Unfortunately, it had been a mere wish since regionalism took a political turn in Tamil Nadu as Dravida Movement that demanded a separate country, Dravida Nadu for non-Hindi speaking people.  However, nothing much was achieved from the movement and it died leaving behind high-flying regional political parties. Thereon, India has faced a number of such movements, let it be Shiv Sena’s wrath against South Indians in Maharashtra or Andhra’s Telegana Movement or Punjabi speakers demanding Khalistan for themselves or the more recent one being Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) going against North Indians, particularly people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar residing in Maharashtra.  Some regional movements even became extremist like Assam’s United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

India’s ever-increasing population and unemployment rate has brought about a tremendous socio-cultural change to economically strong states and has witnessed mushrooming of metropolitans across the country. Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, is the top destination for domestic migrants. According to the World Development Report 2009, the planners of the city, in 1960’s and 70’s, had decided on controlling then Bombay’s population at 7 million. However today, the city is bursting with more than 16 million people and has the highest population density than any other metropolis in the world. As per the estimates, 54 percent of its total population lives in slums. However, this never stopped the flow of migrants, especially cheap labour from UP and Bihar.

Regional complexity

Migration of any form, intra-country or cross-country is pushed by the employment opportunities. Intra-country migration cannot be stopped for we live in a democracy, where Article 19 of the Constitution of India provides a citizen of India to move freely throughout the territory of India, to reside and settle in any part, and to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. This may lead to a feeling of resentment among the locals who believe that the job opportunities in their land are being given to so called outsiders. This may not be the case in high profile jobs where competition is scarce but is definitely so for smaller jobs where locals have to face cut throat competition with people from other regions.

In a situation like this, locals are bound to feel ignored. However, this scenario is being exploited by the local politicians who in the name of locals’ benefit and as their representatives turn to unlawful means (like in the case of MNS in Mumbai) to throw out the migrants. In the entire mess, the migrants’ contribution to the state’s economy and social structure goes unnoticed. For instance, post MNS violence against North Indians in Maharashtra, the state faced a serious crunch in the number of low profile workers like security guards for local institutions and labourers for real estate industry.

The only means to check the bitterness among locals dwelling in metros is to check the country’s population and generate more employment opportunities at the state level. Having decent means of income in one’s own region will not only avoid mass migration to other states, but also help develop that region and the country as a whole. Also, people need to be given an incentive to stay back in their respective regions, let it be rural India or metros. This will not only check intra-country migration but will also help stop brain drain to other developed economies around the globe. And, at last but not the least, India has always been a land of mixed cultures and will always be.

[P.S. This blog was also published in www.newsx.com blog on July 20, 2009.]

'Perverts don't rape, jeans worn by the girl makes them do it'. Photo Courtesy: Flickr

Past few days saw a lot of hoopla surrounding girls wearing jeans and other western outfits. While, Uttar Pradesh Principals’ Association banned the outfit in the college campuses to avoid cases of harassment by boys, a Jain religious leader said wearing jeans is outrageous and provokes ‘bad thoughts’ in men. This argument was strongly supported by a Madhya Pradesh Minister Paras Jain. However, after facing a series of protests from Women’s organizations, the former ban was called off by UP government and the latter; Jain leader’s statement just made rounds in the media circuits.

On one hand, when the French president Nicolas Sarkozy is condemning ‘burqa’ as a sign of subservience for women, India is telling its women to adopt other methods similar to ‘burqa’ to save themselves from harassment and molestatiinon. Ironically, that too when, India for the first time in history is being lead by three women at the top posts, with Pratibha Patil as President, Sonia Gandhi as ruling coalition’s Chairperson and Meira Kumar as the speaker of the Lok Sabha.

It is understood that one needs to be in socially acceptable attire while in public, but what can be possibly wrong in wearing something that does not reveal. In fact, India’s traditional wear, saree, can be more revealing that a pair of jeans. Does that mean that soon there will be prohibition on wearing sarees as well?

