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Worst experience with Pune RTO (Regional Transport Office) @MORTHIndia

Our government is hailing India as fastest growing nation and an ecosystem where government department will equip to provide efficient and timely delivery of services

While there has been some improvement, majorly the citizen has to suffer in long waiting queues and endless follow ups with government department. The country and especially the  common man suffered and went through so much of day to day hassles and pains to support the government in the great cause of eradicating black money. People also gave up on their subsidy, these are our duties as the countrymen, but the pace with which positive changes are happening is slower than a snails walk.

Registering Vehicles in India is an endless process. It is completely fine to levy all the road and other taxes and necessary charges to make sure that our roads and transport system is kept at the best possible state of infrastructure and facilities. But when a common men has to wait for months together to get a vehicle which he has bought from his hard earned money and which is essential for his daily commute on crowded Indian street, it becomes frustrating and unbearable at times.

I want to ask @HRDMinistry @HMOIndia @narendramodi @PMOindia when Road Transport Offices (RTO) will become efficient. When will @MORTHIndia will take matters in their hand and give us some relief from the endless follow up and pain we have to take to get our vehicles on road so that we can do our day to day work as a common man?

The story of current affairs

Somewhere in a big desert some villagers depends on a small body of water and are satisfied with the local body who manages the village's resources. An opportunist crook with intention to control the body of water dig a hugh but water-less well somewhere near to the village and tell everyone that the village is going to face a hugh water crisis and he has found a larger body of water than one the village have.

As few villagers go to check the dry well, the crook kicks them down in the well. After kicking them down in the dry well, the crook convince them to dig further in order to get the water. The villagers down in dry well are so indulged in the idea of digging a dry well that they start to believe that its their well and argue with other villagers that they should also join them. While everyone is busy either digging the dry well or talking about it, the crook happily take charge of the water body full of water and tell them that he will save everybody from the water crisis.

In this story:

The crook is the opposition who wants to regain control over the situation in the county,

The dry well is the nonsensical issues like communal intolerance,

The village’s body of water is country’s resources and power,

and.. the few villagers are the one who believes in issues which does not exist.

Relax Porn Lovers, its not #PornBan

In recent wake of so called porn ban in India, people of the country are strongly reacting against it and throwing all kind of criticism at the government for intruding their personal space and messing up with their democratic right.

There is no question about the non-transparent and non-inclusive way the government went about it and all of a sudden blocked popular websites without any prior notification to the public. They might have ignored the constitutional way of doing it to avoid widespread protest; however, it didn't help them anyway since the aftermath of their action in this regard is quite loud and clear.

But it is important to know two key aspects of government's recent action on porn websites: 

First, the porn is not banned in India, nor the government has any constitutional right to do so, and

Second, you can still access unlimited porn on internet beyond those 857 websites in question.

By now most of us knows that 857 porn websites were blocked due to Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Vijay Panjwani. But the reason behind government's action was to curb websites on the internet, especially the ones showing child pornography. The senior DoT official conveyed that the blocking of 857 websites was in compliance with the SC directive asking for measures to block porn sites, particularly those dealing with child pornography. So by doing this the government is not banning porn, you can still access porn beyond those 857 websites in questions.

Child pornography is illegal, condemned and blocked across all developed nations since it is a major evil behind child trafficking, child abuse, and various other crimes against children across the world.  Citizens are right in their critical reaction against the way government blocked these websites, but at the same time, it is our duty to appreciate and support our government in fighting against the evil of child pornography. And if someone believes that government is wrong in its efforts to stop child pornography and it is his fundamental right to watch a child being sexually abused, god bless his child.

Further, porn which is meant for pleasure and not for abuse can never be banned in India. The Supreme Court is pretty much clear on an individual's constitutional right to watch it in his own privacy. It is your choice which type of porn you support. So far the attack on our good times is concerned, guys, 857 is not even a drop in the ocean when it comes to pornographic content the internet holds and I am sure you already know the ways.

All men are rapists - Male stereotyping and judgemental feminism

Ever since women liberation is on rise, men are looked upon as a main villain who will move heaven and earth to ensure women are confined to their domestic duties and kept under veil. Before we say men are evil when it comes to women liberation, let’s ask in the first place how women have been treated since centuries.

The first ever social formation was to protect women

Anthropologist and archaeologists have proposed many theories as to why marriage was invented by our Stone Age ancestors. Men by law of nature were physically stronger than women and were supposed to hunt for food and look after their family while women, capable of giving birth were supposed to produce children and raise them (like it or not it was by “law of nature” and not imposed by “male dominated society”). Any efforts for individual survival of our Stone Age ancestors would have likely been suicidal, because during conflicts between Stone Age groups if women and children would keep dying there was no way humans would have made it to this day. SO, MARRIAGE WAS INVENTED TO PROTECT WOMEN. Marriage was way to obtain in-laws and expanding relational networks rather than growing increasingly autonomous or independent which could have been fatal for early human settlements.  Family expansion served to further social, material, territorial and political gains.

