INDIAN ARMY shouldn’t get hurt even by words, now is it fine?

 A piece on Indian Military Force; As far as I know, 

there is no such institution uncontrollably rolls over the 

freedom and peace of the population 

according to the ruling crowd of Delhi.

__________________________________________________ 

A piece on Indian Military Force; As far as I know, there is no such institution uncontrollably rolls over the freedom and peace of the population according to the ruling crowd of Delhi. It sustains with a holy stature, within the patriotic sentiments of the large population, as we’ve seen many devotees worked as Public Relations Officers on social media for free of cost, while the Military supported the Kashimiri population to recover from disastrous circumstances. Here I wish to state one more thing that “I never de-moralise the genuineness of individuals belongs to the same institution.”

But that never conclude the atrocities put forward by the armed forces in Manipur, Kashmir and Naxal OR Maoist regions are fair or reasonable. I recall my pal Mr. Vinod recently over-dialogued that Irom Sharmila is a ‘mad woman, must be sent to a mental asylum’; I wanted my buddy as he is a congress worker must allow his mind to comprehend the fact that the non-violent protest once his party handled during the freedom strike replicates in Manipur today, as the entire population of the region desires freedom from the violence oriented decree of Military forces in other words AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Power Act). (With all intention I here adds another fact that the so called “development man / protector of Hinduism” the PM Mr. Narendra Modi denied the conference request of Irom Sharmila, but find time to invite Bollywood actor Amir Khan into his office.)

In July 2004, a group of 12 women disrobed in front of the Kangla Fort in Imphal held up banners that said - 'Indian Army rape us'. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/2004-manorama-devi-rapemurder-no-action-against-armed-forces-yet/315794-3-225.html

Whether it is Manipur, Nagaland OR Kashmir, no one should deny the consequences, while an Armed Force rules the land after they went through the tutoring of state monarchs, which unfavoured to the population of the region and offcourse, it treated as a ‘holy cow’ by the rest of the population of the sub-continent –shouldn’t get hurt even by words.

We always appreciate, when the soldiers serve the people in tough conditions, which considered as their duty or responsibility or they assigned to do, but for me, they are not unequal as the non governmental service persons works for the benefit of people in countryside, even put their life under the threat and hazard; nobody assigned them, but they continue with their will. When you throw the figure of Military personals dies in border areas, I could defend with the figures of people who took their own life due to farm crisis; the ratio is more than 2 a day, in 2004 Vidarbha alone the figure went more than 1500 in the respective year. The number of people sacrificed their life in road accidents, communal conflicts, bad Healthcare system OR healthcare experiments and epidemics I just kept aside, doesn’t mean it is not valuable.

If we jump into the economical discourse, Indian government spends its large percentage of income for the national security, which is far beyond the spending figure on education, health or any other societal progress. Let’s look into the serious fact:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley set the military budget at 2.29 trillion Indian rupees ($38.35 billion) for 2014-15, 50 billion rupees more than what the previous government agreed in an interim budget earlier this year. Defence expenditure for 2013/14 was kept at 2.04 trillion rupees.

(http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/07/10/india-budget-defence-idINKBN0FF0WQ20140710)

Let’s try to be critical, is there any transparent system to cross check money utilization? Would they’ve utilized for the proper need? Will the soldiers are served with proper facilities to protect themselves from extreme climate conditions?

According to the discussions, I had with few of my army friends there is scam and financial mal-practice been performed from paper cutter to high-end machine guns. Some cats are already jumped out of the bag; more awaits for media sting operations. Media entry too restricted in that area, because of security reasons, while all other geographical parts of this sub-continent is insecure before everyone in various aspects.

The cranky hierarchical politics and racial feels are in other extend, makes the soldiers to stay out of the job as early as they could, since it is bonded labour, they are suppose to continue the entire tenure. While SC finds the bond labour system is invalid in Govt/Private sector, army holds it with proud.

All that conclude the Armed Force (Military, Navy and Air force) will persist as a big suspicious whale inside the patriotic wall and roof, whichever the way the institution functions.


Murali Margassery - muralimargassery@hotmail.com

Party Plenum: Scope for restore the lost humanity

When I start my voyage from my hometown, at 7.30 in every morning, I keep on looking at the flex boards, which takes a big hold over each nook and corner of the streets. The ads, political campaigns, social & cultural events, sports recognitions and so many others are finding a position in people’s minds. The splinters of worry, anxiety, excitement and joy sometimes altogether used to appear in my heart, whenever I set a gaze on it.

May after the Indian state of Gujarat shakes their hands with APCO Worldwide as part of the corporate lobbying; the multiple angle close-up shots of Narendra Modi came into view on a large basis. Modi has been endorsed as the next Prime Minister by himself, BJP and related political factories through their political campaigns with flex boards, seems the 800 Million voters doesn’t hold a democratic power in 2014 general elections. OK let’s not mind it for some time.

