Farouk Gulsara's Blog, page 146
May 21, 2017
May 19, 2017
When protector turns predator!
Among the Believers (Urdu; 2015)
Pakistan is one living example how a country should not be ruled. Any country must have a clear demarcation between political and religious affairs of the state. The supreme law of the country must be kept secular. This, the foresighted founding fathers of America were clear on this. Many European countries, having endured bloodbaths at a time when the Church had a tight rein on the monarchs and the running of the country, have come to realise that these two branches need to be separated. Unfortunately, most of the Islamic faith cannot accept this demarcation as they believe the religion is all-encompassing and has the best set of rules to rule a family, a country or the whole world! On top of that, everyone has their own version of which is the correct one, theirs!
Scenes of the film remind me of a VHS tape I watched back in the late 80s. It was a grainy on-the-site recording of the violence at Kampung Memali. The same look in the eyes of people who were hellbent to protect their belief, the same trance-like state to defend their leader from seemingly unjust and evil oppressive government.
This documentary explores in depth of the activity in and around the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and its madrassahs in Pakistan. The caretaker of this iconic mosque is one charismatic Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi. He is an unapologetic ISIS supporter and a Taliban ally. His vision is to see Pakistan being imposed strict Sharia Law. His war path with the Pakistani Government started in 2007 when the military flattened his mosque, killing many of his family members including his only son.
Going against the path of destruction is a renowned MIT-trained nuclear physicist, a Pakistani, Pervez Hoodbhoy, who leads a crusade to maintain sanity in this land. He is seen having a one to one TV discourse with Maulana Aziz but it led nowhere.
Interspersed in this narrative are stories of teenage boys recruited by the madrassah network and their gruelling endeavours to memorise the Quran and of a teenage girl who is in a limbo whether to study or to be married off.
Looking at the turn of events of late, Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan, must be turning in his grave. He must be regretting the premise of the foundation of the country that he fought for. He wanted to build an exemplary nation based on Islamic principles. Clearly, it failed. He should have listened to Gandhi!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
Pakistan is one living example how a country should not be ruled. Any country must have a clear demarcation between political and religious affairs of the state. The supreme law of the country must be kept secular. This, the foresighted founding fathers of America were clear on this. Many European countries, having endured bloodbaths at a time when the Church had a tight rein on the monarchs and the running of the country, have come to realise that these two branches need to be separated. Unfortunately, most of the Islamic faith cannot accept this demarcation as they believe the religion is all-encompassing and has the best set of rules to rule a family, a country or the whole world! On top of that, everyone has their own version of which is the correct one, theirs!Scenes of the film remind me of a VHS tape I watched back in the late 80s. It was a grainy on-the-site recording of the violence at Kampung Memali. The same look in the eyes of people who were hellbent to protect their belief, the same trance-like state to defend their leader from seemingly unjust and evil oppressive government.
This documentary explores in depth of the activity in and around the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and its madrassahs in Pakistan. The caretaker of this iconic mosque is one charismatic Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi. He is an unapologetic ISIS supporter and a Taliban ally. His vision is to see Pakistan being imposed strict Sharia Law. His war path with the Pakistani Government started in 2007 when the military flattened his mosque, killing many of his family members including his only son.
Going against the path of destruction is a renowned MIT-trained nuclear physicist, a Pakistani, Pervez Hoodbhoy, who leads a crusade to maintain sanity in this land. He is seen having a one to one TV discourse with Maulana Aziz but it led nowhere.Interspersed in this narrative are stories of teenage boys recruited by the madrassah network and their gruelling endeavours to memorise the Quran and of a teenage girl who is in a limbo whether to study or to be married off.
