मोहब्बत-ए-वतन

हम भी आँखों में सपने,
दिल में हसरतें रखते हैं,
ये तो सुरूर है मोहब्बत-ए-वतन का,
जो जान हथेली पे लिए फिरते हैं.

सुकून से ज़िन्दगी फिर जियेंगे कभी,
अभी तो जान न्योछावर किये चलते हैं.

सूखा नहीं है हमारी आँखों का पानी,
ये तो वक्त का तकाजा कुछ और है,
वरना हम भी आँखों में नमी रखते हैं.
   
वतन के नाम है अपनी जवानी,
वरना सपने हम भी रूमानी रखते हैं.

आओ फिर से दिया जलाएं

नव सृजन करें प्रकाश का,
अंधियारे को दूर भगाएं,
आओ फिर से दिया जलाएं.

हम संस्कृति के वाहक,
सनातन धर्मं के सेनानी,
करके अपना पुण्य प्रबल,
लिख जाएँ एक अमर कहानी.

निर्बल का बनें संबल,
गिरते को ऊपर उठायें,
अपनी सोच को विस्तृत करलें,
संपूर्ण जग को सुखी बनायें.

बन जाएँ हम भी दियें समान,
स्वयं को होम कर समाज में उजियारा लायें,
अपने अहम् को सीमित करके,
पावन पर्व को सफल बनायें.

नव सृजन करें प्रकाश का,
अंधियारे को दूर भगाएं,
आओ फिर से दिया जलाएं.

ये राहें

कुछ कहतीं है ये राहें,
पर तू है मंजिल पाने को बेताब,
अपनों को कर नज़रंदाज़, चला जा रहा बेखबर.

कल मंजिल तो होगी पर ना होगा कोई साथी,
जश्न मानाने को, खुशियाँ बाँटने को.
तू चला है अपनों को भूलकर,
अपनों के सर पर पाँव रखकर.
आगे बढने की भूख, पैसा कमाने की हवस,
इन्सान को कर रही इन्सान से अलग,
इस भूख के आगे हर रिश्ता बेमानी हो गया,
पैसा इस कदर इन्सान पे हावी हो गया.


ये राहें कहतीं हैं, साथ ले उनको,
जो छूट गए पीछे कभी,
वो जो तेरे साथी थे सभी,
वो जो तेरे अस्तित्व को अर्थ देते हैं,
वो जो तेरे दर्द में रो देते हैं,
साथ ले उन्हें,
क्योंकि उनका होना मंजिल को सार्थक बनाएगा,
और तभी सही माएनों में इन्सान सफल हो पायेगा. 

Once again.....

Once again blood spilt on streets,

Once again we were brought to our knees.

Once again innocent people put to death,

Once again Mumbai is in grip of wrath.

But this didn’t come as a surprise,

It was expected, waiting to happen,

Anytime it could be sudden demise.

What else can be expected from an impotent government,

 For past 7 years they have been painfully reluctant.

And what message they have sent to the world,

Come & slaughter us, we will remain lulled.

Even if we got you, even if our court prosecute you,

We won’t hang you, we won’t execute you.

Once again there left a huge question mark,

Why can’t we become unassailable?

When will we learn to retaliate?

Sadly there is no one to give the answer,

Till then it will keep killing us like a cancer.

India v/s भारत

आज एक नहीं दो देश दिखाई देते हैं,
एक को भारत एक को लोग इंडिया कहते हैं.

भारत-पाकिस्तान का विभाजन अंग्रेजों की देन था,
भारत-इंडिया का विभाजन अंग्रेजियत का परिणाम है.
और ये विभाजन राजनितिक न होकर सामाजिक-आर्थिक ज्यादा है, 
पर इसके भी मूल में मेकोले वाली विचारधारा है.

वैसे सच पूछो तो ये विभाजन ज्यादा नहीं चल पायेगा,
किसी-न-किसी दिन, कोई एक दूसरे को निगल जायेगा.
और ज्यादा सम्भावना यही है की भारत को निगला जायेगा,
इसका यह अर्थ ना निकालें की इंडिया का हाजमा दुरुस्त है,
असल में इंडिया की भूख बहुत बड़ी है, वह अपनी इन्द्रियों के आगे पस्त है.

