A Weak Lokpal Bill, Finally!

India's romance with systemic corruption is well documented and widely known amongst global communities. According to Transparency International's report, truckers in India alone pay annually US$5 billion in bribes, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. India ranks 87th position amongst 178 countries as per the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. India tops the list for black money in the entire world with almost US$1456 billion in Swiss banks in the form of black money, and our politicians still believe that a strong Lokpal Bill is detrimental to the functioning of a Parliamentary democracy. Perhaps, on that sophisticated merit, the Cabinet deliberately selected the government's version of Lokpal Bill draft (to be tabled in the Parliament) in which both PM's office and judiciary will be beyond its purview. And the fun part is when the PM himself along with his four cabinet ministers – A K Anthony, Ambika Soni, Kapil Sibal, and Jairam Ramesh – argued in favour of inclusion of PM, the majority thinks otherwise.

What it precisely indicates that our cabinet has only five honest ministers including the PM who think that any rule however draconian has hardly any adverse impact on people those are thoroughly law-abiding. And that perception is justifiably true. If we look at these ministers only one thing that pops up in our mind that they are the reflection of propriety and integrity during a period of huge trust deficit. Not all people can shape themselves to a level of honesty as these five ministers have done in their public life. Well, the larger point here is what's the next course of action for the Lokpal Bill draft? Will that Bill be approved by a majority? The singular answer to that is “yes” because the majority of parliamentarians irrespective of party politics undoubtedly believe in corruption in public places and that's the reason why after 64 years of independence India is still struggling to pass out an anti-corruption bill.

Since Anna's team is not at all happy about the government's stand on Lokpal Bill draft, it's quite rational for Anna and his team along with thousands of citizens to come down to street on August 16 once again to show their solidarity against corruption. But the moot question is whether this government will listen to the coherent voice of citizens against corruption? I doubt this agitation will bring any change in the perception of government's stand again. What has been done is irreversible and can't repaired given the fact that the majority in the government desires a softer bill, not a draconian one what Anna's team perceives. If Anna goes on hunger strike on August 16, it will be another media circus. And this will lead to chaos and eventually the government will deploy its brutal force to disperse the crowd who in all probability would like to carry out peaceful protest against corruption. We must learn to live by the reality, not by the ideals.

The cost of invading privacy

In his entire life period Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul of the world, couldn't have imagined that someday he would be grilled by a bunch of politicians, who he otherwise thought objects of buying and selling, for his empire's journalistic excesses that once he thought were the critical strengths of his media business in drawing more readers and audiences. July 19 was however an altogether different day in his life, a day that exposed his dirty tricks, unethical journalistic practices, and monopolistic business objectives. Amongst serious public scrutiny for scandals running thick around NOTW's telephone hacking practices, an internal committee of British Parliament came heavily on Murdoch's close coterie and to the surprise of world viewers the event was telecast for over three hours. At the beginning of this unprecedented media bashing, a member of an NGO could able to throw a plate of foam cake on Murdoch, which many doubt was a fabulous stage-managed orchestration by Murdoch to garner huge public sympathy at least from those viewers who still believe in scoops, sex scandals, and salacious news.

Though Murdoch started with a humble pitch by calling the day as “the most humble day of his life” he was quite sure as what he wanted to prescribe to the world audience at large. The subtext was quite understandable – irrespective of scandals embroiling News Corp Murdoch is still the emperor of world media and he will continue with that humility although many such NOTW incidents may happen in future and all those without his knowledge as he suggests to the parliamentary committee. Every time he would prefer to slap the charges on his front soldiers and explain to the world that he is ignorant of those facts, as he suggested this time that he was completely unaware of the phone hacking scandals and some senior officials kept him in blank, the fact which he knew thoroughly that nothing in News Cork does happen without his knowledge or approval.

However, the grilling experience took a dramatic mode when Murdoch dragged British PM into the soup by exposing the fact that he was told to enter through the back door. This was too serious a charge against Cameron for which he had to face internal committee for hobnobbing with scandal-hit Murdoch and his media honchos. Moreover, Cameron's decision to appoint Andy Coulson, an ex-editor of NOTW, as communication chief despite Opposition's strong disapproval dragged Cameron into serious public scrutiny. And it seems the days ahead for Cameron could be tougher.

