आरक्षण की राजनीति - Politics of Reservation

What does the word “dalit” means?

As per Wikipedia, the actual meaning of the word 'Dalit' is oppressed. It was first used by Jyotibha Phule (in the 19th century) in the context of the lowest castes in the Hindu caste system which was considered untouchables. 

Dictionary meaning of Dalit (दलित)  in Hindi

1.     जिसका दलन या शोषण हुआ हो

2.     रौंदा या कुचला हुआ 

3.     अति निर्धन; कंगाल 

4.     जो सामाजिक, आर्थिक, शैक्षिक आदिरूपों से पिछड़ा हुआ हो. 

दलित शब्द का उपयोग आज दलितों के उत्थान के लिए कम और एक राजीतिक यंत्र के रुप में ज्यादा किया जाता है। एक समय पर दलितों के जीवन स्तर को सबल बनाने के लिए उन्हें आरक्षण देने की आवश्यकता थी और उन आर्थिक रुप से कमजोर वर्ग को आज भी आरक्षण की जरुरत हो सकती है। लेकिन क्या दलित शब्द के उपरोक्त अर्थों के आधार पर आज  कितने लोग दलित है? यदि हो और अवश्य होंगे, उन्हें आरक्षण का हक देने के विरोध में कोई नही होगा। लेकिन जो संपन्न, और शिक्षित हो चुके है वे क्या इस परिभाषा में आते है? कोई ऐसा है? खासकर बड़े बड़े बाबू, नौकरी पेशा, अधिकारी, डाक्टर, इंजिनीयर, राजनेता? एक आर्थिक और सामाजिक स्तर पर जाने के बाद यह टाइटल इनका वापस नही लेना चाहिए? क्या यह एक स्थाई स्थिति, स्थाई टेग  है जो आदमी कितना भी बड़ा हो जाए , उसके साथ चिपका रहेगा। क्या वह स्थाई तौर पर दलित ही रहेगा। दलित के नाम पर सारी सरकारी सुविधा और अधिकार प्राप्त करेगा। दलित के नाम पर वोट मांगने का हकदार रहेगा चाहे वह कितना ही संपन्न और बड़ा हो जाए, कितने भी उंचे राजनीतिक पद पर पहुंच जाए। क्या यह देश की विडंबना नही है? क्या इस आरक्षण की प्रणाली और कानून पर पुनर्विचार करने की नही है? क्या मापदंड जाति ही होना चाहिए? क्या बदलते हुए परिवेश और एकवीसवी सदी के विश्वपटल पर आगे बढ़ते हुए भारत को जातिगत आधार पर आरक्षण के सिद्धांत को पुनः परिभाषित करने के लिए आगे नही आना चाहिए। क्या दलित शब्द को चुनावी और तुष्टिकरण की  राजनीति के लिए उपयोग करने पर बंधन नही लगना चाहिए? क्या इस परंपरा को जारी रखने से समाज में कभी जांत-पात की दिवार खतम होगी?

भारत की विडंबना यह है कि एक दिवार तो हट नही पाई पर पिछड़ी जाति के नाम पर एक और दिवार राजनीतिज्ञों ने खड़ी कर दी। इस दिवार का घेरा कम होने के बजाय आज बढ़ता ही जा रहा है। समय समय पर कुछ वर्ग जिसमें सम्पन्न वर्ग भी शामील है अपने आपको पिछड़े वर्ग में शामील करने के लिए प्रयत्नरत होकर आंदोलन करने पर तुले हुए है। क्या पिछड़ी जातियों  के लिए बाद में  हुए आरक्षण की नीति पर भी साथ ही  साथ पुनर्विचार नही होना चाहिए ? क्या आरक्षण के लिए केवल आर्थिक कमजोरी एकमात्र मापदंड  नही होना चाहिए? लेकिन ऐसे क्रांतिकारी कदम कौन सी सरकार लेगी, यह एक बहुत बड़ा प्रश्न चिन्ह है। कही कुछ बात की जाती है तो उस पर चिन्तन-मनन होने की जगह ऐसे प्रयासों को दलित विरोधी बताकर राजनीतिक रा टोटियाँ सेंकी जाती है।

भारत में आज जरुरत है मानवता को जांत-पांत की दिवारों से मुक्त करने की। आज जरुरत है सबको एक होकर राष्ट्र निर्माण करने की। आपने शिक्षा का अधिकार और फूड सेक्यूरिटी बिल तो दे दिया लेकिन फिर भी समाज अशिक्षा और भूक के चंगुल में फसा हुआ है। जांत- पांत की खाइयों से बंटा हुआ है। 

