Samarth Bharat - Current Articles

Across the World, Let our creed be
Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram (Truth, Goodness, Beauty)

CURRENT ARTICLES

Western and so-called scientific / economic view of man is always partial. It treats man as an island removed from other human beings, nature and the cosmos. Religions, especially the ones not based on a single book, have always taken a more holistic view. Unfortunately, the holistic view is often articulated in terms that are not understood by the modern man trained in present-day science.

This presentation provides a simple intellectual framework before moving on to defining growth of an individual from a holistic perspective. At the end are some recommendations about what to do and what to avoid. There is nothing new in these recommendations, which have been preached for thousands of years by various saints.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (21 pages, 111 kB) by clicking on the link above. The pdf file has the presentation as well as the notes. In case you want to see only the slide show, please click on the link below to download the presentation.

Leakage of gas from Union Carbide factory at Bhopal was a terrible accident. More than two and a half decades later, the understanding about the accident in the mind of common people is limited. Hatred, revenge and anger dominate any deliberations on Bhopal Gas Tragedy. It is time to put all negative emotions aside and use the tragedy as a teacher so that disasters like the one at Bhopal can be prevented.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (8 pages, 227 kB) by clicking on the link above.

In the 5000-year or so known history of mankind, democracy finds only brief mentions. Through the history, democracy has been an extremely unstable and shortlived system of governance. Democracy flourished in modern times just when imperialism and colonialism brought massive resources from the colonies. Will democracy survive when colonialism has come to an end?

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (11 pages, 283 kB) by clicking on the link above.

BJP has acted as the C-team of Congress in getting The Women's Reservation Bill passed in Rajya Sabha. This open letter looks at the Bill from nationalistic perspective. The letter ends with the following two lines:-
"I sincerely hope that you will not be remembered as a person who helped drive nails into the coffin of democracy in India. The least that I expect from you is that you will not allow BJP Parliamentary Party to issue a whip on the issue of 108th Constitution Amendment Bill, as and when it comes up in the Lok Sabha."

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (6 pages, 40 kB) by clicking on the link above.

Food is the first medicine, according to ayurved. In modern world, food is something that one has for taste and fun, while health is a secondary consideration. There is a need for a change of paradigm in our concept of food. Modern medicine must give up its arraogance and learn from the holistic traditional systems.

People in power have a unique way of thinking. Understanding their mind is something that ordinary mortals might find difficult. This article looks into the logic that an official mind employs. Reference is to the approach of Election Commission of India in the matter of electronic voting machines but that is only incidental.

Electronic Voting Machines are being used for all elections in India. Shailendra Pradhan and Anil Chawla filed a petition before High Court of Madhya Pradesh raising doubts about whether the machines and related systems, procedures and personnel are fully reliable, foolproof, hacker-proof, tamperproof and yield results with zero probability of error.

Kindly download the petition and reply of Election Commission to judge for yourself.

Hindutwa - the political extension of Hindu Dharm - faces challenges at this time when the world is coming to grips with Islamic expansionism. This article (in Hindi) takes a global view and suggests the role that Hindu organizations as history enters a new phase.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (5 pages, 97 kB) by clicking on the link above.

This is about some personal friends of the author. May everyone be blessed with such friends! And, the city where one has such good friends is truly livable and lovely.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, a key aide of LK Advani, wrote an article about the malaise afflicting BJP and Sangh Pariwar. Sudheendra's article was published in tehelka.com. This reply to the article takes a critical and frank look at LK Advani's role in the problems facing BJP today.

As the war in Sri Lanka comes to an end, it is necessary to get back to the Buddhist values of kindness and compassion. Historical relations between Sinhalese and Tamils need to be rebuilt. There is need to exorcise the ghost of LTTE and work towards national reconciliation, reconstruction and integration.

Being cool and mean is the goal of young people - media, both print and audio-visual, wants us to believe. What is it to be cool? Is the desire to be cool as widespread as media would have us believe?

A protest against women in pub turned nasty with some women being roughed up. This led women activists to cry hoarse. While no one can argue for hooliganism, it is time we looked at the broader issues of alcohol consumption and women empowerment. Are the women who drink in pubs the empowered ones or is it the ones who protest against liquor shops?

Feeding the poor is a religious duty. Planting a fruit tree for public use is simple and involves hardly any effort. Yet, there are people who will cut down a fruit tree if it causes even slight inconvenience. What is our society heading to?

