Oracles of Gloom : Good Governance Day on Christmas

Gloominess is what characterises a tribe of utterly alienated commentators on India's public discourse. Alienated because they have scant knowledge about the very country they are commenting upon and more so as they have almost no inclination to even get acquainted with the same. Their motifs, their symbols, their allegories and analogies are quite distant from the ethos, beliefs and lives of the very people they are supposedly concerned about in their commentaries.

With these inherent fixations, these commentaries can't be directed for the due consumption of the native people, as in that case empathy, compassion and an inherent commitment for change & transformation would have been reflective than mere satire and an all round attack on the very civilizational foundations of the natives. If these prophecies are simply meant for the consumption of the foreign alien interests, which can never be wholesome or harmonious in nature, then it's a different subject matter altogether.

Sagarika Ghose is one such Oracle of Gloom whose imaginations run far and wild. In her latest commentary published in Times of India titled 'Santa ki Jai' she goes on her journalistic best to advocate that Christmas is a thoroughly Indian Festival.

If Ms. Ghose would have been a little sympathetic to the Indians at large and would have been a bit more of an insider, she would have better used her gift of the gab to champion a more worthy cause rather than spending her creative energies to put forth an article of gloom for an issue which just doesn't exist.

For a celebrationist civilisation which boasts of 'Saat Vaar and Nau Tyohaar' (7 days and 9 festivals) Christmas is already an integral part of Indian way of life duly recognized and assimilated in the national mainstream like that of Good Friday, like that of Id, Muharram, Guru Parb and all others. 

The birth of Christ is a cause of great applause and a source of jubilation for the Indian masses who celebrate the birth and death anniversaries of a large number of gurus, saints and seers. There are ekadashis, pooranmasis, amavasyas, chauths, ashtamis, saptamis and what not bearing their philosophical and religious connotations which are all celebrated in the Indian Households. 

There is enough space and accommodation for all celebrations in the Indian way of life that it outsteps the extreme of affecting the productivity of a modern economy at times. Where there is already so much abundance, accommodating a single day should not be and interestingly has never been an issue.

The inherent gloominess of this piece is either an outcome of a mischievous plot or is probably a result of the sheer lack of comprehension emanating from utter ignorance about the machinizations of the Indian mind. 

In the Indian tradition, there are layers of festivities. If on an important festival, someone in the family dies, that festival turns into remorse. It's not celebrated in the family till another occasion of joy like the birth of a child supplants the same. It's a fine tradition of locking in and locking out a social occasion. 

The aforesaid was a binary case, so easy to understand. Now going a bit deeper, there are festivals over festivals superimposed on each other as layers of design on a Corel Drawl or a Photoshop file. There are mere 365 days in the year, but innumerable number of social occasions which mark the same day. So what you would do? You would simply create a layered framework giving every occasion it's due space. 

Now depending on the priority and inclination people choose and celebrate in their own ways and means without getting into the unwarranted discourse of 'Christmas Day as Good Governance Day'.

It was probably not the conspiracy of the stars following the dictum of the marauders of Hindutva that Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were made to share their birthdays with Jesus Christ. To add insult to this injury, these two individuals grew out to be the charismatic mass leaders of the Indian people by their sheer hard work and commitment to the public cause.

We do have many in our extended family whose birthdays co-incide with Janamashtami, Ramnavami. This poor author too shares its birthday with Ramanujaharya as per the lunar calendar.  What we then do is to synthesize the large occasion with that of the personal one. My mother never wailed as Ms Ghose seems to be in great slumber that you have capsized the birthday of the great stalwart like Ramanujacharya. It rather amused her that I got to born on the same day as that of a great Vaishnav acharya. The latest always used to take precedence over the old. 

If my daughter shares the same birthdate as that of MHRD minister, I would naturally prefer to be in the birthday bash of my little sweetheart while would obviously greet the minister and an elder sister duly as well. I don't see any contradiction or controversy in this modus operandi.

Why can't the Good Governance Day superimpose on the Christmas festivities? Why can't the Indian kid be tuned in to this glorious tradition of synthesis whereby he is made to celebrate not just one, but 3 birthdays in one go. He would get inspired by the life and times of these stalwarts in their own spaces and would somewhere create a differentiated impact through his well led life. 

