Population growth - a glaring problem which India needs to tackle urgently

India's recent census data reveals continuous growth of its population. The trend that was observed in all previous census data has continued in this one also. With only 2.4% of the world's surface area, India accounts for around 17.5% of its population. Obviously, this puts an enormous strain on the available natural resources and infrastructure of the country. The only relief from this data is that the population growth rate among both dominant religions of India (Hindu and Muslim) seems to be reduced compared to the past which is a good sign. Actually, it is wrong to look at the population data from the perspective of any religion, but anyone knowing about India and its politics understands that whenever this data is released it is aggressively used by political parties to reap political benefits by creating communal divide by polarizing sections of society. Religion definitely plays some role in deciding family structure and social behavior of people, but it would be utterly wrong and stupid to account growth or lack of growth of a particular section of society only to their religion. Many newspaper headlines also report census data in the form of Hindu growth or Muslim growth, this type of interpretation or presentation is utterly misleading and doesn't help in educating people about the population growth problem.

Uncontrolled population growth and declining male-to-female ratio are among some of the very serious problems India has been facing for decades. A lot of efforts are being made on the government level to deal with these issues without much success. Actually, in one way large population can be an asset as it creates a bigger consumer market and large workforce. But if this asset is not managed properly, then it can create liabilities like unemployment and the need for govt support. The current PM, Mr. Modi, always mentions India's huge population, especially its younger people as the nation's asset and he is right in doing so. But this asset, if not engaged in meaningful activities, can cause a lot of chaos and disturbance, one recent example of this is the huge unrest caused in Gujarat by the demand for reservation by youths belonging to the Patel community. Ever-growing population means an ever-growing demand for infrastructure, food, and energy. The problem is by the time infrastructure projects are finished (say in 10 years or so), the population growth makes that project inadequate, so, the purpose for which that project was started is not normally met. This is the problem of India's government-run schemes and projects, the burden of population makes most of them useless or ineffective.

Spreading awareness about the use of contraceptives and communicating the benefits of family planning effectively are the only options to control population growth, many previous governments have done a good job in this sector, but this needs to be a continuous process. Blaming any particular community, caste, or religion is not going to help, this attitude might benefit politically certain political parties, but it is definitely not going to solve this issue. Actually, there are certain issues on which all political parties should work collectively as these are important issues for India, and population control is definitely one of them. I hope that this data is used to make good governance policies and programs and not to play some dirty politics to win some elections. If properly analyzed and studied such data can be very useful in formulating and implementing various types of social and educational programs which can produce long-term positive results for all sections of society. Such data is a very important tool for any government, but the unfortunate part is governments rarely use it effectively for this purpose. Population growth is a very serious problem, and very important for India if it wants to transform into a country with proper infrastructure and better opportunities for all its citizens. The burden of an ever-growing population can derail many ambitious plans and projects. If we are at all serious about the welfare of their country, then we need to tackle this glaring problem with all seriousness and honesty, otherwise, no matter what we build the unbearable weight of the growing population is bound to brush it.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Census_of_India

Sara's encounter with rural India

During my India visit this time, my daughter Sara visited my ancestral villages in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the first time. She was less than a year old when she visited my paternal village, but she didn't have any memories of that visit. There is a huge difference between the lifestyle of today's city kids and life in undeveloped rural places. Because of this, I was really curious about how she would react to this visit. The weather in August is not very kind in most of UP, it is extremely hot and humid, and occasional rain brings some relief but otherwise, it is somewhat extreme weather, especially for someone who is not used to living there. When we came out of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, it was like entering a hot oven, one could clearly feel the difference between the temperature and humidity of the air inside the airport and outside of it. 

Her first impression of the holy city of Varanasi was not that great, she really disliked excessive honking by drivers on the road. Initially, she tried to count how many times my cousin who was driving the car honked, but after 10-15 times within a short span of 2-3 minutes, she gave up that task. The presence of stray dogs and other animals on the road was also surprising for her. Actually, she has seen these things in movies, however, in Pune where we spend most of our time during India visits, this scene is not very common, but this is not the case in Varanasi or other parts of the UP. Also, her utter discomfort with Indian-style toilets and lack of toilet paper was clearly visible, she didn't complain about this, but I could see that she was trying as much as possible to avoid using such toilets. Then there were these mosquitoes, who bothered me also, I was at least familiar with these problems, but for Sara dealing with them was a nightmare. The presence of a cow shade in the close vicinity of the room where she slept didn't help the cause, but she managed to survive and still trying to figure out why the heck people keep cows in their home when cow dunk stinks so much? She also visited a few homes in Varanasi with air conditioners and really loved the cool and less humid environment, it was like an oasis for her. Thanks to one unwritten political rule in UP, which is if an MP or MLA representing your area is occupying some important post in government, that area gets a good supply of electricity and preferred treatment. The current prime minister Mr. Modi is an MP from Varanasi, therefore, it has a reasonably uninterrupted supply of electricity, so, Mr. Modi should get credit for this. I do criticize him or his government whenever I feel that they are not doing a good job, so, I must give him credit wherever it is due. One should appreciate Mr. Modi's effort to make his constituency a better place, I hope people cooperate with him. 