Mumbai terrorist attack was a frontal attack on India, USA, Israel, Canada, Australia and Europe. A long term strategy is needed to combat the root of all such terrorist attacks - Pakistan. The author looks at Pakistan as a failed experiment and argues for splitting Pakistan into three countries - Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan.

Democracy is about debate and deliberations. When puppets and sexual favour providers are nominated by political parties, does this not amount to mockery of democracy?

The financial turmoil in USA is caused by fundamental weaknesses of the American model of economics. The bail-out package announced by US President is not backed by any additional revenue-generation. Coming on top of an inadequately funded war, this can be really troublesome. For how long can USA live a life of luxury on others' money? Can USA manage this crisis or will she go the way of USSR?

This small article in Hindi is about the different cultural and social contexts of Hindi and English. Language is not just a medium for expressing one's thoughts. A person's language also provides the environment or operating software for his / her mind and heart.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (4 pages, 103 kB) by clicking on the link above.

India has changed in the last decade. Nothing illustrates it better than the scenario in telecommunication sector. An article that describes the change and inspires hope for future.

Should one pay a doctor for health or for sickness? In the western model of society based on exploitation, a doctor rejoices on sickness. Is it possible to build a different system of society where all forms of property including of the intellectual kind are held by owners as trustees for the whole society and not for individual benefits?

Shrikant Apte's collages on freedom struggle of India are unique in various respects. One cannot believe that bits of paper can be pasted to give such rich images that have depth and convey the mood of the times. There are 28 collages. Please click on any of the thumb-images to go to bigger picture and also to read a short description of each of the personalities / events. Going through all the 28 pages is like taking a quick and colourful refresher course on India's independence movement.

Socialism might have become a dirty word for many. Globalisation, capitalism and economic reforms are the buzzwords today. Sunil Sherlekar takes a historical view and argues that the old slogans about 'Workers of the world' are still relevant though they need to acquire new meanings and context.

Sukh or happiness or pleasure mean differently to a dev and to a danav. Modern western society has been promoting the danav concept of sukh for too long. It is time to understand and adapt the dev concept of sukh.

V.T. Joshi, a very fine journalist, a nationalist, an accomplished author, and above all a superb human being passed away on 20 January 2008. He was the guiding spirit behind Samarthbharat. His writings and life will continue to inspire generations to come.

Taj Mahal represents an ego trip that serves no functional utlity. Any such expenditure weakens a society, organization or individual. Monumental buildings, expensive clothes, and such display of wealth might attract appreciation, but all these weaken the owner.

Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues are trying hard to push the Indo-USA Nuclear Deal. A petition was filed in the first week of July 2007 before the Supreme Court against the deal. The petition raises fundamental questions about the deal as well as about treaty-making powers of the executive wing of the Union of India.

It was with great difficulty that the petition (W.C. 391 of 2007) was listed for hearing. On 3rd August 2007, a 3-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) was scheduled to hear the petition. Advocate P.N. Mishra, Retired Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, rose to speak on behalf of the petitioners. Before he could even utter a word, CJI announced that the relief prayed for could not be granted. In spite of this unique announcement of judgement before the start of arguments, the petitioners' advocate tried to press his point for almost twenty minutes. Surprisingly, the CJI engaged in active argument with the advocate, even going to the extent of citing a case law. The CJI said that it was settled in Berubari Union case that treaty making powers are not subject to judicial review. In our humble opinion, the CJI was wrong. The advocate said that the judgement was otherwise, but CJI was in no mood to listen. The CJI expressed the opinion that the subject-matter of the petition should be deliberated upon by the Parliament. In spite of expressing such an opinion, the lords refused to issue directions to that effect.

Finally, the CJI announced that the matter was indeed serious and hence he did not want to dismiss the petition. He advised the petitioners to withdraw the petition. The petitioners had no other option but to accept the advise of the Highest Court of India.

Kindly download the petition and make your own judgement. Petitioners hope that they are more fortunate in the court of your wisdom and intellect than they were in the Supreme Court.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (38 pages, 85 kB) by clicking on the link above.

In case you would like to have the complete set of documents, you may download the zip file (3.8 MB) by clicking on the link below. The set includes all declarations made by the two countries, various answers provided by the Government in Parliament, Hyde Act, a large number of articles by experts, copy of judgement of Supreme Court in Re: The Berubari Union And Exchange Of Enclaves.

The message of love that Jesus gave is more important than the life and person of Jesus. Anil Chawla looks at Jesus from the perspective of a Hindu. He calls for liberating Jesus from the church and the clergy. He accepts Jesus as a Son of God but does not accept the Bible.