Looking at the turn of events of late, Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan, must be turning in his grave. He must be regretting the premise of the foundation of the country that he fought for. He wanted to build an exemplary nation based on Islamic principles. Clearly, it failed. He should have listened to Gandhi!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
May 17, 2017
Always look at the other side of life!
nscblog.comIt always intrigues me to see how some people's mind work. They think just the opposite of what is considered conventional wisdom but they still make lots of sense! You think it is politically incorrect and hence, must be wrong as most people say so, but still...Two things that I heard over the past week highlighted the above fact. The first is the Biblical saying that is also known as the 'Golden Rule'. The dictum says, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. In other words, do to others what you expect them to do to you! Herein lies the dilemma. How do you know what others want? We do not possess telepathic powers. Living in a society with many personalities, cultures, social mores and even biorhythmic cycles, different people have different needs and expectations. Take the simple example of walking into a lift. The person who walks into the lift would think that it is only courteous to have, at least a cursory eye contact, with the lone occupant of the lift as he enters it. His upbringing taught him that to nod to the temporary sojourner of space is the civil thing to do. And he does just that. The other person, on the other hand, just wants to be left alone. He had enough of small talks that lead nowhere. He might have just had a tiff, a bad day or in trouble deep. He just wants to be left alone! We just cannot use our yardstick to gauge what others really want. In this world where people are super-sensitive, we will only create more troubles than there already are!
The other lesson in alternative thinking is in the Tamil language comedy skeet acted out by Kollywood comedian, Vadivelu. Readers who understand the nuances of the language will appreciate the light-hearted view of the over-rated over-commercialised celebration of all time, Mothers' Day. In the name of appreciation of maternal sacrifice which has no boundaries, jumping into an ice-cold lake or walking into burning buildings included, the over-glorification has reached ad-nauseam proportions.
In the snippet, Vadivelu, an overgrown pampered son of an oversized mother, finds joy sleeping past noon. He responds to his nagging mother who laments about her ageing body, her hopelessness and complaints about her son's laziness. She reminds him of her innumerable sacrifices that she, as a mother, carrying him as a fetus in her gravid womb for nine long months. In Vadivelu's typical jocular whining manner, he tells his mother that his experience in-utero was no pleasure cruise. He, the fetus, was crouched awkwardly like a monkey, trapped in the dark with no idea whether it is day or night, no freedom of movements and basically in a living hell. He accused his mother, on the pretext of carrying a baby, gorged herself fat on the baby's behalf, used the excuse of pregnancy to don colourful sarees, beautify herself with bangles and jewels. So, there was no suffering on the mother's part!
Well, obviously this form of greeting card never made it to Hallmark! If not for the certificate for general screening, Vadivelu's scriptwriters would have gone a step further. He would have said that his mother's role was more of an after-effect of desires to satisfy carnal needs, societal pressures to fulfil the woman's role to procreate and his mother's adversity to be labelled barren!http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
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May 15, 2017
"Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!"
Seven Days in May (1963)
Humans are social animals, they say. We need each other to survive. We should look at one another as our brothers and sisters to sail through the journey of life. They say we should look at another not by colour or creed, but as a fellow being seeking temporary sojournment on Planet Earth. That, borders and nation states are artificial boundaries created by multinational conglomerates with business and acquisition of wealth on their mind!
But snap out of it! This is what we have. Various nations wanting to do better than the other and do not to be taken for a fool by others. An entity called nationalism evolved over differences and the trust was put on a piece of cloth and the writings which define the nation, the Constitution. Leaders are elected democratically to guard this common belief that the Constitution is supreme, infallible and can stand the test of time as the founding fathers were visionaries extraordinaire!
We all may not be happy with how things are done but we have it stick to the majority decision. That is how it works, we state our displeasure at the ballot box, the democratic way. Any other way should surely spell mayhem and that would be healthy for our State, if we loved it so much! But then, most people are not visionaries and cannot even see beyond their next meal. They need to be coerced and shown the way. For that, we have the political platform, not the hostile military takeover.
At the heights of the Cold War just after the Cuban nuclear crisis, came a book which predicted a time in the future, in the 1970s, of a situation where a nuclear disarmament treaty is to be signed. The President's rating is at an all-time low for putting the mighty USA in a cowardly stance, believing that Communist Russians would stay true to paper. The general scream for 4-star General James Scott (Burt Lancaster) to take over the helm.
