The Republic India was meant to be

"From 26th January 1950 India, this is, Bharat, shall be a Sovereign Democratic Republic". These were the words that echoed in  Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan (then known as Government House) as the outgoing last Governor General of India read out the declaration of Indian republic and Dr Rajendra Prasad was administered the oath of his office. 

64 years later as India prepares to honor the very essence of ideology that resulted into the Indian Constitution  we take a relook on the SDR ( Sovereign Democratic Republic) Ideology in the present day scenario.

India, famous and benchmarked worldwide for being the world's largest Democracy has experienced profound changes in the way our constitution  is being interpreted and practiced during the course of its 64 year long odyssey.

Our Preamble reads

" WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE : Social, Economic and Political;
LIBERTY : of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity
and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

Let me first ask the Lawmakers of this country what these values means to them.

Does Justice means the pending of cases for more than 10 years or does that mean that in an the attempt to save the big wigs : giving biased judgement's , granting bails, fake arrests  there by playing with the rights of mango people

Does  Liberty of thought , expression, belief, faith , worship, means the arrest of two girls within minutes for just expressing their genuine views on facebook on the Mumbai Shutdown  and at the same time becoming a mute spectator on provocative speeches of hate monger MLA in Hyderabad  for complete 20 days before pressurized by the media

Does Equality of status and opportunity means curbing opportunities  with a plethora of quotas based on caste, creed, class, religion. or does it mean giving a special status to certain persons/entities the truth of which is in front of entire nation whether its 2G Allocation scam or Coal Scam.

Does  Fraternity means disregard  for the dignity of the human life and  individual be it loss of lives  in terrorist attacks  that rocks the nation once in every while or sacrifice made by our jawans be it for saving the babus sitting there inside the temple of democracy or for ensuring the sovereignty of the nation  and giving loose ended and passive statements and acting like a soft state.

 If it does then its very unfortunate to say that  that India is no longer a republic it was meant to be. 

Having said that let us flip the coin and ask the building blocks of the  great nation " THE MANGO PEOPLE".

Does Justice means blaming women, their attire for the rapes or does that means  enforcing panchayat diktats like no mobiles, no jeans. 

Does Liberty means to spit wherever you want , to pee where ever you feel like, to drive in which ever way suits you.or does that means  killing your sister's, son's, daughters just because he/she has chosen to live  the life with his/her love. 

Does Equality of status and opportunity means to deny your unborn daughters an equal right to experience the beauty of life by mercilessly y killing them in the foetus. 

Does Fraternity means damaging the united spirit of this diverse nation by  rioting .arsons, spreading communal hatred in the name of religion, region, cast ,colour.

If it does then its very unfortunate to say that we as indians are no longer constitutional  the way we  were meant to be.

I know, to any patriotic law abiding citizen of this great nation this all may seems very  pessimistic.

Yes I agree we should look at the positive points also or the progress india has made since independence But just to get those goosebumps and goody goody feeling  about us and our nation  we cant ignore the poison that is eating very spirit of our constitution before it get's too late

It's time to stand up for a better india, It's time to get that undemocratic poison out of you, It's time to show the pavilion to the netas who are not ensuring that this ideology of indian constitution is upheld., It's time to act before injustice overtakes justice , before inequality becomes talk of the town , before fundamentalist ideologies start suppressing the liberal views and above all before the nation  looses respect for human dignity.

ऐ मेरे वतन् के लोगों
तुम् खूब् लगा लो नारा
ये शुभ् दिन् है हम् सब् का
लहरा लो तिरंगा प्यारा
पर् मत् भूलो सीमा पर्
वीरों ने है प्राण् गँवाये
कुछ् याद् उन्हें भी कर् लो 
जो लौट् के घर् न आये 

(Hindi Lines taken from song " Aie mere watan ke logon by Kavi Pradeep)

                                                 Jai Hind !!! Vandematram!!

The Reincarnation of Durga

"The Girls should not deviate from Indian culture"...."Ladkiyon ko lakshman rekha nahi paar karni chaiye" " Co-education should be banned in India"...Girls should not ape the west and should stop wearing jeans and the king of all "bhaiya aap mujhe maaf kardo...main ek abla naari hun...aapki behan hun...reham khao mujhpe".

Comments like these dominated the national media after the December Reincarnation of Durga : A Reincarnation of the forgotten pride of women.

The losers who for time long has suppressed the durga present in every women of this ancient land were completely startled by the renaissance. So was the fear  instilled in them that to bolster their suppression efforts they started taking the support of Indian culture and taking on to moral policing.

The Indian culture and the status of women in it about which this uneducated clan is preaching is not even an inch closer to the reality.

Much to surprise of every Indian who has been born and environment where majority of the women have been suppressed by the male chauvinists , the women in ancient India has been respected and treated at par with males or even one step ahead of them. 

If these Maheshasurs can take come out of their Sick mentalities and look into the Rich Vedic Heritage of India they will soon realise that such is the status of women in our heritage that even west will fall in appreciation and love.

For Instance in RIG VEDA the women has been described as equal to men, has been given every freedom to select their partners, to decide their clothing..to attain equal education.

“An unmarried young learned daughter should be married to a bridegroom who like her is learned. Never think of giving in marriage a daughter of very young age” (RV 3.55.16).