Indian media is slipping fast. Values and ethics are being replaced by vulgarity and immorality. Freedom of expression has degenerated into a licence to push and promote trivia, scandal and sex. VT Joshi calls for regulation of the media.

Indians and Mumbai residents may not say THANK YOU and PLEASE as often as Americans and Europeans do. They may appear rude, but they can be most helpful and human when one needs it. Is that not better than all the hollow mannerisms that are parroted around?

The agitation against the proposal to increase caste-based reservations in IITs, IIMs and other central universities and institutes from the present 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent has heated up. The country seems to be heading towards a vertical split along caste lines, while political parties continue to play their usual vote bank politics. As tempers continue to rise on both sides of the caste divide, Anil Chawla suggests to Dr. Manmohan Singh a five point plan of action.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (6 pages, 37 kB) by clicking on the link above.

I am in my third year (B.Tech programme) in IIT Madras and am beginning to wonder how my work in the IT industry will have an ameliorative impact on rural India. I wish to work for the betterment of India but it seems any kind of work involving the industry leads us to just improve the wealth of America or at best my own bank balance. I do not see myself giving up all worldly belongings and going to help a single village either.

Please help me resolve this issue by pointing me towards a helpful book or link. Of course if you could write an article directly that would be great.

In response to the above query and after a brief correspondence, some students of IITM under the banner of iVil organized a lecture-cum-discussion on the above subject.

In his speech, Anil Chawla proposes a five-point approach, modelled on the human hand, to seek the right way for serving society. The five points are (a) Follow your vocation (b) Be a dev and not a danav (c) Resources and strengths (d) Humility and Patience and (e) Direct Contact.

These are audio (mp3) files. Speech is about 32 minutes and is 30 MB. Question-answer session is about 30 minutes and is about 26 MB.

Please download only if you have a high-speed connection. Recommended that you right click on the link(s) above and choose option - "Save Link as ..".

This is neither an autobiography nor an account of the author's student life. This is about some people who left a deep mark on the author's mind. Also has some interesting photographs. Please do not bother to open it if you have no interest in Anil Chawla as a person.

Printer-friendly pdf file (11 pages, 670 kB). Recommended that you right click on the link above and choose option - "Save Link as ..".

The proposal to increase caste-based reservations in IITs, IIMs and other central universities and institutes from the present 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent has stirred up a debate all over the country. Will these institutes be able to maintain their global reputation or will it prove to be the proverbial last straw on the camel's back?

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (9 pages, 120 kB) by clicking on the link above.

This speech was delivered to political workers and leaders of BJP's Anusoochit Jati (Schdelued Caste) Morcha in year 2002. It quotes extensively from Hindu scriptures to prove that the caste system is a bad aberration of the original varna vyavstha. This is a scholarly speech, which remains relevant four years after it was delivered and will surely be of interest even decades later.

Please download printer-friendly pdf file (26 pages, 335 kB) by clicking on the link above.

There is a problem with one of the letters in the Hindi font in pdf file. "prakruti" always appears as "prakuti". In case you find this irritating, please download the file in MS WORD format. This will work only if you have Narad font on your system. Sorry for the inconvenience. If you know how to correct this problem in the pdf file, kindly let us know.

This article is in the form of a letter to The Director, IIT Bombay. The issues raised in the letter relate to not just IITB, but to all educational institutes as they rush to adopt new technologies. In a way, the issues relate to our lives. As we get glued to the screen and interact with people sitting thousands of miles away, are we missing simple pleasures such as talking to real human beings?

Sting Operations have exposed the corruption that has settled deep in the indian political system. But instead of taking steps to reform the system, politicians are shedding crocodile tears and are sacrificing the small fish who have been unfortunate to be caught by the eye of the camera.

Dev and danav are terms that are fundamental to Hindu thought. A dev gives away without any selfish motives, while a danav grabs all that he can. A dev apparently keeps losing strength, while danav keeps becoming more powerful. The paradox is that in spite of this apparent weakening of dev, it is the dev who ultimately wins. A special article on the occasion of Dussehra.

Hurricane Katrina caused extensive destruction in South East USA. Natural disasters happen in every part of the world. Response to such calamities shows the true strength and spirit of a people. Katrina has exposed weakness of USA as a society. The author argues that USA is a societyless state.

Genocide committed by British Government in Bengal during their occupation 1765-1947 was bigger, more ghastly and more cruel than the killing of Jews by Hitler. Time that the criminals are punished and descendants of victims compensated.

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