Three, or is it four Indias?

I have been thinking about whether we have one country, or does it have images of itself in other dimensions ... socially speaking, we seem to be divided into four Indias. There is the India that we think India is ... an emerging superpower, a culturally rich country that inspires and attracts citizens from all over the world to it; then we have the India of the politicians and the rich class of citizens: they care a hoot for what the poor and the middle class are up to; they dress in Giorgio Armani, carry Louis Vuitton bags, spray themselves with Chanel 5, eat at 5-star restaurants and indulge in corruption and hoarding of money to such an extent that they consider themselves immune to any punishments or accountability; the third India we have is the one seen through the eyes of the poor: an India filled with opportunities for earning a decent livelihood, an India where one can be as educated, as literate, as learned as one wants to be, an India where there are heroes born daily - heroes who save others, heroes who salvage the environment, heroes who fight for the rights of women and children, and so on.

Finally, we have the India of media. If one watches Indian news channels from sunrise to moonrise for just one portion of one day, one may be forgiven for believing that nothing good ever happens, or will ever happen in this "rotten country". Ad nauseum they seem to go on about how this minister did this, and that bureaucrat did that. And, it's not just news reporting. They keep on showing the same clips over and over again, and the voice-over of the reporter is not the sane reporting of a seasoned journalist, but a sort of diatribe, a sort of shouting, if you will, and trying to badger anyone who has a view opposite to their own views.

Which India are you a part of? Do share your comments in the area provided at the bottom of this entry.

Where is India bound?

India has been in the news, and for a lot of wrong reasons in the past few months. 

However, this month, it was in the news for reasons that involved two of its old adversaries. Pakistan and China. 

In a jail at Kot Lakhpat in Lahore, an Indian prisoner on death row, Sarabjit Singh, was grievously wounded in a dastardly attack by fellow prisoners with the connivance of jail authorities. Fighting for his life in the Jinnah hospital at Lahore, he finally succumbed to his injuries 2 days ago. The political brouhaha that has ensued as a result of what is seen (in India) to be the failure of the Pakistani state and the perceived connivance of the government of Pakistan in what is considered to be a revenge killing for the death sentencing of Afzal Guru in India ... has to be heard and seen to be believed. While Pakistan has been vocal in dismissing these perceptions and apprehensions of the Indian people, and calls the death "an act of violence abetted by jail officials" and the fight between Sarabjit and his attackers a "scuffle", India has been stating repeatedly that the government is involved. 

The most vocal critic of the whole incident has been Sarabjit's sister, who has left no stone unturned in her attempts to criticise both the Pakistani and the Indian government for acts of negligence, callousness, political brinkmanship and utter disregard for the human angle to the whole affair. I salute her for her very cogent thinking and her bravery in calling a spade a spade - even while she was on Pakistani soil. I pray for her and her family and wish them well. I don't know if Sarabjit was a culprit or not, but may Allah rest his soul in peace.

In another incident. China intruded into Indian space in Ladakh and has now set up a camp and is developing nearly 30 sq. km. of the territory. Indian attempts to coax them to leave have been in vain, and they insist that the space they are occupying is not Indian territory but belongs to them. Salman Khurshid, the Minister of External Affairs is in a bind as India dare not "ruffle" the feathers of China, a military and economic behemoth in its own right. 

The third thing I wish to discuss is the repeated incidents of rape that are happening in India. Children and adults alike are the victims of rape violence. And it is not just about Delhi or the NCR ... it is happening across all states and in all sections of the society, including the rich, the famous, the privileged, the intellectual class and the educated. I hang my head in shame. Are Indians never going to learn to respect women? In spite of stringent laws and so much media publicity, there seems to be no end in sight for the women and children who are at the receiving end of rape violence.

Finally scams are tumbling out of the Congress closet almost every day. The coal scam is worth thousands of crores. Now, in a fresh incident, the Railway Minister is involved in a bribe-scam for appointment of an individual to the Railway Board.

Will India ever rise from the depths it has plummeted to? I invite comments from my readers. 

May 4, 2013: One month since my return

I had always thought I would write daily in my blog, but down the months, this habit degenerated into 1-2 monthly posts. With the decline in posting, my page views, comments, ad revenues, etc. have also seen a downturn, and so has my ranking among active blogs! I have no apologies to offer, but a sincere explanation: I have been really busy with my studies! Since I wrote last over here, I have completed the question data-bank on the online practice site, and am revising the questions since the past few days.

My progress is slow, but I am slowly getting there. It has been a relief to me that my co-pediatrician has co-operated so much with me. For the last 14 days, I was "on-call", and as a result, I was able to put in many more hours of study than I possibly could had I been in the OPD at the hospital. True, I had to attend some emergency and off-hours calls, but these were few and far-between. As a result, I was able to sit in the doctors' room and really read/study during the duty hours.

I have been shirking most of my other routines. My house isn't as clean as before, I am cooking only intermittently, my washing of clothes is running behind schedule, I am not ironing my own clothes ... in short, it is a mess. But it is worth it, since I am hoping to clear the Part 2 exams at first attempt.

Al Muwayh saw an unique natural phenomenon when it rained consecutively for 4 evenings from last Saturday to the next Tuesday. The weather was stormy, with a lot of sand billowing about. My car's windshield, rear-view glass and window glasses were covered with sand each morning, and I had to clean the sand off with dry cloth. Locals tell me that they haven't seen or heard of so many rain-filled days in the entire history of Al Muwayh (which is more than 40 years old)! I have heard that it has rained equally heavily in most parts of southern and western Saudi Arabia, and even places in the north and north-east such as Riyadh has witnessed rainfall. Is this a sign of changing climate or is it just a flash in the pan? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Hannah received her appointment letter and is now happy as she will draw a monthly salary that is quite respectable. Inas continues doing what she is already doing at the Juice salon and Nishrin is also doing her work as usual.

Mom was admitted to Noor Hospital in Mumbai last fortnight for a pneumonia. Thankfully, she has improved and is now recuperating at home.

That's all for now ... please pray for my success in the examinations. Feel free to comment in the box below.