हटा दो आज

ये सारी दिवारें

हटा दो आज

जातिभेद की ये लकीरे

हटा दो आज

ये भिन्न भिन्न चेहरे

उठो मानव बनो

तोड़ दो आज

ये सारी जंजीरे

A GOOD PLAN AND WELL EXECUTION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

In management jargons, it is said that a good plan and its well execution is the basic key to success. The management gurus have discovered the philosophy for success in the PDCA Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) which is termed as a very useful tool to achieve desired changes. The PDCA cycle is repeated again and again in a process to achieve continuous quality improvement. The PDCA cycle is also called Deming cycle (named after Dr. W. Edward Deming who is termed as father of modern quality control).

PDCA Cycle is used to achieve continuous improvement in a process or product and to develop a new process or product or implement any change. It is important to recognize the opportunity at a proper time, evaluate various alternatives, implement the changes and take corrective actions wherever needed.

I see a simile of the above PDCA cycle in the recent development in Indian political arena about change of guards in Bihar politics. Yesterday, Mr. Nitish Kumar has resigned as Chief Minister of the Mahagathbandhan formed before Bihar state elections mainly by Janta Dal (United) lead by Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) lead by Lalu Prasad Yadav and Congress lead by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Nitish Kumar has also joined NDA coalition and forms government in Bihar installing himself as Chief Minister again with Bhartiya Janta Party’s (BJP) Sushil Kumar Modi as his deputy sending the mahagathbandhan into total disarrays.  The developments turned so fast with the precision of a well planned script implemented by well oiled machinery, simultaneously synchronizing acts at Delhi and Patna. As a result, within less than twenty four hours, the Bihar state has a new government lead by NDA. The turn of events was so shocking for the Congress that it has failed to offer any quick reactions to the development. The enfoldment of events has also turned turtle the scope of any grand alliance of mahagathbandhan for 2019 parliamentary election. The united opposition, the mahagathbandhan had a plan to go to the people with Nitish kumar, who enjoys a clean image, as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 parliament elections. Now, as the captain of the ship is out, the rest of the riders are in totally confused and scratching their heads.

The BJP lead by Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw an opportunity when Lalu Prasad Yadav had sent his emissaries secretly to the central ministers with a offer to topple Nitish Kumar lead government in Bihar provided that the central government goes easy on Lalu and his family in corruption charges. The opportunity gave impetus to the plan to draw Nitish Kumar closure and Modi-Shah combine penned a script for his return to NDA camp. The plan must have been on the drawing boards for at least six months. Simultaneously, the central governments strict actions on benami property deals of Lalu’s sons and its wide media exposure made it difficult for the sushasan babu, Nitish Kumar to continue with Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the son of Lalu as Deputy Chief Minister. The drama ends yesterday with headlines like; Nitish resigns, leaves mahagathbandhan, joins NDA, to be sworn in as NDA CM of Bihar in less than twenty four hours. Lalu left fuming, Congress silent.

It is said that a well written script is more important for a drama to succeed; the actors in the drama may or may not be that great. The script is a well thought plan whereas the enactment is mere execution. If the actors are also great, the plan is never bound to fail. This is what exactly has happened in Bihar yesterday. The successful execution of the plan in Bihar is the result of a brilliant script written in Delhi by Amit Shah and PM Modi combine and was played by the best actors, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi in Bihar.  The result is we have a NDA lead government in Bihar in less than twenty four hours. The planners had a great success in the drama whereas the fence sitters have been turned into mere spectators. 

One should also give due credit to the villains in the drama. Without their brilliant acting, the drama could not have been so succeeded. The arrogance of Lalu and refusal of his son to resign on charges of corruption coupled with Rahul Gandhi’s failure to act & extend continued blind support for the corrupt has helped the planners to write the script and execute it brilliantly.

This offers a very good case study on PDCA cycle for the students of management.

