A different take on the Jinnah episode

Much has been said on the "secular Jinnah" subject, but Ashish Nandy's
Shiting Sands of History was an interesting take.

Shifting Sands of History by Ashish Nandy
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1143126.cms

Some excerpts:

Everything said, secularism is an ideology and like other ideologies -
nationalism, socialism, feminism or pacifism - can be an anchor for
passionate commitments, an invitation to ethical politics and the last
refuge of scoundrels. It is also a mask that does not look like a
mask...

In 2005, these questions are relevant mainly for the biographers of
Jinnah, not for young Indians and Pakistanis facing more serious
political choices.

Is this attempt to empower the other Jinnah also a self-confession, an
unconscious invitation to reaffirm and rediscover the other Advani,
not the one who led the Ramjanmabhoomi movement, but the one who was
brought up and lived his formative years in a Muslim-majority society
where Islam and Hinduism were not two antagonistic creeds but two
intertwined cultural and spiritual streams?

--
Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.

O. V. Vijayan

The problem with Indian writings is that Indian English writings
overshadow the regional language writings, so much so that if you are
from a different region, you at times haven't even heard of regional
greats. When I read an article about O.V. Vijayan, Malyalam writer, in
Frontline who died recently, I thought this is exactly the kind of
writing that I'd want to read, if there are translations around. Of
course, translations of regional language works will rarely be close
to their sources, it's still better than not reading them.

Frontline's article on Vijayan:
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2208/stories/20050422003113200.htm

Another one from Hindu Literary Review:
http://www.hindu.com/lr/2005/05/01/stories/2005050100050100.htm

-Amit.

--
Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.

Space science in the lord’s hands

The launch went ok..

Space science in the lord's hands
G.S. RADHAKRISHNA
PSLV C-6

Hyderabad, May 4: If the rocket crashes tomorrow, blame Lord Balaji.

Indian space scientists placed miniature replicas of the rocket that
is set to blast off tomorrow morning from the Sriharikota spaceport
and the two satellites it would carry at a shrine to the god for his
blessings.

The replicas were taken to the sanctum sanctorum of the reigning deity
of the Tirupati Tirumala Dewasthanam and ordained as priests chanted
Vedic hymns.

Authorities of the temple in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, where the
spaceport is located, confirmed that 15 scientists from the Indian
Space Research Organisation, led by its chief, Dr G. Madhavan Nair,
came to the town yesterday to seek the deity's blessings.

A temple spokesman quoted Nair as saying: "I am in Tirupati to offer
prayers for the success of the launch."

"I cannot believe they actually did this," said Prof. Ajay Sood, head
of physical sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

"For an individual, going to a temple may be an issue of faith, but to
mix the space programme with religion is very wrong," said Prof.
Kasturi Lal Chopra, president of India's Society for Scientific Values
and former director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Tomorrow's launch is aimed at putting every Indian household on the
map. One of the satellites, the 1.5-tonne CARTOSAT-1, mounted with two
cameras for "stereographic" imaging, carries with it the ambitions of
India's space programme.

Once lodged into orbit 618 km above earth, the satellite can read
images smaller than a motorcar by identifying features down to 2.5
metres across.

The satellite will help urban and rural planning, land and water
management, relief operations and environmental assessments.

CARTOSAT-1, which represents the highest payload carried so far by a
polar satellite launch vehicle, will also carry a 42.5-kg HAMSAT, a
micro-satellite that provides amateur radio services.

The scientists spent almost half an hour in the sanctum sanctorum and
later took part in an elaborate ritual for another hour when priests
showered ashirvachanam (blessings) of the deity on them.

"Some of the scientists even put currency notes in the temple hundi
(container) for the success of the launch," said the temple spokesman.
Sources said the prayers followed astrological predictions that the
launch could be delayed.

This is not the first time space scientists have turned to god before
an expedition into the distant heavens. Former Isro chief K.
Kasturirangan, too, had invoked divine blessings before a launch.

"This practice is in vogue since the days of Kasturirangan," said D.
Narayana Rao, director of the MSP radar station at Tirupati who had
organised the temple trip.

Tomorrow's launch is scheduled for 10.19 am when the PSLV C-6 will
take off from the newly-built second launch pad, 1.5 km south of the
first launch pad in Sriharikota.

