Gap between Promise and Ground Reality: The State of Buddhist Ruins in Vadnagar

During the course of my video recorded conversations with Narendra Modi in 2013 while he was still the chief minister of Gujarat, he had talked with great feeling about the influence of Mahatma Buddha in his life. To quote him:

In Buddhism, I see dharma entrenched in karuna (compassion). I believe compassion is the most valuable essence of life. When I formed the government, these values got ingrained even deeper. What attracts me about Buddha is his inclusive philosophy; secondly, his modernity; and thirdly, his belief in the importance of Sangathan—the idea of Sangha. This underlies all his philosophy. I would often wonder how Buddha managed to reach all over the world. What was it about him that lit sparks everywhere he went, took ordinary human beings towards their kartavya (duty) and appealed to the lower status groups as well? Buddhism does not have too much tam-jham or celebration of big utsavs. There is a direct connect of the individual with the Divine. That entire thought system touches me deeply. Moreover, wherever Buddha went, the region witnessed prosperity. Even though China had a different belief system but Buddha has maintained his influence on China as well.

Thereafter, he went and described the Buddhist heritage in his village Vadnagar and in Mori.

Hiuen-Tsang lived for a long time in the village where I was born. He has written about a hostel in that village where 1,000 student monks resided. After I became chief minister, I got the area excavated and found archeological evidence of things described by Hiuen-Tsang. This means Mahatma Buddha’s philosophy would have had some influence on my ancestors.

We found similar evidence at Devaki Mori near our village. During excavations, they found a gold box, which contains Bhagwan Buddha’s ashes. These are lying in M.S. University at Baroda. It occurred to me that nowhere in the world can you hold the ashes of Lord Buddha in your hand. We alone have this treasure. Therefore, we are planning to construct a big temple of Lord Buddha here at the exact spot from where the box of ashes was excavated. It won’t be built by the government; instead we will motivate private bodies to do it. I want to create an institutional frame work in collaboration with Taiwan, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Singapore. Its architecture should also have a global appeal, not be limited to traditional Buddhist temples….

We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sri Lankan government that they would bring Buddhist tourists from Sri Lanka and we would take Gujaratis for their Ram Trail. This is just the beginning of our attempts to develop the Buddhist heritage and build close links with Buddhist countries.

Ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Gujarat, an article was posted on PM Modi’s website in English and Mandarian, talking at length about the “Buddhist heritage in Gujarat.”  During Jinping’s visit Modi personally took the Chinese president to a photo exhibition which displayed all that the excavated sites had yielded.  

There is no denying that Buddhism has left a deep imprint on PM Modi’s life.  The enthusiasm with which he talked about the excavation of Buddhist sites led me to take a special trip to Vadnagar to go and see them for myself.  This ancient city with a 2500 year old known history was the earliest capital of Gujarat. It is referred to as Anartpur in Mahabharata and has numerous historic sites, monuments and ancient temples in and around the area.

But instead of feeling uplifted I got one of the biggest shocks of my life witnessing the pathetic plight of the excavated Buddhist ruins. The excavation may have started with much fanfare but the place is so neglected that there wasn’t even a signboard to mark the site.  The excavation itself is incomplete since people have built houses over the site where the Buddhist monastery once stood.

But even the part that is excavated lies in a sorry state with wild grass growing in the dug up portions.  There was a filthy drain flowing right outside the excavation site.  No effort had been made to protect the site. All one saw was a pretense of a fence with broken down bamboos demarcating it from the gali in which it is situated.  These videos clips speak for themselves.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67UrQN7D9UU&feature=youtu.be

Today (September 19, 2014) I called some people in Vadnagar to find out if things had changed since I first visited the site in June 2014. I was told the place was cleaned up in anticipation of the visit of the Chinese premier. A Chinese delegation had come a few days prior to Xi Jinping’s visit to inspect the historic place. Some amount of cleaning was undertaken in honour of their visit. The wild grass that had grown following the monsoon was removed and a guard appointed to watch over the place. People of Vadnagar are convinced that things will improve now that Chinese and Japanese collaboration is being sought in developing the Buddhist heritage sights of Gujarat. 

However I do wish India showed capability to protect its heritage on its own strength as well. I would be ashamed of showing such a shabbily maintained site to foreigners and pleading with them to do justice to its lost glory.

The open drain bang outside the excavation site

There wasn't even a signboard to mark the excavation site when I visited the place in June 2014

Excavated ruins remained neglected since they were dug up 5 years ago

The immediate neighbourhood of the excavation site

Sharaab: Kaun Pilaye, Kaun Rukaye?

A Critique of Government's Liquor Policy in India

This film challenges some of the popular myths about anti-liquor movements in India, for example the belief that these are primarily led by women against men. The film reviews the dynamics of anti-liquor movements in four different states: Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh and examines the key role played by men in initiating protests and struggles to rid their villages of the liquor menace. It also tries to explain why most anti-liquor movements start off by targeting drunkards but soon turn anti-government. The film examines the role and response of the state machinery with regard to spreading liquor consumption.

To watch this Programme : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZqFAewzzP4&feature=youtu.be

Dahej: Majboori ya Zaroorat?

Dowry: Compulsion vs Need?

In India, the common perception is that dowry is a social evil. For women in particular, it is considered to be a curse. On one hand, it has been demanded repeatedly that the government should pass stricter laws to abolish the custom of dowry. But the very people who make such demands are unable to answer why the anti-dowry law that was enacted in 1961, and made even more stringent in 1984 and 1986, has remained unsuccessful. Why is it that even after so many decades of pronouncing dowry illegal, the culture of dowry has become stronger and more widespread? Why is it that even those who condemn it are not able to withstand the growing power of this custom in their own families? Is it a disease that has gripped people against their wish? Or does the problem lie elsewhere? These are some of the questions answered in this film.