The whole premise of the story is about the observant Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), the personal assistant to General Scott, who notices many peculiarities and deduce that his boss was planning a coup d'etat! As a loyal citizen, he brings his case to the President himself. After much deliberation, the President and his band of trusted men unfold a takeover of the Government by rogue Army personnel.
Over the years, either by own volition or by certain undetermined events in history, we are all divided into nation states. We are given sovereignty and the free rein to lead our country to whatever direction we want to. It is our birthright to protect and preserve the visions that our forefathers had. We are not expected to just at the sideline when someone from somewhere who have failed miserably their own backyard, comes to our country upon our kind humane gesture, tells us that we are doing it all wrong. They, instead, want to inculcate their failed ideology into ours! No way, Jose!
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
Humans are social animals, they say. We need each other to survive. We should look at one another as our brothers and sisters to sail through the journey of life. They say we should look at another not by colour or creed, but as a fellow being seeking temporary sojournment on Planet Earth. That, borders and nation states are artificial boundaries created by multinational conglomerates with business and acquisition of wealth on their mind!But snap out of it! This is what we have. Various nations wanting to do better than the other and do not to be taken for a fool by others. An entity called nationalism evolved over differences and the trust was put on a piece of cloth and the writings which define the nation, the Constitution. Leaders are elected democratically to guard this common belief that the Constitution is supreme, infallible and can stand the test of time as the founding fathers were visionaries extraordinaire!
We all may not be happy with how things are done but we have it stick to the majority decision. That is how it works, we state our displeasure at the ballot box, the democratic way. Any other way should surely spell mayhem and that would be healthy for our State, if we loved it so much! But then, most people are not visionaries and cannot even see beyond their next meal. They need to be coerced and shown the way. For that, we have the political platform, not the hostile military takeover.
At the heights of the Cold War just after the Cuban nuclear crisis, came a book which predicted a time in the future, in the 1970s, of a situation where a nuclear disarmament treaty is to be signed. The President's rating is at an all-time low for putting the mighty USA in a cowardly stance, believing that Communist Russians would stay true to paper. The general scream for 4-star General James Scott (Burt Lancaster) to take over the helm.
The whole premise of the story is about the observant Colonel Casey (Kirk Douglas), the personal assistant to General Scott, who notices many peculiarities and deduce that his boss was planning a coup d'etat! As a loyal citizen, he brings his case to the President himself. After much deliberation, the President and his band of trusted men unfold a takeover of the Government by rogue Army personnel.
Over the years, either by own volition or by certain undetermined events in history, we are all divided into nation states. We are given sovereignty and the free rein to lead our country to whatever direction we want to. It is our birthright to protect and preserve the visions that our forefathers had. We are not expected to just at the sideline when someone from somewhere who have failed miserably their own backyard, comes to our country upon our kind humane gesture, tells us that we are doing it all wrong. They, instead, want to inculcate their failed ideology into ours! No way, Jose!
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boyhttp://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
May 13, 2017
Remember the time?
Baahuballi 2 (The Conclusion, 2017; Telugu)
My friend was understandably excited when the news of its release and its phenomenal smashing of records of sorts for a Tollywood production. He was over the moon as the news had made it to the desktops of the BBC World Service TV.
After making quite an impression with the first instalment, I felt that this film is quite a letdown. The awe factor seems missing. There is only so much of long shots one can take of the set to impress us on gargantuan portions of the wealth and power of Sivagami and her Mahishmati kingdom. We totally get it. The wide angle aerial shots of CGI-enhanced castles, beasts and savage battle scenes are too many by far. They are only so many flying tackles one can stomach. There is a limit to human imagination. Ok, this is a fantasy film set in medieval India when they were the richest nation on the planet with the intellect beyond yonder and military prowess to match, but stringing three arrows fro a bow and aiming them simultaneously at three targets? And that too by a member of the fairer sex? Hey, this only shows that Bharat was far ahead of its times in gender equality and women empowerment. In BB2, a Queen (Sivagami, Ramya Krishnan) is the ruling monarch of the kingdom in hot pursuit. The bride to the Prince is also no pushover!