When one of the very fundamental of human civilization is to protect women, how all the laws of “male dominated society” can oppress them?

What amount of respect would be enough for women?

Lord Rama fought and killed Ravana who attacked dignity of Sita (For those who wants to argue that after that Sita was subject to “Agni Pariksha”, would you discount all the sacrifice made by Lord Rama and his army and accuse them of discrimination, what would you say on Sita crossing the “Laxman rekha” which was created to protect her, and her crossing that made so many people lose their life. How much respect would be enough?)

Pandava fought and killed Kaurava to revenge Daupradi’s insult (For those who wants to argue that she was made object of gambling and was humiliated by Kaurava, here again would you discount all the sacrifice made by Pandava and their army, what would you say on Daupradi insulting Duryodhana by saying "A blind man's son is also blind" which led them to insult her back and the resulting war. How much respect would be enough?)

Queen Victoria was monarch of largest empire the world had ever seen. By the end of Victoria's reign, the British Empire extended over about one-fifth of the earth's surface and almost a quarter of the world's population. If there were no respect for women, how did it happen?

Our religions teach us to respect women, our parents teach us to respect women, our cultures teach us to respect women, there are numerous provisions in society like separate queue, reserved seats in public transport, etc. to protect women dignity. Women have held highest posts like prime ministers and presidents in world’s largest democracies. During the times of war and distress, women safety is one of the prior concerns.

The society has not been and is not that bad towards women, and when I say that I don’t deny cruelty and violence against women, nor I deny their suffering in particular cases, but just like we say that “Every terrorist is Muslim does not make every Muslim a terrorist” similarly “Every rapist is a man does not make every man a rapist”.

All kind of gender stereotyping is dangerous to society

With every changing generation, our society has faced social evils and challenges like religious extremism, slavery, racism, world wars, dictators (likes of Hitler, Stalin and Mao), discrimination and exploitation of the poor, terrorism, etc., there has always been a section of society, which becomes threat to the harmony and peace of the world at large, but does that mean the entire society is bad and everyone’s motive are same. If there were no good and all bad in society, there is no way we could have ever made it to such beautifully evolving civilization.

Good men have always fought, suffered and sacrificed to protect the good of the society. Today when it is the age of women liberalization, should men be looked upon as evil? I am asking all women, who protects you? Is your father bad person, is your brother bad person. There are instances of antisocial elements around you but should you stereotype rest of all on basis of that? It is similar to the fact that there are some 3000 species of snakes but most of them are not poisonous but still we are afraid of all snakes. So our fear of snakes is result of our own ignorance but that does not make all snakes poisonous.

With the changing generation and rise of information age, we are evolving to become a better society which gives everyone equal rights. One of the dire challenge our society facing is gender stereotype left by old cultures. Gender stereotyping is dangerous when people automatically apply gender assumptions to others regardless of evidence to the contrary, and this is equally dangerous for all genders. If all women shouldn’t be seen as someone who look after home, produce children and obey men; all men also shouldn’t be seen as someone who objectify women and oppress them.

Moreover, in today’s information age and free media world, stereotyping becomes even more dangerous. Mass media play a significant role in a modern world, by broadcasting information in fast pace and giving entertainment to vast audiences. By creating a certain type of message, media can manipulate people’s attitude and opinions. Although females and males are still not equal, the differences between genders are not so vast anymore. Nevertheless, mass media still use gender stereotypes, basing on the assumption, that they are well known to everyone and make the receivers believe in the content. Thus mass media has made us make opinions and judgements based on information rather than facts. Is it correct to paint everyone in same colour based on assumptions, is it correct to convict anyone based on accusation, should we not go through the facts before we pass our judgement?

The other side of crime against women

Why does it sound like nobody cares about violence against women? The government, Police, the Judiciary and every good person is in this together to bring down every ugly faggot who inflicts any harm on women. Infact the mass stereotyping of males have created a situation where innocent men are subject to cruelty and injustice. The recent incident of Rohtak girls where the girls were declared instant heroes and the boys were judged as molesters, while later on it was discovered that the boys were innocent. This incident has thrown light on many of these kinds of incidents.