To watch this Programme : http://youtu.be/24-X1pl2lgk

Next Time, Don't Walk Away

The testimony of the friend of the Delhi gangrape victim on Zee News held up a disturbing mirror to our society. The gross callousness, cowardice and voyeurism displayed by the bystanders, as well as the cars and autos that passed by the badly injured gangrape victim and her friend, proves the truth of the popular saying: "yatha raja, tatha praja (the quality of the rulers determines the quality of the subjects)".

However, in a democracy — even a flawed one like ours — citizens cannot disown their responsibility and wait for rulers to set things right. A democracy gives you some scope to turn this saying on its head: "yatha praja, tatha raja (the quality of the subjects determines the quality of the rulers)".

A common reason given by people coming to the rescue of victims of violence or road accidents is that the police not only harasses such do-gooders, but also tries to implicate them in the accident. As perverse as the police is in India, my experience tells me that the police know the difference between honest and crooked citizens. The real problem arises when the police are already on the scene but neither doing the needful nor letting citizens help the victim.

My first encounter with the voyeuristic tamashbeen mentality of citizens was when I was eight or nine. I had gone to Connaught Place in Delhi with an aunt who was just past her teens at the time. We were walking in the inner circle of CP when we saw a car moving at high speed hit a young man with such force that he was sent flying in the air before he crashed to the ground. People picked him up from the street to prevent him getting run over by other cars, but did not go beyond dumping the profusely bleeding and badly injured man in the verandah of CP's inner circle. They just stood and watched as though it was a scene out of a movie. I suggested to my aunt that take him to a hospital in a taxi but she pulled me away, saying it was not good to get involved in such situations. I was too young to have my say on that day.

Bus smashes boy's head, The body lies unattended on the road

But the memory of that writhing body and citizen passivity left such a deep imprint that without any formal declaration, I made a vow to myself: I would never walk away when a fellow citizen needed my help. Since then, I have taken several accident victims to hospitals. As luck would have it, in each case the person's life was saved due to timely medical help, even when the victims had suffered brain haemorrhage.

Since I began doing it much before I came to own a car, it was always auto rickshaw drivers who agreed to carry the victim to hospital. Car owners did not help even once. All I had to do was to assure the auto driver that I would assume full responsibility for taking the injured person to hospital and that his name would not be brought in at all.

Here is a somewhat melodramatic but true to life example of the deadly consequences of our indifference to fellow citizens. I was still a student in those days, and was travelling on a Delhi Transport Corporation bus when I saw two young men bleeding on the road after their two-wheeler was hit by a speeding bus. I got off the bus and rushed to the accident site. A big crowd had gathered around the injured men. A few motorists also stopped to have a peek. None of them agreed to help me take the two men to hospital. I waved at every car that passed by. None stopped. Finally an auto driver agreed on condition that his identity would be protected from the police. The doctors at the hospital told me that since both had suffered brain haemorrhage, further delay in medical help would have meant certain death. Imagine my surprise when two months later, the two young men, along with their respective fathers, came to our house to tell me that both of them had passed the accident spot and seen me trying to stop passing cars to carry the victims to hospital. They too had stopped momentarily, looked from a distance at the injured men, but decided to drive away, thinking, why invite trouble?

The elite cannot build islands of prosperity and safety for themselves amidst a sea of lawlessness and uncaring citizens. This callousness doesn't stop at unknown victims of violence or accidents. It also extends to immediate neighbours, close relatives. It saddens me no end when people from far and near places phone Manushi to say my daughter, sister or such-and-such woman in my neighbourhood or extended family is suffering daily beatings and might end up dead. In most instances, families and neighbours expect distant organizations or the police to come to the woman's rescue.

A more effective way of combating domestic and other forms of violence is for each neighbourhood to create its own helpline and rush to the rescue of the woman being battered. Once families know they are being watched by their neighbours, who will not hesitate to bring in the police if the abusive behaviour is not halted, they do invariably act with more restraint.

Even the best police force cannot be a substitute for a caring and vigilant neighbourhood. For example, when a young man in my old neighbourhood was caught trying to molest a teenage girl, leading families in the neighbourhood simply blackened his face and made him go around the block of houses in his underpants with folded hands saying, "I seek forgiveness for my misbehaviour". This happened 25 years ago, but the message went home good and proper. From then until I left the area, one never saw young or old men indulge in offensive behaviour. I don't think a police or court case would have achieved the same result. In fact, it would have traumatised the victim further and in all likelihood led to acquittal, or her withdrawing the case due to the soul-destroying legal process one is subjected to.

However, such exemplary social control mechanisms can evolve only when we maintain active links with our neighbours and develop a culture of routine acts of sharing and caring. By living atomised, disconnected lives, we are endangering our own lives. Our families spend a great deal of energy in teaching us to be good sons, responsible daughters, caring sisters, mothers, wives, husbands and so on. Our schools and colleges hammer us to be good disciplined students. But neither family nor educational institutions train us to be responsible citizens, starting with our own neighbourhood. Instead, we discourage our children from getting involved. If we all take charge of our neighbourhoods, the rest will follow automatically.

This article was first published in: http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/next-time-don-t-walk-away/1059969

The Ups & Downs of Indo-Pak Dialogue : Need to Tune into Kashmir’s Changing Political Reality

G Parthasarthy has a point when he writes that “a diplomatic engagement with a neighbor having territorial ambitions has to be carefully calibrated and executed” given past history, it is imperative that dialogue with Pakistan better not be a knee jerk reaction.  It must precede proper home work and coordination between various branches of the government so that they don’t work at cross purposes.

However abrupt cancellation of the dialogue after having started it in haste using Pak Ambassador’s ritually meetings with Kashmiri separatists is in bad form and communicates a very negative image of India.

While there is no doubt that the Pak Ambassador’s invitation to Kashmiri separatists in the midst of fragile secretary level talks amounted to deliberate and avoidable provocation to sensibilities within India.  But it is well known that this act of cocking a snook at India is a product of the diseased in internal politics of Pakistan.  The anti-India lobbies within Pak are already out with their knives and guns aimed at Nawaz Sharif alleging that he is being “soft” towards India on the one hand and ready to betray the interests of Kashmiri separatists who have always counted on Pakistan to fight their battle.  That is why the annual ritual of “consulting” pro-Pak Kashmiri leaders had to be undertaken to reduce the pressure building us at home.