Back to the testimony of Rebekah Brooks, the close aide of Ruper Murdoch, she presumably was quite confident about the state of affairs at NOTW during her editorship while most of these scandals erupted. She chose to admit to the mistakes committed by NOTW journalists because there was no more leg room for her to play further tricks, as Scotland Yard had enough evidences for phone hacking and bribing some section of police. Nonetheless, she tried her best to jump the charges of bribing to police by simply putting the gun on somebody else's shoulder because she knew that the gravity of charges of this kind could be more disastrous for New Corp.

Well, what if the editors at NOTW hadn't believed in such yellow journalism? Certainly, NOTW could have been a more powerful newspaper and News Corp could have acquired the BSkyB deal easily without any political opposition, and Murdoch a more powerful man than what's he today. It seems Murdoch was far from the big picture of future and this NOTW episode is a reminder of his glaring blunder in comparing media business with fast-food chain. Truth has a different meaning and probably Murdoch has learned it.

The world of untruths

We are living in a dangerous world, partly because the “manufactured uncertainty” by the high and might people of our society constantly threatens the very existence of a balanced social fabric; furthermore, if someone aspires to bring the truth to the fore, either the person is forced to keep silence or in extreme situation, if the sinister design of the power monger doesn't allow the expose, the person in all probability kisses the dust, and this conspiracy of power tussle what we experience in our daily life is the handiwork of those people who have mastered the jugglery of deception. A deception that's often painted as social reality wherein the truth that we see, hear, or speak is a concoction of grand design exclusively portrayed by the barons of power.

The surreal scenarios in our society seem more intriguing that the most astounding fictional plots. If we look at the events happening around us, only one conclusive though pops up in our mind – whether there is any amount of truth in the final verdict. Perhaps, we are not sure about that. That has been the tug-of-war among the rulers and the subjects across the world since civilization took its wing.

From politics to business to media, every center of power house has its own design to rule this world. In that lies the undecipherable mystery code that constantly endeavors to clone the diabolic program to marginalize the larger truth. On surface what it always seems a visually appealing frame capturing the most feel-good moments of human excellence, which turns out to be the most sought-after human desire for majority of the world population, is undoubtedly a spurious portrait of half-truth, the rest being a calculative transformation of lies. For a moment we forget the fact that all that shines isn't gold, it's gilding of base metals. Perhaps, this aspect of human perception becomes a perpetual key for the tyrants of society to embark upon a sinister design as how to rule the subjects in an incessant manner.

Let's have a look at the terrains of global terrorism. Leaders of all hues and shades condemn it in the toughest possible way forgetting the fact that the state of terrorism today is a handiwork of some yesteryear's leaders who during post cold war era impregnated the theory of “calculative political destabilization” in enemy countries by introducing some dreaded rouge elements of society, in that they gave birth to a dangerous Frankenstein that has been haunting this world every now and then. Over the period the hobnobbing of power circle with these rouge elements became an underlying syndrome that hardly the public could able to gauge, but at every turning point these innocent people became the victims of somebody's mistake.

Without any apprehension, the series of events starting from 1993 Mumbai blasts to 9/11 (WTC terror strike) to 26/11 (Mumbai terror strike) to the most recent 13/7 terror strike in Mumbai narrates the dangerous cocktail of ruling class and rouge elements whether they are terrorists, maoists, or small-time criminal. A spurious cocktail in which either the so called villains as portrayed by the rulers of our society or the tortured subjects who take on arms to establish their age-old angst against the ruling class has eventually intoxicated the entire society. So what's the real truth behind this dangerous game? Does anybody attempt to delve deeper into the complex aspects of this problem? The truth is we don't want this world to be free of problems because what these power mongers would do then in future. We all are living in a world of serious denial, an inherent human attribute that proposes more dangers than safe and security.

Oh yes, when we struggling here to find out the exact meaning of the truth, the global media baron Murdoch who once proclaimed bringing truth to the public domain is the ultimate gimmick of media is now facing the music for his ultimate truth seeking shenanigans that he deployed to unearth anything and everything at the cost of ethics. For him truth has an altogether different definition that understands the logic of business expansion by not exposing the truth, but by twisting the truth to such a proportion that can attract more readers and audiences to his media products.