    By the end of the second week of this month, the red flags, flex boards of various communist leaders come into sight, which started dominating APCO’s ‘NaMo’ boards. Some of the leaders, presented in boards are popular domestic leaders, in addition, those souls rests in piece for ever (doesn’t know the term is right for communists), such as AK Gopalan, Krishnappillai, EMS, Nayanar..etc.., those boards announces CPI(M)'s ‘Party Plenum’ organizes on November 27,28 and 29 and participation about 2 lac people in the event. Of course, I would never hesitate to say that “it dominates over ‘NaMo’ flex boards completely for now.”       

We can here analyze about the people have got a heart towards the CPI(M) and their efforts, they comes out on the streets in every evening after completion of their routine jobs. They are happily helping the co-activists to place more and more flags and boards. It is surprising that Palakkad town turns to a ‘Red Fort’ OR sometimes you would say “it is a supreme region, where the people lining-up under the red flag.”

The idols, sculptures and full length phots of Bolivian hero Che Guvera, USSR revolutionist  Vladmir Lenin, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Chinese revolutionist Mao Zedong  kept every street-corners besides the National Highways, even above the lengthy bridges. Unfortunately Josephine Stalin finds side-portions in posters, more or less equal to his usual stature in the minds of so called ‘true communists’.

I personally stand against the person who bakes Marxism here, largely I should stay with Gandhian statement, “Until and unless you ignore the comfort ability, you have no rights to dream for the rule of socialism over the world.”

But somewhere we should agree with the CPI(M)’s attitude of discussing as well as debating even over their fall and failure. All other political organizations should learn about this phenomenon, that the CPI(M) added more strength to their outfit even at the climate of disastrous allegations occurred against them from the political murder of TP Chandrasekharan and the other issues like Lavlin case, inner party groupism, VS Achuthanandan’s rival moves within party and many other. 

This teaches how such a political organization placed its foundation stone with the hearts and voice of the common men. Of course, the mistakes of the opposite ruling force fertilized the plant. There is Congress national wing settled up in Kerala, BJP’s ‘national roaming’ tariff rates are increased, but none of them have the guts to discuss their failure in such a gigantic meet, but the Communist Party of India (Marxist) does. We can’t predict the outcome of the intellectual debates and seminars conducting at different ‘Party Plenum’ stages, but there must be a strong evaluation of the ideological variations, value loss, unethical activism, the way of eliminating the political opponent from the game, source of groupism.

Now, India actually searching for a strong left opposition and its transparent political voice inside the legislatures and outside as well to shape the politics. The fascist/autocratic outfits growing at the other side, the high intense terrorism grounds. The economical giants give all support all the time to the tyranny. I strongly feel that there is a possibility of wide-acceptance to communist thoughts in Kerala only if they restore the humanity, which lost long time back and an ideological revision on the economy part, especially about the flow of capital.

So all dear communists have a great time!

Murali Margassery

muralimargassery@hotmail.com

 

3½ Hours with my ‘Guru’

“People always say ‘This is my right and that is my right’, I don’t agree with it always. Won’t they have any responsibility in this country?” Rakesh S Katarey (July 26, 2012)

“At the same time when people deny / violate all social rules with the support of the word ‘right and freedom’, they give least priority to their responsibilities in a nation like India.” We concluded our discussion with these sentence, after expressing our ideas and opinions in various subjects like Maoism, Crisis of CPI(M) in Bengal and Kerala, Karnataka cast politics, Udupi Bhramins and Mangalore Shettys, Trade unions and proletariats, united and disunited labor, bond-labor,  social inequalities, expansion of middle-class and impacts, policy making of the administrations etc. Mr. Rakesh Katarey again becomes a teacher to me after a long time. We used to discuss such things in and out of the classroom when he was teaching us at Amrita School of Communication.

“Indian Metrology Department could not predict rain, flood and draught ever in the history of its establishment, any natural disaster badly effect to the common man of the country (Poor), not the top class society” – The Hindu News paper (July 26, 2012)

“India going to suffer another draught and food crisis in the year 2012 due to the improper monsoon, center planned to do some prevention measures”  - Malayala Manorama News paper (July 27, 2012)

“I will live how the way I want, I have money and I can spend for any purpose, you are not allowed to show your social commitment and responsibility in my decisions” – said, a very important person  of my life, (live in Middle-class society, 24yr old) (July 27, 2012)

Four different ideas, lead us to think more when you connect one to another…

NITTE School of Communication and its infrastructures are amazing, and it holds a beautiful green environment – cool wind gives a lot of relaxation. It was simple visit to see my old teacher (still he teaches me outside the class over the phone and email). We some of us continued a good relationship with him even after he left our campus last year. It was just more than a student-teacher relation, so it could easily cross all the boundaries of college. We had a lot of discussion in those days, doesn’t matter how much anger/fight it produce, and the very next day we again sit together in another topic to debate. I never had such a college time in life, it continued until he leaves the college and felt deserted in the remaining 1year with his absence. He is a chairperson in NICO and working hard to set-up a new communication school, I’m sure it produces brilliant media professionals in future. NICO is great in a sense. It would not demand a gate pass to go in and come out. Unfortunately I forgot to carry a camera with me; else I would have attached few snaps of NICO and Rakesh Katarey. I don’t know why would some of use hold such a care and relation with him, he has given us nothing but knowledge. I feel this cyberspace is very limited to express what all in my mind.