Movies like Baahuballi seem to be sending the right vibes to the citizens of the country at the most opportune time. With the euphoria of a confident and PR friendly Prime Minister who appears to be doing all the right things to stimulate the economy, with a past President who was part of the mega-space project which made space travel much like Airasia - economical and feasible, with neighbours who have fallen into failed state status and no longer posing a security risk, this feel-good movie would only invoke the memories of a once Great India and the zest the blow the ember of making India great again!
Baahuballi has its own charm just like 'Tom and Jerry' and 'The Road Runner' have their strong points. It has its own plus point. Many humanistic values practised by early dwellers of the Indus Valley on power management, stratification of society, the impermanence of human life are illustrated here. Life is a struggle between doing the right thing and the moral thing. Just following orders may not be the correct thing after all. History, as we know it, is a sanitised version of events that were paved with blood, gore, tears, carnage, blackmail, deceit and death as scribed by the victors. http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
My friend was understandably excited when the news of its release and its phenomenal smashing of records of sorts for a Tollywood production. He was over the moon as the news had made it to the desktops of the BBC World Service TV.After making quite an impression with the first instalment, I felt that this film is quite a letdown. The awe factor seems missing. There is only so much of long shots one can take of the set to impress us on gargantuan portions of the wealth and power of Sivagami and her Mahishmati kingdom. We totally get it. The wide angle aerial shots of CGI-enhanced castles, beasts and savage battle scenes are too many by far. They are only so many flying tackles one can stomach. There is a limit to human imagination. Ok, this is a fantasy film set in medieval India when they were the richest nation on the planet with the intellect beyond yonder and military prowess to match, but stringing three arrows fro a bow and aiming them simultaneously at three targets? And that too by a member of the fairer sex? Hey, this only shows that Bharat was far ahead of its times in gender equality and women empowerment. In BB2, a Queen (Sivagami, Ramya Krishnan) is the ruling monarch of the kingdom in hot pursuit. The bride to the Prince is also no pushover!
Movies like Baahuballi seem to be sending the right vibes to the citizens of the country at the most opportune time. With the euphoria of a confident and PR friendly Prime Minister who appears to be doing all the right things to stimulate the economy, with a past President who was part of the mega-space project which made space travel much like Airasia - economical and feasible, with neighbours who have fallen into failed state status and no longer posing a security risk, this feel-good movie would only invoke the memories of a once Great India and the zest the blow the ember of making India great again!
Baahuballi has its own charm just like 'Tom and Jerry' and 'The Road Runner' have their strong points. It has its own plus point. Many humanistic values practised by early dwellers of the Indus Valley on power management, stratification of society, the impermanence of human life are illustrated here. Life is a struggle between doing the right thing and the moral thing. Just following orders may not be the correct thing after all. History, as we know it, is a sanitised version of events that were paved with blood, gore, tears, carnage, blackmail, deceit and death as scribed by the victors. http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
May 12, 2017
Nobody can be so headstrong!
Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri (Tamil, Bhuvana is a question mark; 1977)
The question mark in this movie, starred by two powerhouses of the Tamil cinema, is whether a lady should stay chaste to one man even though he had wronged her willingly? The title suggests that Bhuvana would play a pivotal role in the story, surprisingly she only appears in the second half of the show.
Rajnikanth acts in one of his first roles in the positive light as before this, he was usually cast as a villain. Sivakumar, for a change, assumes a negative role. This film must have interested directors to put Rajni as their hero after this film. His unique mannerism and stylish stunts must have started here.