Back home, the scandal-tainted government is pushing hard to subvert the truth by restricting public access to information in the pretext that right to information for certain domains of governance could jeopardize the security of nation. In that move lies the vested interest of political class that always desires to be above law irrespective of all wrong reasons. The noose tightens against the truth.

How much is too much?

Has India learnt anything from the frequent terror strikes in Mumbai? A question that everyone raises to the political leaders of this country. Every time when a terrorist attack occurs, the political leaders try to assuage people by assuring them a safe and secured future and propose a variety of advance security measures that never gets implemented. And the so called resilient and high-spirited people forget everything as if nothing has happened and get back to work day after, in that those people not only display their inherent compulsions but also to a large degree of indifference to the events around them.

Especially, Mumbai's tryst with terror attacks is not nascent, close to two decades these people have been suffering from the scourge of terror, and the financial hub of the nation always bears the brunt of political opportunism in this country. After each terror strike when some political parties show extreme fascism by boycotting the pluralistic nature of our society and declare a head-on war against terror, the other political parties pretend to be savior of democratic principles and go soft apparently on an extremely complex subject. In that tug of political war only the innocent people suffer.

Immediately after 26/11, the Union Home ministry suggested to act upon a series of crucial security measures including creation of a national counter-terrorism center and decentralized quick reaction teams, but literally after two-and-half years, the proposal is still shuttling between political whims and fancies of centre and state, and for sure no one knows how long this drama will continue. It seems there is no political urgency for internal security of this country. How many assaults India will bear before these political leaders wake up from the slumber? Why are they so insensitive to those people for whom they are enjoying the luxury of life? The public anger is fermenting vigorously and that will never subside until and unless these politicians act coherently to ensure a safer tomorrow.

Troubles Mounting on Murdoch

In my earlier post Next is what, Mr Murdoch? I attempted to logically reach at a point from where one can quite easily predict the future of Rupert Murdoch's media business especially in the UK. And today it's not much uncomfortable to conclude that the spiraling troubles for Murdoch are yet not over. With stringent opposition from the Opposition Labor party in the British parliament, Murdoch's bid to take over the direct-to-home broadcasting company BSkyB seems to be futile and a difficult business proposition. The mounting political pressure, growing public anger, and continued legal battle against News International's involvement in phone hacking scandals have taken a serious toll not only on the Murdoch's future plan to acquire monopoly on the DTH broadcasting business, but also they have visible affected the existing print media business of NewsCorp in the UK.

As the facts are emerging, News International's other two leading newspapers the Times of London and The Sun are facing a hostile environment in the aftermath of News of the World's shutdown. Even the media baron Murdoch himself is not sure about the future of News International, given the legal cases against NOTW. What seems to be quite predictable that Murdoch's big-ticket broadcasting business expansion in the UK along with the existing print media would brace up for inking another sensational headline “Thank You & Goodbye For Ever” for British readers.

Well, News Corp might look for potential buyers to sell out their media empire in the UK and they can also execute that with extreme business sense, but what's the learning for world's number one media baron Murdoch? When will he internalize the fact that though sensational, salacious headlines are the easier baits to multiply readership, the methods deployed to bring them on to front page only decide whether those headlines carry a timeless stamp? Media is a tricky business and Murdoch has of late started introspecting this.

Terror Strikes Back Maximum City

Once again the barbarous terrorists in their usual demonic style have attacked Mumbai through serial blasts at three places proving the fact that Indian intelligence agencies are nowhere close to intercept their brutish design in destabilizing the nation. Why Mumbai has been the soft target of bloody terrorists time and again? Count this: 1993, 2003, 2006, 2008, and 2011, and probably no one knows how many dates will add up to this malignant list in future? When will the government wake up from the slumber to understand the gravity of situation? Why does India pusillanimously tolerate these terror attacks and put the nation into demented shame? When will the political leaders of this country feel the profound pain of innocent citizens? Or these repugnant acts of terrorists will agonize the citizens for go?

