in proteins, vitamins, minerals and for availability of safe drinking water. This has resulted in: (1) Low purchasing power of the people as 40% of the Population is living below Poverty Line (BPL).

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(2) High cost of Protein rich & protective foods.

(3) Illiteracy and lack of knowledge about nutritional food.

Safe drinking water is available to only to 30 to 35% of the population. This is responsible for high incidence of water borne diseases.

Surveillance studies have been conducted by ICMR and have made recommendations for balanced food based on Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for various age groups from time to time.

First such recommendations were made in 1968 & these recommendations were revised in 1979 for the first time and rerevised in 1984 and are still in practice.

These recommendations are given below in summarized form:1) Energy derived from cereals be not to be more than 75% of the total calorie requirement.

2) Ratio of cereals proteins to pulses proteins has been recommended as 4:1 to 5:1.

3) Minimum level of leafy vegetable has been recommended.

4) Minimum milk intake is 100 ml a day.

5) Energy derived from oils / fats not to exceed 15% of the total calories planned.

6) No separate diet menu has been suggested for nonvegetarians, only replacement of pulses by suitable quantity of meat, egg, and fish has been recommended.

Exam and your Eyes

I

t's exam season. The focus is on learning, a complex interplay of eyes and mind. It is a stressful time for the children and parents alike.

Studying demand children to accurately use all of their language, decoding, phonetic, recall and visual skills to successfully recognize words and gather meaning from the written text. Vision plays a vital role in the learning process. A child should have clear, crisp and sharp vision so as to read the print easily. Make sure the child wears correct glasses if required. To excel in school, besides sharpness of sight, a child must have equally important other visual skills. He must be able to coordinate of eye movements, and be able to follow a line of print without losing its place.

He needs to maintain clear focus as he reads or makes quick focusing changes between the board and the desk. An important step is to accurately process, interpret and remember what he is reading. If a child has inadequate visual skills in any of these areas, he can experience great difficulty at school.

Problems commonly faced by children studying for extended durations are strain, headache, itching, burning, tearing, or irritated eyes. Some experience blurred vision and difficulty focusing on words. Some may experience dryness, foreign body sensation, sleepiness, yawing while reading or words “floating” or moving on the page and inability to focus in general.

Reading fatigue, eyestrain or lack of attention causes these

symptoms.

To prevent eyestrain you must begin by evaluating your reading area. The fist parameter to correct is the lighting. Lighting should be strong enough to prevent the need for your eyes to strain to discriminate letters. It should be soft enough that its does not cause any glare on the page. Some readers prefer overhead lighting, while others feel less strain with the light positioned by their sides.

A comfortable and correct posture adds to reading comfort for long hours. A study table or chair, table lamp, straight back and at least 50 cm should be ensured before picking the book. The closer the book, the harder the eyes have to work to focus.

Keeping book as far as possible reduces strain on eyes and you study for longer times. It is recommended to take frequent breaks. After every page, close your eyes with palm of the hands, revise in mind what ever you read and continue reading. These breaks help you to relax focusing and enhance memory.

Ensure that students get at least eight hours to sleep every night. It may be helpful for the student to take brief nap before long reading period.

Relieving Stress : Tips l Be with friends who help you cope in a positive way. l Get good amount of rest and sleep. l Talk to caring adults. l Maintain daily routine and schedule. l Eat healthy meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. l Decrease negative self talk, 37 Identity December 2013

like “My grades will never get any better”. l State feelings in a clear way, like “I feel angry when you yell at me”. l Exercise regularly. l Humor and laughter.

If these is excessive watering or persistent of other symptoms even after following the steps mentioned above, you should visit an ophthalmologist for a complete check to help get you comfortable again with those books. Good luck to everyone for upcoming exams.

Winter and your eyes Experts who studied 5,000 women throughout the seasons say circles and bags under the eyes appear significantly darker in the colder months and concluded that this appearance of ageing is caused by lack of sunlight, which leads to paler skin and emphasizes eye bags.

A number of factors can make dark circles look worse. Thinning skin and loss of fat collage, the skin's supportive protein, which are common as we age, can make the reddish-blue blood vessels under the eyes more obvious. Physical and emotional stress-as well as smoking and drinking also have a significant effect. It makes winter bad news as far as our looks are concerned, but the trust is that the cold months and particularly the lack of sunlightcan wreak all sorts of havoc on our bodies.