Rajnikanth (Sambath) and Sivakumar (Nagaraj) are street pedlars selling garments. Even though they are close friends, there are like different like night and day. Nagaraj is a sweet talking businessman who works hard with a strong ambition for the future. He is also a womaniser who lives for the pleasure of the moment. Sambath, on the other hand, works only to get enough money for his daily fix of alcohol. He is a one-woman man. Tragedy hits Sambath when his girlfriend falls into a well and drowns.
Sambath and Nagaraj's friendship strengthens during tumultuous times when the Nagaraj saves the depressed Sambath from a suicide attempt. Their fate changes on a trip to Chennai when a man in the compartment they were travelling, carrying a load of money, dies of heart attack and they decide to keep the stash! This is where Bhuvana comes to the picture. She is the dead man sister and the money was actually temple's money.
Nagaraj befriends Bhuvana to keep her silence, just in case, their trickery is discovered. Things become complicated when she gets pregnant whilst Nagaraj is more interested in marrying a rich merchant's daughter and Bhuvana refuses to undergo a termination of pregnancy. Sambath moves in to save her honour!
That is when the real drama starts. Bhuvana refuses to have conjugal relationships with her fire-ceremonial sanctioned husband but wants to stay faithful to one man whom she had given her heart to. A lot of things happen along the way and finally, Sambath dies. Now, Bhuvana dons a widow's attire of white saree and the accompaniments.
So, what the storyteller seems to be telling is that all the external appearances are all facades for the society. We do things just to pacify society and live within its ambits. What goes within the heart or mind is anybody's guess. But are people so steadfast on their beliefs anymore? Times are changing and peoples' outlook on life and their values alter with the time.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
The question mark in this movie, starred by two powerhouses of the Tamil cinema, is whether a lady should stay chaste to one man even though he had wronged her willingly? The title suggests that Bhuvana would play a pivotal role in the story, surprisingly she only appears in the second half of the show.Rajnikanth acts in one of his first roles in the positive light as before this, he was usually cast as a villain. Sivakumar, for a change, assumes a negative role. This film must have interested directors to put Rajni as their hero after this film. His unique mannerism and stylish stunts must have started here.
Rajnikanth (Sambath) and Sivakumar (Nagaraj) are street pedlars selling garments. Even though they are close friends, there are like different like night and day. Nagaraj is a sweet talking businessman who works hard with a strong ambition for the future. He is also a womaniser who lives for the pleasure of the moment. Sambath, on the other hand, works only to get enough money for his daily fix of alcohol. He is a one-woman man. Tragedy hits Sambath when his girlfriend falls into a well and drowns.
Sambath and Nagaraj's friendship strengthens during tumultuous times when the Nagaraj saves the depressed Sambath from a suicide attempt. Their fate changes on a trip to Chennai when a man in the compartment they were travelling, carrying a load of money, dies of heart attack and they decide to keep the stash! This is where Bhuvana comes to the picture. She is the dead man sister and the money was actually temple's money.
Nagaraj befriends Bhuvana to keep her silence, just in case, their trickery is discovered. Things become complicated when she gets pregnant whilst Nagaraj is more interested in marrying a rich merchant's daughter and Bhuvana refuses to undergo a termination of pregnancy. Sambath moves in to save her honour!
That is when the real drama starts. Bhuvana refuses to have conjugal relationships with her fire-ceremonial sanctioned husband but wants to stay faithful to one man whom she had given her heart to. A lot of things happen along the way and finally, Sambath dies. Now, Bhuvana dons a widow's attire of white saree and the accompaniments.
So, what the storyteller seems to be telling is that all the external appearances are all facades for the society. We do things just to pacify society and live within its ambits. What goes within the heart or mind is anybody's guess. But are people so steadfast on their beliefs anymore? Times are changing and peoples' outlook on life and their values alter with the time.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
May 10, 2017
Norm is just consensus
An error of judgement
Pamela Hansford Johnson
This is one book that I had deferred reading for a long time. I bought a long time ago but decided giving it a miss umpteen times over other books with more alluring covers! I should read it earlier. The book gives a dark description of human behaviours; in marital, medical, theological and social lives. It goes on to show how difficult it is for one to carry on living a modern life. Unlike a conservative society where gender roles, parental duties and offspring expectations are cast in stone, the rules in modern living are quite fluid. Everybody feels his needs has to be met. He lives for himself, not for the society, not for family. Every man is for himself. It is the generation of self. Above all, it is all about self-liberation, self-expression, self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction. In the good old days, the same actions could constitute self-indulgence, self-gratification and selfishness.