Every time a terrorist attack takes place in Mumbai, the politicians, law and enforcement agencies, and media spring into action and start displaying their momentary heroic act to serve the victims and eventually the anger of people subsides, and some duplicitous opinion makers thrash out their false intellectual formulations, citing “Mumbaikers are truly resilient and they can get back to track soon forgetting everything as a virtual nightmare”. And Mumbaikers unmistakeably behave that way repeatedly on all these trying periods to live in a false sense of humility by bearing the brunt. Perhaps, that's the reason as to why Mumbai has been a regular soft target of terror strikes in last two decades.

These terrorist attacks must not be trivialized by the rhetoric of media. We can't undermine the priceless life of any citizen. Every act of terror is an attack on the sovereignty of the nation and should be strictly condemned. We must understand the fact that a terror strike is an indication of our serious security failure. We must act tough now, no lip service.

Cabinet reshuffle or coalition compulsion

The much-awaited, big-ticket cabinet reshuffle that the prime minister once created disproportionate hype in media circle has finally ended in a jocular political musical chair trivia, nothing exciting or forward looking given a poll-bound government three years down the line. What our prime minister was initially claiming that the rejig could weed out the non-performers and tainted ministers has eventually sent a message that political and coalition compulsions outweigh the merits of reshuffling and probity in governance.

In the same vein, he once again painted him a subdued follower of a political leadership who neither has vision nor tact in managing the most complex political coalition with iron fists. Every time when political crisis lambasts governance, we hear a well-rehearsed cliché – coalition dharma. But the moot question here is how long this coalition dharma would mar the future of an emerging democracy? No one has a legitimate answer to this. The problem here is that either this government has a serious fear psychosis against the present scenario or there is something serious flaw in the political leadership in this country, both ways the Congress party is a loser.

Well, if cabinet reshuffling is a prerogative of the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has given a blatant disservice to the nation in terms of subjugating to the political compulsions. As the prime minister, he could have endorsed to inducting a couple of brilliant technocrats like Montek Singh Aluwalia to his cabinet through lateral entry or he could have infused some capable young leaders by entrusting them with certain major responsibilities. On both fronts, he failed to achieve that. When inflation, corruption, decelerated FDI, and subsided industrial growth have plagued the macro economy of this country, as a renowned economist he has deliberately overlooked at them and simply accommodated changes a layman can perceive in the current political turmoil.

On the contrary if we believe that the cabinet reshuffle is a give-and-take gesture between the prime minister and the chairperson of UPA II, then the latter has completely failed to understand the complex political war that would quite predictably bring disastrous to the future prime minister of the Congress party, Mr Rahul Gandhi, on many counts. Primarily Ms Sonia Gandhi has failed to understand is the pulse of the nation. If at all she has played a role in advising the prime minister to marginalize his wisdom, then she has restored some inheritance of loss for her son Rahul.

For a poll-bound government, the primary political compulsions do not comprise appeasing the present coalition elements, rather it's the high time to restore the faith of common man in overall governance. Beyond stringent political compulsions there are plenty of ordinary issues those have extraordinary impact of the next elections. Nonetheless, both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have failed to perceive the truth and showed their naivety again.

Next is what, Mr Murdoch?

After the logical demise of the News of the World (NOTW), the scandals of phone-hacking that once tapped the private conversations of the most powerful figures of Britain, including the royal families and former prime minister Gordon Brown, have again erupted fresh tremors in the political circle of Britain. Regardless of Rupert Murdoch's fire-fighting damage control exercise, the British press has started attacking the modus operandi of NOTW journalists that how these shoddy reporters could able to hack into phones of all and sundry without the knowledge of law and enforcement agencies. Although the last editorial of the tabloid that candidly expressed the concerns of public: "Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry... There is no justification for this appalling wrong-doing. No justification for the pain caused to victims, nor for the deep stain it has left on a great history," the ghost of reporters' wrong-doings is haunting Murdoch's media empire.

What's more damaging to the current turbulent situation that Scotland Yards, the premier intelligence agency of UK, has come out with fresh allegations that some unidentified people were deliberately trying to sabotage its huge investigation process by plotting distracting reports in the press. Now the big question of the moment is whether Murdoch could be able to manage the crisis and instill confidence in the British government to realize his biggest ever dream – taking full control of British Sky Broadcasting from a 39% stake? Even British prime minister David Cameron, a pro-Murdoch, has openly demanded the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of News International. If this happens, it could be a huge blow to Murdoch's ego. As the Sunday Telegraph reports, Rebekah, who is a protegee of Murdoch, could know about the illegal hacking and bribing to police since she was the editor of the tabloid from 2000 to 2003, it could be a difficult proposition for Murdoch to have the cake and eat it too.

