MyVoice: Views of our readers 24th December 2023

If oppn attends, it gains; else, it is their choice

This refers to Ramu Sarma's Bold Talk, "Does Skipping Ram Temple Event Qualify As Secular'' (23 Dec). While I respect the views of the author, it is too early to guess that the Congress invitees may skip the Ram Temple "Consecration" (Prathishtai in Tamil or Mudupu in Telugu or Abhishek in Hindi as per Google translation even though it should be probably Prathishta and many other equivalent in other Indian languages). I have mentioned these languages which I am familiar with because India is a diverse country where we are allowed to follow our own way of remembering or praying to god or whatever religion they follow. India has thousands of temples for Ram, Sita, Hanuman and others. It is a choice for Individuals (even if they belong to various political parties) to take a call.

Whether one likes it or not, the movement, construction and now Ram idol Pratisthan is indeed coloured by politics and politicians. The construction itself was a hurried affair as instead of using temple art and artisans, the work was allotted to a company which is involved in projects other than temple. Normally construction of a temple takes many years as compared to Ayodhya Ram Temple. Sadly, this temple has been constructed at the cost of innocent people from other communities who have nothing to do with politics behind the temple. I don't know whether Lord Ram, who is going to be placed in the presence of politicians led by the PM, would enter the temple garbhagriha with a heavy heart.

As for politics behind Congress or others participation, it is purely left to them without giving it a political touch. Even if they participate, the ruling party is going to use their presence or even otherwise. By making the PM the chief guest, the trust has indeed made it a political event more than a religious event. Even if the Congress doesn't participate, in what way would it help get minority votes in the same way if the PM does not participate in minority events?

–N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

***

The article gave good information about spiritual practices prevailing. It's a wonderful thing that the organisers have invited all concerned and many are expected to participate in the historic event. Some of the previous events have created a sense of embarrassment to organisations mentioned in the article, ex. ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans when MPs from minorities were called for oath-taking, cricket World Cup final, ruling party MPs claim that the Congress accepted Sri Modi's leadership when women’s bill was passed etc. The environment is such that the presence of leaders from other than the ruling party may receive a cold welcome. It's a dilemma – to attend or not to attend. Safe bet is announce that political parties are secular and encourage everyone to practise their own faith, and attend the function. It's a fact that politicians pray in temple, church, masjid, dargah, mutt, ashram, gurudwara etc. Left’s view that is faith is a private matter.

– G Sivarama Krishna, Hyderabad

***

The Opposition is committing a monumental blunder, if it skips the mammoth and gala event of installation of idol of Ram Lalla and the “Prana Prathishta” ceremony that is to take place on January 22, 2024 at Ayodhya. The Ram temple consecration is India’s glorious pride that is happening after a long 70 years of hiatus, despite several cantankerous hurdles being placed, by the so-called secular forces in the country. The concept of religious and political differences must naturally melt in the process of larger concept of harmony, rather than attempting to play politics, which will make these secular elements a political pariah before the eyes of Indians, who believe in a universal God, universal religion, universal brotherhood, universal love and universal vision.

If the Opposition is viewing the grand event at Ayodhya as BJP sponsored – they are wrong. The Ram Janmabhoomi Trust is in charge of this arrangement, and is ensuring that all diverse religious and political groups across India attend this great event that is beyond religion and political identity. The Congress, though it stood in the way of temple construction, must take the lead, though the party is heading the INDI Alliance, to motivate others to follow suit. That Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati confirmed their readiness to attend the ceremony is truly appreciative, which speaks of the spontaneous spirit of SP and BSP to be part of the great show on earth that the world’s largest Hindu majority secular nation is going to celebrate. This is a golden opportunity for left parties to take part in the great Ayodhya show to come out of their outlandish social, political and religious mindset, albeit having Ram and Sita to their name. Let us hope that Mamata Banerjee’s TMC will not throw tantrums in missing out on the extraordinary event just to please and placate a particular community for the vote bank consideration.

–K V Raghuram, Wayanad

***

V Ramu Sarma has correctly summed up that the decision of Congress and certain other opposition parties not to attend the greatest event of Ram temple consecration at Ayodhya will do only a disservice to the nation. It will only mean they will be betraying the cause of the majority Hindus at every stage by playing with their emotions. When Lord Rama is a symbol of virtue holding place in all Indians, the non-presence of the sizeable number of opposition in the event will only mean disrespect to Ram, the Maryada Purshotam. All in all, Nihang Sikh community deciding to organise a Langar to celebrate the occasion should serve as an eye-opener to the pseudo-secular opposition to rethink and join the joyous event without inhibitions because Lord Rama epitomises a harmonious, complete man, trustworthy, guide and guardian and compassion who upholds all that represents ideal humanity.