According to a media report, Principal of Kanpur’s DG Girls Degree College Meeta Jamal had said, “A notice has been issued in the college, restricting girls from wearing western outfit like jeans, skirts and tight tops on the campus as it does not indicate a disciplined atmosphere. Such dresses often attract comments from eve-teasers.”

Wake up call

It seems everyone has suddenly woken up to the fact that there are a lot of perverts in our country and since nothing can be or has been done to control them it is time that girls do a reality check and adopt methods that can help them go unnoticed by such lecherous men. And if girls do not do it themselves then will be forced to do so by the authorities.

What the authorities fail to realize is that by imposing such bans they are indirectly blaming girls for the crimes against themselves. It is like telling them, that if they were teased or harassed or raped then it was not because of that unlawfully sexually over-charged man but because she attracted wrong attention by wearing that pair of jeans. Does that mean that authorities can assure a hundred percent safety to women who wear Indian styled clothes like salwaar kameez and sarees?

According to the official figures, 15,856 rape cases were reported in India in 2003. Of these, just 1,336 or less than 9 percent were from 35 cities with a population of more than a million. Moreover, over 90 percent of the cases took place in small towns and villages. In addition to it, 32,939 cases of molestation and 12,325 of sexual harassment were also reported.

Now, the big question is that how many women in rural India wear western outfits or something offensive that could have prompted the crime.

Telling women what to wear will not reduce the ever-rising number of crime against them but telling men that they cannot get away with such a misdeed will surely help. India needs to take crime against women far more seriously.

To start with, who consider women nothing more than a mere object of pleasure need to be told that by raping or harassing they are not just hurting the women physically but also mentally. We need more of Dhananjoy Chatterjee like verdicts. Only the fear of death afterwards can stop such perverts from indulging in the act of momentary pleasure. No dress code or time restrictions for women will help fight this menace but ample awareness and a strong action against such offenders including humiliating them in public will.

[P.S. This blog was also published in www.newsx.com blog on June 30, 2009.]

With two more years to go for my friend and me, we stood aghast and just walked out, never to go back again.We live in a democracy where we are ‘lawfully’ adult after attaining an age of 18 years and are entitled to participate in making of the government. Women are ‘lawfully’ eligible for marriage post 18 years and men post 21. 18 years is the age requirement to get a driving license. Then what is the significance of upgrading the age requirement to 25 years when it comes to the consumption of alcohol.Ramadoss so far has tried his best to make people live a life he feels is right and ideal. Whether it is an attempt to persuade Bollywood actors to give up their ‘bad’ habits to avoid young blindly following them or nagging the film industry to chop out scenes where actors are either shown drinking or smoking. However, he could not enforce his line of thoughts as law and that spared the industry.

Cinema can be tagged as misleading, smoking in public can be objectionable to non-smokers, young having alcohol at public places can be seen as encouragement to others to adopt the habit. However, doing it or not doing it is entirely a personal choice, especially once you are lawfully adult. Ministry can regulate personal behavior at public places that can cause discomfort to others but deciding somebody’s personal choice is not only weird but also unacceptable. If I am an adult as per the constitution of a democracy, then I would like to have the right to choose my lifestyle.

I am 23 and a working professional. I can vote in elections and can choose my representative in the parliament. I can drive around anywhere in the country. I can get married whenever and to whomever I want, but I cannot go out with friends and family to have a round of drinks. If I wish to organize a drinks party then it can be done only at a friend’s or my own house for I am asked for an age proof wherever I walk in to a pub. However, that does not stop me and I am sure any one of us, the underage, from drinking.

It is time that the authorities realize that banning as in case of smoking, bringing in age limits, as with alcohol is not the true solution. Nevertheless, awareness is. It will take a lot more than forcing people or stopping them from doing what they want to do. It needs a major awareness campaign to make sure that the message is well conveyed. It is the regulation that is needed. Moreover, never once should we feel that we live in a democracy where our Health Ministry decides what we do, eat and drink. Times are changing and so are lifestyles but with that even mindsets need to be changed.