From Varanasi we went to my paternal and maternal villages, we just stayed there for a couple of days. The supply of electricity follows the same political rule in UP villages also, as our village representative is not from the ruling party, it didn't get any preferred treatment. Electricity went off at 8 PM on the day we reached and supply was not restored for the next 36 or 40 hours. We had to rent a power generator to survive that brutal heat and humidity, even sitting right in front of the cooler was not that comfortable, but it was better compared to not having anything. Among all these inconveniences and discomfort, Sara had a great time meeting some really wonderful people. Wherever she went people greeted her with a lot of enthusiasm and joy. They all went out of their way to make her feel comfortable, they tried to make sure that she didn't feel discomfort because of the harsh weather of lack of certain facilities. This was a really special part of her experience, she disliked the place but loved the people. She was amazed to see their tolerance level and ability to adjust to harsh conditions. I was also surprised to see her efforts to adjust to a totally alien environment. This was a surprise for me as it was coming from a girl who used to make a big deal about a slow internet connection. She also tried her best to communicate with those people and engage in conversation to learn about their lives and problems (especially with kids of her age). Wherever required she tried to break the ice and initiate discussions and also tried her best to make those kids feel comfortable. She commented on various gender discriminatory practices like ghunghat pratha, which is similar to the burqa where women are expected to cover their faces in front of elders or strangers. Most of the time, people ignored her comments, but even then she tried to tell them that these things were not right. We also traveled to the river Ganga near my village, I love to visit the Ganga River at this spot rather than on any ghats of Varanasi. At Varanasi, the ghat water is very dirty and the atmosphere is heavily commercialized, a lot of so-called holy men (pandas) try to mob you to do some useless rituals and extract money. But the same river near my village appears really calm, clean, and friendly. Its natural surroundings with birds like peacocks and many trees along with one small temple make it more beautiful. For me, this river is not any more special than many other rivers, but just because some of my childhood memories are associated with it, I love to visit this place whenever I can.

Sara's encounter with Indian railways was not that pleasant, two of our trains got canceled on very short notice, and the one that actually departed left almost 16 hours later than its scheduled departure time. I wrote about this experience in my one of previous blog posts. Actually, this experience had a really negative impact on her mind about the state of governance in India, she was shocked to see utter chaos at the train station with no one having any clue about at what time exactly the train would depart. I had to make a lot of effort to tell her that this was not a regular scenario, but she was not at all convinced. I don't think she will dare to travel by Indian railway again. But the good part is that her overall experience was positive, she really loved people and will always remember their loving and caring nature. I am sure love and affection for these people will bring her back again to this place. I wanted her to have a wholesome experience of India, I wanted her to know that India is not just a city like Pune or Mumbai where things are very comfortable (except for traffic and pollution). When we experience things personally we learn more compared to just hearing about it, watching it on screen, or reading in a book. I am glad that she chose to come with me on this journey to rural India. I also discovered a new person in her which I didn't know so far. It was a learning experience for both of us and I hope she takes all the positives from this experience and uses them to grow as a person.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Clean India - still a distant dream

It has been almost 10 months since the "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" (clean India movement) was announced by Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi with a lot of fanfare and media coverage. I visited India in October 2014 immediately after the announcement of this ambitious project by the PM, the previous governments also tried similar projects but with very limited success. I loved this idea because I also think that India needs to take this type of movement very seriously. Clean surroundings are one of the basic things that any country aspiring to be a superpower must try to achieve. This is my second India visit after the announcement of this program, but I fail to see any appreciable difference. Now before any Modi bhakts attack me for being unfair to the central government without giving them sufficient time to implement this idea, let me clarify that I didn't expect to see a super clean India during this visit which is within the first year of the announcement of this scheme. I understand that convincing Indians to keep public places clean is not that easy and will take some time and effort, but I am talking about "some noticeable differences," like trash cans on roadsides or more toilets, etc. I visited the PM's own constituency, Varanasi, while in the past few years, there has been a lot of good work done in this city by an IAS officer called Pranjal Yadav, who is now transferred to some different post by the state government, I failed to see any noticeable difference this time. I really felt bad that the state govt transferred this efficient officer without allowing him to transform this city with the help of a very powerful MP who happens to be the Indian prime minister, but this is part of Indian politics where efficient officers always get transferred. I should also mention that I didn't travel to Ganga Ghats this time because of the crowd and traffic congestion, so, I don't know what is the situation over there. According to the Hindu calendar, this is the month of 'Shravan,' many festivals come during this month and a lot of devotees gather in these so-called holy cities which puts a lot of strain on its infrastructure. Very few cities are equipped to handle such a huge inflow of humans and vehicles. Very often their infrastructure crumbles and there is a lot of inconvenience to residents. I experienced this personally this time, I was shocked to see that the entire half of a major highway like GT road was reserved for 'kawarias' (people who walk from Allahabad to Varanasi barefoot carrying Ganga water on their shoulders). Let me tell you that GT road is not some ordinary road, but it is a national highway (interstate), and the only major road connecting these two major cities. So, for this entire month on this interstate highway both sides have to use only one side, that too without any divider, one can only imagine the risk factor of traveling on GT road during this month. I saw some damaged vehicles because of accidents lying on the road side which is expected in such risky driving conditions. This is not for a day or two, but it will be like this for more than a month! I couldn't believe that the state government and other lawmakers couldn't come up with some viable alternative other than blocking the entire side of a busy highway for almost a month.