As per National Crime Records Bureau report of crime registered in year 2013, of total 114 thousand rape cases 33 thousand cases were reported during year 2013 only. Crime of rape is 1.2% of total criminal cases reported in India, but the acquittal rate is as high as 75% in case of crime against women. There can be two arguments to that fact, one that judiciary is not efficient to deliver proper justice, and second that there are too many false charges made in case of crime against women to take advantage of judgemental views and stereotype of genders prevailing in society.

Credits:

The final side of Rohtak bravehearts

http://youtu.be/7KqEO4oi1LY

Disposal of IPC Cases by Courts During 2013

http://ncrb.gov.in/

Vari - The great march of devotion to Pandharpur

When your consciousness repeatedly directs you to explore something, you shouldn’t resist much and should give it a due shot. Same happened to me when the yearly Ashadhi Ekadashi was approaching and the time of ‘The great march of Varkaris’ was around.

Ashadhi Ekadashi is the holy day of much devotional importance in India which falls around the month of July every year. This auspicious day is celebrated across India through various rituals and fasting, out of which, the ‘The great march of Varkaris’ is observed in the state of Maharashtra. Varkari means a pilgrim, it is a religious movement. Varkaris worship Bhagwan Vithoba of Pandharpur, a form of Bhagwan Shri Krishna.

Varkari people go walking in huge processions to Pandharpur singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) of Saint Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar to see Bhagwan Vitthal. The pilgrimage of some 21 days and 210 kilometres starts in Allandi/Dehu road and ends at Pandharpur. Some 1.5 to 2 million Varkaris and other people take part in this 1000 year old tradition.

I was always fascinated with the fact that the Varkaris are mostly farmers and villagers who walk this march with absolute devotion and discipline despite the hardship of walking 21 days with minimum baggage, staying and eating in remote places and managing difficult climate conditions. I always wanted to know what drives this incredible human march, is it just the mythology which drives a lot of things in India or mere superstition. So I decided to join these farmers and villagers in their quest to observe the preaching of their great Sants and walk all the way from Allandi to Pandharpur to get blessings of the divine Lord Vitthal.

The pilgrimage starts from Allandi/Dehu road before 20 days of Ashadhi Ekadashi every year and have several halts for food, rest, refreshment and performing rituals associated with Vari. Following is tentative daily location and walk map:

Day	Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi	Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi
1	Alandi Gandhiwada	Inamdar saheb wada, Dehu
2	Vithoba Mandir, Bhavanipeth, Pune	Aakurdi Vitthal Mandir
3	Pune	Shri Nivdunga Vitthal Mandir, Nanapeth, Pune
4	Saswad	Shri Nivdunga Vitthal Mandir, Nanapeth, Pune
5	Saswad	Loni Kalbhor Vitthal Mandir
6	Jejuri	Yavat Shri Bhairavnath Mandir
7	Walhe	Varvand Shri Vitthal Mandir
8	Lonand	Undwadi Gavalyachi
9	Lonand	Baramati Sanskrutik Bavan
10	Taradgaon	Sansar Maruti Mandir
11	Phaltan	Anthurne
12	Phaltan	Nimgaon Ketki
13	Barad	Indapur
14	Natepute	Indapur
15	Malshiras	Sarati
16	Velapur	Akluj, Shri vitthal Mandir
17	Bhandishegaon	Borgaon
18	Vakhari	Pirachi Kuroli Gayran
19	Vakhari	Vakhari
20	Pandharpur	Pandharpur
21	Pandharpur	Pandharpur

Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi walk map:

Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi walk map:

Beginning the Journey:

We decided to join the Vari at Vakhari, which is the last halt before Pandharpur. Also, it is the only place after Pune where both the Palkhis of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj and Sant Tukaram Maharaj meets and from there they take it together to Pandharpur to complete the Vari.

We reached Vakhari 2 days before of Ashadhi Ekadashi with just a pair of Dhoti-Kurta and Angavastra to get the feel of common Varkari. The management of Varkaris are done through 'Dindis'. Dindis are group of Varkaris who get together to arrange for their stay and food, many people do it as social work. A Dindi particularly have a convoy of 2-3 trucks in which tents, pantry, baggage of Varkaris, etc. are carried. We approached a Dindi with reference of a local friend and joined them from there.

(Contact details of the Dindi we stayed with: Sant Tukaram Maharaj Sansathan, Dehu. Mob: 9561354545)

The discipline, devotion, and music:

What we observed was a fine example of discipline. There were no huge Police forces for managing the crowd and still we didn't come across any chaos. Everyone was more or less self managing things, taking responsibility of their condition and adjusting according to the available arrangements. Despite of long and tiring journey with difficult climate conditions such as walking under hot sun or sleeping in tent while it rains, nobody seemed to be complaining. They all were looking joyful and focused on reaching their divine destination, such was the degree of devotion.