ये तो भारत है जो संयम में विश्वास रखता है,
संसाधनों का दोहन ज़रुरत भर के लिए करता है.
बहुत थोड़े में उसने जीवन-यापन किया है,
जितना लिया उससे कहीं ज्यादा दिया है.

जिस sustainable development की बात आज UN कर रहा है,
वह देन है विनम्र भारत की, जो सदियों से इसे परम्पराओ में ढालता आ रहा है.

भारत की पुनःप्रतिष्ठापना सदिच्छा भर नहीं, समय की आवश्यकता है,
याद रहे दुनिया में मान तब बढेगा जब घर में सम्मान मिलेगा,
समग्र विकास तभी होगा जब नीतिगत निर्णयों में भारत को महत्व मिलेगा. 

इन्कलाब-ए-हिंद

अब ना सहेंगे तेरे ज़ुल्मों को,
इस सत्ता की ठनक को,
शेर-ऐ-इन्कलाब है हम,
हमारे खू से क्रांति की इबारत लिखी जाएगी.

तुझे तेरी औकात बताने ऐ सत्ताधीश,
एक बार फिर नई दिल्ली की घेरेबंदी की जाएगी.
भगवा पर चली लाठी की गूँज तुझे बहरा बनाएगी,
ऐ सल्तनत-ऐ-दिल्ली इस कहर से ना तू बचने पायेगी.

निर्दोषों पर अत्याचार आखिर कब तक सहेंगे,
तिल-तिल मर कर आखिर कब तक जियेंगे,
अब तो आर-पार करना होगा,
संतो को ठग बोलने वाले तुझे हिसाब देना होगा.

ये गद्दी अब ज्यादा दिन न टिकेगी,
तेरे अहंकार को मिटटी में मिला दे जो,
वो ज़िंदा कौम है ये, पांच साल इंतज़ार ना करेगी.

संतो को लाठी, आतंकी को बिरयानी,
ऐ नादाँ दिल्ली बहुत हुई तेरी मनमानी.
बहुत हुआ आमरण-अनशन,
अब होगी आर-पार की लड़ाई,
मिलाने तुझे मिटटी में, पूरे मुल्क ने ली है अंगडाई. 

The Unsung Heroes of Modern India: T N Seshan

Tirunellai Narayana Seshan(T N Seshan) was the 10^th Chief Election Commissioner of India from 1990 to 1996. Because of his contributions he is often referred as Father of Electoral Reforms in India.

He was born in Kerala. After doing Graduation from Madras Christian College, he started teaching there. Seshan topped the Indian Police Service Exam in 1953, and in next attempt got selected for Indian Administrative Service in 1954. His first posting was as Sub collector in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. After working as Director of Programs in Secretariat for Rural Development in Madras he was appointed as collector of Madurai district. And there he got a fellowship to Harvard University to earn Masters Degree in Public Administration in 1968. After returning from abroad, he resumed his career and this time with senior level positions like Secretary at Department of Atomic Energy.

After working in many Ministries he was assigned to the Ministry of Environment & Forest by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Seshan worked there from 1985 to 1988 and make that ministry one of the most active one. He opposed Tehri Dam and Sardar Sarovar Dam projects but the decision was overruled by Government. He was known for his assertiveness, even though he was overruled several times by his Superiors. During all these years he had developed a bond of trust with Rajiv Gandhi and it paid him well as Rajiv Gandhi appointed him Cabinet Secretary, the highest post in the Indian Civil Service hierarchy.

In 1989, Chandrashekar became the Prime Minister and he transferred Seshan in Planning Commission. But soon his friend, Subrahmanyam Swamy, who was the then Law Minister, bring him back into the main stream by offering him the post of Chief Election Commissioner. There he changed the very face of election commission forever.