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who has a scientific background,
inaugurated the second launch pad today.

Swaminomics: Miracles for Rs 7.50

Swaminathan Aiyar's piece in Sunday TOI (Apr 17) talks about a group insurance scheme that covers medical operations at absurdly low premiums. Interesting read.

Swaminomics: Miracles for Rs 7.50
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1080153.cms

One point which Aiyar thinks works for the scheme is that it's NOT voluntary. That bugs me a bit because however low premium might be, taking away choice is someone else deciding the "common good". On the other hand, choice is a misnomer even in democracy. Knowing that lot of my taxes go down the drain, I still have to pay them. That brings me to a (no doubt utopian) idea:

As government anyway spends a lots of it's coffers on numerous such schemes without any kind of accountibility mechanism, the tax payer should have the choice of deciding where  a part (say 20%) of his taxes should be diverted. This would do three things:

1) It will give the tax-payer an added incentive to pay taxes (again utopian, but at least they cannot give the "i dunno where my money goes" excuse with a moral certitude)

2) It will reduce the "centralization" in the socail spending decisions.

3) It will mean those who use the funds, partially compete for the funds, thus forcing them to be more accountable.

This would of course mean some of administrative overhead, but it's not that difficult in the times when tax info is computerised.

-Amit.

Re: Politics/humanitarianism in the tsunami relief effort

I myself have no problems as long as people help even if its for their own
selfish motivation, as we often do, when we send checques, hoping to get
that 80GG or whatever tax reduction/rebate, to help others get back on their
feet-if we were saints then man we wouldnt probably be even thinking of such
things, we would probably be sitting peacefully in the himalayas, at peace
with ourselves and the world around be dammed (pardon if this is read as a
bad word-its meant exactly what is meant) . however, with regard to the RSS
or any other religio-politicla party, the good work often has an ulterior
motive. A friend of mine (herself being a Hindu from this pround land of
Maharashtra) who had gone to volunteer during the Bhuj earthquake came back
disgusted-reason being that these very same "good hearted "individuals were
building homes for the homeless-were doing it based on caste lines! So only
the upper caste families were getting their homes redone whereas the lower
caste and the "minority" community were sidelined! So hence one wonders
about such selfless acts and is wary of such organizations going in. Once
upon a time in the distant past the RSS were a very disciplined and
Nationalistic goup which had done selfless service-but like most
organizations these days, have gone downhill and become very parochial, if i
can use that word.

Yes of course since i have been born on the wrong side of the religious
divide can't do anything abt it nor do i want to as all religious have their
good and bad side and i can stand here and call the POPE a stupid foolish
man who has no empathy or any divine justice within himself- many would love
to tear me apart-however, in the end we are but flesh, bones and blood.

>From: Amit Phansalkar
>Reply-To: India-Unleashed@googlegroups.com
>To: India-Unleashed@googlegroups.com
>Subject: Re: Politics/humanitarianism in the tsunami relief effort
>Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 06:23:53 +0000
>
>
>Welcome SSM. You deserve a cookie for this :D. Next time you come to
>pune, u'll get a Kayani cookie Jar, in fact.
>
>Onto a serious note, i read the blog from India Uncut (and I swear, I
>didn't get the title of this list from here! I got it from Gurcharan
>Das's book India Unbound, which I think should have been India
>Unleashed, but that's a topic of another posting), and here are my
>thoughts:
>
> > To those who are worried that DYFI or the RSS might extract political
>gain from their work, I have only one thing to say: if you oppose them in
>the political arena, nothing stops you from going out to the villages
>yourself and working as hard as they do to neutralise the goodwill that you
>are so scared they're getting. That kind of competition, in doing good,
>would surely be healthy. But complaining about people who are saving lives
>and helping survivors rebuild lives is just plain wrong.
>
>Exactly! I think the problem today is politics at the national level
>is so far ditached from the grass-route work, as it is. I wouldn't
>want the scenario turned into a dilemma for quassi-political setups --
>damned if I do, dammed if I don't. Expecting a selfless service is
>pretty much utopian -- and counterproductive. Yes, one can question
>motives, and brand the work as "political" in nature, but of course
>they deserve the political gains out of it! It's lot better than they
>getting their political capital through meaningless rhetoric (and I'm
>nost just talking about RSS).
>
>And SSM, lol@the-flame-shield. I say, we need more flames here...
>
>-Amit.
>
>On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 14:33:48 -0800, SSM wrote:
> >
> >
> > Interesting couple of articles ...
> >
> > one from today's edition of Christian Science Monitor talking about
> > JVP, the Sri Lankan marxist group in the forefront of relief efforts in
> > that country (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0114/p01s03-wosc.html)
> >
> > and then, an older yet interesting post in Amit Varma's India Uncut
> > blog, on separating politics from social work
> >
>(http://indiauncut-tsunami.blogspot.com/2005/01/despatches-26-separating-politics-from.html)
> >
> > On one level, it seems cynical to leverage a tragedy to maximize the
> > "eye-balls" those organizations might want for themselves. And perhaps
> > even more cynical to connect the dots thus.
> >
> > But, on the other hand, I tend to agree with Amit Varma. If, at the end
> > of the day, these organizations are helping to plug the holes that
> > inevitably exist in govt-led relief efforts in 3rd world countries,
> > bully for them. And if they do get those "eye-balls" as a result of
> > their hard work, so be it - they fully deserve it.
> >
> > Flame-shield-on (my first post here), but I have a feeling the
> > flame-shield is totally unnecessary in a community like this one :)
> >
> >
>
>
>--
>Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.

