Arthshastra

Saw this picture of Germans protesting against Iranians getting nukes on CNN.com. Not that I want the mullahs to have nukes - not by a long long shot. But oh the irony of a country that gave us two world wars, millions of dead jews in gas chamber and one Hitler(thank god!), protesting against Mullahs getting the nukes!

Amrit’s post on the Writing Cave asking if we hate ourselves going by the amount of filth lying around in Indian cities compelled me to dust-off (no pun intended) my own mail on something similar from my previous defunct blog and re-post it here.

Have you ever been to Devon Avenue, Chicago? No? Well, don’t feel bad because you’ve not missed much. If you are in India then just go to your neighborhood market. If you are on the east coast in the US, just go to Jackson Heights. If you are on the west coast in the bay area just step out of your house (well, that maybe an exaggeration – plus I’ve never been to bay area so I have second hand knowledge at best).Well, the point being that what it is about our civic sense as a nation that we just cannot conduct ourselves in an orderly fashion? The entire road called the Devon Avenue (well half of it is called Gandhi Marg and the other half Jinnah Marg) is so dirty and so littered with flying debris and “pan peeks” that is hard to believe that your are still in Chicago. Just about two miles east is the beautiful Lake Shore drive and then there is Devon Avenue. As long as we are in the company of people from other nationalities we maintain a modicum of civic behavior and cleanliness. But the moment we are surrounded by our own-we think that it is alright to break rules, that it is alright to honk, that it is alright to spit on the road.

I’ve been to a few other places in the US that are dominated by people from a particular ethnic background or nationality. There are these small towns in Wisconsin called New Glarus and Monroe that mostly have people from Swiss background. Then there is Holland in Michigan with people from, you guessed it, Holland. And each of these cities is so beautiful and well kept and great tourist spots. The only reason why anyone ever goes to Devon Avenue is for cheap groceries and cheap Indian food and wants to get the hell out of here ASAP. What a sad reflection on our country!

Indian Express (who else?) reported on Sunday that the government of India is ready to release a 15 point program which will mandate spending based on religious percentages. In short, if the minority population is 20% then that percentage of money will be spent only on minorities. In effect, rather than getting rid of caste based reservations, this government is ready to unleash yet another way to divide the country. Sometimes you have to wonder why our politicians learnt only the worst things from the British.

In any case, I was reading the American declaration of Independence the other day. It has been said that it is one of the most influential documents in the history of mankind. One of the great historians Samuel Eliot remarked that “if the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile”. The essence of that declaration can be found in just this one single paragraph:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

In the context of the recent pronouncement of the UPA government in India, it seems that this declaration has been turned on its head. In the hand of the Indian politicians this is how it might look like:

We hold these truths to be self-serving, that all men, women and minorities are created to be our vote banks, that they are endowed by their religions to vote as a bloc with certain rights that are for ours to take and theirs to give – That to secure these rights, religious and caste groups have been instituted among people, deriving their power from the vote bloc they belong to. That our form of government will pander to the lowest common denominator and will try its best to divide and rule according to its own benefit. It is the right of a group of people as belonging to a particular religion and caste, that when the government stops responding to their unreasonable demands, they can and will try their best to sabotage it regardless of national interest.

Watched Al Brooks on Letterman tonight describing his experience in India and Pakistan as he was filming his latest movie – Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.

Can’t wait to watch it.

In his illness, Ariel Sharon brings together and exposes the two extremists from two different religions as if to show that regardless of religion, the language that religious extremists speak remains the same – of hatred.

“He was dividing God’s land. And I would say, ‘Woe unto any Prime Minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America.’ God says, ‘This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone’ ”
-PAT ROBERTSON, televangelist, suggesting that Israeli Premier Sharon’s massive stroke last week was divine punishment.

“Today you will all have heard – and I hope that this is final – that the criminal of Sabra and Shatila has rejoined his ancestors. God willing, the others will join him soon.”
-MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, President of Iran, making a premature announcement of the ailing Sharon’s death.