During his tenure there he reviewed more than forty thousand cases of false election return and disqualified fourteen thousand potential candidates. To conduct a general election in India is a gargantuan task. Election commission needs thousands of human resources to conduct these elections in a fair manner, and it fulfills this need by temporarily employing state employees. But the problem was they didn’t take their duty seriously, and they work under the pressure of local leaders. Seshan made it clear to the employees as well as the government that these employees come under the Election commission’s jurisdiction. And they have to follow EC’s orders. Though some politicians and bureaucrats oppose this, but Supreme Court ruled in the favor of Seshan.

In 1993 elections in Tamil Nadu, Seshan ordered Government to send troops in the state but Home Minister while saying that states cannot be forced to have such forces, refused to follow the order. Seshan declared that no elections would be held in the country until the Government recognizes the authority of Election commission. Again the matter was in Supreme Court, but Seshan relented.

In 1993, parliament in order to limit the power of Seshan, amended the constitution and added two additional commissioner to share the power with Chief Commissioner. But Seshan didn’t give in; he went to Supreme Court challenging the authority of Government to make such amendments. Supreme Court gave an interim order that the power of additional commissioners cannot be equal to that of Chief Commissioner. It said while he may consider added commissioners advice, he was not bound to follow their advice.

To make elections fair, another thing he did was the empowerment of voters. He started National Voters Awareness Campaign to make them aware of their rights and duties as a citizen. Seshan also called for the Government to issue photo identity card to all voters. Again, Government didn’t co-operate, so he declared that no election would be held in the country if ID cards were not issued to the voters. Few elections were postponed because ID cards were not ready, but Supreme Court ruled that voting is the inherent right of voters, and voting cannot be postponed for the lack of ID cards.

Seshan also created a group of Election Inspection Observers, which were recruited from Tax department. They were assigned the duty of checking the expenses by the candidates in every constituency on a day-to-day basis. One of Seshan’s controversial policies was the ban on the graffiti as well as loudspeakers, posters on public and private property. He also started the trend of conducting elections in phases.

His major contribution was the strengthening of the Election Commission. His policies deprived ruling parties of using government machinery during elections. Today we feel proud of our vibrant democracy. This has only become possible because Seshan never succumbed to the illegitimate demands of politicians. Through transparent and fair elections he ensured the peaceful change of leadership in our democracy. His work was acclaimed internationally and in 1996 he was awarded prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award. He was powerful, effective and a great administrator. Because of his stringent policies politicians became more careful, they started taking rules seriously. T N Seshan is always remembered as one of the most outspoken officer this country ever had.

Journey of life

A new beginning, a new journey,

emerging a new destination, in the horizon.

I dunno what way will i go, I dunno where will I reach,

All I know is to move forward, that is what they preach.

Sometimes the journey becomes your destination,

Never stop, never look behind,

That is how you draw your inspiration.

What lies ahead are obscured, galore fortunes waiting to be explored,

But If you gonna get’em, you’ll be soared.
 

To strike balance you need to keep moving,           

so go ahead and never let your past haunt you,

move on & let your belief propel you. 

आरक्षण का अखाडा

घर के बाहर खड़ा हूँ, सामने सड़क है,
सड़क क्या है आरक्षण का अखाडा है.
इसी अखाड़े में आरक्षण के दाव-पेंच चले जाते है,
बसे तोड़ी जाती है पुतले फूके जाते है.


सोचता हूँ अगर सड़क भी आरक्षित होती तो,
तो शायद कुछ ही सड़क पर चल पाता,
विप्रसमाज में जन्म लेने की कुछ तो सजा पाता.

वैसे ये सड़क राजनीति की प्रयोगशाला भी है,
यहाँ जातियों को लेकर विभिन्न प्रयोग किये गए,
और लोकतंत्र को नए-नए आयाम दिए गए.
खुद को पिछड़ा साबित करने की होड़ इन्ही प्रयोगों का परिणाम है,
ऐ मोकापरस्त राजनीति तुझको बारम्बार प्रणाम है.

कभी जूते चार लगाने वाले आज सर्वजन हिताय बोल रहे,
नहीं किसी के हितेषी, ये कौए है जो कोयल सी बोली बोल रहे.
भाई-भाई मे भेद कराती ये राजनीति की माया है,
नहीं मुलायम भी नहीं, अब कठोर होने का समय आया है.