It is an open secret that in comparison to India that elected government in Pakistan is a light weight in comparison to the clout of Pakistani army, the Pak intelligence agencies a whole range of terrorist outfits propped and supported by them.  But the liberal opinion within Pakistan is in favour of peace with India simply because they realize that Pakistan is sinking under the dead weight of its corrosive hostility to India.  This hatred has been the founding principle of Pakistan from the time of Jinnah himself.  Though even the most liberal intelligentsia daren’t question Jinnah’s wisdom openly, but there is a growing realization among this section that if Pakistan cannot be at peace with India, it cannot be at peace with itself either.

In such a situation, the knee jerk fashion in which the dialogue has been unilaterally called off by the BJP government has given a big boost to the anti-India terrorist organizations within Pakistan on the one hand and brought the otherwise marginalized Kashmiri separatists centre stage.

Letting one’s enemies dictate one’s political agenda amounts to strengthening them beyond their actual worth.  It has sent a very negative message to the international community that whereas Pakistan is responsive to the “aspirations” of Kashmiri Muslims, India keeps them at bay because it is afraid of them.

Instead of taking such deep offence at these rituals meeting of Hurriyat factions with the Pak Ambassador, India could well have laughed it off saying: “The Separatists have to keep knocking at the doors of their mai-baap in Pakistani simply because the people of Kashmir don’t pay heed to them; any more.

It is well known that secessionist forces gain strength in Kashmir only when the Central Government allows electoral rigging and helps install a corrupt and tyrannical state government.  Omar Abdullah’s government has inflicted innumerable wounds on Kashmiri people ever since it came to power in 2008.  That is the only reason, a section of Kashmiri youth are using the Hurriyat platform to vent their frustration, without really being enamored of Hurriyat’s own ideology and politics.  During PDP regime, the same people left the Hurriyat in a larch and put Separatist urges behind them simply because Mufti Mohammad Syeed provided and relatively clean and more accountable development oriented government.

In private even Separatist leaders admit the solution of the Kashmir problem can only come through the BJP government.  Narendra Modi as the icon of development oriented politics has ignited even higher hopes that Atal Bihar Vajpayi once ignited among Kashmiri Muslims.  One sign of this is that for the first time in Kashmir’s history that well known public figures like Sajjad Lone have openly made common cause with the BJP and many young people, even in places like Pulwama, which has been a secessionist stronghold, are openly joining the BJP.

During his election campaign itself Narendra Modi had applied balm on Kashmiri hurt by promising them that the Valley too would witness unprecedented economic upsurge and job creation under BJP regime.  This had created a palpable sense of optimism among the Kashmiri youth.  Since the last 30 years Kashmiris have witnessed from very close the internecine warfare among various secessionist groups and factions.  Their rivalries and mutual hatred is also not a secret any more.  Kashmiris have now come to see that the secessionist sentiment is kept alive only through the power of the guns wielded by pro-Pak groups.  They have seen the lavish lifestyles of secessionist leaders who are believed to be getting hefty pay off from Pakistan on the one hand and keeping swords hanging over their heads on the other.

Some of the leading lights among secessionists live under the security cover clearly show they don’t fear the Indian government.  If there is anyone any fear, it is the terrorist outfits propped up by Pakistan.  Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq went so far as to openly declare Syed Ali Shah Geelani as the man who got Mirwaiz’s father murdered.  He also publicly alleged that even his life was in danger from the pro-Pak militants connected to Geelani Sahib.  One hears knowledgeable Kashmiris say it openly that even if by some mishap Kashmir got azadi, Hurriyat factions would do to each other what Hamas and AlQaida are doing to their co-religionists.    

Most important of all, Kashmiri Separatists have themselves voted with their feet and pockets in favour of India.  They may get hefty pay offs from Pakistan.  But where do they invest this money?  Not in Peshawar, Lahore or Karachi but in buying properties in Jammu, Delhi, Pune, Mumbai etc.  They may send the sons of poor Kashmiri families across the border to get arms training from Pak.  But their own children come to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune to study and look for jobs or business opportunities.  Many of their children practice law in Indian courts.  You won’t find them inclined to do business in Karachi or even Lahore.

The moderates among Hurriyat are today clearly inclined towards the BJP.  Most of hardliner Geelani Saheb’s colleagues are also tired of acting as the puppets of Islamabad because they see no future for their children in that game.  Geelani Sahib’s and Yasin Malik’s election boycott strategy will work only as long as the outrageously corrupt and insensitive regime of Omar Abdullah is in place.  But NC is likely to be wiped out and replaced by the far more democratic PDP in the coming election.  BJP too is set to make big inroads in the hitherto unexplored Laddakh region in addition to its political base in Jammu region.  A caring democratic regime in Jammu will mean the likes of Yasin Malik will see their space shrink to nothingness as happened after the 2002 election.

Kashmir is also yearning for Modi’s mool mantra  -- Sushasan (good governance) and Vikas (development – just as the rest of India has put their faith in this promise.  Pro-Pak leaders like Yasin Malik are able to flex their muscles only when there is malgovernance in Kashmir.  The answer to the Yasin Maliks hobnobbing with Pak, is not to boycott dialogue with Pakistan.  The appropriate remedy is honest and fair elections, good governance and speedy economic growth with speedier job creation.

In short, the appropriate answer to Pakistan’s disruptive politics in Kashmir is to ensure that the ordinary Kashmiri trust and is happy with the governance model – both in Delhi and Srinagar.  Thus the solution to the Kashmir problem does not really lie in the hands of Pakistan; it lies within India’s power and control.