As British media have vociferously started exposing NOTW's scams, the Opposition Leader Ed Miliband has demanded that the government's decision on the News Corporation's proposal to take full control of BSkyB to be referred to the Competition Commission. This will seriously affect Murdoch's BSkyB expansion plan.

Death of a tabloid

The ending was unusual, unsavory, and unpredictable, in that the largest selling tabloid of the world - The News of the World - sent a precise message to the world of news that sleazy, sensational, and sadistic news may draw millions of eyeballs, but when it comes to the scrutiny, the ethics can overpower the truth. For that all truths that are seemingly exaggerated by media are not alone truth, they are cocktails of motives, vested interests, and business strategy. If Rupert Murdoch's sensational tabloid The News of the World (NOTW), even after 168 years in print, can face an infamous death, then the rest of the media fraternity can imagine how dangerous it could be to trespass into the privacy of people, whether they are celebrities, criminals, or sex-workers. Not all scoops, exposes, and populist news can spindle money and power for long, these news categories have a shelf life, often defined by the tolerance index of a state and, especially in a democracy, a common man can even bring down the entire empire of a news business, if he or she thoroughly understands the power of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of the nation.

NOTW was altogether a different tabloid that chiefly anchored on yellow journalism for faster growth and public acceptance. Soon it became a purveyor of titillation, sex scandals, and criminal news, which quickly attracted the attention of neo-literates because for them it was the cheapest tabloid that could satiate their perverted mentality being living in otherwise an extremely conservative society. And NOTW had gotten its success formula and it replicated it vigorously and mindlessly. What NOTW practiced it its news gathering operation was never obliged to journalistic ethics. Whether it's about exposing the sexual escapade of politicians or sports persons, or drug addiction of royal scion, the ethics always took a back seat.

Perhaps, this tabloid was harping so much on scoops that the methods deployed in bringing truth to the front was a costly proposition that even the shrewdest media baron like Rupert Murdoch could fail to understand in his commitment to exposing the truth. The closure of this tabloid was as dramatic as ever in the aftermath of a phone hacking scandal. A private investigator deployed by NOTW allegedly hacked into the phone of murdered British teenager Milly Dowler, which probably interfered with the police investigation and caused huge distress to the girl's parents and this event took an enormous toll on the revenue generation of the paper. Subsequently the scandal even deepened when the tabloid allegedly hacked into the phones of families of soldiers killed in action. The piling revenue loss, public rejection, and court cases forced Murdoch to finally put a full stop along the scandalous journey of the oldest tabloid on July 10, 2011 making the last headline on the front page - "Thank You and Goodbye."

The disgraceful doping

The nexus is deeper, dirtier, and dangerous. From sports authorities to coaches to athletes to chemists, the vicious circle of doping has driven them crazy. If few seconds of glory, as sports authorities imagine, can transform a struggling, unknown athlete to a super hero in front of the world audience, what's the heck in achieving that limelight, be that sparklingly temporary in the public memory, the dispensers of athletes' destiny never shy away from confronting the the limits of human endeavour through whatever means. The charm of steroids has caught them all like a Viagra-fortified penis that drives a porn artist to an earth-shattering orgasm, which visually seems so delectable, but in reality it's all that debilitated manhood, hung phlegmatically from the abdomen in a state of disgrace.

Perhaps, that's the reason why Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic games, who sternly denounced "the intrusion of politics into sports, the increasingly venal attitude towards championship, the excessive worshipping of sport, which leads to a belief in the wrong values, chauvinism, brutality, overworking, overtraining, and doping." In that what he predicted in 1923, the recent infamous doping scandal in India and around the world has eventually corroborated to his wisdom.

Why do people in general and athletes in particular love to tread the path of short-cut to glory? Why don't they understand that a forged winning is anyway more disgraceful than losing? How long, if possible at all, they can sustain their false glory by resorting to such disdainful practice like doping? Probably, the athletes are swept away by the illusion that winning a couple of awards even by fraudulent means can make them eternal heroes in society, but that idea of being the best player in any sports event can't justify the fact that “excellence is the prerogative of a flawed notion”.