– K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad

ROUT OF BRS OFFERS LESSONS FOR JAGAN

The Election results in Telangana came as a big shock for many politicians, party workers and for the general public. While the leaders of the BRS were very confident of winning the elections for a third consecutive time, the leaders of the Congress proved to be prophetic in asserting from the day one that they would unseat KCR and Co. As predicted by the Congress and some exit polls, the BRS lost elections in spite of their populist schemes, whirlwind tours and marathon speeches by stalwarts like KCR, KTR and Harish Rao.

Though these elections taught some lessons to the Congress and to the I N D I A Alliance,I strongly feel that Jagan too has something to learn from the debacle of the BRS.

In his ten year long rule, KCR came up with many imaginative populist schemes and development programs and plans. However it is said that KCR took little personal interest and supervision in the implementation of the schemes like two bedroom houses and Dalit Bundhu. The bias in the allotment of the houses and the corrupt practices of politicians in the distribution of Dalit Bandhu funds watered down the very purpose and spirit of the programmes. That is why the BRS couldn't win more seats in the rural areas. Like KCR, Jagan is also confident of winning more and more seats in the rural areas, thanks to his pet populist schemes. There are many people who have questioned the wisdom of Jagan in grounding too many unproductive schemes. His liquor policy, too, has drawn lots of flak from all sections of the society.

Another big mistake committed by KCR was giving party tickets to almost all sitting MLAs, without assessing their all-round performance. Poll experts like PK said that KCR should have picked up about 40 new faces in place of corrupt and non-performing MLAs. Jagan should take a cue here and avoid the same mistake.

No political party wins elections without the active support of youth and government employees. They definitely played a role in the defeat of the BRS this time. Jagan, too, is not on encouraging terms with the State government employees and pensioners.

Lastly, the foisting of a plethora of cases against Chandrababu Naidu in the election year is a wooden-headed idea, to say the least. It has clearly not gone down well with his supporters and people. Naidu is a past-master in making this a big issue in the poll compaign. All these things have already turned Jagan's popularity graph to south.

It is time Jagan took a note of the straws in the wind and corrected himself and his course of action to make it for a second time.

– M Somasekhar Prasad, Hyderabad

***

Under the stewardship of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the education sector in AP has been witnessing revolutionary changes. Numerous schemes have been launched aiming at improving infrastructure in the schools and reducing dropout rates as well as improving enrollment rate in government run schools. It is very heart-touching to see distribution of tabs on the occasion of his birthday to the 8th class students in government schools. Indeed it is the second consecutive year of distribution of tabs. It is surprising to know that the government is giving a tab worth Rs 34,000 each free of cost to each student. These are meant for reducing digital divide among rich and poor students which emerged during Covid 19. Though these tabs may not replace teacher's role, they do supplement the learning outcomes. Further these tabs are preloaded with Byju's content and can be worked both online as well as offline. The content is bilingual which can cater to the requirements of students from 8 to 12th classes. The component has been designed to prepare students to face competitions and would have topics like IOT, AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain Technology, Metaverse, Data Analytics, Robotics, Cyber Security, VR, AR and financial literacy. Plans are there to bring International Baccalaureate curriculum into the state education. So, it is the responsibility of student community to exploit the initiative for their benefit without being swayed by a section of media and opposition.

– Pratapa Reddy Yaramala, Tiruvuru, NTR dt

Empower consumers

The National Consumer Rights Day in India, observed annually on December 24, commemorates the enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act of November 15, 1986. This significant day aims to raise awareness about consumer rights, emphasising the six fundamental rights outlined in the Act to safeguard individuals from deceptive practices. In the face of increasing e-commerce influence, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has adapted by enhancing its technological capabilities, offering pre-litigation dispute resolution through channels like the E-Daakhil online portal. The portal, part of the broader e-courts project, seeks to digitise and simplify the process of filing consumer complaints, promoting fair and efficient dispute resolution. This initiative reflects the government's commitment to protecting consumers in the modern marketplace and fostering awareness through various channels such as print media, audio campaigns, and video campaigns. National Consumer Rights Day provides an opportunity to educate people about their rights and responsibilities, combat market abuses, and address social injustices, ultimately empowering consumers.