Karela, the Nature & the Divinity

Around two months back, my wife had just put few seeds of bitter gourd (Karela in Hindi) in the soil of a flower pot lying in my balcony.  Within few days a karela plant emerged and gradually started spreading itself on the nylon ropes meant to support the clothes for drying. The growing process of the plant looked me so intelligent enough that the fine thread like shoots emerging from plant's branches were observed to be consciously reaching the nearest available supports. The threads of the shoots used to even enter the tiny slits in plastic clips hanging around and entangle with it so beautifully like a precision weaving of an expert craftsman to get required supports.  Later, small yellow followers started blossoming. Also, at the base of the first flowers, a tiny  karela fruit took  shape and started growing. This was the beginning and many tiny karela fruits emerged from other flowers too. All the karela fruits started growing bigger and bigger lead by the first one. Every day morning, I used to watch it with great amusement and wonder that the small sprout of the karela plant had its full consciousness within to grow in a meticulous way to a large plant from a tiny seed put in the soil and watered. The intelligent plant also in its peculiar ways was growing and finding the necessary supports to hang around and bear flowers & fruits. I used to feel that this nothing but the divinity working behind the fully conscious plant and the sleeping karela seed as well. The sleeping seed only needs suitable environment to awake itself and manifest in the form of a plant and bear fruits.  I used to feel that the same consciousness of the divinity which was there in the sleeping seed and working in the plant is also working in me, everybody & the entire humanity and nature as well. The divinity is the cause of everything; we may call it God or give it any other name but without its power behind, nothing can exist in the universe. The first karela fruit when it reached to its full size, was ready to sacrifice itself for our consumption. The time had come for it to be plucked. Today morning, my wife has plucked the first home grown Karela and we received the wonderful gift of the nature.

The blessings and wonders of nature are unique for the entire humanity. It offers in abundance everything what the humanity needs for its survival. It offers sunlight, rains, water, plants, animals, minerals, oils, coals, plants, nuclear material and everything we need. We take pride in our great discoveries but we are not just capable of creating something a new but only have discovered few from the nature which were already there. There could be many more material and energy forms which are lying there in the womb of mother earth and nature which are awaiting to be discovered by the humanity. 

Coming back to the karela, it has also manifested from the womb of the same mother earth where the plutonium and thorium, coal and oil etc. lie. The food, water and everything that humanity needs to survive are the gifts of the mother earth and the nature. The grains, vegetables, fruits and everything necessary for human survival takes months to grow in the soil of the mother earth. It also takes untiring, continuous hard work of farmers engaged in cultivation to produce them but which we can consume it in few minutes. That is why it is necessary and very important for everyone to look after & protect the mother earth and nature. It is also equally important for each one of us that we look after well our farmers and cultivators who toil in hot sun, rain and harsh conditions to feed their stomach but in the process, feed the rest of humanity too. They are the real “Annadata-provider of the food" to everybody.

Why it is necessary to protect the environment? Today due to global warming and deforestation when there are frequent onslaughts of serious natural disasters killing millions and millions of people, it has become more important for every nation and every person to protect the environment and nature. It is not our mere duty but our utmost necessity to give more to the nature than what we take from it and consume. This is the only way left out to us to sustain the nature and secure the future of our coming generations.

What is God?

What is God? Where is He resides? Why He is not visible to us? If He is really there, why He can’t come to us and talk, why He can’t come to us and guide and shows the right path? These are eternal questions in minds of believers as well as non believers. The non-believers ask the believers that if the God exists, show us. Through the verse 30 of Shrimadbhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna himself answers this question very beautifully and emphatically that He exists and can be realized by those who possess the necessary qualifications and capabilities to see him.  He says;

यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति |
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति || 30||

yo māṁ paśhyati sarvatra sarvaṁ cha mayi paśhyati
tasyāhaṁ na praṇaśhyāmi sa cha me na praṇaśhyati

Meaning:

For those who see me everywhere and see all things in me, I am never lost, nor are they ever lost to me.

In this verse, the Krishna himself directly speaks as the Lord, the God. He affirms that those devotees who see Him everywhere and see all the things in Him, He is never lost to them. He is always visible and available to such devotees. Such devotees are always in His sight and are never lost to Him as well.

Such devotees are God realized souls; either fully merged in the Almighty and became one with Him or can maintain dual identity as separate souls. The relationship between the devotee and the Lord is like the waves of the ocean and ocean itself. To the novice eyes of a child, the waves appear separate from the ocean but in reality, they can’t have separate independent existence. The waves rise and fall back into the sea; sometime appearing as the ocean itself and sometime appearing as separate waves. Can we say that at any point of time, the ocean loses the sight of waves or the waves lose the sight of ocean? Never! Both are integral part of the same ocean. Both are made of the same Water. The ocean water assumes the shape of waves due to blowing of wind and fall back to the ocean, the same water. Likewise, the Lord Krishna says that the devotee who sees Him everywhere and all the things in Him, such a devotee never loses the sight of Him and neither He loses the sight of such devotee. Like ocean waves, we have come from the same ocean, the Lord and would fall back and would merge with the same Lord.