A steroid can't sustain the performance of an athlete for long. A new athlete will born one day who with the mandate of practice and determination can prove that the steroids are as temporary as the existence of a bubble, and in that split second of formation and burst, the life of a forged winner will be vanished into thin air. A society, a federation, or a nation can't survive on the false notion of fragile glory, which in the next moment strips off the victory by the revelation of truth.

One should understand that sports are not confined to the realm of athletic excellence and the winning of trophies and medals, rather they are integral part of human journey towards social excellence. And in every human excellence there is no place for unethical practices that mar the greatness of sporting spirit. Whether one wins or not the spirit of a sportsperson should not be riddled with the evils of human greed. And certainly a dangerous proposition like doping is but the manifestation of a sick mentality, not the valour of a true sportsperson.

MSM Imbroglio

What's most pathetic and shocking that the health minister of our nation doesn't have an iota of knowledge about the glaring difference between a disease and a deliberate human choice, and in that reflects his century-old ignorance, which he, with all his constitutional capability, is trying to disseminate to public rather in a ludicrous manner. And before he could able to understand the scale of damage he has already created to his ministry and himself as well, the LGBT community, media, and public in general rebuffed to his intellectual bankruptcy.

Now the big question is what prompted Mr Azad to display his latent ignorance to the public at large? Why did he stated so categorically about “men having sex with men” is a practice of developed country and this is a “disease” and “unnatural” act which has finally found its place in India? What it indicates that Mr Azad is absolutely clueless about “homosexuality” and its social dynamics. He has rather lifted off the lid from his “Pandora's box” of infinite insanity.

And more interesting fact is that after this faux pas he again committed another outrageous blunder on a backtrack diplomacy, by stating that he was not supposedly talking about “MSM” as a disease, rather it was intended for “HIV”. What a crap? He doesn't even know HIV is not a disease, it's a virus. Why then with such bundle of ignorance in his mind he is still holding the post of health minister? This is the sordid state of political leadership in our country. Anybody can be a political leader and a minister as well irrespective of his or her education, knowledge, intelligence, and other necessary leadership skills, so long as he or she has mass followers because that's the only mandatory requirement in a democracy.

When the apex court of our country has already abrogated Section 377 two years back to decriminalize homosexuality, the health minister still lives in his cocoon of feudal mindset. Mr Azad certainly needs to unlearn his mental darkness and must take some lessons on sex education before going back to his job, else his portfolio is undoubtedly going to be shifted to some most desirable candidate in the next cabinet reshuffle.

A nation of stupefying contrast

When forty per cent of the world's severely malnourished children under five are living in India, the treasure trove of Sree Padmanbha Swamy temple in God's own country Kerala refuses to bow down, as the counting goes on, the cumulative wealth reaches well above Rs. 100000 crore, a figure that can put shame to statistics to many national socio-economic schemes combined together. If this wealth is directed towards our national Food Security Act and NREGA schemes, it will almost meet the target. It can even serve the Centre's education budget for over two-and-half years

Shocking. Shamefully shocking. What's even more appalling that no leader in this country has courage to take a stand on the moral high ground that at least a part, if not all, of this huge wealth can be utilized for socio-economic development of underprivileged people. Forget about taking a stand, all political parties, irrespective of ideologies, don't have an iota of courage to come out with a single suggestion as how this filthily accumulated wealth over centuries can be of immense national importance, if streamlined in a constructive manner.

Sree Padmanbha Swamy temple is not the only centre of godly riches. Tirupati comes second with a staggering wealth of Rs. 42000 crore. And this scene goes with many other famous temples in India. The gods and god-men in this country live a royal life like their mundane representatives, the political masters, who in all probability love to accumulate wealth in their lifetime for generations together. And the gullible citizens just vexatiously listen to these facts and forget its significance in the next moment. Perhaps, that's the reason why Indians are still suffering socially and economically even after 64 years of independence.

