Ignoring can be Cowardice

Many a time we ignore someone and in our ignore we see a kind of brevity. We think that being able to ignore is a kind of strength. Well, having power to ignore is really strength, but it also matters “where” to apply this power. Often we do an ‘ignore’ only to hide our potential defeat or to avoid our weakness or inferiority to come out in the open. So, let us not have a fixed mindset that just because we have ignored someone or something, we are being seen as a strong person in the eyes of others. In fact, the condition can be just the opposite! Ignoring can be seen a sign of cowardice!

Shannon L. Alder said something which captures it very well:

“I have always found it odd that people who think passive aggressively ignoring a person is making a point to them. The only point it makes to anyone is your inability to articulate your point of view because deep down you know you can’t win. It’s better to assert yourself and tell the person you are moving on without them and why rather than leave a lasting impression of cowardness on your part in a person’s mind by avoiding them.” - Shannon L. Alder.

Sarabjit Singh: A Martyr and a Patriot

In case of Sarabjit Singh, our worst fears came true. It is difficult to say if he died some days back and still the treacherous nation Pakistan kept doing drama over his body, but it does not matter now.
 

Today’s newspaper quotes Sarabjit Singh saying from Pakistani Jail, “I will reach heaven the day I reach India – alive or dead”. This was his patriotism! He longed not only to meet his wife and two daughters in India, but “to be in India”! We can’t imagine the inhuman conditions in which he had to spend 22 years in Paki jail. Great Chandrashekhar Azad had shot himself rather than getting captured by the enemy. But innocent that he was, Sarabjit might not have considered Pakistan as an enemy and would have tolerated all with our good old belief “satyamev jayate – truth alone wins”… His end may not justify his faith in this world’s goodness, yet, he has left a long list of inspirations for all of us. We complain and crib, but we are living in the land which gave us birth and sustained us – is cause of all the great things which ever happened in our life.

This land was Sarabjit Singh’s heaven… Finally his mortal remains have come here… Mother India would have wept a lot today…
 

At the same time there are people amongst us who ask why Sarabjit Singh was declared a martyr in India? The question is:
 

“In the Indian version, Sarabjit Singh was a farmer but in Pakistani version he was a bomber and his guilt was proven by Supreme Court in Pakistan; hence Pakistan’s treatment of him should be expected! Also, a martyr is defined only if one sacrifices life for some honorable cause. What was the honorable cause in case of Sarabjit?”
 

Here is what I have to say as answer:
 

(1) To say “his guilt of bombing and killing innocent people has been proven in court” is misleading. There is no proof against him. There was one man called Shaukat Salim who the police claimed was “eye witness”. But the man after some days denied seeing him and said he made that statement under pressure from the police! If courts of some nations start giving verdicts without any proofs, we can’t call it justice just because it is called “court” by that nation. There is nothing called “Indian version” and “Paki version”. There is only known facts, and known facts tell us that he was a common farmer and was not linked to the bomb blasts. In fact he was arrested months after bombings had happened there.
 

(2) Definition of Martyr and what is “honorable cause” in this case: Most dictionaries tell martyr as ” One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle” So what is the belief, cause, or principle in this case? Or what is the “honorable cause” you question? It is simply what always is in case of martyrs – TRUTH! Sarabjit was innocent and had not bombed Pakis. But they falsely accused him of doing that and tortured him till death. Thereby, he becomes a martyr. He had belief in “victory of truth over lies” and “good over evil”, this is why he lived! Otherwise one could have done suicide to save himself from Pakis’s so called justice. Just like Chandrashekhar Azad had shot himself. But the good man Sarabjit believed in truth winning and this was his “honorable cause”! Thirdly, his patriotism! Did you read today’s newspaper where his one letter is quoted, where is says, “I will reach heaven the day I reach India – dead or alive”? Such was his patriotism!!! If after reading his this statement, still you don’t find a “honorable cause”, your heart is made of stone! Sorry for strong words, nothing personal, but I think there are more than one honorable causes in case of Sarabjit, only if we look.

Subscribed to Vivek Jyoti

Our grandpa used to subscribe to Hindi magazine ‘Vivek Jyoti’ every month, which is published by Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Ashram, Raipur. Another professor, his colleague from college used to come to his house to deliver the magazine, as an act of service to society. Even after grandpa, we kept it subscribed. I had a dream to subscribe to the magazine on my own but since I was moving places it was not possible for me. Now I have subscribed it at my home and its first two issues have come. Reading it now and it is a wonderful feeling... I think a big advantage of growing up is that we can still cherish nicest childhood memories and yet have the freedom to be like we want!

The magazine has many regular columns - some explaining verses from scriptures; one is from the pen of Swami Vivekananda (portions of his writing on one topic at a time); on Memories of Ramakrishna where people share how they met Ramakrishna; one amazing column on Memories of Ma Sarada (Ma ko jaisa maine dekha) where people share their memories of Ma Sarada; then one column where a poem is published worshiping India as motherland (apni bharat mata), one column on Adi Shankara's writing (Vivek Chudamani), and many articles written by learned people and Matt members... It has around 50 pages only and is simple in understanding...

For subscription, send a multi-city Cheque or DD of only Rs 60 for a year in the name of 'Ramakrishna Mission', payable at Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Address: Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Ashram, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492001.