फैशनेबल दिखने की दीवानगी

फैशन नामक शब्द से मुझे जितनी चिढ़ है शायद ही किसी और शब्द से हो। यह एक ऐसी बीमारी है जो अच्छे भले इन्सान को जोकर या नकलची बन्दर बनाने की ताकत रखता है। लोग अपने घर की दीवारों का रंग चुनने से लेकर क्‍या खायें, क्‍या पहनें कौन सी पुस्‍तक पढ़ें -- बड़े छोटे बहुत से ऊल जलूल फैसले फैशनेबल दिखने की होड में कर लेते है।

पश्चिमी देश इस बात पर बहुत फ़ख्र करते हैं कि उनके समाज में व्यक्तिवाद की बहुत अहमियत है यानि हर व्यक्ति को अपनी मन मरज़ी का जीवन जीने की स्वतन्त्रता है, और हर पहलू में freedom of Choice (चुनने की स्‍वतंत्रता) को सर्वोच्च स्थान दिया जाता है। हिन्दुस्तान में भी जो तबके पश्चिमी सभ्यता से अधिक चकाचौध है, वह भी मानने लगे हैं कि उन्होंने भी अपने जीवन में चुनने की स्वतन्त्रता को अहम्  जगह देकर खुद को एक विशिष्‍ट प्रजाति में बदल दिया है।

परन्तु इस बात का बहुत कम लोगो को अहसास है कि फैशन नामक इन्डस्ट्री जो पश्चिमी सभ्यता का अहम् हिस्सा बन चुकी है, हर क्षेत्र में चुनने की स्‍वतंत्रता, विचारों की स्‍वतंत्रता और अभिव्‍यक्ति की स्‍वतंत्रता की जड़े काटने का काम बहुत व्यवस्थित ढंग से करती है।

कपड़ों को ही लीजिये अमरीका में यूरोप में और अब तो एशिया के देशों में भी कौन क्या कपड़े पहनता है इसमें निजी च्वाइस या पसन्द का बहुत कम महत्व है और फैशन इन्डस्ट्री का ज्‍यादा। यह फ़ैशन इन्‍डस्‍ट्री का ही कमाल है कि औरत, मर्द, बूढे, जवान, बच्चे अमीर और गरीब सभी डैनिम की फटी घिसी को पहनकर खुद को अफलातून महसूस करते हैं। किसी ज़माने में यह अमरीका के गरीब डॉक लेबररर्ज़ की यूनीफॉर्म हुआ करती थी। परन्तु फै़शन इन्डस्ट्री ने इसे रईसो का फैशन बना दिया। अब तो यह हाल है कि फटी, उधड़ी पैबन्दो वाली जीसं अच्छे खासे नये पैन्टसूट से महंगी बिकती है। मेरी अनफैशनेबल निगाह में इससे भद्दी कोई डैªस हो ही नहीं सकती। इसे दिनो दिन धोया नहीं जाता। वो ही पसीने से सनी बदबूदार गन्दी जीन्स लोग धडल्ले से पहनते रहते है। क्योकि जितनी पुरानी, मैली कुचैली होती है जीन्स, उतना ही उसकी फ़ैशन वैल्यू बढ़ती है। 

चीथड़े सी दिखती बनियान नुमा टॉप्‍स, फटी पुरानी पैबन्द लगी जीन्स अगर गरीब बदहाल लोग पहने तो समझ आता है। परन्तु फैशनेबल स्टोर में जाकर जब अच्छे खासे अमीर घरो के लड़के लड़कियां और रईस फिल्‍मस्‍टार भी मह्रंगे दामो पर ऐसे कपडे खरीद कर लाते है जो 20 साल पहले आप सड़क के भिखारी को भी देने में शर्म महसूस करें तो इसे फैशन इन्डस्ट्री की जादूगरी ही कही जा सकती है।

यूरोप या अमेरीका के किसी भी छोटे बडे शहर में जाइये, आप देखेगे कि हर साल लंदन, पैरिस में बैठे  फैशन मुगल तय करते हैं कि इस सीजन कौन से रंग के व किस डिजाइन के कपड़े फैशनेबल माने जायेगे। यदि इस साल गुलाबी रंग को फैशनेबल करार किया गया तो लगभग सभी शो विन्डो में गुलाबी ड्रैस सजी दिखेंगी। अगले सीज़न गुलाबी रंग ‘‘आऊट ऑफ फैशन’’ करार दिया जाना नीहित है अन्‍य कोई और रंग का शो विन्डोज में हावी होना भी नीहित है।

औरतो के कपड़े कितने टाईट फिटिंग हो या झबले यह औरत खुद अपनी मरजी या सुविधा या पसन्द अनुसार नहीं तय करती। यह फैसला ऐसे फैशन डिज़ाइनर तय करते है जिनकी उसने शक्ल तक नहीं देखी, जिनका उसने नाम तक नहीं सुना। स्कर्ट या कुर्ता कितना लम्बा या छोटा होगा - कितना मिनी या मैक्सी होगा, खुद को आधुनिक मानने वाली कोई विरली ही औरत होगी जो अपने मन और दिमाग से सूझ बूझ कर तय करती है। यह फैसला फैशन के ठेकेदार ही करते है।

किसी जमाने में औरत के लिये शर्मनाक माना जाता था कि उसके अर्न्‍तवस्‍त्र बाहर दिखे या ब्रा का स्टेªप ब्लाउज मे से बाहर झांकता दिखे। परन्तु अब तो अपनी ब्रा की नुमाइश करना फैशन बन गया है।

हिन्दुस्तान में जहां एक ओर लंदन, न्यूयार्क, पैरिस के फैशन मठाधीश तय करते हैं कि औरत अपने अन्दरूनी अंगों की कितनी नुमाइश करे, दूसरी ओर आम दर्जी भी बॉलीवुड फि़ल्मो व टीवी सीरियल़्ज़ के कपड़ो के अनुसार सलवार का घेरा, कमीज की लम्बाई व ऊचाई या ब्लाऊज़ के कट की नकल करने की होड़ में कम तेज नहीं। पर फिल्मी या टीवी हीरो हीरोइनों की नकल करने की होड़ में मदमस्त लोग यह नहीं सोचते कि जो लंहगा या शरारा ऐश्वर्या राय या करीना कपूर पर सुन्दर लगता है ज़रूरी नही कि मधु किश्वर पर भी सजे। फ़ैशन के दीवानें कम से कम अपने शरीर के डील डौल को देखकर कपड़े चुने और शीशे में भली भांति खुद को उन कपड़ो में देखकर यदि तय करे कि फ़ला़ डिजाइन मुझ पर जचेंगा भी कि नहीं - तो कहा जा सकता है कि‍ कपडों के चुनाव में फंला व्यक्ति ने सोच समझ कर कपड़ो का चुनाव किया है। परन्तु ऐसा करने की क्षमता फैशन का गुलाम समाज खोता जा रहा है। 