Out of their daily routine, singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) was the top most activity. Many of them were carrying music instruments like Dholak, Majira, Veena and Kartal and playing them along with chanting their sacred and meaningful Abhangas. We were astonished to see their singing capabilities, we saw some fine examples of Indian Classical singing and what was more surprising was that they were all simple farmers and villagers.

The wisdom:

So we experienced pretty much everything which was evident in their daily routine, but my curiosity about the driving factor of the enormous march of faith and devotion got resolved when I attended couple of 'Satsang'. Apart from Abhangas, the Varkaris observe a routine of Satsang where they gather to listen 'Pravachan' (preaching of religious and spiritual knowledge). I was amazed to see that most of Varkaris were not merely following a tradition, rather they were driven by the wisdom of religious and spiritual learning, they were talking about great example of adopting good deeds in life, no matter how simple they looked, but they possessed beautiful thoughts.

The final destination:

We reached Pandharpur the night before Ashadhi Ekadashi. It was late night with constant drizzling, but the entire town was full of energy with millions of Varkaris present their. We took a bath in 'Chandrabhaga' river as per the tradition and stood in the queue for 'Darshan' (Praying and taking blessings). The queue moved slowly with continuance chant of 'Vitthalla Vitthala', 'Panduranga Panduranga' and many more. As the queue moved, everyone seemed indulged in high emotions as they approach to complete their journey with blessings of lord Vitthala. We saw Bhagwan Vitthala and prayed for all Varkaris, we thanked the almighty for protecting us and completing our journey with sense of relief and divine happiness.

Happy New Civilization... New Culture...

A lot of people, whom I interacted with on the year 2012, said that it was a year with almost all the contents a regular year has. But apart from being regular, it was a year with end of many remarkable things.

If we talk about entertainment in India, it was end of an era with passing of stalwarts like Pt. Ravishankar, Jagjit Singh, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna and many more. In my childhood I used to think that these people will never die, because they are super humans, But they passed away. Entertainment in India was already changing at rapid pace, but with passing away of these legends and even the last brigade superstars like Mr. Bacchan, the Khan trio and other third generation superstars getting older, the original Hero oriented Hindi cinema is witnessing its sunset. I don't know who after Mr. Bacchan, SRK or Salman Khan would be able to create that magnificent mass appeal. Same goes with music industry, where few people used to rule the hearts of audiences for like ages. Now everyday we get new singers with great talent on reality TV show and every other person have their personal favorites. Now the entertainment in India is more accommodating to experimental and innovative ideas and there is space for almost all kind of music and cinema.

Sports, seen a great makeover in India. Everybody was talking about Schin's retirement, but when he retired, everybody was asking for more. It might have happened for the first time in any religion that even God retires. The Indian team is a completely new cadre with a constant change in its constitution. And with the changing formats and high performance expectation it is unlikely that the game cricket would produce any more Gods. On the other hand, Olympics brought us our new found love for games other than cricket (I believe at this point those games are still "games other than cricket" in India). One could easily spot children around their locality holding sport accessories other than cricket and our performance at Olympics made the entire world say that India is coming up as a serious sporting nation.

Importantly, last two years in Indian politics witnessed remarkable and probably never before events which thoroughly redefined the outlook of entire nation towards how politics runs in India. Be it protesting for Lokpal or Delhi gang rape victim, the youth of India have shown their concern in great appeal and sent a clear massage that everything will be made accountable and answerable. There were many incidents in India where the government was on its knees for wrong reasons, but this time people fought for the issues which were rather national and indeed crucial for better governance and national life than merely cast or state oriented crap. Needless to mention that vote out by citizens in states like UP, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Gujarat showcased India Inc.’s willingness to change and promote development politics. The gap between government and people is getting narrowed down day by day which is a very positive sign.

History says when there is a great instability in the world, it splurges into quarrel and keep becoming more instable until it does a significant destruction to start afresh. What have seen recently is not in assertion to the history. There is a great political instability in the Middle East and a greater economical instability around the world. May be this instability is not getting resolved that fast but what is interesting to see is the world is not getting into quarrel, instead people are showing sign of patience and nations are joining hands to work collectively and come out of crises.

People around the world are making fun of the Mayan calendar and doomsday phenomena as we succeeded into year 2013 without even a slightest harm to human civilization, but I don’t reject it completely. Who knows the ancient people had wisdom to see that there will be a great transformation in the human civilization and that the generation at the end of year 2012 will rewrite the future of human kind and the ancient Mayan marked it as the end of controversial living, end of orthodox mindset, end of living by someone else’s belief, end of calendar made by them and beginning of living by knowing.