_________________________________________________________________
Trailblazer Narain Karthikeyan. Know more about him �n his life.
http://server1.msn.co.in/sp04/tataracing/ Stay in the loop with Tata Racing!

Re: Politics/humanitarianism in the tsunami relief effort

Welcome SSM. You deserve a cookie for this :D. Next time you come to
pune, u'll get a Kayani cookie Jar, in fact.

Onto a serious note, i read the blog from India Uncut (and I swear, I
didn't get the title of this list from here! I got it from Gurcharan
Das's book India Unbound, which I think should have been India
Unleashed, but that's a topic of another posting), and here are my
thoughts:

> To those who are worried that DYFI or the RSS might extract political gain from their work, I have only one thing to say: if you oppose them in the political arena, nothing stops you from going out to the villages yourself and working as hard as they do to neutralise the goodwill that you are so scared they're getting. That kind of competition, in doing good, would surely be healthy. But complaining about people who are saving lives and helping survivors rebuild lives is just plain wrong.

Exactly! I think the problem today is politics at the national level
is so far ditached from the grass-route work, as it is. I wouldn't
want the scenario turned into a dilemma for quassi-political setups --
damned if I do, dammed if I don't. Expecting a selfless service is
pretty much utopian -- and counterproductive. Yes, one can question
motives, and brand the work as "political" in nature, but of course
they deserve the political gains out of it! It's lot better than they
getting their political capital through meaningless rhetoric (and I'm
nost just talking about RSS).

And SSM, lol@the-flame-shield. I say, we need more flames here...

-Amit.

On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 14:33:48 -0800, SSM wrote:
>
>
> Interesting couple of articles ...
>
> one from today's edition of Christian Science Monitor talking about
> JVP, the Sri Lankan marxist group in the forefront of relief efforts in
> that country (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0114/p01s03-wosc.html)
>
> and then, an older yet interesting post in Amit Varma's India Uncut
> blog, on separating politics from social work
> (http://indiauncut-tsunami.blogspot.com/2005/01/despatches-26-separating-politics-from.html)
>
> On one level, it seems cynical to leverage a tragedy to maximize the
> "eye-balls" those organizations might want for themselves. And perhaps
> even more cynical to connect the dots thus.
>
> But, on the other hand, I tend to agree with Amit Varma. If, at the end
> of the day, these organizations are helping to plug the holes that
> inevitably exist in govt-led relief efforts in 3rd world countries,
> bully for them. And if they do get those "eye-balls" as a result of
> their hard work, so be it - they fully deserve it.
>
> Flame-shield-on (my first post here), but I have a feeling the
> flame-shield is totally unnecessary in a community like this one :)
>
>


--
Insanity is a sane reaction to an insane world.

