India strikes back

Pakistan has been testing India's patience for quite some time now. Restraint shown by India was seen as weakness by them. All that changed on 29th of September, 2016 when India decided to strike back by doing a surgical strike across the LOC to avenge the Uri terrorist attack.

The Uri terrorist attack on our soldiers was painful for the entire nation and every one was waiting for some action. All were about to give up hope for any retaliation from India based on the history of similar attacks in the past. However, this time around our Prime Minister Modi had something else in mind. Our army was always the same. No one ever had the doubt in their strike capabilities. The thing lacking was support from politicial leadership and the strong will to back our army for action against our enemies. This was the difference that made the surgical strike successful today.

Destroying terrorist launch pads, killing terrorists and Pakistani soldiers without a single casualty on our side shows how efficiently the operation was planned and executed. Kudos to Indian army for avenging the death of fellow soldiers. This will not bring back the soldiers we have lost to terrorism. However, now atleast their families will think that their life was not lost in vain and that the Indian army is capable enough to make the killers of our soldiers pay.

I know this attack on Pakistan will hurt some liberals and some anti Indian news channels who sound more like Pakistanis. I feel really sorry for them. This time around we have a no nonsense PM who knows when to talk, how much to talk and also when to act and how much to act. With Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs we can rest assured that Pakistan will now think 100 times before planning any attack on Indian soil.

There are some politicians who even at such times when the country has to unite decides to endorse anti-India tweets. It is a real shame that some people are not able to keep national interest above petty self-interests. No matter how much you hate or like Modi, no one can deny that the surgical strike conducted by the Indian army would not have been possible without his strong and decisive leadership.

I would like to end this blog by a salute to our Indian army and a heart felt thanks to our PM Mr. Narendra Modi for showing the courage to allow the surgical strikes against terrorist camps in POK.

Happy Birthday Krishna!

Today is Krishna's birthday and the atmosphere in Mumbai makes one realize that it is a special day. There is lot of energy in the air due to the Govindas who would be traveling the length and width of Mumbai and its suburbs for the Dahi Handi festival. Huge sum of money is waiting to be won by the Govindas for breaking the handis (clay pots) hung at great heights. Some as high as 9 or 10 tier high. It is exciting to watch the human pyramids being built and on few occasions you feel your heart popping out when you see the human pyramids fall like pack of cards.

Krishna's birthday may have been commercialized and politicized these days but his teachings has stood the test of time. He is the most practical God. Even a non-believer will not be able to counter the Law of Karma as it is something even science talks about. Cause and effect is a universal phenomenon. A believer talks about Law of Karma while a non-believer understands Newton's third law of motion. Krishna does not want one to denounce the world. He does not want to restrict anyone yet he wants everyone to understand that action will have to be taken and the effects of the action will have to be borne. There is no running away. The ultimate aim of action matters more than the means of achieving it.

Krishna does not impose rules to bind you. He in fact even encouraged Arjuna to break some rules and overcome limitations to fight a righteous war. When you are fighting an enemy who does not follow rules, sticking to rules will not help. As long as the ultimate goal is good, the means used to achieve it should not be fretted upon. Krishna is all about focusing the mind. Arjuna, the best archer of his times was in self-doubt and his hands were getting numb at the idea of fighting his own relatives. Krishna was able to give him clarity of purpose and that one pointed focus which was necessary to win. To know what you are here to achieve in life is the first step towards attaining it. Krishna was able to give that knowledge to Arjuna who did not look back after receiving words of wisdom.

Krishna taught us that meditation need not be done by sitting idle in one place. If action is taken without any emotional attachment for the outcome of the action, it is meditation. When you can handle both success and failure with equanimity, you are in a meditative state. Life becomes a journey in meditation.

Free Kashmir is a myth

Kashmir issue is getting renewed attention due to the recent conflicts between armed forces and the people of Kashmir. 24x7 media and Pakistan has been trying to cash in on it. However, does anyone understand what is it that Kashmiris are fighting for? Freedom for Kashmir? Will this ever be a reality? Let us imagine for some time that India decides to let go Kashmir and the people of Kashmir form an independent nation. How long will their independence last?

Pakistan is definitely not supporting the Kashmir struggle because of love for the people of Kashmir. The very reason Kashmir became part of India was that Pakistan tried to conquer it. If freedom of Kashmir would have been their aim, then there won't be talks of hoisting Pakistan flag in Srinagar. The masked men protesting on the streets are swaying either Pakistan or ISIS flags. The freedom coming out of efforts by these people will never ensure a free Kashmir. They will only cause greater pain and agony to the people of Kashmir.

Keeping the Kashmir issue burning is also a ploy of the Pakistani army and their government for deflecting the focus from issues like poverty and poor economic conditions. The youth of the country could be easily lured for money and fake propaganda that fellow Muslims are being killed. People of Kashmir just need to peek into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to understand that “Azad Kashmir” is nothing but a myth. The people of Kashmir should understand that it is in their best interest to stay with India where they will get opportunities to prosper. A free Kashmir may be a reality for few days but in the long term, it will always be facing a threat of being controlled by Pakistan if India chose to ignore Kashmir. If both Pakistan and India are considered as evil by the Kashmiris, then they will have to choose the lesser evil which happens to be India. One just has to re-visit history to understand this.