When will these people awake and fight for their rights? Is there any resurrection for them? Or will they still lead the life of a subject as they experienced during Raj? When so much wealth is being accumulated in various temples and lying unused, why not then the Government of India comes out with a rational measure to utilize the wealth for nation building? What does stop all these people in high places to become change agents in this 21st century? Do they still have the fear for unknown or fear from losing the mandate? How long this political diplomacy and faith-based politics will play havoc to the lives of billions of people?

This is the high time to move beyond the ambit of mass faith. We must internalize the fact that such massive unused wealth in famous temples can be invested in various exciting financial schemes and the profits can be used for sustainable development. In that both gods and their people will leverage the benefits. Shall we think beyond the tradition? Or shall we wait for another intervention from the Supreme Court to act right?

Rath Yatra: The Festival of Universal Brotherhood

Every year in Puri, Orissa, millions of people come from different parts of India and abroad to witness the grandest religious festival – Rath Yatra – in which Lord Jagannath along with his two siblings brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra take a nine-days sojourn to their aunt's house widely know as Gundicha Temple, in that comes out a unique message to this world of extreme diversity that the universal brotherhood still defies all isms, and if someone, with true spirit, engages himself or herself can even transform this world into a better place to live in.

The sea of humanity that spreads over three kilometers long Grand Road starting from Lord Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Temple reflects a manifestation of human belief system, maybe, on devotional ground, and that trust in itself speaks a volume about how social inclusiveness irrespective of caste, creed, gender, economic status can bind millions of hearts to a single democratic principle that all are equal under the sun. But in an extremely divisive world the message doesn't percolate down and stays valid for go. Somewhere we fail to understand that our ego and ism are more dangerous to the coexistence of social diversity.

Any festival that may look symbolic on surface has even a deeper meaning. However, the relevance of Rath Yatra has a wider impact on our social life. Rath Yatra spreads the message of secularism, universal brotherhood, and social harmony. On this occasion devotees of all caste, religion, and belief system come together to witness the splendor of a grand social congregation. Perhaps, that's the reason as to why this festival is widely observed across the world.

An idea can change your life

Ideas are free; they're like strands of sperm lying idle in the scrotum of a man, absolutely inane until and unless they find a chance to unite with an ovule to chart out a subtle transformation into an embryo inside the womb of a woman, who in all probability promises to take every precaution to protect the fetus till it grows into a full-fledged baby, ready to be delivered in due course. The anecdote, on the surface, may sound bit queer and weird, but the fact remains every idea that gets germinated in the vacuum of somebody's mental space is even more trivial than the existence of a strand of sperm.

Any average literate person can suggest thousands of ideas, which many would find seriously exciting and of extreme significance with reference to their applicability in human society; nonetheless, if someone asks them whether they can realize the intended benefits at large, probably the respond would be unequivocally imbecilic. Why do then people anxiously accentuate on the formation or garnering of ideas, even quite sporadically, by harping on a false notion of changing this world for once and all? Aren't we really becoming too itching about an uncertainty that has a rare chance of occurrence with its projected impact until all the preconditions somehow converge or made to work in tandem as per the plan? Or are we seriously dwelling on a phenomenon that certainly has overreaching consequence?

Well, let's stick to the principle that any and every great idea can transform this world to even a much better place to live in, but the moot question here is whether that idea can be hatched by itself to deliver the desired benefits? Never. It certainly needs scores of other factors – time, effort, and money - which contribute to the incubation of a raw idea. Eventually when all preconditions are met, an idea converts to an exciting piece of product, which can provide profound benefits to the person who owns it.

So what it boils down to the fact that ideas are certainly exciting so long as there is somebody to metamorphose them into great products with continuous support, and for that someone needs the desired skill, scale, discipline, and devotion. That's why the top global institutes like MIT, Bell Labs, and NASA are not just idea givers, rather they are, to the core, staunch idea incubators, which in all possibility, have the desired caliber, capability and scale to transform an idea into a world-class technology. And they are doing it as well. Unfailingly.

Before winding up let me cite here one interesting example on how a weird idea for a nondescript technology start-up becomes a matter of exciting technological innovation for one of the best technology companies in which they could able to foresee the future of virtual teleportation. For that the company even didn't hesitate to invest to the tune of Rs. 1000 millions. Well, by now it's quite clear what it makes to hatch an idea that can change your life. Nevertheless, not just an idea alone can!