Not least of these is the way we pile on the pounds, a condition some times called 'blizzard bloat.' Reduce bags under the eyes l Take a power nap- even if it is just for 15 minutes, it can trick your body into thinking you have slept for much longer. l Use a cooling compress (or some wet cotton wool) to help temporarily shrink the blood vessels, reducing puffiness. l Eye creams that contain Vitamin K and retinol can also help. l Eat less salt, as it encourages fluid retention and my lead to puffy eyes. l If all else fails, try some make up.

N

ovember in the capital is traditionally a month of continuity of a hectic run of festivities with Deepawali and the Gurupurab, Birth day of Guru Nanak, often falling during the month and many a cultural and artistic manifestations. The mood in Delhi is, however, is totally attuned to the run up to the state elections, to be over by early December. The elections involving Chhatisgarh-90 seats; Delhi-70 seats; Rajasthan200 seats; Madhya Pradesh-230 seats are indeed widely interpreted as the countdown to the national polls to be ticking in six months.

The elections in the north-eastern state of Mizoram- 40 seats are quietly over, without much media glare, and more than 81 % having exercising their franchise, when I am penning this letter in the th morning of 26 November The election campaigns by the Congress and the BJP have been getting uglier and dirtier by the day. The free for all use of the new age technical 'weapons' of 'snooping' and 'sting operation' are redefining the game of 'dirty tricks' as never before. The mud-slinging and irresponsible utterances by the star campaigners caught on camera has been there to be viewed daily on the channels in furious competition with each other for catching political actors in their 'true colours'. The Election Commission might have to create a special cell to cope with the epidemic of the disease of 'foul tongues' and 'dirty tricks'. The time tested words like 'Sahib' and 'Shehzada' are getting makeovers and new nuances -a great time to be in the capital of Hindustan for

the lovers of colourful and metaphorical twists of the 'aam alfaaz -common words'!

Having been an 'aam admi' in the Capital for a decade now, I have been an astonished witness to so many crimes of the '007' and the most diabolical kind. The disappearance of so many girl children in the locality of Nithari; Jessica Lal murder in the posh bar; murder of law student Priyadarshini Mattoo; Nitish Katara murder case involving the political animals; shoot-out between the vulgarly rich Chadha brothers last year; mysterious deaths of maids /servants in the houses in the members of Parliament list is too long for this column. Nothing, however gripped the attention of the nation more than the murder of the girl-making preparations to celebrate her 14th th birth day-on the night of 15-16 May 2008. Aarushi -meaning 'ray of the rising sun', the only child of the prominent Dental Doctor parents was found brutally murdered in her home in the posh and well protected colony of Noida. The discovery two days later of murdered body of their Napalese servant Hem Raj on the very roof of the house made the confusion worse confounded.

There were so many turns and twists in the investigation and trial, initially by the UP Police and later by the CBI and its Special court, that media had totally exhausted itself with the coverage of the case. The parents were suspect from the very beginning and the judgement delivered more than five and a half years later came as the most perplexing shock to none 38 Identity December 2013

else but the Talwars. The saying is, 'murder will be out', is it really and finally Out? The parents were suspect from the very beginning and the judgement delivered more than five and a half years later came as the most perplexing shock to none else but the Talwars. The saying is, 'murder will be out', is it really and finally Out? The word 'Tehelka'-meaning commotion, chaos, shaking, sensation has indeed amply justified its name and track record as the new era journalism of India.

The case of sexual assault on a junior colleague by its internationally lionised founder editor Tarun Tejpal would haunt the media for a long, long time. Its repercussions would indeed be of the proportions of more than a tsunami for the state of affairs for the young women professionally fully poised to occupy ever increasing working space in India.

India crowned Sachin Tendulkar as its youngest Bharat Ratna and also bestowed the same honour on veteran scientist Dr CN Rao. For Sachin, the highest civilian honour was called 'a perfectly timed stroke' by a government beleaguered with scams and scandals and Dr CN Rao did not help with his remark on the 'netas'. There were noises for the award for former PM AB Vajpayee and the hockey legend Dhyan Chand. Separately, under the right to information query, it was revealed how many worthies have proposed the names of their close relatives and not so distinguished friends.

Sincerely Dilwala Dehlvi

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