Friday, October 9, 2015

Why the PM should speak up on issues like the lynching on Dadri

I see a lot of people questioning as to why the PM, Mr Narendra Modi should speak on violent incidents in the country. Well, frankly according to me there are compelling reasons. Mr Modi is no ordinary PM. He has ridden to power on the aspirations of hundreds of thousands of people of this country who were fed up with the corrupt and dysfunctional Congress government. They saw in Modi a strong leader who can lead this country on the path of progress and economic development. In doing so, they disregarded a lot of baggage he was carrying as the CM of Gujarat and chose to take into account his economic achievements as the CM of Gujarat. But,it was during his tenure of CM that one of the worst communal riots this country has witnessed happened. Mr Modi as the CM of Gujarat did not once express regret for the riots. He preferred to walk out of Tv shows when persistently questioned rather offer credible answers. He maintained a studious silence on the riots. After he has become the PM, there has been an upsurge of right wing religious forces trying to enforce their diktat on people of other religions. When a lot of people started sounding the alarm bell saying such forces cannot be allowed to operate and thrive in a pluralist society, there was silence again from Mr Modi as if it does not concern him. When the lynching happened in Dadri, again there is silence from Mr Modi. In fact the silence is becoming ominous. People are worried about his silence because of the party he represents, of the kind of relationship his party has with the so called 'fringe" elements, because of the incendiary statements MP's of his party like Yogi Adityanath, Sakshi Maharaj have made from time to time. People are worried about the impact on the country's economy, on its image as an investment destination and on the overall stability of the nation. People expect the PM to nip in bud the trouble created by these "fringe" elements of whatever religious denomination they may belong to by speaking out against these elements strongly and infuse a sense of security amongst all sections of the society. There is nothing wrong in asking the PM to speak out, in fact, he should speak out loud in unambiguous terms in the best interest of our country.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Dear Prime Minister, 
The issue of cow slaughter should not be taken in a lighter vein. For a majority of Hindus, the cow is a sacred animal which is revered and prayed to. Unfortunately, it's a mortal creature too and has a limited life period. When we consider something as sacred, we should then plan for its protection and upkeep too. We lack in that and our duty ends with offering a pooja or pay lip service in obeisance. Like all living beings cow too has been made an object of exploitation by humans. We love its milk and the by products from its milk, we find uses for cow's urine and cow dung, in fact we exploit the "Sacred Cow" in every way possible. But we fail the Holy Cow when we have to take care of it after it stops being of use to us. We allow it to roam the streets or butchered for its meat. Now people claiming to be on a mission to stop cow slaughter are attacking people who they "suspect" of having butchered a cow and killing them. I would like to ask these people as to what steps have they taken to protect a cow which is past its prime and which is of no use anymore. How many cows do we have in our "Goshalas". How many "Goshalas" do we have? Let's learn to respect our sacred animals first as a form of life before we start taking lives in the name of these sacred animals. The Govt can give tax breaks to individuals or companies who run Goshalas or who contribute to recognised "Goshalas". A census has to be taken of the number of cows and it should be mandated to have one Goshala for a certain number of cows. The upkeep of the these cows have to supervised by the local veterinary doctor and a third party certificate has to be obtained annually regarding the status of the "Goshala". People from all communities should be involved in the upkeep of Goshalas. Finally, people from all castes should be trained to conduct the final rites of the cow, when it passes away. That way we can create employment in rural areas, increase our cattle wealth and most importantly live in peace together (until such time we find another emotive issue to divide ourselves). A cow lover 
p.s. : Human beings too are in need of the some of the above services. I hope someone takes time to look at their needs too.