"The women selects  her loved one as her husband. The term for the bridegroom was vara, the chosen one. ”The happy and beautiful bride chooses (vanute) by herself (svayam) her own husband" (RV 27.12). 

Young girls had the freedom to go out to attend fairs, festivals and assemblies’

"The home has, verily, its foundation in the wife”,” The wife and husband, being the equal halves of one substance, are equal in every respect; therefore both should join and take equal parts in all work, religious and secular." (RV 5, 61. 8).

The ATTHARVA VEDA too echoes the respect of women.

"Parents should gift their daughter intellectuality and power of knowledge when she leaves for husband’s home. They should give her a dowry of knowledge".      (AV 14.1.6)

"Girls should train themselves to become complete scholars and youthful through Brahmcharya and then enter married life."

Oh woman! You are the keeper of knowledge of all types of karma (AV 7.47.1)

Women should take part in the legislative chambers and put their views on forefront

(Source:  Mera Dharma, by  Priyavrat Vedavachaspati )

These are just few of the references depicting the respect for women that one will find in our ancient culture.

YES our Sexist leaders we should not ape the west and  instead of following your suppressed version of Indian culture , embrace the rich Indian culture  which will even put the liberal west in a second thought about the respect of women in their society. 

 Now  durga has come into another avatar : An avatar of Nirbhaya to bring an awakening about the respect of women and put an end to these Maheshasur Mindsets who for centuries have been suppressing them to camouflage their weaknesses.

The Tale of a Lohri Warrior

It's 5 a.m...It's freezing out there...The Fog has settled over the entire city...A time when majoirty of the nation is sleeping in their Cozy blankets there is some activity going around in a land in northern part of India : Punjab.

There are soothing gurbanis at the terrace of one of your neighbors  The kids are talking aloud. It's time when voice of that little sardarji  "Beere thallon Speaker de naal yo yo honey singh di Cd Chak Layain aaj taan Nazare aaunge" [ Translation : Brother please bring the Yo Yo Honey Singh CD along with you ..Today is going to be a great fun !! ] prompts you to wake up and see what the hell is happening ..has morning arrived or i am still dreaming about the day.

 After much similar convincing you wake up to a day you have been waiting the entire winters : yes it's 13th jan ;Lohri : The Punjab's Agricultural Winter festival .The first thing you do in the morning is look up for those kites for which you been tying the knots till late in the night and then wake up your siblings...parents...The chilling temperatures loose their relevance .

Packed from head to toe with your weapons ( Kites & Manjha in Hands ) you as a warrior heads towards the battlefield : The terrace of your House. Your mom in a caring tone cautions you "Thand hai  thodi der ruk ja...topi paa ke rakhi"  completely knowing that you are too excited to not pay heed to those warnings.

As you reach the terrace you witness the Blackish Blue Sky with some people doing trials with their kites to know the wind direction , the moisture in the air , the air speed. What follows is an of excitement setting up your music systems..wishing all your neighbours a happy lohri....making strategies , teams with your friends and siblings for cutting the opponents thread.Setting up the terrace for a daylong Odyssey.

 It's a matter of time when the very first rays of sun falls on this part of the earth and you are up into action The Yo Yo Honey Singh ...Diljit singh...and countless  Punjabi songs take over those soothing bhajans and gurbannis and within seconds the otherwise plain winter morning sky is filled with colorful kites..

Here comes your first achievement and very proudly you announce "Aiie Bo!!Manu da gudda bo". The Fun continues through the day with you winning some of the fights and loosing some.

At other corners of the terraces you find elderly getting nostalgic about their days of lohri with kites costing one tenth that time of they do these days...how they use to prepare their manjha ( flying thread ) themselves at home and the chinese plastic threads taking over the markets and spoiling the fun the cotton thread provides.

At noon the dholak guys also arrives at the terrace and its time for bhangra guys. along with awesome lohri Lunch feast ...with that reodis...gachaks popcorns as the starters....and makki di roti te sarso sa saag ...to make you energised for the second innings of the kite mania.

As the sunshine withers and the sun begin to set in you see people getting all more focused and concentrated to make the most of the remaining times with kites flying meters and meters in the sky. Yes evening is the time to witness some of the highest battles of the day. Its again a matter of time before the sky turns dark and you decide to call it a day.

You come down..to find yourself engaged  with yet another preparations for the day

Yes The lohri don't ends here but begins in a yet another famous avtaar : "The Lohri Bonfire "

The bonfire is lightened and the elder begin by praying for the peace and prosperity for the coming year . As a part of the faith everyone offers Mungfalis , gachak, reodis, popcorns to the fire and the gala begins.

You begin  discussing with your  friends as to how many kites they cut in the day..Some showing the cuts on their hands caused by the manjha (thread) as a memento of their achivements.

People are dancing on to the tunes of dholak.. Guys are singing : "Sundarmundriye hoye"  and girls fully supporting them with " gugga jamya si" asking for lohri  from the elders.

Exhausted after a day filled with activities and with memories to stay forever you look for your bed to wake up the next day to another year waiting ahead for you

Image courtsey: http://www.sendscraps.com/mobile/img-7677.html