came across a nice letter.....

हे परम आदरनिये बापूजी !!

आज हमलोग आपका "हैप्पी बर्थडे" माना रहे हैं.

आपने कर्म को पूजा माना था, इसीलिए आपके "हैप्पी बर्थडे" पर देश भर में कामकाज बंद रखा गया है.

आपने कहा था - सत्य ही इस्वर है, इसीलिए देश में आज हर कोई सत्य बोलने से डर रहा है.

आपके कपरों में जेब नाम की जगह नहीं होती थी, पर अब मरदाना कपरे बिना जेब के नहीं बनते और हर कोई जेब भरने में ही ब्यस्त है :)

जिस दफ्तर में जितना जादा भ्रस्टाचार वाहा उतना ही बरा आपका फोटो टंगा है.

आपने विदेश में हुनर सीख कर भारत को अपना कर्मभूमि बनाया था, आज के युवा भारत में हुनर सीख कर विदेश जाने के सपने संजो रहे हैं !!

इसीलिए आपको बता दे रहा हूँ, अगर आप दुबारा जन्म लेना चाहतें हैं तो सौ बार सोच लें !!!

Mahatma Gandhi

“I am confident that in the struggle of humanity and justice nonviolence movement is more relevant than ever.” – Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Peace prize (1964)

“When we fought with arms against communist government we failed but when we fought with Gandhian tactics and used his weapons (truth and nonviolence) we succeeded.” Lech Wałęsa, Nobel peace prize (1983)

“Today there is a tensile environment in the entire world & there are great differences between the West and rest of the world. In this the situation Gandhi stands tall as an example.” – Desmond Tutu , Nobel peace prize (1984)

“This is a tribute to the memories of Gandhi” – chairman of Nobel committee on giving the Nobel peace Prize (1989) to Dalai Lama

“I read Gandhi during my house arrest. It helped me a greatly to be disciplined.” – Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel peace prize (1991)

“Gandhi has been the source of inspiration for me. I learnt the way of nonviolence from Gandhi.” – Nelson Mandela on receiving Nobel Peace prize (1993)

“Gandhi has always inspired me. We can change the world by his simple yet deep thoughts.” – Barack Obama, Nobel peace prize (2009)

Note :- Mahatma Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace prize. Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace prize, whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question.

The year that was!!

This year belongs to the power of people, power of social networking, sports persons and in many ways it was a year of India.

Because of public pressure a lot of corrupt leaders had to go & Government was forced to start investigation for mega scams. It was the people who made Commonwealth Games a success. Without thousands of volunteers it wouldn't have been so successful after the corruption fiasco. At the end it was the people who also awarded some good leaders like 'Nitish' to set up a new trend in Indian politics.

It was a year where we also witnessed the power of social networking sites. A lot of businessmen, media persons and bureaucrats were caught red handedly in the bad game of lobbying & corruption. Be it Wikileakes, Radia tapes leakes or leaks of different secret Gov. reports, all exposed these Hippocratic false Icons.

Fighting corruption

Before we blame the political class and the bureaucracy for being corrupt, we must understand that it is we who make them corrupt. In a highly populated country like India, where corruption is deeply rooted, we must take steps to abate corruption, even if we cannot eliminate it.

If corruption has to be fought relentlessly, the first thing we must do is lead an incorruptible life. I got everything done without offering a bribe, though it was a tedious process. I got my electricity card, water supply and telephone connection, and my vehicle and driving licence transferred without bribing anyone. One should have the patience and moral courage to remain uncorrupted. We must lead by example.

Map of the Facebook world

A Facebook intern named Paul Butler has created a fascinating piece: amap of the world based only on Facebook friendships. There aren't any lines here from anything but Facebook accounts and their links to friends in other cities. Butler's methods:

Sachin & The Rest

In these situations I like Dravid and Laxman more than Sachin. I don't know y he was taking singles on first ball of every over??? I know, I can be stoned for this statement here in India. But the question remains; y was he giving strike to tail enders??? No doubt, Sachin is a great batsman, but many say he is not a player of big stage. He failed to perform on big occasions like world cup final, final innings/day of Important Test matches. More we remember the sad endings of his great innings be it 175 vs Aus in ODI, innigs vs Pak in tests, Man of the series in WC & this one being the latest.

Women's safety

Patriarchal attitude has been prevalent in India for ages. The caste system and patriarchy remain unchanged even in urban India. Our development is superficial. Men are afraid of women's progress and, therefore, subject them to humiliation. As a first step, society should accept gender equality. We should introduce the concept of equality in school curriculum. What is required is the urbanisation of social thought.

Given the alarming rise in the number of crimes against women in Delhi, the government should implement the existing laws strictly to rein in the perpetrators. If necessary, it should enact a new law providing for more stringent punishment.

Governments in major cities should also take the help of technology to restore order in public places. With the help of NGOs and the media, they should educate people on safety. Installation of CCTV cameras at parks and public places like roads and bus stops, well-lit streets and signboards showing routes and displaying emergency numbers at public places will also help.