The only hope lies in next on the line to be the Health Minister. Hopefully, unlike Ramadoss, the next one would know that using force or ministerial powers would not help in changing personal likes and habits of millions out there. The only way to make it work is by being one of them and telling them why something is considered good or bad for them. Moreover, at the end of the day, it is for the youth of the country to decide on what direction they would like to take.

[P.S. This blog was also published in www.newsx.com blog on April 01, 2008.]

Dhyan Chand in action against France in the 1936 Berlin Olympics hockey semi-finals. India won 10-0. Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia

Sports in India have had a rich history with the country making its presence felt on the world scenario much before independence. The country’s much-touted diversity has not limited itself to castes, religions, languages or cuisines but has also infiltrated sports played in the country. India has not stopped with hockey, cricket or tennis but has produced talented sportspersons in other sports such as badminton, athletics, golf, shooting, chess, squash, boxing and weightlifting.

India participated in the Olympics as early as 1900 and won three gold medals in field hockey. Thereafter, Indian hockey team remained unchallenged champions from 1928 to 1952 and later struck gold in 1964 and 1980 as well. However, since then, the standards of Indian hockey have fallen drastically, and history was created in the lead up to the Beijing Games as hockey’s one-time superpower failed to qualify for the 2008 Summer Games.

Similarly, India’s football team was also once amongst Asia’s best and saw some major successes until the 1970s – like gold in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games, fourth position in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and qualified for the World Cup. But when global football was upgrading itself, Indian players still played barefoot, which became the primary reason for them to miss out.

Post the 1980s, Indian sport saw a major decline. Hockey, after winning its previous gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was struggling to survive while football was already on life-support and other sports continued to struggle. While the ‘Flying Sikh,’ Milkha Singh, missed an Olympic medal by 1/10th of a second in the 1960 Rome Olympics, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics saw ‘Golden Girl’ P T Usha missing a medal by 1/100th of a second. Nevertheless, what they achieved then was outstanding.

But just three Olympic medals have come India’s way since – a bronze in tennis by Leander Paes, another bronze in weightlifting by Karnam Malleswari and a silver in double trap shooting by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The lucky charm

However, while sports in general were on a decline, the 1980s proved lucky for cricket in India. ‘Kapil’s Devils’ lifted the 1983 Cricket World Cup by beating the mighty West Indies. That one moment changed the face of the game in India, as cricket became, unofficially, the national sport.

Although Indian cricket cannot boast too many exceptional achievements, it deserves appreciation for introducing professionalism into Indian sports.

With the money and glamour quotient attached to the sport, Indian cricketers become popular quickly. Irfan Pathan, only five years old in the national team, was the highest paid player ($925000) in the Kings XI Punjab team of the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. Cricketers also star in commercials and endorse many brands.

The credit for this goes to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Be it packaging, marketing or selling the sport, it has done it all.

When world cricket audiences were getting bored with the test and ODI formats, the BCCI introduced England’s Twenty20 game in India — it proved to be a runaway success. The board managed to rope in big names to buy various IPL teams.

Several Bollywood actors, including Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, businessmen Mukesh Ambani, Ness Wadia and Vijay Mallya and corporate houses poured millions into the IPL.

Earlier, Shahrukh Khan starred in a Bollywood hit, Chak de, based on the struggle of hockey in India. His role as the coach of the national women’s hockey team was appreciated but after talking a lot about the dire state of the sport in India, he spent $75.09 million to buy Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL.

Khan said in an interview, “I invested in cricket because there was an opportunity. I think investment in sports should come through a sensible business plan.”

Cricket’s popularity over other sports has shown that everybody is looking for profit. ‘Investments’ come in for one who is either already a star or on the verge of stardom and if the government and respective board can make the sport look profitable. Therefore, there is no point in blaming cricket for the decline of other sports in India.