This obscure book tells the story of a psychiatrist and his ragtag group of patients/'friends' who had regular meetings for self-help purposes. The story is told from the viewpoint of Victor, an engineer by profession, who had a chance meeting at a professional level for a medical condition. From there the psychiatrist, Setter, went on to invite Victor's wife and his mother in law to join a group therapy. Victor's mother-in-law had depression following debilitating arthritis and lack of self-confidence. Victor's wife, Jenny, also develops guilt and anxiety issues coping with her mother and later, guilt over her mother's death.
In the group were other interesting characters, a spinster from Victor's office, a pastor, a juvenile delinquent and others. Setter has his own issues to tackle; his suppressed inner desire to afflict pain and violence and his disillusionment with his career. An old lady is brutally killed in what appeared like mischief by a band of hooligans and the delinquent in the group is the prime suspect.
Victor is also puzzled by Setter's strange marital relationship. His wife is openly flirting and moving around with a much younger man without creating any spark on Setter's side.
A strange saga of moral and marriage dilemma. The writing, in my opinion, opens one's mind to the mores of the world that we live in together without taking the higher ground and passing judgement. It is just the evolution of society that the older generation has to learn to accept. What is the norm if it is not just consensus?http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
Pamela Hansford Johnson
This is one book that I had deferred reading for a long time. I bought a long time ago but decided giving it a miss umpteen times over other books with more alluring covers! I should read it earlier. The book gives a dark description of human behaviours; in marital, medical, theological and social lives. It goes on to show how difficult it is for one to carry on living a modern life. Unlike a conservative society where gender roles, parental duties and offspring expectations are cast in stone, the rules in modern living are quite fluid. Everybody feels his needs has to be met. He lives for himself, not for the society, not for family. Every man is for himself. It is the generation of self. Above all, it is all about self-liberation, self-expression, self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction. In the good old days, the same actions could constitute self-indulgence, self-gratification and selfishness.
This obscure book tells the story of a psychiatrist and his ragtag group of patients/'friends' who had regular meetings for self-help purposes. The story is told from the viewpoint of Victor, an engineer by profession, who had a chance meeting at a professional level for a medical condition. From there the psychiatrist, Setter, went on to invite Victor's wife and his mother in law to join a group therapy. Victor's mother-in-law had depression following debilitating arthritis and lack of self-confidence. Victor's wife, Jenny, also develops guilt and anxiety issues coping with her mother and later, guilt over her mother's death.
In the group were other interesting characters, a spinster from Victor's office, a pastor, a juvenile delinquent and others. Setter has his own issues to tackle; his suppressed inner desire to afflict pain and violence and his disillusionment with his career. An old lady is brutally killed in what appeared like mischief by a band of hooligans and the delinquent in the group is the prime suspect.
Victor is also puzzled by Setter's strange marital relationship. His wife is openly flirting and moving around with a much younger man without creating any spark on Setter's side.
A strange saga of moral and marriage dilemma. The writing, in my opinion, opens one's mind to the mores of the world that we live in together without taking the higher ground and passing judgement. It is just the evolution of society that the older generation has to learn to accept. What is the norm if it is not just consensus?http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
May 8, 2017
The real Father of the Nation?
