Remembering Allama Iqbal:

For the past many days I have been thinking about Iqbal's two famous quotes,
one being:
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mit-tee nahi hamari,
Sadiyon se raha hai dushman daure-zaman hamara.

And then,
Vatan ki fikr kar naadaan museebat aane wali hai,
Teri barbadiyo ke mashwure hain aasmano me,
Na samjhoge to mit jaaoge aye hindostan walon,
Tumhari dastaan bhi naa hogi dastaano me.

I can't solve this dilemma, if our existence can't be erased easily why should we worry, right from Vedic age people came to India, some settled here and enriched it in someway or other. Even those who went back, they too enriched India. Our cultural continuity is intact while all other ancient civilizations are now a part of history. Or is this plain myth created by scholars.

I am no expert in history but as far as I know stiff resistance and use of force have never been a part of our history barring a few exceptions. What we had in plenty was infighting and small kingdoms, all over the country.

When a poet like Iqbal says 'Watan ki fikr kar naadaan' what does it signify, we by default neglect/ignore our nation and nationality, or we simply don't care about it (use of the word 'fikr'), we are so engrossed in our daily lives that a detached perspective is impossible for us. Did it emerge from the frustration and anger of being unable to eliminate the inaction and indifference from fellow citizens. What was it that made him write this?

Is it not something that I can identify with, a part of me says nothing will change, go back enjoy your life but the other part says have patience God takes tests before granting wishes.

Whatever it is, I can't get past this dilemma, which statement is correct or which one carries more weight if both are true.

Am I fooling myself. . . .

I just recalled this point, Even (if I remember correctly) Gandhiji too criticized this independent nature of the little republics (our villages) being a hurdle to socio-religious reforms.

Are we still living in these little republics or have we made the big republic called India by merging these.

Should we start a Project Black Cat on the lines of Project Tiger?

(On NSG & CISF Commandos.)

Well I am talking about the NSG (National Security Guard) Commandos, popularly known as Black Cat Commandos. The NSG was setup specifically for Anti-Terror and Anti-Hijack Operations. But (I think) as a hijack or a terrorist attack is a rare event slowly they were deployed as bodyguards of the politicians. Taking a cue from this all those who had the right approach and influence started keeping either commandos or police or even homeguard jawans as bodyguards and escorts. Security became Status Symbol and the work to convert Cats into Dogs begins.

It should not come as a surprise that a particular commando is guarding a particular politician for a very long time. However even under the garb of Status Symbol what politicians can’t risk is their lives, having learnt the lesson from Indira Gandhi’s Assassination. They might have ‘befriended’ a couple of commandos and thus can’t let them go easily. (I have noticed the security personnel serve tea/water to Uma Bharti, carry files and bags of Sonia Gandhi, open doors of car for Mayawati, etc. am I a Sexist, I don't think so) This is in context of the news article, No takers for Israel-trained CISF commandos, CISF men guard our Space Centers, Atomic Power Plants, Airports, etc. but the politicians won’t trust them with their lives. (What if one commando sees their corrupt life and decides to end it, this I imagine, why waste your life saving a rat that is eating into country’s resources.)

Now what should we do to free the NSG commandos from these politicians, start a Project Black Cat on the lines of Project Tiger, for the politicians won’t let go the commandos so easily. You might think why so much fuss about a hundred commandos so kindly glance through the following data: (or read the complete article here.)

1. The NSG has two wings - the Special Action Group (SAG) the Special Rangers Group (SRG), comprising select men from various forces. More than half of SRG personnel are deployed for VIP security.

2. There are around 400 guarded VIPs in the national capital alone. Around 15,000 Delhi Police personnel out of its strength of 60,000 guard the VIPs, who include ministers, politicians, bureaucrats, judges, religious leaders, lawyers and a few journalists.

3. This (1 and 2) is in addition to the Special Protection Group (SPG) that is exclusively meant for providing security to the prime minister, former prime ministers and members of the Gandhi family.

4. Over 45,000 policemen guard over 13,000 VIPs across the country.

5. There is an estimate that approximately Rs.6 billion of taxpayers' money is spent annually on the salary of the security staff involved in such duties.

Hope that you get the idea of the ‘GOLMAAL’ going inside our country. Who are they afraid of, us, or their rivals, who are rats like them, goons and criminals, why would anybody kill his god, or are they afraid of themselves, their own deeds, so as to deviate from reality by creating a world of their own where they can say, do and justify all their acts, a stage where they write the story, where they are the actors and where they are the audience.