Let's Kill the Demon of Depression before it hunts us

Today evening when I shared the horrific suicide news of Sushant Singh Rajput with my maid, she instantly asked me, "Bhaiya, unko kya dikkat tha. Ham gareeb log ka samajh me bhi aata hain itna tension jis karan aisa koi kare" (What issue he had? It can be understood for poor people like me who have tension leading to such an act). I replied her that all of us have issues, tension and thus might be suffering with depression to different degrees. Some of us worry about school tests, some about board results/competitive examination,  some about jobs, some about coming up with hit (in fact superhit) movies again and again and many others for livelihood, shelter, children's future etc. 

Nonetheless we battle against these worries and try to win over them using hope (of a better tomorrow) and/or care and love for people who have always showered their unconditional love (parents, friends, spouse etc.). Whatever method we adopt, we live each day with many old worries (accumulated) and new worries (newly added up). Thus, The question is how to live happily and not get entrapped by the negative thoughts during these troubling times of depression?

Depression is today as common as diabetes or hypertension or may be inhaling polluted air. The fast modern lifestyle, omnipresent technology (and social media), nuclear families (shrinking number of meaningful relationships) and decreasing patience & perseverance in present generations have all contributed in emergence of this deadly demon. We are hardly communicating to those who can empathetically listen to our worries and help us win over the evil of depression. When was the last time did you talk to your parents or siblings or spouse about your personal & professional concerns in particular or mental health in general? The answer might be "long time back" or never. I understand all of us are busy in present lifestyle but are we this busy that we can't lend our ears and shoulders to those who need them the most? 

What's more alarming in modern Eastern societies like India is that we are stuck in between the ancient wisdom or modern hassles. Earlier in India as compared to Western society, it was easier to resolve many problems at family level due to the strong bonding between family members. But now that seems to be missing more than ever. It is no more common for us to openly discuss with them because we feel we might not be understood by them or we would be judged. We say this a byproduct of "modernization" and independence. 

But what we end up doing like suicide shatters their lives much more than anything one can imagine. If one can commit suicide (which can never be an easy thing given the fact that we are so horrified with death), can't we discuss and share the causal factors that might end up forcing to commit such a tragic thing? It's high time we establish meaningful relationships with at least five such people in our lives who can always rescue us from such a phase in our lives where death feels more easier and enjoyable than life. Let's adopt a humane form of modernization where people are closely knit (interdependent) yet free and independent. Then only we would be able to enjoy success in its entirety with these people instead of feeling empty or void all alone.  

Further, comparison with the best and feeling frustrated/humiliated (oneself or by others) has always been a common thing in societies like India in general and East India in particular. It has just become more common and visible due to the omnipresent social media and technology. "Sharma Jee ka beta" stories have horrified lives of many children in schools, colleges and jobs since a long time. But after the humiliation they used to face, there was de-briefing session with grandparents or mother or sibling. Now this being absent and on the top of it, these stories have become so deep and diversified through social media (Car/Job/Girlfriend/destination wedding/Honeymoon pics etc.), we are unable to bear the pain and sorrow of not achieving as much as others. 

Moreover, psychologists like Beck and Ellis have studied depression in much detail and concluded that it is our dysfunctional beliefs, irrational cognitive appraisals and negative thoughts" that culminate into depression. Unless we challenge and change these appraisal patterns and cognitive thoughts within us, we fall into the vicious trap of depression. Also we need to substitute the negative thinking style with positive and rational one. If we succeed in it, we might live more happily and mentally healthy. 

This requires accepting the irrationality within our thought process and opening up to therapists (if needed) without any taboo. Unless we keep considering depression to be a disease or mental disorder, we might end up losing such wonderful characters. In the recent times, many sportspersons and movie stars have accepted the harsh truth of them going through "depression" and taking a break. This has helped a lot many of them in evaluating their life events (success and failure), life of a superstar, positives and negatives emanating from fame and stardust etc. Thus, the bottom line is to accept the flaws in our mental setup and re-organize the cognitive patterns before the demon hunts us. 