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth (2000)
Director: Jabbar Patel
Mammoth in the starring roleIn a recent TV poll, Dr Ambedkar had been voted as the most important leader after Gandhi, even drawing more numbers than Nehru. In another article, the competition for the coveted title 'Father of the Nation' is between Gandhi, Netaji and Ambedkar. Babasaheb, as he is popularly known, is remembered annually on 26th January as that was the day the Indian Constitution was drafted and he was the main man behind its inception. The Indian Constitution is said to be one of the best in the world and, like the one it is based on, the American counterpart, promotes equality, justice and liberty to every man.
It is ironic that a low caste boy who was denied a bench in his school and had to sit on the floor on a gunnysack, was denied drinking water in class and was denied the offer to learn Sanskrit as he would contaminate the august Hindu religion end up as one of the most intelligent men in India. With degrees from Columbia University in New York and LSE in economics, Sociology, History, Philosophy, Anthropology and Law, he was later handpicked to be the First Law Minister of India.
All through his life, melancholy seems to be his background score. Shied away like a leper in his childhood because of his birth, it is amazing why should still return home to serve his people and country and fight a good fight against tyranny. With his vast paper qualifications, the world must have his oyster. He, instead, decided to return home, live in pathetic surroundings, denied even common drinking even though in his capacity as a senior officer in the civil service.
Living in tumultuous times, he was naturally drawn into politics. His area of interest was naturally the welfare of the untouchables. His satyagraha was to demand drinking water from the common dam which was out of bounds to the low caste. His band of people also rallied to gain entrance to temples which another area which was restricted to them. He initiated a social movement to initiate his members to self-improve and uplift themselves, ladies included, through cleanliness and education.
Like what we are facing in our country at the present time, Indians during the second World War showed more interest about injustices in foreign lands but conveniently overlooking their deficiencies in treating their own kind.
Manu Smriti, the ancient Hindu scripture is discredited to have categorised people into socio-economic constructs and subsequently divided people at birth by their profession. Sages now agree that what is now perceived as caste system actually denotes aptitude of people to the vocation in daily lives, whether they are scholarly, physically endowed, economically shrewd or a pencil pusher, meaning just fit to follow orders, a worker not a mover!
In a symbolic move on Christmas 1927, Babasaheb, from the Mahar caste (who disposes of death cattle), led a group who burned pages of Manu Smriti in a bonfire expressing their discontent to the unfair religion which had sent people to the fringes of the society for the own selfish needs.
Even though Gandhi had a lot of respect towards Dr Ambedkar, as evidenced by Gandhi's nomination of Ambedkar for the Law Minister post, the feeling was not mutual. The film shows how Gandhi played an emotional blackmail to garner sympathy from the whole nation just to get things his way. In a later BBC interview, Ambedkar is heard to have said that Gandhi is just a politician, he is anything but a Mahatma!
Babasaheb family life was anything but bliss. Losing four of his children in their early childhood and his ever subservient wife, who put up with all his absences during his studies, to chronic illness must have been tough. At the age of 57 years old, when he was stricken with diabetes and its complications, he tied the nuptial knots again to a Brahmin doctor who also was his caregiver and dietician!
His liaison with Hinduism and Indian politics came to an end when his idea, Hindu Code Bill, which sought to enshrine gender equality in the laws of inheritance and marriage, was booted out by Nehru and his cabinet who were apprehensive of reprisal from Hindu elitists.
Being a prolific writer and a voracious reader, he delved into many religions after renouncing Hinduism. He and his followers of the lower caste were cajoled to enter the folds of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism. He finally embraced Buddhism together with 500,000 supporters. He was impressed with its concept of social equality and the absence of caste system.