बात कपड़ो तक सीमित रहे तो झेला जा सकता है। हजारों लाखो रूपया खर्च कर के अपने बालों व शरीर के अंगो तक का हुलिया फैशन अनुसार बदलनें की चाह में ना जाने कितने लोग अपने ही शरीर पर कितने जुल्म ढा रहे है। क्‍यूं कि फैशन के मठाघीशों ने साईज़ ज़ीरो को फैशनेबल करार दिया तो करोड़ो औरते क्रैश डाइटिंग करके खुद की सेहत तबाह कर रही है या लिपोसक्शन जैसे खतरनाक ऑप्रेशन कराने को मजबूर है। 

पर इस सब से ज्यादा घातक वो लोग है जो Intellectual fashions (बौद्धिक फैशनों) की लक्ष्मण रेखा के बाहर कदम भर रखने की जुर्रत नही रखते। हर सामाजिक मुद्दे पर उनके पास रटे रटाये जवाब ही नहीं परन्तु उनके साथ फिट बैठने वाले चेहरे के भाव व आक्रमक शब्द भी है। क्यंwकि यह बौद्धिक फैशन अमेरीका या यूरोप के विश्वविद्यालय या फंडिंग एजेन्सियां तय करती है इसलिये यह दिमागी कीड़े इन सरपरस्तों की मनमरजी अनुसार ही बदले जा सकते है। वो सब एनजीओ व शैक्षणिक जो पश्चिमी देशों की फंडिंग एजेन्सी के अनुदान के बलबूते अफलातून बने फिरते है, अपने विचारों अपने शोध कार्यक्रमों व शब्दावली तक को फन्डिग एजेन्सियों की मन मरजी अनुसार ढ़ालने में माहिरता को बड़ी उपलब्धि मानते हैं।

इसी वजह से भारत में बहुत से एनजीओ बिल्कुल export quality activism करते हैं। हमारे अधिकतर जाने माने समाजशास्त्री अपनी पुस्तकें मेरठ, मैसूर या रायपुर स्थित कॉलिजों या विश्वविद्यालय के छात्रों के लिये नहीं लिखते। वे इसी में शान समझते हैं कि हारवर्ड व ऑक्सफोर्ड इत्यादि में उनकी पुस्तकें पढ़ी जा रही है।

हमारे internationally networked social activists (अन्‍तरराष्‍ट्रीय नेटवर्को से जुड़े कार्यकर्ता) को इस बात की कतई परवाह नहीं कि उनकी बात उनके अपने पड़ोसी या रिश्तेदार ना सुनते है ना मानते है। वे इसी से खुश है कि न्यूयार्क, लंदन या मेलबर्न में प्रायोजित हुई कॉन्‍फ्रैन्‍सों में उन्हे वाहवाही मिल जाती है। जिस दिन इस देश का बुद्धिजीवी वर्ग यह मानसिक गुलामी छोड़कर इस देश की संस्कृति, मान्यताओं व इस देश के आम बाशिन्दों की आकाक्षांओ से जुड़कर फैसले लेने की क्षमता बना पायेगा, उस दिन हम अपने समाज की हर छोटी बड़ी समस्या का हल ढंढने में सक्षम हो जायेगे।  

सर्वप्रथम दैनिक भास्‍कर में जुलाई 14, 2012 को प्रकाशित  

  

How Surat became a Safe City : Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthaana’s High-Tech & Responsive Policing in Surat Deserves Replication

There is widespread consensus in India that the police  in India have emerged as one of the biggest threats to people’s safety and a major stumbling block in establishing the rule of law.  It is assumed that the problem lies in the antiquated Police Act enshrined by our colonial masters way back in 1861 which was meant as an instrument of tyranny over the local populace because if provides untrammeled power to the cops without much accountability to citizens.

Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthaana

While it is essential to replace the antiquated Indian Police Act of 1861 vintage, it  must be replaced by  legislation more suited for a free India of the 21^st Century. 

All those interested in seeing police become an efficient instrument of law and order don’t need to wait haplessly till that happens. IPS officer Rakesh Asthaana, the current Commissioner of Police in Surat, has shown how major transformations can be brought about fairly swiftly in approach and functioning of the police within the present system as well.

Before being posted as Police Commissioner of Surat, the most important commercial hub in Gujarat, and premier centre of diamond trade in India, Asthaana earned recognition by his meticulous investigation of the Godhra train massacre of February 27, 2002 and before that the Fodder Scam in Bihar. It is widely believed in Gujarat that swift and honest investigation into the train massacre played a significant role in helping a communally charged and intensely divided town like Godhra to come back to peaceful co-existence between Hindus and Muslims. 

This was accompanied by swift trials which led to salutary quick punishment for the guilty.  Because the investigation was thorough most of those arrested as accused got sentenced.n Asthaana says: “If you put fear in the mind of criminal elements of a community which rarely exceed 2 to 5 percent, the rest are easy to control.” This has been his motto in each of his postings.

Asthaana was posted as Police Commissioner (PC)  of Surat in 2011.  This was soon after the terrorist bomb blasts in Mumbai’s famed jewelry market – Zaveri Bazar. Like Zaveri Bazar, the old Surat City is also a major hub of diamond polishing and jewelry making with thousands of crores of products exchanging hands every day.  Most of the diamond cutting units are located in the inner city with narrow lanes.  Therefore, the city was very vulnerable to terror attacks.  It is also a major textile centre, likewise located in the heart of the old city. 