इन्ही सडको पर बिछाई जाती है शतरंज की वो बिसात,
शत-शत भाइयो में रंज कराकर अब होती है भाईचारे की बात.


इसी सड़क पर एक ट्रक ने एकदिन मुझको कुचला था,
तब मै, मै से मुक्त हो पाया था.
अब इंतज़ार है उस पल का जब कोई ट्रक ऐसा भी आएगा,
जो जातियों को कुचल कर, हिन्दू समाज को मुक्त कराएगा. 
 

आज समय आया है.

आज समय आया है.
खोया वैभव लोटाने का,
माँ भारती को पुनः विश्व-गुरु बनाने का.

अब धूल छटेंगी उस स्वर्णिम आभा से,
जिससे प्रदीप्त यह विश्व हुआ,
अब पुनः बहेगी वह ज्ञान-धारा,
जिसने संसार को सभ्य किया.

पुण्य तुम्हारा होगा यदि माँ के काम आ जाओगे,
इस पावन यज्ञ में अपनी आहुति चढ़ा जाओगे.
माँ के वैभव में ही पुत्रो की जय होती है,
राष्ट्र बिन उन्नति तो अधोगति सी होती है.

माँ को ताज पहनना है, हाँ, निश्चय ही अब यह होगा,
पर याद रहे वीरपुत्रो, निज-स्वार्थ से न संकल्प पूरा होगा.
यदि भविष्य की आहट न सुन पा रहे, तो वर्तमान पर कान धरो,
प्रेरणा इतिहास से लेकर निज राष्ट्र को महान करो.

यदि संसार बचाना है, और आगे बढ़ाना है,
तो नेतृत्व बदलना होगा, अब यह भार भारत को अपने कंधो पे लेना होगा.
पूरी स्रष्टि ताक रही, सम्पूर्ण मानवता बिलख रही,
भोग-विलास से त्रस्त यह दुनिया एक योगी की बाह जोट रही.

तो उठो अब न देर करो, बस मन में थोडा धैर्य धरो,
भारत माँ की खातिर अब अपना सर्वस्व तजो.    
आलस्य-प्रमाद से क्या होगा, उठो जागो कुछ कर्म करो,
मानवता की खातिर इस राष्ट्र को सशक्त करो.

The Unsung Heroes of Modern India : V P Menon

 He was an Indian civil service officer. He was the constitutional advisor to the last three viceroys during British rule. He was the only Indian in Mountbatten’s core team. In Independent India he became Secretary of the Ministry of States. And more importantly, he was the person who along with Sardar Patel achieved the integration of Indian states.

He was Vapal Pangunni Menon. To his friends he was known as V P Menon. Menon played a vital role in shaping Independent India’s fate, but he never received the recognition he deserved. He came from a very humble background and yet reached the heights of the Indian Government Services. Born in Kerala in 1894, Menon joined Government service in 1914. Later, Lord Wavell appointed him Secretary to Governor General. In 1946 he was appointed political reform commissioner to the British viceroy. Though he had the confidence of Government and successive Viceroys, he was a staunch Indian patriot & had confidence of political leaders as well, especially Sardar Patel.

When Mountbatten arrived in 1947, Menon was not included in his core team. Mountbatten had orders to hand over the power latest by June 1948. After Gandhi’s proposal of calling Jinnah to form interim government failed, Menon was the first person to accept that some form of Pakistan is going to be a reality. But Menon opposed the plan of Mountbatten according to which power was to be transferred to the provinces for an interim period. According to this plan provinces had the right to decide, whether to join India, Pakistan or to be Independent. Mountbatten’s plan was the plan of balkanization of this sub-continent with India, Pakistan, and hundreds of princely states. But history had chosen V P Menon to decide the geography of this sub-continent.