Actually, clean India cannot be the government's responsibility alone, no doubt that they have to provide the required infrastructure for which they are not doing a very good job, but this movement should be pushed by residents of India, after all, they will be the ultimate beneficiaries of clean India. Their quality of life will be improved tremendously if this project is a success. I noticed that very few people are really bothered about making this movement a real success. Most of them show a very casual and careless attitude towards it, they are not willing to contribute anything positive towards this task and then complain that "nothing can be changed in this country." I always try to question this attitude but with very limited success, my question to them was, "If you are not willing to change who do you expect to change things for you?" I agree that the government is not doing its job properly, but people are also not making it easy for the government by not cooperating. On Varanasi station, I saw a cleaning person cleaning the platform and people immediately spitting or throwing wrappers behind his back. Because of this, the platforms still stink, plus animals like bulls, cows, or dogs freely roam not only on roads but also on train platforms of Varanasi! This needs to change if Indians are at all serious about making India clean. My first impression about how this program is progressing almost a year after its launch is not that good, I hope this changes in the near future. I hope the government works aggressively to develop proper infrastructure that makes it easy for people to dispose of all types of waste properly. I hope people also cooperate with the government with hygienic and responsible public behavior. Currently, clean India looks like a distant dream, but I don't think it is an impossible dream. The present government is claiming to work very aggressively and sincerely on many important projects, so, I hope this is on top of their priority list. Clean India is a necessity for all Indians, and unless all of us collectively work towards it, it will remain a distant dream. Let's change India, let's create a clean India.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Open letter to Mr. Suresh Prabhu - do you think you owe any explanation to agitated passengers?

Dear Mr. Suresh Prabhu,

I never imagined I had to write an open letter like this to anyone forget about writing to the railway minister of India. Before starting my letter let me mention that I have the highest regard for your knowledge and capabilities, I am also a great admirer of some of the work that you did as a minister in the previous NDA government which is why I am not that happy to write this letter, but I think I don't have any other option. 

Let me also tell you that till my last trip, which was yesterday, I was a big fan and a staunch supporter of Indian railways. No one ever managed to convince me not to travel by train in spite of air travel becoming very common and affordable. I always preferred the railway as my mode of travel for long-distance travel, I always enjoyed my train journey despite some inconvenience in booking the ticket because of the heavily crowded and forever overbooked Pune-Varanasi route. But all these things never discouraged me from traveling by train even on very short visits to India. I always valued and looked forward to my train journeys as they are an integral part of my childhood memories. But what no one ever managed to do all those years your department managed to do during just one journey. My last train journey was one of the most horrible customer service experiences I ever had with any organization in the world. First of all, I don't think the Indian railway believes in anything like customer service, even on the inquiry window of Varanasi junction the concerned person was answering the queries of passengers as if he was doing some kind of favor on them. I hope you are having a great time while enjoying your posting as Indian railways minister, I hope you understand that this post comes with many perks as well as many responsibilities. I hope you have a good idea about how this whole organization works and how this system functions. So, with all this background now let me tell you about my horrible experience with the organization you are currently heading.

I booked my return travel from Varanasi to Pune by Gyan Ganga Express (train No. 22132) for 12th August. The train was scheduled to depart at 4.35 AM. On 8th August, just one day before I departed from Pune, people told me that it would get canceled as the train that goes to Varanasi from Pune (22131) and returns as Gyan Ganga Express is canceled. This was based on some local newspaper report, we couldn't confirm this from the official website or helpline number. I still wonder what was the source of that newspaper or was it a mere lucky guess? But I thought that if it was that obvious then the railway website and helpline would mention this, but both didn't have any information about the cancellation of any train. But as everyone sounded so confident I booked another ticket for the train to Mumbai leaving on the 13th (train number 12168) as there was no other train for Pune. I did this not to derail my travel plans just in case the newspaper's prediction turned out to be more accurate than the railway website and helpline. I reached Varanasi on the 9th of August, on the 10th night my brother informed me that my train on the 12th was canceled officially as per the railway website, so it seems all other sources were right and predicted this cancelation much before the railway department. I was amazed that as a passenger traveling by that train, I didn't receive any official communication about this cancelation. I can't believe that in this era when cell phones have become such a common commodity in India, the Indian railway doesn't have an SMS (text) information system for its customers where they can inform their passengers about any delays and cancellations well in advance to avoid any inconvenience to them. I also wonder why the online update system is so slow to update any relevant information. It fails to deliver especially when there is some sort of confusion and people try to get relevant information from the website as it is the official source. I immediately booked another ticket (third one) via 'tatkal' for train 12168 departing on 12th August which was scheduled to reach Lokmanya Tilak terminus on 13th August at 12.25 PM. So, I had three confirmed tickets in my hand, but with no guarantee that any one of them would take me to Pune or Mumbai on the 13th. Don't you think this uncertainty should be a matter of great concern for the person in charge of the Indian Railways? Don't you think as a passenger who pays full fair and relies on the scheduled timetable of trains for their travel and other plans your system should be more considerate towards their inconvenience?