When Asthaana was posted as PC Surat, Narendra Modi told him you have to make this premier commercial centre of Gujarat a safe city.  Modi gave him two tips to define his job profile –

1. Surat is going to be the fastest growing city in Gujarat.  Therefore, your plans to make it a safe city should be based on realistic calculations of its growth potential in decades to come.
2. Make optimum use of technology to bring about efficient, accountable policing.

One of the hundreds of weather-proof, water-proof CCTV cameras in Surat

One of the hundreds of weather-proof, water-proof CCTV cameras in Surat

Asthaana says, thereafter he was left alone to do his job. 

So one of the first things Asthaana set out to do was to set up a Police Control Room with cutting edge technology to monitor 24x7 a whole string of CCTV cameras installed in key locations of the city. In many parts of India, including the capital city, CCTV cameras have been installed but serve little purpose because they are not backed up by the required monitoring systems.  So no one even notices when they break down or fall into disuse out of sheer neglect. Often the local hoodlums or the police themselves damage them to render them dysfunctional.

But Surat’s high resolution CCTV cameras are supported by state of the art round the clock monitoring mechanisms.  This system is believed to be even better than that of New York.  They work not only for monitoring traffic and issuing electronic challans to those who violate traffic laws but also for catching both small and big criminals.  They are also effective in monitoring police response to various incidents.  For example, I saw examples of how in cases of hit and run accidents, the Control Room immediately flashed the number of the car that had hit a motorcyclist from behind to all the traffic policemen on duty.  Therefore, within minutes the car was waylaid by the police.  But the cameras also showed how the policemen near the site responded to the accident. Since these cameras can zoom to the minutest details, they also help the police catch pick-pockets, purse snatchers or those who steal vehicles or valuables kept in vehicles.  They have also helped solve several murder cases. 

The images caught at up to 1 km distance are very sharp and clear.  They can catch the minutest activities on the road, be it a woman counting money on the roadside or a thief stealing a laptop from the backseat of a car at a red light signal. Likewise, in case of road accident victims, the Control Room can ensure that quick medical help in the form of an ambulance reaches the spot swiftly.  

The 280 sq ft video wall in the diamond city has been installed at the Command & Control Room of Surat Police Headquarters

The 280 sq ft video wall in the diamond city has been installed at the Command & Control Room of Surat Police Headquarters

But most important of all the Control Room can monitor real time whether or not the cops on duty acted with alacrity to an emergency situation or they just stood and watched.  This brings a high level of accountability of those policemen on the ground.

The system is now gearing up to introduce face detection so that once the face is fed into the data system, no matter where the criminal shows up in the city, the monitoring system will issue a warning signal.

There is no denying that this system has the potential of misuse if the monitoring exercise is extended to surveillance of political opponents, instead of criminals. It also raises serious privacy issues. But the scores of people I talked to in Surat did not complain because the sense of security on account of better policing without any evidence of intrusive snooping on citizens’ lives thus far made them unconcerned about the possibility of abuse in future. It is noteworthy that under Narendra Modi, the level of confidence in Government was relatively much higher in Gujarat than in most other states of India. In fact, the standard response I got with regard to privacy concerns was: “This system monitors you only as long as you are in public spaces.  How can anyone look for privacy in public spaces? The police are not setting up cameras in our homes or even our private commercial establishments. The cameras are only meant to catch images on roads and in public utilities like railway stations, bus terminals etc.” However, citizens need to remain vigilant about the potential of misuse with this technology which has for the moment proved a major boon in diverse areas.  

For instance, this system is also capable of working well during natural calamities such as earthquake or floods – providing detailed inputs to the authorities as to the extent of damage and where exactly what kind of help is needed.  Likewise, in case of terror attacks, it can  help identify the likely culprits in real time because the monitoring is minute to minute 24x7.

Commond and Control Centre, Surat City Police

The first phase, which started in 2011, involved installation of 104 CCTV cameras backed by a Control Room which has been crafted to allow scope for future expansion.  Asthaana took only 90 days to operationalize it. It cost no more than Rs 10.51 crores. All this technology was purchased through a transparent World Bank approved tender process.  Today 650 cameras are already in place and the future plan involves covering every nook and corner of the city with 5000 cameras, including the outlying coastal areas. This means at the press of a button, the Control Room can watch any untoward incident as it is unfolding – thus making it easy for the police to respond to emergencies with speed. Even if all the cameras are not being monitored simultaneously, the moment an incident happens, in case the Control Room has not caught it instantly, the local beat constable or even local citizens know the Control Number and can inform about the happening through a call. In that case, the Control room at once focuses on the footage captured by cameras on that location—be it a fire, accident, theft, murder or doings of a riotous mob.

The system allows the footage of 5000 cameras to be stored for a full one month—all of it accessible at the press of a button. The cameras allow for close up shots as well as zooming in at the exact location to get minute details of the spot. That is why police response to calamities as well as mishaps, accidents can be swift and well informed.

Asthaana explained how merely having CCTV cameras doesn’t work unless the Control Room is so designed that it can remain operational during emergencies.  For example, the Taj Hotel in Mumbai which was the site of a gruesome terror attack in 2009, had enough CCTV cameras.  But since the Control Room was inside the hotel, the footage captured in CCTV cameras could not be accessed by the police to figure out the movement of terrorists.  But the Surat Control Room can gather all the live footage from all over the City in real time.  In key public places like the railway station, they have organized 3D coverage.

In the first phase itself, the incidents of crime came down by 27%.  Since then as the system keeps expanding, there has been progressive decline of crime incidents. The system acts as a major deterrent because miscreants know the likelihood of being caught is much higher than under routine Indian style policing.  In 2013 itself 44 serious cases of crime in addition to many smaller ones were detected and solved through this system.  For instance, on 26/12/13 a murder was committed at 4.03 am in the Athwa police station area.  The killers left the body in a khandhar (dilapidated, abandoned building). The CCTV cameras outside that khandhar caught 3 young men moving suspiciously around 4 am. Those video images helped the police zero in on the murderers very swiftly.

