Sarva Dharma Sthal

Let me first thank the social media for completely destroying the definition of the word "Secular". The very word "secular" is uttered these days by the opposition as if it is filthier than a "Maa-Behen" abuse. Secular (adj.) is used to describe a person or an organisation which is not connected to a particular religion and is inclusive as well as tolerant to all religions. A person is not secular if he invokes special benefits on a particular religion for obvious political gains. That is pseudo-secular and if unchecked can get our country into a lot of trouble.

Whenever we face a calamity, the Armed Forces are called in to help. Now as our country is being pillaged by politicians across party lines, I urge the people reading this  post to turn towards the Armed Forces once again to see what secularism actually is.

Let me keep my views restricted to the Army, more particularly, the Infantry Regiments. Infantry is the Queen of Battle. Infantry soldiers always form the spearhead of the attack and are the oldest and the most battle hardy arm of the Indian Army today. Our Army has thirty Infantry regiments (in short Inf Regt), many of which were raised during the British Rule and have been seeing action all over the world since the 19th century. Some of these Infantry Regiments are class based like Sikh Regt, Maratha Light Infantry, Jat Regt, etc. Some are region based like Punjab Regt, Assam Regt, Bihar Regt, etc and there are a few 'mixed class' regiments like the Brigade of Guards, Mahar Regt and the Parachute Regiment.

These divisions were done by the British Army keeping in mind that during war, the soldiers at the sub-unit level understand each other effectively, have the same religion and have similar eccentricities. There is also something called as the Martial Races Theory, but let's not go there.

However, Officers are not divided in such a manner mainly because once you become an officer, you are drilled with patriotic ethos and are supposed to consider the safety of your country as your one and only religion. Officers get commissioned into various regiments based on either choice or merit. So you end up having a Sikh Officer in Madras Regiment, an officer from Kerala in the Gorkha Regiment and a Gorkha Officer in Mahar Regiment. Once the officer is commissioned in a regiment, his religion becomes that of the men he commands.

 Let me give you an example of my father. Commissioned in a unit which has predominantly Sikh soldiers, he learnt to respect his soldiers' religion and do whatever his men did. Be it reading scriptures from the holy book or partying like there's no tomorrow. I remember spending most Sundays in our unit Gurudwara listening to the stories of the bravery of Guru Gobind Singh, singing the Ardas and eating in the langar. We have a Guru Granth Sahib in our place of worship at home and I still wear a kadha which was brought from Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Similarly, you will see a Maj Abdul of the Gorkhas accepting the mutton "prasaad"(clearly not Halaal) during Dussherra or a Capt Thomas of JAK LI leading his men into a Namaz after a successful patrol on the LC.

The place of worship are unique as well. Mandir, Masjid and Gurudwara are all under the same  roof. Every  week an MMG (not Medium Machine Gun) Parade takes place where men and their families congregate and pay their respects at all three places of worship. A Panditji, a Babaji and a Maulviji singing "Om Jai Jagdish" in the same fervour as the trio leading the whole unit to a namaz is as secular as it gets.

This might sound weird if you haven't seen it before, but the energy and enthusiasm is the thing that keeps these men ready and fit mentally. It is the knowledge that their leader is someone like them that leads these men to believe in him and his orders. Some might find it patronizing and inapplicable to the Civilian world (because I said earlier to learn from them)  but we can try, can't we? From today, let's try calling people who salivate for religious vote banks as  pseudo-seculars of the worst kind, giving out hollow promises every time. Be respectful of all religions, learn about these religions, attend festivals, make friends with Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians alike. Try to put the nation above and before anything else.

It is time to stop judging and start fixing our country people. Rise up.

                                                                         JAI HIND

Spread the Word

I am angry. 

I am scared.

These are the two emotions that many of us deal with every time a shocking rape is reported in a city. Angry, because we know that we can't do anything about the situation, other than write blogs like these, or rant on Twitter or Facebook. Scared, because of the randomness of the incident. Guess what? It is okay to be angry and scared but it is not okay to only crib about this situation for a month and get done with it. Let's try to do something about the situation.

Step One: Switch off that goddamn television. Watching the same report on the girl from 9 to 5 becomes mind numbing. We sit there with our eyes glued to the television while the reporters repeat each and every excruciating detail of the incident. No one needs that and media just showcase it to increase their TRPs.

Step Two: Educate people. How, you ask? You have a maid at your home? A gardener, a driver, a helper? Or the office boy who gets you tea everyday? yes, talk to them. Tell them about the incident and I'm sure you will be surprised that they didn't know about it! Tell them about the horrific incident. Tell them to keep their eyes and ears open, keep their kids safe. Ask them to teach their children what touch is a bad touch and help them if they come to you with a problem related to this. It might sound like I am a bad person, spreading a scare, but you see, a little fear has some strange effects on humans. It makes us alert to things we never thought would harm us. Also, try telling it in a way that they don't panic and never come back to work again. I'm trying my best not to sound oxymoronic. Maybe I just did.

Step Three: While you're "spreading the word", you will meet two kinds of people, one who may listen to you blabber and think you're some kind of a fool (like you're thinking about me right now) and other who may grasp what you're trying to say and spread the word to others. We need more of the second kind of people. If you work in an organisation, get in touch with your HR and ask them to organise a talk on sexual harassment. Or if you're interested to go into social work, call an NGO which deals with sex education and provides counselling and rehabilitation to rape victims and help them out. Please do something, just don't sit on your backside and criticize the system. If you don't have the time to do the above, at least donate a small amount of your salary to the people who do such noble work.

Step Four: The most important step. RESPECT WOMEN. Do you know how difficult it is for your mother to stand for hours together every day and cook you a meal? Make an omelette on a hot day and you'd be sweating like a swine. Remember, your Mom makes a lavish three course meal in the same weather. Women give a lot, sacrifice a lot for their families. All they ask for in return is love and your acknowledgement once in a while. Dear Men, keep the women in your life happy and safe. You are the alpha male of your family, it is your job to protect your family, not that women can't protect themselves, but that's the least a man can do. Listen to them, hear them out, lift their spirits up when they're down, give them respect. Not too much to ask for right?

I may have bored you with this post but I'm just pouring my heart out. The fact is that I've had it with people treating women like an object of desire or a robot whose job is to run your house and feed your kids. People like these need to be slapped on the face (figuratively or literally) and taught to respect women. It is only then that we, as a country, will progress.

                                                             
                                                                       Jai Hind!