The life and times of Malviya ji and Vajpayee ji are a great source of invitation for the Indian people. By juxtaposing the celebration of their appearance day, with the core central mission of Good Governance of the present disposition should be a cause of great satisfaction rather than remorse to these observers of Indian Public Life. We can always dilute the intention and integrity of an action, but as a refresher why can't we see the immense beauty and effectivity of the entire proposition? 

School kids or for that matter, citizenry of a knowledge civilization harboured in a sovereign nation state having a democratically elected majority government should not be treated like an imperial sheep. Their innate intrinsic inclinations and aspirations need to be respected and adhered to. 

I have no qualm in being one with Ms Ghose in accepting the fact that all the colors of India are represented at Christmas. Then why not add a couple more. 

Ms Ghose, let's shed off this gloom and gear up to celebrate the Good Governance Day on Christmas. You certainly would do a great piece on that.

Can there be any better service to Christ who always worked for the poorest of the poor? 

The quintessential Ram Madhav :: From Emergence of Indian Era to India Ideas Conclave

We become what our motivators and mentors inspire and influence us to be. 

I have had the unique privilege and opportunity to be in touch with one of India's ardent nationalists of this era for over a decade. 

The rendezvous with Ram Madhav ji took off when we invited him for a guest lecture at IIT Kharagpur in fall 2003 under our fledging Students' Forum for India's Heritage. The theme of the talk was chosen as 'Emergence of the Indian Era'. 

Before the emergence of a grand nation like India, could be discussed and talked about, we had to make sure the emergence of common interest amongst the student community about this talk. 

There was a sinister sensation across the campus which boldly elucidated on its main building 'Dedicated to the Service of Nation', that the Official Spokesperson of RSS is coming to address KGPians. 

Being an enthusiastic band of passionate youngsters determined to explore the objective foundations of Indian Nationhood, we went further to hear as to what the most versatile nationalist organization of India had in it to offer. 

Till then, I personally was an uninitiated 'Sanghi' as is the popular label accorded to those who dare to love and admire the vast landmass of 32 lakh square kms spread from the majestic Himalayas to the mind boggling Indian Ocean and its innate intrinsic variegated cultural and spiritual ethos. 

My quest to synthesize my vaishnavite spiritual moorings with my feeble but dominant sense of belongingness to my village, town, state and country couldn't be satiated by any of the mutually competing and warring spiritual cults prevalent on the campus. 

My inability to grow beyond the national boundaries into a true universal self, something which was so very easy to accept and accommodate for a lot many of my friends. 

I was thereby condemned to sustain and survive as an outcast having eccentric 'ebola' type ideas. 

It was this rendezvous with Ram Madhav ji which comforted me that I was probably not the only odd man out. 

The content of the talk is not very vocal on my memory, but the overall impressions of that small but significant interaction somewhere gave me an anchor and a much wider window to explore and quench my inner moorings to synthesize spirituality with nationalism.

A spark is what is needed to put you on charge. It somewhere happened automatically while being in touch with a man who had stood and lived for his convictions.

In a bid to link up the well meaning and wide base thinking student bodies across premiere institutions of the country and spread the contagion, we ended up meeting with Ram Madhav Ji all over again within a year in June 2004.

This was incidentally just after graduating from the comfortable confines of the campus. A lot of issues of national concern were duly discussed and the various reasons behind the same were explored as well. 

One key central message which got impinged on my inner consciousness were the words of Ram Madhav ji again that India needs to build up a Nationalistic Intellectual Movement as this is the most wanting ingredient for national resurrection. It's from this fountainhead that the real and effective solutions to Indian problems would emerge.

Carrying the additional burden of these guiding words, I entered into the School of Life and somehow or the other couldn't continue for long away from my fascination and conviction to make some meaningful difference somewhere. 

During my stint to contribute to restore the pristine glory and grandeur of Braj Bhoomi and thereafter with my initiation into the field of developmental and educational journalism in an entrepreneurial mode, whenever I was in doubt about the chosen path, a direct or indirect interaction with Madhav ji used to reinstate the conviction. 