The plan is to equip each road of Surat with 3 CCTV cameras, each with a catchment area of one km radius.  There would be two cameras for 2 lane movement roads and a third camera that observes the entire road.  Multiple cameras are being installed for micro analysis of lane movement, such as catching the details on the vehicle’s number plate.

All these cameras are water-proof and weather-proof.  Even though the technology has been purchased from Israel through an open tender system, the servicing is under the charge of a local Surat based company.  Local servicing has made the system much more cost efficient. 

The local police was trained into the use of this technology by the Computer Engineering Department of South Gujarat University free of charge.  The head of this department is also a member of the Technical Committee set up by the Police Commissioner.  Asthaana has also involved a large spectrum of citizens, including businessmen as stake holders in this entire system.  It is this active citizen participation and partnership which has made the system a success. 

The success is not just about crime figures falling but in greater confidence of citizens in their city police. You don’t find many grumbling and disgruntled citizens in Surat. They take pride in their police and the general administration of their city.  One clear evidence: it is common to see young unescorted women moving around the city late at night, right into the early hours of the morning, especially on weekends.

It is equally common to see families with little children enjoying roadside picnics well past midnight in sundry parts of the city.  During the Navratri festival young girls go around laden with expensive jewelry without any fear of being robbed or abducted.  There is a palpable sense of confidence among citizens in the law and order situation and the ability of the police to keep criminals at bay.

A lot of course depends on the kind of leadership Asthaana has provided to those under him.  He is available to citizens round the clock.  His personal mobile number is well known to people in the city and Asthaana invariably picks up the phone himself.  Most of the time, you don’t have to go through a whole hierarchy of secretaries to speak to him.  He is also respected for his integrity and probity and comes down heavily on those found indulging in malpractices or running extortion rackets.

But none of the above would work beyond a point it Asthaana did not get solid political backing from his chief minister.  Asthaana was in field duty jobs for eleven long years while Narendra Modi was CM. He says, Modi ensured for the police freedom from political interference first and foremost by his own conduct.  "In the 11 years that I worked under Mr Modi as CM, first as in-charge of investigation into Godhra train massacre, then as Police Commissioner, Baroda and finally as Police Commissioner Surat, the CM never called me even once to influence my decisions.  In fact, I got full backing even when I had to take tough action against miscreants within the BJP."

For instance in 2008 when Asthaana was Police Commissioner of Baroda, he had the challenge of ensuring peacefully Ganpati Visarjan in a city where every such religious festival led to communal clashes. As part of tightening security arrangements he took into preventive custody some influential persons as well.  This included some BJP workers who were involved in provocative incidents.  This inevitably produced a strong political reaction because as members of the ruling party, the BJP workers did not expect to be hauled up thus.  So Asthaana phoned the Home Secretary and reported the matter to him and explained why that action was felt necessary. Asthaana says within five minutes he got a call back from the CM’s office saying, “go ahead and be as tough as necessary”.  That strengthened the morale of the police in dealing firmly with miscreants.  Consequently, that was the end of mischief mongering on Ganpati Visarjan and other such important festivals – which all passed incident free.  Likewise, during the course of Anna Hazare inspired agitation, on one occasion, the police had to resort to lathi-charge.  The news of this upset Modi but when Asthaana explained and described the ground situation which led to police action, Modi backed his decision.   

Now that Narendra Modi as the Prime-Minister has issued numerous public statements that safety of citizens, especially of women, will be his prime concern, one hopes along with necessary changes in the Police Act, Modi government will extend the tried and tested Surat method of policing all over the country and handpick the best cops to run the system in high crime prone cities and towns of India.

हिन्दू समाज में ‘‘पूजनीय‘‘ शब्द की दुगर्ति

ऐसा क्या कुचक्र चला है हिन्दू समाज पर कि जिसको भी हिन्दु समाज ‘‘पूजनीय‘‘ मानता है, उसी की अपने हाथों ऐसी दुदर्शा कर रखी है जो दुश्मन भी ना करने की हिम्मत करें।

गाय को ही लीजिये -- पारम्परिक रूप से हिन्दू समाज में गाय को माँ का दर्जा दिया गया है और पूजनीय माना जाता रहा है। घर में पकी पहली रोटी गौमाता को खिलाकर ही परिवार स्वंय कुछ खाता था। आज देश के हर छोटे बड़े शहर में हमें गौमाता कूड़े के खत्तों में कचरा खाती दिखती है। भूख से बेहाल गइया प्लास्टिक तक की थैलियां खा जाती हैं। यह हाल सिर्फ उन गायों का ही नहीं जिन्हें दूध बंद होने की अवस्था में उनके मालिक लावारिस छोड़ देते है,  बल्कि उन गायों का भी है जो दूध देती भी है, परन्तु क्यूंकि भैंस की तुलना में देसी गाय कम दूध देती है,  इसलिये उनके मालिक उन्हें भरपेट चारा देने की जरूरत नहीं समझते। देश के कई हिस्सो में देसी गाय दुर्लभ होती जा रही है -- उसकी जगह अमेरीका की जरसी गाय ने ले ली है। अमेरीकन गाय को भले ही हिन्दु समाज पूजनीय ना मानता हो, पर कम से कम उसके मालिक उसे चारा तो भरपेट खिलाते है क्योंकि वे दूध अच्छा देती है। इस अवहेलना की वजह से देसी गाय, जिसे हम भारतीय संस्कृति का पूजनीय प्रतीक मानते है, की नस्ल में भारी गिरावट आई है, हालां कि देसी गाय का दूघ अमृत समान अतुल्य है।

गोहत्या को लेकर मुसलमानों के खिलाफ जहर उगलने वालों की व दंगे फसाद भड़काने वालो की

कमी नहीं है। पर अपनी गाय माता की सेवा व रक्षा करने वालो की तादाद कम होती जा रही है।