But the story doesn't end here. On the 12th morning, I came to know that train 12168 scheduled to depart on the 13th also got canceled, so, now, I was left with only one option, the train 12168 departing on the 12th which was not yet canceled. Many people advised me to take flight as they were not sure that even this train would depart on time, but I was adamant that reaching Pune 6-7 hrs after my earlier plan was not a big deal if it allowed me to experience the train journey with my daughter and mom. But it seems I was living in a fool's paradise by believing your website and helpline which kept on informing me till the 11th night that the train was scheduled to depart at the right time (10.25 AM). My village is almost 2 hrs journey from Varanasi, so, we started our preparations early in the morning on the 12th. We initially planned to leave around 8.00 AM to reach Varanasi ~10.00 AM. By chance, my cousin who happened to be the only person carrying a smartphone with an internet pack checked the current status of our train and found that it was delayed by 6 hrs and 35 minutes and was rescheduled to leave at 5 PM. Then also I thought not too bad, as I knew that trains were getting rescheduled because of the recent accident near Harda in MP. So, based on that information we left our village around 2.30 PM, on my way I called railway help line number 139 to inquire about the train status and they informed me that it was scheduled to depart at 5.00 PM from platform 9. We reached Varanasi at 4.30 PM, electronic board on the station was showing the scheduled departure time at 5 PM. I met some passengers waiting there since 9 AM as they didn't have any smartphones or when they checked the website told them that the train was scheduled to depart at the right time. The inquiry counter was flooded with people asking about that same train as people were running out of patience as they were getting different information from different sources. Surprisingly, the guy at the counter instead of being more understanding and sympathetic towards agitated passengers started losing his patience with each person asking about the same train. His replies started sounding more angry and arrogant,  finally, he declared that the train would only depart once train 12167 arrived at Varanasi and he didn't have any idea when it would arrive. Can you believe this? Can you justify this kind of response from the official counter of the railway department? After this announcement, he literally ordered everyone standing in line to inquire about that train along with others waiting for the same train, he told everyone to leave the place and come back around 10.00 PM to get any further information. He even called police personnel to disperse the crowd around the inquiry window. Amazingly the screen on the station was still showing departure time for the train at 5.00 PM!

The nightmare didn't end there. I saw many people in that heat and humidity with kids as young as 2 or 3 months sitting there helplessly as they had nowhere to go and had no option but to wait indefinitely for that train. I checked waiting rooms for passengers, they were already overcrowded with people sitting on the floor. I really felt bad for all those people who blamed their fate for this situation and told me not to be so surprised and shocked as this is how this system works. Many also told me that there wouldn't be any use in registering any complain as no one would bother to pay any attention to it. Mr. Prabhu, can you believe what people think about your department and how low expectations they have from it? If this doesn't concern and worry you I wonder what will? At 10.00 PM the online update was that it would leave at 11 PM, I came back to Varanasi station at 10.45 to find that finally train 12167 had arrived and 12168 would depart at 11.55 PM. Then at 11.55 PM, they announced it would depart at 12.30 AM (on 13th August), and after 12.30 AM they stopped making any further announcements about that train. I was wondering that even after the train arrived at Varanasi station how come these people can't tell passengers the exact time of its departure? What kind of system is this that changes its previous announcements at the last minute with zero regard for its passengers' convenience? Why do these people have no respect and concern towards their passengers who have been waiting since morning? No one around me had any answers for all these questions, I hope that at least you have some courtesy and courage to explain all this. Finally, the train arrived at 1.00 AM, and departed around 1.30 AM, almost 15 hrs after its scheduled departure which was changed I don't know how many times.

The journey was good, I enjoyed it despite the shocking incident of the theft of my mom's cell phone. The passenger who came to our compartment after the ticket checker (TC) sent him when he found out that one passenger didn't show up while scanning the compartment. This person stole her phone in broad daylight, that too from a compartment that had attendants and was supposed to be safe and secure. He took advantage of the situation of already tired and dejected passengers who were trying to catch up with their lost sleep. I tried to register the complaint with TC who indirectly blamed me for this incident and told me to call 138, who then told me to call 182. Finally, they registered my complaint and promptly sent police to the next station to inquire about it and register the FIR. It was a pleasant surprise to see that at least something was working and I give them full credit for their prompt response. The police officer told me not to worry as they would surely find the phone and return it to my mom, I don't think they will, but it was so nice of him to be sympathetic towards our inconvenience and it was a great feeling to hear some comforting words from someone who at least didn't blame me for being in this situation and I really thank him for that.