After all these events, Menon went to Shimla, where Nehru & Mountbatten were to meet in May 1947. There he informed Mountbatten, of a new approach to the problem, which he had discussed with Sardar Patel in December 1946. Then on the 10 of May 1947 Menon presented his plan to Nehru in front of Mountbatten. The broad outline of the plan was that the Muslim majority areas should be separated from India and power should be transferred to the two separate Governments. He felt that it was better for the country to be divided than to let it scourge in the never ending civil war. On the 3 of June plan suggested by Menon was formally accepted by all leaders. After this, Menon’s task was to prepare & finalize the draft of ‘India Independence Bill’. Actually there were hell lot of events happened in between May & June. Scores of articles will be needed to cover all those series of events, and that is not possible here. So I am just giving you the glimpses of those events.

Menon’s second crucial contribution was related to the accession of princely states. Menon worked as Sardar Patel‘s right hand in the Home Ministry. He took the charge of the Secretary of the States Department on 5 July. Initially he was not sure whether to join Ministry or not because India’s Independence was his life’s ambition and since India was going to be Independent, he thought of retirement. But Sardar Patel persuaded him to join Ministry for the integration of the Indian Union.

Menon (third from right) advising Patel (second from right)

 Menon drafted an Instrument of Accession for the princely states. He used all his diplomatic skills while negotiating with princes. Initially many Maharajas were unwilling to sign, but eventually they surrendered to Menon’s tactics. By the time of transfer of Power, all except three states, signed the Instrument of Accession. These 3 states were Junagadh, Hyderadabad, & Kashmir. Later Junagadh and Hyderabad surrendered because of strong leadership of Patel, diplomacy of Menon, & threat of Indian Army. But the case of Kashmir was very unique. Hari singh, Maharaja of Kashmir had not signed the Accession Instrument. When Pakistani tribes invaded Kashmir in October 1947, Menon immediately went to Srinagar to discuss the situation with Maharaja. He came back to Delhi, had a meeting with Mountbatten & flew back to Jammu. When he again returned to Delhi, he had with him the Accession papers signed by Maharaja. It was only after these accession papers that Indian Government was able to send troops to Kashmir, and it became an inseparable part of India. His third major achievement was to control the communal riots which followed immediately after the partition. Menon along with Sardar Patel and Mountbatten worked hard to stop the riots.

After Patel’s death in 1950, Menon went into background as he was not close to Nehru. Later he became Governor of Orissa. In 1952 he retired from the service and shifted to live in Bangalore till his death in 1966.

By the policy of Accession Menon had ensured the unity of India. Later he expressed this feeling in his book ‘Integration of the Indian States’ as “My feeling was one of profound thankfulness to God. The threatened fragmentation had been averted and the whole country had come under one political umbrella.”We often heard that the British brought this country into one political umbrella, it’s a fallacy. Rather, it was the duo of Patel & Menon who understood the need of hour and stitched together this union in record time. If Menon had not shown his skillful diplomacy, sharp acumen, this country could have led to civil war. Without Menon India of today would be a very different nation. We can never forget what he has done for this country during that crucial decade of 1940s.   

The Unsung Heroes of Modern India : Introduction

Friends, I am writing this series of articles which is titled as “The unsung heroes of Modern India”. First of all I would like to thank Shubham Verma for his kind support and encouragement in writing this series. In each article I will write about a personality who played a paramount role in the making of Modern India. We all have read a lot about pre-independence leaders of our country be it political, social, or religious. But there is little knowledge about the post-independence heroes. I wonder, will the architect of modern India be ever recognized by the fellow citizens or will their contributions be lost in vain?

 This series intends to reveal the arduous work done by such personalities. We all owe to them for their service to rebuild this country. In 1947 Britain left this country in the desolate valley of despair, and to bring it out from that valley to the mountain of hope was not an easy task. But then again, we were and we are a resourceful country, and the greatest resource of India, or any country, for that matter, is its people. Britain looted every precious thing from us except people, and in people lies our greatest strength. I cannot but quote famous American Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words-

”Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honour's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.”

And there can be no better time to quote these lines, when our economy is booming; we are getting recognised all over the world for wealth. But the point which I want to make is that we are not emerging because of wealth, we are emerging because we have men, who are ready to sacrifice, who are ready to work hard. In today’s materialistic world, where money is getting precedence over everything, it’s hard to believe that money is just a bi-product of talent.