–Dr Krishna Kumar Vepakomma, Hyderabad

India can benefit a lot from Sanskrit

The New Education Policy (NEP) hopes to bring some transformation. Hopefully, there will be more focus on Sanskrit as a national language. On language policies, our country is a mass of confusion, lacking direction. Most of our heritage, in the form of its literature, science, arts, architecture, philosophy, poetry, and so on, is in Sanskrit, and unfortunately, we use second- and third-hand translations of these living texts to understand our past. A plenty of distortions in our Sanskrit texts have happened since colonial times and persist to date with the breed of Indologists. The latter have caused intense damage to our culture and our traditions with their assumptions, speculations, and freewheeling interpretations.

Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. Even Tamil, which is in the news for 'separateness,’ is organically and deeply related to Sanskrit. Many Tamil words in use today have roots in Sanskrit. On language, we have gone terribly wrong, as we rejected Sanskrit and chose English, believing that the latter is the language of progress and modernity. This was a classic example of colonial thinking.

A majority of the top ten prosperous countries in the world do not have English as a national language or a medium of instruction. And a majority of the top 20 poorest countries in the world use English or their previous colonial language as a medium of instruction. It is a myth that English is necessary for survival in the modern world. Germany, Japan, Russia, and France are on the same pedestal as most of the English-speaking western world. For communication, of course, one can learn many languages. Each language opens up a huge world.

However, as an educational policy, it should have been such that Indians should have reached the highest levels of academia in their vernacular. Great thinkers like Ananda Coomaraswamy and Sri Aurobindo insisted on this. Instead, we chose English, which has not only resulted in many brilliant people staying back because of their discomfort with the language but has also created a social hierarchy between those who know English and those who do not.

Sanskrit is the most perfect language with the perfect grammar ever devised. It gets the term

devabhasha—the language of the gods. Malicious Indologists, trying to drive the final nail, are out to prove that Sanskrit is a ‘dead’ language. A language policy should have ideally given importance to both the vernacular and Sanskrit right from childhood and right from independence.

One Kenyan author calls English a culture bomb that destroys local cultures effectively. Today, this is painfully evident in our country. We are now forced to read, write, and think in English and manage to stay stuck in whatever the West says about us. We refuse to even believe that many of the colonial stories can be false. Decolonization becomes so much harder.

–Dr Pingali Gopal, Hanamkonda

A sense of realism in INDIA bloc

The suggestion by the leaders of two parties of the INDIA bloc – WB CM Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal – that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge be the prime ministerial face of the Opposition alliance is a move that has the potential to brighten the poll scene in a single stroke. And Kharge’s response to the suggestion that the primary task of the alliance is to win the election injects a sense of realism into the whole Opposition scheme for the elections.

The Opposition alliance will have to have a leader if it were to go to people asking them to replace Modi for any reason whatsoever. Given the presence of a number of wannabe Prime Ministers within its fold, it is imperative that the alliance zeroes in on a face ahead of the elections.

Banerjee and Kejriwal share a difficult relationship with the Congress, which is their opponent in their respective strongholds. However, by forwarding the name of the Congress president as the prime ministerial candidate, the two made it clear that they have no issue accepting the primacy of the grand old party within the alliance. The move could, as a corollary, make the seat-sharing talks in the three states where they hold sway an easier proposition.

It is up to the Congress and the other alliance partners to ponder over the suggestion of the two CMs, who, in fact have declared that they are opting out of the PM race. It will indeed put pressure on the others who would not mind throwing their hat in the ring. Successfully negotiating this difficult curve would be the first of the tasks of the INDIA bloc in their quest for power, while the reports suggest JD(U) is raising objection over Kharge’s projection.

–N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

The message of X’mas

Christmas is a season of hope in the belief that the God has not given up on humankind. Scorning all pomp and glory, He took birth in a lowly manger surrounded by animals. Christmas is a message of peace and joy to men of good will. But where are the men of goodwill? The whole world is in conflict, creating so much of self-inflicted misery. In this world of strife, Christ come as a messenger of peace. There is something about Christmas that draws people of other faiths, too, to the midnight mass to praise the Child who changed the way humans lived and died.

Like other festivals, the commercialisation of the festival is evident in the manner advertisements appear across all media platforms. However, even the decadent West families do get together for a Christmas meal. Filial ties are not so strong in the West as they are in India. It is easy to get fascinated by the Christmas trappings like Christmas cakes and wine, Santa Claus and carol singing while missing the essence of Christmas.

It is unfortunate that some right wing groups attack Christians while they are celebrating the birth of Jesus. Instead of taking actions against the attackers, quite often action is taken against the complainants on trumped-up charges of conversion. Christians have taken such attacks in their stride. All Indians are happy when Diwali is celebrated at White House or in London, but fail to condemn when Christians are attacked in India. Hopefully, those carrying on the attacks will realise the error of their ways and join the others in wishing each other.

'A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS'

– Anthony Henriques, Mumbai