Now, Mr. Prabhu if you get a chance to read this, what do you have to say about all this? Do you think you owe any explanation or at least a sincere apology to all those passengers who went through so much inconvenience and trauma? Do you think that all those passengers should be compensated for all this inconvenience? Based on many people's suggestions I don't expect any answers but still, I am trying to reach you. Why this department is so unconcerned about the needs and convenience of millions of passengers who rely on it for their daily travels? Why there is no concept of customer care, especially among people who are supposed to deal with customers directly? Why do people at the inquiry window lose patience so fast, when it is their job to answer all queries no matter how many times people ask? Why the system is so slow and pathetically inaccurate in updating the status of their own trains? Why TCs fail to do their job properly and blame passengers? For our entire journey, no one came to check our tickets, they only scanned the compartment to check for vacant seats. I hope you have answers to at least some of these questions and bother to respond. If not me, I think millions of passengers deserve your attention and apology, they also need some sort of promise from you that such things will stop happening or if they happen, the passengers will be compensated for their troubles.

Please look into this matter seriously before some passengers react violently against this mismanagement. I hope this letter sounds a wake-up alarm in your ears rather than thinking of it as a rant by some frustrated passenger.

Eagerly waiting for your reply,
Sincerely,
One agitated passenger

I am a minority, so I understand their insecurity

Some time back, I wrote a post about why the rights of minorities matter in any civilized and progressive society. The reason why I am so aware and sensitive towards the rights of minorities is because I find myself representing a minority opinion wherever I go. I am not affiliated with any particular religion, group, philosophy, or political party, I prefer to be an independent voice. I see that people are very polarized about their views; people are either pro-gay rights, anti-war, pro-poor, pro-choice, or anti-gay rights, pro-war, anti-abortion (pro-life); people love to compartmentalize everyone, and there are stereotypical definitions of conservative and liberal. People conveniently divide themselves based on whatever argument suits them, you are either with them or against them there is no possibility of a middle ground. You are either liberal or conservative, either communal or secular, it is about which side you want to choose and not about which ideas or principles you support. People treat others who don't support their own views or ideas like enemies, they often tend to fight based on party lines not based on principles. The word "bipartisan" only exists on paper.

I personally find some good ideas with every political party or ideology, but often, they are not willing to work together to implement these ideas for the betterment of society. This makes me a unique minority, when I am arguing or discussing with liberals, they think I am a conservative person, and if I am discussing something with conservatives, they think I am a liberal. Because of this, I call myself a unique minority and very well understand why it matters to protect their voice. No matter whether we agree with their opinions or not, no matter if we are comfortable with what someone saying or not, any civilized society needs to protect the voice of dissent. They need to create and maintain an atmosphere where everyone is comfortable in sharing their views and concerns. One should not confuse this with minority appeasement, that is an altogether separate issue. The minority doesn't need any extra favors they should be given equal rights and space, that's all, no more no less.

For any majority it is easy to crush any voice of dissent, it is easy for them to intimidate the minority just based on their strength in numbers. This is why it becomes the responsibility of the majority to create a conducive and healthy atmosphere where everyone from the minority feels comfortable as only the majority has the power to do this. It is quite natural for minorities to feel insecure if the majority or even part of the majority shows any hostile attitude towards them. Fortunately, so far, I happen to live in societies where dissent was never suppressed, of course, there was criticism, resistance, and ridicule which is expected, but so far, there is no physical threat to me for expressing my views and objections. But when I see people threatening others just for expressing different lines of thought even on places like social media, this makes me wonder why there is so much hatred for dissent? Why can't people discuss and debate rather than threaten each other? I hope the importance of having voices who object or criticize is not forgotten by people who are in power, I remember how people like Jawaharlal Nehru gave so much importance to listening to the other side that didn't agree with them. I hope this culture and attitude of encouraging dissent stays or rather steps up to the next level rather than moving towards majoritarianism. This is why I speak in favor of minority's rights to raise their voice, I speak in favor of discussion and debates rather than forced obedience. Let's hope that the world still believes in moving together rather than moving in the direction of majoritarianism. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Link:
1. http://selfrealization-vinay.blogspot.com/2014/09/why-rights-of-minorities-matter-in-any.html

Money can buy happiness

"Money can't buy happiness," we often hear this tagline repeated during many conversations, seminars, lectures, or motivational talks and the funny thing is that most people who offer this advice are rich and charge money to give those lectures. It is very easy to say that money can't solve all the problems or money can't buy happiness, but does lack of money solve all the problems or bring any happiness? Happiness is a state of mind that depends on so many factors and it differs from person to person. Every person defines happiness in their own way, unnecessarily people try to standardize the definition of happiness like we try to standardize beauty, success, and many other personal things, and such statements are the result of this standardization process. There was a time in my life when I used to think that money could solve all the problems, this was because of our financial and social situation at that time. During that phase of my life, the reason for most of our problems and troubles was lack of money. We continuously felt a shortage of money almost for everything starting from education, home, and travel, every issue used to end with having or not having money. I still think that money can solve many problems, it is better to have money than not to have it. But it is also true that money cannot solve all problems, and this is true for any other tool, there is not a single solution for all problems faced by any individual. Also, the desire to have or not to have money is entirely personal, some people are okay with not having material possessions and for them, money doesn't hold much significance, but for some money might be important, it is an entirely personal matter.