Till then, I had encountered and met with and worked under a lot many people of eminence, nobody could provide that anchoring effect despite the elaborate interactions which even a word or a line of Madhav ji would induce.

Somewhere or the other, the dispassionate approach and an all encompassing architecture of his scheme of things, used to catalyse that comforting confidence.

I am still in the process of unraveling the nuances of this approach which comes to you in times of your strenuous times when your self gets quite heavy. 

The ascendance of the nationalist aspirations of the country in the form of a majority government under the leadership  of Prime Minister Modi, somewhere created the rightful platform for evoking and accelerating the building up of a Nationalistic Intellectual Movement, something which was duly espoused by Ram Madhav Ji a decade back in front of some fascinated youngsters entering into the school of life. 

Today, when I am present at the valedictory session of India Ideas Conclave, I can very well sense the resilience and doggedness of this man of few but forceful words. He invited, communicated and met with the same dispassionate but contagious affection. 

It dawned upon me that it requires this level of grit and determination to influence and contribute to the national life. I got a chance to laugh, contemplate and forgive myself for my youthful fallacies during my very little journey so far.

The Quintessential Ram Madhav somewhere represents that innate intrinsic spirit of man making and motivating youngsters like me to a directed path to channelize their energies to make some meaningful difference somewhere and give some relevance to their existence. 

I can say with responsibility and confidence that I certainly have found a definitive life goal and path to tread on, thanks to the rendezvous which took off a decade back and still continues. 

The Ruckus over Ramzaade - Haramzaade Taxonomy :: The Tactics of Obscurantism in India's Public Discourse

The sadistic pleasure of breaching the impregnable & closely guarded armor of Prime Minister Modi's stellar performance so far might be the innate intrinsic reason for the procrastination of the resolution of the parliamentary logjam over the supposed Ramzaade Vs. Haramzaade taxonomy unleashed by Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti during an electoral expression at Delhi recently. 

While the Prime Minister has dis-approved of her remarks to placate the shenanigans of parliamentary discourse. He has much more to accomplish on his governance agenda which needs a parliamentary sanction, the reason for his supposed softening and letting go approach. 

However, this entire episode presents an interesting opening into exploring the undue bias, dichotomy & sophism which has got crept into India's public discourse. This is somewhere to reign in the self-expression of the people at large in the language and lingo they are comfortable and well versed with. 

Sadhvi's political discourse somewhere emanates from the traditional Indian worldview whose central inquiry and concern for time immemorial has been around the twin axis of dharmic and adharmic conduct. The ignorant and uninitiated adherents of alien & adversary ideologies might deride it by labeling it as an Hindutva bandwagon. So what? What's wrong with Hinduism after all. It's one of the finest living traditions on the earth which advocates for universalism, positive assimilation and transcendence of humanity to higher echelons through self penance.


It's interesting but alarming at the same time to note the dubious sensitivity of these rabble rousers who would celebrate and sanction the terming of a bollywood actress as Asia's most sexiest woman - someone who tends to arouse sexual desire or interest. Objectification of the institution of womanhood is an accepted reality, but the classification of dharmic and adharmic conducts sends shiver down their spine as it somewhere exposes the inadequacies & hypocrisies of their political worldview. 

What Vishal Sikka has put very boldly that Indians don't speak up, they simply tend to follow orders. This smacks of a defeated, subjugated and tormented people. They fear in speaking up because they lack the courage, the confidence and the conviction that they would be laughed at, mocked at and looked down upon in some way or the other. They don't take a stand against these very attacks on their civilizational ethos because they still live under a psychological threat to their very personal, social and cultural liberties which somewhere continued for more than half a century after the exodus of the British from the Indian Soil.

The all-out support of the Indian people in the centenary year of World War - I to the self-assuring voice in Narendra Modi is just a reflection & proof of their deeply rooted fears which persist to this date. 

Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's taxonomy is just an outward example of that innate intrinsic need of self-expression of the common Indian which is not shrouded in the homilies of "white man's burden". It's simple, honest and closer to life, which is led and pursued by this billion plus nation for millennias. The diversionary tactics of heralding obscurantism would probably not withstand their credence any further.