|| Satyameva Jayate || » Personal

Preparing for the Perfect Storm

B Shantanu — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:41:54 +0000

While reading Swapan Dasgupta’s take on the Rushdie affair, I stumbled on these lines (emphasis added):

Those who felt offended and let down by Rushdie’s absence from Jaipur were regarded as inconsequential members of the non-voting classes.

Their protests could safely be disregarded.

It struck me that this was also the reason why the government did the shameless “dance” on Lokpal Bill.. and capitulated in the case of Rushdie.

And then I came across this remarkable essay by Arun Shourie on Vote Banks (do read, if you have not already) in which he concluded (emphasis added):

Is the Party again counting on amenable judges? Or is cynicism in command again? Who cares if the courts strike down the promise later?

By that time those who have to be fooled, would have been fooled; what is to be won, would have been won.

Isn’t it time to say enough? Time to make sure your voice is not disregarded? To make sure your protest is not un-heard? To make sure that you are not being fooled?

Make this year, the year of change ..Make 2012 the year in which we said, “Enough!” Do this by equipping yourself with information…Do this by discussing, debating and commenting in public…Make use of social media and online platforms to the hilt..One place to start is right here on this blog…especially the posts related to “Politics and Governance in India“.

Get involved in a citizen activity, a community initiative, teach kids, educate …do something for your neighbourhood..but keep your eye on the big goal..to change the system, you will have to get involved yourself..make sure you prepare for it…So when the perfect storm comes, you are ready.

Somewhat Related: Checking out of India – psychologically

Video: An Extempore Talk on The Political Philosophy of Hindutva

B Shantanu — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:26:19 +0000

Video of the extempore talk I gave on the “Political Philosophy of Hindutva” at the Ilford Hindu Centre in London, at an event that was presided by Dr Koenraad Elst on 8th Jan ’12. Comments and criticisms welcome.

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As I stress towards the end of the seminar (and in the slides), this is work in progress. So suggestions, corrections and modifications will be garetfully acknowlegded and incorporated. Thanks. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!

Why I am a proud nationalist,

Understanding Raj-Dharma – Part I and Part 2

Somewhat Related: “People are the Nation” – Excerpts

An Enchanting Evening with Dr Elst..

B Shantanu — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:24:47 +0000

Yesterday evening, I spent several hours in an truly educative and wonderful discussion with Dr Koenraad Elst.

Dr Elst is a savant – in the truest sense of the word..We discussed a huge range of topics – from Ayodhya and Hindutva to martial traditions in Buddhism, caste, scriptures, “Vedic Hinduism”, Islam, Infiltration from Bangladesh and thoughts on a Hindu identity…

Several hours into the evening, even as we approached midnight, it still felt as if we had just begun…Amitabh did a video recording of some parts of the discussion which I hope we will be able to upload soon..In the meantime, I am looking forward to Dr Elst’s talk and discussion on Sunday and more importantly, his comments on my slides/points on Hindutva and Liberalism – which I will be sharing with the audience tomorrow afternoon.. Stay tuned.

Somewhat Related: On Chanakya, Gautam Buddha and Upanishad Ganga

This new year, make a resolution to go deep..

B Shantanu — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:47:07 +0000

..and below the surface to understand the real causes of what you see around you.

As an example, see this recent news-report about pending RTI applications…

Staff shortage results in a pile of 19,000 pending RTI appeals in Maharashtra

Does this surprise you? Probably not.

Which is why I keep making the point that the real solution must be to focus on “Open Government” rather than another law or more babus…That is how things should be..We don’t need a law (RTI) and then additional bureaucracy (staff to deal with RTI applications). Far better to insist on openness, transparency and easy access to information.. Does this remind you of something?

Tavleen Singh made the same point in her Op-Ed piece today (emphasis added):

Had our political leaders been less duplicitous, they would have admitted that it was lack of transparency in governance that was the root of corrupt practices but they did not.

The only way of reducing corruption in India is by making governance simple and transparent.

Sadly Team Anna does not understand this (or more likely, *pretends* not to understand; although Arvind Kejriwal has at least once alluded to this)..and so we see fasts, rallies and protest marches for Lokpal but Tavleen Singh gets booed for speaking the blunt truth.

So this year, please make a resolution to go deep and below the surface to understand the real causes of what ails India and help others understand them too…We have to do this as our schools and mainstream media have failed to inculcate in us the habit of thinking & deep thought…and until we do this, all we will get are quick-fixes and band-aids – which are pretty much useless in dealing with the cancer of corruption..

P.S. Here is a brief snippet (~2mins) from my talk at IIM Indore in which I made this point.

Also read: Do we really need a Lokpal?

Image courtesy: Zenoss

Lead me from Darkness to Light: My Prayer for 2012

B Shantanu — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:02:45 +0000

Many of you may remember this shloka that used to preface each episode of the seminal series “Chanakya”. I continue to find it profoundly inspiring…Here’s wishing you and your loved ones the very best of health, happiness and prosperity in 2012…

|| Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti… ||

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I would be grateful if any of you can help me with the translation of the entire shloka. Thanks.