Finally, its important to consider success and failure (more suitable word being experiences) as crests and troughs of sine wave. Life events ought to be bumpy and we all experience both good and bad times. The former is not remembered as vividly as the latter and thus we feel that we are tested more than tasting sweet fruits of success. One can feel mentally calm and healthy by pursuing oneself in hobbies like blogging, gardening, singing, dancing etc. Also several studies have pointed out the role of spirituality and meditation as they help one in re-establishing hope and finding meaning of life.

Whenever I feel low and/or couldn't reap an expected or dreamt success, I recall the lines from "Ode to the West Wind". P.B.Shelley wrote "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind" meaning difficult times are followed with good times. If you feel that the past has been brutal, believe me a bright present and moreover future awaits you. But if you don't battle this out, we can never ever taste the sweet fruits of our labour, effort, patience and perseverance.

Rest In Peace Sushant!!!

Exploring Racism in Indian society : Existence, Manifestation and Way Forward

White and Black are not only colours per se but they do refer to people of different races or origins. This is the base of racism that dates back to slave trade in 14th century. Africans were traded for workers in industries and plantations across oceans in a manner as we see hundreds of broiler chickens being reared and grown for meat in a closely packed space. Many could not even reach the destination due to these inhospitable and pathetic conditions and perished midway. I am not sure how their dead bodies were disposed (thrown into the vast oceans without any feeling for disgust or guilt). In fact I would be super surprised if British and other colonial nations claim to cremate/bury them. This is the genesis of white-black superiority and the former considered their responsibility to use the latter for development of world (economy, society etc.).


Based on my understanding of Indian society and discussions with few people, I feel racism in India can't be similarly placed as that of racism in US. This is because of the clear cut racial differences in US and majority (if not all) people appreciating and aware of the same. Unlike these, in India, people are grossly ignorant of different races amongst Indians viz. Aryan (North Indians), Dravidian (South Indians), Austro - Asian (tribals and aboriginals), Tibeto - Burman (Mongoloid features) and Pacific Ocean migrants (Andamans). But we can't rule out the eve-teasing incidents of North Eastern students, Africans and Andamans (like Jarawas). Are they due to conflict among different races or stereotypes about these communities and groups? They can be due to low interaction or communication between people coming from North East and rest of Indians. Different stereotypes and misconceptions might be generated on our own or through friends/media (Social/Observational Learning) leading to such ethnic strife. Same is the case for people coming from Kumaon and Garhwal region in Uttarakhand who are misconstrued as "Nepalis".


In this background, how should we categorise above acts of Indians - racist or mere ignorance? There can be a thin line between the two and deep psychological biases and prejudices may be the cause for such remarks by both aware as well as ignorant beings. Moreover, there has been hardly any emphasis at any level be it family, school, college, work, where one has been made aware of the flip side of using such denigrating and degrading remarks. In fact this "ignorance or unawareness" has been channelized by different groups in colonies, schools, colleges, workplaces etc. with vested (political, social, economic) interests to cause ethnic strife and conflicts.


Recently after Darren Sammy accused few players of using racist remarks that he couldn't comprehend then due to the language (Hindi). Instagram post of an Indian cricketer has triggered "Kalu" trending on Twitter (Twitter Trending #kalu). As many especially foreigners have construed this as racist comment/term, it has its genesis in White (Gora) - Dark/Black (Kala) divide and Indians' crave for the former (while denigrating the latter). Undoubtedly, the term has derogatory connotation and should not be used for anyone. But does it signify the racial hatred that is imminent in other racial attacks at US including the recent attack on George Floyd? It may or may not be the example of racism but something else. Many consider the usage of this term in India as banter/friendly gesture and informal way of denoting the skin colour of close friends without any feeling of hatred or bad against the other individual. At the same time, it is noteworthy to mention that this term is used for dark skinned individuals but its antonym (gora - white/fair) isn't used as often as the former. Can this be termed as colourism and not racism in Indian context? This demands a thorough anthropological, sociological and psychological analysis and studies, and is thus beyond the scope of this blog.