"I have seen people who are born in the lowest category of Hindu law, the sudras, the untouchables, so intelligent: when India became independent, the man who made the constitution of India, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, was a sudra. There was no equal to his intelligence as far as Law is concerned – he was a world-famous authority." Osho, a spiritual teacher.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
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Director: Jabbar Patel
Mammoth in the starring roleIn a recent TV poll, Dr Ambedkar had been voted as the most important leader after Gandhi, even drawing more numbers than Nehru. In another article, the competition for the coveted title 'Father of the Nation' is between Gandhi, Netaji and Ambedkar. Babasaheb, as he is popularly known, is remembered annually on 26th January as that was the day the Indian Constitution was drafted and he was the main man behind its inception. The Indian Constitution is said to be one of the best in the world and, like the one it is based on, the American counterpart, promotes equality, justice and liberty to every man.It is ironic that a low caste boy who was denied a bench in his school and had to sit on the floor on a gunnysack, was denied drinking water in class and was denied the offer to learn Sanskrit as he would contaminate the august Hindu religion end up as one of the most intelligent men in India. With degrees from Columbia University in New York and LSE in economics, Sociology, History, Philosophy, Anthropology and Law, he was later handpicked to be the First Law Minister of India.
All through his life, melancholy seems to be his background score. Shied away like a leper in his childhood because of his birth, it is amazing why should still return home to serve his people and country and fight a good fight against tyranny. With his vast paper qualifications, the world must have his oyster. He, instead, decided to return home, live in pathetic surroundings, denied even common drinking even though in his capacity as a senior officer in the civil service.
Living in tumultuous times, he was naturally drawn into politics. His area of interest was naturally the welfare of the untouchables. His satyagraha was to demand drinking water from the common dam which was out of bounds to the low caste. His band of people also rallied to gain entrance to temples which another area which was restricted to them. He initiated a social movement to initiate his members to self-improve and uplift themselves, ladies included, through cleanliness and education.
Like what we are facing in our country at the present time, Indians during the second World War showed more interest about injustices in foreign lands but conveniently overlooking their deficiencies in treating their own kind.
Manu Smriti, the ancient Hindu scripture is discredited to have categorised people into socio-economic constructs and subsequently divided people at birth by their profession. Sages now agree that what is now perceived as caste system actually denotes aptitude of people to the vocation in daily lives, whether they are scholarly, physically endowed, economically shrewd or a pencil pusher, meaning just fit to follow orders, a worker not a mover!
In a symbolic move on Christmas 1927, Babasaheb, from the Mahar caste (who disposes of death cattle), led a group who burned pages of Manu Smriti in a bonfire expressing their discontent to the unfair religion which had sent people to the fringes of the society for the own selfish needs.
Even though Gandhi had a lot of respect towards Dr Ambedkar, as evidenced by Gandhi's nomination of Ambedkar for the Law Minister post, the feeling was not mutual. The film shows how Gandhi played an emotional blackmail to garner sympathy from the whole nation just to get things his way. In a later BBC interview, Ambedkar is heard to have said that Gandhi is just a politician, he is anything but a Mahatma!
Babasaheb family life was anything but bliss. Losing four of his children in their early childhood and his ever subservient wife, who put up with all his absences during his studies, to chronic illness must have been tough. At the age of 57 years old, when he was stricken with diabetes and its complications, he tied the nuptial knots again to a Brahmin doctor who also was his caregiver and dietician!
His liaison with Hinduism and Indian politics came to an end when his idea, Hindu Code Bill, which sought to enshrine gender equality in the laws of inheritance and marriage, was booted out by Nehru and his cabinet who were apprehensive of reprisal from Hindu elitists.
Being a prolific writer and a voracious reader, he delved into many religions after renouncing Hinduism. He and his followers of the lower caste were cajoled to enter the folds of Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Buddhism. He finally embraced Buddhism together with 500,000 supporters. He was impressed with its concept of social equality and the absence of caste system.
"I have seen people who are born in the lowest category of Hindu law, the sudras, the untouchables, so intelligent: when India became independent, the man who made the constitution of India, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, was a sudra. There was no equal to his intelligence as far as Law is concerned – he was a world-famous authority." Osho, a spiritual teacher.http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
May 7, 2017
A giant step for the blog; hardly changing mankind!
Yay! A giant landmark in the blog's history. Today we hit the psychological mark of 1 million hits. Thank you to all visitors for their support all these years, seven years to be specific.
http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boyhttp://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
