Abhik Dasgupta's Blog, page 3
July 10, 2020
It’s Time The Andh-Bhakhts See Reason For Their Own Good
Despite the words NRC and CAA having raised a furore in the country – few people would however care to actually go through the acts and resolve their queries vis-a-vis the sections and clauses for themselves . It is no surprise that the aam-aadmi used to watching political brawls on TV with amused curiosity is getting swayed every now and then either with the contradictory statements voiced by the Prime Minister and Home Minister or by the canny opposition taking a dig at their adversaries – all with the sole intention of wooing voters to their side. Hindu nationalists have claimed for decades that vast numbers of Bangladeshis have been trickling steadily into India – while several Bangladeshi government officials, for their part, asserted that
While the BJP has alleged that
So in a bid to get 2.0 Crores illegal bangladeshi migrants identified, the identities of 7.80 Crores bengalis in West Bengal who either have lost their documents in 1947 partition or don’t have birth certificates in India are at risk. Once stricken out of NRC rolls they are required to prove their citizenship before foreign tribunal, failing which they would be at the mercy of the government to be either inducted back as refugees in the country or deported to Bangladesh.
On the flip side of the coin – along with legalising an additional
Also, in absence of repatriation agreement with Bangladesh and
If the BJP is successful in its political intention it would always represent all the evicted people to be muslim infiltrators in the future thereby reinstating the support of millions of those aandh-bhakhts who attribute all the problems of the country to one particular religious community of the world. And hence these devoted 'hindutvavadi deshbhakts’ attention could be diverted again from the real issues of the country .. at least till the time Pakistan declares war against India or another surgical strike can be effected when hatred of the people could again be used to hoodwink them against promises of Acchhe din.
Already a section of unemployed youth have chosen Ram Mandir over their careers and many UP residents believe construction of the temple would inundate the state with pilgrims from all over the world causing surge in sales of religious books, their only livelihood. Intoxicated with neo-patriotism, its only matter of time before these people would either become BJP’s henchmen or join propagandists of saffronized extremism on social media in order to appease the prime religion of all times – pangs of hunger.
It has now become clear like the day that despite BJP’s anti-muslim propaganda, the Hindus are being harmed by NRC more than the muslims. Already
For those andh-bhakhts who’re led into believing that bonafide citizens always stand a chance of being restored back into the NRC, it needs to be understood that unlike Aadhar mistakes which could be corrected umpteen times by standing in queues and paying a little fee, everytime; fighting NRC verdicts will incur heavy expenses and demand endurance for the travails typical of the Indian judicial system. Not to mention the paranoia associated with the inflicted identity crisis after living in a country through generations, in addition to stress of a down turned economy – where unemployment reigns supreme and the purchasing power of common man is getting diminished day by day; all of which can drive a person to take his/ her own life. Already
Not only the illiterate people living in slums run the risk of facing the harassment. A
Fed up with the status-quo of political affairs of the country since decades the aam admi wary of revolution are falling prey to mass-hypnotism of politicians propagating myths using all three pillars of democracy to their advantage and compelling people to believe fiction in place of facts. People are getting carried away by the grooming, oratory skills and overall charisma of the leaders to the extent that they don’t feel the urge to question their intentions anymore – this itself poses as a big threat to democracy of a country.
References:
Citizenship Act, 1955
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003
The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920
The Foreigners Act, 1946
Featured image for representative purpose only. Featured image source:
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India’s Youth Is Full Of Ideas But There’s One Thing Holding Them Back – Convention.
Many magical gurus – babas – are prescribing their one of a kind mantra nowadays to keep happy… “Be contented with whatever you have.” Their lines actually reflect the societal system’s attitude towards the masses. It is very easy for the society to brush off its responsibilities by driving the citizens’ attention to the most astounding reality of all in the universe, that we are alive, despite everything. So, we should be grateful for that and not demand anything from life at all. The need for jobs, financial up-gradation, good roads, infrastructure and everything that is essential for a civilized life thus goes down the drain.
Often the argument posed by these systems’ representatives is that we should try and make the most out of our lives. So what if jobs are scarce, we should try some “Jugaad” (a colloquial term for improvisation in daily life); so what if the cost of commodities is increasing day by day, we should reduce our consumption.
If one questions the veracity of such a philosophy, there are always supermen/women who’ll stand up and proclaim to have crossed the limits of the sky just by their sheer hard work and agility without being bothered about the world.
There are people from various professions including writers and businessmen who sing the same tune; often making us regret that perhaps we didn’t give our best. We are taken in by their stardom and overlook the fact that no matter how much one tries, few can succeed in a situation when educated youths outnumber by large margin the jobs that can be created directly/indirectly.