मेरे पड़ोस में एक गो-चिन्तक कूड़े के खत्तों से गौमाता को कचरा खाने की बदहाली से बचाने हेतू एक रेड़ी पर स्टील के बड़े बडे ड्रम रखवा कर मौहल्ले में घुमवाते हैं - इस संदेश के साथ कि गृहणियां अपना बचा खुचा जूठा भोजन, सूखी रोटियां, फलों व सब्लियों के छिलके उन ड्रमों में पड़ोस की भूख से बेहाल गौमाताओ के भोजन के लिये डाल दें। एक ओर तो यह बहुत ही सराहनीय कार्य लगता है। परन्तु दूसरी ओर यह सोचकर मन दुखता है कि जिस देश में हर गृहणी रसोई में पकी पहली रोटी गाय से मुंह छुआ करके ही अन्य सदस्यों को भोजन खिलाती थी, जिस देश में गाय की पूजा और चारा डाले बिना घर में खाना नहीं पकता था,  आज हम उसी गोमाता को रसोई का बचा खुचा, सडा गला खाना देने में भी आलस करते है - कौन अलग थैलियों मे आम या केले के छिलको को डाल गेट तक ले जाये? आज जिस आटे में कीड़ा लग गया, उसे गाय के आगे डाल दिया जाता है।

यही हाल इस देश की नदियों का है। हिन्दू समाज गंगा, यमुना व अन्य कई नदियों को पूजनीय मानता है। यह मान्यता आज भी जीवन्त है कि गंगा स्नान भर करने से जीवन भर के पाप धुल जाते है। इस विश्वास को लेकर बड़े बड़े कुम्भ आयोजित किये जाते है व करोड़ों लोग हर साल गंगा में जाकर डुबकी लगाते है। परन्तु उसी गंगा, यमुना मैया में अपने शहरों के सीवर उड़ेले जा रहे है। हमारी ‘‘पूजनीय‘‘ नदियां आज इतनी विषैली और मैली हो चुकी हैं कि उनमें कोई जीव जन्तु जिन्दा नहीं बचा। गंगा यमुना के तटों पर व पानी में तैरता इतना कचरा मिलेगा, उनके पास जाने पर इतनी दुर्गधं आती है कि दस मिनट खड़ा होना दूभर हो जाता है।

यही दुदर्शा अघिकतर मंन्दिरों की है। दुनिया में किसी और घर्म के पूजा स्थल इतने गंदे, इतने बदहाल नहीं है जितने हम हिन्दुओं के अघिकतर मंदिर। इन मंदिरों में चढावे की कोई कमी नहीं, भक्तों की कतारें लगी रहती है, पर साफ़ सफाई का ध्‍यान रखने की किसी को सुध नही - उन पुजारियो को भी नहीं जो वहां विराजमान देवी देवताओ की सेवा के लिये रखे गये है। जो समाज अपने मंदिरो की अपने पूजा स्थलों की गरिमा बनाये रखने की क्षमता खो बैठा है, वह समाज एक जीवन्त स्वाभिमानी समाज कहलाने का हकदार कैसे हो सकता है? कृष्ण नगरी वृन्दावन व शिवनगरी वाराणसी धार्मिक स्थलों में बहुत प्राथमिकता रखते है। पर उन शहरो की गंदगी, खुले सीवर की भयंकर बदबू शर्मसार कर देती है।

इसी प्रकार हिन्दू समाज स्त्री को पूजनीय मानने का दावा करता है, हर स्त्री को ब्रह्मांड की महाशक्ति का साक्षात् रूप मानने की डींग मारता है। परन्तु वही समाज आज बेटियों के जन्म पर मातम मनाने के लिये व उनकी भ्रूण हत्या के लिये विश्व भर में कुख्यात है। वही पुरूष जो मंदिर मे जाकर देवियों का पूजन व तरह तरह के भजन कीर्तन, कर्म कांड करता है, घर में अपनी बेटी, बहन, मां या पत्नी के साथ दुव्र्यवहार करने में जरा झिझक महसूस नहीं करता।

कहने को औरत घर की लक्ष्मी है, बहन और भाई का रिश्ता पवित्र बंधन है। पर बहन को पारिवारिक सम्पत्ति में हिस्सा देने की बात पर खून खराबे की नौबत आ जाती है।  सम्पत्ति में बेदखल करने के बावजूद बेटियों को ‘‘बोझ‘‘ माना जाता है क्योंकि शादी में दहेज देना पड़ता है। वही भाई जो बहन से राखी बंधवा रक्षा का वायदा करता है, उसी बहन के विधवा होने पर या पति के घर से निकाल दिये जाने पर मायके में रहने का अधिकार देने को तैयार नहीं होता, क्योंकि मां पिता का घर सिर्फ भाइयों और भाभियों की मिल्कियत बन जाता है। वही परिवार जो नवरात्रों में कन्या पूजन करता है, अगले ही दिन अल्ट्रासाऊंड टैस्ट करा अजन्मी बेटी की गर्भपात द्वारा हत्या कराने से नहीं चूकता। 

ऐसे अनेक उदाहरण सिद्ध करते है कि हिन्दू समाज के अघिकतर लोग अपने घर्म और संस्कृति के मूल सिद्धांतों से केवल रिचुअल के जरिये जुड़े है और रिचुअल भी ज्यादातर फिल्मी ढंग के होते जा रहे है।

आये दिन हमारे समाज सुधारक सरकार से नये नये उल्टे सीधे, औने-बौने कानूनों की मांग करते रहते है। क्यूं ना यह मांग की जाये कि हिन्दू समाज को तब तक पूजा के अघिकार से वंचित कर दिया जाये जब तक वह इस बात को फिर से आत्मसात् नहीं करता कि हमारी संस्कृति में ‘‘पूजनीय‘‘ शब्द के सही मायने क्या रहे है और उसके साथ क्या क्या जिम्मेदारियां जुड़ जाती हैं। पूजा के हकदार वही लोग हैं जो ‘‘पूजनीय‘‘ शब्द की गरिमा को पालन करने की क्षमता रखते है।

यह लेख पहले दैनिक भास्कर, मई 27, 2013 में प्रकाशित किया गया था