Finally, what is most crucial to highlight based on above instances and frequent news reports of attacks on people from North East and Africa is the low level of empathy and emotional sensitivity in modern humans. We expect someone to give a shoulder when we are hurt or sad, but intentionally and unintentionally are involved in such activities which seem to indicate our emotional bluntness and apathy. There are many that consider racism and casteism to be blood brothers (Racism and Casteism Blood Brothers). Ambedkar and Jyotiba Phule have spoken on this and more studies might be needed for establishing a clear cut connection between the two. Way forward, in the recent times, something that is very disturbing has been observed all over the world including in the democracies like US, Austria, Finland, Hungary, India etc. It is the correlation between the increase in frequency of ethnic & casteist conflicts and rise of right-wing ideological parties. This will be more disturbing if causation gets established between the two. Certainly it will then throw more difficult challenges for the world especially in present times of pandemic when we should have been together more than ever.

To conclude, it is difficult to gauge the nature of racism (if it exists) in India.  If yes, is it manifested in the same way as that in US (including recent George Floyd incident) seems a bit doubtful. Other factors like less interaction or poor communication (unlike US), people's ignorance and stereotypes (all these three related to each other) seem to complicate the manifestation of racism in India. Thus, what we witness i.e. ethnic strife in India might be actually borne out of other social, religious, political, economic factors and not racism per se. More wisdom and research in this stream will help the future decipher the topic in a much better manner. 

No matter what these studies would point out in future, today what matters the most is realising and embracing the fact that "Black lives matter" as much as white lives. In present world setup, nothing can substantiate or justify the subjugation of the former by latter. If we can't ensure even self respect and dignity to these people (despite mentioning all those "good words" in UN charter and constitutions of democratic nations like India, US etc.), it's a shame on the world order and humanity (so called technocrat and intellectual beings). Let's pledge to treat all humans in a just, fair and respectful manner.

Bihar elections results-Caste-Religion or Intolerance-Ideology or Modi-Nitish

The results for much awaited Bihar Assembly elections'15 are out. The grand-alliance (MGB) Nitish-Lalu-Rahul has clicked in perhaps beyond all anticipation and expectations, sweeping two-thirds of the seats is not what NDA would have ever imagined in the wildest of their dreams. MGB win over NDA has been and would be analysed by many political analysts, thinkers, the "pujaris" of democracy and the intellectual social media (Fb-itna posts to India ke 2011 WC ke baad me nahi aaya hoga, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram etc.) "junta". Since I failed to categorize myself in these compartments of analysts, so I choose this private yet public platform to highlight (not analyse) a few salient features of today's results-

a. "Cast your vote not Vote your caste" is a common saying on the eve of National Voters Day (25th January) and election season by people of so-called caste driven society of India.
Rural population still votes either to the candidate who gives freebies (cash/jewellery,alcohol,sarees etc.) a day or two before V-Day (Voting Day) or the candidate of their caste (Yadav/Kurmi/Dalit/Mahadalit etc.). As the former has been controlled this to a large extent by the excellent work of district administration via Flying Squad Teams (FST), Static Surveillance Teams (SST) and Video Surveillance Teams (VST) who have ensured a strict vigil and control day and night over the movement of things- illicit liquor, cash>50k etc, the latter still prevails.

The urban literate/educated society vote to the candidate who belongs to the party of their ideology (may/may not be on the basis of caste). Here the profile of the candidate matters a lot, e.g. If a candidate is a businessman, all businessmen/women would vote to him irrespective of the caste and other indicators/parameters.
To add to it, Class plays a big role here. Forward (Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Bhumiyars, Vaishyas, Kayasthas etc.) vote to the party whom they believe stands for them (Its widely believed BJP is a forward-class party- Ever since the days Congress introduced Land Reforms, making the zamindars and the land-ruling class unhappy; though later bad implementation of these reforms to ensure the party continues the support of these classes and BJP using "Kamandal", Rath, Babri and most recent Dadri has maintained its status as a Hindu and "forwards" party).

But even in such a scenario, if you have a close look on the list of candidates who came out to be winner and runner-up, you would find that both belong to the same caste e.g. Mahadalit vs Mahadalit ; Brahman vs Brahman as evident from SITAMARHI 24-BATHNAHA Dinkar Ram BJP 67460 Surendra Ram INC 47649 19811 17/19; MADHUBANI 32-BENIPATTI Bhawana Jha INC 41676 VINOD NARAIN JHA BJP 38187 3489 14/19 or Caste 1 v/s Caste 2- the top two castes as far as the voter base is concerned e.g. Brahman vs Yadav MADHUBANI 38-JHANJHARPUR NITISH MISHRA BJP 41411 GULAB YADAV RJD 35370 6041 12/20.