Politics/humanitarianism in the tsunami relief effort

Interesting couple of articles ...

one from today's edition of Christian Science Monitor talking about
JVP, the Sri Lankan marxist group in the forefront of relief efforts in
that country (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0114/p01s03-wosc.html)

and then, an older yet interesting post in Amit Varma's India Uncut
blog, on separating politics from social work
(http://indiauncut-tsunami.blogspot.com/2005/01/despatches-26-separating-politics-from.html)

On one level, it seems cynical to leverage a tragedy to maximize the
"eye-balls" those organizations might want for themselves. And perhaps
even more cynical to connect the dots thus.

But, on the other hand, I tend to agree with Amit Varma. If, at the end
of the day, these organizations are helping to plug the holes that
inevitably exist in govt-led relief efforts in 3rd world countries,
bully for them. And if they do get those "eye-balls" as a result of
their hard work, so be it - they fully deserve it.

Flame-shield-on (my first post here), but I have a feeling the
flame-shield is totally unnecessary in a community like this one :)

Being Indian is more important than being in India!

Hi Guys,
I know NRI's get a rap for India's woes.I heard the above line in a
chat program('Arratai Arangam') in Sun TV held in Abhudabhi where one
of the participants said it. It was succint and very impressive.Thought
i would share it with everyone in this group.

Prout - the Progressive Utilization Theory

Prout - the Progressive Utilization Theory

Prout is the socio-economics of all-round liberation.

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Prout is based on a spiritual rather than materialistic conceptions of
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Its importance is that its high level principles can be used in
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Everyone is urged to consider it.

Formulated in 1959 by Indian socio-spiritual activist thinker P.R.
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The cardinal values of Prout are those of neo-humanism, which takes
into consideration the good and happiness of all living beings; humans,
animals, plants.

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systematic changes that free us, too."
- Maria Dirlene Trindade Marques, President of the Union of Brazilian
Economists

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which starts from economics and opens to a totality of personal and
social human existence."
- Leonardo Boff, Founder of Liberation Theology

"Alternative visions are crucial at this moment in history. Prout's
cooperative model of economic democracy, based on cardinal human values
and sharing the resources of the planet for the welfare of everyone,
deserves our serious consideration."
- Noam Chomsky, Critic of U.S foreign policy, supporter of libertarian
socialist objectives

"Sarkar's theory is far superior to Adam Smith's or that of Marx."
- Johan Galtung, Founder UN Institute of Peace Studies

"P.R. Sarkar was one of the greatest modern philosophers of India."
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"Prout's vision is both holistic and systemic, with a concrete way of
reorganizing society. It has the power to construct itself in a
post-capitalist project. Prout is transforming and profoundly
revolutionary, and I support all of its dimensions."
- Marcos Arruda, leading Brazilian activist, economist and
educationalist, expert on the international financial institutions, and
head of an influential NGO.

Chavez welcomes Prout writer: "Your visit has come at such an opportune
moment," Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez told Prout writer and author
of 'After Capitalism: Prout's Vision for a New World', Dada
Maheshvarananda on national television.

Learn the Science of Meditation.

Sharing with you.

Spirituality and science combine in this wonderful series. See
details below. Good for dealing with all sort of problems and worries. .

Regards

Dharmad

Learn the Science of Meditation.

Sing the Song of the Soul!

Yoga Philosophy and Practice

Vision and Purpose:

1. Learning the deeper aspects of the science of meditation & yoga
as they relate to our daily lives, including philosophy and practical
application.

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wholistic relationship between body, mind and spirit essential for
meditation & yoga.

3. Understanding the experiences, challenges and triumphs in deep
meditation & yoga practice.

4. To develop a healthy body, mind and spirit and become more aware
through your practice of meditation, yoga asanas (postures) and
healthy lifestyle practices and outlook.

5. To appreciate the importance of a nurturing environment to
assist in spiritual awareness, mental expansion and service to the
world.

E-mail (course co-ordinator): meditation2005-1@ways-ahead.net

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Basic yoga philosophy. Based on the 8-limbed system of Yoga

* Yama - external moral / ethical discipline
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* Asana - yogic postures
* Pranayama - proper breathing
* Pratyahara - withdrawal of senses from the external world to
internalise your

consciousness for meditation
* Dharana - concentration, or extended mental focusing,
fundamental to yogic

meditation
* Dhyana - process of meditation, the principal practice
of bringing your mind to ideate

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