There will always be so-called liberals trying to fight for freedom of Kashmir. Some will even defend terrorists just to ensure that they portray themselves as guys who keep a different opinion from that of the government. It does not matter whether they are stating the facts correctly or not. They will cry for freedom but at the expense of the nation’s integrity.

Let Kashmiris fight for better opportunities for education or jobs for the youth. They will get better support from fellow Indians than for a failed cause like freedom of Kashmir.

Bad times are good

A dearth in posts on my blog are an indication that I am not enjoying the way life is going. I took an action today that made me feel liberated and resulted in a mind free to write a blog post.

Negativity especially the ones coming from family and friends or long time colleagues hit you where it hurts the most. Attacks coming from people whom you think would never cause harm to you leaves you wondering what wrong have I done to deserve this. Yet there is a voice within that tells you to move on with life. 

To confront or to walk away is a choice to be made. Confronting does not help when the people causing issues are those who know you like the back of their hand. Walking away from the people causing all the drama is the best option even though it may seem to be the hardest of decisions to take. You take such decisions knowing that there exists a supreme power that will see you through the difficulties and challenges. It may seem that everything is bad but in reality it is during bad times that you realize whom you should hold on to and whom you should let go.

Faith in Almighty is what it takes to keep moving and have the belief that everything will be alright.

Terrorists are martyrs now

India is great. There is no doubt about it. Ours is a country where even a terrorist who plays a role in attacking Parliament gets glorified as a martyr.

Since the anti-national event held on 9^th of February, 2016, I was wondering whether political parties showing solidarity with students of JNU have any morality left. Questions have been raised about videos being doctored. However, why is not anyone questioning the students behind organizing an event to glorify a terrorist who played a role in attacking the Indian Parliament? Was Afzal Guru a martyr? If yes, were the fellow Indians who died protecting the Parliament, terrorists?

Just imagine a situation wherein the terrorists would have succeeded in entering the parliament and ended up killing some MPs of the Left parties. Would the organizers have put up Afzal Guru and those MPs photos at JNU and all would have been simultaneously hailed as martyrs? Or possibly they would have said Lal Salaam before the terrorists shot them so that they would not get killed.

The so called martyr received a fair trial. Afzal Guru in an interview admitted to have played a role in the Parliament attack. He even mentioned that the plan was to get as many MPs killed as possible. Still he gets glorified as martyr and the government that takes action is shown as intolerant.

I have my roots in Kannur district of Kerala. The communists are known to kill their political opponents brutally there. These are the same communists who are now talking about freedom of speech. What about freedom to live? Does the communist party guarantee freedom to live to their political opponents in Kerala? If not, then what moral authority do they have to cry for freedom of speech for students glorifying terrorists?

Kanhaiya Kumar is out of jail on bail. He is now being glorified and has given a wonderful speech hailed by many as a great one. The people glorifying his speech fail to realize that he could do that because there is freedom of expression. He was not gagged. I do condemn the attack on him in court premises. However, I also condemn his role in organizing and supporting an event to glorify a terrorist as martyr. He may be a great orator and coming from poor background. Yet I think he should choose his heroes and role models right. I know there are political parties queuing up to support him now. However, they will soon realize that people of the country very well understand what the intentions of these political outfits are and they will get a befitting reply in the elections. 

It is not people like Kanhaiya Kumar that need solidarity and support. It is our soldiers and their families who sacrifice so much to ensure that our Indian flag keeps flying high. In fact, a nobody like Kanhaiya Kumar got the opportunity to be somebody because our soldiers have ensured that our country is secure.

#kanhaiyakumar

Connecting Dots

The first thing that came to my mind when thinking about connecting dots was the nursery assignment of my daughter where she would connect dots to create letters or to complete the image of an animal or some object. Connecting dots is kids’ stuff. Why should I give too much attention to it is what I thought for a moment? However, at the very next moment it struck upon me that, what my daughter does to get a final picture, is something that we as grown-ups can do to arrive at a conclusion about our life. We too can connect dots from our past with the dots in the present to get a clear picture about our future.

When should you connect the dots?

Whenever you feel lost and not sure where our life is heading, we should connect the dots. At times, just thinking about my journey from my childhood days until the present helped me to understand things from a different perspective. How I overcame challenges and obstacles in the past and reached where I am today helped me to look at today’s challenges from an observer or a witness perspective rather than someone who is involved. Whenever you reach a point in your life (personal or professional); where you are not sure about the next step, you should connect the dots.

Who is responsible to connect the dots?

The only person who can connect the dots for you is you. No one else can do this task for you. If anyone knows you better, it is only you.  Another person may be able to guide you in a certain direction only if you are able to communicate lucidly where you wish to go. I would like to use a famous quote from the book “Alice in Wonderland” to explain this:
 
“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.”

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland



Why is it necessary to connect the dots?

Knowing your life purpose is a good objective to achieve by connecting dots. To figure out why we are here on this planet and what role do we play in the game of life. We all are here in this world to play specific roles. If we are not playing that role, we get frustrated. We feel out of place. These are the times that we should connect the dots. Analyze the past, see what can be done in the present to identify and align with your life purpose so that the future is spent towards fulfilling your life goal.

How can one connect the dots?

Contemplation is what you can do to connect the dots. Spending some time alone every day without any worldly distractions is a good exercise one can take up. Especially at the very start of the day spending some time with yourself, devoid of any invasions to your privacy, at some peaceful location can help you to get clarity about your life and connect the dots.

So, when are you connecting the dots?