Or simplest method is to send me your postal address by message. For some year I have been gifting annual subscription to friends who want to have it... Last month I only sent it for myself and some others and would be happy to gift to anyone interested...

Infosys and NRN

Donald Trump on India

Finished reading ‘Why we want you to be rich’ by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. I think the book is mainly for American readers. It is interesting the way Billionaire Donald Trump introduces India in the book. Some of the points he mentions are below:

(1) India is the world’s largest, oldest continuous civilization.

(2) Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages.

(3) India invented the number system. Albert Einstein said: “We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

(4) Algebra, trigonometry and calculus originated in India.

(5) India is the largest English-speaking nation of the world.

Plus, 38% of doctors in the United States are of Indian descent; and 12% of scientists as well!

Guess we Indians need to be told more about India than Americans! So that we can be proud of our country!

May God Protect Sarabjit Singh

Attack on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in a Pakistani Jail is not surprising. After all, Pakistan is a lawless state where incidents of large and small scale violence are so much rampant. What is surprising is that India left its son Sarabjit Singh to suffer in silence and there is no real pressure on government of India to do something about him. So far only the BJP has spoken strongly in his support.
 

There is no credible proof against Sarabjit Singh, at least in public domain, and yet Pakistan has made him a case to appease anti-India elements in Pakistan. Sarabjit Singh, a farmer, had strayed inside Pakistani border by mistake in a drunk state in August 1990, 3 months after the bombings happened for which he was accused. He was originally arrested on the charges of illegally crossing Pakistan border, but 8 days afterwards, charges of planting bombs were imposed on him for political reasons. Since Pakistan bombs Indian cities and sends trained terrorists inside India, it captures innocent Indians and frames them with charges of domestic terrorism which regularly happen in Pakistan. This is done for political reasons and is part of state sponsored propaganda there for votes.
 

Sarabjit is not the only Indian prisoner who was arrested and killed inside a Pakistani jail. Another Indian prisoner Chamel Singh was killed after being tortured in January.
 

Sarabjit Singh is a resident of Tarn Taran in Punjab and has his wife and two daughters waiting for him.
 

Due to the attack, 60% of his brain is damaged and his backbone is broken. May God give him power to cope up with all this. I pray from my heart and soul to God to save him. And may Indian politicians have some sense and respect.
 

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal and are in no way linked to any organization associated with the author. The purpose of the article is for solely academic and brain storming purpose and there is no attempt to attack or malign the name of any party or person. In case of any complaints on this article or blog, please use the Guest Book entry.

Movie: Nautanki Saala

We watched the movie ‘Nautanki Saala” and loved it. First half is full of sidesplitting comedy which made me shed so many tears (of laughter) after a long time. Second half and in general whole story is very touching and heartwarming. The scenes capturing theatre life is also very interesting and colorful. The roles are also very balanced with all actors getting good script. After this movie I am a fan of both Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunaal Roy Kapur. 

Songs of this movie are also great. I learnt Ayushman has sung two songs of this movie. We are in awe with his talent!

Recommended to all!

Knowledge Avoids Pain

After subsidy in cooking gas was reduced to only 9 cylinders per year, everyone got anxious about how the whole scheme would be managed. We booked a gas refill but no one was at home when the delivery boy came and hence I got an SMS about cancellation of the booking. HP Gas neither has a system of giving a cell phone to delivery boys nor do they try a second time to reach out. The SMS confirmation about expected delivery had mentioned that this was to be a subsidized cylinder. The moment I got SMS about cancellation of booking, I became anxious. Negative thoughts and suspicion came to my mind, because nothing was told about the cancellation and I did not know its repercussions. So I immediately went to their refill godown and enquired about the cancellation. The boys there were really courteous and helpful – or maybe they understood my anxiety. They explained that since the booking was cancelled in the system, it will not be counted as a subsidized cylinder and I simply had to book a new refill. I booked again, and this time also booking was cancelled because they came to deliver on the same day of booking! I never expected such a prompt delivery! So I booked again and next time we made sure there was someone at home all the time. Delivery was done and I noticed that in the receipt they had mentioned “Subsidized cylinder# = 1/9”. This was fair and all my anxiety and worry vanished in a moment.

I think I was worried in the beginning because there was no clarity on policy and process. How were subsidized cylinders going to be counted, what happens when a booking is cancelled, etc, I was not informed about these aspects and even the call center number which I had, had no option to allow me to talk to any of their representatives. Clarity was lacking and hence in absence of transparency, I was worried. The moment I saw a fair process where the computer generated receipt had mentioned the subsidized cylinder count correctly, all my worry vaporized. Information and transparency avoided my worries and pains…

This stands true for a lot many aspects. If a business has transparent processes and policies, customers are happy and satisfied. Customers will never even think of quitting until they have clear knowledge and visibility of what would happen in any particular scenario. But if there is a great organization with prompt service but without clear policies, customers will never have the kind of trust and confidence which needs to exist and customer satisfaction in that case will remain lacking…

Knowledge avoids pain for individuals and hence organizations should try their best to make most information available. Until customers are happy, businesses are happy.

- Rahul

Note: Views are personal and do not represent views of any organization associated with the author. [Detailed disclaimer]