Thus, both the parties (winner & runner-up) filed candidates not on the basis of ideology (Forward-BJP or Lalu Yadav- Yadav or INC-Muslim) or merit (Doctor, Engg, Lawyer but criminals) but CASTE. So, when all the parties resorted to the same, what do you think who should be blamed- People's mindset/educational levels/poverty or Political parties' ideology/politicizing caste factor?

b. Manifesto- Development or Deviation- LS elections'14 were fought between two parties predominantly in the name of Corruption, Policy paralysis, Development, fighting poverty (despite the runling party had emerged as a right-based party- Right to work, Right to education etc.) and the Vikash Purush Mr. Modi with a clean image and nice branding of good work exhibited in Gujarat (3 times CM) and the development model he used there and promised to replicate the same for the entire country if voted to power. The mandate spoke the rest- Modi (BJP) bagged a thumping victory as people voted not for BJP etc. but for an image which can make a better image of the country in international arena (which majority would accept has been achieved); for development of the Poorest of the Poor and not skewed development of Adanis, Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas, upper middle class (the last beneficiaries); for making India a favorable business/tourism/educational destination (Ease of doing business rankings and FDI & Tourism inflows speaks all).

Without discussing the report card of 1.5 years rule of the central government (as that is not what we are analyzing here), did NDA reached out to the Bihari (identity not slang) voters on the same agenda or had they got deviated to something else-Ideology of the parent organisation and the politics revolving around it, "Kuch bhi" type speeches/comments of BJP leaders, Beef incident, Intolerance (the new buzz word), Award wapsi etc.
This is not what people had expected from the Vikash Purush of Gujarat 2 India NaMo. I seriously think if the manifesto of NDA would have been aligned towards Development, then the mandate would also have been aligned in the opposite direction than the status quo.
The BJP mandate on the other hand revolved around 5000 scooties/year (with free petrol), the 1.65 lakh CR special package to Bihar etc.; it lacked the vigour the people would have expected from the charismatic persona of Mr. Modi and his developmental plans (replicable on ground most importantly). The party perhaps tried to match with the opposition's manifesto, thus losing the edge it had in a politically active and vigilant state (where urban votes less than rural and female vote more than male).

3. Alliances- Bane or Boon- The alliance BJP made with parties like LJP (Jo Jeeta Woh Sikandar, Hum Usi ke andar), RLSP (family Kushwaha party), HAM (Manjhi-the controversial statement lover ex-CM) can also be a major reason for its debacle. On the one hand, you are supposed to be a forward-backing party, and on the other you have shaken hands with Mahadalit (HAM), Dalit (LJP), EBC (RLSP), forces one to vote for the candidate but party/alliance (a clean imaged candidate irrespective of party matters more than the candidate of the centre-ruling party alliance).- If you look at LS elections'15, the alliance NDA didn't win but its PM candidate Modi won, on a similar note, today the alliance MGB didn't win but CM candidate Mr. Nitish Kumar (a comparatively cleaner image than anyone else in the state-not to compare the two-Mr.Nitish vs Modi; apart from the caste/religion factor & development in last 2 terms bringing Bihar from -ve to +ve on the national arena). There is a marked difference in the victories of these 2 Vikash Purush- Modi (Gujarat 2 India) and Nitish (Bihar 2 an unsuccessful aspirant of India)- The "FACE" or the direct person in-charge of the nation/state affairs; BJP didn't name the CM candidate-perhaps due to Kiran Bedi factor in Delhi Assembly elections (3/70) or caste/religion factor and its possible impact on the mandate or it couldn't find a single candidate (even a Saankha-Sangh Parivar Karyakarta) deserving for this post. In such a blurred scenario, this is what they have now (a half century as consolation prize). When you are self-sufficient and confident on the your ideology and agenda of development as the sole manifesto item, stick to it, propagate it and reap the mandate similar to LS'14 (unexpectedly expected) rather than making self-hurting and contradictory alliances (Ek taraf Brahman ko vote kare yaha and waha ek Mahadalit ki jeetne ke liye prathana bhi kare).