Actually, the statement "money can't buy happiness" is a result of money-oriented culture. In a consumerist society, we need money to buy almost everything. It is the ultimate currency that works everywhere, people may or may not believe in religion, god, science, government, or media but almost everyone believes in money. Because of the universal acceptance of money as a symbol of power and status, its possession is directly linked to happiness. People equate the amount of money with the amount of happiness. However, this is not the correct assumption, the amount of money is not proportional to the amount of happiness. Happiness is a personal feeling, and it depends on so many things and money is just one of them. Everyone has different needs and desires but in today's world because of aggressive marketing and brainwashing there is a very narrow definition of happiness, and everyone tries to fit into that definition. The ultimate aim for most people in society is to earn enough money to buy as many things as possible, thinking it will bring happiness in their lives. This desire to earn "enough" money then becomes the sole purpose of their life, and that "enough" is never achieved because as time passes the desires keep on changing and the definition of "enough money" also keeps on changing. This continuous chase creates many problems in a person's life, issues like stress, anxiety, frustrations, lack of free time, and health-related issues crop up, even relationships start getting affected and ultimately the happiness for which this quest was started remains a distant goal. At this junction, "money can't buy happiness" starts making sense, but it is not the fault of money that it can't buy happiness, it is the fault of that person that they forgot what happiness meant for them. There is nothing wrong with having the desire to make more money, this desire can result in a very successful and productive professional life, which in turn can generate a lot of happiness. Money does have the capacity to solve many problems, it can help people to achieve their dreams but only if those dreams were their own dreams, not some borrowed dreams. The presence or absence of money can cause a lot of issues, so one needs to strike the balance as per one's own needs and requirements. Many people struggle because of their inability to strike this balance.

Money holds certain status and power in today's world, and no one can deny this. Its proper use can result in a lot of happiness and comfort in anyone's life. But this needs a lot of clarity and proper planning. I believe that money can buy happiness and I am saying this based on my personal experience. How much money one needs to be happy differs from person to person, there is no standard chart to correlate money and happiness. I know that money can't solve all the problems but nothing else can do it, so, there is no use in blaming money for this. It all depends on how we use money, after all, money is like any other tool or weapon, and the results of its use depend on how we use it. Like any other tool and weapon, please remember that money can hurt us and others around us if not used properly. So, use money wisely, be prosperous, help others, and be happy.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

I understand your difficulties Mr. Tharoor

The speech by Mr Shashi Tharoor which he gave during a debate at Oxford University went viral on the internet. In this speech, he rebuked the argument that India was in no way benefited by British rule rather he argued that it was Britain who was the beneficiary at the cost of India's development. As expected, this speech won praise from all quarters in India, even Indian Prime Minister Mr. Modi made a special mention of this speech. There is no doubt that Mr. Tharoor is a very good writer and excellent orator, especially in English. I love the way he presents his arguments and conducts himself during any debate or discussion. His mannerisms and grasp of various issues are very impressive. Even after being in Indian politics, he shows courage to view his opinions about sensitive issues like juvenile justice bill or capital punishment. Many political parties and their leaders stay away from saying anything contrary to the general public perception about these sensitive issues but so far Mr. Tharoor has shown the courage to express his views boldly on these matters. I hope he continues to do this even in the future. I personally may or may not agree with all of his views and ideas, but I really appreciate his willingness to express opinions on matters that most other political leaders try to avoid.

Unfortunately, his own party (Indian National Congress) is crippled by its own insecurities and therefore can not make use of this brilliant public speaker as their spokesperson. According to them, it seems he has a tendency to speak some of the things which are logical and most of the time correct but not fit for messy Indian politics. Many times, some of his statements put his own party in a difficult situation because they want spokespersons who speak only politically convenient language not logical or rational things. It seems no political party in India likes this type of free mind or independent thinker to speak on behalf of them. Mr. Tharoor landed in such trouble just a few days back when he said that he is not in favor of using the disruption of parliament as a tool to corner the government. Actually, there is nothing wrong with what he said, there is no use in disrupting the parliament and stalling the important work that parliament and its members are supposed to do. It is true that the current ruling coalition NDA (mainly BJP) did this in the past, but their wrong actions of the past can not justify the same actions performed in the present by any other party. So even though Mr. Tharoor was right he faced the wrath of some of his party members for objecting to the party's political tactics. I am glad that even after all this snubbing and scolding people like him or Nandan Nilekani are trying to stay in politics. I also understand why these people have to go with the Indian National Congress rather than any other political party, the secular ideas and values represented by this party match these people's thinking which is why even after all the problems and drawbacks associated with this party they have to go with this party as there is no other equally suitable alternative for them. This explains their political choice. I consider myself politically independent and I support any political party based on issues, that is why I also face the same problems when I have to choose any single political party to cast my vote during any election. I face the same dilemma and always have to settle for the lesser evil rather than the ideal choice. Unfortunately, there is no legal choice in politics, it doesn't have to be, we need to find a party that aligns well with our basic values. This is why I say that I understand the problems of people like Mr. Tharoor, I really appreciate their efforts to remain in this system and also be able to protect their identity. Many people after entering this very robust and old political system become part of it, the system changes them, rather than them changing in the system. There are many examples of this from past and present to prove this. It is very easy to criticize the system, get frustrated, and say nothing can be done to change it, but it takes a great amount of patience, determination, and stamina to enter into it and try to swim against the current. Very few dare to do it, most of the people enter to swim with the current and reap the benefit. So don't worry Mr. Tharoor, I understand your problems but don't get disheartened by temporary setbacks, please keep on expressing your opinions and initiating discussions on various topics. Let's keep the fire of independent and free-thinking minds burning, we owe at least this much to our society.