What we are today is because of the efforts of various personalities from different fields and in this series you will become aware of such personalities. If even a single person gets inspired from these stories and feels motivated to do something for the country I will consider these stories worthwhile. And this will be the real tribute to them………………

Some more paintings by Deva Keshoraiya (my mother)

श्री कृष्ण

श्री राम

श्री कृष्ण

भारतवर्ष

 भारत क्या है? क्या मानचित्रों में दर्शाई गई भोगोलिक सीमायें भारत को परिभाषित कर सकती हैं? और यदि ऐसा है तो क्या विभाजन के बाद का भारत अधूरा भारत है? भोगोलिक सीमायें तो विभाजन के पहले भी परिवर्तित होती रही हैं. और एक प्रश्न यह भी है की विभाजन के बाद कौन सा हिस्सा भारत कहलाने का हक़ रखता है?
निश्चित तौर पर यह जनसँख्या, क्षेत्रफल, और भोगोलिक विशेषताओं के आधार पर तय नहीं किया जा सकता. परन्तु यहाँ पर एक प्रश्न यह भी उठता है की, क्या हिमालय के बिना भारत की कल्पना की जा सकती है? क्या गंगा-यमुना के बिना भारत के अस्तित्व को आकार दिया जा सकता है. परन्तु, यदि हम चीजो को विस्तृत रूप में देखे तो हम पाएंगे की इन प्रश्नों का उत्तर भारत की वर्तमान भोगोलिक सीमायें देती हैं.

सिन्धु नदी का बहुत थोडा हिस्सा आज भारत में प्रवाहित होता है. सिन्धु-घाटी सभ्यता के अधिकांश अवशेष सीमा के उस पार है, परन्तु इससे भारत की सभ्यता-संस्कृति में कोई कमी नहीं आई. इसी प्रकार हिमालय का एक हिस्सा जैसे कैलाश-मानसरोवर आज भारत में नहीं है, परन्तु फिर भी आज का भारत एक संपूर्ण भारत बना हुआ है, या बनने को अग्रसर है. तो यह तो स्पष्ट है की मात्र भोगोलिक सीमायें भारत को परिभाषित नहीं कर सकती.
कोई भी देश ईंट-पत्थरों से नहीं बल्कि वहां के लोगों से बनता है. भारत भी भारतीयों से बना हुआ है, परन्तु जब भारतीय विदेश में जाकर बसते हैं, और यद्यपि वह कई जगह बहुतायत में भी है, तथापि हम उसको भारत नहीं मानते. आज जो पाकिस्तानी है कल वो भारतीय हुआ करते थे, परन्तु आज उनकी निष्ठा भारत-राष्ट्र के प्रति न होकर पाकिस्तान के प्रति है. हम जनसँख्या के आधार पर इस राष्ट्र को परिभाषित नहीं कर सकते. इतनी बड़ी जनसँख्या के चले जाने के बाद भी भारत, भारत है. किसी के होने-न होने से भारत के गुण-धर्म में कोई परिवर्तन नहीं आया है.

तो ऐसी क्या चीज है जो भारत को भारत बनाती है?
क्या है वो चीज जो भारत को अक्षुण रखे हुए है?

वह है उसका अटूट विश्वास. अटूट विश्वास उन सनातन मूल्यों में, जो भारत को मात्र एक राजनितिक इकाई न होकर एक जीवंत राष्ट्र बनाते है. भारत किसी स्थान-विशेष का सूचक नहीं है, वह तो विभिन्न प्रकार के के गुणों के सम्मिलन को दर्शाता है. जब हम भारत को भारत माँ कह कर अपना सम्मान जताते है, तो हम किसी व्यक्ति-विशेष या स्थान-विशेष के प्रति अपना सम्मान नहीं जताते, बल्कि हम उन गुणों के प्रति अपनी निष्ठा जता रहे होते हैं जो भारत को भारत बनाते है. यह गुण कई प्रकार के हैं जैसे धार्मिकता, अध्यात्मिकता, बंधुत्व-भाव, समानता, राष्ट्र-आराधना आदि. इन गुणों में भी सिरमोर है धर्म-अध्यात्म. यह भारत की USP है. भारत के लोगों में धर्म के प्रति एक विशेष आग्रह होता है.( यहाँ धर्म से तात्पर्य किसी एक विशेष धर्म से नहीं है.) भारत की विशेषता तथाकथित धर्म-निरपेक्षता नहीं बल्कि सर्व-धर्म सापेक्षता है.