How to acquire those qualifications and capabilities to see the Lord?  One has to become a perfect yogi, purifying his body, mind and action; walk on the righteous path. Like when a child grows, it can realize that the waves of the ocean and the waves themselves are made of the same water only and are inseparable, likewise the yogi when walking on the true spiritual path realizes that the Lord is everywhere and in everything and he too is not different from the Lord. Such a yogi achieves oneness with the Lord. We too can reach to a level from where we can see that everything is a part of the Lord and without the Lord, nothing can exist. In this state, we can say that we have already realized the Lord and achieved oneness with Him.

The God or the Lord or Ishwara is not a mysterious figure residing above the clouds or mountains or at some unknown world and would descend on the earth to on our calling to teach us some lessons. He is everywhere, in everything and at every time and is not separate from us. We have to simply amplify our inner vision and change the view point to see Him everywhere and in everything. He is there in you, me and everybody. He is in plants, trees, water, mountains, in every creature and everything that exist. That is why in Hinduism, people worship all forms of nature as God. We have to open our inner eyes to see Him within. If we can see Him within, we can also see Him in others and in everything. This is such a glorious state of being that one becomes a God realized souls.

This glorious state described in the Shrimadbhagwad Gita also offers a solution to the present day conflict ridden world? Can a God realized soul harm others? He will never do it as he sees the Lord in others too. He can never harm anyone in whom he sees the Lord; in the name of religion, class, sect or other manmade different perceptions. This is neither any Hinduism nor any “ism” and is beyond the modern theories of conflict resolution mechanisms. In such a conflict free phenomenal world, the eternal truth becomes evident to everybody that the whole world is encompassed by the Lord and the worship and admiration of the Lord can only offer peace and tranquility to the mankind. Such a world would be really glorious where the perception of difference between a subject and object, between nationalities and between boundaries will be eliminated and the world will achieve true oneness.  In such a world, everybody will be equal citizens of the world and nobody will have any superiority or inferiority establishing the true godliness, love and peace among one and all.

Can the world leaders strive for establishing such a world?
...........................
Readers may also visit my page:   http://motivateyourselves.com/god-love-peace/

One Nation, One Law, One Flag

It hurts deeply and raises serious doubts to acknowledge that the present Congress party headed by Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi is the real avatar of the same grand old Congress party  which gave India freedom from the  mighty British Empire. The ridiculous issue which the party has raised in Karnataka is to have a separate flag for the state. It has set up a panel to explore how the state can legally have its own separate flag. What a damaging blunder is being committed by the party for sheer lust of power  keeping with an eye on  2018 assembly elections?

The visionary leaders like Sardar Patel had made untiring efforts to unite various Indian states into a nation, called India and now the Congress is resorting to fuel the demand for  separate flag today for Karnataka and may be tomorrow they may ask for a separate constitution and  nation. Are not they inciting  other states to follow? Have they become so desperate for power that they have become blind to what they are doing? Is this the national service they are doing? Is it a  public service? Is it a poverty elimination programme? Is it a job creations programme or a development programme? Why such an absurd thinking?  Is it not a violation of the Indian Constitution?  Is it not a divisive tactic? Is it not a betrayal of the people?

Height of absurdity!

As everyone is aware, right now the state of Jammu and Kashmir is the only state which is permitted to have its own flag under the special status according to Article 370 of the Constitution. Is Congress trying to promote separate constitution for Karnataka? Why Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are silent on the absurd move of the state government? Why they are not immediately tearing of such an idea? They should remember that the nation "India" belongs to its people of this country and is not their personal kingdom where they are free to do anything. Millions & millions of the people have given their lives to liberate the nation. Don't cheat their blood. And remember, the people of this country and the nation would not allow you to play the dirty game of dividing the nation.

It is a great pity that when politicians across the party lines should all be united and strive for unifying the country with stronger and stronger bonds, they are trying to weaken even the existing ones for their selfish politics. Why they all can't aim and agree on the principle of one nation, one law one flag