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[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Dr Shashi Tharoor- Britain Does Owe Reparations
2. Dr. Shashi Tharoor on the Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015
3. http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/hanging-yakub-memon-makes-us-murderers-too-1202042

Dr. Kalam - a symbol of hard work, honesty, and passion

Former president of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam died on July 27th. India lost a great visionary, a very dedicated scientist, and a great teacher. He died while doing what he loved most while sharing his ideas to inspire students. He always believed that students hold the key to the future of any country and it is very necessary to keep an open dialogue with them. He always tried to engage with students all over India, his lectures and seminars were mostly directed toward students and the young generation who were looking for some advice and a little bit of motivation. I personally heard some of his lectures during some conferences, and I found his enthusiasm very infectious, this man loved to talk about science, and he loved to project a very optimistic picture of our future. I even read his autobiography "Wings of Fire", this all happened when I was passing through a really tough phase of my PhD studies, his words and book were some of the things that inspired and encouraged me to continue my struggle. His honesty, simplicity, and enthusiasm always inspired me, and millions of others.

When he became president of India, it was the first time there was a person who didn't belong to any particular political party. Traditionally, the president has a very nominal role to play in the Indian democratic system, the post is more of a ceremonial, but even there also he made his presence felt and performed his duties to the best of his capabilities. Teaching was his first love, he loved to teach, and give seminars and lectures. There are many of his speeches available on the internet where he talks about his vision of India and his optimism about future generations achieving the impossible. But it is ironic that even though there are many inspirational speeches delivered by him, there is not a single speech matching those other speeches delivered by him in the Indian parliament. This shows how a president is made just a mouthpiece of the ruling government, they are supposed to read the speech provided to them by the current government in parliament. I have not seen any president including Dr. Kalam delivering their own speech with their own thoughts in parliament, this is why I really feel sad that our political class failed to take full advantage of the presence of such an inspirational personality in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Whereas the whole nation drew a lot of inspiration from Dr. Kalam and revered his work, dedication, and honesty, our politicians didn't even bother to learn anything from him. His simplicity, honesty towards his job, and dedication to solving the problems of his country are something that they could learn from him.

There is no doubt that Dr. Kalam will be missed in India, that too in an era where religious fanaticism is growing and people are more interested in playing the blame game than solving the problems. I wish people, especially politicians in India, would listen to his speeches or read his books and learn some lessons. I wish tribute to him doesn't only come from words but also from actions. I personally felt really bad when he didn't get a second term as president, that was a terrible move by the UPA government. But that is history now, Dr. Kalam is no more but his legacy should live. For me, he is a symbol of honesty, hard work, and never-ending passion for his country and its people. He loved what he did and that's the one lesson I learned from him. I hope he inspires many people to work hard in whatever field they choose and deliver their best. Not everyone gets to work in a field that we want, many times that is not in our hands, but we all can work hard in whatever field we get the opportunity, this is in our hand. Goodbye, Kalam sir, thank you for all your hard work and inspiration, you will be remembered as a great teacher. 

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[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Untouchability - how a precautionary practice turned into a horrible custom?

Untouchability is one of the horrible practices which is still practiced in some parts of India. This evil practice was so common and ingrained in people's minds that it not only became an integral part of Hinduism but also got imported into other religions that are practiced in India. These religions like Christianity or Islam don't have a system of upper caste or lower caste in other parts of the world, but in India, they inherited this local practice as they found it very difficult to break this ancient custom so they just adapted it. I saw this being practiced on many occasions as a child and always wondered why some people are treated like this? This practice raised many questions in my mind, why it is not proper to touch people belonging to a particular caste? What will happen if we drink or eat with the same utensils? I asked many people about why some people are treated in such an inhuman way, but very few offered me any rational explanation apart from giving the standard answer that these people belong to some lower caste that's why they are treated like this or it is their bad karma or it's their fate. These pathetic explanations never satisfied my curiosity, I continued to do my research on this and discussed it with many people who had anything to share related to this subject. My guess is that originally it was some precautionary practice that was started during the pre-sanitation era to avoid the spreading of germs and infections from people who do work where there is a high chance of spreading germs, for example, jobs like cleaning and animal slaughtering. This made sense to control the spread of germs when there was no other way to sanitize things, but only till these people cleaned themselves after finishing their jobs. However, some people in power decided to abuse this by making these people untouchables so that they could force these sections of society into the same professions for generations.