He has given me a good intro about Mangalore and shown many places, narrated many incidents and some personal experience which he shares first-time with a student and had dinner together. I have no great words to explain those moments, in a short ‘a day of blossom and its fragrance’. “It was lovely having sometime with you Murali”, that was the last sentence he said while dropping me in the railway station, which means a lot to me.

The Mangalore train journey was awesome. Rain, sunshine, cold wind, sceneries of backwater, sea, fields and villages all came and danced before my eyes.

Murali Margassery

muralimargassery@hotmail.com

Is that something you call inequality in education system or failure of the whole system?

           Muruganpathy, it’s a very rural village of Coimbatore district, it comes under the Madhukkarai Block Panchayat. There was a small school it started under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) Programme of central government in 2005. There is about 10 Kilometers of travelling is needed to reach that school from the nearest small town and there is no transportation facility available to that place also. We have to take a private vehicle either go by walk. I have been there for two times. One was for just a visit with my senior student Hari and two of my classmates Suchithra and Shiva. It can’t just call a simple visit; we had an aim of giving some value based education to those children who are studying in that school. The second time I have gone with IT Department students and faculties of Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham. They were doing some social value programs into three schools include Muruganpathy LP School and we (Shiva, Anand and Me) are assigned to do the video coverage of the program.

       The school has got 30 students in 5 standards (I to V) of education and a single teacher to take class for all of these students. In that school the scarcity of teachers are due to the lack of transportation facility and scare of wild animal attacks, because the school route is very close to the forest of Western Ghats. The available classrooms are 3 in the whole building. Most of the children are from the poor family background. We may call them ‘Adivasis or Dalits’. The parents of those children are working on the fields nearby the school. There are many land owners are controls the entire place and people working there for the daily wages. The roads are made under the ‘Sadak Yojana Programme’ of the Central government and their houses are built by the State government Programme. A Public Distribution System (PDS) shop and a Railway line passing near the school compound.

         I have done two of my visits in the duration of a year. A second visit was on 21st Oct 2011, and I noticed there was an international school has grown in that rural village which is 3 Kilometers far before from the SSA LP School. “No wonder! Because now the smart colleges and international schools are growing in the rural parts of the country”, they can acquire land in a very less cost and make concrete forests very fast. Coimbatre is the one best example for this. The students those who are studying in the Muruganpathi LP School have to travel another 8 kilometers for getting their higher education and so much of the discomfort abilities accompany them. So usually the children of the village will stop their education in 5th standard especially girls. 

          The students those who are studying in the international school must be from the elite class of the society. Of course there will be no students from the village. Even if there students from the village, they will be the sons and daughters of these land owners. The main thing all behind of this is the international school brings students to this village by their transportation service from the nearest towns, where there are poor guys and girls who can’t go to school after the completion of the 5th standard due to the unavailability of the transportation. Let’s say something about the railway line. I have recalled a scene from the movie Pather Panchali directed by Satyajit Ray. The boy and girl name d Appu and Durga are running to watch the railway line and train which passing through their village and that is not stopping there at all. Is there any difference after the 60years of the movie and that adapted from a novel older of 70years?

      Yes, there is also a Railway station but it’s not near to the village. The station name is ETTIMADAI, which helps the students and staffs those who are from the Deemed University that University stays near the Railway station. Many passenger trains are passing through the station and stopping there also. But the poor people of the village won’t have an access to use the greatest Public Transportation Service. They are also paying the taxes to protect the public system. They are also part of these world’s largest democracy and putting votes too. They are also receiving the idiotic assurance from the politicians at the election times. If any train stops there for a minute or half of a minute. You will see a change in the lives of these poor people. How? Teachers will come to the school to teach ‘Growth of education! It sounds great”. These poor village people can go to work in other parts of the district when there are no jobs in the farming fields. They can sell their village products to the passengers for protect their livelihood. They will see the world and they would not be exploited at anymore. More over they will have an access to the hospitals for coming out of the various illness they used to suffer in everyday life.

          This is not a demand to convert the village to a town and make a part of the Coimbatore city. Just to solve the very basic problems of those poor people. They are suffering from the social problems like poverty, health and education. They have the rights to get access to all these areas in this democratic country. Who is trying to keep them away from their rights? Yes we have the answer. This is the situation of the rural India, not only in a village called ‘Muruganpathy’. Allowing one train stop will not solve all the problems of the village. But creating a transportation system will solve some problems. Something is always better than nothing.

             I would like to end up this article with the statement of “We will not be Nero’s guests”. This says by P. Sainath. He who I consider as a good Journalist of the country and he is the one inspired me to write this. He also says “the fastest growing segment of India is Inequality” this is something we need to discuss and let’s not allow it to grow more.

thank you,
Please add your comments even if you don't like it...