Thus, in the end I would like to conclude with a statement and uncertainty about our self-created and decided future, let us understand and accept a basic thing that we have elected a government under the CMship of the Vikash Purush of Bihar, which may do wonders (converge) by making us No.1 in development & ease of a happy & peaceful living for all OR do wanders (diverge) by making us No.1 in backwardness (BIMARO- Odisha tops the list now) & ease of doing criminal activities-loot, extortion, kidnapping, burglary etc. (Jungle Raj returns); a stable yet coalition government under Mr.Nitish for the coming 5 years or a general coalition government always on the verge of compromise in the name of preventing a re-election within the tenure of 5 years (aspirations of Lalu's sons and RJD after bagging more seats than Nitish on his name itself).

Bihar is on the crossroads of a development paradigm or Jungle Raj 2.0!!!

A crucial thing for this government is the manner in which Nitish Kumar handles the other 2 parties of alliance (the biggest beneficiaries in this election) and their representatives in Vidhan Sabha, ministries and bureaucrats (Hope Caste and chamchagiri are not the parameters for posting@districts).

Lets not forget its we who make it, who run it, and who destroy it. Let us pledge that we won't tolerate (?) and ensure that the haunting past of Jungle Raj 1.0 won't return even if attempted to be returned, by staying united and together under the same umbrella of a state that has always been famous (infamous) because of several reasons.

Jai Hind, Jai Bihar, Jai Biharis!!!

Loktantra or tantra-mantra-Bihari-Slang 2 Proud Identity

The morning of 9th September'15 brought perhaps the most independent and transparent body i.e. Election Commission of India (ECI) into act when it announced the dates of Bihar Assembly elections, 2015. Model Code of Conduct got automatically enforced. The "bigul" (trumphet) of political parties and the queues of candidates at the party offices (Patna and Delhi...also Nagpur) became a common phenomena till the final list of candidates was announced. A neck-to-neck competition between MGB (NLR-Nitish-Lalu-Rahul) and NDA (SMS-Shah-Modi-Sushil/Shahnawaz) was expected from the word "Go". It would be improper and unjust/biased to not mention the super-confident national (?) political party BSP (Sushri Behan Mayawati), which has fielded its candidates in all the 243 constituencies.

Post-independence, Congress managed to sweep elections (LS and state assembly) till 1967 uninterrupted. Since then, state politics began to creep in making roads for regional factions and with passage of time, formations and divisions of/in parties and their support base accordingly, today we are at the crossroads where the arch rivals have united against leaving behind the past memories and rigid yet flexible ideologies (Sarkar ke liye kuch bhi karega).

Where on one hand we have Nitish (incumbent CM and the Modi of Bihar's development-Kurmi-4%) with Lalu (Fodder-Rabdi-drama-humorous-Lantern-law&order jeopardized@15years-1990-2005-Yadavs-14%) and Congress (Rahul Gandhi yet to prove his mettle as a leader of the country's oldest political party and future PM-Muslims-16.9%), the other hand is not less diverse- BJP (Modi-Amit Shah duo, Hindus-Forward-15%), LJP (Give me ministry and I would give my 100% allegiance till you are in power-Paswan-5%), RLSP (family party-Kushwaha-4%), HAM (ex-CM Manjhi- loves controversial statements- Musahar-3%). If you analyse the %s closely in both the alliances, you may have understood the bottom line of the Bihar elections like before continues to be "Casteism"- Backward (OBC/EBC-51%) and Minority v/s Forward and Most Backward (Mahadalits/SC), which makes it more difficult to predict the winner of the game.

Communalism has added its flavour in the elections post-Dadri, ink throwing episodes and daily award wapsi exercise. Thus, C+C is what makes the prediction to determine the future government of Bihar even more tougher.

Would be unfair for the parties if I miss mentioning the freebies announced by both the alliances (bipolar continuum- extreme left MGB and extreme right of course NDA). Nitish's cycle scheme for girls (2005 elections) has traveled a long distance to NDA's Scooty scheme for girls (along with free petrol-2015) is one among the many (DA increment, inclusion of more castes in EBC and SC list, 1.65 lakh special package, Padhai-Kamai-Dawai and bijli-paani-sadak etc.)