यही वह मूल्य हैं जो भारत को संसार में एक विशिष्ट स्थान दिलाते हैं. जिस भी राष्ट्र की निष्ठा इन मूल्यों में है, वह भारत कहलाने का अधिकारी है. संसार में जहाँ-जहाँ यह आदर्श हैं, वहां-वहां भारत है.             

 Look East Policy

Look east policy is the Indian foreign policy started in the year 1991. It was developed by the, then Prime minister of India, P.V. Narasimha Rao. I am of opinion that he was the most underrated PM of India. He also started diplomatic relations with Israel. But that’s a different story, some day I’ll write on that as well. Coming to the Look east policy, it marked a strategic shift in India’s foreign policy. It was meant to build close ties with East and Southeast Asian countries. Look East Policy seeks to build economic & business agreements, strategic & security cooperation, and strengthening historic cultural & ideological relations with East & Southeast Asian countries.
Historical Background
Historically, India has a great influence on Southeast Asia whether it is cultural, social, or religious. The biggest Hindu Temple (or any religious campus) on this planet is not in India, but in Cambodia. AngkorWat, built by Suryavarman II in 12 century is the most prominent proof of Indian influence on Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesia, Bali, Sumatra are still there to tell us about the reach of Indian civilization. Though Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, they follow many Indian customs. In fact, the National Airlines of Indonesia is named after mythological bird Garuda which is mentioned in many Hindu scriptures. (However we can’t use such names because we are so called secular country!) One thing should also be kept in mind that Indians never colonized any country there. Rather we won the heart of the people and made a lasting impact on the mind of the people.
Post-Independence Era
After independence our leaders look towards west for technological and educational tie-ups. And in the west they chose Soviet Union. Though we never joined any military group, we have close ties with Soviet Union and rightly so because of the regional conflicts in South Asia. We need armaments and that also in large numbers, and Soviets were the right people to deal with. But with the fall of Soviet Union, whole scenario changed. This World was no longer a bipolar world. And surprisingly, collapse of Soviet Union coincided with the financial crisis of India. Therefore, India needed partners not only for safety & security but also for business & trade.
On the other side of the coin, Southeast Asian countries also needed India to balance China’s growing influence in the region. In fact USA too wants the same. Recently, when Barack Obama came to India he addressed the Parliament. Commenting on India’s foreign policy with Southeast Asian countries, he said “We want India to not only look east but to engage east.” USA think tank wants to counter China with the help of increasing influence of India. But India never plays in other’s hands. We are a sovereign state, having independent foreign policy. Though some recent developments have made me think otherwise.
Treaties & Agreements
India is the founding member of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation [BIMSTEC] in 1997 along with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Srilanka, & Thailand. Later Nepal and Bhutan also joined the group. It is primarily focused on trade & investment, technology, energy, communication & transportation. The important thing is that India is doing things in its typical Indian way. Indian policy is not an Expansion policy like that of China. India is not building relationships to build army or naval base there, but it wants prosperity for all its neighbors including Pakistan. We have a stake there and we can’t afford to have an unstable country in our neighbor.
India is the founding member of East Asia Summit [EAS] founded in 2005. 6 of the 20 members of the G-20 belong to EAS. Indian proposal of establishment (or reestablishment) of Nalanda University in Bihar is also supported by EAS. India has signed Free Trade Agreements [FTA] with many East & Southeast Asian countries. But the crowning glory is FTA with ASEAN. It is the first Multi-lateral agreement signed by India. In 2003 the initial FTA was signed with ASEAN, and it came into effect in 2010.
India is the founding member of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation in 2000, along with Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. It emphasizes on Tourism, Culture, Education, and Transportation. Some time ago there were news of Delhi-Hanoi Rail links & Trans-Asian Highway Network, linking New Delhi to Singapore. But the progress has been slow because of Bureaucratic red tape. To foster Tourism, Indian government has recently announced that tourist from BIMSTEC & SAARC now only have to pay same entry fees to Indian monuments as Indians pay.
Some time ago there was also news of India joining Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC] but somehow things didn’t work out. In its initial phase, Look East Policy was more concentrated towards Southeast Asian countries.  But eventually India strengthens its ties with far eastern countries as well. Japan, South Korea, and Philippines have huge potential for India especially in terms of business. Japanese and South Korean companies are also realizing that India has potential to become the production base for Global market. Japan and South Korea are the major sources of foreign investment in India.
Bi-lateral ties with Myanmar (Burma)
The case of Myanmar (Burma) is unique in Southeast Asia. It has good amount of reserves of Oil & Natural Gas. It is ruled by military junta General Than Shwe. India had initially opposed the military junta, but in 1990s it began making relationship with junta with larger national interest in mind. There was a time when India overtly supported Pro-Democracy movements in Myanmar for many years. We even awarded Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader, with the Jawaharlal Nehru Peace Prize in 1995. But now things have totally changed. China has marked its presence in Myanmar and even developed a naval base there. We can no longer afford that. We have to strike a balance between the principles laid by our founding fathers and the harsh reality lies in front of us. It doesn’t matter whatever USA & western media says about it. And we should not let Barack Obama to give us a lecture about the responsibilities of an emerging country.
Conclusion
Today we can say that the seed sown by the visionary Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao has started giving us fruits. We are now seen as an active leader of Asia. To become a Global power, we need to become a Regional power first. In today’s multi-polar world we cannot remain dependent on one single relationship. Rather we have to build strategic partnerships with all developed and emerging powers. Look East Policy was considered to be more of an economic in nature, but now it has acquired political & ideological dimension as well. I’ll conclude with the words of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh -
“India’s Look East Policy is not merely an external economic policy, it is also a strategic shift in India’s vision of the world and India’s place in the evolving global economy. Most of all it is about reaching out to our civilisational neighbours in South East Asia and East Asia.”