Indian sports system

It was only after the Indian hockey team went through the humiliation of failing to qualify for the Olympics that the 15-year tenure of the then Indian Hockey Federation chief K P S Gill ended. And now, days before the Games, the Indian Wrestling Federation was in a row with the sports ministry over the selection of a coach. This shows the callousness of the authorities even when it comes to the nation’s pride.

The Indian sports system needs immediate attention. A structure that is not headed by bureaucrats or politicians but by people who understand the sports concerned should be established.

It is easy to expect players to win laurels but facilities to nurture their talent should also be ensured. These include proper training grounds, nutritious food and coaches who know the strengths and weaknesses of players. Shelling out big money to foreign coaches is futile. Since sport is considered a profession now, every sport should try to get into the ‘make a profit’ mode and involve professional management.

When hockey legend Dhyan Chand passed away in 1979, he told his doctor that Indian hockey was also dying. He died penniless after devoting his life to the sport.

Indian sports need to reach standards where it can garner the recognition it deserves. Let there be more medals and trophies on Indian shelves and a longer list of Indian achievers in sports. Then, Indian sports will be once again free of the limitations it imposed on itself.

“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.” – an excerpt from India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru’s speech towards midnight on 14th August, 1947.

[P.S. This article was also published in www.newsx.com on August 04, 2008]

One of the roller coasters on Chennai streets. Photo Courtesy: Sneha Pillai

And there goes a roller coaster, paving its way through the horrendous traffic. Why go to an amusement park when you can experience the ride on road itself.

Autos resemble mice with a pointed nose with a shining headlight and broad back going sideways at every turn. Its yellow and black body makes it look boring too. But then, ‘appearances can be deceptive’. The fun begins once you sit inside the auto. Having some idea of distances can take lot of time in negotiations with driver and may even include some arguments but then a ride does not come easy.

Basically meant for three passengers, these tiny three wheelers, with no doors or seat belts, can even accommodate as many as one can bargain for. Once inside, you get the opportunity to admire the interiors, usually reflecting the driver’s favourites ranging from actor’s pictures to symbols of faith they follow. Some may have radio as an additional charm making the ride entertaining as well. Autos also have a strange instrument known as ‘meter’ whose purpose is to show the charge of the ride according to the distance covered but a working meter is a rare site.

All roads prove themselves to be an ideal track. All the bends and curves give in that additional effect of adventure that lasts much longer as backaches and neck pains. Head collisions with roof can be avoided if one is cautious enough the hold on something while bumping on some pothole. The jerking breaks and escaping an anticipated crash, front falls at signals and a push backwards while starting, further makes the pulse race.

All this comes to an end on reaching the destination but you can be sure of one thing, rides are not over yet.

My room’s level is lower than the lobby’s. One needs to take a step down to get into the room. Looking left at the three steel cupboards, standing next to each other, vaguely reminds me of an industrial era aptly described in ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. The sight of steel laid ahead goes so well with my imagination of period that had more metal and fewer people. However, Sai Baba ji’s picture on my roommate’s cupboard comes out like a ray of light in this darkness of a bygone era. The other door on the left wall of our room leads to the washroom, which is all green, starting from tiles to toiletries, flooring and everything. Green had never been my favorite. I always preferred pink. The blurred mirror over the washbasin gives me a dull look. Compounding that, the uneven leveling of the floor has made me fall down twice. I never liked this bathroom much but home it is for me.

My room is spacious but littered with all of our stuff. Yet it has a sense of emptiness about it. Ironically, even the big window on the opposite wall gives a sense of confinement. It opens to the caretaker’s house and makes it impossible to gaze outside, at the world. The rusty net on the window not only prevent mosquitoes from getting into the room, but also imaginations wandering into space. Even sunlight and fresh air find it hard to cross this manmade barrier.

The wall that stretches across the right side of the room, with nothing on it, not even a picture, reflects the blankness of life. However, some funny posters put up by me and my roommates have tried to fill the void. Having a Shrek-2 poster and another one saying, ‘Deadlines amuse me’ gives the room some life. After all the best cure for blankness in life is humor.