Since a couple of years, privatization of education has been overtaking all the states, with the result that there are schools and colleges for engineering, medical studies or management in almost every lane of our country. The idea of a doctor or engineer at every home isn’t bad, what is wrong is to sanction licences randomly to colleges without making sure about their infrastructure and analyzing the job market in advance; so that students graduating through hefty donations – borne by their parents’ hard-earned money, gets a job at the end of the day.
“ But why always seek jobs, why not try to be self-employed? ” the youth is often scoffed at despite the fact that start-ups are difficult to maintain, owing to the harsh economic policies of the governments. Again, hiring people for start-ups is difficult as nobody wants to join a company from the scratch. Despite chances of employment being bleak, every newcomer wants to be associated with an industry giant and grow in leaps and bounds from day one, rather than grow at a snail’s pace with a start-up. The idea is to get rich in a jiff without working hard and given celebrities becoming overnight stars in various fields and sporting their riches before the world, how could youngsters not get influenced?
The wide differences in working of governmental and corporate systems are also the reason for the ‘taking everything for granted’ mentality in youth. For instance, adherence to theoretical knowledge rather than industry-specific education in the curriculum of engineering courses is the reason why freshers have to be trained on the job, before they can be absorbed in organizations and allowed to handle responsibilities of their own.
However, while government organisations pay for these trainings along with a stipend; few corporate houses have such training programmes in their employment policies and want to hire experienced people directly for their businesses. Now, with abysmally poor education received, even if a candidate gets to reach for the interview chair following the route of referrals, their lack of basic knowledge about their trade lands up only in rejection.
The wonders of “Jugaad” may work only in securing government jobs where there is little or no accountability as innocent taxpayers’ money is at stake who are all-bark-and-no-bite. However in private businesses, an employee’s credentials are determined by the amount of value they add to the company, even if inducted through a referral. Of course the role of sycophancy, being in the good books of bosses can’t be ruled out for procuring promotions in big corporate houses, but an incapable employee who can’t deliver at the end of the day is sure to be shown the door at some point.
We all know the truth but choose to remain indifferent as we’ve been brought up on the need to feather our own nests and to win by hook or crook; words like ‘conscience’ or ‘integrity’ have simply lost their relevance. The result is the unholy nexus getting stronger in our present state of affairs day by day and we can’t deny our part in creating and lubricating it. Also, we can hardly expect to have quality engineers/doctors from the privatised education model, which aims more at earning revenues by selling degrees than imparting education.
“According to the
The old-fashioned mindset of Indians is also responsible for the failure of successful careers. Many parents still believe engineering medicine to be creamy professions and are willing to go to any extent to make their wards engineers and doctors, adding up to the already crammed up professions. It is a respite now that students have stopped enrolling in these courses after becoming aware of the plight of their seniors.
“ The
But what about the lakhs of students who had already passed out? The governments having washed off their hands after keeping their promises of providing education to one and all according to personal choices of fields, the youth are left to fend for themselves now. With private jobs an obscurity, will they fight out for the UPSC or become entrepreneurs and keep counting their chickens before they hatch? Or better still watch motivational videos of babas on Facebook and become saints?
To take people’s attention away from a slowing economy and hence unemployment high in last 45 years, a few young people are being deliberately labelled as ‘outstanding’ while the larger fraction to be mediocre/poor, resulting in a more fierce rat race and corruption; with the fact remaining that meritorious, mediocre or poor, every tax-paying citizen has the right to financial freedom, just like the right to education.
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May 5, 2020
A Goodnight Wish
Have you ever received a goodnight wish from a stranger ? And the next moment felt that she was the one you've been searching your life ? Perhaps now you'd be led to believe that there is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, a throbbing moment.
Why does an unexpected goodnight wish
Keep awake an inevitable, mundane existence of years ?
The full moonlight spilling in through the mind's pane
Having awakened unrealized desires
As the passer-by looked up at the vast black sea of shining diyas
One of them seemed to cry
'I've got to return in the morning to the country of clouds
You see I have the responsibility of lighting up the entire sky
So what the fire consumes my mind, my youth night after night
I've been longing to hear your footsteps since eternity
When my tears dry, my rose petals peel off to the ground
And the realization of my haplessness tortures my heart
Like the trembling of a cruel winter night'
'Why did you beckon me towards you if you won't surrender ?
Why fill the air with the scent of your moonlight wet body then ?
O my love how can I ever fall asleep ever again ?
Till the time you kiss me Goodnight again
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