It is possible that many years ago people doing certain types of jobs like waste removal, dead body and animal disposal, haircutting and shaving, butchery, and meat selling, were quarantined because of the nature of their jobs. Basically, people doing all such types of work were at a very high risk of infection or high chances of contamination of some really bad smell or germs and they were treated with special precaution while doing that job so that others around them don't get affected by these things. This was supposed to be a precautionary method to avoid a health risk. Even today we still practice these things in medical science, people use gloves, masks, or special protective clothing to avoid infections or contamination, they don't shake hands while working, and only interact with others outside their professional group after using proper methods of sanitization and cleaning. People with serious infectious diseases like tuberculosis, SARS, or Ebola are quarantined so that infection doesn't spread and becomes a public health crisis. Whenever we go to see a newborn baby we take all precautions so that we don't infect it with germs. But this all is part of a precautionary hygienic lifestyle to avoid health risks. We don't treat a doctor like an untouchable outside the operation theater, we shake hands with janitors or meat factory workers when they are not working and are not required to wear gloves and other protective equipment. In a way, Hinduism is a very tolerant religion so it is strange that such a horrible practice became part of it. One of the biggest failures of Hinduism is its inability to stop such traditions. Discriminatory systems such as the caste system and untouchability are integral parts of Hinduism and even after knowing this, such systems still exist. Things like casteism and untouchability have no place in modern society but still, some people try to keep them alive for their own selfish gains.

We as a society collectively need to fight against such discriminatory practices, no matter what the original intention behind these practices or traditions was, these are social evils and we need to eliminate them. The way these things were practiced in the past and are practiced today is shameful and I hope people stop practicing these things.

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[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Religion is like a personal medication, don't brag about it

During one of my discussions on Facebook, someone said that "religion is also good when taken like medicine." This statement might sound strange to some people but in a way it is true. I always believed that religion and religious beliefs are very personal matters of any individual much like their personal medication. Many people need some type of medication for some health issues, these issues can be physical or mental. Every patient who visits any doctor for some problems gets their personal prescription to improve their health. Apart from prescription medications, people can buy over-the-counter medicines on their own for a variety of conditions that are not that serious. Many people have to take these medications daily, some medicines suit them which they continue to take and some do not which they discontinue or find a substitute medication. But very few discuss these things openly in public, we don't go on telling people around us what medication we take and how good we feel because of that medicine. We don't start recommending those medicines to everyone without knowing their health condition. We don't do this specifically because we feel that it is not appropriate to share a very personal matter in public and also because we know whatever medicine is good or suitable for us may or may not suit another person. There are also very strict laws in many countries to protect the personal medical history of patients. People do share these things with their close ones which is a normal thing to do, but most refrain from boasting about their list of medications in public. Religion is also a very personal thing, many people need it for their personal well-being. This need is very genuine for them, and it is quite reasonable that such people try to satisfy this need by following one or more religions. There are many options available in the market of religion, we all get one option by default, the one in which we are born, but we can shop around and change to whatever other religion we like. One can compare religion with personal medication, people use religion for their personal well-being as they use medicines to improve their health. Many of them get some benefits and enjoy the many good things that come along with it. As long as they keep it personal and use it for their own benefit, things are fine and no one should have any issue with this practice.

Things start getting complicated when people start to force their religion on others, that too without bothering to know if other people need it or not. When a deeply personal thing like religion is forced to homogenize society, it creates a lot of problems. People who don't like it start resisting it, and some launch their own products which creates competition and a lot of competition in the market of religion. This competition creates a lot of rivalries, like rivalries between various pharmaceutical companies. The only difference is pharma company rivalries ultimately help patients as it results in more medicines and cheaper prices, but religions hate rivalries, they either try to destroy other religions or make every effort to convert people to their own religion. Religious rivalries did create more religions, but it also resulted in violent communal conflicts. So far, millions of people died in such conflicts all over the world. Even after all this people fail to understand that religion is a very personal matter, there is no need for a public display of it. 

Maybe like medicines we need a regulated market for all religions. Now one can ask why something like religion needs rules and regulations like pharma products. This is specifically because like every medication, religion also has many side effects and some of them are really serious. The tendency of many religious groups to indulge in communal violence is one of the fatal side effects. Gender discrimination, suppression of certain classes, and superstitions are a few other noticeable and serious side effects. People who practice religion should be aware of these things as they directly affect them. It would be a really good idea for every religion to publish a list of side effects that it may cause. It will be a good idea to make such a list mandatory as it is for every approved medicine. It can help people to choose a religion that suits their needs and minimize its side effects on them. Various religions can list these side effects based on their history. Most of them have very well-documented history which can easily give them such a list of various issues and problems. The point I am trying to make here is, in today's world religion is a very personal matter, please don't try to make it into some sort of social movement. In the past, it was used as a social tool as nothing else was available, but that need doesn't exist anymore, so the time has come for religion to become a private matter, just like our medications.  

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[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]