Amidst all of this-rallies of star campaigners-their speeches and promises (but obvious), one noteworthy aspect of the elections has been the role of the district administration- from a supporter (earlier) to an active participant (2015 elections). The manner in which it has ensured best implementation of Model Code of Conduct- catching illicit liquor, illegal arms, cash>50K, using banners & flexes w/o permission, loudspeakers beyond 10 PM etc., SVEEP (Systematic Voter Enhancement and Electoral Participation)- creating awareness among the voters to use their democratic R2V without fear on V-Day, 100% distribution of Voter Information (Matdan Parchi- which used to be once distributed by the party in their favourable way), stringent monitoring of advertisements from ground 2 social media etc., deployment of CRPF personnel at all polling booths marking peaceful election process needs an applause of the highest order.

All Voter Turnout records of past elections have been broken (record 68% VTR in Katihar in Ph-V) may be due to the present "mahoul" of the nation and the past or anti-incumbency or development-needs taking driver seat etc.

Majority of the exit polls have signaled good news for MGB, but remember they are just exit polls (complete reversal in final results in 2004 LS and numerous others). It would be better to wait a couple of days more before the "bigul" for making government starts and queues in front of Raj Bhawan. Few political parties' offices would get drums beating and celebrating Diwali with colours and crackers and rest serenity and peace.

Lets hope the party which makes government for the coming 5 years this November'15, gives the state and its people what they deserve. Things have had started to change in the last 10 years for Bihar- Roads, electricity, GDP growth rate, image on the country's map and people's minds etc. Hope this trend continues at an accelerated pace and the development of state- infrastructure, capital (including Human) matches/excels beyond the country's.

Kalam's India 2020 may be one of the targets the new government (2015-20) can look for, would be a great tribute to a fantastic Indian scientist and President.

Jai Bharat Jai Bihar!!!      

18000 CR vs 16800 CR

Though the title may seem vague and incomprehensible, all attempts have been made to make it understandable in a simple, lucid and factual-cum-rational manner.

The title speaks about the Revenue generated from selling the TOBACCO products(=18000 Crore) against the money spent by this population on treatment of the tobacco causing diseases(=16800 Crore). If we include the loss of Human Resource(deaths leads to loss of human capital), the value is unthinkable. Its more than 1Lakh CR.

Now, if one goes for a Cost-Benefit analysis of Tobacco-Products sold by the government just in the name of Revenue generation, it should realise that it is here also on REVENUE DEFICIT(~1lakh CR).
Thus from this, we can deduce that Tobacco manufacturers are at profit on one hand and government are in severe loss(which can't be seen with telescopic eyes;one needs to have microscopic eyes).

A look at several forms of तंबाकू सेवन (Tobacco usage products) and their variation in different scenarios and cases as below:

Bidi(बीड़ी )

Sutta(a very very famous nomenclature for Cigarette in educational institutions), Bidi, Khaini, Gaanza are the most common and prominent tobacco-products; dominance of one depends upon the place(College-First and Last), society(Jats & Gujjars- Second and last), region(Haryana-second and fourth vs Bihar/UP-second and third), class(Higher/upper-middle-1st and 4th vs Lower-2nd and 3rd).

Self-explanatory is to aware the जनता about the ill-effects of the products(not limiting to Mukesh and TAR advertisement shown before movies start OR ill-implemented Statutory warnings on Packets viz. धुम्रपान स्वास्थ्य के लिए हानिकारक हैं ) apart from increasing the TAX to cover the Revenue deficit and also prevent the population who have nothing to eat but tobacco to smoke and chew(POOR). 

Its high time to understand this vicious cycle of Tobacco usage, Health issues and Tax generation at the cost of millions of innocent lives who have fallen prey to this cycle due to situation or environment or style statement or modernization or whatever.
Nahi to wo din door nahi, jab khasi ke wajah shardi-jukham kam and sutta-bidi jyada nikalegi.

Lets pledge on this World NO TOBACCO-Day that we would strive hard to put a COMMA(if not FULL STOP) to ONE PERSON's habit of the SILENT KILLER consumer and strive towards a CHEWING-GUM cum लेमनचूस nation.

Those who feel can manage this menace may not discontinue but the poorest of the poor who are as of now wasting their precious money in this social-cum-cultural habit should be prohibited to enjoy the poison of 21st century.

Say NO to TOBACCO
and YES to LIFE(with dignity and respect)!!!


"Anticipating CRITICISM on a higher scale than APPRAISAL"