Swami Vivekenanda by Mukund

Inclusive Growth

Inclusive growth means growth for all, growth for all sections of society which includes not only rich but also poor, not only powerful but also weaker sections of society.
Our country has seen rapid growth in the last two decades.When LPG (liberalization,privatization,globalization)
started in 1991, country was growing at modest rate of approx. 3 %. This rate was often called as Hindu growth rate. In post-liberalization, we started growing at a steady rate of 6-8%.
But this growth doesn't mean growth for all. Only a section of society is reaping benefits of this growth. For a vast proportion of society this growth means nothing. Still 70 crore people in our country survive on Rs.40 daily.
For a country growing with the rate of close to 10%, which boasts itself as the fastest growing free market economy of the world, it's a shame that it can't provide the very basic infrastructure which is necessary for survival. It's a shame that crores of people are deprived of proper sanitation, clean drinking water, shelter, basic health care etc. even after 63 years of independence and more importantly even after 2 decades of economic growth.
So little people are there in the bandwagon of economic growth, crores are left behind. So is there any surprise when there is naxalite outburst in the country? Considering the amount of injustice we did to them, this violence seems very little.If we don't provide the fruits of growth to the underprivileged sections of society then there will be total anarchy in our society. We can't sustain islands of prosperity in the midst of vast ocean of poverty.
So we have to provide the benefits of growth to the lower class, as we have successfully done it in the case of mobile communications. This technological growth has really reached to the lower sections of society, and i think this has only become possible because of the free market competition. So it's high time to take some tough decisions in terms of policies. Policies should be framed on the basis of the long term interest of the country rather than on the basis of forthcoming elections.

paintings by Deva Keshoraiya (my mother)